[IC] TotMV:G^2: Touhou: Twilight of Paradise Butterfly

[Twinwolf]

Hikari blinked as something crashed into a lake. "Should... we be concerned by that? Are they ok?" she asked.

[Lucky Lulu]

"What, the fairy?  Don't worry about it."   The tengu shielded her eyes and peered out at the lake, where the gray object had plopped not moments before.  Then she shrugged and settled herself down next to the second of the presumably evil objects.  "They die all the time.  And whatever crashed just now is probably alive, maybe.  More importantly, I've somehow solved the second part of the investigation! So we can move on once we deal with the evidence."

Edited July 28, 2019 by Lucky Lulu

[kj1225]

Rory looks the opposite of relieved at the explanation. "That's terrible though! Shouldn't we at least tell it's parents or something?"

[Powder Miner]

"I doubt what we fought were kids," LOTUS mentioned, "because I appear to have become a fairy as well -- despite my small appearance, I maintain an adult mental state and largely appear to be mature. It is entirely possible that my particular circumstances are in some way manipulating that, mind, but I would wager that we were not in fact simply attacked by a large amount of children. We have also been told that the danmaku we've been operating with are intended not to be lethal, so I also wager that if we did kill them, something will be the case that mitigates that."

 

"If nobody else is going to check, I'm going to." Isobel frowned at something being launched into a lake -- and upon seeing nobody else evidently willing to do much about it, she peered into the water to see if it was a person that had fallen into the lake. If it was, then she jumped into the water and began swimming (causing LOTUS to shriek terrifiedly and cling to her back) to try to help out whoever had ended up in the lake.

[kj1225]

Rory nods before gesturing in a way that says "You have a point" before speaking himself. "That's true, of course, it could also be that your a species that imitates the children of a different species specifically to prey on them.  After all, it'd help with both avoiding being attacked, and if it didn't work the thing attacking would either have a harder time catching smaller prey or would not expect an adult's power from them."

[ElfCollaborator]

Empi lifts an eyebrow at Rory. Empi was going to move to check what was going in the lake, but given that Isobel had already made to do so, she refrains for the moment. If Isobel ended up getting screwed up by something, Empi wasn't exactly equipped for lifeguard duty.
"If this place actually had standards about not blasting kids with magic bullets, I'd be surprised, considering what our local gumshoe thinks is an acceptable way to go ask someone out. Also....what the helld o you mean 'die' all the time?"

[Chevaleresse]

Isobel's look quickly turned into a foray into the water to recover the errant projectile, which turned out to be a woman in a maid's uniform. She had silver hair, and clinked faintly when she was finally returned to shore, probably because of the sheer number of knives she had on her person. "That's right! I don't know what's gotten into you, but don't ever come back here again if that's how you're going to act towards Lady Remilia all of a sudden! And you, I don't know how you got in here, but you're leaving, now." A woman with a long red braid and a green outfit somehow straddling the line between traditional feminine and military dress had exited the mansion the normal way, walking towards the gates with a brisk stride. Being dragged behind her was a very confused-looking girl that had been stuffed into another maid uniform, this one fitted much more poorly and - somehow - stretched overtop of her original outfit. 

 

"That's weird. I thought the maid was supposed to be the tough one, and it was the guard's job to keep things looking pretty." Chen leaned towards the maid curiously. The woman seemed to be regaining consciousness - or hadn't been knocked out at all, it was hard to tell - as she coughed, and began to sit up. The gates creaked as one side opened up, and the other maid(?) was firmly placed outside them. The guard slipped out after her, pushing the gates back shut and moving towards one side. 

 

"I don't know why you guys are out here, but Remilia isn't really accepting visitors right now. Plus, some of you are human, and the Scarlet Devil Mansion isn't exactly the best place for most humans. Especially ones that go crazy and try to 'hunt' the lady of the mansion." She gave a pointed look to the silver-haired woman. "So you should probably clear out." She frowned for a moment. "Wait, are you Outsiders?"

[kj1225]

Rory, shelving the child murder thing for later, turns to the redhead's entrance. After a moment to process the question presented, the faunus nodded. "Yeah, Ms. Yukari has us looking into incidents like this. As a matter of fact, it sounds like you have almost the same problem as the last one. Let's see, she suddenly got really hostile for no apparent? Was carrying around the rocky thing over there?" Rory pointed over to where the people from before were purifying the stone.

