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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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 Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:19 am
And Promethei sprung.
He stood in silence as Tobias wrangled Imhotep into not stabbing this not-Elliot, this person wearing the skin of someone he once trusted with everything about him. Even before their bond had become something else, Zebulon found himself confiding in Elliot. It was a funny friendship, really, a bond between a heretic Catholic priest and his best friend the ethnic Jewish gay man–
But what did it matter?
Why could Promethei trust him at this point? Why ******** would he?
The silver of the knife glinted in the light of the chandelier hanging nearby–a conceit they had primarily because of Diryas’ parents–and so did the reflections of Imhotep and Tobias above him as he lunged for ******** a former wilderness expert, he wasn’t too bad with knives. As someone who took several levels of biology, he knew where to aim.
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:19 am
“No!”
As Promethei sprung, Ransomite turned his head toward him.
Tobias got there first.
He dropped Imhotep and shoved him bodily to the side mid-step to getting between Promethei and Ransomite. He had no interest, nor intention, however, of getting stabbed by accident by the knife that Promethei was holding. To that end, he grabbed another chair and put it between himself and Promethei.
“Drop the <******** knife!” Tobias’ eyes flashed, amber-brown gone stormy and dark.
“Tobias, get out of the way!” Imhotep tried to get around him, but a sidestep on Tobias’ part kept himself between Imhotep and Ransomite as the chair stayed between Promethei and Ransomite. Imhotep tried again, tried to duck and dive to the side, but Tobias’s stance widened and so Imhotep ran into his hip instead.
“That’s enough!” An uncharacteristic shout–nearly a roar–tore itself from Tobias’ throat, startling Imhotep into silence. “That’s enough! Everyone, sit the hell down! No one is stabbing anyone!”
“He’s a danger!”
“What did I ******** say?!”
As Imhotep faltered, glancing from Tobias to Ransomite to Promethei back to Ransomite and then back to Tobias–who was perfectly willing to turn his back to Ransomite–he made a noise of frustration. But before anyone could say anything, there was a shifting in space around the agent on the floor.
And Elliot was left there instead, an altogether different noise escaping him. It was quiet, choked, as Elliot braced his elbows on his knees, one hand over his eyes as the other dangled uselessly into the air past his legs.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:19 am
The chaotic aura left the room, and Promethei noticed that in a way that might have only alarmed Tobias further.
Shedding that form meant that Elliot was even more defenseless than he was with that damn useless test tube. He was just what he was at his base, a mid-thirties man who didn’t have the most active job and it was obvious. He couldn’t move as fast, he couldn’t teleport, he couldn’t find whatever the ******** his weapon was and stab back, he couldn’t withdraw his energy and make him defenseless on the floor–
And he couldn’t take his starseed.
His gaze hardened as he looked at Tobias, knife pointed only slightly to the side of his body. “And do what?” he snapped, ignoring the lump of Elliot on the floor. “Let him go? He’s a potential serial murderer! He takes life energy! He at least endorses this ******** did not look directly at Elliot.
He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He shouldn’t.
“I’ve seen what the Negaverse has done, and he did that s**t to me. If he could leave me for dead–” It died in his throat as he pondered the concept and fought off nausea that followed.
What if he found Diryas or Tobias in an even worse state than himself?
“Give me a ******** solution or I’ll go end this while he’s ******** defenseless.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:20 am
Tobias’ teeth grit hard enough to grind audibly. Forced past clenched teeth, “you are not going to ******** end any–”
“I never killed anyone!” Elliot’s voice was thick, shaky, but vehement. “I never killed anyone!”
“You take energy, though! You drained Zebulon!” Accusation, venom dripped from every word that left Imhotep’s lips. “You did leave him for dead on a park ben–”
“No, I didn’t! Jesus Christ, I swear I didn’t!” Elliot’s body pitched forward, then, and Imhotep reflexively took a step toward him, only for Tobias’ body and facial expression to stop anything further. “Please believe me!”
“Why?” Imhotep’s voice was entirely devoid of emotion and inflection. “You’ve been lying to us for years.”
