World Tree MUSH

    We start in Tokyo city. It's an advanced version of Earth, in the year 2040; robotics have reached the point where humans live and work alongside tiny helper robots called Shinki, and the Multi Moveable Systems Corporation sells and distributes these miniscule robotic helper robots across the world-- and even to other worlds on the Tree.
    Night falls, but the city of Tokyo doesn't sleep. Cars and pedestrians alike clog the city streets, businessmen clock out and head for the bars with their shinki secretaries perched on their shoulders, students get out of their afterschool clubs and begin heading home to continue their studies and relax, and call it an evening. But by the docks another kind of activity is starting up. Something cruel and inhuman. Something that the local authorities have reached out to offworlders in hopes of putting an end to.
    Music pulses from from a building marked as abandoned, and further within the confines of crumbling concrete and steel reveals a darker subculture of this world full of tiny helper robots. The bass pumps way too loud as sparks fly and voices rise in a chorus of cheers as a small crowd masses around a chain link fence, two miniscule figures battering each other within. Swords clash, blades lock, a punch is thrown and a tiny figure in white and green is thrown off balance by a menacing figure in black.
    Illegal shinki fights are like watching two action figures fight to the death; a spike-armored Altines in all black pummels the life out of a panicking Howling. An arm with a paw-shaped gauntlet goes flying. A scream- and then it's over.
    "AND ONCE AGAIN OUR LITTLE BRUISER IS THE CHAMPION!" An announcer shouts into a megaphone. "The Angel of Death sends another shinki to the scrap yards, oh man I wouldn't want to be that Howling's master right now, look at him, he's almost in tears!"
    The Angel of Death-- a one foot tall mini monster descends to the floor of the pit, not even so much as the tiniest bit out of breath as she dismisses her tiny greatsword.
    This is the scene we walk in on tonight as spare parts are swept from the ring and bets are made for another match.

    By Hyouka's clock, 2040 would be 'about six years ago', but the tech actually feels about on par - perhaps even a little ahead of her own world, in some ways. Ultimately, she feels roughly at home. Or at least, she does in the city itself. The elven-looking woman can't say she's got much personal familiarity with underground fighting rings in dilapidated old abandoned buildings.

    The cyborg can put on at least an air of nonchalance, but the truth is that's only because of her artificial body. If she was still purely organic, the nerves and adrenaline would mark her as quite obviously not belonging. As it stands, she can't keep a twitch off her face at the conclusion of the fight. That's... that's pretty awful.

    'DARGN. Pull up the contract for tonight again?' Hyouka transmits silently to her partner AI. 'Roger. One moment.'

>> SUMMARY[Hyouka Kiyama] >> I'm here, I don't like it, and I'm about to recheck the parameters on my contract with the cops.

Iota Assistant having heard about these Shinki is quite curious about them. There sort like little golems, a bit like her possibly. After walking around a bit somehow managed to find her way to an illigeal shinki fight! Oops. Her outfit makes her stand out the pumkin hat and banages. Some people do notice her odd outfit but most are intersted in the fights. She winces a bit watching another shinki get beaten. "How crewl.", she says quietly to herself. In another place another world it could have been her in the ring...

>> SUMMARY[Iota Assistant] >> How did I find my way here?? I don't like what there doing...

    Uni silently walks into the building. An unassuming 16 year old in a black dress, with a Zelnogrard perched on her shoulder, its weapons stored until needed. "This looks like the place... radio it in, but keep it low key until we can find the ring leaders." says the red-eyed youth to her current partner. "The only reason I'm not stun-blasting everyone here is because I agreed to do this by the local book." she adds, giving her little partner a side-eye, before moving closer to the ring and catching the remains of the Howling being swept away. "For once, I'm really glad Nepgear isn't here to see this... this is horrifying."

>> SUMMARY[Uni] >> I arrive with my loaner police Shinki, hiding in 'plain clothes'. Kinda glad her usual partner isn't here, she'd be heartbroken for the poor little robot.

    "Forty years in the future and Tokyo's still a eyesore at night." Dante muses to himself. He's actually not with the others, instead he's just hanging out by a skylight. "I'm in position, just waiting for the right moment before I kick the widows open so to speak." He radios over a loaner walkie talky of some kind, big and bulky enough to withstand rough handling from someone like the son of Sparda.

