Scene #9737: Crossing Battle Lines

Owner	Pose
Timekeeper	The rebellion has been an exhausting slog, except where Regulus has tried to bring some cheer into it with her music. Matilda's illusory 'fear rocks'-- as Regulus dubbed them-- were slowly whittled down over time, but the opposing Foundation forces have been uncannily consistent in layering disruption tactics on top of that. It's as if they're constantly looking inside the rebellion's base to know just how to strike in the way that'll be most unpleasant-- and knowing Matilda's abilities, they might actually be divining you around the clock. Spotlights shine into the windows closest to where you try to sleep and demands blare through megaphones with no substance to them besides the pressure to give up, vacate, and stop resisting. There's never a push for violence when the Elites are present, making it mind-numbingly boring for them, but canisters of chemical irritants are thrown through the least-watched window at the worst time, flooding the building with arcane destabilizing or itching gasses. It's a stalemate, but it's not a pleasant one to engage in... especially without any word of progress being made. The encampment outside is hard to watch from within the grassy concrete Rescorla-Wagner building, with bright florescent lights aimed to blind anyone trying to peek at their movements. That effective invisibility, and the slow pace of either the rebellion or the quashing thereof, has gradually emboldened the Foundation personnel whiling away the days in the trimmed fields on the eastern side of campus, resulting in bursts of anonymous conversation shouted across no-man's-land. Sometimes, Regulus gets to playing music, and there's hoots of either approval or disapproval, or even calls for requests from eras all across the 20th century, including from the 90s. It's been a few hours since any major disruption efforts have been made from the Foundation police. It's midafternoon, sedately humid, with most of the guards' attention wandering, until whoever's watching out from the rebellion notices a sudden ripple go through the backline of the police. It's hard to tell through the trees what's caught their attention, but within a minute or two, a dozen white-masked guards are pulling up their diamond-patterned riot shields, turned away from the building to shout towards some other party. It devolves into a scuffle soon, with the police formed up to push back some people coming towards the rebel base. Above their heads, the rebels can catch glimpses of a handful of signs reading things like 'ARCANIST REPRESENTATION' and 'FREE VERTIN', and then one feminine voice cuts through the babbling noise with a shout when the police shove back hard. Bellwhistle, camped out around the suitcase, shoots upright and whirls towards the door, tugging at the antenna of the headphones attached to her ears to make sure she heard right. "Ah--! That's Ruth; I'd pick that gal's voice out of any crowd! Is that the girls out there...?!"
Riku Asakura	Riku was helping carry supplies out of the suitcase. When he poked his head out of the suitcase, he heard the disturbance and put some of the stuff down to try and get a look. It's hard to get a good look because of the placement of things, but one thing he does notice is the riot shields aimed away from them. "Is there someone else making trouble..?" he asks, wondering if it was another protesting group. That would be good for them, actually, that Regulus' message had actually reached people and that they were now protesting the Foundation's mistreatment of people. Though he does try to temper this with expectations... it COULD be another trap. However, that flies out the window when Bellwhistle identifies one of the protesters. Riku thinks for a minute... "Should we go out there to make sure they can get through?" he wonders aloud.
Odette Raskins	After the last three itching bombs, Odette's not going to show up to the rebellion again without some kind of precaution ready. With a breathing mask already fitted over her face and an extra sheet wrapped around her neck like a makeshift scarf, she's... Actually looking really cozy now. It's a comfortable sheet, and she clearly doesn't look like she's been getting enough sleep lately. It's not even because of the Foundation's efforts, either, but the effect is the same: not wanting things to continue being dragged out. At least the routine is starting to become a routine and not a constant state of tension. When she arrives in her Company blues, the EMT even stops by one of the windows to peek outside and wave in greeting at some of the guards in the distance. It's hard not to start recognizing familiar hairstyles and builds, evne if some of them might be masked up themselves. "Trouble? But we're not due to be doing anything today." Odette replies to Riku with a confused note, backing up a bit to peer out at the signs in the distance. She squints for a moment to read them, letting out a pleased little noise before perking up at Bellwhistle's identification. "Eh? R-really? Oh crap, we should... Yeah, we should get them in here!" She agrees with a rapid nod, checking the oxygen tank in her pocket and downing the rest of an energy drink. Her excitement settles a moment later, though, as she remembers that she is not someone that can just elbow through Foundation guards on a whim. "Er... You don't suppose the Foundation folks would just let them all come over peacefully, would you?"
