Scene #5006: The Fall of Middleton

Owner	Pose
Anne Blakely	Much research by many people has been done on Anne's history, hasn't it? But sometimes, things just fall into a lap. In this case, it's a news broadcast... well, newsfeed from Anne's world, which surely several people are monitoring by now. It mentions the 'Middleton airship wreckage' has been found, which is... well, something of interest to several people. Unfortunately, one of those people is Anne Blakely herself, who /also/ has an airship that is docking at the nearby town of Summit Vale. It's a rural area, so the closest means of docking is pretty rough. Apparently the wreckage was found deep in the forest, which explains why nobody has heard from the Middletons in a long while. The long and short of it is, Anne is here too, with a mechanical dog following her. She's easy to spot, because she's already dealing with talking to a man who seems to be some kind of guide.
Staren	Staren walks with Anne. Who better to guide him in her own world, to fill in the clues and the pieces, to bring him closer to the end goal? Staren walks alongside her, following the guide. He's not hiding, or in disguise... he's in normal clothes, at least for him: An assassin cloak and a scarf, worn over his signature coat and clothes. "So... why the dog? Can it track things? Or is it as an emergency guardian in case you get attacked? I mean... I understand that." He pats his hand where the coat covers his holstered laser pistol.
Ariel	Ariel is here! And has... hired help. She was the one watching, and she is dragging Psyber(and maybe Nozomi) in with her for protection. Which is good, because she sees two people that she didn't quite expect to run into these days. "Staren?!" Her bleat of confusion is natural, seeing who he is with. The unicorn doesn't get TOO much closer, tensely staring at the two League members.
Guest Psyber	Psyber, now an independant contractor and no longer Union, is here in a mix of business and personal interest. The Middletons were a topic he had taken particular interest in, as a hunter, and so he was watching Anne's world particularly for that. But more specifically, he's also here as a hired hand to help out... of all people... Ariel. Today, Heaven or Hell (or the members who are here for a Heaven or Hell Contract) is under the employ of one Kuklos ka Ariel Schmendrick-Fortuna. And thus Psyber is strolling along in step with Ariel. He has what looks like a leatherbound journal in his hand that he's scratching in with a pen as they go, mostly taking notes. Paperclipped to one page is a newsclipping about the latest crash, but prior pages have some old mentions of Middleton or mysterious 'terrorist attacks' that may have taken place in cities Anne was suspect to be in over the year. Tracking the family had proved very hit and miss, but he was hoping that be working for Ariel he could get some decent leads. With a snap, he shuts the book and raises his head, slipping it into his coat again, "Well. This is awkward."
Nozomi Houken	Technically, Nozomi Houken is a member of the COncord. But tonight, she's here as a member of Heaven or Hell, hired by Ariel to offer support on what could be a pretty dicey mission. More specifically, hired to offer Taiga's help. That's about the best support she can offer for anything, and on something like this, she's more willing than usual; she doesn't know much about Anne, but what she does know... isn't great. Bothers her pretty deeply, in fact. So on the offchance that Blakely becomes an issue? Well, they've got Taiga. And her. Mostly Taiga. Of course, there's always the possibility something /else/ might be an issue that needs clawing, too.
Anne Blakely	"Protection, mostly," Anne is answering Staren. "I /could/ make a construct that tracks, but it would be so complicated to replicate a dog's nose that I might as well just find a REAL dog. Simpler and easier, even if they are less reliable in a pinch." Oh. Then Psyber and Ariel are here. Along with... someone she barely knows anything about. Something to watch out for. The group gets a raised eyebrow. "I WILL fight you for the right to see this. I think of any of you, I have more right to see what happened than anyone." She doesn't actually seem to object to seeing them here though. The guide finally finishes tying up his napsack. "We have a bit of a hike ahead of us, miss. These coming too?" His answer is ancaring shrug.
