What Happened in Corvallis

[Edgedancer he/him]

Kenshin listened to queen Buttercup explaining the situation. It seemed that an Epic named Argon had slipped past the immigration interview, while recordings of a shuffle implied that his powers were a good deal more significant than what he claimed. Even without the recent unrest in the city that would have been a concern, with them however it was a security risk that needed to be eliminated immediately.

However, it was problematic for the queen to investigate on her own, even ignoring the possible danger of finding herself in a fight with a High Epic, she was well known enough that her presence could alarm Argon to their intentions, no matter how carful them may be with the actual investigation. Kenshin on the other hand was effectively an unknown in the city that had no known ties to the city security.

Thusly Kenshin found herself alone on the road not far from the gas station Argon was last spotted. It would be wrong to say that she had been abandoned, queen Buttercup was on standby not far away. Close enough to come to help… assuming Argon wasn’t capable of just slaughtering her in a matter of seconds, making all kinds of assistance she could offer meaningless in the first place. Naturally a certain amount of caution would be in place. Attacking him straight up might yield answers but wouldn’t be worth it, should he in fact be a High Epic. At most she might try inflicting a swallow cut while he wasn’t paying attention.

Kenshin didn’t find him alone at the gas station, instead he was in the company of another man, sharing food between the two. Argon she could recognize from the recordings Buttercup had shown her, his companion meanwhile looked… average at best. A High Epic wouldn't step down to conversing with common dirt just to keep up a rouse, would he?

There wasn’t anything to be gained from just watching them, so instead Kenshin approached them.

“Good day, you two,” Kenshin greeted them along with a polite nod. A conversation seemed like the best way to gain information. “I take it you just arrived in the city?”

Edited July 2, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Mestiv he/him]

Argon didn't have such a good time in weeks. Exchanging jokes and stories about his cake summoning powers was fun, as Rick had great sense of humor. They were just finishing their food and slowly getting ready to continue their walk, when a young woman approached them.

“Good day, you two,” she greeted them with a polite nod. “I take it you just arrived in the city?”

Argon looked at Rick to see if he knew her. Surprise on his face revealed that he didn't. Argon knew that they didn't look like Epics, sitting on some old boxes, chewing on pieces of cake and laughing. There were two options. Either she was an Epic, walking around the city, having fun with regular folks by showing her supremacy in some way, or she was a normal human, looking for some company. It was hard to tell in this city, because even the servants had relatively nice clothes, so they didn't differ much from lower Epics.

Obviously, Epic or not, Argon was safe from this woman. However Rick wasn't and it wouldn't be nice to have a new potential friend killed on the day they met. Having friends was important for Argon. It's always easier to be liked if someone speaks well of you. He shifted on his box a bit, getting ready to intervene is this woman tried anything funny.

"Hello! Yes, I'm new in town, arrived just hours ago. My friend however is local. Would you like to join us for a snack?" he asked, while materializing a piece of apple pie with whipped cream and a strawberry on top (including a paper plate and plastic spoon) on his hand. He reached out to her with an inviting gesture.

[Edgedancer he/him]

At least Argon didn’t react hostile to her and the offer of cake presented her with an easy point to steer the conversation towards his powers. First however she should at least pretend like she didn’t start this conversation solely for the sake of interrogating him about his dishonesty. Thus she accepted the cake and seated herself next to them.

“I shall accept gladly. Although I have to ask, would you mind me asking if you may have spotted certain people in the new wave of immigrants?”

Argon stared for a second at her, faced with so much politeness in one sentence. "Well, you know, I've seen a lot of people while coming here. You have to be more specific."

Kenshin did her best to cover up her scowl with a smile. Basic politeness in conversations seemed to be rare today, if a basic conversational lead in was responded to with a half hidden complaint. Not that responding in kind would gain her anything; she could only maintain manners and hope for the best.

“Of course,” said Kenshin. Again she had to struggle to keep her face neutral. Kenshin didn’t have the time to make up an entire cover story, so she instead decided to draw on old encounters. They weren’t exactly pleasant encounters but it always helped to keep stories as close to the truth as possible and in these cases she would appreciate another meeting especially because of the connected bad memories. It’s always best to cut off loose ends after all.

“The first of them would be a man called Nighthound, tall, sharp face, black hair and at least the last time I meet him he kept it in a ponytail and wore fitting black clothes. You’d likely remember him just on how unpleasant a slontz he is alone. The other is Shiny Sparkle, a woman with red hair and a garish pair of colored sunglasses. She also utterly lacks any kind of respect for personal space or modesty.

Once she finished describing the two, Kenshin took a bite out of the apple pie. Some of the tension eased from her face when she realized that it tasted surprisingly good. “I must say that this pie tastes delightful.”

Edited July 6, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Mestiv he/him]

"Thank you, I'm particularly proud of this power." Argon answered, genuinely pleased that this woman enjoyed his pie. "I 've never met those two you described. I was avoiding people for some time before I got here, but my friend here is an accomplished gossiper! Rick, have you heard about those two?"

"Hey! I collect information not gossips!" he responded laughing. "Yes, I've heard about Nighthound, he's becoming more and more famous in Oregon. Last time I've heard he was moving towards Portland, but that was couple of days ago. Unfortunately I have never met or heard of this redhead Epic, she sounds... interesting."

