"Just like a crow chasing the butterfly
Dandelions lost in the summer sky...

I never thought you'd slip away."

The Crow and The Butterfly ~ Shinedown


The sun was setting on another sticky Chicago day. It was mid-summer so, the heat and humidity had been oppressive. Not that Chicagoans would ever let a little thing like extreme weather slow them down. It could be the hottest day of the year and people would still mow their lawns, ride their bikes, or play ball in the park.

It was Saturday so the shops along Milwaukee Ave., in Wicker Park, had seen a steady stream of visitors. Wicker Park was a quirky Chicago neighborhood with a bohemian vibe that had long been popular with artists and fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants young people. Some chain stores had started to move in but, they didn't force out the small, independent shops. The big flashy stores coexisting with the "mom and pop" shops, plus the large number of galleries, made Wicker Park one of Chicago's more unique and eclectic neighborhoods.


After a day spent shopping and perusing art galleries, a cold dessert was a welcome relief. The iCream shop had been busy all day, with lines out the door. Many believed it was worth the wait. The owners were alchemists and instead of bins of ready-made ice cream, the walls were lined with tubes and bottles. They used liquid nitrogen to flash freeze the ingredients and make each individual serving on the spot. This allowed their patrons to create their own, custom flavors. A little boy could barely contain his excitement as he was handed a cup of blueberry and banana flavored ice cream, colored green. "Just like the Hulk," he exclaimed.

Businesses that practiced real magic had been popping up around the city for a few years. They were regulated, which usually just meant they were registered. Everyone agreed there should be strict guidelines but, until they could decide what those guidelines should be, practitioners of magic were mostly self-regulated. The iCream shop, by anyone's standards, used minimal magic in their creations. They didn't peddle anything like love potions disguised as frozen treats. They just wanted to give everyone the best ice cream they'd ever had.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6hPQ-1kyX4)

Tom heard the door unlock and raised his head from the laptop. Touchpads weren't exactly designed for cat paws, but he could surf the web well enough while Krystal was out job-hunting, and he often wasted more hours than he should have on the Internet.

{Hello, my precious gem of Ireland.} He projected. {How did the day go?}

Krystal left the door open, an indication she was intending to leave again, and pulled both her blouse and professional jacket off in one motions. "Well, I don't think the director liked me but this guy asked me out so at least the ego remains intact." she dropped the previously worn tops among other articles littering the couch then found, and sniffed, a black faded T-shirt that claimed Your Boyfriend says 'Hi.' then pulled it on.

"You up for some Froyo? I feel like emotionally eating."

A moment later, the cat was no longer near the laptop, and a tall guy in black T-shirt and jeans was standing next to Krystal: "Krystal, dear, I'm always up for some Froyo." He offered her his arm in that charmingly old-fashioned way of his. "Shall we?"

"Gleeee." Krystal, grinning ear to ear, walked up to slip her hand into the crook of Tom's elbow. "I want them to make me something with kiwi, blackberries and dark chocolate."

"I think I'll go for vanilla, strawberry and mint, assuming they still have fresh mint."

Growing up as an only child had left Krystal with an odd understanding of 'sharing'. Once she figured out what the word meant, she still assumed she could get compensation for doing it, and thus she unconsciously assumed bribes were a prerequisite.

Tom was about to add that she was welcome to try some, knowing that Krystal would return the favor, when she said: "Hmm... That sounds good. Mind if I try it?"

As Tom knew, the question implied she would offer a taste of her own in return.

Buying chocolate ice-cream - chocolate anything, really - was not a good idea for a cat, but a small taste from his companion's selection wouldn't hurt, so he simply replied: "Of course, dear, you're welcome to try.".

Per tradition, Krystal perched against the glass glass until the liquid nitrogen was injected into the churning ingredients. This was her cue to smile and say, "Without ice cream, life and fame are meaningless." This process boarded on ritual, and now that she couldn't see anything but a cloud of cold she waited with childlike anticipation by running her fingers across the $20 bill she intended to pay with.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:40, Tue 04 June 2013.

"...which is why you picked the apartment right above the ice-cream shop. Not that I am complaining, mind." And he really wasn't: in his human form, Tom liked ice-cream almost as much as Krystal did - and the girl had an almost supernatural appreciation for the stuff.

Tom's income was not as reliable as Krystal's (which was saying something): most of his money came through one-off "good deeds" (usually with a little magical help), and the occasional donation to his "self-help" blog, where he basically gave hopelessly dated advice that, somehow, always seemed to work out for the person in question (magical help might have played a role in that as well...)

Then again, as a cat, he didn't really require much in the way of money; the two-bedroom apartment, for instance, was more than he would have needed - but it was the price to avoid complicated explanations when they had guests.

They paid for their ice-cream, thanked the cashier (with which they were both on a first-name basis, by that point), and sat down at a table. Tom tried a bit of Krystal's, and she tried a bit of his.

"I am not complaining at all." He added, satisfied.

"So, do we have any plans for the evening?" He asked, taking a spoonful of his ice-cream.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:30, Tue 04 June 2013.

Krystal thought about Tom's question for a moment and shrugged, "I haven't had any strange dreams telling me to be somewhere so I considered going out and getting my dance on. I just don't feel like getting hit on by guys tonight. But if you'd rather just go back up and rent a movie online then curl up on the couch with a brush, I'd be okay with that too." Krystal was referring to Tom's ability to be in human form. It wasn't something he could without effort or for long periods of time. He truly was just a cat who could take a temporary form. A nice temporary form, but she'd learned early on he was still a cat.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:52, Tue 04 June 2013.

"You tempt me with a night of dancing, then pretend I could just pass it up. Ah, women." Tom could dance in either form, really, but the dance floor was dangerous for a small feline.

Once again, he considered convincing Krystal to let him teach her acrobatic rock - his technique was a bit lacking, admittedly, but he made up for it with his uncanny agility, and Krystal would have made a really good dancing partner... Assuming he managed to remember to ask her at a good time.

Taking another spoonful of ice-cream - in human form, he really had a bit of a sweet tooth - he continued: "Creature of the night here, remember? As long as we can go for a 'smoke break' in private every hour or so, I'm dancing the night away."

Maintaining human form was not hard, but the longer he did so the longer he had to remain in cat form afterwards. Since Krystal was a smoker, they had decided that they would both take 'smoke breaks', where he would go back to cat form for a few minutes and recharge his batteries.

She could easily smoke for both of them, anyway.

Krystal barely contained her excitement, "Please. If I can go an hour without a cigarette?" She paused for a moment then shrugged, "Nah. Nothing witty or impossible enough is coming to mind. It just aint gonna happen." she flashed a smile then went back to her ice cream alchemy. Wordlessly she offered Tom another sample, ready to take her own in return if he accepted.

And so, with another exchange of ice cream tastings, the agreement was sealed.

"The fears of you dying
That's what is takes sometimes to feel alive
Does it seem like heaven's on it's way?
Don't look down from here, the devil could wait in death"

Timed Blues ~ Dead Sara
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in4F6TFZiqk)

Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, the Dewes mansion was more than a century old. The exterior of the lavish gray-stone was decorated with carved stonework. The entrance was flanked by two large sculptures -- one each of a semi-nude man and woman that acted as columns supporting a balcony over the doorway.

The mansion's interior had recently been renovated, turning it into a restaurant and nightclub called Tabú.

The main floor of Tabú functioned as a tapas lounge and bar. Old world glamour blended with modern style and sophistication in the siren red interior. The walls were adorned with original Studio Manasse prints of 1930s burlesque stars. They had a fantastic selection of wines, cavas, beers, and other signature cocktails to accompany the flavorful, Latin-inspired food. Their special recipe Sangria was made fresh daily, and could be ordered with a side of real blood to mix with it.

It was a health code requirement that blood be served in sealed bottles, instead of letting bartenders blend it into drinks. Officials said it was to protect people from getting served the wrong drink, and accidentally ingesting raw blood. The paranormal community believed it was to make it clear who the blood drinkers were at restaurants and bars.

The world had grown more tolerant. It was against the law to refuse service to anyone based on their race, and that was expanded to include paranormal races, such as vampires. However, tolerance was far from acceptance. There were still people who would ask to be seated somewhere else, if they saw bottled blood delivered to a nearby table. Owners couldn't legally have a policy of, "we don't serve their kind here," but the government wasn't going to tell any business what they had to sell. It wasn't "refusal of service" if they simply didn't stock and sell bottled animal blood.

The upper floors of Tabú had rooms that could be reserved for private parties. There were even a couple of overnight guest rooms, but those were only available by special arrangement with the owner.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:20, Sat 08 June 2013.

Dancing and live entertainment could be found downstairs, in Tabú's basement. The dance floor was dim, with a small stage that was lit from below.

Tucked into the corners, near the stage, were plush seating areas with Victorian-style couches.


High-backed booths lined the wall on the other side of the dance floor. Shimmering gold lights and classic nude artwork made the space warm and inviting.

The bar was against the back wall, next to an impressive DJ booth. The music was usually live on weekends, but they used DJs on weekdays. The VIP lounge was an offshoot of the bar area. A plasma screen TV made it easy for VIPs to watch the stage show while staying out of sight. A special invitation was required for admittance to the exclusive room.

Tabú was owned by a vampire and known to be paranormal friendly. This made it popular with the goth crowd, but it wasn't strictly a goth club. Tabú attracted all kinds of people. It was Saturday night, so the dance floor was filled with young, undulating bodies.

On stage was a band called Dead Sara, comprised of two men and two women. Their unique mix of blues, grunge, heavy metal and goth was not your typical radio-friendly fare. Their sound was far more interesting than that -- haunting, challenging, and intense. The pair of men that formed the band's rhythm section were good, but the band's strength clearly rested on the shoulders of the women. Both were dressed in skin-tight jeans and ripped t-shirts. The long-haired brunette, on lead guitar, powered through monstrous, primal riffs. The lead vocals were handled by the shorter-haired, dirty blonde whose voice dripped with passion as she went from a howling, guttural wail to a gentle, near-whisper.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLFzbPOe-T0)

"His skin was soft as leather
I'm the weatherman
There's no on else worth the dedication
I'm the weatherman
Cause hey kid
You got the heart without the ache
Pretentious thieves
Have you believe it's theirs to take
Addicted to the love of ourselves
I'm the weatherman
And tell no one else
I'm the weatherman

So go for the kill
Cause no one else cares"

As always, the supernatural scent in the club enveloped Tom as he walked in: this was a place where Tom didn't have to worry overmuch about revealing himself as not-quite-human, so he could show off on the dance floor about as much as he wanted.

He could clearly make out the smell of vampires - which was fine by Tom, as long as they were well-fed: their superhuman agility made for excellent dance partners - but there were several more subtle smells.

He turned to his partner in crime and asked: "So, wanna drink something, or do we go straight to the dance floor?"

Krystal followed, her arms in the air and her shoulders rocking to the song. If anyone were able to hear they'd know she was also singing along at a normal level for singing. Not the loud screaming in tune most people did in clubs and bars.

After leaning over to listen to Tom she gave him a hooded smile and pointed to the dance floor. While also getting her dance on to work up to the drinks she also hoped guys would see her with someone early on.

On the dance floor, Tom made a point of ensuring that everyone looking would be entirely convinced that he and Krystal were a couple. While it was Krystal who was the real actress, he could also perform this particular role just fine - which was partly out of practice: he'd played that role for his friend often enough.

Within ten minutes, everyone who could have possibly been interested in his partner was most likely convinced that he and Krystal were thoroughly, and exclusively, into each other.

{Having fun, dear? From the looks of it, no less than five guys are fervently wishing I had an unfortunate accident, so that they can jump in and comfort you for your terrible, terrible loss. I'm not sure what they would tell the girls they are currently dancing with, though...} Krystal could hear the chuckle in Tom's mental voice, which was as expected: having a private conversation in the middle of a noisy club, for some reason, never failed to amuse him.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Tue 18 June 2013.

Krystal and Tom always moved well together. She was able to keep up, but he did have an almost inhuman agility and coordination - probably because he wasn't human. She smiled and moved in to secure the facade and speaking right into his hear. "More than a few girls have been checking you out from the bar. They probably think I'm on a date with David Tennent." she laughed and then pulled away grabbing his hand, "Come on. It's time for a drink."

A pair of young women were chatting near the bar. The blonde was wearing a sparkling, purple dress with a plunging neckline and short skirt. "Just a bit longer? How about another drink?"

Her friend was a petite brunette dressed in low-riding jeans and a black vest that showed off her toned mid-riff. "No, I told you I'd stay for one drink and that's it. I've got an early day tomorrow."

There was a minor ripple through the crowd as their attention was drawn to a small group of people that had just arrived. At the center of the group was a sharply-dressed man with dark hair. He appeared to be in his early forties, but looks could be deceiving on a vampire. It was Corbin Frost and his entourage.

Corbin wrote a book a couple of years ago about some of his titillating escapades through the centuries. It was a best seller, called Tales of a Dead Man. It had turned him into a minor celebrity and a favorite on the talk-show circuit. Corbin was a master at capitalizing on the romantic mystique long associated with vampires.

He moved through the crowd with the grace of a dancer, smiling and occasionally pausing to shake hands with someone.

"Oh! I've always wanted to meet him!" The blonde exclaimed.

"Go, but make it quick." The brunette shook her head as she watched the other woman wade into the crowd. "My sister has always had a thing for older men." She gave a slight shrug as she smiled at Tom and Krystal. "Not my type, I guess." She finished off the amber liquid in the bottom of her glass.

Human, definitely human. Both sisters smelled 100% non-supernatural. One of them seemed more level-headed than the other, but this wasn't something Tom gathered from his supernatural senses.

"Not buying into the whole 'vampires princes of the night' thing, I take it? Can't say I blame you." Tom gestured for the barman and ordered a piña colada. "I've met a few vampires, and you know what? At the end of the day, they're just people."

"Are you telling me that the undead put their pants on one-leg-at-a-time, just like the rest of us?" The petite woman smiled at Tom, before glancing in the direction her sister had gone. "My sister would probably pay good money to see that."

The bartender offered to get her a refill on her drink, but she shook her head no. Returning her attention to Tom, she said. "I'm not bothered by his state of unlife. It's the ego that kind of rubs me the wrong way."

"I've heard there's a secret entrance to that VIP lounge, so the celebs can come and go without the rest of us even knowing they're here, but not that guy. He likes to make an entrance."

"You don't have to be a vampire for that... I wouldn't be surprised to learn that somebody invented special clothes just so that they don't have to wear their pants one leg at a time like everybody else. Though I guess if they were magic users they would probably invent a spell. I'm Tom, by the way." He extended a hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:24, Thu 04 July 2013.

"I'm Ashley," the woman said, as she shook Tom's hand.

Krystal used this opportunity to jump in, "I'm Krystal." she tried to put warning, more than envy, in her tone. She wanted this girl to think she was important, but not in a relationship with Tom. To her, that was still kind of weird.

"Yeah, you can dress this guy up but I still can't take him anywhere." Krystal turned back to her drink, then gestured to Tom with two fingers which silently asked 'Smoke?'
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Fri 05 July 2013.

"Aye, I think it's about time for a a smoke break. It was nice meeting you, Ashley." He took one of the club's business cards that was laying on the counter and stared at it a moment, before handing it to her.

When she looked at it, she could see a phone number and a small feline paw print on what had been the blank side of the card: they looked like they had been seared onto the paper. He winked at her as he and Krystal left.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:01, Fri 05 July 2013.

Krystal gave the girl a smile and pulled a pack of smokes and handed on to Tom as a prop and fiddled with the pack to make it seem like she was go to take one. Leading the way she headed outside.

"I should probably fetch my sister. It was nice meeting both of you." Ashley took Tom's card and smiled at him before she disappeared into the crowd.

Next to Tabú was a smaller mansion that had been built at the same time, in a similar style. The owner of Tabú also bought the sister mansion and used it as their private home.

Between the two mansions was a fenced courtyard that was accessible by a side-door of the club. There were garden benches, chairs, small tables, and even a pair of chaise lounges. It was decorated with various plants and warm, soft lighting.

Krystal and Tom had the area to themselves, with the exception of one young man seated at the far end. He had his back to the club as he spoke into his cell phone. "I just got an angry text from our landlord. Why haven't you paid him yet? Well, could you go do it now? What do you mean, you don't have the money?? What did you do with the cash I gave you?"

Tom handed the cigarette back to Krystal, knelt down, pretending to check non-existent shoelaces, and morphed back to his cat form.

After a moment of consideration, he lay down and relaxed, while she looked for an ashtray: he didn't need to be close to Krystal to talk to her, and he wasn't overly fond of the smell of cigarettes.

{Seems like a nice evening so far. I wonder if I should worry.}
This message was last edited by the player at 02:59, Sat 06 July 2013.

Leaving Tom to lay where he was, Krystal moved to a seat near a 'Cindy' ashtray. If she was going to be bad, she might as well do something good too. Responding through the mental link she asked, {Worried about what? Things are going good so far, but I'm surprised you gave your number to that girl. She was human. I thought your version of eHarmony would be Petfinder.com.}
This message was last edited by the player at 12:36, Sun 07 July 2013.

Tom sent her a half-smile, and began cleaning his coat - not that it needed that, but he found it relaxing. {Remember, my fiery diamond, having a mindless sex slave around is not as much fun as humans make it. And besides, petfinder wouldn't work all that well for us: humans base attraction primarily on looks, but we base it primarily on smells.}

He looked over at cell-phone guy, who appeared to have started another call, then back to Krystal. {Which reminds me... I can't judge this Ashley girl on my own race's canons: she has no tail and no whiskers, and her eyes are the wrong shape, although she was apparently trying to hide that with makeup. However, her face was very symmetrical and she seemed fit, which I think are things both humans and Bast consider points in favor, and I liked her scent. I realize large breasted females are considered more attractive by humans, which should probably be a point against her, but its actual importance seems to vary a lot from male to male, and it's hard to quantify... I guess what am asking is: is she cute?}
This message was last edited by the player at 08:27, Sun 07 July 2013.

Krystal couldn't help but mentally go over Ashley's body in her mind when Tom went through his check list. With a drag to cover up a wistful sigh she sent back confirmation. {I'd totally do her. What I liked? She had a nice attitude of being both concerned for her sibling but willing to let the other girl have her fun for a while. A nice personality can go a long way to compensate for, or enhance, a well constructed physique. The opposite is also true. Guys see my body so I try and be as annoying as possible if I don't find them attractive. They assume I'm not worth the effort and move on... well, most of the time."}

Tom finished cleaning up, and performed a few exercises that were the magical equivalent of stretching your muscles after running.

By the time he was done, Krystal's cigarette was finished. Cell-phone guy was still talking, so Tom figured he wouldn't notice that he had apparently taken several minutes to tie his shoelaces, let alone that he didn't have any.

He took a breath and changed back into his human form, and stood up.

The doors at the front of the club opened, and Ashley and her sister walked out. "Do you wanna get a cab?"

"No, we're just a couple minutes from the bus stop, and I think I could use the fresh air." The two women descended the steps and started walking down the sidwalk in front of the courtyard. Ashley seemed to be slowing down, and then she stumbled, dropping to her knees.

"Ash! Are you ok?" The blonde rushed to her sister's side.

"I dunno. I fee... I... " Ashley's words sounded slurred, and then she collapsed to the ground.

Krystal could see Ashley collapse and quickly sprang into action. Years of dealing with psychic visions, vampires, witches, catholic school cheerleaders, demons, a slayer girlfriend and magical cats had prepared her for exactly this kind of situation. Without hesitation she turned to Tom saying, "You should probably go check on her."

Tom would have wondered, once again, how in the world he could have found the one human who managed to out-lazy a cat, but right then he was a little preoccupied: someone or something had apparently decided to harm the girl he had intended to put a mine sign on.

He jumped over the fence, landing gracefully on the other side, and in an instant he was kneeling beside the fallen girl.

"Ashley!" He looked up at her sister, while checking Ashley's girl's pulse and breathing: "What happened?"

Ashley appeared to be unconscious. Her skin was pale, with a bluish tinge, and she felt very cold when touched.

The blonde looked at Tom, "I dunno! She seemed fine, and then all of the sudden she was falling down." She sat next to Ashley and tugged on her arm. "Ash! Ash, please wake up!"

The young man who had been on his cellphone, at the other end of the courtyard, heard the commotion and hurried over. "I'll have to call you back." He ended the call without waiting for a response, and knelt down next to Tom. He looked at Ashley and joined Tom in checking for a pulse. He immediately dialed his phone again. "We need an ambulance, at Tabú on West Wrightwood."

Ashley's sister pleaded with Tom, "Are you a doctor? Can you help her?"

Tom placed a hand over Ashley's forehead, as he replied to her sister: "I don't think you need a doctor right now... Well, maybe a witch doctor. Does she use supernatural performance enhancers, or magic remedies of some sort?"

Even as he listened to her answer, Tom concentrated to activate one of his powers. Under his breath, he began muttering slowly: "Slàinte agus Tàinte... Slàinte agus Tàinte... Slàinte agus Tàinte..."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:35, Tue 09 July 2013.

Krystal "watched" the events unfolding, her eyes moving around the alley and looking for anyone or anything that might help make sense of this.

The blonde shook her head, "No, she barely drinks."

"Are you sure she didn't have a lot to drink tonight?" The man with the cellphone interjected.

"Yes, I'm sure." Ashley's sister looked up at him. "Are you a doctor? Can you help her?"

"No, I'm... I've had some medical training."



"What are you doing?" asked the blonde.

The man with the cellphone gave Tom a curious look as he continued to check Ashley's vital signs. "I think it's helping."

Ashley's eyes fluttered open. "Wha happen?" Her speech was still slurred but, she looked like she was getting better. Then her body suddenly began to tremble.

"She's seizing!" The convulsions only lasted a moment. "I've lost her pulse." The man began chest compressions on Ashley.

"Nooooooo! Her sister wailed.

Sirens could be heard approaching from the distance.

"Oh no you don't!" Cell Phone Guy paused with the compressions, and Tom proceeded to breathe air into Ashley's lungs, and then spoke to both her body and her soul: "Ashley, wake up. It's not your time, don't even think about it. Just wake up."

...compression, compression, pause, another breath.

A quick telepathic message to Krystal: {There was some magic at work, but I'm not sure it caused this: the magic seems to be dissipating, but she's getting worse. Did you see anything unusual?}.

He looked at Cell Phone Guy and said: "Let me know if you get tired and want to switch." Tom had no training in medicine, per se, but he knew that, while it may not have looked like it, CPR was hard work. Granted, he knew that because he'd read it on the internet, but it seemed to make sense.

