Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
If you like, sure. In the event you meet Cthulhu, you'll be happy to have it.
Shards of a Broken Sun [Megaten/Shugo Chara/Exalted]
- Thread starter Baughn
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- Laniakea
IMO, the least horrible Limit Break scenario I can imagine for Amu would be her going on a tyrannical mind-controlling rampage on everyone in range, waging mass-brainwashing under the pretext that Amu knows best and is trying to help everyone and therefore everybody should submit to her help whether or not they like it.
This is one of the least horrible scenarios, because as long as she regains sanity, she can just immediately drop the brainwashing and as long as she wasn't throwing bodies into a meat grinder, everyone gets out alive. Maybe even without knowing who did it, if Amu didn't make it obvious it was her, or even without remembering they were brainwashed, if Amu was thorough at washing their brains before releasing control.
Still best to avoid it if possible. Ami would be so disappointed if her sister did this - and it would probably fall to her and Amu's other friends to snap her out of it if it happened.
I sure hope it's not Ami.
Amu would throw a fit and when her little sister inevitably Limit Breaks due to not having a playerbase audience to manage her limit track for her, would be forced to administer tough love and then die a little bit on the inside while doing it.
Cthulhu........ or Nyarlathotep?
Nero200
High Priest of Eito, Part Time Nyar.
Ahahah.
Ami is far worse than Amu on the mind control front.
Ami in canon Shugo Chara, I will remind the thread, is the one that had her entire class 'in love' with her at five years old.
Amu took until grade school to start forcing her self image on her schoolmates minds. Ami was already doing that in kindergarten, and has seemingly become friends with a Mental Out expy since then.
Ami is also using the term "I killed them" in regards to the demons, which is concerning. We will have to look into that when we are, you know, functional. It has unpleasant implications.
Nyarlathotep shouldn't be lovecraft style San loss in Persona. He's part of humanity/spawned from it, just kind of a dick about it.
Similar to Philemon. The Ur-Shadow / Greater Shadow.
Now, if the DeSu demon version is around as well, then we may have concerns.
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- Location
- Laniakea
Being fair, Miki used it first. She could probably tell Amu all the sordid details. The question is how she did it - Ami doesn't exactly have 3 dots in Telekinesis, no wing-snapping bolas for her.
There were psionic pulses of some sort coming from the grade school section that either incapacitated or killed one of them during the fight that Amu assumed was Hikaru's handiwork. And Hikaru was apparently also fighting, but the pulses could have come from Ami (or both, they may have been using the same techniques). It's described as slamming into their minds, so my guess is it's a mind crush technique of some sort. Like what Kana used to commit her murder.
Ami should put some more points into Illusion or Telekinesis. Mind crush isn't going to work on all demons and if she found it unpleasant to dip her mind into Strix chicken brains, I don't wanna know what some of the more M-rated demons would make her think.
On the topic of training and what to spend XP on, even though Psionic skills are flat out the cheapest bang-for-buck, Medicine might actually be not be too bad.
That's because we know that any healing use of Biokinesis mandates Medicine, but since we don't have any rank in it, we're forced to take a penalty every time we try. Unlike, say, persuasion actions using Mind Control or Empathy which don't also require a level in Socialize. So the first point in Medicine is effectively worth 2 dice on every healing action, meaning even though it costs 3 XP for the new ability, we're getting a dice per 1.5 XP on it. We're probably not getting any discount on training times for it unless the school suddenly decides to give all their students a crash-course in first aid due to the incident. Still, it's effectively 2 healing dice for 1 month of training.
On the other hand, with 3 XP we could also buy 3 new Psionic skills. But while this is 3 times the fun this would also take 3 months of training, unless training times somehow overlap between Psionic skills. The only ones I expect might be able to (for the ones we have zero levels in) would be Astral Projection and Clairvoyance. Maybe Precog and Clairvoyance too, but there seems a pretty big difference in the likes of, say, Teleportation and Thermokinesis.
If there's anything that could get a discount on the training times from school, I'm thinking it's likely to be Socialize, Linguistics and Athletics. Socialize is a gimme, since Amu actively wants to try make friends and can practice every break. Linguistics-wise, Japanese schools teach English as well as Japanese and a place like Seiyo might even offer French or some other European languages and there's probably school clubs for it too. We already know for a fact there's sports/athletics clubs in addition to regular PE and sporting events, so Athletics could probably also get a discount. Of course, Amu already has a level in THAT, so it's not as big as gaining a whole new ability, though it would certainly be cheaper.
I'm thinking Socialize probably comes with the best argument for a training time discount, under the rationale that if Amu is constantly practicing at school and clubs, she's doing it at the same time as learning other stuff and it can be lumped in with the time she's spending on, I dunno, Drama club or something (if for some reason we wanted her to embrace her inner Dia and learn to microphone).
IMO, the most useful/impactful thing to raise out of the entire sheet is probably Illusion. Not only is it applicable for basically any action or stunt, the extra dot takes it from purely visual to tangible without having to spend WP loading a Chara to boost it (and then still gets a boost from Chara-themed conjurations or when using the Humpty Lock). Given the "default" approach to Rift-Closing would apparently have used Occult + Illusion, it seems even for actions involving esoteric metaphysical bullshit, the nature of Illusion overwriting reality means Amu can force a metaphysical effect using it.
Given what we are looking at with evading reporters and sneaking around with the Scavengers, Stealth and Teleportation might also be handy to have points in.
....The most useless abilities right now are probably Bureaucracy, Driving and Piloting. 3 XP for 3 ranks in Teleportation can likely fulfil most of what the same cost for single level in Driving and Piloting would be of practical use for. Meanwhile, as for Bureaucracy. Uh.
I'll just say that if there's ever an opportunity for that ability to be used, it would probably also be in circumstances where we also have ample leisure to call Hikaru or Sanjou and borrow their administrative expertise.
12 weeks, unfortunately, so a little under 3 months. The first dot in a new ability takes 3 weeks of training at a baseline, and we're quadrupling that due to limited training time per day.
I'd really, really like that dot in Medicine, but 12 weeks is more than a quarter of our remaining time before the apocalypse hits. Training times are a massive issue.
Illusion is so damn versatile. Barring something coming up to change our training priorities, I'm planning to vote for +Illusion at the first opportunity.
If we wanted to make throwing weapons with charms, we'd need Thrown 4, Essence 3, and the Spirit Weapons charm, and they'd still cost 2 motes a pop. We got to spam those bolas in the last fight for no essence at all.
Charm-created weapons would probably be better than what we can make with 2 dots of Illusion, but making weapons is only a fraction of what Illusion can do, effectively at will. Need to hide? Illusion. Need a disguise? Illusion. Need to fool a security camera? Illusion. Need a table? Illusion. Need a napkin? Illusion. Need a signal flare? Illusion. Need to close a hole in reality? Illusion! (Okay, that last one won't be "effectively at will" any time soon, but still. Illusion does a lot.)
EDIT: Actually, you know what'd be really easy on training time? Dreamwalking. We can literally train it in our sleep.
I just don't know how useful it is. It'd give us way more time to hang out with Ami, at least. We might be able to find Shadows in there, or useful items, too. Maybe, if we're lucky, higher dreamwalking skill might let us use dreams as training time for other traits? It's really hard to predict how good an investment dreamwalking would be.
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Chapter 1 epilogue
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
She said yes, obviously.
And then she fell asleep, so she didn't remember any of the trip. She woke up once, briefly, as someone lifted her onto a stretcher, and was about to struggle against them when-
Utau was there, holding her hand. Amu squeezed it.
She drifted. The stretcher was a nice smooth ride and the gentle motions made her sleepy, even in her dreams. Sometimes she heard her father's voice, or Ami's. Utau disappeared after a while. Amu would have liked her to come too, but her sleepy mind admitted that she wasn't family. Despite their history. Even though Amu would quite like her to be. Utau's golden hair would fit nicely in with her pink and blue.
That was a dream. But it was a nice one, one she clung to even as her mind fell further and further into the depths of sleep. Sirens rang in the background. She wasn't sure what it was. Probably nothing important.
She stayed asleep for quite some time.
⁂
Amu woke up.
Her ears rang. Her head ached, if not nearly as badly as it had the last time she remembered being awake—back at school with Utau hovering over her. Speaking of which, where was she? Or Utau?
She sat up, blinking slowly as she looked around. White walls. Teal floor, and a soft, syncopated beeping in the background, sounding somehow dulled. She'd been moved while she was asleep, which was maybe obvious, but... the memories were still coming back to her. She'd been completely exhausted; that was for sure, and Amu couldn't quite make sense of half of what she remembered from back there.
Oh, the impressions were there. The demons. Saaya, coughing up blood. Her father. Hotsuin. Saaya. Saaya!
Amu tried to sit up. She made it halfway before she was stopped by a gentle tug on her left arm. She turned her head, and-
A drip was connected to her arm, as well as- a number of other things. Monitors. Heart rate. Blood pressure. Oxygen levels. There was a needle under her skin. Amu's heart started beating faster. What was this? Why-
She didn't want to panic, but-
Then her eyes refocused and she saw Saaya sleeping in the bed sitting across from her.
