2371/The newest acquisition

The newest acquisition
Date of Scene:	02 March 2025
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Dark Laboratory
Synopsis:	Seriss is summoned before Mistress 9 so the awakened leader of the Tau Star System forces can take the measure of her capabilities. The newest experiment doesn't fail to impress... and with Dr. Tomoe aiding in readying her body and device for what is to come, can the sparkles expect anything but destruction and despair in their future?
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Molly Skyline

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Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Seriss was summoned before Mistress 9. And... oh... it was... a choice. Coming to Tomoe labs... The room was dark. There were the occasional lights, things burning in there...

And now? Five magic rods. In glass cases. Although... some of them looked... trashed. As if they were in the midst of being repaired. One had been shattered and turned to ash, even. Damn...

There was a figure sitting on the throne, her arms on the rest, back straight, hands out, looking forward...

Mistress 9.

The witches 5, or what remained of them... knew, admittedly, less of her than they cared to admit. Having not even been fully aware she was in Hotaru. But now? She was here. And apparently, compared to Kaolinite? She made her look like... well... like one of the witches 5 in comparison.

Nyx was... interesting, to Mistress 9. As she was... different. In some cases, like her. A body that had magical potential, but never realized it... and she brought magic of her own...

Molly Skyline has posed:
Seriss Nyx has spent the lst week and change feeling, generally, like the most powerful person in the room in every situation she's been in. At not point has she felt any worry that the people she's talking to might backstab her or, in the case of the Mahou, initiate a battle she can't win. Afterall, she did have magic of her own to begin with, before being put into a body that certainly wasn't lacking...

Even if its previous owner was rather criminally underutilizing it.

But this encounter is different, and even if Seriss didnt know that before she entered the room, she does now, as she walks in clad in her Barrier Jacket with the helmet off, and the Cygnus Lich held in her hand. Sitting in the throne there, is an entity that if it came to a battle, she might not win it. She probably wouldn't win it. (And she certainly allows herself the conceit of thinking she might have a chance.) But, that's unimportant; they're on the same side, and share the same goals.

Seriss' eyes wander over the magic rods, and she arches an eyebrow at the one turned to ash. She doesn't have long to look, however, before she's standing before the throne. So what does one do, before a throne?

Kneel.

Seriss drops to a knee, resting her free hand on it, and looking up, waiting for Mistress 9 to speak first.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Mistress 9 smiled when Seriss... knew her place. And oh, what a place it was. Before the throne. For the girl before her may have been special... a wizard, perhaps. A princess, mayhaps. But now? She knelt before the ruler. The queen. And the queen knelt before only one. A god. Pharaoh 90 himself.

"How have you found your new body?" Mistress 9 asked. She didn't sound... concerned. Worried about her. It was just... a question. Perhaps one filled with hidden meaning. Or perhaps...

"The witches 5 have been stripped of many of their members. Only two remain. Additionally, their leader, Kaolinite, was of the rank Magus. Even she has now perished before the sparkles.

"What do you make of this?" Mistress 9 asked, her eyes narrowed slightly on the girl. She was certainly something... different. But a daimon did reside within her... did it not?

Molly Skyline has posed:
"This body is more than I could have asked for. It is powerful, and its previous owner was formidable artillery mage, from waht I have been told, capable of a very impressive level of offensive output. Though apparently, she felt her best use of this power was to let herself die in the Dusk Zone." Seriss shrugs her shoulders lightly. "That, and she grossly underestimated her own power. I will make no such mistakes."

As the question is raised, about the dwindling numbers of the witches and the death of Kaolinite, Seriss purses her lips, taking a moment to think before she answers, so she has it properly reasoned out in her head just what she does make of that.

"Tellu and Viluy, I think, I are likely to soon follow in their compatriot's footsteps. All of the Witches suffer from the same miscalculation, of underestimating the Mahou and their..." she searches for the right words, "Persistence. They refuse to give up when they really should, and they tend to drop whatever they are doing and rush into any fight that starts up en masse."

