Scene #8377: Control and Information

Owner	Pose
Angela	BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOrVC8PQOOU&ab_channel=Nepsol Thaaaaat's Lobotomy Corp! And Angela apparently decided to open up the doors to Concord allies 'in the spirit of an open door prison'. But despite that, there is a lot of caution in their invitation, sending the Control Team led by Rook and Random (with Ya-Boy back on duty) to guide everybody through the Warpgate and through their artificial one. Stepping through into the facility proper reveals that the stylized backgrounds behind Angela is not the norm. The smell of blood permeates the facility and you see at least one corpse just lying around on the floor against the wall. It's hard to tell if the wounds were self inflicted or not but they're wearing the same kind of suit typically seen on the Agents of Lobotomy Corp. Angela, in the 'flesh' so to speak, is waiting for your arrival, eyes as closed and lips as frowny as ever. "Welcome to Lobotomy Corporation. Face the Fear, Make the Future." She says like she's already tired of the phrase. "For standard reports we use a cognition filter so as to not drown you with the daily realities of working here but we cannot apply that outside of the offices. Like with other Abnormalities, the Warpgate is stationed on the grounds." She quirks her head. "...Still... Welcome outsiders. You are getting a special look that those from the City would not easily get to see. That is how important you and the Concord are to Lobotomy Corporation."
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac is here, after having some experience working with LoboCorp's people, on two separate situations, only one of which was potentially deadly. Arriving, the lad is taller than most, with wide shoulders and bulkier in form as well. He's quite strong and obviously looks like he plays some manner of sports ball. He looks slightly afraid at the corpse just laying there, hoping that perhaps it wasn't actually a corpse and just some manner of bad humor. He looks towards Angela next and manages to try and force a smile for her. "Nice to meet you in person, I'm Isaac Beaufort, nice to meet you and get to know what happens here...I hear it was something related to power generation?"
Utsuho Reiuji	It's Lobotomy Corporation! Utsuho wanted to see what was up, and thus now she is here. She likes to visit places, after all. And so as she's led through by the guide team, Utsuho is looking around as much as she can without wandering away from the group. She does lag behind once, but she hustles to catch back up afterwards. She isn't sure what she expected, but this isn't quite it. Still, it doesn't seem too weird to her - she's used to corpses sitting around, for instance, though usually it's because the corpses are part of her job and not just abandoned. "It looks pretty fancy," Utsuho says, even though she hasn't even gotten to see all the interesting stuff yet - even a foyer like this is pretty fancy. "I'm Utsuho Reiuji, member of the Concord and the Scorching Divine Flame! But you can call me Utsuho. Or Okuu," she adds, even though she's not really quite sure if she likes Angela that much yet. "So... normally you don't let people inside at all?"
Kukuru	Although Kukuru's met the Agents of Lobotomy Corp several times already, this would have to be the first time she's officially stepping foot on their property. Like any good house guest, she arrives with a granny cart packed with catering trays, all stacked together with little regard to presentation. She's dressed in her usual frilly white buttoned shirt with the green-to-brown skirt, and her hair is significantly messier than yesterday (alternatively, her normal bedhead). Angela's greeting gets a bright smile and lazy wave from the sleepy-looking woman as she comes up from behind Isaac and Utsuho, giving them both gentle pats on the head before approaching Angela to offer her the same. "He-llo~ Ah, you're Angela from the radio, right? It's so great to finally meet you in person!" The smell of blood is the only thing that has her wrinkling her nose however briefly, but her expression returns to the usual sleepy smile as she spots the corpse(s) over there. "My name's Kukuru. That's Ku-ku-ru. I'm a healer, and I can take care of any injuries or deaths you might need fixed." A beat, and then she nudges her granny cart. "Oh, and I've got snacks in case you or anyone else here's hungry." "Oh, did you need a hand fixing them up?" Her tone is like someone asking if Angela needs some help cleaning up a spill rather than 'fixing' a corpse. "How'd that happen, anyway?"
Arcadia	Arcadia accompanies the other Concord members, looking a little on the bored side. It's nothing personal, like most speedster types she's just generally bored with how slow from her POV the rest of the world moves, and right now she can't speed along to make it go faster. She's here mainly because Argo Alexandria has interest in many of the ventures of other Concord alliances, but the Sages never leave their tower chambers and send her to document everything for them. At least it's being useful, even if sooooooo slow...
