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Angela	Angela has been up front about handling Gebura's Meltdown differently from the others and has informed the Elites that there would be a meeting to discuss everything up front about how they intended to handle it. The Warpgate is open and ready to move through and the meeting is actually being held next door to Angela's office in a conference room, an oval table at its center with enough chairs to manage however many Elites are coming that calls into mind any other office job not unlike you might find in any boring old office out there in the multiverse. A large video screen hangs from the ceiling behind Angela, who sits at the head of the table, hands folded over a remote. Near her is Hod who has a digital pad in her hands and an accompanying digital pen for the purpose of taking notes. Chesed is also present--both in their boxbot forms--naturally. Surprisingly, on the WAY to the meeting room, Myo is easily waiting outside of the meeting room in full R Corp Armor minus her helmet, which is held under her arm. She eyes the Elites that enter but doesn't follow them in. Apparently at least the first part of this meeting is not for her eyes and certainly not R Corp's. "Thank you for coming," Angela says once everyone has filed in. "The purposes of this meeting is to discuss a strategies for the upcoming Meltdown with the Red Mist. While it is true we haven't surpassed Tiphereth or Chesed either as far as Meltdowns go, those failed missions were largely due to Manager failure rather than due to overwhelming power. While I am confident in your ability to deal with this Meltdown, it would be ideal if we get through this with minimal employee deaths as I cannot speak to the Meltdowns of Hokma or Binah at all so it would be ideal to reach them in the best position as a facility." 5rShe looks to Hod. "Hod, if you would play the video?" "Y-yes, Miss Angela!"
Angela	BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6BDtASMLAI The large viewscreen shows ... a different facility and occasionally shifts between different camera views. The footage is a bit grainy but the important elements are more highlighted lending extra clarity to the action at hand but it is still difficult to follow. What is immediately clear is footage of Abnormalities tearing researchers apart. Unlike with L Corp, there doesn't seem to be anybody with EGO Gear present in the facility resisting the Abnormalities. And the number of Abnormalities breaching seem to be...--all of them. Any shifts of footage to cells show them to be empty. All of them are empty. While not as extreme, the madness of the scene calls to mind the initial forray against THe Queen's Leviathan forces during that particular final battle. Sometimes the sheer volume of monsters blocks out the cameras entirely. But what is clear is the slew of dismembered limbs, chewed and torn apart bodies... The screams, gradually becoming more and more scattered as there are fewer and fewer voices to give those screams. The attentive might notice Lisa's body clawed to pieces in a hallway of no importance, but it's easy to miss if you haven't really paid attention to her in the past and don't have a very keen understanding of what she looked like as a human. A small group of unarmed researchers run away from three--four Abnormalities. Schadenfreude and that giant teddy bear most notable among them. Some of the Abnormalities at LobCorp predate Lobotomy Corp. As the Bear is about to grab a researcher, GEbura is there, slicing it and the other Abnormalities in what looks like one singular slice from the only EGO Weapon seen through all this footage so far--Mimicry--tears those Abnormalities to shreds in a near instant. She is already covered in wounds--she looks like she's been fighting for hours, trying to defend the whole of the facility by her lonesome. Gebura takes a breath and in that time... The researchers behind Gebura tumble to the ground, dead--clawed to pieces similarly to Lisa. Gebura turns. What she sees is one person familiar to you, and two who are not. One man, one woman--hard to tell really with those full-covering strange metal helmets they are both wearing, though. Three injectors are attached to their bodies with metal prongs. Three injectors each. They are filled with brightly colored fluid. At the end of one arm, a singular vicious looking claw that must be some manner of prosthetic. They're the ones that killed the researchers, judging from the lines of blood across their 'fingers'. "Mm... It seems having that friend of yours release the Abnormalities was a good idea. You're looking a bit tired, Legendary Red Mist." That tone is faintly mocking. With a gesture of her hand, the two Claws move forward-- The Red Mist strikes first, even as exhausted she clearly is. You can see it, she's covered in wounds and scars and despite the fire in her eyes not so much as flickering--she doesn't have the luxury of a tireless body.
Angela	The Red Mist EGO Armor forms across her body as she strikes, ripping the legs off of a Claw with one swing, and their claw-arm with another. With each strike, Mimicry seems to sharpen and lengthen to further augment its striking power as if the shapeshifting power from Nothing There has been imbued into the very blade Gebura is wielding. The other Claw flash-steps forward, one of the claws tearing into Gebura's eye--her hand lashing up, preventing the bulging limb from digging any deeper into her face. The blue fluid depresses into The Claw and the two figures are teleported out of the room, leaving Binah behind. Binah glances to the side, seeing a fallen wounded researcher clinging to life and with a dull sigh gestures with a hand--a small flash of light presses into the researcher's body and the wounds explode open, killing the man instantly before leaning against a wall as she looks at a pad. "A final call Daniel? ... Ah, there you go, looks like the Helper Bot found you." But the battle continues throughout the facility, the second Claw proving more problematic than the first thanks to the power of the drugs entering into her system. Each strike from the Claw makes the facility around them shake, Mimicry deflecting the blows but Gebura is till caught within the teleporting technique of the Claw. After a few quick exchanges, each trying to tear through one another's armor--the Claw takes a hit to the neck-- --the two reappear by Binah right as the Red Mist cleaves the Claw's head off her shoulders. She stares forward towards Binah, hobbling towards her, one eye destroyed by the Claw she had just slain. Another swarm of Abnormalities come upon Gebura before she can strike at Binah. She carves through them again and again but it's almost as if the monsters are working for Binah. For every Abnormality Gebura kills, two more come upon her, slowly carving piece after piece out of her. Each Abnormality cleanly struck dissolves into a fine red mist as the pure strength of The Red Mist evaporates their bodies in a single blow. Occasionally, Binah fires a thin black beam--curious violence rather than anything resembling a duel. And eventually... ...The Abnormalities stop... But not before Gebura is down an arm. Binah has plucked it up into her hands.
Angela	"...Missing an arm?" Binah smiles and tosses the arm towards her--speaking like she's already won. "Think of it as a respectful gesture to a fellow warrior to leave one of your arms intact. I don't know if it'll ease your pain, but this happens quite often, more often than you might think. This is no less common than, say, a little seedling getting trampled to death. I must admit that you're quite the tough sprout, however. You even managed to thwart my plans a little. I never expected for you to defeat the monsters, kill the Claws... well if you can still stand and hold a weapon...Come at me." A shockwave erupts around Binah, eradicating all the camera devices in the area--the last sight of Gebura is seeing her flung back by the shockwave. As the video fades, Angela exhales and continues. "We do not have footage of how she was able to ultimately take down the Arbiter." Angela does not use the name Binah there. "But they both have shared the story. The Arbiter lowered her guard, thinking The Red Mist defeated but with her last ounce of strength, The Red Mist was able to mortally wound the Arbiter--allowing Ayin to ultimately probe The Arbiter's mind and place it within a Sephirah frame." Angela folds her fingers together. "I have shown this to you to give you an idea of Gebura's tenacity and power and to explain why we will not be handling her Meltdown as normal. We will be going into this with a plan. Our current aim is to have the Dame Commander duel her but we will listen to what you have to say."
Tamamo	Tamamo has arrived in her usual -- for this area -- formal dress, eye-catching and space-filling as it is. Her reasons require no further mention, having been here so many times before, and with Lilian's specific mention in the plan.     "I suppose, Ms. Angela, that my first question in this should be, 'will there be another source of danger to accompany the Red Mist?' Much hinges on the possibility, no?" She doesn't recognize Lisa, in fact. She does recognize Binah, and looks a trace perturbed by the interactions shown. The mention of mind-probing doesn't put her at ease.
Timespace Riders	Sougo and Woz arrive, stepping through the Warpgate in tandem. Sougo wears a slightly-oversized short-sleeve paisley button-up in violet and pink, matched with rolled work pants and his favorite pair of trendy hiking boots--Woz wears the same vaguely apocalyptic uniform he always does.      The Demon King smiles cheerfully at Myo--Woz eyes her suspiciously, maintaining eye contact for longer than Sougo did. It's probably just that he doesn't like her vibe--which can be said of most people, generally.      In the past Sougo might have looked away from the video that Hod plays--here, he watches, not because he's desensitized to this kind of violence (indeed, the disturbed frown on his face should speak to the opposite), but perhaps out of some sense of obligation. If I want to avoid something like this, really prevent it, I can't look away just because it's ugly. There might be something--an answer--in all of this. And there is. It isn't an answer Sougo had hoped for, but it's one that he has to deal with all the same. I have shown this to you to give you an idea of Gebura's tenacity and power and to explain why we will not be handling her Meltdown as normal. We will be going into this with a plan. Our current aim is to have the Dame Commander duel her but we will listen to what you have to say.      "Woz and I aren't strong enough yet for someone like Gebura," Sougo says with a frown. "I think the Jester showed us how far we both still have to go. If we tried to help directly, then we'd just slow Lilian down and be two people she'd feel obligated to worry about." He sighs.      "Fortunately," says Woz, "There are few better suited to careful planning than myself." The retainer lifts that mysterious book, laying it onto table. Gesturing towards it with a slow sweep of his hand, he glances towards Tamamo, then Angela. "I can field Lady Tamamo's question--if it please?" he asks. The last time he'd used it for her, he'd overstepped a boundary--so he asks, this time.      With permission, he opens it. The pages are blank, for anyone who thinks to peek. But Woz's eyes clearly scan over them, finding potential futures of import. A few pages turned during a moment of intense study, and he closes it, the book's title continuing to elude comprehenshion, its metal watch wristband clasp closing snugly. "According to this book," he says, "We should prepare for either Melting Love or the Mountain of Smiling Bodies to make an appearance."      Woz pauses. "As well as Gebura potentially receiving support from Chesed."
