The Dwindling Flowers

[Blind Hemingway]

[BG="black"]CHAPTER ONE, Part A: HUMAN NATURE [/BG]

[BG="black"]Date: November 18th. Time: 1:20 AM

"WHY, WHY, WRRRRRY?"

It all started with what sounded like a young woman screaming in horror.

Katyusha had just come back from her nightly tour around the city. The commotion had came from within the flats provided by the Organization to the Flowers. Her heart raced for this was unexpected. She couldn't be sure but it sounded a lot like Chiaki. Dark thoughts formed in her mind, yhere could be demons or witches. She picked up speed. There would be no time to waste.

Tah-dump. Tah-dump. Tah-dump.
Tah-dump. Tah-dump. Tah-dump.
Tah-dump. Tah-dump. Tah-dump.
Tah-dump. Tah-dump. Tah-dump.

The screams continued.

Did the demons finally found where the Flowers lived? The Russian woman pushed herself. While Chiaki could be annoying, she was her partner and what amounted to her closest friend. Katyusha drew out her blade and quickly opened the door to find....

Chiaki wearing little more than a towel and drying her hair. She had apparently just came out of the shower.

"Wrrrrrry, wrrrry does he do me that way?" Chaiki didn't really seem aware that Katyusha was there with her katana drawn for a few seconds. "Oh! Hi there Kats. Whatcha doing?"

Katyusha rubbed her temples She had let her emotion get the better of her. Chiaki blinked while Katyusha's katana remained only a few inches from her neck. Chiaki always had a hard time singing the highest notes of the songHuman Nature.

"Oh, fufufuf. Silly Kat!" Chiaki sighed, "Always on edge, I see... " The blonde haired girl grinned with a gleeful smile.

"You sounded like you were in pain." The red head said, while adjusting her glasses. "Or getting mauled to death by a werewolf.

"Ehhhh? No I didn't!" Chiaki squeaked back in French. "I'm a good singer! In my past life before coming here I was a world famous singer...."

Katyusha rubbed her eyes and she took her glasses, "And when did you get this epiphany?"

She then plopped herself on the bed that was in the living room. Their quarters weren't very big but it didn't seem to bother either of the young women. Most of their items were neatly packed away on the shelves or behind glass cupboards. There were some articles of clothing scattered here and there; mostly because Chiaki had the habit of choosing many different articles to wear. Katyusha believed that Chiaki had more changes of clothing than anyone else on the team did.

"About a week ago!" She said with a large smile. "Oh! Where did you go? You didn't tell me, again." Chiaki then pointed to her heart. "You hurt me, right here. Right here. You keep leaving me behind...Sure I might not be as fast as you are nor can I naturally jump as high, but I'm trying..."

"Enough with the theatrics." Katyusha said. "I went on my normal scouting missions. It's been more than a month since the last murder in this city. Ever since they started five months ago, you know I've been wanting to solve what's going on. It is my duty as a soldier after all."

"But I'm supposed to be the forward scout! I find the demons for you and then you slay them." Chiaki pretended to protest. "Oh! I see. So any interesting finds?"

"None. It's like the demons are on to me and aren't provoking any movements or attacks....Talk about dullsville." Katyusha said.

"And for God's sake would you go put some clothes on?"[/BG]

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

Constantia was finally laying down when she heard Chiaki's scream. She knew that, perhaps, Katyusha had heard it as well.

"WHY, WHY, WRRRRRY?"

Maybe there's something to fight! Consti desperately wanted to show Katyusha her worth, and also to one-up her in any possible situation.

Her heart raced to a point where a doctor would have called it tachicardia, fatal to most humans. In her pajamas she tore out of her bed, grabbing her camera and her assortment of Katana. Her set included two katana, a wakazashi, and her 'soul-sword,' the tanto.

"CHIAKI!" Constantia called in excitement - though she knew that she couldn't be heard. Her apartment was across the flat, so it took a while to get there.

