Early Tuesday AM
His brain tired from the day, Papa naps on the way back to the safe house and then sleeps deep on his cot back at the safe house. His own comlink being strong enough to punch through the safe house, he daisy chains connections on the external coms in order to establish mutual signal range given the dampening effect of the bunker and their weaker signal ranges. Once they are set to provide a perimeter alert he goes to sleep.

Tuesday before lunch

When he awakens, he gathers the waiting information from Siren as well as taking a fresh look at not only the Mara's own projects, but the research that interest her...

Brock was watching over the bunker while the others did thier leg work, looking to do what he could when he could to help he didn't have any of the appropriate talents required to run the matrix and he was far from being able to learn any mojo but he made up for that in sher size and presence when needed.

Agreeing with a simple nodding of the head and listening to the others hash out the information gathered through various means.

Scrunching up into the cold, concrete wall, Crimson does her best to hide her headache behind her shades and an aloof business demeanor.

Becoming irritated with Papa's head still stuck in whatever ARO he's looking at, Crimson buts in, "So what's the eta on this Papa Smurf? And d'you have any ideas on by-passing those cyber scanners?" Seeing the others, questioning looks, she explains, "When we went out to survey the area, we did alright" she gives Brock a significant look, "with the normal ACPS, you know the usual gait, facial, and vehicle stuff; what really tripped us up was added cyber scanners. They must be recent additions cause there were way more than I thought." Looking to the twins, "Got any spells that fix this? If mojo can't cover us, then we'll need to find spot's where the doc's route to work and cyber scanners blind spots are. They did seem to be on the heavy traffic areas, but I definitely want to drive her route and check."

"I've also got a lead on some exclusive Horizon shortcuts if we want to cough up some dough. Separately, does anyone mind if I bring in a little outside help to speed things up? I'm not planning on letting them in on the plan or the target, just crafting botnets and such."

<<Brock[Crimson Butterfly]: What would you say to spelunking at the witching hour?>>

Papa sits up in his cot after returning to the meat world, his body feeling like a thousand kilos after the weightless feeling of flying in VR. He hears the driver prattling on in an irritated voice. He sits patiently, waiting for her to finish. "I did not expect the level of scanners that were in place either. The fact that a sledge hammer was identified as a weapon rather than a tool is concerning." He pulls out a bag of Beef-Like Jerky® and chews a small piece, reflecting, before continuing as he walks over to the cooler. "The Beautification Project just notched up in my opinion due to the prevalence of tools that suggests to me that the sensors will need to be running at something south of uber-paranoid." Pulling out a packaged drink, he takes a big drink then continues. "There is travel to/from as well as lunch, breakfast, delivery of supplies..." Looking to the others he adds, "Thoughts?"

" If they I'd my hammer as a weapon it would be almost impssible to infiltrate the horizon enclave with anything more than a pen and clip board, I think a enroute snatch would make more sense. Assuming she isn't super cautious and doesn't use decoys or doubles." Brock remembered some of the personal body gaurd tricks of using doubles and decoys to escape lunatic fans for grid stars and stealthy tactics for the rich and persons wanting to stay invisible.

Brock puts out a feeler to his smuggler friend about renting a t-bird<@Loki[brock] hoi chummer. Needing to procure a pilot and air transport, destination to be determined. Do you have any means for such thing available?"> brock had no doubts about crimson but wanted to have a back just in case, brock cc's Papa with a added note" just in case crimsons connections fall through or she isn't around to complete the deal.

Standing near one of the walls, Zian listens quietly for a time before pushing himself up and off the wall, strolling over to address the group.

