Scene #7783: SORG 6:Mayor's Village

Owner	Pose
Cantio	Weeks, possibly even months have passed since the descent into the underground city began. What had started as a one off aid visit has bloomed rapidly into a concerted effort to remove the reigning mayor after coming to power through a campaign of violence. Now, all that stands between the Elites and getting into the Mayor's Village is... A checkpoint. A pair of musclebound enforcers stand at the entrance to this region within a short walk from the elevator leading into this district. A metal detector is set up between them, making it fairly hard to actually get into the literally gated community with anything that might be considered a (metal) weapon. Just outside of that shack set up as a point is a garbage can and a waist high fence, also leading into the Mayor's Village. Looking past that fence, it's clear to see the difference between this region and even the Uptown district from last time. The security here is ramped up to eleven, with the police presence consisting entirely of those slabs of muscle, drugs, and guns despite their being comparatively fewer than there were in the Uptown district. They're wandering around in intermittent patrols with robotic companions, and they're all visibly armed with shotguns and submachine guns to ward off any possible intrusions from the lesser upper floors. It's only natural this level of police presence is here, though, with the richest of rich in this underground city living here. People walk their slaves, visit stores with their minions trailing behind them, and go about their business in relative peace while chattering about normal rich people stuff: Speculation about price of burgers within the coming weeks, opinions about mayoral candidates even though there aren't any elections happening just yet, and what kinds of drug-filled cocktails they have waiting for them back home. The layout here is far less crowded than it was Uptown, though, with ample walking space and individual gated spaces for each home. Stores here are far cleaner looking both inside and out compared to those in the lower floors, and some of them even have fancy goons in pressed suits handling security as well as sales. Those same suited thugs can also be seen handling security outside bars where speakers and cameras show the comedians or dancers showing off their routines to the delight of people inside. Whether they're being laughed with or at is unclear. In the distance, the stone-carved sign indicating the location of city hall can be seen, and the second floor penthouse overlooking all of it has been identified to be the Mayor's current home. The Mayor himself has been confirmed to be in the village today, although his exact whereabouts are unknown at the moment. Cantio is working on maintaining the rather spotty connection she has on her tablet with the Resistance, but the support network that everyone's built up over these weeks is ready to lend their aid at a moment's notice. Thieves and hackers are ready to get people in and out of places as long as they can get some sort of plausible cover, whether physical or otherwise. Drug dealers and bartenders are on call in case specialized goods may be needed to convince someone to do something, or even to get a boost in other areas. Doctors are waiting in the wings to help treat wounds if anyone gets injured, or if someone might need to be removed without any bloodshed. Finally, the mafia and Mr. Big are ready to raise hell if a more straightforward and bloody approach is desired.
Hiromi	'There is a checkpoint in the way of entry' is something someone could say, but that's not true. There is a checkpoint on the way, and Hiromi walks through it, having no pressing reason to bother doing otherwise, even to look for an alternate path. It's not like it's a closed door. It's just a metal detector, with people to either side, out of her path. Hiromi does not know what a metal detector is. On the passage of the silent, bronze bells in her air, the bronze wolf's-head ornaments above either bicep, and the intricately carved bronze rings around her thighs and ankles, the detector goes off. She stops, tilts her head, and cocks an ear to the sound. To the inevitable demand for either surrender of her artifacts, her person, or her travel plans, she says, "I am Hiromi. I hold authority. Your task is complete. Return to family." All of this is clearly, obviously, and inarguably true. Someone with authority confidently said it. And then, Hiromi keeps walking, letting nothing more bother her. Though her estimation of this place is low, with such a clear divide between those of strength and those of ambition, she would be negligent to judge it without any potential, having only seen it from afar. She goes on the prowl, slipping between buildings and over rooftops, putting such large ears she has toward listening to others speak, moving in that 'how can something that big be that quiet' manner she has. Maybe she'll find an actual warrior, somewhere. Not a contented slave, nor a large-bodied servant happy to be an unthinking drone, nor an out-of-shape master with no interest past hedonism, but someone with enough power and willingness to use it together to catch her attention. Alternatively, perhaps she'll hear words spoken by an ambitious slave, yearning for power, from a family in need, or any of the other aspects that personally appeal to her as understandable behavior, in contrast to the pointless nonsense and insanity that is her view of the majority of civilization.
