The Tragical Death of Elias Thomas - RPLOG
From Flexible Survival
Participants
Date
3/4/2022
Log
(Willy) As the sun crept twoards the apex of the day, a burly looking Skunk Beast arrived on the scene. Big and beefy, and looking a bit battle worn, Willy smiled as he approached the meetup location. "Reporting for duty" he says as he approached, and presented himself with his strong stench and powerful physique.
(Fenris) It is cool and overcast in Fairhaven today. The eastern edge of the city is quiet and mostly abandoned. Particularly the building set aside as the meetup point by the Zephyr posting. A tall, sour looking man in a Zephyr issued tactical uniform is seated on some fallen rubble in the corner of what may have been an old duplex or shop/apartment combo. Impossible to tell after so long. He nods as each person arrives, though his sour look does not lift.
(Crypto) Crypto quietly walks up to the gathering point without a sound and comes equipped to fend of multiple combatants, most of his arms seeming to be explosive in nature. Crypto offers a nod and then leans against the wall waiting for the briefing.
(Narwen) A second skunk beast approaches, also big and beefy, but not remotely battle-worn. "Hello folks. Is this the group of Zephyr--" he begins, then stops dead and does a double-take at Willy. He eyes him warily, slowly lifting a forepaw and waving it in the air pads-out without taking his eyes off the other skunk. Once satisfied that Willy is neither a reflection nor about to maul him, he sets the paw back down and resumes. "Uh, yeah. Hello. I'm Narwen. Here for the Zephyr mission." He relaxes a little, nodding to others he recognises, but without entirely letting down his guard.
(Junes) coming in next is a vaguely reptilian chimera wearing a purple and white kimono a backpack and collar. they see not one but two familiar skunk beasts! and wave them both over "how have you two been!"
(Moresson) A suit of power armor covered in various forms of guns lowers itself down into the briefing point from on high, jetpack slowing the agent's descent until their feet touch the ground. Then the jetpack shuts off. The only two obvious facts that can be ascertained are that this armored agent is a mutant, and feminine, but no skin or fur shows through this suit. Even her visor is opaque from the outside. "Moresson. Ready." she says in a metallic voice, carrying a black metal rifle in her hands, stepping up towards the others gathered. She takes a glance at the others briefly, but offers them no hello.
(Magnus) Oh boy, more of that otherworldly nonsense on the docket, then? Fine..." Magnus would arrive at the Tanuki Shrine, its grand visage a familiar sight given his past experience here. The gator seems to have recently gotten into a scuff, his slacks tattered and his arm bloodied from whatever attacker he'd recently fended off, the other arm holding his blade slung over one shoulder. "Pheew, thank the stars I am not late." Re-sheathing his weapon, the fella adjusts his cuffs a bit and makes his way into their appointed meeting ground. Sure enough, a crowd was gathering. No doubt folks were getting together in support of their chubby and mysterious patron. What the hell does Tanuki want to do with a scruffy science boy anyway? Bah, as if they didn't have enough worries to deal with. Bloody otherworldly pig-faced buggers. With a sharp huff out his nostrils, Magnus nears the others and dusts himself off a bit. "Hello hello. What's all this about an egghead looking to sign on with our loveable ring-tailed raccoon dog?"
(Kar-dragon) A kitsune arrives, cladded in power armor, save for the helmet, which he is holding under one of his arms. As Kar enters the place, he looks at those present, specially the man on the rubble, before putting the helmet on and taking position by the door. "As far as I understand it, this is the place, yes." He says to Narwen, his voice distorted by the filter on the microphone of his armor.
(Fenris) The human agent's frown deepens as each mutant arrives. "God, what a circus," he growls, shaking his head. He lights up a cigarette and adjusts his sun-glasses as he stands up. "Alright, you clowns," he says, "Listen up, cause I don't plan to repeat myself." He looks over the motley crew. "One of our top scientists, Elias Thomas has been abducted by the tanuki," he explains, "Mr. Thomas is a valuable Zephyr asset and we cannot let this stand."
(Moresson) Moresson glances over at Kar-Dragon, noticing the fellow power armor pilot. She takes a moment to admire the mutant's readiness, before her attention is given back to the Zephyr representative. Other than the Zephyr man and the kitsune, she doesn't address anyone else. "Wait... I thought this was for Zephyr, not the Survivalists." she says pointedly at the Zephyr agent, if not to put his bigotry into perspective, then at least piss him off.
(Willy) Willy waves to Junes in response and chuckles and waves to Narwen before the Agent begins to speak. He simple nods in response before asking. He starts to ask a question before he hears Moressons comment and chuckles a little more. Gathering himself, he asks the agent. "I see...where have they taken him?" he asks.
(Crypto) Crypto is expressionless as he asks, "What is the plan? What are the demands of the kidnappers and how many are there? What tech could he be working on that the Tanuki would be interest and could we see this tech being used against us today?"
(Magnus) "Well ain't you a fuckin' charmer." The gator hisses in response, moving nearer to the man who'd just so freely insulted them. "I'm no clown, pal. I'm a street magician. Wanna see a magic trick? I can make your head disappear." He opens that massive gator maw wide and *CHOMP* makes his teeth catch a hair's distance from the man's nose. "Pity I'd have to charge for the act though. Do yourself a favor, drop the ego and tell us where your boy is so we can ramshackle him back. Keep pissing me off and I won't guarantee you'll have him in one piece." Magnus growls quietly, hissing as he turns and rejoins the crowd.
