Scene #6782:

Owner	Pose
Doctor Strange	The odd world of Elsen, of smoke, meat, plastic and now sugar, is perhaps the single point of reference Yuuki and Zero have for Doctor Strange's typical behavior, save perhaps what they may have heard on the radio. At the very least, it's the longest the three of them have been in one another's company, to date. Thus far, it's been complicated. Strange hasn't been forthcoming about his motives. Moreover, much of what he's said since Moonfin's defeat seems pointedly vague, perhaps with hidden meanings. Every so often he goes off alone with someone. Now, it seems that it's Yuuki and Zero's turn. The meeting spot is decidedly unassuming. Public. A Dunkin' Donuts, in fact, on Strange's native Earth. They'll find him in a booth, by himself. At first they might not notice him, because he isn't in his usual sorcerous attire. He is, instead, in very understated clothing, with only his distinctive graying temples to set him apart from the other New Yorkers in the restaurant. Strange has also chosen the one on Rockefeller--open 24 hours--and a meeting time after midnight. Despite that, he doesn't at all seem on-edge or otherwise as suspicious as the unusual time, place and attire would suggest.
Yuuki Kuran	A Dunkin Doughnuts in New York City. Past midnight. It's the Weird Time of the night, but New York ever is need of caffination and mid-tier doughnuts. Not that gourmet stuff you can get, not the garbage gas station stuff either. Empty except for a bleagured attendant who is way, way too busy texting to look up at One Old Guy sitting at a booth. Too distracted to notice the bell at the door jangling to allow the entrance of... A wolf-like silhouette whose color drinks in the light - a vantablack canine that pads in quietly, scrabbling silently against the glass (as it had to work the push door) before waiting at the entrance for the door to close. Two quiet chuffing sniffs at the air leads the Black Wolf around to the Wizard's table, hopping up onto the booth's seat, and settling in, curling its tail around its hindquarters and raising a single paw to rest on the table. Then it leans over and sniffs Strange's Single Coffee (which potentially may also be black, and not McDONALDS AT ALL - and he certainly has coffee At Home). There's a strange flicker of the lights, exactly akin to 'did I blink or did the entire world/the lights go dark for a second?' in both feeling and actuality, and Yuuki Kuran sits where the Black Wolf was. Besides her is her 'bodyguard', Zero Kiryu. Yuuki has a single hand on the table, and otherwise sits crosslegged in a puffy snow jacket that she didn't bother to take off, a t-shirt top with a photonegative mountain line motif, a skirt, and black leggings. "Stephen, how are you? You've been so..." She wiggles her table-fingers. "Mysteeerious."
Zero Kiryu	It's impossible for Zero not to stand out, though that has little enough to do with anything under his control. People are drawn to him-- have been drawn to him a long time. He can remember when that bothered him. When, in fact, he realized that the scent he was giving off was the same phenomena that allowed other vampires to lure in unwilling prey. It wasn't a particularly pretty day. He'd stormed off at the time, as he was wont to do. These days, he just lives with it. And makes himself unapproachable as possible. Which is to say, Zero just looks more-or-less like his usual grumpy self. As a change of pace, he isn't /actually/ particularly grumpy though. Just good at pushing people away with unapproachable and standoffish body language. He emerges into existence amidst the same bizarre flurry of 'familiars' that Yuuki does, though he never seems to appear in some symbolic form inbetween. One moment 'she' is there, and then the next she is herself and Zero is there also. He adopts a flat, agitated expression once he's materialized. It's not a /serious/ face, more like a what-the-hell-did-I-just-go-through face. "Doctor." "You're concerned about The Batter's world." He states, passing his initial greeting by at breakneck conversational speed. It's the only real commonality between them, so he assumes that's where this is going.
Doctor Strange	"Comes with the territory," says Strange after a beat. It's the perfect thing to say when faced with an entrance as ominous and spooky as that. "But I'm well. Thanks for asking." He does indeed have black coffee. Strange takes a sip of it, nodding quietly. Zero notes that Strange is concerned about the Batter's world. "Isn't everybody?" The sorcerer sets his cup aside for the moment. "I mean... first I was just doing the tourist... thing." He shrugs his shoulders. Bumps a thumb against the table. "Never seen a world quite like it. But... the cracks are showing. We've got a guy... basically being tortured, because, what? He's... 'impure?' Whatever that means." There is a brief flick of his emerald eyes towards the cup. He gestures with a scarred, trembling hand towards it. "You guys want anything? I don't mind waiting." His expression is casual as he makes a backward nod of his head towards the counter. If they take him up on that offer, something weird will happen. And if not, something weird will probably still happen. Such is the way of things around Stephen Strange.
