Xiangshi, who knew absolutely nothing about hunting, nodded sagely. "We're some foreigners on vacation here. It's good to see someone so concerned about animal life and so... willing to end it in the middle of a populated city. Hey, would you like a job?"

"Hey yo, what the fu-"
_{"Shut it, Shazay! Anyone this loopy about hunting big and exotic things will be perfect for dealing with some of the nasties keeping us from settling in!} Anyway, sir-- we'd be glad to offer you compensation for hunting and killing certain large creatures, who have clearly demonstrated themselves to be man-eaters."

Xiangshi's smile grew pencil-thin. Someone this good with a rifle would be perfect for hunting both man and beast-- preferably beast. If he could teach people to shoot this well, Shocker+ would practically be in the clear! "If you want, we can sign you up for a permanent position in our organization. Good hours, good pay, and good work. Interested?"

Sir Frederick gave a light chuckle, shaking his head. "I'm quite well set in regards to monetary needs. Have a bit of an 'independent fortune', don't you know. Selling twelve world's worth of rare albino elephant ivory tends to garner a man a fair amount of bank. But... Freelance work, I can do for you. That is, if you ever need something large and exotic killed." Frederick chuckled, and reached for his bag again, pulling out a small herbal sack. "Now, do any of you have a cup of hot water? After a kill, I need a cup of tea." he sucked through his teeth. "I need a drink something awful."

Hi-Hat scratched his chin. Though they didn't have any plans for hunting big game in New Orleans, it's possible that they'd need some help for the next part in the plan. Someone like this hunter guy would be perfect!

"I'm afraid we don't have any hot water handy. Hey, why don't you come with us? After we're done with our business here, we're gonna head out to an exotic planet for some negotiations. Judging from what I've heard, the castle we're headed to sounds like a spooky place, so I bet you there's gonna be werewolves or bugbears hanging around in the woods that we can shoot. Interested?"

Dr. Facilier grinned. "Don't worry, ma'am," the bokur assured, "I always fulfill my ends of the bargain exactly as I say 'em. Nothing to worry about. Now, if you'll just follow me; my contact's gonna be at the center of this fine, fine city of New Orleans."

Facilier snapped his fingers and his shadow, cast upon the ground, snaked along the cobbled streets and into a taxicab. The shadow knocked the driver out and dragged his body into an alleyway, before hopping into the driver's seat and bringing the cab over to Facilier and Shivani. The cab door opened itself with a ghostly sigh. "After you," Facilier declared.

The wind was blowing wildly within the palace's previously seren atmosphere. Streaks of bright light surged forth, all originating from a single point. Within moments a doorway of light formed, a gate bridging dimensions. A man dressed in dark blue suit stepped out and then the gate promptly disappeared. "Sup!" UMMA agents knew this man, he was Kazuma Yagami the Wind Contractor, their fellow comrade. Albeit calling him just an affiliate of UMMA would be a better term. Kazuma loved his freedom so he kept his relation to UMMA straight to the business. They pay him and he does various odd jobs. The fun of visiting various universes is just a side benefit, a very welcome one. "Sorry for the delay, I'm still figuring out how this device works." Kazuma lied, he could use the UMMA dimensional teleporter pretty decently now. If he couldn't he'd have been ended up miles away from the castle. Kazuma was just too lazy to show up in time. "Alright! Until I adjust I can also try to introduce myself. Hello, Queen! I'm Kazuma Yagami, the Contractor of the Wind. We heard you could use some help so here we are."

Shivani - Dr. Facilier's - Outside

The Khajiit eyed the machine in front of her. "What is this? It doesn't seem to be like any carriage in Tamriel." But I'm not in Tamriel. she thought as she slid in. Once inside the vehicle, she froze. She began looking around slowly. "I hear music." she said with a look of curiosity.

"Yes, that sounds like an agreeable offe-" he didn't finish the sentence, as something far more enticing had distracted him. There, at the end of the street, climbing into a cab... Frederick licked his lips when he saw the potential quarry. Some kind of... Cat person! Definitely not native to Louisiana, possibly not even native to this dimension, but... There it was! It carried a sword on it's hip, a potential danger, but... The more dangerous the hunt, the more enticing.

"Excuse me, but... Is that a Felix Sapien? I don't believe I have one of those in my collection yet..."

"Well, this, my feline friend," Facilier said, "is an automobile. Specifically, a taxicab. Automobiles don't need no horses or reins, all they need are the drivers.

Facilier's shadow, cast upon the driver's seat, took the shadow of the wheel once more and drove Facilier and Shivani to Tiana's Palace, the meeting-point. Facilier frowned with distaste at the restaurant. So many memories of the un-fond variety.

