[IC] TTG Chapter 3: Gluttony

[Shamitako]

Lord

 

Lord nodded seriously. "As you say, there's in fact quite a bit of 'hanky-panky Genetic modification shit going on, you don't mean to tell me you thought that hair of his was natural, do you?'" She explained, "As for the age difference, well..." Lord sighed deeply, as what she was about to say was disturbing and uncomfortable. "The people that do these sorts of experiments don't go around abducting children, it's too high-profile, most of their human experiments are done on their own children or even themselves." Lord was prepared to continue on and describe the raid on the facility where Adam was found, but it was at this moment that Morgan entered the room.

 

Tai

 

"Respect..." Temperance said, continuing with her disturbing monotone, "...Yes, respect. I have very bad burns." She extended her burnt right hand and intertwined it with his, but made no attempt to move it in the slightest. "A good game... Yes. Lots of emotion."

[Komodojoe]

Morgan

 

"..." Morgan looked around the room. She felt as if she had just walked in at the wrong time seeing as the place was pretty quiet with three people in the room... not that that means anything by itself, but it looked like they were just talking about something or someone. It made her predicament seem a bit selfish.

 

"Um... I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?" She asked. "I can come back later if you want."

[IntSys]

Tai

 

"A-Are you okay?" Tai asked. "I'm no therapist, but you're definitely... wrong. Was the heat too strong for you?" he placed Temperance's hand back onto her chest, as if he was dealing with a fragile statue.

 

It was starting to become a genuine concern, but he could only do so much before eventually giving up. Okay, Cardinal, what's wrong with her? She was nothing like this. I'm not even sure if I'm talking to the same person anymore!

[Sutoratosu]

"Well you did just walk into a can of worms that was right in the middle of bein' opened." Solomon said flatly, not even turning around to look at the girl. Of fucking course someone else had walked in, of course. That wouldn't stop him though, not here, not now... not when it regarded tesla and that... cheating little shit. "If you wanna leave, then leave. Or stay, I don't care, I'm getting my answers here either way..." His eyes narrowed as he returned focus to lord, filled with a mixture of disgust and... something else. Something not even he was quite sure of.

 

"...so what you're telling me is, those motherfuckers have entire kennels filled with their own damn kids, just... just kept sitting around in dark ass cells or cages or whatever until it's time for mom or pop to come and cut them up for some experiment?" that... actually brought some solace to the revelation. Well, as far as tesla and her relation to fuckboi was concerned; hell Tesla probably had a few half siblings running around or whatever, if it was as the God said...still, it was even more fucked up than she'd ever told him about. Then again, she'd hardly ever wanted to even talk about it so... perhaps it all made sense, in the long run. 

 

"The fucking hell man... is anyone doing anything about-"

 

Don't worry Sully, there's just something I gotta do. I'll be back soon~

 

He stopped, mid sentence, stroking his goatee in thought as he paced away. Tesla. It all made sense. All the times she left the garage, walked beyond the horizon... came back hours, sometimes days later, it wasn't just foraging trips. She had always told him the same thing, up until the last time. Most of the time she'd come back a bit scuffed up, with... this look on her face. This odd cross between emptiness and satisfaction... sometimes she hauled in parts that he nor their old man had any idea where she could've gotten them... looking back on it now though... all those components, they were far too advanced for to have simply... found them, lost or abandoned out in the wastes by chance. No...no... it couldn't be...

 

"Tesla... was that it? All those times, and you never told us?" It was only a guess in his mind. But he knew that there was at least some kernal of truth to it; when he'd been a boy, he had never been able to peice all the subtle clues together, now though, after so long without her... after so long since she left on that final errand, could he see clearly what had to have been going on. Of course she'd feel some vendetta...

 

"How many?" Solomon asked, finally seeming to return to the conversation they were having, "Rough estimate, ballpark number, shot in the dark, I don't care, I know it's almost impossible to know for certain... but how many of these types of operations are going on across Tempest? Someone's gotta be doing something about them; hunting them down, trying to get the kids out... and I doubt it would be like you or any of the other Gods to just sit idly by and let that shit continue in your domains."

[Chevaleresse]

"Um. It was hard to see because my visor was, um, darkened. But after she went across the ring and I shot my Giga Flare at her, she, um, gave me a thumbs up." Hiroki shifted uncomfortably. "And at the start of the match, she said, um, something about not wanting to fight me. . ." She didn't want to share the full details of the conversation at the moment - especially since she barely knew Blink. Though apparently the woman had been rooting for her the whole time? 

