tagpuan:// the reign of greed.

[awe921]

Omen would smack his lips right now. The silence as he waits to make a response is unbearable, and the "lose your head" comment makes him wonder if his rebellion ever came up with a secret method of, for the lack of better words, flip somebody off discreetly. Well, at least there's conversation.

That should count for something. He sighs- if in the case this child lived here, there would be no way they are getting in the base.

Omen tries to look towards #63(b) while Syringe strikes up conversation, crouched in the shadows near the doorway. He- Okay, he sees the problems of being in this spot now.

He tries to gesture his head in such a way to convey something like "hey, #63(b), you should block the doors if they try anything funny". Despite the Absolute Idiocy of his Monumental Blunder caused by Non-Existent Stratagems, they still have the upper hand, and can block (at least) that side off if the situation gets tense.

[MadameButterflyKnife]

The kid senses everyone, now. Kartono and Syringe have both talked to him, he figures there's somebody behind the door. And the less that is said about Omen's attempts to persuade him away, the better.

"...Searching for a place to stay, for the night. I find myself travelling often. You all seem...frantic. Are you all sure you do not need help? I...I do not intend on trying to hurt you. I could not even if I wanted to. I am unarmed. The jacket probably does not help...now that I think about it."

"...You are lost? What happened? I may be able to help." The kid's more eloquent than you'd expect.

[KungFuCutbug]

"The jacket looks... fashionable, for sure. Makes a statement. But, being a bit blunter here, it definitely gives the wrong impression at first glance."

[So the teenager's not overtly a threat. Good. Maybe they can be a bit more open about why they're actually here, then—still not too open, but just enough.] "Yes, we're lost, and coincidentally we... happened to need a place to stay the night as well. This place happened to be the first we found, by chance. Not that we intend to oust you simply because we found it first, but as you can likely tell, we're not about to give it up so easily either. Perhaps the five of us can share the space? You seem young. And the world outside is dangerous, something someone your age shouldn't have to be fending for oneself against all alone."

[artsyGeek]

.. Kartono comes out of his spot, eventually. He sports an unusually worried look on his face.

".. We're fine, for the most part. Just needed a place to stay at as well, and we just.. so happened to find this place. If anything, I'm honestly more worried about you than anything else. Glad you're not lost, at least, but your current situation doesn't really feel much better."

Sigh. "If you've got nothing else, you can stay with us here for the time being. Of course, only if the others don't mind, but.."

[MadameButterflyKnife]

"I've helped others before. I have fended on my own for years. I am not in danger of losing track of where I am, but you clearly are. I do not need your help," he says, indignant, "But I want to help you. And so, I shall, nameless folk.

He sits down. "Call me Ninoy. If the jacket is too much, I will take it off. A shame. It gave very FB auras."

[Florien]

#63(b) finally speaks on the matter. It looks the child over suspiciously.

Check for weapons, bugs, and other similar things. Hair for garotte wires, body for bugs, clothes for concealed weapons... and anything else suspicious. Pending a full search, I will agree to allow this child to remain here. The enemy could be anyone. Do not let apparent or real age fool you. This is what must be done for me to even consider allowing this Ninoy to remain.

[KungFuCutbug]

"...It was just an observation. I sincerely apologize, I didn't mean to demean you." [Syringe deflates a bit at Ninoy's stubbornness. The masses of crowds they're familiar with typically consist of adults, and the occasional child that does appear is typically too young to have come of their own free will. They're entirely unfamiliar with how to respond to this, beyond that, so at this point they'll just stay silent, humiliated. They... don't want to admit their lack of knowledge on what FB stands for, either. They haven't caught up with all the modern slang, but they can't let their cool image be shattered by that revelation.

Then, they hear #63(b)'s suggestion, and in a moment of impulsiveness, respond:]

"Why don't you do it?"

[artsyGeek]

".. if you say so," he responded. Had to stop himself from calling the boy - Ninoy, he told them - 'kid'. Old habits die hard, it seems.

He was about to introduce himself -- Mostly due to the nameless folk comment -- but was interrupted by #63(b)'s .. demands. He blinked a bit, out of utter disbelief at what he just heard.

