[WORLD TWO | THE OTHER HALF]

[spellbindmods]

Who: Others not on the list of the Chosen 12
Where: Around Shehui
When:
Open/Closed: Open to All, though top levels shouldn't be made by Chosen 12 members -- however, direct telepathy links can be sent to Chosen 12 members, and Chosen 12 members can respond to open telepathy prompts. This post is meant more for those who aren't part of the Chosen 12 so they can react with others or plot their next move.

[ While your name isn't on the list that has been circulating, it doesn't mean that you're unaffected by this issue. Did someone you know -- someone you have a fondness for, perhaps? -- wind up on that list? And did they manage to evade the monitors or have they been captured?

You may have the resources to do something about it, or you may want to stay out of harm's way. Either way, changes are on the horizon -- and that horizon is now looming closer than ever before. ]

Comments

[marakukaja]

a;

[ A kidnapping situation? Surprisingly not that new to Aigis. It still stings though, even if she's not familiar with most of them. But this is no time to be standing around and shuffling feet when there's things to do and people who have been forcibly taken. ]

Does anyone have any idea of where the captured could have been taken?

If not, can anyone provide their last locations, and what they may be able to do, magic or not?

[ For instance, Geir's a dragon. Probably can do a little more than a squishy human. ]

b;

[ By now, she's fully shifted into Professional Mode (tm). Her voice isn't cold however, merely calm and steady. ]

Hello? Can you hear me? If you can, could you please identify yourself? Name and physical appearance. And the magic you use, if you can.

[ Start things off small. Have something doable they can focus on and keep calm. They might not need a head count since they know 12 were taken, but being able to put names to appearances to voices (for telepathy's sake), to people, to abilities, and whatnot will allow for easier coordination, whether in the heat of the moment or not. And of course, knowing what those taken can do is also useful. ]

b

[gimmecandy]

-The voice that comes in on the other end is... strange, to say the least. At first, it's almost childlike in its energy and tone.-

Oh I'm Jack-O'! Most people know me because of my mask! It super stands out and the normal people here really hate it!

-But a much more mature, equally professional tone comes in, yet still clearly owned by the same person.- My magic is kinetic vector manipulation, which I understand may be a bit of a difficult concept to explain, so I'll try to put things in simple terms: I am capable of putting objects I touch in complete and total stasis, regardless of the presence of friction or other physical factors, by changing the kinetic vectors of that object. I can then proceed to add, or remove, force and momentum as I like when the object is still stationary. Once the stasis is removed, well...

-The youthful tone chimes in again.- ZOOOOM!!!

[marakukaja]

Don't worry, I understood that. Kinetic manipulation is a powerful thing indeed.

[ No, she really does understand. It's the weird tone switch that throws her off, not the subject matter itself. Physics, at least, she understands well. People? Not so much. But who is she to talk about eccentricity? ]

You are not one of the captured, are you? Have you encountered any of them before they were taken?

[gimmecandy]

I don't know any of them! -The youthful tone exclaimed, but the mature one quickly followed it.- I'm actually somewhat surprised I was not among them. I am nothing if not exceptionally 'other' by the standards of the humans here.

[marakukaja]

[ That makes the two of them, then. Not that she says that out loud...yet. ]

...Then, what are you?

[ It might be a bit rude, as she knows how it feels like when humans tend to treat others like a, well, "other" or an object, but she's the one who brought it up. ]

[gimmecandy]

...

Incomplete. -The youthful tone, again, but with none of the vigor it had before. Almost solemn.-

[marakukaja]

...

[ ...Perhaps she hit a nerve. This wouldn't be the first time she's made a social misstep, but hopefully it's the last. ...Not that she expects it to be as such. ]

...For what it's worth, I don't think being incomplete is a bad thing.

[ Isn't everyone incomplete in some way? That's what life is about. ]

[gimmecandy]

Whether it's 'bad' or 'good', it's mostly just frustrating. -The mature tone hummed. Not just for herself, but others as well. She didn't not notice the reactions people had to her. She couldn't ignore it.-

[marakukaja]

...May I ask why you consider yourself incomplete?

[ They might be in a bit of a crisis right now, but that doesn't mean she can't spare a moment to hear someone out. ]

[gimmecandy]

Because I am. Unfinished. "Half-baked". Like bread pulled too soon from an oven! -The youthful tone sang.-

a

[deem]

I can provide some details about a few of them. The magic Haru was given generates shields. Noctis, Julius, and Madoka can fight. They'd need weapons.