Seriss smiles, "But, I am not a Witch. I am a Mahou -- or at least, this body was, and I have inherited its power along with my own. I am a different sort of opponent from what they are used to fighting. And..." she tilts her head, "I believe I have one great advantage; even if they should best me, their hope that they can save the child who lived in this body before me should stay their hand."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Mistress 9 gave a small smile before nodding. "Interesting. In that regard we are much the same. The mahou were... incredibly persistent in their attempts to capture me again. When I was freshly, awoken, I was even... susceptible. I am not entirely certain I could have escaped on my own. I have since recovered..." She held up a hand. "Alas, I still lack my full power."

"But before long, that will change and I will gain access to all of the power I need to draw our master into this realm. You... will need to be used for that. I will be leaving soon to test my powers, and these mahou, to see what they can bring to bear. I will expect the same from you, to gather what power you can, to bring to me."

"... For the time being, we are to not make enemies of those in Obsidian... but..." She then rose to her feet, towering over the other girl and began to walk down the steps, gesturing for Seriss to rise while she walked to the remains of the rods.

"The witches and magus that have perished are gone, their daimons burned away. However, we are reconstructing their rods. You say the power you wield is in that body is considerable..."

"Do you believe you are capable of wielding such?" she asked before glancing back to Seriss. "Of becoming a magus?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Seriss rises fluidly back to her feet and falls into step with Mistress 9, approaching the rods along with her. As they come to a stop, she rests the haft of the Cygnus Lich on the floor beside her, and regards the rods in front of her.

"I am devising a series of experiments," she answers. "Different sorts of Youma, to start off with. I'll be awakening the first one soon. I have no doubt that the Mahou will show up promptly, to fight it and destroy it. I've no doubt that they'll win." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "It doesn't matter. The point of the first one isn't to defeat them all, it's so that I can learn what I need to know to make the next one stronger, until I can do what I want to do, and bring you all the energy you'll ever need. In the meantime, I'll bring you everything I can."

The purplenette gazes back over the rods, and arches an eyebrow. Her next reply doesn't come immediately. No answers are given instantly, off the cuff, seeking only to fulfill what Mistress 9 wishes to hear. Her answers are measured, and their consequences considered.

"Yes," she answers at last. "Magus? Yes. I believe I could."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Mistress 9 glanced back towards her and the Cygnus Lich. Slowly, her eyes narrowed and she held out her hand to Seriss. Palm up, open.

She expected the girl to hand over her device, without question. Possibly not the... most comforting thought, if she was aware of the... antagonistic relationship betwee Mistress 9 and Luminous Titan.

"Fascinating," Mistress 9 mumbled. "The device my host wielded was made to help contain me. It... was mildly effective. But then, the boy who made it had no idea what he was truly doing. It kept my host from being destroyed by my power as I awoke.... but it had no hope of actually containing me. Still... it fought me every step of the way. A frustrating development from that... Riventon," Mistress 9 said with a hint of annoyance.

"He was clever. A shame his... adoration of this subject is such I doubt he would ever truly serve us if he were to know the full truth. And his ego is far, far too large to be a suitable host for a daimon."

"... Dr. Tomoe will be working to amplify your capabilities in the coming weeks. Kaolinite perished in her dedication to my awakening. If you are powerful enough... you may take her place."

Molly Skyline has posed:
Seriss swings her ornate staff around and holds it out horizontally before her, placing the spinal haft in her grasp, and letting her own hand fall back to her side. If she finds this exchange unsettling, then that fact doesn't register outwardly.

Cygnus Lich, however, definitely finds it upsetting to be away from his Mistress, even to this degree. Or at least, one would certainly assume that is what causes the general feeling of stress evident in his being.

"Cygnus Lich was previously called Starcrash," Seriss explains. "He was an incomplete device. It is a testiment to his previous wielder, who's body I now enjoy, that she was able to accomplish so much with what amounted to a broken toy. ...But now he is more complete. Riventon hasn't touched him, though," She quirks the corner of her lips up on one side. "But he has been upgraded, and there's room for more; and he never had an antagonistic nature to his wielder before, nor does he now." I am not contained by my device, she thinks but doesn't say; I am unleashed by it.

"Riventon is... interesting. I intend to keep an eye on him. ...I understand he led a team to look for the previous owner of this body, in the Dusk Zone, but Viluy found her first, which is most fortunate for me.