Ishirou	Ishirou arrives, dressed in his casual outfit.  One that wasn't just a hoodie hiding himself, or overly dressed, or in his RESCUE outfit.  His outfit consists of a lightweight black sweater, with the fringes of what seems to be a plain white shirt beneath it. It's the kind of comfortable ensemble that one could wear around the house, tidied up into something more professional by the lower half - a pair of relaxed-fit pants in dark gray, belted and finished off by a pair of black, casual-lean dress boots. More than that, the changes in his form have happened, the cat-like features were removed, though he opted to keep the blue lips and alabaster skin that gives him a less human appearance.  His hair is down to his neck and tied into a ponytail.  His ears are visible, and not the pseudo-cat-like ears he was doing before. After the movie, he thinks about things.  "Directly facing off against Gebura... Lilian is the best choice there of course.  That still means that abnormalities will be released..." Of course, Woz goes to answer the question first, and his perdictions match what the book says so he nods once at the King's retainer.   "She won't mess with the systems like other abnormalities did, instead she will focus on hurting people.  Some abnormalities respond badly to employees being hurt or killed, and these will likely be provoked during the meltdown on top of the two that Woz mentioned..." "Responding to them before a situation goes critical is critical."
Rufus Shinra	"... Huh." "Yeah - I see why Gebura's a big deal," he says, one hand on his chin, still staring at the blank screen. "If Miss Rook is volunteering to take point - no objections here," he adds, cheerfully. Then over to Woz. "Melting Love - why does that sound worse than the literal pile of bodies?" He hasn't learned the details of every abnormality yet - there's a lot! (Rufus also absolutely does try to sneak a peek at the book.) Then back to the screen. "So the rest of us are running interference and support while Rook and Gebura have it out, I take it?" "If it'll be like last time - multiple breaches - then... two or more groups, each focusing on one of the breaches? Maybe a third on standby in case something else happens, and backing up Miss Rook from afar if not?"
Shinmyoumaru Sukuna	Shinmyoumaru is here! She arrived riding her lacquered rice bowl, as usual, either because walking is for chumps or because she doesn't want to get her feet dirty. Or maybe just to keep up. She has kind of short legs. Shinmyoumaru also knows absolutely nobody in this video! (She doesn't recognize Gebura or Binah without their boxy robot forms.) She does recognize Angela, of course, and also Hod; she waves at both before settling in for the video. Shinmyoumaru seems rapt by some of it. She covers her eyes a couple times, though - but peeks anyway, through her fingers. After the video, she is *decidedly* wide-eyed. Shinmyoumaru doesn't say anything for a few moments, then bursts out almost all at once: "A plan! A plan is good. I want to help with the plan," she adds, drawing herself up. "I mean, not interrupting the duel, duels are *important*." You don't mess with a duel, if both sides are taking it up; Shinmyoumaru isn't boorish enough to want to get in the way of that. "But, the rest of it." She points at Woz, and then Ishirou. "All the monsters got out in that video! And *that's* not a duel. I can help keep things in or out! I'm good at that part." Shinmyoumaru can think of a whole lot of ways to do that. Especially if she's allowed to talk to some of the equipment around here... She adds to Rufus, "Melting Love turns people who get close to people who get close to it into a slime monster, Mr. Button. You're supposed to keep it away from anyone, and keep anyone who works with it away from everyone else. Apparently a whole seventh of resets are caused by it!" Shinmyoumaru has a sharp memory when she cares to use it.
Hibiki Tachibana	Shit, I'm not being paid to fight a Color!     That sentence, that they heard from one of the Backstreets gang members who had the misfortune of meeting the Black Silence right before they did, is one thing that comes to Hibiki's mind, watching Gebura wage a one-woman war on... what looks like the entire pre-Lobotomy Corporation facility. More Abnormalities than she's ever seen breaching even during the Meltdowns here, while so injured and exhausted...     ...and given where they all are now, she knows it won't have anything close to what she'd consider a happy ending. Even so, despite the horrendous amounts of death and panic they get a first-hand view of, bringing back memories of the final battle against the Queen... she can't afford to look away. It's exactly what's going to happen if just one of these days at Lobotomy Corp is allowed to get out of hand.     And, just as Angela said, a display of just how obscenely strong and tenacious Gebura is.     "...I think..." Hibiki starts slowly, "...I wouldn't do much more than be a burden trying to fight her, too." Mostly the same court of opinion as Sougo, there. If last Meltdown wasn't enough to show that, then her many encounters with Lilian Rook, among others, give plenty of historical precedent. It's not that she wouldn't if she had to, but when Lilian facing her down is their prospective plan, the best thing to do would probably be...     "...But keeping other Abnormalities out of the way and handled so they're not an issue is gonna be important, even more than the other Meltdowns. Gebura seems like the kind of fighter who's gonna tear the entire place apart fighting without holding back." She would know a thing or two about wanton destruction.     Tamamo's question, and Woz's answer to it though, get her turning her head. "Chesed..."     He is, in fact, in the room with them right now. She intently stares at the boxbot. "...Are you really planning on making it even rougher than it's already gonna be, same as Netzach did?"
Kukuru	Kukuru hasn't been looking forward to the prospect of Gebura's Meltdown. She's seen firsthand just how scary she could be, and there's little question in her mind about whether or not (mostly not) anyone could really measure up to her in a fight. She's already dedicated herself to helping Angela, however, so skipping out on this meeting simply isn't an option. That's why Kukuru arrives in her proper working clothes (a suit and jacket) rather than her usual frilly comfort wear, and she doesn't even pass out snacks right away on arrival. She does greet Angela, Hod, and Chesed with her usual chipper smile and physical affection, of course, but she deliberately puts on a firm neutral look on her face to try and look just a little more serious. Watching the footage is confusing at first, since Kukuru's used to seeing the Agents handling these Abnormalities in their gear instead of not existing anywhere at all. She's not used to seeing Gebura actively fighting those Abnormalities on her own, and seeing her looking as exhausted and wounded as she does in the footage gets Kukuru to shift about uncomfortably. Even though she's healed wounds like that before, that footage still has her squirming uncomfortably, like she doesn't like what she's seeing. Angela explains the purpose of showing everyone that footage, and Kukuru holds back a strained noise in the back of her throat. It takes her a little while longer to finally speak, nodding slowly after Sougo and Woz. "That's probably the case for a lot of us. Gebura's strong, and.... Nn. I just don't like the idea of letting Lilian fight her like... Like that. I know we..." She inhales lightly, then sighs. ""I know we gotta, but still. So keeping everything else out of the way and stopping anything from distracting her is gonna be real important, yeah." Kukuru rubs her face lightly, then looks up at the ceiling idly. "Do you have an idea of where they'll be fighting? If Gebura can't fly or hit the ceiling..." Kukuru holds out a hand, releasing some of her nanites to create a faint green glow. "Could some of us support her from way up high, so she's not handling it all herself?"
Tamamo	Tamamo, who has no problem with the source of this information (even if she finds Woz's faith curious), says, "Thank you, Mr. Woz. Our next question, then, should be 'what is it we may expect of Chesed,' I suppose."     Possibly following Kukuru's question, or only because it's something she only just thought unobvious enough to bear mentioning, Tamamo says, "I will be focusing my efforts on supporting Lilian, of course."
Petra Soroka	Petra came here directly from working with Binah herself-- still in her EGO, the same grey suit with a glowing blue heart, matching Blue Star's on the screen as it pulses to a halt when the Red Mist bisects it. She has a healthy amount of fear for Gebura, but spending time nearly daily with Binah dulled that sense for her somewhat; from the way she raptly watches the fight on screen, it seems like that's been restored. Or at least... *something's* been restored.     Petra does her best to look appropriately serious rather than excited after the recording comes to an end. Even as familiar as each of the Abnormalities on screen, and the violence they inflicted, are-- or maybe *especially* because of that familiarity-- the scale is so wildly out of her comprehension that she feels dissociated from it when watching. It's a fucking sick as hell fight between the Red Mist-- one of the modern mythological heroes of the City-- and an Arbiter-- guiltily, something she also finds super cool. It's hard to totally discount that just because of the very real threat that she and everyone she cares about might be murdered by one or the other. "Our current aim is to have the Dame Commander duel her but we will listen to what you have to say."     When talking about legendary mythological heroes, of course Lilian would be the only one comparable. That's not even in question, to Petra. The important part, when it comes to Lilian duelling for the fate of the world-- well, for the fate of Angela-- is overcoming the sense of awestruck dissociation at the gap in narrative stakes still present between the two of them.     A task accomplished by defaulting to the most consistent behavior Petra has available to her to do good-- singleminded support and devotion. "Even with Lilian doing it alone, we still need to do what we can to support her. There's not really any guarantee that *Gebura* would keep it to a duel, is there? Or that people won't get killed just from being nearby the fight. So if we want to make sure she doesn't need to worry about us as liabilities, we should figure out some way to, like... section off? Contain? It?"     Somewhere I can watch still. Petra's fervent wishes go unstated. "And how much, like, rigging...? That we want to do for her advantage? 'Duel' sort of has, like, a specific connotation, but...." "We should prepare for either Melting Love or the Mountain of Smiling Bodies to make an appearance."     Petra is the foremost agent assigned to Mountain of Smiling Bodies, and the foremost source of views on artistic representations of Melting Love. She chews on the inside of her lip, looking at Woz but focusing past him, and fiddles with her EGO spear still present in her hands. "Both are kind of bad news. Melting Love is way worse news, but, like, statistically, if we're *likely* to see Mountain of Smiling Bodies, that's because a whole bunch of people have died in the first place. And then it gets way worse any time it eats up a corpse, so it's like, you know, a snowball effect."     With a more deeply uncomfortable expression, Petra tilts her head to the side, gesturing uncertainly with her free hand. "... And if it's Melting Love... then a shitload of people die just from her breaching. And we have to worry about getting infected and stuff. So that's two, uh, facility-wide threats."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia also arrives dressed in her usual attire. She carries only her satchel purse with her for now. She watches the video...      And is quite visibly distraut by the time it ends. She looks a bit pale, she's sweating a bit, and several times throughout she covered her mouth to surpress a gasp or her eyes after a particularly gruesome moment. The Queen's Leviathans were her first foray into such full on deadly combat in...a long time. Perhaps ever. She ends up leaning against a wall for support and panting a bit from just watching it. "...those people..." she murmurs at one point. "...and I would not be on a ship..."      The others start talking about planning, and Sarracenia just watches and listens to each one, looking like she is trying not to lose her lunch. She's very quiet, something pretty unusual for the princess. She is so over her head here, and she knows it. She might even look it.      As the others start talking about how Lilian is the best choice and how they might support the endeavor...Sarracenia makes a sound as if to say something, then hesitates and looks to the side for a moment before continuing. She can't just outright admit that she would be far too weak to handle something like that. So instead, she says, "...I am...new to all of this. As such, I will assist wherever deemed appropriate. Aside from my moderate combat skills, I can also assist in a medic capacity to some degree using my mushrooms."      Melting Love was mentioned on the radio channels before, and hearing that it might be one of the creatures unleashed has Sarracenia's confidence and courage- already frayed at seeing the onslaught of monsters and the vicious injuries inflicted on Gebura - nearly extinguished.
