The Bureau

Who: Lee Scoresby, Will Parry, Spike Spiegel + Everyone!
When: Evening of March 9th. Lee's on late shift today.
Where: B4 Mess hall
What: A late birthday celebration for Lee.
Rating/status: ~PG/ongoing.

Lee never threw birthday parties even during his first years in the Bureau and all for one reason: it's not news he forgets his own birthday. It used to be a happy occasion with mother and father and friends about but ever since he traveled on his own, Hester became the only companion he had that eventually, they just decided that a birthday wasn't such a special occasion and then later neglected to even get drunk for it.

This year, it just so happened that an angel in the form of Kate Corrigan had been so kind as to remind him in the form of free booze. And since he should really be watching his liver now, he thought he might as well throw a humble party for everyone (he thought it was damn time he did -- as a matter of principle. It was his fifth year, after all) and share his blessings. Four bottles of Johnnie Walker and two boxes of pepperoni pizza. Very humble.

On the door was tacked haphazardly a printed note on a simple A4, reading, "Lee Scoresby's Birthday Party" and that, plus messaging a few names, was as far as he went for an invitation. As for himself, he's gotten it all started by opening the first bottle and having two shots for himself.

Who: Cloud Strife
When: Evening
Where: Montana and on the road
What: Out in a mission, Cloud finds himself in the company of two lonely parents -- a pair who never knew him more than a Bureau agent until his eyes betrayed his identity.
Rating/status: ~PG/closed.

Fenrir made a hesitant groan as she crawled to a stop, the rider putting his foot out onto the dry prairie soil, his right side carrying the entire weight of him and his bike. With his brows squinted, Cloud hissed out a sigh as he cast his eyes around the pale scenery -- painted in a sick gold with brushes of grass and foot-sized hills lumped about the terrain. He'd never been to Montana before and he was blaming that as the reason behind this blind chase.

As he lowered his blade to reconsider his plan of action, the quickest whisper of a tongue drew his head back in a sudden spin just as the magnanimous rattlesnake (should not be mistaken to a zolom which lives in swamps) made an equally gigantic leap at him.

The last he saw before the second ended was the wicked, smiling face of the reptile and the explosion of sunlight on silver surface.

( Eight hours later... )

WHO : Pepper Potts and Hellboy!
WHAT : Mondays. Dun DUN DUUUUUUUUUN!
WHERE : Clacking her heels all about the complex.
WHEN : Afternoon.
STATUS : Thread/Incomplete.
RATING : PG-ish mayhaps?

( No, Gloria, I asked that you please not starch those pants. Those are his favorite pants. )

Who: Celes Chere + Anyone!
When: Early evening-ish
Where: B6 Magic/Power-training Room
What: Training in a body that's only hypothetically hers.
Rating/status: ~PG/tbd.

Celes sicced upon herself two rabid wolves, both bigger, faster and more dangerous than your garden-variety lupines. This training that she had subjected herself to could be seen as something...outdated, however. Wolves were everyone's first enemies, the poor things.

But it was exactly that that she needed -- a first enemy. Practically everyone had been returned to their proper timeline but not her -- a fault she can only blame on her strange body make-up. She was human infused only with special biological traits that made her capable of magic. In a sense, she grows with magic and magic becomes her. That was also probably why she's become more powerful with her new body, they say with age comes wisdom, after all.

Celes wondered what would happen if she was soon cured of this spell -- what would happen to all the magic she'd learned? Would they all just...go away? She would never allow for that to happen and decided she could put off thinking about it. ( For now, she needed her better magic spells to save her life. )

Who: Ema, Phoenix & Maya
Where: China Buffet King
What: Celebrating Christmas like it's not 20 days ago.
When: Evening of January 15
Rating/Status: G/Ongoing

Friday evening, Ema left a message to Phoenix Wright to meet at the "China Buffet King", a newly opened restaurant a good 15 minute walk from the laundromat. Ema was hearing good things about their "exotic" dumplings. After checking her bag (and her wallet), she left and hailed a cab (a frustrating feat in their middle-of-nowhere land, to be sure).

