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Fandom Limbus Company/ Library of Ruina Setting (Wallflower Office) In-Character

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Bleeding Heart (Alba)
Status: Irritated & out of breath

Alba looked on expectant, as the girl seemed to enthusiastically take her up on her offer. She also offered anything in compensation. Which would be nice, but it meant little to Alba. She doubted this girl could offer anything. It would likely be her mother who could provide something of use. But even that, as Alba had previously ruminated over, was unlikely. Though their job was finished for the night, so what other need would the boss have for her? Her attention was pulled away by Calendula. She must have noticed Alba’s earlier gaze, picking her out as the most suitable one to accompany her.

She followed the other to the side with an arched eyebrow. If she refused, Alba would have to take one of the others with her. Something she didn’t want to do, but would resort to if necessary. Calendula made some good points, but Alba was mainly doing this for herself. So she was unsure if the other would listen to her reasoning. But she would still offer it up nonetheless.

“Take a look at the girl again. She doesn’t exactly strike me as the kind used to the streets. She’s begging, not taking. She doesn’t know how to fight, hell, she was scared seeing the knife plunge into Daisy. Meaning she’s likely from some family that, until recently, lived well. Taking a look at her mother probably won’t result in money, given the state she’s in.”

Alba gestured towards the kid once more with a slimy hand from her hat.

“It’s unlikely, but they could have some information I could find interesting. I’m not doing this for the kid or her mother. It’s just so I don’t have to sit in a dirty, grimy room for any longer than I have to.”

Alba explained her reasoning to Calendula. Really, she hoped this mother the girl spoke of may have worked for L-Corp, another office, or even a syndicate. Some place she could get information, or a contact for. After all, business was all about how many people you knew. Unfortunately, the fall of L-Corp meant Alba lost most of hers and had to start from scratch once more.

“Whatever punishment the boss has in mind might make you weary, but it doesn’t faze me. I’ve put myself through some of the worst pain imaginable for science. Both mental and physical. If anything, I see it as a way to take notes on what she’s capable of, both as an observer and a victim.”

The witch’s slimy hand threw a thumb over her shoulder, pointing at Hydrangea. Alba, if anything, looked a little excited as she spoke about it. Something anyone else would do anything to avoid, she seemed to almost anticipate. Worse came to worse, she would ride out the night and come back in the morning, pen and paper in hand, ready to take notes on whatever punishment Hydrangea had in store. It was at that time Hydrangea spoke up, and Alba said nothing but had her EGO give a thumbs up as she continued talking to Calendula.

“But if you don’t want to take that risk, don’t. The choice is your prerogative. Not mine. I’ll just have so-”

Alba turned as the commotion commenced behind her. She would see Lupine heading off with the girl. Fast too.

“Looks like it’s decided. Come, or don’t. I don’t really care.”

Alba said, before following Lupine. She caught Hydrangea’s gaze, and silently promised to watch out for her with nothing but her eyes. Alba had someone to go with now, so she didn’t care if Calendula came along. While she would have rather had her come along instead of Lupine, it was now going to be a headache either way. More people also meant more possible problems. So, she hurried along, trailing behind Lupine no matter who followed or not.

Mothman Mothman Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf
 
It was... Almost odd. She'd spoken when necessary to Alba since the recent recruitment with Wallflower, but it wasn't like they'd talked on anything of import, and Alba wasn't exactly one to shoot the breeze. It was, in a lot of ways, easy to forget that some of their members were capable of conversation that made some sense. Alba knew how to put her thoughts and feelings on the table, even if she could be blunt about it, which was well... Certainly more than some of their peers.

The Doctor gives her two cents on the girl and her status, and sure, she can see the sentiment there. Sure, she doesn't know just what kind of information counts as 'interesting' to Alba, and why she thinks some little gir's sickly mother might have what she desires, but Alba seems much better at reading people and situations than she is. Cal's much more of a follower than a leader, and knows better than to question things too harshly. Even so, she seems hesitant after Alba's explanation, clicking her lips with a 'tsk' before looking back towards the girl for a split second.

It's while she stares at the girl that Alba cites the great pains she's taken for her advancements and scientific research. Cal chuckles at that, and turns back to the Doctor with a smirk. Foggy irises try and creep through the fog to get a real grip on Alba's visage and body language, but she feels like she couldn't see her hand in the moment if she raised it in front of her face. In moments of indecisiveness, uncertainty, and most assuredly fear, the fog suffocates her like the densest blizzard or harshest sandstorm. She's looking towards Alba, sure, but certainly not seeing her.

"...Can't say I don't respect it, Doctor." There's a deep breath in an attempt to focus on her sight, and she lets it out with a heavy huff. "S'hard to say no, when you lay it out like that. Been through plenty worse than what Hydrangea could probably hit me with." There's a little twich in her arm as she thinks about that, but it could just as easily be chalked up to nerves. "Don't tell her I said that." Just as she seems ready to begrudgingly sign on with Alba, their supervisor chirps in and seems to sign off of the idea as a whole. Cal's eyes follow the sound of the voice, and it doesn't take someone overly perceptive to tell there's some genuine surprise in her reaction.

But before she can so much as reply to their boss, everythings moving in quick motion. Lupine's scooped the kid up in her arms and is breaking out into a run to make it where they're going quick, Alba's given a wordless nod to Hydrangea and said her peace, following after with a... Lesser sense of urgency than Lupine has, that's for certain. Cal blinks twice as the others start to make their hike, looks to Hydrangea, then back to her sauntering companions. A hand comes up to the bridge of her nose, and she starts trudging after them, waving to Hydrangea as she does. "Chrissake... I'll keep 'em out of trouble, Boss! We'll be back, ASAP!" She shouts out to make sure Hydrangea hears her, and catches up to Alba before they can get too far that she can't hear them. Now that the situation is solved, and there's a clearer directive at hand, the fog's cleared enough she can make out the monochrome parade leader.

She gently prods the witch with her elbow as she catches up, her gaze on Lupine and the kid perched on her shoulders. "Misjudged her, maybe. Thought we'd be getting raked over the coals for even humoring the idea. It's nice to be wrong, sometimes." There's a brisk pace to keep up with Lupine, but they're not full-on sprinting like the piggyback pair is, as Lupine seems more occupied with keeping the girl entertained than actually beelining it for their destination. Still, she's getting along fine with the kid, and so long as the directions keep coming, that's good enough for her. She raises an arm and twists her wrist, giving a small nod. "Arms are healing fine enough that I can lay some Rats out to dry, if we gotta." She'll still need some maintenance on the mechanicals, when she finally has soem downtime to do so, but so long as she's not catching cars again, it should be fine.

It does, however, leave some open air with Alba. She knows better to start prodding with stupid questions about her research, especially since a lot of the possible answers would probably go clear over her head. Sure, she's got a reputable knowledge on E.G.O., but that's mostly regarding manufactured E.G.O. and inherited E.G.O., like Murphy's Law. Alba, if she had to wager a guess, has a grip on a much broader spectrum of information than she does. Alba certainly doesn't seem like a lady fond of small talk, either, and when they're on such a time limit, it feels like there's better things to worry about than chatter. If Alba wants something or to know something, she's sure she'll bring it up.

November Witch November Witch Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf Juju Juju
 
Wisteria would spare a momentary glance at the group's steadily growing failure to take care of even one little girl while she allowed both Hydrangea and Zi Hua to look through her past works. Such a show however wouldn't be enough to distract her from the latter's negative remarks towards her work which would be met with a not so subtle death glare were he to have looked towards her direction. The former's positive review on her work on the other hand would garner a much more positive reaction out of the artist as her previous weariness washed away and replaced with pure satisfaction at seeing someone show some recognition of what true art looks like.

"It's good to see that at least someone can recognise what a true piece of art looks like unlike all those mass produced knockoffs that could only wish that they could find a way to stand out while desperately clinging onto a bunch of basic principles. Even better that you haven't damaged my sketchbook in any way while you looked through it. Now if only some people could be that careful while dealing with such delicate situations but I guess that would be asking too much from some people."

Frankly she failed to see how the group suddenly went from consoling a child they had no business in dealing with in the first place to being held at knifepoint by the same child they were trying to help. She didn't know whether to laugh at such a failure or groan in annoyance that the highly anticipated shower she was waiting to take was probably going to be postponed for even longer than she had anticipated as the scene before her grew somewhat tense. That was until Alba stepped in to seemingly act as the voice of reason only for her to go off and suggest that they should try finding the girl's mother during the middle of the night. Sweepers were hardly a thing that Wisteria wanted to deal with and it wasn't just because she found their reactions to pain and harm boring at best but rather the numbers they usually boasted were more than enough to steer her away from fighting them if she didn't need to. Sure the despair-filled faces of their victims before they're mercilessly ripped apart by their iconic hooks were an awe inspiring sight to witness, that didn't mean that she wanted to find herself on the receiving end of their brutal culling of the backstreets as long as she could help it but apparently she seemed to be the one of the only people here that thought that way.

"You seriously don't expect all of us to go venture forth into what's quickly looking to be a suicide mission over something that's hardly worth dying for. As amusing as it'd be to watch their final, fruitless struggles against a horde of savage sweepers, I still need to be alive in order to put all of my ideas to paper so you can certainly count me out of their hopeless expedition."