(Kar-dragon) Kar returns the look at Moresson, power armors aren't exactly common to see around, after all, before his attention goes to the Zephyr guys as he gets up and starts speaking. His tone really gets on the crimson kitsune's nerves, but he keeps a neutral tone. "Abducted? From what I heard he had left Zephyr because the tanukis were a lot of fun to be around." He replies, throwing the man's words into question, while sounding like someone that only heard rumours about it. He lets the others express their questions too, wondering about the plans of the corporation too. He looks at Magnus' intimidating display, before placing a hand on the gator's shoulder as he returns to his position. "No point antagonizing him like this, Mags." He says to his mate.
(Narwen) Narwen gives a nod of acknowledgement to each person as they arrive, somewhat vaguely in the case of those whose faces are covered. Different levels of beef aside, he should at least be easy to tell apart from the other skunk beast: he's the one wearing eye-watering rainbow shorts, which are indeed vaguely reminiscent of a Fairhaven clown costume. "I, uh, see we've got muscle in abundance. I'm here for Zephyr Science." He doesn't recognise Junes at first, but then catches a blip from their Comm ID and gives a little nod. "Ah, hello. Been a little while."
(Junes) leaning closer to Narwen, junes whispers something then at a normal tone mentions but aside from that i hope hes alright in the meantime i g-" and junes sees magnus snap at the guy and loses their train of thought
(Fenris) The agent raises an eyebrow and looks over his sunglasses at Moresson. "I don't need your lip, Mute," he starts, then backpeddles a bit to avoid the snap of Magnus' jaws. He clears his throat and continues, looking a bit paler than before. "Mr. Thomas is one of the foremost experts in nanite technology and the tanuki plan to exploit his knowledge," he says hurriedly, "We lost track of his comms unit not far from here at the tanuki shrine. Our recon shows that the raccoons have fortified the shrine, so you will almost certainly meet resistance." He looks at the group again, "You..." he hesitates and looks at Magnus, "People don't look particularly stealthy."
(Moresson) Moresson watches the gator's display, a grin hidden behind her helmet, armor-covered tail swaying slightly for a few seconds. She straightens up a bit more when a realization hits her though. "Magnus. I thought I recognized your voice. You're looking a little green today." she teases him, before looking back at the agent to see his reaction. "You asked for help, dipshit. Lip comes with it. You want this guy out, you fucking deal with it." she snaps back at him, regardless of the fact that Magnus already put him in his place. "Anyway, we don't need stealth in order to bust our way in. They still won't know what's coming."
(Magnus) "No. But it sure is fun." The gator casts a smirk at Kar, his glance snapping from his friend's eyes towards the pale and very charismatic man. When they get some actual info, the gator merely shrugs very deeply. "There's more than one way to skin a raccoon. If the man's actually been abducted then I'd wager we'd have a mess to deal with either way. Don't think they're holding him hostage. If they wanted him dead, he'd already be feeding the maggots. Thing is... that ain't Tanuki's stile to up and abduct folks. Not from what I know at least. Ain't much of an expert, but I know someone who is. So unless the ringtailed dog has suddenly had a change of heart and resorted to kidnapping, I'm willing to bet there's more to it than this bellend's letting on."
(Fenris) The agent taps on his comms unit. "I don't care how you do it," he says, "As long as the scientist is delivered safely back to Zephyr, you will be paid well for your time and effort." He frowns even more deeply at Magnus. "Above my paygrade," he grunts, "All I know is Zephyr wants their egghead back, and we are paying you to do it."
(Willy) Willy goes "Hmmm...." and thinks for a second "Eh I had heard whispers of why the Tanuki might abduct someone..." he says "and it's probably not to most beneficial reasons." he says "and if you wanted stealth, you should of made that clear in the work request. I doubt we should have any issue busting in though with this team" he continues with a grin.
(Crypto) Crypto ensures that he is located in the rear of the group as he vanishes from sight as he sneaks towards the shrine to scout ahead.
(Fenris) The agent taps on his comms unit. "I don't care how you do it," he says, "As long as the scientist is delivered safely back to Zephyr, you will be paid well for your time and effort." He frowns even more deeply at Magnus. "Above my paygrade," he grunts, "You can reach me via this secure comms channel." Everyone's comms units ping with invite to a secure channel.
(Kar-dragon) Kar looks back at the man, taking the hand from the gator's shoulder. "There was no mention of stealth anywhere, so I came in prepared for the usual smash and grab operations from Zephyr." He replies to the guy, some bile in his words hinting that he might be a prommie, before looking at Moresson. "Do you really think they don't know what's comming? We are talking about a group of tricksters here, they knew what they were getting themselves into." He says to the husky. Looking back at Magnus, he nods to the big gator's words. "My thoughts precisely. Even if doctor Thomas was tricked into the situation, he ended up getting involved with the tanukis out of his own volition." He notices human start sneaking out of the building, but remains quiet, since he is unsure about the guy's intentions. "Either way, if that's all, then I guess we should be going." He says as he accepts the invite to the channel, and immediatelly puts himself on mute.
