The portal she had opened had more or less been random. She was somewhere in Konan, that much she could tell. But it looked familiar... of course, the barren landscape didn't change much for miles.

*Oh, I think I know,* she thought. *The Mori ought to be right over that ridge there.* After a few minutes, the place came into view. *Right again... I wonder if Mercy's here,* she thought as she felt an Otaku presence inside and reached into her HammerSpace to see that her glaive was right there in case she needed it. Susanne pushed open the door of the Mori and looked around. The only one she was was Celly, sittting at the far corner of the bar, absently stirring a drink.

Walking up behind her, Susanne was on her guard, fully expecting the fuku-clad girl to jump up and whirl around at any moment. When she was standing directly behind her, Susanne waited a moment before actively trying to get her attention.

In a deep voice, she said, "Miss, you look a little young to be in a bar. Can I see some ID?"

"I'm legal, dammit," Celly said, though she was a little difficult to understand. Her speech was slurred, and when she turned around, she spent several moments focusing. "Oh, it's you. I'm still legal."

"Um, sure you are, Celly. Mind if I ask you why you're sitting in here, drinking that... whatever it is?"

"It's is an Nuriko Special!" she proclaimed proudly.

"Okay, I suppose I should be proud of you for managing to answer that one part."

Celly narrowed her eyes. "Are you insulting me?"

"Ooh, is the booze wearing off?" Susanne turned to the bartender. "I'll just take a Coke, thanks."

"No!" the bartender stopped at Celly's cry, and Susanne just waved him on. "You're not staying here!"

"I'm not? I was going to buy myself a drink. The caffeine level in my blood is getting too low. Oh, thanks," she said as the bartender set the glass in front of her.

"You just come in here, order all us 'round!" Celly hiccupped. "Well, you can just turn around and walk right back out! This is MY Mori! MINE!!"

"Wow, we're getting a little possessive here, aren't we?" Susanne said, trying to hold back a grin.

Celly's eyes narrowed and she stood in front of Susanne. "I've given you chances to avoid me. This is your last one. Get the hell out of my bar."

The grin was gone from Susanne's face. She set her coke down. "Maybe this time you should take the opportunity to avoid me. Leave me alone, and I'll leave the Mori when I'm done. Go back to your drink."

-----------

"Fourth known incarnation uneventful," Roger read. "The Game did not require her presence, and she was not aware-- shit!" Roger tossed the book down and opened a portal to follow Susanne.

-----------

Susanne took a towel out of her HammerSpace and wiped the Nuriko Special from her face and hands. After throwing the drink at her, Celly had drawn her BBBoD and now stood, holding her obscenely long escudo sword menacingly a few feet away.

"I don't see what you hoped to accomplish by that," Susanne said. "I'm even less inclined to just leave now. I swear, if you just leave me alone, I¹ll be out of your hair, at least for awhile."

Celly said nothing, but Susanne saw her tense as she began to swing the sword, and her hand shot into HammerSpace for her glaive.

------------

Roger ran towards the Mori. Now they were actually fighting... just great. There was nothing he could do at this point, since he couldn't interfere, but he had to be there, anyway.

As he came to the door of the Mori, a cold chill washed over him as he realized who else was inside.

-------------

"What happened to those terrific fighting skills, Celly?" Susanne said mockingly as she neatly ducked another of Celly¹s swings.

"Get out of my bar!!" was the only answer.

"What, leave now? In the middle of the party?" she hit Celly¹s shoulder with the handle of the glaive. "If you don¹t say uncle, I'm going to have to start making these hits count!"

An enraged Celly charged Susanne, but the brown-haired girl merely stepped aside and swung the glaive again, giving Celly a bruise across her back to match the ones on each shoulder.

*Celly should be seeing red right about now,* Susanne thought. *This is about what she did to Kristsi earlier. She¹ll wake up tomorrow knowing I could easily have killed her.*

As Celly ran toward her again, Susanne held the glaive out and caught Celly¹s sword, twisting it out of her hands and sending it across the room. Susanne stood for a moment with the point of her glaive inches from Celly¹s face.

Then Celly ducked away and ran behind the bar. The bartender cried out as Celly began throwing various bottles at her foe, and Susanne dodged for a few seconds before she got tired of it and jumped behind the bar after her.

"I said to stop!" she yelled, swinging the handle of the glaive low and tripping Celly with a resounding :::thud:::. Another light swing, this one connecting with the back of Celly¹s head, and Celly fell back, out cold.

Susanne tossed her glaive back into HammerSpace, wiped her brow and frowned. "I didn¹t want to do that," she said.

*Pay attention,* a voice whispered in her head.

She took her attention off Celly and the mess just in time to feel just how much trouble she really was in.

"They must all be here," she whispered. She started to back away, but she realized that if she could feel them, they must also be able to feel her.

"Celly!" a petite girl cried as she ran in from the other side of the room. "Celly! Wake up, please!" She looked up from her friend. "Susanne," she said coldly.

"Remy... I..." she tried to think of something to say, but there was no excuse. And she could see that Remy was even afraid of her.

*Susanne! Look out!*

"Roger?" she said, turning in the direction she thought he was. Why wasn't he coming out? She wasn't fighting anymore...

She felt Nyx's presence behind her at the same time that she heard the gunshot.