Scene #2622: A Brief Parole

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Molly Skyline	Afternoon in Tokyo, after school gets out is always a particularly busy time on certain sidewalks; the city is always busy of course, but a sudden, syncronized influx of hundreds of teenagers does precisely nothing positive for anyone who wants to get anywhere quickly. Luckily, this is Japan, and outside the occasional troublemaker, pretty much everyone is polite about it. And for most people, that's really about all there is to it; a walk home or to a food place or the arcade or the mall, on a pleasant schoolday afternoon amongst a gradually dispersing crowd of people. Normal for most, unless you happen to be Rashmi Terios on this particular afternoon. Because Nicomachea will pick up a dark energy signature appearing within ten feet of his Master. A ''familiar'' dark energy signature.
Rashmi Terios	With everything that's been happening, Rashmi has made it a point of personal duty to observe Catra's advice, and take her mental well-being breaks at every opportunity. Today, it's to see her parents, maybe do some homework in her table at the restaurant, perhaps check up on progress with Hanzo-- << BONG! >> << ALERT. MASTER. ALERT. ENERGY SIGNATURE 'Seriss Nyx' PROXIMATE. >> Aaaaand just like that, with a single mental alarm, the color drains out of her day. Closing her eyes for a moment, she takes a deep breath, then moves out of the normal flow of traffic, searching the crowd for That Face. The face of her best friend. Because if Seriss is coming here to ruin her day, best rip off the Band-Aid and get her on her way. Because that idle threat about visiting her family's place of business still rings loud in Rashmi's memory.
Molly Skyline	"Rashmi-chan? Rashmi-chan!" The normal flow of traffic falters, briefly eddying around a single person like river water around a stone. And there, just like that, with no particular indication of how she got there is Seriss. Or... is it? Shave a few inches of late teenage growth, subtract a few more adult features, and Seriss looks an awful lot more like Molly, and the British accent certainly helps. The person standing there looking desperately around herself is still dressed like Seriss, certainly; still wearing gold rimmed spectacles, still dressed to kill. Rashmi? Rashmi! Oh please on please oh ''please''!" The outburst garners her some strange looks, and the flow of foot traffic eddies a little further out, as she is facing entirely the wrong direction.
Rashmi Terios	It's the little things that can upend an entire moment. Almost all the horrible feelings that have come with Seriss Nyx breathing air, eating food, and puppeting her best friend's body around go completely up in smoke upon hearing the voice that truly belongs there, and Rashmi's heart does a little flip. "Molly-chan!" she calls, slipping into the eddy to take her friend's arm. "C'mon," she says, still slightly pained at having to crane her neck to look up at her friend. "It's this way." This, said largely for the benefit of the crowd, as she begins to walk them both in a slightly random direction, away from her original destination. If she's braving taking the body for a walk then either Seriss is deeply asleep, or Molly is deeply afraid, and only one option has many upsides.
Molly Skyline	Molly -- and it seems indeed to be Molly who's in command right at this moment -- goes so weak at the knees at the sight of Rashmi that it's of great benefit when her best friend takes her arm, as she almost collapses there in the street. For the first moment she just allows heself to be led, at least until they're out of the bulk of the pedestrians and she can breath. And breath she does, rapidly filling and emptying her lungs and fanning herself with her hand, until she can bring her desperate nerves under control. "Rashmi-chan," she gasps. "I... I have an hour. One hour." She swallows audibly, and takes a moment visually ordering her thoughts, and a very important explanation is palpably incoming. "I gave her the password to Starcrash's secure storage and in return I get an hour. Don't say anything important, she's... she's still ''listening''." She swallows, and brushes her knuckles under one of her eyes, jostling her glasses. "I'm sorry, I.. just... I needed... I needed..."
Rashmi Terios	"I understand," Rashmi says gently, and she does. How many nights has she stared at the ceiling, trying to sleep but unable to stop thinking about what it must be like to be a passenger in your own body? She wasn't there for most of the Rainbow Crystal incident; the violence of the takeover had left her quite stunned, and by the time she came back to herself... well, she'd been brought back to herself. But if there's one thing she and Nicomachea both share, its enough imagination to simulate experiences very well indeed. "It's okay... I probably would've done the same too. C'mon... are you okay enough to get some food in you?" There is, after all, a meat-bits-on-skewers cart that regularly sets up not far from here.