"It sounds like our best bet is to avoid anything that could be considered dangerous, and not make a fuss. To that end, we're better off avoiding even the hint of a snatch-and-grab. Replacing the driver seems like the most obvious bet, considering the control we can have of the vehicle. To that end, we're going to need a little prep work. Papa, you and Siren need to track down her commlink and find out how she's getting to work and back each day. If the driver is not completely brain-dead, he won't use the same route regularly, so the more important parts of the trip are chokepoints - areas that he has to pass through, arrive at, or depart from. Find out where he keeps the car, if it's the same driver every day, route, etc., and try to match that to areas where we know the ACPS doesn't cover. Crimson, once they've got the driver and a route/likely ambush spot chosen, you need to make sure you're ready to impersonate the driver. We can cover the physical appearance, but you need to be able to pull of the skills and mannerisms. Once we know who the driver is, you need to be ready to be one of those. Research the driver, research the company, anything you think will help. Brock, you need to-"

He hands the conversation off to Zihao as flawlessly as ever, already glancing away to start dialing the call to Mr. Huang's number, leaving the customary message.

<<Huang [Zian]: We're going to need a place to use, possibly long term, of at least moderate accommodations. Room for several vehicles, though I don't see a need for a workshop or anything similar. Indoor toilets goes without saying. We can be fairly discrete entering and exiting, but occasionally we're going to look...notable. Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated.>>

"-figure out a way to drop the driver in a silent and non-lethal way. No need to make more enemies than necessary with the job. Once we have her we either need a chemical restraint or we can apply a magical one to make holding her easy until we know where we are dropping her off. We should plan to quickly switch vehicles once we have her so we can make tracking her movements harder. Also she herself will most likely have ways to be tracked. My brother and I can ward the car we transfer her to. This will help prevent astral tracking or at least slow them down but we will need Papa to figure out counter measures for electronic tracking. Siren, if possible, once we have a clear fix on the driver check them out for magical or astral security measures."

Zihao pauses a moment to think through the details before speaking again.

"I think that about covers everything. Anyone think of anything else?"

Brock silently sets his hammer down looking towards the twins" as long as the driver isn't a chromed zombie I can handle that part, the hardest part will be acquiring needed info for such we will need calendars which are held either in a dossier, her com or company calendar which will require corp level matrix stuff. Right. Or once we figure which driver service she uses have hack them for service information, chances are it will be a internal driver so to prevent this exact type of thing."

This is why I hate working with people. Stuff is so much easier to pick up and relocate. It doesn't complain either. Crimson gripes to herself, reflecting on Brock's caution.

She arches her eyebrows behind her shades as Zian suddenly takes a commanding stance within the group. Her bored posture subtly shifts to relaxed alertness and she feels the thrill of time dilation under her augmented awareness react to her perceived tension in the room. Accessing her bike's node just in case, she watches quietly from behind her shades.

<@crimson[brock]"yeah np we will need to get some gear but we can take my ride to the caves unless you have a more off road friendly vehicle.">

<< @Team [Siren] I have the comm number of someone from her corporation, who likely has access to her comm number, so this would be a possible way to get to her comm, if Papa can figure out a way to hack into his. Or do you need more information for that? It probably has an address book, calenders, and stuff like that, which would be quite useful for our planning. >>

Zian turns to leave, the complicated plan laid out and tasks distributed, and then pauses, taking a moment to look back over the team and remember the portents that Zihao had laid out.

"Change of plans. This is a 20k job, so we're going to stop treating it like a million nuyen run. Siren, you can use your Sydney ID to pull her away from the crowd at the Beautification project day after tomorrow. Between now and then, Crimson and Papa, you need to get us a clean car. We don't have to use it long, but we need to be able to exit the site without being tracked directly. We can swap off later. Brock, you can run backup for them tonight if necessary. Day after, Sydney will pull the good Doctor away, we'll take control of her in a subtle and discreet manner, and she'll walk back to the project with Sydney to allay suspicion. We - "

"-only need line of sight, so we can take her over and drop the spells from a rooftop a couple of hundred meters away, if necessary. Later, the Doctor will walk away from the group and join us in our borrowed car while Sydney continues interviews to provide an alibi. Crimson will drive away with the Doctor, and she and Papa will wipe her clean somewhere away from the scene. Neat, quick, and doable within two days, and we can move on to bigger and better things. Any questions?"

Zihao seems to roll with the abrupt change in plans and easily falls in sync with his brother. He looks over the place and makes a quick inventory of the contents before moving to follow Zian. He looks back over his shoulder as he walks out.

