884/Lost Logia Counseling

Lost Logia Counseling
Date of Scene:	14 December 2023
Location:	Dorms #2
Synopsis:	Chrono meets with Sayaka and Klarissa to discuss the Scroll of Ka. He soon discovers just how terribly her condition had deteriorated and quickly realizes he's outside of his depth. He can maintain a sword that's working... but when the blade is already broken there is little he can do. It's time to call... the sparkle skirts.
Cast of Characters:	Chrono Harlaown, Sayaka Miki

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Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown had spent hours over the last few days studying, tossing, re-studying, going through files, re-re-restudying...

Now he finally had some suggestions on how to fix Sayaka and, more importantly, recover the lost logia.

He lightly knocked on her door, standing straight, arms folded behind his back, looking every drop the soldier everyone knew he was. Well, everyone magic.

He was wearing a simple pair of work pants, a sweatervest and an undershirt, looking as if he was preparing for dinner with the grandparents rather than meeting someone for magic discussions.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
At the knocking noise on their door, Klarissa is the one opening it. "Hello, Chrono. How have you been doing?" she asks, inviting him in.

The sight that greets Chrono is that of various books, files and documents on the table with Ula among them. Still in their school uniform, they have just been back from a trip to the Club Building, and have been pushing various options around.

"Oh, Chrono, hi", Ula greets. "Sorry for the chaos", she adds as she and the twins start making order. "Yeah, this was a surprise", Sayaka smiles at him. "Come, sit down."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small nod, glancing towards the mermaid and giving her a small nod. He then moved to sit at the table, before lifting his elbows up, hands together, resting his chin on them. "Well then, Sayaka and... Sayaka. I've been looking into what I could find on the Scroll of Ka since our last encounter and I have some good news. The division won't be permanent."

"In fact, it is, fortunately, one of the less dangerous Lost Logia. But still dangerous to those who use it. From what we were able to determine, it will forcefully divide whoever opens it if they are in a state of emotional or mental conflict. However, once the two halfs come to an... agreement of sort? Balance, as it were? They are able to re-unite."

"So, I suppose the big thing to ask, has there been any big, sudden shifts in your life? Or is the magical girl life becoming a bit... intense? I do hope you know you are allowed to take breaks and not over push yourself," Chrono said, glancing up at the pair of them.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
While moving from the door to the table, Klarissa starts explaining their current situation. "It's too complicated if you address us both as Sayaka. I am Klarissa for now, and she has been posing as the original. If anyone asks, I am a transfer student, while she is not."

"Things have been going well on that front", Ula intervenes. "Inai-sensei has been very helpful when handling RHA's bureocracy."

Klarissa meanwhile sits down next to her twin and right in front of Chrono. "Anyway, that's all good, she has to...", she starts saying, nodding towards the other bluenette, that promptly interrupts her. "Oh, stop it! Devauling yourself won't help you any, and besides, it doesn't even make sense! It's not like I will be magically preserving myself as a singular person once we go back to normal. Both of us will vanish when we recombine."

She looks apologetically at Chrono. "Well, you can guess some of it from just this exchange, but Sayaka had taken one of Kyubey's newest trickeries pretty hard and she had been taking care of herself the bare minimum not to self-destruct completely before the Lost Logia gave rise to us."

She touches an orca mermaid plushie right next to Ula and a shark mermaid plushie, giving it a caress. "I still have those memories and feelings in my head, but I am not really affected by them for some reason. That's not the same for Klarissa, who has inherited Sayaka's lack of self-worth."

The twin scowls at her. "And you are the weird one for me due to that, but that means you should be the one to keep living her life. I don't deserve it, not reduced as we are." She turns to Chrono before finishing the explanation. "A friend of Sayaka had collapsed after the Soul Gem was taken far enough away from her, and well, you can guess where this is going, no?" She stares at Chrono intensely. "Kyubey said it. He extracted our souls and put it into the Soul Gems. We are these rocks now", she concludes, turning her ring back into a Soul Gem form for extra effect.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small nod, listening as they spoke. Resting his chin on his hands... considering. Measuring. And... well...

Once she finished, he leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment, moving just one hand to his chin, seeming to be making some measurements of his own. Finally, his eyes opened.

