Mission: Factional Investigation!

"T-there's no.. *sniff* need for that *sob*," Red started wiping her eyes. "Because *hic* I... I.." Red started lips trembling, before facing the archer with tearful puppy-dog eyes, "I asked Myst how to get closer to you!"

Shin's drink was currently all over the carpet.

Myun was just still uninterested, and just a stuffed animal.

"B-because, you see, when I joined, there weren't many new recruits a-and when I was assigned her, one day I saw Miss Myst bring you in and thought I could be friends with you, b-but I'm really shy so I asked Miss Myst for advice since you both seemed close and then... and then..." Red started to tear up again.

Were there plays back in the Wonderland server that made her like this? She's good, Shin thought, gawking as he watched the screen.

"..s-so, if I don't take this chance now, I'll have ruined my chance to get a friend in the Neo-Shogunate like I just ruined your training equipment so you could at least let me... *sniff* h-help you fix the equipment first and... m-maybe we could get to know each other better... *hic*" tears rolled down Red's face as she made some astounding confessions. Hopefully the archer navi would give her name at this point and then the rest of the interrogation would go smoothly.

So they hoped.

Turn Summary:
1-6. EVEN MORE BLUFFING AND STALLING
The archer seemed to get more and more confused as Red continued, but let her speak her peace. "Wait, wait... I'm not following you... Hold on, I think I see what this is. Myst is already talking like I've joined her group, is she?" the other navi sighed. Kneeling to level with Red, the navi gave a pleasant smile. "Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not part of the Neo-Shogun Army. You must be mistaken," she explained. "I'll still be your friend and help you train if you want to, though. It's so nice to see somebody enthusiastic it! Everyone here just lounges around all the time..."

The navi seemed to know what the Neo-Shogun Army was, but apparently she was not a part of it. "Anyways, Turquoise, it'll be a little while before I can get my training set-up how I want it. Would you like to do something else instead?"

... At the very least, fortune smiled upon Red in that PartnerMan was now out of sight. That fact gave the NP recruit a little more flexibility in how she would proceed next.
"O-oh.. *sniff* yeah..." Red replied to the archer as she hiccuped again. "E-even the g-generals *sniff* go out on those *hic* weird excursions *sniff* sometimes."

"Hnnnnngh," Shin mumbled in the real world, feeling like his heart would burst any moment.

"I-I'm sorry, I thought only Neo-Shogunate members were allowed, b-but I guess we can bring in people for recruiting... or if they're our good friends," Red apologized again. She noticed PartnerMan was out of sight, so that lessened the weight on her shoulders, but she knew she had to still keep up with the act, just in case.

"Oh... that's still all my fault, isn't it," Red groaned, letting out a small whimper as the archer mentioned it would take a while to set up the training equipment again. Rubbing her eyes again, the crimson crusader put her hand on her cheek and tilted her head to the side while she thought of something she could use to pass the time with the archer, but remembered her fake reason and smiled.

"I-if you don't mind, I'd just like to talk to get to know you better..." the now-Turquoise suggested, slowly getting up, slightly squirming in place to indicate nervousness. "And... I tried asking Miss Myst what you're name was but she told me to ask after I had done this so if you don't mind..." Red turned her head to the side, blushing a bit.

"....Oh man..." Shin commented, widening his jaw. This was too much. He accidentally hit the recorder button too.

Myun still held herself like a doll. This was probably the most amazing part of the performance, it didn't seem super hard though.

Turn Summary:
1. Bluffing
2. Ask name/Suggest talking
3. Accidentally turn on Recorder.DAT
The archer looked somewhat bewildered again. "Generals? Is their army really that organized or are they just throwing that term around...? And don't you know? This place isn't really associated with the Neo-Shogun Dynasty or anything. We're just here as Myst's friends, really; she must be trying to give you some weird indoctrination. N-No offense, I'm sure it's standard protocol for the army" she explained, then sat down on one of the loveseats, crossing one leg over the other beneath her skirt. She seemed somewhat flattered that Red cared about knowing about her, so she proceeded eagerly. "Oh, my name is Arch. Myst and I have known each other for a long time, since before she was in the Neo-Shogun Dynasty. I'm um... not really employed in doing anything right now, honestly. I just do some stuff for my operator now and then," she continued slowly, as if pondering something as she spoke. "Hey, Turquoise. Let me ask you something: what is being a Neo-Shogun soldier really like, anyways? Myst is my friend and all, but I really can't trust her for a straight answer on that," she asked, sitting forward with both hands pressed on her lap anxiously. "Myst is all over the place, you know? One day she'll be receiving good spoils from her wars and enjoying membership benefits, then the next she'll be talking about how her friends are all morons with no organizational skills. I really can't figure it out," Arch muttered with a look of confusion.

