The knife that cuts deep

[in_over_his_head]

[1] [Postmission]
[The situation was resolved. What was left of the Organization known as Scylla and Charybdis was being apprehended. Their underground base was in ruins and their ties to the Ebon Court were all but destroyed given the events in the tunnels. Not only that but they also managed to get the third key.]

[Yet despite this Calvin remains silent as he looks up at his battered Genoace. Shield cleaved, guns dented and its knife bloodied. There was clearly something bothering him as his gaze now turned to the recovered artifact. A rusted and very horrifically painful looking knife. Rather than speaking though, the air around the knife just seemed to have the faint scent of blood along with somehow making the air around it sound sharp as impossible as it was.]

Do you ever get the feeling that there's more to a story than you think you know?

[2] [Some time later]
[Calvin's out in town, with coffees in a cardboard carrying tray in hand as he walked down a row of shoplots. Somehow he didn't notice you at all as he kept moving through the area, moving to the older section of the lots and standing in front of one place in particular. From the looks of the place it was a magic shop. Not one of those places that sold stage magician tricks, but one that actually catered to people with a certain set of beliefs. Or in Calvin's case a certain level of wariness for things that people believed in.]

[He lingers at the entrance, trying to compose himself a little as he stared at the door. For a while he looked a little unsure about entering.]

[He still hasn't noticed you either. Try to get his attention?]

Comments

2

[mc_of_mcs]

...Heeeeeey~

[A hand is waved in front of Calvin's face. Given the other person's height, though, the most he'll see are her fingers.]

I've been trying to ask you something...

This stretching is hurting my back too.

Re: 2

[in_over_his_head]

Guh! Nep!?

[Yeah, Calvin jolted at hearing and seeing the goddess. Thankfully not dropping the coffee though.]

What are you doing here.... and what's the question?

[mc_of_mcs]

You must've been really spaced out there if you didn't notice me.

[Or maybe it's just that she's really that short.]

Anywho, you're standing suspiciously in front of a magic shop with coffee in your hands. What's up?

[in_over_his_head]

...I'm just trying to figure out what to say.

Do you ever have the problem of telling someone that you care for that you're in serious trouble?

1

[star_of_sad]

[Setsuko nods.]

Yes.

Very much so.

[in_over_his_head]

They went from trying to kill us to helping us the moment their 'friend' showed up. Not just that but they actually let us off too...

They killed a lot of people and messed up an entire town but...

[They aren't as evil as they seemed.]

[star_of_sad]

No.

[Setsuko shakes her head.]

There are no buts, please do not forget what they did, inspector.

This just shows that they have... had friends, they cared about. Even evil people have friends.

Even Asakim did...

[in_over_his_head]

I won't... I definitely won't...

Its just hard to match up what I saw when they first appeared to what just happened. Its like looking at two different people who look and sound the same.

2

[actuallyselfish]

Dido suddenly appears behind Calvin. "Worried your girlfriend will be mad?" She blurts out.

Re: 2

[in_over_his_head]

GAH!

[Yeah, Calvin jumped at that one Dido. There's a splash and surprise... its the leg of his pants ruined this time.]

Owowowow! Ah! Jeez! Don't speak up out of nowhere! Ow!

[Yeaaah. And now no coffee.]

Ahh.. dammit... that was good coffee...

Re: 2

[actuallyselfish]

"Oh Fudge-skittles!" Dio exclaims, lifting a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! Can I pay for some new espresso? For you and your girlfriend?"

1

[a_monetized_mind]

Pretty often.

[Jen wanders around, leaning in to look at the knife more closely.]

What was up with those guys, anyways?

[in_over_his_head]

[Despite its extreme age and the coating of rust Jen, the blade still looked as absurdly sharp as a monomolecular blade.]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. The person they're trying to let out using these things apparently caused their civilization to collapse...

But then they could also get affected by whatever drove that girl back in the tunnels insane before the Nazis made it worse.

They're willing to work with terrible people and resort to mass murder but at the same time they're actually better people than most of the guys we've fought.

[a_monetized_mind]

...Okay, I'm going to have to stop you right there. Repeat that last sentence in your head again, get back to me when you figure out what's wrong with it.

[Turning back to the knife, Jen takes out a pen and sloowly moves it across the blade, like cutting a cucumber.]

[totallyhonest]

Hey, it's mister detective guy! Fancy meeting you here. Are you going shopping as well?

[in_over_his_head]

Wha-

[Calvin startles, nearly dropping the coffee. Thankfully he doesn't though.]

Er... kind of?

[Now that he thought about it, his 'emergency kit' needed a restocking.]

What about you? I mean this is the old lots... its antiques, weird stuff and dodgy things here-

[Wait. He forgot who he was talking to.]

[totallyhonest]

Of course. This is the best part of town. You never know what you can find here. Most of the shop owners also never know what they're selling too. It's best of both world, if you know what I mean.

1

[keep_your_dignity]

[Kagura is floating by with a few boxes marked "hazard" while Calving talks to himself, so she makes a comment as she floats past]

NO SHIT SHERLOCK. THERE PRACTICALLY ALWAYS IS. IF YOU EVER THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON IN ANY COMPLEX SITUATION PUNCH YOURSELF IN THE FACE AND THINK AGAIN.

THE QUESTION IS WHETHER WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW MATTERS OR NOT.

[in_over_his_head]

[Oh great, its the GRAVEYARD killbot.]

I'll put a memo in my office about that.

[Calvin grimaces a little before his expression just relaxes again.]

Honestly there's no way to tell unless that info that's up in the air finally gets dug up. Schrodinger's Cat in effect. The information is both useful and useless until you actually know.

[keep_your_dignity]

AND THAT IS WHY YOU FAIL.

TELL ME, CAN YOU THINK OF ANY VALID HYPOTHETICAL UNDER WHICH WHAT THOSE PEOPLE DID WOULD BE THE ADEQUATE THING TO DO? [Oh, right. The killbot has this creepy habit of knowing exactly what you're thinking about, Calvin]

1

[a_louse]

All the time. Often, my common sense tells me not to dig under the surface.

And yet...

[in_over_his_head]

And yet not knowing feels like it might be worse.

[a_louse]

Humans are curious creatures by nature. This curiosity is hard to rein in.

Now we know S&C performed horrible human experiments, in addition to their other crimes. But their exact nature is a mystery; and so is whether there are any more results of those experiments left.

1

[spearpunch]

Well...

[Kind of reminds her about that encounter with the Symphogear user.]

We didn't know about this sixth person until just recently..

[And the Songstress's music and been so sweet too...]

[in_over_his_head]

...It wouldn't have made it any better though.

[No, it probably would have made the situation a little more difficult to deal with on some level.]

That song was... haunting.