Office Hours

Morning dawns, bright, the still and warming air carrying the promise of a sweltering afternoon. But the sun is still low in the heavens, so the outdoors warmth is at least mercifully tolerable. In short, it is a day to stay indoors, preferably behind thick walls. All of which, aside from urgency, explains the early hour of Robert's visit.

His knocks--forceful thuds of his fist really--sound on Prophylaxis's door. And then he waits for acknowledgement.

Prophylaxis has had an... eventful past few days. Nevermind the pile of notes on his desk about the war happening basically just outside his front door, recent events in Karluin and on the medical front have had the good doctor working /very/ long hours. He's thankful that he has coffee and stamina potions to keep him upright, but it's definitely not been easy.

There are knocks at his door. The doctor sets down his pen and sips at his coffee before calling back: "Come in!"

"This shouldn't take long," Robert explains, pushing the door open with a faint smile. He steps inside, shuts the door behind him, folds his arms over his chest and leans back, crossing one leg over the other. "Good morning, Doctor. I was hoping to discuss what happened down in those catacombs."

"Robert," Prophylaxis says with audible relief. Coming back from the dead... Is something that they're all very used to at this point, but it's still an enormous weight off his shoulders to see the Spriggan in good health again. "Please, come in. Don't mind me, I'm just preparing a statement for the Alliance regarding Karluin. Have a seat, tell me what is on your mind. Did you want a cup of coffee?"

There's a sense that the doctor has had... quite a few of those, recently.

There is a moment of temptation, a thin and hungry look that darts towards Prophylaxis's cup. But Robert shakes his head no, a hand lifting to indicate the negative, even as his chest rises with a sharp inhalation. "No thanks," he answers, though he does accept the offer of a seat. Not that he looks particularly comfortable, instead perching rather precariously on the chair's edge, his elbows planted on his knees.

"You jumped in to save me," he states, flatly. It's not an accusation, simply a statement of fact. "I was hoping to..." He trails off, pensive, biting down on his lip. "It can't be happening, Doctor. I won't tell you what to do or not do, but I would urge you to consider the consequences of Scale leadership being decapitated at a critical moment."

No coffee? Could it be that Robert is trying to defeat a caffeine addiction? Or is there something more to his refusal of delicious dark ambrosia?

Ah, but beverage preferences are not on the table for discussion today. The doctor shrugs and takes another sip of his own regardless.

And then... It's about that.

"I did," Prophylaxis answers after a moment's thought, waiting for Robert to finish his thought. His frown deepens as the Spriggan continues, shame and regret clear in the lines that look so out of place on his avatar's youthful face. "...I know. It was foolish, speaking strategically. I am... first and foremost, sworn to save lives, Robert. But more than that. You, Setsuna, Schneider, the three of you have been dear friends to me in the midst of all... /this./" He gestures vaguely in the direction of all the world around him. "I suppose my emotions got the better of me in the moment, but-- remember, I am only the acting leader of the Alliance. The Guildmasters stand over me, and would surely be able to fill the vacancy caused by my temporary absence if the worst should happen."

"But... Your point is salient. I suppose it's just an old healer's instinct I must learn to... deal with."

SpritesHero's head cocks to the side, pensive, as he studies Prophylaxis in silence. At length the faintest of smiles flickers across his lips. "And you are a good friend as well, Doctor," he answers at last. There is another pause before he slaps his thighs once, firmly, and leans back in his chair. "No more to be said on that then."

He dips his head in the general direction of the stacks of papers, one of which at least is bound to be part of the alliance-wide report. Or not. "Have you decided yet what is going to be made public to the alliances, and what will be held back for now?" he queries. "And did you find out anything interesting after the fight that needs to be looked into?"

Will this at all dissuade Prophylaxis from pushing more people out of the way of imminent danger so he can take it to the face instead?

Ehhhhhhh mmmmaybe?

????