Regulus	Regulus is, despite her incessant cheer, increasingly rattled by the efforts to disrupt the rebellion. She didn't think this would be a month long slog, let alone approaching two. But Rergulus IS very stubborn and her determination to not fail the Timekeeper is pretty much what's keeping her going. Whenever she finds a bit of joy to take from the rebellion, she seizes upon it fervently. and tries to embiggen it as much as she can. Regulus doesn't consider herself to be an Elite and neither does the Foundation. Regulus's skin become bright red from constant itching and her eyes are red from occassional crying and other chemical irritants. She is stiff from a lack of sleep and has some bruises from a time she hurt herself while scrambling away from a tear gas canister and tripped when the Elites weren't around. She has gotten SOME word of 'progress', but really it's mostly just Lilian Rook insisting that she's working on it with sympathizers from within the Foundation and reminding herself of that fact is playing a big part in her endurance. But despite all this, and feeling like her nerves are walking across a tightrope no matter how chipper and confident she acts on the bands, it is encouraging to get requests for this or that musically. She always accomodates these requests, though sometimes she shouts back she needs to look up a song from an era she's unafamilar with--fortunately, she has been spending much of her free time learning about the big hits from across the eras which gives her something to do and also helps keep her from losing her mind with boredom. Today she's playing: Living on a Prayer "Whoaaa~ We're halfway there! o/~" Maybe Regulus is hoping that they ARE halfway there at the very least. "Whoaaa~ Livin' on a prayer! o/~ Take my hand, we'll make it I swear o/~ Whoaaaa o/~ Oh Livin' on a Prayer o/~ Tommy's got his six string in a hrrk!!" That hrrk comes as Regulus has a sudden coughing fit, no doubt from a mix of dehydration, exhaustion, and chemical irritants being breathed in. She rubs at her eyes briefly, and brings up her guitar once more only for-- A scuffle? Regulus lowers her guitar again, turning to look at the scene, rushing over to try and see what's going on. ''Is that the girls out there...?!'' "I see signs. I can't get a better look, but they're certainly soon to be pals if they aren't already!" APPLe tries to float up to get a better look from a higher up window while Floyd the Cat has decided at some point that Bellwhistle is a fan and has pooled around, his head poking out of a pool of shadow to meow curiously at her in an attempt to demand attention. ''Should we go out there to make sure they can get through?'' "Are they trying to get in?" Regulus wonders. "--Yeah, the Foundation seems distracted." She unleashes her arcane skill on Riku she that he'll be invisible and be able to get the drop on the Foundation, hopefully. "Just try to quietly open up a path for them and don't get bogged down, okay?" She has no idea if Vertin would want her to go this far, but they gotta do something!
Ein	Druvis III was often disrupted in her various states of lounging and branch-loafing by the intermittent prodding violence of the Foundation, and yet often was the least moved. She was used to the motions of more active resistance and the motions of warmaking, of police raids and the clamor of rabble, and so Matilda's horror crystals brought more pointed and violent specters to spook Druvis with. Even when she wanted to forget or move on from Forget Me Not, even if she knew he wouldn't be there, she heard his voice, the sound of his praise, sickly-rotten sweet. Cherry and fizz and short-fuse timer as a cocktail, a cordial against her cheek, a scent that the little crystals insisted upon. The slow stasis of intermittent torment is something that Druvis is almost comfortable with, numb to the damage, used to the dosage, but she had hoped, wished, changed to find different! And this was the same! Loitering nearer to the interior, the druid is slow to react to changes near the outside, but, the same is not true of the noble Gwendolyn Vera Sotheby and Brave Typhon perched upon shoulder. For the humid day, she's dressed lighter, wearing a dress of white and blue and a ribbonfrill of yellow with a broad white hat that's a long oval like an oystershell atop her head with dark grey tuftage, and a ribbon brace tied under chin to hold it, trotting up to the disturbance at the window and peeking around the shield of her fingers too look and press ear out. Having been selected for a 'patrol' (a walk, having lost a game of hand-shapes with Eagle for doing it out in the spooky exterior) and unfortunately for everyone else been exposed to this situation, is quick to jump up and scamper nearer towards the doors, bouncing and skipping and gasping long "woooooow!"'s. "Do you think that's the sign? Do you think it's more people? Do you think they'll be thirsty? Hungry? Should we put a teapot on? Or a burner? Oh-- Is that the ladies from that. . . mis-hap, with my cottoned candy?" She asks, timed with Bellwhistle, and is eager to trying to get out. --- At the protest, however, it is quite another type of treat. Heroically wearing a jacket in this humid heat, and raising his voice as the Foundation 'police' forces press against the gang, the raised voice of Mr. Karson rings out, dignified in his sharp-toned bellowing. "You unhand those ladies now, gentlemen!" Karson berates at the police line as they surge on the operators. "Them, and Miss Vertin! You've all seemingly forgotten more then your manners - you've forgotten your heads, and your good sense too!" He's carrying a protest sign himself, jousting with the gendarmes as their little protest group is harassed.
