Combat System Shock

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 The stars seem to sway like a heavenly cradle as the deck of the Sweet Francine gently rocks. The multistory magitech riverboat casino, the first of its kind in Rithera, is docked at the lakeside town where Zerhem, the kingdom that ostensibly controls the territory of Granse, turns a blind eye to the Gransean underworld's unseemly and profitable doings. The Sweet Francine's powerful engines idle, a small sign near them, tucked out of the way where visitors are likely to see it, indicating in obscure scrawl that the "Days Since Last Explosion" are currently "2." Good for them.
 Even granted such minor mishaps, the technology behind the Sweet Francine is a true marvel, the product of mad genius, insatiable ambition, and a thriving black market in Cosmopolitan spare parts. From the railing on the far side of the main deck, beyond the jovial bustle of diners and gamblers, one can admire the length of this miraculous ship and the night sky reflected in the deep dark waters.
 Ivo, his dark hair unctuously slicked back, would typically be most inclined to contemplate the grandeur of the invention that bears him, the sublimity of the view, or both. But, flute of [WATER] elegantly clasped twixt fingertips, the young man's dignified mien hides different thoughts altogether.
 A "combat system." Such a phrase could refer to all manner of phenomena. But, thanks to Fox's definitely sincere and helpful suggestion, Ivo decided what that meant for him: fighting through charm. By surrounding himself with gorgeous party members dressed as bunny girls, he will convey to The Capo that he has the charisma and cunning needed to lead. And then The Capo will leave him alone for long enough to finish this quest and get the heck out of Granse.
 There's no way that Fox, Anna, or Tsuchi would betray him. They'll all show up in bunny girl outfits in a timely manner, for sure. Why wouldn't they? And then, The Capo will be impressed. It's foolproof. It--
 "What," Ivo idly remarks to himself, "was I thinking, exactly?"
 It might be possible to get away, if he jumps into the lake and starts swimming now.

• Character: The Capo
• 2 years, 6 months ago

SOME TIME AGO

 Giuseppe Stromboli has worked double time to get the banner his boss has requested ready. The Capo's flair for the dramatic is well known, one of the few indulgences he allows himself, and he has requested a banner to adorn the Sweet Francine's conference room during the meetings of his latest endeavor.
 And so it is he has called up the Capo to reveal the fruits of his labor. The capybara sits, magitechnological vape pen in hand, and looks up at the furled banner in contemplative silence. He takes a long drag from his device, exhales a cloud of water vapor, and gestures with his free paw for the reveal. Giuseppe yanks on a velvet rope, and the banner unfurls down the wall, revealing the embroidered, calligraphed words, the first letter of each of the key words enlarged for emphasis:

 'Kovenant to Kontrol Khaos'

 The Capo stares at the banner for several long, silent seconds. He takes another drag from his vape pen. And then, slowly, he turns his swivel chair away.

NOW

 The doors behind Ivo, that lead into the Sweet Francine's conference room, finally open. Giuseppe Stromboli steps forwards into the doorway, looking terribly morose, and clears his throat. "The boss will see you now," he informs Ivo sullenly, and then steps aside, gesturing the man into the room.
 On the far wall, there is pointedly no banner.

• Character: Fabroxo
• 2 years, 6 months ago

  Fabroxo, truth be told, doesn't care much for the petty political machinations of those obsessed with social power of any sort; his working relationship with the Capo is one of pure practicality on his part, a necessity for the sometimes extreme funding the scientist often requires to see his grand scientific vision breach the confines of his glorious mind palace and, through his enterprising and dextrous hands, enter the plane of the real.

  That said, inspiration can strike from anywhere, and as soon as he heard the phrase "combat system", Fabroxo was off to the races. After several sleepless nights in his lab, he has come prepared with a MYSTERY DEVICE, already sitting in the conference room, appearing long, thin, and of uneven height underneath a large white sheet. The man himself is as filthy and grease-stained as ever, running a final diagnostic check with a small device in hand. He is not, however, a person entirely seperate from the world, sometimes holding pity and compassion deep within his breast for the plight of his fellow man.

  "You'll surely succeed next time, Guiseppe. Remember, failure is the stepping stone of progress." Fabroxo's voice, however, is relatively flat and wholly unconvincing.

• Character: Yari
• 2 years, 6 months ago

  For her part, this "combat system" is a concept that Yari can't even begin to comprehend. Why would you need a system to perform combat? Combat is easy. You sneak up one someone and [poke them] with your [rubber knife], leaving them [napping] on the floor, [ketchup] pooling around them.

