[And some bloggers I guess]
The lobby of the golden trove was shaping up good. Su was starting to learn all the little nuances that made a lobby inviting to potential guests. The walls were red with an oriental gold leaf design sprawling over it. Paper lanterns hung from the ceiling, and the floor was solid marble. There was a large TV mounted in the wall of the lounge, and ample seating for guests to wait for their families. While the lobby did it's job great, the Chinese aesthetic made it feel like you weren't in Penrose anymore. That was certainly one of the things Su liked about working here.
But it was late, and the night clerk called in sick. No one was available to fill in, so Su decided to cover the shift herself. Helga offered to do it for her, but Su refused her help, insisting she do it anyway. She needed something to occupy her mind. The work wasn't that hard anyway. She almost had all of her guests billed out, and she was playing a game of spider solitaire just to stay awake. The graveyard shift would be here to take over in a few hours, so she just had to stay awake until then.
That was when the double doors leading outside opened up. Su looked up from her computer and waited for the guests to arive.
The duo that walked in through those doors made for an odd couple.
The teenage girl seemed normal enough, gripping the straps of her pin-covered backpack while she took in the sight of the lobby. She looked around, mesmerized, with her long brown hair and red scarf swishing behind her with the movements.
The man walking in beside her seemed a little out of place, or at the very least his body language indicated he felt that way. He looked like he stepped off a noir filmset, what with a black trilby as his choice of habadashery and how he wore an honest to God canvas trenchcoat. The grinning mask he wore on his face kind of clashed with that aesthetic, though, as did the hockey bag he had slung over one shoulder. And where the girl seemed to be overflowing with energy, the poor guy looked like he was ready to find the nearest bed and crash headfirst into dreamland.
"Thou hath scares in thy mists! Get them gone!"It was not enough that Su had to fill in for someone tonight, she also had to deal with Boteg and his aversion for anything magical. One would think having a patron watching over their home for such things would make one feel safe, but Boteg was equally scared of all forms of magic. It didn't matter if it was a wandering magical girl or an enchanted pencil, they were all potential threats to him. Not that she could
blame him in this instance. The girl looked innocent enough, but the man in the creepy mask wasn't very subtle. The girl was young enough to be a magical girl, and Su suspected the man she was travailing with was a familiar, minion, or possibly a magical boy. She didn't really care, so long as they behaved themselves. Most things that put Boteg on edge weren't worth losing sleep over. She certainly couldn't run a buisness if she sent away everyone who bothered the scared dragon. Su cleared her throat and minimized the window to her card game.
”Good evening.” Su put her hands together and gave a small bow, making sure to never take her eyes off of the newly arrived.
”Will you be staying with us tonight?”"Yes, we will be," the girl said. She looked back at her companion, who looked like he was seriously weighing the odds of falling asleep in one of the lobby chairs. When she turned back to Su, her eyes sparkled with mischief. She came closer to the desk and spoke
sotto voce.
"Say, could you hook us up with a single-" "Room with two beds in them," the masked man interrupted. Though he still sounded exhausted, he looked more awake than he had been a second ago.
"Though we'd settle for a single bed and a cot, only if your doubles are all booked," he said, looking pointedly at his younger companion.
"Just checking to see if you were still awake, Uncle," the girl said, innocently batting her eyelashes at him.
Su blinked.
”Uncle?” She doubted very much that was her uncle, but that wasn't really the biggest problem right now.
”I mean, one second.” Typically Su kept a few rooms on the bottom floor empty just in case someone magical game by, she could have them sleep there far away from Boteg. Having a single room with two beds was seldom necessary for such individuals, as so many magical girls tend to wander alone. This meant that Su would have to give them a room on a higher floor closer to Boteg to accommodate them.
”I have two openings on the fourth floor. One facing towards main street, and another facing the harbor.” Su looked away from the computer screen.
”But if you want to sleep on a cot, we can put a cot in of the open floors at ground level. It wouldn't be as wide as a double, but it would save you some money.” Su crossed her fingers under the counter.
"The one facing the harbor'll be fine," the masked man said.
