Goug City Car Chase

Goug City Car Chase
Date of Scene:	02 January 2013
Location:	Goug City - Slums
Synopsis:	The TDA track down a scientist working for VitaTech. The Shard Seekers arrive to help. And Goug City residents lodge complaints about the noise. A startling secret...is revealed! But first they must defeat...Mr. Wheeler.
Cast of Characters:	Ivo Galvan, Priel Aylin, Will Sherman, Mercade Alexander, Tifa Lockhart, Gilgamesh, Minerva, Aerith, Leida, Mr. Wheeler, Isaac Hanlon
Tinyplot:	Time is Ticking

---

Legion has posed:
EARLIER TODAY

"Sir. Are you... the one they call the 'Demon Driver'?" This man, apparently respectable, bespectacled, and in a nice white labcoat--was talking to an individual enshrouded in darkness, one he knew only by reputation.

"I have not been called that for some time." The obscured being said. "It was...the past."

"Yes, I know. And we know you haven't driven in a long time, but it's said that nobody can catch up to you--and for today, we need that kind of driver." The respectable man leaned forward. "If you'll allow us to explain--"

"No!" The enshrouded individual shook his head repeatedly. "No, I promised. I promised I wouldn't get behind the wheel again. No good can come of me getting behind a wheel, sir. I'm sorry. And besides, I have another job I've got to--"

"Sir." The respectable man interrupted. "We anticipated this response. But please allow us to explain and if you still say no, we will leave you be." He paused for a moment to allow for an objection to be raised. When there was none, he continued, withdrawing a small business card into his hands and handing it to the 'Demon Driver'. "This is who we represent." He said. "We have reason to believe that certain agents may be coming after him. Hopefully, it's not true. However, if it is, our doctor's safety will be surely endangered. We do good work, important work...Surely it's worth the risk. And you may not even have to get inside the vehicle."

The one in shadow looked at the card and murmured, "You...do do good work. Everybody knows it." He paused and looked. "Alright, fellah. You've got yourself a driver. I just hope you can handle it."

The respectable man smiled, "I'm sure we can. We're tougher than we look."

NOW

Thanks to the efforts of Isaac and Legion, the TDA has been able to track down the person giving the Network orders to Goug City through their pager. The Shard Seekers have been informed through Imi 'slipping up' and, well, Goug City is a pretty big city, especially with Shinra moving in, so it's a busy area. Nevertheless, a young man in a labcoat is tapping away at a small smartphone near a red convertable, which is parked. The driverside of the car is wrapped in shadow, leaving it difficult to see just who is inside--if anyone--there's plenty of shadow for someone to hide, naturally, and indeed there is little indication that the scientist isn't just driving himself. They are inside a parking lot but it's near a public street and within easy view.

Legion can't help much since if they appear, the plan will be revealed and would defeat the whole purpose of the TDA's investigation. But how hard can it be to catch a single pencilarmed nerd?

Mercade Alexander has posed:
The TDA has been on the case ever since they met Legion. Mercade said then that a Detective helps people who can't help themselves.

He intends to live up to that. Out on the public street, a man drives a motorcycle, using the information given to him from his from his friends. He looks up across at the parking lot, and grins slightly.

He guns the engine. There is a roar as a motorcycle swerves, and rushes into the parking lot, the motorcycle bearing down on the guy at the car as he leans over to line up for a grab for the smartphone. Isaac /loves/ smartphones. They have datas. "Sup." Mercade Alexander says. "Can I borrow this for a second?"

Ivo Galvan has posed:
'Bad scientist people', huh?

Ivo, wearing the semi-formal street clothes he picked up in Manhattan some months ago, leans against a lamppost admist the busy Goug throng, gazing sidelong at the man in the almost-too-distinctive labcoat occupying himself with something. Even if the specifics of this scenario escape the knight-errant's understanding, Legion's allusion to her own posible annihilation has stayed with him, despite the antics it was surrounded by. The specifics of Imi's 'accidental' note led him here, but having not had the opportunity to coordinate with the Twilight Detective Agency, he hangs back, keeping an eye on the mysterious car and remaining more or less inconspicuous, his sword tucked away in his fitted coat for now.

"How are you feeling, Leida?" he asks quietly, turning to the girl with a reassuring smile. The tension is high, and this is likely one of her first missions; besides, she's probably worried about Legion, too. He doesn't know her well, yet, but her demure demeanor is charming, and he feels the same instinctive fraternal affection he does for all of Reize's friends. "Don't worry," he adds, "we'll be able to help protect Legion-chan." He looks at Priel, as though seeking helpful confirmation-- and then thinks better of it, looking back at the car.

"Where are they...?" He's assuming that the TDA will make the first move, so-- "There! That's Mercade," he says, in case Leida or Priel don't know. Ivo smiles tightly, blue eyes intent. He always appreciates Mercade's sense of style. But how is this going to pan out?

"Get ready for action, you two."

Better wait and see...

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
Isaac got asked what they should do for this whole thing. He advised discretion, and subtlety. It would serve them better in the long run against these 'VitaTech' guys, he said. He sounded kinda like he knew what he was talking about with them, too.

So, of course, Mercade swerves around the corner on a motorcycle and dives for the phone in the guy's hand with a pretty cheesy one-liner. The definition of 'subtlety' appears to be completely lost on the TDA as a whole. He should have probably seen this coming.

Isaac, from his seat at what might have once been a reputable street corner cafe, just slowly raises the newspaper to cover his face. There is a quiet 'thunk' as his forehead hits the tabletop.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart takes a step out of the bar, that happened to be near the ongoing 'subtleties' from Mercade. Well, he's certainly one person that she knows about. She was wondering what was the noise about, so she came to see, a plate in hand and a towel rubbing it clean and dry in the other hand.

