Unwound

Unwound
Date of Scene:	03 July 2014
Location:	A Quiet World
Synopsis:	Mizuki and a myriad of multiversals attempt a tea party, but are beset by icky shadow fiends! A ghost of Mizuki's past appears, threatening all! It would appear that this is the start of another tale of ludicrous battles and dramatic speeches! Watch as reality becomes Unw~~oun~~d!
Thanks to:	Everyone there for putting up with my insane experimentation! (Thank you~!)
Cast of Characters:	Arthur Lowell, Staren, 152, 183, 275, 307, 369, 422
Tinyplot:	A Chime at the Precipice

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Mizuki (183) has posed:
The welcome wagon tonight is a bit smaller than some may recall. Where the first time there were rows of servants and the second time there was at least a regal air, tonight... tonight is much quieter. The sense of wrongness in the air is even thicker than is typical, and... well. This is accentuated by the state of the sky. Where before the ocean off in the distance - Leviathan, as some may remember - was halcyon as the skies in heaven, now it's plagued by a storm. The weather elsewhere doesn't /appear/ terribly different, but regardless, everything feels unsteady.

Still, none of that is terribly unusual, is it? It may be enough to make one feel a brief chill upon entering, but this world was never 'normal' to begin with. Yes, yes... quite likely it's just your imagination! Well, it's certainly your imagination; this place doesn't exist that way! But you know what I mean. As before, though, Mizuki is ready and eager to receive her guests. Her countenance is lit up with a smile, though this time it would appear Callia and Palora are off elsewhere. So this time, the greeting is much less festive, though also perhaps more intimate. After all... these are people that Mizuki has begun to know. Newly budding friendships rather than more entirely distant acquaintances! She doesn't need to try so hard for the fleeting sort of 'shock and awe' entertainment she usually goes for, does she?

When people all arrive, gathering together in their various ways, she puts her hands together. "Welcome, all~!" Well, at least Mimi sounds as this lot would expect her to. "Really, it's so good to have you all here. Faruja, it's always nice to have a fellow tea enthusiast in my home. Nadia, even if I can't beat you in volleyball, I may yet be able to upstage you in table manners, yes~? And Arthur... well. You're always welcome to play around with physics and transformation, yes~?" She winks. Yes, she meant to bring up that memory. Soon, though, she raises her hands to all of them. "And to the rest of you~! I have seen or spoken to all of you at least once before, haven't I~? Ooohhh, how exciting~! No need for introductions on my part this time..."

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex frowns at the weather, she doesn't think it's insignificant, but she doesn't mention it. She just frowns. She heads on to the clock tower, and forces a smile, it looks strained despite her attempts to make it look natural. "Hey everyone." The girl looks around for a place to sit, and a place to deposit her spear. "What's with the weather?"

Staren has posed:
Staren arrives to: a storm! He figures it's just Mizuki's imagination. Seriously, wouldn't she get bored of good weather every day? Some rain or wind now and then is nice. "Mizuki! Hi!" he smiles.

As she welcomes Arthur to experiment with transformation, he quips, "I don't think he was the one eager to do that... Oh no! Are you getting us mixed up?" Suddenly, he's copying Arthur again. "Was my impression /that/ convincing?" He poofs back to normal. Seriously, there's a cartoony smoke cloud with the word POOF! and everything! Staren waves his hand to disperse it and coughs.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn pads on through, in his large wolf form, sniffs at the air and bares his fangs and growls at the storm. This place always makes him feel odd, but growling at the storm makes the wolf feel a little better. He trots over to Mizuki and licks her hand, then pushes his cold nose against her palm and gives her a whine, "You've talked to me more than a few times Mizuki." the wolf grumps a little and then he's trotting off to flump over on the ground, swishing his tail back and forth.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
Here coems Nadia! And she's brought a friend! Minette has, in an attempt to get away from being called a maid (seriously why did they call her that, she's not even a maid) has decided to dress... stylishly! It actually might look a little odd on someone so very obviously inhuman to be wearing a tube top and tight pants (it's fashionable where she comes from).

Nadia grins as she notices several people she knows! She attempts to sneak up behind Staren, even. Meanwhile, Minette is looking a little shy...

Arthur Lowell has posed:
ARTHUR LOWELL!!!

Has arrived via the designated gates, politely, and completely in spite of the hanging sense of wrongness, is already swaggering his way up to Mizuki in his usual cool way. "'Eyyyy! Great t'seeya Miz! Love the PLACE, classy CLOCK y'got. Damned if I can tell the TIME but it sure LOOKS RAD."

There's a sheepish grin and a laugh at Staren. "YEAH, Staren is... Remember?" He shrugs. "I mean, HELL, didn't I say YOU could pick somethin'? You can GO AHEAD, but ME? Nahhhh." He makes a friendly but noncommittal gesture before a wide shrug and a grin. "Ain't much I'd CHANGE 'bout ME if it's ME thinkin' it up, y'know?"

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
It's Shizune Nakamura's first time visiting the world Mizuki calls home, and while it does bring her some disquiet, she doesn't let that show in her demeanor in the least. It being a dojo day, rather than come straight from school in her uniform, she's opted to get cleaned up and show up in a comfortable, fashionable blouse and skirt, something that looks nice without being flashy. "I've heard your voice a few times, but I believe this is our first time meeting," she greets, offering a deep, polite bow. "Shizune Nakamura, third-year student at Akita East High. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki smirks in Staren's direction. "Never a dull moment when you come here, to be sure~." Mizuki bows to him. "Truly, it's always nice to have you, Staren. I do so love when people are so eager to experiment with things here. Seeing as it's you, I don't doubt that you'll find a number of logical loopholes!" She giggles faintly. "I'll just stitch them up if you do. Or not. It's not exactly imperative that I keep /everything/ in line with what's sensible, thankfully."

Soon, she turns to Lex. "Oh, don't fret. Rain just happens, you know? Cycles of nature and all that~?" Hopefully that will fly. I mean, some will know she's not being truthful there, but maybe Lex won't? Who knows? Then, as quickly as possible she shifts her eyes to Minette. She gives her a small, gentle wave. "Hello, dear. Who were..." Her eyes light up. "... ah! Yes, yes, I remember! Nadia's friend, right? I commentated your fight, too! Glorious~!" She claps her hands together a few times. "But ah, there's no need to be shy! And if at any point you become uncomfortable with your appearance, you can always just change it~!" Mizuki twirls a finger and demonstrates with a sudden change of her own looks! Suddenly, she's a bit older! By a couple years, probably. She giggles and crosses her arms. "See~?" Looks like her voice has changed to match!

