Lowlife pt. 26
"Er. Well, why don't you tell me?" you say. "And uh... what have you found out so far? The only interactions I've had with them so far was being punched by her-" You point helpfully at Power Girl, "-and, you know, generally being knocked around."
"She's an option, certainly," Yuki says. "She's the chattiest. Their... captain, of course, since she's placed to negotiate. We all saw that... display up there, but she might perhaps be more receptive to talking now that we've put her in what is clearly a prison? Perhaps their clairvoyant, the one who was scrying through the storm."
"What makes you say tha..." You frown thoughtfully, thinking about the argument that the captain had apparently been having. "Ah. She's the newest member, right? Also, you should have told her that they're being held under international piracy laws."
"I'm not certain on that," Yuki says, and then pauses slightly. "On either count. But I can see the argument for pirate law, and she did try and disavow loyalty to the rest of the crew, so there are divisions that you might be able to exploit."
"Mmmrm. I was thinking that, yeah, but lemme, uh, think about it," you say, walking back over to the railing and leaning against it as you stare down into the viewing 'screens' showing your prisoners. Mami sticks to your side, still holding your arm, and Yuki joins you at the balcony edge. Homura steps up on Mami's other side, expression remote and blank.
You consider the deep shadow of the floor below, which you're pretty sure is some kind of bizarre spatial warping courtesy of Yuki's power - and the same effect used to construct the impossible windows of light. One-way mirrors built of curved space-time and magic.
Sayaka, of course, merry grin of pure exhilaration and adrenaline on her face as she continues to cut loose, her fingers working over her array of power jewels as she trades them around for different combinations, and Clear Seed in hand and ready to cleanse herself. You approve, both of Sayaka taking precautions and of Yuki putting her defenses to the test.
Your gaze shifts to the captain. She's still standing in the middle of her room, still in her costume with her fists clenched. Still trying to glare holes in the wall. You can't help but feel a little unease, but then... Yuki doesn't seem to be concerned.
"Parró," Yuki says, following your gaze. "Though I'm... not certain whether that's her first name or last name? It's what Amy-" Yuki points at the weather girl, "-called her. Also, I think she dyes her hair, if it's relevant."
"Probably not, but how do you even know that?" you say, filing those names away.
"Blonde roots," Yuki says, shrugging slightly. "Dark blonde."
"Huh," you say, eyeing Parró's apparently-dyed vibrant green hair. "Fair enough. Also, I think Parró's a surname, but I can't be certain."
You pause slightly, scowling. "Did you manage to get any more information from them, actually?"
"Your questions?" Yuki closes her eyes, sighing. "Very little, I'm afraid. They seem... if not loyal to Parró, then to the group itself, and 'not snitching', to quote them."
"Who said that?" you ask.
"Her," Yuki says, pointing at the girl you'd mentally tagged 'wizard girl' during the fight. And really, just from her costume, you have to reaffirm that decision: floor-length robes of deep, shimmery blue. With stars, even, slowly drifting over the fabric of her costume, just to complete the look, and long, brown hair that falls to her mid-back. "She said her name was Sylune."
Mami blinks, head tilting quizzically. "Um..."
"Yeah, you're right, Mami," you grumble, pinching your nose. She'd thrown spells around, you remember, fire and lightning and whatnot. You're pretty sure she threw a discount brand prismatic spray at some point or another. "That is definitely a DnD reference."
"Not exactly surprising," Yuki says, pursing her lips. "As to the rest of their questions... they seem either completely uncaring or entirely clueless, with regards to their last victims." A dark look flickers across Yuki's face. "Judging from their behaviour, though, I think it unlikely."
"What do you mean?" Mami asks.
"Amy was quite happy to tell me about their methods," Yuki says, her expression grim. "That is to say, they force the girls of territories they occupy to hunt or steal for them, keeping the others as hostages. And they're forced to hunt until they don't come back."
"I concur," Oriko says quietly. She appears to have drifted over, eavesdropping on the conversation. "Neither Miss Misaki nor I have been able to find any... survivors, other than those we already rescued in Mandalay."
You press your lips together, biting back anything you might say and tamping down the surge of utter fury that roars through you at the thought.
"How can they live with themselves like that?" Mami whispers. Her hand tightens on your arm, and you reach up with your opposing hand to close your hand over hers. She clings to you, interlacing your fingers together with almost painful force.