Yuuki Kuran	"Well, it can. But you can't be dour and brooding about everything. Not even Zero is, and he's got the most practice!" Yuuki replies easily, the warm cheer that only someone actively nocturnal can have at this shit hour. Or it's just her normal personality. At this point, Strange could take a stab at which. "Of course, Stephen. We've worked together for several months now! Even if it feels like a dream of a single night, that doesn't mean that feeling is reality." Yuuki looks between Zero and Doctor Strange with the gentle whisk of her hair in the canting of her head between the two men as they speak, her red-brown eyes twinkling with an eager knowingness. "There's really only two answers. That sort of torture - that punishment - is because either they 'deserved' it, or something thought they deserved it. Something had to care to set that up. But I understand, as Thomas is fond of yelling at the top of his lungs, that you believe in 'innocent until proven guilty', and I do not disagree..." "The torture that Elsen goes through is terrible. The impurities are... More tangible than you say, though." And then Strange breaks it up by asking what Yuuki wants! "Oh, doughnuts. Cake doughnuts, no frosting or glaze. Just the cake! And a... ... hot chocolate!"
Zero Kiryu	Zero considers Strange's question. Is he concerned about the Batter's world? His reflex is to say yes, but prompting gives him the impetus to think about it a little more freely. He had been concerned with things within it on an individual basis, but was he concerned about it in totality? No more than it has some sort of impact on Yuuki and people that she cares about. If he was forced to choose between 'Moonfin' and 'the locals', he can't say that he wouldn't prioritize Moonfin. "Not in itself." He decides, leaning back a little and resting a hand on the table. Zero taps the surface of the table once, "There are a number of reasons for that. But the biggest one is, I think, that even with prying the people do not really register as people." "The most 'person-like' entities there... Zacharie, The Judge, the Zone Guardians... and the vast majority of those, the Zone Guardians, appear to be either hopelessly insane or deliberately malicious." "The Zones are 'purified' upon the death of their Zone Guardian at the hands of the Batter," he continues, "and the resultant wasteland is a 'clean slate' filled with monsters." "'Elsen' are too simplified be people. Too washed out. The ones we've been countering recently, they're..." "... Gone, up here." He taps his temple lightly. "If I were going to enact a strategy to salvage 'as much as possible', it would be to extract the entities that appear to be relatively intact." He adds, off-handedly. Regarding Strange's offer, he replies, "I wouldn't mind tea."
Doctor Strange	Cake donuts, no frosting, no glaze. Hot chocolate. Tea. Strange nods, making note of what they'd each like. But he doesn't move. He looks from Zero to Yuuki as they each give their respective takes on the Batter's world. Zero's choice of words, in particular, gives him pause. 'If' he were to 'enact a strategy.' This might be easier than Strange initially thought. On the table before Zero and Yuuki is a little slot machine. It wasn't there before. "You get one pull of the lever between you," says Strange. The faces of the slots show... cake donuts, no frosting, no glaze. Hot chocolate. Tea. They slowly rotate, revealing the other options. None of them sound appealing, and few seem even edible. Shoe leather, bees, and fire are among them, as well as the classic '7' indicating the jackpot. The outcomes are listed on the space between the lever. "One pull, and then it goes away. You hit the jackpot, you get everything you want," says Strange. "And..." He taps the coin slot. The entire thing ripples from his touch--an illusion. "All it takes is blood, sweat, and tears. But... you just get the one. If it lands on... bees... you get bees. And that guy at the counter's not gonna let you have bees in here, so..." The sorcerer leans back in his seat. "It's probably just the one shot... for everything. But..." He frowns slightly (more than usual) and jerks a thumb towards the counter. "Over there, you get exactly what you want, how you want it. Understand what I'm telling you?" He looks from Zero to Yuuki, and back.
Yuuki Kuran	Yuuki nods along with Zero. "They're empty. None of them really 'are there', even if they exist. In fact, the Burnt have more personality than the actual Elsen. The spectres have the bits, but no character. They're just monsters. The Secretaries..." Yuuki makes a face, her tongue sticking out as a 'bleyck' escapes her mouth. "Well, they're a different sort of awful. Banal, maybe? Does that mean boring?" She looks between the two More Educated Men for guidance on her word choice. "The Concord has no interest in the outcome. There's nothing to be gained by saving one mystery life, or ending it. We don't need Meat, or Smoke, or Metal, or Plastic. And we certainly do not want the Sugar. And, I think we can agree: Neither does the Paladins. Not one life. Not one death." "I can't speak for August, and the Watch would absolutely do all of this for one life, or one death... But what draws them is hard to follow." Yuuki watches the slot machine, gazing expectantly down at it as the tumblers spin. "I know what I want, Stephen. And it's not doughnuts. I don't have to leave it to chance. We're both beyond that. None of us play for those stakes." Yuuki places her fingers gently atop the slot machine and spins it. "And I'm not playing a game of chance, either. I've already talked to the attendant!" Yuuki's classic smile spreads across her face. "You can take our spin, Stephen Strange, I won't mind. But I'd like you to tell me what it is you intend to do, yourself. What you're playing for. You already know who I'm there for." Then, without further grilling, Yuuki makes to slide out, scooching her way out of the booth like a gangly teenager and wandering over to the counter to order hot chocolate, tea, and a whole box of cake doughnuts. The card she pulls out is almost as black as her wolf familiar, and has a single gold stripe for swiping - some sort of extremely premium credit card. "Want anything, Stephen?"
