Vee stared back blankly, with a look sort of like drowsy confusion, as DragonierMan aborted their fling and sheathed his blade. Her lack of any audible response was probably a testament to the zombie-like state she was in. All the same, she brightened up with a pleased smile and held his hand to her cheek briefly, her own hands slightly cool from the tile (in stark contrast to her face, which was very warm). "Alright. Promise me, though," she murmured.
The newly arrived Skywriter began to get worried outside as DragonierMan took his sweet time, allowing himself a moment to get his swelling down. "I-It's too quiet..." she whispered, clearly beginning to freak out at the prospect of just how badly her first real mission under NS employ was going, or otherwise, the ramifications of DragonierMan's alone-time with a drugged, questionably legally aged girl. Once he finally did come out, she breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a worried shriek at the prospect that she was about to be cut down before explaining that she wasn't a mafioso. "I'm Skywriter!" she loudly introduced herself again, hopeful that would be enough to convince him. Thankfully, Aya also pitched in to stop the attack. Skywriter watched DragonierMan curiously as the navi moved to grab up some cake and take it back for research later, but didn't stop him. "That makes sense... I imagine the Shogun will be interested in it. Just know that I don't think it works without also responding to the music from Piper's flute... then again, maybe there's a way to study the dormant bug itself and use that knowledge to manufacture new uses without relying on the music as a trigger? It's worth thinking about!" Her judgment of character appeared to be on the fritz, because she didn't sound particularly suspicious of DragonierMan's reasons for wanting to bring the cake back. As such, he managed to stash some for later.
She was, however, skeptical when DragonierMan further implied that he had gotten something of a briefing in the bathroom. "Really?" she asked, rhetorically; she didn't expect much of an answer. "Yes, I'd say that Piper has given us more than we bargained for. This is just my thinking, but I believe she just wanted to get the Neo-Shogun Army up here to induce more chaos into the situation, rather than having any intention of aiding us or even protecting us from the fallout. That cake in the cargo hold was proof; it was set up when we came in, as if waiting for whoever boarded this ship secretly."
Having been momentarily distracted by the thought of the kind of damage Roc might cause satisfying her new-found sex craving on some unfortunate soul, MachMan rejoined the conversation. Skywriter simply shook her head. "I haven't seen either of them... in person. I did get a look at Kismet on one of the monitors that are all around the guest area, but only briefly. It shows that she should be on one of these ships, though," she affirmed. "Disorganized chaos is definitely the right word. I don't know how she got so many people to eat that cake, but I'd estimate 80% of the guests that joined this party have been affected, and there were a lot of them. The halls are mostly clear, as the bug seems to favor privacy when possible, but the rooms are all... Y-You'll hear it. I mean, I don't wanna judge, but it's kind of gross... Like walking through a love hotel late at night or something," she shuddered. "I'm scared to open a single door for fear of what I'm going to walk into... But yes! It did start as a party. In fact, every now and then, the host will still pop onto the screens and talk about it, like everything's still going as planned. I haven't listened to her too much, because she seems crazy herself, although I don't know if she's just like that or if she's been affected. Her name's Gala, you'll see her," Skywriter further explained. "I wouldn't say the situation is physically dangerous in most cases, but it's definitely volatile. Whatever we do here could have real consequences down the line..."
She turned back to the door and walked towards it, stopping and resting at the left side of it. "We should try to finish our mission, I agree... Especially since we need to rescue Roc and Pest anyway. I have to wonder why their operators haven't jacked them out yet... For that matter, Vee's hasn't either. He or she won't even communicate... Maybe it's a pervert?" she asked, looking more nervous. "I do think it will be easy to move throughout the party. I get the impression that everyone falls into two groups: those who have been affected and will be completely unaware and those who haven't and will be searching for Piper. I think Piper was supposed to be on this ship, but I have no idea if she actually is or not... We may have to keep investigating to find out," the red-dressed navi reasoned. "Once we step out of this room, we'll enter a long hallway, where the second-class rooms line the halls. It's a very long hallway. Once you reach a certain point, I think mid-way, you'll find a set of stairs leading to the second floor. From the left of there is a kitchen and to the right... I'm not sure what the room to the right is. I haven't gone much further than that because... I was being chased for a bit," she moaned, as if recalling an unpleasant memory. "If you run into anyone, assume their intention is to try to get into your pants, for now. I'm not even one hundred percent certain it matters whether you're a girl or a guy or which they prefer, they'll go after you regardless. There's monitors all along the hall, so we can also keep an eye out on that broadcast from the hostess for more clues."
At this point, having not been restrained, Vee made her way over to DragonierMan and buried her face into his back, circling her arms back around his waist and leaving her hands resting in a somewhat scandalous location. "I'm embarrassed that they saw the two of us in the bathroom together... I'm not like you, DragonierMan... I have a reputation to keep up. I can't just do dirty things in public," she spoke in a muffled voice (more muffled than her voice ordinarily was). "You all can go investigate... In the mean time, DragonierMan and I are going to continue our briefing..." Her hands had already begun to undo what he'd managed to get under control earlier, working with a gentle slowness and thankfully still over the pants, but someone would need to drag her off again or risk DragonierMan and Vee's briefing reaching stage 2 again.
Skywriter was averting her eyes, having hid her face inside her scarf. "Oh God! I can't watch! It's too awkward!" she sobbed. "Can we tie her up or something? A-And then let's get moving, quick!"
"Tie me up? I'm fine if DragonierMan wants to tie me up... I'll try it... I can be very quiet," the ninja reassured everyone, although that claim was made dubious by all of the embarrassing things she was saying.
Infiltrate the Party in the Sky
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"That is a promise," DragonierMan promised Vee with a low animalistic growl as he painfully parted from a source of pleasure.
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Aya cut in after Skywriter voiced concern over the affected members not being able to Jack-Out. "I think it is quite obvious why they haven't gotten out yet. General Yasu said that this mind-control acts similarly to Jack-Out Barrier technology. They are probably even cut off from their PETs. Which means that we probably can't count on them in a fight. Not only will they not have access to battlechips, but they would be put in unnecessary danger."
Then Skywriter outlined her reconnaissance. Afterward Vee came back into the room and began trying to strip Drago again.
"Alright, that's enough girl," came the voice of Suzume as a flash of light from Drago's belt had the second sister appear in the room. She had kept quiet the whole time she was in her sheath. Which means she was there, watching the whole exchange in the bathroom as well. Suzume gently grabbed at Vee's arms and tried to pull Vee off Drago. "You already got his promise to play with you later. Right now it's mission time." She wrapped her arms around Vee and held her as she looked up at Drago with a wink. "I'll take care of the General. You focus on the mission loverboy."
Drago rebuckled himself back up and pointed toward the door leading out into the hall. "Well, in case you don't want to take point," he said as he looked at MachMan. "I'll do it. Aya, protect the General. Make sure that she stays quiet Suzume. We'll put her in the middle of the formation. Skywriter will be in front as well so she can lead the way. The other one," Drago looked at Mach again as he took charge of the situation. "Will bring up the rear."
"So, MachMan was it?... Who wants to go first?"
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Aya cut in after Skywriter voiced concern over the affected members not being able to Jack-Out. "I think it is quite obvious why they haven't gotten out yet. General Yasu said that this mind-control acts similarly to Jack-Out Barrier technology. They are probably even cut off from their PETs. Which means that we probably can't count on them in a fight. Not only will they not have access to battlechips, but they would be put in unnecessary danger."
Then Skywriter outlined her reconnaissance. Afterward Vee came back into the room and began trying to strip Drago again.
"Alright, that's enough girl," came the voice of Suzume as a flash of light from Drago's belt had the second sister appear in the room. She had kept quiet the whole time she was in her sheath. Which means she was there, watching the whole exchange in the bathroom as well. Suzume gently grabbed at Vee's arms and tried to pull Vee off Drago. "You already got his promise to play with you later. Right now it's mission time." She wrapped her arms around Vee and held her as she looked up at Drago with a wink. "I'll take care of the General. You focus on the mission loverboy."
Drago rebuckled himself back up and pointed toward the door leading out into the hall. "Well, in case you don't want to take point," he said as he looked at MachMan. "I'll do it. Aya, protect the General. Make sure that she stays quiet Suzume. We'll put her in the middle of the formation. Skywriter will be in front as well so she can lead the way. The other one," Drago looked at Mach again as he took charge of the situation. "Will bring up the rear."
"So, MachMan was it?... Who wants to go first?"
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Mach crossed his arms contemplatively and nodded as Skywriter detailed the situation. It sounded chaotic, and with a significant portion of the attendees under the influence of Piper's song, it sounded the area wasn't at all secured. That said, Skywriter still conveyed a severe need for caution, to which Mach wholly agreed. "Understood," he responded stiffly.
The pilot-themed Navi continued and described the path she managed to forge through a portion of the airship, to an impressive level of succinct detail for one who still looked visibly frazzled. She also expressed concern for Roc and Pest not jacking out at the first sign of Piper's tampering, to which Aya responded with another intelligent theory to explain. The guests seemed to act similarly to the visibly clingy Vee, but according to Skywriter the level of enthusiasm in their pursuit appeared to vary from the subtle to the seemingly predatory. This only validated the picture of the crazed, avian-esque ally Mach previously drew in his mind.
DragonierMan enlisted Suzume to restrain Vee, then proclaimed a plan of action to Mach. "I could take point, but is it wise to take Vee with us?" Mach responded, questioning DragonierMan's plan to bring her along. However, nearly as soon as he finished the last word, a counter-point popped up in his mind, causing him to tilt his head to the side slightly. "On second thought, I see leaving even an impaired ninja alone in a room would come back to bite us. Better to keep her in plain sight. Think Suzume can keep her at bay?" he concluded before he gestured to the SP restraining the impaired general. "Sire," a familiar deep voice echoed from the armored helmet. The crimson eyes over the mask blinked as Mach responded, "Yes?" "I believe I could contain her, my armor would be her 'prison' of sorts." Mach couldn't help but be a bit impressed by Vector's sudden out-of-the-box thinking, and knew he wouldn't have brought it up without having contemplated his plan to a significant degree.
Mach looked back to DragonierMan. "Well, that's another option. Regardless I'd suggest you stay close to Vee, she seems to be fixated on you alone and fairly calm with you in proximity, I don't want to her to get agitated if we put too much distance between you. Getting stabbed in the back by a vindictive Navi on her way to her 'mark' isn't on my "to-do list" for this mission." Mach glanced over to the door, along with Skywriter. Though he wanted to take point, he still didn't entirely trust his allies. Having them up front kept them in his field of view, but he also wanted someone he could trust near Skywriter in case things went south. "I'll watch our six. Aera can follow Skywriter as she navigates, with Vector close by if you don't want him keeping Vee under wraps."
"Sound good to you?"
The pilot-themed Navi continued and described the path she managed to forge through a portion of the airship, to an impressive level of succinct detail for one who still looked visibly frazzled. She also expressed concern for Roc and Pest not jacking out at the first sign of Piper's tampering, to which Aya responded with another intelligent theory to explain. The guests seemed to act similarly to the visibly clingy Vee, but according to Skywriter the level of enthusiasm in their pursuit appeared to vary from the subtle to the seemingly predatory. This only validated the picture of the crazed, avian-esque ally Mach previously drew in his mind.
DragonierMan enlisted Suzume to restrain Vee, then proclaimed a plan of action to Mach. "I could take point, but is it wise to take Vee with us?" Mach responded, questioning DragonierMan's plan to bring her along. However, nearly as soon as he finished the last word, a counter-point popped up in his mind, causing him to tilt his head to the side slightly. "On second thought, I see leaving even an impaired ninja alone in a room would come back to bite us. Better to keep her in plain sight. Think Suzume can keep her at bay?" he concluded before he gestured to the SP restraining the impaired general. "Sire," a familiar deep voice echoed from the armored helmet. The crimson eyes over the mask blinked as Mach responded, "Yes?" "I believe I could contain her, my armor would be her 'prison' of sorts." Mach couldn't help but be a bit impressed by Vector's sudden out-of-the-box thinking, and knew he wouldn't have brought it up without having contemplated his plan to a significant degree.
Mach looked back to DragonierMan. "Well, that's another option. Regardless I'd suggest you stay close to Vee, she seems to be fixated on you alone and fairly calm with you in proximity, I don't want to her to get agitated if we put too much distance between you. Getting stabbed in the back by a vindictive Navi on her way to her 'mark' isn't on my "to-do list" for this mission." Mach glanced over to the door, along with Skywriter. Though he wanted to take point, he still didn't entirely trust his allies. Having them up front kept them in his field of view, but he also wanted someone he could trust near Skywriter in case things went south. "I'll watch our six. Aera can follow Skywriter as she navigates, with Vector close by if you don't want him keeping Vee under wraps."
"Sound good to you?"
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DragonierMan looked at MachMan as Mach explained the marching order. He nodded his head in consent. "Aya, you will go to the rear position with Mach. Suzume and Vector will be in the middle with the General and myself. Don't spook her by covering her in armor or anything, just keep her quiet and controlled. We'll let Aera and Skywriter take point," Drago commanded in a gruff voice. The fact that he acceded to Mach's plan and let Mach's group take the lead was at least progress on their burgeoning partnership front. Aya nodded and slipped back to stand beside Mach as the rest of the group began to orient themselves. In 2-4-2 formation. With Aera and Skywriter up front; Drago, Vee, Suzume, and Vector in the middle; and Mach and Aya in the back.
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"Oh hey what's up, um, Vector was it?" Suzume asked as Vector unhooked himself from Mach and came to stand in the middle of the formation. She straightened out the wrinkles in her clothing and lifted the hood of her cloak over her head. She then let out her twin braided ponytails to flow down her chest. "So..." Suzume said with some hesitation as she tried to think of something to talk about, playing with one of her braids with both hands. "What do you think of the current situation?"
Aya came to stand beside Mach and gave him one more look over. "I can see that we still have some trust issues to work out," she stated matter-of-factly. "Well, you can't just put people together and expect it to run smoothly. However, I have been watching you guys for a while now," she said, stating the obvious. "And I have concluded that you can be trusted. So let's start on the right foot this time."
Aya extended a hand to Mach for a handshake, "Partner."
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"Oh hey what's up, um, Vector was it?" Suzume asked as Vector unhooked himself from Mach and came to stand in the middle of the formation. She straightened out the wrinkles in her clothing and lifted the hood of her cloak over her head. She then let out her twin braided ponytails to flow down her chest. "So..." Suzume said with some hesitation as she tried to think of something to talk about, playing with one of her braids with both hands. "What do you think of the current situation?"
Aya came to stand beside Mach and gave him one more look over. "I can see that we still have some trust issues to work out," she stated matter-of-factly. "Well, you can't just put people together and expect it to run smoothly. However, I have been watching you guys for a while now," she said, stating the obvious. "And I have concluded that you can be trusted. So let's start on the right foot this time."
Aya extended a hand to Mach for a handshake, "Partner."
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Mach stood silently as DragonierMan agreed before commanding his crew to take their appropriate positions. Mach had no qualms with the plan, it seemed pretty sound at the time. "You heard him, go ahead and take your positions," he said as if he were talking to himself, though the message was directed at his own two SPs. As the armored maidens took their positions, the armor over Mach's body simply walked off, slipping off his form as effortlessly like a droplet of water, but with the flurry of movement like shifting sands. As Vector made his way towards Suzume, the previously smooth mask twisted into an open-mouthed grimace, allowing the crimson glow within to pierce through as brightly as the eye sockets. The crest also snapped and clicked back into its default spire shape, signaling the completion of the SP's reconfiguration.
Aera split from Mach as well, but she simply seemed to phase freely, possibly due to her electrical affinity? She quickly took her place near the front of the group, giving Skywriter a friendly nod and a smile. "Nice to see you again, Skywriter. Cute outfit, by the way."
Vector stopped next to Suzume, who unhanded Vee, but kept her within reach should she act up. He too kept Vee in arm's reach and in his peripheral vision as he looked to Suzume who'd addressed him. Beyond that, he was entirely still, looking more like a lit up museum piece than an active being. "The objectives are straight-forward, but the setting is... odd." He glanced back briefly towards Mach as he took up the rear near Aya, then back to Suzume. "What are your thoughts on this, Miss Suzume?" he asked plainly from his statuesque stance. His tone only outwardly suggested sincere curiosity, he assumed his ally likely experienced, and maybe she had some useful nuggets of knowledge to pass along.
Mach rolled his shoulders like a runner moving to the starting line as he moved to the rear of the group, where Aya also situated herself. The ever-perspective SP addressed the inherently lingering coldness of mistrust between the two groups, but made her own evaluation he and his SPs could be trusted. Mach nodded with a smirk, she seemed to hit the nail on the head yet again. He returned the gesture and shook her hand firmly. "Well said, partner." After releasing her hand and letting his arm hang at is side, he leaned over and craned his neck to the side as he called out to the rest of the group. "Everyone ready? Lead the way, Skywriter."
Aera split from Mach as well, but she simply seemed to phase freely, possibly due to her electrical affinity? She quickly took her place near the front of the group, giving Skywriter a friendly nod and a smile. "Nice to see you again, Skywriter. Cute outfit, by the way."
