Scene #2383: Everything In Its Proper Order

Owner	Pose
Yuuki Kuran	It only took a short few days for the Hunter's Association to bring forth a full writ of extermination against any resisting the investigation to the Touma clan residence and the 'questioning' of any Touma Purebloods that were there. Unless an Unforgiveable Sin had been committed, though, there was a standing, and STRONGLY WORDED order from both the Association and also as a request from King Kuran to not end their existances. Then they went on to list all the ways one could do that, which generally boiled down to 'total annihilation' 'whole consumption' and 'damage with an anti-vampire weapon followed by damage to the heart'. This was somewhat limiting, but, if you read it right, you realize that you can basically punch the shit out of the Touma(s) as long as you're not trying to kill them. And yes, Harry. Fuego is not an Anti-Vampire Weapon, why do you ask? The Touma estate is a large european mansion, like the massive estate that Kaname Kuran hosted his big party last time, but surrounded with wrought-iron gates and hedges with only a small set of mildly unkept grounds. It's spookier, and shapes move automatically in the windows inside, servants moving hither and thither. It's nighttime, and the rolling hills and dirt road that leads up to the countryside estate empty save for a dappling of trees. There are windows on the first and second floor, and some signs of a deep basement level. Support from the Hunters has the whole place cordoned off, making sure nobody got in or out. Unfortunately for the 'bomb them from orbit' plan, there is a hostage girl inside. >WAT DO
Harry Dresden	To Whom It May Concern: If you expected Harry Dresden to come any less rigged up tonight than he was at the party, you'd be quite wrong. So very very wrong, in fact. The Blue Beetle rolls up on the house, smoking a little from the engine in the back. The Blue Beetle is not in fact entirely blue. In fact, only the rear right bumper was still blue. The majority of the car is still primer grey and Bondo. Someone has painted a haphazard 53 on the front with a stencil, hopefully as a joke. Harry unfolds himself from the car, letting his other passengers out as well, as he heads for the bonnet. The Ultra Secure wire hangar is tiwsted aside to open it up, and Harry pulls out a shotgun and his staff. "Alright, alls out what's coming with. This isn't going to be pretty."
Riva Banari	Riva pops out of the Blue Beetle. She graciously yielded shotgun to Inga since she probably needs the leg room more, and looks around with a contemplative look at the spooktacular estate. "I... have an idea." Riva says, and immediately dives into the nearest shrub. There is a low cracking as it is neatly severed at the base, lifts, up, and the Templar begins tiptoing onto the grounds, stopping every so often to pretend to be a shrub as she works her way towards the estate proper.
Yuuki Kuran	SHRUBBERY SNEAK TACTICS: SUCCESSFUL(?) The expert sneak tactics of Riva Banari hiding under a shrub, get them past the wrought iron gates. There doesn't seem to be anyone 'keeping watch', so to speak, and the estate is rather expansive. BUT YOU SNEAKED GOOD, RIVA.
Aoko Aozaki	Harry's car's trunk suddenly bursts open. Aoko hops out, in her traditional white t-shirt and jeans, the bright red hair a stark contrast to her clothes. She immediatly shouts: "WOO, FREE FOOD! So where are--" That's a mansion, not a restaurant. "Aww man, I thought you guys were going to a secret fancy diner or something. I've been ripped off by my cat." And thus, her presence is explained.
Guest Psyber	Psyber's here too, going through the trunk of his muscle car and taking out a pump-action shotgun of his own. He shouts to the Wizard, "Yo Harry." If the Wizard is fast enough to catch, a plain brown box of shells is flying towards him, "Forged iron. Oak ashes added to the metal during forging, cooled in holy water." He explains before sliding some into his own weapon, "It should at least pack enough oomph for you to use on some vampires." And then his shotgun is swung up and across his shoulder as he says, "We can do a double-floor breach and sweep to clean it out. I'd like to know where the hostage is before we head in, though."
Inga Freyjasdottir	Inga is riding in the passenger's seat, looking vaguely embarrassed as they pull up the manor house in the (sorta) Blue Beetle. Apparently, she at least knows enough about cars now to know that Harry's is a piece of crap. % Alas. Inga steps out as well, smoothing her clothes and grabbing her staff, leaning on it thoughtfully as she looks toward the mansion and around the grounds, frowning gently. % Of course, Inga is also fully outfitted in talismans and she will darn well use her blood magic tonight if she has to. Inga blinks as Riva pops out and pretends to be a shrub. "What..." she begins, but just shakes her head. Is Riva...high? Inga looks over as Psyber pulls up in his car. Lips purse. Inga raises a brow slightly, looks at Harry, then shakes her head. "Well, perhaps I can divine more or less where they are holding her," she comments. If she's alive. Inga reaches into her pouch, pulling out her bag of runes. She kneels down and casts them on the ground. They glow with a faint blue light.
Riva Banari	HELL YES RIVA IS BEST AT SNEAKING WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING AT HER. Riva the SHRUB NINJA continues across the grounds as Riva reinforces her idiotic plan by quietly repeating 'I'm a shrub, I'm a shrub, I'm a shrub, sheub shrub shrub' and variations on this over and over in order to instill a SUBCONSCIOUS BASIS for her being a SHRUB. She might be an idiot. Or high. She won't answer that question, ossifer. Her objective is to get to the manor and start peeking into windows for some SBR (SHRUBBERY-BASED RECON) unless something shiny distracts her, much like a ferret. This technique is /not/ in the Templar tactical manual.
Harry Dresden	Harry catches the shells, and in return pulls a satchel from the bonnet as well, tossing it over to Psyber. "Here, my own load. Blessed rock salt. Not sure if faith will burn these pretty assholes but it's worth a shot." Thanks, Father Forthill. Your own antipathy towards Vampires is welcomed. Dresden just... boggles at Aoko and Riva, but sighs, looking over at his fellow Mage. "No, no fancy food, unless you steal it from these jerks. But I'm guessing their nibblets are going to be of the bloody variety, so." Double breach, two levels. Harry looks at the Half Angel. "You fly up, take top flor, I take ground floor, we meet on the way to the basement? I like the plan." He flops open the sawed off, loading a pair of shells, and slings it under his coat.
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin is present. He's armed with... stuff. It's hard to tell if he's carrying any /actual/ weapons, but he's got his 3D glasses and is looking vaguely mysterious. "If you would prefer," Wuyin remarks, watching Riva 'sneak' off and Inga actually do the divination thing, "I can draw their attention to one side of the building by being my charming self. Enter through the opposite side and see where they try to hide, or neatly flank them. Whichever you prefer." He pauses a second. "Or just go in the front door. That could work just as well."
Zero Kiryu	FROM: Kiryu, Zero TO: President Cross of the Hunter's Association, Kaname Kuran CC: The Entire Hunter's Association, All former members of the Council of Elders The penalty that will be levied upon the party responsible for recent events is currently pending. I have elected not to dispense my spare anti-vampire weapons to my associates in deference to the desire to subdue non-lethally where possible. However, until the status of Wakaba Sayori is verified the possibility of lethal force cannot be ruled out. As you are aware, the penalty for forcibly transforming a human into a vampiric thrall is punishable by death. Previously, I was responsible for the execution of the mad pureblood Shizuka Hio for the same crime, and following this time I was accosted by representatives of the Council of Elders seeking retribution for the death of a "sacred one." As the actions that appear to be pending constitute a crime for which execution is the only punishment, and this attack has been directed towards a direct associate of the Kuran family, I am formally declining your request to subdue the target non-lethally pending investigation of what has occurred. The overall Touma clan will not, in the short term be held responsible for the actions of the individual who has kidnapped Ms. Sayori. I reserve the right to pass judgement on the immediate responsible party, with deference to Kaname Kuran concerning the overall fate of the Touma clan in the long term. An addendum is scribbled at the bottom of the copies to everyone except Kaname himself, written in red ink: He won't stop me. IN THE PRESENT, Zero Kiryu stands at the front of the Hunter barricades. Now that everyone has begun arriving, he has decided that it's time to move forward. He is wearing three extra weapons on his person in the event that they need to be distributed -- a long spool of garotte wire hidden inside his coat, and a pair of swords sheathed at either side. He begins forward and without the slightest hint of subtlety bends the wrought iron gates opened and enters the grounds. His march continues in relative silence, allowing the others to execute their plans as they will. Either he will receive a positive reaction, or he will act as a distraction while everyone else gets shit done. The Vampire Hunter comes to a halt at the front door, reaches forward, and... knocks with moderate, well-measured force.
