Scene #8814: The Worst Time To Ask For A Job

Owner	Pose
Angela	Lobotomy Corp is still recovering from Walpurgisnacht and Angela is still suffering from her time in Petra's head. Who knew workijg with Psychonauts could be so traumatizing? Regardless, Angela definitely doesn't want to hire anyone and doesn't want to see anyone but unfortunately for her, every day is a workday and she doesn't get paid. When the UFO Gang expresses interest in a visit, Angela has to drag herself out into a conference room and offers to meet them there. The Gang is on good terms with L Corp. They helped out with Walpurgisnacht and L Corp is not in a position to refuse help. A few Agents recognize them as they arrive and they wave and greet them and sometimes ask how they are doing. The Lobcorp Agents are strong believers in solidarity. typically, because they are living in the same shit sandwich and assume anyone who visits Lobcorp willinglh has been through it, is a real alien, or both! Cinder leads them to Angela's office. She is still weating her EGO gear and is openly smoking as she movrs through the halls. She has red hair and a suit that looks partially charred--but by design. She knocks on the office door and asides. "Uh. She had a rough day so she kight be coarse. I can come with if you want?" Cinder offers. She doesn't look much better but seems intent on holding it together.
UFO Gang	AFTER THE BATTLE "That was horrible," says Nazrin, on the deck of the Gang's ship. "You're telling me!" Minamitsu says. "I can tell that you have both been through great travails," says Shou, with a benevolent frown. "But I'm glad to see that you have both come through it." "Where's your helmet?" Ichirin asks Nazrin. "Classified," Nazrin says. "But you can save the sympathy. See, I've got a good idea what they have in there... but the whole disaster with the Walpurgisnight meant that I couldn't get a good reading on it." "Then they have 'that item'?" Shou says. "We could simply request it--" "Uh uh," Nazrin says. "This has some kind of big angle going on. We can't play all our cards at once." "That's kind of ruthless," says Ichirin (neutral). "Maybe. But they're like a merchant work structure. I heard them all talking. Here's my idea..." Conference (conFURence?) whispering. It goes on for a little while. "Very well," Shou says, if with a sigh. "Expedient means... but I must abjure you, Nazrin. Do not lie to them if you can possibly help it -- and I forbid you to harm these workers and their, erh, what did you say she was?" "Some kind of copied brain thing," Minamitsu says. "I didn't really understand it. I think it's like a statue or some kind of machine." "Yes... these workers and their leader. They've been through hard times..." SO Ichirin and Shou are in the front, mostly since Minamitsu is still kind of tired, mentally, from all of THAT. Ichirin is also flanked by Unzan, but at the moment, this is simply a... pink cloud that follows her around. That's normal. "That's a really interesting outfit you have," Ichirin comments to Cinder. "And I see you're breathing smoke from that thingy, too! Are you doing some kind of fire austerities or something? You must have a lot of great strength from something like that." "I understand," Shou tells Cinder. "We mean her no ill will; maybe we can even give her some comfort." Shou then looks to Nazrin. "Perhaps you should stay out here with Miss Cinder? Or we can go in, all together; I leave it to your wisdom!" Either way, once the door opens, everybody gonna bow to Angela pretty much immediately. Even Unzan, which just looks like a cloud moving around and not accomplishing much.
Angela	Angela looks even worse than she did at the end of Walpurgisnacht. There isn't really any shift in her facial expressions or in her posturing, or even really in her movement. It's almost entirely focused in her eyes which are gold, cold, and honestly maybe even a little bit old. But before that, Cinder is happy(?) to chat with Shou. "...Yeah, I'm sure you don't. If any Outsider meant ill they could cause us no end of problems just by sending a few messages around." Cinder says. "And you helped out elsewhere too, didn't you. I bet you didn't come expecting to have to deal with all of ''that'' either. Just uh. Yeah. ... Yeah. I mean, do what you want. We're not your bosses or anything." Either way, Angela is not expecting--but is not comforted--by proper respect being shown today in the way that she normally would but it is at least a weight she does not have to worry about. She stands up from her desk and bows her head in return. She has cleared off her desk. It's as plain as can be. Numerous monitors are behind her but they are all in blue screen mode, transmitting nothing. "It is good to see you again," Angela says tonelessly. "We appreciate your aid during Walpurgisnacht and the recent Meltdowns. If there is anything you'd like from us, let us know and if it is within my power I am happy to do what I can to make it happen." She no doubt suspects that was why they lended a hand to begin with. Angela is spending what exists of her optimism to reassure herself that Petra will be okay, that she'll come back, that she'll return to normal. She has little to spare for anything else. Her gaze settles on the pink cloud for a moment and after a moment adds, "I am Angela, for those that I have not properly introduced myself to before. I am the Secretary of this company but my responsibilities include assisting the Manager and interviewing Outsiders. I hope everyone was properly polite to you."
