Trixie shakes her head, as if trying to clear away dark thoughts, then looks up to the rest of the group, "Umm.. do you think we need to find a new safehouse?"

Donovan shrugs and says, "Alright. Restrained, and if you anything to blindfold him with, we can use it. Whether he can see won't matter either. A mage doesn't need to see to 'see' to cast spells, although it is slightly more difficult."

"Guess I should let my Yazuka contacts know that the Triad is at it again. They should be able to deal with the body, and see that our mage 'friend' makes it home for the 'reward' for his failure." Nanashi said. "As for another safe house, could find another place. Though I doubt they'll try again so soon, I could be mistaken."

Trixie nods to Nanashi, "I'll trust you know better than I."

Jack sighs, flopping down on a nearby piece of furniture.

"So, what's our next step?" He glances to Fool, Callisto, and Nanashi.

"Find a new place, get ahold of some nuyen, gear up and hunt down an AI?"

"I think the first step is to explain to our new companion what exactly it is that he has signed up for."

The Fool lays out a story of nascent programs, mad scientists and AIs who exist in the minds of BTL users rather than computers. If the team didn't have research to prove the truth or logical supposition of some of these statements, it would almost sound like a bad late-night made for trid movie. Unfortunately the weight of the task is firmly upon you as a team.

Hafiz shakes out a tarp from his bag and carries the comatose body of the mage out during story time with a quick nod of his head and a whispered conversation with Calisto.

"Now that you know what you are in for, Mr. Donovan, are there any questions? If not then I would suggest we decide who is going to make the quest inside the machine, at the heart of His domain will probably be a host where all of our skills will be put to use, not only those which involve a computer."

Donovan listens to the Fool with a raised eyebrow and a dumbfounded look. He remains stunned for a moment after the explanation and question, thinking about all of the information he was just given and coming to terms with it.

Blinking to clear his mind, Donovan responds, "Heavy stuff.. I'm gonna need a better deck.. Can we even hope to win?"

Trixie replies to Donovan's question quietly... "Its been done before."

"Trixie is correct, this was done at least once before on your own continent and I do not believe that the All-Father yet has enough support to wield the massive power that Deus held. That is not to say that this will be easy but rather that it can be done if we all push ourselves beyond the limits of our own abilities."

There is something oddly disconcerting about the fact that a man in his middle years is standing there, staring at you, his facial expressions obviously matching the tone of the voice as it comes out through the jury-rigged cell phone, but his mouth never moves.

"We all agree we're going to need some better gear if we're going to deal with this. Anyone with any suggestions on how we can get ahold of some nuyen or new gear?"

"I know of two ways, one will take time. The other is faster but much more dangerous. We can dig around, find paydata that someone wants and make the appropriate deals. Or with a few searches turn up where the gear we need is being stored and take a more direct route towards it. I will help with any matrix activities for either task, but my old body isn't up to being shot at anymore if you choose plan b,"

Jack looks up at each member of the group.

"Before we get inta all that, ah feel the need to ask. Does everybody understand what we're up against? And does everybody still want to stay? Considering the situation, we're all likely to end up brain-fried or worse before the end of this. You don't lightly tangle with an AI, especially once as advanced and with the capabilities that this one has. It's understandable if some of ya'll want to pull out."

"Deus huh?.. " Donovan smiles, shrugs, and says, "Ah, what the hell? The university has all my research on file, and with the paper I could write about this experience once it's over, I could be famous!

We'll need to draw up a battle plan.. Any new cyberdecks that we obtain will have to be custom jobs. The ones on the market that can handle the task are too expensive. I know some companies make programs that can't be used against their assets. Think this AI can spoof its origins and fool the programs? We may want to program some new software for ourselves too.

I know some people that know some people. I'm sure all of you do too. Let's put our resources together on this. I don't have much technical expertise in the fields of computers or electronics. My area is magic. Maybe I could make some foci to boost our natural abilities as they apply to the matrix. Something to give you secret knowledge about computers you wouldn't normally have access to, or something to strengthen your will to resist ASIST spikes; that might cut down on the brain-fried part."

Trixie looks up at Donovan after his last comment with a spark of wonder in her eye. "I've never heard of magic that could help in the Matrix. You can do that? And umm... I'm... different. Have you heard of the Otaku? Would it work on me too?"

The sixteen year old elf does look rather out of place with this group of seasoned runners, but she also seems to be the most dedicated to the task. From the way she mentioned Deus, you'd guess there is a history there, maybe old battles die hard.