Stopping at a kneel, rather than stand, Elliot gestured desperately. “There was a superior officer with me. I couldn’t let him know I knew Zebulon. He picked Zeb–”
“Stop calling him that.”
“Diryas.”
“He picked Zebulon out for me. I didn’t pick him. I didn’t call the meeting. The meeting was because I was behind in quota–”
“There’s a ******** quota?!”
“Diryas!” With that, Imhotep turned toward Tobias, eyes narrow and shoulders square. Tobias stared him down in turn, face very carefully neutral.
“What? You want to just let him get away with what he did? I don’t care if he didn’t call the meeting or pick out Zeb. He still attacked Zeb!”
“I didn’t want to! I don’t know what I can swear on, but I didn’t want to!” Elliot’s voice cracked, then. “He wanted me to recruit Zebulon after that, and I’ve spent–” his voice choked, and he started again, “I’ve spent the past year and a half trying to keep him off of Zebulon’s scent, telling him I don’t know who he is and that I haven’t been able to find him!”
“He only knows about Zeb because you forced him to have to defend himself!”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:20 am
Had he been forced to defend himself?
Yes, but the scenario had not been obvious on its face. Zebulon saw Ransomite stroll up and sit down next to him, trying to talk about some random bullshit about the ******** weather, and it immediately reminded him of that other girl at the cafe who did the same s**t that first time. And then she told him something of what was going on, and left him to crash at the table with his head slumping so fast he ended up with a bruise. Ransomite did not attack him first, but he didn’t need to.
Zebulon had already known what was coming.
He watched Imhotep, Tobias, and a desperate Elliot speak back and forth. Promethei did not put down the knife.
There were too many questions and not enough answers.
The betrayal still dug deep.
“Has he gotten any clue as to who I am? Is this just some solo project?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:21 am
“There are a hundred thousand men who could look just like you in this city. He doesn’t know I know you. He asks, but I just tell him I can’t find you.” Elliot’s words came in a rush that tumbled over and over. He didn’t move off of his knees, but he did sit back on his heels, shoulders slumped.
“Why didn’t you just ******** leave him alone?” Imhotep’s arm flung out to gesture to Promethei. “You couldn’t find some reason not to drain him in the park in broad ******** daylight?” Elliot looked back toward Promethei.
“He attacked me first. I couldn’t not answer at that point. Not with my superior officer watching.” His hands gestured quickly again. “What if he investigated why I was holding back? I wasn’t even supposed to drain him to unconsciousness!”
“So why did you?” Imhotep’s voice had lost none of its edge. “You couldn’t just skim off the top like I’m sure you do with your congregation?”
“I was going to! Then he attacked me!” A pause lasting less than a quarter of a heartbeat. “I don’t drain from my congregation!”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:26 am
Well, Elliot wasn’t entirely wrong there…
“Considering my age, that’s probably an exaggeration, but–,” Statistically, a bit more of the men of ambiguous Hispanic backgrounds were members of gen z and gen alpha. He was very firmly older, but that was beside the point, and he was getting pedantic in his agitation, “it doesn’t miss the fact that they’re still looking out for someone like me. Did they scrape any other clues?”
Besides the fact that he knew what the Negaverse was already when this guy walked up to him and decided the fake conversation was a great lead-up to, what, making him sleepy? If he had a superior watching him, the ******** was the superior expecting? Was it just making up a little bit of the missing quota?
And why did it have to be him?
“I will admit I attacked you first, but,” Promethei’s voice dropped a pitch, “you knew why too. This wasn’t the first time I was approached by one of you military-garbed ********, and I was not having it again. But, of course,” his tone came out as a growl, “I had to have it again anyway.”
No goddamn winning.
His grip on the knife tightened, even as his hand shook minutely. “I know these ********. They likely wanted you because of your religious background in the first place, so what do you mean you weren’t doing anything with your congregation? Who were you taking from instead? Those you were close to? Our bars?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:26 am
Elliot didn’t miss the way his grip tightened on the knife. His eyes flickered to it, then back to Promethei’s face. He didn’t say anything about it. “People at random nightclubs, mostly. Skimming while, you know,” a vague hand gesture that bordered on public appropriateness. “Never enough to miss.” A pause. “Aggressive people and assholes might lose enough to miss, actually.”
