Taxi Philosophy

[Zou Sama]

The Last Witch stood in the middle of the footpath, arms crossed and foot tapping. She was supposed to meet her... Well, her new job. That is, if the taxi was ever going to arrive. It was already twenty minutes late.
Eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance when the taxi finally did arrive. She opened the door and stepped inside, about to comment on the lateness of the driver when she noticed the taxi's other occupant. Her 'job' already seemed like he was going to cause her trouble, as she suspected he was the reason for the taxi's lateness.

"So then, you're to be my Puppet? I must say, you're less... Well, just less than I was lead to believe" She remarked coldly.
"I assume you know who I am?" She asked.

[MAK Neko]

"If that's your assumption, then am I right to assume you're the one who sent that text earlier?" A tone equally cold, although a hint of annoyance is mixed towards this critical woman. "Either way, I'm certain you've got something to do with the voice in my head - the Darkness - I think you said it was."

[Zou Sama]

"You make it sound as if the Darkness is little more than a schizophrenic hallucination and I'm your head shrink." she responded, intentionally dodging the unasked question. No need to tell him any more than he needs to know.

[MAK Neko]

"Then humour me; who are you?" Half expecting this question to be evaded, he continued - shifting his gaze from the woman seated beside him to the passing scenery, "How you came to know me is of little concern at this point."

[Zou Sama]

'First impression; cynical, suspicious, mistrusting of others. Though I suppose those are all natural reactions, given the circumstances'
"I am simply a tool to be used. By who and to what end is the question you should be asking."
It was probably cruel of her to test him like this, but she'd need to have an understanding of how he thought before she could really be of use to anyone.

[MAK Neko]

The fact she said she's a tool suggests that even in this world there's an overlaying something... the Darkness? I'm even more convinced they're connected now
"If you are a... a tool, then there must be some purpose you are designed to fulfil - sort of like how a saw is made to cut things and pliers; to grip things. What's your base purpose - to be used is too general!" Uncomfortable with objectifying this woman, despite his growing irritation, he seeks to reason her out.

[Zou Sama]

'He seems to dance around certain terms...'
"Perhaps you are thinking too short term. A saw may be used to cut things, for instance, wood, which may then be used to build a house. In that case, would the purpose of a saw not be to build a house? But what if the wood is cut to create art? That would mean the saw's purpose is to create art.'
'I am a tool, yes, and yet my purpose is as debatable as the saw's. They depend entirely on the person wielding me, so once again we arrive at the question; Who wields me, and to what end?"
She hoped this was cryptic enough to both annoy her companion, and spark a discussion. She needed to get in his head...

[MAK Neko]

"Yes, there are a range of different ends a saw may assist in achieving, however, the saw would get no satisfaction from the ordeal of say, cutting wood to build a house; it lacks a conscience. Perhaps occasion were to break it, making it invalid from then on - there would be no satisfaction or dissatisfaction. What then, assuming you have what the saw lacks, do you stand to gain from the actions taken with you objectified? Is it the achievement of saying that you helped the user accomplish whatever he may set out to do? What then if he were to fail - would you be dissatisfied? Or are you as lifeless as the saw and so unconcerned?"

[Zou Sama]

"If the saw garners no satisfaction from its use, then why is it that an unused saw decays faster than one in use? A saw in use may have a higher risk of breaking, but an unused saw will simply rust into nothing. People are much the same. Take them, for example" she pointed at the workers in a construction site they passed
"Chances are that most will come away from today's work with bruises and cuts. One or two might even break a bone, or be killed. Yet, the risks the job presents do them better than the safety of unemployment. Take the job away from them and what do they do? They do nothing and decay, much like the saw." She smiled to herself smugly, the annoyance from before gone.

[MAK Neko]

"Perhaps it wasn't wise to think in terms of satisfaction and not. People can, and have been, worked literally to death and derived no such feelings from the work, despite having what the saw lacks. It may be arguable that by doing nothing, you're wasting away, but if the consequence of some particular task is the end, then the only way to justify it as better is to make the work worthwhile, not just for the self, but for others. This brings us to - what do you hope to achieve by being used, no matter the consequence upon yourself?"

[Zou Sama]

"Who told you I hope to achieve anything? A voice that no-one can hear speaks to you. You tell absolutely no-one about the voice, and yet you are contacted about it. You know, or at least, assume I am the person who knew of the voice, and yet you expect 'rational' reasoning and desires from me and follow my lead into a theological debate without clearly pushing the subject of who - or even what - I am or why any of this is happening. Instead, you try to find the answer to your questions by what you suspect would be tantamount to 'humoring me.' Quite fascinating, if a bit roundabout. I'm curious as to what end YOU hope to meet." The Last Witch gave her companion a curious look.

[MAK Neko]

Sighing, the Puppet Master returns his gaze to the curious woman. "This past week has really tested what I consider normal. First the world ends and there's only two things in existence, then suddenly I'm in a world much like the one that ended. The question of who you are or how you know so much doesn't raise any alarms for concern.
If you have that connection with the Darkness, which I suspect you do, you may already know that by the terms of the contract, my purpose is to prevent the end of the world."
Almost convincing himself this answer wouldn't be sufficient, he continued. "At the end of the world, the person I loved the most was killed right before my eyes. I don't want to see that happen to anyone again."

