Sword of Queen's Faith, Modern Day Magical Girl Roleplay

"Aw, I already said my name. Oh well, I'm Rhea, Temperance Bishop."

Tina blinked and looked at Rhea blankly. "If ye're clergy an' preachin' temperance, Ah'm Presbyterian alreet. An' Jesus turnt water to wine, so nothin' against drinkin' in the good book."

edited 10th May '15 2:51:47 PM by SabresEdge

Rhea returned Tina's blank look. "I'm agnostic. And underage, so I can't judge."

"I don't think we're actually what the bracelets are...in a, uh, literal sense," Mimoza mused. "Wait a sec, but what happens if someone's nothing like what the bracelet represents?"

"Represent?" Tina continued to look absolutely blank. "Yin bracies—are they opera overtures, that have a character leitmotif runnin' through 'em?" In contrast to her harsh Glasgow burr, Tina's pronunciation of the musical terminology was impeccably precise. "An' dinnae ye tell me yon Railgun—" a quick jerk of the thumb towards Ace, who was sprawled out on the couch beside her "—represents anythin', wi' that glove."

"From what I understand, only our personal powers are personality-based." Alessandra smiled a little at the slight redundancy. "The bracelets sort of 'fit' aspects of us to them instead."

She was getting tired, so she decided to sit with the others, taking care not to wrinkle her clothes too much.

Listening intently with her hands pressed together and eyes closed, the faint impression of a twitch appears on her face when the Kachemetc was mentioned. Clapping her hands once and opening her eyes, Penelope sweetly calls out "Burattino collects Mana Bracelets, the physical remains of the Kachemetc's magic, so that he can distribute them to somewhere he believes will be most beneficial. However that doesn't mean he actually chooses anyone to acquire them. Thus coming across your Mana Bracelets really was just random chance. Burattino?"

Penelope looks up at the fox creature, who looks away from her before reluctantly resetting his sight on the magical girls below. Sighing, Burattino speaks up "Firstly, a 'Kyubey' is an utter insult to my very being. You won't believe how many would-be Magical Girls rejected their Mana Bracelets these last few years because they thought they were being conned. Just, god... Second, Kachemetc do indeed turn into Mana Bracelets upon their death. Its the only part of them that retains enough cohesion after their magic gets disrupted, though they really aren't a problem... Usually, I'll admit. Intense enough personal negativity will trigger some regrowth, but the intensity required is so high that's only happened four times throughout all of history. Regarding my name..."

Covering his face briefly with his wings in plain shame, he then stretches his ear-wings out before him and projects an image of an Italian woman in clothing distinctly 15th century. "My creator, deciding it was too important that future magical girls needed to be informed and to fight the Kachemetc, made a puppet that would enact her wish. She never intended for me to develop into an actual individual, and I would of long since forsaken that name... But I really have no idea what to replace it with. I do think its quite of fitting though, since literally anything important I do is directly in relation to you Magical Girls. No Magi, then Burattino will just hide in a hole or something until one comes along. Not exactly like I can just waltz up to the public and say 'Pay me no mind, I'm just a normal floating magical fox' now can I?"

Burattino's face resembling the most it can to depression and annoyance, the creature suddenly plops itself into Liliana's arms and nestles his head against her away from the others. Penelope giving the creature a little smile, she claps twice before speaking again.

"When I was a Magical Girl, Burattino told me that the most active there's ever been was twenty-two. That was during the second World War, and ever since many have come into the possession of Mana Bracelets. Many have been lost through the ages though, and he said commonly there's only about ten to twelve present at a time outside of special points such as World War II. Regarding the appearance of Kachemetc..."

Giving Burattino a little frown that says 'very bad job', the fox just closes his eyes before Penelope speaks again. "They form from ambient negativity, and thus usually take years to form. Until a Kachemetc fully develops, it can't be detected, and thus they could be anywhere. Though sometimes fully-formed Kachemetc will also disappear, usually the result of them retreating due to injuries or seeking to absorb more negativity to grow stronger. Speaking of, if you ever see a giant wolf thing that commands ice? That's a Kachemetc that eluded me and my sister-in-arm. Oh, and these creatures do become smarter as they absorb negativity so don't let them get away. Thus its very important to destroy a newly born Kachemetc whilst its still only capable of blindly lashing out at everything. The Kachemetc I mentioned? It eventually grew smart enough to actively hunt Magical Girls realizing we're its biggest threat, though in some cases their broadening intelligence does lead them to do stupid things."

