|
Post by Kuro on Dec 17, 2013 16:54:57 GMT -5
Slythe looked down at the despairing Kusu, his silver eyes no longer shining with glee. When Kusu asserted that he would make the chairman take them back to his friends, he scoffed and disdain was clear in his voice. "You never wanted anyone to die? Well, look at how that turned out for you. You say that no one deserves to die, as if I care about that. The only thing you are a friend of, besides perhaps your freakish sword, is death. How many have you sent to the other side through your actions? How many have died because of your very existence? You are right when you say that your actions have caused nothing but pain and misery. When it has been proven time and time again that your friendship is nothing but a mark of death, why bother being friends with anyone? Why even try?
...To think that I thought you were a figure worthy of respect from those lower than you, to think that I saw you as a symbol of chaos and destruction. Oh, you are surely the latter, but you cannot even see it as a trait to brag of, as a title to treasure. You have done so much. Why not live off of the fear you inspire? Why not enjoy the fact that you have torn down people and structures that had taken years to create? Why not relish in your blood-soaked glory?"
He stared into Kusu's eyes, his glare intense and studying, his silence only interrupted by the sounds of Wrath and the savage's fight in the background.
"...Why aren't you like me?" Those words were quieter, although full of curiosity and disgust, and might have been something he meant to say more to himself. "...Hmph. No matter. At the moment, your friends in the elevator will be with us again shortly and the mindless savage Wrath is fighting will either be subdued or killed soon enough. Knowing Wrath, it will most likely be the former. After all, can't deal out much punishment if they're dead. Oh, no...she will be in for some pain. But until then, let's go watch a show, shall we? Come with me and i'll show you a rather interesting display. Or..."
He was quiet for a half-minute or so. He eventually rolled his eyes. "That would have been a good moment for the building to shake. As I was saying, or you can stay here and -"
The building shook violently, more so than before, and the Victorians scattered around the room fell this way and that from the movement. Slythe stumbled backwards before grabbing his throne for support while Mr. Dark fell to his side. Slythe saw the opportunity and pointed a finger at one of his guns. One ray of light afterwards and the weapon was made useless. There was still a gun in Mr. Dark's other hand but Slythe pointed one hand's finger at the boogeyman and the other's at Kusu before he could point it at him. He laughed and cautiously stood back up. "Well, it looks like i'm the one pointing weapons at you now, ah ha ha. As I was saying before, come with me and i'll show you something absolutely marvelous. Why, i'll even let Dark fix up Jackal once we get there. It would be a shame for him to not see such a sight." He laughed again before pointing the hand he had been pointing at Kusu towards his crystal throne.
When he shot the laser at it, the crystal did not reflect it as expected. Instead, the laser seemed as if it had been sucked inside, as if it had shot into the crystal but not come out the other way; it had absorbed it. The throne began to glow with a light the same light-blue color as the crystal. It pulsated in intensity a few times before completely enveloping the room with a blinding light.
As Slythe had made his inane speeches and monologues, Wrath had been busy in his continual fight with the beast. His anger had been getting worse and worse with each strike. None of the beast's attacks could kill him, but what made him so infuriated was that he had been hit over and over again! The beast had somehow managed to successfully strike him much more than once while he, and his one-hit kill lasers, couldn't hit her once.
He and his weapons were superior in every aspect! Why couldn't he kill her?!
He roared, the sound amplified by his multitude of voices, before shooting another scattershot of laser blasts at her, all of which she avoided easily. He had enough. He knew why he was failing, he knew why he was doing so poorly! It was because Slythe and those two pirates next to him were still there, and because this building was their headquarters. The lasers would cut through almost anything in their path, and he had no intention of recklessly shredding the building to pieces. He had been careful with swipe and shot so far, careful not to turn the room into something that couldn't hold up the above floor. It also wasn't in his plans to just make a laser cut that could potentially cut through Slythe on accident -
...Accident. Yes, that was it! This was his chance! Anyone would believe that Slythe had been caught in the crossfire! In all of the chaos, who wouldn't believe that? Perhaps the Executives would be suspicious, but not as hostile to his actions if he had plain-out killed the chairman out of malice! No, if it was an accident, there would be doubt. And he could work with that.
He drew one arm back, ready to make a slice that would stretch across the room and at the very least, cut Slythe in half. But before he could do so, a light blinded him.
"AGH!" He was not hurt by the sudden light as the Victorians or the beast, who was now shielding her eyes were, but was instead shocked by the sudden event. He knew what it meant. And it was not fair.
"No....NOOOOO!" He activated the laser and made the cut across the room as soon as possible in a last-ditch attempt to go through with his plan. But alas...when the light faded away, there was nothing in Slythe's place but the line of the laser mark on the wall. The throne, chairman, and two pirates had dissapeared off of that platform on the higher end of the stairs. In but a flash, they had gone.
"...No...No...That's...that's not fair, that's not -" He was slammed into the wall by the beast, who drew back her arm with a growl and slashed his blank, symbol-covered face.
A black, high-heeled boot slammed down on to the back of Kalen's head, pinning it to the ground as he grovelled. "Silence, dog! You dare speak without permission?! Of course I am worthy of all praise from all the peoples, but I will not have such a lowly creature utter a single word for any purpose towards me without my blessing! You speak when I allow you to. Is that clear, urchin?!" She dug the heel into Kalen's skull a bit more before Silver spoke up.
"W-why are you doing this? Are you supposed to be saving us or enslaving us?"
"My actions will not be questioned by the either of you!" She turned her eyes to Silver, her snarling mask intimidating the spidery being. "I am in control. I can see why my motives may be of your concern, but I will not accept insolence. Clear?!" Silver backed up, her abdomen bumping against the wall. "Y-y-yes, miss." She widened her eyes and brought up her arms to defend herself when she realized that she had responded without permission.
"...You can put your arms down. I would expect you to respond to my orders." She looked down at the dog beneath her. "No such excuse for this one's outburst. Hmph." She raised her foot to take it off of his head and then stomped right next to his ear. "Continue to grovel, dog. My name is Titania, but you do not have the right to speak such a glorious word. Instead, continue with your praise. Once we reach the ground floor in a few seconds, we'll almost be out of this building. Simply follow me, as dogs always do. That goes for you too, spidery creature."
Silver gulped.
click
When the elevator doors opened, Titania had not expected to see Pride standing alone in the lobby, the grand golden statue of Slythe behind him. He floated in place calmly and outstretched his arms towards them as if yearning for an embrace.
"Ah, what a good little Victorian you are. I'm sure that you took these two pirates with you so as to remove them from the immediate vicinity of the dangerous conflict between Wrath and the beast. Your actions shall be noted in the aftermath report. Now, give the pirates to me."
