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 Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 11:33 pm
Come on, Robin had said. It'll be fun, Robin had said. She had a big list of reasons why Andrea ought to go ghost-hunting with her that night, scrawled onto a scrap of paper during the class before lunch. As she informed him, point by point" Pecos Bill's Ghost was notorious for roving, for one - this could be the last night they'd have a chance to catch him in town! There'd been reports through the underground of whirlwinds around areas of conflicts within the City recently, which was obvious proof that there was a ghost to investigate! So she had to investigate it, and Andrea had to come. And when asked why he had to come, Robin just got a sour look on her face and informed him: Because friends didn't let friends embark on stupid midnight stakeouts alone. The real reason, which Robin had sidestepped so carefully, was that she needed him. And more specifically, his camera. What good would it be if she found the ghost, but didn't have any proof for her website? That would be a tragedy. Ergo, Andrea had to come. Despite all her reasons, though, Robin's persuasions didn't seem to be working - for some reason, Andrea seemed reluctant to commit to a spontaneous stake-out with no guarantees of success, especially on a school night. But in true Robin style, she wasn't about to take no for an answer. She pestered him all through the lunch period; sent him about fifty texts in class, asking if he'd changed his mind yet; followed him home from school, talking the whole while about how dark it would be when she was on that stakeout all alone, without anybody to make sure she came home safely. ALL ALONE, ANDREA. HOW CAN YOU LEAVE HER OUT THERE ALL ALONE. As one might guess, eventually, he had to cave. And so they packed up and set out on their wild late-night search for the wandering ghost of Pecos Bill! He was probably regretting his decision to join her now, of course. It was barely over forty degrees in Destiny City that night, and with an indiscriminate wind that blasted harsh, cold gusts over the would-be investigators. Any less intrepid duo would have been sure to have given up by now, headed home for hot cocoa and chicken soup. With Robin at the wheel, however.... "G-good night for it," Robin commented, trying to hide a shiver. She'd worn a heavy black overcoat, but the dark-colored slacks she'd paired it with did a poor job of keeping her legs warm. The best she could do for her freezing limbs was to keep walking. "P-Pecos Bill probably l, loves this sorta wind... hey, don't forget t-to watch for twisters!" A tornado forming overhead, clearly, would be the first sign of the ghost's presence. Which would probably be good, because right now, the pair were just wandering the streets, following Robin's notoriously unreliable "hunch" that Pecos Bill might be lurking somewhere around a Texan-style BBQ restaurant a few blocks away from Video Buster. Again for emphasis: Andrea, why oh why did you let yourself get talked into this?
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Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 1:23 pm
Robin had to pick one of the few days of the week when dance practice was not an excuse. And he had just had that test in English, meaning the teacher had given them the night off homework, and this particular math assignment was not terribly difficult and had been finished already.
The stars were properly aligned or something, alright.
Andrea was bundled up for the weather in his fringed scarf and faux fur-collared puffy jacket, but his jeans did little to keep his legs warm and so he shivered a bit in the wind anyway. His small digital camera was hidden away in his pocket along with his hands, so he could whip it out to snap pictures of whatever view Robin thought would contain "orbs". Stories of ghosts did intrigue him, and the boy had to admit he liked a good ghost story, but this weather was rapidly convincing him that it would be better to just wait for the Ghost Hunters to take care of the actual searching.
With a sigh that promptly condensed into a small white cloud in the chill air, Andrea tried to convince himself again that the exercise was good for him. Not that he would ever have to dance in near-freezing temperatures, but ... well, there had to be something to be gained from this. Otherwise, he just felt sort of dumb.
"Right, twisters," he agreed absently, and tried to ignore the smell that wafted from the BBQ place. Andrea had already eaten dinner, but that did not make the scent of cooking meat any less tantalizing. "Anything else I should be looking for?" It was entirely possible he had asked that question already, but the dancer blamed the cold numbing his mind if he had.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:47 am
"Now yew listen here. Yew're gonna give me back that seed and git, Mister Monster, or else I'm gonna have to come over there and take it myself. And yew don't want me to come over there and take it for myself."
Andrea was not the only one who had found the smell of the nearby restaurant tantalizing, and had the students arrived only minutes earlier, they would have run into Margaret Butler, starving Crystal student. But, as they were minutes behind the curly blonde, they missed seeing the youma come out of the dark alleyway and snatch up an innocent bystander as Margaret Butler had.