How long could Red keep up the charade?

((Acquired "Arch and the Neo-Shogun Dynasty".DAT))
"So it's a personal resort for Myst, huh? Though in that case, it still might have connections to the Neo-Shogunate," Shin mused, storing the recording data. Red went to plop down on the other loveseat while Arch talked.

"W-well I just joined recently, so I don't know much, and I was mainly assigned to the recruiting division... which is something that seems to be the job of a lot of members actually, but they're people with a sense of honor based on Olde Electopian principles," Red began, thinking hard about her recent encounter with Yasu, Vee, and Lee, but then turned bright pink as she remembered the kind of situation she encountered them in.

"T-they're pretty relaxed about some things though... ok, so maybe a lot of things," Red sighed, acting downcast as if she were a real member.

"I think, they're good people at the core though... I know the last operation was a total failure though..." Red said, sighing again.

On another note, what about that hologram screen she saw earlier? "Oh, you know Miss Arch, do you like Romance movies?" Red inquired, tilting her head and gesturing at the monitor. "Also, do you know what kind of position Miss Myst holds? I don't believe she's as high up as Generals Yasu, Vee, or Lee. She is kind of all over the place," Red commented, nodding firmly.

Shin took this as another opportunity to use the Recorder.

Turn Summary:
1. Keep Bluffing
2. Talk
3. Ask Questions
4. Use Recorder.DAT
"Really? That's all pretty surprising. I know Myst's operator is Electopian and she sort of has that look herself as well... I'm surprised they have a whole recruiting division, I was under the impression they were understaffed now. I guess those they have would logically be recruiting now, though, to bolster their numbers," Arch mused, placing her fist against her chin. As Red changed the subject, her face changed slightly. "Oh no, no. I'll bet Myst was watching this and left it on... Either her or Escort," she said with a shrug. She giggled and clasped both hands together. "I'm not really the type to be interested in something as silly as romance."

Thinking on Red's second question, Arch leaned back in her seat. "You know: I don't know, oddly. I know she was the same rank as those other guys that didn't leave following the huge Neo-Shogun fallout in Yoka, though, so I guess that'd make her a General?" she pondered.

It sounded like Red had some good information now indicating that the one named Myst was part of the Neo-Shogun army. She recalled, however, that there were four women at the complex. Arch had seemed to imply, however, that besides Myst the other three were just friends. Would it be fine with this amount of evidence or would Red need more?

((Acquired "Myst is a General".DAT))
"Whaaaa-? She's the same rank as the Generals?" Red exclaimed, moving backward, a bit surprised. "But now that I think of it, it kind of makes sense to be more... Hmmm," Red mused, thinking slowly.

"...Escort? Oh right, I have no idea who anyone is... kiiii," Red said, sounding agitated as she pulled her teeth on a handkerchief.

"S-sorry, it's a bad habit of mine," the natural maiden apologized again as she folded her handkerchief. "Do you know the other two besides Myst very well too? Or are all you all just Myst's friends?"

Shin sighed as he started the recorder again. Can't have too much info.

Turn Summary:
1. Keep bluffing.
2. More Inquiry
3. Use Recorder.DAT
"Let's see... All of us go way back. There's Myst, Escort, Sake, and me," Arch explained. "I'm not sure if you've seen the or not. At any rate, the only Neo-Shogun member out of all of us is Myst, but she's been trying to get us to join for a long time... It just sounds so weird, you know? I mean... New-age imperialism," she sighed, lifting her helmet and scratching her hair.