UFO Gang	Shou looks at Cinder with sympathy in her eyes. While it is somewhat eccentric, compared to some systems, and generally not blasted full force, Shou does have the air of the 'good' priest - the one who really does care, and means it sincerely. They happen, however rarely. She nods once; perhaps words would add nothing, in her judgment.. THEN! The group files in. At Angela's statement, Ichirin seems to be about to say something but Nazrin shifts a little bit, which pre-empts it. "Minamitsu has told me some of what you experienced," Shou says then, after a sonorous politeness. "I do not fully comprehend it, but it seems like quite the incident of incidents, and I understand that you may be... hm... spent, afterwards." The pink cloud floats -- and then parts of it redden, and it ducks behind Ichirin. Ichirin smiles a little. "Shou, do you want to do the introductions?" "Why not?" Shou says, rhetorically. "You have met Minamitsu Murasa," she continues, "as well as my faithful aide, Nazrin; this is Ichirin Kumoi," Ichirin waves, "and this is Unzan," Shou gestures towards the cloud. "And I am Shou Toramaru, but please, do not feel as if you must stand on ceremony." "Everyone was really nice," Minamitsu comments. "I hope they all came through okay, we were kind of staggering afterwards. Wow! You were saying something like you'd never gotten this, far, before? Oh yeah, and what about that Hook guy?" "Hah - you see here, the fruit of compassion!" Shou says, with a faint smile. "But I had been about to ask /you/ if there was anything that /we/ could aid you with! But I will admit that I am curious. The Manager, I believe Nazrin mentioned them, but 'Outsiders' -- is that anyone who does not, hm, find their vocation in this place?" "Is it really underground?" Ichirin comments, looking around. "This doesn't seem like Hell at all." ("Not now, it doesn't," Nazrin answers, sardonically.)
Angela	Cinder smiles at Shou. She does believe in something after life but she couldn't tell you what. She is someone who believes firmly in spending your life in the best way you can, and spending it may mean making it brief. So long as you burn bright, that's her attitude. She's down for reasons beyond Walpurgisnacht but Shou has no way of knowing and she isn't really ready to ask the Priest(?) about it. It's that recent and, well, there is a great deal of privacy concerns besides but she does seem to take some comfort in Shou's presence. angela's eyes settle on Shou for a moment. That air of hers makes her think of Berislav of all people which results in complicated facial expressions. "Kumoi. Toramaru. ... Unzan." Angela seems like the sort of person who prefers to stay formal but occassionally lapses into a more casual tongue rather than the alternative. She doesn't seem to understand the 'stand on ceremony' comment but makes a presumption. "Doing things properly is important here and, outside of that, is also important to me. If you have titles you prefer, I am willing to utilize them. I will not be offended." She folds her hands together as she sits back down, nodding quietly to Minamatsu's reassurance that everyone in the facility was nice. Outsiders, she knows, are particularly popular in the facility because they usually save a whole lot of lives. Even 'The Bishop Of Vermillion' has saved more lives than she has slain though that is a whole other mess. Shou offering to do something FOR HER getes an eyebrow raise which does, if nothing else, restore some life to her face. "...That is awfully generous to offer at this point in time but why are you so keen on assisting us? We have run into each other from time to time but most people do not wish to work in a place like this, even part time. Usually we have to struggle to keep people from fleeing. You are not even members of the Concord--though if you wish to join I can refer you to an application." Even before reaching the multiverse she has known that 'Can I help you?' is code for 'You can help me'. ''Is it really underground?'' "It is really underground." Angela confirms. "...I know someone who works in some sort of actual Hell," She admits. "But when we refer to this place as 'Hell' we do only mean it metaphorically. My apologies if it is offensive." She genuinely never expected to have to say this in her life but unification, she supposes, leads to some strange sayings and considerations.