Vector stopped next to Suzume, who unhanded Vee, but kept her within reach should she act up. He too kept Vee in arm's reach and in his peripheral vision as he looked to Suzume who'd addressed him. Beyond that, he was entirely still, looking more like a lit up museum piece than an active being. "The objectives are straight-forward, but the setting is... odd." He glanced back briefly towards Mach as he took up the rear near Aya, then back to Suzume. "What are your thoughts on this, Miss Suzume?" he asked plainly from his statuesque stance. His tone only outwardly suggested sincere curiosity, he assumed his ally likely experienced, and maybe she had some useful nuggets of knowledge to pass along.
Mach rolled his shoulders like a runner moving to the starting line as he moved to the rear of the group, where Aya also situated herself. The ever-perspective SP addressed the inherently lingering coldness of mistrust between the two groups, but made her own evaluation he and his SPs could be trusted. Mach nodded with a smirk, she seemed to hit the nail on the head yet again. He returned the gesture and shook her hand firmly. "Well said, partner." After releasing her hand and letting his arm hang at is side, he leaned over and craned his neck to the side as he called out to the rest of the group. "Everyone ready? Lead the way, Skywriter."
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Skywriter went into another panic after learning that a jack-out barrier could, potentially, explain why Roc and Pest's operators, or even Vee's, had yet to get their navis out of their compromising situations. "That's not good! I mean, the sex is one thing, but if they get into some real trouble while they're on the ship, they could be deleted! We've got to move fast!" she cried, looking back and forth between her two comrades. Even hearing that, Vee showed no affirmative reaction, instead keeping close to DragonierMan.
On that note, Suzume intervened to separate the ninja and the dragon-man. "Sorry, I'm... not really into girls," Vee commented, feeling Suzume's arms wrap around her. "I don't mind if you want to join in later, though. I realize the three of you are always together. Or... maybe DragonierMan doesn't feel like he needs another ninja? I'm sure you and Aya take care of him whenever he's feeling horny," she commented, which would sound accusatory or judgmental ordinarily, but instead came out as jealous and pouty.
MachMan and DragonierMan both had some thoughts about how to keep an eye on Vee, which would seem important, given that she might either continue tracking them in hiding or even get involved with some stranger otherwise. They decided it would be best to keep her in the middle and have Vector watch her. Skywriter and Aera would be in front, with DragonierMan, Suzume, and Vee in the middle, and MachMan and Aya at the back. The team would make quite the colorful group as they proceeded inward towards the guest area of the ship. One thing they could at least be thankful about: Vee was naturally pretty quiet, so she wasn't going to attract any unwarranted attention with her voice...
... The same could not be said of the others infected throughout the ship. This much became apparent just listening to the cacophony behind the sound-proof doors of the cargo room. Behind every door the group passed, the sounds of either two people engaged in sex, many people engaged in orgy, or one person engaged in masturbation could be heard, making it sound like someone had decided to leave 50 different porn channels playing at once. Listening too long was the kind of thing that would drive a person mad, so they'd need not to linger. If it wasn't for the noise, the hallway itself could have been rather classy. The trim was mostly red and gold, with thick carpets that made one want to take off their shoes and feel the softness on their toes. Lanterns lined the hallway in great numbers, most of them lit, except for a few that had been broken off or otherwise darkened during the confusion that must have resulted when the outbreak began. Other signs of tussle were also apparent, including various charred spots on doors, data smeared across walls, or glass littering the hallway.
With so much to look at, the group would find their attention further diverted by a number of monitors across the hallway, all which became lit with the same picture in short order, almost as if responding to their having entered. Skywriter gave them a quick indication to watch, rooting her eyes to the nearest one. A woman appeared on-screen: a very pale-skinned lady with vibrantly orange hair, done into an updo with an intricate braid circling her head. She was relaxing in a bubble bath that seemed to reflect the gold color of the room she was in, reclining with a big grin on her painted lips and a half-filled wine glass in one hand, which she'd probably drained and refilled several times already tonight. The only article of clothing she wore was a red eye-mask, which not only hid that portion of her face, but also gave her eyes an odd, white pupil-less feature. The naughtier parts of her nakedness were still hidden by the bubbles. "Hello, my party animals! I'm your hostess for the night, Gala. I must say, you're all doing wonderfully so far! Please, continue to enjoy each other's company to your heart's content. Remember, we mafia types don't take no for an answer, so I don't want to hear it from any of you tonight!" she giggled, ominously.
The screen flickered over to another view, one which looked like a football stadium's scoreboard. On it appeared several names... a handful were in vibrant orange, but many others were displayed in red. There were also slots where the name had been blackened out. "You're probably wondering about the progress of our little party game tonight, aren't you, my dears? Worry not, I have an update! As you can see, we have very, very few holdouts... Please, get them something to eat, won't you? I don't want a single party-pooper ruining tonight's festivities! If you see someone, please, encourage them to have a little snack... Tell them to think of it as an appetizer and you can be the main course! Hm hm ha ha ha ha!" The woman on the screen couldn't be Piper, though, could she? She wasn't ostensibly playing any music and she'd identified herself as Gala earlier. "Why don't those of you who haven't found a partner find one, hm? It's the easiest thing in the world, in an atmosphere like this! Once the two of you entangle your bodies, satisfy yourselves, and release... You'll die in each other's arms! Hm hm ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, dear me! Let's check one of the cameras!"
The feed cut over again, showing what looked like a giant, gloved hand chasing a short, red-armored girl. The two were running in and out of doors like something from an old cartoon, with the girl constantly slamming them on the hand, who promptly either flung them back open or smashed through them. "C'mon Zazz, you're making a fool out of me! Everyone's doing it! Dammit, it works, I tell you!" the hand droned in an angry-sounding man's voice.
"How?! How the heck does it work?! You're a hand!" the woman, Zazz apparently, gasped in a tired voice. "Besides, you're a guy and you know I'm, like, the biggest lesbian in the entire Mafia, right?!"
"S-Sure, but like, I'm a hand... So does my gender even matter?! Sheesh!" the guy snapped.
Eventually, the woman ducked behind a corner, causing the hand to run on past without following her for once. In a bizarre turn of events, the group heard the thudding coming not just from the monitors, but also nearby; the giant hand barrelled through the hallway just in front of them, nearly smashing into the giant staircase Skywriter had mentioned occupying the center of the hall, before circumventing it and running for the kitchen. The group could see Zazz, breathing hard as she pressed against the wall behind her. It would also occur to them that her name had been one of the orange ones earlier. Her armor was red with a yellow undersuit and a topknot extending from the helmet, which held a tuft of orange hair, making her head look a bit like a round bomb. Her mouth was contorted into a big, clenched-tooth frown and her eyes looked big and crazy, like she'd thrown back either ten cups of coffee or ten lines of meth. "That JankenMan...! I'm never letting him live this down, if we get out of this!" she huffed to herself, looking around from side to side. JankenMan had been one of the names in red on the same screen. They presumably had just a few moments before she discovered them; they'd probably either want to dive into the nearest room, although that carried its own set of problems, become invisible, or confront her. It might even be best to take her out before she noticed them.
Skywriter kept her mouth covered to hide her breathing while looking behind her to DragonierMan, who was the closest authority figure.
Anyone who had time to take mental inventory could understand that the score-board was indeed a useful tool for all of them. It appeared that the names in orange had not been infected by the cake, while those in red had. Interestingly, Vee's name hadn't been up there, perhaps because she was not a planned party guest. Kismet's name had been on the board, still in orange; Piper's had as well. They would also understand that Gala apparently had cameras all throughout the ship, although they weren't able to see the ones that she'd used to track Zazz just now. The only question was what the blackened out names meant and what Gala had meant when she mentioned "dying in each other's arms" earlier. Behind the room closest to them, the sounds of something heavy pounding the floor could be heard, sounding more menacing than a sex noise... If they were going to hide in a room, they probably ought to pick another one. Regardless, it sort of enforced the idea that something worse than just a mad sex party was happening inside this ship.
"If you're scared... feel free to hold me," Vee instructed all of them, although her advice wasn't likely to come in useful here.
On that note, Suzume intervened to separate the ninja and the dragon-man. "Sorry, I'm... not really into girls," Vee commented, feeling Suzume's arms wrap around her. "I don't mind if you want to join in later, though. I realize the three of you are always together. Or... maybe DragonierMan doesn't feel like he needs another ninja? I'm sure you and Aya take care of him whenever he's feeling horny," she commented, which would sound accusatory or judgmental ordinarily, but instead came out as jealous and pouty.
MachMan and DragonierMan both had some thoughts about how to keep an eye on Vee, which would seem important, given that she might either continue tracking them in hiding or even get involved with some stranger otherwise. They decided it would be best to keep her in the middle and have Vector watch her. Skywriter and Aera would be in front, with DragonierMan, Suzume, and Vee in the middle, and MachMan and Aya at the back. The team would make quite the colorful group as they proceeded inward towards the guest area of the ship. One thing they could at least be thankful about: Vee was naturally pretty quiet, so she wasn't going to attract any unwarranted attention with her voice...
... The same could not be said of the others infected throughout the ship. This much became apparent just listening to the cacophony behind the sound-proof doors of the cargo room. Behind every door the group passed, the sounds of either two people engaged in sex, many people engaged in orgy, or one person engaged in masturbation could be heard, making it sound like someone had decided to leave 50 different porn channels playing at once. Listening too long was the kind of thing that would drive a person mad, so they'd need not to linger. If it wasn't for the noise, the hallway itself could have been rather classy. The trim was mostly red and gold, with thick carpets that made one want to take off their shoes and feel the softness on their toes. Lanterns lined the hallway in great numbers, most of them lit, except for a few that had been broken off or otherwise darkened during the confusion that must have resulted when the outbreak began. Other signs of tussle were also apparent, including various charred spots on doors, data smeared across walls, or glass littering the hallway.
With so much to look at, the group would find their attention further diverted by a number of monitors across the hallway, all which became lit with the same picture in short order, almost as if responding to their having entered. Skywriter gave them a quick indication to watch, rooting her eyes to the nearest one. A woman appeared on-screen: a very pale-skinned lady with vibrantly orange hair, done into an updo with an intricate braid circling her head. She was relaxing in a bubble bath that seemed to reflect the gold color of the room she was in, reclining with a big grin on her painted lips and a half-filled wine glass in one hand, which she'd probably drained and refilled several times already tonight. The only article of clothing she wore was a red eye-mask, which not only hid that portion of her face, but also gave her eyes an odd, white pupil-less feature. The naughtier parts of her nakedness were still hidden by the bubbles. "Hello, my party animals! I'm your hostess for the night, Gala. I must say, you're all doing wonderfully so far! Please, continue to enjoy each other's company to your heart's content. Remember, we mafia types don't take no for an answer, so I don't want to hear it from any of you tonight!" she giggled, ominously.
The screen flickered over to another view, one which looked like a football stadium's scoreboard. On it appeared several names... a handful were in vibrant orange, but many others were displayed in red. There were also slots where the name had been blackened out. "You're probably wondering about the progress of our little party game tonight, aren't you, my dears? Worry not, I have an update! As you can see, we have very, very few holdouts... Please, get them something to eat, won't you? I don't want a single party-pooper ruining tonight's festivities! If you see someone, please, encourage them to have a little snack... Tell them to think of it as an appetizer and you can be the main course! Hm hm ha ha ha ha!" The woman on the screen couldn't be Piper, though, could she? She wasn't ostensibly playing any music and she'd identified herself as Gala earlier. "Why don't those of you who haven't found a partner find one, hm? It's the easiest thing in the world, in an atmosphere like this! Once the two of you entangle your bodies, satisfy yourselves, and release... You'll die in each other's arms! Hm hm ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, dear me! Let's check one of the cameras!"
The feed cut over again, showing what looked like a giant, gloved hand chasing a short, red-armored girl. The two were running in and out of doors like something from an old cartoon, with the girl constantly slamming them on the hand, who promptly either flung them back open or smashed through them. "C'mon Zazz, you're making a fool out of me! Everyone's doing it! Dammit, it works, I tell you!" the hand droned in an angry-sounding man's voice.
"How?! How the heck does it work?! You're a hand!" the woman, Zazz apparently, gasped in a tired voice. "Besides, you're a guy and you know I'm, like, the biggest lesbian in the entire Mafia, right?!"
"S-Sure, but like, I'm a hand... So does my gender even matter?! Sheesh!" the guy snapped.
Eventually, the woman ducked behind a corner, causing the hand to run on past without following her for once. In a bizarre turn of events, the group heard the thudding coming not just from the monitors, but also nearby; the giant hand barrelled through the hallway just in front of them, nearly smashing into the giant staircase Skywriter had mentioned occupying the center of the hall, before circumventing it and running for the kitchen. The group could see Zazz, breathing hard as she pressed against the wall behind her. It would also occur to them that her name had been one of the orange ones earlier. Her armor was red with a yellow undersuit and a topknot extending from the helmet, which held a tuft of orange hair, making her head look a bit like a round bomb. Her mouth was contorted into a big, clenched-tooth frown and her eyes looked big and crazy, like she'd thrown back either ten cups of coffee or ten lines of meth. "That JankenMan...! I'm never letting him live this down, if we get out of this!" she huffed to herself, looking around from side to side. JankenMan had been one of the names in red on the same screen. They presumably had just a few moments before she discovered them; they'd probably either want to dive into the nearest room, although that carried its own set of problems, become invisible, or confront her. It might even be best to take her out before she noticed them.
Skywriter kept her mouth covered to hide her breathing while looking behind her to DragonierMan, who was the closest authority figure.
Anyone who had time to take mental inventory could understand that the score-board was indeed a useful tool for all of them. It appeared that the names in orange had not been infected by the cake, while those in red had. Interestingly, Vee's name hadn't been up there, perhaps because she was not a planned party guest. Kismet's name had been on the board, still in orange; Piper's had as well. They would also understand that Gala apparently had cameras all throughout the ship, although they weren't able to see the ones that she'd used to track Zazz just now. The only question was what the blackened out names meant and what Gala had meant when she mentioned "dying in each other's arms" earlier. Behind the room closest to them, the sounds of something heavy pounding the floor could be heard, sounding more menacing than a sex noise... If they were going to hide in a room, they probably ought to pick another one. Regardless, it sort of enforced the idea that something worse than just a mad sex party was happening inside this ship.
"If you're scared... feel free to hold me," Vee instructed all of them, although her advice wasn't likely to come in useful here.
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As the group moved through the hallway, Mach and his SPs could hear the carnal sounds echoing from each room, some with 2 voices, others with more. [[i]Wonder if this is anything like "Hell's Despiration" back at that Hera's Fortune... But now's not the time,[/i]] Mach contemplated as they continued to move through before his attention was drawn to the monitors lining the lavish hallways. Aera and Vector had been previously noting the damage within the hallway before they too shifted focus to the video announcement.
The apparent host, "Gala," encouraged the events unfolding on the ship, as well as referencing to a name-filled board. None of their names were present, which was a positive sign, but Mach and company did notice both Piper and Kismet's names part of the few glowing orange amongst the crowd of red names. Mach frowned as Gala urged the party goers to find the "holdouts" and give them something to eat... the toxin, one would assume. "That would explain the rapid spread," Mach commented just loud enough for his close-by compatriots to hear. The trio now assumed the area to be a different degree of hostile, with the occupants not only driven to get into their pants, but to spread the effects of Piper's tech as well. They only hoped the announcements fell on deaf ears, as the voices indicated the guests were busy focusing on "other" things. The "die in eachother's arms" sounded ominous as well, paired with the blacked-out names on the stadium-styled board. Did this ailment have terminal effects?
Gala changed the viewpoint to that of a camera in one of the rooms within the ship. While the struggle of the two Navis within was attention-drawing, Mach's mind shifted to a different direction. [[i]So she has eyes throughout the ship... or possibly just the rooms? She hasn't noticed us yet, maybe the hallways are free of cameras? That would explain the monitors, to give transient guests view of "targets."[/i]] However, the scene on the monitor started to become all-too-real as the thumping could be heard echoing through the hallway, derailing Mach's train of thought. The hand-shaped Navi burst into the hallway and barely cleared the stairway before continuing onwards. Aera and Vector froze in place as their eyes tracked the Navi's frantic dash, Mach had to hop and perch a couple feet in the air to see over the group. Thankfully they didn't appear to be spotted, but the Navi's target, "Zazz," was in plain view, meaning the group was as well. Mach recognized Zazz's name as one of the ones in orange, and the Navi's utterance of the name "JankenMan" was previously displayed in red. She didn't appear to be affected, but she was still a threat.
Though the obvious choice would be to avoid detection by diving into one of the many rooms in the hallway, Mach assumed they would have cameras as well, which would put them in plain view for Gala to see. As such that would put them at risk of alarming the entire airship. That said, they couldn't just walk up and say "hi" either, she could be tied to the NetMafia, or a direct member herself. Mach made a decision quickly, and in a brief flash of cyan light, he disappeared. In the blink of an eye, Mach reappeared mere feet from Zazz, still in the hallway. He was crouched down on the floor with his right forearm and fist pointing directly towards the orange-haired Navi. Slung beneath his right forearm was a twin-barreled cannon, and from Zazz's point of view, she could see an ominous cyan light glowing from both barrels. Mach silently brought his left hand up to his face, touching his index finger vertically against his mask in a "shhhh" gesture.
If she appeared to comply without protest, he would've moved his left hand from his face and waved back to the rest of the crew to advance towards the stairs. Otherwise he would've done so after unloading a salvo of laser blasts into the Navi. Aera saw Mach's signal, and mimicked the movement before she silently urged Skywriter forward.