"Anyway," Argon interrupted Rick before he could start another sentence, "we didn't introduce ourselves, time to fix that." He stood up and reached his hand to Kenshin. "I'm Argon, but you can call me Matthew if you prefer, and my friend is Rick."

Edited July 11, 2016 by Mestiv
Argon's symbol added

[Edgedancer he/him]

Kenshin didn’t actually expect to find information about either of them. Hearing that Nighthound may be rather close however was interesting. She wasn’t about dignify him by going on a journey to hunt down the slontz but if the chance presented itself his death certainly would be a pleasant event.

This was however not the moment to contemplate Nighthound’s death, so Kenshin banished the thought and stood up to reciprocate Argon’s greeting. Holding back a remark on how futile it was to mention the meaningless husk of an old name, when introducing himself, Kenshin took his hand into both of hers in what may seem like an overly polite gesture.

She considered her next action shortly, this was a good chance to test if he had impenetrable skin. Her first instinct was creating a tack but on consideration it would be to obvious, even if he had impenetrable skin, as she’d still need to push it notably against his hand. Instead she opted for a razor blade, sharp enough to cause a superficial cut on skin without her powers nor needing much pressure applied to it, thus hopefully barely registering to the sense of touch of an invulnerable hand and even less likely to cause retaliation.

Kenshin created the razor blade in the space between their two hands using the slight motion of the handshake to lightly draw the edge against Argon’s hand. “My pleasure to make your acquaintance Argon,” she said. “And thank you for the information.”

Edited July 9, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Mestiv he/him]

Kenshin greeted Argon using both of her hands. There was something off about the touch of her skin on his hand, but he didn't pay further attention to that, as the newly met Epic clearly didn't have hostile intentions. 

"We were just about to get going," Argon said. "Are you by any chance headed toward the main city?"

He put on his backpack and helped Rick with his. It was a calculated gesture; helping a normal human will probably make him seem weak in the eyes of the Epic woman, but if Rick spreads the word that Argon is not like the other Epics, that should put Argon in a safe spot. Not threatening to neither humans nor Epics. This, however, was a hard thing to maintain. Being too friendly with civilians sometimes made other Epics feel too uncomfortable or Vanillas suspicious, while siding with Epics, was always a sure way to make enemies among common men and Epics alike. 

[Blaze1616 he/him]

Buttercup sat in the SUV that had picked her and Kenshin up. She had a headset on, which was feeding her ears with Kenshin's conversation with Argon. One of the security officers that were in the transport with her was holding the device that was capturing and filtering the sound waves at this distance, a good few blocks away. They were actually near Rainmaker's "side" residence, her extra home within the bubble. 

The conversation was rather dull, but Buttercup knew both Epics were mentally judging each other. It was a test of wills, assessing whether each other were a danger. Buttercup was surprised with how Argon treated the man he was with, however. Was this man also an Epic? Someone who had entered town prior without registering as having powers. Were they gathering strength, perhaps trying to recruit Argon? Or was Argon simply this nauseatingly nice to vanillas? She quickly drafted a message on her mobile and sent it to Jumpdrive, asking for him to look into this "Rick" fellow.

When Argon offered Kenshin to accompany them into town, Buttercup tapped the shoulder of the officer holding the listening device. "I'm gonna need that. You stay here in case Kenshin comes back for any reason." Taking the device, she opened the door of the vehicle and stepped out. The rain pattered around her like it had all day. She did a quick check for whether the rain would bother the device, and it didn't. Time for some recon.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Kenshin gave a nod in response to Argon’s question, “Yes, seeing how the people I’m searching for don’t appear to have arrived here after all, there isn’t much reason for me not to return to the city.”

Thus Kenshin accompanied the two men back to town. She wasn’t exactly enjoying their company but a hasty retreat might give her away or burn bridges to use later. Staying with them on the other hand at least had the potential of gaining a bit more information. Including just why an Epic would bother with any kind of politeness to an insignificant vanilla.

The conversation started as dull as she had imagined. Gossiping about the town for which Kenshin was closer to a spectator than a participant, it had never been a strong suit of her to pass time by talking about matters that didn’t concern her, even less when the source of gossip was a town she couldn’t say to have integrated herself in yet. Polite conversation on the other hand very much was, more than enough so to keep herself from becoming an outsider to the conversation. Meanwhile, Rick quickly turned out to be the driving force of the conversation. The constant stream of the worm’s voice grated on her but letting him talk at least meant there were more chances for him to let useful information spill.

As Calamity wanted it however, it didn’t take particularly long for events to take a more entertaining turn of events. Announced by a wave of mangled moans stray figures stumbled into their path. It was the same kind of twisted ghouls that Kenshin had slain earlier this day. For whatever reason they had come out here, they had found their prey. Or so they believed.

More than just an option to relieve some tension, this was also a chance to learn more, not that she expected a slip up here. Kenshin already had the comfortable weight of a sword in her hand when she spoke to Argon, “I don’t recall us mentioning this in our introductions but can you do anything that would be of assistance with killing these creatures? They’ve been rampaging through the city lately.”

[Mestiv he/him]

Cake, flying, Epic resistance... Those were the powers Argon has revealed at the checkpoint. Nothing, which could be much useful in case of a zombie apocalypse. The creatures were still quite far away, but he could see that they were covered in blood and moved like animals. It took them a moment before they noticed Argon and his companions, but when they did, they run in their direction howling wildly.

