3759/Seriously, TSAB Drones And Paperwork!

Seriously, TSAB Drones And Paperwork!
Date of Scene:	02 February 2016
Location:	Kawakami City
Synopsis:	Momoyo goes with Fate to the TSAB as an aide. During simulation training to burn off Momoyo's excess energy, Fate and Momoyo finally get into the argument that has been building all week long like a pressure cooker and find unexpected common ground. Kazuko shows up to pick up her sister after being lonely during her first week in the Union, but the conversation turns somewhat dark around her in ways she doesn't notice. Still, Momoyo and Fate part ways that night with a renewed understanding of one another after Fate finally unseals Momoyo's ki, convinced she's no longer quite as dangerous.
Cast of Characters:	306, 928, 942

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Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
The promised day has come! And Fate does live up to her word. After finishing a morning workout and getting cleaned up and dressed again, the blonde motioned Momoyo out to her car for the drive to Long Arch.

The drive is peaceful (which may disappoint her passenger) but at least it's fairly short! Before long, she pulls into Long Arch's parking lot and leads the way to the training grounds in the back. "The drones we use are real, but most of the terrain is holographic. It still feels solid, though." She waves vaguely in midair, and a keyboard and viewscreen pop into view. "I can set it for an old ruined city, unless you want anything in specific.."

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Momoyo was deathly bored, of course. Without having any Union identification, it took Fate filling out a bunch of paperwork marking Momoyo as an aide and filling out her personal details. She had slowly but surely come to adjust to the absolute quiet Fate's house offered when Fate, Nanoha and Vivio were gone... but she'd done everything from sleep on the couch upside-down to wander around a large amount of Mid-childa like they both knew she would despite having been told to stay within the house's environs. Mid-childa had a much lower crimerate than Kawakami City, so she found nothing interesting.

    Today she was dressed in the uniform fitted to all the sizes Fate finally found on her clothes. The fabric was comfortable, so she didn't have to break it in... but since she insisted on arguing about her hair before coming on-site, it was down and therefore she looked like a Japanese neanderthal woman. Towering over most of the TSAB and baffled by all the children running around in uniform, her red eyes intimidated many of the lower class mages. While Momoyo usually had an easy time making and keeping friends, while she was shadowing Fate she wasn't in the mood.

    Stepping into the arena, she looked a bit more excited as her interest was perked. She knew it was as much Fate measuring her abilities as anything. Other officers milled about nearby watching Fate and Momoyo... but Fate had Bardiche's combat data. She could tell within a very educated ballpark what Momoyo could handle while Sealed.

    For her part, she stood in the middle of the arena, waiting for it to widen out into the bombed out shell volunteered. "Just give me something to beat up." she replies, not thinking too hard about the fact that her opponents were going to be non-human.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Outside of the highly urbanized Cranagan, Midchilda has quite a lot of natural beauty. Even here, they're far enough from the capital that there are some beautiful forests just over the ridge.

There was some fussing over Momoyo's hair, though not as much her uniform... okay, there was at least a little fussing over that as well. The fact Momoyo was with Fate at least keeps most passersby from being too scared. They're used to Vita and Signum as well, after all.

"If you want to hit a wall to see how the terrain feels, don't hesitate. The ruins field was meant to be damaged." Fate taps a few more keys on her floating console, and several flashes of light can be seen randomly in the distance. "Drones spawned. Do you want to know their capabilities, or would you rather find out on your own?" Fate doesn't want to spoil if surprises are prefered.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "Don't bother." she replies, her hand rising up as she deals with the simulated wind. Like a scene out of an action movie, she stood amidst the ruins as she scanned the horizon. She didn't bother to seek cover, either.

    Walking through the landscape, she rubs her fingers over some of the charred remains and rubble, glancing over the sky. Because she didn't bring a Device she had very little way to tell she was in anything other than another city all of a sudden. In some ways it was the same as the Ring... and in others, much, much more advanced.

    After a moment she finds one of the buildings that is more or less intact... and begins hopping up the side of it here and there, both on the wall itself and the ledges to go climb to the very top. All the while, the simulation was collecting even more data to fill in Bardiche's gaps. However even some of the officers present looking over Fate's shoulder started to notice something very unnerving... Momoyo's speed and agility shouldn't be possible without much magic. By now they were used to the Multiverse no doubt, but they started to comment on things other than her looks.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
"I figured you might like to remain in the dark." A faint smile comes to Fate's lips as she sets the drones to autonomous mode. "Make sure you record it, Bardiche." ~Yes, Sir.~

Despite being holographic, the rubble does indeed feel real. If pushed too hard, some of it even crumbles. "Hmm..." Fate herself is a capable fighter even without magic or her Device, she just becomes even more so with Bardiche and her Barrier Jacket. Momoyo's speed doesn't surprise her too much, though she does turn to hush some of the onlookers. "I hope you don't mind if we talk while you're fighting. There are still some things I'm curious about."