Aoko Aozaki	"What. Steal from who?" Aoko blinks, confused. She looks at the gathered crowd again. Oh! The vampire people. Well, the people dealing with a vampire. Also the people who deal with a lot of other stuff in general but let's go with the easy assumption here. Plans are being made to breach from two directions, and Zero's just off to knock on the door! After breaking the gate. "So, the people who live here are jerks? I can raid their kitchen?" Stomach growl. Man she sure got the short end of that stick. "I like the front door option a lot."
Guest Psyber	Psyber nods to Harry as he slides a mix of his own shells and Harry's shells into the underside of his shotgun. He adds, "Sounds good to me. Let's get into positio-" He cuts off as Zero rips open the gates, "Well. I guess we have a cover distraction. You find a ground floor side door, I'll head up to a second floor balcony." Psyber says, inwardly noting a level of 'being impressed' at Zero's abilities. Then again, you have to be pretty competant when your main duty seems to be 'protecting Yuuki from Yuuki', so it's not completely surprising. Psyber departs in a sprint, darting off across the lawn and trying to find a second-floor balcony he can leap up onto while Zero knocks on the front door. If things go poorly with the direct approach, he wants to be ready for the MORE direct approach.
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin bobs his head in a nod. He watches Zero march straight on in, frowning slightly. That was /his/ idea, knocking on the door. He wonders if that'll actualy work. He'll be so peeved if it does. "Vampires," he explains to Aoko. "Asshole vampires, to be precise." He reaches into his pocket and pulls a warm, wrapped object out, almost absently offering it to her. "We've been kindly asked not to kill them." He slightly stresses 'kill.' Just enough to get the 'maiming is totally cool' part across. "If you'd like, we'd be happy to have another pair of hands." Wu starts towards the front door at a jog. He kind of wants to leap through a picture window and stab a guy. That'd be cool.
Yuuki Kuran	The large double-doors into the mansion stay resolutely shut, and the curtains on the first level are drawn. In fact, all the curtains are drawn. The second floor balcony and the first floor door just sit there. Riva is capable of getting all the way up to the door, engaging in TACTICAL ESPIONAGE ACTION... As Zero, Harry Dresden, and Psyber just walk right the heck up while either talking breaching plans and being a dark, brooding force of blowing motherfuckers way the hell up (not respectively). As Inga casts her runes, and the power and sympathetic force of her Seer-ness enlightens her to the Things that are Occurring, she gets the distinct picture that the 'prisoner(s)' are in the basement level, as well as a few wretched creatures. Furthermore, two points of 'power' - nearly as strong as the Vampire King from the night previous. One feels as if a dark tempest, crackling and thundering, while a second - in the second story - is more akin to an abyssal trench. Dark, deep, and unfathomable... But, seen from a distance, totally calm. The hunter cordon near the gate looks at the Antics of people, especially Aoko. One reaches into a pocket and hands Aoko a scone. "Payment in advance for killing those bloodsuckers, yeah?" the rugged-looking man who may be a bit too eager in his generic vampire slaying ideals as he brandishes a long knife. There is movement inside, behind the curtains, if people want to SWAT in that way, too. Like Wuyin.
Yuuki Kuran	Zero's knock on the door gets some small amount of movement, as a quiet European voice offers, sleepily but professionally. "Yes? This is private property. Please go away." Then a shuffling off. It's really a shame that 'no solicitors' never stopped a SWAT team before.
Inga Freyjasdottir	Inga watches as Zero just bends the gate for them to walk through, her jaw dropping slightly. "Well..." she begins, then shakes her head, her expression of surprise soon followed by an eyeroll. "Yes, we'll all charge in then. I'll catch up," she says, full of sarcasm, before she looks back to see what her runes might have to say. She frowns in concentration, looking them over for a few more moments before she scoops them back up and places them securely away. Only then does she move forward, not caring if she's the last there. Inga does things in her own time and people can damn well wait for her if they want wards and healing. She moves up beside Harry and leans over to speak quietly. "She is in the basement, others as well it seems. Two points of strong power are within," she informs him. "We should use the radio, yes?" she suggests.
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden smiles over at Psyber, twirls his staff a bit, and saunters over towards a side door. No, he is not making himself all that hidden, just yet. This is the sort of situation that Harry... well. This is personal now. This is extremely personal. And these are Not People. They are Things. Phages. Parasites. And that's more than enough reasoning for him, at this point. Harry's gait stops him at a door. And as he can hear Zero's careful and measured response to this situation and the 'go away' from the vampires, he plants his staff, plants his feet, braces himself, and lifts up his fist with the rings on it. "FOZARE." A week and a half's worth of stored kinetic energy blasts itself out of those rings, smacking at the side door with the force of a pickup truck driving into the wall at highway speeds.
Zero Kiryu	Zero pushes the door in roughly before it has an opportunity to be fully closed, but he does not pass the threshold just yet. He answers the servant's dismissal curtly, his aggression simmering subtly underneath his words, "I'm Zero Kiryu, of the Hunter's Association, and I'm here on the authority of both the Association and the Kuran Family. A member of the Touma clan has abducted a friend of the Kuran family from a recent social event. My associates and I will be searching the grounds until the individual responsible is apprehended." "Before you answer," He glowers at the servant, "Be aware that resistance will be regarded as an act of war against the Kuran family."
Aoko Aozaki	In the span of THIRTY SECONDS, Aoko is handed: 1x Taco 1x Paycheck This is, literally, the best day of her life. If she ever had to time travel backwards, she would choose this specific moment without a doubt. Disregard the fact she's fated to do it and it's not this specific moment at all. This is, truly, a huge letdown, but hey. "Sure, sure! I'll uh. I'll go around." With Zero and Harry making the most noise, the completely normal human magus shuffles off to circle the mansion. She starts peering in through windows, awkwardly and without a drop a stealth, to locate the kitchen. It has to be on the first floor right? Who puts a kitchen on a second floor?
Guest Psyber	As he hears the sound of Harry breaching below him on the first floor, Psyber levels his shotgun at the door in front of him. He could kick it in, but even with his superhuman strength, if it's locked well enough he might get some resistance. So BEFORE he kicks it, he fires the shotgun at the lock. The first shell out of the shotgun is a breaching round, meant to hit the lock and then fragment, turning most bolt locks into twisted scraps of metal. THEN he kicks the second-floor door down with his full strength and rushes into the house. The shotgun is pumped and the first of the anti-Vampire shells comes into it as Psyber rushes in, shouting, "Down on the floor! Face down! We're with the Hunters! We're here for the girl you took!" Standard police procedure, really. Anything stupid enough to actually come at him is going to catch a couple shells in the chest, since Psyber is pretty practiced at this sort of operation by this point in his career.
Riva Banari	Holy crap, they DREW THE CURTAINS. They're /BRILLIANT/. Riva is taken aback for a moment with her complete inability to just look through the windows and see what's up, before Harry straight up huffs and puffs and blows the door downm Psyber breaches the second floor, and Zero levies the terms of engagement which will inevitably be ignored. With a yell, Riva erupts from the shrub and tries to shoulder ram through a window with a dramatic lunge. This is probably going to hurt. A lot.
