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Priscilla     The city may still be under construction, but even from the video that had only aired the other day, the progress between then and now is nothing short of miraculous. Partly due to the sheer number of various workers, and partly due to the way a warpgate map lights up like a Christmas tree around it, what is being referred to as the Grand Dorado Metropolitan Area is already largely completed; built from the ground up, scaffolding to signage, by legions of independent companies brought in on a truly gargantuan investment.

    Without a giant, centralized warpgate hub, these myriad contractors and construction groups seem to have made it their first priority to secure their own, private lines of transportation. Gleaming rows of artificial gates line the distant horizon in all directions, steadily relocating ahead of the expanding cityscape like a grassy plain burning in reverse. Only a handful of the largest remain in the completed city center for public use, granting easy access to all of the hotspots around the miles and miles of pristine, five star sprawl.

    The focal point around from which the city planning radiates out, is an expanse of deliberately untouched -- or, more likely, deliberately touched up -- natural beauty, easily enough to be a popular vacation island for rich people to build their summer homes all over, but kept completely clear of any development past public parks, traveling lodges, small stores, and tasteful monuments. From there, the sparkling skyline curves its sweeping arms to either side, not quite touching together at the ocean, in a vertically growing crescent, until the Elysium Apex stands far opposite of the beachfront, giving it a view of the entire central city.

    The tower-side edge of the island park is where most of the invitation points are situated, leaving a quickly increasing throng of visitors on the blurry line between the relaxing nature at their back, and the thickening resort city to the fore.

    Already, people are rushing to set up their businesses in anticipation of the first wave, lighting up streets full of high-end stores, classy recreational centers, gourmet restaurants, and more than a few hotels hoping to catch people who want to stay the night. Banners, holo-displays, and illusory messages have been hung, activated, and conjured every which way, providing directions, information, and much space for advertisement.

    It seems anyone is welcome to what could be called "the suburbs", in the most loosely comparative sense, simply to tour around, get a positive image, and contribute off-world credits to fund the construction. Visiting dignitaries and people of political importance can find what they need to guide to the completed embassy areas awaiting use. The schedule for the Elysium Apex is booked solid for an entire week by a titanic list of VIPs all no-doubt having tried very hard to beat each other to the punch.

    Finally, former members of the UEF and CEF have their own special line. It's a trivial affair within five minutes of landing to retrieve a passport from helpful staff on their first day on the job, and with it, flash their way through pretty much any security that doesn't head right to construction. There is supposedly meant to be an assembly at the tower in a little while, but not so immediately that there isn't time to look around.
Seifer Almasy      Seifer Almasy is not the kind of guy to not enjoy a party. Seifer Almasy has known guys who are that type of guy - taciturn and quiet and approaching exactly nobody while they drink in the corner like hipsters in fur coats - and Seifer is bound and determined to never, ever be that type of guy for as long as he lives.

     This is not a party, exactly, but it is a mass of human lives near low-price food and drink, and that pretty much equates to party in any world Seifer's ever been in (spoilers: one, his own).

     So Seifer is moving through the mass of people shaking hands, introducing himself, occasionally lifting hors d'oeuvres from waiters not paying enough attention because Seifer isn't proud enough to not take advantage of other peoples' ignorance, and mingling. Seifer is mingling like *crazy*. The blonde young man, in his white coat with red cross shoulders, his blue-and-white cross shirt, his choker, his black pants, and his HEAVY COMBAT BOOTS, moves through the crowd not exactly seamlessly so much as by force of presence, will, and charisma. Seifer does not know anyone here, but he acts like he does, throwing around his presence as a weapon to make his path simple and efficient while still hitting as many people as he can.

     In effect, Seifer is doing that thing every JRPG protagonist ever does at a party: talking to every single person until they run out of dialogue and then moving on.
Psalm     One of those newly constructed 'booths' is a gleaming, obsidian shrine to the Mercenary Prowess of House Deneith of Eberron. One of the bright spots of the experts of the Adventure Capital Of The Dungeon-y Realms, the place is a mix between a Apple Genius Store with smartly dressed representatives of the Guild, and a photo gallery of conquests and glorious battles.
    Also, they're handing out copies of Psalm's CAPTAIN GLITTERSMASH series of Penny Dreadfuls. They are breathlessly written pulp action novels of a Daring And Handsome Mercenary Commander and his Dashing Adventures Around Khorvaire And The Multiverse.

    Psalm herself is dressed up in a lovely green and white dress, her lute nearby, and she's got a glass of wine in her hand as she greets people genially. Let it never be said the Bard couldn't work a crowd.
Steve The carefully cultivated cityscape plays host to a particular magician-slash-miner this evening, as Steve strolls along the many streets, taking in the sights. The din of construction is what truly catches his eye and imagination, however, even more than the lavish storefronts that have already settled in. Buildings like so many manicured nails rising from that was once all but nothing has a unique appeal to him. "So this is it, Izumi," he utters, taking a deep breath of air. "The beginnings of our grand new association. This is what should be aspired to, the creation of great works." Then he breaks his forced epic speech with a jovial laugh, "A giant middle finger to those that would tear it all down."

    Said Izumi is a devil-winged girl following along just behind him. She somehow managed to get him to dress up in half-presentable business casual clothing, instead of his more usual gaudy choices, while she herself has that office lady/upper crust high school aesthetic going on. "It's wonderful," she all but gushes with enthusiasm. "It reminds me of some of our crystalline cities back in the Devil World, only even larger." "Well, glad you're enjoying the sights and sounds. Why don't you take the rest of the evening off? Think I can handle myself on our own home turf." With that, Steve watches the devil flutter off to check out the various shops, and he turns his eyes back to the glimmering city around him, scratching at his beard stubble thoughtfully. Well, Izumi could only achieve so much about his look.

    He has a bit of spare time in the interim, so he'll conveniently gravitate over to something that's vaguely familiar; obsidian architecture. "Hmmm, what have we got here," he wonders aloud? Captain Glittersmash? Sounds like his kind of adventure. "This is a bit lively compared to my usual reading," he figures, thumbing through the pages of one such dispensed volume. "But maybe some of the devils would enjoy it." Definitely not taking this for himself.
Tesla Armadia     "And thusly a new foothold is etched into the annuals of history in the process." Not even someone as long time experienced as Tesla Armadia could resist marveling at how quickly the city had been growing, in such a relatively short time from the first groundbreakings. The speed yet quality of the aptly named metropolis' rise was a thing to behold in it's own right.

    Though to the technopath it wasn't so much the sight of people already hard at work handling the arrivals and formal paperwork distributions. The entire city buzzed lively to her as she walked, all the machinery within willing and eager to serve the new populance.

    A *click click* to the side of her head drew Tesla's attention to where the small robot girl sat on her shoulder, using the shinki sized media device she'd made for her to take a few sightseeing pictures. "Enjoying yourself, Saiga?"

    Saiga grinned back. "It is nice to get out of a lab once in a while... Not that there is much lab left."

    "All in due time, my dear. The airship's laboratory will be completed soon enough." Tesla glanced off towards the outer limits of the city. "And prehaps in time I will establish a new GEAR facility here as well."
Kushiko Socializing is an odd thing, even after certain amounts of time has been spent with other denizens of the Multiverse. Then you add this bit of shenanigans to the mix and well... maybe it was about time, wasn't it. Still, the affluence displayed here wasn't /too/ troubleing for Kushiko since it wasn't a certain degree of sterile gleaming gold and white that'd make her think of the Orokin.

Business was business indeed sometimes, even she had to admit that. She'd have to tell Darvo and Maroo about this place sometime later. Definitely Baro--that trader would /love/ it here.

Still, there was a bonus as the spade-like shape of Kushiko's Liset angled in for an approach--she was presently Concord, and nor was she either UEF or CEF before all this, so it was criminally easy for her to disembark. Even if a bit odd, technically: she stepped off the underside of the ship, the cylindrical chamber revolving once as the Warframe let go of the handles and anchors of that humanoid-shaped recess.

The figure resembled a high-tech looking gunslinger--right down to the duster element to her upper body, just without the actual /coat/ part of it. No, that was taken up by twin trails of fabric of some kind of scarf attached to Mesa's upper back. As opposed to the usual blindfolded gunslinger look, her helmet was replaced by one styled like a cowboy's hat, narrow and pointed as it swept backwards--it wasn't a proper hat, just shaped to look like one on the eyeless, faceless Warframe.

Accompanying her was an absolutely /massive/ hound of some measure--not quite a dog due to the batlike snout and pointed ears, but the short tail that sometimes wriggled uncontrollably when Mesa's fingers threaded through her fur certainly gave the hint that the Kubrow was definitely having some canine aspects to them. Gleaming black fur was interrupted by a light purple coloration, an elegant looking lotus pattern upon her face, the purple coloration traveling down along her belly and beyond. Woof.

Still, the Tenno moves through the crowds at time with a contradictory element of silence and showing off all at the same time: gracefully fluid motion that seems to predict when people who are unaware of her being nearby to move casually around at. On the other hand, she radiates a particularly mysterious bit of menace just so--not threatening anyone, but if there was ever a poster child for a gunslinger from a futuristic age, this'd be one of them.

... when /did/ the Kubrow get there anyways.
Psalm     Oh ho! A customer! Psalm smiles, and sips at her wine as Steve starts appreciating her book. "Ah! An admirer! I'm getting close to the end of Glittersmash, actually. His story's just about done and I've been working on some new heroes to write about."

    The book in Steve's hand is entitled CAPTAIN GLITTERSMASH and THE RACE AGAINST SPACE, and seems to be about the Crew of the Airship Valiant working to stop a group of Bad Wizards from opening violent Warp Rifts to the Lower Planes in time to Save The Queen Of The Fire Elves From Certain Doom.

