Skyside 7: The Big Pizza in the Sky

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

That's good. Mina has to get pretty close for Sai to be able to read her facial expression so it would have been awkward if he dug his hooves in on this one.
"Good. So you can continue with the tour then. I hope you at least built an elevator so you don't have to go up and down the stairs with those joints of yours, gramps."

Of course, when she returns the next day she might have something for those...

[Mina's Manor]

He didn't build an elevator. The rest of the tour is done on foot, including every trip up and down the stairs, over the mansion's three stories (plus basement).

The rest of the rooms are pretty standard, if extravagant. The dojo is a large, open, all-purpose training area with matte floors and walls, paneled so that they can be removed and replaced with ease. Presumably, much of the training equipment is stowed away for later use.

The master and guest bedrooms are laid out mostly the same, with a large, downy-mattressed bed dominating the room, complete with silk curtains and ornate nightstands. The primary difference is that the master bedroom is quite a bit bigger, with a walk-in closet and direct connection to the bathroom, while the guest has to be content with a large wooden wardrobe and water closet.

The treasury seems to be more or less just for show, consisting of a room-sized safe with a large wooden trunk in the center, visibly stuffed with cash. Mina may note that, despite her magic being somewhat altered by Sai's Friends Upstairs, Libra still managed to give her a massive chest.

Sai ends the tour by returning to the master bedroom again, leaning against the wall and puffing tiredly. It's been a while since he's done that much walking.

Alecto's Office

Jasper returns, pushing a wheelchair. In the chair is Alecto's father, although it's hard to be sure. He's been badly burnt at some point in the past; he has no hair, and every inch of visible skin is a burn scar. The eyelid on his right eye has fused shut, and his left eye is white and milky. They're accompanied by a woman in her forties, short black hair and grey eyes. Alecto smiles when she sees them, and they immediately go to stand by the wall. Alecto's mother doesn't have a say in the Guild's operations; she's not even really a member.

The man in the wheelchair frowns, or perhaps that's the expression his burns force his face into. "You want a deal with the Guild? Come here. I want to feel your face." Mr. Gilderman raises his right hand, the left remaining hidden under a blanket in his lap. The fingers of his right hand are burnt as well, though effort has been made to give him as much movement in his fingers as possible.

[Alecto's Office]

Klaus complies, half-kneeling so the clearly-blind man can feel his face without stretching too much. He'll even do him the courtesy of gently guiding his hand with his own, so the poor man isn't left grasping at empty air and making himself look ridiculous. Klaus didn't mind helping Mr. Gilderman save a little face; he didn't appear to have much of it left.

At the same time, he's still going to keep an eye on the hand under the blanket, ready ro intercept if the old Guildmaster tried to pull a weapon on him or any similar trick. He's being courteous, not stupid.

Warehouse

"Go ahead. Break my fingers. I'll transfer the injury to your... pet and laugh as she squeals. You'll be able to try again, of course, but that's fine. You have fingers, too. And then I'll have you moved to a cage so small it'll make this one look like a palace." The cleric grins, before sticking her tongue out and biting it so hard it bleeds. More illusionary blood drips from her hands, and Hana will feel the pain of the bitten tongue and taste blood as she transfers the injury across.

She's lying about the fingers; the magic she's using requires touch, and also works best on soft tissue injuries such as bitten tongues rather than broken bones. She's relying on the demonstration and the threat cowing Hana, though either way she's not scared of injury.

[Warehouse]

Hana scowls. The cleric made a critical error in judgement in threatening Hana and Abbi. Certainly, yes, any sane, rational person, particularly one who had a friend's health at stake, would want to avoid drawing the wrath of her captors.

But after spending all night in a cramped cage, with almost no sleep, no food in her stomach, and hearing Abbi insulted yet again by this altogether-too-proud-of-herself bitch of a cleric, Hana was not willing to entertain sanity or rationality.

ker-KRACK

If she was expecting a clean break, the cleric's going to be disappointed. Her hand will look something like she'd just pulled it out of a woodchipper; not merely broken, but horribly mangled, with the bones therein shattered in such a way as to now be piercing her skin. And a good solid 9.5 on that 10-point pain scale.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven can only kind of remember what Rose had told her about her previous occupation. It was a- oh wait, we're continuing the story. Hah! Raven knew remembering silly things like your girlfriend's profession didn't actually matter.

Actually listening to the story is certainly a wave of emotions and Rose can probably sense that Raven is mentally gearing up to go take down this mob herself until Rose gets to the part where 'Jasmine' did it herself at which point she lets go of that possibility. It seems like Raven is starting to settle for a raw sympathetic look, but at the end it shifts to one of determination. An understanding of what Raven must do.

Her hand settles on Rose's shoulder and Raven gives her girlfriend what she hopes is a comforting smile, but there's something dark and broken in it. "I can chase those feelings away. Let me be your new favorite thing. Let me be your everything."

If Rose only dreams of Raven, she doesn't have to have nightmarish flashbacks anymore.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

...Uh-oh.

Rose gives Raven her best attempt at a reassuring smile, but doesn't quite manage to hide the fresh fear in her eyes. "Oh, Raven..." She begins, hugging the catgirl's face to her chest. "You already are."