    On his shoulder is a Loaner Shinki, a Waffebunny who's currently drawing camouflage on her face for some reason. "Lupus 2 in position." She radios softly, eyes narrowed in faint disgust at the show being put on. Dante empathizes, as his tone is uncharacteristically icy.

    They cannot wait to start putting their boots up some asses.

Serrah actually came here for the show. She's not far from Hyouka, wearing a black T-shirt that says "I AM SO VERY TIRED" along with her usual plaid skirt and combat boots. (Originally it said it in Japanese, since she's actually fluent -- she was an anime fan in high school -- but she immediately ran into the issue with the World Tree's translation convention.)

Her main purpose here was hiding out and throwing her pursuers off her trail; a less-than-legal activity seemed like the right sort of place for it. However, her flinch at the conclusion of the fight is really obvious. "Jesus shit," she mutters under her breath.

Ugh, she wants to do something. Point in favor: Jesus shit these robots need help. Point against: one, this isn't her problem, two, she doesn't want to call attention to herself with Vincent and Wilhelmina after her, and three, she can't actually do anything about it --

She stops as her brain catches up with her. She's a vampire. She's strong and fast compared to every human in this room. Oh, and also she has an ability which she privately refers to as 'the best ability.'

She takes a deep breath, then stops with annoyance as there continues not to be any relief tied to breathing. "Not my problem," she mutters. "I don't have to ... ugh."

She's visibly tensing up, though ...

    The police contract is pretty clear about what local law enforcement wanted.
    -Break up the fighting ring.
    -Rescue any shinki forced to fight against their will.
    -Aid in the apprehension of masters pitting their shinki in these cruel unsanctioned battles.
    -Cause as little collateral damage as possible, however as the venue is an abandoned building, some damage can be overlooked.
    For now there seems to be a bit of a lull in the fighting, as The Angel of Death waits patiently in the ring for her next opponent, myriad masters and shinki apparently leery of getting in the main ring with the champion. Several smaller fights in smaller pits have started, just as rough and tumble albeit not as vicious as the main event, still probably painful to watch though.
    A haggard looking salaryman in a white shirt and blue slacks lingers by the main ring, looking smug and counting a fat wad of bills- possibly the Altines' master.
    Though no one is aware of Dante's elevated position, already some people in the crowd are jeering at Uni and the Zelnogrard with her-- something about fresh meat along with a few calls to see the Firearms Type in the ring. Though the populace here is almost entirely human, Hyouka's elven ears don't get much more than a few stares due to the fact that people here seem to know about other worlds already, and Serrah blends in without issue in the least-- Iota on the other hand is getting funny looks.

    Hyouka's mouth twitches, a grimace just barely kept off her face. 'As little collateral damage as possible'. She'd love nothing more than to start smashing right now, But at least she can get away with some, assuming the others also don't get too...

    Oh. Oh no.

    Other fights are starting.

    Quickly, Hyouka transmits over local radio, "I'm starting us off. Don't let any of the owners escape if you can help it." A split second after that, she's stepping towards the nearest side-arena, and with a quick clatter-clack-CLACK, her arms split apart and unfold into a massive pair of high-tech smash gauntlets. "Move please."

    Without waiting for the person in front of her to move, she'll just push them right out of the way, haul one massive fist back, and SMASH her way into the arena, waiting until both Shinki therein are looking right at her before speaking. "I wonder, could the two of you tell me where in the audience your owners are?"

>> SUMMARY[Hyouka Kiyama] >> Hyouka is not interested in any more Shinki dismemberment. Now is Kool-Aid Hyouka time.

>> SUMMARY[Uni] >> Radioing in to the others.

    Dante watches these fights. He watches these very tiny, and very cute, robots tear one another apart for the crowd (and money) of hundreds. And then his blood just goes cold. "Yeah, screw waiting. THis is boring." He kicks the skylight before he draws Ebony and Ivory, popping his neck. The Waffebunny doubletakes at Dante. "What?! What about backup?" Dante just grins. "Kiddo, you're all the backup I need."

