2273/A Girl's Heart Is Like...

A Girl's Heart Is Like...
Date of Scene:	18 May 2015
Location:	Njorun Station - Deployment
Synopsis:	In which Hama has a fit.
Cast of Characters:	248, 253, Riva Banari, 518, 626, Reiji Arisu, 707, 757

---

Misha (757) has posed:
    Unlike the last Dive, this one is in the Njorun Dive Shop, proper. Though there is also another fact that differentiates this run from the last. The last was a test. An attempt to see if Misha Arsellec Lune could still really handle multiple people Diving at once. As a Beta Type Reyvateil it was no surprise that, yes, she could.
    Thusly, the Njorun Dive Shop has been booked, and several pods have been linked properly to facilitate the Dive.
    Several Dive attendants run about, tending to machinery, dealing with consoles, and doing last prep for the big event. Of course Misha is already here, looking utterly nervous as she chatters with a silver-haired, female, Dive attendant. Words are exchanged, there's a sour look from the Reyvateil, but the older looking woman simply smiles and slides aside to finish handling things.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    A pair of hands come down firmly on the reyvateil's shoulders, rubbing them a bit. This is almost immediately followed by the voice of Psyber as he asks in a concerned tone, "You sure you're up to this? No one would blame you if you didn't want people traipsing about in your mind, Misha." The half-angel says seriously, giving her a firml look before releasing her shoulders a moment later.

    He looks, as is standard for him in most cases, slightly tired. He still looks pretty eager to help Misha despite this, the hands coming off her shoulders and going into his pockets a moment later as he watches her, "Either way, I'm here and ready to go."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Reiji was busy filling out piles of terrible paperwork the last time Misha was inviting people to tromp around in her brain. He is not so busy today, however! The exorcist arrives at the Njorun diveshop without his usual array of weapons, tools and other useful gadgets- he won't need them where he's going!

    Which is to say, he might actually be able to summon them if he actually does need them. Reiji's not entirely sure how this all works. Regardless, he's here, and he's brought Xiaomu along for additional emotional support! He has heard that hugging foxes does wonders for reassuring a person, though he's unsure whether having one in your head is a good idea or not, exactly.

It'll probably be fine.

    "Whenever you're ready," Reiji nods to Misha, before glancing over at the Dive Pods. "Is there anything we should do to prepare?"

Beat. His eyes flicker towards Psyber.

"Mm. I feel like if she wasn't certain she was ready to go through with this, we might run into some problems when we go deep." Reiji pinches at his chin, thinking for a moment. "But if she says she'll be alright, then it should be fine, right?"

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Fassad walks into the Dive Station. His demeanor is humble as usual. By which I mean he comes in with his head held high, his chest puffed out, and his arms holding at his side. He smiles, looking around, his teeth shining magically again. He is almost certainly overcompensating. Especially because last time was one of the few times he has ever actually been completely out of his league, and left baffled. But, part of it is also that he felt like he /really/ underperformed to Landon's princely demeanor last time, and he is overcompensating.

     He speaks to the room, smiling to all of the attendants, "Greetings, everyone! May this prove to be an astounding adventure, and may we help Misha develop!" Immediately after, he makes a beeline for Misha, bowing to her. He will /not/ let someone outdo him this time. He approaches Misha, bows to her, and grabs for her hand, to kiss it in greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you again, Misha. I promise to be as careful as possible within the realm of your mind. The experience from last time shall /certainly/ help in this adventure!"

     And he'll then start moving to one of the Dive Pods, acting like a seasoned pro even though he has only gone in once. He waits outside the pod until the others are ready.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva had so much fun with the last Dive, that she absolutely had to be here for the next one, right?

Surely, they'll all be that awesome! Riva arrives in the Dive Room with a couple cans of sweet tea, one of which she offers to Misha on arrival. "Heya! Glad to see you all!" She glances around, looking over the people and equipment present. "Mmmm, very fancy." She chuckles. "Though I liked the atmosphere of the last place too." She leans over and smiles brightly to the Reyvateil. "Don't worry, Misha. Everything will turn out just fine. We're all here to help you!"

She leans over and slaps Fassad on the back with a tomboyish camraderie and a mischevious grin. "Right, Fassad?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"We probably won't be going too deep," Xiaomu speculates as she stakes out a pod and sets her staff down next to one, flat on the floor beside it, making sure the rings are arranged so they won't have an excuse to make any noise. Sure, random environmental sounds PROBABLY won't interfere with the Dive, but there's no point in taking silly chances that can be easily eliminated, is there?

"Unless Diving lowers ALL of her internal defenses," Xiaomu continues, "I imagine there'll be some reflexes standing in the way of us digging too deep or prodding at things she doesn't want us poking at ..." She gives Misha an encouraging grin, "Right? And if push comes to shove and someone gets too eager, I can help reel them back in for you. Girls gotta stick together!"

As to why Xiaomu missed the initial Dive, much as she wanted to be there - she wasn't going on an epic adventure like that without Reiji, and since Reiji was soloing the vicious and vile bonus boss known as Pey-P'rw'rk at the time ...

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    This was the very somber invitation of a lifetime. Misha was trusting people that, well, she kind of didn't even know in some cases, to traipse around in her head because she wanted to grow and develop. Joining in the room and looking around, the /reality/ of the situation sets in for Yuuki. She was going to go inside someone's head to help them. Inside their head!

    The strength of character required must be astounding. Even Yuuki wouldn't want people in her head. /She/ doesn't really want to be in her own head sometimes, but she's stuck with it, so she deals.

    She moves up to Misha, before bowing, her huge crop of hair falling around her shoulders as she does so. "Thank you for trusting us. I promise I'll help as much as I can!" She offers, before haltingly looking for an untaken pod and sitting down on top of it to center her own thoughts as she has a mild panic attack.

    What if entering Misha's head as a TOTALLY NORMAL GIRL messed things up?! Oh no! Oh no!!!

Misha (757) has posed:
    "UWAH!" It's needless to say that the Reyvateil is nervous. She prettymuch jumps when hands set on her shoulders, but with a breath she quickly steadies herself. Psyber is a familiar face at least, and she sort of did ask him to bring along anyone he thought would be trustworthy for this kind of thing. "I'm. Fine. I'm fine, really." She manages after a beat, before letting her breath slowly hiss through her teeth.
    Everyone is showing up, now. There's no backing out. ... Well technically Misha can back out, but with a slow breath, she decides not to. Everything is set up, anyway. Fassad and Riva are no new faces, but she does need to note to them when they arrive, "Hey. This isn't going to be like last time, this is an actual Dive." What that means for Reiji, Yuuki, and Xiaomu is something else entirely, as apparently Misha is making assumptions about Psyber's experiences with the prior Misha he knew: "So... Um. Normally this is a one on one kind of thing. Whatever happens in there, please don't talk about it out here and... Try not to break anything." The basic explanations have more than likely already been given, so she climbs into her pod. The dive attendants are motioning people to climb in as well.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "That would be dangerous," Reiji murmurs in reply to Xiaomu. "Without any mental defenses at all, someone could waltz right in and mess around with her mind to their heart's content." He shakes his head, "We'll be careful in there."

    So they just... Get in the tubes, right? Reiji moves as he's waved over, and settles tentatively down into the chamber. He peers out through the gap in the capsule, flashing Misha a quick thumbs up. "Understood. Be careful, be discrete. There should be no trouble."

...Probably.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    For his part, Psyber looks to Misha and nods his head, "Not my first time at the rodeo on this one. I'll be careful in there," He says dryly, keeping his hands in his pockets and then blinking a few tired times.

    He does look to Reiji and say, "If she says she'll be fine, I can take her word for it, but there's always a fair chance her subconscious can't support the strain and we cause majoy damage just by our presence," He notes in a grave and fairly serious tone, "The conscious and unconscious are separate. What someone thinks and fact can be mistaken. I want to be as sure that she's ready as possible."

    In the end, though, Psyber has to actually trust Misha. So when the attendants are motioning to climb into the capsule, Psyber does so at a pretty calm pace.

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Fassad, of course, valiantly walks into the tube. He gives one last smile at Misha, though, reassuringly. "Do not worry. We will be as careful as we can be."