It doesn't take long after Momoyo reaches the rooftop before the first of the drones arrives. It looks like a large floating cylinder, rounded on top and bottom. Panels slide open on the sides, and metallic tendrils extend outward, whipping toward Momoyo. the surprise? The tips have tasers.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Shaking her hand after trying to block one, she could ignore it by blocking faster, but it was easier to dodge. Even her head just moved as she weaved around the tentacles. When she was done examining it, she finally responded. "Yeah, go ahead. I bet you're gonna make these tougher, though."

    "Kawakami Style: Musou Seikenzuki!!!"

    She finally decked the thing with her cannonfire punch, just to see how much damage it would take. Punching it didn't seem to hurt her fist at all, though it was only the first drone.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
"I can increase the difficulty, if you'd like." That first one isn't very tough at all, really. The punch craters in its armor, and although it's still in the air, it wobbles and floats unsteadily. Those tendrils whip out again, electricity sparking from the ends.

A second, similar drone floats down from above not long after, aiding its fellow robot in the assault. Despite the fact that the tasers are nonlethal, they're incredibly strong, and the whipping tendrils are fast enough to shatter concrete, as a missed swing that hits the rooftop shows.

While Momoyo deals with those two, a beam of energy sizzles through the air in her direction, courtesy of a smaller drone hovering down to get the right angle for a second shot.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "Tch." she replies. "You had me cooped up in the house all week, I've got a lot of energy to burn off." She's finally forced to give up her footing on the roof, jumping off the collapsed building above the drones to smash an axe kick into one from above. "Kawakami-Ryu Ougi Ten no Tsui!!" she watches them spiral down toward the ground, ready if they survived the assault. "I shouldn't be surprised one of my punches won't completely down these things since you're mages." she replies, quickly scanning around for more drones. Even without her ability to heal herself, she was /aggressive/. "So... what did you want to ask me?"

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
"Oh? So the murmurings I heard about you gallavanting all over Cranagan and the forests nearby was someone else?" Fate sounds quite amused, though, and is probably teasing. "Mm hmm. The drones are pretty tough, but bigger ones are a little stronger." Case in point, as one of the drones explodes from being pummeled and sent crashing to the ground. A larger one, this one spherical, takes its place, firing another beam as it approaches.

"I've been trying to understand you these past several days, Miss Kawakami. I was hoping getting to see you fight again would help pin it down, but..." Fate pauses, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Why do you fight?"

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "Tch!" she didn't have time to protest, but she completely forgot that a high tech city would have non-intrusive surveillance. Or maybe it didn't cross her mind. Still, the forests didn't have anything for her to fight so she always came back frustrated.

    "Musou Seikenzuki Midareuchi!!!"

    There went those two dozen punches on the tougher drone, but she wasn't satisfied. Now that she had forced a jagged edge on the smooth drone, her fist punched /into/ the drone and she tried to rip it apart to test her strength. Because these were non-human opponents, she could be especially vicious. That is, until a stray laser catches her. "Ghhh~!!!" She simply got caught up in the moment and lost track of her surroundings. Quickly darting away after ripping out the drone's mainboard, she avoids the explosion and takes cover long enough to answer. "Isn't it simple??? I have a lot of energy. My parents failed the test to become the Kawakami Dojo Assistant Masters so they went on a journey to train and haven't been back for years. I've exceeded both of them..." she checks her wound, since she couldn't heal herself. Just a minor burn... but this drone exercise was a half-assed test of her defensive skills as well after all. Mages didn't constantly heal themselves between attacks.

    "I fight to push past my limits, and feel more alive."

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
"You didn't think I was keeping tabs on you?" Once more, Fate's voice is much more amused than anything else.

The drones may be tough, but enough punishment can still take them out. Once their armor is breached, they explode pretty readily. Unlike the Ring of Philosophy, though, the damage here isn't just simulated. It's quite real, even if the drones are non-lethal, and it can hurt quite a bit to be shot or zapped or whipped.

"I can understand pushing past limits. It's important to give yourself challenges so you can grow. But..." Fate frowns just slightly. "It's the way you fight that concerns me. Is that a tenet of your martial arts school, or a personal one?"

