3137/Found (Part I)

Found (Part I)
Date of Scene:	02 October 2015
Location:	A Quiet World
Synopsis:	The first half of Mizuki and company's journey to recover Chatrinelle's wayward memories.
Cast of Characters:	Kotone Yamakawa, Arthur Lowell, Staren, 152, 183, Riva Banari

---

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    As everyone arrives, one might garner the impression from intuition alone that it has been raining - or at the least, drizzling - in the Silent City for days. This is always a surreal phenomenon given that sound is muted here: cars sweep by the roads, but that telltale noise that comes with tires running against dampened roads is entirely absent. So it is with the train itself as well, and no trickling sounds can be heard across the roofing tiles. It's quite a lot like being on the other side of a soundproof mirror as one watches the people scroll by, unaware of anything outside of their microcosm, their eyes glued to newspapers and phones. This makes for a distinctly melancholic atmosphere as one approaches Silent Night, and in a way it might be reminiscent of the way things were when they all first visited this place.

    Mizuki is here by the water fountain, arms folded behind her back and head hunched toward the water in contemplation. A red-haired girl clad in a small, lightly-colored dress overlain with a black, tasseled shawl leans one foot against the side of a bookcase, sparing the newcomers but a quick, momentary glimpse as they arrive. This, as some may recall, is Sutri -- one of those Seekers who predates the Cycles, and one of those whom the group briefly fought when they went back in time. Another of this number, Chatrinelle, perks up immediately when she sees the group arrive, smiling and giving a big, hearty wave from her place right of Mizuki as she sees people filter in. She bounces on her heels for a while after before eventually remembering to run over to Mizuki and tug on her shoulder to get her attention.

    Only then does a decidedly distracted Mizuki finally turn to face the rest of them with a quick sweep of her hand across her bangs. She gives a tiny bow that would barely qualify as a nod were she not to bend forward in a hastened hello. "Welcome," She mutters, "or perhaps it would be more right to say welcome back." She smiles for a moment, seeming to hesitate for lack of words. Eventually, though, "In short, I am asking you all to enter a book... or rather, a series of short stories. An anthology, if you will; an unfinished anthology penned by Shiori long, long ago, and left in some forgotten crevice of this place that I've only just identified. It will be much like before, really, but given the nature of the piece it will be somewhat erratic, and I can't quite assure you of what waits in the unwritten portions. But there is practical purpose in this endeavor, for you see, Chatrinelle --"

    "OH! Oh, oh! That's me, I'm Chatrinelle! Just so you know. Yeah!" She bounces on her heels again briefly after making this announcement. Mizuki bats her lashes a few times at the interruption before going on.

    "Y-Yes, this is Chatrinelle. She lost something very crucial in this book once upon a time: a memory of hers. It's a very important memory, though, because it is integral to why she became a Seeker, and why her soul is now conjoined with another soul. The one memory that all Seekers are required to maintain, you see, is the memory of whatever desire made them wish to leave their respective universes in the first place. This is done so that they will always remember not only where they've come from, but so that they will also remember to appreciate that which they have now relative to what they did not before. There are many other reasons this is done as well, though, underscoring why it is so very dangerous for a Seeker to lose these thoughts. No, I'm... not entirely sure how this memory will manifest, exactly, but assuming that I can define its shape for our convenience through sheer exertion of my will, it -should- appear as a crystalline teardrop with Chatrinelle's face in its reflection."

    "And that," She says, letting her arms fall slack, "is all I have to say in briefing, really. Would all of you be willing to help me - rather, us -with this?"

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva arrives in the Silent City in a puff of ice cream.

More accurately, she arrives in a puff with an ice cream cone in her hand. Looks like she was feeling dream-peckish today and decided to indulge. At the sight of the drizzle, Riva blinks at the silent drops for several seconds, before she shrugs, walking along the roads as she watches the people pass by. "So many people." Riva comments. "But they all may as well be alone."

A short travel later, Riva is crunching on the waffle cone as she approaches the fountain, not having bothered to shield herself from the rain. She smiles and waves to the ladies waiting for them, and listens carefully. With the mention of another book journey, Riva gets a slightly haunted look in her expression, but nods. "Interesting, that you'd be able to lose something like that. Hopefully, that's just an isolated incident." Riva says. With a dramatic motion, she folds her arms, and declares with a severe grumpyface, "No, I will totally come to your place when you asked and eat some dream ice cream and leave you hanging despite looking like an adorable puppy with those eyes."

With a laugh, Riva suddenly breaks the grumpyface and hops forward to give Chatrinelle a hug, before she turns to catch Sutri and Mizuki as well in turn. "No, no, it's cool. We'll get this done for you!"

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja arrives with his usual methods, popping in with a burst of time magic. The mage is decked out in full Inquisitorial gear: robes, armor, gun, and cane. He looks distinctly worried. Rarely does Mizuki ask for favors, and they tend to be ones of great import.

The nezumi offers his usual rounds of bows and blessings, before turning his attention to the pair of Seekers. He mostly manages to remain straight faced, but as far as he's concerned, they're still partially responsible for what's effectively the destruction of a world.

Which is dashed as they get to the point.

"Find a memory in another bloody book?" There's a deep, deep sigh.

"I aught hath brought a few knights with me." Mutters the Burmecian, remembering the /last/ time all too well.

He didn't even get to burn the last one.

"So be ready for anything, and if the last one is something to go by, assume 'tis going to be utterly infuriating and life threatening. Right! I shan't think of not accompanying ye, need every bloody person in on the job for these things." Since it doesn't seem the book is right here, he simply taps his cane a bit.

A glance to Riva, he smiles. Thank /Faram/!

"Ah, ask and ye shall receive! The good Dame speaks truly, how /didst/ ye manage to lose a memory in a book?" A quirked brow.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    XChatrinelle clasps her hands, standing on the tips of her toes. She eagerly accepts the hug and returns it with such strength that one should not sanely have expected a girl of her petite proportions to possess. "Thank you thank you thank you!!" Squeeeeze! Eventually, though, she breaks away, folding her hands at her waist again. "I think your name was, um... Riiiiiva, right? Riva Banarki? Yes? No. Noooo, not Banarki, but I KNOW your first name was Riva. I KNOW that!" She balls her fists in some sort of odd determination. "Soorryyy, you would probably expect someone this old to have a better memory. Or a much worse memory... actually, I don't really know how that works. In fact, that may be how I lost this one. Maybe I just had so many that the big bank in the back of my head had to punt one out to fit a new one in and I ended up losing something important by accident."

    "But that's not important! ICE CREAM is a LOT more important!" She looks like she's about to pounce Riva and steal hers before she remembers that she can just conjure one for herself. She does so, conjuring a triple scoop stack of vanilla, strawberry, and mint (that's going vertically, bottom to top). She then promptly creates a massive tub of sprinkles which she outright dumps on to the top of her freshly made confection, allowing countless many of the excess to scatter about the tile floor. Mizuki holds her forehead in exasperation. She'll... she'll clean that up later.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur Lowell is here! As ever, he sticks to the modes of movement that are befitting for an RPG protagonist, which is to say, a mix of walking around and floating around at ground level, seeming relaxed or even reclining quite often. He doesn't do much fast travel, preferring to take in the sights and drift just over the heads of the muted humanoids of this world. "HEH." He says, when he eventually does get to Mizuki. "I remember when this place was a GRAVEYARD! Back when it was full of BAD EXPERIMENTS that went HELLA WRONG." He sighs nostalgically. "MAN, got some SYMBOLISM in the place bein' ALIVE now."