".. what the fu--" Ahem. Calm down, it's ... just a suggestion of what to do- "Look. I don't know what to tell you, but .. Ninoy isn't even remotely close to being an adult. I .. highly doubt they're involved with Mission or anything of that sort. Of course, we should be wary, that's why we even hid in the first place, but like... Cool it, won't you?"

[Florien]

No search, no sanctuary. Whichever of you does it, I will accept the result, but it must be done.

#63(b) stands resolute on the matter.

[KungFuCutbug]

[Syringe takes a deep breath in. Hoo boy, of course the robot still has some hang ups in its programming. Time to attempt to reason this out.] "I still believe that if you truly insist on performing such a search, you should be the one to do so considering it was your idea. Neither of us want to, so I believe if you're certain this is a responsibility, said responsibility falls to you."

[Then, a quick turn to Ninoy.] "...I humbly apologize for our cohort's behavior. It's... always been like this, as far as I've known it. But it truly means no harm to you, unless you mean harm to it—and I don't believe you do."

[Florien]

Right, and so it will be done. Hold still, Ninoy, if that is your name.

>#63(b) lunges forward, and roughly begins searching. Everything described, and more. Hair for fiber wire, body for bugs, clothes for weapons (or any combination of those things, of course, no stone left unturned. Enemies are everywhere, after all.)

Open your mouth, I need to check one more thing.

>If Ninoy does so, #63(b) quickly pokes his tonsils with its finger to encourage vomiting, to check for stomach mics. If he does not, complain about the search not being adequate, but declare it sufficiently complete.

[KungFuCutbug]

[...Syringe just lowers their head a bit, shielding their eyes with their arm to avert their gaze from the, er, thoroughness of #63(b)'s search. They did not actually expect it to go through with their suggestion. And now they feel tremendously bad for Ninoy. Should he choose to stay afterwards, they'll have to very humbly apologize to him for it, as they're fairly certain the unit itself isn't exactly capable of remorse.

...

Why did they and the others let it onto the squad again?]

[artsyGeek]

.. wait is it— Is it actually—

"Wait, I– Hey, okay, you can— You can stop– I think this is a bit much—" Kartono said, approaching #63(b).

[MadameButterflyKnife]

#63(b).

God fucking dammit I should have expected this.

>#63(b) lunges forward, and roughly begins searching. Everything described, and more. Hair for fiber wire, body for bugs, clothes for weapons (or any combination of those things, of course, no stone left unturned. Enemies are everywhere, after all.)

It doesn't seem like this the first time Ninoy's been manhandled like this. Nowhere near close, as you basically shake down the kid. You can hear him mutter under his breath, "If not Mission, what is this being associated with? Unchecked violence, maybe."

The claim he is unarmed isn't fully true; he's got a pocket knife in his pockets and some wire and bandage in the inside of his coat. But you'd be a maniac to walk in dark alleyways without some sort of protection, and it's certainly not something strong enough to take the four of you down. Most of Ninoy's supplied are just basic nessessities; some one-bar meals and bottled water, a couple of pens for injecting medicines with, a respratory mask made of plastic, instead of the shimmering precious metals that Mission typically rents out to their employees. His hair's free of bugs, but it doesn't make it any less unkempt.

>If Ninoy does so, #63(b) quickly pokes his tonsils with its finger to encourage vomiting, to check for stomach mics. If he does not, complain about the search not being adequate, but declare it sufficiently complete.

As he opens his mouth to say the next sentence, this happens. I'll say this is where Kartono successfuly intervenes, much to the kid's relief. Embarassing to need to be saved yourself, yes. But less embarassing than being forced to vomit by some killbot.

[artsyGeek]

Oh thank the fucking gods above because what the fuck.

After the intervention, Kartono quickly covered his face, trying to manage his half-panicked, half-angry breathing. "Hooooookay," the former sailor said, muffled due to the hands currently obscuring his face. "First off, I'm so, so sorry about that. Just.. hold on, gimme a sec."

He turned his back from the group, muttering what one can assume as obscenities from his furious tone. Breathe in, breathe out. Calm down, it's just being wary of the kid (for SOME FUCKING REASON), it's just being cautious, it's just...