     But now he is basically completely ready.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu nods to Misha, then nods to Reiji, "Right then ... see you all inside!" She climbs into a Dive Pod and gets arranged as comfortably as she can.

A piece of her wonders if she should try to fall asleep, or stay awake until her mind gets whisked away to Misha's mindscape ...

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva nods. "Don't worry, we won't say a word." Riva can totally keep secrets. ALL OF THE SECRETS.

Her smile is replaces with a slightly worried expression however, as she makes a Nathan-esque hrm the moment Misha gets into her pod. There's a moment to glance around to the others, and she exhales, steeling herself for what could be something... really weird.

Riva turns and gets into a pod herself, and prepares for pretty song-words to do their magic.

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    Yuuki already made her promise - and it's one she's gonna keep. Before they start, though, she raises a finger, settling into the weird techno-pod thing. "Err... we're not going to rub off on you, if we go in, right? Like, not for doing anything, that's... more obvious, but we're not going to 'contaminate' you if we're just weird people... right?"

    She's worried! Double worried!

    Though, on the topics of secrets. "Right. Don't talk about it. II can do that."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Hey wait up!"

    The red headed white mage known as Kyra Hy-er, just Kyra now, thunders into the room filled with the pods. She skids in and nearly falls over on her side as the big ol' grenade launcher-looking object on her back makes her tip from the momentum. "Er...am I too late?"

Misha (757) has posed:
    Kyra is NOT too late if she gets in a Dive Pod before they start to close. But they are beginning to close. And the silver-haired Dive Attendant with the cattish smile is the one to reply to Yuuki, "Oh no, not from just being in there, but from what you DO in there." She explains cryptically before slamming the completely normal girl's Dive Pod shut.
    This is an absolutely massive step in trust for Misha, but if there were any misgivings, the time to voice them is over, once everyone is in their pods. The world is nothing but darkness. A silent pervasive blackness for a long lingering moment before the systems kick in and lines of rapidly scrolling text and code in almost headache-inducing Hymmnos zip down everyone's vision. And then everything is bathed in white light...

    ENTER: MISHA_FEHU_EOLIA_ARTONELICO Dive Level A

    In an instant everyone is standing on a hill, decorated with old stoney ruins jutting upwards in every which way. This Landmark is called Stonehenge for a reason, and aside from the Dive party and old stone it is silent and empty. In the distance a massive tree is visible... To anyone and everyone in the Union it should be a familiar sight.
    It's Njorun Station. Though the massive tree, normally lit by all the people living and working on it is completely dark. This might be something to investigate... The group is not alone at Stone Henge.
    A tiny figure floats by. It's an ocarina.
    No wait. It's a girl.
    ... It is a very tiny cat-girl, of about ten inches in height, riding a floating ocarina.
    Humming to herself, she floats clean by Stone Henge and the group and almost seems to not notice them. Before halting in her floaty tracks. She floats backwards without turning until she reaches a point in front of everyone... And slowwwwwly turns as if afraid to see what she thinks is there. Little kitten ears twitch, she turns... She stares for a long moment...
    Before the tiny girl completely and utterly gawps at the Dive Party, staring in abject, baffled, horrified, silence, jaw hanging open.

Riva Banari has posed:
Oooh, more Hymmnos! What's that na-ZORT

Riva finds herself standing in a stone henge! Whoo! Riva peers around with wide eyes, curious about the area. It's not every day you get to visit someone's actual really true actual for-realsies mind, after all.

Though why it looks so much like Njorun Station is strange in itself to her. As she ponders this, the tiny figure floating past causes Riva to blink.

Her eyes quieetly follow the tiny catgirl back and forth, and when she starts gawping, Riva smiles warmly and gives her a wave. "Hello~!" She exclaims.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Lines of code? Well, Reiji thinks, that would make sense, given that they're presumably being linked up via comp--

*BWOIP*

    When he next opens his eyes, he's in... Somewhere familiar, but not. Njorun, but dark, absent of the activity that normally characterizes the Station. Reflex compels him to squeeze his left hand tight, and to his mild surprise, his arsenal is right there waiting for him. Reiji frowns, looking down at the wepaons- hopefully, they won't see use today.

His newest blade, Darkdrift, does not seem to have accompanied him. Maybe he hasn't quite internalized its presence just yet?

    Those thoughts are pushed aside as he glances around the area. Everyone is accounted for... Except Misha. But then, this place /is/ Misha, isn't it? So maybe she IS here. Hm.

Oh, but there's someone else as well.

    Someone... Tiny. And vaguely feline. Cute, too, but gushing over adorable things isn't really Reiji's cup of tea. Whatever she is, she seems somehow out of place. He approaches regardless, idly registering the expression of abject horror gripping the little sprite's face. "Excuse me," Reiji says to the fairy-thing. He waits a moment to see if she snaps out of her trance, but continues on regardless, "Is... Something wrong? You seem kind of out of it."

Beat.

"Are... You the obstacle we're here to help Misha overcome?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "She's not the obstacle," Psyber says to Reiji in a pretty mellow tone. If nothing else, he at least knows Hama. He doesn't want to infer too much about this Misha, different experiences and all. But he knows what Hama does, "That's a mind guardian. Here to serve as a guide and help protect us from chuckle-fucking it up too much and hurting Misha where possible."

    Psyber takes a slow breath, not quite sure what else to be doing from here. He looks around carefully, taking in the surroundings and trying to get his bearings. Everything he knew from the last iteration of Misha, and also from Mir, are null and void from here on out. Best to treat this as an entirely fresh experience.

    Owing to that, he raises a hand and slightly waves to Hama, "Yo."

Fassad (248) has posed:
     As Fassad looks around, he smiles and listens. He is surprised as he sees Hama, but luckily, Psyber is there to explain. And Psyber seems to /definitely/ know what he is doing. Still using minor magic to glamor himself up, though, he walks over to Hama. He smiles, his teeth shining bright. He bows to Hama, very politely.

     "It is a pleasure to meet you, guardian of this mind. Might you tell us where we are, and what the situation ahead of us is? Or are you even aware of what it is?"

     The fact she is on an ocarina catches his attention, though. Ocarina. That... actually draws his attention, because of legends of Ocarinas and their importance in his world. But, he doesn't comment on it.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu bows politely to the ocarina-fairy, holding her staff by her side. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance," she says politely. "We're here as friends to Misha, having been invited to assist her. My name's Xiaomu; do you have a name that you're willing to share with us?"

She normally speaks a semi-archaic dialect of Japanese, 'old folks style' as it were - but Reiji would probably pick up that her mode of speech is even more traditional now, and polite in a manner that she usually DOES NOT muster herself for. It might be a surprise she hasn't fallen back straight on Chinese ...

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    As the darkness begins to envelop her, Yuuki's eyes flash with a sort of scaredness. Normally darkness is meaningless to her. Normally, she can see perfectly fine even in pitch blackness. But this... This is different. She almost leverages on something internal to blow her way out of the pod, and starts breathing hard before... ZOTCH.

    She's standing in a sunny field and the sun here doesn't make her want to A) Go to sleep, and B) Die. "Oh. A helpful guardian to make sure we don't chortle-mess-it-up! How helpful. Hello!" She announces. Hopefully Mindscape Yuuki is not Real Yuuki but Nice, Fake, Outward Appearances Yuuki.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra unloops the CURE-ALL from her back and scrambles into one of the remaining Dive Pods. A moment later she also tosses her mPhone out next to her CURE-ALL. She doesn't have anything to say or questions to ask-but she /does/ wave cheerfully to those she knows-mostly Riva, Psyber, Reiji, and Xiaomu. Yuuki is too TOTALLY NORMAL and COMPLETELY UNRECOGNIZABLE. She's also never met Fassad.

    Once inside, she looks around curiously, peering at the surroundings and at her hands. So far everything seemed normal-oh, wait, floating tiny catgirl. The staring is met with counter-staring from Kyra. "...a..awww..." she finally says to Hama, "You're adorable. I wish cameras worked in here. ....cameras don't work in here, right?" She lifts a hand in a disarming fashion, "Don't worry! We're not here to mess anything up. Promise."