"They don't have to worry for themselves," Homura murmurs, her face like graven stone. "They don't have to worry about starving. It's simple, for them."
"They're monsters," Mami whispers.
You make a quiet noise of agreement, and after a moment, close your eyes. You exhale slowly, imagining your anger leaving along with it, though if you're honest, the best you can do is to push the simmering fury aside. These people are monsters, and... quite frankly, every bit more you hear just makes it worse. But still.
You're going to make the try. Hah, they can be a warmup for Rionna. One day, even as much as you shy away from thinking about her too much, because every magical girl deserves the attempt.
You sigh again, and straighten.
"Right," you say. Your teeth might be gritted. A bit. You force yourself to relax again. "How about their antimagic mage, Miss Tsuruya? I... well, I don't think she even saw me at all. She might react better to me talking to her, and..."
You gesture down at one of the window, through which you can see a girl with uncomfortably pale-ish pink hair twisted into a topknot. It's almost the same colour as her skin, and she has eyes of bright violet. More interestingly, she's perhaps the quietest of the lot, untransformed and sitting cross-legged on the bed. A manacle is clasped around her ankle - antimagic, you assume.
"That's her, right?" you say. "She seems calm, at least."
"Olivia Smith," Yuki says promptly. "She was cooperative, but didn't divulge much information other than her name. Miss Miki discovered that her magic isn't antimagic, per se, but it's a... generalized disruptor, which she was extending to disrupt perceptions in some way. It's a complicated power, apparently, and Miss Miki hadn't finished figuring it out yet. Talking to her..." Yuki considers the notion before shrugging. "Perhaps? As I said, she was cooperative but quiet."
"Mm," you say, frowning. "Thaaaat's a terrifying power, I've got to say."
"What about her?" Mami says, pointing. "She seems quiet, too."
"Poncho girl?" you ask, peering along Mami's finger. That girl in the banded, turqoise poncho, with long, wavy white hair, who... well, you recall her dodging both Kazumi and Kyouko in the melee, and she'd gotten a good hit on Sayaka, too.
"Probability manipulation," Yuki says. "Her name is Lana, and other than that, she was as tight-lipped as the rest." Yuki pauses. "She called Miss Miki a... slur, when she went over to copy her powers."
"Ugh," you say. "Figures."
"Not quite probability manipulation," Oriko says, shaking her head slightly. You glance over, giving her a 'go on' sort of gesture. "I suspect Miss Miki would have a better idea now, after trying the powers a bit, but... Miss Saito has luck powers, does she not? This... Lana appears to have some kind of fairly subtle directional warping, or something akin to that."
"Mm. Thanks, Oriko," you say, frowning. "But... they're all like that, huh? They don't want to talk."
"Mental influence?" Homura asks quietly.
"Doubtful, after the antimagic," Yuki says. "But not impossible."
"Personal loyalty, then, as you said," Mami says with a sigh. She looks down at the shadowed pit, with its cutouts of light. "I would concur with Miss Tsuruya's assessment, I think - if any of them are likely to divulge anything, then it would be the one who already showed signs of fracturing from the group."
"I'll talk to her, then," you say. "But first..."
You straighten from the railing and turn to Mami, taking her hand gently so that you can remove your Soul Gem from its setting and press it into her palm. The gem is body-heat warm, the hard edges and facet cuts a contrast against the softness of Mami's skin.
"Sabrina?" Mami asks, her eyes going to hers.
"Hold this for me while I go talk to her, will you?" you say, smiling. There are so many things you could say here, but... really, you don't need to. You trust her. You trust her with your life, with your self.
Homura's gaze flickers over to you, a hint of amusement entering her expression before she returns to staring down at the prisoners once more.
"... alright," Mami says, squeezing your hand -and your Soul Gem- gently. "But be careful, alright?"
"I will," you say. "Miss Tsuruya, uh, how do I get down there?"
"Certainly," Yuki says, and the railing warps ahead of you, shifting into a narrow staircase that descends downwards into the shadow.
"Thanks," you say, and head down. The darkness fades away as you approach, resolving into a perfectly ordinary door set in a perfectly ordinary wall that's seemingly made of drywall. And yet, probing said drywall with Grief results in the Grief curving back towards you, odd, curved geometries that give you slight twinges of a headache.
