1874/Arthrafall: Debrief and Destress

Arthrafall: Debrief and Destress
Date of Scene:	19 August 2024
Location:	Mitakihara General Hospital
Synopsis:	Chrono getes rushed to the hospital by Molly after the battle at the docks, and they are met there by Rashmi and Setsuna. Together they get a chance to talk, once Chrono is awake that is.
Cast of Characters:	Molly Skyline, Rashmi Terios, Setsuna Meiou, Chrono Harlaown

---

Molly Skyline has posed:
It's approaching sundown, and the Battle at the Docks is over. Ordinarily, Molly might be trying to come up with a cool name for it (even if a lot of it was really more like an argument but with magic than an actual battle). Something to make it stand with the greats, like the Battle at Wolf Three Five Nine or the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, or something else with an iconic ring to it.

Except right now she's far too worried about Chrono, who she's still carrying in her arms while she flies in the most direct manner she's aware of to the nearest hospital, with her Battle Visor marking out a route for her to follow. Chrono, who's still unconscious (so far as she can tell anyway), who just ate a massive explosion while in a non-combat henshin. Chrono, who she told Rashmi was okay. And she's damn well hoping that she wasn't lieing on that front.

Time to lose some altitude, as she's getting close and she can get down basically to street level without having to dodge any buildings, she can just go straight in. The hospital is up ahead, and... well if anyone sees her, the Veil will do its thing, right? She rushes along at breakneck speed, skimming just above where the traffic lights are.

<< I'm thirty seconds out >> she texts to Rashmi and Setsuna.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The moment Rashmi got her text, she dropped what she was doing to relay to Setsuna the information she just got, then -- literally -- flew out the nearest window, and toward the Hospital.

She's not afraid. Molly would have let her know if there was anything to be *truly* afraid of.

But if Chrono got badly hurt, and she wasn't there... There's probably gonna be some guilt to work through before all is said and done.

So for now, the question is, will she get to the Hospital before Setsuna can?

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Perhaps luckliy for Rashmi, the answer is almost certainly 'Yes'.

When Setsuna got the text from Rashmi, she was, fortunately, most of the way home.

Fortunately in that she only had to speed for a very few blocks before she could pull through the gate at the Casa del Outers and close it behind her.

Moments after that, however, she was out of her Nissan Rogue, throwing her hand in the air as her henshin pen materialized in it and calling out:
    "PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE-UP!"

After a burst of cosmic nonsense and a concealing wall of wind spun around her, Sailor Pluto charged out of the henshin and immediately began to rooftop run flat out towards Mitakihara General.

Normally, the trip from Radiant Heart to her house is a liesurely 20-30 minute trip, depending on traffic...and Mitakahara General would be a good ten or so minutes on top of that.

However, when one can casually leap multiple stories at once and don't have to bother with piddly little things like following streets or traffic lights, such distances become FAR easier to cross (though not as easy as someone who can not only fly under their own power, but whom is also starting from rather closer)...thus Sailor Pluto finds herself coming to land at a spot just a little ways away from the hospital ('conveniently' out of view of nearby security cameras), then drops henshin and, after making a momentary 'rummaging' gesture with her hands, produces an identification badge for the Hospital which she clips to her labcoat as she heads for one of the service entrances.

Absently, she fiddles with her phone and sends back to both parties:
    << I'm at the Hospital now, about to come in the side entrance. >>

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly really doesn't slow down as she approaches the hospital, but she does change course when she gets the text from Setsuna, that she's waiting at the side entrance. She doesn't bother responding; she's almost there, and it looks like Rashmi also got the message. She drops altitude, and is still horizontal above the ground and rushing as hard as she can by the time she's fifteen feet out; and only then does she right herself, throwing her feet underneath her and touching down, keeping her weight on her right foot and putting her left out in front to slow down as she skids to a halt right in front of Rashmi and Setsuna.

"He took a big explosion," she explains, hurriedly, still holding Chrono cradled against her chest, held with one arm under his knees and the other cradling his head to protect his neck while she was out flying around. "Riventon was there, he had backup, girl with lots of guns fired a big thing. Chrono-kun shielded it but he wasn't in a combat henshin and it knocked him out."