When Mistress 9 explains that Dr. Tomoe will be working on making her stronger still, Seriss bobs her head once. "I will be worthy of such a position," she answers. "I am eager to begin."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Mistress 9 nodded and held up the device... And for a moment...

Both Seriss and Cygnus would get a feeling. An impending feeling of the device being turned to dust.

Except, instead she held it back out to her. "I see. Do not grow overly dependent on your tool. The power of a daimon flows within you... and it should dwarf such an object as you regain your power. However... such a device... should make the tools of the deceased witches easier for you to bear." She walked towards one of the cases... That case held two rods. With a circle at the top, and a red star on one, blue on the other. The case went up and she didn't grab it with her hands...

Instead, her hair reached out, coiling around them, pulling them to her, before offering one to Seriss.

When Seriss reached out towards it... she'd feel the *power* within.

But also the *will*. A powerful, commanding, destructive will. A will that threatened to not just take hold of those who held it.... but to destroy that very will. A normal youma that wielded these would be destroyed in moments. Most humans would only last seconds longer...

And there were two of them. The scariest thing, though? Was that Mistress 9 was holding *both*. And she looked entirely unphased by them. Could Seriss hold one? With Cygnus there... could she pull off the feat, without having her strength and will destroyed by it?

Molly Skyline has posed:
If Seriss were to say that in that moment she wasn't nervous, she would be lying. But she hides it exceptionally well, as she waits for the moment to come where her staff is returned to her. Still, she doesn't snatch it back from Mistress 9's grasp, but just takes it back to hand in a leisurely, measured way.

"The device has its uses," she agrees. "And I must use it, at least for the time being; the body I now possess required it, changing that will take some time."

One of the rods is offered to her. She can feel the power inside it, even before she touches it. Her fingers hover over it, gauging the magic it posseses before she takes hold of it. She's not hesitating, or stalling; it's a test. An evaluation of what her senses tell her, before her fingers finally close around the rod and she takes it to hand, holding it up in front of her while her other hand holds Cygnus Lich borzontally, behind her back.

The power that flows through her as she takes the rod is considerable, and the strain it puts on her is visibly apparent; her veins stand out on her hand holding the rod, taking on a soft glow that works its way up above her elbow. At first she grits her teeth and her muscles tense.

But then her jaw relaxes, and her muscles deliberately shed their tension. She takes a deep breath and releases it slowly, gazing down at the rod.

She breathes deeply again, and looks up, back to meet the gaze of Mistress 9. Yes; yes. She can do this; her will remains intact.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Mistress 9 was delighted. The cruel, vicious look in her eyes... was delighted. Her hair moved out, taking a hold of the rod and pulling it back. Before both were put into their case. "Dr. Tomoe... no... Germatoid... tells me that we have yet to have any who can hold the staff. We've tried youma, and it died. Humans... wouldn't last long either and sacrificing so many for it would draw ire we do not need yet..."

"The pair were wielded by the first of the witches 5 to fall, when they got in my way and tried to take a heart crystal from me. Perhaps, had I known they'd be so difficult to replace, I would have restrained myself. But then... I wasn't very... pleasant then."

"... Germatoid will work on reinforcing both you, and your device, to withstand the forces expected of a magus. And, should you prove to meet our expectations? Perhaps you, too, can serve at my right hand as he does... all for the glory of our leader, Phantom 90. You are dismissed," she said, before turning to walk back towards her throne.

Molly Skyline has posed:
There is a small flash of relief when the rod is taken back. She might have held it, but it was a strain. But if Germatoid is going to reinforce her, and Cygnus Lich, so she can handle not one but two of them without issue? Oh, that is going to be absolutely delicious.

So the previous wielder tried to get between Mistress 9 and a heart crystal? Well, everyone makes mistakes, of cousre.

Seriss is still in her thoughts when Mistress 9 dismisses her, and it might for a brief moment seem like she missed it; but she didn't. She bobs her head, and offers a courtsy as Mistress 9 turns to walk back to her throne; and so Seriss does the same, walking back to the door.

Being third in command under a god? Or, well; second, if anyhting happens to Germatoid. But third is just fine.

Magus it is, then.