[RP] Justice Riders: Planetary Defenders! ==INVASION==

[gotMLK7]

Medical Bay

Dr. Phineas looked towards the young woman addressing him. "Tch. I work in medicine and technology, I'm not your damn psychologist."

The doctor observed her hand for a moment. "Good model, right there. I'm getting damn good at this, if I do say so myself." He grinned as he adjusted his sunglasses. "Would be a waste not to put that thing to good use, but I digress."

He gave her another once-over. "Hm...Cornflower, right? You're one of the lot that tried to tackle the Prince head-on. Bunch of dumbasses, you stupid kids. Two destroyed weapons, 4 critical medical conditions, two prosthetic replacements, and a civilian casualty. Honestly, you trying to pull that crap again is probably worse for everybody involved."

He sighed for a moment. "But hey, you technically came closest to anyone before you on actually getting a good hit on the guy, so you got that 15 seconds of fame going for you. I'd give the credit there to my tech, personally, but hey, take pride in whatcha will. I don't care what you do with yourself at this point. But your sword is totaled and I've got a smoking hot line of toys to play with instead. Never know, maybe you'll come in handy jumping back in. I don't know or care. Up to you at this point, kid."

He groaned to himself. "Christ, I'm so goddamn tired of these nihilistic brats running around the place...if we make it out of all this alive, I'm goading Ichirou for an official therapist around this joint..."

[GuardianDreamer]

The Streets of Kyoto

Charlotte needed to change her mindset. It was blatantly obvious that she wasn't going to live out the idyllic fantasy her mind had been building up where Sevaline's forces stood down after a simple chat. But she didn't want to give up her promise to Prim. She thought about the others and their mindsets. ... Yes, the world had a terribly odd sense of humor. Charlotte Swan, of all people, decided that she needed to race to clear a path to Sevaline before anyone else could get to her. For the sake of peace and keeping an important promise to someone she had met exactly once. She let out a sigh. She hadn't exactly picked out an easy role for herself.

She decided that she was going to complicate things further for herself and avoid any mortal damage to any of her opponents. The pragmatic reason was that her attempt at talking to Sevaline would be made much harder if she came across a state a bloodthirsty warrior. ... The actual reason was because she didn't want anyone to die whose death she could prevent. She thought back to the battle with Vallick. Charlotte wasn't the one most directly responsible for the finishing blow, but it served as a reminder that her hands weren't free of blood. She wasn't trying to claim any kind of moral high ground, that seemed ridiculous to her. But... Avoiding more death seemed to her like the best course of action, regardless of her own reasons. Besides, what kind of happy ending was founded on corpses and blood? It just didn't suit the Riders at all.

"Let me just get used to this again..." Charlotte temporarily turned off her communication device so she could laugh. She turned it back on very soon after that. She wanted to cheer herself up by doing something familiar, but she was worried that the others would mistake her for the type to genuinely laugh at the idea of war.

She saw one mech approach her, the pilot apparently cautious enough to take a moment to observe her Swanzord to guess at what functions it had. The pilot didn't take long before firing their mech's turret at the Swanzord's general direction.

Thankfully, Charlotte's Swanzord was maneuverable enough for this to be a fairly simple dodge. She got closer to the enemy mech while continuing to dodge the turret.

She took a deep breath, and then used the Swanzord's bladed feathers to attempt to cut off the mech's arm attached to the turret.

[Sleuth]

Kyoto - Back Alley:

The sun was setting over Kyoto. Machines stood in the long-abandoned streets, ready to rampage and destroy, and the remnants of a Titan now were little more than wisps of smoke overhead.

At an empty ramen shop, a bowl of unfinished ramen lay, still warm on the counter.

As Sevaline left the V-Models to destroy the Rider's mechs, something suddenly flew towards her head: a small, square package, of uncooked ramen.

"Hey there," A voice called out from the shadows nearby. "It's been a while, right? But I'd never forget your face after that day."

Step by step, a young man emerged from the shadow into the blood orange light. Blonde hair with streaks of red. A large, bulky duffel bag in one arm. An antique, polished katana at his waist.

Takeshi Honda stepped out before Sevaline Oleander, a weary smile on his face.

"You can have that," Takeshi said, referring to the package of ramen. "It's a peace offering. I'm still not too big on fighting, y'see."

