View source for 74/Grasping for the Object of My Desire: Hypothesis

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/06/18
|Location=Mitakihara - Downtown
|Synopsis=Takashi and Hannah have Words after their failed plan to capture a Witch. Hannah proposes a theory that could gain her power...or perhaps doom her entirely.
|Cast of Characters=27, 47
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:47|Takashi Agera (47)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Takashi Agera seems to have completed his post-beating brooding and upgrading and plotting. So now, he is wandering the corridors of Eclipse's labs, labrynthine though they are, he knows where he is going. Pushing open the door to this particular lab without knocking, he finds the object of his hunt.<br /><br />"Sharpe-san, after that last little adventure, we need to talk." His voice has lost a great deal of it's normal courtesy and false kindness, and sounds much closer to the way it sounds in henshin. Sharp. Direct. Without the soft overtones he has gone to such lengths to fake when interacting with most people.<br /><br />"I'm not sure what the hell that was, other than a failure because we didn't achieve our goals - sure, I'm sure you salvaged information like I did..." he says as he leans against the door frame of the entrance. "And it seems obvious you didn't approve of my actions for some reason. So lets talk, partner..." Takashi doesn't even seem confrontational or hostile, just direct and sharp.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> <br /><br /> Hannah, clad in a white lab coat and Boris right beside her, taps on a keyboard as she downloads the latest set of readings. She looks visibly excited, despite her recent friction with her own partner. Spinning around in her chair, Boris begins to growl, before a swift clip to the ears gets him to quiet down. <br /><br /> As ever, the girl's politeness reigns. <br /><br /> "My thoughts exactly, Agera-san. Nearly completely so. The data I managed to acquire, both about Akemi-san's ability and the others, while useful..." A wave of her hand. <br /><br /> She takes a deep breath, settling her thoughts. "Right, let us get the elephant out of the room. Yes, I take exception to some of your tactics, and I have a feeling you have your own issues with the way I do things. Let me state it simply: we will gain nothing but trouble for ourselves, and worse, for the Professor by piling up the bodies of our enemies and any fool that happens upon us." <br /><br /> She opens her hands to the other Device user. <br /><br /> "Nevermind if the police catch wind, have you not noticed the tenacity those people fight with? They might be naive, but let me tell you from experience: people like that have friends, and when you threaten the life of a friend, even the weakest, most foolish person can suddenly become a very, very nasty threat. Just ask the last youma that hurt Ao." <br /><br /> A little frown. "I am not going to shove my own morals onto you, Takashi-san. But a bit of restraint will make our jobs a lot easier." Then she leans back in her chair. <br /><br /> "...Though admittedly, I made a horrid tactical blunder. If we try that again, I think letting /them/ do the work for us will go a lot better." <br /><br /> Then, she pauses. A smile comes back to her face, undeterred. "And besides, I have a way around the issue. And I know just the person who can help." Here, she 'stares' at Takashi openly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:47|Takashi Agera (47)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Takashi frowns. "I have more than a little bit of trouble." he says, standing up straight. "You think we'd somehow be hurting ourselves by removing the obstacles that stand in our way? Maybe you missed what happened, but that fool in the poor clothing choices, the one you told to protect the girl? He did a little more than protect her! He encouraged her, drew her to him, and then she rose up and attacked you - all because of him. Because he didn't have any fear for what would happen to her."<br /><br />Takashi takes a moment to compose himself. "Now, the next time he's in such a situation, and someone wants to reach out and try to grasp our destiny, I'm sure he'll think twice about being an enabler." he adds. "Your way is too soft, Sharpe-san. You try to treat those who have actively arrayed themselves against us as mere bystanders. That girl chose her path when she made the decision to rush at us, not when I gave the appropriate response." Another pause.<br /><br />"If you let them think this is some sort of game, and they have anything close to a winning hand, they'll keep playing it. They'll bring in other people to the game. This thing you're doing is not even serving your own purposes; it will do more harm than good as you see new faces rise up to try to maintain this weak status quo. I'm sure you've noticed it yourself, how their numbers grow constantly. It happened right there in the middle of that battle, and you enabled it."