Hibiki Tachibana	A lot might have happened since their last visit here, but Hibiki is no less willing to see all of their work finally pay off, and something done about the overcorrupt mayor at long last. Today, for sure, it all has to come to a stop. They've caused trouble, they've changed things, and there's all sorts of dirt like those invoices she got from a kindly shopkeeper that all but ensure the mayor will be desposed some way or another. She's still really not sure what they'll do for a replacement, though. She probably should at this juncture--but really, that's more of a decision for almost anyone else here to make, what with all of the royalty and politically-minded among them. They're all much more suited to it. And Hibiki isn't picky about the particulars of mayorship so long as the situation is made for the better. Though things have to happen one step at a time. Getting past the gate guardians is the first one. Fortunately, Hibiki doesn't possess anything that would really set it off - her unactivated Symphogear pendant is made up of technomagical bullshit and pieces of a spear, and it's not all that big in the first place either. She's more concerned about her face being recognized by either of them than that. But assuming she gets past that cleanly and gets access to the village, she's not especially happy with what she finds. The police, the shameless strutting around of slaves, the hedonism and sheer amount of security protecting it all...none of the upper districts were this bad. But she has to stifle that innate desire to do something about it on the spot. Just like back at the Industrial District, she's going to play the part of a good little Watchgirl, at least until she gets to the part where she does do the straightforward approach. That means working her way off in the direction of City Hall and the mayor's home, while innocently overhearing and questioning passerbys for relevant information. Specifically, when the elections /will/ be happening, and where the mayor happens to usually be at this time of day, on top of who they think among all the candidates has the best chances when she catches them talking about it. Most of these guys seem like their heads are stuck up their own asses and they have better things to worry about, so she hopes she won't get squinted at too hard as she asks her idle questions and keeps moving.
Undivided Queens	"Isa . . ." "I don't like it either. But shouldn't you be more used to it than I am?" "It's like being home with my sisters again. These people are like that." ". . . We'll figure it out Seila." These should technically be Seila's people, here in the Mayoral Village. However, for the first time since getting here, at the factory slums even, Seilatiya finally looks down about this. It's far too early to call her current level of energy 'defeated', but 'deflated' perhaps wouldn't be far off. Compared to the way she practically bounced around every previous level, showering the locals with glowing sunshine (also literally), fixing all of their problems and promising the moon and the stars, her relative mood is dragging her heels and clinging closely to Isahane's bicep. Like she expects something frightful to happen, as if wandering home at night through a sketchy looking back alleyway. Isahane had plans for the joke that is a metal detector, until Hiromi has it handled already; something that is becoming oddly semi-common, and which the Archwolf doesn't seem to appreciate the other way around. Seilatiya may 'blend in' to the extent of being way fancier and prettier than the people here, but less so than usual, but she rather proudly stands out, wearing something different than last time only in that there is less of it. "These people don't need help with anything." "Are you sure?" "I can't think of anything they'd want from me that isn't terrible. I don't want to look into their hearts Isa." "You don't have to." ". . . Yes I still do." "Alright. But remember, you don't need them. Not even to win an election." Isahane squeezes Seilatiya's hand, and then waits to allow her to wander a short distance. With a deep breath, a double cheek clap, and a straight back, Seilatiya then begins the brave process of talking to random people face to face. As typically happens in just about all cases she approaches with a genuine intent, ten seconds of interacting with her is enough to cause just about anyone to reveal what drives them, what scares them, what they think, and what they need, whether with words or without, as they can't help but melt in her presence. Yes, she talks to the minions and slaves and even the police officers too. She has to be sure. Isahane is 'on the phone' with their underground buddies instead, asking about ways into the mayoral estate.
