Back in the Game (Private, Shizu and I)

Shizu walked quickly towards the door and kept a sharp eye on the weapon. He seemed a bit out of it. "Just keep consciousness, Cogs." The meister muttered and dragged him out by his hand. "Chupa Cabras, Chupa Cabras, Chupa Cabras..." she searched frantically along the array of the buildings, finally catching a glance of a neon sign. "Bingo." Shizu made a sharp turn and bee-lined down the street. "Keep up, will you?" The meister glanced back at Jeremy and swung the door open, getting ready for a performance. "Where's that albino bastard!? "

"That seems very typical for a kidnapper, but that's not exactly my plan." he replied, shaking his head. He had to admit that he enjoyed her struggle. "Though I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't want to see you in one of those little maid outfits." Suhas placed a hand under her chin with a lopsided grin.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Jeremy said to his meister as they made their way there. He knew the reputation of Chupa Cabras, and either he was not looking forward to getting there, or really looking forward to getting there. The inside of Chupa Cabras was very... questionable. There were women in every booth, and you could see at least one death scythe in there if you tried hard enough. The young pair got many strange looks from the customers and the employees, and just before they were asked to leave, Ivory appeared from a door at the back. "My friends! There you are! The apartment is just up here." Ivory beckoned the pair towards him. He was wearing his usual black and white jacket with the over sized collar, and he still had his little stiletto emblem attached to it. The tattoo below his left eye stood out against his snow white skin.

If she had the power and the energy, she would have turned into a very masculine man at that very second. But she could not, so instead she batted his hand away and scowled. "I don't think I want to know what it is then... and if what I said before was wrong, then you shouldn't really need me, eh? Why don't you just go ahead and let me go?" She smiled up at him, hoping that the gullible skunk would release her.

Looking extremely skeptical, Shizu crossed her arms and glanced at her weapon. "You really know how to make friends, don't you?" She jutted a thumb towards Ivory and took a quick observation of the room, then promptly wishing to forget it all. The meister made her way up to the albino and gave him a quick look before forcing a smile. "I'm Shizu, and that's obviously Jeremy. It's a pleasure to meet you." Ugh, she nearly gagged.

"Oh tsk, tsk." he shook a finger and looked immensely amused. "At least not until you introduce me to this... other sorcerer." he quickly recalled that she had indeed mentioned one during their little battle earlier. Let's be honest, even then he wouldn't want to let her go. He was very selfish when it came to owning pawns...

"Actually, making friends with him was completely accidental..." Jeremy said as Shizu left his side. He followed a few steps behind her, making sure Ivory didn't try anything. "Elliot. But, I suppose you can call me Ivory if you feel the need. And please..." Ivory winked at the girl. "The pleasure is all mine." Jeremy glared at the other meister, but said nothing. "Please, right this way." He proceeded to lead the two through the door and up a flight of stairs. It wasn't the best looking apartment, but it did have two bedrooms, a small TV, a bathroom (with working plumbing) and a small kitchen. "Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself at home. And my weapon lives in our other apartment, so you don't have to worry about her."

"Oh, I see. You kept me for him. Of fucking course." Valkeer sighed and looked down at her feet. "Okay, I can get him here for you to do whatever it is you want to do. But... try not to make deals with him. I strongly advise against it. I have his number on my phone down there." She directs him to the phone that fell out of her pocket.

Shizu shrugged off his flirtacious tendencies and simply followed him without a single word being spoken. If anything was for certain, she knew that getting on his bad side would be an absolute nightmare in their case. "I appreciate your hospitality, it's nice to catch a breath every once and awhile when you're wanted by the law enforcerers..." She looked around with a slim smile and held her arm loosely. If her appearance wasn't enough to give it away, the way she carried herself showed sudden tiredness.

Suhas crossed his arms and stayed put, hinting that she should pick it up. And no, he wasn't pulling anything. For all he knew she hid some explosives in the damn thing. Illusionists are unpredictable after all. Besides, he wasnt sure that the other magical would, for no good reason, visit some random guy that has this one girl under captivity.