"Just contact everyone as each piece falls into place and don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it."

Tuesday August 2, 2072 -- 2100

Crimson and Brock

Starting at a parking garage that a friend of Crimson suggested, you move down to the lowest level. Brock is able to easily lift the drain grate off and then you both slide into darkness. Chemical lights snap and begin to put out an eerie green glow, reflecting off water and concrete. Moving through the area, you find a crack in the sewer tunnel that leads to natural caves. Further in, the chilling embrace of sea water and run-off takes hold as you plunge into sections that are flooded.

RFID tags mark AROs from different smugglers, most are encrypted. Others are obvious KEEP OUT messages.

As you swim, there is the sensation of something walking over your grave. An eel, pulsating heat from cracks in its hide, swims past your legs. Hours later, sore and cold, you emerge in a set of caves beneath the Horizon enclave. There is no access to the sewer tunnels, but some shaped charges can fix that problem. Taking the time to mark it on a map and record the GPS coordinates, you eat a quick protein bar before jumping back into the cold.

More swimming and aching muscles later, you find another access hatch. An ARO marks it as being installed by CalTech's Deep Lacuna Research division. Entry into the Deep Lacuna is not advised. Climbing out, you are able to catch your breath and strip off the tanks and rebreathers while you wait for the car to come pick you up.

<< @Team [Siren] I will do a bit of prep work, to cover my involvement in the extraction. I should be able to get her seperated for an interview, I think, then we can see about manipulating her with magic, or otherwise getting her out. >>

The team was beginning to work more like a unit and this allowed (caused?) Papa to spend a little more time feeding his P2.0 addiction. Finding new blogs & MeFeeds™, random postings to his own as well as run related research into Horizon, research and attempts to locate additional information about the researcher herself.

He goes over the plan again in his head, inserting details, then providing the updates to the team.
<<@Team [Papa] Added some points to the plan. Siren - If you can take a walk in the area, I can use your com as a jump box and scan for the center node.>>

Once the initial recon is set, he grabs the info he needs, scrapes away the scans until he finds what he is looking for and goes to work.

Papa gives up command? *shrug*

visit friend

After hours of exploring the cave, Crimson sends a message <<Team[Crimson Butterfly]: We've found a good location for an emergency exit. Let me know if you want it prepped.>>

((I apologize for the placeholder, but I've been having writer's block and wanted to get Crimson's question out there. I'll spruce it up today.))

Siren has spent some time doing legwork to find a potential buyer for Sidney's article about the project, and Horizon's upcoming research.

She also takes her time to make some initial notes, not being used to writing journalistic articles, but blessed with artistic talent, and her own experience in the media business.

<< @Papa [Siren] Sure, I can do that. Will take some notes about the project and take some pictures, while I am there. >>

Taking her comm out for a walk around the beautification project area, Sidney asks questions, pins down some notes and takes a few pictures, which could later be used to spice up the article that will further underline the legitimacy of her being there to obfuscate her involvement in the upcoming extraction.

Crimson

After running through a few options, you select a long-term parking garage near the sub-orbital station. A mile out, with shuttle service, it offers pricing substantially cheaper than the closer establishments. It also has lower security. It's easy to drive out to the station and send your car back to your garage, while you catch the automated shuttle to the lot.

You move through the rows of cars in the month lot, selecting a large SUV with tinted windows. Brock should be able to fit in the back, even if the driver's seat isn't built to his proportions. With a chamois in hand to clean off the dust, you quickly wipe the enclosed tag eraser over the car to remove trackers. The driver side rear door is unlocked and you can picture a harried sarariman grabbing a briefcase in a panic.

Inside, it only takes a few minutes to bypass the onboard computer and get the engine started. Music begins playing a smooth jazz, heavy on the saxophone, as you keep working. Cursing under your breath, you finally position the black box spoofing system in place of the car's original node. Driving out of the lot, you adjust the mirrors and buckle up for safety.

A few miles away, you pull into the Stuffer Shack for a snack. Five minutes and a screwdriver later, fake license plates have been installed and synced up with the spoof box.