    Then he pumps a fist aggressively. "SHIT YEAH I'll help! Done enough TESTING of how I am with MINI-DIMENSIONS, ain't gonna have another BOOK OF HEAVEN go on." And then he's hassling Riva! "Eh, sometimes you don't NEED PEOPLE, y'just need WORDS. People got a LOT OF NEEDS, yo. Sometimes a GOOD BOOK can be good as a DOZEN BEST FRIENDS, y'know?" Looks like he's at least keeping a little of the usual brashness this time, but it probably will reel back a lot. It already is, for the content, in fact.

    He's really glad Lillian isn't here... But Sutri is given a little distance. He's not so sure he knows where he stands with her, but he keeps away. He answers Faruja's question like he has any goddamn idea what he's talking about, which he absolutely doesn't. "Hey, MEMORIES are what MAKE US, bro. Ain't you ever LOST YOURSELF a lil' in a BOOK?" He gives a dumb grin. "They give US a buncha MEMORIES, surprised THIS ONE'S the first one to make that less of a ONE WAY STREET."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa had sadly not been to Mizuki's world in a very long time, family issues had kept her attention somewhere else as of late. Along with her general work before that yet when asked she was quick to respond. She arrived and had sprouted the metal wings she's grown fond of having when she was here but other than that she remains unchangedm, she does seem to be in good spirits all things considered as she arrive.

"It's been a while."

She now listens to what Mizuki has to say and she nods to Chartrinelle for a moment. She's getting an idea of what they need to do but this sounds like it will be a wild ride and then some. She also sees several friends whom she's not seen in a long timr. Riva and Faruja to be exact.

"Riva, Faruja it's good to see you both and ..."

Enter the Arthur! With all his glory and well being big epic and attention grabbing.

"I get it without our memories what are we but empty shells? No problem Chatrinelle we got this."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Speaking of knights and helping hands, an ominous sound begins to reverberate through the library: footsteps. Footsteps that sound as though they've been generated by a several stories tall, ghastly automaton break the sacred silence of the area accompanied by the telltale metal clank of armor. Each step comes slowly, one after the other, until finally it sounds close enough to touch. The vibrations can be felt with bloodcurdling vibrations that only worsen with proximity, but soon enough none need wonder of their source. To the immediate left of the fountain appears what appears to be a suit of armor given light, red sparks - eyes - glinting from deep within the helm. It locks its eyes on Faruja before, without any warning, it charges the rat-priest. It stretches its arms out wide as if to compress his form into a singularity upon contact before --

    -- before its helmet flies back, revealing a bald skull and only the doofiest of smiles. "Oi, father senra! I missed ye somethin' terrible! Why'd you have to be gone so long, boss? Why you always gotta be gone so long?" He continues to quite literally squee the life out of poor Faruja for several moments before he finally backs off, at which time he points his thumb - er, or the thumb's constituent phalanges and metacarpals anyway - emphatically to his chest. "But I heard you mights be needin' a knight! If thas'so, then you gots me!"

    Charmed, I'm sure.

    As for the question of 'how it was lost', Chatrinelle gives that another moment of thought, affixing an inquisitive index finger to her lips briefly. Eventually, though, she only answers, "If I knew that, I don't think we would need to find the memory in the first place! Probably."

Staren has posed:
    Staren steps out of the warpgate, and does his usual shift-through-a-bunch-of-forms thing just because he can, then stretches, before shifting into Cait Sith mode and taking to the air. He flies faster, and faster... arbitrarily fast, really...

    Staren glides down to the library-city with bat wings sprouting from his back, finally diving down to the water fountain, "Mizuki!", flying around it, then braking just above the ground to land. The wings poof away. "Good to see you again. It's been too long. Everyone, good to see you as well!" He looks at the other two. He didn't go back in time, himself. "Who're your friends?" He tilts his head briefly, then extends a hand to them. "I'm Staren."

    Once Mizuki briefs them, he blinks at her. "Of course we're willing to help! Why wouldn't we be? Although, I admit I am curious as ever how this all works. One of these days I need to study this place some more... a world like this might provide some particular insight into the workings of the Multiverse. Things seem rather... conceptual," he holds up his arm and a simulacrum of Eureka appears on it, then poofs away, "here."

    Staren looks at the knight, thinking about his words. "Mmm. An interesting thought. So!" He folds his hands behind him and smiles at Mizuki, "What's the book about? Be good to have /some/ idea of what we're getting into."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki gives Arthur a small smile, if one that betrays a wince at his volume. One would think her very well adjusted to his shouts by now, but when one has been spending the past several hours (or days) in a place where there is explicitly no sound, the sudden shift can be a little jarring. Lacking raw physical filters for these sensations is something of a boon, though, so this pain should only come to her once. Yes, and then she can... remember to dampen her hearing whenever Arthur pipes up, or something. How did she do it before? Speaking of lost memories, she's having a spot of trouble with that recollection...

    That aside, though, his promise of aid is met with a slight widening of her grin. "As ever, thank you. As for those 'bad experiments gone horribly wrong', I don't quite know whether anyone in the Silent City, specifically, has become sapient as of yet. One would think it as viable here as it might be anywhere else, though I'm afraid... that they wouldn't be able to express their newfound enlightenment were they too attain it, given the mute nature of things. We might be able to identify such an individual through observing abnormal patterns of behavior, however; say, if someone actually attempted to interact with other residents of the city. And I do not know if they would /remain/ mute if they were to leave the boundaries of the Silent City, either. Hmmm... that might warrant some further investigation."

Faruja (152) has posed:
Kotone gets a smile. "Ahh, Lady Yamakawa, 'tis been quite some time! How art ye mine dea..."

Similarly, enter Arthur. Like the force of nature that he is, Faruja stands stunned for just a moment. At least until he's being hastled!

"W...well /yes/, but I always ensure a roll of duct tape 'lest one lose such precious things! 'Tis what Strawberry taught me at any rate." Cue a summoned roll of duct tape at the poor Seeker who's missing her memory.

"To be fair, quite a few banned books in Ivalice might be considered such thought thieves." Huff.

There's an ominous, horrible slow clanking of feet in armors. There's vibrations that should set Faruja's fur on end, and burning sparks of the Abyss!

It charges Faruja! IS HE TO BE CRUSHED BY AN IRON GOLEM DEMON!?!?

WHUMP! Right into those arms goes Faruja, his ribs audibly creaking alongside his armor as he's hugged!

"Dear..Lord...SER BORIS!" Somehow, despite the horrible agony in his voice, he's hugging back, and grinning.

"H...how art ye mine dear Ser! Oh, ye know how 'tis! Bloody...oh Faram that was my liver...heretics, political backstabbing, Crusades to be led...busy life for we of the Faith! But look at ye! A proper Templar!" Sort of.

And then he's down, on his knees, breathing and enjoying /air/.

"...A fair point. Still, with ye here, we art ensured victory! THREE of the faith together shall surely trounce whatever demons lay in wait! Come, Ser Boris, Dame Banari, let us show all whom stand before us the power of God and togetherness!" He throws his arms open emploringly to Riva and Boris. No, you're not getting out of this little bit of theatrics, Riva.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Staren, as well, gets a second look with his new form, but recognition dawns.

