Like something from a comedy movie, SplashLady's sudden motion sent her partner flying over her with the final thrust. He landed in front of her in an awkward leapfrog position, being careful to stop himself with his hands at the last moment. The last thing he needed was to smash junk-first into a marble floor. "I-I have no idea," he gasped, scarcely able to believe his moment had been cut off so anti-climactically... Or had happened in the first place.
The navi SplashLady was looking for made his way to the front, shining light across the court room. His body was a man's, clad in a white navi suit and lean in physique, but his body was encircled by golden rings at various locations, including a shape like a skirt around his lower body. His head was covered by a white, stand-alone hood. From inside that hood shone a golden light, obscuring everything but his teeth. It was questionable as to whether he even had any other facial features.
Most notably, he carried a long, golden scroll partially unfurled in one hand and a short scepter in the other. The scroll appeared to be filled with names, at a glance.
"My friends and good witnesses, this has been an edifying experience for me. When I first ordained the opening of Blesser's court, I had no notion that I would ever see the trial of one of my oldest friends, MarriageMan. It sounds like your judgment has been clouded, Old Friend. Bitterness guides your hand, not justice. You cannot fulfill your oath in that state," he proclaimed.
MarriageMan trembled but kept his head lowered in a servatile way.
"And WarHawk, I understand your feelings as well. But even still, I wonder if all of our vision is not perhaps clouded? MarriageMan has not always pursued vengeance with such a hateful disposition. We should not strip him of his title or punish him. Rather, let us end this trial, take him aside, and study his history. We will learn the cause of his transgressions!"
MarriageMan's head rose and his eyes lit with anger. "You're calling me mad!?" He looked like he wanted to throw in a "how dare you," but couldn't do it due to his position.
"Unfortunately, I believe it so. Worry not: our personal Blesser psychiatrists are trained professionals with the benefit of my blessings. They will cure you quickly and painlessly," he suggested. MarriageMan clearly wasn't going to let that happen without a fight; realizing this, BlessMan lit up his face and released a tremendous golden light. In a flash, MarriageMan's golden accessories broke and his form shriveled to that of a weak old man. He began to moan, but seemed unable to say a thing. "I'm truly sorry to strip you of your powers, but it is only for a moment. We'll have you back soon, good as new."
WarHawk grinned, then grasped one hand around her foe's arm as it hung loosely from his priest's robe. "Well, problem solved! I'll get you guys your bonuses in a second, after I go deliver this jackass," she chuckled, taking some grim satisfaction in her command over the formerly powerful navi.
"SplashLady ... PhotoMan ... I apologize for any discomfort," BlessMan continued, smiling from wherever his face was in that weird hood. "You've both shown great conviction. I know! How would the two of you like to join the ranks of the Blessers and receive my fabulous power?" he inquired, placing both hands on his scroll with the certainty that they'd accept.
Again, Jury's bowing head was reflected to SplashLady on the floor. This time, however, a greater sort of alarm than earlier was obvious. She couldn't even muster the courage to shake her head; all she could do was mouth one word:
"No."
Court of Blessers
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"Sorry, PhotoMan...that guy really surprised me!" Unfortunately for PhotoMan (at the very least), SplashLady's apology did not translate to 'okay, let's keep going, as she stood up and pulled her skirt back up. Still, she offered him a hand to help him up. That would've just been mean to leave him hanging...so to speak.
Aside from that, her attention was completely on the angelic Navi making his way forward. He did have a presence...wait, were MarriageMan and the others...bowing to him? So, was that...wow. The head honcho himself was here? She stood there quietly, and watched as he more or less ended the trial right then and there, complete with the depowering of MarriageMan. Well, THAT didn't come in the Navi readme.txt file. No way that wasn't BlessMan in the...uh, flesh? Light? Light flesh? ...Whatever, not important.
Of more importance was his proposal for them. Jury's reflection concerned her a bit, but honestly, it had no impact on her final decision. "Thanks for the offer...but I'm going to have to decline. I'm perfectly happy just serving my operator. And besides..." The mermaid Navi's face twisted slightly, as though she was trying to decide whether or not to continue. "...Well, it might sound a little cliche, but I don't think power is something that can merely be 'given'. It's something you 'acquire' for yourself. And how? By having friends! And I don't just mean Crosses, either. They can teach you a lot about yourself. For instance, thanks to PhotoMan, I feel more comfortable in my own body than I probably would otherwise!" To emphasize the point, she placed her right hand behind her head, and her left hand on her hip, to momentarily assume a stock 'sexy' pose, before dropping it. "And my best friend, my operator...if she didn't always watch my back, I wouldn't be surprised if I'd have been deleted by now, with some of the stuff I've gone up against. She might be a bit of a self-centered brat sometimes, but there's no human I'd rather have for an operator! And maybe because of that, one thing she's taught me is...to be true to myself. And so, to do that, I just can't accept your offer, Mr. BlessMan. I hope you understand."
