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Sarracenia	A WEEK AGO      A certain princess came across a book in an online auction. It was titled 'The Persecuted Princess', and the summary said it was about a princess despised by her kingdom. It promised action, adventure, mystery, magic, all contained within a heroic tale. Naturally, the certain princess bought the book to add to her collection of heroic stories. It helped that it was very ornate looking, like a magical tome instead of a mere story. It was a red leather hardback with gold borders and inlays, and in the center of the front cover was a large ruby in a diamond shaped gold setting.      TODAY      When it arrived the princess could not contain her excitement and opened the book immediately. And just as naturally, her faithful butler, the piranha plant named Gregory, was standing nearby. The princess started reading quickly. "Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a beautiful princess. She was kindhearted and well-intentioned, but no matter what she tried she found her subjects resentful of her. It was as if she were cursed..."      When Sarracenia read that word, a strange purple aura started emanating from the book. Sarra lept back, and her Silver hammer was in her hands in moments. A rather pretty light purple and pink beam shot out...but instead of hitting Sarracenia, it hit Gregory. The butler let out a surprised cry before being engulfed and disappearing into the beam, which then withdrew back into the book.      The book then slammed shut with a thud much more thunderous than a book of its size should be able to produce. Sarra tried to open it again, but a locked latch had appeared. As the princess stared at the book a voice that Sarra describes as 'good witch-like' echoed from the book. "Return when you have a group of trusted and stalwart companions, for you will need their strength and support if you wish to rescue your faithful servant." This worried Sarra since...that sounded pretty close to friends. And Sarra doesn't have many of those.      So, Sarra issued a panicked distress call to the Multiverse at large looking for anyone willing to help save her beloved butler. She offered a substantial reward in the form of monetary compensation starting at 50,000 standard Multiversal credits or a royal favor. Both are negotiable.
Sarracenia	NOW      Those that have answered the call have been gathered into what is apparently usually one of the storage rooms for Sarra's many weapons, explosives, and power-ups. For now it has been cleared and inside is just the book on reading stand. After recounting the story to those gathered, Sarra is impatiently waiting for them to accept her offer of credits, or to negotiate either a higher price or a royal favor instead. The princess seems quite nervous about the favors, but she knows that some of those who respond may not be interested in money...or at least not interested in -her- money. The princess is dressed in her usual red royal gown, with her eye patch and her Silver lotus hairpin both still in place. And perhaps unusual for her...her hair actually looks a bit frazzled. As if she had something more important to do for once than make sure her hair was in its most pristine condition. She waits with arms crossed, lips pursed, and foot tapping lightly out of worry. "So! What say you all? As soon as rewards have been set I will try opening the book again. I am certain that it will open once enough people have agreed to help me."
Riku Asakura	Riku was at home doing what he usually does.  Which is to say eating ramen and watching Don Shine when he wasn't either dealing with Trideag business or fighting giant monsters at his home.  This is when he heard of the Princess's plight.  Or, more matter-of-factly, Gregory's plight. His usual catchphrase applied here, so he was off to try to meet up with others who were obviously well-intentioned to help Sarracenia's poor butler.   At the scene... Riku is in his normal outfit.  Jean jacket with an orange shirt that seems to have Don Shine engraved on it today.  He's also got a pair of jeans and tennis shoes on beneath that.  His normal Ultraman gear is located on his belt, including the Fusion Riser. Riku doesn't reject payment, but seems genuinely more concerned about Gregory.  This is a chance to save someone and score a little food money on the side, which doesn't bother him as much as someone being trapped.  He also noticed that her state wasn't at its best.  Her hair is frizzled for once, signaling that she's deeply worried for her servant.  "I'm just glad to be able to help Gregory.  You look like you're worried about him, too," he says, smiling to Sarracenia.   He's here for her and her lost help.  Though he doesn't quite understand the bond between butler and princess yet.  He didn't grow up with a butler or a maid.
Lilian Rook	Lilian is kind of the last Elite in the entire local Sector who needs fifty grand. She's also sort of the last Elite by far who'd want to help Sarracenia with practically anything, much less a fuckup that seems practically custom tailored to get her specifically.     But . . . well. She's on-call. She has her scanner on. She should probably respond to that call to organize for a crisis survey after some kaiju disaster relief thing, but that's barely any less beneath her than this, and . . .     Lilian sighs sooooo big when she understands that she feels bad for Gregory. He couldn't possibly have done anything to deserve this; he's a butler for Christ's sake, which fits firmly under the sacred category of 'the help'. Furthermore, he's a butler to, like, the most difficult person in the Multiverse as far as Lilian is concerned, and she'd feel really, really bad if she left him to rot just because he got stuck serving someone she doesn't like. And she's met him four or five times, too! That's basically an acquaintance!     This being a mission for Sarracenia means that she needs 'battle armour', though. It can't be her Tridéag uniform, because Sarracenia technically works for her as a Fixer, and it's wildly unprofessional to show up in the armour of 'being her boss' to this, and she absolutely will not taint her Elibe Enrichmentwear with this, so her only alternative is her Saint Pavlov Foundation getup, which makes a strange (yet vaguely appropriate) impression when she folds her arms and says,     'So! What say you all? As soon as rewards have been set I will try opening the book again.'     "My rate is 'the Royal Favour of you have to take and act on all of Petra's advice for a year'. Sans any egregiously obvious self-harm." Lilian adds the caveat with great reluctance, because it amounts to the free-est gimme she's ever handed Sarracenia. "If the requirement is 'trusted and stalwart', then I'm afraid your options are rather limited, aren't they? Whether or not you like it, I'm sort of the only person that you can trust completely right now." The word 'trust' is a funny thing to repeat. The way she says it sounds as if it has several meanings.
Meresankh	Meresankh arrived at the Sundew Kingdom with fanfare sufficient for visiting royalty. Even now her solar boat rests at ground level before the castle gate, attended by a dozen grim-faced Necron warriors. After a brief diplomatic meeting with the King and Queen, she hovers behind one of their servantry up the grand stairs toward the Princess's chambers. Gliding smoothly through the halls, she admires the scenery. Such a lively place, she thinks to herself. If a little disorganized.     The queen's impression of the castle is changed little by the hastily-repurposed room in which she finds herself gathering with the other Elites. "Princess Sarracenia," she says coolly. "It is a pleasure to make your parents' acquaintance. Perhaps it shall be so for yours as well." She does a little mimicked hair-toss with her headdress. "Payment in coin for my assistance would be unbecoming of our stations. I will accept recompense in a favor of my choosing."     "Now," she says, looking around, nodding to those others she recognizes - Lilian, Riku, Arthur, Angela, Marcus - "Your manservant is consumed within this book?" Still hovering four inches off the ground, she floats a few feet closer to examine the text's structure. "Primitive," she concludes, "but sly. Reminiscent of the first hypercrypts I built as a child. There is little way to glean its contents from without beyond what its maker printed here," she says, tapping the spine, "and so little left to do but enter, and prepare ourselves."
Schneider Greco	Fifty-thousand credits, or a favor?      "A favor, if it pleases my-la-dy the Princess." Schneider neither thinks twice, nor elaborates.      It goes without saying that she'll hold it for when the rain starts falling upwards.      That gives her a moment to preen her curly-fluffy hair with the barrel of her beautiful gun, as carelessly as if it were a toy, and turn her attention to the other 'party members'. "Books seem such trou-ble-some things," she muses. "I never knew 'til now, their covers could swing shut like a mouse-trap..."      Her gaze settles on Lilian, around Riku. She slips behind his back with a murmured "don't turn down the money, my-lord" as free advice, and then stands businesslike-and-ready by Lilian's side in a posture of...      ... mildly protective solidarity?      Surely there's some teasing in that hip-forward, side-guarding stance. The glitter in her red eyes, turned upwards towards Lilian's face, would give that away if nothing else.      "How sweet of her, to be so-con-cerned for her own servant. But sweeter still of you, my-la-dy, mmmh... to be concerned for someone else's?"      Warm conversation. The gun in her hand, after all, is only pointed towards the ceiling.
Petra Soroka	"Return when you have a group of trusted and stalwart companions . . ."     Sarracenia Sundew, Princess of the Sundew Kingdom, warrior princess and heroine aspirant, and most relevantly of all, a Concord Partner: does not have any such companions, as Petra is altogether too happy to point out. So when a response to Sarracenia's distress call comes from the floating city of Hydrochoeria, the dreadful threat of whatever terribly cruel favor Petra will demand of her looms over any potential help she might offer, but then, when that help arrives....     Inside the Sundew storage room is a robot girl all of four and a half feet tall, not Petra at all. With metallic mouse ears, a long Silvery tail, a visor that wraps all around her face at eye level to digitally display animated eyes, and a perpetual smug grin, it's Heyalexa! She bounces on jetboot-like office heels, levitating three inches off the ground, orbited by a trio of Petra's normal little ratbots. Heyalexa: Hello ! Heyalexa: I am interested in providing 1x Trusted Stalwart Companion (Temporary Trial Edition) in exchange for Reasonable Compensation And Positive Opinion Modifier For Increased Commercial Loyalty ! Heyalexa: I am so equitable about this Heyalexa: Because of motivations !     What are those motivations? It's unclear. Sarracenia might never have even seen Heyalexa's Silvered form before, though she's met the secretary in her Amazon Alexa form. But she's here, whatever that means! "My rate is 'the Royal Favour of you have to take and act on all of Petra's advice for a year'."     Heyalexa's eyes light up with a sparkly @ @ at the prospect, and her tail swishes around. Heyalexa: that is such a good idea . Heyalexa: As Secretary and CFO and Manager and Most Special Girl of the Petra City of Hydrochoeria her first advice that I will advise on her behalf is to be very nice to me and support all of my decisions Financially !
Arthur Lowell	> Arthur: Help princess     Hey, royalty-quests are kind of a classic, right? Arthur is stretching and limbering up in the arsenal, occasionally peering at the book with a kind of excitability. "DAMN," He rambles. "Been a HOT MINUTE since YA BOY got up in a BOOK." He waggles a finger proudly. "Last time I was in a STORYBOOK WORLD, I broke like TWO ETERNAL CYCLES. Shit was WILD FOR REAL. Usually they don't KIDNAP though." > Arthur: Select CREDIT REWARD*     Lacing fingers behind his head, he does his usual bully routine. "CREDIT PAYMENT, huh? *HMMMM*..." He almost looks like he wants to take a bullying tack. But then, weirdly... He tilts his head and smirks at Lilian a little, snide shitty little grin snaking around his face. Something snuck into his mind and pushed him away from the bullying posture. "EHHH, some CREDITS go far, SURE DAWG. I'll get that USUAL RATE." He jabs an index finger her way lightly. "*Might* ask for the BOOK when ya done, if you're not gonna FUCK WITH IT MORE. My main," He waves his hand vaguely. "SOURCE on POCKET-DIMENSION BOOKS YA GO INTO, she's been RADIO-SILENCE lately so I think I'm BANNED FROM HER LIBRARY for SHOUTING and also TERMINATING ONE MILLION ITERATIONS OF HER DESTINED CYCLE-SONAS. But it's NO BIG one-way or another-way." > Arthur: Prep for the dive     He's finished limbering up now, and instead he's now in a sort of ready stance, bouncing between feet and shaking his hands up a bit. "READY for ya to POP THE TOP on that thing. Let's get NARATIVE." He pounds a fist into its opposite palm. Excited to get into things! > Arthur: Make sure to do some quick prep for one of the possible situations, with someone you trust     One quick aside, to Lilian. "Hey, if we get straight LOTUS-ATE up in this shit," He whispers. "Look for me where there's GHOSTS AND STUFF. It's COMPLICATED but I gotta get dudes PREPPED about it otherwise we get JAMMED for YEARS sometimes. Don't tell nobody."