“What, you fancy yourself some sort of vigilante, then? Saving the people and taking some energy as your payment?” Imhotep rolled his eyes. Elliot just sighed.
“No, not a vigilante.” What would he be doing? Saving the Earth, one soul at a time? He rubbed at his eyes with the heel of one hand to try and relieve the puffy feeling. It didn’t work. “Just trying to minimize harm, I guess.”
It sounded stupid even as he said it.
“If you thought you had to minimize harm, why did it not occur to you that what you were doing was overall harmful?” Tobias’ tone was much gentler. Elliot didn’t deserve it, but he did appreciate it.
“It did occur to me.” He looked at the other two. “That’s part of why I’m here.”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:27 am
Random nightclubs.
Promethei’s grip lessened slightly at the prospect that perhaps whoever this was wasn’t messing with those he knew best. Henri and Alec had likely never been drawn from in that way, and it made it a bit easier to negotiate but not overly much. He had drawn from Promethei. He had not shown that he wouldn’t do that again if he was pushed to do it.
Wasn’t drawing things from him without his permission a cornerstone of what they shouldn’t be doing, whether in their lives or in their own particular proclivities–
“It is giving self-figured vigilante. Is that what they tell you? Go for only certain people and that s**t’s okay?” Promethei was echoing his husband in some ways – or perhaps all the ways. But what actions at a club would necessitate violation of safe? What actions, done under consenting conditions–
He rolled his eyes.
“Got half-a-mind to just castrate you.”
Promethei’s eyes scanned along the knife.
“Won’t, though. You got two seconds to explain what you mean by part of why you came here was because you had the brain cell lightbulb moment.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:27 am
Elliot paled, but shook his head when Tobias responded to Promethei with a murmured admonishment. “No, that’s… fair.” He glanced at Imhotep, who stared impassively back at him. “It… wasn’t much, for whatever that’s worth.”
It was little enough that he had to make up for in quantity what he lacked in volume, and that introduced a numbers game that had, a couple of times, resulted in a bottle of antibiotics on his bathroom counter. How would he have explained that, for that matter? Their arrangement hadn’t required him to be exclusive to their group, but still.
“It was enough to get you promoted, wasn’t it?”
“I’ve been doing this almost four years, so, yeah, eventually I guess.”
“So why are you here? Answer the question.” Imhotep ignored Tobias’ second admonishment for tone. “Four years is a long time, especially when you’ve been mysteriously too busy for us for nearly two of them.”
“I didn’t want to lead them back to you guys after the...” Elliot gestured vaguely at Promethei. “Incident.”
“And that didn’t clue you in that maybe what you were doing wasn’t the right thing to do?” Imhotep’s tone was outright derisive, this time. Elliot flinched.
“Well, I’m leaving now.” His voice had gone quiet. “I’m trying to find a way out. I came to say goodbye.”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:28 am
Incident.
“Yeah,” Promethei rolled his eyes lightly, glancing to the side away from Elliot, even as his grip on the knife loosened all the same. “incident.” An incident that was apparently severe enough to make the Negaverse interested in ethnically ambiguous men in their thirties. ******** hell–
He was going to say something else, but Elliot’s comment that he came to say goodbye froze the blood in his veins again.
This guy, this person who was Elliot but also was this four years long agent of the Negaverse, an organization that had been rattling him for almost as long… was just now coming to say goodbye. Just now. After being notoriously hard to get a hold of for almost two years, and for nearly disappearing entirely about a year ago for reasons he wasn’t able to explain.
Had Promethei started moving on without him? In some ways, but his heart ached every time he thought of the gaping hole. He thought Elliot just flowed out of their lives as easily as he flowed into it, but the flow was only really easy for him.
Promethei bit down on his lip, hard.
“Now?” He sounded strained, despite. “Now?” and that strain was followed by hints of that anger returning. “You couldn’t say something sooner than ghosting us if you were just gonna say goodbye anyway? What were you waiting for if the plan was just to disappear anyway?”