"Oh, I hear you there, girl. This is usually where I hang out when the cops think I'm causing trouble. Who would even try to--" Ivory suddenly stopped talking. Jeremy had gone as pale as the albino was, and seemed like he was about to fall over. Jeremy saw the look of confusion on Ivory's face. "Are you alright there, Jeremy? You look a bit... I dunno, off?" Jeremy didn't respond, but instead walked away and collapsed on the small couch. Ivory shrugged, and turned back to the other meister. "I finally remember where I met this guy. He saved my ass at the Halloween ball. He's a nice guy, if a bit unpredictable."

Valkeer sighed again and staggered towards where she dropped it. Painfully, she bent down and picked it up, then unlocked it and dialed in Sora's number. After around three rings, he answered. "Listen up, Sora. I know you track every caller you get, so I want you to come to the exact co ordinates that your getting this call from. No time to explain. Bye." And she hung up, slipping the phone into her pocket for later. "There. He's coming. Can I go now?"

Shizu watched her weapon go down and crossed her arms. "Yeah, he's a bit unstable right now." She whispered, eyes watering. The meister kept her head low while taking a few deep breaths. "I just can't believe all of the hell we've trudged through, and it's not even half-way over." Her voice was weak as she finally let a few things off of her chest.

Soon enough, an internal instinct clicked inside of Attor. A presence. There was more than one instance that the kishin egg had ventured out of the fortress to hunt straggling humans. He mostly preyed upon researchers that had embarked on adventures in order to seek out rumored ruins. This was one of those instances. He gave Suhas's shirt a tug with wide eyes, the sorcerer smiled and gave him a nod. "Go for it." the sorcerer replied. Instantly, the kishin egg bolted. "Now back to you..." Suhas turned back and took a good look at her injured arm. "I suppose you're as useless to me as any other woman. Take your leave whenever you wish." he rolled his eyes and headed towards the door, clearly no longer amused.

Ivory patted her on the back, trying to be as comforting as a punk albino can be. "Let it out, girl. It could be worse, but that doesn't mean that what's happening now doesn't completely fucking suck." Ivory knows the pressure of being wanted by legitimate authorities, but he could guess that wasn't the only thing causing her distress. He realised what he said broke the little facade he'd been holding up, and quickly tried to fix it. "I mean, uh, suck it up! If I can deal with this every day of my life, you can handle it right now!" The meister quickly stepped away from Shizu and into the kitchen. "Can I get you two lovebirds anything? Tea? coffee?Hot chocolate? Beer? Scotch? Zeus knows you two need it."

Valkeer scowled at the man before her. "Trust me, you're gonna wish you kept me around longer when you finally get Sora here. Ta-ta, bastard!" Valkeer dashed out the room, and it was pure luck that she smashed through a window in the hall without slamming into a wall first. The sorcerer changed into a vulture in mid-air and unstably flapped her huge wings, trying her hardest not to plummet to the ground. I swear, I'm going to make that man suffer...

When Sora heard Valkeer's troubled female voice on his phone, he had no choice but to go and save her ass. So he wondered through the desert, wearing his brown cloak and his crown attached to his shoulder. Sora made a note on his enchanted king piece: Note to self: Valkeer definitely owes me one.

The meister looked up at Ivory and smiled a little, detecting just a hint of softness. "No alcohol. Thats the absolute last thing that bum over here needs." Shizu gestured towards the passed out weapon. She pondered for a minute before adding, "Tea, however, would be nice." Thinking back, Shizu realized she hadn't had a relaxing cup of tea since before she had partnered up with Jeremy. Which already seemed like ages ago.

Suhas scoffed at her threat and waved a hand, the window instantly repairing. "How foolish. Everyone knows that the king is strongest in his own quarters. Though I'll see you soon, my sweet bishop." he grinned deviously and made himself comfortable on his black and white couch. In front of him were several packages of cards and a set of different playing boards.

Attor sat at the peak of the monochrome fortress, an already decaying body sitting at his feet. A soul was quickly inhaled through his mask as his cloudy eyes kept a silent vigil. The sound of breaking glass didn't phase him in the slightest, but a cloaked figure did.

