The Demagogue [Azores Team]

Jack offered a friendly wave to the group that had just arrived. It seemed rather odd to him that both teams would arrive back here so quickly after one another judging by the fact that his group had come straight here while theirs had taken a rather long detour for Nozomi before coming. But then again, Batman, Superman, The Flash, and Aquaman all arrive to the middle of Arizona at the same time.... "Looks like we ended up waiting for you, I think, never really discussed it... Either way we're all here so I suppose it all worked out heh. I see you got Nozomi, I take it it went well with Isla then?" Jack tried to pick his words carefully, it looked as if people were a few steps beyond tense right now and his brand of idiocy would probably only exacerbate the situation...

"So now that we're all here, what's the plan?" Jack knew that a group of this size would likely buckle under it's own weight. Something would need to be done."I propose we split into two groups and infiltrate from two sides, force him to split whatever forces he has guarding the place or take him by surprise if one team is able to get in unnoticed."

Joshua had been waiting impatiently, perhaps with a tinge of nervousness. There was a lot about that building that he didn't like. As a drug lord, Zachary was likely not above from committing some tricky and insidious traps from inside. Without Analee leading them inside, this was going to complicate matters. He waited to hear what Shunnosuke or anyone of her team had to say.

"Or maybe he's waiting for us to serve him the silver platter. Why bother doing anything when we could bring him it, right?" Joshua remarked at Rinna as he eyed Nozomi and Azami.

He really wanted that guy out of reach, but circumstances just weren't that easy. It wasn't like he was angry with Rinna, just a little peeved unfortunately. But the Nyarlathotep Child wasn't in the mood to waste any more time to bicker with everyone. Joshua raised an eyebrow at the Power Ranger, "Does this building look like it has another opening? I'm okay with flanking shit, but won't mean anything if we can't approach in different directions. Plus we're in Standasen, his home turf, he knows we're here. Element of surprise be damned."

It had been a while since Azami had last spoken, primarily because she had little to say, but also partially because of her disappointment regarding her recent company. While she had nothing against them personally, it wasn't difficult to see why Joshua was less than thrilled when he encountered them there... more specifically, however, the cosplayer was the main source of her annoyance. The way he reacted to her summoning her Persona, how he unhesitantly paraded around in that costume, and not to mention that idiotically idealistic speech about bringing Zachary in alive to make sure "no one else dies" -- it was very grating in a way that even Shunnosuke hadn't managed to top. It reminded her of herself back when she was a child, always running around like a dumbass, wearing a scarf in the middle of summer because she thought it looked cool and throwing out meaningless, ignorant platitudes she had absorbed from whatever TV shows she had been watching recently.

The others that surrounded her weren't much to her liking either, especially Analee. Lune at least had Rinna to vouch for her, but Analee? The only thing she had going for her was the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was just her overestimating Zachary's competence, but Azami couldn't help but have her doubts about the girl's loyalties. It seemed ridiculous to think that a headbutt and a bit of yelling was enough to snap her out of whatever sort of twisted mindfuckery that asshole was doing to her brain. And after her warning them about that herself, Azami wasn't exactly overflowing with joy at the thought of bringing her along for the ride.

Ultimately, though, it didn't matter. She knew better than to voice her many disagreements with what was going on. Shouting down everyone else was just gonna spread dissent and threaten to split them up before they could take down Zachary. She'd stick with their agenda and methods for now, but when the time came to confront and deal with him directly, she wouldn't hesitate to do whatever was needed, even if it meant coming to odds with everyone else like back when she first arrived in Standasen. At the very least, she was hopeful that Joshua and Rinna would back her up if no one else would.

Nevertheless, there was no point in staying silent forever. While she didn't have much to offer, there wasn't really any harm in giving what little advice she did have to give to the rest of the group, even if she wasn't certain whether or not they'd heed it. "Part of the reason we're here is so I can get more powerful, right? Trying to sneak past his goons seems counterintuitive to that, not to mention a poor strategy as Joshua pointed out. I say we just cut our way through whatever opposition gets in our way. Hell, maybe Zachary himself'll be more hesitant to go up against us after seeing his entire entourage wasn't enough to stop us." After everything she had dealt with over the course of this calamity, a couple of cannon fodder thugs was the least of Azami's worries, regardless of the amount of them there. As far as she was concerned, the only relevant threat to the mission besides Zachary himself was YumiAmi, and they had already defeated her once before.

The android looked over surprised to see Shunnosuke and Rinna back already...had they taken too long to act. Regardless, the android offered them a nod at a distance. Then he turned his attention to the plan being made, "Battles are won and lost on the choice of battlefield alone. He's likely holed up with his gang members inside, and he knows we're coming. We've given him plenty of time to prepare, therefore it is likely he has dug in. I recommend that I go in first, I very much doubt that Zachary's goon are going to be armed with Personas. Rather they might bring firearms, despite your powers, you are all human. A bullet will kill you, it will hurt me, but I can take a few hits assuming they don't hit any critical systems." The android stated, offering his view.

