<sub>[The dreaded day was finally here and Beatrice wasn't one to wait. Armed with non-magic chocolates she'd slaved over and finally managed to make for Battler she made her way down the hall toward his room. She wasn't exactly sure why she'd put so much effort into making something for Battler of all people. Maybe it was just a means to spite him - giving him chocolates she'd made herself without the use of magic. A means of proving to him that she'd created something that he couldn't deny.

She shouldn't have been nervous but she was. However, she didn't show it, pulling on the mask she usually wore as she knocked on the door. In her hand was the small red box with a gold ribbon and butterfly tag attached to it - unmistakably hers as she waited for him to answer the door.]</sub>

[If you happen to be out in the shopping district, you might see a girl, a little unsteady on her feet and looking a bit ill]

What...just happened...?

[Holding her head, Yuuki stumbles a moment before catching her balance. Her face and words reflect her complete confusion.]

Aidou-senpai...? No...or did Shoutou-dono... [A soft moan as she shakes her head. Wait...Aidou...and Shoutou-dono...? Is that what she was last doing? Everything is a blur in her head of overlapping memories.] Nng.

[Guess who is back! And canon updated, too.]

[Euphie is in the kitchen attempting to make cookies. She isn't having the robots do it. She is actually standing there staring somewhat blankly at a bag of flour and a recipe book. There is no extra set of ears on her head.]

What is a tbsp?

( Cut for length, shonen retardation + chess, and wince-inducing violence with eyes. )


[[ Blue = Battler, Red = Beatrice. Both Beato and Battler will be responding to comments. If you specifically WANT one, the other, or both, just mention in the subject line! ]]

Okay.

Ordinarily, I like to keep my head down and my identity all secret-like, but we're in pretty close quarters, and the way I hear it, everyone here already knows about vampires. So I might as well introduce myself.

[ a beat of silence, and then she fiddles, so that the video is on. ]

I'm Buffy. On my world, they call me the Slayer. Three guesses what I'm the Slayer of, and the first two don't count.

[ she grins into the camera. it is not a very nice grin. Buffy has not had a great morning, even by her standards. ]

Now, we can either do this the easy way, or -- oh, who am I kidding? They never take the easy way.

[ Criminal? People of your type?

A dull rattle of iron, and L speaks quietly: serious. ] Undesirables?


I see.

Sentience. Am I safe in assuming you answer to only your programmers and maintainers?

There is an error in your programming.

You must understand that people, everyone is capable of making mistakes, even those involved in the writing of your personality. It's possible the error in your system could be an issue with your original programming, but I don't believe that's what's happening here. If that were the case, there wouldn't have been monsters set loose inside the facility. The fact that you are an AI responsible for the care of the convicts makes it much more likely that at least one of them has deliberately corrupted your data.

Be certain to run a complete diagnostic. Do it now, please and forward this message to your programmers.

[ ooc: L is lying here, which s/b obvious due to his contradicting statements. He's insulting those who've programmed Sentience in hopes they'll come to defend their work. Or something. <3 As for whether L's lying or not, this one's a freebie. <33 ]

[ Fumbling with the device, an unintelligible whisper, and then a furious voice cracks through ]

Hey, Mr. Sentience! I wanna talk to you!

Just who do you think you are? You call me a criminal, but isn't kidnapping a kid like this also a crime? So you’re no better than the people you’re supposedly housing. A little hypocritical, I'd think. Real typical.

How did you do it, anyways, without me or anyone else noticing? Did you put something in my car?

And the ball and chain thing is more than just a little old fashioned.

I'm so disgusting.

[Even after having hidden behind a mask for the sake of the picnic and smiling, that was the one thought that had plagued her all day.]

I've never made a resolution for New Year's before, they're somewhat pointless in my eyes. One should always be making new goals for themselves or else life would become rather boring, wouldn't it? Why just wait for the new year to roll around to do it?

That said, how's your hand Battler? I hope you got it looked at and didn't just let yourself suffer because you're too full of pride. Maybe you should make it a point to realize that women don't like being fondled without consent. Even better, you should make it your resolution ahahahah!

_{[A small pause.]}

Does anyone think there will be fireworks? I've heard that sometimes people light fireworks at the end of the year to celebrate but I've never seen them before. I think they'd be quite spectacular.

Good morning, Marina!

[ The video clicks on, revealing... Battler. Wearing the most horrible, wonderful outfit known to man. Without a single bit of shame on his face. Judging from the background, he's standing in the common room. ]

Now that that Sentience is back up and running, I feel it's time to make good on a promise. This one's for you, Miss Euphemia!

[ He starts into a bow - then remembers his outfit. Laughing, he moves straight into a rather accurate - if not manly - curtsy. ]

{Thank you, thank you!}* I'll be here all week, everyone - and probably longer than that, ihihihi~! [ He clicks off the feed, chuckling a little more, before collapsing onto the couch behind him. ]

Sheeeeesh... this thing was a lot more effort to get on than I'd thought.


[ Action and video, both open to anyone! He'd appreciate a few kisses, no doubt about that. (Believe it or not, no gender is unwelcome, according to the latest canon update. orz )

* A note: text enclosed in {} is spoken in katakana. It will probably sound... Engrishy. Yes, even over the translators.

A second note: the Beatrice and Battler thread is a high PG-13 for more sexual situations than intended. Read at your own discretion. ]

Okay, I know this seems a little silly right now, but I thought it would be a good idea for us to take our minds off of the cold with a little distraction. [At least for the people who aren't skilled in ways that would let us help find a solution.]

I tried to think of games we could all play over the communicators and only one thing really came to mind, so who wants to play...

Truth or Dare?


(OOC: Threadjacking is almost required!)