For better ot for worse, mundane reanimation would have to suffice: Tom had a few tricks up his sleeve, sure, but nothing that could magically revive people - he had never gotten the hang of healing magic, and that entire class of spells was notoriously finicky. Besides, his ability to bless people was usually enough for most purposes - except this thing had apparently undone his power in seconds.

Tom was starting to feel angry. It's usually not a good idea to anger a High Bast. Angering this particular High Bast had a pretty high mortality rate.

First, save the girl. Then, if this turned out not to be a natural event... The responsible party was going to have a really bad day.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Wed 10 July 2013.

The ambulance arrived and the paramedics took over for Tom and the other man. After twice using the defibrillator on Ashley, they declared they had a pulse. She was breathing again, but it was very slow and irregular. They quickly loaded her into the ambulance to head for the hospital. A couple of police cars showed up as the ambulance was preparing to leave. One policeman offered to drive Ashley's sister to the hospital, while the other stayed behind to talk to witnesses.

Jack stretched his fingers then gripped the steering wheel again. Flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror caught his attention.

"Great! Now what did I do?." Jack pulled over to the side of the road and slowed down, but before he could stop, the police car zipped past him, followed quickly by a second one. Pleased that it wasn't him they wanted, Jack pulled back into traffic.  "If they don't want to talk to me, maybe I want to talk to them", he said. Always on the lookout for a good story, Jack followed the police cars as best he could.

Jack lost sight of the blue lights once, but an educated guess put him back on track. An ambulance whizzed toward him with lights flashing and siren wailing, confirming his guess. He pulled up to "the scene" just as one of the police cars left, chasing after the ambulance. A young woman was seated in the front seat with the cop. "Family or friend of the victim, not the perp."

Jack parked and got out. "Corbin's favorite hangout. I knew it." The other policeman had just moved away from talking to a small group, two men and a woman. Jack approached the same group, pad of paper in one hand, the other extended to shake their hands in turn.

"Hi guys. Jack Jennings, INS. Can you tell me what just happened here?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:54, Fri 12 July 2013.

"Ben." The twenty-something young man shook Jack's hand as if it was an automatic muscle response. "A girl got sick." He was still looking in the direction the ambulance had gone. "I hope she'll be ok." Ben was tall and lanky, with brown hair that looked like it had been combed by his fingers, instead of an actual comb.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:33, Sat 13 July 2013.

"I see." Jack pulled the pen from the spiral binding of the notebook. "Do you know if she had an exotic drink? Maybe with something she was allergic to?

"It didn't look like an allergic reaction, but I don't know what she may have had to drink. I didn't see her until after she collapsed." Ben's cellphone went off. He dug it out of his pocket and quickly glanced at the message. He sighed heavily as he returned the phone to his pocket.

"So, am I to understand you, don't actually know the girl? You were just trying to help?" Jack said to Ben.

Jack turned and faced the couple, pen poised to write but so far the page was blank. "What about you two? Do you know her name, what she was doing just before she became ill? I can keep your names out of the story, if you want."

Krystal didn't want to talk to the cops. She'd had a few bad experiences with them not believing that she had a dream about someone in danger, and not that she wasn't involved just looking to play the hero. Anyone who knew Krystal would agree, she was no 'hero'.

A thought click in her mind as she saw Jack Jennings of INS. She would often read his articles, looking for events she'd been involved in and making sure wasn't mentioned. As much as she didn't want to talk to the press either she suddenly remembered Tom's card in Ashley's pocket. It was only a matter of time before the cops found it, then came to their/her apartment to rule Tom out as a suspect. If they questioned him for too long he might have to go back into cat form and that would just bring up more questions. "Oh Shit!" she balled up her hands and clamped her eyes shut as if it could block out the world.

Grabbing Tom by the hand she pulled him toward Jack Jennings. They needed protection and that would have to come in the form of freedom of the press. "Here name was Ashley!" Krystal called out, hoping to draw Jack's attention. "My friend Tom was talking to her. Cute girl. She was going to call him later and everything." Krystal almost shoved Tom forward hoping she'd planted enough seeds to cover the clues the cops would find in Ashley's pocket and draw the attention of the reporter.

Tom didn't like the press much, but he picked up Krystal's intentions - spend enough time talking to somebody mind to mind, and it becomes hard to tell the difference between telepathy and intuition: "I still hope she will give me a call, actually... Though I don't know how long it will take her to recover. It looked like she was having a stroke."

Jack jotted notes onto his pad. Vic = Ashley, cute. Possibly stroke?    Witness = Ben, Tom + girl = couple? Tom & Ashley-hookup later?

"A stroke you say? Very odd for a young woman to have a stroke. Worth looking into."

Jack looked at each in turn. "It seems to me that none of you knew Ashley well, would that be correct? I'm fairly sure I could talk my editor into a short article here. 'Good Samaritans assist girl in need at club.' The public likes to get a bit of good news now and then. Could I please have your full names?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:59, Sat 20 July 2013.

Krystal leaned over Tom's shoulder to add, "Her sister was talking to Corbin. Ash went to get her sister and that's when we stepped outside for a smoke." she slipped back and move to the other side of time as if that would mask her presence somehow. Nervously she began to open and close the Zippo.
Clink? Click. Clink? Click.

Tom lifted a hand to his earlobe in thought - human ears were not prone to twitching - and said: "Mr. Jennings. My friend and I, we are a bit... Camera shy, you could say."

"We could certainly give you our contacts-" He stopped and looked over at Krystal, then continued: "We will certainly give you our contacts, but we will also probably ask you to keep our names private."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:59, Mon 22 July 2013.

Corbin. I could have guessed his name would come up connected to this in some fashion. Jack thought as he nodded to the group. "Of course, I fully understand. I promise your names will not make it into the light of the internet. I would like to be able to contact you if I have any questions once I sit down to write the article. What about you Ben? Want to see your name in print?"

Jack slid the pen into the spiral binding and slipped his hand into his pocket. Jack produced a sampling of Independent News Service business cards with his name and contact information.  "Please take one. It has my name, email, and an office phone number. The office can reach me anytime, day or night." He fanned them out like a hand of poker and held them out to the trio.

If I answer the call, especially late night, that's another matter.  He kept his face neutral at that passing thought.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:12, Mon 22 July 2013.

Krystal takes the card, her hand clenching into a fist as she stares at the small 3x2" tile. "Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark." She closes her eyes to steady her breath and hands the card to Tom.

Her thoughts started to spin as she hummed and tapped her foot. Finally she looked to Tom, then back to Jack as if on the verge of saying something. Taking a moment she started to fish through her purse for her own card. It was solid black with white lettering and a detailed back and white picture of the girl on the far left hand side.
Krystal O'Connor
555-867-5309
krystal[at]krystaloconnor.com

"My name's Caulfield, Ben Caulfield." He winced as he realized that statement sounded like a bad James Bond impression. "I uh, I don't have a card," Ben said as he glanced at Krystal's card in Jack's hand. "And, I may be moving. Very soon. But, I work at Cook County Morgue. Night shift, usually, if you have any more questions. Not that I think I've got much more to add."

Tom took the business card Krystal handed him, and smiled briefly at his friend. "Well, I don't have a business card either. I could just simply text you my details..."

Jack recorded the personal information and made a note to keep names out of the article. He flipped the pad closed and reinserted the pen into the binding. "Thank you very much for your cander. I think that is all I need from you three at this time. I'm going to see if anyone saw anything regarding Ashley in the club. Then I'll check to see how she is doing at the hospital. This seems pretty straight-forward right now. Thanks again for your time."

Jack shook their hands again and turned toward the entrance of the club.

"They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
Sinners are much more fun...

You know that only the good die young"

Only The Good Die Young ~ Billy Joel

The presence of police and ambulance had dampened the mood at Tabú but, the party was just getting started at another Lincoln Park watering hole. The Liar's Club was an unapologetic dive bar where everyone got along, stereotypes were checked at the door, and the only thing anyone gave a damn about was having a good time.

The facade of the bar was as inviting as a slaughterhouse with its fifties-style yellow brick, glass blocks, weathered sign, and a battered metal door. The interior could politely be described as dark and ramshackle, with a fine haze of cigarette smoke hovering over every surface.

On the first floor, there was a crowded bar to the left and tables on the right. As with any asylum, the walls were padded. Behind the bar were Kiss figurines, velour icons of Elvis, and a rotating lamp that showcased couples engaged in acts that could get them arrested in several Southeastern states. A few televisions were showing Kiss videos and vintage porn. Hanging above the tables were lights with fez hats as shades.

The tiny, crowded dance floor had a mirror ball and pulsating lights that blinked under the crowd's feet. This was a great place to dirty dance with strangers. On the right of the dance floor was a carpeted bench, located in front of the mirrored walls. On the other side was a lounge area complete with red velvet drapes and faux leopard skin seats.

To the left of the bar were rickety wooden stairs that lead to the second floor. The upstairs lounge had black stucco walls, a small bar, Kiss posters, a small pool table, ripped leather seats, red track lighting, and a Kiss pinball machine. The centerpiece of the room was a round, upholstered seat with a giant lighted fez hat in the middle that would make any Shriner proud.

The music played could range from Sinatra to the Beastie Boys to the Beatles to the Ramones, depending on which DJ was working. On weekdays the place would be full of steel-livered regulars, whose hobbies centered on the decoration of their bodies. Since it was a Saturday night, the crowd was a bit more mainstream but, still had an offbeat edge.

No matter what the night, the crowd at Liar's could be a lot of fun, and never took itself too seriously. They welcomed anyone in the mood for some hard dancing as well as hard drinking, and that included humans and paranormals. Relations between the two groups might be tense, and even strained in other parts of the city, but at Liar's, they seemed to mix well.

Among the growing crowd of people stood Zoey in her, now, sweaty tank-top and jeans with her trusted laptop as she prepared the tunes. She'd been DJing at Liar's for about 2-3 years now and she enjoyed every minute of it. "Alright, time to plug my own mixes" she spoke to no one in particular as she setup the next song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNzrwh2Z2hQ

As the mashup played, she removed her headphones and pulled her hair off her back to tie it into a messy ponytail, showing off just the red wing tips of her most recent tattoo on her back right shoulder. While her playlist went on it's own she bounced between the people to the bar. When a few regulars saw her approach, they graciously opened a little room for her as she leaned over to be heard, "Hey Frank, got my usual caffeine boost?" she said with a warm smile.

Frank Wayland was an intimidating character, standing over six feet tall with broad shoulders and a muscular frame. He was in his mid-sixties, but could probably kick the ass of men one-third his age. His shoulder-length hair was gray, just like his beard. He was dressed in jeans and a faded Led Zeppelin t-shirt. He was the owner of the Liar's Club, and had been for well over a decade. There were rumors that he had won the bar in a wild bet, but no one knew if that was really true.

"What's with all the KISS stuff?" asked a twenty-something man seated at the bar.

Frank's dark eyes gave the man a cold stare. "You gotta problem with KISS?" His voice was rough and gravely, and carried a challenging tone.

The man looked back at Frank, and seemed to get smaller. "Ummm no, they're great." He attempted a weak smile. He looked like a puppy backing down to the alpha dog.

Frank gave a slight nod, as if the man had passed a test and would be allowed to stay. Frank then turned his attention to his young, energetic employee. He poured Zoey a tall, cold Mt. Dew and handed it to her. "Not a bad mix. Makes some of this stuff almost bearable to listen to."

Zoey took a big gulp of her Mt. Dew, "Ahh, I don't know how people function without this stuff. I'm glad you like it, y'know you're the only reason I make these mixes, just so that you can feel hip and 'bear' the new stuff 'those dang kids play these days'" she added that last part with an obvious mocking tone before she shot him a humorous look.

Frank opened a PBR and slid it across the bar. "Just don't ever make John Lennon sound auto-tuned," he said, as he grabbed two more bottles of beer. "I fired the last DJ that did that."

Jack stepped up behind Zoey and briefly put a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Hey Zoey! Just make it loud enough so I don't hear the Yuppies whine about their nearly perfect lives."

Jack leaned into the bar and set a old, crumpled and re-flattened $20.00 on it. "Hi Frank. Give me a Shotgun and a cold beer." He twisted so that he faced both Zoey and Frank. "Hope you both have had a good day. I know my night is already looking better then my day was," he said.

Zoey turned and smiled upon seeing Jack, "My day has been pretty much the normal good. Why is your night looking better than your day? Bad day just gotten better by being here with the obvious good company? Or did something else actually worth noting happen?" Zoey asked before she took another long sip of her drink.

Frank opened a bottle of beer and slid it toward Jack, and then he grabbed three bottles of whiskey and a glass. First he poured some Jack Daniels into the glass, followed by an equal amount of Jim Beam. For the final touch, he floated Wild Turkey whiskey on top, and then set the glass in front of Jack. "You're payin' with cash," Frank said as he picked up the twenty. "That's usually a good sign."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:50, Mon 05 Aug 2013.

"Being snarky won't earn you a big tip, Frank." Jack smiled and lifted the poured concoction gave it a hearty whiff.  "Nectar of the Gods," he said as he drank the glass half down. Jack's face grimaced, one eye shut tight as he slapped the bar with his free hand.

"Whew! And that is why the night is better then the day, Zoey.  If I drank like that during the day, I'd be an alcoholic, which I am not. Besides, the company here is a lot better."

Jack switched to the beer and took a swig. "Work is, well work. I might have a lead on a story, or it is another dead end tale of human tragedy. I got to call the hospital later to see which way this one will go. Till then, I chill." He lifted the glass for another swig of the brew.

Zoey tried to contain her smirking as Jack defended his "alcoholism", however, as he continued to speak her face straightened out quickly, "Hospital? What happened?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I was over at Tabú earlier. Some girl seemed to have passed out suddenly. Witnesses called it a stroke, but she was too young for that I think. I can never tell if it was a natural or supernatural event, till the victim gets a physical or an autopsy. So, I'll call the hostital later to see what they say." Jack smiled as he finished his Shotgun
This message was last edited by the player at 13:07, Wed 14 Aug 2013.

"Well you will definitely have to keep me updated, let me know if it turns out to be a real juicy one" Zoey said before quickly gulping down some more of her soda. She turned and looked over at her laptop/dj station, "I guess I should get back to work, Frank doesn't pay me the big bucks to just play playlists" she smiled at Frank before bouncing back over to work.

A ray of sunlight filtered through the half-closed blinds, moving slowly across the bed as the morning approached noon. Eventually, it reached the head of the small feline curled up on said bed.

Tom raised his head and opened his eyes. He sighed in a very human way, then uncurled, stretched and yawned, all at the same time, in a very feline way.

Beast of both worlds - a pun that really was only half a joke - being a High Bast was sometimes annoying. A normal cat could have just gone back to sleep, but Tom had things to do, and it was time to do them.

Switching to his human form, he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, and checked for messages. A couple, but none from an unknown number, so Ashley had not tried to call him, and neither had Jack.

With a shrug, he punched in a number and waited.

The darkness of the dingy bedroom was sliced with a sliver of sunlight through the gap in the "blackout" blinds of Jack's bedroom. The rhythmic thumping of Zoey's tunes below his floor were replaced by the thumping of the inside of his head. Jack rolled over in an attempt to quiet the beat, but the melodic tones of Shotgun Blues sang out of his cell along with the rapid vibrations of the device on the end table.

"'ello?"

"Hello Jack, this is Tom."

"Who?"

"Tom Silvestris? We met yesterday evening at the club."

"Do you know what time it is?"

Tom checked his watch, just to make sure there wasn't some strange night sun phenomenon going on, but no, it really was late morning.

Jack pulled the cell from his ear to look at the time. "Never mind. Later than I thought. Sorry about that Tom."

The Bast smiled: "Creature of the night, eh? I can relate... I'll keep that in mind next time. I call you to give you some information I didn't think was appropriate to divulge while Ben was around."

Tom quickly explained to Jack the nature of his "job" as a New Age-ish self-help guru, and gave him the address of his website. He didn't make any extraordinary claim on it, but there were enough posts on the forum going on and on about how well things had worked out for them after his blessing that they kinda made the claim for him.

"So, just to be clear: I do have the power to bless people with a small amount of luck, and I can choose if it's the good kind of luck or the bad one; like most people with supernatural powers, I can also detect magical signatures."

Jack had pulled himself upright and was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Well, I contacted the hospital. They confirmed Ashley was a normal human with poor judgement unfortunately. Nothing more than alcohol poisoning. Drinking way too much, too fast. She had to be really plowed, because her condition is grave. Sorry to say, she may not make it Tom."

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.  "She could use some of your good luck, I guess."

Tom lifted a hand to pull on his ear: "Unfortunately, I already gave Ashley my blessing last night, so I won't be able to do it again for a day - but I'll visit her at the hospital, perhaps it will bring her some luck nonetheless, but the information I wanted to give you was: I don't think she just had one too many bottles. Krystal and I saw Ashley mere minutes before she left and she was pretty much sober, then, when I tried to help her after she collapsed, I could clearly smell traces of magic in the area. It was a strange thing: less structured than a spell but more than a wild surge, yet different from a natural power. I'm not sure I've ever felt anything like it."

Jack, more awake now, cocked his head to one side and stood up. "Really? Wow, that is interesting. Here I thought this was a non-story, but we may have a mystery on our hands." Jack padded on bare feet, half-dressed to the blackout blinds and parted them more. He winced at the brightness of the day.

"Tom, do you know anything about possible tracking this 'wild surge' back towards the source?" Jack grabbed a loose Camel from the top of the chest of drawers and a pack of matches. Quickly, he put the cigarette to his lips and struck the match. The calming stench of sulfur, the slight crackle of the dried leaves and choking plume of smoke combined to give him the rush he needed to become fully alert. "If we can locate who or what the source is, then we can learn if Ashley was targeted or in the wrong place, wrong time."

Tom pondered for a moment: "I... Think I can help. I'm just going to need a few things, and a little time. Well, some time. Maybe a lot. Talking to the Great Collective is a bit... Unpredictable. I might be unreachable for a while, but I'll call you back as soon as I'm done."

"That sounds great Tom. I'll investigate what I can from my end. I look forward to hearing from you later. Good luck."  Jack hung up the cellphone and took a 'healthy' drag on his cigarette. He moved toward the kitchenette to make some coffee.

---

A while later, as Krystal came back to the apartment, she found that Tom wasn't there to greet her.

On the table there was a letter:

Precious fiery opal,

I need to find a few things, to help our new friend in the press find out exactly what happened yesterday.

While I do not expect it to be especially dangerous, it may take some time.

Do not worry overmuch if you cannot reach me: I expect I will not have access to my cell phone.

I will be back as soon as possible.

Stay safe.

The letter bore the familiar mark of a cat's paw, burned onto the paper.

Zoey stepped through the door to her studio apartment, it didn't look like much but it was definitely home. For a single 20-something, Zoey actually did pretty well for herself.

"Heeere's Zoey! Squawked a voice from the other side of the room.

"Hey JP, having a good day so far?"

"Shiny."

Luckily, Zoey was never lonely. She smiled at the gray parrot as she flicked on a light. She walked past her folding card table and threw her keys on a stack of papers and blank ID cards that sat on her desk. Sliding her card maker over, she leaned over her cushy computer chair (where she obviously spent most of her time) and unfolded her laptop. She quickly checked her messages and looked at the work from her "side-job" stacking up on the desk. "Ehn they can wait a little bit, right JP?" She passed in front of the birdcage with a smile before plopping down heavily on her bed in the corner of the room.

Moments later her phone vibrated in her jeans pocket, she let out a brief sigh before grabbing it. She had received a text from a girl she'd known for awhile now.

- There's a protest outside Tabu now, ya know i can't go, u gotta rep me, pleeeaaaaasse :)

Zoey shook her head as she read the text with a smile. She sat up and spoke aloud to herself, "Yeah, yeah, being a vampire is soooo hard, I have to get all my day-walker friends to do all the dirty work for me," she mocked before rising to her feet. "JP, you're in charge, I gotta go save the people and all that jazz, try not to do anything more exciting than me today."

"Be cool, Sodapop," the bird replied.

With a quick text sent back to her friend, Zoey grabbed her keys and headed back out.

Jack finished his coffee as he finished his short story. It wasn't much. It simply stated a young woman had collapsed suddenly at Tabú and was taken to the hospital. Alcohol poisoning was suspected. The exact cause of the incident was under investigation. It was only about two and a half, maybe three inches of column text. A simple read and forget it story that anyone on the high school paper could have written. "Well, the Editor should post this one at least. I'm certainly not creating waves with this." Jack clicked the 'Submit' button and closed the laptop.

He had to find out if there was more to this. His gut told him there was and it was usually right. Or, the cream for his coffee had gone bad again. Jack headed for the shower. He needed to dig for more information.

---

Jack parked the car in the hospital lot. He took the time to brush off the random sesame seeds that had fallen off the bun of the burger he had consumed for lunch en route. Jack gathered his always at the ready pad of paper and walked into the massive building.

The elderly lady at the Information booth was kind and smiled as she told Jack which wing Ashley was on. He took the elevator up to her floor. "At least it wasn't the 7th floor." Jack said to himself.  That one was the secured level for arrested individuals that were too roughed up from resisting arrest to go straight to jail, victims police feared might still be a target because they didn't die, or the crazies that were in for 'observation' until other arrangements could be made. Ashley wasn't considered to be in those categories.

He went to the nurses station and was confronted by a not so nice woman in charge of the wing. Jack put on his 'I'm charming and harmless' face. It took a bit of convincing, and showing of the press ID, but he learned what he needed. Ashley was gone. The family was saying goodbye and trying to come to grips with their new reality. Then it was just a matter of trying to decide when to remove their brain-dead child from life support. It was little comfort that she was an organ donor. A dozen or more people would rejoice today, but for Ashley's family and friends, their world came crashing down on them. The darkness they felt would eventually lift, but it would never be the same.

Jack headed back to the car. There was nothing more for him here. As Jack reached his car, his pocket vibrated as the muted tunes of Shotgun Blues sang out. Without looking at the screen he tapped Answer and put the device to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon. I'm trying to reach Jack Jennings." The male voice on the phone was smooth and friendly, like a salesman who worked on commission.

"This is Jack Jennings. What can I do for you?" Jack wedged the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he fished his keys out of his pockets to unlock the car door.

"Jack, it's a pleasure to speak with you. I'm Corbin Frost. I believe Toni introduced us at the Christmas party."

The keys clattered with a tinny jangle as they hit the pavement. Jack nearly dropped his phone as well. "Mis, Mister Frost um, yes I believe you are correct. It was Toni." Jack winced at the lame response.  "You caught me off guard. This is kind of early for you." Winced again. "I mean, how can I help you?" He tried to remember if there was something he did at the party that would have made this phone call more awkward.