"Ye speak truly, Ser Staren! A bit of information upon what we art up against wouldst be lovely."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    For Kotone, Mizuki gives a small bow. "Hello, Kotone. Yes, it has been a while... though I believe I will be needing your help more regularly in the near future. So I may well be seeing more of you soon, if it pleases." She follows that statement up with a small smile before Chatrinelle chimes in with a series of wide, wide nods. "Mmhmm, mmhmm. I mean, ESPECIALLY us people. Us people who don't really have physicalities. If we didn't have memories, we probably wouldn't even LOOK the same, let alone act the same! Which actually makes me wonder if I'll look any different after this is over. Huh! ... now I'm kinda excited. And scared. Scarecited? Is scarecited a word?" She looks to Mizuki for confirmation. Mizuki is forced to return with a mournful shake of her head. Chatrinelle's cheeks puff up.

    "Rats." There's a moment of oblivious silence before she looks to Faruja and adds with a start, "O-Oh! N-No offense to you. Just an expression. A saying! A thing where I come from. I think. I'm pretty sure!" She flusters from side to side. "S-Sorry!"

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva seems to have no problems with the strength of Chatrinelle's hugs. Personal appearance means very little here. In Mizuki's world, it's the strength of the mind that rules. "You're close! Ba-na-/ri/." Riva says, tapping Chatrinelle on the nose in a cutesy way with a smile. "It's all good!" She draws back from pestering Chatrinelle and looks to Arthur, then, a wry smile crossing her features. "Hey, there you are, Arthur. I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away." She chuckles, and nods. "It's true. Sometimes people just need some space. I sure as hell don't judge, right? And you know /all about/ space." She laughs, as if she made a clever joke.

Kotone gets a wave. "Hey Kotone! And good to see you too, Faruja. You ready to dive down another rabbit hole? Because this one might just be super deep. Don't bump your head now."

When Faruja inevitably wants them to make some show of faith however, she gets a devious smile for a moment, and hangs back just slightly to let Boris join Faruja...

And then she dives in on the pair, yelling, "GROUP HUUUUG!" And squishes them together in a big hug, cackling.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    To Staren portents the contents of the novel, Mizuki seems to summon the novel into her hands, flipping it open to its index. She cups a hand over her mouth in contemplation briefly before concluding, "It's a bit varied. All of these stories seem to take place in the same world, but they're radically different thematically. It starts with the sacking of a city, then one of the subsequent anecdotes discusses the relationship between two friends and their seemingly mundane life in a certain city." With a grin, she offers, "Faruja may like this universe. It seems to be dominated by a global theocratic regime controlled by a living Goddess named 'Concordia'." ... wait. She looks to the name again, squinting. "... erm, really? Concordia? How very trite." Meh. She lets it slide with a slight rolling of her eyes.

    Staren whipping out Eureka does get a slight straightening of Mizuki's expression, though. "They are purely conceptual with some caveats, yes. And speaking of Abstractum..." She blinks several times in thought before shaking her head. "... no. I'll discuss my interests in Abstractum later, when they become more relevant. Suffice it to say, though, you're treading a line that might lead you to discover how I mean to attain some of my more earnest ambitions." For better or for worse.

Staren has posed:
    Staren shrugs, "Words are what people use, and reality, here, is more malleable than anywhere. I don't see why scarecited can't be a word if you want it to be.

    When Mizuki mentions the sacking of the city is how it /starts/, Staren's ears splay. Not a pleasant story then.

    When she says that Staren's treading a line, he looks concerned... then smiles wide when she says it's one she agrees with, and nods.

    "...I meant though, well, in part, what's the setting? If we're going to fit in, rather than standing out and distracting the story... would that change it? If the part where she lost her memories doesn't happen anymore, are they lost forever? Hmm... well, all the more reason. Is it fantasy?" Cait Sith outfit! "Pirates?" A bandanna on his head, one of those loosefitting shirts, pants with tall boots, "steampunk?" leather, brass, pointless cogs, goggles, "Or what?" he poofs back to normal. "Unless you think that going in as clear outsiders would work better..."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is glad to be with a group of people she's got experiance working with, this leaves her pretty happy to know she has an idea of what everyone can do. She pauses for a moment anx then she laughs at what she sees Sir Boris doing.

"Hello to you sir Boris as well!"

She looks to Mizuki and grins.

"I don't mind that at all if you need help my friend, I'm here to offer what aid I can. As for that you make a very good point, I can get that feeling even if there's no real word I know of for that. I felt the same way when I had to swap bodies for the first time since my conversion."

Riva was right it was time to dive into the rabbit hole wasn't it?

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "MAN, Mimi, tryin' to FIGURE IT OUT is EASY!" Arthur says, about that testing for their sapience. "Y'just gotta NOT TALK to 'em. Gotta CALL 'EM!" He grins at that, then bounces back to Riva. "HELL YEAH, you know I don't ditch a MIZUKI PROBLEM! I gotta keep an EYE ON HER. Make sure she doesn't get BORED too." He gives Mizuki herself a wink and some double fingerguns there.

    And then he's back to Mozuki too, making a vague gesture at Staren. "Figure this one has those PRE-ALLOCATED ROLES, like that one you TALKED TO US BEFORE about?" And he's noticing that little bit of distaste with the book. There's a smug grin there. "NOT LIKIN' the YOUNGER SELF'S writing?" He turns the smug grin into a dumb one, hollowing out the bit of ribbing he's doing.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Normally, Faruja might be irritated. But Chantrinelle has that curious power of Cute Girls everywhere to melt the heart.

"Ah...think naught of it, mine dear." She's so adorable! Even Faruja can't hold but so much of a grudge against her.

Hmph!

"One is /never/ ready for these things, Dame Banari. They sneak up upon ye and bite ye in the tail when ye least expect it."

And then Faruja is distracted.

Incoming Banari Missile! Ooomph! He goes down in a clatter of armor and robes, and then he's /scowling/ at Riva. For all of ten seconds, and he starts laughing as he attempts to tickle her ears and neck!

"Impious knave! Take THAT!" It seems that the presence of Riva and Arthur alike, has at least loosened up the stick in the rat's tail over time. He manages to hug back some time in between, looking both displeased and yet thoroughly happy. He'd deny it, of course, if asked.

Faruja does cross his arms a bit.

"We shall see how pious this world is, then." This is, of course, after he's managed to wiggle out from Boris and Riva!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Before the conversation can go to much further, Mizuki interjects. "Not to interrupt," She begins with a conversational, flattened palm, "but I fear we must get on with this whole endeavor lest we allow our conversation to usurp the evening. Boris and Chatrinelle both stand at attention after hearing as much, the first jumping to attention with a literal salute. "Err! Yes'm!" Similarly, Chatrinelle squeaks back a "Yes, boss lady!" The latter, though, is soon accosted by Riva. Likely due to the intervention of subjective logic, her nose literally squeaks like a toy when it's pressed by Riva after which Chatrinelle confusedly covers that portion of her face with both hands. She slowly looks to Riva with a growing blush before muttering, "I-I... actually... forgot that Insidia programmed my noise to make that nose. Er, nose to make that noise! Other way around, ehehehe..."

    She's swaying and looking at the floor again, poor thing.

    As for Mizuki, she doesn't waste any more time. With a flick of her fingers, the book in her hand flies into the air. It grows to four times its size before clapping down on to the ground with a mighty thud. A sanguine vortex opens up along the binding -- a portal that will likely serve as an access point to the world of the book. "I will be accompanying you this time," Mizuki says. "Fenestra will watch over the book in my absence, but I want to accompany you on this venture. I still know precious little about Chatrinelle and the others in the Celestial Library, and I believe this will be quite a lovely opportunity for all of us." She flashes a smile to Chatrinelle at that, which the latter reciprocates.

