4670/Winterfield's Secret

Winterfield's Secret
Date of Scene:	13 October 2016
Location:	Urbania
Synopsis:	The true investigation into the origins of Anne Blakely begins in a sleepy, snowy little town, in the aftermath of a horror movie.
Cast of Characters:	983, Staren, 253, 219, Priscilla, 2, 560, 134, 707

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Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    There were no news stories, old or otherwise, that feature Penelope and Geppetto. Not directly.

    There were, however, a few campfire stories! In particular, a large number center around the town of Winterfield in one particular world. The story varies in many ways, but a girl of copper and a boy of wood always feature. Sometimes they get away with literal murder, sometimes they meet their just ends. The story only has a few commonalities, like a confrontation in the lumber mill, and a mysterious new shop that was the source of the trouble.

    Winterfield itself is a bit of a hike from the nearest stop, being somewhat rural. What news stories there ARE indicate the people don't like visitors who bring up that little story. It also matches a rustic town... looking small, quaint, and ordinary, though with somewhat modernish conveniences. It has electricity, and a single phone line out of town, and it's a good bet many have backup generators. It's also bitterly cold even now, matching the 'Winter' part of the name. It however isn't a field at all, instead nestled in the hills with plenty of forest around it.

    There is, in fact, a lumber mill at the edge of town, just like the stories say. There's also a post office with a 'dropoff' style post, and the mayor's house doubles as the courthouse. Lots of residential, but there's a convenience store that brings a more modern touch to it.

Staren has posed:
    A black cat with a sea-green bandana round its neck pads along with the group. Or maybe someone is willing to carry him. The protoabstractum charm and his fur protect him from the cold. Staren's voice is high-pitched in this form. "If they don't like people asking about the story... It's up to someone besides me to get them talking."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    In the interest of full and total disclosure, Psyber is investigating a separate piece of information. He's also, while interested in Blakely, mostly here in an 'Uncle' capacity. With the lack of the two overseeing parents, Psyber has taken a guardianship role and is assuming a semi-watcher position over Ariel rather than his more aggressive usual pursuit of answers.

    He's wearing a heavier, fall-style coat and a ruby-red scarf. He's got a messenger bag over one shoulder and a pen in one hand. He's carrying a folder with a stack of essays in it. Occasionally, he goes through and makes a few correction marks on them before writing a grade at the top. Once in a while a paper is completed and moved to the back of his stack. The scores on the papers are usually between 70 and 89. Very few scores higher than that.

    One paper only gets a single mark on it. It's from Homura Akemi. The note he writes simply says 'Forgot Vampires are prone to arithromania in European Lore. Otherwise, excellect paper as usual. 99/100.'

    As he trudges along, he's heading towards the post office of all places.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel is well ready for this! She thinks so, anyway. She's shared all the info she has, which isn't too much, and sighs. "Yeah... huh. Well... maybe we should hit the lumber mill. Um, Staren, maybe you can look for clues there with someone, while I talk to the mayor and see what I can find out."

It's been decades, but the lumber mill features heavily, so she figures that's a good place to start! "Anyone who wants to bring up what's happening to the mayor with me, I guess with me. Post office, Uncle?"

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla is here to investigate, not to impress. After the last, and first, time she had been around to experience the increasingly complex events surrounding Anne Blakely, she had decided that the circumstances were sufficiently weird enough that planning one of those 'heroic' hits like how it usually goes could very well be a bad idea. Thus, she has defaulted back to classic flavour, with a big fluffy dress that looks perfectly well suited to a sleepy, freezing cold rural town.

    She isn't exactly putting on a fake moustache, but fact that she seems to have gone through the trouble of putting on some earmuffs and gloves she probably found somewhere in the Heaven or Hell tower, and currently shifts around very uncomfortably in a pair of likely equally 'borrowed' winter moccasins, indicates that she is pretty serious about investigating without seeming /too/ weird, or breaking into people's houses (probably).

    She then wastes zero time replying with "Very well agreed, Sir Staren.", just a little too quick to be thoughtful, though she currently lacks enough info to really metaphorically shoulder him out of the way and go do everything herself. Not wanting to stand around in the hilltops waiting for orders though, she starts down towards the post office, not wanting to hit up a courthouse just yet with so little knowledge of the town.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Homura has vague interest in stopping Anne, but not in engaging her directly. As such, assisting Ariel with her investigation is the best compromise. Not to mention it lends her unique toolkit to Ariel, because sometimes you just need a time mage around.

    As she follows after Psyber, and takes more than one peek at the papers he's grading, she frowns at the mistake, muttering something.

    Psyber elects to go to the post office; Homura actually walks from him to Ariel, deciding she'll stay with the unicorn for this one. Besides, the mayor's office might well have interesting things in it. That Ariel couldn't quite get a look at normally, if she plays by the rules.

    "I'll stay with Ariel." Saying so is better than expecting people to be psychic.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
Shirou's come to Winterfield dressed for Dun Realtai, because the weather's quite a heck of a thing. With his reinforced furs though, he's quite toasty. Based on the few stories and people's reluctance to talk about it, he's sure there's got to be some kernel of truth to it.

    But that's still no guarantee they've got the right world. It might be just coincidence. So he does the only thing he can do, and totters off towards the lumber mill.

    What does he expect there? Well. One could say he has no expectations whatsoever. Shirou's learned that these complex Multiverse deals always defy his every expectation, so he's stopped having many of them.