As she reached the Chiaki and Katyusha's living quarters, she heard them talking:


"None. It's like the demons are on to me and aren't provoking any movements or attacks....Talk about dullsville." Katyusha said.

"And for God's sake would you go put some clothes on?"

"Damn it," she cursed aloud, knocking audibly on the door.

 

[butterflymima]

Ae was in her room, silently reading a book when she heard the most horrible sound, but you could say her good memory always reminded her of who made that sound, it was Chiaki no doubt. Although the sound was loud anough for any person to look at least once to make sure she was singing and not actually being mauled. Ae shared her room with the head official, Judith and their room always seemed to be well organized. You could say both these girls were famous as the stern pair since Judith was the strict boss and Ae a hot tempered young girl. As she read the book she waited for Judith, she was in a way the last or the latest flower that joined but even she got used to around the ways of The Organization. Ae had grown a habit of doing things in accord with what ever Judith said, she truly admired her as a leader and obeyed what ever she told so like usual, in her room Ae waited for her next order while reading a book on how to invent guns.

 

[Neko Archy]

Katsumi was busy flipping through a magazine when Kat came back. Her and Emma's room was right next door to theirs, so she got to hear all the fun.

"WHY, WHY, WRRRRRY?"

Kat and Constantia came running, of course, afraid that something had gone horribly wrong. Katsumi flipped a page and kept reading. Peter Parker's antics never ceased to entertain.

She didn't go to do anything until Constantia started banging on Chiaki's door. Quietly, she put down the comic on her bed, then went out to talk to the others. She was still wearing her day clothes, unlike Constantia.
"Calm down...she's just doing her Dio Brando impersonation again. It's your rest period, right?"

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

"Katsu... I thought maybe something was wrong. It's been so long since there's been any activity, you know?"

The night was calm again, and even though she couldn't see the stars in the city, she thought that maybe it wasn't cloudy tonight. She was of course disappointed that she had jumped the gun. She'd get a one-up on Katyasha sooner or later.

Constantia turned and looked at Katsumi full on. "it's true that it's my rest time... But I'm tired of this dull time - and that Katyasha is always a step ahead of me..."

 

[Blind Hemingway]

[BG="black"] J U D I T H [/BG]

[BG="black"]It was raining outside and a young woman with a strange hair color of purple was approaching the apartments that the Organization provided to her family's use. Her black raincoat was drenched and her wide brimmed hat was sagging. It was cold out this early November morning. Well, one in the morning was a normal starting time for her anyways. She was best known to the Flowers as Commissar Gaudet. None of them ever dared to call her Judith to her face.

She climbed over the sort locked gate that was meant to keep unwelcome guests away. Standing in front of the doors was a doorman. "Good morning Commissar. Another late night walk, I see. I will check your coat and hat in for you."

"Just give me a moment." Judith then patted her coat pocket, pulled out a cigarette and her "lucky" lighter. "I have a feeling it is going to be one of those nights again. If my father doesn't supply us with more missions, the two warrior-like ones will probably try to kill each other. I swear I never got this antsy."

She puffed out several rings before she flicked the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. "I know. It's not a good habit to be getting into, but I'm sure the Lord will forgive me."

"I'm sure He will." The doormen said as he opened the door to the flats. He then removed the damp coat from Judith's frame and removed her hat. "These will be pressed and cleaned for you in a few hours."

"Thank you," Judith said. She then moved towards the stairway. While the elevator would have been much quicker, Judith didn't really care to take it. As Judith reached the seventh floor, she saw that several of the girls were up and moving about. She couldn't blame them, though. It had indeed been along time since they were on a mission that wasn't revolved around the mysterious murders of locals in the city.

"Time to do my thing." Judith smiled to herself.

Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap

"Alright girls. What's going on here?"

