Dang theiving warlocks.......they have stupid hats too......(Rin)

Toji sits growling on a bench, glaring at a club across the street. The night stars twinckled overhead as the young halfling tried to figure out what to do......He'd gotten word that a group of warlocks had found a Okamian Soul Steel Ingot, and after failing to replicate it(well duh) they were selling it to the highest bid to various supernatural beasties..such as the demon that was so kind as to give him info before being banished. Thus, he found himself in front of Pandora's Grimore, a place known for....unique...guests.And what was stopping this mighty hero? Lack of ID?

It had been a day or so before Mav found a lead on her latest case. A young boy was abducted from a local orphanage run by a priest. All she had then was an old photo of the kid; witness accounts of a strangely dressed group entering and leaving the church; and a peculiar but distinct symbol adorning their cloaks. This wouldn't be the first time she has had to deal with cult fanatics. But from her experiences so far, her run-ins with the occult and magic in general were rarely pleasant. Her investigations finally took her to a certain establishment called Pandora's Grimoire. The name couldn't be shadier.

A quick survey of the area revealed that it was privately owned. That pretty much meant getting in wouldn't be easy. As she was considering her options, she spotted a familiar figure sitting on a bench across the building. Well, it wasn't someone she personally knew. But taking the time to read up on the Titans when she wasn't busy paid off enough that she recognized who this was. He was clearly staring at the club as well.

"I didn't know the Titans were on this case too." She spoke casually as she approached him. "Good evening. Well, maybe not. It's never a good evening when there's a kidnapping."

Mav already had the pleasure of teaming up with Titans before, but this would be her first meeting with this particular member and she wasn't really sure yet what he was like.

Toji blinks at the girl.".......Eh?! No, no...A titan, me? Hahahahaha.....I wish........Not buying it?" Then he thinks over the rest ofvwhat she said." A kidnapping? Oh, now I'm really annoyed with these fools...." His eyes start to turn black, then he takes a breath, calming down." I'm here to recover a artifact a warlock gang found, but I'll help you free the kid first. Toji Okami, codenamed Lightning Wolf, Halfling of the Okami Clan."

"Maverique, or Mav for short. Nice to meet you. And thanks for offering. I think I can give you a hand with your target too."

Recovering an artifact? She had not heard about any notable robberies involving artifacts. It was too much of a coincidence that the perpetrators were in this building too for her to not think that they were somewhat related to her case. Either way, more hands to accomplish a goal were always welcome.

"First things first: how to get in. I did a little scouting earlier and the place is pretty secure for a club. Either they have a lot of high profile guests, or they've got something to hide. I think we both know the latter is at least true. The roof seems to be the easiest access point. Just a bunch of cameras and no actual guards."

It made sense. Your average person wouldn't be able to get up there anyway. But the two heroes here tonight were hardly average.

"It's a club so there's bound to be a few civilians. Probably not a good idea to make an uproar entering from the front. Let's take the routes up the walls on the opposite sides and meet in the middle of the rooftop. That way even if either side has a trap, we won't both get caught up in it."

Mav would wait for Toji's acknowledgement and then head for the alley on the left side of the building. It was dark and not very spacious, but the most important thing was that it didn't seem like anyone was around... yet.

Toji grins."Nice to meetcha, Mav.And no problem, I think these jerks will regret thier deeds for a long time."Listening to the other hero's plan, he nods." Yah...sounds good!" As she walks away, he blurs over to the right alley, listening carefully for any sounds."Aight.... looks good...." But as he steps inside, a voice echoes out." Foolish mortal....I'll gnaw on your bones!!!" A being of pure shadow steps toward, and Toji chuckles." What? You're it? Just a measly shadow demon?" The demon laughs evilly." Pathetic being, I'll...." The monster pauses as he sees the blue hair." An okamian?! I must warn the masters!!!" It turns around, but Toji blurs toward, pulling his tanto." No you don't!!!!" He drives the blade deep into the back of the demons neck, banishing it." Well....easy enough....." The halfling grins, jumping up onto the roof.

