Platicore

**Platicore**, formally **Lord Platicore** to his underlings, is one of the main antagonists of *Magical Girl Policy*. He had served as an agent of Fate thousands of years ago, but was cast out after losing his mind over Fate's foresight and manipulation of destinies. He believes that destroying Fate is the only way for people to be truly free, and so he attacks those that Fate favors. He currently creates monsters to do battle with the Spirit Guard and drain Investiture from people so he can further his plans.

## Appearance

Like all agents of Fate, Platicore is some sort of animal, but the species is not specified. His humanlike gestures and expressions unsettle observers, especially given his scarred appearance from his near death in the Ardentia Civil War. He is frail and speaks in a wheezing voice.

Platicore's injuries have rendered him nearly helpless without the aid of a mechanical suit of armor, which he has never left since creating it. Platicore himself resides in a transparent dome-shaped helmet, which houses the suit's controls, a feeding tube connected to a slot on the suit's chest, and information monitors. The suit has limbs that allow it to walk and perform even delicate tasks. Platicore's voice has a robotic filter when spoken through the suit, and a translation device removes any language barriers.

## Personality

Platicore relies on his logic, becoming a genius empathokinetic engineer. Back when he was an agent of Fate, Platicore was unique for openly questioning things the other agents took for granted, such as wondering if Fate subtly influencing the lives of chosen people is an attack on free will. These questions dominated his mind until he went insane.

Platicore's injuries from the Ardentia Civil War have damaged his mind, hindering his empathokinetic skills. He is prone to violent mood swings, and is usually placated by being prompted to explain things pertaining to his area of expertise. He has a liking for fruit, as he enjoys lime wine cooler more than other types of alcohol.

## Abilities

When he was an agent of Fate, Platicore could communicate with her through visions. Even after he was cast out, he retained the ability to sense an empathokinetic pulse called the Hero's Call that normally signals a Guide to find and assist a Champion of Fate.

Platicore is a master of empathokinetic engineering. During the Ardentia Civil War, his specialty was creating foci that fuse to his soldiers, greatly empowering them but warping their bodies and minds.

After the war, Platicore's fractured mind has diminished his empathokinetic abilities, apparently no longer able to make his focus hybrids. He now creates machines like his mechanical armor and gadgets to be used by Trace. He also creates somewhat sentient golem-like monsters by infusing Investiture into objects. These monsters typically have the appearance of a humanoid female combined with an object or theme, which is prominent in their names and special moves. These monsters are deployed by Trace and can drain Investiture from people, which Trace then collects and returns to Platicore.

Platicore seems to spend all of his time in his lair, but has some level of interaction with the outside world. He has readings that tell him when his monsters go offline, contacts Trace via pager, is capable of offering Trace an ID for public services, and seemingly has access to resources that let him decide the names and quirks of his monsters.

## Biography

### Background

Platicore was created by Fate to be one of her agents thousands of years ago. When he began asking if Fate's foresight and manipulation of destiny crushes free will, Fate foresaw his betrayal and cast him out. Platicore became obsessed with his questions and was driven insane, deciding the only way to free everyone from Fate's control was to destroy her.

Platicore set out to destroy the Ardent Empire, a favored nation of Fate, unaware that the corrupt royalty would've been a perfect ally. He became a master of empathokinesis at this time, willing to perform unlawful experiments with Investiture. He posed as a Guide to the lower class, turning it against the nobility that had exclusive access to empathokinetic training, which started a civil war. Platicore created foci that fused to his soldiers so they could stand up to the Empire's trained combatants. The war eventually became one to claim gateways to distant worlds and escape the death brought on by the Other Power, with the gateway to Earth becoming the last. The end of the war saw Platicore fight a destructive battle against the Empress, but he couldn't match her stamina, only surviving due to her running off at the news of the Princess's betrayal. Before the Scholar could close the gateway, Platicore pushed through the Mender's barrier and was the only one to warp to Earth. He went into a millennium-long hibernation to regain his strength.

When Angela Warrant touched the Standridge Stones for the first time, it sent an empathokinetic pulse called the Hero's Call. It signaled Kunapipi to come to Kessia City as intended, but it also awoke Platicore from his recovery. Wanting to harvest Investiture for his quest against Fate as well as kill Fate's Champions, Platicore started creating monsters to drain Investiture from people and battle the Spirit Guard. At some point, Platicore freed Trace from Fate's holding cells, becoming her new master. He usually gives Trace the components for a monster so they can be assembled at a specified area.

### Week 1

Platicore creates Polygal, who is planted in the Loose Change arcade disguised as a *Zombie Mansion* machine. Later, he is frustrated to find that not only has the Spirit Guard destroyed Polygal, but she had zero Investiture yield, which unknown to him is due to a failed attempt to drain the complex Investiture of Robert Dreese. With his supply running low, Platicore creates the body-transferring Day LaMode as a way to increase a monster's effective domain.

Trace, fearing Platicore's wrath over her not yet having the defeated Day LaMode's empathic capacitor, gets him a lime wine cooler from Rusty's Tavern and takes a warp stone to Platicore's lair. Platicore enjoys this drink much more than the previous one, but is furious over the news. When Trace explains that she fled because she was spotted by Spirit Guard Serenity while invisible, Platicore commends her for running from the new Spirit Guard's particularly strong empathokinetic perception and plans to upgrade the stealth band. Platicore shoots down Trace's offer to investigate Serenity further due to the Disconnection Effect. Trace promises to return with LaMode's yield within three hours.

Trace returns to Platicore with LaMode's very high Investiture harvest. She also shares her observations of the scene and inferences on Serenity's speed- and stealth-based fighting style in case it affects the design of Platicore's next monster.

### Week 5

Platicore creates Cell-celia, a monster with advancements he had been longing for: she is disguised as a human, has a signal-based detection system, and can sneakily drain Investiture from countless people by infecting their phones. Trace predicts that Platicore will be extremely angry when he finds out his newest masterpiece didn't last six hours before getting defeated. The Spirit Guard conclude that Platicore must be altering his monsters so they're harder to detect during their harvest.

## Relationships

### Fate

Platicore was created by Fate to serve as her agent. He was cast out sometime after questioning if her foresight and influence over destiny is an assault on free will. Platicore decided that destroying Fate is the only way to be truly free, so he gathers Investiture in hopes of becoming powerful enough to oppose her. In the meantime, he sets out to destroy Fate's favored peoples, most prominently the Ardent Empire.

### Spirit Guard

Platicore is the nemesis of the Spirit Guard, hating them for being Champions of Fate that constantly destroy his Investiture-draining monsters. He especially curses them for always managing to obtain a new member right as a monster is about to defeat them. He is somehow knowledgeable on the Spirit Guard's background, knowing of their reincarnation business, general powers, and the Disconnection Effect. Platicore apparently wants to experiment with an especially strong Investiture like that of a Spirit Guard's, as both Polygal and Day LaMode attempt to capture Robert to present him as a new servant.

### Trace

Platicore freed Trace from Fate's holding cells, gaining her servitude. He creates several empathokinetic devices for her, but apparently doesn't trust she'll remain loyal if given strong enough enhancements. After Platicore creates a monster, he has Trace assemble it at a designated area, then return with its Investiture harvest once it's defeated. He is annoyed that Trace often calls him "Platy" and spends most of her time drinking at Rusty's Tavern. Trace tends to be on the receiving end of Platicore's violent outbursts, so she promptly appears with a gift whenever having to deliver bad news.