He spoke as if that all made perfect sense and explained what he was doing here perfectly.

[gotMLK7]

Back Alley

Sevaline dropped down from the rooftop and, with some help from her sword, scaled her way to ground level.

"Dammit," she swore to herself, as she rubbed her eyes. "That goddamn idiot...Son of a...If I die here, I'll rip him apart in Hell!" She took a deep breath. "But that ain't happening. I've got a job to do. And I'll be damned if I-"

She was interrupted by a sudden light impact on her shoulder. She looked down to see what it was. Packaged ramen. She looked up to see the supposed assailant, only to see one Takeshi Honda. Sevaline's eyes dried quickly. She just had a mild scowl on her face now.

"Hmph." She tossed her megaphone aside, and placed the tip of her chainsaw sword against the packaged ramen on the floor. "Am I supposed to recognize you or something, dorkface?"

[Alnar]

JR HQ Medical Bay

"Yeah... Cornflower." She beams a little at the mention of her title. "It's nice you remember, few people do. Honestly there's so many shades of blue here even I can't name the others. Guess I shouldn't be complaining, huh?"

She looks at her new prosthetic. Every time she moved it, it made mechanical clicking sounds. Despite that, it weighed just as much as a normal human one. If not for the metallic shine, it could pass for the real thing. The doctor was right, it was a good model. She chuckles.

"Heh, might as well rethink the recruitment process while you're at it. This whole place seemed a lot fuller before today... Guess a lot of people took that offer." She sighs. "I can't blame them, I have half the mind to follow but..."

She squeezed the side of the bed, her mechanical one gripping more tightly. "It's just... I don't know Doc. What difference can I make now? I tried... and failed. I've been trying all my life but it just feels like I can't accomplish anything... Other than getting my own hand melted off. That's a new achievement." She scoffs. Her voice remains calm and her expression is pensive. When she spoke, it was apparent in her tone that these things have been weighing on her mind for a long time.

"Other than that... What am I? Will I be remembered as anything other than 'that dumbass rider who rushed the Kalcion prince'? It feels like I'd just cause trouble for everyone else if I tried. I'm just another offbrand blue rider to add to the pile. A side character people forget about. No one ever seems to talk about the Blues... or care."

[Sleuth]

Kyoto Back Alley:

Takeshi rubbed his head. "Oof, nothing, huh? That's harsh. But that's fine; I'm a coward, after all..."

His gaze then turned uncharacteristically hard, and his smile turned into a harsh line.

"But I'm sure you remember what you did to my friend, the Platinum Rider."

His hands began to shake as he recalled the memory-- Watching from afar as Gigi was mercilessly pummeled. Though he looked calm outwardly, Takeshi's heart was pounding-- That fateful battle, he'd become a failure, abandoning a Rider who needed him. Every finer of his being had wanted to rush in, but then-- His morpher sparked. Something went wrong. And then the Turquoise Rider was reduced back to Takeshi Honda, powerless to do anything but hide and watch while his companion was brutalized.

He'd been too ashamed to return since then. Takeshi had gone back to the Ramen Shop to hide. There were times he wanted to take his morpher again, as he watched the news intently... But the sting of his betrayal stilled his hand.

And then, he watched, a bowl of lukewarm ramen in his hands, as the enemy, Gohra Kanorath, destroyed himself to protect them all. In that moment, the noodles dropped from his chopsticks, and Takeshi knew he could hide no longer.

Now, here he stood, against the one he'd fled from. Would his morpher malfunction again? Would he survive if it did? These were questions still rattling Takeshi's mind-- But he was determined.

"It was pretty out of character for me," Takeshi said, reaching into his bag for his Morpher, "Abandoning someone like that. But I will never run again."

[gotMLK7]

Medical Bay

Dr. Phineas had a stern look of irritation in reaction to Astera's comments.

"Tch, you gonna whine the Kalcion to death or something?" he spat back. "Because I assure you, it's working on me! Listen, I don't care WHAT you do with yourself! I'm not your goddamn grandpa here to encourage you or crap like that! Either get the hell out there or get the hell outta here - which path you take, I don't care."

He leaned up towards Astera with an accusatory finger pointed her way.

"This battle isn't about 'making a name for yourself' or any crap like that, and if that's your top priority then we don't need you. We need soldiers willing to protect the Earth. If you become a hero in the process, good on you, but we're strapped for troops and fighting a losing battle, so I don't want to hear anyone crying about how they looked bad on TV or some nonsense. Learn from mistakes and make 'em opportunities or something, dammit."