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    Flowers is also here, though she's mostly managed to fail at preparing. At least, judging by the way she's wearing short sleeves, and currently has her arms folded as she shivers, following along after the group. She'll pause a moment as people seem to split up, but.. The mayor probably has a nice, heated place to work and live.

    With that kind of logical decision, she'll also announce. "I'll go to the mayor as well. We can probably talk him into helping." With that famed diplomatic duo of Homura and Sakura behind her, surely Ariel won't have to do all the diplomatic lifting. Surely.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Technically, Xiaomu SHOULD be back in her home version of Japan, helping with the all-hands-on-deck effort to track in on what Ouma is doing and stop their latest plot. However, the facts on the ground are that there isn't much Xiaomu can do there besides stay on standby with Reiji in the event that they're needed for a specific incident; they're basically being kept in reserve with a dozen or so other highly-skilled agents for when Shinra needs to close the trap and stop Ouma from actually laying hands on that fragment, and upon hearing that some members of Heaven And Hell were going looking for clues about the Blakely situation?

Eh, it's something useful she can do, Xiaomu dislikes what she's learned about Blakely's researches, and it's better than running the battery down on one of her portable game systems. Even the cold doesn't particularly bother her; while she's still wearing her usual vest, one quick shapeshift replaced her usual qipao with a flattering black bodysuit - not QUITE as form-fitting, and better insulated.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
And with the party splitting up for investigative purposes, Xiaomu looks between the groups, ponders briefly, then falls in with Ariel. "Not sure if we've met in person before," she asides to the young robocorn. "Name's Xiaomu, here's looking forward to working with you."

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    THE LUMBER MILL:

    The mill looks... pretty new, actually! It's sleek and nice, without any old lumber to build it. A closer look will hint that it isn't nearly as new as it first appears, as the foundation is stone that is much more weathered, and the foundation has settled long ago. It's just the upper portion of the building that is new. It's open, too... though the saw isn't running. Saws, plural, actually.

    Inside is a middle-aged man at a desk, actually. Looks like he's just doing paperwork. It's all pretty normal for a place like this, except... he has one arm. Or, more technically, he has two arms, but one of them is a complex array of gears and clockwork.

Staren has posed:
    As they part ways, Staren's fur turns white to blend in with the snow. When they reach the lumber mill, hge hops up onto a windowsill to glance inside, then hops down and looks to Shirou. "Think we can get him to show us records, or would it be better if I sneak in back and look for someplace where they keep records?"

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    THE POST OFFICE:

    As stated, the post office is small. It's pretty cold, too... looks like the heat is rattling on its last legs. There are two employees here, one an older gentleman, and the other a younger girl, around her early twenties. Both look up, but it's only the man that stares, or more of a glower, while the girl goes back to sorting. By hand.

    "What can I do for you?" It has the tone of a /very/ strained forced politeness.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    The Bostonian in Psyber wants to correct this man about his tone with some expletives and a shouting match. The detective in Psyber opts to not do this and instead try to be productive.

    "Yes. I'm here to pick up some undeliverable mail that possibly came through here for my parents." Psyber says to them in a very polite tone. He doesn't much mind Priscilla being here. She knew how to play along and also generally knew how he thought, so it was a fair enough teamup for the moment.

    "I don't know how long you keep undelivered mail here, but it would have been a LONG time ago. Sent to either Blakely or Middleton? Mom sometimes used her maiden name."

Priscilla has posed:
    Well, that's a bit of a frosty welcome. Priscilla even put on the earmuffs and everything! A more meta version of herself would be upset that it isn't heartwarming enough. The real one mostly just feels awkward wearing shoes. She knows it's her though. At least, it should be. Psyber is totally normal looking, and not at all giving off the impression of a city-slickin' busybody.

    "Little of great import at this hour, I assure thee." The halfbreed at least tries to start, though having no trouble for an inoffensive inside voice. "It is not particularly often that there is opportunity to stray so far out of one's way. Pray, forgiveth the inconvenient time, it was difficult enough as is for I to encourage him to entertain thought of his parentage for once." Oh, she's straight up playing to it. Grading those papers, Psyber already looks like the kind of guy who'd be too busy and posh for this kind of place.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
"A lumber mill wouldn't keep records of anything but customers and employees. If they even do that much in a town like this." Shirou points out to Staren. Well, he's pretty sure of that anyways. But the redhead's eyes sweep across the building... and the foundation. "This building probably burned down in the past. Or at least was rebuilt a few times. The foundation stones don't match the construction."

    As usual, his grasp for structures and materials finds some way to be useful. "The story was there was some kind of conflict at the lumber mill..." He can only wonder.

    Shirou decides against the sneaky route and walks up towards the mill, knocks on the door. Then steps in! "Excuse me, is anyone-- oh." Seems yes, someone is inside! He spots the desk.

    The man.

    THE MAN'S ARM. Shirou can't keep a straight face. 'Buah?!' Flares right up across it, the teen just gaping at the arm as the gears in his head gnash together and try to process how that's a thing.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    THE MAYOR/COURTHOUSE:

    IT's a small town, but you can't just walk in to see the mayor! There's also the sheriff there, playing cards with someone in the foyer area over a desk. Looks like the receptionist. The sheriff is a slightly overweight man who looks to be getting on in years, but the receptionist is a bright-eyed intern. Said receptionist looks up sharply. "Ah, sorry, sorry... oh my. Um... can we help you? I'm afraid appointments are over for the day, didn't expect visitors." He looks a little awkward at the strange appearance of a pink-haired woman, a normal-looking girl that is around his age and making him blush for ENTIRELY DIFFERENT reasons, a... fox-lady? ... and... a bizarre unicorn-girl?