A laser shot out from each of his index fingers, both of them making continuous beams that stayed near the sides of the three people at the elevator.
"Immediately."
Sloth sighed as he floated outside. He had tried to go back into the building after Kara had thrown him out, but that bore little fruit. So, he supposed that he might as well fight the Wolves. Someone would have made him do it sooner or later.
He floated at a safe, far distance above the chaos in the streets and looked at the Wolf nearest to him. It was too focused on destroying the city, like the rest of the Wolves, to pay him much attention. A continuous laser beam shot out from each of his fingers, with five lasers on each side of the Wolf. He interlocked his hands, which made the lasers rush towards each other and slide and dice the Wolf between them into several pieces, which he then cut into smaller and smaller pieces quickly and efficiently until there was practically nothing left. His arms had moved far more quickly than that of any average person's; indeed, it seemed as if there had been a blur in front of his chest when the arms did the work in but one or two seconds.
He floated across the city's sky, slicing and dicing each and every Wolf in his path into near-nothingness, demolishing such supposedly powerful creatures with barely any effort and in only a matter of minutes. He dodged their projecticles with ease and worked with incredible agility and efficiency. Yes, it would all be over soon. Then maybe he could get back to doing nothing again. Better than this boring work.
|
|
|
Post by CJ on Dec 18, 2013 23:30:16 GMT -5
Slythe's glare made Kusu freeze up. His tears stopped and he became tense, bit his lip in an attempt to fully understand the tyrannical ruler.
There was at least one thing he did understand. And the more people said it, the more he believed it.
It was easy to separate himself from the destruction of Regala when it happened. Although he had been in the city nation the day it was attacked, he managed to help victims escape before the ultimate calamity. He was tending to his friend Hil on the Elton Johnson, some mile away when it happened. A great shape came down onto the city like a god's palm. Peering out the window, he felt like he was watching a screen. It was too unreal.
The same man who killed those people later told him that he had the capability of such horror and more. He refused to associate himself with him and did away with any notion of supernatural power, wishing to stick to his Devil Fruit and his friend Hil in the sword instead. The very thought of his using similar abilities as the terrorist made him feel ill.
There was no way he caused the people of Regala to suffer because of those powers. But to him, it didn't matter. He caused them pain by association. In his short life, he made decisions that ultimately lead to the deaths of many people. In the case of Regala, had he not taken to the life of a pirate, he would have never come under the radar of the terrorists and they might have never taken destroying the city nation into consideration.
Had Kusu been older, more experienced or properly educated, he might have understood that blame by association was hardly fair. Without that knowledge, Slythe's words seeped like poison into his mind.
He never meant to change the world, but he couldn't deny his very intrusion into this timeline likely changed things for the worse. His memories of his past, the world of the future, were that of a toddler's so he really couldn't tell if it was any better. But then he remembered how he entered this world. He couldn't have done it on his own. In other words, he wasn't the only person responsible in the end.
"Uzo," Kusu whispered with a blank expression.
Her confidence came back, albeit small and very fragile. Even in the range of Slythe's power, a crazed smirk came over her face. She didn't notice the blob of metal around Jackal form an extended blade, pointed directly toward Slythe. She barely felt the building shaking around them.
She couldn't believe she didn't think of it before. Of course! If Uzo showed up now, he could reverse time for her. Lynwood could be restored. Wolf wouldn't have to worry about going crazy. Alden and his spider friend would be back with them again. Jackal would be healed and Slythe subdued. Kara could be lectured in super slow motion time for his recklessness. Heck, even Mr. Dark could receive a pat on the back for being such a good first mate.
There was still hope to make things better.
"Uzo" she said again, as Slythe shot the laser at the crystal. "Come out, Uzo!"
But her brother never came. In those brief moments, her face fell and she sunk again into despair.
There would be no help this time. The young captain was left to wallow in his own self doubt. For all he was concerned, Kusu and his friends were alone.
|
|
|
Post by Hitotsumami on Dec 19, 2013 1:16:33 GMT -5
Stop...
I will never stop.
Please... I can't take this anymore. I sit here in the darkness, but I can see a light below. I can see what you are doing. Stop.
I will never stop. Not until I see Victoria crumble to the ground in a heap of death.
Why are you doing this?
It is revenge. You know not what they did to me. You know not how they locked me away and used my power to make their city grand. I will never be a slave to someone again. Not the World Government. Not Victoria. And especially, not to you. I will have my freedom.
You will allow my friends to die?
Your friends are not my concern.
I will retake control. I must.
Try all you wish, little Samuel, but you cannot stop this Wolf.
---
While Samuel fought the beast within his mind, Fenrir flew through the air, releasing more and more Wolf's with every second. However, as time passed, Fenrir noticed a large number of them were being destroyed before they could do any real damage. Of course, they would self-destruct upon being unable to move, but it appeared that they were being destroyed before they even had the ability to self-destruct.
Fenrir turned his attention to search for the one destroying the Wolfs and it did not take long to find him. He floated a far distance from the man named Sloth.
"You were the one from before," said Fenrir. "Wish to cage me up again, hm? I would like to see you try. Your people should have killed me while they had a chance. Now it is too late. Now you will watch this city fall."
Suddenly, a bright red beam shot out of Fenrir's chest, flying towards Sloth with great speed. All the while, Fenrir's mechanical aspect scanned the man, taking in all the data it could as it prepared for his next move.
|
|
|
Post by Shark a' Pult on Dec 25, 2013 4:28:41 GMT -5
"Continue to grovel, dog. My name is Titania, but you do not have the right to speak such a glorious word. Instead, continue with your praise. Once we reach the ground floor in a few seconds, we'll almost be out of this building. Simply follow me, as dogs always do. That goes for you too, spidery creature."
"Yes your most splendid highness, anything to appease your wonder and glory. Please be not offended by mine own presence, as inferior to your own perfect form as it is."
So she was stepping on Kalen's head only, and not shooting either of them. That was good, if Silver could be spared of anything then Kalen would willingly demean himself in such necessary ways. After all, she was here because of him, so he felt a little responsible for her. All of that aside though, he may have been a shepherd but he was a simple young man at heart. Fate, Christine, and Silver, he was so used to rescuing sheltered maidens from the prisons of their lives and bringing them up into the sun with him, that it was almost like second nature at this point.
But then along came the splendid Titania, and she was splendid, at it was almost the complete reverse of what he was used to. Sure, he wanted to help Silver, but it would be a lie to say there was not a part of him that was enamored by this strange new beauty. Like an untouchable flame, that he the moth wanted to know more about, despite it's hostile nature laid bare before him.
Whatever the case though, Kalen was for whatever reason, noticeably more verbose and of a higher speaking quality than he had ever been seen or heard before. And then some strange floating guy shot lasers at them.
