genessia | Snow White and the Frustrated Mutant.

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Snow White and the Frustrated Mutant.

Who: Mewtwo, Weiss Schnee
Where: Nova City Guardian's Office
When: 3/28
What: Mewtwo wishes to discuss the situation revolving around the Vale gate
Warnings: Heated discourse?

The whole situation with the influx of people from Remnant had been a frustrating ordeal. Satori and Mewtwo had thought nothing of it until the 'expose' Emerald published for the network to see. Ever since, an atmosphere of unease had settled over the situation, with Fayren being caught in the middle, considering the placement of the Vale gate. Mewtwo had originally wished to restrict access to Vale but Satori had talked him down from that. However, the refusal of leaders from Remnant to meet face-to-face so as to more accurately get a sense of the situation had been the final straw. Mewtwo had consulted with Satori, both in what to do of a worst case scenario, as well as best case, and had set out for the Nova City Guardian's office, leaving 3 very grumpy Pokemon to stand guard at the Vale gate until intentions could be divined.

It was around noon, when Mewtwo was sure that Weiss would be in her office that he appeared in a small flash of light. The device that had been orbiting him for the moment before his feet touched the floor came to a stop front and center in front of his chest, the voice produced saying only four words. "We need to talk."

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"Is there some kind of emergency?"

Otherwise, she was fairly certain they did in fact need to talk- but not about whatever it was Mewtwo had in mind. Popping into her office and acting like he could show up and interrupt whatever she was doing wasn't acceptable unless it's an emergency.

"It is a matter of pressing importance, yes."

Mewtwo sighed, flicking his tail as his feet touched down on the floor. He didn't normally stand on his own, opting to simply levitate himself most places. However, he was willing to make an exception here, despite the inconvenience.

"When the leadership of your world refused to meet with Guardian Satori and myself regarding the state of affairs in Remnant, I was hoping that an elected Guardian of this place would be more reasonable. Regardless, however, this is not a subject that can simply be spoken of through screens, and regarding the nature of Dust, Guardian Satori and myself need to know the facts of the matter from someone who lived it before making a decision. It is awfully easy to lie through a screen, and given our backgrounds, we do not find much stock in words when we are told to simply trust humans."

He holds out a hand, palm up, as a small ball of energy manifests in it, causing his eyes to glow. "However, know that I cannot use my powers without alerting you. If I were to attempt anything more than simply discerning lie from fact, my eyes will glow as they are now."

The ball dissipates, and his arm falls to his side. Mewtwo hates doing this, but he's doing his best to not only keep his distance from Weiss but making sure he is not between her and the door, and keeping himself fully in view. "I would give you a chance to speak to the allegations of one Emerald Sustrai before we do anything in regards to the gate to Vale. While I am here, I would also like to attempt to mend fences as it were."

"I recommended against them speaking to you. What they are or were in our world doesn't matter here and you have no right to the information they have. Ozpin had reservations because you may be willing not to use your powers, but Satori doesn't bother to respect others' privacy or respect others in general, especially humans. Believe me when I say I'm not the only one who thinks that and frankly? The others are Fayren residents."

Weiss was nothing if not straight-forward. If Mewtwo wanted to talk and 'mend fences,' she was going to lay it all out on the table. She stood up, eyes narrowed.

"But there are two things that I want you to know very clearly: first of all, Emerald Sustrai is a liar. Second, if you do anything in regards to the gate to Vale, there will be retaliation. You have no right to control anything in regards to anyone's archways without their explicit permission. Satori is a Guardian, not a dictator."

There was a tense silence as Mewtwo searched Weiss' feelings for the slightest hint of dishonesty. Once satisfied, he visibly relaxed, sending a telepathic message to the grumpy gatekeepers that he was satisfied. He still didn't know exactly what happened or what was going on, but he was satisfied that Weiss could be trusted at least.

"There are two points that I wish to clarify first. The attitude that Satori 'does not bother to respect others' privacy' is simply incorrect. I am here instead of her because she respects others' privacy. Her mind reading is not something she can turn off like I can. For her, hearing the thoughts of others is as normal and unavoidable as you hearing the conversation of others as in a crowded room."

