Circe's Manor Raids Again

[Ookalf]

Well that was close, but unfortunately with the window shut again he can't hear anything...and it was way too risky to try opening it again. He waits a moment, still hiding under the window as he thinks over his options. Should...should he take another peak? He decides that it's worth the risk and pokes his head up to look into the window...

*Robin peaks in, and... Wuh-oh. One of the maids is looking right at him! She points him out to her friend, then the two of them exchange some words before leaving the room. He might want to think about his next move carefully...*

Charis: Eeeyeah... *sweatdrops* Thing is, I'm nothing resembling a combatant. My original form was a "Hibiscus syriacus", or Rose of Sharon bush. Durable and difficult to kill, yes, but even with added cat DNA I just plain hate fighting. So after Viridi implanted a basic knowledge base in my head, she let me go to live my own life.

((OOC: Fun fact: unless they're uprooted, Rose of Sharons really are hard to get rid of. Back in Michigan we had this little one that we planted in our front yard, and my older brother accidentally ran it down with the lawn mower. We put stones around it to keep it from happening again, and by the time we left for Kansas some years later, the plant was almost as tall as our house. ))

(Oh, wow...)

Makes sense to me. So what have you been doing between that and coming here?

From earlier experience, the maid knew that trying to shoot down the falling crates was a wasted effort as they simply were too durable to take down mid-air. Something new that she did discover thought while trying to chase down Qtty, that being right underneath where she was flying was a safe spot where the crates wouldn't fall. The boss was still outside of her range though, flying too high. And it did seem that so long Qtty didn't receive any damage, this steel-crate-raining-stage just kept on going... If only the maid was able to hit her with something...

C'mon, there's gotta be something... *The maid enters experimentation mode, starting by trying to strike the crates as they fall.*

"Umm.. is there.. hmm.. ice cream?", he asks.

Oh yeah, totally. You got a favorite flavor or anything?

[Abillioncats]

*Robin peaks in, and... Wuh-oh. One of the maids is looking right at him! She points him out to her friend, then the two of them exchange some words before leaving the room. He might want to think about his next move carefully...*

The shock and surprise of getting caught stunned Robin for a moment. Ah stupid! Why did he do that!? He was so panicked that for a moment he forgot that he should probably be trying to get out of there...

He slapped his cheeks and quickly turned around, he'd had some fun but it was definitely time to leave. Should he leave the way he came? No they'd probably be coming from that direction right? He decided to start moving around the outside the manor some more...he wasn't sure where he was going...this place was kind of massive...

[xGoggles]

C'mon, there's gotta be something... *The maid enters experimentation mode, starting by trying to strike the crates as they fall.*

Hitting the crates from the side still didn't break them before they crashed into the ground, however, every hit she landed charged the blade for a bit! If she keeps at it they blade could get fully charged that way~

Oh yeah, totally. You got a favorite flavor or anything?

Dan nods and answers, "Y-yeah, vanilla ice cream, please."

[Ookalf]

The shock and surprise of getting caught stunned Robin for a moment. Ah stupid! Why did he do that!? He was so panicked that for a moment he forgot that he should probably be trying to get out of there...

He slapped his cheeks and quickly turned around, he'd had some fun but it was definitely time to leave. Should he leave the way he came? No they'd probably be coming from that direction right? He decided to start moving around the outside the manor some more...he wasn't sure where he was going...this place was kind of massive...

*Robin looks around the outside of the manor, but nothing strikes him as an obvious escape route... And while he's doing that he spies another maid emerge from a side-entrance and look around. After a brief moment she spots Robin and calls out to him!* Hey, you there! What are you doing here?

Hitting the crates from the side still didn't break them before they crashed into the ground, however, every hit she landed charged the blade for a bit! If she keeps at it they blade could get fully charged that way~

Bingo! *The maid continues attacking the crates until she has a full charge, then unleashes a wave on Qtty!*

Dan nods and answers, "Y-yeah, vanilla ice cream, please."