Petra Soroka	Ishirou arrives, dressed in his casual outfit.     Petra levels a stare at Ishirou, leaning on Pillar of Creation while weightily glaring at every part of his outfit besides his face. Pressing her lips together, she intentionally exhales and closes her eyes, easing off the pressure and looking away.     "Good job dressing yourself. Took you long enough." It helps, a lot, that he was integral to getting Petra into the WorldMachine to hug Niko one last time too. "...Are you really planning on making it even rougher than it's already gonna be, same as Netzach did?"     There's a huge sense of relief in being able to be around Hibiki without keeping up constant simmering anger, in a Lilian-approved manner, but at the same time... it's really awkward, too. Petra doesn't know if she's supposed to look at her, or be near her, or act too familiar, and she doesn't really know what she'd say to her, and it's not like she's *forgiven* and it's not like they're *friends*. Being angry was taxing, but being somewhere between enemies and allies puts Petra off-balance, so she semi-conspicuously avoids looking at Hibiki while also confusedly keeping her back towards her in a way indicative of trust rather than ignorance while also being shiftily weird about where her eyes are going.     Hibiki's comment towards Chesed gives Petra a topic she can contribute towards, though! Petra is somewhat more familiar with the Sephirah, so she stumbles into the topic on instinct, offering up an explanation immediately while sagely nodding her head.     "He can't help it. He's got brain damage; they all do. That's why they do the Meltdowns. Otherwise they'd just be normal." "...and I would not be on a ship..."     Petra can't help being nasty, even a little bit, at Sarracenia. She rolls her eyes at the fear, despite it being entirely reasonable, and comfortably slouches in her EGO gear as if this is business as usual for her.     "Yes, princess, you're going to have to fight on the ground, with the rest of us peasants. Welcome to Lobotomy Corporation. You might not have noticed, but we do actual work here."
Lilian Rook	Lilian had been physically healed for Don't Touch Me's screening; of course passing easily, and in doing so, making the statement she believes is important towards the little people that she doesn't consider herself Above the proper procedures. Her ill-form otherwise, tense and irritable, full of little slips and brief dissociations, is a bit better than it was yesterday; and yesterday better than the day before. She'll be a little more back in shape tomorrow, and more so the day after that, because what it means to her to get up every day and put another step in front of the last, despite everything else, includes even this.     The precarious hope involved is that it'll be enough, and soon enough, for this.     'While I am confident in your ability to deal with this Meltdown, it would be ideal if we get through this with minimal employee deaths as I cannot speak to the Meltdowns of Hokma or Binah at all so it would be ideal to reach them in the best position as a facility.'     "I knew there was a reason I trusted you as much as I do; alone out of this godforsaken facility." Lilian says. It's backhandedly warm. "Taking things as seriously as they should be, preparing for confrontation before the battle has begun, keeping the future in mind while using all the resources at your disposal, aiming to eliminate any possibility of failure instead of aiming for a good enough chance to succeed, and taking it upon yourself to begin proactive steps well in advance." She lists each off on her fingers, one by one, as if taking inventory. "You've been listening, haven't you? None of it is a secret, but very few do."     'We do not have footage of how she was able to ultimately take down the Arbiter.'     The video holds Lilian's attention with an uncommon degree of intensity. At first, it appears that her grave expression is for the gruesome deaths of the researchers she's never met, but the fact that she stops so much as blinking when Gebura appears on the cameras says otherwise. She whispers something unhappy about the frame rate, and finds her smart device without looking away, mechanically taking notes as if at one of her lectures-- save that she refuses to miss even a fraction of an instant of what she's seeing. § 1.7~13.8m obsv dist. Digit. ext: 1.3+-0.2 § 0.05~0.07 ms est. 0.09~0.1 vis. § R hand pref. R blnd? (60* per. arc)? 1-b case ambi. § Nocicept N/A resp. LAG-3 N/A resp. Attr nonvia. § Nogate F.lguard? Mmcry class |     Lilian slides her hand to cover her screen.     'I have shown this to you to give you an idea of Gebura's tenacity and power and to explain why we will not be handling her Meltdown as normal.'     "I can see why it would be within the Arbiter team's best interests to breach the entire facility at once." Lilian murmurs, stylus to her lips with her gaze down on her pad. "Smug and shitty as she is, I should be adding 'shrewd' to the list as well. However, seeing as we'll be defending, rather than attacking, the facility, we certainly can't possibly hope to have attrition on our side." Looking back up, she says "May I have a copy of this video footage?"     'We will be going into this with a plan. Our current aim is to have the Dame Commander duel her but we will listen to what you have to say.'     "I'm one part flattered and three parts nervous to hear you say that, Angela." says Lilian, with a failed attempt at trying to make it sound like humour. "Not that I'd expected one, but I may have hoped that there might arise some safer, more guaranteed plan."
Lilian Rook	'we'd just slow Lilian down and be two people she'd feel obligated to worry about.'     'As well as Gebura potentially receiving support from Chesed.'     While Lilian looks a little relieved at Sougo being mature about it, Woz causes her to gasp "Beg pardon?" before she thinks about it. "Again? Was Netzach not enough?" The plastic in her grip squeaks quietly under the strain of her fingers, reminding her to relax her grip. "Well, the Princess is correct, as is Ishirou. Gebura won't actually be able to complicate Chesed's Meltdown; only the reverse is possible. I'm certain I can trust all of you together to at least . . ."     Lilian breathes deeply, and avoids looking at anyone but Tamamo and Angela.     "My strong suggestion is to preemptively suppress several Abnormalities in a single section of the facility, and move them in their egg forms to temporary containment elsewhere; within the facility or at one of the branches. Gebura's hatred of Abnormalities is strong enough that I'm certain she would cut one down the moment it entered her sight; clearing the immediate area and allowing those that are little hazard to myself-- but at least a slight effort for her to destroy-- at opportune moments, might be valuable in creating openings."     'And how much, like, rigging...? That we want to do for her advantage? 'Duel' sort of has, like, a specific connotation, but....'     "Plenty." says Lilian, without hesitation. "Even though Gebura has by far the strongest sense of self amongst the Sefirah, she won't fully be in her right mind; and defending the facility already leaves me at a handicap; we'd fight on the streets otherwise." She looks to Angela.     "I'll want at least one area in each department prepared for catastrophic collateral damage. There's a strong possibility the battle will be mobile, and I'd breathe easier if I have clear pathing to route Gebura through areas that will continuously reset tactical advantage back in our favour, and limit the spread of destruction. I want all restrictions on what work I can do to these areas ahead of time unconditionally lifted. I want those restrictions lifted for Tamamo as well."     Lilian reaches for a thinking posture, hand to face, but ends up fidgeting with the short length of her scar instead. Despite being perfectly smooth, she somehow always finds it by touch. "And I'd like all data you can find about the facility's full catalogue of EGO weaponry. Fighting Gebura until she tires out will be an absolute last resort. Even with the support this group offers, battles of attrition are ordinarily something I avoid at all costs."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia's expression goes more deadpan despite all the fear as Petra speaks up. "I have been in plenty of close quarters combat. I was in such a melee not long ago against the Antimatter Legion." she says, but doesn't actually look any more confident about it. "...still...the creatures within this facility...they seem different. The Legion was almost mindlessly destructive. These beings...seem quite purposely destructive."
Angela	Angela is relieved Tamamo asks one of the more important questions to ask! "Yes." She says. "Despite everything, the day's work does not stop simpmly because Gebura is running around trying to cut up everyone. Abnormalities will still be released. Ordeals might still occur. It is not enough to defeat Gebura--the facility has to remain standing in the process. And ... How she is defeated matters to a certain extent. Some previous Managers attempted to be...'Clever' about it but that did not properly resolve the Meltdown--thus resulting in Resets." She is relieved that most everyone at least seems to understand that Gebura requires more than just throwing bodies at her until she collapses under numbers. Angela's opinion of Woz and Sougo have increased considerably since even just the last meltdown--and far better from their first proper conversation. "I appreciate your input, Woz. Book aside, you have a good eye for the truth of people." Woz asks to look into the future and Angela nods. This probably won't step beyond her boundaries and she's happy to see Woz is being more careful. Though the news that Chesed is going to be 'providing support' to Gebura wholly distracts Angela from the dangerous Abnormalities Woz brought up. "In some ways Melting Love is one of the most dangerous Alephs in the facility if managed improperly" Angela frowns. "And Mountain of Smiling Bodies grows stronger with more corpses at its disposal but... Chesed. I don't supposed you'd care to explain yourself?" "Haha...guilty already?" Chesed pours coffee down his chute. "Well... She is my oldest friend in the facility. Wouldn't it be weirder if I didn't support her? Fighting alone got her in this mess, fighting together will get her out. How often has this happened, Angela?" "...Zero." Angela says. "...I wonder what gave you a splash of courage this time."