Molly Skyline	Molly heaves a sigh of relief, and throws her arms around Rashmi for a brief, tight squeeze. "Thank you," she whispers, drawing back again. She brushes her fingers through her hair -- mostly, it seems, to make it messier than how Seriss likes to keep it -- and then just stands there, adjusting things and touching herself up one way or another. "Yeah, uhm, I was hoping we could go get something to eat," she agrees. "Anywhere is good, just... as long as there's an ice cream place or something next door." She holds up one hand, flashing a black credit card before tucking it away. "I'm buying. ...Or rather, Obsidian is buying. I insist. ...They can afford to buy me dinner out with my best friend this one time after everything they've taken from me."
Rashmi Terios	"The very least they can do," Rashmi agrees grimly... before squeezing her eyes shut, shaking her head, and putting her mind back in the here and now. If she has but one hour with her best friend after all this time... Any moment spent resenting every other hour between then and now is a moment wasted. "And I know an ice cream place not far from here... c'mon." And she leads Molly off toward the cart, keeping up a fairly constant stream of low-level chatter about things that would be of interest to Molly, but not touching on the important things. Which, if Molly's paying attention, means she doesn't actually talk much about herself, as most of what she's been up to could have tactical implications.
Molly Skyline	Molly allows herself to be led, occasoinally hitching her step like she's about to stumble, but always managing to catch herself before Rashmi has to intervene. And she listens to everything Rashmi has to say, without any interuptions, though she doesn't offer very many questions -- Seriss is listening, afterall, and she palpably does not want to risk Rashmi accidentally giving anything important away. Like the existence of The Shed, for example. Several times, Molly pulls out Seriss' phone, just to look at the lock screen (which has an artistic picture of a black hole and the time displayed in purple numbers) before tucking it away again. Time is already ticking away. How long has it been? Eight minutes to walk here? Eight minutes. Eight whole minutes. But it was with Rashmi, so it was a quality eight minutes. "How--" she interupts when she can politely do so, "How're... my Moms...?"
Rashmi Terios	"...They haven't given up on you," Rashmi whispers. "I helped them put up flyers last month, and they... if they didn't believe me that I didn't know what happened to you, they didn't say anything. But I couldn't just let them miss you alone, y'know...?" Drawing in a deep shuddery breath, Rashmi takes a moment to regain her composure. "And I don't think they're gonna give up, either. 'Molly-chan knows where her home is,' Kaneko-san said. 'It's not London, it's not Tokyo. It's wherever the three of us are. I could see it in her eyes when we brought her home, and again when we came here. Whatever's keeping her from us... she'll come home when she can, and we have to make sure she knows she can.'" Knuckling a tear from the corner of her eye, Rashmi manages a watery smile. "Nobody's willing to let you barter secrets for hours forever, Molly-chan. We just have to figure out a way."
Molly Skyline	Molly can't help it, and her eyes blink rapidly as they overflow, twin trickles glistening on her cheeks as she walks. She doesn't bother to wipe them away this time, just lets them fall. So what if they're ruining Seriss' makeup. Acts of defiance can be found in even the smallest of things. "Thank you," she whispers. "I... I know that's hard. To lie to them, and put up posters looking for me when you already know ''exactly where I am''. She comes to a halt as they reach the ice cream place that Rashmi was leading them to, and only now takes the time to dry her eyes. Afterall, who goes to get ice cream and cries about it? "I don't think I have anything left to barter, so... this is kind of a one-time thing," she admits, cheeks getting rosy as she looks away, then into the ice cream place. She grabs the handle and pulls the door open, ushering Rashmi in first. "You order first," she offers.
Rashmi Terios	It's not a big place, the Kogane no Ushi, but there's always a steady stream of customers. Partly due to its proximity to the commuter lines, partly because their entire business is built off their ability to boast soft-serve made from Hokkaido milk. And at this moment, the line is already just up to the door, but moving fast, and only five minutes after arriving Rashmi orders miso with caramel drizzle and sprinkles in a cookie cone. "You'll figure something out," Rashmi says. "Just... you've been amazing to stay held on this long, Molly-chan, and I know you'll be able to figure something out after all this time."
Molly Skyline	The array of flavors available in a Japanese ice cream parlor is dizzying compared to what they had in England, and there are still so many flavors that Molly hasn't had a chance to try yet. (She has, however, openly refused to try crab. Ice cream is good. Crab is good. Some things just don't belong together.) Today, she does not have time to pour over the menu, both because there's a lineup and over a quarter of her time has passed. "Mint chocolate chip," she murmurs to the person taking orders. "Two scoops, in a cookie cone, please. And I'm paying for hers, too." And she pays, waving the little black card, and when the receipt is offered she produces an expensive looking pen with a flourish and without breaking eye contact with the clerk applies it to the little slip of paper. "You don't need to sign--" the clerk begins, but just shrugs as Molly stuffs pen and receipt together back where the former came from and goes to wait for her and Rashmi to get their ice cream. "I can't let her win," she mumbles. "I can't. I ''can't''."
