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[Strider03]

Shef breathed a sigh of relief as the removal went off without a hitch. Everything was going according to plan, he told himself. It was at that instant that he realized there was no plan beyond this. What had he intended to do after capitalizing on the commotion? Good god, why'd he dropped a phone down and called it? Had he expected to tell the adversary to just stay there, and to have that work? What had he been thinking?

Shef took a deep breath, not calming himself at all, then spoke into the phone. "Noticed you've been tailing the Princess closely. Rather suspicious of course. Care to explain yourself?"

[Empiricist]

Shef
"<Do I need any explanation? Plenty of people want to know who her mystery date is, and just what kind of relationship they're in, and I'm here to get that scoop. Care to explain the theatrics? Spiriting away a law abiding citizen, you've got some nerve.>"

[Strider03]

It couldn't be, he'd checked the combat pass a couple of times, right? Shef retorted with more confidence than he felt, "I don't buy it. What's your name? What agency do you work with?"

Hopefully he could stall for a while, prevent any interference in the current battle.

[Empiricist]

Shef
<Susan Belrose, for the Kingshaven Express.>"
You look that up, there's no such publication.

[Strider03]

Shef let the silence hang for a moment, then as cheerfully as possible said, "Oh. . . alright then! Sorry about that." And he promptly hung up.

Around now, Shef began to relocate himself, finding a new location in the station to occupy. It was possible the adversary wouldn't determine that he'd have had to been that close to test the combat pass, but this was not a chance he was willing to take. As he attempted to find a new place to spectate from, he'd both scan the area for the person with the bag head, and consider the likelihood and dangers associated with depositing another burner phone--there'd be four more after that--with the princess.

[Empiricist]

Shef
Baghead is amidst the crowd, spectating the battle, he stands there blending in surprisingly well with the rest go the gawkers. Someone mumbles something to him, you can only see the movement, you hear not the sound. It's a mature looking boy wearing a facemask pulled up to his nose, with a beret angled over his light blue hair and a slim military harness over light dark clothes. Maybe there's more, with him, but that's the only one to speak to him so far.

You could definitely portal a phone over to the princess, but she could get pretty suspicious real quick, maybe you could manipulate her or maybe she'll go into lock down, it's a risky gamble.

[Strider03]

Shef made a mental note of the compatriot's appearance. He hadn't noticed that person before, whether that was because they were a less obvious tail, or had not been present, he had no way of knowing. For now, he would observe, as they were doing. Take note of the people around the two, and whether anyone stood out as another possible ally, or as a useful target if Shef found the need for a distraction.

At this point, Shef would also begin watching the likely entry ways that the adversary would take to arrive back up at the station. It would be a good indicator of how quickly she dealt with delays and distractions.

Finally, as he scanned the crowd, multitasking to find those who seemed suspicious while trying not to be so himself, Shef's thoughts wandered back to the mission parameters. Would it be possible to requiem Noriko or Yuki if the situation demanded it? Neither of them really knew about that ability, he was fairly certain. But, he'd been told not to interfere with the fights, a major restriction to be certain. What could he do outside of combat with this ability to help them in combat? Directions maybe, seeding an idea, or warning of an incoming attack? Before an attack affected the two, they weren't really in combat. Hopefully.

[Powder Miner]

"Ah, sh-shit, okay, if that's the way it is," Faith mumbled to herself, watching the balls fly around the court, and she tried to just directly do something similar to the combined bravado and negative emotion shield she'd made earlier, and seeing if moving it moved the balls along with it, since it didn't seem to deflect, doing so above her head to try and catch each ball when it individually came.

[Empiricist]

Shef
You continue watching, a girl in a scarf and overcoat glances at baghead, talking into her phone, her word inaudible. Another potential threat? Hmm, what about the lady in r- CRASH!

"<Eep! I'm so sorry!>"
You're on the floor now, a girl practically straddling you, she's clad in some sci-fi style outfit, all plasticky and digital, with electronic cat ears and neon roller blades. She hurriedly tries getting up, only to slip and fall a few more times, the skates proving a bit too slippery for her. Eventually she gets back up and starts trying to help you back up on your feet. You don't like how she fell on you, too much surface area, too much risk, she might've felt a little too much, felt what lies neath the illusion, though if she did, she sure isn't showing it, or maybe personal illusions aren't even worth commenting here, at least during the festival.

Faith
You simply haven't the time. You can bring your little cloud above your head, you can try and catch the balls all you want, the the simple fact of the matter is that you need to mode to catch both balls where they land, and the twins simply won't give you that chance. The balls are coming down in different places, on behind, one in front, and both aimed to land at almost the same time. You catch the frontal ball, and before you make even more than a few steps, the rear ball detonates, a heatless force blast ringing out as its shockwave sends rippling waves through the sand beneath your feet.

"So close yet so far. You need versatility or volume, and right now, you have neither."

[Strider03]

Shef pushed away the offered help. "Please. . . no, just, I'm fine. Leave me be." Even if she wasn't an enemy, he didn't need her tripping and flailing again as she tried to help him. So much so that, under the illusion, he readied his pistol in case she turned out too eager to help.

It was almost obvious that this would be a distraction, that or a plant. As soon as he'd gotten up, Shef briefly scanned the crowd, trying to pin down the locations of baghead and his compatriots. The combat pass and the adversary would have to wait.

[Empiricist]

Shef
The girl leaves you alone. Baghead and his posse are still where they were with scarfy still talking away on her phone.

[Strider03]

Strange, perhaps the skater was affiliated with the adversary only then, or her entry had been mistimed? Before she left range, Shef would check the combat pass, just to be certain, and scan around for the lady in red. There was that faint possibility that there were multiple adversaries.

On the other hand, if she was neither identified as an adversary, nor covering up enemy movements, there was only one other option Shef could think of. Some sort of plant, whether that be of a bug for tracking purposes, or some sort of magic based plant. The purpose that would have, he had no idea. But at the very least he gave himself a cursory look over, checked his pockets, exposed skin, and anywhere else that he could feasibly get away with checking in a crowd.

[Empiricist]

Shef
Lady in red has yet to re-enter your ping radius. You check your pockets. Motherfucker! There's a tracker clipped to you! Real hard to notice place too - back of your exoskeletal arm where it's hard to see and where it blends in with the rest of the scaffolding. She must've found the place while "helping you up". Shit, someone's suspicious of you and you're not sure which is worse - baghead or the lady. Though the lady you can at least engage, baghead is shaping up to be one of Noriko and Yuki's foes meaning, hands the hell off.

[Strider03]

Damn it. What this meant was, his cover was blown for one of them; he'd hoped he could maintain it a little longer. Shef began to search his vicinity for someone with hair of similar color to his illusion. It wouldn't full anyone for long, but perhaps it'd buy some time, be a nuisance or something. IF he found someone, he'd attempt to portal the tracker into a bag or pocket if possible.

Following this, Shef would relocate again, checking himself for bugs again when he arrived at a new position.

[Empiricist]

Shef
You spy a girl with white hair and just quickly dump the tracker into her hoodie's pocket. They're probably not gonna mix the two of you up but y'know, don't have time for perfectionism here. You quickly draw back away into the crowd, letting the movement of the foot traffic guide you away before doing a more thorough pat down. Two more trackers. One at them at the hem of your pants, another at the back between your belt and the pants themselves.