AMEN XLVII: Who's the Leader, Again?

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room]

"Woah, you got formal all of a sudden!" Rochelle wonders why this is, and turns to a mirror. "EEEEE! I'M CHANGING!" She admires herself in the mirror, for a bit. "This is so cool!"

The glitching seems to slowly be replacing Rochelle with Agony, a time glitch. From Nicole's perspective, Rochelle is still very much there, and both are one and the same.

Rochelle suddenly freezes and appears to 'deadtime'. In reality, the glitching seems to have increased in speed... a lot. Then, it ceases.

Slowly turning to face Nicole, the latter should realize that she's now facing Agony. "Hi, Nicole. I haven't seen you in two centuries."

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]

Yep. Rochelle just evolved. A sadistic, psychopathic elf-woman just evolved into a ghostly white-skinned Eldritch-touched abomination. That's weird, even by Nexus standards.

"Nooooooo?"

"You were here less than a minute ago - from my frame of reference, that is. If you're not joking, then the time differential between here and there is... Wow."

Wow indeed!

"Please explain why you haven't seen me in two centuries-"

"And-"

Assuming that Agony's Eldritch nature was made manifest.

"Why you reek of ol' Squidhead and his half-baked mates?"

It's no secret that Nicole has no love for Cthulhu and his kin or Muppet Babies, and to Agony, it's probably no longer a secret that Nicole is nowhere near as normal as she pretends to be.

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room]

[Rochelle evolved into Agony. It's SU-SU-SUPER EFFE-E-E-ECTIVE *BAM* FECTI-TI-TIVE] *radio channel noises*

Agony nods. "Hmm, another glitch. I know that I was banished to space for reasons that now escape me." She says in a serene manner. "Spent a century alone and another century with alien creatures older than the world itself."

If her Eldritch nature isn't made manifest yet, then it should be by now. And yes, it wouldn't be hidden from Nicole.

"I ended up ruling a slave race as Agony, the Empress of..." She cuts herself off and looks around the car. "My thrall, Jade! She must be waiting for me at my lair."

She stares at Nicole for a bit. "My lair. I would like you to see it. We can conduct our business there." A nod or two follow. "That would be satisfactory."

Agony looks confused. Squid-head? What is this she speaks of? A quick mind-scan should notify her of what is going on. "Ah, I see. You refer to the alien creatures I spent my time with. You see, dear, I have been trained by them. Touched by them. Made into this. Rochelle no longer exists, and for that, I am glad."

At least, some of us are.

"How do you know of them?" An eyebrow is raised, indicating that Nicole's secret is out. "And why do you dislike them so?" Her eyes narrow as she asks that.

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]
(())

"Uh-huh..."

If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you and all that implies. As if Rochelle wasn't mad enough. No matter. She's in good tolerable company. Everyone's mad here.

"You wanna know how I ran afoul of the stinky squid and his bosom buddies?"

Nicole shifts gear into park.

"My mother was a goddess...and a predator. And one night, she goes off to partaaaay offworld. This cultist teleports in out of nowhere and starts to threaten everyone. She doesn't like that. Not...one...bit. So, in full view of everyone, she rips his jaw off, scowling as she does it. She lobs him out of a window, and she says, 'Who's insignificant now?' She discards the jaw in a nearby bin. 'Who's insignificant now?' Storms out of the front door. 'I'll show them who's insignificant!'"

"So..."[/COLOR]

Nicole leans in close to Agony.

"Why choose them?"

"What can they give you that I cannot? Friendship? Power? Freedom?"

"To chose them is to chose slavery. To chose them is to chose irrelevance. To chose them is to chose oblivion."

"And if you choose slavery, if you choose irrelevance, if you choose oblivion, know that if ever your masters invade this hub-realm, the Warden will awaken, and the Warden is...not as friendly or forgiving as I."

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room]

Agony doesn't like where this is going. Still, her facial expressions don't betray her anger, but there is something dark in her eyes. As she listens to Nicole speak, her anger increases.

Agony exhales for a while longer than should be possible, given her lung capacity.

