raisetheearth | Factor Industries Charity Event: October 18th, 2016

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Factor Industries Charity Event: October 18th, 2016

Even for Benjamin Factor, arranging this charity event had been something of a challenge. Just as he held great influence in Gateway City, Thunder Corp's influence in Locke was great as well. But with time and money, all things were indeed possible in this case, and the Memorial Dance Hall was playing host to the night's events. It was a glamorous affair: politicians, captains of business, dignitaries, and celebrities had been invited. For whatever controversy that existed, the world legitimately wanted to heal the wounds left by the invasion, and that meant there were a lot of people who wanted to use events like this to either advance that cause, or to make themselves look good.

But they weren't the only sorts of individuals who had recieved an invitation.

Benjamin Factor had also made it so the Numbered would be invited to his little party. Arrivals through the teleporter would be greeted by drivers at the community center, and the same courtesy was extended to anyone who might live in Locke. The only stipulation? Was that anyone who came make an effort to make themselves presentable. If that was a problem, or anyone arrived without knowing, they had clothes on hand for people to change into.

Indeed, it seemed that the Numbered would be well provided for tonight. That being said, their presence would get people to talk, given the presence of news crews making live coverage. Nevertheless... "getting people to talk" seemed to be exactly what Benjamin Factor wanted to happen.

[Event Links: Event Speakers | NPC Interaction | General Mingle]

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Something in Lily's head light son fire as the older woman begins to speak, and she finds it merciful that Winter beats her to the punch. She's just about content to let her go along with it, lest she say something she might regret. Then, the rest comes.

Lily is... frozen still for a moment. As the woman throws out those last few words, and they sink in, with Lily knowing how Winter feels, how she feels about all of that... She grits her teeth, and finds her hand latching onto Winter's arm. Is it to hold her back, or for Lily to keep herself tethered? It might be a bit of both, because she's not sure she'd otherwise have the strength to not just lose it on the woman sitting before them.

"No one person can save everyone," she mutters, finally. It's ice cold, and she continues to hold tightly onto Winter. "That... what else could we have done? We didn't ask for any of this, anymore than any of you did. Do you think we don't hurt over such things? That we don't wish we could turn back the clock, split ourselves into a million pieces?! That I don't lie awake some nights, only able to see death all around my, this city on fire, and half the country with it, only able to save a small handful of people in the process?!"

She lets out a breath, her vision ripping away from Helen. "I can't save everyone. But... That doesn't make who we could save insignificant. Which goes for you. For Molly. We never had her do anything, but dragging her out of her life just to satisfy some misguided aim to protect her when it won't protect her from anything... That's wrong. And by doing that, you're going to cut her off from people who actually can help her with the things she's now dealing with."

By the time both women were done speaking, Helen looked furious. "How... how dare you speak that way to me!" she said. "You don't know us! You don't know my niece! You brought this to our doorstep! You don't know what it was like on that day, to lose your ability to walk, to lose your family, to-"

"Stop..."

Before Helen could say anything further, she was interrupted by the sound of Molly speaking up weakly. Helen sighed, and as she began to turn, she began to say: "Molly, please, you don't know what you're-"

"I SAID STOP!" Molly suddenly exploded, tears streaming down her cheeks. Helen's eyes widened when she saw the state her niece was in. But more importantly, this was the first time the girl had ever screamed at her.

"You aren't listening to them!" Molly sobbed. "Just like you've never listened to me! I've lived with you for over a year, and you never once listened to me! After everything that happened, you've made this... you've made this about you! I was there by your side, Aunt Helen! When they told you you couldn't walk again! When we learned Mama and Papa were gone, you... You knew how much it hurt! But you focused more on how angry you were at other people!"

Molly's expression was somewhere between anger and sadness, her face as red as it could possibly be. "I lied to you! I wasn't honest with you! And I'm sorry for that! But I've been a Numbered for... for months! Because I was afraid of what you'd say... because of what you'd think of me! That you'd take me away from the only home I've had for years! And now, you're proving me completely right! Do you know what Lily and Winter did when I told myself about them?! They heard me! They comforted me! They barely knew me, and they... and they accepted me! The people you called monsters accepted me while you were calling other Numbered... people like me... the most hurtful things!"

With those words, the weight of everything Molly had just said hit her, and she shrunk back. She backed up against the wall, staring at the ground. What she said next, she said much more quietly.

"We've both been hurt, Aunt Helen... I love you as much as I do Mama and Papa... But you've treated me like a stranger since the day I arrived..."