Timekeeper	"Is that the ladies from that. . . mis-hap, with my cottoned candy?" "A sweet li'l mishap, wasn't it though, darling? We all could use more sugar with you around." Sotheby gets a little cheek pinch, while Bellwhistle tries peeking through the window around her big hat to see what's going on outside. "That was Evie and Margarget at the party back then. And Ruth's just about your age too. If they're all out there... it might be right about time for another party soon." "Er... You don't suppose the Foundation folks would just let them all come over peacefully, would you?" Bellwhistle shakes her head, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt. "Fat chance of that. If they're only raising hell now, they were probably cooped up in their own rooms just like we were before breaking out, so nothin's gonna be easy for us. Let's go out and get 'em, shall we?" Riku, getting invisibly close with Regulus's help, can see a cluster of a half dozen people pushing up against the Foundation guards. Evie, a woman about forty, is helping up Margaret, the teenager with red hair, who's practically growling at the armored police that shoved her with their shields, while Doris picks up a dropped sign that quite plainly reads 'FUCK U 2 HELL U PIGS'. There's about a dozen guards here, though! The only way he could make much of a dent in the wall they've put up to block the newly joining allies from getting through to the building would be by transforming, and that would ruin the invisibility and put him alone in the center of the fortifications. Ruth, the younger teenager, pops a rock up off the ground, and bounces it in her palm eyeing the guards. The only warning she gives is, "Watch out, Mr. Karson!" before pelting it hard, sailing past Karson's head to bean one of the guards on their protective white mask. "Let us see Miss Bellwhistle!" The escalation in response from the police comes in batons drawn behind riot shields, and the wary arming of a canister that's readied to throw. Bellwhistle beckons the others towards the big crevice in the wall that serves as the door into the building, clambering up over the fortifications to get out onto the lawn with her switchboard held up to shield her head. "You unhand those ladies now, gentlemen!" he response, split across the crowd of police, is exactly what you'd expect. "Stand back--" "You're not authorized to be--" "This area is off-limits to civilians by order of the St. Pavlov--" Besides the dozen who formed up to actively obstruct the Ainsworth girls and Karson, there's nearly as many guards who aren't physically interfering. One stands off to the side, fingering a megaphone that shorts out at the direction of Bellwhistle's arcane skill, and then winces and lowers it at the electric pop. Some flock towards Karson to speak without raising their shields, and some look towards the rebels coming out of the building with their shields raised. "You've all seemingly forgotten more then your manners - you've forgotten your heads, and your good sense too!" "Look, sir, I assure you everything's proceeding according to protocol right now. Let's take a few steps back and the fighting can stop, and then we'll talk about this like men, eh? Do you have somewhere you're supposed to be right now?" Bellwhistle twists a dial on the microphone clipped to her chest, and her voice amplifies in volume to be heard by the others. "Evie! Karson! Everyone! Are you here to come join us?" Margaret's voice calls back, rasping from shouting so loudly. "Yeah, we heard the broadcast! But these stupid fat boobs are too mad about music and letting people see their friends or whatever!"
Riku Asakura	Riku nods to Regulus, and once the arcanum is cast on him, he sneaks out and towards the field of people. He gets a better view of what's happening, which of course means he also sees the Foundation peacekeeping forces get ready to draw their weapons and more tear gas; he assumes that is what's in the canister. Once now he knows who the people coming over are, and the behavior of the Foundation forces... Well, he certainly can't do nothing. Two capsules, two giants, and a transformation sequence... FUSION RISE! ULTRAMAN ULTRAMAN BELIAL ULTRAMAN GEED PRIMITIVE The Ultraman bursts out of invisibility, growing to a giant state, not as large as he can grow but large enough to be a problem. He walks towards the center of the line of the Foundation forces. "I suggest you let them pass. They're here to participate in the protest." Geed looms over them, ready to defend the new protestors, but also wanting to make it peaceful if possible. Right now, despite how he feels about it, he's leveraging his size as an intimidation tactic to avoid a fight. He can be sad about it later.
Regulus	''The noble Gwendolyn Vera Sotheby! ... And Brave Typhon too!'' "Oh hey Gwen. Um. It is more people, there are seigns, they seem hungry and thirsty." Regulus is also hungry and thirsty which might be why she's assuming this is going on. "Oh--uh. Yeah I think so, I think it's them." She squints. "Oh that's definitely Mr. Karson." She doesn't think of Karson without the 'Mr.' anymore because she is so accustomed to Sotheby's language for him that it's kind of poisoned her (with several stacks no less) against the idea of just using Karson. ''Let's go out and get 'em, shall we?'' Regulus isn't against this idea, though she was naturally hoping to keep direct conflict to a minimum. It's not just them that'd be dealing with the aftermath of something like that after all! But as she hears the sound of a rock smacking against someone's face, well, they definitely need to step in--no matter what trouble that causes. But she's confident that Riku can be nice and sneaky since he said himself that he doesn't want to be used to be threatening, and so he'll probably just push people around while big. That's what she figures. She has forgotten, of course, that Riku needs ten thousand noises in order to do anything because of how his gadgets work. Woops! ''These stupid fat boobs are too mad about music and letting people see their friends or whatever!'' Regulus leans over as APPLe floats back down to 'borrow' Bellwhistle's microphone. She left her stuff with all her instruments! "Mad about music?? No way..." She pauses a moment before adding, "Well hold on there just one second." She looks back over to Gwen. "Arright, we best go out and fetch Mr. Karson and the others." She tells Sotheby, hesitating at involving a Youth but ultimately Sotheby's own declarations have convinced her otherwise. "Let's go see what we can do to help 'em out." She vanishes herself, scootching out to approach Geed and the others, using Geed as cover before she rematerializes and starts dropping hard light musical notes from above on their heads to disorient them and give others a chance to capitalize on it. "Come on, loves! Why stop friends from being with friends! Let 'em in, let 'em in!"