Team

Hot Santa Ana winds blow through the night, never giving a break in the heat. By sunrise it is almost 80 degrees and the weather promises to get warmer. A catering van has pulled up and employees in polo shirts and shorts run around laying out blankets and large umbrellas, while others put out a gourmet spread for breakfast. The shuttle drops off about twenty Horizon employees, and the rest come alone or in pairs as they line the street in sedans.

Mara arrives alone. She collects breakfast, and exchanges brief pleasantries with several people. She sits down on the edge of a blanket, where six others are in rapt conversation. They continue their conversation, body language opening to include Mara in the group, but not pressing her to actually talk.

Zian watches at a distance, perched on the back of the bike, craning his head over Zihao's shoulders. It was so easy to forget how much modern technology eliminated the details...with 50x zoom, he didn't actually need to be anywhere close to Mara to watch the proceedings. The strain of summoning the spirit had been subsumed with the sleep, but he could feel the massive presence lingering near the back of his mind, awaiting a small thread of will and consciousness to summon it forth. He shivered, lightly, patted Zihao on the shoulder affectionately.

<<@Team[Zian]: Alright, everything looks good. Siren, go ahead and approach for the interview and pull her away, and->>

<< @Team[Zihao]: - we'll take it from there once she is out of sight. >>

He felt the connection to the spirit resting in the deep astral - just waiting for his call to travel here. They would simply drive their way over, taking care to come from a direction not easily seen by the rest of her co-workers and then house this spirit within her while his brother made sure nothing looked amiss upon her return.

Sidney casually walks near the group from an angle where Mara cannot see her approaching.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

She waits a moment to be sure that she has been noticed.

"And such an apt name for the project, too."

Feigning surprise, she looks at the researcher.

"And if this isn't Mara Thorne... looks like this might be my lucky day!"

At the Park

Mara looks up. "Oh, you're early. Public Relations told me that you'd be stopping by, though they estimated it would be after breakfast finished. Here is the brief on the team's recent release, as well as, answers to the top hundred questions. David and Marguerite also contributed to the answers, so you have multiple perspectives."

As she talks about the brief, Mara taps on her leg and you see the tell-tale signs of an AR interface woven into the clothing. A data packet transfers to Siren's comm. It is easy to pick out the two people she named, as they look up and smile.

"Please be sure to send us a copy of the article, many of the team members are interested in reading it."

"You know the saying, the early bird ..." Sidney says.

"Hah! That's what I call well prepared, but you surely won't expect me to let you off the hook this easily, right? I'm sorry, if I am invading here, I surely do not want to keep you from enjoying your day out. Let me make a proposal. I will review your quite extensive résumé, and I am sure, there will be some questions left unanswered, and then we have a little talk. You know, add a little personal note. Would that be acceptable for you?"

Not giving Mara any time to answer, she immediately turns to the other two, David and Marguerite.

"And afterwards, I would love to talk to you two as well, if you could spare a few minutes. It sure won't take long."

Turning back to Mara, she adds "Oh, and of course I will send you a review copy of the article, and give you a chance for feedback before it is getting published."

At the Park

The three researchers nod at the plan, Sidney put forward. Smiling, Marguerite gestures toward the tables of breakfast items. "Make sure to get a snack while you read. The coffee is fairly mild, but the scones are delicious today."

Soon, different groups wrap up their breakfast. Each group works together at gathering up the trash from their areas and two people walk it to the trashcan. The others shake off the blankets to clear loose crumbs. The actions are second nature to all of the employees and they do it while carrying on their conversations. With breakfast behind them, they begin to don their gloves and separate into work parties.

By the time Siren is done reading the document, Mara is working in the shade of a freshly planted tree. The researcher is mixing a tun with various chemicals, to be poured into backpack sprayers. Several Horizon employees are already wearing the packs and spraying the new flowers.

Zihao and Zian
Zihao takes a moment to shift his focus to the the deeper layers of reality, he looks around to see what might be in the astral space before giving Mara a longer look. He feels Gen's awareness follow his and do the same, the unspoken being his maker's weakness in these matters.