Clearing her throat a bit, Penelope's sweet voice doesn't falter "Burattino can sense strong pulses of magic, so he'll make sure to inform you if one appears. He's also the reason why your Bracelets have titles, he thought it would be fun to name them isn't that right?" Getting an embarrassed yell from Burattino, Liliana holds onto the creature tighter while also giving her own embarrassed look. "He does choose a title that reflects the Bracelet's inherent nature though, and the Bracelets do indeed try to fit your aspects to itself. Burattino told me that's the Kachemetc's attempt to try reforming itself, searching your personality for aspects similar to itself to build off of. However this simply results in your Magical Transformations and ability to use magic spells. Though if you have nothing in common with the Bracelet, it'll try working with whatever little it can get and if there's really that little you share with it then the Bracelet will try manifesting its own powers with influence from you. Is there anything else you girls need to know?"

Coming from the comm is a disappointed voice, followed by their words "~We already know their current location, however... the MACV-SOG has already requested full control over what happens to these Magi. They want to see how dangerous they truly are first, and what do you know? Command decides to agree with them, human rights and all that crap. We are literally the American governance, with complete power over American life. I'll try convincing them allowing these Magical Girls to roam free is a horrible idea. The last thing we need is other nations thinking we're collecting them... In the meantime, make sure nobody submits any videos they have of the Kachemetc fight. We're lucky their minds were being messed with too much, so there really shouldn't be any videos. Message out.~"

Out of the corner of your eye, an unquestioned witness has snuck away and is glancing down at their active phone. that human... knows, wanting... to understand... it'll reveal what it knows... to the whole world... Stop it, if... you want to retain... this pitiful excuse... for freedom you have... otherwise, you'll be a weapon for their war... Aside from the voice, some of the local KDC agents are starting to get worried the longer they look at you.

edited 14th May '15 2:37:16 PM by Kkutwar

The hybrid nods thoughtfully before responding. "Alright. Request my team test them for combat competency. And don't worry," Khole said, a savage smile revealing her sharp, pearly whites. "No videos will leak." She let her hand drop to her side as she stalked toward the would-be viral video poster.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, still smiling. "I'm going to need to confiscate your device." Without waiting for a response, she swiped the device and squeezed. It shattered. In a bored voice, Khole said, "Whoops. We'll replace it."

Takes care of that. Now, let's see if my request is approved.... Her smile widened further.

Noticing that Burattino appeared to be in great discomfort, Alessandra felt a little guilty.

"I apologize if I have offended, volpe. I was truly curious. Forgive me also for refraining from referring to you by name, since it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. There's not much else I wish to know, though I can't speak for my fellow Magi, aside from what we need to do next."

So those things have a small chance to come back, huh?

edited 16th May '15 6:49:08 AM by Thanatologist

Mimoza nodded. "Kinda in the same boat with her, I can't think of anything else I might wanna know. You?" she addressed the other girls.

"Ah'm goan need a moment or twa'," murmured Tina. Despite the alcoholic flush and somewhat drunken languor her eye was steady and sober and unblinking fixed on Burattino, like that of a marksman; yet there was also a pensive cast to her stare. "So, china," she said, slowly and deliberately. "Roound a dozen wee witchy wimmin...I suspect ye ken 'ow many there are. An' 'ow many bangles in a'—" she waved her bracelet, held between thumb and forefinger "—an' 'ow many ye're hivin'. So-o-o...process o' e-li-mi-na-tion...'ow many K craytures are livin', right noo."

edited 16th May '15 1:30:10 PM by SabresEdge

".. I don't have any more questions. I think."

Burattino seems to become slightly calmer upon hearing the Priestess' words, however the slightly hint of a twitch flashes on Burattino's face upon being asked how many Kachemetc currently exist. Slipping away from Liliana's arms and the girl lightly backing up, the fox looks up at the owner of the Pawn Moon. "That's not how this works. There are the nascent seeds for Kachemetc all over, wherever humanity has traveled. Those number into the thousands, though since its hard to detect Kachemetc Seeds from a far I can't give any of you an exact number. However, the number of Kachemetc currently active? Two, though those are currently imprisoned. Regarding Mana Bracelets, I have to mark those with my magic every fifty years if I want to reliably detect them. Thus, the actual number of Bracelets I know of is simply thirteen, twelve of which have owners. Speaking of which..."

Penelope suddenly offers to bring out some snacks, to which Burattino looks up at her disgruntled. Returning a playfully mocking look to the small creature, Penelope then leaves the room. The fox's eyes following Penelope until she leaves, the animal suddenly sets them on the injured girl. "I requested the other eleven Magical Girls to go to Liliana's concert. Missing were the Fool Pawn, Pawn Empress, Hanged Pawn and Fortune Knight. Pawn Magician was intercepted by Justice Rook. Thus, this girl here is a fake."

With that last word spat out, Burattino floats into the air, glaring down at the girl before speaking once more "Tell us, why do you have that false Mana Bracelet? More importantly, why did you arrive at where Liliana's concert was?"