[/BG]

 

[butterflymima]

Ae heard Judith's voice outside and got up slightly lazily. She too was wearing her casuals, a soft yellow sweat shirt with short that almost seemed not to be there underneath her sweat shirt. She put the book on her bed and walked out of her room. "Morning Guadet." She greeted her as she stood in the door frame of their room. "We were waiting, hoping for a new mission." after a pause she continued. "So any news?" She then glanced over at what was happening, she forgot Chiaki had scared half the flowers to death with her awful singing talents.

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

Pointing at the door, Constantia said: "It sounded like Chiaki was screaming! I heard her and immediately came from my room." She paused, attempting to hide the contempt in her voice. "Katyusha got there first, I guess she was done with her walk a little early this time."

She turned and knocked on the door again, louder than before because she really wanted to know what the hell was going on in there. "CHIIIAAAKIII, WHAT ARE YOU DOOOOOOIIIIIIING IN THEEEEEEREEEE? KATYUUUUUUUSHAAAAAA?

 

[CoffeeCake]

"CHIAKI! CHIAKI! CHIAKICHIAKICHIAKI!"

She sang back her own name in mocking sing-song. "It's all so familiar. I'm getting flashbacks. Crowds of adoring fans calling my name. It's all coming back to me. This time they're definitely real--my memories. I see and hear the multitudes! They want my attention--my approval. It's like everyone knows I'm half-naked--supernatural even. Did you tell them, Yoosh? Or could I be psychic too?"

Katsyusha rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest, Chiaki. Your singing scared everyone. That's all there is to it."

"You, Yoosh, are jealous."Chiaki playfully accused. "That's all there is to it. You really shouldn't be though. You're crazy-good at your demon-hunting thing and I have my alluring voice."

"Alarming," Katsyusha corrected dodging a telekinetically flung damp towel.

"Alright girls. What's going on here?"

"CHIIIAAAKIII, WHAT ARE YOU DOOOOOOIIIIIIING IN THEEEEEEREEEE? KATYUUUUUUUSHAAAAAA?"

The pair recognized the two voices from outside.

"Commie Gaudet and--well, you know." Chaiki exclaimed, leaping into the closet and closing the door behind her. The sounds of crushed boxes and bags were followed by a thud against the wall.

"Tell them I'll be right oof!"

Pause. Rustling. Sounds of hangers being pulled roughly.

"Ow! Tell them I'll be right out!" she chirped, cheerfully apologetic.

 

[Blind Hemingway]

[BG="black"]C H I A K I AND K A T Y U S H A [/BG]

[BG="black"]"You'd best answer that Chiaki." Katyusha said stubbornly.

"Wah? Why? Constant was clearly calling for you though!" Chaiki responded with a giggle from inside the closet. Katyusha mouth appeared to tighten into a stubborn line.

"It is not my fault that you decided to start howling while wearing just a towel." Katyusha said.

"I'm busy~"

"You owe me, Chiaki."

Katyusha walked over to the door. She removed her glasses. She could feel her muscles tensing. Katy knew that she was going to be highly impatient since Constantia was outside. The two had a long going rivalry between them. No one really knew why but it was present. They shared the same sort of impulsiveness that so annoyed Judith. Maybe if they had met outside of this job, they would have been friends....

Katy forced an insipid smile on her face upon opening the door. She opened it up just quickly enough that Costant was smacked in the face by the solid oak door.

"Hello, there. How may I help you all?" She said. [/BG]

[BG="black"] J U D I T H [/BG]

[BG="black"]Judith wanted to roll her eyes at Constantina. That girl always wanted to get a piece of Katyusha. The same was true for Katyusha against Constantina. It was an endless cycle that began with their first missions. They were originally supposed to be partners but their stubbornness always got the better of them....

"I doubt that Chiaki was in any sort of danger." Judith spoke to Constantina. "However, I do applaud your quick action....Just don't..." Judith shook her head once the Greek girl began to knock on the door again.

As luck would have it another one of the girls came to observe the affair. This time it was the newest member, Ae. Judith sighed with relief within her mind.