Angela	The corpse continues to be a human corpse. Angela could ask Utsuho to make that corpse a corpse for her to retrieve (and indeed, maybe this is what Rook was thinking about judging by the way he's giving it a look) but Angela does not make that request. She doesn't seem inclined to move it either. She doesn't even comment on it outside of the context she already gave. "That is correct, we draw out a substance called Enkephalin through our research, suppression, and work with Abnormalities." Angela says. "It is the premier energy source of the City though that substance is available to you as well as part of our deal--so long as we do not dip below our quota, of course." She looks to Utsuho for a moment and bobs her head. "Greetings, Utsuho." Angela says since she's not the nicknaming type. "That is correct. But our relationship with the Concord is important to us and Miss Kukuru in particular is becoming a bit of a celebrity amongst the employees. I have been instructed to be generous with Kukuru to encourage future cooperation." She nods to Kukuru's greeting. She even offers to ressurect employees and Angela shakes her head. "There is no need. You are a guest, not a worker, so there is no need for you to assist the corpses. Some of them might be dangerous to ressurect as it is." She starts walking along--pausing at Arcadia for a moment. She looks bored and she also looks like an Abnormality so Angela isn't sure if she has to be wary of Arcadia getting bored enough to start murdering personel. Perhaps a demonstration is in order. "Um, Manager..." A voice crackles across the speakers, familiar to Isaac. "Punishing Bird has escaped, please be careful." "Ah, it seems one of our abnormalities has escaped." Angela says. "As we head over to visit the Control Office--I suppose I should ask if you'd prefer to visit them in person, or if you'd prefer to speak to them from an office." A small white bird with a red belly is hopping towards the group as they walk. It hops closer. And closer. And it aims to peck.... UTSUHO REIUJI with its beak! peck It hurts! But not a lot. peck peck.
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac watches the small bird approach them, and then... Starts attempting to show that it's the top bird here. He laughs a little, and then gently moves to attempt to grab the small white bird and place it in one of his hands. He gently pokes its beak and attempts to play with it, knowing it seemed to be a little anxious... After all, it's attacking another bird, which tells Isaac it's afraid. Obviously. "Hello, little bird, let's not be like that, alright?" he says warmly. If it pokes him, he hardly feels it, and assumes it's just playing. "Enkephalin? That's a weird name for an energy source, does it have another meaning or..?"
Utsuho Reiuji	"Well, we all help each other in the Concord! So it's good to make agreements like that," Utsuho says, nodding briskly. "Kukuru is good at it... What's Enkephalin? Is it a liquid or what? I know a bit about power systems so I thought I should ask!" Utsuho adds, "If you don't want to resurrect the corpse I can get rid of it for you." Utsuho takes another couple looks around and completely misses the small bird attacking her until it actually does attack her; pecking at her shin. "Ow!" It didn't actually hurt, really; Utsuho is pretty tough and it's a small probably-a-songbird. But it did startle her, and it stung enough to make her hop back, and... "Aw, it's a cute bird!" Utsuho brightens up as soon as she sees what it actually looks like. Isaac picks it up, but Utsuho crowds almost immediately, crouching down to look it in the eye and very carefully patting it on the head. If it bites her thumb or something it's not going to bother her much. She's going to be distracted for a minute.
Arcadia	If anything Arcadia is more likely to just fly off than cause any sort of chaotic incident. She's bored, not disrespectful! Though the warning of an escapee gets a noticable perk out of the sphinx. "A breakout?" She clenches her hands into fists, and the magitek trace lines in her armor flicker to life. "Does it need to be recontain--" It turns out to be a really small bird. Hopping up to annoyingly peck at Utsuho. "--The named sounded more fierce," she mutters, an annoyed flick of her tail following as she powers back down.
Kukuru	"Enkephalin..." Kukuru repeats after Angela a few seconds after she says it, as though saying it might help her remember thename. It probably won't, but she's trying. "Does it come from anywhere else? Maybe we can help you get a big pile of it. Like a... Swimming pool of it. That'd be nice to lay around in, wouldn't it?" Kukuru blinks slowly in mild confusion when Angela mentions her celebrity-esque status, and another cheery smile crosses her face shortly afterwards. "Aw, really? That's just doing what a good mom should do~" She's totally soaking up that praise even while pretending (badly) to be humble about it. She does let out a thoughtful hum when Angela advises against reviving those she sees, though, nodding after a few moments. "I get it... O-kay, then. It's really not too much work, but if it's dangerous in a way I can't just hit, then... Mhm, that makes sense." Persuaded away from that, she instead opts to follow along with Angela and company! They're soon accosted by a most dangerous creature, and Kukuru giggles lightly at all the otherwise unbothered reactions to its pecking. "Why's it called /Punishing/ Bird? Okuu's nice, and so is everyone else here. Unless..." She pulls over her little cart, then picks out one of the containers in the bottom. She fishes out a fried chicken wing, then expertly dismantles it so the meat is separated from the bone before holding the meat out to the red-bellied creature. "Are you hungry?" A beat, and then she looks over at Angela again. "Is it okay to feed it?"
