[b][i]Ashton Andrews and Flame Brooks[/i][/b]

Flame nodded and said, "I am not the best at this cloak-and-dagger stuiff, but I'm cynical enough to know when it's needed and that's the best we have. But despite my cynicism, I know when to share information and when to keep it secret. So, I'll share everything that's happened to me and Ashton so far while you tell me about the assassins that tried to kill you and the the other guy [i]and[/i] how the cleaning went down."

He had added that last phrase as an afterthought. "Basically, nothing happened to those who went to get papers - and by nothing bad, I meant nothing fatal. One can see it in the Japanese girl; she seemed like she got pulled out from the verge of triumph."

Flame paused, "But here's the info we have; the entire party - all of us Earthlings - are under a curse that prevents us from talking about being from another world, although a partial way can be gotten around it by referring to L.T. as L.T." Another pause. "After personalized interrrogations that were actually humane, we also got our papers; all except Yuuki - I'll tell you about what happened to him later. Note that said papers don't give us citizenship, just allow us to go around the city without fear of arrest and death. And this is the most important piece of information; Yuuki got denied papers and will be treated to honorable confinement because..."

He leaned in closer, "His dad, on Earth, is apparently a part of the Cult IRL and said Cult has power even on Earth. And they're afraid that while Yuuki can be trusted, his father is able to control him or had cast something to turn him into a Demon Beast at an opportune time." A sigh, "And finally, I fell out with Chieko; she hates me and Ashton now because I called her 'mean' for casting mean looks at the both of us. Then we found out that the authorities are not taking recruits or apprentices, and thus we had to go to Doctor Donovan for a job."

The redhead looked at Aerith and Hiro now. "Now, tell us what happened to you two so we can get a complete picture. You talked about assassins and I saw what happened to you and your companion earlier. Also, while I'm only a botanist and Ashton's a novice veterinarian, I [i]know[/i] the difference between dying to a blade and dying to poison now, and if Fritzi is an enemy, she would not have exposed herself to poison candles or pointed out [i]that there could be poison candles in the first place[/i]. Plus, she was exhibiting the same symptoms as us before we all collapsed."

Flame had made up his mind; Doctor Donovan was guilty and suspicious to boot. But he'd let the others infer it and assess his evidence. He then waited for Aerith to tell him what happened and once she was done, give his own thoughts.

"Even more evidence for Fritzi being somewhat innocent," He would say if he had been given the required information; if not, he'd stay silent. "She would not have taught you guys magic if she were planning to kill you all right from the start - at least, it's not likely. Also, I'd presume that you guys still know how to use your magic as we all retain knowledge through resets. So I think that first order of business is to ask Fritzi or someone else to check all of us for our 'Magical Elements and strengths'; even if she's treacherous, we can retain the knowledge and use it in future 'loops'."

He then looked to see if Chieko, Yuuki, Aer, and Ashton had left yet.