As she voiced her reluctance to help out the group to Hydrangea, Wisteria barely managed to notice Lupine making a mad dash soon after Hydrangea gave them all the go ahead to escort the child home at speeds she didn't know the monochrome girl was even capable of before swooping up the child into her arms and most importantly away from the motel. Both Alba and Calendula didn't take long to make their decision and run after both Lupine and the girl before they disappeared to who knows where into the night which left to eyeing up the rest of the group to see if anyone else was willing to lose their lives to their antics. Daisy especially seeing as she was pretty much the one that caused things to escalate so much in the first place and frankly she'd be perfectly fine with the wannabee popstar dying a brutal death since doing so by her own hands was currently off the table.
 
TG6nWxU.png
Unfortunately for Wisteria, however, Daisy was happy to wave the trio (quartet if the child was included) farewell, wishing them the speed of god and the fortune of the devil. For someone who basically instigated a situation so drastically terrible to begin with, she certainly didn't look as if she was willing to take any responsibility for it at all as she spun on her heel and crossed the gates and the sensors to join the others.

"Well," she said with a cheeky wink, "Bets on which ones'll need to be bailed out during the Sweeping Hour?"

She was undoubtedly without guilt. Indeed, Daisy would sleep fine tonight.
 

Location: Little Star Motel - Lobby
mentions: dreadnought dreadnought ERode ERode seasonedcat seasonedcat ...

The supervisor spoke with a slight shrug as she continued forward, "They made their choice. Let's hope they don't regret it."

When Daisy spoke, the old man chuckled aloud. "Heh. I know better than to bet against willy folks like you."
Snowdrop tilted their head, causing half of the shawl to obscure their mask. "Why bet? I would be surprised if we even find anything but red bile."
Zi Hua followed up with a surprisingly enthusiastic growl, "Well, that counts you out." turning his entire body to face Daisy. "I assume you're putting money on this bet? Then my cards are on Lupine. That one is always wandering into odd situations. Always have to clean up her mess."

"Careful, Zi Hua." Hydrangea muttered, giving him a stern glare, "Don't you have your own fair share of messes we have to clean up as well? If you don't learn gratitude, maybe I'll send you out there in my place instead."
The supervisor looked at Daisy a moment, before turning back towards the motel lobby.

From a brief view, the interior of the Little Star was surprisingly clean, given the impoverished status outside. For a motel in the Backstreets, walking through the door without getting accosted on the get-go was a remarkable stroke of fortune.

"Not bad." smiled Arthur, "I've been to my fair share of rundown second-hand pitstops, an' this one might be the best..."

Beyond the bundle of wires and cables hooked to the machinery controlling the bulkhead doors, it was a stark difference. The cracked layer of cement swiftly gave way to marbled tiled flooring, accented by aged wooden finish. A spacious place that curved from side to side, lit by glittering hanging orbs dangling from rows of chandeliers high overhead. Though this was the least of the list of tacky ornaments. An eyesore of colors and stitching lay on the floor, reminiscent of fresh roadkill. The mish mashed of wool acted as a path towards the reception center. Occupied by a single young man dressed in a blue suede suit sat shuffling a few folders in and out of cabinets.

It was clear he wasn't very preoccupied with work. Of the few patrons where folks belonging to certain deadly occupations. Gruff looking and heavily modified with cybernetic devices. They might have been fixers, to be able to afford such armaments. But the way they glared at the Wallflowers suggested otherwise. They remained silent, their metal headsets buzzing in binary as the group walked by.

Hydrangea stood there a moment before the booth, while the receptionist continued to 'busy' himself. There didn't seem to be a bell, so she simply waited for him to finish. Surely, it wouldn't take too long. What was a few seconds dragged into a minute. Then several. Keen eyes might have noticed her brow furrow for a split second. Of all the things the employees knew of their supervisor, it was certainly not for being patient. Still, the supervisor pointedly maintained the polite grin.

Finally, she spoke up. "Ahem. Excuse me." still holding onto her waning courtesy, "You seemed busy, so you might have not noticed us."
The man barely glanced up, leaning back in his chair. "Hm?"
A corner of her lip twitched. "We're here to book a few rooms."
The man didn't stop shuffling the papers, shifting through the same stack of folders idly. The very same he had been sorting for the last few minutes. Pulling back a lock of black hair, he regarded them with a long sigh. "Look. She'll be here any moment now."
Her red eyes narrowed now. A sign of death. But let it be known, that she tried. It was only her curiosity that pulled her from snapping. "Ah. Who is 'she'?"
"Our boss. Called in, just now. Said she wanted to greet you all personally. Sounded pretty urgent. And 'round here, it's her way, or the highway." he said, then gestured to one of the lounge chairs, "Please, take a seat while you wait."

At the very same time, members of the security team were trickling to fill the lobby from various doorways. Their weapons fully brandished. Some were armed with various firearms. A particularly large figure held some contraption that resembled a modified belt-fed machine gun. The bulk doors made a hefty clunk, as the last batch filed in.
Zi Hua and Snowdrop immediately readied themselves, stepping between the mob of guards and the VIP. "Think that's gonna scare us? Fancy toys or not, you're all just small fry."
The sound of a clicking tongue, turned their attention back to the booth. The receptionist wagged his finger left and right, his face contorting into a sneer. Raising a hand, the man pointed up to the alcoves tucked into the ceiling. The light of the chandeliers glinted shiny barrels hidden above, which now flickered alive. Red dots painted like ominous polka dots over every inch of each of the Wallflowers.

"I would strongly recommend the chairs. They're quite comfy." he smiled, gesturing with a palm once more.

"Is that so. Well, we don't want to appear ungrateful for such hospitality..." Hydrangea gave the group around her a sharp glance before moving towards one of the cushioned seats. With a sigh, she plopped down, folding her legs. "Hmph. Not even genuine leather. Maybe they can learn a thing or two from that pizzeria..."

All they could do now was wait. What was the reason behind all of this?
What did the motelier want from them, so badly.

...

Location: Little Star Motel - Neighboring Shanty
mentions: Juju Juju Mothman Mothman November Witch November Witch ...

The child shrieked when they were suddenly swung into the air, trying to escape the clearly crazed monster that was Lupine. In many ways, Lupine's frenzied dash was comparable to the galloping of a feisty stallion finally let out of its pen. Soon enough, the terrorized screaming soon melding to one of joy, as they giggled.
"Mommy, we're on our way!" the girl gripped onto Lupine's long wavy hair as though it were a long man as they pushed their tiny body upright.
"Wow... Wow! Big Sis! I can see everything from up here!" they shouted, kicking their feet in excitement and joy.

A few seconds was all it took for Lupine to rush past all the rows of fencing back to the familiar blackened streets outside the enforced perimeter of the motel. There was no light in the sky by this point, with only the faint embers of abandoned bonfires left to provide any faint inch of visibility. Still, it appeared the kid knew their way. The child began to steer Lupine down the various pathways down the shanty town with light tugs on her hair, pretending they were riding atop a graceful steed.

With the splinter group trying their best to follow behind with a more brisk pace, Lupine left behind a trail of fading dust. If it weren't for the maniac laughter mixed with the exhilarated voice of the child echoing loudly, they might have lost their pale compatriot in all the complex turns, dips, and dives. Deeper they went into the bustling, hazy shadows that now enveloped the disheveled makeshift homes. The conditions only seemed to worsen.

So long as it was property belonged to an officially recognized resident of the City, it cannot be touched by a sweeper. Unable to meet this standard by many, it was more and more common to see the destitute residents of the shanty using whatever they could find in the ruins to reinforce their ramshackle shelters. Piles and piles of garbage, forming walls. As a way to hold back the horde for as long as they could. Canvas sheets held down by rusted nails to hide hidey holes, and even clever traps awaited those who dared enter. Several were even formed of various husks of vehicles shoved into place, the corporate branding on their sides scratched away from clear damage and poor weather. The Wallflowers would catch glimpses of mass congregations of hundreds of forms cramped into a single structure, squeezing in as many bodies as they could. The way their limbs curled up so desperately, it almost looked as though they were grouped in prayer. Groveling in fear at what will soon come.

In a wingless District ravaged by conflict, there was a sense of community in the shared suffering. But not all were so lucky. There were many corpses littered about, left behind. Dead from either an assault, or simply due to to the dire conditions present. Many stripped clean, and cut open to be harvested for what little they were worth.

Eventually, the child would tap Lupine's head, drumming their hands happily. "We're here!"

Bafflingly, they pointed to a metal sheet against a wall. But upon closer look, one could see a gap between. The tiny from quickly unmounted from Lupine's shoulders, jumping off and shoving the metal covering to the side. It wasn't much more than a hole in the wall.

The jagged opening looked like it had been dug out as opposed to having been caused by a stray explosion or artillery shell. An opening barely large enough for the adult sized Wallflowers to eek their way through. But it wasn't the worst of it. Just a few seconds into their descent, and it hit them like a thick wall. The smell was putrid. A sour musk of familiar decay, concentrated in such an enclosed space. Rancid, vicious, and vile. It made Wisteria's alcoholic vomit-tinted stench seem almost pleasant. And it was quickly apparently why.

The end was barely a dugout, with barely enough room for just a single person to remain huddled within. Let alone all of them.
In the dim light afforded by the hole behind them, they could see only glimpses of the sheer despoiled state of the excavated den. Rotten food lay scattered all across the dirt floor, with carcasses of chewed animals fresh with maggots. With a now frightening giggle, the child crawled through all of the gunk, their knees squishing against the splattered organs. They were moving towards a mound at the very edge of the dirty little pit. A a shape was hidden underneath a tattered woven blanket. The vibrance of its colors seemed out of place here.