Angela	Toughness definitely helps but the small bird's beak is just sharp enough to be annoying--actually it could be deadly to those without Toughness if just allowed to cotinue, but between Isaac's durability and his regeneration? Yeah he can just tank those pokes like a champ. It's slightly worse than OHNO's riot club swings. "Ah, be careful with Punishing Bird..." Rook says. "Last time he escaped he killed 3 agents." It doesn't seem like Punishing BIrd is capable of this. Nevertheless...Punishing Bird continues to peck and be cute. "Enkephalin is the energy we draw from Abnormalities. It can also be consumed as a drug but in too many quantities can cause severe psychological damage even if there is a numbing effect at small doses that can occassionally prove helpful to agents." Angela explains, leading the crew onward. "Unfortunately, outside of harvesting it from--say--human bodies directly, gathering energy from the Abnormalities is the only method we have for farming Enkephalin in the quantities needed to power the City." Angela gives Kukuru a longer look. "What a good mother should do? Is that so... I do not know what qualities makes a good mother." She asks why it's called a Punishing Bird and Rook clears his throat, "Ah, well, he's...got a bit of a hair trigger." He explains. "Should be okay to feed it but..." The red bellied creature turns its head and pokes at the meat on the bone a bit with its beak before its stomach opens up into powerful jaws like 4 times the length of its beak and absolutely ERADICATES the fried chicken wing in an instant, just barely avoiding taking Kukuru's hand with it. It goes back to pecking Isaac afterwards with the beak. There is absolutely nothing left. "The Punishing Bird's jaws are quite deadly if aggravated." Angela adds. She comes up short before an office. "I should reiterate--do you wish to visit Yesod and Malkuth in person or through the usual screens?" As she asks this... "Um, Manager... Judgement Bird has escaped as well..." In the distance, gunfire and screams.
Arcadia	Arcadia's attention shifts back to Angela as she gives a more detailed explaination on Enkephalin and it's method of collection. Sidebangs sway a little with the motion of her tilting her head thoughtfully to one side. Then to the other side. Extracted from the body of humans and abnormalities. A numbing effect. Or more psychologically damamging effects if used irresponsibly. "Oh!" She perks up at the thought. "Is that why your operation is named after a medical proceedure of questionable applications to remove portions of primary neurological matter?" And then Punishing Bird demonstrates why it shouldn't be taken lightly. "Wow. That's more biologically disturbing than some of the turbofauna I've seen..."
Utsuho Reiuji	"Well, I figured I was not being the punished bird, because I didn't do anything bad." Utsuho pauses for a moment, brows furrowed, and adds, "Today," just in case. "Anyway, I'd like to see the Enkephalin. Just a little bit." Utsuho does not seem very fussed about the bird now that Isaac has it, except to pet it a couple times. She purses her lips and lets out a... Well, okay. It's a kind of croaky warbling sound; it sounds exactly like a friendly raven, because Utsuho is a friendly raven. But it doesn't sound at all like a songbird. Still, she tries. "Oh, are you going to give it food?" Pause. "Do you have any other food?" Utsuho asks, because she will never turn it down and fried chicken sounds delicious, actually. (It's not cannibalism. She's not a chicken.) Of course, then Punishing Bird opens up its stomach mouth and absolutely destroys the offered snack. Utsuho's eyes widen. Then: "I love this bird!" She has far too much cheer. "It's a great bird. I wonder if I can do that?" She pokes at her stomach with one finger but it remains one hundred percent stomach-shaped. Presumably, anyway, given her shirt covers it. "Aw. Well, where do you find birds like that? I bet O - my friend would love to see one!" She pauses again, head cocked slightly at the distand sound of screaming. "Oops, I guess another one got out!" Utsuho starts walking in the general direction of the sounds, though she glances back to see if anyone is either coming with her or stopping her from doing it. "Don't worry, I'll protect the bird!"
Isaac Beaufort	"Oh we can meet them in person," Isaac says, still playing playfully with the bird with Utsuho. The jaws coming out and biting the chicken and devouring it causes him to jump a /little/ but...well, it obviously just does that to eat, or if it's feeling threatened. The pecks are obviously just to be playful. Then the calls that Judgement Bird has escaped. "Oh Well, that's troublesome.." he says and is already walking with Utsuho toward the sounds of gunfire and screaming. Regardless of what happens, he moves with swiftness to try and put himself between the new bird and others. Still holding onto the small bird and letting him peck his hands.
Kukuru	"Really? Oh, be careful, Isaac. Just because you can heal fast doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt if it's really bitey, you know?" Kukuru warns Isaac while sounding only mildly worried after Rook's info. Angela gives enough info on Enkaphalin, meanwhile, that successfully dissuades Kukuru from further considering the idea of a swimming pool full of the stuff. "If you need help powering hte city... Oh. Okuu's good at that, right?" She suggests with a hopeful smile towards Utsuho, and her eyes only get wider and brighter when Angela reveals a gap in her knowledge. "Really? Oh! I could show you a lot about what it means, if you want. What needs to take care of, stuff you gotta be good at, everything I can think of. How's that sound, Angie?" Kukuru looks hopeful as she asks that, totally trying to get an affirmative answer out of Angela without outright saying it. Nearly getting her hand eaten does have her retracting it and finally being a little more cautious around the Punishing Bird, thankfully. Hearing about Judgment Bird has her looking just a little more anxious, too, but not enough to stop her from nodding once at Angela's question about the visit. "In person would be great. Maybe they're hungry, too!" Clearly, she has no idea who either Yesod or Malkuth are.