Angela	Angela isn't inclined to help Sarracenia because Sarracenia is a Concord Partner who has, as of late, been pretty open about opposing Angela's goals--or at least, the method she's applying to her goals which is the only methods she finds viable. This is largely a matter of principle to Angela and even if her opinion on Gregory is much more positive, she doesn't feel it would send a good impression in the sense that it would probably leave a good impression but also, like, one that suggests hindering her plans is consequence free. So she has informed her non-Elite Librarians that they will not be accepting Sarracenia's mission for either money or favors (Angela doesn't think Sarracenia would keep to any favor outside of the most hostile compliance imaginable.) The exception to Angela's word on the matter is the Magical Girl of Love. Angela pretty much lets the Magical Girl of Love do whatever the hell she wants so long as it doesn't wreck a city block or unleash a horde of Abnormalities into the Library. And Love's opinion on Sarracenia is strange because most of her experiences about why she disliked Sarracenia were erased so now she's pretty much totally fine with her outside of a mild compulsion to chomp her head but since she was warned Sarracenia is ''Poison'' she knows that she shouldn't chomp all of Sarracenia's head anymore, just a little bit so she doesn't DIE. So she's pretty sure she's fine to hang out with. And more importantly, she knows exactly what she wants to ask Sarracenia for. "My price is: I want you to help save the Magical Kingdom of Happiness one day!" Love tells Sarracenia. "And defeat Dark Nihil once and for all!" She beams happily. She doesn't even think about the money which might explain why she was living in a tent for a while. "Also double whatever HeyAlexa wants!" This is apparently all part of one favor. "I'm so excited we get to have an adventure together, Heyalexa! Or maybe even..." She winks and a cartoon heart flies out of her eye and hovers around HeyAlexa's head for a moment. "An ''ad''venture." She knows that Heyalexa likes money things and money things include ad! "Oh!" She startles as she sees Schneider. "And it's the Magical Girl of Shooting! Hi Schneider! Have you met Heyalexa? You should meet Heyalexa!" She swings both hands and points with two fingers towards Heyalexa while jumping.
Storm Investigators	Two unfamiliar faces answer Sarracenia's summons today! They come in the form of an older woman in a brown trench coat and a younger girl in a blue coat. The older woman has an utterly neutral expression on her face as she listens to the story being recounted, and the younger girl inhales briefly at even the smallest/only twist. "Fifty... Thousand. Is that really alright?" "Yes, Marcus. It should be fair compensation for the uncertain risk and time spent on the task." "But it's so much... It almost feels like we are profiting off another's misfortune." "It is a fair exchange. Time and effort are not free, and the princess values Mister Gregory enough to offer this to so many people. Do not devalue your work nor her butler." "Ah...? Y-yes, Madam Hofmann." Looking around some herself, Marcus actually recognizes a fair few people today! She remembers Riku from their previous work on that beach and the party, and she actually looks somewhat relieved at seeing Meresankh, Lilian, and Arthur here from the place she's been reminded not to talk about. Schneider is an entirely unfamiliar face, though, and she stares at her curiously splendid gun for a few moments before getting jolted out of her idle observation by Heyalexa's unfamiliar face and the three ratbots. Love is also an attention-grabber, both by appearance and her price for joining up today. Marcus looks over at Greta, but before she can suggest going for the favor reward, Greta speaks up. "We will take the credit reward, Princess Sundew. Will you be coming with us into this? And do you have anyone waiting outside to ensure the book is not lost during this mission?" Greta asks, glancing around some herself to see if there's any other servants waiting to handle the book.
Lilian Rook	'A favor, if it pleases my-la-dy the Princess.'     Lilian's spine stiffens. That voice and manner of speaking are far too distinctive to forget, much less mistake. It takes her only seconds to run through the list of options here; a not looking back, actually informs her as to that woman's stance; literally and metaphorically. Without betraying any more than that, her left elbow settles into the right angle of Night Mist's hilt and quillion, and her right hand drifts in the direction of the drop leg holster.     'don't turn down the money, my-lord'     "Aren't I always telling you that only idiots do this work for free?" Lilian says, purely on autopilot, then frowns a little when she realizes who said it. Turning to look, now that Schneider appears to have confirmed the top of her list; that this is a Concord ingratiation mission, and thus steeply unlikely to result in an attempt to ambush her, especially surrounded by other Paladins; she glances her up and down for the positions of those guns, and then blinks, strangely mystified by Schneider coming to her side like that instead. Her low hand idly taps at her thigh with her fingertips. Her eyes drift away, not knowing what to focus on now.     'How sweet of her, to be so-con-cerned for her own servant. But sweeter still of you, my-la-dy, mmmh... to be concerned for someone else's?'     "She'd wither up and die in a week without him, I'm certain." Lilian says, intentionally deflecting the first part. The second forces her into a situation where she already can't see a way to wiggle out of it that isn't a heap of transparent lies. "A butler isn't someone who chooses to get involved in this sort of thing. They're part of the class people who dedicate themselves to someone else as the nature of their being; and one who furnishes an 'Elite' with their loyalty is dedicating more than most. It's not as if they ever asked for this sort of risk. It's supposed to be the obligation of the master to look out for her man." Despite the tone of a grievance, she doesn't move away.     "If you're hoping to score points with Sundew, I'd gently yet firmly advise not to get your hopes up." she says, in a weird tone. "You don't look as if you need to try this hard for fifty grand." Lilian adds, without looking again.     'As Secretary and CFO and Manager and Most Special Girl of the Petra City of Hydrochoeria her first advice that I will advise on her behalf is to be very nice to me and support all of my decisions Financially !'     Seeing Heyalexa takes Lilian grievously by surprise, but she's at least a little bit familiar, so there's only so much she can show being taken aback. Plus, she's agreeing with her! Which makes her a good guy! "Well Sundew? Do you hear that? You're already getting this for a steal, you know."     'Been a HOT MINUTE since YA BOY got up in a BOOK. Last time I was in a STORYBOOK WORLD, I broke like TWO ETERNAL CYCLES.'     And Arthur Lowell is a steadying presence; even if a somewhat overwhelming one. "Honest to God, where do I get off accusing Petra of always falling between the cosmic couch cushions as long as you exist?" she says.     'Look for me where there's GHOSTS AND STUFF.'     ". . . Alright." Lilian clearly interprets 'don't tell nobody' as an implicit 'don't ask' too. She just seems a little surprise; again.
Sarracenia	'I'm just glad to be able to help Gregory. You look like you're worried about him, too,'      Sarra smiles appreciatively to Riku. "I am. Gregory has been with me since I was born. He is the one person who has always been there when I need someone to understand me, or to give helpful advice, or just...to sit with me when something particularly bad has happened."      '"My rate is 'the Royal Favour of you have to take and act on all of Petra's advice for a year'. Sans any egregiously obvious self-harm. If the requirement is 'trusted and stalwart', then I'm afraid your options are rather limited, aren't they? Whether or not you like it, I'm sort of the only person that you can trust completely right now.'      Sarra's smile from Riku is quickly dashed into a frown at Lilian's request. That is a difficult one to accept. Sarra's cheeks puff and a sound almost like a tea kettle coming to a boil escapes her before she relents. "Fine. But, it has to be advice and not just some offhanded suggestion born of spite. And I do not think you are the -only- person I can completely trust." Sarra realizes that means she can completely trust Lilian though, and that annoys her.      'It is a pleasure to make your parents' acquaintance. Perhaps it shall be so for yours as well. Payment in coin for my assistance would be unbecoming of our stations. I will accept recompense in a favor of my choosing.'      Sarra knows nothing about Meresankh, but her parents would have assured that visiting royalty were greeted and escorted properly. Piranha plant guards join the rear of her entourage as she is guided through the castle.      Sarra herself finds herself unamused due to the current situation and Meresankh's choice of words, but is intrigued to find another high-ranking automaton (the other being Dimo). One of the guards moves to whisper to Sarra, and Sarra clears her throat. "Queen Meresankh. It is an privilege to have your assistance in this matter. I do hope you find my acquaintance to be as positive as my parents." she says. Apparently the princess does have courtly manners when she chooses to.      'A favor, if it pleases my-la-dy the Princess....      Favors seem to be the currency of choice today. Sarra suspected they would be, though she doesn't mind the idea of granting Schneider one. She at least doesn't seem like she wishes Sarra any harm. "Very well, Miss Schneider." Her cozying up to Lilian loses Schneider a few points in Sarra's book, though.      'Heyalexa: Hello !'      Sarra instantly recognizes the voice even if she has never seen the robot version before. It makes her go stiff, and that stiffness doesn't go down until she hears the first piece of 'advice'. At which time Sarra's expression goes flat. "...I see. Well, I will certainly be nice to you...but supporting your decisions financially? Without question? We...may have to negotiate that point. My parents would be quite cross if I were required to empty the royal treasury on an ally's whim."      'DAMN, Been a HOT MINUTE since YA BOY got up in a BOOK.'      Arthur's peculiar way of talking has always been ever so slightly abrasive to Sarra. He is very helpful and capable, and Sarra has even worked with him in the past in a digital world, but she still never quite got used to his speech pattern. She does thank the stars that he doesn't talk like Bercilak, though. Her brain would be fried in a few minutes. "Ah, Mister Arthur! It has been quite a while since I have seen or even heard from you. It is good to have you along!" She also breathes a sigh of relief when he accepts the credit payment. The request for the book gives her pause, though. "...hmm..." She has to think on it even though the book has kidnapped her butler. "...well, I suppose that depends on what we find inside. But, if I do decide to dispose of it then it will be yours."
Sarracenia	'My price is: I want you to help save the Magical Kingdom of Happiness one day!" Love tells Sarracenia. "And defeat Dark Nihil once and for all! ...Also double whatever HeyAlexa wants!'      Sarra's opinion of Love is also a bit strange. She quite likes Love actually, but knowing someone has a deep rooted desire to chomp your face kind of sours a relationship. And the request is much the same. Usually Sarra would happily agree to saving the Magical Kingdom of Happiness and defeat Dark Nihil, but...Sarra is fairly certain the she herself was included as part of Dark Nihil at some point. And the added condition of double whatever HeyAlexa wants makes her mmph uncomfortably. "...well, I will happily help save your kingdom and defeat Dark Nihil if I am able, but doubling what HeyAlexa wants...?" Sarra lets that fade out, hoping it might be forgotten later as Love goes to gush about adventuring with HeyAlexa.      'We will take the credit reward, Princess Sundew. Will you be coming with us into this? And do you have anyone waiting outside to ensure the book is not lost during this mission?'      Phew, another couple of people who want the money instead of a favor. "Yes, I will be joining you in the mission. As for protecting the book, I will have my best guardsmen standing by. They will ensure the book stays here."
Sarracenia	Once all those present have offered their help, Sarra turns toward the book. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then reaches toward the book.      The book reacts even before she touches it. As her fingers over the locked clasp, an ethereal pink and purple key appears in it. The princess meeps softly in surprise and pulls back slightly before steeling herself and reaching to turn the key. There is a rather loud click for such a small lock, then the key dissolves into sparkles which float upward and disappear. The book opens, and...the same purple-pink light that captured Gregory lances out and expands to encompass everyone who is going. Slowly the party's physical forms fade from the current world...      ...and materialize in another. In a rather large town square with a rather large central fountain. The city is all grey hues, from the stone paving to the fountain to the buildings. The fountain itself is three tiers, with a figure of what appears to be a princess pouring water from a watering can into the fountain.      The statue looks quite the worse for wear. It has been vandalized rather badly. The face has been damaged, most likely by thrown rocks. It is unlikely one could tell who it is even if the princess were standing here. There are also things scrawled on the sides of the fountain. Rather distasteful things encouraging the princess in question to abdicate her position, or accusing her of mismanaging the kingdom's funds, or simply advocating for her disappearance. In one way or another.      The sense of hopelessness in the kingdom is almost palpable. Townsfolk mill about, drearily going about their lives and jobs with dead expressions. At least...until they notice the group. A little girl in a ragged sackcloth dress and a doll made of the same material lets out a shrill cry and flees. "The princess! And she brought witches and warlocks! Mommy!!!"      In mere moments the seemingly dead-eyed townsfolk have gather torches and pitchforks. "Get out of here, princess! And take your conniving curse casters with you!" a gruff man shouts, spurring on a quick rally of similar calls.      Sarracenia is incredibly distraught at this. "No! I-I mean, yes I am a princess, but..." As soon as she says that, a thrown rock (albeit a rather small one) hits her above her good eye. She yelps and staggers back, and a bit of red trickles down before her reservoir of healing mushrooms closes the wound. "What is wrong wi-?!" Another, larger rock wizzes past her head. "Alright alright! We are going!"      The most easily taken route of escape is down the main road and out the city's main gate. Which is built into a rather tall and thick perimeter wall. Princess Sarracenia quickly heads that way, and the mob closes in behind her. "Come on. I do not know what is wrong, but I will not have the townsfolk hurt before we know what is happening."      Just outside the castle gate is a thick forest, though the trees are normal heights unlike the Sundew Kingdom's trees. There is even a road leading off into the forest, which Sarra starts down.
