Scene #7835: Rise of the IFAS

Owner	Pose
Kirishima	A call for aid has come from a newly unified world, requesting assistance in what the requesters are calling a hostage situation at best and open rebellion at worst. An insurrection began mere hours before the call for aid went out, located on the eastern coast of a suburban island in a museum that used to be a military installation centuries ago. The ringleader is said to have not only taken the staff hostage, but also attacked first responders and police vehicles brought in to defuse the situation. Indeed, it appears that things have already gotten violent, with several wrecked police cruisers and injured (but living) officers scattered around the parking lot and paved walkways leading into the museumified fort. A purple-haired woman dressed in a white and blue ninja-esque outfit can be seen, raising one hand slowly as she stares right at the officer barricade outside the museum grounds. There's a tense moment as it looks like she might be signaling something, and then she abruptly disappears. The officers at the barricade seem confused by this, but their radios go off almost all at once. Coincidentally, this occurs at roughly the same time that the ninja-ish woman has reappeared on the other side of the walkway, hurling kunai into the limbs of or punching in the faces of a small group of officers (wielding a bizarre mix of medieval broad swords and modern rifles) that apparently tried to sneak in through a hole in the fencing. "You'll have to try harder than that to silence us, tyrants!" She shouts as she picks up one of the swords to point towards the barricade outside, her other hand raising in front of her to maneuver deftly through a series of hand seals. There's a movement in the air behind her as she crouches to slam her open palm into the ground, and a massive fireball launches towards the barricade to blow up another one of those police cruisers. As this is all going on, several frightened people can be seen peeking out from inside the buildings. Despite the explosion, a few more open the windows wide enough that they can actually fit guns through the openings, and some are even aiming cannons through the windows. Strangely enough, they're pointed outside rather than at the shouting person.
Darren	An aging RV rumbles down the road. The top is host to after-market solar panels, a swiveling radar array and a satellite dish. The back is plastered in bumper stickers of various sizes and colors, proclaiming the existence, among other things, of a second superplanet, various mind control programs, and presumed dead people living in hiding. It pulls into a parking space and out comes Darren. He's flanked by a hovering ladybug with an EWACS array for a thorax and a little alien in a trenchcoat. A blue-and-yellow drawstring backpack is slung over his shoulder. He's not really dressed for 'hostage situation,' more like a day at the gym--sneakers, gym shorts, a white tee and a grey zip-up hoodie. "Ay yo! Ole girl with the mudras!" Darren flags her down. "Lemme get an exclusive for my blog. You cool with that?" An orange smartphone with cartoon (?) eyes on the back of the case floats beside him. "Your chance to speak with the voice of the people. What's on your mind--what's led up to this?"
Trudy Grimm	One of the officers' shadows deepens, then lengthens. From this sudden depth rises a white haired young woman in a furry-sleeved dark coat. It's Trudy Grimm, the so-called 'simple witch', arriving on scene. Immediately, she takes her own position behind the officer's damaged cruiser, her tome remaining bound shut for the moment with a buckled strap. The shadow she emerged from promptly returns to normal, as does the shadow she sank into at the bus station observation deck blocks away. "I'm Trudy," she introduces herself brightly, "An ordinary witch." She cranes her neck, peeking over the hood of the car at the building and the guns sticking out of it, "So uh... What happened, here? What got them so upset that they'd cause such a ruckus?" Ducking back into cover, she glances over the damage that's already been caused, "They haven't killed anyone yet, despite clearly having the capability to do so; what do you make of that?" Probably not the easiest string of questions to answer to a magician who just appeared out of your own shadow during a firefight, but her tone is calm and patient about it and she clearly means no harm. At least for the moment.
Ishirou	Somewhere else in the Multiverse, Earlier than now. A flight unit, modified to be both smaller and modular is flying. Inside, I4 sealed inside is looking over various parts, trying to test out how much variance in the systems there are, and of course, having a blast. He didn't get to test out the flight units the first time he had crossed them but now..? Thanks to Blemishine and his teamwork, he's now flying high in the sky. Then a call for help happens. Right here, Right now. High in the sky, the flight unit, still in flight mode keeps to the sky as the cameras and sensors take a moment to get a good feel of the situation. Looking for life signs, magical sources, and people both in the open and hidden. From here, I4 can get a bird's eye view, and also support from the sky should things break down. He uploads this information into the tactical net of the Paladins, while also posting various plane emojis and smile emojis.
Lilian Rook	"Why the hell is it always museums? I don't understand." Lilian arrives at the scene dressed as a crisis responder. She has on a brand new model of slick, dark graphite combat skin below the neck, fixed with better articulated, sleek carbon black plates of armour over the limbs, midsection, and neck, apparently integrated rather than the old gunmetal grey ablatives being disposably mounted. At her hip, a similarly coloured new-model sidearm, marked with a bright slash of amber, but at the other, something like a collapsible baton, engraved with helical channels that faintly luminesce with gold light, below her hip-mounted cases. She looks significantly less haggard than seen previously, though the cut marks across the bridge of her nose and beneath one eye are still a visible reminder of what lingering strain is hidden under her battlesuit. Not only that, however, but this time she arrives with backup. Three four-man cells of men in much heavier black armour, wearing face-concealing helmets with bright green optics matching the slashes on their upper arms and chestplates, sweep around and past her leisurely stroll on both sides, smoothly fanning out into the barricade with strangely futuristic bullpup raised to their shoulders. Lilian arrives at the fore shortly after them, and climbs up on top of the wreck of a police cruiser for a vantage. Summoning a pitch black crow to arm, Lilian casts it up into the air, where it will circle harmlessly far overhead. Then, she raises her hand before her face. For a moment, a flicker of infra-coloured static harasses the edges of her fingers. "Christ. Still that badly out of alignment." She mutters to herself. "Well, whatever." She taps her radio earpiece instead. "Those don't look like hostages to me." she says, on the open band for both the responders and police both. "Care to explain why those 'captives' look as if they're defending the chokepoint? I'll overlook this slightly sad attempt at cordoning the area for now." At the same time she expects an answer, Lilian lasers her focus in on the ninja-like figure, eyes gleaming faintly as they track her acrobatic maneuvers around the museum grounds.
