[h2]Omnibus - [color=C2b280]Fleo[/color], [color=red]A[/color][color=orange]r[/color][color=green]i[/color][color=blue]e[/color][color=purple]l[/color], [color=black]Annalise[/color] and Trinity[/h2]
"Oh... Gods, this place is nothing like Minstrel. My eyes... my ears..."

Even for people who'd been there before, Onibus was [i]loud[/i], not just in noise, but in appearance.  Bright, garish colors were everywhere, from signposts to billboards to the buildings, rooftops, and street pavings themselves.  Though a bustling city, Onibus did not teem with industry, but rather entertainment.  In this entire region of Fiore, this town was second only to Akane Resort in terms of tourism.  Fleo didn't have much of an idea of where to begin the search for the thief that had allegedly stolen Annalise's memory.

Fortunately, there were only so many places of spurious repute in the town.  Any wizard worth her salt knew that the local Bang Bang Bar was a haven for bounty hunters.  Chances were, any magical ne'er-do-wells would end up there.  As it happened, however, Fleo was a stranger to Onibus town, and knew not of this esoteric feature.  [color=C2B280]"So, where's a terrible bandit most likely to hide?"[/color] she wondered aloud.

The noise and all around business of Onibus had gotten to Ariel. She had reverted to her fire magic and had her arms crossed as they walked. The Fire mage's expression showed her dislike of the city. "[color=orange]This place is crazy. But if you're looking for a place there is a bar here that would probably know.[/orange]" How exactly Ariel knew of such a place given her usual M.O. was something of a question. Feeling that it was likely to come up she looked at the others and shrugged. "[color=orange]My father told me about it. Though he said I should stay away from it. Never told me why. I think the four of us can take care of each other though.[/color]" After thinking a while she recalled the name. "[color=orange]It's called the Bang Bang Bar.[/color]"

Trinity had remained silent, being as unsure of her surroundings as Fleo. This land was still quite foreign to her, after all. The name of their destination was... curious, to say the least. "Bang Bang? Like..." The minstrel made two finger guns, shooting them each once. "Bang Bang? Sounds rowdy."  Fleo quickly closed her mouth.  She'd been about to venture a guess to the meaning of 'Bang Bang', and it hadn't involved guns. The one in red robes gave the dust mage a curious look, but nothing more.

With such an obvious name it wasn't all that hard to locate. People were wary of giving information because of the kind of people it attracted, and more than once they were warned to avoid the bar. Ariel, being a hot head at the moment, ignored the advice, not really woried about the people that could be there.

"[color=orange]It should be around this next corner if what we were told is correct.[/color]" Turning the corner, sure enough, there it was. It looked about like any bar ever conceived. Walking in the group garnered stares for a few seconds before things went back to normal. They probably didn't get groups of young Mage women all that often.

Trinity gazed about the bar as they entered. Unfriendly as she imagined. She mustn't let the intimidation show, or that would mark her in an environment like this. She made a move toward the bar, having herself a seat and catching the barkeeps attention. "Get me aaaaa..." she hemmed and hawed for just a moment, "Saber's Tooth. After the guildmaster change." The difference was that one would be a shot and the other would get you a mixed drink.

"Twin Dragons, please," the dusty woman ordered next.  The drink in question was a rather hefty brand of beer, one that for a certain reason she'd had copious amounts of earlier in her life.  Even though that phase of her existence had passed, the taste she'd acquired for the drink persisted.  The tender, a stick-thin scarecrowd of a man, silently and coldly served the two ladies.  As Fleo drank, she took a discreet look around the joint.  At midday, there weren't too many patrons, but those that were seemed of the decidedly seedy sort.  She caught one woman looking at her, and when spotted, the onlooker quickly turned back to her two friends.  She leaned over and whispered to the others, "I have an idea about how we might be able to ask the bartender, but some of these people seem the type to associate with a big-time thief.  Do you want to try some of the locals, or stick with the tender?"

Not far away, the only other person at the bar itself was slumped over the surface, drunk as a skunk.  Either the man's eyes were watering something serious, or those were tears trickling down his face.  Either was, the older gentleman seemed both not the sort of frequent this kind of place, and in too much of a stupor to be a serious asset.

Trinity's eyes glanced over at the elderly gentlemen that seemed to be weeping. "Er... I must admit, Fleo, I'm not very good at this sort of thing. I've no idea how to go about it, honestly. Other than maybe a little bribery..." That last bit was muttered under her breath, and she really didn't have the cash for that anyway. "But... One of these things is not like the others. Wonder why. Excuse me." What was such a man doing here? And why was he weeping so? She rose and approached the man, her drink in hand, sliding onto the seat next to him. "Sir?" She spoke softly, sweetly, a gentle smile on her face. "What's wrong, sir? A man like yourself in a place like this... in such a state. Would you share your thoughts with me?"