"Rick, how come you manage to tell me which is your favourite of Blossom's dresses, but you failed to mention FREAKIN' ZOMBIES?!" Argon had to think fast if he was supposed to keep his powers secret. Rick stood there shocked, mumbling something about impossible and believing. "Rick! Hey, Rick! Take off your backpack!" Argon had to slap him in the face to make him move.

The first of the ghouls was couple of meters away, when Argon tackled Rick and flew with him to the roof of the nearest building. Some of the ghouls followed them, jumping up trying to reach them when they flied, but none of them succeeded. With Rick relatively safe on the roof, Argon flew back to Kenshin to see if she needed any help.

"Hey! Can you make a sword for me?" he yelled, trying to be louder then the ghouls. "I can attack them from the air if I have a weapon!"

 

[Edgedancer he/him]

If Argon had any hidden attack powers he did not display them. Then again, a situation that ultimately posed no harm to him wasn’t much of an incentive to become serious. At least seeing his pet vanilla thrown around gave Kenshin an amusing sight. A helpless little monkey scurrying across a roof, afraid off little whelping mutts.  

The other Epic’s request still didn’t go past her. She swept her arm in a wide gesture towards Argon and produced an array of weapons, not only swords like he asked for but spears and the like in case he wanted a longer reach, that stood with their heads buried in the ground. “They're yours to use.”

Kenshin started moving towards the ghouls that hadn’t split off to hunt Argon and Rick. Instead of plunging into them and cutting through them like a scythe, Kenshin played it slow, letting them come to her, avoiding their clumsy lunges and cutting them down in retaliation.

Because of this slower approach, Kenshin could avoid the ghouls surrounding her. Of course that wasn’t actually a concern for Kenshin but when Argon wanted to play at being a weakling, then he could at least do some work himself while she enjoyed herself and kept up appearance.

One of the ghouls tried to grab Kenshin. She simply stepped to the side and tripped the thing. As it fell, Kenshin pulled her sword through its neck, decapitating it. Following her instinct she turned around, a combat knife appearing in her hand that she rammed into another ghoul’s skull, using it as a handle to throw it over her hip at its horde. Watching their front line stumble and fall unable to deal with the weight of the body, drew a small chuckle from Kenshin.

Ah, cattle.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

Buttercup was keeping pace with the trio. It wasn't difficult, considering they were simply walking back to town. But she was beginning to wish she had sent one of the two officers that were in the SUV instead of coming herself. This Rick vanilla was annoying beyond belief. He was chatting with Epics. Chatting. And how did this supposed vanilla have time to just travel around befriending Epics? What job had he been assigned? She would get to the bottom of this. 

But worse than that was how this Argon fool was treating him. He seemed almost protective of the man. There was something to say about wanting your vanillas to be kept safe from harm so they could work another day, but this was something else. This was genuine kindness. How ridiculous.

Pulling out her mobile, Buttercup went to send a message to Blossom, but a commotion from the other side of her earpiece caused her to put the mobile away. A ghoul attack. Another ghoul attack. She was beginning to get tired of these beasts. Considering joining to help Kenshin out, she stopped herself. Kenshin can handle herself, and this is a great chance to catch Argon's abilities he didn't reveal. I should get a better vantage point though. Rising into the air, she slowly made her way to the roof of the tallest building, keeping herself hidden from the group. Settling in, she watched intently for any slip in the facade below.

[Mestiv he/him]

Argon dived to grab one of the spears conjured by Kenshin. He has never really used any melee weapons, but how hard can it be? The moment he reached the ground to pick up the spear one of the ghouls charged at him. Argon didn't manage to get the weapon ready before the attacker run into him and they both fell. He had to fight hard with the urge to just crush the ghoul with his telekinetic powers, while the monster tried to kill him with bites and scratches. Fortunately, several layers of clothing made him safe from the nails for now. Argon flew up several meters above the ground with the ghoul attached to him, doing his best to avoid his teeth. Once high enough, he used a telekinetic push to get the zombie off him. A splat came second later, announcing the death of his attacker.

By the time Argon got back to the ground for the weapon, most of the ghouls were already killed by Kenshin, only three were left trying to get to Rick. Armed with a spear, Argon flew in their direction and stabbed the first one. His spear dug into wild mans left shoulder, right between the collarbone and shoulder blade, killing him almost instantly. The spear got stuck and slipped from Argon's fingers as the man fell down.

One of the two still surviving ghouls managed to climb up to the roof, using old christmas decorations and vines growing on the wall. It charged at Rick and bit his arm. Seconds after that Argon managed to grab the monster from behind, choking it with his arm around it's throat. Rick managed to get free from the bite, jerking his arm away, with a single tooth still his flesh. The zombie still tried to reach him with it's hands and legs, but it soon passed out from Argon's grip.

The last ghoul climbed up on the roof and run towards Argon. With a little help of telekinesis he managed to get out of it's way, just to let it fall from the roof on the other side of the building. It started to get up, when Argon snapped it's neck with his powers. 

"Man, you suck at using spears, you know that?" Rick said, holding his hurt arm, as he walked closer to Argon.