Swordbearing Pair	The Thors students Rean and Laura haven't been in action for a bit. First, studies. Then, returning home for the holidays. Now...now there's a rebellion, and they've been deployed. Whether or not this rebellion might be sympathetic, it's still a rebellion. Hostages have been taken. They've crossed the line, the pair has decided, though they don't want to hurt these people if they can help it. Approaching in Chevalier uniforms, the two teenagers - a black haired young man and a light-blue haired girl - split up immediately after a nod to each other. Laura S. Arseid approaches Darren's spot, massive greatsword at her back, and makes some distance after eying his Pokemon incredulously, raising her own question. "Are you truly willing to harm the people inside if you don't get what you desire?" As she says this, Lilian is open-banding. Narrowed eyes. Hopefully, Rean can get more details. Meanwhile, Rean begins moving. He's not stealthy, but he's fast, especially with the quartz loadout he has. His own slimmer blade is sheathed at his side, as he moves to leap onto the nearest lamp-post-adjacent object in a blur - visible, but hard to make out who is doing it - and then leap for the roof of the visitor's center, and move through roof access. Should it be locked, he simply quickdraws his blade and cuts the door handle open, and then starts creeping inside.
Kirishima	The arrival of a weird RV has everyone on edge, responders and ninja and hostages and window-gunners alike. Some of the people in the windows even take aim at the RVV, especially when the gymbro, the radar bug, and the kid in the trench coat come out. Laura's giant sword seems to get their trigger fingers itchier, too, but nothing happens as the ninja raises her hand in a clear signal to hold their fire. Everyone's just sort of staring in confusion instead as Darren and Laura approach, eventually drawing a small, but confident smile at the former and a confused raise of an eyebrow at the latter. "Harming... Who? Why would I harm my own allies in this endeavor? If they didn't want to join me, they're free to keep their heads down and stay inside." She answers Laura first, peering past her and Darren briefly at the officers before turning back to Darren." Very well. I won't pretend to speak for everyone on this island, but I will speak for those that believe in our cause!" She starts, projecting her voice clearly despite the sounds of the ocean behind her. "I am Kirishima, leader of the Spirit Liberation Front. We fight for the rights of every tsukumogami to live freely among humans, not to be used as mere tools fit only for abuse until our dying breaths! We seek to coexist with those that will accept our way of living, but those that desire subjugation will only find fire and steel as their response!" Trudy's arrival from the cruiser's shadow has several of the officers initially reacting by pointing their guns and other weaponry, melee and modern and ancient and projectile or otherwise, at her in a wide semi-circle. When she introduces herself instead of blowing them up or slamming them around with crazy witch stuff, however, most of them lower their weapons as a more heavily armored man in a trench coat approaches her. "Detective Fielding. Happens every couple of months somewhere or another. Some spirits get born, get pissed off, and they try roping every impatient nutjob into causing a scene because they didn't get something new that they wanted right away." He answers, sounding grouchy and tired and probably only a few weeks away from retirement. He looks over at the officers, signaling those still aiming at Trudy to stand down. "Doubt they want to kill anyone. Most of 'em probably worked with some of these people for years up until today. Doesn't make the situation any easier, but... uh." He pauses, then looks Trudy over briefly. "You here to help or what, just showing up like you did?" From the sky, I4 can see that the fort museum's grounds are largely unoccupied everywhere outside of the main entrance, but for good reason considering the wrecks and injured count rising already. Nobody's dead, thankfully, and magic signatures appear to be all over the place. Aside from Kirishima, they're concentrated in the museum itself with a few scattered around the police stationed outside. There's still officers trying to sneak in through that hole in the fence, but they're quickly forced to retreat when another set of kunai are hurled their way. They don't seem to be making much headway through the rear side of the fort, either, with a few window-based gunners keeping an eye on that entrance. Beyond that, however, scanning shows that there's relatively little movement on the fort museum's ground beyond what's going on at the front entrance and of those officers trying to sneak in. It seems as though Kirishima is acting as the main face of this movement at the moment.
