WEEK 3

[akudamods]

On Saturday, it is relentlessly sunny. Sunday too. Monday will be the same but with a lot of wind. For now, you get a new area: Old Shinsekai, the den of depravity surrounding the police station. Will you venture into the unknown and seedy? Or retreat into the familiar pods, keep bothering your overseers?

Maybe you plan something else altogether.

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Comments

npc conversation

[thefifthchild]

[Damian is more withdrawn after the trial, tending to disappear during the day and only show himself after he knows most people are asleep. With the new area, it's not long until Damian decides to go exploring.

Firstly, he'll visit the Karaoke Bar where he can be spotted trying to drag one of the smashed up robots out the door. If he spots anyone else, he'll just give them a tense look and go right back to dragging. Looks like he could use some help.

After recruiting Goliath with transporting them to the new Chop Shop, he'll have the big furry creature dump a load of around five seperate robots right in front of the mechanic.]

Can you fix these? And if so, can you repurpose them?

[From there, he'll head down to the World Peace Alley where he'll have a bowling in his hand. If he's bothered by any of the inhabitants, he'll shut them up by knocking them out. Currently though, he's just staring down at this large ball in his hands, like he wants to play but alas he has no friends.

He'll look at whoever else is here, and spot a familiar face, to which he'll just grimace, balancing the wall with one hand and looking at the abandoned pins.]

This is a fucking miserable heap of a city.

[And a few hours after that, he's standing atop the Karaoke Bar, a scowl perpetually in place on his face. He turns to the one speaking to him, that only he can hear, and glares.]

You're extra talkative today, aren't you? I thought we'd been over this, old man, a few times. It's not your place, or father's, or grandfather's, or mother's or even Grayson or Starfire... none of you get to decide who I am.

Least of all a corpse. I'm not my father, I won't waste my breath on appeasing the dead. [He's monologuing again it seems...]

KARAOKE BAR MONOLOGUING

[your_best_friend]

[* ...?]

[* Flowey seems to have chosen the wrong time to pop up. He doesn't see anyone else besides Damian there. Unless...]

Wait, there's someone invisible here?

[thefifthchild]

[Hearing Flowey pop up, he immediately throws a batarang that clips the flower's petals, entirely by instinct.

Then he sees it's the flower and the look of paranoia is replaced with a scowl of distaste.]

What do you want, weed?

[your_best_friend]

Woah there, buddy. Watch where you're throwing your little toys.

[* It seems that Flowey barely reacted to that aside from flinching a little.]

Golly, you're likely to kill someone if you're not careful! ...And at least it wouldn't be on a Friday!

Anyways, I just wanted to observe you a little. You know, see what you do. Always good to watch each other's backs, right? Especially in a place where so many hate us~.

[thefifthchild]

[He scoffs. He stands up from the overhang that he was sitting at, crosses his arms and sneers down at him.]

I knew where I was throwing it and who I was throwing it at. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead, flower.

Having said that, if I had to choose someone here to 'watch my back', you'd be among the last.

[your_best_friend]

I've taken on trashbags scarier than you, buddy. But in times and situations like these, can you really afford to pick and choose your allies? This is the real world. It's not kill or be killed here.

[* A reminder mostly to himself, though Flowey makes sure the tone of his voice doesn't convey that at all.]

Anyway, why don't you introduce little old me to your inviso friend?

Karaoke Bar;

[inspiritus]

[ Oh, Damian. He has been kind of hoping to catch him somewhere following the trial, though it wasn't so urgent that he was going to seek him out immediately...but it was due to what a certain someone said to him during it. He doesn't quite find himself interested in bringing up that point exactly, but, eh.

The kid seems to be chatting to himself atop the Karaoke Bar. Always a good sign to hear. He's probably lept atop it, silent like a wind that doesn't dare carry the sound of a single breeze or any loud movement. ]

Those are quite a few names there, ones of course I do not recognize.

[ ...More importantly, though... ]

Which old man is it that is supposedly speaking to you?

[thefifthchild]

[He bristles, drawing his sword in an instant. When he sees it's Sephiroth, he lowers the sword somewhat but his demeanor seems no less hostile.]

It's no business of yours.

What do you want?

[inspiritus]

[ He's not even perturbed by the surprise in the slightest. His steps had been relatively quiet, and so it's easy for him to expect this kind of reaction. ]

I'm certain that there are sayings cautioning against talking to the voices in your head.

[ The irony of his own words is something no one here will understand or get, which is exactly why he says it. ]

However, to properly answer your question, perhaps some curiosity. You've been making yourself relatively scarce, haven't you? Ever since that foolish man's trial came to an end. I assume the proceedings bothered you enough to be reason for the change, or will you deny it?

[thefifthchild]

[He lowers the sword and scoffs.]

I know he's not here, but he'll just stick around if I don't... [He trails off, deciding he doesn't want to talk about the voice in his head.

His hostile stance is gone, for the most part, replaced with the exhaustion of a wounded animal. He sighs.] I suppose.