She looks deep into Nicole's eyes, a scary look on her face. Scary to anyone else, maybe. To Nicole, well... let's just say Nicole picked the wrong words.

"Nicole, my friend. My love."

Her voice is mirthless.

"Know that I cannot love anything that has free will. Know that there is little difference between things and people. Know that you are significant to me because I see a kindred spirit, which is rare for me."

Her voice is cold.

"Know that the Ancient Ones chose me, and I them. Know that they gave me more than you could ever give me."

She grabs Nicole, not enough to hurt her, but enough to show she means business. "Know that I will not abide anyone speaking ill of them." She hisses. "Know that no one- NO ONE- insults my masters, my friends..." Her voice grows soft. "My equals."

Agony lets go of Nicole and the serenity returns to her features. "Respect my choice, or I get out of this car and we never speak again." As an afterthought, she adds: "Not like you could offer me anything better. You weren't there for me while I was misplaced in space."

Nicole might catch a stray thought that floats to the surface of Agony's mind: 'useless'.

[Zefir]

[Zefir's Office - Maria]

Maria nods incessantly. That's an acceptable answer. "There's so much that I noticed and things that I hear," she says, as she definitely noticed that he took leadership over here. "So you want to know what we can do; that's pretty clear. That sounds pretty important, so we can all cohere. To save us some time with your career, my important information I'll gladly volunteer: I suppose you could call me an explosives engineer," she says, "but I'm actually a witch mixed with a bioengineer. However, I actually don't remember much of my past, I fear. Haven't at all, not since I came here. Things I really like are to burn and to sear, and related magic isn't all that difficult to revere."

For some reason, she still continues talking. "As ash, I can disappear and reappear, but curses are what's 'in' this year. I don't much remember where I'm from; it may be near? Or maybe far. I recall some frontier, but I can't remember so I won't shed a tear. I know I sound sincere, but to be honest it's probably all a big veneer. Who cares? Not remembering isn't all that severe. Don't really need a uniform, either, but I wouldn't mind a bandolier."

I don't know why she hasn't stopped yet. "So, what else? I don't know where to steer this conversation, so maybe we should veer back to what I can do. With magic, I merely need to smear some blood and then my magic will rear, doing such things like, for example, burning a sphere or making an explosive to adhere or maybe even a fiery spear? I don't know, I've never tried that one, but I'd cheer if I did it." Then she remembers! "Oh, yes!" She reaches into some pocket and pulls out a pair of rusty scissors. "I have these shears."

"All-in-all, to sum it up, dear," she says, still continuing babbling for some unknown reason, possibly to just reply to his question, "I'm not the most powerful peer, but I suppose you could describe my magic sort-of like a gear." She gestures with one hand, as if holding a gear and rotating it. "It turns and turns like this, all cavalier-like, until..." She smacks her hands together, even with the rusty scissors still in them. She, of course, accidentally cuts part of her hand and she bleeds like any normal person would. "It crashes, like that chandelier from the Phantom of the Opera."

Then, Maria smiles ear-to-ear, as if something just pleased her. "And to domineer magic like that, it's just like my whole body gets filled with butterflies."

Zefir's bananas office-Filii

Filii smiles.
Sounds good. What should I listen for as a response? I want to know I'm talking to the right person.

[Zefir's Office - Maria]

Zefir just listens. He is not sure if it's a good or a bad sign that Maria talks in rythms. On the other hand she also is an explosive engenieer. Well Zefir wouldn't call himself that. He's more a pyrotechnician, but those descriptions barly describe what he does. What bothers him most is her use of the scissor, especially when she cuts herself.

"You shouldnt try it here." he says assumign the bleeding is for the spell. "Could you create explisive traps for example?"

Zefir's bananas office-Filii

"As you said, the banana price. 'Not even a minion can buy some.'" Zefir says. "That should be the words you listen for."

[Duck999]

Zefir's office-Filii

Filii rises to leave.
Unless there is anything else you need to tell me, I will be off.