Odette Raskins	"Tommy's got his six string in a hrrk!!" "Regulus... Come on, I've got you." Letting out a worried noise, Odette digs a little hydration packet out of her case and holds it in her teeth while getting a water bottle open, then mixing it all together with some bartender-worthy maneuvers and tosses before handing it over. "When was the last time you drank anything?" She asks, giving her a stern-esque stare. "Should we put a teapot on? Or a burner?" "Let's go out and get 'em, shall we?" "Good idea, Miss Sotheby. Maybe a low heat, though, so it's not boiling too long before we get back." Odette recommends, looking over at Sotheby worriedly before offering her a sympathetic nudge on the shoulder. "It might get a little.. Er. Pushy out there, though, and they might send that gas areound again, so." She holds out a breathing mask and a little tank of oxygen, already hooked up to each other. "Keep this in your pocket, okay? And if they do, make sure to get this on." "Are you here to come join us?" "They're here to participate in the protest." With the identity of the new protestors confirmed as the familiar faces from the station and Mister Karson, Odette's feeling a little more anxious about making sure they all get over safely. Grateful for Riku's sudden appearance as Ultraman, Odette skitters around to try and find a way closer to the blockade that isn't directly behind the giant or even Regulus. She doesn't want to risk any of her friends getting caught up in what she's about to do, after all. Once she's found a good spot facing the outer edge of the cordoned off area, she pulls out a small chemical grenade canister. Odette taps the button on the top a few times to get it to start beeping, and then she keeps her head down to try and make it a little harder to figure out where her voice is coming from. "Let them through! There's-what's that?!" She shouts as she backhand-flings that canister low to the ground, landing it right at the feet of the guard with the tear gas canister. It keeps beeping ominously for three more seconds, and then... Nothing. It keeps beeping ominously, but it's empty.
Ein	Sotheby, used to a little pinch and wiggle and with soft cheeks from her sweets and cakes, is guided lightly away from window to affect turn of large-brimmed hat and allow Bellwhistle to see past her, stepping light in place and helplessly giggling at the contact - a little ticklish, otherwise in a fine mood for the adventurous nature of things. 'Shut in' inside was wholly different in context to Sotheby, who found that there was new people to talk to and thus was reasonably enriched and not used to bigger crowds yet. The constant danger of outside? That was just normal! The gates and bars and cellarage changed, but not the lifestyle. "It sure was sweet!" Sotheby agrees quickly, nodding and waving hat in front of window, then popping back and skipping aside in surprise at the possibility of... "Another party? Wonderful! Oh, it had been fun with who was here but parties are al-ways more fun with people!" Sotheby answers cheerily without quite understanding who's there on the other side. "Is everyone over there, then. . .?" Sotheby asks, finishing by looking out, extended finger tapping chin as her mind starts to formulate solutions in the unique way it does. --- Mr. Karson, meanwhile, is among the gang of Margaret, Evie, Doris, and Ruth, holding up a sign that is clearly a piece of Foundation 'for the peace of mankind' material painted over in big red letters with 'Service is a privelege!!', with what the artist clearly thinks two exclamation points is a rebel yell and hasn't condensed his point into something punchy and shoutable as a slogan. He's trying, though, and while he's new to protesting this way, he's not new to the first rank ducking and letting the second rank huck something out overhead. Avoiding being winged in the skull with friendly fire, Karson uses the riding-force of the Foundation not exactly willing to smash a bunch of protesting humans to re-raise his sign high and point at the men being rough with shields and truncheon at those clearly no threat to them beyond the point they make. "Authorized? Orders?! You'll deprive a young lady of her education? Deprive, decline, and it's orders you follow! Well follow the orders of your higher reason and stand a-SIDE!" Karson shouts, heated, panting and throwing his sign at the nearest truncheon-wielding man with his hair come askew. "Are those truncheons the protocol, then?!" Karson is at a full lather. "Proceed! Come here and proceed with me, then, because you've come to the reckoning of your own hands, gentlemen, and I'll show you to the place and time myself!" If all that would be between the small gang of women he had chased across Chicago and perdition's yawning rain-slick gate itself itself to bring them along to the 'future', to this monochrome Limbo, he would invoke Michael the angel and Peter the saint and throw a rock at gate pearly and gold or otherwise. "Does your protocol give you such iron? Come on, then!" Karson, jacket having lost a button, picks up a second rock where Ruth picked up a first, takes a step towards the gate. "I've got a discussion, well-reasoned in its point, for a talk between men!" He threatens, "For there IS somewhere for me to be! Stand aside or be moved!"
