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Mana pulled back her arm as the Elder released it. She curled her fingers into a fist, rotated her wrist with a snap, opening her hand at the end of the motion. No pain, no stiffness. It was then that the Elder's question percolated through her thoughts.

Her calm tawny eyes flickered up to meet his. She saw no harm in answering. Quite matter-of-factly, she answered, "A rubber bullet, fired at close range."


Ken had watched the process with wonder. Unconsciously, he touched the rattler bite at his hairline, where the poison had turned his hair white. This kind of healing would have spared him that agony years ago. To think magic like this existed.

Unexpectedly, he felt a flare of anger. He turned away from the two, uncertain of where this emotion was coming from. He took a few deep breaths and tried to get himself under control. As the anger faded, he shook himself. He'd forget that moment of anger in the time to come.


The joy of a digital camera came from knowing that one could snap shot after shot after shot and in the end, only those that one liked would exist. There was no waste of film. Kazumi had unobtrusively snapped picture after picture. No one seemed to notice what she was doing, though she did catch an uncertain look here and there.

Unabashed, Kazumi stalked through the crowd, taking shots when she could. There were no thoughts of shame or guilt for this girl. There couldn't be. She could not have such feelings and continue to do what she did. After a while, she turned away to review what she had caught. She knew she'd be lucky to get a usable shot in ten considering she had not bother to focus or aim for that matter. Still auto-focus was a girl's best friend....

((It's actually possible to do what Kazumi has done. There was a photographer that recommended doing this to take truly candid pictures--he actually ran a wire with a clicker from his camera, up the strap, and into his hand. He took pictures with his camera dangling from his hand with no one the wiser--he did it for his brother's wedding.))

Satomi was still murmering a few things under her breath, her face as red as a cherry and hung low, one hand on her forehead as she shook it slowly, obviously still a bit shaken with a heavy dose of embarressment over the whole situation. Great... she gave a little peck on Negi's forehead, and she ended up making a fool of herself, getting a botch card, causing some people like Cassandra to think she was a clueless idiot, and others to think she was going back on her word. Oh, and Regan's comment and Kazumi almost guarenteed to have taken quite a few pictures of this was not helping at all.

Still, she found herself in front of Chachamaru and Xenon now, finding their presance a bit more comforting, especially since Xenon didn't cause any trouble while they were gone. But she looked at the two, taking the bag of cloths that Chachamaru brought her, and was about to go behind a bush or something to change real quick. After all, the kimono wasn't exactly the best thing to wear in this situation. "We're going to rescue Konoka-san. It soundes like the kidnappers are dangerous, and we needed all the help we can get. The two of you are strong, in fact, Chachamaru-san, you're aware of the protective programs I've put in for you when you first began serving Eva-chan. So you can run some of those. Xenon-san, I don't want you to use that gun-placement on you unless I say you should, we don't want anyone hurt."

She looked around, finding a nice tall bush, some trees, and plenty of shrubbery she could go behind, and after telling them she would be back in a minute, she went back there to get herself changed, storing the Kimono away in the same bag her cloths was in before, hastefully shoving it in knowing she didn't have the luxery to fold it right. She quickly put on the long, simple pair of blue jeans which had a tear or two in them around the knees, a long sleeved, navy green buttoned up, collared shirt, and of course, her lab coat over top of that. She patted it down to check the pockets, and found she had a few of her smaller gadgets in it, but she didn't see anything that would have been of use... ah well. She'll figure something out.

"Okay.." She began, emerging from behind the tree with a calmer expression, most of her embarressment having faded by now. "I'm ready."

Interesting... seemed that Chigusa was taking this more seriously then her first presumed. He knew some of the tactics she would use, after all, she was one of his 'students' awhile back, but he never would have expected her to resolve it this way. Slowly nodding after he recieved his answer, Eishun turned away for a moment, giving Mana a final, brief pat on the shoulder before looking at the rest of the group, his smile still lingering even now, calm but determined.

"As Cassandra has stated, time is of the most essense, so it is best we depart as soon as possible. If you would, follow me. I have reason to beleive that the anonymous tip we recieved about Konoka and the kidnappers being at the alter is true, and I will show you all where that is. Just be cautious, she may have laid traps, and hired some extra help for all of this."