Then, she turns to Arthur and gives a nod. "Yes, yes, I understand~." She widens her smirk. "No getting cooler than you already are. But I'm certain I'll think of something appropriate eventually~!" She bats her eyelashes a few times before adding, "Ah, and on the subject of not being able to tell time with my clock, well..." She closes her eyes and lowers her gaze briefly, contemplating a good way to parse her next statement. Eventually, she decides, "... that was something I intended to bring up this evening, actually. So more on that in a bit~." Turning to Shizune, Mizuki picks up the edges of her skirt once again to return the gesture. "Greetings, Shizune~! As you may already be aware, I am Mizuki. Charmed~!"

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja, dressed in more casual robes than those he normally sports, sports a paper thin smile as he greets Mizuki. The rodent knight normally loves storms and particularly rain, but this one is /ominous/. He even wobbles a little bit as he limps along, looking unsteady. Nor does he smell of alcohol on the tongue this night!

"Lady Mizuki, hail and Lord bless my dear! Good to see ye. I appreciate the hospitality." There's a small bag with him. A good sniff would catch tea! He's come prepared with some varieties from back home.

Staren has posed:
Staren coughs and steps away from the smoke, conjuring an electric fan to blow it away then just letting it disappear -- which means he spots Nadia unless she keeps moving. He bows back to Mizuki. "Aww, thanks! I'm sure I'll have fun doing so." He looks to Lex. "Obviously, she's been saving stuff up for a rainy day, and to use that stuff for a party, she had to make it a rainy day."

Staren turns to various others here. "Nadia, Minette, good to see you... Arthur too of course... And Shizune, I remember you from the werewolf game!" Staren starts to look a bit wolfish, with patches of fur growing on his skin. And then he turns to Faruja. "Faruja! So, what do you think of this dreamworld? Fascinating, isn't it?" he scratches a bit at the patches of fur.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
Nadia is spotted! She pouts a little bit... then reaches over to noogie Staren anyway. Stretchy limbs go! "Hey, Science Cat. Still being a total nerd, I see~" Tease tease.

Minette squeaks a bit as she's noticed by Mizuki! "O-oh... you did?" Flush. Oh my that fight was embarassing. "W-well I guess I don't have to worry about making a fool of myself around you, then..."

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
The greeting from Staren tugs Shizune's attention, and she turns to him with an amused grin. "Now now, Staren, becoming a werewolf is only permissible under strictly-supervised game conditions, you know." It's a teasing greeting, from which she moves into a more proper greeting, a bow that doesn't go nearly so deep as the one given to Mizuki - more casual, the physical equivalent of a quick 'hey' to an acquaintance.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
Arthur stretches out casually, as if he was just getting done with a nap or something. "HELL YEAH, m'sure you'll think up somethin' fuckin' GREAT. Meantime? I'll stick to PEAK COOLNESS for this fuckin' uncreative head I got." Older Mizuki gets a brief laugh out of the guy. "And I guess THAT explains the AGIN' thing."

He doesn't seem to realize he brought up an important thing, but he nods a few times. "YEAH, that thing's DAMN pretty. STAINED GLASS CLOCKFACE? Fuckin' RAD, love the mix on the GOTHIC stuff, shit be like a fuckin' TIME CATHEDRAL or somethin'."

A quick aside! A grin and a wave to Staren and Nadia, both of whom he knows fairly well, and a quick tweak of his head at Lex, who he doesn't know particularly well but keeps running into.

Staren has posed:
Staren starts growing increasingly wolfish. "Hey, if being a total nerd is /this much fun/, it's nothing to be ashamed of!" And then Shizune says he can't become a werewolf, so he immediately shrinks back down and returns to normal. "Ah, well then." he shakes a sleeve and a little more wolf fur falls out.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
It seems Lex is mollified by that answer, or mostly mollified anyway. "So, uh, Mizuki. How are you doing? Feeling any better since that mess in Ivalice?" She sounds genuinely concerned, but she doesn't look like she'll press the matter.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn stands once he sees Faruja and he pads over to the ratman and rubs his head under his hand, "Lord Faruja." he greets his friend and then sniffs at the bag he is carrying and turns his head and sneezes! he's a polite wolf after all. His ears perk at the mention of werewolves. That causes the hackles on the back of his neck to rise and he growls a little, filthy beasts, not even fit to have the name wolf! he pads back off a ways and lays down again, stretched out and lays his head on his paws, ears perked as he listens to people talk.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki raises a happy hand as the gentlerat greets her as well, eventually moving it down to her waist to give him a bow. When she raises again, she returns his gaze... before her eyes wander to the bag. Before she can ask about it, though, she does catch a wiff! Mmm... fragrant~! She of all people should know tea (delicious, delicious TEA! It is the elixir of LIFE!) when she smells it, shouldn't she~? "Always wonderful to see you as well, Faruja." She actually seems pretty perky! Quite the contrast to the current state of the world, but hey. She turns up her nose slightly, raising a finger. "And if I'm not mistaken, is that tea you've brought with you~?" Her finger moves to her chin, her eyes quickly changing to reflect mischievous intent... or such. "Dare I ask of what variety, if indeed it is~?"

Soon, an enormous parasol /easily large enough to cover all of them at once appears... and poofs away again once she's certain everyone has taken notice of it. She giggles. "If the rain makes its way over to us and we aren't yet inside, I have the situation well in hand~." Then her attention is drawn back to Staren, to whom she gives a final, slight bow, and to Minette. She just barely resists giving the poor thing a pat on the head. But instead, she... laughs! Chuckles spiritedly with a fist on her hip. "My dear, you fought adamantly... and with spirit. In the end, that's all that really matters." She calms a bit, folding her hands to demonstrate candor. "... truly, though. For one equipped only with cleaning equipment and a hard skin, you were exemplary. You've nothing to be shy or ashamed of." She smiles briefly in Shizune's direction. Oh, she and Staren are already acquainted~? Well! She doesn't have to worry about her overmuch then, does she~?

Arthur... almost gets a blush out of her though. Time cathedral? Ohohoho~. "Oh, come come. Compliment my architectural vision any more and I might have to have Palora come out here and do the 'hosting' until I can calm down~." Soon, though, she seems as calm as she would need to be. "Though... 'time cathedral' might be a more apt description than you realize~." She narrows her eyes slightly. One of her patented mood transitions, that was. Finally, though, she turns to Allyn. "And a pleasant evening to you as well, my friend of variable form. Always a pleasure, to be sure!"

