"Me? I want things that can go boom... and preferably something that can counter that basooka's boom." Berenice stated, "We also want the books to be equipped with stuff. How many of them can handle a basooka?"
Berenice was slightly concerned about the maid with the basooka.
"You've got your transmission and your live wire, but your circuit's dead." - MediaWhen Kirino and Karina arrived at the entrance to the Doctor's lab they found a table by the door entreating them to 'CHOOSE,' though unbeknowst to the two maids the choices had changed since K had set the pieces out more than an hour earlier. Where once there had been a White King, Bishop and Pawn, there now stood two black bishops, one on a black plate and one on a white plate.
While she waited for Suika's brain to come down from whatever cloud it had gotten lost in, Gemma shot an askance glance at the albino maid. "I'm sure they can manage, Bennie - but maybe we ought to wait a bit?" she suggested. Gemma's nervous expression didn't do much to hide the fact that she wasn't exactly looking forward to leaping right back into the fray only minutes after their harrowing escape.
"We have a few hours yet before that door's due to open and it'd probably be easier to sneak in after dark," the catgirl pointed out hopefully. "At the very least, we might want to wait and see if the heat's gonna show. We don't want to come rolling in, guns blazing, with a half-dozen bacon sandwiches on the front lawn, do we?"
edited 27th Oct '11 8:31:43 PM by Alhazred23
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)SBerenice looked to Gemma - girl had a good point.
"Good idea - I'd like to have at least some prelimary weapons picked but I guess we should regroup. Maybe rest."
"You've got your transmission and your live wire, but your circuit's dead." - MediaSuika had gotten lost in contemplation of how cute the porcucats would look when she actually found them. It was obvious by the daydreamy look on her face that the angel's mind had gone bye-bye for a while. Once she finally settled on the right cute look in her mind, she looked to Gemma and smiled merrily. Yes, the catgirl could help her!
"Th-they have porcupine-kitty hybrids at the evil manor.. but they probably came here, sensing our Lord's goodness. But I can't seem to find them," she explained, as if everyone else would easily understand what she was talking about, "You're a kitty too.. can you help me find them?"
Avatar from: http://x0whitelily0x.livejournal.com/5953.html N: 5 F, 0/40 S2*2(cunning)=4, what are those chess pieces are for?
Karina, idled her eyes on the two bishops for a moment, then asked her companion.
"Is this some kind of game?", she said with a weary voice, that suggested that she expects the 'game' to be unpleasant and possibly quite dangerous.
Karina: F:18 S:0/20 Evelyn: F:11 S:6/40 "Evelyn is adorably crazy." — compliment by Vampiric OneLuck roll to pick up "right" Bishop; 1d6*2 = 10
Kirino-chan stares at the two chess pieces for a second.
"Aaaa... this is why I hate the evil old Doctor!" wails Kirino.
"Well theres nothing for it, I'm just going to pick one..."
Kirino-chan then picks up a chess piece from where the two were placed and waits to see what will happen...
Karina, in terror reached for Kirino's hand. — "Wait we don't even..." — She stopped when the piece left the table, waiting for the impending chaos.
...
Nothing... she looked around noticing nothing out of the ordinary. The orange-haired maid still smiled in front of her, with the bishop in hand. The laboratory door was still closed.
"Do you think we really just have to choose one of the two, each?"
Not really waiting for the obvious reply, she moved close to the table, preparing to pick up the remaining bishop from it's black plate. — "Well, I see no other way." — Clenching her teeth, Karina took the piece.
After a moment the lab door opened up. That startled her first, but then a triumphant smile came to her face.
Seeing the checkerboard pattern, she noted to her companion. — "It wasn't that bad." — weighting the piece in her hands, she continued. — "I think that means I'm the bishop that moves on the black squares, then."
edited 28th Oct '11 7:41:30 AM by dragonfi
Karina: F:18 S:0/20 Evelyn: F:11 S:6/40 "Evelyn is adorably crazy." — compliment by Vampiric One"A catnap sounds good to me," Gemma agreed, grinning at Berenice in relief. A few minutes later the trio reached the armory, which externally appeared to be an ordinary hall closet - aside from the touchscreen handprint scanner beside it. Technically, the handprint was the only actual security check, but because this was one of the Doctor's machines, it also required that the user solve a chess puzzle before the door would open. cunning 10 check to open.
