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[Takosher]

Kirari

"That's good to hear." Doc said, genuine happiness in her voice. She might have seemed totally oblivious to the somber note falling over the room, but the hint of desperation that crept into her next sentence revealed the truth. "I guess I have a date to set up, don't I Verna?"

Verna, ever tactful, answered, "You have to hear the bad news first."

Doc's response wasn't annoyance, but rather a simple draining of energy. Her face fell and she looked like she was about to cry again. "What bad news?" she asked. She looked directly at Kirari, forcing a determined look into her eyes. Whatever had happened, she was going to face it head on.

Yava

Clank

The bars shut between Yava and the princess. Her legs had thawed during the drive, but by then it was far too late to escape. Her belongings, key included, had been confiscated when they entered the police station and they were now safely locked away, far from her reach. She'd spend the night in the holding cell while paperwork was filed to figure out what to do with her. Afterwards she'd probably be sent to the city court for sentencing. For such a small crime, she was looking at a couple of weeks, maybe two months, of jail time. There was one small positive, which was that Solamon had let her keep the food, it would have been thrown out anyways.

"Such a gaudy piece of junk." Solamon said, examining the confiscated necklace, "Why would you even take something like this? It's practically worthless."

Yava hadn't really given the necklace a good look when she'd swiped it, but a closer inspection and she had to agree. It was clearly a cheap piece of jewelry. Some of the gold paint had rubbed off, revealing that the chain was actually made of a silver material. Given the effort to conceal it, Yava doubted it was actual silver. And the gems were obviously fake to anyone with an eye for jewelry, probably just colored glass. In fact, the necklace was so painfully cheap that Yava was unsure why anyone would buy it at all. Cheap jewelry could be made at much higher quality if it weren't trying to perfectly mimic something more expensive, this looked more like a deliberate counterfeit.

Jessie

"As in integral to the mission." Lali explained, "If we can't get either you or Changer on board, we can't go through with the mission. If the group votes in favor of the mission but you vote against it, then we give you a veto in return for you coming along anyways, which you can use any time in the future to reverse one decision from another person. You can use it any time during a future meeting. Don't try voting no just to earn vetoes, you won't get away with it."

"Speaking of Changer, she's off the table. I've making an executive decision to give her a break." Mack said.

Hellia sighed, loudly, "So we're stuck with the newbie if we want to do this. You almost had me on board with the money, but I really don't think we can trust such a risky mission to Alice."

Mirth smirked a bit, but didn't say anything. She'd been oddly quiet the whole meeting, it was pretty obvious she was up to something.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

She took a deep breath, trying to quell the emotions that rose again at the physician's apprehension. The meister genuinely didn't want Doc to feel bad about what had happened. Her dream-self had been right: she had changed. Exhaling, she forced herself to speak the words that might condemn everyone in the room afterward.

"My name is Kirari Arceneaux."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
"ehehe," Yava looked at the trinket sheepishly, realizing just how much her lesser impulses had led her astray this day. Damn thing wasn't even real. Let alone worth ogling over. The kindest fate it could reasonably receive was to throw it in a bin and forget about it. "It... looked shiny at time. Like I try telling Ice Queen, I am part... magpie sometimes. See shiny, get urge to take no matter what it is. I try to fight it, but don't always win. Value doesn't mean much, all I do is look, never keep, never sell. But yis, I see now it is peice of junk, not even worth admiring."
    The more she looked at it, the more she began to fear that there might be more sentimental value attached to the thing than material. Why else would someone keep such a thing around, if it wasn't tied to something or someone deeply personal? Sure, it could've been bait all along, but... she was far from headlining news here. She'd spent her entire time since landing on this continent laying as low as she can... until today. And surely no thief who actually made a career of swiping jewelry would have made the same impulsive mistake she had of not even appraising the peice beforehand. It was just as unlikely anyone with enough power to set this up knew of her existence as it was that such a materially worthless peice of bait would actually succeed in catching anyone who wasn't a klepto like her. So, as far as she reasonably knew here, she might have just swiped some mom's last memento of her dead daughter. The very idea brought a pang of simultaneous guilt and shame.