The apparent host, "Gala," encouraged the events unfolding on the ship, as well as referencing to a name-filled board. None of their names were present, which was a positive sign, but Mach and company did notice both Piper and Kismet's names part of the few glowing orange amongst the crowd of red names. Mach frowned as Gala urged the party goers to find the "holdouts" and give them something to eat... the toxin, one would assume. "That would explain the rapid spread," Mach commented just loud enough for his close-by compatriots to hear. The trio now assumed the area to be a different degree of hostile, with the occupants not only driven to get into their pants, but to spread the effects of Piper's tech as well. They only hoped the announcements fell on deaf ears, as the voices indicated the guests were busy focusing on "other" things. The "die in eachother's arms" sounded ominous as well, paired with the blacked-out names on the stadium-styled board. Did this ailment have terminal effects?
Gala changed the viewpoint to that of a camera in one of the rooms within the ship. While the struggle of the two Navis within was attention-drawing, Mach's mind shifted to a different direction. [[i]So she has eyes throughout the ship... or possibly just the rooms? She hasn't noticed us yet, maybe the hallways are free of cameras? That would explain the monitors, to give transient guests view of "targets."[/i]] However, the scene on the monitor started to become all-too-real as the thumping could be heard echoing through the hallway, derailing Mach's train of thought. The hand-shaped Navi burst into the hallway and barely cleared the stairway before continuing onwards. Aera and Vector froze in place as their eyes tracked the Navi's frantic dash, Mach had to hop and perch a couple feet in the air to see over the group. Thankfully they didn't appear to be spotted, but the Navi's target, "Zazz," was in plain view, meaning the group was as well. Mach recognized Zazz's name as one of the ones in orange, and the Navi's utterance of the name "JankenMan" was previously displayed in red. She didn't appear to be affected, but she was still a threat.
Though the obvious choice would be to avoid detection by diving into one of the many rooms in the hallway, Mach assumed they would have cameras as well, which would put them in plain view for Gala to see. As such that would put them at risk of alarming the entire airship. That said, they couldn't just walk up and say "hi" either, she could be tied to the NetMafia, or a direct member herself. Mach made a decision quickly, and in a brief flash of cyan light, he disappeared. In the blink of an eye, Mach reappeared mere feet from Zazz, still in the hallway. He was crouched down on the floor with his right forearm and fist pointing directly towards the orange-haired Navi. Slung beneath his right forearm was a twin-barreled cannon, and from Zazz's point of view, she could see an ominous cyan light glowing from both barrels. Mach silently brought his left hand up to his face, touching his index finger vertically against his mask in a "shhhh" gesture.
If she appeared to comply without protest, he would've moved his left hand from his face and waved back to the rest of the crew to advance towards the stairs. Otherwise he would've done so after unloading a salvo of laser blasts into the Navi. Aera saw Mach's signal, and mimicked the movement before she silently urged Skywriter forward.
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Suzume intervened to separate the ninja and the dragon-man. "Sorry, I'm... not really into girls," Vee commented, feeling Suzume's arms wrap around her. "I don't mind if you want to join in later, though. I realize the three of you are always together. Or... maybe DragonierMan doesn't feel like he needs another ninja? I'm sure you and Aya take care of him whenever he's feeling horny," she commented, which would sound accusatory or judgmental ordinarily, but instead came out as jealous and pouty.
Suzume blushed and released Vee. "Ah don't be like that. I'll promise that you get him all to yourself after the mission is over, just behave until then."
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"The objectives are straight-forward, but the setting is... odd." He glanced back briefly towards Mach as he took up the rear near Aya, then back to Suzume. "What are your thoughts on this, Miss Suzume?" he asked plainly from his statuesque stance. His tone only outwardly suggested sincere curiosity, he assumed his ally likely experienced, and maybe she had some useful nuggets of knowledge to pass along.
"Well, we just have to make sure not to get infected," Suzume replied. "Shouldn't be hard for you, I don't even think you have a mouth." She giggled at her joke as MachMan shook Aya's hand.
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The group infiltrated the airship proper from the relatively empty cargo bay. The place was rather plush, like a high-class hotel. The heavily sex-laden atmosphere was also not helping the matter, and was quickly starting to get to DragonierMan. It didn't help that Vee was close by, practically in heat, and draping herself over him. He growled and reached down to squeeze Vee's shapely butt with his closest, gauntleted hand. Even though he was not infected by the virus that was sweeping through the ship, his own nature betrayed him to an almost similar state. His wings were folded around him like a cape.
His attention was pulled away by the monitors displaying Gala. She talked about a party that was currently in the works and, with the help of a colored scoreboard, described a kind of game they had going. Suzume and Aya immediately grasped the situation of the 'game', and there eyes widened at the implication of the grayed-out names. If their assumptions were true, those grayed-out individuals were deleted fragments by now. Suzume turned to Vee and moved closer to her, becoming more protective of the General. She unsheathed a sabre from her hip and kept a vigilant guard for anyone jumping out of the rooms as they passed. Aya immediately began to scan around for surveillance devices while they traveled. Drago, on the other hand, was still addled by clouded lusts to pay much attention beyond the fact that the names of their group were not on the list. At least they still had the element of surprise.
Then came the commotion of Zazz and JankenMan. The group stopped moving for a moment as the scene played out. Drago, Suzume, and Aya crouched, wordlessly, into a fighting stance. It was quite the sight of a giant hand running by and crashing into the kitchen. With Janken gone, and Zazz was all alone but just around the corner from the group, Mach disappeared. Aya was taken aback by the sudden disappearance of her rear guard and began to frantically look around. She had also drawn a similar short sword as her sister's and was ready to fight whatever took her comrade. Thinking that they might have come under an attack during the confusion. She cursed herself for not being more vigilant and letting them be taken from behind during the commotion.
However, Aya and friends would soon see Mach reappear at the intersection of the hallways ahead of the group, pointing an arm cannon at Zazz and motioning her to be quiet. Mach then motioned for the group to advance toward the stairwell. Drago, Suzume, and Aya kept to their silent formation. Though Suzume patted Vector on the shoulder to keep an eye on Vee as she moved to the back row and joined Aya in the rear guard. The group watched the exchange between Zazz and Mach as they walked, ready to leap at Zazz if she put up a fight.
The question was, would the camera on Zazz catch any of this when someone was watching?
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"Of course... We're all on the same team here," Vee responded to Suzume in a sulking voice. Amusingly, despite not being infected, DragonierMan seemed to be the one having the hardest time waiting; his hand dug into the thin, cloth covering of her undersuit at her buttocks, bunching up the hem of her tunic with it. "Do you want to do it right now, DragonierMan? It's embarrassing... But I will, if you want to," she whispered. While she was being quiet, she wasn't being nearly quiet enough to keep her thoughts private from the others around her, not limited to just DragonierMan.
Skywriter was thankfully spared from having to watch or listen, as she'd taken up the front along with Aera. She almost leaped in surprise as MachMan teleported away from the group to get a handle of Zazz before the presumed mafioso got a look at any of them. She raised one hand as well, as if aiming it at Zazz... although she didn't ostensibly have any weapon there, just the pad on her glove.
Having been caught off guard, the short-ish, red-armored girl turned her head to see MachMan, then clutched one hand to the wall to stop from falling over and the other hand to her mouth, to muffle her yelling. "Guys, guys! The whole interior of the ship is monitored by that nut, Gala, around the clock. There's no point in trying to be stealthy here, unless you're running from a giant hand. And I think he just knocked himself out crashing into a refrigerator," she murmured through her hands, although, if MachMan had a mind to, she'd already well ignored his request to be quiet. Even talking through her hands, her voice seemed to have a way of projecting. "Holy hotties! It's the Neo-Shogun Army! I've never had a run in before with you girls, despite the fact that I ALWAYS put my name in for missions where we'd run into each other! Can you believe that? I'm a HUGE fan, love the uniforms! Very flattering. Hello! Hi~" she giggled, waving at Skywriter and Aera in an open display of her same-gender preference.
Biting her lip, she looked between all of them, then realized there was a high probability she'd be shot if she kept yelling and didn't provide any useful information. "Hey, HEY! The Mafia's own worst enemy right now is the Mafia; I happen to know you guys aren't involved in this, although I've got zero idea why you are here. Right now there's just two types of people: navis infected by that freaky virus and navis that are still themselves. We of the latter group should stick together!" she announced, proudly. "Listen, I'll tell you guys everything you need to know: somebody's attacked us from within and they're turning everyone else into goobers who seek out others and have sex. Now, ordinarily, that's just a gross party, maybe one I could still get into. But the problem is, I think Gala there took it one step further. She's obsessed with murder parties, you know? So she's monitoring the 'conditions' of every room, including activity, heat, etc., and when it surpasses a certain threshold, her big gray goons come in and clobber everybody in the room with hammers and chisels. Hurts like hell, I bet, maybe even bad enough to do worse than EJO you! I don't know who thought it was a good idea to let her keep organizing parties, but hey, that's Teksqp for you," she laughed, seeming cheery given the situation.
Her eyes turned from MachMan's gun and back on to Aera and Skywriter. "My name's Zazz, just so you know! Creel Family. I'm a master of razz-a-ma-tazz, queen of fireworks, magic, and all kinds of eye-catching things! You're lucky you've run in to me!" she announced, although being eye-catching was certainly a detriment at the moment more than a boon. "Hey, so long as you've got a gun pointed at me and I love to talk, what else do you wanna know?" It was hard to tell whether she was stalling or genuinely wanted to offer information. "I've never been interrogated at gunpoint before! C'mon, girls, ask me something! I've got all kinds of stuff I can share! Or... Or how do you Neo-Shogun girls work? You wanna frisk me? Is that something we can do? You know, I think I'd be way more forthcoming if one of you girls asked, now that I think about it. In fact, my lips are shut, unless a cute girl asks me something!" She made a show of "zipping her lips" and crossing her arms, despite the gun still pointed at her. "Boy, I hope these Neo-Shoguns don't exploit my one weakness: cute girls!" she said again, from between her closed lips.
Gala was continuing to talk on the nearby monitor; the two of them together were so chatty that it would be hard for the Neo-Shogun infiltrators not to get a little frustrated. Nothing she was saying appeared to be new information, at the moment. The camera had switched back onto the hostess herself, enjoying her bubble bath and generally being an exhibitionist.
From where MachMan was crouching, he also had a unique viewpoint and was able to see some things the rest of the group couldn't. First off, JankenMan had indeed slid into the kitchen, slipping on what appeared to be a low-lying flood within the kitchen, and crashed into a large appliance, possibly the refrigerator, possibly some random storage unit. From here, it just looked like a metal box. JankenMan looked to be out cold. Something else interesting he could spot: up the stairs, at a halfway point where it widened and became a tiny lounge with two sofas for resting on either side, a man was clearly humping something... by the faint sounds, probably a woman. The man was lean with well-defined back muscles and shaggy black hair, seemingly no clothes to speak of, though one couldn't tell from this angle... staring long enough would reveal him to be Achilles, from the Hera's Fortune casino. Whether or not MachMan considered the fact that the floor-manager of the Hera's Fortune was up here and infected to be a bad thing, there was the distinct possibility that the conditions in that lounge room were becoming just right for the "big, gray goons" Zazz had mentioned to come through with their hammers and chisels.
Skywriter was thankfully spared from having to watch or listen, as she'd taken up the front along with Aera. She almost leaped in surprise as MachMan teleported away from the group to get a handle of Zazz before the presumed mafioso got a look at any of them. She raised one hand as well, as if aiming it at Zazz... although she didn't ostensibly have any weapon there, just the pad on her glove.
Having been caught off guard, the short-ish, red-armored girl turned her head to see MachMan, then clutched one hand to the wall to stop from falling over and the other hand to her mouth, to muffle her yelling. "Guys, guys! The whole interior of the ship is monitored by that nut, Gala, around the clock. There's no point in trying to be stealthy here, unless you're running from a giant hand. And I think he just knocked himself out crashing into a refrigerator," she murmured through her hands, although, if MachMan had a mind to, she'd already well ignored his request to be quiet. Even talking through her hands, her voice seemed to have a way of projecting. "Holy hotties! It's the Neo-Shogun Army! I've never had a run in before with you girls, despite the fact that I ALWAYS put my name in for missions where we'd run into each other! Can you believe that? I'm a HUGE fan, love the uniforms! Very flattering. Hello! Hi~" she giggled, waving at Skywriter and Aera in an open display of her same-gender preference.
Biting her lip, she looked between all of them, then realized there was a high probability she'd be shot if she kept yelling and didn't provide any useful information. "Hey, HEY! The Mafia's own worst enemy right now is the Mafia; I happen to know you guys aren't involved in this, although I've got zero idea why you are here. Right now there's just two types of people: navis infected by that freaky virus and navis that are still themselves. We of the latter group should stick together!" she announced, proudly. "Listen, I'll tell you guys everything you need to know: somebody's attacked us from within and they're turning everyone else into goobers who seek out others and have sex. Now, ordinarily, that's just a gross party, maybe one I could still get into. But the problem is, I think Gala there took it one step further. She's obsessed with murder parties, you know? So she's monitoring the 'conditions' of every room, including activity, heat, etc., and when it surpasses a certain threshold, her big gray goons come in and clobber everybody in the room with hammers and chisels. Hurts like hell, I bet, maybe even bad enough to do worse than EJO you! I don't know who thought it was a good idea to let her keep organizing parties, but hey, that's Teksqp for you," she laughed, seeming cheery given the situation.
Her eyes turned from MachMan's gun and back on to Aera and Skywriter. "My name's Zazz, just so you know! Creel Family. I'm a master of razz-a-ma-tazz, queen of fireworks, magic, and all kinds of eye-catching things! You're lucky you've run in to me!" she announced, although being eye-catching was certainly a detriment at the moment more than a boon. "Hey, so long as you've got a gun pointed at me and I love to talk, what else do you wanna know?" It was hard to tell whether she was stalling or genuinely wanted to offer information. "I've never been interrogated at gunpoint before! C'mon, girls, ask me something! I've got all kinds of stuff I can share! Or... Or how do you Neo-Shogun girls work? You wanna frisk me? Is that something we can do? You know, I think I'd be way more forthcoming if one of you girls asked, now that I think about it. In fact, my lips are shut, unless a cute girl asks me something!" She made a show of "zipping her lips" and crossing her arms, despite the gun still pointed at her. "Boy, I hope these Neo-Shoguns don't exploit my one weakness: cute girls!" she said again, from between her closed lips.
Gala was continuing to talk on the nearby monitor; the two of them together were so chatty that it would be hard for the Neo-Shogun infiltrators not to get a little frustrated. Nothing she was saying appeared to be new information, at the moment. The camera had switched back onto the hostess herself, enjoying her bubble bath and generally being an exhibitionist.
From where MachMan was crouching, he also had a unique viewpoint and was able to see some things the rest of the group couldn't. First off, JankenMan had indeed slid into the kitchen, slipping on what appeared to be a low-lying flood within the kitchen, and crashed into a large appliance, possibly the refrigerator, possibly some random storage unit. From here, it just looked like a metal box. JankenMan looked to be out cold. Something else interesting he could spot: up the stairs, at a halfway point where it widened and became a tiny lounge with two sofas for resting on either side, a man was clearly humping something... by the faint sounds, probably a woman. The man was lean with well-defined back muscles and shaggy black hair, seemingly no clothes to speak of, though one couldn't tell from this angle... staring long enough would reveal him to be Achilles, from the Hera's Fortune casino. Whether or not MachMan considered the fact that the floor-manager of the Hera's Fortune was up here and infected to be a bad thing, there was the distinct possibility that the conditions in that lounge room were becoming just right for the "big, gray goons" Zazz had mentioned to come through with their hammers and chisels.
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Mach had certainly caught the orange-haired girl by surprise, but his gesture to keep quiet was ignored entirely; her voice was still of significant volume even behind her own hand clasped over her mouth. Mach's shoulders sank slightly as a very critical look swept over his face as Zazz exclaimed the airship in its entirety was under surveillance, meaning any attempts to be stealthy would be for naught. Even her pursuer wasn't any immediate threat at the moment, as he'd lost a battle with something that looked like a fridge, and now lay unconscious on the ground. [[i]Are you kidding me...[/i]] Mach thought as Zazz then exclaimed her apparent fondness for the NS, likely due to her particular taste in Navis. She didn't seem to want to shut up at any point, but she hadn't shown any outward hostility, and Mach wasn't yet angry enough to gun down a seemingly unarmed Navi to possible deletion.
Aera watched curiously as she heard only bits and pieces of Zazz's only slightly muffled monologue to Mach, and noticed the Navi's eyes seemed to focus more on them than the Navi currently pointing a gun in her face. She then... waved. Out of a somewhat awkward reflex, Aera's posture relaxed slightly as she gave a half-wave at hip level with an unsure smile, as she was still postured in a way that seemed conducive to dodging or parrying a physical blow. Mach looked back towards his SP and Skywriter for a split second as Zazz waved to them, and saw Skywriter's hand raised. As soon as the image registered, a realization of error shot through his head. [[i]Of course, her smoke! Damn, I jumped the gun on this one. Don't forget about your allies![/i]]
Though Aera kept her position up front, and would've apprehensively moved forward if the rest of the group pressed on, she could hear Zazz as she lowered her hand and explained the situation. The Navi explained the dichotomous situation within whom she previously assumed were entirely NetMafia individuals, as she claimed to have no knowledge of the Neo-Shogunate's infiltration until now. However, she somehow "knew you guys aren't involved in this." That comment made Mach start to think of her a bit more as a potential source of information than a loud-mouthed liability. Her further comments strengthened her potential role as informant, Gala seemed to be directly involved in the supposed eliminations of infected guests. This brought some relief to both Mach and Aera, they feared the effects of Piper's tech alone had potentially fatal effects, so Vee wasn't in any immediate danger for now, unless she met the "conditions" of Gala's hit squad.
