[Last Time, On El WHAT?!: Shiho blipped out, Ichi blipped in, and Ichi's stupidity saved the day. Tulpa irritated the hell out of Cara, and the group started gathering clues to Amy's murder. We rejoin Our Heroes as they head to the bar... presumably NOT to refuel Daphne.] [Session... START!] * Daphne heads happily for the bar. The thought of getting high on spirits has put her in high spirits. * Our Heroes emerge into a small, smoky, dimly lit, and exceptionally well stocked bar. So well stocked, in fact, that the corners all have dark, brooding figures in them. * Cara follows Daphne, looking extremely jittery. * Ichi follows Cara and Daphne into the bar and looks around. * The denizens (for they are denizens) of the bar flinch as Shiho plushifies in a burst of light. ...bloody hell. * Daphne glances around to see if the other denizens are Daphne. No, the OTHER Daphne. * The plushie falls to the floor. There's been a lot of that today...I wonder why. * Daphne picks the plushie up and puts it on Ichi's head. "Here, hold ontae this." Uhm..Okay. ::holds the plushie on head:: Right. Now, first thing's first. * Daphne walks up to the bar! * The bartender studiously ignores Daphne. * Daphne speaks in the bartender's direction. "Whiskey, straight up." * Cara looks around nervously, more keeping her eyes open for Tulpa and his minions than anything else. * Ichi isn't sure what to do, so he just stands there with a plushie on his head. * The Bartender pours Daphne an oversized shot and slides it easily to her. * The denizens of the bar eye Cara. * Cara shrinks back a bit. * Daphne takes the shot and downs it quickly and easily. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Cara (2d6) and gets 4. * Cara twitches. * Daphne frowns. * Ichi just looks lost. * Daphne sighs and looks back at the bartender. "How much?" Five. * Daphne frowns, shrugs, pays up, and heads out. "C'mon, guys. Let's try one of the others." * Cara darts her eyes back and forth, looking like she's ready to bolt. Uhm...Ok. * Cara 's eyes widen and she runs out of the bar. * The Bartender makes the money disappear, along with the glass. * Ichi walks out the door, Shiho still firmly held onto the top of his head. * Daphne waits 'till they're all out of and away from the bar before saying, "That lace was much to silent to be any use to us, I think. We'll see if one of the others is more lively." Okay. * Out the door and around the stadium. Continuing in a (sorta) straight path around the arena, you eventually come to the entrance of what looks like a real swingin' place. There's loud jazz music coming from within, and from what you can see through the entrance, there are at least a dozen fighters inside. * Daphne grins. "Better." * Ichi carefully nods so as not to displace Shiho. * Daphne opens the door and looks in. * Cara looks like she's fighting the urge not to scream, and grabs onto Daphne's arm in fright. * Daphne blinks. "Cara?" * As Daphne reaches for the door, it slams open, sending the handle straight into her nose. I-it's Tulpa, he's watching me...somehow. Guh! Daphne! ::hurries forward:: * Daphne's nose bleeds freely. * Daphne glares. Who's the sumbitch that did that? Me, you imperfect clone bitch. Now get the fook outta me way before I light you up. * Daphne actually didn't ask that out loud, but that's fine, too. "Oh, perfect. I was lookin' for ye', wannabe." * Cara eeps a bit. * Ichi takes a step back, "Uhm Daphne? Your nose." Yeah, yeah. You're calling ME a wannabe? Yew can't even stop yer fookin' bleedin', and I kin tell yer half sloshed already. * Daphne takes a napkin out of her pocket and sops the blood. "Right, right. Sorry if'n I'm not as good at killin' me braincells as you. What a waste, eh?" * Cara scowls at other-Daphne. But that's besides the point. I came to ask ye some questions. * There's a flash of light and magic and suddenly Shiho is sitting on Ichi's head, and Rocky is sitting on Shiho's head. Ach, me eyes! Stupid bitch, ye've blinded me! What the fook was that? Ack! ::madly tries to keep his balance before falling over:: * Ichi utterly fails to keep his balance and ends up on his back, on the floor, with Shiho straddling him. * Shiho gets up quickly. That was Shiho, o'course. Now, let's stay on-subject, shall we? * Rocky stays right where he is. Comfy raccoon doesn't need to move. Yah! The subject was you bein' th' murderer! * Shiho offers a hand to Ichi. "I'm not going to bother asking why I wound up where I did." ...eh? ...what? * Daphne blinks at otherDaphne, blinks again, and then cracks up. * Ichi