Amu went still, and her breathing slowed. Saaya was alive. Alive. She was alive.
There was a small, black box next to the bed, sitting on a side table, with a single button and a speaker, as well as a paper note saying 'Push this if you're awake'.
Amu didn't push it.
Instead, she leaned back into the pillows and took the opportunity to study her surroundings. She was in a hospital room, and the beeping was, in fact, the sound of her heart. She'd- she'd survived. She hadn't felt scared at the time, not really. Not about her own survival. She'd had to save her friends, and the rest of the students. And the teachers, and the janitor, and everyone. It was kind of silly to have thought that, looking back on it, but...
She had saved Saaya, hadn't she..?
Amu sat up without stretching the wires attached to her arm, dropping one foot off the bed to balance on, then looked over at the girl sleeping in the other bed. She was wearing a thin, off-green hospital gown. Her skin was pale. Her hair had been cut, the long, wavy strands trimmed down to something like a buzzcut. There was a bandage on her head, and-
Her right arm was in a cast.
Amu couldn't see anything else, because the blankets were pulled up and hiding everything, but she could definitely feel the Humpty Lock underneath it—still sitting on Saaya's chest. A weight settled onto her shoulders and then Miki was settling herself onto her hair, and Amu looked up at her.
"Morning," Miki whispered. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," Amu said. "My head's a little sore, but- not as bad as it was."
Miki nodded and settled a little further onto Amu's hair. Amu took the hint, relaxing a little.
"What happened? After I fell asleep?"
Miki paused for a moment.
"They took you to the hospital," she said. "You and Saaya, though Dad and Ami went along. Utau tried but-" Miki shrugged. "She wasn't allowed. They checked her out on the spot and let her go."
"She wasn't hurt, wasn't she?" Amu asked, her eyes darkening.
"A bit. She didn't even notice, so- not very badly, just some scrapes. I made Eru promise to keep an eye on her. She's been back a couple times."
Amu said nothing.
"The school's closed, by the way." Miki sighed. "Ami says the news have been reporting it as a gas explosion, but I caught Dad going over photos of demons while he was sitting here waiting for you to wake up, and I bet he's not the only one. He's a little shaken though," Miki added. "And they're definitely demons. I overheard the people in black—JPs—calling them that."
"I think I'm gonna have nightmares for the next week," Amu muttered.
"Same."
Amu looked over at Saaya, and Miki patted her shoulder.
"They'll figure it out. You did what you had to, Amu. We all did."
Amu swallowed. "Ami?"
"She's fine. She was really brave. She's with Dad, and- yeah."
"That's good," Amu whispered. "That's good. That's- Miki, she said she killed them. The demons. That's- that's wrong. She's a kid."
Miki didn't say anything.
Amu sat there for a while, staring blankly at the wall. Then her stomach growled, and her cheeks heated. She'd been sleeping for… she had no idea how long, but she was hungry. She'd missed dinner, and breakfast, and-
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Um, about a week," Miki said.
Amu's jaw dropped.
"They're probably gonna want to keep you in here a little bit longer," Miki added. "They had you on sedatives. Just to make sure, and-" She shook her head. "Your mind felt a little… weird, after the fight, and I've been a little dazed myself. Your cellphone's in the cupboard, by the way, but it isn't working here. I think we're underground somewhere."
"Oh," Amu said.
She turned to Saaya again, and this time she closed her eyes to focus on her. There were- there were bits missing. Saaya's mind had been cracked and broken, not so much 'hurt' as- 'jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing'. It was...
Broken. Burned.
Broken, and held together by a series of tiny, delicate, glittering threads. The Humpty Lock, presumably. It felt that way. She was too scared to actually touch the threads, though. There were a lot of them, and they looked very, very delicate. One wrong move, and-
Amu didn't know. Even the simple effort of looking at her was making her head hurt. Literally, not metaphorically.
But she was sure that whatever was left of Saaya wouldn't be the same, if she broke them.
"They said something about grade five mental abrasion," Miki told her. Amu opened her eyes and looked up at her.
"Which is... what?"
"Something to do with magic." Miki sighed. "Whatever that means to them. The same doctor said you had grade one, which is why they put you in here together. The room is supposed to help."
"Help?" Amu echoed.
"With healing," Miki clarified. "I think. I don't know. And they ran out of rooms. Amu, are you feeling alright?"
Amu glanced at Saaya, her eyebrows furrowed. Saaya hadn't moved. Her chest rose and fell, but- otherwise, nothing. Her face was blank, her eyes shut, and her mind was mostly silent. It felt a little like she was asleep. But it also didn't.
"Will she- be okay?"
Miki hesitated.
"We did our best," she finally said.
Amu bit her lip, but didn't argue. She was still tired, so she laid back down on the bed, and Miki wobbled onto her lap. Amu petted her and then closed her eyes, and-
Instantly fell asleep.
Again.
⁂
She was a princess, and princesses were supposed to be pretty, and she was. Her parents said so, whenever they bothered to notice her. Her father was almost never home, but when he was, he usually spent the time arguing with her mother. So she spent most of her time by herself.
Her parents had given her everything a child could ask for, so she'd grown up knowing she was the prettiest girl in the world, the smartest girl, the richest, and-
And a liar.
She didn't remember when the lying had started. She'd always been a princess. Princesses were pretty, and popular, and rich, and- and they had lots of friends. She hadn't been able to be any of those things. Not properly.
She'd wanted to be pretty. Her parents had bought her a lot of clothes, and toys, and- and stuff. It was a lot of fun, having everything she wanted. It made her classmates play with her, which made her feel good. But-
And the other kids didn't tell lies. Lies like "We're going to a spa, so you can't come visit", or "Isn't my hair pretty?" or "My parents love me more than anyone in the world".
They just didn't usually tell her anything at all.
⁂
Her father was reading in the corner when she woke up.
Amu stared at him for a moment, and he glanced up, and smiled.
"Good morning, Amu-chan," he said, closing the book.
"Hi, Dad." She wanted to say more than that. She wanted to say- a lot. About Saaya, and what had happened. She didn't. She didn't want to think about that because it made her want to cry. Saaya might never wake up and- and in a way that was her fault. She was the one who'd-
Who'd done what, exactly? Amu went over her memories of Saaya and couldn't find anything terrible. They'd argued, sure, but Amu had never said anything terrible. She'd never paid much attention to her at all, in all honesty. Maybe that was why, or maybe it wasn't.
A couple of seconds passed. Her father studied her, looking for… she didn't know. They stared at each other, until…
"Are you staying awake?" he asked.
She blinked. "Um, yeah?"
"You still look tired," he noted.
"Yeah," she agreed, and yawned. "A little. It's not bad anymore."
The wires and needles were gone from her arm. She was still wearing the hospital gown, but that was fine. She felt fine. The slight aches and pains from earlier had all gone away, which left her pensive and uncertain. She ought to be feeling worse than this.
"Are you okay, Amu?"
Amu bit her lip.
"I- don't know. How are you, Dad?"
Her father got to his feet and came over to her. He hugged her gently, and kissed her forehead.
"I'm worried about you," he admitted. "The doctors here- they know what they're doing, and well, you're not injured, but they're not telling me much." His arms tightened a little. "Amu, are you hurt? I mean- not physically, but you had me worried. A lot."
"Sorry," she whispered, her eyes burning. She couldn't-
"Don't be." He sighed. "Ami has been having nightmares. She won't stop talking about monsters, but the headmaster from your school found her a counsellor, I don't know where. There are a lot of people hurt, and... some dead. They haven't told us much."
"Oh," Amu whispered, burying her face in his shirt.
"Your school is closed, until the damage can be repaired."
"Yeah," she said, remembering Miki saying the same. She'd known, and not thought about it.
"They're still planning on running classes, though. Starting next week. Some arrangement with the neighbouring districts, they arranged it all quite fast... your class shouldn't get split up."
"Dad…" Amu mumbled into his shirt. She didn't want to know, but… "How long have I been asleep?"
"About a week and a half," he said. "More or less. You've been talking before, but this is the first time you stayed awake for more than a minute at a time. You had everyone worried."
He stroked her hair. She didn't pull away. She didn't really want to let go. She was shivering slightly, trying not to show it, but with his arms around her she couldn't manage that.
"The doctor said you're fit to leave when I came here today, though," he continued. "Assuming you don't fall asleep again. They've been ramping down the drugs, and… you'll have to have a check-up before you leave, and another in a day or two, but... you can go home. They could use the space, apparently."
"Saaya is..."
"Not doing very well," he finished. He sounded a little frustrated, and was radiating sadness. "Her parents haven't visited."
"What?" Amu asked, pulling back to stare at him. "They haven't- what? Why?"
He let out a sigh.
"I have no idea. They live right here in Tokyo. I phoned them to schedule the visits so we wouldn't disturb you more than necessary, but no interest." He looked at her, his expression earnest. "She's your friend, Amu. Did she ever say anything?"