Angela	Sougo looks into Chesed's past. He sees Chesed in some kind of control station, but in his human form--but a younger human form with shorter hair and a nicer suit and less tired eyes. "Who are you, ma'am?" Chesed asks. It's The Arbiter again. "Your taste in music is rather classy. Quite different from mine, however." The door to his office swings open on its own as Binah ... just opens it up somehow. She steps inside and says, "I apologize," Her tone to Chesed--Daniel--is different, absolutely polite...almost deferring--but it is clear that it is a facade despite the impeccable tone. "I didn't think you would open the door for me, so I simply walked in." Daniel sweats. "How--how did you get inside? Do I know you?" "I've arrived from The Head. I was so desperately looking for all you naughty children. ... Let's just say I've come to play ''my'' favorite music. Ah--excuse me.." She turns to look to one of the employees--Sougo gets a clear vision of cowering researcher. ansi243, "Could you tell me the name of this fine gentleman?") "D...Daniel..." "Daniel..."Ah, I see... That household. That name carries much more with it than you merit, I'm afraid. I'd like you to open up those doors keeping the monsters locked up. As you've seen, I could open them all myself--I am simply being polite in asking you as you are the man in charge here. If you do, perhaps some will escape with their lives? Wouldn't that be nice?" Sougo doesn't need to look any farther to know the choice Daniel made, and why he is inclined to help Gebura now. Chesed is looking at Sougo back in the present as he returns, as if he could see it--he couldn't, but he is a capable man and knows what Sougo is capable of. "It's easy to point the finger at the betrayer--" Hod squeaks nervously and holds her pad up to her face. "...But nobody really knows what it feels like to be the target of such a thing until they've been in those shoes themselves. The kind of fear I felt in my body... unlike anything I had ever felt before. You must have felt it too, Hod." Hod nods slowly. "Y..yes... Is that why you were always nice to me even when the others..." "Point is, I don't think I could stomach being a coward again. I've heard her talk about how it is to fight alone, to carry everything alone--thanks to you, Dame Commander. And seeing how it affected the both of you, that idea... I don't think I could let it happen again. So I won't. You'll have to force me to shut down, Angela, and then where will we be?" Angela nods once, accepting Chesed's words at face value but rubbing at her face for a moment. It is no longer 'The Impossible Mission' it is now 'The Impossible Mission and Chesed'. But ... Angela wonders why she doesn't feel trepidation anymore--rather, she feels a bit...excited. Two Meltdowns for the price of one. And then what comes after will be those who are less victims as they are prepetuators and villains. She looks to Sarracenia, "...I appreciate your willingness to lend a hand, Sarracenia, despite everything. You've proven yourself capable of following basic instructions--that is all I ask of you in this case. Consider it a first stept on a long journey. I'm glad in spite of your pride you see that Gebura is not to be taken lightly."
Angela	Angela would blush if she could at Lilian's words, despite not being a very blushing person. She does smile and say, "You are so kind to me, Commander. As you've seen from R Corp outside the door, we are authorized to call them in to help suppress Abnormalities or to ... slow Gebura down a little as you see fit. I will call Captain Myo in if you'd like or we can just pass on her team's orders as they come in." "Containing Gebura to simply one facility would be simple but she can teleport. She usually doesn't START with teleporting but considering the shifts that happened so far we shouldn't ...presume she'll fight the same way as before." She won't pretend to understand Lilian's notes completely but she understands they are notes about fighting Gebura. Gebura no doubt took a similar interest in Lilian. Angela won't pretend to understand the path of the warrior any more than that. ''May I have a copy of this footage?'' "Of course." Angela says. "But I will have to keep it to you and anyone you trust to share it with. If this footage got out to the Head, we'd be in trouble. That is why Myo is ''outside'' instead of helping with the planning right now." You can hear Myo's footsteps outside the office increasing with intensity with every passing minute along with assorted grumbling. "Gebura will help with suppression of Abnormalities--judging from what Woz had to say, though, we might have to deal with those two Alephs ourselves. Abnormalities can assist in fighting Gebura, but if we rely on that excessively she will go berserk and even if she loses the battle--it will still be a failure of the mission. Despite this being a 'battle', it is not simply a matter of defeating Gebura in battle. We have to shake her out of her self destructive habits. I believe Lilian knows Gebura best--in ways that most cannot understand her." She nods to Lilian, then to Hod. "Understood. We will prepare the facility as best we are able to allow easy moving through the facility and with sensitive equipment placed in storage--that which we can move--and we can provide some shielding to sensitive areas that we cannot simply put away. I'll provide you with a full catalogue of the EGO weaponry available and specify the ones Gebura is accustomed to utilizing." Angela marvels for a moment at Sukuna actually remembering anything about Melted Love at all and she'll remember that for sure and she gives Rufus a sympathetic nod of acknowledgement--Melting Love IS worse actually, usually anyway.
Shinmyoumaru Sukuna	Shinmyoumaru looks at Petra when she tells the (other) Princess that she'll have to fight on the ground. "Well, maybe she's not, but I'm going to stay in this," she informs her, tapping the side of her hovering bowl. "It's faster!" If she's being honest, Shinmyoumaru mostly remembered about Melting Love because she happened to be in that conversation *and* it was gross enough that it stuck. She doesn't know anything about the Mountain of Smiling Bodies at all and listens to Petra explain at least a little bit about it. "Ew," she decides, afterwards. More usefully: "I'm good at being hard to find! But if it's a *duel*, you shouldn't start shooting along, there are rules. You should do all the stuff ahead of time and then let them go at it. If you want to give her something then, before the duel starts, that's just fair game." She nods firmly. "But if it's *not* a duel, though, then - " Shinmyoumaru waves her hand, as if to say 'that doesn't matter'. And environmental damage doesn't even register as 'cheating' to Shinmyoumaru; that's just good solid tactics. She nods along with Lilian, finding all of this agreeable enough, before she excitedly chimes in, "I can help! I can open or close areas places up, make obstacles or clear them out, AND I can talk to some of the equipment!" Shinmyoumaru reaches into her sleeve and pulls out a wooden mallet painted in a pattern like a stylized tree; a curving brown line for the trunk, green bunches and leaves, a gold and red background. She holds it up. "This is my Mallet! It holds the hopes and dreams of the weak... including the tools everybody takes for granted. And I bet if I asked, the facility would want to help too! Some weapons or doors or cameras, maybe?" She's asking Angela and Lilian both here. Though, she is looking askance at Chesed both a) being here and b) claiming he's going to help Gebura, not them. But something he says about cowardice strikes a chord with Shinmyoumaru, too. "It's important to follow your dreams!" Shinmyoumaru beams, excited and pleased. "That's how the weak can become strong... It's the first step at least!"
Rufus Shinra	Rufus takes being called 'Mr. Button' in stride. "Well, if it's an infectious abnormality..." He pats his shotgun, currently holstered on his back. "Then you'll need some ranged experts, right?" "Someone who can take this thing down without even being in the same room. Probably without even being on the same floor. Not sure if I can take it down without being in the same *building*, but I'd be willing to give that a shot if there's drinks riding on it," he adds.
Tamamo	'He's got brain damage; they all do. That's why they do the Meltdowns. Otherwise they'd just be normal.'     Tamamo glances between Petra and the monitor that had just shown the actions of The Arbiter, including her words, and the expression she made on exploding an unlucky survivor.     "Truly?"     'I'd breathe easier if I have clear pathing to route Gebura through areas that will continuously reset tactical advantage back in our favour, and limit the spread of destruction.'     "Considering the time we have to prepare, and that we know the specific person we wish to contain, it would be only sensible that I place such charms as will affect her alone, and provide a sense of impassibility to those areas we wish her not to enter." Tamamo adds a nod to Shinmyoumaru's mention of 'closing' spaces. However...     'Containing Gebura to simply one facility would be simple but she can teleport.'     "Oh, that might be rather difficult. Without knowing the particular nature of her teleportation, I cannot begin to take countermeasures against it. She may bypass in their entirety any obstacles, even the immaterial, presented."
Timespace Riders	I appreciate your input, Woz. Book aside, you have a good eye for the truth of people.     Woz bows his head in deferential thanks to Angela. Melting Love - why does that sound worse than the literal pile of bodies? Melting Love turns people who get close to people who get close to it into a slime monster, Mr. Button.     Woz nods in agreement with Shinmyoumaru. "To die is one thing. To have life stolen and perverted is quite another." ... And if it's Melting Love... then a shitload of people die just from her breaching. And we have to worry about getting infected and stuff. So that's two, uh, facility-wide threats.     "Having an ally on hand who could handle her without having to touch her would assist greatly in containing her," Woz notes. "My own Kikai or Shinobi forms are well-suited to this, but her gelatinous nature would require my full attention, leaving me susceptible to attack from any other breaching Abnormalities, as well as to any infected Agents. Having someone nearby to watch my back would be ideal--" Sougo brightens, as if to suggest himself, but Woz shakes his head.     "And as my Demon King's nascent powers of precognition would be better spent protecting against predation from the Mountain, he is ineligible to assist. As Rufus Shinra himself noted," says the retainer, with a gesture of his hand towards Rufus, "He would be particularly well-suited." ...Are you really planning on making it even rougher than it's already gonna be, same as Netzach did?     "'Life in the City, at all,' is rough, and that's the way the people in charge seem to like it," Sougo says to Hibiki, with a sad little smile.     "Lilian and Petra have been pretty honest about Angela being their only reason for getting involved, here. And Lilian in particular has been really honest about how fed up she is with... 'people jumping in the way, hoping to catch a stray care.' So... I understand, if that's how you feel, too. Or even if it's just as simple as 'why are you getting in the way.'" He can't help it. He's got brain damage; they all do. That's why they do the Meltdowns. Otherwise they'd just be normal. Truly?     The Demon King nods at Tamamo. Petra's assessment is blunt, and not the way that he'd personally put it--but he doesn't disagree entirely. Sougo leans back in his seat, but there's a stuttering in the motion, just barely perceptible, when his eyes fix on Chesed. That moment passes, and his attention is back on Hibiki.      "All I can say is that there's a reason for what he's doing. I don't say it to excuse him doing it, or to say that it's 'a good reason,' even if I understand it and don't hold it against him. Just... to explain it. So that maybe you're in a better spot to help him reach the other side and come out better for it." Sougo prepares to do exactly that--but Chesed beats him to the punch, and all but says it plainly. It's easy to point the finger at the betrayer--     Sougo's sad little smile is directed at the boxbot, now. "Angela is my reason for being here, and staying here, but that doesn't mean I don't see the Sephirah. It doesn't mean I don't also want things to be easier for you, too. I don't blame you for your fear, or for what you're feeling now. Do what you think is best, Chesed. I'll do the same. And when the smoke clears, you can step into the future with the rest of us, and without your fear."