"I don't mind paying a little extra for the comfort." ”Of course.” Su would have liked to have complained, but money was tight enough that filling up a more prized room was worth it. Perhaps that was why she left the option open to them. After the decided how they were going to pay and Su let them ask any questions they had, she passed them two key cards.
”These cards will work until nine-o'clock tomorrow. Don't miss our continental breakfast. It's complementary, and a lot of the guests say good things about our steam buns and porridge.” "Well, thanks for the tip, he said, tipping his hat. Then he paused for a second.
Speaking of..." The masked man placed a twenty on the counter in front of Su.
"...here's one, from one tired person to another.""Nice meeting you," the 'niece' said, before taking her 'uncle's' arm.
"I swear, you're gonna be the death of me," he muttered, as they made their way towards the elevators.
Su was so surprised to see the tip that she forgot to thank the man as they walked to their room. Her eyes darted between the stranger and the bill on the table, until the two people left her sight. Su let out a sigh before returning her attention solely on the bill. Had this happened a few months ago, seeing if the bill was cursed or not was a small matter. Of course Su had no problem taking money for the room, but this gesture, it seemed too nice. Come to think of it, seeing those two get along so well made Su's blood boil a bit. She picked up the bill and examined it closer. All the proper markings were there. Colored thread, UV strip, both watermarks. She placed the bill on the side of her monitor. She then placed her fingers on the side of her head.
”Boteg, have Mika hang around room 426. That's where the new 'scares' are headed.” With a sigh, Su returned to her computer. Even if she didn't fully trust them, the new guests were more interesting than this card game.
The masked man, leaning against the wall in room 426, looked at the beds longlingly. His displays of fatigue downstairs weren't
entirely an act, but he couldn't go to sleep yet. He still had things to do before he could rest easy that night.
"Alright, he said, looking at his companion.
"You said that if we stayed at a hotel together, you'd have some more explaining to do."She sat on the bed closest to him, swinging her legs playfully over the edge.
"There are some things I can't exactly talk about yet, but ask away... Sergei," the girl giggled.
Sergei sighed through his mask.
"In that case, Maria... why this specific hotel?""Your senses are strong enough to pick up on it, aren't they? What makes this place special."Sergei gestured upwards with a thumb.
"You mean whatever that thing is on the top floor?"Mika was fully transformed, standing beside the door. Waiting was awfully boring, especially when she had comments to write and even a brand new game to try out. But that didn't mean it couldn't be made more exciting. With her ear pressed against the wall, and her bestial senses active, she could listen to the occupants rather easily. Of course, Mika wasn't new to all of this spy buisness. She needed a cover. That was why she had put on a maid's uniform to help explain away why she was standing in the hall, if she was spotted. So mika found an old
french maid costume that fit her perfectly, and wore it over her magical girl uniform. All of the maids in the golden trove wore Chinese maid costumes to go along with the aesthetic, but Mika was sure this was fine. It was fun to wear something that made her stand out a little bit. Regardless, it sounded like they were about to get to the good part. Mika pressed her head harder against the wall.
Back in the hotel room, Maria nodded.
"A creature whose greatest fear is magic. He views it as an unstoppable tide, one that drowned and swept away his bretheren. So he fled here, to this little rock in the cosmic seas, hoping to be free from his fear." She paused to gesture vaguely around them.
"To the heart seeking freedom... this island is a prison, surrounded by water."They were talking about Boteg! Mika stood up on the tips of her toes, her tail wagging a mile a minute. It slapped against the wall a few times, but not hard enough to make much noise. She didn't think so at least.
"...did you compare magic to water just to make that reference work?" Sergei asked, briefly glancing back at the wall he was leaning against. Sounded like some kid was slapping on the halls, judging on the height.
Maria looked surprised.
"And here I thought you didn't play videogames.""I've got a copy of the novel," he shrugged.
Maria's eyes sparkled.
"You mean you read the light novels?""Hey, it's easier than lugging around a console. Cheaper to replace than one, too.""Oh, I see now, she tittered.