"Let's go in together as a single strike force with the intent to get to Zachary and stop his brainwashing." The android stated, "If we're ready to proceed then we had better get going. Any time we spend waiting is more time for him to prepare for us. Let's not keep them waiting too long." He had faith that he would be able to take a hit or two from a bullet, but even though he was well-made, he was far from indestructible. Simon had built him well, but even he had to admit his own faults. He felt like he could trust Joshua, and this masked individual seemed trustworthy as well. He had unlocked his ultimate before the android and that bolstered his confidence. The concern he had was with Azami, she just seemed to be growing more and more self-centered and unstable. If that is who the group would have to work with then they would have to keep an eye on her and make sure she did not go off the deep-end.

"We don't know what he can do. I've never seen him fight," he admitted nonchalantly, "We're just gonna drop in blind and hope for the best."

It's a massive disadvantage, but it wasn't like they weren't weak. Many of the people here have reached the pinnacle of their potential. Even if things does seem to go bad, they weren't going to go down so easily.

"Rinna, Lune, and Nozomi should stay," Joshua started again, "Shunnosuke should stay too if he wants. I'd feel better if we have someone helping to guard Nozomi. Ranger dude should stay too, someone tough to back up Shunnosuke would be great. You two can try to move in if something goes wrong, we'll keep in contact through that mental connection earlier. The rest of us should go in and feel out what's inside."

He began to crack his knuckles as his Persona began to emanate from his being, ready to move in as he was glancing at the doors. "Any questions?"

"That panda kid from earlier seemed hesitant to fight him, but I think it's clear by this point that the thirteen don't have the best sense of judgement." She chimed in as the group discussed Zachary's strength. As the discussion continued, it seemed they had reached a consensus, or at least like they were about to. It was a plan Azami didn't have much of a problem with; while it certainly wasn't ideal, it seemed like their best shot considering the situation, and she remained confident that Zachary and Yumi were the only real risks worth considering for the moment. Her head throbbed and her eyes began to turn yellow as usual, the girl preparing to summon one of her Personas only to suddenly stop.

A strange feeling washed over her. It felt like she was floating away from her body, like she was being gently pulled into a nearby ocean by its tide. Though it was a new sensation and different from the ways they had met each other before, she instantly was able to identify that Nozomi was calling out to her, trying to establish some sort of connection to talk through. This time, however, it seemed like she had a choice. For a moment she was hesitant: Zachary was the most pressing issue right now and it didn't seem wise to delay the assault any further. Regardless though, it seemed just as risky to ignore Nozomi and whatever it was he was trying to bring to her attention. Whatever his reason for contacting her this way was, it had to be important.

"...Give me a second Joshua. I need to do something. It shouldn't take too long." Perhaps she should have explained further, but quite frankly she just wanted to get things over with. The sooner she dealt with this situation, the sooner they could get back to the plan at hand. So Azami would answer the boy's "call" without further hesitance. Her body would go limp, standing in the same position almost lifelessly, the girl clearly having entered a trancelike state. Wherever she was, it wasn't Standasen, not for the moment anyway.

"I can tell when I've been outvoted heh. Fair enough, full frontal assault it is. Also, Sentinal has a point, you guys need to be very weary of firearms. Heh, Though, for all the shit you guys toss me about my suit, it's actually fully bullet proof for small arms fire and bullet resistant to heavier calibers. You honestly didn't think I just wore this cus it was cozy did ya?" To put it bluntly, Jack thought this was a poor plan, rushing in head first into a fully fortified base was about as needlessly risky as it could get. However, he knew that starting an argument and trying to debate this would only waste time and end up putting everyone in an off mood, which would only serve to make things worse in the long run. Also surprising was how much Joshua was stepping up to the plate on this one. While the two of them would never see eye to eye, or probably even remotely like one another, Jack couldn't help but feel a bit of respect for the guy because of this. Planning a reserve force in case the main force fails and needs reinforcements? Not bad...

"Hrm... I'd rather I was on the front, but I can see your point. I have no issue with this plan. Just don't go killing Zach in there, we need him alive." Jack wanted nothing more then to be on the front lines... However, he knew that for the very same reason he suggested they split up that he had to stay back. No heroic pride was hurt here. Jack finally learned that lesson... However... His lordship felt the need to but in...

"Oh for Zordon's sake... Kurosawa will you please relax, I'm not a fan of this arrangement either and you don't see me complaining." Just when things were going smoothly..."If it honestly means THAT much to you I could swap with someone else... Happy?"

Joshua resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Kurosawa and at Jack. But either way, they were going to stay behind. He raised an eyebrow at Rinna, but eventually nodded to agree with her. So it was Rinna, Lune, and Shunnosuke back there. So be it. "Fine, c'mon. Let's just get this shit over with."

He was about to enter the building, but--

"For fuck's sakes, now's not the fucking time for a nap, Azami. We'll go on without you. Go catch up or something," he growled at her. The Nyarlathotep Child simply just kicked the door open. When it was, he'd just enter with whoever was following him.

"Alright then, if you're sure you can handle yourselves, I'll join the infiltration team," Jack would say with a nod, a sudden feeling of relief washing over him. One less headache to deal with AND he would be able to take on Zach himself. Win win!

"I meant what I said Joshua," Jack said quickly catching up and trying to get ahead of Joshua in the entry. "I'm bullet proof and you're not, let Sentinel and I take point. We can't afford losing anyone to something a pedestrian as gunfire." Jack only hoped Joshua's Ego wouldn't be hurt by this... He didn't mean anything by it, he just wanted to be as safe as possible.