He turned from her to head back to his work, but turned around once more to say something else.

"And I like blue."

----

Kyoto Back Alley

Sevaline squinted as she tried to figure out what Takeshi was talking about. Eventually, her eyes widened in realization. She grew a smug grin.

"Oooooh, you're the FLAKE! That wimpy little brat that turned tail on that freako robot chick!"

Her smugness quickly turned to scorn.

"That little turd-chomper that got a slice in on my stomach and made me look like an idiot live on camera."

She grabbed the ripcord on her blade and gave it a tug, and twisted the handle. The chainsaw in her blade and the ignition system sent it roaring to life and blazing with flames, tearing the instant noodles about and charring them to ash on the ground below her. She turned the blade back off.

"Yeah. Starting to ring bells." She gave the blade a twirl as she rested it over her shoulder, and she slowly began to approach the Turquoise Rider. "You shoulda just kept running and hoped I never caught up, ratbait, because I'm having a really bad day and am looking to relieve some stress."

She pointed the end of the Ripjaw Mk.II towards Takeshi's throat.

"Better get back to running, brat, because Round 2 will only last two seconds."

[Alnar]

Medical Bay

She winced. Phineas' words were a punch to her gut she knew was coming, but she felt it was deserved. She could tell she'd touched a sore topic with him. She sighs, looking down to her hand for one brief moment before she slowly stood up from the bed she was on. Her stomach still ached a little where she had been kicked, but she toughed it out. She looked at Phineas, some part of her felt the need to reach out... but would that help anyone at this stage? Hesitantly, she speaks again.

"S-Sorry... You're right. It's selfish of me to think of it that way. Maybe I should just leave..." She looks down and grimaces, seeing the faint reflection of herself on the floor. It would be easy to walk out right now and leave it all behind. She'd return to her apartment, call it a night, and just fade away. No one would blame her, no one would care. She'd go back to living the life she's always had. Something about that familiarity called for her, asking her to run away with it and return to being average, forgettable, and indiscernible from the rest. Her gaze turned to the other riders that still lay unconscious on their beds. Most of them she did not recognize, others she knew only in passing... But two of them she did know. They were her fellow riders she was with when Malchior attacked: Maize and Thistle. Both were in critical condition, barely hanging on to their lives and here she was, up and about. A lucky one. Well, other than the fact the she had lost her hand that is. It was a miracle she was even standing here right now, and her only thoughts were about herself. Her robotic hand curled into a fist as she thought about it.

She pushed her selfish thoughts away and decided to distract herself by looking at something else. Quietly, she walked over to the rack the doctor had brought in and stared at the assortment of weapons the lined it. Did she really deserve to take up arms again...?

She had heard what the doctor had said before he turned his back to her. His sharp, bitter tone as he had corrected her remind Astera that, years ago, Phineas served as a Rider in his own team, a group of individuals now held in legendary status in the organization. Riders that people to look up to and admire. She was also reminded of what had happened to the former Blue Rider... but outside of that she didn't know much else. Perhaps now, she could come to understand the edge to his words, and what they hid underneath.

"Hey... Phin-..." She catches herself, thinking she'd only piss him off more if she started calling him by name. "...Doc. What was your Blue like? People don't seem to mention her much here..."

[Sleuth]

Honda Dojo, Tokyo, 5 years ago:

Takeshi sat on the backyard porch of the Honda Estate, staring up at the clouds with a twig in his mouth. A moment later, footsteps came from behind, and a man clad in old, ceremonial robes, approached the young boy.

"Takeshi. What was that shameful display at the Kendo Tournament?" Father asked, folding his arms, "You threw that match-- You made those mistakes on purpose, you gave every opening; an amateur would not have performed so badly. What is your reason for this."

Takeshi's eyes turned downwards, tracking a lizard running up a plant.

"You saw the others. Even if I'd won, I'd be no match for them. I tried to tell you that before, but you insisted." Takeshi said, matter-of-factly. "Fact is, I'm just not cut out for kendo. Sorry to disappoint you."