[Bfroger6]

Mommo -> TO DA DIVINER'S!!!

 

The girl sighed and got up. If she could attain her goal, or if her goal had actually changed since the start of this tournament, she was at least going to make the rest of her path as comfortable as a woolen cloud coated with cotton candy. To make such an adjustment to her mech though, she needed to go to the Diviner's place.

 

And so she did so. However, what she didn't expect was to find lots of people there at the time. And also Strider.

 

"Hi." She poked the girl's shoulder, not paying much attention to the rest of the crew. She was gonna wait until they were done before placing her request. "You know...I need to thank you. I...couldn't defeat you. Because...you were so kind...you helped me realize...even before I could realize it myself...what my wish was...and what I was trying to accomplish with this tournament...so it's fine...I don't feel bad about losing." Now, it wasn't easy to read Mommo's emotions, especially since she kept a straight face through the whole monologue. However, her words sounded honest. At the end, she gave Morgan a slight semblance of a lazy smile before yawning and hugging her pillow under her chin.

 

She then pointed at the others and asked Morgan a question. "What're they doing..? I want to make changes to the Giant..."

[Shamitako]

Blink

 

"A thumbs up." Blink giggled, "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't be laughing. But based on what happened with her first opponent, I would have expected something kinkier." Blink could think of only one way to resolve this issue. "Alright, I've determined that her sole goal isn't to get in your pants, so it's possible she threw the match. Personally not a fan of people letting me win, but hey if the Planes don't get screwed up beyond repair you guys can have a rematch with lower stakes or something. 'Course she could just be fucking with you. Best solution: We'll go talk to her. You've convinced me to mostly trust her not to try to molest you as reimbursement for her giving you the match."

 

Tai

 

"Nothing is wrong." Temperance said, "The heat was very hot." She made no effort to move her hand and seemed very much like the statue Tai treated her as.

 

"This is who she is." Cardinal told Tai, "The thing in front of you has no soul, at least not a real one. I turned off her false one."

 

Lord

 

"About fifteen major organizations with a couple dozen smaller groups," Lord said, "in total I'd guess around five-thousand people." She picked up on Sully's change of mood and chose to ignore Morgan for the moment. "And of course we're making an effort against these groups. But finding them isn't easy, they're almost impossible to hunt down without already knowing where they are. We have to catch members outside the research facilities and follow them back. And even then, they often manage to move before we can launch a raid." Lord explained, "We've been working with an... independent group to try to increase how often we can go out, but with the Tenth God's looming threat, that's gone to the backburner."

 

The Diviner

 

Leonard spotted Mommo enter and understood that Morgan was being intentionally ignored, so he decided to see if he could assist them. He walked over and asked, "What do you girls need?"

[Sutoratosu]

"This group got a name? Someone in charge, anything?" Solomon pressed. Asmodeus couldn't help but be taken aback at how serious the Mechanic had become... but he had a feeling as to why "If I'm right, and Tesla really was doing what I think she was for all those years... they might just be the last ones who saw her. Or not. I don't care... either way, they could still give me more leads on what the hell happened to her than I've ever had."

 

 

[Komodojoe]

Morgan

 

Morgan nearly jumped when Mommo poked her shoulder. It wasn't hard to tell that she was startled, but she began to settle down almost immediately after she noticed who it was, but not enough to get more than a smile and wave before the Giant spoke.

 

On 6/26/2017 at 6:53 PM, Bfroger6 said:

"You know...I need to thank you. I...couldn't defeat you. Because...you were so kind...you helped me realize...even before I could realize it myself...what my wish was...and what I was trying to accomplish with this tournament...so it's fine...I don't feel bad about losing."

 

Morgan took a sigh of relief. It was at this moment that it felt as if a heavy weight has just been lifted off her shoulders. She had expected some sort of resentment... or anger... or something negative. She was wrong, and she's glad she's wrong. She probably couldn't be happier to hear it. That part after, though. With the faint smile and the yawn? She actually had to keep herself from laughing at that. It reminded her too much of one of her sisters. Seriously, if that pillow was a cat, she probably wouldn't have stood a chance and burst out laughing. She tried to respond, but it took a lot of willpower to contain herself. At least she managed to cover it well enough to look like she was just smiling. Then the subject shifted as Mommo asked what the others were doing, but before she could respond to that (Oh good lord, what am I doing?), the Diviner cut in.

