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Sam took his piece, nodding.
"Mhm! Basically turning her into a doll bound her soul to the knife," he explained, "and gives it control over her. Since I control the knife, I control her because of that. Technically, any of my dolls can be turned into any inanimate object in theory, including weapons."
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Karia listened intently as he spread butter over his warm bread, nodding occasionally. "Huh. That's handy. And it's good to have a backup plan, that's for sure." Karia waved the knife at Sam, then set it down next to the container of butter. "We might need it."
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"Mhmm." Sam didn't bother with the fake butter, taking a bite of his warm bread as he thought.
"I'll grab Harina before we leave, then. So, how hard do you think it'll be to get to Adrian, overall? Once we take care of Moriarty." The man kept leaned against the counter, legs folding as he balanced.
"Okay." Karia nodded and took a bite of his breakfast. "Well, he's tricky. But mostly tricky in the way that he has a lot of plans. Once we get him alone, with no plans, he shouldn't be that difficult. Unless he's mysteriously learned some new skill since I last crossed paths with him." He shrugged.
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Sam nodded, thinking.
"I don't think he ever would have planned for two men to try to come in and turn him into a doll, but who knows. From what I've heard from you, he might just be that paranoid." Sam laughed some at the thought.
"When was the last time you crossed paths with him?"
"Ha! You're right, I don't think he has that plan. Maybe something similar, though." Karia shook his head and finished off his warm bread. "Well… it was…" He trailed off, muttering to himself. "A few months ago, I think? Right, because it was right before he and Harina got into a huge fight over something. Apparently, he stole something from her? And it must have been important, based off the huge fit Harina threw." Karia laughed, recalling the memory. That had been a fun incident to witness.
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"Ah, Harina mentioned something about that. She said Moriarty was the one to steal the thing. I wonder what it was?" Sam hummed in curiosity, head tilting some. "Of course, I'm sure it can't be important to her anymore, even if she thinks it is." The man chuckled some, letting out a breath.
"At least she's fun to mess with. Augustine was just trying to ignore everything when I went in this morning, and interrupted me later." Sam pouted some.
"Really?" Karia grinned. "Classic Adrian, taking all the credit for himself. I do too. Must have been something amazing." He sighed, trying to imagine what could cause Harina to get so upset. Money, perhaps, or some rare magical item. "Oh, yeah, classic Augustine. They've always been like that." Karia gently patted Sam's shoulder to comfort him.
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"We can always ask her later. She seems eager enough to give information when promised favor." Sam sighed as his shoulder was patted.
"And actions like that is gonna get them to put away, which is no fun. Ah well, can't have fun with them all."
"Mmm, yeah." Karia nodded in agreement. "Honestly, they deserve it. They've never been fun, and I doubt they'll suddenly start now. Though, we never know for sure. Being afraid for you life can change a person."
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"Mhm. I'm sure any time spent in the bag will be enough to convince them to cooperate." Sam chuckled at this as he finished his bread.
"So, shall we get going then? I'll grab Harina if we're ready."
"Yeah, I think so." Karia laughed softly, eating the last of his bread and butter. "Mmm, yeah. Oh, I can't wait until we have Adrian. It's going to be amazing!" He flung his hands towards the ceiling and spun in a quick circle.
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Sam laughed some, nodding.
"I'm to take it he'll be much more fun?" Sam moved to stand completely, walking out of the kitchen back towards the bedroom.
"Or just the fact people will actually start to take notice of us now?"
"Well, probably." Karia shrugged. "He's annoying as he is, so I'll like it when I can actually shut him up without being mildly fearful for my life. And yeah. There's nothing wrong with being a little famous, especially if it's for something as fun as this."
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"Wonderful then!" Sam chuckled some as he opened the door to the bedroom, heading in.
"Oh, Harina~ I'm going to need a big favor from you~" He stepped moved to the bed, reaching down to pick her up.
Karia laughed, then started towards the bathroom. He needed to change his appearance, and he wanted to make sure it looked good. There was no way he was rolling up to this party without looking amazing.