UFO Gang	Shou has not yet had the chance to meet Berislav as of yet. Perhaps when they do, there will be fireworks! Some kind of a MERTON. (Theological joke!! Thomas Merton was a Christian priest who studied with Zen monastics and found much in common!! Also, they called it "Merton" in Final Fantasy VI (III US) for some reason!! Yohohohoho --editorial) Shou seems pleased at the reply from Angela. "We do not, although both Ichirin and myself have taken vows, if that will impact how you choose to address us," Shou continues. "You are a caring person and so I am sure, whatever such titles may be for you, you will treat us with the same dignity and respect you would treat any other 'Outsider.'" "I'm a Captain," Minamitsu says, because that's like one-quarter of her entire personality. Shou 'hm-m-ms' at what Angela says... which is probably a good sign of upcoming exposition. Ichirin, as a result, gets the chance to answer first. "Oh, no, it's not offensive," Ichirin says. "There's a lot of different teachings about Hell, and it's not 'literally' underground, the same way the higher realms aren't 'literally' higher. It's more of a metaphorical thing, since ultimately all the places are as one, when you look at it with an enlightened eye!" "Yeah!" Minamitsu echoes. She's cheering up. She's smiling at Angela. "This Concord sounds interesting... but to explain myself... I would like to tell you the story on how our group came together," Shou says. "It won't be a long story, but it may illuminate why I am offering." Nazrin continues to say nothing, which is a sign that a bar labelled 'A SCHEME!!!' is - gradually - filling up.
Angela	Being a former captain is like Nonon's 5/7ths of a personality. Angela doesn't seem troubled to see another Captain. By her reckoning, Sea Captains are actually quite dangerous--even off of the sea--because she's seen what happens when Nonon punches something that isn't a monster or an Elite. "Vows? Like religious vows?" Angela asks. The respect that hte Agents give to Outsiders isn't exactly the same that Angela tends to give herself, but she's not sure what to make of Shou right now--or the others. The fact of hte matter is, there's a lot of them present here right now and it doesn't seem like they're the sort of people who might be too poor to afford things. She is a little more leery about accepting help since Rufus signed up. Angela doubts she has an 'enlightened eye'. Right now she doesn't even feel as smart as she plays herself off as but she pushes the negative vibes down to focus on her work. She acn do that, it's all she's ever done. Angela does not smile at Minamitsu, but she does give her a respectful nod. That's about as close to smiling as she's going to get right now. But one can swear that she does, at least, perk up a bit at the promise of... ''A story''. "I would be most interested in hearing your story. You need not abbreviate if you are concerned about taking too much of my time." time is everything, but Angela could really use the distraction and a good Story might take her mind off Petra in the short term. She quietly slides a foot and pushes a bunch of casings under the desk. "I enjoy being ... illuminated. Please, go on."
