1956/I hear you're looking for something...

I hear you're looking for something...
Date of Scene:	17 September 2024
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Dark Laboratory
Synopsis:	Yuri is invited by Eudial to join in a bit of inter-department cooperation. Surely whatever the two are looking for can't be that bad. On top of that, Yuri gets to ask some questions about a certain pair of staffs that have been left around.... who knows what they could be for. Nothing bad, certainly.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Coco Kiumi

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Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Yuri's presence was requested in the Tomoe Lifescience's laboratory. Eudial was in the lab, working with what could only be called a frankenstein'd version of Sunbreaker's Eclipse Zone towers. There was a portal to the duskzone there as well.

Of course, once Yuri arrived... "Hello, Yuri. Word in the office is that Panthalassa Aquatics is looking for something that has been... evading your grasp. I figured it might be in both of our interests to see if we can work together."

"I take it you're authorized by Director Gaito to make such agreements between divisions?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
By Gaito's orders, the Dark Lovers and the Black Beauty Sisters have always been looking for things, but it is true however that under recent orders, their king has deigned them with newer information about his lineage, and one simple step needed to guarantee his conquest.

It is not even a surprise that he chose Yuri for this call by Tomoe LifeScience. She was, after all, the only sea demon that had managed to capture a mermaid princess, a fact she had appropriately kept reminding to the other Dark Lovers.

When she phases in from the dephts of the abyss, she takes stock of her surroundings before addressing Eudial. "That is Lord Gaito, Eudial", the Dark Lover corrects her with a smirk before addressing the subject matter. "But you are right. My beloved Lord is trusting me with the task to either lift Aqua Regina's enchantment that blocks Lord Gaito from locating his little brother, or locating him directly", she smiles.

She moves closer to the tower Eudial has Frankensteined together, a light sneering laugh as she looks at the haphazard construction. She supposes that will have to do. "And he is certainly interested in a partnership with Tomoe LifeScience. What do you have here?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Eudial lightly poked the tower, getting a small alert on it that looked...

Like Sunbreaker, shaking her head.

"Using old abandoned project made by an idiot," Eudial grumbled. "And turning it into something useful. Once I've cobbled these together, I can make a portal into the dusk zone where our tracking equipment is in place. Once enough power is gathered, it can release a kind of... dark energy ping that spreads out, then comes back. If the magical thing we're looking for is within the radius of the ping, we'll know and we can reduce the radius for our next attempt."

"If you can give me the magical signature of what you're looking for, I can share with you the magical signature we're looking for. If you'd like to use one of these towers, you're more than welcome to it. But they drain a lot of energy, so expect some sparkle interference. These things are hard to replace, so you'll need to make sure to take good care of them. Understand?"

... Nevermind the fact Eudial had already had one destroyed.

"Also, they apparently disrupt barriers made by those device users. So civilians don't get drawn out by them. Unfortunately, unless they gather enough energy, they can't break the barrier in question, either."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Sunbreaker... The one that proved a bigger idiot than everyone else combined, Yuri scoffs at seeing the miniature figure on the screen. She got her just desserts. To think she was so close to do something that pleased Lord Gaito even after she ditched them, only to lose yet again to the sparkles. She had even absorbed the power of a princess and she still managed to fail.

She, of course, is going to do better, and win Lord Gaito's heart away from the other Dark Lovers! "Perhaps she will still be useful in some measure to our project. I will keep it safe", Yuri speaks with clear cut satisfaction at Eudial's explanation. A dark blur manifests on her hand as it consolidates into the same radar that lousy stingray had tried to use the other day.

"Here, have this", the Dark Lover shows Eudial the magic device. "It is set to tracking Aqua Regina's talisman here in Tokyo, and has the magical signature you want. It is easier to continue on that line of action since it requires a lot less power."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Eudial took the device, giving a light hmmm. She tapped through the device for a few moments before she brought up the signature. Once she did, she started coordinating all of them...

"Perfect. I imagine with all of us working together, we're bound to find exactly what we're looking for. That... talisman should be simple enough, if we can get those sparkles to stop interfering in our work."

After a few moments, the signature was extracted... and the signature they were looking for was added to the device, before she held it out to Yuri.

"As an extra warning. If you find this signature and you hear screaming after? This is just between you and I, nobody else is to know. Retreat immediately. We're, hopeful, that this signature will also help wake it up in some way. This particular problem can be... dangerous and requires special equipment to properly contain."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Yuri waits patiently as Eudial does her thing. In a manner of speaking, at least, as she entertains herself casually looking through what else the laboratory contains, unless Eudial stops her.

"This sounds good enough. I will get the expected results, of course, hahahaha, and find what you want too." As Yuri takes the device back in her hand, it disappears just as came. "When that happens, I will be sure to put in a good word with Lord Gaito for Tomoe LifeScience's contribution to his revenge.

Her gloating stops when Eudial gives her that warning. Staring at the member of the Witches 4, she stares incredulous as she determines she is dead serious. What are they even sending her to track? "I will remember that", she replies with a smirk that doesn't look very confident, despite efforts otherwise.