Ishirou	"...Thank you, it's nice to be noticed," Ishirou says to Petra, despite her words, it does /feel/ nice to not be... reclused as he was before.  He had to take the first steps to change himself, and despite what past they have they did work together to save Niko.  It felt good to save the world AND Niko.   Focusing on things again, Ishirou speaks up, "I think I should also work on Melting Love, I am ranged focused as well, and I can provide ranged support for agents and elites nearby.  It makes sense that I focus on them." Of course, god help him if he gets too close to Melting Love, but that's normal for him.   He also takes a moment to look at Chesed, then back at the facility map, and then considers.  "You'll aid the abnormalities.  Supporting them and providing aid... so to a degree you're like I am..." he says, frowning.  "Unlike the other Sefirah, who directly mess with the agents or with the Manager's ability to see things..." he says finally.
Hibiki Tachibana	Petra doesn't know if she's supposed to look at her, or be near her, or act too familiar, and she doesn't really know what she'd say to her, and it's not like she's *forgiven* and it's not like they're *friends*.     Luckily(?) for Petra, she's not alone in feeling that way! In every bit of social contact they've had for a while now, Hibiki had been in a strained halfway between her best attempts at distant indifference and the constant urges for an outburst, just to get yanked back before they came out. There's no need for any of that anymore, since they both said everything they wanted to say back in that command room...     ...but the immediate 'after' is still awkward, because they're indeed not exactly friends or enemies, and Petra is still directly responsible for a ton of awful things involving her, and it also doesn't help that a certain bunrei is right there, which makes this even more excessively strange. Because Tamamo is and was right about everything, but also Petra has pretty much accepted a lot of that, and...     Thankfully, having a mutual topic to discuss eliminates a lot of the awkwardness! Sort of. If Hibiki's reply to that didn't come without thinking, it'd probably still be awkward. She rubs the back of her head. "I mean, I feel like they've all had pretty understandable reasons for things from their past to haunt them..."     That bloodbath being one obvious one.     All I can say is that there's a reason for what he's doing.     Point is, I don't think I could stomach being a coward again. I've heard her talk about how it is to fight alone, to carry everything alone--thanks to you, Dame Commander.     "Chesed..." The reasoning he gives, Hod's reaction as well as Angela's mention of this never happening before, seems to strike her. Her arms fold and her brow furrows, seeming to run over something inside her head... before she gives off a somewhat uneasy noise. "Even if you got exposed early, I'm glad you're saying it here and now, instead of springing it on everyone last second."     It's a little funny, to imagine the same guy who was helping run interference for their strike (at great risk to his mortal existence) is going to be standing staunchly beside Gebura this time. And when he uses Lilian as his example... well. She can't hate him for what he's trying to do. Not when...     "...Yeah," she murmurs in Sougo's direction, after a delay. "Seeing them all coming out of this for the better... is what I'm here for, I think." Her eyes are on Hod's boxy frame for a moment as she says that, before glancing back to Chesed.     "Alright. I think I get why you're doing this for the first time, Chesed. And that's why... you better not expect me to make it easy for you. Give it everything you've got. ...For you, and her."
Kukuru	"I will be focusing my efforts on supporting Lilian, of course." "Of course." Kukuru visibly relaxes a little as she chuckles after Tamamo's comment. "Thanks, Tamamo. That'll... I'll be able to focus more on helping everyone around the facility, then." "Despite everything, the day's work does not stop simply because Gebura is running around trying to cut up everyone." "Wouldn't it be weirder if I didn't support her?" "We've really gotta do this right, then. Making sure nothing interrupts their fight's important, and..." Kukuru continues smiling while reaching over to pat Chesed on the corner again, pausing to take out a water bottle and chug most of it at once. "It'd be real weird if you didn't, mhm. You can't help but wanna help your friends, and keeping you out of it would just be the wrong way of resolving it for real, right?" "Containing Gebura to simply one facility would be simple but she can teleport." "Putting Tamamo in the ceiling isn't gonna work, then..." Kukuru snaps her fingers lightly, then rubs the side of her head as she tries to come up with other suggestions. She actually does after a few moments, somehow, looking back over at Angela and Petra. "Can we get a tracker on her? If she starts teleporting, I could help Lilian catch up without tiring herself out, too." "Angela is my reason for being here, and staying here, but that doesn't mean I don't see the Sephirah." Kukuru looks back over at Chesed a little after Sougo does. "That, yeah... Would Chesed be able to keep up with all that? If we're gonna do this right, then... We'd have to make sure to bring you along, too, right? We can't have you split up from your friend during something this important, if we're making sure there's no more resets."
Petra Soroka	"Plenty."     Petra nods firmly at Lilian, and begins the process of completely recatgorizing her entire thought process to accomodate for Lilian *not* being interested in a fair fight against a sort-of peer. "Got it. So we'll do everything possible to support you before it starts."     Now all Petra has to do is come up with clever, foolproof plans to rig the battle preemptively in Lilian's favor, bending her entire psyche to the task.     . . .     Petra is not clever. "I'll want at least one area in each department prepared for catastrophic collateral damage."     "That's something I can be in charge of, I think. People will listen to me, and I know the facility. If you want traps and Abnormalities set up, then I can get those ready too." It's easier just to do everything she can to enable what Lilian suggests, instead. Petra pauses, then glances over at Chesed before continuing. "You should get out of here. If you're going to be helping Gebura, then we can't have you fucking hanging out in a strategy meeting about her."     After he's out, Petra slides beside Hod and adds to her, quietly personal, "But you'll be alright, right, Hod? Like, in terms of supporting the facility. You've worked through all that, so you can just be trusted to support Angela instead, right?"     Now that Chesed isn't around to hear all of their plans spoken out loud, Petra pulls out her company tablet and starts tapping at it, humming happily to herself while engaged in task-performance. The tapping is actually just for show-- in reality, cybersynaptic impulses from her Silver are scrolling through the databases faster than she could physically, as a matter of habit, at this point.     "So for Abnormalities. Setting one up in each room we clear out for you, Lilian, means you'd need to keep something different in mind in all of them, but there's a lot we could make practically one-sided benefits for you. Like, uh..."     "Punishing Bird. Not even Gebura should be able to suppress it in one hit, and it'll only counterattack *her* as long as you don't accidentally hit it while it's flailing around. We can let Meat Lantern intentionally breach and suppress it over and over until it's hiding somewhere convenient, and if you memorize where it is, you could bait her into stepping on it. Schadenfreude, which might be kind of dangerous, since you'd need to make sure you don't look at it while it runs around."     Petra nods enthusiastically as she pieces the plan together in her head, rapping a nail against the file for the Punishing Bird. "And, like, that's sort of-- the whole emotional deal too. Since those are all Abnormalities that she could shrug off if she could just be normal and not lash out at them. So it's like, metaphorical."     "And, uh, I don't know if this helps..." The tide of energy wearing off leaves Petra looking slightly nervous, gaze resting on Lilian's face while flickering to Angela for confirmation. "But we could give Lilian one of the Tools, too? Or some EGO gifts. Designating Lilian as-- as a bit of an... Abnormality... could guarantee that Gebura's attention sticks on her. Like an-- an aggro thing. So we could predict her teleporting better."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia makes a light sound of annoyance as it seems the only suggestion she was thinking of at that point of taking Chesed out beforehand may lead to a failure. "...well, there goes that idea..." she murmurs.      Then...she is thanked! She stares in obvious surprise as Angela speaks to her with appreciation. "Oh...uh..." Sarra seems quite unsure of how to respond for a few moments. Of course, the phrases like 'first step on a long journey' and 'in spite of your pride' make that pride flare a bit. The princess crosses her arms and looks off to the side slightly. "W-well...we are allies despite everything. I could hardly claim to be an aspiring hero if I continued to take no action to help an ally in need." She is quiet a moment before realizing what the gracious thing would be to say. She mmphs softly as she has to swallow her pride a bit more. "...and I am glad I can be of assistance to you." she says, though it obviously tastes a bit bitter to say.      As Petra talks about the two Aleph, Sarra seems confused. "...I thought that you all said that Melting Love...converts people rather than actually killing them? That should not leave bodies, should it?" She seems uncertain about that conclusion but isn't really know for keeping her mouth shut.      Plenty of people speak up to help with Melting Love, and while a corpse-eathing pile of bodies isn't her first choice...it seems to be the choice at hand. "...would my hammer and ice flowers be effective at slowing down this...Mountain of Smiling Bodies? I could potentially freeze it in place and with some heavy hits could...sort of ping pong it within a certain area?" She is pretty new to this sort of planning as well. Usually just charging in with her hammer and bombs is enough. Strategy? Ha!      The subject of rigging the duel comes up, and Sarra offers another idea. "I also have a near limitless supply of proximity mines. You could...well, once the area is clear of agents and other personnel you could plant them ahead of Lilian's battle path?" She's just throwing things out and hoping something sticks.      Despite how much she -despises- Petra, she can't help a slightly impressed look as Petra seems to have an Abnormality for every situation. She doesn't look happy about it, but she doesn't comment other than that unhappy look.