There was already a long line when she arrived, along with clinking of plates, loud exchanges of Chinese and Cantonese families about. She approached the waitress and cleared her throat. She asked about her reservation.

"We're sorry miss. There is no Ema Skye here."

Oh that could be the beginning of a long heated battle there, but Ema was going to have that. She was going to enjoy her post-holiday dinner there with her friends and no one was going to get in the way...

After the confusion in the lobby, Ema was shown in where there was even so much noise, but there was that lovely scent of deep fried dumplings in the air. She was directed to the private room she reserved and there she waited and started with the nuts planner. She sent a text message again to Phoenix with the following: Look for A.Muskite. Don't laugh. Explain later.

The Coulter Residence, Morning
The deliverymen stood around baffled when the door to the Coulter residence swung open with no one--not even a crack of light--behind. One of them cleared his throat and called out to whoever had opened their way and snuck a peek in between the crack. No one.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?"

It was bleak inside the entrance. The lamps that were illuminating the hallway, the chandeliers that made glow in the rooms, and the sunlight filtering through the windows were all completely concealed. When lit, Mrs. Coulter's residence appears glorious and magnificent, a triumph of classic interior design, but when dim or dark, it resembles a museum in its closing hours, gloomy, haunting, watching...

"Leave it there."

The man nearly jumped up when he heard the voice, "Who--?"

"I said, leave it there. She isn't here."

The voice came from a girl. The delivery boy wasn't sure if he should be comforted by that, or not.

"Are you..."

"Her daughter? Don't be silly. Now get out."

Either way, they were happy to have 'accomplished' the task and to leave the premises at once.

Once the doors were closed, the girl--who wasn't exactly a girl in that she was supposed to be an adolescent already--stared up at the box. Turning to her animal companion in the shape of a naja haje, she started opening the box that was addressed to her.

Marisa would be quick to appreciate the present underneath. She would agree it was the glaringly missing piece in her sitting room. The worksmanship was impeccable and laudably authentic.

The girl stared at it like it was just a bulk of wood, and simply thought about the irony of receiving a grandfather clock in her de-aged circumstance.

"I hate it. Destroy it."

If cobras had eyebrows, her daemon would raise them in question and protest.

"I don't care what you do with it. I don't ever want to see it, you hear me?" The girl stormed off.

More to the point: the realization that even Inara had been restored to her actual age. Everyone seemingly had. Except for a very handful, that apparently included her. They didn't have to know that, of course. She was prepared to spend all her waking days inside that house until she wakes up her own age, like a beast hidden beneath its rose-thorned castle until the doomed lair consumes her completely...

The blue moon came and went. Klarion made good on his promise, though it took some finagling on his part to get those responsible to work their magic. The days after that, things started to go back to normal – some of the effects weren't instantaneous, some took a few days to reverts to their rightful ages.

A few day's delay, however, was better than no change at all.

For the agents Connor Reilly, Emma Frost, Celes Chere, Marisa Coulter and Westley, no change is exactly what they got. Still, some of them might actually enjoy that.

Who: Cinderella.
When: Christmas Morning. Backdated.
Where: Break Room. B5.
What: In which someone has been very nice this year.
Rating/status: Narrative/Closed.

(  Other than her name and current address written on the card in somebody’s lovely handwriting, there was nothing that could indicate where the package was from.  )

Who: Rex Racer and Cloud Strife
When: late afternoon, Saturday
Where: a garage near Rex's place
What: joyriding. Oh this would be so much ~cooler~ in a car.
Rating/status: TBD/incomplete

It was an experience he hoped to never repeat. There was now a blemish on his soul, a dirty spot within his body that could never be washed off. He was forever tainted. Rex was getting goosebumps just thinking about it. He shivered involuntarily, a subconscious try to shrug it off, but it didn't work. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to knock his head against a wall. He had to surround himself with friends right now - a 1997 Dodge Stratus, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, a 1974 Corvette, and the newest addition, a real beauty: a 1954 Cadillac Coupe deVille.