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     She steps out from behind the cover, now that the drones have been sweeping the area for her... and faces five of them head-on. A collection of the newest most difficult ones Fate's spawned so far... and a couple of the older ones.

    "You don't understand. You're a mage. You're strong, Fate... I cannot call myself a true warrior unless I can some day defeat you toe to toe." she admits, while all the officers see the woman that steps out from cover... no longer looks human. The vicious glare on her face only says she's here to destroy and massacre the drones before her.

    "But the simple reason the way I fight works, Fate... is that a martial artist is ready to /die/. Martial artists are trained this way. You... probably only accepted this as a veteran soldier and not a student. What will be, will be. There were officers who understood that concept that I passed... but most of them are children who do not. Including Vivio."

    Her harsh criticism of not only her audience but what she saw of the facility... there were at least a handful of high ranking officers in the facility capable of standing toe to toe with this woman, but the fact of the matter was she considered a mage at the same level as her not a warrior at all.

    Charging into the drones, she snatches one out of the sky and violently throws it into one of the others. Waiting until the tentacles come at her for the next two, she dodges those and lets the drones hit each other... the drones were starting to bore her. The attack patterns were getting predictable.

    "Fate... /double/ the difficulty of everything on the field."

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
"I'm not a warrior, no. Signum is a warrior. So are Vita and Zafira." The blonde glances at some of the readouts from the drones, though she doesn't react quite the same way as the onlookers. "The difference is a way of thinking. But that doesn't mean I ever stop trying to improve myself."

That look.. Fate doesn't like seeing that look on Momoyo's face. Not because it's scary, but because she recognizes the shift in mentality it represents. "I'm not sure you realize just how much hard work goes into training magic, but..." Fate pauses again, tapping at the controls floating in front of her. "You say that you're ready to die whenever you step on the battlefield?" Crimson eyes blink slowly, and the blonde lets out a soft breath. "So am I. Every single time. But we're still different. You want to put your life on the line for the chance to improve yourself and... and sometimes it seems for the thrill of the risk, I'm sorry to say."

Fate glances down at the palm of her hand, an old memory resurfacing. "I put my life on the line to protect those important to me. The innocent citizen who won't have to worry about a dangerous criminal trying to kill them. My friends, who have given so much to me. My family... I don't risk my life for myself. I risk it for others, which is why I refuse to risk it without cause."

She considers for a moment, then increases the difficulty to day one training for Mages. "So, I suppose I'm asking you plainly.. Do you fight and risk your life for yourself, or for others?" There's no accusation in her question, just curiosity... and concern.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "Hmhmhm~." she chuckles. "If you don't understand me, why is it you haven't asked the other warriors yet...?" she asks. While she preferred to do it differently, she picks up a trash can lid of all things, blocking a blast of magic and a few lasers before they were no longer any good for doing so. "It's the happiness of a warrior to fight strong opponents, Fate. I can protect my friends and family if it comes to that... but even the old man acknowledges and is concerned about the fact that I'm selfish when it comes to pushing my limits. I do it for myself."

    "Kawakami-ryu Ougi, Chi no Ken!!"

    She performs a vicious roundhouse kick into two more drones... but then when her first foot lands, brings the second around as well. More drones were exploding as she was getting faster and faster at ascertaining weaknesses... that was the difference. This test was designed for mages to force thinking about overall battlefield strategy. In the earlier difficulties, Momoyo would do just fine without her ki using tactics and raw power... if the intent was to exhaust her, attacking her in ways not normally possible in her own world would be necessary. "Martial artists are sinful like that... we watch others fight and get primally excited ourselves, Fate!!"

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
"There are some things I'd prefer to find out on my own." Besides, her friendship with Signum over the years has taught her a lot. Crimson eyes watch the fighting continue, as improvised shields come into play. That's part of the reason for the terrain, after all.

One drone is kicked into another, the two of them slamming into and through a wall and exploding. This was a training ground, after all, so the drones were programmed less to be a challenge and more to really test the participants, though sometimes the difference is a fine line. The drones' tactics seem to be adapting, though, and some of them are getting better at dodging Momoyo's attacks or snapping a taser-tipped tendril in at an opportune moment.

"That's the entire point, though!" Fate slams her hand down against the floating control panel. "You acknowledge your fighting is selfish, but you also want to protect your friends and family! I get excited when I see a good opponent as well, but... but what will happen to your friends and family if you come across an opponent you can't beat? One who will kill you because you are trying to make that happen? What..." The blonde cuts herself off, bringing a hand up to rub at her temple. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I've seen what destructive behavior can do to loved ones, and I wouldn't want to see anyone else have to go through that."