Harina, hearing Sam's tone, looked up at him with a look of thinly veiled terror.
"Uh… what? I told you stuff… what else do you need?" She tried, voice wavering slightly.
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"You see," Sam said, still smiling, "My weapon is a knife. Knives are made of metal. I, of course, will not risk losing it. That's where you come in! I need to turn you into a non-metal weapon. I'm thinking mallet." Sam smirked some, using one hand to tilt Harina's face up a bit more as he held her with the other.
"Just in case I need to bash Moriarty's head in."
As Harina listened, her look of horror slowly became more pronounced. "You… you're… you're going to turn me into a weapon? How is that even possible?" She exclaimed, voice loud and panicked. "You're going to kill Moriarty? With me?"
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"How is it even possible I turned you into a doll?" Sam pointed out. "And if it comes to that, yes. Karia wants to try to talk her into switching sides, but if it doesn't work out I won't have much opportunity to try to doll her, so killing it is!" The man tucked Harina under one arm, reaching into his pocket to grab his knife.
Harina let out a frustrated breath, lips curled down in annoyance. She looked like she wanted to argue, but knew there was nothing she could say that would change Sam's mind.
"Are you ready?" Karia called from the hallway. "How excited is Harina for her new job?"
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"I'm ready!" Sam pulled his knife out, holding it to Harina's cheek. In a moment, he was holding a mallet instead of a doll, putting his knife away.
"And not at all~!" He stepped out, holding the mallet with both hands. "Then again, it's not really like she can complain now, and I doubt she's dumb enough to do it when she gets turned back."
"Classic Harina." Karia peered at the mallet. He now looked like a short man with very wavy brown hair and what he thought was a very attractive face. He'd tested it with Oci, and it seemed like he'd been correct. "I'm guessing that's her?" He gestured at the thing in Sam's hands. "Moriarty will be so embarrassed if she gets killed with that." Karia giggled.
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"Mhm!" Sam confirmed. He swung the mallet loosely in a circle to test the weight balance, nodding to himself in satisfaction.
"And I bet anyone would be, really, if they had any self-respect. I'd love to add someone with her kind of power to my collection, but I can't risk my knife. I could always try some fancy maneuvering, but it's too risky even for my taste." The man let out a sigh, moving to Karia's side.
"So, shall we go?"
"Really! You are so interesting." Karia shook his head, grinning slightly. "Yeah, that makes sense." He sighed, then nodded. "Indeed. Let's go get them with your fantastic Harina-mallet and your knife! And I will provide moral support and backup. And maybe negotiate, depending on how things go."
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"If she's smart she'll negotiate," Sam said, laughing some. He slipped his hand into Karia's, smiling at the thought of what was to come. "Now, let's go infiltrate that base!"
"Hmm, her being smart? That's debatable." Karia wrinkled his nose, glancing down at Sam's hand in his. "As you wish, my dear." A second later, they were standing in the abandoned house where they'd started their scouting mission. The second floor, because Karia wasn't messing around with the non-existent stairs. "What do you say we come in from the top? It'll be easier than the front door, at any rate."
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Sam chuckled some, looking around as they arrived at the building.
"That sounds like an excellent idea to me." He let go of Karia's hand after a moment, humming some.
"Perfect." Karia nodded and started towards the roof. He had a small smirk on his lips, excited for what was to come. Karia settled down in the same place they'd been in the first time and peeked into the courtyard. There wasn't anyone in it at the moment.
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Sam followed Karia up to the roof, quiet as he settled down. He sat the mallet in his lap, for the time being, peeking out as well.
"Mm…" This would be interesting, then. He had no real way of judging just what was going on with no one to judge off of.
Karia scanned the courtyard again, eyes landing on a shadowy figure in the corner. He narrowed his eyes at the shadow, wondering who it would be. A few seconds later, a young woman stepped into the sunlight, looking towards the door. A group of people walked past her, followed by a dark-haired man. "Oh! There he is!" Karia gestured towards the man excitedly. "It's Adrian!"