Angela	Angela looks at Arcadia. "Unfortunately I cannot confirm or deny Singularity-related hypothesis." Angela says to her. "The well is presently under lockdown, I'm afraid." Isaac starts to move towards the battlefield. Rook follows, "You sure you want to go to a battlefield with him?" He says uneasily. "There's going to be panicking clerks... Even a stray bullet will set it off.")] He's not going to STOP Isaac but he wouldn't feel like he's doing his job as a Fixer if he didn't warn an outsider about this sort of possibility, especially since it's probably not going to be Isaac who pays the ultimate price. Though will anyone with Kukuru here? Hard to say. Angela did say she shouldn't worry about ressurecting people as a guest. Kukuru calls her Angie. The Control Team goes deathly silent. Even the sounds of screams in the distance seem to sort of stop like they just heard Kukuru say it and the Abnormalities are pausing in disbelief. "I don't mind hearing your thoughts on the matter." Angela says. Rook lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The screams continue. "Yeah let's visit Malkuth. She's a sweetheart." Rook agrees. The rest of the Control Team stay with Isaac and Utsuho, escorting them--they'll be there in a moment if they decide to keep heading that way. Arcadia and Kukuru (along with Rook and Angela) pay a visit to Malkuth. They pass through the doors to a large office with many vid-screens across the walls and a strange drawing of ten circles in a strange series of diamond like patterns IMAGE: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Ktreewnames.png/192px-Ktreewnames.png, minus the naming. Inside the office is not the visage of Malkuth that Kukuru and Utsuho might have seen before, though. Instead... IMAGE: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lobotomycorp/images/8/8a/MalkuthRobotBody.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/295?cb=20180323023104 A rectangle robot with a single yellow eye and thin black metallic limbs is taking notes on a notepad. The name MALKUTH is emblazoned on her forehead. "Oh hello. Our visitors have come early! I've just been talking to this employee..." "Please, Malkuth... Please get me out of here... You're the only one I can ask for help... I can't take it anymore." "Don't worry, I can handle this as I'm a very capable Sephira! But it's nice to meet you properly!" She performs a strange little bow. "It's unusual for Angela to let anyone in so I hope you're finding it informative!" She looks to Angela. "It may be easier to just lock off the sector with Judgement Bird in it so he can only kill the employees with him." "Denied. But noted." Angela says. "Kukuru offered to discuss the concept of mothers." Punishing Bird flaps its wings excitedly. It really wants to get to Judgement Bird and is squirming to try and get free of Isaac.
Arcadia	Arcadia despite her initial boredom Arcadia doesn't jump on a fight breaking out either. Within the facility isn't her type of battle, it would restrict her speed and movement too much, and that would be a disaster against something she is really unfamiliar about. So we can leave that to Isaac and Utsuho to deal with. Though not after glancing around a moment, as if noticing how abruptly silent a lot of things went... then shrugs as it goes back to normal, the screaming continues, and she heads into the office with Kukuru, Angela and the others.
Isaac Beaufort	"It's fine, he's a good guy," Isaac says and continues to rush towards Judgement Bird. When Punishing starts to squirm, he lets it go. "Oh, are they a friend of yours? Can you help me make him stop hurting people? I just want to talk with him, alright?" he says and lets Pushing Bird go-ahead to his friend. Isaac comes to a stop, and only nods once to Rook. "It'll be fine. If things get hairy stand behind me. He says and takes a step forward, marching heroically towards Judgement bird. "Hey, let's calm down alright?"
Kukuru	If there's any awkwardness to be had by referring to Angela with an affectionate nickname, it flies right past Kukuru's head as she claps her hands together in moderate cheer. "Oh, great! I mean, I wouldn't call myself an expert at it, but I've learned a lot about it." Leaving the battle against Judgment Bird to those more interested in facing off against a thing she totally assumes that's under control, she strolls along those hallways with her gaze wandering all over the place, peering at those screens and lingering on that weird series of circles and lines. Mentally, she's totally just connecting the dots to see if she's supposed to be seeing something. Failing that before heading into the office, of all things, actually seems to bother Kukuru more than all those violence noises from earlier. Still, she's getting meet plenty of new friends, so she's back to her usual cheerfully sleepy self by the time she heads into Malkuth's room with the little cart of food in tow. Blinking slowly at the robot before her, there's a moment of confusion before her expression brightens up again at hearing a voice from said robot. "Oh! Nice to meet you, Malkuth. My name's Kukuru." Usual pause. "Ku-ku-ru." Usual enunciation. "Angie's been super helpful telling us about stuff, mhm, and it's great to finally see where Rook and Yaboy and Jeff-" Another pause to take a breath. "-and Parker and Random and Tiffany and OHNO all work, too. So!" A hand goes towards Malkuth's... Head? Body? Top? Top for some affectionate patting, as though patting a robot comes as naturally as breathing for her. "What do you do here, Malky?" A few more moments to catch her breath, and then Kukuru perks up briefly as though remembering something. "Oh! Right... I don't know if you can eat human food, but feel free to dig in if you want any of it, okay?" She pulls her cart over with all those assorted trays of homemade bar-style snacks, then looks over at Arcadia and Angela and Rook. "You, too! I made plenty for everyone, and I can just leave the rest in the break room later or something."