Staren	Staren really isn't sure what to make of this place. She really feels like just walking through the metal detector and showing them all. Only people enforcing the order of this place will die, therefore, only bad people will die. ...Obviously she can't save everyone, but that feels like going too far in the other direction. ...But eventually, Staren realizes she doesn't have to enter. To see people's hearts. To learn how they feel about this place. The 'alien thought' Phony gave her doesn't care about walls or line-of-sight. Staren finds a place to rest (even hostile architecture is no match when you can turn into a cat and comfortably rest anywhere) and focuses on the sea of stars. With surface thoughts and feelings, she flits from mind to mind trying to get a sense of just how good/awful it is here, who is satisfied/dissatisfied and why. Yeah, a lot of that is probably obvious, but there's surely some nuance she wouldn't see just by looking. She also, mentally, asks a random sampling of people Why they are the way that they are? to get a more longitudinal view of what life is like for the residents here.
Cantio	Hiromi approaches the metal detector, and one of the guards hold a hand up as if actually trying to stop her. "Hold up, hold up. Do you have any weap... ons?" It's only when she reaches the detector and sets it off that he finally realizes that his perspective wasn't screwed up. She's just actually that freaking big. The guards exchange looks as the second raises up a walkie talkie, but before he can radio in for back up... "... Oh. Yeah, it's just about clock out time anyway." The second guard lowers the device with a nod, they flip off the metal detector, and then they head right on past to take the elevator back home. Apparently, even the guards here aren't all paid well enough to actually live up here. That, of course, leaves the checkpoint unguarded, so getting into the village is no longer an obstacle worth mentioning. Hibiki's approach of City Hall goes swimmingly, with the patrols easy enough to avoid notice from as long as she isn't going around punching people or brazenly eating Fud out of a can like a peasant. The upper crusters here, high off their own farts, laugh in that upturned nasal-y way when she addresses them with that distinctly non-fancy accent. Assuming she resists the urge to punch them then, however, she still gets some much needed answers. Elections are bought in the literal sense, not to buy votes but to actually buy one into happening at all. Apparently, there hasn't been an election in a while, since everyone that's come here in the recent weeks has been too frightened by the current Mayor's own election 'campaign', his size, and his collection of guns. The more politically minded citizens/the ones that actually give a single crap about an election mention hearing promising things about a bubbly potential candidate calling herself Seilatiya. There's also the rumblings about someone collectively referred to as the Destroyer of Trains and Mover of Earth being a potential dark horse for the race, especially if the contest devolved into exchanging blows. The trickier part there, however, is that spelling so many words properly might be difficult for those in the upper floors. The mayor's actual location, however, is unknown to the people at large. Some of them swear they saw him at random stores and bars, but even the police don't have concrete details on that. Everyone's pointing in different directions, and the only consistent detail is that they've seen the mayor's entourage leaving City Hall recently.
Cantio	Hiromi's search all but confirms this. As she moves from building to building, she'll find no shortage of servants and drones with few ambitions of their own. Indeed, there's really not many/any people of ambition here that also match the qualifications of actually-able-and-willing-to-fight. There's one person within this district that carries both the criteria of 'has ambition at all' and also 'is a warrior at all'. This person is located in one of the busier clubs several blocks away from City Hall, but well within walking distance if desired. More depressingly, Seilatiya's predictions along with her speaking to people and Staren digging into their minds reveals that the queen was completely correct: Just about everyone here already has what they want out of this underground city already. They have money, they have enough clout, they have comfort. Everyone is content, but everyone is stagnant. They make enough money being celebrities, investment bankers, DJs, or simply being born into money that they don't have any reason to struggle. Even for the ones that actually made it here through their own efforts, they really don't have much drive any more to go further. Where else can they go? They're not wanted on the surface, and their money is worth more here than it would be anywhere else. Even when they're falling head over heels for Seilatiya, it's more about falling for her rather than imagining what they could have with her. They're certainly scared of losing what they've gained upon qualifying to live here (money and status), but even the officers and goons doing the most relative in this region have become too complacent. Getting into the mayoral estate, meanwhile, is revealed to be a surprisingly easy task. Well, getting into City Hall is, anyway, as it's open to the public aside from the upper floors where the mayor's private estate is. Conveniently enough, it's also the place where one can purchase the start of an election if desired! Actually getting into the estate without tripping more security, however, may be difficult, as the mayor is said to carry the key with him wherever he goes.