(Magnus) "You like it? Been trying something new. Figure the green suits me well. Nice to see you're the same old self, even if I ain't seeing much of ya right now." The gator shakes his head and pats Moresson on the shoulder. "Where the hell have you been holed' up all this time? I heard somethin' about a gun shop. Ah, we'll faff later. If it's stealth these lot want, then I'd wager we're better off sending a scout ahead. I ain't got much of a head for sneaking around. Can try in a pinch, but that's about it." With everything said and settled, the gator too accepts his comm device channel invitation, sets it to quiet and readies to depart. "After you, or whoever wants to take point. Just keep yer eyes peeled. If it's Tanuki we're dealing with, tricky bullshit is a guarantee."
(Bleu) While the agent is still talking and acting a bit annoyed by this whole thing, a lone satyr shows up, later than everyone else. "Yo, yo, I'm here, I'm here, sorry. Did I miss anything? Did I miss the party? I was told there'd be a party today."
(Crypto) Crypto sneaks towards the shrine and clings to the shadows as much as possible while taking note of the amount of combatants, fortifications, and points of entry and elevation.
(Willy) Willy takes the invite, saving it into a deeper group for "Later". He then smiles "oh Hey Bleu, good to see you, were going to go rescue a scientist from being Kidnapped by the Tanuki's for some reason." he says with a smile, before looking to the others to see what plans were.
(Narwen) "Ah, well, stealth is probably my department then," Narwen says, looking around and seeing only warrior types. "Now, you may be thinking: but Doctor Narwen, you do not look stealthy at all, nor like any kind of assault team! And that is exactly the point. I can just wander over there, play the lost tourist, not blow anyone up or get anybody shot, and find out what's up. Don't worry, I'll keep you informed." And he begins ambling in the direction of the Tanuki lair. "Hello, hello, can you hear me? I'm walking," he narrates by Comm -- and also quite audibly from across the way -- after about five seconds. "Still walking. 'Over'."
(Moresson) Moresson metalically scoffs at Magnus. "You would want that, wouldn't you? Yeah, I got a gun shop near the 5th Street Station." she replies, glancing over at Kar and shrugging. "I meant they don't know the strength of what's coming. Maybe they expect to be hit, but they don't know how hard." she says in slight annoyance, looking over at the satyr. "Any longer and we would have left you behind. Get your ass in gear, we're on a suspicious-as-fuck rescue mission." she explains, watching Narwen take off, a bit lost for words.
(Fenris) The agent grunts in disgust at the satyr's arrival, then turns his back on the group, stepping away and activating an earpiece before starting to give a quiet report. Crypto is the first to see a very strange sight. Where the small Tanuki Shrine once stood is an immense fortress! Twenty foot walls block the immediate view, though tall, Japanese style towers are visible above them. Tanuki dressed in samurai armor patrol the wall and stand in lookout towers. There is a huge, closed gate. They are definitely expecting something.
(Kar-dragon) Kar looks towards the late satyr, waving to him. "Kinda surprised you decided to come. Didn't think you would be up to risk combat, Bleu, specially when pregnant." He replies as one of the skunk beasts start moving. "Wait, aren't we missing someone?" He asks them. "Wasn't there a human with us? He might have gone to inform them about our plans." He brings up, deciding to sow some chaos in the group to break their organization.
(Junes) Junes stares at the tails of the armored kitsune but then hears narwens plan and remembering what their wearing yells out "hey im joining! ive got the perfect outfit too!"
(Willy) Willy Looks confused a moment and looks around "Huh...well if thats the case we probably should get moving." he says before heading in the direction of the Shrine taking a path that is at least a far distance away from Narwen andd Junes.
(Bleu) Bleu ignores Moresson, and scoffs at Kar. "This is tanuki, right? Listen, I *know* tanuki. These guys are, like, party central. And they're lazy as fuck, to boot. Well... Usually. And don't trust a single thing you see, either, since it's probably just an illusion. Tanuki are like that... They also make really annoying landlords, but that's another game entirely..."
(Moresson) Moresson looks back at Kar again when he mentions the lack of the human that was once here. "Well, shit. We better be on our guard. I'm getting paid, so I'm still going in there, even if they know who's going. But just keep your guard up." she says, locked and loaded since she arrived, ready to move out. She defers to Magnus however, not wanting to go it alone like the others seem to be doing. Taking a second to think, she nods at Magnus. "I suppose I'll take point. Come on, bitches!" she says, calling out to the rest who haven't already gone off on their own, leading up the front on the way to the shrine.
(Magnus) The gator merely casts Moresson a faint grin with one eye closed, "Now why would you ever think that?" Upon arriving at the shrine, Magnus blinks a few times, then reaches into his pocket and retrieves a small flask. One mighty chug later, he then puts it away. "You don't see that every day. Where's Fenris when you need 'em." Recalling the ringtail's attitude however... "Right, probably one of the guards." Magnus covers his face and slowly exhales through both nostrils. Casting a look down at his feet, the gator seems lost in thought for a few moments, that is until the results of whatever mathematics he was doing come in. "I can probably jump that." Gaze meandering back towards the others, Magnus rubs the nape of his neck. "Well if it were me, I'd try diplomacy. Like I said. Tanuki ain't the sort to up and abduct folks. But... lookin' at that, well it gives off all the wrong vibes, it does." His head slowly turns back towards the fortress. "This don't look like a tea party, I'll tell ya that much."
(Fenris) This is impossible! There was not even this much land around the shrine! It should just be a little clearing with a little shrine! Not an oriental castle fort! As Narwen and Junes wander out into the clearing, they are challenged from atop the wall. "Friend or foe?" comes a call from above the gate.
