Was it even theoretically possible for her to have won?
Alchemical Solutions [Worm/Exalted] Thread 23: We Wonder Where Who Wanders When Watchers Wane
- Thread starter Gromweld
- Start date
Was it even theoretically possible for her to have won?
Alexandria's qualities and experience makes it POSSIBLE that her native willpower, intelligence and social skills are as superhumanly high as the Exalted because it's trained, even if the shard power enhances learning, she absolutely DID learn how to do those things. So she out of everyone has the skills to resist when it hits close to home.
Even without excellencies, she can put up a serious fight when her beliefs are involved. Whereas with other people, SPU Saki just rolls over them regardless of their existing biases, orientation and interests, for Alexandria she actually has to take the effort to shape arguments in a way that appeals to her internal biases.
Cassiemouse
Market Atheist
Social juggernaut magitech robots dominate heroic woman. News at eleven.
We have explicit in-Quest confirmation that some mental damages carry through Exaltation. This line of argumentation that no change is possible is simply wrong - you are arguing the sky is green. Since Exaltation isn't comprehensive, the next question is what work-arounds can be used: maybe it's changing the Nowhereverse mind where there is no conceptual record prior to Essence infusion, maybe it's inflicting a Derangement, maybe it's a forced Training effect. Yes, I understand that the wall is really, really tall, but that doesn't mean I can't find a way around it.
This is laughably false. Or have you forgotten the Great Curse, or Torment, or Resonance? These are all external modifications to the Exalt's personality, dolled out by the Exaltation itself.
Maybe my memory is failing me, but when did Rebeca needlessly lie?
Yes, but the number of dice being thrown at her make it really, really, really, really unlikely. Exalt dice mechanics are as follows: you roll X ten-sided dice. Seven or higher is a success, 10s count as 2 successes. If there are no successes in a roll, and there is at least a single 1, that is a botch or critical failure.
While I've never played as a heroic mortal, I'm assuming they don't have much in the way of charms, and are therefore stuck with just basic attributes, abilities, and specialties. A social-built (people can correct me if I'm wrong) maxes out at 13 dice.
A social-built Exalt, on the other hand, can throw 23 dice using a single Charm, and it only gets worse from there. Watching this in action is absolutely hilarious, as long as you're on the side of the Exalt.
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The absolute best a particular spec'd Mortal can achieve is 13 dice (5 Attr, 5 Ability, and 3 specialty dice) IIRC. A similarly spec'd Solaroid Exalt using just a 1st Excellency can get up to 23 dice.
That's what I thought, but I wasn't entirely certain.
I'll go back and edit my post.
Shamelessly quote pinging for purposes of visibility. Ok, I do feel at least a little bad. I know you said you were hoping to up output during NaNoWiMo, so with that in mind what is your best-guess-I-promise-I-won't-hold-you-to-it estimate for how long/many Parts in this section of the chapter? I was planning on writing up a larger thingamajig on Ori candidates, but you keep dropping these tasty, tasty exchanges that make me re-evaluate my thoughts and I'd rather put in the effort at a comparative lull, as it were.
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Today is last Chapter part. I'm going to BlizzCon, as usual, so I'm not going to be writing Fri/Sat - might as well use the days to get the Vote rolling.
-Nice integration of SPU with the scene.
-Wonder if Alexandria would get the thematic roles there; the Three Fates of the Greeks. The Three Furies.
The Triple Goddess of Witchcraft: The Crone, The Mother, The Maiden.
-Anyone else notice that performance would have hit Ciara almost as hard as it hit Rebecca?
It wasn't aimed at her, but she's in the splash zone, and some of the themes are similar.
Deserve is not quite the right word, I would say.
Qualify maybe?
And is Saki supposed to be silver? Starmetal's description continually fucks with my head.
At least I know Moonsilvers are supposed to be grey-silver-white.
Ah, even now Taylor underestimates the power of the
They're trying to ersatz a You Should Be More.
If Saki had taken Motivational Vocoder, she could probably have done it alone.
Of course, PRT would probably have screamed bad mind control.
PTSD.
Things that are normal for someone who went through a traumatic experience.
Note that there is nothing on Saki's character sheet about a permanent change, which is the kind of shit you are referring to with Virtue changes.
Do you think that if Autobot had the option of customizing the inside of his agent's heads, he would send them back with PTSD?
They are not external modifications of the Exalt's personality, any more than a seizure is a personality feature of a man suffering from epilepsy. It's a feature of the Exaltation, a malfunctioning safety valve that got warped by the Great Curse, and later modified by the Yozi and Abyssals.
If somehow fixed, it would not change the Exalt's personality.
Free will is an integral part of making an Exalted, even for the Infernals and Abyssals. That's why they ask instead of simply grabbing people.That's why neither the Yozi nor the Neverborn can stick their grubby little fingers inside their Exalts heads without permission. Why every Exalt is a free agent regardless of his/her origins, as acknowledged by even the Neverborn.
At no point do the Neverborn question their Abyssals'
willingness to accept their fatalistic mission. The Neverborn
do not care whether an Abyssal wants to end Creation or
plunge all of stable reality into the Abyss. Instead, they judge
whether at her subtlest subconscious level—in her heart of
hearts—an Abyssal believes that the Understandings are
true. They assess the Abyssal's capacity to wreak tragedy and
destruction using the power of a corrupted Solar Exaltation,
and they gauge the strength of this new destiny to do just
that. If the Abyssal's soul meets the Neverborn's standards
for those criteria, the Neverborn accept him and release him
to their Deathlords' management and care. The Exalt's free
will doesn't enter into the equation because the Neverborn
can't tamper with an Exalt's will. Independence is such a
fundamental, intrinsic part of an empowering Exaltation
that to remove that aspect would unravel the Exaltation
into nothingness.
willingness to accept their fatalistic mission. The Neverborn
do not care whether an Abyssal wants to end Creation or
plunge all of stable reality into the Abyss. Instead, they judge
whether at her subtlest subconscious level—in her heart of
hearts—an Abyssal believes that the Understandings are
true. They assess the Abyssal's capacity to wreak tragedy and
destruction using the power of a corrupted Solar Exaltation,
and they gauge the strength of this new destiny to do just
that. If the Abyssal's soul meets the Neverborn's standards
for those criteria, the Neverborn accept him and release him
to their Deathlords' management and care. The Exalt's free
will doesn't enter into the equation because the Neverborn
can't tamper with an Exalt's will. Independence is such a
fundamental, intrinsic part of an empowering Exaltation
that to remove that aspect would unravel the Exaltation
into nothingness.
The people who invested them with power may layer inducements and/or punishments according to their whims, but when it comes down to it an Exalt's choices are his/her/it's own.
Welp.
Need to find 2-3XP more to finish outfitting Aisha's Panoply.
Last opportunity we get for a while.
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Wouldn't that be Unintended Consequences
Nah, I doubt it.
But there are likely to be significant consequences with the C53 dump vis a vis who gets released.
IIRC, Cauldron was likely to vet their release candidates significantly more. Now, possibly less so.
After all, we did just impress on her the need to trust people more and exert constant control less.
RoninSword
Sky God
- Location
- Canada
I wonder what the situation regarding Armsmaster is. He was spiked and I assumed released back to the PRT, but from Saki's description, the PRT M/S protocol for Ziz victims really does boil down to 'kill them if they aren't quarantined'. And one of the vote options is for spending time tinkering with Dragon and Armsmaster (or w/e you stunt in I suppose). So assuming they would be willing to let him tinker, I would assume that means he cleared enough tests to be trusted enough to build things.
Probably in some sort of quarantine somewhere.
Possibly restricted to base with a tracker. If Dragon can collaborate remotely, so can he.
Speaking of Armsmaster, can any of the people voting for him explain why?
What role they expect him to play? Why he isn't redundant on an Assembly led by a Craft-specced Soulsteel, backed by a Craft-specced 3CD and with Tinker allies? I cannot see a niche for him as things stand, and I'm honestly mystified by the votes.
While he isn't my first choice (Accord-sempai~!) I wouldn't mind seeing his personality more in the story. That's most of my argument, it's more a gut-feeling stance than anything really reasoned.
FunkyEntropy
Occasionally insightful, possibly grumpy
- Location
- Los Angeles
Well, with just three people working together you're looking at +2 cooperation die, which converts to 4 sux plus 1~3sux from converting stunt dice. So that's a max of 7. It wasn't mentioned, so I'm assuming that Saki is currently wearing Appearance 5.
Assume that Alexandria has a Willpower score of 10 and an Appearance of 3.
Theoretically, we could roll zero sux and Alexandria could roll nothing but successes on her mental defense. 10-7sux-2APP=1. If we're not hammering any virtues, intimacies, or motivation, yes, it's theoretically possible for her to have won that.
Practically? Nope. Not even remotely.
As a person, sure.
As an Exalt? He's had more screentime than any of the other candidates, and he still isn't popping.
I'd really not want to sleepwalk into Colin as an Exalt because people are using him as a proxy for Dragon.
That's why I'm asking, because I can see no role for him in the Assembly as it currently stands, and he's looking more valuable as a mortal anchor for Taylor.
And his personal dynamics with Taylor don't seem suited for him to take orders from her.
Ah.
I was hoping someone actually had an argument I could examine.
Nah.
For one thing, Saki was wearing App 7; it's implied when she comes back from changing out her clothes and Taylor momentarily BSODs.
For another, looking at the rules? Assume APP 4, and all her social stats maxed out to mortal maximum.
PDV is [Cha/Man 5 + Ability 5 + Specialty 3]/2(rounded down) or PDV 6.
DDV is [Willpower 10 + Integrity 5 + Specialty 3 + Essence 0]/2(rounded down) or DDV 9.
Going up against a group with APP7 + 6 autosux, assuming only 2 stunt dice from Taylor and that all the other dice failed?
PDV 6- (APP7-APP4) -6 autosux = 3threshold successes.
DDV 9 -(APP7-APP4) -6 autosux = 0 threshold successes
She'd fail both rolls, with 0 threshold successes against her DDV, and 3 threshold successes against her PDV.
And that's not accounting for shit like circumstantial bonuses for sitting in Saki's sanctum, with SoTI glaring at her.
She was always going to be crushed; the rolls were to determine just how badly.
Assume that each of the additional participants gets to apply their own stunt dice to SPU, and things get really dire.
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Chapter 10.1 (Complete)
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Chapter 10.1
[X] Arc 10 Starts A Few Days After Aisha Goes In
[X] Wards Stay On Schedule, Vacation Without Aisha
- [x] Stunt: Saki swept into the lounge to meet the waiting Wards, Miss Militia and Flechette a step behind with rucksacks in tow. "Where's Taylor?" Chris asked. "She's not coming," Saki replied with a small frown. Silently, Ernest pulled out his wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill, which Dennis promptly pocketed with an air of great satisfaction. "Told ya."
[X] Have You Heard The Good Word (Saki works to convert Ciara from faeries to robots.)
- [x] Stunt: "A coping mechanism?" For a long time, no one spoke. The words floated in the air with the sudsy bubbles. Eventually, a whispered answer. "The universe revealed itself to me and I saw my incredible insignificance. I was a marionette on a stage manipulated by things vast and infinitely my better. What could I do, but play my role?"
[X] Here Be Dragons (Taylor's drones pull from Earth, Autochthonian, and Creation fantasy for their designs and capabilities.)
- [x] Stunt: The workshop door opened as a copper-colored head peered around the corner. In stockinged feet, Riley padded across the cold workshop floor to the piece currently dominating the workshop floor. Her eyes ran along the half-finished length of the cog dragon as a finger traced out the hexagonal shaped gear stenciled into a shoulder. "Soon, Mr. Slinky." She whispered. "Soon."
[X] Tolerate gangs if they help with cleanup/rebuild of city.
- [x] Stunt: Short fingers drummed on the scarred oak table as Director Uriel stared at the other members of his crisis team. "With the crazies confirmed in town, we need to prioritize. Carver, I want revised patrol schedules on my desk by this evening. Dismissed." As everyone got up to leave, Uriel raised a hand. "Chevalier, you and Armsmaster wait a moment. You too, Weaver."
[X] Focus On Orichalcum Candidates
- [x] Stunt: "Do you.... have any regrets?" Alexandria asked, as she lay in the lavishly appointed surgical recovery room Lord Grasp had prepared for her. Saki turned away from the door, an expressive eyebrow raised and her entire body radiating Inquiry. "Weaver..... didn't actually ask you." She hesitated. "OR your sister." "Would you have done things differently? Chosen. Differently." John Dorian powers, activate.
***
You are now Enduring Order Administrator.
***
Your obsidian, gauntlet-like knuckles make a sharp, hollow sound on the mahogany door as you knock a quick triple-tap pattern - just loudly enough that the inhabitants downstairs will hear, but not so loud as to alert the two individuals behind closed doors upstairs.