[Edgedancer he/him]

The slaughter was over quickly, even with Kenshin dragging out her amusement. These things had no way to actually fight against her. Surveying the remainder of the battlefield she spotted Argon flying away to help his little friend. She hardly cared what happened to him and seeing how there were only three of them left, Argon would likely deal with them well enough on his own or he’d fail to properly leverage his powers and got the annoying vanilla killed. That might actually be the better option just to shut the worm up.

Instead of helping Kenshin walked back to the remaining weapons she created. The corpses she could consider an achievement, certainly enough that she wouldn’t have to bother with cleaning them herself, however the same couldn’t be said for her creations and Kenshin did not intend on littering.

As she pulled the weapons free from the ground and made them disappear again, Kenshin watched Argon’s performance. It was what one would call pitiful; a proper weapon didn’t deserve to be handled by someone so incapable. It was almost bad enough to make her regret handing it over to Argon.

Once she was finished with cleaning up her arsenal, she headed towards the house and the two men on top of it. She arrived just in time to see the last ghoul blindly run over the roof’s edge and fall out of sight. Judging by the look on Argon’s face it would stay down. Instead she got to listen to the worm’s remarks. The ghouls were utter failures indeed.
“It’s about what one can expect from an amateur without training,” Kenshin said while raising her voice slightly so the two of them could hear her down on the ground. “Are either of you injured?” Unlikely, seeing how they were still standing but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

 

[Mestiv he/him]

 

"One of them bit my arm!" Rick shouted back at Kenshin, while Argon grabbed him to fly down to the ground.

"Can someone please explain to me what was that?!" Argon asked once they landed, looking suspiciously at the bodies scattered around them. Corvallis was supposed to be a peaceful place of wealth and tranquility in this crazy world. This was definitely not something he had expected. "Who were they? I thought zombies belonged in movies from before Calamity..."

"Yeah, we thought so too, until a day or two. I think those are fellow citizens that fell under influence of some Epic that want's to damage Rainmakers position by destroying what she tries to build here... Ouch, this bite really hurts...". Rick suddenly fell quiet, with horrid look on his face. "Do... do you think... do you think this might be contagious? Like in the movies?!" 

[Edgedancer he/him]

So one did get injured and he had to be undignified about it. “I haven’t heard any notice about them infecting people in any way that doesn’t become obvious immediately but I am far from an expert on this matter. One way or another I would encourage you to seek medical aid.” Kenshin let a short moment of unease pass by before creating another spear that she promptly pressed into Argon’s hands. “Consider it a memento, just in case you need it. Now gentleman, we have done our civil duty, so I imagine it would be best if we notify someone to clean up for us, we might also want to get some medical attention.”

Without waiting for a reply Kenshin set off again towards the city. After the little distraction their trip remained much quieter, not only lacking further attacks but also in that her two companions lacked their prior talkativeness, much to her delight. Once they were close enough to the city, Kenshin excuses herself and split from the group.

For the time that she was alone, Kenshin mulled over the encounter. Argon was clearly hiding something, the fact that he didn’t get cut by the razor made that much clear, the question was just how much. Judging his power portfolio was of course near impossible at this point but even more than that one had to wonder about his motives and behavior. Why would anyone put up with undignified vanilla worm acting as if he was anywhere near the same level as an Epic? What could Argon gain from discarding his pride like that?

Queen Buttercup followed by her customary trail of light descending in front of her made Kenshin shelf the train of thought for later. “Queen Buttercup,” Kenshin greeted her with a small bow.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

This was frustrating. No, the word frustrating wasn't encapsulating her feelings adequately. This was infuriating. Either this Argon really wasn't a High Epic, which would mean he was a particularly delusional Epic who was willing to place himself in deadly situations without care, or he was so worried about outing himself as a High Epic that he'd embarrass himself just to not give it away. But the situation did have two silver linings. One, Buttercup got to see first hand how well Kenshin handled herself in combat, a truly impressive sight. Two, if Argon was a High Epic, he was at least placing that secret as a higher priority than the chatty vanilla's life.

But that didn't mean she had to be happy about not having her answer yet. She continued to keep a close eye on the Epic as he fought though, the binoculars she brought proving invaluable. The showing was pitiful. He was immediately tackled by one of the monsters, and struggled to get away. He had to resort to flight just to do so, but did finally manage to push it off. His display on the rooftop wasn't any more impressive either. Buttercup was about to give up all hope on this man being a HIgh Epic, when the ghoul fell off the rooftop. How lucky can he ge- her train of thought cut off. The ghoul had landed clumsily, but was still moving on the ground when something snapped its neck.

Buttercup flicked her binoculars back up to Argon. The man had an odd look on his face, but she couldn't decide if it was relief or confidence. Allowing the trio to collect themselves and begin their trek once more, Buttercup allowed them some distance before approaching the sight of the attack. She beelined for the ghoul with the broken neck. No projectiles embedded in the body. None anywhere on the ground near it either. If he didn't use a projectile of some sort, then he must have used a power. But flight, baked goods conjuration, and mild resistance to Epic Powers wouldn't allow that. That means he's got an additional power which he didn't disclose...

Buttercup decided to continue her train of thought while continuing to tail the group, catching up quickly thanks to her flight powers. She sent Blossom a brief text too, as she'd need her sister's help with what she planned next. When Kenshin finally removed herself Buttercup briefly continued to follow Argon until she had given Kenshin enough time to move a safe distance away.

