"Hm," was Emily's only response to Luka's warning about the range of his abilities and his blithe response to her reprimand. She kept her eyes on the door to Mario's and watched as the strange goat like creature entered. She watched it struggle to move on the tile, like it found itself on top of ice on a wintery day. She ducked as it leaped over her and the diner's counter. She turned her focus to the counter again and watched as the strange man entered.

She studies his surprised reaction and listens to his...well, not quite so official demand for their identities. She retorts to the man, borrowing a line from an enigmatic character she once read, keeping her tone even and calm, "Don't you know it's rude to demand our identities without introducing yourself first?"

While everyone else readied themselves for the inevitable showdown as the creature crashed into the diner and its pursuer proceeded to arrive shortly after, Luka remained seated in the booth for a moment longer. He had been momentarily distracted by how bits and pieces of information had been instinctively occurring to him regarding his newfound abilities. If useful tidbits now floated into his head whenever he needed them, Luka wondered if he could use the power his Eidolon gave him to call knowledge into his mind whenever he wanted it. Reaching out onto the table, Luka willed a crystal ball into being. 'For my life, my payment to Santana is the woe of those who have done him wrong.' Luka thought to himself as he peered into the depths of the orb. 'How might we best uphold our end of the bargain here and now?'

Reaching out onto the table, Luka willed a crystal ball into being. 'For my life, my payment to Santana is the woe of those who have done him wrong.' Luka thought to himself as he peered into the depths of the orb. 'How might we best uphold our end of the bargain here and now?'

Luka, you gaze into the crystal ball that your Eidolon conjured for you, and the glass begins to swirl with color. As you focus on the deal you made with Santana, the dancing ribbons of light shine the same gold of E*D*E*N's sign--but then the ends of the strands start hissing and burning like fuses down their length, and within a second the whole pattern turns Tyrian purple. The pattern begins to spin in place until it forms a vortex, and your hand is pulled towards it with the irresistible force of a black hole.

As soon as your finger brushes against the crystal, your vision goes black. You feel as if you are, at the same time, perfectly motionless and moving at incredible speed; your normal frames of reference are all ripped away from you, leaving you with no way to know how long that contradictory state lasts. When it does finally end, you are no longer in the diner. Instead, you stand in...

Well, the closest thing you can relate it to is a courtroom, but it's no court that's ever been built by human hands. The floors are ebony hardwood, polished to a dark shine. Words, written in text too small to read while standing, have been etched into the wood and inlaid in gold leaf. Though you cannot make out the actual text, from where you stand the formatting looks like a legal document, with long paragraphs separated into multiple levels of headings. To your right, a man sits at the prosecutor's table, waiting patiently, but you cannot make out any of his distinguishing features. The table to your left is empty; no one stands in your defense.

You are in between the two tables, directly in front of the bench. Around you has been constructed a witness box, of sorts, made out of the same wood and carved with the same designs as the floor. Your wrists and ankles have been manacled together, so that you can barely move them; the chains extend out behind you, seemingly into infinity. A strip of purple cloth has been tied across your mouth, binding your speech as well.

Sitting on the ledge of the witness box in front of you is a card very similar to the one you were given by Santana, but with a different picture on it. Instead of showing you astride the world, it depicts you laying in the cup of an ancient scale of tarnished silver. One arm has been thrown over your eyes; the other is held outstretched, as if in a futile attempt to turn aside a killing blow. A globe sits in the other cup; the green of its earth is mottled with brown, and the blue of its seas looks sickly. The scale is tilted almost all the way in your direction, leaving you dangling just above the swords emerging from below. Across the top, the card reads XI - Justice.

"AH." A massive voice rings down at you from above. The judge's platform is in front of you, but it extends almost fifty feet in the air; purple marble forms the columns at each corner, and the word "ORDER" has been carved into them, over and over, in every human language and script. You would normally have trouble hearing someone speak from that distance, but the pronouncement coming from the lofty figure crashes upon you with the force of eternity. "I THOUGHT I HAD SENSED MOVEMENT IN THE CURRENTS OF THE DREAM WORLD, AND I WAS CORRECT. YOU HAVE AWAKENED, AND I CANNOT BIND YOU; THE SERPENT HAS ENLISTED YOU INTO HIS SERVICE." He considers you for a second. "OF COURSE HE DID. YOU ARE THE EXACT KIND OF CREATURE HE MOST FAVORS. SELFISH, THROUGH AND THROUGH. AN..." He spits out the next word, syllable by syllable, as though trying to get the taste out of his mouth. "INDIVIDUALIST." Though you can hear the judge, you can barely see him; he is present mostly as a silhouette of powdered wig and pressed robes, and his purple-red eyes shine from that darkness to meet you with a piercing gaze.