    For her part, though, Sutri breaks away from the wall in silence, keeping her eyes to the ground as she makes way for the book. She leaps inside without so much as a word, garnering a slightly concerned look from Chatrinelle. Soon after, though, she runs over to Riva, taking her hand. "I wanna go through with you! ... okay? Can I?" She cants her head slightly to one side as she requests permission. Mizuki, still smiling, makes her own way through the portal ahead of the others. The rest are left to follow at their own pace.

    What they find on the other side of the portal, however, is quite a grisly sight; the most immediate mental comparison might be the surprise attack on Stalingrad during World War II. That's to say, they emerge into the street of a city that has been reduced to cinders. One can barely make it out as much due to the miserable state of things, but based on the presence of abandoned carriages in the roads and cobblestone streets one might rightly assume that this realm predates a local equivalent of an industrial revolution by some years. Even a cursory look along the sides of the charred remains of buildings might be particularly distressing for Arthur: corpses. Fresh corpses of gaunt men and women sporadically dot the landscape, and many of them appear to have been lined up against these walls in execution drills. The most chilling of these demonstrations would likely be a deceased mother cradling a swaddled infant at the end of an immediately visible alleyway.

    As Mizuki sees this place, her look immediately becomes grim. She has little time to react, however, before a quintet of men in corrugated, crimson armor hoisting partisans spot her, and any others who appear with her. "Halt! This area has been quarantined, making your presence here illicit by article 49.7 of the Articles of Foundation. You will remain perfectly still with your hands raised. We will bind your hands and escort you where you may be brought before a tribunal to speak for yourselves. Beware, however, that any sudden movements will be interpreted as attempted violence and we will be authorized to use lethal force." With that, they immediately begin their advance in formation, four out front with one soldier in the back. The line they form obstructs passage through the street.

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods at Mizuki's suggestion. His coat becomes a robe, over a tunic and trousers and boots. A canvas cover is slipped over his bag, into which he places some things from his pockets -- laser pistol, tablet, spare comms device, beam saber hilt, you never know... and then he walks after Mizuki.

    He blanches a bit as they arrive amid slaughter and destruction. And then... Already they're being held up by the police. Staren slowly raises his hands, looking to Mizuki for any sign. Should they go along with this?

Staren has posed:
    Staren suddenly fakes a coughing fit, pulling a hand down to his mouth to cover it/ The rest of the party gets a knowing glance, and he gives the soldiers an apologetic look. His hand, now all coughed over, is wiped off on the hem of his robe... and then as it raises up past his bag, he reaches in, draws his laser pistol, and starts firing.

    It actually took Staren a moment to realize that they /didn't have ranged weapons/.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Into the book they trod, and almost immediately, Faruja smells things he'd rather forget. For a moment, he's looking over the faces of dead friends, the smell of water and fire and blood, then a knife in the back and a boot of an Alexandrian soldier kicking him around to face the second knife for his eye.

With a hacking cry, he falls to his knees, shaking his head and scowling. He looks around, swallowing the bile in his throat as he tries to compose himself.

Which is just in time, as there's men upon them.

Then Staren coughs, hunkers down, and blasts them.

From all appearances these men might have torched this town. Faruja offers all of his conjured-up hate to the men courtesy of the Alexandrians. Magic flares around him, and from a circle beside him, the burning form of Ifrit comes into being. The esper roars loudly, then stomps forward, fully intending on blasting them with fare and leaping down straight into the middle of their ranks, slashing and offering plenty of gouts of magical fire.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva giggles and laughs as Faruja valiantly fights back. "Someone's got to keep your feet on the ground while you're looking up at Heaven, you silly man." She chuckles again. "At least, while Ainsley isn't here anyway~" She lets Faruja go, and the nnods to Arthur as she stands. "Hell yeah, gotta hang together!" She fistpumps at that. "Boredon is the enemy of creativity!" Among other things.

The response of Chatrinelle's nose causes Riva to blink. "That's different!" Riva says, giving Chatrinelle another comforting snug before she lets her go with her nose further unsqueaked, though when Chatrinelle takes Riva's hand, she nods, holding on. "Everyhing will be cool." She assures her, before they enter the area...

The stench of burned buildings and the dead hits Riva like a hammer as they enter. She immediately freezes, looking around and taking in the horrifying scene with a narrow-eyed gaze. "Holy crap, this palce is a warzone." She says, before she freezes at the sound of the man barking at them.

She looks up, slowly, and looks over at the group, as it looking for a signal of some kind. It's when Staren starts firing that Riva's hands dive into her coar and she pulls her own guns, spraying the troops with Anima bullets from her MP5s. They don't have time for bureaucrazy and inquisitions.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa gets a bit of heads up over the world and her body starts to change, she becomes more visably doll like with the joins, the parts, her mouth, her eyes everything's changing looking more clockwork focused she's not even hiding her nature she's still clearly Kotone but Kotone the clockwork doll from the looks of her new form. She takes a moment to look her self over and seems pleased with it.

At present, she is clad in a set of midnight blue overalls, backless with shiny brass clasps and buttons, the legs going down to knee-length. The hem of the legs are designed to look like they go longer, but were rolled up. The overalls cling to her body, quite flattering to her curves. Underneath is a white t-shirt, a golden lyre on the back, framed by the straps of the overalls.

As for her legs, she wears a pair of black stockings, vanishing under the overalls as well as under the pair of sturdy brown leather boots, going just halfway up her lower legs. She may also be wearing a pair of goggles with black elastic strap and framed with black rubber for protection. She seems happy enough adjusts her goggles nd move to follow with that she heads into the portal, the moment she strides through they are intercepted however she does seem like she's going to comply but then she moves with inhuman speed with the intention to escape and get to work.

"I'm sorry I can not follow those orders at this time."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur sticks to the godly robes. That looks archaic enough, right? He slips on into the book, casually, and with that friendly sort of way. And then... He never handles corpses well. They're completely fictional, sure, and not real in any way, but as soon as he's inside the book, he's getting very pale, and looking incredibly agitated, taking short, stressed breaths. "Shit." he mutters. "Shit. Shit." He continues swearing under his breath, but it's not the fun, brash, bold kind he likes, he's just incredibly stressed out for a moment. A disgusting display like this hits him hard, and so he's unable to engage the encroaching men in combat.

    He puts his hand to his mouth, biting back a wave of revulsion, and starts trying to get away from here. An area with fewer corpses means more people. That is, more people without weapons or hostile intent. He tells himself that he's mostly just going to try to advance the 'plot' by locating characters who won't attack them, but he really just can't handle the corpses right now.

    As per the norm, exposure to gore causes some severe issues for channeling his magic. Where he was floating before, he clomps down onto the ashy streets, unable to maintain his floating while he scrambles towards whatever area does not have corpses, and seems, in some fashion, to be an exit to the opening location. Alleyways, side streets, whatever seems to draw the narrative...

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "Finally."

    Sutri holds a hand aloft at her side, and a scythe one-and-a-half times her height comes into being there. She grasps its handle firmly before leaping forward toward the first soldier Staren had shot with his pistol. Staren's fire had, through successive blasts, quite literally burned a hole into the guard's armor, and then into his flesh. Sutri exploits this opening in the armor to brutally sideswipe the man, cleaving her scythe straight through his torso, then breaking the steel on the other side. With a twirl, she quite literally leaps into the air and then spikes him into the ground, dematerializing her scythe if only for an instant so that she won't have to go through the trouble of retrieving it manually.