Rashmi Terios	Being soft-serve, it's not very long at all before Rashmi has both cones in hand. Molly's is, being a double-stack, much taller than her own, but the pale-green ice cream is handed over as she sits down, smiling weakly as she catches the tail end of Molly's mantra. "Yeah... I've been saying that too," she says gently. "And we won't." When the cashier tried to tell her she didn't need to sign, the act caught Rashmi's attention... but she let it go, assuming that is a note was written for her, it'd find her way into her hands before they left. "So Iunno if you knew, but... Hokkaido milk's pretty special. Something about the environment and the grass and everything... Hokkaido is to milk what Wagyu is to beef. That's why they make the ice cream soft-serve style, it's the best way to showcase everything that makes this dairy special."
Molly Skyline	Molly slides into a seat opposite Rashmi; and she can't help it. She checks the time. Who knew an hour could buzz by so fast? But she still has more than half of it left at least. She leave sthe phone (in its gaudy protective case) sitting on the table, and for a moment looks tempted to just smear ice cream all over it, but... no. Not after Rashmi just described how special this ice cream is. So she tastes it instead, and immediately breaths out a contented sigh. "Okay yeah, it ''is'' special," she agrees, and somehow, in that moment, she manages a small but genuine smile. "And... okay I know it's super ordinary and like, every ice cream shop on the planet has to have it because it's so basic, but mint chocoloate chip is still my favorite flavor. I ''know'' there's way cooler stuff here in Japan, and I still refuse to try crab, and the matcha, the red bean, the miso, and the wasabi flavors are all amazing, but..." She trails off, lifting the cone in her hand in mock-salute, and then swiftly applies tongue to where it's about to drip.
Rashmi Terios	"Hey if you like it best, it's the best," Rashmi chuckles. "I just happen to like salty caramel, and I like miso and it's salty, so for me it really super works." Her own cone is lifted in answering salute, and she applies herself to enjoying the treat... And honestly has a bit of trouble picking up the conversation. She can't talk about herself, she can't ask Molly for anything important because even in the backseat Seriss just keeps ruining anything nice, so she's not sure what to say. But she can appreciate this time, and definitely does so.
Molly Skyline	Molly, likewise, has that difficulty. What does she talk about? If she tries to tell Rashmi anything important, Seriss will certainly just cut their time short and retake control -- this hour is enjoyed at Seriss' pleasure, the reward for a surrendered secret, and there is nothing binding Seriss to it but her word. Luckily, Molly has an ice cream, and time spent together without having to just stare at each other in awkward silence can still be quality time. But time is ticking down regardless. "How're... people at school?" She sucks in a breath, "How weird is it that I'm not there? It's weird enough for ''me'', but... I mean I guess most people are just... over it by now, right?"
Rashmi Terios	"Your RPG club really, really misses you," Rashmi begins, drawing in a breath. "I stop by there sometimes... I still hear them talking about how they wish you were there to DM. I don't know about the others, but no... Everyone I know who knows you wants you back." Rashmi pauses, lowering her head and snorting out a single puff of sad laughter. "...And people I know who don't know you want you back for my sake. Point is... Your friends'll never stop missing you until they don't have to. Believe it."
Molly Skyline	Molly lets a fresh tear roll down each cheek. Afterall, it's good to be missed when you're gone, and the longing to see all these people again, to just hang out and be a lazy teenager is writ clear across her face; but maybe Seriss is already laughing at her, because she doesn't say it. She just... eats the ice cream, and enjoys it in silence for a few more licks, eventually getting down into the cone with a satisfying crunch. The phone gets looked at again. Time is ticking away. Who knew an hour was so short? "I remember when I was a kid," she mumbles, "At the..." she pauses, and sighs, "At the orphanage, we were going for a trip once, and we just missed the ferry and had to wait an hour, and we were all just like... really? An HOUR? That's an eternity! It's such a long time we were all vibrating out of our car seats from boredom, and... I'd give anything right now, for an hour to last as long as it did back then." She bites the cone and regards the remaining portion of it critically, for that all important decision of where to bite it next. "...Look after everyone for me, okay?"
Rashmi Terios	Rashmi's cone has disappeared; more example that somehow, without any magic at all, she manages to be as stealthy as a ninja when it comes to making food disappear. Scraping the back of her hand down an ice-cream-dotted cheek, she leans over and reaches out with her other hand to squeeze Molly's arm. "Next time," she says, "we'll take as long as we want, and call it an hour. Something else you deserve." Tilting her head, she glances down at the phone, eyebrows rising. "So... How much time d'you have left today?"