  Still it seems she's decided to turn up, and unhidden to boot. The ninja is just stood there in plain sight, leaning up against a wall and casually munching on an apple. Her teeth crunch into it loudly as Ivo walks into the conference room. It's all very casual for someone who's meant to be a trained assassin.

  Come to think of it, wasn't there something in her contract about days off?

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 The opportunity for a night swim has already passed.
 Ivo, facial features just a little too controlled, turns as Giuseppe beckons, the loyal assistant looking as defeated as Ivo feels. As the unwilling gangster scion strides into the conference room, feeling as though his body is being puppeted at a distance, he attempts to rally himself in a kind of quiet frenzy.
 It's not that Anna or Tsuchi or Fox aren't showing up. Surely Anna is just slowed because she's unused to the outfit's precarious footwear. Surely Tsuchi is just finding a color that will match her mask and hair. Surely Fox is just [HYDRATED]. They'll be here. They'll definitely be here.
 What is he going to do if they aren't here?
 Dissociating as though in self-defense, Ivo seems preternaturally calm, noting the unusual absence of decorations and the presence of--
 *crunch*
 Yari, Tsuchi's quarry. Ivo had assumed that Capo had hired her after confirming her presence at the battle of Aurita Meloda, but this is his first time seeing her in the open, unsurprisingly given her occupation. Perhaps it's for the best that his masked ally isn't present.
 "Boss," Ivo says, voice formal and/or hollow, "thank you for the opportunity to pay you my respects this fine evening." He seats himself across from Fabroxo, at the Capo's other side, as though the two were his right and left hand men. Which, I mean, kind of.
 He waits silently, just appreciating being alive, for now.
 As he shifts in his seat, he feels an unexpected weight in his fine blue doublet, which he has substituted for his cloak tonight. He had forgotten that he had been carrying one of his recent modified acquisitions with him. In a pinch, maybe he could...
 But the girls will come save him. Right?

• Character: The Capo
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 Giuseppe Stromboli offers Fabroxo a brittle smile in response to his barb, even as he closes the doors behind Ivo. His relationship with the good doctor is, ironically, not so good, nor has it been ever since they met. Where Fabroxo is a man of science, Giuseppe is a student of magic! He attended the finest wizarding school in the land! Even now, he ponders producing his wand - rigatoni, thirteen inches, with a core of ricotta - and giving Fabroxo a piece of his mind. But not today... not today.

 Meanwhile, the Capo sits at the head of the table as the two people who vied for his attention take their seats, puffing at his vape pen. He lets those assembled sweat for a few moments as he puffs on his vape pen, but, eventually, carefully packs it back into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and clears his throat.
 "You both wanted ta show me something," he rumbles, slowly, "So here we are." A long pause. "Doctor... you can go first. Show me what ya got."

• Character: Fabroxo
• 2 years, 6 months ago

  "Of course, the Capo!" Giuseppe already forgotten (not much presence on the man tbh), Fabroxo taps his device decisively and rests a hand on the white sheet.

  "Now, I know what you're all thinking. Traditionally, a combat system could be described as codified series of movements, unarmed or with a weapon, to deal with any manner of dangerous, violent situations. The more comprehensive such a system is, the better, for it's an unpredictable world, even for an intellect such as my own. However, what if I were to tell you that it were possible to increase your violence index unilaterally, with no concern for the thousand minutiae that comprise a specific encounter?"

  Y"es, I know, lesser minds," and to his credit Fabroxo doesn't even LOOK at Ivo, "Lesser minds could hardly even conceive of such a thing, but I present to you a functioning prototype that shall accomplish just that! BEHOLD!" The unhinged scientist yanks the sheet off with a flourish, revealing a line of small, mechanical humanoids, lined up in a row, bobbing in place rhythmically, faces in a grim rictus parodying normal human features, and discharging small bursts of both steam and raw electromagical power.

  "BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE CHILDREN'S MAGITECHNOLOGICAL CHOIR MARK ONE!!" Slamming his hand on his remote to activate the array, Fabroxo takes a step back and lets the device work its magic. And, shockingly, the CMCv1 does begin to emit...noises. Tinny, distorted, vaguely musical noises that seem to imitate lyrics without meaning anything at all.