There was a soft chuckle on the other end of the phone. "I take it you aren't a regular reader of my column. Sun-sensitivity isn't a universal trait. And please, call me Corbin. After all, we're colleagues."

Jack took a quick deep breath to regain his cool. "Okay, Corbin it is. I have read your column from time to time but, most of what you write about isn't my reality, so I find it hard to relate. We just tend to move in different circles. Although, we did intersect so to speak. I was at Tabú last night chasing down one of my types of stories. Any chance you were there as well?" Initial shock was passing as Jack regained his nerve.

"I understand. Celebrity gossip isn't your thing. Believe me, there are days that I wish it wasn't mine." Corbin's tone became more serious. "Regarding Tabú, I assume you're referring to that poor girl that fell ill. I thought Toni might have assigned you that story. That's actually why I'm calling. I was there last night. I was hoping we could get together and talk about it."

"Sure thing" Jack did not want to drop any bombs onto Corbin while on the phone. He wanted to look the vampire in the eye to see if he knew anything. "My schedule is mostly open today or tomorrow. Where and when do you want to meet?" He pulled his steno pad from his pocket and placed on the car roof.

"Why don't you join me for cocktails tonight at my place, say around nine o'clock?"

"Sounds great! I'll see you then." Jack wrote down the address and hung up the phone. "Shit! Cocktails with Corbin - tonight! I'm going to have to do some laundry." Jack retrieved his keys from under the car. No matter what else happened, this was going to be an interesting day.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:27, Sun 08 Sept 2013.

"You say you want a revolution.
Well, you know,
We all want to change the world.

You tell me that it's evolution.
Well, you know,
We all want to change the world."

Revolution ~ The Beatles

There were still many people who opposed giving paranormals equal rights and protections. They would jump on any opportunity to sound the alarm and point out the dangers of living alongside preternaturals. A human girl ending up near death, after visiting a well-known supernatural hang-out, was the perfect spark to fire up the radicals.

An organization called Humans First had made it their mission to try to close down all businesses that were para-friendly. They used social media like Twitter and Facebook to get the word out. A crowd started to gather outside Tabú shortly after lunch. The scene was very familiar to anyone who had lived through the civil rights and gay marriage movements. The sentiments on some of the signs were so similar that the protesters could have just crossed out the word blacks to write in gays, and then cross that out to write in paras. There were always people on the wrong side of history.

Protesting vampires during the day definitely gave Humans First an advantage that they tried to exploit. Their numbers would probably start to thin around sunset. There were people of all ages -- young, old and in-between. Some people even brought their children. Some of the signs looked professionally made and they carried messages such as, "God Hates Clites!", "Undead = Unatural", "Bloodsuckers spread disease", and "They will eat your babies!" By mid-afternoon, they had a good-sized crowd.

That was when a handful of counter protesters started to trickle in. They held signs made from cardboard boxes that had been ripped up. Some of the hastily scrawled messages were, "Paranormal and Proud", "No H8", and "Paras are People too." A few uniformed police officers kept a watchful eye to make sure order was maintained. The opposing groups gave each other dirty looks and tried to shout each other down.

"Repent! Hell awaits you."

"This is a den of Sin!"

"Don't hate what you don't understand!"

"Go back to your grave!"

Zoey approached the growing crowd and shook her head, they were always outnumbered during the day. She smiled and greeted familiar faces as she gathered with the pro-para-rights side. "They have to know all this protesting isn't going to work right? Even if they do get more people, Corbin is a powerful guy that won't go down without a fight" Zoey spoke to a few individuals who could only agree with her. "I'm gonna see if anyone has an extra sign I could use" Zoey let out a slight sigh as she mentally prepared herself for the rest of her evening.

Krystal decided she was going to blame John Lennon. Anytime she ended up more focused on a song than her surroundings it usually Amanda Palmer's fault but she'd been listening to the Beatles before turning the corner so it was John's fault this time.

Krystal removed her earphone and looked at the chaos outside of Tabu. She was now starting to think her dream was just a dream, and started thinking she should have stayed home. Then the drinks would also be free.

"Damn it." She had half a mind to call Tom, deciding he should share John's blame. If he'd have been home, Krystal wouldn't even be here right now. Instead, she checked the signs and was relieved to be on the Pro-Para side of the mess. Still, she didn't want to be stuck out here and finding a way inside was going to require making a temporary friend. Looking around she noticed someone walking through the crowd without a sign and felt a pang of hope.

"Hey! Hi!" she waved to the other girl and closed the distance. "You here for the protest?" It was only after asking that she realized how that question might have sounded... too late to correct.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:06, Wed 18 Sept 2013.

Zoey perked up as she realized she was being flagged down, "Yeah, yeah I am. I was just about to get a sign or something, I'm sure I could scrounge one up for you too" Zoey said with a warm smile. She then quickly added, "That is, of course, assuming you are on the right side of having rights" she gave out a sort of half-laugh as she tried to appear friendly and still get her point across.

Krystal was silent for a moment longer than she needed to be. "What? Right! No, I'm on the side I'd rather be one." She grinned then seemed to remember something long forgotten. "Wait! I mean, I'm all Pro-Para. I even like ParaPara. Japanese?" She held up her hand and moved almost as if voguing. "Point is. I didn't mean to show up for a protest, or anti-protest or whatever. Any chance we can make this a sit down protest? Maybe inside? Where they serve drinks? Wait! Not that I'm offering to buy you a drink, I mean the whole group. Not that I wouldn't buy - damn it! Hi, I'm Krystal and I'd love to join your protest." she held out her hand in greeting with a sheepish smile as if hoping this girl didn't think she was totally out of her mind.

Although Zoey seemed confused by some of the woman's ramblings she couldn't help but be amused, she smirked slightly as her confusion transitioned into finding her stammering cute. Promptly, she extended her hand and laughed slightly, "I'm Zoey, it's uh nice to meet you" as she ended the handshake she gestured over her shoulder closer to the crowd, "Would you like a sign or are you just the shouting-type? Unless of course you really wanted to sit somewhere, I might be able to see what I could arrange" she slipped her hands into the back-pockets of her jeans as she spoke with the "new-protester"

Krystal let one shoulder rise and fall in non-commitment, "Never let it be said I wasn't willing to compromise. But, I'm not much of a shouter so I'll take a sign. But, in 20 can we think about moving this inside where all the refreshments are?"

"Alright then, sign it is. And I'm sure I'd be willing to take a break with you in a bit. Until then, I saw a stack of extra signs we can peruse through." Zoey motioned closer to the crowd as she led the way to some quickly made cardboard signs. They weren't very fancy but they got the message across.

Krystal found one that looked someone had clearly given up and just written Mathew 7:1 in large but thin letters. Krystal wasn't up on her bible passages so she looked up at someone holding a END H8 sign. Liking that one she tapped the guy on the shoulder. "I need to switch with you." she shrugged and smiled sheepishly. Experinced had taught her that as long as a pretty girl pretended to know something they didn't, most guys were willing t-

"Sorry. I'm Buddhist." He returned her sheepish smile and even gave her back the shrug.

"Way to practice tolerance." she said under the breath. Holding up her sign, but saving her voice, Krystal started to look up the passage on her phone to at least find her 'character motivation' for holding it.

As it got later in the day, the numbers on both sides of the protest continued to grow. The heat was making everyone cranky. Then a couple of twenty-something guys showed up with some cans of paint and made their way toward the sculptures of a semi-nude man and woman that acted as columns at Tabú's entrance. A young woman wearing jeans and a t-shirt with the Coexist logo spotted them. "NO!" She chased after them. "That's art. You can't ruin it!" The young men ignored her, so she grabbed one of their arms.

"GET OFF OF ME, YOU BLOODSUCKING BITCH!" The man yelled as he pushed the woman away from him. She fell backwards, slamming into Zoey and Krystal, which pushed the two of them into some protesters on the other side. Those protesters shoved back, and things were on the brink of deteriorating even further when cops suddenly appeared. They weren't concerned with who started it, they were just going to make sure they ended it by rounding up all involved. A half a dozen people, including Zoey and Krystal were taken to the police station and placed into holding cells.

Nobody notices a cat strolling into an alley.

Nobody notices the alley wasn't there the day before, either.

Nobody notices if, shortly afterwards, the cat is nowhere to be seen.

It takes more than a little magic to place a permanent invisibility spell on an entire building, but the owner of that particular shop did, in fact, have more than a little magic.

The ancient door didn't creak as it opened. In fact, it made no noise, which surprised Tom, who distinctly remembered that there used to be a chime. Its disappearance was a change, and things were not supposed to change there. Tom found the missing chime more than a little disquieting.

Sure, the last time he was there had been several decades earlier (and the door was in another country), but it was still the same shop. Time and space did not have the same meaning there as they did outside - which also took more than a little magic, of course.

The light in the shop was dim: there was no electricity in the building, as some of the items being kept in there did not appreciate being near technology. There were also no windows: all the light was provided by old-fashioned gas lamps. All the lamps were lit. There were no gas pipes coming into the building, of course, qualifying that as perpetual motion - which, unsurprisingly, also took more than a little magic, but then...

Tom realized he was stalling. He had had a bad feeling since he hadn't heard the chime as he opened the door, and now he was afraid that the shopkeeper would confirm it.

He sent out a telepathic call on a wide band - the telepathic equivalent of a loud call: Hello, old friend.

A low rumble came from behind the counter. Well, well, well. Curiosity's last victim. It has been a while, has it not?

Indeed, it has. So he was in. Good. Well, of course he was, it wasn't like he went out much. How does this day find you, friend?

I would not know how, but find me it does. Time has finally taken notice of me, it would appear. The telepathic voice seemed amused.

Tom was caught completely by surprise: those were words he had never expected to hear. Several items in the shop had explicitly been put under its owner's protection on the assumption that he would protect them until the end of time itself.

You need not worry, old friend. My duties are not being neglected, and I shall find an apprentice in due time. But now, you are not here to listen to an old lizard complain about old age. How may I help you?

Well... I need some spectacles.

Oh? Has old age found you too? A telepathic chuckle followed.

After Curiosity? I expect there is some healthy fear of the Goddess in the lower planes. No, I need some pretty specific spectacles... The explanation took a while. Finding the spectacles took longer.

When Tom left the shop, night had fallen.

He hoped it was still the same day.

He hoped it was still the same century!

Regardless, it had definitely been a long day. Expensive, too.

And he still had to talk to the Goddess...

"Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith"

Sympathy For The Devil ~ The Rolling Stones



Corbin Frost lived in the Gold Coast District of Chicago, in the original Playboy Mansion that Hugh Hefner had owned and lived in during the sixties and seventies. A recent spread in the magazine Modern Luxury Interiors showed that Corbin had restored the mansion to its Playboy decor, including the fireman's pole that connected to the basement pool. Corbin's parties had become just as legendary as Hefner's were in those earlier decades. A brass plate on the door had the Latin inscription, Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare ("If you don't swing, don't ring").

Jack whistled softly as he got out of his car. He had parked across the street from the residence and took a moment to take in the iconic 4-story home. Just off the heart of the city, there wasn't a long driveway or large gardens. But what it was and what it stood for was impressive none the less.

Jack expected to be challenged at the gated entrance to the grounds, but he was able to push the iron gate open. "Corbin is either confident in his abilities or that was because I am expected. Neither thought makes me less nervous." Jack said to no one. He approached the extra wide door. After a last minute check for wrinkles, stains, and loose threads, Jack took a quick deep breath and then pressed the doorbell. Just because he wasn't from this part of town didn't mean he couldn't look like he belonged here. "No turning back now. Just two journalists getting together."

The door was opened by a woman wearing a distressingly bright and garish, multi-colored caftan. It looked like it had been stolen from Mrs. Roper's closet in the seventies. She had accessorized the dress with a clunky bracelet and beaded necklace. Her long hair was braided into a ponytail that fell in front of her left shoulder and down her chest. Her hair was completely gray in color. She looked to be in her eighties.

"Hello." She had a cheery smile, and a voice that felt like a grandmotherly hug.

Jack was taken aback a bit. He had expected either a big burly bouncer type (race / species optional) or a Playboy Bunny type. "Hello. I'm  I'm Jack, Jack Jennings. I believe I am expected." He hoped his surprise didn't show too badly.

"Oh yes, of course." She opened the door wider. "Please come inside." The hallway was adorned with marble floors, a curving staircase, and expensive artwork. "Mr. Frost should be with you shortly. You can wait for him in the game room." She led Jack into a room with wood-paneled walls, a fireplace, and leather furniture. There was a pool table next to another table designed to comfortably seat eight for poker. A wet bar ran along one wall, and in an alcove was a stone hot tub with a small waterfall. Behind the bar was a painting of the Chicago skyline. A partially open door connected to another room that appeared to be an office or study. Jack could see Corbin in the other room with a dark-haired woman that was talking on a cell phone.

"Can I get you something to drink?" the elderly woman offered.

Corbin stepped into the room. "Jack, nice to see you." Corbin extended his right hand for a handshake while his left hand held his customary cigar. "Yes, what are you drinking? Rose here makes an excellent dirty martini."

"Martinis are like sex, the dirtier the better." Rose smiled as she moved behind the bar.

Jack smiled warmly as he shook the extended hand. His brain screamed Beer! Ice cold and lots of it! "I can wait if you have other business to conclude." Jack nodded toward the other room with the woman on the cellphone.

"Actually, she's the reason I called you," Corbin said. "She should be joining us shortly, and then we can get down to business."

Jack nodded. "In that case, I'd like to try one of Rose's martinis." Jack quickly looked around the room. He guessed that the cost of furnishing and decorating this room alone, could cover his rent for a year. "Nice place you've got here. You have good taste. But of course you do. I'm sure that helps you do your job so well."

Corbin chuckled. "Jack, it's been centuries since I've held a job. Not that there's anything wrong with working for a living. I have the utmost respect for people who do. I was just never very good at that whole daily grind kind of thing." Corbin opened up a wooden box on the end of the bar which turned out to be a humidor filled with cigars. He offered one to Jack.

"Cuban I presume," Jack said, as he selected one of the fine looking cigars.

"The best that can be legally imported to the states," Corbin replied.

Jack took the cigar in hand and thought about having to bite off the tapered end, then became fearful of where he would spit it. Ever the fine host, Corbin pivoted and in a singular smooth motion he set the humidor down, and passed an engraved ashtray fitted with a silver double-bladed cigar guillotine. Jack nodded approvingly as he took the device and nipped the end off the cigar. Thank God for the movies. Once properly nipped, he lit the business end.

Drinks and cigars! We are becoming best friends. Or there is a 'Jack, what I need for you to do...' attached to all this, he thought. "I could never do a daily grind in an office cubical either. That's why I like being an investigative reporter. Gets me out of the office. Never exactly the same thing from day to day."

"Variety is the spice of life," Rose said, as she handed Jack his martini. She returned to the bar and opened a dark red bottle and placed it in a fancy warmer. Humans had their ice buckets and wine chillers but, blood was best served warm. Vampires had developed their own bar accessories. This particular bottle was an expensive blend of the highest quality animal blood, red wine, brandy, and spices. Essentially, it was a hot-spiced-wine mixed with blood.

"Thank you Rose." Jack moved the stabbed olives out of the way and sipped his drink. His mouth was assaulted by several sensations at once; the burn of alcohol, the briny taste of the olives reminded him of a New Orleans Muffaletta, the moisture of his mouth getting sucked away by the vermouth. And yet, it wasn't bad! It would never replace a cold beer, but he had a drink he could order at a fancy gathering. "Wow, that is different. Nice, it wakes up your mouth and warms the soul," Jack took another sip. Do not think about drinking a martini, puffing a Cuban cigar, all while in the Playboy mansion. Too late, but if he mentions that hot tub I'm out of here, he thought.

"I'm glad you liked it." Rose turned to Corbin and said, "If that's all you need from me, I have a date I need to get ready for."

"We're good, Rosie, thank you," Corbin said. "You have yourself a good time." He gave the older woman a kiss on the cheek. "If that young man doesn't behave himself, call me."

Rose smiled. "He better not behave himself! I'll be sorely disappointed if he does."

As Rose exited the room, the dark-haired woman emerged from the study. At just over five feet, she wasn't very tall. She wore a red blouse with plunging neckline and black leather skirt that showed off her perfect hour-glass figure. She had a strained expression on her face.

"Is everything all right?" Corbin asked. "My offer still stands, the two of you could stay here tonight, or as long as it takes for this to blow over."

"I am not going to let them chase me out of my own home! I won't give them the satisfaction. She spoke with a thick Hispanic accent. "I've faced angry mobs before. I'm not that easy to frighten."

"This is the man I told you about earlier, Jack Jennings. He's a reporter and I'm hoping that he can help you." Corbin poured a glass of the blood red wine and handed it to her. "Jack, I'd like you to meet one of my dearest friends. This is Belladona. She's the owner of Tabú."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:21, Fri 13 Feb 2015.

Jack was out of hands, so he cleared one by setting down the drink. He extended his hand toward her. "Nice to meet you, Belladonna. I'm not quite sure how I can be of assistance."

Belladonna's hand was warm to the touch, just as Corbin's had been when Jack shook his hand. Both vampire's had fed recently. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Jennings."

"Why don't we all sit down so we can talk." Corbin directed everyone toward the leather couch and chairs by the fireplace. "I'm sure you've heard about the protests outside of Tabú."

"Would this have anything to do with the article I wrote on the incident at your club last night?"

"A very loud minority would use any excuse to shut us down." Belladonna appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties but, her actual age was impossible to discern. Her long, black hair hung in waves about her shoulders.

Jack sat in a chair. With a satisfying woooosh of air escaping, the cushions enveloped him. He puffed on the cigar, mindful of the ash. "And what exactly is this excuse being used to try and shutter your doors, Belladonna?"

"They are blaming my club for what happened to that unfortunate girl."

"Yes, I believe your article said the hospital reported that it was alcohol poisoning," Corbin said to Jack.

"My staff are well trained," Belladonna interjected. "They would've cut her off. The police questioned the bartender that was working that night. He said she only had one drink, and that she didn't appear intoxicated."

"Are you certain he is being truthful? I know a bar can get quite busy and the tender just fills the requests as fast as they can. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that just to keep their job." Jack said.

"Trust me, if he were lying, I would know." She was beautiful and intimidating, all at the same time. It was easy to believe that no man could keep secrets from her.

"Most of the police are still not that supportive of paranormals," Corbin said. "We just can't be sure that uncovering the truth in this case would be a priority for them."

"It's a ridiculous notion, Belladonna casually sipped her drink. "If vampires wanted to kill humans, we have much better methods than filling them up with too much liquor."

Corbin winced, ever so slightly. "I think it would be in your best interest to not talk about killing humans, in any context." Belladonna simply shrugged, and continued to drink her "wine". Corbin tried to steer the conversation back to less homicidal topics. "She needs somebody with investigative skills, that isn't predisposed to believing we're all evil monsters."

Jack smiled slightly. "We are all monsters, deep down. Most have good control on that side of themselves. But we are not all evil.  That is a significant difference." He took a sip on his drink and then a long draw on the cigar. Jack rather enjoyed the attention as he pondered. In fact it was a brief moment.

"I will look into it further. I just had this feeling the full story hasn't come to light yet. Know that I will print the truth as I find it. I won't change the facts just to make you look good, Belladonna."

"Looking good comes naturally to me," Belladonna said. "It's petty human politics that I struggle with."

Corbin turned toward her. "Yes, because vampires are never petty about their politics."

Belladonna smiled at Corbin, as if they shared an inside joke. "I didn't say that."

Corbin stood up to shake Jack's hand again. Apparently, the little get-together was over. "We appreciate anything you can do, Jack. No one is asking you to lie. All we want is to be treated fairly."

Jack thought about gulping down the rest of his drink, but then thought it would be bad form. Oh well, at least he had drunk most of it. He shook Corbin's hand. "I will be in touch. And thank you for your hospitality."

"Belladonna, I presume I can interview your staff as needed? And I will want to look over the club, probably while you are not open for business. I will try to not be a pain in the ass, but I will need access."

"My staff and I have nothing to hide," Belladonna responded. "I will let them know to expect your questions."

Corbin reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card that he handed to Jack. "Call me with whatever you may learn, or if there's any way that I can be of help." Clearly, Corbin was making himself the point of contact, instead of Belladonna.

"Thank you," Jack said as he accepted Corbin's card. "I can see myself out." He turned to leave the mansion. Despite the warm welcome, he still felt just a little outside this newly formed alliance. At least two of its members had a history they were not ready to share yet.

Jack got into his car and buckled up. The bulge on his side reminded him to turn his cellphone back on. He started the car as the device sang to life - followed immediately by more tones and buzzing. Jack delayed putting the car into gear to see that he had a missed call and a voice mail. "Okay sorry. I was busy. What is up with my niece." Jack said as he punched in the code to retrieve the message.

"Uh hey Jack, it's kind of a long story but umm I kinda need you to come get me...from jail. Oh and this new girl I met...don't ask, it's not nearly as bad as it sounds, I didn't do anything wrong. Oh I gotta go, I'll explain everything when you pick us up... uh thaaaaanks"
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:26, Fri 13 Feb 2015.

"Great, just great! Zoey, what have you done?" Jack started the car and headed for the police station on Lincoln Ave. It dawned on him that she could be anywhere in the city, but he hoped she was at least staying close to work and home if she was going to get arrested. If he was wrong, and the police had finished booking, she would be in the system and they could redirect him.

"And my time with 'High Society' of Chicago is over. No cuddle time for you, Jack," he said to himself. His mind started going through the possible and likely scenarios as he drove to the station.

Traffic stop, no. She drives good enough to not need to be arrested. Traffic stop with a smart-ass comment, possible, if the cop is in no mood. But then there is this other girl. Where did she come from. Hitchhiker? No, not likely. Okay, from that angle. She got into a fight with this girl. Cops arrested them both. Possible, but then she wouldn't want me to bail her out, would she? She makes friends easy, but... Old friend I don't know about. Likely, but arrested together? 'Hey Zoey, long time no see! Want to get together and commit crime poorly?' Nope.  Old friend running from the cops. Now that's possible. She is always trying to help strays. Why is she running from the cops? Only God knows...
Crap, drove past the station and can't U-turn!

"Zoo-eey!"

Jack looked for a place to turn around on the very busy street.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:01, Tue 29 Oct 2013.

The Collective had been surprisingly helpful, coming through with the spell in a very short time. Even better, by the time Tom got home, it was still the same day.

Somehow, he had thought it would take longer.

