Curtain Call: The Puppet Brothers Entrance!

The road had been a long one. Maruko kept his head down, shuffling through the crowds of people in Hargeon town. Their destination loomed over them, in such pristine beauty like Maruko had never seen. Maruko looked behind him, where Makoto was supposed to be following him, and saw his brother standing in awe.

"Maruko! Look! It's so beautiful..."

Makoto's eyes were open wide, as he took in the immense beauty. He was jealous of its craftsmanship. Spires, windows, stairs. All of it called out to Makoto, screaming its beauty to him.

"I wonder how long it took to make? How many craftsmen made it?"

"I heard it was just the guildmaster." Maruko replied. Though he sounded disinterested, he too now gazed up at the magnificent architecture of the guild hall. "He built it straight out of the ground. Completely out of marble..."

Makoto shifted his gaze to his brother, his face frozen in disbelief. "No way, Maruko! I hope I can be a craftsman like that someday..."

"You have to have a real body first. Those puppet fingers don't do you justice." Maruko looked down now, his voice growing sad.

"No no! I still love the body Maruko! That's not what I meant."

Maruko was silent for a while, looking up at the guildhall. "It's fine Makoto. We both know this isn't perfect." He turned to his brother, who was still looking at him. "But that's why I've got to become a wizard, right? To find the magic to get you a real body again." He did not say this with a smile, nor with much emotional inflection at all. Infact, an onlooker might think that he was saying it out of spite.

But Makoto hugged him, letting out a smile. "Thanks Brother."

The two brothers then continued along their way. Makoto smiled, jumping from window to window, looking in the shops and taking in their new home town. Maruko kept silent, his head down, dutifully marching towards their goal.

The two brothers arrived, and their nerves were so high, even Makoto settled down and was quiet. They entered the guild hall, not sure what to expect.

Serina, although new had stored memory of every Lamia Scale member there was that she has seen. She looked around the guild hall, having done so many jobs that she hasn't really gotten to memorize it yet. She was wandering around until she spotted someone-someone she didn't memorize at all. She had never seen him before, she didn't know his magic or anything about his history. She walked up to him, inspecting the puppet with him. "Hello. Are you new? I have never seen you here before, or you may have just been here while I wasnt. Either way it is a pleasure to meet you. Mind if I have your name?" She extended her cold, metal hand to him for him to shake, she inspected him over, getting his approximate weight and height in her memory, as well as memorizing his looks as well.

Maruko had been standing for a while on his own. Makoto has been looking around, smiling and people. Some of them had definitely mistaken him for a real boy, but others sure had their doubts. Makoto was walking back to Maruko when suddenly a woman, appearing around his age, walked up to him. He looked at her, noticing she looked as emotionless as he usually did. Makoto reached Maruko at about this time, noticing that the woman was looking him over. He wasn't sure if Serina though he was a puppet or a real boy. His question was answered when she talked directly to Maruko, as though he wasn't there.

"Hello. Are you new? I have never seen you here before, or you may have just been here while I wasn't. Either way it is a pleasure to meet you. Mind if I have your name?"

Makoto noticed her hand was made of metal, similar to the metal that he was made of. Maruko did not extend his hand, nor did he lift his head.

"I am Maruko. This is my brother Makoto. We are new here. Just arrived, actually." His voice was toneless and disinterested.

Makoto stepped in front of his brother, taking the woman's hand. "You'll have to excuse my brother! He's not the most sociable person. I'm Makoto." Makoto smiled, his puppet eyes gleaming as much as possible. "What are you? You're not human like Maruko."

Maruko hadn't even noticed that the person in front of him wasn't human. He looked up, taking her in. Not... Human? He wondered to himself.

Serina cocked her head, staring at the puppet. "I am Type Delta, Version Two. I am a cybernetic organism created to obtain all knowledge of the universe. You noticed that I was not human only because you aren't human, most do not. Humans call me Serina." She didn't seem shocked nor scared about the puppet talking to her, but closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples. "Makoto and Maruko, brothers. One is not human, the other is. No knowledge on magic, memory stored." She then returned her gaze on the two. She stayed silent however, waiting for their response.

"I am Type Delta, Version Two. I am a cybernetic organism created to obtain all knowledge of the universe. You noticed that I was not human only because you aren't human, most do not. Humans call me Serina."

"Serina... Cybernetic Organism?" Maruko cocked his head to the side. His eyes opened wide, as they do when he begins to obsess over something. Makoto's face was in obvious shock. What was this creature in front of him?

Meanwhile, the woman seem shocked nor scared about about the brothers, which is honestly the best reaction they can usually ask for. She continued on. "Makoto and Maruko, brothers. One is not human, the other is. No knowledge on magic, memory stored."

Makoto looked at her, trying to understand. Did she have a soul lacrima like him? Did she have a soul at all? These questions began eating at him, but before he could ask anything, it was Maruko who began asking the questions.

"What does that mean? Are you alive? Do you have a real body? How can you practice magic? What is your magic? What does Type Delta mean? How can you obtain all knowledge? What can you tell me? Can you teach me? I want to know more! Tell me more!"

