2149/TCOS: Reports, Questions, Answers

TCOS: Reports, Questions, Answers
Date of Scene:	06 December 2024
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Human Resources
Synopsis:	Keaka approaches Fuyuko to report on Aloisia's transformation into the Prinzessin Nichts and ask a few questions. The answers she receives are not what she would have hoped for.
Cast of Characters:	Keaka Hoshiko, Fuyuko Yuuhi
Tinyplot:	The Crown of Succession

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Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
( Directly following https://radiantheartmush.com/2090/TCOS:_The_Prinzessin_and_the_Magi )

    Clarthas eventually stumbles through the front door and past the front desk, getting some looks as she almost bumps into people multiple times on the way to the elevator and feels around for the call button. It's so dark, after staring at the light of the Prinzessin... She steps inside, asks "Which floor is HR?" and someone answers, and she holds her hand up to the buttons. Squinting. She can kind of see if she focuses...

    "Two over to the right." Sarida offers, from her left hand, and she moves her right index finger over to the indicated button. "Thanks."

    The elevator opens and Clarthas steps out. Now, to find Fuyuko's office...

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Luckily for Clarthas, she doesn't have to find Fuyuko's office (though it's at the end of the hall, near the door marked Director's Office that's seemingly permanently abandoned). This is because Fuyuko herself isn't in her office, but is standing among the cubicles, giving instructions to various employees -

"As you all know, it's near the end of the year, so we need have those quarter-end employee assessments in. I don't care if you need to start stringing the managers up by their ankles, make sure we have every one of those initial assessments in by next Monday!."

She seemingly hasn't noticed Clarthas coming up; in actuality, she has, because it's impossible to miss the sound of magic, low thrumming electronics, coming from Clarthas, but she'd rather see what this visitor to her domain has to say.

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    Oh there is a meeting going on nearby. Should she drop out of henshin? ...Yeah maybe. 'Sarida,' she whispers into the gem, and it gets the hint, and Clarthas Anode is replaced by Keaka Hoshiko, normal Obsidian Employee who dresses kinda weird and wears that cosplay gauntlet all the time but who isn't weird at this company, right?

    She wonders if they really do string the managers up by their ankles at Obsidian...

    She squints. Okay, not a hallway, this area is a cube farm. "Ms. Yuuhi?" She approaches as far as there are no people between them. "Can I talk to you for a moment after this? It's about Ms. Stauss... I think she may have, ah... changed status? I'm not sure what the HR-speak for it would be."

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
There's a dispersal of magic, the electronics dimming, the sound fading to a low background rumble, and Fuyuko turns her head in Keaka's direction before she even opens her mouth.

Her underlings look relieved - they know their boss, and they know that for Keaka to have her attention, she's decidedly more important than them, and they are free.

"I'm done with them," she says briefly, and walks towards her off, waving a hand in a gesture for Keaka to follow. "Come on then, and tell me what's going on with Strauss-san now. Maybe it will excuse that she's under quota."

Once they're in her office, a spacious room with a large window and several quite pretty, quite fake plants, Fuyuko sits in her chair and steeples her fingers.

"You didn't have to drop your henshin; my managers are used to dismissing the eccentric looks of staff higher than them."

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    Keaka follows, although she continues to seem less aware of her surroundings than usual. "Ah. I see." She squints around for the chair, touches it to check its orientation, and sits.

    "So. It's been awhile." Sarida adds a cheerful, "Hello!" before she straightens up a bit and continues. She never liked formal meetings, but she's been in -- or has Martin's memories of -- enough briefings and occasionally being dragged along on diplomatic dinners and such, to manage. "I have something to report. You probably sensed that... pulse of dark energy recently, right? I went to investigate... And it was Aloisia Stauss. Or... at least it seemed to be."

    "She was raiding a museum for some reason. Or, no... she'd broken in and was looking at statues, as if searching for something. But the moment I went to talk to her, she attacked. She's... I mean, I imagine you've seen this kind of thing before? Someone finds a powerful Lost Logia and isn't themself?"

    "Anyway, after escaping, when she didn't chase me I took the opportunity to..." How can she put this... "...use Abstract Science techniques to..." what word fits. "Observe? Sense? To look at her conceptually, and she's definitely being puppeted by... Not her Device, which has been corrupted by Darkness somehow, but this... entity inside her. It's like a..."