As Molly grew silent, Helen sat there, gripping the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles were white. "Molly..." she said quietly, turning away. Her gaze found Winter and Lily, perhaps a bit unintentionally, but it lingered.

"I don't... I don't know what to say to any of you," she said, her voice as low as Molly's.

Edited 2015-10-23 20:27 (UTC)

Winter is very much ready to explode at Helen in a way she really shouldn't, but Molly's outburst cuts her off decisively. Her head snaps around, and where she was drawing close to a perceived threat a moment ago, now she's backing off, fighting the urge to take a step or two back. Or to just walk in and hug Molly; that won't go over well. Not the way things are going. She feels like she pushed Molly to have to do this, in a roundabout sort of way, and that responsibility is heavy on her shoulders. Enough that, even as the damning testimony is laid in front of her, her rage doesn't ignite like before. It just smolders, until Helen relents, her comment softer than Winter was expecting.

So when she responds, her own tone is somewhat cold, a little curt, but not as sharp as it was before. She feels herself starting to stutter as her stress rises, and she pauses and forces herself to calm down a little bit. "I'm... not going to answer that for you. I don't mind being called a monster. It wouldn't be the first time. But Molly, your ward, depends on you. She's looking to you for support, for guidance. And you're poisoning her, like this. Let her reach her own conclusions. Encourage her to make a decision both of you can be comfortable with. But don't make it for her." Anxious, worried, Winter's hand comes across to grip her own arm, and she looks down. "We never got the chance to decide how we wanted to live our lives, when all this started. Don't waste yours, or hers."

She's quiet for a second. There are some... choice notes in that explosion, but she latched onto a couple particular points, and when she lets her gaze fall on Helen again, there's hurt in her eyes, open and raw. "I don't pretend to imagine what it felt like, to lose someone in the invasion. To lose something that makes you who you are. But don't ever assume I don't feel the weight of the people I couldn't save. Just because my dress hides my scars, doesn't mean I don't remember how I got each and every one. I'm sorry for your loss, for your injuries. I can't fix them. I have nothing to give you in compensation. But I keep living my life, because I don't want to see it happen again if there's anything I can do to stop it. I don't want anyone else to have to pick up my torch. That's going to have to be enough." She lets herself fall silent again, and stays that way for a bit.

Edited (words) 2015-10-25 06:12 (UTC)

There's a lot more that Lily wants to say, but Molly suddenly cutting everyone off brings her to a halt. She bites her lip. Her grip on Winter's arm tightens. Seeing the girl in such a state is... painful, in a way she isn't sure she's seen since the times she felt helpless to assist her sister at her worst. It's so similar, that urge to give the poor thing a hug is there as well as it is for Winter - but for the same reasons, she has to refrain. One way or another, they are responsible to some degree... but...

"Molly has spoken with us before, yes, but... all we've done is try to find and tell her the things that will help her. To keep her out of trouble. But as a Numbered, that's... going to find her. No matter what. Still, Winter is right..."

She focuses her gaze, zeroing in on Molly's aunt, looking her in the eye. "Give her a voice. Listen to how she feels. We can help her. We can protect her. But if you take her away from her life, what will that accomplish? If there are problems that will find her here, they'll find her everywhere - we've had these Numbers for three years. No matter what, we've never been able to just escape them. We... have had to rely on the people around us. To help us. To guide us."

Winter might feel that grip increase further, and it's enough Lily might apologize in a minute. "You aren't the only one to lose people, either. To have to deal with loss. It's hard, but if you take it out on the people around you... You're not helping anyone."

Lily may not have lost people in the invasion, but she has lost people. Or even made others lose someone, in the case of Jasmine's doppelganger. She's saying a lot more than she normally would, now, but... They're sort of past the event horizon on that one.

Molly sniffles, wiping her nose on her sleeve as both women talk. She's so far past the point of worrying about her manners that it doesn't really occur to her. She just takes both their words in, thankful that people are standing up for her.

In contrast, Helen is sitting there, looking and most likely feeling hurt and exposed. But the look on her face isn't one that's full of only anger, but regret. The words her niece said to her have struck home.

"Aunt Helen," Molly said quietly. "Aunt Helen... I don't hate you. What Lily and Winter are saying is right... I just want to-"

"Molly," Helen interrupted, her voice not raising. Then, she realized what she did, and sighed. "Molly, I'm sorry. I..."

Molly smiled sadly. "It's okay. Say... say what you want to say."