After Zazz's introduction and unnerving willingness to be interrogated by "cute girls," Mach's eyes darted to confirm JankenMan's incapacitation before he sent a message to his SP. [[i]"Aera, move up to me to interrogate her. Have Skywriter stay close to DragonierMan and his crew, if things go sidewise, her smoke could help them evade capture. General Vee must not be harmed."[/i]] [[i]"Vector,"[/i]] he continued. [[i]"Shadow DragonierMan and follow his direction, though I'd like him to help scope out the kitchen to your left, as we'll need to press on."][[/i]
Aera's stance stiffened along with her expression as she heard Mach's orders come in clear as crystal through her pylon-like earpieces. She turned to Skywriter and relayed the message with an uncharacteristically rigid, though hushed, tone, "Stay here, but fall back with DragonierMan using your smoke if something goes wrong." Realizing she'd 'channeled' her Navi to an ally who was still likely shaken by the situation, she continued with a slightly more relaxed tone. "We'll be careful of course," she said with a friendly wink before she leapt forward with the help of her wings, which allowed her to close the gap between her and her Navi with a single stride before touching down with relative silence.
Further back, Vector's already unnatural stillness concealed his concentration in receiving and determining his actions in response to his Navi's orders. Moments later, he spoke up as he looked to his taller armored comrade. "Sir," he said monotonously, intending that DragonierMan's attention would've been grabbed, as he was the only other male in the group. "I suggest we obtain awareness of what's inside that room to the left of the staircase. I shall do what you deem best, sir." He tried to be tactful in his indirect guidance, as he respected DragonierMan as an equal ally, not one to be ordered around like a subordinate; Mach's marching orders alluded as such.
After touching a pace or two behind Mach, Aera adjusted her hair before she brushed her sleeve with a seemingly newly-gained vanity before she looked Zazz in the eye as she put one hand on her hip suggestively. "Hello, Zazz," she replied with a reserved friendliness, appearing to slightly warm up to the Mafia Navi. Aera initially felt to assume an amicable "Avia" persona, but she feared such a change from her previously awkward wave would've immediately triggered suspicion from Zazz. Mach kept his dual cannon trained on Navi; her actions and almost comically allusive comments read "obvious trap," and he wanted to keep enough firepower aimed her way to wipe the Navi from existence. It seemed too obvious, too convenient, but Mach couldn't immediately read hostility from the Navi. Whether it be from inexperience or naive hopefulness, he wanted Zazz to be as benign as she herself suggested. [[i]"She claims to know the NS wasn't involved, inquire,"[/i]] Mach ordered his SP via internal comm channels.
Aera blinked slowly down at Zazz as she received Mach's message, then spoke up calmly. "You're surprised we're here? You seem so sure it wasn't us who made this place more... interesting," she punctuated with a faintly sultry tone in an attempt to gradually turn up the charm. Mach's attention was mostly trained on Zazz and her reaction, but he also had a view of one confirmed and one assumed entity at the top of the stairs. He shot a quick message to Vector to relay to the rest of the group: [[i]"Eyes on one infected atop staircase, possibly two."[/i]] After a couple more glances, the program's features, namely his hairstyle and skin tone, appeared familiar. They seemed oddly similar to the Navi who Mach incorrectly assumed to be the owner of Hera's Fortune, Achilles. Though Mach felt no hostility towards the casino manager, he didn't feel an immediate need to "save" him either; he had too many programs to supervise as it was, his priorities didn't include Achilles and his assumed paramour. That said, he kept him in his peripheral vision. If he somehow fell under Gala's "conditions" and summoned her minions, he wanted to see who they were, and how they appeared. If he had to, his already primed cannons could prove useful to vaporize the potential attackers.
Vector responded to the message by glancing towards the closest program, possibly Suzume, then back to the staircase. "There are others at the top of the stairs, miss," he cautioned.
Aera watched curiously as she heard only bits and pieces of Zazz's only slightly muffled monologue to Mach, and noticed the Navi's eyes seemed to focus more on them than the Navi currently pointing a gun in her face. She then... waved. Out of a somewhat awkward reflex, Aera's posture relaxed slightly as she gave a half-wave at hip level with an unsure smile, as she was still postured in a way that seemed conducive to dodging or parrying a physical blow. Mach looked back towards his SP and Skywriter for a split second as Zazz waved to them, and saw Skywriter's hand raised. As soon as the image registered, a realization of error shot through his head. [[i]Of course, her smoke! Damn, I jumped the gun on this one. Don't forget about your allies![/i]]
Though Aera kept her position up front, and would've apprehensively moved forward if the rest of the group pressed on, she could hear Zazz as she lowered her hand and explained the situation. The Navi explained the dichotomous situation within whom she previously assumed were entirely NetMafia individuals, as she claimed to have no knowledge of the Neo-Shogunate's infiltration until now. However, she somehow "knew you guys aren't involved in this." That comment made Mach start to think of her a bit more as a potential source of information than a loud-mouthed liability. Her further comments strengthened her potential role as informant, Gala seemed to be directly involved in the supposed eliminations of infected guests. This brought some relief to both Mach and Aera, they feared the effects of Piper's tech alone had potentially fatal effects, so Vee wasn't in any immediate danger for now, unless she met the "conditions" of Gala's hit squad.
After Zazz's introduction and unnerving willingness to be interrogated by "cute girls," Mach's eyes darted to confirm JankenMan's incapacitation before he sent a message to his SP. [[i]"Aera, move up to me to interrogate her. Have Skywriter stay close to DragonierMan and his crew, if things go sidewise, her smoke could help them evade capture. General Vee must not be harmed."[/i]] [[i]"Vector,"[/i]] he continued. [[i]"Shadow DragonierMan and follow his direction, though I'd like him to help scope out the kitchen to your left, as we'll need to press on."][[/i]
Aera's stance stiffened along with her expression as she heard Mach's orders come in clear as crystal through her pylon-like earpieces. She turned to Skywriter and relayed the message with an uncharacteristically rigid, though hushed, tone, "Stay here, but fall back with DragonierMan using your smoke if something goes wrong." Realizing she'd 'channeled' her Navi to an ally who was still likely shaken by the situation, she continued with a slightly more relaxed tone. "We'll be careful of course," she said with a friendly wink before she leapt forward with the help of her wings, which allowed her to close the gap between her and her Navi with a single stride before touching down with relative silence.
Further back, Vector's already unnatural stillness concealed his concentration in receiving and determining his actions in response to his Navi's orders. Moments later, he spoke up as he looked to his taller armored comrade. "Sir," he said monotonously, intending that DragonierMan's attention would've been grabbed, as he was the only other male in the group. "I suggest we obtain awareness of what's inside that room to the left of the staircase. I shall do what you deem best, sir." He tried to be tactful in his indirect guidance, as he respected DragonierMan as an equal ally, not one to be ordered around like a subordinate; Mach's marching orders alluded as such.
After touching a pace or two behind Mach, Aera adjusted her hair before she brushed her sleeve with a seemingly newly-gained vanity before she looked Zazz in the eye as she put one hand on her hip suggestively. "Hello, Zazz," she replied with a reserved friendliness, appearing to slightly warm up to the Mafia Navi. Aera initially felt to assume an amicable "Avia" persona, but she feared such a change from her previously awkward wave would've immediately triggered suspicion from Zazz. Mach kept his dual cannon trained on Navi; her actions and almost comically allusive comments read "obvious trap," and he wanted to keep enough firepower aimed her way to wipe the Navi from existence. It seemed too obvious, too convenient, but Mach couldn't immediately read hostility from the Navi. Whether it be from inexperience or naive hopefulness, he wanted Zazz to be as benign as she herself suggested. [[i]"She claims to know the NS wasn't involved, inquire,"[/i]] Mach ordered his SP via internal comm channels.
Aera blinked slowly down at Zazz as she received Mach's message, then spoke up calmly. "You're surprised we're here? You seem so sure it wasn't us who made this place more... interesting," she punctuated with a faintly sultry tone in an attempt to gradually turn up the charm. Mach's attention was mostly trained on Zazz and her reaction, but he also had a view of one confirmed and one assumed entity at the top of the stairs. He shot a quick message to Vector to relay to the rest of the group: [[i]"Eyes on one infected atop staircase, possibly two."[/i]] After a couple more glances, the program's features, namely his hairstyle and skin tone, appeared familiar. They seemed oddly similar to the Navi who Mach incorrectly assumed to be the owner of Hera's Fortune, Achilles. Though Mach felt no hostility towards the casino manager, he didn't feel an immediate need to "save" him either; he had too many programs to supervise as it was, his priorities didn't include Achilles and his assumed paramour. That said, he kept him in his peripheral vision. If he somehow fell under Gala's "conditions" and summoned her minions, he wanted to see who they were, and how they appeared. If he had to, his already primed cannons could prove useful to vaporize the potential attackers.
Vector responded to the message by glancing towards the closest program, possibly Suzume, then back to the staircase. "There are others at the top of the stairs, miss," he cautioned.
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DragonierMan just growled at Vee for her teasing words. It was good that he didn't eat the cake, because he wouldn't have been able to complete the mission. He would have been in the cargo hold for hours with Vee, or stolen her away to a more secluded part of NetVegas to have his way with her until they were so tired that neither could move. Already thoughts of abandoning the mission and doing just that had been whispering in his mind. Thankfully, he was still in control of himself... for now.
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Zazz of the razz-a-ma-tazz was quite loose lipped and was more than happy to tell the group anything they wanted to know, and did so in great length. But then she stopped and said she wouldn't tell more, until a cute female asked. Aera took up the job of interrogation with Mach, leaving Skywriter between the two groups. Vector, meanwhile, suggested that the rest of the group go reconnoiter the kitchen. Drago turned to Aya. "Aya," Drago said in his commanding tone, edged with frustrated lust, "Join them in the interrogation. Suzume with me."
He didn't tell Vector to come with him, nor Vee, as it was pretty obvious that both would be coming with him. Another reason was because he wasn't their commander, so he was at least affording them some sort of respect. Vector warned Suzume of other people on top of the stairs. Suzume nodded silently, then lightly pushed Vee by her shoulder to follow them into the kitchen, while she glanced up at the mating pair at the top of the stairwell. She blushed at the sight.
There was a low-lying flood in the kitchen and a passed out JankenMan on the ground. It was hard to see whether he was in any danger of drowning in the water, seeing as he was a hand. Suzume looked around to see if a sink or something was causing it and moved to shut off the water. If not, and it was a broken pipe or something, then she looked around for a mop, or rags, or something to stopper the leak. Drago stepped forward to kneel near JakenMan as something came to his attention. The board.
On the digital display board, flashing on all Gala's monitors, was a list of names. JankenMan's name was in red. Red meant infected. And from what Zazz stated earlier, vulnerable. The Mafia was a threat to the stability of the NET. A threat that had constantly interfered in Neo-Shogun operations. With his operations. Drago was glad that they were destroying each other for fun. One less problem to deal with.
Kill.
Drago, still sexually frustrated and with his bloodlust building, reached down to grab JakenMan by his middle finger. The metallic, clawed hand dug into the 'flesh' of the glove if he found purchase. His muscular arm flexed in his armor as he lifted the unconscious Navi and pull him into a sitting position. He tried to steady the Navi so that he wouldn't fall back to the ground if he let off the pressure. Not until he was done.
Kill!
His head throbbed and his vision turned red. He growled low and bared his fangs as his mouth opened. Sweltering steam began flowing out of his maw. It was their fault for causing Vee to act this way. Their fault that he couldn't find release. Their fault for always getting in his way.
Kill him!!
He produced a wickedly jagged and wide blade in his other hand, materializing it out of thin air. He brought it up against the palm of the Navi, the body of JankenMan. But no longer. Drago would hunt them all down on this blimp. He would have his revenge for causing him to suffer. He would end their threat once and for all.
KILL THEM ALL!!!
Suzume saw what was going to happen and gasped. If someone didn't stop him quickly, Drago was about to try to take a helpless life in cold blood... Well, probably hot blood.
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Aya slid in beside Mach as Aera tried to 'seduce' Zazz. Not one for beating around the bush, she shook her head at Aera's attempts. And, after Aera had her words, Aya walked forward and tried to push Aera to the side. She stuck her blade right in Zazz's face. Even though her face betrayed the fact that she was getting fed up with the whole place they were in, her words came out dripping honey... and bees. "Look hun. Tell me where Gala and Kismet are located. If you do, I'll frisk you like you want. But if you don't, I'll throw you into one of those rooms and let them take you. Lesbian or no."
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Zazz of the razz-a-ma-tazz was quite loose lipped and was more than happy to tell the group anything they wanted to know, and did so in great length. But then she stopped and said she wouldn't tell more, until a cute female asked. Aera took up the job of interrogation with Mach, leaving Skywriter between the two groups. Vector, meanwhile, suggested that the rest of the group go reconnoiter the kitchen. Drago turned to Aya. "Aya," Drago said in his commanding tone, edged with frustrated lust, "Join them in the interrogation. Suzume with me."
He didn't tell Vector to come with him, nor Vee, as it was pretty obvious that both would be coming with him. Another reason was because he wasn't their commander, so he was at least affording them some sort of respect. Vector warned Suzume of other people on top of the stairs. Suzume nodded silently, then lightly pushed Vee by her shoulder to follow them into the kitchen, while she glanced up at the mating pair at the top of the stairwell. She blushed at the sight.
There was a low-lying flood in the kitchen and a passed out JankenMan on the ground. It was hard to see whether he was in any danger of drowning in the water, seeing as he was a hand. Suzume looked around to see if a sink or something was causing it and moved to shut off the water. If not, and it was a broken pipe or something, then she looked around for a mop, or rags, or something to stopper the leak. Drago stepped forward to kneel near JakenMan as something came to his attention. The board.
On the digital display board, flashing on all Gala's monitors, was a list of names. JankenMan's name was in red. Red meant infected. And from what Zazz stated earlier, vulnerable. The Mafia was a threat to the stability of the NET. A threat that had constantly interfered in Neo-Shogun operations. With his operations. Drago was glad that they were destroying each other for fun. One less problem to deal with.
Kill.
Drago, still sexually frustrated and with his bloodlust building, reached down to grab JakenMan by his middle finger. The metallic, clawed hand dug into the 'flesh' of the glove if he found purchase. His muscular arm flexed in his armor as he lifted the unconscious Navi and pull him into a sitting position. He tried to steady the Navi so that he wouldn't fall back to the ground if he let off the pressure. Not until he was done.
Kill!
His head throbbed and his vision turned red. He growled low and bared his fangs as his mouth opened. Sweltering steam began flowing out of his maw. It was their fault for causing Vee to act this way. Their fault that he couldn't find release. Their fault for always getting in his way.
Kill him!!
He produced a wickedly jagged and wide blade in his other hand, materializing it out of thin air. He brought it up against the palm of the Navi, the body of JankenMan. But no longer. Drago would hunt them all down on this blimp. He would have his revenge for causing him to suffer. He would end their threat once and for all.
KILL THEM ALL!!!
Suzume saw what was going to happen and gasped. If someone didn't stop him quickly, Drago was about to try to take a helpless life in cold blood... Well, probably hot blood.
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Aya slid in beside Mach as Aera tried to 'seduce' Zazz. Not one for beating around the bush, she shook her head at Aera's attempts. And, after Aera had her words, Aya walked forward and tried to push Aera to the side. She stuck her blade right in Zazz's face. Even though her face betrayed the fact that she was getting fed up with the whole place they were in, her words came out dripping honey... and bees. "Look hun. Tell me where Gala and Kismet are located. If you do, I'll frisk you like you want. But if you don't, I'll throw you into one of those rooms and let them take you. Lesbian or no."
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It seemed DragonierMan was receptive to the suggestion, but even a social novice like Vector could tell something was clearly bothering the Navi. His "eyes" glanced back as Aya was dispatched to Aera and Vector, then back to Suzume as they ushered Vee forward into the kitchen behind DragonierMan. Noting the water covering the floor of the partially flooded kitchen, Vector initially focused on his footing, and tried to adjust his stride to reduce the amount of noise he made as they approached JankenMan. He also tried to take in the the details of the room, namely for any additional programs, exits, or threats.
He glanced back at the doorway in which they entered to briefly check their "six" then shifted his focus on DragonierMan as he kneeled next to the seemingly unconscious JankenMan. The fractal SP watched curiously as his ally attempted to prop up the infected Navi to a seated position, and took a few steps closer in preparation to assist maneuvering the Navi, though it appeared DragonierMan didn't have much trouble. [[b]Putting him in a position as not to drown? Or does he plan to interrogate him?][/b] Vector pondered in silence. However, the armored Navi began to show more agitation, and drew a blade. This elicited a gasp from his SP, something was clearly amiss.