    She fumbles a bit to find words for what was just so obvious and clear when you look at what things are.

    "A ruler-to-be of Nothingness. Who will bring about Nothingness."

    She hesitates a bit, while deciding whether to say more.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"So it has," Fuyuko affirms, looking over Keaka and Sarida both with a critical-if-nonjudgemental eye. "You've been bounced through the departments, since Beryl was knocked off, so I suppose I am the best choice to take your report."

From there, she listens to the story patiently, affirming with a quiet noise that she had indeed felt the dark pulse recently, though she hadn't investigated it. Her brow raises ever so slightly at the news that Aloisia had been breaking into museums, and she frowns very faintly at the news that she wasn't quite herself. When the story is done, she leans back in her seat, watching Keaka. R
"If that's the case, it seems there's no reason to wait for her professional assessment for the term. She won't be meeting energy quota in a state like that."

The words are as dispassionate as her next actions - lifting a pen to scrawl a quick note for Aloisia's supervisor.

"Did this analysis give any indication as to what sort of Nothingness we're discussing? An end to all things? An end to current things? A range between the two, or something else altogether?"

Aloisia Strauss is technically one of her charges, though she's never spent time with the girl. The news that she's being puppeted is mildly concerning, but -

"And was there any indication if this was a consensual matter?"

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    "She didn't seem to be collecting energy, no." Keaka shakes her head. "But I don't know why she was searching statues... perhaps there's another Lost Logia she's seeking, that looks like a statue?" And something about that idea alarms her.

    "...I mean... it depends on how you look at it..." She thinks. "An end to existence as we know it, I think. Whether it in particular seeks to end what comes after, I don't know. It's..."

    "I... have heard of a legendary class of Lost Logia:" and if only some of this information is from TSAB records of legends, and the rest is legends from elsewhere, the Earthlings will never know!

    She holds up Sarida, making a fist with her left hand and the back/gem facing Keaka. "These were named... Abhorrent Weapons, or World-Destroyers -- it's a translation thing -- after a legend of ancient artifacts said to kill the unkillable, anything, even immortals and gods."

    Keaka lowers her arm back to her lap. "I'm a little worried she found one of those. And what if she's looking for another of similar power? Err, sorry, what if the thing controlling her is looking for something similar?"

    Keaka takes a breath, and shrugs a little, shaking her head. "I can't say whether she submitted to the entity controlling her willingly -- only that it is surpressing her and puppeting her body. You... you'd be the one to have a better record of her personality and whether she seemed likely to give up her agency to destoy everything than me, right?"

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Searching for statues, intending to bring about the end of all things - these near apocalypses are beginning to feel a lot like Tuesday. It's kind of insulting that her bothersome mini-me couldn't be bothered to be near-apocalypse status, but, Kyouka would probably disagree - she had gotten plenty of chances to experience near-apocalypse status Fuyuko.

"Seeking an end to existence isn't exactly a novel career goal in this corporation, but it's a tad disconcerting from Strauss-san. She's usually a touch more level-headed than that." Which does point towards more of a 'non-consensual' change of intent, which is moderately troublesome.

"If it's a potential Lost Logia, you may want to bring it up with Precia's department," Fuyuko says frankly. "However, given the number of tables Facilities has had to order for her department, I'd recommend against pursuing that course of action."

Keaka isn't required too, after all. She's not under Precia's department, and cross-departmental reporting is optional.

"If the thing controlling for her is looking for a device of ancient and world destroying capability, then it may be in the company's best interest to either find it first or destroy it. The better question is what do you want to do, now that you've stumbled across the situation?"

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    Keaka looks briefly excited to meet Precia Testarossa, then deflated. "Ah... so she has a bit of a rage problem, or something? Not as bad as Director Beryl's, is it...?" She thinks of te frozen Sunbreaker...

    What does she want to do.

    She takes a breath. "About that... first, there's something I'd like to understand better. As you've said, ending the world isn't a novel career goal here. And yet, at the same time... some sound commited to not letting that happen. If we haven't banded together towards a common goal, nor to support eachothers' goals... then what is the purpose of Obsidian?"

    "I understand sticking together so the heroes can't mob you, but if there's no goal, what do we even achieve other than surviving until we leave or are picked off?"