"Mommy! I've brought people that can help you.~"

Yanking off a blanket, what lay beneath can only be described as a corpse that has been treated with the care of a child's naive concept of medical attention. Needles, syringes, and all sorts of other tubes filled with mysterious liquid were attached to what looked to be a womanly figure. A nightmarish mockery of a hospital bed. Bloated so severely to the point of disfigurement, it was even difficult to confidently say if it was ever once human.

Yet somehow, by some cruel method, the person trapped within was still alive. One eye, barely capable of rolling within its swollen sockets suddenly shifted over when the blanket was stripped. The body began to seize, letting out an awful groan. One of pure desperation and pain.

"Shh.. Mommy, it's okay... I'll make the pain go away." the child hushed, "Here. Take your medicine.~"
Saying this, the child began to shove bits of the furry animal remains into their mouth, preventing them from screaming anymore. Only a choking sobbing.
"Bis Sis, look! I've been taking good care of my mommy, haven't I?" turning back now, the broken gas-mask looked to Lupine. "I can't wait for our sleepover! It'll be so fun! Mommy will be so happy to have visitors... She's been so lonely since Daddy left us... I miss him..."

Muttering to themselves, the child began to be lost in thought.
 
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Rank 5 Fixer
Lupine
EGO: Rose-Tinted Reverie
Secret Fort
Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf Mothman Mothman November Witch November Witch
Lupine seemed to be having a lot more fun than she should have. She ended up giggling along with the child, enjoying her role as "Big Sis" for however long she would hold it. The monochromatic woman seemed to enjoy spending time with children, though if anyone asked her about it, she wouldn't be able to remember ever having children or even siblings despite her love of them. Perhaps it was their similar whimsical views, something that was made harrowingly clear as soon as they made it to the hole in the wall.

"Oh wow, is this your secret fort?" Lupine awed, letting the kiddo down so that she could lead them inside, "I wish I had one too! Maybe I should ask Hydrangea when we get back..."

Completely unaffected by the powerful stench that permeated the place, Lupine followed after the little girl without even a hint of hesitation. Dirt and offal covered her tights and skirt, though she didn't seem to notice or mind. Instead of stepping on the dead stuffed animals littering the place, Lupine carefully picked them up and set them to the side so they wouldn't be stepped on. For good measure, she gave one a loving pat on the head.

"You can't be lying around on the floor, Mr. Stuffy! We wouldn't want someone stepping on your tail!" she stated in a lightly chastising manner.

Lupine continued onward until they got to a bed draped in thin silken curtains, like the sort one might imagine belonged to a princess. Much like a fairy tale, the figure laid out on the bed was a beautiful woman, peacefully asleep. Although bedridden, she was clearly well cared for. When the girl drew back the curtains, Lupine could see little papercrafts and art, made by a child's hand, scattered around the sleeping woman. A few threads of IV were attached to the sleeping woman, leading to brightly coloured canisters of medicine. The contents were shimmery, and although Lupine didn't really know what they were, she understood that it was helping the mother.

Then the mother awoke after hearing her child's voice and gave a big, sleepy yawn. Lupine watched the little girl greet her mother and then feed her a few pastel tablets that looked almost like candy. It warmed her heart to see a child taking such good care of her mother, but it made her wonder how to best handle the sleepover.

"Hello, nice to meet you! I'm Lupine!" Lupine greeted the mother warmly, then turned to look at the child, "Oh yes, you've done such a good job in taking care of your mom! If your mom feels up for it, we can take her to the sleepover party. Hmm, but maybe we should ask Dr. Alba if it's ok? I wouldn't want to keep your mother up with a sleepover when she is already so sleepy! That's no fun!"
Code by Serobliss
 
Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf Juju Juju November Witch November Witch

The trip through the backstreets is a great reminder of how bad things can be even when they seem good. She sighs after some half hour of walking, at the least glad that they don’t have to worry about any Rats getting n their way on the way. Whereas someone might have scoffed and said that things were ‘going really well’ considering the circumstances, she wouldn’t count those chickens until they were back in the hotel with Hydrangea and the other Wallflowers. Listening to Lupine and the kid blabber and giggle is at least… Halfway entertaining, she supposes.

At some point, as they walk, she stares at the girl, oddly visible inside of the fog, and simply thinks on her for some time. It doesn’t get her very far, as far as the girl’s motive, potential dangers, that scene with Daisy, and everything inbetween…

But it does make her grind her teeth for the briefest moment, as a new thought comes to mind.

She’s the spitting image of a little Lupine.

She expected a house, if they were lucky. A shed, maybe. Even if they were broke and down on their luck, she was expecting something much better than a sheet of metal to serve as a wall and an ugly little dugout… But she supposes she was underestimating how down on their luck the girl and her mother were. It’s dark, and there’s no light, so Romden raises a hand up to her temple and taps at it, and one of her eyes shines with a gentle flashlight.

It’s a disgusting, earnestly pathetic mess, behind that sheet of metal. Animal carcasses, venomous looking goop and viscera and pus, long abandoned and rotted meals… The whole foray has a disgusting sprinkling of maggots and ants, and a stink that makes her more than grateful she can dilute thanks to her modifications. Even with that, though, it’s an affront and an offense to the eyes. “Reeks something terrible…” She mumbles, letting Alba go in first if she desires to go in at all, before ducking low and at least putting a foot in the area to get a better look.

There’s a question that lingers in her mind for seconds, tops, as to where mom actually is. She barely makes out the blanket amidst the disaster of a hidey hole, and it’s not because of the fog obscuring it this time. It’s not until the young girl flips the blanket that her eyes go wide as she sees this fucking ‘mother’, if she could still even be chalked up as the girl’s mother, in her sorry state. “Fuckin’ hell…!” A hand comes up to her mouth for a moment, as the light from her eye hangs directly on the girl’s mother.

It’s somehow way worse with Lupine’s cheery praise to the girl and the way she’s been taking care of her mother. Cal takes a disbelief fueled step back as she looks at that corpse, filled with more than enough drugs, and chemicals, and liquids galore to make her look more like the animals they test failed ampules on in K. Corp rather than a human being. There’s a creaking of pressed metal as Cal balls one of her hands into a fist that threatens to crack her metal digits.

A scene flashes into her mind. A memory from back in the Institute, just before she left.

It’s Murphy. She’s back, and had been gone to that cursed place they take you to when you misbehave and zap the hell outta you, or they operate on your brain, or try and use those fucked up machines to get your E.G.O. to manifest. The theory was that great strife can awaken it, so those machines put you through the greatest strife a pure machine can manage. Normally, when they took a woman like her, they’d zap her over, run her through the E.G.O. equipment, monitor her for a day, and then throw her back to the Ward.

But Murphy’s been gone for six days. All the other residents that have enough of a brain to realize she’s gone start getting nervous after the third day, wondering just why they’ve got her in Disturbed, that fucked up ward, for so long. Theories start flying that she’s dead, while others insist that she used that E.G.O. she manifested to escape the Institute. But nobody had it wholly figured out.

It’s in the middle of the night, six nights after Murphy’s been gone, that the steel doors buzz to let someone in. The other blokes that are on those sleeping meds that keep you knocked out through the night, but those stopped working on her a long time ago. There’s not a word said to the nurses on duty for the night, just a gurney that gets wheeled into the sleeping quarters, tucked into its place, and the men who brought it in leave like that.

She waits the most agonizing two minutes of her life for those men to leave, and then calls out in the darkness of the room. “Murphy…?” She doesn’t talk in the Ward. Not to the nurses, not to the bastards that hook her up to those machines, not to anything or anyone… Except for Murphy.

“Murphy, what’d they do to you…?” She whispers the question on the air, before trying to sit up and see the woman despite the fog and darkness making it impossible. She strains against the restraints that keep her in bed, which for most patients work fine, but for someone like her are just a formality. It takes just a moment, but they snap like they’re nothing before long. She waits another agonizing long minute for Murphy to say something, hoping to the world that nobody on the staff heard her break her restraints.

And once she’s sure they didn’t, she slowly, meticulously, climbs out of bed and trudges over to Murphy. The woman’s in one piece. She’s got that same scar across her nose she‘s had since she got here, and some of the wounds she’d gotten in the scuffle last week that got them both a seat in Disturbed… But she looks fine, aside from that.

Another glance to cover her ass from someone seeing her, and she cracks the light in her eye on.

Murphy’s there, and she’s sure that’s Murphy… But why’s she got those scars on her temples? Those ones are definitely new…

”Murphy, c’mon, talk to me-“ She wacks Murphy once, then twice, on the cheek to get her to wake up. There’s an incoherent babble, and her eyes flutter open… But they sure as shit don’t see ****** looking over her. “Murphy!” A hushed whisper tries to snap her out of this stupor.

Her eyes wander further down the gurney, and land on a clipboard with her medical details. It doesn’t take more than a second of looking, before her eyes land on the information she needs.


R. P. McMurphy - POST-LOBOTOMY

Her eyes land on that text, and they snap back to the reality she’s living in, here in the Backstreets. On this girl and her Mother, and what they’re gonna have to do here…

She snaps out of her memories with a gasp, and books it backwards until she’s entirely clear of the dugout. A woman like her doesn’t fit snug in there, she nearly knocks the iron board that serves as the wall over as she gets out. The light from her eye is still shined inside, though now fidgets wildly from mother, to girl, to Lupine, and back again.