His gaze shifts, almost looking ashamed of himself - almost - as he clenches what passes for a fist in his misshapen hands. "And it was I that pushed for tighter security around the gate. Not Satori. If there was to be a conflict breaking out between factions from your world, we did not wish to add fuel to the fire by allowing unfettered access to what we understand as an exceptionally devastating weapon. I would also ask why you advised against Ozpin meeting with us. We have no interest in whatever secrets he may have, and Satori's power is limited simply to whatever thoughts are being actively thought of in the moment. She cannot read memories or invade the mind further without lengthy and unpleasant rituals."

"Is that because she can't turn it off or because she hasn't tried to learn how? Because no one can just magically control what they're capable of doing. It takes effort and practice. Something as far as I can tell she doesn't put in, and believe me when I say that her mind reading isn't even the biggest problem I have with her, as unfair of an advantage as it is. Particularly when you and I both know that it's human nature to think exactly what we don't want to think about when we're told not to think about it."

Weiss still doesn't appreciate anything that's happened lately. She used to love Fayren. She used to feel welcome there, and what Satori and Mewtwo have done with it honestly frustrates her. But more than what's personal, she has plenty of reason to think that they can't be trusted. Weiss can tell that he looks like he's ashamed, like he's taking responsibility for that, but she's not going to back down just because of it. She's not that type of person, nor is she the type of person to accept that every individual in an organization is responsible for their own actions. That's not how this works, not when Satori is supposed to be his leader.

"Whether it was your idea or hers, you're a part of her team. She's responsible for your actions because she's your leader. If she's a weak leader and has no baring on your actions, then that only reflects on her own leadership abilities. But all I did was tell Ozpin what I know about you and Satori and let him make his decision on his own. I told him that Fayren's people have gotten the message of 'stay out of the Guardian's office's way unless you want to work for us.' That and the intense condescension toward humans that makes people think I'm the nice Guardian to talk to when I'm from a different city are what I have problems with. If Satori wants to be an insulting, rude, and alienating to more than just me then no, when Ozpin asks me if I think you two are worth trusting with information he didn't even trust people in our world with? No, nor do I think the Fayren City Guardian's office needs the information that Ozpin holds when it has no bearing on what happens here beyond the information I've already shared with Satori. Ozpin's not responsible here so if you want to talk, you can talk to me. If there's one thing that I've proven here it's that I'm not interested in hiding things that people need to know. I'm not backing down on my recommendation to Ozpin. If you want to talk to him, you can take him at his word like everyone else has to."

Weiss takes a deep breath, then speaks through her teeth. "Besides, I'm handling it."

"Satori's sister - Koishi - is the only one of their kind that cannot read minds." He spins his device around, pulling up an official portrait of the sisters side by side. "Note how Koishi lacks the tentacle connecting her third eye to her head. Over the hundreds of years that they have lived, they were subjected to such persecution and hatred that Koishi ripped out part of her own brain so that she would not have to listen to the hatred directed at them. Unless you are suggesting Satori lobotomize herself, then no. She is physically incapable of not hearing the thoughts of those around her."

He sighs, bringing one hand up to his temple looking more than a little tired. "The Hands of Decay. Whoever told you that was my policy on the situation was lying to you. Those that wish to investigate on an official capacity do need to report their findings and activity to me. However, I have not stopped those who wish to help from helping. Your friend - Sun Wukong - has been one of those people. I would suspect that you would take similar actions. If any were to act on behalf of this office, you would like to be aware of how they were representing you and what they learned. I have not withheld any information relevant to the investigation."

"On the more personal note, however, what you see as condescension towards humans is less condescension and more simple mistrust. Satori and her sister - as I mentioned before - were subjected to century upon century of persecution and hatred that they were driven underground and sealed there by humans. They were imprisoned and hated for simply being born different. And myself? Take a good long look at my body. There is nothing natural about me. I was created in a tube, made to be a weapon to bring my world to its knees before one man. We do not trust humans when they refuse to meet with us as equals, which is why I am here. And while we do not trust humans, we recognize their place in the ecosystem of this place, and we would suffer just as much should the balance not be kept."

He looks down at his hand, flexing it into the closest he can make into a fist. "Satori has spent hundreds of years as a prisoner to humanity, and I have been used by those that claimed to have my best interest at heart. We are alive because we do not trust easily. I have come to you for answers - answers that I am now satisfied with - not because of your office, but because of your character. I have seen glimpses of who you are through the eyes of your Pokemon. Despite whatever you think of me, you are the only human in this place I feel I can trust now."

