AMEN XLVII: Who's the Leader, Again?

[Earl of Purple]

War Room

"I need to go to my room. I lost my pistols in the Blood War." Along with all her other weaponry, but the pistols were the ones she used the most.

She doesn't leave immediately, however.

[5a Violista]

[War Room]

It is at this point, with the meeting ended and people getting up to get on with their business, that Maria enters this room. She literally floats in, with her body upright and her feet looking like they could be dragging on the floor if only they were a short distance lower.

"Is the meeting already over and all we have left to do is the closing prayer? Oh, good. I was worried I would have had to stay and listen," she says as she enters, aloud and to nobody in particular. "Fun times. Fu~un times."

For the sake of people who haven't met her yet (and also for people who don't remember her well enough since the last time I described her), I will leave a description here about Maria: When you look at her, the only color that can come to mind is gray. Or grey, depending on what continent you're from. Her skin is a pallid ashen gray that looks like a mix between not getting enough sunlight and also living in a world filled with ash, her hair is an old white-gray color. Her dress is a reddish-purplish-gray, with a darker spidery pattern and lots of emphasis on the "gray" with soot-smeared white sleeves. She's got an out-of-place smile on her face, and her eyes also look out of place: being a dim red and black rather than gray, like a smoldering log.

[Zefir]

[War Room]

Zefir looks at Rochhelle. "No." he says in a calm voice. "I don't think there is anything we have to discuss, but I think Nicole would do. I tell you when she is ready." Not only it Nicole not able to make a talking, but there is something Zefir needs to tell her befor the talk.

To Filii. "Less prepare, but more getting a way to deal with informations. You can wait here until I call you."

Zefir just looks ovver El Curvo, the Blade naming and all isn't his Typ so they are left alone.

To Nephrim and her follower he just says. "Ok, but be prepared. Icall you when I'm ready."

"Yes, you are late Maria." Zefir says (she did tell him her name earlier as far as I remember). "We will need to talk about a few things later. I get AMEN out of the pit it was lead to."

[Cyber Punk]

[War Room]

Rochelle pouts at Zefir. "You're a big meanie pants!" She folds her hands. "I'll take it out on the henchmen!"

"Wooow!" Rochelle says upon noticing the vibration of the otherwise poor-looking sword. "Looks shabby, but does the job! I'd name it The Divisor!"

Rochelle stares at the grey lady. "You look boring!" She blurts out.

[5a Violista]

[War Room]

Maria turns to Rochelle at the 'boring' comment. Her voice sounds totally melodramatic. "How draining; how boring: I can tell you're not, for me, adoring."
Then, she adds, "Might as well be, when looking at me." Being boring is awesome. It means people leave you alone when you want to be alone.

She turns towards Zefir. "I'll wait." She'll wait until he has time to talk to her about whatever it was he wanted to talk about. Yes, I remember at one point she told him her name.

[ThePhantom]

War Room

"Not...my style."

El Cuervo puts the sword back into its arm, its yellow eyes glancing at Maria before returning to Zefir.

"So, who....is the first?.....Talking that is."

[Zefir]

War Room

Zefir looks angry at Rochelle.

"No you don't." he tells her. Then he adds a bit louder so all hear it. "None hurts any henchman until the problems are solved."

"If there is anything you thing is important enougth to diskuss with me, I will call you. If not, you can wait in the main room until Nicole is ready."

Zefir takes a few moments to calm down then looks at El Curvo. "Your first. I just need a few minutes to get an office up."

[ThePhantom]

El Cuervo looks at Zefir and nods.

"Thank....you. Waiting...should be...fine."

[5a Violista]

War room, then to Front Main Room again

Well, meeting is definitely over, and there‘s not really any point to sit around in this room waiting when she can just as easily wait in the much more spacious front room.

So, Maria drifts out of the room, back down the winding hallways, to the front room.