She tosses the towel over her shoulder, hming. She wonders what's going on. There's quite the assembly of people, a few of them she's met before. They usually don't do things on the doorsteps without getting in for a drink after all.

Will Sherman has posed:
Across the table from Isaac is Will.

Will, like Isaac is being subtle.

This means that, of course, Isaac has distracted Will with food, and Will is currently chowing down the food while Isaac does the work, and Isaac is that much more likely to succeed because he is near Will, who is some sort of luck singularity...unlike Reize who is the opposite. He is, oddly NOT with Mercade, who is being reckless, because Mercade is a jerk.

Will looks up at Isaac when he bops his head with the Newspaper. With his mouth full he speaks, pauses, swallows, and then "What? You look upset?"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith yawned, arms stretched above her head as she made her way out the doors of the Seventh Heaven. "What's the racket? Thought we were supposed to have some..." Cue another yawn here. "...Quiet around here." She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to remove the haze her vision was under. "Tifa, who are they?"

Leida has posed:
The 'slip up' in question was of both a literal and figurative nature, creating a great deal of commotion at the job board thanks to Imi's rather unusual antics which filtered back to the Shard Seekers quickly. Curious but unwilling to ruin her friend's 'hard work' at being inconspicuous, Leida merely waited until the Network grew bored or distracted by something else to go out and read the notice.

Still almost entirely unfamiliar with the names of most of the worlds, she took the message back to the others for interpretation. Ivo happened to be the only one who was not out on business or errands. Still he was a nice enough guy, she thought, so she brought it to his attention.

While led them to where they are now, standing in the bustling and unfamiliar streets of Goug. The princess is still dressed much like a homeless urchin at the present, a plain but oversized shirt draped over her frame like a dress and cinched at her waist with a belt. A massive bow, atleast as tall as the girl, is slung over her back, tilted at an angle to keep it from dragging on the ground.

Leida looks up at her companion for a moment with a slight hint of unease, before her eyes go back to peering around them at the strange sights. Motorvehicles, and technologies in general more advanced than a candle or a carriage, are pretty new to her. She isn't quite sure what to make of it all.

"U-um... I'm fine, Ivo-san. Thank you for helping."

Her attention is drawn over to the rumbling of the motorcycle's engine as Ivo points the trenchcoated man out. Immediately, she lowers her head and ducks slightly behind the tall man, trying to stay out of Mercade's sight. He likely wasn't going to be any happier to see her than Will was.

Legion has posed:
The scientist pokes and prods at his device, frowning at it. He looks around once and then says, "Wait...that connection..." He taps at it a few times. "That can't be right... it's not supposed to be communicating back with us..."

At about this moment, Mercade passes by in a motorcycle, the scientist is JUST on edge enough that he manages to snap his hand back before Mercade can snag it. Strangely, he seems to recognize him.

"The--It's you!" He stammers. He was WARNED about Mercade. He hesitates only a moment, throwing himself into the car.

"WALKER!" He shouts. "WALKER THEY'RE HERE!"

A bipedal dog-man steps out of the shadows, eyeing the driver seat warily. In his hands, a shield--patterned after a BLUE SHELL is held tightly in his hands. He swallows nervously and then looks to the scientist.

"Gawrsh..." He says. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! There's no time!"

The dog-man closes his eyes, breathes out, and murmurs. "Well," He says. "I made a promise." He slides into the driver street and turns the ignition.

SUDDENLY, A TERRIFYING METAMORPHASIS TAKES PLACE.

Walker's glasses fly off, his eyebrows narrow. His eyes fill with red rage. The car vruums and vruuumms as the engine warms up and suddenly, WITH A CRASH OF LIGHTNING, Walker becomes...

MR. WHEELER!

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVIN' STUPID!" He shrieksat Mercade, slamming his foot to the pedal. The car lurches forward suddenly, slams into another parked car, and ramps off it into the lane on the opposite side of the parking lot from Mercade...

...facing incoming traffic.

"WATCH WHERE YER GOIN'!" He yells, shaking his fist as he weaves effortlessly between the cars headed straight for him. "JEEZE!" He turns towards his now absolutely terrified companion who is rapidly regretting his decision.

"/It's like they think they own the road!/"

He swerves around a truck, eyes glittering with madness.

OBJECTIVES: STOP MR. WHEELER
SAVE(?) THE SCIENTIST

Minerva has posed:
A local biker had had no idea about the young woman was able to drink him under the table a few nights ago. She'd won the bet and his strange steel Chocobo which she'd been trying to figure out the strange craft that was no her's. there'd been a ruccus in the bar with several people she knows. Things had just gone one way or another. She looks about no chocobos just her strange metal beast and she's going to have to chase after them. She gets on hopes she read the manual right and the engine roars to life...this can't end badly right?

Priel Aylin has posed:
If Priel were to have her way, she would not even be here. But alas, perhaps it would be a good thing to get off the eastern continent for a change. And so here she was, accompanying Ivo and Leida, whom she had yet to have any real sort of conversation with yet, to Goug. Fascinating place really. Reminded her of Garenia City back home actually. Except, with 100% less snow.

Hmn.

In the spirit of fitting into their surroundings, Priel wore something a bit more muted than her usual outfit. Or rather, that is to say she rearranged a bit. The black and gold dress she wore under the usual red ensemble was present, accompanied by a simple black jacket to make up a more modern look.

But then, no amount of pressing up was going to hide her tail and ears. Those seemed to have permanently situated themselves, no matter how hard she tried to revert them these days...

Regardless, she sighed as she stood beside the other two, watching the car with a clear expression of boredom.