"Trickery, huh? So, from what I can imagine... Sayaka was in a state of self destruction. You know, that is part of the reason soldiers like Enforcers have support units. Did you know for every soldier on the front lines, there is usually 3 to 4 support staff? Amongst the TSAB, at least. Because, you see, fighting is difficult and dangerous. It has constant pressures and stress that can wear even the strongest soldier down. Let alone one who is, in many ways, still a child."

He was both shorter than her... and possibly younger.

"The stress of battle can break a person eventually, like a blade that's not properly maintained. I believe we had this talk before?" he asked, cocking an eye.

"But... considering one of you has quite obvious depression from this, and the other feels nothing towards it? I think it's fair to say this is the root cause."

"... As for collapsing when the soul gem was taken away, of course. I... am taking your lack of panic to mean she was okay? My experience with the soul gem is that it is an external linker core. So yes, collapsing when it is taken away is *an obvious result*," Chrono said firmly. "It is a vital organ. If you were to take your lungs too far away, you'd also collapse. And yes, that analogy makes sense, I checked and this world does have artificial lungs."

"... Did kyubey actually say that they were your souls? Because last time the two of us talked, he said they weren't. That the phrase was translated from something else and became the accepted term. But... I guess that's the root of it."

"... Let's say, hypothetically, that isn't a linker core and is instead your soul. The process by which you gained your magical powers resulted in it being removed and placed in that gemstone. How does that make you feel? If it makes you feel... less, why? Additionally, Klarissa, would you make us some tea?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Despite the evident surprise on Klarissa's face, she places the Soul Gem on the table and goes to abide to the request. "We have Chai Maca currently, is that fine?" she asks while pouring water into an electric kettle.

"She wasn't in a state of self-destruction, nor am I", Klarissa specifies. "As she was, so am I looking after myself, which we actually owe to you. "Even the strongest sword shatters if it's not oiled and allowed a moment to breathe." Those were your words. Well, she was following them and so am I. I am just applying the right quantity of oil and breathing time needed not to break, so I can continue fulfilling my purpose." Klarissa plugs in the kettle and turns it on in the meanwhile.

"But this is important, so please listen carefully. Do you know what happens if you take away our Soul Gem beyond a distance of 100 meters? We drop dead. No vital signs whatsoever. We Puellae are just rocks puppeting a corpse around and making it feel alive. I am not here to tell any Puella how to live her life, much less my twin over there, but I know for a fact I shouldn't bother actual people with my presence, and force them to spend time with someone who is dead."

If Chrono has approved the choice of tea, that's what she uses once the water has heated up. Otherwise, she puts in whatever he has suggested. "That bastard did actually say these are our souls! And he did it all with that seraphic tone of his!" she shouts, venting out all her feelings. "First he forces me to stay away from Madoka, then he has added something that kills us, now we find out we aren't even allowed the sanctity of our souls! Should I expect something else next?" She doesn't even bother with using "her" for their old memories.

Ula, already agitated at Klarissa's reaction, looks visibly uncomfortable at that last question, but both Sayakas miss it.

Sayaka intervenes, she too downcast over her twin's reaction. "Our friend is fine. She got back to normal once her Soul Gem got back in range, though her normal at the time wasn't really fine either. Her Soul Gem got cracked and her spine broken, but magic was able to fix both of those." She shudders strongly, the vision of Lulu's body laying there unnaturally prey to spasms seared into both of their minds.

"And despite what Klarissa has been saying, both me and Ula have been pushing her to take part in school activities. That's what we were trying to get her to do when you came in", Sayaka finishes explaining.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
"Chai Maca is fine," Chrono said, his face as serious as ever. "It's good to know you took my words to heart. But now my concern is what you believe counts as 'oil' in this case."

He was listening, at least. A hundred meters... He gave a small nod. "The same would happen to any vital organ that was removed from the body and separated. People cannot survive without their hearts, lungs, brains or, yes, linker cores. Linker cores are rarely studied on this planet, due to the lack of magical strength in many. However, humans do have them. Even if they can't store magic in adults on this world, removing them would likely be fatal."

He'd take the tea when offered, swirling it in the cup for a few moments. "And why, exactly, do you consider yourself separate from 'actual people'? The biggest reason I find it unlikely to actually be your soul is that, frankly? Throughout history, even on Midchilda, the notion of a 'soul' has been bounced around so often, for so many different things, that this time it being the actual 'soul' is something I'm not entirely willing to believe."