When Suika mentioned the 'porcupine-kitty' creatures, Gemma's expression turned interested, since she'd seen a few demons that might match that description, but soon scepticism reared its eyebrow-quirking head. "Sunshine, if you haven't seen one of these things, then how do you know they exist?" she asked, peering suspiciously at the angel.
Nothing happened when the maids selected their pieces, though a peek through the doors to the lab revealed that the floor was done in 1'x1' black and white tiles in a pattern reminiscent of a checker or chess board. The floor was strewn with haphazardly arranged lab tables, machines, piles of wreckage and other, stranger things.
Barely visible in the poor lighting, a desk sat in the far left corner of the room. At it sat a man in a suit with what appeared to be a giant, spherical black helmet concealing his entire head. This reminded Karina of the brief rundown that Ms. Fruitorange had given her about the 'Hazards of the Mansion of Darkness.' When she pulled the simple, one-page list that the women had given her, right above the note about Gemma ('JAILBAIT') was one about Dr. En Passant ('CHESS'; the word was underlined twice in red pen).
edited 28th Oct '11 7:55:10 AM by Alhazred23
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)SKirino-chan is somehow gifted with enough luck to avoid the trappings of the chess table trap and get through the other side, even offering help to Karina so she can also get across.
...the scary thing being Kirino-chan has never won a game of chess in her life and only really had a grip on how the pieces move... Surely the Goddess of Luck shone down on this youthful maid.
When both had reached the other side and were now face to face with the Mad Doctor himself, she once again stands with her hands on hips and in full "Tsun" mode sternly (if somehow still looking quite cute despite this) asks the Doctor;
"Whats up?"
The two maids faced the blank mask of the Doctor's helmet for nearly a minute before the man acknowledged them - and when he did, it was with the rasp of a long sigh that escaped from the inpenetrable black ball. "Had you utilized even an ouce of strategy in traversing the lab I might have congratulated you on your timeliness," he noted sourly. "As it is, I believe I shall have to attribute your safe arrival to beginner's luck."
This last was spat with obvious disgust. Then the doctor turned to an ornate move timer sitting to one side of his desk. "While I shall allow that the presence of both bishops may have made your task easier, it appears that my Rook has become mislaid in the shuffle... A pity."
Depressing the timer to end the absent player's turn in a totally dispassionate fashion, the Doctor turned again to Karina and Kirino. "Compared to a Bishiop and a Rook, two Bishops is not an idea allotment with the other pieces as they stand, but we will make do. Now then: your report on the affairs at the Jobsem estate?"
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)SReport... report... it took some time for her to recollect the happenings of the afternoon, to say the least, it wasn't a pleasant experience. It didn't helped that Karina felt the impatient eyes of the Doctor on her, though it could have been just her imagination. That helmet was clearly intimidating.
She tried a professional tone, to mask her nervousness.
"It was a two pronged assault. Ground forces — most of the maids — arrived by van and infiltrated on foot, while releasing crazed fanatics for distraction. The latter was actually my doing." — she stopped for a second, hoping for some recognition. — "Gemma apparently located a possible whereabouts of the papers, after that we returned to base to reorganize."
"The aerial group led by the master and Suika led a frontal assault. I must say the rocket packs worked ... spectacularly." — Thinking that this might be the part the doctor is interested in, she elaborated. — "To my best knowledge, all survivors were captured, but they managed to punch some large holes into their defences ... literally. Furthermore, all of the rocket packs properly self-destructed before falling into enemy hands."
Karina didn't realized that the systematic destruction was not due to self-destruct protocols, but to the volatile nature of the packs themselves.
