Arthur walks out into the middle of the clearing with the portal nearby.
"Good, good. I caught you guys before you started heading out. I have someone to introduce you to. I'm sure you guys remember her, Cia. She's been given a choice. She either gets to join Quinn's family, or Shizuka gets to have her."
Shizuka said, "Oh, that's interesting," as she walked behind Layla, "I would be more than happy to get hold of another Pure agent," then winked.
Suddenly, Layla felt a cold sweat behind her neck, unaware that Shizuka was referring to her.
CIA said I think I'm going to take my chances with Quinn.
Quinn said I appreciate you, you joining forces with us. Also, Shizuka, can you please stop teasing Layla? You know she's an agent, but she has been pardoned for all her crimes. As Quinn glares at her
Tsukuru: "Shizuka..."
Shizuka: "...fine. I guess I don't mind."
Arthur said, "I'm glad that all this has been sorted. I'm going to head back and see if there are any more issues and make sure the second outing is ready to go. Oh yes, you guys are coming to my planet next."
Layla, internally: Why do I feel like asking about what happened to the previous 82 would give me nightmares?
Plot-twist: Shizuka knew Layla was a member of pure ALL ALONG.
Layla: "Y-You...knew?!"
Shizuka: "I...had a hunch."
Layla: "What of Earth could make you think that I was an agent of Pure?!"
Shizuka: "Well, aside from you STALKING Tsu-Tsu and his friends, there's your name."
Layla: "My...name? What ABOUT it?"
Shizuka: "Let me tell you a STORY, Mrs. Munrow. A little over 16 years ago, there was an INCIDENT where a member of the Sunshield Family assaulted a Low-Level woman with no Ability. The report was buried, of course, but the Military keeps EXCELLENT records. Normally, these reports would be SEALED, OFF-LIMITS to the public. But...well, being a member of Oscar's Inner Circle has its perks. Anyway, after the incident, that woman VANISHED mysteriously, and NO ONE has seen her since. That woman's name...was Lucy Munrow."
Vincent said, "Well, I'm not surprised that you got hold of that information. Of course, the vampires knew about pure, but that particular person was a little vague. It's rather interesting that your conclusions were so sure that one was one of the pure agents, but nowadays it's now obvious."
Quinn said, "OK, let's do this thing as Quinn moved over to the center and dropped blood, activating the circle, and began the ritual.
[Blood ritual has been activated].
As the pain shot through her body.
[The blood ritual was a success]
[3/10 Family members successfully blooded]
[You have successfully created a tailspin]
This forearmed spider-looking creature with very fluffy fur has four arms, two very strong, agile legs Bushy tails. A very agile and quick creature of the night, able to sneak, devour, and destroy its enemies. It has great detection of its surrounding areas, and with its amazing vision through its glowing green eyes, allowing it to see more things than normal.
[Current skills]
[Able to shoot out webs from all four arms, Ensnare its victims, and sticky web.]
[Able to spit or throw acid at any target it wants.]
[Invisibility: Able to go around without being seen or heard]
[Energy vision, able to see all around it and at a 360-degree view, but only able to see the world visually through heat and energy]
[Greater awareness. This aura ability allows the creature to At and proceed through all dangers around it and Foresee the future of a target that it is engaging]
Minx: Oh. my. gosh. you're so...
Cia, all poofed out as a spider fox hybrid: um.... ugl-?
Minx, interrupting her: SO CUTE!
Cia: wh-
Minx, hugging Cia with an iron grip: SO FLUFFY!!!!
Minx, suffocating: AAACK-!
Paul, walking through the portal, begins looking around and sees the groups all standing around a very odd-looking creature, hugging this creature thoroughly.
Paul was thinking to himself, 'What on earth did I walk into?'
Paul walked over, " Excuse me, sorry for interrupting. You're fun. I need a word with Tsukuru. Since you are busy training out here,
Tsukuru: "Yeah, sure. What do you need?"
Paul, I'm here to pick up the Glathrium.
Tsukuru: Sigh.
Creates another ostrich egg-sized chunk of Glathrium.
Tsukuru: "Yeah, yeah. Here ya go."
Everyone Stares at Tsukuru.
Tsukuru: "What?"
Layla: "Don't 'What' us! You can MAKE Glathrium?!"
Tsukuru: (scoffs) "EVERYTHING I make is made of Glathrium."
Paul, this is a very valuable resource,e and the military needs it more than anything else. The military appreciates your donations of this important Resource. I understand that you don't agree with how the military operates and what it's doing. Please be forgiving of their actions, in the sake of humanity.
Layla: "Man, you really hate the military, don't you?"
Tsukuru: "Not just the military. Any militarized structure. Any sort of chain-of-command. All it takes is one superior to be corrupt, incompetent, or arrogant, and it doesn't matter HOW 'good' the people under them are. They'll ALWAYS put their career before their conscience. You'd be AMAZED how many police forces have been compromised by a corrupt Sheriff, chief-of-police, councilmen, or mayor."
Layla: "Isn't your SISTER in the military?"
Tsukuru: "And your MOTHER is one of the LEADERS of a terrorist group. What's your POINT?"
Layla: Well, I dunno, it seems a little hypocritical, don't you think?
Tsukuru: That's funny, I seem to remember that Pure tends to BRAINWASH and TORTURE anyone who goes against them.
Tsukuru: I also remember that you wanted people to treat each other with kindness, correct?
Layla: "You really suck at making friends. You KNOW that, right?"
Tsukuru: "You know that old phrase 'When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail'? Well, when the world hates you, everyone looks like an enemy!"