[Zou Sama]

"Then that is the end I also hope to meet. Like I said, I'm simply a tool to be used. It so happens that you are the one who holds me, and therefore I must enact your will. It's up to you to decide how, when and why."

[MAK Neko]

Without much thought, the Puppet Master's mind jumped to a question bothering him since the end. "Is this 'end of the world' a fixed event - will it happen in every world?"

[Zou Sama]

This time, the Witch decided to change her approach.
"Yes" she answered simply.
"And in theory, there is nothing either of us can do to stop, or even slow it. But that's not going to stop either of us from trying, is it?"

[MAK Neko]

"In theory," he chuckled. "We had many theories on how the world would end, and about as much disbelief to counter. Mass natural disasters, Planet X, and so much more. All of it based on nothing!! And then the world did end - and only we seem to know this."
"So... we're got the frame-work to work around. Last time it was the... the 21/12/2012. That's still a few months away!!" The Puppet Master began tapping his foot, almost impatiently as if it'd help fuel some ideas. "Last time - Last time there was a woman who said," almost jumping up excitedly, "This is the End of Infinity. I imagine she knew what was-" And then he stopped suddenly, as if in a fit of shock. His face went suddenly pale and his body tense.

[Zou Sama]

The Last Witch listened, enjoying the discussion. Though, she supposed that might be by design. It would make things difficult for both her and her charge if she couldn't stand talking to him.

And then he stopped, looking like he had seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

[MAK Neko]

"Last time," he began, shaking from a mix of shock and a new growing anger. "There was a woman who said this was the End of Infinity - and asked if I knew what that meant. That same woman killed someone very precious to me and that's when the world ended."
"That woman - what are the chances we'll be able to find her again?" He turned again to his companion who was watching eagerly.

[Zou Sama]

"I won't lie, it's certainly possible-probable, even. However, this IS a different world. She could live in China, or not exist at all. Anything is possible, really" Came the answer, rather coolly

[MAK Neko]

"I think I'd like to take that chance. She might have informa- No. She won't remember that world either, will she?" Pausing for a minute, the Puppet Master collected his thoughts. "The real problem I have is that there is no obvious signs that the world is going to end soon. Anything realistically could bring about the end - and everyone is none the wiser."
"So, putting 'find that woman' lower on our to-do list, where do we start if we want to stop the end?"

[Zou Sama]

"Well, I'm just here to do as you ask. In my opinion, we should gather information. No use trying to stop something if we don't know what we're trying to stop, right? As to where we could do that... I don't know. Maybe this woman you are talking about, or the girl died could give some insight, knowingly or otherwise." The Last Witch screwed her face in thought, one arm across her chest and the other with a finger over her mouth. She tapped her foot for a while before shrugging.
"Up to you either way, I guess."

[MAK Neko]

"Well, 'the girl' went out to do some things a little before noon and won't be home for a good few hours, so she can wait a bit. The woman, we haven't the faintest idea where she could be." Raising a finger to each point, he addressed the third; "What we know so far - while at risk of sounding like a broken record - is on the 21/12/2012, the world will end. About a week before this, a massive conflict breaks out - which most people are unaware how it began, so we're out of luck there for now. We've got over a month to figure this mess out. On the 21st, a woman said it was the End of Infinity and killed 'the girl'. After that, the Darkness appeared and consumed the world." As if ending a fairy tale, the Puppet Master spoke in a 'happily ever after' sort of tone. He took note of the Witch who returned to eyeing him with interest in what he was saying.

[Zou Sama]

"Well then I guess first thing to do would be to build a timeline from what you remember, and try to be at the heart of each significant event. So working backwards, the Darkness consumed everything. We'll obviously be there for that. The Woman killed your friend and ranted about Infinity ending, a week prior the Massive Conflict sprung up. The questions we need answered are in that order, I would say. Who was this mysterious woman, why did she kill your friend, and what did she mean about 'The End of Infinity'. What started this conflict, and what was it all about. Unless you have any light to shed on any of those, I think our first move should be to try and find this mysterious woman" Concluded the Last Witch.

[MAK Neko]

"So we've gone full circle. If this woman knows anything in this world, we have until the 14/12 to find her - also to find out anything that may lead to the conflict. If we don't find anything out, all we can do is watch as things play out - and then get to the heart of it when things fall apart. I think even if we don't find the woman before, we'll find her after the 14th." He hesitated. "Lily's safety is my top priority." There was silence for a minute as his bold proclamation sunk in.

[Zou Sama]

The Witch sat in silence for a moment.
"Is there any chance that Lily and the mystery woman might be connected in some way? Old friends, enemies, co-workers, she served Lily at a shop... Something to connect the two? I'm thinking if we kept an eye on Lily, we might find this woman."

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