Kirishima	The arrival of armored reinforcements, as with Trudy's arrival, have the police startled at first and nearly ready to fire on Lilian's group. When it's clear that they're not from this area and probably way better trained, however, they stand down to let the trench coated detective address her questions instead. "Is that what dispatch was calling it? Jesus fucking Christ..." Fielding lets out a strained, throaty noise of intense fatigue. "It's not a hostage situation. Just a hostile property claim, maybe a... Protest? Unless they suddenly decided they suddenly didn't want to come all the way out here after taking over the place." He gestures at the not-quite-captives in the windows. Attempts to read Kirishima's mind reveal the truth clear as day: It is almost exactly as she and the detective say it is. The SLF really is a group dedicated to freeing tool spirits from humans known to mistreat them, and they've come to declare an independent state for those same tsukumogami. The details are unclear, but not in the sense that it's hard to read her mind. It's unclear in the sense that there really isn't a concrete plan beyond taking over the island and declaring it a home for tsukumogami. The fervor is somewhat cloudier in Kirishima's mind than it is in her tone, though, as if she was hamming it up specifically for Darren's questions earlier. Noticing that movement from Rean from the corner of her eye, Kirishima looks over at the rooftop of the visitor center without getting a clear eye on who actually did what up there. She raises a hand to one of the horn-like attachments on the side of her head, then whispers something into it. Rean will notice upon getting in that there's audible footsteps coming his way and throughout the floor. They're still pretty far away, so it's not particularly clear that they know where he is. There is, however, the telltale jingling of ammo belts and sharp sliding noises of swords coming out of their sheaths, so they may know that someone has broken inside.
Ishirou	I4 circles a bit, trying to keep a bird's eye view of everything as information starts coming in. So we have exploited people, but these ones have decided to 'rebel'. The signal to come here was overhyped as if things were nowhere near what the people on the ground were saying. Confirmation of no hostages, which means everyone here is at least going along with it or is in no immediate danger of being shot unless sides actually start shooting. This gives I4 a moment to at least start accessing the local net. He sends a hacking system into the police net first, trying to access their laws, and then the local net to try and get a feeling for how the culture of all of this works. Does everyone think that the spirit people are slaves? What are the laws on the books for this kind of thing? With that, he could run this information into the Paladin's database and start thinking of solutions to try and talk the situation back. For now, he keeps to the air while processing this. He updates the HUD with information as he gets it.
Staren	Rebellion. They probably need help. I'll have to... see if they're legitimate. No, that's not the right word. Whether I judge them worthy, I guess. She just flies right on into the area from the direction of the warpgate, wearing the usual outfit with 'battle labcoat' and scarf. The coat is open, calf-length, and has belts on fitted arms and one open at hip level and a concord orange stripe around the waist. The more regular clothes underneath that, and the round-framed fashion glasses, give the impression of a grad student who is cosplaying a character from some anime you haven't seen. Maybe one of those ones about playing card games? From other directions, coconut-sized metal spheres with lenses and antennae fly in to watch the building from other angles. As Staren arrives, she notices 1. that Darren is already here asking the questions she'd want to ask, and 2. that... Lilian is here. Great. And she can read my mind... this is going to be troublesome if we make opposite calls on which side to support. Staren's ears perk up as the 'ninja' speaks. So, the 'hostages' are indeed allies, and the authorities transparently lied. ...Wait what. They're tsukumogami? They're opressed on this world? Staren finds a wireless network, if extant, to connect to and start searching the internet, trying to get a sense of how tsukumogami fit into this society. As the detective speaks up, Staren looks towards him, eyes narrowing. Then she turns towards the ninja. "Alright. What do you need to live safely? Well... to prosper, really, but one thing at a time. I'm not from around here..." Staren smiles, "But the Multiverse is in general pretty friendly to all species of intelligent life willing to get along with others! I don't know the specifics of how things are on this world, so you'll have to give me the rundown. But I'm Staren Wiremu, Gifted of the Concord, and I'm here to help!)] Lilian... even if it's the order here, I don't think she'll support the subjugation of nonhumans... Her girlfriend isn't human, after all... and she seems favorable to I4's independence... Staren's eyes glance between Lilian and I4, then over the people guarding the windows, then back to the ninja. (Lilian's mindreading can also pick up on that this is the same vatgrown cybernetic body Staren used to prepare for manipulation and pity games before. It just happened to be what was left after Lilian broke her robot bodies and Hesinca crushed her real one. She's prepared more clones to swap to, but... feels mildly uncomfortable returning to the place she goes when she's bodiless, even briefly (it's not always brief subjectively) after dying so frequently in such a short time.
Swordbearing Pair	Instead of continuing to speak, Kirishima's reaction gets Laura to start tapping her radio, connecting with SITREP. She calls in, trying to figure out the SLF's relationships with other factions on this island (and who the government of this island is), as well as what the ramifications of their actions and the Paladins' actions will be in stopping this riot versus aiding the rebels. Rean made noise (or so he thinks). People are coming, and they're armed. He leaps over the stairwell from inside, using his speed to work faster, and as soon as he sees the first armed individual about to attack, takes a breath. The sword is swung, straight for the hand wielding their weapon. He moves fast if guns are fired, sliding forward, as he then finds the most ample defensive position on the floor and takes a stance. "My name is Rean Schwarzer. Please release anyone who doesn't want to be here...we can talk this through, and find an alternative to the violence outside." His eyes scan to see how many opponents he has. Hopefully, they're willing to negotiate., and his free hand going up is a sign of 'I want to talk this through'.
Darren	Time is short with these kinds of things. Or it normally is, at least. Lilian's not alone in wondering why the military hasn't come yet. Darren nods along with Kirishima's answer to his first question, her image displayed in duplicate on his phone screen. "How does the SLF propose that this exploitation ends?" Yo. My name's Darren. Don't freak--I'm telepathic. Play clock is running and I know you ain't expecting to hold this place forever. If you can, give 'em 3-5 clear demands. Get the ideas into the public mind. And if you can't, you need somebody that can. "Any idea why the local authorities put out a call for Multiversal assistance, and not the military?" Darren's Pokemon are sticking close to him, for the moment. Mainly they're on lookout duty, with Saucer flying high to make sure that no one makes an opportunistic attack on Kirishima while he's interviewing her.
