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Magical Girl Monster Quest

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Yeah, just a question of time.

Anyone have an idea how this whole reincarnated thing plus the coloured kings connect to our Demon-hood? This looks a bit like a cross between K-Project and DxD right now....
 
Heaven Canceler said:
Yeah, just a question of time.

Anyone have an idea how this whole reincarnated thing plus the coloured kings connect to our Demon-hood? This looks a bit like a cross between K-Project and DxD right now....
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This is a giant clusterfuck of like 5 different anime plots smashing into each-other at highway speeds.
 
We could have gone with just one anime, but that would have focused the power of every good guy we'd encounter into a single team. Meanwhile, we're already definitely a Galactic-scale character of some sort, so we don't benefit from putting people onto our level.

All of their strength put together, though, given to us as our true friends could definitely kick-start... quite a number of things. Popular Sovereignty is a powerful concept, for one who would be king of all.
 
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Interlude 4 - Somewhere along in the bitterness
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    • Magical Girl Warrior Kaleido woke, as she always did, precisely five minutes before her alarm went off. Quickly and smoothly, she dressed, brushed, made her bed, and prepared her schoolbag. Then, seeing, as always, that she had five minutes before she was required to be downstairs for breakfast, she sat back down on her bed, and extended her hand.

    Gently, a swirl of light coalesced in her palm, forming a gemstone covered in silver filigree, with a thin needle-like protrusion from one end, and a tiny silver tower from the other. For a moment, it seemed to shimmer with an inner light, and she almost dared hope, before her rational mind kicked in and pointed out that she was probably imagining things again. Not that she'd been particularly hopeful in the first place.
    Quietly, she checked the time and noted that she had enough time, if she kept it short. So she'd have to summarize, instead of explain, as she usually did.

    "Hello,     Starfall Ascendancy. It's been a while, I know. Sorry. I've been busy. Lots of new stuff. We're working with THRONE now, me and Skopeo. I know, I didn't expect it either, but you know what they say about desperate times. On the bright side, we've found all the Remnants of the City, and now we've moved on to shattering the Castle. Found the Moroi that... you know. They couldn't tell us anything useful. No sign of Eidos either. It's going well though, even if having oversight gets a little bit inconvenient at times. Also, we found those other people we've been wondering about, through a martial artist named Shinku Kui. He's nice enough, if a little creepy. His boss was really friendly though, and she seemed ready enough to help out. Well, after we explained some things. And... I, ah, I met a boy. And I know what you're thinking, and it's not like that, really! He's a new transfer student to my school, and he seems friendly and nice, and he freaked out about Skopeo instead of me. Which was new. He kept twitching every time she spoke. I guess I'll introduce you to him soon, if you're functional again. When. When you're functional again."

    She glanced at the clock. Time for breakfast. "I'll fix you." She promised. "We'll find away. After all, the hero always wins in the end, yeah?"

    With a quick flick of her wrist, the gem dissolved back into specks of light which melted into her hand. Brushing a hand through her hair, she walked towards the stairs, drawn inexorably by the scent of a delicious meal which even now wafted through the house. Had mother made pancakes? Normally, she only got pancakes on weekends, if she'd been good, but she was hardly likely to object to this surprise.

    She scampered downstairs to the kitchen, and peeked around the door, hoping for a delectable and wondrous surprise to greet her. She was, in fact, met with a surprise.
    Her brother was cooking. Instinctively, she moved towards the phone, intent on calling emergency services, before her rational mind kicked in, and she realized that the appetizing scent which had drawn her downstairs was coming from the food he was cooking. At the table sat her mother, impeccably dressed in her typical business suit, with an understandably shocked expression on her face. She had to admit, she felt essentially the same. Was this really her brother? He used to burn water just by being in the vicinity of the kitchen!

    But... he had changed, hadn't he? She didn't know why, but after the Incident, the one they still talked around instead of about, something had happened to her brother. He'd gone from being a stereotypical asshole delinquent who went around bullying kids for kicks and beat up on his little sister to being... well, this. His hair had also changed color, which she felt lent credence to her theory that he'd been personally involved, right at ground zero, and had probably come within a hairsbreadth of dying. It made so much more sense than mother's overexposure idea.