I'm...concerned about Julius though.

[Because, although he isn't going to go around telling people, he knows what the man grapples with. And he worries for what might happen if his captors try anything invasive]

[marakukaja]

I see...shield conjuration, possibly similar to my own, and weapon users.

[ She files away all of the data. Most likely, weapons of any sort have been confiscated, which means that the only weapons they can use...are themselves, or their magic, and even then, it's probably not a good idea to bust out the magic when that's what landed them in hot water in the first place.

...Then again, they already know. Decisions, decisions. ]

...What's wrong with Julius?

[deem]

Oh, it's not really that something's wrong with him. [He doesn't want to think of it that way, the burden Julius deals with] His situation is just unique, and these people don't seem to understand outsiders very well.

[At least obfuscation is an area in which he's quite practiced, though he doesn't particularly want to deceive others. It seems preferable to remain vague where Julius' personal business is concerned, and what's more, something he knows weighs heavily on the man's mind]

[marakukaja]

[ And here she thought Julius needed constant medical care or something that he possibly wouldn't get in captivity, or something along those lines. ]

...I understand. I won't pry further. These people have made it clear what they think of us. I can hardly blame you for worrying.

[ To her credit, she doesn't press much more than that. It's hardly her place to probe in the personal matters of others, especially regarding things such as unique situations and possibly not being understood by outsiders. ]

Do you know what sort of magic he uses?

[ Perhaps there's a common link between all the captives? Or did they just pick names out of a hat and think "gee, let's catch this one!"? If it was based on magic they use, surely Aigis herself would be a bigger target? Since she's not even human and thus more interesting to pick at.

...Then again, that might also be the exact reason they didn't choose her either. Dealing with cold, hard metal is far, far more difficult than dealing with squishy humans. Who knows? ]

[deem]

Unfortunately, I don't. The only abilities I've observed were ones he had before.

[Though now he wonders. Perhaps he should've asked when he had the time to, especially whether or not he was issued the same ability upon his return. Would it be the same? What people were given seemed less a matter of careful consideration and more like some randomized results...but he has no way of knowing.

Then there's the matter of what criteria were applied to Qri taking them to start with, or these people abducting some of them. Level of threat hardly seems the reason. If it were, wouldn't YoRHa units be on their radar?]

Is there a reason you want to know something like that?

[He assumes, of course, that there is]

[marakukaja]

Well, first of all, it's good to know what the captives are capable of. Since our telepathy is still working, just weak, we should also take their capabilities into account when coordinating any plans. Broadening our possibilities can only help.

[ That's reasonable enough, isn't it? She doesn't want to put the kidnapped through any further stress, but if push comes to shove, it's better to know than to not. Opening up further possibilities can only be a good thing. ]

I was also simply thinking over why they in particular have been captured...for instance, any common links they might share. If they are capturing people because of their magical abilities, why was Haru-san captured, and not I? Haru-san and I sound like we have similar, if not the same, magic, after all. ...Is it because of what I am? But they also took Geir...

[ It just seems so...random, to her. Then again, perhaps they could only spare the resources to deal with one big ol' troublemaker, and not two or more? ]

[deem]

It makes sense, though they may prevent the use of magic, so we may want to prioritize combat skills. Environmental factors have a way of interfering.

I'd have thought they were taking humans if not for Geir... And even in this place people mistake units like me for humans. If there was specific criteria, we'd probably need to figure out where they store that data to be sure.

[Although he'd prefer they had answers now, he can't think of a factor that unifies those taken but discludes the rest of them. It's troubling, because for all they know, more names will be demanded at any time without apparent cause]

[marakukaja]

Yes. If they are this suspicious about magic, I would not be surprised to hear that they have methods to suppress its use. Perhaps where they are being held might even be the reason for the telepathic interference...

[ Magic or not, she still wants to know about their capabilities. If they arm some of the prisoners, then it's possible they can fend for themselves, which is fine.

Units like him, however...that obviously catches her attention. ]

I'm sorry, are you...not human either?

[deem]

That'd definitely explain what's going on with telepathy, especially since they're aware of the signets.

[It's not good for them by any means, but it does seem the most likely reason for the problems with an otherwise fairly reliable communication method]

But yeah, I'm an android. YoRHa unit number nine, type S. That's a mouthful though, so my name's 9S. If you're not human, what are you?