Standing amongst the familiar sights and smells calmed him. It could almost make him forget, almost, that he had to catch a bus that day.

"Hey, man," Scotty, one of the resident mechanics, waved a discarded number plate at Rex. "You know when Racer's gonna be back? Could really use his help around here."

Rex shrugged, as teenagers were wont to do. He still didn't know how he initially managed to convince the guys that 'Rex Racer' was a common name, and that he had nothing to do with the once promising rallying-turned-F1 driver, Prix hopeful, who died way back in a freak accident. Though, he supposed that if they believed that, him posing as Rex's cousin while he was stuck as a kid was an even easier tale to sell. "Dunno. He didn't say."

Scotty's next question was interrupted by a beep from Rex's phone. A call from Cloud, and... the unmistakable revving of Fenrir's engine approaching outside. He'd spent almost as much time on that bike as he did the 9; he could pick it out from a lineup of 100 vehicles. Answering the phone with a simple, be right there, he grabbed his jacket and wrapped his scarf haphazardly around his neck.

"Guys, gotta go, ride's here." Bidding farewell to Scotty and everyone else, he stepped outside to find exactly what he expected. Also, an extra helmet.

Who: Spike Spiegel and Celes Chere and OPEN.
When: Wednesday night.
Where: The Bureau.
What: In which a boy and his dog go on a heroic quest. Ok, not really.
Rating/status: TBD/Open.


( When all things were said and done, Spike should have considered himself a lucky man. Or child as the case may have been. )

Who: Marisa, Lyra, Doctors, Nurses, Any!
Where: Medlabs
What: Coming to terms
When: December 23, 2009, 8:00 A.M.
Status/Rating: OPEN, G

Where was Mrs. Coulter?

She was already absent from at least seven events of which she had personally sent an RSVP to. The lady could not be contacted in any way. The phones kept ringing, the e-mails unread, her restaurant reservations left unattended It was Madame Bai, who first spoke about her disappearance in a charity ball in Shanghai where she and Mrs. Coulter herself were supposed to be guests of honor. The Xi'an Branch Head assured concerned parties that the woman was fine, but simply had an "emergency, and would be unavailable indefinitely". She implored them to accept Mrs. Coulter's "sincerest apologies". Her future appearances to January 2010 were all canceled.

At the same time of her disappearance, a teenage girl appeared in an elevator in Fairfield, Connecticut, later found in the attic of Mrs. Coulter's residence. She was currently confined in the medlabs of the Bureau Headquarters, given treatment of someone who was dehydrated and starved. At the moment, she was starting to wake up. Not the least bit baffled of her whereabouts, she asked in a whisper.

"What day is it?" Her squinched eyes sought the closest person they could find.

Who: Dorian Gray and Klarion the Witch Boy
When: ???
Where: ???
What: well. Klarion sure screwed up there.
Rating/status: G/closed

"Turn it back."

Dorian Gray could be sinister when he wished, and right now, the Englishman was at his most threatening. He was not overly tall by modern standards, but he had the most uncanny ability to increase his stature simply by a change in his stance – a throwing back of the shoulders, an upwards lilt of his head. His face was smooth and his tone was level (because, after all, frowning was hell on one's complexion), only a vein on his neck was indicative of his mood.

"Turn everything back immediately."

"Look, Dor Dor-" Klarion quickly coughed, as Dorian's neck vein popped out further. "It's more complicated than that, all right? We gotta- we gotta wait for the moon. Gotta be a blue moon."

Dorian all but snorted. "Convenient. I should leak that you were responsible for this mess. The workers here would simply tear you apart."

Nervous, because for all his tricks, Klarion was extremely intimidated by Dorian Gray. He wasn't sure his magic would even work on the man – after all, this seemed to have affected everyone but the intended target. "Dor- Mr Gray, if we were to look at this technically- technically the Lunarians are the ones who messed up."

