Scene #9188: Another

Owner	Pose
Angela	Lobotomy Corp... Records... It continues to be one of the more sparsely populated areas in the facility. Only Tennant, Captain of the Records Team, is with Hokma right now. Tennant moves throughout the facility as part of their job but tends to linger close towards Hokma and rarely moves up to the middle floor to help with Works there--only doing so when there is an order from the Manager to move on up there or if there's a full on Meltdown. Despite Tennant being 'punished' for their assault on Sarracenia, they still have ahold of their EGO Gear and are still stationed here. All in all, Angela is only willing to punish Tennant with extra work and cleanup rather than waste a Captain for Sarracenia's sake. If it had happened earlier, she might have done something else, but not when the last push is about to occur. Everyone paying attention can see it. Including Tennant. "You have been more forthcoming about your ... background as of late, Tennant." Hokma says. "After all these years, I had thought that you saw yourself as an Agent first and foremost." Tennant's goggles are over their eyes, obscuring them with a blue glass. "Oh I could never forget, Benjamin. Never ever. Not even after twelve years. So have you decided? Ayin or Angela?" Hokma popped open his pocketwatch and stared at it. The little hands there haven't moved in a long time. Whether it was representative of his own time or the facility's or even Ayin's he could not tell, but one way or another--time was running out. He had talked to Sougo and Woz, he had talked to Tamamo. But in the end... "There is simply no choice in the matter. If I do not challenge them honestly, the project fails." "And that is illegal." Tennant chirps, hand tightening against the stock on Magic Bullet. "That is right. Simply siding with Angela... The script does not call for that." Hokma says. "Too bad you don't stand a chance. They beat Binah and Gebura--" Tennant was brutally honest as ever. Hokma had no teeth to grit but he quietly stared into the pocketwatch in his hands.
Timespace Riders	A golden structure, almost palatial in its character, rises from the floor before Hokma and Tennant. First is the dome, capped with four swept braces calling to mind a closed flower. Then, as it rises, the body, brushed, rectangular, on the whole giving the appearance of a temple with the inscriptions at its seams--if not for the front facing. This bears what is clearly a timepiece, if not one congruent with the history of the City. Rather than Arabic or even Roman numerals, they are Japanese, numbering twelve total in two sets of six, each counting down from 9 (thus omitting 1, 2 and 3). Each of the hours also bears a character for a zodiac sign. The elaborate black hand spins rapidly before landing on the six marked 'Rabbit,' before the face swings open. Out steps a man with medium-length black hair, swept to the sides as if by the wind. He is dressed in the intersection of courtly prestige and wartime practicality; the flowing, long-sleeved floral-print hoeki-no-ho of a chief retainer is suppressed at the chest by a futuristic-looking armor vest. Neither looks to have escaped combat; the glowing panel on the vest is chipped, the edges of his sleeves and the hem of his robe singed and torn. Despite that battle damage, he maintains an almost serene disposition. He doesn't even seem bothered by Tennant's being armed. A sword is at his hip, though he makes no move for it, even as the portal he'd come through sinks back beneath the ground. His youthful appearance and that apparent serenity is belied by the naked inertia present in his eyes; what first appears like peaceful contentment is, with a more intent look, perhaps better described as the willful starvation of anything resembling desire. "And," he says, looking right at Hokma, "With my help, you'll present the best challenge possible. It's true that Binah and Geburah are powerful. But they're powerful in a way that... what is it you call them? Outsiders? Offworlders?" He shrugs. It's just a conversational curiosity for him. "...are well-equipped to handle. As we saw," he says, confidently for someone whose name hasn't even been given yet, "She's almost without equal in a fight, but if you handle that 'almost' right, then you have her tied up with someone worth her time while the amateurs play clean up with all the stuff she breaks along the way. Right?" "What you need is something they can't fix with numbers or brute force. And lucky for you, you already have it. Don't you?"
