Chapter 25: Fever 103 Degrees

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"I was...of course worried about you. I mean, I worry about any of my friends if they are in trouble." I reply to Charon. He does make me awfully uncomfortable. It is the way that he words things or just the way he looks at me. I am sure that he is a lonely person, so, I try to overlook it, but, it is really...uncomfortable.

"Anyway, a strange thing happened the other day. I was walking home after work and I came upon a man who said he was a living plant. He showed me his powers and it was really...one of the most amazing things I have seen. Do you know anything about that, Charon?" I ask the ancient elf. Of anyone, he should know what it means. I look up at him, eager for an answer. There are just so many things about the world that I don't know.

[Armin Lehrer]

When everyone arrives in Allwhere, the van is parked and people get out to stretch and plot. Armin, who is still sick, pulls himself out of the van. He leans on Kasper's shoulder and looks up at the sky. The light is harsh and it is hot. It makes his fever feel worse. He is pale and sweaty. He needs to go to a doctor or something.
"I think it is time for Kasper and I to say farewell, folks. It was good working with you and maybe we'll work again soon." Armin says to Salome and Horacio mostly, but also to the nihilists.
He wipes some sweat of his brow and looks down at the little girl.

"You can come with us if you don't want to be a part of what these guys are up to." He says to the little girl. He wants to give her the option of doing something else. He would hate to see a little girl get into trouble or become corrupted by those shady characters.

[Salome Weil]

When we stop the van, I stop by a beauty shop and pick up a blond wig. My costume is now complete. I borrow some makeup from Amelia and put on red lipstick and eye shadow. I think I finally look a little more bubbly and American.

I wander back over to the van, now wearing my costume, and notice that Armin and Kasper are leaving. None of us are aware that the teleporation booths are closed down at this time, so I assume that this will be the last time I will see them for a while.

"Well, wish us luck. I hope this works out." I say with worry. But, it is time for me to try to focus on the task at hand. I have to enter the mindset of a pie baking, all American girl. This is going to be a big stretch for me, but I know I can do it. Focus. I try to focus. I shake Armin's hand then go off to practice my giggle.

[Annika 25]

Annika does as Calithin says and finds a large generic looking bottle. She isn't sure what it will be used for, but she simply hands it to Calithin. Things will begin shooting soon, so, she takes a position off the stage so she can run onstage as the dangerous flu virus. She stands in the corner and waits for her cue.

Meanwhile, she keeps an eye on Akira. She has some basic trust for him because he is a fellow Creditor, but, she also knows that he is not quite right. He is an older model and she doesn't want him to do anything that would be embarrassing to Global Bank or Creditor Androids. Their reputation is very important in making sure people pay their bills on time.

[Annette Rosenthal]

After several days of anti viral medications, Annette is finally feeling well enough to go to work. She showers, gets dressed, makes coffee, and heads to her "home" ...Global Bank's Swiss HQ. When she arrives, people are slacking off, talking, and having fun. Many workers are still sick. She is disgusted that everyone thinks that since many of the Creditors are gone and she was out sick, that they can just slack.

She kicks one of the accountants downstairs who was sleeping at his desk.

"Listen everyone. The old battle ax is back. If you are at work, that means you're not sick. That means you are going to work. No more slacking or you'll be unemployed. You can be replaced with Creditors you know." She scolds the workers. This isn't entirely true. There aren't enough Creditors to replace anyone. And Creditors are expensive. They are best used to intimidate people into paying debts. Any other use tends to be a waste of money.

"Get to work!!" She yells before heading up to her office and starting on her own work. She has piles of papers and reports to look over.

[Master Scrag]

To Angelus

The Master waits for Angelus to finish his prayers before he approaches the altar. He would not want to disturb Angelus. Anyway, he has respect for him. He is dutiful, capable, and deadly. What more could a Manalist aspire to be?

The Master's foul smell probably announces his arrival before his voice or footsteps do. He approaches Angelus from the hind, and with a wave of his hand, motions for the Priests and other worshipers to leave them.

Others leave the room, leaving them alone in a dim, candle lit room, featuring stained glass and an altar to Father Manala.