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"She doesn't take kindly to failure. On the other hand, you aren't in her department, so she may not take as much affront with you." Doubt.jpg. She does not actually say how Precia's temper compares to Beryl's.

"Obsidian's purpose is winning. Collecting those who wield dark energy and oppose the warriors of the other side, who would rather the world continue to exist in it's ordinary mundanity. Outside of that, each Special Division has its own goals, unique to the relevant Director. What binds these forces, some of whom are in opposition and others of whom are in alignment, is the recognition that resources can be a scarce commodity, and the number of those in opposition are often greater than our own."

Though, in her lived experience, that number wasn't nearly so great as all this. Having so many Mahou all at once is still dizzyingly new.

"What's achieved, then, depends on who you're asking. What's received is far more than survival, however - research funding, development of talents, comfortable lifestyles - I would have to say our side is living far more comfortably than the other side is."

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    "Winning." Keaka echoes, folding her hands together in her lap. She listens to the rest of the shpiel, then scratches her head and sighs. "Look."

    She supposes Fuyoko is sort of a ... villainous guidance councilor? Or maybe as close as you get. Maybe it's time to come clean. At least partially.

    "I was mad at the world. It... gives rise to power structures that, even in the name of good, hurt people." And there's angry bitterness on her face. "Good people. So I figured... I'd tried being a hero. I'd tried being a... criminal working for the good of all against the law."

    She shakes her head. "Both, used me and rejected me. So if there's no place for me there, I figured I'd sign up for the other team, and take the power it offered. I'd help them, and watch my former allies lose, and then it would be all over and they could never hurt anyone again." Her voice growls that last part.

    "So I used my knowledge of a particular set of Lost Logia from an ancient war, and started planning to... call one to me." She holds her forearm up to show Sarida again. "But I had to put it into action in a hurry when I arrived here and my ship started falling apart."

    "...So now I have power. And I came to Obsidian because obviously you were the sort of folks I signed up to fight for. But that ancient war? Is long over, and it turns out that there's no one out there who was just waiting to hear someone was willing to help. There's no overwhelming force I get to join and see crush my enemies, no backup... But fortunately, unlike whatever's got Ms. Stauss, I am not bound by force to any objective.

    Sarida supplies, < Strictly speaking, the only promise you actually agreed to is to take care of me; To not call an intelligent being into existence such as myself only to abandon it. And I cannot even enforce that. I am a glove. And my purpose is to help you, above any greater cause. >

    Keaka nods. They've talked about it before.

    "So what now?" Keaka lowers her left, gauntleted hand to her lap, and makes a palm-up gesture with her right, gesturing at the lack of anything to do. "I just wanted to help somewhere. Be useful, and not in an exploited-and-tossed-out way but a rewarded one. Surely there is a place for that here?"

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Fuyuko is something like a villainous guidance counsellor, sure. Her job - her actual job - is to make people worse, to encourage them in their villainy, to keep the side of darkness thriving so that the struggle of light and dark can spin out into eternity. Not a cold war, but a vicious and ever-present active war, sparking innovation on both sides, forevermore.

So part of that is recruiting. Part of that is training. And part of that is listening to the stories of those who have found themselves in a mess, and might be on the verge of getting out.

"Yes, the world hurts people," Fuyuko says, bluntly. "They live, they struggle, they get hurt, they die. It sounds like you thought you could be someone who fixed that, but the most anyone can ever do is moderate things, especially if they don't have power."

She sits back in her chair, not particularly moved by this tale of struggle and rejection and woe, but displeased none the less.

"What do you want? You talk about wanting to change the world - about good people, in a way that implies there are bad people - but why do you care? What does it matter to you, if the world hurts good people? You wanted revenge, and now you've found that there is no revenge to be had, and now you're what, spiraling a tad? Struggling to figure out what's next for you?"

She places her hands down, on the surface of her desk, and spreads them.

"There are plenty of Special Divisions in Obsidian who would accept help. But if what you really want is to help good people, to make sure no one is hurt again, then you've come to the wrong place. If you hoped to avoid being exploited, you've come to the wrong place. We here in Obsidian will exploit you just as much as you exploit us - we will give you resources and expect that you will in return satisfy our needs, progress our objectives. That's why you have energy quota - which you're quite behind on, by the way - and that's why you have a company card, to charge your expenses too. If you want to be rewarded, push those objectives. If you want to make the world better on behalf of all those ungrateful souls without power? You're in the wrong place."