The purplenette gasps for breath, still standing there holding the unconscious Chrono, totally not thinking about the other results of the battle; none of that's on her mind just now. Just that a friend is hurt and she's done her part now.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
The TSAB enforcer, as serious as he normally was... was not in the best condition. While last time he'd been under Setsuna's knife as it were, he'd been in far worse, this was no picnic.

He was covered in bruises and burns, albeit minor. And his magic had been utterly drained, an effort to contain the magic blast on himself. His chest had probably the worst blast. He hadn't just blocked it, he'd done everything he could to contain it, even with his own body.

On the upside, his wounds were... nowhere near life threatening. He'd likely wake up shortly, a few hours at most. He was primarily exhausted and unable to maintain consciousness. He was going to be utterly ravenous when he woke up. Still, whatever caused him to overexert himself in such a manner must have been utterly terrifying.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou gently takes Chrono into her arms from Molly, then nods.

She looks at the other two young women, "Follow in behind me and I'll take care of things. They'll probably have you wait for a bit while he's admitted, but once we have him in a room I'll let you know which one and you can meet us there."

And with that, Nurse Meiou strides in and gets attention from some of the ER staff.

What follows is a whirlwind of paperwork and creative lies and halftruths...hurt in a minor explosion. Some kind of gas leak that caught off. Companions recognized school nurse. Did check for injuries, nothing that would preclude movement. Was close enough to hospital that carrying him would be quicker than ambulance leaving, picking up and carrying back. Here is his information. Doublecheck for anything serious. Needs some patching up, rest, and observation. Admitting him. Room assignment.

Chrono's condition is pretty straightforward, but due dilligence must be done...so it's around an hour before Molly and Rashmi get a text from Setsuna:
    << Come up. He's in Room 819 >>

When the two arrive, they'll find Chrono arranged in bed and Nurse Meiou sitting nearby in her chair, reading a book as she absently spins a pen through her fingers.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
With Setsuna taking charge of Chrono, there's not... really much for Rashmi to *do* other than sit and worry. And fiddle with her phone as a cover to set up a telepathic connection, and gently interrogate Molly for the particulars of the incident.

<< What was happening? >>
<< Was the girl with guns a blond? >>
<< Why was Chrono not in his regular henshin? >>

And other, similar questions. But the moment the two girls get the text, she's up and out of the chair, trying and utterly failing to not look *too* worried. Chrono has, after all, nev-- has only been hurt this badly o-- twi-- three times before. And that's before getting into the Paris insanity.

Nope, Rashmi is not worried at all and is absolutely keeping it together and not about to fly apart at all.

Nope nope nope.

Molly Skyline has posed:
And here's Molly, having dropped her henshin upon walking through the door of the hospital in favor of a black skirt, her scrappy denim jacket that's slowly acquiring more and more patches of the things she likes, and a white t-shirt with a gundam emblazoned on the front (the Heavy Arms, if anyone is wondering). She's sitting beside Rashmi, doing her best to play it cool, but it's hard when one of the people she cares about the absolute most is sitting beside her worrying and one of the other ones is upstairs being unconscious.

So, she does her best to keep Rashmi's and her own mind off it by answering the questions.

<< Battle at the Docks, >> she explains. << A piece of the Arthra came through. Debris rained down on everything, we couldn't stabilize a time-space barrier so we had to fight it out in the real world, the debris came from the Archra's engine section and it was making everyone's magic go weird. >>

She pauses, biting her bottom lip as she works on recalling details. << ...Yeah, the girl with the guns was blonde. We had a disagreement, and I'm sure she would've shot me but everything that came out of her guns at that moment was just a ribbon that swaddled her up like a baby. Riventon was there like I said, and a tiny person with a scythe that Starcrash kept warning me about. I would've unloaded into Riventon but it just ended up being fireworks. >>

That's most of the explaination, but there's just a bit more to be said. << Chrono was in a technician henshin, trying to shut down the... whatever it was making everyone's magic go wild. ...Like, I couldn't get a shield up, Starcrash was constantly warning me I was gonna die if I got hit by like anything. I was trying to shield him from Riventon, until Chrono got pulled away. So then-- >>

And about that moment, there's the text from Setsuna and she's up out of her seat as well, beating feet to keep up with Rashmi on the way into the elevator.