"You hear music?" Facilier asked. "That's common down here in Louisiana. Everyone's up and about their jazz bands. It's quite enjoyable; I indulge in a bit of music myself." As Facilier finished speaking, the car pulled up to the curb and ground to a halt. "Well, here we are," Facilier announced, twirling his cane and pointing at the sign on the storefront. "Now, we wait for my contact."

Hi-Hat attempted to look where Sir Frederick Selous was looking, and saw Shivani and Dr. Facilier, patiently waiting in a car. He wagered a guess that Frederick wasn't referring to the good doctor, and recognized who Shivani was.

"Hey," Hi-Hat whispered to Shazay, "Isn't that the recruit from Athas who totally orc'd out at her job interview?"

Shazay looked at Shivani, and laughed heartily. "Hey, yeah! Dude, that's her! I'm glad she found a job so quickly, but who's that with her?"

"Oh, hey! It's Doctor Facilier! Betcha he's waiting for us."

Xiangshi spoke up, her voice thick with consternation. "Then we'd better get moving, before he gives up."

Hi-Hat turned to Sir Frederick Selous. "C'mon, we'll meet each other and you can see if the recruit is actually a Feliz salir or whatever."

The Hi-Hat Crew made their way out of the alley, and stepped right up to the cab currently occupied by Dr. Facilier and his bodyguard. Shazay knocked on the door, and spoke with a professional tone. "Doctor Facilier? We're Shocker+."

Dr. Facilier's face brightened when Hi-Hat's crew approached the taxicab. The bokur stepped out of the car, his shadow slipping away from the driver's seat. "At your service," he said, with a flamboyant bow, before pulling out a business card. "Here's my card." He handed the card to Shazay. "Now, I've enlisted a little more help on finding this 'Serpent's Eye' in this lady right here," Facilier explained, jabbing a thumb at Shivani, "so if you've got room for one more in your little trans-dimensional transport, that'd be just fine."

As his new associates conversed with the coloured in the cab, Sir Frederick was busy staring, mouth agape, at the marvellous neon sign above the old warehouse. Tiana's Palace, a restaurant of renown. Not for it's food, though their Jambalaya was beyond compare, but rather for it's owner: a coloured woman. Twice the minority for half the price. Frederick had considered investing in a similar venture, back in England, but he never thought that it would fly. After all, the market wasn't particularly eager to embrace diversity...

Hi-Hat glared at Frederick and Shivani with consternation. They weren't part of the plan, but they would probably work...

"The flight plan lists only me, my men, and Dr. Facilier here, but... I suppose I could fit the two of you in here. You two had better demonstrate that you're worth the trouble, or I'll have to leave you back here. Shazay, tell them what we're doing."

Shazay nodded, pushing back his dredlocks and flexing his shoulders. "Aight, let's see. We're gonna head down to the planet Nox, to the castle where the Serpent's Eye is located. There, we split up into two teams: one for the castle's surroundings, one for the castle. Team one'll take this bag'a salt, and draw some salt markers in strategic locations around the castle. Team two'll go right up to the gates and talk to the master in charge. Let 'em know there's Shadow Eternity boys on the way. Get 'em prepared. That way, Shadow Eternity's attack'll fail, and we can head in later."

Shazay smirked, and flicked his nose with his thumb. "Easy as hell, man. In 'n out, and we done. Go out for hookers an' blow, you know what I'm saying?"

Nono, Castle Tepes

Nono waited patiently as Shirley stumbled about for an answer, knowing that feeling fairly well, and not in a hurry to push the servant. It was the least she could do, since she obviously seemed uncomfortable answering, which Nono was used to in her time working before she met the Fraternity.

That abruptly vanished as Geo fell into, and then through, the girl, earning wide eyes from the gynoid. Well then, that was coo, though the cry was less so. "Geo, that was mean," she said, fairly rounding on the boy in time with the Queen. Honestly, he should know better, even as he apologized fervently.

"Come on, let's go," she said with a grin as she returned to the maid, doing the best she could to pat her on the shoulder before following Saber inside the Castle.

Before they could entirely make it though, two portals appeared, reinforcements, as they introduced themselves. "Hey Jack, Kazuma," she said with a wave as she moved, certainly glad to see the help. They were strong, so now Shadow Eternity would have an even harder time getting the relic here. But she didn't let that stop her, as she moved after the Queen.