Eishun knew his responsibility would be to tend to the wounded, but he still wanted to prevent that and keep it to a minimum, after all, for the most part, they were mostly teenagers, and he couldn't stand seeing kids get hurt. Still, with the group they had, he was confident in the fact that they would succeed.

Although... the fact that Chigusa was trained in handling masses of demons wasn't exactly comforting either...

Cassandra simply gave a light chuckle at Chamo's remark. "Oh, you silly little ermine. Remind me when we're finished tonight, Ermine, and I'll stitch you up a nice purple velvet pimp outfit, complete with the feathered hat." She was serious, too; but she'd charge him for her time and effort wasted on such a pointless venture; especially with all the fine stitching that would be necessary for an emine-sized coat.

Cracked her fingers - actually dislocating and relocating a few of the joints in the process - Cassandra nodded. Her patience was growing thin, and for the first time in a good week or so, her bloodlust was at an all time high. She looked towards Eishun. "Leading me there won't be necessary. I've already been to that Altar, Priest man. There was nothing of any real animating value." She had been rather annoyed at that; it meant she'd have to summon her undead in rather than just animate already dead bodies. Ah well.

As she looks towards Cirus, she shakes her hand and smiles, waving a finger as if to say 'no-no'. "I have a better idea. I'll go do my own thing, not fly, and actually not get shot down. You forget - undead do not tire. We are more efficient than you living creatures. We can run for miles without even panting."

She turned to face her troops. Sure, Grundy was really the only one she actually expected to come out of this in one piece, but any others would always be useful. "Come on, men! We have a job to do!" She actually stood up on her throne, raising a fist, her bonesaw clenched tightly, slipping into English again. "" She jumped off her bone throne, and landed on Grundy's shoulder, a psychotic grin well and truly plastered across her face by this point. The throne itself crumbled away to dust and had blown away within seconds.

At this, the skeletons all started clanging their swords against their shields in a rather excited manner, as if in approval of what Cassandra had said. Of course, they had no genuine opinions on the matter; they were just doing as they were told to - but it wasn't like anyone would know that.

Grundy, too, joined in, heaving his axe high over his head in both hands, announcing with a fierce roar. "" He looked towards Cassandra and nodded. "Has been too long. Now we break fings!" He said with a nod.

Cassandra looked towards Negi and the others, grinning as she pulled her needle in her other hand - dual-wielding the needle and her bonesaw, leaning back a bit, but maintaining her balance - Grundy's shoulder wasn't exactly difficult to sit on; it was like sitting on a large, muscular stool. "We'll rush in the front door and make as much of a mess as possible. You lot sneak around the back way and flank them. Do not keep us waiting, or I might just get a little carried away..." The grin remained on her face, as she gave the side of Grundy's head an elbowing, telling him to get going.

Grundy responded to the not-so-subtle hint, and broke into a full-scale run, with Cassandra sat on one of his massive shoulders, and lead the hordes of skeletons off, towards the Altar. Cassandra knew where it was; she'd only been there the very night before.

As Grundy, Cassandra, and the skeletons disappear from sight, a combined shout of both Grundy and Cassandra can be heard; "" followed by a long, simultaneous excited cackle from the pair.

[Cassandra, Grundy and the Skeletons bolt off to the Stone Altar; a certain Frenchman enters from Cinema Village, invisible]

"Many apologies for my lateness."

Claude appears next to Negi, still disguised as Konoka and using her voice. After narrowly dodging being run down by the Doctor and her little party on the way in, he'd gathered that showing off his little watch wasn't exactly going to start any major fires. At this point, he has a cigarette sticking out of the corner of his mouth, and a lighter in his hand that he'd casually taken from a tourist's pocket as he worked his way out of Cinema Village. Of course, he had no idea that Eishun was actually the father of the very girl he was impersonating at the moment. Lighting up the cigarette, he gives a nod towards Negi, bowing deeply. "I am afraid that I was unable to recover Konoka-san; however, I will be more than glad to offer any assistance that I can, monsieur Springfield."