"This job sounds horribly unprofitable really. Do we really have to stick our necks out like this?" Priel asked, arms crossed in impatience. Nevertheless, the dragon girl mentally prepared herself to launch into action. Though probably not as eager to do it as her companions here.

After all, if there was no money to be gained from hard work, what was the point?

"Oh hey, looks like something's going on over there." She commented after, watching as Mercade tried to steal the man's phone. Huh, didn't think he was into that line of work. Well whaddya know? But nevermind that failed attempt at thievery, something much more interesting was going on there. A dog man stepped out and...

"Oh wow, do you see that? It's like he just all his gil in a game of poker! Ahahaha!" And there Mr. Wheeler went, speeding off into clearly busy traffic. "...Well! I guess that if we're gonna be stuck doing this for no good reward that..." Priel turned away at that point, looking over at a car that just pulled into a parking spot nearby. A middle aged man opened the door, watching as the chaos ensued. He didn't see Priel coming until she was right in front of him.

"Excuse me, Mister~" She spoke to the man in a fake, yet alluring tone. The man looked up at her, blinking a couple times as he took in her appearance.

"Y-Yes, Miss?" He asked, looking horribly confused by this point, what with the car speeding off into traffic combined with this obviously foreign woman before him. Priel leaned down, tracing a line along his jawline with a finger as she spoke. "We need to....." And then she grabbed him by the collar and tossed him out into the sidewalk, much to his surprise. Oh wow. "-Borrow this car for a bit! Ivo! Leida! Get in!"

...Wait a second. Did she even know how to drive? We'll find out!

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
Isaac lifts his head. He takes a breath, composing himself. Then, he folds the paper into a neatly-folded rectangle, and slides it beneath a stained and empty mug in front of him. "Mercade went ahead and went for the grab without us and screwed the pooch," Isaac explains. He stands up and fishes some gil out of his pocket, leaving a stack of it on the table without bothering to count it. More than enough. He tips well.

"So now we've got to catch up, and --" Isaac is looking around for a lift. He didn't bring one; he teleports instead of driving anywhere. Saves on gas. "-- a-/ha/. C'mon. I've got a plan." He hustles down the street, yelling, "Hey, you! Wait up!"

SECONDS LATER

"Hold on, Will!"

Isaac peels out of a side street right behind Mr. Wheeler's streaking automobile. He leans into the turn, two wheels gripping the street tight and kicking up dust as it skids around behind. Isaac's ride is nearly soundless as it picks up speed, a quiet whirring but little else. His long coat blows out behind him, cutting quite the figure in the fast lane.

On the other hand, riding a bicycle into oncoming traffic may not have been the best idea he's ever had.

Gilgamesh has posed:
"His name is Gilgamesh. He provides a much-needed job here, in this City of Shinra. The smoke of the city sky clogs out the dreams of human beings; those who cannot live in its heights dwell an eternal life in the slums, devoid of joy or justice. These people cry out for heroes; for larger-than-life individuals who give of themselves, of their own free will, to save those in need. But heroes are everywhere; from the Twilight Detective Agency to the Shard Seekers to this unlikely pair."

"Sent to the X-Zone for a crime they definitely committed, this duo promptly escaped from the realm of shadows across the Barriers of Light. Today, still hunted by those who seek true blades, they survive as heroes of fortune. If you have a problem - if no one else can help - and if you can deal with listening to an opening crawl that's two paragraphs long on your client screen - maybe you can hire...the Gil-Team."

% "Well, what do you think?" Gilgamesh nudges his giant green Rock Hound partner Enkidu as they walk through the streets of Goug. "It'd make a pretty good book, right? Right? Or maybe a Television series! I hear they're getting television in Goug and Galbadia. Maybe they'd pick it up!"

The massive green rock hound just rolls his eyes. Gilgamesh frowns. "R-really? Well...okay, how about this?" He snaps a sword out of nowhere, holding it up beside him as they round a corner, and adopts a thick scottish accent. "The name's Gamesh. Gil Gamesh. Double-Oh Gil."

Enkidu shakes his head. Gilgamesh sighs, again, looking quite forlorn. "C-come on, Enkidu! How am I ever going to get picked up if my co-writer isn't excited by the...wait. Do you hear that? It sounds like...ADVENTURE!"

Enkidu strains his ears. Gilgamesh rounds the corner just in time to see Mr. Wheeler's startling transformation; Enkidu pads afer him, his eyes widening. Gilgamesh's sword disappears into thin air. "Come on, old chum! We've got to chase him! Quick - to the Gilmobile!"

Enkidu barks as Gilgamesh starts running, racing after him to keep up. Gilgamesh looks over his shoulder. "Wait...what do you mean I don't have a Gil mobile?!"

Bark.

"Well...well, we need some way to keep up with them! They're clearly criminals, Enkidu! Criminals! Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do-style criminals! We could get on TV for this!"

Enkidu raises an eyebrow, as if to ask why Gilgamesh even cares so much about getting on TV; a moment later, Gilgamesh's head swivels around, his pure-white eyes widening in enlightenment.

Enkidu's eyes widen in fear. Gilgamesh nods.

Enkidu whimpers.

TEN SECONDS LATER

"REAAAAAAAAAL MEEEEEEEEEEN RIIIIIIIIDE EAAAAAAAACH OOOOOTHEEEEEEEEEEER!" Gilgamesh screams, holding tight to Enkidu's collar, shouldering a massive greatsword. Enkidu looks like he's gotten about twice as big in the last two minutes; he's easily as big as a car. This is pretty impressive, given Gil himself is like twelve feet tall anyway.

So yeah.

A giant grey man with a greatsword nearly twice his size goes barrelling down the streets of Goug on a green rock hound the size of a car, screaming about riding men.