Hiromi	Hiromi doesn't find anything to change her initial impression of this place. It cannot be a disappointment, because she hadn't expected any better. With only one warrior in range of her search, she makes the simple conclusion that that must be the Mayor, himself. She'd like to simply fight him, and be done with it, but it's as she said to Isahane. That won't resolve the problems faced by the people, here. And she does think of it as 'these people,' rather than 'this place.' The 'place' has no value in her eyes, at all. The people have barely more. Living though they are, and human though they are, they are the lowest and most broken of humanity. None have learned more than a single, good and useful lesson. Some learned to strengthen their arms. Some learned to strive for the top. Some learned to command others. But if they do nothing to earn that command, that becomes a wrong lesson. None she finds, of any note, have done anything to earn their place. They do not 'lead.' They merely 'sit,' comfortably ~~on high~~ below. Isahane offers something to her, and Hiromi reflects on the matter of her own compassion. She could call it vast and deep, but she could call it any number of things. What she feels is right for her to feel, she knows, but impossible for her to compare. So it is that she asks, from curiosity, how Isahane's feelings compare -- and, implicitly, Seilatiya's. As she'd said, these people deserve nothing from her. But she'd also said this, at some point: 'To give only what is deserved is not kindness.' Hiromi possesses kindness. That's why, once the election has passed, she will return to this place, and destroy every building that stands here. Not a single stone will be stacked atop any other, nor any brick, nor beam of wood or metal, and nothing will remain but its people. Left with nothing to signify the wealth that was their only power, they will suffer, but survive. That will be her kindness, in giving more than they deserve. Hiromi sits somewhere in the city, communicating to some distant place. It's not a psychic power, nor an arcane spell, nor is it by the use of a radio, nor any other device. The contents of her message will likely remain a secret, as well as its intended recipients, right up until her people arrive, some days or hours hence.
Undivided Queens	A lot of things happen. Seilatiya is disappointed to find out that there's nothing really different from what she'd expected, but that in of itself helps make up her resolve. Isahane, seeing exactly where this is going, and both wanting to see this done properly, spare feelings, and not have to touch this place any longer than she has to, concocts a plan over the radio. While Seilatiya goes and slams down her credits to start an election right this instant, Isahane calls on her hacker and thief connections and walks her ass into the central bank, opening up an account, and then giving them the signal to funnel everyone else's money into it. If this requires a robbery or heist, she'll even stand outside and beat up cops. Shortly after, she sends all the employees and patrons home (firmly), and begins digging in on the place. Seilatiya meanwhile writes Hiromi into her running mate ballot, as City Manager, and once the election is about to commence, performs her radio hijack technique a second time to do roughly the same thing as last time. However, as she has nothing to promise people who already have too much, what she does is announce something in line with the only thing they fear: That her election promise is to redistribute their wealth back to them! Only if elected! Haha~
Staren	Staren... gets kinda sidetracked with a radio conversation. After that, she needs some moments to sort of... realign her brain to work out what she should be doing. She struggles, and her mind wanders a few times, but eventually, she asks that question of herself and it comes back clear as day: Help them. But helping people doesn't mean just giving them what they want. Hiromi's right. These people need to grow. Staren's not really sure how to do that, though. Fortunately, Hiromi seems to have some plan, so clearly, just getting her into a position to do it will work out alright and Staren won't end up horrified or anything. She's down for helping Seilatiya and Isahane with wealth redistribution, which always seems like a good start for this sort of thing -- She may not be a hacker herself, but a robbery or heist she can do -- and now it is truly for a good cause, for a benefit, rather than her lashing out in frustration at lack of a goal.