(Kar-dragon) "I'll go last, then." Kar says to the others, waiting for everyone to move out before starting to go on the way too... Except that he stops at the exit, making a gun gesture towards the Zephyr guard and, as he brings his thumb down like the hammer of a revolver, he makes the guy turn into a tanuki with his coyote powers, right before moving out with the others.
(Crypto) Crypto uses his Nanite Adept powers to transform into a Tanuki while also using his Disguise Nanomagic to transform his gear to match that as the patrolling tanuki. He then proceeds to walk towards the main gate.
(Willy) Willy Sees the others heading twoards the door, and stops for a second, casually listening as the first group is addressed by the guard. He thinks as they await as they walk twoards the others.
(Fenris) A rather large tanuki in samurai armor peeks over the top of the wall. "You have to say if you are friend or foe!" he calls out, "We asked, so you have to tell the truth! That's the rules!"
(Moresson) Moresson looks up at the imposing fortress, growling at the idea that this shouldn't be here, but simply blaming this magic bullshit she keeps hearing about. "Depends!" she calls back to the gate guard, seeing as she's defacto leader of her little entourage. "We're here for Dr. Thomas, that's it. We can do this the easy way or the hard way." she says, glancing over at Magnus and anyone else that followed her. "Don't make a move until I say." she says, before glancing over at Crypto, absolutely buying into illusions today, apparently. She holds her gun towards him. "What is this?"
(Narwen) "Hello there! Hello. Excuse me, I am looking around," Narwen calls. "I'm all turned around here. I was going to look at the shrine, but I must have gotten turned around -- the place I went was full of Kitsune. What a palaver! Now I made it here but I feel like I'm being blown like a leaf on the wind, this place is a maze. Could you give me directions, please? Oh, and, uh, here are some other members of my tour group approaching, hello folks, they may look intimidating but you know how the streets are, ha ha."
(Magnus) Too bad Magnus was already moving! Seeing as they were being addressed from atop the wall, Magnus merely raises his hands and says "We're friends, yea? I mean I think! So far the lot here ain't much interested in hamstringing the shrine, right? Anyway! There's something about this bloke who got abducted in there. Some scientist or whatever. Alright? Now I don't much give two shakes of a husky's tits about Zephyr losing one of their eggheads, but y'know... abducting folks ain't very neighborly. Just wanna make sure everything's crispy clean and the bastard ain't having his brains dissected for knowledge. Is Fenris there? Fenris! About yae high?" He gestures to about the average height he knew Fenris being. "But of a chonk, loves to eat, very affectionate? Can I speak with'em?"
(Bleu) Bleu raises his hands as he steps into the clearing. "Ya'll, let me handle this." He looks up at the soldier on the wall. "We sre friends! And I bring you an offering of wine to prove our good intentions! Do you accept the gift, Oh Great Tanuki?"
(Fenris) The tanuki vanishes behind the wall for a moment. He pops back over the battlement a few minutes later. "You guys know Eli and Fenris?" he asks suspiciously, then grins as Bleu speaks up, "And you brought snacks!?" He waves at someone out of sight. "Open the gate! Friends outside!" There is a series of thumps and thunks and then the gates swing open smoothly, revealing a large courtyard where tanuki hurry about on various errands.
(Kar-dragon) As the group moves Kar changes his form, taking advantage of the fact that his tails are hidden by the armor so no one would notice the riot of fox fluffers became a single ring tailed apendage. As he approaches the now fortress, he sees the chaos starting to unfold, as everyone is doing their own things. "You know, it would be better if we didn't give the military greeting to them." He says as he waits in the rear, raising a hand with a silver leaf between his fingers to tell the tanuki on the walls that he is an ally, taking advantage of Moresson being distracted by crypto before getting it to vanish again on the wind.
(Willy) Willy Hearing the response he giggles a little. "Oh this is Fen's doing I see." he says with a chuckle and before casually following the others inside, curious about the going abouts of the Shrine and the setup of this.
(Junes) looking frazzled at first from so many different things said to the guard but relaxes when he opens the gate "thank you were all just worried about elias, well most of us at least" using a tail to flick sweat from their brow "by the way whats up with this fortress?" they ask waving nine tails around casually
(Bleu) Bleu snaps his fingers, and three barrels of wine appear behind him, ready to be carted into the castle by more Tanuki porters. "I thank you for granting our access," he remarks, as he follows the others inside.
(Moresson) Moresson quickly looks at Magnus when he mentions shaking husky tits, quite glad that she's wearing a helmet to conceal her flushing face. "What the fuck, dude?" she asks quietly, before glancing around her at everyone making their own claims. Her shoulders sag and she groans, still pointing her rifle at Crypto. "Okay, we need a fucking command structure here. Seriously, if I'm taking point, then I'm taking the lead. Why's that so hard?" she asks, her tone exasperated. Regardless, she quickly gets an answer from the gate guard, looking confused as her weapon lowers. "Well... That was easy." she says, uncertainty thick in her voice. No longer suspicious of Crypto, she watches the gates open, before looking back at Kar. "I don't know what the hell a military greeting is, I was just greeting them the same way I would anyone else." she says, cautiously making her way into the fortress, still entirely fooled by whatever is presented to her.