[Earl of Purple]

War Room

"Do not worry, Zefir. I shall remain alert and waiting for your summons." With that, the prepubescent angel turns and walks away, followed shortly thereafter by her shotgun-toting bodyguard, minion and general dogsbody.

When next they appear, Nephrim will have changed her form into a fully human child, retaining her androgynous appearance, eight-year-old frame, and her face. Her eyes are no longer spheres of cruel whiteness; now they are a pale blue. She's changed into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, and a blue rucksack presumably containing several weapons. Dam'Bul has put on a new suit, and buckled a basket-hilted cavalry sabre to his waist, opposite a large automatic pistol.

[Cyber Punk]

[War Room]

((Crap. As deranged as she is, Rochelle's supposed to be polite-ish. Just putting it out there so it doesn't seem to come from left field.))

Zefir? Stop Rochelle from hurting an henchman? Madness.

She starts giggling after Zefir addresses her. The giggling gets louder before Rochelle curtsies at Zefir. "Mmkay."

Of course, she doesn't mean it.

She pouts at the scarecrow man. "Aww, and it was a cool name too!" Then she smiles brightly, that smile little girls smile, if little girls had twisted morals. "I like you." He'd be fun to talk with about weapons.

She wonders if he's a weapon too, like she is.

Rochelle rolls her eyes when Maria starts to rhyme. She curtsies when Maria's done with her talk, inwardly thinking how annoying listening to her talk is going to be. If she goes on like that, she might end up missing a few litres of blood, the amount mighty inconvenient for those who like being alive.

That is of course, assuming Maria'd be bothered by blood loss.

Rochelle isn't stupid, sometimes you have to pick your targets carefully. Some times.

Seldomly.

[The Alexandrian]

[Nowhere in Particular]

Y'know, Rochelle could just skip down the hallway to Nicole's room instead of waiting to be summoned as Zefir ordained.

Just saying.

[Cyber Punk]

[War Room]

((Continuation to above post, to account for her going to visit Nicole))

After she's replied to, Rochelle would skip down the hallway looking for a henchman to 'love' anyway. She'll end up in Nicole's room.

((And we can interact! ))

[Zefir]

[War Room]

Zefir looks at Rochelle befor she goes. For a moment she migth feel that the air to breath is going away. No magic involved, but he really makes the air disapear for a moment.
"Don't try to fool me. You can go search for Nicole."
Then he will send a text message to Nicole. (@ Alexandiran it involes what I menationed in the PM.)

..............a while Later.

[Zefir's Office]

El Curvo will be summoned here.

The Office is deep in the AMEN labarinth. The room itselflooks like a typical Office. Zefir sits in a boss's chair. Right now he leans over the heavy oak desk in front of him, which only holds a light, a pen and a paper. On the opposite side of the desk are two comfortable elbow-chair. Other than that the room is empty. Only a strange chess board, which seems to be for 3 player, stands in a corner.

Zefir will mention him to come closer. He knows how hard it is for him to sit so he waits if he wants to take a seat befor he speaks.

"You said you got a plan?"

[ThePhantom]

Zefir's Office

El Cuervo enters the office, wings pulled as it enters, but seeing how clear the office is, its spreads them out as it approaches the desk.

"I do. It...is a bit...of a common...tactic. But it..hasn't been..used here. It...is a MOTW...plan. We make.....something to drain....energy and....then use that...to make a...stronger one. We...could do this....until they are...too powerful to...be stopped. Simple, yes?"

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]

Come on down to Nicole's Room! Here, we've got crates of every shape and size! Big crates! Little crates! Spherical crates! Rectangular crates! Crates with red labels! Crates with blue labels! Crates with trippy polychromatic labels! In Nicole's room, Rochelle will find all of these crates and much, much more! Arrive now and Nicole will even give Rochelle a free gift. That's right, a free gift! Limit 1 per customer. Ownership of the gift may not be legal within the Union territory. So what is Rochelle waiting for?! Skip on down the hallway to Nicole's room today!