Utsuho Reiuji	"He's the BEST bird!" Utsuho seems in one mind (more or less) with Isaac, though she does decide after a few moments, "Well, after me." Utsuho lets Isaac rush ahead toward Judgement Bird while she crouches down, making sure Punishment Bird is safe and out of the way. She's treating it as an escort quest even though, technically speaking, it probably isn't and if it was she should probably be escorting the Control Team. "Hey birdie," she says, having absolutely no idea what she's getting into. "Behave, okay? Be good! And you'll get all sorts of cool stuff. Like..." ... "What do you give him?" Utsuho asides to the Control Team. "I always liked tea."
Angela	The Punishing Bird squawks happily as he's let go and approaches Judgement Bird. Miraculously, the gunfire from panicked clerks doesn't hit the Punishing Bird and ... It chirps happily at Judgement Bird while pecking at a clerk. Their leg starts bleeding. They scream and crawl away. Wait that clerk is Jeff. The Judgement Bird is way less cute. It is maybe three times as tall as Isaac, and it has a long thin and crooked neck. Its face is wrapped up in bandages with a pair of red and right wings poking out at the side of its head. It has a round black-feathered covered body and its claws poke out of two long wings. On its neck is an eternally lobsided scale. Over the speakers, Yesod's voice pipes in in the Information Sector (where Judgement Bird is). "It judges all as guilty. It can no longer see the outcome of its scales." The Judgement holds the scales up with a wing as Punishing Bird raises the scales. Jeff crawls out of the room in the process. "No can do," Random tells Isaac (Rook could not refuse a visit to Malkuth) as they dart in with a a club with fairy wings on it and swing it rapidly at the Judgement Bird. The Judgement Bird endures this for now before a gleam emanates from the scales... It hurts. It'll even hurt Isaac, though his regeneration will gradually heal him but this is the power... of PERCENTAGE BASED HP DAMAGE. Fortunately, the Punishing Bird escapes any kind of pain but the other clerks' eyes are starting to bleed. One is lifted up by a pole that just...appears as a noose wraps around their neck as they hang--the last of their life quickly being choked out of them. The JUdgement Bird starts to follow after Jeff... MEANWHILE Malkuth is cheerful at all these new people visiting. ansi+xterm228, "Is that a sphinx? That's so incredible. I've only read about them in books. I didn't know htey existed for real.") Malkuth then turns her attention to Rook. "Rook, you're not slacking off are you." "Couldn't say no to seeing my favorite Sephira." Rook grins. "Please, I can't take it anymore... You can let me quit right, Malkuth?" The employee is just some clerk but Malkuth turns their attention to the employee. "Do you really think you can't handle it?" "Please... I don't want to be here... Let me out of here please..." Malkuth looks to Kukuru. "Do you mind if I handle this? As the head of this department, it is my job to monitor employees and Abnormalities and determine the best course of action! Through these screens, I can direct the other teams! Of course, even I mess up sometimes... but I worked really hard and now I'm head of the Control department!" She laughs good naturedly at the petting but it's a bit of a POLITE response. She doesn't complain about the nickname either--the petting she's more ambivalent on but she can appreciate friendly energy all the same. Angela looks at Kukuru expectantly. "She has no mouth to eat with and as a Sephirah, it is hardly necessary. You were going to share your thoughts on 'motherhood'?" MEANWHILE Ya-Boy asides to Utsuho, "We uh. We usually just sort of talk to them and hang out...? We don't usually need to feed them."
Arcadia	Arcadia gives a dramatic flare of her wings, enjoying the moment of adoration. "A lot of things exist out there that you've probably only seen in books. Or movies. Or ga--" She's distracted from almost getting a little too meta by Kukuru offering snacks and is more than happy to take her share. "Technically neither do I, but it's a social interaction thing," she adds, before omnomnomnoming away.
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac frowns...the bird is blind, and no longer can see which way its scale turns. He has to imagine it's intelligent then. This is awful when it starts going after Jeff, and the psychic attack it unleashes is enough to even make his own bones shake and nearly shatter. Thankfully, his natural resilience is enough to weather the storm. Regeneration will quickly make sure he's healing again, but he takes a step forward to bar the way of Judgement Bird, and stomps the ground. His persona becomes manifest, the area around him turning into Frankenstien's monster as he stares up at the bird. The ground behind him shoots up, aiming to block off the Bird's pursuit of Jeff. "Justice is blind because it needs to be impartial, regardless of the individual set before it. Not because all are guilty. Not to turn its gaze from the truth. There are those who will escape justice, and it's not your fault. However, judging even one person who is innocent guilty, is worse than a hundred of the reverse." he says, and places a gentle hand on the chest of the bird. "Your friend is here and wants your attention. Return to your engagement. If you can not see your own scales, then trust in those you have given your trust to instead."