Zero Kiryu	Zero regards Doctor Strange dully. His eyes flick, quick as lightning, between Strange's hands and his face. His finger rises and falls against the surface of the table. "I see." He says. He assists Yuuki with a description of the Secretaries, "Are malformed and disgusting. I am not certain why you would prefer them to anything else. I suspect that it is less a preference and more simply a reality of eliminating the current status quo. I suppose it doesn't matter that much." "Doctor Strange..." He glances at Yuuki as she wiggles her way out to Acquire Food, then back to the sorcerer, "I think that what you are asking, you are asking in an exceedingly roundabout way. I don't mind saving who can be saved. But..." "As someone who has been pulled miraculously from a lethal degenerative condition with serious potential to hurt others as it winds down," he says, "my solution to the problem was to hand Yuuki a gun and tell her to shoot me." "The totality of that world isn't that far gone, but... a lot of it is. Especially the current Zone." He concludes, grimly.
Yuuki Kuran	"As a matter of fact!" Yuuki calls from the counter, fussing with her hot chocolate and adding cinnamon to it. Shitty, powdered Dunkin' cinnamon from the scuzzy bottle. "I didn't shoot him and everything worked out! The end." Her clarification leaves... sssseveral holes.
Doctor Strange	Strange shakes his head in the negative when Yuuki asks if he wants anything. He lifts his coffee, letting that gesture serve as an elaboration of his response. He waits until she returns, so that she can hear his response to Zero. "A lot of it's gone," agrees Strange. "But that only matters if you think there's only... two options. See... what you experience as reality is a lot more mutable than your perception would have you believe." Strange gives a tug of his wrist. The table impossibly shifts, its surface sliding towards Strange like a conveyor belt, the patterned material moving without altering the dimensions of the table. It brings the slot machine closer to him. He flattens it with his palm. He crushes it between both hands, cups his palms. When he spreads them open, there's a miniature image of George, dressed like the teenaged kid behind the counter. The attendant. He even has a little nametag, if their eyes are sharp enough to catch it. "The attendant doesn't know what he's talking about. Anything he knows about that world, he's getting from an interested party. The Batter, his boss, whoever." He shrugs. "It doesn't matter who, exactly. What matters is, the attendant only knows what that party wants him to know." He holds a finger up, twirling it around. "Now, I could go on a philosophical bender about the nature of knowledge and what it really means to know something, but..." He lifts both hands, palms out. The minature of George vanishes. "Something tells me that wouldn't interest you two. So, my point..." He gives a slight nod to Zero, who is probably most tired of the roundabout approach by now. "We're probably not gonna talk to the manager. But, we could steal their keys. Then each of us get exactly what we want off that menu."
Yuuki Kuran	"So you know, then, right?" Yuuki asks, returning with her hot chocolate (and cinnamon), box of doughnuts, and Zero's tea. It's mint tea, and she probably paid like five dollars for a bag of mid-shelf Tazo knockoff. She gestures at the tiny Attendant George with an upturned palm and tilts her head curiously. "Stealing the keys. You know it's going to work. You know it'll happen, as long as you push in the right ways. I want you to say it, that's all. I'm..." She brings her cup to her mouth, sipping the scalding liquid and sniffing at the cinnamon at the rim, a froth building agaist the top of her lip. "I'm rather slow when it comes to picking things up, as any of my tutors can tell you. Zero was always the brainy one. So, for me... I'd like you to say it. All of it -- or 'enough' of it. I just don't like the whole 'you know' and 'we all understand' things. It's a way to speak that tires me out. If I wanted to know, I'd know. If I wanted to understand, I'd understand - but I don't want to force either. So, please." "You can do the philosophical bender if you like, too! I'll start, even:" Yuuki places her cup down, picks up a doughnut from the box, and splits it in half with her fingers, before starting to dunk it into her hot cocoa. "I think neither of us wants to keep the Queen around. And defeating the members of the Flotilla in the way of the Zone Guardians is something I've accepted, just like any Concord operation where someone takes the other side. Them dying is utterly out of the question, of course. At the end, I suppose I'd help the Batter against the Queen. There's little I could be told by someone from that world to change my mind on the matter - we appeared to support the Batter, and so I will." "As for you and I: I don't mind helping you, Stephen. We've worked well so far! But please don't... play games with me. I just don't like it - don't have the patience for politics that reminds me of home."