A few long moments hinted that the man lay too deep in his languor for Trinity's words to possible dredge him up.  In fact, he gave no response to having heard at all, but he did eventually begin speaking.  "Oh, Isaac," he mumbled into the laquered wood, heavily slurring his words.  "My...son.  I miss ye so much!  I wan't...strong 'nough..."  He sniffled and stirred, pivoting slighty as if noticing Trinity for the first time.  Thought the chances of him making out any details through blurry, wet eyes were slim, he seemingly recognized the presence of another human.  "Oo're you?" he burbled through his mustache.

Ooh, he was farther gone than she anticipated. This would be interesting. "Who am I? That's not important, sir, but you can call me Trinity." She reached out and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm more interested in who [i]you[/i] are, and what you're doing in a place like this. Why don't you tell me all about your troubles?"

The man made an attempt to move back, but being on a stool, only managed to rock it slightly.  He scrunched his reddened face together, trying to remember something important.  "I...I can' tell ye."

"What can't you tell me?"

A fresh stream of tears surged forth.  "That those bastards took my son!  The greasy rats from the university, they took a whole bunch of kids!  I went in an' tried to stop 'em wit' fisticuffs, but they beat me and kicked me to the curb, an' told me if I ever told anyone they'd kill my son!"  The mustached man suddenly realized what he was saying, and slammed two fists against the sides of his head.  "Nooo!  They're gonna kill Isaac now, what have I done!"  He reached out a hand, stunningly quick for one so drunk and caught Trinity firmly on the shoulder.  "You gotta help me," he insisted in a low tone, his whiskers wet and drooping pitiably, "You can' let Isaac die!"

Ooh, looked like she opened up a whole can of worms. Trinity looked at the man with a bit of shock, but she put her hand over his and gave him a confident smile. "Don't you worry, sir. I'll save your son. Can you tell me anything else about them? Anything you can tell me."

Ariel had been trying to figure out how to deal with the bar tender. Her father had mentioned that this place was rather tough to get information from. Apparently there was some kind of secret to it. Since Trinity moved off to take to the man at the table she turned to the counter. Thinking that her fiery attitude would be a hindrance she concentrated a moment before her magic telling features turned a solid black. Her emotions seemed to die when using her Dark magic. She could also be rather blunt. "[color=black]I need some information. There in a woman who's memories are lost and had a ring stolen. Do you know anything that can help?[/color]" The entire time she just stood there staring emotionless.

Leaning against the counter the bar tender looked Ariel in the eyes, unfazed by the odd mages change. "If you want information girl then you're going to have to prove you know someone with a reputation here." After a short staring contest the man drew back. "That's what I thought. I recognize your guild mark. What's a group of Phoenix Wingers doing in my bar?" 

With that avenue closed, it seemed that the drunken man was the only option left.  For a man hopelessly inebriated, however, he proved to be remarkably cryptic with what descriptions he would provide.  Thanks no doubt to his state, he apparently thought that if he didn't spill anything else about the kidnappers, they'd let him off the hook.  During this time, Fleo stood outside the door, having finished her drink, and now she came strolling back to the others' sides.  [color=C2b280]"It's not a terribly big town, I think I found the university.  Kids aren't exactly too hard to find. If we just search the place from top to bottom, we'll find them."[/color]

No real alternative to this plan remained, and with the patrons of the establishment looking surlier every minute, the trio soon departed.  The university of Onibus was, indeed, no grand-campus affair; it was comprised of only a few buildings, fairly close together.  In a town full of strange architecture and wild colors, the university alone was normal, which in Onibus made it the weird one.  As Fleo approached, she wondered what might be the best approach. [color=C2b280] "Do we want to go the proper route?  If that drunk was telling the truth, then these guys are all kinds of shady, and we can probably bust in."[/color]  Of course, aside from that, the unspoken issue of splitting up or sticking together in the search remained to be addressed.

"I doubt the entire college is involved, and if we alert them to our presence before we find them, they may actually kill their captives. I wish I could have gotten more information out of the old man..." She would have used a Love Arrow on him, but the patrons of the bar were... well. She doubted using magic would have gone over very well at all. "I think we should each scout a different building. Try to blend in, don't draw attention to yourself. If you find them and you end up getting in a scuffle or something, send a signal outside. We'll most likely hear it. Otherwise, we should meet back up out here and move in with a plan."

[color=C2b280]"Alright."[/color]