Ein	'Evie! Karson! Everyone! Are you here to come join us?' Karson is just about to brain out someone with a stone or die trying while Sotheby is at a two-hands-over-mouth look of distant wonder in the window ('wowwww, he's so cool!'), and doesn't exclaim his assent before Geed's invisible-to-very-visible Fusion Rise happens and takes quite a bit of attention away. Karson, at a full 'I am about to almost-murder the police officer in front of me and I Will Be Acquitted After' of executive professional fury, manages to '''calmly''' discard the masonry he was about to use and turn to take Margaret's hand like a madame he's escorting. "My lady Margaret, it appears the door service has been arranged." He speaks to the giant. "Shall we?" Hair askew, he knows the instant pivot to poise is a strength all its own.
Timekeeper	"Come here and proceed with me, then, because you've come to the reckoning of your own hands, gentlemen, and I'll show you to the place and time myself!" "...!!" The policeman grunts, shielding himself from the thrown sign, and snarks at Karson without seriously engaging anything he said at all. "Anyone participating in this unlawful rebellion is a rebel. Until they surrender their support and join the Foundation, we can't exactly promise luxuries like education, can we? There's plenty of education facilities for arcanists in the Foundation; maybe if you care about that, you should explain that to the young little Sotheby?" The bickering is weirdly personal for a riot suppressing militant. It gives off the impression that the whole blockade here is getting bored and strangely parasocial, looking for any opportunity to talk even if they're staying opposed. And also even if they're drawing out a strange Laplace-looking electrified baton, charging it up to swing at Karson from behind their shield. Evie has her hand on her chest, watching the fighting breaking out with a worriedly bemused expression and only supporting Ruth and Margaret as they're shoved forwards and back. When the guard starts to raise up the baton towards Karson though, she takes his cue and hurls her own sign to knock it out of his hand, dusting off her hands when the guard grabs his wrist in pain. "None of that, thank you. I'll remind you gentlemen that we're unarmed." Her expression doesn't change at all as Ruth throws another rock past her to thwack a guard. From there, hell starts to break loose. Arcane and mechanical devices go off in response to the rebels joining in, with part of the formation breaking from fear of Odette's thrown weapon, and then failing to consolidate with Regulus's musical notes bombarding them and forcing them to hide under their arms. "I suggest you let them pass." Geed's appearance completely changes the tone of the scuffle around the Ainsworth office girls. When his greeble shouts and he starts growing, the sudden recoiling of the guards is joined by the girls getting startled and scrambling away too. Even in direct conflict, when the Foundation's guards turn their attention away from the protesters and start leveling weapons at a massive glowing threat, their instincts tell them that he's dangerous-- they've never seen Geed before, just Riku! "Hey!!! Deactivate that arcanum now!" "Lower your hands now. You are intruding with hostile intent on Foundation grounds outside of the designated protest area and we will respond with--" One of the guards-- Regulus might recognize the voice as someone who's asked her for Radiohead covers-- waves down the guards raising up handheld weapons towards Geed. "Woah, woah. We don't want to get in an all-out brawl here. Geed, take a few steps back towards your building. Alright?" One of them keeps their K-Tope Calibrator raised, but loosens their grip on it just slightly. "We're under orders to not let anyone through the line." Margaret, injecting herself into the inner side of the barricade's negotiation by virtue of being very loud, shouts, "Betcha it's because way more people than us would wanna! I've been hearing it all over! It's-- mmph-!" The air's sucked out of her lungs by a party-popper-like arcane device deployed in her direction, that knocks her in the chest with some invisible force that pushes her back. She falls and is caught by Karson, then wipes her mouth with her arm.
Timekeeper	"Come on, loves! Why stop friends from being with friends!" The sympathetic-seeming guard claps once, showing that his hands are empty. The others, peppered with arcanum and pinned between two groups of people even if one is made up of mostly civilian women, murmur unhappily and shoot each other looks. "Take 'em. It's in your lawful right, as long as you stay within your zone and don't incite any more violence. We all agree we don't want any bad blood between us two sides, right? Hey, maybe you can teach 'em the words to a song or two, get a nice a capella going." "Shall we?" Margaret nods, clinging to Karson's arm after getting whacked by the device. As the group's passing through the gap made in the police fortifications, she can't help hawking up a loogie to spit at the feet of one of the guards, only to be firmly grabbed on her other bicep by Evie mid-hawk and choking on it. The guards don't press any closer, as Karson and the Ainsworth girls all make their way inside the forested rebel building following the Elites' lead.
Riku Asakura	Geed stands there, and while he doesn't want to be threatening, the guards aren't exactly being cooperative. The threat he poses gets their attention, which is what he wants. He wants them to focus on him and not the other protesters trying to cross lines. He stares down at the group, waiting for them to do something, but hoping that nothing does happen. 'Geed, take a few steps back towards your building. Alright?' This is about the reaction he wanted. Nobody wanted a brawl between one side or the other. So, in the prospect of peace, he takes his steps back while not responding to the threats made against him to reverse his transformation. Right now, he isn't going to undo it until the protestors are across the gap. 'It's-- mmph-!' This gets Geed to look at who fired it and start taking a step forward. He doesn't look happy that someone decided to fire one of their devices at someone, though it could have been worse, he guesses. 'We all agree we don't want any bad blood between us two sides, right?' "It's true, I don't want to have any bad blood," Geed states. He stops his steps when they let the protesting group through, taking his time to stand to one side and make sure they get in. Eventually, he deactivates the transformation, returning to Riku again before following the group in. "That was... tense. I'm glad you're all here...but I thought you were all being held?"