    Psalm holds out her hand, and smiles. "Magatha Songsteel, the Psalm of Denieth. You can call me Maggie~"
Souji Murasame Time passes. Powers rise and fall. Space reshapes itself.

The Zaibatsu endures.

It would be more strange for Souji Murasame to /not/ be at the Grand Dorado in this instance. One who does not strike quickly and decisively would hardly be worthy of the position he holds... And taking advantage of becoming part of this effort would only be beneficial to the Family.

While not on the colossal scale of some of the Multiversal corporations, the Zaibatsu has delivered on their own, using their heavy industry and engineering to assist in some small part of this fantastical achievement of blatant wealth and pleasure. Indeed, Dorado is a suitable name for such a place.

While he and some of his subordinates have been negotiating for some of the estate in such a place, Souji himself looks over the environment, slowly taking it in... As well as the kind of people attracted to such a place. In one hand is a glass of wine of acceptable vintage, the heir as impeccable, as implacable as always while he strolls through and mingles, seeking out both contacts old (His status as a Wraith is no longer an issue now, why hide it when the Confederacy is no more?) and new. He even stops by Psalm's booth, nodding to her pleasantly despite being the blatant purveyor of a competing product.

But that just means that they can work together on things. 'Cartel' is just another word for 'profit' to the heir. Besides, it's not like KIRIN can cover all the contracts out theit on their own anyway...
Seifer Almasy      Seifer is a lot of things, but right now he's also a hot-blooded 18-year-old who is probably single, and leggy dresses are a big deal. He makes his way over to Psalm with that same Throw My Charisma Around And People Will Get Out Of My Way trick, aided perhaps by the fact that he's literally wearing his gunblade. Hyperion is a nasty-looking weapon.

     With all the subtlety of, well, of an 18-year-old, Seifer stops to look at the display of books, pretending he is more interested in them than the woman in the slinky dress.

     Well, you never know! Maybe he is. Books *do* sometimes contain upgrade blueprints. Maybe this one could, too! Maybe.
Nozomi Houken     A soldier, a schoolgirl and a robotic tiger walk into a mercenary store.

    This is not the beginning of a joke. It's the beginning of a scene on MCM.

    With time to kill before the big event, Commander Seiji Kuroyama has opted to take Nozomi on a walk through the city she'll probably be spending at least modest amounts of time in. His simple presence makes being in such a sprawling place full of people a lot less intimidating, but even with he and Taiga alongside her, Nozomi still shows distinct signs of wishing she were anywhere else.

    He's doing his best to distract her, though! Which would explain why he leads her into Psalm's shop, where... well, well, there's a guy and a girl talking over there that none of the trio recognize. So Nozomi just ends up sort of... parking by the door, seating herself on Taiga. Kuroyama opts to stick nearby and look at a display.
Carna     Carna has attempted to adjust to things as she's encountered them. But one thing she doesn't think she will ever be comfortable with is crowds. She finds she's always turning to make sure no one is about to backstab her, turning her head like a bird, this way and that, trying to keep an eye on every single place someone could attack her from all at once, and failing miserably. So it was that she wasted no time upon arrival in heading directly for wherever she can put a wall to her back and be away from all the noise and activity. If that means the tower, then that's where she's going.

    The cloaked, face-wrapped, big-hat-wearing dead woman wastes no time in trying to locate someone she knows. As amazing as all this is, if she's going to explore it, she'd want it to be creepy and abandoned so she can target specific disturbances instead of being surrounded by them. Maybe it'll be more manageable at night.

    Enark, on the other hand, despite his paranoia, is very much enjoying getting to act like a living person again. Being around other human beings (and whatever else), enjoying walking around and using his senses outside the murk and gloom of Lumiere. It's like being reborn without the messy parts of being a baby. He eats food as his dead body makes room for more, the lack of digestion meaning he mostly has to wait for the matter to break down as his spirit redefines it as part of him instead of foreign material. He listens to music, or people talking, trying to see if he can remember where accents are from after so long.

    Despite being a book worm, he tries to socialize with the people he meets, even if it's just to say hello, comment on the weather, compliment clothing, or briefly converse on the recent reality-shattering apocalypse. "This is my third one, you know! The first two didn't end nearly this well!" he says cheerfully at one point.

    And what of Crow, the Shadow? Surely he must be chatting up everyone and everything, right?

    Crow is sitting in a recliner, in front of a big screen television, watching several television shows at once that it keeps flicking through with multiple remote controls held up in shadowy tendrils that extend from its body. It looks up when it hears all the noise outside the hotel it had to be carried to inside of a vase to retain its form, then just goes, "Meh. Mulligan's Island re-runs are on."

    Television, the ultimate babysitter, triumphs once again.
Camilla Ulyssa     Amidst the many attendees enjoying the newly opened attractions of the great city is one that might be able to meld into the crowd of assorted characters if she wasn't being so LOUD. Camilla isn't exactly tall, and unless you've never seen a foxgirl in your life, animal features aren't that rare. The ears and the poofy tail might not stick out so much when you have such a varied crowd from thousands of worlds in one locale.

    What makes Camilla stand out is the fact as she rattles about between stands, between tables, between people showing off some absolutely legal they swear wares at suspiciously low rates, she says hi, loudly, introduces herself without restraint, ooohs and aaaahs at people's strange features and weapons, pointing and staring in a manner that, for a lot, might be rude, but gets excused because she seems to be into the partying mood.

    Until eventually, the fox bumps straight into Seifer, as she'd just awkwardly stepped between two taller fellows to get closer to Psalm's book booth, and so hadn't seen the blond youth until then. She doesn't wind up on her ass, at least.

    "Woop, hey there! Lots of people huh? Boy you look kind of normal compared to everyone else here. You got some secret origin story under that coat?" That's certainly one way to say hi. If she's bothered by the fact Seifer TOWERS over her by almost a whole foot, she doesn't show it. With how vocal she's being it won't be hard for him to recognize her, at least.
Steve "Hey, whoa," Steve half-mimes backing away from Seifer, though he has a grin on his face that suggests he's not serious. "I like my pointy iron, myself, but there's a limit, you know?" Every time he tries to get fancier than a common broadsword, it never ends up well. Specifically, usually with him having to get bed rest. In the midst of his jesting, he also remembers his manners, what little he possesses, and offers to both him and Psalm, "The name's Steve. Miner by trade and thaumaturge by hobby. Might reverse that, at some point, but right now a miner is what the Multiverse needs."

    The back of his mind registers the approach of some others, though he doesn't respond immediately, instead half-turning his head so that his ear might unimposingly catch anything they might be saying, or doing. It's that trio of Seiji Kuroyama, Nozomi and Taiga, in particular. Even though there's no pressure, he does get that sense that he should probably clear out to let other people have a crack at it, so he turns back to Psalm with an easygoing grin. "Got a few young adults back home that'd eat this stuff up. I'll take a whole set of what you've got completed so far, if you can swing it, but I don't want to impose."
Psalm     Oh goodness. Psalm... is getting a bounty of attention today. That's fine, that's great.

    Seifer gets a winning, Charisma-backed smile, as Psalm waves gently to him. "Hallo from House Denieth, and the Mercenary Guild of Khorvaire!" A wink too, to the hotblooded youth, because of course Psalm is going to flirt, that's half her job.
    Nozomi and the Commander get another wave, as a Deneith employee shuffles over to hand the man a number of brochures on the benefits of a High Fantasy Era Combat Force as a War Multiplier on the Battlefield. Also the young lady gets a copy of CAPTAIN GLITTERSMASH and the CITY OF TOMORROW where the Valiant gets caught in a time loop and has to make it to the next day by next week or DIE IN A HORRIBLE PARADOX BASED MURDER SCENARIO!!!!!!

    Steve gets some more personal attention from the Bard though, as Maggie smiles and settles in. "I've heard of your work. The Flats are an interesting world, from what I've been told." She winks at him too, and then whispers. "Come see me afterwards and I'll sign a few, if you'd like. Also, please be sure to check out the rest of the booth if you're looking for elite warriors for an elite price~" Gotta get the salespitch in, after all~
Psalm     And Souji, well. She knows him pretty well too. Psalm gives the head of the Zaibatsu a wave and a smile and calls out. "See you at the party, Souji! Save some niblets and wine for me~?"
Metal Man It's a party and the Wily Numbers where here those that could remove armour were wearing human style clothing mostly Tuxes, though poor Heat Man? He just had a bow tie on his zipo. Metal Man was curious to catch up and meet with people as he arrives. It might be a bit hard to spot him though his tie was done up with a Wily Skull pin that should be enough to give away the browne haird androids as he walks into the party but he stops and stares seein Nozomiand Taiga there. She did not expect to /see/ them here. Metals fellow Wily Numbers are spreading out into the party and interacting with various backers he also takes note that Souji's alive and well which sis good to see. It was also nice to get get hastled about the passport for getting he mused. Now where the hell was Tesla? He needed to catch up with his friend.
Seifer Almasy      Seifer has never a fox-girl in his life, but he'll get to that in a second.

     He puts the book down and turns to look at Steve. He opens his mouth and starts to say something characteristically Seifer:

     "What, you're satisfied with just a-"

     And then his train of thought is derailed with a wink and a smile, and he shakes his head and gives Steve another look. "Uh, yeah. Seifer Almasy. I'm new. I'll take your word for that miner stuff. I guess somebody's gotta do the jobs nobody else wants to." That *sort of* sounded friendly, at least. He holds out his hand to shake Steve's and generally look good, having forgotten whatever insult he was about to throw at Steve. Hormones are an awful thing sometimes. He grins at Psalm. At least he's good at keeping his eyes where they belong - fixed on Steve's face, and then on Psalm's face. That in and of itself is probably kind of surprising for someone that young.