"Um." Amu hesitated, and then shook her head. "No. Not about her parents. She's- we weren't close, Dad. I don't know that much about her."
He nodded.
"I see."
"Sorry."
"Amu, no. I didn't mean-" He stopped, and rubbed at his eyes. "Never mind. What matters is that you're healthy, and..."
His words faded out. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears trickling down her cheeks, and tried to remember. What was it Saaya had accused her of? 'Everything', yes, but... specifically?
In the classroom, with the rift just opening. She'd reached out for Saaya's mind, wanting to prod her and make her just leave, and... Saaya had felt it and gotten angry at her. Worse, she'd started crying.
Before then, when it hadn't even started yet.
"It's true," Saaya had said. "You all know it is. You just don't want to admit it. She's got her hooks into everyone. She's got the whole school wrapped around her finger, and she's not even doing anything. Just by existing, she gets her way. That's how Amu is."
What had she done?
She was an easy target. It was so obvious, she was so obviously lying about herself that even a cinnamon roll like Tadase would- no. Everyone could tell how fake Amu was. Saaya wouldn't have to do anything.
Why weren't they noticing?
She wanted-
She'd wanted-
To be loved. She was a liar, and no one wanted her, and she'd hated Amu for being better than her, and-
It was all her fault.
"Amu?"
Her nails were digging into Dad's back. She hadn't noticed until just then, and her nails weren't sharp, but there were tiny marks in the back of his shirt. Her throat felt hoarse. Her eyes burned. She hadn't noticed the tears, or the quiet, muffled sobs. The memories she was reliving weren't hers, they were—Saaya's, had to be—shrapnel from a mind that had shattered itself into pieces, but-
She'd caused it.
"Amu," her father murmured, holding her tight.
"I did it," she mumbled. "Dad, I-" She fell silent. He waited for her to speak, and didn't interrupt.
"It's my fault," she whispered. "It's all- I did this."
"How?" her father asked, his voice gentle, but that wasn't something she could answer. Knowing that Saaya blamed her wasn't the same thing as understanding what she blamed her for. And even if she had, Saaya had already been-
Was that it?
It couldn't be.
She'd been so jealous of her. Of all their classmates. She'd lived with that ugly emotion. She'd-
"Dad," Amu managed. "Can we come visit? To see how Saaya is doing?"
He didn't immediately reply. When he did, his voice was a little uncertain.
"Yes, of course. Why?"
"I need to- say sorry," Amu mumbled. "Even if she doesn't hear. And-" She stopped.
"Amu," her father said. He pulled back a little, his hands resting on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes. "If this was- whatever this was, if it's anything like your old grade school... look at me, Amu." She'd looked down, her face flushing. Her father didn't let her get away with it. He put his hand under her chin, raising her head until she was looking at him.
"Listen," he told her, his tone firm. "If you're blaming yourself for whatever happened, then- fine. But I want you to think about this, and ask yourself- did you want this to happen? Were you the one who did it?"
She shook her head, half-heartedly.
"Then don't take the blame for surviving."
"I wasn't- I didn't mean- Saaya, she's hurt, Dad. I-"
He hugged her.
"And you pulled her out of there. She'll live, thanks to you. Listen Amu. I don't care if she was bullying you, or- if you were bullying her, even." He stopped, and took a breath. "Was anything like that going on?"
Amu shook her head, her face flushed. "No, Dad. It wasn't."
"I didn't think so," he said. "Then whatever's wrong, it isn't your fault. That's all you need to know, okay? It's not your fault. Whatever happened, whoever did what they did, it wasn't you."
She buried her face in his shirt again, and didn't argue.
"Now," her father said. "You should get changed, Amu," he said. "The doctor's been very insistent that you not miss your meals. Your clothes are in the bag. Let's get you a shower, and something to eat."
Amu nodded, her voice too raw to speak. She managed a smile, then got to her feet. She felt a little stiff and sore, but it was a familiar sort of sore—the kind from practising football or gymnastics too much. Nothing serious. Her body wasn't protesting.
"Okay," she mumbled. "Thanks."
"That's okay."
"Um, can you... look away? I want to change."
Her father nodded, and turned towards the wall.
The clothes he'd brought her weren't inspired. Just one of her shirts, a light-green one with a few pink hearts on it, and a pair of jeans that didn't match. He'd probably packed them in a hurry, so Amu didn't complain. She was happy enough to get rid of the hospital gown and the shirt smelled faintly of detergent.
"I'm done," she said, once the jeans were buttoned.
"Good," her father replied, turning back.
They both paused, and stared at the bed, which was now empty. She'd slept there for...
"A week and a half?" Amu muttered, staring at the spot where she'd been lying.
"Just about," her father agreed. "You needed the sleep. Now, you need breakfast."
She snorted and walked over to the curtains, Dad hovering behind her, but behind them was- not a window, like she'd expected. Instead there was a large, flat lamp. Amu's eyebrows furrowed. Underground, huh. Speaking of which, where had Miki gone off to?
"Miki?" she whispered, just to check.
"Over here," Miki replied, her voice coming from somewhere above Amu's head. "I was exploring. They've got a lot of weird stuff. Hey, look."
Amu blinked.
Miki was flying over to her, her hair and clothes fluttering a little. Amu frowned, and then blinked again. The light behind her seemed to be shining through her.
'You're... see-through?'
"Yep," Miki agreed. "I couldn't get out of the room. There's something stopping me, like a bubble or something. Once I stopped trying to exist, it worked." She held out her hand, and Amu tried poking it. Her hand passed right through it, like it was air. "See?"
"That's..."
"Amu?" her father said, stepping up beside her. "Oh, the 'window'. We're actually underground. Underneath the Diet, would you believe it?"
She blinked up at him.
"Um."
"There's a lot of interesting technology. It's all very hush-hush though, so I wasn't allowed to take any photos. They're not telling us much about anything. I suppose demons are real? That was a bit of a shock."
"Yeah," Amu agreed. She stared at Miki, who now looked as opaque as she was normally supposed to. "They are."
Her father hesitated, wanting to say something. His mind was a mess, full of questions she couldn't—or didn't—pull out of there. In the end he didn't ask, and Amu didn't peek.
"Well, anyway," he eventually said. "We should probably head home."
"Yeah," said Amu. She could feel her stomach rumbling, but- "Can you give me a minute with Saaya first? Please?"
Her father nodded.
"All right. I'll wait outside."
"Thanks, Dad," Amu whispered, her voice thick. He smiled at her, then turned and left.
Amu waited until the door had closed and the footsteps stopped before sitting down on the edge of Saaya's bed. Saaya was still sleeping, the machinery still beeping its quiet rhythm. Amu didn't have the courage to try to wake her, so instead she sat there and held her hand.
"Saaya," she said. Her voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat. "Hey, I'm- I'm sorry." She huffed. "I haven't figured out what I'm sorry about. Probably a lot of things. I wish- I don't know. I wish you'd told me. That you'd trusted me, I guess."
Saaya didn't respond. She didn't move. Her hand was warm, but not particularly responsive.
"I hope you'll get better soon, so you can tell me," Amu told her. She rubbed at her eyes, and tried to stop herself from crying. "I didn't- I didn't mean for you to get hurt, you know. You saved me," Amu said. "Or, I don't know. You were right there with me, and you kept the rift from catching us, and- and I'm really glad you escaped with me. I'm glad you're not dead. I'm really glad."
She leaned forward, her eyes shut, and tried to think of the words to say. There weren't any. Instead she just sat there for a while, holding her hand. Miki hovered next to her, waiting patiently.
There was one more thing she had to do before she left.
Amu focused. She had a vague idea of how to do it now. She couldn't fix Saaya—she couldn't repair the damaged portions of her mind, but-
Saaya had shattered, and some fragments of her mind were stuck inside of Amu. Not a lot. Bits and pieces. Amu had tried not to absorb them, and not to reject- destroy them—and she was pretty sure it had worked, but—there was still something there. A lot of memories.
"Look, Amu-chan, look," the girl had said, pointing at the small, grey lizard scuttling along the roadside. "Isn't it cute?"
Yes, it certainly had been. Saaya had been there as well, had laughed that awful laugh of hers and stalked away, but had been thinking something like 'it's so cute!', and... that was it. Just a single moment of happiness, followed by fear of Amu and annoyance that she couldn't stay.
"I can't fix you," Amu whispered. "But you can have these back."
It would have been so, so easy to change what Saaya would remember. Give her Amu's point of view as well—she and Charlotte had spent fifteen–twenty minutes chasing the little thing about, and it had been the most fun they'd ever had together. That memory would make her happy. Had made Charlotte's day, a week before her return to England. Amu had her phone number. Somewhere.
She didn't do that.
She pulled the fragmented memory out, leaving it as intact as possible. Fear and annoyance included. As soon as it was free of her, the Humpty Lock grabbed on to it and drew it inside itself. The fragments were absorbed. She felt Saaya's mind settle slightly.
'Did you see it, Saaya?' she thought. 'Didn't it look cute? Why didn't you say so?'
