Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

Ta Kaung Chien and her sisters, over in Myanmar, weren't your friends - maybe not at the time, or maybe just not your friends at all. You'd come in to their lives at one heck of a low point, and you'd saved them, then you'd let them be. You stand by that decision, still - sometimes, you're not the right person to help. Sometimes, the best way to help someone is to let them have their space. They had each other, and you were an intruder at best.

Still, that's besides the point. They weren't your friends at the time, and you stepped in because it was the right thing to do.

You let yourself grimace with your real face, leaning into Mami's side, even as you keep your proxy's face smiling pleasantly, neutral and inoffensive.

And... surely Parró knows that. They'd been doing their homework, after all, spying on you from afar and drawing your attention. It's possible that they just didn't find out as much as you thought they did that much, and made a few guesses. The speed of your response, and your instant presence in Myanmar certainly could look like personal investment, but it's equally possible that she's perfectly aware, and working some ploy.

Or being magically influenced, some especially paranoid part of you whispers.

Or she's trying to flirt flatter her way into your good graces, some even more paranoid part of you adds. But then again, that's just another possible ploy she could be running.

You give her a neutral, noncommittal smile, gesturing at the little study desk in the room. Just the one chair, but that's not a problem.

"Why don't we sit down?" you suggest. "I think we've got a number of things to sort through."

Parró nods, that chipper smile unwavering on her face. She looks a little strained, at best, which... is evidence for nothing much more than being stressed. Which, regardless of what might be running through her mind, is pretty much the only reasonable reaction. You'd be more suspicious if someone speaking to their captor wasn't stressed.

"So," you say as you seat yourself opposite her, folding Grief out of thin air to sit on. "Miss Parró. Would you mind telling me what you think happened? I'll tell you my perspective after that."

"Of course, of course," she says, her voice still that same easy drawl. "Well, there we were, me and my girls, hanging out after another hunt. Now, we'd heard rumours of your deeds, and we were interested in recruiting your fine self, so I had Amy take a look at your town while we had the time."

"Uh huh," you say neutrally, gesturing for her to continue. After a 'hunt', she says. Euphemism or just bald-faced lie, and neither option you find palatable. "And why were you in Myanmar for your hunt specifically?"

"Because I have a ship," Parró says. "Traveling is what I do. And isn't my Iowa beautiful?"

"It's a lovely ship, yes," you say neutrally. There's a glimmer of real pride in the way she says that, a look of genuine joy you don't think is faked.

"And then..." Parró snaps her fingers. "There you were, right on top of us! Flattened us in seconds, which let me tell you, is no small feat. We're all veterans." She laughs lightly. "And... I gotta apologize for trying to grab them as hostages. And for my actions when you captured us. It's not like we knew much what was going to happen, you know? Desperation."

"You tried to kill Ta Kaung Chien out of desperation?" you ask mildly. You remember, of course. Taking hostages as a desperate last ploy, gun to their Gems. Maybe they'd been bluffing.

Maybe.

"Is that her name?" Parró asks. "I'm bad with these foreign names."

Somehow, you doubt it.

"Mmm," you say neutrally. "Well. From my point of view, I'd heard you and your gang were nasty pieces of work. And we found you lording it over the local girls, who were half-starved and badly traumatized. I don't suppose you know anything about that?"

You stare at her in silence, your proxy unblinking.

"Ah, fuck this," she mutters, smile and drawl both draining away. The expression she levels at you is one of flat calculation, her eyes flickering momentarily to the empty Soul Gem mount on your proxy's chest. "Guess we're both sick of the foreplay. What do you want?"

"Honestly, I should be asking you that," you say evenly, not letting the sudden change of gears faze you. "You're the one who wanted to see me, no? So I'm here as a courtesy to you, and I'd appreciate you not wasting any more of my time."

Parró flattens her lips together.

"Well, forgive me for wanting to talk to someone actually in charge instead of a lackey," Parró says.

"You're very wrong about that, but frankly, it's besides the point. If you really want, it's something that I don't mind telling you about later," you say, sighing. "But you know what, you still haven't answered the question. What do you want?"

"Hah." Her laugh is dry and unamused. "As if that's not obvious. I want my freedom back. And I'm wanting to know what it'll take to buy it."

You purse your lips, giving her a long, long look. One of the few girls you've met who's taller than you, but not by much - and with the way she leans forward in her chair, elbows braced on the table, you don't have to tilt your head back to meet her gaze. There is, perhaps, a hint of unease beneath that confidence.