Rose is starting to think those other thirty-six hours might not be entirely necessary. Raven's starting to sound a little obsessed with her, and while she's reasonably sure the Jimmy Cochrin story is a fake, what Raven advertised herself as doing to people she was obsessed with did not point to good things for her. It would probably be safest for her to leave in the very near future- before morning comes, probably. She also didn't think she was going to have to worry about Raven welcoming her back; with as attached as she was, Rose might have to contend with finding a shrine if MERC ever sent her back to Skyside.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

Mina seems properly awed by the whole place, even the video game money room.
Still, she returns to the bedroom trying her best to seem upbeat.
"You need to hit the couch, Gramps? Also uh, did you have clothes for me?" Hers are likely still soaked through unless Sai installed an instant-dryer.

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

The hand under the blanket doesn't move, which probably makes Klaus feel better.

His fingers dance over Klaus' face, touching the nose, lips and moving around to an ear. "Hmm. A nice face, I think. Attracts the girls? Or the boys, if that's your thing? Mine used to, believe it or not. Who do you represent, anyway? Jasper wouldn't tell me, the git. I thought, for a long time, that Alecto could do better. I was mistaken." His fingers are rough, the burns covering even his fingertips. He sounds fond of Jasper, even as he calls the man names.
"A group of escapees. He'll target our competitors, we supply him with... fake targets, convoys that make it look like he's hitting us but we control what's on them. Our competitors are driven out of business, our profits rise. That about right?"

Warehouse

The cleric laughs in response to the pain, and transfers it to Hana. Her hand remains beef, but she's not paying any attention to it, and it's not hurting- all the pain of the mangled flesh and shattered bones is being replicated in Hana's hand, whilst the cleric's limb is pain-free- though the half-elf started laughing before she transferred the pain. To make matters worse, the cleric's just pulled the wand out and is zapping Hana with it again. The pain caused by the wand is whole-body, and instead of being drowned out by the pain of the broken arm it boosts it. There's enough pain coming from the arm that Hana might pass out- or forever change her tolerance for extreme pain.

[Reinholdt]

[Searching for Truth]

Ilpholin really does want to catch Anika. The nymph is floating above the forcefield by necessity of her bike, so she has no proof that it didn't have some nasty effect upon touch. But Anika's form is mighty and Ilpholin's position precarious. If she caught Anika, they both would surely find out any offensive measures the shield possesses.

So she lets out a sigh of relief as Anika lands without ill effect. She ends up shaking her head with a coy smile. "You're at least twice as cool as I am. I just stood up a really cute guy and his horny friends." Much regret.

Ilpholin swings her attention back to focus on the issue at hand. Or below foot. "I was hoping Tellysandra would save this for further in. Something this big is a flashy and effective deterrent but it's gotta be drawing a ton of power to be maintained at this size. Makes it easier to overload and break. I can get some tools for just that, but it'll probably take Mister Squiggles a week to prepare for us." And maybe some modifications to the bike, which is even more time.

"Or we could try to sneak in somehow," Ilpholin says, pointing at the ship that was approaching in the distance.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven only lingers for a moment upon Rose's chest, her head rising up quickly. She's the one comforting Rose, not the other way around! If anything she should be drawing Rose's head to her chest!

Well that's alright. Raven would rather look into Rose's eyes anyways. Then lean in to give her a soft, calming kiss. When she pulls back, Raven tilts Rose's chin up with a finger while her other hand reaches into her robe's pocket. A warm, happy smile highlight's Raven's face as she stares into Rose's verdant eyes, lush and full of beauty.

"Rose... W-would you go to the prom with me?"

Before hearing the agent's reply, the next sound Rose will hear is a FWIP!! Raven's surprisingly agile and surgical with those scalpels of hers and the one she just pulled from her robe is no exception. It darts out with the intention of making a single, surgical cut across Rose's exposed throat in order to drain its owner of both her voice and life. But Rose need fear not! Raven has plans for her well above and beyond the basic mecha-zombie she's seen until now. She need only consider this a transition, if she'd like.

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

Mina seems properly awed by the whole place, even the video game money room.
Still, she returns to the bedroom trying her best to seem upbeat.
"You need to hit the couch, Gramps? Also uh, did you have clothes for me?" Hers are likely still soaked through unless Sai installed an instant-dryer.

[Mina's Manor]

Sai gives Mina a dismissive wave, still out of breath but indicating he won't need much rest. He then points Mina to the closet, which will be full of new clothes for her.

New in the sense that they've never been worn, at least. As with Mina's bathrobe, Sai has chosen a style of clothing that's rather generous with its margin for error in sizing; a series of shirts, skirts, and robes that wouldn't be out of place in a silk painting, some with elaborate patterns along the trim, but otherwise following a basic premise of "simple, flowing and well-made".

Alecto's Office

The hand under the blanket doesn't move, which probably makes Klaus feel better.

His fingers dance over Klaus' face, touching the nose, lips and moving around to an ear. "Hmm. A nice face, I think. Attracts the girls? Or the boys, if that's your thing? Mine used to, believe it or not. Who do you represent, anyway? Jasper wouldn't tell me, the git. I thought, for a long time, that Alecto could do better. I was mistaken." His fingers are rough, the burns covering even his fingertips. He sounds fond of Jasper, even as he calls the man names.
"A group of escapees. He'll target our competitors, we supply him with... fake targets, convoys that make it look like he's hitting us but we control what's on them. Our competitors are driven out of business, our profits rise. That about right?"