Staren	Staren nods at Anne's assesment of building a sense of smell the hard way. And then... He's surprised as he looks back at the others. "Ariel. Everyone. Um..." He takes a deep breath, and looks like he's thinking for a moment. "We're going to restore her emotions, one day. She once was a person who gave... everything she was, to save him..." He looks in the direction they're going. Then back to the others. "She could be that kind of person again, maybe. It's better than killing her, right?" He looks from Ariel's face, to Psyber's, seeing if they agree.
Nozomi Houken	The first words out of Anne's mouth towards the group are 'I WILL fight you'. Nozomi is now hiding behind Psyber. However, there's a clunk-clunk-clunk as something large and black leaps down from a rooftop, landing with a THUD and ambling up beside the angel and his user. "My user and I most certainly have no intention of initiating hostilities, unless ordered," Taiga says, stretching in a decidedly feline manner before adding, "I will let my presence serve as implied response should you choose to 'open the bidding', so to speak." At mention that there's gonna be a long walk, Nozomi looks more nervous for a moment, but finally chooses to seat herself on Taiga's back.
Guest Psyber	Psyber looks to Anne and Staren and calmly puts his hands in his pockets, "From a professional standpoint, I'm here to work for a Client. Fight or not, I'll do what the person paying my tab today tells me to. So that call is not really in my hands, it's in the little lady's hand." He nods towards Ariel, "Knowing her, she probably won't want to fight." The half-angel then looks to Staren, "From a personal standpoint, if that's the direction you're choosing to pursue, that's your call. I can't tell you it's the wrong decision, considering my friendship with Elliana prior to her death. But I will give you fair warning..." He cautions to the scientist, "If you're going to try to save her, you're going to need to accept responsibility for every person she kills, every girl she robs of a soul, and every heinous act she commits while you try to restore her." "So decide if you have the stomach to actually take responsibility for the actions of someone you're trying to save and accept that while you try to save her, she's probably going to continue doing despicable stuff that will be on your conscience for not stopping her for." He gives Staren a flat stare, "And be careful you don't lose perspective on morality along the way."
Ariel	Ariel is quick to answer, "Yes, we're coming too!" She waves at the man, trotting on over without worry, and glancing at Psyber and Nozomi with a little shrug. "At least Taiga won't be out of place with her mecha-dog?" Ariel holds up her hands. "Staren, you should know that I'm the first person who would be behind that plan. But there's the danger that Psyber is saying. I think... maybe we shouldn't talk about that right now. We're all here for the same reason, right? We can work together for now."
Staren	Staren looks like he's trying to stand up to a millenia-old angel. "...She says she hasn't done that sort of thing as much as she thinks she has, and no current experiments need it." He looks to Anne, then back to Psyber. "Besides. You've seen me fight. I threw everything I had at her, every time. Honestly, I might not be /able/ to kill her. At least /this/ plan might /work/." Staren nods to Ariel. "Maybe... maybe seeing what's up ahead, will remind her of who she once was..."
Guest Psyber	"She ripped the soul of a magical girl and used it to power a murder-monster." Psyber counters to Staren blandly, "Two of them, actually, with an attempt on a third, by my records so far of her very short stint as an active Multiversal Elite." He flatly stares at Staren, "Again, I'm not telling you that your path is incorrect. That's not my place to say." "I'm saying that by not stopping her, you will need to accept responsibilities for preventable tragedies that she commits."
Staren	Staren hangs his head. "I tried to stop her. It didn't work. Now I'm trying another way. Would you rather I just kept trying to kill her and never got anywhere? I'm not a killing machine, as much as I've tried to make myself one, it's never been enough..."
Guest Psyber	"I'm not entering this debate with you, Staren," Psyber says very flatly, keeping his hands in his pockets, "Because you are an uncompromising debater. If this is the course of action you are taking, I am merely asking you accept responsibility for the consequences of it, as I was willing to claim responsibility for Elliana."