Just outside the door, he switched to his human form, which was now wearing a set of glasses, and took out his key. As he unlocked the door, he counted the turns.

Four. There was nobody home.

Pity, he had hoped to show off his newest fashion accessory to Krystal.

Locking the door behind himself (two turns), he looked around the apartment: his letter had been moved, so Krystal had read it.

She was probably out having fun. He would join her soon, but first, he wanted to try that new spell, and make sure that it worked as advertised.

He concentrated on the time at which he and Krystal had come back home the night before (or was it that morning?), and slowly and carefully repeated the necessary incantation.

A few seconds later, he could clearly see two bright shapes coming through the door.

So that was what his aura looked like. Interesting. Krystal's aura was pretty - not that he planned on telling her that, the girl certainly didn't needed an ego boost.

Also interesting, both auras were brighter than he had expected. Perhaps the auras of supernaturals were more pronounced? He would have to experiment on that.

He watched as the two shapes repeated the actions that he and Krystal had performed when they had come home. The spell seemed to work just fine. Now, with any luck, he would be able to find out exactly what had happened to Ashley.

Jack had worked the process of posting bail for Zoey and her new 'friend'. He had to prove who he was and suffer the look of disgust from a Sergeant behind the desk as his name was known to many of the local police. He signed page after page of paperwork, acknowledging that he was financially responsible if Zoey and friend did not show up for their hearing next week. Finally, it all was done and the policeman called to have them brought up.

He was surprised to see this Krystal girl with Zoey as they exited from lockup, but he remained stone-faced. The explanation would be better if I got it outside - beyond the hearing of the police, Jack thought.

"Lets go. We can talk in the car." was all he said. Jack turned and led the small procession down the worn steps and through the door. He got to the car first, but didn't unlock it. He looked at both girls. "I just signed away my paychecks for the next two months. Someone better tell me why."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:05, Tue 29 Oct 2013.

"Because you can't resist my charming innocent smile?" Zoey answered with a sheepish grin. She let the joke hang out there for a moment before straightening herself up, "It's really nothing, we were trying to support our Para-friends in the protest at Tabu and some idiots got a little too excited, started shoving people around, and we were too close to the action so the cops just scooped us all up and threw us in here. I was really just trying to do my civic duty and all that. Ooh and of course" Zoey gestured to Krystal, "This is Krystal, Krystal, this is Jack"

Tom was slightly annoyed. He had been hoping Krystal would be back soon, so that he could show her his new toy, but when he woke up from his nap she was nowhere to be seen.

With an impatient swish of his tail, he stood up and changed into human form. Still no calls on his cell phone.

He thought for a moment: there was another person who would be interested in some more information about what had happened at Tabu, and he was just one text message away...

[Hey Jack, it's Tom. I may have some more information. Would you meet me at Tabu? You pick the time.]

Jack shifted his gaze to Krystal. "Nice to see you again, Krystal. Twice in as many days you are at the center of a police involved incident. Interesting, wouldn't you say?"

The sound of a teletype machine briefly punching out a headline broke the moment of silence. Jack pulled his cellphone from his hip and looked at the new text message.

"Oh look, it's your friend Tom." Jack showed the girls the message that read, [Hey Jack, it's Tom. I may have some more information. Would you meet me at Tabu? You pick the time.] "I for one would like more information."

Jack unlocked the car doors. With a slight smile at Zoey and a shake of his head that said 'I can't stay mad at you' he opened his door. He quickly texted Tom back. [Meet you there, in about an hour] Jack pressed Send and got into the car. "Shall we all go back to the scene of the crimes?"

Krystal was sliding various accessories either in her pockets or on her body as she walked. Looking up to see Jack was the person Zoey was talking to she just froze. It was hard to say if she'd gone paler than normal.

Krystal just waved to Jack with her own sheepish gesture, "Yeee-ah. We've met."


"Interesting is one word for it." She looked over at Zoey after slipping on her sunglasses making her expression unreadable. After a moment she turned back to Jack. "Cursed. Cursed is a good word too." Then looking the sky she gritted her teeth and pointed a scolding finger to the powers that be.


Krystal's head rolled when she found out Tom had sent a text. "Typical. Just typical." she moved to get in behind the driver's seat and continue her rant until they met up with Tom;
"If I could go back in time and be 15 again I would have never stuck that rock in my mouth. Nothing but trouble ever since. Just once I'd like to go just a week without ending up in these oddball coincidences. It's like every Tuesday the powers that be get together and go 'Oh! What dance can we make the monkey do now? Dance, Monkey! Dance!'. I know for a fact I qualified for a scholarship to NYSU? They're in the WOLD'S top 10 as far as Drama schools go, but no. I have to fight demons between modeling gigs. Find cursed antiques on movie sets and meet talking cats in the woods. I don't even know what normal dreams are anymore. I think if I had a dream about being on vacation with Brangelina I'd wake up worried I'd would run into them only to save them from a Fyral Demon and with my luck Angelina would think Brad did all the work. 'Boy I sure am glad Brad was here.' That's probably what the dog on Inspector Gadget feels like. At least he gets a blonde side kick. I get David Tennant's Las Vegas Impersonator. Not that I'm complaining, but there are times..."

Zoey listened to every bit of Krystal's rant, despite some of her confusion she felt it was probably best to not ask for any clarifications. She simply shrugged and looked at Jack next to her, "We really only just met" she shook her head as she smiled and continued to listen to Krystal go on all the way till they reached Tabu.

"...go to Tabu. Have a few drinks." she was clearly reaching her wind down point. "It's never that easy. Can't even make new friends with out some kind of catch." she folded her arms and sat back for half a breath. "Oh! We're here?"

Despite the earlier protest, business seemed good at Tabú. There were a handful of people in front of both the club, and Belladonna's home next door, wearing shirts with the word "Security" in bold letters. Some of them were watching the crowd as it came and went from within the club, while a couple of others were having a staring contest with a pair of cops in a police car that was parked across the street. Things were peaceful with no signs of protesters or troublemakers.

She may seem quiet at first, but push her button and watch her go off! Jack thought, referring to Krystal. He parked the car, got out and surveyed the scene.

“I don’t know if your protest advanced your cause Zoey, but it seems to have employed the muscle-bound male demographic here in Chicago.” Jack insured his tools of the reporter trade were on him and  locked up the car. “Do you see Tom anywhere Krystal? We may have beaten him here.”

Ah, there he is. Tom saw Jack leaving the car, and retreated into the nearest shadows to change: there was no point in spending energy to remain in human form when it wasn't needed.

The moment Jack was looking elsewhere, Tom abandoned his cover: "Jack? Over here."

He looked at the other two: "Hey Krys... I've been looking for you."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:47, Fri 15 Nov 2013.

"Look harder Jack, it doesn't take just the male demographic to protect people" Zoey stated snarkily as she gestured to a few female security personnel. She walked over with the rest of the group when Tom called, "Hey, you must be Tom, I'm Zoey" she said as she extended her hand for a friendly greeting. "So what exactly are we all doing here?"

"Nice to meet you Zoey." He shot an interrogative glance at Jack,  then continued: "I called Jack because I have some information about what happened yesterday. Or rather, I will in a few minutes."

He pulled his new glasses out of his pocket and put them on. He looked at the others (taking a moment to memorize each aura) and said: "These glasses are a fair bit than they seem. Combined with the appropriate spell, they let me see back in time. Only the auras of the people involved, but that should be more than enough to figure out exactly what happened. There was a magical signature here, somebody did something, and I may be able to figure out what, and then, eventually who."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:06, Tue 19 Nov 2013.

"I was... detained, earlier."

She took a moment to explain to Zoey, "Tom and I were here when this girl collapsed. We met Jack when he started writing a story about it. Then I meet you and you just happen to know Jack. This is the part where someone goes; What are the chances of that? And I'm like; Happens to me all the time." she gestures to Tom, "Met this one under oddly similar circumstances and now we're roommates, so you can see where some of this frustration can come from."

Then to get back on topic she turned to Tom, "So, is this like psychometric-vision? Instead of feeling auras and impressions left behind on an object you're seeing them?" Her tone was that of a scholar discussing a new theory all of a sudden.

Zoey tried to take in all of the information as quickly as possible. She listened carefully with a quizzical look, she un-zoned suddenly and explained as she pointed at Jack, "Oh yeah, Jack is my uncle actually. And trust me that was just as much a surprise to us as it was to you guys" She giggled briefly before she realized that that made less sense and required a lot more explanation now, instead she chose to change subjects back to the main topic as well.

"This is awesome, I'm always up for a good sleuthing, I just wish I could be helpful. What do you see? Are we just these big colorful blobs? Ooh, what color am I?" Zoey stopped hoping she didn't sound too weird, especially to outside observers. She then turned to Jack and added, "Your job is so much cooler than mine"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:06, Wed 20 Nov 2013.

The men and women wearing the black "Security" shirts watched Jack, Tom, Krys and Zoey as they chatted on the sidewalk. Two of them slowly moved closer to the foursome.

"Now all we need is for Zoey and Tom to have met before to bring us full circle. Like they were buddies in a previous life, like that is even possible." Jack said. It does seem odd that in one way or the other, we have all been brought into this."

Jack spotted the security duo's approach. "I got this one." Jack stepped toward the security team as he produced his Press ID. "Good evening, boys. Jack Jennings, INS. My associates and I we'll need to go inside, look around for a bit, maybe talk to some of the staff. Belladonna assured me that you would be expecting us."

"Well, if you mean that as an abstract tool to conceptualize the end result, then yes, you could look at it that way. However, I am led to believe that the underlying mechanics are quite different. Psychometry reads leftover residue from psychic activity, so a single object can 'witness' different events in different times. This spell, on the other hand, focuses on a specific time, at the place where it is cast, which leads me to believe-" He noticed the blank expression on Jack and Zoey's face: "-that we can probably finish the discussion when we get home. I don't think our friends took Occultism 401 as an elective."



"You know Jack, now that you mention it, Zoey does look vaguely familiar... Did you work at an animal shelter or something like that?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:29, Thu 21 Nov 2013.

Zoey gave a smile in Tom's direction. "Not that I remember, these days I doubt my parrot would appreciate me coming home smelling like cats and dogs anyway."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:23, Thu 21 Nov 2013.

A tall woman, with short blonde hair, grabbed the ID out of Jack's hand. "You've got crappy eyesight for an investigator." The man standing next to her didn't say anything. She looked at the ID, and then glared at the rest of the group. "Who are they supposed to be, your seeing-eye-dogs?"

"Please excuse me. I don't see too well in the dark and I was focused on your uniforms. A simple mistake, I assure you. I am only human." Jack held out his hand with slight trepidation has he awaited the return of his credentials.

"My associates are here to assist me in this matter. Invariably, I alone may miss details, but collectively we will get to the truth. That is the result Belladonna has requested I uncover."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:37, Thu 21 Nov 2013.

"Human." The woman spat the word out like it left a bad taste in her mouth. "Might as well rent a blind bloodhound that's lost its sense of smell." She aggressively shoved Jack's ID back at him. "The house is off limits." She gestured to the sister mansion next to Tabú that was Belladonna's home. "Stick to the public areas of the club. You need anything else, you come see me first." She looked the group over one more time, and then returned her attention to Jack. "We'll be watching you. Don't disturb the customers, or you and I will have a problem. Understand?"

Jack pocketed the ID. "As you wish," he said with ever so slightly a nod of his head. He turned away from the security team and addressed Tom, Krystal, and Zoey. "You all heard our limits. Tom, you were telling us about some glasses you have?"

Zoey tried to smile as politely as possible but mostly decided to stand back and let Jack keep talking, after all there was no sense in making her hate all of them. As they started to depart the security she uttered some mostly unintelligible thing that was supposed to sound encouraging about them behaving but not too surprisingly the woman walked away without any further acknowledgment. "Smooth Jack, so glad you handled all that" Zoey said as she shook her head, "Yes, Tom, please show us how these work before someone changes their mind and we're asked to leave"

He led them to the garden on the rear where he and Krys had been the previous evening, moved to a place where he could see both that place and the exit, and focused on the spell.

"Here goes nothing..." He muttered as the spell took place, and then proceeded to describe the scene for the others' benefit.

"I see myself, Krys, and our friend Mr. Bond, at least I assume it was him, from the position of his aura. I can't see faces when I use this spell, just the auras. They aren't exactly blobs of light, either: they have a unique pattern, and you can tell them apart with relative ease if you pay attention."

A few seconds went by.

"There we go. I'm human again, and this means... There. Two people exiting the club. One of them has... Something... Distorting her aura... OK, that has to be some sort of spell, and it's dissipating quickly. Whatever it was, it happened before she left the club, or just on the door."

He watched the scene unfold, as he kept describing it, and saw the effects of his own power take hold: a little bit of luck, but he wasn't sure if it helped at all, in the end.

"And I guess the abulance will arrive in a few minutes, but I'm, not sure the spell will last that long, and we probably learned everything we can from  this particular vantage point. By the way, how's Ashley? I can't tell if my blessing helped at all, there."

Jack looked directly at Tom. "I'm sorry. Ashley didn't make it. She died this morning. I believe your blessing helped keep her around long enough until her family was able to be with her. So that's something." Jack hated being the bearer of bad news directly to people. He much preferred the detached way to telling the story via the internet.

"When we are all done here, we should really get to know each other over a beer, or stronger. I know just the place and the first round is on me."

He took a deep breath and blew it out to refocus. "Shall we go inside? I have never been in. I hear this is a hot place and I'm just dyin' ... can't wait to see it."

Tom froze.

Just for a moment, something in his eyes became different, and not quite human.

Then Jack managed to get his foot (a few toes, anyway) in his mouth again, and Tom seemed to relax just a fraction.

"Y'know Jack, I didn't really know Ashley. In fact, I knew just about two things about her: she was cute, and she was a good person. In my book, that's enough to make whoever killed her a bad person. Yes, let's get inside, I need to see the scene from a difference point."

Zoey kept her head low in silence, trying her best to not look as awkward as she felt. She didn't know any of the people involved in all of this and she was starting to feel a bit out of place as the bad news was passed on. Two seconds ago she was excited by the thrill of the case but she'd forgotten in the excitement that a real person who had probably touched many lives had lost her life in this 'story'. The more she thought about it the more she guessed she would hate Jack's job. She opened her mouth part way but no sound came out so instead she just nodded in agreement and followed the rest of them inside.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:00, Tue 26 Nov 2013.

Jack did a quick double take  in Tom's direction. That was twice. The first time might have been a slip of the tongue. But the eyes shifted. Mental Note: Tom appears to be more than human. Not now, maybe later over a beer, he thought. "Okay gang. Follow me." Jack headed up the few steps and through the doors into the club.

Sundays at Tabú didn't attract the same crowd as Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday's crowd had a more mature vibe, even if some of them didn't appear to be that much older. The main floor with the restaurant seemed to be as busy as any other night.

In the basement, a few more tables and chairs had been set up, all facing the stage. They left room for a dance floor in the middle, and a few couples were slow dancing to the music. Most of the people were a little more dressed up than the previous night. It was a good-looking crowd, and those on the dance-floor moved gracefully. On Saturday night, Tabú had a party atmosphere with a touch of goth. On Sunday, a shift in music and mood had transformed the place into a classic jazz club.

On stage was a woman in a slinky, wine-colored dress performing a seductive song. She was stunning, with long blonde hair and evocative eyes. Even more mesmerizing than her beauty, was her voice. It felt like smooth silk gliding across the listener's skin. It was difficult to look away from her.

"Rusted brandy in a diamond glass
Everything is made from dreams
Time is made from honey slow and sweet
Only the fools know what it means
Temptation, temptation, temptation
I can't resist

Well I know that she is made of smoke
But I've lost my way
He knows that I am broke
But I must pay
Temptation, oh temptation, temptation
I can't resist"

Temptation ~ Diana Krall
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-L25ayQEdI)
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:28, Thu 12 Dec 2013.

Tom surveyed the floor with a slight sense of nostalgia: the entire atmosphere brought back strong memories of his first life.

And he supposed the same was true of most of the crowd: most of them clearly smelled supernatural. "Uh, Zoey, Jack? Unless my nose is seriously wrong, most everyone here is older than they appear, if you get what I mean. Maybe... Try and be extra-polite to your elders? Humans stick out like a sore thumb in this crowd, and security already likes us less than I would like."

Zoey looked around as Tom spoke and nodded accordingly, "Great, I wonder whose fault that is" Zoey said as she glared at Jack, "I'm pro para honest, maybe I should get a t-shirt that says so... or maybe Tom should do his thing and we can get out of here just in case" Zoey said with a sheepish smile.

Tom smiled reassuringly at Zoey: "Don't worry too much: there are a few humans in the crowd, and I'm sure people are here to have fun, not to pick fights. I'll ask security if they can keep the entry way free for a few minutes. It's less distracting if there are no people coming and going while I try to figure out what exactly happened." With that, he walked up to one of the bouncers, and explained the situation in broad strokes.

Jack glared back a Zoey. "It is not entirely my fault. I was told the staff would be cooperative. How was I to know they  weren't  -  willing to be cooperative. It is a logical assumption." He huffed and crained his neck to scaned the place. This suggested the matter was closed and he was right, at least as far as he was concerned. On to more pressing business.

"While Tom is doing his thing, I'm going to see if I can find the bartender that served her, see what they have to say. And no less important, how they say it."

A few customers took notice of Tom's spell-casting. A couple of them began to protest, but Belladonna's staff stepped in and calmed them down. The wary customers and the staff continued to watch Tom and his group closely. Everyone was still on edge due to the earlier protest, and a stranger casting spells in their vicinity was obviously making everyone uncomfortable.

Tom finished watching the scene, and went back to Krys and Zoey with a dark look on his face. "That was not helpful. Whatever killed her was either already inside her when she came to the club, or it was done so skillfully that they managed to hide every trace of it. I think she was poisoned with a delayed-effect magic."

Jack came back to the group. "Well, the bartender confirms Tom's  account. Ashley didn't appear to be intoxicated to him and he only served her one drink. Clearly, this is not the run-of-mill over indulgence of alcohol." Jack's face morphed into puzzled appearance. He pondered their next move.

"If what you say is true, Tom, that this is some sort of a time-delayed spell? Then we need to find out what she was doing, where she was, before she got here. What we didn't know is how long the "timer" was set for. An hour, a day, a year, ten?

Or, is there something here that triggered it. Like that one movie, the bomb was inactive until the bus reached 50 miles an hour. God, that may be a needle in a haystack approach. It may be better to try and figure out why her rather than how."

Jack huffed and shrugged. "Anything else you guys can think to do while we are here? To me, it appears this is the final location of the crime, but not the scene of the crime."

Krystal shrugged, "We could probably talk to her friend. Get a time line of where she was or what she did before coming here." she pointed looked at Jack and gestured to Zoey, "And I do mean, we. If all your social interaction goes the way I've seen, the girl will probably mace you before you can get anything useful out of her. Just a thought."

"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right,
I hope you had the time of your life."

Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) ~ Green Day

Over the next couple of days there continued to be protests and anti-protests near Belladonna's club but, everyone was managing to keep it peaceful. The media was full of people giving their opinions both for and against Tabú, and the paranormal crowd it attracted. Friction among humans and paras in Chicago was on the rise.

The Liar's Club bar in Lincoln Park seemed to be one of the few places unaffected by the growing tension in the city. It had always been a place that welcomed all kinds of people. The owner, Frank, didn't care what color anyone's skin was, which side of the tracks they were born on, who they loved, or even if their DNA was human. As long as they didn't cause any trouble, they were welcome in his place. Most people behaved themselves at Liar's. Maybe it was because they did't want to ruin one of the few places where everyone was free to be themselves, or maybe it was because they believed those rumors that Frank used to be a Golden Gloves boxer, and they didn't want to get on his bad side.

Wednesday night at Liar's wasn't quite as crowded as the weekends. There were less college students, which gave the regulars more elbow room. This allowed Jack to give up his customary bar-stool and grab a small table where he could chat with Tom and Krystal. Zoey was working the DJ booth, but was able to join them on her break.

Jack had selected a table away from the bar and along the wall. This was an unusual choice for the reporter. He much preferred to be closer to the tap. But, close to the bar meant more people traffic past the table. Tonight, he wanted them to speak more freely with less extra ears listening in. Not that this crowd was all that interested in eavesdropping, but the setup would be more conducive to chatting.

Jack had two glasses in front of him; a half empty beer mug and a full Shotgun. The pitcher of cold beer was partly full in the center of the table. "There is a calming order to things. On good days, first a beer then the Shotgun. On bad days, Shotgun first. On really bad days, just the Shotgun and more than one."

He looked at the other faces at the table. "I'm not getting any good leads on my end. Everywhere I look, it seems like Ashley fits the 'least likely to have been murdered' type of girl. Attended the memorial and nothing seemed amiss. Well attended, sincere mourning, no shady lurkers other than me there. Any luck on your ends?"

Tom took a sip from his glass (he liked sweet cocktails, he'd found) and replied: "I tried to ask the Great Collective for something that would allow me to speak with the dead, but they haven't been particularly forthcoming. I will ask again in a few days. Usually, it takes between a few hours and a day or two, but apparently this kind of spell is quite uncommon, and the Goddess is reluctant to release its knowledge."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:05, Wed 08 Jan 2014.

Zoey bounced over on her break as Tom spoke, she gestured toward Krystal as she added, "Yeah, same here really, we talked to her sister who was there that night and she pretty much said the same thing, first grade teacher that everyone loved, no sordid past, not a partier and definitely not a heavy drinker. I don't know really, I'm out of ideas, maybe we should wait and see what the cops are digging up?" Zoey shook her head in slight disappointment before grabbing her soda and taking a few big gulps.

Jack finished his beer, which was quickly followed by the Shotgun. He smiled slightly as he grabbed the pitcher and refilled the beer glass. "Ashley wasn't married, engaged, or even seeing someone steady, as far as I can tell, so jealousy seems to be off the table as a motive. Money as a reason also is a dead end. Graduated college two years ago, normal amount of debt, no gambling I can find, and living within her means as a new teacher. It doesn't add up.

I would have liked to get a look at an autopsy, but I'm not certain one would have been done. The doctors seemed to feel certain of their diagnosis. And if it wasn't, we can't get one now. She was creamated, as was her wishes. Seemed like a very nice girl, and such a senseless loss.

As for the cops, I not even sure they are digging. Even so, they will probably put that shovel down soon. Unless something significant happens, this will be a cold case quickly."  Jack sipped his fresh beer and wiped the foam from his top lip.