Edited 2016-04-09 06:40 (UTC)

"Fine, assuming she can't without lobotomizing herself, you still have to consider that it makes the playing field incredibly uneven. Even right now, you know for a fact that I'm not lying to you about what I think. If I hadn't already been given evidence that you're lying, I wouldn't know of it. You told people who have been protecting Fayren since long before you took office that their ideas weren't good enough and you told other individuals that you didn't sanction independent investigation, that they would only be taken into official consideration if they reported to you, and that if they were to speak with Guardian Komeiji it would be wasting her time. As for Guardian Komeiji herself?"

Weiss narrowed her left eye, her lips frowning. Unfortunately for Mewtwo, the majority of her dislike of the current Guardian's office isn't directed at him but at Satori. If she thought of Koishi as an annoyance, she thought of Satori as a condescending self-righteous pest. She paced while she made air quotes to specifically quote some of the things Satori had very specifically insulted her with, assuming that saying she apologized for offending her sensibilities would make it okay to say. Weiss disagreed, obviously.

"'Shouldn't a so-called corporate leader and Guardian have some modicum of leadership skills?' 'Don't come crying to me if your intentions cause worse harm than your rivals.' Add in the constant act as if no matter what I say or do she somehow knows better and the constant need to point out that I'm only human, so there's a 99% chance that I'm going to be worthless and forgotten by history? What part of that isn't condescending to you? And those are just my personal experiences with Guardian Komeiji in the past month, which I didn't bring up to Ozpin because I'm well aware that I rub people the wrong way at times. My personally opinion of Guardian Komeiji isn't the reason I recommended against him speaking to the two of you."

Weiss took a deep breath. He can explain it to her all he wants, but that's not going to help anything for one very good reason.

"You can argue that it's mistrust and that you understand there needs to be a balance all you want, but the people of Fayren don't feel that. So much so that I found some of them wandering around Nova City to try to find a way to help them because they didn't have faith in your ability to protect them. It doesn't matter what the actual reason is if you're making people feel as if you don't respect them and that you aren't in this together unless you're on top. Take it from someone who's had a lot of problems in the past with being incredibly rude- you need to either find a way to make both Satori and your relationship with your people better or you're going to lose your place in that office, just like what happened in Everglade this last election."

"Believe me, she is well aware of how uneven the playing field is. She's reminded of it every second of her life. As for her speech.. you must understand that for her, audible speech is something akin to a second language. Having conversed with her telepathically, in her native tongue if you will, I can attest that she is a very kind and compassionate person. There are simply things that cannot be accurately expressed through spoken word that can be shared when touching the thoughts of another."

He pauses for the briefest of moments to go through the 'insults' and quickly came to this plan of Weiss'. "I was not present when those things were said, however I believe she said them because she sees the potential you have, yet in dealing with this particular threat she believes you are handling it in a way that simply isn't efficient. For example, given what has been shared with me about the threat from your world, it would be a simple matter for me to simply deal with this Cinder without endangering or utilizing further resources. I would wager that your own Pokemon would be able to handle the situation."

"For my own part, yes, I said that Loki would be wasting his and Guardian Satori's time by going to her to participate in the investigation as she would simply refer him back to me. I do not sanction independent investigation, no, however I have not stopped any from conducting their own. The only other incidence of displeasure is when one of the mages of the Fairy Tail guild outlined a plan that could potentially put the lives of innocents at risk. I advised they change that policy given the nature of the threat, they refused, and I have not forced the issue since. As per the investigation itself, the reason it has not been progressing until just recently was because the Royal Guard itself had been compromised, that hole has been exposed and closed, however."

He shifts his gaze slightly, glancing out the nearest window for half a second as his tail flicks slightly. "As for faith... I have little use for faith. I will provide results, and I will let that speak for me. If the office is taken from us after that, we will survive. I am no longer dependent on the economy of Fayren, nor is Satori. We do not wish for power, we wish only to survive."