<br /><br />One last pause, and a cutting strike. "You're showing weakness, Sharpe-san. Weakness to make the decisions that need to be made in order to achieve your goal. You once talked about taking the reins of this organization - how are you going to do that unless you're willing to take every action to crush the people in your way? How will you achieve your destiny if you're always slowing down to pick up other people?"<br /><br />"You rose up to defend your friend because you have a special heart - unique strength. Don't tread on that gift by being afraid to use it to its full potential. When you try to avoid suffering now you will only multiply it in the future."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Hannah visibly trembles. Not in regret, but in pure fury. Gripping her desk, she slowly stands up, stomping over with gritted teeth. Practically snarling, she can barely find words. <br /><br /> Weak. He was calling her weak. Visions of grabbing his neck and squeezing fill her mind, rising anger continuing as the darkness in her heart grows more brilliant. <br /><br /> But it's his last words that finally cut into her. Stumbling back, she falls into her chair. All of the rage leaves her. <br /><br /> 'Avoid suffering now and you will only multiply it'. No matter what she did for them, she can't save them. Last time proved that much. Despite trying to impart the truth, that girl chose her path, and got in her way. The light of realization comes to her eyes, and she rubs them. <br /><br /> "Takashi Agera, has anyone ever told you that you are a first-class, Grade-A, /JERK/!?" Lashes out the woman, uncharacteristically petulant. A huff, and with a scowl, she faces him more evenly. <br /><br /> "...But a jerk that has a point." Hannah finally concedes. <br /><br /> "If anything, I am actively /hurting/ them by being this way. And more than that, if I just slow down, stop like I have been doing? Ao is going to come to harm. Feh. Its annoying, but you are right. I cannot waver. Not yet. I need power, and even if I do not do anything, people are going to suffer while the world remains the way it is." Pain lingers in her voice, but with growing resolve. That blackness, yet so small, grows in her heart as all of her inadequecy and pain filters through her senses. <br /><br /> What good can she do for them anyway? She needs strength for that. And right now, she is weak. <br /><br /> "Ugh. I need some bloody coffee. Want anything?" Clearly she needs a moment, as she's walking over to the coffee pot. <br /><br /> As she does so, she talks. <br /><br /> "Oh, I never did get a chance to tell you: I learned some interesting things from Akemi-san. Those grief seeds? Turns out, they hold the magic of a Witch. She is not quite sure how, but once it fills up with Darkness? It becomes a Witch again. Apparently magical girls like her...Puella Magi as they call themselves...use them to purify the source of their magic, Soul Gems. Those things go dark? End of the road." <br /><br /> A smirk here. "So, there is that. Your element is Darkness, right? Seeing where I am going with this?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:47|Takashi Agera (47)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I'd rather be a jerk than be wrong." he says, in response. "I'll pass on the coffee... but you have a rather interesting idea. It confirms what I've found out in my testing. Also, the things are a bit... energy unstable, natively. I'm not sure if they're increasing in energy or bleeding it off. They're throwing the equipment for a loop." he adds. "The problem with this is that I don't really have enough to do experiments on, so I'm not sure how I feel about using them as disposable troops."<br /><br />"A lot of that is due to issues I keep having with your speedy, black-haired friend. She likes to interrupt, as I'm sure you've noticed. Or she gets there before I can resolve the issue on my own.<br /><br />"So one of my chief concerns has been finding a way to deal with her." he says, bluntly. It's not hard to figure out what Takashi means. "I have some plans, but... they're sill resource intensive." he adds. "And I think I've just about worn out my welcome with Aquisitions this month. We still need to get more of those seeds, friend of yours or not."