Chapter 5 - A Race of Sorts (Sneaking In)

[junkuroki]

Auria~

"Does your sister look good in a bikini?" Gone said to Reese, pulling the man's attention from Alaxia to himself. Reese cocked an eyebrow. You know if I had a sister in the first place, that might offend me. He listened until Gone finished.

"I got an idea," Stardust said, stepping up between him and Alaxia, rejoining the group. He caught a wiff the cologne she wore.

Praise Hyne, someone with a brain's making a suggestion.

/Stardust is just a little punk-chick with too much of an attitude./ Perish retorted.

"Security is always weak at the back." Stardust explained. "If we go around the building, we might find a place where we could sneak inside. What do you think?"

Reese nodded. "Sounds like it could work. There's always more than one entrance. If anyone spots any of us, though, we'll need to silence them quickly before they can alert anyone else of our presence or--Hyne forbid--pull an alarm. I have some Silence spells. If anyone else has status ailment magic that would be a good idea to use. My GF, Perish, automatically casts Curse on opponents she crosses the path of, which basically counts down to their death--" his train of thought was interrupted with an ear-splitting squeal from Perish.

/EEEEEEEEE!!!!!! REESIE YOU'RE LETTING ME OUT ARE YOU REALLY?!?!? REESIE YOU'RE THE BEST I LOVE YOU MORE THAN LIKE ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!/

He closed and reopened his eyes, trying to block out the sound of her screeching voice. "--and I don't think there's a way to stop the spell. How do you guys feel about me letting her out to walk with us while we're in there? Just for good measure?"

/AUGH!!! REESIE!!! THEY'RE ALL GONNA SAY NOOO!!!!/ Perish wailed. /REESIE YOU HAVE TO LET ME OUT YOUR MIND IS LIKE DRIVING ME CRAZY I NEED TO JUMP JUMP JUMP--/

My mind is driving you crazy?!Reese thought. Believe me Perish I definitly want you out as much as you want to be out.

[junkuroki]

GC~

Gone turned around as Reese asked whether or not he should take out his GF. “Bring out you GF, as long as it won’t attract attention.”

Gone blinked, he could have sword he just saw Dan and Xarin holding hands, but it must have been his mind playing a horrible trick on him.

[junkuroki]

Lily~

Stardust then suggested sneaking in through the back of the building, which Jun thought sounded like the most plausible suggestion among the rest.

Reese nodded, and suggested inflicting status magic on anyone who were to spot them.

"My GF, Perish, automatically casts Curse on opponents she crosses the path of, which basically counts down to their death--"

He paused a little, closing and reopening his eyes.
"--and I don't think there's a way to stop the spell. How do you guys feel about me letting her out to walk with us while we're in there? Just for good measure?"

Sounds like a formidable GF. Not to mention that I have this burning curiousity what his GF would look like

{How many times has your nosy interest in other people's business got you into trouble already?} Sapphy's voice was tinged with exasperation.

Erm... I can't remember? She thought sheepishly, and mentally waved the conversation away.

She turned to Reese and smiled.

"Sounds like a good idea. As long as she doesn't accidentally cast Curse on us."

[junkuroki]

Ani~

Perish? His GF?

Stardust didn’t have any status ailment spells so any method to slyly take out the enemies would be good. Though, she wasn’t sure if this was a good idea. What if it attracted more attention than it was supposed to?

/A GF that casts Curse, and it’s a SHE./ Diwata’s voice echoed in her mind. /It’s probably just a bony-faced she-leprechaun in a black hood, or even a black sharp-clawed female beast, a nasty baby dragon, or might be a full grown dragon. One thing’s for sure though, it’s not going to be prettier than me. So let’s see it./

I'm sure it won’t have a big mouth like yours.

Stardust studied Reese for a while. It wouldn’t be that bad if they gave it a try.

“Bring out you GF, as long as it won’t attract attention.” Gone said.

"Sounds like a good idea. As long as she does n't accidentally cast Curse on us," Jun said afterwards.

Remaining in her post, Stardust looked at Jun and Gone in agreement then turned to Reese.

[junkuroki]

Auria~

"One second then," Reese stated quietly, and took a step back.

He took the tip of his hat between his forefinger and thumb and pulled it down slightly, closing his eyes, concentrating on the summon.