With a grand sigh of defeat, Mags had also clomped her way into the alley after the screaming victim and reluctantly donned on her frilly gown with a wave of a pen.
The bystander now lay on the ground, seemingly lifeless as their star seed glittered from within the grasp of the youma. It was disgusting looking, having hidden itself away in the large garbage bin of the restaurant aligned next to the alley. Thrown away meat and wrappers, fries and sauce, everything disposed from both kitchen and dining area now littered and stuck across the monster's body, and it continued to drip its remains as it took a step forward towards the gray and white senshi.
Talkin' never worked with these things. She always tried because she was s'posed to be just and fair like how Virgo was, but these slobberin' baddies never listened. Even when she said please!
Frowning, Duhr stepped forward to meet the monster in its approach, and one gloved hand shot out to punch the monster directly in the chest. She stared, dumbstruck, as her fist began to sink into the monster's chest cavity, the pristine white glove now being pulled in by barbeque bits and cold slaw. Fortunately for her, the monster failed to care for the idea of becoming siamese twins with the senshi, and swung out with its free arm, smacking the smaller girl and sending her flying backwards against the brick wall of the building beside them.
She fell down to the ground in a heap of bows and curls, but Mags was not a gal to give up without a proper fight. And if this b*****d wanted to use its superhuman strength, then Mags would use the only magical arsenal she had... even if she hadn't learned how to perfect her aim yet.
"Alright, yew...yew asked for it, Mister. I gave yew a fair chance 'n all."
Rising from the ground with a grunt, she positioned herself as she had during practice with Derp. Taking a step back, she planted both heels on the concrete firmly, keeping her balance steady as her hands moved towards her chest, preparing to throw themselves out with her attack.
"But yew're in trouble now because I'm Sailor Duhr and in the name of Duhr, I'm gonna blow yew away!"
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 4:06 pm
Robin glanced sharply at Andrea, irritated. Because yes, in fact, he had asked that question before - twice. And she was starting to wonder if he was repeating himself because he was honestly that forgetful, or whether he was just trying to annoy her into letting him off the hook. If it were anyone else, in fact, she might have begun to feel insulted by such a pathetic attempt to wriggle out of an unpleasant task - and God knew, you didn't want Robin to get it into her head that you were insulting her in any manner - but, as it was Andrea, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
So, for the third time that night, she sighed and began to run down the reported signs of the presence of Pecos Bill.
"First, you have to listen," she told him in a voice edged with impatience. "Even if there aren't any twisters, there's other things you look for. Like coyotes howling at the moon, right, or... shhh, hold on a second!"
There were sounds. Not exactly the noise of coyotes on the prairie or anything (which was probably just as well - Robin had no clue how to tell a coyote howl from a dog barking at the wind, anyway), but it sure sounded exciting, and more to the point - it was nearby. Robin had no proof that it was related to the Pecos Bill investigation, of course, but at her heart, she was an opportunist - as long as there was something adventurous to do, she would go for it, even if it meant abandoning what she was already about.
So, with eyes lit up bright with curiosity, she pointed toward the foreboding alleyway where the sounds of a rising conflict emerged. "Or things like that." Common sense was a dying breed, and Robin wasn't one to forestall its inevitable death; without thought of danger, she hurried to the edge of the alleyway, urging Andrea to follow close behind her.
She was not to be disappointed.
I'm gonna blow yew away! someone shouted from within the alleyway. The voice might have been female, but the Southern accent was unmistakable. Robin's heartbeat had only began to pick up when she peeked into the alleyway, just in time to see her hopes manifested into reality: This strange girl threw out her arms, and suddenly appeared a tiny whirlwind in the alley.
What the whirlwind was doing (or, more importantly, which direction it was heading) didn't seem to register in Robin's brain. Rather, she turned from alley, something far more important on her mind -- "Andrea. ANDREA. Are you getting pictures?!" Robin gasped, clasping her hands in front of her chest in delight. "We found Pecos Bill!"
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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 3:23 pm
Really, Andrea ordinarily had no issues going out and doing things with Robin, strange as they often were. He just would better be able to enjoy this particular outing without that wind cutting to the bone. He hunched his shoulders and nodded to his friend as he continued to follow, glancing around as he did his best to listen for howling. He had heard a couple wolves howling on the prairie in some of the Westerns his brother watched, but the older Gyfford brother was always skeptical as to whether or not Hollywood got it right. Still, a dog could only make so many sounds, so he listened for anything that sounded vaguely familiar--
-- and was also just registering the voice, the summoned tornado, when Robin started excitedly chattering to him about the ghost.