Tom rapped with his fingernails on the table - making a sharper noise than one might have guessed - and said: "I have a feeling that Ashley was just collateral damage, and that the real target was Tabu. I could be wrong, of course, but either way I think the right question at the moment is: cui prodest?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:06, Sat 11 Jan 2014.

Krystal shrugged at Tom's question, responding as if he hadn't jumped to Latin. "The problem is, the people who are gaining from it are the muggles. They usually don't have the clout for this kind of thing." She sipped on her blushed wine, thinking. "Maybe we're going about this all wrong? We're focused on one girl and can't find a pattern. What if we look for a pattern? Jack. How would we go about seeing if this has ever happened to anyone in the past? This doesn't ring of random first time to me. Something like this seems very calculated to not leave us much to go on. Maybe it's happened before and, unlike us, no one bothered to think twice." she shrugged, lifting her glass to her lips as if to say that's all she had for ideas.

Jack nodded his head thoughtfully. "That is really good Krystal. You are right, we were trying to discern a pattern with a sample of size of one. That will not work. Let me think." Jack pondered a moment. "Nothing leaps to mind, but I can ask around, dig into our Police Beat archives to see if anything else comes up. I have some contacts I can talk to, now that I have a question. They hear things, but never talk unless they get asked - with the right monetary motivation. Okay, I have a direction to investigate."

Jack drummed three quick taps on the edge of the table with his hands. "On to the 'getting to know each other better' part of the night. If we are gonna work this, I think we should." Jack took a healthy draw on his draft. "I'm easy. Hard working INS reporter. Been working these streets a long time. I got my snitches and my instincts, mostly I just ask a lot of nosy questions. I'm just one of those 'muggles' you were talking about, Krystal. But, one of us isn't."

He turned to face Tom. "I know you are hiding in plain sight. Your eyes that one day... But I can't put my finger on what you are hiding. If you want to stay in the shadows, that's cool with me. But, Tom, I am a very open guy. The girls were arrested the other day supporting paranormal rights. I think it is safe to say you are among friends. As for the Liar's Club, if you don't cause trouble and your cash is clean, you are welcome in here."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:29, Thu 16 Jan 2014.

Tom pulled on his ear: "Well, I'm not hiding much - much that you could find of use, that is: you already know about my blessing ability and my spellcasting, and that's pretty much the extent of my active powers. As for the rest..." Tom switched to telepathy, projecting to all three of them: {I'm telepathic, more or less immortal, and have limited shapeshifting abilities. Also, I see dead people. If you want more details, we can talk in my apartment... Or perhaps I can give you a demonstration. It's about time for my smoke break, and here's a hint: I don't smoke.}

Krystal put her drink down and spoke aloud, "Ah, anyone care to join me for a smoke?" She put a napkin over her glass, then dashed a few grains of salt across it. She grabbed her large purse and headed for nearest outside door where she could light up.

Zoey listened intently and then grinned widely, "Wow, that's pretty cool. I'm just a lame muggle too" She straightened herself up quickly at Krystal's prompting, "Yeah, I'd love to...uh I don't smoke, but I'd love to keep you company" she glanced over at her dj station and added "I think I've got a good playlist going, they won't miss me" Zoey smiled as she pushed her drink aside quickly and followed Krystal outside.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:07, Thu 16 Jan 2014.

Jack stood as well.  He called out to the man behind the bar. "Frank, we're just going outside for a little air. We'll be back in a couple of minutes. Don't let anyone clear this away!" Jack pointed to the pitcher and his mug specifically and the rest of the glasses in general. Then he followed the others outside.

After finding a discreet spot, Tom looked at the others and began: "Alright, I have two options to explain this: the first starts with 'a long long time ago in Egypt', and the other with 'are you familiar with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?' - and they both end like this."

And with that, Tom turned into a cat.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:53, Fri 17 Jan 2014.

"Holy cow! or uhh I guess I should say holy cat" Zoey laughed awkwardly, she reached out as if to pet the cat before feeling weird and retracting her hand, "This is so cool" she turned to Krystal, "So he's some kind of were-cat? Can he talk?" she said as she turned back to look at Tom in awe.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 08:54, Mon 20 Jan 2014.

{Humans seem to have a compulsion to pet fuzzy things. Go right ahead, I don't mind, just be ready for me to pet you right back once I'm human again.} Zoey could clearly hear a smirk in Tom's mental voice, and so could the others, as he was once again broadcasting to them all. {Now for a bit of history... A long time ago, in Egypt, cats were, as you correctly surmised, worshipped as holy. The reason for that, is us. Well, not me personally, I'm nowhere near that old, but my race. I am a Bast - a High Bast, technically, as I can turn into a human being. Collectively, we are the Goddess Bast, also known as Bastet, as well as Baast and Ubasti, deity of protection, pleasure, health, and magic.}
This message was last edited by the player at 09:30, Mon 20 Jan 2014.

Jack was amazed into stunned silence as the man became the feline. The voice in his head sort of sounded like Tom, but different. When it - he - Tom finished, Jack regained his tongue. "That is my new knowledge for the day, month even. So wait, you are a collective called the Goddess Bast? Like the Borg Collective? Mentally linked to other of your kind? Where did your clothes go? Can you become other animals? Clearly I need to read more books!"

Tom shook his head - which was surprisingly weird, coming from a cat... {We are not linked all the time. I could not, for instance, call another Bast through the link. I can ask the Goddess for knowledge, but it comes slowly, and it mostly relates to spells; anything else filters too slowly to be of use - though, I suppose, if you were interested in trivia from ancient Egypt, the Goddess might oblige.}

Tom winked, which upped the weirdness factor a notch. {My clothes, and any object I wear in human form, including pocketed items such as my cell phone, are held in a non-dimensional pocket while I am in my natural form. The weight limit is pretty strict, however, to the point where, in the winter, I have trouble with heavy clothing. I only have one alternate form, human and fixed: it may change, even significantly, between incarnations, but it is fixed within one given life, small signs of aging notwithstanding, and it stays relatively consistent if I reincarnate in the same breed of cat. However, if I were to reincarnate in an apricot cat, I would find myself ginger. And then my face would probably change as well.}
This message was last edited by the player at 23:12, Mon 20 Jan 2014.

Krystal, who had been quietly puffing on a clove nodded, "To put things into perspective. He's a cat who turns into a person. So, when you see Tom the person..." she gestures to the small feline.

One of Tom's ears twitched: {I'm a person all the time dear, I just happen to be on four legs most of it.}

Zoey giggled slightly as she reached out and petted Tom's true form. "Well this is amazing, I'm totally gonna look this up or ask you bunches of questions for a while, unfortunately I should probably get back to work at some point if I wanna keep my gig here" she smiled as she quickly checked her watch before heading toward the door.

Jack's thoughts popped through a whole lot of 'what if' situations in rapid succession. "Being a cat can give you a wide range of things you can do. The places you could go without being noticed. The conversations you can listen in on. The people you could watch - they would not know they were under surveillance. Getting into some buildings could be hard. Too bad you couldn't also turn into a dog. No one has ever heard of a seeing-eye cat. But still..."

Jack rubbed his forehead as he wrapped his mind around a completely new type of "person", as Tom stated. New at least to Jack. "This is amazing. I need a drink. Good thing we are at a bar."

Krystal looked from Zoey to Jack and back to Zoey while taking a drag off her cigarette. "Well, you two are clearly taking this much better than I had anticipated." When everyone indicated they had to go back in Krystal made a dismissive hand gesture. "He has to spend time in his normal form for while. You know, to recharge the cell phone or what have you. We'll be in, in a bit." and with that she went back to smoking until Tom was ready to return to human form. She liked to think she was altruistic that way.

Krystal and Tom returned from their "smoke break" just as Frank brought another round of drinks to their table. "Zoey, I'll overlook the extra long break you took, if you find something a little more rock and a lot less pop to play. This auto-tuned crap is just painful to listen to."
This message was last updated by the player at 15:20, Fri 07 Feb 2014.

Krystal grinned, "Oh, come on. How can millions in iTune downloads possibly be wrong?"

Zoey couldn't help but smile back at Krystal, "She has a point, Frank" she grabbed her next dose of caffeinated bliss, aka Mountain Dew, and nodded. "Don't worry boss, I'm sure I can muster up something that won't be too painful to your ears" with that she headed back over to her dj station.

"If a song needs all that technology in order to sound ok, then it isn't a very good song," Frank said to Krystal. "A good song will sound just as great, if not better, when you strip away all that crap and play it with just an acoustic guitar."

"Kids today just want a beat to bounce to. It's hard to get a deep, meaningful song when they only use a dozen different words, over and over again."

Jack toasted Frank's comment as he lifted his beer. "To songs with deep meaning and soul. For they will be great forever!" Without waiting for a hoisted glass in return, he took a healthy swallow, stopping just short of spillage around the edges of his mouth.

"Kids today? Damn Jack, you sound like the people that used to tell me to cut my hair." Frank's shoulder length gray hair was proof that he had not listened to those people. "I don't like auto-tune. Doesn't mean there's nobody under 30 worth listening to today. If you want to sit on your porch shaking your cane at young people, that's your business, but don't expect me to sit beside you. I ain't ready for a rocking chair." Frank gave a nod to the rest of the group. "Let me know when you want another round." He stepped away from the table and made his way back to the bar.

Zoey put her Mountain Dew down next to her computer as she got ready to get back to work. She awkwardly tapped at the keys as she attempted to cue the next song. Zoey shook out her jittery hands before she found something she thought would be to Frank's liking - more rock, less pop. "How 'bout some Shinedown," she thought.

"Your words still serenade me
Your lullabies won't let me sleep
I've never heard such a haunting melody
Oh, it's killing me
You know I can barely breathe

Just like a crow chasing the butterfly
Dandelions lost in the summer sky
When you and I were getting high as outer space
I never thought you'd slip away
I guess I was just a little too late"

The Crow and The Butterfly ~ Shinedown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uitBzi57PVE#t=86
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:28, Mon 17 Feb 2014.

Krystal lifted her glass as soon as the first chords of the song started. Shinedown was one of her favorites since their music was often better acoustic. "Now, thi-" she stopped suddenly as if someone has just slapped her across the face.

Krystal felt a cold chill run down her spine. People often joke, 'someone must have stepped over my grave. har har har.' but for someone who probably should have been killed four or five times over by now, that was never funny. She was on her feet so fast she didn't have time to put her drink down as the glass crashed into the table. Turning to look over her shoulder she sent a message to Tom that was more fear and terror than actual thought. Something's wrong!!

Tom didn't lose time to ask Krystal what the problem was, she would elaborate in her own time. He stood up inhumanly quickly, at the same time pronouncing the words to the blessing he used so often when he was around Krystal. They weren't necessarily needed, but he felt they brought him luck, odd as it was...

Slàinte agus Tàinte! Unlike with Ashley, when it had been more of a mantra, this time it was more like a command. An aura of luck surrounded Krystal, visible to those with the right senses.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:56, Thu 20 Feb 2014.

Jack had let his eyes wander around the room. He did that now and then, just to see who was around him or if the beginnings of a story was about. As Krystal spoke, his attention was nudged back to the table.

A crash of glass, sudden wetness cooled his cheek. "Whoa, Butterfingers! can't hold your lic-" Jack cut off his joke as he saw the urgency in which he was suddenly alone at the table.

"What's wrong?" he called out as the hastened to follow.

Satisfied with her music choice, Zoey watched the crowd with a smile. Wiping sweat from her forehead she gulped down some more of her drink before putting her attention back on her work. Cheerfully she couldn't help but give a quick wave to the table, suddenly she saw everyone stand up. She took a step toward them and she quickly grabbed her head and widened her eyes, "Whoa, dizzy..." she straightened herself out and refocused. Shaking her head in confusion she took her headphones off by her computer. She made a weird face and placed her hand over her thumping heart, she grimaced slightly. Zoey's breath grew shorter as panic started to cross her face, gasping for deep breathes she clutched harder at her chest, reaching out to stabilize herself she missed and knocked her drink crashing to the floor. "Guys?" she called out desperately before collapsing motionless to the floor.

Krystal saw Zoey's wave and was about to signal her to stay put when she started to look... not right. "Nononono!" She shot off like, well, a cat. Heading straight for Zoey's booth.

Drawing upon some primal instincts infused with adrenalin she managed to miss any obstacles in her way and even leap over the wall of the booth to the other side. She was no doctor but she knew how to check for breathing with her ear, so she leaned over and prayed she could feel a breath or hear a wheezing of any kind.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:28, Wed 26 Feb 2014.

Jack saw the path that Krystal and Tom were heading and looked beyond them in an attempt to discern a destination, or the causation to this sudden turn of events. The beeline lead straight to his niece.

"Zoey?    Oh my god, Zoey! Outta my way, sorry.     Frank!    Frank! Call 911! Zoey's collapsed!" Jack's path was blocked by a patron irritated at Krystal as she zipped pasted them.

"MOVE!" He didn't wait as he pushed his way through the crowd.

Zoey blearily looked at Krystal as she approached. "What's going on?" Zoey barely slurred together, "Hey...your pretty, is this your place? It's nice..." She grimaced slightly and held her chest over her heart. "Jack, it hurts...I can't... I can't, breath" Zoey started inhaling with a panicked pace, her head fell back down as her eyes closed, her breathing was still audibly labored as she lay unconscious.

Frank grabbed an old rotary phone behind the bar and began to dial. "What happened? Is she breathing?" The crowd grew quiet as they realized somebody was hurt.

Jack got behind the DJ station and knelt down by Zoey next to Krystal. He grabbed Zoey's hand and held it. After a second, he raised his head and called toward the bar.

"She's out cold but still breathing. But Frank, it doesn't sound good. Short and quick, like she isn't getting enough air." He leaned back down to her. "Hang in there Zoey. Take it easy. I'm with you. I'm not going anywhere. You just keep breathing, Zoey."

Jack brought her hand up and kissed it gently. He felt so helpless. He tried to will her awake. Tried to share his life with her. He even prayed quietly as he held her hand. Mentally directed angels to appear and touch her. He cursed his own worthless life, for he never took a CPR or first aid class. He felt helpless. In desperation, he glanced about the sea of faces gawking at him and his niece. "Is there a doctor in the house? A nurse? Anyone - please. Somebody help her!"

For someone so concerned for Zoey, Krystal shot up to her feet the moment Jack was there. She turned, eyes checking the room and then over to Zoey's workstation. She muttered something under the breath and stepped over her new friend and past Jack to where the other woman had been standing as if trying to re-create the events of just a few moments ago.

Tom knelt down next to Zoey, looking up at Jack: "Witch doctor good enough?"

Before the man could say anything, Tom laid a hand on Zoey's forehead and muttered something that may or may not have been latin.

A few seconds later, he continued: "And just for good measure, Sláinte agus Táinte!"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:32, Fri 28 Feb 2014.

"Hondo, clear a path for the medics!" Frank yelled to the bouncer near the door. Hondo was a big guy, and every ounce of him was muscle. He didn't have to say a word to anyone as he moved through the crowd. He just gestured, and people got out of his way.

"Goddess. Damn. It. ALL!" Krystal slammed the water down on the DJ counter. "Where the hell is Benedict Cumberbatch when you need him?" She leaned over the DJ booth as if reading something really small and froze there for a long moment. Picking up the mic she spoke to the rest of the patrons, "We're going to take an extended break, folks, so feel free to talk to someone you haven't met before and don't forget to tip your barkeep." After that she slapped the mic to knock it off the DJ table and turned back to watch Zoey helplessly.

It didn't take long for the ambulance to arrive. The paramedics got to work right away, checking Zoey's vitals. Her breathing was labored and her heartbeat was racing. As they worked on her, Zoey's muscles began to twitch uncontrollably. "What did she take?" one of the paramedics called out.

As the Paramedics arrived, Tom watched Zoey with an ever-deepening frown. "Why is this not working? Alcohol is definitely a poison, no doubt about that... This should have worked. What did I miss?"

Slowly, deliberately, he repeated the incantation (definitely not Latin), and lightly brushed Zoey's forehead.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:16, Wed 05 Mar 2014.

"Alcohol? No, no Zoey was working. She doesn't drink alcohol when she is working. She drinks soda, Mountain Dew most likely. She wants the caffeine." Jack said.

"Her cup is over there." Jack indicated the spilled beverage container. "Take it. Test it if there is enough left." he said to the paramedics. Jack looked distraught. He had reluctantly backed up upon their arrival to give them room to work. "She is my niece. I want to ride with her if I can."

"Sir, you need to step back!" The paramedic exclaimed as he tried to position himself between Tom and Zoey. Tom moved with cat-like reflexes and still managed to reach around the other man and gently touch Zoey's forehead. The paramedic frowned at him as he pushed Tom's hand away. "GET BACK!"

Frank stepped forward, with Hondo at his side. "I'm sure you mean well, but why don't you let them do their job." His voice was firm, perhaps even a bit threatening as he spoke to Tom.

Frank's attention turned toward Krystal, "What the hell are you doing? SIT DOWN!" He faced the crowd. "Everybody calm down. Move back, and let the paramedics work!" Frank tried to gently, but firmly, direct Krystal to a chair away from the DJ booth. Hondo continued to stand next to Tom, never taking his eyes off the high bast.

The paramedic looked at Jack. "Wait, this isn't an overdose? You think she was deliberately poisoned?" The paramedic's eyes briefly passed over Tom, Krystal, and the rest of the inebriated crowd. "Maybe somebody should call the cops."

Tom looked at Frank, and his pupils shifted from round to vertical: "I did that last time. Stepped back, let the professionals handle it. Didn't end so hot. That's why I asked the Goddess for an ace up my sleeve."

Then he turned to face Jack: "But that was my best shot, Jack, I'm sorry: if it doesn't work... I don't know. There's something's different. This is not exactly like Ashley. Almost, but not quite. Krys? Anything?"

Krystal was already moving to a chair, as indicated by Frank. "Yeah, I got a new pack of Djarum Black and a chair." In Krystal speak that translated to 'No.' She headed for the door to position it outside. Once sitting she managed to find a way to light up a clove cigarette and being smoking angrily.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:28, Fri 07 Mar 2014.

A patrol car arrived, almost on cue. They were in the area and figured they could help with crowd control. One of the officers started directing the crowd, while the other approached the paramedics to find out what had happened. The first paramedic muttered something about a probable drug overdose, but the second one gestured toward Jack and said, "He thinks she was poisoned." They bagged Zoey's glass to take it with them to the hospital. "We're taking her to Thorek Memorial," the paramedic said to Jack. "But, you can't ride with us. I'm sorry." They loaded Zoey into the ambulance and drove off with lights and sirens blaring.

'Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room
Just nervous pacers bracing for bad news
And then the nurse comes round
And everyone will lift their heads
But I'm thinking of what Sarah said
That "Love is watching someone die"

So who's going to watch you die?...

What Sarah Said ~ Death Cab For Cutie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGFgpAZZzvo

Zoey had apparently vomited in the ambulance, but nobody would tell Jack if that was a good thing or a bad sign. At some point she stopped breathing on her own and, by the next day, she was on full life support in the ICU. The doctors were still waiting on lab work to find out what had happened.

The soft sounding pad, pad, pad, of footfalls of the sneaker-wearing volunteer was rudely punctuated by the sharp irregular screech from the one cart wheel in need of maintenance.  Jack's jangled nerve still was relieved as the java cart rounded the corner of the ICU waiting room. The grandmotherly woman removed the near-empty and cold coffee dispensers and hefted new ones into their respective places. Deftly, she picked up fragments of sweetener packets and wiped the Hospitality Station clean. Since dawn was streaming in through the windows, a bowl of fruit and a plate of fresh baked muffins was added. She smiled warmly at Jack, who was watching her every move. "Have a blessed day" she said as she departed in the direction she had appeared from.

Jack shuffled to the Hospitality Station with little more life then he appeared. Haggard, hair mussed, and slightly hungover, Jack tossed the remains of his old coffee down his throat. He refilled the paper cup with the steaming black liquid, but this time, he fitted the insulator wrap around it so his fingertips would not be burned. Jack slipped a banana into his coat pocket and selected a cranberry muffin before he returned to the seat he had claimed as his for the night. Others in the room followed Jack's lead.

He mechanically ate. The muffin was really good, but Jack got no joy out of it. He felt helpless and alone. Zoey had given him more then he had realized till this moment. A sense of family. A feeling of belonging that he did not have for a long time. By her simply being there, seeking him out and staying nearby, that had altered Jack's life path. He was on the road to ruin, most likely to become one of Chicago's alcoholic homeless. A place where Jack would have accepted in time. But since getting to know Zoey, it was a place he would no longer accept. Jack had a long road to travel still, but at least he knew where he didn't want to be.

For now, there was little left to do but wait. And although Jack had forsaken Him a while ago, he prayed. Just a little.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:21, Sun 16 Mar 2014.

Krystal paced back and fourth, lighting a new cigarette off the old one and singing to herself. Her words were mumbled and the tone was slow and sad but she either didn't care or didn't notice. Stamping on the old smoke in favor of the new she paused just long enough to acknowledge she was chain smoking. Not a good sign.

"And I'll take, with me these memormmhmss.. to be th-mmhumm, after the rahm-hm..." She took a long drag and looked at the building across the street as if she could see through the windows of the hospital, then returned to her pacing and singing.

Blowing up some things and setting them on fire always had a relaxing effect on Tom's nerves. Had he been a human, maybe he would have worried about that.

Things being the way they were, Tom worried about little. Friends, such as they were, was one of the things Tom did worry about.

Walking up to Krystal he couldn't help to notice the terrible smell first, and the small pile of cigarette butts next.

Sometimes he wished he could worry less about his friends. {Hello, oh precious ruby. How are we doing? Want some company?}

Krystal shook her head as if a chill hit her. She'd been too distracted to notice a cat walking the block. Most people would probably give Tom a glance and then little more. One stay cat wasn't a reason to call the SPCA. That just left the thoughts in her head, as jarring as the tap on the shoulder - with a frying pan.

Oh, good. You're here! She put the cigarette out, tossed it away and moved up wind from the land of ashed tobacco. She always tried to make it look unintentional, but the coincidences were a bit obvious to any with more than human level perception. I'm worried about Zoey. Would you mind checking in on her first? After that I could really use someone to talk to. The moment a young man sat down on the bench and smiled in greeting Krystal got right back to her feet to find somewhere else to sit. Okay, fine. By "someone" I mean, you. And by "talk to" I mean be cheered up by.

{It shall be my pleasure.} Tom retreated in an empty side street, and came back out in human form, approaching Krystal once again: "Let me just give Jack a call first."

He flipped open his cell phone (which always gave him Star Trek memories) and dialed Jack's number.

