"Working Together"
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Work together with Oriko and Homura.
- [X] Make note, in a calm tone (as much as we are able atm) that we NEED to get one who DARED to even try something like
that to us, and while we may give them (Oriko and Homu, that is) SOME time for their questions and alike, in the end ruffian must
suffer properly and we won't tolerate any interference on that part.
- [X] Inform Homura about the apparent plot to kill her dead.
"Fine," Homura says, exasperated. "So, if she's in here …." The three girls sweep their lights around the room, and Kirika walks past the cubby you're resting in. After a moment, you pull yourself out of the cubby and drop to the desk below. Three beams of light converge on you, but only Homura's stays after they identify you. You really don't feel like working with them, but it does offer the best chance of success; killing everything you can get your hands on might make you feel better, but you might not be able to stop, and you aren't guaranteed to get Karen, and you're simply poorly-equipped to search for someone who doesn't want to be found. You glance at Homura, then shift back into your natural form and take out a dress. Homura coughs expressively, and the other two turn back to you.
"Wha-? But …?" Oriko frowns as she stares at you, and you glower at the light directed in your eyes.
"Umm? F-Flandre?" You close your eyes as you dress yourself, focusing your attention inward. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, yes. Why?" She seems to relax, probably because you're trying hard to not let any emotion seep through.
"When you opened the box, everything got really dark, and Headless made me hide in my room. When it went back to normal, I came out, but then you went to sleep, and Headless is locked in another room. I can hear her screaming, sometimes." You pause for a second, then continue getting ready.
"… Hm. I can't come in right now, not without making everything worse, but …," you focus even more intently, keeping yourself just outside the range when you'd retreat into your mind, and you barely hear an echoing cry of rage. "She sounds more angry than anything else. Keep an eye on her, and if breaks out and tries attacking you, yank me in there. I'll come by when I have a moment and see if I can get her out, okay?"
"Thank you! … Um, take care!"
You shake your head, clearing it, and hop off the desk when you finish getting ready. The three magicians are watching you, and you face Homura, keeping Oriko and Kirika in sight. "Homura, I don't suppose you have discovered the identity or whereabouts of Karen? I have business with her, you understand." The black-haired girl exhales softly as you speak. Before she can say anything, however, Oriko interrupts.
"Yes, she made you angry, I'm sure that is far more important than the threat to life and safety that she is to us. Your 'business' can wait, Flandre Scarlet." You turn to face Oriko and smile without menace. If you had your sister's control, you could radiate enough power to force her to fall to her feet in worship; unfortunately, the only way for you to do that is by radiating enough power to make stone bleed, and you'd probably kill her. You'll have to do this with words.
"Oh, but you are so very wrong, Oriko. You see, I have been insulted, not simply angered. This chit of a girl, this Karen, assaulted my person in a cowardly manner, and I simply will not accept that." You take a few steps toward the pale-haired girl, and your eyes narrow slightly, menacingly, while your smile remains fixed. Your voice, soft and sibilant, echoes from the far corners of the room. "Moreover, you claim that child to be a threat to your life and safety - while you stand within simple striking distance of me? You will accept the primacy of my desires over your own feeble requests, or I will kill you, and you will work to locate her, or I will see to it that your 'life and safety' are dangerously threatened." Oriko trembles angrily, and Kirika transforms but maintains her position behind the other girl. Perhaps she thinks her ability will save them; you wish she would try, but she isn't foolish enough to move first.
"You thi-!"
"Enough." Homura cuts Oriko off, and the two stare at each other for a moment. Oriko turns away. "Flandre, I understand that you're … upset about what happened. But the situation is more complicated for us; Oriko has been trying to find Karen, based on the description Lutecia passed to me, but she keeps getting headaches and her Soul Gem corrupts far more quickly than it should be, so Karen seems to be fighting back. And Madoka and Mami both had attacks that nearly led them becoming Witches within minutes of each other. You can see …." She trails off as you spin and float back to the cubbies. You know what she's doing, and you don't particularly care for it. Maybe you should make your feelings on the matter known in a more direct fashion …. You pick up the needle from the cubby where you left it and present it to Homura.
"Do you know what this is? Have you seen anything like it before?" Oriko and Kirika grudgingly walk over to see it, and Homura hands it over, shaking her head.
"I don't know. It seems similar to Grief Seeds in terms of material, but it certainly isn't one. It was in the box?" You frown and stare at her for a moment. "Agito said you all were attacked after you opened the box, and that you left in a rage, trying to find Karen." You stare for a few more seconds, then blink slowly and take the needle from Oriko.