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin waits a moment while Zero goes and does the social thing. He taps his foot a little impatiently, back and off to the side. Riva, as a shrubbery, shrubs off to sneak in... somewhere. When it turns out she is /also/ going to /steal his thunder/, he gets fed up with it. Wuyin marches up next to her as she makes to lunge, reaching into his pocket and pulling out... ...a kabuki mask? He throws it on, and then flings his hands forward. Something green strikes the window the moment before Riva does, punching through and sweeping the curtain. This saves her some unnecessary glass-pulling later. Wuyin dives in with her, going up and landing in a fighting stance, the surpisingly menacing mask covering his face, some kind of spectral fighting claws around one hand and lengths of greenish translucent chain wrapped around his other arm. The eye-holes are, of course, red and blue.
Riva Banari	Riva Banari totally poses with Wuyin, the large Ajoran cross-hammer coming up and glowing with red-gold anima as she holds it horizontally behind her head. And probably bleeding from a lot of broken glass cuts. Well, you know. Can't have everything.
Yuuki Kuran	FIRST FLOOR FRONT As Zero pushes open the door and goes Nuclear Social Option, things go precisely as you may expect. Zero's words make the servant bow. "Ah. A messenger from the Association, and the Kuran. My master has a response prepared for you." The servant walks very calmly to a nearby closet (near a Certain Window), and opens a door, revealing... Guns. With supernatural speed, the vampire thrall-maid reaches for a shotgun, spins, and... Gets POSE LIKE A TEAM'ED on. A hail of glass shards, feet, and Chaos Magic Bullshit slam them to the ground and bury them under JOLLY TSW CO-OPERATION. But that's the score on this place. The help's been ordered to attack on sight. A few others, as the windows break, and the side door BLOWS THE FUCK OPEN, scuttle out of the woodwork, wearing nice suits or maid outfits and weilding automatic weapons, begin shooting down hallways and engaging in Mook Behavior. If you are weak to Being Shot, this may hurt! Also, the one Wuyin and Riva are posing on is just Stunned, not Dead. They are all very Aggro'ed though!
Yuuki Kuran	SIDE DOOR: Unfortunately, this is not the Kitchen, and the kitchen is in the heart of the mansion. We're all very sorry, Aoko. As Harry BLOWS OPEN THE DOOR with FORCE WIZARDRY, it cleanly blows off the hinges on the all-wooden door, and Harry easily steps across the threshold of the Touma Estate - who may or may not enforce that sort of thing, depending on Harry's magic, but it's not quite a thing in Yuuki's world - and its nice wooden paneling, into the Servant passageways. Because that's where a side door leads, duh. Harry, being Harry, flanked by Inga and with Aoko in tow, realize why this is a very Harry Dresden idea slash plan. Because there were two broken vampire bodies under the door, groaning and dying, and at least six more vampires absolutely stunned as Harry walked in. One charged, while the others turn to draw weapons or acquire heavier ordinance from the walls. They're extremely fast, and pretty... But largely normal. No horrible bat-monsters here! Bang bang!
Inga Freyjasdottir	So often, Inga's Sight feels like a curse. There seems to be little she can do to prevents terrible things from happening frequently. But every now and then, the Sight proves useful. Just in time, a vision comes. There's no time to speak it, only to try to act. Inga moves faster than she thought she could move, getting in front of Harry before shots can be fired. There's no time even to throw up a ward. Inga instead takes a move from Harry's book and uses her own version of his forzare....but she still gets shot. Now, Inga is short. She's not the best shield, really. But she's there, and takes several bullets that might have hit Harry instead. Sadly, one is to the head. Inga drops. Even her excellerated healing isn't going to be enough to live through that.
Zero Kiryu	Zero is not in the mood for this. He's not in the mood for anything, really. If, despite his grumpy and hostile exterior, he wasn't a pretty good guy underneath, he would have opened up a lot more viciously than he did. He can feel the vampires behind the door the maid is moving towards before she reaches it, and has a pretty good idea of what's about to happen. By the time she spins he's already on top of her, the twin swords his father once wielded in hand. Again, he shows uncharacteristic mercy... if it can be called that. One weapon lashes out at the shotgun, intended to sending it spinning away -- or cleave it in half, though the force used is casual for Zero. The second stroke falls across the maid's arms, aimed to remove the limbs that allow the maid to hold onto the weapon in the first place. "That's what I was hoping." He answers the maid, maneuvering himself behind her so that gunfire can't reach him without going through her. Probably at an awkward angle at that, since she was the one trying to pull the Big Reveal on him. He'll just wait and see if they're willing to try to shoot through her before he acts again... and also to see if his actions offer any pause to them. Have they been ordered to resist to the death, or can they act on self-preservation?
Yuuki Kuran	SECOND FLOOR: Psyber explodes the door after a gust of his wings sees him to the balcony, seeing a nice, rather empty hallway, with a servant-vampire-maid carring a pile of towels towards a very obvious bathroom - different colored door, tile meeting luxurious shag carpet and hardwood paneling all around... Upon the GENERIC POLICE YELLING of 'get down, down on the ground, eat that dirt', she just... Starts running for the bathroom. "My ladyyyy! You have angry visitooooors!"
Harry Dresden	And then Inga takes a rifle shot meant for him. And through the haze of blood shields and horror and death and vampires, Harry Dresden's sensations shift. Logically, he knows Inga is going to stand up again. This won't kill her, it can't kill her, it isn't going to stop the Gaian. And yet. And yet his partner is dead. And yet now there are vampires coming down on him and on Aoko and he just growls at his fellow mage. "Burn them. Then find the kitchen." Harry's hand flicks under the coat, and he draws the Blasting Rod. This he levels at one of the charging Vampires. His shield bracelet sparkles to life, casting gouts of light as bullets impact, and he howls in anger and righteous fury. "FUEGO." A thick gout of flame scours the hallway.
Riva Banari	That mook just got STYLED ON. Riva would be really happy about this but JUST WHEN SHE IS, she hears Inga gets dropped by bullets. The result is like flipping a switch. Riva's goofy expression is gone, and she scowls as she turns and punches the maid they landed on in the head to try to knock her the hell out. She tumbles forward then and begins flipping over fancy tables and couches and armoires and stuff as she charges through the house towards Harry's location. Inga just gave her life to protect Harry, and Riva isn't going to let that go to waste. The fact that Inga might not have had to even do that if Riva was there also kind of gnaws at her. As a servant blasts at her, Riva twists, some of the hot lead warping slightly in their trajectory as a nasty shot in the side becomes a graze, and she retaliates by flipping the Ajoran weapon to its side and whipping it forward in a home-run slug. "HARRY!" Riva yells. "HOLD ON, I'M COMING!"
Guest Psyber	On one hand, Psyber should probably gun down that Servant. On the other, it's just him and the Servant, and so he just slings the shotgun up and rests it on his shoulder as he sighs and follows after the maid. If she's not attacking him, he has no reason to be hostile. He does stop and knock on the bathroom door when the vampire servant reaches it, knuckles tapping against the wood of it as he asks, "Hello? Is anyone in there? I'm here about the kidnapped girl, so if you could make this easy that would be great."
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin and Riva pose as a team. This is not a terribly common event, because usually Wuyin is pushing Riva into traps and things instead. While Riva plows on ahead to meet up with Dresden, Wuyin stays near Zero, standing straight and spinning a length of chain in front of him. The first vampire with an automatic weapon who comes at him shoots completely wide, the rounds seemingly curving precisely around him. One of them gets close, tugging at the sleeve of his hoodie and glancing off whatever protections the talismans he's carrying offer. Wuyin surges forward into the mass of them, leaping and spinning. A second claw to match the first manifests on his chained hand, and he puts himself as an additional cutting barrier between himself and Zero. When he lands, he discards the claws, the spectral weapons vanishing into the air, replaced by more of the chains. They shoot out in every direction, attacking the vampires like striking snakes and trying to constrict and immobilize them. Amidst all the chaos, Wuyin certainly takes a few bullets. They don't seem to slow him down appreciably. Maybe Zero would like to take this opportunity to either clean up or move in, though?