blinks a few times to clear his head and then takes Shihos hand, Thanks." * Shiho turns her head towards Daphne. The other one. * Shiho pulls Ichi up, too. You're _obviously_ the shapechanger! You're a bad imitation of me! You can't even do the most basic techniques of my school! An' ye trired ta tarnish me good name by not showin' up tae fight! * Daphne laughs even harder, having to lean on her other self for support. An yer breasts aren't as large and plump, either! * Cara looks at Other-Daphne. "...yours are too big." * Ichi opens his mouth to say something and stops as he turns bright red. * Daphne keeps laughs, although she's trying to control it, now. * Rocky snickers. And yours are non-existent, little girlie! What're ye doin' goin' intae a bar, yer not old enuff to drhink! * Daphne tries to catch her breath, fails, tries again. Looking for you. * Daphne finally manages to stop laughing. "Ooooh, mercy. Right, right. I'm impersonatin' ye'. Like I've got nothin' better tae do with m'life." * Daphne chuckles some more at that. 's tha perfec disguise! Nobody'll suspect 'cause 'm always drunk! Always actin' strange, they think. Nuthin' new! Yer a worthless imposter! Oh, an' yes, of course I did it. I have a dastarly plan, or somethin'. An' that why I killed two a' me friends and framed another, right? Uhm...No? * Shiho remains silent. HAH! Y'ain't got no friends, ye damn shapeshifter! Ye jus' got pons, like an evil o'erlord! Oh, an' one more thing. I don't know any techniques of yer school 'cause I STUDY ANOTHER SCHOOL, ye brainless git! Yer too stupid to be one of us, ye godless whore! Ye gotta learn some mass-produced school for morons! Good God! It's like ye honestly haven't thought at all about any of this! You *do* think sometimes, aye? *Please* tell me ye' somtimes think! I'd be far too embarrassed if an alternate me didn't have a fuckin' brain in 'er 'ead! Ah think all the fookin' time! I've thunk and thunk and I think you're the killer, an' I'm gunna PROOF IT! Really. An' how's that? Let's hear ye' proof. This should be rich. I dunno yet, but I know yer the one, and I'm gunna figger it out. Yew'll slip up sometime, bitch! Yew can't keep mah face fer long! * Cara slaps (or attempts to) Other-Daphne. "Don't you compare her to that monster Tulpa!" 'S my face, too, y-- aw, bloody 'ell. But it's her face too..She'd look strange without one. * Daphne reels back unsteadily, but comes back like she didn't even feel it. "An' now yew set yer "FRIENDS" on me cause yer too cowardly to dew it yerself!" Ah'm me, and yer NOT ME! I challenge ya! Roit here, roit now! ...right. An' me master plan is for Cara to slap ye' tae deth. Which'll take, I dunno, a few years? ... No, it's becase she's our frie...Won't you get kicked out if you fight here? I think that was one of the rules. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Daphne (2d6) and gets 7. We gots alcohol, and we gots one me, and one preten' me, and we're gonna let the alcahol show the truth! Ah'll drink ye unner tha table! Fine. I'll fight ye'. And then you'll get disqualified, which was, of course, my evil plan all along. Ha-ha-ha. Oh. ...oh. A drinkin' contest? * Rocky hops down onto Shiho's shoulder and watches with interest. No, yew stupid slut, a DANCE contest. OF COURSE A DRINKIN' CONTEST! * Shiho watches with intrest too, for that matter. 'Specially the other Daphne. * Daphne thinks. "Well, I knoo I cannae possibly out-drink yew. No way in 'ell. But..." She grins wide. "I'll accept as long as you're buyin'." Hah! Won' cost me bu' a tiny bit o' dough. Yer on! An *only* if you're buyin'. An' it's gotta be th' good stuff! None a' that wattered-down crap. * Daphne walks back into the bar. "BARTENDER! Break out tha good stuff, strong as yew got!" * Daphne walks in afterwards, grinning like a maniac. Uhm...now what? Just stand back. Never get in the way of two drunks in a contest. Oh, okay...thanks. ::stands back:: * Cara follows them in to watch, still looking incensed. * Shiho follows too, frowning. "Daphne, are you sure about this?" Free drinks? Sure I'm sure! * Rocky scratches behind one ear, tilting his head as he keeps watching Daphne and Daphne. "Yup, saw that comin'." * The Bartender comes out with a bottle marked . He also has a tray of shot glasses. * Shiho continues frowning, but doesn't say anything. * The bartender pours three shots for each person, to start. * Ichi sits and waches. * Daphne moves one glass into position in front of her. "Ready, imposter?" * Shiho does too. * Cara watches, fuming. * Daphne does