...sure don't see that every day.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo watches Priel's plan of action with the bewildered delight of someone new to reality TV shows. Taking Leida's hand without any further hesitation, he rushes forward, stopping only for a moment to lean down over the middle-aged man she's dumped onto the sidewalk. "Don't take it personally," he says helpfully, as the man stares aghast up at him. "She does that to every guy. Figuratively speaking!" he calls over his shoulder before rushing over to the vehicle. It's fortunately a convertible, though not an expensive sort, and Ivo unceremoniously pulls off the top and tosses it in the back seat before leaping in on the passenger's side, drawing his sword in the single smooth motion that Raiya has taught him.

"Leida, get in!" he calls, and though his tone is even and calm despite the hectic circumstances, he's grinning from ear to ear. "Priel, can you catch up to that car? Leida, if you can get a clean shot at the tire! We've got to take him out before we cause any more-- I mean, he causes any more damage."

Bracing himself against the seat and the door, with a crackle of energy, Hauteclare's blade detaches from its hilt, preparing for ranged combat. He maintains that pose for a while, before, after a moment, awkwardly looking down at Priel. "You know how to work this vehicle, right?"

'Thief!' the middle-aged man is now shouting. 'Thiiieeeef!'

"Tell me you know how to work this vehicle."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith blinked for a moment. Right... car chase, people suddenly leaving, big dog running by, confusion everywhere. She shook her head and turned toward Tifa. "I have no idea what's going on... but I can sense Mercade and Leida out there, and whoever they're going after can't be up to any good." She sighed. "Let's go... we have a dog to catch.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will blinks up at Isaac.

"Ha. He is getting to be more like me. Except a jerk." Will says to Isaac. "Well, maybe. Look, what are we go-..." then Isaac has a plan.

Moments later, they come out from behind a corner, on a girls tenspeed bike, with Will sitting on the basket infront of Issac, leaning down so he can see. Will, looks over, in a very uncomfortable in his position, and leans to the right and left as needed.

"THIS IS THE BEST PL-Oh man! The driver! His fate lines...are all black!" he says to Isaac, "I haven't seen such...a dark heart. Be careful!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods to Aerith "I can drive, don't worry. There's a motorcycle in the back, I can borrow it when I need stuff from far. They don't mind as long as we dn't scrap it." She hops over the railing, leaving the plate there, on top of the wooden railing, along with the drying rag. She jumps over a fence afterwards, apparently knowing where she's going at least. Before Aerith can catch up though, the roaring sound of the Shinra motorcycle is heard, and a large, skidding turn later, Tifa appears on top of it, screeching to a halt next to Aerith so she can hop on "Hey lady, wanna go for a ride?" She says kiddingly as the flower hops on.

Once she's sure Aerith is securely on, the motorcycle roars to life again, zooming down the street after the others... behind the RockHound. She shouldn't be surprised at Gilgamesh' antics, but poor Enkidu. But why is enkidu suddenly much bigger anyway? That's going to break down the road.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade misses! "Damn! I forgot to yell Yoink! It never works if you don't yell yoink!" He'll remember that for next time.

The appearance of the dignified Mr. Walker causes Mercade to blink. How can such a mild-mannered man possibly engage in a high-speed car-

Oh. Ohhhhhhhh. Oh. Yeah. Oh.

Mr. Wheeler barely misses Mercade, sending him skidding to one side as he panics. "JESUS H CHRIST WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" He yells, moments before he leans in. "Well, if its a chase they want, it's a chase they're going to get."

He guns the motorcycle, and rockets off, exploding out of an alleyway onto the street, weaving into traffic and launching after the crazed driver.

The Gil-Team flies past, Gilgamesh racing by with a giant sword on a wolf. Mercade blinks, looks up... And then back, and blinks again. "How..."

He promptly hits the back of a car and goes flying. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Moments before he hits the street, his motorcycle comes sliding across the street, kicking up sparks.

He lands on the side, surfing it down the street for a second before kicking it back straight again, roaring forward. "LIKE HELL I'M GOING TO LET A WOLF-RIDER BEAT ME!" He yells.

Leida has posed:
The sudden flurry of activity gives the small girl a start and her eyes go wide as the metal beast comes roaring out of the garage, smashing bits of metal and glass everywhere as it carelessly plows into the parked cars lining the side of the road and then moves on to threatening oncoming traffic with blatant disregard for any common sense or safety.

This is not doing much to help make her more comfortable around modern technology! Leida squeaks girlishly as she is dragged out of hiding by the person whom she was hiding behind, hopping on one foot to keep up with his broad strides. Her foot is planted square in the stomach of the discarded car owner, earning a soft grunt of pain, which causes her to turn around so as to apologize. Mid-bow however, Ivo calls out to her again and the princess swiftly finishes the motion in fast-foward before turning and scrambling up over the edge of the door into the rear seat.

"I-I'm coming!"

Legion has posed:
Riding a bicycle into incoming traffic is a pretty insane thing to do. Almost as insane as driving a car into incoming traffic. And significantly less insane than asking Mr. Wheeler to be your driver.

A lot of people go into incoming traffic. Strangely, a lot of them are able to manage this just fine. In fact it's only Mercade, who would haev normally had the advantage of being closest, is the one who has trouble. DESPITE recovering from his first crash and landing on his bike and surfing it like woah, it soon becomes apparent that motorcycles aren't really ade for surfing and he finds himself staring down a car as it fails utterly to avoid plowing into his bike! WILL MERCADE RECOVER?! Either way, the experience sets him back towards the rest of the drivers, now significantly congesting the road. IN FACT the road is so bad off with so many people driving the wrong way, that tons of normal drivers who don't know how to drive ridiculously end up, in their attempts to avoid crashing into the non-Mercade driers, end up crashing themselves. Cars fly into the air, spin into dividers, roll over onto their back. It's total pandamonium and the chase has barely begun!