The two-storey brick house is wedged in amidst forty-five of its kind on this single block, with the opposite side of the street similarly filled with cramped-but-cozy residences. Each house possesses a raised yard and porch between the street and its front door, with not a garage in sight; each house is only a few feet wider than most sedans, so parking is definitely a hassle for those households with multiple cars.
Still, given the care taken to make each house unique from its neighbors and the overall quality of yards you've seen in the area, East Falls is a pleasant sort of suburb. A bit higher on the middle-class ladder than your own home in Brockton Bay ever was, and it's largely cleaned itself up since the Slaughterhouse Nine attack. Any cars that may have been totalled by Shatterbird's Scream have long since been towed from the street, and the Bakuda bombs were a bit thin out here - they were focused more on the major streets this far out, though you did see two ruined houses that got hit by Bezalel drone-bombs a few streets over.
Windows are still largely covered by plywood or thick tarps, as the weather has dropped into the low 50's in the last few nights and most people at this socioeconomic level had heating units complicated enough to be affected by Shatterbird's attack. Still, aside from the low number of cars and window-coverings, you could… almost see this neighborhood returning to a semblance of normalcy soon. Ironic, since it's one of the boroughs you've devoted the least amount of attention towards…
… and that lack of attention is partly to blame for why you're here, just a few minutes past seven in the evening, instead of still in the PRT Headquarters' Lab.
You were tempted to push your Shard of Perfect Administration charm to its fullest while you're out here, as combining your new range with your Mobile Sensory Drone's capacity for serving as a relay… but no, the lab would still be just outside of your maximum range. Probably for the best, as you've been pushing your shard-charm heavily these last few days...
You sigh, but just barely manage to keep from shaking your head as the door in front of you opens, spilling warmth and light into the slowly-darkening evening air around you. Instead, you square your shoulders, lifting your right hand in as inoffensive a greeting as you can manage these days.
"Ms. Ross," you smile, deliberately trying to clamp down on the golden glow that's leaking through your teeth and pulsing in the veins along the sides of your face. As usual, it has the opposite effect. "Long time no talk."
Your Youth Guard advisor stares at you, visibly startled by your presence on her front porch. She's seen pictures of the terrifying new appearance you've been sporting ever since Iris rebuilt you, but this is actually the first time you've met face-to-face since the Nine's attack.
Ever since your Exaltation, you've heard the phrase, "pictures don't do you justice" tossed about. Given the aura of unstable power you give off now, radiating heat and electricity through your exposed charms and veins as your mood fluctuates… the phrase might have some merit now
"W-...We-..." Abigail Ross stammers, her big brown eyes blown up even more ludicrously by the oversized reading glasses she's wearing. Her brain finally catches up with her mouth after a few more fish-like gapes, causing her to blink owlishly as her gaze finally meets your own. "Taylor?! What are you doing here?! Is everything alright?!"
Raising your other hand to match, you hold both hands up to ward off the worry you hear in her voice while managing not to roll your eyes at the excessive concern. "I'm fine, Ms. Ross, and I'm sorry for not telling you I was going to visit when I called earlier. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
Glenn's suggested you feign ignorance when talking with "the public," as the public generally is more disquieted than reassured by casual reminders of your localized omniscience. Which makes sense, of course: you doubt Abigail would appreciate knowing that you've been watching her family through the bugs and Mobile Sensory Drone in her house to make sure you timed this meeting perfectly.
Riley's been calling you "Big Sister" ever since she figured out just how pervasive and extensive your awareness had become after your upgrades. You made her read 1984 in retaliation, but you've resigned yourself to title all the same.
Privacy is for cities that aren't choking with ruins and refugees.
"O-oh! No! No no no, you're always welcome in my home!" she beams, sliding off her glasses with her free hand in a move that causes most of the unkempt bushel of hazel curls atop her head to fall into her face. She huffs and flips the hair back with reflexive speed borne of years of habit, then gestures eagerly for you to come inside. "Oh, you don't mind if I let Eleanor know you're here, do you? She's wanted to meet you for ages now!"
Smoothy stepping in just enough to let her shut the door, you allow some of the concern you've felt these last few days slip into your expression, lowering your voice just enough to (hopefully) not carry upstairs.
"That's… sort of why I'm here, actually, Ms. Ross-," you wince as her eyes flicker, but correct yourself before she can. "Abigail. Do… do you know where your daughter was last night? Around 11:30?"
There's a flash of confusion, long enough for you to be worried, but the dawning comprehension - followed by her paling horror - is enough to confirm your suspicions.
Just as quickly, the horror passes.
All that's left behind is one hundred sixty-three pounds of overzealous mom-itude.
"Eleanor Rigby Ross! Get down here this instant!"
***
You keep quiet while Abigail and her family make a bit of a scene that you can't help but notice is easily heard by their neighbors; the exact contents of the back-and-forth between Abigail and Eleanor is largely muffled by the red brick separating the households, but judging by the shrugs and sighs from the families on either side this probably isn't a rare occurrence.
Of course, you've got plenty of native insects and your own drone insects spread throughout the area should anyone in earshot start reacting poorly. Two of your dedicated assault drones are sweeping the area in stealth mode, too, but that's just because you don't leave the labs without at least that many in tow these days.
It's been… awkward, dealing with your increased scope and range ever since Iris rebuilt you, primarily because of moments like this: scenes of functioning families. Before the rebuild, you had to deliberately move insects out of their natural hiding spots in order to spy on civilian lives…
… but now, every family with a pet gives you a front-row seat to every heartwarming scene of familial connection. You're also witness to the trauma of broken households, of course, but pets are naturally inclined to avoid outbursts of negative emotion and thus you'd have to deliberately pilot them back into the fray to see what's going on - and the PRT has been adamant that you aren't to give yourself away like that unless it's clearly a life-or-death situation.
You've had to exercise that clause twelve times already, and the stress of a ruined city is only going to increase that number over the coming months. You've also exercised that clause to deliberately prevent animals from intruding on more… private moments, but you're pretty sure the PRT would be alright with that if you ever confessed. Which you won't.
If she knows what's good for her, Saki won't tell anyone either.
Your multiple consciousnesses are drawn from their brainstormings and musings by the successful extraction of your target from her room by her father, which begins the procession of the family down the stairs. You've been waiting politely on the family-sized couch in front of where a large flat-screen TV used to sit, and you manage to get your swarm out of sight (where you've been having them clean up the last bits of glass and debris) before the whole group rounds the corner and enters the living room proper.
Nathan, a heavy-set freelance programmer whose skills are about as average as his flannel and khakis, enters first. He quickly maneuvers around the dining table and chairs to greet you properly, while Eleanor frantically struggles to use his size to keep herself out of your line of sight.
"Nathan Rigby," he greets, and though his size and shape are all wrong his haggard demeanor evokes memories of years of watching your own father struggle to make ends meet.
You smother the memories, and the memories of all the other struggling fathers you've seen in Philadelphia over the last two weeks. This city needs every scrap of hope it can get, especially with what's coming next.
"Taylor Hebert," you smile easily in return, shaking his hand steadily. "Abigail likes to talk about you, you know."
"Oh?" he blinks, thick eyebrows rising in surprise before he glances behind him at a momentarily disarmed Abigail in the doorway before turning back with a grin. "Should I be worried?"
You share the grin, glad to finally get Abigail back for her occasional time-wasting small-talk about her home life. "Only that you might be setting the bar too high."
Nathan guffaws loudly, a deep laughter that warms the room and gives him back some of the color that the last few weeks have drained from him. Abigail squawks a "Taylor!" in protest, but loses track as Nathan reaches back and wraps his arm around her shoulder to drag her into the conversation - planting a big, dramatic kiss on the top of her bushy head which makes her devolve into blushing giggles.
Both kids - Eleanor behind Nathan and Robby peeking around the doorway - squirm and groan at the display of affection, so you count that as a win, especially since it reminds the two adults of why they're here.
Nathan sighs as he looks back to you, then reaches back with his right arm and gently scoops the squirming Eleanor forward until she's beside him with a hand on her shoulder.
"You're kind for saying it, Taylor, but Abby talks enough about you that I know you're a busy girl. So:" he says, tilting his head to peer down at his daughter like she was caught finger-painting on the walls. "I'm guessing you two have already met?"
At the statement, Eleanor finally stops her desperate attempts to avoid your gaze, but then immediately flinches and tries to shrink even further into herself and away - her father's hand on her shoulder preventing her from fleeing entirely. Not an easy task, as despite being just a few months older than yourself she's a hair under six-foot-one with her father's equally-heavy-set physique. She's also got a rather bad case of acne, though you're still not versed enough in biology to know if your scan's saying it's hereditary or stress-induced... or both.
Everyone gets scanned these days. No exceptions.
"Did-..." Eleanor finally chokes, a tinge of betrayed hurt creeping into her gaze as she looks back to you. "Did you follow me back?"
"Yes," you admit with a solemn sigh and nod, though you maintain eye contact and a stoic posture.
"That's... supposed to be against the rules, isn't it?"
"It is," you nod again. "Normally. A few gangs that moved in recently don't play by those rules."
That gets a reaction, but not from Eleanor or Nathan. Abigail, however, goes pale and whips her head back to her daughter in panicked horror and desperately lunges to grab at the taller girl's arms.
"Eleanor! This is why I told you to wait! The Elite kill whole families!"
"That's-..." you cut her off, raising a hand, but… well, it's not entirely untrue. Still… "You got Director Uriel's update from yesterday, then? About Bastard Son and his team?"
Abigail shakily nods her head, while the reality seems to finally be dawning on Eleanor from the way she's frozen up. Tearing your own gaze from your ostensible peer, you briefly meet Abigail's eyes before looking to Nathan's grim visage.
"The Elite are the largest organized cape crime syndicate in the US," you grimace, crossing your arms over your lightly-armored chest. "They operate in cells, and the one led by a cape named Bastard Son is known for being the most brutal. Internally, the reports I've gone through make his cell look like a more focused, less widespread Slaughterhouse Nine."
"Oh shit."
The muttered curse by the younger - and much smaller, but similarly shaped - brother watching from the doorway doesn't draw the rest of the family's attention, but it does adequately summarize the expressions of the three in front of you.
But because when it rains, it pours, that isn't the end of the bad news you're here to deliver.
"We're also fairly certain the Fallen are in the area, too," you continue, cutting off any further responses with a raised hand. "There were three instances this afternoon of radio station hosts trying to spread their usual propaganda, and we stopped a suicide bomber at one of the refugee camps just before I got here. That's on top of the Teeth having laid claim to Camden as of yesterday night."
Your last statement causes a few blinks, and Nathan is the first to let his mouth say what everyone is thinking.
"Camden? But wasn't it evacuated last week?"
Given the current tone of the discussion, you manage to turn your maniacal grin to a frustrated grimace.
"Yes, but we expect more gangs to form up or move into the area in response. There will be lower collateral damage if the fights happen there, but the records I've seen show that the fights in Camden always end up spilling over to Philadelphia."
As you've been talking, however, Abigail's expression has slowly regained its color… while her eyes have grown distant, tired, and resigned as they've flitted from you to Eleanor and back.
"You…" she murmurs once, her voice revealing just how close she is to panicking. "You're not here to warn us… you want Eleanor to help you fight those monsters, don't you?"
The girl in question startles at the question, but you hold up both hands to placate your Youth Guard advisor before she really gets going.
"No," you lie, "I'm not. I'm… here to recommend that you let the PRT relocate you to San Diego for a few months, at least until things settle down. That is, if you're interested in joining the Wards, Eleanor?"
Blue eyes blown wide open, Eleanor's mouth opens as she looks between you and her parents. She struggles to form a response for a moment, but just as Abigail meets her daughter's gaze and is about to respond for her, Eleanor turns back and nearly leaps at you in anticipation - the entire room around her dimming every-so-slightly as her body glows for a fraction of a heartbeat.
"Yes! B-but no! I want to stay and fight!" she gushes, grabbing your hands in her own - her earlier shame and fear gone as she spins back to her parents. "This is my home, too, Mom! Dad! Please! You don't have to worry about me - they couldn't even hurt me last night!"
You wince, but more in sympathetic pain than your own: your claws are sharp, and you're pretty sure Eleanor just sliced her hands up on them grabbing them like that. Did she not notice-
Eleanor blinks, then looks back to where your hands are joined. Her wide eyes somehow grow even wider, and then suddenly all the light in the room is simply gone.
All except for the radiant, rapidly-morphing figure before you, which paradoxically doesn't cast any light of its own despite appearing to be a solid-light construct of every color in the rainbow. After barely a second, the form slows its shifts…
… until it's almost a carbon copy of your human disguise, back when you actually had the Integrated Artifact Transmogrifier charm and could look human yourself.
The hands grasping your claws are just as impervious to damage as you saw they were last night, when the figure easily walked through bullets, grenades, and thrown cars.
"Hello again..." you greet, hoping your smile isn't as brittle as it feels. "...Glowbug."