"Yeah, pictures," he replied in an urgent whisper, eyes wide as cold fingers fumbled the camera from his pocket. Andrea nearly dropped the thing once - thank goodness for that carrying strap around his wrist - as he turned the thing on, clicked the wheels on the top to the setting for "street lamp lighting" ("use this option if you are shooting photographs along a road or alleyway at night - longer exposure makes best use of available lighting") and raised the device to aim in order to shoot a picture.
Pouring over photos from previous excursions had turned up suspicious blurs, the occasional orb or halo that, in Andrea's opinion, looked like they could easily just be artifacts of the lighting, but that had excited Robin nonetheless. This, however, happening right in front of him, looked like the real deal. Andrea clicked away on his digital camera as often as the pictures' save time to the camera memory card would allow as it sunk in perhaps for the first time just how awesome this supernatural photography could be.
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:36 am
Taking in a deep breath, she focused her attention on the monster in front of her and thrust out her hands.
"TWISTIN' WIND!"
Thankfully, her palms were aimed in the monster's direction (this time), and a gust of wind came flying out from her hands, quickly twisting and forming into a miniature tornado. The funnel shot forward, growing larger as it picked up the scattered trash and debris around the area. It was nearly five feet in height before it reached the monster, and the creature let out a shriek as the senshi's power collided with it. The winds began to tear at the youma, sucking in bits and parts. Her attack normally shoved the opponent back, but as the monster seemed to consist of nothing but goop and debris, as the wind made contact, it began to lose its shape to the spinning funnel.
Soon enough, the monster had disappeared entirely in the wind, pieces of trash flying around in its wind as the twister then forced itself forward, bouncing back and forth between the alley's walls. It began to make its way back to its creator, and Duhr took a flying leap forward onto the ground, her hands quickly snatching and protecting the tiny star seed before the winds could snatch it up on its return. As it passed by and dragged itself over the blonde senshi, leftover food bits, paper, and mysterious goop managed to stick itself to her frilly fuku and yellow curls. The winds began to die down and (thankfully) dissolved into the night air before it reached the mouth of the alley where the two students stood, leaving no evidence of the monster, save for a pile of trash at their feet.
"Gawddamnit."
The senshi of tornadoes was still unaware of the audience that stood nearby, and the tired girl slowly drug herself up once again off of the ground and stumbled her way over towards the motionless victim. The star seed was gently placed on the chest and absorbed itself within - the ashen face of the woman soon regaining color. Thankfully, there had still been time.
Relieved (and quite sticky), the woman was ignored as the senshi began to sweep her hands over her skirts, wrappers fluttering to the ground as the sauce and goop decidedly remained sticky against her gloves and outfit.
"Shoulda used my gun. Don't know why Derp won't let me - woulda saved me a cleanin' job, for sure." Sighing, one glove moved up to pick out a fry that had caught itself up in her hair. "Hogs balls, this is just ridiculous."
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:30 pm
Robin should have probably noticed that monster.
She didn't.
She should have probably noticed that Duhr was dressed in a style that was, if not precisely the same as, at least similar to the senshi "terrorists" running on the street.
She didn't.
At the very least, she should have thought about the consequences of walking up to a superpowered stranger on the street and fangirling over them.
But of course -- she didn't.
"OH MY GOD YOU ARE PECOS BILL!" Robin, it seemed, was unable to contain herself - confronted with the truth of a spiritual possession, meeting face-to-face with one of the greatest heroes of the Old West (and phooey on those people that called his story "fakelore!") The girl stepped out right into the open - hands clasped at her chest, eyes shining bright, looking for all intents and purposes as thought she had just found that thing she had been looking for all her life. Which, to some extent, it seemed she had.
She was now standing in Andrea's shot, but Robin wasn't bothered by that thought, of course - she tended to think that she was better off in front of the camera than behind it, after all. Timidly - or at least coyly - the girl took a single step forward. "Mr. Bill. Could you, uhm... could you tell me what you're doing here?"
What Robin really wanted to ask was, can I have your autograph - but she was a professional. Investigation first, autographs later.