It wasn't long before—

"bangSAT—!!" he cursed out to the killbot. "YOU DID NOT NEED TO DO THAT. YOU DID NOT NEED TO DO ANY OF THAT!!"

He uh. Clearly hadn't calmed down much.

[awe921]

Omen just stares. At this. So much for a diplomatic solution. He is about to speak up again, but the voices practically scream at him to think about it better this time, please.

He looks towards the door that led to the upper office through a flight of stairs. His right foot still immensely hurts thinking about the upper office- did he plant a trap in there or two?... But judging from the immense pain, it must have been set off some time ago. To the misfortune of one of his companions, or perhaps even himself, judging from the fact that he's feeling this agony.

... Omen can only hope this is the only trap he's set up.

"We're letting them share the place for the night. After something like that, it might as well be our apology."We're letting them share the place for the night. After something like that, it might as well be our apology.

"I and the killbot will sleep upstairs, and you three will stick around in the lower floors. Does anyone have any objections against this?"I and the killbot will sleep upstairs, and you three will stick around in the lower floors. Does anyone have any objections against this?

[Florien]

You should have let me complete my search. Mission or someone else could spy on us in many ways. You would have been glad if I had found something meaningfully dangerous in my search.

Is that... indignance?

No objection to those sleeping arrangements.

[KungFuCutbug]

"...Is it over?"

> Weak Action: Fall back into old habits and discipline the rest of your team one by one for their misbehavior the only way you know how... which happens to be the way Missionaries typically do it.

[Syringe lowers their arm and, upon seeing Kartono has successfully stopped #63(b), turns to the bot with a stern glare, talking in a much flatter, more authoritative voice than their usual charismatic suaveness—a flatness more befitting of a tired, low-level Mission enforcer not dissimilar to the one Omen had chased off just moments earlier.] "#63(b), never do that again. I was being facetious; my suggestion wasn't one I expected you to actually follow. You've embarrassed us in front of Ninoy, and possibly Ninoy in front of us as well. Kartono, keep your temper in check, as well. I understand the intention, but you're only making us look less trustworthy by screaming your head off explosively. The noise could attract unwanted attention, also, and put the five of us in danger. And Omen, think your plans through better next time before executing them. This may have been completely avoidable, were it not for your incompetence moments earlier."

[awe921]

Oh, great, fantastic, now Ninoy will think the group are actually cops in disguise. Omen really wishes he had hands to facepalm right now.

[MadameButterflyKnife]

As Syringe finishes that sentence, Ninoy just finishes recovering from...whatever the fuck that was. He's bruised a bit; that's what one gets when a machine of the night tries to shove its finger down your throat to make you throw up.
And he hears the tone. It's not an authoritative tone, the one that people mock and fear from suits and Missionaries tripping on power with little consequence, for they have become so rich with the essence of the universe that not even the Creator could tell them to stop. Awful, yes, but you cannot say it isn't a tone that is unjustified. And it is rarely a tone you will hear in person.

The blank tone that Syringe slipped in, however, is a tone that is all too familiar. It is the sound of the infirm secretary that charges you thousands for saving your life, citing that it's simply market rates. It's the sound of the agent that declines your insurance, citing debt that they put you in. It's a bored, toneless, mechanical voice that permeates so many aspects of living in this city. The little gods were designed to save souls, but these voices and lives have lost so many of their souls, for so long, that even they could not save you from the endless machine.

Ninoy tightens his backpack, and clears his throat. "...You all seem like excellent people. People that deserve help, and safety, and kindness." He weaves through the debris, walking backwards. "And I hope, one day...you get that. You have earned it in here, correct?"

"...But I hope everyone around you gets that as well." And as he weaves through the part-open door, he turns, and runs. He runs, with the knowledge of you four, your names, and your location. The forces of Mission will never learn from him that you are here. But, like a microbiome in a gut feeling, Mission wasn't the only kind of force roaming through these streets. There's others like you, looking to make a change, looking over their shoulder for enforcers.

And they may soon learn your names.

Syringe has 4 tokens.