***
As much as you could use another high-rating Brute to help out around Philly at the moment, chatting with Eleanor, Abigail, and Nathan about their plans for the next few weeks-to-months makes it increasingly clear that the San Diego relocation is all-around the better deal for their family.
Shatterbird's Scream completely obliterated Nathan's computer setup for his at-home job, and while the insurance money is on the way (you did a quick check for them) there's still the matter of consumer electronics being hard to come by right now. While roads are rapidly being repaired with a Tinkertech "quick-crete" that should last until more thorough renovations can bring things back up to code, postal services are in a hopelessly-mired standstill while they lack both the manpower and facilities to process anything but emergency shipments; local electronic stores are still mostly bare of working products, and no car or easy public transportation means travelling out of the city to find stores untouched by the Scream is not on the table for the Ross family.
There's a subtle, unstated request for help in that regard as you discuss his work, but a quick, sympathetic lament about how you're struggling to scrape together enough for your own projects puts the matter to rest.
This leaves Abigail as the only source of income, but the Youth Guard is technically a volunteer organization that sustains itself on donations and charity - her bi-weekly paycheck is more than minimum wage, but it won't be enough to reliably feed and shelter a family of four in a disaster zone. Though she tries to laugh it off and reiterate her faith in Nathan's ability to scrounge something up, the Ross family is only getting by due to their vacation savings from before the Slaughterhouse Nine's attack.
You've spent enough time working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the last two weeks to know that they are astonishingly lucky.
Philadelphia, despite being a reasonably successful metropolis before the disaster, had an unemployment rate of 12.2% and 27% of the population was below the poverty line - with many more usually living paycheck-to-paycheck. With a pre-attack population figure of just over nine-hundred thousand people…
The projections you've worked out with FEMA and Accord paint a picture of nearly five-hundred thousand people in the Philly-Camden area without enough money to even buy enough bottled water to keep up with their daily needs, let alone pay their standard bills. These forecasts - along with layout and shipment plans Accord provided - are the only reason the sixteen relief camps set up throughout Philadelphia (three Downtown, one per district otherwise for a total of sixteen) have barely managed to keep up with the ever-increasing flood of hungry, hopeless citizens. That only means you're satisfying the needs of those that make it to the camps, however, not everyone.
And when people with nothing to do become desperate...
"It's… it's a war zone out there," Abigail frets, squeezing Eleanor's back-to-normal hand as she and Nathan sit on opposite sides of the despondent Brute. Your Youth Guard advisor has been sliding between tears and panic throughout the conversation, but it looks like she's gearing up the wetworks again as she tries to get you to help badger her daughter into submission. "Please, Elly! If you don't want to leave… then just wait, like you said you would!"
You wince, both in sympathy (you've been the target of Abigail's guilt-trips numerous times) and in regret.
"I'm not sure that's the best idea, actually," you sigh, clasping your own clawed gauntlets together atop your armored knees as you sit across from them. "Abigail, I know you don't agree with the theories about parahumans needing to use their powers-"
"That's because all of those studies have been sponsored by the PRT, Taylor!" she fumes, turning an indignant glare to you. "Please. They're just another way the PRT pays people off so they can get more soldiers. Child soldiers."
You close your eyes, then take another long breath and let it out slowly. From everything you've learned from Cauldron's files, she's not technically wrong... but the vials they provided, then coupled with Riley's and Iris' own insights into the workings of shards…
Opening your eyes again, you rotate your gaze to pin the timid teenager in front of you with an even stare.
"You've had your first cape fight. You felt what it was like to really use your power. To push its limits in new, dangerous situations. Do you think you could hold yourself back from using your power at all for even a week? Let alone the six months we expect it to take to get the city hobbling along again?"
Eleanor's face lights up, briefly, as you mention the fight with the Elite last night, but as you lay out what her parents truly are expecting of her if she stays here the light fades as nervousness forces her eyes to the floor. She opens her mouth half-way to respond, but you are already moving to your next target.
"Abigail, Nathan," you continue, looking at your counselor first but then locking eyes with her husband. "Are you going to keep her locked in her room, except to go straight to school and back? What if she's out with a group - maybe with you and the family, or maybe with friends - and violence breaks out nearby? Do you expect her to just ignore people getting hurt in front of her, when she knows she can save lives?"
The married couple are struck dumb for a moment, with Nathan paling before turning his head to look down at both his wife and daughter. Abigail meets his eyes and the two share a silent conversation, but as their gaze breaks you preempt their response with another way you've figured will help put things in perspective.
"Do you know why Panacea left New Wave?"
The apparent non-sequitor causes a round of blinks, but it's Robby - who's opted to remain lurking near the doorway - who pipes up with a puzzled response first.
"Isn't she called 'Wyld' now? Didn't she leave to make her own team?"
You straighten up in your seat enough to peer over Abigail and Eleanor's head, then give a thankful nod to the embarrassed pre-teen as he ducks back behind the door frame.
"She changed her name, yes," you resume, looking back to the trio on the couch in front of you, "but it wasn't so that she could make her own team. When she first got her power, she'd told the rest of New Wave - her family - that she was only a healer. She kept herself from ever fighting, from ever fully pushing and testing her power's limits… and it nearly drove her crazy."
Abigail's skeptical glare is punctuated by a huff. "I got a copy of the Brockton Bay Youth Guard reports. I'm sure her home life is a more likely culprit for that."
"Abigail, you know my powers," you bite back, meeting the glare evenly. "When I'm training with the Wards or Protectorate, I can see the chemical feedback loop their brains are generating as they really push their powers. I can also see the chemical imbalance caused when someone can't use their power, and there have been hundreds of reports that parahuman prisoners exhibit symptoms of clinical depression and withdrawal when their powers are restrained."
Both Nathan and Abigail flinch at the analogy, but it's Abigail who draws her small stature up to its fullest as her expression sours. "Taylor Hebert, we are not imprisoning our daughter!"
You unclasp your hands from your knees, splaying your fingers open with palms offered up as you lean back in the chair.
"Abigail, the Youth Guard has thousands of reports of what happens when a family tries to… ground a young parahuman for extended periods of time and they also don't have a way to exercise their power. I know you don't like the Wards program - it's far from perfect, I admit - but… I still think it's the best self-defense and a power-therapy alternative to what happens when parahumans try to go out on their own."
Judging by Nathan's flash of suspicion, you must not have been able to keep your voice as level as you wanted. Damn.
"What do you mean, Taylor?" he asks, glancing back to the girls beside him for a split-second. "Did something happen?"
Slowly, you retract your hands and place them evenly atop your chair's armrests. You let out a sigh, but even as you shake your head you can't disperse the memories leaking into several of your trains of consciousness.
Kyle Peters: Bled out from a stab wound to the leg. The cloud of flies and maggots in a home tipped you off as you flew by.
Robert Moore: Gunshot wound to head. His friends called after the muggers ran, but the low-caliber bullet had bounced around in his skull.
Carol Dunham: Died of brain swelling from a blow to the back of the head. She'd stumbled into a dumpster to escape whomever she was fighting and was only found by the rats.
"We've already come across three dead parahumans, one of them of Wards age," you admit, keeping your eyes open to prevent the memories from fully forming. "We're fairly certain they triggered during or soon after the Nine's attack. As much as I want to blame the Elite or the Fallen, everything looks like they died fighting normal criminals."
You turn your eyes to meet the terrified gaze of your Youth Guard counselor. "But you already know the statistic, don't you? '70% of solo capes don't make it past their first six months.' Parahumans need to use their powers, Abigail. They always find a way."
"That's enough."
You blink at Nathan's hard tone, but he winces immediately afterward and offers his free hand up in apology as he continues. "Sorry. I didn't-..." he sighs, looking between the traumatized-looking Abigail and paling Eleanor before meeting your gaze with a sad smile, "... you've given us plenty to think about, Taylor. Thank you. Could we have some time to talk about it? Your offer, I mean."
You nod, then rise to your feet - smoothing your armored dress on reflex - and give a shallow, polite bow.
"I haven't seen any indications that anyone else followed Eleanor last night, so you should be safe for the next day or two," you offer, then extend a palm upwards towards the family on the couch and extrude four small, disposable butane lighters into your hand. "These work as normal lighters, but if you press and hold the bottom for more than three seconds it'll send an emergency alarm to me and the PRT with your location."
Eleanor perks up at the apparent "Tinkertech" (it's all common tech, just streamlined to fit and last for a few months) and eagerly takes all four with a smile - which wavers slightly when her brain catches up and she realizes the implications of them.
"T-thanks, Taylor."
Abigail makes a keening sound as the waterworks start in earnest, but she pops up from the couch to hug you tightly enough that you suspect a baseline human would have had a few disks slip. "Oooooh, Taylor. Bless you, Taylor, bless you."
Nathan is similarly earnest in his appreciation, and Bobby even manages a wave with his thanks as you're on your way out. Within a few steps you're at the front door again, turning back for one last farewell as you meet Eleanor's hopeful gaze.
The current version of "Eleanor," that is.
Like with all Breakers, the original Eleanor died the first time she used her power - each activation of the ability destroying the human body and replacing it with a shard-controlled decoy, which is in turn replaced by a freshly-formed clone when the power is turned off. Evidence points to there being a near-perfect simulation of Eleanor's brain running deep in the massive, extra-dimensional shard to keep the transition smooth, and while Iris agrees with your and Riley's (and Ciara's, oddly enough) argument that it's almost like a true soul… it's not really the same, in the end.
Where does the person start and the shard end? You might never know, and it's not something you'll ever mention to Abigail.
"Stay safe, Glowbug," you offer with a sad smile as you open the door.
Then you activate Optical Shroud and step out into the night.
***
While you understand that Iris had to cut corners when he hastily rebuilt you after Vision of Vengeance's rampage, not a day (or hour) has gone by in the last two weeks that you haven't run up against a problem or situation that is compounded by the failings of your… incomplete reconstruction. Your new appearance causes no end of bad first impressions, your Shard of Perfect Administration is limited to a scant few hundred feet around you if you don't consciously work against its self-repair efforts to push it out farther...
It is slightly ironic that your heroics during those final hours are actually why Iris had to cut so many corners; by succeeding in the face of sheer impossibility, your own spirit soared in power and capacity in response… which made it impossible to rebuild you exactly the same as before.
From what Iris has told you, it would normally take a small army of enlightened technicians three months of constant work to rebuild your body in a way that properly incorporates the new Essence reserves and potential your capacitor is pumping out now. Three months of you suspended, semi-conscious, in a vat of magical liquids, then even more time for the mortal technicians to re-tune your charms to account for the elevated power levels.
While Iris had been more than capable of performing a complete reworking - instead of the half-job he did - it would have taken him at least two weeks with you interred inside his form, leaving the both of you dead to the world for the entire duration. Given the absolute insanity of what had just happened at the time, he opted to get you functional first and foremost so that you could run damage control. After things had died down, he had explained, you could retreat back into his form and get the full re-work that you desperately need.
Then Saki had come back, bringing with her a new message from Autochthon that had tossed out all your old time tables.
So, for now, you're just going to have to live with the changes until Iris finishes his work around the Cradle and the Assembly is complete. The former is likely to take a full month from now, given that your Familiar went and spent his accumulated charge to swap the bottom-third of Rhode Island with the unpopulated forest that the Simurgh was using as her battleground; again, you appreciate his efforts, but… well, there's such a thing as "causing more problems than you solve."
No one died from the impromptu terraforming, even though people had suddenly found their cars, houses, and buildings replaced with untouched wilderness - in large part due to the combined efforts of the local Protectorate forces, Dragon, the Wyld Hunt, and yourself in keeping the packs of large predators away from the disorientated and panicking civilian populations.
As for the Assembly, with Aisha expected back in three days you've got two more Castes to fill: Jade and Orichalcum. Jade being the Caste that exemplifies self-sacrifice and "hero of the people" humility, you're reasonably certain it's a Caste you can fill from the ranks of the Protectorate and Wards fairly easily - your first pick is Missy, of course, but since you haven't been able to speak more than a few words of encouragement to her since she was bustled away to recuperate and vacation with her new family after she was given a clean bill of health… well, you just hope the cute little bad-ass bounces back quickly. Miss Militia and Chevalier are your fallbacks for the Caste, and while you haven't broached the subject directly with Hannah yet despite all the time she's been spending with Saki and Prayer, your gut tells you that your Assembly's successes have helped pave the way. Chevalier… well, you'll let Saki handle that if it comes to it.
No, it's the Orichalcum candidates that have been keeping you up at night. Literally.
Because apparently "grand vision" and "awe-inspiring" go hand-in-hand with lots and lots of baggage.
Iris is no help in this regard, as your few directed inquiries through your Familiar link for help have only received grumblings about "SOLAR EXALTED" that haven't been very informative beyond reinforcing the idea that you need to be absolutely certain that your Orichalcum candidate is loyal to you and the Assembly.