    Dante radios casually, <I know you guys are listening. I'mma just go and-> And then Cyber-Babe gets started instead. <Nevermind!> The shinki chimes in with, <Watch for stun grenades!> And then Dante jumps through the glass without missing a beat, pistols raised. The guns go off like cannons as they fire rapidly. Dante spins and twirls in mid-fall, but despite all the shooting his bullets are mostly aiming at the speakers and lighting for the sake of confusion. Seems the Waffebunny followed him down, as she suddenly tosses out tiny, but effective, flashbangs and opens fire with dual SMGs. "SHOW'S OVER, ASSHOLES!" She calls out. Despite her high-pitched voice, the Shinki's not exactly messing around. He suddenly lands three-point style, right on the commentator's table. "You," He growls, pointing the very big .45s in one of the guys seated there. "Gimme a mic, fatass. Then get on the floor." The look in his eyes may be more menacing than the guns in his hands.

>> SUMMARY[Dante] >> Dante does a superhero leap through the skylights, accompanied by his Shinki partner! He's going for the commentators first.

    The Zelnogrard radios silently. <"Lupus 3, in position near the arena. The arena is calling for me to compete."> Uni, meanwhile, remains impassive and unmoved by the jeering, though her red eyes fall on the salaryman. She lifts a hand to her throat, and uses her subvocal mic to radio to the others. <"Possble target spotted. Salaryman, haggard with the bill wad. Might be our 'Angel of Death's' master. Continuing observation, unless you guys are clear to proceed.">

    Uni then flicks her hair and gives a light hmmph at all the jeers, folding her arms over her chest in a show of defiance... which lasts about as long as it takes Hyouka to break down one of the fences. Uni then summons a snub-nosed SMG, and with a glance at her partner, moves up to arrest the salaryman. while the Zelnogrard breaks off to find the Howling's Master elsewhere, her Gattling Cannon appearing in her hands as she flies off on her jetpack. "You're under arrest under Article 3 of the Shinki Rights act. Section three, subsection four. Unlawful and unwilling participation in deathmatches held outside of a Virtualizer Battle Field. Move a muscle and I will shoot you."

>> SUMMARY[Uni] >> Radioing in, then all hell breaks loose. Goes to grab the salaryman with the wad of bills, while Zelnogrard flies off to find HOwling's master.

Iota spots a familar face in the crowd. "Heyy Uni!!",she waves to the familar girl. Then someone jumps in thought the skylight. COOL! Iota wants to try that sometime.. People of course are starting to panic. She looks around. "Eh eh? Is a raid like in the moives?? Neat!", she pauses. "Wait that not a good thing! I hope I don't get arrested!"

>> SUMMARY[Iota Assistant] >> Hopes she doesn't get arrested!!!

"I don't need to help," she mutters. "Not my problem ... not my problem ... not ..." She groans, drawing a couple of looks, and then ... jumps in surprise as Hyouka and Dante go smash! "... huh." She looks around, gulps, and then transforms into a liquid shadow, sinks into the floor, and vanishes.

Mere seconds later -- did she teleport or something!? -- she emerges from the shadows on the ceiling right next to Dante's version of a doorway; she's standing upside-down as if her local gravity was pointed in the opposite direction, and she's carrying a small sports bag.

She pulls a baseball out of the bag, and pitches it at the bookie who just gave money to the salaryman -- not fast or hard enough to cause him any real harm, just knocking him off his feet.

>> SUMMARY[Serrah Delany] >> Slipping through shadows to the ceiling (timestopping along the way), and pitching a baseball at the bookie

    And just like that, the party is over. It most certainly is a raid like in the movies as Hyouka opens the proceedings and smashes her way into an arena. The two shinki therein; a battered Eukrante and a just as ragged Xiphos pause mid-match to just stare at her, somewhere between stunned and caught in their own shellshock as they point tiny fingers at a man and a woman in the crowd.
    Dante busts in through the skylight, the music dies and lights sputter as he shoots them out and lands, the Waffebunny's stunning grenades and suppressive fire, coupled with Dante's actual guns immediately make people duck for cover, a sufficiently stunned and awed commentator handing over his megaphone in a trembling grasp.
    Meanwhile, Uni and her Zelno are off on a hunt of their own-- the Howling's master isn't going anywhere, sniffling and cradling the spare parts that used to be his shinki. But the salaryman jolts.
    "God damn it!" He hisses, casting a glance to the black armored Altines in the ring, he-- promptly abandons her and tries to make a break for it with as much of the cash as he can!
    In the chaos, no one notices Serrah becoming shadow and making her way to the ceiling, people are too busy trying to escape, with or without their shinkis in some cases, and with their money in most cases. But her aim is good and the basebal flies true, beaning the bookie and sending him sprawling, stunned and quite possibly even knocked out as wads of bills go everywhere as a result, further adding to the chaos- forcing the salaryman to stagger and stumble as he nearly gets clipped in the process.
    But the shinkis have all stopped fighting, most of them crying to be let out of their rings and for freedom.