"If I didn't step out when I first heard about this, I'm not stepping out now." Nanashi answered. "About the money making...when I report this, I could see if they have anything they're looking for. I'd like to get the Triad back for being so rude as to attack when I had guests." he continued. Then to Hafiz, "Thinking of which...just how did you run into them? I am quite sorry for any trouble they caused you on my behalf."

Donovan breaks off into a smaller conversation with Trixie.

"Well, it's really very simple. When one is in the matrix, the physical body is still connected to one's own persona. While the cyberdeck, or in your case, the datajack itself, I suppose, handles the transfer of data between your mind and the matrix, your physical body remains very much a part of the transaction. Specifically, your brain. You'd use your knowledge of computers to affect computers and processes you interact with during a journey on the matrix, and if something causes the level of your ASIST to go past a safe level, an intrusion countermeasure for example, your physical body has to let the unsafe feedback ground out through itself.

It's in these two areas that magic can help a decker; or an otaku. Anything else is probably moot, since most other aspects of one's physique don't apply. There are spells that can increase one's aptitude in a particular discipline, such as one's skill with computers, and there are spells that can enhance one's physical and mental abilities, such as fortifying the will to resist injury due to unsafe ASIST feedback. It's all just a matter of arranging the proper encantations, charms, symbols, et cetera. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

"I get the concept, I guess, but I don't really get how it works. But then.. in this case, understanding the how isn't as important as understanding that it just works."

Calisto listens as the group talks, waiting for a lull in the conversation she speaks. "Ok we need a decision first folks. Do we need better gear? If so, are we taking the direct route for it or taking the time for the paydata runs?"

Jack sighs. "Both, it looks like. We'd need more nuyen for Donovan's foci for Trixie, the Fool and Nanashi need better decks, and ah need better apps. The decks we can steal, apps we'll prolly need to buy, and Ah sure as heck don't wanna steal a bunch of foci from some mages, so we need nuyen for that stuff too."

Donovan contributes, "Stealing foci isn't quite as bad as you'd think. It's just that you had better have them bonded fast. It's the bonding ritual that will be the real kicker with any foci we use. It takes time; an hour for every level of force of the focus. I just happen to carry copies of my magical libraries around on optical chips. It's a habit I got into as a grad; makes field work easier. I can only design a spell up to a force of 6 with what I have. I'll need remote access to my university's campus library for anything higher. That goes for any foci too. I'll need a full enchanting shop to actually make any foci, and I'll need access to a hermetic style mage circle to learn the necessary spells. To save time, we may want to purchase the spells, though higher force spells are harder to find, and also illegal. I can build the spells from scratch, but that also takes time. Any of you who will be decking can make use of what I have planned.

"This is where it gets expensive, and not just monetarily. Renting a shop and renting a circle cost a little. I'll need the proper amount of time to design a focus for sustaining a spell. To save time, it would be best if you all agree on a level of spell to be used for each. Remember, one type to strengthen your will and one type to increase your knowledge of computers. I can make others if you want.

"The alternative is to just buy them. For force ten foci, we're looking at 150,000 , each. Markup on the streets is often double that. Bonding a focus is where it gets really expensive, figuratively speaking. An hour per level of force rating for a sustaining focus, and also part of your soul. Don't worry; you can get it back.. over time that is. Specifically, I'm referring to your karma. A little bit will also be needed for each level of force. As the bonding mage, I could pay the balance if you're short on good luck from the fates giving you a boon - it all has to balance - though I'd rather not.

"Finally, if I make the foci, I can add orichalcum to them, which will decrease the portion of soul energy needed to sustain the foci. With an enchanting shop, I could make some, though it takes a long time. For those of you who don't know, orichalcum is an inherently magical alloy that can only be made through enchantments. I have some already, but it doesn't come cheap."

He pulls out a large vial with a rubber stop securely fastened in place and filled with hundreds of small, bright orange-gold pellets and shows it to the group, then puts it away.

"The going rate on the world market is 88,000 per ten gram unit, but I'm willing to negotiate. It isn't easy to make. That's why I'm offering to sell it to you, rather than giving it away. If time is an issue, then I suggest that buying the foci will be a better course of action. I'll have to make them if we want to add orichalcum. Obviously, if I need a cyberdeck, I'm covered, though I would need someone to design a custom deck for me if we go that route.

"And, Nanashi, if you know anything of foci design, enchanting, and spell design and are able to help, the work would perhaps go faster."

Trixie tries to keep up with everything Donovan has to say, but quickly gets lost in the details, not knowing a thing about magic. She then offers up a suggestion, to the deckers mostly, "We could put our ear to the streets and see what info people are in need for. I try to keep up with things myself and maybe could come up with a few ideas for data scatches. We need to get everything ready as fast as possible, taking more than a week is going to be pushing. We need to remember that while we prepare, All-Father gets stronger and more lives are sucked into him spiderweb of BTL drones."