 

On 6/27/2017 at 9:35 AM, KosherKitten said:

"What do you girls need?"

 

"Oh, um..." Morgan started. It was a bit sudden, but she was expecting that would happen sooner or later. She pulled out her glasses. "... So first, do you think you could-" She cut herself off when she noticed a light coming from them. She swapped glasses for a third time to figure out that her main pair were working again. She scanned through a few things to make sure everything was functioning properly. As far as she knew, there were no problems. "Huh... Guess they were just rebooting." The girl laughed awkwardly. "Guess that's one less thing, then." A few seconds passed before she cleared her throat, or at least made it sound like she did. "Okay, then. So I-uh..." Morgan shook her head. "... Sorry. We would like to make changes to our mechs... Please?"

Edited July 2, 2017 by Komodojoe

[Bfroger6]

Mommo

 

"I like you...you don't talk much." Mommo closed her eyes and yawned. Morgan was quite a nice person. She could get used to her, especially if she would later agree to scratch her behind the ear. Sure her pillow was a bear, but she was rather catty. She focused on the Diviner who thankfully approached them.

 

"Good...I was afraid you were busy with them..." She pointed back at the others. "...I want to alter my Giant...he's not what he should be yet..."

[Shamitako]

Lord

 

"I can't exactly talk about that group," Lord said, "Their leader would probably be annoyed that I brought her up at all." Lord closed her eyes momentarily, entering a state of deep thought. She considered as many options she could think of. It was clear what Solomon was thinking, and Lord wanted to give him what he wanted. But he was too involved elsewhere right now, it would have to wait. "We'll discuss that more after the world is a little less at risk." She stated with finality, "For now there's something else that's needed from you. There's a man who goes by the alias Arcturus, he's got a funny habit of deleting people's memories of meeting him. I was discussing this with Mr. Davidson, and he suggested that the AI you've got stuffed in your brain might be able to remember him for you. In short, I was hoping you'd help us find him. He'd be a great asset in defeating the Tenth God without risking any of the Planes."

[Sutoratosu]

"Look, I know you, and I know what you're about to say, but I think this is the most we're going to get out of her for the time being" ah Asmodius, once more acting as the voice of reason in their trio. Solomon didn't even have the chance to open his mouth before the AI intervened, "you came here for more than just personal reasons, remember? and besides, this has obviously turned into a bit of quid pro quo; if you want to get that lead on your sister, we're going to have to comply here..."

 

The mechanic ground his teeth, but otherwise deferred to the AI's assessment

    "Fine," he said, not bothering to hide his reluctance "Who is he then, and how the hell does he manage to steal memories right out of peoples heads? I'm gonna need more than just an alias and a trait here. And just how is he gonna help take down the tenth god, what are you guys gonna send him in for some sort of espionage? Have him befriend them, get their secrets, then walk away without anyone the wiser? He might be able to wipe memories all he likes, but it obviously didn't stop you guys from getting wind of him. How do you know the Tenth hasn't too?"

[Chevaleresse]

"That's, um, probably a good idea." Her brow furrowed somewhat as she spoke. "Um, what do you mean, molest me? Kagari is a, um, a little weird" - she thought back to the woman whipping out her breast in public for Black Idol to sign, a memory that called a faint blush that still managed to stand out against her relatively pale complexion "- but molestation?" Though even that wouldn't even be all that strange from a certain point of view, given that one of them had undressed and crawled in bed with the other. It was an entirely different context, of course, but that vague thought allowed Hiroki's blush to live on.

[IntSys]

Tai

 

False one? Tai was particularly startled. Was that what I was fighting?

 

His eyes rolled back to the girl - no, it was at best a simulation of one, at its current state. He began to step back, nearing the exit. The distressful air quickly turned into one of horror. It was as if he was face-to-face with some sort of an eldritch horror, some sick magician's work.

 

I, uh, I don't think we should leave her like this. She's definitely not supposed to be like this. To the rest of us, at least.

 

For a moment, the thought of ending the wretched thing's life flashed by, and perhaps, that would've been the best thing he could do. What would be the point of letting it keep its façade?

[Code: PIRULUK]

Kagari awoke in her room, aching all over.

 

Ah... that's right. I lost.

 

She bit her lip, but somehow she couldn't get angry.

 

At least Hiroki gets another win. That should boost her score some.

 

She turned on her side, unwilling to leave her bed. She pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her coveted collection of photos, but somehow... she wasn't in the mood. She couldn't get excited, even when staring at these pictures of cute lolis. She sighed.