Hibiki Tachibana	Thankfully, Hibiki has been working on her punch restraint. At least when it comes to things where socking people in the fact won't give her what she wants. She takes in each and every bit of information she gets and commits it to memory, finding the way that elections work to be--really surprising. You can just /do/ that? Right at city hall? That sounds way too easy. But the mayor is a piece of work, and the news that he's also loaded with firepower and probably has a size dwarfing Mr. Big himself is a little worrying. She's not terribly shocked to hear that nobody has wanted to challenge him... But nobody seems to know where he is. If they did, then it wouldn't be too difficult to confront him directly. Especially not with all of them here. But...just disposing him from power by force from the start would be the same exact thing he did to get where he is. That wouldn't sit right with her. Maybe if he threw the first metaphorical punch, but that's a different story. That, and... A fair bit of exchange goes on over the radio channels, and Hibiki's wallet is thankful for Seilatiya handling the 300-credit election payment herself. Just as with most of the upper floors, there needs to be some sweeping change here. With all the members of the Concord taking action, she better get ready too. She's gotten the information she wanted, so that mainly leaves the matter of the mayor himself, and what his reaction to the upcoming election being started up is going to be. She's going to get herself into a good position where she can overlook city hall and the estate plus the surrounding area, since that's at least where she presumes most the ensuing action and the mayor's assumed appearance will be. She'll keep Mr. Big and friends as well as the doctors on speed dial, just in case. She doubts anyone down here will stop Isahane and Hiromi if things come to blows even without any help, but there's no doubt they'd appreciate not being left out of the loop in a worst case scenario. As for the docs... Better safe than sorry.
Cantio	The means of what will happen after an election is not in question. Once Seilatiya puts her money down to get the election started, the process of getting it all set up is surprisingly fast. All at once, throughout the city, for each district, for every building, and even within every police box, ballots start showing up. Election fraud and privacy over voting clearly isn't a concern for the people in this city, as there's not really anything ensuring nobody knows who voted for who or making sure nobody voted twice or something. That may be for the best, though, since the people of this city have never quite proven themselves to be particularly crafty or intelligent. Perhaps that's how Mayor came to power in the first place, but not doing a thing to really improve the minds of... Well, anyone here is probably going to bite the Mayor in the ass as things start to move extremely quickly. With the hackers and thieves being called into action, they move quickly under Isahane's orders to start the process of brazenly rerouting the money. Not just some of it, not just most of it, but actually just ALL of it. Staren's support helps the thieves keep things moving along more rapidly than they would have alone, and Isahane's mere presence is enough to convince the guards and staff inside that just maybe today is a good day to clock out early. There's a lot of people clocking out early today. Besides, they need to do their duty as citizens of this awful city and get to the polls! The ploy to get Hiromi's goals moving for this city through the power of using Seilatiya's considerably less scary-sounding ideas goes completely missed as expected. The people in the Mayor's Village, having done little to actually keep their minds sharp, just home in on the promises to get their money redistributed back to them as the only chance they have of not getting booted out of the very village they lost their way in. Once things are finally settled here, there'll be pretty much nothing stopping Hiromi's plan to rearrange the Village into something more worthy of being called human. They'll certainly hate it, but it's the best that can be done for them in the long run. Plus, it'll really help out everyone else once their wealth gets redistributed. The actual election ends almost as quickly as it begins. The votes come swarming in, and the automated counting system makes it a simple matter of just tallying up everything from the slums to the Mayor's Village. Thanks to everyone's efforts from top to bottom, there's very few actual votes coming in for the Mayor himself. Seilatiya and Hiromi command the bulk of the votes as running mates. Surprisingly, however, they're not the only two commanding more votes than the current Mayor. Hibiki herself actually manages to snag quite a few points of her own, undoubtedly due to her earnest efforts to connect with people in the upper floors winning her a small, but sizable groundswell of support. Still, there can only be one Mayor, and the results of the election are announced in the park closest to City Hall where a podium awaits their new leader. It's only after that announcement, however, that the old Mayor finally arrives, and Hibiki is the first one to witness the mysterious figure approaching from one of the nearby clubs.
