Twisting Pavement

[Petya Borzakovsky]

Petya rolled her eyes and snatched the glass back from him. "No matter how much I try you still drink like a baby. But then you do make a good partner so I'll let it slide...but I'm still keeping tab for later."

Petya gave a wink and then downed the glass before setting it aside with the rest of them. With all the drink now gone and leaned back slightly and nodded briefly.

"I've been hearing a lot recently. Whispers about why this all happened and what may have been the cause. Honestly I don't know how much of it is true but I know the information is reasonable sound. Soleanna may be a little...oh how do you say? Retro? Yes, anyway they do have some very smart people."

Petya leaned forwards again. There was really no need, there was noone else in the bar, but it was just habit. "I heard this all happened because a couple of heroes got in over their head and if things continue like they are the world is doomed. Seemingly theres a way to fix it though. Personally I don't care, I'm not going to be around when it happens and this new world is just as full of surprises as the old...but other might. And that could generate some substantial rewards."

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi wasn't that concerned about the state of the world either. It meant all those police agencies and international crime units after him were either gone or had more important matters to look after. Although if helping to fix the world achieved him some fame, well...maybe he'd get pardons for his crimes and he'd be paid as well. So either way it looked like Giichi would come out ahead.

He thought about asking if it was Sonic and Co. that had done this, but decided it wasn't important. So, he leaned forward onto the table towards Petya and formed his hands into a fist. "So...the idea is...we help fix the world and get paid for it, right? Of course, in order to do that, we'd need to know what went wrong and what we have to do to repair it. Do you have that information too?"

[Petya Borzakovsky]

Petya just smiled like a cat who had got the cream. Leaning back she reached a hand into her pocket and pulled out a tiny emerald shard. It was barely the size of a small coin and irregulary shaped like it was a piece of a much larger whole. She placed it down on the table and pushed it towards Giichi.

"I can do better than just information," she replied with a grin, "Until last night this was at the Soleana research institute. Its a piece of what they call a Chaos Emerald. Aparently these things exploded and released their energy all over the planet resulting in this merging. I don't know if I believe it or not, I've never heard of these things before now...but the people of this city seem to. If we can find more pieces maybe we can hold them to ransom so to speak. If they are as keen to fix this world as they claim they should pay good money for them."

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi picked up the small fragment and fingered it. So, this was a piece of a Chaos Emerald, huh? He'd only seen them in pictures until now. "So...this is a piece of those things that Sonic and Robotnik are always fighting over? The things that give immense power to whoever holds them?" Thinking about it, he actually felt like he now had a bit more energy in him than before. Although he wondered if it was just a placebo effect. "These things will indeed be valuable."

He placed the shard back on the table and pushed it towards Petya, as he looked back up at her. Giichi adopted a rather serious tone, like he was negotiating a big business contract. "We'll have to be cautious though. This isn't going to be like stealing any ordinary artifact. EVERYONE will be looking for these, not just the police. It could put a big target on our backs. Sonic and Robotnik might even be after us..."

The serious frown melted away after he said that, to show a broad smile. "Well, sounds like fun. I'm in. So...we know this one was at the research institute. Got any leads on where more could be?"

[Petya Borzakovsky]

"There weren't any more clear leads at the institute. I would have asked a few of the researchers but I had to knock them all out on the way in. They had a few ideas in their database though that we could check out. Seemingly these things exploded and shattered into pieces. How many they don't know but if they are all this size it could take some time to find them all. They mentioned that these things originate on the Floating Island...or what was the Floating Island. If you ask me that might be a good place to start, at the least we may dig up some more info."

Petya twitched her eyebrows up and leaned forwards. "And the super dangerous does sound like fun. Beats a cold shower I'd say."

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi's winced a bit when Petya mentioned traveling to the Floating Island. "You know, if we want to head up there, we'll need to get a helicopter or a plane or..." The cat suddenly blinked, as if a cartoon light bulb had appeared over his head. He let loose a chuckle.

"Oh, I forgot. If the emeralds are broken, that probably means the Master Emerald's broken too. Which means the island won't be flying. This sounds really awesome. There's all kinds of cool stuff to steal on the Floating Island besides the shards, but it's just too much trouble to hire a pilot. A boat though...that's much easier. We could just rent one and go to the island ourselves."

But Giichi thought of something else that put a slight damper on his spirits. "We need to get over the fast then. I bet some people are already on the hunt for these. And with how the Floating Island is associated with the emeralds, I bet it's the first place a lot of other treasure hunters are going too."

[Petya Borzakovsky]

Petya reached into her pocket and pulled out two slips of paper and waved them in the air. "Don't worry about the boat, I got passage on one leaving this evening. Our own private charter. Of course the owner doubled the price when he heard the destination but the female power of persuasion is renound for being effective."

Petya gave a small chuckle and picked up the emerald shard and placed it in her pocket along with the tickets. "I share your urgency though. I have heard that the island is under quarantine but that doesn't stop people from going if they want to."

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi tilted his head at the mention of a quarantine. "Quarantine? Why is there a quarantine on the island? In any case, maybe it's best if we go now. We can continue our discussion we're en route to the island." He moved to stand up from the table.

[Lucky Seven]

Seven watched over his glass as the cat stood before returning his intense focus on making circles around the lip of his emptied drink. He considered ordering another one and then decided he'd had it for the day. They were too petty for his tastes. At the very least though, now a more eccentric invitation was awaiting him. So, acquainting himself with such a @#$%hole as this one wasn't exactly a loss. He heaved an abrupt sigh and rest his head on the table.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

[I'm pulling out of this plotline since Links said he's not in the mood for rping at the moment. This'll require me to take control of Petya for a moment. Hope you're ok with this Links.]

Suddenly, Petya's eyes seemed to bulge for a moment, before her head fell and softly bumped on the table. To Giichi, it looked like she'd just fallen into an alcohol-enduced stupor. Perhaps she HAD been drinking too much this morning, even for her own constitution. In any case...it definitely looked like today's adventure was off. He didn't feel good about going to the Floating Island alone. What if he were attacked by other people hunting shards for the shards he found himself?

Giichi sighed at the sleeping wolf, slamming his fist on the table. "Damnit!" The thump got no reaction from Petya. Shaking his head, the cat turned to the bartender, who Giichi understood was friends with Petya. "Look after her for me, will you please?"

"Sure," the bartender said, nodding.

Giichi stepped out of the bar, and made his way back to his Ferrari. Perhaps doing a little more spirited driving would put him in a better mood and help him think of a new heist to do today...