Kukuru	The pleading clerk has Kukuru furrowing her brow for a moment, almost as though she might be uncomfortable with something. It really is for just a moment, though, as Malkuth speaking up reminds her that... Well, the folks at Lobotomy Corporation probably know what they're doing! No need to worry about any more confusing details than that, even if she is hearing something that would otherwise be concerning. "Oh, not at all. Handle what-e-ver you need to." She replies with a reassuring nod and smile, then squats in place with a curious gleam in her eyes as Malkuth explains her position here. That absolutely cements her confidence in Malkuth, even, as Kukuru's smile grows a bit bigger after hearing all that. "That's wonderful to hear. Working hard to get good results... Everyone makes mistakes, but theimportant thing is learning from them so you can do better next time. Nobody can blame you for that, right?" Maybe the clerk can, but Kukuru's not the clerk. Angela guides her mind back on track, and Kukuru claps her hands together before sitting right back on the floor with a light flap of her skirt underneath her. "Oh! right. So... Um. Okay! Love is the most important part, because love can conquer anything that gets in your way when it comes to being a good mom." She declares firmly, then slouches a bit to her side while patting her lap. Does she want everyone to sit there? There's definitely not enough room for that. "There's a lot of ways to show it. Teaching your kids, making them happy... It's way more complicated than it sounds because doing that's different for everyone." She gestures at herself, then at Angela. "What I think might be good for mine might be really different from what you think would be good for yours. You don't want to spoil them, but you don't want things to be hard for no reason, right? And that means what you do might not make them happy, so it's... A balance of a bunch of stuff, too. Listening's really good, but sometimes you've gotta be convincing about what you know, too." She seems to be confusing herself more as she speaks. "And it gets really tricky when they're smarter than you, and then they start talking circles arund you... It's good, but it's way harder. You know what I mean?"
Utsuho Reiuji	"Well that's your problem," Utsuho says, confidently, to Ya-Boy. She might be completely wrong but that doesn't mean she FEELS wrong. "You really ought to feed people AND birds. It's extremely rude not to, especially if you're keeping them - " The Judgement Bird shows off exactly why it's called the Judgement Bird. Utsuho is tough, but she's not 'ignore the psychic hammer of the Judgement Bird' tough. She hunkers down in response, bracing herself against it; a shimmering white-blue hemisphere of energy appears before her out of sheer reflex, even though that kind of shield does absolutely nothing against that kind of assault, and it flickers and fades a moment later when she stops paying attention to it. Straightening up, Utsuho turns toward the Judgement Bird. She thinks it's a lot less cute now (she still likes the Punishment Bird though). "Don't you do that!" Utsuho raises her right arm rod, bracing it with her left hand like she has bracing a rifle... About this point, Utsuho realizes she should probably not throw a tiny sun inside of a facility she would like to not damage. She has no idea how durable the walls are, but compared to her output she knows the usual answer is 'not very'. So what comes out instead is a penetrating beam that isn't aimed at either Bird at all! Instead it forms a line, blocking the approach to Jeff; white at its core, with a corona of flame around it that forms a wall of fire. She fires a second perpendicular to it, trying to herd the Judgement Bird into a corner with Isaac. Both the beams just kind of stay in the air, burning intensely. "I don't usually get involved with the judging part," she admits. "My job is after that. So... listen to him, Judgement Bird!"
Angela	"Thank you for your trust in me, Kukuru!" Malkuth says. Angela glances away from Malkuth, her expression inscrutable as she listens to Kukuru's words on motherhood. "I am afraid I don't know what you mean. I'm the most advanced AI in your facility. Perhaps Malkuth knows." Malkuth doesn't seem to take offense and just laughs like she does totally know. From experience. Maybe with someone in this room. "They can be a real handful once they're smarter than you." She agrees. "Please don't be alarmed, once they say 'I can't take it anymore,' They're no longer a part of my Control Team. It's just a tiny hiccup. Nothing for you to worry about, Miss Kukuru!" She approaches the clerk whose eyes widen. "No... No, please manager! Please...!" Malkuth raises their free claw and punches it straight through the clerk's neck. He slumps down immediately, dead. "...We never have enough data on the Abnormalities." Malkuth says. "Sometimes when I encounter them I get a strange feeling. Not like fear or anything, some other sensation. I feel nauseous, like something within me is palpitating out of control, and it feels... like I'm no longer myself. How could I describe it? Like something's wiggling inside of me... Little by little..." Malkuth is still speaking in that chirpy tone, that eye focusing wholly on Kukuru for a moment... "You do your best too, don't you... Miss Kukuru?" Rook sighs, tipping their bakuran down and saying nothing. Angela is quiet too for a moment, though it doesn't seem to be out of sorrow or anything like that. Maybe disappointment. "Your method of motherhood... It is not really what Lobotomy Corp has to offer, of course. We should let Malkuth be but I'm sure this will be a positive memory for her." Angela starts making her way back out of th eoffice, glancing back to Kukuru. Love can conquer anything... If that was true, Lobotomy Corporation wouldn't exist, she thinks. MEANWHILE Ya-Boy says, "I...well, we feed the people. But the birds, uh," He dives in, taking a long swing with a riot stick at the Judgement Bird, carefully darting forward around the Punishing BIrd to avoid even so much as accidentally stepping on it. Random is bleeding from her nose but she keeps swinging. She's not going to stop until Judgement Bird leaves or gets defeated. Utsusho summons a field of fire that protects Jeff who says, "YEEEK!" and then, "THANK YOU??" to Utsuho. It sounds less like a true question and more like absolute shock. The multiverse is much kinder than Lobotomy Corporation. She also tells Judgement Bird to listen to Isaac. It turns its attention to him. Punishing Bird waddles up to Judgement Bird. One step. Two step. A chirp. Judgement Bird says nothing. IT cocks its head at Isaac and--Instead, the Punishing BIrd vanishes in a flash of light--returning to its containment. And the Judgement Bird follows shortly after. Not suppressed, exactly. Whether it was convinced by Isaac or it just decided to stop its rampage for other reasons..is unclear. But the facility goes quiet. Isaac's extra protection of JEFF is definitely giong to be appreciated, even if there are still casualties from the escape. #-1 INVALID ANSI DEFINITION: +hb "Oh fuck it's over." Random says, falling flat on her ass as she takes a moment to be relieved. "...You protected the clerk. Adequate work for newcomers. Well done." Yesod's voice pipes in over the comms. At least someone here will appreciate it (besides Jeff) even if Angela is apathetic. MEANWHILE Angela looks back to Kukuru. "We are considernig lending you an EGO Weapon, Kukuru, in gratitude of your continued assistance. This is not just out of gratitude, however. It is also so that our value can be demonstrated to the Concord. Would you be interested?