The girl didn't answer. Amu pulled another fragment loose, and another. Her mind had started aching by the end of it, but she was able to finish without losing too much time.
"Amu?" her father said, knocking at the door. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," she lied. "Just... yeah. I'll be out in a second."
She squeezed Saaya's hand.
"Bye, Saaya."
She patted Saaya's arm, then got to her feet. Her stomach rumbled and her mouth felt dry.
Miki settled on her shoulder.
"I'll come back later," Amu decided. Her father was opening the door, a concerned expression on his face. "Dad, I'm hungry."
⁂
It wasn't as easy as all that. There were tests. Reflexes, strength and hearing, plus more she didn't understand.
Apparently she'd burst her eardrums in the fight, and hadn't noticed until they told her. The doctor looked at her a little weirdly, but took her rapid healing in stride.
The doctor also wanted to do some scans in two days, or something. The words 'brain activity' were used. Amu wasn't a doctor, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't tell them much. Why, three quarters of her had spent years flying around as a group of chibis! How did you even scan for that?
...probably wasn't how it worked, but she'd take it.
Then, before they let her leave, she had to sit down and sign a few forms. There was a bunch of legalese involved, a few "non-disclosure agreements" and some other paperwork she didn't really understand, but...
Amu was distracted.
This wasn't a hospital.
They were underground; okay. Under the Diet. Sure, maybe that explained the couple of soldiers. They were dressed in black and yellow, but what else did you call someone who carried assault rifles? Not just the one, either—they were everywhere, guarding all the corridors that weren't marked with 'Observation', or 'Radiology', or... medical stuff, going by her father's mind. But 'mess hall'? Didn't that mean kitchen? Why did that need a guard?
There was also the fact that Amu wasn't getting much attention from the doctors. They didn't seem hostile, just... busy. Each and every one of them had that same dulled, foggy-glass-pane feel to their mind, so it wasn't like she could find out why. But she'd seen an upperclassman she vaguely recognised be rushed into what she thought was surgery, and- so she had a pretty good idea why. Her father hadn't mentioned it, and she wasn't sure if he knew, but...
Well.
"Dad?" she asked. He looked at her, and smiled.
"Ready to go?"
"Um," Amu said. They'd already checked out at the desk, but she'd gotten distracted. There were a lot of people here in the lobby, and she couldn't stop noticing them. Lots of parents. Some of them she recognised. One or two recognised her, and their emotions ranged from worried to-
"...yes," she decided, looking away. She didn't want to know why they were feeling envious.
"Amu." She blinked. He was looking at her, his expression serious. "You don't have to pretend. If you want to cry, it's all right."
"No," Amu said, her voice firm. She shook her head. "No. I'll be fine, Dad."
He stared at her for a few seconds.
"Okay," he said, taking her hand. "Let's go home."
= = =
They did.
Some of what happens in the following days is quite obvious. Some of it's not, and much will depend on what Amu chooses to focus on. She's got a week off from school, which her parents expect her to spend resting; but 'resting', of course, doesn't have to mean on the couch.
She also has a lot of worried friends.
What does she focus on? Pick as many options as you want, the top two will win. This affects both her actions and the story focus. Anything that doesn't get chosen isn't abandoned, per se; this vote is purely for the next week. Feel free to add subvotes or write-ins.
[ ][Focus] Lulu
- There's about fifteen increasingly worried texts from Lulu on her phone.
- Amu will obviously want to call her, and Lulu will half-heartedly try to hide her true involvement. It'll take more than one phone call to get through to her, but if she works on it, she's sure she can wear Lulu down. Especially with Hotsuin having practically OK'd it.
[ ][Focus] JPs
- JPs wants her back, to make sure she's healing properly(?). Which is nice of them, but Amu's pretty good at convincing people. And at sneaking around. Miki found a bunch of giant clockwork, and- she's curious, is the point. Might need a sub-vote to decide what she's most curious about, JPs or the demons.
[ ][Focus] Tadase
- Tadase is, predictably, unhurt. Tadase is, almost predictably, spending his time running from Seiyo student to Seiyo student to make sure they're alright. A lot of them aren't.
- Amu isn't sure she wants to join in with this, but she could at least get his perspective on the rift.
[ ][Focus] Ami
- Ami left half a dozen texts on Amu's phone, even though she visited. Most of them are 'please get better soon'.
- Amu's little sister is extremely cute, seriously worried, and concerningly okay with having just killed half a dozen demons. Actually, Amu hasn't had a proper talk with her about psionics in, um, she did do that at some point, right? Didn't she? …did she?
[ ][Focus] Utau
- Utau didn't leave a text.
- Instead she left a voice message that's an entire song. The lyrics add up to 'get better soon'.
- There's absolutely nothing happening with Utau, and that's precisely why visiting her sounds like a great idea. Two out of two parents agree, as do four out of five Amus. The fifth is asleep.
[ ][Focus] Kana
- There are no texts from Kana.
- The Scavengers said to come back in a week, and if she hadn't just nearly died, she would have. Kana must be worried sick… right? But she's not answering her cellphone.
[ ][Focus] Saaya
- Saaya is… unconscious. Amu will definitely visit, but that's about all she's sure she can do. If you pick this focus without a subvote, she will mainly spend the time worrying and trying to remember her life.
[ ][Focus] Tsukasa
- Amu knows—or has a good guess, at least—that the headmaster is precognitive, so… why? Just why? Did he not see this coming? She hopes that's why.
[ ][Focus] Nagihiko
- There's a single 'get better' text message, marked 'from Nadeshiko'.
- Last time Amu physically saw her, it was after she fought a longer fight than anyone else did. And now she's basically radio silent, nearly as much as during her 'studies abroad'. Something is up with Amu's best friend amongst the Guardians, more than the looming topic that has hung over the pair for the last two years.
—
That's a lot of focus options, and not a lot of other tasks. The reason is to let you pick a training option at the same time. I'll write down the full price list in an information post in a minute, but here's some considerations:
- Amu is treated as always having a teacher, for the purposes of training time. This does not mean that actually having a teacher isn't beneficial—if you can find a good one, that reduces the cost of abilties by 1 XP. This is only relevant for good teachers. Mechanically, they would need to (before training) have at least two more dots in the relevant skill/attribute/ability than Amu does.
- The list of psionic skills on Amu and Ami's character sheet is not actually exhaustive; it's only the set of skills that those two are capable of learning. You'll find other people to have different choices.
- If you want Amu to spend the time finding e.g. a good karate teacher or something, you can. You should put that in as a [Focus] action.
- If you want to spend XP, put [X][Training] whatever in your vote.
And then she fell asleep, so she didn't remember any of the trip. She woke up once, briefly, as someone lifted her onto a stretcher, and was about to struggle against them when-
Utau was there, holding her hand. Amu squeezed it.
She drifted. The stretcher was a nice smooth ride and the gentle motions made her sleepy, even in her dreams. Sometimes she heard her father's voice, or Ami's. Utau disappeared after a while. Amu would have liked her to come too, but her sleepy mind admitted that she wasn't family. Despite their history. Even though Amu would quite like her to be. Utau's golden hair would fit nicely in with her pink and blue.
That was a dream. But it was a nice one, one she clung to even as her mind fell further and further into the depths of sleep. Sirens rang in the background. She wasn't sure what it was. Probably nothing important.
She stayed asleep for quite some time.
⁂
Amu woke up.
Her ears rang. Her head ached, if not nearly as badly as it had the last time she remembered being awake—back at school with Utau hovering over her. Speaking of which, where was she? Or Utau?
She sat up, blinking slowly as she looked around. White walls. Teal floor, and a soft, syncopated beeping in the background, sounding somehow dulled. She'd been moved while she was asleep, which was maybe obvious, but... the memories were still coming back to her. She'd been completely exhausted; that was for sure, and Amu couldn't quite make sense of half of what she remembered from back there.
Oh, the impressions were there. The demons. Saaya, coughing up blood. Her father. Hotsuin. Saaya. Saaya!
Amu tried to sit up. She made it halfway before she was stopped by a gentle tug on her left arm. She turned her head, and-
A drip was connected to her arm, as well as- a number of other things. Monitors. Heart rate. Blood pressure. Oxygen levels. There was a needle under her skin. Amu's heart started beating faster. What was this? Why-
She didn't want to panic, but-
Then her eyes refocused and she saw Saaya sleeping in the bed sitting across from her.
Amu went still, and her breathing slowed. Saaya was alive. Alive. She was alive.
There was a small, black box next to the bed, sitting on a side table, with a single button and a speaker, as well as a paper note saying 'Push this if you're awake'.
Amu didn't push it.
Instead, she leaned back into the pillows and took the opportunity to study her surroundings. She was in a hospital room, and the beeping was, in fact, the sound of her heart. She'd- she'd survived. She hadn't felt scared at the time, not really. Not about her own survival. She'd had to save her friends, and the rest of the students. And the teachers, and the janitor, and everyone. It was kind of silly to have thought that, looking back on it, but...
She had saved Saaya, hadn't she..?