Aoko Aozaki	This is not the kitchen indeed! Aoko eeks at the sight of the vampires still in their way. It sounds extremely forced and fake. The completely normal human magus scoots behind Inga and Harry, evidently helpless and incapable of helping. Plz save me, Dresden-senpai~~~! "Aww, aww, why couldn't we get an easy way in?"
Yuuki Kuran	FRONT: As Riva heads to the SIDE, Wuyin and Zero are able to make swift work of the vampires, which are quite directly the sort that can only be described as 'very mookish'. The Hired Help are essentially mildly-intelligent mindslaves, or True Believers. And they suck, compared to PC's. With the exception of Harry Dresden, notably, they're all pretty much slower than you, and worse armed. Wuyin is able to claw through the vampires he falls into with ease, and strikes at the heart or head, rather than dropping the vampire in question, simply make them fall into a pile of dust and clothing. Zero's actions, (literally) dis-arming a vampire and using them as a shield, gets a mild pause. Some of the Vampires that aren't tied up dying violently to Wuyin and his Chance Field of Ha Ha What Are Bullets try to aim, but eventually they just start shooting at his face, not entirely willing to waste their compatriot but also not willing to totally stop fighting. More, however, just fight Wuyin. Shittily. There's probably about half left - there wasn't terribly many to begin with.
Inga Freyjasdottir	Inga is dead. She lays limp on the floor, a puddle of blood pooling under her broken skull. No breath fills her lungs. Her heart is still. Inga is dead. Until, suddenly, she isn't. The heart that had gone quiet beats again into a steady rhythm of defiance. Blood begins to pump into her veins again, her regenerative healing activating. Though still healing from being /shot in the head/ Inga gasps a lung full of air, but doesn't quite move from where she fell just yet. She's still hurting, badly, but radpily those wounds are re-knitting, leaving only blood stains behind. ~Gaia loves me yes she does, la la la and buzz buzz buzz~
Yuuki Kuran	SIDE: There's a difference in character to this side of the fighting. Riva is able to haulass, and flank, half of the vampires that are blat-blat-blat'ing with guns at Harry Dresden's shielding bracelet and Wizard Fury take bullets. This is because the other half of the vampires shooting at him, and once at Inga, have been vaporized from the directional Fuego spell. Along with most of the valuables. And the carpet. Actually, it's pretty much a scorched, smouldering hellscape with a few points of places where small fires are crackling along the woodwork. Where there would be piles of dust, there is only devastation, the vampires simply blown away. One seems to notice this whole 'shooty no worky' as they start to reload their automatic rifle, but doesn't really want to close with Harry. The last one that did ate a Fuego to the face. Dresden-sempai, save Aoko indeed.
Yuuki Kuran	2ND FLOOR: There is a sloshy-splashy sound from the bathroom as Psyber approaches it, and the skittering (and rather terrified) member of the Help opens the door, leaves the towels inside, pulls it almost shut, and bails hard for a servant's closet to hide in. As Psyber knocks, the door begins to run slightly adjar, revealing... A very sudsy bath, conveniently hiding the ostensibly naked body of a gorgeous dark-haired beauty, who oozed a few things. Class. Grace. Pedigree. Vampireness. Two slightly sunken - in a somehow pleasant and accenting way - and dark-ringed eyes that almost lazily favor Psyber with a lambent red shine. "Oh. You're not a member of the help. Are you here to teach my little brother a lesson? I suppose he's due." She offers, with that same sort of cold detachment that Kaname had, but instead of respect and nobility, there was a sort of dark, quiet humor to her voice. Like she thought everything was just a little funny, if only ironically. She fishes a hand out of the water, extending it, palm down, towards Psyber at the door. "Serine Touma. Charmed." She murmurs, glancing up and down Psyber. "I'd love for you to stay and chat... But I think what you want is downstairs."
Zero Kiryu	Zero takes advantage of Wuyin tying up the nearby vampires and absorbing some bullets for him by switching weapons. The swords return to their positions at his belt and Bloody Rose comes out. No fancy vines or drinking of vampires today. He just brings it up and fires once each towards the center of mass of the trapped vampires. Even a grazing shot is enough to vaporize vampires of this caliber, he has no doubts that immobilized low-class enemies like these will be dust before they even realize what's happened to them. So he doesn't even wait to see the results after he's fired. He just jerks his head towards Wuyin, heading inwards and raising a hand to the small radio hung from his left ear to issue some simple instructions. Towards the basement, then. Zero starts seeking an obvious entrance, which he is uncertain will actually exist given the propensity for these manors to have secret passages, but failing that he'll settle for finding a weak spot he can break open in the floor.
Harry Dresden	Inga's moving again. Well it wasn't a long trip for her this time. Harry grunts and steps in front of the fallen Viking, looking over his hsoulder at Aoko and Riva. "Aoko cover Inga. Riva, with me. We're heading downstairs. Just... stay careful, Mage." There's something cold in his voice, as he starts stalking down the hallways, long legs striding far as he carefully rounds each co- Hahahah no that's not happening. 'Careful' means tossing a coherent ball of flaring light each time he rounds a corner. "LUXA." Hopefully enough to disorient a Vampire before turning and lighting people up with fire. Stairs or an elevator.
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin's Chance Field of Ha Ha What Are Bullets serve him well in that it keeps him from meeting the same fate as Inga for just long enough for Zero to do most of the dirty work. While they were asked not to kill /everyone/, he finds that his tolerance for vampires is kind of at a low. There's a fair amount of dust and clothes left in his wake as a direct result. When more /keep/ fighting, that becomes 'a lot of' instead of 'a fair amount of' very, very quickly. He shares a glance with Zero once they're cleaned up, and nods slightly at him right after that. He turns and starts looking for a way downstairs, too, except he's turning his eyes to bookshelves, rugs and anything else that might have a suspicious yellow outline. Maybe sconces? Sconces are pretty pullable.
Aoko Aozaki	"Huh? Me?" Well, Harry didn't really give her much choice! He did so well at dispatching those asshole vampires, though, she supposes she can't deny his request. Aoko gives an exaggerated sigh, before chomping another bite right out of her taco. What's left of it, by now. "Sure, sure. Good luck in the basement! Inga, c'mon! Let's go see what these guys keep in their fridge." Technically, it's an excuse to scour the rest of the first floor for additional guards or worse. Outwardly it's just Aoko being... Aoko.
Guest Psyber	"Yeah, it's probably downstairs," Psyber says, maintaining a casual sort of posture around himself despite the current position he finds himself. Takes some effort not to gawk or make an off-color comment, but they're here on some serious business. When the hand is extended, he steps into the bathroom a bit and grips it. Best be polite, so he kisses the back of it and then releases, "Charmed. People call me Psyber." "Sorry to intrude on you in the bath, really, since you don't seem keen on stopping us from stopping him. Do you think it would be too much trouble for you to order your staff to stop attacking us? It's just going to make an awful mess and require you to replace a ton of people."
Riva Banari	"Mine if I cut in?" Riva spins, golfing with that two-handed hammer to send one of the mookpires flying like a bloodsucking clay pidgeon for one of the others to blast down. 5rAs the room clears (sort of), Riva sniffs. "Yep. Looks like someone pissed you off, Harry. At least you get to cut loose. Let's move." She looks visibly relieved to see Inga's back, even if she knew Inga would be, and waves to the wisewoman before she rushes off. "Hey Harry! Me in front, you behind." She calls, pushing to the front and helping to look around for a way down.
Inga Freyjasdottir	Inga is moving. She's getting to her feet while the grisly wound in he head finishes healing up. % But, while she's still bleeding, she makes a flicking gesture and throws a bit of blood at Aoko, which usefully turns into a ward that should help protect her from whatever comes next. "Don't listen to him, I'll cover you. Or at least, we can look out for each other. I'll keep you warded and healed as well as I can," she says, throwing up a ward around herself with a sweeping gesture that is still a little on the sluggish side. That will help her get moving again. Inga raises a brow, then shakes her head. "No, we go to the basement. Or at least I do. The girl is there, she may need to be healed," she says. Besides, she's not going to miss this. All she'd done so far was get shot in the head. Now, she's angry and wants to impale a vampire. Sadly, she's not aware of the irony.
