[ Seylin and Kenji go.... OUTSIDE. ] * Kenji heads out to the garage for his ride. * Seylin follows. Exciting! [ Kenji's car is still there, and still pimp. ] * Kenji gets in, starts it up, and makes ready to leave. "You can open that door, right?" Shoot. Let me go double-check. * Seylin thinks for a second. "Yep. I remember it now. Let's go." She gets in the car. * Kenji guns the engine, waits for the garage door to open, and gets the hell out. [ Kenji leaves! ] Hey, this is fun! [ Kenji roars along the road at Ludicrous Speed! Seriously, he does. He's going about 140 on one of the main roads. ] * Kenji is a bad mother- * Kenji sets about methodically locating his place of dwelling. [ Kenji remembers, conveniently, how to use the GPS system. He soon locates his house. ] * Seylin watches and mentally takes note of how it works. "Magic interacive map. Very handy. Mind if I play with it for a bit?" * Kenji eyes the thing strangely, and wonders where they keep the peasant boy with all the directions, but it's handy, so he's not going to question it too much. He does, however, try to feed it a hundred dollar bill. [ Kenji fails. It seems that doing its duty was sufficient recompense. ] Aha. It must be a personal retainer. * Kenji leans over to the GPS and says, "Very well, your service is noted, and you shall be rewarded appropriately." * Seylin nods sagely. * Kenji looks for someplace to park this wondrous beast of burden, so that he might enter his domicile. [ Kenji finds that the tall tower housing his domicile has such a place underneath it. ] I wonder how one summons a groom in this place. * Kenji shrugs and heads into the "parking garage" to take care of it himself. I don't know. Maybe they just come automatically after a while to check on things. Time to worry about that later. * Kenji parks, hops out, and heads for the very top. * Seylin follows! * Kenji stops in the elevator, as a memory hits him in the head. Right. A key. * Kenji starts searching his belongings for a key. [ Kenji finds it! It's large and blunt. In fact, it seems round and glassy. How can such a thing turn a lock? ] * Seylin pulls out her keyring. "I wouldn't have a copy, would I?" I don't know. I'm not sure how mine works, but I'm sure this is it. * Seylin looks at it. "Interesting. Mine are all conventional." * Kenji looks for an appropriate hole. [ There's a small, round hole with a black circle around it. White leters read 'Penthouse'. ] * Kenji j-j-jams it in. ( And I totally didn't think of that double entendre' until I'd hit the enter key. ) ( hahahahahaha owned ) [ There is a beep, and a colored, lit readout changes to 'P'; the elevator ascends with great swiftness. ] * Kenji goes wide-eyed and pulls the key out. [ The elevator keeps going! OH MY GOD! ] That is a most disconcerting sensation. [ That's nothing. After clearing the underground floors, the elevator's class back shows a clear view of the out-of-doors as you rapidly ascend. ] * Kenji lets out a slow whistle. [ The elevator stops on the ninety-second floor. The street is bewilderingly far below you, now. ] ( sweet goddess, that's nearly a quarter mile up. ) ( I'm not sure if we went that far up to fight Ganache. ) ( You went a full mile up to fight Ganache, but you never looked down. ) I was uncertain why I would have a dwelling so far above the ground. I am no longer uncertain. [ The elevator opens into palatial luxury, and Kenji is even more certain. ] [ The ceilings are vaulted and nearly twenty feet high, the walls are alabaster white, and the floors are - sweet Amaseratu, is that? - yes, jade. ] ...I am apparently a man of obscene wealth. [ White marble columns break things up here and there, along with stoic works of art and designer furniture. A single wrought-irons taircase leads up to the floor above. Paintings hang from the walls at strategic points. ] [ Outside, you can see a grass lawn and a pool. And the crests of two other skyscrapers. ] Either that, or I have an extreme fear of shadowlands invasion. [ A man approaches; he is old but refined, dressed in a tuxedo, and moves with a lithe agility. He has a wreathe of grey hair about his head, having long gone bald, and wears a simple, well-trimmed mustache. He speaks with an accent Kenji is unfamiliar with, but it is refined and easy to comprehend. "Good noontide to you, Master Kenji. And to you, Miss Seylin. Is there anything I can get you?" Many things, but first, I need to know who you are. No. I know that. You're Alfred. [ "Always with the dry humor, sir." ] No humor, Alfred. Strange things are afoot. [ "Are they, sir? Then perhaps I should fetch some scotch." ] I'm not certain what scotch is, but it sounds like a good idea. I need my journal. [ "Journal, sir? Certainly. Come this way; after you." ] * Kenji follows/doesn't follow Alfred. [ As Kenji passes Alfred there's a blur of motion and a click; Kenji is aware that he suddenly has a loaded gun pointed at his head. "I do not know