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[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

In a way, Monika's statement was an invitation, even if it was unlikely. She didn't have any sway to remove a sacrifice from their post. Perhaps later when she got a higher rank, but now she couldn't. Either way, she could only smirk and shrug before Ehman returned with the living metal. She had tried to do her own research on the substance beforehand, and came out with nothing much besides what she already knew, and seeing the raw substance herself merely confirmed the fact that it was dangerous.

"... I don't think there's much I can say that you haven't heard already, but I can owe you a favor afterwards. Anything that seems reasonable at least" Monika offered once Carlos addressed her. In all honesty, she would just be a broken record if she kept repeating her thanks, so even with how out of the blue it was, a favor seemed like a perfect compromise. She did appreciate what he was doing, and a good deed deserved a good reward.

In her eyes, there was nothing wrong with it.

[Chevaleresse]

Kira

She glanced between the two. The question showed in her gaze: how, exactly, had this particular pair ended up working together? If that was even the correct term. Doc seemed to be intolerant of the kind of nonsense Verna seemed to generate with every breath. That, however, was a quandry for another day.

It was Doc's turn to get a direct stare from Kira. "I don't have any other choice." She could keep searching on her own, scrabbling desperately for clues, but she'd found nothing and nobody until that fateful moment a few days ago, and the little she knew now told her of the near-fruitlessness of continuing to try that route. This was a question that would never truly leave her, and it was something she doubted she could ever just move past. Living with the knowledge that she may have passed up her one opportunity to finally unravel this horrible mystery was an unbearable thing to consider.

"I know you don't want to try this. I'm ignoring all of your advice by doing it. But I want to go forward." The message was clear: it wasn't Doc's fault if anything bad happened. If this killed her or worse, it was on Kira's own shoulders for gambling her mind away.

[Takosher]

Jessie

"What isn't up these days? If things got any more up Katrina would start doing me up the ass." Mirth said, feigning exasperation. "Mack is stressing out and bossing people around. Hellia stuck a stick in her butt years ago and it's grown into a tree. Lali can't cope with all the conflict and if she gets any more pressure on her she's probably going to turn into spaghetti sauce. Changer's autistic ass needs therapy before she loses track of who she is. There's this creepy new girl plotting to kill me. And because everyone is so pissy, I'm stuck dying of heatstroke while my asthma does a suplex on my lungs." she laughed cheerfully, "It's all up as fuck, Nerys's nips couldn't get this far up on the coldest fucking day of the year. We haven't been this functional as a team in months. You're a big help for that, you know? Having you around takes pressure off of Changer, which means the whole system has just a little more breathing room. It's too bad Lali says we can't keep you."

Mirth's little rant was delivered through winded gasps, as she didn't stop working as she talked. Nothing she said was really new to Jessie, she'd gleaned most of it already. But it was still something to have it all vomited out to her at once.

Eilyth

Just outside, the sky was white. The same white as the box that held a wedding cake. A ten foot tall wedding cake. The gigantic wedding cake box had been abandoned in the parking lot, just beyond the stairs up into the church. It was a gargantuan monstrosity, something that belonged in a horror film. And yet here it was, standing before her, slowly melting under the vast summer heat. The Dame Supreme was nothing compared to this unfathomable beast.

"Whoa." the word was Laurie's, and yet not. It belonged to the souls of anyone who witnessed this abomination.

Monika

"I'll be looking forward to it." Carlos said with one last smirk, "I'm gonna make you a weapon that will blow everyone away. Get ready to be awesome." He lowered himself to the ground, sitting cross-legged with the jar in front of him. He had a serious look now. For all his bluster, Monika could see that he really knew what he was doing.

Carlos took a deep breath, and then reached into the jar. Angrily, the metal tore at his skin, tearing his arms apart anew. He'd done this before, but that didn't make it hurt any less. He wince and groaned, intensifying to short yells as the metal increased in fury. But he didn't back down. A scream managed to creep out of his throat, and Monika noticed that his wounds were no longer bleeding. The metal was boiling, cauterizing the cuts and searing off his flesh. He still continued on. More burns, more cuts. The metal consumed his flesh and blood with unrelenting fury. It threshed violently, and Carlos thrashed with it. The pain was too much, he couldn't focus anymore. He screamed wildly as it devoured his mind. And then there was silence. The metal had taken its fill. Carlos slumped over. His hands were intermittently burnt and bleeding. His fingernails were entirely gone and the tips of his fingers partially boiled off. It was a grotesque sight, and Ehman quickly moved to cover him with a blanket.