    It made her wonder though. Whatever happened, he'd changed. A lot. He wasn't mean to her any more. He'd gone from being nervous and skittish around her for the first few days, to being gentle and quietly protective, always interposing himself between her and whatever he saw as the largest threat in the area. He always walked silently now, where he used to stomp like a gorilla. He also didn't sleep anymore. She'd consistently noticed that he was active and doing things even in the middle of night. She'd caught him sleeping, occasionally, but he only took short naps at unusual hours, and on top of that, he only slept in areas that he knew well, and even then, only lightly, and usually with at least a weapon or two on his person, knives or chains or whatever he had available.

    It had been a bit jarring to find out that her brother had spontaneously developed the reflexes and mindset of a moderately unstable soldier fresh out of a war zone. He'd come disturbingly close to injuring her multiple times, before she learned to announce her presence and make sure that he was always aware of the people in the area. But they were adapting, and she hoped it'd work out.

    As she reflected, her brother brought two plates piled high with pancakes to the table. "I...made breakfast. Is it...okay?" He murmured, so softly as to be almost inaudible.

    Quickly, she leaned forward and took a bite. Then she stopped, and simply stared. Slowly, she continued to eat. She had been gifted with culinary perfection, and she would not waste it. Too soon, her plate was clean, and her time was up. Woefully, she dragged herself to her feet and prepared to depart, thinking mournfully of her deceased pancakes and the glories they had shared.

    Her brother met her at the door. "Good?" He inquired. At her sunny nod and affirmative reply, he smiled ever so slightly, and patted her gently on the head. "That's...nice. Be careful... Love you." She smiled back at him, and pranced out the door to join her patiently waiting friend.

    Skopeo raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged. "Honestly," she confessed, "I really don't know. He's similar, except not. He still remembers that I love pancakes, but he made some today for us just because, and he didn't ruin them. He's been sleeping less too, and patrolling more. i think we might have to call outside help on this. After what happened last time, well." She grimaced, and changed the subject. "How about your Archetype? Starfall Ascendancy is still dormant, so it looks like just killing the Moroi responsible wasn't enough. I'm guessing your token doesn't respond either?"

    Skopeo nodded once, firmly. "Thou speakest sooth. Mine own Crucifixion Confirmation hath failed to respond unto mine prayers. Tis cause for concern. However, thine actions at the heart of the City hath rendered the Shadow Layer temporarily quiescent. Mayhap a solution shall present itself unto thee if thou but keepest faith. Is't not said that we are by our agonies empowered?"

    "Well," Kaleido retorted wryly, "considering the amount of agony we've endured, I'd expect to be a little more powerful then. A decade of school, and all I get is this lousy ornament."

    "False." Skopeo corrected flatly. "Thou hast been blest with far more than this one would dare consider. Remember thine own fortune."

    Kaleido winced. "Right, sorry. That was insensitive of me, all things considered. I should know better." She threw an arm over her companion's shoulders. "Hey, cheer up. We'll just make up for lost time with better experiences. How about you come by after school, and we bake you a cake. My family won't mind, they adore you."

    Skopeo's cheeks flushed. "Might we?" At Kaleido's assertive nod, she smiled shyly. "Thou'rt too kind for thine own good, ladybird."
    Unseen by even their possessors, a trio of tokens shone in eerie synchronicity, though no illumination dared fall upon them.
    QM: I enjoy writing interludes a lot, for some reason. I don't know why. Skopeo's speech is just me going off what sounds right, so I make no claims as to its accuracy.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • I wonder what THRONE is.

    We twitched whenever Skopeo spoke? That seems rude. What happened to our perfect social control? We were busy making allies! Our charming was on at full blast!

    And they each have tokens. I wonder if they are the source of their powers? They seem to at least be possible advisors.

    Dammit. Now I'm wishing that the friendly magical dream-protectors were more hostile, and that the monsters they fought could be dealt with by other groups. I REALLY want to steal the shiny, if only to see what happens. But... they're nice.