"Suit yourself, love." Ibory filled the old fashioned kettle with water and placed it on the stove. While it was boiling, Ivory grabbed a bottle of scotch and poured it into his glass until it was a quarter full. He picked up his glass and took a seat on an old arm chair next to the couch. "While we're waiting, do you mind telling me why your hiding from the cops? I don't really want to be housing serial killers and/or rapists in my apartment."

Sora looked up at the small castle before him. He made another note. "The one that owns this castle probably has a massive ego. Beware. He turned into his hawk form and flew upwards, trying to get the best view possible. When he saw no alternative route, he flew back to the ground, changed back, and slammed his fist on the grand front doors. "I heard you had something that belongs to me. I would very much like it back!"

"I do suppose that you deserve to know that much at the least." Shizu sat cross-legged on the floor and took a deep breath. It would take awhile to explain. "It started with a kishin egg encounter, long story short... We got severely burned, rushed to the nearest hospital, then were observed by a false doctor." She began, not wanting to get into detail about that one perverse man. "Jeremy reacted as a weapon should, but a tad more violently. False doctor gets impaled, we're on the run. A specific sorcerer caused this." The meister pointed to her prosthetic arm. "I was hospitalized and Cogs over there somehow managed to burn our apartment building down. After that I got a job and Jeremy gained money in a different way." Shizu continued, trying to sum up what their specific crime was. Murder, felony or theft...?

The observing kishin egg dropped from the roof, landing next to th sorcerer and eyeing him. He pointed at the large door and tilted his head to the side. Something similar to a dog collar went off and Attor instantly walked in. Weird, I know. The kishin walked slowly down the main hall and looked back at the hawk. "Valkeer." he spoke softly and pointed towards a series of doors. It was strange that he seemed so calm around Sora, but it was mainly because he wasn't female like Valkeer appeared be. The kishin egg was oddly territorial over the sorcerer that laid in waiting further into the vast building. That and he was feeling content with the soul he had just devoured earlier.

Ivory chuckled. "Oh, I remember you two on the news! He's suspected with being involved with that big heist, isn't he? Let's see... Uh... Multiple accounts of murder, assault, suspected kidnapping, breaking and entering, trespassing, and theft. You two have broken quite a few laws, haven't you?" After hearing the several news reports people had done on this string of unruly actions, Ivory had taken it upon himself to look up the whole story. It was quite impressive how many laws they broke. "They only want me for vandalism and arson. And now, for harbouring criminals, too."

Sora followed a few steps behind Attor, very wary of the obvious Kishin egg before him. He quickly entered the door, not wanting to incur the wrath of the host. "Come on, Valkeer. I'm here to save your ass again. Pack your crystal oval and voodoo marionette, we're getting out of here." But Sora didn't hear any response from the vulture. "Valkeer?"

"Yes, and to think that only a few months ago I was most concerned with upcoming exams..." Shizu sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "So, vandalism and arson? That's petty compared to our set of issues." The meister grumbled and kept an eye on the unconscious weapon. "He worries me. This stroke of bad luck has really gotten him roughed up, not that I've helped in any way."

The doors behind quickly slammed shut and seemed to vanish the father Attor and Sora walked into the hall. The kishin egg was quiet for most of the walk, only speaking in short word sentences and pointing. "So...ra." he turned his head and pointed down towards a small living area where a monochrome sorcerer laid in waiting with a deck of cards in hand. Attor took a few steps back next to the hawk and stared ahead. "Ah, you're the one..." Suhas grinned ear-to-ear and sat up. "Valkeer spoke highly of you..."

"Girl, don't let the current times fuck up yo' future ones. And trust me when I say this: you're probs the only thing keepin' that clockwork asshole stable. Stand by the asshole. Nurture the asshole. Fuck, Gods know he needs it." Ivory took a drink of his scotch, keeping a surprisingly straight face from the strong alcohol. He heard the kettle whistling, and stood up from his armchair and walked into the kitchen, pouring the boiled water into one of the few mugs he had. Ivory dumped a tea bag in it and handed it off to Shizu before sitting back down on his chair. "Y'know, the story of how I met your weapon is hilarious. I can tell it if you want. I like to call it: the day I realised that one guy had problems."