Flying over to the female Epic, Buttercup landed softly. Removing the headset and throwing the listening device to the side, she couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Excellent work. During that encounter with the rabid vanillas, Argon gave away a power which he had not told security about at the checkpoint, as he somehow managed to snap one of those thing's necks from a distance, without a projectile of some sort. Unfortunately, such a feat could be due to quite a few different powers. At the very least that gives us reason to question him further. I still can't decide if I believe him to be a High Epic. Did you have more luck?"

Edited August 27, 2016 by Blaze1616

[Edgedancer he/him]

“I did manage to find something out about his powers, Queen Buttercup. I slid a razor edge, more than sharp enough to cut on its own, over his hand without him noticing. It did not cut him, meaning that he does have some damage resistance independent of Epic powers, although I could not say just how significant it is.”

So Argon did have a more developed power portfolio, interesting. It was good that Buttercup had had managed to spot Argon’s maneuver, seeing how Kenshin herself had failed to do so. Even if it likely would have been too suspicious, Kenshin did not even consider further examining the corpses. Killing these creatures was easy enough that she didn’t even consider Argon too incompetent to deal with them on his own but seeing how spineless he likely would had have let per proceed anyway. However such an attempt may have turned out, Kenshin considered this as a failing on her part.

“Ma’am, if I may ask, do you already have a plan on how to proceed further concerning him?”

[Comatose he/him]

After she got things sorted out with Chasmfiend and had the servants sent back to HR to be reassigned, Rainmaker returned to her office at the University, and had her increasingly despondent servants send for a bottle of fine wine and her masseuse.  It seemed like her servants were feeling the effects of Euphoria's absence more keenly than the humans Rainmaker had observed in the streets.  Before Euphoria's disappearance, positions on Rainmaker's staff were highly coveted, as one of the perks included an unlimited and continuous supply of Euphoria's power.  If withdrawal from the loss of their unnatural happiness continued to cause dissatisfaction, Rainmaker would have to find an alternative way to bring the quality of her servants' service back up to an acceptable level.  

After a few glasses of wine, her masseuse arrived and started to knead out Rainmaker's cares and stresses with her capable hands.  As she relaxed, Rainmaker sent out a quick text to her fellow queens, requesting their presence in her office.  It was time they assembled and made a plan to address the threats to their rule once and for all.  

[Mestiv he/him]

Rick left Argon alone a couple minutes after Kenshin went her way. They were already in a well populated area and he wanted to see a doctor as soon as possible, so Argon had to walk the last kilometer or so alone. He couldn't stop thinking about those zombies that attacked him. Was Corvallis on a brink of collapse? That would be a shame, as he just got here and wanted to taste the luxurious life that city was supposed to offer.

He looked at the spear that Kenshin gave him. It was a thing of beauty. Perfectly straight and smooth wooden shaft, with a shining, intricately decorated head. Thinking about the Epic that gave him this weapon, Argon figured, that he should have paid more attention to making good impression on that woman. After all, Epics were more dangerous than other people. Fortunately, the encounter didn't go bad. She may not have a good opinion about him, but he did his best to give out impression of a harmless guy. Hopefully she bought his performance.

After some time, Argon finally reached his new home. A dozen or so people were sitting on packs or on the ground in front of the building. Most of them talking, some of them just sitting or in some other ways minding their own business. When he was crossing the city border one of the officials told him that his servants will wait outside his home, not allowed to enter before he arrives. Despite that, he was still surprised that they waited outside in such a bad weather. They didn't seem to notice his arrival. After all, he was dressed just like them and arrived here on foot.

"Good evening everyone!" Argon raised his voice to be sure that everyone could hear him. "My name is Argon and I'd like to invite you inside. There's no point to stay outside in this weather!"

Before they had time to fully comprehend what he said, Argon walked inside his new house. The main hallway was big enough to fit all the servants he has been assigned. Furniture was already there, there was even a carpet covering the floor and the staircase. They slowly and uncertainly entered after him and gather together as far away from him as possible. 

"Allow me to introduce myself." Argon started, as he walked up a couple of stairs to have a better view on his staff. "My name is Matthew Archerfish. You can call me Argon or Matthew, I don't really care. From now on, if I understand the city rules correctly, you are my servants. Some may call you slaves, but I really don't want you to feel like slaves. I'm not a demanding person, so I think you'll find me bearable."

"I'd like to start with a compensation for your time spent on the rain, waiting for me. I got held up by a bunch of zombies. You've probably heard of them already, but if you didn't, you should be careful and avoid walking outside alone. Those creatures are nasty. Anyway, here's your compensation." Argon focused and clapped his hands. A dozen pieces of different kinds of pie and cake appeared on the table near the entry door. "Go ahead, help yourselves with some sweets!"

After several minutes of really awkward silence interrupted by sounds of eating, the Vanillas stood even more confused, looking at their Epic owner.

"All right! I see everyone's finished." Argon continued, with a smile on his face. For now, everything was going just like he planned. It would be bad if they didn't want to eat. That would be too awkward. "It's getting late and I really don't see any use for so many servants here at once. So, I need six volunteers."

A wave of fear has visibly washed over the faces of Vanillas in front of him. He didn't expected that, but immediately understood what happened. They must have thought that he is going to kill some of them, as he doesn't need so many. He knew, that looking for volunteers was a cruel game many Epics played with their servants. Those that volunteered did never knew if they're volunteering to die or to survive. It was a cruel russian roulette. However, before he had time to say something to fix his mistake, four men and two women stepped forward.