    Ah, well. Our skin is shiny, at least.

    Say, has Victor seen Moana? I have this sudden image of him singing Shiny whenever someone tries to attack him...
     
    023 - Define your meaning of war
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    • Vote Tally : Original - Magical Girl Monster Quest | Page 33 | Sufficient Velocity
    ##### NetTally 1.7.4
    [23] Intervene?
    -[11] Stand between them and make yourself the centrepiece of this show.
    -[6] On the side of White. She seems like someone who'd be willing to work under the future King of the World.
    -[6] "Well done! The two of you both possess worthy hearts to match your obvious combat prowess. I've decided! I shall make the two of you my Generals."
    --[3] Try to figure out the golden power from before if you have time during the battle
    -[3] Kill the last wolves in a dynamic entry. None of your subjects shall die.
    -[2] Clap at this wonderful display of skill between the two, declare Red your enforcer and White to care for administrative duties.
    -[2] Both of them have been ignoring and underestimating you, show them they should not do so by taking them both on and preventing further casualties.
    -[1] Might as well make sure the fight stays between the two of them besides the wolves are attacking your stalker that can't be abided.
    Total No. of Voters: 23

    Right. That is, you decide, quite enough. There is a limit of good taste, and this has more than passed it. Defeating an opponent in a fight where the both of you have matched yourselves against each other to the fullest of your powers, unleashing the full fury of your hard-won might to determine who, in their power, deserves to be king, is the right and proper way of things.

    This goes beyond that. The only person to whom another King ought to be forced to kneel is you. You do not appreciate people trying to usurp your position.

    You step back and set your stance. Then, in a sudden violent motion, you launch yourself forward in a blur of motion. Sword braced against your arm, you slam into the wolf menacing Jennifer's minions, ramming the pointy end of your sword into its throat even as you punch it with a single Gold-enhanced fist, with enough force to smash your hand into and through its chest. You reach around for the heart and grab something vaguely spherical, before kicking the corpse away from you. You lift the piece of meat up and smash it against the ground with a sickening splat.

    "I hate to be rude," you shamelessly lie, "But you've gone so far beyond the bounds of appropriate behavior that I just couldn't help myself."

    Tomoe eyes you with a mix of disdain and respect. "What, you saw a girl in distress and just couldn't help yourself? So     chivalrous."

    "No," you correct her, "I just don't think that anyone gets to kill my subjects but me. Speaking of which, I have decided that your performance was sufficiently passable to attract my interest. If you request it suitably humbly, I may decide to accept you as one of my commanders." You lean over your shoulder and turn to Jennifer. "Your performance, too, has impressed me. I am not unwilling to accept you into my service."

    "...Are you seriously trying to recruit me?" Tomoe inquires incredulously. You really hope she doesn't keep asking stupid questions after she joins you. "I already tried to recruit you and you turned me down, and now we're trying to kill each other and you're ruining my plans and my long-awaited revenge, and you want to recruit me?"

    Well, yes. Obviously.

    Jennifer's response is gratifyingly more direct.

    "Agreed." She coughs through a mouthful of blood. "Save my board, and I'll give you whatever you ask for."

    "Those terms strike me as agreeable! If I save them, you work for me now!" You chirp, moving to stand beside her and help her to her feet, her executives assuming what you assume are suitably dramatic poses behind you.

    "What the fuck." Tomoe sighs, pressing a palm against her forehead. "You're just like your predecessor, you know. Except the last time there was a face-off like this, he was on my side. I can really see why Gold is such an inconvenience."

    She pauses and turns to the six who followed her here. "I'm done with this shit. Handle them."

    Jennifer blinks. "Are you stupid? They're literally just mooks against a pair of kings, we're going to curbstomp them. There's no way..." She trails off, the words dying in her mouth.
    Assiah Receding
    You can understand why. Tomoe's followers, except for the brown-haired girl, have begun walking forward, and their skin is crawling and shifting and something is coming out of them, flowing out of their pores and solidifying onto their skin. As it does, their gait becomes markedly less fluid, and flashes of red begin to play across their metallic armor.
    This is probably going to be a problem, a small part of you notes, as the rest of you steps forward alongside Jennifer to face this newest challenge. You've given up on being surprised by your opponent's ability to do the impossible at this point, you just want to get it over with. Now, how to do this?