    The sheriff is narrowing his eyes and staring very, very hard at Ariel, though. He doesn't say anything, but he's pretty fixed on her. Xiaomu's ears get a quick look and frown... but it's Ariel getting the glare. Looks like they don't like outsiders, and Xiaomu and Ariel are REALLY qualifying.

Staren has posed:
    Staren peers around the doorway, and facepaws when Shirou reacts so strongly to the cybernetic arm. He starts thinking of how to proceed if Shirou is broken.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Okaaay then. Leaving Homura and Flowers to handle the receptionist, Ariel turns to the sheriff to peer back... but then she remembers she's supposed to talk. "Oh... ah... I'm very sorry, because I know you've probably heard this asked so very very often, but I think honesty is the best policy. We're here to talk about the um... incident with the puppet and the copper girl, and we'd like some advice."

Well, might as well jump in full throttle! Ariel flicks an ear and looks back at the sheriff nervously. "It's kind of important. I um... think you can help us, and I'm pretty sure the story is true. But maybe it's not the right story. I just need to know before we offend any townspeople asking. There... there could be lives at stake."

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
Flowers is also capable of pretty thorough obliviousness. Luckily for her, she's better at detecting it when it doesn't directly involve her. She'll pause a moment, considering the best way to deal with the receptionist, and then...

Well, then she'll nudge Homura in the back, pushing her forward with a 'whispered' "Make small talk!". Thus fulfilling her duties to diplomacy, she'll try to listen in on both the sheriff and the receptionist talking, at least until something she might actually know things about comes up.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Translation effect handles many things, but Priscilla's archaic speech throws the young woman for a loop. "Uh... um..." Well, there's also Pris's appearance, which even disguised in some way is going to be striking. This town probably hasn't seen too much stuff outside of their world, though even the younger one seems cognizant of such things existing. It's more a stare than actual panic or unrest. Psyber's question reaches her though! She starts fumbling around in the back. "Well uh... we can't actually hand it over without proof but I can look... that's okay right?"

    The older one is staring at Psyber, not Priscilla. This man says bluntly, "That story doesn't match. You're too young to have been born before Blakely was here." And... the pair will end up looking down the barrel of a shotgun lifted from under the counter. Is that even legal? He doesn't seem to care. "Who are you and where did you hear that name?"

    Well, that answers that.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    It's true, between Homura and Flowers, Ariel won't have to handle ANY diplomacy at all. Absolutely none at all. By which we mean, all of it.

    Oblivious to the receptionist's plight, Homura takes her warm coat off, a simple black trenchcoat, nothing fancy, just something warm as the days get colder. Underneath, she wears the usual; a plain white dress shirt and matching black pants, a nice compromise between business and casual. She doesn't vary much, no.
    She kind of misses the days of wearing that school uniform 24/7 and never having to choose what to wear.

    As Ariel decides to handle the grouchy sheriff, Homura approaches the reception desk, urged by Flowers. Small talk? What? What's going on? Just do what you were going to. "We don't intend to take long. We'll be in and out, but it's extremely important. We just need a quick word with the mayor." She fishes into a pocket, and produces a police badge. It's authentic, courtesy of Psyber. She doesn't share his love of fake names though. "Personally I'd like to see your archives while my friends handle that. Maybe you could show me the way?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
It's not every day that Xiaomu isn't the weirdest member of her party; she just smiles disarmingly at the receptionist and the sheriff, raising her free hand (while the other hand hangs onto her staff). "Nothing to worry about here, no trouble to be expected; we just heard an interesting urban legend - or rural legend, out here? - and wanted to do a bit of research. Any help you can offer would be hugely appreciated ..."

She may or may not have the corner of a business card peeking out of an outside pocket of her vest.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    "Can I help you?" The man at the lumber mill sits up as someone enters. Looking Shirou over - and mostly ignoring the cat - he sets his artificial arm's hand on the desk while he considers the visitors. "You aren't a local, and yet you're out here by the mill. Not really sightseeing territory. If you're here to grill me about stories, you can scram."

    So, about the same reception as the other groups. Well, maybe not. Seems he's just taking Shirou as some punk kid poking around.

Staren has posed:
    Welp. So much for that.

    Staren starts checking other window to see if there's maybe an office or something.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber quirks an eyebrow. Whether this is at what Priscilla told him or the fact he has a shotgun pointed at him is unclear, "If you shoot that and fuck up my classwork, I have to make all my students redo it." The half-angel notes, snapping his notebook shut.

    "I could ask you the same question, though. If I was someone dangerous and you acknowledged you knew about Blakely, wouldn't you have just blown the secret?" Psyber flicks his wrist and a gun drops out of the sleeve and into his hand, levelled at the old man, "So either you're trying to help her and the worst one of her toys I've ever seen, you're trying to cover up her existence because you're scared she'll come back, or you want to find answers as much as I do."