Helen's frown grew deeper, and she couldn't help but... bring her hand up and begin twirling her finger through a strand of her hair. An act that Molly herself as doing at that exact moment, with both of them unaware of how they mirrored each other. After a few moments, Helen spoke.

"I can't... I can't let go of how I've felt for the better part of a year in a single night," she admitted. "And to be honest, I don't know either of you. I don't know if I trust you, and at the end of the day, you'll still be part of a world that I know next to nothing about. My niece is the only family I have left, and she's going to be part of a world that will throw her into danger, and... I have to put my faith in strangers..."

Helen grit her teeth. "But it's also something I can't avoid. And what you both said is right. You're not responsible for what happened to me. But more importantly, Molly trusts you. And I can already tell she trusts you more than she does me."

Molly's eyes widened. "Aunt Helen..." she said, though she didn't say anything to counter it.

"And that? That hurts. It's more than likely my fault, and that's something I have to live with. But that's my cross to bear. Molly has enough of her own."

With that, the woman looked up, a look of weary determination on her face. "I won't take her away from this city. I won't take her away from the Numbered. But I want you to know... the faith I'm putting in... is my faith in her, not all of you. I'm sorry I can't give you more than that, but that's all I have to give to you now. Molly... Molly is my niece, and she asked me to believe in her. She's been asking me for over a year, and it's time I finally started."

... By this point, Molly was in tears again. But instead of outright sobbing, they fell steadily, with Molly just... staring in a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

The pressure it takes for Winter to notice and actually feel pain is tremendous, by now - it comes part and parcel with the whole Precure thing. Which means for her to wince, as she does, means Lily's grip is likely strong enough to snap wood. She's tougher than that at this point, but she definitely recognizes she's not the only one worked up over all this. And that, combined with Molly's aunt backing down somewhat, is enough for some of Winter's tension to bleed off, letting herself rest back on her heels for a second.

A hand comes up to rest on Lily's, before she does break something, as Winter shakes her head gently. "I don't ask for your trust, or your faith. Not after all this. Not yet. I hope to earn it someday, but... right now, it's more important to me that Molly is comfortable." She catches herself before she inadvertently puts herself down further, glancing to Molly again for a moment. "This is my whole world, now, and I take it a little seriously. For a number of reasons, I have a vested interest in your niece's safety, and part of that is making sure she's happy and healthy at home. Because when something happens, there won't be time to find an ice cream shop that hasn't burned to the ground and reassure her over a milkshake." Which might be her own sensibilities talking, but it's the principle of the thing. She's also smart enough not to mention that some of those sensibilities come from the whole reincarnated-best-friend thing.

Winter spends a second pondering what else she wants to say, but for the moment, she just lets herself stop wanting to hurt something. "Thank you for giving us the chance to help keep her safe," she continues. For the first time in several minutes, she manages a real smile, let alone that it's directed at Helen. "It is my sincere hope that nothing will happen, but if it does, I'll keep an eye on her." Not that she has enough eyes to keep track of everyone she's said that for, but she's got enough friends to help cover the blind spots. It'll be fine... probably. At least, it will be if Molly can be sensible and not run into battle valiantly. "I'm trusting her to keep an eye out for herself," she adds aloud with a sidelong glance, "but I think it'll work out okay."

Feeling Winter's hand on hers, Lily kind of realizes just how hard she's squeezing, and relaxes her fingers, even if her hold stays true. Her frown persists, even listening to Helen, to Molly... She lets her wife talk, knowing her own words might not make this situation much better. Still... slowly, as Winter begins to talk sense, it returns some of it to Lily.

She manages that smile, even if it's a bit sad. For Molly and Winter's sake, if no one else's. It's not that she doesn't understand Helen's perspective, but... as Lily said. She's lost people. She's been the cause of others losing someone. She's sure Winter understands where no one else here might, but... It hits her in a particular way.

"Whether or not we earn that trust, I want what's best for Molly. Having all of this power, these memories, this life thrust upon you can be frightening, and dangerous, and... I don't want to see this girl hurt because of it. Be it from someone coming after her, or ... emotionally. We didn't have people to help us, I just... want to be able to help someone else."

She lets out a breath she finally nods. "We'll keep an eye on her. If we can be allowed to, at least. The last thing we want to do is make her life more complicated - circumstance has done that much. Just... I want the chance to prove to you that we Numbered may not be so horrible."

Helen stared at both women for a few moments longer, her gaze hard and scrutinizing. In the moments that passed, Molly stood there with baited breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Finally, Helen sighed.