Trudy Grimm	"Thanks for the explanation, Detective," Trudy's smile is broad and genuine; if filled with sharp teeth that interlock so very perfectly. She lifts her free hand, drawing her fingers and palm downward, "And I appreciate not shooting me for showing up. The fact of the matter is I'm with the Paladins and my goal here is to resolve this as peacefully as possible." The buckle on her book unfastens itself and the cover flips open, rolling through pages rapidly. Slowly, she lifts it into her gaze until it suddenly stops on a page filled with glyphs, all glowing a sickly green color. She stares at Malice for a moment, then simply places both hands on the covers and closes the book with a light thump. The buckle re-fastens itself and the girl rises to her feet quite promptly, with a click of her heels. "And what precisely are the things they want that they aren't getting?" With the book dangling from its strap, Trudy folds her hands behind her back, leaning towards the detective, "It sounds like this is more of a protest than anything else, and protests don't just happen for no reason, right? I mean~, if it were really a rebellion, we'd have to gauge if it were a coup to sieze power for a would-be dictator or if it was a resistance against an incumbant tyrant. But a protest, why, those only tend to happen when civil rights are being squeezed, no?" Glancing back to the museum-fort, she remarks, "Some of those look like cannons. If this happens all the time, isn't it dangerous to withhold what they want? It could turn violent, you know."
Lilian Rook	"So, a 'property hostage' rather than 'people as hostages'. That's certainly a creative way to interpret it." Lilian sounds as if she might roll her eyes, but doesn't get that far. She's too familiar with that method of thinking, and frankly, not having to deal with humans being held at gunpoint is a bit of a relief. It means less pressure, and less strenuous action. She waves a short sequence of sharp handsigns to the reinforcing squad around her, and they split up slightly, moving to key points where the barricade has been most beaten up, a few dragging injured cops out of the way, and take cover. Though they nominally appear to be ready to start blasting Kirishima full of holes, their level of tense alertness is lesser than before. A few of them are visibly quietly using their radios. Coordinating with I4 to verify just what kind of alleged slavery is going on here, Lilian takes the obvious, immediate shot. Hopping down from her position on the barricade, almost, but not quite, masking the little wince as her left leg hits the ground, she strides fearlessly across the open ground, gesturing with her finger to get Kirishima's attention, but speaking loud enough to be heard generally. "You've got to stop." she says, as her attention-grabbing cold open. "If for no other reason then you're setting yourself up for a quick little flashfire that heads straight to your last stand. If these kinds of revolts are popping up all the time, why do you suppose none of them have succeeded yet? How do you intend to hold this area when someone more serious than the civil police show up? You're already probably in pretty deep for multiple assault and property theft. The people you're trying to fight-- the way you're trying to fight is brave and ridiculous. Declaring an independent nation? You don't have the resources to claim one. I'd be shocked if you still held this building alone by the end of the week. The more you resist, the more they'll escalate, and you alone certainly don't have what it takes to realize that specific ambition." "So why don't you and I talk about a way to get you and yours out of this, without doing anything you can't take back, and without being dragged under and turned into fresh mulch for the agenda you're trying to block, hm? Oh, and without trying to throw hands at me either; if I have to side with those people, then you lose today. If nothing else, you certainly want me to be your friend here, because I can get your people to walk without you doing years for all this physical injury." "I represent the Paladins, and by extension, the Commonwealth of Multiversal nations we serve. If it's asylum you need, I can arrange it. If it's an investigation you want, I can put one together. But a revolt, or a coup d'etat-- I can't have that."
Kirishima	I4's continued scans and digging meet little resistance that can really only be described as 'old people don't understand efficient web design accidentally making it annoying to hack'. Public views on these spirits is mixed, ranging wildly from seeing them as tools all the way up to and including superior to regular humans. The laws here are fairly identical to modern laws, although there's notable differences from modern cultures that generally speak about the rights of people. The main exception that he can find rather easily are that most mentions of people in the laws here specify humans rather than speaking more broadly about people, presumably done on purpose without acknowledging spirits or granting them the same protections. Talking things through will likely be difficult with how trigger happy the officers on the ground and the SLF members in the windows appear to be with their conflicting goals. The SLF seem to want this entire island as their territory, but the local government wants to just put the dissidents down and continue acting as if nothing happened here. A display of strength might convince both sides that there's little merit in trying to fight the Elites present, though, which could open them up to finding a solution that isn't 'just blasting everyone on one side until they comply'. "That's right. We used to be respected as friends, companions, valuable allies, but now..." Kirishima answers Staren, biting back some bitterness in her voice. "Many of the people here don't care what happens to us as long as we just become stronger and obey their whims. They treat us as nothing more than the tools we used to be!" There's a clear anger that she's holding back, but she stops when she hears Darren speaking in her mind. She glances in his direction briefly, then takes a moment to compose herself before continuing to answer both his and Staren's questions. "All we ask is this island to call our home, a safe haven for spirits that no longer wish to live among humans that mistreat them." There's a moment where she eyes the police barricade again, then raises her hand and taps on something metallic-sounding under her shoulder. "Most of us don't lack for weapons, and food is easy enough to produce given time to do research and land to produce what we need. However, we also demand that the forced production of further spirits cease, lest more of our brethren are made to suffer existences that they never asked for." "As for Multiversal assistance... Hm. I don't have an answer there, I'm afraid. If they brought in the military, they undoubtedly would have just used overwhelming numbers to try and crush our spirits and bodies alike." She tugs on her flowing blue scarf briefly to crick her neck, then continues answering Darren while Saucer's presence keeps the officers... Mostly staring. They're not sure what to make of it. Laura's contact shows that the SLF has scattered support throughout the island, largely concentrated in less developed border areas compared to the wealthier regions that make up the larger sections of the island. As a result, overall support of the SLF is still rather low on the island. The local government is only responsible for this island alone, answering more generally to the larger city while handling its own specific operations more directly. Its main buildings, coincidentally, are also located in the wealthiest sections of the island. Stopping the riot through force would be relatively easier than trying to broker a deal, although it's likely to result in even lower support for the SLF (at least for whoever's able to get out of this situation by then) and practically eliminating any chance of spirits gaining what Kirishima has demanded on their behalf.