    There's a click as the hammer thumbs back, "Now. Listen. Of four people in this room, AT LEAST fifty percent are bullet resistant. So just math out which of the two people in the room you think that could be and seriously ask yourself if a shootout in a post office isn't a little bit gauche and 'last century'."

    "We just want answers. You just wanna go back to your day."

    Psyber's chattering a LOT. Partially to distract from Priscilla and partially to establish a rapport. For as little as the gun threatens HIM, ricochets and gunfire threaten the stability of the entire mission.

Priscilla has posed:
    "I trusted thee, Sir Psyber." Priscilla says in a tone that is almost beseeching, but mostly too weary to sound serious. "This lasted precisely four sentences." Like Psyber, she is not particularly worried about being killed by a disgruntled old man with a shotgun, but unlike Psyber, Priscilla isn't prone to letting herself get riddled with bullets for dramatic effect. Those hurt, and she doesn't like getting hurt.

    So, knowing that Psyber having to do the job of disarming him before gunshots go off and alert the rest of the town will have to involve superhuman speed that might hurt the codger, she confers briefly with the other halfblood in the room, and applies just a little bit of that chuuni power from her left eye to telekinetically steal the weapon from his hands, with a level of glow and staticky, mental reverb that is low-key enough to not really leave the front office.

    "Thou shalt likely never truly comprehend the irony of the words thou hast just spoken." She intones half-amusedly, taking the gun with no intention to use it. "Either way, it is unwise to produce a weapon upon strangers thou expecteth to be involved with dangerous work, is it not?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
"....." Emiya Shirou shuts his trap quite quickly thanks to that reception. Rudeness isn't a thing he's TOO known for, but he's not inclined to be super polite with THAT kind of reception. "Screw stories, I'm here investigating a thing that's really killing people. I'm Emiya Shirou. A copper girl and a wooden boy are wreaking havoc. Isn't information that saves lives worth a few minutes? It's not like you're roaring with business. If anything you know about it turns out useful my group can return the favor..."

    Yeah. It seems he's going to take a direct, if non-hostile approach.

    Shirou ends up looking at the man with a look full of sheer exasperation.

    "The path that lead here included clockwork dragons, giant crabs, and weirder things. We know what we're doing." Well enough, anyways. Shirou leaves it quite implied that, 'yeah, this group can bring down giant monsters.'

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Weirdly, the Courthouse group is having better luck... well, mostly. Things aren't all smooth. Small talk isn't what Homura seems to think it is. The receptionist starts to stammer through the standard response, "I'm sorry, but we really don't appreciate these stories singling out our town, we're just-"

    The sheriff stands up. He's overweight, lumbering, and looks slow. He also puts his hand on his revolver as if to intimidate. Most of the girls should have an easy time noting that despite his look of someone unhealthy and lazy, he's got a vague presence to him that seems to radiate competence anyway. He can probably use that gun.

    Fortunately, he also seems to have a level head. "Waving that badge around won't help you. This isn't your jurisdiction... if that's even real." IT sure LOOKS real, but he doesn't say that. "Varney... go fetch the mayor. Now."

    Then to the others, "This better not be a waste of time, or you're spending the night in the jail. What makes you think you can get anything useful here?"

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    The gun flies from the man's hand, but the girl yells, "GUS! What the hell are you doing?!" She looks pretty upset, but when her companion is disarmed, she holds her hands up and backs away.

    'Gus' is also holding his hands up. "We don't want any trouble. Or reminders. She doesn't know nothin'. Gun worked on her just fine last time, figured if you were with her it'd work fine on you. Tell you what. You tell me what you want with that woman and I'll think about answering your questions." He glances at the girl. "Alice, you step out. This isn't something you need to hear. Go fetch the sheriff. Tell him I'm fine but we have some nosy visitors who know his ex."

    "But the sher-"

    "He'll know what you mean."

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Staren hunts around! The major office is... the one the man is in! There is a room with filing cabinets though. The window is locked tight with triple-paned bulletproof glass and steel bars, though. And all the cabinets are riveted to the wall with golf ball sized rivets. In fact, this lumber mill is built like a fortress. (And the arm radiates a very faint enchantment. Maybe enough to keep it more mobile, or just clean)

    The man's response is... different. "A... what? Dragon and crab?" He stares for a moment, then points at Shirou suddenly, his face hardening. He's using the clockwork arm. "Names. If you have their names tell me, and maybe I'll talk. What do they call one another? What does the boy insist others call him?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren's ears twitch. Man, did being straightforward /work/?

    He transforms. He's wearing his assassin's cloak as he peeks through the front office window again with a flipphone-like device. <<It's faint magic, yeah.>> he radios, then... Walks in the front door. "Is he talking about Gepetto and Penelope? Wait, do they actually call eachother that?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Dude, do you really think guns work on everything?" Psyber lifts his arm up, removing the gun from pointing at the man. It vanishes up his sleeve a moment later before the half-angel produces the red pen again, spinning it in his hands.

    "What do /I/ want? I want to put my hands around the sides of her head and squeeze until it bursts like a ripe melon." Psyber notes blandly, continuing to spin the pen in his fingers. The half-angel wags the pen, "And then find every note on how she does her work and burn it so no one can ever walk the path she walks again."

    He looks sideways to Priscilla and nods, "Good job." Then he looks back to the old man, "Unfortunately, this mission isn't about what I want. Someone else wants to find all the information we can get so we can figure out her deal and try to stop her."