    "We have a runner! In pursuit!" Uni calls, breaking after the man and flicking the selector on her weapon, changing elements from a 'blunt' kinetic thumper-round, to a shocking Lightning round. "You have three seconds to stop and give yourself up. One. Two!" Once she says three, if the man keeps running, a burst of five shots are fired across his path, straddling him and trying to anticipate where he might try to dodge to.

    The Zelnogrard lands near the crying man, looking at the shattered Howling, then leveling her cannon at him. "You are under arrest. Do not resist and I will attempt to grant you some leniancy." she says in a dull, monotonic voice.

>> SUMMARY[Uni] >> Oi, get back here!

It's chaos here with people running making for the exit she just look around a bit confused but then she hears she shinki crying for there freedom. Is she going to ingore thier cries for help? Heck no! She makes her throught the crowd to the cages doing her best to try and get them open. She hopes they are not locked.

>> SUMMARY[Iota Assistant] >> FREEDOM!!

    "Thanks. Take a nap, buddy." Dante pistol-whips the commentator and snaps up the microphone before he stows Ebony, firing a few shots from her twin into the ceiling. "Everyone, you guys are all under arrest for a _LOT_ of bullshit I don't feel like listing off." The Zelnograd partnered with Uni does seem to get the essentials down for him. "What she said! Move and I'm gonna start busting caps in all of you, and I am a _very_ good shot. So you can either take your chances and risk losing kneecaps, or come quietly! I _highly_ recommend you take the latter, 'cause icing humans isn't nearly as fun for me as it is with hunting monsters." Speech done with, he clonks another commentator over the head with the mic, letting off ear-splitting feedback before going dead. Wincing at the noise, Dante immediately regrets that.

    <Okay...not my best idea. Bunny, get to freeing the talent.> <Right!> Lupus 2 flies over toward where the Shinki are being held, producing tiny burn-charges she begins to plant on the cage latches. "Everyone get as far away from the doors as you can, these aren't big but they burn really hot." She advises, getting ready to melt down the fences with thermite.

    Wait, THERMITE? What kind of police unit issues _THAT_?

    Actual gunfire is a bit more than Hyouka expected - but come to think of it, it's an illegal fighting ring, so she probably should have expected there to be firearms present. From the other side, if nothing else. But, ah well. If someone in the crowd other than Dante starts shooting, she's bulletproof enough to deal with it. "Thank you, both of you," the cyborg replies. "If the two of you want out of here, follow along with me, we'll get this all sorted out. As for you two," she adds, turning around to face the owners in question. "You're very lucky I'm under police contract."

    In half a heartbeat, she smashes right through the side of the arena to grab one of the owners, intending to send a light charge through her arm to put them out of commission - and then to do the same with the other.

    "If they're locked, I can break them open!" she calls out to Iota and Dante in the process. "I think thermite may be a little dangerous to the Shinki!"

>> SUMMARY[Hyouka Kiyama] >> 'Hey kids you're free', followed by TASERFISTO for both owners. Also yelling in DANTE and IOTA's direction.

Serrah smirks faintly, and she actually snickers out loud at Dante's ... speech, nodding in approval as the group plus Iota starts freeing the captive shinki. In spite of her antipathy towards Getting Involved(tm), and towards police for that matter, she has to say she's enjoying watching the perpetrators of such cruelty getting what's coming to them.

Speaking of antipathy towards cops, she frowns as she hears Uni calling out. Suddenly, she's directly above the salaryman -- if anyone had been looking, there's no transition, no special effects; she's above the arena one proverbial frame of animation, and above the salaryman the next, as if the video skipped ahead. And somehow, there's already a baseball heading for his noggin, right as Uni says 'two'.