"What, did you fry it after losing too many times to the dragon?""No, during a fight with this Towerborn, she thought it'd be funny to assimilate it into their body. The Morphs disagreed. So she got melted into slag.""I didn't know they were such fans.""They're really big into the philisophical angles it explores.""Do they also like using the Thunder spells?" Maria teased.
"Ha ha," Sergei deadpanned.
"...as a matter of fact, they also really liked the first game's take on Aero." He shook his head, steering the conversation back on track.
"...so there's a powerful creature at the top of this hotel, and his fear of magic is practically drenching this place. So far I'm following. Is there more to your reasons than this?" Boteg had a videogame about him? Mika was getting really amped up now. She wanted to play this game and learn more about her patron. She imagined he'd be really impressed that she'd play a videogame about him. But they hadn't mentioned a name yet. She had to keep listining. Hopefully they wouldn't spoil too much. It sounded good.
Maria nodded, a bit more seriously now.
"There is, yes. According to the 「Insiden Gospels」, 'the ancient dragon sitting atop his golden trove' has a role to play in the events ahead."The 「Insiden Gospels?」""The scriptures and their prophecies were scattered long ago. I have several pages' worth, but not all of them."And according to whatever pieces you got ahold of, the good eldritch book told you that we had to rent a hotel room from an honest to god dragon.""That's right." "Would I also be right to guess you've been carting me around, being cryptic as possible, all so that I help you fulfill these prophecies?""I'm not being as cryptic as the day we first met," she pointed out.
"Don't suppose you'll explain how you made it out of that alley alive?"Maria cheekily winked at him.
"A girl's got to keep some secrets.Sergei sighed.
"Why did I almost expect a straight answer that time?""We've got time for about five more questions." She was being cryptic. Good, Mika was glad that they weren't going to spoil the videogame. Her tail was wagging faster and faster. But they only had time for five more questions. She figured it might mean they were going to go to sleep. It was getting pretty late.
"I couldn't sense that dragon nor his fear while I was outside the building. And something tells me that other people couldn't do that either. So how did you find this place? It's not like the street address was just there in your book of prophecies.""They're specific, but not quite about that, no," Maria admitted.
"Then how...?"As you know, 「his」 domain is... was... the Path of Black Leaves, she amended.
"A Way Between opened on its own on a certain day, and one of those leaves made its way into the hair of a particular girl. One with the powers of a beast. According to the 「Insiden Gospels」, it was said that she would lead the way." "So you traced her back here?"The leaf that attached itself to her was drawn in by the power of 「Gravity」, or 「Fate」, if you prefer calling it that.He crossed his arms in thought, trying to remember...
"When was this again?" Sergei asked.
"Do you remember that day, last week, when you were at that stadium? You met me with another of my, ah, friends a short while later.""Yeah, I remember her. Poor kid got trampled by the Skeletor Fan Club. Wasn't she the one babbling something about 'protecting a girl chosen by his black leaves...?'" And then, epiphany.
"Oh, now I get it."This video game was starting to sound more like what happened to Mika two weeks ago! And she could have been that beast girl! She remembered a girl being trampled, but didn't remember seeing her in the aftermath of the battle. The leaves were also a detail she didn't remember, but she was dealing with a lot during that fight. Of course, that was when Lupa got hurt. It still hurt to think about it, but she couldn't let that bother her in the moment. But it sounded like they might have unknowingly been talking about her. She was, after all, a beast girl. Mika knew what she had to do. With stunning speed, she pulled out her master key card and opened the door to their room before charging inside. With a jump, she landed between the two and looked at the masked man.
”Are you making a sequel to Boteg's game? Am I the main character?! ” Her eyes twinkled. She could be the hero to Boteg's next game!
”My name is Mika, and I was there! I was fighting skeletons and evil mommy arachnid! Um.” Her tail was waving like crazy now, smacking the girl behind her.
”Did the girl who got run over make out okay? There were a lot of wounded during that fight and I didn't see her at the end.” Her tail slowed down while she waited for an answer.