Soon, after making sure that everyone is accounted for, she clears her throat and raises her hands to get everyone's attention. (Oh, and it seems like somewhere along the line she went back to her 'normal' appearance. Go figure.) "Attention, all~!" She waits until all is quiet. "... now that I have all of you listening, I will announce the start of the evening's festivities~! Unfortunately, the 'festivities' amount to little more than tea sampling and chatting and the like, but of course, you may always feel free to toy around with the physics of the world. Truly, what can be done here is limited only by what you're willing to dream~!" She summon her sword, folding her palms over it as though it were a cane. "But without further adieu... Callia~! Palora~! Open the door, if you please~~!!"

After that, there's a long, dead silence. The door creaks once, but... it doesn't seem like that was intentional. Mizuki glances around, narrowing her eyes just slightly out of frustration. Again, she calls, "... Callia! Palora! The door?" But still, there's no reply. Mimi quirks an eyebrow.

... okay, what the hell, guys?

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja peers back at the storm briefly, frowning. Rubbing the back of his head, he squints. Hrrmn.

The rat's concerns get tugged away as he's being greeted. The rat startles slightly as Staren speaks. Something's bothering the rat, but he finally manages a half-real smile to science cat.

"Ser Staren, hail good Ser! 'Fascinating'?" His head tilts, and then he laughs.

"Such things oft bode ill in Ivalice. Methinks it hath tainted mine curiousity to suspicion. I admit, however, 'tis something more than worth investigating. Time permitting I should like to study this place. The temporal composition is far stranger than Ivalices, mayhaps it shall bear fruit in the form of advancements of the Art." Faruja looks from Staren, to Mizuki, and back again.

"I wouldst greatly enjoy it being a group effort. Any published works wouldst of course be credited to the appropriate individuals."

And thus, Faruja ignores the foreboding dizzy feeling and remembers his manners! Bowing to the rest of the group, he smiles. "My apologies, Sers and Dames, methinks fatigue hath dulled mine manners. Lord bless, my Children!"

Alexandra and Allyn in particular get low bows.

"Lady Alexandra! Mine apologies for drawing ye into Ivalice's politics. A deadly web, 'tis, one that I pray I might untangle a few twisted threads from."

"Ah, Ajora bless!" Allyn gets a good petting, and scritch on the ear.

"Hail to thee, Ser Allyn. And please, if ye must, call me 'Father Faruja'. I hath nay authority here. I am but a simple shepherd of Faram's flock so long as I am not upon Ivalice's soil."

Arthur gets a look. It takes a minute, but, then the rat places the voice. "My, my, my! Ser, ye art that rather boisterous and...colorfully tongued gentleman I hath heard over the multiversal link so oft! Father Faruja Senra, of the Holy Church of Saint Ajora Glabados. Well met!" At least the language doesn't seem to offend him.

To Mizuki, the rat /grins/. He offers over the little pack. "Mullonde White tea. 'Tis sweet and hath hints of orange. Excellent with Behemoth steak!" Seems it's a present!

The appearance change doesn't seem to phase him too much, after what she did in Ivalice. Here? It's almost expected. Reality isn't like back home, and he's accepted that.

Slowly, the rat frowns. Faruja didn't bring his Blaze Gun, but given the world, it takes all of a second to conjure up one.

"...Lady Mizuki, this storm bodes ill, and that is coming from a Burmecian." His good mood has evaporated, suspicion and even paranoia in his voice. He reaches for a door handle, before peering to Mizuki for consent. Something feels /off/, and to Faruja that usually means trouble. But is his paranoia warrented?

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
Minette eeps a bit. "Um... eheh. Well, the broom was Nadia's idea. She claims someone she knows uses brooms as a weapon but that's... kinda silly. I'm pretty sure she just wanted me to look absurd." She rubs the back of her head. "..And, um. I'm a royal Dagonian, so... of course my skin is tough..."

Nadia fails to get a reaction out of Staren! So she tries to noogie Arthur instead. She peers around. "Heeey, where'd the reaper-maids go?"

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Tea and conversation are more than enough for Shizune! The young lady smiles warmly again, more than prepared to indulge - and perhaps to try her hand at the physics here as well. But it quickly becomes evident that not all is as it should be, and even a small snag in the proceedings is at least cause for /brief/ concern.

Shizune reaches up to adjust her glasses absently, looking between the storm as Faruja points it out, and the building whose door was apparently meant to open. "Er, is there a problem?"

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn thumps his tail on the ground at Faruja, "Sorry my friend, it is habit.. back home there was only a king and queen, lords and ladies and of course the peasants which I was the son of a peasant family.. Old habits are hard to break.. you are of a higher born station than I am, so you are Lord Faruja to me. I will try and remember that, but don't be too surprised if I can't learn that trick."

He would probably be grinning if wolves could grin, "Just as Lady Mizuki is Lady Mizuki to me. There is heiarchy in the pack and the two of you are pack to me, we are pack." he gets back to his feet and pads cautiously over to the doors and sniffs at them.

Staren has posed:
"Tea-tasting, huh? I usually drink sweetened iced tea. Sorry for my unrefined tastes..." Staren comments, looking around. At the comment about brooms he just looks at Minette, and then looks at Arthur. Ah well. He can handle that. He looks at Allyn. "Hey, heirarchies have people who're in 'em, and people who're out of 'em. What's it matter if they're lords and ladies? They're not from /your/ society, right? I dunno. I never saw the point of caring who someone was born to. I mean, aside from medical records. Or because you're genuinely interested in getting to know their relatives."

He gives Mizuki a curious look. "Did your imagination get away from you? Let's see here..." Staren pulls a dowsing rod out from somewhere and holds it out. "Find Callia and Palora!" The dowsing rod barks and leaps from his hands, 'sniffing' at the ground and then barking again and bounding off a little bit, and then whining.

"...Right, I dunno where they are so I can't imagine it. Or is there sort of a technique to it?" He turns to Mizuki. "Some way I could imagine a finding spell into existance and then have it work without being bound by my imagination?"

Arthur Lowell has posed:
Arthur laughs a bit. "Hahaha! Well HELL, just CALL it like I SEE it, yeah? Hope the KUDOS ain't gonna get TOO mad." Another few laughs as he shrugs. "Well, I'm sure I'll get t'see what yer talkin' 'bout soon enough, yeah? If we're gonna be visitin' up IN this shit."

Faruja gets a brig grin too. "Shit YEAH I'm THAT GUY! Be droppin' the SICKEST FUCKIN' FIRES all up in CHANNELS and FIGHTS for YEARS, got the FULL VERBAL SPECTRUM. I'm ARTHUR LOWELL, ROCKET-POWERED JERK and KNOW-NOTHIN' PUNK, nice t'meetcha Faruja!" Arthur offers a quick, firm, and extremely energetic handshake.