Sora groaned. This wasn't the first time someone kidnapped Valkeer in order to make a deal with Sora. In fact, it happened every second Wednesday. What a strange occurrence. "If by highly you mean telling you that you're probably going to be killed by that asshole, then I do not doubt it. I already know that you have released my associate. In fact, it's quite obvious. One of the windows in the hall have no dust on them whatsoever, indicating that they had dove out, and you mended it. So what is it you want?" Sora approached Suhas, his enchanted King Piece held between his fingers. The white lights inside it glowed, making it's presence obvious to people with eyes. "And please, Suhas, don't bother taking my piece using teleportation magic. I made sure no one could take this long ago."

Shizu scuttled over to her weapon for a small check-up as Ivory went to examine the tea. She reached over and parted his hair, laying the back of her hand against his forehead. No fever. Well, at least not a major one. With a sigh of relief the meister sat back down and looked back to the albino meister. "Some party, I assume?" she spoke monotonously and thought back to that girl he had a picture of. "Please do share, as his meister I'd like to atone for whatever distress he caused..." the girl crossed her arms and closed her eyes for a moment.

"I just wanted to get to know what I'm up against..." the sorcerer held up a knight and rook, closing one eye and comparing them both to the sorcerer. "Very observant..." he strolled over, being uncharacteristically cautious. He cast a glance at the kishin egg who was staring blankly at a far wall. Then suddenly something clicked, a memory. Some rumor he had heard in one of his favorite taverns... A sudden glint shone in his saffron eyes. "I have no interest in stealing your precious king piece. Aside from that matter, I'd enjoy hearing about that kishin egg..." Suhas grinned deviously and twiddled his thumbs.

"It was actually Halloween. The usual ball they hold. And actually, the guy saved my ass. Let's just say I might have smuggled in some... Contraband liquid in my little angel costume. You can see how well that'll work on an albino like me. Actually I've got a picture. Of me and your weapon." Ivory picked up a picture on the small table next to him and tossed it to her. It was a selfie of him in a shirtless angel costume and Jeremy in his little steampunk demon costume. "Fuck, that costume was great. Anyway, I got a little drunk from this contraband, Jeremy over there spotted me. After some shenanigans with some girl with a dragon costume and a robot, the guy threw me out before I could make a bigger fool of myself. I was pissed, but a few minutes later one of the teachers did a sweep of the ballroom to make sure their was no alcohol. Turns out, some guy got suspended for it! So Jeremy saved my ass, we made up, and that troubled weapon started... Sobbing, I think. He was sayin' 'I fucked up, I don't deserve her' and I'm all like, yo, what's up. He started ranting about how some asshole tricked him into hurting his meister, and his stupid fuckin' addiction problems. Turns out he took up the little habit of drinking. Poor fucker." Ivory took a drink.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but there are quite a few Kishin eggs on the planet. You must be more specific." Sora said, playing dumb. "Oh, and I hope you know you're infamous now. Everyone knows the name of Suhas Chord. Because we've all heard of the bullshit you've been up to. That bus incident had a Kishin egg involved, so it wasn't too bad. But then you had to go ahead and cause that panic in the bazaar. Honestly, you cut off some poor girls arm. They call me an asshole, but you're a monster." Everything he was saying was true. Apart from some exaggerations here and there. Sora took a seat at a small table, no doubt made for some sort of chess.

Shizu listened with a sharp glare. She was positive that he had gotten into some sort of trouble that ended up in flames. Though the more that Ivory explained, the softer her gaze became. Pretty soon her eyes felt moist and her crossed arms dropped. She reached out and took a closer look at the picture that he had taken there. They looked ridiculous to say the least, but that was because Shizu never really understood Halloween. "He did all of that?" she bit her lip and leaned back. "God, I'm sorry, Cogs..." That seemed subtle enough, but when he started to explain how he had talked like that about her... Shizu turned into a complete train-wreck. She covered her mouth with her prosthetic hand to muffle the armada of sobs that slowly choked her. "What kind of partner am I?" she muttered and stared down at the floor with widened eyes.