Arch was about to ask something more when the door flung open. Two girls walked in, laughing merrily. One was a tall girl with very dark, glamorous hair and a blue bathrobe on. While it was tied closed, it did still show off her voluptuous figure very well. The look of her eyes showed that she was probably the Electopian, Myst, that Arch had been speaking of. The other girl was shorter and dressed in a white towel, but also with a bizarre green cap on her head. Off the top of the cap rose a giant bottle of alcoholic Sake, tilting back and forth as she moved drunkenly across the floor. It was a sure guess that that one was Sake. Her proportions looked a lot more kiddy than Myst's did, though. From their apparel and the moisture on their flesh, it was obvious that the two were coming from a bath.

Myst gave a look of surprise as she noticed Red at the center of the room sitting with Arch. "Hey, Arch! I didn't know you had guests over. Gee, give me some time to get prepared, won't you?" she laughed, squeezing into a spot next to the golden-armored navi on the loveseat. Sake ran over and occupied the space next to that, causing the loveseat to become very crowded.

Arch frowned uncomfortably. "It's not like you ever care about how you dress anyways," she snapped in response. "And anyways, what are you talking about? This is one of your Neo-Shogun soldiers, from what she tells me..."

Myst and Arch both looked at Red in confusion. "Turquoise?" Arch asked, raising one eyebrow. Myst also watched confusedly, although she didn't seem to care as much through a mix of laissez-faire attitude and drunkenness. Sake didn't seem to be watching at all and was busy changing the romance show hologram to something more exciting.

((Acquired "Myst Enters".DAT))
"Sounds ni-" Red started before the door burst open and two scantily clad figures walked in. Shin took this moment to snap a photo.

"What? Ace! Hey! You better delete that!" Red growled at the sky as Shin turned around and whistled innocently.

The camera probably was the least of Red's worries now that Myst entered, but she and Sake were apparently very drunk. Red blushed, was it a requirement of all generals to walk around in skimpiness?

"Geez, Miss Myst, I joined last month remember?" Red pouted, huffing as she stood up, putting her hands on her hips as she walked behind the loveseat and pouted more in the direction of Myst. "I know I've been out trying to recruit, but General Yasu told me to come keep an eye on you and hope you've been doing your job... which actually seems to be slow going," Red sighed, drooping over.

She raised her head and looked back at Arch, "I forgot Miss Myst seemed to be acting funny when she recommended what to do. I'm sorry," Red apologized once again, slightly bowing.

She hoped PartnerMan was finding something useful.

Shin turned the recorder on, again.

Turn Summary:
1. Use Camera.DAT on Myst and Sake!
2-3. More Bluffing
4. Use Recorder.DAT
Although the general state of the three girls was becoming confused, the discord reached a peak as "Hold it! What?! You came back here to hang out with us on orders?!" Arch cried, taking offense. "I thought we were friends and now I hear that you were lying about the whole quitting thing! You're just here because you were ordered to bring us into your army! That's how they teach you to do things, huh?!" she accused her friend in rage.

Myst stood up, surprised at the sudden aggression. She waved her hands defensively, trying to explain herself. "N-No, that's wrong! I never got orders to come back here for any mission or anything! I quit!" she assured her friend. "I'll be honest, I was thinking of going back soon, but c'mon guys, you gotta believe me. They never forced me to get you three to join or anything! B-Besides, I've never actually seen that girl before..."

Arch sat still for a moment. She looked back and forth between Myst and Red, trying to decide who she should believe. "But... I don't get it. If you're really weren't ordered to come here, then what is Turquoise talking about?" the archer asked, crossing her arms across her breastplate.

"Psh. That girl's no Neo-Shogun! We're ordered to stay in uniform all the time and only the Generals get unique uniforms. The only guys I'd seen around the base since we lost that battle were the boss, the Generals, and those faceless meat shields I brought in earlier. We're almost out of those, by the way," she sighed. "What's the deal, Archie? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one? Hooo hohoho~!" the navi laughed around one hand haughtily.

Arch's face turned red with embarrassment. "That's enough! Come on then, Turquoise, tell us who you really are!"