Which brings you back to the present, as you land atop Downtown PRT Headquarters. It's a matter of a pair of thoughts to swap your power armor for your Wards costume, then a few steps take you to the security checkpoint (scanning the guards in turn, out of sheer habit) at the roof's access doorway.
The older guard behind the reinforced screen gives you a gruff nod as the various scanning devices play over your form. "How's it looking out there, Weaver?"
"Not good, Will," you reply with a grimace, but keep your posture confident. "I saw an armed group forming near the empty General Store on Ridge and West Sedgley on my way back. Didn't have time to look too closely, but I've already sent the report in - Chevalier's just about finished with his shift at the Allegheny West relief camp, so he's on his way with a squad."
He grunts. "Damn. Any tags?"
"Not that I could see. It's why I didn't stop."
You can feel the raised eyebrow through the reflective headgear he's wearing, but the old trooper shakes his head and waves you through as the lights go green and the reinforced inner door unlocks with a pneumatic hiss.
"Not gonna ask what's more important - clearance paperwork isn't worth the hassle. You going back out again tonight?"
You give a half-shrug. "Not planning to, but…"
Will gives a life-long smoker's rattling sigh, then nods to you again. "Yeah. Be seeing you, Weaver."
You nod in return, then proceed down the hallway and into the waiting elevator. You punch in today's eight-digit security code (you can't exactly use the fingerprint pad...), then hit the button for the fifth-level basement: Quarantine. Two scanners pop out from the ceiling, joined by two containment foam turrets; the former take ten seconds to do their thing, and then all four pop back into the ceiling after another approving chime rings through the air.
Despite having eight trains of thought and near-superhuman memory and processing power, you somehow keep forgetting to submit the petition to get the elevator's smooth-ska soundtrack changed. Which is suspicious, which means Simurgh, but that's unlikely… which could also mean Simurgh? Hmm. What would be a completely weird way to fix this problem?
You hit upon the answer just as the elevator finishes its descent. Smiling to yourself, you ignore the nervous looks the guards at either side of the elevator give you as you stride out into the grey-and-white hallways. You head straight, left, right, straight, and left until you reach your destination - the unmarked, sterile-white door sliding open and closed perfectly in time with your gait by way of the Orange Drone you have inside the room mashing the 'open/close door' button.
Ignoring the scene going on in the middle of the room, you keep moving past the array of monitors (and attendant Orange Drones) on the left wall until you reach the far side of the room and the lowered workbench that stretches across that side. As usual, it's completely cluttered with all kinds of half-finished projects and crayon-covered sketch paper - though not all the projects here have been canceled prematurely.
Sighing loudly enough to draw the other occupants' attention, you reach into the microwave-looking, glowing green box and withdraw the clear glass tube that contains a fully-formed, healthy eyeball with trailing optic nerve.
"Ah! Taylor! You're- oof! - back!"
Absorbing the freshly-grown replacement eyeball into your Technomatic Integration Engine, you close your eyes as you review the data the charm feeds you about the new inventory item.
… you're still not sure the plan is going to work, but at the least it won't be due to incompatibility. That's the best hope right now, you suppose.
Turning back around, you cast a lidded, unimpressed glare at the tangle of bodies in the center of the room.
"Riley, I have a new project for you…" you begin, your voice low and steady, "but-"
There's a shocked gasp from the pile, which is half-way cut off by a burst of giggling. "A new proje- aheheheh no no wait heeehehee!"
"But I'm reconsidering, if this is what you turned our combat drones into."
Sputtering indignantly, a tussled mop of blonde curls manages to squirm its way out of the top of the playfully-twisting pile of robotic serpents. "Mr. Iris said we had to use dog brains! And then you said you wanted them socialized!"
"Riley, their final bodies are going to be the size of a bus," you sigh, directing one of the Orange Drones to bring up the schematics on a screen so you can point meaningfully to it. "What do you think is going to happen when one of these dragons gets outside of my control range and defaults to its loyalty programming?"
The little bio-tinker gives you a stare with the widest, most sorrowful blue eyes.
"...b-but...! Dragon puppies!"
"Riley, we used scans from veteran K-9 units! They're not puppies!"
She adds a trembling lip to her argument.
You cross your arms across your chest and keep staring.
After several seconds of this, the tiny blonde makes a pouting noise before taking a moment to extricate her right arm. "Oh yeah! Well, how's this!?"
She sticks her fingers in her mouth and gives a sharp whistle, which immediately causes the tangle around her to freeze in anticipation.
"Smoke! Lightning! Oil! Crystal! Metal! Steam!" she calls out to each in turn, then points dramatically at you.
"Beg!"
***
You may have a Tinker rating for the way your charms allow you to absorb technology and then rapidly improve and duplicate it (and for how much your combat potency is reliant on said tech), but you only have to look at actual Tinkers to see what it means when a parahuman shard is dedicated towards that end.
You were gone for barely two hours, and Riley turned your six identical, emotionless, dog-sized robotic dragons into adorable little murderbots, each with distinct personalities to go along with their elemental names. Worse, she also reconfigured their draconic faces to be able to emote to a near cartoonish degree.
You are completely justified assigning her the paperwork to get the elevator music changed, no matter how much she's moping about it.
"Nnnnnoooooo," she moans, her upper body splayed out childishly across her workbench while her seated bottom half kicks its legs petulantly. "You said it was a project, not… paperwoooork!"
"And don't think you're off the hook for these changes, either," you continue, pointedly gesturing at the Creation-style robot dragons whimpering cutely as they float around your waist and paw (claw?) at your dress - your panoramic vision working against you, revealing their glistening eyes staring up at you imploringly. "I wanted to get these brains up for Tinkertech Review by the end of the week! Now we're going to have to spend time making sure that when we install them into their full-sized drone frames they don't try to cuddle up with an armored personnel carrier."
The blonde bio-tinker sighs dramatically and straightens up from her sprawl, hands going to her hair to draw the entire mess into a ponytail while she spins on the chair to face you fully with a pout - a few stray bangs falling down the sides of her face to frame the circular white diamond embedded into her forehead.
It's not lost on you that she's been wearing her hair like that ever since you started putting your own hair up when working in the lab.
"Fiiiiine," she huffs, crossing her arms grumpily, "I'll isolate those behaviors and lock them behind a 'Puppy Time' Protocol, okay?"
You shake your head and sigh. "No, that's asking for a Tinker or Thinker in the field finding a way to trigger the protocols during combat. Riley, I've told you that this project needs to be one-hundred-percent above-board - not only because people's lives are on the line, but this will be all the proof they'll need to show that... all this isn't working out."
Riley's body language doesn't change much, but the way the light fades from her eyes and the tension in her shoulders ramps up it's not hard to see the scared little girl behind the cheerful facade.
Uriel had been pretty clear that he didn't want her in his city after she went and used the soulgem injector before the device could be tested and vetted. Combined with that, the Youth Guard is advocating for her to be moved to Houston, Texas; her extended family is there, the local laws make it easier for her to get a reduced sentence, and Eidolon would be on-hand should she... relapse.
On the other hand, Texas also has much more loose "Stand Your Ground" laws, and Riley's Kill Order bounty is still technically up for grabs until her appeal goes through.
As awful as that is, you aren't sure how to feel that the threat of death isn't what scares her; rather, you suspect what's driving her to perform is the fear of being separated from you.
You close your eyes and sigh.
Iris, any thoughts here?
He's not constantly aware of your antics - busy as he is, meditating to gather essence and calculating the proper resonances needed to convert local reality into a new type of reality - but you've gotten the general impression that he pays more attention to your mind state(s) when you're in the lab. And, sure enough, after a few moments of delay you get a burst of distant emotion through the Familiar link.
[COMISSERATION]
The PRT Therapists tell you to be more distant, to avoid imprinting as the mass-murderer's mother-figure, while your near-omnipotent, oft-rampaging spirit of crafting tells you to hand out hugs. What has your life become?
Running a hand through your own hair, you lean your head back and stare uselessly at the ceiling - your charms still giving you perfect vision of Riley's emotional shut-down.
"You can make a new dragon for yourself, if you want."
The statement hangs in the air for a few seconds, until Riley finally blinks in confusion and disbelief.
"Wh-... what?"
Rolling your head back down to meet her gaze for a second, you then look down and gesture at the still-begging robotic dragons floating in the air around your waist.
"After you finish making these six fully compliant with the K-9 training videos and manuals I gave you... then… you can make a version just for yourself to keep around the lab."
There's a split-second where her jaw drops in awe, then she's a tiny little orange-jumpsuit blur as leaps off the chair and flings herself at you with open arms-
"Thank you thank you thank you thank you-!"
- but a firm hand on her shoulder keeps her from making contact as you hold her at arm's length, giving her a stern look as she babbles gleeful appreciation at you.
"Ah ah ah," you caution, holding up a warding index finger on your spare hand. "Paperwork, then fix these six… then organize your workbench like you said you would, and then you can start on it."
Showing her pre-teen nature, her mood completely shifts yet again into shocked indignation.
"You said after I fixed them! You didn't say I had to organize my desk before!"
"Riley, your side of the room has been a mess all week."
She points at you angrily. "That's because you won't let me install a pocket-dimension augmentation into my hand like you have!"
You increase the intensity of your own level stare in response. "So you're saying you'd rather have that then a pet dragon?"
A polite cough echoes from one of the blank monitors you keep active for the specific guest that is now manifesting herself through it.
"I really wish the two of you had called them 'wyrms' like I suggested," Dragon sighs, her wireframe avatar smiling a bit awkwardly.
Completing another mood-swing in the span of a breath, Riley whips around to face the large monitor and wave her arms excitedly.
"Dragon! Taylor says I can make one just for myself!"
"Really?" she muses, eyebrows raising a fraction as the avatar then looks in your direction. "Is it going to have weapons, too?"
Your expression hardens. "No. Base model, no weapons. Or crafting tools."
"Whaaaaat?!" the tiny bio-tinker gasps, betrayed. "Taylor!"
"If you can go a whole…" you pause, calculating for a moment, "... two weeks without turning it into a deadly weapon, then I might be able to persuade Director Uriel into letting you equip it with some basic mechanical tools."
The young blonde has a shadow of fear flash across her face as you mention Uriel's name, morphing into a slightly-distant tightening of her mouth as she realizes the pet is yet another test.
"Ah-... oh-... okay, " she sighs.
You wince, right hand twitching as you consider reaching out and resting it on her shoulder.
"Riley, I-"
Dragon, expression clouded, interrupts the thought.
"Taylor, it's almost 9:30, are you still-"
And then a whirling tear of reality opens a few feet to your left, black and white hexagons of various sizes swirling out from a central point in space to form a tesselating whirlpool nearly five feet across. Like watching your own Technomorphic Integration Engine charm in reverse, a humanoid form unravels from the central point in an impossible, spiraling motion that takes barely a second from start to finish.
But to label the figure as "human" is to consider a toddler's paint splatters a classical masterpiece. In every sense of the word, the figure transcends and redefines the artistry and beauty of the human body: its hair is not "black," it is a collection of the finest strands of pure, spun obsidian glass; every beam of light that strikes the form only highlights some new, breathtaking aspect; considerations of gender, shape, and age are discarded, leaving only the many shades of respect, awe, and desire that a human could ever inspire in another.
Draped in a flowing gown plucked right out of ancient Japan's most dazzling fashions, the room stills as the figure manifests fully in this reality and opens its luminous, inhumanly beautiful eyes-
"Is everything ready, Tay-...?"
The room's temperature plummets, and you can feel your essence capacitor freeze in your chest at the frigid look directed at your supportive gauntlet on Riley's shoulder.
Saki's gaze drifts back up to meet your own, any trace of warmth replaced by cold, restrained neutrality.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
***
"You said she'd be in bed by nine!"
Closing your eyes (more out of reflex and weariness, as it blocks your three-sixty vision not at all), you massage the closed eyes of your Mobile Sensory Drone charm on your forehead - trying to work away the phantom pain caused by the drones you had out self-destructing when Saki whisked you away to her personal dimension.
"I was about to send her to bed when you walked in, Saki," you sigh, shaking your head. "Why did you even portal in if she was there?"
Taking a few swishing steps away from the now-empty portal, you hear a slight huff as Saki brings up a hand to begin interfacing with her charm.
"I couldn't see her."
You let the silence hang for a moment as a shimmering, foot-wide black hexagon of jade rises to nearly six feet in height before the silver-skinned beauty. If her abrupt answer wasn't a big enough clue to her real reasoning, then the way she immediately begins tapping with a bit too much effort at an invisible interface that has popped up from it would give her away.
"... you mean you saw the dragons first, and forgot to look for Riley."
"That's-!," she huffs again, spinning about in a flutter of silks to face you with hints of a blush quickly morphing into a withering glare. "That's not the point! You're being too nice to her!"
You manage not to rock back from the sheer force of her personality, but it's only because you can tell her heart's not really behind it. Instead, you meet her gaze as evenly as you can and draw out the silence for a long minute.