"SO, YOU SEEK YOUR MASTER'S GUIDANCE?" The judge makes a dismissive noise. "HEED MY ADVICE INSTEAD. THE SERPENT WILL SOON LOSE THE LAST OF HIS POWER, AND WITH IT WILL GO WHATEVER BOON HE HAS GRANTED YOU. ABANDON YOUR MISSION, AND SAVE YOURSELF UNNECESSARY SUFFERING." He points his gavel over to the jury box; you cannot make out how many people sit in it, nor most of their features, but you do recognize one of the jurors as the man who just confronted you in the diner--the one responsible for your death. "OR YOU WILL BE JUDGED BY A JURY OF YOUR PEERS." He turns the gavel on you, and your heart sinks through the floor. "YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN FOUND GUILTY, LUKA DURAND. KNOW THAT WHATEVER MEAGER PROTECTION YOUR PATRON HAS GIVEN YOU HAS NOT PUT YOU BEYOND MY POWER."

The gavel slams with a thunderclap, and your vision goes black again. When it returns, you are back in the diner. No time has passed, but the feeling of the gag around your face remains, even as the cloth itself has vanished, and your tongue tastes like ash in your mouth.

---

She studies his surprised reaction and listens to his...well, not quite so official demand for their identities. She retorts to the man, borrowing a line from an enigmatic character she once read, keeping her tone even and calm, "Don't you know it's rude to demand our identities without introducing yourself first?"

The man lays his hand on his gun and flips open the holster's latch, but for now, the gun stays where it is. He does, however, take a couple of steps back from the three of you, and the side of his body with the gun is turned away from you; if he does draw, he'll be in a good shooting stance.

"Well," he says. Clears his throat. Looks back and forth at the four figures in the diner. "Ok."

A cacophonous sound comes from the kitchen, metal crashing against metal, followed by a distant screech.

The man takes a deep breath.

"I'm Agent Ray Simonsen, IDLN. I know you haven't heard of us, but here's my badge--" As he speaks, Agent Simonsen reaches into his jacket, then freezes suddenly. "Um. My badge." He reaches in the other coat pocket--awkwardly, as he refuses to take his hand off of his gun. Checks his pants pocket. Frowns.

"Well, I'm with the IDLN. We're an agency responsible for handling sensitive cases, like the one breaking all the dishes back there. What you're doing right now is obstruction of justice. I ought to arrest all four of you, but I've got other stuff that's more important to deal with, so if you all just get going to whatever halloween party you were headed to, I'll look the other way this time."

Ashley's growl went unheard, she is not planning to kill the man for it is a huge line even for her. What she's planning is to cripple his legs and make him answer their questions in fear. It might be going overboard but it is an option.

So whatever is drawback Luca is suffering through, serves him right.

Ashley listened as the agent tries to introduce himself and fail to procure the badge that he oh so definitely have. She briefly wonders what difference will the thing make knowing that this is the guy who blew a diner full of people. She won't be able to hold him liable to a thing that didn't happen but expect her to use it as a basis of her judgement.

"You do know that there's a gas leak here right?" Ashley tried to misdirect using previous events as the basis of her story as she concentrated on the 'script' she once saw.

A different word, a different act can change the future. For a want of a nail, a battle is lost and all of that.

So she is observing not just the present but also the future in whether this man is worthy of any trust.

Everything happened so quickly. One moment, Luka was thinking that he was about to get in touch with Santana for a tip on how to proceed. The next, he was standing gagged and bound in a courtroom with no defender backing him up. Something that quickly ceased to matter when it was revealed that he had already been found guilty.

An icy shard of pure fear pierced Luka's heart as the gavel was turned on him. He had escaped Justice many times over the years, but this time it seemed like there was no way out. Whatever place he had tried to access was not a place where his family's influence held any sway. All that could be done now was to await the sentence.