Mav shot a line up at the roof to quickly launch herself up to the roof. On her way up, a black mass suddenly appeared on the side of the wall and tried to take a swipe at her as she passed by. She quickly activated her aura and then kicked off from the side of the building to avoid the attack. It was the strangest thing. She didn't feel its presence until after it had already manifested itself. Maybe whatever it was only attacked anyone who tried to enter the building and so didn't have any "hostility" against her until now.

The thing began to move and closed in to take a second swipe at her. She kicked off the wall to avoid the blow again. It wasn't very fast but her senses were telling her not to touch it even if she had her aura on. When she finally reached the rooftop, she saw hat Toji was already there ahead of her. Behind her the shadow thing followed, climbing up from the ledge.

"Sorry, I don't have much experience dealing with magical shadow creatures. Not even sure what can hurt it."

Toji blinks." Oh, another shadow demon? That's alright, I got it." Meanwhile, the monster draws back, ready to take off the girls head, but suddenly its claws clash into a lightning cloaked form.Toji had ran over at 100, getting behind Mav when he saw what the beast was doing. The demon, spotting the blue hair, hisses." Okamian....." Toji grins, raising a fist crackling with electricity." Yep, sure am." He punches foward, plowing through the things head and banishing it.As it fades away, he sighs." Looks like I'm going to need a disguise.."

Electricity works? That was good to know. And convenient. She actually had just the thing. If there were more of those inside, she'd have to pull her own weight with the fighting too. She wouldn't be much of a hero if she let Toji take care of them all by himself. As the Titan finished off the enemy, he mentioned something about needing a disguise.

"It's not much but you can borrow these."

Mav took off her cap and scarf and handed them to Toji. Maverique without anything on her neck and head to obscure her face was not a sight you could see everyday. It was less of her trying to mask her identity and more of trying to hide her youth. Grown-ups always seemed to take younger people less seriously. The "unmasked" Mav could probably pass off as a grade-schooler.

"Gotta make myself more useful. You've been doing all the fighting so far."

With the grace and finesse of a master thief, Mav picked the lock of the rooftop entrance and cautiously ventured inside. It was an eerie place and dimly lit. She could feel it with every step she took. There was magic here. Meanwhile up ahead, there was the shuffling sound of footsteps heading their way.

Toji nods." Aight, thanks. I'll give them back when we find something better." He then blinks, seeing how young she really was." Huh...younger than I thought..." Shrugging, the halfling wrapsbthe scarf around his lowerr face, settling the cap firmly onto his head, thus hiding the signature blue hair as he follows Mav inside.Hearing footsteps, Toji channels just a slight amount of energy into his hands, making sparks, blinking as a man wearing hooded robes and a mask, both covered in demon script, walks toward." Well, well....two new 'servants', hahahahah!!" Toji rolls his eyes, snorting. Looking at Mav, he comments." Why is it evil wizards are so melodramatic? You think its part of the deal? 'To gain evil power, one must laugh and rant like a complete fool?'" The warlock, hearing the remark, growls." I'll teach you humility, boy!!!" He raises his hands, chanting as the symbols on his robes glow a dark light.Toji laughs as more shadow beings begin to pop up. Forming a Storm Cutter, he walks toward, slicing through foes as he gets closer and closer to the warlock."you're gonna have to try better than that, buddy!!!" The mans eyes widen." Can't be....an okamian?! You freaks are supposed to be in your home realm!!!"

More shadow things began to appear as the enemy began his attack. This time though, Mav wasn't planning on running. While Toji headed straight for the warlock, she covered his back and made sure none of the black things got the jump on him. Smacking them with her shock stick proved to be somewhat effective in keeping them at bay at least.

"So much for entering quietly."

Strangely enough, she didn't get the feeling that there were other warlocks coming. Maybe they were too busy with something? Either that or they were confident this one guy would be enough to take care of them. The tone of his voice upon realizing who Toji was seemed to indicate otherwise. Actually, what was this Okamian she kept hearing about? She just assumed it was something to do with magic people and their magic world. Well, considering how talkative the warlocks were, she was probably going to find out sooner or later whenever one of them decides to play the part of Mr. Exposition.