Zero Kiryu	Zero takes the tea that Yuuki got him with a nod. He gestures loosely with the cup towards Strange, "I think that it is possible the Zone Guardians could be replaced, and thereby shore up the nature of localized reality. However, it appears to require that an individual remain within their Zone, and that they be subject to local effects. If the pattern established so-far holds, it is likely that 'being a Guardian', and thus shoring up local reality, has a negative effect upon the mind." "In light of that," he says, "I can't really recommend what I would consider the obvious solution." "But I'm assuming you've already thought of that in some capacity." He decides, without elaboration. ^ Apparently Yuuki's plea for straightforwardness is enough for him in that regard.
Doctor Strange	She wants him to say that he knows the keys will work. "I know it." He doesn't. But he is experienced in these sorts of artifacts. And, really... Moonfin's /alone/ could alter the narrative of reality. Surely, with the rest, they could have the outcome they wanted. Besides... if this is what it takes to get two more people on board, it's worth it. He first addresses Yuuki. "What I'm looking for is a whole, sane Elsen. Free to stay or leave. Not... 'washed out' anymore." Turning his head sleightly to look at Zero, he continues. "I want Zone Guardians that can and will do their jobs, metaphysically speaking, without making another horror show like the Zone we're in. You're probably right about the effects of being a Guardian, so we put in a pressure release valve to handle that." "Sorry about the games," he says after a pause to take the last bit of his coffee. "But I had to be sure. It seems like we all want more or less the same thing. At least... what each of us wants isn't mutually exclusive. And we can get it without acting any differently, all the way until the last Zone." "We 'purify' each zone. We stockpile each trinket the Captains have, just like we've been doing. For 'safe keeping.' When we have them all, we use them."
Yuuki Kuran	Yuuki's hand stops dunking her doughnut at Strange's answer, but her eyes don't rise from the activity to meet Strange's. They neither glow, nor do they dim. She draws in a slow breath through her nose, and then, HEAVILY overdunked, bites into her soggy chocolate cake dougnnut (with extra cinnamon). After chewing at an entirely normal pace for 'soggy doughnut', she exhales again, the same breath, the sigh of a tired teenager who has put on decades atop council thrones. "Alright, Stephen." "I understand having to be sure, but I would appreciate you considering my needs in the future. I'd rather us be friends, and speak openly. I just..." Yuuki gestures with a quarter of a somewhat soggy doughnut. "But I don't see why we can't all get what we want. Which is why, when the next Grand item shows up, as it certainly has to, I'd like to hold onto it." She leans in, conspiritorially, and her voice drops to a whisper. "August has just put his hands on all of them first without asking, and really, it makes me think he's got his own plan! Or no plan, as he usually does."
Zero Kiryu	"Your purpose," Zero says, "isn't singular and doesn't appear to strictly conflict with ours, but it's ultimately Yuuki's cooperation that determines mine. I don't have an outstanding 'stake' in this, personally. I think it is possible that the dissolution of the Zones may destroy Elsen entirely regardless, but if you think that the outcomes aren't mutually exclusive then that's fine." "There's just one more thing I'd like to know." Another light tap of his index finger, "What do you think of the Batter? I've had a look into his mind, and it's relentlessly driven. Yuuki described him as more of a weapon in someone else's hands that happens to have a personality rather than a person in and of himself." "And his answer when I asked what he was getting out of this was... unusual. All of that is disregarding the thing influencing him from afar." On the subject of August, Zero heaves a great exasperated sigh and shakes his head, "He sabotages himself routinely. I assumed that he was building up to something else like that."
Doctor Strange	"August won't be a problem," says Strange to the both of them with certainty. He doesn't bother whispering, so certain is he of this fact. He then shifts in his seat, nodding to Yuuki. "And neither will letting you hold onto the next Grand. I want them spread out, anyway." It's safer that way. He has, apparently, nothing to say about Yuuki's request that there be no secrets between them. The only response she gets is a seemingly blank look too long to be coincidence. "I think he's an asshole," says Strange bluntly, when asked his opinion of the Batter. "But I also think Yuuki is right. You both are, actually." "He definitely has his own opinion, but the way he thinks and acts... it's like a religious zealot. All of this..." Strange gestures in a vague circle with a scarred finger. "This was precaution. Against him or whoever's pulling his strings. Now that I have your cooperation, seems like we can put this meeting to bed and get back to what we were doing." Strange gets up. His cup vanishes. The sorcerer drums his fingers against the top of his seat. "You'll know who's on our side. Just try and keep quiet while we're on-world." Perhaps his paranoia is justified, perhaps not. But he'd rather this stay secret until no one who'd stop them can even try. "As far as George knows, we're still just trying to purify." He purses his lips, looking towards the door. "See you guys later."