Day 24 Chapter 10
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan Kaiju
Tomoe-san's living room is awfully cramped, thanks to the intrusion of Caster's many person decorations, but your living room is perfectly sized to contain all five of you, plus Archer and McRemitz-san, as well as the unconscious Father Despair draped across one of your couches. You can sense the presence of three other servants, but for whatever reason they are keeping their distance. Most every one of your allies have their eyes fixed on McRemitz-san's missing limb, with expressions ranging from concern from Tomoe-san, to sympathy from Kure Kirika. And for each pair of eyes, McRemitz-san returns fire with a harsh stare and a repetition of "I'm fine. Really."
"And, you say a familiar did this, Akemi-san?" Tomoe-san asks, trying to look at anything but McRemitz-san's missing arm. "How? I've encountered particularly aggressive familiars before, but none that I haven't been able to defeat before. I was under the impression that McRemitz-san was more experienced than any of us, so-" Tomoe-san's eyes eventually settles on McRemitz-san's, and there they stay as she asks "-How did this happen? Was it a simple error in judgement, or are they really that strong that they can do this to an experienced veteran?"
You shake your head, and McRemitz-san joins you in saying "It wasn't an error in judgement; they really are that strong. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say that they were impossible to fight against."
"How so?"
"Nothing that any of us did to them - Akemi, Archer, or myself - was able to harm or deter them. Akemi tried to freeze them, but it was as if the ice never touched them. I tried to punch one, and it reformed its body around my fist without ever slowing down."
"And not just McRemitz-san's arm, either. I saw them bite through Archer's Projected weapons as though they were made of soft ice cream. The one that took McRemitz-san's arm did so just by passing through her with its mouth open. Nothing the three of us had could touch them, but just their touch alone was enough to destroy anything their jaws came into contact with."
"So basically, the witch found a way to turn on noclip, but in real life?" asks Kure Kirika, as she leans in from her perch atop Mikuni Oriko's lap. "Because if that's the case, then that's really, really cheap." Kyouko nods, taking a bite out of her candy bar as she kicks her feet against your couch.
"Bet ya a thousand Rider could still beat'em, though." Another bite extinguishes the life of Kyouko's candy bar, and she stuffs the wrapper into the pocket of her shorts. "See, he's got this crazy busted ability where he flat-out can't be harmed. So I figure, we pit him against sumthing else that can't be harmed, and he'll have the upper hand on account of actually knowing how ta fight, an' not just being flesh robots fer a witch. Right?"
You hadn't known that about Rider; you hardly know anything about Rider, now that you think about it. You know who he is, thanks to Archer keeping you informed, but outside of that you hardly know a thing about him, as either a warrior or a person. "Perhaps, but theory often goes out the window when faced with reality. We don't know what it is that allows these familiars to use their selective intangibility the way that they do. For all we know, they may have a way of harming even Rider." You turn your head towards Mikuni Oriko, and then to the servant presence you feel standing nearest to Tomoe-san. "Well? Can either of you see if sending Rider into battle against these familiars will be successful?"
"Rider's clothes and weaponry are not invulnerable," Caster says, appearing beside his master in a flash of gold. "If he stands against them as a proud athlete of his people, it will be a stalemate at best, with neither side having the means to harm one another. But to defeat the serpents, wholly and completely, will not be possible until the Black Mountain itself is fallen." Caster shakes his head, adding "Perhaps I could have been clearer from the start, but in truth I had not known that the witches my master and her allies fight look as I saw of the Black Mountain."
"Not all witches, just this one, apparently. I've never known any two witches to appear identical," Tomoe-san says to her servant. "And with everything else that's popping up in this city, I'm not sure we could have said it was a witch, not without knowing what we know now."
"What Caster says... It's not entirely true." Mikuni Oriko opens her eyes, to your surprise upon hearing her refute Caster's claim. "He is correct in saying that we cannot defeat the familiars without also defeating the witch, but there is one element I saw that he has neglected to mention. Without Sister Hope to guide their senses, and without a symbolic representation of the light by which their shadows are cast, the familiars will be unable to manifest outside of the witch's labyrinth."
"Sister Hope did say something to that effect," Archer chimes in, unfolding his arms from his chest. "She said that the sunburst they use as their symbol represents the light that casts the witch's shadows. In other words, the witch must need that symbol to manifest their familiars."
"Then we have the basics of our plan." You stand, and with a snap of your fingers project several aerial angles of the 'Church' warehouse onto your projector screens. "If Caster says that Rider and the familiars will stalemate each other, then we'll use him as a diversion." You turn to the servant presence seated beside Kyouko, and Rider appears beside her. "Your task will be to draw the familiars into open territory, away from Sister Hope. If they need her to be their eyes and ears, then perhaps luring them away from her will blind and deafen them." Next, "Caster, I know you said that we can't defeat the familiars without first defeating the witch, but if possible I'd like for you, as well as Mikuni Oriko and Lancer, to look into ways of either harming or hindering them, for as long as they're in our realm."