[Alecto's Office]

Klaus nods, in a much slower, smaller gesture than might normally be used, so as to not throw the man's hand off his face. "That would be about the sum of it, yes." He agrees. "And incidentally, yes, the girls do tend to find it attractive. Obnoxiously so. I have to fend them off with a stick some days." He smiles before resuming. "And since you're presumably going to want a name for these people at some point... let's go with the 'Skyside Intelligence Network', or SIN for short. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Warehouse

The cleric laughs in response to the pain, and transfers it to Hana. Her hand remains beef, but she's not paying any attention to it, and it's not hurting- all the pain of the mangled flesh and shattered bones is being replicated in Hana's hand, whilst the cleric's limb is pain-free- though the half-elf started laughing before she transferred the pain. To make matters worse, the cleric's just pulled the wand out and is zapping Hana with it again. The pain caused by the wand is whole-body, and instead of being drowned out by the pain of the broken arm it boosts it. There's enough pain coming from the arm that Hana might pass out- or forever change her tolerance for extreme pain.

[Warehouse]

Hana lets out a scream of pain and recoils, releasing the half-elf's arm and collapsing to the floor in a writhing mess. That was more than the human body was ever meant to take, and it shows- at some point, she's lost consciousness and the convulsions are a strictly involuntary response, brought on by magically-induced pain in her hand and the rest of her body.

At least until she stops moving, laying there curled in the fetal position and letting out a pitiful whimper.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven only lingers for a moment upon Rose's chest, her head rising up quickly. She's the one comforting Rose, not the other way around! If anything she should be drawing Rose's head to her chest!

Well that's alright. Raven would rather look into Rose's eyes anyways. Then lean in to give her a soft, calming kiss. When she pulls back, Raven tilts Rose's chin up with a finger while her other hand reaches into her robe's pocket. A warm, happy smile highlight's Raven's face as she stares into Rose's verdant eyes, lush and full of beauty.

"Rose... W-would you go to the prom with me?"

Before hearing the agent's reply, the next sound Rose will hear is a FWIP!! Raven's surprisingly agile and surgical with those scalpels of hers and the one she just pulled from her robe is no exception. It darts out with the intention of making a single, surgical cut across Rose's exposed throat in order to drain its owner of both her voice and life. But Rose need fear not! Raven has plans for her well above and beyond the basic mecha-zombie she's seen until now. She need only consider this a transition, if she'd like.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

During that kiss, Rose's hands will be doing their own prep work; one going down to the side, the other back behind her, where her head was a minute ago. She's hoping things don't go bad, but if they do, she wants to be ready.

"Rose... W-would you go to the prom with me?"

Yup. They went bad.

The instant Raven's shoulder starts moving in such a way as to suggest she's going to pull something out, Rose's hand shoots up to give her a quick shove in the chest; not much, but hopefully enough to throw her off-balance, so that Raven's attempt at a tracheotomy only meets empty air. Not content with that, Rose is going to grab and throw her weapon of choice at Raven's face- a pillow. Hopefully that distracts her long enough for Rose to make an escape.

If it does, Rose is going to jump off the bed, grab her phone and Hotbox (if she can find it; she hopes to god Raven hasn't stolen it in her sleep), and make for the window. Going back through the body shop full of zombies, especially if they were being controlled directly by Raven, simply isn't an option. She'll take the broken glass and two-story fall over that any day, thank you very much!

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven hisses as her blade narrowly misses its intended target, though Rose will be able to feel the air displaced by the instrument telling her just how close it was. A facefull of pillow buys Rose the precious second she needs to move as the Empress is distracted swatting away the soft, yet firm sleeping implement.

Rose has another bad moment though when she reaches for her Hotbox and realizes that it's not where she left it or immediately nearby. The good news is that Raven couldn't have possibly taken it far. The bad news is that searching for it would take time she may just not have.

"It's not me, it's you. I've got this whole gothic noir thing going and you're so full of life. Bubbly and vivacious. Ahhh... I've known for a while it just wouldn't work. Not like this."

After all, she's making a dash for the window! Rose may be stunned to find that the window is quite tempered. It's designed to withstand a lot more than a naked five foot human throwing themselves at it. This is an evil empress lair after all. Though with the 'window' painted black, it really was impossible to tell until she was bouncing off of it.

"But I can't just ignore such devotion, such loyalty. You love me so much, I know! You've earned this. You need this!!"

Fortunately, this window can be opened from this side and Rose could dive out after. Unfortunately, there's a catgirl scrambling right behind her that is actively thrusting a scalpel at Rose's carotid artery.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

It's really not her style, but Mina slips on one of the robes anyway.
"Oh, Sai. You should well know I'm not a skirt girl." she snickers, patting him on the back.
"You're gonna be ok?"

[Ironsmith]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven hisses as her blade narrowly misses its intended target, though Rose will be able to feel the air displaced by the instrument telling her just how close it was. A facefull of pillow buys Rose the precious second she needs to move as the Empress is distracted swatting away the soft, yet firm sleeping implement.