UFO Gang	"Yes," Shou says. "We have undertaken commitments to our practice of the Buddha-dharma. (Minamitsu has not, however. Nazrin is a bit of an unusual case.)" And then... a story. "Gladly," says Shou, as STORY TIME BEGINS. "Long ago - I would say something near to a thousand years ago - there was a woman who walked upon the mountains and plains of this world. (Well, our part of this world, anyway.)" The associated image is a long-haired woman in some kind of robe, spreading her hands and rising from a mountain valley. "This woman... Lady Hijiri. She had come to minister, not simply to the needs of humans - real and genuine though they are - but to we as well, the youkai of the world." The associated image is the long-haired woman going :D at various extremely bizarrely-shaped youkai in various Japanese mountain glades. "She rescued Minamitsu from the toils of regret associated with her tragic death. She took in Ichirin and Unzan, who had met previously, when humanity realized what they had become and rejected them. She chose me, one of her disciples, to become a vessel of the benevelont god, Bishamonten...!" Associated images include: Pulling Minamitsu out of the water with a fishing pole, giving Ichirin and Unzan a hug, standing in a posture of reverence towards a somewhat younger-looking Shou. All of them have :D faces. (Nazrin can be seen standing behind Shou, with more of a ~w~ face.) "But in time, humanity could not abide her ministry. I bear them no ill will -- it must have alarmed them, to think that one who ministered to them would also minister to such as we. But... I will confess... that it has taken me time to come to this state of equanimity..." This 'Lady Hijiri' is wrapped in chains by a crowd of Humans, who are Not Nice People. Her expression goes from :D to D: even as she reaches towards Shou--!!!! "... and so she was sealed away. The others fled, or were entombed with Minamitsu's ship... and forgotten. I and Nazrin stood aloof... but I could do nothing but maintain my role in the temple where Lady Hijiri had guided me, for the suffering of humans is no less true than that of youkai. (If, I must add, not MORE true, either.)" "After a disruption in the ground, however, Minamitsu's ship was freed, and Ichirin and Unzan broke their seals as well... Nazrin found them and guided them to me." Everyone on the deck of the ship. They're all making :D faces again. (It's a pretty old-fashioned ship.) "And so... we are seeking Lady Hijiri. For she was sealed away so terribly long ago... and though Nazrin has aided us, her methods pointed us..." The image show fades! "To you," Shou concludes, "and your 'Lob Corporation.'" (Unzan peeks out from behind Ichirin's shoulder at this point. Angela can suss out his face - he looks like an old man.)
Angela	Angela shrimply listens. She doesn't know much about City religion let alone the omes outside. She had to skim A text called 'The Bible' recently but she didn't really study it in depth and sit with it. "...Tragic death? I see she has been resurrected. This is good." Angela says, willing to admit that she doesn't want Minamatsu to be dead. She knoes undead exist but Minamitsu deosn't really make her think 'ghost'. She does reflect for a moment that Shou does not seem to be tending to temple now and after a moment she asks, "So you are no longer stationed at a temple?" She asks. It sounds like they want their mentor back. Thr art is cute. She does not comment further until... "...Pardon ne?" She asks. "...Perhaps I missed some aspect of the story.... What brings you to Lobotomy Corp?" She is relieved they weren't just being nice and actually want something. It feels more real. She is already looking in Unzan's direction by the time Unzan peeks out, like she knew it was going to happen. She didn't but her horrible curse means subtle fast movements become slow obvious ones. "I am sorry to hear that she is imprisoned." Completely genuine, if tired. "But how can we help?"
UFO Gang	"Oh, I wasn't resurrected," says Minamitsu, who does in fact just seem, like -- if you look close she's kind of creepy? And pale? But she's cheerful about it. "I'm a spectre that used to haunt the waterways south of the capital! I sunk a few ships! It was awful." Her expression becomes momentarily haunted and solemn - /that/ is definitely a face a ghost would make. "But Lady Hijiri saved me from that," Minamitsu continues, "and she made our ship, too! My ship," she clarifies, "but also our ship." "As you say," Shou says. "I had been in an old temple which had endured everything, even dreadful wars -- I thought they shouldn't have switched sides in that recent one -- but be that as it may. If we should succeed and find Lady Hijiri, and if she is not eager to pursue parinirvana, then perhaps we would found another one..." "That would be so great!" says Ichirin. "Oh," says Nazrin, stepping forward, raising a hand. "I can explain that. See," she unlimbers her dowsing rods, "these are my tools of the trade. I'm a servant of Bishamonten, like Shou, but my purpose is to find Bishamonten's treasures... or anything else you can imagine. Sometimes they take me in unusual directions. And they pointed," a pivot of the rods to point at Angela! "to you." Silence. Shou nudges Nazrin. "Oh," she says. "You probably remember me from that weird world in the light-box as well as that one time in the mall. I was with Ichirin then. If you don't, don't worry about it. But it pointed at 'you' in the box on, uh, it was you, right?" This towards Cinder. "I think it was you, but I'm still processing the Walpurgish thing." "Nazrin and I have... discussed these findings," Shou says. "If Lady Hijiri were in your facility... then you would know. She would have emerged to aid you. But it is possible that you are, yourself, fated to find Lady Hijiri... or to be involved in the next stage of our quest." "You guys are like collectors, right?" Ichirin says. "They tried to explain all of this but I didn't really get it."