    [] Retreat? Hell no.
    SCENE: ALOADAI
    You will solve this the same way you've solved most of your other problems - copious amounts of violence. You step forward, blade in hand. Beside you, Jennifer speaks a simple pair of words, and a strange white shell forms around her, almost visible to your naked eye.

    "INVOCATION: SIEGFRIED"

    The two of you throw yourselves at the soldiers in eerie synchronicity, not a word breaking your lips. They're unarmed, and you're not. You're far more powerful than them. And most importantly, these delinquents have probably at best experienced schoolyard brawls. They've never fought for their lives against superior opponents, never been forced to forge themselves in the fires of war, never really run the risk of death at the slightest error.

    It makes them sloppy, careless, weak. They've not had their power very long, and it shows, in their arrogance and overconfidence. They move like they expect themselves to be the toughest, most dangerous things in the room. It's as though they've just been handed power, instead of earning it on their own merit, and somehow, they think that makes them better. You're more than happy to disabuse them of that notion.

    You and Jennifer hit them like a sledgehammer. Their armor protects them from the edge of your blade, and you can't hit nearly hard enough to simply dismember them. So instead, you let them come to you, bracing your blade and letting the first impale himself, before dragging your sword out of his stomach and ramming it through the second's head.
    Atziluth Crescendos
    Jennifer, meanwhile, doesn't so much as bother dodging. Instead, she just stands still and lets all three of her enemies hit her a few times. Then, in a lethally quick motion, she lashes out with a single jab that takes one soldier's head completely off his shoulders. Oddly, the blood which bubbles out of his neck is black, rather than the red you were expecting. Her other two opponents pause for a moment, shocked by her casual display of power. That proves to be a mistake. She grabs each of theirs heads in one of her hands and squeezes. Their skulls do not so much pop as crumple under her grip.
    ALODAI COMPLETE. SCENE: VOLSUNGA
    With a single casual motion, she throws both of the corpses aside, and refocuses on Tomoe. Who is smiling with wry amusement at this display, and does not seem in the slightest disconcerted. It is at this point that alarm bells begin ringing softly in your head. You glance at Jennifer, who does not seem nearly so concerned. Instead, she is focused on Tomoe, steam hissing from her nostrils as she hunches forward and growls, loudly enough that you feel it. Her wounds are also closing, a part of you notes.

    "I...am going... to hurt you." She promises Tomoe furiously, her anger pouring through every word she says. "I... am going... to make you-" She pauses, and places a single clawed hand over her chest. Her brow furrows with confusion. Then, slowly, she collapses to her knees,sliding off the blade in her back.

    Behind her stands one of her executives, holding a bloody blade. Or what used to be one of her executives. From its cloak trail shadowy tendrils, which hold the other three members of her board motionless.
    Atziluth Caesura
    "My apologies, madam, but in light of current events, we cannot permit you to undertake that course of action." It rasps in a voice like rusty nails on a chalkboard. "Please consider this our notice of resignation."

    As Jennifer struggles to push herself onto her hands and knees, it carefully, almost gingerly, steps forward, and gently places the edge of its blade against her neck. Tomoe smiles, a disturbing light in her eyes.

    "Finish her." She breathes.

    It nods in assent, and raises its blade.

    The gym wall explodes inward, as a shadowy figure is smashed through it by a very familiar silhouette.
    "Cease, foul servant of Darkness!"Magical Girl Kaleido declares triumphantly. "A school is a sacred institution of learning, and you shall not reduce the young minds of this generation by preventing their education!"

    Then she looks around at the gymnasium she's just smashed the thing into. Her gaze pans over the hounds scattered across the floor, the five corpses mutilated in various ways, Tomoe's triumphant smirk, Jennifer's prone form, the thing with the sword, the immobilized executives, and your own blood-soaked form.

    "What the hell." She declares flatly.