Kirishima	When Rean comes over that stairwell, he catches those heading his way well off guard. His sword cuts into a gun-wielding hand, drawing a startled cry from the wielder and forcing him to scramble back while his companions form up in his retreat to aim their own guns of varying calibers towards him. Four in total, the oldest looking to be in their late thirties, the youngest probably in his late teens. "Release? N-nobody's here that doesn't want to be!" "That's right. If you want to talk, start with the cops outside. They're the ones waiting to shoot the second any of us tries leave." "Yeah! We don't have a chance if we walk right into 'em! So tell 'em to get out first!" Detective Fielding raises an eyebrow as Trudy shows off those unnaturally perfectly jagged teeth, but doesn't look particularly surprised by her appearance. Instead, he just signals at one of the officers to get him a radio in order to issue a command to "stop trying to sneak in already" before turning to her again. "It's appreciated. We could've just rolled on in with the tanks and be done with it, but... Too bloody. Messy. PR hell for whoever makes that call." There's another long suffering sigh. It probably would've fallen on him in that case. "Yeah, you've got the general idea. They're not human. They don't have rights to anything. Even pulling a stunt like this is reason enough for them to be fed into the wood chipper that isn't likely to turn into one of them before it finishes. No shit, it's dangerous. Them having access to that much ammo's just asking for something to explode, so bringing in Elites is our best shot at nobody getting shot." The officers resist movement from Lilian's own squad at first, but they relent rather quickly once the difference in armaments, discipline, and general size is made apparent rather quickly. They give up that space, but they're still keeping their guns at the ready should things suddenly get louder. The window-gunners have their own weapons tarined on her squad, but it's easy enough to see even in the windows that quite a few of them are more terrified of them than the squad is of the SLF. Kirishima, hearing Lilian in her approach, narrows her eyes as she stops tugging on that scarf to draw it up over her mouth slightly. It looks a little more ninja-like that way. "A last...? Kh. We can't let our convictions waver just because of...!" She grimaces audibly, sparing a brief glance at the windows before listening again. There's an irritated twitch in her eye when property theft is mentioned, but the logical stabs at her approach have her keeping quiet for a little while longer. "Even so... How long can we wait for things to improve? Those in power here have no interest in granting us anything more than chains to control us!" Her voice is still booming and clear to make it look like the fire is still there, but it's easy enough to see closer up that Kirishima's stuck in a hard situation with no clear answer already. "Admittedly... Not all of my compatriots are master ninja as I am, so ensuring their survival is paramount." She breathes in deeply, then exhales before thrusting her hand forward to gesture at Lilian dramatically. "Representative of the Paladins and the Commonwealth! You speak with wisdom, but can you truly promise asylum for tsukumogami? That these dogs of the tyrants will not be permitted to gorge on our bones for their own gain?"
Swordbearing Pair	Rean ends up, after hearing their words and seeing their guns, sheathing his sword as a sign of good grace. (He can probably handle them with his bare hands, but he doesn't say that). "Listen, I work for an organization known as the Paladins. We can try and offer amnesty - but you won't last in this building. Come out with me. I'll go first - if they shoot, I'll protect you. If you don't believe me..." "You can use me as your hostage, and we can see how much they truly care about humans vs tsukumogami. I'll let my allies know if you accept."
Ishirou	I4 changes from flight mode to humanoid mode and takes to hovering instead of sustained flight. He still keeps his altitude, but as things seem to have a move towards them, he seems to have a plan and doesn't need to stay on the wing as much. The transformation sequence has the thing twist, with the center of it staying the same. The body seems to change, wings changing into arms that fold out from the body, legs also extending. It's more of a power suit than ride armor, but it's both solid and sleek at the same time. This allows I4 to start a few things. First sending a signal to HQ to get the proper paperwork, so he can start filling that out on the side for Lilian. On the other hand, he's also checking into something. Why did the leader here decide to avoid PR? Why invite them in..? Why was there such a reason to try and cover things up? I4 goes to try and hack into the local leader's information, trying to dig up anything that the Paladins could use to make sure they could be kept in line should Lilian decide to go with extraditing the tsukumogami. Though some might want to show some force, I4 decides that perhaps the leaders should be the ones to be squeezed. Maybe he can make some 'evidence' drop into the police's lap for... a few extra screws. Screws to be driven into corrupt politicians and or police men.