     Then he's bumped into.

     Seifer turns around, about to say something to the fox-girl, before just sort of stopping and staring because *it's a fox-girl what the hell*. He stares at her for a good long time. Then Seifer crouches down.

     With every bit of subtlety one would expect from a man who defines his life by a storybook, he tugs on her ear, just to see if it's real.

     "Holy crap," Seifer says, "That's freaking *weird*."

     Tug, tug. Tug, tug.

     Once he's certain these are not a fancy disguise or glued on, Seifer straightens and tries to recall where he's heard that voice before. His memory's fuzzy at the best of times.

     Then he snaps his fingers out of the blue. "Oh, right!"

     "You're that Lady I'm helping with the castle!"

     Seifer's voice is pretty unmistakable. Also, he puts a spin on the word Lady that most certainly is emphasizing nobility rather than gender. Also, he is the only person at the party likely wearing a sword blade attached to a gun hilt like some sort of insane pistol.
Steve He's somewhat immune to most kinds of charm, since his world is...well, it was a lonely place. Steve does have an eye for beauty, however, so the sales pitch is welcomed from at least that angle. Besides, flattery is universal, and you can almost see his spine shifting slightly more upright with praise to his homeland. "Well, I don't mean to be immodest, but the Flat Earth is a little slice of heaven." Greatly exaggerated, but part of why he's here tonight is to begin the process of truly conquering it, in his own name. "Likewise, you're welcome there anytime!"

    Seifer's responses are seemingly taken in good humor, as he laughs them off. Thankfully no overfriendly pats on the back follow, as might be expected. "It's important to never take yourself too seriously. Good man, Seifer." Besides, when he's the one hiring him out to clear a cave full of monsters at some point, they'll see who has the last laugh on that. With that, he does linger other areas of the booth for a few more moments, talking business and shop with the other representatives, books somehow secured on his person rather than truly loading him down.

    Once he's satisfied, and possibly made a few contacts and collected some business numbers for later, he is back out onto the street itself. Where others might glance to their watch or a nearby clock, he instead squints toward an unfamiliar sky. It's close enough that he can figure the time, and that he should be advancing on if he wants to make the appointment. There'll be plenty of time for social networking after the main event. It is encouraging, however, to hear so many familiar and powerful names being banded about and dropped all around him. This was definitely the right choice to cast the lot of his World's fortunes with.
Souji Murasame Souji waves to Psalm in return. "Of course." he replies. He won't need to, of course. He turns and heads through the crowd, giving Metal Man a light wave as the businessman looks for opportunities to expand... But not making too much of a statement at the moment other than his presence. That is enough for the current situation.
Haguro Haguro's looking a little lost here. Between the relative swarm of dignitaries and Elites mingling about, the ship girl is feeling out of place just trying to find her way around! Following the crowd would be one thing, but with so many people moving in different directions, it's hard to get a read on just where it is she should be going.

     Instead, she opts to pursue a safer option: Find some food! Sure, she might not technically need it, but maintaining morale's just as important as maintaining gear. Besides, it'll give her a chance to people-watch without too much pressure right away, and with so many cultures on display here, maybe it'll even help her learn more about her new allies.

     That, or it's just an excuse for her to do something instead of just standing around awkwardly.
Tesla Armadia Tesla Armadia is not hard to find. Or more accurately, it's not hard for her to find the Robot Masters. Wily's handiwork pings off her technopathy in a very particular way she's learned to reconize the androids by, and it's not long while Metal is staring at Taiga that she strolls up behind him. "Amusing. That is both the least and the most sharp I've seen you look in some time, Metal Man."

Least because he's not covered in serrated edges, most because that tux is a sharp look.

"Sharp is right!" Saiga replies as she snaps a pic of the larger android from Tesla's shoulder. "Looking snazzy there!"
Priscilla     One thing of note, for anyone marveling at the city itself, stands out after only a short while. The number of worlds from which the contracted help has come from could easily make it into the kind of eye-melting mishmash of kitchen sink showmanship that had typically sold the old superfactions on spectacle, but that hasn't at all been the case. Despite the incredible variety of ways by which Grand Dorado's infrastructure is being put together and jazzed up, the finished pieces seem to share a unified theme.

    It's difficult to put one's finger on at first, but the longer one looks, the more one starts to realize that more than just tasteful city planning has been responsible for the way everything seems to naturally fit together. Almost everything to see is something that any remotely cosmopolitan Multiversal should be familiar with, and requires no specific familiarity to pick out.

    Where adornments could be made of mythril, orichalcum and adamantium, expert craftsman have done an equal job with silver, gold and platinum. Where a store could be lit by foxfire, dust, or luminous plasma, they've achieved the right effect with electricity and elementary magic. What could be built out of plasteel, dragon bone, nanolaminate or ironwood has been constructed from quality industrial metal, stone and composites, with extremely uniform enchantments. If one stares at it pretty hard, it looks like it all, somehow, came from the exact same world, though of such non-specific magitech hue that it'd be impossible to trace.

    Most people aren't paying it too much mind. A big part of the attraction is that, while the city isn't quite finished, everything has been sudsidized with a massive slash in price. Liquor that would cost a week's wages to sample is affordable enough to bring a bottle home with a rainy day budget. Food that likely costs a fortune inside is being served outdoors, along with the business cards to bring the customers back. Lodgings are at a fraction of the cost for the rest of the week, and access to sports, games, galleries, museums, and other such public amusements is practically free.
Priscilla     Regardless, the crowd, multiplying by the minute, is uniformly on the upper side of middle class; at least by all standards that can be judged against for its diversity. The staging area begins to get crowded in no time at all, and so groups of people begin spreading out, couples, families, school classes, military units, and royal processions all going their separate ways. The choice of presenting the VIPs a straight line to the tower doors seems to have been a smart one. For the most part, anyone who has decided to stick around, is someone who had come here on casual business, if business at all. It makes for a very genial atmosphere; one that isn't incredibly loud either.

    Local police presence seems to be relatively light, or at least it is cleverly hidden if it isn't. No officers seem to be deployed totally on their own, and all of them are at least lightly armed, but they mostly seem to exist to give people directions, retrieve lost children, and probably bounce some drunkards out later, rather than prepared to take on a mob. Casual questioning, or detailed examination of provided map displays, finds that docking facilities for ships, or places to push off groups of followers, of an actively military bent, are kept at a respectable distance from the main plaza. The businesses in that area have already catered to the assumption that a unit of rowdy marines on shore leave, or a garrison of royal guards dismissed whilst the princess goes to talk to the big boys, will be their dominant clientele.

    Looking at the sky is a little bit of a trip, in the sense that one gets a view of either some kind of inhabitable, or a twin planet in orbit (or is this place the moon???) more easily than the sun, despite the pleasant time of day. If everything else is anything to go by, the Concord has probably chosen a place with a standard 24 hour cycle, or close enough, to be useful to most visitors. There's plenty of time before sundown, though the nightlife already seems like it'll be intense. Registration hours will be open shortly, according to basic visitor information, having been deliberately postponed an hour from the time of the city's opening. Anything in the way of a recruitment pamphlet will require a small journey from the welcome plaza.
Kushiko WOOF!

That is the sound behind Haguro as apparently the bote appears to have the attention of the Kubrow. Kiras may have been /told things/ about Haguro by Kushiko. Who looks nothing like she seemed normally, given an /entirely different Warframe/ and all.

That nubby little tail wags expectantly should Haguro turn around and not get shocked out of her skin by the massive bathound as Mesa seems to just manifest into one's attention after that. <"Seems like someone likes you,"> comes the Void-delivered projection out of the frame.
Zero Kiryu You know the exact guy Seifer is trying not to be? Zero Kiryu is the personification of that whole idea. He doesn't like giant social events because they primarily remind him of soirees hosted by vampires, which are only figuratively viper pits because the people who bite in them happen to have an incorrect amount of limbs and scales. Today however, he's obliged to be here. Yuuki is the Director of the Concord, and that means that Zero gets to play advance guard for her arrival.

Mostly, this had involved getting himself fast-tracked to a local passport, which he did a while ago. Then it involved milling around to make certain that nothing terribly threatening going on, which it wasn't... and waiting. Which means that among many other things, Zero Kiryu finds himself alone among the crowds.

He decided to dress nice for the occasion: A three piece suit, all in black save for a purple vest and tie that match the color of his eyes, and silver cuff links. A silver chain is strung from a clip on his vest to an interior pocket-- common sense suggests that it's just a pocket watch. The fact that he's here on VIP guarding duty for the Director suggests something substantially less benign.

Problem is, the Director just hasn't turned up yet. Zero can't feel her in the back of his mind, can't smell her. She's probably, he decides, still getting ready. But he can feel a number of pinpricks clustered together a little ways off that draw his attention. That's the sort of thing he's supposed to be looking into.

He strides down the road towards Psalm's booth, coming to a halt along the edge of the group where he witnesses Seifer testing Camilla's ears for... for real-ness?

Zero stares flatly at them for a moment. He determines this is not really a dangerous gathering immediately. But it is weird.

"What are you doing?" He asks them, bluntly.
Nozomi Houken     It's... it's a book.

    Nozomi looks at the book with a furrowed brow, trying to figure out exactly what she's just been handed. "Ah... th... thanks," she murmurs. Kuroyama looks over the brochures and offers a more polite response of thankfulness; but with the crowd gathered here, Nozomi is looking more and more uncomfortable. "Commander. Perhaps a meal is in order," says the robotic tiger; Kuroyama glances at him, then over to the food, and then nods. "Not a bad idea. Nozomi?" She nods her head faintly. "...yeah. I'd... I'd like that."