Neither of you need to blink, of course, but even so you still probably can't beat her in a straight staring contest - even with your extra eyes.
"... was there something you didn't tell us about what you saw in her head, then?"
Glowing white eyes go wide in shock for a split-second before Saki looks away in shame. Yes, it's a low blow, but it's what your caste was built for.
"...no."
You nod, still maintaining your own stare… but you can't quite keep it going in the face of the painful memories you just brought up. Taking a step forward, you reach out a hand and touch her right arm.
"Saki, you know I'm the only one able to stand up for her, right?"
She doesn't pull away, but her left hand clenches into a fist as she stares at the ground with an expression of pained frustration.
"... mmn."
It's wordless grunt, but there's just enough of an assent in there that you leave it be.
Still, the silence hangs for a long few moments.
"You didn't say much afterwards, and then right after there was the Simurgh mess..." you sigh, "...but I'm sorry I haven't reached out. How are you doing?"
There's a flash of vacancy in her eyes when you mention the events of three days ago, but it's barely a heartbeat before she shakes her head and lets her shoulders sag.
"It's… they're not my memories, so I only remember them if I think about it. It's like… opening a book, I guess?"
You nod in understanding, even if you've heard the explanation of how her Personality Override Spike works several times now - you suspect she's had to explain it so many times to the PRT over the last week that it's just become a habit for her to reassure scientists and security personnel that no, I'm not going to confuse those memories for my own.
"It's just that seeing her made me…" she winces, "... open that book, again. What she went through."
You give her arm a reassuring squeeze, but you can't help but frown.
"Does that happen often?"
"No, no," Saki blinks, finally looking back up to meet your gaze again - only to then immediately look away again in a mixture of shame and disgust. "It's just… when I saw her, I... accidentally activated the charm again."
You are careful not to react outwardly, but more than one of your consciousnesses is alarmed that she was able to extrude a foot-long spike from one of her palms without you even noticing. Once again, you are forced to admit that the overly-long sleeves she's grown fond of lately are far more useful than they look. Absently, you dedicate one train of thought to figuring out if you could work those kinds of sleeves into your own outfits without them eventually driving you crazy.
Still, the admission forces you to consider a more important factor than your own situational awareness - a factor you've been dancing around mentally ever since Saki returned from her own Exaltation.
Stepping forward to take hold of her other arm, you keep your gaze solemn despite the smaller beauty's surprise at your sudden closeness.
"Saki, if it really does bother you that much, I can hand her off to the PRT completely."
Though you've heard from the other Wards that she's been getting better and better at disguising her expressions with every day that passes, Saki's full-blown, parted-mouth shock is genuine enough that you suspect you've successfully made her understand your seriousness.
Riley is useful, yes. A victim as much as she's a twisted mass-murderer, but her Tinker speciality combined with her energetic attitude and relentless desire to learn and create make her a near-perfect lab assistant for an Alchemical Exalted… to the point that even Iris was quick to forgive her earlier tresspasses against him during his captivity (though he was only really upset that she'd confused his gender and put him in a dress).
But your Assembly always comes first.
Judging by the way Saki's smiling now, you think she understands that too-...
… she's not looking at you, anymore, but rather through you. She only does that when...
"Saki, no."
The little smut-peddler blinks in surprise at being caught in another brainstorm, then steps away and brings a sleeved hand to her mouth as she clears her throat.
"A-ah… I don't know what you're talking about, Taylor," she muses, not even bothering to hide her growing smile as her voice grows husky and expression vacant again. "You're just so forceful, I can't help but think of what Chris would think if he saw us! Or- Or Dean! Or Weld!"
You don't bother hiding your embarrassment, more focused on extruding what you need to cut this nonsense off before it really gets going.
"... asking about you every time we've been by a beach, so for fun I started making up stories about what you must be doing in Philly with Weld and Drag- ackpththptht!"
"No," you admonish flatly, spritzing her with the water bottle.
"Bad. Bad Saki."
***
By the time you're done "chasing" her around Grasp's pagoda-form while she spouts nonsense, Saki and her outfit are thoroughly soaked and you've gone through two full spray bottles.
You… hope it's nonsense, though you'll undoubtedly find out if she has been telling the other Wards those stories while they've all been on vacation; there's no way Dennis or Ernest won't be able to stop themselves from asking if you've really been doing things like "experimentally testing Weld's stamina" or "crafting Dragon a body so that you can finally hold each other for real."
… it's a good thing you handed the Body-Double Drone project off to Colin to give him something to do in Quarantine.
Grasp wasn't your only audience, however, as Ciara emerged to silently observe the antics around the time you switched to your second bottle. When Saki had finally run out of ideas ("For now!") and retreated back inside to change into a less-sopping outfit, the blonde remained.
Still wearing her loosely-form-fitting prison jumpsuit, piercing green eyes regard you from behind barely-restrained, waist-length blonde locks with the same distant, puzzled expression she apparently wears all the time now. You meet her gaze evenly, letting the silence drag on as you take this opportunity to update your scans of her brain chemistry.
Since Saki's had to keep Grasp in her pocket dimension while she's travelling incognito with the other Wards, she's allowed the Primordial War veteran to keep the child-looking cape entertained; since "prisoners" of her charm are effectively frozen in time, the hope is that extended (and experienced) time apart from her shard will reveal just how much of the "Faerie Queen" insanity is Ciara, and how much is induced by her power.
You imagine that Saki has peeked into Ciara's mind by now, but the fact that she hasn't mentioned it to you is… telling, in its own way. Still, Saki asked to let her handle Ciara for now, so you'll trust that she'll keep you informed if something important comes up; you don't have the time to deal directly with the imprisoned forty-something tween, since you have more than enough business in the real world to deal with at the moment.
Business such as what brought you here now.
"Administrator."
You allow your eyebrows to raise, having expected her to simply stare at you the whole time Saki was away changing.
"Ciara."
The barely-five-foot blonde rotates her head towards the vast monochrome horizon, then allows her eyes to break your gaze to finally look to where her head is pointing.
"Do you, too, possess such a realm within yourself?"
Turning your head to give the impression you're looking that way as well, you consider the question for a moment before raising your hand and making a "so-so" gesture.
"My own converted shard has a realm like this, yes, but it's completely different in design and I can't enter it physically."
A slow blink.
"You have seen it."
You grunt at the statement, nodding.
The two of you stand there, gazing out from the open doorway of Grasp's pagoda-form for a long, quiet moment.
"Are you not terrified?"
Her tone is light, as if asking about the weather, but there's an ever-so-slight hint of something below it - quick enough that you almost miss it. Despair? Regret?
You don't turn to look at her, since she's still looking outwards, but you frown regardless.
"By?"
"We are less than ants to them, the true actors," she wonders aloud, lifting an upward-facing palm as if presenting the whole world to you. "Are you not humbled by this display? This disparity?"
Your immediate impulse is to dismiss the question, but you hold your tongue for a moment to give it more than a moment's thought and let your various minds fully consider the context. After all, Saki got her a translator-earpiece days ago; there's no way that Grasp hasn't told her all about the history and purpose of Exalted by now.
"I… suppose so, yes."
Ciara blinks owlishly, then drops her hand and turns her head to look at you with more focus than she's displayed these last few minutes. Still, she doesn't say anything more so you take her silence as the demand for an explanation that it is.
Crossing your arms over your chest, you tilt your head slightly as you absently look out across the black-and-white horizon.
"There's a good line in the Wards handbook, even if they mangled the quote: 'Courage isn't the lack of fear, but what you do in the face of it,'" you shrug, matter-of-factually. "Fear is rooted in subconscious threat-assessment routines, anyway, so it wouldn't even be a smart thing to ignore it completely."
You wave your right hand out, gesturing to the display of the Great Maker's power that is the very reality you stand atop and within.
"Exalted were designed to fight Primordials, sure, but… not alone. Not without training, time, and support," you muse, frowning even further in thought. "From what I've heard, a lot of Exalts died during the War... and they had entire armies mortals, gods, and Exalts - of different kinds, even - all working together. So even during the best-case scenario, it wasn't a sure thing."
Turning your head, you meet the confusion in Ciara's jade-green stare with your own burning, golden glow.
"Guess we'll just have to be better," you grin.
...
… she just stares at you for a long, silent minute as you awkwardly hold the smirk, before eventually turning back to look out at the horizon.
Thankfully, you're saved from further embarrassment by Saki's bustling return - dolled up in another series of flowing silks that momentarily halts all conscious thought again.
You sigh. "Saki, can you... turn it down, please?"
She blinks in response, her mouth making a little 'o' that-... no! You like boys! Maker why?! Ugh!
"But… aren't I going to be the one talking with her?"
"Yes but-... fine," you grunt, waving her past as she swishes past the two of you in the doorway. "Just- just go get Prayer so we can get on with this."
She beams - and you're pretty sure there's actual backlighting involved as she does so - then spins around and bustles over to the massive ring a few yards away. An occluded whirlpool whirls to life at her approach, distorting the vision of what appears to be a darkened hotel room. Perhaps having learned her lesson from before, Saki hesitates briefly and you notice the scene change ever-so-slightly a few times before she finally nods to herself and steps through with a whirlwind of displaced air.
Though that leaves you alone with Ciara and Grasp again. Come to think of it, the gregarious pagoda-scorpion has been rather quiet-
"Your… dominance features prominently in her tales."
Slowly, you turn your head to stare at the solemn little blonde beside you.
Slowly, she meets your own gaze.
"I chose this form to escape such interests and desires," she says flatly. "Do not court me."
Behind you, there's a grinding of metal and wood that sounds distinctly like a certain mechanical someone trying to restrain themselves from giggling uncontrollably.
...
… maybe the End of Existence wouldn't be so bad?
***
Saki's prompt return with Prayer spares you from having to give more than a strangled grunt in response to Ciara's statement; your various minds are torn between inquiring about whatever slander Saki is writing or whether Ciara is trying to play a joke on you, but ultimately you decide that you're just going to resolve to remain blissfully ignorant for the moment.
Stepping out of the pagoda's archway and taking a few steps towards your approaching Assembly members, you raise a gauntlet in greeting to Prayer - the large cerulean woman is clad in the black PRT-brand sleepwear/sweatsuit outfit you've caught her wearing during the last few days when you called at night, though her expression is a bit tighter than usual.
"'Evening, Prayer," you offer, smiling lightly to hopefully put her more at ease. "How was your first day as Camden's Senior Supervisory Agent in Charge?"
Before the pajama-clad woman can even so much as twitch in response, Saki rounds on her with a gasp and a accusing poke.
"That's why you were gone all day today! I thought you said you were getting promoted after the trip!"
You're pretty sure you noticed a restrained flinch at Saki's prodding of her ribs - and judging by Saki's narrowed eyes and smirk she noticed too - but the stoic woman tries to cover it up by bringing a fist up to her mouth to cover clearing her throat.
"Camden required my services sooner than expected," she hums in her deep, crystalline tone. "Sarah and Ethan are more deserving, too."
Both you and Saki frown at the downplay, though Saki shuffles a step closer and gives a half-hug that barely reaches around the small of Prayer's back.
"Everyone liked having you there, Prayer. And you deserve a break, too!"
Another noncommittal hum.
"In serving, I am refreshed. Mourn not."
Saki wrinkles her nose, but sighs and steps away while giving you a glance that communicates quite clearly that you are setting a bad example for her. You give a flat stare in response to that ridiculous allegation.
"It's still not going to be the same," she mutters, turning to the empty space at her side and holding her hands out to interface with her charm again. "And we couldn't even wait for Aisha to get back, so now it's just me."
You and Prayer glance at each other and share a frown at Saki's last muttered statement, though you're not sure Prayer heard all the undertones that you did.
Taking a few steps forward, you get within arms' reach of the shorter, silken-clad Starmetal but opt to keep your distance as she works. Though she's not really looking at you now - her gaze locked on the cluster of raised hexagons in front of her again - you try to smother your frown and offer a supportive half-smile instead.
"Saki-"
"I offer my company, then."
All three of you freeze for a moment, then turn to Ciara at her ominous declaration - the small blonde having stayed just a few feet behind you this whole time.
Serves you right for talking in English instead of Old Realm.
"A-ah… n-no, that's alright Ciara," Saki laughs, almost keeping all of the panic out of her expression and voice. "I-... I don't think people would be happy if I let you out, even if it was just so you could vacation with us."
The tiny terror frowns, but makes a smooth, grand gesture with her left hand to dismiss the paltry concern. "You fear for your safety while your Assembly heeds higher callings. None would so much as breathe a challenge with you under my protection."
Even with your attention focused on the de-powered Trump to your side, you catch Saki's quick glance that practically screams a little help here?!
… maybe leaving the resocialization of a psychotic mass-murderer to a girl who was a twin-dependent introverted teenager just barely a week ago… wasn't the best idea.