    All of this happens far too quickly for the guards to respond. Though the guard to the immediate right fumbles to break into a fighting stance, then a run, but he's immediately blown back by the roaring hellfire that comes from Ifrit's summoning. His armor melts away, then his flesh, quite literally leaving a charred skeleton to fall against the ground in ashen silence. Chatrinelle clings to Riva at the sight whilst the remaining guards wisely bear their shields - which are evidently more resilient to high temperatures than their armor - allowing them to better survive Ifrit's blast.

    Still, this does not mean those beyond the shields go untouched. Small holes are left in the soldiers' armor, in many cases exposing the softer chainmail mesh underneath. This makes it extremely easy for Riva's bullets to bear into and fell a third guard, leaving only two standing.

    This provides ample time for Chatrinelle, Arthur, and Kotone to escape to a sidestreet sandwiched between two more intact buildings. Mercifully, this does mean that they encounter fewer bodies on their way, though there are still bonfires of fallen rafters and searing barrels scattered along the path. This generates no small amount of smoke that will likely hinder their vision as they make way, but it certainly isn't anything that they can't handle. At the end of that path, they happen upon a door that is conspicuously locked. If this is a locked door that has yet to be beaten inwards, there may yet be someone alive inside. Probably a good place to start looking.

    In the end, though, the captain at the back of the line and one of his subordinates are left standing. "Retreat, Clairmont, and report this intrusion to headquarters. I will hold them here." The other soldier nods his agreement, attempting to quickly make his way out of the street in question. The 'captain', for his part, spikes his lance into the ground, creating a linear, cyan barrier that will attempt to block any fire that attempts to reach him or his underling. Seems he's under no mistaken impression that he's going to win this, and unfortunately he isn't a fool.

    Still, it's not likely to matter. For her part, Mizuki simply leaves, following after Arthur's and Kotone's trail.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja smiles, an oddly bloodthirsty one as the 'oppressors' that no doubt caused all this are mostly slain. It's cathartic, even after his home's reclaiming.

But then the squad leader proves slightly more resilient, and it seems, magical in nature. The Burmecian simply sighs, pulls out a pocket watch, and crushes it!

The world awashes in grey monotones in the area as time ceases to move. Fire pauses mid flicker, and perhaps even scents seem to cease.

"Dame Banari, Ser Staren, feel free to take care of our dear Captain."

Faruja draws his cane-sword and flamethrower after dismissing Ifrit, and walks up to the soldier if he doesn't seem to move.

And then proceeds to shove the barrel of his Blaze Gun down the poor man's throat, and pull the trigger. Only /after/ the rest of the group attacks does he snap his fingers, and time returns to motion.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Though the magical veil seems to block projectiles, there is naught that it can do against a combination of magic that pauses time and someone who walks directly through it, it seems. As such, Faruja is given free reign to approach the fleeing soldier. He fires off a round of his Blaze Gun and the shot passes through the man's skull without any perceptible effect. When time begins again, however, his head is incinerated in much the same manner as another soldier's body had been when Ifrit first appeared. The rest of his body is left however morosely intact, allowing it to fall lifeless against the ground. It's a small mercy that a cuff of iron remains there with a melted over iteration of the helmet to obscure the stump that must remain where his neck once was.

    No reinforcements shall come this day.

Staren has posed:
    Faruja and even /Arthur/ have a more extreme reaction to the scene of mass death than Staren does. Staren's not sure what to think of that. Is something wrong with him? The fight is quickly over.

    Staren is surprised at the relative resilience of their armor, and the existance of the forcefield. He fires at the underling, but the shield blocks it. And then Faruja stops time. Staren winces as he sees what Faruja's doing, and approaches the captain. "Hmh. You're a good soldier. I dunno if it's a good or a bad thing that you're only an NPC." Staren steps back out of splatter distance and blasts the captain's head with a carefully aimed shot. Then he looks away, and then Staren turns and runs after Mizuki.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva intentionally shields Chatrinelle with her own body as the battle goes quick and dirty, and before they know it, there's only 2 left. Riva frowns as she sees the man get ordered to retreat, andwith a sudden motion, she tries to fire at the other soldier before he can get away.

Unfortunately, the captain was expecting that, and the bullets splat against the barrier, drawing a muttered groan of irritation from Riva.

Her attention turns to the captain, which is probably for the best since she might have gaped at what Faruja was pulling. She leaps forward and kickslides across the ground through the intervening distance as she hurls herself closer to the Captain, before kickflipping into the air and trying to knock him off balance to create an opening for a finishing salvo from her guns, possibly trying to a juggle combo with Staren.

After the captain falls, Riva checks the man over quickly for any signs of identification or orders or other possibly useful documentation, and then turns to rush after the others, a sick expression on her face. "I hate this place already." Riva mutters.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur is disoriented. He actually bumps into one of those ashy building walls, staggering through the smoke, but he eventually, uh, essentially headbutts the door in a daze. "Augh!" He turns back to the sound of gunfire, trying to brush the smoke and soot out of his eyes, before he raps at the door. Not the coolkid kind of rapping, the kind where he sort of flails his knuckles in its direction. "H-hey! Is there anyone in there? We need to get off the streets, there's too much fire and we nearly got caught...! Please!"

    He's basically going to keep mashing the INTERACT button on it, so to speak, until he gets a response. This may escalate to body-checking the door with his shoulder, which may knock it down, but he's not nearly mustering all his mangrit so soon after getting an eyeful of corpses, so in this case even Kotone outpowers him for sheer door-busting power.

    More polite to knock first though.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Staren and Riva's swift one-two is everything it needs to be. He vaults forward after Riva achieves impact, quite literally throwing him into Staren's fire such that, afterwards, Staren will likely have to move out of the way to avoid being caught underneath his falling body. The magical barrier dissipates soon after with the knight polearm still spike in the ground. Though he's very obviously been dealt a fatal wound, it seems that no shots directly impacted his brain on account of his fall angle -- rather, several flew to puncture his heart and lungs whilst only a few tore through his face. This gives him the energy to weakly turn himself over on to his back, and to matter a few dying words: "... they said this atrocity was the will of the Goddess... but fain would I know to be cautious of their lies. Please, you..." He coughs up blood. "... I know not who you are or from whence you come, but if you have any goodness in you, you must learn the truth. The people must know if this is truly the will of Concordia, or... or if the Theocracy have finally made moves to usurp her."

    And with that his head slumps over to one side, lifeless. The reason why he did not simply state his reservations is, as so many other things, lost with him.

    For her part, Riva will have to look a while before she finds any form of identification. She finds a key card - a key card? something so modern? - hidden beneath his helmet, oddly enough. She also finds a scroll bearing marching orders tucked in one of the satchels tied around his waist. These may be helpful later.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is not intending to kill them she does not know what they are really she always twitches a little bit about a place like this. She's however on the move now, and there's no looking back. What is reality? Given while she's still a creature of matter? She's less bound to the material plain than some others might be. So he's making away with the others as they escape down the side street. she keeps moving making all sorts of clockwork noises as she goes. She's really gone to play the part full cloth it seems.

She pulls her goggles down and keeps on going. She'll wait for him to knock and if it works she'll be glad she didn't have to help smash the door down.

"We need somewhere to go please! We're going to be fed to the wolves if we're left out here!"

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja sighs, turning away from the violence as it ends. He looks to Riva, shaking his head.

"Torched cities with lingering enemy soldiers /never/ end well for anyone trapped in them. Steel thy nerves, hmm?" A quick pat on the shoulders.

Faruja does peer at the Captain as he does, sighing, and kneeling before him. He crosses his chest, lays a cross on the other man's chest, and closes his eyes. He's not entirely heartless, after all.