Promethei knew disastrously little about purification, only that it was possible. He had never exactly met anyone who had purified.
It informed his responses and the heat that stung the bottom of his eyelids.
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:28 am
This had been a mistake. He should never have come there. They were better off without him there after all.
“I didn’t want you to think I was dead or something.” Elliot’s voice came out as a whisper, eyes looking at some faraway point directly ahead.
Imhotep was Diryas in the next moment, and Diryas crouched down to look at Elliot past Tobias’ legs. “And you thought this was better? You should have just left us a note and ******** off if you were going to do it this way.”
“Diryas. For ******** sake.” Tobias lost his last shred of patience, turning and crouching in front of Elliot as well. “Hey, why do you have to say goodbye?”
Elliot had been expecting that question little enough that being asked it brought him up short.
“...What?”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:29 am
“Easy enough to know that you’re not dead at the moment,” replied Promethei, dryly. “Father Isaac has not stuttered in his appearances.”
Promethei had considered going to confession. It wasn’t because he believed in any of its tenets or thought it was somehow necessary; his belief system was entirely different and complex at best. It would be an easy way to reach one of the people who was most important to him so that he wouldn’t be able to make an excuse to leave.
The heretic priest would still have to listen.
Instead, what they had was this s**t – a man who apparently had been a member of an organization of soul-stealing, energy-snatching dickheads who thought it appropriate to drain him and abandon him, and also drain other people just trying to have a good time at a club. It was the type of s**t that made him tempted to join in Diryas’ opinion.
But then there was Tobias and coming up with the fact that he didn’t need to say goodbye at all, and Zebulon couldn’t tell if it was because Tobias was overly soft or if he saw something in what Elliot was saying that made him a nonthreat.
Promethei watched all three warily.
“You already left, in some ways. What can we possibly do about that now?” Did he even want to do anything? He did still have half-a-mind to castrate him– “And how do we trust you're not gonna ******** drain us and ******** off again?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:30 am
“I only drained you to keep you from being too interesting to my superior officer.” It was pathetic, but it was close enough to the truth. The only thing it was missing was the way his heart had leapt into his throat. “And I didn’t want him to follow me to you after.”
Diryas opened his mouth.
Elliot kept going.
“He’s been asking me ever since, asking me if I’ve found you yet. What if he tracked me? What if he tracked me right to you?” Tobias was nodding in understanding. Diryas’ expression was unreadable. “He wanted to awaken you as an agent, Zebulon. I couldn’t do that!”
“How many?” Diryas’ voice and its firm monotone drew Elliot’s attention. This time, it was Diryas that cut Elliot off as Elliot opened his mouth, “how many people have you drained?”
“I… I don’t know. I don’t keep track of them.”
“Mm. How many starseeds have you taken?”
“None!”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:31 am
Being too interesting?
From the sounds of it, he already was. If Elliot–or Cpt. Betrayalite–had to avoid their home this long to stop his general from figuring out where he was, what had any of that done? It made the situation worse, not better, and Zebulon couldn’t quite stop himself from giving his former husband a look down his nose.
Was he being unfair? Did fairness even apply in these situations? Fairness took an exit when Elliot decided that the Negaverse was apparently the right ******** choice at any ******** point— “He would have had to convert me as one of those mindless pawns with no ******** concept of self,” groused Promethei, pinching the bridge of his nose. Awaken? Yeah, he guessed at that time it might have worked…
Not for long, though.
“Okay, fine, say I believe you that you’ve never taken a starseed and your shitty superiors never made you.” He didn’t, really, and the tone of his voice would make that clearer than anything else. “And all you did was drain energy for … reasons.”
That he believed enough to go to other clubs–
“Were you there for that ******** alien machine takeover?” Promethei’s near hiss cut like the knife he was still holding. “When the Negaverse did that s**t to a bunch of our own?”
They were there. He remembered how angry that chaos had made him.
At least, though, he did not walk as ******** Prometheite or some s**t.
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