Sidney casually walks into Mara's vincinity, trying to catch her when she isn't surrounded by her co-workers.

"You know," she says, then, "it's fairly obvious to a trained eye, that this isn't you. Well, it probably was you, but... you surely know what I mean. What I would love to, what the readers would love to, is to get a glimpse of you, of the personal side of Mara Thorne. What you think. What you feel. As far as you are comfortable with giving the answers, of course."

After a short dramatic pause, Sidney continues.

"I would like to offer you a chance to be yourself! You wanna take it?"

Hoping, that she can get to Mara's feelings. The restrains put on her by the corporation, which are there for sure, must burden her. Getting a little taste of freedom might be appreciated, as small as it may be.

At the Park

Mara hesitates, looking across the park at the backs of a pair of elves installing a bench. With a deep breath, she nods.

"Sure. Let's take a walk around the block."

She leads Sidney over to the picnic blanket that they met at first thing in the morning. Mara drops her gloves and her purse on the blanket, then follows Sidney.

Zian and Zihao
"Would you take a look at that person over there and tell me what you see in the astral." He jostles his brother and gives a direction with a jerk of his head.

Sidney takes a walk around with Mara starting with some friendly chatter about the project to set the mood and to allow her to get more comfortable.

She carefully inserts some questions, not too invasive ones, about her work and about herself, taking notes about her answers.

One question is about her personal comm number, in order to be able to send her the review copy of the article.

Sidney tries to drag this out a bit, to give the twins time to prepare, and also looks to get Mara somewhere, where she won't be seen, to allow the twins to do their magic.

Zian tilts his head, listening to the unseen voice.

"Gen says it's an anchoring focus, something used to hold a spell to be triggered under predetermined conditions. Could be any number of things, unfortunately. We should keep an eye on that person while we're doing the actual grab. Be ready, brother," he murmurs, glancing over towards the pair of women walking away from the group.

"Our friend is preparing our way."

Zihao nods and sees the target approaching the spot for the next step of the plan. Reaching out through his connection to the spirit and calls it to himself. It feels its excitement and eagerness as it begins the transition to this plane of existence. He intertwines his thoughts with it and shows it the woman they seek.

This is the vessel I spoke of. Inhabit it and follow my instructions once you have it under your control.

He watches as the swirl of mana and emotion flies from his side and begins to engulf Mara.

He strides forward even as he senses the spirit flicker across the distance between his brother and their target. A brief touch, a simple bump of her shoulder against his as he walks too close down the walk, and he's already turning, ACPS system zones marked out by Papa and Crimson's information in his AR field of view. A brief shiver washes through him as the spell takes hold, and he struggles to channel the backlash, the normal resistance of the physical world to his exerting his will over it.

At the Park

As Mara and Siren step around a row of bushes, there is a sudden in rushing of wind. The researcher's hair blows for a flash and the after image of a cyclone riding the small woman fades away. In her place, stands a near perfect duplicate of Mara. She moves with a liquid grace that wasn't there before and strides back to the Horizon group.

As she heads back, Sidney takes another route than Mara. This way, there would be an opportunity for the possession to have happened without her knowledge, in case it is discovered.

She aims for the other two researchers, David and Marguerite, in order to ask them for an interview as well, perfectly playing her role as if nothing happened.

In VR, the troll floats inside a large sphere, the interior filled with display screens. With the omnipresent nature of VR, and the support of attention co-processor, he tracks movement across a number of them simultaneously, regardless of the window position within the cube. Siren, the twins, Brock, the driver, himself, the mark... he tracks video on and around each of them looking for indications of compromise. Scan programs running in all locations catalog nodes... Let's not miss the forest for all the damn trees today.

<<@Team [Papa] Nothing on the scope yet.>>

At the Park

The two programmers gesture for Sidney to kneel down. Marguerite draws out a spare set of gloves from a pocket, as David moves a stack of flowers into arms reach of the journalist. Both talk extensively about their research, answering questions with almost a perfect memorization of the mnemonic triggers and keywords that Sidney saw in the brief she was given. When questions, look like they might go outside of the approved list, one of the other employees nearby jumps in with a question to shift the conversation. A quick glance at the public profiles around her, confirms for Sidney that David and Marguerite have surrounded themselves with Marketing and Public Relations executives.