...

Tl;dr: Nicole hasn't bothered to unpack all of her bags yet, so her room is, at the moment, the Barony of Cratetopia.

And who's that mysterious figure stumbling toward Rochelle? Why, it's Intoxicated!Nicole, of course.

"Good evening! Rochelle, I presume! I'm Nicole, AMEN's second in command! Can I get a round of applause for me, myself, and I, lady and all of the shadows in this biiiiiiiiig room!"

I take it that Rochelle has never heard a chorus of shadows clapping for anyone before! Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?

"And you, you've won the door prize!"

"I'm gonna buy you a slave so that you won't disembowel any of the henchmen!"

Hooray!

[Cyber Punk]

[Main Room]

(Feel free to respond to Rochelle if it needs responding. After that post, she's gone, though, to...)

[Nicole's Room] (!)

Rochelle curtsies once Nicole shows her face, then begins to clap happily in response to her. She stops when she hears shadows clapping with her. "Aww, I wish I could do shadows too!" The closest she has is a power she just got, which enables her to stick to a surface all 2D-like, for a time. Nonetheless, she keeps clapping, her emerald eyes twinkling.

The soft-spoken elf gasps loudly, then skips over to Nicole and hugs her. "You're the best person ever! I promise to 'love' the slave." Then she giggles in a way reminiscent of the Joker.

Rochelle has three modes of laughter: her normal, soft-spoken giggling, her joker-like giggle/cackle, and something somewhere in the middle.

[Zefir]

Zefir's Office

El Cuervo enters the office, wings pulled as it enters, but seeing how clear the office is, its spreads them out as it approaches the desk.

"I do. It...is a bit...of a common...tactic. But it..hasn't been..used here. It...is a MOTW...plan. We make.....something to drain....energy and....then use that...to make a...stronger one. We...could do this....until they are...too powerful to...be stopped. Simple, yes?"

Zefir's Office

Zefir takes some notes on the paper.
"Simple indeed." he says. "Sadly I myself don't have the technologie or the knowledge about such a projekt. I save this pan until we got someone to do it. Right now we need to strength ourself befor we create monster we can't controll."

[ThePhantom]

Zefir's Office

"I...see. Then....look in books...for how. Thank.....you for your....time."

El Cuervo nods its head at this response.

"Shall I....go then?"

[5a Violista]

[Front Main Room still]

Maria looks down at her arms. Gross; they're all healed up again. To fix this problem, she begins idly tracing the word "bolide" in cursive on her arm, again and again.

She also starts humming something. Humming always fixes everything.

[Zefir]

Zefir's Office

"Sadly, some way need some skills I don't poses. As I said I keep it in mind."
He takes another notes on the paper.
"Unless there is anything more, you can go."

When El Cuervo leaves, he will call in Filii.
((I think it's possible to handle the other talkings as well))

[Duck999]

Zefir's office

Filii enters the room. He glances at the three person chess board, then takes a seat.
So, we need to talk about my job. First: Gear. I should be in contact with you or someone here at all times.

[Zefir]

Zefir's office

"You won't get any gear from here." Zefir says. "The risk is to high they follow it back. Your on your own with that."

"For the informations. I Give you a post office box address. A friend of mine checks it regulary, but I wouls prefere if you met him and get friend with him. I thought you might meet him at Trog's in a busy hour. Or something like that."

[Duck999]

Zefir's Office

Filii smiles at Zefir.
You make a good leader. I need to know a when and where to meet him. Also, how will I identify him?

[5a Violista]

((I think it's possible to handle the other talkings as well))

[Zefir's Office; Some later period of time]

Some time later, after Filii and anyone else who would go in before, Maria floats up to Zefir's brand-new office. It's her turn.

"What is 'Paradise'; who live there?" she muses to herself as she contemplates the door.

She opens the door, and enters. "Do they wear 'new shoes' in Eden?" she asks Zefir.