There are a lot of questions she is considering now, but only one is presented to Eudial. "Why are trying to awaken it before you have it secured?" That sounds like it's the least they could do to avoid being on its receiving end.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
The most interesting thing in the lab, aside from the portal and the tower... was probably the strange staffs that were suspended in a glass case. They were definitely magical, and powerful. One with a red star, one with a blue star.

"If it activates, it won't be active for long. If we're lucky, it'll take out a sparkle or two. But then we can retrieve it. Now, normally we wouldn't go to such methods as, believe it or not, we've been trying to suppress it for quite a while." Not in the slightest bit true, but it was their official answer. "But as it has escaped us for such a long time now... well... desperate times call for desperate measures. The sparkles stole it from us and it's time they understand the consequences of their actions."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
And quite interesting they were, for the strong intensity of their magical signature, sure, but also for the rumours that were circulating around Obsidian. Everyone had heard about Cyprine and her shadow being gone, even more so since rumours say she is gone in a more... definitive manner. The 4 written over the previous number didn't exactly exude confidence either.

"Why don't we use these to bolster our odds?" Yuri brings up to Eudial. It was just stupid to leave power lying around, and this wasn't just a small quantity of it either. Were they still hoping they might return, in whatever way was needed to bring them back to Obsidian?

The fact that they have allegedly been trying to suppress it only serves to reinforce Yuri's doubts. They have certainly given up on it now, regardless of what they say about the sparkles. Was Cyprine in the way of this it when it awoke? Oh, these were such interesting news to bring back to Lord Gaito. This will certainly go a long way in reinforcing his favour for her.

"That sounds like a good thing, hahaha", Yuri exclaims brightly... whether she speaks as to the sparkles getting punished by their own hubris or her own thoughts, she certainly isn't going to share with Eudial.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Eudial glanced towards the staff. "We've been... working on it. Unfortunately, those staffs have quite a strong... personality attached to them. If you'd like to try..." She tapped on the console and the glass started to lift up...

If Yuri reached out to touch them, seconds before she did she'd get a very, very, very definitive 'Do not touch!' instinct from it, hopefully enough to make her pull her hand back.

"A normal youma would be destroyed. A sparkle might be... capable of enduring them. But we're wary of giving that a try. The last thing we want is to make our enemies stronger. If they couldn't be controlled, they'd just cause more problems for us."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Yuri does try to reach out for the staff. Why shouldn't she? She hasn't tried, and why should she assume it would go the same for her as with everyone else? To her credit, though, she does heed her instincts and immediately pulls back her hand, pouting at them. "Obstinate staves..." she mutters under her breath.

"I see, that's a shame", she gives up on the prospect of trying to use them, turning back around to face Eudial. "When you say personality, do you mean they are loyal to their original owners, or do they actually have their personality inside there?" If it's the latter, why shouldn't they ship the staves out themselves? They could use something to teleport them back here if a sparkle manages to fight off their influence.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Eudial noted the fact the other girl pulled her hand back. A shame, that might have been some interesting information. "Something like that. Their owner was focused on more.... genetic information. Cloning, things like that. Her staves have the... echoes of that. It's not her, but it would be a lot like her."

"... How that would interact with others, we're not sure yet. And we don't want a sparkle getting a hold of it. Because if one of THEM got a chance to control that power, it could be disastrous for all of us. The damage they could do is... unconsciounable." She gave a shudder at the meer thought.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Cloning, huh... That's admittedly an interesting use of their powers, she shouldn't expect any less from the Tomoe LifeScience department. "Smart, yet not smart enough to let others know how to bring them back with these", she considers. Then again, maybe they just hadn't gotten there yet. And now, they never will.

"Guess that plan is a bust. Nothing to teleport them back here?" she asks Eudial. "What about brainwashing some random person from the streets and getting them to touch it?" That's the first thing she would have considered. They must have already done that, right?

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
"We're working on something akin to that. While a normal human would die in an instant to something like those, a sparkle we could brainwash would be a fair risk. Most of them are so stupid it likely wouldn't even need much washing to do from the get go."

She didn't comment on the girl being able to be brought back... When Mistress 9 removed someone, they tended to *stay* removed.

"It's another project we're working on, however." She tapped the console and the glass began to close up once more.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Well, that is that, then", she shrugs, watching the glass close over the staves again. Note to self: look on ways to subvert a personality override in the Library of the Panthalassa. She will make this power hers, Yuri resolves to do. "If you find anything, let me know. One of my powers are only able to make civilians into brainless servants, but with some dark energy manipulation, maybe I could make them more susceptible to it."

"This has been a very productive meeting, anyway", she stares at Cyprine, erecting herself tall... which is actually not very tall at all. "I will let Lord Gaito know your proposal, and you will hear from him soon", she laughs lastly, grabbing onto the small tower and teleporting with it back to the submerged castle of the Panthalassa.