Misha (757) has posed:
    Ding ding ding. Ten points to Psyber as he explains the tiny kitten's duty to Reiji, whil Hama reboots herself. In an instant, the Mind Guardian is zipping back and forth, nearly pulling her hair. "Seven? Seven?! SEVEN!? WHAT IS SHE THINKING?!" The kitten squeals to herself, bells jingling and tail flicking agitatedly behind her, before she completely WHEELS on the group, a burning furious hate in those tiny green eyes. "SEVEN OF YOU?! SERIOUSLY?!"
    The hackles are UP as she hunches on her ocarina and flashes tiny fangs. Hama can not be faulted for being instantly hostile though, it is her job after all. No amount of niceness or polite greetings are going to stop the tiny Mind Guardian's wrath as Hama devolves completely into an utter apopleptic fit.
    In an INSTANT she wheels on Kyra. "NO PICTURES."
    It takes her a moment to suck down a breath and stop shrilling like a terrified kitten, though, oen hand rubbing at her face. "Who ARE you people? Misha hasn't Dived with anyone since that blonde doofus, and I'm amazed he even made it as far as he di- UGH. Look just don't BREAK anything." She mewls agitatedly. "I'm Hama, and I'm the [Mind Guardian] of this Cosmosphere. And if ANY of you get out of line I'm going to kick you -all- out in an instant do you understand me?"
    There's a pause. And then an afterthought: "If any of you tries to touch me, I will bite you."
    That's out of the way now and the little Mind Guardian HUFFS, arms folding across her chest. "I can't believe this... I should just boot you all out right now. If you're -really- here to help you'd best be quick about it. But I don't have a LICK of faith in any one of you."
    She's honest at least.
    For all of her complaining though, the view of the world seems to expand, and everything can be seen from a top-down view, like a World Map of an RPG, with several places of note.

    -Misha's Apartment
    -Local Bar: 'The Sad Song'
    -Energy Plant???

    There is... Something else here. Though the Cosmosphere seems to be an exact replica of a darkened Njorun, a massive shadowy figure curls around the upper boughs of the tree, serpentine and monstrous. Only a vague silhouette can be seen, but then a pair of baleful scarlet eyes open and glower intensely at the party and Stonehenge.
    In an instant Hama is suddenly behind the nearest person by her. Which is Kyra.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu raises her free hand in what she hopes is a placating gesture, "We won't break anything, I promise. We want to help Misha, not hurt her. So we'll listen to what you tell us about where we can go and what we can do; hopefully we can earn some of your faith while we're at it."

She turns some of her attention to the 'world map' as it comes up, hmm-ing softly. Whatever that looming shadow is, lurking at the top, has the look of a 'boss fight' to her practiced eye - but then, there shouldn't be 'bosses' in the Cosmosphere, should there?

Well, ask an expert ... She looks at Hama briefly, then at Psyber. "'Don't break anything' probably means there's nothing in here we'll need to fight, right?" She considers the map ... "Reiji, what looks good to you? I'm thinking the bar or the Energy Plant(?) look promising."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "Oh," Reiji mouths at Psyber. "Yes, that would explain quite a bit." He turns back to the little catgirl-on-an-ocarina, and dips his head into a slight bow, "I apologize for my impertinence. I didn't realize who you--"

HAMAPOCALYPSE.

    The exorcist goes abruptly silent as the... The Mind Guardian blows a gasket. She is clearly agitated. Perhaps it may be best to let her cool down for a little while. He idly wonders if mind guardians are suceptible to catnip.

...Not that he'd experiment like that on any aspect of someone else's mind.

    Xiaomu's sudden change in tone and diction registers on the periphery of Reiji's awareness. That's... Unusual. Was she just being formal for the sake of meeting the guardian, or is this place having some kind of effect on her? Hm.

"Well," Reiji shrugs, "We'll do our best to exceed your expectations, I suppose. Please let us know if we make any mis--"

WORLD MAP.

    Goddamn that is /weird/ looking at the world from way up in the sky like this. Reiji is distantly reminded of when he rode on Kalameet's senses, but fortunately, this is far less calamitous than that vision. Even if there is something almost as ominous looming at the very crest of the great tree. Reiji makes a soft, mental grunt as he examines his choices...

    "For now," he says, relying on his keen special agent senses and experience in investigating mysterious happenings, "I think we should tread carefully to start with. Let's head to the bar, poke around a bit and then make our way up to the Energy Plant once we have a better grasp on the situation."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva recoils as Hama goes completely bonkers. "I... I'm sorry?" Riva says, as Hama has her fit. She looks to the others with a 'haaalp plz' glance, and she looks back to Hama. "Okay, okay, we got it! Everything will be cool!" She waves her hands for a moment, then pauses at the aside. "Are you really sure? You're... /completely adorable/." Riva replies, exuberantly. "But it's nice to meet you, Hama. I hope we'll get to be friends eventually!"

The World Map opens, and Riva finds this an odd perception. This isn't normally her deal, but she'll adapt. It's when Hama flips out and hides behind Kyra that she looks up.

"Whoa." She blinks at the ominous shadow. Well, uh... That's different.

She looks away with a shudder, focusing on the other options. "Hmm. I'll head to the apartment." She says abruptly. TIME TO SPREAD OUT AND LOOK FOR CLUES. "Maybe I can find some mind-cake and bring it over like a good neighbor~" She practically trills.

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Fassad considers Hama for a second. He pauses. Perhaps next time he should bring some fish to appease her? Still, though, something like a mind guardian... They really need to make sure to keep it appeased. He stays calm, though, "Well, we have all promised to be careful, and she herself sought our help. Perhaps she has something in mind, for using so many of us. But we will be careful. If you /do/ find reason to have us leave? We will leave at a moment's notice."

     The world map view completely baffles Fassad, as does the possible boss presence. But, when Riva is considering the apartment, he ponders a bit, "...I am... not sure how comfortable I would be intruding inside the home of a woman, for various reasons. But, I suppose, if we are intruding in on her subconcious as is... We might as well. Yes, I shall head with Riva to the Apartment."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra pouts, "Awwwww. Wait, when you say no do you mean 'don't do it' or 'it doesn't work'?" She folds one hand over the other, still pouting and likely considering making the attempt to photograph something. She's tried it before, after all, though it didn't work last time.

    She also starts reaching a hand towards Hama but drops it when biting is threatened.

    Sullenly, she studies the world map, not as shocked at its appearance as may be expected. Given this was a dream world, anything could happen, right? "Is splitting up safe here?" She questions, "Because I was thinking of going to the apartment but I don't want to be the only one to go alone since I've never-errr. Oh, Riva, sweet, let's go." she doesn't continue admitting that she's never done this before since it'll clearly make Hama have another FIT and since she's suddenly hiding behind her, that means Kyra's in biting range. Though with her behind Kyra, the white mage pulls her hood off her head, letting it bunch up behind her. She has shoulder length red hair and her piercings can be seen more clearly now. The hood is also ideal for tiny things to ride around in.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber looks up. Way up. In fact, he stares at the ominous shadow.

    At least know he knows what he's going to be doing with his evening, "We might have to fight some stuff. Depends on what kinda inner demons she has," Psyber comments idly and then looks up at the shadow some more. That thing seems like it'll be fun to mess with. An inner demon of some kind.

    Psyber stoops down to the ground and picks up a rock or four, "I'll catch up with you guys," Psyber comments as he starts coiling his arm back and trying to throw rocks into the upper boughs of the tree.

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    "An apartment? That sounds nice and... Safe." Yuuki offers, looking over the options, helpfully looking at Riva. "And, I'd hate to do things alone. Haven't you been to one of these?" She checks before...

    Psyber picks up a rock. "Huh, do you have an idea?" She ask, before psyber begins slinging rocks into a tree.

    Metaphorical Rocks into Metaphorical trees, after being EXPLICITLY TOLD like FIVE TIMES not to COCK IT UP

    "W-what are you doing? Shouldn't we be soft and gentle?! Shouldn't we think through things?!?!"