He quickly thrust his right arm and open hand forward, causing a stream of metal plates to surge from his palm like a jet of water. The leading edge of the stream flattened out like the head of a spear, but an additional protrusion stuck outwards at a 90 degree angle several inches down from the tip of the spear, like half of a sword's cross guard. As the oddly-shaped spear head hurdled across JankenMan's body, Vector hoped to bat away DragonierMan's blade, or at least catch his attention. If he managed to do so without invoking an immediately violent reaction, he expressed his protest firmly. "Sir, he is neither our target nor a threat. Please calm yourself," he exclaimed with a crimson glare.
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Aya had cut to the chase, and quickly produced a similar blade and pointed it threateningly at Zazz. Though Mach didn't know the SP for very long, he could safely assume she wasn't simply taking a role of "bad cop" in this interrogation. With the SP taking control of the situation, Mach lowered his weapon and shifted his focus to the commotion upstairs. He gestured Aera to stay behind, who nodded silently before assuming a glare at Zazz. She didn't take offense to Aya muscling her way in, the blade-wielding SP probably had more experience in this sort of thing, and felt she could learn something valuable from the exchange.
Mach looked back to confirm the location of his comrades, namely Skywriter. If she'd followed DragonierMan into the kitchen, he would've paid them no mind and continued; however, if she were still in the hallway he would have then waved her forward to Aera and Aya. The two SPs were capable, and Zazz likely wouldn't protest to having another female program in close proximity. He then calmly made his way up the stairs, pausing once he got a view of what was above. Though his actions may have appeared voyeuristic, he was only interested in seeing what paths were available on that level. He wanted to stay mobile and have as much maneuvering room as possible; he wanted options in case Gala and/or Piper had the ability to sic the infected guests upon him and his group all at once.
He glanced back at the doorway in which they entered to briefly check their "six" then shifted his focus on DragonierMan as he kneeled next to the seemingly unconscious JankenMan. The fractal SP watched curiously as his ally attempted to prop up the infected Navi to a seated position, and took a few steps closer in preparation to assist maneuvering the Navi, though it appeared DragonierMan didn't have much trouble. [[b]Putting him in a position as not to drown? Or does he plan to interrogate him?][/b] Vector pondered in silence. However, the armored Navi began to show more agitation, and drew a blade. This elicited a gasp from his SP, something was clearly amiss.
He quickly thrust his right arm and open hand forward, causing a stream of metal plates to surge from his palm like a jet of water. The leading edge of the stream flattened out like the head of a spear, but an additional protrusion stuck outwards at a 90 degree angle several inches down from the tip of the spear, like half of a sword's cross guard. As the oddly-shaped spear head hurdled across JankenMan's body, Vector hoped to bat away DragonierMan's blade, or at least catch his attention. If he managed to do so without invoking an immediately violent reaction, he expressed his protest firmly. "Sir, he is neither our target nor a threat. Please calm yourself," he exclaimed with a crimson glare.
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Aya had cut to the chase, and quickly produced a similar blade and pointed it threateningly at Zazz. Though Mach didn't know the SP for very long, he could safely assume she wasn't simply taking a role of "bad cop" in this interrogation. With the SP taking control of the situation, Mach lowered his weapon and shifted his focus to the commotion upstairs. He gestured Aera to stay behind, who nodded silently before assuming a glare at Zazz. She didn't take offense to Aya muscling her way in, the blade-wielding SP probably had more experience in this sort of thing, and felt she could learn something valuable from the exchange.
Mach looked back to confirm the location of his comrades, namely Skywriter. If she'd followed DragonierMan into the kitchen, he would've paid them no mind and continued; however, if she were still in the hallway he would have then waved her forward to Aera and Aya. The two SPs were capable, and Zazz likely wouldn't protest to having another female program in close proximity. He then calmly made his way up the stairs, pausing once he got a view of what was above. Though his actions may have appeared voyeuristic, he was only interested in seeing what paths were available on that level. He wanted to stay mobile and have as much maneuvering room as possible; he wanted options in case Gala and/or Piper had the ability to sic the infected guests upon him and his group all at once.
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The spear caught on the barbs of the wicked blade and tore the sword from DragonierMan's hand, causing both weapons to clatter into the nearby fridge/storage unit. Drago snarled and released his hostage. Furiously he leapt to his feet, letting JakenMan fall to the floor again with a splash, and reached out to grab at Vector with his clawed hands. "You dare interfere with me, golem?" he spat in rage. Suzume quickly slid in between them and raised her hands to both sides, halting Drago. "Vector is not your enemy. Remember the mission. We weren't sent here to slay anyone," Suzume pleaded.
Drago raised his hands above his head, spread his wings, and gave an angry cry to the heavens. He looked down and glared over Suzume's shoulder, pointing one of his sharp talons at Vector. "If you weren't my ally, you would have met the same fate I planned for this one," he threatened. However, he backed down. Suzume lowered her hands and breathed a sigh of relief.
Drago raised his hands above his head, spread his wings, and gave an angry cry to the heavens. He looked down and glared over Suzume's shoulder, pointing one of his sharp talons at Vector. "If you weren't my ally, you would have met the same fate I planned for this one," he threatened. However, he backed down. Suzume lowered her hands and breathed a sigh of relief.
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"Alright, that's good," Skywriter responded to Aera simply, clearly not eager to volunteer to be the one to coax Zazz into spilling the beans. She was happy to leave that and holding her hostage both to MachMan's forces. She refocused her attention to the top of the staircase, watching with a mixture of fascination that anyone would be having sex in such a public place and possibly awe at being freely allowed to watch it, but she also screwed up her eyes, due to the awkwardness of the whole situation.
Zazz was clearly giddy that Aera was going to act sexy in order to negotiate with her, her grin widening and her hands trembling nervously. The first question still surprised her, although it didn't change her gleeful expression. "Huh? Well, I mean... Gala's behind it, right? It's her servant guys that gave everyone the food, her ships that are playing the music, her face on all of the monitors, her scoreboard keeping track of everyone she's infected and killed... And Gala's not a Neo-Shogun member, right? I mean... or... maybe SHE IS? Woah! Mind blown!" Zazz thought out loud, clutching her hands to her lower lip. "That'd explain why she keeps trying to kill everyone! But I dunno, that's kinda farfetched... she's been doing that since before you guys really got established."
As DragonierMan approached JankenMan, he could see the giant, white-gloved hand collapsed onto the ground with its fingers curled, almost like some giant insect's legs. Nestled between the giant metal container and a large standing refrigerator, the green armored cuff at the wrist of the hand was covered with a few other white gloves, surrounding its circumference and numbering four total. Atop that, a black, wooden mast with a smirking face staring flatly, seemingly painted on, seemed to taunt DragonierMan, which couldn't be helping the situation of his newfound anger towards the Mafia. DragonierMan found JankenMan as heavy as expected, based on the navi's size and the fact that he'd been running doors straight off of their hinges with his weight and speed earlier. The Neo-Shogun subordinate fished the cuff out from behind the fridge and got the palm upright after some effort. The water was only a little past ankle height, so there wasn't much danger of anyone drowning, if the creature actually was breathing out of that painted face, but drowning while unconscious was actually the least of JankenMan's possible problems. DragonierMan produced a blade, with the clear intention of taking down the mafioso in his sleep.
Meanwhile, Zazz was now getting some violent treatment of her own. Cutting right to the chase, Aya attempted to speed up the information gathering function by removing the pretense of playing around. Zazz watched the knife approach her neck and clenched her teeth again. "Woah woah woah! I don't know that this is really doing it for me, to be one-hundred percent honest!" she chuckled, apparently still not done making jokes. The last question had caused Zazz to momentarily tense up; Aya could feel that, being in such close range as she now was. "Gala is definitely on the ship at the front of the three. The ship we're on is sleeping and eating quarters, the middle one has a pool on it, and the one at the front is for the big-wigs. So if you're looking for Gala... or Kismet... I imagine they're both on that ship. Why do you care about that, though? No way Kismet's involved in getting everyone to go wild on each other, she's as clammy as it gets!" the orange-haired girl explained. "Hey, listen, I don't gotta be here right now, so nobody's throwing me to anyone, alright? If you're not going to be fun, then I'm not going to play with you any more! I mean it! Why don't you put your knife up and we'll start this over? I didn't know why you guys snuck in here, but if you're trying to get at Kismet... well, let me let you in on something..."
Zazz gave a small nod to the right; the group shortly afterward heard an explosion outside of the ship, followed by a brief crackling. It didn't sound like equipment failure or an attack of any kind... rather, it sounded like fireworks. "I was supposed to do a little fireworks show a little later for the party, but I can manipulate the fireworks however I want! I could also manipulate them to tell everyone on the upper floors that the Neo-Shoguns are sniffing around and putting blades to people. That doesn't sound good, does it? I don't know what your friend just wandered off to do, but if he's doing anything to hurt MY friend, I'm also going to set the fireworks off! But I don't wanna do that! So let's all just be nice, okay?"
Back in the kitchen, Vector was indeed intervening to stop DragonierMan from murdering the mafioso; Suzume had also stepped between them. Taking a look around the kitchen, which was in a lousy state of repair after various equipment had either been taken, misplaced, broken, or misused, the group noticed that a number of sexual noises were coming from the darkness around them, a few towards the end of the kitchen hall and more past a swinging set of doors at the other end. DragonierMan's roar seemed to rouse the attention of someone... a navi slowly made its way from where it was hiding in a small closet, likely a pantry, then slowly approached them, perhaps not realizing yet that DragonierMan had nearly just tried to kill another mafioso. The navi held its hands up; once they got closer, the group would see a small, feminine looking navi with curling but short cut orange hair, wearing a chef's uniform with a red kerchief. It was hard to tell their gender, but they seemed to be either a pretty young girl or a feminine young boy. "E-Excuse me... Have you seen any police navis on this ship?" the navi asked in a quiet voice, one which certainly sounded like a girl's. "I'm looking for a navi named Aroma..." Now not only did the group have to consider mafia and their own presence on the ship, but also, they had to think about the possibility that police navis were somewhere aboard the ship. On the other hand, none of the group remembered seeing the name "Aroma" on the board earlier, so the navi was either deleted or hadn't been present in the first place... or otherwise, had snuck in like they had. "I'm not armed..." the navi explained, but Zazz had, after all, just detonated fireworks without doing anything more than tilting her head... the group would have to decide whether they trusted that statement as well (and might also want to avoid spreading out and/or yelling to avoid attracting any more attention than they already were).
MachMan indicated for Skywriter to join the other girls; hesitantly, she did so, which did seem to brighten Zazz's mood. "How does your army get so many cute girls? I wanna know the secret!" she giggled, but her cheeriness certainly didn't seem to be rubbing off on Skywriter.
With one group focused on Zazz and the other around JankenMan, MachMan split off on his own to look at the halfway point to the upstairs section, where he could better observe Achilles and the unknown female. As he got closer, he realized that Achilles was naked short of a pair of gray undershorts; notably, the navi also had a robotic right leg, which extended from the knee downward. Currently, he was sitting atop another figure, locking his hands with hers while the two of them did exactly what it sounded like they were doing. The girl was a little shorter than he was, dressed in a green, thigh-length sweater sweater over a black navi-suit. She also wore thick glasses with black rims. It looked like she may have been wearing something else at one point, but the navi-suit had either been separated or ripped to allow the lower body from the belly to the thighs to stay exposed (thankfully for the sake of modesty, MachMan couldn't see the point of connection from his angle). The woman's blond, shoulder-length hair flipped up and down with each rock of her body. Her figure was thin, but not bad at all, and they made a pretty attractive couple together (apart from Achilles' leg)... hopefully, what they were doing right now was something consensual for the both of them. Their faces and actions implied it was, but who knew with the virus affecting everyone, after all.
The girl made a slight gasp upon spotting him; Achilles looked back with a dazed expression, then smiled. "Oh, Mr. Lucky! Darn you've- ufh- you've caught me at a bad time! I told you Philly was our best, didn't I? You're the best, Philly!" he laughed, but she had no intelligible response to give. "Philly, you're the best-augh!" It didn't sound like MachMan was going to be able to carry on any kind of reasonable conversation with the two of them. On the other hand, they would either have to have great stamina, or else... well, the face of Achilles and the voice of both of them told the story, as release came for the couple. "Oh, dammit Philly! I don't want you in the business any more! Let's have each other... just each other..." he gasped, breathing heavily with a glazed expression despite MachMan's watching. He moved off of the girl and lay next to her, tastefully keeping his front away from MachMan as he wrapped one arm over her body. They'd look good together if it weren't for the knowledge that they were both surely drugged out of their mind, seeing as both of their names had displayed in red earlier.
Worse, another response was coming; heavy thuds had begun to come from upstairs, probably the "gray goons" that Zazz had mentioned. Whatever conditions they were waiting for, they were now acting on them... that would likely give MachMan a pretty good idea of what the trigger was. Regardless, the incoming team of navis or creatures would be on the staircase very shortly, from the sounds of it. All three of the separated groups would have a lot to think about now.
Zazz was clearly giddy that Aera was going to act sexy in order to negotiate with her, her grin widening and her hands trembling nervously. The first question still surprised her, although it didn't change her gleeful expression. "Huh? Well, I mean... Gala's behind it, right? It's her servant guys that gave everyone the food, her ships that are playing the music, her face on all of the monitors, her scoreboard keeping track of everyone she's infected and killed... And Gala's not a Neo-Shogun member, right? I mean... or... maybe SHE IS? Woah! Mind blown!" Zazz thought out loud, clutching her hands to her lower lip. "That'd explain why she keeps trying to kill everyone! But I dunno, that's kinda farfetched... she's been doing that since before you guys really got established."
As DragonierMan approached JankenMan, he could see the giant, white-gloved hand collapsed onto the ground with its fingers curled, almost like some giant insect's legs. Nestled between the giant metal container and a large standing refrigerator, the green armored cuff at the wrist of the hand was covered with a few other white gloves, surrounding its circumference and numbering four total. Atop that, a black, wooden mast with a smirking face staring flatly, seemingly painted on, seemed to taunt DragonierMan, which couldn't be helping the situation of his newfound anger towards the Mafia. DragonierMan found JankenMan as heavy as expected, based on the navi's size and the fact that he'd been running doors straight off of their hinges with his weight and speed earlier. The Neo-Shogun subordinate fished the cuff out from behind the fridge and got the palm upright after some effort. The water was only a little past ankle height, so there wasn't much danger of anyone drowning, if the creature actually was breathing out of that painted face, but drowning while unconscious was actually the least of JankenMan's possible problems. DragonierMan produced a blade, with the clear intention of taking down the mafioso in his sleep.
Meanwhile, Zazz was now getting some violent treatment of her own. Cutting right to the chase, Aya attempted to speed up the information gathering function by removing the pretense of playing around. Zazz watched the knife approach her neck and clenched her teeth again. "Woah woah woah! I don't know that this is really doing it for me, to be one-hundred percent honest!" she chuckled, apparently still not done making jokes. The last question had caused Zazz to momentarily tense up; Aya could feel that, being in such close range as she now was. "Gala is definitely on the ship at the front of the three. The ship we're on is sleeping and eating quarters, the middle one has a pool on it, and the one at the front is for the big-wigs. So if you're looking for Gala... or Kismet... I imagine they're both on that ship. Why do you care about that, though? No way Kismet's involved in getting everyone to go wild on each other, she's as clammy as it gets!" the orange-haired girl explained. "Hey, listen, I don't gotta be here right now, so nobody's throwing me to anyone, alright? If you're not going to be fun, then I'm not going to play with you any more! I mean it! Why don't you put your knife up and we'll start this over? I didn't know why you guys snuck in here, but if you're trying to get at Kismet... well, let me let you in on something..."
Zazz gave a small nod to the right; the group shortly afterward heard an explosion outside of the ship, followed by a brief crackling. It didn't sound like equipment failure or an attack of any kind... rather, it sounded like fireworks. "I was supposed to do a little fireworks show a little later for the party, but I can manipulate the fireworks however I want! I could also manipulate them to tell everyone on the upper floors that the Neo-Shoguns are sniffing around and putting blades to people. That doesn't sound good, does it? I don't know what your friend just wandered off to do, but if he's doing anything to hurt MY friend, I'm also going to set the fireworks off! But I don't wanna do that! So let's all just be nice, okay?"
Back in the kitchen, Vector was indeed intervening to stop DragonierMan from murdering the mafioso; Suzume had also stepped between them. Taking a look around the kitchen, which was in a lousy state of repair after various equipment had either been taken, misplaced, broken, or misused, the group noticed that a number of sexual noises were coming from the darkness around them, a few towards the end of the kitchen hall and more past a swinging set of doors at the other end. DragonierMan's roar seemed to rouse the attention of someone... a navi slowly made its way from where it was hiding in a small closet, likely a pantry, then slowly approached them, perhaps not realizing yet that DragonierMan had nearly just tried to kill another mafioso. The navi held its hands up; once they got closer, the group would see a small, feminine looking navi with curling but short cut orange hair, wearing a chef's uniform with a red kerchief. It was hard to tell their gender, but they seemed to be either a pretty young girl or a feminine young boy. "E-Excuse me... Have you seen any police navis on this ship?" the navi asked in a quiet voice, one which certainly sounded like a girl's. "I'm looking for a navi named Aroma..." Now not only did the group have to consider mafia and their own presence on the ship, but also, they had to think about the possibility that police navis were somewhere aboard the ship. On the other hand, none of the group remembered seeing the name "Aroma" on the board earlier, so the navi was either deleted or hadn't been present in the first place... or otherwise, had snuck in like they had. "I'm not armed..." the navi explained, but Zazz had, after all, just detonated fireworks without doing anything more than tilting her head... the group would have to decide whether they trusted that statement as well (and might also want to avoid spreading out and/or yelling to avoid attracting any more attention than they already were).