"Archer, you'll circle around the 'Church' and attempt to destroy as much of their imagery as possible. If the familiars need the 'Church's sunburst to appear in our world, then destroy every sunburst you can find."
"Does that include the ones inside the 'Church' as well?"
You nod. "Yes. Before we begin, I'll scout the 'Church' and see if it's possible to extract Sister Hope without us having to fight. If that's impossible, we'll move forward with the plan as stated, and once Rider has drawn the familiars far enough away, I'll move in, recover Sister Hope, and sever her connection to the witch. Either way, once I have her, I'll give the signal for you to level the 'Church' with everything you have."
"It won't work..." you hear an unfamiliar male voice whisper those words. There's a shuffle from the farthest couch, as Father Despair pulls himself up, rubbing at the back of his neck as he gazes out at the crowded living room. You can only imagine what sort of thoughts are going through his mind right now. "I... I don't know who, or what, any of you are, but I know that your plan won't work."
McRemitz-san is the first to speak up, asking "And how do you know that?" as she turns to Father Despair. "This is your daughter we're talking about rescuing. I would have assumed you'd be the first person who would want her back. Unless you have any better ideas, that is."
"Ah!" Father Despair's eyes light us at the sight of McRemitz-san. "I recognize you! The- the foreign lady, who- What happened to your arm? You had both of them-"
McRemitz-san cuts the man off with a stern glare, saying "Tell us why the plan won't work."
"... Right. Alina - that's my daughter - she was the first person to be touched by the Sister. The Sister... Chose her; I don't know why. There's nothing special about her that She couldn't have chosen anyone else. But I- I can't feel Her mark on my body any more, but I can still hear her... Alina was under for... A-a week, I think, longer than I was; maybe longer, I can't really remember much. Even if you cut Her mark off, she'll still hear Her, I'm sure..."
The man speaks with an impressive baritone, made all the less so by his mousy features and the constant waver in his voice. "As long as she's still able to hear Her, she'll be drawn to the Sister no matter what you do. As long as she's still able hold a pencil, she'll be able to make the mark that allows the Sister's shadows into the light... You would have to break her hands, and lock her in a dark room, if you wanted to truly prevent her from returning to being used as the Sister's vassal."
[ ] Continue with the plan anyway
-[ ] "Then we'll do what we have to to keep her and everyone else safe."
[ ] Take Father Despair's advice; call off the attack and save your strength
[ ] Try to meet in the middle; an alternative plan that retrieves Sister Hope and prevents her from falling back into the witch's clutches
-[ ] Is there such a plan? (write-in)
[ ] Other (write-in)
Tomoe-san's living room is awfully cramped, thanks to the intrusion of Caster's many person decorations, but your living room is perfectly sized to contain all five of you, plus Archer and McRemitz-san, as well as the unconscious Father Despair draped across one of your couches. You can sense the presence of three other servants, but for whatever reason they are keeping their distance. Most every one of your allies have their eyes fixed on McRemitz-san's missing limb, with expressions ranging from concern from Tomoe-san, to sympathy from Kure Kirika. And for each pair of eyes, McRemitz-san returns fire with a harsh stare and a repetition of "I'm fine. Really."
"And, you say a familiar did this, Akemi-san?" Tomoe-san asks, trying to look at anything but McRemitz-san's missing arm. "How? I've encountered particularly aggressive familiars before, but none that I haven't been able to defeat before. I was under the impression that McRemitz-san was more experienced than any of us, so-" Tomoe-san's eyes eventually settles on McRemitz-san's, and there they stay as she asks "-How did this happen? Was it a simple error in judgement, or are they really that strong that they can do this to an experienced veteran?"
You shake your head, and McRemitz-san joins you in saying "It wasn't an error in judgement; they really are that strong. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say that they were impossible to fight against."
"How so?"
"Nothing that any of us did to them - Akemi, Archer, or myself - was able to harm or deter them. Akemi tried to freeze them, but it was as if the ice never touched them. I tried to punch one, and it reformed its body around my fist without ever slowing down."
"And not just McRemitz-san's arm, either. I saw them bite through Archer's Projected weapons as though they were made of soft ice cream. The one that took McRemitz-san's arm did so just by passing through her with its mouth open. Nothing the three of us had could touch them, but just their touch alone was enough to destroy anything their jaws came into contact with."
"So basically, the witch found a way to turn on noclip, but in real life?" asks Kure Kirika, as she leans in from her perch atop Mikuni Oriko's lap. "Because if that's the case, then that's really, really cheap." Kyouko nods, taking a bite out of her candy bar as she kicks her feet against your couch.
"Bet ya a thousand Rider could still beat'em, though." Another bite extinguishes the life of Kyouko's candy bar, and she stuffs the wrapper into the pocket of her shorts. "See, he's got this crazy busted ability where he flat-out can't be harmed. So I figure, we pit him against sumthing else that can't be harmed, and he'll have the upper hand on account of actually knowing how ta fight, an' not just being flesh robots fer a witch. Right?"