Can do. Be back in a sec! *Penny gathers up all of the used dishes and returns to the kitchen.*

[Abillioncats]

*Robin looks around the outside of the manor, but nothing strikes him as an obvious escape route... And while he's doing that he spies another maid emerge from a side-entrance and look around. After a brief moment she spots Robin and calls out to him!* Hey, you there! What are you doing here?

Robin stares at the maid like a deer looking at headlights, frozen in place as he panics inside his mind. He tries to think of what he should tell the maid...what excuse could he come up with for being here?

"W-Well I...I was um..." He stuttered, he was really bad at making stuff up on the spot, it kind of made him wonder why he thought coming here was a good idea in the first place. "...I...got lost...lost trying to uh...find the...bathroom?"

He was also a horrible liar to boot.

[AmbushCat]

(Oh, wow...)

Makes sense to me. So what have you been doing between that and coming here?

Charis: Mostly odd jobs around town, anything I could do to get some money. I was finally able to get a decent job as a janitor at this nice startup company called Lightning Industries, but four months after I was hired I was accused of stealing. *shakes her head* By the time my name was cleared and the real thief confessed, my legal fees amounted to everything in my bank account.

[xGoggles]

Bingo! *The maid continues attacking the crates until she has a full charge, then unleashes a wave on Qtty!*

As the maid charges up her blade and released the fully-charged energy-wave right underneath the boss, she noticed that unlike any other unit, Qtty didn't get instantly destroyed but the attack sure took a big chunk of her hp-bar! Her jet-pack broken, Qtty fell down but got up quickly, making her go to the next round of actions. The stage that the maid until now hasn't found an answer to every time she tried before, the boss forms her arms into two massive rapid-firing-machine-guns, blasting around covering the screen with a sea of bullets! Sure the maid could try and run back and use the metal crates as cover, but even those would soon melt by the sheer amount of bullets blasting down at them...

Can do. Be back in a sec! *Penny gathers up all of the used dishes and returns to the kitchen.*

"Okay, I'll wait here.. I guess..." Dan looks around the dining hall and at the maids still present.

[Ookalf]

Robin stares at the maid like a deer looking at headlights, frozen in place as he panics inside his mind. He tries to think of what he should tell the maid...what excuse could he come up with for being here?

"W-Well I...I was um..." He stuttered, he was really bad at making stuff up on the spot, it kind of made him wonder why he thought coming here was a good idea in the first place. "...I...got lost...lost trying to uh...find the...bathroom?"

He was also a horrible liar to boot.

Uh-huh... *She seems unconvinced.* I think you'd better come with me. *The maid grabs Robin by the arm and starts dragging him back into the manor. This could be bad for him...!*

Charis: Mostly odd jobs around town, anything I could do to get some money. I was finally able to get a decent job as a janitor at this nice startup company called Lightning Industries, but four months after I was hired I was accused of stealing. *shakes her head* By the time my name was cleared and the real thief confessed, my legal fees amounted to everything in my bank account.

And I suppose that would be why you came to me. *Circe nods.* So far your story's checking out. I just have one more question... As broke as you say you are, I'm not going to have to deal with any debt collectors showing up at my doorstep for you, am I?

As the maid charges up her blade and released the fully-charged energy-wave right underneath the boss, she noticed that unlike any other unit, Qtty didn't get instantly destroyed but the attack sure took a big chunk of her hp-bar! Her jet-pack broken, Qtty fell down but got up quickly, making her go to the next round of actions. The stage that the maid until now hasn't found an answer to every time she tried before, the boss forms her arms into two massive rapid-firing-machine-guns, blasting around covering the screen with a sea of bullets! Sure the maid could try and run back and use the metal crates as cover, but even those would soon melt by the sheer amount of bullets blasting down at them...

Of course it's not that easy... *Since running and hiding don't seem to be options, the maid tries to block Qtty's shots with her blade. It worked with the other enemies's guns!*

"Okay, I'll wait here.. I guess..." Dan looks around the dining hall and at the maids still present.