Angela	Angela doesn't seem to mind Minamatsu has drowned scores of men. Instead she seems more sympathetic to Minamitsu. "That must have been a hard time. I am glad someone came to save you." She does her best to obscure the envy in her tone. "War?" She asks Shou instead. Angela's eyebrows shoot up again when Nazrin indicates her dowsing rods--which Angela recognizes as a thing that exists even outside of Nazrin. But she is mostly surprised that the rods would point at her. "Well." Angela says. "I ''am'' a treasure," though her tone is still relatively low even if she doesn't sound like she is joking either. "But I have never met her." Cinder had not meant to linger but she got enthralled in thr story and Angela did not insist she leave. "I...Uh. Wha?" She manages. But...there is something Angela is intrigued by. This Hijiri would also help the facility? ...Or does she mean she'd help HER. Both ideas are eorth considering, even in her malaise. "Of a sort. Most of our Abnormalities are ... Well some are from the outside." Angela clarifies. "It is rare but it does happen. You have assisted us so I would not wish to keep you from your friend but if they are here--I have not seen them. And that should be unlikely unless they are in some unusual form?"
UFO Gang	"A lot of people in the same situation aren't as lucky," Minamitsu says to Angela. "The best I can do is try to pay it forward, like I did to - uh - wow, um -- it was before we all went to college, I know that much." Shou says to Angela, "Yes... there were a number of wars in the country. Two fairly close together... the country changed sides, and it was rather rough on Hiroshima in particular." She says this abstractly. "Heh," Nazrin says. The other girls do similarly but they seem to actually mean it more thoroughly. They appreciate Angela's kind words! "Well," Shou says, "if you met Lady Hijiri, or her sealed form, it would likely resemble an enormous rock. Perhaps with chains. That said, it would provide a beneficient presence, calming and reassuring... and I'm confident that Lady Hijiri herself would emerge if she had felt the need." "You see," Shou says, "there is a concept in Buddhism of the two truths - the apparent truth, the relative truth if you will; and the absolute truth, the truth beyond the limits of dimmed perception." "In the absolute sense, Lady Hijiri is terribly, enormously strong... she bore our burdens without complaint, and yielded to her human tormentors rather than see us harmed, or prove her path to be a lie." "In the relative sense," Shou says, "Lady Hijiri is enormously strong in the sense that I saw her punch a smallish mountaintop in half. She had to, um, 'hup' a little bit, but she also said she wasn't feeling at her best that day." "Do you guys do a lot of voyaging?" Minamitsu asks -- Cinder, it seems, more than Angela. "I could give ya a lift if nothing else! We have lots of room on the ship!"
Angela	"Ah. I have never been in a war." Angela admits, resting her head atop her hands. Punching a mountaintop in particular seems helpful. But of course that could also be dangerous. "Well..." Cinder manages a weak smile. "I am a multiversal traveler now." Angela also answers even though the question seemed to be for Cinder. "I have never left the facility. I am not able to. You could say that ''this'' is the waterway I haunt." Normally admitting this would ve accompanied with anger in her tone but she just seems as down as she has been this whole meeting. "Well...I'd love to go on a sea voyage with Petra..." A flicker of concern appears on her face before she remembers to mask it. "But we have to work either way eventually. If we could claim it is about work..." she catches Angela's stare and stammers a bit before adding, "I mean if you need to use mr as a compass I'm sure that could work for a proper mission!" "As Outsiders in good standing," Angela adds. "You can come by whenever you'd like. Sometimes we close the Warpgate but rarely for long by Outsidet standards." Angela closes her eyes.