Aside from that, her attention was completely on the angelic Navi making his way forward. He did have a presence...wait, were MarriageMan and the others...bowing to him? So, was that...wow. The head honcho himself was here? She stood there quietly, and watched as he more or less ended the trial right then and there, complete with the depowering of MarriageMan. Well, THAT didn't come in the Navi readme.txt file. No way that wasn't BlessMan in the...uh, flesh? Light? Light flesh? ...Whatever, not important.
Of more importance was his proposal for them. Jury's reflection concerned her a bit, but honestly, it had no impact on her final decision. "Thanks for the offer...but I'm going to have to decline. I'm perfectly happy just serving my operator. And besides..." The mermaid Navi's face twisted slightly, as though she was trying to decide whether or not to continue. "...Well, it might sound a little cliche, but I don't think power is something that can merely be 'given'. It's something you 'acquire' for yourself. And how? By having friends! And I don't just mean Crosses, either. They can teach you a lot about yourself. For instance, thanks to PhotoMan, I feel more comfortable in my own body than I probably would otherwise!" To emphasize the point, she placed her right hand behind her head, and her left hand on her hip, to momentarily assume a stock 'sexy' pose, before dropping it. "And my best friend, my operator...if she didn't always watch my back, I wouldn't be surprised if I'd have been deleted by now, with some of the stuff I've gone up against. She might be a bit of a self-centered brat sometimes, but there's no human I'd rather have for an operator! And maybe because of that, one thing she's taught me is...to be true to myself. And so, to do that, I just can't accept your offer, Mr. BlessMan. I hope you understand."
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PhotoMan accepted her hand up and her apology, reclaiming his usual inexpressive face. "Don't worry on my behalf," he encouraged her. "And I'm happy that I've made you feel that way... Comfortable with yourself, I mean."
BlessMan's smile remained; eerily, it was impossible to make anything else out of his emotion, because there were no other facial features to look at. "I understand. The path of a Blesser is filled with responsibilities as well as power. It's not something to accept lightly," he replied. "Perhaps there is some worth in the quest for personal improvement as well. I simply offer my blessings to those who require great strength to uphold their goals. If you ever change your mind, feel free to seek me out."
"I'm sure you understand when I say that I can't accept the offer either," PhotoMan pitched in.
At this, BlessMan's mouth fell momentarily, then he broke into a small laugh. "Daughter? But you already accepted the oath! I gave you my blessing some few months ago, don't you recall?" he chuckled in a good-natured, yet possibly senile way. PhotoMan's blank expression indicated that he was just as confused by the statement as anyone else could be. "Oh, you're... Huh! You're not my daughter. Your face looks just like hers though. What a silly error on my part!"
"Father, please. Allow me to finish up with our witnesses here. Why don't you go attend to WarHawk and MarriageMan?" the judge asked; it was now apparent how he'd mixed the two up. Their faces looked pretty similar, what with the unexpressive frowns... though even then, it wouldn't be an easy mistake to make.
"Would you fellows like to come with me? You're all Blessers now, after all!"
"... These two have declined to become Blessers, remember?"
"Ah, yes! Right then. I'll be off."
After that disturbing exchange, the halo-wearing man walked off to follow the prosecutor and shriveled defendant. Jury turned back to the two with worry clear upon her face. "You two; I have the payment from WarHawk to give you, as well as my own part to thank you for acting as witnesses in the trial. There is another small matter, however, and I'm afraid I'd be negligent to allow you to leave without first giving you another small task. I need someone to confide in, and I believe you're the first two non-Blessers to see his... what you've just seen," she informed them. "I'm worried about father... and all of the Blessers, to be honest. On the day of my Oath, I spoke untrue; I only had to make father think that I was a Blesser. I am only pretending to have a Blesser's power because there is something I know: the Blessers are all being driven to insanity."
