World Tree MUSH

    Contrary to most modern Earths, malls are not in decline in this version of San Francisco. They are seeing a revival, in fact, as the city and the metropolitan areas around it embrace enclosed plazas and walkways in what has been dubbed the San Francisco Arcology Project. Vertical space is being built-up, with a mix of commercial and residential blocs formed around the broad walkways and well-lit interiors. It cuts down on pollution from traffic and provides spaces for the region's homeless to get away from the outdoors (over the objections of some).
    This particular mall is set in a spur of the arcology that reaches San Jose, far at the south end of the San Francisco Bay region. It is fairly popular among San Jose's teens as a gathering spot. This particular afternoon, with fall break in session, most of the high school students are present. Knots of them are playing an augmented reality game based on the popular outworld phenomenon called pokemon. Others are gathering at the food court and co-miserating about school woes. The usual teenager things, one supposes.
    Aurelia is busy digging through a used electronics store's bins, the smaller and younger blonde accompanied by a taller and older woman with dark brown hair. They share a certain alikeness of features, being sisters and all. It might occur to someone that the oversized jean jacket that Aurelia is wearing would fit better on the brunette.
    "Uh, what kinds of things were you looking for, Aura?" The brunette asks as she systematically inspects and looks at broken game controllers in the bin in front of her.
    Aurelia points out a fairly comfortable looking type of controller. "Like that, but make sure it's a Bluetooth controller."

    Dante was mostly here chasing Pokemon on his phone, also getting lunch. The food court has some pretty choice places to get a bite to eat, especially the pizzeria. He sips a milkshake pretty hard as he wanders through the stores, hand tucked in pocket, sword in a guitar case. Despite looking like a massive hipster with a ratty t-shirt and red coat that's too damn warm looking for SanFran, Dante seems to be undisturbed for now.

    "Man, the selection here's depressing as hell." He mutters, as he goes through a record and collectable store; with comic books, action figures, old videogames, looks like it's right next to the store Aurelia's at with her...sister? Mom?

To Quote an old song? Now, this is a story all about how My life got flipped turned upside down. It really fit the month Anne was having. She'd managed to use new means open to her to get across the Pacific and back to America for the moment. The whole city was out of an old Cyberpunk Anime she'd watched long ago with women clad in high tech power armour. She'd not have minded such a thing right? Yet for her clothes was a big concern a /very/ big one. She only had the clothing on her back at the moment. There are other things to find as well and the pink-haired woman who can't b past her early 20s is digging right now and muttering. 

 "My kingdom for a /good/ phone." 

 She mutters and goes back to digging for the moment paying little attention to Aurelia. Though the woman is fairly notable with her long but braided pink hair.

Benedicta just happens to be in the mall as well, looking for some new hoodies. It's a bit annoying when her horn keeps piercing through them. She prefers shopping in larger areas since it's less likely someone will notice her. Plus she's less likely to stand out in San Francisco but that doesn't stop her from getting a few odd looks. Most people seem to think she's a cosplayer or a mascot for some business. The latter is partly true at least.

 She does attract a few young children who want to have their picture taken with the al-mir'aj girl. "No, I don't have any candy...stop bothering me!"

Emily happens to be at the food court where Dante got food, and she got a slice of pizza. She's taken the form of a woman with glowing purple eyes, four arms, and hair so black it looks like a rip in space, or a graphical glitch; she's wearing what looks like a cheap cocktail dress except made out of ridiculously expensive silks and with extra frills and ruffles added.

She catches sight of a red longcoat, and immediately opens up a staticky portal and steps through right behind the half-demon. "Hey, Dante!" she says, same voice as ever. "How's it going?"

Are you even allowed to bring food from a food court into stores like this? Emily certainly doesn't care what the answer is.

     The teen is in a mall!, making his way to the food court, with Bewear and Dynamo behind, the big bear simply happy to walk around with Luke, casually looking at random store windows!. While Luke is certain that neither of them look 'dangerous' and that Dynamo is not likely to cause trouble to sensitive electronic equipment, he makes sure to not get too close to electronic stores just in case, whenever the big cat gets too excited it gets prone to little jolts.
    It's there where the boy spots a couple familiar faces, waving happily to Emily and hipster Dante, with his Bewear mimicking the boy. The electric tiger just makes a line to a nearby table, more concerned about a snack.