(Magnus) "Well that's another way to skin a raccoon I suppose, bribe'em with booze and sweets. Aye, I know Fenris. We answered a call from Big Z about one of their top eggheads having been abducted in here. Then we sorta meandered our way in and suddenly..." Magnus whistles sharply, gesturing to all that wall and fortress they stood before. "We see this. Dunno what to make of it. All I had to go on is Tanuki's background." The gator crosses his arms as they meander their way into the fortress. "The ringtail dog just ain't known for..." his eyes narrow, a cold chill running up his spine, the man stops in his tracks. "...abductin' folks." He'd turn his head towards the rest of the team and casts a concerned look their way. One hand reaches into his pocket to tap out a message over the secure channel to the rest of them, text only. "Something ain't right here fellas. I think we're being played."
(Kar-dragon) Hopping that the guard on the wall saw the leaf, Kar follows the group into the fortress, still being the rear guard, just in case something were to go wrong and he had to think of a escape plan. "You know, the whole demaning things on a greeting is very much something a captain of the military would do when meeting with someone suspected of having hostages." He replies while walking, ignoring the comment about the structure of command. After all, he is playing the long game here.
(Crypto) Crypto looks confused at the assembled group before saying, "Sorry guys, I was just off taking a leak and now I come back to guests bringing snacks?! Best day ever." He walk inside the gate and joins the other Tanuki as the visitors walk thru the main gates.
(Narwen) "Ah, see? Nobody worries about tourists," Narwen says, ambling on in blithely. "Talking is always simpler than fighting. Although your idea was good too," he allows, nodding his head towards Bleu. "I'm sure that helped. Now all we have to do is find him. Hello, Doctor Thomas?" he calls.
(Willy) Willy smiles and slowly follows the others futher in, starting to fall back from the main group. He looks around curiously, trying to see whats up among thoes about as he continues on his way.
(Junes) Junes barks!
(Moresson) Moresson reads the message Magnus sent, nodding a bit and keeping her eyes trained on everything happening around them. Though even with her advanced targeting systems, and her decently sharp brain, her own perception may not be too trustworthy at the moment. It's just not her day. Her attention is brought back to Kar and she grunts. "Yeah, well I don't know what the fuck a military is. But whatever it is, I know I'm not it." she argues with the kitsune, keeping her gun at the ready, just in case. She doesn't point it at anyone, but she doesn't put it away either. Seeing Willy start to stray further away, she rolls her eyes. "Hey, you. Skunk. Get back over here and stick with the squad. Don't wander off, got it?"
(Crypto) Crypto sees the others clicking and remembers to accept the invite to the private comm channel. He makes note of the numbers and fortifications inside the compound while trying to blend in with the other Tanuki.
(Fenris) The group is met by the tanuki from atop the wall. He must have scrambled down a ladder to meet them. The tanuki, who is a large member of the species bows low. "Welcome, friends!" he says as the gates close behind the group, "Sorry for the welcome, it has been a difficult last few days. The Ear and Lord Counselor are busy, but if you will follow me, I will take yoi somewhere you can relax and wait until they can meet with you!" Dozens of tanuki walk around the courtyard and even more are visible on the ramparts and roofs of the fortress. A full frontal
(Fenris) assault on this place would have been a terrible idea!
(Kar-dragon) Kar shrugs. "You are affiliated with RSX, right? That's as close to military as we have since P-Day." He points out, trying to look for any friendly tanuki to reinforce that he is on their side as discreetly as possible. He might not have noticed anything out of the ordinary, but with Magnus' warning and knowing how the big leaf works, he wants to make sure he won't get stuck on the crossfire. As they are greeted by the big fella, he nods and waves at him, showing his golden leaf before, once again, letting it float on the wind before anyone else might notice, trying to reinforce that he is on the tanuki's side so he isn't a target for whatever they have in mind.
(Magnus) "Nnnnnoooo... that's alright. I have places to be." the gator's eyes narrow. He wasn't trusting any of this. He'd already seen discrepancies in this make-believe reality, and even if he hadn't this was still Tanuki they were dealing with. There was no whiff of a chance this wasn't some ploy to catch them with their pants down, or so Magnus thought. He's a little bit paranoid, after all. "We just want to make sure the fella, this doctor guy we're looking for. We wanna make sure he's alright, and not being restrained against his will in some dank sex dungeon or something." His arms cross, a suspicious gaze cast at the outlandishly welcoming tanuki. TOO welcoming, as a matter of fact. "Any chance we can meet with him? Or at least speak with him? That's all we need. Or at least I'll get out of your hair if I so much as know he's here willingly."
(Willy) Willy looks over as hes addressed by Moresson. "Hmmm...alright" he says before running back to the group. As he does he gives a minor smirk and decides to relax a little and increases the potentcy of his stickyness, filling the area about him with his stink.
(Bleu) Bleu bows to the Big Tanuki. "Oh Great Tanuki, we are honored by your hospitality. Please let me know if you enjoy my wine."
(Junes) after listening to magnus speak Junes mentions "and if you dont mind me asking what is your name and what kind of person is the ear??"
(Moresson) Moresson tilts her head from Kar's explanation. "Wait, so... A military is like a faction? I don't get it. I'm only loosely with RSX. I don't really represent their values, so I'm still gonna say that I'm not a military." she replies, glancing back at Magnus, shocked by his words. She doesn't say anything though, in case he's lying to get the drop on them. As the others start to praise the tanuki, she scoffs, amazed that her 'team' is all turning into blubbering wimps the moment they see someone they perceive as powerful. For the moment she lets Magnus try to talk them into a meeting.