"Flower Ae, I will address the topic of new missions...." She had to flinch when Constantina came face to face with the door. "...After this is done and over with."

[/BG]

 

[butterflymima]

Ae rolled her eyes and looked over at all the girls creating such trouble for Judith, "You girls do know we are flowers assigned for missions and not schoolgirls of theatrical acting." Ae commented sternly, she didn't like all the girlishness and chirps the girls spoke in, some called her jealous since she wasn't in touch with her soft side, others thought her plain rude.
"Now if you all are done with this mess perhaps Gaudet would finally tell us our mission." She finished standing with her hands on her hips and a stern look.

 

[Kitti]

[size=-2]
From a closet at the corner of the room, mostly blocked by objects and obscured from view, a sudden rattling could be heard. The shaking of the door caused the walls of the entire apartment to rattle a bit. Boxes wiggled a little from side to side and more delicate objects clanked around. A sudden violent shove to the closet door caused a loud bang to echo around.

Tumbling from the little space, Emma flopped onto the ground and her glasses skidded across the floor. Emma turned bright red and floundered to stand, her arms and legs flailing unceremoniously against the green and black robes she was wearing. Tiny feet in black leather boots swished at the air futilely until she finally managed to get up. Emma blushed furiously at the other girls and leaned over to pat the ground for her glasses. A quick tuck of the book she'd been reading beneath her arm evidenced her attempts to hide that she'd been reading in the closet.

"Ah... I didn't know there was a meeting going on."
​

​

[/size]

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

"No, Ae, it seems I don't know the difference, do I? And, after all, please don't order me around like your name is Judith." Her voice was all at once shrouded in ice. She didn't hate Ae, not by any standard of the word, but other than herself and Katyu (and, of course Judith) everyone was on an equal footing.

[SIZE=-2]
"Ah... I didn't know there was a meeting going on." [/SIZE]

"Hello, there. How may I help you all?" Katyusha said.

"There isn't," Constantia said, her voice saccharine, "But if our dear sister Flower Katyusha would please inform us what the hell is going on here, we can all be on our way." Everything, the way they said them, the tone, the pitch, all of it, was just a mask. It wasn't that she was mean-spirited so much that she was a girl with something to prove. She and Katyusha had been feuding since Consti had become a Flower - almost as if they were this way long before losing their memories and identities. And oh, how she loved to bump heads with her rival.

 

[Neko Archy]

"Yare yare daze..." Katsumi pinched the bridge of her nose while the others kept talking. It'd be less annoying if the arguments weren't always the same-Ae wanting to be serious, Constantia and Katyusha fighting to be alpha bitch...
"Look, Constantia, we already covered that nothing's going on, just some bad singing. It's not a race or anything."

She glanced over at where Emma had just come tumbling out.
"Oh, so that's where you were hiding. Whatchya reading this time, Emma?"

 

[CoffeeCake]

The first closet door re-opened, prompting a sigh from Katsyusha. Out scrambled Chiaki dressed in the standard uniform--mostly. She'd taken a few liberties; the trinkets around her wrists, a novelty t-shirt and pac-man-themed leggings were barely noticeable beneath the plain skirt and blazer.

She skid to a stop between the others and Judith.

"Okay, okay,"she confessed. "Michael can sing higher than me! I didn't mean for all this to happen. I'm fine. I'll sing outside next time."

She raised an eyebrow at Emma's crawling search for her glasses and the other closet door open behind her. "Reading in Yushi's closet," she appended to Katsumi's question. She'd scarcely finished the last word and already she regretted making her observation aloud. It couldn't help matters with Emma already embarrassed.

How to make up for it. Think! Think!

The Glasses!

An outstretched hand, an upturned palm, and the flicker of uncurling fingers brought them to her grasp. As she knelt to place the glasses in Emma's hands, she greeted Judith.

"Good morning, Commissar Gaudet. You're just in time. I think a real mission could do us all some good."