Amu sat up without stretching the wires attached to her arm, dropping one foot off the bed to balance on, then looked over at the girl sleeping in the other bed. She was wearing a thin, off-green hospital gown. Her skin was pale. Her hair had been cut, the long, wavy strands trimmed down to something like a buzzcut. There was a bandage on her head, and-
Her right arm was in a cast.
Amu couldn't see anything else, because the blankets were pulled up and hiding everything, but she could definitely feel the Humpty Lock underneath it—still sitting on Saaya's chest. A weight settled onto her shoulders and then Miki was settling herself onto her hair, and Amu looked up at her.
"Morning," Miki whispered. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," Amu said. "My head's a little sore, but- not as bad as it was."
Miki nodded and settled a little further onto Amu's hair. Amu took the hint, relaxing a little.
"What happened? After I fell asleep?"
Miki paused for a moment.
"They took you to the hospital," she said. "You and Saaya, though Dad and Ami went along. Utau tried but-" Miki shrugged. "She wasn't allowed. They checked her out on the spot and let her go."
"She wasn't hurt, wasn't she?" Amu asked, her eyes darkening.
"A bit. She didn't even notice, so- not very badly, just some scrapes. I made Eru promise to keep an eye on her. She's been back a couple times."
Amu said nothing.
"The school's closed, by the way." Miki sighed. "Ami says the news have been reporting it as a gas explosion, but I caught Dad going over photos of demons while he was sitting here waiting for you to wake up, and I bet he's not the only one. He's a little shaken though," Miki added. "And they're definitely demons. I overheard the people in black—JPs—calling them that."
"I think I'm gonna have nightmares for the next week," Amu muttered.
"Same."
Amu looked over at Saaya, and Miki patted her shoulder.
"They'll figure it out. You did what you had to, Amu. We all did."
Amu swallowed. "Ami?"
"She's fine. She was really brave. She's with Dad, and- yeah."
"That's good," Amu whispered. "That's good. That's- Miki, she said she killed them. The demons. That's- that's wrong. She's a kid."
Miki didn't say anything.
Amu sat there for a while, staring blankly at the wall. Then her stomach growled, and her cheeks heated. She'd been sleeping for… she had no idea how long, but she was hungry. She'd missed dinner, and breakfast, and-
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Um, about a week," Miki said.
Amu's jaw dropped.
"They're probably gonna want to keep you in here a little bit longer," Miki added. "They had you on sedatives. Just to make sure, and-" She shook her head. "Your mind felt a little… weird, after the fight, and I've been a little dazed myself. Your cellphone's in the cupboard, by the way, but it isn't working here. I think we're underground somewhere."
"Oh," Amu said.
She turned to Saaya again, and this time she closed her eyes to focus on her. There were- there were bits missing. Saaya's mind had been cracked and broken, not so much 'hurt' as- 'jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing'. It was...
Broken. Burned.
Broken, and held together by a series of tiny, delicate, glittering threads. The Humpty Lock, presumably. It felt that way. She was too scared to actually touch the threads, though. There were a lot of them, and they looked very, very delicate. One wrong move, and-
Amu didn't know. Even the simple effort of looking at her was making her head hurt. Literally, not metaphorically.
But she was sure that whatever was left of Saaya wouldn't be the same, if she broke them.
"They said something about grade five mental abrasion," Miki told her. Amu opened her eyes and looked up at her.
"Which is... what?"
"Something to do with magic." Miki sighed. "Whatever that means to them. The same doctor said you had grade one, which is why they put you in here together. The room is supposed to help."
"Help?" Amu echoed.
"With healing," Miki clarified. "I think. I don't know. And they ran out of rooms. Amu, are you feeling alright?"
Amu glanced at Saaya, her eyebrows furrowed. Saaya hadn't moved. Her chest rose and fell, but- otherwise, nothing. Her face was blank, her eyes shut, and her mind was mostly silent. It felt a little like she was asleep. But it also didn't.
"Will she- be okay?"
Miki hesitated.
"We did our best," she finally said.
Amu bit her lip, but didn't argue. She was still tired, so she laid back down on the bed, and Miki wobbled onto her lap. Amu petted her and then closed her eyes, and-
Instantly fell asleep.
Again.
⁂
She was a princess, and princesses were supposed to be pretty, and she was. Her parents said so, whenever they bothered to notice her. Her father was almost never home, but when he was, he usually spent the time arguing with her mother. So she spent most of her time by herself.
Her parents had given her everything a child could ask for, so she'd grown up knowing she was the prettiest girl in the world, the smartest girl, the richest, and-
And a liar.
She didn't remember when the lying had started. She'd always been a princess. Princesses were pretty, and popular, and rich, and- and they had lots of friends. She hadn't been able to be any of those things. Not properly.
She'd wanted to be pretty. Her parents had bought her a lot of clothes, and toys, and- and stuff. It was a lot of fun, having everything she wanted. It made her classmates play with her, which made her feel good. But-
And the other kids didn't tell lies. Lies like "We're going to a spa, so you can't come visit", or "Isn't my hair pretty?" or "My parents love me more than anyone in the world".
They just didn't usually tell her anything at all.
⁂
Her father was reading in the corner when she woke up.
Amu stared at him for a moment, and he glanced up, and smiled.
"Good morning, Amu-chan," he said, closing the book.
"Hi, Dad." She wanted to say more than that. She wanted to say- a lot. About Saaya, and what had happened. She didn't. She didn't want to think about that because it made her want to cry. Saaya might never wake up and- and in a way that was her fault. She was the one who'd-
Who'd done what, exactly? Amu went over her memories of Saaya and couldn't find anything terrible. They'd argued, sure, but Amu had never said anything terrible. She'd never paid much attention to her at all, in all honesty. Maybe that was why, or maybe it wasn't.
A couple of seconds passed. Her father studied her, looking for… she didn't know. They stared at each other, until…
"Are you staying awake?" he asked.
She blinked. "Um, yeah?"
"You still look tired," he noted.
"Yeah," she agreed, and yawned. "A little. It's not bad anymore."
The wires and needles were gone from her arm. She was still wearing the hospital gown, but that was fine. She felt fine. The slight aches and pains from earlier had all gone away, which left her pensive and uncertain. She ought to be feeling worse than this.
"Are you okay, Amu?"
Amu bit her lip.
"I- don't know. How are you, Dad?"
Her father got to his feet and came over to her. He hugged her gently, and kissed her forehead.
"I'm worried about you," he admitted. "The doctors here- they know what they're doing, and well, you're not injured, but they're not telling me much." His arms tightened a little. "Amu, are you hurt? I mean- not physically, but you had me worried. A lot."
"Sorry," she whispered, her eyes burning. She couldn't-
"Don't be." He sighed. "Ami has been having nightmares. She won't stop talking about monsters, but the headmaster from your school found her a counsellor, I don't know where. There are a lot of people hurt, and... some dead. They haven't told us much."
"Oh," Amu whispered, burying her face in his shirt.
"Your school is closed, until the damage can be repaired."
"Yeah," she said, remembering Miki saying the same. She'd known, and not thought about it.
"They're still planning on running classes, though. Starting next week. Some arrangement with the neighbouring districts, they arranged it all quite fast... your class shouldn't get split up."
"Dad…" Amu mumbled into his shirt. She didn't want to know, but… "How long have I been asleep?"
"About a week and a half," he said. "More or less. You've been talking before, but this is the first time you stayed awake for more than a minute at a time. You had everyone worried."
He stroked her hair. She didn't pull away. She didn't really want to let go. She was shivering slightly, trying not to show it, but with his arms around her she couldn't manage that.
"The doctor said you're fit to leave when I came here today, though," he continued. "Assuming you don't fall asleep again. They've been ramping down the drugs, and… you'll have to have a check-up before you leave, and another in a day or two, but... you can go home. They could use the space, apparently."
"Saaya is..."
"Not doing very well," he finished. He sounded a little frustrated, and was radiating sadness. "Her parents haven't visited."
"What?" Amu asked, pulling back to stare at him. "They haven't- what? Why?"
He let out a sigh.
"I have no idea. They live right here in Tokyo. I phoned them to schedule the visits so we wouldn't disturb you more than necessary, but no interest." He looked at her, his expression earnest. "She's your friend, Amu. Did she ever say anything?"
"Um." Amu hesitated, and then shook her head. "No. Not about her parents. She's- we weren't close, Dad. I don't know that much about her."
He nodded.
"I see."
"Sorry."
"Amu, no. I didn't mean-" He stopped, and rubbed at his eyes. "Never mind. What matters is that you're healthy, and..."
His words faded out. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears trickling down her cheeks, and tried to remember. What was it Saaya had accused her of? 'Everything', yes, but... specifically?
In the classroom, with the rift just opening. She'd reached out for Saaya's mind, wanting to prod her and make her just leave, and... Saaya had felt it and gotten angry at her. Worse, she'd started crying.
Before then, when it hadn't even started yet.
"It's true," Saaya had said. "You all know it is. You just don't want to admit it. She's got her hooks into everyone. She's got the whole school wrapped around her finger, and she's not even doing anything. Just by existing, she gets her way. That's how Amu is."