"Right," the doctor reaches for his papers and flicks lazily at their loose edges. "Well. For now, we're working on figuring out a way to lure that /thing/ to somewhere we can drop a proper ambush on top of her. But other than that, I see little reason not to be honest with the other alliances. Harrifenas Potimas somehow delivered a mechanical disaster into Karluin's catacombs in a bid to distract the Scale from the war effort. Unfortunately for /him/, I have actual fucking cheat codes on my side, so I found out as we were retreating that he and his daughter were directly responsible. As such, because we can only expect further interference in our efforts to climb the tower, I've decided to thoroughly ruin his day by dedicating our full efforts as an alliance to utterly destroying the Palace Land invasion to the best of our ability."

"I have Setsuna scrying to determine when and where that creature will escape from the catacombs, and we'll be planning a counter-attack as necessary. But for now, I'm suspending efforts to climb past the eleventh until the threat Harrifenas poses is terminated, and we successfully rescue all Palace Land adventurers from their thralldom."

"Or, that's the working plan for the announcement, anyway."

SpritesHero's expression is ominously saccharine. "My, it was a wonderful thing that you were alive to use your cheat codes, -Doctor-," he opines with a grin that is far, far too broad.

He may not have -much- hope that Proph will change habits. But hey, every little twist of the knife helps, right? Right?

"I suppose my main concern is that I would generally assume that any alliance-wide announcement will make it to this Harrifenas Potimas eventually," Robert points out. "So it may be worth considering whether you want him knowing about your capability to identify him, or even whether you have identified him as having been responsible. Similarly, it may be worth deciding whether you want him, or others, aware that our checkpoint at the tower entrance is apparently breachable--I would think there will be questions as to how this occurred given that we are currently housing Eas refugees. And lastly, I would give thought as to whether you want him and others aware of what your strategy to deal with this mechanical disaster is. By the by, is that its formal name? Mechanical Disaster? You've identified it?"

Look, once a self-sacrificial moron with a martyr syndrome and a veritable mountain of guilt, ALWAYS an anime protagonist.

"Hmn. Your concerns are valid, but as it happens, I actually know how he managed to get in, and it's not a method that the checkpoint would be able to stop anyway," Prophylaxis explains with a shrug. "He and his daughter were using what I can only call invisibility cloaks. Once he pulled up his hood, I could no longer see him, though I could continue to track him until the cheat's duration expired. As such, I don't think the blame can be placed on anyone but him, and /maybe/ the Alvs in general. I think at least it would be nice to make it clear that his shenanigans are not going to be tolerated, but maybe that's just the spite talking." Prophylaxis heaves a shrug and takes another swig of that sweet, sweet, bitter elixir. "I'm not informing anyone of our strategy to deal with the Ex Machina. At least, nobody outside the alliance. For now she's occupied clearing out the entire catacombs for us, so I'm willing to let her rampage for a short while-- and to prepare an appropriate ambush for when she gets out."

"For the record, Potimas is the King of Dol Dona. So the fact that he's here /in person/ causing trouble is deeply irksome. We'll need to explain why we're suddenly deciding to pivot to punching his damn invasion even more than usual, though perhaps I can simply obfuscate matters a little."

"Of course, the key will be finding a way to break the mind control exerted by the Crowns," the doctor muses, drumming his fingers across the table. "I have a few ideas for that. But they will need testing."

"The crowns will be complicated even when you do manage to remove them," Robert opines, lacing his fingers together and dropping his gaze to the floor, pensive. "I'm glad that you're the one dealing with that hairball, Doctor."

His fingers tap one against the other. "Potimas...Potimas, eh?" There's a pause during which his lips purse. "I assume he didn't sneak the Ex Machina -in-. It's a bit large for that, unless he perhaps had a third invisibility cloak. Could it have been local? Want me to ask Gilgamesh about this? See if he can offer any insight into this Ex Machina? Unless you already know what you need. "

"No, he did not," Prophylaxis sighs and squeezes at the bridge of his nose. "Keep this quiet, Robert. That creature was always there, deep, /deep/ within the catacombs of Karluin. I think all he did was wake it up... But there were three others higher up in the tower, and they are even stronger than the one we're dealing with now. That's the other reason I wish to put the climb on hold, until we can develop a plan to deal with the monster we already have on our hands."

"But," he shrugs, "I'd rather not inform anyone outside the Alliance that these things are just... /there/, waiting to be activated."