Ariel	Ariel steps in now. "Can we not do this right now? I'm all for you redeeming her, but she's a danger right now. I don't want to kill her either, but if we had jurisdiction here I would so be trying to arrest you both." She's kind of tempted to try it anyway. "But we do have something more important right now. I want to know. And I want to know if you still care at all about these people beyond they're hunting you." She looks at Anne squarely.
Staren	Staren glares at Psyber, but seems to at least accept that talking won't work here. He looks to Anne as Ariel adresses her. Yes, they came here to see something...
Guest Psyber	In order, Psyber gives a nod to Ariel and replies with a, "You got it, Boss." And then gives Staren a shrug that seems to say 'glare all you want, you know deep down I'm right'.
Anne Blakely	What a debate! Anne stares at everyone, then simply shrugs. "If he wants to pursue that project, I am not going to hinder him. Perhaps in the long run it may be better for his morals. Perhaps he will decide it was a mistake. That is his choice to make, and his mistake to make if it is one." She nods to the guide, starting forward toward... presumably the wreck. To Taiga, she replies, "I don't understand these people well, but I think I know them well enough that I have little reason to think they'd interfere with me here. I just want to know..." She glances at Ariel. "Because while my feelings are almost gone, it is almost. I want to know."
Guest Psyber	Psyber takes out his book and shrugs to Anne, "Like I told him. Considering I was friends with Elliana Fairchild, the Multiverse's most notorious traitor, I can't really make judgments. Only give him advice and things to think about." He scratches some more notes in as he follows along. "Nozomi. Stick close. Put TAIGA on alert in case there's any threats nearby." The half-angel says, trying to distract the upset girl with some basic objectives she can be doing to occupy her mind with something other than thinking.
Nozomi Houken	"Alright," Nozomi replies, nodding her head faintly. Taiga needs no further prompting; as they start off, he'll fall into easy step with Psyber, and his ears flick this way and that as he keeps a steady, active scan up for any possible supernatural difficulties. Nozomi does, however, continue to eye Anne and Staren suspiciously, though she says nothing further. The TIGER, on the other hand, keeps glancing Ariel's way every now and then, as if taking cues from her.
Ariel	She still feels something? That's interesting to know. Staren gets a look and a blink. "... let us know how that goes for you." She shifts to her four-legged form, trotting along now. She didn't bring Al this time, so there's nothing to really worry about with offensive people yammering at the woman at least. "So... what is this? What happened, anyway?"
Staren	Staren waits for them to get moving, his attention elsewhere for a moment. Then he suddenly lifts his head, and looks at Ariel. "You didn't know? She gave her heart to save the one she loved. But then he was lost..." He looks the way they're going. "..."
Anne Blakely	"I think Ariel was asking about what happened with the ship," Anne replies, ignoring the debate. "And I don't know, yet. According to what I /have/ heard, the engine appears to have blown mid-flight and killed all hands on board. Five adults, including Middleton and his wife, and their nine year old child." The guide actually speaks up as the hike continues, "Yep. Poor kid was pretty close to it." He glances back. "They found his leg mostly intact. A few bits of bone. Gruesome business." Anne nods, and finishes off, "Justin, Cecilia, and their son Sam, whom I know nothing about but presumably would have taken up the cause eventually." The wreckage has had a lot of overgrowth cleared out, too. It's easy to spot NOW, and has some markings and rope to block off the place. It looks like the ship, which is only about 20 meters long, split in two after crashing into the forest, and the rear half is blown to pieces just as the story goes.
Guest Psyber	Psyber breaks off from the group and heads towards the back of the wreckage, more interested in the rear half than the front half. He knows what he's looking for and produces a small digital camera from his jacket pocket so he can start looking around and snapping pictures. One hand holding a camera, the other holding a flashlight, Psyber is looking at the wreckage for the areas where the explosions emanated from. He's interested in seeing if they actually came from the engine, or if it came from an explosive close to the engine? Or if it was never the engine at all. Blast marks are the best way to find this out.