Rose has another bad moment though when she reaches for her Hotbox and realizes that it's not where she left it or immediately nearby. The good news is that Raven couldn't have possibly taken it far. The bad news is that searching for it would take time she may just not have.

"It's not me, it's you. I've got this whole gothic noir thing going and you're so full of life. Bubbly and vivacious. Ahhh... I've known for a while it just wouldn't work. Not like this."

After all, she's making a dash for the window! Rose may be stunned to find that the window is quite tempered. It's designed to withstand a lot more than a naked five foot human throwing themselves at it. This is an evil empress lair after all. Though with the 'window' painted black, it really was impossible to tell until she was bouncing off of it.

"But I can't just ignore such devotion, such loyalty. You love me so much, I know! You've earned this. You need this!!"

Fortunately, this window can be opened from this side and Rose could dive out after. Unfortunately, there's a catgirl scrambling right behind her that is actively thrusting a scalpel at Rose's carotid artery.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

"Don't I get a say in that?" Rose counters, snatching up her discarded brassiere from the floor and attempting to wrap it around Raven's forearm, twisting out of the way of the thrust. "Didn't you hear me a minute ago? I had to scratch and claw for every inch of that life, why would I want to give it up? Can't we do a sort of yin-yang kind of thing, with a dark empress and her nice shiny girlfriend?"

She didn't expect Raven to care about that. The next words out of her mouth were probably going to be some self-aggrandizing thing about how Rose should feel honored to have been chosen for afafafafaffawhatever. These villainesses tended to love hearing themselves talk, though, and while they're gloating, they're usually at least a little distracted. Rose intended to keep words coming out of Raven's mouth for as long as possible, so she wouldn't notice the agent doing things like, say, setting a thirty-second alarm on her phone and tossing it out the window. Come on, Krayger, take the [fornicating] hint...

Mina's Manor

It's really not her style, but Mina slips on one of the robes anyway.
"Oh, Sai. You should well know I'm not a skirt girl." she snickers, patting him on the back.
"You're gonna be ok?"

[Mina's Manor]

Sai lets out a gasp- well not quite a gasp, since that's air moving in or out of the lungs at a high volume, and this is essentially the opposite, with his breathing suddenly stopping. He tumbles to the floor in response to Mina's pat on the back, writhing futilely as he starts feebly pounding his own chest; something went wrong in there and he'd better get it fixed soon.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven yelps a little as her hand is twisted away and she drops her scalpel before yanking it back. This prompts Raven to take several steps back. Rose was closer than she was to the weapon and she wasn't going to dive for it. That just leads to bad things happening to her! And who would bring poor Raven back if Raven isn't here?

"Oh but you did, don't you remember? How you said what I did for Jimmy is sweet and wonderful and great." Raven continues stepping back towards the stairs only to stop and grab her umbrella. "Well I wish to give you too a new life. A better life. There won't be anymore nightmares. There won't be anymore pain. There'll only be me just like you wanted! They'll crown us Queen and Queen at the Prom and it'll be oh so beautiful."

Raven raises the umbrella and a bullet fires from the tip at Rose, who admittedly has had some time to maneuver by now. Probably enough to get the window open and jump if she hurries.

[Ironsmith]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

While Raven's going to the stairs, Rose makes her way to the kitchen, where she'd have a few appliances for cover and access to Raven's spice cabinet. "Yeah, I said that because he died of something unrelated!" Rose snaps, grabbing a bottle of vanilla extract and ducking for cover behind the oven. "Half-alive is still better than nothing! The primary difference between me and Jimmy is that I'm not dead yet!" She calls, mixing together a few other ingredients to form a rudimentary cocktail.

"Are you telling me you can't be happy with me as I am? That side of you has to be your worst. You can't just enjoy things as they are, you have to subjugate, dominate them. It would have been so easy for us to just go to that club and play some music, like we did. But you weren't happy with that, were you? It had to be yours." Rose shakes up the bottle and waits for Raven to approach. "No wonder you don't have any other friends. Nobody can be with you, they have to be under you! Not that I minded that a few hours ago..."

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

Mina swears loudly. She gently pushes Sai a foot so she can fit her bulk in the space to examine him.
Mina has basic first aid training so despite mildly unfamiliar anatomy she does her best to start the fundamental routines to get his heart and lungs working again.
Given the fact that they're in a city that she knows nothing about and doesn't really have a doctor-on-call number that she would know about, she's a bit SOL if she can't fix things herself.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

"You won't be dead after this. You'll still be alive. You'll be better than alive. Stop fighting yourself. You know you want a ruler in your life. They all do. That's the magnificent glory of Empress Raven Ebondark! But you in particular have been begging for this since we met~"

Raven is tempted to go into the kitchen after Rose, but that's obviously a trap. Just running around the counter, always hiding on the other side. She has no desire to run in circles. She stays right where she is, waiting for Rose to peek her head out so that Raven can shoot her. Oh... wait. We can't hit Rose's brain, that'd be bad. Ugh.

Well that's fine. She'll still stay here and shoot at Rose if she gets a decent shot. And to ensure it's not a stalemate, the heavy footsteps coming up the stairs signals Bruce's arrival. He'll flush her out like a good zombie and drive Rose right into Raven's welcoming arms. "Fetch."