“Alba…!“ She gnashes her teeth and sounds like she’s holding her breath back. It takes her a moment, but she steadies her emotions enough to stay coherent. “That… That ain’t fucking right.” She’s biting her words back so Lupine and the girl don’t hear her, though she’s doing a damned poor job at it. “Her eye, shit… She’s alive. She’s alive!” Whether she’s repeating the facts for Alba or simply in disbelief is anyone’s guess.

“Doctor, either give me one damn reason to let this keep going, or take Lupine back, and let me do what needs to be done.” It’s uncharacteristically venomous, the way she speaks it. “Both of them.“ Her eyes never move to meet with Alba’s, nor does she linger on Lupine for more than a breath. She’s out of Alba’s way enough for the doctor to at least see, if not crawl inside herself and have her ‘consultation’, if there’s even a point for one at this rate. She wants to drag her gaze away from the dugout, and she should be damned curious as to how much time they’re working with, but she can’t do anything but stare inside after Alba enters.
 
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“Bet with me then,” Daisy replied, grinning in a conspiratorial manner at the client. “And we can scam Zi outta money together.”

While the excitable Wallflower wasn’t exactly an idiot when it came to money management, Ahn was meant to be used for the betterment of one’s life, after all. Some used it to afford powerful weapons, others used it to graft augmentation tattoos upon their body, but for herself? It was money best spent for the refinement of one’s mind. It was best used, indeed, to have fun.

“And if you’re picking Lupine, then I’ll pick Alba myself. She’s the one who doesn’t care about anything, after all!”

Of course, they couldn’t talk about bets and the likelihood of their work colleagues’ survival forever, especially not when the situation itself was unfurling in a way that definitely didn’t look like it’d be nearly as fun. A conversation with the boss of this motel, forced upon them by a chandelier that painted them with chickenpox-lighting. Daisy raised a brow at that, before ultimately shrugging. “No need to stress over it, boss,” she said, plopping onto the seat herself. It was quite comfortable. She couldn’t really tell the difference between genuine leather and fake leather anyhow. In the City, the lines were indistinct regardless. “And of course they wouldn’t spend too much on it. Gonna be expensive to replace everything once they blow it up whenever a guest acts up, right?”

She clicked her tongue, rhythmically, as if she were a clock, synchronizing with time.

“Still, if its her way or the highway, why not just take the highway? Seems like trouble’s on its way, boss.”
 
"As if I'd bother making a bet with someone who looks like they don't even have any Ahn in the double digits and I doubt you have anything else of value that you offer up once you lose so count me out of it."

Wisteria wouldn't hesitate to count herself out of whatever new antics Daisy had in store with her new idea, still feeling rather disappointed too that she didn't follow the rest of the soon to be dead wallflowers to their presumed doom which almost made her want to try and catch up with said group if it meant not spending even a second longer around her. Alas hardly anyone could expect to always get their way in the city, except the head probably, so she didn't spend too long in a slump as the remaining Wallflowers entered the actual motel at last.

Once she passed through the bulkhead doors, the interior of the lobby looked...decent enough. A middling five out of ten by her standards and that was mostly due to her giving the owner of the hotel the benefit of the doubt that they prioritised most of their budget on security with any leftover Ahn being spent on at least making the place look presentable. The staff on the hand looked less than hospitable as they ranged from simply being aloof to downright threatening with their cold glares and tense body expressions. Whether or not such behaviour was due to their arrival she couldn't tell but what she did know was that there was a solid chance that she wasn't getting her much needed shower tonight after all.

The tension in the air would only continue to grow with not a single person on either side making a sound until Hydrangea broke the silent stalemate only to cause several questions to appear within Wisteria's mind surrounding the boss of the motel and whatever strange fixation she had on their group. Sure a decent amount of them caused quite the ruckus at the security checkpoint but for the better or worse her naïve co-workers basically took care all the ruckus the little girl was making via taking her away to the backstreets regardless of their low survival chances against the upcoming wave of sweepers. Now could their boss be interested in something they have specifically, or even someone? It was certainly a possibility and she hoped that whatever it was wouldn't cause the their current delicate situation to devolve into an indoor shootout that she was far too likely to die in.


"Well I can say that this has been one of the worst welcoming committee's I've ever received, I can say that much...Small fry or not, a firefight is a lot less thought provoking then a regular one so you're free to knock yourself out and more if you want to try your hand at fighting them, Zi Hua."

Once she said her piece, a long sigh escaped her lips while she found a comfortable enough seat to sit on and wait for whatever boss that everyone was so strung up about to finally arrive. Just like always, she didn't hesitate to use her spare time to get back to work on her latest inspiration, the monstrous beasts she saw the green haired siblings control through their will alone and now that she had a comparably less amount of distractions to worry about it was a good a time as any to put her ideas onto paper as she took out her book.
 
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Rank 5 Fixer
Honey Locust
EGO: Thorns of Love
LITTLE STAR HOTEL
Honey Locust watched the others leave without saying a word. He wondered if they would make it to tomorrow or if this would be the last time he would see them. They were, of course, all trained just as he was, but he had seen more than enough trained people die in his time at the corp. He swallowed back memories he couldn't care to recall right now as he returned his focus to the group that had stayed.

his brow furrowed in slight confusion at the mention of the 'boss' wanting to see them. How much did she exactly know? Of them and their mission, or even just the VIP. It put him on edge, but he could not do much about it other than watch the perimeter closely. Surely, there had been enough unexpected events in their day that there wouldn't be another right before it was to end.

when the security team flooded in, Honey Locust quickly unsheathed his blades and got ready. Though, as it would seem, numbers were far from in their favor, just like their luck. Honey Locust only moved to take a seat after he saw Hydrangea move. He did not enjoy lowering his weapons in the face of an enemy but did so anyway, slowly maneuvering himself to take a seat as far away from the others as he was allowed. His eyes flickered between the security team members, waiting for the next orders that would follow.

Code by Serobliss
 
Bleeding Heart (Alba)
Status: Intrigued and Interested

Alba was somewhat surprised when Calendula decided to join them on their little escapade. The other followed up just behind Alba and the two followed after the 2 children. In Alba’s eyes, Lupine might as well be one. She would listen to Calendula speak to her, though her eyes scanned the streets and rooftops above them. She knew those people from earlier could just as easily be here, or anywhere else in this city too, waiting to strike. Alba knew not their motive but considered the possibility of them attacking earlier as pure business or happenstance. Perhaps there was some factor that made them attack the office there. It didn’t mean they would attack them once more if they crossed paths again. However, Alba felt like they would be more than willing to attack anyone just for the fun of it.

“I do as well.”

Alba replied when Calendula spoke up about being wrong. When Alba was wrong, it usually meant something very interesting was going on.

Though the rest of the walk was mainly spent ignoring the giggles of the children they followed and keeping a sharp eye out. Anything could happen on the streets. Especially when it was this late at night. People tend to get desperate.

When their ramshackle little home was found, Alba was a little surprised that it really was just a dugout. A trench dug into the underside of a building. She would let Calendula go first, assuming the inside was big enough. But it proved to be too small, so she waited outside for the other to get a look. However, Cal came out in a blaze of worry and determination. What could be so bad? The smell? Alba had worked with bad smells before in the lab, but she still didn’t like them.

Alba would sigh and roll her eyes. How bad could it be to get this girl into a blubbering mess who wouldn't explain what was happening? Alba would just have to take it into her own hands.

She didn’t dare get on her hands and knees but had four arms emerge from her hat. The slimy appendages carried her over all the viscera and gore, keeping her clean. She used some slime to block her nose and keep the smell at bay too. The sight that met her really was gruesome… But it was also intriguing.

She’d take a look at the syringes first. Though most of the labels were ripped and illegible, she could make out some, and flat out recognize others. This wasn’t right. This person should be dead, if these needles really had been filled with fluid. If not, then she likely would have been dead due to infection, because the needles would have likely been used if they were empty. A biohazard in itself. But adding on the rotten, decaying food being shoveled into her mouth. There was something very wrong here.

Her attention would turn to the little girl and the less little girl.

“Could you two give me some space please?”

While it was very cramped, it wasn’t the issue. If something bad happened, she wouldn’t want to have to kill this thing, only to have to deal with two people who would obviously react badly. Especially in such an enclosed environment. Whether they would leave or not, a 5th and 6th appendage would appear from her hat and grab tightly onto the rim of the entrance hole. If things went south, she would be able to catapult herself backwards and out of danger.

That gnawing feeling in the back of her head was slowly, but steadily getting worse. The witch wouldn’t be able to use her EGO for too much longer.

Mothman Mothman Juju Juju Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf
 
Rank 5 Fixer
Lupine
EGO: Rose-Tinted Reverie
Secret Fort
Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf Mothman Mothman November Witch November Witch
"Hmm?" Lupine mumbled, turning away from the mother and child to listen to what Alba had to say. "Yeah, sure! I can give you guys some space. It's a pretty small room, isn't it?"

Without much thought on the matter, Lupine shuffled past Alba and Calendula. She noticed that the latter seemed to be in some amount of distraught, and concerned for the wellbeing of her friend, Lupine paused in her exit for a moment.

"Cal, are you feeling okay?" she asked, tilting her head, "If you feel sick I can help you back to the hotel and we can wait for Dr. Alba to finish up. She wanted some space though, so I'm gonna go wait outside. You're welcome to come! A little fresh air will do you good."

Giving Calendula a reassuring thumbs up, Lupine then crawled over the rot and offal towards the exit of the dug-out. Back on the street, Lupine stretched out her arms and legs, giving a little hop to loosen up her cramped muscles. She muttered to herself, "Phew, it's so tiny in that fort! On second thought, I don't really want one."