Sergei had seen and done a lot of strange shit over the years. While this situation didn't exactly crack the top ten, he sure as hell didn't expect to deal with this tonight. One thing stopped him from roundhouse kicking the intruder in the face the second she burst in: that utterly calm look on Maria's face, as though she... no, scratch that, probably
because 「she knew this was going to happen.」
Even with that tail slapping her in the face, she looks like she's having the time of her life. With that smug-ass grin on her face, watching me struggle to respond... No, he realized, something was wrong about that. She was looking in his direction, sure, and upwards... but at the wrong angle.
Wait - is she looking up this kid's skirt? ...you clever little sneak. You planned that too, didn't you?But then he processed what the girl in the French maid getup had asked him.
Oh... shit, she asked about 「that girl」. Get your shit together you 「Faceless Bastard」, you've got to tell her something.Sergei could tell this 'maid' was one of those starry-eyed types, the kind some might describe as 「pure」, but what he usually sorted under 「wild cards」. You can always trust a dishonest person to be dishonest, but dealing with someone who wore their heart on their sleeve? He had to play his cards carefully here.
Okay. Time to「Open the Game」.
"...she needs plenty of rest," he said.
"She'll be glad to hear you were concerned about her."Mika clapped her hands together before diving into Sergei. She bear hugged him and nuzzled her face in his chest.
”Send her this big hug too!” Once Mika was content with the duration of her hug, she released Sergei to turn and look at the other girl.
”You know what? Give her two!” Mika gave the smaller girl the same hug she gave Sergei, with an equally long duration.
"I'll be sure to give that to her," Sergei said, slightly off-balance. It'd been a while since he'd been hugged by someone his own age, let alone anyone younger.
Damn, this kid's adorable. I've still got to be careful about my words, though, and try to keep her in a good mood as long as possible. He spared a glance at Maria, trying to see if she'd try and say something to the kid. Though in the wake of that hug, Maria's expression seemed to have done a hard shift from mischevious to... blissful?
”Give her one of these too! The ones my mom gave me always made me giggly!” Mika kept Maria in a bear hug and nuzzled her head into the crook of her neck.
”Neomp!” Maria initially jumped, but went right back to having that blissful look on her face. Though over time she seemed more relaxed and eventually rested her head on Mika's.
”Mmmph?” Mika pulled back her head. Maria still had a smile on her face, but it was evident she had fallen asleep in Mika's arms.
”Haha! She must have been really tired!” The maid scuffed her way out of the room.
”I'll take her to my place. Then when she wakes up, we can talk about Boteg's game!” Mid-sprint, Mika swung Maria's body so that she could carry her bridal style. She was wearing a grin the entire time.
Red flags went off in the Faceless Bastard's head as Maria started drifting off. And then, with the enhanced vision gifted to him by the Morphs, he spotted the fang marks on Maria's neck the second this 'maid' pulled back her head. Though he was already suspicious of the kid by this point, he wasn't able to move fast enough to keep her from leaving the room.
Son of a bitch, now I recognize her type, he thought, sprinting right the fuck after the 'maid.'
She reminds of that 'Nee-chan' kid I met a few years ago, during 「the Gravenhurst clusterfuck.」A veneer of sweet, sugary 'Genki' bullshit over an anime watchlist drenched in blood and psychosis. I swear, she'd get a fucking kick out of seeing an honest-to-God catgirl.Mika looked over her shoulder.
”Wait, you want to race me to the top?” She started to run even faster.
”Last one's a rotten egg!” She was running at speeds that were beyond human ability. Mika was about to make a corner and would soon be out of sight.
He was honestly very fucking tempted to lift up his mask and let the Morphs have at it, but it was too early to deploy the nuclear option. The Faceless Bastard did, however, ask some of the Morphs he'd left outside the hotel to check the windows for her and that 'room' she mentioned.
The hotel had close to a hundred rooms, so it would take some time to locate with such vague details. But Mika's location was not hard to spot. They could see her using the fire exit to climb to higher levels of the hotel. Sergei found the nearest staircase and was at least able to stay on the same floor as the maid. Once he got to the top floor, theMorphs had pinpointed her location. Just a few hundred feet from Sergei's location was a room deep inside the Hotel. It had no windows, but a single door facing out towards the harbor. She had gone in there, and there didn't appear to be any way out.