Suhas bobbed his head from side to side and shrugged. "You know as well as I that we have a tendency to cause mishaps. All of those were accidental, by the way." the sorcerer shone his razor-like teeth and giggled like a madman. "Besides, we have to do what we have to do in order to feed out pets." The monochrome sorcerer ruffled Attor's hair, keeping an eye on Sora. "So how is she? Insanity can be such a pain after all." He asked and raised a brow. "Keep in mind that playing dumb gets us nowhere, fast." he waved a hand and sat on the opposite side of the table.

A weak voice came from the couch. "A bloody... Good one..." The weapon managed to get out. It was followed by a weak chuckle, and a fit of coughing. Ivory laughed at the two. "I guess I'll leave you two to it. You crazy kids have fun." The meister finished his drink and left, leaving them the keys. "Shit... He told you, didn't he...? Look... I was gonna... Tell you..." The still groggy weapon sat up and looked at his meister with tired eyes. "I'm so sorry, Shizu... I isn't want you to hate me, or be worried... I just wanted you to stay happy..."

"Actually, uh... Shiro ditched me a while ago." Sora said, getting quite emotional about his sister. The girl had left him a while back, saying that he "slowed her down." It made him pretty sad that his sister was growing up without him. But Sora couldn't let Suhas see his insecurities, and so quickly went back to the proud, yet unreadable posture from before. "I know that someone like you always has a motive. What did you want? Money? Souls? Power? Fame, even? I can give any. As long as you beat me in one of my favourite games."

The meister froze in place when the weapon's voice reached her ears. Her arms reached out and wrapped themselves around Jeremy's waist, her head pressed gently against his chest. His heartbeat was soothing enough. "I am happy..." Shizu replied and looked up at his tired eyes. "You don't need to worry so much, that's my job." she grinned and look a deep breath.

Suhas raised a brow at his answer, but his grin never faltered. I'd give her two weeks, tops. She relied on him to feed her and there's no way she'll manage without him. he thought and replied, "I apologize for rubbing salt in the wounds, it was never my intention to make you uncomfortable." The sorcerer cast a sideways glance at the kishin egg that had taken a seat that was a reasonable distance away from the two magical beings. "Believe it or not, a deal wasn't my original intention, but I'm always up for a win." the sorcerer smirked and twirled a few pawns in his hand.

Jeremy looked up at her, slightly confused by her reaction. "Aren't you angry? Or... Upset? At all?" The weapon heard most of what was going on, and plain as day he remembered hearing Ivory say "His stupid addiction problems," and "That he took up the bad habit of drinking." He expected to be at least scolded, or probably slapped, not to be gently hugged. "I thought you would be at least irritated after... him..."

Sora sighed and stood, irritated that he wouldn't be gaining anything today. "Then, there is no reason for me to waste my time here any longer. I bid you farewell, and have fun making your Kishin egg." The sorcerer brushed off his cloak, and began walking towards the door. "Unless there is something you can offer me that may change my mind...?" At the same time, Sora was making another note on his king piece. Note: the Kishin egg may attack me once I reach the door or exit it. Be prepared for seemingly gaseous attacks of toxins." Sora had quickly readied a gas mask inside his cloak in order to deflect any gaseous attacks the Kishin egg might attempt.

"Believe me, that didn't make me the least bit pleased." The meister replied and took a seat next to him. "Though I'd rather have a difficult weapon than no weapon at all." she crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "You had me worried, though..." Shizu leaned on the arm of the couch and ran a hand through her hair. "Could you try and be a bit more careful? I've spent too much time worrying about whether you're alive or not."