UFO Gang	"Good," Shou says, about Wars, and perhaps the Covering thereof. "They're horrible things." "Oh, are you a ghost?" Ichirin says, curiously. "Minamitsu said you were sort of like that, but it also sounded like you were a machine. I hope that isn't insulting!! We don't care what kind of person you are, everyone deserves help!!" Minamitsu is ON DECK. "Well sure," she tells Cinder. "But my ship can also fly over any terrain! As long as there's air! Which I think is pretty much everywhere. I'm not sure. It gets confusing sometimes, so I just let Nazrin give me directions." Nazrin says, "Nyo ho." "Oh, that's wonderful," Ichirin continues. "Of course we'd be glad to help if there's anything we can assist with. I've been working with Unzan for a long time -- Unzan, can you just say hello to Miss Angela, and to Cinder?" The pink cloud... resolves into something like a thundercloud-vision of an old man's forbidding face. The cloud raises a misty hand. "..." (Listen closely: ".............. h-hello") And then shrinks back behind Ichirin. "We might be able to console your people, as well," Shou muses. "It sounds as if this is a very challenging place to work, on a spiritual and mental basis... I am sure that you already do what you can to aid them, but if we can assist, no task is too menial." "Oh, I was wondering," says Nazrin. "It's kinda off topic." She looks at Angela. "Some kind of green stuff fell on my mice, at the end there. It did stuff to 'em. I'm not mad... but what WAS that? Was it just, like, that last one's danmaku or something?"
Angela	...Is she a ghost... There is just a moment too long of hesitation before Angela affirms, "I am not a ghost. I am a," Now a moment of delay. "Machine. I am a very advanced AI, the only true AI of this facility. My existence is technically illegal so it would be a good idea to not advertise this to anyone from The City that resides outside this facility." They don't care what kind of person she is. But she has heard that before, hasn't she? BENJAMIN, she thinks darkly. He said the same thing more or less and now look at him. Traitor. Wretch. Asshole. Angela waves a hand to the cloud. Cinder also waves to the cloud. "It sounds like.... Are you asking to take on work here? If you wish to, you must go through training as per procedure." and also so she doesn,xt have to hear complaints from Rufus. "We pay well, but it is a dangerous place to work as you say. But if you wish to console the workers, then perhaps the Welfare Department will be a place you'd do well to get to know." Cinder murmurs, "It ''is'' one of the smaller teams." Angela almost forgets--or did she just almost choose not to--to explain the green stuff. "Enkephalin can have that effect, particularly once refined. Consider it, in short, to be refined mental energy. It is the power source we develop here."
UFO Gang	"In the language of the land where my old temple lay," Shou says, "those letters would spell out the word for 'Love.' I will not tell anyone of your true nature, Angela. But thank you, for your trust." "We don't really have anything else on our hands right now, other than looking for Lady Hijiri," Ichirin explains. "If we had money... that would make a lot of things easier." "You might be able to get burgers that they aren't throwing out," Minamitsu points out. Ichirin thinks for a moment. Her eyes widen. "That's /true/," she says. "And I do love training!" EDITORIAL NOTE: The reason Minamitsu and Nazrin were able to rush the warpgate to get inside and go on that whole fun filled spirit journey is because Shou and Ichirin, who are both more or less alive, were sickened by thrown-out burgs, donated by a fry cook who opened a door and saw weird girls standing there. (Unzan stayed with Ichirin; Minamitsu is dead; and Nazrin is used to eating garbage.) "Welfare... that does sound like a lovely place," Shou murmurs. "It would be my honor." Nazrin nods along, slowly. "So it's like distilled mental effort... I wonder if those mice achieved enlightenment." "Probably not," Shou says. "Enlightenment comes from right effort... this sounds like... effort, in a generic sense." Her head turns towards Angela. "As I am sure you know well... thinking does not always bring a solution, no matter how much it's done."
Angela	".........Artificial Intelligence." Angela says slowly. She is surprised that people with a ship that flies in the air (Cinder would be starry eyed at any other time) would need money. But she supposes the multiverse has many sorts "Chesed is an agreeable man, if a bit full of himself. You should not have any issue working with him." She dips her head. "Paycheck is biweekly. Training can begin when you are ready. When....When Petra returns, I will inform her you offered to lend a hand. I think you will enjoy her company." She takes a careful breath. "She is more or less in charge of Outsider assistance here even if she is on a different team. If you still wish to work here after your training period, then you are welcome to. Of coutse there are some tests....But we can discuss that at another time." She extends her hand towards Shou--Or Minamitsu--"Welcome to Lobotomy Corp."