 

...She probably thinks I was lying to her. She probably hates me now.

 

She had attempted to give the diminutive girl a sign to indicate that she had intended to throw the match, but in that brief instant before the attack hit, there was no way she could have seen it...

 

...It hurts.

 

Kagari turned on her belly and buried her face in her pillow. Rivulets of water began to run along its surface as a string of choked, muffled sobs echoed in her empty room.

[Shamitako]

Cardinal

 

"She'll be fine once you leave." Cardinal said, "I'm projecting my power through you, if you're not here she'll turn back on."

 

Lord

 

"Memory erasure isn't his only talent." Lord explained, "Nor has he always used that talent, it's more recent that he's been trying to hide his existence. I'll make the arrangements for you to meet him during tomorrow's audience. Queen's flexible, he won't mind that you don't show up." Lord then moved past Solomon, heading directly for the teleporter. It was clear that their conversation was over. "Do be careful around Adam." She shot over her shoulder just before she left the room. It wasn't entirely clear whether this was a warning or a threat.

[Sutoratosu]

And it was over. Just like that. He didn't bother acknowledging the bit about the kid; he wasn't gonna make any promises- if the bugger kept doing stupid and desperate shit in the arena like that, the only one who was responsible for whatever happens is himself.

     This Arcturus though... so just what the hell was this guy anyway, if he apparently was able to just pull the power to wipe memories out of his ass and already had others at his disposle? A fucking wizard? What, was his actual first name Harry, last name Potter? Come on now, like he was gonna believe that fairytale stuff- well wait... shit... there was the stuff that Tesla had told him about that "Watcher" creeper from when she had been a kid. Hell, maybe all this wasn't so far fetched after all...if the dude was anything like the man she had described back then though...

    "You got this covered, right?"

    "Naturally. Not like you'll be able to do much more besides just stand there and talk to the guy for however long he allows before erasing the encounter."

    "Well, I guess that just leaves one more thing then..." with that said, he turned back to the Diviner and the two girls, seeing them already busy discussing the changes they wanted to make to their mechs. Whatever, he could wait. Hell, it just gave him more time to reveal the tweaks and edits that were needed before he committed to the final product.

[IntSys]

Tai

 

Tai sighed and entered the exit. He made his way to the food car, grabbed some hefty, juicy drumsticks, and sat down on an empty seat by the window. Gnawing the drumsticks really reduced the unease for him.

 

Now 'that' is out of the way, I have another question. Who are you, really? You were able to project power through me, creating barriers and doing whatever that was to Temperance. Last time I checked, that wasn't something that a normal human could do.

[Shamitako]

Blink

 

"Well, uh, it wouldn't be the first time..." Blink mumbled sheepishly, "A-anyways, you go on ahead, give her the heads up that I'll be along as well. Hopefully I won't be needed and I can leave right away, but better safe than sorry or whatever." Blink didn't consider herself a cautious person, in fact she was pretty reckless sometimes, but she really was concerned for Hiroki's safety. Blink just couldn't bring herself to trust someone as shameless as HUNTER. The hint of a thought crept into her mind as to why, but she pushed it away. Whatever it was, it caused her face to heat up and start glowing pink.

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki nodded, and started to walk out the door. She stopped about three steps into this, glancing back at the pile on the floor in which the various parts of her disguise had been haphazardly tossed. Looking thoroughly uncomfortable, she skittered over to it and donned it as quickly as she could manage. With that done and another look at Blink without saying anything, she moved onward toward the teleporter that would lead to Kagari's room; it was probably a good thing that these trains didn't have hallways for Hiroki to walk through at her slow and rather ungainly pace in the disguise.

[Shamitako]

On 7/10/2017 at 7:08 AM, IntSys said:

Tai

 

Tai sighed and entered the exit. He made his way to the food car, grabbed some hefty, juicy drumsticks, and sat down on an empty seat by the window. Gnawing the drumsticks really reduced the unease for him.

 

Now 'that' is out of the way, I have another question. Who are you, really? You were able to project power through me, creating barriers and doing whatever that was to Temperance. Last time I checked, that wasn't something that a normal human could do.

Cardinal

 

"But I-I am a normal human." Cardinal said, her typical meek manner seeming to have returned. She even sounded a little hurt. "I'm just using... er, I'm just, um, kind of looking through you. I-It's hard to explain." Cardinal was hiding something of course, she didn't seem to be a very good liar. "I've g-got something to do... I need to go." she said. Tai didn't actually have any way to know if she was really gone, but she seemed pretty quiet.