Right next to the door is one of Mirai's bears, head swivelling to track you with lambent eyes as you approach. You wave cheerily, then knock, wait a moment, and enter, noting that the stairs behind you seem to have faded back into impenetrable shadow once more. Yuki taking no chances - not that you can blame her.
The room is unremarkable, the same room you saw from above, reminiscent of a nice hotel room. You imagine that Mami and Homura and Oriko and Yuki are watching from above, from the 'ceiling', and very determinedly do not glance upwards. You don't want to give that tidbit away if Yuki hasn't already.
You seem to have caught Amy mid-pace. She's a solidly built young woman - light-skinned and older than you, at a glance, with what you can only describe as fluorescent orange hair done up in a long braid. She's transformed still, a glittering vest over a sea-green tunic and boots that go all the way up her thighs. Storm-grey eyes swing around to find you.
"Y-you must be Sabrina!" she says, stuttering a little. Her English is... somewhat accented. You want to say French, but you're not entirely sure.
"That's me," you say, nodding. You keep your tone measured and steady, and nanofog fills the room, checking for trickery. "And you're Amy, correct?"
"Amy Allais," she says, nodding vigorously. "I'm- I'm not really with them!"
"Uh-huh?" you say.
"Yeah," Amy says, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward slightly. "I've only been with them for not even a year, I had a useful power so they let me stay with them. I could be useful to you, too!"
"Uh," you say, taken mildly off-guard. You weren't quite expecting the charm offensive, such as it is.
That said...
Not even a year. Maybe ten, eleven months - if she was honest. She's not the rookie on the team, then, which means she's been raiding with the Iowa girls for a while. The one to feed them information, given her powers, the one to feed them targets.
"Uh. Well, for now, I'd just like to talk?" you say.
"... sure, we're talking" Amy says, suddenly guarded. "What about?"
"Well, I'd like to know about why you were spying on us in Mitakihara?" you say, deliberately hooking your thumbs into the pockets of your coat - a relaxed, casual sort of posture.
"Oh. That. Parró wanted to recruit you," Amy says, shrugging.
"Is that so?" you ask.
"Y-yeah, I had to do what they wanted me to," Amy says. "They wanted me to find-" Her eyes widen, and she presses her lips together.
"Yes?" you say neutrally.
"I don't want to talk about it," Amy says. "What's going to happen to me? I can definitely be of use! Finding Witches, or finding your enemies, or whatever."
"We haven't decided yet," you say honestly. "But I'm not going to have any of you killed - I don't kill people. I'm here to help people, and that includes all of you."
"Ah, thank you!" she says, taking a step closer and smiling brightly. "It's- it's good to know that you're merciful. More than I can say for her."
"Oh?" you say.
"Yeah, she was completely ruthless with the girls we captured, you know?" Amy says. "If they messed up at all they'd be punished."
"Right," you say, tamping down on your anger. You control yourself, forcing yourself to stay relaxed and open. Friendly. You're just here to gather information, not condemn her for blithe, callous apathy for others.
"Your power's really cool," Amy says, rocking back and forth on her heels. "We've all heard about you!"
"Where from, actually?" you say, blinking. Because that reminds you of your speculation that they'd heard from Kyuubey about you.
"Eh... grapevine," Amy says, shrugging. "I'm not sure specifically where we got word of you, actually! But it was all we were talking about for a while, once the rumour got around. If we could get you on our side, we'd be set for life! And now that I've met you, I can see why."
"Er, right," you say, blinking. There's a lot she's not telling you, you can tell that much. And yet she is happily chatty, which you suppose is a plus, but you feel oddly uncomfortable for some reason. "What did the grapevine say?"
"Oh, you know, super-strong girl popped up, with the ability to cleanse Soul Gems for real," Amy says. "In Japan, for some reason, and apparently she was pretty inexperienced."
That's... deeply suspicious, honestly, and if that's the whole of what they knew. It sounds exactly like what an Incubator might inform others of. And you're not entirely sure whether Amy's being completely honest with you, either, but if she is, that tidbit alone is a lot to consider.
"Well, uh... thank you for talking to me," you say slowly. There might be more that you can or should ask, but... you came here to establish a rapport. You're not here to sit in judgement, you're here to help, and right now, you have enough.
"Come back soon!" Amy says brightly.
You sidle out of the room, nanofog swirling around you to check for any particular trickery, and exchange a look with Mirai's bear. It glowers at you, jaws leering wide in what would be a grin on a face without kitchen knife sized teeth.