*Several more maids have come and gone since Dan last looked. Among the ones he sees now are a pair holding skateboards and discussing tricks, one with blue skin and four arms, and one who appears to have fish scales.*

[Abillioncats]

Uh-huh... *She seems unconvinced.* I think you'd better come with me. *The maid grabs Robin by the arm and starts dragging him back into the manor. This could be bad for him...!*

Well it was over...Robin thought at least as the maid started dragging him away. He briefly thought about trying to break free and run but, that would only make look more guilty than he already did. So he let the maid take him...whenever it was they were going.

"Um...w-where are we going?" He managed to ask.

[xGoggles]

Of course it's not that easy... *Since running and hiding don't seem to be options, the maid tries to block Qtty's shots with her blade. It worked with the other enemies's guns!*

And so the maid tries to block the shot with swinging her blade, only there were just too many bullets that the frequency to block them couldn't keep up and so letting some pass through chipping away at her own hp-bar. She wasn't going to keep this up for long if she kept at it, she had to think of something fast!

*Several more maids have come and gone since Dan last looked. Among the ones he sees now are a pair holding skateboards and discussing tricks, one with blue skin and four arms, and one who appears to have fish scales.*

Dan just kept quietly looking around, murmuring, "Circe sure has a wide variety of maids.. I wonder if some of them were like that before and then became maids, or they were regular people and then turned into 'special maids' for some reason..." He decided to keep that question for himself and just continue on waiting for Penny.

[Ookalf]

Well it was over...Robin thought at least as the maid started dragging him away. He briefly thought about trying to break free and run but, that would only make look more guilty than he already did. So he let the maid take him...whenever it was they were going.

"Um...w-where are we going?" He managed to ask.

Inside, obviously. You're obviously lying, so I need to do something to punish you for snooping around, and I can't exactly do that out here. *And into the manor they go, through its winding corridors...* If you fess up, though, you might get off easy...

And so the maid tries to block the shot with swinging her blade, only there were just too many bullets that the frequency to block them couldn't keep up and so letting some pass through chipping away at her own hp-bar. She wasn't going to keep this up for long if she kept at it, she had to think of something fast!

Rrgghh... Still no good... *The maid tries to approach Qtty while still blocking as best as she can, thinking that maybe being attack will interrupt the boss.*

Dan just kept quietly looking around, murmuring, "Circe sure has a wide variety of maids.. I wonder if some of them were like that before and then became maids, or they were regular people and then turned into 'special maids' for some reason..." He decided to keep that question for himself and just continue on waiting for Penny.

*The cat ears on one maid twitch when Dan makes this comment, but no one seems to say or do anything about it. Dan may not even notice that twitch... Either way, Penny eventually comes back with a bowl of vanilla ice cream for him. Yay ice cream!* And there you go. Enjoy!

[Abillioncats]

Inside, obviously. You're obviously lying, so I need to do something to punish you for snooping around, and I can't exactly do that out here. *And into the manor they go, through its winding corridors...* If you fess up, though, you might get off easy...

Punishment!? That sounded pretty scary! Robin couldn't help but gulp. "W-What kind of punishment?" He asked as he looked around manor...there was no way he could get away now that they were inside!

[Ookalf]

Punishment!? That sounded pretty scary! Robin couldn't help but gulp. "W-What kind of punishment?" He asked as he looked around manor...there was no way he could get away now that they were inside!

Well, the standard is forcing you to work here for a while... What do you think? Does that sound like fair punishment for sneaking around with a camera like a creep?

[Abillioncats]

Well, the standard is forcing you to work here for a while... What do you think? Does that sound like fair punishment for sneaking around with a camera like a creep?

Robin blinked, work here? Well that didn't sound as bad as he'd been expecting. Being called a creep kind of stung though, but he wasn't really in a position to argue...

"Y-Yeah...I guess so..."

[AmbushCat]

And I suppose that would be why you came to me. *Circe nods.* So far your story's checking out. I just have one more question... As broke as you say you are, I'm not going to have to deal with any debt collectors showing up at my doorstep for you, am I?

Charis: Not unless they're greedy @#$&^%es, no... *blushes* Er, pardon me. Anyway, all of those expenses are paid off, if barely. Had to sell most of my stuff to do it, and that leads me to ask a question: is it true what I heard about this job including free room and board?