"Try not to knock him out! We still need to ask about the kid and the thing you're looking for!"

Toji nods, hearing Mav." Sure thing!!!" The halfling draws closer, slamming a demon head into the stone floor, then dashes toward, grabbing the mans robes and pulsing. The electricity courses over the magical cloth, canceling out the rather weak magic, with the side effect of making the warlock tingly. The evildoer shudders, cursing as his summons vanishg."D-damn d-d-demon..." Toji takes off the mask, revealing the mans surprisingly forgettable face.Grinning, the halfling then flicks him." Ow!!!!" The halfling's eyes turn black and gold, his canines lengthening as he takes off the hat and scarf." I'm half, not full. If i was a full Okamian, this building wouldnt be standing, since im not pleased, toad. Now, if you don't mind, tell where the kid, and the Okamian Ingot, are?" The man cackles, his face twisting unpleasantly." Gehahahah!! We couldn't figure out to use it, couldn't even damage it! So, we kidnapped a child, to experiment upon!! The instant the two were in the same room, they bonded!! Now, well sell the two to the highest bidder, and there's nothing g you can do about it!!!" Toji blinks."it bonded already? Forger, what are you planning?" He grunts, shaking the man." Alright, thanks for the back story, now, where is the kid?" The man growls." Stop that!! He's in the basement, with my brothers!! There's no way you can beat them!!!"

The interrogation pretty much went about like what she expected: more magic business. Mav was sort of glad there was someone around who could make sense of it. But it's not as though she was totally clueless. In particular, the part about experimenting on the child drew her concern. Experimenting on kidnapped people was bad news in any context. Learning that her objective in the basement, she decided to go on ahead while Toji finished his questioning.

"I'll go map out the way down and check if we've got more trouble heading our way."

She made it to the stairs and quietly crept down to the first floor. It was as far as those stairs went. The stairs leading to the basement were elsewhere. Loud music was coming from the club area. Some of the guests that evening probably weren't even aware of what was going on in the building at the moment. Just some. Obviously, there were a few attendees who were here for the auction the warlock mentioned earlier.

Another warlock appeared, coming out from a door in the first floor hallway, raising his hand and pointing it at Mav.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

He fired a magical bolt from his palm, but as soon as it made contact with Mav's aura, it rebounded back at him and slammed him to the opposite wall. The club music was doing its job of hiding the noises their little fights were making. That was good. It was much better to avoid needless panic.

Toji nods." Aight, I'll catch up to you in a bit." He blinks, looking at the squirming scum he held in his hands." Now, where were we?Oh yeah....anything else we need to know, scummer?" The warlock growls. " I won't tell you more!!! I'll be killed if I do!!!" The halfling sighs." Fine, well deal with it when it comes..." With a blurr, he smacks the warlock upside the head, knocking him out. Toji chuckles at the comically sprawled form, then turns around, heading towards Mav.

She didn't have much to go on so Mav decided to check the room the warlock came from for any passageway leading underground, but it appeared to be a dead-end. In the first place she wasn't even sure if the concept of doors applied to these people. She had seen enough magic to know that some practitioners could appear wherever they want, whenever they want. The clock was ticking and they couldn't waste any time just randomly looking. Behind her, Toji finally caught up.

"The guy before mentioned the basement but I didn't see any stairs leading down earlier. It could be anywhere on the first floor and I'm honestly stumped. Any ideas?"

Maybe he could smell them or sense them somehow. Mav wouldn't know. Worst case scenario, they just smash straight through the floor. But there are a lot of reasons why that wouldn't be efficient or safe.

Toji blinks, then hmmms, thinking." Man....wish Kale was still here....he was the magician......" The halfling scratches his head, then blinks." Wait...I think these idiots use symbol magic. Remember that earlier warlock? His robes were covered in demon script. Look around for a symbol similar to them, and I'll zap it." He starts looking around.