This might be interrupted by noogies! Arthur takes these in stride and good humor. "Hahaha! Hey, NADIA!" The usual friendly play-flailing goes on as she noogies his thick, messy hair. He stops around the time she does, though he doesn't get out from under her hand. "HUH. Yer RIGHT, where the hell ARE those HELLA ANIME ladies?"

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
The absence of maids makes Lex unsettled once more, visibly so. She reaches for her spear, but she doesn't say a word, her eyes move around wordlessly, and her entire stance is one of full attention to her environment, if there is danger, she wants to know it as soon as she can. She takes deep, slow breaths, calming herself down.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki stares uncomfortably toward the door for several minutes before sighing and looking away. Then she turns to Faruja, pausing just a few minutes. Soon, her answer to his silent question comes verbally. "... alas, Faruja, something is amiss. I dare say something has been amiss for quite some time." Well, her expression got serious pretty quickly. The gentlerat may be left wondering whether to feel comforted that he's not the only one concerned... or more concerned now that he knows there's something wrong. Then, looking to Nadia, she says, "I do not know where Callia and Palora are. That is the problem." Her expression dips even further. "... they were just with me yesterday, fighting. Just how much can happen in a few hours to keep them from me...?" Her eyes turn to the ground a moment.

Briefly, though, her brooding is interrupted by Allyn's words. A small smirk spreads across her face, and she nods her head appreciatively. "You're a dear, Allyn. Thank you. That means quite a lot to this aged librarian, really." Though it isn't long before she looks to Shizune, expression straightening. "... I do not know, new friend. Though I sincerely hope not." She follows that up with yet another sigh. Then, addressing the whole group, she speaks again.

"Earnestly, I'm afraid I must apologize." She pauses a moment more. "I invited you all this evening knowing that there might be some danger involved. I simply wanted another nice, friendly gathering before... /things/... started to happen." Staren's words get a tilt of her head though. "Hmmm? A trick...?" She puts a hand to her chin in contemplation. "I really can't say. Seekers have their way of finding one another, and I as the mother of /all/ Seekers am capable of locating /them/, but..." Her eyes light up. "AH!" She lightly baps her forehead. "Of -course-! I can locate them! Or..." She bats her eyelashes several more times, suddenly looking a fair bit more... distressed. "... I... should certainly be capable of that, at least..."

As Mizuki mulls this over... the sky suddenly darkens. Faruja might be the first to notice that... well. This dark is even /more/ wrong. All of his hairs would stand on end, and after but a few more moments, everyone would know that something was... up. Or there. A creeping feeling of dread pervades the area, like something bad could happen any second... but alas, nothing does. That is... until a puddle of a tar-like substance begins to grow underneath Staren. And... Allyn too? They're small at first, but they grow... and soon, the two of them would feel like they were standing in puddles of... sticky water. It might make their movements a bit more sluggish.

Eventually, Mizuki raises her head again... and the moment she looks to Staren, her eyes widen. Her mouths opens, and she practically yells, "STAREN! MOVE, IMMEDIATELY!" Her sword appears in her hand in a flash... which might serve to encourage others to do the same.

Staren has posed:
Staren seriouses up when the girls continue to be missing for minutes. He frowns when Mizuki says she /should/ be able to find them. "You mean... the other?" He looks up at the sky, warily. "Woah..." Staren tries to levitate out of the sludge. When Mizuki shouts MOVE, he teleports. No frills, just one moment he's there, the next he's behind Mizuki.

"What IS that stuff?" Staren asks, watching it warily.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
So they've been potentially invited under false pretenses, or at least without knowing all the facts of the situation. "Well, I won't say I'm not a bit disappointed. It's the sort of thing you should mention beforehand. But..." Before she can say more, the sky above darkens further, and even with only the vague senses of a martial artist with good control of her ki, she can feel something Wrong. And then there is something under Staren that has Mizuki shouting.

Instantly, Shizune drops into a ready stance, taking a breath and letting it out. When she does so, the ground at her feet seems to ripple faintly, a circle of dust kicked up and rolling outwards. "...that's a bit more pronounced than usual," she murmurs to herself before shaking her head. "No matter. As I was saying," she adds more loudly, "You're a member of the Union. If there's a matter you need help with, we'll help without hesitating."

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja takes the firm, energetic hand, shaking back. His ears fold a bit due to Loud, but otherwise he seems quite happy to meet the man.

"Hah hah, well met, well met! Erm...'Rocket Powered Jerk'? Regale me with /that/ story of how ye came upon the moniker one day, hmm? 'Tis refreshing to see a man with such fire!"

At first, Faruja's fuzzy brow rises as Allyn speaks. Then, he laughs, looking somewhere between offended and amused. His tail lashes in that aggressive, animalistic way that Allyn may well be able to interpret.

"/TRULY/ Ser Allyn!? Ye think me highborne?"

After a few long moments, he calms down enough to speak. "Mine tongue's silver is plated upon it, rather than borne true I am afraid. Ivalice is quite similar; blood that runs blue is given everything, and those without? Nothing. Only the Holy Church offers those of low birth anything approaching parity. I earned mine station through work and luck, and prayer Ser Allyn. Not through right of birth. Mine father was a peasant borne clockmaker."

Then Serious Time. Faruja glances back to Mizuki and Shizune.

"Call me a paranoid git, but this storm scents of darkness and Heresy M'Lady." His voice is low, and his words are punctuated by the storm's darkening. The rat makes a swallowing sound, and staggers away from the door. A hand to this throat, and he manages to not lose his lunch.

"Let us find them then." Is Faruja's simple words to the woman.

Mizuki shouts, and Faruja glances to the strangely sticky water. Water shouldn't do that. The rat, knowing rain far too well, knows it instinctively.

Pressing with powerful gravity magic, and simply /willing/ the slowing time of the world to move, the rat attempts to project a massive gravitational shield around the party. The upside? It might blow back the falling rain and press forward the flow of time. The bad news?

It's not a subtle use of the spell, and those lovely doors of her home and a few windows might end up blown in.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
Nadia keeps her head on Arthur's head. Because hey, why remove it if he's not gonna make her? She likes touching people~

No not in that way you perv.

As Mizuki shouts, though, the feral flinches away - but tries to actually drag Arthur along with her, slightly away from Staren. Almost protectively! Or maybe she's using him as a human shield. Who knows.

Minette just freezes.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn turns his head to look at Staren, "You may be right, something to think about at least." He then tilts his head as he listens to Faruja and all the wolf can do is blink, he didn't know any of that, "Well then, still you are of higher calling than a simple wolf is." he lets it stand at that, but his tail wags a little at Mizuki's words.