Sarracenia	Almost as soon as they are clear of the city, Sarra pauses. She looks around for a moment, then huffs and resumes. A dozen or so yards later, she stops again and looks back at the group. "...did you...say something?" she asks, then mmphs in annoyance and turns back to the road. "Whatever." she mutters, then continues.      Then...a deer steps out of some brush and onto the road. Sarra freezes like a deer in the headlights, but the deer ironically looks completely comfortable. And is staring quite intently at Sarra. He is quite majestic and a bit large for a deer, with antlers that would be a proud trophy on any hunter's wall. He makes some quite deer noises, and Sarra yelps and stumbles back. The deer steps forward and makes some more noises, and Sarra stares wide eyed. "...what do you mean...?" she asks quietly, then looks to the others. "D-...did...anyone else hear him speak? I...I swear he just said...to follow him."      Then, waiting only a few moments to hear others' thoughts on the matter, Sarra...follows after the deer like someone enchanted. Though, if one sees her face it is clear she is more enchanted by wonder than any spells.      The deer leads them down a path only a deer (or someone with similar senses) would be able to follow. And it leads to...a quaint log cabin. The slightly large and slightly ornate type that one might expect a pack of dwarves to live in.
Schneider Greco	she glances her up and down for the positions of those guns)]      And Schneider, still staring up glitter-eyed, smiles back. Her limp wrist dangles her gun up-and-away, thumb pops the magazine release with a kshhk, pinkie keeps it from dropping all the way out with an intimate familiarity.      'Cozy' is definitely an overstatement, but it's a non-minute gesture of disarmament. Nevermind the bullet still chambered.      "Re-lax, my-la-dy," she purrs, and then her pinkie clks the magazine back in like a punctuation mark.      "If one has money, what is there left to gain but fa-vors?" 'If', though. "I shall take rec-commen-da-tions, mmmhh, on who I should be 'scoring' with... under advisement. Mhmhm~."      "They're part of the class people who dedicate themselves to someone else as the nature of their being..."      That answer doesn't displease Schneider- her smile grows by a slight degree- but she probes more. "Most gov-er-nors would say, I think, that 'butlers' trade loy-al-ty for cash. And if that loyalty leads to death, mhm, he knew the risk? You and the Princess, I think are strange."      "And it's the Magical Girl of Shooting! Hi Schneider! Have you met Heyalexa?"      "Mmmh, it is good to see you, Love," Schneider purrs, seeming to mean it. She takes the girl's energy in warm stride. "The... robotess, with the ears like plates?"      Schneider looks over at Heyalexa, but doesn't quite approach yet. Instead she leans in and murmurs to Love, before committing a potential faux pas: "From where did she come to America? That accent, I do not recognize...?"      . . .      As the party is just about to dematerialize, Schneider consults something like a droplet of fog splashing on her palm. Its result, she doesn't object to.      . . .      "What an odd dream. The governor is cast-down, yet they mourn for her?" Schneider murmurs after orienting herself, looking up at the statue's defaced face and down at the townsfolk. "Surely the child does-not strike a lov-ing parent."      "And she brought witches and warlocks! Mommy!!"      A scoff starts in Schneider's throat and leaves through her nose. She should be offended, and yet it's as charming to her as it is tiresome.
Riku Asakura	'don't turn down the money, my-lord' 'Aren't I always telling you that only idiots do this work for free?' The hairs on the back of Riku's neck go up on hearing that voice.  She might not remember him, but he remembers Schneider.  Ruthless and powerful despite her figure... and managed to get the Concord on her side somehow.   He turns to look at Lilian, who's making a point about not working for free.  He sighs and nods.  Agreeing with her. "I won't," he says to Schneider, stiffer than perhaps he would be normally.   Inside the book... This was not exactly what he was expecting, but at the same time, he wasn't sure what to expect.  The town's people looked dejected and in dire straits; the town was less than lively, and everything was just a bit grayer.  The statue was graffiti-ed, and overall vandalized by what he expected were the town's people.   'The princess! And she brought witches and warlocks! Mommy!!!' "No, wait, we're not..." he starts, but a rock catches Sarra right in the head.  Fighting the town's people would be a massive mistake, and one he could never forgive himself for even thinking about, so he's about to suggest retreat when Sarra already jumps to it, and off they go.  More rocks fly at them, forcing Riku to cover his head to avoid being struck by flying rocks.   When the deer appears, Riku looks oddly at Sarra, who says she can hear it talking to her.  "Nope, I can't hear it at all..." he says, but when she follows after it, Riku follows.  "Wait, shouldn't we be going toward the castle..." he starts, but they come across the log cabin.  "What is this place?" he asks, looking around.
Arthur Lowell	> ==>     There's mostly an agreement, on the things Arthur has spoken to everyone else about. Thumbs-ups are dispensed, to Lilian, to Sarra, and so on. He gets some sunglasses on, and braces for the book to open... > Arthur: Materialize     Arthur manifests, landing clean on his feet with barely any unsteadiness. He adjusts his stance, steadies himself, looks around with a broad shit-eating grin... And almost immediately has a rock slamming into his face. "DAMN, YO, WHAT." He's yelling. "HEY! FORK YA OWN PITCH!, I don't want ya TORCHES!" He's taking off, pulling away. "I'm LITERALLY just STANDIN' HERE! Hey, EAT SHIT, ya boy is a MAGE, not a WARLOCK!"     He kicks onto his broom, taking off to get some height "And that CASTER GENDER-IZING is some STRAIGHT BULLSHIT!" He yells, batting away another thrown rock. "Ya'll got ya LINGUISTICS HELLA DRIFTED! Maybe ya'll wouldn't get CURSED if you weren't spittin' SEXISM about WITCHRAFT!" The fact that his way of confronting this situation is to sort of drift above the Sack-Clock Commoners while yelling that they got the technical terms wrong would need much better sociopolitical awareness to process. > Arthur: Follow Sarracenia     And then he's on his way along the road, sourly grumping. "DAWG." He rambles at Sarracenia. "What are you CASTIN'? You HEXIN'? You got CURSES? Turn someone to a FROG or something lately? This story's WEIRD.     Watching the deer, though, he shakes his head. "Heard NOTHIN'." He says. "You chattin' up ANIMAL SPIRITS homie. This is some ANIMISM." But... he scratches his chin oddly. "Hey." He mutters. "Looked like that was some heavy stuff about princessness. But capital-P Princess. What's that word mean for you, and for everyone else around where you live? Was this book something from out-world or something from around here?" > Arthur: Greet cabin     She barely has any time to reply if she does, though. He was following in a low hover on that broom, peering at the cabin as he approached... After not too long, he flips around on it, hanging under it and then dispelling it to fall at the front door. "'EY!" He shouts, rapping his knuckles on the door. "My girl here got WILDLIFE all around saying to GET IN HERE. You in there CASTING SPELLS on DEER? You some kind'a FOREST FREAK? You gotta tell me if your CAULDRON up in there STRAIGHT BUBBLIN' FOR REAL, otherwise I'mma be CRITICAL."
Meresankh	And just like that, Meresankh is whisked away into a book with the other Elites. She takes only a moment to get her bearings, having dealt with pocket dimensions on such a regular basis that the process of entering the book is barely disorienting. As the people of the city she finds herself in begin to gather - and as their ire sparks - Meresankh directs her attention first to the material of the city itself. She sweeps her gaze over the buildings and walls, including that fountain, analyzing their materials.     'Hypercrypts', or their magical counterparts, often hold more to them than first meets the eye. Are these walls truly built of mortar and stone, or is something different beneath the facade? Perhaps they are even holographic or hard-light projections, not really there at all! If they *are* real stone, even that will yield some information as to the age of this place based on the weathering of the rock. The Necron queen's expertise is chiefly with machinery, but a little materials science on the side is part and parcel to the work of an inventor.     "And she brought witches and warlocks! Mommy!!"     "Indeed!" Meresankh loudly proclaims. She rises into the air, twirling once around to flourish with her cloak, arms outstretched to her sides. "We, the 'witches and warlocks' of the Princess, are here to-" clunk, clank, clonk: a succession of stones are hurled against Meresankh's body, deflecting off the metal but still knocking her around a little in the antigravity. The 'grandiose entrance' approach isn't going well. Maybe if she'd brought the solar boat, she wonders to herself... then a second volley of stones is headed for her, and she lowers herself to just above the ground, floating at running pace after the retreating princess.     "...did you...say something?"     "I did not, Princess. Do you hear a voice?" The princess continues on, dismissing whatever it is she heard. Meresankh looks to the rest of the Elites, eyes narrowing a little with skepticism and concern. "Our host may assail us with visions. We should make certain what each of us sees is what the others see as well, lest we be lost in a maze of illusions."     The great deer emerging from the forest is met, then, with Meresankh remarking, "A great deer!" When Sarracenia communicates its supposed request, the Necron queen nods, considering her suspicions confirmed. "We should stay together, including with the Princess," she suggests.     On arrival at the cabin, Meresankh reaches into her cloak, testing to see if its own extradimensional properties still function. Once satisfied that they do, she withdraws a small scarab drone, which hovers away and down the cabin's chimney. All the while it broadcasts its sensory data back to Meresankh, who hopes her little spy goes unnoticed by anyone inside...
Schneider Greco	BANG      . . .      But it's only to shoot a second rock aimed at Sarra out of the air. Schneider isn't eager to gun down townsfolk without an order to. Smoke climbs from her pistol's barrel, and she sighs just as smokily before nudging Sarracenia's back to encourage running.      "Che peccata. Of-course they would-not simp-ly answer us."      "...what do you mean...?" she asks quietly, then looks to the others. ""D-...did...anyone else hear him speak?"      "So my-la-dy Princess is an arcanist," Schneider mulls, with mixed feeling.      On following the deer: "If the people are mad, the an-i-mals are sane. This only makes sense." Apply dream logic to a dream... or arcanist intuition to a magical book. One of those two.      As Arthur bangs on the front door, Schneider spares the deer a little pat on the head if it allows it- she is not very familiar with deer, but surely they like such things- and then slips around the cabin's side to peek through a window, just in case the occupants turn sour.
Angela	"Mhm! I do mean the robotess with the ears like plates!" Love says to Schneider, beaming. ''But doubling what HeyAlexa wants...?'' There's nothing in the rulebooks in magical girl reality saying servants of the dark kingdom can't help destroy the dark kingdom. In fact, it's way more common than you might think! SOMETIMES they just get purified and go back to normal lives, but sometimes they become magical girls and continuously help save the day or sometimes, they just get tired of being mistreated by the dark kingdom and go do their own thing after! There's so many options! Hooray!! "Yeah!" She says to Sarracenia though there's good odds she will forget tommorrow about what she asked. It's not perfect odds though--if there's anything Love remembers it's the importance of love and friendship and that means that for the first time ever she'll have a memory of more than a week. Love is pretty forgetful, it's sort of a key component of her story. "HeyAlexa's the sweetest and the bestest and she is so smart she uses so many words I don't understand at all and she's cute and she's great at games!" Love is an attention grabber! She's also more of a living story than she is a person so Marcus might have opinions on that front. Her base form is that of a story before it is that of anything else. She doesn't seem to think it's weird at all to jump into a book, but there's a ton of reasons for that. Upon entering the story, Love's mood immediately drops. She feels it happen. It's like the nature of the story is having an impact on Love's own psyche. She doesn't exactly go greyscale. ''And take your conniving curse casters with you!'' Love giggles ominously and a snake tongue hisses its way out of her mouth as she extends her fingers out in a thread, long nails growing out of her fingers. "You're right...! We're curse castersss so you better not throw rocksss at the princessss or I'll cursssse you with a a deadly poissson...!" She blasts apart a rock...with a pink laser! "Nyahahaha...! You foolsss...! You'll regret casting stones towards our dark princesss...!" She may not realize that the princess is meant to be ''unfairly'' prosecuted? "Fear usss...foolisssh onesss! Oh! Sarracenia's leaving--" She turns into a quetzacoatl and slithers after Sarracenia. "Isn't this fun?" Love asides to Schneider. "I haven't gotten to be the Queen of Hatred in sooo long... I kinda missed it!" She pauses. "Wanna ride me?? Heyalexa, you can ride me too if you want!" ''A deer!!'' Love pops open her jaw and then shuts it when it bcecomes apparent she's not supposed to eat it.