Maruko's strange obsession overwhelmed him, and there were even hints of emotional inflections in these questions. He was excited and confused, but wanted to know who this woman was.

Makoto was also still curious, but more cautious. He was uncertain, this being the first time he'd met someone who wasn't human. someone who was like him.

"First question: It means that I have stored a memory of all information you have told me. Second question: I am not alive. Third question: It depends on how you look at it. I have a real body, one made of metal. If you mean by a "real body" a human body of flesh, no I do not. My body is modeled to look the part of a humans, but I am far from being one. Fourth question: I practice magic by using magic through the form of energy, so my power is the supply of my magic power. Fifth question: My magic is cyber magic, it is a magic based around using the cybernetic parts of my body to create magic. For example-Destroy mode!!" She yelled, an threw her arms down as two chainsaw blades exerted from them, and the made the soft noise normal chainsaws do. "Sixth question: Type delta is simply my model name. There are four models of "Serina" you may say, type alpha, beta, delta, and omega. All of them have their own roles, mine clearly being obtaining knowledge. Version two is simple, the very first type delta was destroyed, so I was built to replace her. Seventh question: I can obtain all knowledge because I do not have a memory capacity, so I can memorize infinite knowledge. That is my quest, I am nearly halfway done with it. After I am complete I will protect the knowledge of the universe at all costs, because humans can not have that knowledge. It is too dangerous. Eighth question: I cannot teach you how to do it. Humans have a memory capacity, so when that capacity is met you will die. This is one reason I must protect my memory. Even 45% of all knowledge would instantly kill you.Is this sufficient to what you need? Do you request anymore that I tell?" Serina ignored how rude he was, not even truly noticing it. She made sure to keep her chainsaws away from the two, not wanting to kill them or cut them.

Maruko stood there, taking in all that she said. He was still interested how she worked, how she stored knowledge, and that magic. It was terrifying. He walked closer to her, breaching all remains of personal space and not minding the running chainsaws at her sides. Still wide eyed, he looked down into her face, She was slightly shorter than him, but up close he still couldn't tell she wasn't human.

"Amazing" He whispered. He lifted his hand, intending to feel Serina's hair.

Makoto watched, though he had taken a step back when Serina activated her magic. He wasn't sure what it was about her that made him uneasy. She seemed innocent enough, honest too. Maruko was still examining her when he asked "Why become a wizard? Why join a guild?"

Serina seemed to not care about Maruko touching her, despite her hair being real as opposed to the rest of her body. She didn't seem embarrassed, happy, angry or any of te sort. She turned her head to the puppet boy. "It's fairly simple really: I have always been a wizard. I was built to obtain all the knowledge, that is true, but I was built to also be a very powerful wizard to protect it. I joined a guild to obtain knowledge on the guild itself, I have not joined any other guild yet because i do not know everything about Lamia Scale, I may be here until the guild goes to waste. As long as there are new members and new things to learn about the guild, I will be here. Do you wish for me to explain anything else?" As she said this the chainsaw blades retracted into her wrists, as if they had never been there.

Maruko felt Serina's hair. It was real... Or at least felt that way. He heard the blades retract, and suddenly was stooped over, inspecting her hands and wrists. "So interesting..." He muttered, looking all over the hand.

Makoto wasn't sure what to say. It made him curious, but still cautious. This girl was very nice though, honest too. Serina was slowly growing on him, but he still wasn't completely sure. "So your mission will never be complete?" Makoto asked her. He too, seemed to ignore his brother, having grown accustomed to his antics.

Serina let the man inspect her hand. It is a black and gold hand, made to appear like a glove that goes with her outfit. "My mission will be complete. It will just take me hundreds of years to complete. Although it is perfectly possible. I can outlive any normal human, and by the time my quest is complete every human on earth currently will be dead, except those who can defy the laws of death and make themselves live longer. But then their memory capacity will be reached at age approximately 157, then they will drop dead. I can teach you anything I've learned, I just can't teach you all that I've learned. I do not wish to be a murderer, although I will if I truly have to. I know every fighting style that ever existed, every language even those that aren't truly popular, an I even know some things that might be classified as silly, such as every species of fish ther is on planet earth..."

Maruko continued to inspect the hand, listening to Serina as she replied to Makoto. Makoto listened on as well, though he seemed more relaxed about her now. As she continued, Maruko suddenly stood up, assuming his normal pose of staring at the ground, his obsession ending. Makoto as well, seemed suddenly changed. They both let her finish, but immediately, Makoto spoke up.

"Maruko! Do you really think..." Makoto trailed off, looking to his brother. Maruko just nodded, looking lost in thought. "Serina. We are looking for something. Some kind of..." He tailed off again, looking to Maruko.

"Forbidden magic." Maruko said, regaining his emotionless tone. Neither spoke, knowing they were asking for something illegal, something a legal mage should not be asking for. Makoto can't believe they had asked, but remembered how influential Maruko was on him, especially in the puppet form. He could feel the trust Maruko felt. Maruko believed in Serina.