"If you thought your excuses would placate me in the slightest, you are so very wrong indeed." Still expressionless, his voice still cold, Dorian took his seat. Klarion breathed a quiet sigh of relief, glad that Dorian was out of his face.

"I'll talk to them. I'll deal with it. It wasn't supposed to happen this way, so it's probably cool if you ask for your money back."

Exhaling through his nose – a sound that made Klarion flinch – Dorian made a simple gesture, as if he was too tired to talk. Klarion took that as a good sign, a sign that meant 'okay, do what you must. But remember that I can take you apart piece by piece if you botch this up further. Tiny piece by tiny piece. And your little cat too'.

Well, maybe good was a bit of an overstatement.

WHO : Haruto Sakaki and OPEN.
WHAT : Haruto tries to figure out how he got so pretty.
WHERE : The Bureau.
WHEN : Lunchtime, Friday.
STATUS : Thread/Incomplete.
RATING : TBA.

( It would do him no good to be sitting there the entire day just looking at his pretty face. )

Who: Howl Jenkins and Inara Serra
When: Afternoon, Friday
Where: Howl's desk
What: mismanaging mischief
Rating/status: tbd/incomplete

It was a good idea, linked to solid theory. Calcifer was still there, and he was still heartless, so Howl surmised that he still had all of this magical prowess, it was just that his adolescent body wouldn't allow him to channel any of it. Well, all that was about to change. He was going to use his powers and restore himself physically, and then he was going to figure this all out by himself, and then he would be able to play hero...

Again, it was a good idea.

"Align the- yes, and the cycle here- with the- passable clarity in- not to forget, oh yes-" He muttered to himself as he scribbled a chart, thankful that he retained all his knowledge. Before long, a spell was ready, and Howl cast it on himself eagerly. For a minute, nothing happened, then he spied something on his chart.

"The lunar phase-!"

He never got to finish his thought. Without any fanfare or fancy effects, where Howl was one second ago, was now a pile of clothes, and- a rug. A unremarkable mud-brown rug, with faded gold tassles, which seem to be twitching, or maybe that was just a trick of the light.

Who: Cloud Strife + Haku-has-a-very-long-name
When: After lunch
Where: Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, Japan -- then to Sayama Forest just outside the city
What: Taking advantage of Haku's bite-size form, the Bureau sends him and Cloud to Tokyo, Japan to fetch an unlikely friend.
Rating/status: PG (should be. :|)/tbd.

For this mission, Cloud Strife was disallowed to bring all his swords and his Fenrir and was tasked, instead, to bring umbrellas. He couldn't understand it. This was a mission and no one ever knew what happens in a mission! That thing they were supposed to fetch (tororo?) could be an eater of men and with Haku at his current form (although Cloud liked to think that his powers should, hopefully, not be diminished yet), Cloud was almost sure he was going to be the main attacker and defender of the party.

He sighed to himself as he entertained these thoughts, stepping out of a ramen house with his main sword hidden by a dark gray cloth wrapped and strapped around it and three umbrellas pinned to his body by his left arm.

He stared at the golden yolk floating happily up the skies, uninterrupted by clouds or grayness.

Turning to his partner (and ticket pass the language barrier), he asked Haku, "You ready?"

It should also be noted that Cloud is against sending kids to missions but apparently, the rotoro could only be seen by kids and in Haku's case, he supposed he wasn't exactly young anymore.

Who: Robert Capa + Linda Carter + Anyone!
When: afternoon-ish
Where: The Medbay
What: Capa finally wakes up and finds himself even more confused.
Rating/status: ~PG/ongoing.

When Capa came to, there was a menagerie of sensations that crawled through his nerves. His head hurt, his left hand felt sore and heavy, his throat was parched and his stomach felt lethargic. It took him a few more seconds to realize that he was lying down on some form of mattress and wherever he was, it was definitely really bright -- as bright as the moon.