Speaking of sentimental things, she couldn't keep her mind off her key. The vague, directionless sensation in the back of her mind meant that it was somewhere in the general vicinity, probably tucked away in some evidence locker in a back room. Judging by the lack of questions about it, Yava figured that her status as a meister was still unknown. It could be a vital card to getting out of here without jail time; convince the authorities she was more useful to them outside of prison than in it. But it was one she was hesitant to play just yet. Her last indentured servitude (in everything but name) had not gone so well, and what she'd seen of this land so far gave her mixed readings on how well this one might potentially go...

[Takosher]

Kirari

Doc didn't recoil in shock or disgust, but Kirari felt a wave of cold from the woman nonetheless. Doc's eyes flicked to her bag, noting the location of her phone in case she needed to call for help.

Verna, on the other hand, seemed to have had her mind completely blown. She stared at Kirari and quietly whispered, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat..."

Despite her initial response, Doc didn't try to call for help or run away. She was still intent to face the consequences of her actions head on. "You're going to need to elaborate for me." she said calmly, "Kirari was last seen in Lanica, and you don't exactly look much..." she trailed off, as if first noticing the changes to Kirari's appearance. "Are you actually confessing to being the very woman that caused you to lose your home and memories in the first place? Forgive me, but I find that hard to believe."

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

"Yes." She nodded once. "That girl is in my body, or what was my body, but she is the actual one from Nerest." Kirari was quiet for a moment as she considered the best way to explain. "My holy weapon - my old one - creates a hierarchy that subsumes everything it touches. That which is above controls what is below it." Her mind flashed back to the image of driving her weapon into the girl's eye. "I wanted to see what would happen if I took more than just limbs. I made a mistake."

"I took her brain and raised it to its place above everything else, but I took it too far. I gave her some control and she tried to take it all in her panic. After that, I woke up with that emergency crew." She glanced down. "I know it's hard to believe. I also know it's harder to believe that I don't want to go back to who I was." Raising her eyes, she met Doc's gaze directly. "I have to ask you to believe both of these things or neither of them."

[Takosher]

Yava

Solamon let out a frustrated huff, more growl than sigh. "In other words, you don't know anything." she said. Her jaw was clenched with a quiet rage, not unlike the brutal cold that she'd shown when she removed Nyna's legs. She tossed the necklace back to Yava. "You can keep that, I've already gathered six. I thought them Nyna's, a provocation to draw out fresh victims, but I've come to suspect something deeper is afoot. At time I think I'm paranoid, but the simple answers simply don't add up. There must be something missing, some clue I've yet to uncover. I just need the smallest sliver of evidence to point me to the larger truth." She had no reason to tell Yava this, there was no trust between them. It seemed less like the princess was confiding in the thief, and more like she was a conspiracy theorist who had finally found someone too polite to run away.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
It wasn't so much that Yava was too polite to run as she was currently prevented from doing so by sturdy iron bars and a concrete holding cell. She caught the tossed necklace and turned it over in her hand, the brief fear of being actual scum she had mere moments prior receding as she heard of the other instances. This... had been ridiculously easy to grab, quality aside. Great, now she was doing it to. Getting into this conspiracy mindset. She should have known better by now. Nothing good had come of getting involved in such things before. Such things had gotten Yorshka killed, long ago... and started the downward spiral the ultimately led to her standing here now.
   But against her better judgement, she humored the woman nontheless, "If this is honey pot, then it is probably not Ice Queen's. Bitch seemed totally apathetic to necklace when she caught me; was more interested in gouging out eyes. I expect she would be type to gloat upon realizing foolish thief had fallen for trap. Oh, and I do admit, necklace was ridiculously easy to take. Left Out in open, totally unguarded, almost like bait as you suspected..."

She paused for a moment, staring at the crude jewelry.

"Or perhaps it is signal instead."