"I just returned from a meeting with the Moderator and some business leaders. They are concerned about this flu. I am more concerned about the minor disruption that was experienced near the end of Holy Week." The Master says to Angelus. He steps up to the alter so that he can face Angelus when talking.

[Calithin Crest]

I hand the large bottle to Max, as it is his weapon in this skit, then take a few steps back to get a full view of the stage.

"Okay, so after I finish my intro-monologue we'll need the Princess to enter in stage left and be walking... Saying something like 'Oh, what a wonderful day. I'm so happy. I love life.' That'll be the que for the android to rush in and attack you. As soon as she does, Princess Ingrid can pretend to fall sick... And the android can laugh maniacally while saying 'Hah! Now you're sick! All of my little germs are attacking your immune system! You can never be happy again!' Then Max will save the day."

I like being the director. I speak quickly and my general demeanor is bouncy and cheerful.

[Angelus Corvinus]

Mar 27, 2010 5:42:43 GMT -5 Master Scrag said:

To Angelus

The Master waits for Angelus to finish his prayers before he approaches the altar. He would not want to disturb Angelus. Anyway, he has respect for him. He is dutiful, capable, and deadly. What more could a Manalist aspire to be?

The Master's foul smell probably announces his arrival before his voice or footsteps do. He approaches Angelus from the hind, and with a wave of his hand, motions for the Priests and other worshipers to leave them.

Others leave the room, leaving them alone in a dim, candle lit room, featuring stained glass and an altar to Father Manala.

"I just returned from a meeting with the Moderator and some business leaders. They are concerned about this flu. I am more concerned about the minor disruption that was experienced near the end of Holy Week." The Master says to Angelus. He steps up to the alter so that he can face Angelus when talking.

After Angelus finishes his prayer, he immediatly notices a familiar "scent" and also notices that people have left the room. It had to have been Scrag. Rising to his feet, Angelus automatically bows to Master Scrag out of respect; They both had a pressence that made it hard for others to stick around, though for different reasons. "Yes. You are refering to the elven terrorist correct Master?" Angelus inquires promptly, knowing about the incident well as he had arrived alittle too late.

Angelus had been injured severely after a mission to apprehend the rebels at one of their meetings and had been healing for the most part, but after the disruption started, Angelus immediatly moved in to try and take the terrorist out only for him to escape at the last moment. Magic be damned.

[Akira 69]

Akira is still too busy watching Ingrid, something he would also be doing with Annika if not for the costume she was wearing... some kind of mishapen giant snot looking thing. Akira really had no idea was going on at all, he knew nothing about the flu going around and also knew nothing about what the hell everyone here was doing! You would think he would atleast have a guess with the camera here but Akira can be very dense at times.

Finally, Akira grows bored of idlely staring at Ingrid and absent mindedly wanders off, perhaps to cause more mayhem. He disappears into the costume department and begins browsing through the costumes out of boredom. "Wazzat?" Akira mutters, spinning his head all around as he heard something... even though in reality he didn't. On reflex, Akira smashes a random mirror and proceeds to yell at the fragments in japanese at a speed that no human could hope to copy.

The room was now emptied of people and so Akira continued wandering around aimlessly, getting caught up in a couple more mirros where he vainly primps and flexes.

OOC: Who wants to bet Akira will inadvertently ruin the commercial after he returns? xD

[Soren Kiersted]

To Charon and and Hilja

With the new policy being enforced, it was no surprise that many if not all elves went into hiding. Soren however, had always been hiding in one sense or another. It had nothing to do with fear so much as his preference to be alone. It was people in general that he hid from and for a time, he was free to do just that while working on new projects to help the environment and society as a whole.

However, this new policy that had been pushed forward, Soren was concerned that it would interfere with his goals; His life mission. Soren had nothing to hide and so not overly worried about the situation for that, but he saw no reason he or his kind had to suffer just because of the rash actions of a single elf. It was a common fault of many younger races, though Soren wondered why when a single elf opposed them, the lot were put into question when many humans and people alike had opposed and still opposed them were not subject of suspicion.