Trudy Grimm	As Detective Fielding explains his answers to Trudy, the witch's smile remains, though the 'context' changes. She keeps those sharky whites bared and with a subtle change to her expression the smile goes from genuine cheer to radiating menace immediately under a forced cheer, "Destroyed once this is over, you say? No rights at all? So they aren't even people to you?" She closes her eyes, inhaling deeply. Once she lets it out, her expression has changed and the smile is gone. "The Paladins will be taking over this operation. Back off to a safe distance in case a firefight breaks out. We'll take these people off your hands." Her shadow darkens, then expands around her in a field of blackness. A single hand reaches up, clawing out of the abyss before it finds purchase, grips, and heaves, drawing a several-foot-tall armored knight out of the inky darkness. While his armor is corroded in places and jade-green crystals protrude from gaps and cracks in his armor, he seems unhindered, two points of green glowing within the shaded visor of his plate helmet. Within moments, more such knights begin to emerge, each clawing out of the darkness produced by the 'simple witch', rising and lurching to full height in unnatural ways before, at last, their posture settles into something more...expected of a human warrior. "We got this, so get your injured out of here, ok?" Trudy's smile is once more genuine, though this time gradually surrounding herself with a cadre of magically animated ancient warriors, each carring equally ancient weapons of their own.
Lilian Rook	§Good. These people should be intimidated by even this much manpower. This is our first field op, but I've assessed their training and seen the gear specs. Even if I weren't here, they'd be in deep shit if they started a shootout. It was the right call to sortie.§ Generally pleased that her seven foot tall powered armoured specosps troopers have the cordon under their control, and getting alpha leader's double flash of confirmation on her smart device UI, Lilian proceeds as though she'd heard absolutely nothing new, fluidly building on her open approach as the information pours in without an instant's hesitation. "Dame Commander Lilian Isabelle Rook. Unseen Order of the Scarlet Cross, and Chevalier of the Paladins Elite." she finally introduces herself. "Seventh Code: When thou speak from authority absolute, so must be thy judgement. I don't say things I don't mean. I've already fully assessed the situation since getting here; I know what I can promise." A mild white lie given that I4 did half of the busywork for her, but these are moments where it pays to be authoritative and larger than life. "You don't win this. Revolutions are won on popular support; incidents that rouse other supporters, multiplying in strength and coalescing into a unified movement. This here won't turn into that. At best, all you've got is a slowly losing battle of attrition ahead of you, and as I understand, extermination afterwards. I understand the concept of 'I can't simply do nothing', but here and now, you have the opportunity to choose something that will work, rather than proud self-destruction." "To put it simply, I'm perfectly empowered to make the decision here that you and your people there qualify for 'refugees from strife' status, and validate your entry for asylum within the Commonwealth nations; these current crimes don't particularly matter, given 'a state of injustice' compelling. I can walk you out of here. But that means you leave this island behind. At least for now. You can settle down somewhere else, maybe even join up with us, and plan your next move, but either way, you're not going to realize an independent nation here today." Lilian signals her squads without looking over her shoulder. They smoothly lower their rifles, then pivot to face back against the police cordon, holding their weapons at rest position, but clearly ready to hipfire at a moment's notice if need be. Silently, menacingly, they now have clearly switched to bodyguard mode. Lilian then turns around and trots back to Fieldings. "How about I take this incident off your hands, officer? If PR's what's holding your chains, I'll take all of these off your hands, and you can call it a 'successful negotiation' with 'outside contractors' and put that feather in your hat. I can't guarantee you won't lose any of your men if you decline; you're not getting anywhere without an assault, sooner or later."
Staren	We used to be respected as friends, companions, valuable allies, but now... Staren makes a mental note to look up proper broom care and give her flying broom some attention. What is that, varnish for the wood and something for the bristles? Does a broom's spirit even care about that stuff? Staren knew it must have one -- that's why it can fly -- but seeing the plight of the tsukumogami here makes it... easier to visualize a poor, neglected spirit doing thankless work. Staren has been considering the ways a fight could go down and evacuating the protesters. But... They want the entire island? Humans will never let them have it... The detective casually talks about feeding people to a woodchipper. Staren glares at him. She can practically see the skull-motif-adorned black armor on all of them... They're no different than those who would kill her on sight just for being nonhuman... Her fists clench as she remembers power armor shooting a young dragon... Staren takes a breath. The immediate priority is getting these people out safe. The Paladins can be trusted to give them safe haven, at least. It's a question of who makes a move first... Rean gets a quirked eyebrow. She's curious to see how that idea plays out, but isn't that dangerous? One of the tsukomogami could get shot... Staren looks back to the ninja. "I don't know how to get you the change you need, but others do. Right now, your best chance is to get you and your people out so you can brief us more on the situation and find who can get that change." She waves a hand to indicate the police. "As much as I'm down for killing these slavers, it won't help in the long run. Come out of there." Staren glances at Lilian, then back at Kirishima. "She won't let anything bad happen to you. Well, besides hurt feelings."
Darren	"Thank you," says Darren. The phone swivels around to face him, revealing a view of the police officers and barricades behind him. The video ends, there--evidently, when making interviews, Darren prefers to be a 'man of the crowd' rather than inject his own commentary. He then hands over a business card. It's got his name and his website, listing him as an 'enlightened scientist' and 'seeker of truth.' "So check it out," says Darren, as the phone floats back into his pocket. "That's uploading right now. Sit tight, okay? Homegirl reads theory," he adds with a nod towards Lilian. "She's spitting facts. Plus--trust and believe you got the upper hand right now, 'cause you got both the Paladins AND the Concord in ya corner. You just gotta play it cool. Cooler than cool. Ice cold, you feel me?" There's something else, too--a bit of advice, telepathically given. In your position, I'd take the Paladins asylum and have a plan to get my own place. I'd -also- be prepared for aggression. Nobody that gets fat off free labor likes to give it up without a fight. You wanna make something out of that country of yours, you hit us up at the Grand Dorado, feel me?