Then he nods to the others.

"Come. 'Tis quite obvious there is Heresy afoot!"

Riva Banari has posed:
RIVA GAINS MISSION EQUIPMENT: KEY CARD AND MARCHING ORDERS.

Riva takes a moment to stare at the captain as he gives his last words, and she closes her eyes and sighs. "This feels wrong." She says simply, as she turns away. The man is dead, there's nothing else she can do.

It hurts less if she keeps telling herself that.

"I hate this place already." She mutters to herself, running to try to catch up to Arthur and the others. Faruja gets a nod from Riva, though it's clear from the look on her face she still has a ways to go before her nerves could be called steel. Maybe 'balsawood' or 'paper mache'.

As soon as she gets a chance, she'll check the keycard and orders in more detail. Are there any identifying marks on the card? What do the orders say? Who issued them?

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The only response Arthur hears from beyond the door is the clinking of armor at first, but then he hears muffled screams. There's probably someone - or maybe even a group of people - bound and gagged inside. Whomever makes this sound cries out soon after, however, following the loud crack of a firearm. Now... now firearms? But before this world seemed so archaic. This seems to garner an incredibly substantive reaction from Chatrinelle, however, whose face goes pale in stark realization. "I remember," She mutters. She says nothing more to clarify this before she hugs herself and, in the next instant, without any fanfare whatsoever, an entirely different person is standing where she once did. She's bearing a sword and wears her hair in a long ponytail behind her back. Her expression bespeaks a certain maturity entirely foreign to Chatrinelle's countenance.

    This person, whomever or whatever they are, wastes no time. She delivers a quick roundhouse quick to the door, knocking it down. Two soldiers on the interior point gauntlets clad in some devices that are presumably capable of firing bullets at her. Each soldier fires, and both shots are deftly deflects with the blade. In the next instant she has raised her right hand - the hand not bearing the sword - to face them. Streams of red mixed with pitch flow in-between this hand and both soldiers until, suddenly, both of them simply collapse. She closes this fist tightly once she has done... whatever it is she has done, allowing her hand to fall idly to her side.

    In the end, she turns to face Arthur and Kotone. "I am not Chatrinelle," She says, curtly. "Chatrilaine. I'll clarify as we progress." Not a second later, Sutri hangs the corner. Anyone in the vicinity at that moment is privy to an incredible rarity: her smile.

    "Ch-Chatrilaine!" Sutri says the name with a certain innocent, even childlike excitement. Chatrilaine reciprocates the expression.

    "It's good to see you, too, Sutri."

    Whilst these two have their reunion, Arthur and any others would likely note the presence of two children, one with brown hair and the other with a sort of tinted red-auburn hue. Both of them are in tears, likely on account of the dead person beside them.

    It looks to be their father. His forehead has been pierced by a bullet.

Staren has posed:
    Staren stops to glance back at the captain as he speaks. That was... ominous. Also interesting. He's not sure how much it will matter to their /real/ mission, though. Staren joins the others at the door. "I'm less worried about wolves than soldiers. The guy in charge back there... with his dying breath... said the government might be usurping the goddess's control."

    Staren stops pacing. "Ugh, we need to find the object that leads to the next section! We can't get caught up in this. It's a /story/! It never /happened/! ...Or if it did, it's over now."

    There's a sound from inside. Gunfire? Staren raises his weapon to the door, but then Chatrinelle...

    Changes.

    Chatrilaine takes charge. "...It suddenly occurs to me... What if you lost your memory on purpose? What if... you /wanted/ to forget whatever it was? ...I guess we can't be sure."

    Staren's eyes fall on the children. He looks away.

    This is /just a story/.

    Staren clenches his fists.

    They're not /real/.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Chatrilaine's response to Staren comes seamlessly: "Many Seekers would prefer to forget their pasts." Frank as possible. "It's for precisely this reason that we're made to remember. People learn through suffering pain. Joy can be felt relative to times of dullness or strife. We would forsake these things with the first chance we were given, which is why these are the things we are forced to keep within ourselves." She shakes her head faintly. "This is simply an unfortunate facet of human psychology. Something that we as a group are trying to amend, but I will allow Mizuki to explore the specifics of that issue." As for his insistence to himself that this is just a story, she mournfully looks to the pair of children. "Perhaps not as much of a fantasy as you might think," She says. "Your concern may yet be warranted."

    As for advancing through the book, Chatrilaine begins to look around, and eventually she happens upon an ornate urn decorate with gemstones around the opening at its top. Looking at it causes one's eyes to blur; for another place, another time to overlap with this one. This is to say nothing of the more blatant black aura that wafts from the thing. Chatrilaine gestures to this object. "I believe this might be what you're looking for."

    Really doesn't like messing around, it seems.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Suddenly, a shift, and both the world and Chantrinelle has changed. From a mere girl, to a warrior! Faruja stays back as she kicks down the door, watching as she takes care of the soldiers.

He looks upon her with mixed respect and wariness. Could she be a Dark Knight of some form? He's never felt comfortable around such sorts. But he has no proof right now.

He turns away from the reunion, to the two children. He sighs. Nothing to be done, but offer a few priestly rites, and then throw an extra robe over the man. Another cross. A glance to the children, then Arthur.

He leaves them to Arthur. He seems far better than him at kids, then walks over to Sutri and Chatrilaine.

"After ye, Ladies." A few moments, he casts Haste on the pair.

Staren has posed:
    Staren looks to Chatrilaine and nods. "Good point. I guess this means your vacation's almost over. I hope it was good." Staren approaches the vase, reaches out to touch it, but his hand stops a couple of inches away. He looks at Chatrilaine curiously. "How old are you? Or has it been so long that any number of years has been lost to the mists of time?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Chatrilaine gives Staren a small smile. "'Vacation'." Then after a pause, "Apt phrasing. But yes, I suppose it is." As to the question of her age, she simply shrugs. "I've no very good idea, to be honest. I would assume that it's been some quarter billion years for me now, but we all have devices for... for making it seem far less long. We can relinquish certain memories to Silent Night to 'free space' which often makes it feel as though years have been shaved from our lives. In a positive way. So mentally I am likely only one thousand-some."

Staren has posed:
    Staren manages to only give a /small/ gasp at the number Chatrilaine gives.

    He mutters, "I guess that's reassuring..." and reaches out to touch the vase.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Let's see what's behind Door Number One! A fresh corpse. Arthur nearly stress vomits on the spot from what just happened. However, Chatrilaine(!!!) takes the stage as bombastic hero of the story, which is really good, because Arthur can't be /near/ anything like that right now. He shifts, very quickly, into a supporting role. When she speaks, he does too. It's like an aside, an 'OOC' discussion. "Only thing that lets you feel the human condition. Needs pain to make it work. Otherwise you disconnect." He mutters. Then he's heading for the kids.

    There's a nod to Faruja. He can handle this. These may be NPCs, but Arthur absolutely refuses to compromise on his principles, even in a context where those principles don't really matter. He heads to the kids, kneels by them, and works on untying or ungagging them, as appropriate. They sounded like that before, right? He's going to do what he can to comfort them too.

    "Hey. Hey, listen, those awful guys can't hurt you any more. Chatrilaine's got you, now you'll be fine. Your dad's hurt a bit badly but everything's going to be okay. We need to give him space, alright? Everything's going to be okay. You're going to be safe." Absolutely all of his faux confidence is gone from the voice. He's very mature and legitimately comforting in his mannerisms here. Because fuck you if you think being cool is worth more than childhood trauma mitigation. He works on getting them up and getting them to follow the dramatically-introduced hero. Someone else can go after the urn, of course.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva skids into the area just in time to see the real person behind the little girl.