Xenon nodded as she listened to her Operators orders. No using the gun-arm. That was a simple enough request. Of course, it did effectively render Xenon useless as a combat droid; having no actual combat programming of her own. Of course, she was placed with an instant advantage by the sheer fact that unlike a human, she had a metal skeleton, and although it would still only take one well-placed shot to take her down and out permanently, that shot would have to be a lot more well-placed than for a human, due to the smaller size of her vital parts. She remained silent, emotionless, her arms hanging limply at her sides, awaiting to see what would happen next. She chose not to bother questioning Cassandra's little charge. There was probably a very good explanation to it; and she would rather not waste everyone's time explaining it just for her benefit.

"Ah ha ha... That, monsieur, is my personal secret." Claude said with a grin to Cirus, before looking towards the Elder, giving a bow. "Ah, a pleasure, monsieur. I apologize for our incompetence in failing to retrieve your daughter sooner." He took the cigarette from his mouth, blowing a jet of smoke out of the corner of his mouth as he looked towards Negi. "If it is all the same to you, I'd rather remain disguised as Konoka-san for the moment; seeing as I don't have any of my own clothes to change into."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out his knife, flipping it open and nodding. "Subduing force; got it. I will simply have to use the swedge of the knife instead." He presses the blade against the back of his hand to prove his point; the knife doesn't cut him. The 'swedge' is the side of the knife that, although it looks just like a cutting edge, isn't sharpened at all. It effectively transforms the knife from a slashing weapon to a very light bludgeoning weapon; but even that can be used to knock someone out if they weren't aware of your presence.

Eishun knew his daughter well, and although he was almost convinced at first that he was looking at his daughter, he knew that it was just some imposter. Before he jumped to conclusions though, Negi had explained it a little, allowing him to understand just what this was all about. It became one of those 'don't even ask' situations, as the Elder felt like he had been drawn into something that was much stranger than he anticipated, but once again, he knew now was not the time to really dabble on these kinds of questions, and to instead hurry to the alter. And so, after seeing Cassandra depart, seeing how her patience had been tested too far, he had motioned for the others to come and decided to head to the alter now as well. Time was not something he wanted to test right now, and he was worried that his daughter may be in pain and suffering right now even as they speak.

After getting assurance from Chachamaru and Xenon before she looked at the others, she could see that everyone was ready now. Even though she hardly knew Konoka, and considered her just a fellow student and not really a friend, that still didn't change a thing, and she would go and help regardless. Though even if there was little she could do herself, she would certainly come up with a strategy.

[The Elder and Satomi both leave for the Alter]

((Blegh, not happy with these posts at all, but there was little I could post to begin with, and I've been very busy and sidetracked this weekend. @_@ ))

"Looks like everyone's going." Chamo remarks as he looks around, diving into Negi's jacket pocket and coming back up with a lighter and a wick. "I'm ready to help out, Aniki! Let's go!"

"Right!" Negi nods and lifts form the ground on his staff before shooting off. He'd arch over to the alter, snatch up Konoka, and fly off, if all went well. May everything go well.

"Alright, Regan. Let's go." Cirus nods and the two of them start off, running for the alter with the others. They take point, of course, Regan being the one with the close-range combat equipment. Sword, pact-sword, and the skills to make it all count. Cirus would be her back up, with Demon prowess and martial arts. And a bit of magic, of course.

[Negi, Chamo, Cirus, and Regan exit to the alter. Negi and Chamo will take a bit of time in getting there.]

Xenon remained silent and emotionless as she began following after the others. She had very little idea as to exactly what was going on; but she didn't really care that much. It wasn't really her place to question, after all; just obey, like a good robot...

[Xenon heads off to the Stone Altar]

Claude took one last puff on the cigarette before removing it from his mouth, dropping it by his feet and stamping it out. He muttered to himself, barely audible; not that it mattered when he was the only person remaining. "Mission begin. Primary Objective: Recover Konoka-san. Secondary Objective..." He paused for a moment, staring at his knife, and nodding. "...Don't die." Breaking into a run, he headed off, following the others.

[Claude heads to the Stone Altar]