[5a Violista]

[Zefir's Office - Maria]

Maria nods, and places places her scissors back into a pocket. "With only sixpence and a pocket full of rye, I could bake four and twenty of them in a pie," she replies, "So, I can bake many traps. Yes, sir, I can make three bags full; chemical explosives, mechanical explosives and a couple explosives supported by some magic here and there."

To be honest, this is actually something that I've never thought about before now, but as I look back to the powers that I described for an Explosive Witch's powers, she can definitely make traps. She's previously made some purely magical, some purely chemical, some as a mix, and I'm sure she can make mechanical bomb traps, too.

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]

Hah! Get a load o' Agony! What a card, and a wild card at that! She's taking her life in her own hands laying hold of Nicole uninvited! I do so hope that this isn't the beginning of a trend - for Agony's sake. If Agony makes a habit of savagely (wo)manhandling Nicole, Nicole will be forced to classify her as a bad worker. Not a single soul wants to be a bad worker. Not. A. One.

It certainly seems that, although Agony has grasped Nicole, she yet to fully grasp Nicole's true nature.

Agony might magically detect a teleportation-lock activating within Nicole's shadowy lair. When she attempts to let go of Nicole, she might be shocked to discover that her hands might be stuck to Nicole's skin.

"Get out of this car? Oh, I wouldn't do that if I was you. If you get out of this car right now, we'll never speak again, but not for the reasons you may have been thinking of. It's pitch black out there; you're likely to be eaten by a grue."

That would explain why shadows were clapping for Nicole.

"What say we play some music to lighten the mood?"

Nicoles reaches over to turn on and adjust the radio. Ah! That song will do nicely.

"Now, my love-"

Agony's hands might be sucked deeper into Nicole's slippery flesh. She may feel countless rows of inward-pointing teeth harmlessly tickling her hands, assuming she hasn't previously liberated herself from Nicole's torso/arm maws.

"-I wish for you to know that I respect your decision, but-"

Deeper.

"-if your 'equals', who hadn't even the decency to shield you against the ravages of time, attempt to conquer this hub realm-"

Deeper still. Up to her elbows in this attempt. Nicole attempts to gently cradle Agony's head against her ample chest.

-I will stand with the Warden against them.

Nicole attempts to sedately stroke the back of Agony's head.

"Until that day, you are under my aegis. Until that day-"

Agony may feel Nicole's torso teeth retracting. She may remove her hands and arms from Nicole if that pleases her at this time with ease.

"-you are a member of my pack, if you promise to behave yourself."

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Car]

Anti-teleportation. Nicole doesn't want her leaving. Her serene facade begins to crack.

Nice songs! Agony doesn't like them much. She adjusts the radio, hoping Nicole would listen to the lyrics.

Shaking hands with danger, indeedy.

Nicole might question Agony's taste in music, but don't question mine.

Agony lets out a low growl. She looks pissed. "The Ancient Ones have no desire to conquer this realm." She spits out. A small smile forms on her lips. "No matter, I'll do it for them, with the help of AMEN."

The moment Agony feels the pull of Nicole's arm maws, she forcibly pulls away, both physically (by yanking her hands away) and magically (by attempting to pass through Nicole). Should it not work, she'll grimace at the touch of Nicole.

She might like pain, but she doesn't like being one-upped. It's not a nice feeling.

"A member of your pack. Why isn't that cute, Rodney?" She turns to the side mirror of the car, whom she's referring to as Rodney. "She thinks I'm a member of her pack. How adorable."

The last two words came out dark-sounding.

"I'm here because Zefir wishes me to. I'm inviting you to my lair because I wanted to. Of my own free-will. A decision I'm quickly regretting."

[ThePhantom]

Main Room

El Cuervo, now that things have calmed down, hops back to its books, still searching for the key to its plan.

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]

Agony can forcibly pull her hands away from Nicole if she's willing to damage them or expend magical energy in the process. Nicole isn't trying to omnom her or anything so sinister. If she was, it wouldn't be that easy, but she isn't so it is.

"Then you do not love yourself."