Angela	It is not every day a miniature palace rises up out of the floor in the middle of your SCP facility, least of all one of gold with a timepiece-astrology-clock theme but not any clock that Hokma had seen before. Or Tennant for that matter. Tennant's eyes slant towards the 'Rabbit' and readies their rifle. Tennant is quick to open fire as a general rule but Hokma-- "Hold, let's see what's going on. I doubt this is an R-Corp invasion." Hokma says. If R-Corp could do this they wouldn't have needed to make a deal with L-Corp in the first place. Without an ongoing war, R-Corp is struggling but if they could break into the facility without hthe help of W-Corp... The themeing feels more like one of Hubert's pieces, but it wouldn't use japanese numerology or astrology. It must be an Outsider. And Hokma can only think of two people this might be connected to with all the information on its face... But that doesn't mean it necessarily is. Alarms predictably blare through the facility--but not for long. Hokma reaches out with his mind and seizes control of that system and silences it. "I'm afraid you have the advantage, sir-- I am Hokma and--Hold Tennant--and this is my Floor but I suspect you knew that already." "We call them Outsiders," Tennant is helpful even with that rifle of theirs aimed a little too close towards the mysterious interloper. Of course, it doesn't really matter WHERE they aim--but they seem like they're obeying Hokma at least. "...You're correct. Before we unified it would be a near impossible challenge--we'd need to raise up an Agent to be able to challenge her in the course of less than fifty days. But when we can call on others.... It changes things. Unfortunately--" ''What you need is something they can't fix with numbers or brute force.'' ''And lucky for you, you already have it. Don't you?'' "...The T2 Protocol..." Hokma murmurs. "So you know about that too. How do you intend to help us, Sir...?""
Timespace Riders	The youthful man nods once in thanks towards Tennant, offering a pleasant smile that doesn't reach his glassy eyes. So you know about that too. How do you intend to help us, Sir... "I am Eiji Hino, chief retainer to his majesty Oda Nobunaga... the rightful King of Time. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances," he says evenly, after a stately bow. "As for how I intend to help you, it's quite simple in principle, if complex in minutia. The limit of any technology is the perspective of its inventor, the collective knowledge and the materials available to them. Right?" Holding one hand up to indicate no hostile intent, he reaches into one of his long, flowing sleeves and procures a Ridewatch, like the ones Sougo uses--but different. The edges around the bezel are more severe, and the Rider on the face of the watch is decidedly unheroic; not an armored hero, but a snarling, eyeless oni with swept horns resembling the tracks of a train. "The introduction of clocks from another part of the world had a tremendous impact on the construction of those in Japan," he says, considering the Ridewatch in his hand before offering it to Hokma for inspection. "As Kamen Rider Den-O, certain doors will be open to you that wouldn't be open to the Sephirah, Hokma. Maybe, with the Denliner--a time-traveling train--you'd be able to expand on the capabilities of the protocol. If nothing else, it's a means to put that advantage to use which isn't dependent on the facility's power." "What do you think?"
Angela	The rightful King of Time... "...A competitor to Sougo Tokiwa..." Hokma murmurs as he puts two and two together. "...I haven't invented anything in quite some time..." He sighs. "Not since..." In truth, building Angela as a two person job. Benjamin worked on the mechanics but the soul, the heart--however he managed to amke it work, that was primarily Ayin. For someone who loathed machines as much as he claimed, it was strange of him, but he was a man prone to mad inspiration at times. Benjamin could do little else but follow. If 'Rightful King of Time' suggested Sougo's involvement, the Ridewatch practically confirms it. Hokma lives in The City, he does not have the eye to be able to tell if a Ridewatch is 'evil' or 'villainous', but something about the oni feels... Fitting. "Den-O. Electricity..." Hokma murmurs. "There is wisdom in what you speak, but--what do you get out of this? Are you hoping that we will eliminate Zi-O as he will almost certainly come to the facility to assist in the Meltdown?" pansi(45,")]A time-traveling train... That isn't dependent on the protocol. It's rules may be different..." Tennant murmurs, rifle pointing downward, now. Tennant isn't nearly as involved with Hokma's concern for Ayin or Angela as the man himself is, but their mind is racing. But Hokma picks on it. "Since this... Train doesn't run on the same rules as the T2--and may not work on the rules of Woz's book either..." "It's your only shot, huh Ben." Tennant says, their goggles gleaming. "Won't it be much more exciting if you take the offer?" Hokma's eye is hard to read but the tension in that boxbot body is so severe that it is even visible in a body that is essentially just a metal box with an eye. "This offer is kind... What do you get out of it?" Hokma settles on.