"... But frankly, that doesn't matter. What matters is that *you* believe it. And this obviously distresses you. Frankly? If it is and this is information he hid from you? You have every right to hate him. But that doesn't make you less of a person. It doesn't make you a corpse."

He then drank from the cup, closing his eyes as he calmly let the heated drink flow into him. Then...

"Klarissa, for the time being? The cause of this split is this revelation... and the fact is, the negative consequences? Seem to have hit you. You shouldn't have to bear the feelings of this... but this lost logia may, for once, be a blessing in disguise." He glanced to Sayaka. "And whether you like it or not, your other half here has the right idea. You've been dealt a powerful psychological blow, altering your perception of both yourself and possibly the operations of the world. Going into battle while so offbalance will only put yourself and *others* at risk."

"That's why self care is so important. Why we must look out for ourselves. Because people depend on us. If we fail, others get hurt. As noble as it may sound to 'fight until there is nothing left', all that does is cause others to be hurt in the process, people we could have saved."

"... So, for the time being, neither of you should do any hunting alone. More than that, though. I want you to each reach out to others in the magical community. Study how they fight, what their motivations are. What they fight for. WHO they fight for. I want you to learn about them. Then, I want you to compare what they believe with your own choices. Both now, and from what they were before you took on this role. How have they changed? How are they the same? This goes to both of you. I want you to then compare notes, as it were."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Klarissa doesn't like how she still isn't being believed even after she has talked about Kyubey expressely revealing that, and now is of the convinction that Chrono is just entertaining the possibility like she is a kid who came up with something funny and he is just going along with it. "Fine, you want to continue nodding along to anything I say? Have it your way", she exclaims, pouring the tea into a cup and giving it to him. She does the same for Ula and Sayaka, before placing the sugar jar on the table.

"What I believe counts as oil is my capacity to keep this body running and Sayaka? Our original? She has gone through enough with it that she understood its limits. So, she slept enough for its needs, brought along food and water on patrol, and I would be doing the same if Ula and Sayaka weren't pressuring me otherwise." If she knew for sure that she could ditch Sayaka without collapsing? She would have done so long ago. She knows what she is trying to do, and it frustrates her that Sayaka knows exactly what she is feeling, but please, just leave her alone, please, she doesn't need attention, she doesn't need...

A slap, and a hug. "If you didn't want us to notice you are deep in negative thoughts, you shouldn't have left your Soul Gem on the table", Sayaka says. A look at it confirms that the darkness in it is bubbling up slightly.

"My mistake", Klarissa says before freeing herself from the hug and turning it back into a ring for her to wear.

"Chrono?" She looks at him. "I don't think you really understand situation, but I will meet with others and try to see what I am missing. Is that good enough for you?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown cringed. "I didn't mean..." He started, before stopping. He sighed and lifted a hand to his forehead, rubbing it. "My... apologies. I'm not just nodding along. I just believe that, regardless of my own beliefs... I'm not the one impacted here. You are. In the ideal world, I am correct. But even if I am, that doesn't make your feelings on the matter any less important. You are the one suffering, so I can't dismiss your thoughts on the matter out of hand."

He gave a sigh and looked down at his tea, downing the rest and then placing the empty mug on the table. "Thank you for the tea. I think I've learned enough to continue my own attempts to properly seal this lost logia."

"... Try to stick close together. Klarissa? My apologies. I am, admittedly, not always the best... at this kind of thing. My duties are usually more in combat application, while this situation? Is outside my normal realm of expertise. But... the suffering you're going through isn't right. I've *seen* soldiers go through that line of thinking. If not caught soon enough, it gets them... and those around them killed. That is why emotional wellbeing of TSAB soldiers is so closely monitored."

"If one of you gets hurt, the other will. So please, for the time being, keep yourselves safe. Sayaka, Ula? Keep an eye on her. I... know you may not like this much, Klarissa. But, in order to solve the scroll issue and return you to one person, we'll need to work on finding the perfect balance."

Chrono got to his feet and started to the door. He then stopped... before turning and walking back to Klarissa. He looked up at her, a determined look on his face. "I vow this, though. As an agent of the TSAB. I *will* find a way to fix this. You have been wronged, in more ways than one. And I will do everything in my power to set what I can right. Both for the scroll and your soul gem."

With that final vow made, he turned to head out the door, his mind already awash with ideas on how to help her... and who can help her.