...Akira told me that he was my friend, the night of the first trial. Then he winds up dead a week later. It's like an ill omen. [He shakes his head.] I've seen what sentiment does to ideals and what it does to a mission, I've seen it make fools out of great men. I'm willing to cooperate with others, but I need to solve this case myself.

[inspiritus]

[ Listening to the voices in your head never ends well. But all the same there is never something as a simple cure for such a thing.

He'll just maybe circle back around to the voices in the head later. ]

I'm certain he meant it. That boy was always so full of sentiment, the type to want to watch over others as if some kind of sentinel. The type who'd dare try to stop another from committing a murder, to act righteous, but since he's appeared as a Demon, who would believe that?

[ Ah well, it is what it is. He'll move right onto the next topic just fine. ]

If this place wasn't as it was, I can easily picture a single person resolving it. But I'll be the first person to tell you that's impossible. Unless of course by resolution you mean it's total destruction.

Karaoke Bar, robot edition

[intimations]

[Considering their... acquisition of the Karaoke Bar a week ago, it's been something of a safe haven for them relative to the rest of the city, so Belial's found himself frequenting it semi-often. Also, there was alcohol.

As such, it's pretty hard to miss the sight of Damian trying to drag one of those robots out especially when you're standing by the entrance. Belial raises an eyebrow at the whole thing, faint amusement all over his features as he watches for a bit. Finally, he'll take a couple steps forward and speak up.]

Looks like you're having a little trouble there. Need a hand?

[thefifthchild]

[He looks at Belial with a grimace, before going back to dragging the robot. It's not that he can't lift them or can't move them, it's just that it's objectively not very efficient to do this himself.]

I'm fine.

[intimations]

Now, now, don't be like that. After all, we're comrades, right?

[And without missing a beat, he'll reach over with his right arm to grab another one of the robot's limbs so he can drag it along while he strolls side by side with Damian, his other hand still hooked along one of the decorative belts at his hip.]

Where are you trying to lug this thing to anyway?

[thefifthchild]

[He grimaces when Belial helps but sighs and relents, allowing Belial to take the wheel. Fine. The demon has more in the way of strength, so it's hardly like having him carry them is irrational.]

The mechanic. I was wondering if we could fix and then reprogram them. Or alternatively, use the parts to build our own robots.

[intimations]

[Belial's gaze flickers over to Damian for a second when he hears the sigh, but thankfully(?) there's no other reaction from him. Granted, he's still walking at a pretty leisurely pace so it's uncertain how much more time they're saving here but at least it's something??]

Fighting back using their own toys, eh. It's not a bad idea, but do you really think they can be trusted to be discreet about this business? Would be pretty dicey if the authorities caught wind of some big bad X-classes gathering an army of machines.

[Not that he actually sounds too worried about it...]

Re: npc conversation

[akudamods]

Repurpose...?

[The mechanic tilts his head, uncomfortable.]

Are you talking like—[he makes The Robot dance motions] or like [miming laser guns] pew pew pew pew pew?

[thefifthchild]

Does it matter to you? You'd be getting paid anyway, and I wouldn't be breaking fingers until you comply.

[That little nugget of intimidation dropped, he'll cross his arms.] I'm interested in using them to make solving the murders easier, and to help in monitoring certain locations when I'm not around to keep watch. I can do the programming a lot better than you can, all I need is for them to be fixed.

[akudamods]

Does this thing even have a camera?

[He scoops up some spare mechanical fingers that are nearby.]

Rumor has it that the Commissioner doesn't actually take so well to recordings she doesn't make herself.

[thefifthchild]

[Damian scoffs, a nasty smirk on his features.]

She'll get over it.

You're a mechanic and you can't install a camera?

world peace alley

[pr159]

[ Rideaux has just wandered in here out of curiosity while looking through the newly accessible area. From the condition of the place, it's hard to tell from the outside if anything on the inside is still in working order.

He glances over when Damian addresses him, tearing his disdainful gaze away from the collection of ratty shoes behind the desk. ]

I doubt you'll get much disagreement... though it could be worse.

...That said, this particular facility would qualify as a shithole even by Duval standards.

[thefifthchild]

Trust me, I know about shithole cities. I live – lived in Gotham. Famously known as the "worst city in the world." Still, at least it has a few trees there.

[He looks at the bowling ball and then down the lane. He wonders if there's any secrets to be found here... given that it's clearly not the kind of place that the local government or police force spends a lot of time and attention on.]

The lights seem like they're still functioning, and so do a lot of the other mechanisms. They just need power.

[pr159]

I don't think they ever bothered with rankings where I'm from, but I'd be surprised if they gave that title to any other place.

[ His feelings on Duval are complicated, but there's no arguing that it isn't a pretty miserable place these days. And if they're really using the number of living trees as part of the calculation, it's got a big zero in that department.

He follows Damian's gaze to the ball and then the lane, then looks back to him, eyebrows raised slightly in amusement. ]

What, were you planning on playing a game if you got them turned on?

[thefifthchild]

Why not? [He quirks an amused smile.] It's here, isn't it?

Besides, I think if there were any clues or items of interest stashed away in the city, it'd probably be in the areas the government's been neglecting.

[pr159]

And you think you're going to find those clues by rolling a strike?