Brushing off the gore dust from her knees, Lupine looked around at the sleepy street. The weather was quite pleasant out, the perfect setting for an evening stroll. Sadly, nobody else seemed to be taking in the night air. The street was completely empty, as if everyone had gone to bed at once. Maybe they had. Lupine was horrible with time, so perhaps it was much later than she thought.

Giving a shrug, Lupine sat down against the wall, waiting for the others to finish up.
Code by Serobliss
 
Location: Backstreets - Little Fort of Nightmare
Mentions: Juju Juju November Witch November Witch Mothman Mothman


The child giggled, looking up at Lupine with quick nods. The muffled gurgles of the tortured corpse echoed in the dark space, barely illuminated by eye-light, as the child held the stiff, swollen hand of grotesque body. Their single teary eye darted up at the pale woman in desperate plea.

“Hehe…! Mommy looks so happy to have company… Ever since Daddy left, she's been so sick… so I've stayed here, making sure she isn't alone.” turning to the stricken face, and brushing away a part of the nest of tangled black hair. “You don’t have to be sad anymore, Mommy. These nice people are here to help. Not like those others.... And one of them is even a doctor!”

The maddened smile only seemed to bring more suffering to the disfigured woman. Seemingly unaware of the horror, the child continued with a soft coo.

“It’ll all be okay… I’ll all be okay, now…”

When Calendula suddenly backed out, the child gazed back nervously. While they seemed unable to hear the intense whispering between the huge woman and the doctor at the entrance, the sense of tension in the air made them shiver.

An absent hand gripped Lupine, as the tiny child crept closer to the body on the floor for added comfort. In response, the paralyzed form let out a continued sob.
“Mommy… Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone hurt you again…” the child murmured, trying to appease the distressed figure.

When the suggestion to provide space was made, it was met with immediate resistance. The girl refused to step aside, even as the others made way for Alba. Clutching the pale hand, its fingers so swollen they bent into one fleshy nail-tipped blob, the tiny form looked up at Alba. “Mommy says she’s scared… so I’ll stay here..." then, suddenly jumping up with excitement. Struck by epiphany. "Oh! I have a good idea! I can be your medication... medi... medical... aris... aristocrat...? Your nurse! Yeah! Here, I have plenty of tools for you, doc.”

The tiny shape bounced around the den of rot and filth, fetching various items they believed would be useful for the doctor. Clear pride resonating as the kid offered a box filled with various odd trinkets. Sharpened, rusty spoons, a used plunger, and a half-missing collection of toy bricks. "Hehe, I traded a pharmacy for this stuff... It was a tough bargain. But I've always been good at haggling. Mommy says I can talk a man off the side of a bridge. Hm. But why would a man stand at the edge of a bridge? Mommy says all kinds of silly things... "

While the child rambled, Alba was be able to get a good look at the 'medical supplies' on display, under the dim light provided from the entry hole behind.
One thing became quickly apparent, if it wasn't obvious from the selection of tools provided already.

Everything here was junk. Scraps cobbled together in a feeble attempt to convince legitimacy.

The various ‘syringes’ were nothing more than glass bottles kept together with duct tape, dried gum, and plastic soda rings. Flowing between the tubes shoved into the oozing, infected fresh was a stagnant grime, a stilled blackened liquid. The labels were written crudely in colorful crayon and marker, scrawling gibberish that flowed off the edges. Deranged symbols of mania. The rest of the ‘equipment’ were broken remains of what appeared to be toy sets. Freshly drudged out of the nearby landfills, judging by the stains and lingering residue. Even the supposed bed was barely a patch of cardboard on the floor.

It all seemed so familiar. Somewhere, reminding Alba of a crude portrait she received earlier that day.

The childish illusion of a medical room, a twisted, broken imagination spilling out into reality. A nightmare decorated to appear like a dream.
All scientific evidence pointed to the impossibility of such a body being capable of sustaining any life. Yet the horror continued.

When faced with something scientifically impossible, there were two reasonable answers in the City.

To defy the laws of physics, is the categorical definition of a singularity. But how could a random street urchin come across such technology? Let alone the sheer amount of funding, staff, and equipment necessary to maintain such powerful enigmatic marvels of science. From what Alba has gathered, the only thing this child seemed fully capable of was a fiendish delusion devoid of any logic and rationale.

In the face of the nonsensical, it was safe to assume the doing of some sort of abnormality.
But then, where was the source? There seemed to be no EGO. Nor did the evergarden beckon them.

Somewhere in her thoughts, Alba would be disturbed by something bubbling. It was not a sound. Rather, it was a movement. Something rippling underneath the layer of the gray, decayed stomach of the bloated figure. It was subtle, like something trying to inch up from below surface. Looking at it for longer, didn’t it seem like that swelling was concentrated more at the unfortunate patient’s midsection?

Almost like a late stage…. Pregnancy.

A voice whispered, the child standing across from Alba now pulled an object from the crude tool box. A freshly bloody fork. Its metal tips bent. "When Mommy is in pain, I give her looots of medicine... sometimes I even do surgery. She tells me how. I'm such a good girl, hehe..."

...

Location: Little Star Motel
Mentions: ERode ERode dreadnought dreadnought seasonedcat seasonedcat


Spirits did not seem to be high in the Little Star.

What little guests had cleared out by now, ushered to the row of elevators located behind the main desk. With curt gestures and smiles from the wily two-faced secretary. Handed complimentary gifts for the inconvenience. A clear juxtaposition to how the motel decidedly treated the Wallflowers. The mob of armored personnel surrounded them like a black current of metal. Zi Hua stood defiantly by the allotted sofas, seemingly refusing to abdicate to the suggestion of their detainers. One of the security officers slammed a hand down on his shoulder, causing him to bar his teeth. Zi Hua growled, ready to snap like a rabid dog. Only a stern look from Hydrangea managed to calm his growing fury.

With an annoyed huff, he allowed himself to be swiftly shoved into a seat. Glaring up silently up the barrels of guns now pointed at his head. Fortunately, it seemed that so long as he, nor anyone else for that matter, showed open aggression, the guards remained on stand-by.

Hydrangea sighed, trying her best to find a comfortable spot in the tacky lounging chair. Resting her chin upon a fist. "My, my. I didn't take you for the type to shy away from an interesting development, Daisy. You seemed so ecstatic about piercing yourself with a knife earlier, can't handle a few bullet holes?" giving her a sly grin, "Perhaps our gracious hosts have a good reason for all of the overblown fanfare. Let's hear it out, at the very least."

While she bantered, Hydrangea's eyes simultaneously glanced over to the other employees. The eccentric artist was already fast away, eagerly sketching into her artbook. Wisteria, drinking habits aside, was quite devoted to capturing her latest inspiration. Even with all their lives hanging on a thread. Perhaps there was a method to the madness. From the progress of the current piece, it wouldn't be long now before something truly remarkable would be ready for future use.

Meanwhile, Honey seemed as prickly a thorn to handle as ever. Putting up a strong face, despite the clear injury he had been silently enduring the whole time. Hydrangea gave the habitual recluse a meek smile. "How is your leg faring? I was going to see that Alba tended to it, but I was a bit too preoccupied during the events at the pizzeria. Not to mention that woman is a handful, herself. My apologies for this oversight... It is a failure on my part."

Zi Hua broke away from his stare-down for a brief moment, "Listen, if you need someone to carry you. Bark up. We're a pack. And I'm not good at reading lips."
"Or situations." said Arthur, much to the recipient's chagrin. The old man gave a hearty laugh, seemingly too, unfazed by the current danger.

A few more moments would pass, allowing for a final exchange of words between the members. Before a low ding signaled an arriving elevator. The secretary immediately came to a stand, making a grand signal to the guards. The tide of bodies quickly shuffled, parting down the middle like an open sea.

"Quickly. Make way, you know how she is."

As soon as the elevator doors opened, a tall woman stepped out. The motelier appeared thin, and finely aged. Donned in a humble, pragmatic white suit. Clearly a design choice that emphasized utility over fashion. Flush, short red hair tied up in a neat bob.

"The office guests are secure as you've request--"
Her eyes zoned onto the document sitting on the desk. Her voice was icy. "Javier. I wanted that earnings report yesterday. Next time, deliver it on time. Or else I'll send you out there to be swept like all the other garbage."
"A-apologies. Ma'am." he muttered, bowing his head.

The woman seemed to make some mental note before moving forward, pushing past the man stationed at front desk .Who was more than hasty to buckle out of the way. The woman proceeded down the aisle of armored forms, swords, and rifles with a certain unspoken authority. The room resembled more a punitive trial than a motel lobby. Or perhaps more apt, a warden marching out to deliver judgement on an execution. Her pace stopped short a few feet away from where the Wallflowers were seated. The the motelier gave them each a quick calculated look. From the slight pinching of her brow, and wrinkling of her nose, her expression was a fine split between contempt and disgust. Still, her body bowed in a vapid display of politeness.

"So, these are her new... colleagues." the woman says, her silhouette sparkling under the red dots shining down from the chandeliers. "You called her Lupine."
Hydrangea spoke up, "An old friend of hers?"

An abrupt, shrill laugh burst out from the motelier. The woman buckled over, a bout of mania possessing her very form. The outburst causing the guards and staff members to turn at one another in confusion. The unbridled manic state last only a for a split moment. Before the woman pulled herself back to reality. A grim look befell her deep blue eyes.