Nicole dryly observes before downing a slug of alcohol. She's disappointed in Agony. Rochelle was fun and interesting. Rochelle had unlimited potential. Rochelle was tractable...sort of. This screwy tosser? She'll be pushing up daises within the week. And this song and dance routine? She's seen it all before. Won't be long before Agony attempts to dethrone Zefir 'n replace him as the leader of AMEN. Yep. Won't be long. That or VIGIL'll put her down.

"Listen, I'm sorry that you were stranded in space with no one to talk to but Eldritch abominations, and I'm sorry about whatever the heck messed you up in the head in the first place. Honestly, I thought I might be able to save you from your fate, but I'm stupid, drunk, and optimistic. You're too far gone. Tell Zefir that you aim to enslave everyone and deprive them of their free will for the glory of your 'equals'. Tell him that I said you're too far gone. Tell him that you're depraved because you're deprived. I don't care, just tell him. And when he tells you whether you're still one of us, you'd better accept his judgement, because if you don't - if you disobey our leader, I'll hunt you down, seal you in a crate just like that one, and ship you off to GLoG in a cage that even your masters can't possibly open."

"We're done here. Would you kindly haul your sorry, green posterior out of my room before I kick it out of the door?"

Nicole doesn't want Agony to return, like, ever. She can't work with her, she can't control her, and she wants nothing to do with her.

Well-lit path straight to the door, activate!

[Zefir]

Zefir's office-Filii

Filii rises to leave.
Unless there is anything else you need to tell me, I will be off.

Zefir's office-Filii

"No there isn't anything else. Good Luck."

[Zefir's Office - Maria]

Maria nods, and places places her scissors back into a pocket. "With only sixpence and a pocket full of rye, I could bake four and twenty of them in a pie," she replies, "So, I can bake many traps. Yes, sir, I can make three bags full; chemical explosives, mechanical explosives and a couple explosives supported by some magic here and there."

To be honest, this is actually something that I've never thought about before now, but as I look back to the powers that I described for an Explosive Witch's powers, she can definitely make traps. She's previously made some purely magical, some purely chemical, some as a mix, and I'm sure she can make mechanical bomb traps, too.

[Zefir's Office - Maria]

Yep, it's hard to describe an ability for every possible situation possible. And sometimes you don't assume your character will ever be in such a situation.

"Well, I'm not knowing how your magic explosives work. I focused on my own. How much time would you need to make an explsive trap on the highest level of a skyscraper and how hsoon would someone notice it?"

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room]

"I have more slaves than I need, an entire race at my command. Second, I'm not acting for the glory of my equals but for AMEN's. Don't insult me, darling."

Then it hits her: Nicole is speaking as though she were more powerful than (or at least on par with) the Old Ones, and she definitely has the nature to match. A chance for more power!

She addresses Nicole. "You! You're an Ancient One! Maybe even stronger!"

First, to remedy the situation. She has been treating a potentially more powerful Ancient with less respect than she deserves.

Her conditioning kicks in, and she kneels in front of Nicole. "Forgive my insolence, my lady! I didn't know! I have been so rude. Punish me as you see fit."

But this lady is very strange. A bit more jovial and optimistic. Still, if she's an Old One, then she's an equal, and one deserving of her respect. She gets up and curtsies at Nicole.

"I would be honored to join your pack, lady. I will learn from you, and I will serve you. Punish me as you see fit, but please, let me join your pack, Lady Nicole."

[Duck999]

Zefir's Office-Filii

In that case, Filii leaves. Off to Trog's!

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room - Like a Ton of Bricks]

Ooooookaaaaay?

Agony isn't predicable in the least. Admittedly, that's what's printed on the back of the tin, so to speak. Ultimately, that minor detail is irrelevant. Assuming that Agony's newfound respect for Nicole is not feigned, Agony ought to be putty in her hands.

Nicole, with razor-sharp teeth bared, blood-scented arms crossed, and ebony-tinted brow knitted, rancorously glares at the prostrate Agony (Glares!). For a solid minute, the silence is absolutely deafening. Nicole is far from pleased with Agony.