Petra Soroka	"Point is, I don't think I could stomach being a coward again. I've heard her talk about how it is to fight alone, to carry everything alone--thanks to you, Dame Commander."     Before Chesed leaves, Petra frowns at him, crossing her arms. Obviously, that's not an ethos she can refute, but-- "You don't get any points for doing that when you're making shit harder for Lilian and Angela."     Oh wait, Meltdowns are supposed to be like therapy. She needs to say something comforting and uplifting, not just bully him. "I'm sorry that your brain damage makes you choose the wrong side every time." "It holds the hopes and dreams of the weak... including the tools everybody takes for granted. And I bet if I asked, the facility would want to help too!"     Petra looks thoughtfully at Shinmyoumaru, taking the concept of granting wishes for tools fully in stride without a second thought. "What if the facility has shit opinions though? It's not like it's, uh, seen a lot of pleasant stuff. If it's cool, though, then I could totally use your help in setting up the, like, safe regions for Lilian." "Then you'll need some ranged experts, right?"     Petra rolls her eyes, but Rufus is unfortunately correct. "Yeah yeah, probably. I'll ask Fox or Sal if they've got better information on the infection stuff. We'll see who can handle it. You'd better not get turned into goo though, it'd be gross." Somehow, this carries the implication that she means 'unappealing', rather than 'unfortunate and gory'. "Truly?"     Petra follows Tamamo's glance, and doesn't seem to understand the issue with her wording at first. She furrows her brow and partly opens her mouth, then makes a wobbly uncertain noise. "Ehhh, uh, 'normal' as in... she didn't have a bunch of awful green tentacles coming out of her back then. Normal for *her*. She's mostly fine to work with." Every Sephirah Meltdown so far has been accompanied by those tentacles, so Petra has no reason to assume that Binah's won't. "To die is one thing. To have life stolen and perverted is quite another."     In response to Woz, Sarracenia, and the others weighing the qualities of the slimegirl versus the corpsepile, Petra shakes her head and makes a little gesture of cutting across her throat to communicate. "Oh, they both do that. Both killing, both, uh, perverting. Mountain of Smiling Bodies eats your corpse and then digests it and bulks up a bunch. And Melting Love's minions are, super dead, turned into slime. It's a lot of dying and perverting. Both get worse with more people absorbed." "I mean, I feel like they've all had pretty understandable reasons for things from their past to haunt them..."     "They should really be haunted in ways that are less annoying." Petra huffs and grumbles, but at this point, she's unfortunately accepted that this is rarely how traumatic pasts work. Not for her though. She's built different. She got way less annoying when she got stuff to be haunted about.
Lilian Rook	'But nobody really knows what it feels like to be the target of such a thing until they've been in those shoes themselves. The kind of fear I felt in my body... unlike anything I had ever felt before. You must have felt it too--'     Lilian's tablet display flickers plaintively. Holding her breath, she does her best to slowly release her grip from its sides.     'I've heard her talk about how it is to fight alone, to carry everything alone--thanks to you, Dame Commander. And seeing how it affected the both of you, that idea... I don't think I could let it happen again. So I won't.'     "My apologies, Chesed. I take it back." says Lilian. "You couldn't be less like Netzach if you tried." She shifts her seated posture, exchanging which leg lies over the other. "Seeing as you're being so polite as to provide intent to interfere in advance, I'll call it borderline. If that's what it means to you, then I'm afraid must respect it to some degree, even if I hate it." she says. "'Blood shed for thee'." comes quieter.     'As you've seen from R Corp outside the door, we are authorized to call them in to help suppress Abnormalities or to ... slow Gebura down a little as you see fit.'     "I'd been wondering." Lilian says. "Myo will likely go insane if we keep her out of it a second time. I'd rather not send human beings into certain death, however. R Corp is at least bound by City contract to support you; which means I can trust them better to suppress the Breaches than half the people here at least. You may call her in if you wish." Lilian taps her stylus to the corner of the tablet. "If she has a problem with me keeping her away from Gebura, she'll have to beat me to change my mind."     A beat of silence passes, then, out of nowhere, Lilian laughs. Not loud enough to take over the floor, but far away from the single syllables or half-sighs that she usually shares in professional company. "Unbelievable. When did I start talking like this?" she says, giggling under her breath. "I suppose the flaw wasn't with the logic, but with the people espousing it."     'But I will have to keep it to you and anyone you trust to share it with.'     "Of course. I'll delete it the moment before, and not after, the Meltdown begins." Lilian says. "Having an opportunity to observe an opponent in action, in advance, is an opportunity valuable enough that no serious fighter would pass it up." Tap tap tap "That was why I kept so many secrets, before learning how lackdaisical and sloppy the average Elite really is."     'I believe Lilian knows Gebura best--in ways that most cannot understand her.'     "Then you've been paying attention." Lilian sighs. "Since the very first day." Looking back down again, she whispers, "The only thing I still wonder is . . . why Mimicry? Why armour?"     'Understood. We will prepare the facility as best we are able'     "Thank you, Angela. It's as you've said. It's not as if we can proceed with something as ignorant as attempting to crush her pride or will."     'Considering the time we have to prepare, and that we know the specific person we wish to contain, it would be only sensible that I place such charms as will affect her alone, and provide a sense of impassibility to those areas we wish her not to enter.'     Lilian finally lets herself breathe a sigh of relief. "That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. You know me so well that we're already on the same page, right~?" she says, completely shelving the tactical attitude to talk about something that is clearly optimal on its own merits. "I'll be asking for as many healing and empowering resources as you can place along with them, too. The less I have to conserve strength against her, the better. I'll be depositing supplies of my own."
Lilian Rook	'Oh, that might be rather difficult.'     "Hence why it's best that she focus on me and me alone. As long as we're engaged in active combat, I can't imagine her running away from me, so it'll end up being my responsibility to keep her focused where we want her to be."     'people jumping in the way, hoping to catch a stray care.'     Lilian mutters "Konoe." quietly.     'Putting Tamamo in the ceiling isn't gonna work, then...'     "Fucking excuse me?" Lilian coughs. "Good luck letting you attach anything to her at all. The signs leading up to the collapse are already well underway."     'Got it. So we'll do everything possible to support you before it starts.'     "I appreciate it, Petra. Just don't overdo it." Lilian says. "Ultimately, this fight is about Lobotomy Corporation; about her unfinished business with it, about Carmen and the City; not just which of us is stronger. Her goal is to destroy the Abnormalities, and the facility with them, whereas my goal is to defend it. But we can't afford to stray very far from the fact that it is my responsibility precisely because I'm the only one Gebura sees eye to eye with." Lilian even looks eye to eye with Petra for emphasis.     "I'm the one who has to get through to her. I have to be the wall she can't overcome. Even if I have to do it by not utterly rejecting the help of all my allies, if you muddy the waters too much, it'll be her versus 'the City' again. And you know how she is about 'cowards'."     What Petra arrives at seems to satisfy Lilian, but she stops to add one last note. "Whatever you set up, it can't exclusively target Gebura. Even though I'll know about it ahead of time, it has to at least nominally endanger me as well. Keeping things in mind is fine; you know how good my memory is; so don't choose anything I'd be outright immune to."     Lilian responds to Petra's examination of the 'emotional' theme with dry, if approving, laughter. "That's right. Your only purpose here is to show her where our paths diverged; her and I. She has to see why I can handle what she cannot."     'Designating Lilian as-- as a bit of an... Abnormality... could guarantee that Gebura's attention sticks on her.'     "Aren't I already? Between myself and I, whatever would be convenient to someone for me to 'count as' seems to always be true. She'll figure it out."     'They should really be haunted in ways that are less annoying.'     Lilian stares at Petra meaningfully. "I'm going to hit you if you keep saying things that hypocritical." she says.
Angela	"Fair enough, Captain." And Chesed moves to depart, his gaze lingering on Woz and Sougo for a moment as Sougo gives him a little sad smile. His words seem to be as much about him not earning any points this way and also about him not being a good idea to have around during a strategy meeting but he does feel like he has to answer Sougo. "She's really befriended so many of you all... I think it's sweet... But it's true that our goals, short term and long term, aren't neccessarily the same. But who knows? Maybe we'll find our way onto the same page somehow." He looks to Hibiki and adds, "Haha...well, I wouldn't want to be seen as despicable as Netzach. Carmen would've never let me live something like that down. ... Not that once I met her..." His eye flicks towards Angela for a moment. "Well let's see how things are after my 'brain damage' is treated." He gives Hibiki a pat on the arm with his arm. "Keep reaching out with those hands of yours, mm?" Ishirou suggests that he's going to help buff the Abnormalities. "Mm...well I am Welfare... But I should keep some secrets too, shouldn't I?" Which might be a hint in of itself. He does pause, though, as he nods to Lilian and he admits, as if a bit embarrassed, "...Thanks, Commander. I am glad she's in your hands." And then he's gone. Sarracenia's surprise at Angela treating her politely is something Angela keeps in mind. If it's a surprise, should she stop? Nevertheless, Angela is not in a position to refuse help (From those that can refrain from pushing a button). Sarracenia brings up the proximity mines too but Lilian has the right idea of how the battle should be conducted. Anything that can endanger Gebura also has to nominally be able to endanger Lilian as well. Maybe Sarracenia will get her chance to blow up Lilian after all.