Mami pounces the moment you return to the observation deck, tugging your arm around her shoulders and curling into your side. For some reason, Oriko's regarding you with amusement on her face, and Umika's vanished - probably heading up to join Kazumi. Sayaka, on the other hand, has returned to the observation deck, bouncing energetically on her toes.
"Hi," you say, hugging Mami back and pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "Are you alright?"
"I don't like her," Mami declares.
"Mmm," you say, frowning. "Can't blame you. She's... well, she's acting nice, but she's been running with the rest of the gang for nearly a year, if she's to be believed. She's complicit in what they've done, at the very least."
"She was flirting with you," Homura observes, her tone bone dry.
"... She was?" you say. "... Oh. I suppose she was." You make a face. "Ugh. No." You smile at Mami, squeezing her gently under your arm. "I suppose that explains why I got... kind of uncomfortable with her."
Mami makes a quiet, pleased noise and nestles against you, relaxing slightly.
"What do you think?" Yuki asks, giving you a level, appraising look. "Ah, yes. And before I forget again, I wanted to ask about the disposition of the rest of the Grief Seeds we claimed from the Iowa group. I was considering splitting them between our groups, unless you have any objection?"
[] Decide on a group announcement to the Iowa crew
[x] Vote in abeyance
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
Also, if you're wondering about Parró's dyed hair, it is entirely an appearance joke. I'll leave you to figure out what it is.
There's additionally four more Iowa crew girls who I haven't named yet, but I'll trickle in their names with the next update so as to not overload.
"She's an option, certainly," Yuki says. "She's the chattiest. Their... captain, of course, since she's placed to negotiate. We all saw that... display up there, but she might perhaps be more receptive to talking now that we've put her in what is clearly a prison? Perhaps their clairvoyant, the one who was scrying through the storm."
"What makes you say tha..." You frown thoughtfully, thinking about the argument that the captain had apparently been having. "Ah. She's the newest member, right? Also, you should have told her that they're being held under international piracy laws."
"I'm not certain on that," Yuki says, and then pauses slightly. "On either count. But I can see the argument for pirate law, and she did try and disavow loyalty to the rest of the crew, so there are divisions that you might be able to exploit."
"Mmmrm. I was thinking that, yeah, but lemme, uh, think about it," you say, walking back over to the railing and leaning against it as you stare down into the viewing 'screens' showing your prisoners. Mami sticks to your side, still holding your arm, and Yuki joins you at the balcony edge. Homura steps up on Mami's other side, expression remote and blank.
You consider the deep shadow of the floor below, which you're pretty sure is some kind of bizarre spatial warping courtesy of Yuki's power - and the same effect used to construct the impossible windows of light. One-way mirrors built of curved space-time and magic.
Sayaka, of course, merry grin of pure exhilaration and adrenaline on her face as she continues to cut loose, her fingers working over her array of power jewels as she trades them around for different combinations, and Clear Seed in hand and ready to cleanse herself. You approve, both of Sayaka taking precautions and of Yuki putting her defenses to the test.
Your gaze shifts to the captain. She's still standing in the middle of her room, still in her costume with her fists clenched. Still trying to glare holes in the wall. You can't help but feel a little unease, but then... Yuki doesn't seem to be concerned.
"Parró," Yuki says, following your gaze. "Though I'm... not certain whether that's her first name or last name? It's what Amy-" Yuki points at the weather girl, "-called her. Also, I think she dyes her hair, if it's relevant."
"Probably not, but how do you even know that?" you say, filing those names away.
"Blonde roots," Yuki says, shrugging slightly. "Dark blonde."
"Huh," you say, eyeing Parró's apparently-dyed vibrant green hair. "Fair enough. Also, I think Parró's a surname, but I can't be certain."
You pause slightly, scowling. "Did you manage to get any more information from them, actually?"
"Your questions?" Yuki closes her eyes, sighing. "Very little, I'm afraid. They seem... if not loyal to Parró, then to the group itself, and 'not snitching', to quote them."
"Who said that?" you ask.
"Her," Yuki says, pointing at the girl you'd mentally tagged 'wizard girl' during the fight. And really, just from her costume, you have to reaffirm that decision: floor-length robes of deep, shimmery blue. With stars, even, slowly drifting over the fabric of her costume, just to complete the look, and long, brown hair that falls to her mid-back. "She said her name was Sylune."