Trixie quickly adds, "Do you guys want to do a series of smaller grabs, or one big one? Personally, I like to go the safe route, bu..."

She pauses in mid sentance; her eyes begin loosing focus and start to twitch again.

Trixie:
You feel the world get jerked out from under you and suddenly the ground feels very inviting. Through half-open eyes you watch your companions talk and move. He is here as well, moving with that same limp and leaning heavily upon his ashwood staff. All-Father looks at the dark stain where a man's life essence is poured out on the floor, the corpse of a gunman staring up at you.

"Come my child, help me end this pain. Join my flock and I will heal your past."

A shadow over takes the room at the obscured mention of Deus, no not a shadow, just the closing of your eyes. A scream clears your lips, fire burns down your face.

Team:
You watch the youngest member of your team collapse to the ground, her body half resting against Nanashi's bed. She seems transfixed on the dead body until a scream and her hands rush up to her face, clawing at her eyes.

Calisto quickly moves forward, wrestling her small form to the ground. She takes a strong grip on each of her wrists and pries her hands away from her face and to the side of her.

As she gets held down, Trixie begins to swirm, kick, and scream under Calisto's strong grasp. It takes a moment for you all to realize that she is screaming "NO!" over and over. She then falls limp, but her eyes remain open and focused on the ceiling. Her lips seem to move and the slightest breath of a whisper can be hear by those with enhanced hearing, "... I don't let you have me..."

Her eyes move and focus on Calisto, "Thanks. I'm ok. He is trying to stop me. I had this idea... Something I could do to track his people down. I think he must be scared."

Slowly Trixie crawls out from under Calisto and makes her way to her feet. "I can track Mennon. Well, not yet, but I know a way I could figure it out. Trace Route. Some Otaku have an uncanny ability to track down anyone's physical location by tracing down all the matrix logs. The Spirits of the Matrix lead them where they need to go. If I can get access to a Resonance Well, I think I can convince the Resonance of my need and learn the Echo."

Her eyes fall on The Fool, "Do you know of any Tribes that are nearby? I can do my best to track one down, but you have home ground advantage here. I'm going to have to convince a tribe to let me have access to their Well. It won't be easy and will likely not come without a price, but it could really prove to be worth it."

To the group in general, "I'll need everyone's help. All-Father may try to stop me. When I take the Dive I could be gone for days. I'll need you all to protect myself, and the Otaku Tribe, from anything he sends at us."

"What do you guys think?"

"I'm not the one to ask on enchanting, and spell design and such." Nanashi responded when Donovan brought up the idea of foci. "My tradition is a bit more spontaneous in nature. I do have the stuff here if we wanted to do work on our decks and programs, though. Of course, that's assuming we don't get any more visitors..."

He was distracted from that conversation when Trixie suddenly started spasing out. Callisto was quicker, and got a hold of the girl, preventing her from harming herself. When she recovered, Trixie mentioned something about a sort of Otaku astral quest.

"That sounds feasible. However, we might want to sort out this connection of yours with the All Father, first. If you wouldn't mind me touching your mind, perhaps I could see about getting to the root of the problem..."

Trixie whirled to face Nanashi with fear in her eye, "How?"

"Through magic. With any luck, I might be able to locate key triggers for your fits, or perhaps even a way to get him out of your head for good. Of course, I can't promise anything, but at least it might give me a better idea of how to help you."

"I already got checked out by a Doc. He said I was clean as far as the physical stuff goes. Somehow, when All-Father found me, he burned himself into my head and ... speaks to me sometimes. Its always the same thing though, so I think it wasn't a full brain burn. He just wants me to join him. What will... touching my mind do? You can read my mind? See my thoughts?"

She looks a bit nervous at the thought of someone crawling around her memories, especially with some of the ghosts she has in her closet.

"Yes, I could see your thoughts and memories, though as this would be under your will, I would not step anywhere that you would not allow. I wonder if perhaps there might be more subtle traces that would not be uncovered by mundane means."

Trixie looks a bit sheepish, glancing at Calisto and Jack to see what they think.

Calisto locks eyes with Trixie. "It's your call. He's offering a chance to fix the problem, you just need to decide if it's worth the lose of privacy."

Trixie replies by frowning, considering the options...

"Alright.. What do you need me to do?"

"You just need to relax." he answered, taking a seat nearby, taking her hands in his, and focusing on the spell, intoning a prayer to the Sun Goddess in his own language. Feeling that his prayers were answered, he let a tendril of thought slip gently into Trixie's mind...