MachMan indicated for Skywriter to join the other girls; hesitantly, she did so, which did seem to brighten Zazz's mood. "How does your army get so many cute girls? I wanna know the secret!" she giggled, but her cheeriness certainly didn't seem to be rubbing off on Skywriter.
With one group focused on Zazz and the other around JankenMan, MachMan split off on his own to look at the halfway point to the upstairs section, where he could better observe Achilles and the unknown female. As he got closer, he realized that Achilles was naked short of a pair of gray undershorts; notably, the navi also had a robotic right leg, which extended from the knee downward. Currently, he was sitting atop another figure, locking his hands with hers while the two of them did exactly what it sounded like they were doing. The girl was a little shorter than he was, dressed in a green, thigh-length sweater sweater over a black navi-suit. She also wore thick glasses with black rims. It looked like she may have been wearing something else at one point, but the navi-suit had either been separated or ripped to allow the lower body from the belly to the thighs to stay exposed (thankfully for the sake of modesty, MachMan couldn't see the point of connection from his angle). The woman's blond, shoulder-length hair flipped up and down with each rock of her body. Her figure was thin, but not bad at all, and they made a pretty attractive couple together (apart from Achilles' leg)... hopefully, what they were doing right now was something consensual for the both of them. Their faces and actions implied it was, but who knew with the virus affecting everyone, after all.
The girl made a slight gasp upon spotting him; Achilles looked back with a dazed expression, then smiled. "Oh, Mr. Lucky! Darn you've- ufh- you've caught me at a bad time! I told you Philly was our best, didn't I? You're the best, Philly!" he laughed, but she had no intelligible response to give. "Philly, you're the best-augh!" It didn't sound like MachMan was going to be able to carry on any kind of reasonable conversation with the two of them. On the other hand, they would either have to have great stamina, or else... well, the face of Achilles and the voice of both of them told the story, as release came for the couple. "Oh, dammit Philly! I don't want you in the business any more! Let's have each other... just each other..." he gasped, breathing heavily with a glazed expression despite MachMan's watching. He moved off of the girl and lay next to her, tastefully keeping his front away from MachMan as he wrapped one arm over her body. They'd look good together if it weren't for the knowledge that they were both surely drugged out of their mind, seeing as both of their names had displayed in red earlier.
Worse, another response was coming; heavy thuds had begun to come from upstairs, probably the "gray goons" that Zazz had mentioned. Whatever conditions they were waiting for, they were now acting on them... that would likely give MachMan a pretty good idea of what the trigger was. Regardless, the incoming team of navis or creatures would be on the staircase very shortly, from the sounds of it. All three of the separated groups would have a lot to think about now.
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Aya reluctantly backed down, sheathing her sword across her back. She moved to give Aera the room, apparently done. Then she turned to walk towards the kitchen. "I'll make sure that your friend doesn't get killed. My master has quite the temper for useless fools," she threatened. Then waved over her shoulder at Aera and Skywriter. "You two can chat with the firecracker. I got what I wanted from her," she said cryptically. Although, anyone that was paying attention could tell that Zazz gave up more than just potential locations for their targets.
DragonierMan turned towards the new arrival and lowered his sword. He wouldn't strike down a defenseless navi... oh wait. "Aroma? That's that sponsor girl for the NetPolice right?" he asked the petite navi. "No, I haven't seen her... yet. What's your name?"
"Well aren't you the most adorable thing!" Suzume exclaimed as she ran forward and tried to give the orange-haired navi a big hug. "Now don't you worry your pretty little head," she said as she set the navi back down. "You can join us until we find Aroma."
Drago sheathed his sword at his hip. "Tell me. Why are the NetPolice here?" he asked the unknown navi. However, the sound of tramping feet interrupted further conversation. Drago rushed out of the kitchen and towards the stairwell, sloshing water everywhere. He met Aya at the stairs coming from the other direction. And they both ran up the stairs toward where MachMan was. Suzume tried to usher Vee and the new navi behind them. Then everyone unsheathed their weapons and looked towards the staircase up, ignoring the coupling pair, and getting ready to fight.
DragonierMan turned towards the new arrival and lowered his sword. He wouldn't strike down a defenseless navi... oh wait. "Aroma? That's that sponsor girl for the NetPolice right?" he asked the petite navi. "No, I haven't seen her... yet. What's your name?"
"Well aren't you the most adorable thing!" Suzume exclaimed as she ran forward and tried to give the orange-haired navi a big hug. "Now don't you worry your pretty little head," she said as she set the navi back down. "You can join us until we find Aroma."
Drago sheathed his sword at his hip. "Tell me. Why are the NetPolice here?" he asked the unknown navi. However, the sound of tramping feet interrupted further conversation. Drago rushed out of the kitchen and towards the stairwell, sloshing water everywhere. He met Aya at the stairs coming from the other direction. And they both ran up the stairs toward where MachMan was. Suzume tried to usher Vee and the new navi behind them. Then everyone unsheathed their weapons and looked towards the staircase up, ignoring the coupling pair, and getting ready to fight.
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Vector glared back as his slatted shoulder armor chattered and clicked as the metal plates rippled in defiant anticipation in response to the anger-induced insult hurled at him. Thankfully Suzume stepped in to diffuse the sharpened tensions between the two bladed programs. Vector responded to DragonierMan's threat only by retrieving the spear strewn on the floor, which snapped back into his hand as if tethered by an invisible cord. With a intensely glowing crimson glare, the fractal SP spun the spear once in his hand before driving it vertically down his body, as if he carried a sheath on his back. He didn't, so the spear simply melded back into his body. Though he met DragonierMan's aggression with a significant defiance, his physical and mental blades weren't drawn against the Navi himself. He chose silence, letting his ally have the last word; no need to antagonize him further.
The commotion apparently drew the attention of a diminutive Navi in chef attire, who appeared to have been in hiding. With both hands up and not showing any outward hostility, Vector reacted only with a stare, watching the androgynous figure with muted caution. He made a few quick glances back to confirm Vee's position. Though he didn't expect her to wander off while the "apple of her eye" stood in the same room, he couldn't be too careful. Beyond that, he watched silently as DragonierMan questioned the Navi; it appeared he knew the supposed police Navi, Aroma. [Interesting...] Vector thought to himself at the serendipitous turn of events.
Back near the base of the staircase, Skywriter moved in while Aya moved back to the kitchen, it seemed she had gotten all she needed, but Zazz's threat did seem to ring true with the SP. Aera too took the threat seriously, she seemed to have the capability to project her powers beyond line of sight, and there's no better alarm than bright, colorful explosions. Though she threatened to tip off the entire party of their location, she had also revealed the approximate location of both their target and the main threat. Unfortunately they were allegedly in the lead airship, not difficult to relocate in open air, but they still had yet to find an exit beyond the path in which they entered. Aera noted Zazz's change of attitude when Skywriter approached, as well as her apparent nervousness when speaking to "cute girls." Falling back on her limited experience as "Avia" and the lessons learned watching Sylk and Escort, she leaned forward and planted her right hand on the wall next to Zazz's head. She squared up on the Navi, her face a mere foot from hers. Her sapphire eyes stared into hers, and a faint smile grew on her face. "No need to break up the party so soon, Zazz. How about we get to know each other a bit first?" She said with a calm confidence as her eyes moved up and down, seemingly sizing her up. "I appreciate the complement by the way, and I say you'd fit in quite well with the NS's "cute girls" if I do say so myself..." Her eyes continued to occasionally dart to different parts of her body, then she brushed some of her bangs over her right ear pylon.
Atop the staircase, Achilles and bespectacled female Navi were going at it. Even in his lust-inebriated state, Achilles seemed to recognize Mach by his previous persona, "Lucky Master." He personally would've liked to have been undetected, but at least Achilles didn't appear at all suspicious of the supposed tycoon in quasi-ninja getup sneaking about. That said, prolonged exposure could undo the deal struck with the NetMafia, especially if Achilles squealed to PantheonMan about "Lucky" being a NeoShogunate agent. If worse came to absolute worse, he'd cut the Navi down and chalk him up to another one of Gala's victims. Thankfully his attention as mostly occupied by "Philly," his apparent paramour. After seemingly expending himself, he lay next to her, cutting down on the noise, which allowed Mach to hear the rumble of movement coming further upstairs. Could it be Gala's goons coming in for another easy kill?
Mach was left with an uneasy situation. If he stood his ground, the goons would potentially be repelled, but Gala would likely be clued in something was amiss. But if he somehow got Achilles and Philly to flee, that too could tip Gala off to something going awry. From what little he knew of Achilles, he was a somewhat perverted manager bought out by the Mafia, but nothing immediately gave him the impression he wasn't worth saving. Philly was a complete unknown beyond a brief reference in Hera's Fortune, so he couldn't discount her as someone to protect. He assumed a defensive posture, pointing his beam cannon up the stairwell as he sent a message to Aera. [[i]"We need to secure this stairwell, NOW."[/i]]
Aera received the message, and did her best to retain her character as she glanced back to Skywriter. "Duty calls; secure the stairwell quickly, please." She wanted to rush in to aid her Navi, but Zazz was still a volatile loose end. Hoping to appeal to her aversion to Gala's goons, she leaned in and uttered a breathy whisper into her ear. "Help me turn the tables on this Gala; I want you to myself without their rude interruptions." Though beyond her normal character, Escort and Sylk showed very effective examples of sultry manipulation and cunning (*snrk* STS), with which she referenced liberally. She pulled back, dragging her finger down Zazz's jawline, then glanced to the stairwell before back to her, to see her reaction.
Hopefully with others rushing in to secure the area, Mach sent a PET-direct message to his NetOp. [[i]Requesting AirShot3 chip ASAP[/i]] Mazer, who had been simply watching quietly the whole time, and in the midst of trying to piece together the myriad of clues and information gathered by the three programs, snapped to attention at his Navi's request. [C, on the way] he responded quickly before he slotted in the Airshot chip. Unfortunately even his wide-picture view was restricted to the total explored area by his Navi and SPs, he wished he could change his viewpoint to the source of the rumbling noise to give his Navi a heads-up of what was approaching, but that was beyond his PET's capabilities. In retrospect, he should've suggested Mach had sent his decoys zooming about the accessible areas of the airship to develop a better sight picture of the battlefield, but that opportunity had passed long ago.
With the chip uploaded, his left hand fragmented and swarmed with data before reconfiguring into a buster-like cannon lined with pill-shaped compressed data canisters. With is cannon still at the ready, and his enhanced targeting software active to track his targets, he hoped to get the drop on the unknown programs, and potentially wipe them out with his twin weapons. He realized he'd again discounted he wasn't alone in the fight, and relayed a message to Vector. [[i]"Potential hostiles inbound atop staircase, establishing firing-line here."[/i]]
Vector was about to relay the message to DragonierMan, but the Navi had appeared to have sense the commotion as well, and moved in to join the fight. Mach acknowledged their presence with a quick glance and a nod, then refocused on the top of the stairwell.
The commotion apparently drew the attention of a diminutive Navi in chef attire, who appeared to have been in hiding. With both hands up and not showing any outward hostility, Vector reacted only with a stare, watching the androgynous figure with muted caution. He made a few quick glances back to confirm Vee's position. Though he didn't expect her to wander off while the "apple of her eye" stood in the same room, he couldn't be too careful. Beyond that, he watched silently as DragonierMan questioned the Navi; it appeared he knew the supposed police Navi, Aroma. [Interesting...] Vector thought to himself at the serendipitous turn of events.
Back near the base of the staircase, Skywriter moved in while Aya moved back to the kitchen, it seemed she had gotten all she needed, but Zazz's threat did seem to ring true with the SP. Aera too took the threat seriously, she seemed to have the capability to project her powers beyond line of sight, and there's no better alarm than bright, colorful explosions. Though she threatened to tip off the entire party of their location, she had also revealed the approximate location of both their target and the main threat. Unfortunately they were allegedly in the lead airship, not difficult to relocate in open air, but they still had yet to find an exit beyond the path in which they entered. Aera noted Zazz's change of attitude when Skywriter approached, as well as her apparent nervousness when speaking to "cute girls." Falling back on her limited experience as "Avia" and the lessons learned watching Sylk and Escort, she leaned forward and planted her right hand on the wall next to Zazz's head. She squared up on the Navi, her face a mere foot from hers. Her sapphire eyes stared into hers, and a faint smile grew on her face. "No need to break up the party so soon, Zazz. How about we get to know each other a bit first?" She said with a calm confidence as her eyes moved up and down, seemingly sizing her up. "I appreciate the complement by the way, and I say you'd fit in quite well with the NS's "cute girls" if I do say so myself..." Her eyes continued to occasionally dart to different parts of her body, then she brushed some of her bangs over her right ear pylon.
Atop the staircase, Achilles and bespectacled female Navi were going at it. Even in his lust-inebriated state, Achilles seemed to recognize Mach by his previous persona, "Lucky Master." He personally would've liked to have been undetected, but at least Achilles didn't appear at all suspicious of the supposed tycoon in quasi-ninja getup sneaking about. That said, prolonged exposure could undo the deal struck with the NetMafia, especially if Achilles squealed to PantheonMan about "Lucky" being a NeoShogunate agent. If worse came to absolute worse, he'd cut the Navi down and chalk him up to another one of Gala's victims. Thankfully his attention as mostly occupied by "Philly," his apparent paramour. After seemingly expending himself, he lay next to her, cutting down on the noise, which allowed Mach to hear the rumble of movement coming further upstairs. Could it be Gala's goons coming in for another easy kill?
Mach was left with an uneasy situation. If he stood his ground, the goons would potentially be repelled, but Gala would likely be clued in something was amiss. But if he somehow got Achilles and Philly to flee, that too could tip Gala off to something going awry. From what little he knew of Achilles, he was a somewhat perverted manager bought out by the Mafia, but nothing immediately gave him the impression he wasn't worth saving. Philly was a complete unknown beyond a brief reference in Hera's Fortune, so he couldn't discount her as someone to protect. He assumed a defensive posture, pointing his beam cannon up the stairwell as he sent a message to Aera. [[i]"We need to secure this stairwell, NOW."[/i]]
Aera received the message, and did her best to retain her character as she glanced back to Skywriter. "Duty calls; secure the stairwell quickly, please." She wanted to rush in to aid her Navi, but Zazz was still a volatile loose end. Hoping to appeal to her aversion to Gala's goons, she leaned in and uttered a breathy whisper into her ear. "Help me turn the tables on this Gala; I want you to myself without their rude interruptions." Though beyond her normal character, Escort and Sylk showed very effective examples of sultry manipulation and cunning (*snrk* STS), with which she referenced liberally. She pulled back, dragging her finger down Zazz's jawline, then glanced to the stairwell before back to her, to see her reaction.
Hopefully with others rushing in to secure the area, Mach sent a PET-direct message to his NetOp. [[i]Requesting AirShot3 chip ASAP[/i]] Mazer, who had been simply watching quietly the whole time, and in the midst of trying to piece together the myriad of clues and information gathered by the three programs, snapped to attention at his Navi's request. [C, on the way] he responded quickly before he slotted in the Airshot chip. Unfortunately even his wide-picture view was restricted to the total explored area by his Navi and SPs, he wished he could change his viewpoint to the source of the rumbling noise to give his Navi a heads-up of what was approaching, but that was beyond his PET's capabilities. In retrospect, he should've suggested Mach had sent his decoys zooming about the accessible areas of the airship to develop a better sight picture of the battlefield, but that opportunity had passed long ago.
With the chip uploaded, his left hand fragmented and swarmed with data before reconfiguring into a buster-like cannon lined with pill-shaped compressed data canisters. With is cannon still at the ready, and his enhanced targeting software active to track his targets, he hoped to get the drop on the unknown programs, and potentially wipe them out with his twin weapons. He realized he'd again discounted he wasn't alone in the fight, and relayed a message to Vector. [[i]"Potential hostiles inbound atop staircase, establishing firing-line here."[/i]]
Vector was about to relay the message to DragonierMan, but the Navi had appeared to have sense the commotion as well, and moved in to join the fight. Mach acknowledged their presence with a quick glance and a nod, then refocused on the top of the stairwell.
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"Oh, sorry. My name's Flambe," the navi answered, looking relieved when the others didn't attack her. Flambe gasped when Suzume picked her up, but didn't do anything to stop her; it would occur to Suzume that Flambe didn't seem to have any womanly assets to speak of, as she lifted Flambe off the ground. "Wah! Okay, okay! A-And thank you!" the navi stammered, happy to get back down to her feet. DragonierMan had another question for her, one which seemed to make her look surprisingly uncomfortable. "Oh, well... I would assume to fight against the Mafia, who are all over this ship," Flambe answered after a brief hesitation. "I don't actually know for sure whether Aroma is here, but I hear she snuck into something sort of like this before, so I was hoping I might meet her here. I'm a big fan..."