<< So this tall grown-up lady showed up, turned the thing off, gave it to me and told me to take *real good* care of it, and then the Blonde with the guns basically fired off a nuke and Chrono shielded us all from it, which knocked him out. I was gonna catch him but Sailor Moon beat me to it. ...And that was when I texted you. >>

Once they reach the eighth floor, Molly lets Rashmi get off first and falls into step behind her, so her friend can get to Chrono's side first.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown opened his eyes, finally... and it was a clear sign that he needed to sit his butt back down because almost instantly he was trying to crawl out of bed. "I-I'm fine," he said, only to, most likely, be pushed right back into his bed. Okay, that was... likely NOT expected. Sure, he was an overworker, but...

"S2U, act... oh," he said, blinking blearily up at the faces over his bed. "Huh," he said. "You're already here. I found her. My moth--" Then he stopped himself. Slow, deep breath. "The admiral. I found Admiral Lindy Harlaown. She was at the site. I need to get there before she disappears, I--" And he tried to get up again, only to feel a sharp pain through his bruised, aching body. "I need to get out there before she disappears again."

Chrono was... something... tantamount to panic. Then he looked to Molly and... "W-wait, the blast. Was I able to contain it? The admiral can't use magic right now, is she--"

Yup, trying to contain it, at least. But if something that powerful got launched with his mother right there, was there any wonder he ended up getting hurt to protect her?

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Indeed, as Chrono tries to get up out of bed, he'll feel a rather immovable arm holding him down, followed by an admonishment in a severe tone (because she's fairly certain that only whipcrack military intonation is likley to break through any preoccupation the young Enforcer might have at the moment), "Chrono Harlaown, you are NOT getting out of that bed. Please stop trying or I'll be forced to use the dose of Midazolam I keep onhand for unruly patients. If necessary, I WILL sedate you to the gills and take pictures while the floor nurses coo over how cute you are."

Instruction/threat delivered, she blinks and narrows her eyes at the first slip from Chrono...then when he names the 'Admiral', she frowns outright.

There's going to be NO getting him to calm down over this until steps are taken. A deep sigh is had...but fortunately, one of the solutions just walked in the door.

She looks over at Rashmi, "Rashmi...if you would be so kind as to keep your boyfriend from trying to get his idiot ass up from a hospital bed, I'll see what I can do about the thing that he is, understandably worked up about."

After a momentary beat, she goes on, "And if you can have Nicomachea please put a subtle sound baffle on the room? I suspect that we don't want any busybodies eavesdropping on us at the moment.

A nod is given to Molly, "Thank you for the medivac, Molly-chan. If the two of you will excuse me for a moment, I'm going to step over here and see what I can do."

With that, she steps to the other side of the room, retrives her phone and starts making some calls.

Fortunately, with money comes options.

As does CENTURIES of learning how to make contacts and how to get certain talented people on retainer.

Things happening at the Docks means it's highly unlikely that random bystanders were involved. Anyone in the area would almost certainly have been supposed to be there...so she gets one of her contacts to start looking at records for people who work in and around the Docks (and would thus have to have identification from the local port authority) to check for anyone who more or less matches the particulars of Admiral Harlaown that the younger enforcer gave her some while ago.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Chrono," Rashmi says in that forced-casual 'Boy I am about to Show Emotions and the only thing keeping from doing that is the fact that you are in a hospital bed' tone of voice, "you're in the hospital right now. I need you to *stay* in the hospital until people with better medical knowledge than you or I say it's okay to *not be in the hospital.* Okay?"

But four words float back through her consciousness, piercing the fragile skin of competence and diving into the churning ocean of worry beneath. 'My moth-- Admiral Harlaown'

...Well, dammit.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Rashmi draws in a deep breath, then rests her hand on the least-scorched bit of Chrono's face she has access to. "You got it, Setsuchan," she says, her eyes never leaving the Enforcer's. Around her neck, Nicomachea sounds a cheery *ping!* and simply transfers himself into Active Mode, setting up the sound-baffling barrier on his own recognizance.

"...So what Molly-chan was just telling me is, whatever's on the news about the docks, it was another chunk of the Arthras, and this happened at the end of a fight over the bits. But... Yes, Chrono, if Sailor Moon can catch you as you *fall out of the sky* and have the spoons to pass you off to Molly-chan, nobody who wasn't fighting there got hurt. ...Can you tell me what the thing was that was warping magic, and..."