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "You... you..." she dodges a few more attacks... and then a glint happens in her eyes. Something about what was said, but also the present situation. She didn't feel like swinging anymore, being questioned was killing her motivation. Her killer instinct was fading from her eyes finally listening to the mother despair over her rushing headlong into Nanoha's mistakes.

    "You... DAMNED FOOL, FATE!!!" she viciously brings both her fists forward into the foundational bar of a near-collapsed building... fifteen stories started hurtling down on everything in the area. Including the four drones, even magic shields weren't going to resist several tons of rebar.

    She was lost in the simulation now, though it was her first time in it. Both women were forgetting to spawn more opponents for her. She had broken a sweat it was true... but Fate likely didn't have enough time to watch her do this through lunch. So instead, she sat shouting at the simulated sky in what was actually a small boxed room.

    "What's the point of worrying about that!? How DARE you disrespect a warrior's heart by claiming you understand what they MUST do and then denying it!?" She punches the ground, putting holes in the concrete and blistering her knuckles. Without her ki, she was now going to have to go to medical after all this mess. Her uniform was torn up. She finally calms down, breathing slowly. "Que... sera sera." she murmurs, a saying that... wasn't Japanese nor did it get translated properly to Mid-childan. "What will be... will be. To worry otherwise is to destroy your performance, your pride... your identity." That was what she chose to say shortly after the apology.

    "It's too late for you to go back and train as a warrior now. It's completely different from learning magic. I understand that now..." She brings her head back up finally, looking around the destroyed landscape. Getting to her feet, she kicks a pebble that ricochets off of several buildings and clinks off a drone's hull. But now the conversation was getting awkward for the listeners.

    "...Turn it off. We're done. I'm hungry."

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
For a brief moment, Fate gets angry. Genuinely, furiously angry. And not because of the yelling, either. But... she's a mother, and she knows how to control her own annoyance. Taking a deep breath, the blonde rubs her forehead again. "I'm not disrespecting you. But you're right, I -don't- understand. There are a lot of things I don't understand."

The blonde laughs softly, briefly. "I'm not a warrior, and I'd probably make a terrible one. I'm usually too busy worried for who I'm fighting." She tilts her head slightly. "Being a warrior and using magic aren't mutually exclusive... but they're also not necessarily linked. One is a mindset, one is a tool. I'm sure you know that." She gestures vaguely toward Momoyo. "Your power isn't what makes you a warrior."

Fate can sense that waning enthusiasm in the fight, though. So when Momoyo calls it, the blonde nods briefly. "It's... a good time for a break, anyway."

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     There were no words spoken in medical, though the puzzled looks on the various officer's faces went unnoticed by Momoyo too, at least. The lady was pretty of course, and she wasn't as bad as some... but she wasn't a mage and the Ace was walking around with a psycho. People were already gossipping.

    Sitting with her bandaged hands, her burns taken care of, various wounds disinfected... this wasn't surprising in the least to Fate but Medical expected a non-mage on those difficulty levels to be much more banged up. Momoyo for her part was eating four times as much food as Fate.

    "I had a master." she admits, finally. "One of the assistant masters of the Kawakami Temple. For a martial artist, becoming an assistant master of the Kawakami Dojo is like an olympic medal." she explains between bites. She still didn't look Fate in the eyes, but her own eyes looked empty now that she had worked off all that steam.

    "I enjoyed my master. He taught me that strength and power is everything, in martial arts." Suddenly, it became extremely obvious where Momoyo went so utterly, terribly off the rails, even further than Nanoha. A young prodigy was trained by someone inherently evil.

    "Shakadou was later expelled from the temple for this point of view. I've never pursued it as far as him, but... it's what fuels that shock and trembling when people watch me fight recklessly." she explains. That was why her eyes looked so bloodthirsty and vicious when she fought... why she was even giving people stronger than her pause... and why she was here today Sealed in front of you. Had she not been Sealed there might have been a crisis if she challenged a strong mage.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Oddly enough, Fate isn't at all surprised by the amount of food Momoyo is eating. Nor is anyone in the Long Arch cafeteria.

For her part, Fate eats quietly, though she glances up as Momoyo begins to talk again. "How old were you when he started training you?" She's a little worried that she might be able to guess that answer. And yet... "I'm going to ask you something personal. You can feel free to say it's none of my business."