what you have done with Master Kenji, but I recommend you kneel and disarm yourself immediately, while I attempt to contact him." ] * Kenji looks confused for a moment, but sizes up the butler as quickly as he can. You may attempt to contact me however you wish. I will not molest you while you do so, but I kneel for no man. [ "Well, that's a point in your favour." There is a pause, and Kenji's wrist beeps. And beeps again. ] I'm no more certain what's going on that you are, but you seem much the sort of man I would keep as a retainer. * Kenji blinks and looks at his wrist. [ "Butler, and..." There is a pause. "Odd. You are, at least physically, Kenji Hosokawa." ] Ikoma Kenji of the Hosokawa Family of the Lion Clan of Rokugan, to be more specific. At least, that's what I remember. [ "You remember many strange things, sir. How did you come to be thus?" ] I don't know. The last thing I remember before waking up in this world is fighting a group of powerful demons in hell. I remember drowning in a pit of acid, and then I woke up in a temple, here. I have some memories of this place, but they come only as I need them immediately, or later. I didn't remember your name until I asked who you were. [ "Strange." He looks at Seylin, with a raised eyebrow, and she gives a nod. "Well. Then perhaps I should get the scotch for myself, then. Please have a seat and I will be back momentarily to see if I can help you out of this pickle." ] * Kenji seats himself uncomfortably in what is probably an extremely comfortable chair. [ Alfred returns momentarily with a tray in one hand and a small wooden dowel in the other. "Think fast, sir," he says, tossing the wooden cylinder at Kenji. ] * Kenji whips Soramaro out of his pocket, transforming it mid-swing into its full, flowing katana form, and slices the rod in half, lengthwise, and very nearly does so to Alfred, but checks himself before taking a second step. [ Alfred is a good twenty feet away, so he is safe. "Well. I see you still have Soramaro and the will to use it. That's good." ] * Kenji takes a deep, calming breath. I did that training in both sets of memories. It's strange, seeing one set overlaid on the other. [ Alfred comes over and sits with the two of you. He sets down a bottle of something brown and three tumblers. He pours the liquid into the tumblers, handing one to Seylin, taking one himself, and handing one to Kenji. "Strange. Do you remember your instructor in each?" ] Yes. * Kenji takes a big drink of this "scotch" and quite enjoys it. My memories are telling me that Kenku exist in this world, as well, though they call themselves something different. Raven-folk. Kenku is a much better name. An odd name, as well. Flying Turtle. I'm quite certain I've never seen a flying turtle. [ Alfred nods and takes a sip. "Well. That's something." He thinks for a moment. ] [ "My name is Alfred Pennysworth. I am a knight in the Court of Barovia, and a former intelligence operative for the same. I went to work for your parents some time ago, and then remained in your service after they were killed." ] * Kenji frowns. "What in the world could kill my mother?" [ "She was, like many heroes, killed by a man known as the Red Skull." ] An ominous name. [ "An ominous face. One cannot forget it; he is as advertised. Some say he is the last undead in Nova Vaasa, but I feel him to be more sinister still. Whatever he is, though, he fights with inhuman skill and incredible ruthlessness." ] And I haven't killed him yet, for some reason. [ "He nearly killed you three months ago, when you discovered one of his redoubts and raided it with your friends. And not all of you survived." He nods to a picture frame lying face-down on a nearby table. ] * Kenji stands and dares a look at the picture. [ The picture shows Alcinoe in a military dress uniform, saluting for the camera, in front of a flag. ] * Kenji stands there, stunned, for a moment, then gently places the picture back the way it was and takes a seat, obviously suppressing tears. [ "She was the finest among us. And for it, the Red Skull desired her death more than any of ours." ] That... that explains why she isn't here with us. My mother and my sister. Did he kill my father, as well? [ He nods. "He assassinated your father first. He did not like the ideas he was spreading, he and President Rogers." ] My brother? [ He looks curious. "Brother, sir? Ah, another difference. Odd." ] What was my last mission? [ Information gathering. A possible cell. It was not expected to be difficult, and afterwards you said everything had gone smoothly. Tia found much useful information in their computers." ] Strange. Apparently we were found in an alley, practically shredded, and were taken to a hospital to recuperate. Tia and Seylin woke elsewhere. [ "Odd." ] I'm swiftly growing to hate that word. [ Alfred shrugs and has another swig of whiskey. ] I need equipment and information. ["First, you need another drink. " ] [ Session End! ]