Rashmi stops, blinking, and turns to fix Molly with a curious stare. "...She *gave* it to you? ...D'you still have it?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly follows Rashmi into the room, and takes up a spot beside the bed, beside Rashmi. She nods to Setsuna, and flashes a quick smile. "I can fly, it made the most sense for me to do it," she murmurs. "Besides, Chrono-kun would've done it for me if I was the one who got hurt."

The purplenette looks back down at Chrono, and nods quickly, "Yeah, you were able to contain it," she answers, "You contained the whole thing. Everyone's fine. Including..." she trails off for a moment, "Including the Admiral, your... your mother, right?" She pauses, "But I didn't see which way she went afterwards. Sailor Moon caught you, and I rushed you here immediately afterwards. So I just... I just know she's okay. I think Nurse Meiou is working on finding her right now."

To get over feeling utterly boneheaded about missing a detail that didn't seem all that important at the time but has just now become the most important thing in the world, Molly offers a quick nod to Rashmi. "Yeah, I still got it," she replies, "Of course I've got it. I promised I'd personally take care of it, I won't be letting it leave my person." She takes a step back from the bed and plucks the jewel from her earing, shifting into her Henshin; and then opens a container on the side of her hip, producing the softball-sized metal object. "Wasn't sure if I should put it in Starcrash's storage, though," she explains. "It's turned off right now so it's safe. I'm really not sure what it is or what it does, but I also don't want to start flashing it around here, so I'll be putting it away again promptly."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown closed his eyes and took a long, slow breath. Processing it. All of it. Bit. By. Bit.

If he focused on it all at once, he'd be overwhelmed. He'd... crumble...

And Rashmi could see it in his eyes, the way they were wavering, the way his breathing was just a little faster. A little more rapid. A little... more... deep...

Then as it shifted. As he calmed, as he sat up, a little straighter. As he dampened, controlled, his emotions. As he drove it all down. Buried it. "I... see," he said. "Good." His hand reached up, to hold Rashmi's... and gently pulling it from his face. "I'm okay, now." No. No he was not. But he was as good as he was going to be. "That was part of the Arthra's engine. That was a regulator. I can only imagine that the magic of this world caused... so much damage to it and it was struggling to compensate. It'd require someone who specialized in that kind of technology to do something with it, but at the very least it is turned off for now. It shouldn't be able to be turned on again by anyone. So, for now? Molly, it's likely best you hold onto it."

"For the moment, it's harmless and you couldn't activate it even if you wanted to. But Riventon is likely going to come after it again. He'll suspect I have it and, if not me, Rashmi or Setsuna. Keeping it with you avoids him knowing where it could be and he has a... less than stable desire to search out every artifact he can get his hands on, it seems."

"Keeping it in Starcrash should be fine."

He then, slowly, sunk back down and sighed. "She's here, though. I finally *found her*. I knew she would be okay but... I know she's here. I'll find her again if I have to turn the whole city upside down. She's... here."

"... She's okay..." And he was trying to suppress it, to bury those feelings, but even for him it was... a struggle. Rashmi could see just how much he was struggling to bury those feelings, that worry, that pain.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou steps back over to the bedside tucking her phone into a pocket, "Alright. I have someone looking over records of everyone who works there or near there. Which should let us know in fairly short order who she's registered as and where she's living right now. Once we have that information, we can make further decisions."

She then gives Chrono a very intense look, "...but I *WILL* make sure she's taken care of and safe. Money isn't a problem for me and can solve a LOT of problems for people caught on the mundane side of life."

A few moments after making that declaration, however, she sighs and visibly relaxes a little, "...on another note, I'm thinking that as your medical professional of record, I should ban you from ever getting directly involved in any site investigation of part of the Arthra coming down...you have a worrying track record of coming out of them needing hospitalization."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi folds her hands over Chrono's, and leans her head down to kiss his curled fingers. "It'll be okay, Chrono," she murmurs. "We're gonna make sure she's all right. We're your team, Chrono... Let us do this for you, after *everything* you've done for us, okay?"

"Thank you, Setsuchan, Molly-chan," she says, shifting her chair such that she can keep everyone in the room, in her field of vision. "I know it's what friends do, but... I owe you a lot for doing it. No matter whether you ever want to collect on it in the future at all. Just... thank you for saving my boyfriend. And taking care of-- of Admiral Harlaown."