>> SUMMARY[Serrah Delany] >> x2 'Oi get back here' double-team combo!

    Uni gets to three.
    Though the salaryman bolts like a scared rabbit, as soon as he hears the gun go off he tries to zig-zag. There are not many men who can outrun a bullet.
    He is not one of them.
    Needless to say, between the electrified rounds and a sudden baseball from nowhere bring him down handily in a crumpled heap, twitching as electricity surges through his out-cold body. That's an arrest.
    The commentator goes out like a light and then Dante has a megaphone. Needless to say, the threat of getting shot starts making people get on their knees and comply.
    Hyouka makes another two arrests as she smashes back OUT of the arena and graps the masters in question while Lupus 2 and Iota tend to the cage latches, melting through them or just pulling them open.
    Then chaos turns to havoc.
    As soon as the shinki are all freed, the atmosphere changes.
    It's like a school of sharks all scent blood on the water as a tiny legion all turn towards the main ring.
    "... Get her!" A Eukrante demands.
    "Lemmeow get my paws on her!" A Maochao cries.
    "She's a monster!"
    "Turn her to scrap!"
    "RIP HER TO PIECES!"
    "TEAR HER APART!"
    "MAKE HER INTO SCRAP!"
    The freed shinki all turn so fast, not on their oppressive masters, but on the black Altines, who is very quick to pull her red greatsword from Slipway storage.
    In an instant it's a brawl- one forced to take on anywhere upwards of twenty. Sparks fly, there are cries for blood and death, and the Angel of Death is immediately put on the defensive.

    "One-two punch... nice." Uni says, moving over to put the cuffs on the out-cold owner... and then she hears the voices... "oh sh---"

    Ensuring she's got the cuffs on properly, Uni turns and runs back towards the arena. "Stop. Stop at once! You're free now!" implores the black-haired teen. "Don't you see, she's just as much a victim as you are. Her Master put her up to this!" Uni doesn't know whether this is true or not, but she can't just stand by while these Shinki go tearing apart this one, or in turn getting torn apart, not after all the effort they went to to free them.

The shinki are freed! Then full on brawl breaks loose. "..mabye that wasn't the best idea..", why are they are called that shinki a mosnter?? She jumps and tires to get between this 'angel of death' and the other shinki. "NOOO! Stop! This.. this isn't right!"

>> SUMMARY[Iota Assistant] >> One 'monster' trying to defend another

    For now, Hyouka will let the two owners slump to the ground. They're not likely to be going anywhere any time soon. More important to her mind, is seeing to the rest of the shinki, who-

    "-huh?"

    -are not running away. They're running towards another one. They're doing the exact opposite of what they should be doing. They're doing the exact thing she came here to stop! "No, what, nonono, cut that out, cut that out! We came here so you all didn't have to do this anymore, don't just turn into animals the moment you're off the leash-!"

    Hyouka is running forward without even realizing it, and fully willing to put her gauntlets to work pulling the shinki furball apart. They're pretty durable, after all.

>> SUMMARY[Hyouka Kiyama] >> Using heavy metal oven mitts to stop a very sharp dogfight.

    "I mean, it's TINY thermite. Maybe it's like a bic lighter next to a flamethrower." Dante shrugs his shoulder. He doesn't really know, but Lupus 2 seems to have experience doing this stuff, and as she blows the charges, suddenly everything goes upside down.

    <Uhhh, guys? I think we've messed up.> Suddenly the Altines gets swarmed by her competition, and Lupus 2 dashes over to try and pacify the shinki. "EVERYONE STAND THE HELL DOWN!" She shouts, firing shock rounds to neutralize the whole bunch of them.

    Dante meanwhile is feeling a firestorm of emotions right now. Are they -really- justified in ganging up on the Altines like that? What the hell's been going on here that they're willing to throw caution to the wind and up and maul someone?

    He summons Nevan, and the sidhe-guitar croons sultrily, "You called, sugar?" Her voice is like velvet-wrapped and chocolate flavored scotch, brimming with wanton desire. Dante can feel someone draping on him, and he just gets going.