"What should we do wise queen, o jewel of Victoria?"
From what little exposure Kalen had with Victoria, he had a general idea that going with the chairperson was a bad idea. If he wasn't groveling at Titania's feet before, he was now. Again, he hoped Silver would understand, and if she didn't a wayward glance of understanding every now and then when the others weren't looking, might have helped.
|
|
|
Post by Mise™ on Dec 25, 2013 6:14:45 GMT -5
Prince Karalisk had set up a very advanced looking telescope in the room where he was and was now watching Sloth's battle with the Wolves through it. Too bad that it wasn't very enjoyable as His Highness had hoped: "What the hell? That fucking asshole just floats around and shoots fucking lights and the army of fucking eunuchs can't do much." Sloth certainly could learn something about showmanship. "*cough*"
|
|
|
Post by Kuro on Dec 30, 2013 19:53:01 GMT -5
It didn't take long for Mr. Dark to figure out what the light from the throne was. The light served the purpose of blinding everyone in the room in the most impressive way possible and while everyone was unable to look, the platform with the throne either ascended or descended in some sort of elevator system. When it was all done, the audience was left with a ruler and throne that had disappeared in a divine light. How pretentious.
"...Ah, there we are."
With a click, click, click, the lights went on, one by one. It was a wide room, the floors and walls a clean white. In the center sat the crystal throne, its wings spread. But it no longer shone a light-blue. Tinges of the color remained but it now reflected the hellfire outside.
The entire wall the throne faced was a window, and what a view did it show. An aerial view of the city burning, the spires crumbling and the castles exploding. It was too difficult to see the people running across the streets, yet that did not lessen the sight. Multiple Wolves roamed the smoke and flame, their weapons causing more and more death.
"Look at it. Such majesty. Such beauty. What a marvel. And it's all thanks to you, Kusu. Or Roger, or Kidd, or whatever you call yourself."
Slythe turned to the two near him, Kusu and Mr. Dark. The smile in his voice was unmistakable. "Of course, the fact that its my creation that's burning down is quite the irritation, but I can appreciate a good bout of absolute mayhem anywhere, anytime. Ah ha ha ha. Besides, it'll all be fixed up soon, so why not have some fun? Just look at it. All these arrogant, self-centered fools running around like beheaded chickens as their glory falls around them. It's funny. Hilarious, even! And such things are appreciated best when there are others to see it with you. Even someone as solitary as I for his unmatched majesty knows this.
So, look upon your work! Look upon the flames and tell me that you are not impressed! Proud, even. Be proud of it! Look at what you've done! If it wasn't for you, if it wasn't for you recruiting Wolf, if it wasn't for you bringing him here, if it wasn't for you wanting so badly to adventure and help people, if it wasn't for you, this wouldn't have happened! Look at how much pain your very existence brings to this world. Look, look, look! Look...upon your masterpiece!"
Mr. Dark was mesmerized. He looked at the destruction in awe. The Victorians were garbage. They were evil! They were filth, they treated the world like their little playground and threw around lives like they were toys. They were complete monsters, and now look at what was happening to them. They were completely engulfed in an inferno of justice. Punishment was being laid out upon them as death after death undoubtedly stacked up into a tremendous pile. Righteous flames cleansed them of their wrongdoings.
It was glorious.
"Now, you might be wondering why i'm even bothering to show this to you. Well, it's simple, really. You are one of the most amazing beings I have ever known of. You're nothing compared to me, but compared to everyone else, you are glorious. When I found out the scope of your actions, of all you have done, I was impressed. You destroy so much, change so much of this world just by existing. You are quite the being.
So, with all that in mind, I wished to break you. Could you really expect any less of me? You're a powerful, impressive thing of the world. Of course i'm going to want to topple such a structure. You would dare to be like a monolith, towering over your peers in your power and glory. I saw that and wished to destroy it.
It's what I enjoy. To destroy the majestic. To defeat the impressive. To bring down the splendid. To bring an end to anything that is beautiful, for after all, those are the things that cause the most delightful messes and sounds when they break. This world is full of inspiring wonders and grand dreams, things that would make children look upon the world with awe and fill adults with hope. I shall destroy them all.
I and my creations shall be the only things to be praised. Only they are worthy of admiration. I am the majesty of destruction and change. I and my empire are a force in the world and I shall be treated as such. The day will come when all is under my dominion. When the world is under my complete control, its lands covered in my creations and all the peoples bowing to their rightful and all-powerful ruler. I shall be treated as the god that I know I am, and the world shall be my realm to control.
You are just another step in the way. A very fun and enjoyable step with a spring to it, but another step nonetheless. I couldn't have you mucking about, possibly bringing your havoc to any of my lands without my supervision. I did not expect Jackal of all people to bring you to me, especially this early on, but it works out for me anyways. I get to break you, one of the more impressive things I have seen in the world, and I get to finally say this long speech to someone without forcing them to. I mean really, do you know how hard I worked on this thing? Do you know how many paragraphs I had to write up, all with the slight worry that I may never have the chance to say this to some aspiring hero? It was quite fun to finally recite it to some sort of enemy, hoo hoo. Fun."
Slythe sat in his crystal throne, his eyes locked on the fiery show. "Anyways, if you still feel like talking, then say whatever you wish. That window is several inches thick and will not easily shatter at your command, meaning that you're stuck here if you kill me out of rage, since only I know the way out. And trust me, you're not going to gain anything by inflicting any sort of beatdown onto me, so don't try. It'll just be a waste of time. Besides, there's a show going on. Apparently Sloth is fighting Wolf. Let's see your robotic friend get turned into metal mincemeat, shall we. Ah ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
Mr. Dark shook himself out of his initial wonder. He had actually only barely listened to Slythe and his long tirade, all of which seemed like paragraphs of unnecessary boasting. and looked to Jackal, who was wrapped up in the blade. "Kusu, Hil, release Jackal. I must tend to his wounds immediately. Understood?"
"Now it's too late. Now you will watch this city fall."
Sloth did not respond, choosing instead to fly in one direction with a sudden burst of the steam from his feet, dodging the beam with no effort.
Fenrir's scans would reveal much.
It would reveal that there was not a single inch of flesh or bone underneath the elaborate clothing. Intricate workings of the lasers and steam propulsion could be seen under plating of some unknown metal. There was no heart, no lungs, no organs of any kind. Only gears, pistons, and steam.
This was applicable to all of the body, except for the head. Scanning to see what was underneath the mask revealed something...Else. Something that Fenrir had never seen.