(Narwen) "It's all right, it's all right," Narwen calls back to Moresson, at about the same time Willy answers her. "I'm not wandering off, I'm just guiding from the front: follow the tail! And we're not a 'squad', we're a friendly bunch of people making some polite enquiries, remember? Or a party, with the wine? Either way, definitely not a squad. Unless it's like a pep squad or something?" He follows where the larger Tanuki points. "Possibly a pepto squad. But either way, making progress!"
(Fenris) The big tanuki looks at Magnus in confusion for a second, then laughs. "Oh! I am sorry, I should have been clearer! Eli-dono has been named Tanuki's Counselor of Technology! If you will just come with me, we can wait for them inside!" He welcomes Bleu and his wine with open arms, and though he is obviously surprised by Willy's stink, he politely does not comment. "You can call me Kuma," the big nuki says, "And I thought you said you knew the Ear?" He frowns a little, but leads the group across the courtyard. He snorts a little at Magnus's sex dungeon quip. "No, mister gator," he says, "Eli-dono is not comfortable with the sex dungeon. But we could make arrangements if you are interested!"
(Magnus) Oh, this was sending all the bad vibes rolling and grasping across the gator's spine. He does however, quite reluctantly look back at his team. Seems they were a lot more open to accepting this tanuki's hospitality. Was it really a good idea to let his paranoia get the better of him? He'd made bad calls in the past, so perhaps this was just another one of those instances. Had he actually seen what he'd seen or was his perpetually-alert noggen short-circuiting again? "Alright. I will..." his thumb hooks behind his back. "I'll just stick with my team, then. Best we stay together. If they're willing to wait, then so am I." Ohhhh, the knot in the gator's throat when those words part that fanged maw of his, deep down he knew he was walking into something terrible, but uncertainty is a bitch, the worst kind of bitch at that. The sort that promises a good time, drags you into her home, drugs you and steals all your shit, then tosses your naked body out for you to recover not remembering what happened and how you ended up there.
(Bleu) "It's called "diplomacy," madam," Bleu quips to Moresson when he sees her look of disgust. "Sometimes you've gotta schmooze and booze to the big in order to find out anything at all..."
(Kar-dragon) Kar hums. "It's a bit more than that. I can explain it when we are done here, over a glass of beer at a bar." He offers to Moresson. "Either way, lets focus on the job." He then looks at Kuma as he speaks. "Well, yeah, some of us know the Ear. Been a while since I last saw him, though. He's been busy since before the last festival, which I still regret not being able to attend." He says as he comes closer to the gator, deciding to gamble it and take off the helmet to reveal he is now a raccoon dog too, if a crimson red one with a golden mask on his face. "If your instincts are right, hopefully I'll be able to get us a pass." He says to his mate, hoping he isn't as doomed as the others.
(Moresson) Moresson looks over at Bleu with her opaque visor hiding her features, guessing her body language gave her away. "Fuck that." she groans, looking over at the very writhey and wiggly gator. "Keep it together. Look, if we stick together no matter what, then we'll be fine." she says, trying to assure him. Hearing the offer for a discussion, her gaze returns to Kar. "I don't drink, but I guess a brief conversation isn't out of the question. But yeah, the job, I agree." she says, glancing around while they wait for what's coming.
(Fenris) The group is led across the courtyard and up some stairs to the great double doors which open before them. Armored tanuki line the halls and tanuki in robes hurry about on various errands. One stops and waves at Kar with a smile, then hurries on. Kuma leads the group to a door and ushers them into a small room with some low couches and a table of snacks and drinks. He follows them in and settles on to a couch. "Make yourselves comfortable," he says, "Eli-dono and Fenris-san will be here soon." Crypto, in his armor is left behind, unnoticed.
(Narwen) "Wait, be careful, don't touch the food! It could be laced with anything! Let me scan it first," Narwen calls. He dips his snout into his pack, pulls out something that flashes and goes 'bip!' once in a while, grips it in his teeth, puts it carefully down, takes a _big_ sniff, looks down, looks up, licks the food, smacks his lips thoughtfully, takes another sniff, looks down at the gadget again, and nods to himself. "All good, seems fine to me!" he says. There is cream on his nose.
(Willy) Willy Listens to the others and nods seeing the surprise look from Kuma and smiles, before nodding and following the others into the waiting room, wafting his smell a little for thoes about behind him before entering the room and finds himself a comfy seat to rest.
(Crypto) Crypto patrols the hallways of the compound looking for any signs of the abducted scientist or for anything else out of the ordinary.
(Bleu) Bleu huffs at everyone. "Dudes... I KNOW Fenris. He's not in the habit of kidnapping people for a sex dungeon. I don't think he even knows what sex actually is. Dude's so non-sexy that sex literally ceases to exist in his presence. He's also not evil, more... Chaotic Good to Chaotic Neutral. If Fenris is behind this all, then it's just some big, elaborate cosmic gag."
(Junes) Junes lays down on a couch "yeah fenris wouldnt do that" looking over to kuma from the side "so why are all these tanuki on such high alert anyways?"