"Right... The volunteers are free to go home! I'll need you back here tomorrow morning, when we'll start cleaning this place of dust and so on. The rest of you will stay here, until all the supplies from the front are taken care of. Then, I will only need one person for the night to keep me company." With this words, Argon turned around and went upstairs to take a look on his new house. He could hear voices behind him, as everyone was confused with what happened. After what he heard from Rick, Argon figured that it would be best to accept his servants and treat them as such, but also to be more nice to them than most of the other Epics. That way, he should be safe from his staff, but also he shouldn't irritate any of his neighbours too much by spoiling the Vanillas.

Argon stopped in front of a window that gave him a view on the garden behind the house. There, he saw a young woman kneeling on the ground, playing with a little kitten in front of her.

Interesting..., he thought and turned around, looking for a way to the garden. 

 

[Blaze1616 he/him]

Buttercup raised her eyebrows at Kenshin's report. That's likely a second power he's trying to hide then. Just how strong is it though? Strong enough to be considered a prime invincibility? The thought nearly confirmed her suspicions at this point. "That is troubling to hear. It seems highly likely he's a High Epic. The question then shifts to why he's hiding his powers."

It was possibly the more concerning question too. With all the attacks suddenly popping up, it was certainly possible that some type of Epic coalition was forming against the Queens. Buttercup couldn't figure out what the point was though. If they plan to keep the city as it is now, they'd need Bubbles, Cornucopia, and Euphoria...but maybe that's the point. They've already taken Euphoria, perhaps they plan to convince her to join them. They are probably working on her already. How quickly will she allow herself to be convinced? More importantly, when will they move for the other two? Cornucopia can handle herself quite handily, but Bubbles can't. I need to increase her security. 

Buttercup chewed briefly on her lip. What was taking Blossom so long?

Blossom brushed her hair in front of a mirror in her home. It was a soothing action she often took to when puzzled, helping to clear her mind. This Insight problem was annoying, she was at a complete loss for alternate solutions should her plan with Bubbles fail. How was one supposed to track an invisible and incorporeal Epic? She had already ruled out Insight's tech, and Chase's powers were no help either. This is so frustrating.

Her mobile buzzed, a text from Buttercup coming through. Letting out a sigh of relief at an opportunity to put her mind towards something else, she grabbed her umbrella and left, flying slowly towards Buttercup's location.

The text was rather disturbing, yet another High Epic entering the city? What had cause such rapid degradation of the city? Had they allowed some weakness in their infrastructure to shine through their stability? Was Euphoria's disappearance that attractive of a time to attack? And who was this Rick fellow? The idea of a High Epic being friendly with lowly vanillas, well it was flat out ludicrous. Even an Epic of her ability being friendly with them was abnormal. It made no sense. But the alternative was more dangerous than the current situation; what if this vanilla wasn't a vanilla at all?

Blossom didn't have time to think on that though, she had arrived.

Buttercup looked to Kenshin at her question. "A plan? Yes I do, but I need my sister to execute it. I've already asked her to come, so she should be here any minute." Buttercup looked to the sky once more, the rain hitting her face going unnoticed as she spotted the streak of pink light. "Speak of the devil..."

Blossom landed next to the two women, Buttercup greeting her with a nod. "Blossom, this is Kenshin, a rather skilled Epic who has proven herself in combat twice now, if I'm counting correctly."

"Kenshin," Blossom stated, nodding to the other Epic before turning back to her sister. "Your text to me was concerning," Blossom started before Buttercup cut her off.

"Yes, and it gets worse. Kenshin here says that she attempted to cut this Argon with a razor blade, but he apparently felt nothing, and was not harmed."

"Do you think it's a prime invincibility?"

"I'm not sure," Buttercup crossed her arms in thought, "It seems likely, but without trying something more dangerous than a razor blade we won't know."

"Then why am I here?" Blossom looked between the two Epics. She wouldn't be much help against a High Epic in combat, Buttercup knew even she would struggle, but with Kenshin's help it just might be possible to beat Argon in a fight.

"You're here because I'm not a good talker," Buttercup trailed off momentarily, looking to Kenshin. "Kenshin and I can handle the combat, should it come to that, but this Epic has proven to enjoy conversation. I'm planning on assembling a team to confront him, and I'm hoping you two will join me. You," she nodded to her sister, "to try and settle things diplomatically, and you," she nodded to Kenshin, "to help should she fail."

"You're serious?" Blossom sounded incredulous, but Buttercup knew her sister was reveling in the admitted inferiority. "This is a little insane. You have no idea how he'll react to being outed."

"Is it insane? Kenshin already agreed to do this much, and on top of that she was gutsy enough to try and cut him. All I'm asking you to do is talk to him." Buttercup was getting frustrated, and was struggling to keep it in check. "I don't really have any other options. Rainmaker is upset enough as it is, I'm not going to approach her with news of yet another High Epic in her city. Particularly not of one who lied about his powers to get in. At least, I won't tell her without something more to offer."

Blossom shook her head. "Fine, but if this goes south, I was against it, for the record." She looked to Kenshin, and Buttercup could tell that her sister was question the inclusion of the other Epic. "And you? Are you willing to risk your life for this city?"