Seeing his phone effortlessly shattered, he screams in terror before suddenly darting off, your fellow agents trying to reassure the civilians while an agent walks over to you. Looking at the shattered mess and sighing, they speak up quietly to you. "Look, I don't really care how your boss handles things, but shattering phones is rather extreme. Just because we're allowed to do what we need to do, that doesn't mean we can just do whatever we want to do. Now we'll have to make sure he doesn't get someone actually important to listen to him about your phone-shattering antic."

Sighing once more, the agent is about to walk away when an elegant voice calls out "Excuse me, did something happen here? I bought a ticket for Angel Princess Lilliana's concert, and this is suppose to be the place..." Looking over to where the voice came, a raven-haired twenty five year old Japanese woman wearing a billowing coat and jaded glasses stands with a ticket in her hand.

Ace looked up at the angry little furball hovering over her, her face weary but unworried. She looked down at the glove, then let out an exhausted laugh.

"If you ever thought this was a genuine bracelet, I'd be surprised." She said calmly. "It looks like a glove to me." She took a deep breath.

"My name is Ace, as I've already said. I'm...a bit of a fugitive. The DoD doesn't really like it when you run away with a multimillion-dollar piece of experimental technology, even if it is bonded to your skin. They tend to pursue you with black SUVs and big angry men with guns and large kill-counts.

"As for arriving at the concert, well," Ace shrugged, "it's a concert, not a clandestine drop point. I followed the signs. Ms. 'Angel Princess' isn't exactly in the closet about being a magical girl. I was hoping that she might be able to help me with...this whole problem." Ace waved her gloved hand. "Despite what you might think, I don't actually really like having this thing fused with my hand and being a wanted fugitive isn't really exciting either. So maybe instead of flinging accusations of fakery around we could all get along and help each other?" Her tone turned bitter toward the end as she snapped at Burattino. "It's not like magical girls are all about the power of friendship or something, anyway. And yes, that is why I look like I've just run more miles than I can remember, through rough terrain while being chased. It's because I was. Thanks for your concern, Burrito."

edited 27th May '15 8:29:36 PM by Wysp

"Aww-reet, get tore intae 'im, see the bonnie lass," said Tina, but a little mechanically; she was counting something on her fingers, frowned in bafflement when she reached ten, and reached for her toes. "Yan-a-dik, tyan-a-dik, tether-a-dik...nae, yin's nae right. Divvil tak' me, ne'er was mich guid at the maths. Onywae, ra wimmin's legeetimately magic, Ah saw," she added. "Nae bracie means nae K syndrome, so yin's an advantage, less'n ra glove comes to life an' tries to strangle ye." She frowned and addressed herself to Ace's gloved hand. "Ah've seen Doctor Strangelove, Ah'm warnin' ye, so dinnae ye try any tricks."

"But if that's the case...how did you get fused with that glove at all?" Mimoza asked, a bit unaware it might be a touchy subject.

Burattino's sudden venom at Ace surprised Alessandra.

If she is working for the government, she'd have to be extremely good to have the energy to decieve us in the state she's in. She's not even making any effort to hide her nature, unless she's doing the reverse psychology gambit.

She hadn't seen her during the battle, which meant she was probably the one behind the speakers.

Would she really arrive at the stadium all beat up, and then help us, just to gain our trust?

Alessandra stayed quiet, trying to decipher what made the magical animal so hostile to the fake magus.

Geez, calm down Burattino... She eyes Ace. "So what if she's a fake? If she's not here to kill us, then why should it matter?"

Penelope calmly watching whistling softly, she casually leaves for the kitchen whilst Burattino looks over Ace with 'Liliana' looking rather confused and uncertain of what to do. Suddenly, the fox-like immortal scoffs before uttering with restrained venom "Honestly, I doubted they would be intelligent enough to figure out Lily's a Magical Girl. If they're moronic enough to try experimenting with the Kachemetc, humanity's negativity given form, then they're clearly not smart enough to live. I've seen people try to use parts of Kachemetc in the past to try matching Magical Girls. The lucky ones simply got mutated, the unfortunate ones... Well, they could consider themselves lucky once the abomination inevitably got loose. So..."

Merely casting a calm glance at Ace, Burattino's tone becomes softer "I'm glad you didn't become a Pseudo-Kachemetc. It is my duty to get the Kachemetc destroyed, so understandably I would be suspicious of anyone with a false Mana Bracelet. To me, no matter how confidant people seem, they're just making the Kachemetc collective bigger. Even in this day, people all over the world try using science to subvert the Kachemetc's power. The problem is, you can't use science to enslave magic. Thus why the true Mana Bracelets are ultimately the safest and most effective measure in killing the things: There's only scraps left of the Kachemetc, scraps so small it'll never regenerate unless someone has a truly historic breakdown. Thus why I allow girls to use the Bracelets, because there's practically no risk to themselves. If I honestly believed the Mana Bracelets were a danger, I would of just coordinated with those with prolonged or lasting powers to make things to fight instead. Heck, if I actually possessed real power I would fight them myself so no human would have to risk themselves."