[AzyWng]

The maid(?) slowly got to her(?) feet, brushing dust off of the uniform that had been stretched over her white armor, turning to the woman in the green outfit. Her face was hidden beneath a simple mask - a sheet of metal the same color as her armor, covering almost all of her face save the mouth.

 

"I don't understand. I thought I was supposed to be here as part of my mission. You are not one of the people I am to work with?"

 

She then turned to the rest of the group.

 

"Are any of you familiar with this area? Perhaps the team I am looking for is somewhere else?"

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Walmond

 

Not long after Rory gestured to her, Walmond had finished the seal, quickly tucking the artifact under her cloak as she stood back up, "Rory is correct. That being said, without the artifact that woman-" Walmond gestured to the sliver haired girl that Isobel was carrying back... And the same one that Lambda was floating over towards now to help the two out, or at least see if they did need help getting back to the shore, "-should, hypothetically, return to her senses, if her hostility was abnormal" she explained, now turning to the girl(?) in the other maid outfit, "As for you... If you're not native to this world, then I would assume that we're the ones you are meant to cooperate with. If you are willing to share the details, what are the specifics of your mission?"

[kj1225]

Rory likewise had turned to the one asking about people they're supposed to work with, though upon setting eyes on them, she did a double take. When Walmond suggested that they were who the maid thingy were supposed to be working with, the faunus' eyes widened, and she shook her head quickly, hoping to get them to drop the topic.

[AzyWng]

"The instructions I was given were simple - find and eliminate creatures referred to as 'Trespassers'. I was informed that these beasts were a threat to all life in existence, and, by extension, Kaida Corporation. Is killing these creatures your mission as well?"

 

Upon seeing Rory shake her head, the armored maid(?) tilted her head. "Your colleague over there seems to disagree..."

Edited August 6, 2019 by AzyWng

[kj1225]

Rory looked back to the robotic thingy and pretended to look surprised at the mention of themself. "Hm? Oh, no no just... do you mind if we talk privately for a minute?" Rory points to Walmond to clarify.

[AzyWng]

"Not at all. If it helps, I will identify myself." The armored maid(?) took the time to remove its maid outfit, before continuing.

 

"I am Kaida Corporation Prototype Training Series Model 00-27C, Serial Number F7DXOQ29604509X, also known as 'Instructor Prototype'. Manufactured September 18th, 1927. Placed into storage February 8th, 1943. Reactivated March 15th, 1985. I still have access to my weapon database, which includes knowledge of how to effectively maintain and use weapons on both an individual and a squad level. I also still have access to my 'Aim Assist' protocol and am currently equipped with a number of items that I believe can be helpful to our mission. Assuming, that is, that you are indeed the people I will work with."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Walmond

 

"Well then, it would seem our mission is the very same-" the scientist began, only to pause once she saw Rory point at her, "Hm? Oh, fine. Give me a moment, 'Instructor Prototype'" Walmond responded after a second of surprise, stepping away from the group until she was, presumably, out of hearing distance. Once she was far enough away, she turned back to Rory, "What's the problem?"

[kj1225]

Rory leans in conspiratorially to speak to Walmond, whispering as they speak, mainly in case the robot has super hearing or some shit like that. "Okay, look buddy, I have no idea how things are on your world, but where I'm from, if you see something like that," The faunus jerks a thumb back to point at the instructor. "They're either an evil robot, or worse, they're a faceless mook that got made by the lowest bidder and is about to impose martial law. Either way, not good shit. I mean just look at it, if it was made by someone that cared about morality they'd have given them actual features to humanize them, maybe some color to make them unique. You know what I'm saying?"

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Walmond

 

For several seconds, Walmond just looked back at Rory, before shaking her head, "I've encountered some other engineers that make robots to fulfill the bare minimum, but remember that like us, this 'Instructor' comes from another world that operates differently to both mine and yours. What may correlate to a bad trait in your world may operate differently for another's. In addition, it may simply be a design flaw that hasn't been ironed out yet due to lack of field experience. Even I'm still having to perfect Lambda, and I've made her several years ago, with several more years of experience on me" she explained, waving her hand as she did so, even if it could only barely be seen thanks to the relative size of her cloak, "I'm not even sure why you thought it necessary to pull me aside, of all people. I'm hardly the person to make concrete decisions on whether or not to accept assistance from another."