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Extra strong overpriced Galaxybucks coffee, taken black, in a cup from non-renewable resources. Truly a dark cup of evil this girl is now swigging down. She's mostly silent for a good five minutes, chugging coffee like beer. <br /><br /> Cue one jittery, but at least somewhat emotionally stable, Hannah Sharpe. <br /><br /> "Ahh, much better, I can think now. Not surprisingly that they do that, really. I mean, if those things really do leech darkness from other sources of magic, they have to be pretty fluid and volitile to do it, right?" She offers, off the cuff. <br /><br /> Ahh, Homura. "A bit of a mystery, that one. But a good source of information. I have a few insights into her ability. She definitely is not using teleportation. No, judging by my Wind Divination, she is moving, but moving in such a manner that it seems like it. So in theory, she probably has a limit to her ability. Last time, I /swear/ I saw her walking, and yet, she moved with the speed of a god." Her head tilts thoughtfully. <br /><br /> "So I suppose she can modulate her ability to a degree. It is her attacks that puzzle me. They all seem to happen at once, but, I have not had enough time to confirm that. Frankly, I feel like I am missing a valuable piece of data." <br /><br /> Then, a shrug. "Well, I will send you the data I collected. Maybe you can find something I have missed. But I feel like I am on the verge of cracking open her power and defeating it. The fact she uses ranged weapons and always fires-and-retreats, likely means she cannot sustain a heavy assault." She clenches her fist. Hannah is /good/ at heavy assault. <br /><br /> "...Troops? Feh. Those Witches are utterly useless by themselves. Too instinctual, little more than rabid animals. Plus their range of movement is fixed, at least when it comes to our world. Like spiders pinning up a web for flies to come flying into." A shake of her head. <br /><br /> "No. That is not my purpose in studying them, Takashi-san. You see, I am far more interested in their barriers and powers. I have...a bit of a theory. Unproved, maybe far-fetched, but hear me out, okay?" Both hands go into the air. <br /><br /> "So, if Homura-san is right, those Grief Seeds are tailor made to draw things into them. I would be willing to bet next week's paycheck that the magic inside is Darkness element. /That/ is why someone like me cannot get at that kind of magic. /But/...there might be a way around such an issue." <br /><br /> "If a Puella Magi can get her Soul Gem, the source of her magic, cleansed by one of those things, then perhaps, a Mage like me can instead do the opposite: stain the insides of a Grief Seed with her element and grasp hold of that magic? I mean, what if..." A tilt of her head. <br /><br /> "What if we could take a small part of the source of our magic and insert it into a Grief Seed, then take it back into ourselves? In theory, adding something as powerful as that to a Seed should cause the magic to flow back to its origin; the owner. And all of that juicy magic. Why, with the right spell..." She slowly grins, and laughs, ambition alighting anew in her voice. <br /><br /> "/That/ is what I want to do, Takashi-san. Leaving the power over terrain through a massive barrier...a power much better placed in the hands of someone like me than some youma freak, right?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:47|Takashi Agera (47)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Takashi thinks. "It's certainly an idea to try." he says. It's clear from the tone of his voice that the idea has taken hold of him in a small way too. "Like any good theory, we'll need to test it. Which means we'll still need a way to get ahold of multiple seeds in case things don't work out the first time - you can't rely on only one data point." he adds.<br /><br />"But, Sharpe-san, you have given me an idea as well - something that might help me solve a persistant little problem of my own. Truly this little... seeds, was it?... have a marvelous potential I am far too interested in exploring to leave alone."<br /><br />"I will need some more time to prepare, though. Send me your data as soon as you can, and I will go about helping us both march into the futures we deserve - so that we can achieve our grand potentials.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Hannah rubs the back of her head. <br /><br /> "Heh, so not insanity, huh? Good. Yes. And that /is/ a problem. Mmm. I will think on it, but for now, the best way is to get out there and get my hands dirty. I am getting better at pinpointing them. Usually, you see a bunch of Familiars running wild, or higher rates of violence and suicide when a Witch is near. So I will 'keep my ears to the ground'. Still..." A shrug. <br /><br /> "Let me know if you think of something. Oh? What is going on in that mind of yours? Or is it a surprise~? Grief Seeds. Hah hah hah, lovely little bundles of potential, are they not?" A nod, and with one more coffee nom? She's back over to the computer with Raging Tempest. <br /><br /> "I am on it! Say...thanks, partner. I can be a real idiot sometimes. But I think the war is still there to be won." A thumbs up, and then she's compiling magical data.<br> <br>
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