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

Flame was doing his errand by the metaphorical book, buying food and giving generous tips to the Demi-Human vendors. It was then that he'd come across a surprising sight; a young man in a black-and-white costume who carried two blades on his belt. He had the same build as Ashton, carried himself in much the same way, but somehow... Flame did not recognize him as Ashton until the latter passed him by and whispered, "[i]I haven't seen you this happy since Bangor, Flame.[/i]"

A brief freeze, before the young man whispered back, "Let's talk later; I missed you." Then he gave the current merchant he was buying food from an extra-large tip, in order to distract her from the suspicious encounter. 

After that, Flame walked to a local eatery, one ran by a couple of ocelot-people, subtly glancing at the 'strange man' to follow him. He chose said eatery because if asked, he can 'sell' it to Gris Art Fortye as an extension of his mission to help the Demi populace. As expected, Ashton - Or the person implying he was Ashton - followed, though at a discreet distance. More proof that this was not some sort of trick.

------

A few kebabs and a generous tip later, and Flame and his boyfriend were talking once more, though not so loud that they can be overheard through the din of the eatery. And Flame, after hearing what had happened to Ashton during the time they were seperated, was his cynical self again.

"So, some old gladiator trainer wants you to get metals for a new and epic weapon. Do you think you can trust him?" the redhead was saying.

Ashton nodded, "Yeah; he seems 'pure', despite being part of the criminal underground. But we need to be careful; quite frankly, I am more concerned about two things: One, Chieko and Aerith - It was implied she was saved by those 'Witches' - might be our enemies now; Archibald could probably be our one last Isekai-er ally. And this city... The so-called High Council are planning something that I [i]know[/i] will lead to large-scale destruction, and Fritzi has some sort of connection to them."

A frown from the now-ivory-haired boy. "I have the seeds of a plan to defend the city; but I don't want to flub up again, so I need a keen eye, not just a yes-man. So Flame, I need to ask a few questions."

He then paused for effect, then said, "How much does this Gris Art Fortye trust you? And how much contact do you keep with Alistair and Mono? And while we're at it, have you kept contact with Doctor Donovan, even tentatively?"

Flame pursed his lips. "I think that you're heading into dangerous territory, and that we'll be putting ourselves in danger should I answer those questions. So tell me first - What are the goals of this plan?"

The answer was vague, and used cultural references that only Ashton and Flame or another Isekai-er can understand, "We've played Mass Effect, right? The first one? Let's just say that we're playing the Paragon Path..."

[i]So unifying at least two of the major factions against a third.[/i] Flame got the reference, [i]But that requires the third being vile enough for the first two to put aside their differences, and a Demi-Human Liberation Front might or might not be enough be that third. Ideally, we'd try and lure in the Witch Cult they keep talking about, but aside from potentially killing someone by telling them of the Isekai, we don't know how to do it; we just have vague knowledge that they're planning something.[/i]

But Flame didn't voice his thoughts; Ashton knew those anyway. So he whispered, "You do know you're charged with murder, right? So the circumstances have to appear dire enough that your 'crime' would be overlooked. Otherwise, there won't be an alliance."