[kj1225]

Rory shrugged at Walmond's last statement. "You seem more responsible than me and Masako, and axe chick probably would just go along with you if you said no..." Rory half glares back at Instructor before sighing. "Fine, if you're sure nothing bad will come of this then we can take it with us. But I'm going to my eye on it." With that said, Rory walks back over to the rest, though she stands slightly farther away from the robot than before.

[AzyWng]

Instructor frowned at Rory’s glare. When she and Walmond returned to the group, the gynoid asked,

 

“So, am I permitted to join the group or not? I can assure you that I will follow your commands, administer medical attention in the event of an injury, and eliminate any threats to the mission. Even if I cannot provide anything else of value to the team, my armored body is capable of intercepting multiple rifle rounds before it ceases to function.”

 

The gynoid leaned forwards a bit in a slight bow.

 

“I was informed that it would be impossible for me to eliminate these ‘Trespassers’ on my own. Please. If our missions are the same, let me work with you.”

Edited August 9, 2019 by AzyWng

[ElfCollaborator]

Empi looks over at the robot girl, examining them with curiosity and a little bit of suspicion. After all, even the damn flora here was dangerous, and Empi was already a little bit on the twitchy side.
"So you're basically a Terminator with a medkit. Boy, are YOU in for a ride in this circus. Sure, why not, come along. One extra body between me and the bastard kids of Cthulhu and some emo kid's idea of fun sounds better than nothing. However, we gotta check; one, are you from around here, and two, how the hell are we meant to trust you're on the side of the angels and not, say, an actual Terminator sent to shiv us when we're not looking??"

[AzyWng]

"I am not from around here, I'm afraid, and I do not have any maps of this area in my database."

 

Instructor's frown deepened at the second question.

 

"As for the issue of trust... If my word cannot convince you that I am well and truly on your side, I'm afraid I do not know how I would gain it, short of giving you my weapons for the time being."

[kj1225]

Rory sighed, feeling a little bad about apparently sparking this small wave of distrust before raising his hand. "Just keep her next to me. She won't be able to get me in a rush because of my aura, and my Wyrmstake will go through that armor like butter if she tries anything."

[AzyWng]

“If that is what is required to earn your trust and a place on this team, so be it. If I need to disarm, I am willing to comply.”

 

Still holding the removed maid outfit, the gynoid walked over to Rory, walking until she was about a meter away from her. Though Instructor seemed somewhat relieved, her frown remained.

 

“So, what do we currently need to do? Is one of our objectives nearby?”

Edited August 9, 2019 by AzyWng

[kj1225]

Rory shrugs at the questions. "Well, apparently the one that just kicked you out took care of our objective here. Those guys already took care of purifying the thing... So yeah, I guess we need to wait to find for news on where the next target is? And... hey guard lady, do you need the outfit back?" Rory turns to address the woman in green, gesturing to the held maid uniform.

[Chevaleresse]

"What? No, I have no idea where that came from." She glanced at the bedraggled maid currently a bit behind the bulk of the group. "The fairy maids probably stole it from her wardrobe. Keep it, because after this little incident I doubt she'll need it." The glance became a glare, if that glare's mother had been a pout. The maid being addressed coughed up a mouthful of water. Her eyes were slightly red - as in, literally red - but almost as soon as the effect had been noticed, it was already gone, replaced by a clear blue tone that must have been her normal eye color. 

 

"Meiling. . ." The maid finally spoke up once again, though she was interrupted by another cough. Her voice still managed to sound cool and refined despite that. "You know this mansion would fall apart without me. Unless you want to deal with Flandre by yourself from now on." The guard - Meiling, apparently - looked fairly alarmed by that idea, but quickly smoothed her face over into something she probably thought looked stern again.

 

"Patchouli can keep her contained. She's done it before, she can do it again." Her tone wasn't particularly convincing. "And if all else fails, we can just call the miko. She entertained her once before."

 

"And what about the mess that she'll leave before Reimu gets here?" 

 

Meiling flinched, then sighed. "Look, it's not up to me. Do you really think Remilia is just going to let you back in? Weird artifact or no, you tried to stake her. It's my job to protect her, even if it's from you, Sakuya."

 

The maid sighed, and looked at the group with a defeated expression.