"...You're scanning me, I suppose? It's quite different from what you remember, hm? Back when we were in our little meatsacks of bodies?" As always, his tone was disinterested, bored, and unimpressed. "Much has changed. So much, and for so much the worse. When you returned here some hours ago, this seemed like a grand place, didn't it? Shining and beautiful.
You should have seen what it was like before."
He flew across the city, slicing and dicing all of the Wolves on the ground at a rate that Fenrir could not hope to keep up with. As he did so, he continued to speak, positive that Fenrir could hear him. "The transition. When Slythe Arkady took control of the company. You should have seen what he changed, what we allowed him to change."
Sloth was a blur in the air, dodging any attacks while leaving a white trail of steam and smoke behind him as quick flashes of light littered the city, ridding it of its mechanical infestation.
"He offered us these bodies. It was an obvious choice. Immortality or eventual death. He even said he would give it to the rest of the Victorians, eventually. Some of the more valuable ones also have bodies of immortality, just without the lasers and such. Can't be giving them too much power. So yes, immortality and the power to grant it to others.Can't really blame us for taking up the offer."
Before long, Sloth floated a far distance away from Fenrir. The Wolves on the ground were no more.
"Even though we knew what was so wrong about the bodies offered to us."
As Fenrir would have known by the scans, something was pulsing inside Sloth's metal-plated head. Once, several years ago, there was a brain there, healthy and natural.
What was now in Sloth's head was organic, but could never be considered natural.
"A simple brain-in-a-robot wouldn't have worked. So many issues, so many complications from that. That wasn't the immortality we sought. If we were to live forever, we would not do it anything but perfect bodies. And so, the solution was to..."
He paused for some moments before sighing.
"Ah, never mind, i'm probably boring you. But it's nice to talk once in a while, isn't it? What do I care. What do you care. You just want to burn stuff for revenge or whatever. And i'm out here cleaning up a mess that Lust made by being too incompetent to restrain you properly. Where is that guy anyways? Oh well. Back to work."
Like before, spread his arms out and shot a laser from each finger, the beams of light on Fenrir's sides. He interlocked his hands and fingers quickly in an attempt to slice and dice Fenrir as he had done to all of the other robots who were now nothing but dust on the ground.
"What should we do wise queen, o jewel of Victoria?"
"Silence", she hissed at him. "Your praise is befitting, but did I say you could speak?"
Pride huffed. "If anyone here is worthy of praise, it is I. Do not forget that fact, little Victorian. Every second you hesitate is one step closer to me trying you for treason. I will drag you all back up to that throne room since the elevator is no longer functioning, and I would rather that you cooperate. Much less messy. I would hate to send you back up in pieces."
As Titania defiantly stood in silence, Silver looked to Kalen. From his many glances, she could figure out what he was trying to do. She nodded in response when he looked to her again and looked back up at the lasers on their sides. Surely there was something they could do, something to get them past this. They survived an airship crash! Something like these beams of light wouldn't defeat them, right?
Titania raised her gun towards Pride's head, which earned a laugh from the Executive. "Are you joking or just trying to waste my time? We both know that's not going to do anything for me."
"Peasant and vermin." A harsh whisper from the Victorian to her servants. "A distraction is necessary. A spider must surely have web on it and a lowly shepherd must have something to capture the filthy little animals, yes? You, spider, shall start the distraction and you, peasant, shall entangle him. Go for the arms. Understand?"
"Um, well I -"
"Now."
She pointed the pistol far above Pride and to the side, shooting at the head of the statue of Pride. Pride's sight followed the bullet's path to the statue, upon which he froze when seeing it.
"...Desecrating such a glorious thing? Never have I seen such childish spite. Maybe pieces won't be so bad after -"
And all of a sudden, something sticky was getting all over him. With a yell of surprise, he quickly turned his head to look at the trio only to have his sight covered in web.
"Run! Dog, entangle him!"
Titania ran to one side and Titania the other, no longer spurting web at the Executive. Pride blindly flailed in place, his lasers haphazardly going all over the place as he yelled in frustration and disgust. Rubble began to fall as pieces of the ubilding were seperated from each other. The escapees would have to duck and jump a few times if they wished to dodge any lasers suddenly coming at them.
|
|
|
Post by CJ on Dec 31, 2013 14:09:51 GMT -5
"To you, it's the Phantom Pirate Roger."
Over the course of the time it took for the throne to enter the new room, Kusu's Devil Fruit took over most of her human form. She was in an odd state, human in shape but nearly completely covered in feathers. The only neck that remained were patches on her face, where her nose had been shifted into a half beak and her vibrant eyes turned cold and black.
She looked devastated, likely from having her cries to her brother fall on deaf ears. Despite being with Mr. Dark and her friend in the sword, she truly looked and felt alone. The fire and destruction before her was enough to distract her from her despair in her inadequacy of her gender role to find a new one in the destruction of Victoria.
Unlike with Jackal's speech, she paid somewhat close attention to Slythe's rant, but that was only because it related to what she was seeing outside. What she saw wasn't the Wolf she knew. It was the Wolf she saw back on their doomed vacation. She hated that Wolf, but was she so sure the one she called a friend was ever real in the first place?
A group of Victorians fleeing desperately from the Wolves caught her eye. She traced her talon-like finger on the glass over them.
"Insects," she said absent mindedly. "They're just like insects."
Kusu suddenly felt like vomiting. Her world went numb as she recalled a time back on Momoiro Island as a younger child when she accidentally stepped on a hill of lovely mole ants. She shrieked and cried when she discovered she had crushed several under her feet. One of her fathers comforted her and told her that she had to be careful to not harm things that were smaller than her. She should protect insects and treat them with dignity and respect.
An odd thought crossed her mind, one that she had been thinking about since Breakwater.
"To save them, I have to make them insects."
Turning around, the young pirate captain began to walk toward Slythe. It might not have been apparent at first, but the girl began to grow in size. Slowly the feathers encompassed more of her body, erasing any indication that she was ever human.
"I don't need a speech to be reminded that I will never be proud of the pain I've caused others," she said, "but you should at least understand that I will never kill you, no matter how much you taunt me. I'm tired of losing myself to anger and regret. I'm tired of people like you, Your Highness."
Her voice was guttural, deep and weighted. Her round head pressed against the ceiling as her blank eyes peered down at Slythe. She had become a massive beast, only barely resembling a parakeet in color and shape. Her wings were enormous, easily blocking out the light of the fire from the dictator's vision.
Leaning down, the parakeet beast tilted its head at Slythe, as though she was threatening to rip him apart in her beak.
"The world can hate me, but that's OK. So long as I can save my friends, it'll be worth the pain in the end."
The beast spun around and slammed herself into the thick glass window. Thrashing about, she drove her beak repeatedly into the plane, trying to shatter it and burst through. Her target was Wolf and she would do anything to get to him.