"The box was booby-trapped, and two needles went into my eyes. One struck my mouth. I suppose you could say I was enraged, yes." You stare at the needle for a moment, then step over to Kirika and jab it into the back of her hand before she can react. Even though you withdraw it almost instantly, her eyes twist interestingly and she drops to the floor, shuddering and twitching spasmodically. You watch as Oriko drops beside the girl and tries to lever her over, then Homura pushes past you and shoves her arm underneath the shaking magician. She calms instantly, and when Homura stands up, glaring furiously at you, you can see the Grief Seed in her hand. "Interesting. I wonder why Mami and Madoka were attacked without the use of those, but you received a trapped gift. Hm … Oriko. It seems you are, at least at present, useless to me, so stay here with Kirika until she's finished sulking in whatever passes for self-pity among the damned, then meet with us. Kirika can still be used." She starts, eyes wide, and starts to say something, but you're already turning to walk away. After a few moments, Homura follows you. When you emerge into the open air, you frown at the sky - dawn is perhaps a few hours away. Homura stops next to you.
"That was not the best way to handle them." You shrug.
"They already know I want Kirika dead for my own reasons." Homura frowns down at you, and you shrug again. Then you take a steadying breath. "What happened to Lutecia, Homura?" She hesitates, and you turn your head enough so you can see her through both eyes.
"She's resting at Kyouko's church right now. Her left arm was broken, her stomach cut open, and she'd lost a lot of blood. Mami kept her stable while Junko drove her there so Sayaka could heal her properly." You quiver, furious at Homura and at yourself. You were the one who hurt Lutecia, right? But Agito didn't tell them that, even with the excuse of Karen's attack. Why let them think something else attacked her? You shove the thought down inside and take another breath; trying to think about it now will drive you to distraction or worse … and you can ask her when you go to see Lutecia.
"Homura. You are not one of my favorite people right now. Do you know why?" She frowns as you speak, then swallows nervously, starts to open her mouth, then closes it and tries to think what you mean. "Good. You're at least thinking about it. Hospitality, Homura. Do you understand it? Two guests were injured under your roof. They were injured because someone tried to attack you, and they were injured because you told them to initiate the action that led to their injury. Lutecia was nearly killed; I was insulted; and these happened because someone wanted to kill you." You let that sink in, then look forward and take a step. "I will think about it; the situation is uncommon, and it may be that blaming you is unreasonable. Now; what plans have you and the others come up with to locate Karen? You have had more time than I to consider it, after all." Homura is silent for a long time, but you let her have her moment.
"Nothing that will particularly help. I have one more idea, but … we tried Oriko, and that plan seems to be backfiring; Mami is back at her apartment trying to find places magical girls could hide out; and we could just try to flush her out with Kyouko's girls, but that would be risky." You nod and start walking. "… I'm surprised you haven't simply decided to burn the city down until you find her." You don't bother dignifying that with a response, and after a few minutes Homura frowns at the direction you're taking. "Going to see Lutecia?"
"Mami," you say, shaking your head. "She does have the best relation with the creature you call Kyubey, does she not?"
"And he's probably able to give us assistance. That was the last idea I had come up with, but I dislike working with him, and had hoped to avoid dealing with him." She sounds very unhappy about the prospect.
"… And Oriko told me they'd just left when we reached your building." Kyouko and Yuma are both sitting by Mami, with Kyubey in the green-haired girl's lap, watching you. Mami sighs and frowns at the city map, then looks up at you and Homura as you finish off your cake.
"I see. I'm afraid I haven't come up with any leads, either. I'm sorry … but, Kyubey?" She looks hopefully at the strange creature as it uncurls itself from Yuma's lap and hops onto the table. It gives you a brief glance, then turns to face Kyouko and sits down, tail twitching. Kyouko glares.
"No!" Mami, Kyouko, and Homura all speak at the same time, and the creature twitches its tail again. Kyouko seems both frightened and angry, Mami frightened, and Homura is unreadable. You lean back and examine your fork.
"What did it say?" Mami frowns, then shakes her head.
"Nothing, Flandre." Homura answers you verbally, and Kyubey turns to look at her. You know they're negotiating, you just don't know what they're negotiating with, and it seems no one wants to help you. You get up and put your plate in the kitchen. When you come back, Homura and Kyubey are still staring at each other, Kyouko is glaring at the white-furred beast, and Mami is looking fretfully at the three of them. You pick up Yuma, ignoring the startled squeal, and hop back on the couch. Yuma slides to the side and you lean against her, watching Kyubey.
What do you do?
[ ] Threaten Kyubey if it doesn't help you.
[ ] Threaten to burn down the city and expose magic if it doesn't help you.
[ ] Information trade; in exchange for everything it knows about Karen, including her location until you personally engage her, you offer:
- [ ] Everything you know about Sakura Kyouko and what happened to her.
- [ ] Everything you know about Akemi Homura.
- [ ] Some information about you and where you come from.
[ ] Leave and go see Lutecia.