Mami blinks, head tilting quizzically. "Um..."
"Yeah, you're right, Mami," you grumble, pinching your nose. She'd thrown spells around, you remember, fire and lightning and whatnot. You're pretty sure she threw a discount brand prismatic spray at some point or another. "That is definitely a DnD reference."
"Not exactly surprising," Yuki says, pursing her lips. "As to the rest of their questions... they seem either completely uncaring or entirely clueless, with regards to their last victims." A dark look flickers across Yuki's face. "Judging from their behaviour, though, I think it unlikely."
"What do you mean?" Mami asks.
"Amy was quite happy to tell me about their methods," Yuki says, her expression grim. "That is to say, they force the girls of territories they occupy to hunt or steal for them, keeping the others as hostages. And they're forced to hunt until they don't come back."
"I concur," Oriko says quietly. She appears to have drifted over, eavesdropping on the conversation. "Neither Miss Misaki nor I have been able to find any... survivors, other than those we already rescued in Mandalay."
You press your lips together, biting back anything you might say and tamping down the surge of utter fury that roars through you at the thought.
"How can they live with themselves like that?" Mami whispers. Her hand tightens on your arm, and you reach up with your opposing hand to close your hand over hers. She clings to you, interlacing your fingers together with almost painful force.
"They don't have to worry for themselves," Homura murmurs, her face like graven stone. "They don't have to worry about starving. It's simple, for them."
"They're monsters," Mami whispers.
You make a quiet noise of agreement, and after a moment, close your eyes. You exhale slowly, imagining your anger leaving along with it, though if you're honest, the best you can do is to push the simmering fury aside. These people are monsters, and... quite frankly, every bit more you hear just makes it worse. But still.
You're going to make the try. Hah, they can be a warmup for Rionna. One day, even as much as you shy away from thinking about her too much, because every magical girl deserves the attempt.
You sigh again, and straighten.
"Right," you say. Your teeth might be gritted. A bit. You force yourself to relax again. "How about their antimagic mage, Miss Tsuruya? I... well, I don't think she even saw me at all. She might react better to me talking to her, and..."
You gesture down at one of the window, through which you can see a girl with uncomfortably pale-ish pink hair twisted into a topknot. It's almost the same colour as her skin, and she has eyes of bright violet. More interestingly, she's perhaps the quietest of the lot, untransformed and sitting cross-legged on the bed. A manacle is clasped around her ankle - antimagic, you assume.
"That's her, right?" you say. "She seems calm, at least."
"Olivia Smith," Yuki says promptly. "She was cooperative, but didn't divulge much information other than her name. Miss Miki discovered that her magic isn't antimagic, per se, but it's a... generalized disruptor, which she was extending to disrupt perceptions in some way. It's a complicated power, apparently, and Miss Miki hadn't finished figuring it out yet. Talking to her..." Yuki considers the notion before shrugging. "Perhaps? As I said, she was cooperative but quiet."
"Mm," you say, frowning. "Thaaaat's a terrifying power, I've got to say."
"What about her?" Mami says, pointing. "She seems quiet, too."
"Poncho girl?" you ask, peering along Mami's finger. That girl in the banded, turqoise poncho, with long, wavy white hair, who... well, you recall her dodging both Kazumi and Kyouko in the melee, and she'd gotten a good hit on Sayaka, too.
"Probability manipulation," Yuki says. "Her name is Lana, and other than that, she was as tight-lipped as the rest." Yuki pauses. "She called Miss Miki a... slur, when she went over to copy her powers."
"Ugh," you say. "Figures."
"Not quite probability manipulation," Oriko says, shaking her head slightly. You glance over, giving her a 'go on' sort of gesture. "I suspect Miss Miki would have a better idea now, after trying the powers a bit, but... Miss Saito has luck powers, does she not? This... Lana appears to have some kind of fairly subtle directional warping, or something akin to that."
"Mm. Thanks, Oriko," you say, frowning. "But... they're all like that, huh? They don't want to talk."
"Mental influence?" Homura asks quietly.
"Doubtful, after the antimagic," Yuki says. "But not impossible."
"Personal loyalty, then, as you said," Mami says with a sigh. She looks down at the shadowed pit, with its cutouts of light. "I would concur with Miss Tsuruya's assessment, I think - if any of them are likely to divulge anything, then it would be the one who already showed signs of fracturing from the group."