Nozomi Houken	The guide speaks up. Nozomi looks quietly revolted. Wow, dude. Just wow. When they finally emerge into the crash site, Nozomi finally slides off Taiga's back. She remains close to him, though; aside from the fact he's more or less the girl's security blanket, she also wants to be nearby in case anything happens. If they need to run, if they need to transform, either way it's easier all around. TIGER, meanwhile, is casually ambling towards the wreckage; he's giving it a much more focused scan, looking for any sort of magical signatures he can analyze, anything he can find out about the wreck.
Ariel	Ariel isn't good at explosives analysis, so she trots over to the wreckage to just... nose through it. See if ANYTHING interesting is salvageable. Nto valuables... she doesn't care about that. Sentimentals, recordings, anything. "I'm um... sorry to hear that?" She offers to Anne. "How long has this been out here, anyway?"
Staren	Staren looks slightly surprised to hear Anne state it so bluntly, but realizes... of course she would. He winces at the guide's words, though. He looks curiously over the wreckage as they finally arrive... but perhaps with more curiousity, he looks at Anne for her reaction.
Anne Blakely	Reaction? Anne's 'dog' is nosing around the wreckage, but Anne herself is also staring at the blast pattern. It definitely looks like an explosion came from inside the engine somehow. It looks like a very brief, very hot flame though. Anne can clarify, "This wasn't a standard engine, it was something new. Maybe it got out of control. Though... it looks like the reaction got away from them. Could have been intentional, could have been something breaking." Filling in Psyber's questions without realizing it. The entire area has a low level magical field... remnants of the explosion, maybe? Ariel is finding the place is pretty picked clean, too, which makes both Taiga and her coming up relatively empty... though pieces of the ship could be grabbed, or perhaps the remnants of a stuffed animal or furniture. The guide answers, "Been here at least five years. Anything useful has been picked clean, grabbed for evidence, or rotted away." He strikes up a match to smoke his pipe.... then looks up in startlement. A slender man with graying hair is sliding down the slight dip in the ground, waving two letters. "Excuse me! Excuse me!" Huff huff. "Arthur Dremmel, Western Union! I have some messages left in our care! One for a uh... P-say-ber, and one for 'investigators of the Dorado crash?"
Nozomi Houken	TIGER somehow manages to look dissatisfied with the lack of anything he can properly analyze. But it's been here for years; that much shouldn't be surprising. Finally, though, he turns around, regarding the man with graying hair; he'll give the guy a quick scan to check for any illusions or other dubious magical signatures, then casually stride right up to the man and sit down. "Hello. I am an investigator of the Dorado crash." His tail twitches to one side, then the other.
Staren	Staren frowns. "Five years? How come we're only seeing it now?" He looks at the messenger curiously.
Guest Psyber	"Definitely came from inside the engine," Psyber determines as he pokes around, sighing a bit, "No way to tell if it was sabotage or not from this little stuff." "That's P. Syber!" Psyber shouts from inside the crash. He walks out, putting his camera away and then dusting his hands off, "Hi. Paul Syber, US Special Investigations Agent." The half-angel takes out a badge and ID, showing it to the man. He holds his hand out to receive the letter.
Ariel	Hm. Not much to see. Ariel noses around a little, then sniffs at the stuffed animal. Sigh. "I guess there's not much to see.... I was hoping that..." And then there's a messenger? Hm. How odd! She perks up and blinks, peering over with a little trot that way. "I guess that makes us all the investigators?"
Anne Blakely	Anne glances up with a start, and the messenger does too. He does answer Staren though, "They just found it. We knew where to go, but these woods are mostly unexplored." The messenger looks at Taiga and Ariel with uncertainty, but he clears his throat. "Right... right. Well, that seems to be it. They did say he'd be a tall fellow." The letter for Psyber is passed along to him. "The other I have instructions to read aloud before passing along. Ahem." The letter is opened and unfolded. It looks a bit yellowed, as if it were several years old. He reads in a clear voice, "Hello. If you are hearing or reading this, you have discovered the remains of the Dorado airship and its experimental engine. It pains me to say that this explosion was not a random event, but the result of tampering with the engine, and I have evidence proving just who did so. If you would like to know more, please travel to the following coordinates, where you will find a small village. Ask for me." He lowers the paper and passes it toward Taiga and Ariel, before finishing off, "Signed, Summer Blakely."