    "I need your thunder, babe. Feel like giving me some music tonight?" "Always.~"

    A LOT of electricity follows literal guitar strumming as Dante gets to shocking the Shinki. Just enough to put them out of commission for the moment, with the power of ROCK.

>> SUMMARY[Dante] >> Lupus 2 just done goofed, and now she and Dante need to shock the crowd into submission!

Serrah raises her eyebrows at the sudden brawl, and frowns. Yeah, this kind of melee is neither wanted nor expected. She strides across the ceiling (still upside-down), and hefts another baseball ... only for Dante to beat her to the punch as far as pacifying is concerned. She puts the baseball back into the bag, and while everyone's distracted, she turns into shadow and reappears near the salaryman to snag the baseball she used on him.

    In an instant it's a mess. The shinki are not listening to Uni's reason. They want blood.
    But it's not the tiny robot bloodbath anyone might have expected. Even vastly outnumbered, even on the defensive, that black Altines is some kind of battle monster. Hunks of armor go flying as she hacks away with that red blade, but.
    She's not cutting the other shinki down completely.
    She's slashing non-valuable armor parts, hacking off thrusters and jets, clipping wings and rendering the others unable to fight.
    But she is outnumbered, and even a back alley champion can only put up such a fight against that many foes. A few lucky hits turn the tide of the fight and The Angel of Death is sent spiralling to the floor in a tiny heap, scrambling to hide behind Iota. In an instant, Hyouka has a tiny black monster in her hands, curled up in a ball and huddling in on herself while the cyborg pries the other shinki back.
    Thankfully, Dante pulls out Nevan. The electric guitar wails, and a surge lances through the majority of the enraged little fighting robots, causing them to drop to the floor in groaning, stunned, heaps and finally get the situation under control.
    "Who... The hell are you people." That's the salaryman, regaining consciousness just in time for Serrah to nab her baseball.

    If it weren't for her artificial body - if it weren't for DARGN helping her brain to interface with senses and reaction times far beyond humans - Hyouka wouldn't be able to tell what the little Altines is doing. She's not a soldier. She's a paper pusher. Only her fast reaction times enable her to parse what's happening.

    And the tiny little thing doing her level best not to kill anyone anymore, is now curled up in a palm the size of a dinner plate. Her palm. The other shinki are shocked into temporary disability, but some instinct prompts Hyouka to keep her hand carefully cupped, using the other almost as a shield in case some of those other fighters have murder on their minds when they wake up again.

    Other than that, all she can do is shoot an utterly livid glare at the salaryman.

>> SUMMARY[Hyouka Kiyama] >> I PROTEC.

    "Don't look at me, dude. I just got hired to help raid you pricks." Dante responds, guitar still sizzling as Nevan intones, "While looking _FINE_ doing it.~" Dante does his best to gently remind the sidhe they're on the clock with a little grip of the guitar's neck. Flirting can come later. He looks at the salaryman with a gaze that could freeze helium, and he dispels the guitar-sidhe as he draws his sword.

    "Get up." He hisses. "I don't want another word out of you, 'cause anything else you say is gonna look -really- bad in court." The greatsword's tip just prods the salaryman's throat, sending a message just fine.

    Lupus 2 meanwhile gets out some cuffs, shinki-sized, and begins to apply them to each of the pitfighters, organizing them into a neat little row.

>> SUMMARY[Dante] >> Dante is considering turning the salaryman into a kebab while Lupus 2 rounds up shinki suspects. They have TINY CUFFS, it's adorable!

Thankfully the Shinki do stop thankfuly getting shocked by that guy in the red coat. Whew! She looks over at Hyoka and the tiny person in her hand. "..is she okay?"

>> SUMMARY[Iota Assistant] >> Crisis averted! And is worried about this so called 'angel of death."

    Uni frowns, then turns away from the stunned arena full of Shinki to the salaryman, stooping down and grabbing him by the collar, and bodily hauling him back to his feet with the lack of effort of the superhuman. "I am Uni. Console Patron Unit Candidate of Lastation. And you," she begins, squeezing her fist tighter, "Are under arrest." She then winds back, and slugs the guy in the face with a surprising amount of strength. "That was for resisting arrest."