    Emily is told, in no uncertain terms, that food is not allowed in the collectibles store. The collectibles store is hipster enough that it is playing music from this world's 1950s, which has artists that are contemporary for the period in other Earths, but performing songs that aren't their own in other worlds. Right now it seems the Inkspots are performing Peggy Sue.
    While our cast of players are milling about taking in sights of the mall, there's a boy lingering in one of the areas under construction, peering over the balcony at the happy shiny people below and looking miserable. With a puff of brimstone, a creature about the size of a large cat, looking like a cartoonish rendition of a marmoset monkey with a ridiculous white mustache appears near the teen boy. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_tamarin)
    "Mmm... happy people, and you're not with them?" Says the demonic emperor tamarin, adjusting a little blue fez on his head.
    The boy looks startled at the sudden appearance of the minor demon. The demon twirls his magnificent mustache and looks at the boy with something akin to mischevious glee. "W-what?" The kid's in shock.
    "Don't be that way." The demon says, eyes flitting about with false concern. "I know lots of things about you, Alan. Like how your big brother broke your arm and how all the jocks make fun of how short you are."
    Alan blushes furiously. "I haven't hit my growth spurt yet!"
    The puchuu, for that is the kind of minor demon Alan is now confronted with, coos. "You do all sorts of good things, Alan, and what do your classmates remember you for? Just one accident in summer camp and it's all anyone remembers you for." Alan is silent, staring bug-eyed at this bizarre thing talking about very personal issues.
    From nowhere, the puchuu produces three gold coins, the size of silver dollars and marked with a bevy of alchemical symbols. "Don't worry Alan, Mephy can help you get past all that. You'll be cool! You'll be with the best in-crowd ever, more exclusive than the ROTC. All you need to do, is make some promises and then a wish."

"That voice...no it can't be...what's he doing here?" Benedicta's sensitive ears managed to pick up the familar voice as her horn glows yellow.

 "Wow, how do you make your horn do that?!" One of the kid's can't help but to ask her.

 "It's probably a fake, she likely has a light in her head or something! Come on let's see what's underneath!" Another older kid pulls one of her lop ear's making her scream out in pain before she instinctly kicks him to the ground.

. She runs away from the scene and tries to make it to Mephy before she's stopped by the child's angry mother. "What did you just do to my son!" She stops dead in her tracks startled a bit at the angry woman.

    "Pretty good, Em, you?" The demon grins as he sees Emily. "Pretty tacky tunes, huh?" Dante overhears the store owner's protests, and starts to slurp his shake even -louder.- Delicious strawberry flavored pettiness is the best kind of pettiness as far as Dante's concerned. He spies the puff of smoke and smells brimstone. Darting out to investigate, he sees the demon tempting the child, and he narrows his eyes. "Yeah, screw this." He mutters, and he leaps upwards, double-jumping up a floor and mantling over the rail, drawing his pistol. "You're not exactly looking good here, fella, charming kids like this!" He says, aiming the gun right at the puuchu's head.

Anne Read is bent over almost rear up in the air as she finds what she's looking for at the bottom of the bin she surfaces with a look of triumph on her face. She's about to go pay for it when she senses some magic she just pauses, turns. Sets the item down and tells the clerk she'll be back in a little bit. 

 She will exit the store making with all due haste she can't fly but she's making very good time and might even be willing to push by peopl she would apolgiose bt she's making there hoping to get there in tim. She's got a look of near murder on her face right now as she moves. To anyone with the power to sense magic or supernaturals? She would be very easy to spot as having way more magic any a normal person should have.

Emily smiles and nods to Dante. "I don't even recognize any of this as classical music from this era!" (Given how far in the future the halcyon remnant was when it died, 'this era' also includes Toxic by Britney Spears.) "It -- what? Oh, fine." She shrugs grandiosely -- with extra grandioseness due to having bonus arms! -- and opens another staticky portal and moonwalks back through it.

Then she turns around and sees the commotion over by Benedicta. "Uh-oh," she says cheerfully. And then she raises her eyebrows as she catches sight of Dante and Anne starting to rush.

She darts through another staticky portal and comes behind Dante again. "Dante's talking sense," she says, grinning. Grinning a little too wide, actually, and kind of nastily too.

     While neither Luke, nor his pokemon have a real sense for the supernatural, they can easily spot someone just casually jumping up to the next floor!. It is not too hard for him to tell it was Dante, and after asking Dynamo to return to the pokeball, he turns to Bewear, "Mind helping me catch up with him? something bad must be happening." he calls.
    The very plush looking 'bear' leans down, picks up Luke, and makes a very impressive attempt at replicating Dante's swift ascension to the other floor, firmly (well, not TOO firmly) holding Luke, catching up just moments later, "Hey, what's going on?" calls the trainer, glancing around at the target of Dante's and Emily's (Hey emily!) apparent disdain.

    This is drawing way too much attention for Mephy's liking. Dashing red coat guy, then weird girl with oblivion-colored hair. Lots of noise and he was hoping to do this quietly. Then he notices Bendicta being harangued by an angry mother on the plaza floor below and the puchuu's eyes go wide. In a puff of smoke, he disappears, the clanking of the coins in his little paws silenced as they vanish with him, just as Luke and Anne reach the commotion.
    Alan looks as though he is paralyzed by trying to process just what the heck happened. Anne's magic sense can tell the teen has that faint spark required to make a new maho, a one in a thousand chance. The very reason the maho often employ puchuu to recruit new ones; they can sense these things as easily as a human can feel warm sunlight on the skin. "W-what... was that thing? Who are you p-people?" Alan finally manages.
     Aurelia also notices the commotion, particularly Luke with his Bewear in tow. She eventually catches up, the simulacra of her older sister accompanying her. Aurelia fiddles with some of the buttons on her jean jacket as she waits for some kind of unraveling of what was happening.