[marakukaja]

Oh, so you're 9S. 2B-sa... 2B mentioned you.

[ It's a bit harder to cut off the mental honorific she puts at the end of 2B's name when compared to doing so on a verbal level.

She has to get over her hesitation. Her not being human means there are some things she can do that squishy, fragile humans can't. And they're all among coven members here; they seem to be a more accepting lot than the locals. So it...should be all right to reveal herself. They'd probably find out sooner or later. ]

I'm...an android as well, albeit a different type than what you are. My official name is 7th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon...Aigis. Please call me Aigis.

[deem]

Oh, you're Aigis? Someone mentioned you once, when I told him I was an android. I think...maybe he hoped we'd meet, someday.

[It's been some time since he last saw Minato. Perhaps he'd departed as Julius had and might later return. He still hopes to investigate how and why that occurs with some individuals and not others.

But for now, they have more pressing, immediate concerns. Investigating how entering and leaving Qri's service occurs will simply have to wait]

Do you require maintenance? I know someone who's like us but has self-repair functionality, more or less, but my unit type's made for things like maintaining others.

[marakukaja]

[ She's curious, very curious, as to who he's referring to when he says someone else told him about her. As far as she knows, there's nobody here who hails from the same peer group or even world as her. But first things first: ]

I do. I have been looking for someone I can entrust my regular maintenance to.

[ If he's as trustworthy as he seems, letting him do the usual maintenance work would be exactly what she's been looking for. That's an if, though. Fuuka's not here, and letting just anyone perform maintenance on her could prove...disastrous, if the last time she was reprogrammed against her will is any indication. ]

However, I will need to get to know you a little better first. It's not that I doubt your skills. It's simply that...I need to be careful who I trust it to, and we haven't even seen each other face-to-face. You understand, don't you?

[ It's her body and mind, after all. Not inconsequential things. If anything went wrong, it'd be disastrous. ]

[deem]

I do. Something like system repairs can't be left to just anybody. YoRHa like me and 2B have it a little easier, since we were made for our roles and we're aware of that from the start.

[And so it's natural for a YoRHa unit to leave maintenance to a Scanner, or a Pod if they were in the field. For units who had never heard of them, and weren't built to be part of the same force, trust isn't implicit. Besides which, what a Scanner can do is potentially intrusive.

Knowing as he does what it's like to have his systems poked into without consent, 9S certainly has opinions about it. His situation involved an enemy using his personal data to toy with him, but even were that not the case, he knows androids who aren't YoRHa should be apprised of what he is capable of before he ever does any maintenance.

Because it's systems, and not just hardware, that he was designed to repair]

I'd want you to know what I can do, besides. It's not like we've got backup bodies, or servers to store our personal data, here.

[marakukaja]

[ If he could see her, he'd be able to see her nodding. He seems reasonable enough. She's glad that 2B has someone practically tailor-made to suit her in terms of maintenance capabilities, if what he's saying is the truth. The fact that he talks about backup bodies and servers doesn't escape her; so they used to have a backup plan. That would make sense for churning out soldiers, not so much when one is supposed to develop an individual sense of self in order to have a Persona. ]

I'm glad you understand, and I also appreciate your concern. I've never had such backup capability for my body or memories either...that information was locked even to me.

[ She hasn't uploaded her memories to a server, or had any backup bodies or anything of the sort. The fact that her sister units' memories were stored in her in some way, unreachable and locked, didn't even hit her until recently. ]

What are your capabilities, then?

[deem]

It seems pretty non-standard. We were at war, and our casualties were expected. Because we're specialized, units like 2B and me were made with provisions in mind. Sometimes the only way to succeed was to sacrifice ourselves, and have our data loaded into new bodies.

[But he knows by now how bizarre it sounds to others. He knows it isn't the sort of thing that Sophie had been accustomed to, certainly. However her capacity for self-repair far exceeds anything that they can do]

As a Scanner unit I'm capable of more than just bodily repairs. Maintenance includes internal systems as well, and I do that through hacking. It's a connection I can create that allows me to run diagnostics and fix problems without physical access. Hacking space can include memory, and things like that, but 2B can tell you I don't go digging around.

It's generally just making sure everything functions the way it should. But I wouldn't want that to be a surprise if I did end up giving you a hand with maintenance, since no one in the coven seems familiar with it except other YoRHa units.