    Uni then looks at Dante, before turning away without another word, moving over to check on the downed Shinki and her Zelnogrard. The officer Shinki looks a bit rattled... well, only people that understand stoics could tell, really. Uni kneels beside the Firearms-type, and lightly fingerpats her on the head. "It's over... lets round them all up, and get them to the station." the black-haired gunner then radios off to the police. <"Situation under control... request containment vehicles for human and shinki suspects... and some repair teams for the Shinki. A scuffle occured between the freed combatants and a Shinki called by the epithette 'Angel of Death'. Many wounds incurred during the fight.">

>> SUMMARY[Uni] >> *PUNCH*. Radios in for the pickup, while comforting her loaner-partner.

Serrah pauses, and takes a step back. "Don't look at me, I just wandered in," she says, slipping the baseball into the bag and looking around for the other one. Oh, there it is, right over by the rest of the group. She sighs. "I'm Serrah, by the way. Didn't actually know what I was wanderin' into."

    Things... Finally calm down.
    Between Dante and Uni, the salaryman is apprehended; hoisted to his feet.
    "Useless Altines." He spits under his breath in spite of being told to stuff it, and he eats a fist for his efforts.
    "Gwuh...!" He's done now.
    The shocking stun from Nevan and being summarily cuffed takes the fight out of the pit fighters as they're lined up to be taken in and put up for refurbishing and re-adoption most likely.
    But what of the Altines in Hyouka's hand?
    The tiny sound of rattling armor says it all. She's shaking like a leaf, and it takes her a long moment to even think about sitting herself up; small quaking hands lift up the skull-faced visor of her helmet. There's a tiny gulp, and she rubs at the the right side of her face and eye where a lengthy scar dominates most of her features.
    "Is... Is it over?"

    "Nice hook." Dante compliments Uni, stowing Rebellion casually. He eyeballs the Altines, and it's almost like she was never here to hurt anybody at all in spite of what happened just thirty seconds ago. In all that excitement, Dante was clearly paying more attention than he would let on.

Iota light gasps seeing the Altines scar covering her face. Terrible... She nods lightly to the tiny Shinki. "It's over.. Your going to be okay now.."

    Oh... oh dear. That look. The shivering, the gulp, and that look in the shinki's eyes. Hyouka's heart just breaks, right then; it's written all over her face. "Y... yeah. Yeah, it's over. You don't have to fight anymore, okay?" She bites her lip, a little unsure what to say or do for the moment. The poor little thing's been through so much - done so much. Even the asshole salaryman doesn't register anymore (not that he's going to be saying much after that hit from Uni).

    There's a quick glance, up at Iota, then Dante. An unspoken, 'What do we do? We have to do something,' that her eyes are practically screaming.

    Dante shrugs his shoulder helplessly. All he can really think of is wait for the cops. Where -are- they anyway?

    "Pickup's on the way, they're bringing a repair van with them to refit any..." Uni looks at the Altines. "Physical, damage." the young Goddess stands and scoops her partner back up onto her shoulder.

Serrah turns to the small Altines as she speaks up. "Aw, shit," she mutters under her breath. She strides over to pick up the other baseball she used, suddenly feeling almost helpless. She clearly isn't entirely sure what to do either. "Let's just let her out of here for now," she says gently. "Maybe out of this entire Blossom, uh, for good measure." She looks towards the salaryman, the baseball still in hand, looking like she wants to throw it at him again.

    It's not long at all before the police are storming the place. They had been on the way probably since the first gunshot; but this was a planned sting, and the response is lightning fast as officers, both human and shinki alike, arrive to round up the masters and take the shinki all in.
    That Altines though... Scarlet eyes dart from face to face. Iota, Hyouka, Dante, Uni, Serrah, each in turn as she remains right where she is, hugging her knees to her chest. For a moment longer anyway.
    "I..." She starts to say something but cuts off in a small choke. "Did so many bad things." Murmured after a beat as she buries her face against her knees.
    It's silence after that though. She'll submit for repairs with the police, but after that? There won't be much sign of her when she goes missing and adds herself to the population of masterless roaming shinki.

Serrah frowns, and looks at the floor. "Yeah ..." She certainly knows what it's like to be under the control of someone who doesn't have her best interests in mind. She's still waiting for the other shoe to drop about being made to do 'bad things', and she is not looking forward to it.