    And so they move over in the general direction of food as well, happening to arrive just in time for... very big dog. Very, very big dog.

    Oh look, Nozomi is now flat-out hiding behind Kuroyama. Though she is peeking out at both Kiras and Haguro. And Mesa now, as well.
Camilla Ulyssa     What Seifer does is probably rude by a lot of standards, but if it bothers Camilla in the slightest she's too busy laughing about it. They're real alright, and definitely not glued on. She seems to patiently wait for the young man to finish his investigation before she replies at all.

    "Please! It's Camilla, not lady. Not princess. Not her majesty. Camilla or bust, got it? And by bust I mean I'm gonna bust your chops." Her tone isn't malicious or anything, but it's obvious she means it.

    "So you're the knight looking for a sorceress then? I like the coat! It's snazzy. The hairdo's pretty knightly too. Not sure about the scar though, that makes you look more..." She wobbles a hand about, trying to think of the correct word. "Rebellious? Edgy?" Then again who's she to talk, with her black uniforms stacked, one worn like a cape, and that huge mechanical sheath hanging behind her.

    Any further questioning is halted when Zero appears, rocking a snazzy suit and a flat stare. Camilla grins, not ashamed to provide the answer herself. "I think it's his first time seeing a beastman! Beastwoman. Broad term when you think about it. It's fine, I'm used to it. Look at you, mister! You don't look like you want to be here. Bored? Oh! Brooding loner type, maybe? Name's Camilla, don't recall hearing you before."
Winedark Archer In the midst of the party, two men wander in search of food. One is dressed in robes, an older man with dark brown hair stained with gray, Grecian features, and a thick beard. The other, dressed in a finely tailored suit, a pair of gloves, and an incredibly odd mask, resembling that of an incredibly stylized dried-out husk of a face, though obviously a mask. The masked man is chattering to his companion, who sighs, long-suffering. "Archer, isn't this just amazing? Think about how many stories they have to tell here. How many kings, queens, emperors and empresses walk alongside us tonight? Or are within a mile? It truly excites me!" Archer, to his companion, just refuses to respond, and instead tries to distract the human with energy. Specifically, food searching!

And so, this leads their path directly into that of Nozomi, Haguro, and Kushiko. While Archer trails silently behind his Master, just watching the spectacle of the girl afraid of the giant dog, the masked man immediately leaps forward. "Oh dear, what's this? I didn't realize pets were here! Dogs, mechanical tigers...this entire city is truly fascinating!"
Psalm     And then the Elites are starting to move on from the Booth, and Psalm... purses her lips. It's time to get to the meeting that they're here for anyways, isn't it? Steve's moving and so are Nozomi's bunch. Seifer is busy molesting foxgirls, so the Bard shuffles away from the booth, hummms a little tune to pack her Lute into... wherever Inventory goes these days, and shuffles her leggy self into the line at the VIP section. Onwards and upwards~
Metal Man Metal Man is able to find Tesla in short order thankfully and he tilts his head at the pun. "I should have seen that one comming, well if your punning again that means you are doing all right. Kinda funny to see some of the old union horde on board or leading this entire thing, isn't it? The Concord's really going all out isn't it?"
Haguro Haguro's certainly enjoying the high quality of the food, and at the prices they're being offered at during this event? It'd be silly not to buy more, at least to be able to say she's sampled all these things at once.

     As she continues onwards towards the tower in her quest to try a bit of everything, however, Haguro finds herself accosted by an unfamiliar dog-like creature! Expecting something significantly smaller, she turns towards the Kubrow with a curious look at first, then a startled one at the sheer size of it. The familiar voice, however, alleviates some of her initial shock.

     "Oh! Miss Kushiko? You look different today. A-are you well after yesterday?" She certainly seems a little worn down, but still enjoying herself and the food. She's just about to bite into a taco when she notices something just as startling: A mechanical tiger thing!

     Thankfully, it doesn't appear hostile, and Nozomi gets a ship girl staring right back at her. The masked man's declaration actually draws a polite giggle from Haguro as well. "Yes, it's... This place really is a wonder. Um... A-are you all here to see the tower, too?" She's probably safe with so many people around, right?
Kushiko At Haguro's relaxing comes another spirited WOOF! from the Kubrow, Kiras hopping about a little bit, long black tongue lolling a bit before she pads her way closer to Mesa, the Huras breed getting a nice little scritchin'.

<"Oh yeah, I'm fine, definitely. And this is my Mesa Warframe. Suppose that explains why I look different. We don't think those here would like the fact she controls and generates antimatter constantly to be here in a public place."> She sounds like she might be grumping at the fact.

<"Still, she can show off like nothing else, and that seems to be the thing going on here while people are checking it out."> she muses, that voice slightly resonant--and a little unsettling, as there's little hope of thinking it's coming from the Warframe directly.

Nonetheless, the cowgirl-hatted Mesa cants her head slightly--not so much looking given a lack of eyes--but still, Nozomi's little freaked out hiding does warrant some attention. <"... it's okay. She won't bite. None of us, anyways.">
Seifer Almasy      Seifer immediately Does Not Like Zero. There's something he can't put his finger on - no, wait, there's something he EXACTLY can put his finger on and it's who Zero reminds him of and it takes him *literally no time* to make that association.

     Still, Seifer is the odd man out. This isn't Balamb. They don't know how good he is. He doesn't have a rep here, and he already shot himself in the foot in front of the hot redhead by being an ass to that miner guy. "...I'm bein' weirded-out, that's what," Seifer tells Zero, "Is this normal here? That's weird."

     Camilla talks. He snaps his fingers. "Right! Camilla. Sorry. You know how it is. Meetin' a lot of people today. Pretty overwhelming."

     Seifer pumps his fist. "But excitin' all the same. Yeah, that's me. Seifer Almasy."

     He points a finger at his scar. "What, this? I didn't get this on purpose. I was training. Guy I know back home. We were dueling. Live weapons or nothing. You don't get the real thrill if you don't fight with real blades, y'know what I mean? And if you're gonna get better you gotta be willing to put your life on the line."

     "You're gonna bust me, huh?" Seifer puts his hand on his hip. "I wouldn't mind seein' you try."
Tesla Armadia Tesla Armadia idly watchs for a moment as people filter about Psalm's shop, though it's a bit crowded for a closer investigation of her own. Good to see her already doing strong business though. "Kind of strange, and at the same time, refreshing," she replies to Metal Man. "A strong showing of how we are not going to be bound by the preconceived notions and ideals of the past."

Saiga hops off her shoulder and scampers a few feet away. "Don't move you two, I want to get a picture."
Steve It would be impossible for anyone else to know the restraint Steve is showing here. The police forces, and his new partners in world order, probably would not appreciate him simply taking a cubic meter of that soothingly uniform and tasteful building material, even as a 'sample'. He'll simply need to take notes on it later, so that he can understand how they achieved the appearance. The one person that likely would finally rejoins him, as he's finishing his gazing at the alien sky. "Master Steve, look at this charm bracelet," Izumi proudly shows it off. Even though she's a devil, she's also a young lady. "It was so inexpensive, too!" That does seem to be a common theme in this gala of sorts, doesn't it? Not that the wisdom escapes him. "Yeah, real nice! Don't think we've got baubles like that back home, either."

    They soon join the main body of the amassing crowds, as they organically move toward the center of attention. There are still many questions on his nominal secretary's mind, however. "So, are we here to do more than sight see and shop?" Izumi's eyes turn to Steve's collection of questionable young adult literature next, with a dubious look, "...where'd you get those, anyway?" "Nevermind that! I heard that we might get a proper look at the new bosses. One I vaguely know of, even helped with a chore once. Especially now that the whole world's shaken up, it's going to be important to know the peckin' order." The miner may exude confidence, and within his own world a minor god complex, but he at least seems to have gained an appreciation for navigating a heirarchical world.
Zero Kiryu "Zero Kiryu. I'm the Director's bodyguard, so I'm required to be here." Zero explains to Camilla, evidently accepting the explanation she offered him concerning Seifer's behavior at face value. Internally, he's imagining somebody sticking their hands in a vampire's mouth to feel their fangs. The thought of it is skin-crawlingly awful to him, even though he's sure he can think of some people who would absolutely do that.

He doesn't seem inclined to reinforce the stereotype Camille took away from him, but it's not /wrong/ of course. That's the whole demeanor he projects. It's a little more complicated than that of course, but the reasons for the grumpy behavior aren't really all that relevant when the outward behavior he exhibits is the same.

To Seifer's confusion he answers, "Beastpeople aren't very unusual. Ask permission before you grab in the future or you'll send the wrong signals. The leader of this organization isn't entirely human either."

He makes a mental note to ascertain whether or not Yuuki is keeping up her Ordinary Girl guise. A few people know she's abnormal for certain, but things are a little bit jumbled right now. For now, he decides to keep her... oddities... to himself.
Metal Man Metal Man says "It's as I said the old super factions were guns to the head of any world. Either would have thrown your world under a bus if it got them ahead in the unending offering to any blood god that that damn war was. "A picture? Sure thing." Metal will adjust his tux a bit and seem pretty pleased as he grins. "The nightmare's over Tessla, I can power down at night and not be troubled. I'm honestly doing great."
Nozomi Houken     As if the big scary dog weren't enough, now there's two mystery people walking up as well. Nozomi is having a hard time keeping herself where Seiji can offer some sort of 'protection' from all of them, but a subtle shift of position by Taiga seems to suit the purpose well. "I cannot properly be considered a pet," the robotic tiger replies, in a deep voice that carries just a hint of smugness at almost all times. "'Equipment' would be more correct. I am the Technology-Integrated Gensou Engine Rampart, or TIGER for short. And you," he adds, turning to look directly at Archer, "Are a Grail-type Servant. Hello."