At least until he starts to feel a bit sluggish and..sticky? he peers down at the ground around him and growls at it, then tries snapping his jaws at it, but once he hears Mizuki tell Staren to get out of there, he tries to leap out of whatever it is around him, the urgency in her voice doesn't sound like something to just ignore.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex gets up as soon as things start going wrong, "If anyone here can't fight, go to the center." She sounds calm, now, though there's certainly some uncertainty there, and she looks at the puddles below Staren and Allyn, and without taking her eye off of those, she asks a question. "Mizuki, what the Tartarus is going on?" She puts a particularly harsh inflection on the word 'Tartarus.'

Mizuki (183) has posed:
"It's a Shade, Staren," A pretty no-nonsense reply (for her, anyway), "malformed creatures that come from many sources, but most commonly, my own paranoia." She bites her lip. "But they aren't my main concern." Her reply to Shizune is a bit delayed, but it comes, at least. She nods to her. "... yes, thank you. Though again, you have my apologies." She spreads out her legs a bit, getting into a better sword stance. "Though I must thank you in advance as well. Now that we're here, I... may well need your protection. My affiliation with The Union will certainly be of help this day."

More pools of ink begin to dot the landscape. To Faruja, she simply says, "I should think they have found us, Faruja." Slowly, the shadows... rise? from the ground, assuming vaguely anthropomorphic forms. Arms spread, feet literally -plop- to the ground... all the while dripping the same black sludge they had arrived from. For a time, they are stationary, but Mizuki doesn't give them the chance to move before charging at one with her sword. Looking back, she says, "There is no negotiation with them, and there is no /end/ to them!" She gestures to the door as her blade cleaves one's poorly shapen head the rest of the way in half. "We should eliminate those already here and get inside as soon as possible!"

Faruja's magic has a very bizarre effect indeed - the gravity shield /does/ summon, and a few of the windows on the edifice /do/ break, but what's more...? The clock tower itself bends slightly to the left, its architecture twisting in bizarre and almost nonsensical ways. It's as though this world is a glitched computer program! Still, it has the intended effect! Or... well. It appears it did. Allyn's attempt to extricate himself is not... entirely futile, but as soon as he moves out of the way of the goop, it chases him! Slowly, it begins to crawl up his legs, causing him to experience a rather uncomfortable, cold, crawling sensation. And, uh...

... 'its' head just manifested on one of his legs. That looks pretty gross, actually. To Lex, she simply says, "Violence." Appropriately timed too -- it would seem a more fully formed one of these monstrosities is lunging at her! Honestly, these things seem pretty clumsy... but there are a /lot/ of them. And still more are forming...

Faruja (152) has posed:
A glance backwards. Broken windows, and the strange, possibly Heretical 'cathedral' is twisted and bent by the power of magic. Given the reverence with which Faruja treats his spells, there's a deep sense of satisfaction.

But it'd be rude to destroy Mizuki's shelter, particularly when they'll all need it. Once the rain-goo is sufficiently /away/ from him and hopefully his companions, the rat directs the ball of gravity magic to a new target.

"My bloody pleasure! FILTHY HEATHENS, YE SHAN'T HARM MINE FRIENDS!"

That magic tightens up, and then stretches out like a clawed hand to grasp and crush as many Shades as the rat can catch into a singularity of gravity. Not too different from when he did so back in Ivalice.

"...I WANTED THAT BLOODY TEA TOO! LET NONE OPPOSE JOLLY TEA TIME!"

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune doesn't need further prompting.

She lunges to the attack immediately, taking loping steps forward, and when she does, the air itself ripples and gusts around her. Dead leaves and debris scatters as she passes then pulls along in the slipstream. Every movement she makes seems to draw the wind with her, the flowing and graceful movements of her variant of Taijiquan stirring the air long before she reaches her target - the nearest Shade to her, into which she drives a solid fist.

Under ordinary circumstances, her ki wouldn't really be visible, even in a direct blow like this. But here? It causes visible rippling, a gust that seems to pass right /through/ her target. And it still hits with its full force.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
While Lex is no mage, she is a warrior, a soldier in some sense. She looks at the shades, and after a few moments, she's attacking. She smacks the shades with the side of her spear, trying to keep them distant and trying to line them up. Once she's got a good opening, she tries to impale, multiple ones at a time if she can, there is no delay to her movements, she sees and she acts, she looks more comfortable than she did while she was merely suspecting something was wrong.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls as the black goop chases him and then latches onto him. He shivers once the cold uncomfortable feeling overcomes him and he gives a whine as he tries to free himself from the shade. He peers down at his leg and sees the head on it and growls at it, "Get off of me." he tells it and then he is trying to bite at it again, gnawing at the head on his leg. Grrrr chomp.

Staren has posed:
"A shade?" Staren nods a bit about the comment of main concern. Even as the Heartless^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HShades begin to take form, Staren draws his laser pistol, sets the element to 'holy', and starts shooting.

Then on second thought he shifts the weapon to the JA-12 rifle except lighter because imagination. Then on third thought he just turns into a Glitterboy.

Oh man I just found this /totally sweet picture/ of one too:

On fourth thought, the knight in shining power armor turns to Mizuki and asks, "Wait, why do we even need weapons? I mean, we can just imagine as big a weapon we want and blast 'em, right? Why can't we just imagine them away?"

Arthur Lowell has posed:
Arthur exchanges more energetic friendliness with Faruja for a while, probably reminiscing about the party Mizuki threw for a bit, before things suddenly get a little more serious and dangerous.

Arthur sees Mizuki bring out a sword, so he knows something might be really, legitimately dangerous, especially with her minor exposition on the subject. Ms. Fortune gets to drag him along - after all, there's nothing cooler than holding back combat preparation to the last possible moment. Though he forces himself to project a sort of casual nature, he's wary.

And then, suddenly, something to beat up. Arthur Lowell wastes no time. Hopefully Nadia will have let go of him by now, because he's immediately got that brilliant white industrial metal broom in one hand, and will be trying to lunge forward. "VIOLENCE, huh?! Well FUCK!" The broom roars like some kind of horrible engine, blasting rocket exhaust out of its metal bristles. "Well NOW we got ourselves a FUCKIN' PARTY! COME ON, SHITHEADS! You STEP the FUCK OFF, we're gonna have ourselves a fuckin' TEA PARTY on your SLIMY GODDAMN CORPSES!" Using his rocket-powered broomstick, he attempts to rapidly dash between enemies, administering titanic melee strikes square to whatever may look like a face. If that's working out, well... He sees FARUJA collecting a lot of enemies. In one place.

So at some point during all this, he attempts to leap facefirst into the gravitational singularity, using his own God of Space abilities to flood his own body with extreme resistance to its effects, and ram through the gathered cluster for MASSIVE damage to multiple targets! If Faruja didn't already kill them, Arthur's trying to finish them off with tremendous damage.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
Minette stares at Arthur for a while. Or, more specifically, his weapon. "...You've got to be KIDDING ME."