She *wants* to say 'his mother,' *wants* to acknowledge the true depth of what it means that Molly and Setsuna have done for one of the people she cares about more than anything... But she has *not* missed that Chrono can't admit it out loud, for all that his frantic control of his emotions practically shouts his feelings from the top of Mt. Fuji.

If he can't face it yet, then she's not gonna force him to.

<< Also, Molly-chan. For somethng potentially dangerous like that, you're gonna want to use Starcrash's secure-storage subsystem. In this particular case, the verbal command is 'Register: Arthra Regulator Core.' Once Starcrash confirms the registration, the command is usually something like 'Seal It.' This way there'll be no *chance* it decides to get frisky, short out, and regulate your inventory. >>

'Regulate your inventory' seems a sufficiently arcane and mysterious phrase, to encompass all manner of cross-dimensional Bad Things Happening.

"While we're here, Chrono... is there anything else we can get for you?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly shakes her head, "Rashmi-chan, you don't owe me anything," she asserts, "And I mean that. I will *always* do everything I can for both of you, and I'll never ask anything." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "All three of you dropped everything to come save me from an airplane with shark-chompers that was preparing to dine onf British cuisine, and besides, I know without a doubt that if I'm ever laying on the ground totally ruined, you'll carry me straight here."

With that, she smiles, and then takes a couple steps back to do as Rashmi advised; there's some murmuring of instructions, some acknowledgements from Starcrash, and Molly even takes it a step further by issuing a password for retrieval, which apparently Starcrash can do. Handy!

As Molly returns to the bedside, she shifts back out of her henshin and returns Starcrash's jewel to her earring. "Okay but like, aslo, if Riventon comes after either of you for the thingy and he's gonna win, seriously throw me under the bus. Tell him I've got it, and just warn me he's coming, I'll just run like hell until I've got backup. I'm not about to have either of you getting beat up on my behalf."

She looks up at Setsuna, and gestures towards her friends, "Nurse Meiou, please back me up on that one? I really don't want my friends getting hurt for me, even if it's good strategy. This isn't chess, I don't care about strategy. Just... I don't like seeing my friends in hospital beds."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small, grateful nod to Setsuna. "Thank you. I would appreciate that. I... imagine all of this must be very confusing for her. Especially considering... some of the things she said. As for the... banning? Well... I am afraid such a banning would be... ineffective. As much as I appreciate and respect your authority, Setsuna, I would have to, respectfully, break such orders. The Arthra is my responsibility as much as it is anyone's."

He then glanced to Rashmi and shook his head. "No. I do not feel I particularly need much. While I was in a non-combative suit at the time, it is designed for.... emergency situations. It managed to soak the majority of the blow, though it will likely be in self repair mode for a while. I... perhaps should have focused on beating Riventon and his colleagues down before stopping the disruption, but I felt ending the distortion effect should take priority."

He then glanced towards Molly and shook his head. "No. When Riventon does that, as far as he knows, the device will be in a safespot that he does not have access to. The same locale that the jewel seeds and everything else we don't desire him to get a hold of is resting. Even if he knew it was with you, he'd find some other reason to attack us, or anyone else he felt might have something he wants, so it wouldn't do any good to send him after you to begin with," he said. His voice filled with just... a bit... of anger. A lot of anger, actually...

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou looks down at Molly, then arches an eyebrow and smirks, "Worse comes to worst, Molly-chan, get to myself or Chrono. I have a place to hide you that I ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that *NOBODY* will be able to follow you to to lay low in for a while, and Chrono has one of the spare keys for it, so either of us can get you there. The main downside is that you won't be able to get back without one of us."

Chrono's comment about 'breaking orders', however, gets a rather different reaction.

Nurse Meiou turns to look at him once more, "The first time, you came within TWO CENTIMETERS of being HALF the man you are now, and I had to spend two hours, forty-eight minutes and thirty seven seconds stitching you back together racing ahead of a case of total circualtory system collapse."