    You kind of have to agree with that sentiment, a little. This sort of thing can be a little odd, if you're not used to it.

    Jennifer's down, the minions are being held hostage by a shadow thing, and a magical girl with no context has arrived. What do you do?
    [] Attack
    [] Run Tactically withdraw
    [] Explain
    [] Improvise!
    -[] Jennifer's last words
    QM: oops i accidentally one of my characters. Seriously, I think I have tsundice. This is not what I was expecting. Also, fair warning, while you currently have a (small) chance of saving Jennifer, if you choose the invisitext vote, her death is guaranteed.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Explain
    -[X] Give an abbreviated description of the scene, starting with the two girls trying to kill each other, when you stepped in, and then this.
    -[X] Ask Stalker to give his own version of the scene to back you up.
     
    The Improvise vote implies that you really need to improvise. As in, write something in.

    Gaining Kaleido's trust is not an issue as much as losing our first employee. This is a slight against us, and also a black mark for the employer.

    Jennifer killed most of them, we haven't really done much. I think if we grab the hostage and withdraw, we can perfectly explain it later. Didn't Tomoe lure us in and tried first to extort us, then murder us when we refused, until Jennifer came to our rescue? This is mostly true, so our cover story writes itself... and Jennifer can supply the missing details if she lives.

    And I'd rather not fight, leaving this to hero types.

    So... if we interpose our hand between the sword and Jennifer's neck, and reinforce the hand to let the sword slide off it... could we save Jennifer that way without making our powerset and supernatural abilities too obvious?

    If we succeed, we get to keep the commander without raising an alarm among heroes because we limit our participation to what any responsible civilian would do, grabbing non-combatants and getting the hell out.
     
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    Nevill said:
    The Improvise vote implies that you really need to improvise. As in, write something in.

    Gaining Kaleido's trust is not an issue as much as losing our first employee. This is a slight against us, and also a black mark for the employer.

    Jennifer killed most of them, we haven't really done much. I think if we grab the hostage and withdraw, we can perfectly explain it later. Didn't Tomoe lure us in and tried first to enslave us, then murder us when we refused, until Jennifer came to our rescue? This is mostly true, so our cover story writes itself.

    And I'd rather not fight, leaving this to hero types.

    So... if we interpose our hand between the sword and Jennifer's neck, and reinforce the hand to let the sword slide off it... could we save Jennifer that way without making our powerset and supernatural abilities too obvious?

    If we succeed, we get to keep the commander without raising an alarm among heroes because we limit our participation to what any responsible civilian would do, grabbing non-combatants and getting the hell out.
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    It's 3.o clock in the morning for me but if someone were to make such a vote I would go for it. (yes I'm lazy).
     
    [ ] Use the distraction Kaleido provided to rush to Jennifer's side, put your hand between her neck and the sword, reinforcing it just so you don't get hurt, give the non-executive a kick in the nuts to send him off, grab Jennifer and GET THE HELL OUT tactically withdraw.

    @Walker, is this an acceptable plan - meaning, is this a plan that Victor thinks is likely to work? Working in this case means a) saving Jennifer and b) retaining plausible deniability about his powers when it comes to Kaleido.

    This is still missing the important part, though.
    Walker said:
    "Agreed." She coughs through a mouthful of blood. "Save my board, and I'll give you whatever you ask for."
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    To get Jennifer to work for us, we need to ensure the board - or what's left of it - still lives. It would be easier to know how to save them if we knew what was done to them. Is it something that Kaleido can help us with?

    [???] Shout to Kaleido to help get the other three executives to safety. She's a magical girl, that's what she does, right?

    Edit: making it official
    [X] Improvise!
    -[X] Use the distraction Kaleido provided to rush to Jennifer's side, put your hand between her neck and the sword, reinforcing it just so you don't get hurt, give the non-executive a kick in the nuts to send him off, grab Jennifer and GET THE HELL OUT tactically withdraw.
    -[X] Point at the downed executives and shout "Help them!" to Kaleido.
    -[X] Watch out for a surprise attack from Tomoe.
     