Even Wheeler, despite his aforementioned skill, ends up getting sideswiped by a car which shoves his vehicle back and ruins his forward bumper. He shakes his fist and says, "SUNDAY DRIVER!" shaking his fist.

THE SCIENTIST GETS AN ACHIEVEMENT: PISSING HIS PANTS

Mr. Wheeler spins the wheel sharply and swerves back into the lane, and looking ahead he finds--

--three of Shinra's private police cop cars blocking the road. Yes, you got to three stars that quickly.

Mr. Wheeler grabs his shield and flings it for the cars in front of him. the shield slams into all three ands ends them flying up into the air. They pirouette in midair an come crashing down towards Isaac's bicycle, Priel's car, and Tifa's motorcycle! Better avoid them--or perform a CRAZY STUNT to try and use it to get closer to Mr. Wheeler's car.

Priel Aylin has posed:
Once Ivo and Leida found their way into the car, Priel slammed the door shut and stared down at the wheel and overall interface of the car.

"......."

She had NO idea how to work this thing. But hey! It looked similar to Airship control panels back home! Maybe a little fiddling would do the trick. And so... "Oh ye of little faith. Of COURSE I know how to work this thing~! When have I EVER steered you wrong~?" A lie told with a completely radiant smile. One could almost see the sparkles emanating off of her now. In any case, fiddle she did.

It only took a couple seconds before her hand passed over the ignition. Experimentally, she turned it, causing the car's engine to roar to life. "Oho! There we go! And now..." How to move it? There had to be some sort of propeller equivilant somewhere...She didn't see an orbal control device, so that meant that it had to move by some other means...

A tentative push of the gas pedal causes the vehicle to lurch forward momentarily and Priel grins as she seemed to have figured out the gist of it. "Alright! Now we're talking! Let's get this party started! Ahahahaha!" And without further ado, she floored the pedal, causing the tires to screech loudly before they were off, speeding into traffic at rapidly growing speed.

Miraculously enough, they managed to avoid getting utterly wiped out in traffic, weaving through the various other vehicles on the road by pure dumb luck and the skin of their teeth. "Whoooo hoooooooo!" The redhead cheered she drove like an utter maniac, chasing after their wayward target, otherwise known as Mr. Wheeler. "Okay! Leida! Take out those wheels! And don't screw it up! It's not like the fate of the universe is hanging in the balance here! If you miss, then we all die! No pressure! Ahahahaha~!"

Well, someone was having just a bit too much fun with this now. Perhaps it was the compensate for the fact that they would likely not be getting paid for this.

BUT WAIT.

Was that a car falling RIGHT FOR THEM!? "You have got to be kidding me! How the hell did he do that anyway!?" Priel yelled out loud, attempting to swerve out of the impact zone, lest they become part of a car sandwich. And that didn't sound like fun!

Gilgamesh has posed:
Enkidu's massive feet pound against the pavement; he IS a gigantic rock hound the size of a car pounding against the pavement with his full weight as he races after the truck like this is some kind of racing game or something. Gilamesh grabs Enkidu's ears; Enkidu howls, loudly, as if that was a horn being honked. He casts a very ugly look at Gilgamesh; Gilgamesh just grins down at him. "KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, OLD CHUM! THIS SCENE'S ABOUT TO KICK INTO HIGH GEAR!"

Enkidu barks out something really unpleasant at Gilgamesh, or at least something that SOUNDS really unpleasant; it's not like anyone but Gilgamesh can understand him anyway. Gilgamesh frowns. "DON'T TAKE THAT TONE! THIS IS A HEROIC UNDERTAKING! THAT BAD DRIVER COULD GET A TICKET OR SOMETHING, ENKIDU! A TICKET! DO YOU WANT HIM TO GET A TICKET? WE'RE DOING A PUBLIC SERVICE BY GOING TO HELP HIM!"

Enkidu barks. Gilgamesh shakes his head. "COME ON, ENKIDU! IT'S OUR DUTY AS HEROES TO GO HEL STOP THAT GUY FROM GETTING A TICKET! WE'RE GIL AND ENKIDU, FREELANCE POLICE!" Enkidu barks again, and Gilgamesh's frown deepens. "SO YOU WANT HIM TO GET INTO AN ACCIDENT AND HAVE HIS INSURANCE RATES GO UP, AND MAYBE GET INJURED AND /DIE/? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, ENKIDU? YOU'RE BEING SO SPOILED! I- AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH LOOK OUT LOOK OUT LOOK OUT!"

Enkidu's head swings back around. Gilgamesh grabs onto Enkidu's neck and clings, the greatsword disappearing into thin air. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK

KABLAM.

Enkidu goes barreling right through one of the cars that didn't get out of the way quite in time. The rock hound, being as he is the size of the car and made of solid rock, as well as going about the speed of the car itself, sends the car flying; it loops over Gilgamesh, landing on a parked car upside down and explodes.

Four stars!

"FOUR STARS, ENKIDU!" Gilgamesh shouts, "IF I KNOW MY VIDEO GAME LOGIC, AND I PROMISE THAT I DO, FOUR STARS MEANS THEY'LL START CALLING IN THE ARMY! I DON'T KNOW WHAT A VIDEO GAME IS, BUT I'M SURE THAT'S ACCURATE! YOU'D BETTER DOUBLE TIME STEP ON IT!"

Enkidu howls. Given that he just smashed into a speeding car head-on and came out of it functionally uninjured (in fact, it's a lot like when Gilgamesh gets "injured"), he probably has nothing to howl about right now more severe than a headache...but still, he's hurting. Gilgamesh straightens up, a Megaphone falling into his hand; Tifa might recognize it! It's...it's the HP Shout? ....except it doesn't look quite right, and it's got some weird letters on the side...