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    Keaka winces a bit at 'you thought you could be someone who fixes that' and 'the most anyone can do is moderate'.

    What does it matter to her?! Keaka stands up, fists clenched at her side. "It just does! If no one else can see it, then... as a villain, I don't need a reason! Making the world how we want it is what we do, right?! I don't need a reason or a justification, heroes refute that and punch you anyway!"

    Listening to the rest of the speech, there's... a flicker of disappointment she quickly puts up a poker face to hide.

    "For those ungrateful... no." She shakes her head. "Obviously, the people who feed on the goodness of others and use it to hurt... they don't need a better world."

    And with pushing her feelings inside, comes some mix of faking what they want to see and half-baked plans... perhaps the only kind she ever is able to come up with.

    "Those who will be grateful and pay it forward... perhaps there's a place for them." Could she... train heroes to be better? To not bow to abusive authority? To not become that?

    And. Y'know. If that is not possible -- if it truly is that Keaka's and Martin's nature was so far from that of human understanding, an their vision of what should be incomprehensible to others -- well, there's always destroying the world as a backup plan, isn't there?

    Maybe she can pursue both at once, and gain energy in the process...

    "If that's the only way forward, then fine. I was... hoping to get a big haul of energy by modifying the Eclipse Towers, but working around this world's Veil is troublesome. In the meantime... What's usually the fastest way to meet quota?"

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"If you don't understand your own motives, you won't understand what you actually want. If you don't know what you want, we can't help you achieve it."

The words are calmer, Fuyuko pulling back from supervillain speech time for a moment. Besides - Keaka is the one flustered now, and you learn so much when someone is flustered.

"There's a difference between making the world how we want it and making the people how we want it. And even more than that, there's a difference in what you can achieve on your own and what you need departmental support for." That flicker of disappointment isn't missed, and Fuyuko smiles, with nothing pleasant about it. "I'm not one of those who looks on with sympathy at the rest of the world, so I may not be the most receptive audience for your wishes, Hoshiko-san. But you do understand that we are the people who feed on the goodness of others, don't you?"

Let's get this cleared up. Let's make the truth of the world and this company understood as clearly as possible.

"The energy we collect is coming, predominantly, from ordinary citizens living their lives, unable to even comprehend the sacrifice those on the other side are making for them, unable to resent the use those on our side are making of them. If what you ultimately, truly want, is to make the world better... you signed up for the wrong team. That's unfortunate for you."

And there's a shade of something almost like sympathy in her voice.

"In the meantime, sending out youma to a crowded location and draining civilians is the fastest way to meet quota."

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    We're the ones stealing energy from good people. "At least you're honest about it. And you fight them with your own strength -- You don't hide behind 'regulations' or tell other wannabe heroes that the good they want means surpressing anyone who has a problem with it." That's a lot of copium to try and live with working for the evil organization, to be sure.

    "Draining them isn't killing them. It's not like the world, and any other organization, isn't draining them anyway. At least we'll make something of the energy taken."

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"That we will."

They're not honest about it. They've infiltrated lives, they are a megaconglomerate that has shaped aspects of economy, they are a force of capitalism unto themselves, but if that's what it takes to cope? Then she is more than content to allow Keaka to lie to herself.

"It can," she says, frank. "If you don't want it to, that's your job, your responsibility to take care of. I recommend avoiding killing because it will make you a higher priority target, but we aren't above collateral damage for the sake of our goals. Do your best, Hoshiko-san. Your quarterly review is coming up."

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    "Yeah. Noted. Not as if I was any stranger to collateral damage before." She turns and starts to walk out, coat and scarf rustling dramatically at the turn.

    She stops long enough to turn her head a bit and say, "Good luck with the Ms. Stauss situation." Before stepping forward and very nearly bumping the door, only /slightly/ fumbling for the knob to open it, and striding back to the elevator.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"As long as you're familiar," Fuyuko says, and now she sounds vaguely amused, watching Keaka leave, watching her near bump with the door, her fumbling for the knob. She watches her go, and then starts taking a few notes.

Now, as far as this Strauss situation... she should probably update her manager, shouldn't she? Ugh. Count Otto...