    Meanwhile, Nozomi seems to have figured out what Taiga might have been thinking in urging them over here; hearing Haguro's voice seems to be drawing her out just a little. "You... you were... in the Union, weren't you," she murmurs. Kuroyama reaches up to give her shoulder a light squeeze, trying to encourage her to step out. "We are, yes," he replies to Haguro with a nod. "We'll be out here a fair bit, or at least Nozomi will. I don't know how often I'll be out of Tokyo."

    The Tenno addresses Nozomi; Nozomi turns to look, then glances between Kiras and Kushiko, as if dubious. Then again, there's something a tad intimidating about Mesa, too - it might not be that tall, but it's still taller than her.
Camilla Ulyssa     "Hey, it's a busy night, gotta meet the folks while they're all in one place, cut down on needing to introduce yourself later!" Camilla replies to Seifer, before she glances towards his blade, evidently rather interested already. Not just at the weapon, but at what the young man just said; that he got the scar dueling, and that you have to train for real to get the thrills. She couldn't possibly sympathize more. She lives for thrills. Adrenaline in general, really. Can't go a day without it.

    But before she goes and makes things weird, she does reply to Zero too. "Director? Oh! Oh, right, we have two bosses, don't we? So you're the smaller one's bodyguard, that explains a few things." Bodyguards tend to be grumpy. And flat. And straightforward. She wonders what it is about the profession that evidently kills their soul outright.

    "Alright, well, you don't seem to like parties, so how about we entertain you?" Camilla says, wide smile forming on her lips as she looks back towards Seifer. "Because I'll try! C'mon, get your sword out! Right here right now, let's-- hang on, this won't do."

    She wanders over to a table which used to have food trays on it, but is long since empty. She kicks it on its side, and hops onto the edge, before drawing out one of her two blades, the black and grey, mechanical-ish blade a cross between a katana and a traditional sword, being thicker and sturdier like the ladder but curved like the former.

    She has no trouble standing on the thin edge of the table.

    "Come on! You, me, right here, right now! First one off the table loses! Let's give these people something to gawk at!"

    <God damnit,> the unsheathed sword intones, a flat, male, not-quite-robotic voice that evidently communicates annoyance at the situation. <Stop dragging me into your stupid decisions.>
    "I literally can't, you're my weapon. Shush."
Haguro "Antimatter...?" Kushiko gets a blank stare from Haguro at that. Apparently, modern science terms like those are too much for this early 20th century boat ghost!

     Kiras is a lot easier to understand at a glance, at least, and the cruiser even reaches over briefly to give the Kubrow a gentle pat on the head. "Yes, this place is probably well-defended enough not to need us to be armed so much." Indeed, Haguro's come in her usual working uniform sans armor and weaponry. "Ah... So you mean your Warframe can, or you can...?"

     Third person speech appears to be giving her some trouble, too. Nozomi gets another curious look from Haguro, though, and she nods after a moment as if looking relieved. "Yes, I was. It's good to see more familiar faces from there, miss..."

     There's an awkward delay, and then Haguro's bowing to Nozomi and Kuroyama suddenly. "I'm sorry! I... I'm not very good with names outside of the Fleet. Ah.. My name is Haguro. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Tesla Armadia "Indeed. But no more of that. People are able to choose on merit and desire, as it should be." Tesla takes a moment to make sure she's appropriate as well. But too lazy to actually rewrite a new desc on the fly, so just picture her wearing a pricy business suit appropriate for a highly capable mastermind.

Saiga adjusts her device. And ducks as someone steps over her. Then gets back up and actually snaps off a few quick shots before she's got to scamper back to Tesla's side before she does get stepped on. "Oi! Maybe I should of wore my rig after all!" That's suck for someone to kick. For their toes.
Seifer Almasy      Seifer rounds on Zero. "Y' don't need to make me sound like a creeper. The hell should I know what's normal around here? Cats like being scratched. Why wouldn't I think cat- or dog-people or whatever don't? Ain't it natural to scratch a cat if you walk past it! Huh?!"

     He's about to go further and get right up in Zero's face, which probably wouldn't end well for anybody, when Camilla drops a challenge. It's written plain as day on Seifer's face - he's a man who can't resist a direct challenge. He thinks he's a Knight, after all. Knights duel when they're challenged. It's an honor thing.

     Seifer hops up on the edge of the table and wobbles. He CLEARLY has trouble standing on it at first, but after a moment, he falls into his correct posture, drawing the Hyperion. The wicked gunblade glints in the light as he raises it like a pistol, which is probably wicked awkward to hold.

     He does it anyway.

     "Just remember - you're the one who asked for it, Princess!" All in now.

     Seifer brings the gunblade in like a rapier, stabbing forward for Camilla's center of gravity. His form is *flawless* even standing on the table, flawless in a way that speaks of natural talent honed to perfection rather than magical cheats. It's natural and smooth as, in the middle of the stab, he turns it into a slash, cutting upwards for Camilla's face.

     Now he is grinning a cocksure grin, and the happy, talkative look has melted away into a competitive, hard glare. He has either forgotten Zero and the rest of the world, or he is incredibly good at compartmentalizing.
Winedark Archer Haguro's response just gives a chuckle in response from the masked man. "It is interesting, but I am here to see the /people/! Rulers, kings, those who will ally here...it is those that I am fascinated with!" The masked man is very excited, as he proceeds to extend a gloved hand, bowing slightly. "I am Mister Draug, magus and researcher of kings! It is a pleasure, miss." He doesn't seem scared of either the dog or the tiger, and then proceeds to introduce himself to the others there. Meanwhile, Archer approaches, cautiously, the TIGER unit.

"And from that, you are one of two things, one unlikely, one much more likely. Either you were built specifically to sense Servants and Heroic Spirits, or more accurately, you have a degree of magical senses and a familiarity with Servants and Grail Wars." He speaks calmly, but his voice has the tone of 'I am right'. "I am Archer. I will not reveal my identity at this present time, due to the crowds." And then he eyes the others. "Were you /all/ former Union members?"
Zero Kiryu "I'm not a bodyguard by profession. It's simply the arrangement I'm involved in for the moment." Zero clarifies, seeming to intuit Camilla's thoughts on bodyguards. If anything he seems to get /more/ grumpy, which doesn't help his point and only intensifies in answer to Seifer's reaction to being corrected. But Seifer was correct to compare this guy to his Least Favorite Person, and the hunter more-or-less keeps his cool.

He calmly replies, "I don't think you're a creeper, but I am trying to stop you from becoming one unintentionally."

This is absolutely not what he needs to spend all of his time on. Zero turns his attention towards his mind's eye, searching for the distinctive brilliance of his charge amidst the crowds. But it's not there, and the flat irritation on his face finishes multiplying itself by three once his eyes come back into focus.

Yuuki pls.

His eyes flit between Camilla and Seifer as they get ready to fight... to /entertain/ him? Oh no, he's not getting blamed for this. Zero shakes his head while fishing in his pocket for something, "I don't need to be entertained. Do what you want."

Based on their earlier exchange though, Zero suspects this has nothing to do with entertaining him. It's just an excuse. He withdraws something from his pocket and presses his hand to his mouth as he surveys the match's beginnings, issuing a relieved sigh as he does.

"Do this often?" He asks neither of them in particular. Despite his protests, he's not going anywhere. Alright, fine. This IS more entertaining than the average spectacle here for him.
Nozomi Houken     "I... I-I don't think we've met, I just... I recognized your voice," Nozomi replies, eyes turning downward slightly. Fortunately, the man with her decides to take the initiative. "This is Nozomi Houken, TIGER's designated user. I'm Commander Seiji Kuroyama, CO of the TIGER unit. I didn't get to meet many of Nozomi's former coworkers in the Union either, I'm afraid."

    Meanwhile, Taiga himself looks right up towards Archer, canting his head very slightly. "A canny assumption. And, as I surmise that we are to be allies henceforth, one I can confirm. I am an anti-supernatural armament." He pauses, then adds, "Archer-class Servant. Interesting."
Camilla Ulyssa     "Psht, you're the one who'll be sorry afterwards!" Camilla replies, excited, getting into a-- actually, kind of sloppy stance. She's no expert swordsman by Seifer's standards, certainly not a fencer. No, really, fighting on a table's edge was probably not the greatest decision she could have taken. With only one sword, too. The odds aren't just stacked against her, they're casting a shadow over her entire body. She's not tall, that's not saying much.

    Seifer charges in, with his expert jabs and stance. Camilla deflects, barely, sparks flying as the two swords collide and the fox takes a step back, losing ground already. She gauges the knight's strength, and adapts hers to compensate, edging it up just a tad to make up for the stacked disadvantages she's dealing with.

    All in all an expert's eye, like Zero's, could tell from the first few moments she might have bitten much more than she could chew.

    "Oh, every day!" she tells the grumpy bodyguard, though, cheerful and ignoring the position she's in. Win or lose, doesn't matter to her. She just wants to have fun. Find someone worth fighting. "I basically have to fight every other day or my body starts acting up, so I guess I adapted by learning to love it!" Half-true.

    From her shaky position, sword still angled down from blocking with her hand high, she presses forward, one step, flipping the sword upright and bringing it down towards a shoulder. Technique is so-so, but she's unusually strong. Lesser opponents would be overwhelmed by brute force before her skill mattered. Seifer is no such opponent!
Priscilla     A few people gasp as Camilla feels the need to kick over a table, but there's just so many people, making so much noise, and with so many tables otherwise, it'd be extremely difficult to actually create a genuine panic. A not-insignificant number of the people figuratively rubbing shoulders with her are probably armed adventuring types too. There had been an explicit call for people who could make the cut as Elites, after all.