In front of Reese a small black kitten began to take form in thin air. The moment lasted only a second, and as soon as she was summoned, Perish meowed gleefully and bounded back to Reese, pouncing on his left shoe and playfully biting the hard material, her ears flattening and tail lashing about wildly.

Reese stared down at her in mild contempt before she quickly reared and trotted toward the middle of the group, looking up at the people around her, her pink nose and blue eyes showing brightly against the deep black of her furry coat.

[junkuroki]

Ani~
Stardust blinked a couple of times as a furry little black cat appeared after Reese’s summon. Its pink nose and blue eyes cast towards them as if studying them one by one. This was a little bit peculiar. She expected it to be more of a fierce creature to match Reese but...

/Oh, a kitten?/ Diwata was as surprised as she was. Having the GF with them surely wouldn’t be any trouble.

“So this is your GF?” said Stardust. She crouched in front of Perish for a closer look. “I’ve never seen this kind of GF before. It’s so.....tiny.” She reached out a hand to touch her.

[junkuroki]

Lily~

Jun stared at the little black kitten who was similarly staring up at them.

That's his GF?

She was definitely not what Jun had expected. She had expected maybe some Dark Goddess kind of GF, from the impression her name and her "Curse" ability gave.

But she... she.... she's so...

{Small?}

"She's so cuuttte!" Jun squealed, her voice much higher than her usual level tone.

"Can I touch her?"

She threw an excited glance at Reese, and without waiting for his reply, crouched down next to Stardust and stroked Perish's furry coat.

{Errrr.... she's a GF. I wouldn't do that if I were you.}

Jun ignored Sapphy's advice, and brought her fingers down to Perish's mouth, offering them for a lick.

Sapphy sighed loudly.
{You never listen to me, do you?}

[junkuroki]

Auria~

Perish tail lashed back and forth a few times as Stardust gently touched her head, but at Jun's touch she lost all self-control and jumped, wrapping her arms around Jun's arm, clawing into her arm, biting with her teeth like she was trying to take down a ferocious monster.

"Perish..." Reese muttered, irritated. He reached down and grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her from Jun's arm. "She likes to play." he stated quietly, still holding her by the scruff of her neck.

Embarrassing hairball. he thought.

"So we'll go in the back, then? If we're going to go we need to get a move on." he asked, sort of eager to change the subject. All the attention on him made him feel uncomfortable. Perish kicked and flailed in his hand but he kept tight hold of her

[junkuroki]

GC~

Gone turned back around, looking about expectantly for Reese’s GF. He didn’t see anything that looked remotely like a GF, only a stray cat that had attached itself to their group. He grinned as he saw it use Jun’s arm as a scratching post. Gone liked cats, not as much as he liked chocobos, but he did like them.



"So we'll go in the back, then? If we're going to go we need to get a move on." Reese said, holding cat by the scruff of its neck.



“You shouldn’t hold a kitty like that.” He said still grinning, “It makes it hard for them to breath.”



Gone continued towards the warehouse, jumping over cracks as he came across them. He didn’t after all want his mother to break her back. He hoped they didn’t get into any fights with that kitten trailing after them. He’d feel real bad if it got hurt.

[junkuroki]

Lily~

As if provoked by something, Perish suddenly jumped up and clung to Jun's arm, clawing and biting as if it was a pesky mouse she had been preying after.



"Perish..." Reese muttered. He reached down and grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her from Jun's arm. "She likes to play." he stated quietly, still holding her by the scruff of her neck.



"Awwww she just loves me doesn't she?" Jun looked fondly at Perish without even bothering to look at her arm.



{Your definition of affection appears to be rather unorthodox.}



Sapphy, what I wouldn't give for you to be a mute for JUST ONE FRIGGIN' DAY!!! She growled.



"So we'll go in the back, then? If we're going to go we need to get a move on." Reese said, still holding onto Perish.



"Right." Jun said gleefully, before turning her glance away.



She nodded, chasing her squeal-ly impulses away and settling into a more serious mode as she followed Gone to the back of the building.



She watched blankly at Gone jumping over the cracks on the pavement in front, switching her "enemy-radar" on for signs of hostile activity.



Briefly, she wondered how many among their team, other than Reese, had status affliction spells.



I don't carry any.