At long last, the apex predator territorially growls at Agony. A blinding, blood-red aura encapsulates her physical form. Chaotic magical energies stream out of her body as, with a snap of her clawed fingers, the temperature within Nicole's lair spikes.

"Get up!"

That's a sonorous, angry wrathful goddess voice if ever I've heard one! Nicole doesn't even seem to be the source of the voice. It sounds as if the voice emanates from everything in every direction at once!

"You do not grovel at the feet of your 'equals', savvy? You're not a toad! Imitating a toad is most unbecoming of you!"

Um, Nicole? Don't look now, but your refreshing alcoholic beverage has exploded and all of the boxes in your room are on fire.

"You're a nasty piece of work, you know that? First, you mock me! Next thing I know, less than a minute later, you're kissing my feet and begging for my forgiveness!"

Nicole, calm down, please! Pretty please with sugar on top! The sheer amount of chaotic energy you're generating is unraveling the delicate veil of reality in this thread!

"Your history does not excuse your behavior! Allying with the Seafood Special is untenable, and I shouldn't have to tell you that!"

Nicole, everything is aflame except Agony (You're shielding her, aren't you?) and you're literally A) a great ball of fire burning with the intensity of a celestial body and B) burning a hole in the floor. You must end your tirade against Agony before you melt the Valcano!

You are cooling off a little, Nicole. That's something, I guess.

"Bonnie's out of town..."

A little bit more.

"I'm upset..."

Little bit more.

"And you're asking me to punish you..."

Even more!

"So I will!"

Aaaand Nicole is back to normal! The room, sadly, is not. All of Nicole's brand spanking new furniture will be mourned.

"Until the break of dawn tomorrow morning, you will do as I dispose. You will drive me to an ice cream parlor and share a banana split with me. You will escort me to a club and dance with me. You will eat pizza with me, watch an action movie with me, slip into a hot tub with me, and you'll enjoy every ******* second of it! Agreed?"

...

Nicole in a nutshell.

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room - Ton of Burning Bricks]


Agony wonders what the silence is about. She has it coming now, her punishment, and she's going to enjoy it. She almost can't wait for the pain about to befall her.

At long last, the apex predator territorially growls at Agony. A blinding, blood-red aura encapsulates her physical form. Chaotic magical energies stream out of her body as, with a snap of her clawed fingers, the temperature within Nicole's lair spikes.

"Get up!"

That's a sonorous, angry wrathful goddess voice if ever I've heard one! Nicole doesn't even seem to be the source of the voice. It sounds as if the voice emanates from everything in every direction at once!

"You do not grovel at the feet of your 'equals', savvy? You're not a toad! Imitating a toad is most unbecoming of you!"

Agony gets up hastily and stands upright, surprised at Nicole. They don't tell her to get up if they're not pleased with her.

"You're a nasty piece of work, you know that? First, you mock me! Next thing I know, less than a minute later, you're kissing my feet and begging for my forgiveness!"

"Apologies for mocking you, Lady Nicole." Agony says, bowing her head.

She won't be forgiven, will she?

"Your history does not excuse your behavior! Allying with the Seafood Special is untenable, and I shouldn't have to tell you that!"

"I had no choice, my lady."

Yeah, probably not.

"Bonnie's out of town..."

A little bit more.

"I'm upset..."

Little bit more.

"And you're asking me to punish you..."

Agony is losing hope of being punished. She frowns to herself. Why won't this apex predator punish her?

"So I will!"

Yay, punishment! Feeling the scaldings of a million degrees of hot water? Feeling as though she'd be stabbed repeatedly, perhaps?

"Until the break of dawn tomorrow morning, you will do as I dispose. You will drive me to an ice cream parlor and share a banana split with me. You will escort me to a club and dance with me. You will eat pizza with me, watch an action movie with me, slip into a hot tub with me, and you'll enjoy every ******* second of it! Agreed?"

"QUE?" Agony asks incredulously, then checks herself. "Ahem... I'll be honored to share ice-cream with you, dance with you... go on a date with you..."

No, Agony. Don't try and kiss this angry lady.