Meresankh	BANG     Meresankh whirls around at the sound of a gunshot, raising her scepter in a defensive gesture, but lowers her own implement when it becomes apparent that 1) Schneider is the one who fired, and 2) she is not continuing to shoot. This does, however, draw the queen's attention to Schneider's firearm of choice, that long-barreled 1911 in the arcanist's delicate hands. Once clear of the crowd and on the trail of the deer, Meresankh floats over to Schneider, lowering herself to just an inch above the road for something approaching politeness's sake.     "That weapon of yours is remarkable. From the sound alone I can tell the craftsmanship to be impeccable. Did you make it yourself? May I see it?"     Sufficiently attentive observers would notice that Meresankh is in fact bobbing up and down in the air by a few milimeters, a tell for her excitement to get her hands (or at least eyes) on such a piece of machinery.
Storm Investigators	With Love's energy being as infectious as it is along with the big upsell on HeyAlexa, the temptation for Marcus to start reading either of them grows stronger by the moment. It actually takes her some deliberate effort not to do so, but she does watch the two curiously and without really hiding the fact that she's intrigued by what she's hearing. "Love and Magical Girl of... Shooting?" That piques Marcus' curiosity about Schneider, too, and she's soon looking between the three of them! "Are all three of you Magical Girls of something, then? Shooting, Finances, and...?" She goes from Schneider to HeyAlexa and then to Love, as if trying to puzzle something out. "Yes, I will be joining you in the mission. As for protecting the book, I will have my best guardsmen standing by." "That will do. The sooner we find your butler, the sooner we will be able to relax. Are you ready, Marcus?" "To become part of a book, like one of the thousands of words in so many pages... Would a bookmark be a friend or-Ah? Y-yes, ready!" After getting jolted out of her idle thoughts, Marcus stands at attention as preparations for entering the book commence. Greta, as expected, looks far calmer than her younger companion, but even she gets taken somewhat by surprise when the book starts to act before Sarracenia even makes contact. Everyone gets pulled in, and a new place appears before them! "What a depressing place. The people here must have fallen on some tough times." "It isn't surprising, if what's been written here is true." "Abdication... Embezzlement... How did this happen? And who is this?" Although the disfigured statue might not have a clear identity, Marcus has a sneaking suspicion that it might be relevant sooner rather than later. Greta, meanwhile, already has her suspicions as the townspeople start shouting and slinging stones at Sarracenia, and she's quick to step between them and Marcus while shooing her backwards. Marcus keeps a hand on her hat defensively while clutching her bookcase against her side with the other arm, and they're both quick to move so as to not get pelted themselves in the process. "They called us curse casters, and they did not sound all too happy to see you, Princess Sundew. Do you know them? Or this place?" Marcus asks while glancing back and forth, partially  to make sure nobody's pursuing them with more rocks and pitchforks, and partially to see if she can spot anything that looks like a helpful landmark. Greta, meanwhile, doesn't probe Sarracenia with further questions just yet, although the long stare the investigator levels at the princess is one of someone that's expecting not just an answer, but elaboration as well. "They called us witches, too... But does anyone here practice alchemy? And our hats are not the right shape at all..." Further down the path, Greta also notices the pauses Sarracenia takes to look back at everyone. It's a little strange, but she gets another hunch when asked if something's been said. "No, not yet. What did you hear, and from how many voices?" And then there's a deer! Both Marcus and Greta pause to watch it with mild suspicion, though, since- "Something is strange here. This deer is too calm around us." "It could be a trap, or-" Greta nods at Arthur, then at Meresankh. "Animism. Remain cautious, and do not enter anywhere alone." As they follow Sarracenia following the deer, the investigators spot the cabin! Leaving the front door to Arthur and the window to Schneider, Marcus takes up her lantern to turn her own abilities towards the cabin: Viewing the cabin through her reading ability, to try and find some kind of public profile or local stories about this mysterious cabin and whomever it might belong to, and to see if it really is just a regular log cabin made of regular wood.
Schneider Greco	"Did you make it yourself? May I see it?"      Standing by the window, Schneider keeps one gun at the ready, but she holds out her hand towards Meresankh and- in a blink-and-you'd-miss-it swirl of dark feathers- its twin materializes in her other palm, its barrel only slightly turned away from her.      "I can take no credit for its making, my-la-dy," she says; "on-ly for inspiring its maker. My friend, in-deed, is a mas-ter-ful wandsmith, and these were made to suit my heart..."      The rich claret-red of the bodies, clotting darker at the grips and bleeding fresher at the triggers, feels just subtly obscene. Silver and mahogany snakeskin is etched into the surfaces, texture only evident to a lover's touch. The long barrels and brass-knuckle-like grips are a salacious contradiction.      Neither has a safety on.      "I like your make, my-la-dy. What-is-it you think of theirs?"      "HeyAlexa's the sweetest and the bestest..."      Schneider's smile grows a bit wider and a bit more earnest. She is not immune to good vibes!      "Wanna ride me?? Heyalexa, you can ride me too if you want!"      "Oh? What a mag-ni-fi-cent beast you are," Schneider murmurs, in sincere surprise and warm cooing awe, as if she were trying to coax something like that deer closer. "Come-here and show me your teeth. Mhmhm, rare-ly am I offered such things so readily, but if it is per-mit-ted...?"      They're already at the cabin, but she does take the chance to stroke the Queen's face with the side of her gun (as if that were perfectly normal!) and then, presuming her peeking through the window reveals nothing urgent, hop onto her side-saddle with a fond pat-pat.
Lilian Rook	'And I do not think you are the -only- person I can completely trust.'     "Well, one of them's in a cursed book now isn't he?" Lilian says, a little more Britishly than usual. She gestures for effect. "Do you really still think that Petra cares enough to spite you? She gave you your youth practically for free already. I'm demanding that you listen to her and not me because she at least wants you to get your shit together."     'Re-lax, my-la-dy,'     Lilian nasal-exhales like one syllable of a laugh. Something about that gun-handling tickles her in some way or another. "Aren't you a charmer." she says. "As for myself, I prefer not to deceive people by telling them to relax around me.     'I shall take rec-commen-da-tions, mmmhh, on who I should be 'scoring' with... under advisement. Mhmhm~.'     Schneider provokes an attack of opportunity on purpose. Lilian lifts her hand from her holster to brush her hair back on reflex, firing "You're looking at her." as if automatically intercepting a missile. She presses her fist to her lips a second later to stifle a snort-laugh at appreciating the craftsmanship of the sentence, impact delayed by the very believable 'Immigrantism'. "Mm, I wonder if it'd be taken as unprofessional to provide that much consultation to Manus Vindictae?"     'I think, that 'butlers' trade loy-al-ty for cash. And if that loyalty leads to death, mhm, he knew the risk?'     "It's different." Lilian says, brusquely. It seems like she can't help herself from contemplating why, examining the unformed feeling that compelled her with a hint of irritation at herself. "That sort of thing may be true for people you barely know, but when someone has been with you for long enough; cared for you long enough, especially as a child, then it's lunacy to expect them to weigh their loyalty to you as a rational economic decision. It's not anymore. And you owe them more than just a paycheque."     "Or I suppose, in other words, 'loyalty', rather than just 'professionalism', is a rare and valuable enough quality that I think people shouldn't be punished for having it."     'I won't,'     Perhaps sensing Riku's tension, Lilian puts her hand on his shoulder for just a second as she brushes past. It's not exactly a 'don't worry babe' kind of gesture, but it's at least 'she's here for me' at minimum.     . . . . . . . .     Lilian's experience with magic storybooks you go into is . . . Angela and the Library. Her expectations are set vaguely around 'charming abstract space adventures that are really about friendship and the space is a metaphor for loneliness'. Appearing in the midst of something actually storybook, in the sense of 'the match seller girl', takes her so off-guard it makes her feel stupid.     Her eyes move inexorably towards the fountain. Then to the people. Comparing the stark, ostensible relation of 'hatred towards a Princess' and 'dead-eyed paupers trudging to their backbreaking labour pits' fills her with such a complicated series of almost-not-conflicting thoughts that it makes her really mad, and she settles instead on exasperating in the form of "Oh my god they got her hook line and sinker. They read her for filth with this book."     'Get out of here, princess! And take your conniving curse casters with you!'     "Torches and pitchforks, is it?" Lilian says. Her arms are folded, eyebrow up, tone arch, but her back is stiff and her heels are set at one and ten. She'd love to be really snooty and condescending about the poo people, but being surrounded by a crowd that hates her guts, even if in cartoonish effigy, sets her visibly on edge instead. "No," she says, dismissing a thought she hadn't voiced with a shake of her head. "Then it'd be an evil duchess having the Princess thrown out for false crimes." Huh???
Meresankh	Meresankh reaches out for the proffered gun, carefully. She scans it closely, examining its exterior and interior alike in every spectrum of light, mentally disassembling and reassembling it in perfect detail. She's so caught up in the process of *learning* this device, its every line and movement, that she briefly forgets she's on any sort of mission at all. Turning it over in Schneider's hand and examining the snakeskin pattern, she thoughtfully places a finger on her own faceplate, feeling at one of her embossed fangs. "Do you feel an affinity for serpents?" she asks, noticing also Schneider's evident interest in the Queen of Hatred.     "I like your make, my-la-dy. What-is-it you think of theirs?"     If Meresankh could blush, she would. "I- that is, uh- thankyou!" Where there is no flesh to redden and betray her internal flustering, there is yet voice to stammer and rush to conclusion. Then, more composed (but still effortfully so), "A compliment from one who knows such exquisite devices is touching, truly. There are more destructive or lethal or precise implements known to my people, but I know to judge a tool not for what it *isn't*, but for what it *is*. To meet it on its level. And this, this is simply immaculate." As she gets back into her "wow cool gun" flow, her voice steadies and she turns the weapon over again, guiding Schneider's hand again to its starting place. "The artisanry is extraordinary - this detailing, here! It is inspiring. I should ornament more of my devices in such a manner."     Then Schneider is petting her(!) with that perfect machine(!) and Meresankh wishes she could blush after all. If she had a mouth it would open and close a few times in amazement at this union of the living and the mechanical, this woman who almost *is* her weapons, but for lack of a jaw she is spared the indignity. "Thank you for showing me this," she says at last.
Lilian Rook	'And that CASTER GENDER-IZING is some STRAIGHT BULLSHIT!'     She tries not to snicker in front of the angry mob. Lilian vividly recalls the flying bazaar, at exactly this moment, and smiles bitter-fond nostalgic about it. "You're always such a charming bastard." she says, tilting her head up to call at him directly. "Always spitting the hard-hitting facts and the controversial truths nobody wants to hear. I respect it." she adds, like, fifty percent facetious.     'Come on. I do not know what is wrong, but I will not have the townsfolk hurt before we know what is happening.'     Lilian double takes at that. She wasn't going to leap in to take a rock for Sarracenia or anything, but it's kind of mean that she looks surprised to hear that. "Now I wish we had Parsons here." she says. "I'm not certified for checking that sort of thing."     '...did you...say something?'     ". . . Never mind." Lilian searches around herself for a person she can silently communicate what she thinks to, and sighs as she finds no one she knows that well.     'D-...did...anyone else hear him speak?'     "I'm afraid you're merely well and truly mental." Lilian says. She doesn't seem all that surprised, though. It's a cursed book literally set out for Sarracenia in particular; of course it's going to fuck with her specifically. Or so she reasons, with very little basis.     'So my-la-dy Princess is an arcanist'     "What, for acting bonkers?" Lilian says. With absolutely no ground to stand on, she turns her chin up at Schneider by ten degrees, and says, "Don't you feel a little bit ashamed assuming someone must be an arcanist because of a negative stereotype like that? I assure you; she's as un-arcane as they come." Lilian chews the inside of her mouth for a beat. "Certainly, she's as wilful and irrational and 'eccentric' as they come, but there isn't a drop of magic in her."     Still, as she follows along, Lilian's stance relaxes in motion. Her arms drift down to her waist, then relax fully, away from her weapons, as the scripted adventure blissfully takes them all away from the crapsack city and into something ontologically good: spooky woods. She maintains a pace that keeps her three body lengths from Sarracenia for unclear but obviously deliberate reasons.     'My girl here got WILDLIFE all around saying to GET IN HERE. You in there CASTING SPELLS on DEER? You some kind'a FOREST FREAK?'     "That's just how it is." Lilian says, more airily than she feels, waving a hand as if she could dispel the question like smoke. "Women that everyone hate live in remote little houses surrounded by impenetrable wilderness. So it's always been and so it shall always be." She meant it to be a bit of humour about, like, every single Bloom of Humanity. After thinking about the historical precedent of witches, though, her already vague-at-best smile slips completely off her face.