 

[Blind Hemingway]

[BG="black"] J U D I T H [/BG]

[BG="black"]Clap, clap, clap, clap

Judith once again used her claps to get the girl's attention. They worked along the lines of a paramilitary force. Each of the girls then stood at attention, with their arms at their sides. Judith was a firm believer in the art of drill. It got the girls to think and act as one instead of many.

"I know that you all are getting restless. However, it appears that the demons we have normally gone against have yet to appear. Flower Katyusha, since you are our scout, have you gathered any intelligence that could benefit the team?"

"Commissar, the only monsters I have come across are level 0.5s. Which as we all know are not considered threats to the humans." Katyusha said. The sound of a door opening then distracted her.

"Sorry to be interrupting!" A voice said.

Judith raised her hands. All the girls remained at attention but she moved forward and crossed her arms. "Who are you and what is your business? This place is a home for run aways. You don't have permission to be here without a proper identification."

A man then walked in. He wore a grey tweed suit and with every step he took forward, the claps of shoes sounded like they were heavy to wear. He was scruffy and looked like he had gone through hell and back to reach their flats.

"Excuse me," he said in an upper New York state accent, "But would you happen to be the Flowers?" He asked. "I had established contact with the local branch of the Organization and they suggested that I speak with the Commissar to take care of...well some business. I'm going to assume that the Commissar is one of you all."

"You didn't answer my question. Who are you and what is your reasoning of being here?" Judith said. Her arms remained crossed.

"I am Doctor Ralph Moyer and I was sent here on a mission to ask for your assistance in some pressing matters..." The man said.

The man slid a large trunk in front of Judith. Its lid then sprung open, revealing that it was full of American dollars, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, British pounds, and Euros.

"My uppers informed me that you preferred getting paid up front before you did any of your missions." Ralph said.

The girls all looked in awe at the amount of cash laying before them. It was the most any of them would have seen in their lives.

"That depends on the nature of the mission, sir. Normal producer says that you need to fill out paper work before asking for our help."

"Those shadow things that the red haired girl mentioned are swarming all over our buildings and we have some artifacts that we don't want to fall into the wrong hands."

He walked over towards Judith and handed her large folder. She opened it up and saw a photo of a black figure. It had some resemblance of a human but not enough to be called one of them.

"These were taken two days ago," he said. The first three photos showed pictures of the creature from various angles. "Eyewitness reports place this beast anywhere from 12 feet to 100 feet in height. As for myself, I believe that 100 feet is perhaps a bit too much hyperbole." Ralph spoke with real concern.

"Well, Doctor. It looks like you have yourself a case worth looking into."
[/BG]

End of Episode One: Part A​

 

[Blind Hemingway]

[BG="black"]CHAPTER ONE Part 2: Nocte proelium Vicis [/BG]

[BG="black"]Date: November 19th. Time: 10:30 PM

"Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose."

The Simulacrum demons continued their march to the company that Ralph Moyer worked for. Organization archieves have always stated that the Simulacrum were artificial creatures created by magic; mindless beings created only to serve its creator. These demons' masters had been missing for several generations and thus they continued to do what it had been instructed to do, create weapons and munitions. The scenery may have changed but to a soulless body, such trivial matters were obscured and unimportant.

They had taken over the Romano Mills and Factory, where they toil day and night to make weapons and munitions. People don't question their existence since the human mind views them as normal factory workers....

Katyusha and Chiaki were sitting around the commons room waiting for the others to get ready. It had been a long day of waiting for Katyusha for she had wanted to get into battle right away. She did not sleep, Chiaki was able to snooze for a while. It had been decided that they would plan this night's battle....

Judith then appeared without a making a dramatic entrance. Behind her, came the young Korean woman that neither Katyusha or Chiaki knew very well. Apparently her name was Ae. All Katyusha knew was that she was a naive warrior and didn't like her upstart attitude.

"Commissar, before we go, what can we know about these demons?" The young woman asked.