Gilgamesh swings the megaphone up to his face and takes a deep breath. Enkidu's ears flatten out; the wise might do the same.

"HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" A sonic shockwave just EXPLODES out of the microwave, knocking aside several parked cars as Gilgamesh screams; "DIIIIIIIIIID YOUUUUUUUUUUU KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW YOUUUUUUUUUUUU COUUUUULD GEEEEEEEET AAAAAAAA TIIIIIIIICKEEEEEEEEEET AAAAAAAAAAAT THEEEEEESEEEE SPEEEEEEEEDS?! YOU COULD SERIOUSLY IMPACT YOUR INSURANCE RATINGS /FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE/! AND THEY COULD TAKE YOUR LICENSE AWAY! TICKETS ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS - YOU SHOULD SLOW DOWN SO THE COPS DON'T CATCH YOU! ALSO, IF YOU HIT A PEDESTRIAN, YOU COULD BE TRIED FOR MANSLAUGHTER! THAT'S LIKE TEN YEARS IN A UNITED STATES JAIL, AND WHILE I'M NOT SURE WHAT A UNITED STATES IS, JAIL SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY BAD PLACE! THEY DO BAD THINGS TO YOU IN THERE! SO YOU SHOULD SLOW DOWN!"

Of course, given he's using a Megaphone weapon, this long and extensive speech just EXPLODES down the road, tearing up the pavement and destroying glass in its wake! It's probably going to make things harder for...well, everyone who's behind Gilgamesh right now, really, as well as anyone not smart enough to cover their ears.

Whoops.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart seems to be a decent driver. Its mostly just martial arts training that allow her to possess good spatial awareness really. The police cars go flying, and Tifa.. just accelerates. She reaches a hand back to Aerith, tapping on her leg to get her attention "Pay attention, getting ready to duck."

And that's all she says, as the police car comes down toward her.. and like in slow motion, she brings the bike in front, and almost flat on the ground, wheels first and she's practically hiding behind the bike, almost laying under it and grazing the ground as the motorcycle slides barely under the flying car.

Or at least she hopes, being just about the only way out of incomming cars.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith grits her teeth as the car... just about comes down on them. She reaches her right hand up, the materia on her silver wristwear flaring to life, and a bolt of fire lances out in an attempt to take the offending hunk of metal out before it smashed them to pieces!

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"How could I mistrust a face like that?" Ivo replies laconically, as Priel beams at him while fiddling wildly with the interface. Despite the fact that they're just sitting there, the middle-aged man has fallen silent, still slumped on the ground, now staring with bewilderment at the eminently polite Leida, a strange addition to this band of robbers. But before anything else can be done or said, they're off!

While Priel cheers at the top of her lungs and proceeds to just go nuts, Ivo keeps on grinning, staring into oncoming traffic seemingly unfazed as they miraculously weave through it. Well, what good would fear do at this point anyway? He turns to look over his shoulder at Leida, who may not be having such a fun time in the backseat. "You alright there, Leida? We're going to get you close, so see if you can get a bead on them!" It might sound blithe given the circumstances, but he's making careful eye contact with the girl, as if to say: remember, this is for Legion.

Ivo turns his head then to see Mercade in the midst of, uh, surfing on his motorcycle. Nice moves, detective. "Mercade!" the swordsman calls, above the roar of the wind and the shriek of skidding vehicles, raising his hand in salute. "The Seekers are here to support!" So that he knows, at least.

Of course, drawing Mercade's attention would draw the eye to Leida in the back seat, as well.

Ivo seems about to say something more, but his eye is caught by-- what appears to be a giant grey-skinned man riding a giant dog made out of stone raising a megaphone to his lips. The resultant shockwave causes Ivo to flinch and put his hands over his ears, nearly dropping Hauteclare, its blade nearly spinning out of control. He seems to be shouting something at Priel right now, but, yeah.

No one can hear that, bro.

Minerva has posed:
Minerva somehow manages to not cause any sort of diaste this time but that wll only last so long. She's not managed to crashed into anyone or anything as she tries to get into the chase. But speaking of things she can only stare at Gil for a moment what the heck is that? How is he driving how can this be! Wait is he even driving? No she's just doesn't evne know! She presson on hanging on to the machine for dear life. "DEAR SAINT! How do they live like this!"

She's looking a bit like a deer in healights as she chases on.

Leida has posed:
Leida pitches headfirst into the back seat, rolling forward with the motion and flopping roughly on the cushy surface as Priel discovers the gas pedal. Fortunately, her bow slides to the side as she does so, the weapon landing next to her unharmed.

She starts to sit up but the sudden application of incredible speed tosses her right back down again, her tiny body no match for the forces of acceleration. After a several moments of girlish screaming as scenery and shattered cars fly past on all sides, the princess manages to get the courage to push herself upright and peer out at the scene of nightmarish traffic.

It this what travel was like to people from the 'modern' worlds? How did they survive from day to day?! Swallowing her fear, Leida leans up against the back Ivo's seat as he tries to remind her what's at stake, speaking up against the shrill honks, burning rubber, and over enthusiastic dragons.

"What's a tire? Oh... the wheels..." She reaches down and tries to pick up her bow but another sudden course adjustment by their maniacal driver sends the girl back to the floorboards. Which is a good thing because it means she doesn't see the incoming car meteor that threatens to take them out, as this might be a little too much for her delicat nerves at the moment, and also conveniently puts her out of sight of the detective, who is still oblivious to her presence.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade finds himself staring down a vehicle who is about to smash into him! HE IS DOOMED! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED! "WAAAAAAAAAGH!" Mercade yells, as he pulls back on the handlebars! The motorcycle hits a wheelie, and he thuds into the front of the car, ramping up off of it to fly over some of the traffic! "I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET AWAY!" Mercade yells, taking advantage of the happy coincidence to get some Awesome Points. He hits the street, skidding in a circle as he rides on momentum, only righting himself moments before Gilgamesh unleashes the SUPER MEGAPHONE! Mercade claps a hand over one ear. It doesn't help. "DAMMIT, GILGAMESH!" Mercade yells. "That's not helpiiiiiiiing!"