(Magnus) Magnus doesn't need to be told twice. He simply finds a cozy patch of wall to lean against, all the while keeping an ear and an eye out for other oddities that may or may not verify or dismiss his suspicions. One hand reaches back to the wall he was leaning against, fingers tracing the hard wood surface, a satisfying texture that checked out and seemed convincingly genuine. Bah, maybe he was just being an idiot. The gator closes his eyes and slowly exhales. All that paranoia was getting to him, it was driving him cra-wait a tick. Those faces, those raccoons, he remembers their features! How many sets of identical twins lived here?! He could have sworn he'd even seen Kuma's face atop the muzzles of several other raccoons! "Hey." He'd address the suspicious ringtail dog. "Kuma, right? This is a nice place. Thank you for your hospitality. My family would have loved to see this. Course, we don't all look as much alike as you lot do. How many identical twins DO you have, by the way?" Magnus presses, his gaze seemingly piercing straight through the raccoon's own gaze.
(Moresson) Moresson follows along with their escorts, seeing the snack and drinks. She doubts they would be prepared that fast, but eh, magic bullshit. She doesn't sit down, or partake of any food or drink, mostly just staying at the ready. Fooled by the illusions and totally trusting are two different things. She definitely doesn't trust the tanukis, so she decides not to get comfy. Bleu's attempts at dissuading this whole ordeal falls on deaf ears, at least with this armored mutant. "Don't care. Mission means money. I'll take my leave for the right price." she replies, sticking close to Magnus. Out of everyone here, she knows he's the most likely to have her back. "...You alright, Mag-" she stops when he calls out to Kuma, blinking and looking between the two. A little confused, she holds her gun at the ready, letting this play out.
(Kar-dragon) Kar waves back to the tanuki as she passes by, smiling at her as he enters the halls. Good to know there's some familiar faces here that can hopefully vouch for him. Still, presented with cushions and food, the crimson tanuki sighs and stands by the arrangement. As easy as it is to get out of power armor, it's not as easy or fast to get back in. "Well, enjoy the snacks. I'm sure they are some delicacies from the far east. I'll abstain, though. Feeling queazy from the pregnancy." He says to the others. He is indeed feeling his stomach churn from the mix of being pregnant and the worry of none of the tanukis picking on his hints, but not much he can do now besides wait... Just as Magnus brings up the surprising ammount of identical tanukis. Sighing, the crimson raccoon dog just realizes what the ruse is. Sun Tzu would be proud of the strategy they used.
(Willy) Willy smiles a little as he relaxes, keeping his scent potentcy at about the level he was before. "Hmmm....I've heard that Tanuki has gotten curious about how the Nanites in this area have worked..." he says as he looks at what there are for refreshments "and I guess they are getting a bit desperate to know."
(Fenris) Kuma guffaws at Narwen's poison check and takes a swig of Bleu's gifted wine. "Hah! You really DO know the Ear! One of the finest Tanuki you'll meet, but he could stand to loosen up a little!" The tanuki sniffs again at the air and his gaze falls on Willy. "After your meeting, we could go find that sex dungeon if you want," he offers. His attention is drawn back by Junes's question. "Zephyr, of course!" he says, "They have sent no fewer than three attack squads, three ninjas and one dragon! It has been a crazy few days! It has been all we could do to keep Eli-dono safe!" His smile freezes on his face at Magnus' question. "Oh, um," he stammers, "Lots! Mother had big litters and we all look a lot alike! Heh." The snacks on the table consist mostly of oreo knockoffs, a bowl of M&Ms, lots of peaches, and several jugs of sake.
(Fenris) As Crypto ranges further into the castle, there is surprisingly little to see. There are fewer and fewer tanuki around and the decor becomes less and less ornate. Soon he finds himself patroling empty halls with only occasional wooden doors.
(Bleu) Bleu doesn't touch the food, either, actually. He trusts Fenris, but he doesn't trust Kuma, even though he hasn't let on besides his outward attempts to say Fenris isn't likely behind whatever this is. "Tell me, Kuma, how is Fenris today?"
(Crypto) Crypto texts back to the entire group about the strangeness of the situation concerning the lack of patrols and ornamentation, almost as if this was a stage where the front part is the show and he was merely behind the scenes.
(Kar-dragon) Kar pats at Magnus. "Hey, let the guy be. It isn't that uncommon to have huge litters." He says, before leaning closer to whisper something to the gator, then look at the snacks offered. "Oh... I thought there would be mochi. Hard times with Zephyr, I guess." He comments, but still doesn't go take them.
(Willy) Willy chuckles a bit at the forward comments, before giving a big smile back to Kuma. "I'll pass on thoes Dungeons, but I would love to know what your department does and to know you better if you wish." he says with a puff of scent and a strong husky smile back to the Tanuki, before taking a couple Oreos from the snacks.
(Magnus) "How about that. I'm happy for you, and the large family you have. Always a delight being blessed with lots of siblings." His glance wanders towards Moresson, as though silently conveying between her and himself that neither of them seemed to be buying this bullshit. Glance wandering back to Kuma, Magnus merely keeps his spot leaned by the wall. "Ahhh, if only Edel were here. She's the go-to lady for anything tanuki-related." Magnus reaches into his pockets once more, one hand seeking the handle of one weapon, the other simply ready by his comm device in the event he needed to relay something to his team. When Kar leans in to whisper something, Magnus casts the other a strange look, then simply shakes his head and refrains from commenting. There were simply too many discrepancies stacking atop one another. All this seemed to check out half-way and he had little reason to suspect a different otherworldly entity was at play here, and yet it all felt like an episode of the Twilight Zone. They were slowly sliding into the uncanny valley and it looked as though he and Moresson were the only ones to pick up on that so far.