[Takosher]

Kirari

Doc looked rather unamused. She pinched the bridge of her nose, her favorite gesture of frustration, and groaned. "This is absurd." she said to herself. Then to Kirari: "You know this is absurd, right?" She let her shoulders slump in defeat. "What about my life isn't absurd these days?" she muttered. She pulled her phone out of her bag, and for a moment Kirari thought it was all over. But then Doc chucked it at Verna, who caught it with her forehead first before she managed to get her hands in position to prevent an unseemly drop to the floor.

"Call the third number down, tell the man that picks up to put Renee on the line, and then ask Renee to bring Trissy here." Doc instructed.

Verna seemed confused, but ducked out of the room to obey.

"I believe you." Doc said after a moment of uncomfortable silence, "I can't think of any reason for you to lie and I've never heard of a Shadow power manipulating memories enough to brainwash you. Kira...ri, I don't know what to think. I don't have the framework to understand the things you may have done. I spend half of my days babysitting a homicidal maniac, I can turn a blind eye to the past, even when it's awful. But I don't understand your past or who you were like I do Verna. If you honestly plan to change, then I will do everything I can to help, but I need to understand first."

Yava

Sola froze. "A signal?" She said it as though she'd been given a revelation by Nerys herself. "But for whom? And why?" she mused.

After thinking to herself for some time, she returned her attention to Yava. "Say, Magpie, would you like to earn your freedom?" she asked.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
She practically leapt in excitement at the offer. Not the work part, but the freedom. Actual. Genuine. Freedom. This wouldn't just be an indefinite, indentured servitude to avoid the horrors of prison and an execution that would probably be a mercy by the time the paperwork finally went through. By delving headfirst into the crazy, she had managed to stumble into what may potentially be an even better deal than she thought she'd get here.
    "Hmmm yis," Yava said, doing her best to hide her elation and actually look pensive "that is attractive offer... what do you have in mind?"

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

She nodded at Doc's comment. Kirari let out a small, half-formed chuckle. "I don't believe you want to hear about the dream I just had, then." Her tone was some semblance of light, but it was obvious that she was still grappling with what she was telling the physician. How would she go about explaining herself to Doc? She was a monster, plain and simple. Even now, thoughts of torment and pain occupied their own dedicated space in her mind. Furthermore, she still didn't entirely understand how she had gotten from there to here, despite having experienced it all personally. The person she had been never stopped to consider how another might feel, because there was nobody alive that mattered.


"I just wanted to make good memories," she said simply after a long pause for thought. "So I did what I wanted." Kirari glanced down again. She was certain that what she was saying was nothing short of horrifying to Doc. It was hard to imagine how Monika would feel, assuming she was still alive and well, but the disapproval of those two was something she didn't want. "I'll answer whatever questions you have, and give whatever proof I can," she said quietly. And you can decide what I deserve after that.

[Glass]

Jessie

Jessie was quiet. Staring intensely, at... nothing in particular, really. Thinking hard. Or maybe completely blank?

Almost a minute went by before she abruptly stood up, hastily declared that "I need to think," and beat a hasty retreat, going to the laundry room after a moment of complete panic, and tried to block the door before grabbing some dirty clothes and sitting on the floor with her face shoved into them.

Spoiler: Muffled clothing yelling (click to show/hide)

"They're a fucking kid, damnit! Why? What's the fucking point of this?!"

Silvia

While L was explaining her findings, Silvia was thinking about what Cay said, while tapping one of her pencils to the side of her mouth. Once the major wrapped up what they had to say, it wasn't long before Silvia had her question.
"I don't believe I've heard much about this Emmery person before. What actually is her power? And what are the lucidity problems?"

[Takosher]

Yava

"I require someone to raise this signal and attract the intended recipient." Sola explained, "You are as yet unaffiliated with me, so you can easily evade suspicion. If we can catch a member of whatever group is crafting these counterfeits, then learning the truth becomes a simple matter of interrogation."