Isaac Beaufort	"Thank you, Mr. Yesod," Isaac says, breathing a sigh of relief. He reaches over to help Jeff up but looks at the two others who died. That...was regrettable. There is a pause as he considers something, and his own powers as he walks towards the two bodies. "COME FORTH!" he shouts, as Frankenstien's monster is summoned again. His hands gently come down, each one on the chest of each dead body. The Promethean flame that coats his body surges into each corpse, aiming to do something unexpected. Aiming to bring each person back to life, infusing their bodies with the ability to restore them to a living state, though not do much more healing than that. When it was over, the Persona disappears, and he jerks back. He looks exhausted, but curious to see if it worked. He hasn't tried this before.
Kukuru	"You don't? Ah, you'll understand one day, I'm sure. You just need to find..." Kukuru trails off, tapping on her chin for a few moments. "... You just need to find some kids that you want to teach and cherish. Like with me and everyone else in the Concord!" Kukuru suggests, clearly intending to be helpful even if she might not really be bringing up anything new. There's still that small part of Kukuru that worries a smidge from that clerk's last plea, but... Malkuth said there's nothing to worry about, and that's good enough for her! It's certainly not enough to keep her from pulling out a chicken wing to munch on, scraping right over the surface to get all that meat off in one easy pull. From closer range, they might actually see that she's got jagged shark-like teeth. "A nauseous feeling? Hmm... That's not good, then. Maybe it's allergies, too. I know some smells can make some people feel pretty gross." Another suggestion, perhaps completely divorced from the whole Malkuth-being-a-robot thing. "Or... Hmm. A wiggly feeling, huh? That sounds like you might be getting sick around them, too... Yeah, that definitely sounds like it might be an allegry thing. Make sure not to get too close if you know which ones give you that feeling, okay?" 'You do your best too, don't you... Miss Kukuru?' "Always." Kukuru answers firmly, but there's a slightly distant look on her face as she does. "Well... Not always. I used to think it was, but I know how to do it better now. It might not make my kids outside of the Concord happy, but I'm sure they'll understand." She continues, her actual focus returning to the fore again with her usual dopey grin. "And I'm sure you'll all understand one day, too, even if you're not ready for it yet." Satisfied with spreading her mission of love to yet more members of the Concord, Kukuru gives Malkuth another pat on the top surface and leaves her with a tray of snacks before bringing her cart along to follow after Angela again. "An EGO Weapon... Hmmn. Oh, that'd be nice! I dunno what it means, but if it means being stronger... I'l gladly try whatever you've got, Angie." A beat. "... Oh, as long as it's not a gun. I tried practicing with them in an arcade once, but they're kind of scary up close, you know? Too loud." She doesn't have visible ears. Are they hidden under her hair? Are they her drills? Who knows.
Utsuho Reiuji	The multiverse may be kinder, and perhaps Utsuho is too... ...so it may be a bit of a familiar relief when she draws herself up to her full height (5'7 or so... she's not that tall) and laughs. "AH ha ha ha! Just remember how useful I am," Utsuho says, jabbing at her chest with her thumb. Ego is everywhere. The birds have gone, so Utsuho makes a chopping gesture with her rod, and the burning lines flare once and then go out with a faint haze of smoke. "I did like the little bird," she says, a little wistfully, before turning toward Isaac and watching. What is he doing? "Are you messing with the corpses?" Utsuho watches, but she wanders over to check on Random, then up at Yesod. "I'm much better than adequate," she huffs, more annoyed than legitimately upset.