Misha (757) has posed:
    For the record, Hama looks ready to bite Riva, lips curled back to show super tiny fangs.
    Hugging seems to be forbidden.
    Nevertheless, the Njorun streets are nearly pitch black. There's no true light, and no starlight up above, but the pathways seem to have enough oddly ambient light that shows a familiarity with the massive tree on Misha's part that the dark streets are not completely impassable but...
    They are desolately empty. Not a soul around to be seen anywhere.

    As Psyber starts to pitch rocks up at the upper levels of the tree, the massive shadow stirs again, but Hama MEWLS and latches onto his wrist. "Stop that, STOP that! Do you want to get us all killed?! Do you have any idea how much trouble it is for me to keep that THING from running amok as it is?!"

    Meanwhile, after a brief walk through the streets, it's not long before Riva, Fassad, and Kyra arrive at the Njorun residential sector, and Misha's pad. The door is left ajar, and from the looks of it, the cozy little apartment has been ransacked. The place is a mess, dusty, untidy, dishevveled.
    The fridge is hopping up and down banging on the wall, held shut only by rattling chains, and just like the front door, the door to the bedroom is left open by a crack.

    Meanwhile, at the bar, this seems to be the one spot in all the city that has any power; evidenced by the little generator puttering outside the door. But it's enough for a dimly lit atmosphere inside. Only two people are present, and one sticks out as instantly recognizeable. Stark silver-white hair in a braid, blue eyes, and a cattish, smile, the Dive Attendant seems to be the bar keep here. The other person however might be a confusing sight...
    A young woman with midnight hair, in her mid-twenties, dressed in a racy black cocktail dress. Smokey jade eyes flit half-lidded to the doorway as Reiji and Xaiomu arrive. "Hmmm? Only you two? I'm kind of surprised. Sorry if you came for the performance, but with the power out, the show's off indefinitely." She practically purrs before motioning for a refill of her drink.
    "ID please~." The Bartender asks playfully enough, which earns a serious scowl.

Fassad (248) has posed:
     As Fassad arrives at the apartment, he looks inside the open door. and, for a moment, he pauses. Staring at it, blankly. For one of the first times in his career in the Union, he is having a look of terror on his eyes. He is regretting chosing to visit the apartment. The utter terror at the mess...

     He is incredibly glad that ALL EVENTS HERE are not to be talked about, ever again. But even then, he still turns around, looks away from the apartment, and looks at Riva and Kyra. Despite a band of sweat going down his head, he is doing his /utmost best/ to pretend he is calm.

     "I am going to make a suggestion: I will stand guard at the door. You two look inside. If there are in fact monsters here, we do not want to be taken by surprise from them bursting through the front door."

     He is praying that they buy this excuse.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Well. How are you supposed to fix the problem if you keep it up there?" Psyber counterpoints to Hama, peering back up into the tree as he responds to both the catgirl on his wrist and the NORMAL GIRL by his side. He squints a bit and looks high up into the branches.

    "What is it, anyway?" He asks to Hama curiously, still looking up there, "Gonna have to deal with it eventually. Not healthy to lock up those inner demons and keep them from people."

    This ironic advice brought to you by Psyber.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Psyber can go ahead and throw rocks at dragons if he likes. For the moment, it's up in a tree, and Reiji doesn't particularly like fighting a monster he can neither identify nor examine. That can come later!

For now, he's at a bar.

    The fact that the place is actually illuminated is an... Interesting change, in contrast to the rest of this place. There are actually /people/ here, even if there are only two. The white-haired dive attendant, and...

...Someone somehow familiar. But... Not quite.

    "No entertainment? That's a shame. Though I suppose we aren't exactly here for a show," Reiji replies, moving smoothly over to sit in a barstool, leaving room for Xiaomu to sit next to him. He digs into a pocket, taking the initiative to slide one of his many ID cards across the bar. It has his name, and probably his birthdate on it! Probably.

Secret agents and all that.

    "I'll take whatever you've got on tap," he says, "And a refill for the lady." If nothing else, Reiji knows of some... reliable ways to loosen lips. He hopes they apply in someone else's mind. "Reiji Arisu," he introduces himself, gesturing toward his companion, "This is Xiaomu, my partner."

    "It's a shame that the power seems to be out, though," he wonders aloud. "Though I'm not entirely sure why. Probably something that's worth looking into," he shrugs, eyes flickering over toward the two women, "Unless there's a reason we shouldn't be."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Huh, good idea, in case any inner demons come after us, right?" Kyra gives Fassad a double thumbs up, "Thanks for tanking! By the way, can we actually die here? Or do you just wake up when you do? Like in a real dream that is."

    Shrugging, she steps inside the apartment. "Hm, looks like a bunch of thugs have been here." Kyra assesses using her ACE*DETECTIVE skills as the three of them enter the apartment. Her attention is quickly attracted by the suspicious banging noises, leading her to the restrained fridge. She stares at it for a second before edging closer, knocking on the door and shouting to it, "Hey, who's in there?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
As Psyber decides to start chucking rocks into the tree, Xiaomu considers briefly - and actually bends down, taking off her sandals. Although she may put them on again before entering the bar. Presumably there are ~reasons~ for this.

The generator outside the bar prompts a raised eyebrow (and slightly perked ears) from the sage fox before she takes a seat next to Reiji, presenting her ID as well. "Xiaomu of Shinra," she introduces herself - still with that archaically-polite diction and enunciation. "What kind of show might we be missing, and how long has the power been out for?" she asks ... even MORE politely.

Does she know something she isn't explaining?

Riva Banari has posed:
"Yeah, but it wasn't ANYTHING like this." She replies to Yuuki. However, then she's on her way before Psyber begins doing silly things.

MEANWHILE, AT THE HALLS OF JUSTICE- I MEAN, MISHA'S APARTMENT...

"Eeew, this apartment looks like it's seen better days." Riva comments, eyes wide as she leans in from one side of the doorjamb. "Okay, this isn't going to do at all." She draws herself up with a determined look on her face. Just as she's abou to enter, though, Fassad pulls her up short. She turns around and leans in towards him, watching him intently. Staring into his eyes with a serious expression. Several seconds pass, and the tension rises...

"Okay!" Riva says with a bright smile. "Watch our backs, okay? We'll call you if we need backup."

At that, she plunges into the place, looking things over in more detail. "Okay, time to do my best Ayako impression. This place needs to be tidied up pretty bad... And what the hell is that smashing noise?" She asks, looking to Kyra and leaning into the kitchen. She blinks at the violent fridge. "Whoa." She says, and then purses her lips. "Okay, um... Keep an eye on things, Kyra, I'm going to look for some cleaning goods." She leaves Kyra with the horrible fridge as she pokes through the apartment, looking for some stuff to tidy up the apartment with. Like in the bedroom. People keep cleaning stuff in their bedrooms, right?

Well, okay, in the bathroom that's usually off of the bedroom WHATEVER SHE'S GOING INTO THE BEDROOM.

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    Yuuki is pretty taken aback. This is PROFESSIONAL! This is... A little scary, even. A knight guarding the door? Why aren't they just scooby doo-ing their way in?

    Yuuki stands in the hallway, having no assigned task, and starts straightening small things, organizing the little bits and making sure the couch covers are swept off and the cushions are rotated and the coffee table is arranged neatly and all the books are set spines out, alphabetically and...

    As other people tackle the BIG OBSTACLES, Yuuki just sorts of putters around aimlessly organizing like only a Japanese High School Female can. Have you seen their rooms?! THEY'RE IMPECCABLE!!!

Misha (757) has posed:
    HUFF!
    This is Hama's first response to Psyber as she adjusts her seating on the ocarina and folds her arms across her chest with a petulant look. "It's a holdover from the last times that blonde idiot was here. He never dealt with it, and that's all I can say."
    Which means if she can't deal with it-- and Misha can't on her own, by extension, eventually someone else will have to.