What had she done?
She was an easy target. It was so obvious, she was so obviously lying about herself that even a cinnamon roll like Tadase would- no. Everyone could tell how fake Amu was. Saaya wouldn't have to do anything.
Why weren't they noticing?
She wanted-
She'd wanted-
To be loved. She was a liar, and no one wanted her, and she'd hated Amu for being better than her, and-
It was all her fault.
"Amu?"
Her nails were digging into Dad's back. She hadn't noticed until just then, and her nails weren't sharp, but there were tiny marks in the back of his shirt. Her throat felt hoarse. Her eyes burned. She hadn't noticed the tears, or the quiet, muffled sobs. The memories she was reliving weren't hers, they were—Saaya's, had to be—shrapnel from a mind that had shattered itself into pieces, but-
She'd caused it.
"Amu," her father murmured, holding her tight.
"I did it," she mumbled. "Dad, I-" She fell silent. He waited for her to speak, and didn't interrupt.
"It's my fault," she whispered. "It's all- I did this."
"How?" her father asked, his voice gentle, but that wasn't something she could answer. Knowing that Saaya blamed her wasn't the same thing as understanding what she blamed her for. And even if she had, Saaya had already been-
Was that it?
It couldn't be.
She'd been so jealous of her. Of all their classmates. She'd lived with that ugly emotion. She'd-
"Dad," Amu managed. "Can we come visit? To see how Saaya is doing?"
He didn't immediately reply. When he did, his voice was a little uncertain.
"Yes, of course. Why?"
"I need to- say sorry," Amu mumbled. "Even if she doesn't hear. And-" She stopped.
"Amu," her father said. He pulled back a little, his hands resting on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes. "If this was- whatever this was, if it's anything like your old grade school... look at me, Amu." She'd looked down, her face flushing. Her father didn't let her get away with it. He put his hand under her chin, raising her head until she was looking at him.
"Listen," he told her, his tone firm. "If you're blaming yourself for whatever happened, then- fine. But I want you to think about this, and ask yourself- did you want this to happen? Were you the one who did it?"
She shook her head, half-heartedly.
"Then don't take the blame for surviving."
"I wasn't- I didn't mean- Saaya, she's hurt, Dad. I-"
He hugged her.
"And you pulled her out of there. She'll live, thanks to you. Listen Amu. I don't care if she was bullying you, or- if you were bullying her, even." He stopped, and took a breath. "Was anything like that going on?"
Amu shook her head, her face flushed. "No, Dad. It wasn't."
"I didn't think so," he said. "Then whatever's wrong, it isn't your fault. That's all you need to know, okay? It's not your fault. Whatever happened, whoever did what they did, it wasn't you."
She buried her face in his shirt again, and didn't argue.
"Now," her father said. "You should get changed, Amu," he said. "The doctor's been very insistent that you not miss your meals. Your clothes are in the bag. Let's get you a shower, and something to eat."
Amu nodded, her voice too raw to speak. She managed a smile, then got to her feet. She felt a little stiff and sore, but it was a familiar sort of sore—the kind from practising football or gymnastics too much. Nothing serious. Her body wasn't protesting.
"Okay," she mumbled. "Thanks."
"That's okay."
"Um, can you... look away? I want to change."
Her father nodded, and turned towards the wall.
The clothes he'd brought her weren't inspired. Just one of her shirts, a light-green one with a few pink hearts on it, and a pair of jeans that didn't match. He'd probably packed them in a hurry, so Amu didn't complain. She was happy enough to get rid of the hospital gown and the shirt smelled faintly of detergent.
"I'm done," she said, once the jeans were buttoned.
"Good," her father replied, turning back.
They both paused, and stared at the bed, which was now empty. She'd slept there for...
"A week and a half?" Amu muttered, staring at the spot where she'd been lying.
"Just about," her father agreed. "You needed the sleep. Now, you need breakfast."
She snorted and walked over to the curtains, Dad hovering behind her, but behind them was- not a window, like she'd expected. Instead there was a large, flat lamp. Amu's eyebrows furrowed. Underground, huh. Speaking of which, where had Miki gone off to?
"Miki?" she whispered, just to check.
"Over here," Miki replied, her voice coming from somewhere above Amu's head. "I was exploring. They've got a lot of weird stuff. Hey, look."
Amu blinked.
Miki was flying over to her, her hair and clothes fluttering a little. Amu frowned, and then blinked again. The light behind her seemed to be shining through her.
'You're... see-through?'
"Yep," Miki agreed. "I couldn't get out of the room. There's something stopping me, like a bubble or something. Once I stopped trying to exist, it worked." She held out her hand, and Amu tried poking it. Her hand passed right through it, like it was air. "See?"
"That's..."
"Amu?" her father said, stepping up beside her. "Oh, the 'window'. We're actually underground. Underneath the Diet, would you believe it?"
She blinked up at him.
"Um."
"There's a lot of interesting technology. It's all very hush-hush though, so I wasn't allowed to take any photos. They're not telling us much about anything. I suppose demons are real? That was a bit of a shock."
"Yeah," Amu agreed. She stared at Miki, who now looked as opaque as she was normally supposed to. "They are."
Her father hesitated, wanting to say something. His mind was a mess, full of questions she couldn't—or didn't—pull out of there. In the end he didn't ask, and Amu didn't peek.
"Well, anyway," he eventually said. "We should probably head home."
"Yeah," said Amu. She could feel her stomach rumbling, but- "Can you give me a minute with Saaya first? Please?"
Her father nodded.
"All right. I'll wait outside."
"Thanks, Dad," Amu whispered, her voice thick. He smiled at her, then turned and left.
Amu waited until the door had closed and the footsteps stopped before sitting down on the edge of Saaya's bed. Saaya was still sleeping, the machinery still beeping its quiet rhythm. Amu didn't have the courage to try to wake her, so instead she sat there and held her hand.
"Saaya," she said. Her voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat. "Hey, I'm- I'm sorry." She huffed. "I haven't figured out what I'm sorry about. Probably a lot of things. I wish- I don't know. I wish you'd told me. That you'd trusted me, I guess."
Saaya didn't respond. She didn't move. Her hand was warm, but not particularly responsive.
"I hope you'll get better soon, so you can tell me," Amu told her. She rubbed at her eyes, and tried to stop herself from crying. "I didn't- I didn't mean for you to get hurt, you know. You saved me," Amu said. "Or, I don't know. You were right there with me, and you kept the rift from catching us, and- and I'm really glad you escaped with me. I'm glad you're not dead. I'm really glad."
She leaned forward, her eyes shut, and tried to think of the words to say. There weren't any. Instead she just sat there for a while, holding her hand. Miki hovered next to her, waiting patiently.
There was one more thing she had to do before she left.
Amu focused. She had a vague idea of how to do it now. She couldn't fix Saaya—she couldn't repair the damaged portions of her mind, but-
Saaya had shattered, and some fragments of her mind were stuck inside of Amu. Not a lot. Bits and pieces. Amu had tried not to absorb them, and not to reject- destroy them—and she was pretty sure it had worked, but—there was still something there. A lot of memories.
"Look, Amu-chan, look," the girl had said, pointing at the small, grey lizard scuttling along the roadside. "Isn't it cute?"
Yes, it certainly had been. Saaya had been there as well, had laughed that awful laugh of hers and stalked away, but had been thinking something like 'it's so cute!', and... that was it. Just a single moment of happiness, followed by fear of Amu and annoyance that she couldn't stay.
"I can't fix you," Amu whispered. "But you can have these back."
It would have been so, so easy to change what Saaya would remember. Give her Amu's point of view as well—she and Charlotte had spent fifteen–twenty minutes chasing the little thing about, and it had been the most fun they'd ever had together. That memory would make her happy. Had made Charlotte's day, a week before her return to England. Amu had her phone number. Somewhere.
She didn't do that.
She pulled the fragmented memory out, leaving it as intact as possible. Fear and annoyance included. As soon as it was free of her, the Humpty Lock grabbed on to it and drew it inside itself. The fragments were absorbed. She felt Saaya's mind settle slightly.
'Did you see it, Saaya?' she thought. 'Didn't it look cute? Why didn't you say so?'
The girl didn't answer. Amu pulled another fragment loose, and another. Her mind had started aching by the end of it, but she was able to finish without losing too much time.
"Amu?" her father said, knocking at the door. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," she lied. "Just... yeah. I'll be out in a second."
She squeezed Saaya's hand.
"Bye, Saaya."
She patted Saaya's arm, then got to her feet. Her stomach rumbled and her mouth felt dry.
Miki settled on her shoulder.
"I'll come back later," Amu decided. Her father was opening the door, a concerned expression on his face. "Dad, I'm hungry."
⁂
It wasn't as easy as all that. There were tests. Reflexes, strength and hearing, plus more she didn't understand.
Apparently she'd burst her eardrums in the fight, and hadn't noticed until they told her. The doctor looked at her a little weirdly, but took her rapid healing in stride.