Erin, placing a hand on her chin, deep in thought: Hmm, I can get behind this philosophy.
Layla: You really shouldn't!
Paul: "So what you're saying is that a command structure is bad?"
Tsukuru: "What I'm saying is that you shouldn't be able to cripple an army by eliminating those in CHARGE of it. No matter how low a soldier is on the totem pole, they should NEVER feel that it's 'not their PLACE' to question something! That whole 'You're trained to shoot, not think bullshit REALLY annoys me!"
Erin: I see... He has a point, you should start shooting and not thinking, Layla.
Layla: No! Argh!
Shizuka (to Paul): "Yeah, take everything he says with a grain of salt. His worldview comes from DRASTICALLY OUTDATED sources."
Paul: "How 'outdated'?"
Shizuka: "Early 21st Century 'outdated'. Most of it comes from the 1990's through the 2020's."
Tsukuru: "No! I'm saying that kind of thinking is a problem! At that point, it's better, and CHEAPER to just use robots equipped with TURRETS!"
Layla: Early 21st century outdated? No wonder he's a wackjob! That century was awful!
Erin: How would you know?
Layla, recalling the numerous vampire and werewolf romance novels she's read: Uhhhhhh
Logan: "What was that old saying from one of your shows? 'You don't go hunting a rabbit with a cannon'?"
Tsukuru: "In the OLD WORLD, overkill WAS a thing. However, you kind of NEED to 'go big or go home' when fighting a Scarab demon. You try whittling them down, their level of strength will SNOWBALL out of control."
Cia, off to the side: Oh! Tsukuru's back again! Curse it, I wish I had brought popcorn this time.
Tsukuru: And what's THAT supposed to mean?
Cia, knowing Frack well, it's because Tsukuru often infuriates people enough to start fights, but also smart enough not to say it out loud: Oh, nothing.
Erin: "Go big or go home" when fighting the Scarab demon should be your default mentality when fighting the Scarab demon
Erin: I find myself strangely agreeing with you today. Why did we fight so much in the first place? I might even remember your face this time
Layla, sighing: that's it. That's it specifically. You not remembering his face is exactly why he doesn't like you.
Tsukuru: "Don't get me wrong, I hate the Scarab demon JUST AS MUCH as Erin! In fact, if One-Horn's scaly ass ever winds up here, Erin better get in line, cause I got FIRST DIBS. That fracker killed BOTH of my parents!"
Layla: "And if any Scarab demon other than One-Horn shows up?"
Tsukuru: "Then, Erin can get the first hit. But, quite frankly, if anything MORE than a 6 Spike ever does show up, it's probably going to be a GROUP effort just to kill it."
Erin: Go ahead, you take the first hit with One-Horn, but everyone else?
Erin, taking out her sword: they're mine.
Layla: "Wait...if your mother can become invincible just like how Shizuka can, then how did One-Horn KILL her?"
Tsukuru (gives her a DEADPAN look): "Weren't you LISTENING when Leo was explaining the importance of Beast Weapons? Even the BEST Ability is useless without any MC Cells. And Soul Weapons are well known to be VERY Mutant Cell-draining."
Layla: "What was your mother's Ability, anyway?"
Tsukuru: "You know how Logan has those little Spider-Bots that can merge into machinery?"
Layla: "...yeah?"
Tsukuru: "They were modeled after her Ability. Just imagine Erin, but instead of being able to make ice, she could make the Spider-Bots."
Layla: "That's one crazy Ability."
Tsukuru: "Yeah, well, it's also crazy complex. You essentially have to KNOW how to make super-complex machinery. She's the ONLY person I know of with a POWERFUL ABILITY who has been captured by the Blade Family to become a Chained...and has been sent BACK."
Vorden (under his breath): "Dodged a bullet, there. "
Tsukuru: "And yet, you'd be SURPRISED how many people in this day and age act EXACTLY like the people portrayed in the media of that time period. It's honestly amazing...in the WORST ways possible."
Tsukuru: throws something at Cia, hitting her in the head.
Cia: "Ow!"
Layla: "What was that?"
Tsukuru: "A popcorn ball. It's a snack from the old world. It's a shitload of popcorn stuck together with caramel. Essentially, it's like a bag of popcorn that you can eat like an apple."
Cia, picking up the popcorn ball: I don't appreciate the smack, but I'll take the snack.
Cia then throws in a little wink, which feels a little flirtatious.
Layla: "Huh, you know, people seem to have a lot of...problems these days."
Tsukuru: "Not really sure you're one to talk, Mrs. inferiority complex and mommy issues, but yeah. There used to be this amazing thing called 'therapy'. But like most things, it got DISCONTINUED once the Scarab demon showed up."
Layla: W- mommy issues?! How did you-!? How did you know that?
Tsukuru: You just told me
Erin: Like you're one to talk, pipsqueak. You have dead parent issues
Tsukuru: Look who's talking? I'd wish I had a mirror, but- oh wait! I can just make one
Tsukuru: Makes a mirror, and reflects it in Erin's direction
Tsukuru: "And you have a strength complex and an UNHEALTHY, HYPERFIXATED vendetta against the Scarab demon. At least I won't be wandering around the world like a lost puppy once the Scarab demons are gone."
Layla: "Wow, it's amazing how GOOD you are at riling up Erin."
Tsukuru: "If I wanted to annoy Erin, I'd just pay a lot on the male students to CONSTANTLY ask her out."
Layla: "You know she'd just end up freezing them, right?"
Tsukuru: "Eh, she's gotta run out of MC eventually."