Suhas kept shot a glance at Attor once the sorcerer turned around. He knew what the plan was. "No, you've been the perfect distraction. I do appreciate your cooperation, however. " the monochrome sorcerer stood up and straightened his waist coat. "Attor, would you be so kind as to show our... guest the exit? He's no longer of use." Suhas jerked his head towards Sora, and the kishin egg scuttled over towards the door. The elixir will be perfectly mixed by now, and since they began flying at such a speed, their circulatory system would have sped up the process. he thought and turned away from the hawk.

((OOC: so I just read your character log. Specifically Suhas'. I can say that I am quite scared for my little Vulture))

"Of course... I would do anything for my meister." Jeremy smiled at her weakly. It was nice to have everything off his chest. He was sure that he didn't have any secrets left to keep. So he finally relaxed, pushing himself further into the couch. But Jeremy was becoming suspicious. Nothing was screwing up. There were no police, or pesky sorcerers screwing around with them. Everything was quiet, and there were no sirens, either. It was odd, to say the least. "Is it just me, or is it really quiet when things aren't going wrong?"

Sora stared at the two, but quickly fixed the mask to the lower half of his face. No such thing as being too careful. He walked out the door and started heading to the main entrance. The Kishin egg made him feel uncomfortable, so he left as quickly as possible. Once he was outside, he quickly changed into a hawk and flew the hell out of there.

Valkeer finally landed back in his room in death city. It was filled with many oddities, with dream catchers and a crystal oval sitting in the middle. But she couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong. Did she forget something? She sat down in front of the crystal oval and watched the room Suhas was in, to make sure he wasn't planning anything particularly evil.

Shizu took a look around and realized that it was indeed quiet. She stood up and poured a glass of tea, just realizing that the tea pot had been whistling. The girl took a few sips and placed it on the coffee table. "It is rather quiet. Ivory is either eavesdropping or drinking downstairs, but that's just my guess." she replied and looked down at her weapon who was laying on the couch. "I suppose that's not a bad thing, though." she grinned and tousled his hair.

The sorcerer ordered for the kishin egg to return before looking out the window. "I do believe that things are going our way, Atty." Suhas grinned and patted Attor's head. His eyes dilated as he summoned a chess board. He moved the rook pawn and quickly dismissed the board. "Our little bishop will start feeling it soon enough." the sorcerer giggled and headed towards the front doors.

Jeremy frowned, quickly fixing his hair and grabbing the top-hat that had fallen on the floor. "But just think about it. We're sitting here, finally catching a break. And somewhere out there, some poor bugger is screwing up everything and having a panic attack. It almost seems... Unfair." And yet, he was quite relieved that he had gotten off Scott-free for his drinking problem. But he really doubted it would ever happen again. The weapon did enjoy the peace, and began whistling a tune from a much less peaceful song known as Centuries. Jeremy purposely refrained from turning on the TV, knowing that it would reveal something to kill the peace.

At the last sentence, Valkeer started panicking. What did that rodent do to her? The sorceress backed away from the oval on her desk, crashing into a shelf filled with strange artifices she had collected over the years. What'd he do, what'd that bastard to me?! She clutched the sides of her head in panic, genuinely fearing for her life, or at least her free-will.

"The world is nothing but unfair. Anyone who believes anything else is a fool." Shizu cast her gaze to the floor, reaching for her cup of tea and silently taking their situation in. It would appear that they were stuck for the time being. She didn't want any catastrophic events to occur before Jeremy had the chance to recover. "So, do you that you can hold up without any intense mood swings for at least a few days?" the meister asked, hoping that he'd at least reluctantly oblige.

At his words, Attor grew a tad confused. What had Suhas done, anyhow?
His new facial expression didn't go unnoticed.
"I don't recall telling you my little elixir, did I?" the sorcerer chuckled and tapped his chin. "Before too long, she'll start hearing static. That's the sure sigh that my little elixir has successfully circulated around her blood stream. The more she moves, the quicker it will spread. My little Bishop will be completely immobilized before the moon is at it's highest." the sorcerer explained, pausing halfway at the sound of a beep. "Insta-noodles are ready!" he announced loudly, and the duo rushed to the kitchen and opened a few cups of the insta-noodles. It was a strange specialty that the two ate on special occasions. These occasions were typically when they had nothing else to eat.