She paused a minute, as if to let it sink in, then continued. "The two were correct earlier: this court room has not been used often. I made it as a way to try to discretely strip Blessers of their power. Unfortunately, Father's interference has blocked even this marginal effort. While my court is a new and untested facility, I can assure you that the psychiatric ward he spoke of has been seeing a lot of use. They're insane... All of them. Growing more so over time. You saw the state of MarriageMan, one of the oldest Blessers. And now my father... Well, you two witnessed that as well."
"The reason I'm bothering you two with this is because I have to stay and tend to the Court of Blessers; it's part of my perceived oath as a Blesser. You two, on the other hand, are free to travel outside and inform others. I don't know how you're going to do it, but I need you to deliver a message. Anonymously, for your own safety. I need you to tell the outside world that the Blessers are a threat to everyone. They are increasingly mad AND increasingly powerful," she warned the two in a grave whisper. "If you agree to this, I will give each of you your chips and let you on your way."
PhotoMan crossed his arms, then raised one finger. "Will you excuse the the two of us for just a minute?" he asked. When the judge nodded, he took SplashLady off to one side and leaned in to whisper. "SplashLady, I don't know if we can trust her on all of this. Her father may be senile, but he doesn't seem dangerous. The only Blesser I've ever heard of going mad... well, granted, I don't know a lot about Blessers... is that MarriageMan. If we were to spread rumors like that, we could be putting all of these folks under a lot of scrutiny, if not directly placing them into the searchlights of the NP. What do you think we should do?"
BlessMan's smile remained; eerily, it was impossible to make anything else out of his emotion, because there were no other facial features to look at. "I understand. The path of a Blesser is filled with responsibilities as well as power. It's not something to accept lightly," he replied. "Perhaps there is some worth in the quest for personal improvement as well. I simply offer my blessings to those who require great strength to uphold their goals. If you ever change your mind, feel free to seek me out."
"I'm sure you understand when I say that I can't accept the offer either," PhotoMan pitched in.
At this, BlessMan's mouth fell momentarily, then he broke into a small laugh. "Daughter? But you already accepted the oath! I gave you my blessing some few months ago, don't you recall?" he chuckled in a good-natured, yet possibly senile way. PhotoMan's blank expression indicated that he was just as confused by the statement as anyone else could be. "Oh, you're... Huh! You're not my daughter. Your face looks just like hers though. What a silly error on my part!"
"Father, please. Allow me to finish up with our witnesses here. Why don't you go attend to WarHawk and MarriageMan?" the judge asked; it was now apparent how he'd mixed the two up. Their faces looked pretty similar, what with the unexpressive frowns... though even then, it wouldn't be an easy mistake to make.
"Would you fellows like to come with me? You're all Blessers now, after all!"
"... These two have declined to become Blessers, remember?"
"Ah, yes! Right then. I'll be off."
After that disturbing exchange, the halo-wearing man walked off to follow the prosecutor and shriveled defendant. Jury turned back to the two with worry clear upon her face. "You two; I have the payment from WarHawk to give you, as well as my own part to thank you for acting as witnesses in the trial. There is another small matter, however, and I'm afraid I'd be negligent to allow you to leave without first giving you another small task. I need someone to confide in, and I believe you're the first two non-Blessers to see his... what you've just seen," she informed them. "I'm worried about father... and all of the Blessers, to be honest. On the day of my Oath, I spoke untrue; I only had to make father think that I was a Blesser. I am only pretending to have a Blesser's power because there is something I know: the Blessers are all being driven to insanity."
She paused a minute, as if to let it sink in, then continued. "The two were correct earlier: this court room has not been used often. I made it as a way to try to discretely strip Blessers of their power. Unfortunately, Father's interference has blocked even this marginal effort. While my court is a new and untested facility, I can assure you that the psychiatric ward he spoke of has been seeing a lot of use. They're insane... All of them. Growing more so over time. You saw the state of MarriageMan, one of the oldest Blessers. And now my father... Well, you two witnessed that as well."
"The reason I'm bothering you two with this is because I have to stay and tend to the Court of Blessers; it's part of my perceived oath as a Blesser. You two, on the other hand, are free to travel outside and inform others. I don't know how you're going to do it, but I need you to deliver a message. Anonymously, for your own safety. I need you to tell the outside world that the Blessers are a threat to everyone. They are increasingly mad AND increasingly powerful," she warned the two in a grave whisper. "If you agree to this, I will give each of you your chips and let you on your way."