Timespace Riders	Won't it be much more exciting if you take the offer? "It's good when a servant has their liege's best interests at heart," Eiji comments with pleasant neutrality. "It means I'm talking to both of you as one unified front, and don't have to waste time convincing you that this is good for him." He doesn't answer about whether it works on the rules of Woz's book; whether that's a willfull admission or a knwoledge gap is up to Hokma and Tennant to judge. This offer is kind... What do you get out of it? "You already said it yourself," says Eiji with another of those smiles that doesn't reach his eyes. "Sougo Tokiwa will come to this facility, because of his wishes for Angela and for the City. He'll already be here to stop your Meltdown, so it should be simple. Right?"
Angela	''It's good when a servant has their liege's best interests at heart?'' "Ah they aren't--" Hokma begins. "He's not my liege." Tennant says with a smile and providing no additional context. "But it is what's best for him, isn't it? What's the point of fighting against the inevitable when you could fight for a possibility. The Dame Commander would just openly mock you going 'your whole Meltdown is pointless', wouldn't she? At least this way you have a shot." Hokma can't argue against that, but he wonders... What is Tennant's Lady getting out of this, if anything. She wants the project to succeed as much as anyone, he has to imagine. Though it has been twelve years. Perhaps... "...Woz and Tamamo would insist I fight with everything I have. Very well." Hokma extends a robotic limb. "I will take your deal. I have no intention of holding back against them or anyone else who tries to stop me from saving the man I love."
Timespace Riders	Eiji inclines his head once more towards Tennant, accepting their clarification on its face. "I'm glad to hear it, Hokma." He places the Ridewatch into Hokma's claw. "Using it is simple--just twist the bezel and press the stop, then press it to your heart." He pauses, then adds: "Or the next best thing. I'm not trying to be disrespectful; I'm really not sure how much of you is physically left in there. The point is that it's symbolic." "You should also know it's going to hurt," he says. "But that's how you'll know you've done it right. I'm sure it's nothing compared to what a Sephirah is used to, anyway." "I'll get out of your hair, now," Eiji says, with another little bow, before stepping back. He draws his sword lightning fast, cutting a square not into the floor but into the space it occupies. "Good hunting," he says with a smile. The same clock from before rises up, and he steps into its face as it swings open. As it shuts, sealing with a golden light, the hand on the front spins rapidly. It settles on the opposite 'six' compared to the one before; 'Rooster' rather than 'Rabbit,' before sinking beneath the floor. Tennant and Hokma are alone again.
Angela	Rooster? Another R... no, it's probably not R Corp. Hokma is given fair warning. "I appreciate the warning. ... But no, I cannot imagine it will be worse than how I ended up here." Or worse than the pain of his every day life, the pain of being so far from one he respects, admires, loves... Not so far from the pain that comes from having all his friends dead. The guilt of knowing what people had lost due to his-- They are alone. He is alone with evidence of his crime. The evidence speaks up. "Well! That's awfully convenient...! All you have to save your relationship is murder another's." Hokma always feels like the evidence is mocking him when they say things like that. He looks towards the evidence, his eye distant, not quite seeing them at all. "...I have harmed you, Tennant." He says. The evidence laughs. "Ahahahahahaha! You're crazy, Ben! You saved me." The evidence struggles to contain their laughter. "Your war was the best thing that ever happened to me! But don't worry. I'm a professional now..."I'll make sure we wring out every single little bit of Light outta ya. For you!" But mostly for The Lady.