Cantio	He doesn't look happy, but he doesn't look angry. Surprised more than anything else, but he's taking it pretty well. The Mayor is a giant of a man, dressed in an olive green suit that's clearly been tailored just to fit his massive frame. An ill-fitting black top hat with a red stripe sits right on his head, emphasizing the widow's peak he's got going on with that long black hair going right down past his neck. He's flanked by an actual swarm of supercops, but it's unclear how much he really needs them considering how he's standing well over a foot above even their already drug-enhanced height. As expected, however, he doesn't show up ready to take his loss quite so gracefully so quickly (even though it's pretty much a given already). "So you finally found someone to replace me, huh?" He speaks at the podium to the audience members already waiting there, laughing for a moment while running a hand over his stubble. "Didn't think anyone would actually win this thing so soon, but the numbers don't lie." He looks back towards where Hiromi and Staren had likely seen him coming out of, then slips a hand into his pocket while the other is raised to beckon everyone to approach. "Come on, then. I can't hand this over if you're all the way out there." He speaks with a vaguely cordial, yet vaguely menacing tone that practically screams final-boss-plotting something. As he looks around at the group, his eyes blink briefly while he studies... Everyone? Everyone that's within line of sight, anyway. He's not blinking like someone normally blinks with eyelids and everything, but it's his eyes that are actively blinking with brief flashes of light. "Royalty, huh? All fighters, too, from the looks of it. And a cat? That might actually make things interesting." He laughs again. "Good luck, then. Of course, you know how the transfer of power goes here, right? If it's not by votes, then it's by force. It's not too late to back down, you know. If not..." He not-so-subtly inches his pocket-hand out, letting just the slightest bit of black metal peek out from underneath his grip. As he does, however, he looks up right at where Hibiki's watching him from. It takes a while, but he pulls his hand of out of his pocket sans gun and instead brings a cigar up to his face. He takes a long puff of it, then rubs his temples while muttering under his breath. Someone with a keen sense of hearing can tell he's saying "oh, goddammit, not again" just before he sits right back down with far less chest-puffing and veiled threats than there were moments ago. The podium is free. It's time to make a speech! Maybe. Or confront the Mayor, or simply take the hat and get to work, or beat the shit out of him. There's a lot of options here, but it looks like he's lost the will to shoot anyone rather suddenly for no explained reason. Even the police entourage look rather confused, but they're still formed up behind the (still hat-wearing) Mayor
Staren	Once Mr... Tall walks out of the club, Staren doesn't need to ask who Hiromi sensed. After making a mental promise to herself to help him rather than use him as means to an end, Staren turns Phony's power on him, looking at his thoughts and feelings and asking Why are you the way that you are? Staren puts a hand on her waist and frowns at being dismissed as 'a cat'; "Also royalty, technically." Until someone beats up a certain demon centaur to prove otherwise. "It is by votes though." She's ready to fight if she has to, but... Well, it depends on what she sees in his mind and in his past, doesn't it?
Hiromi	Hiromi does, as it happens, have good ears. She can hear those words, but though it causes her to search for what the Mayor -- soon to be former -- was looking at, there's no immediate understanding as to why his willingness to fight evaporated. Something. Something happened. Was that...? It's necessary to interrupt her communication with those back home, but she'd already gotten through the gist. Up on the park level, she'd already left a few of her people, to oversee things. This is simply a larger case of the same, and less concerned with overseeing soldiers than with turning the people, generally, toward what one may, for brevity, call enlightenment. The slowness of the process of initiating a large population into lupine mysteries, constructing shrines beneath magically-grown trees and providing instruction in foreign-to-here philosophies, is something familiar to her, and her patience meets par. But that will be a concern for later. Giving a speech is something Hiromi will leave to Seilatiya, being a business of 'words.' Beating the mayor, if she hasn't changed her mind about it, Hiromi will leave to Isahane, as the one who'd spoken of her plan to that end. Hiromi won't be taking a swing at him unless he gets up again, chest puffed back up. For now, Hiromi aims her search toward... Hibiki.