Father sighed, and sat next to his son, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps I pushed you too hard. I won't force you to continue if you don't wish to. But Takeshi, you're stronger than you think. You have a good heart, a courageous spirit, and if you trained, you could accomplish great things. You simply need more resolve. I only push you cause I want to see that. Resolve has been the strength of our family for generations."

Takeshi's eyes remained unfocused, but he slumped over, his head resting on his dad's shoulder gently.

"...I resolve to get some noodles now." He said.

--

Kyoto Back Alley, Present Day:

Takeshi could feel the heat radiating off the blade, mere inches from his face. His eyes lit up suddenly, as if he'd just thought of a great joke; Takeshi gave a playful grin and leaned in, stroking his chin.

"Oh, thanks, I could use a shave," He remarked, as if this were the perfect time for jokes. "Two seconds, huh? Boy I wish I had your confidence. Maybe then I'd have been able to help... She's a pretty nice robot, y'know. And she got hurt because of my lack of resolve. Fighting you now is a weak apology... but it's a start."

Takeshi's hand emerged with his morpher, his other arm extending out and dropping his duffle bag dramatically-- One almost expected it to hit the ground with a massive thud, like a fighter removing his training weights, but instead it just landed with a anticlimactic "whump".

Takeshi held his morpher at his side, like a gunslinger at high noon. He still wore his signature dorky smile, but beads of sweat were forming on his brow as he stared down Sevaline.

"Let's go.... S....." Takeshi blinked. "...Sorry what was your name again?"

[gotMLK7]

prince malchior are eat cocoa puffs

[lazyplague]

malchiors cellphone rings and he picks it up. its relz.

"hrrnfg... Malchior, I'm tryna do my illusions, but im dummy thicc, and the clap of my ass cheeks keeps alerting the riders"

[The Ash Raichu]

Mech Fight - Fuchsia:

...Huh. He wasn't expecting that. Gohra just tanked everything that the Kalcion had to offer. He died for it, but he saved his enemy... What a weird war this was. Heh. Ray didn't exactly know how to say this in the moment, but he was fairly certain that Gohra had a lot of people both here and back home who looked up to him, especially in his final moments. But there wasn't time for that. The Anemozord was getting fired at on all sides, though the particularly heavy plating on the mech rendered them hardly any more threatening than spitballs in an elementary school classroom. He took this opportunity to address the Kalcion foot-soldiers in front of him.

"Y'know, I think Amber might have a point." Wow, that sentence did not sound as weird coming out as he thought it was going to. "This whole kerfuffle came about because we refused to communicate with each other. That said, I don't want to kill anyone. BUT. That doesn't necessarily mean I don't want to thrash stuff when I'm in a giant mech. I mean, look at me, I'm literally a giant ball of cannons. I'd feel pretty silly being here if I didn't get to blast something, ya dig? So I want to give you a chance to get out of your mechs and flee before my big boy blows your little guys back to the Asteroid Age. How's that sound? I, for one, think that's the best possible middle ground in this little sitch."

Med Bay - Soul:

...What.

What.

WHAT.

Wasn't that the guy that Soul was fighting just this morning? Having hardly been conscious to hear Gohra denounce the missile attack and vow to protect the honorable underdogs, hearing this announcement hit Soul like a sack of bricks. She couldn't help but wonder if anything that he was spouting on about was inspired by her. Probably not, but wouldn't it have been funny? If the least enthused "warrior" that the Justice Riders had to offer influenced the mightiest of the Generals to turn tail. What a weird war this was.

Either way, it soon became apparent to Soul that even if she had been a match for him as he was in the Stadium, there was no way she was going to even make him flinch when the proverbial boss revealed his second health bar. Was that what the Riders took down on a regular basis? Perhaps she really did have no place here. But... his final words... "it's your turn." Were those meant for her? She hated this. She hated how small she felt within the system, but how large her impact might be if she left. It was the worst kind of lose-lose situation.

She continued drinking her water, though she glanced the way of the hunched-over old man and the knight girl trying with little success to use him as a counselor. There was the technology she was thinking about earlier. She thanked her lucky stars again that her suit only allowed for some bleeding from the blunt force of regular Gohra's fists. She didn't say anything, but scanned over the weapons table, wondering if she wasn't due for an upgrade...