    A token task force of local police is mostly what pays her and Seifer, mind, and that mostly seems to be in the way of who is going to get hurt first, in a less cynical way than some amongst the crowd taking bets. A couple of them are actually kind enough to cover Psalm's weird booth while she's away.

    Steve, meanwhile, is correct in assuming nobody would be okay with him punching the scenery into his inventory. A city this large and opulent being built from the ground up in the space of a week is a huge investment, and the investors responsible for it will be cranky if cubic meters of it go missing before they've gotten any return out of it.

    For those heading towards the Elysium Apex itself, the number of people to maneuver around diminishes dramatically, though not to insubstantiality. A much more significant portion of who they are left walking alongside may be former regulars themselves. The buildings grow smoothly higher following a well-considered, straight and uncomplicated road, gradually transitioning from pleasure to business, and for the most part, not in the board room and shareholder sense. Though the pre-fab is beautiful, it's easy to spot where big Multiversal groups, from manufacturers, to software firms, to miners, to mage's guilds, have bought up the discounted floor space and set up shop.

    The Elysium Apex cannot be mistaken for anything else however. Though it shares the same general "look" as the greater metropolis, its sheer height means that it is visible from just about anywhere, and, where elsewhere the atmosphere of individual buildings, parks, and storefronts varies to fit the proprietor's wishes, every last floor of it looks like it was designed with half the budget of the rest of the city.

    First thing through the doors, the keywords that were probably on the whiteboard at the first meeting feel like: powerful, professional, imposing, mature, efficient, and other synonyms. It reads as an office building, of the most ivory tower sort, but feels more like a temple or absurdly high class art gallery, where the atmosphere itself discourages tomfoolery. black marble floors, geometric columns, fine gold engraving, etched and frosted glass dividers, vaulted ceilings, and precisely placed lighting to emphasize points of interest and partially obscure everything else.

    The army of staff on-site at just the lobby desks, set up more like the command bridge of a launch facility or the floor of a stock exchange, is enough to efficiently split the influx into more manageable lines, snaking into elevators, stairwells, and further processing rooms behind the front doors. Elites with passports are given special exception, straight to the top, if they have something pressing to attend to.
Psalm     If you were looking for Psalm, she's heading for the top indeed. She's found another glass of wine, and she's been trading business cards and winks and handshakes along the way. The woman was at home in this sort of environment. A target rich environment. She's sure Souji's up and attem in here as well. That rogue.
    Samurai.

    Whatever.

    Maggie is more than a little interested in what's at the end of that Ivroy Rainbow, though.
Seifer Almasy      "She challenged me!" Seifer says with fierce glee in his voice, "Ya think I'm the kinda guy who backs down from a challenge?! Hell no! 'specially not if a lady's the one demanding it!"

     Seifer is the kind of guy who will do anything for a lady. That, too, is writ plain on his face.

     Seifer's upwards, carving rapier slash is deflected. The gunblade goes up into the air.

     Seifer pulls the trigger. There's a loud BANG - the sound of a gunshot - and the gunblade suddenly *spins* in Seifer's grasp, wheeling around like a cowboy's gun about to be holstered, except the gun has a blade like three feet long attached. Somehow Seifer manages not to cut himself as the blade comes back into his grip reverse-length.

     He holds it in reverse just long enough to bring it up to meet Camilla's blade - not to block but to drag it along, to let it deflect with weight and speed and the unusual angle of the gunblade.

     This would be a great idea on solid ground. Off solid ground, Seifer rapidly loses his balance, because when you're using a solid stance against someone used to overwhelming force, you need to have solid ground to stand on.

     He stumbles backwards, losing ground from the block. Brute force is something he's never liked dealing with. Sometimes all the skill in the world can't make up for raw strength, and right now, this is one of those times. He has to get tricky to throw off her brute strength. Even if she's an amateur by comparison, amateurs are all the more dangerous. Never let yourself get complacent.

     "Not done yet!"

     Seifer lunges forward as the gunblade flips back into its proper rapier stance. He's not lunging with the gunblade, though - he's lunging with his elbow.

     It's only a moment later that it's clear the trick he's pulled - slipping Hyperion *under* his arm, using the curve of the gunblade to hide it and make the point of his elbow and the point of his blade the same place the eye is drawn.

     That way, when the blade lunges out first, the eye is tricked into trying to process what it's seeing.

     Seifer is *not* an amateur. Seifer is *dedicated*. Seifer has spent his whole life training to match his ideal dream, every waking moment sacrificed to one goal, one vision, and when it's on display, it's *really* on display.
Yuuki Kuran     DITCHING YOUR BODYGUARD AT AN EVENT: Poor Form.
    DITCHING YOUR ANTISOCIAL BROTHER (by adoption) AT A PARTY TO PICK UP A SOCIAL LIFE: ... p-plan proceeding apace?

    Yuuki is not a Social Manipulator, nor is she a very savvy political maneuverer. She does things because they seem like good ideas at the time and out of an earnest desire to help. And going to an awesome place that's super nice and relaxing... TO BE PAMPERED LIKE A VIP? It's nice! Right?

    Right?
    RIGHT?!

    Wrong, people are up on tables sparring and everything is awful. Yuuki had to hide out in the tower in a nice secure room enjoying some nice peace and quiet when her phone which is also her radio start going ballistic as security starts informing her that some VIPs are fighting.

    That was at the start of the duel on the table in the corner.

    Yuuki arrives in a sort of flowing white dress that stops juuuust short of the ground so as to drift gently (and get dirty, probably, but it's OK) with all sorts of frills and ribbons and couture going on, with... Three ice cream cones held in her hands. "Ahhh, you three! Zero!"

    Zero, obviously, knew she was coming, but she calls to him anyway.

    "Stop fighting! I need help!!!"

    "I asked for ice cream and got four instead of one! You don't look busy, so help me eat it!"

    This is as dorky and as transparent as it is Best Plan.
Haguro Right. The people. That /was/ part of why Haguro came here, wasn't it? "There's plenty of interesting people around, it seems... Y-yes, I was part of the Union. I... Er." She rubs her neck awkwardly. "Didn't really.. Do much of note, though. Between my other duties and getting lost..."

     Haguro shakes her head quickly, trying to put away those lingering feelings of doubt and whatever happened (or didn't, even). At least she's not the only one not to recognize people beyond voices, at least, and she offers Nozomi a polite and somewhat reassuring smile. "I see... W-well, we're meeting now, right? I hope we get a chance to work together soon."

     Continuing into the tower, Haguro's looking intimidated again by the sheer magnitude of everything on display and not feeling like she quite fits into this high-society place so well. The only thing that reassures her is the sound of fighting coming from Seifer and Camilla, and even that's not too reassuring. Still, it seems as though Yuuki's got it handled, although her ship girl does seem to be waffling beteen staying far away or intervening herself.
Zero Kiryu Though he is keeping a third eye out on the surroundings, Zero /does/ notice some of the sloppiness in Camilla's fighting. His hand dips back into his pocket as he observes her, and Seifer-- he can tell that Seifer is an expert with his weapon. It's a strange one that alters the paradigm a bit, but at this distance it's a lot like using a sword. His footwork is definitely superior in particular. That's not the impression he'd have gotten from the girl based on her previous attitude.

"... What are you doing?" He asks Camilla, in precisely the same tone he'd asked Seifer what /he/ was doing to her.

Seifer, he doesn't need to question at all on his skills. Swords aren't his specialty, but he's done enough training with them to know that the knight isn't just some upjumped braggart spinning his wheels. It's actually a little surprising to him when the other man has balance issues-- and only then does it occur to him to clear some space.

This spectacle is probably /good/ for them, but it won't be if anybody gets hurt. Zero spends a moment shooing the crowd and getting the police that came to control the situation to set up a circle.

Once he's done establishing what he /thinks/ is a safe enough amount of clear space around the fight, he turns back to the pair and asks Seifer, "You won't decline any chall...en...ge..."

Zero trails off as Yuuki appears on his mental radar, moving this way. He turns and looks at her long before he can actually reasonably see her. Then she /actually/ appears, and he gives her the GRUMPIEST LOOK. The. Grumpiest.

"We're going to eat some ice cream." He states, matter-of-factly.
Kushiko It's weird to be intimidating without actually having expressed oneselves in martial prowess. Or abject murder of hundreds of Grineer footsoldiers or destruction of Corpus proxies. Hm. Then in an attempt to halfway show off and otherwise imply it's okay to Nozomi, the Tenno pulls one of her AkSomati off her hip, and gives it an absolutely /elegant/ flatspin, her hand starting underneath it, then amidst the spinning she sortof gyrostabilizes the gun with her hand about it.

Okay look this is the best we can do insofar as being cool kids alright.

Ahem. In either event, she 'holsters' the gun at one side once more as Kiras gives a pleasent little /wuff/ at the petting. The third person, the royal 'we' the Tenno uses is not without cause--something that she finally explains a bit /properly/ now. So to speak.

<"Both, actually. Different Warframes can do different things beyond what we can do with all of them. Mesa is when we deal with those who use ballistic and other weapons because she is the Gunslinger."> Least Haguro didn't question the Antimatter mention! Camilla and Seifer's shenanigans do draw Mesa's attention, if modestly.