She looks around, then braces herself on the bed railing while pointing at Chrono as she says, "THIS time, you apparently came within a few inches of being turned into chunky salsa ALL OVER someone...and while I understand why you did it both times, perhaps given that Murphy is making you his EXTRA ESPECIAL chewtoy during these things, perhaps take a more supervisory support role that you are SINGULARLY QUALIFIED FOR in the next one rather than constantly getting into melee where your skills and abilities are VASTLY WEAKER?!"

A sharp eye not distracted might note the white-knuckled grip she's putting on the railing...and the slight tremble in her wrist from tightly clenched muscles as she points.

Before she can go on, however, there's a noise from her pocket.

(a sharp ear will hear it as someone saying 'It's in that place I put that thing that time.')

Nurse Meiou pauses in place...closes her eyes and visibly takes a deep breath...then steps deliberately back after having to let go of the railing, "...one moment...this should be my contact getting back to me."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Setsuchan," Rashmi says quietly, "it's okay to just tell him you were worried, and to treat his own person at least as carefully as he'd treat us. And, Chrono darling? I understand. But we're all worried, right now. So... can you at least promise you'll *plan* for more caution next time? Plans go awry, but... Without you, there's no TSAB on Earth, y'know?"

Frowning a moment in thought, she looks up, keeping Molly and Chrono alternately in view. "So... Why the big blast *after* it was turned off? The way you're talking, the only way she could manage a proper explosion and not a ball of silly string was *because* it was shut down. "...D'you think she was trying to keep it *all* away from our side?"

She pauses, and restates her question more clearly. "D'you think she, and by extension Riventon, assume the regulator was *destroyed?*"

It would, after all, be the best of both worlds, and a fitting tactic for the Frankentech Who Cannot Have Something.

"So like... if we just kept it to ourselves, he'll never know?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I didn't fly you here like I wasn't worried," Molly adds, looking down at Chrono from where she's standing. "I rushed here as fast as my wings would carry us. And texted Rashmi-chan as I was leaving, and she texted Nurse Meiou, so you got... basically you got medical care wtihin like, three minutes. ...But I used up over half my mana in that fight and of the people still aorund, I was the only one who can fly."

Molly holds her hands out to her sides, palms up. "I couldn't make a shield that entire fight, so if the girl with the rifles had shot me or the... short person with the scythe had gotten to me, of if I'd burned up all my mana, I wouldn't have been able to fly you out. So... they're right. I knw this is gonna smack of hypocricy coming from me, but maybe don't always be on the front lines. You're a commander. So command. We'll *all* be better off if you do that."

Molly shifts a bit, moving just enough to keep everyone a bit more properly in view while Setsuna gets some distance, without leaving the bedside or functionally moving from Rashmi's side. "And like... something I want to ask all of you, but especially Rashmi-chan and Chrono-kun? I'm not a delicate flower, just... make better use of my in battles, okay? Call targets for me, stuff like that. I can dish out a lot of damage if I know what to hit. Especially since we got that module the other day and Rashmi-chan taught me how to make my own spells."

The purplenette mmms, and shakes her head. "I'm certain they just didn't want anyone to have it if they couldn't, to explain why they fired a mini-nuke at us," she muses, tapping her chin. "I mean... I don't know. Personally if I was firing off a massive attack like that, I'd be paying attention to make sure it landed. No way I'd just shrug and hope for the best. But... I guess it's a gambit we could try, next time it comes up. 'Yeah, sure it's destroyed, why d'you think I rushed Chrono to hospital after you dropped a bomb on us?'"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown just nodded along with Setsuna. "Extenuating circumstances," he said firmly. "Dangerous or not, the Arthra is my duty as I am, in many ways, the sole person on this planet with the proper awareness of what it is capable of. Getting into melee has not been my intention or attempt either time." Heck, this time he wasn't even IN melee.

He did glance to Rashmi and then nodded. "Of course. Were... things different, I wouldn't have... ended up like it. And it's possible. I couldn't allow that blast to go off, though. The admiral lacks magic at the moment and while her capabilities dwarfed my own in her true state, like this? She was incredibly vulnerable and I couldn't let her get harmed." He loved his mommy. "That is true, though. Hiding it from him isn't the worst idea. Pick up the scraps left behind. Very little of them should be anything approaching a threat."