likewise. "Sure, wannabe." * The rest of the bar goes silent, watching eagerly. Go. * Daphne slams the first shot. * Daphne takes a shot! Gulp! * Daphne slams her glass down. "Ah, that hit the spot." * Daphne nods. "Woo. That *is* good stuff." At least yew know THAT much. Yer not TOTALLY iggerent. * Daphne grins. "I'll havetae get me some more a' that when we're done here." * Daphne moves the second shot into place. * Daphne does likewise. Go. * Daphne drinks! * Daphne slams the second shot, then brings the glass back down, the impact ringing out like a gunshot. Woo! Haa! This heresh shum ninsha likker. Cannae even feel i' goin' down! * Daphne positions the next shot, still grinning. * Daphne pulls her third shot into position. Go. * Daphne drinks! * Daphne slams the third shot, this time slamming the glass down so hard she loses her grip and sends the glass rolling off the table. * Daphne wobbles a little and her eyes go unfocused. * Daphne slumps over onto the bar, clearly unconsious. She looks happy, tho. ( My ches' is back! Woo! The fook?!) HAH! I knowd it! * Daphne mutters in her stupor. "..nn...goo' shtuff..." Shesh a imposhter! * Daphne pokepokes at Daphne. "Heeeeey, how cuz she'sh not changin' back?" Uhm...Because she's Daphne? * Cara glares at Other-Daphne. "She's no imposter. She's my friend. Do you even know what one of those is?" Heeeeey, I gosh losha frends. There's Jackie Daniels... and Joze Quervo... @_@ * Daphne belches and a ball of flame nearly burns off Cara's eyebrows. * Cara flinches back. "Gah!" Hey! Ooopsh! Shorry. * Daphne grabs the bottle from the bartender, takes a big swig, and has just enough time to put the bottle down before she falls over on the table, unconscious. Well, that was fun! I'm not cleaning up. Uhm...I guess we'll have to carry her back. Yeah. * Cara attempts to lift Daphne. Uh...would you like a hand? Uh, yeah. She's kinda heavy. ^^ * Ichi takes one of Daphne's arms. * Daphne mutters something about waffles and purple butter. I wonder if we should take the other one back, too. * Cara puts Daphne's other arm over her shoulder. If we do, I'm not carrying her, either. If you think we should, Shiho... It might be a good idea. Unless she ends up dead and someone uses that to frame me further. * Cara nods. Well, can you lift her? * Shiho tries. * Shiho can half lift and half drag the other Daphne. * Rocky hops off Shiho's shoulder to make travel easier. * Shiho considers. * Shiho decides against taking Daphne2. * The bartender carefully ignores Shiho as he cleans up. * Cara helps to drag Daphne back to the room, then. * Ichi is the other half of the draging operation. * Shiho heads back with them. * Rocky scampers along. * It takes more than a little time to get back to your room with Daphne's heels dragging all the way. * Our heroes enter the room, and there are several beds available. * Daphne mutters some more. "mmm. 'sh a fun ride." * Ichi tries to remember which one Daphne had been sleeping in. * Cara lays Daphne down on her bed and smiles a little. "Don't care what she says about you." * Cara glances over at her bed, and blinks. * Cara walks over to her pillow. * There's a black rose laying on Cara's pillow. Daphne is Daphne...and the other Daphne is also Daphne...Just a diffrent sort of Daphne...I think that' right. That didn't do us much good. I was hoping she might slip up, but... * Cara stares at the rose. Anyone who can see her face will notice that one of her eyes is twitching badly. * Cara gives in and just SCREAMS. * Shiho winces. * Rocky falls off of his perch on an armrest. * Ichi puts his hand on one of his swords and whirls, "What's wrong?" * Cara points wordlessly at the rose. * Shiho peers. * Ichi looks at the rose and lets go of his sword, "Oh... How did that get there? I mean there have to rules against breaking into other people rooms right?" There aren't any rules against it. It might be a good idea to start keeping watches. Oh...right. * Cara grabs the rose and tosses it away, and then procedes to flop down on her bed. "I can't take much more of this." Ignore it. * Cara's finger bleeds a little as a thorn catches as she throws it away. Ow! * The petals of the rose turn blood red as the flower flies through the air, and by the time it hits the floor, the petals have gone entirely blood red. * Rocky peers at the rose. But not too closely. * Cara looks at the rose in shock. * Shiho does too. * The rose does not eat Rocky. Roses arn't supposed to do that right? No, they're not. * The door reverberates as someone knocks solidly three times. * Ichi