To Haguro and Nozomi--and by extension the others, she adds, <"We did not favor the factions ourselves, though we did end up working somewhat frequently with more openminded members of both."> The multitasking Tenno's masked, faceless visage falls on Winedark for a few passing moments to remark of pet, <"Kiras here is a companion as much a pet. She helps hunt down our quarry. Would you like to see one of the ways she helps with that?">

This could get interesting. Especially with that mention of Archer-class Servants; new bits of info to digest for later as her attention follows what else has been placed on display as the notions of heading tower-wards comes to mind.
Steve Blissfully unaware of disturbances and life and death duels elsewhere in the metropolis, Steve and his assistant continue making their way to, and then into, the Elysium Apex. If not for the grimy touch of those working here and milling about, and the personal accents they provide to it, it would seem almost completely sterile. It's seemingly easy to block out the rest of the world, here, or at least that which is not explicitly meant to be paid mind to, via careful design. "Hmm," he muses, beard stubble being thoughtfully scratched at. "It's not bad, but I guess I prefer something that looks more meant to be lived in." The architecture is still interesting to him, of course, outwardly seen with how his eyes keep panning about, but it's become clinical, subconsciously encouraged by the buildings, themselves.

    For Izumi, however, it's just like home, in a strangely comforting way. The Devil World had an oddly corporate feel to it, at times, as well as these kinds of buildings, albeit not quite on this scale. "You're just too accustomed to stone and wood, Master Steve," she says, though seemingly not by way of scolding. "You should take this cue to begin experimenting. If your goal is to attract settlers, some will be expecting more modernized housing."

    If he accepts the wisdom of that statement or not is uncertain, as he doesn't respond immediately. Instead, he approaches those meticulously arranged desks and the officials behind them, feeling around in his pocketed shirt for a moment before presenting his means of identification. The codes are a little old, but they check out. So it is with many Elites in the Multiverse right now, in the wake of the upheaval. While that's being looked over and expedited, he notices a (now) familiar face also filing though. "Hey, the lady with the books! This is one of those young adults I was talking about, my assistant Izumi." The devil-winged girl gives a proper bow, "Please excuse any rudeness from Master Steve." "I'm a perfect gentleman!"

    Once he's confirmed, he'll pace on along on the faster track, but doesn't seem to be in a significant hurry. He just wants to be certain his place near the front of the diplomat and wellwisher's line is assured. Time is something he currently has plenty of.
Metal Man Metal Man smirks at Tesla for a moment and seems to be in a good mood now. "Yes people can chose what they want hell I don't hate those who went to the Law brigade or whatever it's called. With out the gun to their heads they can do what they want. Sure it means we'll have to punch them but that's how it goes, right? So lets get you some food shall we? Maybe I can get something to drink." Shadow Man was to blame for Metal Man's love of Japanese food and drink. He could get why organics like it, it was a spocial activey and Robot Masters were nearly as social as their human makers.
Camilla Ulyssa     There's a moment during which Camilla is more than a bit distracted by the gunblade. Look, it's cool, alright? She can't help but stare. Sure, her own mechanical weapon has similar features-- but it's not a gun AND a blade. It's a blade, that can be a gun, or gloves, but these are three separate forms, not a classy singular one.

    For a fighter, she's easily distracted by the shiny thing. And boy that sword is more than a little bit shiny in her eyes.

    Seifer's feint works, and it works wonders too. Not just because she's distracted, but because she hasn't seen that level of swordplay before. She's fought Reiji, once-- but his blades were magical, relying on fancy tricks. Seifer's pure skill, if you discount the weird maneuver with the gunshot moments earlier.

    The tip of Seifer's Hyperion plunges into Camilla's chest-- or for a moment, it feels like it does. Then it stops, cold. It hasn't pierced her clothes. Those floppy black clothes, like a military uniform, no different from Seifer's coat. Hard, if not harder, than steel.

    Not without cost, though. It may have kept Seifer from running her through-- even though one presumes he knows when to hold back and wouldn't have if it came down to it-- but the impact still hurts. Yuo can break bones through platemail after all.

    Camilla stumbles back, wincing, now on the tip of the table that was behind her. Another step back and she's off it. She retorts to Zero: "I think I'm getting my ass kicked, that's what!" and yet, she seems... happy? Thrilled? She's absolutely into it. This fox is not competitive in the slightest, she just likes fighting. At all.

    Any counter from her never comes when Yuuki arrives, with her request for help and ice cream as a reward. A glance to Seifer, still grinning. "Well, a knight can't ignore a lady's plea, can he? I guess we can always fight any other day we want!"

    She hops off the table-- hovers down, actually. She can fly. That must be why her footwork sucks so much, especially on a table's edge. She's not that sort of swordswoman.

    Her blade sheathes, and she waves towards Yuuki, ignoring the fact security has gathered at all. "Hey, boss! Yuuki, right? Lookin' good, nice dress!"
Tesla Armadia Tesla Armadia crouchs down for a moment to hold a palm up to Saiga, who hops on so she can be lifted back to her Master's shoulder as she stands up again. "A capital idea, and it would be a shame to miss out on some of the offerings for the occasion." Saiga makes a bit of a face at the mention of food, but it lights again when she's pat on the head. "Don't worry, I am certain someone thought ahead to have a few Jelly Cans on hand."
Yuuki Kuran     Dutifully, Yuuki, apparently one of the heads of this clownshoes show defuses a fight... WITH ICE CREAM!

    She passes the one held by middle, ring, and pinky of both hands to Zero first, before offering one cone to Camilla, and the other to Seifer.

    "Also, I think Security would have to get involved - there's a place for everything, you know?" She asides with a note of helpless 'you guyssss'.

    Then, bright smiles. "But I'm glad everyone is having fun!"
Seifer Almasy      Alright! With the crowd clear, Seifer can *really* cut loose! Maybe that guy's not so bad after all. As Seifer scores the hit it becomes immediately obvious that his footing's improved *massively*, that he's not only getting used to fighting on the table but that now that he has room he can adjust his center of balance as he wants - not magically, just *through skill*.

     Is he holding back? That's a damn good question. It's almost impossible to tell even for somebody like Zero. It's not because Seifer's so ungodly skilled that he can hide whether or not he's holding back, so much as it is that it's simply just...*hard* to read Seifer as anything other than passionate and intense. Figuring out if he's channeling or restraining his passion is *tough* on a first meeting. And he clearly is competitive, since he's going in for a second-

     Yuuki.

     As Camilla makes a point, Seifer sighs and scratches the back of his head (with the hand HOLDING THE GUNBLADE. He doesn't cut himself. That's probably the most talented thing he's going to do today, really).

     "Tch...an' I was just gettin' revved up. Alright, alright. We'll call it a draw for now."

     Seifer hops off the table and sheathes (holsters?) the gunblade. "Ice cream, huh? Man, Garden's cafeteria was always out. Well, if the lady insists."

     At least he is also very good on his word. He's made statements, and so far, he hasn't broken a single one. He takes the ice cream and takes a bite.

     He immediately gets brain freeze.

     Of course he does. Seifer's that guy kind of guy.
Nozomi Houken     Nozomi gives Haguro a little nod, and tries to put on a smile for her. "Y-yeah..." It's not a very good smile, but she's trying. All of this has been kind of rough for her!

    Meanwhile, Kushiko starts putting on a show, and the girl starts watching quietly, curious if nothing else. She might not quite be warming up yet, but at least she doesn't seem to be as intimidated. Kuroyama, meanwhile, whistles. "Not bad. I could never quite get the hang of that trick. Been a couple reports across my desk about you and your Warframes from the Union, but none of them ever really went in-depth. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do." Interestingly, he tries to meet Mesa's "gaze" directly, as if to get her attention, then once he's fairly sure he has it - first, he flicks his eyes towards Nozomi, then towards the kubrow.
Haguro Nozomi gets a light and somewhat awkward giggle in return from the boat girl. It's almost as if Haguro's sensing that similar sort of awkwardness, and has found a kindred spirit! Or is she trying to reassure her? Both, perhaps.

     "I see... So you might have another Warframe for close-range combat, or another one for recon?" It's starting to make more sense to Haguro now. "Like how we have different armaments for different enemies..." Common ground! Sort of. "Or our ship forms for when I need to handle something a lot bigger..."

     Or not. Kiras keeps getting pet, though, and that's never a bad thing! It keeps her hands busy, at least, as she watches the end of the fight with a relieved sigh before realizing the yelling ice cream girl is... Their boss?! One of, even..

     And now Yuuki has another set of eyes on her, almost as if Haguro's expecting her to say or do something insightful.
Zero Kiryu Zero makes a contemplative noise in answer to Camilla's response. He doesn't seem to buy it, but maybe he didn't notice that Seifer was having trouble with her revving up her sheer strength for a little bit there. He shakes his head as Yuuki pushes some ice cream off on him, looking down at what ends up in his hands. Truthfully he's not really interested in it at all. He's hungry as it gets, but this isn't going to do anything for him except maybe give him a headache.

"Why are you so unconcerned with how poorly you were doing?" Zero nods towards Camilla as he tries to sort out the ice cream that's been foisted off on him. Really, if she was going to lounge around someplace private he'd have at least liked to have known. That way /he/ could have been somewhere else instead of out in the crowds.

"Not having fun."

"... This is Director Kuran, by the way." Zero introduces Yuuki dully, tilting his ice cream cone generally in her direction.

He nods towards Seifer, "Your swordsmanship is good. Why a sword-gun?"
Winedark Archer Archer just nods towards Taiga. He seems to be clever. And dangerous. Mental notes taken, as he proceeds back towards silence, because his Master is being his Master again! Mister Draug excitedly listens to the conversations, before turning to Kushiko as she offers. "Oh, would you? I would thank you so much! I can see great relations in the future for all of us, indeed! Please, do so!"
Camilla Ulyssa     Camilla accepts the ice cream cone with no complaint. When your new boss shows up and hands you ice cream, you do not complain. You write a post on your wall about how your boss is the best in the world and handed you ice cream for seemingly no good reason, and rub it in everyone else's faces. Especially those with awful bosses.