[Florien]

#63(b) looks at the reaction as everything escalates. It thinks for a while, quietly whirring.

We may need to be prepared to launch clandestine decapitation strikes on other rebel groups to increase infighting and direct attention away from us, after that display. Assuming it did burn bridges. We can unite the weaker ones then, and defeat the stronger ones, or absorb them too. Into a unified front, for our victory.

The "and after we win, we can purge the radicals who will be created by the decapitation strikes who have assumed leadership positions" is left unstated.

A small, young rebellion staffed by apparent moderates and sympathizers is an easy target for other rebels. So we need to be ready to move fast, or to silence the child. If we rapidly weaken Mission, we won't be in a good position to be safe, other groups will take power, and if they suspect us of being moderates or worse, sympathizers, we will be high on their own lists of targets to remove in the chaos of the restructuring.

[awe921]

... He's gone. But Omen also wants to be soooo gone right now. He has not the time nor energy to really think about what the hell just happened.

"... let's just head into the base already. Grab whatever stuff you might need from the store. Blankets, equipment, anything."... let's just head into the base already. Grab whatever stuff you might need from the store. Blankets, equipment, anything.

Despite everything, the secret of the base underneath the jewelry store is intact. At this rate, it probably will be where the group must spend the night- the child knows about the jewelry store, the four of them, but the base underneath is intact and undisturbed, as it always has been for years, and as it should be.

Omen checks the perimeter one last time- looking outside the window, towards the stairs, anything that would tip off the secret passageway to another soul other than these four.

He puts his foot against the brick that needs to be pressed, ready to press down upon it once the coast was confirmed to be clear.

> Check the perimeter one last time. If it's clear, then... just go. Open the passageway, climb down back to base. You're done with this grandiose failure of a situation.

[KungFuCutbug]

[Syringe then turns to apologize to Ninoy for their friends' display—but all they see is him darting out of the building, appearing ever so slightly frightened for his life. A moment passes... and a realization hits.]

"...FUCK."

[Their voice reverberates through the walls of the abandoned building, causing it to quake for a moment in divine fury directed at no one but themself. Shit, they let their past as a Missionary slip with that, didn't they?! And now thanks to that and #63(b)'s idea of making sure the kid wasn't a threat, now he WAS a threat! One mistake after another after another—what are they supposed to do now?!]

"D—daahling, that's enough!" [they respond to #63(b)'s proposal, returning to their usual voice in a much more panicked tone than usual.] "We cannot let ourselves be seen as a threat! They know we're here now, and attacking them—even clandestinely, perhaps especially so—will only make things spiral further beyond our control! We are but four people! The typical rebel group has upwards of two or three dozen; even the most fledgling groups tend to have twice our number, minimum. We'll be swiftly cut down should we attempt to be the offenders, so we should prioritize only attacking in self-defense. If any groups come after us, we strike back against them and them alone. We cannot afford to be the pursuer rather than the pursued."

[A pause, as they hesitate to continue.] "...Should worse come to worst, I have a last resort I may use to prevent our heads from being placed upon pikes. It won't be without cost... but it will ensure that we are safe, and that the other groups will not threaten us, or assume us to be unassuming moderates or blind sympathizers."

[MadameButterflyKnife]

Omen.

> Check the perimeter one last time. If it's clear, then... just go. Open the passageway, climb down back to base. You're done with this grandiose failure of a situation.

Yeah, the perimeter is clear. No signs of the birds and bees, searching for people like you. You're clear, and you go down, and well...your base is almost just as you remember it. More decayed, obviously, but it's clear that no one's really been in it since your head went rolling.

[artsyGeek]

... shit, right. He.. He should've kept his temper in check. That was a heat of the moment thing, but.. He should at least apologise f—

.. annnnd Ninoy just left.

... and now .. he knows not only who the group is, but where they are now. He does at least trust the kid to not tell Mission about their whereabouts, but ... Mission isn't the only potential threat, is it? Other rebels, revolutionaries just like them, could be potential allies, yes, but .. They might not get along well enough to work together. And who knows what they'd think of them if they knew of this incident—?!

"Alright, let's not fight here! Let's just.. go," he says, before following Omen to the base.