Molly Skyline	Molly still has a few bites of cone left; she did get a two-scoop ice cream, afterall. She takes another bite, and as she's crunching it up she lets Rashmi squeeze her arm, enjoying the time spent being close to someone she cares about without someone else piloting her body and trying very hard to do them harm. The purplenette picks up the phone again, has a look, and swallows audibly. "Eighteen minutes," she murmurs. "But... I don't... want you to see her take control again. So like... more like... fourteen or fifteen. I want to put some distance before I'm... her again." She sighs, reaching up to tap the ever-present earing hanging from her right earlobe, with the jewel that hasn't been the correct color for some time. "And I don't have access to Starcrash, or... Cygnus Lich like she's calling him these days, so I just have to walk."
Rashmi Terios	"Fifteen minutes," Rashmi says back, nodding. "Well... let's get some yakitori before you go. That cart I told you about? Does spring onions between the chicken, it's really good." Because Rashmi will be damned if more of Molly's time is eaten up with worry over what happens when it's done. She will, herself, pay for her friend to have one more good memory before she goes back in lockup, if she must. And it is, indeed, a quick minute to the cart in question, blessedly free of patrons at the exact moment, and thus only two more minutes before they get their skewers; Rashmi asks for two each. Two chicken skewers in twelve minutes? Doable.
Molly Skyline	Molly isn't about to argue; she does hurry her step, very interested in getting there as rapidly as possible. Not that walking with her friend is a waste of time, but she wants it to be ''her'' who eats these skewers, not Seriss. "Thank you, Rashmi-chan." She smiles again as she accepts her end of the skewers, and takes just a moment to enjoy the aroma coming off them before she bites a morsel off and enjoys it on her tongue. Once again, it's the little things bringing joy. Which is good, when you only have an hour. "Please..." She keeps nibbling at the skewer, tryign to balance enjoying the chicken and spring onion with finishing in time, "Please tell everyone, I said hello? And... and I miss everyone, and I'm thinking of them all the time. And that... when we fight, they can do what they need to, I'll... I'll understand. I don't want anyone to hold back on my account."
Rashmi Terios	And after Molly asks this, Rashmi lunges forward, wrapping the older-looking mahou in a tight, tight hug. "I will," she whispers. "But next time you get to tell them yourself." There's a bone-deep promise in those words, that one day Molly will get to tell everyone just how much she missed them, and it'll be worth all the horror suffered to get to that point. And Rashmi does not make a promise she does not mean to keep.
Molly Skyline	Molly returns the hug, squeezing tightly and holding her breath. Fresh tears trickle down her cheeks, and she finally bobs her head. "Okay," she whispers. "Okay." Molly pinches her eyes shut, and enjoys the moment, until she has to pull away to finish what remains of her skewer. "Thank you for these," she says, repeating her earlier sentiment. "I'm sorry it was only an hour. Well... just under an hour, because reasons, but... it was a ''good'' hour, and... and I'm glad I got to see you. I was worried... wouldn't... find you or... or whatever." Molly finally finishes the skewern and takes the few seconds to get rid of the little wooden sticks properly, in a trash bin. no littering even now. And then she steps forwards, and embraces Rashmi one more time. "I gotta go," she says in a pained whisper, while pressing a small, wadded up piece of paper into Rashmi's hand. And then she makes good on her word, and turns to leave, walking swiftly down the sidewalk and around the first corner she comes to.
Rashmi Terios	"Okay," Rashmi whispers. She does not, does not, absolutely does not want to let her friend go. But if she doesnt, she'll just get taken from her, and that would probably lead to an emotionally charged fight happening in a well-populated area. So... she lets go, and not until Molly has rounded the corner and broken sight, does she turn and walk in the other direction. Not toward the Korma Chameleon, but... to the Okujoo. Where she can put a Barrier up, open the garage, and curl up amid the toolboxes. And then, only then, open the paper to read the writing.
Molly Skyline	Luckily, the Okujoo isn't far. It doesn't take Rashmi more than a minute or two to get there, get into the garage, and curl up where she can read the wadded up little piece of paper. Because it might just be urgent. Hastily scrawled on the receipt is not a signature as Rashmi had suspected, but two words, messy but legible. ''Hotaru NOW''
Rashmi Terios	In the blink of an eye, the puzzle snaps together. Seriss was looking for something on Sunday. Seriss was 'created' to be a servant to Mistress 9. Mistress 9 once lurked within Hotaru. Seriss never stopped being a servant. Yeah. Hotaru now. "Dammit," Rashmi says as the bolt of realization passes, and in a moment henshins, lifts up off the ground, and flies right back out of the garage, letting the Barrier collapse into nothingness as she searches out the Casa Del Outers.