Petra Soroka	"An ''ad''venture." Heyalexa: An ad''venture''.     Flipping Love's pun around, to form a new pun with essentially the exact same meaning, Heyalexa shoots her a ô u~ wink that sparkles around the side of her visor. The two little cartoon girls have similar energy with differing themes, but Heyalexa neither inherits Petra's fondness directly like Qetra does, nor considers Love to be part of the Family Plan like Angela or Lilian. Instead, Love is appealing because of how *extremely* easy she is to jerk around. Heyalexa: My favorite way to go on an adventure is to stand slightly behind you ! And to not get hurt ! Heyalexa: And then get rewarded doubly ! Thank you for your excellent five star positive review assistance Love ! "Aren't I always telling you that only idiots do this work for free?" Heyalexa: You can reduce the threshold for 'idiot' by using the following social optimization terms : Heyalexa: 'Charity' . 'Volunteer' . 'Greater good' . Heyalexa: This is free advice ! For Family Plan members ! No one else may utilize it .     Of course Heyalexa would see 'idiots do things for free' and consider that a benefit rather than an insult. She isn't privy to the Concord social goings-on like Petra is, so whatever's up between Lilian and Schneider just isn't her business, unless it makes business. "Well, I will certainly be nice to you...but supporting your decisions financially?" Heyalexa: My good decisions . Heyalexa: I make so many good decisions but nobody understands , them . My decisions will benefit you as well !!! "but doubling what HeyAlexa wants...?" Heyalexa: That means Double Financial Returns and Double Good Investment .     She's very very insistent about this. The fact that she's *sincere* about it might be harder to be certain about, but she does actually seem to view Sarracenia with some level of baseline positivity aside from her utility as a purse. Emmy likes her, after all!     The last time Heyalexa has done much of anything besides Business was when she was stuck in a mech shooting bombs at Sarracenia and others. She, unlike Petra, wasn't made the Warrior class of the Silver-- but simply due to the properties of the metal, she's just not worried about protesters. "The princess! And she brought witches and warlocks!" Heyalexa: Hello ! girl Heyalexa: You are in a state of economic destitution and the resultant misery that accompanies it ! Heyalexa: How would you rate the quality of the monarchy's leadership out of five ? Would you recommend Monarchy to friends and family ?     The rocks start coming out, though, and Heyalexa doesn't want to be hurt! Her eyes go ø ø in distress at the negative reaction of the townsfolk, and she swivels around on one levitating heel to immediately go hide behind the Queen of Hatred. Her long rat tail lashes overhead, just barely peeking up over the Queen of Hatred's serpentine body. "You'll regret casting stones towards our dark princesss...!" Heyalexa: Yes !!! Regret ! Don ' t do that !     Heyalexa does in fact hop up onto the Queen of Hatred, folding her thighs over each other and surveying the world from up high-- or at least higher than her usual four feet. She strokes the head of one of the ratbots floating around her, digital visor pensively displaying ù ú. Heyalexa: We should survey the townsfolk on their BUTLER OPINIONS .     She's so down to follow a deer, though. It's Sarracenia's show, really, and Heyalexa is mostly here to reap the benefits (as well as show some solidarity with Gregory, who she's met!). Heyalexa: Yes !! Hello deer . Heyalexa: Do you have objectives for us ?
Angela	Look at Love. She's just BEGGING to be read. Or perhaps ... ''Told''. "Oh! I'm the Magical Girl of Love. In the name of Love and Hate, you can trust me to fight for love and triumph over evil!" It may seem a bit weird hearing Love's voice coming out of a winged snake with pitch black eyes but, you know. She has hearts for spines--though they are PITCH BLACK hearts but maybe it's okay. ''Oh what a mag-ni-fi-cent beast you are.'' Love hasn't had anybody gush over her like this before! Gosshh!!! She is happy to sort of coil downward a bit so Schneider can get a better look. The teeth are shorter than what you might expect but they're still long enough to be deadly if punctured by though she only has the two. She seems to be treating being stroked by a gun as normal though she doesn't actually know. This is the first gun magical girl she's met so she's basing a lot of what she sees as normal for them based on Schneider. She's completely unconcerned about her getting shot in the head by it--accidentally or otherwise. ''An ad''venture'''' Love giggles violently, resisting the urge to just gently put Heyalexa's head into her mouth. "Don't worry! If anybody tries to hurt you I'm going to obliterate them with a large number of magical lasers!" She promises Heyalexa. Luckily, when Heyalexa jumps onto her back it becomes fundamentally impossible for her to get sort of just nomph her a little. She's pretty tall though, even dipping for Schneider, so Heyalexa does get a much better view. Plus she's higher up which is good.
Lilian Rook	'Are all three of you Magical Girls of something, then? Shooting, Finances, and...'     "Oh my god, no--" Lilian abruptly realizes who Marcus is speaking to, and decides to try and fly under the radar instead. "     ''Charity' . 'Volunteer' . 'Greater good''     This time she does laugh, though it's more of an evil snicker into the back of her hand. "Of course. Idiots are a popular commodity in the end, now aren't they?"     'That weapon of yours is remarkable. From the sound alone I can tell the craftsmanship to be impeccable. Did you make it yourself? May I see it?'     Lilian throws a lil' peeky glance out of the corner of her eye. Because it's Intel, you see, on Manus Vindictae. It's Enemy Capability, so she shouldn't miss it. Because that's Tactical Information, obviously.     'It could be a trap, or- Animism. Remain cautious, and do not enter anywhere alone.'     "I wonder why you'd say the latter as if it's the greater problem." Lilian says to Greta, neutral-toned. "You may as well throw away any notion that even a single thing you see here isn't animism. This is a magically contrived narrative, after all; it's most likely that everything here was designed with the express intent of extorting her into meeting the demands of the petty demiurge involved." she says, and barely pauses to pretend to consider. "Or bend her brain into a pretzel and make her normal via magical curse, which is entirely plausible. I wish I'd thought of it now."     'My friend, in-deed, is a mas-ter-ful wandsmith, and these were made to suit my heart...'     Lilian just barely cuts off asking about the guns being wands, because that's totally going to clue in Schneider that she's being a nosy little grabster. Querying her feelings at the cabin door, she hesitates upon realizing that she doesn't really feel 'shown up' while carrying a luxury piece done by Nell Goldstein of all people, and so the most likely possibility is that she's unconsciously expecting to hear something like how Matilda or Sonetto go on about arcanum. Man.
Sarracenia	'Wait, shouldn't we be going toward the castle...'      Sarra shakes her head. "If the people are this hostile, there is no telling what the guards or the royal family might be like. It is better to leave the city for now."      'HEY! FORK YA OWN PITCH!, I don't want ya TORCHES!'      Arthur's loud response makes a few of the villagers hesitate, but not for long. They don't get what he means by gender-izing, and don't appreciate the difference between a mage and a warlock. When he asks Sarra if she is casting something, Sarra shakes her head quickly. "I do not know such magic! Or even magic at all! ...unless a frog-suit counts as turning someone into a frog?"      'Looked like that was some heavy stuff about princessness. But capital-P Princess. What's that word mean for you, and for everyone else around where you live? Was this book something from out-world or something from around here?'      Sarra lets out an unhappy sound. "I bought it from an online shop. It did not really mention where the book came from, but it does feel uncomfortably close to home." she admits. Her thoughts on the word Princess are withheld for now. It is a complicated subject that the Princess needs to consider.      'Indeed! We, the 'witches and warlocks' of the Princess, are here to-      Even -more- rocks are thrown as Meresankh floats upward, though their accuracy is questionable at best. Once outside the city, Meresankh suggests sticking together, which Sarra nods lightly to. "Agreed." she says, even while following the deer.      BANG      Sarra yelps at the rock exploding into harmless pebbles, then blinks at Schneider as she sees the smoking gun before smiling a thank you. The label of arcanist draws a raised eyebrow. "If I am, it is new even to me." she says. The commend on mad people and sane animals draws a curious sound from Sarra. It makes sense in a sort of way. And the deer does not shy away from the headpats, but regards Schneider with eyes that suggest it has more intelligence than a normal beast.
Sarracenia	HeyAlexa's the sweetest and the bestest and she is so smart she uses so many words I don't understand at all and she's cute and she's great at games!'      Sarra makes another uncomfortable sound at all the HeyAlexa praise. It is hard to believe a creation of Petra's meets any much less all of those except perhaps smart. Which is annoying in itself.      'Nyahahaha...! You foolsss...! You'll regret casting stones towards our dark princesss...! Fear usss...foolisssh onesss! Oh! Sarracenia's leaving--'      Love's transformations are enough to keep the villagers from advancing further, and an outright wave of panic flows through the crowd as she turns into a winged snake and follows after the princess. Sarra lets out a sigh. "Love, dear. As much as I do like your monster form...I think it would be better if we do not further stoke their fear." Love's jaw pops open. Sarra gets a horrified look before Love changes her mind and Sarra lets out a heavy sigh of relief.      'I make so many good decisions but nobody understands , them . My decisions will benefit you as well !!!'      Sarra lets out a bit of a whiny sound. "If I regret this I am posting so many negative comments online!"      'They called us curse casters, and they did not sound all too happy to see you, Princess Sundew. Do you know them? Or this place?'      Sarra is grateful for the added protection as they flee. At the question though she huffs. "No! I have not even been inside this book before! They must have assumed from my style of dress that I am their princess! But, surely I look nothing like her!"      'Well, one of them's in a cursed book now isn't he?'      Sarra huffs. "Riku is here. I trust him completely, as he has passed nearly every one of my hero criteria. And fought alongside me in the Library, both before and after."      'Now I wish we had Parsons here." she says. "I'm not certified for checking that sort of thing.'      '. . . Never mind.'      Sarra takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly to keep her temper in check. "...I am not some murderous maniac, you know. I do -try- to give people a chance."
Sarracenia	Those who look in the windows of the cabin find a cozy interior, but no dwarves. The only person inside is a young woman of perhaps 20, with hair as long as her waist and as brilliant as gold. She is wearing a simple blue dress, but it is still miles better than what the townsfolk were wearing.      The deer stops in front of the door and looks at Sarra before placing a hoof on the front of the door. She still flinches at apparently hearing his 'voice', then approaches the door.      Arther knocks on the door and calls out, but there is no answer. And he might notice that his knuckles did not actually hit the door, as if there is a force field around it. Those looking through windows will see the young woman flinch before pulling a blue jewel from her shirt. She holds it up, and fades from view.      Sarra reaches out, but as with the book, before she actually touches it the front door becomes surrounded by the same purple and pink glow, though this one is a bit more friendly looking with some light blue mixed in. Sarra steps back quickly, but not very far.      The glow expands, and a large orb of it detaches from the door before landing on the ground. It then coalesces into...what can only be described as a fairy, or perhaps a fairy godmother. As tall as Sarracenia, but dressed in an ornate pastel pink, purple, and blue dress complete with poofy shoulders and unneeded ruffles and lace. She even has a wand with a star on the end and a small tiara in her silvery hair. She gives the deer a short, fond petting along the head and neck before she addresses the group. "Thank you for finding them, my friend." she says.      She has a warm and welcoming smile on her face as she regards the group. "My my. Heroes look quite a bit different in this day and age than in ages past." she says, then smiles more. "But, no less capable, I think. Perhaps even moreso." she muses in a melodious voice. She looks each member over in turn.      Sarracenia...is not so kind voiced. "Did you take Gregory?! Why?! I recognize those colors! They are the same as the beam that took him! Where is he?!" The fairy godmother's smile fades. "Ah...noble Gregory..." she says, an air of sadness about her now. "He was here. I called him in the hopes that I could explain the situation to him before sending him back to you." She moves toward Sarra and her wand disappears in a burst of sparkles. "I am afraid I must apologize profusely. Your Gregory...was intercepted by a dark fairy before he arrived here. I did not think she would detect my plan so quickly. I do not know where he is now, but the only dark fairy I know of in this land is to be found in the castle."      She reaches to take Sarra's hand, who only accepts hesitantly. "That is why I drew you all here. She must be defeated if this land is to be returned to happiness and light."