"I'll talk to her, then," you say. "But first..."
You straighten from the railing and turn to Mami, taking her hand gently so that you can remove your Soul Gem from its setting and press it into her palm. The gem is body-heat warm, the hard edges and facet cuts a contrast against the softness of Mami's skin.
"Sabrina?" Mami asks, her eyes going to hers.
"Hold this for me while I go talk to her, will you?" you say, smiling. There are so many things you could say here, but... really, you don't need to. You trust her. You trust her with your life, with your self.
Homura's gaze flickers over to you, a hint of amusement entering her expression before she returns to staring down at the prisoners once more.
"... alright," Mami says, squeezing your hand -and your Soul Gem- gently. "But be careful, alright?"
"I will," you say. "Miss Tsuruya, uh, how do I get down there?"
"Certainly," Yuki says, and the railing warps ahead of you, shifting into a narrow staircase that descends downwards into the shadow.
"Thanks," you say, and head down. The darkness fades away as you approach, resolving into a perfectly ordinary door set in a perfectly ordinary wall that's seemingly made of drywall. And yet, probing said drywall with Grief results in the Grief curving back towards you, odd, curved geometries that give you slight twinges of a headache.
Right next to the door is one of Mirai's bears, head swivelling to track you with lambent eyes as you approach. You wave cheerily, then knock, wait a moment, and enter, noting that the stairs behind you seem to have faded back into impenetrable shadow once more. Yuki taking no chances - not that you can blame her.
The room is unremarkable, the same room you saw from above, reminiscent of a nice hotel room. You imagine that Mami and Homura and Oriko and Yuki are watching from above, from the 'ceiling', and very determinedly do not glance upwards. You don't want to give that tidbit away if Yuki hasn't already.
You seem to have caught Amy mid-pace. She's a solidly built young woman - light-skinned and older than you, at a glance, with what you can only describe as fluorescent orange hair done up in a long braid. She's transformed still, a glittering vest over a sea-green tunic and boots that go all the way up her thighs. Storm-grey eyes swing around to find you.
"Y-you must be Sabrina!" she says, stuttering a little. Her English is... somewhat accented. You want to say French, but you're not entirely sure.
"That's me," you say, nodding. You keep your tone measured and steady, and nanofog fills the room, checking for trickery. "And you're Amy, correct?"
"Amy Allais," she says, nodding vigorously. "I'm- I'm not really with them!"
"Uh-huh?" you say.
"Yeah," Amy says, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward slightly. "I've only been with them for not even a year, I had a useful power so they let me stay with them. I could be useful to you, too!"
"Uh," you say, taken mildly off-guard. You weren't quite expecting the charm offensive, such as it is.
That said...
Not even a year. Maybe ten, eleven months - if she was honest. She's not the rookie on the team, then, which means she's been raiding with the Iowa girls for a while. The one to feed them information, given her powers, the one to feed them targets.
"Uh. Well, for now, I'd just like to talk?" you say.
"... sure, we're talking" Amy says, suddenly guarded. "What about?"
"Well, I'd like to know about why you were spying on us in Mitakihara?" you say, deliberately hooking your thumbs into the pockets of your coat - a relaxed, casual sort of posture.
"Oh. That. Parró wanted to recruit you," Amy says, shrugging.
"Is that so?" you ask.
"Y-yeah, I had to do what they wanted me to," Amy says. "They wanted me to find-" Her eyes widen, and she presses her lips together.
"Yes?" you say neutrally.
"I don't want to talk about it," Amy says. "What's going to happen to me? I can definitely be of use! Finding Witches, or finding your enemies, or whatever."
"We haven't decided yet," you say honestly. "But I'm not going to have any of you killed - I don't kill people. I'm here to help people, and that includes all of you."
"Ah, thank you!" she says, taking a step closer and smiling brightly. "It's- it's good to know that you're merciful. More than I can say for her."
"Oh?" you say.
"Yeah, she was completely ruthless with the girls we captured, you know?" Amy says. "If they messed up at all they'd be punished."
"Right," you say, tamping down on your anger. You control yourself, forcing yourself to stay relaxed and open. Friendly. You're just here to gather information, not condemn her for blithe, callous apathy for others.
"Your power's really cool," Amy says, rocking back and forth on her heels. "We've all heard about you!"