Odette Raskins	"because you've come to the reckoning of your own hands," Odette's eyes go wide in surprise, then she realizes she recognizes that voice, and then she makes a deliberate effort not to look over at where Mister Karson is right at that moment. Thankfully, there's more worrying things to keep her eyes on, including the guards with their batons! The ones with the electrified devices are the most concerning, of course, but a well-placed sign from Evie gets a relieved noise out of Odette as she prepares a second decoy grenade. The guards' and the girls' reactions to Geed are understandable, at least, and part of Odette does feel a little bad for all of them (Geed inclusive). She makes a mental note to bring him some cupcakes or something next time, and then she looks over at the more reasonable guard trying to calm things down for everyone without stopping the newcomers from crossing the blockade. "Y... Yes, that's right." Coming out into more open ground, Odette sounds rather relieved when the group can actually pass through safely. Offering that particular guard a sympathetic smile in passing, she hurries to keep up with the Ainsworth girls and Karson,checking up on Margaret in particular after getting hit with that device. "E-eyes on me. Miss Margaret. Any breathing troubles, problems with your eyes after that?" She asks, going through those and other routine questions while totally not being jealous of her hanging onto Karson's arm. "How long were you all out here? Did they-yes, what Riku asked. Did they keep you held back for long, or was it just a today thing?"
Regulus	Regulus downed the hydration packet and said, "Thanks." to Odette. "It helps." But hydration is only part of the issue. She's struggling and 'Willpower' and 'Moxie' and 'Determination' can only carry Regulus so far. Regulus worries that the worst might happen and prepares a stronger incantaiton--an effective heavy bright and hot flash to further disorient the guards--but the 'woah, woah' gets Regulus to cancel her own incantation, like sliding a card back into a deck. "...It's cool, let's do that Riku." He pats him on the leg lightly to reassure him. She can't exactly reach higher. She's not wearing her sunglasses, a look into her anxious eyes might say that she doesn't exactly want a brawl either. Regulus isn't afraid of engaging in a bit of a scrap, but she's exhausted physically and mentally and she's never really EAGER for a fight as an avowed pacifist. ''Margaret, struck!'' "Hey!!" Regulus's shoulders raise up, but thanks to Officer Radiohead, she holds off, still. "...Alright, man. I don't wanna pick fights." Regulus assures him, looking for some kind of identification on him for later, but then adds, "You're right. As thanks for stoppin' a fight, I'll add that to the playlist, love, for sure." Regulus's spirit, at least, is rejuvenated, even if she still looks physically exhausted. "C'mon, loves, Bellwhistle's been worried for all of you. And Gwen's been aching for you, Mr. Karson, so you're sure to be a sight for sore eyes." Then she pauses, looking back to Officer Radiohead. "Thanks, man." She breathes in, breathes out, and hobbles back with the others. "It's nice, huh." She asides to Riku and Odette. "When they see you for real."
Ein	Karson is fresh to the fight and hasn't got the contempt that closeness breeds for the topics, so the weirdly personal bickering gets his guff again. There's a moment of wide-eyed anger that regulates with a 'ghhk' and in an empty-handed moment between sign and rock Karson starts fixing his pipings and cuffs automatically, opposite fist clenched. "Luxuries like education?" Karson repeats, in the tone of a faintly-questioning 'I'll kill you?'. "Your willful separation of children and their guardians would constitute kidnapping if you weren't transparently the latest thugs of a protection racket. And you? You're not the state. You're a man! Look at me!" Karson really is mad as hell, doubly so about the education comment. A weapon raised at him gets a steely expression out of the older man, feet shifting to ready before the interception, and in his surprise, a bit of violent bravado bubbling up. "I'll explain it to you bluntly, if you'd like!" 'None of that, thank you. I'll remind you gentlemen that we're unarmed.' The 'none of that' seems to ratchet back Karson more than the threat of force, the head butler ready to become head bodyguard if he needed to -- but the situation swiftly resolves with Geed's presence, as all the attention leaves to look at the giant. "Gentlemen, you have to see this is madness - the army here!" He protests, only to have to lean in and grab Margaret as she's gotten the air sucked out of her. Trying to shepherd all the girls and give the fullness of his mind to the mostly-sneering police personnel is taking an early toll on Karson but the girls have all the fire their little flash protest needs. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth and the resolution of 'laws' hes never heard for authorities he's growingly sure they wield in the audacity of their own power, Karson leads the girls across the no-man's-land (less literal by the step) and nods at Geed on the way through to join Regulus at the crack, and slip in only at the vanguard, ducking through rubble and vines of the 'door' to dip to his knees puffing in the shade within, worn out immediately-- And impacted by a smushed-hat missile of a little girl, who shoots into Karson's overworked stomach and missing button to clutch onto his waist and make noises at frequencies primarily occupied by the types of whistles they use on dogs. "Mister KAR-son!!!" Sotheby cries, happy and expelling tears like a toxin from her eyes. Despite almost buckling, he does stay standing, already in the right posture to hug Sotheby back and pat her slowly while looking up -- and around -- her giant hat. "Held? Hardly. Poorly lodged, more like. The girls are fantastically talented, and possessed of quite a bit of fire. I, hmmhm, merely organized." He demurs, looking away and chuckling. Evie might have started things, certainly, but Karson was just about to get police violenced for losing his cool quite loudly as well. "But it was a time, certainly. It was proposed we protest, to be loud, as miss Regulus has been," He nods to the rocking pirate with an acknowledging smile. "They've got you quite lit up here, haven't they? How have you been eating this whole time? They've said that any day now you'll break, and yet, the clock turns and you have not. How have you been?" Karson looks down and pats Sotheby on the back again. "How have you been, Lady Sotheby?" Sniffle-snuffling, Sotheby peels off just enough to look up (requiring further maneuvering around Hat) and blubber an "Aib misseb you." With a wet face, and cause Karson to draw out his handkerchief to help clean her up. "I am, of course, glad to see you all again. These sterile halls aren't much to my liking. The decor is awful." He scoffs. "Premodern," Postmodern, actually, but he lacks reference. "-and colorless. Not every room is a chess room."
