Previously: The Crossing of the First Threshold Part 1

Cut Scene: Hachiman Strikes

After Takahashi “Eight” Fujiwara leaves the club, Hachiman approaches him and tells him that they need to talk. They go to Eight’s car, and he tries to speak to his father, who remains silent. Soon, Hachiman tells Eight to drive to a certain location. Eight asks why, and Hachiman just repeats the request. Eventually Eight sees a flash of lightning across the road, and Hachiman has his hands around Eight’s throat, choking him into unconsciousness.

Where Is Everyone?

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

The Band wakes up to a note from Evan Itzcóatl saying that Eight never came back last night, so he’s going out to look for him with his gang. He tells them to check on Jake Legard and look for the mirror.

Meanwhile, Jake wakes up in Sato “Storm” Kiyoshi’s room while he’s still snoring, and searches it. She notices that his gun looks unusual (it’s made of a weird metal), so she takes a picture of it with her iPhone.

Hofi Hamasdöttir texts Jake. They agree to just go ahead with the plan and wait to hear from Evan. They arrive at the hotel where Jake and Sato are, and Sato eventually wakes up. He says he’ll get ready, so they go to the bar and have mimosas while they wait. Eventually he arrives, and they ask how they will know the mirror is authentic when they see it. Sato doesn’t know what it looks like, but claims that a “true man of Japan” will know it. They call Crystal to ask her what it looks like, and she gives them a guess.

Hofi drops the rest of the group off on a busy street to get Sato some food. She then checks online to find the “Animal Heaven” pet store. She buys an iguana with an iguana “starter kit”, and then gives all the iguana stuff to thrift store. She kills the iguana in a park, and casts Ariadne’s Thread. She gets the impression that the mirror is north of them.

She drives back to find that Sato has been eating McDonald’s kid’s meals for an hour, and is playing with the toy. Jake is trying to act as translator.

Meanwhile, Evan finds Eight’s abandoned car. He calls Crystal to see if she can locate his phone. She activates his locator, which shows up on his iPhone map as near the Olentangy Indian Caverns somewhere in Delaware, Ohio (north of the city).

Street Fight!

The Band and Sato starts to make the trip north, through Columbus traffic. Soon they are snarled in a traffic jam. As they get stuck on the road under the shadow of a tall building, more shinobi attack them. One slashes the tires on one side, and Hofi manages to drive the car on rims into the sunlight, while Azure Kessinger tries to beat one with her car door. Jake makes her way back to the fight on her flying motorcycle.

As Fate would have it, Evan is a few cars behind when this starts, and he runs across the roofs of the cars to engage the shadowy ninjas. He tries to focus his Divine Radiance Boon into a kind of “sun ray” against one of the ninjas, which results in the coolest dice pool ever: Charisma + Marksmanship. He kills one, breaks open his chest, and eats the shinobi’s heart.

After the fight ends, Sato calls someone to back him up, telling them to meet him in Delaware, Ohio after Evan shares his information with them. Seeing that Hofi’s rental car is a write-off, they all get into Evan’s Escalade and drive off.

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall….

As the Band arrives, they notice a military-grade Hummer in the parking lot. Sarah Gaunt comes out and talks to Sato. Evan starts insulting Sarah, and both groups almost come to blows. Jake tackles Evan before he can strike Sarah. Eventually, Sarah and Evan agree to stay behind while Sato and the rest of the Band break into the supply shed and steal supplies to explore the caverns. While they head down, Evan drives around and parks near the tunnel.

They make their way down, and the group eventually finds a large cavern off the regular path. The room is huge, but they can just make out two fenrir in the middle, snarling at them. The Band is surprised to hear one of the fenrir speak and ask them what they are doing there. Jake texts Evan that they may have a problem, and Evan wedges his Escalade in reverse in the tunnel that leads to the caverns. Sarah’s men try to break through the windshield and climb through the car while Evan makes his way down the tunnel.

Azure talks to fenrir, and through manipulation works out that they’re forced to guard the mirror, but they hate their master. Eventually the larger fenrir tells her that they will not allow the Band to get past them to get the mirror, while the smaller one bites down on the mirror and brings it in front of the two monsters.

As the Band grabs the mirror, lightning bolts from a shadowy form hit the fenrir, and they turn and attack the figure who assaulted them. As Jake looks into the mirror, they see that Eight is tied up in corner. They free him as Sarah’s men run down. They show them the mirror and run the opposite way. The men start to raise their guns, but they hear the sounds of the fenrir fighting and decide to follow the Band back up the tunnel.

Sarah tries to bring her machine-gun mount to bear on the escaping vehicles, but Evan drives his car right next to hers, smashing into the machine gun. She swears at him, but lets them drive off. Sato stays with Sarah, after agreeing that as far as he knows, as long as the mirror returns to Amaterasu, his father should be content.

Jake, on her motorcycle, holds on to the mirror. At one point she glances into the mirror, and sees Baldur with his hand on her shoulder behind her. She knows that he’s her father, not Tyr.

They arrange to meet Hachiman (the real Hachiman) at Aqua picks up the mirror from the Band, and mutters something about contacting Hera. Evan calls him on it, and Hachiman, furious, tells them to be in Peebles, Ohio in June 2010 to get their answers.

Quotes of the Night

• “You are now living every geek’s dream—Storytelling for a table full of women.”
• “You have successfully stunted with the iguana. Only one iguana was harmed in the making of this game.”