Yuuki Kuran	PSYBER: Serine shrugs. "They're the help." She flashes a pair of pearly fangs that seem to simply appear in her mouth, only somehow enhancing her startling, animal beauty. "I can always make more. You'd be surprised, Mister Psyber, how many humans are willing to sell themselves of their own free will. Usually, after a few decades of training, they even can handle themselves. I've got time." She sinks into the tub more, once her hand is smooched and drawn back. "My annoying little brother will just tell them to fight you again. So I'll just let you and him fight it out." There's a little laugh. "And I'd have to get toweled off, and I feel like soaking a bit more." Well, that's that, apparently. Though it does explain something - the younger Touma is a rogue agent, and even his own sister is seemingly willing to let them fight it out. "Oh." Serine murmurs, turning to favor Psyber with her gaze once more. "Do let the towel-girl live, mmm? She's my favorite." FRONT: Wuyin and Zero are easily able to dispatch the rest of the Vampires simply, Bloody Rose simply blowing holes into the Level C vampires that turn them into dust on the spot, runic cross-type plumes of pink energy being barked from the gun's barrel, and Wuyin... Goes Full Kung Fu Dragon Wolverine Madman on dudes. Once the area is cleared, and past the Foyer, is a large antechamber, with two sweeping staircases up, and past them, and behind them, is a door adjar that leads down to the basement. Piles of dust and specklings of blood cover the ground as the Avatar Of Fuck You, Vampires, and Chinese Dragon Chaos Wolverine In A Kabuki Mask... Well, their objective is right there. Which is convenient, because... SIDE ENTRANCE: Riva takes the remaining vampires out at the neck, with BAD PUNS and ADJORAN MACES, leaving Harry, Inga, Riva, and Aoko access to the CURRENTLY ON FIRE (thanks, Harry) servant's corridors. There are two paths - one that leads, thankfully, to that Foyer and the stairs down (linking them up with the FRONT DOOR group... And another, off to the massive kitchen, whose staff is now dead. (They came at you with guns.) The fridge, if Aoko checks, is /stocked/ with 5-star ingredients, and various foods are in varied states of preparation, master chef-works abandoned. Psyber can see the foyer just oustide the bathroom and around the corner, and the stairs down into the depths of the basement beckon. Also, smoke starts to fill the first floor.
Harry Dresden	Down down down. The building is on fire and it's definately Harry's Fault. The Wizard, abandoning all rational things that they tell you in school, which he ignored, goes pell mell towards the basement... though. He stops at the top of the stairs, fiddles around inder his coat, and pulls out the sawed off, putting the blasting rod away. No lighting people on fire down here, could hurt the girl. Still need to get her and get out. And with that, he takes the backup being offered by the Gaians, and goes for the same sort of breach and clear that Psyber pulled. Only, you know, with another Fozare.
Guest Psyber	"Well. I'll leave you to your bath, then, but since we're supposed to be sparing Purebloods and you haven't attacked me, I'll warn you," Psyber says as he heads back out of the bathroom, hand on the door as he moves, "They're going to be burning down the house. It would probably be a pain to get all ash-y and soot-covered after your bath. Just a fair heads up," He states. And as much as he'd like to stay and hang out, he has to actually get going. So he pulls the door shut behind him and gets to moving. He'll head around the corner and vault down the stairs, mostly aiming to catch up with the group in the basement. Technically, he can considered the top floor swept and handled.
Zero Kiryu	There's the stairs down... and is that smoke? Zero frowns at the smell of smoke, which is probably getting stronger. The one upstairs most likely has the power to extinguish the fire when she catches wind of it, so he's not terribly concerned about it. Still, it's not convenient. If the one upstairs doesn't decide to deal with it, they'll need to be much quicker about things than they are right now. He glances towards Wuyin and nods a subtle thanks for their little partnership, pausing mid-step when Dresden moves ahead of him and draws a shotgun. Alright, sure, why not. He thinks back to his time at Cross Academy... patrolling the streets of the city. Saving Yuuki from a rabid C-Class that had deteriorated fully. It had still been itself, a little. Enough to acknowledge that what it was doing wasn't really what it wanted to do. Enough to lament, and to be relieved when it had finally been put down for its crimes. The sensation of being hijacked by one's vampiric parent is familiar to him. But he fought it. Kicked it off enough to make a difference. In the end, she couldn't overtake him. Are these thralls screaming inside, too? What will they find down in the basement? The Hunter trails after Dresden, a vaguely forlorn expression on his perpetually grumpy face.
Riva Banari	Riva hustles. Sure, she doesn't stay dead when killed, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a total bitch to die from smoke inhalation. That's a /bad/ way to go, kids. The moment Harry blows down the basement door, Riva launches herself through it, her hammer first in a defensive grip to take the first shots. She's expecting shots. Not, like, a pit of bloodpikes or hellfire or anything- God, what do these people even PUT in their basements?
Inga Freyjasdottir	Inga is a bit worried about the fire as well. Being burned or dying /again/ isn't really something she is looking forward to, but she's more worried about the others. Inga has drawn her knife, ready to use her blood magic as they make their way into the basement. If there's a powerful vampire to fight she will provide more wards and what not, but she plans to focus on helping the girl.
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin does his best impression of a blender crossed with a popular comic book character which he's definitely never heard of. It's pretty spot-on, excepting the sprays of dust and cloth instead of gratuitous blood and gore. He splits the remaining mooks pretty evenly with Zero, finding a sort of rhythm with the superb vampire hunter that means nothing is actually going to get away from them. He nods at the man, but he does not offer a show up brohood that is the sacred knux. Dragons have to be enigmatic, after all. Ask Riva if you want that kind of thing instead of ruthless efficiency. Dresden and Riva barrel down the stairs. Wuyin waits for a three-count and then follows, sure that all the traps will have gone off by that time. If Riva ends up running down the stairs again behind him, he won't so much as blink.
Yuuki Kuran	THE BASEMENT... Is dark. There are no lights within, though obviously there are solutions. The TSW Crew can pull out mining lamps, road flares, torches, or, you know... Whatever dumb TSW stuff they have on hand, up to and including 'the glow from their smartphones', 'their corona of main characterness that somehow lights up the surrounding area' or 'raising the gamma settings'. Zero, who is a vampire, just sees in the dark. Harry Dresden... May have to bust out the witch-light. Or borrow a flashlight. There is a hallway with various rooms, mostly storage for things, and then after a bend, there are... cells. Level D vampires, those unstabilized, stare out from behind the bars morosely, mewling lightly and asking to be let out, or to give them 'something to drink'. New converts? Beyond... Is a room with a locked door. And beyond that... A dark presence, that Psyber would be intimate with already from sheer proximity previously, and Zero would know from his Hunter's sense. The second Touma Pureblood... And a certain hopefully-still-human-girl. BUT THE DOOR IS LOCKED, OH KNOW HOW WILL YOU DEAL.
Aoko Aozaki	Look left, look right. "Turbine, set~." The barely audible hum of Magic Circuits spinning so fast they produce noise and idle blue light, and then nothing. Aoko reaches over, picks the fridge up, and places it over one of her shoulders. She then heads back towards the BASEMENT, to follow after Inga, Riva and Harry. Does the fridge fit through the door? Well, if it doesn't, she'll just leave it next to the basement entrance and pick it back up on their way out. Behold the wallflowerest of the wallflowers. Her contributions are nigh.