Timekeeper	The Ainsworth office was a proper affiliated Watchtower, but Regulus and Odette would know that meant scraping for information to sell to Vertin and getting paid under the table. This sort of direct counter-police action, while Regulus and Odette have been forced to make their peace with it since even before the Watch and more ever since, isn't really what they were brought on for at all. Which makes it more surprising when this electic group of teenagers and mothers is more triumphant than relieved once they pass out of the sight of the Foundation police and into the shelter of the rebel base. There's some sighs of relief and nervous giggles to go around, but Doris's back is straight, Evie scoops up her sign and wipes it off, and Ruth confidently prounces away from the barricade line to scramble into the base. None of them look like they're unaware or unprepared for what they've gotten into, looking around Druvis's plants with awed expressions. Bellwhistle pulls each and every one of them into a smooth metal hug, Karson not excepted. She pats their shoulders down, eyeing them from head to toe for any sign of harm, while the mutual reunion has the Ainsworth humans expressing how much they missed her in return. "You guys...! Look at what you've done! Ohhh, you really didn't have to; I know you all would've had a much easier time if you...." "Of course we had to, sweetheart. We've never left any of us to face this sort of thing alone. And besides, we can't sit around while Vertin needs us after she saved us, can we?" "I'm glad you're all here...but I thought you were all being held?" "That's right, we were." Evie confirms, heading towards the suitcase and the kettle beside it without hesitation. "Oh, they let us think we could go snooping around, but we always had chaperones, 'till we said what they wanted to hear." "Locked the hallway doors at night, too. We didn't hear a peep about where Bellwhistle or Regulus or you were, until that movie you put on. And then it was all work from there!" "Any breathing troubles, problems with your eyes after that?" "Felt like a donkey kick riiight to the chest. Lord have mercy." Margaret groans, but she's clearly more pleased with herself for provoking the response than she is upset at being injured. As a girl of a certain age, she intuits something about Odette's attitude that makes her slyly smirk at her while draping even more of her weight on Karson's arm to hold herself up. "Bit of sparks... stars, maybe? I'm breathing fine now-- er, slowly, slowly better, I mean!"
Timekeeper	She rustles Sotheby's hat when she sprints to Karson, tipping it in what seems to be the 1920s emotional equivalent of a dap. "Hey, Sothes. How you been holding up without us? Been fending off the pigs alright?" Sotheby's crying makes her grin a bit more rueful, but the head-petting doesn't cease. "Aw, there there. Whiz kid like you, I bet you're halfway to running the place." Ruth is the most jittery nervous of the bunch, and she punches the air excitedly to vent some of her energy. "We really showed 'em! Didn't we? Didn't we? Like, smack, it was! Now that we're all together, we're gonna break out Miss Vertin and set everything right, right?" Bellwhistle shakes her head, just a little hesitant for not having as much information as she'd like. "Not quite. There's some political resolution that Miss Sonetto was working on to fix this, but...." "The girls are fantastically talented, and possessed of quite a bit of fire." Karson's become a very welcome face over the past weeks to the Ainsworth girls, as the rare and exotic sight of a respectable, classy man with great fondness for a young girl. Evie flashes him a smile, and coaxes Margaret off of his arm to let Sotheby monopolize his entire torso. "So protest we shall. And, you might want to hear of some things we've heard out and about while you've all been here." "We're the only ones who bucked up and took a stand out in the open, but you'd better believe there's a lot more friendly faces out there than they're letting on. They're keeping hushed up about it, but plenty of the ordinary folks are getting fed up with how long the Foundation's been keeping this going, with how noblehearted the so-called 'riot's goals are. Some nice witches out there too-- one of 'em, this energetic sweetie with a bow, said she'd put a radio-whatchamacallit around, to let Miss Regulus and Bellwhistle reach people more. Tides are turning, I'm sure of it."