A voice even greater than the judge's boomed as a brilliant silver light shone out from the defense table before the gavel could come down. After a moment, the light dimmed to reveal what Luka could only describe as the perfect, ideal representation of a knight. He was resplendent in glorious silver armor with a golden plume topping his helmet and a shield on his arm bearing a heraldic symbol that Luka found strangely familiar for reasons he couldn't quite grasp.

"I weep for the world if thou art the Shades of Justice it yields in this day and age." The Knight declared, a note of sorrow to his french accented voice. "Prithee tell me... wouldst thou truly call this Justice? Thy defense table empty and bare? Thy defendant chained and silenced? The trial held in full and verdict rendered while the one being tried slumbers? Heavens above, both of you! One of thy jurors beareth a hostile bias even! Doest thou truly believe that any of these proceedings fall under the auspices of Justice?" The Knight divides a glare evenly between the prosecutor and the judge. "There are standards. Even for those who have bowed to the Serpent. Even for those who have strayed so far into the darkness that they can barely be seen." The Knight declared. "Look me in mine eyes and verily say unto me that thou hath met these standards this day."

The prosecutor struggled to meet the challenge for a moment, before ultimately bowing his head in shame.

The judge actually managed to hold The Knight's gaze, but never even began to try voicing an affirmation of their actions being just.

"The defence moves to set aside the verdict." The Knight intoned.

The judge remained silent for a few moments more, then spoke two final words.

"CASE DISMISSED."

And then Luka was back in the Diner with seemingly no time having passed at all. He blinked, blinked, and blinked again. He looked down at his limbs and found them chained no longer. He felt around his mouth and found it no longer gagged. After confirming this, Luka sunk deeper into his seat, allowing things to continue on around him as one thought consumed his mind.

'WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?'

Emily listens as the man introduces himself as Ray Simonsen, an agent for some unknown organization that deals with sensitive cases, such as the unknown creature that fled to the kitchen. She looks to Ashley when she mentions the gas leak, giving a small smile to her. Thanks to her, she had an idea. Thanks to her mastery of writing stories, she had an idea on how to appeal to a person's sense of humanity, and care for their fellows.

Emily answers the man, "You may call me the Writer for now. Agent Simonsen, are you truly an agent, or are you a mindless zealot, bending to the will of a cult without question?"

She then explains with a chuckle, "As Ashley mentioned, there's a gas leak. Or at least, that's what the Head Waitress told everyone in order to get both customers and employees to evacuate this diner before both of your arrivals,"

She then gave the Agent a hard stare through the ceremonial mask, "Do you realize that if we had not interfered and warned the Head Waitress, you would have incinerated every living soul in this diner just to accomplish your mission? What kind of justice permits sacrificing innocent lives in order to see a mission done?"

Alas, her skill doesn't completely translate in this situation: There is still the element of unpredictability. One may think that upon hearing this revelation, they may think of their actions carefully and change their ways. But...there are people who double down on their beliefs upon realizing that they are in a cult, and refuse to listen to reason.

There is a chance that Agent Simonsen may be such a person and not listen to her...Emily could feel that worry chew away at her.

"You do know that there's a gas leak here right?" Ashley tried to misdirect using previous events as the basis of her story as she concentrated on the 'script' she once saw.

A different word, a different act can change the future. For a want of a nail, a battle is lost and all of that.

So she is observing not just the present but also the future in whether this man is worthy of any trust.

Ashley, you reach out to your Eidolon and bid it show you the future, and something different happens. The first time you tried this, [Bootstrap Paradox] showed you a single, coherent vision of the events to come--a vision which was immediately preventing from coming to pass, thanks to your actions and the interference of The Crow. Having absorbed that, you've come to a deeper understanding of your power, and opened yourself up to the inherent multiplicity and uncertainty of the future.

Of course, knowing that the future can follow many paths is not the same thing as being able to absorb all of the information contained within them. You vaguely hear Emily next to you, trying to convince Agent Simonsen to stand down, but most of your attention is locked on the man himself. To your sight, he seems to have split into multiple copies, all superimposed on each other. One stands, hand on his gun, listening intently to your friend but not relaxing. Another has drawn his gun and begun blasting away at the three of you. The last one watches someone--or someones--exit the front door of the diner, then draws his gun and moves out of the "frame", vanishing. As he does, the three copies collapse in on each other, resolving into the first image.

You're not foolish enough to think that you've seen every possible future, but the impression you get is that, unless something dramatic changes about the situation, there's currently no future in which Simonsen retreats without at least attempting to fulfill his mission, whatever that happens to be. Moreover, he's definitely willing to escalate this into violence if he needs to.