"I'll hold both of you to that, then," Helen replied, wearily. This whole ordeal had been emotionally taxing, and the way her body slumped into her chair showed that it had a physical component as well. "Very well then. But if this is going to work, I need Molly to be honest with me going forward. I think that's something we can all agree is necessary."

Molly... smiled an uneasy smile. Not out of lack of sincerity, but shame for her own behavior. "Don't worry, Aunt Helen. I'm done hiding things."

Helen nodded. "Then... I'll give you a chance. All of you. For my niece's sake. And right now... all I want to do is go home, and hear about all of this in Molly's own words."

Winter's wilting a little bit herself - this hit a few still-raw nerves, and she could use some downtime. So when Helen relents, Winter nods, letting herself come off alert just a bit. "I agree wholeheartedly. Molly, for what it's worth, I'm glad you came tonight. But trust is precious. Don't burn bridges you don't need to, okay? The next time I see you, your aunt better have at least some idea where you are." She lets her tone become a little more playful toward the end; Molly's suffered enough tonight. All of them have, in a way.

"I won't waste your time any further, then, ma'am. Have a safe trip home. I hope..." She lets herself smile, a little less anxious than she's been. "I hope you can come to an understanding."

Lily can feel as Winter relaxes, even as she feels more than a little stiff about the whole ordeal herself. It hits a raw nerve with both of them, though perhaps different ones, and it's a little harder for Lily to relax herself. Still, she nods along as well, agreeing with... most things here, at least.

"I'm hoping for the same, and... Really. Honestly. Anything that either of you need, please don't hesitate to ask. This world is dangerous, now, and... we want to be able to help anyone that we can. In the end, that's... that's what it comes down to."

The look on Helen's face was the same by the time both women were done talking; clearly conflicted, ashamed, angry, and unable to look anyone directly in the eye. Still, she nodded, and seemed to lift herself up for a moment in her chair.

"If that's how you feel, then I hope for my and my niece's sake that you're committed to seeing that through. Now... it's time Molly and I went home."

Molly nodded, quietly, and then, speaking a bit more confidently, said, "Uhm. Can I say goodbye to Lily and Winter?"

Helen paused for a moment before answering, and in a clearly forced tone, replied, "Yes, of course." Then, she moved away in order to give Molly and the Tsukuyomis some privacy.

Molly looked at both Lily and Winter with a thankful smile on her face... before lunging forward and taking them both into a big, mutual hug.

"Thank you," she said, with the voice of someone incredibly relieved.

Winter politely returns Helen's affirmative nod; things should be okay now. Probably. She keeps silent as they move to leave, but when Molly interrupts one more time, her smile grows a little bit... and then there's a pink blur coming toward her, and she has to brace herself to not fall over. An arm idly wraps around Molly for a second as she grins down at her. "You're welcome. That was something I had to do, even if I'd envisioned it going a little differently."

Her tone goes a little more stern after a second. "And I meant what I said - don't give her a hard time, okay? Keep everything on the up and up. And... try to be patient with her. There are some things you just get when you're Numbered. Those things aren't going to come to her as easily. Go slow, and be willing to explain. Everything will work out."

She wants to be mad at someone. At Helen, at Molly in small ways, at herself. But for once, something is more or less going right, and that's enough for now. She'll sort herself out later.

Lily is beginning to let her tensions release when Molly suddenly rushes up and hugs them both. She lets out a gasp as the wind practically flies from her lungs, but after a moment of befuddlement, she laughs and smiles. Like Winter, she also reaches out and hugs her back, nodding int he affirmative.

"Yes, and... just don't be afraid to ask for help, okay? Whether it's your aunt or us. I think the one thing all of us can agree on is that we want what's best for you. Regardless of anything..."

Be it Lily's own petty little personal issues or things much larger than that.

"...that's what I think we're all going to hold to."

Molly nodded, tears coming to her eyes yet again as she listened to both of their statements. "I will... I promise. I'll be more... I'll be more honest. To you, and Aunt Helen. And maybe... maybe we can change her mind..."

She sniffles and pulls away. Even with the tears running down her face, she's smiling, her cheeks colored red.

"I... I want you both to know... you remind me a lot of my mom and dad. We lived apart because of their work, but... they cared a lot about me. About people. I wish things had been different, but... they loved me a lot, and..."

She smiled wide. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you for helping me... and for helping me remember what they were like..."

Before she could continue, Molly heard her aunt calling out for her. Molly breathed a final word of goodbye, before turning to leave, giving them one last smile before she disappeared behind a corner.

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Factor Industries Charity Event: October 18th, 2016

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