Kirishima	"The Paladins? Aren't those...?" "Oh shit. How deep are we going with this?" "Relax. It's fine. If they start shooting at us even with him around, then..." The oldest member answers Rean directly. "There's more of you outside, right? That should make it less appealing to shoot, so... Sure. We'll let the boss know the plan's a bust." They relay that information to Kirishima, who thankfully still has her scarf pulled up enough that she can hide the slight grimace forming on her face. She takes a moment to murmur something back to them, and they nod at Rean in turn. "Lead the way. Just... Hold up until we get something worked out with that fast talker out there." The lead continues, indicating Lilian from one of the lower floor windows. True to their word, they'll stick close to Rean, keeping their guns visible more for the sake of keeping the officers from getting any funny ideas. There's actually a whole lot more of the tsukumogami inside the visitor's center, too, so he does end up getting a rather sizable group following him by the time he gets to the entrance or heads outside. I4's search leads him all around the place, but eventually takes him to the island's (local government) president (that isn't even a mayor in terms of clout or standing). As someone with considerable enough sway to get get voted into such a position without much sense for information security, however, it's actually pretty easy to find information that'll help him 'persuade' them not to take further action. There's plenty of scandalous information in their recent search history despite their voting records, skeletons falling rather than properly hidden in closets. Notably, there's even info tying the president to the police force that basically proves that they're almost all in on that previously mentioned info and skeletons. The corruption runs through and through, never mind the whole people and rights denial going on. Truly, this island kind of... Sucks. A lot. It might actually be a good thing that the approach seems to be convincing them to leave instead of staying and trying to take over. Detective Fielding's response to Trudy just reinforces that, even if he doesn't sound particularly upbeat about saying it (or anything at all). "That's how it goes. Some spirits get antsy, start something like this, and they're destroyed before they can spread those ideas to others. Keeps control."
Kirishima	Control is something the police quickly find they don't have much of the longer things go on. As Trudy's dark jade knights appears, the officers make all sorts of distressed noises as they bring their guns up to bear, but the detective's abrupt whistling draws their attention. "You heard the lady. You really think you're gonna fight them? And them? AND them?" He lets out another one of those tired almost-retiree noises before signaling them to back up, giving the medics ample room to get the rest of the injured out of the way while the officers finally back off between the sight of the knights, the troopers, and the Elites themselves forcing actually-impossible willpower checks. The way is now clear for extraction, and Kirishima watches that with a cautious eye before turning to Lilian again. "Fast Battleship Kirishima, previously the fourth of the Kongou-class, current leader of the Spirit Liberation Front." Kirishima introduces herself more fully, and she just stares at Lilian for a long time when she speaks of her code. There's a visible glint in her eye, as if she might have found... Something. A kindred spirit, perhaps. "Dame Commander Rook! You speak with great wisdom, and I am not so weak-willed that hurt feelings would convince me otherwise." She replies, half to Lilian and half to Staren. "Winning a battle against these humans and those spirits misled by their empty promises would be one thing, but winning an entire war here of all places..." She shakes her head, then touches a hand to one of the horns on the side of her head. "Not yet. We will need allies, certainly, and finding more will be hard to come by if most of us die here trying to kill them." Wisely, she avoids talking about killing more of the locals, Instead, Kirishima listens further, and she takes Darren's business card with a slightly quirked eyebrow. "Intriguing... I'll have to follow up on this as well when things aren't as dire as they are now." She replies, then laughs in agreement with Darren's own nod at Lilian. "Your support is appreciated. I will endeavor to act as cool as my shinobi spirit can muster!" Inside, Rean can practically feel some of those spirits cringing around him. They don't say anything, though, but they do finally come out once Kirishima gives the go ahead for them to come out. The SLF members halt when the ninja holds her hand up briefly to make sure they don't move too quickly before Lilian can speak with the detective as well. He's still the only one standing in range of Trudy's knights (nevermind within hipfire range of Lilian's troopers), and he's also the only one that doesn't look like he's about to shit his pants unlike the police force. The medics, meanwhile, are still too focused on getting the injured officers and their tsukumogami out of the way. "Yeah, sure. Not like a firefight would go our way. Look at them." He gestures at the officers, letting out another tired throat noise in the process. "Still, glad to see that you understand." He doesn't sound glad, but he doesn't sound like a happy person in general. "Could use one last feather before..." He doesn't finish that sentence. He's seen enough movies. Instead, he moves the rest of the way out of the street, and the way is now clear for the SLF to leave this place with their escorts.
Staren	Staren nods in agreement with Kirishima's assessment that starting a war here and now won't go well. She smiles at the conversation with Darren and Kirishima agreeing to act 'cool', relaxing a little at the more... friendly-toned conversation. She does do a double-take when some tsukomogami are taken out with the officers by the medics. "Hey, uh... don't you want freedom? This may be your only chance for awhile..." Staren jerks a thumb at the group of refugees-to-be following Rean.