"Yeah, and for that matter, why you're taking pictures of me in my bathrobe," Myst asked, apparently having caught the camera flash. Sake remained uninterested for whatever reason, her face hidden behind a white drape that fell from her cap and surrounded her head.

((Acquired "Myst and Sake On Loveseat".IMG))
((Acquired "Tension Between Myst and Arch".DAT))
"Time to go," Shin mumbled, sending in two chips.

"What!? Ace!?" Red said, startled. It seems some of her processes had been taken over manually.

"...Sorry about this Miss Arch," Red winced as she jumped out the doorway and stomped on the ground, covering everything on the ground with plentiful grass as a tree sprouted in front of the doorway. Red threw a cafeteria tray out of her bookbag onto the ground in front of the tree, where a towering Candle formed up, blocking the doorway even further. Looking quickly from side-to-side, Red made a dash for the cozy hut. If she could gather even one more piece of evidence, it would definitely be worth it.

Activating the second chip, Red found herself surrounded by honeycomb shaped shields, ready to release stinging bees if she was hit. Snapping her fingers, a red jacket that matched well with her uniform wrapped itself around Red's upper body as she kept moving toward the hut.

Turn Summary:
1. Jump out doorway and use Picknicker's Refuge [Grass Stage + Create 20 HP Tree in front of Doorway]
2. Put Candle2 in front of Doorway [Summon 100 HP HeatBody Object, Regen 10 To-All Allies]
3. RiskyHoney1 [Block 1 Hit and Counter for 5x10 +25 Wood DMG]
*Blood-Soaked Cape: Passive 40 HP Casing
4-6. Dash for Cozy Hut and enter
The girls all gasped in surprise as Red bolted for the door, putting up numerous obstacles behind her. "Darn you!" Arch cried out in frustration. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it!" Red couldn't tell what was happening, but she heard a spinning and clanking briefly. In no time at all, the tree was simply moved from in front of the house. Red was unsure what was happening, but the candle didn't last long either; it was simply thrown aside. All the same, Red had time to get a fair distance away from the others and reach the hut.

Once she got inside, she realized that it looked like a room for the four to sleep in. There were four beds, each set up at separate corners of the room. Three of them were very plain and made up, but the one in the far-right corner looked pretty messy. There was a trunk at the foot of each bed, which Red could only assume held personal belongings, as well as three thin standing dressers, which presumably held hanging clothes. It was odd to see navis living in so similar a way to humans.

At any rate, Red would have to conduct a more thorough search to find anything of use, and the navis would be at the hut any second. She probably wouldn't have time to look at any more than one or two things before she left if she wanted to avoid them, and even then she'd probably need to try either escaping through the windows (which were large enough to fit her body through, she figured) or jacking out.
"Ok, this is our last chance to find anything. I'm going to assume that messy bed belongs to Sake and tell you to not bother searching through it, so Myun, Red, go search the trunks!" Shin ordered, sweating nervously as he wondered how far behind the other navis were.

"Right!" Red and Myun replied, the bunny jumping from Red's arms as she headed to the lower right corner bed and Red dashed to the lower left corner bed. Both of them quickly opened the trunks and searched for anything useful they could find inside.

Turn Summary:
*Blood-Soaked Cape: Passive 40 HP Casing
1. Search Lower Left bed's trunk

Myun's Actions:
*Run Myun Run: Movement to get to Lower Right Bed
1. Search Lower Right Bed's Trunk
In the trunk that Red searched through, there was nothing beyond a yellow bathing towel and several toiletries, all very neatly arranged. It didn't look like anything useful, however. In Myun's, there was no towel, but several toiletries and a humongous roll of tape. There was also a small diary. It might be worth taking a look.

Red could hear Myst and her allies just outside the door!
"Myun! Just take that with you and move on! Red, it's time to stall some more!" Shin snapped, barking orders as he sweated nervously. This situation was way too intense... in many different ways, the poor guy was nearly on the verge of fainting.

"R-roger! W-what do I do?" Red asked, panicking as Myst and her friends came closer with each passing second while Myun took the diary and moved over to the unexamined tidy bed and rummaged through the trunk.

"Use this, then your Spiral, it should delay them for a little bit more," Shin suggested, slotting in the Firetower chip. "Actually wait, use this before the Spiral," Shin said, sending in the AquaDragon chip next.