"No offense, Mewtwo, but you have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to Cinder. This magical assumption everyone has that just because someone exists and is human means that they can be defeated by anyone who isn't human in an instant is insane and stupid. Huntresses from our world are trained to kill beasts far stronger than humans and Cinder possesses abilities far stronger than huntresses, but more than that she's smart and she has a better understanding of how to get what she wants from people than you do. If the two of you were really so efficient you wouldn't be having such trouble with the Hands of Decay, a bunch of humans, so if you'll excuse me your assumption that she's not a problem just seems to be you condescending on our entire world because you think you could handle someone who brought an entire kingdom to her knees without breaking a sweat. If you really can't understand that you and Satori act condescending toward humans just because you don't want me to label it that, you both completely lack self-awareness. You can't just constantly say you're right and expect other peoples' opinions not to matter because you think you're right. For a pair of mind readers you're both complete idiots when it comes to listening and understanding how people feel."

This entire thing was like talking to a brick wall. He wasn't getting what she was saying at all, and even trying to defend the fact that they're being condescending simply by having the verbose equivalent of 'nuh uh' as far as Weiss was concerned. Weiss's teeth were gritted and she was starting to lose patience. She'd gotten a lot better at dealing with people, at keeping her temper, but there was a certain point when every time she spoke to either Satori or Mewtwo they basically ignored everything she said and claimed they were right without so much as listening to what she was saying.

Very slowly, Weiss tries to remedy this. It's obvious that her attitude is shining though.

"I'm not telling you that you're right or wrong, what I'm telling you is that people don't believe in you. You don't have to tell me what did or didn't happen, I was shown the conversations. Ozpin decided not to speak to you on his own after I told him what I know people feel about the Komeiji Guardianship. It's not lies, nor is it wrong to say that people feel disrespected by you. Whether your intentions are to do that or not don't matter if you don't mend that relationship yourself. Arguing with me about how people have told me they feel just goes to show that you don't understand what I'm saying at all. The entire point of a Guardian and Deputy Guardian's position is that the people who don't have the power to protect themselves have someone to make them feel safe, to make them feel like the world will still be there when they wake up in the morning. Someone that they have faith in to do that. It's more than just eliminating enemy after enemy, otherwise you might as well go join the legion of bounty hunters like everyone else. If you and Komeiji don't understand what a Guardian is beyond a job, you don't deserve to have the office. Now you can continue denying that there's a problem and arguing with me about whether or not the problem exists, but it's not going to change the fact that it does. What can change is whether or not you decide to do something about it."

"You misunderstand me. I am not saying that Cinder is not a credible threat. However, when I was created, it was with the design philosophy that I be able to bring even the so-called 'gods' of Pokemon to their knees. While I was still consumed with hatred towards humanity, I nearly wiped all life off the planet. Just because we offer an alternative does not mean we do not understand the threat you have presented."

There was a growing frustration with Mewtwo as well. He understood what Weiss was saying and taking it to heart. However, articulating that is proving to be... challenging.

"So what would you have us do? Even before I was named as Satori's guardian, the time I spent among the populace earned me quite some bit of ire from the people simply for my appearance, and Satori cannot venture out among the people without hearing their thoughts, and crowded places tend to overload her mind with so many voices."

"Which means your assumption is that your entire world is stronger than anyone else's even if you aren't familiar with them. It's the same thing that the majority of arrogant new arrivals think. I'd expect better of someone who's actually been here as long as you have."

Though the fact that Mewtwo was designed to be above the gods explained a lot about about why he didn't even realize why his presumptive attitude was problematic.

"You and Satori managed to get enough people behind you to not only elect you the first time, but a second time. Which means that the idea that the majority of the populace here holds ire for you is more in your head than out of it. Instead of talking to me, spend your efforts figuring that out yourself. I can't solve all of your problems for you, I have an entire city of my own to worry about."

"I do not assume that my entire world is stronger than her, simply that I am. From what I have been able to glean from what's been said, she manipulates from the shadows, striking only when she has a clear advantage. I have plenty of experience with opponents like that, and knowing what I know of my abilities, it is my opinion that she would not pose a threat to me."

After all, power was what he was built for and his primary interest.

"That in itself is... something of a half-truth. A good portion of the support Satori has is from those from her world that have also found themselves here, are familiar with her history in their world, and based their judgement on that. It seems... odd to me that those of us that are not native to this place are the ones that carry the most weight in the vote. Regardless, I feel we have gotten off topic slightly. The purpose of my visit was to gauge the legitimacy of the allegations levied at the people of your world, and I have satisfied that. You have my word that there will be no action restricting movement through the Vale gate, however, I would like to post some guards near the gate, simply to keep track of this Emerald and her compatriots. You I trust, and that extends to your allies. However if someone would make a public display of saying things like that... there's no telling what they are capable of. Do you have any objections?"