Hibiki Tachibana	Listening it on the votes being counted as she finds a good spot and waits, Hibiki is actually very surprised to hear she's getting...any. Even if there's no way she'd win, the fact it happened at all gets her some combination of flustered, confused, and feeling kind of happy about it. It's a good thing she's off on her own where nobody will see. And it doesn't last terribly long anyway once she catches sight of what can only be the mayor and his entourage shuffling out. It takes her a moment. Watching him walk out, address to everyone assembled in that booming voice, look out upon all the people here ending with... Her. The mayor stares at her, and she stares right back. Her own form of 'taking a drag from a cigar' is far less calming. In the sense that she doesn't calm down at all, with her expression changing from shock to confusion (again) and then to her furrowing her brow and gritting her teeth, before just outright leaping off of her vantage point a couple stories up without even being transformed. It's fine because she catches a streetlight and swings forward off of it, hitting the ground running into the park on a straight course for the towering man. "I should have known the moment I heard that description...! I thought Axel and all the others locked you up for good and under close watch--Mr. X!" Apparently not even concerned one bit about Hiromi hunting for her compared to this, Hibiki even ignores all of his befuddled supercop guards in favor of marching directly up to him. "Ruining one city as the mayor wasn't bad enough, so you had to go and do it to /another/ one!? That explains almost all the crap I've seen down here! I'm stupid for not catching on way sooner!" Surprisingly(?), she's not even trying to punch him. She's just going to get right up to him and take advantage of him sitting down to reduce the height difference, so she can leap up and snatch the hat right off his head. "And you didn't even change one bit! If just looking at me takes the fight out of you, you should be a lot more worried about some of the other people here. If you don't want a repeat of last time, just stay right there and let Seilatiya do her thing! Ugh, seriously...!" For now, Hibiki is apparently content to fume over this entire ordeal, and the mayor she apparently has some kind of a history with, but at least she's not punching him in the face. Yet.
Undivided Queens	Willing by a landslide is no real surprise, but Seilatiya pops off about it anyways, jumping into Isahane's arms and requiring being picked up and spun around a few times and congratulated before she'll settle down about it and go up on stage. Though she looks too find Hiromi and drag her there with her for properness, the Archwolf is non-catchable to her, and so Isahane gladly accompanies her up there anyways. Mostly to be very, very tall, super ripped and stand in front of the Mayor basically daring him to pull the gun. Even if she gets shot, she'll trade with him for a lot worse, and Seilatiya comes out the winner of that exchange. Mainly it's for her to receive and hand over the exchange. The current (previous) Mayor gets to have a swarm of super cops present, after all. A single giant horned lady (with massive axe) is fair. Seilatiya is making sure that the stations are tuned in instead. She has a solid grasp of the people's attention spans here being 'very low' and on every other level being 'less' so she keeps it brief. "Thank you everyone! Your trust in me is worth more than you could possibly imagine! Not just to me, but for yourselves as well~! I, Seilatiya li Gelentia, holy empress of the Algwyll Empire, and now your new Mayor, have made myself and my promises clear plenty of times before --and if you missed the memo, consult one of my pamphlets~-- but I'll say something this one final time to mark the occasion!" "The people on the surface have treated you with grave unfairness, and I'm proud of your will and resourcefulness to make all of this as a living right beneath their feet! However, that makes it even more disappointing to me that some people here would simply choose to copy them! Instead of recreating the same thing that cast you away down here, just to inflict it on each other, your own brothers and sisters, all over again, you should be showing them something better! That you're better! I know you can! Even amongst all the terrible things I've seen here, I've been impressed time and time again as well!" "So, it's my vow, that instead of forcing everyone to live split up and working against each other like this, to make everyone glad that they don't have to live on the surface~! And instead of ruining the prettiest parts of our little world to get even, I'm going to make every part of it just as beautiful and comfortable and wonderful as it can be~! Once once everyone has food and clothes and parks and play and homes to be proud of and freedom to travel and a sun and moon even prettyier than on the surface, my good friend on the ballot, who so many of you also trust, will teach you all to keep it running without me~ Then my promise to you will be . . ." "Live concerts, streams, performances, and interviews, with keepsakes and special thanks for all my adoring fans~!"