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    Nevill said:
    @Wander, is this an acceptable plan - meaning, is this a plan that Victor thinks is likely to work? Working in this case means a) saving Jennifer and b) retaining plausible deniability about his powers when it comes to Kaleido.
    Click to expand...
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    The QM of this quest is @Walker, not Wander. :p

    Also, the execs still need to be saved, as that's a condition for Jennifer's service. Otherwise a good strategy. Edit: And you just said that. Oops.
     
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    ...oops? :oops:

    But anyway, I am out of ideas how to help the board when we are one man trying to protect 4 hostages. Seeing how their situation is not as urgent as Jennifer's, and they aren't bleeding out from a stab in the back, I made a call to leave it to Kaleido. Though I am open to other suggestions.

    We might interfere more directly, but then we'd have a lot more explanation to do...
     
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    I think just telling Kaleido to help the injured is good enough, honestly. It goes with her natural instinct, right after Victor (hopefully) prevents someone from being killed. Then Jennifer can be Kaleido's employee!

    [X] Improvise!
    -[X] Use the distraction Kaleido provided to rush to Jennifer's side, put your hand between her neck and the sword, reinforcing it just so you don't get hurt, give the non-executive a kick in the nuts to send him off, grab Jennifer and GET THE HELL OUT tactically withdraw.
    -[X] Point at the downed executives and shout "Help them!" to Kaleido.
    -[X] Watch out for a surprise attack from Tomoe.
     
    veekie said:
    [X] Explain
    -[X] Give an abbreviated description of the scene, starting with the two girls trying to kill each other, when you stepped in, and then this.
    -[X] Ask Stalker to give his own version of the scene to back you up.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Nevill said:
    The Improvise vote implies that you really need to improvise. As in, write something in.

    Gaining Kaleido's trust is not an issue as much as losing our first employee. This is a slight against us, and also a black mark for the employer.

    Jennifer killed most of them, we haven't really done much. I think if we grab the hostage and withdraw, we can perfectly explain it later. Didn't Tomoe lure us in and tried first to extort us, then murder us when we refused, until Jennifer came to our rescue? This is mostly true, so our cover story writes itself... and Jennifer can supply the missing details if she lives.

    And I'd rather not fight, leaving this to hero types.

    So... if we interpose our hand between the sword and Jennifer's neck, and reinforce the hand to let the sword slide off it... could we save Jennifer that way without making our powerset and supernatural abilities too obvious?

    If we succeed, we get to keep the commander without raising an alarm among heroes because we limit our participation to what any responsible civilian would do, grabbing non-combatants and getting the hell out.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    We need some mix of these.


    [X] Improvise!
    -[X] Use the distraction Kaleido provided to rush to Jennifer's side, put your hand between her neck and the sword, reinforcing it just so you don't get hurt, give the non-executive a kick in the nuts to send him off, grab Jennifer and GET THE HELL OUT tactically withdraw.
    -[X] Point at the downed executives and shout "Help them!" to Kaleido.
    -[X] Watch out for a surprise attack from Tomoe.

    Jennifer can apparently help us and tell us all about this Golden Man bit.
     
    [X] Explain
    -[X] Give an abbreviated description of the scene, starting with the two girls trying to kill each other, when you stepped in, and then this.
    -[X] Ask Stalker to give his own version of the scene to back you up.
     
    Nevill said:
    we limit our participation to what any responsible civilian would do, grabbing non-combatants and getting the hell out.
    Click to expand...
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    What any responsible, blood-soaked citizen surrounded by corpses would do! Even if she lets us straight up ditch, we'll have some questions to answer later. I'm inclined to explain, then gtfo if necessary.
     
    Balduran said:
    Even if she lets us straight up ditch, we'll have some questions to answer later. I'm inclined to explain, then gtfo if necessary.
    Click to expand...
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    My goal is to save Jennifer. Explanation seems like a very non-intuitive way to do it, considering she is one swift motion away from beheading.

    We will owe an explanation either way, but we have acquired a certain goodwill and a benefit of the doubt that would prompt Kaleido to help should we ask for help without requiring a clarification upfront if it is for the cause she is comfortable with.

    Why do you want to do that now?
     
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