Nozomi Houken	Taiga leans up and, very gingerly, takes the letter in his mouth, before turning to regard Ariel idly. He somehow manages to look very proud of himself while holding it. He would readily let go of it if Ariel wanted to take it, of course. Meanwhile, Nozomi is listening silently the entire time... but there's finally something worth commenting on. "Summer... Blakely?" She turns, giving Anne a very different sort of look than before. It's one of confusion mixed with curiosity. Which is, naturally, better than 'quiet, fearful wariness'.
Guest Psyber	Psyber does not open his letter and read it immediately. He'll open it later, in private. Not around people with robot sensors and crazy powers that could reveal private information. After slipping the note into his coat, he lifts his head and looks as the letter is read aloud. "You have a daughter?" He asks looking to Anne, as if wanting some confirmation of shenanigans going on.
Staren	Paul Syber? "Really?" Staren nods as the messenger explains. And then narrows his eyes. "Tampering..." He looks to Anne. "Was this experimental engine one of yours? Could it have been to get at... you...?" He looks at the messenger in surprise, but before he can comment, Psyber does. "Or a sister... or a mother... or an aunt... or a creation... There are a lot of possibilities." He looks back to Anne, slipping his hands into his coat pockets idly. "Do you know a Summer Blakely?"
Ariel	Ariel takes the letter from Taiga. "Thank you, Taiga!" She shifts to her humanoid form to do this, before tucking it into her satchel. Everyone else is already asking about Summer, so she just turns to stare at Anne. The idea that the woman could have living family, who doubtless don't have her... condition... is something she should have considered.
Guest Psyber	"Yeah! P. Syber." Psyber says to Staren, "You didn't spend all this time thinking Psyber was my actual name, did you?" Psyber asks Staren with a look of confusion on his face. "I use aliases, like any good hunter of the paranormal."
Staren	Staren blinks at Psyber. "No, I figure you have some angel name that's probably in Hebrew or something. I'm just surprised you made one alias so close to another." he answers, plainly.
Anne Blakely	Suddenly, everyone is looking at her! Anne stares right back! "Why are you all looking at me? As far as I know, the last surviving bearer of the Blakely name that was related to me died off in the forties. I suppose I could have missed one, but..." She looks at Staren. "Most likely they were chasing after me, or testing the engine as an intended weapon or use against me. The family swore an oath to their bloodline... and at least one of them has hounded me every generation. As far as I know, this one is no different. But I was never close to the rest of my family even before the incident. I have no idea who this person is." She sighs. "I suppose this answers the matter of the Middletons though. This was likely the last one. I can't say I'll miss being hunted, but..." She frowns, trailing off. "... I need to find that village. I have questions."
Nozomi Houken	"...we all should," Nozomi says quietly. Taiga somehow manages to look pleased at Ariel's thanks.
Guest Psyber	"Maybe I do." Psyber says, wiggling his fingers at Staren mysteriously, "A name is just a label, unless it's a True Name." The half-angel shrugs a bit and then looks towards Anne as she begins answering questions. "Definitely warrants investigation, yes. Especially if the Middletons have been wiped out, like you think." He scratches the underside of his chin, "But it seems like for now the work is done. I'll have to get a sheet ready for Ariel to forward to her bosses to cover my and Nozomi's pay."
Staren	Staren blinks. "Wait, a family /hunting/ you was on the same ship as your boyfriend?" That can't have gone well for him. "Maybe Summer Blakely is someone who liked you, for some reason, and took your name... well, I guess there's no point in conjecturing when we can go find out."