"R-right! Here goes!" the crimson crusader stammered, moving to the entrance of the hut and slamming her fist onto the ground.

A tower of lava burst its way out of the ground, roaring with menace as it marched straight ahead, searing all grass and possibly navis in its way.

"N-next i-is!" Red mumbled, fidgeting with lock her schoolbag as she opened the clasp and thrust it in the direction of the entrance.

A huge serpentine dragon, larger than anything she had ever conjured, burst out of the bag. It was completely made out of water and brought a tsunami along with it as the creature poured out of the bag and bum-rushed anything in its way while filling the area with water.

"Actually, I think that's good enough, run to the window then," Shin mused, Red nodding quickly as she grabbed Myun and prepared to toss her through the window.

Turn Summary:
Myun's Actions:
1. Take Diary
*Run Myun Run: Movement toward far-left corner bed trunk
2. Rummage through trunk

Red's Actions:
1. FireTower1 straight toward entrance [100 Fire DMG + Piercing + Group Attack + Ground Attack]
2. AquaDragon toward entrance [150 Aqua DMG + Ground Attack + Medium Area Sea Terrain Change + Terrain Changer]
3. Run toward Myun and prepare to escape.
Myun found that the trunk contained a sake set, some hygiene supplies loosely thrown about, and that was about it. It seemed like a safe bet that they'd picked the wrong trunk again.

The attacks that Red threw out missed their pursuers but hit another target: the house. Cozy huts have the unfortunate disadvantage that they can't take much punishment before collapsing in on themselves. Before Red could stop the fires, one half of the hut was destroyed; whoever had taken up bunk on the front side of the house would now find that their stuff had been burnt up and drenched by a giant aqua dragon.

The three stood outside of the house, staring blankly at the wide open space where the front of their hut once was. Arch's fists clenched at her sides and her frown widened. "Rrrgh, what's your problem?! Why don't you just leave?!" she cried angrily, preparing an arrow in her bow to launch at Red.
"Bad luck again. Who would've thought the [i]general was Miss Messy," Shin sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Well they were all in swimsuits when we first met any of them," Red commented back, nodding her head as Arch notched an arrow and aimed towards Red.

"Kay," Red giggled as she and Myun jacked out.

Turn Summary:
[JACK OUT]
"Mmmmmmrrr... darn it!" Arch wailed, throwing her bow down against the net floor with a sharp pang noise that reverberated across the nearby net. "This is your fault somehow, I know it, Myst!"

"Hey, maybe this is just me, but I'm thinking the problem is more so that we're sitting out here in the middle of the net with no cover! Of course there are going to be trolls out here," Myst sighed. "This just proves my point that you guys should move in with the Neo-Shoguns. We can pool our stuff together, renovate the base... It'll be as good as this place but twice as secure."

Arch sighed, pulling off her helmet and staring at the ruins of their hut. "Yeah, you're right. Come to think of it, maybe the net needs a little dose of imperialism just to put it under control. I mean, it's still a silly idea... But at least I could punish that little... little-!" she muttered in rage, picking her bow back up off of the ground.

Arch's friend looked at her in surprise and disbelief. "What, you're going to join us? R-Really?"

"Sure, I've just made up my mind. I'll just look at it as another fine mess you've dragged me into," she sighed. "And... And I'm sorry for calling you a liar before."

Disregarding the apology, Myst raised her hand to her mouth and gave a satisfied laugh. "Hooo hohoho~! I knew you'd come around, Archie. Come on, let's take Sake and tell Escort the good news," she said with a cheerful bounce in her step, heading over towards the bathhouse.

((Red has ejected))
A few moments later, Red warped back into the coordinates for when she first met PartnerMan and looked around before plopping down and waiting for him. They'd have to sort through the evidence probably.

Red sighed as she stared toward the direction of the complex.
Red waited... and waited... and waited... and nobody came. Perhaps PartnerMan was expecting her to report back to the GNA mission bureau? Perhaps she'd gotten the spot wrong? Or perhaps PartnerMan had never come out of the facility? At any rate, he wasn't showing up.