Angela	Angela looks to Rufus. "The ... 'Perverting' ... range of Melting Love is short but it is difficult for Agents to know who has 'the infection' so spreading out is also important. If you are infected and we get to the end of the day without you turning into a slime monster --well, that would have to be post breach if we are taking that for granted--but it is a treatable condition if we make it to the end of the day before you melt. ... Though we'd need the Welfare department active for that." Tamamo admits she might not be able to prevent Gebura's mode of teleportation and Angela's sigh suggests she doesn't exactly know how it works either--or simply can't share that information. Listening to Woz also agreeing to fight at range is...a little alarming. Not that it came from Woz, but because it seems like a lot of people are actually working together and agreeing and making viable plans with one another. Perhaps, Angela thinks, she should have similar meetings when it comes time for Hokma and Binah. She knows at least one thing Benjamin has access to that she doesn't and judging from how Binah attacked the facility... Angela considers the idea of giving Lilian EGO Gear. "We could. I'd be all too happy to provide any supplementary EGO Gear you'd like. Whichever one that speaks to you, Commander--Gebura will not be limiting herself to ''her'' EGO." She hadn't thought to offer because Lilian already has her own EGO--effectively even if the proper nouns might be different. ''But you'll be alright, Hod?'' "Eheh... You know, I--It's a nice feeling being trusted to be relied upon... I'll do my best, Miss Petra! Miss Bikki!" Her little ahoge-antenna wiggles from side to side excitedly. "Don't worry... M-Miss Gebura might be Chesed's friend, but you're all of mine!"
Angela	Angela notices that moment of Lilian holding her breath, she reaches out for a moment just to rest her hand on her arm for a moment. The moment is over by the time she actually reaches it but the idea of awkwardly pulling it back after Lilian's already recovered seemed more shameful than just committing to it. She nods as Lilian says to call Myo in. She pushes a button on the desk and adds, "Myo. You may come in now..." Myo rushes into the room like she's hoping to catch a secret. "Saw Chesed leaving and that must've been interesting...! I'm not exactly thrilled being kept out of a strategy meeting regarding the Red Mist, Angela." "That's understandable." Angela says. "But you will not be helping with The Red Mist. You'll be assisting in suppression of Abnormalities so you can consider it helping defeat her indirectly. ... Unless you defeat the Dame Commander." "Well maybe I..." Myo turns to look at Lilian. She looks into Lilian's eyes and sees something in those eyes that makes her stop talking. She might be a loudmouth punk but she does have some instincts. She exhales slowly. "...Fine. But if Gebura runs across us during the fight then I'll see that as a goahead to 'take a swing at it'." Myo offers as her compromise to agreeing to the plan. Angela doesn't object because she doesn't seem to think it'll end up an issue either way. ''Why Mimicry? Why armour?'' "I do not know. I know that it was in the Script to confront Gebura with the creation of Nothing There every loop. I suspect that weapon holds some personal meaning. As for why armor? Only she could say." ''Konoe''. "Konoe..." Angela mutters quietly. But ultimately it's the last of the strategy that Angela stiffens and focuses her eyes for, pulling in a breath as Lilian explains exactly how they need to combat Gebura. "The Commander is correct. Simply throwing so much force at Gebura--force enough that no matter of strength can resist.... That will simply further Gebura's break. The reason for this Meltdown is that Gebura knows that she has failed to protect those most precious to her--where Lilian has successfully done so...she no doubt has concerns it is only a matter of time for the Commander to fall under the weight of what she has to carry as well. We must avoid simply furthering Gebura's descent or we will lose even if we win the battle." She nods to Kukuru. "We have to do it right. Not just do it."
Shinmyoumaru Sukuna	Shinmyoumaru edges away from Tamamo slightly when she nods at her, shooting a glance at her tails but not commenting beyond that. Shinmyoumaru blissfully assumes that Lilian isn't including her in the half the untrustworthy people, or the 'lackdaisical and sloppy' description. And maybe she's not! But Shinmyoumaru definitely assumes she's in the clear, because Lilian has been reasonably pleasant to her and doesn't treat her as unnecessary. "Well it wouldn't be the WHOLE facility," Shinmyoumaru replies to Petra. "That would be harder..." And, if she's being honest, she's not sure she could do it without making a wish powerful enough that it would extort a cost. "But something smaller - I bet they don't want to be broken uselessly!" Shinmyoumaru is imagining flying shields in defense of Lilian, or maybe a turret that really wants to help pin Gebura down. When Lilian says they have to endanger her as well, she thinks harder, brow furrowed. Those might still work, but... "Right, so traps," she says. "Traps and danger zones! If you know about them and she doesn't, you can surprise her with them, but if you fell in it'd hurt you too... something in here probably explodes, right? Or lights on fire? Or explodes *and* lights on fire? If there was a barrel or something, we could have it swing down..." Shinmyoumaru likes explosions. They're reliable. She agrees with Petra, "I'll help with that! And the Abnormalities, probably, though I don't really want to go near if it's Melting Love... I guess the Mountain would be better for me, even if it's gross *and* you don't want it to get out. Or other things." There's a lot of Abnormalities around and it sounds like they might be planning to let some of them out. Shinmyoumaru is already thinking. Walls are easy, and most of these stay in their room, normally - she knows that much - so walls should work at least a little bit, right? She starts to doodle in front of her with her finger, which doesn't actually leave any marks and thus is completely safe beyond some finger-wiggling that helps her think. Still, some things slide in. Failed to protect... Shinmyoumaru's tracing of lines stops for a moment, then starts again. She gives Hod a smile when she says she's everyone's friend, then glances over toward Myo as she enters.
Rufus Shinra	"Well, I'd hate to be gross," says Rufus to Petra, rolling with it as he almost always does. "If I turn into goo, then how am I going to find out what happens when I earn that third strike?" And then to Ishirou: "Probably we *shouldn't* group up. Instead - let's spread out, try to make it have to focus on one of us at a time. Then, if you know you're infected - close in on it instead of spreading out." "Before that, though - you've got... flying drone things, right? I've got some setup I'll want them to do, once things get going." Rufus reaches into a pocket, and hands Ishirou a roll of... quarters? "Keep these handy, will you?"
Ishirou	"That... right there might be why Chesed is opting to go with Gebura..." Ishirou says after some reflection and contemplation after Chesed leaves, both leaving him with a clue and a thing to think about.  "I think he's attempting to give Gebura a second chance to protect something... at us a chance at reaching her." He sighs, "Or at least, the Manager.  I hope so anyway..." things are muddied, and going to get more dangerous from here on out.  Petra has plans, so he trusts her to fulfill what Lilian wants.  He's less happy about Myo, but that is because she seems more in it for a fight than actually helping.   He does take a moment to smile at Hod, it's hard to be down with her infectious sunny attitude to be there.   Rufus hands him a roll of quarters and he looks at him strangely.  "Right, spread out, collapse on it if infected.  I can do that... and yeah I do the drone flying thing.  Just... please don't use them as weapons unless you /have/ to," it's hurtful to his morale!   "I'll... keep these handy," Ishirou says, placing the quarters into his subspace pocket.
Kukuru	"Fucking excuse me?" "If Geburah couldn't teleport or fly, I thought... Ahh." For once in a long time, Kukuru actually chuckles awkwardly. It's not a nervous one, but more of a 'I thought it sounded good at the time' sort of chuckle. "Maybe... We could put Tamamo really high up to help, and then Geburah wouldn't be able to reach her." Slumping a bit and looking just slightly dejected, Kukuru focuses instead on continuing to absorb as much of what's being discussed as she can. Enough comes out that she realizes that even trying to skew the battle in obvious ways could be just as much of a failure as an actual failure, though, and that has her holding back on trying to pitch more ideas that even she would notice as too obvious. That means focusing on subduing Abnormalities and preventing things from spiraling. Even after Chesed leaves, she's still got her thoughts going a mile a minute, and it's not until Angela starts talking about the Welfare department that Kukuru's head finally picks back up. "... she no doubt has concerns it is only a matter of time for the Commander to fall under the weight of what she has to carry as well." "What about Chesed's Meltdown? If that's gonna happen at the same time, then... Would it help if Geburah saw us focusing on that and keeping Chesed from helping her out against Lilian? Then Gebura'll see right away that the weight won't crush her or us, because everyone's holding that weight up even with Melting Love and Mountain of Smiling Bodies making things harder." A beat, and then Kukuru lets out another uneasy noise while keeping that smile up. "It's easier said than done, buuut... I know we can handle it. And when anyone starts getting infected, I can work with the Agents in Welfare to keep them healthy after they start turning all slimy!" Another beat, and she looks over at Myo with a hopeful look on her face. "We'll be counting on you, too.  I know it's tough not being included in these kinds of things, but can you please trust us? It'll all be worth it in the end, I promise."
Hibiki Tachibana	They should really be haunted in ways that are less annoying.     "I don't think you /or/ me are in any position to judge..." Hibiki answers Petra with complete and utter truthfulness, rubbing at the back of her neck. Even if it's still an extremely complicated situation, it is a lot less stressful to actually reply to what Petra says instead of pointedly ignoring her. For anyone sensible, it'd probably be the other way around. Hibiki Tachibana is not sensible.     Keep reaching out with those hands of yours, mm?     "You're not the first one to tell me that," Hibiki admits with tiny smile that's not exactly cheerful, but halfway between solemn and appreciative. "I'll try. If you're gonna say that though, don't think you'll be an exception."     With the gauntlet metaphorically thrown with Chesed, she's that much more dedicated to making sure Chesed's interference doesn't make things any harder when it comes to facing down Gebura. That might be something only Lilian can do, but Chesed is another story. She'll manage.     I'll do my best, Miss Petra! Miss Bikki! Don't worry... M-Miss Gebura might be Chesed's friend, but you're all of mine!     "Ah..." Something about Petra and then her being called out one after another like that gets Hibiki pausing, as if her brain momentarily shorted out despite very well knowing Hod is their mutual friend. When it restarts, mostly because the little boxbot's willingness to step up is impossible to not be encouraged by, she steps over and plants a hand on top her frame. Pat, pat.     "Yeah. We'll be counting on you. I figure you wanna do your best for Chesed too, so I know you won't let us down."     I'm the one who has to get through to her. I have to be the wall she can't overcome.     The reason for this Meltdown is that Gebura knows that she has failed to protect those most precious to her--     ...she no doubt has concerns it is only a matter of time for the Commander to fall under the weight of what she has to carry as well.     "...Right," Hibiki murmurs. And then echoing Sougo, seemingly to herself, "And then once all the smoke clears..."