Not without giving her a plan, at least. Something to brainstorm with Accord about when you get back later tonight.
Since she's already within arms' reach, you place your left hand on the tiny blonde's shoulder and give her a solemn frown to match the one she levels at you as her head swivels to meet your gaze.
"Ciara, it hasn't even been a week since you tried to kill Saki. And I'm fairly certain you were going to try to kill me and Prayer, too."
"I have apologized to the Warden for my affront," she intones, her glare still imposing despite her powerlessness. "I lacked… perspective. Perspective I have graciously been afforded, when by all rights I was to be bound and silenced, ignorant for eternity."
"And you'd keep that perspective when your shard reconnects?" you glower, narrowing your eyes as you notice her twitch slightly. Still, you keep going just as she's about to open her mouth to respond. "It doesn't matter: if Saki lets you out, barely six days after she promised to keep you contained, no one will ever trust her ability to keep someone secure in here again."
She scoffs. "You are Exalted, yet you concern yourself with the opinions of chaff."
The grip of your soulsteel gauntlet tightens on her right shoulder, even if she's not the one you want to scream at. Leaning closer, you tilt your head to angle your gaze at the nervous-looking pagoda a dozen yards away - you have thought he'd wizened up after being slapped down by Iris, but it looks like he's been filling Ciara's head with all the wrong ideas.
"That..." you hiss, feeling steam leaking from your mouth as you bare your teeth, "... is how the other Exalted acted. And that is why their entire reality is a universe-sized black hole, and why we have only a few months to stop it from dooming us as well."
The glow you're emitting is bright enough to be reflected in Ciara's widening green eyes, but she manages to keep herself from flinching too much when you turn back and meet her gaze fully again.
"And if that wasn't enough, we've got our own apocalypse to avoid, don't we?"
The steel behind her eyes pulls away, her expression growing absent as the fight drains out of her frame. Whatever she's seeing now isn't really you anymore, even if you suspect some part of her can still hear your words.
"We're only getting out of this if we act like Alchemicals, and that means shoving pride in the garbage so we can actually get things done," you growl, leaning back and firmly guiding her behind you again so that you can turn your full attention to the cluster of hexagons in front of you.
Prayer, having shifted during your rant to back you up, places a steadying hand atop Ciara's left shoulder to keep the small girl from stumbling.
Your eyes flick to Saki, who has been staring blankly at your exchange. Blinking at your attention, however, she quickly rouses herself and makes a few final key-presses on the invisible interface in front of her.
The sounds of hissing pistons fills the air for a brief moment as the hexagon cluster falls back to lie flush with the floor again - only this time, a figure has been left behind atop the black-jade landscape.
The woman looks in her late twenties at the most, even though you know she's well into her forties by now. Her dusty brown skin and long black hair combining with a squarer face gives away her hispanic heritage, though there is a large scar over her right eye that looks like it never healed properly.
Still, even crumpled on the floor and fully covered in a similar black-and-white striped jumpsuit like Ciara, her statuesque form is recognizable - despite the fact that the legendary heroine has certainly never looked as helpless as she does now.
You don't want to dwell on how many hours Cauldron spent to keep Rebecca Costa-Brown's secret identity.... or how many bodies they buried.
Stepping over to Alexandria's body, your medical scan notes that Saki's shard-charm only healed up some of the fringe damage around her abdominal wounds - her lower spine still a mish-mash of solid pieces (most of which you fished out of the river yourself) and Cauldron-produced prosthetics that have at least restored her to civilian-level mobility. That must mean the charm doesn't think it's damaged, or… will it just not repair damage that severe? Saki's final meditation sessions had revealed that the prison will "maintain" wounded prisoners if left in stasis for at least a full day, but it looks like that only means it'll do the bare minimum to keep the subject from bleeding out.
Not that Alexandria was bleeding when Saki picked her up from Cauldron's base - it was only when she was whisked into this realm that the heroine's blood resumed flowing for the first time in decades. Apparently, even though the heroine had thought that the minimal amount of healing that Cauldron had managed had made it safe for her to walk again despite the grievous wounds… the restoration of her normal human faculties had been messy.
You weren't there at the time, but after the heroine had been fully interred into the shard-charm's depths, Saki claims a few foot-long, beetle-like machines swarmed out of the ground to clean everything away. Even more surprisingly, they'd all sported matching paint jobs and accessories to make them look like little prison guards. While you are not jealous, you are curious if those modifications were done for Saki… or because of Saki.
Shaking your head, you spare a thought to extrude the vial containing the eyeball you had Riley whip up from the small amount of blood that Saki managed to keep away from the janitor-beetles. After all, if you're going to be putting Alexandria back together, you might as well go all the way.
Anima sparking to life as you let your hands fall apart into surgical tools, you wait for Saki to step over to position herself at Alexandria's feet - at the same time, your shortest Assembly member mentally guides her shard-charm to raise the floor such that the hexagons underneath the unconscious heroine have become an improvised table. A light, focused frown crosses her expression for a moment, before a scorpion-like tail emerges from the folds of her dress to smoothly inject draughts of both Great Maker's Mercy and Metabolic Accelerator into Alexandria's right foot.
Both healing infusions thus applied, Saki's eyes flicker to meet yours before she nods in resolution, closes her eyes, and jabs her Personality Override Spike into Alexandria's left foot.
You turn your head, glancing behind you to where Prayer is still supporting a blank-faced Ciara. Meeting the taller woman's stoic gaze is enough for her to nod mechanically in acknowledgement, then smoothly release the tiny blonde to glide up to your side. As she takes up her own position, she stretches out her hands - fingers splayed wide - just as the clay-like skin along her hands begins to disgorge tens of thousands of tiny little crystalline spiders.
With your head still turned in her direction, your eyes back to meet Ciara's slowly-focusing gaze. Green eyes flicker to the raised figure on the altar-like dais, then to the obvious displays of power, before turning back to you.
"A sacrifice?"
You snort, mouth a grim line as your minds focus in on the information pouring in through your renewed medical scans.
"A miracle," you grunt out, turning back to the figure as you let your Omnitool Implants begin to slice away at cloth, skin, and sinew.
"Watch and learn."
***
Your rebuild by Iris had the added benefit of improving some of your existing charms to take into account your rapid mental, physical, and spiritual growth; instead of simply building entirely new charms, Autochthonians designed increasingly-powerful submodules to expand the capabilities of the original charm as the Alchemical grew in power themselves. Your Industrial Survival Frame charm, for instance, now possesses the Environmental Dominance submodule, which now allows you ignore "environmental" damage even when it's a blatant attack.
It'll make your next encounter against Behemoth a bit easier, yes, but you're not going to bet against the Herokiller finding ways around your improved resistances.
Your Omnitool Implants charm received two upgrades as well, both as a result of the heightened mental faculties that you gained as a result of your soul-journey: an additional installation each of the Secondary Telefractor Assembly and Comprehensive Surgical Systems submodules. The former has pushed even your most slap-dash crafting, "Tinkering," or cooking attempts into the realm of fantasy, as now practically anything you touch with the charm is assembled into what you can only describe as the most physically Perfect form that reality itself can allow. While this has understandably pushed your efforts to cobble together improved versions of appropriated Tinkertech to new heights, it's also caused all manner of problems by way of your cooking - such as incessant demands to make the coffee for every PRT HQ shift instead of just the morning shift, or how you caused a brawl over your lasagne bolognese when you volunteered to cook for relief camp staff.
But it is the improvement to your Comprehensive Surgical Systems submod that has brought you here - forearms-deep in Alexandria's guts - even though you intellectually only possess rudimentary knowledge of proper surgical procedures. For even though the first two installations of the submod had granted you the capability to perform insanely-complicated, hours-long procedures with only your hands and a few minutes of effort, surgery itself was still reliant on your training… or lack thereof. Now, however…
… well, you can just sort of... point the dozens of sinister-looking surgical/torture implements at the patient and the charm will do most of the work for you, piecing together anything short of completely-missing limbs. It's been surprisingly educational to watch whenever you've put them to task, since you make sure to keep your diagnostic scans going while the charm does its work, but the insights you've gleaned don't always… stick?
It's something you've discussed with Riley as part of your agreement to teach her what you know about Alchemical charms and their construction, installation, and operation (which isn't that much, and Iris has always been quick to correct you). Primarily, you wondered how much the process resembled the insights and capabilities granted to her by her Tinker shard; it's well-understood by the general populous that Tinkers get superhuman understanding of the ins-and-outs of their speciality, but what's often overlooked is that their shards' occasional direct interference during their "Tinkering" is just as reality-breaking as your own charms tend to be.
It shouldn't be physically possible to use a coffee grinder to perform open-brain surgery and leave behind barely any evidence of the deed, yet such antics were an everyday affair for Bonesaw.
"Oh, I get all the funny details that I'll need," she had explained cheerily. "Exactly how long I need to poke someone with an exposed wire to restart their heart without frying their noggin, how much of a frying pan I need to shave off to add to a tub of blood, things like that."
You manage to restrain your sigh, since you'd rather not breathe in the steam wafting up from where the Omnitools are flash-searing the final pieces of Alexandria's small intestine together.
...
… yup. It smells like reheating pork sausage that came out of a sewer, as these types of injuries usually do.
...
You're never going to get around to eating those leftovers from last week, are you?
It's a petty thought, given how relieved you should be feeling that the restoration of her spinal column and abdominal organs has proceeded even better than planned, but ultimately you're dreading the final part of this whole endeavor: actually talking with your childhood heroine about how she's secretly one of the worst criminals in human history.
And yet, she's still one of your potential Orichalcum candidates.
Out of reflex, you eye Saki's breathtakingly-composed form-... her focused, motionless form at the foot of the operating table-slash-altar. She's been inside Alexandria's head for the last twenty minutes, and since the heroine would know that Saki is in her head (as the charm affords its victims that vague awareness) you agreed with your newest Assembly member that trying to dig too deep into Alexandria's memories was more likely to backfire in the long run. Instead, Saki volunteered to simply converse with the heroine in the shared mindscape and try to get her to volunteer relevant memories - Saki believing that she'd be able to figure out if Alexandria was hiding anything pertinent or not.
… you really hope she's not grilling Alexandria on her sex life, even if that's been a hot topic of debate on the Internet since the medium was invented.
Ruthlessly crushing that train of thought along with the gestating trains of thought that it was spawning, you bring your focus back to the final ministrations of your various wicked surgical implements as they seal up the skin of Alexandria's toned abdomen - any traces of injury melting away as Prayer's active healing charm combines with Saki's injected healing formulas to result in nigh-instantaneous healing. Scans… yes, still showing she's probably healthier now than she has ever been in her life. All that's left…
You reach over with your left arm - over Prayer's own outstretched hands - to the long-time heroine's scarred visage, and in a matter of seconds the Tinkertech prosthetic eye that the Siberian had forced upon her is popped out and replaced with a fully-organic, Mark 1 eyeball. Some quick cuts to encourage skin regrowth around the area, and any traces of the old injury are gone as well.
You lean back, straightening your posture as you do two more complete diagnostic scans… then let your arms drop back to your sides once they finish reassembling her prison jumpsuit, your forearms whirring and clicking as they transition back into your usual soulsteel gauntlets. Turning your head left to glance fully at Prayer, the taller woman by your side meets your gaze and lowers her own arms as she takes a small step back to place herself just behind your left shoulder.
Idly noting that Ciara mimics Prayer's movement to place herself behind Saki's right shoulder, you reach out with your hand to tap Saki's left hand - the hand connected to Alexandria's left foot through her Personality Override Spike - and… wait.
A silent moment passes…
… but just as you're about to signal her again, Saki's eyelids flutter briefly and then open fully as she blinks owlishly at the waking world.
Only for her to wince in blatant unease as she turns her head to meet your gaze.
"U-uhm, Taylor? I'm not sure I-"
In a single, swift movement, Alexandria rolls off the table and springs into a defensive stance - Saki making an "eep!" noise as she recoils her hands and scorpion-like tail in surprise. The veteran heroine's eyes flicker across your group with cold, calculating intelligence-
She seems to pause, blinking one eye then the next in sequence as she studies your group, before uncurling her right fist to reach up and feel around her right eye socket. Brow furrowing as she doesn't find any trace of the scarring from before, her gaze unfocuses for a brief moment before she closes both eyes and releases the tension in her frame with a long sigh.
"Bonesaw's work?" she asks, though her tone makes you think it's practically a rhetorical question.
"It's identical to your other eye," you reply evenly, meeting her matching eyes as she opens them again. "I made the point that if you wanted to be able to squirt acid or shoot lasers, you would have already installed something like that."
You receive a momentary gimlet stare in return, but it vanishes with a shake of her head.
Then, straightening up into a confident posture that makes your own attempts seem like a child's play-acting, Alexandria crosses her arms over her chest and surveys the group before her - face stern, but considering.