Angela	It seems Utsuho Reiuji doesn't need an Ego Weapon because she has plenty of Ego on her own. "Yeah, I mean, the Punishing Bird isn't so bad so long as you don't accidentally hurt it. Unfortunately it sometimes wanders in firefights with Abnormalities all too happy to hurt anything. Into gunfire. Underneath our feat... It's punished plenty of people who hurt it on accident..." "Oh don't mind Yesod... Him saying you're adequate is like saying you're top marks." An unfamiliar lethargic voice says over the comms. Yesod humphs, but doesn't argue. "That's enough energy for one day is it..." Hod wonders aloud. MEANWHILE Angela is quiet as Kukuru gives her advice. Kukuru...seems to really enjoy everyone in the Concord. Joining the Concord may have not been a mistake, simply for the loyalty of someone like her. Not that Angela is particularly concerned about how well Lobotomy Corp does for its own sake but if it doesn't do well enough. If it doesn't SUFFER enough... "I wonder...if anybody is out there that I want to cherish and teach." Angela says. Nobody minds the shark teeth. Not even the clerks. These people don't get Cognition Filters (and also it's a trait that sometimes Agents just...have themselves). Besides, Kukuru's reputation is so positive that if she were to turn out to actually be dangerous--it could actually be a real problem for the facility. Angela doesn't want to rely too much on Kukuru's ability for this reason. And one other. "Thank you very much for trusting me, Kukuru. You really are a friend to the company... Don't feel too bad if you mess up sometimes too, if you learn something from messing up--it isn't really messing up at all..." are Malkuth's last words to her... Angela doesn't seem to be as thrilled but maybe that's not surprising. Malkuth takes a snack despite Angela saying they don't need to eat. They don't even seem to think twice about it. "I don't think a gun suits you anyway." Angela assures Kukuru. She sends a signal out and a pair of unfamiliar Agents arrive, carrying a large metal box. They set it down and Angela opens it with a gesture of her hand. Steam billows out as it opens up and Angela draws out a pair of... WHITE PUPPY GLOVES! (with sharp claws). Angela extends the pair of gloves over to Kukuru and says, "We retrieved these from the Abnormality Ppodae. The agents say they are quite adorable even when breaching and shares in your ability to...get big." Angela looks at Kukuru for a momet. Just staring again. "...Kukuru. I should inform you, that simply ressurecting our agents whenever they fall will not help them. I understand why it seems that way, but if you come to assist us more often, you will come to understand that there is only one path through this Hell." Her eyes open, just slightly, as she says this--but they're closed again shortly after. "Nevertheless, you accept how we do things and you lend a hand. I cannot ask for anything more than that attitude from the Concord so thank you. Just remember what I said. I have no other requests other than to use them as you see fit and tell us how you feel in using them." MEANWHILE With those words of warning about how ressurection might not be as perfect a solution as it so far appears, Isaac unleashes his own ressurective power. And it even works! On some of the agents. And even a couple of the clerks. They groan in agony, lying on the floor, but they live once again. But strangely, the remaining clerks... Don't come back to life. They SHOULD have come back to life. Their bodies are repaired just fine. ...But not everybody in Lobotomy Corp wants to return to this Hell and reject that siren call. ....Fortunately, Lobotomy Corp has no such restriction. Agents arrive to clear away the bodies that did not ressurect. They give respectful nods to the Concord agents, some even thank them, but they leave in short order
Angela	....Fortunately, Lobotomy Corp has no such restriction. Agents arrive to clear away the bodies that did not ressurect. They give respectful nods to the Concord agents, some even thank them, but they leave in short order as the Day's work winds down.
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac sighs, some come back, and others do now despite the fact that they should. There is knowledge in his mind as to why. He can not force them back into their bodies. He gains the knowledge of that, that they do not wish to return for whatever reason. It's sad, but it is also their choice, and he would feel bad rejecting it. He sighs, and stands up, "Sorry, it seems I...can do something I didn't before. Anyway, thanks for the backup Utsuho!" he says brightly, trying to force down the pain. The pain that there were people who didn't want his aid...who thought that they were better off dead.
Angela	"Don't you dare apologize," Random bristles. "You have no idea how badly it would've gone without you. You saved a lot of lives. We might actually accomplish our dream." Her expression softens. "By the standards of the City... It's almost like carmen's still here."
Isaac Beaufort	"Carmen?" Isaac asks Random, "And...you're right. Things could have gone a lot worse, and hopefully the two birds will be a little less deadly for you."
Angela	"Long story," Random says. "For now let me treat you to some bear-brand beer."
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac looks somewhat bashful and shakes his head, "Sorry I'm eighteen."
Utsuho Reiuji	"That's okay, I'll drink it," Utsuho says, cheerful again. "Or you can. Why does that matter anyway? I don't even know how old I am, I wasn't counting for part of it!"
Isaac Beaufort	"Because America is a very weird place, and I still have to go home there after I'm done here," Isaac says, still somewhat bashful.
Angela	"...Had my first drink at twelve." Random mutters. "I waited longer than most... Well it's your loss." Bear brand beer is downright...memetic!