He then sighed and glanced back to Molly. "I understand, but trust me. I do, generally, try to avoid stepping directly into the front lines when I can avoid it. In most cases, I feel the people on this planet are better equipped to deal with the magic here." In other words, throw BS magic at other BS magic. "However, Riventon has proved himself, repeatedly, to be a force multiplier for his side. Isolating him from the rest of his group is usually the most effective methodology to avoid him causing too destructive an impact. And with things like this, the Arthra? I did, legitimately, try to take a less combative role. Unfortunately, while I wasn't trying to directly fight our enemies, they were quite keen to drag me into battle, so I had no real choice. I'll endeavor to not have that happen in the future."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou stands over to the side of the room for a few minutes. Every so often there's a soft 'bling' as a new message arrives. Finally, she nods and sighs, then tucks her phone away.

She visibly takes a moment to center herself, then steps back, "Alright. We've got her digital presence flagged, such as it is. She's fairly new. Came out of nowhere. Managed to get a job in security at the Docks...ended up running it in short order by being terrifyingly effective at her job. Got on the wrong side of a few prima donnas and their personal fiefdoms...said prima donnas got quickly ousted by higher ups with a modicum of sense once it became apparent that basically her entire crew would willingly lie down in traffic for her...so efforts to screw her over would be monumentally stupid."

Just before she's able to go on, her phone goes off with the 'that thing that time' quote again, and she fishes it out to take a look, "...and according to my contact, 'when she has some, she takes her coffee the same way you do'."

Nurse Meiou spends a few moments looking confused by that, then shrugs, "Whatever."

That said, she turns to Molly, "Given that your stated strengths seem to have a very strong offensive focus over defense, I might suggest either leaning towards 'high precision, high damage' and being a sniper or learning to be a 'grid square removal system' and do artillery-style area denial. Maybe a little of both."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Chrono's hand gets patted, and Rashmi turns a sweet, genuine smile upon him. "I know, dear," is all she says, and underneath it is all the trust and understanding she can hold.

For nothing is ever simple, and no plan ever survives contact with the enemy. So the best he can ever do, is the best he can do, and that will be enough.

Nodding along with Setsuna's explanation, Rashmi looses a sigh, a weight truly leaving her shoulders. Admiral Harlaown is now watched, and protected, and making her successful way on a strange and alien planet. Only the lack of the Veil in her specific instance, could make the finding any better. But with that beyond their reach -- for now -- Lindy's safety is as assured as it can be.

As the Guardian comments on Molly's potential growth, Rashmi nods. "That's *definitely* the kind of testing you want to do under Barrier," she notes. "And since we've only found one of the missing modules... Maybe there'll be more expansions for your grimoire the next one we find, Molly-chan," she says with a smile. "Then we'll see if Starcrash already knows if he's primed for sniper or blaster!"

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Yeah I'll get there," Molly acknowledges. "And there's definitely more modules out there, so... who knows what Starcrash'll be able to do when he's all back together again." She shrugs lightly. "By the way, anyone who wants to come down to my Mom's tuner shop after hours to work on spells, I'd lvoe the company." She looks Setsuna's way, and bobs her head. "Looks like some of each so far, and I like being flexible that way."

The purplenette looks down at Chrono, and then back up to Rashmi. "I mean it, by the way, call me into more battles. You too," she adds, looking to Setsuna as well. "I will *always* have your back, whatever you need, whenever you need it. And if you're the one who gets hurt I'll make sure you get to hospital. Always. And you never have to owe me anything for it. ...My Moms adopted me when they really didn't have to, and most people looking to adopt get a baby and not a teenager, so I'll be paying that favor forward for the rest of my days 'cause there's no way I can ever pay it back."

Molly shrugs her shoulders lightly, "Can't focus only on long range though, gotta have a plan when someone gets up close and in my face. ...Like that person with the scythe? And like, nobody's told me who she was yet. ...Her or the girl with all the guns, like she was a one-woman firing squad."

She takes a step back, so she can lean against the nerest wall, and rests her hands clasped tohether behind her head. "So, Chrono-kun, you're gonna be here for a little while... can I bring you like... some comic books or something? Special delivery through the window, hospital staff never needs to know."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown laid back and let out a breath that... well....

In the entire time they'd known him? They'd never seen tension leave his body quite like this. As if he was just... for a moment... able to relax. In a way they'd, honestly, never seen. IT was kind of... odd. In a nice way. He was calm. He was relaxed. His mother was okay. The thing that had plagued him since he arrived on this planet...