DragonierMan and everyone else had more important things to deal with than Flambe's slightly suspicious reaction, though. Specifically, Aera and Skywriter were were still trying to pump information out of Zazz or at least placate her by giving her the routine she wanted. The navi's big, eager grin grew painfully wide as Aera continued to pour on the charm. "Oh sure, I'm always willing to talk about myself! I could go on for hours," she giggled; her claim didn't seem hard to imagine, given how talkative she'd already been. "I'm ranked 3 in the Creel Family: that's how you know I'm spectacular at my job, which is getting people to join the Mafia! Although, right now, I'm sort of feeling inclined to switch sides! Hoohoohoo!" She looked surprised as Aera continued, then shook her head and grinned even bigger. "I know, right?! I'd look great in that armor!" she laughed. She probably wasn't particularly used to being complimented on her appearance, given the dark rings around her eyes, her goofy expression, and her relative lack of wow factor when it came to her body, being neither petite enough nor stacked enough to draw attention. If wooing her wasn't working, appealing to her ego seemed as though it would be just as effective. "What are your names, girls? And you, with the pilot outfit?" she asked, indicating to Skywriter, who hadn't said anything so far.
"I'm Skywriter," the navi answered simply, giving an awkward wave.
Zazz pouted, crossing her arms. "Spontaneity is key in any relationship! If you're not into it, you should try flexing your acting muscles! I'm not hard to please!" she instructed, wiggling her fingers eagerly. That didn't seem to do much to encourage Skywriter.
Still yet, there were more important matters to consider: namely, the gray goons approaching to clean up Achilles and the girl he kept calling "Philly." "You here alone, Lucky? Left the wife at home, huh? I was sorta getting the vibe you two weren't on the best terms at first, but I thought you two looked awfully good, heading outside with her half naked like that! Not a lot of guys would leave a wife like that, you know?" he chatted, turning his head to peek over his shoulder.
"I doubt anyone is here with their wife," Philly spoke from the other side, still short of breath but apparently up for conversation now.
Aera received a message back downstairs, telling her to secure the stairwell; before doing so, she took a moment to whisper in Zazz's ear, which seemed to really turn the mafioso on again. "Sure thing! After all, I don't want everybody tearing each other up any more than you guys do. Do you guys even not want that? I'd sort of think you would," she laughed. "Whatever! Watch as I repel those goons with liberal application of explosives!" she snickered; that didn't sound like the safest or most discrete method, but it was better than having her as an enemy, at least. The red-head shivered again as Aera ran a finger down her chin and left; like a pepped up cartoon character, she lifted her arms and ran behind Aera with amazing speed, born of enthusiasm. "Oh, but uh, if I'm being one hundred percent serious, we can't really fight all of those guys. The most I can do is hold them off for a bit while you guys get away. Trust me: I've seen people try to get around them before, and they're dang near endless!"
As if on queue, the head of the first gray goon appeared over the horizon point of the stairwell that MachMan was watching. The navi was tremendous and covered from head to toe in a pale, gray skinsuit, along with a heavy darker gray apron, welding mask, gloves, and boots. A bit of data, its origin unknown, was splashed across his apron from wherever he was left, flickering between yellow and green, rather than blood red. In one hand he carried a tremendous stone mallet, one that should easily take two hands to wield, and in the other, he carried a similarly threatening stone artist's chisel. With no marble around, it was a pretty safe bet he wasn't here to sculpt anything, however. The muscles and size of the navi explained the thudding they'd heard earlier. That alone may not have been particularly menacing, but the sight of more starting to crowd in behind him probably was. Many identical navis, albeit with different, fewer, or more data splatters, started lining up into the hallway and marching down the stairs. Gala's voice could be heard from the monitors again: "Oh! Looks like Achilles and his call-girl, Philanthropist, are making a real scene... And what's this? Another intruder appears on-screen! Spare no expense in showing our friends a good time, boys!" it cackled.
The two love-makers weren't moving at all, only staring blankly as their imminent demise began to head towards them. Interfering, Zazz released a burst of fireworks that repelled the goon in front, causing him to raise his gloves in defense and stagger backwards, nearly losing his footing. The barrage of fireworks continued, igniting flames onto the creature's bodysuit and beginning to burn those behind him as well. Zazz looked to the others and made herself useful again: "if you need to get off of this ship, the easiest way is going to be to continue down this hall, rather than go up the staircase. There's an exit at the very end of the hall; straight shot, can't miss it! On the other hand, the ships aren't connected right now since the shuttles between them were deactivated, so uh... hope you can fly!" she winked. "I'm going to stay here and make sure that Achilles doesn't bite the bullet so I can get a discount at Hera's- I mean, er, for humanitarian reasons!"
If one were to look at the hallway continuing past the staircase, they'd notice that it began to grow ominously dark... it looked like many of the lights had been smashed, seemingly deliberately, due to how few remained lit and the otherwise relatively good state of repair that the hall was in. If they didn't trust Zazz's advice, they might also try to fight their way through the wall of gray navis, or proceed through the right, which appeared to be some sort of games parlor. It was undoubtedly full of raunchy, sex-having mafioso, as all places on the ship would be, but it could possibly provide an alternate route (or could even be the location of Roc or Pest, who still needed to be found). The lights were out in there, but they might still be operable; there was a light switch very close to the door. Flipping it on would probably reveal oneself to everyone inside, though surely they'd have already heard the commotion and stumbled out if they cared to. Yet another option was to continue clearing the kitchen or even to escape the way they'd come in and try to navigate to the next ship through the air.
In the kitchen, neither Flambe nor Vee was offering much immediate help to the issue of the incoming forces of Gala. Vee continued staring at Flambe for a good while, then finally spoke up to DragonierMan. "Do you want to have sex with her too? Is there anyone you don't want to have sex with?" she asked, seemingly intending it as a serious question. "Not that I'm judging..."
DragonierMan and everyone else had more important things to deal with than Flambe's slightly suspicious reaction, though. Specifically, Aera and Skywriter were were still trying to pump information out of Zazz or at least placate her by giving her the routine she wanted. The navi's big, eager grin grew painfully wide as Aera continued to pour on the charm. "Oh sure, I'm always willing to talk about myself! I could go on for hours," she giggled; her claim didn't seem hard to imagine, given how talkative she'd already been. "I'm ranked 3 in the Creel Family: that's how you know I'm spectacular at my job, which is getting people to join the Mafia! Although, right now, I'm sort of feeling inclined to switch sides! Hoohoohoo!" She looked surprised as Aera continued, then shook her head and grinned even bigger. "I know, right?! I'd look great in that armor!" she laughed. She probably wasn't particularly used to being complimented on her appearance, given the dark rings around her eyes, her goofy expression, and her relative lack of wow factor when it came to her body, being neither petite enough nor stacked enough to draw attention. If wooing her wasn't working, appealing to her ego seemed as though it would be just as effective. "What are your names, girls? And you, with the pilot outfit?" she asked, indicating to Skywriter, who hadn't said anything so far.
"I'm Skywriter," the navi answered simply, giving an awkward wave.
Zazz pouted, crossing her arms. "Spontaneity is key in any relationship! If you're not into it, you should try flexing your acting muscles! I'm not hard to please!" she instructed, wiggling her fingers eagerly. That didn't seem to do much to encourage Skywriter.
Still yet, there were more important matters to consider: namely, the gray goons approaching to clean up Achilles and the girl he kept calling "Philly." "You here alone, Lucky? Left the wife at home, huh? I was sorta getting the vibe you two weren't on the best terms at first, but I thought you two looked awfully good, heading outside with her half naked like that! Not a lot of guys would leave a wife like that, you know?" he chatted, turning his head to peek over his shoulder.
"I doubt anyone is here with their wife," Philly spoke from the other side, still short of breath but apparently up for conversation now.
Aera received a message back downstairs, telling her to secure the stairwell; before doing so, she took a moment to whisper in Zazz's ear, which seemed to really turn the mafioso on again. "Sure thing! After all, I don't want everybody tearing each other up any more than you guys do. Do you guys even not want that? I'd sort of think you would," she laughed. "Whatever! Watch as I repel those goons with liberal application of explosives!" she snickered; that didn't sound like the safest or most discrete method, but it was better than having her as an enemy, at least. The red-head shivered again as Aera ran a finger down her chin and left; like a pepped up cartoon character, she lifted her arms and ran behind Aera with amazing speed, born of enthusiasm. "Oh, but uh, if I'm being one hundred percent serious, we can't really fight all of those guys. The most I can do is hold them off for a bit while you guys get away. Trust me: I've seen people try to get around them before, and they're dang near endless!"
As if on queue, the head of the first gray goon appeared over the horizon point of the stairwell that MachMan was watching. The navi was tremendous and covered from head to toe in a pale, gray skinsuit, along with a heavy darker gray apron, welding mask, gloves, and boots. A bit of data, its origin unknown, was splashed across his apron from wherever he was left, flickering between yellow and green, rather than blood red. In one hand he carried a tremendous stone mallet, one that should easily take two hands to wield, and in the other, he carried a similarly threatening stone artist's chisel. With no marble around, it was a pretty safe bet he wasn't here to sculpt anything, however. The muscles and size of the navi explained the thudding they'd heard earlier. That alone may not have been particularly menacing, but the sight of more starting to crowd in behind him probably was. Many identical navis, albeit with different, fewer, or more data splatters, started lining up into the hallway and marching down the stairs. Gala's voice could be heard from the monitors again: "Oh! Looks like Achilles and his call-girl, Philanthropist, are making a real scene... And what's this? Another intruder appears on-screen! Spare no expense in showing our friends a good time, boys!" it cackled.
The two love-makers weren't moving at all, only staring blankly as their imminent demise began to head towards them. Interfering, Zazz released a burst of fireworks that repelled the goon in front, causing him to raise his gloves in defense and stagger backwards, nearly losing his footing. The barrage of fireworks continued, igniting flames onto the creature's bodysuit and beginning to burn those behind him as well. Zazz looked to the others and made herself useful again: "if you need to get off of this ship, the easiest way is going to be to continue down this hall, rather than go up the staircase. There's an exit at the very end of the hall; straight shot, can't miss it! On the other hand, the ships aren't connected right now since the shuttles between them were deactivated, so uh... hope you can fly!" she winked. "I'm going to stay here and make sure that Achilles doesn't bite the bullet so I can get a discount at Hera's- I mean, er, for humanitarian reasons!"
If one were to look at the hallway continuing past the staircase, they'd notice that it began to grow ominously dark... it looked like many of the lights had been smashed, seemingly deliberately, due to how few remained lit and the otherwise relatively good state of repair that the hall was in. If they didn't trust Zazz's advice, they might also try to fight their way through the wall of gray navis, or proceed through the right, which appeared to be some sort of games parlor. It was undoubtedly full of raunchy, sex-having mafioso, as all places on the ship would be, but it could possibly provide an alternate route (or could even be the location of Roc or Pest, who still needed to be found). The lights were out in there, but they might still be operable; there was a light switch very close to the door. Flipping it on would probably reveal oneself to everyone inside, though surely they'd have already heard the commotion and stumbled out if they cared to. Yet another option was to continue clearing the kitchen or even to escape the way they'd come in and try to navigate to the next ship through the air.
In the kitchen, neither Flambe nor Vee was offering much immediate help to the issue of the incoming forces of Gala. Vee continued staring at Flambe for a good while, then finally spoke up to DragonierMan. "Do you want to have sex with her too? Is there anyone you don't want to have sex with?" she asked, seemingly intending it as a serious question. "Not that I'm judging..."
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DragonierMan looked over Flambe as she explained her presence on the ship and mission to find Aroma. "Fan huh?" Drago said with a hint of disbelief. It wasn't improbable, but it seemed suspicious. "Do you work in the Mafia or are you an independent that was hired for the party? Regardless you should make sure not to eat any cake. Or for that matter anything else around here. There is a viral infection in the food that is causing all those to go into a frenzy of sorts."
Vee then questioned Drago as they started leaving the area, out of ear shot of anyone else, about whether or not Drago was going to have sexual relations with Flambe. Drago slapped at Vee's butt with one of his hands to quiet her. Growling as he disciplined her. His tongue then slavered out of his maw and traced around the outside of her ear as he leaned in close. His breath hot on her cheek. "I'm not interested in her... at the moment. Just be patient and stay close. You'll get your reward soon."
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As the ever expanding horde of gray navis appeared, Drago opened his mouth and roared. The thunderous din reverberating off the walls as he let out all his frustration into the air. Finally a fight! He didn't care about the defenseless Navis coupling on the couch that were about to be murdered in cold blood. Even if they knew MachMan. Even if they were supposed to be friends and allies. He just wanted to destroy something. And that something just stepped forward into the reach of his claws.
However, before he could rush forward to engage in glorious battle, Aya grabbed him by the sword arm. "Not now Master," she spoke with annoyance. She too wanted to end this in a shower of blood, but they were on a time limit. "Kismet is in the front blimp. We need to go... now!" She said loud enough for Mach to hear, then pulled Drago towards the exit that Zazz pointed out just as she unleashed a torrent of fireworks into the murder mob. Drago wrenched his arm free but continued to follow Aya.
Drago spread his wings as he ran. The twins turned into light and then zipped into their sheathes. As he passed Flambe and Vee, he reached out to grab both by the back of their outfits with either hand and lift them off the ground. "Hold on tight," he told them as he attempted to kick open the door. He kept the two held Navis away from each smash into doors, giving great kicks or turning around and smashing into the door with his back so as not to damage Vee and Flambe. Hopefully there wouldn't be much further to go to get to the outside.
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If he managed to get to a point where he could jump out into the open sky, he would. He would then toss the two passengers into the air and grow into his great dragon form, letting them land on his back. The dragon form would be big enough for several individuals. In fact, Suzume and Aya also appeared on his back, holding onto Flambe and Vee, and making sure they didn't fall off. Drago then flew off towards the first blimp, the wind rustling across his blackish-gray scales and tufts of cozy fur that ran from his head and down his back like a lion's mane, which would also make for good hand holds for his passengers.
Vee then questioned Drago as they started leaving the area, out of ear shot of anyone else, about whether or not Drago was going to have sexual relations with Flambe. Drago slapped at Vee's butt with one of his hands to quiet her. Growling as he disciplined her. His tongue then slavered out of his maw and traced around the outside of her ear as he leaned in close. His breath hot on her cheek. "I'm not interested in her... at the moment. Just be patient and stay close. You'll get your reward soon."
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As the ever expanding horde of gray navis appeared, Drago opened his mouth and roared. The thunderous din reverberating off the walls as he let out all his frustration into the air. Finally a fight! He didn't care about the defenseless Navis coupling on the couch that were about to be murdered in cold blood. Even if they knew MachMan. Even if they were supposed to be friends and allies. He just wanted to destroy something. And that something just stepped forward into the reach of his claws.
However, before he could rush forward to engage in glorious battle, Aya grabbed him by the sword arm. "Not now Master," she spoke with annoyance. She too wanted to end this in a shower of blood, but they were on a time limit. "Kismet is in the front blimp. We need to go... now!" She said loud enough for Mach to hear, then pulled Drago towards the exit that Zazz pointed out just as she unleashed a torrent of fireworks into the murder mob. Drago wrenched his arm free but continued to follow Aya.
Drago spread his wings as he ran. The twins turned into light and then zipped into their sheathes. As he passed Flambe and Vee, he reached out to grab both by the back of their outfits with either hand and lift them off the ground. "Hold on tight," he told them as he attempted to kick open the door. He kept the two held Navis away from each smash into doors, giving great kicks or turning around and smashing into the door with his back so as not to damage Vee and Flambe. Hopefully there wouldn't be much further to go to get to the outside.
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If he managed to get to a point where he could jump out into the open sky, he would. He would then toss the two passengers into the air and grow into his great dragon form, letting them land on his back. The dragon form would be big enough for several individuals. In fact, Suzume and Aya also appeared on his back, holding onto Flambe and Vee, and making sure they didn't fall off. Drago then flew off towards the first blimp, the wind rustling across his blackish-gray scales and tufts of cozy fur that ran from his head and down his back like a lion's mane, which would also make for good hand holds for his passengers.
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Aera's "interrogation" seemed to be effective, Zazz was more than willing to provide information, including her rank in one of the Mafia families. That fact was mostly irrelevant until Aera did a quick data search of the Mafia's structure, which proved a rank 3 member of one of the several families still put her within the top 30 Mafia Navis in the entire organization. She wasn't as "high brass" as their target, but she was far beyond the rank-and-file mobster. "You can call me anything you'd like, hun," Aera responded with a wink to Zazz's inquiry regarding her name, channeling a bit of "Mrs. Lucky" in the process.
Back at the stairwell, Mach also had to fall back to a character previously used in their "tryout" mission with the Neo Shogunate, as Achilles continued to address the Navi as "Lucky." "Thought I'd crash the party incognito, but looks like it's getting a bit out of hand," Mach replied, still looking down his forearm, aiming the beam cannon slung underneath at up the stairwell.
Aera's continued flirting spurred the Mafia Navi into action, apparently taking NS's side in the upcoming conflict. She also warned of the apparent futility of resisting Gala's cronies for any extended period of time, speaking from alleged experience. On cue the "goons" appeared, and they didn't look to be pushovers from their heavily-built forms. Unfortunately their entrance also drew Gala's attention upon the spent pair, as well as the Navis attempting to guard them. The jig was up, unfortunately, but Zazz put her skills to work and showed an impressive ability to keep the invaders at bay at least for the time being. She also detailed an "easy" exit, which DragonierMan and his crew pursued eagerly, revealed by Mach catching the crew in his peripheral vision, and further confirmed by a texted alarm raised by Vector.