"Brat, stop!" a voice called out, but the parakeet couldn't hear him in the chaos. It was the sword Tyrfing, haven taken the form of the spirit within it. A literal moving and living steel statue, Hil stood by Mr. Dark and Jackal. Perhaps Kusu had ordered him to protect them, perhaps he was doing it of his own free will, but there he was, separated from Kusu and any one else.
|
|
|
Post by Hitotsumami on Jan 1, 2014 14:54:05 GMT -5
Fenrir decided to do something he usually didn't do. He stopped in the air and he listened to what Sloth had to say. He allowed him to destroy the mini wolfs spread across the ground.
At the end of Sloth's speech, Fenrir chuckled. "Immortality, you say? Hah." Fenrir looked at his palm. It was scaly and metal, with long sharp black spikes coming out of his fingers. In the center of his palm was a small circular panel which could shoot out high-powered lasers capable of slicing buildings in two. "You were given a metal body... and I was given a metal body. You, for immortality. And I, to become mortal."
Fenrir looked back at Sloth. "We are both the same and different. But in the end, it is just as you say. I'm here for revenge. For destruction. A single man reaching for the immortality I have known all of my existence shall not stand in my way!"
As the strands of lasers from Sloth's fingers came flying in his direction, Fenrir roared as loud as he could: a sickening, metallic squawk. As he roared, one would notice that the lasers would stop in mid air before breaking apart into tiny light spheres. These spheres when then fly towards Fenrir's mouth, brighten ten times over, and then shoot out a massive beam aimed at Sloth. Even if it missed, it would obliterate the buildings beneath.
"Thanks for the energy," laughed Fenrir.
|
|
|
Post by Shark a' Pult on Jan 1, 2014 19:06:14 GMT -5
He wasn't sure at first what his Victorian rescuer was getting at, but when he saw Silver follow up on her commands, it didn't take but a moment for the pieces to fall into place in his mind.
"Run! Dog, entangle him!"
"Right, your Majesty!"
From his jacket he drew forth a pair of bolas that normally were for catching sheep when his staff wasn't enough, and in this case he didn't even have it to begin with. By the time the webbing had been applied, he had the pair of them in a spin and loosed them towards the chairperson. One aiming for the legs and the other the torso so as to further trap their arms, he planned to further tangle the target up and along with Silver's webbing, would probably make quite an effective binding in a pinch.
"Hah!"
With a raised, clenched fist, whether or not the chairperson was ensnared he took off in a run after the other two. Displaying uncharacteristic dexterity, Kalen managed to nimbly evacuate the area without much difficulty, able to avoid the lasers and destruction as though he were born to.
"Superb plan your Eminence, truly the work of a genius! So, where to now?"
Following after her and Silver, clearly Kalen didn't yet wholly grasp the true extent of the level of subservience he should have been displaying.
|
|
|
Post by Kuro on Jan 9, 2014 18:07:22 GMT -5
At first, Slythe had not appeared to be worried by Kusu's continuous growth, but as her head began to touch the ceiling, he quietly pointed a finger at her, his attention no longer on the destruction of the city. He snarled when she said that she was tired of people like him, as if there could ever be people like him, as if he was just some garbage to be thrown away, as if -
Her wings spread and blocked the light of the flames, encasing half of the room in her shadow. Her silhouette was like that of a monster, a massive beast staring down at him. When she leaned down, he leaned forwards, his head a few inches away as he stared into the gaze of the Phantom Pirate Roger.
"The world can hate me, but that's OK. So long as I can save my friends, it'll be worth the pain in the end."
Mr. Dark didn't know what to think of those words, and neither did Slythe. Before the chairman could come up with a response, Roger turned around and slammed into the glass. The entire room shook, bits of rubble and dust falling from the ceiling. Slythe stood up from his throne and shouted at the feathered beast. "You idiot! What do you think you're doing?!" Gone was any sense of mocking, any sense of a smirk behind his words. She pecked at the window again and the room shook with it, causing Slythe to lose his balance and nearly fall over. With each attack on the window, there were only a few cracks in the glass wall, but the roof and ceiling were covered in them as bigger and bigger pieces of rubble fell with each hit; it was doubtless that some of them had fallen onto Roger's massive frame, although it was unknown if it had any effect on her at all.
"You ignorant child! If you keep this up you'll take the whole room with you! This window is practically a foot thick, you'll never make it through!" The room shook again and Slythe took a step towards Roger. "This room will crumble before you ever get past that thing, so give up! Saving insects? Why in the world would you save an insect?! You finally see them as the pests they are and you would still think of saving them?! What is this?! Stupidity?! Insanity?! What?! TELL ME!" He shouted at the beast as loud as he could, his voice full of frustration and rage as the room crumbled around him, the debris now falling with loud thuds and leaving more cracks in the floor.
He growled when he was only answered with more attacks on the window. "Fine. Ignore me. I didn't want to dismember you, but now we'll see how much damage you can cause when I cut off your legs!" He pointed to the left of Roger, ready to make a laser from left to right to do what he said.
It was then that Mr. Dark struck. Right when the beam shot out from Slythe's finger, the boogeyman tackled him and grabbed ahold of his arm. The first thing he did was inject fear into him, which Hil could probably observe through the chairman's sudden scream of pain. In the confusion of it all, or perhaps because of whatever he was seeing, Slythe's laser was still activated. Mr. Dark held the arm and began moving it, although he had to do this with as much effort as he could; it was like trying to pull a tree out of the ground. He watched the bright light as it cut across the room, which looked as if it would collapse at any moment.
And in moments, it was done.
Sloth had looked on in mild curiousity when the lasers had split into spheres. When they began to collect near Wolf's mouth, he knew what was happening.
The beam vaporized whatever castles and mansions had been in its path, but thankfully it had only been a relatively small section that was completely obliterated. In its place was nothing but a hole that went deep into the Earth for who knew how long.
"What are you talking about? We should be the ones thanking you for energy."
Sloth floated several meters above Wolf's head.
"Or don't you remember all the countless days you spent in that little machine of ours? Compared to now, that machine is incredibly primitive and outdated, but you still weren't any match for it. How many years did you spend in that cage, Fenrir? How many hours were you restrained by puny mortals as we turned your body inside-out?
Take as much revenge as you want, Fenrir. It won't change the fact that you, as great as you think you are, were utterly and completely defeated and dominated by us. And that was before this company had even turned into the technological powerhouse it is now. You're nothing, Fenrir. We proved it."
He lazily pointed the palms of his hands downwards, aiming down at the beast's head.