---

Misaka 10,032, Academy City

Misaka was pleased to see Marisa choose the easy option, and in turn returned her weapon to the bag on her back before moving to follow after, leaving the lab and exiting into the hillside of District 21. She knew the reasons that they had been placed out here, and did not object to them in the total of cost benefit analysis. That still did not make it any less annoying for transportation though.

She kept to the rear, a careful eye kept on the Witch that had stolen her goggles and forced them to chase her before. She would not allow a repeat occurrence, especially in Academy City. Who knew what Marisa could get up to while she was in here, with it's collection of advanced technology and powered people?

She glanced forward at the question, quickly coming up with an answer. "'Walking would be the better idea. Moving above ground allows for easier assistance from police services, as well as other authorities,' Misaka says with some regret at her tired legs," Misaka said even as she noted the dilemma they faced. But better to take a route that would allow a rapid response from the Sisters or Antiskill and was heavily monitored, rather than the subways.

Still, she acknowledged the problem and prepared herself accordingly. If the thief wanted to try something on the way to the Windowless Building, she would have to be prepared to get past Misaka to do so.

Kazuma Yagami
Castle Tepes

@FlamelordKazuma saw a girl waving at him. Well, sorts of. She was Nono, a gynoid with freakish amount of power. Albeit you would never guess this at the first glance. "Hello, robot-girl! Just earning my wage. So how many of us are in here? The boss wasn't too generous with the details." Kazuma asked but really it was mostly just a matter of courtesy and laziness. In a few minutes his pact with the Lord of Skies will be enabled in this world after which point he could pretty much spot everyone better than a radar. That and Kazuma wasn't really worried to fight alone. Having more people here was even a bit of pain. Granted, Jack is always handy to be around and robot-girl can easily take care of herself. So it was all good.

Sir Frederick scratched the underside of his chin, thinking the suggested plan through. It would give him a chance to hunt some more... Exotic beasts than a simple cat person or a dixieland-loving alligator, but that didn't necessarily mean he had to choose one or the other. The strange speaking bloke mentioned two teams. Perhaps he could arrange to be in the squad with the catbeast, get in close to his quarry. Not waste a bullet, so to speak.

"Well, we may wish to make a detour first... I have had my heart set on a very certain quarry. Tell me, have any of you ever heard of the fallen cities of the bazaar? It's a realm of a bizarre nature, home to many dangerous beasts. If you assist me in slaying an Overgoat, I will repay you with my service."

What the hell was this hunter trying to do? Did he honestly think that the lack of him on this mission would be so dire that they'd do anything for him? Shazay rounded on Frederick, and looked him in the eye.

"Nuh-uh, old-timer. No detours. This isn't a damn video game. You either help us out and we go out hunting later, or you go screw and we take just Facilier and Catwoman with us. We ain't haggling for specialists."

"Fine then. But afterwards... Do consider my request. I've been aching to bag one of those demon goats for as long as I've known they existed. Trouble is, the bastards are clever and spry, making them the very devil, if you'll pardon my pun, to catch, not to mention kill. If I have your word that you'll help me take one down at a later date, then yes, I will assist with your castle assault or whatever it is you require of me." Frederick extended his hand, now trembling from the lack of tea ingestion, so as to shake Shazay's.

Jack was a bit surprised to see Kazuma appear at relatively the same time as him, but nonetheless grateful there would be more aide on this mission. He bowed to Kazuma and Nono, saying "It is good to see some familiar faces here. I am certain we will be more than a match for any Shadow Eternity terrorists that attempt to strike here. However, we should still take some time to prepare. Once we are inside, of course."

Seeing that Frederick Selous was willing to compromise and was evidently suffering from severe drug withdrawal, Shazay relented and shook his hand.
"Sure thing, boy. Aight, that's that done. You got any more problems, I ain't wanna hear it. Movin' on... yo, Facilier! We--"

Hi-Hat moved quickly to interrupt Shazay. This would need some semblance of finesse.
"That's good, Shazay. Doctor, as we understand, you have the exact location of the castle our mission is set at. We know only a castle name and a planet name. However, you most likely have its exact universal and geographic coordinates. If you would be so kind as to give them to us, we could keep moving forward without much worry."

@Flamelord@Minder



The wolfs claw rips into his clothes and leaves a few light claw marks that lightly bleeds. A card appears in front of him and the sound of glass breaking can be heard as he charges though it. "Take car of it, Take-Mikazuchi!" His continuing charge leads him right at Cinder and swings his plate at her chest. "Bet you weren't expecting me, bitch!"

Take-Mikazuchi faces the wolf standing in the way of it and the group of people fighting. Lightning bolt in hand he swings it at the wolf in a right to left arc right at it.