[Edgedancer he/him]

Before the conversation between Queen Buttercup and Kenshin could advance, another Epic arrived, heralded by a pink streak of light. Queen Blossom, the head of propaganda. If Kenshin judged the situation right the plan was not to attack Argon. Fine enough, as long as they didn’t step down to sucking up to him.

As straightforward as Kenshin was, even she didn’t believe that violence had to be the first approach. Elegant as it could be. All she wanted was for the two Queens to act in a way that maintained their dignity.

Silently following the sisters’ conversation, Kenshin could tell that she properly judged the situation, though Blossom seemed to coward for even that. Then the Queen asked Kenshin if she was ready to risk herself for the city.
“Of course, Ma’am,” Kenshin answered.

It was of course a simplified answer. The city itself was of no further importance for Kenshin but so was the danger. The matter of importance for Kenshin was to do her duty; she would not shy away from another Epic just because they couldn’t cull him in numbers. Should the moment come that she stopped serving the city it would likely be because she moved on to a more worthwhile calling. No matter how strong, Argon would not be what lured her away from this city.

"I'm at your service."

[Mestiv he/him]

Summer was still playing with Henry, ignoring the mild drizzle, when the door to the house behind her opened.

damnation it, I must have missed Argon's arrival. She thought as she stood up and turned around to see who entered the garden. She sighed with relief when she saw just some guy wearing a raincoat. It was probably one of the servants assigned to Argon. He closed the door behind him and walked in her direction, scaring Henry, making him hide under the shrubbery again.

"So, the Epic is finally here, right?" She asked, to make sure her suspicions are correct.

"Yeah, he just came here a couple of minutes ago." The man answered and squatted near the bush. He reached out his hand for Henry to sniff, before he stroked his head.  The cat seemed to accept this new human. "No surprise you missed his arrival with such a nice company here. This little guy is without a doubt a better company than any Epic, right?"

"Definitely!" Summer answered, uncertain if she should go inside and introduce herself or to lay low for as long as possible. "How is he? Did he gave any instructions?"

"I guess he's alright... He sent half of us home, after feeding everyone with cake. Those that stayed are supposed to carry the supplies indoors and make sure the house is in good shape."

"He did what?!" Summer asked surprised. An Epic sending his staff home and feeding them cake sounded ridiculous. Unlike any other she had contact with. "Are you sure the cake wasn't poisoned or something?"

She looked at her companion, half expecting the he'd drop dead right in front of her. He just laughed.

"I think everyone is fine. You can go and see for yourself, maybe there's some cake left?" He stood up and faced her. "I apologise, I didn't introduce myself. My name's Matthew." He reached his hand toward her.

"I'm Summer, nice to meet you," she accepted his handshake. His hand was pleasantly warm, in contrast to her's, which was cold and wet from the drizzle. "And this is Henry. I just found him here, but I think I'll keep him or at least take care of him. I just hope that Argon won't find out about him..."

"Oh, I think he won't mind..."

[Blaze1616 he/him]

Blossom looked the Epic up and down. If her sister vouched for this Kenshin, then she had no reason to doubt the woman's abilities. "All right then, I assume you plan to bring some officers with us as well, even if they prove worthless?"

Buttercup nodded, pulling out her mobile and making the call. It wouldn't be long before a transport showed up then. Blossom used the time to come up with something to say. How did one convince an undercover High Epic to come clean? From what her sister said, it sounded like this Argon fool was a kindhearted man, a trait mostly lost to history. Now days being kind got you killed. But perhaps she could prey on that, reason with that side of the man. Of course, if he truly was here for malicious purposes then his kindness would be an act, and nothing she said would do them any good. That would be when Kenshin and Buttercup took over, though if they could coax him out into the rain she could do some damage too. Perhaps this sparking rain would do her some good after all.

An SUV pulled up, breaking her thought process. Climbing in, there was enough room for the three Epics, and the rest of the vehicle was taken up by five security officers. "I assume there will be more than the eight of us there?" She looked to her sister.

"Of course," Buttercup climbed in behind her. "There will be two other transports, eight men each. That'll total to twenty-one officers, and the three of us," she nodded to Kenshin. 

Blossom nodded. More officers than that would be reckless, since they would be useless against a High Epic, and unneeded if he wasn't a High Epic. They were there to show the strength of the city, and perhaps prove useful in some unforeseen and unlikely incident. That left all the heavy lifting to her, Buttercup, and Kenshin. 

---

The drive was fairly long and mostly silent. Blossom used the time to take stock of her companions. The security officers were well trained individuals, not showing any sign of nervousness at either the three Epics accompanying them or the daunting task they were about to face. Perhaps it was due to the confidence in their Queens.

The thought made the corners of Blossoms lips rise a quarter of a inch. It was good to know that some of the populace was getting along well without the drug. It would serve her well to be cautious, though. How long without Euphoria can the vanillas in this city be kept civil? It wouldn't do Corvallis good to have its Epics forced to turn against the humans. And with less servants, will we be forced to deal with insurgent Epics as well? How many can Rainmaker, Cornucopia, and Buttercup take? Probably best to not find out, we need to find Euphoria.

Between her thoughts and the rain audibly pattering the roof of the car, Blossom was slightly surprised by their sudden stop. The officers all gripped their weapons as they moved out of the van in organized military fashion. Buttercup and Kenshin exited next, leaving her to climb out on her own. It was an awkward motion, trying to exit one of these beasts of a vehicle while retaining her dignity and grace, but she managed. This is nothing like the luxury rides I'm used to.