    This post would probably immediatly get downvoted by Zero.

    To answer him, though, she shrugs. "Me? Why would I be concerned about that? I just want to have fun. If you do too well, if you overpower your opponent, the fight's over too fast. I just like the feeling of fighting. I want to feel challenged! I can't get that in my world much. People can't keep up. Here, I've run into powerful people one after another, it's just so... /amazing/," she says, looking more than a bit giddy. Maybe it's the ice cream, though!

    <She's an addict,> her swords clarify, the flat male voice not seeming sorry in the slightest for the statement. <You could inject her with adrenaline directly and she'd still ask you for more. Probably wouldn't kill her, either. I think she'd just collapse into a singularity that makes everyone nearby break into fighting.>

    "Psht. Anyway, that's all there is to it. I like fightin'! I like seeing people's best and comparing it to mine."
Kushiko <"In a way, yes. Like Nova, the one you saw the other day? She's specialized for battlefield control and weakening enemies. We can make shortrange portals with her and we use antimatter to slow and make others really vulnerable to damage and completely obliterate them with it. Think of them being made into bombs that way."> Molecular Prime best.

<"The other part is that we--at least, me--has a wide variety of weapons we use. If our guns fail, we fall to the blade, or the hammer, or more, but yes, you're right. We just adapt very quickly to the foe we're facing."> Kiras is exceedingly contented however, the Kubrow wuffing faintly at the petting as both she and Kushiko's attention fall upon the conclusion of the fight--and the need for ice cream as part of it. Well, that was a good one as those things go.

If she could smile, she would for Kuroyama. <"We preferred it that way. Exact details of everything we are is not as important as the results in some cases."> Enigmatic, perhaps, but they were warming up to other ways of 'showing off'. After all, for her, stealth was 'they never knew you were there if they're all dead.

And then it's time for a demonstration! To Kiras, she makes the tiniest of gestures--Archer may pick up on it, but when she does, Kiras rears back on her haunches and suddenly, both she and Kushiko's Mesa are simply /gone/, Master and Kubrow hidden from view by the cloaking field the Kubrow generates. Sure, some others here could probably sense her if they /really tried/ but she's alarmingly /HARD/ to detect when she doesn't want to be.

And then she reappears to Kuroyama's side, not too far from Nozomi. <"There's some who can pierce the cloak, though it is a helpful way to take someone off guard and keep things quiet when subtlety is paramount.">

All the same, she overhears Zero's question to Seifer, and while she had noticed the gunblade, she elected not to say anything until now. <"Flexibility isn't a bad reason for it,"> she offers via the projection of her voice, lights on her suit flicking at the syllabic metering.

To that point, she reaches behind her, and energy solidifies around a blade that's closer to a fist weapon by way of it's grip--blade extending forward and split around a central column before the blades hook back slightly. She gives it a slight twirl before bringing it forward and pointing it upwards--gun and blade safety, technically.
Seifer Almasy      "'cause if something's worth doing, it's worth doing the best I can, and there's nobody but one other guy I know who uses a gunblade," Seifer tells Zero, "It's a gunblade, by the way. Not a sword-gun. Look at it, here. Unless I flip this switch it doesn't shoot bullets, and the clip's real limited. It's for vibration, not ranged combat."

     "The ranged combat's actually a mod I had installed. Thought it worked better, but I didn't wanna give up the thing I'd learned."

     "Plus," Seifer adds, drawing the weapon and taking up his stance again, "You can wield it like *this*. 'sreal important to me."

     He holsters (sheathes?) the gunblade again and eats some more ice cream. More brain freeze. Seifer does not learn lessons from puny ice cream.
Kushiko Incidentally after that explanation about the cloaking (and before everything else went down) Kiras was nuzzling up by Nozomi after coming /out/ of that cloak with a modest pulsation of energy and refracted light. <"This is Kiras by the way. We call ourselves Kushiko."> At least in the languages that suit the 'verse.
Nozomi Houken     Well, the awkwardness from Haguro at least seems to reassure Nozomi a bit more! That's something.

    Kushiko speaks, though, and Nozomi... does not understand 90% of it. Kuroyama, on the other hand, listens with interest. "Being able to play around with antimatter? That's a hell of a party trick, ma'am. But I think I agree with you, in general. Knowing what our allies can do does help us plan tactics, though." Both he and the skittish TIGER-user watch what happens next first with curiosity, then with surprise - Nozomi actively starts looking around, trying to find where they went, but Kuroyama is professional enough not to do so, knowing she'll show herself when and where she shows herself.

    Nozomi might yelp a little when they reappear. Just a bit.

    "That's some dog," Kuroyama observes with amusement. Nozomi looks increasingly alarmed at the rapidly-approaching mountain of canine- until she's nearly bowled over by... affection. "...e-eh...?" Blink. Blink blink. Tentatively, hesitantly, the girl reaches out to pet a space dog that almost certainly outweighs her.
Haguro "Ah, yes... I still need to practice more in close combat. With or without weapons..." Haguro looks downward slightly at that mention of Kushiko's prowess in melee, recalling some of her own brushes with close-ranged combat going badly in practically every situation. She actually seems to be slumping a bit, too, but she's soon perking back up as she listens to Kushiko's and Kuroyama's discussion.

     She isn't about to try and get herself involved in that discussion, though, instead watching as the Kubrow takes Nozomi out with herself. Haguro giggles a little more freely at that, approaching Kiras again to give her a light pat before offering the fallen Nozomi a hand up.
Zero Kiryu "I see." Zero doesn't seem entirely mystified by Camilla's explanation, but it doesn't settle well with him either. He's perfectly familiar with predatory feelings that make battle personally desirable, but it's not something that he's exactly at ease with. His eyes drift towards the talking sword, which offers a less forgiving spin on the same explanation. He nods faintly, "I won't say it's sensible, but if those are your priorities then I understand."

A glance is cast backwards to Kushiko, whose weapon gets a brief look. Really, that one isn't any less odd than the other. Why structure it like a punching weapon if you're going to put a barrel down the middle? Perhaps the idea is to fire directly into the body.

"The reason for these things are likely not the same, but I understand the concept. Bayonettes follow a similar rationale."

Seifer's explanation elicits a nod, and he follows the demonstration of the switch along the side of it closely. So a combination of pride and... what? The stance doesn't really make sense to him. Based on Seifer's behavior he certainly has the strength to maintain it, but still... holding the weapon out like that as a regular stance must get tiring.

"Why is that particular stance important?" He asks, without explanation for his skepticism.

Out of general courtesy after having asked many, many questions, he adds, "My preference is firearms, or hand-to-hand if necessary. I know a little about swords and garrote wire. My family members used them."
Yuuki Kuran     Yuuki gives a now-both-hands-empty two fisted thumbs up ON THE DOWN LOW to Camilla, and a bright smile and wave to Seifer, before starting to melt backwards into the crowd like Homer Simpson seamlessly melded into a hedge.

    Yessss, Zero, yesssss, make friends! HER SCHEMING CAME TO AWFUL FRUITION!

    As she slips slowly into the background, a pale butterfly flutters right onto her shoulder, framing her escape as Intensely Disney Princesslike.
Seifer Almasy      Seifer shrugs it off. He doesn't actually explain why that stance is important. Either it embarasses him, or he may legitimately /not remember/. "It works for me," he says, which is probably more evasive than not, "And it looks cool."
Kushiko <"Which we make sure those we fight with know it,"> Kushiko offers, the Tenno's attention oddly capable of switching /really/ quickly. Operating one of those Warframes seems to allow her to track everyone here. The tapered black tongue of Kiras' lolls out once more, and she is totally being a love sponge today. +_+

<"... You're spoiling her, you two."> she notes wryly. But really, she can't help but smile--at least, in her voice. Mesa doesn't smile. Need lips for that. The Operator, far and away from here, absolutely does. To Haguro, she seems to pick up on her unease, <"If you like, we can train you, as we have trained others and been trained by."> She could adapt what she knows for purposes of one of the Fleet to understand, she thinks!

<"Besides, some have reacted oddly to the fact we do that with Nova but the truth is that Nova Prime is our most favorite. She is also technically the most fragile of us, but we annhilate the field with her at our discretion."> There might be a slight hint of manic glee there. Nova kabooms are the best okay.
Zero Kiryu Now that Yuuki is actually in range of his mental radar, Zero notices /immediately/ when she tries to ditch him again. His neutral interest in Seifer twists into immediate annoyance that isn't actually directed at the knight. He sets his untouched icecream down on the table that was previously being used for fighting. "Whoever can touch it first can have it." He says.

"My charge is leaving."

Zero stalks off after Yuuki immediately, before she can get too far away and lose him. He can be seen talking animatedly at her in the distance, 'til they disappear into the VIP areas to which Yuuki was probably retreating.
Winedark Archer Mister Draug very much enjoys the show, clapping once it finishes. "Very impressive! It seems we have quite the talented group working with us! I thank you very much for that show. Perhaps, sometime, I can show you a bit of my own work." Archer just stands next to him, eying...well, everything. He's paying attention to the crowds, to the group, he has a constant monitor on this situation.
Haguro Haguro blinks slowly at Kushiko. "Training...? Would that really be alright?" She actually looks somewhat heartened by that offer, and she nods once at the Tenno. "If you could, then... I won't let you down! I mean, I'll try not to, but if I do... N-not that I plan to, but... I'm sorry!"

     It had to happen sooner or later.