"I almost didn't recognize her at first... She changed so much. But when I heard that drowsy, incoherent speech pattern through the security feed... and saw those accursed spectacles. There was no doubt in my mind. She is still that very same Snow White. Still yet, unable to wake up from her long, enchanted slumber. Induced by the curse set upon by the evil queen that once ruled over this broken kingdom."

The motelier shook her head now. "We all thought ourselves as her friends, once." she said, smiling, "But it didn't change a thing."
Offering an open hand, "Tell me, which of you wish to continue living?"

...
 
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“Knifework is a personal thing, Hydrangea, and I was just teaching her a useful lesson! Anyways, you know how I am.” Daisy smiled, motion for Snowdrop to sit on her lap. “I’ve more in common with rats than business-peeps, so obviously I’m more willing to put up with the antics of one than the other.”

Whatever antics the two of them would get to, however, would have to wait for when the motelier herself arrived, a woman that looked like she was kicked out of a Corp for being too much of a stick up the ass. Much too unstable too, to lose her composure just like that. Honestly, Guido was probably better at keeping his wits about him than this lady, and he probably cooked better too.

The other advantage Guido had, of course, was that he didn’t yap incoherently in fairy tale allusions either, which was to say…

“Depends on the life at hand,” the Fixer said, flashing her teeth at the woman as her chin rested atop Snowdrop’s crown. “Only worth living if it’s fun, right? So what, you want us to kill Lupine or you’ll kill us?”

Her cuddling buddy could feel too, a part of her form sink into Daisy’s stomach, the Galaxy and Gateway hidden between their two bodies.

If it came down to it, Snowdrop could become a snowball. And with the Sweep coming so soon, that’d be enough of a distraction for any of them to rip open a wall and make ‘indoors’ part of the ‘outdoors’.
 
November Witch November Witch Juju Juju Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf

When Alba starts to slither her way in that horrid little den, she watches her use her E.G.O. to stretch out arms for emergency escapes. Cal keeps herself close and readies a hand to pull, if it becomes completely necessary, and keeping the light from her eye shined down the tunnel so Alba can see whatever the hell is happening in there better. She doesn't catch much, but can hear the child insisting she remain inside and 'assist' Alba, but Lupine agrees and comes outside. There's not much to say, or much to do, until Alba has some real information with which to come to a better conclusion.

It's when she sees that... Moving, or gurgling, or whatever the fuck is happening inside of this girl's 'mother', that she realizes the severity of the situation. She couldn't wager a guess as to what in the world it was, but she knows it's nothing good. A hand creeps down to her belt and grabs at a small, pill-shaped capsule, before reaching to her hand and flicking one of her fingers open, akin to flicking down the base of a shotgun or flare gun to load the new round. She flips the capsule inside her finger, a small detonating charge, in case this needs to come to blows. Flushing out a tunnel like that would be quick work, as long as she can get Alba out of it without issue.

"...Kid, let the doctor work, please. If she needs help, she'll say so. We're on a pretty strict time limit here." She glances back at the streets behind them and swallows, knowing that if they want to make it back to the hotel at a pace that isn't 'sprinting for their life', they need to wrap this up ASAP. Frankly, she doubts the child is even listening to her at this point. She's seen enough people lost in another world of delusions back in the Institute to know that the girl is way too gone to be reasoned with. Any foundation she had tried to build up of this kid being someone 'down on their luck' has gone completely out the window, and she has Murphy's Law to remember for that. It's a neverending cycle. Give something, someone, or somewhere a single damned inch, and the truth of this world bolts into to take miles.

She remembers the teachings of Murphy's Law, shuts her eyes for a moment, and loads a second capsule in another finger, just in case. She gives Alba a few moments to deliberate, before crouching down just a smidge to ask a question. "Doctor, what're we thinking?" She wants to say that she's already decided on her end what she wants to do with the situation, but she trusts the opinion of a professional enough to at least let Alba have her deliberation. But if something goes wrong in there, which the Law says its going to, she's ready to blast that dugout wide open.
 
Bleeding Heart (Alba)
Status: Irritated & Disappointed

Alba looked on, simply observing the mass of flesh before her. And after a moment of bewilderment, noticed that the ‘needles’ were in fact, nothing but a child’s idea of medical syringes. It was then, she noticed the girl showing off her collection of medical utensils. What a waste of time. Alba slowly and silently backed out of the hole, her EGO still keeping her up and out of the putrid gore and filth all around her. Once outside, she stood up and brushed herself off. Her gaze caught Calendula’s and the witch just shrugged.

“If we had more time and if I had more control over my own EGO right now, I could probably at least find out more about whatever that is. But it’s not natural. That’s all I can tell. Now do whatever you want to do, just don’t drag me into it. We should get going.”

Alba said, turning to walk away. Whether that woman or the child were left alone to their own devices or if Calendula offed them, it really didn’t affect Alba. Maybe it would lead to an abnormality wandering the streets or the two slowly starving and rotting to death. That was just how things went around here. She’d stop near the alley’s corner and look back to Calendula and Lupine, waiting for the two, begrudgingly. She seriously hated the rule about staying with the others. It was such a chore.

The witch would have extracted whatever resided in the woman if she had more of her EGO left over. While the time was a factor as well, the witch knew she could operate on the woman quickly, as there was no reason to keep her alive. In fact, whatever was in her was exactly why she was still breathing. Removing it would kill her, so Alba wouldn’t have had to worry about the normal things one would have to with someone they wanted to keep alive. But if someone went wrong or the thing ended up hostile, she wouldn’t be able to fight with her EGO in the state it was. She needed rest, as much as she hated to admit it.

So, there she waited on the corner for whatever Calendula would end up doing.

“Lupine, get ready to go. The checkup is over and we’re going to head back after Cal says goodbye.”

Mothman Mothman Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf Juju Juju
 
Their lives may have been hanging on by just a thread as dozens of various firearms were pointed towards the group but Wisteria hardly let such a trivial thing get in the way of her pending masterpiece the longer the stalemate went on. The pencil within her hand glided across the double spread page with the greatest of ease as her artistic vision slowly took form right in front of her. Stroke after stroke brought her ever closer to her ideal vision and while a couple of spur of the moment ideas caused a couple of deviations here and there she could feel it through every single fibre of her body that this was going to be one of her best pieces yet. Such excitement could hardly be tempered by something as minor as a couple of death threats from a couple of lackeys who were mainly focused on keeping them all in one place as long as they behaved. The sharp ding of an elevator arriving would catch her attention however as the motel's so called boss finally came into the picture and needless to say that she already disliked her heavily as she looked at the group in disgust.

"Great, now my mood has been ruined once again today..."

She muttered to herself as a long sigh escaped her lips, shortly before she started putting her book and pencil away for another time. No matter how much she tried to play up the act of a polite hostess, it would hardly fool the artist as she took note of her barely restrained hatred of the group. As for what they did exactly to earn her ire wasn't exactly something that Wisteria could figure out until she mentioned Lupine and of course from there she could hardly hold up her paper thin façade of kindness as her real feelings on the matter at hand were fully revealed at last. In her opinion she could have definitely have done away with the hyena-like laugh but once she finally recovered from her sudden bout of madness Wisteria would give her the least bit of attention of whatever story she had to tell. A story which was quickly cut short as soon as it began and in its place a threat would emerge as Wisteria weighed her options. As appealing as killing off what she saw as a dysfunctional at best co-worker to save the rest of their skins if it really came down to it, there was no guarantee that the boss would hold up her end of the deal and mow them down anyways plus her boss would hardly be happy about being down a man, or in this case woman, already on a mission they barely begun so her options were looking pretty limited here.

"As little as I care about whether she lives or dies, I have a feeling that our boss here won't share the same opinion unfortunately."
 
Rank 5 Fixer
Honey Locust
EGO: Thorns of Love
LITTLE STAR HOTEL
flickers of surprise laced Honey Locust's face as he was addressed by Hydrangea. What surprised him more, however, was the words spoken, as if she cared about him being injured. Something swelled in his chest but was quickly shoved down as his level voice responded, "There is no need to worry; a simple injury like this will not jeopardize my abilities in the field." he answered to her. The joy he felt for someone potentially caring for him was ill-placed. All that matters is his ability in the field, his emotions always were his biggest failure.

"the failure is on me; I shouldn't have let myself get injured so easily. I will accept any punishment you deem fit." he continued, shifting his weight slightly in his chair. The discussion of his injuries had caused the pain to flair up again, his annoying nerves now focused on the areas as he tried to suppress his thoughts. For the most part, he had done his best to keep his limp manageable. There was only so much gritting your teeth could cover.

as movement from the guards caught Honey Locust's eye, he quickly ended the conversation, turning his focus back to an important matter. One of his colleagues, Lupine, was the topic of the discussion. Simply put, he had not expected this whole thing to be about her. Had she struck luck by choosing to leave with the child earlier? Or would that turn out to be another trap set?

he did not desire to hurt Lupine and, of course, would not do so unless ordered to. He had only spoken a few curt words to the other and hardly knew a thing about her. She seemed positive despite the shape of the world, an inspiring feat he had not seen for a while. Not since back when he worked for the corp. His chest painfully constricted as memories almost spilled out; he quickly changed his brain's direction.

wish to continue living? That was a question for the dinner table. Honey Locust began to shift his hands uncomfortably in his lap. He did not like questions like these. They always brought up bad memories, and he never had an answer. Did he wish to continue living? He did not know. Many days and nights, he had begged for some escape, even death. Anything to escape from the thorns, from it. But he continued going either way, and he did not know why. Maybe he hoped that he would be free one day, or maybe because he did not know how to do anything else. Either way, he did not know an answer, so instead, he looked to Hydrangea. If her orders were to die, then that was it. The mission was the only answer he had to that question.
mentions| Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf

Code by Serobliss
 
Rank 5 Fixer
Lupine
EGO: Rose-Tinted Reverie
Secret Fort
Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf Mothman Mothman November Witch November Witch
Lupine sat outside and waited dutifully for her colleagues and their little friend to return, but the lack of activity was starting to bore her. She rested her blade across her lap and gave a yawn. Now that she had time to settle down, she was certainly feeling the events of the day catching up to her. How late was it anyway?