Riva Banari	Riva blows through the door and sees... A craptacular spooky jail full of noob vampires who haven't even been properly set up. "Creepy." She has absolutely no intention of getting close to those bars, that's how they get you, man. Her lack of being immediately immolated allows her a moment to pull out a mining helmet and plop it on top of her head, clicking it on. She looks around, pondering for a moment as the 'circle of visible stuff' darts back and forth and probably into someone's eyes at least once. When the vampire asks for a drink, Riva sort of edges further away and sort of shuffles along towards that room in the back. Oh hey the door is locked. "SERIOUSLY?" Riva yells through the door. "YOU CAN'T EVEN HAVE THE DIGNITY TO JUST LEAVE THE DOOR UNLOCKED? RIVA SMASH!" And then she does that, pulling up the hammer and slamming the weapon into the door, intending to bust it down before Psyber can do it himself. It's almost like a race to see who can facetank the alpha first.
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden has light, he's got a bunch of goddamn light. He's also not dumb enough to make that light right in front of himself. Anymore. "Luxa." The orb of light is conjured over yonder against what he assumes is a wall... Which lets him see all of the damn chattel down here. But other lights are coming on and he can't just not look any more. Fuck vampires, fuck these guys, fuck everything. Another locked door. This time Harry stacks up, and lets someone else breach.
Zero Kiryu	"Somebody knock that door down. From a distance, preferably." Zero asides to the group as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. He raises Bloody Rose in both hands, aiming it tentatively towards the door. The distinctive vines that it produces begin to slither out around his wrists... aaaaand Riva just walks right up to the door and starts hammering it like a lunatic. That works too. It would be his second option apart from blasting it down and being ready to shoot what's on the other side, if necessary. He's given pause, however, by the surrounding D-class vampires. Zero moves away from the main group towards the edges of the room, investigating the surrounding cells. He gives them a /good/ looking over, trying to determine whether or not they're actually just unstabilized C-Classes, or if they're legitimately deterioration cases who are just faking it. "Names and how you got here." He says to those nearest him. This may be exactly what he needs to off Touma, but if that's the case he'll need him alive long enough to stabilize these guys. That's actually deeply disappointing to Zero, but an excuse to execute the guy later isn't much worse than an excuse to execute him now.
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin doesn't hear explosions, and descends. He finds vampires and locked doors. He allows Zero to handle the first and Riva the second, choosing ti hang out near the middle of the Conga Line of Death. He does linger near the cells, though, frowning behind his mask at the vampires and inspecting them as closely as he can without actually going in there. He's never seen one in captivity. He does, incidentally, smell of blood and sweet, delicious honey. It might make Zero's job slightly more difficult, but he isn't cognizant of it. He's just taking an opportunity while he waits for the last obstacle to be removed.
Guest Psyber	Psyber doesn't try to stop Riva from beating down the door. Instead, Psyber takes about six steps back and takes a pad out of his suit pocket. It's his Fetch Modus. He calmly flips through pages and pages of written notes before stopping on one. The slip of paper says, simply, 'Big Gun'. He tears off the slip of paper and then waits, holding it in his hand. It shimmers and then forms into something that is not paper. This pad was, to note, the reason Psyber wouldn't have cared if his carried weapons were taken at the part. When the note reforms, it's as a massive M82 Rifle that Psyber idly holds up. Riva can knock down the door, Psyber is content to shoot THROUGH the door. Aiming at the darkness, endeavoring to avoid the hostage with a well-placed shot, the narrow hallway becomes immensely loud as a single .416 Barret retort rings out and Psyber is sent sliding backwards an inch or two from the force of the shot.
Yuuki Kuran	There aren't any booby-traps, because, uh, seriously, when the house is filled with 'your mindslaves' and 'the people you're training to be useful mindslaves'. Trapping it up with explosives, or worse, shitty arbitrary cameras with flashlight cones of vision that, if they spot anyone, BLOW THE FUCK UP... I mean, seriously. That shit's retarded. The Level D's (Which is to say, unstabilized turned humans) sort of look around, before squinting at Zero. They each rattle off their names, still dazed, and sniff after him, mentioning that he smells 'very nice' and asking if he has anything to drink. They're not violent at all, and are in fact greatly subdued. Most are moderately pale, and most of the hints of neck wounds from fangs, meaning that they are very freshly converted folks. One pipes up. "We're here to work in the house... and live forever... Hehe, as vampires! I can't believe it..." She murmurs, nearly giddy, as if she was living a fairy tale. If questioned, they will all reveal that they were willing converts, though they seem confused as to why everyone's down here with guns and lights and bashing down the door. The door, which is now in splintered ruins, revealing the form of Sayori Wakaba, sitting in a chair quite out of sorts and half-lidded, with what can only be described as a 'little shite' of a boy on her lap, in an ostentatious tophat and young gentleman's getup with a cravat and everything. "Welcome to my home! So sorry to disappoint you fine folks, but I'll have to ask you to leave. You see, I was just settling down for my evening snack, and there was quite the crop of people willing to become my servants this fine night. And I was just about to finish off with this /treat/, when you started blowing up my house! So, please, leave? Miss Wakaba wants to be here with me, right?" Sayori mouths something, before nodding slowly. "Y-yes... I want... to be here?" The younger Touma grins and claps. "See?" He shoos the party. "Please leave. I'm just going to finish up here, and then I have to do my duty as a good steward and shepard my new converts into the rest of their much longer, and much more worthy lives."
Yuuki Kuran	There aren't any booby-traps, because, uh, seriously, when the house is filled with 'your mindslaves' and 'the people you're training to be useful mindslaves'. Trapping it up with explosives, or worse, shitty arbitrary cameras with flashlight cones of vision that, if they spot anyone, BLOW THE FUCK UP... I mean, seriously. That shit's retarded. The Level D's (Which is to say, unstabilized turned humans) sort of look around, before squinting at Zero. They each rattle off their names, still dazed, and sniff after him, mentioning that he smells 'very nice' and asking if he has anything to drink. They're not violent at all, and are in fact greatly subdued. Most are moderately pale, and most of the hints of neck wounds from fangs, meaning that they are very freshly converted folks. One pipes up. "We're here to work in the house... and live forever... Hehe, as vampires! I can't believe it..." She murmurs, nearly giddy, as if she was living a fairy tale. If questioned, they will all reveal that they were willing converts, though they seem confused as to why everyone's down here with guns and lights and bashing down the door. The door, which is now in splintered ruins, revealing the form of Sayori Wakaba, sitting in a chair quite out of sorts and half-lidded, with what can only be described as a 'little shite' of a boy on her lap, in an ostentatious tophat and young gentleman's getup with a cravat and everything. "Welcome to my home! So sorry to disappoint you fine folks, but I'll have to ask you to leave. You see, I was just settling down for my evening snack, and there was quite the crop of people willing to become my servants this fine night. And I was just about to finish off with this /treat/, when you started blowing up my house! So, please, leave? Miss Wakaba wants to be here with me, right?" Sayori mouths something, before nodding slowly. "Y-yes... I want... to be here?" The younger Touma grins and claps. "See?" He shoos the party. "Please leave. I'm just going to finish up here, and then I have to do my duty as a good steward and shepard my new converts into the rest of their much longer, and much more worthy liv-" The crack of a rifle report fills the hallway, you are now all deaf, and possibly thankful for the internal bleeding in your ears as Psyber shoots an unsilenced high-calibur rifle round in an enclosed space, catching Toma dead in the face, splattering his brains all over Sayori and the wall, and sending him off her lap and into the wall, sending the chair Sayori is sitting on backwards to land with a loud 'thump' on the ground. Good job, Psyber. Touma already starts sitting up, his head reforming quickly but his hat off in a pile of blood on the other side of the empty sitting room. "Really? REALLY?!" He yells, but, you know, none of you can hear because you're all fucking deaf from Psyber firing an M82 in a closed basement hallway.
Harry Dresden	Aaaaaaaaand we're deaf and Harry's staggering close to one of those cages, head ringing and his ears deadened for a bit. That's okay though, he doesn't need to hear to see that the Shitbag is out of Sayori's lap, and hopefully whatever mental juju he's got her under will keep her from remembering seeing a person's head removed by a high caliber rifle. Harry's legs stabilize, he yells something about 'clear a path' but that's more than obvious as he deeks inside the room, swats at the air with his staff, and moves to cover the girl. Like, actually cover, with his duster and the shield bracelet.