  "OM-NI SU-PER LAAAN, BEE-VO LAAAN, VEE-BO LAAAN, SEF-O-RAT"

• Character: Fox
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 GRANSE REGION, CITY OF ZERHEM, MERRY MINSTREL INN, 2:26AM:

 The velvet night has the entire city in its grip, casting even this humble second floor inn room in alternating bars of dark blue and silver. The windows in particular let the moon shine directly onto the plushly-appointed bed, where a young man lies face down, his [MYSTERIOUS STATIC] in the air, while bottles of [APPLE JUICE] that have clearly been drained are scattered about. He appears to be snoring soundly.

 "Thanks for the [CUDDLING]," says the husky voice of a woman standing just to the left of the bed, connecting the clasp on her [T-SHIRT] and throwing a jacket over it. "Good thing I remembered about Wonder Boy's whatever the [MYSTERIOUS STATIC] it is, because it's a great excuse to leave before you wake up."

 A snore is her only answer.

 "God," Fox mutters from the doorway, "I'm gonna regret all that [JUICE] tomorrow."

 A DIFFERENT INN ROOM, 2:15PM THE SAME DAY:

 Fox rises groggily from a completely different bed, spies the timepiece on the mantle, and grimaces. "[MYSTERIOUS STATIC]!"

 SWEET FRANCINE GANGPLANK, NOW:

 The fox-haired alchemist stans in front of a ticket-taking bouncer, who does not seem to be impressed with her outfit, no matter how much it accentuates her [CHARM]. Reaching up with one hand, Fox produces a ticket from between her [FINGERS] and hands it over, she walks smoothly onto the boat, complete in form-fitting corset-top crimson swimsuit and fishnet stockings, a pair of bunny ears on a headband through her orange and white hair.

 "When I find you, Wonder Boy," she mutters, "I am going to [TICKLE] the [MYSTERIOUS STATIC] out of you."

• Character: Yari
• 2 years, 6 months ago

  Yari's apple crunches as she watches the unveiling, her expression not changing in the slightest when the technological marvel is revealed. Crunch, crunch...it's really obnoxious, how loudly she's chewing away. At least now she seems to be done with it. Her eyes flick for a moment over to the Capo, her head tilted to one side as she seems to consider something before tucking the core away in some mysterious hidden pocket somewhere upon her person.

  "...what does it do?" she asks from her apparently comfortable position. "Do they [POP]? Shoot steam? Sing at a pitch so high it causes the victim's eardrums to [GENTLY ACHE]?" she goes on before taking another bite of a fresh apple.

  Where did she even pull that one from? It's not even as though she has any [CHARM] to hide things between.

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 Somehow, Ivo feels the music is appropriate.
 His turn has come. The hairs on the back of his neck, not being quite so greased down as the hairs on the top of his head, would be standing up even if the chorus weren't so skin-crawlingly heinous. He attempts to take a deep breath, but no matter how his lungs swell, he feels as though he is suffocating.
 Yet he does not tremble. As though in a perpetual state of death-feigning freeze, he radiates a calm that could not be further from how he feels. Seemingly of its own accord, his hand reaches into his doublet.
 "Knowledge," he pronounces, "is power. I realized that I have no combat system worthy of you yet, Boss, because I am still too ignorant. But if I carefully observe what transpires on our missions, I will grow as you require and deserve."
 He has produced what appears to be a clay tablet with a gem, as perfectly spherical as a bubble and similarly glistening, set in its base. As earthen tones of verdant green and loamy brown flicker within the jewel, cursive text scrolls down the slab, the text at the top floating up and disappearing.
 "In Hagos," he continues, "the Niles Academy of Fosanis specializes in the construction of golems and other practices involving magics of earth." Fabroxo might be at least somewhat familiar with this fact, which is not to say that it would bring up happy memories. "Unusually, their rulers are chosen by popular election. Would-be leaders strive to influence the people by popularizing their beliefs and goals through informational missives. This has led to recent developments in the mass production of texts."
 He strokes the tablet with his finger and the text scrolls upwards, revealing what had previously been written. Close examination would reveal that it is what Ivo himself has been saying just now.
 "With this elesphere of my own making--" He then taps the gem upon the tablet, in fact a small sphere of pure aether, distilled using Cosmopolitan techniques. "--it is possible to power this Hagosan technology without the aid of specialists in earth magic, as is generally required. It records all the words and events in its vicinity for later review, thereby greatly facilitating reflection on past successes and errors, increasing our knowledge, and so our power."
 He folds his hands, staring into the middle distance, sweating faintly.
 "I call it... the autologger."
 It's all he's got.