As she stepped out onto the street, she fixed her skirt and jacket, did a quick run through of her hair with her hands, and took in the scene before her. The building was large for a personal residence, but being on the outskirts of Corvallis proper often led to such things. In fact, the building seemed larger than her own home, but the property was smaller. She preferred her apartment in the city anyhow. Trees littered the lawn, which would serve her well should a fight break out. In addition, there was plenty space between this Argon's property and the next house over, so there was little chance the other residences would take damage unless the scale of the fight increased. Of course, with her sister here anything was possible.

Blossom looked around at the increased security presence as the other two vans emptied as well. Buttercup gave some quick directions to the officers before they spread out into the lawn, many using trees as partial cover, weapons pointed towards the ground. Wise decision, given the initial desire to peacefully work things out.

Blossom gave a quick nod as her sister beckoned her to lead the way to the door, the three Epics moving in a triangle formation. She did her best to look nonchalant, given her entourage. This was business after all, best to look like everything was exactly as you wanted it. 

Offering one last glance to Kenshin and then her sister, Blossom rang the doorbell.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Blaze1616

[Mestiv he/him]

Argon was just inspecting the CDs collection left in the house by it's previous owner, when he heard the doorbell. He was happy for the distraction, as the CDs weren't enough to stop his thoughts about Summer. She reminded him of someone from the past he didn't want to think about. 

Still not used to having servants, he went to the door and opened it himself. He saw three women standing in front of him. He recognized Kenshin immediately, but the two others weren't familiar. The one in the middle, with straight orange hair, wore fashionable and elegant clothes while the other one choose to wear more practical and durable clothing. Rick has spent a lot of time describing Queen Blossom while they were walking towards Corvallis, but could it really be her? Why a Queen would visit him just after he arrived to the city? And what Kenshin had to do with this?

"Can I help you...?" Argon asked, out of pre-Calamity habit, holding the door open and staring at his unexpected guests. If the woman in the middle was indeed Queen Blossom, Argon was not surprised Rick had a crush on her, she was a beauty. Behind her however, he noticed a sight much less enjoyable. A couple of big black cars parked on the street, and a bunch of people in combat gear, spreaded around his new garden. They were armed, but fortunately the guns weren't pointed at him... yet...

[Comatose he/him]

The Princess woke from a disturbing dream, instantly vanishing the sweat on her body with a flourish of her power.  "Now that was simply dreadful," she said, only realizing she was alone when she began speaking to herself.  It would appear that Kenshin was still out and about assisting Queen Buttercup.  "Oh my, it was truly wonderful of Kenshin to let me stay and rest here, even if I had that nasty dream.  I simply must do something to repair her!"  Gliding gracefully over to the door, the Princess opened it to find Sebastien waiting faithfully in the rain, holding her parasol and the reigns of both their horses in his hand.  Her cleaning crew was nowhere to be seen, but the area looked spotless.  

"I sent the others onward, Highness, so that they might continue their duties."

The Princess resisted the slight urge to rebuke Sebastian for his insolence.  She had told him to keep the workers on task, and it wasn't his fault that they had finished cleaning while the Princess slept.  Besides, it was good to know that she didn't have to worry about the wearisome work of directing the crew.  "Thank-you Sebastien, dear.  We shall rejoin them presently.  For now though, we simply must do something to repay Lady Kenshin for her kindness.  Her house is marvelously clean, and the has the loveliest of knives, but the decor is a tad spartan if I do say so myself.  Why don't you come in and see for yourself?"  

The Princess skipped back into the room, humming to encourage the horses, and Sebastien, to join her in the living room.  As they entered the house, she also gave them each a quick tap to to cleanse them of the water and muck they had acquired in the rain so they would not dirty Kenshin's immaculate home.  

"Now then, let's see what we can do here, shall we?"  Skipping over to a window, the Princess opened and and called out in song, summoning any nearby animal helpers to her presence.

"Aaaaah-aaaaaaah-aaaaaaaah, aaaaaaah-aaaah-aaaaah, aaaaaaah-aaaaah-AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Slowly, the animals in the area began responding to her song.  Soon she had a small group of birds, rats, insects, and a cat attending on her.  "All right now little friends, let's get to work, shall we?"

"Beeeecause when you have friends like I do,

You're as lucky as can be.

It's important to repay them,

Because nothing comes for freee!"

 

"Sooooooooooooooo..."  The assembled animals, including the horses and Sebastien, stood at attention, ready to begin following her instructions.  The Princess smiled during the pause in her song and stamped her foot, adding sparkling glitter to amplify the shininess of the spotless floor.  \

"Let's cutify the furniture,

And beautify the walls!

Every touch just has to be

the prettiest of aaaaall!

 

Because our host has done her best to help us on our way,

We simply must repay her, and that's why we're here to say:

 

"KENSHIN, we're her help you

FASHION up your space!

KENSHIN, we're lucky to have you,

Sooooo let us help you put a smile on your faaace!"  

As the Princess's song continued, she danced around the room, adding lace and frills and glitter to every surface she touched.  After trying and failing to find something that was not already clean, her animal friends settled on performing as back-up dancers.  

The Princess smiled as she studied her work.  Kenshin was going to be just thrilled when she got home.