Jack nearly threw his coffee cup as the melodic tones of Shotgun Blues sang out of Jack's cellphone and the vibrations shocked his nerves. "Sorry, sorry about that." he said to the others in the waiting room. He set the cup down and quickly dug the phone out of the cloth folds of his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jack, it's Tom. I'm here outside the hospital, is it OK if I come in to see Zoey?"

"Oh, hi Tom. Yeah, sure. It's okay by me. I'm in the ICU waiting room. Just waiting. See you in a few."

"See you soon." He closed his phone and looked at Krystal:"Alright dear. I'll go see how Zoey is doing, maybe try to cheer up Jack, the man sounded about as down as you can be... I'll be back for you, promise. Please go easy on the stinky sticks while I'm away." He smiled reassuringly at his friend (still a strange word, that, even after all these years) and went for the entrance.

Spirits didn't usually bother Tom they way they did Krystal: maybe they instinctively recognized that his nature made him less sensitive to the problems of being dead - he'd been there a few times already, after all, and he'd always gotten better. His idea of helping the dead out was telling them "just quit whining and go enjoy the afterlife".

Still, hospitals were a bit of a downer for him. When he reached Jack he couldn't help but notice that he looked more tired than he sounded, and that was saying something.

"Jack." He extended his hand for the other man to shake. "How you holding up? Any news?"

Jack noticed Tom's hand. He leaned forward to rise, but only partly stood. Instead, Jack just extended his arm to weakly shake Tom's hand. Crumbs from the muffin rolled and bounced off of Jack's chest to scatter on the floor. With a quick brush of his hand, the remaining bits joined the larger ones.

"In a couple of words, 'poorly' and 'no'."  Jack indicated for Tom to take the seat next to him.  "I haven't heard anything in a while, but what I did hear, ... it isn't good.  They've got a tube down her throat, Tom.  She's on a God Damn respirator!  She hasn't woken up.  I've asked for updates and all I get it is the 'the doctor will come speak with you soon' crap line.  They should just print that on a card and hand it out.  That gives me as much information as a blank CD."

Jack turned his head away and blew out the rest of his breath. He was angry and he knew it. That could only be counter-productive. He tried to box the anger away. Slowly, his head rotated back to face Tom once again.

A dark-haired man in his thirties, and dressed in typical doctor attire, approached Jack. "Mr Jennings? I'm Dr. Simon. Your niece had a rough night. Her heart rate was extremely fast and irregular when she was brought in, but she seems to have stabilized now. In fact we were able to remove the respirator and she's breathing on her own. Her blood glucose is elevated and her potassium is dangerously low. We're replacing the potassium intravenously. We're still not sure what caused this. The lab-work didn't show any toxins in her system."

Jack stood as Dr. Simon called his name. He listened closely for key words and phrases that punctuated bad news. What he heard was concerning, but didn't sound fatal.

"So you don't know what was wrong, but she is responding to treatment and stabilizing?" Jack paraphrased the doctor's news, just for clarity. "And she is off the respirator. That, that is great news Doc." Jack's gloomy mood lifted with renewed hope for a good outcome.

"Can I, can I see her?" he asked cautiously.

The doctor nodded. "Sure, but you'll have to keep it short. She needs her rest."

"I understand, Doctor. I just need to see her." Jack turned to Tom. "I'll catch up with you and Krystal as soon as I can, Tom."

Tom nodded: "I'll go give the good news to Krystal. I'll see you later."

---

Tom walked out of the hospital to find Krystal, and as he saw her he sent her a message: {Good news, for once... She's stable, and she's breathing on her own. Jack's with her right now. I don't want to tempt Mr. Murphy's demon, but... Well, I don't want to tempt Mr. Murphy's demon.}
This message was last edited by the player at 06:44, Fri 18 Apr 2014.

Tension visible left Krystal's shoulders as if she was going to melt. She nodded, "No, no. Perfect. I want to put positive energy out to the universe." she said aloud. Pacing in a circle she checked her phone to see if it was too early to drink. There was nothing magical around her that I could sense. Do you feel up to running through things with your glasses again? I worry we got lucky this time. There has to be a reason this is happening. She pulled out her pack of smokes and realized it was empty. With a frustrated sigh she threw the empty pack away and stared digging through her messenger bag as if expecting to find another pack.

Tom pulled on his ear and looked around as he replied telepathically: {I am certainly willing to give it a try... I'm not sure it will show us much, though: we were both there, and neither of us sensed anything weird. We can both see spirits and sense magic, and while I'll readily admit I'm easily distracted, I would expect a burst of magic to grab my attention.}
This message was last edited by the player at 16:26, Mon 28 Apr 2014.

"Damn it!" Krystal kicked a stone support with her steel toed combat boot. "I feel useless. Sure, we could do some re-search but will be done long after this thing go south. Any ideas?" She realized she was talking out loud and nodded for Tom to follow.

Jack followed Dr. Simon through the double doors that marked the boundary of the ICU.  Jack hardly noticed the medical and housekeeping staff flitting in and out of his view.  It was the air of the place that he took note of.  The atmosphere just seemed heavy; lifeless and foreboding.  A semi-circular space with a nurse's station at the hub.  The rooms of the ill and injured fanned the nurse station like spokes on a wheel.  Soon enough, they arrived at the room that Zoey occupied.

Machines hovered around the head of her bed.  Flashing red and blue lighted displays beeped and pulsed distractedly as wire leads attached to his niece fed the machines.  Those boxes recorded and repeated a human life, albeit a digitized, soulless facsimile of life.  At least the one machine with the cloudy white corrugated hose was pushed back against the wall and silent.  Jack felt as if it was not truly dormant, but watching and waiting for the next time it would be required to force air deep into someone's lungs once again.

Jack moved passed Dr. Simon to reach the bedside.  He lightly brushed a hair away from her face, taking note of the stickiness on her cheek where the tape residue had not yet been wiped clean.

"Oh Zoey, please get better soon", he stated quietly.

Zoey twitched slightly as Jack's hand brushed her cheek. At the sound of his voice she struggled to open her eyes before finally gazing up at her uncle. "Jack?" she strained her face in confusion. Looking down she tried to survey the room but her head didn't lift very far from the pillow. She gave up quickly before clearing her dry throat, "What happened?"

"Hey, hi there." Jack spoke soft and gently. "You are in a hospital. You kind of passed out at the club. Gave me a bit of a scare, but you're doing much better now." He smiled warmly.  "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit" Zoey promptly replied, before she mustered up enough strength for a small smile. "So...what are the theories? What'd the doctors say. All I know is, I got really dizzy, my heart started thumping and now I'm here...I mean what is that, a heart attack?"

Jack did a quick look over his shoulder at Dr. Simon. "He muttered something about your glutes were high and your possum was low." Jack said jokingly. He tried to quell Zoey's anxiety a bit. "Bottom line is, they don't seem to know the cause, but you are responding positively to whatever the hell they are doing and your getting better."

A nurse entered the room. "I'm afraid she needs her rest, but you can come back later."

Jack shot the nurse a glare. "I know it was suppose to be a short visit, but that was more of a micro-visit" he thought. He softened his glare at the nurse as he turned to face Zoey.  "Okay, they're afraid I'm gonna keep you from healing or something. I'm not going far. I'll be just down the hall until I can take you home. I have a comfy spot all scoped out. You just rest and get well."

"Okay, hey Jack, don't worry about me, I feel better already okay? I'll see you soon" Zoey smiled as she watched her worried uncle leave.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:06, Tue 06 May 2014.

Tom stepped forward to walk at Krystal's side: "Well, having a second look at the bar won't cost us much. we probably won't find anything, but just on the off chance..."

Krystal nods, "I'll take any chance I can get right now. Off. On." she takes her sunglasses off and turns to wipe at an eye, then puts them right back on and sniffs back the last sign of emotion. "At least there's one thing I know we'll find at the bar for sure! Whiskey."

---

The bar's outside was just the way they had left it.

{Alright, I'll get ready, then we can go talk to Frank.} Sent Tom, still in cat form. {He'll probably like the good news.}

Krystal just nodded, trying to distract herself by throwing away the two, no three, empty clove boxes from her bag still humming, In the Middle by Jimmy Eat World.

As they walked into the bar, Tom wore his glasses and examined Frank's aura for later reference. "Hi Frank. We come with a bit of good news, we thought you might want to have them sooner rather than later. We also have a little favor to ask."

He proceeded to repeat what the doctor had told them, and then explained that he wanted to look for clues as to what had happened: "Zoey is not the first girl who's been attacked: we know of at least another, and I suspect there may be more. There's something we can do to try and figure out what happened, but it would help if we could move your customers out of the way for a few minutes."

"Zoey's a good kid. I'm glad she's doing ok," Frank said. "If somebody did something at my place to hurt her..." anger flashed across his face. "If Jack trusts you, that's good enough for me. Whatever you need." He shouted at the small, early crowd. "We got some maintenance to do down here. I want everyone to move to the upstairs lounge for now." He returned his attention to Tom and Krys. "We can move them back down when you're finished so you can check up there too, if needed. Feel free to have a drink on me." He followed the crowd upstairs, encouraging some of the slower folks to move along.

Krystal's head head rocked with the words, Have a drink on me. The moment Frank was out of the room she rocked on her heels and headed straight for the bar. "Who am I to turn down hospitality?" she pulled a bottle of amber Tequila from behind that bard and a regular sized glass for mixed drinks. "Can I get you anything? Beer. Wine. Milk." she grinned at her companion and then drank as if she'd just poured herself 8oz of iced tea. Not  knowing what else to do she set the glass aside and waited for Tom to do his magic.

Tom took his glasses, looked at where Zoey had fallen, and concentrated carefully on the time of the events.

A short incantation later, bright auras appeared before his eyes.

He took a mental note of Zoey's aura for future reference, and studied the scene as the echoes of the events developed before his eyes. The first indication of magic or spell use seemed to occur on Zoey. A glow of magic energy that got brighter, and then spread through her.

The magic started to dissipate before Zoey displayed any symptoms: by the time she was collapsing, the magic was already fading.

Pretty much that had happened with Ashley, as far as he could tell, except that, on Ashley, the magic surge had started in her midsection, whereas on Zoey the point of origin was her upper right shoulder.

He briefly relayed what he was seeing to Krystal, then dismissed the spell and recast it, focusing it a short while before the incident, in case the magic he had noticed was a secondary effect, and the primary casting had occurred earlier, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Well... That was unhelpful. What do you think? Blowgun with alchemical poison or something? 'Cause I cannot see the caster, nor can I see any streaks of magic that would point to a ranged spell, but there was definitely some serious magic there. I doubt Zoey cast it on herself..."

"Maybe not entirely", Krystal was pouring more reposado into her glass. "We might be going about this backwards. You said the magic fades and THEN the fall. What if the physical attack is simply a side effect. For example. My petting you in the sun is not about making you pur. Really it's just mean wanting to pet a warm kitty. The fact that you enjoy it is irrelivant to my goals of sun baked fur under my hand." She turned her attention to the glass. "Wow, this is good shit!" She then reached down an picked up the bottle to examine.

"So you think this may not be an attack but rather... A side effect?" Tom pulled his ear, considering: "Perhaps. This just means we have a lot more options to consider, though." He poured a shot for himself, and took the chance to put the bottle back out of Krystal's reach.

"I was hoping we would have better news, honestly. We were there twice for this... Whatever this is. And we know almost nothing."

Frank came down the stairs and saw that Tom and Krystal were sitting and having a drink, so he figured it was safe to reopen the downstairs. He gave the two of them a nod, and then let everyone know they were free to return to the first floor. Frank made his way behind the bar while the crowd slowly trickled back in.

Jack mentally felt like he had been on one of those extreme looping roller coasters.  But he was happy, the building was in site, signalling he was nearing the end of the ride.

Jack parked his car in his usual spot in the back of the building and walked up the alley to the street entrance. He entered the Liar's Club and headed straight for the bar, where he spotted Tom and Krystal. He came up between them and placed his hands on their shoulders in a quick hug.

"Hey you two. Good to see you. Frank, a cold one please." The returning crowd quickly sucked up the bar stools as Jack greeted Tom and Krystal. "What do you say we grab that table over there so we can all sit and talk." Jack tossed his head toward an empty table in the room.  "I'm buying your next round." 

Frank walked over when he saw Jack. "Hey Jack, how's our girl doing?"

Jack was all smiles.  "Zoey is doing great!  She had a tough go of it for a bit.  But she is responding well.  Doctor said that she should be released soon.  I thought I would take the opportunity to get a change of clothes before I pick her up.  I didn't want to scare her." Jack laughed. "I just wanted to get a cold one in me to settle my nerves."

"God, I wish I was young again.  I eat a bad Coney Dog, and I feel like crap for two or three days." Jack took the frosty mug from Frank, took a healthy swig, and set it back down on the bar.  "Aah, cold and hits the spot.  First things first.  I'll be right back.  I got to hit the can.  Watch my beer for me will you?" he said to Tom and Krystal. "Frank, keep these two company.  And what ever they are drinking, put it on my tab."

Jack turned and walked to the Men's room.

"A rum and coke for me, please." He asked Frank.

Then he sighed: "I know this wasn't the last case... We were lucky with Zoe, but what about the next one?" He adjusted his glasses - he was still getting used to the aura sight, a little practice couldn't hurt - and literally, intently watched Jack's beer - as if he could find an answer there.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:16, Mon 02 June 2014.

"A bit TMI regarding the chili dog, Jack," Frank said as Jack walked away.



"Comin' up." Frank gave Tom a nod, and then stepped away to make some drinks.

Krystal threw back a good 3oz of her drink then held out the empty glass. "More Espolon por favour."

"Actually, Tom has a point. We did get lucky, in more than one way. Jack, can you look around and see if other people have had some strange fainting spell followed by death? Tom, could you look into the history of this place? Maybe the connection is this location and not just the victims. One or the other has to give us something to go on." Krystal made no effort to imply she was going to do any work and smiled when she got her refill.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:26, Tue 03 June 2014.

Zoey walked up to the table where Tom and Krystal were now sitting, "Hey guys! God am I glad to be out of that hospital, I mean the drugs were nice and the company was okay but this place is way more my scene. I don't suppose you guys have any further ideas as to what happened do you? Maybe it was just a big coincidence and it really had nothing to do with what happened to Ashley. I don't know, all I can say is I'm glad it's over with, I was a little worried there for a second" Zoey couldn't help but be all smiles as she stood there talking to her new-found friends.

Krystal nodded, "Just glad you're back! We were just going over a few things. Other than here, you didn't know Ashley outside of the bar, did you? We're trying to see if a connection exists beyond the club." Krystal leaned back in her chair moving her drink away as she could't need it as much.

"Zoey! I thought they wanted to keep you a little bit longer." He smiled at the girl: "Did you run out while they weren't looking? Can't blame you..."

Zoey shook her head "No, I didn't know her at all. The only reason I was outside that club when you and I met was because of the protest" She then turned to Tom and smirked "Noooo, I mean, I don't know" Zoey scrunched her face in confusion for just a second before shrugging "Hey who cares if it was a little early, I'm just glad they released me. I feel great, its like it never even happened"

Frank brought over a trio of drinks, placing one each in front of Krystal and Tom. The third one was Jack's usual, the "shotgun". Frank was standing next to Zoey, but never looked at her. "Let me know if you need anything else," Frank said, and then he went back to the bar.

Zoey smiled as she saw Frank, "Hey look Frank, they let me out early!" She made a face as he started to walk away without a word, "Really? C'mon big guy I don't think anyone will judge you if you show a little emotion" she sighed slightly as she turned to the others, "Poor guy, I guess he really missed me" she snickered. She looked at their drinks and then quickly turned back to the bar and shouted, "Hey!! Could you at least whip me up something to drink?"

Tom pulled a nickel out of his pocket and tossed it at Zoey with a telepathic warning: {Hey Zoey? Catch this.}
This message was last edited by the player at 07:56, Fri 06 June 2014.

Zoey looked surprised but reflexively threw her hands up to catch the coin thrown in her direction. The coin met with her hands perfectly but then continued effortlessly through her clasped hands and then further still it sailed through her torso and landed behind her, clattering to the ground. Zoey's jaw stood wide open for many seconds, she turned around and looked at the coin then back at Tom in disbelief. "What the hell?" she gazed at her hands for a moment and then pressed them against herself where the coin had gone through. After confirming that her hands wouldn't pass through her own body she looked back up at Tom and Krystal with a bewildered look on her face. "How did tha-- What was that? Was that some kind of trick? Like a spell? Magic, right? You do magic and stuff hunh" Zoey rationalized out-loud as she started to calm herself down.

Krystal had started drinking her tequila even before Tom had tried his little experiment. She was still pulling on the hard liquor even as Zoey stood confused, trying to make sense of it all. In fact, she didn't stop until she'd drained the glass and set it down on the table, empty.

Krystal rubbed the spot just above her eyebrows, using the gesture to cover her glassy eyes. "You don't remember them releasing you? And Frank didn't seem to see you." Krystal looked up and rubbed at her eyes for a moment then nodded, lowering her voice to just below conversational level, "Zoey? I need you to think about what you were doing just before you walked in here to talk to us. How did you get here? What's the last thing you actually remember?" Krystal hated this part, and would have rather let Zoey ease into the idea but that ship had sailed.

Tom, whose race treated death like a minor inconvenience, was rather a lot more cavalier about becoming a ghost.

That was probably why the ghosts lingering around hospitals tended not to ask for his help as much as they did with Krystal. {Welcome to the family, Zoey dear. You now have superpowers. If you need any help, all you have to do is ask. There are some inconvenient parts, as with everything, but we'll help you sort out them out. Krys here is a something of an expert on that. Which reminds me... What is the last thing you remember?}
This message was last edited by the player at 14:17, Fri 06 June 2014.

Jack returned to the table and sat down. His face lit up in a big smile as he spotted and reached for his drink.  "It is a nice night, after that hell night yesterday.  Finally, something went my way.  I get tired of one bad thing happening after another."  Jack tossed back the shotgun and followed it up with more of the beer.

"I know I am rushing things here a bit, but I still need to change. I don't want Zoey waiting for me." Clearly, Jack was in a good mood.

How do you tell somebody that a loved one is now a ghost? Maybe focus on the positives? "So, Jack... Remember I mentioned my race is immortal? I don't remember if I specifically said how our immortality works, but basically, we have unlimited lives. Every time we die, we just reincarnate in another body. It takes a while, however, so we have a choice: if we have something we'd rather do before we reincarnate, we can spend a certain amount of time as spirits. I have been a spirit a few times myself, but we cannot remain like that permanently: at some point, we are forced to find a new body. Humans, on the other hand, do not have that limitation: there are ghosts who have been on  Earth for centuries. According to some stories, some of them even formed families after their deaths."

He took a sip from his glass: "What would you think if I were to introduce you to some spirit friend of mine?"
This message was last edited by the player at 11:43, Sat 07 June 2014.

Zoey looked more confused the more they talked, "What do you mean? Superpowers? Um okay, the last thing I remember I was in the hospital...and then, I think I fell asleep I guess and...and...I don't know...then I was here. What's going on?" She paused for a moment as Jack approached, "Jack, what's happening? Jack? Jack wha-- He can't see me...why can't he see me? What is this? What did you do to me? JACK! JACK?!" Zoey was near screaming for Jack's attention, she started breathing heavily. Her hand grasped her forehead as if trying to shove the thoughts back down. Looking down at the floor she just started shaking her head as her face mixed between pain and confusion.

Jack scrunched his eyes slightly like he was mildly confused.  "Hmm. Unlimited lives?  That is different.  I just thought immortals either aged really slow or repaired injury really fast.  Kinda like Wolverine."  Jack pondered the implications a moment.

"As for meeting your friend, it sounds cool, but I think I have to have 'the sight' to be able to see spirits," Jack said with air quotes. "Either that or be really high on peyote or some other psychogenic substance.  Maybe some other time, Tom." He finished his beer.

"Well, time to go up to my apartment to change. Don't want to be labeled as the uncle that left his kin waiting at the hospital." He smiled at Tom and Krystal.  "I'll be back soon and we can continue our celebration."

Tom projected in a reassuring tone at Zoey: {Calm down girl, your powers take some getting used to, is all. Right now, you are invisible and intangible, which is why Jack and Frank aren't talking to you: they can't see you, they can't hear you, and they can't touch you. Don't worry, we'll have you talking to your friends again in no time, so, please, relax.}

He didn't quite know for a fact that Zoey would be able to manifest so soon after death, but freaking out was not going to help her. In fact, he didn't even know for sure that she was dead-dead: for all he knew, she could be having a near-death experience, or she could have acquired the ability to astral project without knowing it. Unlikely, to be sure, but stranger things had happened. Some of them because of him.

"OK, see you later then." With that, he tipped an imaginary hat at Jack and took another sip from his glass.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:58, Sat 07 June 2014.

Krystal jumped up, "NO! Jack, stop!" Leaning over she touched the tip of her finger to Tom's nose. "Bad kitty." She stopped and pointed to Zoey, "I need you to focus!"

Turning to make sure Jack hadn't left, she grabbed his arm and moved around to stop his path. "You have to remember, Jack. Tom is a cat. He doesn't think like people and so when he's trying to say something it doesn't come out the way a person would say it." She wrapped one hand into both of her's and met his eyes, "You don't need to change, Jack. It doesn't matter what you wear because... you're not going to go see Zoey. She's already here to see you." Krystal blinked back a tear and turned Jack back to Tom. She then pointed at the space next to Tom. "It's okay Zoey. I know Jack can't see you, but it's going to be okay. We're all going to be okay." she looked back at Jack, "She's scared, Jack. She hasn't had time to process this, but then... neither have you. I'm sorry." Goddess help her if she had to say the words. She could only hope one or both of them would figure out first.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:12, Sat 07 June 2014.

Jack looked up at Krystal: "Uh, Krys? You sure you want to do that here? There's a reason I don't transform in full view of everyone..."{...and you know that the first manifestation can be a bit off. Headless ghosts, floating limbs, this one time I even saw a ghost only manifest one side of his body. Wasn't pretty.}
This message was last edited by the player at 12:51, Mon 09 June 2014.

A mix of confusing, concern, and anger flashed behind Jack's eyes as Krystal blocked his way.  "What are you talking about?  Krystal, how much have you been drinking?  You are beginning to scare me a little."  Jack rotated his head as far as it would go in both directions.

"Zoey is NOT here!  I have to pick her up at the hospital soon." Jack said forcefully. "I don't know what kind of twisted game you two are playing. But it is not funny.  Do you supernaturals get off on pranking just humans?  I, I don't have time to meet 'spirit friends'.  Or talk about centuries old ghosts.  Claiming Zoey is here by talking to the empty chair is just ... "

Jack look scared, pulled his hand away and stepped back shaking his head. "No.  NO! Your saying, ... No! It can't be true."  His eyes rimmed red as tears welled up within them.