[[i]"Follow them, make sure Skywriter is with you. I'll be right behind you!"[/i]] Both of his SPs received the message, and almost simultaneously turned to dash after DragonierMan. Aera grabbed Skywriter's forearm as she took to the air a few inches from the floor, pulling her along. "Time to go!" Vector, being closer to DragonierMan, had a head start. The back of his helmet split open like an eyelid, revealing a red glow as he glanced back to confirm Aera was following, then focused back on following DragonierMan's path as he sprinted down the hallway.
With his SPs enroute, Mach kept his weapon raised as he too started to fall back. He tried to assess the situation ahead, Zazz had set the lead good alight, which caused its nearby comrades to ignite as well. Though her attacks were significant, he didn't want to fall back without firing a shot, especially with two weapons at the ready with the potential to buy Zazz crucial time to fall back. If the goons were situated in a way that revealed little risk of them being knocked down in a way for them to fall on top of Achilles, Philly, Zazz, or Mach himself, he would've fired a concussive shot from the buster over his right hand in an attempt to blow them back and potentially scramble them together in the confined stairwell. If it looked to perilous to use the microburst weapon, he'd fall back on the quartet of piercing cyan energy beams fired in rapid succession from the twin barrels of his recently upgraded beam cannon. If he could cut down one or two, their bodies could form an impromptu barrier over which the others would be forced to maneuver.
After providing what he could in that moment, he holstered his weapons as his wings unfurled in place of his thrusters priming. "We'll remember this," he said before he boosted away, the comment directed towards Zazz. He hoped the Navi would prove successful in her efforts, she could prove to be a valuable asset later on. His wings unfurled only enough to still fit within the rapidly darkening hallway as he sped along. The readouts of his SP's status details gave him an immediate gauge of distance from them, and presumably DragonierMan, but he elected to take a more cautiously slow pace opposed to precarious haste.
Vector and Aera, with Skywriter hopefully in tow, tried to catch up to DragonierMan and trace his path as they followed him as he tried to smash his way through the door. Mach wasn't far behind, and closed the gap quickly. As he approached, he slowed enough to make a quick glance back to see what was unfolding at the presumably still-illuminated stairwell.
Back at the stairwell, Mach also had to fall back to a character previously used in their "tryout" mission with the Neo Shogunate, as Achilles continued to address the Navi as "Lucky." "Thought I'd crash the party incognito, but looks like it's getting a bit out of hand," Mach replied, still looking down his forearm, aiming the beam cannon slung underneath at up the stairwell.
Aera's continued flirting spurred the Mafia Navi into action, apparently taking NS's side in the upcoming conflict. She also warned of the apparent futility of resisting Gala's cronies for any extended period of time, speaking from alleged experience. On cue the "goons" appeared, and they didn't look to be pushovers from their heavily-built forms. Unfortunately their entrance also drew Gala's attention upon the spent pair, as well as the Navis attempting to guard them. The jig was up, unfortunately, but Zazz put her skills to work and showed an impressive ability to keep the invaders at bay at least for the time being. She also detailed an "easy" exit, which DragonierMan and his crew pursued eagerly, revealed by Mach catching the crew in his peripheral vision, and further confirmed by a texted alarm raised by Vector.
[[i]"Follow them, make sure Skywriter is with you. I'll be right behind you!"[/i]] Both of his SPs received the message, and almost simultaneously turned to dash after DragonierMan. Aera grabbed Skywriter's forearm as she took to the air a few inches from the floor, pulling her along. "Time to go!" Vector, being closer to DragonierMan, had a head start. The back of his helmet split open like an eyelid, revealing a red glow as he glanced back to confirm Aera was following, then focused back on following DragonierMan's path as he sprinted down the hallway.
With his SPs enroute, Mach kept his weapon raised as he too started to fall back. He tried to assess the situation ahead, Zazz had set the lead good alight, which caused its nearby comrades to ignite as well. Though her attacks were significant, he didn't want to fall back without firing a shot, especially with two weapons at the ready with the potential to buy Zazz crucial time to fall back. If the goons were situated in a way that revealed little risk of them being knocked down in a way for them to fall on top of Achilles, Philly, Zazz, or Mach himself, he would've fired a concussive shot from the buster over his right hand in an attempt to blow them back and potentially scramble them together in the confined stairwell. If it looked to perilous to use the microburst weapon, he'd fall back on the quartet of piercing cyan energy beams fired in rapid succession from the twin barrels of his recently upgraded beam cannon. If he could cut down one or two, their bodies could form an impromptu barrier over which the others would be forced to maneuver.
After providing what he could in that moment, he holstered his weapons as his wings unfurled in place of his thrusters priming. "We'll remember this," he said before he boosted away, the comment directed towards Zazz. He hoped the Navi would prove successful in her efforts, she could prove to be a valuable asset later on. His wings unfurled only enough to still fit within the rapidly darkening hallway as he sped along. The readouts of his SP's status details gave him an immediate gauge of distance from them, and presumably DragonierMan, but he elected to take a more cautiously slow pace opposed to precarious haste.
Vector and Aera, with Skywriter hopefully in tow, tried to catch up to DragonierMan and trace his path as they followed him as he tried to smash his way through the door. Mach wasn't far behind, and closed the gap quickly. As he approached, he slowed enough to make a quick glance back to see what was unfolding at the presumably still-illuminated stairwell.
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"Oh, yes, I'm a fan of Aroma! She's a very admirable person who keeps track of so many things on a day to day basis. It's always impressed me, so I've wanted a chance to meet her for so long..." Flambe laughed, playing with a lock of her hair in front as she answered DragonierMan's questions. She seemed somewhat less forthcoming when the questions continued, however. "Y-Yes, I was hired as an independent here... I've catered for all sorts of events, including ones for the NetPolice and Mafia," she explained. Her look of worry and uncertainty continued to grow more pained as DragonierMan explained that the cake was holding an infection. "My word! D-Do you know who could be responsible for putting it there? I can't imagine such a thing happening! But I guess it could explain the um... behavior of everyone here on the ship."
As DragonierMan had been hoping, Vee did indeed quiet down when he gave her another swat on the butt. It was becoming increasingly apparent that the downstairs was going to make up for the upstairs in DragonierMan's eyes, as it pertained to what Vee could offer him later. She nodded slowly and said nothing as he again reminded her of their plans for the after-party.
Just as the dragon navi was about to jump into a fight against the mission's orders, Aya managed to step in and update him on the situation. Vee remained quiet as she was yanked by the loose fabric of her tunic, but the other navi began wailing, unsure of what was happening. Thankfully, both were pretty light and even with Flambe resisting, there wasn't much she could do to get out of DragonierMan's grasp. Barrelling forward as fast as he could without damaging or dropping the navis he was holding, DragonierMan went straight into the darkness, regardless of what might be waiting for him there. His intention was to head straight out the front of this ship and fly those he was holding past the next, circumventing it and going to the very front ship where Kismet supposedly awaited him.
At the same time, MachMan instructed Aera and Vector to take Skywriter and head after DragonierMan. "W-Wait, I can fly on my own!" Skywriter informed Aera, but she was already being carried along at this point.
Zazz waved and called after Aera: "I'll call you my date, then, if we meet up again later!" she announced, giving a big, self-satisfied grin. "You should get going too, fly-boy. Those big guys are only going to keep closing in." MachMan had an idea to fire an airshot into the front of the crowd of approaching sculptor navis, which proved effective, causing the front to collide into the back and causing the ones behind him to stumble; they didn't look to be terribly good at getting back onto their feet, given their weight and the confined space. The staircase was almost too narrow for them to come down, single file. Regardless, it didn't slow down the front one much, but stopped the others from following temporarily. Now that he was leaving, Zazz gave him another smirk. "Sure thing! If you'll remind your lady friend about it later, then I'll call us even!"
As it turned out, DragonierMan's path outside was almost as simple as described. All he had to do was fly through the admittedly long hallway, bash through the door at the end (this required some body weight, as it was fairly well secured shut), ignore the ladder leading upward (presumably to a pilot's area), then open the outer shield with a lever (this was easier than trying to break through the solid wall of armor plating with his body. A small platform extended out, presumably for one of the aforementioned shuttles to pick up passengers, but no shuttle came... probably either a technical malfunction or someone having stolen or destroyed the shuttle already.
Thankfully, he needed no shuttle, and proceeded into the open air with his allies on his back and other allies close behind, assuming his new dragon form. Vee said nothing, again, but as Aya held Vee, her increasing body temperature became evident. Her squirming made her a little hard to hold. On the other hand, Flambe was still crying out in shock and terror. As Suzume wrapped her arms around, it became even more apparent that Flambe had no breasts to speak of. No one seemed to be targetting the group as they flew around the second ship, but the sight was something to behold: the ship was on its last legs, with flames everywhere and smoke billowing from various spots on the ship. Most of the shields were open and a few were still opening even as he watched, perhaps someone desperately trying to ventilate the ship (or perhaps an exhibitionist trying to expose their crazy, lewd person to the outside world). He'd need to get closer to discover exactly what was going on, but he'd already made up his mind to proceed to the front of the line.
A loud voice continued booming from the front ship: "Oh my! We've lost sight of those Neo-Shogun fellows. Zazz, be a dear and find them, would you? That would be a far more productive use of your time than obstructing my hard-working servants, wouldn't it?" Gala sighed. "If anyone spots the Neo-Shogun intruders, please inform me immediately! I won't have party poopers ruining the event for the rest of my well-behaved guests!"
Nothing about that message stopped DragonierMan from approaching the final ship. The ship looked to be a bit more heavily armored, with all of its shields down, but that didn't mean it was free of distress: the cargo bay, similar to the one they'd entered through earlier, was constantly echoing with explosions and clearly had the back half of a small air-shuttle extending from a partially opened door, as if someone had tried to shut it before the passengers could get in through the passageway. It might occur to him that it could be better to look around the ship for another entrance, or he might simply want to try to use the gap created by the shuttle to enter that way.
Meanwhile, MachMan continued at a slower pace, still in the shadowy hallways of the first ship, perhaps feeling some duty to his missing squad-mates who may not have ventured too far from the original meeting point. If that was indeed why he lingered behind, his prudence would be rewarded: a telltale buzzing noise could be heard coming from one of the darkened rooms. "PantheonMan... bzzz... I never thought you'd be so easy to overwhelm! Regardless, I'm taking your lightning power now... Why don't you hold still, bzzzzz?" a voice menaced.
"Oh screw this, I'm out!" the voice yelled, punctuated by a half-naked man bursting out of one of the doors, clutching a bed-sheet around his lower body. It was a bit hard to see him in the darkness, but his appearance did appear to be that of a dark-skinned man with thick, brown hair, which would match the profile of PantheonMan, whom MachMan had met at Hera's Fortune. He spot MachMan and cringed, perhaps thinking he'd just run into another sex-crazed maniac. Once MachMan presumably did not react that way, he ran to the other side of the hallway and pressed himself against the door. "Look, there's a maniac in there that's trying to stick some kind of huge needle in me! If you protect me from her, I'll introduce you to my girlfriend; she's on the ship. She's hot as hell and seems super wet and easy tonight for some reason, and I think there is a very, very good chance I could talk her into a threesome right now. O-Or, uh, just one-on-one, if you don't want me in it, which is cool, I understand! What do you say?" he offered, although the suggestion was so lewd that he might have been better off just appealing to MachMan's good nature.
The sound of Pest's wings came from inside the darkened bed-room. An eerie pair of red compound eyes, lit up in the blackness, allowed him to see her perched on the outline of the bed; she didn't seem to have noticed him yet. If this really was PantheonMan that MachMan was speaking to, however, how could MachMan explain why the high-ranking mafioso would be afraid of Pest, of all people?
As DragonierMan had been hoping, Vee did indeed quiet down when he gave her another swat on the butt. It was becoming increasingly apparent that the downstairs was going to make up for the upstairs in DragonierMan's eyes, as it pertained to what Vee could offer him later. She nodded slowly and said nothing as he again reminded her of their plans for the after-party.
Just as the dragon navi was about to jump into a fight against the mission's orders, Aya managed to step in and update him on the situation. Vee remained quiet as she was yanked by the loose fabric of her tunic, but the other navi began wailing, unsure of what was happening. Thankfully, both were pretty light and even with Flambe resisting, there wasn't much she could do to get out of DragonierMan's grasp. Barrelling forward as fast as he could without damaging or dropping the navis he was holding, DragonierMan went straight into the darkness, regardless of what might be waiting for him there. His intention was to head straight out the front of this ship and fly those he was holding past the next, circumventing it and going to the very front ship where Kismet supposedly awaited him.
At the same time, MachMan instructed Aera and Vector to take Skywriter and head after DragonierMan. "W-Wait, I can fly on my own!" Skywriter informed Aera, but she was already being carried along at this point.
Zazz waved and called after Aera: "I'll call you my date, then, if we meet up again later!" she announced, giving a big, self-satisfied grin. "You should get going too, fly-boy. Those big guys are only going to keep closing in." MachMan had an idea to fire an airshot into the front of the crowd of approaching sculptor navis, which proved effective, causing the front to collide into the back and causing the ones behind him to stumble; they didn't look to be terribly good at getting back onto their feet, given their weight and the confined space. The staircase was almost too narrow for them to come down, single file. Regardless, it didn't slow down the front one much, but stopped the others from following temporarily. Now that he was leaving, Zazz gave him another smirk. "Sure thing! If you'll remind your lady friend about it later, then I'll call us even!"
As it turned out, DragonierMan's path outside was almost as simple as described. All he had to do was fly through the admittedly long hallway, bash through the door at the end (this required some body weight, as it was fairly well secured shut), ignore the ladder leading upward (presumably to a pilot's area), then open the outer shield with a lever (this was easier than trying to break through the solid wall of armor plating with his body. A small platform extended out, presumably for one of the aforementioned shuttles to pick up passengers, but no shuttle came... probably either a technical malfunction or someone having stolen or destroyed the shuttle already.
Thankfully, he needed no shuttle, and proceeded into the open air with his allies on his back and other allies close behind, assuming his new dragon form. Vee said nothing, again, but as Aya held Vee, her increasing body temperature became evident. Her squirming made her a little hard to hold. On the other hand, Flambe was still crying out in shock and terror. As Suzume wrapped her arms around, it became even more apparent that Flambe had no breasts to speak of. No one seemed to be targetting the group as they flew around the second ship, but the sight was something to behold: the ship was on its last legs, with flames everywhere and smoke billowing from various spots on the ship. Most of the shields were open and a few were still opening even as he watched, perhaps someone desperately trying to ventilate the ship (or perhaps an exhibitionist trying to expose their crazy, lewd person to the outside world). He'd need to get closer to discover exactly what was going on, but he'd already made up his mind to proceed to the front of the line.
A loud voice continued booming from the front ship: "Oh my! We've lost sight of those Neo-Shogun fellows. Zazz, be a dear and find them, would you? That would be a far more productive use of your time than obstructing my hard-working servants, wouldn't it?" Gala sighed. "If anyone spots the Neo-Shogun intruders, please inform me immediately! I won't have party poopers ruining the event for the rest of my well-behaved guests!"
Nothing about that message stopped DragonierMan from approaching the final ship. The ship looked to be a bit more heavily armored, with all of its shields down, but that didn't mean it was free of distress: the cargo bay, similar to the one they'd entered through earlier, was constantly echoing with explosions and clearly had the back half of a small air-shuttle extending from a partially opened door, as if someone had tried to shut it before the passengers could get in through the passageway. It might occur to him that it could be better to look around the ship for another entrance, or he might simply want to try to use the gap created by the shuttle to enter that way.
Meanwhile, MachMan continued at a slower pace, still in the shadowy hallways of the first ship, perhaps feeling some duty to his missing squad-mates who may not have ventured too far from the original meeting point. If that was indeed why he lingered behind, his prudence would be rewarded: a telltale buzzing noise could be heard coming from one of the darkened rooms. "PantheonMan... bzzz... I never thought you'd be so easy to overwhelm! Regardless, I'm taking your lightning power now... Why don't you hold still, bzzzzz?" a voice menaced.
"Oh screw this, I'm out!" the voice yelled, punctuated by a half-naked man bursting out of one of the doors, clutching a bed-sheet around his lower body. It was a bit hard to see him in the darkness, but his appearance did appear to be that of a dark-skinned man with thick, brown hair, which would match the profile of PantheonMan, whom MachMan had met at Hera's Fortune. He spot MachMan and cringed, perhaps thinking he'd just run into another sex-crazed maniac. Once MachMan presumably did not react that way, he ran to the other side of the hallway and pressed himself against the door. "Look, there's a maniac in there that's trying to stick some kind of huge needle in me! If you protect me from her, I'll introduce you to my girlfriend; she's on the ship. She's hot as hell and seems super wet and easy tonight for some reason, and I think there is a very, very good chance I could talk her into a threesome right now. O-Or, uh, just one-on-one, if you don't want me in it, which is cool, I understand! What do you say?" he offered, although the suggestion was so lewd that he might have been better off just appealing to MachMan's good nature.
The sound of Pest's wings came from inside the darkened bed-room. An eerie pair of red compound eyes, lit up in the blackness, allowed him to see her perched on the outline of the bed; she didn't seem to have noticed him yet. If this really was PantheonMan that MachMan was speaking to, however, how could MachMan explain why the high-ranking mafioso would be afraid of Pest, of all people?