    In the apartment, that SMASHING noise is the fridge. Which HOPS up and down more vigorously as Kyra approaches it. Fassad is lucky in getting off the hook in investigating the dusty apartment, but brave Riva presses forth and...
    "Go away, I'm not going back to work."
    Just before Riva enters, that voice calls out. It's small and very familiar, as Misha then adds as an afterthought: "... And tell your friend to stay away from the fridge, it's haunted by my ex-roommate's cooking."
    This is the only warning Kyra will get.
    Funny enough, despite the fact that she's busy hissing at Psyber right now, Hama is here as well, watching from a ceiling corner with a glower.
    It's a moment later that Misha pokes out of the bedroom, hair left undone and looking messy, a small girl in ratty pink pajamas covered in dust. "Don't worry about my place, I'm fine if it rots, I'm fine if everything rots." She notes to the completely ordinary highschooler trying to tidy up.

    After a small hassle with IDs and the bartender POINTEDLY heckling people over them, drinks are passed out, and even Misha gets a refill. "Sorry about that." She asides to the skink-haired exorcist and his vulpine companion. "It's tough getting people to take you seriously when you've got the body of a twelve year old out in the real world." Misha says with a sour chuckle. Hama is ALSO here, poking her head up from behind a bottle on the wall, sneering petulantly, but Misha and Spica ignore the tiny Mind Guardian.
    "Mm. I already know who you two are. And I'm pretty sure you know who I am, but no, I figured you weren't here just to hear me sing. I used to have a regular here, but he's gone MIA." Mused as she traces her finger around the rim of her glass. "Oh it's been out for a while. Around since I started feeling lonely again. Though the boy at the power plant might have a better explanation for you on why things are down.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva is about to barge into the room when Misha pulls her up short. She pauses for a moment and calls over towards Kyra, "HEY KYRA, watch out for the fridge, it's apparently haunted by evil cooking."

It's impolite to barge into a bedroom when their owner is in there, however, so Riva puts her back up to the doorjamb and slides down to sit on the floor, rolling her head to one side to direct her voice towards that little crack in the door. "You look like you're having some rough times, Misha. Want to talk about it?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Then doesn't that mean SOMEONE is going to have to, if he hasn't by now?" Psyber says to Hama in an unusually serious tone, "If it's that dangerous, it can't be let to sit idle forever." Psyber notes this to Hama pretty adamantly.

    "I just saw something like this turn into an incident that nearly killed a bunch of people I care about," He continues, sternly, "Maybe not today, but I'm coming back and I'm dealing with it later. When it's not going to mess up the Cosmosphere for the others."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    The fridge isn't answering. Kyra seems disappointed. But fortunately, Riva fills her in on what the deal with the fridge is. "Haunted by bad cooking? OH! Hah, don't worry, I deal with that /all the time/. You have no idea. Like there was this one time I was trying to make soup stock, right? But something happened to the crockpot and it wasn't compatible with the current I tried to put through it and...okay, long story short, they made me hunt down and kill my own creation."

    She flicks her hands out dramatically and places them both upon the hopping refridgerator, "So if this fridge is haunted, then I'll just Banish the bad cooking." she announces all too cheerfully, murmuring a few words to call forth her magic. Except...

    Kyra pales even further, looking drained and weakened as the normally white glow of her magic turns an ugly red and black. Kyra makes a strangled noise as she feels some of her lifeforce drained away, converted into a dark-based magic, which is discharged into the fridge.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    'Body twelve year old?' 'Real World?' Reiji's eyes tighten in recognition. /That's/ why she seemed so familiar. He takes his drink in one hand and takes a long draw. It seems that, even in the mind, his body knows the taste of good beer. "I see, so it's like that," Reiji murmurs, wiping away the residual foam coating his upper lip. "I imagine it must be rough, being stuck like that. Twelve isn't the most pleasant age."

The exorcist's gaze turns toward Hama briefly when the little cat-ocarina pops up. He didn't even notice her arrive.

...Hm.

Perhaps she's not just a cat, but a Schrodinger's Cat? Interesting.

    "Well, I suppose that pretty firmly cements our next destination," Reiji continues, taking another brief sip of his drink, "Loneliness, huh? I suppose it could get lonely, being separated from your partner, like that." If he and Xiaomu were split up somehow, and he didn't know where she was... Well, he'd rather not dwell on that. Loneliness and isolation are painful things to think about. "It sounds like you two were... Really close." Maybe that's why the generator's still running, he thinks. If he enjoyed listening to her sing, then...

...What does it mean when it runs out of fuel?

...They may not have much time.

    "...Well, whatever the case, if it's at the power station, then we know where to go next. I don't like the idea of this place going without power for too much longer," he says, nodding to Xiaomu. Reiji fishes out some cash (DIVE POINTS!?) from his pockets and rests the payment on the counter before glancing to Xiaomu. Whenever you're ready, partner. "For what it's worth, you're not exactly alone anymore. Even if none of us can replace Lyner."

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Fassad has to strain to listen inside. He /does/ open the door, just slightly. With his sword's tip. He will not touch anything inside this filthy house himself. He only glances in on rare occasion as well. He does glance a bit inside though, as he hears Misha's voice, just barely.

     "...Misha, if you can hear me. While I am not one to judge, one must keep one's own home clean."

     And then he spots Kyra launching black magic at the fridge. He raises an eyebrow. Is that... what a banishment spell should look like?

     A smile is given to Yuuki though. A very fond, happy smile. OH THANK GOD, the place will be celaned. He looks away, hoping that Kyra didn't accidentally break the fridge open and unleash a terribel monster.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu didn't even get a chance to order a drink (or at least, didn't *take* the chance if it came up in passing), but she gets back off her stool, nodding. "Sounds like the next logical step, yeah," she agrees.

And while she's not showing it outwardly, yes, she DOES have a pretty strong sense of what it's like to be cut off from a partner you're used to being with. She's actually more familiar with it from personal experience than Reiji is ... much, *much* more familiar. There's a reason why a centuries-old sage fox has just as strong a grudge against a certain werefox as Reiji himself harbors when he's so much younger than Xiaomu.

For now, though, Xiaomu just recalls the world map and sorts out where she and Reiji need to go. The power plant was pretty prominently marked. "Let us know if there's anything else we can do, okay?" she adds to the bartender and the singer, smiling, before heading on her way with Reiji.

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    Yuuki senses DARK MAGIC, and the sacrifice of life (the latter much more than the former), as she Tidies. It is very fretful. There is so much UNCLEANLINESS! A clean room is a clean soul, as they... Maybe that's the thing they're here to do!

    Oh dear fangy pureblooded jesus-sempai-oniisan.

    "What are you doinggggg!??!?!?!" She wails, to Kyra. "Don't blow up the fridge! And don't kill yourself! Here..."

    Yuuki pulls out a small stoppered vial of red liquid, which smells like alchohol and cherries. Really, really strongly of that.

    "Drink this. You'll feel better. And do less of that... dark... explodey stuff! We're in someone's /head/!"

Misha (757) has posed:
    And there goes Psyber swinging in with the logic of tackling personal demons. "No but-- well yes-- I mean-" Hama fumbles for a moment before she MEWLS. "Misha isn't ready for it. LOOK at this place? Does it look like it's in any condition to handle the damage that thing will do if it gets loose? Misha is fragile right now, she's going to need someone to help her prepare for that kind of thing!" She is looking closer and closer to wanting to bite the Half-Angel now.

    Meanwhile at the Misha-cave, the Reyvateil can hear Fassad easily enough, the door to the bedroom is just across from the door to the living room, and she gives him a flat stare as a response, before replying to Riva, "I already said I'm not going back to work, and that's kind of final, no one really appreciated me the last time I was around, so why should I put my blood, sweat, and tears, into a thankless job by going back?"
    And then Kyra tries to heal the fridge.
    The terrible dark HP-draining magics of a Dark Knight saturating the fridge. What terrible effects could this have? -- It actually seems to placate the thing. Its jumping slows to an intermittant hopping in place as the chains rattle less. But there is a sudden BANG from inside as it manages to open the door wide enough for a single red eye to peek out, and the resident within to snarl.
    "Seriously, don't piss off the pot roast, I don't know what Mir made it out of."
    That pot roast is clearly AMAZINGLY dangerous.

    Back at the bar, though, Misha sips her drink with a wry smile. "You don't know the half of it. I wouldn't worry about me, though."
    "This isn't even her lev--"
    Misha stifles Spica with a hand over her mouth. "Without my partner? I get by. But someone else is having trouble." She says with a waggle of fingers as the Shinra duo make their way out of the bar. Spica pockets Reiji's Dive Points.