    "And so here the Princess over there and I are."

    He looks towards Priscilla, "Did I forget anything?"

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla does not move to point the shotgun back at Gus, as much as it would work for the classic standoff aesthetic with Psyber already aiming his own weapon. She actually just puts it back down on the desk, seeing as the man looks very much unlikely to try and retake it. Seeing him give up so easily though, almost eagerly, even, is interesting. Immediately, she feels she can place Gus as distinctly 'not with Anne', and with him likely the rest of the town itself. They don't seem to be hiding information to protect her at least.

    "What we wish with Anne Blakely?" Sans cultural reference, Priscilla feels like she's uttering a Voldermort name all the same. "What we wish is for less of her. Whilst thou go about thine business here, quietly hoping against her return, she is assuredly busy with far worse elsewhere. Is it not natural then, that others with greater initiative than thee wouldst likewise take exception to her 'habits'? I believeth it is a simple and agreeable thing to only wish to put a halt to her chaos."

    She makes a bit of a distasteful expression at Psyber's excessively graphic description, figuring it distasteful if someone is fetching 'her ex'. "As bold as it is to say so however, simply ending her leaves us without answers or solutions to many other difficulties. I believeth it is not quite enough to only neutralize the danger she represents by slaying her, whilst we hath much incomplete knowledge of those presently suffering, or enabled to inflict suffering, because of knowledge she alone holds."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
"I'll do you one better than that. This'll be a little flashy though." Shirou smiles. Just a bit of brash confidence entering his demeanor. "Trace... on!" Shirou spaces his stance, hands at either side. Power glows and crackles in his hands while his brow furrows with FIERCE concentration. SHAPES emerge, wrought from the air itself - materializing seemingly from nothing but energy. On his left is a simulacra of Gepetto, and on the right, Penelope. Some details are off - they're clearly not as lifelike as the real things, as both of them topple to the ground and collapse into twisted piles like ragdolls the moment they're done forming. And they hit so lightly that it's clear they're completely hollow.

    But just a look's enough to say that while a few details and proportions are off, it'd be accurate enough for a police report mugshot...

    "Penelope and 'Master' Gepetto, right? They launched an attack on an Alchemists's guild and made a huge mess, backed by a cruel woman called Anne Blakely. She's been showing up a lot behind big trouble elsewhere. Someone needs to stop a witch like her, and that's us!"

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    The badge was worth a try.
    Gruff Sheriff is apparently VERY gruff.

    She decides to pockets the badge, not commenting on whether it's real or not. It's real ENOUGH considering she's in the Union. "Well, it was worth a try." She watches Varney as he leaves to get the mayor, committing the young man's name to memory. She'll let Ariel and Flowers handle the mayor, instead opting for what was going to be her first plan.

    "I'll wait outside," she tells Flowers and Ariel.

    She leaves, without fanfare, unless someone stops her.

    If no one does stop her, she'll disappear around a corner... and stop time. And head back inside. And help herself to a tour of the courthouse, looking for the archives. Don't worry, it's not illegal, just questionably legal.

Ariel (219) has posed:
"It isn't, sir," Ariel says respectfully. She is trying to be nice. She nods to Homura and flicks her tail, looking at Sakura and Xiaomu for some support before continuing. "We um... well, I haven't seen them personally, but some of my friends have seen a wooden boy and a clockwork copper girl that match the description of your stories. They're very concerning. I think I've run into the one responsible for them. If it's the same two boy and girl, then I thought we could compare notes and maybe find out more about their creator."

Ariel heaves a deep sigh. "I um... I am a little sensitive about created beings, as I'm pretty sure you can guess. Seeing those two worries me. I really am just trying to help, and then we'll leave and you won't see me again, if I make you uncomfortable."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Really, Xiaomu should probably just smile and shut up and let Ariel do the talking, but ... well, if she can still be helpful, no point in coming all this way just to add to the scenery.

"If this turns out to be a waste of time," Xiaomu points out with a friendly smile to the sheriff, "then spending the night in your jail will just waste even more of our time *and* yours. But yeah, Puppet Boy and Copper Girl were supposedly linked to this town some years back, and both of them are connected with a very dangerous woman whom we're trying to track down. And if that woman has ties here too, then we're hoping you can help us cut her off before she commits even worse crimes against Nature and/or whatever God you believe in."

She pauses. "Unless you're working for her, in which case you probably shouldn't have sent your friend out of the room." Even with Homura stepping outside, these aren't good odds if the sheriff turns hostile. Xiaomu does take a step forward, briefly resting a reassuring hand lightly on Ariel's shoulder. Construct? Eh, just the body, that doesn't make Ariel less of a person in the sage fox's relatively-expert opinion.

Penelope and Geppeto, though - well, she can't judge them at all without meeting them.

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    Flowers will step up behind Ariel, letting Homura flee to go commit acts of questionable legality. (The answer to the question is 'no'.) "We're just trying to put a stop to something that's become a bit of a recurring problem." She'll plead, not worrying about the threat of jail. Mostly because she's certainly not going to be spending time there.