Nadia promptly picks Minette up and hurls the flailing Dagonian towards the clock tower's front doors, before wading into the melee herself. Claws everywhere!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Faruja catches at least 5 of them, a few of which were still just emerging from the ground, in his bubble! Crushing them into a singularity is... admittedly... fairly trivial. Before they can be completely squashed, though, Arthur jumps on in there! Instead of compressing the squishy assailants, they EXPLODE, flying infinitely far away! Well. At least /they/ won't be coming back any time soon. Faruja would have little time to appreciate his own technique before he would feel a tug at his left leg, however! One of there heads is bubbling around besides him, and its arm... eeeuuuggghhh! He has HEATHEN goop all over his FEET!

Elsewhere, a shade had just finished working its way out of the ground when it's hit in the stomach by the unrelenting, unforgiving force of Shizune's pawnch! Its back arches like a rubber band and it stays perfectly still a moment... before sludge gathers around her hand! It... feels like sludge! And is it crawling up her arm...? All of this while the, erm, thing's continually growing arms reach out to grasp her, threatening to lift her skyward.

After slicing off the head of another, Mizuki announces, "If they take enough punishment, they will go down, but be careful! They have liquid properties and will make every attempt to suffocate you!" Afterwards, she adds, "Magic, especially compression attacks like Faruja's, are especially effective! Blades can be too -- just be sure to slash them in ways that make them fall to the ground! That means aim for appendages!!" After the short briefing, she rushes to Allyn, slashing off the head before he can bite at it. "And do /not/ allow them to get inside of you!" Afterwards, she takes Allyn's hand and lifts her into the sky with her wings, swiftly placing him in safe ground.

Meanwhile, Minette lands safely in the clock tower! Goal~! Just in the nick of time too -- it looks like one of them is trying to use its grotesquely oversized jaw to make Nadia a snack!

Staren has posed:
Staren starts blowing isolated Shades to mist with the Boom Gun. Because of ~IMAAAGINATION~ there is no deafening sonic boom to harm his allies.

"Compression attacks?" with that, Staren lets the Boom Gun slide back into rest behind his shoulder, and then manifests a giant, mechanical-looking hammer, running into the fray and just squashing Shades flat with it! Splat! Splat! Splat!

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
Nadia is busy complaining at Mizuki over the radio, so she... is slow to react to a -thing- swallowing her whole! She yelps and squirms and struggles... and then she's gone. OH NO!

...Oh wait. She can't drown. Well she's probably fine, then. Especially as she promptly detonates her body with a scream of "SURPRISE!", with the force of a small bomb. It likely sends the creature splattering all over!

Allyn (307) has posed:
Ok, so biting these things isn't going to be a good idea, Mizuki said don't try to eat these things, because it wouldn't be a good idea for them to get inside of him. He shifts to his human form and pulls out a knife, well it's the only thing he has. Well to be exact it's a long knife and probably looks more like a short sword. Once he's on safe ground, it's not for very long, he's going to want to get one or two of those things back for wrapping his legs up! So he charges headfirst at one to soash with his knife.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja watches the glorious explosion of gravity and anti-gravity meeting. The rat turns to Arthur.

"...Ye and I needst fight together more often!" Oh yes. That's the voice of a violently happy rodent.

At least until Ms. Fortune explodes! The rat's jaw drops wide open. "M...M'LADY!" Screams the rat, and he makes to rush off to her exploded bits out of pure, chivalrous urge. With her 'death', the rat seems to want to avenge her! But the goo has other plans!

Squelch squelch! Faruja very nearly retches right there.

"Off with ye vile Daemonspawn!" Faruja raises his hand, and massive, golden ajoran crosses appear! Waving that hand, they seek out the offending goo-things likek missiles to stab and pin them to the ground!



Like all cheating Time Mage jerks, the Inquisitor then simply teleports inside of the building.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune moves and flows without hesitation, whirling her way through a graceful evasion that takes her cleanly out of the Shade's grasp. And the moment she's done that, she whips her goop-covered arm to one side, takes a breath - and then the Shade-stuff covering her hand abruptly erupts outward, as she looses a wave of ki-enhanced force from her arm. "Haa!"

There's a second or two where she considers what she's just done.

Well, alright. If a simple blow with the force to shatter concrete wasn't enough, then she'll just have to use this place's rules to create more. As if gathering herself, Shizune moves through a brief, flowing kata, hands trailing ripples as she draws out her ki. It takes her but a moment, not even enough for the Shade to ready another attack, and then she thrusts her fist forward with a loud kiai. "TOAAAH!"

This time, it's a straight-up wall of rippling force. At the same time, the ground around her shudders, a Yin-Yang symbol stamped into the ground around her, centered on the martial artist herself.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Staren would find that his Boom Gun is actually /extremely/ effective! No coming back when your state of matter has changed. Several shades float up into the sky. The hammer, too, proves fairly useful - every Shade it hits is CRUSHED, and what's left of them evaporates into a similar mist as before! It seems like when they've taken too many hits, that's what happens. They just fade away, joining the growing storm of dark... something in the sky. Finally, though, it seems like the area near Staren is clear!

Well, it seems like BODY explosions work too! As Nadia bursts out of the mouth of the pitifully misshapen monster, its bits go flying! Eventually, what's left turns misty and floats up as well. Strange little things, aren't they? Meanwhile, the camera pans over to Allyn who has just scored a nice hit on one of their necks! Its head sloughs off, the rest of its body keeling over and landing on the ground with a *plop*! But this victory, too, is short lived - yet another one comes up behind Allyn, throwing its arms around his neck!

Faruja warps safely into the clock's interior. By now, a good number of the dark blobs are collecting there, bashing at some sort of invisible barrier... only to be thrown back to the ground in heaps. Elsewhere, Shizune easily blasts the goop off of her hand! Well, magical explosions seem to do the trick at least! Then when another such blast makes contact with the shade... hoho. Well, the results are messy, but satisfying. A small spray of goop lands on Shizune's cheek, evaporating shortly after to join the gathering cloud in the sky. Then...

... then something strange happens. All of the remaining shades mistify (yes, I really said that), including those at the door. They float up to join a dark cloud that has, since the fight's inception, been gathering... but is just now becoming darker. /Much/ darker. The cloud becomes thick and viscous... before a pair of indentations open up at its base. Eyes. Shortly after, it emits a dull groan... and begins to fall to Earth.

... anybody still outside is about to get a faceful of this crap if they don't do something quick.