    The Power Plant is a WRECK. Sparks fly from busted transformers, and it looks completely unmanned. Looks is the key word. There IS a worker here. A young man with blonde hair, in a blue jumpsuit and cap that is clearly a stereotypical power plant employee electrician uniform. and he is looking completely stumped at the state of things, tool box in hand as he fiddles with EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LIVE WIRES.
    "Ahhhh geeze. I'll never get this fixed before shift's up. The boss'll have my hide."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Yeah, eventually," Psyber relents to Hama, agreeing with the feline, "Maybe after some more time settling into the Union I can come back here and check it out some more," He comments, keeping his hands in his pockets. He doesn't have too much else to do right now, so he sort of just keeps staring up at the shadows, red eyes narrowing a bit.

    He has a theory of what it could be. Just an inkling. The fact that it's stirring now is a bit of confirmation for his theory.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva waves her hands to Fassad and mouths something, but it's probably impossible to figure out what she's saying. She kind of wiggles her hands over in front of her face, then puts her hands horizontal with both eyes between her hands, among other strange gestures.

"That must have been a really painful job." Riva says, then silently gesturing to Fassad to check on Kyra since it's clear he's going to detonate if he gets some dust on him. "What were you doing that was so stressful for you?" She asks Misha. She needs information before she can begin trying to draw her out of this shell she's in.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Meanwhile, Kyra slumps against the front of the fridge, onto her knees. She looks exhausted and weak. "Urgh-no, I was trying to banish the evil leftover food." she complains to Yuuki, looking up at her tiredly. "I didn't even mean to-" she takes the vial without a second thought and downs it automatically. Drinking various potions is second nature to her.

    Besides, Yuuki is a completely normal girl, she must be totally trustworthy.

    Kyra feels the refridgerator door bump against her head. She looks up to find herself eye to eye with the deadly pot roast. Staring back at it, she answers the snarl with: "I make food like you /for breakfast/." before shoving the door closed and putting her back against it.

    "Hey-" she calls back to the Misha, "I think you should get rid of this thing. And by that I mean the whole fridge. Get a fridge to yourself."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Well, this place is...

Uh.

    "Damn, what a mess," yes, that. "Looks like a hurricane peeled through here," he mutters, stepping over some VERY exposed looking cables. And a broken... cathode ray tube? Weird. No wonder the place is without power. Damn near everything is shattered to bits. Flame leaps from Karin as Reiji pulls it from its sheath, illuminating the ruins by torchlight, seeing as there's no electricity to run the bulbs.

...But at least it's not like nobody's trying to put things back together.

    That shock of blonde hair is hard to miss, even amidst the wreckage of a power plant- especially in Karin's flickering light. "Hey," Reiji calls out to the Mysterious Blonde Man. "You an employee here? What the hell happened to this place?"

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Fassad looks as the refridgerator door bangs, and lets out a sigh of relief as the potroast stays restrained inside. He turns away from the house, looking away from the filthy apartment. But, despite the fact he is not looking, he still listens incredibly closely to all of Misha's words. He doesn't know what he should be messing with, and what he shouldn't. But... This dark bit, who is hiding away alone and in filth... No one should have to deal with that.

     And so, he speaks, musing to himself, "...I admit. I am unaware of what your job was, and why you will not be going back to it. But, if you do not wish to return, it is understandable. Still, though... Even if no one ever spoke of their appreciation, I am certain it was felt."

     He ponders. He, himself, often feels underappreciated. Even Xiaomu and Reiji mocked him not too long ago, along with Luc. He tries so hard, and yet, will he ever be the hero of legend?

     Fassad smiles, looking skyward.

     "...At the very least, I will appreciate you no matter what path forward you chose. I am sure the others here with me shall, as well."

     A pause.

     "...Though you don't mind if my allies clean up inside of there, do you? After all, a clean home is a clean soul."

     And Fassad really wants to be able to go inside.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Yeah, this is definitely another place to wear shoes. Xiaomu puts her sandals on before heading into the Power Plant proper, giving the sparking wires (and any wires that are bare but not necessarily sparking) a very respectful distance. She doesn't want to find out what kind of a shock she can get from Cosmosphere wires. "You got some extra protective gear?" she inquires of Lyner. "I might be able to help with some of the repairs ..."

Fixing stuff is not breaking stuff! And they need power at the bar, so offering to help can't be a bad idea in its own right. ... Can it?

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    Yuuki's vial is filled with blood made to taste like not-blood, but once it's in your mouth, yeah, it's blood.

    It is the best most delicious blood ever and holy shit you may in fact want more. Maybe. If you're into /tasty liquids/.

    It's also very invigorating and cures pretty much everything! It's /really/ good blood.

    Yuuki just sort of stands there, gaping. "What did you do, Kyra? What did you dooooooo?"

Misha (757) has posed:
    Hama is eyeing Psyber warily as he stares at the upper boughs. But as long as he's not hucking rocks anymore, she's not going to bite at him. "She's going to have to be a lot stronger than she is now before trying to face it. And I'm not sure if that's even possible. I've already given up on all of you."
    The little kitten is sticking her tongue out, pulling one eyelid down with a finger.

    Despite Hama's misgivings, it's not like no progress is being made.

    "Oh huh? Whah?" The mysterious electrician youth looks up from his fumbling around, and raises a hand, "Yo!" That is a huge grin on his face. Almost goofy. utterly derpy, but entirely loveable at the same time. "Hey! Welcome to Union Co. power. The name's Lyner. Lyner Barsett. I'm uh. Kind of the only electrician on duty today. I can get this fixed in five minutes flat if my partner was here, buuuut she's not, so I can't get my head on straight and concentrate huh." So it looks like that's what's going on with the power, as Lyner makes another attempt and crosses two LIVE WIRES.
    The result is a transformer nearby suddenly explodes, and he gets a pretty nasty shock, but it doesn't seem to stop him. However it does cause another issue.

    All over 'Njorun' things quake for a moment from the huge power surge that follows. Lights flicker, but then fizzle out, bulbs explode, and the nearby television in the apartment flicks on, before that goes out again. But the fridge beast seems to be handled for not.
    "You... Make food like that?" The Reyvateil looks nearly horrified at Kyra, but then she huffs and sets hands on her hips. "What is that boy doing now, I swear, it's like without me nothing stays together around here -ugh." She then bitches about the lights. "My apartment is fine. I worked for Union Co. power. I didn't do much, I just sat off to the side and sang to keep the electricians calm while working with the power lines, but lately it feels like no one is even listening. I guess Lyner did, but I don't see him like I used to."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Lightning fast, Psyber reaches out with his hand and flicks Hama square in the forehead. Not hard, more to show he can do it. Even if she bites him, if he flicks it'll be a moral victory on his part, "If that is what I think it is, it'll be a while before she can deal with it. I really hope I'm wrong, though. Because it would be B-A-D Bad if it is."

    "How long has it been there?"

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra looks thoughtfully at the now-empty vial in her hands, "Wow, that was delicious." she remarks, shoving the vial into one of her pockets so she doesn't add to the clutter of the partment. "I dunno what I did! But I think it /liked/ it." Kyra stares at the fridge as she stands on her own power.

    She nearly falls over again at the quake, hanging onto the fridge to steady herself. "Well...you know. Sometimes if you want something done right.." she suggests to Misha, ignoring the comment over her cooking for now, "...you have to go do it yourself. Just sayin'."

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Lyner. Fassad tries to place that name. It sounds familiar. He remembers that Misha had a partner she travelled with. Was... that him? Still looking away, he is actually a bit freaked out at the small earthquake. He hears the bulbs explode, and finally looks in the apartment for a second more. Again, a sigh of relief. At least the power is not having more issues. He doesn't understand how electricity works, though. But he understands the context, that Misha in this is supplying power, and supposed to be working with Lyner.

     "...Well. If your job is helping bring light to this town, that sounds like a fine job. But, even if you want to stop, shouldn't you at least tell them that, in person? Would you like to accompany me to your place of employment, so you can tell them your complaints, tell them why you want to stop?"

