Twilight of the Gods

Noct shrugged, "Probably."

Atae leaned closer to Lilith, "Leather?"

L"(Euryale has a thing for bondage.)"

*Ginjo gets up.*

Ginjo<I actually have to go. I forgot to ask Jackie to pick up the dry cleaning.>
==============================
*Astarte hears a low voice from behind her, coming from a white Hollow with black splotches, the lower body being that of a serpent, the upper body very mantis-like, each arm with 3 scythe-like blades. The mask forms a simple skull shape with an elongated face, with red lines around the eyes, & a red sun symbol on the forehead.*

<I must insist you stop harassing my friend.>

Gorilla<Get out of here, Scyllu, I can handle this myself!>

Scyllu<No, you can't. Your enemy is an Arrancar. One who has no qualms about using her powers to silence her critics, it would seem.>

"I did not intend to use my true powers, I was simply having your friend learn his place," Astarte straightened and considered the new arrival with indifference. "...I shall leave now. Try and keep him from making a nuisance of himself again."
She then turned and flashed away towards her own quarters. Eduj was standing alone nearby, watching the scene with mild interest.

Atae regretted that she asked.

"So, are you their leader? I guessed as much already, but you've got them picking up laundry, and getting groceries for you. That seems like a bit much."

Ginjo<Not sure what you're talking about. We do our laundry together. Later.>
========================================
*Should the harem ever leave the bedroom, they'll find a letter on the dining room table.*

Noct shrugged and goes about eating nachos.

--

Sab walked out of a shower, ruffling her hair dry as the last highs of what just happened wears off. As she begins crossing the living room from the bathroom she notices the letter. With a shrug she goes over to pick it up and read it.

Astarte reached her own quarters and stepped inside, releasing a tired breath. She would stay there for a while and collect her thoughts, and then find Mortal to voice her concerns.

Hector stepped inside his own room and lay down on his bed, opening a book he had no real interest in.

Mind-controlling human involved with the lesbian couple. Get to the bottom of it. -S
===================================
~Later~

E"Alright, it's getting late, we should probably go."

Sab stood there, staring at the note for about two minutes before saying, "Which one...?"

--

Noct stood up and waved bye to everyone. Atae did the same.

Astarte sat down on her bed, which lacked a pillow of any kind, and looked down at her dress. She had been wearing it for too long and it only got her insulted.
"I could... ask for one," She said quietly as she lay down and looked at the roof. "But I don't really... I don't..."
She shook her head and began to think about the mind-altering human instead.

*As Noctale & Friends are walking down the street, they notice that all of the pedestrians have suddenly stopped moving.*
=============================
*Aroma walks out.*

A"What're you reading?"

"This," She hands over the note and goes back to drying herself.

--

Noct blinked on her fullbring and began searching the area for something out of the ordinary.

Astarte continued to think, occasionally rolling over on her bed.

"So, what happened?" Hector asked as Eduj stepped through the door. "I didn't sense any fluctuation of Spiritual Pressure."
"The girl left without doing more than hitting the other Hollow around a bit," Eduj replied.
"That's a shame," Hector turned another page of his book. "I had hoped something more interesting would come of it."

<There is no need. I know I can't hide from you once you've used that.>

*Out of an alley steps a middle aged man with an eye patch, black hair, & a moustache. He is holding a pocket watch, the numbers of which are glowing in blue flame.*

E"...You're a FullBringer!"

<Very observant. My ability is known as Time Tells No Lies.>
==================================
"So, the gloomy girl & the Amazon?"

"Catchy," Noct said, "What exactly do you want?"

--

"I guess so," Sab said, "Should we tell Mortal now, or wait until she is done with the shower?"

Astarte continued to lie in bed, wondering whether she was struck by the mind altering human at any point. She suspected that she might not even know if she had been.
Without thinking, she began to scan the nearby rooms and halls of Las Noches for Spiritual Pressure.

*One of the blue flames disappears from the watch.*

<My name is Giriko. I founded Xcution.>

E"That's impossible. Gevurah founded Xcution after he found Zalera. Soon after Mammon, Asmodeus, & John joined. Then they found Noct & I."

*Giriko grins.*

Giriko<How much do you really know about your so-called friends? Did you actually see the receipts for Gevurah's first hideout? Did this John ever tell you the story of how they met?>
==========================================
"This sounds pretty important. Maybe we should just pop over, tell them, & come back before Mortal even gets out. I'm sure she'll understand."

"The history lesson is nice and all, but pretty unnecessary, and you never answered my question."

--

Sab shrugged, "Alright." With that Sab released, grabbed Aroma and teleported to Noctale's house. "Are they here?"

Giriko<I just wanted to know how much you knew. Or, should I say, "how little"?>

*His watch is now down to 6 flames. He pulls the 4 non-glowing numbers off of his watch & tosses one at each member of the group.*
=======================================
A"I don't feel them inside."

*Aroma knocks on the door.*

Noctis throws up a shadow wall to block the number coming at her, "What are you doing?" Noct furrowed her brow, "Let me make this simpler. Am I going to have to beat you up?"

--

Sab teleported inside, then back out, "They're not here."

*Noctis blacks out. When she comes to, everyone is still not moving, & Giriko is gone. Euryale & Atae are waking up on either side of her. Lilith is kneeling over them.*

L"Thank goodness you're all okay! When you burst into flame like that, I thought you were dead. Where did you go? How did you find your way back?"
==================================
A"Hrm...how do we find them, then?"

"I don't know... I hurt like hell all over..." Noct said, "This walk sucked, and I'm going to punch John for even knowing that guy."

--

"Pesquisa?"

A"If they're giving off Reitsu. They've always been kind of weird like that."
====================================
E"Now, hold on, how do we know that John actually knows him? His story doesn't really make sense."

Sab frowned, "True..."

--

"Then I'll punch him in the face for being rumored to know that guy," Noct said, rubbing her head.

"That hardly seems fair."

Astarte finally rose from her bed and sought out Mortal's quarters. She arrived at the door and have a few hard knocks. At first she was afraid she would be interrupting a romantic scene, but realized a moment later that the Spiritual Pressure's of Aroma and Sab were not inside. She was now worried that something else could have happened, and knocked again.