[junkuroki]

Ani~

The corners of Stardust's lips twitched slightly as soon as Perish let her touch her. It was so tame but not until Jun excitedly stepped in and started stroking her. She offered her hand for Perish to lick but the kitten apparently decided to lunge at her arm instead. Watching the black kitten from this close, her mini-attack on Jun made it look so...so cute.



Prying Perish away from Jun, Reese grabbed her at the scruff of her neck and said, "She likes to play. So we'll go in the back, then? If we're going to go we need to get a move on."



Stardust's attention was averted from Perish to Reese.



"Right."Jun said with glee from beside her. She seemed pretty fond of felines, not that it was a bad thing.



“You shouldn’t hold a kitty like that.” Gone said, grinning as always. “It makes it hard for them to breath.”



Stardust just sighed. She didn't know if Gone was telling a joke or implying a fact. She ignored and watched him work his way towards the back, Jun following his lead, watching how he hopped from crack to crack in the pavement.



Then she turned to Reese, eyeing Perish once again before saying, "I think Perish should be in front of us once we get there. I don't have status ailment spells and your "Silence" and her "Curse" spells seem reliable."

[junkuroki]

Auria~

"You shouldn’t hold a kitty like that.” Gone said with that stupid grin Reese loathed. “It makes it hard for them to breathe.”



Reese shot him a look that clearly said "fvck off". Like I'm going to take advice on how to take care of my GF from you.

"Right." Jun said, an unusually cheerful tone in her voice, befroe following after Gone.



Reese held Perish up at eye length and turned her head to face him. Gone's statement again crossed his mind. Am I really...hurting her...? Stardust's voice broke him from his thoughts and he quickly pulled Perish in and held her at his chest.



"I think Perish should be in front of us once we get there. I don't have status ailment spells and your "Silence" and her "Curse" spells seem reliable." Stardust said.



Reese nodded, subconsiously stroking Perish's head. "You're right." he bent down and placed Perish on the ground, then nudged her with his foot. She trotted after Jun and Gone, making her way to the front of the group.



"I'll cover our backs. You should go on ahead..." Reese said, nodding toward Jun and Gone.



(kay I'm stopping here to go to sleep cos my eyes are like closing all the way to the bottom.There're only a few posts left anyway, and then I'll do the summary )

[junkuroki]

Omnipotent ST post

Soon everyone came to the back side of the laboratory, which resembled something more like a warehouse or old factory. A zig-zagging stairway crawled up the dozen or so floors of the place. At the bottom of the stairway was a solitary metal door.



Ani~

Stardust eyed the old warehouse from top to bottom. A rusty zig-zagged stairway bordered it leading to a metal door at the bottom. There was no person in sight right now; or so at least that was what it seemed to her.



/Now what?/ Diwata asked lazily.



She threw a glance back at the others before deciding to walk towards the metal door. Slowly grasping the elongated doorknob, she tried wring it open.



"Door's locked," she said faintly.

[junkuroki]

GC~

Gone looked about expectantly, he thought Reese said he was bringing out his Guardian Force. He didn’t see anything that could be a GF, just a stray cat. He shrugged, it didn’t really matter, everything was going okay. Gone bent done and grabbed a rusty bolt off the ground.

He looked at the rusty door; it was locked and well built. The lock was a simple one though, it would be easy to pick. Now what to pick it with? Gone reached into his pockets and pulled out their contents. He had a rubber band, a stone, a chewed piece of gum, some lint and an old cookie. He ate the cookie, and shoved the other stuff into his pocket, adding a rusty bolt to his collection of useless artifacts.

“So any of you loveys have a bobby pin or barrette? We might be able to use them to pick the lock.” Gone said, looking expectantly at the girls.

[junkuroki]

Auria~

Reese rolled his eyes at the contents of Gone's pocket. How serious is this guy...?
"Well standing around here contemplating on how locked the door is, is going to get us caught." he gestured to the door. "Look at it, it's right in the center of the back. Say we do get it unlocked. Say we open it. Now, just take a second and imagine what's going to be waiting on the other side."

He glanced around for a moment, at each of them. "Yeah. People. Estharian people. They're going to see us and freak. Alarms will go off and we'll be caught." he gestured to the stairs. "Why don't we climb up onto the roof and look for a vent or something? I'd really rather not take the door unless we find it's the only we can take."