She squinted up at the hazy sky with its watercolour madness of purples, pinks and blues. There were fluffy clouds and twinkling stars, but she couldn't see the moon. Lupine remembered that the moon could tell someone how late it was, but she couldn't remember which side of the horizon meant which. She supposed it didn't matter. Maybe there were two moons.

Sleepily, Lupine rested her head on a fist. She had closed her eyes for a moment before she remembered something much more important. They only had an hour to spare, and she had no means of keeping time. Once, someone had suggested she keep a clock, only to watch in dismay as Lupine couldn't make any sense of the numbers.

Lupine bolted up onto her feet, sword ready and eyes bright. She nearly ran into Dr. Alba as the other woman exited the wretched den.

“Lupine, get ready to go. The checkup is over and we’re going to head back after Cal says goodbye.”

Lupine stopped herself from running into Alba with an unsteady waving of her arms, balancing herself in an overexaggerated fashion. "I was just about to ask about that! What great timing! Speaking of which, do you have the time? How much do we have left? I'm guessing we've got to make another sprint! Hehe! Don't worry, I'm reaaaaly good at it! I won't be letting Hydrangea down, that's for sure!"

She sheathed her sword and then began to stretch out her legs, warming up for what she assumed would be another mad dash. Then she paused, peering over Dr. Alba's shoulder, "Oh... but what about the sleepover? I thought... uh, I forget her name. The little girl. I thought she was joining us? And her mom too!"
Code by Serobliss
 
Juju Juju November Witch November Witch

"Huh?" The little girl stares up the dug-in as Alba exits, terror and confusion and betrayal in her eyes. "B-But I thought, Miss Doctor, we were gonna-" She swallows nervously, looks to her Mother, and shakes her head nervously. "Mama, we're gonna take you... Uh...!" She scrambles to her feet and gallops her way out of the dug out, standing tall once outside of it and shouting demands to the three Wallflowers present.

"Nobodies gonna help me take her?" She looks to Cal, who's the closest to her, before glancing after Alba and Lupine who were further away than the towering woman. "You guys came out here to help her! To help me, help her!" She balls her hands into fists, crushing one of the nonsensical syringes gripped in her hands, splashing the foreign liquid over her hand as little shards of glass dig into her palm.

She moves to sprint after Alba and Lupine, knowing they're easier to reason with than Cal is, but Cal steps in front of her and puts a metallic hand on her shoulder. "Kid, we're going. You're not."

She starts to thrash, punching at Cal's hand and trying to stab one of the crude fork-scapels into her arm, only for a dull clink to send it splintering away into the dirt. For a kid to stab so hard into her metallic arm for the metal to splinter like that? It was almost impressive, but she had better things to do than assess the kid's strength. "N-No! No, let go of me, and help!" The kid screams after Alba and Lupine. "H-Help me! Help my mama! What kind of stupid, shitty, awful checkup is that, you pathetic do-"

Cal tightens her grip on the girl's shoulder, and lifts her up from the ground in front of her. "That's enough. Sorry, kid." She lifts the girl a bit higher, before hucking her down into the dirt. She hits the dirt with a thud and immediately attempts to scramble, before Cal raises a leg up high, and presses it against the back of the girl's head to keep her still.

The kid's gone quiet. Her breathing is ragged and in complete shock, and she's stopped struggling against Cal's boot. Cal doesn't waste a breath...

-CRUNCH-

More pressure from the boot snaps the girl's neck, and she goes limp. Cal lets her boot remain in a now slightly concaved back of her neck for a moment, before retracting it and taking a step back from the body. She takes a breath in, staring down at the corpse, and tries to shake memories away from herself.

Then comes the mother. Cal hopes she can't see what's happened to the child, and she ducks her way into the dugout. She points a finger down, into the dugout, staying just in the first step of the hole the leads into it, and a pill-shaped projectile leaves her finger, tumbles into the place just beside the Mother, and bursts into a fiery burst of energy. The smoke and embers die down quickly, as it's not a particularly high power explosive, but for a truly stuck and defenseless woman, it seems plenty doable.

The body is charred, motionless, and that bulging in the stomach seems to have dissipated. She breaths a sigh of relief and takes a step back.

But before she turns to leave, she's met with a gaze. The woman's head hasn't turned, but instead, a black and yellow eye has burst from the skin and through the jagged dress of the woman, from the stomach meeting with Cal's own eyes. It's one eye, but they begin to multiply and take more and more space on the woman. There's two, then four, and so on and so forth... Until countless eyes have completely enveloped the body, like ants on a piece of rotted food. Cal feels her mind twitch and strain, and something feels wrong, very wrong, and that she has to do something asap. Wasting no time, she fires the second explosive off, and it quickly manages to cave in the remainder of the dugout, and she can't see the corpse as its buried beneath the dirt.

She's dashed to Lupine and Alba as quick as she could manage, a hand coming up to her head as smoke leaves her fingertips from the projectiles. "We're going, and we're going now." She doesn't seem to care for Lupine being next to her, and has a feeling her and Alba weren't far enough for the woman to not have a semblance of an idea of what happened. "That woman was turning to something. Eyes, just tons of eyes." Cal never saw the creature of similar eyes that wreaked havoc on the cafe and seemed to manipulate those Rats to draw a comparison. "And my head... Dammit, c'mon, we don't have time." She gestures for the group to start running.

---

Euclid Leaf Euclid Leaf seasonedcat seasonedcat ERode ERode dreadnought dreadnought

The motelier folds her arms as the Wallflowers all give their respective answers. Some of them drag way to bring their opinion on Lupine into the matter at hand, and the opinion across most of the board is that they seem to believe that the woman's insistance was that she was asking them to kill 'Snow White'. "I'm afraid I didn't make myself clear. The matter of Ms. 'Lupine' is to be handled by myself, and nobody else." She takes a few steps closer to the Wallflowers, the only sound filling the room being that of her heels clicking against the tile beneath her feet.

She brandishes a pen and points it towards Daisy, first. "And your definition of fun is not important to the matter at hand." The pen then turns to Hydrangea, as does the woman's eyes. "If she's an associate of your group, we can handle this like business professionals. You have my apologies as to the hostile welcome, and nothing else. I have no qualms for providing your people shelter and financial contribution if you'll provide me with Ms. Lupine. She is an unchecked monstrosity that I will not allow to be let loose in the world for any longer. If you and your fellows have an issue with that..."

She clicks her pen once, and an opening on the side of it reveals a small bullet casing. "...then we can do things the hard way, for certain."

She starts to pace, around the couches and around the Wallflowers. "I imagine that the lot of you are unchecked in your own write. Your fellows here, madame-" She keeps her gaze trained on Hydrangea. "-seem to be a fellowship of the odd and inane. All well and good, in a place like this, of course. Strange and crooked creations-" Her eyes flick over to Wisteria's sketches, that she glimpses at as she paces past. "-oddball urchins that pose as things they're not..." This time, she points the pen towards Daisy. "And those that look to be holding their sins like a vice." Lastly, her eyes land on Honey Locust. "I'm not one to pry to your stories, of course. My business is one of comfort and greetings in passing." She gestures her arm out to the motel as a whole. "And I establish Little Star as a reputable business. Staining the walls with brain and bone marrow would be a disservice."

She clicks the pen again and tucks it back into her breast pocket, as a show of an attempt at peace, perhaps?

"Ms. Lupine once belonged to a company you're likely heard of time and time again. They're the talk of the Nest, and have been for some time. Dirty laundry that's being swept under the rug after it's being salvaged and picked clean. She's an ember of that place that continues to burn, and the direction that this Corp. is going, Backstreets, Nest, Wing, all of it... Is better off without those flames continuing to spark in the dredges." A hand ducks into her coat's pocket, and she stops pacing about.

"I leave the decision to you. Comply, and I'd be happy to have my fellows here escort you to some comfort."
She leaves her eyes hanging on Hydrangea and awaits an answer of some kind.

 
Location: Little Star Motel

Hydrangea listened to the whole speech with a tight lip. The supervisor kept her eyes on the pen, until it was stowed. By which the red pupils drifted up to the face of the motelier. The outline of the woman reminded Hydrangea of herself, in a way. The air of professionalism, the mask that hides a deeper fear. She barely shifted in her seat, feeling the red dots on her body immediately twitching.

With a sigh, the supervisor answered.
"As a representative of the Wallflower Office, I must have our organization's best interest at heart. Like all offices, fulfilling our contract is our upmost priority above even ourselves. For this decision, I must consult with our client."

Flipping a bang of stray hair out of her eyes. turned back to the VIP. Though her face was calm, there was a longing somewhere swimming in her expression. Arthur took his cigarette and snuffed it in the nearby ash tray. He's seen it plenty of times in people who have seen too much of the City. There was something pitiful in it.