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

Mina swears loudly. She gently pushes Sai a foot so she can fit her bulk in the space to examine him.
Mina has basic first aid training so despite mildly unfamiliar anatomy she does her best to start the fundamental routines to get his heart and lungs working again.
Given the fact that they're in a city that she knows nothing about and doesn't really have a doctor-on-call number that she would know about, she's a bit SOL if she can't fix things herself.

[Mina's Manor]

Mina's efforts her rewarded with a hacking cough that covers her face in old minotaur phlegm (eugh) and a deep, throaty gasp from Sai as his heart and lungs start moving at their regular pace again. He takes a few deep breaths and gives Mina's hand a grateful pat. "Thank you. Those are always unpleasant."

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

"You won't be dead after this. You'll still be alive. You'll be better than alive. Stop fighting yourself. You know you want a ruler in your life. They all do. That's the magnificent glory of Empress Raven Ebondark! But you in particular have been begging for this since we met~"

Raven is tempted to go into the kitchen after Rose, but that's obviously a trap. Just running around the counter, always hiding on the other side. She has no desire to run in circles. She stays right where she is, waiting for Rose to peek her head out so that Raven can shoot her. Oh... wait. We can't hit Rose's brain, that'd be bad. Ugh.

Well that's fine. She'll still stay here and shoot at Rose if she gets a decent shot. And to ensure it's not a stalemate, the heavy footsteps coming up the stairs signals Bruce's arrival. He'll flush her out like a good zombie and drive Rose right into Raven's welcoming arms. "Fetch."

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

"Just the man I wanted to see." Rose mumbles to herself. Okay, here goes.

Rose pops the cap off the bottle of vanilla and throws it at the ceiling just over Raven's head, with the goal of dousing the catgirl in its contents.

Now, she doesn't expect Raven to understand the significance of this immediately. She wasn't actually there for Rose's first foray into her shop.

She wouldn't recognize the smell.

Rose crosses her fingers and prays this works. A few dabs of this stuff had been enough for Bruce to go nuts on her; surely being soaked would provide too strong an impulse for Raven to override?

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven has a split second to choose between opening the umbrella and shooting at the arm that threw the bottle, but her finger was on the trigger so she ends up taking the shot at Rose instead. By the time she swings her weaponized gadget of choice into position, it's already too late and she finds herself half covered in sweet smelling liquid. Raven cringes for a moment, expecting her skin to melt off or to be marred with hideous burns, but when that doesn't happen she straightens up.

"Real mature. Now stop fighting this. I promise this will be the best thing to ever happ-Hey! What do y-stoppit!!" Bruce has completely 180'd and is now moving towards his creator with brains on the brain. He stumbles into her, knocking her over as he claws at her. Raven's doing a pretty mediocre job holding him back with the length of the umbrella and her is a brilliant red as she runs mental cyber gymnastics to get this zombie off of her.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

Mina gags and goes for a handkerchief she found in the closet. Ew, it's all over her nose. Having a muzzle means her eyes were far away from it but eewwww.
"These are regular? I'd say you should take better care of yourself but you've already lived past most normal people. I'll try to find something to help if I can." Sheesh, he really undersold how bad his condition was. She'll have to do something for him.

[Ironsmith]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

That was just the opening Rose needed. While Raven's distracted, Rose sprints from the kitchen and grabs a chair from the table, moving toward Raven and Bruce as quickly as she can, trying to keep the zombie between her and the catgirl for as much of the distance as possible. When she's finally close enough, she raises the seat overhead and brings it down on Raven; hopefully enough to knock her out. If it does, she'll then retrieve Raven's bumbershoot and use it to dispatch Bruce; she helped put some mechazombies together, she has a fairly good idea of where to aim.

Hopefully that all works out. Getting close to a gun-wielding maniac and failing to disable her could end very badly for Rose. As could the zombie.

[Mina's Manor]

"I've been getting an episode once every few weeks." Sai elaborates. "So far, it hasn't killed me; just amounted to a dramatic, but ultimately mild, inconvenience." He's not technically wrong about that; if he recovers quickly enough, such an attack probably does seem like a nuisance.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

Mina blinks but ultimately can't really find a response to that.
"Well, I still wanted you to teach me some moves now that you have limbs to demonstrate. Hopefully your heart keeps pumping while we do that. Take it easy, okay? I'll be around to pull my weight around here." Mina's clearly returning Sai's slightly abrasive mannerisms but her worry is obvious.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Rose sadly overestimates the amount of time and control she's bought. As she swings the chair down towards Raven's head, a hand shoots up and grabs it. The metal fist yanks the furniture aside as Bruce stands and Raven smirks, her cybernetic eye glowing a sinister red. With speed far outstripping a normal zombie's, the other hand swings in to catch Rose in stomach in an effort to wind her. Raven's not granting mercy either, her umbrella blade popping out to stab Rose in the leg.

"These are my pets. I own them."

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

Mina blinks but ultimately can't really find a response to that.
"Well, I still wanted you to teach me some moves now that you have limbs to demonstrate. Hopefully your heart keeps pumping while we do that. Take it easy, okay? I'll be around to pull my weight around here." Mina's clearly returning Sai's slightly abrasive mannerisms but her worry is obvious.