"Where from, actually?" you say, blinking. Because that reminds you of your speculation that they'd heard from Kyuubey about you.
"Eh... grapevine," Amy says, shrugging. "I'm not sure specifically where we got word of you, actually! But it was all we were talking about for a while, once the rumour got around. If we could get you on our side, we'd be set for life! And now that I've met you, I can see why."
"Er, right," you say, blinking. There's a lot she's not telling you, you can tell that much. And yet she is happily chatty, which you suppose is a plus, but you feel oddly uncomfortable for some reason. "What did the grapevine say?"
"Oh, you know, super-strong girl popped up, with the ability to cleanse Soul Gems for real," Amy says. "In Japan, for some reason, and apparently she was pretty inexperienced."
That's... deeply suspicious, honestly, and if that's the whole of what they knew. It sounds exactly like what an Incubator might inform others of. And you're not entirely sure whether Amy's being completely honest with you, either, but if she is, that tidbit alone is a lot to consider.
"Well, uh... thank you for talking to me," you say slowly. There might be more that you can or should ask, but... you came here to establish a rapport. You're not here to sit in judgement, you're here to help, and right now, you have enough.
"Come back soon!" Amy says brightly.
You sidle out of the room, nanofog swirling around you to check for any particular trickery, and exchange a look with Mirai's bear. It glowers at you, jaws leering wide in what would be a grin on a face without kitchen knife sized teeth.
Mami pounces the moment you return to the observation deck, tugging your arm around her shoulders and curling into your side. For some reason, Oriko's regarding you with amusement on her face, and Umika's vanished - probably heading up to join Kazumi. Sayaka, on the other hand, has returned to the observation deck, bouncing energetically on her toes.
"Hi," you say, hugging Mami back and pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "Are you alright?"
"I don't like her," Mami declares.
"Mmm," you say, frowning. "Can't blame you. She's... well, she's acting nice, but she's been running with the rest of the gang for nearly a year, if she's to be believed. She's complicit in what they've done, at the very least."
"She was flirting with you," Homura observes, her tone bone dry.
"... She was?" you say. "... Oh. I suppose she was." You make a face. "Ugh. No." You smile at Mami, squeezing her gently under your arm. "I suppose that explains why I got... kind of uncomfortable with her."
Mami makes a quiet, pleased noise and nestles against you, relaxing slightly.
"What do you think?" Yuki asks, giving you a level, appraising look. "Ah, yes. And before I forget again, I wanted to ask about the disposition of the rest of the Grief Seeds we claimed from the Iowa group. I was considering splitting them between our groups, unless you have any objection?"
[] Decide on a group announcement to the Iowa crew
[x] Vote in abeyance
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
[X] In the next sections, be very clear that you're *still* not interested in pressuring anyone to do anything they don't want to do.
[X] Thank everyone very much for their contributions. That went incredibly well, and you hope that you can all work together more in the future.
-[X] Touch on the existing level of alliances and agreements that exist. It's not made itself extremely apparent yet, but a group with infinite magic can apply different magics to each others' non-combat goals, or go about developing new abilities. Exchange of ideas and powers could quickly become a Big Deal.
[X] If Kazumi and Yuki are on-board, extend an invitation to Mika to attend the Tokyo meeting with us as a partner in our coalition.
-[X] Ask Kazumi and Mika if they're interested in letting Yuki set up a node near them - Mitakihara's getting one, and near-instant transport would make future collaboration much easier.
[X] Thank everyone very much for their contributions. That went incredibly well, and you hope that you can all work together more in the future.
-[X] Touch on the existing level of alliances and agreements that exist. It's not made itself extremely apparent yet, but a group with infinite magic can apply different magics to each others' non-combat goals, or go about developing new abilities. Exchange of ideas and powers could quickly become a Big Deal.
[X] If Kazumi and Yuki are on-board, extend an invitation to Mika to attend the Tokyo meeting with us as a partner in our coalition.
-[X] Ask Kazumi and Mika if they're interested in letting Yuki set up a node near them - Mitakihara's getting one, and near-instant transport would make future collaboration much easier.
=====
Also, if you're wondering about Parró's dyed hair, it is entirely an appearance joke. I'll leave you to figure out what it is.
There's additionally four more Iowa crew girls who I haven't named yet, but I'll trickle in their names with the next update so as to not overload.
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