He stayed quiet for a good moment, trying to get his body used to its new state of being awake. Capa thought it would definitely have been easier to do that if he moved several parts of his body but he felt so lazy that to even lick his dry lips was an effort on its own.

Later, he groaned, cleared his throat and sighed, closing his eyes then opening them again to realize that the room was not as bright as he first thought it was. The color of the ceiling was definitely plain and boring and the lights were nothing special -- much like his office in B5. With these idle thoughts, he turned to a side and found there a collection of interesting instruments and vials and beside it, a transparent bag hanging up a tall pole with a thick wire leading down to his hand.

This made Capa sigh and move his head back to its normal position -- that one of facing the lights. Someone was going to have to explain this to him.

Who: Lyra Belacqua and Marisa Coulter
When: Afternoon
Where: Their Apartment
What: An older Lyra searches for her misplaced Mother.
Rating/status: TBA/Incomplete

( It seemed like a hip replacement just waiting to happen. )

Who: Maya Fey and Phoenix Wright
When: December 5th [backdated]
Where: Maya's apartment
What: bffs reunited
Rating/status: TBD/incomplete

It was around 10pm when they stopped fussing and let her go home, on the condition that she'd go back to work tomorrow to be fawned over in greater detail. The argument was that a familiar environment would be more conducive to recovery than the sterile one in the medibays, and while Maya had generally just sit back and answered any questions with as few words as she could get away with, vehemently agreed with that decision. One of the field agents dropped Maya off at her apartment, and was nice enough to walk her upstairs, concernedly asking if there was anything she could do, anyone Maya wanted her to call, or if the younger girl would be more comfortable staying with her that night. Maya declined all the offers, although she appreciated them, and as she turned the key in her lock, she was struck by the most mundane of thoughts –

Oh no, something's happened to Hot Dog, hasn't it? No one's been around to feed him while I was gone. And what about that cactus that I got last Christmas? I know they don't need much water, but the place has got to be really cold by now. And the rent! What if I'm locked out-

Thankfully, the locks had not been changed, and clicked quietly open. Thinking of no other alternative scenario, Maya squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the carnage.

Who: Cloud Strife, Cinderella, Inara Serra + Anyone!
When: Around the time this is happening.
What: Cloud answers Cinderella's distress call.
Where: Cinderella's apartment, then the Bureau later...then Inara's apartment then back to the Bureau!
Rating/Status: PG (I mean, come on, there are kids in the log!)/ongoing.

Before he took that road leading straight towards the Bureau offices, Cloud took a twist to his right and revved down the road towards the address he read on his mobile phone. It lacked a few As and Ts but he knew his way around and was pretty sure he'd seen that brown building around. Normally, he shouldn't be so gripped by this -- Cindy was in her own apartment and that lady knew how to make a weapon out of her own lipstick, there was no never any need to panic.

But Cindy and distress calls? Cloud wasn't sure he liked that idea. There was what Kate Corrigan had told him, too -- about people becoming older and younger. Did he get affected? he wondered. If he did, he must have aged two years at the most or de-aged the same way!

The Fenrir slowed down to a stop as soon as it reached her apartment building. Hopping off, he hastened himself towards the short flight of steps leading up to the lobby and then to the elevator that was going to take him up to her floor. Cloud barely waited for the doors to part open at the sound of the ding! when he slipped into the silent hallway and sought for Cindy's room number.

When he found it, he held the knob and tried it and when it came loose, pushed the door open, unaware of the chain lock that laced between the frame and the door itself. His force might have yanked at the hinges a little, giving him enough space to slip his hand in and undo the chain (after cursing to himself, that is).

Cloud tossed it aside as he stepped into the room that was, as he had expected (and was hoping to see), as orderly as a woman's room could be -- save for a few displaced furniture. Low steps took him further inside and looking around, he called carefully, "Cindy? It's Cloud."

Who: Marisa
When: 8 AM
What: Ghost sighting
Where: Elevator
Status: Closed

( DON'T TOUCH ME!! )