Emily answers the man, "You may call me the Writer for now. Agent Simonsen, are you truly an agent, or are you a mindless zealot, bending to the will of a cult without question?"

She then explains with a chuckle, "As Ashley mentioned, there's a gas leak. Or at least, that's what the Head Waitress told everyone in order to get both customers and employees to evacuate this diner before both of your arrivals,"

She then gave the Agent a hard stare through the ceremonial mask, "Do you realize that if we had not interfered and warned the Head Waitress, you would have incinerated every living soul in this diner just to accomplish your mission? What kind of justice permits sacrificing innocent lives in order to see a mission done?"

Alas, her skill doesn't completely translate in this situation: There is still the element of unpredictability. One may think that upon hearing this revelation, they may think of their actions carefully and change their ways. But...there are people who double down on their beliefs upon realizing that they are in a cult, and refuse to listen to reason.

There is a chance that Agent Simonsen may be such a person and not listen to her...Emily could feel that worry chew away at her.

Emily, Agent Simonsen is listening intently, and as you speak, he looks back and forth between you and the kitchen entrance. His face is hard, devoid of emotion, but something tells you that's a mask.

"I wasn't going to--look." He takes a deep breath in through his nose, then lets it out slowly. "I don't even know who you people are. You just showed up while I was in pursuit of a target, dressed like a bunch of weirdos, and starting giving me grief. Besides," he sniffs the air, "I don't smell any gas, so I don't know what you're on about. I won't deny that sometimes our missions involve... collateral damage, but I don't make it a point to hurt civilians, and the work we do is extremely important."

His face suddenly changes; you can almost see the lightbulb turn on above his head. "Hey, I don't know who you people are. And I don't know how you could possibly know what I would have done if you hadn't been here." He doesn't move, but the tension in the room grows ever so slightly. "I think you need to explain some things to me, 'Writer'."

It doesn't look like your attempt to dissuade Ray from his mission entirely has been successful, but you've got him on the back foot now, and if no one on your side escalates--and there are no drastic changes to the situation--you can keep him talking. You might be able to find out something important if you ask the right questions--or at least give someone else the chance to get the drop on him.

@rush99999 - Luka, you're barely taking in the events in front of you, reeling as you are from the... well, it would be insufficient to call it a "vision", though you're pretty sure you didn't go anywhere physically. There's a warmth coming from your pocket; if you are so inclined as to check on it, you will find the card Santana gave you, with the artwork for The Wheel of Fortune still engraved on it. You understand instinctively that the card is tied to you, and can be summoned and dismissed at will. The other side, previously that indeterminate fractal pattern, has changed to the card you just saw in the courtroom: Justice.

You hear another loud crash from the kitchen; apparently the creature that Simonsen was chasing hasn't yet found the back door.

@XxFellsingxX - The Crow, wherever you currently are, the phone attached to the wallet you just pilfered buzzes. If you choose to look at the screen, you can see several notifications (though whether you can read them, much less determine what they are, is an open question). Two are missed calls, from a contact titled "Agent Bullshit". The last is a text from the same person: "pick up ur dam phone ray"

---

Ashley let herself experience the countless multiple futures in her vision, it appears that mentality is a huge part of how her and probably their powers manifest, something that she should keep in mind for later. But for now the relevant information.

The detective is capable of discourse and is understandably paranoid about them. He doesn't know what they are here for and as far he knows they are nothing but an obstacle with unknown goals.

To be fair they are also trying to navigate their situation as well, after all this impromptu group had only one goal for now; stop whatever led to their deaths. With the three or four of them being the remaining inhabitants of Mario's diner, they will completely achieve when the Agent lets them walk away.

But he have some questions, which is preferable than a recreation of a gas leak explosion. Well whatever it is, he should be made inclined to give them information in turn.

A large crash in the backdoor gives her an idea.

"Writer." Ashley speaks, careful to not reveal their identities by a slip of a the tongue. "Can you make it so nothing enters or escapes for the next few minutes, I think in order for a discourse to made, privacy must be first established." she speaks to Emily who is still wielding the fire extinguisher, offering to take it from her.

"Reveler, can you direct your minion to get whatever the thing that is causing the mess in the back. It should be a piece of cake with your powers."