• Character: The Capo
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 The Capo observes both presentations with rapt attention, his paws clasped on the table in front of him. His expression never changes.
 When Ivo's presentation finish, he sits in further silence, looking occasionally between Ivo and his gadget, and Fabroxo and his, as Fabroxo's mechanical choir slowly winds down and runs out of steam, the chanting distorting into deeply unsettling slow playing before it finally stops.
 And then, finally, the capybara begins to laugh.

 Giuseppe Stromboli, where he is standing by the door, also begins to nervously laugh... until a buzzing in his ear alerts him to the approach of another visitor. He quickly cracks open the conference room's door, shutting it behind him, and turns just in time to come face to face with Fox. He attempts to inform her that the meeting has already begun, and perhaps she should wait outside, but instead all that comes out of his mouth is, "Hummina hummina hummina A-OOOOO-GA!"

 Eventually, the Capo's laughter winds down into a mere chuckle. "What-- what are youse guys doin', here? Is this a goof? Are you goofin' me?
 "Is this about the whole combat system thing? Listen, fellas, it's not-- it's like, rhetorical, right? Metaphorical. It's like when I tell the player to press the A button, it ain't--" He devolves into laughter again, gesturing vaguely at the autologger and the CMCv1. "Yari, kid, can you believe these guys?"

• Character: Fox
• 2 years, 6 months ago

Fox rolls 1d2.
Roll(s): 2. Total result is 2.

• Character: Fabroxo
• 2 years, 6 months ago

  "Huh?"

  Fabroxo turns and stares blankly at Yari, his face showing a complete lack of comprehension. "What do you mean? It's doing it, do you not hear the dramatic chanting? Does it not fill your soul with a climactic sense of finality in the face of a destined battle?" The filthy man frowns, producing a notebook and scribbling in it furiously for a moment, before comprehension seems to dawn. "Ah, yes, I see, no, I know what the problem is. You must not 'get' music. Perhaps a visual component in the mark II, or..." He trails off, staring a hole into his notes, not even aware of Fox's entrance and only barely cognizant of the Capo's mirthful reaction. It's not the RIGHT emotional response, but emotion is emotion, and Ivo's MISERABLE invention probably did something weird to the mood.

  Fabroxo shuffles over to Ivo, and lays a (greasy) hand on his rival's shoulder. "You did your best, as ramshackle and slapdash as it clearly was. Remember, the more miserable and pathetic your failure, the less likely you are to make a public mockery of yourself in the future with your amateurish attempts at anything resembling science." He pauses meaningfully, then glances down at his own notebook, filthy and near-illegible.

  "So...is that your only prototype? If you have another, I could maybe see if I could do something with it. Maybe."

• Character: Fox
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 Fox has never seen the video for Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract," which is a shame, because if she had, she'd have a visual frame of reference for whatever it is that just happened with Giuseppe. As it is, she's left staring at the henchman with an expression that rolls from 'blank-eyed' to 'annoyed' to 'cheerful in a scary way' with astonishing speed, a bit like time lapse footage of clouds passing over an open field.

 "Yes," the alchemist says, her alto voice thick with irony. "Awooga."

 When she next gestures, it is to the door, and it is with a shark-like smile on her face. "I'll take it Wonder Boy is in here?" Nobody knows who that is, Fox. "I'll just let myself in, then, because he is definitely in need of a good [TICKLING] after today."

 Of course, the man is guarding the door. He could stop her. She doesn't APPEAR to be armed. But there could be anything in the famously interdimensional holding space that is a woman's [CHARM]. And that smile is both unsettling in its intensiity AND the upper right corner of her right eye appears to be twitching for about 2 frames of every 30.

• Character: Yari
• 2 years, 6 months ago

  For a long few seconds, Yari stares at the singing display of magitechnology before her. "These two make stupid things." she finally declares, pointing at the device, "This is useless. And that," she keeps going as her other hand points without looking, the half an apple she has left vanishing in a quick display of sleight-of-hand. "...no good in combat, but I want it anyway. I'll test it out, so give it to me."

  She's talking like she didn't try and [POKE] Ivo not all that long ago. Well. She is off the clock, so they're not /technically/ enemies at the moment. And anyway, her employer would probably be annoyed at her if she got [KETCHUP] all over the floors.