With that last sentence spoken, sorrow leaks into his expression with him moving his ears in front of him before pulling them back. His eyes quivering as if they want to cry, Burattino takes in a breath before sighing. "I became friends with many of your proceeding Magical Girls, but I... Whenever one got hurt sadness welled in me, and whenever one died... I just wanted to avenge her. But since I'm meant to guide Magical Girls to kill Kachemetc, to save humanity as my mother wished... I'm torn whenever a human is the enemy of my Magical Girls. The humans that use the Kachemetc to do so? I'm just so outraged, that I just want to tear into their throats... But my job is to protect all humans, that's literally part of my magical programming so I wouldn't become apathetic or outright sadistic. I don't hate you Ace, I'm even sorry upon knowing this was forced onto you. Just... I'm scared, afraid, of what'll happen to all of them. Penelope quit being a Magical Girl so she could be safe not from the Kachemetc, but from her own species. I... I never wanted this..."

edited 11th Jun '15 8:12:52 PM by Kkutwar

Alessandra felt a bit at a loss for words, yet she felt the need to say something after Burattino basically poured his heart out.

"I-I guess I have to say that, truth be told, I never really did take all this magi stuff that seriously. The creature we defeated today, it wasn't my first time meeting it. I come from a small town that doesn't exist anymore, thanks to that thing. That volpe already knows this," Alessandra said, motioning to the magical animal.

"But now that I think about it, revenge wasn't my biggest motivation. It just fit into my image of a 'tragic heroine'. Not that I don't feel any anger - I do, and that was how it got inside my mind - but in the heart of it all, I just liked being special. Being part of something."

Alessandra found that she'd stood up sometime in the middle of her small speech. She timidly sat back down, trying to sink a little lower into her seat.

That was the most I've said about myself to anyone in a while. That battle really was an eye-opener for me. Hope they don't think I'm weird. Gah, my mind's all over the place right now.

Ace turned to look at Alessandra, surprised at her outpouring. It seemed that today was the day for emotional outbursts, despite the pale fakery Burattino had displayed. She shot a distrusting look at the creature and awkwardly patted Alessandra on the back.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be special." She said.

"Yin's a verra' quick assoomp-tion that yon glove incluids K-crayture parts," said Tina slowly. She contrived to suggest with an arch tone that she was tolerably fly, that she was not born yesterday, that she would be no easy pigeon to be plucked, no easy flat for any cheap trickster to hustle.

The effect was rather undermined by the indignant puzzlement written all over her face, as if she were faced with an unfamiliar problem that required thinking—like a Vladimir Horowitz musical score that someone had once handed her as a joke, or, a two-variable algebra problem.

Still, however squeakily and slow, the hamster wheel in her head did turn, and brought about a moment of realization.

"...wait. W'at K-crayture parts? All t'were left of yin K-crayture were a bracie, an' ye et that. An' if yin Dr. Strangelove-hand disnae include ra bracie...'ow'sit connected to ra K-craytures at a'?"

"Hm." She didn't look it outwardly, but Rhea could kind of understand the desire to be special.

"They could probably capture a living Kache-whatever and cut off pieces of it to experiment on."

"Aye, but..." That shut Tina up for another few rounds of silent puzzling, during which time her lips were visibly moving, until her expression abruptly brightened. "'Oldit. Ah've ne'er seen a K-thing droppit an arm with-oot it disappearin'. 'Tis richt disppointin', but. An' yon glaikit cat"—a jerk of her thumb to Burattino—"said richt nou, twa' muir K-crayturs are a-livin' yet." She grinned like a madwoman. "Ah voote we gwan awa' tae find oone or twa' K-crayturs an' cuttit off their bits, an' see if they're still viable, oor if they be disappearit intae smoke like the ithers. It's fuir science!"

Khole gave the man a flat look as he lectured her. This wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last lecture she'd receive on her conduct. Whatever, she thought, I did what the situation required. Justifying myself does nothing but waste time.

The hybrid raised an eyebrow as the young Japanese woman approached. Two hours late to a concert she oh so very much wanted to see? Khole thought, a bit of sarcasm and suspicion creeping into her mind. Let's humor her.

"The arena is currently under investigation for earlier criminal activity," Khole said to the woman. She placed her hands on her hips and turned away from the jade-bespectacled woman.