Glancing over at Momoyo, Fate tries to adopt the most level expression she can. "Outside of sparring, did he ever... do anything to you? Try to hurt you?" The way she phrases it isn't just as some concerned adult trying to poke her nose in, though. Something about her expression says that she is quite sincere in asking.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "I was about Vivio's age... well, no. I was eight." she admits, leaving out whether her parents were around or not and when they started journeying. "I know what you're getting at. He was kicked out around when I was fourteen or fifteen. Like I said... I agreed with his views and liked him at the time, but never carried it to the same extreme or I'd have been kicked out the same as he was." she explains.

    She does meet Fate's eyes briefly as she continues to keep her voice very quiet and level... Momoyo's answers were carrying farther than Fate's questions but Momoyo was just like that. Still feminine, but her voice was deep and carried. Chewing on the rest of her meal she eats rather quickly... but other than volunteering that information for Fate to get questions answered after the brief shouting match, she was very terse with her answers for the moment.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     The past week has been rather busy for Kazuko between training, suppressing protestors, exploring weird ruins, and fighting obscene green things, but she's finally found a good day to kick back and relax! What better way to do that than to show up unannounced at her sister's kidnapper's domain?

     Well, plenty. For starters, she could have remembered the directions better. She's only been wandering for an hour, at least, but she does look a little frazzled by the time she arrives at Long Arch's parking lot. Some leaves here, a torn sock there, a couple of scratches on her arms, but she's still made it!

     Of course, the first thing she does on arrival in that lot is peer right at one of the cameras and standing with her arms firmly at her sides. "My name is Kazuko Kawakami. I'm here for my sister!" She's a little stiff in her delivery, almost looking... Nervous? Anxious? Excited? Possibly all three. She's even got half a mind to just find another climb-y-er way in, but she'll behave for now.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
"Mm..." It's a sound of acknowledgement as she thinks of how to bring this up. "That's an impressionable age. My mother and her Familiar both had a big influence on me at that age. Mostly Mother..." Closing her eyes briefly, Fate takes a deep breath.

"Let me put it this way. If you truly think that your method of doing things is in your own best interest and is best for all your loved ones, I'll step back. But in my experience--" Fate pauses. "--personal experience, if you want a change, no matter how small, no matter how much you try to tell yourself you don't want it... it can take an outside factor." The blonde holds one hand out. "Don't answer me now, though. Think on it, okay? Signum and Vita have both shown me that a warrior can still fight with others in mind. I think the two of us may have more in common than you know."

Fate looks like she's about to say something else, but a soft chime sounds from her coat pocket. The blonde lifts a hand and summons a viewscreen in front of her, translucent enough that Momoyo can see the image backwards: feed from the outside camera of a certain Kazuko. "It seems like your sister is here. I'll have Shario show her in."

A moment later, Kazuko can see a young brunette in glasses approaching the glass doors. She takes a moment to open them slightly, then close, then reopen, just to make sure they aren't locked, before smiling brightly at Kazuko. "Hi! I'm Shario Finieno, Fate's aide. She and your sister are having lunch now, if you want me to show you to them!" She pauses and slowly reaches out to pluck a twig from Kazuko's hair.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     When Wanko gets in the cafeteria door, she can see Momoyo wearing a strange uniform, similar to Shario's. The Mid-childan uniform was fitted to Momoyo's size, but she was torn up... and not healed. This was a rarity, but Momoyo had already explained she was Sealed right before Kazuko joined the Union. All her wounds were minor, just disinfected cuts with bandages and blistered knuckles wrapped up, a few cuts on her forehead with gauze taped in. Things that would likely only heal in a couple days, just like Kazuko. But the expression on her face... was dead. Very empty.

    She and Fate were clearly having a serious conversation which Kazuko's sensitive ears could pick up from across the cafeteria already.

    "Tch. You beat me, I was undefeated before you challenged me to make this point. I can't just tell you it's none of your business how I fight my battles." she muses, is one of the things Kazuko can hear carrying from Momoyo's voice. She had clearly been angry not too long ago, but now she was having a respectful, if tense conversation with a very worried blonde that looks about Ume-sensei's age.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     Spotting movement from the inside, Kazuko has her eyes practically locked onto Shario by the time she steps outside. It's not until the woman introduces herself that she finally relaxes, keeping still to let her get that twig out before nodding excitedly. "Yeah! Erm. I-I mean..." She clears her throat, obviously trying to put on the airs of someone more composed than she could ever hope to be.

     "She's doing good, then, yes?