One empty corridor between him and where that 'Mika' kid was holed up.
The Faceless Bastard undid the strap on his mask, but held it up to his face with one hand as if he was winded. It wasn't too much of a stretch, considering that theiving cat was hell on wheels. He had no clue if this conspicuously empty hallway had a machinegun hidden within it - which if he'd been on the security team, might've had one set up to take advantage of the straight shot.
But, then again, this was a goddamn hotel. If the bullets went too far down or outwards, the chances of hitting civilians with them skyrocketed.
He carefully stalked down the hall, but he made it to the end of it without incident. He reached for the handle, and found it was unlocked.
So he opened the
Ddoor.
The door opened without a hitch. It appeared that it was not locked. The room beyond was a short corridor that had an elevator on the right wall and ended in a staircase. Since the elevator wasn't running, Mika must have used the stairs. The Faceless Bastard made his way forward, careful not to get jumped around any of the corners.
The stairs lead to many rooms, all of which were locked. But they had windows to allow those outside to look in, and were clearly marked with signage. All of the rooms appeared to be for very specialized uses. An auditorium, office cubicles, all of which looked dated and lacked the theme of the rest of the Golden Trove. The Faceless Bastard could tell Mika hadn't entered any of these rooms. Not because they were old, but because he could hear her feet beating their way up the last few steps. But he resisted the temptation to break into a sprint. Once he got to the top of the stairs, there were two doorways. One was a fire exit, and the other was an unmarked door locked by a key pad. He could hear Mika talking to someone on the other side, but he couldn't quite make out the words.
Leaning against the wall with the keypad door, The Faceless Bastard envisioned his options like a poker hand. It came up like one Joker, followed by four completely different cards.
First card he drew was a pretty cinematic one. He could try asking one of the Morphs electrocute the key pad, and to undo the lock that way. But, while that kind of ploy tended to work in movies, he'd been around long enough on the Internet to have read the Evil Overlord List. If he just tried frying it, it could just stay locked, as well as give away his position. From what he'd seen so far, though, it didn't look like they'd taken any of the other advice from the List. Really up in the air, that one.
Second card, then. It was possible he could release a Morph or two into the vents, try to gain information about the situation in the room before choosing an entrance strategy. The risk with that, though, was with the fact that at this point he was practically on top of that presence he'd sensed earlier. A dragon who, according to Maria, Feared magic more than anything else. He wasn't sure how much the Morphs counted as 'magical,' but it wouldn't be hard to read that scenario as part of an assassination attempt. And if the dragon flipped the fuck out...
Well, better consider his third card. Simply breaking down the door.
...yeah, like that's not going to spook the living crap out of them. Might as well grab that fire ax and make a reference to The Shining while I'm at it.Then, he turned his attention to the last card. It was one hell of a gamble - something so monumentally stupid that most people would dismiss the idea out of hand.
He exchanged two cards, but both of them came back just as bad the ones they replaced. One involved crashing through the window, the other requiring far more time than he reasonably had to work with here. The Faceless Bastard considered his options carefully, then decided: he would launch his 「Do or Die Gambit!」 He raised his fist...
...and knocked on the door.
It did not take long for the door to simply swing open. The Faceless Bastard only had a moment to notice Maria, who had been placed in a chair. Or had mostly been placed in a chair. Her arms and legs were hanging off either side while the seat was supporting her stomach. Before he could take in much more, Mika leaned around the edge of the door.
”Rotten egg! You're a rot-” "Get thee gone!Get thee gone!" Boteg picked up a box of tissues and launched it towards theFaceless Bastard. It simply bounced off of his chest without any real harm done.
Mika lifted her phone to the side of her head
”Helga! are you busy?” She tugged on her skirt.
”Boteg is kind of upset, I don't think he likes the new guests.” She giggled.
Well, he'd won that hand at least - he'd gotten the door open without everything going to shit. At the very least, the man with a golden reptile head and hands looked like the best candidate for that dragon that Maria was talking about. The fact that that he was standing right at the center of that powerful presence probably helped narrow down the suspect pool.