    "Whatever they did here, we need to find out as much as we can before we end up facing them without knowing what they're capable of." This may have just enough of the bitterness to make it clear that Sakura, at least, doesn't necessarily expect it to be peaceful. Hopefully, it's going to go well with the sheriff.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Gus puts his hands on the counter as the girl dashes off. When she's out of earshot, he speaks again. "The kids don't know what happened, and we want to keep it that way. Blakely took my daughter from me. We thought the sheriff killed her, but we didn't find the body when we looked. Just blood. A lot of blood. I was there, I saw her go down. We'd hoped we'd put an end to her. Never heard of a Middleton though. Where'd you hear that one?"

    He still looks nervous, but not about being hurt. Just... not feeling pleasant memories. "Sit down. This might take a while. I'd take you to her shop, but it wouldn't help."

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    The man glances at Staren now, tensing up... but it isn't the dolls that convince him. "Those don't look much like them at all, but the names are right. He always insisted on that." He kicks a chair out to offer the two a seat. "I barely knew Blakely, but Geppetto... I know him pretty well. I knew when I couldn't find his upper half he had to be out there still. I owe him."

    It's probably an easy guess at this point, but the flex of the mechanical arm makes it a lot clearer. "He's the reason I have this. Sadistic fucker wanted to carve me up one piece at a time in here, when I was just a kid. Killed my sister. I managed to turn things around. Everyone said it was over, but I knew it wasn't."

    This guy maaay not be all right in the head.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Because it's gone and moved? Or was it before it got that ability?" Psyber asks to Gus as the half-angel puts his folder of classwork into his coat and pulls up a chair. The half-angel sits down in the old, wooden chair and crosses one leg across the other and stares at the man.

    "That's fine. My associate and I understand not wanting younger generations to know the horror that happened before their time," Psyber comments honestly, holding out his empty hands to show he's unarmed. He reaches into his coat a moment later and takes out what looks like a silver flask. He unscrews it and tips it backwards, taking a long couple chugs.

    "We won't tell anyone and hopefully, if you give us what we're looking for, we might prevent other places from repeating whatever happened here."

Priscilla has posed:
    That first little line immediately puts the generational frame Prisilla had been struggling with into place, and simultaneously makes sending Alice off significantly less suspicious. Though briefly against the idea, Priscilla takes off the earmuffs and seats herself anyways, the latter for politeness and the former so she can hear Gus speak without that muffled wool effect.

    "As it wouldst so happen, many others seem to believeth the same. Thou art hopefully able to understand our difficulty whence we find such a significant gap in her recorded presence, and all ends leading to those who sweareth upon her death, either of violence or simple old age. I hath only grim suspicions for the fate of thine daughter, I am afraid, but past that, most likely anything thou hath to say will be of value, though I question the lack of such in seeing this workshop. I assumeth it destroyed?"

    Priscilla sort of wants to make some kind of knowing gesture at Psyber's inference, but honestly, it doesn't feel like the place or time for the three of them to try and bond over haunting old stories. The men and woman in the room are probably scarred enough already. "I can guarantee thee a certain level of privacy, at the least. Proceed with the intention of allowing us to achieveth that which thou no longer hath the ability to accomplish."

Staren has posed:
    When the man says he 'owes' Gepetto, Staren reaches for his laser pistol...

    Oh. Staren nods. "His protege has taken many more lives." He pulls a tablet from his pocket and sets it down on the counter, showing Anne Blakely's wanted poster. Then he shows his LDF badge. "She used people in my hometown as sacrifices to power that dragon of hers. We just want to bring her down, so she can never hurt anyone again. Gepetto and Penelope too, now that we know about them. If there's anything you know..." If the man seems hesitant, Staren taps his finger on the part of the poster that says REWARD.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
They DON'T LOOK the same?! "... They don't look the same? ... Well, that's not surprising, I guess. This lumber mill isn't the same one that stood on the foundations. I'd guess they've been getting improvements and rebuilds. You can only get torn in half so many times." Shirou exclaims through an exasperated sigh, but he ends up nodding... and at the same time, grimacing rather fiercely.

    He glances around for a chair, and will go take a seat if there are any. Meanwhile, the two lookalikes begin to erode. Magical particles just drift off of them. They'll be nothing in about a minute. Shirou didn't put much effort into their integrity. They're just hollow, empty shells that can barely exist.

    That's what happens when his works aren't swords.

    Staren brings out a poster that's definitely very helpful. Shirou's expression lifts a bit. GOOD SCIENCE KITTY!

    "If you didn't deal much with Blakely, any information on those two might help. Especially the clockwork they're made of. There's some magic to that engineering and magic tends to mean weak points, strange maintenance practices... how did this whole mess start?"

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    "Not a lot of people know a woman was involved," the Sheriff admits. The Mayor, who is even older at around sixty-five or so, is now coming down the stairs and gestures for the receptionist to stay. He walks up but actually just waits for the sheriff to finish.

    "I don't know much about what she can do beyond... I'm pretty sure she either made those hellions or brought them with her," he says. "She seemed like a nice enough woman. Helped with the woodwork, opened a shop in here. But then the duo showed up after... well. People started disappearing. At first we thought it was the shopkeep, but she had an alibi for one of them. Then the girl showed up."

    He takes a seat again, and the mayor settles beside him. He looks at Ariel first, then at the sheriff, then nods understandingly.

    "The girl's dangerous but just throws tantrums," he explains. "Hides... gadgets. Stuff we'd never seen before, but is more normal now. Blades, even a gun," he points out. "She was tough to take down. Shelby... well. She did it for her daughter. Got close and ended up stabbed pretty fatally, but managed to jam a stick of TNT into the joints. Figured that would have taken care of her."