PhotoMan crossed his arms, then raised one finger. "Will you excuse the the two of us for just a minute?" he asked. When the judge nodded, he took SplashLady off to one side and leaned in to whisper. "SplashLady, I don't know if we can trust her on all of this. Her father may be senile, but he doesn't seem dangerous. The only Blesser I've ever heard of going mad... well, granted, I don't know a lot about Blessers... is that MarriageMan. If we were to spread rumors like that, we could be putting all of these folks under a lot of scrutiny, if not directly placing them into the searchlights of the NP. What do you think we should do?"
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"...Uhh..." SplashLady just stared blankly as BlessMan took his leave. How'd he forget that quickly that they refused? And, how could Navis have children? Granted, she had a sibling Navi, but that was different...
Luckily, she snapped out of it in time to listen to Jury's request, which was...unsettling, to say the least. She didn't say anything, and let herself be excused with PhotoMan, who had his own concerns. "Well...we also don't know if we can't trust her, either. Plus, it might not be such a terrible thing to let the NP take a look at this. I mean, as far as I can tell, every situation except ours addressed here was in a private location. That's gotta violate some privacy laws or something. And if that's all true, and we end up with incredibly powerful Navis that have gone completely insane...that could get ugly really fast. So, maybe we should look into it to see if there's anything to this." The mermaid Navi paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to word the next part of her remark. "...Besides, you heard her. If we say no, we don't get the stuff that was promised to us. And I don't know about you, but they were going to give me some pretty nice chips, so, I say we agree, and then do a little...independent research on it. If we can't find anything conclusive, we'll just let things take their course, I guess. But if we do, we spread the word. Sound fair?"
Luckily, she snapped out of it in time to listen to Jury's request, which was...unsettling, to say the least. She didn't say anything, and let herself be excused with PhotoMan, who had his own concerns. "Well...we also don't know if we can't trust her, either. Plus, it might not be such a terrible thing to let the NP take a look at this. I mean, as far as I can tell, every situation except ours addressed here was in a private location. That's gotta violate some privacy laws or something. And if that's all true, and we end up with incredibly powerful Navis that have gone completely insane...that could get ugly really fast. So, maybe we should look into it to see if there's anything to this." The mermaid Navi paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to word the next part of her remark. "...Besides, you heard her. If we say no, we don't get the stuff that was promised to us. And I don't know about you, but they were going to give me some pretty nice chips, so, I say we agree, and then do a little...independent research on it. If we can't find anything conclusive, we'll just let things take their course, I guess. But if we do, we spread the word. Sound fair?"
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PhotoMan nodded, but still seemed very reluctant. "Let us proceed cautiously... I don't know much about these Blessers but I know a bit about the NP and a lot about the press. Once they get hold of some reason to perceive a person or entity as villainous, that notion never quite goes away..." he suggested. "I don't want to put anyone in harm's way if I can help it." PhotoMan's courteous (bordering on pedantic) personality might be getting the better of him again.
The two returned to Jury to give her the answer. "We accept your terms, Jury," he answered, intentionally leaving it brief so as to allow them the window for their own investigation.
"Good. I have two contacts you can meet with: either Inky, who works with World News Server, or Bayonet, who works with the NP. Provide this list of Blesser identities as well as my warning to whichever party you choose. I don't believe you'll want to e-mail it or it might look like a hoax... It would need to be delivered personally." Of course, there would be nothing to prevent the two from taking the money and running, if they wanted...
"Please make sure it reaches whichever party untampered... It might see suspicious otherwise. Are those terms agreeable? I don't mean to force the two of you into anything, especially after forcing you to show off your undeniably private extramarrital floor sex..."
The two returned to Jury to give her the answer. "We accept your terms, Jury," he answered, intentionally leaving it brief so as to allow them the window for their own investigation.
"Good. I have two contacts you can meet with: either Inky, who works with World News Server, or Bayonet, who works with the NP. Provide this list of Blesser identities as well as my warning to whichever party you choose. I don't believe you'll want to e-mail it or it might look like a hoax... It would need to be delivered personally." Of course, there would be nothing to prevent the two from taking the money and running, if they wanted...
"Please make sure it reaches whichever party untampered... It might see suspicious otherwise. Are those terms agreeable? I don't mean to force the two of you into anything, especially after forcing you to show off your undeniably private extramarrital floor sex..."