Kira

Doc nodded. "Verna, go get your weapon."

Verna, already rebounding from Doc's moment of intensity, cheerfully skipped off. "I'll be back right away." she said as she went out the door.

Doc seemed to be calming down. "You do realize you just agreed to a date with Verna, right?" she asked, sounding almost amused.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth (has found her white whale)
"Whaaat the fuuuuck???" Eilyth shook her head in disbelief at the monstrosity she was tasked with moving. Cakes like this should not exist. Yet it's sheer magnitude seemed to allow it defiance of all reason, and thus here it was anyway. She passed a brief glance to Leah as she approached the magnificent beast, this literal white wale of a cake. She was most definitely on the road to the diabetes;a cake like this could probably feed an entire wedding congregation with leftovers to last for weeks, if not a solid month.
    As the initial shock of her new adversary wore off though, Eilyth was not deterred. Far from, in fact. She had already decided that this was not going to be as simple as manhandling the cake into the kitchen, as she initially hoped. No. This would take skill... cunning. Just like how she had defeated that metal monster in that sodden field two months ago. This cake was a challenge, and by the goddesses, she was going to rise to it just like she had the last.
    "Laurie," she called out, beginning to lightly inspect the box to see how it was holding up under the late summer sun, "Head to the kitchen and see if there's any aprons or food carts. If there are, bring back the biggest one you can find, and enough aprons for all of us."

[Chevaleresse]

Kira

The Katrian meister shrugged. "The worst that can happen is setting a low bar for the future." It could probably, in fact, get worse, but things could always get worse. Besides, it wasn't strictly unappealing, though Verna wasn't high on the list of people she'd like to have her first date with. At least, insofar as she thought about that sort of thing.

[Glass]

Jessie

"Mh-hmn." Jessie's eyebrows were turned upwards in amusement. "Plotting to kill you, eh?"

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

At first, Monika merely nodded with a smile, gesturing for the sacrifice to take the stage. Carlos seemed fairly confident, and as such, she didn't worry either. In hindsight, that was the first thing she idiotically assumed. The second was how dangerous the living metal was... And how literal the "living" part of the name was.

As soon as the metal leapt at Carlos' skin, Monika snapped to attention. It took all she had not leap in herself and help, and even then she still jumped out of her seat, wincing as his screams intensified in volume and length, until he finally slumped over, the living metal resting in its jar, seemingly content with what it had gotten. Swearing under her breath, Monika moved her body, stepping away from the table and kneeling next to Ehman and her unconscious sacrifice, "Is he going to be alright?" she asked bluntly, completely ignoring the jar of metal at her side.

[Takosher]

Kira

"I'm back!" Verna announced as she trotted back into the room. Her weapon floated along beside her, it seemed Kira's wait was over. "You better not die, okay? I'm looking super forward to our date!" In contrast to the unusually grave situation, Verna managed to seem like a perfectly normal girl for the first time. It wouldn't last, but for the briefest of moments she actually seemed like a reasonable option for a date. "Here goes nothing." she raised the weapon above her head and activated its power.

At first, nothing happened. Kira didn't feel any different and it almost seemed like maybe it was actually the physical hit that had done the job. But nothing didn't last long. A slight pain in her head caused her to wince, and when she did she saw the flashes from before. There was a strange sensation coming from her eye, like it was turning itself inside out. And then everything went black.

"kirA." Her name. She couldn't hear it, her mind still couldn't process who she was. Instead she heard a distorted version of her distorted identity played back to her in her own voice. But she was not the speaker. "Stop this, kirA." A woman was in front of her wearing pure white robe that shone brightly against the pitch black backdrop of Kira's mind. She was Monika, Doc, and Zoey all at once. The people who had helped her, who she could almost bring herself to trust. Instinctively, the dreaming girl wiped the blood from her face. She didn't remember killing them, but they were dead now.

