Saturday's Eclipse, 15:40
Amu just needs rest, which she can likely best get at home. However, if there are security concerns and these people have appropriate facilities, then it may be prudent to go with them instead.
"Just rest? Are you sure?" Miki whispered.
I am monitoring her physiology closely. She should be back to normal in a few hours, although for ideal results I would recommend allowing her a full night's sleep before waking. That also applies to Ran. However, that being said, there is a low but nonzero chance I am mistaken due to unfamiliarity. If they understand her condition better then I would appreciate a chance to hear what they have to say, and I am additionally concerned about the demon attack. It is my understanding that such things are not common in this world?
"I really hope not." She blanched, thinking about it. It shouldn't be common, she'd never even heard of anything like this happening except in stories, but today they had not only seen a demon but also a military group dedicated to fighting them. With demons. "I hope it isn't… Mom?" She asked, a slightly plaintive tone in her voice.
Mom looked down at her, reacting to her call. That… still made her heart beat faster. Just being able to talk to her…
"Miki? Who were you talking to?" She asked, looking bemused.
"Oh. Um, the exaltation… that is, the… person?" She made it a question, uncertain if that was the right term to use. "Whatever it is that gave Amu the power to fight that demon. Well, Amu and Ran. It can talk, so it was telling me about her condition. Amu's fine, by the way, she just needs a lot of sleep."
"So…" Mom spoke slowly, and she could tell she still had trouble digesting this. "I certainly can't hear it. That means… what, it's speaking in your heads?"
"Yeah." She scratched the back of her head, thinking about that. "I guess… it's kind of possessing us? Or maybe it's just Amu, since I can't hear it except when she's nearby? I mean, it said it's not the bad kind of possession…"
Miki trailed off. When had it said that?
Oh, never mind. "Anyway, let's get back on track, Mom. We should be able to go home, but it might be better if we don't. Amu's only probably going to be fine if we do that, plus… what if there's another demon attack?" She finished in a small voice. "I mean… those aren't actually common, right? I mean…"
She hid herself in Mommy's sweater again, trembling. X-eggs she could cope with, but that thing… she'd be happy if she never saw anything like it again. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see a world like that. Darkness was better… warm, safe darkness…
Mom shifted slightly, then she felt a hand cupping her entire body, and a finger gently stroking her back. She slowly stopped trembling, though the memories of what she'd seen were still cutting their way through her mind. Hoping to distract herself, she settled in to focus on what Mom was saying.
"My daughter raises a salient point. Half an hour ago, I would have considered Yoyogi park to be one of the safest places we can go, and now I find that they've been attacked by a
demon, of all things. Yesterday I was of the opinion that those were fairy tales, but then I also believed I only had two daughters. By this time tomorrow, what will I have learned? If we do go home, will we be safe?"
"Your
daughter?"
There was a pregnant pause, letting Miki savour the title, then lieutenant Yamada continued crisply.
"…Yes, Ma'am. Anything you say, Ma'am. I'm afraid that question is above my pay grade, but I can say that I have never seen a demon of that strength before, and your daughter is the one who stopped it. Our headquarters has wards preventing them from entering, or at least robbing most of their strength if they do. You can go home if you wish, but I know where I'd want my family if I were in your place."
"Then, you think it might come looking for revenge?"
"…can't deny the possibility, Ma'am."
"So we'd be safer, and your doctors might be able to help Amu. I take it you'd let my husband and other daughter come as well?"
"Absolutely, Ma'am!"
She let out a sigh. "I can't deny it sounds like a good deal, but what do you get out of it? Other than chances to practice your "Ma'am"."
"That's very cynical of you. Can't we just be trying to help out a taxpayer?"
"I edit a magazine for housewives. Indulge me," she sarcastically stated. "Besides, I notice you dropped the salutation."
"Ma'am?"
A beat.
"All right. Then, to be perfectly honest: Something very dangerous is going on, and your daughter is one of the few people who might be able to help. I really can't say any more, you need to talk to the captain or his commander, but it's about mutual protection as much as anything. We have a standing order to collect anyone who looks useful. Going with us is still the safest option, at least for a day or two, and I can promise we won't force her into anything." He sighed. "This is more than I should be saying, though. I'll get the chewing-out of my life if you don't come with us now."
Mom was silent for a little while, but…
"That's rather ominous, you know?"
"I work for an anti-demon paramilitary unit. Ominousness comes standard, Ma'am."
"Right," she dryly agreed. "I suppose you've convinced me. How do we get there, then?"
"Right this way, Ma'am…"
———
They were efficiently hustled out of the park and into a police car. It was a bit cramped, with the five of them (plus Miki, Su and Ran, but they didn't take up much space), but they persevered. Mommy had insisted on carrying Amu herself; she wasn't so much asleep as unconscious, and didn't stir even with the jostling from the car.