[IntSys]

Tai

 

Something? Why are you so vague all the sudden-

 

...

 

Fine.

 

Tai went on to finish his drumsticks. Needless to say, he wouldn't buy all the vague answers. Right, there's more ahead of me. I shouldn't be concerned over this. 

 

He went to the juice bar and got himself a glass of lemonade, trying to pump himself back to 100%.

[Code: PIRULUK]

Kagari heard the ding that indicated there was someone standing at her door. Groaning, she turned her head aside and called out,

 

"Come in..."

 

Then buried her face back in her pillow and continued wallowing in despair.

[Shamitako]

The Diviner (OOC: So I was gonna make this scene a bit longer, but, uh, we're done tomorrow and I didn't wanna force you guys to make some bleh posts to get on out by tomorrow, thus I'm masking a sort of bleh post where I just tell you what happened)

 

The Diviner assisted each of those who wished to modify their mechs in performing the changes. They were all well experienced with the process, so he didn't need to do much, just point them to the computer where they could apply the blueprints and help them with the Favor extraction. all the while though, he seemed distracted. He finished quickly and altogether rather quietly, although he did respond when spoken to and was polite throughout. Once everyone's modifications were complete, he quickly ushered them back through the teleporter to their own rooms. Once they were gone, he powered down the device, preventing anyone else from visiting him.

 

After ensuring he was safe from interruptions, he grabbed a device from atop a pile of computer wires and parts where it had been blending in. The device was a much more modern version of the one he had lent to Tai, which had been little more than an old prototype. He now knew how to access the soul much more efficiently, the fact that the older device had caused such a sharp pain proved how dated it was. Leonard placed the new device, a shiny metal triangle with red light emanating from circular gaps on the front near the points. On the back of the device was a thin needle around three centimeters in length, it was similar to the one used with the Divination System, although being slightly smaller and not being hooked up to any machinery made it a good bit less intimidating. Leonard held the needle's point against his chest for a moment, making sure it was aligned properly. The red glow turned blue when the device detected it was in the proper position and he pushed down on it, inserting it into his chest. The device began to emit a whirring sound and hot air blew out from the ventilation gaps, it quieted down again after a few seconds, shifting to its final color of white. With the Soul Reader fully synced, Leonard picked up a small video screen. The screen was linked to the Reader, he'd chosen a screen for this model so that it would be easier to use, the downside of this being that whatever was detected couldn't move about the room of its own accord. So far this was more of a downside than an upside, but Leonard had some ideas to improve the technology that would change that in the future. For now its sole user would have to suffer a little. He turned the screen on and it displayed an empty white room which was shortly populated by a young woman in a maid outfit. "Mr. Davidson." the girl said happily, "D-does this mean you b-believe me?"

"I'm considering the possibility that you're right, nothing more." Leonard replied.

"Well, th-thank you anyways."
"Even if you are telling the truth, you're still wrong."

"That's wh-what everyone keeps t-telling me. I'm considering the possibility that they're right."
"They are." Leonard said firmly, "There's absolutely no way what you're doing won't cause a catastrophic imbalance. If you'd just slow down maybe we could work something out."

"No!" Cardinal shrieked, "I've tried working things out, I've tried and tried and nobody wanted to listen. So I did things my way, and now that I finally have a way to fix things everybody suddenly wants to stop and 'work something out'."

Leonard was taken aback by the girl's sudden harshness. "W-well..." He said, trying to think of a response.

"Oh gosh, I-I'm sorry Mr. Davidson." She said, calming down quickly, "I didn't m-mean to shout. But I really have tried. I'm doing this and n-nobody can stop me. Not even the Devil."

"It's not like he'd try in the first place. You know enough about him to know that he only serves his own interests." Leonard said, "But you know, he's not the only one who can try. And even if nothing manages to stop you, I'm certain the winner of the tournament will find a way to match you."

"W-we'll see about t-that!" Cardinal said.

She disappeared, leaving Leonard alone. He set the screen aside and went to work with another device, if he could find a way to finish it in time then maybe there was still some hope left for everyone to escape this madness.

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki hesitantly walked in (and nearly tripped over her own shoes for her trouble), doffing her cloak after a furtive glance around the room. She slipped out of the accursed shoes a moment afterward, and then looked awkwardly at Kagari for a few moments before breaking her own silence. "Um. Hi."