[Mina's Manor]

"Right. Let me just..." Sai's head moves forward like he's about to stand, but the rest of his body refuses to follow, resulting in a sort of awkward lurch forward. "Ahm. Hm. Could you do me a favor and give my left shoulder a good smack?"

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Rose sadly overestimates the amount of time and control she's bought. As she swings the chair down towards Raven's head, a hand shoots up and grabs it. The metal fist yanks the furniture aside as Bruce stands and Raven smirks, her cybernetic eye glowing a sinister red. With speed far outstripping a normal zombie's, the other hand swings in to catch Rose in stomach in an effort to wind her. Raven's not granting mercy either, her umbrella blade popping out to stab Rose in the leg.

"These are my pets. I own them."

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Rose's eyes widen as Bruce catches the chair and turns it aside, and she has time for one little declaration before she gets gutpunched. "Ah, crap."

Oomph!

Rose doubles over as the zombie brings his fist into her stomach, successfully displacing the air from her lungs. Before she even has time to recover from that, she feels a sharp pain in her right thigh, and lets out a subsequent squeel of agony.

And like that, it's done. She's in too much pain to keep fighting. All she can really do is look up at Raven with an expression of pain, fear, and...

And is she about to cry?

Huh! She is!

Wow. That's got to be a little pathetic.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

Mina winces, gently reaching out a hand to give Sai's shoulder a soft smack with the MIGHTY BOVINE MUSCLE that Sai so generously had her graced with.
Poor guy's falling apart.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Bruce falls into a kneel to grab and pin Rose, violently twisting her into position if he can as Raven stands and looms over them. Over Rose. Looking down at her girlfriend as she's about to cry. There's a flinch in Raven's face, an imperceptible twinge of conscience eating at her.

But she was Empress Raven Ebondark.

She was Evil.

And she would make sure the whole world knew it.

"I own you. And I will free you from your pain," Raven says as she goes to plunge the blade through Rose's heart.

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

Mina winces, gently reaching out a hand to give Sai's shoulder a soft smack with the MIGHTY BOVINE MUSCLE that Sai so generously had her graced with.
Poor guy's falling apart.

[Mina's Manor]

There's a soft pop as Mina smacks his shoulder, clearly knocking something back into place. Sai lets out a low moan and gently rolls his shoulder, before repeating the process on himself, slowly working his way back up to full mobility. With a grunt, he stands up and dusts himself off, moving back toward the dojo. "Right. Come along, then."

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Bruce falls into a kneel to grab and pin Rose, violently twisting her into position if he can as Raven stands and looms over them. Over Rose. Looking down at her girlfriend as she's about to cry. There's a flinch in Raven's face, an imperceptible twinge of conscience eating at her.

But she was Empress Raven Ebondark.

She was Evil.

And she would make sure the whole world knew it.

"I own you. And I will free you from your pain," Raven says as she goes to plunge the blade through Rose's heart.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Rose lets out another pained cry as Bruce pushes her into position, looking up at Raven standing over her menacingly, scalpel in hand.

"W-wait!" Rose begs, blinking back tears. "Wait, I... I need to say something."

If Raven doesn't interrupt her, something she will indeed say.

"Raven, didn't you see it? The time we spent together? It was special because I didn't only think of you. I had other things, and I wanted to share them with you. Remember at the club? I wanted to show you that dance; didn't we have fun because of that? Or this morning, when I brought you those gifts; if I was always at your side, could I ever surprise you like that?" Rose's eyes flicker over to Bruce. "...What does he think about? You and nothing else. Would you be happy if you only had him?" She shakes her head slowly. "Raven. I... if you go through with this, you're going to lose me. You might get to keep my body, or my brain, or both, but I will be gone, and there's nothing I can do about it. And I don't want that, not just for me, but for you, too." She sniffs. "I don't want you to go back to being all alone in here. It's been hard on you, in all the worst ways." She gives Raven a tiny smile. "...I still love you. I want to give you a shot at being happy; at really being happy." She closes her eyes as tears start flowing down her cheeks. Whatever Raven does now, she doesn't want to see it coming. The most she can manage is to slightly part her lips, for either one last kiss or a reconciliatory one.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

"Now, Sai? Are you sure? I feel like it's been a long day for both of us and you just had your lungs stop from a mild workout." Mina warns him, despite still following him as he goes. The man really is insane. Mina thinks he seems to have mellowed out a little but he clearly still has never saw fit to install brakes in his head.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven's hand holds, the blade dangerously close to Rose's unprotected flesh. There's a tremor to her stance, a shaky grip as tenuous as Raven's hold on sanity.

"Braaaaaakes," Bruce protests. He thought he and Rose were conversation buddies. Doesn't she remember the time she talked to him and he thought about her brains? Or the other time that happened but for longer? It's insulting to say he's completely thought limited!

And Rose wouldn't be either... if Raven's prototype thought chip worked. Or was it a free will enhancer port? Ah, it was all theoretical prototype at the moment. But Rose would be the perfect test run! And that Hotbox of hers would be the best way to make all the expensive materials Raven needed.