"This won't end well for you, that's for sure. There isn't any point in fighting. Even against me, you haven't left a single mark on my body. Now that the little mini versions of you are gone, order will come about soon. The other Exectutives are probably messing around with those other pirates or whatever. It's almost kind of annoying, actually. They get to have fun while I have to do all the work." A sigh. "Well, Fenrir? Come on, you're just wasting both of our time. You won't accomplish anything by fighting. May as well give in now. It's what I would do; why put in all the effort and pain if you're just going to lose later? Do us both a favor and just give - Hm?"
He glanced at Armada Tower, which had been somewhere in his peripheral vision, as something odd began to take place. Sure, there was the occasional laser beam that shot out or sliced a bit of the wall, which he assumed was the result of some sort of fight going on in there, but now there was a beam that was lasting for several more moments than the average blip of a laser.
It slowly moved in a circle, ending immediately when the laser reached back to where it had begun. Almost instantly, a piece of the massive building begun to slide out of place, going further and further until it fell off entirely. From it came the shape of a...large, green bird thing, along with something that looked like a rather long piece of debris. Oh, maybe a person. Oh well. With any luck, it was Slythe. Things would probably be a lot simpler if he was out of power, after all.
Needless to say, Sloth had been distracted by this strange sight, a poor thing to do when an ancient evil stuck in a machine body was floating below you.
A part of the room was now about to fall out of place, which would allow Roger to fly out. With each peck, the unstable section of the room was closer to sliding away. They would all be free.
Mr. Dark himself had no intention on fighting Wolf. The Victorians could do that on their own time, if any of them were left after this whole event, that is. No, if Slythe would not offer them a means of escape, then they would find their own. They had gone through some sort of entrance into the city, after all. It was only a matter of finding it again, which Jackal could lead them to easily.
He glanced at the fallen Victorian laying at his feet. He had been able to attend to some of his wounds but although he was no longer leaving blood in his wake, he was certainly in no condition to walk about anytime soon. He doubted the man was even conscious.
"Hil, take Jackal and go to Kusu. The wall is about to break free soon and we can use her to fly - AGH!"
He yelled in pain when he felt something that felt like a crane clenched his ankle, crushing it in the process. He was suddenly lifted into the air as Slythe spun in place, swinging the boogeyman around as if he was nothing and then throwing him in one direction with as much power as his mechanical body could muster.
Before Roger could do the last peck needed to shake the wall free, a black blur shot straight through the foot-thick window in a brilliant, ear-piercing shatter of glass. The countless shards, big and small, seemed to stay in place in the air for a few moments before falling. In those moments, Roger would see the body of Mr. Dark in the center of it all, the color of his blood, flowing freely into the air, reflecting off of the glass, creating a brilliant show of crimson light around him. He made no sound as he sped through the air for some meters more, the tatters of his black coat blowing away into the sky around him. For a moment, it seemed as if he was simply floating in the sky as the glass was, as if his mutilated body would simply lay in the air forever, peaceful and undisturbed.
And then, like the separated piece of the wall, he was falling.
"Did I say you speak, your canine little cretin?! You shall tell me of my superb genius later, servant! For now, keep silent!"
She slapped the shepherd boy in the back of the head as they ran, the trio now exiting the building. Silver could only wince since they were at the mercy of their savior, and thought better than to repeat Kalen's mistake.
"Ah, miss, if I may ask a question?"
"Yes, get on with it, vermin!"
Silver sneered, but only for a moment. "W-where are we going now? I, we do not doubt your intellect or planning, but at the moment we are simply running on the golden streets of this city! To where do we go?"
"Just shut up and follow me! A servant does not question their master."
It was then that they heard a roar of pure anger, shared by many voices, come from the tower behind them. Silver looked over her shoulder, wondering if that was Pride.
A laser beam shot out from the first floor of the tower, quickly moving in a circle that separated part of the first floor from the rest of the tower. When the entirety of the upper majority of the tower fell onto the bottom, a huge cloud of dust and debris spread out from the impact. The tower was still in place, but only barely.
After several moments of fear, Silver began to wonder. Was Pride not coming out? Surely he had broken free; had he decided to just give up and see that they weren't worth his time?
"ATTENTION, ALL VICTORIANS! ATTENTION ALL VICTORIANS!"
The loudspeakers across the city all broadcasted the sound of Pride's voices screaming in fury, which was able to make itself clear over the sound of destruction in the streets. "THE CITY SHALL NOT FALL! YOU WILL NOT ALL DIE! SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT IS HERE!
KILL THE BLACK-FEATHERED, CRIMSON VICTORIAN WITH THE SAVAGES! KILL THEM! CUT THEM INTO PIECES! PROMOTIONS FOR ANYONE WHO DOES THIS! YOU'LL BE AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE! I'LL MAKE YOU MY PROTEGE! YOU CAN BE THE HIGHEST-RANKED VICTORIAN OF ALL! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"
"Keep running!" She followed her own order as she thought the others would, not noticing the sounds of doors opening and pistols cocking in the buildings around her.
|
|
|
Post by CJ on Jan 11, 2014 19:58:55 GMT -5
Kusu's desperation clouded her perception. For all she knew, Slythe was squawking unintelligible things at her. Each chunk of ceiling that fell on her made her thrash all the more harder. Nothing was going to stop her from getting to Wolf, not even the great Slythe Arkady, even if she didn't know what she was going to do when she got to him.
In a display of dazzling light, the gigantic parakeet spun through the air, folding in her wings as she was hit by a barrage of glass. Dark red blood stained wounds, buried in the parakeet's feathers, but it didn't do anything to stop her.
Looking up for a moment, her beady black eye caught Mr. Dark's spinning form. She knew what to do.
Kusu knew how to maneuver through the air. In her childhood, she looked to the birds for inspiration. They taught her how to fly on her own. They never taught her how to catch someone in the air, nor did she think she would have have to do such a thing.
Diving down, she positioned herself under Mr. Dark and spread her wings out to slow her descent. Just as she was about to catch him, another figure came speeding down through the air. Hil had jumped from the wreckage with Jackal in hand. It seemed like he was falling, but, in actuality, he was flying. Mr. Dark might remember that Hil, in Tyrfing, could fly about and it seemed he could levitate even in a more human form.
"If you're awake, don't you dare say anything about me flying," Hil warned Jackal as he clutched onto the back of his shirt. "I hate looking like a freaking fairy. Count yourself lucky Dark asked me to carry you."
Hil landed on Kusu's enormous back, holding Jackal in his right hand and Mr. Dark in his left. He laid them down, but still clutched onto their clothes so they wouldn't fall. His metal features glimmered over them as his ethereal voice shouted in the air.
"Brat, we've got to get to solid ground if you want these two alive. I can't hold risk holding onto them much longer!"
"Wolf needs me," Kusu responded, her voice still deep in her transformation.