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 5:14 pm
Andrea gaped at the swirls of wind and debris as he kept taking pictures, and followed Robin into the alleyway as he tried to hold the camera as still as possible. The spell was broken on him momentarily, though, as a goopy piece of wrapper smacked into his leg.
Abruptly, he noticed the other settlings pieces of trash, and kicked the slightly sticky bit of garbage off of his leg and opened his mouth to tell Robin to be careful - he had not spotted the monster, either, but at least had some sense to wonder if the ghost might not necessarily be friendly. He was not fully sure of all of the details of the Pecos Bill folklore since that was more Robin's thing anyway, but ... well, he was not mistrustful, necessarily, but figured he would just let his more knowledgeable friend do all the talking for now. -- Which meant that he should probably not bother her now; Andrea shut his mouth, and raised the camera to snap another picture.
Robin edged into the way, though, and he laughed and stepped to the side, closer to one wall, and tried to get a good angle on Pecos Bill.
... Wait, was the ghost in a skirt? Was the cowboy supposed to be dressed like that? Or was this girl like, possessed by the ghost somehow?
"Hey, Robin?" he started to ask, keeping his eyes on Pecos Bill while he reached out to touch his friend's shoulder.
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 1:01 pm
"OH MY GOD YOU ARE PECOS BILL!"
The blue-eyed senshi was visibly startled by the shrill cry, gloved hands yanking down on the curl that still had a ketchup-covered fry lodged within it. "What the balls -"
Glancing up, her expression was akin to a deer being caught in oncoming headlights. Blue eyes stared in confusion at the two high schoolers and eyebrows shot up as the one identified as Robin stepped forward. She looked like she was ready to jump the senshi, and Duhr wasn't about to be attacked for the second time that evening.
"I.. uhh... Bill?"
Every redblooded American (or rather, redneck) knew of the story of Pecos Bill and Slue-foot Sue. Mags was a fan of the tale (though a bigger fan of Annie Oakley) and thus quite confused with the girl's question.
"Yew think I'm Pecos Bill?"
She turned her head around, curls flying, to look behind her to ensure that no tall cowboy was standing in the alley with her. Nothing. Turning back, she tilted her head, confusion etched across her face. "I'm Duhr. DUHR."
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 2:30 am
It didn't even matter what Duhr was saying, was the sad thing. It was the way she said it - with that classic Southern kick, sort of a tangy sound. So far as Robin was concerned at the moment, the Confederates had been slaughtered in the Civil War, and only the Yanks survived - there was no thought in her mind that she might have just happened upon someone in Destiny City that shared an accent with the famed cowboy. This was proof - undeniable proof - that the figure in front of her was, in fact, Pecos Bill.
Or, more accurately, was someone that was possessed by Pecos Bill. Her thinking was right along with Andrea's on this one. Clearly, Pecos Bill was borrowing a body for one more night of romping and hooting from the afterlife!
"Yes sir, I'm sure that you are!" Robin replied gleefully, not understanding that Duhr was supposed to be a name and not a sound of confoundment. "We've been out looking for you all night - Andrea and me, I mean, my name's Robin, sir. We're both really honored, and--" Andrea's hand was on her shoulder now, and this, at least, managed to distract her from her enthusiasm a moment. Craning her neck around to glance at her friend, Robin pouted. "Andrea - why aren't you getting more pictures? We've gotta get as much of this as we can for the website!"
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Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:23 pm
"Yeah, pictures," Andrea hurriedly affirmed with a nod as he shook the camera in a small circle, as though the motion would somehow make the chips inside work faster to save each picture.
He was not fully sure what "duhr" was supposed to mean, either, but... well, the black-haired boy suspected that if he was a ghost, out and about doing ghostly things, that he might be a little confused if the living caught him in the act, too. Something about this was giving him a nagging feeling that something was wrong. But then if they were right, this was like, the coolest thing ever - a real ghost?
Andrea let himself get caught up in Robin's enthusiasm for now, and leaned around her to keep taking pictures. Photo hunting sessions, if nothing else, meant more time to hang out later and go through all the photos and try to determine what they had actually seen. And compared to most (read: pretty much all) of Robin's other supernatural hunts, this seemed by far to be turning up the most convincing evidence.
"Hey, Mister Bill, I'm Andrea," he said nervously with a small wave of his free hand when Robin paused long enough to take a breath.
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