[South Side of Pittsburgh, PA, USA - Late May 1999] "So, uh... do YOU have any idea where we're going?" "Well, the directions say we should walk.. another block and the place should be on the left. It says: Dee's Cafe." The street was bustling at 1:00am, surprising the four as they were briskly moving down the sidewalk. An astute observer would be able to notice the party's tendency to stay closer to the buildings rather than the curb. Mixing in quite easily with the usual strange denizens of the South Side, they exchanged light conversation while still keeping alert to any threats in the new environment. The figure draped in black treaded so softly that it was like he wasn't even there. The statuesque woman in the jeans and Cal t-shirt strode with light, cautious steps, as if she was trying to avoid damaging the ground itself. Following not-too-distantly behind them was a trench-coated man, eyes covered by the shadow of a wide-brimmed hat. He walked with the assured confidence of those who know exactly where they're going even when they technically don't have a clue. To his right, an attractive woman in a not-so-attractive tie-dyed shirt stepped lightly, taking in her surroundings. Her blue eyes twinkled mischievously. Pausing at the entrance to Dee's, Malaclypse removed his hat and chuckled as he dodged a scrawny college student sporting a pompadour and leather being launched through the doorway. Mal recognized the tune blaring from the vintage Wurlitzer as Johnny Cash, but not which song. [Dee's Cafe - South Side, Pittsburgh, PA, USA] "Did he tell /you/ anything," Malaclypse asked Katze as she tried to avoid the better part of a bar-goer's drink being poured on her shoes. Frowning, unsuccessful in her dodge, Katze sighed,"nothing. He's been pretty distant lately, to be honest." "And Aris?" "She said she'd be here. I guess she'll be meeting us." "Okay." Malaclypse scanned the bar. Considering the outside of the joint looked very run-down and divey, he was surprised to see that the crowd was pretty young and trendy. Well, trendy for the late '50's. The predominant fashion trend seemed to be somewhere between Grease and The Stray Cats. Meanwhile, the two remaining members of the party, Rens Houbens and Melanie Davies, sidled up to the bar to commence the consumption of alcholic beverages. "What do you mean you don't have Guinness!?" Davies shook her head in disgust. Rens ordered a mixed drink while his companion gave the bartender the third degree regarding the distinct lack of good British ale. Malaclypse and Katze started looking for the initiator of the meeting. Pupp wasn't in any of the tables or booths visible on the first floor, but there was a non-descript staircase in the back with a faded sign which said: "Second floor OPEN." Heading towards the stairs, Malaclypse motioned to the others to follow. Trailing Malaclypse to the stairs, Katze contemplated her experience working with Pupp. As his friend and confidant on allthings JPV-related, she usually was up to date on everything he was involved in. Considering the fact that Pupp wasn't really the most subtle guy in the world, the amount of secrecy surrounding the meeting gave her a sick feeling deep in her stomach. That, and the small addition he made to her invitation to the meeting didn't make her feel all that better, despite his weak attempt at re-assurance: TO R. HOUBENS, MALACLYPSE, K.BRENNER, A. MERQUONI AND M. DAVIES: PLEASE MEET ME AT THIS LOCATION ON SEPT. 31 AT 01:00GMT DEE'S CAFE, E. CARSON ST, PITTSBURGH PA, USA CAN'T GIVE ANY INFORMATION NOW. VERY URGENT. WILL FILL YOU ALL IN. The only bit added to Katze's was: KAT: DON'T PANIC. Ignoring his blaring Hitchhiker's Guide reference, Katze couldn't help but do exactly that. Secrecy was just not in Pupp's character. She couldn't imagine what would bring this about. Suddenly, she was wrenched from her thoughts as she noticed Mal's voice breaking into her consciousness. Standing at the foot of the steps, he looked concerned. "You okay? You seem a bit preoccupied." Katze paused for a moment and gathered her thoughts. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, i'm fine. Let's head up and see what's so bloody important that he couldn't tell me beforehand." [Dee's Cafe, Second Floor Bar - Pittsburgh, PA, USA] When the pair reached the top of the stairs, their eyes were immediately drawn to the large crowd across the room. The rest of the party stood speechless, as they all noticed the upper half of a pointy hat above the crowd[1]. Said crowd was currently applauding wildly and cheering on the Jihad's chief wizard, who was about halfway through chugging a bottle of some cheap hard liquor. "CHUG!! CHUG!! CHUG!! CHUG!!! YAAAAAAAA!!! WOO-HOO!!!" "Gah! Hoka-- *burp* Hokee. Fooor my NECSHT trickle... sprick... TRICK!" Puppeteer staggered sideways a few steps and started to fall backwards before a bar-goer gave him a boost. He blinked and noticed the Jihaddi. "Heeeeeeyy whazzzup guys? I--" *WHUMP* As the crowd realized that the show was over, they quickly made their way to other more interesting activities. They stepped over the still form laying face-down on the floor, heading for the bar, pool tables or ping pong. Houben looked around at the others, "So. Uhm. I guess we should pick him up then?" Katze shook her head and picked up Pupp's hat. She studied it for a bit and then joined in lifting the passed-out wizard from the floor and dropping him into a booth. "Jeez. He smells like a distillery." "Pupp! Hey! Wake up! Eris. He's totally smashed." Malaclypse gave Puppeteer one last shake and sighed, letting the mage's head fall forward on the table. "Well, we're here. We might as well get a drink while we wait. Is that a ping-pong table?" He smirked evilly. "Anyone feel like a bet?" [Dee's Cafe - Second Floor Bar - an hour later] The table was really cold... and sticky. Puppeteer lifted his head up and tried not to fall over when everything went red. "Ohhh mmaaaaaan. This is.. so NOT cool." He steadied himself and suddenly realized Malaclypse was sitting patiently across from him, giving one of those unique looks he was so good at. Pupp didn't even try to match Mal's gaze. "So." He tried to shake away the clouds. "I... guess you want to know why we're here?" He blinked and shook his head again. "Waitasec. Lemme do some.. something first." He closed his eyes and concentrated. A faint glow appeared to line his body. "Okay. Much better now. Just had to get rid of some of that alcohol." He looked around for the other jihaddi. Katze was scanning through the selections in the jukebox, Mel Davies was in the middle of a game of cricket with Houbens, who was finding out why you don't play a Brit in darts. Aris Merquoni had apparently shown up while Pupp was passed out, and was busy showing some frat guys how to properly down shots. "Let's get everybody over here. I want to get this overwith so we can get back to the drinking." After Mal and Pupp finally managed to gather the others around the booth, Pupp took a deep breath and gave everyone the news: "I'm going to come right out with it. I'm shutting down JPV and leaving." He paused briefly for dramatic effect, and continued before anyone had a chance to interject. "Y'all know how hard it is to live two lives. For us wizard-types, it's doubly hard. We have to hide the very quality that DEFINES us." He looked around the table and dropped his head, studying the stained rings in the wood. "I... just can't hide it anymore." "So, Halloween night at midnight, i'll be moving the whole JPV campus and any who wish to come along to... somewhere else. Somewhere more hospitable. Somewhere where the JPV and I don't have to hide anymore. All that i'll say is that it won't be on this dimension and I don't know if i'll be able to be reached. This is something I've thought long and hard about, and i'm definitely going to do it." He looked at everyone in the eye, searching for someone to protest. Everyone looked at each other for what painfully seemed like hours before Mal finally spoke up. He waved at the bartender casually and pulled out a quite-more- normal-than-you'd-expect billfold. "Well. I don't think anyone here is going to argue. So, I don't really see much left but to continue the drinking." The others nodded, and Katze pulled Puppeteer into a bear-hug. Aris couldn't resist. "Awwwww isn't that CYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. Group hug!" Mal wanted no part of such activities[2], as the rest surged to their feet to join in. Pupp struggled to get away from the forced ky00t-ness[3], but never had a chance. And there was much rejoicing. Footnotes: 1. Some quick backround: Usually, wizard-types tend to not publicize their status as a mage. At least, not on this planet/dimension/whatever, with the exception of a small few who are semi-public but don't acknowledge their magical talents (David Blaine, Lance Burton, etc). Consequently, the wearing of a mage's robes and pointy hat are quite the rare thing around mundanes. This, however, doesn't take into consideration the applied variable which is copious amounts of alcohol. 2. The big meanie that he is. ;) 3. ...with a strange hint of sarcasm.