She was okay. Finally.

"Yeah, that sounds like the admiral, alright..." He reached out and grabbed Rashmi's hand, squeezing it. "I'm going to find her... again... when I'm out of here. I'll get out of here.... before long."

He then glanced to Molly and gave her a small smile. "Don't overdo it, Molly. We're not keeping you out of fights, but don't push yourself in a desperate attempt to prove you can be depended on. We're all a team here. I rarely fight anything alone and I have more actual combat experience than... probably anyone here." He gave Setsuna a little side eye. She... had more experience than him, but combat? He couldn't say. "But it's not hard to get in over your head. This is why I host those weekly training sessions, to help people develop their powers. And I know I'm not the only one, with the school's conselor hosting her own. As for the girl with the scythe? She's... Fate. Incredibly dangerous. Her mother is many, many times moreso. Do *not* engage her alone. One mistep and she could take your head. As for the girl with the guns? I think that'd be more Rashmi's department than mine. But Fate? Fate is from my jurisdiction, not this planet. And she is incredibly dangerous."

He left out the fact that he had fought Fate before. Well, twice, but the first time she had sneak attacked him and he hardly counted that.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou reaches over and gives Molly a little sidehug as she comments about her parents adopting her, "Well, from what I can see, Molly-chan, they seem to have made an excellent choice...and I'm very much glad they did."

She then leans over and asides to the purple haired young woman in a stage whisper easily audible to all around, "...that comment about 'almost made him half the man he is'? That was Fate that did that. Our little Enforcer has some rightful pride in his chops...but up close, she owned his ass like he was bought and paid for, and from what I understand, she's pretty fast to close the gap, too. People like her? They're why I suggest you get at least reasonably good with grid square removal...because when you're facing someone who dodges between raindrops, sometimes your best recourse is the option of 'screw you and your entire postal code'."

She then steps away and over to the bed...where she hugs Rashmi for a few moments and gives the redhead a kiss on the top of the head before murmuring just loud enough for her to hear, "...keep your dummy safe."

Then she turns to the bedridden Chrono...and after a few moments of obviously reconsidering giving a hug to someone who's had a rib injury...Nurse Meiou reaches over and gives the Enforcer a headpat and hair scuff.

She only does so for a few moments, "Get some rest, Chrono. Once my contact gets me the details, I'll forward them to Rashmi and you can figure how you want to handle that going forward."

She then leans forward and plants a kiss on Chrono's forehead before turning and walking off, "At the moment, however, I need to be heading back home before any of my housemates decide to possee up and come looking for me. Probably better bring dinner while I'm at it."

Halfway out the door, she glances over at Molly, "Hey, Molly-chan...fire off your moms' shop's address to my phone. Sushi sounds good tonight since we had Khorma yesterday."

With that, she gives one final wave and ducks out.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I don't know much about the gun girl," Rashmi says quietly. "I know she's a Puella, like Amy-chan. I don't know what Riventon gave her that has her willing to work for Obsidian, but..." At this, Rashmi shrugs. "I guess Witches are a pain for both sides, so... Yeah. They have a Puella. I wouldn't take her on one-on-one either, but I'm not *as* terrified of her as I am of Fate. I *know* how strong Fate is, Molly-chan. She turned one of her big guns on me, and I *barely* managed to keep myself from getting ruined by it. Against her, you want to survive. Win if you can squeak it out, but try harder to survive than to win."

When Chrono takes her hand, she beams at the Enforcer, nodding decisively. "Just let me know if you want to meet her alone, or if you want me there. Either way I understand... but I'd like to meet her, if it's okay."

Fair's fair, after all. Chrono met her parents first!

She stands as Setsuna approaches, and returns the hug with emphasis. "Don't worry," she murmurs back. "That's *been* my one job. Everything else I've ben learning? All toward that."

When the tall woman steps away, Rashmi lifts her hand in a cheerful wave. "I'm gonna stay here until they kick me out, so... Drive safe!"

Nicomachea still has her entire film library, audiobooks, and a telepathic interface she can loop Chrono into. There will not be a lack of entertainment within this hospital room.

And besides... With Chrono losing at least some of the stress that has been riding him since he woke up on Earth?

Kami help us, the kid might *actually relax this time.*