Spoiler : OoC - Character Notes: :

Soul Sawachika is the Amethyst Rider, one of a plethora of Riders to sling around ice and snow. She doesn't have much history with the Riders, being drafted extremely recently. As such, and as young as she is, she still prioritizes her own interests over those of the Riders, to the chagrin of one Gohra Kanorath who caught her sleeping on duty after the Invasion Siren rang. After a poor attempt to impress him and save face, the two fought at the Sports Stadium, where for a first battle against a hardened General like Gohra, Soul fared quite admirably. She still lost, though. She was delivered to the Med-bay by the Fuchsia Rider, where she's contemplating whether the poison of leaving or the poison of staying is less deadly.

Ray Minoa is the Fuchsia Rider, equipped with eight water hoses built into his suit comparable to or even surpassing hoses used to quell riots. He focuses heavily on how he's perceived and his "cool guy" image, though also has been with the Riders long enough to know his priorities. Ray is the person primarily responsible for putting Soul in her current situation(s) and VERY briefly mentored her to acclimate her to her suit's abilities. Ray has yet to fight any notable battles, though he reigned victorious over a good number of mooks. He then delivered Soul to the Med-bay where he gave her the news that whether she chose to stay or leave was ultimately up to her. Now, he's in the current Zord fight.

[gotMLK7]

The Streets of Kyoto - Mech Battle

"HELL YEAH, LET'S KNOCK 'EM OUT!" The Razzmatazz Molezord, a bulky yet smaller Zord with blades fingers, treads for feet, and a drill for a nose, very quickly began to counter once the command was given. Razzmatazz charged the nearest mech and started clashing with it, going blade to blade in a power struggle.

GiGi wasted little time as well - she had already begun to charge in the direction Sevaline had gone towards with her Platinum Ramzord, but had been intercepted by another couple of mechs. She electrified her horns and fleece to try to power through.

"Keep focus on the mechs for now!" Kenshin called out, currently weaving through the gunfire. "They're the more immediate threat in the vicinity! Sevaline's important, but she can't do as much damage right now - keep focus where it's needed until a gap opens up!"

Meanwhile, Charlotte's feathers struck the turret arm of one mech focused on her. Though the feathers were not quite sharp or powerful enough to cut off the mech's arm, they did lodge themselves into the turrets, rendering them useless. The mech lowered its gun arm and instead summonsed its wrist-mounted laser blade on the other arm, before charging towards the Swanzord with surprising dexterity. It made a leap and a swipe to try and strike the flying machine.

The Kalcion focused on the Anemozord realized their turrets were similarly useless against the Zord's armor. Deciding not to waste the ammo, three mechs dropped their guns and pulled out their blades, all rushing the Anemozord at once.

----

Medical Bay

Without turning around to face her, Phineas sighed. "Damn brats ask too much all the damn time..." Despite his reluctance, however, he started.

"Lorain Callahan, we called her Lori. She was a nice girl, a childhood friend of me and ol' Crimson. Long red hair and a winning smile, all that jazz. Wanted to be a cop, but her folks were backwards and restrictive, so she basically got puppeteered through most of her life. Still, she was a real nice gal...real, real nice. Never had a mean thing to say about anyone and didn't have a sarcastic bone in her body. And she aaaalways wanted to help people. No matter how big or small the problem was. And though she never said it, she always wanted to play hero."

He was quiet for a moment.

"She had some real nasty things to say about herself. Sometimes they'd slip out between the smiles. That girl had some kind of self-hatred that needed attention, and damned if her folks or herself would ever let herself get that. Just bottled it all up and tried to play the hero card all the time. Thought she'd be fine taking shots, since she had a healing factor in her suit. So she'd rush in like a dumbass and get herself hurt in every serious battle. No sense of self-preservation so long as there was somebody to save. Until finally, she tried her strategy on a bomber in a hostage situation. She got the hostages out safely first...but some damage isn't gonna be fixed by any damn super suit."

Phineas turned back towards Astera.

"Be bold, but don't be cocky. Be brave, but don't be self-destructive. And fight hard, but not too hard. I don't know a goddamn thing about your life, and I don't care. But learn from your mistakes now while you got a chance before throwing out everything."

He put his hands back in his pockets and turned around again. "Dumbasses..."

----

Back Alley

Sevaline grimaced in anger at Takeshi forgetting her name. But it distorted back into an annoyed smile in a moment, and she chuckled sinisterly.

"Right, right..." She swung the sword down, clanking it against the road beneath her. "The name's Head General Sevaline Oleander..."