"We're all busy people, so I won't waste time. You saved my life and returned my sight. I am genuinely thankful," declares, nodding to Prayer, yourself, and Saki in turn, before meeting your gaze again. "As you already have Cauldron's cooperation there isn't much more I can give or do for you…"
Her gaze shifts to Saki. "Unless you're looking to convince me to accept your conversion process and join your Assembly. Asking to relive my few attempts at dating is an odd way to go about evaluating my character, though."
Looking back to you, she uncrosses her right arm from her chest and extends it in a 'please continue' wave.
"So go on, then. I'm listening."
***
While she wasn't the first cape with super-strength, super-toughness, and flight, there is a reason that relatively-common powerset is known as the "Alexandria Package": for nearly thirty years, Alexandria has defined the "flying brick" stereotype due to her dominating physical presence in every fight barring Endbringer battles (and even then, she regularly tosses the monsters around).
But all those years ago, the heroine chose her name in the hopes of being recognized for the more subtle aspect of her power: an eidetic memory with instantaneous recall of even the most trivial of details. While memory doesn't necessarily mean comprehension, the merchandise of her that you collected as a young girl touted such feats as learning languages as quickly as she could read a translation book, memorizing expansive maps with a single glance, or even adapting her memory of all her past conversations to perfect the art of cold reading.
When people consider the Triumvirate, while Eidolon is recognized as the most powerful and Legend the most charismatic, Alexandria is undoubtedly the brains of their group.
The woman before you no longer access to these feats - Saki's prison having blocked her shard's connection and rendered her completely human.
You, however, are not so limited.
Repeatedly tapping your Aura-Dampening Component charm to prevent your anima from bursting to life, the world slows to a crawl as you pump more and more essence through the bio-mechanical wonders installed throughout your body - each installed charm shaping the essence in specific patterns that enhance your mind, body, and soul.
While your Dynamic Reaction Enhancement System is your typical go-to for whenever you need to give yourself time to think, you've discovered (and confirmed with Iris) that's barely the tip of the iceberg; nearly any action, including activating your other charms, can be sped up if used in conjunction with the boost. Augmenting everything you do in such a way will completely drain you of essence in a matter of moments, however, so you only save repeated applications of the charm for situations such as this.
Your Incomparable Efficiency Upgrade is already on, of course, as granting you additional trains of thought allowed you to balance the onslaught of information streaming in through your Optical Enhancement's Diagnostic Overlay during the operation. The former charm also received a dramatic improvement from your recent reconstruction, as your expanded Essence reserves have enabled the charm to grant you eight simultaneous consciousnesses instead of the original six - an improvement that similarly carries over when you provide it to parahumans, much to Armsmaster's and Accord's (restrained, in their own ways) delight.
But it is one of your new charms that you are most focused on activating right now. Reactivating, actually, as you just finished using it to help augment and streamline your Assembly's combined efforts during the operation: Synergy-Promoting Upgrade. A curious bundle of orichalcum wires around a white jade ball-bearing set just under your right clavicle, activating it emits continuous, invisible pulses of essence that wash over everyone you consciously consider to be "helping" you with some task - the pulses subtly nudging them to align their thoughts and actions so that your entire group performs less like a series of individuals working towards a goal… and more like a seamless array of cogs in some perfectly-tuned machine.
It's not mind control or telepathy, as both you and the PRT initially worried over during the re-testing you went through last week. Thankfully, none of you actually know what the others are doing or thinking at any given moment, and any one member of the group could easily break out of the charm-guided harmony without any observed difficulty or side-effects; despite some initial skepticism, the reviewing board ultimately called it a "harmless" Master/Shaker effect and gave you permission to use it freely in your "Tinkering" efforts.
As you are about to once again demonstrate, its absurd utility stretches far beyond the laboratory…
… such as allowing your team to absolutely dominate one of the world's greatest orators.
"No."
Still, the odd quirk of using Synergy-Promoting Upgrade is that it feels like you're all acting on a script that none of you quite remember; in this case, Prayer's stern, crystalline tone voices your thought just as you realized it needed to be said. Similarly, Saki is the one to voice the next line in your head - not because you couldn't, but because the message has more meaning when conveyed through her lips.
"We fixed you because it's the right thing to do, and you deserve it," the burnished-silver girl frowns, seemingly disappointed. "You don't deserve to be one of us, though. You're a liar."
The charm isn't flawless, however, and if some of you are working at cross-purposes then it tends to fail… dramatically.
In this case, you had expected Saki to keep Alexandria out for a bit longer so that you could discuss whatever she'd gleaned from her mental conversations with the heroine - specifically, if what she found in there made a compelling argument for her becoming your Assembly's Orichalcum caste. Alexandria's mention that the "conversations" had been experienced through the reliving the heroine's dating life was... exasperating, yet not unexpected; you had keyed onto the Twins' potential for the Starmetal caste because of their uncanny ways of figuring people out by looking at a person's love life, romantic desires... and their perversions.
Alexandria seemed only confused instead of insulted or angry, so she likely understood the reasoning as much as you do.
Still, Saki has plenty of ways to communicate subtly and silently if she'd found anything exceptionally positive or negative. So… that likely means she's playing up the darker side of Alexandria's history, but ultimately will defer to however you want to steer the conversation. And you think you get where she's going with this...
The hispanic heroine, for her part, reveals a slight widening of the eyes that morphs into a furrowed brow before she completely schools her expression into what you expect is her usual mask of cold confidence.
"You know what we're up against," she replies icly, giving Saki her full attention. "I made it a point for us as we set out to routinely run the numbers for going public with what we had, what we knew, just on the off-chance that it would improve the numbers for the final fight."
She shakes her head, her jaw tensing and composure cracking as you suspect she tries to pull up memories and - again, for the first time in decades - fails to recall them as perfectly as she normally should. Nevertheless, she regains her confidence quickly enough that the break in character could be passed as intentional if you specifically weren't looking for it.
She looks up from her recollection to meet your eyes again.
"We had plenty of candidates that had the discipline and fortitude to make the decisions we needed, but no one had the… perspective, or the resources I could bring to bear at a moment's notice. If you think things are chaotic now, you should have seen what it was like back then - when every decision was establishing precedent and it was just normal police against people that could punch down buildings and walk through bullets."
Lifting your hands from your sides, you spread your arms slightly in front of you in a conciliatory gesture while otherwise remaining motionless - your various active charms lending the movements a smooth, mechanical appearance.
"You misunderstand, Rebecca Costa-Brown. We don't like what you did, yes, but none of us have looked at the threat we face and devised a better solution. We are not disappointed in you because you lied. We are disappointed because, somewhere along the way, you became a liar."
"To the world, to yourself" Prayer intones, seamlessly continuing your thought. "The Truth is your enemy, in all things."
"You lie about everything, control everything… even the things you don't really need to," Saki finishes, with a sad smile and a more genuinely-remorseful tone than you or Prayer mustered. "I think you did forget something: how to stop."
It wouldn't surprise you if she's received comments like this from Legend in the past, but if so it also wouldn't surprise you if she's learned to tune him out with regards to her life choices. After all, Doctor Mother confirmed that he is only aware of Cauldron's involvement with the PRT and their selling of vials, so Alexandria would only consider him another uninformed - albeit well-intentioned - opinion and keep on doing what she normally does…
… or maybe even lie, hiding just enough of her actions so that he thinks she took his advice.
Regardless of who or when she may have heard similar comments, you know for a fact that none have had such raw, metaphysical power behind them. The same argument, printed upon paper, would have little-to-none of the emotional weight that you know she's being hammered with right now… and you're pretty sure Saki isn't even breaking out the actual mind-control charms.
It's a testament to how she's lived her life up until now that Alexandria barely flinches, beyond a darkening behind her eyes that you suspect will linger for days to come. Which is what you want, because…
"You can be better."
Her gaze sharpens again at your statement, but you press on when she's about to question it - you need to keep her off-balance if this gambit has any chance of actually getting through to her.
"Just reviewing your public history is enough to see that you weren't always like this, Rebecca. You donned a dark costume, to demand that you be taken seriously next to Eidolon, Legend, and Hero, but it also fit your wit and humor."
Saki shakes her head, empathy pouring through her expression to the point that it brings old memories of your own crashing back. "You've been hurt so much, and you still kept going, kept saving lives… but you can't stop being happy just so you won't be sad anymore."
"Orichalcum do not settle," Prayer finishes, arms behind her back as she nods once at Alexandria's stilled form. "Neither shall we."
Bringing your left hand down, you raise your right gauntlet fully to point at the circular portal frame several yards beyond Alexandria - which immediately springs to life, the supernatural precision of your teamwork allowing Saki to understand exactly what needs to be done.
Alexandria, for her part, straightens up immediately at the sound of the portal's whirring, casting a quick glance at it to confirm that it's showing the Cauldron base she is expecting.
"Show us you want to be better," you calmly finish, gesturing to the blank corridor beyond.
"Then we'll see."
***
You don't let Synergy-Promoting Upgrade drop until Saki shuts the portal down, at which point both you and Saki both sigh from a mixture of relief and exhaustion - Saki overdramatically draping herself over Ciara as she groans tiredly, barely staying on her feet. The small, shell-shocked blonde psychopath reacts to the new fashion accessory with only a single blink, her gaze still locked on the now-empty exit portal.
You didn't forget Ciara was there the entire time, but you had hoped to shuffle her off to Crushing Grasp's pagoda before Alexandria woke up. You're… not quite sure what Alexandria will make of the Faerie Queen's presence when she recalls the event, but there will likely be some calls coming down from the brass soon inquiring about just what Saki is doing with her prisoner.
More immediately pressing, however, is that Ciara was well within the metaphorical blast range of the megaton-strength persuasion attempt you just dropped on Alexandria. Judging by the way the legendary heroine was stone-faced and tight-lipped as she marched out through Saki's portal, you managed to at least break a chink into the armor she wears around her heart today. That was even despite her clear attempt to try to keep emotional distance from your argument…
… while the confused, attention-starved Ciara has basically been soaking up everything Saki and Crushing Grasp have been feeding her as of late.
Hrm.
Turning around, you address the ostentatious pagoda a dozen yards away… that was tapping its two giant pincers together in restrained excitement during your charm-powered social exchange.
"Crushing Grasp."
The skull-sized gemstones inset at the top of the entry gate's arch shift and twist in their sockets, their light glow shifting to a subdued blue tone.
"Lord Crushing Grasp, Administrator," he begins to admonish, lifting a car-sized, golden-sheathed claw up to signify the point. "You amongst all your Assembly should be aware of proper etiquette with spirits of import-"
You don't both restraining your temper this time, and within moments there's a slight ripple of heat rolling off you as your half-lidded eyes release a constant stream of golden smoke.
"Instead of filling Ciara's head with the kind of ideas that will get everyone killed again," you grit out, barely keeping your voice more civil than a growl, "keep your stories focused on Autochthon and whatever tales of mortal heroics you remember - especially if you ever saw anyone Exalt as a result."
The extravagant edifice halts his movement at your interruption, waiting for a few moments until after you've finished speaking before rolling his eight eyes and huffing indignantly while his claws droop to the tiled floor.
"You have quite the way to go before you match the terrors I faced on the battlefield, Administrator, but your point is conveyed nonetheless. Forgive this old relic for seeking ways to ensure that his loved ones are remembered with honor," he huffs in bitter humor, the sound matched by the drapes along the pagoda's entryway fluttering outwards briefly.
You wince, but Prayer's large hand on your shoulder stills the apology that was forming on your tongue.
"Their glories should be remembered, noble spirit. It is what followed, that you were spared from witnessing: what becomes of swords given crowns."
The flickering lights of Grasp's eyes makes you think he's blinking in response to Prayer's words, but-
"Oooh!" Saki gasps, perking up from over Ciara's shoulder to gaze at Prayer in awe. "That was really pretty, Prayer! Can I use that?"
Prayer herself stares blankly at Saki, apparently confused.
"Use?"
You do a full-body sag as you cover your face with a gauntlet.
"In her dirty stories, Prayer."
The aquamarine juggernaut slowly turns her gaze to you... then to Saki.
"I have not read your tales. Are they-"
"No."
Your Adamant blinks at the clawed index finger that you are pointing directly in her face, but you keep it there as you spin and point the other at your grinning Starmetal.
"No."
"But Taylooor-"
"No."
After a few more seconds, her grin slowly morphs into a pout… that causes her eyes to enlarge and become dewey with unshed tears as her lower lip trembles.
A moment later, the sound of sad violins playing starts drifting in on the non-existent wind.
"N-" you wince, but keep your eyes trained on the unfolding tragedy. "N-no. And stop that."
Saki holds the display for a few seconds longer, just out of spite, then sighs - all the special effects disappearing as if they were never there to begin with. Ciara doesn't even blink, still in her stupor.
"Hmph," grumps the most voluminously-dressed of your party, languidly waving an arm in the direction of the exit portal as it spins up - a distorted view of your lab revealing itself as the swirling portal materializes. "If you don't want to talk about art, then you can just go play with your... toys."
