The Frog and the Princess and the Puppeteerette [Afternoon - Frog & Brit & Touko]

Touko snorted and smirked at the comparison, "Perhaps those two may fit the bill, but I am more of a consultant. Please do not make such a boorish comparison, it hurts."

It was a rather odd change compared to the rest of the Velvet Room's incarnations. Never had there been anything like a prison as far as she could recall. Obviously there's a first time for everything and it reflected the state of the City, but there was something more to it than any of these Guests realized. She wondered if she could figure it out. The Attendant took another sip for her mug, her cheeks still rising from the smirk while being amused how he wished for a fellow Psyche-Terrorist's ruin. What an oddball upon oddballs among Wild Cards. "He's a Guest just like the both of you with his own goals. I wonder though. Perhaps his own shenanigans may finally catch up to him very soon."

The Demon Painter was notorious for his kidnappings and ransoms. Being a Psyche-Terrorist, it meant the Cadet had their eyes on you and even until their death. Or perhaps, their rehabilitation, but even then they would be wary of them. It was probably about time until the Cadets finally got a lead to proceed capturing him. "If there's anything else you need, do feel free to ask. I'll do whatever is within my power to assist you. After all, the Velvet Room is there to help guide you. That said..."

Touko glanced at Brittany before drawing her Compendium out of the air with an ink pen. It was held towards her direction.

Touko found herself slightly shaking in mirth from her amused chuckling. A Faustian-like contract turning people into utter super-villains? It was an interesting concept, not that it wasn't done before, but was this something broached upon by some entertainment director? Perhaps she could look into it herself later, but she was amused by it more than she really should have more because of the amount of potential ironic ends. "Nothing of that sort, dear. I rarely have any caveats than requiring you to take responsibility of your own actions whatever they maybe. The Velvet Room has a policy where we are supposed to not be involved with the events surrounding you, but we may provide some form of aid and guidance. It's by signing that contract that you will be allowed to have special privileges from me."

She made one final sip of her mug which finally drained it of any beverage. Touko might have wanted to get more coffee, but there was still one last thing that needed to be done for the two. "Ah, silly me. Of course, it's in the basement. I don't mind showing it to you now. That reminds me, Brit? What your dearest is mentioning is a part of what services I can offer you two. What I offer to you both is an opportunity to earn some money and prizes fighting against former Guests of the Velvet Room. Or at least, their likeness. You won't be hurting anyone. No harm shall come to you, unless you explicitly wish for it for extra rewards."

"...How cute," she remarked at Brittany. Despite what she was hearing, Touko adopted a gentle smirk. So this what constituted this reality's challengers. The Velvet Attendant wasn't surprised that they had a lot in common with the previous guests. Young and energetic, they had the side of being new and willing to dive into what their world held before them for their eyes alone. It was strange how bonds had such power, as inane as it sounded. But that's what made life interesting for all the drama they offered to onlookers.

She nodded at Frog's request about the weapons, but the service can be covered at another time. Touko began to rise from her seat and walked towards a nearby door to unlock it. It was dark. But with a flick of the switch, a few hanging lights sporadically came to life. The soft fluorescent lighting illuminated the stairs. The space felt claustrophobic, but it was enough for one person to descend. "Please watch your step or otherwise most, if not, all of us will suffer a painful... consequence."

She seemed to wince at some near forgotten memory of rolling down the stairs with and because of someone's dim-witted negligence. Needless to say, the Attendant didn't want to recreate the result. What the Psyche-Terrorists would notice, as they began to climb down the stairs, was the faint aroma of pine and cedar wafting in the air. The expectant smell of age and cement was entirely absent. It was hard to see what was down below them past Touko. But there was a soft red light gleaming as if enticing them to enter.