Timespace Riders	I'm not exactly thrilled being kept out of a strategy meeting regarding the Red Mist, Angela.     If side-eyes could kill, Woz would hold a smoking gun. They should really be haunted in ways that are less annoying.     "While I doubt it was intended to be, a moment of levity is appreciated nonetheless." Woz found it funny, in a grim sort of way.
Sarracenia	It isn't the politeness that Sarra finds surprising. Angela is almost always at least agreeable. It is more the fact that Sarracenia was shown some level of appreciation. Even if it is for such relatively small things as being able to follow directions or being willing to help it is something, and something Sarracenia rarely receives. But, it might be hard to tell the difference.      Neither of Sarra's suggestions seem to be commented on directly, and the idea that slimes don't count as dead is debunked, but when Lilian says the rigging will have to endanger Lilian as well Sarra perks a bit. "Oooh. I suppose the proximity mines will be perfect, then. Just tell me where to place them and when." The idea for Mountain of Smiling Bodies seems ignored. That is okay, though. "I suppose if Melting Love is properly contained then the Mountain will not be too much of a threat...?" she theorizes to no one in particular.      The question of why armor comes up, and Sarracenia ponders a moment. "Perhaps because armor is the symbol of the protector? If Gebura is melting down because she could not protect someone, then armor might make sense as it would make it easier to last longer after taking more hits, thus enabling her to protect longer and more effectively?" Once again she sounds uncertain.      Ishirou suggests that Chesed is helping them by helping Gebura, and Sarracenia lets out a soft, "Hmm...possibly." It could be possible, but it could just be loyalty to Gebura as Chesed said. She is also confused by the quarters and gives Rufus a raised eyebrow look of confusion.      Sinmyoumaru seems to be onboard with explosions, and Sarra can't help but smirk lightly. "Even if there is nothing in here that does explode, I could provide enough explosives to reduce this area to a crater. They are kind of my thing~" she says, some of her pride and (over)confidence coming through again.      Sarracenia isn't really familiar with Hod or Myo, but Hod is cute and Myo is spirited so both get a bit of a smile from Sarracenia.      'They should really be haunted in ways that are less annoying.'      It is Sarracenia's turn to roll her eyes this time. "Indeed..." She is completely innocent of being annoying due to things haunting her, after all.
Petra Soroka	"Unbelievable. When did I start talking like this?"     Petra doesn't actually have any context for what Lilian would talk like besides 'like this', so the actual content of Lilian's amusement goes straight over her head. Even without getting it, though, Lilian's laughter instantly improves her mood, smiling happily as if it's infectious. Her mockery of Sarracenia being sort of like a dog that only listens to tone clearly didn't come from nowhere. "Even if I have to do it by not utterly rejecting the help of all my allies, if you muddy the waters too much, it'll be her versus 'the City' again. And you know how she is about 'cowards'."     Petra readjusts her thought process about how to prepare for this Meltdown for a second time, coming to a stable mental compromise between her first two concepts. It doesn't take that much effort this time. "Alright. So nothing like, you know, getting a contract from Red Riding Hooded Merc. I-I don't really think I can judge the boundary of how much 'too much' is, honestly, so I'll figure out some stuff and then run it by you."     The metaphorical accuracy of Petra eagerly being the 'person Lilian can rely on' to the point that she's barely an autonomous entity of her own, while she turns a dial labeled 'oppressive systemic violence' and checking back with Lilian to make sure she approves, is almost too on the nose. "Eheh... You know, I--It's a nice feeling being trusted to be relied upon... I'll do my best, Miss Petra! Miss Bikki!"     Entirely on mindless instinct, Petra grabs Hod's antenna as it wobbles around, and twists it back as if pulling on her hair until Hod squeals and flails around. Then she blinks and shakes her head, releasing Hod and regaining the focus in her eyes. "What the fuck. You're so cute." "The reason for this Meltdown is that Gebura knows that she has failed to protect those most precious to her--where Lilian has successfully done so...she no doubt has concerns it is only a matter of time for the Commander to fall under the weight of what she has to carry as well."     This, now, finally clicks into Petra's brain as to what her role is in this Meltdown. Unfortunately... Petra's unique methods for lessening the weight on Lilian might not translate that well here.     "I don't think I understand Gebura that well..." Petra mutters under her breath, while thinking, She probably doesn't even have a dad I can kill.... "If I turn into goo, then how am I going to find out what happens when I earn that third strike?"     Petra affixes Rufus with a pout and a glare, brought back down into being grumpy again. "You know what happens. I have a whole fucking agreement over what happens. Once Gebura's chilled the fuck out, she probably won't even get on my ass about it so much. You're supposed to *not* get the three strikes." "I don't think you /or/ me are in any position to judge..." "While I doubt it was intended to be, a moment of levity is appreciated nonetheless." "I'm going to hit you if you keep saying things that hypocritical."     Petra meets Lilian's stare with undivided attention, eyes wide. The magic words to gaining her focus are 'I'm going to hit you'.     "E-eh-- yeah, that's fair. Yes ma'am."
Shinmyoumaru Sukuna	Shinmyoumaru watches Petra grab Hod's antenna. Surreptiously, she slides her lid 'hat' a little forward, over her own sticking-up bit of antenna hair.
Lilian Rook	'Maybe... We could put Tamamo really high up to help, and then Geburah wouldn't be able to reach her.'     Lilian squints at Kukuru, but apparently decides that "I see. You're trying to help."     'I don't think I understand Gebura that well...'     Lilian narrows her eyes at Petra in a very different way. "You're thinking something fucked up, aren't you?" She isn't trying to make up her mind, that time.     She sort of looks like she wishes she took the opportunity to slap Petra anyways. It'd be enriching.     'I think he's attempting to give Gebura a second chance to protect something... at us a chance at reaching her.'     "I wouldn't be shocked, though I doubt he himself can articulate it so cleanly." Lilian says. "For every real person and one hundred fake ones, there are four or five that could go either way, depending on how well they follow the urges they feel are different from mere impulses." Finally, she too says " And thank you for treating this meeting with the respect it's due. It's been a while since I've seen you dress properly."     'I suspect that weapon holds some personal meaning.'     "That's what I wish I knew a little more about." Lilian sighs, as if her mentioning at all hadn't been a private, accidentally audible monologue. "It seems like a very strange choice. As an Abnormality, I can see why Nothing There would be something confronting to her, but . . ." Lilian's gaze drifts emphatically over to the screen. "She doesn't wield that weapon at all as if she hates it."     'We have to do it right. Not just do it.'     Lilian leaves off on a very small smile. "You know, Angela. For someone who doesn't particularly like any of the Sefirah at all, you really do pay attention to them. Especially for someone who never knew them in life."
Angela	Myo clucks her tongue in annoyance at Ishirou, though he doesn't give her much to pounce on. Woz, however, gives her plenty. "What're you looking at?" She asks. It is true she has a personal connection to the Red Mist, even if it's largely onesided and it is true that she is mostly in it for the fight--but she is certainly motivated and might cause trouble if she isn't given any role at all. She's kind of a punk in some ways, even as a corporate officer. Hod can't smile back at Shinmyoumaru without a face but she makes a little happy singsongy noise at ''her'' smile. She understands the pain/joys of being small and adorable well... Angela covers her mouth for a moment, eyes flitting towards Rufus, nodding to his idea that they probably shouldn't actually group up with Melting Love. Ishirou has a theory about Chesed as well but Angela doesn't comment on it. She's so accustomed to boring old repetitive loops that she is a little hesitant to make overarching statements of how things are going to go. Can she really say for usre? "Your powers might prove quite helpful in staving off Melting Love infections." Angela says. "I doubt once they're slimed there'll be ressurectable with a lack of brain even to restore from so it'll be best to prevent it. The fewer corpses the better when dealing with Smiling Bodies, like Petra had said." Hod makes another singsongy noise at being petted. She's a creature that knows what she wants, at least. Could Sarracenia be right? The armor is a symbol of Gebura's--Kali's really--desire to protect? Angela supposes they might very well find out during the Meltdown. Angela is very accustomed to a feeling of doom permeating the facility when discussing Gebura's meltdown in the past. In this case... Petra is even smiling. She's seen the kind of miracles they've brought forth before. If it doesn't work here, it might very well just be impossible. She can't imagine better circumstances--and comrades--to undertake this challenge . ...Not that she'll be in a position to help during the events. But perhaps she can help the Manager be less incapable... She's jarred out of her thoughts by Hod squealing and her singular eye squinting as her antenna is pulled back. "M..Miss Petra...! Ah..wahh..." You can practically HEAR the >_<. ''She doesn't wield that weapon at all as if she hates it.'' Angela is not surprised that Lilian has insight on Gebura but her eyebrows raise faintly and she cups her chin. Gebura... /doesn't/ seem like she hates the weapon. It's true. But she should. So why doesn't she? ''For someone who doesn't particularly like any of the Sephirah at all, you really do pay attention to them.'' And you pay attention to all of us. Angela thinks rather than immediately deny it--it feels like she'd just be stepping on a rake if she did that and that's why she actually considers the possibility of it being true. "...We are in the same boat in some respects." Angela admits after a moment. "Even if they all--barring Binah--joiend this project willingly... None of them asked ofr it to reach this point." And what's the point, she thinks, they aren't going to survive the Seed of Light. She knows the end. They'll be shut down along with everything else and... ...Does she actually care about that? Does it...bother her? Angela puts the thought out of her head for now. "I'm glad," She manages. "To have an attentive friend such as yourself, Commander." She wants to say much more--but this is public enough, and Myo is right there eyeing her suspiciously.