Or is it? Riva frowns, sighing to herself. Self-identity is a precarious thing in this universe, easily damaged or twisted. There is a shudder as she thinks back to what happened with...

No. She shakes her head, and suppresses a shudder in herself as she looks up. Chatrilaine isn't going to need her protection anymore, anyway. Not like this. "Hi there." Riva says, walking in and looking over the people present and the results of the conflict. By her grimace, it's clear she likes this situation just about as much as Arthur does.

With a quick move, she turns away from the gore to help Arthur with the kid-prisoners, giving Arthur a suppoering squeeze on the shoulder. He's doing everything she thinks needs to be done, no need to foul things up by adding more cooks to the kitchen.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa gets lucky as she doesn't seem to have to kick the door down, the clockwork construct seems happy about this as she pushes her goggles back up into her blue wire hair and then someone jumps in kicks down the door and things just get nuts.

"Whelp..."

She's going in now to make sure there's nothing else here that might be an issue.

"That was unexpected I ..."

She sees the kids and goes to do what she can to try and comford them, but how do you do that when they seen a parent killed."

She gets that without pain how do you know when things are good? Arthur does his thing but she will follow up and she makes sure she can stay as true to things as she can.

"Your safe now we'll make sure your father's okay, all right? I'm Kotone."

She will hug the kids if they will let her.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja lets the others deal with the children, and their grief. Instead, Faruja is over to that urn after tossing the others a chest-crossing of luck.

Faruja almost chokes upon noticing the gems, as his vision swims, and he very nearly loses his lunch.

"Bah! This...this urn is TAINTED!" Comes Faruja, regaining his good old zealous tones after it all. It's something to focus on, other than a newly orphaned family.

"Either destroy the bloody thing, or do what ye must. But whatever is contained within hath nay good intent I wager!"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The brown-haired girl absolutely cannot take her eyes off of her father's corpse. She continually nudges it as if pleading for some response, but nothing ever comes. This makes the red-haired girl much more receptive to Arthur's words of comfort. She tries to stifle her tears, to wear a brave face, but at the same time she leans in to give the godchild a firm hug. Tears stream down her face until they land on the sleeves of his robes and warm his skin, but after she has embraced him, she makes not a sound. The brown-haired girl, too, eventually falls quiet, her eyes misted over from all her wailing. Her eyes only break from the corpse when Riva approaches, at which point she instinctively moves to hug her, too. Kotone completes the circle by offering both girls a hug of their own, and so the entire group is locked in this position for some time.

    Though it's not to last. The moment Staren's finger lands against the urn, a wave of gray washes out from the thing; in truth, it's a phenomenon eerily reminiscent of how white overtook the districts after the numbers were retrieved. Everything this wave touches seems to pause in time. First it washes over flames that cease to crackle; then the wind in the room ceases to blow; and finally, inevitably, the children cease to move. Still hugging Arthur, Riva, and Kotone, all of the children are caught in a temporal slipstream. To make things all the more hollow, their bodies also become incorporeal, and in the last moments before the word quite literally cracks and washes away, they can't even touch their young charges. It is a mournful departure, though, something that Mizuki and Chatrilaine observe in solemn silence.

    Soon after the world 'cracks', however, a new image comes into view. The group fades into existence before a fireplace upon which the very same urn, now free of its 'malignant aura', now rests. Mounted above that hearth is also an ornate painting captured in a pure golden frame depicting a kindly, aged woman with her hands folded in her lap, and her eyes pointed outward toward a large garden beyond three tall, expansive windows. This room is constructed with a floor so wide and a ceiling so high that it could not rightly be anything but a noble house, and the fact that the group is now in a place of privilege is only too obvious.

    Before they can get their bearings in earnest, however, two children emerge from the garden. One wears their long, red hair in a ponytail whilst the other, pulling her sister along by the hand, wears her long, free, and brown. They seem to be racing off toward some mischief, but they stop in their tracks when they see the group. They keep their grasp on eachother's hands, but the brunette girl outright drops a plush animal that she had been holding. Their eyes bespeak Knowing. Their essences bleed Familiarity.

    Many years later, it seems, it's them.

Staren has posed:
    Staren looks around their new surroundings. This mission has become frustrating. They need to find the blasted memories and get out. His tail lashes in annoyance.

    And there are the children. Older now. Well, looks like their lives improved. So they must be the true focus of the story.

    And then the children /recognize the group/.

    Staren stares at them in realization and horror. How is that possible? This is just a story, they can't really /change/ it, can they? /Affect/ it?

    Is whatever magic or... reality mechanics that make this world work, actually simulating entire people? A simulated person is the same as a person, of course.

    Which would mean they're real people.

    And he refused to help them.

    Staren looks between the girls and his allies. Someone please tell him what he's thinking is wrong, just a guess, he doesn't actually know how all this works...

Faruja (152) has posed:
Through the slipstream of time they go, and into the far, far more comfortable spot of a warm fireplace. That urn, far less ominous, has Faruja letting out a deep sigh and falling upon his tail.

"...Dear Lord, Lady Mizuki, cultists, Heretics, political maneuvering, 'tis all a walk in the park compared to the memories of the worlds ye hath drawn to thee. Dame Banari, kindly assist me in a calming hobby when we are through with this." Mutters the rat, exasperated. He's seen one dieing city with too many tragedies too many. And two atop it?

And then the two children appear, and the rat shoves himself up, and he's smiling. A deep, deep bow.

"The Lo...ahem, 'Goddess' blessings, my Children." He offers to the pair. Those who know him might notice an extremely annoyed twitch at speaking the name of some other so-called deity.

Mizuki now owes him a drink.

Riva Banari has posed:
You can do a lot with a hug. Say hello. Give joy. Tell someone you care. Apologize. A hundred other things. There's a reason why the hug is a cornerstone of Riva's social repetoire, and not just because she's a tactile person.

but most importantly, it's a way to help share in someone's sorrow, to try to take some of that infinite burden off of their heart and maybe, for a little bit, help them live a little more easily.

But it's never enough, and it never lasts. This is puncutated as the world washes out around them, and Riva silently accepts the necessity. No matter how long they stayed, there would be no way for them to give them the help they needed. Not like this. Not how it is now.

When they reach thir next destination, Riva looks around, trying to take in the environment in the manner that she always seems to, trying to feel the area and understand it. But before he has much of a chance, the children arrive. Older, perhaps happier, perhaps not. It's hard to tell on the surface. But despite seeing the tragedy not moments ago, Riva puts on a smile and waves to the children. "Hi there." She says, simply. "Nice to see you again."

She looks over to Faruja as he beseeches her, and she chuckles. "Not for lack of trying, Faruja. Not for lack of trying~" She says with a teasing tone.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur gives Riva a nod, appreciative and grateful for her help in dealing with these two. And he wraps an arm around the brunette too, making sure to provide as much comfort as possible. This is helped a lot by having the softest robes possible. Seriously, they are magically comfortable.

    And then everything cracks, and they fade away. And Arthur is okay with that. He'd like to settle things more, but honestly, he probably doesn't need to. A gesture is enough sometimes. As he stands up, he takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm his gut down and get himself sorted out. Once he does, he looks up properly, smiling. Grinning wide, in fact! "HEYA." He says, doing his best to muster an old sense of confidence. "How're YOU TWO doin'?"