Sarracenia	As Marcus holds up her lantern, and the public profile of the cabin is revealed. It does not seem to be a well known location. The cabin is clearly protected by a magical field of some kind, and stories tell of an area of the forest that is particularly easy to get turned around in. However, those that get lost in this way always end up back on the main road through the forest.      The fairy godmother finally addresses the group properly. "I am Alina, the great fairy of this land. I will answer as many questions as I can, but I am afraid it must be quick. The dark fairy in the castle is always watching, and I have no doubt that she has turned her gaze this way. She has placed a curse upon this land which is draining the town's energy to strengthen her own magic. I have been unable to break it, which is why I drew you all here. I cannot leave this place, for the princess of this kingdom is under my protection."      Alina looks toward Schneider. "You likely saw her, however briefly, when you peered inside. The dark fairy has cast all suspicion onto the princess, likely through magical means." she says, then turns back to Sarra. She produces her wand again as she gently holds Sarra's hand. "I needed another princess, one much stronger than the true princess of this land." And without ceremony, she touches the wand to Sarra's head. A soft blue-white glow flows from the wand to the Sundew princess, then infuses until it disappears. "I do apologize, but to all those who live in this world you are now the princess of this kingdom. I have granted you her powers as a token of my faith in you and your friends. It falls upon you to free this land from the dark fairy. Once I have answered your questions as best I can, I will return you to the world outside of this book so that you and the princess will both be safe from the dark fairy until such time as you have formed a plan."      Although she remains friendly, Alina seems cautious around the Queen of Hatred. Her eyes often drift toward the giant snake creature as if wary.
Riku Asakura	Lilian presses down on Riku's shoulder; it relaxes him because he trusts her to have his back, and the reverse is also true.  Even if she laughs at things like... ''Charity' . 'Volunteer' . 'Greater good'' This causes Riku's cheeks to puff out.  "Hey, those things are good.  Not everything needs to be paid out, and charity is, in fact, good for the community," he says towards HeyAlexa.  Sarracenia defends his heroness again, but he shrugs and shakes his head.   "I don't know about that, Sarra.  I'm just a guy trying to help out with what power he has.  I don't think I am a hero or anything special like that." He says, even if the praise does make him smile and internally get him to acknowledge that at least one person doesn't judge him based on his origin.   Riku's attempt to be modest is interrupted when Alina pops out of the house to explain the situation with their princess and the dark fairy.  "So this dark fairy is the one responsible for the town looking like it is, and the hostility of the people?" he asks, for clarification, and sighs.  "With Gregory as her hostage, this might make things difficult..." "Well, standing around doing nothing won't accomplish anything.  I need all I need to know, so I will help free this kingdom and save Gregory."
Arthur Lowell	> Arthur: You're always such a charming bastard.     "ALWAYS AM." Arthur adjusts some sunglasses that he was, apparently, wearing all this time? And nobody will notice how he removed them when he's seen without them shortly after. > Arthur: Women that everyone hate live in remote little houses surrounded by impenetrable wilderness.     Arthur frowns, pausing his knocking. "Damn." He says. "That got heavy a second. Should I be living around the Dragon Garden spot more? Like, reside on that em-eff?" He then just goes straight back to banging on the door. Or... not banging on the door? > Arthur: Experience invisible wall     Arthur presses his palms against the field, squinting. "SHIT, they got this thing ENCHANTED? Or--" He backs off when the threshold disgorges a fairy godmother. Blinking, he pulls back and flicks some sunglasses out of a pocket to put them on, because obviously he wasn't wearing them before, right? "YO, WHAT UP." He rambles, turning away, failing to notice what's in that cabin for now. "You doing POCKET-UNIVERSE RELAY stuff? Gettin' DESTINIES for the LADY there?" He jabs a thumb at Sarracenia. "I mean, if that's where GREG is, I'm down for RUMBLING IT UP with the FAE. Hey LILIAN, this look LEGIT? Wait, DARK FAIRY in the CASTLE, is that why everyone's MAD AS FUCK about a CURSE PRINCESS?" > Arthur: Try to engage with this in familiar paradigms > Arthur: Scope out the boss-fight roster and get on the road     He pounds a fist into its opposite palm dramatically. "'Cause I LOVE the sound of MIXING IT UP in a good old CASTLE CRASH. How many LEVELS of DARK GENERAL you think she got in there? We gonna SIEGE that fucker? I love RETURNING A LAND TO HAPPINESS AND LIGHT, especially if it means a CASTLE CRASH. Where's that CASTLE? Let's get QUESTING!"
Schneider Greco	From her perch atop Love- my, what a cute beast, she seems to think while stroking the scales with one hand- Schneider leans towards her co-rider Heyalexa, smiles down at practically blushing Meresankh, and squishes her smiling cheek against the slide of her gun. The stammering is delectable.      "Do you feel an affinity for serpents?"      "They feel, my-la-dy, an affinity for me," she purrs with practically half-lidded eyes. There's that silver snake armlet on the outside of her dark coat, too. But she clucks her tongue, about decorating things: "Let some-one else engrave your things. Someone who cares for you, and sees your heart. Then, my-la-dy, they will be the more precious."      "My good decisions ."      "I make so many good decisions but nobody understands , them . My decisions will benefit you as well !!!"      "This is how it is, for an immigrant," Schneider commiserates with the strange 'accented' robotess saddled ahead of her. The barrel of her gun playfully brushes the swishy mouse tail, like fond fingers. "You say 'invest this or that', or 'do this or that'... they do not listen. Can good words be dir-tied by a poor mouth? Mhm, I do-not understand..."      "Per-haps, my-la-dy Heiailexa, I could con-sult with you of investing?" Money won't mean much in a matter of months, Schneider knows, but market volatility is at a high...      "'Charity' ."      "Mmh. No good charity is really a charity," she wisely concurs. The honored Unione Siciliana comes to mind.      It's from her high throne atop Love, admired by Meresankh, and sluttily consulting with Heyalexa, that she looks down at Lilian light-warmly before any fairy godmothers can coalesce.      "'loyalty', rather than just 'professionalism', is a rare and valuable enough quality..."      "Famiglia and famigghia," she pronounces with a lazy nod. "Mhm... you understand, my-la-dy, the dif-fer-ence. No-one has ev-er been paid enough to die, or enough to care."      "What, for acting bonkers?"      Schneider giggles down from behind her gun, concealing her lips like a modest hand. "My-la-dy, I shall give you more advice than I ought, too: no ar-can-ist has ever been 'mad'. To speak to a deer, that is human. To be led to a cottage is arcanist. Per-haps I am wrong for the Princess, but that is the thought."      "Now," with glimmery eyes falling to Winter Crow, "won't you show me yours?"
Schneider Greco	Schneider reluctantly disembarks from Love's back, giving the scales one more pat before sleekly sliding off and landing smoothly from the drop. For the first time in a while, she dismisses her guns into their coat-concealed waist holsters and steps towards Alina the fairy with a little bow.      "Oh, my. What a bles-sing you give to our lady," she murmurs approvingly(?) of the forehead-tap energy transfer.      "You likely saw her..."      "I am not so accomplished a seer, my-la-dy Alina," Schneider apologizes with a little rueful shake of her head. She's acting a bit unlike herself, but that much is truthful: really she was just 'checking' to make sure she wasn't about to be disintegrated.      "Could you show us the face of this 'dark fairy'? How are-we to know her, ahhh, mach-in-a-tions? Per-haps her malice will be clear to us, but fairies can be tricky things; I do-not wish to be beguiled."      She slips up alongside Sarracenia as she asks her questions, and puts an arm slightly behind the small of Sarra's back, as if to reassure and guard her. Odd. "My-la-dy, after that magic, do you feel alright...?"
Meresankh	"Let some-one else engrave your things. Someone who cares for you, and sees your heart. Then, my-la-dy, they will be the more precious."     Meresankh looks away, pondering something darkly. "There was a someone, once. I do not know if there is anymore." Her thoughts grow distant, reaching for something which may be lost to the sands of time. Her brooding mixes with the flustering of a moment ago into a twisted revulsion at her own behavior. She wishes now that she could dry-heave.     The queen is about to report the sight inside the cottage when the fairy emerges from the door. Immediately, grasping mentally for any distraction, she scans for technological devices that could have transported the fairy to this location, but finds only what she already suspected - there is no strange technology at play here. Though this is a pocket dimension, it will not be so easy to 'solve' for her as a Necron hypercrypt.     "You bring us here and herald us as saviors," Meresankh says evenly. Then, with growing skepticism: "I have met with deceivers before. What story would this 'dark fairy' tell us about this land?" Although she doesn't say it out loud, this entity taking the image of a storybook 'good fairy' puts her on edge. One time fooled by false idols is more than enough.     "'Cause I LOVE the sound of MIXING IT UP in a good old CASTLE CRASH."     Meresankh shakes her head, just a little. "Further destruction would not serve our story well, *if* we are to help this Alina and her princess." 'PrinCESS', emphasis on the second syllable. Like it's some kind of curse word. "I could order my legions into this storybook dimension, but that may only replace one tyrant with another in the eyes of the people. We must win a victory in their hearts as well, if we are to place *any*one on the throne. Perhaps there is a hero among their number, one we could uplift and champion..."
Storm Investigators	"In the name of Love and Hate, you can trust me to fight for love and triumph over evil!" "... And Hate? I suppose you cannot have one without the other existing." Marcus nods slowly while continuing to gawk at Love, continually fighting the urge to read her whenever she sees something else new to get confused by. She has to look around a bit just to figure out where her voice is coming out of, and after seeing the snake, the temptation grows even stronger. Even so... How does she even broach that subject? Is the snake the receptacle, or just a mouthpiece? Does it hold more love than hate, or vice versa? "Miss Love? How does... Do you see through this side? May I try something?" She asks, not really sure whether to look at the winged snake or the magical girl. "I'd like to see if you hold more of either in the snake, or your... Self?" "Oh my god, no--" Luckily for Lilian, Marcus doesn't suspect a thing! Yet. She does look over once Sarracenia mentions that Lilian had, in fact, been declared a magical girl, though, gazing right back over at her with that curious and slow blinking stare of hers. There's even a moment of starry-eyed wonder when the name Cure Horizon gets whisper-dropped! She's also quickly corrected about who is and isn't a magical girl, which helps keep Marcus from getting too deep in thought about how they should or shouldn't be addressed. "I wish I'd thought of it now." "I take it you have already exhausted more conventional methods." Greta guesses, personally unaware of the history while able to guess at least a little based on hearing Lilian and Sarracenia speaking just over the past hour and change. "If everything here is animism, then that simplifies our approach." She inhales lightly, holding that unmoving expression even though there's just a bit more tension in her shoulders. It's not enough to be nervous, but definitely in the realm of nonplussed. "Slightly. Finding out what change this curse is meant to encourage may give us a lead on finding her butler and the book's sender, then." "I bought it from an online shop." That answers one of Greta's questions! "Is this a store you often frequent? Enough to know the seller personally, or for them to know or dislike you personally?" She asks, sticking to the path of 'identify the culprit and a motive'. "But, surely I look nothing like her!" "Have you been in other books?" Marcus asks Sarracenia with similar curiosity that she had shown Lilian earlier, but hearing Schneider's gunshot quickly gets her mind back on track while picking up the pace. "If only we got her name... Perhaps it would help clear up the misunderstanding, then? A change of clothes may not be out of the question, either." A fairy appears! She explains the situation, too, and that gets an uncertain look from Marcus while Greta looks over at Sarracenia with the same stone-faced expression she usually does. "Unless you're hoping to intimidate all the townspeople on the way to find this dark fairy, a disguise should be our next step. We'll need to hide your face and change your clothes. Does anyone happen to have a mask, and a spare set of clothes in the princess' size?" "I cannot leave this place, for the princess of this kingdom is under my protection." After hearing that and after digging briefly into the rumors surrounding the cabin, Marcus nods slowly in some sense of understanding. "If you left this place, the true princess of this land would be in danger. Using Princess Sundew as a distraction makes much more sense, then, to keep the dark fairy from looking for where she truly is. Then..."
Storm Investigators	Marcus rubs her chin lightly, like she's imitating someone older and beardlier. It doesn't really help, though, so she stops after two seconds. "What are these powers you've granted her? And do you happen to have anything of the dark fairy's that we could take back with us? Something we could inspect, or use as a basis for planning?"