(Moresson) Moresson blinks in surprise seeing the message from Crypto, not having seen him since the start of the mission. She messages him back, personally, asking him where the fuck he's been this whole time. Afterwards, she looks to their gracious host. "Hey, where's a girl gotta go to take a leak around here? I don't wanna hold it the whole meeting, you catch my drift?" she says, totally unabashed in her language and presentation, though she does share that glance with Magnus, giving a brief nod. "Good to hear then."
(Fenris) "Not too bad," Fenris says to Bleu from the doorway, walking in with a much shorter tanuki behind him. "Sorry to make you wait," he waves to his companion, "Eli and I were taking care of some business." The other tanuki steps forward. He is a more standard tanuki size, not much more than four feet tall and a bit on the chubby side. He wears some specially tailored trousers and a button up shirt with a labcoat over it. He has wavy grey hair atop his head and he waves shyly at the group.
(Crypto) Crypto texts back to the comm that he has been searching the halls for the missing scientist but informs the group that something doesn't add up as the place seems like an elaborate show. Crypto continues to search the hallways listening for sounds or the presence of any other patrols or noteworthy landmarks.
(Narwen) Narwen finishes cronching on something, then his comm goes beep. He lifts a foreleg and laboriously presses buttons one at a time with a claw. "Huh, Crypto thinks-- oh," he says, looking up and seeing the new arrivals. "Hello, colleague! Good to see you again. We at Zephyr have been very concerned about you. Did you know that you've been kidnapped?"
(Kar-dragon) Kar attention goes to the two tanukis coming in, waving back and winking to the shorter one. "Hey Fenris, hey Doc. Nice to see you two. Seems you enjoyed the festivals so much you decided to join the us?" He greets, then asks to the shorter 'nuki, before raising the helmet to catch up on the internal screen on the secure channel's chatter. Yep, they are catching on with the illusion. Shame, things might get complicated.
(Moresson) Moresson widens her eyes when she sees what looks like a science guy show up, cursing under her breath. "Nevermind, guess I'm holding it then..." she huffs, frustrated her ruse didn't work. She quickly messages Crypto that he better get his ass back here quick, because Dr. Thomas is already there, and the meet is about to begin. She also mentions that he is a tanuki, as expected. "You're Fenris? You're the one everyone's been going on about."
(Junes) thinking on magnus' comment and after seeing fenris come in Junes gets up "oh yeah i forgot to introduce myself kuma my names junes" they hold out their hand for a handshake
(Magnus) "Fen." Magnus notes, one brow slightly raised. "Nice to see ya! It's been a hot minute, hasn't it? Thank you so much for the help way-back-when. Spending time reflecting on the teachings offered. Alas, I feel it is time that I return what was given to me, however I seem to have forgotten the location where it needs delivering. Could you perchance remind me where I need to go?" The gator's piercing gaze seems to be cutting straight through what appeared to be Fenris. Let's see what he gets as an answer. Deep down Magnus sincerely hoped he hears some specifics. Else things would immediately get very complicated...
(Willy) Willy mumbles out a "Hey Fenris!" he says through a mouth full of Oreo before seeing the other in a lab coat with him. He chuckles a little before he swallows down the rest of the cookie and looks on. "Well this definitly would cause a wrinkle in plans" he says.
(Bleu) Bleu blinks in surprise as the man himself walks in suddenly. "FENRIS?!" He didn't actually expect him to come in so soon. "Dude, pardon my French, but what the fuck is going on here? And why does Mr. Kuma here have the same face of at least five other Tanuki I've seen in this place so far? And where the fuck is original shrine?"
(Crypto) Crypto makes note of the text and traces his steps back towards the reception room where the others are located.
(Fenris) Fenris gives Magnus a confused look. "The dreamcatcher?" he asks, "Nah, that's yours. Fox doesn't need it back. You could probably give it to someone else if you don't want it anymore." Kuma leans forward and takes Junes' offered hand politely, though he seems rather more interested in Willy. He is rather surprised when Junes licks him! He tastes like sweat and leather and metal. Fenris holds up his hands to ward off all the questions. "Maybe Eli had better explain," he says with a grin. The smaller tanuki smiles and laughs, his belly bouncing. "You caught on!" he chuckles, "Better than the other Zephyr crews so far!" The grey haired tanuki produces a tablet from his coat and waves a hand over it, making it form a golden hologram over its surface. "Tanuki magic loves the nanites!" he says, "Illusion and change and size manipulation, it is like they were made for each other! But now that we are all wrapped up here, we can probably drop the show." He presses a couple of buttons and there is a sudden quiet from a sound that no one noticed was there. Not much here seems to change, except the room is suddenly familiar to anyone who has been inside the shrine before. Outside, Crypto finds himself carefully creeping, very slowly through the shrine courtyard with a pair of laughing tanuki laughing at him!
(Fenris) Elias nods and pockets his tablet. "Now," he smiles, "We probably have a few minutes until the real Zephyr strike force figures out what happened, I imagine you have some questions for me?"
(Bleu) Bleu is decidedly unimpressed. "You might have tried not copying Kuma's face to at least 5 or 10 different tanuki at once. And Oreos? Really? Where's the sushi?"