"You want to know the truth? Follow me." Kira said, reaching down to help the dreaming girl up.

"Stop this, kirA. It's not too late." the specter of help pleaded from behind her.

Kira lashed out with her sword, beheading them instantly. But they were already back, pleading again.

"It's not too late to save yourself. kirA please."

Kira cackled and slaughtered them again. And again. And again. They never defended themselves, only pleading with the dreaming girl to turn back. But Kira didn't stop, she just kept killing. She was covered head to toe in their blood, and yet she simply continued laughing.

"Come on kirA! You want to know, don't you?" Kira prompted.

The giant metal vault door was intimidating, but all the dreaming girl had to do was turn the knob.

"kirA, please. Stop this. Save yourself." the specters spoke in chorus as Kira cleaved through them ten at a time, spraying blood into the air that fell like a sticky, metallic rain.

[Chevaleresse]

Kira?

"Please stop," she whispered softly, desperately. She wasn't sure if she meant the killing or the pleading. "There's no choice. I can't. . . I can't save myself." Powerlessness was simply a truth of her existence, regardless of what that rapier was doing. "I won't lose you," the girl reassured herself, trying to fight through the sickening terror. She'd made sure. She would hold on. If she didn't, the pages would for her.

Reluctantly, haltingly, she reached for the door.

[Takosher]

Eilyth

Laurie didn't respond right away, still in awe of the beast. "R-right." she said, trying to snap out of it, "I'll be right back."

Meanwhile, Eilyth's inspection yielded good results. Although the heat was agonizing, the white box was standing up to it valiantly. It triumphantly reflected most of the light that threatened the cake within, turning the sweltering rays against Eilyth's virgin eyes instead. But with some squinting, Eilyth was able to confirm that none of the icing had yet leaked out of the bottom. If they moved swiftly, they might yet save the cake.

Jessie

"Mirth shrugged. "It was the best I could come up with on the fly." she explained, "You haven't exactly been an open book, so I worked with what I had."

It was clear that Mirth was hoping to crack the Alice book open a little further with this conversation. With how tense things could be in the group, letting an unknown keeping running around was still a recipe for disaster, even if the unknown was proving a positive in the short term.

Monika

Ehman gave Monika a look of pity. "It would be best if you didn't ask such questions." he said, "Your weapon is ready for you. I can supervise the final step of the ritual, or you may take it and finish in private."

kirA

The door swung open with ease, and the dreaming girl found herself enveloped by a harsh white light. The last thing she heard before she stepped over the threshold was Verna's voice saying, "You better not die, okay?"

...

Fear. Order. Hierarchy. She saw it clearly, just behind what she saw with her eyes. It was strength and weakness both, the natural order. But she was bending it. Everything bent to her will as she spread her cruel torture to each and every one of them. She was a true monster, something far more real and far more terrifying than the ghosts of absolute power that haunted the corners of the world. Kirari Arcenaux cackled, and the dreaming girl could only watch in horror.

Kirari's rapier danced with beautiful grace as it dissected her targets. Her precision was impeccable, always doing the maximum damage possible without quite killing them. In mere moments, men and women alike were reduced to equals, all screaming in agony as the sadistic monster that tormented them cackled with glee. One of the townsfolk had been a retired officer, but her resistance had been meaningless. Now she was simply a puppet for Kirari's twisted desires, dancing along awkwardly as Kirari's shadowy tendrils controlled her body. A woman who had been hiding in her home tried to flee, but Kirari was too quick. A calculated miss with her blade granted a sliver of hope, but the tendrils of darkness that reached out and latched onto the woman dashed it. A few moments later, she was hacking her own legs off with a rock.

And then Kirari saw her, the dreaming girl. The memory faded away, replaced by an image of a lavish bedroom. But Kirari stayed. "Isn't this fun?" she asked, sounding almost genuine, "I do so love to hear them scream."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
Good, there was still time. The unnatural whiteness of the cake's current prison and cradle served as an unexpected boon this day. Being out here, baring the brunt of the suns fury instead of the cake though, reminded Eilyth how much she had always hated the summer. Hated it for the sweltering heat and for a variety of... other reasons. She could take it of course, it wasn't quite as humid around these parts as it was down south in the republic, and she had lasted impressively long even in that weather. But she had never enjoyed it, even when she would frequently sneak out of the house when she was young to explore the woods surrounding them... well, really it was to find some reprieve from the endless torment that dominated her childhood otherwise. But still, back then she at least had the shade of countless trees to keep the worse of it off her.