The doctor also wanted to do some scans in two days, or something. The words 'brain activity' were used. Amu wasn't a doctor, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't tell them much. Why, three quarters of her had spent years flying around as a group of chibis! How did you even scan for that?
...probably wasn't how it worked, but she'd take it.
Then, before they let her leave, she had to sit down and sign a few forms. There was a bunch of legalese involved, a few "non-disclosure agreements" and some other paperwork she didn't really understand, but...
Amu was distracted.
This wasn't a hospital.
They were underground; okay. Under the Diet. Sure, maybe that explained the couple of soldiers. They were dressed in black and yellow, but what else did you call someone who carried assault rifles? Not just the one, either—they were everywhere, guarding all the corridors that weren't marked with 'Observation', or 'Radiology', or... medical stuff, going by her father's mind. But 'mess hall'? Didn't that mean kitchen? Why did that need a guard?
There was also the fact that Amu wasn't getting much attention from the doctors. They didn't seem hostile, just... busy. Each and every one of them had that same dulled, foggy-glass-pane feel to their mind, so it wasn't like she could find out why. But she'd seen an upperclassman she vaguely recognised be rushed into what she thought was surgery, and- so she had a pretty good idea why. Her father hadn't mentioned it, and she wasn't sure if he knew, but...
Well.
"Dad?" she asked. He looked at her, and smiled.
"Ready to go?"
"Um," Amu said. They'd already checked out at the desk, but she'd gotten distracted. There were a lot of people here in the lobby, and she couldn't stop noticing them. Lots of parents. Some of them she recognised. One or two recognised her, and their emotions ranged from worried to-
"...yes," she decided, looking away. She didn't want to know why they were feeling envious.
"Amu." She blinked. He was looking at her, his expression serious. "You don't have to pretend. If you want to cry, it's all right."
"No," Amu said, her voice firm. She shook her head. "No. I'll be fine, Dad."
He stared at her for a few seconds.
"Okay," he said, taking her hand. "Let's go home."
= = =
They did.
Some of what happens in the following days is quite obvious. Some of it's not, and much will depend on what Amu chooses to focus on. She's got a week off from school, which her parents expect her to spend resting; but 'resting', of course, doesn't have to mean on the couch.
She also has a lot of worried friends.
What does she focus on? Pick as many options as you want, the top two will win. This affects both her actions and the story focus. Anything that doesn't get chosen isn't abandoned, per se; this vote is purely for the next week. Feel free to add subvotes or write-ins.
[ ][Focus] Lulu
- There's about fifteen increasingly worried texts from Lulu on her phone.
- Amu will obviously want to call her, and Lulu will half-heartedly try to hide her true involvement. It'll take more than one phone call to get through to her, but if she works on it, she's sure she can wear Lulu down. Especially with Hotsuin having practically OK'd it.
[ ][Focus] JPs
- JPs wants her back, to make sure she's healing properly(?). Which is nice of them, but Amu's pretty good at convincing people. And at sneaking around. Miki found a bunch of giant clockwork, and- she's curious, is the point. Might need a sub-vote to decide what she's most curious about, JPs or the demons.
[ ][Focus] Tadase
- Tadase is, predictably, unhurt. Tadase is, almost predictably, spending his time running from Seiyo student to Seiyo student to make sure they're alright. A lot of them aren't.
- Amu isn't sure she wants to join in with this, but she could at least get his perspective on the rift.
[ ][Focus] Ami
- Ami left half a dozen texts on Amu's phone, even though she visited. Most of them are 'please get better soon'.
- Amu's little sister is extremely cute, seriously worried, and concerningly okay with having just killed half a dozen demons. Actually, Amu hasn't had a proper talk with her about psionics in, um, she did do that at some point, right? Didn't she? …did she?
[ ][Focus] Utau
- Utau didn't leave a text.
- Instead she left a voice message that's an entire song. The lyrics add up to 'get better soon'.
- There's absolutely nothing happening with Utau, and that's precisely why visiting her sounds like a great idea. Two out of two parents agree, as do four out of five Amus. The fifth is asleep.
[ ][Focus] Kana
- There are no texts from Kana.
- The Scavengers said to come back in a week, and if she hadn't just nearly died, she would have. Kana must be worried sick… right? But she's not answering her cellphone.
[ ][Focus] Saaya
- Saaya is… unconscious. Amu will definitely visit, but that's about all she's sure she can do. If you pick this focus without a subvote, she will mainly spend the time worrying and trying to remember her life.
[ ][Focus] Tsukasa
- Amu knows—or has a good guess, at least—that the headmaster is precognitive, so… why? Just why? Did he not see this coming? She hopes that's why.
[ ][Focus] Nagihiko
- There's a single 'get better' text message, marked 'from Nadeshiko'.
- Last time Amu physically saw her, it was after she fought a longer fight than anyone else did. And now she's basically radio silent, nearly as much as during her 'studies abroad'. Something is up with Amu's best friend amongst the Guardians, more than the looming topic that has hung over the pair for the last two years.
—
That's a lot of focus options, and not a lot of other tasks. The reason is to let you pick a training option at the same time. I'll write down the full price list in an information post in a minute, but here's some considerations:
- Amu is treated as always having a teacher, for the purposes of training time. This does not mean that actually having a teacher isn't beneficial—if you can find a good one, that reduces the cost of abilties by 1 XP. This is only relevant for good teachers. Mechanically, they would need to (before training) have at least two more dots in the relevant skill/attribute/ability than Amu does.
- The list of psionic skills on Amu and Ami's character sheet is not actually exhaustive; it's only the set of skills that those two are capable of learning. You'll find other people to have different choices.
- If you want Amu to spend the time finding e.g. a good karate teacher or something, you can. You should put that in as a [Focus] action.
- If you want to spend XP, put [X][Training] whatever in your vote.
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Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Thanks go to @Nero200, @Quickshot0 and @Kim Bruning for the review.
XP calculation:
+ 6 XP (Introduction to Amu)
+ 4 XP (Fall of Seiyo Academy)
+ 1 XP (Stunt: Saaya's survival)
- 2 XP (Biokinesis 2)
= 9 XP
Strictly speaking, each story arc should give you between 4 and 6 XP as a base reward... then I realised that arc 1 should have been chopped in half. So I'm calculating it as two arcs, but can't be bothered to renumber half the chapters. Or put something epilogue-like in the middle. I'm sure you'll live.
With that being said I've realised I made psionic skills too cheap, considering they add to attributes/abilities when applied. They're now significantly more expensive. This does not apply retroactively. Informational post to follow.
XP calculation:
+ 6 XP (Introduction to Amu)
+ 4 XP (Fall of Seiyo Academy)
+ 1 XP (Stunt: Saaya's survival)
- 2 XP (Biokinesis 2)
= 9 XP
Strictly speaking, each story arc should give you between 4 and 6 XP as a base reward... then I realised that arc 1 should have been chopped in half. So I'm calculating it as two arcs, but can't be bothered to renumber half the chapters. Or put something epilogue-like in the middle. I'm sure you'll live.
With that being said I've realised I made psionic skills too cheap, considering they add to attributes/abilities when applied. They're now significantly more expensive. This does not apply retroactively. Informational post to follow.
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To bad the doctors are probably pretty busy, else one training option potentially would be to pick a medicine level from them. Would have possibly combined with a focus on Saaya or JP.
Ah well, more options will probably be conceived.
Ah well, more options will probably be conceived.
XP / Training rules
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
XP Pools:
At the time of writing, the game is still in its introductory phase. Long-term the plan is for each major character to have their own XP pool, as well as one pool that's shared between every, and can be spent on any of the major characters.
However, right now the only major character is Amu. Once that changes I'll cut the XP pool in half, and move half of it to Amu's character sheet.
Rules for gaining XP:
The story is (intended to be) split into somewhat self-contained arcs about half the size of arc 1, focusing on a specific scenario—as vague as that may sound. The basic reward for surviving one such arc is 4 to 6 XP, depending on length. If it should be more than 6, then... well, that's my problem; clearly there's an issue with pacing or organisation in that case. So there's your baseline; the math gets more complicated with more characters, but that's a worry for later.
(Specifically: That should be 4–6 XP per major character deeply involved, with half the total moved to the common pool. Unless the simulator says 'no'.)
In addition to that, there's a couple of ways to gain XP outside of that flow:
- If you do something that makes half the thread gape, that's worth a point of XP regardless of what it is. Most likely it's a good write-in, but an omake that's promoted to side-story status would also count, et cetera. This is a 'know it when I see it' bonus, and the standard hasn't quite been reached yet.
- All three-dot stunts give 1 XP, regardless of whether or not they're successful. This is addition to the willpower / mote award, not instead. This can only be awarded once per arc.
- Achieving a major, long-term goal is worth 5 XP. Said goal must have been explicit for at least one arc, ideally more. It can be an intrinsic story element or an explicit goal of the questors, so long as the story in fact has been moving in that direction for that time. Again, this is a 'know it when I see it' award—but it's more likely to happen if you as readers work towards it. This is a quest; take control of the story!