Further down, the spirit wearing a Mara sheath flows across the park. It walks to the table of snacks and pours a large glass of water. A large plate of snacks levitates slightly, rising into the spirit's hands. The possessed researcher eats enough for a person twice her size, then stands and heads for the bathroom. Exiting on the far side, there is soon a knocking on the window of Crimson's stolen car. Her body is held rigidly in place in the chair. A small wind blows through the car.

Papa

Scanning the nodes throughout the park, you find Mara's commlink, stationary among the picnic blankets.

Sidney plays along, not wanting to intrude too far into their sheltered corporate lives. Trying to give them the feeling, that they successfully managed to fend off the nosy reporter.

When she has enough material for her article, she thanks everyone for their time and honesty, reassures them, that she will send a review copy before it goes to the publisher, to allow them some last-minute comments, collects more comm IDs, if necessary, to send it to, takes some pictures, if allowed, and then excuses herself, since she has quite a bit of work to do, if the article is going to be finished in time.

On the Street
Nodding to his brother, he makes his way down the street to where the bike is parked so they can meet up with the others and finish the job. Grabbing the helmet and tossing the other to Zian. He sends a thought and the motorcycle begins to power up and the thrum of power ripples down its body as he straddles it.

"You should check in with the others and start the process of..."

"-contacting the Johnson for pickup." He catches the thrown helmet easily and slips onto the back of the bike behind his brother, pressing close, as was required by the odd shape of the custom vehicle.

<<@Team[Zian] We've got her. Everyone report back clean if we're good to go. Assuming everyone's good, Brock, you can ping your Johnson about a dropoff location, and details of the cred transfer.>>

Brock seeing the mark safely in the car contact theo as they pull out <@theodore[brock]"hoi. Pick up is good where to for drop and payment?"> actively looking for tails as they leave the compound

Crimson and Brock

The SUV pulls away from the curb, joining the light traffic of the area. Theodore sends over an address and a time for one hour. With a quick glance, Crimson says it will take about forty-five minutes to drive there, but it is deep inside the San Onofre Irradiated Zone. She looks over to Brock with concern as she merges onto the southbound freeway.

The Twins

It's easy to trail behind the SUV. The planned route pops onto your HUD floating in AR.

The Twins
Looking over the route and seeing where they were heading, Zihao raises an eyebrow at the final destination and feels the tingling excitement run along his skin. The idea that something could happen makes his blood run hot. He has to clamp down on the urge to rev the engine and drive faster. He quickly shares the route and map information with his brother to see what he thinks.

He can feel the tightening in Zihao's body moments before he gets the route, and he has to resist the urge to shake his head at his brother's response to the possibility of violence. An AR equivalent of a thumbs-up gets passed back, however. They'd come too far to turn back just because of the drop location.

Sidney leaves the scene and takes a cab back into the city, where she looks for a nice café to settle down for a while.

<< @Team [Siren] Looks like everything worked out so far. >>

About half an hour later, she calls her own car to fetch her at a nearby parking garage, so she can join with the rest of the team.

At an opportune moment during the drive, she changes back into Siren.

Brock looks at the destination and just slightly shakes his head, that's the way thing usually go he thinks to himself <@team[brock]" so since we all know where we are heading and what we have to drive through let's make the appropriate plans get suited and armed up. I will need to grab heavier fire power. ">

On the Road

<<@Team [Crimson] Unless your storage locker is on the way, we won't have time to veer off. Whatever you threw in the trunk is what we've got.>>

The team gets off the freeway just moments after Siren signals that she is leaving the park. Heavy concrete blocks have been dragged away from where they block the road and jagged beams of rusting iron shove out of the concrete at awkward angles. Crimson carefully navigates the SUV through the gap to avoid scraping the paint. Both motorcycles zoom through the gap easily and the twins swerve around pot holes.