Don't... oh no, she's leaning closer. Are you trying to seduce Nicole?

"And I'll enjoy it." Not what she had in mind, but there are other things to enjoy. Like being harmed painfully after trying to kiss an angry lady.

Guess what? She goes for it and dives for Nicole's lips!

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]

Y'know, Nicole is the type of gal who might sporadically moonlight as a dominatrix. Agony could just ask her to beat the stuffing out of her. Nicole might be persuaded to do that for Agony... Maybe.

The enraged Nicole is remorselessly tackleglomped and smooched! After Agony bowls Nicole over and they both, presumably, land on the ground, Nicole attempts to wrestle with Agony and pin her to the uncomfortably hot floor (her plan is to straddle Agony's torso and physically restrain her arms). Nicole, like her mother, Clarissa, is absurdly strong, so Agony might not fare very well against her.

"What is wrong with you?"

Nicole ferociously roars into Agony's face!

"Do you want me to tear you limb from limb? Do you want me to swallow you whole? What is your major malfunction, woman?!"

Nicole isn't supposed to physically tussle with fellow AMENites, but truth be told, she's really, really, really close to attempting to murder Agony.

"I'm trying to show you the error of your ways so that you can interact with other people like a normal person!"

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room]

Agony can hold her own, but eventually Nicole gains the upper hand.

"Yes, ma'am! Wound me. Torture me! SHOW ME WHO'S BOSS!"

Then she giggles. "Normal? Normal is boring. Now insanity... insanity is worth living for. Normal people can't escape into madness, my lady. I pity them for that."

In short: making Agony normal = Lost cause.

[5a Violista]

[Zefir's Office - Maria]

Maria looks downwards, to think and maybe calculate how long it would take. With her fingernail, she starts scratching out something on her left forearm. "That would depend on a lot of things," she muses. "How big of an explosion? What kind? Just big and flashy or small and damaging?" she asks. It honestly entirely depends on how long it needs to take. When I made her as a character, the whole point of the explosives was that the heroes would notice them and stop them before they went off. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to try to stop them so I got stuck with making them explode. "I could make people notice them as soon as we need them to."

Then, she stops scratching on her arm. If Zefir looks at her arm, she has "1 hour" scraped on it.

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]

Agony is making made Nicole angry! Agony wouldn't seems to like Nicole when she's angry!

"Fine! Have it your way!"

Nicole will show Agony who's boss, alright! She'll lay into Agony as if Agony is Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! When Nicole is done with her, they're going to bury what's left of Agony in a soup can!

Nicole attempts to sink her teeth into Agony's shoulder, injecting her with a potent, addictive euphoric agent if her bite connects. She'll then attempt to "tenderly persuade" Agony to chug a half-dozen bottles of bright, sweet liquids, one of which is a bottle of Liquid Agony (A drink brewed and distilled from the agony of victims, and quite sweet and tasty, but very addictive. - Purchased from the Black Dragon's Den), by forcing her to make a tough decision between gulping down the health and regen potions and the entire bottle of alcohol or drowning.

Only then will Nicole attempt to draw the curtain. During the course of the curtained scene, Nicole will introduce Agony to her prized collection of vintage charred instruments of torture and an impressive selection of other items Agony might "love". Long before the curtain rises, Nicole will attempt to swallow Agony whole and alive. If possible, she'll spit Agony up later. Rochelle/Agony did politely ask if she see her insides when she was evolving, after all. Given that Nicole's stomach acids are even more caustic than those of an alien from the Alien Versus Predator films, Agony should get her daily dose of pain and then some. Maybe she won't even notice when Nicole attempts to convert her into a loyal, lesser predator, replacing Agony's rapidly dissolving human flesh with flesh that is more to Nicole's liking. How might she physically change, you ask? For starters, her stomach capacity should significantly increase. Rows of durable pearly whites sharp enough to slice through bone like a hot knife through butter might supplant her average human teeth. Perhaps her sense of smell and her sensitive hearing is enhanced. I leave the details up to you to decide (supposing that Nicole's mutation attempt is successful, that is)! Nicole's only two goals are to sculpt Agony into something a touch more predatory and to engrave a small number of predatory instincts (including fidelity to her pack (Nicole, Bonnie (Nicole's girlfriend), and whoever/whatever else she might consider a member of her pack) and basic self-preservation instincts) into her brain.