Kirari

"As much as it might hurt to say, I need to know." Doc said, her tone surprisingly gentle given the circumstances, "Terrorizing entire towns means hurting a lot of innocent people. Was that your goal?"

Kirari suspected Doc knew the answer. Despite her initial shock, Doc had already fallen back into her standard range of emotions. She had most likely put enough pieces together to feel confident in a conclusion. Which meant she wasn't asking for the sake of knowing, this must have been some form of test. Not one of honesty, Kirari had no reason to lie, but something deeper, something emotional. If anything, the question was for Doc as much as Kirari. A question of her commitment, a question of her moral boundaries, and a question of her trust.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
"Ah," Yava said, as if it were really that simple, "So I am to walk around and try to attract other counterfeits from woodwork? I see."
    If by some miracle, it really did end up being that simple, then the deal was a no brainier. But even if it wasn't, she'd make her own luck, one way or another. Who knows, perhaps she'd even help uncover something genuinely insidious here. As Insidious as some group who signal their membership by wearing shoddy necklaces could be at least. A tattoo or gesture was a more stereotypical method for criminal organizations or cults looking for quick and relatively non-descript signs of loyalty. But just to seal the deal... it was time to play the only card she had. Ironic, now that it had outlived it's original usefulness in this conversation...
    "If we are to work together though," she continued "I feel it only fair to tell you this before we go any further: I am actually meister, Water. My weapon is literal key to both doors and infinite possibilities. Could prove useful in endeavor to stake out conspirators, yis?"

Even as Yava gave the explanation, she watched for a reaction. She expected at least some form of suspicion, especially given what she had seen and heard of this continent.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

"Yes." There was nothing else to say. She could try to explain herself, try to give an excuse, but that was what it came to in the end. Kirari had done what she wanted to do, plain and simple. What she still wanted to do, save for the fact that there were now things she wanted more. "I understand if you want nothing to do with me." Kirari didn't want Doc to come to harm for her sake, just like before she'd regained her memory. A repeat of the past was something neither of them wanted, but a commitment to helping her was a step towards that outcome.

[Takosher]

Kirari

Doc's tired eyes silently bemoaned the fact that she was the one stuck solving this dilemma. Kirari's openness made things easier, but Doc was still in way over her head. "You said you don't want to return to that." she said, "I'd like to believe you, but it takes a lot for someone to reach the point of attacking the undeserving. I won't ask how you got there, I'm sure that would be far too long a story. But I do what to know what changed. Turning away from that has to be just as difficult."

Not Jessie

Nobody tried to stop Jessie storming off, but Hellia did follow her exit with a curious and slightly annoyed look. Once Jessie was gone, she turned to Lali and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't look at me." Lali said defensively, "I do background checks, not read minds."

"Not your fault, Lali. She's a damn brick wall." Mirth finally made her presence known, "I've tried to get her to open up, but the girl is tighter than Hellia's asshole."

Hellia shot Mirth a dirty glare.

"She's clearly got problems with this mission. Why not make it a test?" Mack said thoughtfully, "We entrust her with a key role, and if she turns on us we take her out."

"Or we could take her out now and be done with it." Hellia said.

"We need her. Changer is on break and this mission needs stealth." Lali pointed out.

Mirth was smirking again. "And we're not just gonna leave this girl to anyone else, are we? We're doing this mission."

"'Course we are." Mack confirmed, "When was the last time we voted no to something like this?"

"Then I say we keep Alice out of the loop. If she doesn't want to fucking trust us, then we won't fucking trust her either. If we don't tell her, then she can't snitch, and we don't have to murder her." Mirth offered.

"You sneaky bitch." Hellia said, catching on, "That's why you've been so smug. You're going to veto Mack's decision."

"You fucking bet I am." Mirth said with a grin, "Sorry boss, but Changer can't get a break just yet, we're gonna need her for my plan to work."

Mack and Lali both looked totally bewildered. "I ain't followin'." Mack said.

"I'll explain tonight." Mirth said with a wink, "For now, just play along. We don't want Alice to figure out that we're up to anything when she gets back."