[ There's a laugh to start it off, faint and tremulous and perhaps a bit of nervousness to underlie it all. The focus is on a rather rumpled young man, dark of mussed hair, suit wrinkled as if slept in on more than one occasion. The dimmed lights make his expression difficult to discern, but it seems as nervous as his voice, despite the faint smile present.

Not a very impressive sight all, crouched against the wall, and under the fading light, as he is. ]

Haha. Kinda cold, isn't it? So no one really knows when this 'Sentience' is going to kick back online, huh? I guess not.

So. Aah-- [ A nervous cough, a clearing of the throat. ]

J-just something to talk about, you know? Pass the time. What-- What are some of you in here for? I mean, by the sounds of it, most of us are kind of here for no real reason. All this stuff about 'crimes you're going to commit' and all that. It's pretty weird, isn't it?

What reasons were you given?

_{[If Beatrice is affected by the cold she certainly doesn't show it. In reality, she's not cold at all and seems more than content sipping a steaming mug of some unknown liquid. It's actually hot chocolate and she seems in good spirits. Her Golden Butterflies flutter about illuminating the scene as she speaks, clearly amused.]}

I don't know about everyone else but I feel wonderful ihihi~!

_{[Needless to say, Beatrice is more than happy that her magic has returned to her, even if it's not as strong as it should be.]}

Heeeeey Battlerrrr~? Will you join me for dinner~? I've made all these tasty treats and I certainly don't want them to go to waste. It's about time we met up don't you think?

Okay, guys. I know we've already had a firefight on our hands this morning, but we need to do more, and we need to do it fast.

We're all freezing and lighting fires, but never mind the obvious danger, those fires are burning up our oxygen faster than we already were. We're going to be in trouble soon if we don't do something.

Lelouch and Murata have put together that there's a control panel or something that will give us access to the prison's systems, and that it's probably in Sector 1 or Sector 5. If we found it, we might be able to turn on the ventilation, the electricity, the heat; the works. [a beat] Maybe even find a way home, who knows.

So, volunteers. Who wants to go on a scavenger hunt?

--Ah, and anyone who would like to help check out the park for clues about how that fire got started is also welcome to do so, but Kaname said he's already on that. He doesn't need help, but he'll report back to me with what he finds.

((ooc: assuming that by now everyone has calmed down some from the fire event~))

[ there is a good minute of static before he speaks ]

...This is -- a personal question. And I know this might not be the best time. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to.

But I was just wondering.

[ it's a very simple question. and it's a very complicated question. ]

Who here... believes in the gods?

[Have the camera pan in on the park. Direct your eyes to the large wild fire that's quickly spreading and engulfing the trees]

... why is the park on fire?! Water--!

[video feed disconnects so she can invoke her innocence in order to be quick and attempt to put it out]

[Dark and cold are not Ammy's things. She does not approve of this at all.

So once the temperature starts to fall to uncomfortable levels, she runs outside, looking around and glancing up at the 'sky'. Sunrise probably won't work down here...

A loud howl echoes through the dome for several seconds. And moments later, what appears to be a giant fireball appears in the sky. It doesn't move anywhere, but it does provide a good deal of light for those outside. The flames are warming too.

A happy bark echoes on the network.

Ammy curls up in the 'sun' and pretends to sleep, happy with herself. It'll last for a few hours and it'll take a bit for her ink to restore so she can cast it again. But hopefully it'll help]


((Feel free to use this post to reply to the fireball's presence. Thread jumping is go?))

[it starts out as a harsh huff of breath, only for silence to stretch on for minutes afterward. finally, after it seems that's all there is to it, he speaks up, low and muttered, as if to himself.

the voice is a weary one.]

So that's it, huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but why so sudden? They never mentioned anything about a transfer like this. I'm pretty sure Dojima would've let me know if there was a change in protoco--

Why is it so dark?

[ The video clicks on, revealing Battler's stern, glorious countenance in all its glory. ]

To anyone who can hear this - my name is Battler Ushiromiya, and I need to warn everyone here about someone. A fake witch from my w- home arrived today. Her name is Beatrice, the "Golden Witch." She's a vile woman, someone who'll stop at nothing to hurt you. Secrets, violence, loved ones-

[ He pauses - and for the briefest moment, an intense pain crosses his eyes. But it's gone as soon as it came - and his demeanor remains tightly controlled. ]

-nothing is sacred to this monster. But... just remember.

Illusions can't hurt you. She's not a real witch - just a liar, claiming to be something that doesn't exist.

Stay safe. Don't believe the Golden Witch's lies.

[ And with that cryptic message, Battler ends the feed. ]

( Private to Yuuki Kurosu )

_{[There isn’t much to see aside from a shimmer of gold as two beautiful golden butterfly wings flutter into view. The beautiful insect seems to hover a bit before landing on the screen, tiny golden feet sticking to the glass of the communicator’s visor. A feminine voice seems to filter through the room, although it’s uncertain as to where it’s coming from…Perhaps the butterfly in question? Nah - that doesn’t make any sense. Butterflies don’t speak. But this one does. At least it seems that way.]}

How… interesting! Really, I thought you’d finally rid me of my cage - but it seems I’ve merely been thrown into a new one. _Kihihihi~

How sad. I’m sure every woman will agree that it’s disappointing when a man can’t deliver.

But no matter. I suppose I have a bit of a dilemma on my hands…

Uhuhuhu, but it certainly beats boredom. Oh yes! Absolutely.

_{[All of this is said as the golden butterfly flutters about, having unstuck itself from the screen halfway through talking. Of course, people will only see a golden butterfly. That’s right, until you believe in her or at least someone does and unless you’re from her world, all you’ll be graced with is the sight of golden butterflies.]}