     Fassad pauses a bit. And then speaks again.

     "At the least, you should say goodbye to Lyner, if he seemed to appreciate you."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    'Lyner Barsett?' "YOU'RE Lyner Barsett?" Reiji blinks. It... Makes sense, actually. Kind of. Of course the man Misha misses so much is ostensibly responsible for keeping things together at the power station.

Or... Rather, the opposite of keeping things together.

    It's hard to call anything 'maintenance' when it results in a /power transformer/ exploding not a couple meters away. Fortunately, Lyner is between Reiji and the transformer and also seems to be basically invincible. Are idiots immortal? MAYBE IN MISHA'S MIND.

    "What the hell," he growls, marching over as the electrical light fades, "Do you think you're doing? You're making things worse, playing around like tha--"

Beat.

BEAT.

"Oh." Reiji's rage seems to fade. "Oh, I think I see what's happened here."

    He looks to the blonde electrician again, and nods. "Alright. How about you let us help set things straight around here. If we can get even a bit of this running, then your boss won't be pissed when she shows up, right?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Are you even trying t-" ******BOOM******

Fortunately for Reiji, Xiaomu didn't actually just get blown up by the transformer that just detonated, although he'd be forgiven for thinking that might have just happened. However, when the smoke clears away, Xiaomu is still there, leaning heavily on her staff and racked by a coughing fit; there may actually be specks of soot she's spitting out to go with the layer she's gotten covered in. "Uuuuugh ... next time you do something that's going to blow up equipment, *WARN* us so we're not standing next to it!" she complains at Cosmosphere!Lyner. "Washing soot out of my tails always takes so much work ..."

She reaches up, digging soot out of one of her vulpine ears and flicking it away. "Ugh. Look, if you need help keeping your focus, is it something Reiji or I can do? Or do we need to go find your partner and drag her in here to do her job?"

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva curls up in surprise, folding her hands over her head and drawing up her legs protectively as everything sparks and sizzles.

By the time it ends, Riva is staring at the TV. Slowly, she stands up and advacnes on the TV, stepping over the various debris sitting around on the floor and stoops in front of the TV. She reaches out a hand and speculatively pokes at the screen, and then the controls.

As she does so, she comments over her shoulder conversationally, "Fassad, people are depending on her. People need power in order to live. They need light to see, and do things like..." She glances back to the TV. "Watch TV..." and then back to Fassad and Depressotron!Misha. "I think people would love to hear you sing again. I know I've always been interested in listening to your songs..." She pauses. "I think it's too early to be saying goodbye. If you want appreciation for what you do, Misha, let's try talking to the guys at the power plant. Maybe you can put on a concert or something!"

She pauses. "Of course, to do that you'd need, um... power..." She gestures.

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    Yuuki offers a hand to help Kyra up, her grace and balance somehow SUPER GOOD even through the earthquake, and she turns to the DARK COOKING. "I'll... Leave this one to you. If you need more of that medicine just ask!" She offers, before she heads to the bathroom. And gets a duster. And perhaps a rag.

    And begins to ATTACK the dirt and grime, making sure the drawers are organized, the ledges are dusted, and the shiny surfaces are wiped off. She is merciless against dirt and grime!

    FEAR HER CLEANING PROWESS!

    "Hey, um... Mister Knight, why are you outside, anyway? We should be fine in here, you know..."

Misha (757) has posed:
    "KYAH!" That is the sound of a Mind Guardian getting forehead flicked. Hama flails, clutching her ocarina as a pair of crossed band aids appear over her very red forehead, as she scowls. "Since she was eight. And it just gets bigger and bigger and worse every year."

    Lyner is looking frazzled after that, but apparently is some kind of unkillable juggernaut.
    "Aw it wasn't that bad. It was just a few hundred megawatts!"
    We're going to ignore the fact he should be ash right now as he waggles a still very LIVE wire at Xiaomu. "Well sure I guess you can help. Just try not to get shocked before CEO Hall or Parthurnaax show up or we're all hosed. Or worse. Spica." He pauses there to guffaw with laughter, but it trails off into nervous chuckling. And then just kind of dies. "I'd really have this done in no time with Misha here though."
    Hope Shinra included 'Electrical engineering' in their training courses, in the meantime.

    Back at the apartment though there is conflict. People need power, but Misha is playing hookey because she feels under appreciated. So there's really only one thing to do. And Riva's attempt to coax Misha back to her workplace is met with grudging mutterances at first.
    Meanwhile Yuuki is dilligently cleaning the apartment as this all goes on, and by the time all of the Reyvateil's hemming and hawing starts to recede the place is looking MUCH better. But then it's something Fassad says that makes the small Star Singer flinch as though she were physically struck. Chewing on her lip in thought for a moment, she seems to relent with a sigh. "Fine... Fine, I can at least do that much."
    Given a short time to change out of her pajamas and into clothes more suitable for travel, it looks like the Apartment crew has convinced Misha to at least visit the power plant.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Reiji might be relatively fine after that exploding transformer, but his partner... Not so much. The exorcist frowns as Xiaomu emerges from the electrical lightshow, singed but fortunately not actually too badly harmed. That kind of shock would ordinarily be pretty damn dangerous, but...

Well, Xiaomu is pretty resilient.

...Or maybe Misha is looking out for them?

    Well, regardless. "You know that's enough to kill most people, right?" Reiji sighs, rolling his shoulders. He frowns, then, moving over to... To do what he can, he supposes. At least some of the bomb disposal techniques might be useful in picking out which wires NOT to cross. The least he can do is... reorganize things. "You miss her too, huh?" Reiji asks, glancing over his shoulder as he carefully uses a sheathed Chirai to scoot live wires out of the way.

"Ever try going to find her and ask her to come sing for you?"

Fassad (248) has posed:
     With the apartment a /bit/ cleaner, Fassad is actually able to turn around, and enter. He smiles at Misha, looking at her. He takes out a sanitizing wipe, rubs it across her hand for just a second, and then moves to hold her hand in his. "Apologies, but if you are going to say goodbye to your employer and friends, you should at least have a clean hand to shake them goodbye. ...Don't worry. I know this is tough. We will support you with it."

     And unless resisted, Fassad will hold her hand on the way to the Power Plant. Mostly, because he remembers back to when he set out on his adventure. Telling his parents he was leaving, and unlikely to ever return, was one of the hardest things he had ever done.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra takes the hand up from Yuuki. "Hey, what was in that stuff? It was pretty good, I liked it." she remarks without much thought before pushing away from the fridge and finally letting it be. As long as it wasn't thrashing as much anymore, Kyra was pretty satisfied. "Maybe on a subsenquent visit we could boss fight the pot roast." she notes, "I think it's a multi-person job."

    She looks from the Misha, Fassad, and Riva and...nods. She dodesn't have anything else to add by way of encouragement and she doesn't want to wreck something that seems to be working. In the meantime, she searches through the kitchen and finds some paper and a marker. She writes 'DANGER: POT ROAST' on the paper and sticks it to the fridge with the most cheerful fridge magnet available.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Yeah... I think I know what it is now..."

    Psyber says this vaguely, staring up at the sky above himself as he looks at the figure up in the shadows. The fact that it exists draws a massive scowl on his face. He looks more than worried, he looks legitimately upset. Bothered that such a thing exists inside Misha. He looks over to Hama and seriously asks her:

    "Will you let me try to fix it some day?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Clearly this guy isn't 'most people' .." Xiaomu starts, then frowns thoughtfully, vaulting over a couple of loose cables with Suiren. "Hey Reiji, do you think this is the partner Misha mentioned at the bar? Or ..."

Hmmmmmmmm.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva signals to Yuuki and Kyra that it's time to go. "Good job, Yuuki! Cleaning /machine/ there!" She congratulates! Another job well done by someone else doing it before her. SLACK POWER. "Kyra, are you going to be okay? Yeah, we'll handle this later." She asks, trying to help the White Mage along (as well as Yuuki)...

And then she stops as she watches Fassad's actions.

A look of pure astonishment plays across her face. And then disbelief. And then irritation. She watches the proceedings, her eyes practically smouldering behind Fassad.