Cantio	Mr. Tall, also known as Mr. X, is a man whose motives are clear as day to someone who can just jump into his head. seeing what it is he wants and why he wants it. Money, fame, lackeys, women, all of it boils down to one thing: He wants power, he wants to own it all, and he's going to whatever it takes to make the world his. Or at least the city. Well, except for the fact that the first attempt at the city above ground didn't go so well. Maybe the city below ground might work better! Coming down here was the next best/only real option, but even this doesn't seem to be working out so well here. Fighting was certainly on the forefront of his mind, but now? Not so much now. Hibiki seems to be the big reason behind that. Whatever that reason is doesn't become quite clear until she outright details it, but there's clearly history between them even before she explains what happened. As she approaches him, meanwhile, Hiromi can easily smell what it is that got him to sit down so quickly. Although a lot of his scent is muddled in cologne, alcohol, and a lot of grease, metal, and plastic for some weird reason, there's an undeniable other scent in there that might explain exactly what it is that got him to take a seat. It's a fear response. He doesn't let it show on his face, and he still smiles his confident smug bastard smile, even with Hibiki just yoinking that hat off his head, but it doesn't mask the smell completely. It gets a bit worse when Hiromi and Isahane approach, too, considering the sheer size of them and their weaponry along with just about everything else going on post-election and pre-speechifying. The police look about ready to swarm the whole lot of them, too, but they stop when Mr. X holds a hand up to keep them from moving forward. "Don't bother. You'll all die if you try it, anyway." He remarks with a matter-of-fact tone that gets the police to lower their weapons, then looks past Hibiki towards Hiromi, then Seilatiya, and then Isahane. "So two the first time, and three this time... Damn, kid. How many milfs have you been collecting?" He still manages to laugh despite the clear difference in might present, staying seated the whole time and really playing up the tired old man angle even though his hair is incredibly black like a not-old man (but probably dyed) (also he's got crow's feet for days). "I'm afraid I'll have to pass on the fight, though. You see what I'm working with here, don't you?" He gestures at the police, who all look dumbfounded about this whole situation and largely kind of passive now despite their size. "No initiative. No drive. No ambition. Just a bunch of roided up freaks with guns instead of martial artists, wrestlers, wild beasts, boxers, military-grade robots, ninjas, you name it..." Mr. X shakes his head, and then he looks towards Staren and Cantio while narrowing his eyes. "Speaking of... Which one's the robot here?" Cantio glances over at Staren, then raises her tablet as it expands into one of her creepy her-ish boxy drones. "Er... Does this count?" "... Sure. Anyway, you weren't really expecting an old man to fight with these kinds of odds, were you?" He straightens his tie out before finally getting back up. "Besides, you can't blame me for /all/ of the crap here. Most of it was already here when I showed up!"
Cantio	Sadly, he's kind of correct there, at least when it comes to this floor in particular. "Anyway. Don't you lose that hat. They really put a whole lot of stock in that thing." Mr. X mutters with a brief roll of his eyes as he glances over at the rather conspicuous bottomless pit that's just dug out not too far away from where this park and podium are. He might not be lying about the hat. Whatever the case is, though, he's already starting to head towards the elevator to leave. Whether he's stopped or not, though, the question of wresting control away from him as mayor finally has a clear answer. Seilatiya, declared the new Mayor of this underground city, declares her intentions for the city's new path. Those watching from the park are already loud enough in their cheers as they start to buy into her message of hope, and there's even some audible rumbling from the higher districts as the voices of the people become clear. All that cheering and shouting might be a safety hazard considering all of this is underground, but... Luckily, nothing's caving in yet. With Hiromi acting as City Manager and delegating tasks to her dedicated servants, meanwhile, there's little to worry about as far as getting their combined agenda set forth in a more concrete way. It'll certainly take some time for things to kick off and settle with so many stagnant parts moving for what might very well be the first time in decades, but it does happen eventually, and it'll happen even faster once everyone has access to clean clothes, food, and water rather than just those lucky enough to inhabit the wealthiest districts. One day, they might even truly internalize the lessons taught to them and actually be able to fend for themselves without resorting to hat-centric violence. Having access to a bitching satellite that's somehow functioning will certainly help them to keep connected with their new Mayor and all of her friends and allies here, too, even if she's working from somewhere else in the future.
Staren	A heart that only wants control and power... It can't continue like this, but how can she change it? No, that's not the right word... help it grow into something else? Staren is distracted from considering this by realizing that she doesn't even rate in his mind as one of the threats. Mr. X insults even his own people. "I'm not a robot today. And it shouldn't matter if I am. Geeze, where's my respect? I know my track record's not great but you'd think people would at least remember offering people immortality and all the guns." Staren sighs. "Did you turn these people into clay dolls, or were they like this before?" Either way, what is WITH this town? Maybe she'll have to start digging into how it became this way with her psychometry...