Rules for spending XP (for psionics):
For all human psionics, these are the same as for a solar exalted with no caste and no favoured skill. Training time assumes 8 hours spent per day; unfortunately, schoolchildren are lucky to get 2. Training time cannot usually be bypassed, but a stunt may let it overlap with what Amu (or others) are already doing.
All psionics are treated as always having a teacher. However, if they actually have a teacher—defined as someone who can spend a minimum of 2 hours per 8 spent practicing, and also has at least 2 dots beyond the student's [rating]—then the cost of training an ability is reduced by 1 XP.
In addition, psionics can skip the training time at most once per arc in an acutely stressful situation in which they desperately need a specific skill or ability. This doubles the XP cost, and may have other consequences.
[rating] refers to the current rating, prior to training.
Attributes: [rating]*4 XP, [rating] months
Abilities: [rating]*2 XP, [rating] weeks
Psionic skill: max(1, [rating-1]) XP, [rating] weeks
Willpower: [rating]*2 XP, immediate
New ability: 3 XP, 3 weeks
New p. skill: 2 XP, 2 weeks (Special note: Only skills with 0 dots can be upgraded this way. Not all characters can learn all skills.)
Ability / Skill specialisation: 3 XP, 3 weeks
At the time of writing, the game is still in its introductory phase. Long-term the plan is for each major character to have their own XP pool, as well as one pool that's shared between every, and can be spent on any of the major characters.
However, right now the only major character is Amu. Once that changes I'll cut the XP pool in half, and move half of it to Amu's character sheet.
Rules for gaining XP:
The story is (intended to be) split into somewhat self-contained arcs about half the size of arc 1, focusing on a specific scenario—as vague as that may sound. The basic reward for surviving one such arc is 4 to 6 XP, depending on length. If it should be more than 6, then... well, that's my problem; clearly there's an issue with pacing or organisation in that case. So there's your baseline; the math gets more complicated with more characters, but that's a worry for later.
(Specifically: That should be 4–6 XP per major character deeply involved, with half the total moved to the common pool. Unless the simulator says 'no'.)
In addition to that, there's a couple of ways to gain XP outside of that flow:
- If you do something that makes half the thread gape, that's worth a point of XP regardless of what it is. Most likely it's a good write-in, but an omake that's promoted to side-story status would also count, et cetera. This is a 'know it when I see it' bonus, and the standard hasn't quite been reached yet.
- All three-dot stunts give 1 XP, regardless of whether or not they're successful. This is addition to the willpower / mote award, not instead. This can only be awarded once per arc.
- Achieving a major, long-term goal is worth 5 XP. Said goal must have been explicit for at least one arc, ideally more. It can be an intrinsic story element or an explicit goal of the questors, so long as the story in fact has been moving in that direction for that time. Again, this is a 'know it when I see it' award—but it's more likely to happen if you as readers work towards it. This is a quest; take control of the story!
Rules for spending XP (for psionics):
For all human psionics, these are the same as for a solar exalted with no caste and no favoured skill. Training time assumes 8 hours spent per day; unfortunately, schoolchildren are lucky to get 2. Training time cannot usually be bypassed, but a stunt may let it overlap with what Amu (or others) are already doing.
All psionics are treated as always having a teacher. However, if they actually have a teacher—defined as someone who can spend a minimum of 2 hours per 8 spent practicing, and also has at least 2 dots beyond the student's [rating]—then the cost of training an ability is reduced by 1 XP.
In addition, psionics can skip the training time at most once per arc in an acutely stressful situation in which they desperately need a specific skill or ability. This doubles the XP cost, and may have other consequences.
[rating] refers to the current rating, prior to training.
Attributes: [rating]*4 XP, [rating] months
Abilities: [rating]*2 XP, [rating] weeks
Psionic skill: max(1, [rating-1]) XP, [rating] weeks
Willpower: [rating]*2 XP, immediate
New ability: 3 XP, 3 weeks
New p. skill: 2 XP, 2 weeks (Special note: Only skills with 0 dots can be upgraded this way. Not all characters can learn all skills.)
Ability / Skill specialisation: 3 XP, 3 weeks
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Figured you might say something like that. Psi skill XP efficiency is still pretty nuts even with the nerf.
Faster XP growth than I'd expected. Looks like training time will be the limiting factor over XP for now. Growing like a solar exalt is a frankly crazy growth rate for a mortal, but we're still going to have to get creative to fit in all the training we'll want.XP calculation:
+ 6 XP (Introduction to Amu)
+ 4 XP (Fall of Seiyo Academy)
+ 1 XP (Stunt: Saaya's survival)
- 2 XP (Biokinesis 2)
= 9 XP
Strictly speaking, each story arc should give you between 4 and 6 XP as a base reward... then I realised that arc 1 should have been chopped in half. So I'm calculating it as two arcs, but can't be bothered to renumber half the chapters. Or put something epilogue-like in the middle. I'm sure you'll live.
Estimated remaining time to apocalypse: about 44 or 45 weeks, I think.
Uh... there's still supposed to be a minimum on that psi skill formula, right? Or is the second dot free?
Okay. We definitely want Illusion 2 - it's way too good to pass up. I'm thinking Dreamwalking 2 is worth picking up - good dreamwalking skill opens up some interesting options, we might get to hang out with Ami, and it should be trainable in our sleep. Medicine 1... I dunno. The training time is harsh, and hard to overlap with other activity.
We might be able to overlap Illusion training time with other activities by maintaining an illusion as we go about our day. For example, trying to wear a different illusionary accessory every day, like a hat or a scarf or something.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
There is. I posted it too soon, so I've edited a fair bit while you were writing that post. You'll have to read it again—sorry about that.
And to repeat myself from last version of the quest:
"What, you think hell week is still a thing?
"Humans, in SMT, are... weak, yes. Everywhere, also yes. Victims? Often yes.
But the ones that survive, have growth rates that beggar the imagination. Amu isn't an extra.
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Wait, we can use that on abilities as well as psi skills now? Sweet.
I hope that's not too much work to manage. If it works out, though, it should help keep more characters relevant and lighten the burden on Amu.
[X][Focus] Kana
If you know, you know.
:3
If you know, you know.
:3
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
The cost is roughly where I want it now, I think. Partly that's to encourage psionics, for various reasons, but-
You should be able to guess by now that it has drawbacks, ranging from early exhaustion to... worse, potentially. I can't exactly give you a full set of rules about that, because any such ruleset would reveal facts about the setting that Amu hasn't got the faintest clue about. You'll get those eventually.
In the meantime, I guess I can point at what happened to Saaya. And to Amu's long bed-rest, though that was admittedly much worse than normal usage would've caused... but that's the point, really. Nadeshiko is pretty much fine.
Abilities are more expensive to buy, but are cheaper to use. Let's leave it at that. Obviously, there are also things you just can't do at all without psionics. ...and also, in actual fact, things you can't do with psionics.
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A week and a half after the incident? Hmm.
Maybe because Amu is okay and their kid isn't?
Looks like a lot more people than just Amu and Saaya ended up here.
In the right circumstances, "worse" also includes holes in reality, I think. We don't want to make any more of those.
My Focus votes are probably going toward Ami and Kana. They seem like some of the most important to address promptly. As for training... Illusion 2 and Dreamwalking 2, definitely, but I think we can probably get started on training at least 1 more trait.
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Parabola
Divided Loyalties Librarian
- Location
- The Destination of Fate
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X][Focus] JPs
[X][Focus] Ami
[X][Focus] Lulu
We should probably focus on our little sister and also ask the relevant people about the demons.
I also really think we should upgrade Integrity, just generally get better at dealing with whatever stress and trauma comes our way. And we might be able to improve Dreamwalking alongside Ami, maybe. So...
[][Training] Integrity 2->3 (4 xp) Dreamwalking 1->2 (1 xp)
And we stockpile the remaining 5.
[X][Focus] Ami
[X][Focus] Lulu
We should probably focus on our little sister and also ask the relevant people about the demons.
I also really think we should upgrade Integrity, just generally get better at dealing with whatever stress and trauma comes our way. And we might be able to improve Dreamwalking alongside Ami, maybe. So...
[][Training] Integrity 2->3 (4 xp) Dreamwalking 1->2 (1 xp)
And we stockpile the remaining 5.
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After thinking about it a bit, it's probably possibly to volunteer to help with healing at JP occasionally. Which would provide opportunities to train psychic healing and get explanations of various medical matters. So if one ever wanted to train medicine and healing, that's probably the way one can improve its efficiency as much as possible.
That's a good point actually
[X][Focus] Ami
[X][Focus] Kana
[X][Training] Illusion 2 (1 XP, 1 week)
Illusion 2 seems like the best value option right now. It gives us the ability to make tangible illusions without having to spend willpower or fit within a Chara theme, and it only takes a week of training time.
Are we getting a full week of training time here, since Amu is supposed to be resting, or do other activities still push us below that?
We have 9 XP, so that leaves 4 XP, not 5.
...hmm. I wonder if there are any potential consequences for training too hard after we just got out of the medbay.
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[X][Focus] Ami
[X][Focus] Kana
[X][Focus] Kana