She stopped there, giving a chance for Kirino to speak, or for the Doctor to reply.
edited 28th Oct '11 11:41:42 AM by dragonfi
Karina: F:18 S:0/20 Evelyn: F:11 S:6/40 "Evelyn is adorably crazy." — compliment by Vampiric OneThough it was impossible to ignore the feeling that the Doctor was dissecting every word she said, every nervous shuffle she failed to hide and every expectant glance she cast his way, the sphere-headed scientist allowed Karina to complete her report without interruption for either praise or condemnation. When she stopped, the doctor's slightly hunched form remained stonily immobile for several seconds, until he shifted ever-so-slightly toward Kirino and hissed, "Have you anything to add to your partner's assessment?"
edited 28th Oct '11 5:00:54 PM by Alhazred23
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)SKirino-chan sighed almost impatiently and added;
"There was a tentacle beast stuck in a summoning scroll in some office that was all grabby on everyone and then I nearly got blown up by a maid with a bazooka. I'm going to practice my kunai skills when we're done here. Karina and an Angel carried me back into the van. I wasnt even meant to be on one of your stupid missions, everyone knows what I do for the Dark Master is with love for him, not to help some weirdo Doc with his experiments..."
Kirino-chan keeps her hands on her hips and rolls her eyes, clearly annoyed.
The Doctor's silence after Kirino's declaration would have been nearly deafening had it not been for the occasional buzz or crackle of some machine running amok in the background. Steepling his fingers, Dr. En Passant turned to Karina.
"F8, your performance and scientific rigor are acceptable at this early stage. Additionally, I laud your use of screening tactics, though I shall be expecting more lateral thinking in the future. You are both free to return to your quarters or other duties until 7:06 PM, when a further development shall allow us more freedom. Until then..."
Waving them away apparently without even deigning to dignify Kirino's declaration with a response, he turned his attention back to the complex schematic that occupied much of his desk. To Karina's eye, it almost looked like an iron maiden, but in the shape of a chess Knight. Karina gains 2D6 favor.
edited 28th Oct '11 5:25:47 PM by Alhazred23
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)SBerenice looked at the touch pad in front the armoury door. After placing her hand on she looked to the puzzle. Stupid Doc and his chess obsession.
cunning: 3*4=12
CHECKMATE
The armoury door opened to reveal the lovely set of weapons that Berenice treasured so much.
"You've got your transmission and your live wire, but your circuit's dead." - MediaIt took all of Karina's will to mask her terror and then resist the urge to face-palm, while hearing Kirino's speech. Clearly the other maid lacked any kind of discretion, or — as Karina thought — even self preservation, apparently.
After they were dismissed, Karina made a worried glance towards Kirino, signifying that they should leave, preferably immediately, and without any further outbursts from the orange-haired maid.
She then performed a bow and turned back towards the door, trying to backtrack towards the entrance.
While cautiously walking back between the hazardous machinery, she tried to memorize the exact time they have to show up, 19:06. 'I have to get a notepad, the Doctor seems to be serious about precision.', she muttered to herself.
Apart from that, she was worried about the safety of Kirino — especially if they remain under the command of the doctor for a longer time — so she almost tripped in some strange machinery before reaching the door.
Favor roll, 2d6: 2+6=8, that raises her total favour to 11. 2*2(cunning)=4, not needed, keeping here for historical reasons
edited 29th Oct '11 8:48:56 AM by dragonfi
Karina: F:18 S:0/20 Evelyn: F:11 S:6/40 "Evelyn is adorably crazy." — compliment by Vampiric OneKirino and Karina need no rolls to get back across the lab this time, as long as they don't touch anyting. Re: The Armory - Since weapons are all functionally the same in Maid unless you start wearing armor, the armory can contain any piece of modern personal-scale weaponry that Berenice desires.
Catching the manic gleam in Berenice's eye, the catgirl shuffled away slightly. "Well, since you look like you need some time to decide what to bring, maybe Suika and I should leave you to it?" Gemma suggested. Not waiting for the albino to reply (or the angel to affirm the existence of her 'porcu-kitties'), she began to hustle Suika back toward the residential areas of the manor.
edited 29th Oct '11 1:49:07 PM by Alhazred23
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)SKirino-chan rushes back to her Dark Master's room as quick as her wide-hipped legs (which are actually pretty supple despite their top-heaviness) can carry her, pretty much ignoring Karina.
Knocking on his door, she calls out to him;
"Master, master, are you ok? Would you like to go on a nice evening walk with me through your land... or maybe *blush*... you'd like to take a nice bath with me?"
Karina looks at her dainty silver watch and sees it getting past 7 o'clock. Time for the Manor to be settling down... the others should be preparing dinner about now, whilst she can snag some romantic time with her Master...
As noted in the discussion thread, it is still only early afternoon back at the Mansion of Darkness...