Staren has posed:
Staren mistplodes a bunch of Shades! Go Staren!

But then he notices they're all joining up in the sky. He drops the hammer and readies the boom gun again, looking up warily.

When the cloud falls, Staren starts firing the boom gun again -- but just before the Glitterboy is drenched, Staren appears in the tower, his subconscious conveniently supplying the sound and visual effect of Twilight's teleports. "Great, now what?"

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
Nadia pulls herself together! How does she even do that? Her bodyparts just kinda... stick together. Weird! She looks up at the gathering darkness above. "...Welp that's my cue," she says, before dashing to the clock tower doors

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn blinks and looks up at the sky, well that doesn't look good, so he sheathes his knife and runs towards the tower to get inside for shelter, seems like others are doing that anyway, so he might as well follow. He stumbles and trips, not used to moving around in his true human form anymore. Two legs just aren't good for anything! and he starts falling towards the ground he shifts into a cheetah and darts into the doors of the tower!

Arthur Lowell has posed:
Arthur Lowell emerges from a splattering blast of sludge, grinning and screaming. "HELL YEAH! We oughta do MORE fights sometime!" And then, to the Shades, "COME ON! I want MORE of ya! Show me what yer MADE of! I'll RIP YOUR SHIT and then have a goddamn TEAPARTY on it! LET'S GOOOOOOOO!"

Oh now they're up in the sky. Arthur knows to get inside. But there's first one more thing he ought to do. THERE ARE TWO EYES THERE! Arthur whips his broom around, baring the BOLT RIFLE end of it on the handle side as it mechanically unfolds. Screwing one eye shut, he lines up a pair of shots... Intending to send big, awful two bolts straight into the Megashade's eyes.

It doesn't matter if you're slime. Being jabbed in the eyes is always awful. And after that, Arthur does his best to dive into the clocktower in a quick floating dash! He might have waited too long, though, who knows? He might wind up drenched too.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
And then after unleashing that wave of force, her target suddenly returns to the sky as a mist, joining with its allies to become something... well, decidedly ominous. Shizune only has to take one look to know what she /thinks/ is the right course of action, and only a quick question on radio is needed to confirm.

In the next instant she's running full tilt for the clock tower.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Giant voltron Heresy go! Faruja glares outside into the forming mist!

And then promptly summons Carbuncle. The small emerald green creature lands upon Faruja's head.

"GET IN, EVERYONE!" He yells out before Carbuncle throws up a massive green shield before the doors! His allies can get in, but hopefully the Esper's shield will hold against Massive Goo Mist Monster!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Staren ports in with plenty of time to spare... but Nadia might be cutting it a bit close. Shizune cuts it even closer, but thankfully, both of them are able to get there in time. By the time they're home free, though, the writhing black mass is just about to make contact with the ground. Mizuki acts quickly, kicking off of the ground and rushing inside herself.

Arthur... well. His shots to the indent eyes make the lumbering mess groan again, knocking it a bit off course. It rolls just slightly away from the door... before coming to the ground with an enormous *SPLAT*! Really, it looks like some sort of paint ball from hell. Arthur is drenched for a literal millisecond before the invisible force field at the Clock Tower's door rips the goop from his body. It feels like a sudden, disgusting chill... before the feeling immediately vanishes. 'Well, that was weird.'

Once the megashade hits the ground, though... it stops moving. There's a brief silence before a powerful wind can be heard. Moments after, the bits of gunk rise off of the ground, joining together in a long, black strand. It seems like it's traveling together to some source, but... oh. Oh, there's the source.

At the far end of the strand is a bizarre figure. This being looks quite a lot like the Shades, yes, but... there's a number of things different about her. First, she isn't mindlessly bashing herself against things. Second? Well... it's easy to tell she's a 'she'. Her form is far more well-defined than the others. Though... there's something a bit disturbing about that form.

It looks like Mizuki.

Staren would immediately know why that was, but the others might be a bit confused. It slowly approaches, airborne. /How/ she's flying might be a bit more of a mystery though - one of her wings is missing. Honestly, she looks... pretty bad. And intimidating. Those stereotypical, glowing blue eyes don't help either.

Eventually, she reaches the Carbuncle's shield, calmly folding her arms behind her back. There's a brief silence before her voice... well. Emanates from the world around them.

"Again?" The word comes out very flat, soft. Demure, but without any kind of feeling. "Truly, we're going to do this again?" Mizuki seems to be at a loss for words.

Staren has posed:
Staren rushes over to the tower's entrance as people barely make it in inside. "Arthur! Oh, you're okay, good..."

And then Dark Mizuki appears. Like /Wings/ are necessary for flight. Staren just furrows his brow and glares at her. When she lands before the clocktower, he crosses his arms. "Again? You've done this before? What, did you take that memory from her too?"

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
Nadia and Minette don't have much to add to the situation except to stare befuddled at Nega-Mizuki Apathy Chick.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja Senra can be an awfully simple man when it comes to certain matters. Magic of a malevolent nature in particular has him reverting to almost base instincts. Squeezing his weapon, he starts to aim it.

Then Carbuncle swats the rat on the back of the head. Apparently Carbuncle has greater Narrative Sense that Faruja. The pair work together to maintain that shield.

"...I doth not know whom ye art, nor /what/ ye art. BUT THOSE WHOM STRIKE AGAINST AN INQUISITOR AND HIS COMPANIONS IS DAMNED BEFORE THE SIGHT OF THE LORD! KNEEL AND REPENT WITCH LEST WE TURN YE TO DUST FROM WHENCE FARAM BIRTHED YE!" Inquisitor's handbook rule number one: if it looks like a Witch, manipulates darkness like a witch...then throw it in a lake and see if it floats. Then they're either a witch, or perhaps a duck.

Faruja can't Magic at Apathy right now. Even as one ear perks to the conversation over the linkshell, the rat Imagines at Apathy.

That imagining happens to consist of an infinitely deep lake just below Apathy. Upon her? He imagines manacles, chains, and a massive boulder that she's shackled to, arms broken in the shape of an Ajoran cross.

Most importantly, he imagines gravity's relentless pull down towards the depths for Apathy. Time to see if the Witch floats.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Only once inside the door does Shizune turn to watch the rest happen, completely at a loss for what exactly is going on - even once the darkness takes a shape rather like that of their hostess. But that, at the very least, gives her something to go off of. A face, an intelligence that she can address.

Taking a step to the fore, as best she can from within the clock tower, Shizune reaches up and adjusts her glasses, her expression stern, but blank beyond that. A perfect poker face.

"You'll have to forgive me my ignorance, but this is my first time visiting this world, or meeting Mizuki in person," she calls out to Apathy, her voice confident, filled with stern authority. "But I'd like to know who you are and what-"

Faruja unleashes an attack on her.