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    Yuuki gives a small smile. "Just some medicine. It's the best medicine from my world - garunteed to return someone to full power, maybe with a little extra." She explains while not explaining. She's pretty good at that.

    She has all five dots of 'Not Communicating' with a three-dot specialty in 'Shojo Bullshit'.

    "Probably. But this place is dirty! And disorganized. If this is a mind, I bet knocking down the cobwebs would be good. So..."

    She looks around. "Maybe we can order some mindpizza so Misha won't have mindmunchies while her fridge has the Demon Pot Roast."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Oh yeah, I'm totally fine now. I feel pretty great, actually. Um. I'm just glad that I didn't poke a hole in the dream world or something equally bad by accident. That would have been a baaaad way to make an impact on my first dive." Kyra laughs nervously and turns her back on the fridge, following after Riva, Fassad, and Misha.

    Only now does she notice Riva's discomfort, gradually putting two and two together based on the conversation she heard between her, Misha, and Fassad.

Misha (757) has posed:
    "I can't!" That's Lyner's chipper reply to Reiji. And the big grin on his face chips slightly with a pain-tinged look. Because he taps on his nametag on his shirt.
    Lyner Barsett, Electrical Engineer. Temp. Employee.

    Hama rubs at her sore forehead a bit, plucking the band aids away and is good as new in an instant. Resilient little thing. But with a jingle of bells she turns herself right around, arms folded over her chest. "That's not for me to decide, that's on Misha. I just kick people out when I think they're going to be dangerous."

    Fassad gets something of a 'seriously?' kind of look when he wipes Misha's hand, but she allows it to be taken annnnnnd. "I wish it were that easy. But I've always felt like a bird in a cage."
    For now the Seven Man Fridge Raid Boss can wait.
    Flash forward to the Power Plant, Misha with hands on hips. "Well look who's FINALLY BACK."
    Lyner bristles, looking like he just got caught sneaking in home after midnight. "Aheh heh... Hi, Misha."
    By now that massive shadow in the upper boughs shifts again, its attention fully focused on the Power Plant, Divers and ongoing scene. But the dialogue here is a little confusing. Isn't Misha the one that quit?
    Well it looks like between Xiaomu and Reiji PRAYING TO THE MACHINE SPIRITS of the power plant, things are in a bit better order. Lyner actually turns to look over the engineering handiwork and rubs at the back of his neck. "I guess things are just about fixed here though. ... But maybe if you could sing for us all anyway?"

    This seems to earn a HUFF, and just as Misha is about to respond, Stone Henge explodes with a vibrant pillar of golden light reaching for the sky.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Look, sometimes you just gotta pray to the Machine Spirits and hope the Omnissiah pulls you through in the end. Reiji flinches at Lyner's expression. And the tag on his shirt.

'Temp' Employee? He's not quite sure whether that bodes well or not.

    It isn't long before Misha arrives, though. The small Misha, this time. Not the cocktail dress wearing, significantly more mature Misha. "Oh," Reiji says, sweeping another live wire carefully into somewhere that looks relatively safe. Chirai's PERFECTLY INSULATED SHEATH can be pretty useful for messing around with electrical wires. "Hey. Glad you guys could make it." Beat. "It'd be great if you could sing for us sometime, thou--"

*CRACK-SHOOOOOM*

    "The fuck was that?" Reiji says, unintentionally tainting Misha's innermost self with FOUL LANGUAGE. He peers out across the great Overworld Map and notices that the stone henge is shining like some kind of crazy beacon. "...Hey," he says to the others, "Maybe we should... Go check that out."

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Fassad, for his part, is /completely/ oblivious about the look of rage Rivais giving him. He is too concerned with supporting Misha.

     At the power plant, Fassad is actually a bit confused at the whole 'Finally Back' thing. This surprises him, and it also surprises him that there is suddenly a pillar of light. He pauses, looking towards the light.

     And then he turns to Misha, smiling, "...Well. We need to see what that light is. But, well. I hope that you can at least sing this man one more song. And I hope that you keep singing, no matter where you keep going. Your voice is lovely."

     And then he turns around to head towards the light. As he turns, he /finally/ sees at least a glimpse of the foul mood Riva is in. He pauses.

     "...Is everything alright, lady Banari? Are you feeling ill?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Yeah, well, I hope to make it back some d- JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" Psyber exclaims as the area he was literally standing 2 feet from explodes into a giant, overbearing pillar of light that shoots towards the Heavens like a Led Zeppelin song. In fairness to his expletives, it happened 2 feet away from him and it was VERY startling. Luckily no one was around to see him shout like that.

    The half-angel lets out a massive sigh and then rubs his face with his free hand and then looks to Tama, "Fine. Just don't kick me out when I come here next."

    Psyber, knowing what the Shift indicates, doesn't really hesitate to step into it after he says goodbye to Hama.

Yuuki Kuran (518) has posed:
    Yuuki is about to add something, finally figuring out what the heck she's supposed to do that's not... CLEANING...

    And BAMF, they're done. She's out. And...

    As the light encompasses her, her eyes flash red again, and there's an annoyed look on her face. "But I finally figured out what to do..." She grumbles.

    The light zoops her away.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Uhhh, Fassad, you-" Kyra starts to explain, perhaps cutting in and talking over what Riva is about to say. It doesn't last very long at all, her words lost as the golden pillar lights up when mostly everyone regroups at Stonehenge. She's completely unsure what this means until everyone starts walking into the light.

    She shrugs and waggles her fingers at Hama in goodbye as she steps into the light.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Let's see ...." Rather than checking out the Cosmosphere map, Xiaomu goes over to the door or a window or something, taking a look. "Welp, huge pillar of light rising from where we arrived, lack of apocalyptic side effects across the rest of the place, *probably* generally a good sign."

She waves to Misha and Lyner, "You two be good, we'll see you again sometime! Or somebody else will~" She heads out with Reiji, to return to the 'Stone Henge' and from thence back to the waking realm.

Misha (757) has posed:
    It looks like the group was... Successful? That's what that light means right? Actually even Hama mewls with surprise when Stone Henge blares with light right next to her, too. "Y-... They did it? H-how? How did they do- UGH. Whatever."

    With Stone Henge lit up though Lyner grins massively. "Oh man, a Paradigm Shift, I haven't seen one of those in a while. You guys must have done something right."
    "THEY ALMOST MESSED IT UP COMPLETELY!" Hama squeals.
    Misha however huffs quietly. "I guess that's it. You should all get going, I'll see about fixing things here with Lyner."

    It's as everyone files to Stone Henge, that the last glimpse of Njorun would be of the lower levels flickering- before coming alive with power. Though the upper boughs of the tree are still shadowed by the menacing presence above, it--

    All fades black.

    With one last scroll of code in Hymmnos, pods hiss and begin to pop open, Misha is already sitting up in hers, looking bewildered.
    "So how was it~?" The silver-haired Dive attendant asks.
    "... I... Feel like I should go home and tidy my apartment..."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva follows along to the power plant, where Depressotron!Misha meets Temp Lyner. "That's really sad, Misha. Maybe we can help you find ways to express yourself without feeling so confined... Oh." She looks between Misha and Lyner, thinking for a few moments... But she doesn't get involved.

Fassad's question gets a shrug. "I'll tell you about it later." She says, simply. "This isn't the place for it." She looks in the distance, where the golden light appears. "Hey, check that out!" She points. "That's so beautiful!" She exclaims.

She'll get over there soon enough.

In the meantime, Riva waves to the pair. "I hope things work out, all right?" She smiles.

TIME PASSES

UNZORT

Riva stumbles out of the pod, and glances around again, her eyes adjusting once again to the light of the Njorun Dive Shop. "Wow, that really was very different." She says.

Yeah. Super profound, Riva.

Fassad (248) has posed:
     As Fassad steps out as his pod, he smiles at all around. Boldly, proudly. He'll assume Riva will tell him whatever later, but... They're not allowed to talk about what happened, are they? He shrugs it off for now.

     And instead he just looks at his fellow divers.

     "Well, that went very well. I will be happy to come along these adventures in the future as well!"