So if he understood Mika's words correctly, she'd revealed that the dragon's name was 'Boteg.' Who apparently had good aim but an absolutely shitty fastball in that form. Though it could have been that, despite throwing a bitchfit, he wasn't willing to cut loose in the hotel. Yet.
Another hand was dealt. From the way Maria had moved slightly on the chair, she might still be breathing. Though he had no idea for how long that would be the case.
The first card was to keep fueling Mika's 'game developer' misconception. Replaying the conversation with Maria in his head, it was clear that she'd chosen her words to give Mika that impression, probably to adhere to the prophecies of those Insiden Gospels. Or to ensure that they would stay accurate? Prophecy bullshit gets complicated fast.
The second? Set the record straight about the game developer thing. Sure, the cover might get him in the door, but there was always the chance that someone would get suspicious enough to start a fight. He had no fucking clue how many locals gave a shit about this hotel's owner, but given how many innocent people could be caught up as collateral, a fight here could easliy make him public enemy number one. If he was up front about what he was, it would be easier to convince them that he wasn't interested in kicking anyone's shit in.
Provided Maria wasn't in danger of actually dying or anything. Because if they killed his best lead on what the hell was going on in this city, they were on thin fucking ice. And he'd be under it when it breaks.
The third involved barging into the room past Mika. The-Scalie-Who-Was-Probably-Boteg wasn't willing to throw down the gauntlet yet, probably using that weak form to conceal his true might from everyone else in Magic City USA. He probably wouldn't bust it out until he absolutely needed to, but the Faceless Bastard had no clue how Mika would react. And judging by how fast the theiving cat was, and that other girl's testimony, she was the fucking strong.
The fourth was to wait a moment first, and try to get invited inside. Maria might be breathing, but he had no fucking clue what that poison was actually doing to her. Maybe she was just out of commission for a bit, maybe Mika went overboard and overdosed her. Or maybe his luck was absolutely shit and she turned out to be allergic to whatever was in her system.
Well, she wasn't foaming at the mouth yet, but he couldn't spot the bite wound from his position. No clue if the skin around there was inflamed or something to that effect.
The fifth was the old Shock and Awe. Maybe a casual hand on the shoulder, get her attention by saying "Hey" or something, and simply taze the fuck out of a kid. For the purposes of knocking her out. Turnabout is fair play after all. Though if she 'accidentally' died due to a miscalcualation, well, sometimes it just be like that.
...alright, that was a stupid one, and not Door Gambit stupid. She was on the phone with one of her friends, and regardless of whether he fried it or not he had no way of telling if she was somewhere else in the building. Take someone out mid-conversation, and there's a high chance something about the takedown will make it over the line before it goes dead. Plus, you know, Maybe-Boteg was right fucking there watching him.
He sent cards three and five back to the dealer, but not before commiting that cathartic image to memory. And in their place...
Okay. He could work with this hand.
"Mind if I sit down?" he asked Mika, gesturing vaguely inside the room while leaning a little on the doorframe. He spoke softly, hoping to have as little of his voice make it through the phoneline as he could while being comprehensible to Mika. He also made sure he was breathing a little heavily, as though he was still catching his breath, but not too much as to oversell it.
”Sure! One sec!” Mika dragged a chair away from Boteg's desk over to where Faceless Bastard was standing. While he made himself comfortable with that, Mika grabbed the other chair that had Maria in it and dragged it closer to the door as well. Mika set Maria upright in the chair while holding the phone to her ear with her tail.
”You there Helga? He seems really mad!” "Just a minute Mika, I'm nearly done with this," Mika heard Helga's voice, alongside the rapid sounds of her sharp talons clacking against the sturdy buttons of her custom-made keyboard. "...Aaaaand there." Soon enough, a door near the Faceless Bastard opened, and
a regular young girl in a maid uniform stepped out of it. She performed a curtsy with a polite smile at him.
"Excuse us, mister customer. Mika can be a bit of a handful at times, so please bear with us for just a moment while I talk to her."