As hot, oppressive, and pervasive as the summers always were, she would not let that distract her. She turned back to mom and Leah, cracking her knuckles with a very audible pop that seemed to cause her no worry whatsoever.
   "Alright, looks like it's still holding for now," She said "Here's the plan, if she comes back with a cart, I'll lift it on and we can wheel it to the dinning hall doors. I'll push and you guys can keep it steady. If she doesn't find any carts, well... I'll just have to carry it the whole way. In that case I'm gonna need someone to be my spotter."

Yes, in the latter case, a spotter would be very helpful. She wasn't concerned with the prospect of injury- hell no, she knew how to lift better than most manslaves who did nothing but lifting as their life's work, and even if she didn't, even a few scales on her body would provide enough reinforcement to make it not matter. It wouldn't do though, if something stupid happened and she tripped on say, a pebble, or the curb, or whatever, and sent the whole damn cake toppling down with her. Such failure, such humiliation would be unacceptable, especially if it came at the hands of an eldritch confectionery treat.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

"It would be best if you didn't ask such questions."

Those words, combined with Ehman's look of pity, caused Monika's gaze to soften as she looked down at her sacrifice's still form. Though she took life in stride, she wasn't blind, and put the pieces together immediately. The preparation of her weapon came with the cost of a life, and despite the fact that it was someone she knew for all but a few minutes, a life was a life. Even worse, it was a life she had encouraged, pushing them to risk themselves for her own gain.

Taking a moment to compose herself by closing her eyes and taking a breath, Monika stood, eyes opening with a steel gaze, "I'll be fine with you being around, in the off chance that something goes wrong" Monika replied, turning towards the jar of living metal.

All she could do now was carry the name, the first of what may become many deaths related to her actions.

[Chevaleresse]

The dreaming girl

She didn't know how to respond. Disturbing was the closest word to describe the quality, but it didn't come close to the magnitude. Seeing that devastation from the eyes of the person dealing it out was something far outside her ability to describe. It was a symphony of suffering for its own sake, the sadist's melody slashed into the innocent with no care as to who deserved it and who was simply unlucky.

The dreaming girl should have been more horrified. "No," she said halfheartedly. As horrific as the sight was, there was the part of her that wanted to giggle along with the woman at the show. "N-no, it isn't." She tried to look away, as if there were somewhere she could look and not see inside her own head. "It's too much." She said this last with a breath more strength in her voice, clinging to whatever refuge she could find.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

L

"Yes, I am sure one would being cooped up for a significant time. It is a punishment from them so I'd count your blessings. The church hardly shows such mercy to those they percieve as... dangerous." L could feel sympathy for the young woman even if her "free spirit" was starting to fray what patience she possessed. This wouldn't be a problem of it hadn't taken a fortnight to simply get here. L had frankly, not much more time to beat around the bush. She needed to reign Terra in and keep to the key points of her business.

"Unfortunately, as per your own admission, you did not see much combat, if any, during your brief period of enlistment. This has left a great deal of holes in relevant information about your Holy Weapon. I would like if we could talk about your abilitied in greater detail so I may better understand what you would bring to my little strike team." L figured she did a good job at least setting what she wished to discuss but had a terrible feeling it'd hardly be this simple. Maybe she was merely being too pessimistic from her horrid tiredness, but she couldn't shake the feeling most conversation as a superior would be a headache with this girl.

"We can speak of the procurement of your lost pursuits once I am more familiar with what kind of asset you will be. I cannot promise that you will be a sure member, but I can put whatever little pull I may have into solving your little problem." L immediately stuck another Lemon pop in her mouth, needing the oral fixation. She just, needed to occupy her body with some minor task to keep it from wanting to shut down.

[Glass]

Jessie

She shrugged.
"Honestly, I'm just laying low. Haven't really done anything like that in a while." She's quiet for another moment, then continues, "There any heists planned? Those are fun."