"Wolf needs you as much as that savage warrior needed you! Why can't you understand that? These people aren't your friends! They're freaks! Let's leave this place without them! As much as I hate him, the swordsman is more of a friend to you than these people ever were! He wouldn't want this for you!"
"I'm not sure if that's true, Hil, but I feel this is what I must do."
If Mr. Dark was conscious, he'd be able to sense the fears of Kusu and Hil, touching the both of them. For all intents and purposes, Hil was still living and had human emotions. His mind was flooded with worry and anger. He was scared of being replaced in the sword by Mr. Dark or Jackal if they died and disappearing from the world. Oddly enough, he was frightened by Kusu's rash decision and his inability to refuse her or anyone else's commands.
Kusu's heart was lost in sorrow, knowing she would likely have to say goodbye to most of her new friends. She had been through loss and death before, but she would never get used to it. Even now, she was crazed, flying away from Slythe's throne and toward the battle ensuing with Fenrir and Sloth. She was frantic over Mr. Dark's and Jackal's conditions, but wouldn't stop flying.
"Wake up, you freak!" Hil shouted as he shook Mr. Dark. "Tell the brat to stop! She's not listening to me!"
|
|
|
Post by Mise™ on Jan 13, 2014 15:00:22 GMT -5
"Well this shit is fucking boring." Prince Karalisk had just about enough of this farce. Throwing Sloth out there had turned out to be a quite a big mistake as this wasn't entertaining in the slightest and His Highness had no time to waste on such things. So he packed or rather stuffed his telescope back to his pockets. "This place fucking sucks." Victoria had been a huge disappointment so far, only ting the prince had gotten from here was that one throne and some random papers and that was about it. Karalisk was sure that there was nothing in this floor anymore, but there might be something elsewhere so His Highness punched a few floors to drop down to see where it would take him.
|
|
|
Post by Shark a' Pult on Jan 15, 2014 22:32:05 GMT -5
"Keep running!"
Hearing the speech, Kalen was not so sure he made the right decision going with this stranger. At least, as far as he knew, the others in the crew hadn't been actively and openly declared enemies of the state. While the shepherd was confident in his own abilities, he wasn't entirely sure he could take on an entire country of ambitious armed citizenry. As such, he did as he was told, and continued after the stranger.
Really though, the real question was, what kind of houses did these people live in that Kalen could hear them arming at their front doors from the street?
|
|
|
Post by Hitotsumami on Jan 20, 2014 11:01:11 GMT -5
Fenrir listened to Sloth, but he didn't know why. He could have attacked at any time, but Sloth's words were hypnotizing. They brought him back to another time, a time when he was caged. He didn't want to experience that again, even though now he was caged inside a body. He just wanted freedom. Fenrir lowered his arms.
Then, a laser beam and a large part of a building fell out, revealing a giant bird. Fenrir had no idea what it was, but he knew this was his time. Not to attack, however, but to change.
I'm doing it. thought Fenrir.
Inside his mind, Wolf's eyes went wide. What? What's going on out there?
I've had enough fun playing around. This Sloth guy is pissing me off. I'm gonna do it.
Do what!?
You know. The same thing I did back on that marine island.
Wolf remembered it well. It was a time when Fenrir had completely taken over. A time where he had destroyed a Buster Call and split an island in half. He would have done even more damage if he didn't take control.
You're going to kill my friends if you do that! Stop it!
Too late.
When Sloth's attention returned to Fenrir, he might have seen quite a big change. Instead of the tall weaponized robot, Fenrir had changed. Fenrir’s face began stretching in a weird way, angular way. Sharp metal teeth sprouted from beneath the intrusion. It’s eyes became even more narrower, and it glowed an evil red. It’s back arched, it’s hands and legs bending in weird angles beneath him. Claws shot out of the end of his hands and feet. The metal plating covering his body began to break away, revealing a strange assortment of glowing flesh and metal piping, tubes, wires, gearing and all sorts of mechanical things.
Finally, a bolt of lightning ran from the tip of its nose, over his forehead, and down his back, causing the entire body to glow, before shooting out the bottom of his spine in a bright electrical arch, like a tail.
He had changed into the shape of a wolf mechanized, demonic wolf.
Fenrir raised its head and howled as loudly as it could. The shock wave traveled like an ever expanding bubble, destroying every building in its way. He then narrowed his eyes onto Sloth, locking on and pounced, its jaw open wide.
Inside Wolf's mind, Wolf could barely breath. It was like a strong pressure was pushing against his entire body. He couldn't do anything. He knew what was going on in the outside world. He had to stop it.
|
|
|
Post by Kuro on Jan 31, 2014 16:00:31 GMT -5
"Stop right there, you little nothing!"
A Victorian pointed a golden pistol covered in intricate patterns of silver at the trio, only to have it fall to the ground when she felt a bullet go through her fingers. As the Victorian screamed, Titania ran past her, gun smoking in hand. Silver and Kalen followed, each running as well as they could. This had been the fifth Victorian to attack them in the past two minutes. Almost immediately after Pride's announcement, Victorians had come jumping out of the woodwork at a chance to both riddle someone full of holes and get a nifty promotion. Each of the trio had their own skills to offer as they fended off any Victorians that dared to strike.
Silver had noticed that there was something odd about all of the fights in question though. Titania had proven that she had enough accuracy to hit a hand, knee, or any other specific part, and yet she never hit the head, which was larger than any of those. Were the masks bulletproof? The streets were littered with the dead, most of them being in such a state because of the city's destruction, but there were those who died not from being crushed or falling out of buildings, but from bullet wounds. One such wound was located in someone's head, where a huge, sloppily made hole went through the mask and out of the other end of the head as an exit wound much too small and smooth to fit the entry. Mostly bulletproof then? Perhaps there was a limit, or -
BANG
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The shrill scream was without warning or restraint. Silver stumbled and crashed to the golden floor of the street, ending up on her side. She wasn't even sure what had just happened. She just knew that there was pain. She screamed again.
Titania spun to look at the source of the horrible noise and sneered at the sight. Silver laid in the middle of the street, one of her legs a few feet behind her and another leg missing a piece. Blood flowed profusely, spreading across the slick gold of the street quite smoothly.
BANG
Gold shattered a foot away from the feathered Victorian, who jumped and ran to one side of the street, sparing only a glimpse in the direction of the shooter. It was as she thought: A glint of light could be seen from the glorious golden sniper rifle of a Victorian laying on a rooftop at the far, far end of the street.
She pressed herself against a wall of a somewhat intact manor for cover. It would be too difficult to hit the target from this distance, and running down the street wouldn't do. She looked back at Silver and had a small cackle at the pitiful sight. She was sobbing now, grasping at her amputated limb and trying to stop the bleeding. It was a shame that such a useful-looking aspect would not end up making it after all, but there was nothing to do.