    He gives a glance to Staren, and his look is like an 'out of character' aside again. "Every choice matters, man. Always make sure you don't just decide something doesn't count. Otherwise, it suddenly does sometimes." And he also gives a quick grin to Faruja. "Hey, that's the point of some stories. Give you a clear enemy, a really obvious, unambiguous antagonist, and you can just deal with 'em."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa does what she can for the kids it's not much but it is something, she would intend to tell them the truth once they'd had time to recover. She thinks back to when she first woke up after the surgery in a bod of plastic and metal. It took a lot to get used to and she's still getting used to a lot of things. She recall the effect she pauses as everything goes silent the worlds goes grey. The children fade with the rest of the world while still in care of Riva, Arthur and herself. The world crazks and now it seems times have changed a good deal as they are now in a new era of some point she gets her footing again and looks to the children.

"Hello again."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    In his apprehension, Staren would feel a squeeze at his shoulder. Chatrilaine has lain her hand there in some feat of either precognition or eminent social awareness, but whatever device she may be utilizing, the sentiment is the same: she's trying to comfort him. It's unclear if she knows exactly what he's thinking, quite, but it's clear enough that she knows he's conflicted. She offers no words to clarify as much, though -- she only keeps her hand on his shoulder as long as she is allowed to. It may also be worth mentioning that she has been careful to hide her sword whilst they are in this home. In fact, had she... had she sheathed her sword before they came here, or...? No. No, and even if she did, that doesn't necessarily mean anything, does it?

    For a moment, Mizuki is silent in her appraisal of Faruja's words. When she does eventually speak, however, she does so thusly: "I suppose there is no point in concealing the fact that all Seekers were born originally into lives of incredible hardship. Sutri, Insidia, Chatrinelle, Chatrilaine... not a one of them, I'm sure, is here because their lives before coming to the Quiet World were easy. Laurel, for instance, war born the daughter of an alcoholic lawyer who accidentally paralyzed her in a fit of rage. It is not by coincidence that all the worlds I've taken you to are... tonally morose." She shakes her head faintly. "That said, it is not exactly fair to subject the lot of you to these stories when you already have your own tragedies and burdens to weigh. It is more my lot to keep watch over these things, really: I have less to preoccupy me otherwise, like hunger and thirst, so it is more reasonable that I measure their woes. That said, I am still grateful to have you here. This business is far easier in the company of friends."

    But then Riva, Arthur, Faruja, and Kotone approach the girls in earnest. The brown-haired girl actually has to rub her eyes a bit to be sure of what she's seeing. She eventually asides to her partner to ask, haphazardly, "A-Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" To which the red-haired girl can only nod dumbly, perhaps muttering a 'Y-Yeah,' in supplement. Their advance slows considerably, and as everyone makes their greetings, the girls creep closer to the group only-so-gradually. The brunette may manage a tiny waves of her own in reply, but no more.

    "A-Ahehe... y-you don't have to say 'Goddess this' and 'Goddess that' here. I mean, we're believers here, but..." She fumbles with her words, poking her fingers together. The redhead picks up for her here: "We're not going to report you to the police if you don't greet us a certain way, so don't stress it." To Riva, though, the redhead gives a small nod and a smile. "... it's good to see you again, too. It seemed like you just disappeared back then. We honestly thought you all might've been angels sent to save us or something. And now that you're just suddenly here again, with no warning, we..." And then it's the brunette's turn. "Now we think it might really be true." Then, though, comes the blaring foghorn of Arthur's voice. The brunette quite literally darts behind her counterpart with the sound, garnering a laugh from the latter who affectionately pats her head to comfort her. "H-Hi again," mutters the brown-haired one to Kotone and Arthur in reply. "I, um... we missed you. We really missed you!"

    Before any more conversation can transpire, however, a man with tightly curled brown hair and clad in Western formal attire comes rushing in, breathless. His eyes dart back and forth between the girls and the Multiversal group, but just when one might think he's about to report them to the police, he seems to decide that there's something much more pressing than random visitors.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "Y-Young masters," He says in address of the girls. "I-It's the missus. You must come quickly!"

    At that, the world abruptly falls into monochrome again. Mizuki's aloft hand would foretell of some intervention on her part. With eyes squeezed shut and a pained look on her face, she whispers, "... let us... let us go and return some time in the near future. Please."

    It seems she's had enough.

Staren has posed:
    Staren still gives Arthur a look like he's been punched in the gut. He feels the hand on his shoulder and looks at Chatrilaine. It didn't even occur to him that someone else might... say it's alright. Although, Chatrilaine isn't exactly saying that. Maybe she just wants him to calm down. He nods solemnly.

    And then he looks at the girls. Apologetically. Waiting for them to say something. Only they can forgive him, can't they? Or... Oh. These are the past selves of Sutri and Chatrilaine, aren't they? Maybe they can forgive too. Wait, they're not time traveling though. How... does this even work?

    It seems no forgiveness is forthcoming though, as time freezes. He looks at Mizuki. "You should have told me this wasn't just a storybook. You should have told us."

    He turns to walk out, then realizes there is no out until... Mizuki opens the way or something. So he just kind of stands there, eyes on the floor with his hands in the pockets of his robe.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "I didn't know." These three sullen words are all the response that Mizuki has for Staren. "I only learned as things progressed. Initially, though, I did not know."

    As for creating an 'out', Mizuki draws Aelinos and cleaves a gash in the air before herself. It opens a portal that displays the interior of Silent Night.

    She averts her eyes from Staren, but it seems likely that she's telling the truth.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "HEY, we missed YOU TWO kids TOO!" Arthur says, with a wide grin. "TRUST ME, you're not the FIRST CROWD to think I'm UNREAL." There's a wink there, and some double fingerguns. He looks like he's recovering a bit from that whole fiasco, getting a bit less pale. And then, interruptions! "Huh? Oh, uhhh... YEAH. Yeah, maybe it's better if we get outta here. Take a break. I was kind of..." He rubs his forehead. "Yeah, was gettin' a little too heavy for me there. Let's take a little break, I wanna... Chill out a while. Mind if I hang around your place a bit more, Mimi?" And he heads on out the threshold...

Staren has posed:
    Staren looks at Mizuki and nods. The anger goes out of his glare. As he approaches to go through the portal, he places a hand on Mizuki's shoulder. "It's alright. You didn't know. Arthur's right. I should have... known... to behave better." He walks through the portal solemnly.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "You are always welcome in my home, Arthur. And I... I could use the company as well. Please, stay as long as you like."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa nears the girls at this point she loojs the same as the last time the girls saw her that much is sure. She hears some things but she's focused on the girls. She's getting an idea of what's going on. She does seem to look both over for the moment seemingly trying to get an idea of what's going on.

"It's good to see you both appear to be well."

Then someone else comes rushing in.

Then it seems Mizuki has had enough for now this is painful she understand why and she falls back a little she understand it will be another time.

"I could use it and I may later may need to ask a favour of you Mizuki..."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva's eyes are a little wet as she hunches down next to the little girls. "An angel, huh? That sounds nice." She says with a smile that can't help but be a little sad on the edges. She's about to say more when the situation suddenly goes downhill and everything flashes monochrome once more. Riva looks back to Mizuki in surprise... And is quiet, nodding as Mizuki recommends they discharge and come back so they don't get a feels overload.

Hey, that's a thing with Riva, she can commisserate. She looks to Sutri and Chatrilaine, and arches an eyebrow at the pair, nodding. "Yeah. We'll come back. We'll definately be back."

At that, she heads out with the others.