[ ] Other?
- [X] Make note, in a calm tone (as much as we are able atm) that we NEED to get one who DARED to even try something like
that to us, and while we may give them (Oriko and Homu, that is) SOME time for their questions and alike, in the end ruffian must
suffer properly and we won't tolerate any interference on that part.
- [X] Inform Homura about the apparent plot to kill her dead.
"Fine," Homura says, exasperated. "So, if she's in here …." The three girls sweep their lights around the room, and Kirika walks past the cubby you're resting in. After a moment, you pull yourself out of the cubby and drop to the desk below. Three beams of light converge on you, but only Homura's stays after they identify you. You really don't feel like working with them, but it does offer the best chance of success; killing everything you can get your hands on might make you feel better, but you might not be able to stop, and you aren't guaranteed to get Karen, and you're simply poorly-equipped to search for someone who doesn't want to be found. You glance at Homura, then shift back into your natural form and take out a dress. Homura coughs expressively, and the other two turn back to you.
"Wha-? But …?" Oriko frowns as she stares at you, and you glower at the light directed in your eyes.
"Umm? F-Flandre?" You close your eyes as you dress yourself, focusing your attention inward. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, yes. Why?" She seems to relax, probably because you're trying hard to not let any emotion seep through.
"When you opened the box, everything got really dark, and Headless made me hide in my room. When it went back to normal, I came out, but then you went to sleep, and Headless is locked in another room. I can hear her screaming, sometimes." You pause for a second, then continue getting ready.
"… Hm. I can't come in right now, not without making everything worse, but …," you focus even more intently, keeping yourself just outside the range when you'd retreat into your mind, and you barely hear an echoing cry of rage. "She sounds more angry than anything else. Keep an eye on her, and if breaks out and tries attacking you, yank me in there. I'll come by when I have a moment and see if I can get her out, okay?"
"Thank you! … Um, take care!"
You shake your head, clearing it, and hop off the desk when you finish getting ready. The three magicians are watching you, and you face Homura, keeping Oriko and Kirika in sight. "Homura, I don't suppose you have discovered the identity or whereabouts of Karen? I have business with her, you understand." The black-haired girl exhales softly as you speak. Before she can say anything, however, Oriko interrupts.
"Yes, she made you angry, I'm sure that is far more important than the threat to life and safety that she is to us. Your 'business' can wait, Flandre Scarlet." You turn to face Oriko and smile without menace. If you had your sister's control, you could radiate enough power to force her to fall to her feet in worship; unfortunately, the only way for you to do that is by radiating enough power to make stone bleed, and you'd probably kill her. You'll have to do this with words.
"Oh, but you are so very wrong, Oriko. You see, I have been insulted, not simply angered. This chit of a girl, this Karen, assaulted my person in a cowardly manner, and I simply will not accept that." You take a few steps toward the pale-haired girl, and your eyes narrow slightly, menacingly, while your smile remains fixed. Your voice, soft and sibilant, echoes from the far corners of the room. "Moreover, you claim that child to be a threat to your life and safety - while you stand within simple striking distance of me? You will accept the primacy of my desires over your own feeble requests, or I will kill you, and you will work to locate her, or I will see to it that your 'life and safety' are dangerously threatened." Oriko trembles angrily, and Kirika transforms but maintains her position behind the other girl. Perhaps she thinks her ability will save them; you wish she would try, but she isn't foolish enough to move first.
"You thi-!"
"Enough." Homura cuts Oriko off, and the two stare at each other for a moment. Oriko turns away. "Flandre, I understand that you're … upset about what happened. But the situation is more complicated for us; Oriko has been trying to find Karen, based on the description Lutecia passed to me, but she keeps getting headaches and her Soul Gem corrupts far more quickly than it should be, so Karen seems to be fighting back. And Madoka and Mami both had attacks that nearly led them becoming Witches within minutes of each other. You can see …." She trails off as you spin and float back to the cubbies. You know what she's doing, and you don't particularly care for it. Maybe you should make your feelings on the matter known in a more direct fashion …. You pick up the needle from the cubby where you left it and present it to Homura.
"Do you know what this is? Have you seen anything like it before?" Oriko and Kirika grudgingly walk over to see it, and Homura hands it over, shaking her head.
"I don't know. It seems similar to Grief Seeds in terms of material, but it certainly isn't one. It was in the box?" You frown and stare at her for a moment. "Agito said you all were attacked after you opened the box, and that you left in a rage, trying to find Karen." You stare for a few more seconds, then blink slowly and take the needle from Oriko.