When they finally reached the floor, the sight of lifeless mannequins and numerous shelves against the walls greeted them. Some of these wooden puppets held a near human likeness. A couple matched the one that recently entered Endymion a couple of days ago for an audience with its Queen. But in the center of it all was a long table holding up all kinds of implements and paraphernalia, but much of it seemed to be related to the lifeless vessels standing thanks to their stands. Yet, there was an interesting amount of electronics spread across some turned off or on. The latter halves were hooked up to certain circuit boards. But one of them caught the redhead's eye.


Taking up what seemed to be a stylus from the table, Touko began fiddling what seems to be an... arm. It had no motion like the rest and it didn't smell of rot or anything biological at all, but in it was definitely a cluster of circuit boards hooked up to a nearby laptop running all sorts of data.

Touko tuned out the duo as she continued to fiddle with the contraption. Little sparks leaked out from each short jab of her stylus as she continued to alternate keeping her eye focused between the LCD screen and the circuits. It was almost until a moment later that finally pressed the enter key, after accessing a few windows and programs, that the arm began to shake in uncontrollable spasms. At least until Touko pressed another key causing it to freeze before drawing out a black glove from the drawer to wear. It possessed thin bits of circuitry and wires with an USB cord sticking out. The disembodied hand began to move again after it connected with the laptop, allowing it to follow every bit of movement of Touko's hand. She had a grudgingly satisfied look on her face. It took her a week to get this thing working despite painstakingly sweeping through useless algorithm and programs after another.


Touko grabbed something from other end of the room cluttered with mannequins. She grunted for a moment to pull something that seemed to stuck before cursing under her breath. But after a few more jerks, a small cloud of dust greeted the Puppeteer to her frustration. It was a red suitcase studded with simple brass designs. She muttered to herself after setting it on the table and dusting it off with a hand, "Now how did it go? Five, five, seven, nine? No. Zero, three, six, zero?"

The redhead continued to fiddle with it until a click sounded out. Before Froger's and Brittany's very eyes, what laid inside was a modern projector used for company meetings or lectures. Touko glanced at the two with a smirk. She pressed a black button several times before finally setting her finger on the red button. The lenses came to life with a growing hum and with piercing light.

Something began to take shape. It was a shapeless blob at first. Then it took the shape of a faceless human being second. Finally someone quite familiar began to take form. What this image was should be familiar to both Psyche Terrorist from the very moment they laid their eyes on it.

The Puppeteer adopted an amused expression by their reactions to her creations. There was something refreshing about curious minds knowing about new possibilities in the universe. She had pride in her work, but any non-scientific mind was easily amazed by any unconventional design or logic. Even with a knowledgeable mind, she didn't find much pride in that. The days of being an ambitious seeker of innovation flew past her long ago. "I will have to record it, of course. But it doesn't take very much time..."

She pressed another button which led the projection to disappear. The Velvet Attendant had the lenses point towards Brittany, but she didn't quite press the buttons for it yet. "Are you sure, dear? You could get unwanted attention from the Cadets if you use this unwisely. And besides, my services only limit me to allowing you to fight previous Guests. I cannot lend any kind of obstructing hand into your Journey other than what I can offer to you at the moment."

As much as amusing it would be to allow Brittany to have her way with her copy, Touko still had some kind of lingering respect for her creations. They weren't made to be toys, just tools now for helping and guiding the Guests on their journey. She was dying for a cigarette right now. Looking at Brittany, the girl was most likely the type to abhor the smell of carcinogen-inducing smoke. But that shouldn't be her issue right now. The Attendant nonchalantly and finally pressed the button which let out another light. A mix of green, white, and red washed over Brittany without any form of harm. But eventually, it stopped. With another flick of the switch, the light returned. Nothing showed yet, but Touko brought over one of the few manikins from the wall towards the projector.

It twitched in her hand and then began to shake before forcing Touko to let go. Soon, the very wood of the figure changed shape and color. Gradually, but surely, it finally took shape of the Psyche-Terrorist model. Every detail was captured from head to toe, but it just stood there very blankly. The redhead looked at it with faint disinterest, obviously noting it worked as usual before glancing back at Brittany.