Riku Asakura	Geed, while still transformed, nods towards Mr. Karson in return. He was happy to have helped, even if he spooked the other Ainsworth girls; he was glad at least one person on the line knew that he was working for them and not against them. Inside, once more, Riku smiles as Sotheby and Karson have their reunion. Riku walks up to smile at the two of them, "Sotheby has been a really brave young lady, trying her best to help the protests as best as she can!" he talks Sotheby up, wanting to make sure Karson's worries are put to rest. 'Oh, they let us think we could go snooping around, but we always had chaperones, 'till we said what they wanted to hear.' Riku frowns at this, "Better than how the others here were handled. They were all locked up and not allowed to go anywhere. They had even separated Bellwhistle from her body..." Riku frowns, glad that the people were freed to have autonomy again. 'one of 'em, this energetic sweetie with a bow, said she'd put a radio-whatchamacallit around, to let Miss Regulus and Bellwhistle reach people more.' "Energetic woman with a bow..?" Riku doesn't know anyone like that, and he wished he got to know more people from the Foundation. Or at least someone who knew about the Foundation was here. He's glad that Sonetto was out there getting things moving, but knowing people would also be helpful. "Yeah, we're sure the tides are turning too. We heard that people are trying to get things going on the inside too. We just gotta hold the line and keep the protest alive," he sighs, thankful that the situation today didn't become violent.
Regulus	Regulus isn't really unaccustomed to people joining a protest, but she is still surrpsied to see the Ainsworth office ladies. After all, Bellwhistle happened to be in the building, but the Ainsworth Office are even newer to the Storm than she is and aren't the sort of professional rabblerouser that she is. She watches them carefully as they make their way over. Mr. Karson, of course, well--she's gotten to know how devoted he is to Sotheby already. She pulls her little captain cap down over her eyes a little. "Well you were plenty loud, Mr. Karson, we could hear you through the music and the windows." She manages a tired smile Karson's way. "Gwen's really missed you, it's sometimes a little rough up here, but you seem like you're ready for that. But hey, the company's real welcome. Thanks for coming by, Mr. Karson." She nods to Margaret. "All of you, really. They got you pretty good, huh...? I'll bring up the snacks and treat you tonight." She seems content to step back a bit and let Bellwhistle hug her own gang (and Mr. Karson). For once, she's just happy to see it. ''We didn't hear a peep... until that movie.'' "We couldn't really be entirely sure who even saw it." Regulus admits. "Surprising enough, it was actually live!" She almost mentions X helping them get it set up but ends up keeping quiet about that. "She's been a huge help." Regulus agrees. "And you did! Man, you were braver than I'd been. I had Vertin's plan to follow, but you went out all on your own and made it happen. Thanks for showing me that, you're real firecrackers." She looks to Bellwhistle and then gives a small nod. She thinks about that guard who helped stop a fight for a long moment--she still thinks of him as Officer Radiohead. It's hard for a guy like that not make her think of Sonetto too. Maybe there's still hope. "Aw man, I hope we get to meet this mysterious sweetie." She is assuming a bow like for the hair, not a bow as in with arrows. "I'm...really grateful for the good news, and the good company." Regulus is not going to admit that she was on her last threads, but to those that have been observing her throughout all this--it's pretty clear there's more energy and joy in her voice. She's not quite so invincible as to her ideals so as to not get worn down over time. But now she's more sure than ever she'll never give up until the day is won. In fact, she can't. How else could she face these brave ones who decided to believe in her--and the dream.
Ein	"An easier time? hardly!" Karson protests to Bellwhistle's you-shouldn't-have protests, brought down into a hug and not minding largely losing his footing in the gather-in. Sotheby, equally, just sort of goes with it, and so her and her stuffie-mounted shoulder and her big hat all lean in to the pile, and Karson has to bear that weight and Margaret, not really able to do less than hold both with an equal - if ginger, in Margaret's case, as she was not his charge! - tenderness. Unfortunate to Odette, perhaps, but he was equal to task! And clueless, of course, of this particular joust, drunk from the chemicals of his previous physical jousting of his own. "Those ruffians outside think they've the authority of the American government or the Crown of England or Spain behind them for how they act." He scoffs, wishing for tea but being far from it and accommodating Ladies currently with both arms. "Well, be thankful for Evie, and -- yourself, young man! That appearance, with your arcane skill, it certainly ended the question of if things would go peacefully. And that one man seemed to know it? You've been working hard here, too haven't you?" He asks pointedly, though he knows the answer. Sotheby, who was doing a lot of mixing and thus Working Hard, finally unattaches from Karson's arm to wipe her eyes with his handkerchief and head over to start fetching tea. "Yes! I have!" Proud, declarative. "As have we all! So... it's... time for tea! Yippy! It'll be a real tea party, now!" Sotheby cheers, fist pumped with handkerchief gripped tight, and wobbles off to tea.