Furthermore, it's my job to protect the integrity of her virtues. Solars are intended to be incorruptible, therefore it's my job to ensure that those cannot weaken, even during circumstances where humans are genetically programmed to do so. This is implemented as a submodule of the general anti-tampering mechanisms, although the general functions are not quite as absolute in effectiveness.
Also, not to forget, they were being entertained by lectures from the being that had possessed Amu, "them" meaning Su and her; so far she'd refrained from explaining any of it to the others, even Mom. They'd get overheard, and to be honest she felt a little shy. Amu never had trouble with crowds, even if she couldn't always say what she wanted, and she was sure Ran would be fine, but… well. Even in her memories, it had been over a year since she could talk to people and expect them to hear her.
She whispered, as softly as possible. "Shouldn't you wait until Amu's awake? I'm sure she'll want to hear as well."
Repeating the explanations is not a problem. Now, regarding the relationship between motonic physics and your own implementation, I have several theories. I'll go over them one at a time.
Su's eyes were already glazed over. Miki suffered in silence, her mind refusing to blank it out and insisting on trying to make some kind of sense of the concepts. Was this because she hadn't paid attention in school? Was that it?
By this point, she was pretty sure she was talking to a robot of some kind.
———
"Su, are you all right?"
"Mm… I dunno. Sleepy…"
The JP's base turned out to be under a colossal, well-guarded building - the national diet building, she thought she'd heard Mom say, but at the time she'd been busy peeking at the soldiers manning the entrance checkpoint. They'd been let through easily enough, and then the car had taken an elevator several levels down.
She felt that needed extra emphasis. The
car had
taken an elevator. It had been really cool!
They'd been met at the bottom by a slightly nondescript doctor and his nurse pushing a rolling bed, who had shook his head and muttered something she couldn't make out when he'd seen them, but the nurse had helped Mom undress Amu and put her on the bed so now they were both leaning against her side, and Ran was sleeping on Mommy's lap.
Also she was a little sleepy, yeah, but Su was the one resting her head on her shoulder.
She wondered if they'd be able to sleep without their eggs. Ran didn't seem to be having a problem, but she'd never tried doing that before. She wondered if they'd be able to get them back, since the originals were all the way back at their home now…
They'd been expecting some kind of debriefing soon after getting there, but it seemed like everyone was busy searching for Hikawa, and the place was almost deserted. Even the doctor, Iori-sensei, was mostly busy preparing. He wouldn't say for what. When she'd offered to speak for the exaltation shard, all she'd gotten was a curt question of whether it would help them find Hikawa right then, which she had to admit it wouldn't. So now they were just… sitting, waiting for something to happen. Dad and Ami still hadn't gotten there, though she wasn't sure if she minded the wait. Mom hadn't told him about them yet.
Su mumbled something about carrots, and she poked her forehead with a finger. No reaction. Her sister was quite asleep, still leaning on her. Great. Well, hmm…
"Hey, Mom?"
"Miki?" Mom looked up from where she'd been studying Ran. "What is it?"
"Um." She was tired, and didn't really have any desire to talk. She just wanted to hear Mom's voice. "Sing me a song?"
Mom smiled. "Sleepy, are you?"
"Uu…" She couldn't really deny it, so she nodded as best she could without making Su fall down. She stretched, a little.
Mom softly started singing, an English song of some kind.
She couldn't make out the words, but she really didn't care.
Her eyes slowly fell shut.
———
"The cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon. Little boy blue and the man in the moon…"
———
XP Update:
4 XP (Storyline: Safe refuge?)
10 XP (Act complete: Limbo)
+50% (Audience participation bonus)
+30% (Exaltation shard/Amu relationship bonus)
= 25 XP
=> 32 banked / 32 total
The next scene is some hours away. Normally this would allow for the expenditure of XP; unfortunately, Amu is currently offline and unable to consent. A sufficiently good stunt may let you convince Miki or Su to consent on her behalf, for improvements that do not alter her personality.
Downtime research options (pick one):
[ ] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
- [ ] Ways to make the charas more independent.
- [ ] Ways to improve the chara/Amu combinations.
- [ ] Mind/Body interactions. (No immediate results save for information.)
- [ ] Write-in (Read between the lines, and you may be able to find hidden options.)
[ ] Take an up-close look at the world around you
[ ] Look into methods of reducing the willpower cost of Amu's beam attack.
Someone is knocking on the door, mentally speaking:
[ ] Block them out.
[ ] Let them in. Potentially risky.
A/N: I admit it. The snippet got too large, so this is my way of chopping it in two. It works.