She could only hope that Kalen had decided to hide as well. Surely he wasn't so stupid as to stay with the dying spider...Right?
Any buildings nearby Fenrir crumbled instantly, completely destroyed by the attack. One moment they were massive palaces and towers of silver and supreme craftsmanship, and the next they were nothing more than rubble falling to the ground. The deafening roar of such an enormous amount of metal crashing into the ground could be heard all across Victoria, sending either terror, intrigue, or envy into the hearts of its citizens.
In the aftermath of the attack, Sloth was hurtling through the air, shooting out the steam from his shoes in small increments and at certain times in an attempt to stabilize himself. Besides that minimal effort, he didn't seem particularly bothered as his limbs flailed about like some spotless ragdoll.
How absolutely dreadful, he thought as he helplessly spun backwards. This was only going to result in more work, he knew it. Now it was going to be so much more difficult and complicated. He truly did not have time for this, he had better things to do. Well, from his viewpoint anyway. It was possible that most people might put the salvation of their own city and project on the top of any priorities, even above just sitting around or doing nothing. But it was obvious to Sloth that anyone with such a view obviously didn't know how to laze about well enough to truly appreciate it. Such pitiful creatures.
He had gone quite a far distance before slowing down and eventually uprighting himself in the air. He looked down to see that the buildings in this part of the realm had not been obliterated yet. How unfortunate that they would soon be even more rubble to clean up.
He looked up and saw only teeth. He pointed his fingers into the mouth and let loose a laser from each finger. If only that would stop this chaos.
Slythe Arkady, seething with rage, pointed at Kusu from his throne, which he sat on proudly. He would not stand for this. He would not allow this absolute blasphemy against him continue any longer. For such a savage attack him, to fill him with such fear...It was unforgivable.
But then again, it wasn't as if he ever forgave anyone anyway.
Even from this distance, he could see them. Of course he could see them. A giant green mass of uselessness flying through the air with a bunch of worthless peons on board.
Just a little more..just one more adjustment to aiming...and...
A prince and a ceiling crashed onto him, making him look up and point his weapon in that direction out of reflex. The rubble barely caused a mark onto either the crystal throne or its owner, although his immaculate and glorious clothing was now completely covered in dust wherever it wasn't torn. His bejeweled, red and gold crown fell off of his head and rolled away in the havoc, stopping only a few inches away from the edge of the once-wall of the room.
Karalisk's descent through the floors would be stopped, as blue lights suddenly shone through the pile of rubble on the throne. In a bright flash, they were reduced to mere dust. Slythe stood from the mess, his rage uncontainable. After all of that, after all of this mess, there was something as sudden, as random, as unjustifiable as this?! He stared at Karalisk from his crystal throne, and pointed an open palm at him. He didn't even care at this point. He just wanted to do what he loved best: To destroy something beautiful. To nullify the incredible gift of life, for it was the one thing he and all his creations could never hope to be equal to.
"Die."
A laser beam twice as large as the chairman shot out from his hand, disintegrating all in its path. It did not travel very far past the building, but anything it did touch was no longer anything. It lasted for a few seconds, before he stopped the attack and let his hand down. Let him see what history, what collection of thoughts and memories, what unique and beautiful container of a soul had he destroyed? He was not weak because of any of this, no, no, he knew none of this was his fault...He simply wanted to prove to himself again that he was still in power. And what better way to to do than to stop an entire lifetime?
Mr. Dark did not respond to any of Hil's shouting. His body was limp, his breathing shallow and quiet. His blood dropped to the ground like rain as he flew through the air in Hil's hand. No matter how loudly or desperately Hil might have screamed, it would not be enough. This boogeyman would not return to the conscious world anytime soon.
And so, Kusu flew towards the battle of Fenrir and Sloth, charging forward in what could only be described as a suicide mission. It wouldn't change anything, it wouldn't solve anything. Zero percent chance of any change. It would only result in death, one hundred percent. Complete and total. And then more. More death. Death and death and death, over and over again, truly nothing but a matter of numbers.
Numbers.
Ah ha. Ah ha ha ha ha. Just like the office. Ah ha. Just like his little room of papers and numbers and graphs and lines. He didn't escape that place after all. No, all he did was go in deeper. Now he could feel those numbers for himself.
"Ah ha ha ha, ah ha ha ha, AH HA HA HA, AH HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Jackal cackled in Hil's grip, his chest moving up and down as the laughter escaped his mask. Oh, wait, no, he didn't have that anymore, did he? Gave that to the Urdian, to Lynwood! Was that just a mess of numbers too?! He cackled again, louder, with only the occasional crack in his weak voice.
No wonder they all wore masks, he thought in his dying, deluded mind. None of that "too beautiful for the earth" business, nothing so petty, no, no, not even for the Victorians. Distance. It was all about distance. Had to distance themselves from the world, had to look from behind a mask of safety. Built the wall for distance. Built a whole army for distance, to have the power to make sure that all the savages stayed where they needed to stay, away from them, from the Victorians. Fear. Was that really the motivation behind it all? Fear?
Well...he could do that.
He could do it.
An empire of fear.
An empire of distance, an empire where everything happened exactly as it should. He would make it happen, he would make it go right, he was sure of it. None of this. None of this chaos, this mess, this, this nothing. He could make it work. He would make it work. He wouldn't cower like the Victorians had. And he wouldn't flaunt for the sake of pride.
No.
The world was his to maintain. It was his very duty to do what was best.
He had only ever wanted to help. Why hadn't they let him help? Because they were afraid, he bet. Afraid of the changes he would bring. Well, now he would run this place better than they ever did.
He would not fear this world. He would make it beg at his feet. It was the only way to really control, and once he controlled, he would do what he could to help these souls.
These poor souls.
These poor, pitiful souls.
These disgusting little savages. How atrocious in their ignorance. On second thought...he couldn't help these lowly things. Not as much as he thought he could. No. For now, all that was important was keeping them in line. Making sure that they do exactly as they are supposed to.
This wouldn't be for the sake of power. It would be fear. Fear would put everyone into line. Fear would unite them all.
For a better future.
And for that, he needed to survive.
"Kusu..." A hollow, almost echo-like voice empty of emotion spoke up from Kusu's back. "Take us down."
click
"Now."
The dagger extended from underneath Jackal's sleeve, much like the weapons of the other Victorian. He plunged it deep into the base of Kusu's wing, right where the body and wing connected. He had to get down. He had to live. He had to survive. Never mind that he was not in his right state of mind. He wanted to live. He had to rule. He had to control and use fear. Fear. Fear. Fear.
He would show them. He could do it...an empire of fear.
It was for the best.
|
|