Welcome to Gaia! ::

(it's not my decision, i guess you'll have to ask tinmaiden)

"besides, we're not big fans of marrying young anyway"

((Taurosgrl, I don't have a problem with the other story line going at the same time, but after a while you might. The whole point was to get everyone together in an alternate setting, since RPing is really lots more fun when people interact. If you want to be outside everyone else's action that's entirely up to you.))

Faust quickly related to the Doktor in German that Netsubo's father was dead. As the two spoke, Faust VIII expertly modified his speech to better fit the dialect used in the 16th century. He seemed reluctant to translate, and when he did his ancestor squinted and strained to catch meaning in the Japanese; apparently he shared his descendant's disdain for being left in the dark.

"He wants to know if I could stand in for your father in this case," Faust sighed. "I said no. He says he's dying and he needs an heir."

Netsubo's reaction didn't need a translation. Doktor Faust hastily apologized to Faust VIII, speaking rapidly in the same soft, clipped voice that Faust VIII himself often used.

"He says... he's sorry if that was forward," Faust VIII said. "And, for the record, I told him that I don't think he's dying. He's a hypochondriac," Faust sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Well... regardless..." Faust said, shifting awkwardly. "He's really convinced of it. He's actually made himself sick."

"Was sagst du? Japanisch?" Doktor Faust asked, frustrated at not being able to understand the (to his ears) bizarre Japanese language. As far as he knew, Japan wasn't even a real country, after all.

"Ja, Japanisch, Herr Dokor... Netsubo, things were like that. Er, are like this. By asking if he can talk to your father about marrying you, he believes that he's being extremely polite."

"Welche Jahre ist es, Doktor?" Faust VIII asked.

This received another strange look from the Doktor, but he said "Die Jahre ist 1512."

"Great. So, he's my age. And... let me think... what's going on in Germany right now...."

Doktor Faust's head jerked up suddenly. There were voices in the distance. He reached quickly into his bag, flinging a cloak over his shoulders and hunching like an old man. Quickly hiding his alchemical equipment, he turned to the others and hissed, "Kommen Sie alles, bitte!"

"He wants us to follow," Faust said. Then he paled. "We should definitely follow!"

"Schneller, Fraulein!" Doktor Faust cried. Mephistophiles grabbed Manta and carried him.

"What's going on?" the devil asked. "My German is really rusty... incidentally, I can speak any language, but only one at a time."

"It's serious," Faust VIII said. "We have to stay out of sight! Was hast du gemacht?" he asked Doktor Faust seriously.

"In der Kirche habe ich ein Teufel gebringt..."

"WELL... he brought a devil to church. That explains the pitchforks," Faust commented, as Doktor Faust seized Netsubo's wrist and pulled her down so that she was out of sight. "Also, we happen to be in a delicate historical phenomenon known as the dawn of the European witch hunts."

"Heh...." Mephistophiles said, massaging the back of his neck. "You know me, everywhere and nowhere... but there's a really funny story behind that. He wanted to teach the clergy about his scientific findings without coming off as satanic, and I played pranks on them while he was trying to hold their attention with his discoveries. Therefore, he's now officially a witch and on the run from the church AND the police."

"Oh, admit it, you love me for it," Mephistophiles said.

"This is wonderful," Faust said sarcastically. "My ancestor, a righteous man of science, is going to be persecuted on the lark of a devil."

"Hey, he still made a deal with me. He does a lot more than simple science."

Faust whispered briefly to his ancestor, posing a question of some kind. Eyes glinting, Doktor Faust raised his hand and made a webbed ball of lightning appear in his palm, the little threads of electricity dancing between his fingers.