walks over to the door and calls out, "Who's there?" It Is I. * Ichi looks back at Shiho and Cara. * Cara sits up on her bed, and GLARES daggers at the door. * Shiho walks over to the door and calls out. "Do you have anything important to say? If not, don't waste our time." Go AWAY! I HATE YOU, AND IF YOU'RE NOT THE KILLER, I HOPE YOU DIE NEXT! * There's the faint sound of footsteps slowly fading away. * Ichi blinks at Cara. * Shiho frowns a bit and opens the door just far enough so she could peek outside. * Cara slumps where she's seated and starts to sob. * Tulpa is no longer there. * Shiho closes the door and scowls. "That probably wasn't the best thing to say." She looks at the rose again. * The rose is a rose, the color of Cara's blood. I wonder if it's magic. * Rocky looks worried, too. "It's just what he wanted, really. Are you going to be okay, Cara?" I...I don't care. I can't take it anymore, hearing him laughing in my ear, feeling him breathing down my neck...maybe he's not doing anything and I'm going crazy. The way I see it, there are two possibilities. Is there anything I can do to help Cara? He could be trying to rile you up. In which case, you're playing right into his hands. * Shiho shakes her head. "In any event, you'd better try to ignore him when he tries to provoke you." * Cara looks up at Shiho, tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's just so hard." I know. But if you don't, you'll just end up right where he wants you. * Cara nods slowly. * Ichi blinks and then looks down at his katana. * Ichi draws the blade out a few inches and then lookes between it and the rose. Uhm...Cara? What? It's just that the rose...the way it changed color after it pricked you...It kind of reminded me of when I made this sword. * Cara blinks. "What do you mean?" * Shiho blinks too. "Hmm..." She keeps a good eye on the rose. "Don't get too close to it, just in case." Well, there's this bond thing between me and this sword because I blead on it, and when I did it turned red...and the same thing just happend to the flower. * Cara looks thoughtful for a few moments, then pulls out her sketchpad. So if the flower is like the sword...it's like part of you...So if something happens to it...something might happen to you...sort of thing. * Cara stops, and looks at Ichi, horrified. "You mean...if something happened to your sword...you'd... This is a realy good sword, I put a lot of effort into making it, so I don't think anything is going to happen to it. ...well, there's only one way to find out. Safely, at least. * Cara takes her pencil and begins to sketch something. * Shiho scowls. "I hope this is coincidence..." Cara, are you sure you want to do that? So do I. * Cara literally drops her pencil. Uh, okay, maybe I won't. * Rocky goes back to looking at the rose. * Cara slowly puts her sketchpad away, as if she expects it to bite her. What were you trying? * Ichi blinks, "What happened?" I was trying to identify it...like with the stuff we found in the ruins. But I just felt that I shouldn't cast it. Somehow. That's odd, but so is everything else that's happend to us. * Cara sits there and closes her eyes, and starts to breathe slowly and regularly. * Shiho looks thoughtfully at the floor for a minute. "It's a pattern." Maybe just coincidence, but it's worth taking note of. What is the pattern? We've all got bonds, except Daphne. * Ichi counts on his fingers but stops on the third one "...What about Taro?" I don't know. Maybe he did. There was that necklace he was fond of. Maybe that was it. Or maybe I'm wrong and he didn't have one. * Shiho closes her eyes. "We'll never know." * Shiho opens them again. "Ichi, your sword... Does it do anything?" Anything special, I mean. And on it's own, not with any magic you might cast on it. Hmm? It's realy easy for me to use, and I think I got told it'd get more powerfull the more I use it..and uhm.. And it was just a realy good sword when I started. But it has no special abilities? Not realy, right now it's just a realy good sword for me. Hmm. * Cara finishes her meditation after a half hour or so and opens her eyes. "I feel a little better now." * Rocky curls on a chair and keeps peering at the flower. * Daphne remains in a pleasant stupor. That is one good thing to happen today... I wish I knew how to help...I didn't learn how to undo bonds. Cara, you'd better put the rose somewhere safe. * Cara nods. "Alright. Maybe I should keep it with me, then." * Ichi nods. * Cara carefully picks up the rose and just stares at it for a while. [Session... END!]