Zero Kiryu	Zero's expression twists into one of utter revulsion. He moves away from the contained level D's, flinching in slight surprise at the unholy racket that Psyber produces to shoot at Touma within. There's his intended rescue target, and there's the person he came here to murder. He glances back towards Psyber and the rest, his ears ringing terribly. Dresden moves forward and erects a shield around Sayori, who is no longer at close range with the second Touma Pureblood. Still... he got to hear what she was saying before the weapon went off. Either she's been hijacked with a bit of blood, or she's already been turned. Which, he wonders, is it? He slips up next to Dresden and Sayori, lowering Bloody Rose to point it at Touma from the hip. A single tendril creeps out and touches the side of Sayori's hand, experimentally. It is not an attack. It is not trying to leech her, or stab into her. Merely a brush of material against flesh to determine whether or not the distinctive crackle of an anti-vampire weapon rejecting a vampire occurs. Meanwhile, the Vampire Hunter points his free hand at Touma, then raises it to make a slashing motion across his own neck. In the dim light of the basement, Zero's shadow can be witnessed to be shifting oddly, and not in time with Bloody Rose's tendrils or his own appearance. His shadow is several times larger than he is, and it's starting to grow the head of a vast dog, or wolf. His displeasure would be difficult to make more plain.
Guest Psyber	RING RING RING RING Psyber silently (to him) taps his foot as he waits for the regeneration to kick in. See, the regeneration is why he doesn't even think to consider how much of a pain going deaf temporarily would be for a normal human. He just waits 15 seconds and it self-fixes. The rifle is tossed to the ground once he spots the inconvenience it does to other people, dusting his hands off as he heads into the room, whistling a bit as he goes. Since he took the guy off right at the head. First matters first, Psyber goes and takes that guy's hat, twirling the blood-stained head accessory and placing it atop his head. Rather than answer the questions of 'Really? REALLY?' with words, Psyber answers a bit more apporiately. He slides the chair out from under Sayori, mouthing something that looks like either 'Gonna borrow this, love' or 'Wheelbarrow hits shove' or potentially 'Bone marrow bits, above'. You know, she's deaf, so take your pick. He does grip the chair by the back of it and then simply start beating the ever-loving shit out of Touma with it, mostly to prove a point. He just wants to do damage, really. He's sure that whatever crazy trick Zero is winding up for is gonna be the main event.
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin doesn't get to hear most of this until he moves closer. Then, he doesn't get to hear fuck-all, because PSYBER IS A COLOSSAL DICK. Actually, he's kind of impressed at the speed at which this all goes to shit. Wuyin staggers from the sheer noise and the sudden violence, but all he hears for a good few seconds is ringing... right up until his super-healing kicks in and fixes that. Then he gets to hear the battering of a chair against a vampire, which is way, way better. "Ow," he says, as a form of understatement.
Yuuki Kuran	So, it turns out, Psyber is a huge fucking jag and deafens you all. Thankfully, you're only incabable of hearing each other... And Touma the Younger, but not hearing him is a small blessing as he tries in vain to slide across the floor, hits the facing wall, draws himself up, and... Thinks better of fighting back. Which is possibly a mistake, but when you've got Cold-Blood Kiryu staring you down with his shadow literally formed into an attack dog. Harry Dresden can grab the stunned Sayori Wakaba, using his White Knight powers to save the damsel in Distress, and shield her - even as Bloody Rose brushes her easily, elliciting no crackle. As Harry draws close, he can feel complex, strange 'magic' having been worked on her mind. You know what's great about being deaf? You can't hear the bloody 'whunk, whunk, whunk' of Psyber beating a child with a chair.
Riva Banari	Riva sees girl. Riva sees vampire. Asshole senses, tingling. She's about to say something when Psyber blasts that damn gun. Riva drops the hammer, clapping her hands over her ears and yelling. "GOD DAMMIT PSYBER! THOSE WERE MY EARS." She, like Wuyin, waits for the damage to repair itself (ruptured eardrums are a bitch), and she scoops up her hammer. This time, she yells not in deafnes, but in anger. "THAT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE 'I WANT TO BE A VAMPIRE' TO ME!" Riva stalks forward, red-gold Anima surging through that holy symbol-turned-weapon. "DAMMIT, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN VAMPIRES DON'T LEARN WHAT CONSENT MEANS!" She takes up a defensive position near the girl, while Zero begins getting super ominous. She doesn't like the feeling of this. She feels like she's missing something here. But then, she's not a mage.
Guest Psyber	Once Psyber gets tired of beating the Child-Turned-Hostage-Taker with a chair (it takes a few more whacks), Psyber stops and wipes the sweat from his brow with a phew, adjusting the askew tophat on his head. He then turns around in a casual way. "SORRY RIVA," he shouts, despite being able to hear, "I FORGOT BECAUSE OF MY REGEN AND ALL!" And then Psyber walks away. Though the ass-beating may not be done for poor Touma The Younger, since Psyber holds out the chair to Harry, "HERE! GO NUTS! IT'S PRETTY CATHARTIC."
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden looks down at Sayori. He can feel the juju there, that slick/tacky wrongness of mental magic. Something he'd never get used to. He looks at Zero with the massive wolfman growing behind him. He looks at Riva moving to help cover his charge/damsel... And then he takes the chair, a trickle of blood dripping from an ear. The one farther away from the rifle was getting a little better. That one was only ringing now. Harry stalks over to the fallen, bloody vampire and snaps one leg of the chair off to make a point. He then plants the point against a 'not over his heart' pice of the little shit, and sits down on the chair. "HI."
Zero Kiryu	In the meanwhile, ZERO seems to be having some kind of internal debate while he continues an external debate with Yuuki on the radio. It's very, very obvious that he wants to kill this guy outright, though. He's not even really paying attention to the fact that they're all sackbeating the kid with chairs and such. At least, not until Yuuki calls him out decisively enough to get him to stop and reconsider what he's doing. For a brief moment his eyes gleam the same crimson that the rest of the vampires here have, but only for a moment. A blink of the eye later and they return to their normal violet hue. He holsters Bloody Rose. "Enough." He declares, concerning the brutal sackbeating going on in front of him. Not in time to stop Harry from stabbing the little git, though. "She hasn't been turned into a vampire, so the execution I had hoped to carry out will not be occurring. A less severe penalty will have to do." The shape of his shadow returns to its normal state, though it still has a rather aggressive posture that doesn't match the one Zero has actually adopted. Seems like he's waiting for the beating to stop, and for the Touma pureblood's body to completely reconstitute before he passes some kind of decisive judgement, though.
Harry Dresden	Harry looks down at the vampire shit and then up to Zero. "I have claim on the damages to my home, Hunter."
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin leans around the doorframe. He watches the chair-beating for about three seconds. Then, he leans back around the doorframe, and takes up a position leaning instead against one of the interior walls. He doesn't have to watch to get the best effect. He reaches up and takes off the kabuki mask, tucking it away... somewhere. The same hand comes back with a smartphone. It's pretty swank. He unlocks it with some deft motions, and begins tapping away. It doesn't take terribly long for him to cook up what he's got; he's already reported on each step of the way, and this is just the last one. He taps the big ol' 'SEND REPORT' button, and then lowers the phone again. Weirdly, it buzzes almost immediately. Wu stops, frowns, and unlocks it again. He looks down. It usually takes a while longer for him to hear back, not literal seconds. Maybe it's a form letter? Well, sort of. When he opens it, there's a droning sound, a hiss of cellular white noise that fills the room. If you listen really closely to the noise -- or perhaps to what the noise displaced -- you'll hear... something else. Words. Headache-inducing words, but words. Very strange, almost /sweet/ words. "TRANSMIT - initiate tenderness signal - RECEIVE - sweetling! Dragon reports enter the connected carousel: they spin and spin, yang and yin, until routed to some IP - never the same he or she - rinse, repeat, the chaos beat... But today all of Seoul is mystified, their access to you has been denied. WITNESS - encouragement. Don't be huffy because we hack. The Buzzing appreciates all you do. Can't we be a ripple too?" The sound goes away. Wuyin stares at the phone for a moment longer, sighs, and puts it back in his pocket without further comment.