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 "Ha... ha ha..."
 Ivo's corpselike calm slowly begins to melt.
 "...ha ha ha--"
 He freezes abruptly, a shudder of horror suddenly passing through him. Is this a trap? Some kind of test? What sort of test would it be? He doesn't know. All he knows is that he wants it not to be a test, for the laughter to be sincere, for his relief to be justified.
 "Ha ha ha! You got us good, Boss! You're too clever for us!" Ivo chortles, entirely sincere, just glad that he may live to see another day and sleep tonight without being joined by fishes. "Hm?" Wiping a tear, not actually of laughter, from his eye, he glances up at Fabroxo and smiles. "Ah, right now I've only got one, and I need to keep it for Re-- research," he says, almost relaxing a little too much, "but I wanted to procure a couple more for testing purposes anyway, and I'd be happy to pass one on to both you." It doesn't occur to him to consider if such an item might be dangerous in Yari's hands. He's just loving life, baby. "Maybe you can show me the Autologger MkII next time, huh, Fabroxo?"
 Ivo, who is more tinkerer than inventor and has nothing at stake in his scientific prowess, grins genuinely up at his rival for Capo's approval.
 "Ha ha--"
 He freezes again. This is getting ridiculous. Why does he keep feeling like he's going to die at any moment? The danger is passed, so--
 "F-Fox?"
 Ivo's voice jumps several octaves. With it, he shoots out of his chair, eyes nearly widening to the size of Fox's [CHARM].
 "You, uh, you--"
 That moment, the Children's Magitechnological Choir Mark One goes on the fritz, getting stuck on a single note of "Aaaaaa," sounding akin to an angelic, albeit tubercular, chorus.
 "--look great," the young man finishes, blissed out, ready for death.

• Character: The Capo
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 Giuseppe Stromboli makes no move to intercept Fox, because he is British.

 The Capo is still laughing, apparently oblivious to Fox's entry, or, indeed, anything. He is, it seems, extremely tickled by Fabroxo and Ivo's buffoonery.

• Character: Fabroxo
• 2 years, 6 months ago

  As the Children's Mechanical Choir mkI freezes on a single, angelic note, Fabroxo hurridly turns from Ivo with a look of worry on his face. "Oh...oh. Excuse me everybody, no need to panic, no safety worries here, I just need to...ahem, ANTONIO, HELP PLEASE."

  A helpful mook appears and, together, they swiftly begin dragging the assembly away.

  Three to five minutes later, there is a colossal [PEACEFUL, NON-VIOLENT RESOLUTION].

• Character: Fox
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 Absolutely nothing in the room makes even a remote amount of sense, especially because they've only met the one time and Fox had conveniently forgotten that 'Capo' was not a loanword metaphor but, in fact, a relatively literal nickname. To recap: she has walked into a room with a vaping capybara, a mad scientist with an Alex (patent pending), a ninja (hi Yari), and a bishounen with an iPad (patent pending).

 Nothing about this suggests she needed to show up in this [PROFESSIONAL DANCER] costume at all.

 And she is definitely starting to feel that [APPLE JUICE] headache.

 "Don't mind me, everyone. I just came to deliver something to Wonder Boy, here."

 There is something about the way her head turns toward Ivo that suggtests one could hear a wooden creaking as it does so, though that's either imaginary or the product of the gone-awry Magitek Children's Choir (patent pending).

 And thus does the fox-haired alchemist walk to the Cosmopolitan, arms outstretched in the universal gesture for 'give us a hug'.

 They embrace! What friendship, what camaraderie. It definiely goes on a little too long.

 And then she starts leaning over backwards at the waist and Ivo discovers that she is very 1.) flexible, 2.) strong, and thanks to the position of his head as his body moves with her, 3.) [CHARMING].

 This ends with Fox finishing a reverse suplex by slamming Ivo directly into the floor. From whatever dark corner Fabroxo has taken his device, there is a distant but unmistakable 'SEF-O-RAT!'.

 Rolling to the side, standing up, and adjusting her [T-SHIRT] back into place, she smiles at the Capo. "Nice boat." And then she walks out.

• Character: Yari
• 2 years, 6 months ago

  There's not any need for Yari to do anything more, really. Ivo's already been abused enough by his...friend? [VERY GOOD FRIEND]? Whatever the case, it would be adding insult to injury to make his day any worse.

  Which is to say, Yari absolutely decided to make Ivo's day slightly worse. Humming to herself the ninja steps up next to him, prodding his prone form with her toe, right under the ribs. Then she squats down, both hands reaching down to pat him down. Surely he has /something/ valuable to steal, right?

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 2 years, 6 months ago

 Ivo [IS FINE].

> Yari has acquired Notebook of Original Love Poetry.