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room]

Agony is injected with a potent and addictive euphoric agent and moans and does Nicole's bidding without question, chugging bottles of Liquid Agony, all the while feeling waves of pleasure and sweetness at the contents of the bottles. She won't have minded drowning, assuming it would work, but the euphoric agent must be doing its job.

The curtain is drawn!

((*thinks for a bit* Alright. *cracks knuckles* Let's have at it.))

Agony, who is perpetually in pain, teetering on the edge between mildly insane and fully insane, is estatic at the thought (and experience!) of having new sensations added to her collection!

Then she is swallowed. Agony lets it happen, though Nicole might find it a bit harder than normal. The Pain Empress goes down and her pleasure-filled pain skyrockets. She is so soaked in the sensations that she doesn't notice the changes being done to her. Half a century of changes undone and enhanced upon in an instant.

Her stomach capacity is significantly increased. Incredibly sharp, durable and pearly white teeth replace her regular teeth. Her sense of smell and hearing are increased further, her sensitivity to pain is heightened (along with the pleasure she gets from it) and she's developed the taste for flesh.

Mentally, she's now submissive to Nicole, even more so than she is to the Dark Lord of aMen. Pain and pleasure feels better when it's being administered by Nicole or any of the pack. She's more predatory, able to quickly detect prey and develop tactics to effectively attack and kill/consume/capture the prey. As for self-preservation: Cares little for her own safety, cares much for the safety of the pack.

When around Nicole, she regresses to Rochelle, personality-wise.

---

The curtain is removed, and Agony is trying to snuggle up to Nicole. "I love you, mistress."

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]

By now, Nicole has probably attempted to lick Agony clean. She'd be remiss not to groom her mate shortly after she blissfully experienced their exceptionally messy curtains. Agony's body should be as good as new as well (Nicole would've magically washed any yucky stuff off of her and proactively treated any developing/developed medical ailments that might have bugged Agony in the future).

Nicole's regal fox tail happily waves as Agony scooches herself closer to Nicole. She wiggles more than is strictly necessary as she lets Agony get comfortable in the eleventh bed she conjured up out of thin air in the past *insert number of hours/days/weeks spent behind the curtain here*.

"As I love you, my empress. As I love you."

Hot, humid air might tickle Agony's neck as Nicole attempts to affectionately wrap her arms around her captivating elven empress. Who knew that Nicole's feelings for Agony could be anything other than murderous!

"Are you tired, hungry, or thirsty, my empress? If you wish for anything, anything at all, I will fetch it for you. Tomorrow morning, I would like to treat you to a very special breakfast, if you haven't any prior engagements. You worked up quite an appetite tonight, and I know of no better way to start the day than with a good old-fashioned hunt."

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room]

Agony, clean and spotless Agony, pain-wracked and loved-by-Nicole Agony purrs as she gets comfortable in Nicole's bosom.

She is loved, she is changed, she is transformed.

She moans happily when she's wrapped by Nicole, then jumps happily when she mentions food. "A hunt? Golly, mistress, I can't wait!" She squeals in a childlike voice. "What are we hunting, my mistress?"

Then her stomach rumbles, and she realizes that she is hungry.

"As for today... hmm... how about some chicken, my mistress. A whole, live one."

[Zefir]

[Zefir's Office - Maria]

Maria looks downwards, to think and maybe calculate how long it would take. With her fingernail, she starts scratching out something on her left forearm. "That would depend on a lot of things," she muses. "How big of an explosion? What kind? Just big and flashy or small and damaging?" she asks. It honestly entirely depends on how long it needs to take. When I made her as a character, the whole point of the explosives was that the heroes would notice them and stop them before they went off. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to try to stop them so I got stuck with making them explode. "I could make people notice them as soon as we need them to."