Tap, tap, tap go his thumbs against each other. Robert's gaze has long since lifted to the ceiling, studying it. Or studying something else and using it as a convenient resting place for his eyes. "And I supposed that would explain why it was activated in the catacombs. And not, for example, in the middle of Karluin proper. But not why he wouldn't have activated it and had it come into Karluin. If he has control." The gaze drops once more to land on Prophylaxis. "But Potimas knew--knew it existed. He clearly knew where to find it. And, more importantly, how to activate it. How did he know?"

"He was part of the party Gilgamesh took up the tower, I suspect," Prophylaxis answers, shrugging and splaying his hands with all the resignation of a man being forced to deal with a problem far, far outside his paygrade. "I mean, the alternative is that the man /is/ an Alv, which could explain the relics and his knowledge of the Tower... But he sent a gift specifically to Gilgamesh when we first encountered him. I don't think he has direct control over the Ex-Machina, either. She seemed... Incomplete. There was something on her neck that she was /missing./ Perhaps if we can find it, restore her, she might stop trying to kill us."

"Or maybe she'll kill us harder. But I think it's worth a try to find that missing component."

"Or she's a designated guardian for the catacombs and will restrict her movements to that location," Robert posits, grasping at his right thumb with his left hand and wiggling it. "Scenario one. There is no control over the Machina's actions. It goes where it goes, does what it does, in which case this Potimas--whose entire invasion seems predicated on protecting Landers from Adventurer irresponsibility and malevolance--has essentially set off a loose cannon right outside a city of Landers."

He grasps at his second finger. "Scenario 2. He knows there is no threat. So either it doesn't attack Landers at all, or it has some sort of limitation on its patrol path. In which case we can frankly more or less leave it alone and disregard it. Or at least make sure it is not attacking anything important."

"I cannot think of a third scenario, though I'm certain there is one. Regardless, Doctor, it seems to me that we could benefit from knowing more about it. And the probability of Gilgamesh being able to point us in the right direction seems high. Perhaps even some instruction as to where and what that component is. Certainly, if Potimas stumbled across it while potentially climbing with Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is likely to at least know it exists already. What is the risk in asking?"

"It's possible, but I don't want to hinge everything on the possibility that she'll just leave us alone. I suspect once she's done murdering everything under the castle, she'll make her way up to the surface. But I'll keep my fingers crossed." Potimas' hypocrisy is, of course, not lost on the doctor. He shakes his head slowly and admits, "I'm pretty sure his head's so far up his own ass that he considers any Landers not onboard with The Plan as a viable target. So, yeah."

"But your point about Gilgamesh is valid," the doctor agrees, "I don't suppose you're able to pop down and see if he'd be willing to tell us anything about the Machina on the Fifth Floor, would you? As you say, there shouldn't be any risk in simply asking him if he knows of a potential solution."

"The point of the hypocrisy, if it is hypocrisy, is that it can be used to substantially undermine enemy morale. Or at least to chip away at the edges of it." Robert clarifies.

There is a moment's breath before he pushes himself to his feet, straightening his clothing with a swift tug. "Sure thing. I'll see if I can't grab a quick sketch from Kita first. Regarding the Eas refugees. Want me to let Wake know what's going on? She seems favorably disposed towards us, her people are at some risk, and I understand you two have a history. Keeping her up-to-date is likely important for long-term relations, and I have concerns about the impact on them if she were to find out on her own. Or even from us, a few weeks from now, after the problem has been solved."

"Mmn, it does seem like a good way to drive a wedge between the Palace Landers and our locals," Prophylaxis agrees, then nods. "Please do, on both accounts. Let her know as well that we're ready to test crown removal methods, and that she aught to make her way here at her earliest convenience."

The doctor sighs, "...Proteus as well. And Yuuki. I'll be damned if I don't throw everything but the kitchen sink at this problem, but we'll find a way through it somehow."

"Proteus and Yuuki too?" Robert queries, scratching at his head. "I'll see what I can do. Though I haven't seen Proteus in a while. At any rate, much obliged for your time, Doctor. I leave you in the merciful and enjoyable grip of your..." He trails off, gaze sliding suggestively over the mounds of paperwork. A smile plays over his lips. "Leadership duties."