"Forbidden magic? Might I have anymore details, or do you wish to keep it secret? Either is fine with me, I shall assist you in any way I can." Serina stored that memory as well puppet brothers searching for forbidden magic. She knew their names, faces, and that they were looking for something illegal. If anything goes wrong, she can simply turn them in. In the meantime, she felt obligated to help.

"Forbidden magic? Might I have anymore details, or do you wish to keep it secret? Either is fine with me, I shall assist you in any way I can."

Maruko, innocently trusting enough, wanted to tell Serina. He really believed she might be able to help them in their quest. But... He knew what they searched for was beyond forgivable. If people knew what Maruko's true end game was, they'd never join him. Never let him in the guild. Even Makoto wouldn't go through with the magic, if he knew how it really worked. So Maruko kept quiet. He kept to himself. Makoto could sense the indecision from Maruko, as well as the fact that he was holding something back. Makoto decided to trust his brother, letting the silence fall. Maruko pulled out a small stuffed animal. It appeared to be a little person, simply made of burlap and stuffing. He started to play with it, making sounds and mumbling to himself, completely forgetting about Serina and the forbidden magic.

"Eh, heh. You'll have to forgive my brother. He's easily distracted. I'm sure you understand our hesitation. Forbidden magic isn't the most favorable thing, obviously." Makoto stood by his brother looking down. "Sometimes it's easy to forget that he's the puppet master and I'm just a doll. That I'm not really... alive." Makoto smiled, and looked back to Serina. "Well, we're here and in a guild, which is what Maruko and I were looking for. Grow as wizards, learning more about magic as we go." Makoto paused. "I guess we aren't much different from you then, huh?"

Kihia was walking from the dormitory section of the guild hall, he had been busy as of late, with his new duties, he had been tending to his new duties as an Ace of the Guild. He entered into the Guild hall and looked around trying to get a grasp of the state of things. He noticed a group of three seemingly having a conversation. He then quietly walked up to them, he listened to what the one who seemed off had said. Kihia quietly stood there and said, “Becareful of what you seek… for things that have been labeled forbidden are often done within good reason…” Kihia waited a moment before resuming, “I am sorry for barging into your conversation like that… my name is Kihia Avoa…. I believe I haven’t met you three before… are you all new?”

Serina turned, seeing a new member of the conversation. "Kihia Avoa, you have no need to apologize, and what he requests is simply knowledge, you need not to worry. I have not met you before, humans call me Serina. Pleasure to meet you, is there anything I can do for you?" She extended her metal hand to him for him to shake, taking in his looks and name and as much information as she possibly could from first glance into memory.

“Becareful of what you seek… for things that have been labeled forbidden are often done within good reason…”

Makoto had not seen the man approach the group, focusing instead on Serina, and jumped when he heard the man speak to Maruko. He quickly turned, afraid the man was going to turn them in or jump them. However, his voice was calm, and maybe even soothing. Maruko made no movements, other than play with his doll. He whispered under his breath, so only the man could hear.

"I know the danger."

And then stood up to his full height, still holding the doll in his right hand. He looked down at the ground, but you could tell his attention was directed to the new man. Makoto moved to stand by his brother, smiling and putting an arm around him. Before he could interject, the man continued.

“I am sorry for barging into your conversation like that… my name is Kihia Avoa…. I believe I haven’t met you three before… are you all new?”

Makoto nodded as Serina Answered.

"Kihia Avoa, you have no need to apologize, and what he requests is simply knowledge, you need not to worry. I have not met you before, humans call me Serina. Pleasure to meet you, is there anything I can do for you?"

Maruko was pleased their new friend was protecting them. It had been a long time since he felt he could put trust into someone. Makoto also smiled, as though in agreeance with Serina.

"And we're Maruko and Makoto! Rather, he's Maruko, and I'm Makoto. We're brothers. Or I'm his brother, I mean..." Makoto began rambling, but was cut off by Maruko.

"We're sorry to have bothered you. It is pleasant to have met you. What role do you serve for the guild?" Maruko asked, his voice as plain and uninterested as always.

Kihia stood there and quietly nodded to the newcomers, “Nice to meet you both… Welcome to Lamia Scale..” His thoughts lingered on the idea of what Maruko had been asking about, however when he heard the young man’s next question, Kihia stood there for a second and looked towards the back of the main hall. “My position in the Guild… I am Lamia Scale’s Ace of Courage… however, you do not need to treat me any different than the rest of the Guild… I am just a simple ice make mage…” Kihia stood there for a moment, letting those words hang in the air. “If there is anything I can help you two with…?”

Serina put her hand down, not feeling disrespected to being completely ignored. "Kihia Avoa, guild Lamia Scale, ace of guild position, magic: Ice Make magic. Data stored." She said as she put all of the memories into storage. "Thank you for your data, and as an answer to your question no, I do not need assistance. That is what I was asking you." She stands perfectly still and emotionless, not to mention silent afterwards and letting the people who were more important talk.