As long as it all worked. What if it failed? That's fine, Rose would just be another disposable... another step towards...
...
It would be awfully lonely again, wouldn't it?

Raven doesn't kiss Rose. That would be weird. The umbrella's blade does, however, withdraw with a slight shnk and she pulls it back, hooking it over her arm as she crosses them in order to look as dignified as possible. Despite the disheveled clothes and hair. She turns to look away as Bruce stops pinning Rose to the ground and starts helping her up instead.

"F-fine. But you'd better not run away and disappear forever like-like everyone else!" Raven warns sullenly, avoiding eye contact after their intense lover's spat.

[Vahnavoi]

[Groundtown]

It's close to dawn when a lone biker cruises into the slums crouching in the shade of Skyside. Well, not as lonely as he appears - there's a ghost of woman riding with her. She's just easy to miss for most people.

"Here we are. I'll leave my bike here", the biker says when after stopping near one of the lifts. "We'll walk... well, I'll walk the rest of the way. That cool with you?"

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

"It'd make us vulnerable, if anyone even thinks we are weak our authority would be eroded. Even if everyone's being attacked, we're the largest target, our losses would be most visible. It does have a nice ring to it; I like the name a lot. I don't have the authority to agree to this, but give Alecto some contact details or something and I'll bring it up to my superiors. It's either that or you leave and go straight to the security office and convince Raodan this is a matter of vital security and he should alert the Guildmasters immediately to discuss it. His office is the only one with that power." Not true, as it happens; Mr. Gilderman could do it too, but he can't contact the Guildmasters whilst he has visitors in his office.

Warehouse

The cleric dismisses her wand and pulls her arm free as Hana collapses, healing her arm and calling for support. The cage is opened and Gunners drag both Hana and Abby out of the cage, taking them elsewhere and changing the dots on both women- Hana no longer has an orange dot, instead having five red ones, and Abby has three green dots and two red ones. Hana and Abby are fitted with shredders whilst they're moving them, Abby wincing a little at the first time she's wearing them. They're then carried over to another part of the warehouse and pushed into new cells. These ones are about the size of a wardrobe, forty centimetres deep, sixty centimetres wide and two metres tall. It's literally standing room only. Abby's given a health check during this period, placed in a cell next to Hana- not that Hana can easily tell, when she comes to; she's been placed in the cell face-first, so she's staring at a wall with... maybe enough space to turn around.

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

"Now, Sai? Are you sure? I feel like it's been a long day for both of us and you just had your lungs stop from a mild workout." Mina warns him, despite still following him as he goes. The man really is insane. Mina thinks he seems to have mellowed out a little but he clearly still has never saw fit to install brakes in his head.

[Mina's Manor]

"My health won't be any better tomorrow." Sai points out with a shrug. "If you would rather wait for tomorrow to start training, well and good. But I refuse to be the reason we don't start as soon as possible." He rolls his shoulders again and loudly cracks his neck, shaking his fingers as little sparks fly from them.

If Mina accepts, Sai will hand her a wooden fork that approximates the size and shape of his weaponized counterpart, drawing a wooden practice sword for himself. "Now, then..." He begins. "How much do you know about sai fighting so far?"

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven's hand holds, the blade dangerously close to Rose's unprotected flesh. There's a tremor to her stance, a shaky grip as tenuous as Raven's hold on sanity.

"Braaaaaakes," Bruce protests. He thought he and Rose were conversation buddies. Doesn't she remember the time she talked to him and he thought about her brains? Or the other time that happened but for longer? It's insulting to say he's completely thought limited!

And Rose wouldn't be either... if Raven's prototype thought chip worked. Or was it a free will enhancer port? Ah, it was all theoretical prototype at the moment. But Rose would be the perfect test run! And that Hotbox of hers would be the best way to make all the expensive materials Raven needed.

As long as it all worked. What if it failed? That's fine, Rose would just be another disposable... another step towards...
...
It would be awfully lonely again, wouldn't it?

Raven doesn't kiss Rose. That would be weird. The umbrella's blade does, however, withdraw with a slight shnk and she pulls it back, hooking it over her arm as she crosses them in order to look as dignified as possible. Despite the disheveled clothes and hair. She turns to look away as Bruce stops pinning Rose to the ground and starts helping her up instead.

"F-fine. But you'd better not run away and disappear forever like-like everyone else!" Raven warns sullenly, avoiding eye contact after their intense lover's spat.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Weird or not, that's how Rose is going to approach the situation. As soon as Bruce lets go of her, she's going to stand and give Raven a nice big hug, squeezing the catgirl between her arms reassuringly. She might not have quite meant what she said, but she was surprised at how readily the words "I want you to have a real shot at happiness" came out, and now she's going to have to live up to them, at least momentarily.

"I'd never do that to you, Raven. I promise." Rose smiles, giving her girlfriend a little kiss on the cheek.

...Right before stumbling into her and leaning on her a little more than might be comfortable.

Rose looks down at her injured leg and the gratuitous amounts of blood gushing from the blade-wound. "...Oh, right, that." She mutters airily, her head swimming. "Raven, could you bring me my Hotbox? I'm going to need some bandages ASAP..."