Something had to be done. Soren already knew directly confronting them with force was out of the question, his company was ill suited for fighting such enemies and it was also unwise to attempt to send Ingrid in his stead; He disliked her at times, but she was still his sister and Soren would not feel right with putting her through that. There was also the matter of the flu that had been going around, which definately required Soren's attention after a course of action had been decided on.

Soren had to find another option which is why he was in Helsinki. He was searching for someone by the name of Charon, a Silver Elf. However, Soren did not know for sure if Charon was home and had taken the liberty to find his number before hand. Soren dialed the number, pulling down the hood of the hoody he was wearing to better hide his elven features; After the policy, Soren had to dress more casually to blend in. "Pick up..." Soren thought, hoping they hadn't gotten to Charon already.

[Max Alexander]

Max took the directions from Calithin, he seemed to be good at that. Maybe director was his calling after owning Crest Mining.

He took his place over on the side of the 'stage' and waited for his Que.. "Well, i am ready then. You should really look into directing like this. You are good at it." Max chuckled.

His attention was quickly diverted to the older looking android who had seemingly disappeared. He turned to Calithin and gave him a concerned look. "I am going to be perfectly honest with you, Calithin. That older android is beginning to make me a little nervous. Where did he just disappear off to?" He turned over to the newer android and got her attention. "Do you know anything about that older android?"

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"Yeah, it's just that alot of people take a more narrowly focused view of Manalism, you know? People only think of strength in terms of the physical. Being able to out smart someone makes you stronger than them just as much as being able to beat them up. Strength is, basically, circumstantial." He smirked, shifting his hands so that they brushed back his unbuttoned suit jacket, and tucked them into his pockets. "I bet you don't hear that one alot from the priests, am I right? And you know why? Because, like all religions get, Manalism is narrow minded."

He didn't really know if ALL religions got like that. He'd just heard it someplace and it seemed like something smart to say. "You ask me the world needs more moderates, like me. I'm stronger than just about anybody we're likely to run into on the street but I don't have to go throwing it in people's faces all the time. I know I'm tougher and that's good enough."

Unsure what to look for Peter pointed to a shop with fish hanging in the windows. "Is that a book store?"

[Charon Dejardins/Asphodel]

"Dear Hilja, you are so kind hearted and considerate to think of me and my well being. It warms my heart to have someone who cares about me. I am all alone here but for my fairy friend, and she has gone missing." Charon says to Hilja, taking her hand and looking into her eyes deeply. He has a way of making too much of her concern, but, no one cares about him. It is rare that anyone talks to him, much less comes over to see how he is doing. He can't help but see Hilja's actions as more than what they really are.

However, suddenly there is a phone call. It causes Charon to jump back, dropping Hilja's hand and feeling suddenly afraid. He never gets calls so he almost forgot the sound of his own phone. He is hesitant to even answer. What if it is a Creditor or worse? He does have good credit though.

After it rings for a very long time, he finally picks it up...but with extreme paranoia and caution...

"Hello....?" He says cautiously. "This is...Charon....."

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

Ceph raised a brow as Asphodel flies up and takes a seat on his shoulder. He simply shrugs slightly to her inquiry. He wasn't bad.. though it would probably be a good idea for him to start looking for answers concerning the spread of that flu. He stood up straight and placed his hands on his sides. It would seem that the fairy had been seperated from her friend.. Perhaps he could.. start there?

"We can look for him. If you want." He spoke to the fairy girl.

Perhaps he could find answers on the way.. maybe even this 'Charon' knew a thing or two. He slightly turned his head and looked at Asphodel on his shoulder.
"When was the last time you saw him?"

[Soren Kiersted]

For a moment, Soren considers hanging up and thinks the worst until someone finally picks up. "Good, he's alright," Soren thinks before saying, "I was beginning to think they already got to you... this is Soren Kiersted. I work for Royal Dane Organics," Soren said leaving out the part that he actually owned and ran the company. "I wish to meet with you in regards to the new law that has been passed. Are you free at the moment? Something needs to be done to repeal this new law..." Soren added, peering out from his phone booth.