The strains of a catchy pop tune, the high-pitched voice of an pre-teen Japanese girl and a rhythmic thumping sound were leaking under the door of the His Supreme Darkness's suite when Kirino returned from the lab. In fact, the music was so loud while her knocking might have been heard, her voice probably hadn't.
At least, this seemed to be the case from the look of surprise on her Master's face when he cracked open the door. "Yes, yes; what is- ah! Kirino, I thought I ordered you to report to the Doctor!" he sputtered, shutting the door slightly, though Kirino could still see the Master's DDR game paused on the TV behind him.
edited 29th Oct '11 3:58:37 PM by Alhazred23
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)SKirino-chan squees a fangirl squee at the game the Dark Master was playing at!
"Oh wow! A ddr game! You wanna play with me on that with you, my Dark master?! I mean we can always spend some time like a romantic walk or whatever after you play on this - of course I might be able to unlock a new song for you if you're having trouble, my Dark Master?"
Kirino-chan's big smile, full of shiny teeth was infectous as whatever the Mad Doctor could have infected her in the interim of her reporting to him and returning to the Master.
"Of course, I can also call one of the other maids up here if theres someone else you'd rather help out with some housework or whatever..."
edited 29th Oct '11 7:32:36 PM by shizukasenseifan
His Supreme Darkness's face grew slack, perhaps as he imagined the sight of Kirino dancing around atop a DDR pad, but he seemed to remember himself after a moment. Poking his head out the door, the Master looked left and right, scanning the hallway with darting eyes, and then ducked back into his room. "Ah... Kirino-chan? I did order you to report to Dr. En Passant, and pretend that you reported to him, did I not?" he asked with a tiny but of steel in his voice* . "Also, did anyone see you coming here?" he added nervously.
edited 29th Oct '11 8:08:17 PM by Alhazred23
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)SUpon leaving the lab door behind, Karina sighed, then turned towards Kirino to give her some 'survival tips'. Only to see that the lively girl has already darted past her. She only managed to catch a glimpse of orange hair disappearing in a corner.
Having nothing else to do, the vampire maid looked up that other piece of paper Ms. Fruitorange gave her, containing some general information about the mansion, as well as directions to her quarters.
After a moment, she decided she might as well check her rooms, heading down the corridor, in the direction she suspected the maid accommodations to be.
"Well, he did suggested to return to my quarters, might as well take a nap, hard day." — She said, massaging her temples.
edited 30th Oct '11 2:30:47 AM by dragonfi
Karina: F:18 S:0/20 Evelyn: F:11 S:6/40 "Evelyn is adorably crazy." — compliment by Vampiric OneSuika just went along with Gemma-kitty as the latter herded her back towards the less dangerous area of the manor. She looked incredibly thoughtful of what the catgirl had asked her, but that wasn't really the case. Mostly the angel was just imagining what a porcu-kitten would look like. It was so much cuter than a normal one that she totally lost track of where they were in the manor.
After a couple of minutes she finally looked to her fellow maid and answered, "I know the exist! They were making them in horrible experiments over at the enemy manor, but they escaped and came here. It's the truth, Gemma-kitty!"
Avatar from: http://x0whitelily0x.livejournal.com/5953.html N: 5 F, 0/40 S"Then you know more about them than I do," Gemma admitted, lifting her hand to cover a cavernous yawn; yup, a catnap was definitely starting to sound good now. Giving Suika a wry glance, she decided that humoring the angel might turn out to be entertaining, though. "Maybe you should sit down and try to think about how to find and catch them before the people from the evil mansion come for them," she suggested, making a mental note to watch out for silly traps around the house once she woke up from her nap.
H:44F(8/30)S|G:19F(0/10)S

Kirino-chan stood silent for a few seconds, her face puffed up a little, her hands on her generously sized hips.
"Awww... but I dont wanna spend time with that crazy ol' Doctor, I wanna be with my Master!"
Kirino-chan kicks an imaginary can as if in a sulk before she takes a deep breath and turns to Karina, who she realises is still there.
"He didnt seem very happy with us, maybe he liked the cream cravat? Well... he's shut us out... guess we'll have to go see the Doctor and see what he has to say after all."
Kirino-chan puts on her best "Tsun" face and walks towards the direction of the Doctor's lab, expecting Karina to follow.