Zoey stopped all movement for a moment at Krystal's command and she just watched with her eyes reddened by anger and confusion. Finally she shook her head violently, "I don't want superpowers Tom, just make it stop, I don't get it, I don't want this." She stopped herself short as Jack started to get loud. Stepping forward she stood right in front of him and keyed into what he was saying. "Jack...I...I am here, why can't you hear me..." tears welled in his eyes and suddenly tears were streaming down her cheek. Zoey covered her gaping mouth with her hand barely stifling the sounds of her beginning to cry. "Oh god...no...no, no, no, no, no...this can't...I'm not" Zoey buried her face into her arm as she began to sob and gasp for air. She inhaled sharply but couldn't catch her breath, clutching her stomach she tried to breath but all that was coming out was hastened short breathes. As she began to speak again she took sharp breathes between each word, "I am...aren't I...I'm...I'm dead" with those last words finally uttered, Zoey lost all control. She bent over sobbing heavily, barely breathing she lifted her head and looked right into Jack's eyes as he was staring through her, and an instant later she had blinked out of view as if she was never there.

This time Tom widened the range of his telepathic speech: {Alright, guys? Please calm down. For one, we are not sure that Zoey is actually dead, she might just be sleeping for all we know. It's rare, but there are cases where people acquire the ability to astral project after a near-death experience.}

That was technically true... It was also a bit of a white lie, in that while they didn't know for sure, they strongly suspected that Zoey's body was no longer functioning. {Zoey, like it or not, you now have some supernatural powers, and you need to learn to control them. Doing so here could be... Unadvisable. Jack, your niece could really use your help, but only if you can keep your head. Can you do that for her?}

And a beat later: {Or we could do that instead. Jack, Zoey just teleported somewhere else.}
This message was last edited by the player at 12:51, Mon 09 June 2014.

"Tom's right." Krystal said aloud. "Jack, as hard as it is to wrap you head around this, you have to know Zoey is having the same problem. She's scared because she doesn't know why you can't see her just as you're freaking out because you think this is a joke. It's all hitting us just a little too quickly so sit down, have another drink and let's let Tom here sort all this out somehow." She turned and paused at empty air, "Okay. Shes' gone... Oh, let's go! If there's a chance Tom's right she might be back in her body." Krystal knew she had better chances of winning American Idol without ever intending to addition. "I could probably win on the Voice." she said aloud by accident.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:01, Mon 09 June 2014.

"Jack, I know this may look like some kind of twisted joke from the outside, but I promise, it's not. I really, really hope that Zoey is alright, got some great new shiny superpower and will tell you all about it when you go pick her up at the hospital... But realistically, you may want to prepare for some bad news. Just remember, even if she's gone, she's not gone." Though he kept his voice calm, Tom was angry. Chances were, somebody just killed another girl he had tagged as "mine". One he was sure he had saved, no less.

Somebody was in for a universe of pain, as soon as Tom found them.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:56, Mon 09 June 2014.

"Frank. One more, please!" Krystal waved to her glass and forced a smile.



Krystal nodded, listening to Tom and seemed to zone out singing to herself. A nervous habit he'd known her to have since he'd known her. Sometimes she didn't even seem to notice she was doing it.

"No one's ever lost forever
When they die they go away
But they will visit you occasionally
Do not be afraid
No one's ever lost forever
They are caught inside your heart
If you garden them and water them
They make you what you are..."
(source http://youtu.be/ra4zy-IZQHQ?t=2m46s)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Mon 09 June 2014.

Krystal and Tom had been supportive at the bar.  The drink helped, but their combined support could only carry Jack so far.  The possibility that his niece was gone, or not, needed to be resolved.  And a faceless voice over cellular communication was not going to cut it for Jack.  Besides, apparently, he had forgotten to charge the phone.  Inwardly, he hoped and prayed that was the only thing that was dead tonight.

Jack strode through the hospital halls was his head upright, purposefully.  It was how you walked in Chicago, how you crossed the streets, how you didn't attract the attention of random thugs.  If you acted like you have a purpose and a mission, most people dodged around you and left you alone.  It worked for street punks, it worked for cars.  Except cabs.  Everyone gave way to the cabbies.  No one in the hospital questioned his presence as he entered the ICU and went straight to Zoey's room.

The bed was empty.  Jack kind of expected that.  She was to be released soon.  It was possible they had moved her to a regular room once her condition improved.  He turned on his heel and departed the ICU in the same manner he had entered.  He needed information and didn't want to bother the nurses at the ICU desk.  That would open a whole can of worms and would not nearly be as productive.  Jack headed down the flight of stairs and into the main lobby.  The emotions he had forced behind a thin wall were pushing against his resolve.  Jack swallowed hard as he approached the Information Desk.

"Excuse me.  I'm here to see Zoey Granger.  Can you tell me what room she is in.  I am her uncle." Jack swallowed again and blinked his eyes clear.  He held his breath as he waited for the reply.

There were two women at the Information Desk. The younger of the two was obviously a trainee. She was blonde and in her twenties. The older woman had dark hair, with gray highlights. While the trainee was all smiles, the older woman appeared a bit frazzled. She was handing paperwork off to one staff person, while accepting some forms from somebody else, all while talking on the phone. "No sir. I'm sorry, we can't help you. We don't have any control over that."

The younger woman nodded at Jack when he made his query. "Sure." She looked toward her trainer.

The older woman was just hanging up the phone. "Call up her name on the computer, the system will tell you where she currently is." As she went to replace the receiver, she knocked over a cup and spilled coffee all over her skirt. She let out a frustrated sigh. "I'll be right back." She quickly walked to the restroom.

The younger woman tacked on the keyboard. "There she is. It says Zoey Granger is in OR 2. Dr. K. Rowe is performing surgery on her." She pointed toward the elevators. "That's on the 4th floor. The nurse's station there should be able to help you further."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:53, Thu 12 June 2014.

Jack let out his held breath in a rush. "She's in surgery? That's great! Thank you, thank you very much." Jack moved quickly to the elevators and pressed the button. He bounced impatiently for it.  "Poor girl is probably confused as to why I'm so happy that Zoey is in surgery.  Damn, hospital elevators seem so slow."

Jack took a moment to get his bearings on the fourth floor.  His elation of the news in the lobby had converted into concern by the time he reached the surgery nurse's station. What had gone wrong?  She was to be released soon.  He spoke to the person behind the desk.  "Hi. I'm Jack Jennings, Zoey Granger's uncle.  I understand that Zoey is in surgery at this time.  Can you please give me an update?"

The nurse typed on her computer. "She's still in surgery with... Dr. Rowe." She paused for a moment. "You're her uncle? No one has spoken to you?" She didn't really wait for an answer. "Why don't you have a seat over there. I'll have somebody come talk to you shortly."

To Jack, the wait probably felt much longer than it actually was, but finally a woman approached him. She was in her late thirties and dressed in a suit, not hospital scrubs. "My name is  Claire Wilson," she said as she sat down next to Jack. "You said you're miss Granger's uncle? We didn't see any next of kin listed on her records. I'm very sorry. Someone should have spoken to you."

"Your niece experienced sudden cardiac arrest. Her heart was eventually artificially restarted, but I'm afraid the damage was too great. She was declared brain dead a few hours ago."

Jack shook his head no.  He started to stand, but slumped back into the chair.  "But she was to be released today.  I spoke to her.  She was to be released." 

Jack broke down sobbing and repeated that last line, over and over.

"I am very sorry. The doctors did everything they could." Ms. Wilson said softly. "While nothing can truly ease the pain of losing a loved one, perhaps you can take some small comfort in knowing that your niece was an organ donor. Her selfless act will change the lives of three other people. To think of the needs of others in that way, she must have been a very special person. I am sorry for your loss."

Zoey stood in the halls of the hospital, she could see the back of Jack as he left. She stepped forward to go after him but stopped short, "Not like he can see me..." She let out a grunt of frustration and just started walking, aimlessly but quickly. "So it's true, I'm really dea--I can't-- Not yet, I don't know, how did this happen? Alright, alright, I've read about this stuff, it's not so bad, right? Is it? I don't know, now I wish I'd read more. Tom and Krystal know stuff, maybe I can see them again, I don't even know how I got here, how the hell am I supposed to get there...Maybe this is all just one big screwed up dream, well guess what, I'M READY TO WAKE UP NOW!!" Zoey collapsed into a chair. As she clutched her head, tears started slowly running down her cheeks again. "I don't get it..." She looked up to see someone sitting next to her, completely unaware of her presence. Zoey gazed into the woman's eyes and waved her hand in front of her face, "This is insane" she shook her head in disbelief when suddenly she realized another woman was approaching to sit where Zoey was "sitting", she shot up out of the seat quickly and evaded the woman, terrified of what almost happened.

"Good news honey, he's out of surgery, they said he's gonna be okay"

Zoey watched as the two women celebrated and hugged and cried, all Zoey could do was run in the opposite direction. Her whole body was so full of emotions she was practically shaking as she started to wander the halls again.

Zoey walked past another room in the ICU. An elderly man was standing over someone in the bed. He looked up to see Zoey wandering aimlessly in the hallway. After watching her for a moment, he moved to the doorway. "You don't want to stay here, hon."

Zoey wiped a few tears from her face and turned around, she stared for a second trying to confirm if the man was really looking at her. "You can see me? What are you, another cat person or something?"

The man gave her a puzzled look. "No. I preferred dogs, but I don't think that matters. I can see you and you can see me, because we're alike."

Zoey thought for a moment, "We're alike? You mean like?...oh umm so what does this mean? Is this it? This is our whole existence now? I mean really? No pearly gates, or burning fire we just continue to be stuck here unseen?"

"No, this is in-between. Just a stop along the way. Most people move on almost immediately. Some have a reason to linger. For me, that's Annie." He pointed to the elderly woman sleeping in the bed. "I passed on five years ago, but I decided to wait for her. I don't know where we go from here, but we're going to go together." His face was full of adoration as he gazed at the woman.

He returned his attention to Zoey. "Others get stuck. They're confused. Some of them don't even realize they've died. It's sad."

"There's a reason you're still here. If you can figure out what that is, and resolve it, then you can move on. In the meantime, you need to find an anchor. For me it was my wife but, most spirits prefer to anchor themselves to a place. It's easier. Just... don't linger at the hospital too long. You can get stuck here. Hospitals are full of unhappy and addled spirits. It's a miserable existence."

Zoey peered into the room and looked at Annie, she smiled as most of the anger faded away from her face. She just imagined his little love story and for a moment forgot about her predicament. As he continued on she turned back to him, "But I don't know why I'm here, literally I don't even know how I got to the hospital, I was first in a bar talking to my friends and then poof I'm here. You make it sound like these are all choices. I didn't decide to linger, I didn't choose to be in the hospital I can't imagine how I'd 'anchor' myself and I don't have anything to resolve. All of this is just happening to me, I don't seem to have any control over anything" Zoey looked frustrated again the more she thought about it.

"It can be like that sometimes, especially when death comes suddenly." He gave her a sympathetic smile. "You're very young. I'm sure you weren't expecting this. For people our age," he gestured towards himself and his wife. "Not only is death expected and planned for, but it can sometimes be a relief."

"Your spirit is getting pulled to places against your wishes, because you haven't taken control. It's really just a matter of your strength of will. He wrinkled his brow as he paused to think for a moment. "What makes you feel safe or happy? Is it a person, a place, or an object?"

Zoey thought for a moment, "Hmmn I don't know, I mean I don't have a lot of friends or family but I had recently started getting close to my uncle, there's my music and computer work but I don't think that's what you mean." Zoey scrunched her face as she pondered some more, "Yknow what, there is this bar...uh that's not what it sounds like, I DJ there, all my friends and even my uncle frequent there, its always felt homey in a weird way. When I play my music and watch the people go, my mind can just get lost in the crowd, I love it. That's actually where I was before I was suddenly here..."

"A place where everybody knows your name?" He smiled at his little joke, oblivious to the fact that Zoey was probably too young to have seen the television show he was quoting. "You were there before you came here? Is that where you passed on? Many spirits anchor to their place of death. Some by choice, others get stuck. The place of death can create a powerful bond. If you focus on the moment of your passing, you will be drawn to where you died. If you dwell on your death too much, there is a risk of getting caught in a loop where you keep reliving it. I don't recommend that. However, if yours was a happy place for you, that won't happen. I suggest you use it. "

"Close your eyes and concentrate. Remember, it depends on your strength of will. Think of your happy place. Just like in Peter Pan - think of a wonderful thought!" He chuckled to himself.

Zoey smiled and listened closely as the man spoke, she nodded calmly and took a deep breath."If you say so..." she closed her eyes and concentrated. Slowly the man's laughter began to sound distant, when she couldn't hear it anymore she opened her eyes and saw the inside of the Liar's Club.

"Whoa, I can't believe that worked. I shoulda gotten that guy's name..." Frank was the only one inside, his face was full of sadness, as Zoey looked at him her smile faded. "Oh Frank...you were always good to me, I can't believe that that was it, my whole journey...the last time I'll ever play here, the last time I get to snarkily make you listen to pop music." she smirked slightly as she got closer. He was writing on a piece of paper that he then crossed the room to attach to the door. Zoey strained her neck but managed to glimpse the right side, it read "Closed due to a death in the family" Zoey lowered her head and couldn't help but walk away.

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in a river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

If I Die Young ~ The Band Perry

It was a small, intimate funeral. A few casual friends of Zoey's had shown up, along with some of the Liar's Club regulars. Most of the employees from the bar had come. Zoey's last foster family was also there. They sat near the front. Jack's ex-wife, Carly, sat near the back.

The service was kept brief. Jack could not bring himself to speak, so Frank said a few words. It was the first time anyone could recall seeing Frank in a suit. He had his hair neatly pulled back into a ponytail and was wearing dark sunglasses. Frank spoke of Zoey with great affection. After sharing a couple of amusing stories about her, Frank performed a song with his guitar.

"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right,
I hope you had the time of your life."

Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) ~ Green Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjH3Jaohij8

Frank, Jack, and some other guys who worked at the Liar's Club were the pallbearers. Most of the young people left right after the service, so it was an even smaller crowd at the cemetery. When the graveside service was done, Zoey's former foster family politely shook Jack's hand. As they headed to their car, the woman said to her husband. "I wish I could say I was surprised, but I kind of always knew she'd end up this way."

Frank gave Jack a nod as he left. "I'll see you at the bar." Frank had offered to host a gathering at Liar's after the service.

"Thanks Frank. I'll be there in a bit." Jack said as Frank left.  Jack paced back and forth slowly along the length of the grave.  He tried to control his anger.  "...'I knew she would end up this way,'" he mocked the foster female. To label her a foster mother was an insult to mothers everywhere.  "Bitch! You better not show up to the bar for free drinks," he said under his breath.

Jack stopped pacing and knelt down near the grave's temporary marker.  The actual headstone was ordered, but it would be a couple of weeks before it was ready.  He blew out a deep breath to center himself as the gently smoothed the edge of the hole.  Zoey's wood coffin looked nice in it's final placement.  Grave diggers would cover her later today.

"I will get to the bottom of this Zoey.  I will find out what happened to you.  And if there is someone or something responsable, I will get justice for you.  This I vow." Jack said solemnly.

Zoey reflexively stood very quiet during the services and just watched from a safe distance. As people dispersed she approached behind Jack, "Hey...it's okay, yeah they're not great people but I got out of that life and I found you, you've been more family than I'd had in a long time..." Zoey walked up to Jack as he was kneeling down, she reached her hand out in comfort to touch his shoulder before stopping herself just short. She sighed in frustration and backed away from him. "It'll be okay, I'm okay" she said in attempts to give some reassurance but she hesitated for a moment and realized she wasn't reassuring him, with a slightly different tone she spoke to herself now, "I'm okay" but even Zoey didn't know if she believed herself yet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:53, Sat 12 July 2014.

{Yes, dear, it will be okay.} Tom's telepathic voice sounded reassuring in Zoey's mind. {My race has been doing this for millennia, and Krys has helped her share of the... Vitally challenged, I supposed is the PC term.}

He was still in human form, though he expected to be able to revert soon enough. "Jack? I would like to talk you for a moment?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:27, Sun 13 July 2014.

During Frank's song, Krystal couldn't help but quietly sing along. While many were wearing black, she'd actually worn an white summer dress with a silver belt. It was a stark contrast to what she normally wore so anyone who'd seen her more than once would know this was a dramatic change. She didn't have white rimmed sunglasses so those and her hair would have to remain dark.

When the service was over and everyone had finally cleared out, Krystal went through her own small ritual. A few silent prayers later she approached the open space and knelt ignoring any potential grass stains, grabbed a hand full of Earth and scattered it across the coffin's surface. Next one of her rings was removed and added. Finally a small metal flask was pulled from a simple white clutch and a few sprinkles added to complete her own rites.

"There's usually a white candle but I forgot it." she said, as if muttering to herself. "Sorry." Walking up next to Tom, but behind Jack she said, "You were her family, Jack. Her real family." She touched the shoulder Joey had been reaching for, gave him a slight squeeze of reassurance and then slipped away by taking a large step back and folding her hands in reverence.

Krystal finished her ritual and gently squeezed Jack's shoulder.  "Thank you Krystal. That means a lot to me."

Tom pulled his glasses out of his pocket, and handed them to Jack: "First, I would like you to wear these. I am not entirely sure they will work for you, since you are not a mage, but they might. It will make things easier if they do."

Jack accepted the glasses from Tom. They just seemed to be normal glasses to him. "These are those magic, see someone's aura, glasses you used at the club. I expected them to shock me or feel warm to the touch."

He fiddled with the spectacles a bit. "So all I have to do it put them on and I can see your life force. Well, here goes nothing" Jack slipped the glasses on and looked intently at both Tom and Krystal. Jack took his time. He moved his head slowly,  between the both of them pausing to focus on them directly and just at the edge of their bodies. "Wow," he said. Jack looked at his own hands and arms. He looked at the space where no one was standing as well.

"Wow, that confirms it, I believe.  I am 100% normal human." Jack took the glasses off and handed them back to Tom. "I got nothing Tom, but thanks for trying to help. But I appear to not have a single supernatural element in me. That's okay. I don't need to see auras or magical energy. I know it exists and that is enough for me."
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:16, Mon 14 July 2014.

Zoey turned back around and wiped a tear from her face as Tom "spoke" to her, she looked slightly surprised. She managed a small smile and nodded. "I forgot for a moment that you guys could still see me..."

She watched Krystal speak the words she had tried to, "Thank you Krys, both of you" she added as she looked at Tom as well. "I don't know what mess I'd be in if I hadn't just met you guys before -- It's easier with you here" She said firmly. She stood there silent for a moment as Tom gave Jack the glasses. She waited as he put them on and for a moment as he looked around she smiled, full of hope, "I'm right here Jack" his eyes met hers for a moment and she just stood there smiling back, she opened her mouth to speak again as he took them off, she looked defeated but she mustered up the strength to remain standing among them with a few deep breaths.

A trace of disappointment flickered on Tom's face, and he unconsciously lifted a hand to pull on his ear: "That would have made things easier. We'll do it the hard way then."

Taking the glasses back from Jack, Tom switched to telepathy again, making sure to include Zoey, Jack and Krystal: {You remember that we saw Zoey at the bar. You know that she's not quite gone. Being a ghost for the first time is not easy, took me a few reincarnations to get the hang of it. Until then, it would really help Zoey if she could rely on you, even though you can't see her. Krys and I will help her learn how to use her powers, but this may take a while. I cannot promise you will be able to see her anytime soon, and until then you will need a "translator".}

A small part of Jack and Zoey's mind couldn't help but notice a small factoid about telepathy: you can actually hear quote marks in your head.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:09, Tue 15 July 2014.

Carly walked over as the rest of the mourners were leaving. She was wearing a simple, black dress. Her red hair was draped loosely about her shoulders and down her back. "Jack, I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

Jack hugged Carly back, firmly at first and just a moment or two longer then a simple greeting from a friend.  But he released her and allowed the separation to naturally happen.  "Carly, Thank you.  Thank you for coming.  I'm glad you made it.  It's been what, two - almost three weeks since I've seen you.  I'm glad you got my message.  Zoey liked you and would be glad you came."

Jack hung his head a second then looked up at Carly again. "I'm sorry, manners.  These are a couple of friends."  He gestured toward each as Jack named them. "This is Krystal, and this is Tom.  Tom and Krystal, this is my wi-  ex-wife, Carly."

"I wish I had known her better," Carly said as Jack released the embrace. She gave a nod to Krys and Tom. "Nice to meet you. I wish it were under different circumstances."

"How are you doing?" Carly asked as she returned her attention to her ex-husband. She sounded genuinely concerned. "If there's anything I can do, just let me know."

Jack shrugged and replied, "About as well as can be expected under the circumstances.  It hit me hard at first.  This was so unexpected."

Jack paused and then continued.  "The thing is, it was too unexpected.  I don't know if there is any criminal intent here, but something about it just doesn't set well with me.  Zoey was young and healthy.  She wasn't on drugs.  So what happened?  The hospital's explanation ... well, let's just say I have unanswered questions.  And I'm not too sure what the right question is."

Jack clasped his hands together and rubbed them slightly.  "I don't want to get into it here, but I may take you up on your offer.  If I can figure out what it is I want to know.  Would it be ok to maybe call you later?"

"The death of someone so young is always unexpected." Carly's expression switched from one of compassion to confusion. "Criminal intent?" She looked away from Jack and stared at the ground. "I assume you're going to Frank's when you leave here. Maybe you should call me tomorrow." She didn't add, when you've sobered up, but it was strongly implied. "If there's anything suspicious going on, I promise we'll look into it." Carly sounded sincere, but her voice had lost some of its warmth. She gave another nod to Krys and Tom before giving Jack one last sad look. "Take care." Carly walked away and headed toward her car.
This message was last updated by the player at 18:48, Thu 17 July 2014.

Zoey watched as Carly walked away and then turned to Jack, "Well that certainly could've gone worse, it was nice that she came though." she paused for a moment before looking around. "This is all so weird, you said it gets better didn't you? When? When does it get better?" she spoke this time directed toward Tom.