Lilian Rook	'Damn. That got heavy a second.'     "Don't make it weird." Lilian says, tossing her hair and brushing it off with her best understanding of 'bro language'. "Why do you think the witch always lives out in the spooky woods instead of where she can pick up some milk and eggs? Stop overthinking it." Please.     'This is how it is, for an immigrant,'     Out of all the words Lilian had expected out of Manus Vindictae's star-studded hitman's mouth, those weren't any of them. She makes a sound as if she'd been punched in the gut and is doing an admirable job of pretending it didn't faze her at all. The temptation to think about her own family surfaces, and is violently smothered before it can speak.     'You say 'invest this or that', or 'do this or that'... they do not listen. Can good words be dir-tied by a poor mouth?'     "Most people are like dogs. The words mean less than half as much as your tone and posture; less even than how you smell. They'll gulp down poison if you hold it like a treat, just as well as they'll bite your hand for offering one if they don't like the look in your eyes."     'Famiglia and famigghia'     Having zoned out a little without realizing, Lilian blinks back to herself. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the cultural distinction." she says, guardedly. "But anyone who dies for something that can't love them died a fucking clown."     'My-la-dy, I shall give you more advice than I ought, too: no ar-can-ist has ever been 'mad'.'     Lilian really didn't like hearing that advice. She definitely hates it, actually. Even if she doesn't say anything, it's so obvious in the way she gathers herself up and squares her shoulders and holds a very deep breath. Every single thing she'd like to say, right now, should never pass her lips in her lifetime; much less in present company.     "Perhaps someone else thinks so, then." Lilian says, stiffly. "About her. And I do most certainly speak from a very limited pool of experience. It's hardly as if I could tell at a glance myself." she adds, clearly remembering that Schneider herself had assigned her the label in spite of her protests. "But all the arcanists I know hold on to something that all the world can't sway them from. And by that definition, Gregory fits that bill better than the Princess by far."     'Now, won't you show me yours?     Lilian coughs inelegantly into her hand. She has got to stop getting got by that one, but it's so hard when it happens like once every few months, from some very pretty lady or another. Perhaps it's to blow it off that she actually does produce the weapon from its drop holster, pointing it up into the air as Schneider had done in lieu of a better understanding of her gun-handling knowledge. Everyone else is familiar with it, but the work of a master gunsmith who specializes in demon hunter clientele is still nothing to understate.     On the large end for Lilian's hands, the slick black surfacing is polished steel-like instead of gunmetal matte, the top-heavy angles and contracting lines drawing a silhouette far from the iconic palm-centered military contours of a service weapon; as if partway to a sawed off shotgun or old clip-fed rifle. With her thumb in the right place, she operates the break action by a flick of the wrist, exposing the nude mechanisms bridging the strange horizontal center-feed, like the golden guts of a watch. It's already loaded with an stripper clip of staggered hexagonal rods of raw metal en-bloc. Even without that view, a keen eye can pick out the fine gold engravings on the outside; especially coalescing into ring-shaped arrays around the muzzle and where any kind of sights should be. Winter Crow is engraved on the side in Nell Goldstein's usual style.
Lilian Rook	"I'm afraid I can't tell you much, if you're looking for sentimentality. It's a devil hunter's weapon; I commissioned it from a woman I respect a great deal for her craft and dedication. I earned a commission for saving her daughter. That's all." Lilian says, flicking it closed again and holstering in the same motion. "Most of the specifications are mine. Nothing like 'knowing my heart'."     'I bought it from an online shop. It did not really mention where the book came from, but it does feel uncomfortably close to home.'     Lilian groans, rubbing her cheek with her hand. "Come on Sundew. You can't go buying unaccredited grimoires off the internet. How do you not know better by now? Do you seriously not have a guy to check these things over? Were you that embarrassed about buying something so corny?"     'Riku is here. I trust him completely, as he has passed nearly every one of my hero criteria. And fought alongside me in the Library, both before and after.'     "He fought alongside you because of Tridéag, didn't he? The decision to go to the Library was mine. It'd behoove you to not forget that."     '...I am not some murderous maniac, you know. I do -try- to give people a chance.'     "Who said anything about murder?" Lilian said, squinting at Sarracenia now that she's, like, twenty percent more convinced that Sarracenia is hearing voices telling her to kill. "I mean, you're ordinarily a maniac, so it's already obvious that the book is doing something to you. You should definitely be attempting to minimize your exposure to it as much as possible."     Okay. Fairy godmother. That's where the talking deer came from. That tracks. Probably. Lilian can work with that assumption and not think about it too much.     'My my. Heroes look quite a bit different in this day and age than in ages past.'     §Well fuck you too miss fairy helicoptermother. If Sarracenia's obsession with covering her ankles like the Amish is your weird fixation then tough shit; I'm hot and I know it.§     Lilian is silently taking something personally to an absolutely baffling degree. That's what that narrow-eyed chin tilt looks like. Truly, only she could manage to secretly take a compliment from a storybook favourite good-guy figure as if some guy on the street were calling her a whore.     'Did you take Gregory?! Why?!'     Oh, right. That's like, actually really important right now. Lilian blinks and breathes to clear her mental queue, then quickly tries to catch up. "Unseelie Dé Danann syncretism, forces of light and darkness, got it." she says, just to wedge herself back into the situation, with a jarring lack of suspicion.     'You likely saw her, however briefly, when you peered inside. The dark fairy has cast all suspicion onto the princess, likely through magical means.'     "You really needn't be so quick to jump to a magical explanation. People can easily be convinced to blame whoever they'd like without having to go through all the effort of a ritual."     Still, even if the story is more or less what she'd expect, Lilian's concern really isn't anywhere near 'is the fairy godmother trustworthy' or 'what does the dark fairy queen want and is she watching'. Her thoughts are still firmly dwelling on 'who made this thing, what do they want from Sarracenia, and why does this feel like it's going to try and teach her something while actually catering directly to her anxieties and vulnerable points?'     "What's the dark fairy's name?" Lilian says, like a pop quiz all of a sudden.     'Slightly. Finding out what change this curse is meant to encourage may give us a lead on finding her butler and the book's sender, then.'     "If you've any means to take readings or otherwise monitor fluctuations or progressive changes to the environment, I'd be much obliged." Lilian says, in the same tone as 'my thoughts exactly'.%
Angela	''Love, dear, as much as I like your monster form...'' "I don't think the story is about us being the heroes. Or if we are, we're the sort of good guys with a bit of edge to them. I don't think an entire village would be mad at you if you were a ''known'' good guy, so that means playing into the cackling side of the narrative I think." Love bobs her head energetically. "Don't worry, it doesn't mean you're evil! It just means you're more suited for the teenage demographic." She winks at Sarracenia. Well she doesn't wink, due to the current state of her eyes not having eyelids, but she sort of tilts her head like she is. ''They feel, my-la-dy, an affinity for me.'' As if to prove Schneider's point, Love emits a little snake-like rumble-purr at having her scales petted. She is, of course, a magical girl but that doesn't mean she doesn't appreciate being treated as a snake monster sometimes too. Sometimes, it feels like people only like her when she's Love but Hatred is important too! Love without Hatred is fake! She is a little sad when SChneider has to dismount but only a little, sometimes people have to not be mounting--or mounted. Love bobs her head excitedly at Marcus. "That's right! You're pretty smart!" She quirks her head curiously at Marcus. She doesn't understand what Marcus means by 'see through this side' but she says, "Oh! Try what you'd like! You should always try your best, Marcus!" She is a little more uneasy at what Marcus says after but adds, "Um, alright. Take a look if you'd like...Are you able to tell something like that by looking?" Meanwhile there is an adventure. ''I am not a murderous maniac you know.'' "I don't think most murderous maniacs call themselves that, but it doesn't really matter does it? This world has you as the villain or, at least, ths misunderstood anti-hero. If you don't play into it either way, you're going to get hurt." ''Heroes look quite a bit different in this day and age.'' "Antihero..." Love repeats knowingly. "Dark princess..." ''Your Gregory was intercepted by a dark fairy.'' "Why did the dark fairy do that?" Love asks. "Who is she? Why is she kidnapping Gregory? Are you...siblings??" ''Marcus reads Love'' Love is easy to read, like she was always meant to be. She is, of course, 100 percent queatzacoatl, and 100 percent magical girl, and 100 percent Abnormality. Someone else seems to have modified her ''Story'' a little bit, like they've written over her normal story, and there's pages that are just weirdly empty in the middle of her story.
Schneider Greco	"I earned a commission for saving her daughter..." "Then it re-flects not 'you', but 'gratitude'," Schneider says, stepping up by Lilian's side and reaching in slowly- Lilian could easily just pull the gun away, but it's such a startling gesture that she might just not think to- to caress the break-action guts and stridulate her fingernail along the fine fine ridges of the interlocking watch-sheers.      "But it is still beau-ti-ful, my-la-dy," she murmurs almost dreamily. "If it is not worn to your heart, it still is worn to your prac-tice, and your hand." Her finger indicates the hexagonal rods, but those she doesn't touch; the look of something meant to be 'alchemically pure' is recognizable.      'Most people are like dogs' makes her hide a giggle, but it isn't that much of one. It's not titteringly transgressive to her anymore.      "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the cultural distinction..."      "Oh, they both mean 'family'," she says matter-of-factly, stepping back away to be protectively nearer Sundew. "But one is Italian, and the other Sicilian."
Angela	The Queen of Hatred's story feels like a fairy tale more than a real person's story, albeit a dark fairy tale--one that has a vicious moral at the end rather than happily ever after. But it starts sweet enough. Four girls are ''chosen'' to be magical girls in order to fight the Dark Kingdom run by the nihilistic jester Dark Nihil. It was their duty to embody Love, Happiness, Justice, and Courage. There's a couple mid-season magical girls embodying Loyalty and Friendship but that's a bit hazier right now. Over the course of their adventures, the four magical girls battled the Arcana (magical monsters of the week) of the Dark Kingdom and won every battle before finally reaching Dark Nihil and defeating him in glorious magical combat. But of course, Dark Nihil's goal was to break the spirits and hearts of the magical girls and even after their victory, they couldn't entirely shake what he had whispered to them. Love was the first to fall. Peace did not suit her. Without an enemy to fight, the Magical Girl of Love couldn't figure out what her meaning of existence was. And eventually she decided that if there was no evil to fight, she could become that evil--and thus give her existence meaning once more. The other magical girls fell shortly after, leaving only the Magical Girl of Justice left until she fell to despair over her failure to protect the Kingdom of Happiness, turning her blades in on itself, but that's another story. But strangely this narrative is in another narrative about her time at Lobotomy Corp, about Tamamo rewriting her ending so that she could remember her lessons, and of finding a home in Hydrochoeria.
Petra Soroka	"If I regret this I am posting so many negative comments online!" Heyalexa: No !!!!!!!!!!!!! Heyalexa: Do Not Post ! "This is how it is, for an immigrant," Heyalexa: Yes ,     Heyalexa readily agrees with the assessment that she's an immigrant. In reality, it's sort of impossible to trace anything to do with typical national and cultural borders onto an Amazon Alexa that was stapled to a roboticized animal person who was then given sapience by an alien species and now resides in what can be most accurately described as a villainous airborne Animal Crossing village, but surely it's not as though she *isn't* an implant into the society. Also, it seems socially beneficial to think of it that way!     Resting on top of Love alongside another tiny girl who's speaking positively to her is among the best places for Heyalexa to be, especially when she's being carried away from people who were mean to her. The rat tail coils around Schneider's gun casually, semifluid metal in a state of perpetual flow, emanating bodyheat-warmth and champagne-bubble pops. Heyalexa: My mouth should not be  poor ! How dare they . Heyalexa: I understand , this One Special Trick That Will Make The Invisible Hand Hate You ! Have it for free : Heyalexa: CLOTHING with INSTRUCTIONS can PSYCHOLOGICALLY INFLUENCE your targets ! Try it out ! Heyalexa: Try it out ! We should consult . "But, no less capable, I think. Perhaps even moreso." Heyalexa: I am so capable .     She's easily the least capable person here. The presence of the fairy godmother is taken fully in stride, as part of the storybook progression of things, and she stays squarely on top of the Queen of Hatred while Alina talks. Heyalexa: It is rude to do that to Gregory ! Heyalexa: However , it seems like a Pretty Cool Magic Technique to magically put all suspicion onto one person . Has anyone thought about this ? Heyalexa: ù ú Heyalexa: But Heyalexa: I will depose an evil royal for various reasons and also rewards !