You hadn't known that about Rider; you hardly know anything about Rider, now that you think about it. You know who he is, thanks to Archer keeping you informed, but outside of that you hardly know a thing about him, as either a warrior or a person. "Perhaps, but theory often goes out the window when faced with reality. We don't know what it is that allows these familiars to use their selective intangibility the way that they do. For all we know, they may have a way of harming even Rider." You turn your head towards Mikuni Oriko, and then to the servant presence you feel standing nearest to Tomoe-san. "Well? Can either of you see if sending Rider into battle against these familiars will be successful?"
"Rider's clothes and weaponry are not invulnerable," Caster says, appearing beside his master in a flash of gold. "If he stands against them as a proud athlete of his people, it will be a stalemate at best, with neither side having the means to harm one another. But to defeat the serpents, wholly and completely, will not be possible until the Black Mountain itself is fallen." Caster shakes his head, adding "Perhaps I could have been clearer from the start, but in truth I had not known that the witches my master and her allies fight look as I saw of the Black Mountain."
"Not all witches, just this one, apparently. I've never known any two witches to appear identical," Tomoe-san says to her servant. "And with everything else that's popping up in this city, I'm not sure we could have said it was a witch, not without knowing what we know now."
"What Caster says... It's not entirely true." Mikuni Oriko opens her eyes, to your surprise upon hearing her refute Caster's claim. "He is correct in saying that we cannot defeat the familiars without also defeating the witch, but there is one element I saw that he has neglected to mention. Without Sister Hope to guide their senses, and without a symbolic representation of the light by which their shadows are cast, the familiars will be unable to manifest outside of the witch's labyrinth."
"Sister Hope did say something to that effect," Archer chimes in, unfolding his arms from his chest. "She said that the sunburst they use as their symbol represents the light that casts the witch's shadows. In other words, the witch must need that symbol to manifest their familiars."
"Then we have the basics of our plan." You stand, and with a snap of your fingers project several aerial angles of the 'Church' warehouse onto your projector screens. "If Caster says that Rider and the familiars will stalemate each other, then we'll use him as a diversion." You turn to the servant presence seated beside Kyouko, and Rider appears beside her. "Your task will be to draw the familiars into open territory, away from Sister Hope. If they need her to be their eyes and ears, then perhaps luring them away from her will blind and deafen them." Next, "Caster, I know you said that we can't defeat the familiars without first defeating the witch, but if possible I'd like for you, as well as Mikuni Oriko and Lancer, to look into ways of either harming or hindering them, for as long as they're in our realm."
"Archer, you'll circle around the 'Church' and attempt to destroy as much of their imagery as possible. If the familiars need the 'Church's sunburst to appear in our world, then destroy every sunburst you can find."
"Does that include the ones inside the 'Church' as well?"
You nod. "Yes. Before we begin, I'll scout the 'Church' and see if it's possible to extract Sister Hope without us having to fight. If that's impossible, we'll move forward with the plan as stated, and once Rider has drawn the familiars far enough away, I'll move in, recover Sister Hope, and sever her connection to the witch. Either way, once I have her, I'll give the signal for you to level the 'Church' with everything you have."
"It won't work..." you hear an unfamiliar male voice whisper those words. There's a shuffle from the farthest couch, as Father Despair pulls himself up, rubbing at the back of his neck as he gazes out at the crowded living room. You can only imagine what sort of thoughts are going through his mind right now. "I... I don't know who, or what, any of you are, but I know that your plan won't work."
McRemitz-san is the first to speak up, asking "And how do you know that?" as she turns to Father Despair. "This is your daughter we're talking about rescuing. I would have assumed you'd be the first person who would want her back. Unless you have any better ideas, that is."
"Ah!" Father Despair's eyes light us at the sight of McRemitz-san. "I recognize you! The- the foreign lady, who- What happened to your arm? You had both of them-"
McRemitz-san cuts the man off with a stern glare, saying "Tell us why the plan won't work."
"... Right. Alina - that's my daughter - she was the first person to be touched by the Sister. The Sister... Chose her; I don't know why. There's nothing special about her that She couldn't have chosen anyone else. But I- I can't feel Her mark on my body any more, but I can still hear her... Alina was under for... A-a week, I think, longer than I was; maybe longer, I can't really remember much. Even if you cut Her mark off, she'll still hear Her, I'm sure..."
The man speaks with an impressive baritone, made all the less so by his mousy features and the constant waver in his voice. "As long as she's still able to hear Her, she'll be drawn to the Sister no matter what you do. As long as she's still able hold a pencil, she'll be able to make the mark that allows the Sister's shadows into the light... You would have to break her hands, and lock her in a dark room, if you wanted to truly prevent her from returning to being used as the Sister's vassal."
[ ] Continue with the plan anyway
-[ ] "Then we'll do what we have to to keep her and everyone else safe."
[ ] Take Father Despair's advice; call off the attack and save your strength
[ ] Try to meet in the middle; an alternative plan that retrieves Sister Hope and prevents her from falling back into the witch's clutches
-[ ] Is there such a plan? (write-in)
[ ] Other (write-in)
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