Zero Kiryu	Zero fixes Harry with an incredibly odd look. This guy, he decides, has his priorities slightly sideways. He shrugs though, and replies, "It will be easier to claim compensation when that kid isn't a smear on the floor." Internally, he believes that almost every vampire deserves to die abruptly. There are a few exceptions that have managed to worm their way into his good graces, but even they're not completely exempt. Even /he's/ not completely exempt. Somehow, based on his behavior, he imagines that Harry Dresden feels fairly similar about vampires. Idly, he wonders, if Harry Dresden would feel the same about /him/. A strange, buzzing noise meets his ears from nearby. It's very nearly headache-inducing. In fact, he gets a bit of an ice cream headache just hearing it from over here. Zero looks towards Wuyin questioningly, cocking his head slightly at an angle to best convey his confusion. But he doesn't come right out and /ask/. That would be far too straightforward a social interaction.
Harry Dresden	Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.... sighs, looks down at the little shit, and stands up, removing the chair with a YANK. He grumps and tosses it aside, leaning against the wall nearby. He looks to Zero, and the grandiously waves down at The Little Shit... Even as Bee Sass goes right through those damaged ears of his and tickles his brain the wrong way. "DDNddfff FUCK I am never going to get used to that."
Yuuki Kuran	First point of order: Touma the younger screams in agony, becuase while his regeneration kicks back in, he gets staked right in the chest. There is a very horrifying (satisfying) crunch as ribs cave in and the little shit screams in horrible agony and Harry feels active resistance to the chair, causing a wobble, as that, you know, ribs, trying to get back into place due to horrifyingly fast regeneration are incapable, because he's sitting on them, with a spikey chairbit. Sayori Wakaba still needs her head fixed, but Harry can handle that in a quieter moment. Wuyin sees the advancing figure first, in the strangely orange glow from the top of the stairs. Serine Touma in a wonderfully cut and formhugging black dress comes sauntering down the way with bare feet padding on the ground, a low curtian of smoke following her. "Ah. Are you quite done? I saved my favorite dress, but I doubt there'll be much left of the house when all is said and done. And, quite frankly, I'd dread cleaing all that up myself. I think it's time to nip over to our summer home, isn't that right my pretty little dears?" She coos, gesturing at the locked cell door for the Level D's, and stepping inside, bearing her wrist brisquely to each for a few moments, them all clamoring and mewling for a taste. "There there, my foolish younger brother was so mean to you all. Now, I've got a car. Let's all go to the car, yes?" She moves up to the door, her cold eyes still darkly amused. "Someone left the /stove/ on. How dreadful. Quite the fire. You wished repayment? Well, I believe you and your associates destroyed my house, and I believe you personally started the fire, so... Let's call it even, mmm? Have a wonderful, short, human life, Mister Dresden. Sorry about the mess my brother caused." She oozes, before wiggling her fingers at Zero and blowing a kiss to Psyber, and leaving. In her wake, the newly minted Level-C's follow her like baby ducklings, and her 'favorite maid' holds some fresh hats and wet masks for them to escape the burning building. By the way, sure is smokey down here, isn't it? Touma the younger manages to curl himself up into a little ball of pain as Zero calls Dresden off, and as smoke starts filling the basement, things seem to be coming to their natural end. Good job, Harry. You managed to put of burning down the vampires until AFTER the party.
Guest Psyber	Hey that buzzing is pretty awkward, right? Psyber pauses and looks over towards Wuyin, seeming very confused at the strange noise and the odd effect it has on his mind. Uncomfortable, unsettling, and unpleasant. Those would be the three words Psyber chooses. Of course, Serine shows up a few moments later and Psyber takes his hat off to greet her in an ostentatious manner. Nevermind the fact that this also causes the remaining brain matter from her brother to drip out onto the floor. Gross. "Yeah, I think we're done here. We shouldn't be like the Seahawks and blow it in the End Zone," Psyber notes, making a football reference that he's pretty sure most people here won't get. Harry's half-deaf, after all, and the rest of these people are either shounen protagonists or bee-fanatics. Gripping the hat in his hands, Psyber makes towards the exit.
Riva Banari	"HA HA HA SEAHAWKS!" Riva laughs from the background as she helps get people out of there.
Wuyin Tsai	Wuyin glances at Zero for a moment and shrugs a shoulder vaguely apologetically. It's a gesture that conveys his unpreparedness for that, and his sorrow that it happened and hurt people, but doesn't say he was totally surprised by it. Because words are dated. He also plans to leave before the house burns down on top of them, because seriously. That would suck.
Zero Kiryu	The smoke begins to fill the basement, and yet, Zero Kiryu is not done. He will endure it for a small while. As the rest are escorted (or arguably, lured) away by Serine, he approaches Touma the younger as he curls himself up into a ball. He kneels down next to him, as if he were a real child and not merely a beastly thing wearing the skin of one. No physical force is used to draw attention, tempting though it is to grasp the little wretch by the hair and force him to look. That is the way of these creatures, and not truly his own way, tempting though it is. "You will report to President Cross of the Hunter's Association in two days time to receive judgement. If you are dissatisfied with this arrangement, you may contact Kaname Kuran before that time." He pauses for a moment, allowing the information to sink in before he continues. "In the last two days, you have taken deliberate action to bring harm to Yuuki. By proxy, you have taken deliberate action to bring harm to Kaname Kuran. If I chose to kill you here and now, there would not be a single soul in the world both willing and able to do anything about it." "You are spared not at some random whim of the Kuran Heiress, as would be the case with any of the rest of you filth, but because she is the sole example of your kind who is both relentlessly naive and kind." Zero rises, and retreats from the basement to join the others. He makes a deliberate point of ignoring Serine. Vampire bitches are always trouble. Way more trouble, even, than Yuuki. His experience with them tells him that even just giving her acknowledgement will give her some bizarre fixation on some feature he possesses, and somehow he'll end up drinking her blood through a convoluted series of events that will probably involve long-term manipulation.
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden returns to his form. Lighting shit on fire, rescuing ladies and getting out by the skin of his teeth. But that last one didn't happen tonight. As it turns out the Wizard actually has friends again. Who knew? The walk out is somewhere between a 'light jog' and 'brisk tearassing' as he endeaors not to be inside the house when it burns down. No payment, but job well done. Typical.
Yuuki Kuran	~LATER~ With the empowerment of many sources, potentially including the guidance (or, frankly, Inga Doing It For Him due to something something Doom of Damocles something something Double Secret Wizard Probation), as well as some Friends with Resources (or, again, a friend who IS a resource, in the blood of Yuuki Kuran), Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is able to abolish the mental magics that twist about the mind of Sayori Wakaba, reuniting her with her friend - and Vampire Princess - Yuuki. He is not paid for this service, because it's really not in their nature for Vampires to pay Hunters, and for Hunters to pay Contractors, but at least it wasn't HIS house that burned down, right? The next time he enters his office, though, he will find it... well, he may have some problems with thinking its his office. The elevator has been repaired, finally, but more importantly, the windows have been scrubbed clean, there's a nice new door with an old-timey polished handle, new carpet, a new coffee maker - to replace the one that boiled over and spilled all over the place that one time... And a nice, professional-looking sign in hardwood, to replace the paper one. It's not a total facelift, but the cleaning crew also blasted most of the mildew and bugs in the place too, so it's nice and professional. Ish. There was also a nice letter in the cleaned up racks of magazines, pamphlets, and books. ~To Mister Harry Dresden, Thank you for helping me save my friend. Someone who was in the area to offer you this found your office in such a state of disrepair that he couldn't help but have it cleaned up. Sorry to have missed you. If you want some help, later, I'm sure I wouldn't mind! Regards, Yuuki Kuran