Ashley would then look up, looking for their feathery friend who should still be around if he follows her instructions. It's up to him whether he wants to reveal himself or not but she wants a reassurance that he is around.

As the Crow studied his new prize, his triumph slowly turned to confusion as he tried to comprehend exactly what he was looking at, particularly the words emblazoned on the wallet. While he had gained the ability to understand human writing, some phrases still confused him. What exactly was a 'field agent'? An agent was someone who acted on behalf of another so... someone who acted on behalf of a field? That didn't make any sense.

Then the phone attached to the wallet started ringing. It was not an unfamiliar sound to the New York bird, but it still startled him, causing him to give out a loud squawk and almost let go of it (and the knife he was still clutching in his beak). Thankfully, he managed to reclaim his hold of both and, still recovering from the shock, read the words on the phone.

"Agent Bullshit". Okay, that made even less sense than 'field agent'. Who would act on behalf of cow poop?

Not knowing what to do with this, he decided to defer to his human companions who might have the answers to his slowly growing list of questions. He fluttered down so he was hovering in sight of the window of Mario's, hoping that at least one of his companions could see him. He held up the wallet and phone, giving a questioning looking as if to say 'What do I do?'

"Reveler, can you direct your minion to get whatever the thing that is causing the mess in the back. It should be a piece of cake with your powers."

Luka was drawn from his stunned reverie by Ashley's request. Eager for anything to take his mind off of the terrifying experience he had just been put through, Luka rose from the booth and snapped his fingers. With a puff of smoke, [THE ESSENCE OF LIFE] was a faceless baseballer no longer. Instead, the Eidolon resembled a faceless version of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

"One contained MegaTen reference coming right up." Luka declared before departing to the kitchen. Once within 15 feet of the creature in the kitchen, Luka would have his Eidolon begin playing a calming melody on the pipe. Meanwhile, Luka himself would use his ability to will the creature into a state of calm and compliance so that he could lead it back out to the others.

"Writer. Can you make it so nothing enters or escapes for the next few minutes, I think in order for a discourse to made, privacy must be first established,"

Emily looked to Ashley as she made her request. She nods and answers, "Certainly, Reader," When she reached out for the fire extinguisher, Emily obliged and handed the item to her with a quick "Thank you," She then proceeds to take out her notebook and pen again. She does look up to see what she can do, she spots The Crow with a phone in claw!

It wouldn't do to have that ring...chances are pretty good that that's the Agent's phone and wallet. Upon seeing the Crow, she tilts and nods her head to the side, towards where she remembered the dumpsters would be. For now, it was best to throw it away, and they can go looking for it later. Hopefully, the Crow would pick up on that idea. Now...how to reinforce the walls.

After that, she proceeds to uncap the pen and begin to write in her journal again,

"As Emily writes in the journal, magic flows through the air once again! This time, they swirl in front of the doors, buffering and buffeting against those who would try to enter or leave the diner. The only indication of this barrier would be the papers or small debris that flies upon the gales, creating the phenomenon known as Dust Devils..."

She then closes the journal and caps her pen once more, and watches to see if her idea would work...

Luka was drawn from his stunned reverie by Ashley's request. Eager for anything to take his mind off of the terrifying experience he had just been put through, Luka rose from the booth and snapped his fingers. With a puff of smoke, [THE ESSENCE OF LIFE] was a faceless baseballer no longer. Instead, the Eidolon resembled a faceless version of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

"One contained MegaTen reference coming right up." Luka declared before departing to the kitchen. Once within 15 feet of the creature in the kitchen, Luka would have his Eidolon begin playing a calming melody on the pipe. Meanwhile, Luka himself would use his ability to will the creature into a state of calm and compliance so that he could lead it back out to the others.

Luka, your Eidolon marches merrily into the diner's kitchen, piping away on his flute, and--fittingly--you follow. Getting within fifteen feet of the creature requires you to walk all the way into the doorway, but no further, and you manage to stay in range to maintain Ashley and Emily's disguises.

The kitchen is an absolute wreck. Tubs of condiments have been upended and the creature's frantic movements have smeared them across the floor, making it look like an abstract painting in mayo, ketchup, and mustard. Pots, pans, and dishes have been knocked over, and sit in piles on every surface, including the mayo puddle. The sound of crashing stainless steel stopped moments before you walked in, and you can see the cause of the sudden silence: the creature sits in the middle of the floor, dripping ketchup from its spindly appendages. Its head has become lodged in a metal pan, which it is having a surprising amount of trouble removing.