Driving east, away from the freeway, the dull roar of traffic fades. The SUV takes a dirt road through the canyons and across downed barbed wire into the quarantine zone. AROs in English, Spanish and Pueblo flash across your vision from a repeater tower.

<<ACCESS DENIED -- THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA. TRESPASSERS WILL BE TREATED AS HOSTILE COMBATANTS>>

<<@Team [Crimson] This is where we start walking. The bikes might be able to make it, but the signature on the cars will light us up like it's New Year's Eve. Good news is, they'll be on the same footing unless they have something able to stealth past sensors.>>

On the Road
Pulling the bike up alongside the SUV, Zihao parks the bike and slides off. Sending the command to move the AROs to the side of his visual field. He takes off the helmet and then looks around.

"Give us a quick minute to get some spells up and set up some other defenses."

As he speaks he closes his eyes and pulls on the connection to the bound spirit from earlier. He draws it to him and opens the way for it to travel to this existence.

Come and experience life! Share this moment with me and make memories like no other!

The air swirls around him and begins to distort as a mist forms and then settles into his skin. His skin ripples and when he opens his eyes there are vast open skies with clouds rolling by. He smiles as the sensation of it merging with him slides through him and he tucks it away in a small corner of his mind where it can watch and feel what happens over the next few hours. He walks to his brother and pulls the magic to him as he breathes deeply. He quickly weaves the flow through his body and lends quickness to his movements. He takes the delicate structure of mana and locks into his earring. Taking just a second to regain his focus he repeats the process for himself.

As the last spell completes Gen wills himself into being and securing himself to his master's back with his head propped up over his shoulder. Zihao scratches just below his chin as the little drake purrs and hisses.

You know the drill, cover everyone with your protections and assist my brother in warding us from magic.

He feels the assent as the air ripples again over the collection of people.

"Ready here."

Sliding off the bike behind Zihao, he steps clear of his brother as the other gathers his bound spirit to him. Having the freedom to summon a spirit from the area, Zian does so, the slow, swirling motions of his hands gathering water out of the moisture until a small water spout, no more than 1.5 to 2 meters tall, hovers in front of him. Giving it a slight nod, he beckons for it to join him.

Come into me, protect myself and my friends, and guide us to protect the land we travel through. We would not cause it more harm or disturbance than necessary to spare our own lives. He gasps as he feels the spirit flow into him, his eyes flickering with the thundering wall of a rainstorm as he lets the spirit settle into the flesh, retreating to a point somewhere just behind the spirits point of view as he works through the rest of his magic. The flows weave and form rapidly as he settles the familiar and reassuring spell to link his mind with his brothers into the small earring on the right side, the spell that detects all life around him settled on the left, though a great deal more powerful. He pauses to concentrate for a moment and feels the presence of his companions scattered around him, information pouring in through his new 'sense'.

He pauses only a moment, though, a single thought gathering an anxious and eager Gan to the material world. Almost bouncing with anticipation of action and adventure, it takes several moments for the mage's soothing thoughts to calm it enough to settle on the body's shoulder.

Lend us the speed of your flight, little brother, so that we may go quickly to where the action lies. And lend me your strength, so that I can protect us all. He can feel the unfamiliar lurch beneath him as the spirit acclimates to the magical aura that was amplifying his movements.

A moment lets him cast the net of his protections, augmented by both ally's and his brothers strength, around the collected group.

"I warn you all to remain within ssssight of my physsssical form, or rissssk forfeiting my protectionssss." The spirits words were tinged with a sibilant hiss as Zian directed the spirit to speak the warning out loud, and settled back to concentrate on absorbing the wealth of information provided by the powerful detection spell.

Papa growls under his breath at having to leave the vehicles. He sends a signal to the van, sending it back towards the safehouse as he exits the SUV. He starts scanning for and cataloging all wireless nodes in the area as they gather their gear.

As the brother hisses his words, a shiver runs down Papa's spine. The pixie and shapeshifter I could get... these guys... not so much. He moves on, suppressing his feelings. "Let's just get it over."