    He taps his head. "But the girl? She's just childish and sociopathic. The boy can barely wrestle a kid, but he likes to be cruel. Watch out for him. Art managed to catch him in the sawmill."

    The mayor coughs. "Well..."

    "Or the other way around," he amends. "You'll have to talk to him."

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Homura finds the death certificates... surprisingly easily. This place is, for such a rural place, very well-organized. Orderly. Moreso than many offices that still use paper. The problem is there's a lot of records going back a long time...

    Just a sudden gap 32 years ago. Most likely in the safe in the corner of the room, if they haven't been destroyed outright.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Gus answers both of them, "Gone. Nobody really noticed until it happened, but... well. You have to see it to believe it. The place was #37 Cotton Street. Thing is, it wasn't there when we went back to search it after the mess was over. That's when someone remembered that the shops on that block were a little wider than the lot size. They crowded out enough by the end that they built over lot 37 and went straight to 39. There never was a 37. That's the kind of shop it was."

    He pulls out a bottle as well, pouring himself a glass of something he shouldn't be drinking. "People started disappearing. We got suspicious, and then one of the kids started talking about walking puppets. Then it got weird."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Homura is, if nothing else, meticulous. She doesn't shuffle anything around, and doesn't take anything. Rather, she whips her cellphone out and snaps pictures, so as to not give anyone who'd come in here after her the impression things were messed with. Then she puts things back into place, just the way they used to be.

    She looks, obviously, for the years before and after the gap first. She finds it unlikely that things just happened one day-- there must have been a build up, a series of strange murders and clues. Important names? She doesn't know enough to pick this out herself, sadly. But what she CAN do is take a picture of anything that looks relevant, and send the dozens and dozens of images to Ariel for her to sort through later. She can also look for the obvious names-- Blakely, Penelope, Gepetto.

    Then that leaves the matter of the safe. A rural, primitive town like this, it can't be very high security. She's no expert thief, but as long as this isn't some FBI-grade security she should be able to pick it open with a stethoscope (don't ask why she has one) and a bit of patience. Not a problem considering she's got all the time in the world right now.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber shakes his flask a bit and nods his head, "So is there actually any leftover mail for her here?" Psyber asks pretty point-blank, not wanting to forget about the original reason that he dropped into here in the first place, "For either name I mentioned?" The half-angel sits back in the chair a bit, scratching under his chin tiredly.

    "So she shows up. People suspect the sheriff. Lots of murders. Was he a husband? Boyfriend?" Psyber asks bluntly, "Do you know where she came from before she came here?"

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    The man at the mill looks at the picture. "... she looks the same as when I saw her. Creepy. Is she the devil?" Don't exaggerate, kid. But he flexes the arm and looks up. "When people started disappearing, she got blamed. But then Geppetto showed up. Started stalking me, freaking me out. Me and my sister. The girl showed up soon after and was louder. She started screaming about how the town had murdered her years ago and now she could have revenge. Geppetto was going on about how he'd commit suicide after his wife was lynched. They said they were punishing us."

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla had expected the shop to have burned down in a mysterious fire or something. Having never been there is a little bit next level spooky, and immediately calls into question how someone can accomplish that with the clockwork and enchanting she's demonstrated thusfar, or else if yet another party was involved.

    "I see . . ." is all she says on that topic, figuring that Gus probably doesn't know. "And what of those who worked there? I wouldst assumeth she was not the sole owner, proprieter, craftsman and receptionist." She then adds to Psyber "And what of any mail for the shop itself? Orders? Deliveries? Commissions? Surely such a place wouldst be responsible for the birth of her constructions. I cannot imagine 'walking puppets' appearing from elsewhere."

Staren has posed:
    "Probably not, but..." Staren comments, when asked if Anne is the devil. "Wait, so /she/ was here too?"

    And the rest of that story... "Well... Hmm. They could have been delusional, /but/... /Were/ there any lynchings in this town?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
"Anne Blakely's the one who makes these clockwork horrors. Far as we can tell they're powered by human sacrifice." Shirou scowls. "Using some foul means to stop aging's easy if you're already going that far. Just like a vampire. The way you say Penelope said she was getting revenge... it's the same for the Alchemist's Guild. Running around screaming at them for her murder. But the poor Alchemists didn't have a clue." He makes a disgusted noise.

    "Just like a vengeful ghost, she has no idea what she's doing. Just behaving like a monster..."

Ariel (219) has posed:
"What about her? What about Miss Blakely?" Ariel has to ask this next. "I've only run into her... and a couple of her simpler constructs. But she's tough too. Taken falls that should have killed someone." Ariel shivers a little.

"Is there anything we should look out for when we talk to them?" She pauses. "I mean, Miss Blakely too."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Constructs like that," Xiaomu muses, "you can break the body, but actually killing them permanently ... stuff that kills a person would just cripple these two, it sounds like. We'd have to find the parts that hold their minds and destroy those in order to get rid of them - and even then," she adds, "Blakely might still be able to remake them."

The sage fox grimaces, her ears flicking briefly. "So the copper girl killed Shelby's daughter, then? Or was it something else that happened that Shelby needed to avenge?"