Ivo calls out, and Mercade glances over. Leida coincidentally is out of sight, and he waves. "Awesome! Always glad to have you guys along! Come on, we need to cut off that madman before he destroys everything!"

Mercade guns the motorcycle, redlining it as he heads forward in an attempt to try to catch up on the ridiculous driver!

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
Isaac's bicycle is the kind one runs messages and small parcels on. The fact that Will is even capable of fitting in the basket is probably entirely due to the fact that Will is the King of the Hobos and likely mildly malnourished, despite how much he eats. Isaac is pretty sure that there is some kind of sorcery going on here.

The bicycle cannot possibly keep pace with the rest of the cars by foot power alone. Isaac is already sweating trying to keep pace; he's hard-pressed, but making good time with all the crashed cars littering the place. The bicycle zig-zags through traffic, weaving this way and that. It floats like a butterfly and swerves like a terrified bee, Isaac calling out apologies and excuses as they pass angry and frightened drivers of all sorts. "Excuse me, pardon me, sorry, in a hurry, life or death, I am El Diablo get out de way, get off the road, this is no time for birds or honking--!!"

The road suddenly buckles from the shockwave of the megaphone. The bike lurches, abruptly going downhill and gaining speed. It hits a bump and jumps into the air, gaining altitude by virtue of speed and the coincidence that it just so happened to have rode the shockwave /just right/. Isaac yells in a mix of shock and sheer, pants-wetting terror, twisting the handlebars and trying to keep his balance.

*KLONK.* The bike lands on the back of the Shardmobile, perfectly and precariously balanced. Isaac looks down through the back window. "Uh -- sorry, hitching a ride for a sec. Will, I've gotta do a bit of magic, take the --"

Cars fall out of the sky. Isaac looks up with one hand in his coat, half-withdrawing his tablet. He fumbles with it and flips it open, spouting sorcerous syllables and waving frantically at the flipping, rolling police cars. The one heading for them glows faintly blue at the edges and hits the ground right in front of the car, and bounces almost straight up like it was abruptly made of rubber. Isaac throws his weight forward and then to the side, the bike rolling off the car and into the street at high speed. The undercarraige of the cop car narrowly misses skimming the top of Isaac's head, the hubcap just barely grazing the rim of his glasses.

The bike hits the street, wobbles madly, and shoots forward from gathered inertia. He finishes his sentence before going back to casting, this time on themselves. "--WHEEL!!"

Will Sherman has posed:
Will raises his hands into the air as they go flying!

"WILL SHERMAN PHONE HOOOOOOOOOOME!" he says, completely randomly, and completely forgetting the fact that he is mad at anyone! He screams in joy, as they fall to the ground, completely unafraid of their crashing...and are saved by the Shardmobile!

"Hey guys." he looks down, he knows Priel vaguely...and Leida. NO! He is having TOO MUCH FUN.

Oh that's Ivo. He knows from a picture...and a story told to him by Riku in the Dark Relm. "Wow. You really DO hit on everything." he says, looking at the two in the car. "ADVENTURE!" he shouts as the car flies at them, Will doesn't even move, as the hubcap flies over their head.

'Will take the...' Will doesn't respond, flipping off of his seat and grabs the wheel while Isaac casts and peddles.

His hands easily manipulating the handlebars...

And then a mushroom materializes out of the sky, thanks to Isaac's sorcery. It hits Will. And then they get a MASSIVE SPEED BURST.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Legion has posed:
all the 11s mean you get a jackpot bonus, munny starts falling from the skies. Everybody receives 1111 free munny!

Gilgamesh unleashes a powerful shockwave, clearing the road of ost normal vehicles. In fact, past the blockade--there doesn't seem to be any incoming cars anymore. Priel's crew may hear a citywide bulletin about the chase, noting that Shinra's attack helicopters are already on the way.

A car flies for Tifa's bike which would be truly bothersome were it not for aerith blasting it out of the sky. Shinra aren't people after all so it's okay.

Gilgamesh offers driving advice. Mr. Wheeler, and the pale scientist, both look over. Mr. Wheeler, notably, is the one driving and doesn't have his eyes on the road anymore. Strangely, Gilgaesh has managed to get into the lead riding a dog. What is perhaps less strange is that Isaac is right behind him, followed by the Shardmobile then the others. so basically all the rides that shouldn't be in the lead are in the lead. Life is strange when Mr. Wheeler is involved.

"Slow down?" Mr. Wheeler asks. "WHY SURE!" And suddenly--he stops, threatening to crash into Gilgamesh and send the two as a giant projectile for whichever vehicles Gilgamesh feels like threatening to fly into though chances are, Isaac and/or Priel will have to be worrying about it the most. Then again, it's Gilgaesh. Who knows what the hell is going to happen when he's involved?

Either way, the car soon speeds up again. If Priel and Isaac manage to avoid the Gilgamesh or the Gilgamesh, they'll be able to harass Mr. Wheeler's vehicle and DO SOMETHING. Mercade and Tifa are starting to catch up, though, that sudden STOP allowed everybody to get a fair bit closer (provided they don't get hit by Gilgameshes).

However there's another problem. At about this point two Shinra attack choppers flit into view. One hangs back and fires missiles at Mr. Wheeler, who--sadly--manages to knock the missiles away from his car with his shield and send them spiraling away towards Mercade's bike.