Shizune whirls around to face the Inquisitor and levels a 'god damn it, man what are you /doing/' look at him.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
Arthur is partially drenched! OH GOD IT FEELS SO AWFUL okay, clean now! There we go, everything's fine. He winds up scrambling to his feet and staring at the Dark Mizuki as she slowly appears. Then he grins and approaches the border of the clocktower. "HEY!" He calls out.

"What the fuck's up, YO? Crashin' the TEAPARTY. Kinda a DICK MOVE. What, sour ya weren't INVITED?" Arthur crosses his arms and grins widely. "C'mon, don't be a BITCH about this, let's get our TALKIN' on. Whaddya WANT? Ya want TEA? Could probably get our TEA PARTY on if yer POLITE 'bout it and stop tryin' t'get your MURDER goin', yeah?"

He continues this regardless of whether or not Faruja's attack goes on, mostly because he figures Shadow Mizuki has the same abilities that Mizuki does, so it shouldn't devalue his words too much. "But SERIOUSLY, step the fuck OFF yo. Or at least tell US what's UP, yeah? I dunno what you're DOIN' here, what's all THIS about?"

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn blinks at the other Mizuki and then looks to the real Mizuki, well, their Mizuki.. A mizuki? he purrs inquisitivly at the Mizuki in the tower, "strange."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
The shrouded woman turns to Staren, her eyes emitting a particularly bright glow for a brief moment. "Take that memory 'too'?" She cocks her head slightly. "Whatever do you mean? Any memories that fool has lost were lost because she chose to throw them away." Her gaze drifts to Mizuki a moment, before she snaps to look at Faruja.

Four black, sharp-edged lines emerge from her back, effortlessly slicing through the shackles. The gravity does catch her off guard that time, and she's submerged for a brief while. This witch is /not/ going to float, it seems -- but in time, she is able to reverse the effect's of Faruja's magic. She soon emerges from the water, scowling.

"Must things always devolve into things so primal? Can we not chat even briefly before you attempt to end me?" She sighs, looking to to Shizune. "It is nice to see that some of you are sensible, at least. Now --" Arthur's loud ass voice breaks in before she can finish her statement. Once he's finished, she clears her throat, nodding her head. "What I want, little boy, is to be free."

But it would seem Mizuki has heard enough. She clenches a fist, using the other to lift her sword. Once she has it pointed straight, the clock emits a noise. The classical chime of a clock, albeit distorted, can be heard echoing across the world... as Apathy's form flickers several times. Static. The girl emits a final, placid sigh. Her last words are simple. "I will just return, you know. As always."

Mizuki's sword dissipates, and she slumps to the ground. Using the clock tower, it would appear, takes quite a bit out of her.

Staren has posed:
Staren watches as people fight to interrupt Apathy, keeping her from delivering more exposition. But what little she gets out sounds important. After she disappears, he turns to Mizuki. "Is it true? That you got rid of those thoughts and memories on purpose, not that they just left or were taken from you?"

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja peers right back at Shizune. He scowls! Indeed, the rat may look a little defensive with his almost reflexive violence. That stone has certainly digged into him.

Faruja smirks.

"So the Witch floats. Proof enough. Hail to thee, Heretic. Thus is one's fate, to meet a swift end. 'Tis not 'primal'. Merely justice."

Mizuki wards the being away. Faruja looks up. Clearly, the clock tower is more important than he realized.

Something fades from FAruja's gaze, and he walks to Shizune. A hand pats her shoulder.

"...Mayhaps...if she truly /is/ part of Mizuki..." For once, the rat considers.

"Ye speak well. Handle the Lady. I shall see to protecting this place."

Then, ear perking, he speaks upon the radio.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune gives Faruja a simple nod - there's no malice in her gaze. He was only acting as he thought best, acting to protect them. "I'll do what I can. Nothing is black and white when we're at war with our own darker nature, after all." She herself steps back outside properly, and turns to look up at the clock tower herself, curious more than anything. She's a fighter and a diplomat - magic, dream symbolism, the more mystical topics, they're out of her expertise for the most part. But it seems this clock will be important regardless.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki takes a deep breath... and exhales. Quickly, the world around them would begin fixing itself. The doors, horribly broken by Faruja's magic, are bent back into shape. Glass shards float back to their appropriate places, and the bent tower rights itself with a few, bizarre motions. Within mere moments, it's as if nothing had happened at all... though the charge in the air certainly lingers. Eventually, she shambles over to Faruja, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

She blinks a few times, rubbing her eye. "Ah," Her voice is small. Tired. "In all the commotion I had nearly forgotten. This was initially meant to be a tea party, wasn't it...?" She giggles lightly to herself, searching for Faruja's gift. Eventually, she spots it somewhere just outside of the door, picking it up and bringing it over. She tilts her head at the rest of them. "I don't suppose any of you still have the energy left to stick around for but a cup or two...~?" It... doesn't look like she's joking. And with all the ~IMAAGGINNATTTION~ going on around here, there's sure to be some viable method of brewing tea without a proper aparatus. Right?

Staren has posed:
Staren blinks, then shrugs. "Sure, may as well. So, what kind of tea is it?" Staren then considers. "Oh man, there must be, like... /so/ many kinds of tea you could try. Even stuff you can't normally eat, just turn into something that /can/ eat it..."

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja doesn't look better than anyone else. Faruja smiles to Shizune and Mizuki.

"Like bloody abyss some errant Witch shall get between me and mine tea. Come. TEA TIME YE LOT!" With that, the rat stomps off inside, ready to make the best tea in the Multiverse.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
Arthur's grim, energetic frown immediately lights up into a grin. "OH HEY! Not gonna let her RAIN on the PARADE? Rad. Let's get it PUMPIN'!" He goes back to floating around like an energetic astronaut, following along. "Sounds like a GREAT way t'RELAX after all THAT bullshit." So he jauntily floats along behind her, still upbeat and enthusiastic almost as much as if Apathy hadn't shown up in the first place! He'll stay as long as Mizuki wants to have some tea, probably.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
"I'm Japanese," Shizune says, her tone mock-smug. "Of /course/ I'm willing to stay for tea."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki claps her hands together as a bright, wide grin spreads across her face. "Splendid~!" Suddenly, a table and chairs appear right there in the entryway. Soon, Faruja's tea is cooked and ready in a pot in the center of the table. Fetching a candelabra from some arbitrary location in some corner of nowhere, she sets it on to the table... and lights it with her mind. Then she passes out saucers and cups to everyone, giving a curtsy.

"Tea is served, then~!" Grin~. "Creation knows you all have earned it!"