"Heh. I know that look, supervisor." he muttered, watching the trailing smoke, "...I'd do the same too."
Hydrangea then looked at the motelier with a smile, "The Wings, the Nests, all of the Backstreets... It's taken everything from me. But this little sapling will survive. It must."

With those words, Hydrangea's eyes glimmered, narrowing as her EGO flared. The evergarden reverberated. Her pale skin shimmering with a layer of pointed scales. A bright red mist spilled, spraying out from her mouth. The bullets rang immediately. She could feel an impact on her shoulder as the cloud enveloped the guards in their immediate vicinity. Blood splattered, painting the suit a deep stain. Flashes sprayed light over the crowd as metal rained from all sides. The acidic gas rolled forward through the lobby, creating a thick obscuring cloud wall that melted the retaliatory rounds that erupted from all around. Each piercing bullet reduced to globules of bludgeoning putty. With the virtue of the reinforced coat of the Wallflower uniform, whatever struck would be more than survivable. If not horribly painful.

Her back arced back extending like a lithe serpent coiling, her legs pointing up as she flipped around back of the lounging chair she sat upon.
With a heel kick, it was sent soaring high above into the chandelier dangling overhead. It was a garish piece anyway.

Snowdrop pulled up their legs to their chest, their claws extending. A spiky ball of regal death. Their shawl peeled back as they turned their eyes up at Daisy. "High!"

Pointing up at the turrets above.

Zi Hua gritted his teeth, downing another pill, "Tch. It's about damn time."
His body bulged like some deflatable ballon, his arms sprouting out, snapped back into place with a grotesque crack. The sickly veins grow more, crawling up his nape and neck. With a show of force, he immediately grabbed a pair of long sofas, lifting them and throwing them at two lines of guards. Pivoting, he pushed over one of the cabinets. The ornate dolls within smashed into bits as it leaned forward and slammed flat. Creating a makeshift shield against the incoming onslaught.
 
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What was she, stupid?

They all lived underneath the heel of the Head. Anything that was truly disallowed would be culled by the minions of that figure, cast out of paradise or slaughtered like swine. Under such an environment then, anything that wasn't prohibited was free to continue going. And Lupine was free to continue going, no matter what inferno her embers ignited.

And so, it became a question once more, of a simple thing. Would it be fun if the flames rose to warp the structures and trajectories of this Nest? Or would it be boring? The fraudulent child closed an eye, a thin smile on her face. Everyone had something they enjoyed. For the most wretched, it was the joy of another breath. For the most affluent, it was the joy of unbounded growth. For the most free, it was whatever the fuck they wanted, at this very moment.

"Aw shucks," Daisy said, seeing where Hydrangea's words were going, "Guess it's back to ruining another independent business owner's day!"

Bullets turned to mush, and mush splattered against Snowdrop, Daisy more than happy to use her co-worker as a shield. Without hesitation, she fired her ally upwards, then hooked her finger over the woman's diminutive form to bum a ride off of her. The two rose swiftly, tracer ammunition following their pathways, but whereas Snowdrop continued her ascent towards the turrets, Daisy stopped her flight at the chandelier instead. It was a massive, crystalline structure, swinging back and forth after Hydragenea's chair crashed against it. A beautiful structure, the sort that'd be much too expensive for the Wallflower Office.

Huh, if they really were just going to destroy this place...maybe they could steal some of the furniture while they were here?

The chandelier had to go though. As it swung from side to side, crystals rattling with a sparkling cacophony that matched the gunfire below, Daisy hugged it, submerging it into the otherspace within her EGO. There were no size limits. The only limit that existed was whether or not she could fit a portion of the object into a hole the size of half her hand. And ornamental objects truly did have plenty of small extensions of the whole.

A half-second later, and the chandelier was torn out from the ceiling, catapulting itself towards the highest concentration of armored guards like a hammer of malediction.

But where, in this, did Daisy end up?
 
Bleeding Heart (Alba)
Status: Annoyed

“Well, she’s going to stay to help her mom for the night. She’s doing a good job caring for her.”

Alba said, watching Cal start to interact with the little girl. It would likely be for the best if Lupine wasn’t here to witness what was about to happen, so she started to walk around the corner, gesturing for Lupine to follow.

“Cal’s saying our goodbyes for us. The rest of the group is probably waiting for us, so we’d better hurry.”

An explosion was heard, then barely a moment later, a second explosion and the sound of rubble. She grabbed Lupine’s wrist, hoping to keep her from trying to investigate the noises from around the corner they had just rounded. Alba knew this girl from their time together at L-corp. Well, she didn’t know her, but she knew of her, and had an idea of her EGO. So she knew better than to let her go back around that corner. Thankfully a moment later, Cal rounded the corner, and Alba could breathe easy now. She’d hate to be left alone with Lupine. Not only for her own safety, but her own sanity as well. Cal soon started to speak in a rushed tone, and it was clear from her cadence and tone something was wrong, if one somehow didn’t hear her say it aloud.

Alba cursed silently as it looked like she would have to run today. With a sigh, she would start to run with the others, but quickly start to fall behind. Physical labor wasn’t exactly a strong suit of hers…

Juju Juju Mothman Mothman
 
Rank 5 Fixer
Lupine
EGO: Rose-Tinted Reverie
'Hallways'
Mothman Mothman November Witch November Witch
None the wiser to the deception, Lupine followed Dr. Alba away from the hidden-fort and around the street corner. She pouted a little at the news, hanging her head dejectedly, "Aww, really? But it was going to be so much fun..."

Her attention was immediately diverted by the sound of an explosion. Lupine turned around to investigate, only for her wrist to be grabbed. Surprised, Lupine shifted her rosy-stained gaze to Alba, confusion showing beneath the distorted lens. "Erm, is something wrong? Am I not supposed to go there?"

The brush with near self-awareness was almost uncanny, at least until the woman let out a gasp and added, "Oh, is it a surprise!?"

Lupine's question was answered by the patter of quick feet and the sound of something inhuman. Someone cried for help, and something was crushed. Thankfully, Lupine hadn't seen what had happened, though perhaps it wouldn't have made a difference. She tore her hand away from Alba with surprising strength and darted out from behind the corner. Before she even saw the aftermath, she knew what had happened by one familiar tone.

First trumpet.

The street was gone, replaced by a stuffy corridor stained with the ichor of some monstrous entity. An ordeal she didn't recognize was splattered beneath Cal. What was once a secret fort was now the door of a containment unit, the abnormality's code illegible to Lupine's eyes. All she knew was that there was a countdown and flashing red light. A sign that immediate action was needed. Like night and day, Lupine's carefree demeanour had changed into one of intense focus. She was running before Cal had even finished her commands.

"Understood! Agent Lupine en route!" she declared dutifully, falling into pace with Calendula.

A muttering of eyes and a hurting head caught her attention. As Lupine ran, she glanced over to Cal, "Lots of eyes? Hmm, that could be a lot of 'em. Oh, but if your head hurts, you should go back to a main room. Until then, I can help you if it gets worse. You don't want to start panicking."

Lupine motioned for the hilt of her blood-stained sword in anticipating of 'helping' Caldendula.

In the process of checking up on her fellow agent, Lupine became aware of Alba dragging behind. Slowing her pace just enough for Alba to draw closer, Lupine grabbed Alba's hand and began to drag her up to speed, "Come on, Dr. Alba, don't fall behind! If you get tired, I can give you a piggyback ride, but we can't stop to take a break! Every second matters!"
Code by Serobliss
 
"Well then for your sake hopefully she makes it here before the sweepers get a piece of her. Unless you really want to try taking on a bunch of sweepers just so that you can resolve your unfinished business with her. Either way she's not here at the moment and you don't exactly want her dead so all this feels pretty unnecessary."

Wisteria went on to point out as her resentment for this woman only grew more and more with every bit of nonsense that came out of her mouth. If it wasn't for all the hired security then Wisteria would have just loved to shut the woman up herself and book herself into the room for a nice, warm shower for the night but the world was seemingly against her having access to something as simple as that. At the very least though, the world seemed fond of the concept of equivalent exchange as she watched even her boss grow tired of her antics and decided to deal with them in a much more direct method herself. A bold move for sure and one that would have left the group with more holes in them then a block of cheese if it wasn't for Hydrangea's ego acting as chemical shield of sorts that heavily softened up any bullets that came her way while she quickly drew her blade.

"So I guess we're going to have to fight once again after all. As long as this means that we're getting a free discount on rooms then it isn't all too bad. That plus I finally don't have to keep on listening to their poor excuse of a boss blabber all day long."

She could only hope that the boss lady was more bark than bite along with the rest of her security force as she got to work on cutting down the security guards closest to her with a quick couple of slices with her sabre. While unlikely, she didn't want to risk the mist that Hydrangea's EGO produced being flammable and blow everyone up to high heaven so she kept her sabre unignited for the time being which still worked pretty nicely for her. After all it meant that there was less of a chance of her victim's wounds cauterizing as a nearby security guard would soon find out as he fumbled with his ineffective rifle before he found himself down two arms after she popped out of the mist for a surprise attack. His colleagues were struck with shock and slight fear initially until their training kicked in but that gave the painter just enough time to get behind another one their men and impale him from the back before enjoying his screams for a ceasefire while she used him as a human shield in order to retreat. She'd employ the same style of hit and run tactics in an effort to clear the ground floor of guards while the others contributed to clearing out the guards in their own way.
 

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