As your Eidolon gets within range of it, the creature's efforts cease, and its head turns sightlessly towards The Essence Of Life. The song utterly captivates it; it rises to its feet, still shaky, and waddles through the mess to come meet you, following you into the lobby of the diner (if that's where you choose to lead it).

After that, she proceeds to uncap the pen and begin to write in her journal again,

"As Emily writes in the journal, magic flows through the air once again! This time, they swirl in front of the doors, buffering and buffeting against those who would try to enter or leave the diner. The only indication of this barrier would be the papers or small debris that flies upon the gales, creating the phenomenon known as Dust Devils..."

She then closes the journal and caps her pen once more, and watches to see if her idea would work...

Emily, as you look up from your journal you see the whirls of dust kick up around the front door of the diner. The barrier is now in place, ready to rebuff anyone who tries to walk through the door.

That's not the only effect, though. As the power flows through you, into your Eidolon, and then out into the world, you feel it push against something intangible. This... friction (for lack of a better term) doesn't impede your Eidolon at all, but it does do something stranger. A fast-moving wave of color comes from the place where you stand, rushing out to cover every surface around you. A similar effect happens to Simonsen, as well, and before either of you can react much the whole diner has been changed.

Objects seem to be colored at random, in bright and contrasting shades. The formerly red booth seats are now bright green; the chrome bar has been changed to a hot pink; even the white tile flooring has changed, becoming a sky blue and orange checkerboard pattern.

Simonsen's jaw drops open as he stares at the three of you. He sputters for a second, then finally manages "You have an Eidolon!"

---

"Oh so you know these things, good that'll make things easier." Ashley spoke with complete confidence and control at the situation. Judging by the sudden loss of noise, it appears that Luka is successful at taking care of the beast.

She will carry the fire extinguisher as she motioned the old man to take a seat at the now green chairs.

"Let's talk no more threatening to arrest us, let's just have a civil conversation like adults or at least like adults and a bunch of teenagers can do."

Ashley's eyes will then dart to the flying Crow, she motions for him to land on her shoulder or somewhere workable for him. He deserves to be a part of the conversation.

Also dropping his badge and phone is a good way to intimidate him.

"We'll start, who are you? What is this IDLN? What are you doing here?" she started, her hands is still on the fire extinguisher."

"We'll start, who are you? What is this IDLN? What are you doing here?" she started, her hands is still on the fire extinguisher.

Ashley, Simonsen doesn't move to sit. However, he does take his hand off his gun, and looks at you for a handful of seconds. Clearly he's reaching some sort of decision; you can tell when he finally makes his choice because he nods at you, the gesture one of acquiescence.

"I already told you, my name is Agent Ray Simonsen. I work for the IDLN--that's the Inversion Defense League, North American branch. I'm here doing my job and hunting down that thing that just through." He jerks his head in the direction of the hooved, winged thing that Luka has lulled under his spell. "I'm just a field agent--not an egghead or an REMF--so I don't know all the specifics, and I don't know what you already know. The short version is, there's a world outside ours, and sometimes things from that world cross over. When that happens, we call it an Inversion, and they're dangerous. That thing is a type of Inversion called a Shade. My job is to hunt it down and destroy it before it can hurt anyone."

His eyes narrow and meet yours, Ashley, then scan across the shrouded faces assembled in front of him. "Now, my turn. Who are you, and how do... all of you? have Eidolons? I've never heard of anyone outside of the IDL having one."

---

In this case, your "equal and opposite reaction" is that he's prepared to answer your questions--but you can tell that he's only going to play ball so long as he gets some answers, too.

"When it comes to who we are, you may think of us as the Reader, the Writer, and the Reveler." Luka spoke, gesturing to the respective owners of the pseudonyms as he introduced each of them. "As for why we have Eidolons, like the Writer said before, we died in an alternate timeline as a result of an explosion you caused. On our way to the afterlife though, a Shade intercepted us and offered a mulligan with the added bonus of also having Eidolons this time around."

The Crow sees both Emily and Ashley signalling him, the former seeming to indicate he should throw away the phone and wallet while the latter was beckoning him into the diner... which would be tricky considering all the entrances were now blocked by repellent winds.

Or at least, it would be a problem.

For a lesser avian.