Pretty strange question, right out of the blue, if you ask me. I'm sure anyone who understood her thought process would realize how the one thought led to the other and what inspired the first one, but it still seems pretty out-there. Actually, that reminds me. Because Maria floats everywhere, she doesn't have any need for shoes, so she is completely barefoot.

[The Alexandrian]

[Nicole's Room]

"You promise to 'love' the slave?"

The tipsy predator snickers at Rochelle's terribly unfunny not-joke for no readily apparent reason. Nicole allows Rochelle to hug her, but she does not hug Rochelle in return.

"To 'love' him or her or it!"

Seriously, Nicole, it's not that funny!

"To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do ya part?"

Knock it off, Nicole! You're starting to creep me out!

No! No, Nicole! Don't shamelessly ogle Rochelle while smirking! Bad Nicole! Bad! You're Rochelle's boss! You-
You-
You copycat, you!

"We aren't so different, you and I, if the text Zefir sent me, like, five minutes ago is to be believed. I nom people every now and then, and you allegedly torture people whenever you've a hankering for it."

Nicole, oozing curtainality, attempts to disentangle herself from Rochelle (if Rochelle hasn't released her from her hug already) and innocently saunter over to a car-sized box in the corner of the shadowy room nearest the door, swaying all the while.

"Maybe I'll have to join you for one of your 'love' sessions ta help break-in our slaves. I have been asked ta be your handler, after all."

Oh my!

Nicole rams her fist through one of the crate's wooden sides thrice (Splinters!!!) before climbing through the spiky-edged woman-sized hole she has bored in the crate. A second later, a stolen her expensive certainly not stolen violet convertible hovercar crashes through the front of the crate.

"Hop in, and I'll drive us to the slave shoppes in Skyside."

One of Nicole's hands rests on the steering wheel while the other lifts a bottle of vodka to her lips.

...

Public Service Announcement: Please don't drink and drive IRL, folks! Thanks!

[Cyber Punk]

[Nicole's Room]

Rochelle steps back and blushes a bit as she's being ogled by Nicole. "I do!" She responds happily.

So Zefir sent her to Nicole on purpose. Maybe he wasn't such a big meanie after all.

Maybe.

"Handler? So we can be 'lover' partners, 'loving' slaves together?" She grins widely and starts to hop on the spot. Oh, goodie! This place is heaven! "I'm so glad! You can teach me stuff too!"

Rochelle jumps into Nicole's beautiful not-stolen car. She eyes the bottle of liquid Nicole is drinking. "Excuse me, but isn't alcohol bad for you?" She asks politely.

Rochelle would appear to glitch a bit if looked at. Alternating between her normal self, a dead version of her and a short-haired undead-looking version of her.

[Earl of Purple]

Main Room

Nephrim comes here, wearing her usual form of an androgynous angelic child of about eight, with snowy white wings, pale blond(e) hair and eyes of bottomless cruel whiteness. She's wearing a black toga and a pink rucksack, and is sharpening a bone-hilted dagger with a sharpening stone.

Dam'Bul seems to be elsewhere, for once not shadowing his Fallen superior.

[ThePhantom]

Main Room

El Cuervo is also in here, having a group of henchmen help it in its research for its plan. Turning pages of books is not easy for someone who's fingers are closer to knifes than grabbing things.

It looks up from its book as Nephrim enters.

"Hello. I don't....think we were...introduced."

[Cyber Punk]

Main Room

((@Alex, this is a plotclone. =p))

Rochelle saunters into the room as well. Only it's not the Rochelle any of them remember. The face, green eyes and white hair are still present, but the hair has been cut short and her skin has become a ghostly blue, almost as if she were undead. She looks less childlike.

Of course, she just spent the last 200 years banished in space.

The woman formerly known as Rochelle walks up to Nephrim and looks at her, then at El Cuervo. "I remember you two. Seen you somewhere before. Did I enslave you once?"