"I... look. Do you even know why we stopped you?" you ask.

"Is this about your friends there in Myanmar?" Parró asks. "I'll apologise for that. I'll apologise to them, too, if that's what you want."

"They're not my friends," you say softly. "I didn't know them at all before you scryed on us."

"Huh. Really playing into that white knight rep of yours, then. Good schtick, not my thing," she says, raising an eyebrow, then shaking her head. "Well, whatever. I applaud playing hardball, but let's not kid ourselves here. You need me. You need my girls."

"Do I?" you say.

"Now who's wasting time?" Parró asks, rolling her eyes. "No way in hell anybody bothers keeping girls they beat alive unless there's a reason for it. Which... let me guess. You need kneebreakers. We go kick some faces in, and then you swoop in and rescue them? Classic two-person scam."

"No, not at all," you say. "I'm not running any kind of scam. The reason I stopped you is because fucking hell you needed to be stopped."

You glare at her, and something in your gaze makes her rock back, just a little bit.

"I just..." you gesture at yourself, a rough jab to the chest. "Seriously, the answer's right in front of you. I'm hearing you out because I think hearing you out would be the right thing to do. I stopped you because taking people hostage and grinding them to death isn't right."

Parró gives you a heavy, lidded look.

"And what do you want me to do?" she asks. "Kiss your feet for your great and glorious generosity? Praise the sun shining out of your ass? Because let me tell you, Sabrina, the real world doesn't work like that."

"Man, I kind of hate that phrase," you say with a snort, and spread your arms. "'The real world'. I mean, is this not the real world?"

Some extremely pedantic part of yourself feels the urge to point out that this room, within the aegis of Yuki's power, might not in fact be the real world, but that's entirely besides the point.

"You've got the upper hand for now, girl. But that's not going to last forever," Parró says, her expression dark. "It's about leverage and control. You got the drop on us, but that's not going to last forever. You need a stick to your carrot if you're gonna build your new world order."

"... really?" you say, raising an eyebrow. "I mean. The carrot is free cleansing. The stick is... not having free cleansing. It's not that complicated."

"Ah, sure, you'll starve people to death," Parró says, snorting. "That's why you're keeping us alive. And so generous! I don't think my Soul Gem's been so consistently clean in months. Your new world order'll run nicely right up until you run into someone big enough to just take what you've got and ignore you."

"Mm," you say. "Not entirely wrong in generalities, but your assumptions are just wrong. But frankly, I doubt you're actually interested in debating policy with me. And I... have no interest in this frankly boring social Darwinist bullshit."

You exhale sharply, interlacing your proxy's fingers on the table before you.

"So. Here's what's going to happen," you say. "My friends and I are working on getting an actual functional legal system going. It might take some time, but once we're done, you and your team are going through it. Don't worry for your lives, though. I don't believe in the death penalty, and we're aiming for rehabilitative justice, not punitive."

"A legal system?" Parró stares at you for a long, long moment, then begins to laugh. Derisive, ugly peals of laughter that end with tears in her eyes and her fist pounding against the table, leaving cracks in the wood.

You would be insulted, but well. You are proposing something essentially unheard of. And more than that...

You don't actually have to convince her of anything here and now, do you? The proof is in the pudding, after all, and ultimately... ultimately, you might still play some active part in rehabilitating them. And then again, maybe not. You'll definitely need a mental health professional or two on the job, and it might be best to be on hand for at least the initial meetings, just in case.

Fix everything, Madoka had Wished. And you will. But do you have to do anything now?

You find yourself smiling. It's... actually sort of refreshing. You don't have to try and convert her to your side, seemingly unrepentant as she is. Which you suppose, on an intellectual level, you sort of understand. They did what they had to, to survive, and the human mind is quick to wallpaper over little things like that. Nobody likes thinking too hard about the unpleasant deeds they've hardened themselves against, after all.

Still.

Thoughts for later. Do you really have to anything right now?

You continue to smile as her laughter fades away, unease creeping in at your lack of concern. Even so, she grins at you.

"The world doesn't work like that for us, girl," she says. "And all I gotta do is wait until things fall apart, until your guard slips, and I'll be out again. And you better watch your back when that day comes."

[] Nah. You don't have to do anything right now. Go talk to Anri.
[] Actually...
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)


So! Reminder that I won't be updating this coming weekend. Next update will be the week after, hopefully!