"Very good question, Ae. Unfortunately, we do not have any film of them. However..." Judith said while she was busy prepping a slide projector. She then loaded a number of slides into it.

"That's dinosaur technology Comiss," Constantina said as she walked into the room already armed with her trademark camera, "We really should upgrade to a computer at least. Besides, haven't we fought these things enough times already?"

"Hush." Judith then said. At this point the doctor entered the room followed behind by the other girls. He coughed. Katyusha could tell that he was nervous. "Alright, it has been set up for you Dr. Moyer." Judith said while clapping her hands to get the girls to their seats.

"Cough, cough. These were taken two days ago," Dr. Moyer said. The first three slides showed pictures of the demons from various angles. "Eyewitness reports place these things anywhere from 12 feet to 100 feet in height...."

Two more slides, one the exterior of the factory, the other a wide shot of the interior.

"What we do know is that the factory the demons are based in has a large door approximately 24 feet in height. This door is almost always open. There are three other entrances, one next to the large door, one on the right side when facing said door, and one in the back. The choice of entrance is up to you."

The next slide showed demons standing upside-down, pounding on a piece of metal which he had bolted to the ceiling. Dr. Moyer gave a small cough before rearranging the slide, revealing that the demons were just standing in the normal boring fashion: on the floor. Three more slides of the demons working.

The remaining slides were hardly interesting, though a slide of Katyusha bending down to pick up something did cause him to mumble.

"Dammit Constantina..." Judith thought to herself.

A few seconds later, Chiaki stood up next to the doctor. "Alright Doc! Time for me to take over this meeting!" She then stared up at the photo on the wall. "Heh, I'm not sure if that is Katyusha's best pose yet or not, what do ya'll think?" She said this half jokingly. Moyer then muttered something under his breath once again.

Chiaki then straightened herself up and her tone sounded more mature, "Okay, so you've learned about the demons we are facing."

She then changed the projector back towards the picture of the Simulacrum.

"I believe that these Simulacrum are the same ones more commonly known as shadow people. Most people believe that they are an illusions that are created when the left temporoparietal junction of the brain is stimulated. Now we all know better than that!"

"The existence of these beings are a mixed blessing at best. They are not intelligent beings; if they are commanded to perform a task, they will take the instructions perfectly literally. Whoever reactivated these beasts, clearly wants an big arsenal of weapons." Judith then added.

"Hai!" Chiaki said in return.

"Since these demons are programmed to only create weapons, we'll have the element of surprise, since they will be more concerned on taking care of its task at hand." Katyusha then said. "Putting a line of salt as a perimeter will prevent evil from crossing. Burning sage gets rid of negative energy. Holy water will cause them excruciating pain. Prayer and crosses will keep them away."

Chiaki then turned to look at the group of Flowers, "My rule of thumb, stun them and force them outta that factory! We don't need to really worry about killing them since they are a very minor threat to the local population."[/BG]

 

[butterflymima]

Ae listened carefully and watched the slides like a good student and only rolled her eyes at an odd picture of Katyusha. After hearing everyone reviews she plainly said, "Or we could just shoot their head of or right through the heart." One would think of it as a very stupid gesture of a flower to state something so plainly but Ae was a master mind in guns. She had guns with silver linings, bullets made of glass, bullets filled with different acids and various other things. No body really knew how she made them and what was inside those customized guns and bullets.

 

[Neko Archy]

"Ae, guns aren't always the answer..."

Katsumi had stayed quiet during the briefing, aside from a snicker or two at Katyusha's expense. She didn't really like getting involved in arguments...but alright, the slide was funny.

"So, Judith, will I be reprising my usual role as the blob on the wall? Or do you want me to just do normal fighting?"

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

"We can't kill them? Or you'd rather we didn't." Constantia said, fidgeting with her camera. "This, might be especially hard because most of us ARE killer types."

She dropped her camera on her neck, "then again, it WOULD be a nice challenge."