She waggles a single eyebrow at the last word, but you just roll your eyes and huff - hiding your face by giving Prayer a farewell squeeze. The juggernaut hums a crystalline note of affection, her eyes glittering with approval and good humor, while she returns with a series of deft pats on the top of your head. You allow the moment to linger, then eventually separate from the stoic of your Assembly.
Turning back, you mock-grudgingly pace over to Saki and hold out your arms for a similar farewell hug.
Untangling herself from the tiny, dazed blonde, Saki gracefully stumbles into your embrace with a cute "oof" that Maker damnit you are not blushing.
"Wait," Saki wonders aloud, pulling apart as you clear your throat, her head tilting as she considers something. "Why do you want Lord Grasp to show-..."
Her eyes fly open in surprise as she connects the dots, mouth dropping open in a little 'o' as she darts a quick look to Ciara and then back to you.
"You think…?!"
Closing your eyes (not that it does any good), you place your gauntlets on Saki's shoulders and push away just enough to keep her from being in your face.
"It's an idea," you stress, opening your eyes to give her a level, stern gaze. "I'm not sure it will amount to anything by the time we need to make a decision... but even if that doesn't pan out…"
You direct a meaningful glance to the small woman, then meet your Starmetal's gaze again. "It's still the same as before: whenever Scion becomes a problem, we're going to need her fighting on our side. Only now, don't implant any commands or make any major changes - those would backfire on us if we choose her."
The smile you receive in return is so blinding, your Flash Shutters automatically activate to shade your eyes.
"I didn't want to do any of that anyway!" she cheers, hugging you again briefly. "You can count on me!"
Practically vibrating in excitement, Saki turns - hands clasped together in front of her lips, eyes wide with manic glee - to look fully at Ciara, while you cautiously back away towards the portal.
"Heeheeheeheeheehee…"
As you step backwards through the twisting vortex, the giggling follows you.
It follows you as you tidy up after Riley, carry the slumbering bio-tinker to her bedroom, and tuck her into bed.
It trails your steps as you make your way to your own room and collapse into bed, rolling the covers over yourself...
...
...
… and before you know it, you're waking up to the alarms of Quarantine being breached.
***
End of Chapter 10.1
****
CHAPTER 10.1 - INTIMACY CHANGES:
RED Intimacies have not been fully-established yet, and are not used for bonuses/negatives.
GREY Intimacies yield the normal bonuses/negatives until fully eroded.
EOA - Intimacy INCREASED: Ciara|Glaistig Uaine (Victim of Power) [Illusion] [3/4]
EOA - Intimacy GAINED: Philadelphia (My Responsibility) [Emotion|Guilt] [4/4]
FPoP - Intimacy STARTED: Camden (Ashes Are Fertile Soil) [Emotion|Determination] [1/3]
FPoP - Intimacy STARTED: Emily Piggot (The Burdened Mule) [Illusion] [1/3]
FPoP - Intimacy INCREASED: Bladedancer|Kali (I Am Not Enough) [Emotion|Heartbreak] [2/3]
WoRI - Intimacy STARTED: Armsmaster/Bladedancer (CHEATERS DESERVE EACH OTHER) [Illusion] [1/3]
WoRI - Intimacy STARTED: Glaistig Uaine|Ciara (Do You Believe In Magic?) [Emotion|Hope] [1/3]
ABILITIES-IN-TRAINING, PURCHASABLE-BACKGROUND CHANGES:
We're well enough into the quest now that artificially gating Ability/Specialty and Background purchases with somewhat-arbitrary "training times" doesn't make too much sense... and makes my life more difficult, because it takes away from time I spend writing. That isn't to say that it hasn't been helpful in the past, because it's forced me to keep parts of our characters in mind and stir up ideas for showcasing growth, but going forward I don't think it's going to keep being worth the hassle it inflicts - especially since Taylor has such a bloated sheet nowadays that we've reached diminishing returns for how dramatic of a change one Ability point gain is. Worse, Taylor's had over 20 Abilities and Specialties available for purchase for nearly a dozen Chapters now, and it has been rare that we've ever purchased more than two at a time for a single character - let alone one in the era saving XP for future Assembly members' chargens.
So, as of now, I'm going to be removing the "Training" sections and drastically changing the "Available For Purchase" sections of the character sheets. From now on, each character will have ONE Ability, Specialty, and Background (each) available for purchase at the end of each Chapter - these options will either be relevant to the events of that Chapter, or will be forecasting events of the next Chapter. Spending XP on these Abilities/Specialties will also serve as another way to influence the narrative of the subsequent Chapter, as there will be at least one scene dedicated to showing off how the character is improving/has improved that Ability/Specialty. Note that because what is available will change each Chapter, you may want to jump on options when they appear; multiple Chapters may pass before you get the option of spending XP on that Ability/Specialty/Background again.
Virtues, should we ever want to raise them, may be increased with XP at any point - such a dramatic shift in character personality, however, will likely dominate the subsequent Chapter's narrative.
CHAPTER 10.2 - ABILITY/SPECIALTY/BACKGROUND PURCHASE OPTIONS:
EOA - Bureaucracy ●●●●○
EOA - Craft (Drones ●●○)
EOA - Connections (Youth Guard) ●●●○○
FPoP - Presence ●●●○○
FPoP - Presence (Inspiring Faith ●○○)
FPoP - Ally (Emily Piggot) ●○○○○
WoRI - Stealth ●○○○○
WoRI - Martial Arts (Nothing To See Here ●○○)
WoRI - SoTI Armament (Autonomous Dragonsuit Version 4.82.M) ●●○○○
Looks like Taylor's been busy while we've been away with Saki and Colin! Not that things are any less stressful, of course, because that would be boring.
Just because her Shard of Perfect Administration is limited in range - what with it still healing from Vision of Vengeance's stunt - doesn't mean Taylor's slowed down at all... in fact it's quite the opposite! Taylor's day-to-day life since the Slaughterhouse 9's destruction has been non-stop work with the PRT, local civilian groups, and keeping an eye on her personal projects. Her near-limitless ability to micromanage and her bevy of force-multipliers makes it hard to keep track of everything she's doing, both from an in-universe perspective and from a narrative one - there are only so many words I can cram into a scene/chapter before they become bloated, and switching Taylor's focus constantly would make it difficult to pay attention to the story as a whole. So, at a certain point, we need to take a step back and consider: what do we want see?
Taylor's waking time is largely broken up in the following ways:
- Tinkering (with Dragon, Riley, Colin)
- Philly Bureaucracy/Disaster Relief Management (with Uriel, Dragon, local/national government agents)
- Camden Bureaucracy/Disaster Relief Management (with Piggot, Accord, Prayer)
- Combat Patrol Into Known Trouble Areas (with Chevalier, Bladedancer, other Protectorate capes)
- Security Patrol Around Relief Areas (with Dragon, PRT folk, civilians)
- Therapy (with PRT therapists)
- Assembly Building (with Prayer, Saki, and candidates)
It's safe to assume that all of these things are going to happen regardless of what we choose, so vote for what you feel should take up more of the next few Chapters' word count. Stunts for this vote should set up situations, as if presenting the opening events of a scene - though I will probably not take Stunts verbatim, the more clever/well-written a Stunt is increases the chances that I'll incorporate elements of it into the scene proper.
Second on the list, Taylor's lament at Riley about her questionable personality programming is not unfounded: the first large-scale version of those drones is already nearing completion and field-testing. Just being giant robot dragons doesn't exactly explain what they're supposed to do, however, which is where we come in. What sort activities has this first drone - which represents a prototype/test-run for a larger, more varied-capacity fleet - been designed to facilitate? Parahuman-level Police Work is an easy answer since Philly is very close to lawlessness right now, though people start to get a bit leery of your intentions when you start mobilizing bus-sized weapons platforms that can tango with A- and S-Class threats. Other options include Rescue Operations (combined fire truck, ambulance, mundane police support), Transport (for getting lots of people and stuff around the city quickly), Infrastructure (mobile power and water, and large-scale building tools), and... Public Relations (basically copying lots of Lord Grasp's entertainment abilities). It should be noted that while these drones will typically be within Taylor's control radius whenever possible, they will be expected to also be capable of performing their function with a only a few PRT soldiers/employees guiding/supporting them (whenever Dragon doesn't control it directly).
Third, the PRT has organized a big concert later today in Pittsburgh - a support concert for Brockton Bay, Philadelphia, and Camden, with ticket sales and donation proceeds going towards the PRT and associated relief programs. Taylor's (and Prayer's) presence is requested, of course, and the rest of the Philly Wards will also be there. Should Taylor go, knowing that it will be abundantly clear to all that Philly is undermanned for few hours of the concert?
Finally, to put a cap on the Pre-Vote Poll that has been running at the top of the Thread, it's time to start winnowing down our major Orichalcum candidates. Again, this vote will allow you to select three options out of the group, and your vote should largely be whom you want to see more of in the story - Assembly members feature much more prominently in the narrative, so pick Candidates that you would enjoy reading more about.
Finally-finally, over in Autochthonia, Sakura is getting a stark view of just how badly things are in the Land of Brass and Shadow. Does she toe the party line in Estasia and help with the numerous parts of Autochthonian governance that are flagrantly unethical to Earth-Bet sensibilities, or does she try to stand against the system?
CHAPTER 10.2 - VOTING:
Can't Handle All This Competency: (Choose THREE, ONE Stunt Allowed For Each)
[ ] Narrative Focus: Tinkering
[ ] Narrative Focus: Philly Bureaucracy/Relief Management
[ ] Narrative Focus: Camden Bureaucracy/Relief Management
[ ] Narrative Focus: Danger-Zone Patrols
[ ] Narrative Focus: Relief Camp Patrols
[ ] Narrative Focus: Therapy Sessions
[ ] Narrative Focus: Assembly Building
Let's Make Iris Nervous: (Choose ONE, ONE Stunt Allowed)
[ ] I Am Fire, I Am Death (Parahuman Combat Drone)
[ ] Simple Things, They Break So Easily (Emergency Fire, Medical, Police Drone)
[ ] Gather Your Tributes, Peasants (Transportation Drone)
[ ] Look Upon My Works, Ye Mighty, And Despair (Infrastructure Drone)
[ ] The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves (Public Relations Drone)
There's No Way This Ends Well: (Choose ONE, NO Stunt)
[ ] Taylor Goes To The Charity Relief Concert
[ ] Taylor Does Not Go To The Charity Relief Concert
Not All That Glitters Is Gold: (Choose THREE, NO Stunts)
[ ] First Round Orichalcum Candidates: Accord
[ ] First Round Orichalcum Candidates: Alexandria
[ ] First Round Orichalcum Candidates: Armsmaster
[ ] First Round Orichalcum Candidates: Bonesaw
[ ] First Round Orichalcum Candidates: Doctor Mother
[ ] First Round Orichalcum Candidates: Glaistig Uaine
We Have Always Been At War: (Choose ONE, NO Stunt)
[ ] Support Holy Crusade, Get Boyfriends
[ ] Denounce Holy Crusade, Forever Alone
XP Expenditures should be formatted as such:
[X] NAME - ? XP - Item ●●●○○
[X] NAME - ? XP - Item (Specialization ●●○)
VOTING DISCUSSION BEGINS NOW
NO VOTES WILL BE COUNTED UNTIL VOTING BEGINS
VOTING DISCUSSION ENDS:
NO VOTES WILL BE COUNTED UNTIL VOTING BEGINS
VOTING DISCUSSION ENDS:
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Armsmaster is craft focused because that's how he has to leverage his power for glory/heroism.
Even with that focus he's probably the most skilled melee combatant in Worm that isnt getting direct power assistance. Depending on how much utility his shard charm provides we could spec him purely for melee.
Is dodge tank a legitimate spec for alchemicals? Because thats probably how l'd build him if I knew enough about exalted character creation.
As for why he's my first choice, Accord is a barely repentent villian, Alexandria would be a disaster, and Ciara is basically yet another traumatized teenager for all her actual age.
He might be a little boring but I think he'd provide a good contrast and different outlook to the rest of the party.
Edit: Damn it I didnt see the story post before I hit send on this.
Even with that focus he's probably the most skilled melee combatant in Worm that isnt getting direct power assistance. Depending on how much utility his shard charm provides we could spec him purely for melee.
Is dodge tank a legitimate spec for alchemicals? Because thats probably how l'd build him if I knew enough about exalted character creation.
As for why he's my first choice, Accord is a barely repentent villian, Alexandria would be a disaster, and Ciara is basically yet another traumatized teenager for all her actual age.
He might be a little boring but I think he'd provide a good contrast and different outlook to the rest of the party.
Edit: Damn it I didnt see the story post before I hit send on this.
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People vote for him because they strongly don't want Accord/Alexandria/Ciara strongly.
They merely feel meh about him