"No, by all means," he said, gesturing vaguely with one hand.
Alright, so far my gambits have paid off. Even better, I've got Maria right in front of me, and I'm closer to the fire exit than I'd expected to be.Speaking of Maria, she seemed to be in stable condition. At this point, it looked like luck had sided with the Faceless Bastard.
...something's up with that other 'maid,' though. Almost all of the other maids we saw on the way up were dressed in the 「Chinese style」, but only Mika and her friend are dressed in 「French outfits」. So, if one Magical Girl's been dressed in that kind of uniform, then it's highly likely 「this new girl's also a Magical Girl.」Helga bowed with her hands tucked before her. "Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She turned to Mika, gave her the coldest death gaze she could, going back to her days as one of Justine's Elite Four, and sighed. "Now, this," she pointed at Maria. "Is unacceptable treatment of our customers." She put her hands to her hips, and leaned over at her. "When this is over, I'll have you on laundry duty for a week so you'll think about what you did."
Mika's smile withered away under Helga's menacing presence. Her ears went back and she lowered her head.
”Did I do something wrong?” She poked her fingers together.
”I won't do it again, I won't do it again, I-” Her voice cracked.
”I only wanted to be friends with her.”Helga's expression turned softer, and she rubbed her forehead with her index finger and thumb. "Yes. When you make friends, you ask them if they want to spend time with you, not abduct them." But while she was angry at the trouble Mika had caused, even her heart melted upon seeing Mika sad. She reached her hand out towards her, and gently petted her head. "We all make mistakes, Mika. The important thing is that we learn from them."
Mika nodded.
”Okay.” She looked at Helga.
”I'll do better next time.”She then walked over to the door leading to Boteg's office. "Master Boteg?" She called out to the dragon-headed man. "Pleaseth forgiveth Mika for thine upsettance," she spoke, knowing that archaic form was most easily understood by him, even if only a little better than the usual. "Thine Dragon Scare assureth thine that thou art to be kepth pristine and unblemished, and thine lair safeth from evil." She bowed, showing respect for the Patron. She then lifted her head, and had an annoyed look. "And please stop freaking out."
Boteg kept his brow crossed. He only made a growling sound in response. His hands were curled into fists, but he made no attempt to challenge Helga. He opened his hands and placed them on the edge of his desk. Boteg's voice was low, and he spoke slowly.
"Scare." He looked to the faceless bastard.
"What hath brought thou here?"Alright. Let's see how this hand plays out."Well, I came because of Maria," said the Faceless Bastard. He gestured towards the girl, who was about as responsive as 911 in the ghetto. Then he indicated Mika.
"And Nekopara over there. Partly because Maria wanted to meet her, and partly because the sentiment was... returned a bit more strongly than I'd expected."Yeah, that's putting it delicately, he thought.
"Doth thou take me for a fool, yeasty eye-offending dogfish?!" Boteg stood up. His broad sholders and height made for an imposing figure, but his trembling hands gave away his fear.
"Me speaks of thou reason for selecting new home for thy place to rest. Thou hath selected new home for a reason?""Uhh..." Helga signalled to Mika with a funny expression, attempting to hand signal that one of them should speak up. When Mika continued being silent, she gave an awkward look, and then, like a switch was flipped, perked up with a wide smile, having stepped to the dragon's side. "What Master Boteg said is: 'Could you please explain your motives for having chosen the Golden Trove?' Aside from the obvious, like our well-furnished, luxurious rooming and great offers?"
"Hey, I'm serious. The kid wanted us to stay the night at this place," said the Faceless Bastard.
"She's got a friend who's in the hospital, one who wanted to know Mika was safe and sound. So Maria found out where the kid works, and dragged me along." He gestured again to Maria.
"If there's more to it, you'd be better off asking her for the full picture," he sighed.
It's a cheap trick, but I need more time to figure out what the hell she was trying to do here. I've got the general shape of it, but I have to be sure I'm calling it right before the showdown.Boteg's fingers tapped the top of his desk for a moment before he looked to Mika. He gestured towards the unconscious girl with his head.