She sighed, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to-- I know it's not your fault. It's just a lot to process still. Yknow normally on a day like today I would just go home and relax all my cares away but now-- oh crap...home, JP! No one has been there to check on him or anything, umm my bird...I really hate to ask this but who knows how long it'll be before the cops go to look at the place" A look of even bigger shock and worry crossed her face, "Oh god! The cops! They're gonna look there eventually, okay so this is even more awkward but I kinda need someone to get there sooner than they do..." she smiled hopefully.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:16, Fri 18 July 2014.

Krystal, doing her best impression of window glare, jumped off her seat and nodded to no one. "Right! Come on Jack. I need you to drive me to Zoey's place." She put on he sunglasses and looked Tom over, "Have you eaten? I don't want any natural predatory instincts to burst out around JP. This is a rescue operation, not a drive thru." She grabbed her cigarettes, lighter, black shawl and awkwardly stuffed everything into a small purse as if the actions were still alien to her.

"Sooo, what else are we looking for or is this a fewer the better type of thing. I mean, if anything happens to me Tom has instructions to throw out certain DVD cases before my parents pack up my stuff."

"Asking the cat to take care of the bird... Just this once, I'll avoid snacking on the pet, but Krys is really your girl for this kind of thing." He looked at the confused Jack: "Right, translation... Zoey asked us to take care of a few things for her. Which leads to the question of how we are going to enter the apartment in the first place..."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:40, Fri 18 July 2014.

"I may have that covered Tom."  They reached Jack's car parked on the side of the cemetery road.  Jack opened the trunk and retrieved a big puffy sealed envelope.  He pulled out a small pen knife, slit the tape and opened one end.  Jack's hand rooted around inside and from the bottom he retrieved a set of keys. "Zoey's stuff.  The hospital gave them to me the other day.  I tossed it back here and kind of forgot about it."

Everyone got into the car and Jack headed to Zoey's apartment.  "I hope JP is ok.  I feel really stupid that I forgot about him.  He should be.  He is a hearty bird. Will probably outlive us all." Jack shot a glance at Tom and Krystal.  "Okay, outlive me at least."

At the next stoplight, Jack said, "I want to talk to someone at the coroner's office.  The hospital still hasn't told me what went wrong.  I was getting updates on her condition, statements on her bloodwork, and then nothing.  I get vague answers or 'I don't know, ask Dr. So n so.'  I'm being stonewalled.  It is like they have gone into butt-covering mode and that usually means someone screwed up."

The light turned green and Jack continued to drive and rant. "I haven't even heard a cause of death.  Do you know how hard it will be to settle her final affairs without that?  The coroner should be able to tell me.  He shouldn't be worried about his job because he didn't screw anything up. That has got to be what is going on here.  It just doesn't add up.  She fell ill suddenly without any apparent cause.  She began to respond well to the treatment. And then she was lost.  Kind of like that Ashley girl case.  Hospital report said Ashley was drunk off her ass.  Yet everyone we spoke to said that was not the case."

Jack signaled and made a left turn at the next intersection.  "It just doesn't add up."

Zoey stood graveside still, she wasn't ready to attempt riding in the car with the others she only hoped she could "catch up" the way she had promised. She closed her eyes and thought of home taking a deep breath "Okay so he said it should work just like....this!" She opened her eyes and quickly realized she was back at the bar instead. "Damnit, I thought I had it...well I hope they figure out what I need them to do."

Calling Zoey's place an apartment was generous. It was a small room with very sparse furnishings. There was a fridge that looked like it was fifty years old on the left wall. Next to it was a small counter with a tiny sink and hot-plate. A dirty plate and glass could be found in the sink.

In the center of the room was a card table that was home to a box of cereal, a bag of chips, and a package of cookies. On the right wall was a twin bed, unmade and adorned with several pillows. At the foot of the bed was the large bird cage that was home to an African Grey Parrot. At the sound of the door opening, the bird squawked and then said, "Welcome to my nightmare."

The bathroom could be seen through an open door in the back left corner. There was a narrow shower, because it wasn't big enough for a tub. A curtain was hung along the back wall, stretching from the corner of the bathroom all the way to the other end of the apartment. The curtain was probably used to create a closet space behind it. The whole place was dark since there was only one small window.

Jack went straight for the bird.  "JP! I am sooo sorry. Hi there pretty bird. Remember me?"  The cage was a mess. The food bin was empty as was the water bottle, but that was still damp. Hopefully he ran out of water just this morning.

"Guys, I will attend to JP here.  If I could ask you to, I don't know, straighten up a bit?  Is Zoey here? Ask her what other 'things' she wants us to take care of."

First, Jack lifted the water bottle out of the holder, cleaned, refilled and replaced it. Next was the food bin. Jack thought about just letting JP out to stretch, but a quick look at Tom and he dismissed the idea.  "I was going to let him out, but I think he may get spooked with strangers here and Zoey isn't." Jack said as an excuse.

Finally, he attended to the bottom of the cage.  In short order, JP's home was refreshed and refurbished.

Tom, who had remained in cat form through the trip and onyl had retaken human form before they came up, replied: "There are a few things we promised Zoey we'd do... I'll take care of them. Other than that, I should warn you that neither of us is particularly good at housekeeping."

JP looked up as Tom moved closer to the cage. Suddenly the bird began to flap its wings and hop around while squawking, "Redrum. Redrum. REDRUM!" It appeared to be frightened and on the verge of panic. Apparently, JP sensed that Tom was a natural predator.

Jack positioned himself between Tom and JP.  "Tom, I think you should keep your distance from JP.  Easy JP.  He doesn't want to get you.  Calm down pretty bird."

Jack considered covering the cage, but figured JP would still be able to smell Tom.  At least this way he would be able to keep his eyes on the Bast.

"I'm not looking for this to become the standards of a Hilton.  I just want to be able to look around without breaking anything.  Wash the dishes so she doesn't get any bugs, straighten the sheets incase we want to use the bed to spread out some stuff.  I'm going to have to talk to the building super to see how long we have to move her out..."  Jack blinked back a sudden rush of emotions.

"I'm talking like we are simply moving her.  What does Zoey say she wants us to get?  I will take care of JP for now for sure.  Clearly he can't go to your place."

When Jack's emotions started to get the better of him she reached out to rub the back of his right arm but kept her space. "It's okay. Take your time. There's no rush." turning her attention to the "closet" Krystal almost pulled it aside but decided to go in first saying, "I think my bedroom in Austin was bigger than this apartment. I hope the rent was low."

Instead of clothing and other items commonly found in a closet, what Krystal found behind the curtain was a collection of high tech computer equipment. Browsing some of the files on the computer revealed that Zoey had a side business where she made and sold fake IDs. A lot of her customers were Paras who needed the papers to pass as human. It was clear from a couple of emails that Zoey used a drop box and never met her customers face to face. She went by the nickname "Phoenix" and nobody knew who she really was.

Tom swore under his breath: "Did not see that coming."

Krystal just looked at all the equipment for a long moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we can do this." she started to power the computer down and thinking out loud, "I can talk to Zoey, she can arm chair quarterback me. The people she's helping can still get the help and they'll be none the wiser. We can do this."

She started to unplug things after the main computer had shut down and followed the cords back to devices they were connect to and making a mental check list as best she could. "Come on, we need to load all this up. Jack, can we fit all this in your car?"

"That can't be. That just can't be."  Jack was dumbfounded.  The only thing that kept his chin from hitting the floor was that his jaw was short.

"I never knew.  Hell, I never suspected."  Jack looked over Krystal's shoulder, ran his fingers lightly over the forms and equipment.

"My website, INS, had run articles, covered news stories about this hacker, the 'Phoenix'.  He has ... she has quite a reputation.  As a hacker, he - she is very good.  'Phoenix' had hacked into some pretty high tech security systems and mainframes.  Although, after a breach was discovered,  there was a huge potential for massive cyber damage.  But the 'Phoenix's' motives seemingly were not massive theft or cyber-terrorism.  All the indications were that the 'Phoenix' was a Paranormal sympathizer.  Most of the investigative work was focused toward the Phoenix being a Para themselves.  Hell, I remember telling Zoey that.  She would occasionally get the scoop before I submitted my story.  And all along it was my unassuming niece."  Jack shook his head in disbelief.

"She always did seem to be more interested in my Phoenix bits.  She even got a tattoo of a Phoenix on her back, on her right shoulder.  I thought it was symbology for leaving her life as a foster kid behind and being reborn anew."  Jack stepped away from the cache and sat down.  His face was that of a purely flummoxed individual.



Jack blinked and stood.  "Yeah, it will all fit.  I got a trunk that can sleep two in it. JP is coming with as well.  Someone may have to hold his cage on their lap though.  I want to try and get this all out in one trip.  Just in case."

Tom noded in agreemnt: "Right, I'll help you guys carry this, then shift back. That will save some space. We should probably move Zoey's stuff to our apartment for now... I think I can spare some room, it's not like I take up much space."

He chuckled: "Think she'll give me a discount on my next id renewal?"

As he helped Krystal carefully disconnect everything, he continued: "You may have been right on that phoenix tattoo, Jack... Wait, did you say on her right shoulder? Back at the bar, when I replayed the scene of the attack... The magic burst came from her right shoulder."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:18, Sun 27 July 2014.

Krystal paused when she realized how heavy the card printer was, and quickly covered it up by asking, "Wait. Where was the first victim attacked. Stomach? Maybe there's something on her around her stomach that we didn't think to look. Hey, Jack, is there any chance you can load this printer and then get the medical report for the first girl from Taboo? I'm wondering if Zoey and she were actually connected, they just didn't know they were."

"The Phoenix tattoo is about this big." Jack held his hands to form a small circle.  "Yeah, I'm sure it is on her right shoulder on her back.  Just ask her, she will show you,   if she can. Do you think that had anything to do with Zoey getting sick?  I can talk to the morgue. Maybe Ashley had a tummy tattoo.  That could be our link."

Jack strained to lifted the card printer. He set it back down a moment to adjust his hand positions. "Jesus, this is heaver than it looks."  He lugged it down to his car and returned for more stuff.

"The Phoenix never met her clients. It could be that Ashely and Zoey were both helping Paras in some say. And the doesn't have to have a tattoo, but something else. I don't know... like... maybe someone sees an item and uses that as a ritual link. I'll have to see if it's possible, but if someone can get the a matching navel ring or tattoo ink and target you with that as opposed to straight DNA..." Krystal trailed off then shuddered at the thought. A Sniper-Spell? "I'll have to check my books."

After dropping Zoey's computer equipment off at Kris and Tom's, the trio took JP to Jack's apartment above the Liar's Club bar. Once the bird was settled in, they joined the crowd downstairs that had come to toast Zoey. Frank had somebody playing Zoey's favorite mixes, even the ones that used to grate on his nerves. The gathering was more a celebration of life, so it was less somber than the funeral had been. It was a small and intimate group. Zoey didn't have many close friends but, clearly the ones she did have were going to miss her.

Tom looked around, searching for Zoey. She had been at her funeral, chances are she would be here as well.

He had been uncharacteristically quiet through the trip, meditating on Krystal's words.

At first the wake was a really weird experience for Zoey, she didn't know how to handle it, all these people here to celebrate her and reminisce, yet she didn't feel like she'd left anyone. She was still in the middle of the room, standing among them, speaking to them, but none of them knew it. It wasn't a very big crowd because as she soon realized some of her closest friends didn't even know she was dead. She'd helped so many people disappear, she'd never thought to prepare for the day that she'd be gone to the world. She stood in the bar for a moment just thinking to herself, acknowledging the irony of how she'd spent so long hiding in plain sight that now when she wanted to be heard most, no one could hear her screaming right in front of them. As her music played, she couldn't help but smile, she saw the crowd migrate to the dance floor. She saw the love in the few but very important faces and watched one of the things she loved the most, making them dance, making them happy, making them feel what she felt through her mixes, and with all her overwhelming emotions for the first time she joined them in celebrating herself.

By the time the others had arrived back at the wake, Zoey could be seen in the middle of the dance floor, dancing like she was having the biggest blast of her life. She spun and caught a glimpse of them standing in the doorway. She stopped quickly as reality settled back in, her smile faded slightly and she approached. "Hey, your back. I'm assuming you guys got everything... Let's talk upstairs in Jack's place, there'll be uhh less distractions up there" She said as she made a quick glance around the bar.

Rather uncharacteristically, Jack did not sit at his place at the bar.  Nor did he grab a brew.  After a rather short bit of time, Jack leaned in to both Tom and Krystal's ears.  It wasn't because the music was too loud, more to the point, he just didn't want to be overheard.

"Hey, with what we have just learned and suspect, I would feel better if talked it out a bit.  I want to jot down what we are thinking before it gets jumbled and lost.  We should sneak out of this gathering for a bit and talk up in my apartment.  Follow me." Jack nodded his head to the door that led to the stairwell for the apartments above the Lair' Club.  Jack unlocked the door and led Krystal and the Bast up the stairs to the third floor.  Jack opened the door and was briefly startled by JP fluttering in his cage.

"Come in and make yourself at home," Jack said. The room was sparsely decorated with second-hand store pictures on the wall. The  dull green vertically striped wallpaper was both old and not well hung in the first place.  A large overstuffed brown couch sat in front of a wooden coffee table, covered in paper.  A well used leather recliner was next to the couch.  Across the room was a huge 32 inch tube TV and a large cluttered rolltop desk.  The three windows were appointed with off white pulldown vinyl shades tinted with years of second hand smoke.  A window air conditioner mounted in the middle window hummed continuously.   It kept the room cool enough except for the hottest of days.  The airfilter within had long since given up the fight to cleanse the air.  The ceiling in the room was actually stamped tin inlayed with a interesting pattern.  It was quite old and would have been both beautiful and expensive if it hadn't been painted white years ago and several times.  A bit dingy, old, life of a unaccompanied male, the apartment was still somewhat homey and clean-ish.

Jack moved away from the door to quickly scoop up several randomly tossed newspapers.  He placed them into the open pizza box, complete with the remnants of a former dinner. Box and papers went quickly into the trashcan.  Places to seat were already clear of any debris.  Evidently, there was some remaining habits from Jack's former married life still intact.  Jack pulled the desk chair over to the coffee table and sat down.

"Well, what are you guys thinking?  How can a tattoo be linked to a magic 'burst'?  And for what purpose?  Terrorism?  Unlikely, only she was hurt. Assassination?  possible, why and who?" Jack asked Krystal and Tom.

As Jack had suggested, Tom made himself at home - meaning, he switched back to cat form - before replying: {Well, first I think Zoey needs an update... Allow me.}

He quickly explained to Zoey what they had discovered, and guessed, so far. {By the way, Zoey, do you think Phoenix will cut me a deal next time I renew my id? We are hoping to keep... Him... In business.}
This message was last edited by the player at 09:56, Wed 30 July 2014.

JP looked up as everyone entered Jack's apartment. "Heeeeeeere's Zoey!" When Tom entered in cat form, JP hissed.

"Zoey must have taught him to say a lot. He knows a lot of words and phrases."  Jack looked at the bird in the cage.  "Is Zoey here now?  JP said 'Here's Zoey' but those are just words he knows, right?  Or is it possible JP can sense her presence?"

One of Tom's ears twitched. {He might just have heard us call her name. What do you say, little one? Can you see our friend?} He was looking at the bird, who did not look particularly reassured by the friendly tone.

He sat down, which made him look much like one of the Bastet statuettes: {I have been thinking about Krystal's suspicions. What she suggests is... Possible. Much like how it is possible for a man to lift a car. It is also somewhat more unlikely than a man lifting a car: I've heard of men lifting cars, and I have heard of powerful, skilled magicians killing through sympathetic magic. I've never heard of magicians, or supernaturals, powerful and skilled enough to use such a watered-down sympathetic link to actually kill. Still, technically, it is possible. Also, if true, this thing can probably kill you with a sneeze. Just saying.}
This message was last edited by the player at 05:36, Thu 31 July 2014.

Zoey smiled and approached the bird, "Hey JP, I hope you won't miss me too much..." she turned her attention back to the others and listened closely. She smirked at Tom, "Yeah I'm sure we could arrange something. It'd be great to keep Her in business, though I don't know how...As far as your theories I'm afraid I can't offer much help as to what happened to me..." she stopped and looked at Jack. "Hey, how did he take the news anyway? Y'know about finding out who I am and all"

Krystal smiled, and just turned to Jack. "Zoey's curious how you took the news about her being the Phoenix. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I thought you were... surprised. Maybe a little hurt that you'd even talked to her about it without even realizing you were talking to the subject of your investigation about the investigation. That about right?"

On the topic of the magic she added, <purple>"What we need it to check out the body. See if there is an anomaly. All we have is a theory so far. If that comes up a dead end, we go back to the drawing board."<purple>

Jack looked around the room briefly, but settled his gaze on JP.  He had a slight smile and looked content.  "Yes, Krystal.  That would be a fair assessment.  Zoey, I never suspected.  I think, I feel that you were doing good things.  And I guess that we should try to figure out a way to keep doing the Phoenix's work."

Jack faced Krystal and the cat.  "I guess that work will be up to you two mostly.  The less I know about this, the less I can spill to the wrong ears.  I have been known to get chatty sometimes if I drink too much.  I could maybe help out with some computer stuff, but I am no hacker.  I do have some contacts we could exploit, if needed."

Jack got up and went to the desk.  He rifled through a cubby slot and pulled out a steno pad. Jack flipped quickly through the pages till he found what he was hunting for.  He held the pad up triumphantly.  "We should go to the morgue, and I know just who to talk with." He read his notes aloud.   "Ben Caulfield, Cook County Morgue. He was with us at Tabú.  We should foster that connection.  I can see if he will share some details of the coroner's report."

He set down the pad and grabbed his pack of smokes from the top of the desk, placed a Camel to his lips, but stopped short of lighting it when JP's movement got Jack's attention.  "Son of a bitch!  Jack glared briefly at the bird.  "I will take care of JP for you, Zoey.  Even if that means I can't smoke in my home. But man."  Jack put the cigarette back into the pack.

Lying here in the morgue is
Cold and really nice
I might be dead
But I might be alive
But I’m freezing to death in the morgue
Death in, death in the morgue
I’m freezing to death in the morgue
Freezing, frrr frrrr freezing

Dead in the morgue

Freezer ~ Grinspoon

Jack asked for Ben Caulfield and was told that he worked the night shift at the morgue. Jack would have to come back later to speak to him. That gave Zoey some time to practice travelling with the group.



The Cook County Morgue was a cold, gray building. It seemed even creepier in the dark. It was after hours and the security guard didn't want to let them in but, Jack lied and said Ben should be expecting him. The guard eyed the group suspiciously as he let them wait in the lobby while he called Ben.

Ben came out to the lobby looking a bit confused. "Somebody asked for me, specifically? he asked the guard. He was wearing a Siouxsie and the Banshees t-shirt and jeans under his unbuttoned lab coat. His hair was sporting a kind of bed-head look. The guard pointed to the trio standing in the lobby.

Ben stared at them for a moment, until a few memory cells must have finally woken up. The puzzled expression on his face faded as he walked over to them. "From the club, right? Where the girl collapsed."

Jack extended his hand and closed the space between him and Ben.  "That's right!  Jack Jennings.  You remember Krystal and Tom."  Jack shook Ben's hand as he reintroduced the others.

Jack leaned in and placed his hand gently onto Ben's shoulder as if they were friends.  "Is there somewhere we can talk?"  Jack did a quick glance at the security guard.  Quietly, Jack said  "I actually want to talk to you on a different matter.  A personal matter.  My niece, Zoey Granger, just passed away and your office would have to have gotten involved."

"Your niece? I'm sorry to hear that." Ben's face was a mix of compassion and confusion. "You'd probably be better off coming back during the day and talking to the Medical Examiner but, um sure. Why don't you come this way." He led them away from the lobby and down a hallway. Ben opened a door to a lab area and walked over to a desk along the wall. He pulled the chair out from the desk and offered it to Jack. He grabbed a couple of other chairs from some lab stations and brought them over for Krys and Tom. He grabbed one of those stools seen in doctor's exam offices for himself. Once everyone was seated, Ben looked at Jack. "How can I help?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:18, Sun 03 Aug 2014.

Jack began his inquiry calmly.  "Well, as I said, my niece passed away recently over at Thorek Memorial hospital. And I have some questions regarding the circumstances of first her illness, and then her death.  She was a healthy young woman, not on drugs, didn't smoke, and no known medical conditions.  Last week she just collapses, is rushed to Thorek Memorial in grave condition.  However, after being touch and go, she responds to treatment and is set to be released.  And then suddenly she dies."

Jack took a deep breath and continued.  "I asked the doctor's what happened and what appeared to cause this in the first place, but I'm getting stonewalled.  She was the last living relative I know that I have.  I want some answers.  I understand that your office would have to have done an autopsy and should have made a determination as to cause of death.  I don't want to have to go the route of getting a court order if it can be avoided.  Since we met once before, I knew that I could talk to you instead of some paper pushing bureaucrat."

"Can you help me out Ben?"  Jack asked sincerely.

Zoey followed along and stood there awkwardly as Ben got out a chair for everyone except her. "Too bad you can't really see dead people, Ben. Or can you? Are you just pretending like my friends here? She got closer and stood directly in his line of sight, with a shrug she stood back up. "No, you can't see me can you" slightly disappointed she turned away from him and looked aimlessly around the room she got a glance of Jack's saddened eyes as he talked about her death. She lowered her head and stepped out of the way to find some corner to hide and listen.

Ben ran his hand through his hair. "I don't perform autopsies. I just run labs and check in the overnight... arrivals." He looked at Jack's face and shifted uncomfortably under the grieving man's gaze. Ben shook his head and said, "I really shouldn't be doing this." He let out a long breath. "Ok, you said her name was Zoey Granger? I actually remember that case." Ben scooted over to a computer. "If you're looking to sue the hospital, I'm afraid I can't help you."

Ben called up a report and some notes on the screen. "At first it appeared that the hospital had given her an overdose of medication. When they admitted her, she had a dangerously low level of potassium. The hospital gave her meds to bring the level back up. The cause of death was too much potassium but, it wasn't the hospital's fault." Ben seemed almost apologetic when he turned toward Jack. "Because there was a possible malpractice claim, I was told to be very thorough. I reran the labs looking for anything out of the ordinary. I didn't find it the first time, because it's been modified. She had a drug in her system that goes by the street name Lix. It can have a very unpredictable effect on people."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:31, Sun 03 Aug 2014.

Krystal's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure about the Lix? It's not very common and I don't recall her showing or talking about any para abilities." she casually turned to face a corner as lifted her chin as if speaking to the ceiling, "I'm trying to remember if she every mentioned anything like that! As her friend, I'm always wanting to help her but it's been a long day. Let me think... IF she had said anything at ALL."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:53, Mon 04 Aug 2014.