[Groundtown]

It's close to dawn when a lone biker cruises into the slums crouching in the shade of Skyside. Well, not as lonely as he appears - there's a ghost of woman riding with her. She's just easy to miss for most people.

"Here we are. I'll leave my bike here", the biker says when after stopping near one of the lifts. "We'll walk... well, I'll walk the rest of the way. That cool with you?"

[Groundtown]

Hazel shrugs as she dismounts the bike, giving Sandels a playful punch in the shoulder. "Just my luck ta get paired wid da biggest granny in da city." She jokes, in reference to his manic style of driving, which she apparently found underwhelming. She follows him to the lift, gingerly testing to see if it has that dual nature needed to lift her up alongside Sandels; if not, she'll hold onto his shoulders for the ride, not entirely sure she can fly under her own power.

Alecto's Office

"It'd make us vulnerable, if anyone even thinks we are weak our authority would be eroded. Even if everyone's being attacked, we're the largest target, our losses would be most visible. It does have a nice ring to it; I like the name a lot. I don't have the authority to agree to this, but give Alecto some contact details or something and I'll bring it up to my superiors. It's either that or you leave and go straight to the security office and convince Raodan this is a matter of vital security and he should alert the Guildmasters immediately to discuss it. His office is the only one with that power." Not true, as it happens; Mr. Gilderman could do it too, but he can't contact the Guildmasters whilst he has visitors in his office.

[Alecto's Office]

"All carefully managed." Klaus replies with a dismissive wave. "When you control both sides of the operation, you can give any appearance you want." It didn't hurt that, if the Guild maintained an image of being the strongest of many competitors, some of their less financially secure rivals might join voluntarily. "I'll send over a Galatea in four hours. If you have an answer by then, bless you. If not, she can relay a reply to me when you do." Technically not true; there'd be three or four intermediaries to ensure the Guild couldn't track him down immediately if they decided they didn't approve of what he did with their stolen merchandise... but he's not about to tell Gilderman that.

Warehouse

The cleric dismisses her wand and pulls her arm free as Hana collapses, healing her arm and calling for support. The cage is opened and Gunners drag both Hana and Abby out of the cage, taking them elsewhere and changing the dots on both women- Hana no longer has an orange dot, instead having five red ones, and Abby has three green dots and two red ones. Hana and Abby are fitted with shredders whilst they're moving them, Abby wincing a little at the first time she's wearing them. They're then carried over to another part of the warehouse and pushed into new cells. These ones are about the size of a wardrobe, forty centimetres deep, sixty centimetres wide and two metres tall. It's literally standing room only. Abby's given a health check during this period, placed in a cell next to Hana- not that Hana can easily tell, when she comes to; she's been placed in the cell face-first, so she's staring at a wall with... maybe enough space to turn around.

[Warehouse]

When Hana comes to, it doesn't take long for her- and the rest of her cell block- to wish she hadn't. Her screams will be audible from the other side of the warehouse; acoustically impressive, even if it did speak to her phobia worsening over time. She's noticed she's in shredders again, which doesn't help her mental state any. Guards patrolling outside her cell may note that rhythmic pounding noise resulting from her attempts to break down the door.

[Vahnavoi]

[From Groundtown to Skyside]

The man leaves his helmet dangling from the horn of his bike as he walks into a basket lift. As the lift nudges upwards, Hazel can notice her ghostly feet sinking part way into the floor of the lift, but only for a moment. Like in the prison yard earlier, when the lift reaches a steady speed, she floats to the top of the solid structure, like oil above water.

"Clinging to me is unnecessary. You don't have to worry about falling down through the ground up there anymore than you have to worry about it down here", the man explains. "As a ghost, being earthbound is as much a matter of attitude as it of physics. Just pretending the ground is still the ground will suffice. If you worked on it, you might eventually be able to float with the wind and such. It's the same principle as flying in a dream."

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

Mina accepts the practice implement.
"Only what you taught me before. Which was mostly hand to hand basics than working with you." she says this without any judgement. Of course Sai taught her the basics before sai fighting. You don't start school in third grade.

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

"A... Galatea? A statue, animated through love, or some other thing?" Given he's named his eldest daughter Alecto, Mr. Gilderman's knowledge of Greek mythology is perhaps to be expected. When/if told it's a robot, he'll hiss and grimace. "The Guild does not like robots. They can't be motivated by pain, most of the time, and they cut into our business in an unfortunate way. Will you be expecting it back?" Given that he expected something along the lines of an email address or telephone number, he's assuming Klaus will remote-control the robot or something, and that some form of wireless communication will be used. In which case it may very well be a disposable robot.

Warehouse

Hana's screaming is quickly joined by Abby's voice, as she calls out to get someone to stop hurting her and leave her alone, adding to Hana that she's there and not alone and it's going to be OK. She cuts off suddenly and mid-word. Seconds later, somebody comes up and reaches through the bars of the cell door behind Hana and presses a sticky note between her shoulder blades. Drawn on the sticky note is a magical glyph of silence; Hana can still scream, and maybe even still get hoarse from it. But she's no longer capable of producing any sound. If she were to get out of the cell it'd be quite a dangerous piece of magic for her to possess... But that would require her to turn around and get out of the cell, which is going to be difficult. They've done the same to Abby, too.