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Gus shakes his head. "Nothing- wait." He sets his drink down, rises, and walks over to the back where he hits the safe there. A few moments later, and he returns with an old letter, handwritten. It has been opened, but it's addressed to the post office itself. One 'Oliver Billard' in fact.

    "She got a few shipments in," he explains, "But they were mostly hinges, wood, that sort of thing. This letter came a few weeks after the incident. Telling us she was dangerous. No return address, though."

    He settles in again... and shudders. "Yeah... yeah she hired a girl to be receptionist after a few weeks. We put her out of her misery. Doc didn't want to talk about it, but he said she wasn't human any more. She just... was like a shell."

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    Flowers will relax a little, as answers start flowing. Even if they're not exactly super-encouraging. She's making some theories, but mostly keeps them to herself for now. After all, she wouldn't want to influence the witnesses.

    "So.. the boy is less obviously dangerous, but meaner, and the girl is the one with the weapons? We can.. probably work with that some. What happened to the shopkeep, then?" It's not too much of a surprise if Anne could fix either of them. It would be more irritating if either them could also somehow restore Anne, but the signs that some sort of life extension is going on is becoming rather obvious. It's the not being dead that gives it away, really.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Gus also answers Psyber, "Eh... they went on a date or three, but weren't really an item. Blakely didn't seem all that interested. I think she was just being polite."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber takes another long drink from his flask and nods his head as the man comes back with the old letter, "Can I keep the letter? Might be able to trace it back anyway. Another link in the chain, so to speak." He looks towards the man, not wanting to impose upon him.

    "I see. I mean, I can see why he liked her. She's pretty hot and all," Psyber absently notes, mentally running a comparison in his head, "Probably like the fourth most attractive woman I know." He leaves the top three vague.

    "Anyway. Any other information you have that you wanna share?"

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    "Well..." Art, the man at the mill, spreads his hands. "I dunno. Records that far back were lost in the big fire. I haven't heard any stories of that, but uh... we keep this whole truth quiet from the younger ones anyway. So it could have been covered up. They seemed pretty confused, yeah."

    He nods at Blakely, "Yeah... she even helped us at first, when Penelope showed up. The sheriff figured out she was the one behind all this somehow. It all started with her."

Priscilla has posed:
    No lead on the shipments, but Psyber got the letter. Detective instincts or cold guessing, either way it should be useful. Priscilla however, is focused on the seemingly trivial information elsewise.

    "That is an exceptionally vague descriptor. Wouldst a receptionist to the missing shop, clearly having worked around Blakely for long periods of time, and personally touched by her madness, not be an exceptionally valuable source of information, even if only through examination?" Her gaze intensifies, drawing attention to the somewhat easily missed inhuman pupils. "What has thou done with the corpse?"

Staren has posed:
    "...Gepetto and Penelope might just be crazy, too." Staren puts his badge away. Then he rubs his head. "So this isn't where she got her start... /damn/." He pounds a fist lightly on the table, then rubs his head through the hood, thinking for a moment. "...I guess we'd better go check out her old workshop, or what's left of it. If you or anyone else in town remembers anything else, give us a call, alright?" He fishes in his bag for a charger and sets it with the tablet, then looks to see if Shirou has any further ideas for questions to ask Art.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    "Blakely?" The Sheriff looks uncomfortable. "I shot her. I saw her fall, and uh... I don't know if any of you have killed someone, or are a doctor, but you know how when someone is dead they stop bleeding? That happened. I shot her, she fell, and the blood was just seeping out like she was done for. But by the time I climbed down to see, she was gone. I think she might not be all there though."

    Then the girl from the post office bursts in. "SHERIFF! These two folks are here about your ex- oh... um..."

    "I see, Alice, don't worry. Now get, I'll be by there shortly." Waving the girl off, the mayor finishes, "She does... things... to people if she has the time. Makes them not people any more. Sheriff thinks she may not be alive any more."

    The officer snorts, "Or something. I know her heart doesn't beat."

    MEanwhile Homura finally manages to pop the safe open. Some cash for emergencies, some security tapes... and a thick folder full of reports and certificates from the missing year. Looks like about a dozen deaths all told, though maybe not all from Blakely. The coroner reports are extremely gory though... and one of them has pictures that are pretty interesting.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    A momentary wince from Homura as she reads a few of the reports, and takes pictures for Ariel. That'll be useful. She also helps herself to the tapes, replacing them by blank ones from her absurb stockpile of things. They might not even be blank and be copies of arbitrary movies. Probably noir films.
    She WILL return the tapes, after they've gotten them back to some place where they can make copies of them. Hopefully this happens before anyone notices they've gone missing. Thankfully Homura's equipped to ensure this happens within acceptable delays.

    She also takes the money.
    (She doesn't, that's a joke.)

    The safe is closed again, and the Puella Magi returns to the front of the courthouse like nothing happened. Try not to think about the fact this is happening several pose rounds ago.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    The mayor answers Xiaomu, "Yes, Shelby's daughter. Her husband works at the post office where apparently your friends are. At least I hope they're your friends." He nudges the sheriff. "You should go take care of that. I'll answer these as best I can, but there's not much else to say. Except that if anyone starts acting strange, put them through a metal detector."

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Gus shakes his head, "I don't think I can help you much more. Just. Kill her for me, okay?" He waves his hand. "I'll want that letter back, but keep it for now. Just get out of here. If you hang around too long, the young ones will get curious."