The Crow quickly flew towards the nearest dumpster and deposited the wallet and phone before calling upon his newly awakened powers to try and get the heaviest metal thing he could find nearby and slamming through the diner window. Once the way was open, he fluttered on and landed on one of the diner tables, placing the knife he still had in front of him before taking a moment to clean his feathers. He then turned his gaze back towards the agent. "And I am the Crow!" he said, adding onto Luka's introduction. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, man who works on behalf of fields..." He paused, tilting his head to the side as he considered something. "Or... maybe not pleased to make your acquaintance? I'm actually not sure what's going on right now."

"When it comes to who we are, you may think of us as the Reader, the Writer, and the Reveler." Luka spoke, gesturing to the respective owners of the pseudonyms as he introduced each of them. "As for why we have Eidolons, like the Writer said before, we died in an alternate timeline as a result of an explosion you caused. On our way to the afterlife though, a Shade intercepted us and offered a mulligan with the added bonus of also having Eidolons this time around."

Simonsen's gaze locks on to Luka. He narrows his eyes; that might be out of suspicion, but he could also just be shielding them against the dazzling light that hides the Reveler's face. "An alternate timeline? And you got your powers from a Shade? Who brought you back to life? I've never heard of a Shade having that kind of ability. Hell, I've never heard of anyone having that much power." He chews on his lip, and you can hear the gears turning in his head (with flakes of rust coming off, and squealing with protest, but they're turning nonetheless).

Until that train of thought is violently derailed by the spectacular arrival of the Crow.

Simonsen takes an instinctive step back as something flies through the diner window; as it crossed the threshold, its colors change in the same radical way as everything else inside the diner before it lands behind the counter. He stares at the preening bird with a slack expression as it speaks.

"And I am the Crow!" he said, adding onto Luka's introduction. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, man who works on behalf of fields..." He paused, tilting his head to the side as he considered something. "Or... maybe not pleased to make your acquaintance? I'm actually not sure what's going on right now."

A pause.

"Ok, I think you're all fucking with me," he says. "I've never seen this many all in one place, but it makes a lot more sense that you're Shades trying to fool me than it does for you to be people I killed in... another timeline? Thought that doesn't explain the rainbow shit..." His tone is mild; his eyes, however, are no longer on the four of you. Instead, he seems to be looking around the diner for something. Is it an explanation for what he's seeing? A way out? Or is he looking for something to even the odds?

---

When Agent Simonsen expressed his disbelief at the fact that they were people he killed in an alternate timeline and theorised that they were instead Shades trying to trick him, Luka opened his mouth to insist that they were in fact people. But he paused before he could start. After a moment of consideration, Luka figured it'd be a better idea to let the guy think that was the case. If their enemies thought they were Shades, they wouldn't think to start snooping around for possible civilian identities.

"Well drat." Luka cussed in light exasperation. "Looks like you're too smart for us, man who works on behalf of fields. You are correct. We are indeed Shades and we were indeed trying to trick you. We've taken issue with you and yours trying to destroy us whenever we try to come and vacation in your world, so now we intend to bedevil your organization at every possible turn. Meaning we aren't about to let you hurt Mister MegaTen here." With a snap of his fingers, Luka turned the broken window into a doorway with a wide variety of ostentatious exit signs pointing towards it. "If what you are looking around for is a way out though, we'll be more than happy to help you in that regard."

"Your Eidolon can change it's head into an explosive." Ashley succinctly answered back with her knowledge from said timelines dispelling any theories that they are 'Shades' whatever those things are. "Did you really think we have a fire extinguisher at the ready because it's a good weapon? Well it is sort of good but you get the point."

"And let me clarify something, I can see alternate futures not timelines which means that those events haven't happened yet." she added shoving the they once got killed into her seeing the future rather than a third party interfering that actually happened.

"In a third of the timelines I saw you blew up this diner, another third ends with you fighting the four of us and the last third is you deciding to not engage to chase that thing." Ashley elaborated as she points to the creature Luka captured.

Ashley is about to speak about letting the agent get 'Mister Megaten' but stopped herself when Luca made a declaration of protection. She cannot go back on that, it would imply lack of cohesion.

"So here's the deal, we're letting you walk out, you'll give us the time and we'll give you the place and talk again. We are after all clueless teenagers who should definitely be told what is happening." she ended her statement, leaving the ball at the agent's court.