Then, she stops scratching on her arm. If Zefir looks at her arm, she has "1 hour" scraped on it.

[Zefir's Office - Maria]

Yeah, my char is falling the same problem. Explosicves are in a way tto powerfull even for strong chars, since they are still mortal. That's why the good gys in films allways use explosive to kill the big bad monster.

"The point would be blowing up the highest floor of a skyscraper. In best case big and damaging." Then she shows of her arm. 1 Hour? Did she make her arm to a bomb? weöö it's enougth time to get her out befor it blew of. "Are there other ways to get it off like a rune to step on or something like that. I don't know how long things will need."


[Zefir's Office - NEXT]

((Not sure who still waits, but I can take another Office scene))

[Cyber Punk]

[Zefir's Office - Rochelle/Agony]

((This assumes it's after Nicole and Agony do their thing. Therefore, there might be changes as time goes on.))

The Empress of Pain and Torment saunters into the office. She still looks the same as Rochelle, apart from the shorter hair, smug grin and green skin.



Her teeth look sharper, her fingers look more monster-like and predatory as well.

"Zefir." A single word, loaded with meaning. She remembers who he is, mistress Nicole has made sure of that. She'll follow her mistress to the ends of the earth, and if it means serving Zefir, then she'll serve Zefir, for how ever long her mistress wants. Doesn't mean she has to be happy about it though.

"I haven't seen you in two centuries, but mistress Nicole has refreshed my memory." She curtsies. "She's made sure I'll serve you, much to my chagrin. Still, it pleases me immensely to please my mistress, so here I am."

Agony sits down without being told and crosses her legs, her eyes fixed on Zefir's own. "How may I serve you, Zefir?"

[Zefir]

[Zefir's Office - Rochelle/Agony]

Zefir just puts a paper away into one of the drawers of his desk as Agony enters. He appears very calm right now and takes an empty paper out of another drawer. With a click he prepares a pento write, but he stops a few inches befor it can reach the paper. He looks up as Agony continues to speak, the hand remaining in the air. As she is done, he speaks up.

"It's nice that Nicole is such a good partner, but there is one question you might answer me first." he says, making a short break after.

"Who are you? I don't know anyone from two centuries ago."

Sure she looks a bit like Rochelle, but so many changes in only a few hours (for him it's only a few hours)

[Cyber Punk]

[Zefir's Office - Rochelle/Agony]

Agony puts her hand to her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh, Mr Bond Zefir! Silly me."

She clears her throat and leans forward, wiggling her clasped fingers. "Remember that annoyingly childish girl called Rochelle? Well, she is no more. I should know, I used to be her." She raises up a finger. "Now now, you're probably surprised, no? Well, don't be."

She wiggles the finger, a character tic she's picked up.

"I got banished to another dimension. With the way I was, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. Mistress Nicole..." A look of ecstasy crosses her features when she mentions Nicole. "She re-indoctrinated me."

[Zefir]

[Zefir's Office - Rochelle/Agony]

Zefir listens.

"A bit." he replies and listens to the rest of her story. Then he puts the pen away and grabs into another drawer to get a form, which he offers her.

"Used to be sounds like not anymore. So I think it's best to fill out the form again to update the recruiter infromations."

[Cyber Punk]

[Zefir's Office - Rochelle/Agony]

"Of course, fearless leader." There's a hint of sarcasm in Agony's voice.

Spoiler: Membership Form (Updated)

Show

Name: Agony
Age: 224
Sex: Female
Species: Eldritch Personification of Pain
Profession: Empress of Pain and Torment, Torturer
Reason for joining AMEN: I wish to serve Mistress Nicole
Special skills/items you believe will aid/have decided to contribute to AMEN: A gift for torture using both the body and the mind,
References (Victims preferred): Ruler of the Gh'h slave race, head servant to the Ancient ones, member of Nicole's pack
Past Experience: As *ugh* Rochelle, who joined for fun.
Other Information:

Agony hands over the form to Zefir. "If there's anything you wish to know, then ask, fearless leader."