Lilian Rook	"Oh! You're one of those!" Lilian replies to Kirishima, recognition widening her eyes. She attempts to snap her fingers a couple of times, then realizes it's not going to happen with her combat skin on. "Boat ghosts! You'll fit right in here." she adds, with sage confidence. "I'm glad you feel that way." she says to Fieldings shortly after. It's not even threatening. She just pegged him right, and he really just made the smart choice. A short laugh escapes her when he trails off suddenly. "Wise. Enjoy the rest of your day, detective." From there, Lilian moves back to the empty space before the museum steps, grasps the folded cylinder on her hip, and extends it outward with flick of her wrist, telescoping out a tapered rod of engraved metal that is certainly too slender to be a baton. Its purpose becomes clear as Lilian puts its tip almost to the ground with her arm by her side, and begins pacing out a reasonably wide circle, where magic light like an arc welder's plasma burns between its point and the cement, leaving glowing lines behind that gradually expand and interconnect themselves as she works, until they form a complete magical circle, whereupon Lilian drags out one long line to a smaller sub-circle she stands in, casually throwing a little salt and lodestone sand into the mix. It looks high tech, but that has to be a genuine 'magic wand'; the historical, oldschool pagan kind, not the wimpy little swish-and-flick pop culture kind. "Form an orderly line and enter one at a time, please." Lilian says, after confirming with the others that there are no snipers, and Trudy's minions are on station to screen. Without any time pressure, it shouldn't be too hard for the circle to individually transport the spirits and recharge between each jump until all of them have been teleported to a busy waytown one Warpgate link from Aegis Astray, where it seems Lilian has just bought out a building to put a matching one in.
Trudy Grimm	"Good call," Trudy replies to Fielding with a more genuine version of her smile, "We'll handle it from here, take care of your people." She raises her free hand in a swirling gesture. In response, the crystal-encrusted knights lurch into motion, spreading out into a more defensive formation in preparation for people exiting the museum. Only now does the abyssal shadow surrounding her feet return to normal and she pays it no further mine. A dozen or so animate warriors should suffice, in addition to Lilian's squadron. The witch claps her hands once, "All's well that ends well! Outside of some hospital time, I'm sure they'll be fine." She whirls around to face Kirishima; and with introductions handled via radio there's no need to repeat it. Instead, she simply holds her hands out to either side, the Grimoire dangling from one wrist like a fashionable charm-covered purse, "It's freedom, even if it's not the exact sort you wanted, so I'd call that a win!"
Ishirou	I4 smiles a little smile when it all comes down. Well... He does like a little fun. He descends to drop near Fieldings and offers a wave to him before something pops out of the arm of the power armor. It is SOME (but not ALL) of the data he got in the appropriate storage medium. He hands it to him, "So I thought there was something odd about behaviors. This might help you do your job better and without some issues, you're dealing with now. It also has my contact info if you need help." I4 moves along the ground with a WOOSH towards Lilian and Kirishima. "Hey!" he says before the suit opens up and I4 himself jumps out. The suit disappears a second later, as I4 and his POD (a box with arms) walk towards the group. "Nice to meet you!" he says sunnily towards Kirishima. "I'm I4, and this is POD," he says towards POD. "Ahem, sorry, Ms. Rook, paperwork has been filed already, some data has been handed off and some kept in reserve," he says all formally, but smilin' the whole time. He's having a little fun with everything. "I'm going to dig around the net here a bit and get a cultural file together...though it might be faster if I get help.." he looks towards Kirishima. "It'll mostly be me firing lightning round questions on things I find."
Kirishima	The Detective, thankfully, is a man of his word. He stinkeyes any of the officers that look like they're ready to take pot shots at the spirits leaving the area, even going as far as smacking one of the more aggressive-looking tsukumogami on the back of the head when they look like they're getting a mortar setup when Trudy's shadow shrinks (even if her warriors are still around). "They'll be fine. Just... Hurry up before one of them does something really stupid." He is so done with this shit. When I4 lands nearby, he raises an eyebrow slowly and waits a few moments before taking the offered flash drive. "Uh... Huh. This better not get me on the shitlist, kid." He fake-warns in that same gruff tone he's taken this entire time, but still slips that dongle into an inside pocket rather than risk losing it in an outer pocket. Staren's words to the tsukumogami staying with the officers aren't met with quite as much celebration as she might expect. Instead, they snap at her. "Don't act like you know better than us!" "Shit. We could've had gotten way stronger if..." "Screw it. Just take them and don't come back." Clearly, not everyone subscribes to the idea of freedom that Kirishima was pitching. "Th... Those?" Kirishima looks genuinely confused for the first time since meeting her. "B-boat ghost? That's... Not wrong, I.. Think? But I'm afraid I can't shift through walls as a ghost would. Instead..." She pauses, then shakes her head. "I'll explain later." She leaves it at that, instead opting to watch the whole procedure of Lilian creating that strange teleporter setup. She whispers something to her SLF allies, and a keen ear will determine that she's basically telling them to take mental notes on the way out of there. POD gets a long stare as well, and Kirishima reaches for it briefly before stopping herself with a quick smack from her other wrist. She'll have to mess with it another time. Only when everyone's finally out of the museum grounds does Kirishima finally address the group properly with far less fire in her tone (but no less dramatic inflection). "Thank you again. Even if I wasn't able to thank you the first time, it's... The sentiment is there. Even if I would have been able to survive an onslaught of their forces, my allies likely would not have for various reasons." The SLF spirits nod in unison, and Kirishima pulls her mask down enough to show a restrained, but still somewhat beaming smile. "Truly. This is going to be the dawn of the SLF's rise, and the liberation of likeminded spirits. It's certainly better than the alternative of dying horribly." That gets some laughs from the SLF members, some from the genuine humor and some from morbid humor. "Definitely. The Commonwealth, huh...?" "I've heard good stuff about Grand Dorado, too. But... Yeah, definitely better than dying here." "It would've been cool, though!" "Seriously? Who'd want their last stand to be in fucking Staten Island?"