"Moments ago you literally said that my own Pokemon could handle the situation, not just you. My Pokemon are strong and so am I, but she literally took the girl famously known as the 'Invincible Girl' in our world and made it so that there wasn't anything left for her friends and family to bury. Everything she did that you heard about? That was before she took the power Pyrrha was set to inherit, something that goes beyond what any of us are capable of and most people don't know the full extent of. I'm not saying you're weak, I'm saying that the extent of her power goes beyond what most people here have dealt with. Don't assume you're more powerful recklessly, and don't just assume that because you're powerful that you're more powerful than everyone else. When you speak to people as though you are, that comes off as condescending regardless of whether it's true or not because you're essentially flaunting it."

She can't argue against keeping an eye on the gate though- she's done that before herself, before she'd even thought about running for City Guardian and was just focused on trying to catch Torchwick with Sun.

Weiss decides not to comment on Mewtwo basically admitting that Satori's friends just flooded the polls for fun instead of actually pay attention to anything in the election, but she's definitely logging that information away for later.

"Watching the gate is a good idea as long as you're not restricting movement. As for Emerald.. from what I understand of what she actually is capable of it's not something there's much way to stop. She can alter peoples' minds to make them perceive whatever she wants them to. Which explains some of the things we didn't quite understand back in our world, and also why if she's committed crimes here, no one ever comes forward with witness statements."

Edited 2016-04-13 23:55 (UTC)

"With all due respect, I believe your fear has blinded you to your own strengths in this regard. As for my own limitations, I'm very much aware of them. However, going simply off what I know of her from previously made posts, what I can infer from what has been said about her since her reappearance here, and simple knowledge of my own power, I stand by the statement. From what I gather she favors fire-based attacks, attacks that would be shrugged off by a Charizard of sufficient strength; one like Char. As for my own part, I can erect mental blocks in the minds of my opponents, disabling whatever techniques they have previously used against me. She would have one chance to strike at me before I simply sealed her power from her own mind. Pokemon have ways around that, as they pull from multiple sources of power, humans - as far as I can tell - do not. I am not assuming this recklessly, but simply after a careful assessment of what I know. Could my assessment be incorrect? Yes. Am I any less confident that I would emerge victorious? No. Take that as you will."

Mewtwo nods a bit as he pulls his legs up from the ground, folding them under him as he floats in the air. He's feeling a bit more comfortable with the conversation, and as such has relaxed his stance some.

"Understood. In which case, I will likely attempt to enlist the aid of some Murkrow from my subgate in the watch. Dark-type Pokemon are famous for having an innate ability to shut down all forms of psychic energy. Having a Murkrow perched on the shoulder of a guard assigned to keep an eye on the gate should prevent any mental tampering."

"I don't know how you would gather that to begin with. Most of what people from our world have seen in regards to her fighting are from a tournament, in which none of them showed what they were actually capable of, and did show she was more than capable of fighting without any identifiable abilities that anyone managed to link to other instances of her attacking. She has used fire but no more than anything else as far as we're aware. I can use fire too, and have. Just because I prefer ice doesn't mean I'm not adept at other elements or else I wouldn't have 6 different forms of Dust in my sword. I highly doubt someone as intelligent as Cinder would ever actually rely on only a couple of techniques. More than that, everything she's done was before she gained a new power that's supposed to be beyond anything else in our world that we've seen essentially nothing of."

Also, Aura would probably protect from magically having their abilities blocked since their abilities are sourced in their soul, not in their minds. Something that also concerns her about Mewtwo's statement with the Murkrow and Emerald.

"I hope that works. Not that I don't trust your Murkrow- Pokemon are great- but our abilities originate from our souls, so even if it affects the mind I'm not sure I'd call it a psychic ability. Just like Ruby's speed doesn't originate from her legs, Yang's strength doesn't originate from her muscles, Blake's duplicates aren't some form of mirage, and my glyphs certainly aren't magic."

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Snow White and the Frustrated Mutant.

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