She pulled the ripcord and twisted the handle, turning the chainsaw of her blade on and igniting it on fire. She dragged it forward against the road, leaving a burning skid mark in the asphalt, before swinging it up towards Takeshi in an upwards arc.

"Nice to BEAT'CHA!"

[Sleuth]

Takeshi vs Sevaline:

The blazing sword swept up towards him, and Takeshi quickly jumped with all his might, activating his morpher as he did so. In the split seconds as the fiery blade swept mere inches from his neck, he prayed that it would work.

What was it the Riders were supposed to say again?

"Justice.... MORPH!!"

As Takeshi backflipped away from the sword, his body was engulfed in white light as the morphing process began, filling his body with power and energy. The turquoise suit formed around his body, with the mighty spikes of the ankylosaurus growing out of it. Over his face a visor and helmet formed, and all at once, he was no longer Takeshi Honda, ramen store employee.

He was the Turquoise Rider once more.

Turquoise landed fully morphed a few feet from Sevaline, cracking the ground beneath him. His katana remained at one side, and at the other, a large flanged mace that glowed with pulsating turquoise light. Takeshi reached to his side and grabbed the mace, swinging it experimentally to get the feel back.

"...Head General? Dang, you kids these days. I'm 22 and still just a ramen shop guy." With that, Takeshi quickly swung his mace like a baseball bat at Sevaline.

[GuardianDreamer]

The Streets of Kyoto

There was going to be a slight change in plans. Charlotte took a deep, deep breath. She remembered how she used to revel in chaos, in the unexpected, in random occurrences causing a complete shift in her understanding of a situation. Many times, her presence WAS the random occurrence as she popped up in places that she had absolutely no right to be.

She couldn't help but feel like there was some kind of irony as she looked towards what Sevaline was doing, and saw that she was conversing with an unknown Rider- oh wait now they were fighting. Immediately, Charlotte realized that if she had rejoined the Riders before, she would definitely know who the newcomer was. She would know whether he was the merciful sort, the bloodthirsty sort, or really have any clue at all about what his motives could be. It seemed like everything was punishing her for choosing chaos for so long instead of stability. She could only laugh at herself to prevent herself from thinking about it more. ... She just had to make the best out of an unclear situation.

Charlotte narrowly avoided the beam saber directed at her Zord. She shook her head. She had gotten distracted, and the enemy Mech rider had nearly made her pay for it. It would be tragically ironic for her to be cut down by some random soldier, and she had no interest in being injured this early into what was hopefully the final battle. ... More to the point, she was the only one who could guarantee that her absurd plan could actually work. She had been the one to talk to Prim after all. She had accidentally made herself too important to abandon responsibility.

Okay. She needed to end this quickly and then see if she could rush towards Sevaline and the unknown ally(???) before anyone noticed her.

Using the Swanzord's much better flight capabilities, she'd easily be able to outmaneuver this mech. That didn't count for much if she couldn't bring in the offense, of course. She thought up a plan to end the battle relatively quickly while avoiding the death of her enemy.

Likely to her enemy's surprise, while he was recovering from the missed strike, she planted the Swanzord's feet onto the shoulders of the enemy Mech and lifted it up to the sky. Not very efficiently, as the enemy was making an admirable show of trying to struggle free, but she didn't need much time.

She extended the Swanzord's beak, pointing it directly in front of the enemy cockpit. The enemy Mech soldier stopped for a moment in horror, and then resumed struggling with a lot more ferocity. This was the point where Charlotte realized how the enemy was probably picturing a much more brutal tactic than what she was actually going to employ. ... She couldn't exactly explain, so she would just have to go through with it and hope that escaping with his life would at least provide the soldier with some small comfort. This didn't feel good, though. She had gotten used to playing the part of a small-time villain, not someone who enjoyed causing THIS level of fear. Delaying it would just make things worse, though.

Using the Swanzord's beak, she quickly broke through the cockpit. The soldier was likely prepared for death at this point, but as soon as the beak broke through, it stopped. Charlotte gently set the enemy mech down.

Well. This was awkward, wasn't it.

"... Go on then. I have no interest in taking anyone's life today. ... You have people who care about you, right? Best to return to them, then!" Charlotte said to the likely confused enemy.

... She didn't care if it seemed eccentric of her. Better to seem like a fool than to be a killer.