Sarracenia	'I don't know about that, Sarra. I'm just a guy trying to help out with what power he has. I don't think I am a hero or anything special like that.'      Sarra smiles lightly in response. "Modesty, humility, and no thirst for power. Check, check, and check." she says, her smile growing as she does some air checkmarks.      'Arthur: Experience invisible wall'      Alina looks toward Arthur at his questions. "Yes, it is enchanted with a magical barrier. Only the princess and myself can pass through it safely. It also shields her from detection. She shakes her head at pocket-universes, though. "I am afraid not. If I were able to manipulate such things, the princess would be much safer. But, destiny manipulation...I suppose that is a yes. I worked quite hard to ensure that the book ended up with the correct princess. And yes, it will likely require a crashing of the castle at some point. The dark fairy is not going to leave of her own volition."      'Talk of loyalty vs professionalism'      Sarra nods firmly. "Gregory has gone above and beyond his duties many times. We pay him because we trust him and he is loyal."      'Could you show us the face of this 'dark fairy'? How are-we to know her, ahhh, mach-in-a-tions? Per-haps her malice will be clear to us, but fairies can be tricky things; I do-not wish to be beguiled.'      'What's the dark fairy's name?'      "Oh my, of course. It would not do to go in unaware. Her name is Lila." Alina waves her wand in a circle and an image appears in the air. A still frame of the dark fairy. She looks tall and distinguished, has long black hair and a green and black outfit. And perhaps most noteably...has a queen's crown upon her head. "She worked her curses upon the king as well. The old queen..." Alina hesitates. "...she was my friend. Which is why protecting her daughter is my only duty now."      'My-la-dy, after that magic, do you feel alright...?'      Sarra is slightly surprised at the support from Schneider. She smiles uncertainly at the combination of the concern and the question. "I...feel alright. Honestly, I am not even certain what powers were even transferred." The deer makes a sound, and Sarra flinches before looking at him. "Oh! I can hear you very clearly now!" she says delightedly.
Sarracenia	'I have met with deceivers before. What story would this 'dark fairy' tell us about this land?'      Alina looks a bit sad at this, but answers the question. "I have no doubt that Lila would tell you she is entitled to this. That dark fairies are merely misunderstood and falsely accused of many crimes. It is merely a ploy. Even if dark fairies are misunderstood by the populace, that does not entitle one to withering the queen and taking her place then forcing her daughter into hiding to survive."      'Further destruction would not serve our story well, *if* we are to help this Alina and her princess.'      Alina considers a moment. "If you are able to force her out without violence toward her, the people, or the castle, then so much the better. But, I still advise capturing her. She should face the fairy court for her crimes."      'Is this a store you often frequent? Enough to know the seller personally, or for them to know or dislike you personally? Have you been in other books?'      Sarra thinks for a moment. "I do browse it quite often. But, I cannot think of anyone who dislikes me that would know I shop there." The question about other books draws an uncomfortable mmph from Sarra. "...quite a few, actually." she says a bit darkly.      'He fought alongside you because of Tridéag, didn't he? The decision to go to the Library was mine. It'd behoove you to not forget that.'      "What brought us there is beside the point. That he was steadfast and true is the important part." Sarra replies. "You have noticed it, too. That is why he is one of your favorites now."      'Don't worry, it doesn't mean you're evil! It just means you're more suited for the teenage demographic.'      Sarra sighs in reluctant acceptance. It does make a sort of sense. As much as the sane animals vs insane people thing.      'No !!!!!!!!!!!!! Do Not Post !'      Heyalexa's reaction catches Sarra offguard. "W-well! As long as we both benefit there will be no worry of that, will there." Sarra feels a bit bad now. It feels like being mean to a child. But, Sarra has to protect herself!      'It is rude to do that to Gregory !'      Well, someone who is an advocate of Gregory can't be all bad. Sarra offers a slight smile.      'What are these powers you've granted her? And do you happen to have anything of the dark fairy's that we could take back with us? Something we could inspect, or use as a basis for planning?'      "I am afraid I have nothing of her that I can share. Dark and Light fairies are antithetical. We have trouble existing in close proximity. As for her powers, I am sure you have guessed one. The princess can talk quite freely with animals of nearly all types. As for the other powers-"
Sarracenia	The questions are drawn to a sudden close as both Alina and the great deer look toward the sky at the same moment. "Our time has run out. You must leave here at once." they say as the sky darkens unnaturally quickly and flapping of what sounds like giant bat wings can be heard. "I am sorry! My deer friend will guide you to a safe place, then you will be returned to your world!"      Alina lifts her wand, then flicks it forward and spins. A magical force pushes those gathered away, albeit gently and carefully like being carried. Trees are avoided, hills are navigated, and after a few moments the party is deposited safely if shakily atop a larger hill. One that gives a clear view of the surrounding area and the source of the darkness.      It is a flock of bat-winged creatures that look almost like werewolves. Sharp teeth, large claws, glowing red eyes. Except, instead of wolf tails they have monkey tails. And their jaws look more like those of a mandrill than a wolf. There is not a huge amount of them, perhaps a dozen. But, they lock onto the group almost immediately as if lured by something. It would be a large leap in logic to assume it is the 'princess powers' that were endowed onto Sarracenia. Those with sight into such things might actually see the glow still around her.      The deer lets out a high pitched cry, and Sarra looks toward him quickly. "Well, I understand but...that is a bit rude!" The deer takes off, and Sarra runs after him. "He says we must make it to a nearby cave! There is a portal there we can use which is protected. That way we can return to our world or here at our leisure! But, he also suggests we do not let any of those monkey bat things follow us there!"
Meresankh	Meresankh wobbles uncertainly in the air as she is lifted away to a nearby hill, unsure if she should resist with her antigravity field. Ultimately, on spying the cloud of flying shapes, she recognizes it as a protective move for the local princess's sake, and acquiesces to the transportation. On landing she examines the swarm in the air briefly before hustling after the deer, this time on foot.     "The FOOLS," she declares, glancing skyward. "Such lowly beasts cannot stymie ME!" Holding her scepter aloft, she floats into the air again, only a few inches off the ground, and flies *backwards*, following closely behind the Queen of Hatred to make sure she doesn't hover into any trees. The orb atop her rod of office glows with a light, brighter and brighter, almost like a lure for the flying creatures-     And then it unleashed a great, many-forked bolt of lightning, spreading upward and outward through the swarm, chaining from one body to the next. Beyond the damage caused by the extreme heat, the electrical current may paralyze many of the creatures, causing them to plummet helplessly from the sky!
Riku Asakura	'Modesty, humility, and no thirst for power. Check, check, and check.' Riku blushes from the praise and comparison to being a hero.  He's trying not to let it go to his head, but he's still a young man, and this is a princess.  "Truly, I think you might say differently if you knew me better but..." 'He fought alongside you because of Tridéag, didn't he? The decision to go to the Library was mine. It'd behoove you to not forget that.' "This is true, I fought beside everyone because I am in Trideag, and Lilian is also right about whose decision it was to go to the Library," he agrees with Lilian.   'You have noticed it, too. That is why he is one of your favorites now.' Riku waves his hands and shakes his head.  "I don't think that's it at all.  But Lilian would be the one to say for sure why.   Things escalate as they are shown to a cave.  However, monsters appear in the area and seem to be hunting them down.  He's also noticed the powers in Sarra have grown somehow, but that isn't a discussion for the moment.   "You go!" He says and takes a capsule.  Ultraman is selected this time.  "I go!" This time, Ultraman Belial is selected.  "Here we go!" he takes the Fusion Riser and scans each capsule.  "Time to get ready... GEEEEEEEEED!" He pulls the trigger on the Fusion Riser.  The double helix part of it glows brightly, both blue and red, before... Ultraman! Ultraman Belial! Ultraman Geed Primitive! A large size, but not quite full giant size Ultraman Geed takes the field.  He fires a blast at the flying monkey things while kicking at the werewolves.  He does his best to try and take care of these things so they can return to the castle and get some rest, while planning what they would do with the Dark Fairy.
Storm Investigators	"If you've any means to take readings or otherwise monitor fluctuations or progressive changes to the environment, I'd be much obliged." It takes Greta a moment to run through the tools she has on hand that might fight the bill, and then she reaches into one of her trench coat's inner pockets to take out a few technical-looking doohickeys of varying sizes. "I do. If we can identify and filter known sources of magic-" She explains, activating one of them and holding it near Alina, then moving towards Sarracenia while watching which meters and bits and bobs are going off between them. "-then we can narrow our results down to those that don't match what Alina has used on her already. Fewer false positives, less wasted time." "That's right! You're pretty smart!" That's an easy way to get Marcus' face to light up. "My best... Ah. Of course, Miss Love. Oh, I wanted to see if there was a difference in how much love or hate was in you versus... You?" She explains, sounding briefly confused as she's not sure which part of Love she should be looking at first. "I might be able to tell... My ability can reveal a massive amount of information, but reading through it all can be... Difficult at times." "Look for numbers." Greta advises, getting a quick nod from Marcus as she gets to... Work? No, Marcus is just sating her curiosity while reading Love, even if she does get hung up a little on how Love could be 100% of three different things. The empty pages unnerve her visibly, too, but reading the story of the Queen of Hatred and her comrades in the battle against Nihil soon captures her attention far more than the strange blank spots. "That really was on the mark..." Marcus murmurs to herself as she keeps on going, finding the part where Love justifies her own existence by becoming evil. "Without an enemy to fight, you had to... Oh, how sad. I'm sorry you had to go through that, Miss Love, but I am glad you were able to..." A pause, and then Marcus rereads something with a slightly more confused look on her face. "Rewritten...? If you were not able to remember anything you learned, then coming where you are now... Ah, how lucky! Finding this new home and being able to retain everything must have been a great relief. And that is how you were able to meet with... Miss HeyAlexa? Or did you meet before all of that happened?" "The old queen..." Greta furrows her brow as the face of the dark fairy is Revealed, taking note of that crown on her head and the hesitation in Alina's voice. "Enough power to curse the king, and to usurp the throne. Depending on the nature of magic, she could have been... Someone with close enough ties to the throne to target them directly." "But, I cannot think of anyone who dislikes me that would know I shop there." "Then the sender may not have worked there... But they may have tampered with your package after the delivery." Marcus guesses, frowning after a moment once she realizes that leaves her back at square one. "quite a few, actually" Marcus gets that somewhat excited look on her face again, but she clamps down on that when it's clear the memory seems to be a painful one for Sarracenia. "Oh... I see. Then it is good that so many capable Elites are here since it means you would not need to be in here for long." "We have trouble existing in close proximity." That actually gets an eyebrow raise out of Greta. "Less chance that the dark fairy is the old queen." She murmurs to herself, then shakes her head once. "Unless... No, that could still work."
Storm Investigators	And then Alina directs everyone to leave, and quickly! At the top of the hill, it's easy for Greta and Marcus to see them coming. What they lack in individual fighting power, they try to make up for with plain tactical support: Marcus using her reading ability to scan them and call out both generalized and individual-specific weak points, and Greta keeps her covered with the power of a handgun while also helping to translate/repeat whenever Marcus mumbles something a little too quietly to hear.
Sarracenia	The monkeybats would indeed be foolish to attack Elites. But then, they hardly even get the chance. As they are starting their swoop they are met with lightning and a giant! With Greta and Marcus identifying weaknesses it is even easier. The creatures would no doubt be much more than a typical non-elite could handle, but between those gathered here it is child's play.      Several fall from being struck by lightning, most of the others are handled by Ultraman. One makes it through somehow and heads right for Sarra. But, unlike the princess they were sent to hunt, this princess is far from defenseless. It comes diving at her...and its head meets the head of her hammer. But, rather than a crunching sound there is a somewhat comical metallic clang before it is sent spiraling into the distance.      Those with extraordinary senses might know that it is not dead, and really not even seriously hurt despite the hit. Which is a bit unusual even for Sarracenia. She doesn't usually hold back against monsters, and it didn't look like she was trying to in any case.      The rest of the run to the cave is uneventful. The deer leads them inside, then to a large stone arch inside a large chamber. When Sarra nears it, it comes to life with the same colorful energy that Alina has been using. From there, they are able to exit the book and return to the Multiverse.