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"Well, just because they could end up being dangerous doesn't mean they're bad people, necessarily..." With that, SplashLady broke off the discussion, and led the way back to hear exactly what they needed to do was. "Er, don't worry about, uh, that. You're not forcing us to do anything. And you didn't really force us earlier, either. We did it completely of our own free will, thank you very much!" ...Why did it sound like she was proud of that fact? "Anyway, if we're just warning people, there's no need to bring the NetPolice into any of this if it can be helped. We'll meet with this Inky person." Admittedly, Jury was probably right about the whole e-mailing thing. Then again, if she knew these people, why couldn't she just e-mail them directly? ...Maybe she was just overthinking it now. All she knew was that SOMETHING was off with the whole Blessers thing, and it'd probably be a good idea to get to the bottom of it...
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"Ah, good then. If the two of you are comfortable with exhibitionism then there was no harm done," Jury replied; PhotoMan opened his mouth to object, then realized that he had been the cause of a lot of exhibitionist behavior lately. He quickly closed his mouth. "Thank you. Here are the items," she finished, giving the two of them each their chips and handing over the document to SplashLady, also sealed in a gem of data. The data was not actually locked, however.
"If you'd like, SplashLady, I could take care of it. I interviewed with Inky quite recently, so she would probably meet with me again by request," PhotoMan offered, reaching one hand out to accept the data packet.
((SplashLady received LilBoiler3 and AquaBlade battlechips! She also receives BlessNames.txt...))
"If you'd like, SplashLady, I could take care of it. I interviewed with Inky quite recently, so she would probably meet with me again by request," PhotoMan offered, reaching one hand out to accept the data packet.
((SplashLady received LilBoiler3 and AquaBlade battlechips! She also receives BlessNames.txt...))
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SplashLady happily accepted her fee for coming there, as well as the info crystal, which she promptly passed on to PhotoMan. "Well, if you think it'll be easier for you to see her, then here you go. Oh, by the way...PhotoMan? If you don't mind me asking, what chips did you get for coming here? Something gun-related seems fitting to you...I got LilBoiler3 and AquaBlade, myself! It'd be pretty embarrassing for a water-based Navi like me to not be able to do lots of water-based damage, wouldn't it?"
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"Hm? I requested monetary payment. I don't do a lot of netbattling, so I don't have much to do with chips beyond using them as payment or personal security," PhotoMan answered, frowning awkwardly. The value of the chips SplashLady had roped in made him think that their stance on chips might be a disconnect between them. He seemed to be pondering whether or not he said the right thing; the gears in his head made small clicking noises.
The judge gave a small "ahem" to call back their attention. "If that is all, I would ask you to vacate the court so that I can... prepare," she requested, falling into an awkward frown of her own. She blushed slightly as she realized they must know she had nothing to do so long as there were no Blessers to try, which there apparently never were. The court room didn't need cleaning either, so in reality, if she was going to use the court room for anything, it would probably be sleeping or whistling a tune.
"Yes, let us leave. It was good to cross paths with you again, SplashLady, and I hope to see you again soon. I will go and turn in this warning to the News Server as, as we discussed," he concluded, leaving quickly. He seemed to have a lot on his mind and none of it particularly related to Blessers.
((Gained 16 PhotoMan FXP and 3 Jury FXP))
The judge gave a small "ahem" to call back their attention. "If that is all, I would ask you to vacate the court so that I can... prepare," she requested, falling into an awkward frown of her own. She blushed slightly as she realized they must know she had nothing to do so long as there were no Blessers to try, which there apparently never were. The court room didn't need cleaning either, so in reality, if she was going to use the court room for anything, it would probably be sleeping or whistling a tune.
"Yes, let us leave. It was good to cross paths with you again, SplashLady, and I hope to see you again soon. I will go and turn in this warning to the News Server as, as we discussed," he concluded, leaving quickly. He seemed to have a lot on his mind and none of it particularly related to Blessers.
((Gained 16 PhotoMan FXP and 3 Jury FXP))
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"Oh...sorry, thought that was chip data you were getting!" Honestly, SplashLady didn't care much one way or the other; she was just making a little small talk.
And with that, Jury was essentially showing them the door. Well, it'd probably look a little suspicious if they hung out there for too long. After all, it wasn't like there was anything to do in there. ...Which made her wonder exactly why they needed to vacate the premises... "Sure. My operator's probably worrying about me not making contact by now, anyway...later, PhotoMan!" And with that, she vanished in a trail of light.
(Jacking out)
And with that, Jury was essentially showing them the door. Well, it'd probably look a little suspicious if they hung out there for too long. After all, it wasn't like there was anything to do in there. ...Which made her wonder exactly why they needed to vacate the premises... "Sure. My operator's probably worrying about me not making contact by now, anyway...later, PhotoMan!" And with that, she vanished in a trail of light.
(Jacking out)