"The box was booby-trapped, and two needles went into my eyes. One struck my mouth. I suppose you could say I was enraged, yes." You stare at the needle for a moment, then step over to Kirika and jab it into the back of her hand before she can react. Even though you withdraw it almost instantly, her eyes twist interestingly and she drops to the floor, shuddering and twitching spasmodically. You watch as Oriko drops beside the girl and tries to lever her over, then Homura pushes past you and shoves her arm underneath the shaking magician. She calms instantly, and when Homura stands up, glaring furiously at you, you can see the Grief Seed in her hand. "Interesting. I wonder why Mami and Madoka were attacked without the use of those, but you received a trapped gift. Hm … Oriko. It seems you are, at least at present, useless to me, so stay here with Kirika until she's finished sulking in whatever passes for self-pity among the damned, then meet with us. Kirika can still be used." She starts, eyes wide, and starts to say something, but you're already turning to walk away. After a few moments, Homura follows you. When you emerge into the open air, you frown at the sky - dawn is perhaps a few hours away. Homura stops next to you.
"That was not the best way to handle them." You shrug.
"They already know I want Kirika dead for my own reasons." Homura frowns down at you, and you shrug again. Then you take a steadying breath. "What happened to Lutecia, Homura?" She hesitates, and you turn your head enough so you can see her through both eyes.
"She's resting at Kyouko's church right now. Her left arm was broken, her stomach cut open, and she'd lost a lot of blood. Mami kept her stable while Junko drove her there so Sayaka could heal her properly." You quiver, furious at Homura and at yourself. You were the one who hurt Lutecia, right? But Agito didn't tell them that, even with the excuse of Karen's attack. Why let them think something else attacked her? You shove the thought down inside and take another breath; trying to think about it now will drive you to distraction or worse … and you can ask her when you go to see Lutecia.
"Homura. You are not one of my favorite people right now. Do you know why?" She frowns as you speak, then swallows nervously, starts to open her mouth, then closes it and tries to think what you mean. "Good. You're at least thinking about it. Hospitality, Homura. Do you understand it? Two guests were injured under your roof. They were injured because someone tried to attack you, and they were injured because you told them to initiate the action that led to their injury. Lutecia was nearly killed; I was insulted; and these happened because someone wanted to kill you." You let that sink in, then look forward and take a step. "I will think about it; the situation is uncommon, and it may be that blaming you is unreasonable. Now; what plans have you and the others come up with to locate Karen? You have had more time than I to consider it, after all." Homura is silent for a long time, but you let her have her moment.
"Nothing that will particularly help. I have one more idea, but … we tried Oriko, and that plan seems to be backfiring; Mami is back at her apartment trying to find places magical girls could hide out; and we could just try to flush her out with Kyouko's girls, but that would be risky." You nod and start walking. "… I'm surprised you haven't simply decided to burn the city down until you find her." You don't bother dignifying that with a response, and after a few minutes Homura frowns at the direction you're taking. "Going to see Lutecia?"
"Mami," you say, shaking your head. "She does have the best relation with the creature you call Kyubey, does she not?"
"And he's probably able to give us assistance. That was the last idea I had come up with, but I dislike working with him, and had hoped to avoid dealing with him." She sounds very unhappy about the prospect.
"… And Oriko told me they'd just left when we reached your building." Kyouko and Yuma are both sitting by Mami, with Kyubey in the green-haired girl's lap, watching you. Mami sighs and frowns at the city map, then looks up at you and Homura as you finish off your cake.
"I see. I'm afraid I haven't come up with any leads, either. I'm sorry … but, Kyubey?" She looks hopefully at the strange creature as it uncurls itself from Yuma's lap and hops onto the table. It gives you a brief glance, then turns to face Kyouko and sits down, tail twitching. Kyouko glares.
"No!" Mami, Kyouko, and Homura all speak at the same time, and the creature twitches its tail again. Kyouko seems both frightened and angry, Mami frightened, and Homura is unreadable. You lean back and examine your fork.
"What did it say?" Mami frowns, then shakes her head.
"Nothing, Flandre." Homura answers you verbally, and Kyubey turns to look at her. You know they're negotiating, you just don't know what they're negotiating with, and it seems no one wants to help you. You get up and put your plate in the kitchen. When you come back, Homura and Kyubey are still staring at each other, Kyouko is glaring at the white-furred beast, and Mami is looking fretfully at the three of them. You pick up Yuma, ignoring the startled squeal, and hop back on the couch. Yuma slides to the side and you lean against her, watching Kyubey.
What do you do?
[ ] Threaten Kyubey if it doesn't help you.
[ ] Threaten to burn down the city and expose magic if it doesn't help you.
[ ] Information trade; in exchange for everything it knows about Karen, including her location until you personally engage her, you offer:
- [ ] Everything you know about Sakura Kyouko and what happened to her.
- [ ] Everything you know about Akemi Homura.
- [ ] Some information about you and where you come from.
[ ] Leave and go see Lutecia.
[ ] Other?