The other one moves in close to the side of the road, spraying machine gun fire towards Priel's car--it was reported stolen!--though really Shinra thinks all you crazy people on the incoming lane are working together. Still, that one that's a bit too close? It's risky...but maybe you could get inside and take it over. And that'd really be a boon to catching up to Mr. Wheeler, especially for those stuck near the rear. Of course failure might mean falling even farther behind. Then again, stealing a chopper is awesome. So many influences and choices.

Gilgamesh has posed:
Gilgamesh swings his megaphone back around at Mercade. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU ON ACCOUNT OF THIS MEGAPHONE," Gilgamesh roars, "YOU'LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP!"

This does sort of counteract the whole 'speaking up' thing, but, well, logic. Gilgamesh. Oxymoronic.

Enkidu lets out a loud bark as Mr. Wheeler suddenly comes to a grinding halt. Enkidu suddenly shrinks to a tiny size; what was a dog the size of a sedan is now a chihuaha-sized rock hound. This means two things. Firstly, it means that Enkidu is small enough to slip under the car harmlessly. Second...

Well.

Gilgamesh is twelve feet tall. And, given that his ride just disappeared...well, Newton's first law of motion: objects in motion remain in motion until acted upon by an external force.

In this case, a stopped car! Gilgamesh smashes into the car, leaving a big, Gil-sized dent in it; he rebounds off it, rolling towards Will rapidly. Gilgamesh groans as the megaphone disappears out from under him; a moment later, he's used as an impromptu ramp for a rapidly-moving bike.

"O-ow...Enkidu...ENkidu, where are you?" Gilgamesh calls as he pulls himself to his feet.

Enkidu, meanwhile, is maintaining his speed..and, in a few minutes, is going to grow to massive size once again. Directly in front of Mr. Wheeler.

That might be a problem.

Priel Aylin has posed:
The falling car landed behind their own with a loud crash and a shower of parts for anyone who was behind them, also denting the pavement. But Priel did not even spare a second to look back. There was abolutely no time for that! Instead, she focused her attention ahead and continued to floor the gas pedal like an utter maniac. Hah! This driving thing wasn't so hard at all!

CLONK.

Oh wait, there was something on their car. Priel glanced up at Isaac and Will, blinking a couple times in confusion. "Oh wait, aren't you--?" But what the hell? Before she can even get a word in edgewise, the bike is speeding back onto the street. "...Well then--WHOA WHAT THE HELL!?" And then came Gilgamesh's genius idea to use a megaphone to tear up the streets. The dragon girl was not going to stay on the road and allow her ears to be torn up by this incessent noise!

"Ivo! Leida! Hold onto something! It's about to get a little bumpy!" ...She said that as if the ride wasn't already bumpy enough. But then lo and behold, here came Shinra helicopters! And they were firing right at them! "Holy crap! Are you serious!?" Bullets began to riddle the vehicle, a couple grazed Priel at verious points, and she was clearly shot in one shoulder. "Ugh! Gotta get out of this!" Oh hey, there was a turned over cop car ahead, just angled in the right position to be used as a ramp. So Priel did was any self respecting and totally sane driver would do in this situation.

Use the fallen car as a ramp and go FLYING into midair, effectively avoiding the rest of the terrible sound wave and the gunfire as well as taking them just up enough to be eye level with the jerks piloting the helicopter. But then...suddenly it seemed like time was frozen. What the hell?

Did they just enter bullet time? Priel glanced over at the other two at this point and pointed down to the street level, where they were descending for Mr. Wheeler's vehicle rather dangerously. "Leida! Ivo! Do it NOW!"

...Do what exactly?

Priel probably didn't even know herself. But they should do SOMETHING!

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart phews a bit. Apparently her timing was off, but Aerith saved the day with a well placed spell. "Thanks Aerith."

With that, she skillfully kicks the motorcycle back up, the back wheel skidding around back in the right direction, and speeding down the lane, jumping a bit over the paved road that got lifted by Gilgamesh's sonic attack.

And apparently she needs to dodge chopper support firing. Zigzagging between the totalled cars along the road, she tries her best to use them as shielding against the fire, she's managing to catch up to the lad car. But still behind Mercade and... Wheeler? So they are chasing Gilgamesh now? What happened over there exactly?

"You okay Aerith?" She asks out, just making sure she didn't get hit or anything, she knows the girl is behind her, as she's being held to. No seatbelts on this thing.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded. "Better than okay! I need to learn how to drive one of these, seriously..." She peered toward the lead car. "Get us close enough to stop that thing! We need to end this before people get seriously hurt!" Lucky as everyone was right now, who knew when it would run out? No, they'd have to settle up, right now.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will holds on tight, moving the bike as best as he can as they SPEED HEAD FIRST down the road. They are starting to make good distance, before Wheeler breaks, firing Gilgamesh towards the two of them. However, Gilgamesh falls short...

And Will pops a wheely, firing high into the sky once more! "WHOOOOO HOOOOOOO! HI GILGAMESH!" he screams, as he flies straight ahead...and lands INFRONT of Mr. Wheeler.

"Yes!" he shouts, finally able to get something done!

However, there is a Tank infront of them! Oh god...that isn't good at all! "Did we get to give stars already? Crap! This isn't good!" he grunts, and turns towards Isaac.

"I am giving you the bars back! Do something! I am going for the guy!" he says, and flips backwards...

This is going to be tricky, aiming to flip backwards...

Rolling end over end as he flips to grab the window, and puts himself right into the backseat of the convertable.

"Hi! My name is Will Sherman, doctor. And I am here to ask you some questions."

"But first, I am here to save you /from yourself/."