The smell of brimstone fills her nose as Mephy vanishes and Benedicta returns to her senses, it looks like the woman had stopped from her reaching the puchuu in time. She gives the woman a death glare before she makes a running jump and hopping onto the next floor. "Dammit, I finally found him and he ran off..." She sounds a bit discourage as she makes her way over to the rest of the group.

Emily smiles cheerfully. "Oh, I'm just a weirdo butting in on someone else's business," she says cheerfully. "Hi, Luke!" She follows Mephy's gaze, sees Benedicta, and then raises her eyebrows, grinning her trademark amused and faintly smug smile. "Now that's interesting!"

She turns to Benedicta, and when she makes that pronouncement, Emily raises her eyebrows and puts her lower hands on her hips. "Go on?"

Anne Read can sense magic from a lot of other people here too that gets a pink eyebrow up for a moment she will deal with that later and she looks right at the Puuchu for a moment. Then to the boy, she can tell he has the spark the same spark /she/ did? Or was it given how she ended up a Maho herself? She looked at the boy for a moment longer. 

 "A dealer of sorts. Made you and offer of power right for agreeing to a few things? How about you tell him the fine print?" 

 She shoots a look at them. 

 "Or I might find how you /boil up/ She's also holding a very old Nokia cellphone in one hand, the ones thought to take an act of God to destroy.

Anne Read can sense magic from a lot of other people here too that gets a pink eyebrow up for a moment she will deal with that later and she looks right at the Puuchu for a moment. Then to the boy, she can tell he has the spark the same spark /she/ did? Or was it given how she ended up a Maho herself? She looked at the boy for a moment longer. 

 "A dealer of sorts. Made you and offer of power right for agreeing to a few things? Did he tell you the fine print?" 

 Oddly she's holding a very old Nokia cellphone in one hand, the ones thought to take an act of God to destroy. 

 She relaxes a little with the fuzzball having noped out. 

 "Look you need to know what you're getting into."

    "Some demon was trying to get a kid to sell his soul, I guess." Dante shrugs at Luke, sighing. "Great. You wanna tell the class something?" She asks Benedicta, eyebrows arched as he stows his gun. Might not do to have that waved around in a public place.

     The boy (held by the very weird, plush pokemon, seems a bit confused, didn't expect Dante to jump to threaten a weird monkey, or that the monkey would just banish!, He is about to ask just what in the name of Giratina is this all about, when Anne explains, at least a bit. "And I take the fine print is something really, really bad?, something like granting a wish but turning it into something bad?" asks the Trainer, while the Bewear just casually stands there, snout twitching at the sulphur smell from the smoke.

    The boy seems to gain his senses. "A dealer? Get real. And what are you doing here, Aurelia?"
    Aurelia ers. "Just seeing what the commotion is about. I saw my friend Luke go this way and thought I'd make sure there wasn't trouble." Aurelia looks at her faux sister, who seems to be wanting an explanation for how they know each other. "He goes to my high school, Sylvia." 
    The simulacra smiles and waves at Alan, saying quietly to Aurelia, "He's cute, you should ask him out." which elites a frustrated eye-roll from Aurelia. Aurelia hasn't encountered puchuu before, so she listens to any explanations that people are willing to put forward. She'll probably have to drag an answer out of her mentor later though.

"Maybe, we should take this somewhere more private because I'm pretty sure someone's called the cops by now? Or mall security at least?" Benedicta thinks they have a more immediate problem. "Because, the last time I checked, waving a loaded weapon around will get you arrested. This is California, not Texas." She glares at Dante a bit for scaring off Mephy.

    "What are they gonna do, -arrest me-?" Dante says cheekily. He's not too terrified by the prospect at all, which might not be so good even a portly security guard is practically wetting his pants at the white-haired demon hunter. "But yeah, we better beat it. I think we've worn out our welcome."

Emily once again shrugs grandiosely. "I'm sure this is gonna be a very interesting story," she says dryly. "But yeah." She opens up a staticky portal which appears to lead back behind another building near the mall. "Who's with me?"

And then she pauses, and gives the simulacrum of Aurelia's sister a look. Seems she's figured out she's looking at a simulacrum there!

    Luke and Bewear take the offer, the latter maybe having to duck a bit to fit in the portal, still holding onto Luke, seems to refuse to let go, even when Luke squirms a bit, "Hey, we are on solid ground now.". There is a little chuckle. "Yeah, still, better not to cause trouble, right?" he asks as Dante speaks.

Anne Read stows her Nokia now and looks to Dante for a moment as he stashes his gun. She looks to Aurelia for a moment and just takes a bit of a step back. She thinks for a moment and sighs. "Well this has been quite the mess hasn't it?" She looks to Dante for a moment "We should get moving, I know a Pizza place i'll buy if any of you want to talk."

    "Totally, let's go!" Dante ignores the fact he already had pizza. If Anne's offering to buy, he's all for it.