”I'll set this right.” Mika approached Maria, keeping an eye on the Faceless Bastard the entire time.
”I'm going to wake her up, don't be alarmed.” Once she was close enough, Mika leaned over Maria and bit her a second time. She immediately jumped backwards once Maria showed signs of regaining consciousness. Mika glanced up to look at Helga and mirrored her servant-like gesture. But her head still hung low in shame.
"She will tell me everything." Boteg folded his fingers together.
"Pray tell, why hath thou come here?" He didn't wait for her to fully awaken before continuing his interrogation.
Maria looked around the room for a second, before settling her eyes on the gilded elephant in the room.
"Holla th're," she said.
"You wilt beest Boteg."Oh god fucking dammit, this is going to get annoying fast. The Faceless Bastard maneuvered the hand on his mask into the facepalm position.
"Please stop. The maids are clearly able to translate.""Answer me, fawning rump-fed wench!" Boteg brought his fists down hard on his desk.
"Why hath thou come here?! Me thinks thou hath more at stake than a chance meeting with little scare."Mika's knees buckled.
”H-he's just nervous. Just answer calmly.” Mika averted her eyes from Maria.
Maria gave Mika a brief, reassuring smile. Then she turned to Boteg.
"I'll explain it briefly, then. It was to seek an audience with you."She raised her arms, indicating the hotel around them.
"Though it is nearly imperceptible outside of these walls, your Fear of magic has all but drenched this place, making a virtual 「beacon」 of emotion. Looking at it through the eyes of the world we stand in, this place is a place of business as well as your home. But, through the eyes of 「Gravity」 - those of 「Fate」 - you have made this place more essential than you realize." Where exactly is she going with this? wondered the Faceless Bastard. He had an idea of what she was leading up to, but would she actually...?
"Everyone has a role in this great 「passion play,」 but yours is of greater import than most.「Gravity」 has drawn us together tonight, for this purpose. Maria stood, extending her arm towards Boteg dramatically.
"We would propose an alliance with you, to help protect your life, your servants, and this place from those who would destroy them."Boteg's “brow” flicked upward, making the dragon look far more bewildered than angry or scared.
"Thou art not gilded with the Terrible One's magic." Boteg sat back down in his seat.
"Little scare, Dragon scare, how doth thy feel about the scares in thy home?" Mika's ears perked up.
”Well, I think they're okay people.” She glanced at Maria.
”I brought them here because I wanted to get to know them better.” Her smile returned as she pranced up to the Faceless Bastard.
”I don't think they mean you any harm, Mr. Boteg! I don't really understand what they want, but I think if they want to protect and play with us, we should let them!” She leaned into the masked man.
”Don't you agree, Helga?”Helga nodded, happy to see some kind of progress in these 'negotiations'. "Of course. I don't think there's any problem,as long as they behave themselves~" She gave a wink. "Now, would you like to have some green tea?"
The dragon's brow only raised higher when Helga voiced her opinion.
"Me thinks tis most splended that mine scares like you... guests." Boteg lifted a finger, like a parent reasoning with a child.
"Me has another to consult before I hath come to a discission." He smiled.
"But Me is anticipating a favorable outcome. Me thinks we should talk more in the morrow."Mika was rubbing the side of her head against the Faceless Bastard's shoulder.
”I'm so happy you'regunna be our friends now!" "Yeah!" Helga agreed, clapping her hands.
The Faceless Bastard carefully patted Mika's head with his free hand. By all counts, it looked like he'd won the game of wits. Nobody was dead, injured, or even pissed off at each other. The Morphs didn't seem to have any issues with this turn of events - hell, they seemed enthusiastic about working with the dragon and his cohorts. He should have been happy right now.
So what was this weight that was settling upon his heart?
Maybe it was because, unlike the others, the implications of her words troubled him. Magical Girls, from what he knew, were more than capable of holding their own in a fight. So why exactly were they needed to help protect them? What made this place so damn important to those 「Insiden Gospels」?
And what the hell did she mean when she talked about a 「passion play?」
He looked at the girl who called herself Maria Zeppeli, and wondered what she wasn't telling them.
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