"Such funny little things, aren't they, " The corrupted crossed what distance remained to crouch in a looming catcher's stance overtop the girls. "Talking between each other like nothing's wrong at all. Like there's not a thing to fear. Not Really. "
"You don't pay attention do you? No one does. I remember that. I remember going to college. I remember holding the door for girls chattering away, like you, about getting a latte or the cutie in class a few seats down they wanted to catch during rush week. This is all just Natives and Dead Rabbits, right? Movie violence and you can easy peasy ignore it- not important. "
"Can't happen bad to you. But it did. It has. It is. Ringed a rosie round you and can fill your pockets with posies if we wanted. Execution's easy. That's just an ending. "
"But we want to make beginnings, floursacks and ropes me hearties, toward actually stopping all the world becoming a meatmarket. So think really hard. This stuff's gone on because the police and guns and all that rot you have faith in can't stop it. Can't touch it, can't catch it, can't even find the rabbit hole, Dead or otherwise. "
Haüyne rocked down, knees touching the ground, hands on either side of Olga's head so that brown bangs could just tickle the girls nose while the corrupted senshi looked close and unblinking down into her eyes. " It takes a village. Two of you on the ground. Two of us. That's it. But Two and Two can become Four and Zero, and you can join up. You can do something and make a difference. We aren't the police; we can fight these invaders. Follow the white rabbit and come to Queen of Hearts, the Red Queen, the White Queen, and all the wonders in between."
Daekie
Pixie Nyxie
Lucyal
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:15 pm
SWINGS - (Pyrophanite) - (NEGA)
Pyro grinned.
"Thats the else part." He laughed at the other girl, the one not in flannel and shook his head. "I don't have to be threatening to know the end game, little innocent sheep. All I gotta know is that when this is over, either you joined. Or you don't." He stopped.
"But not joining isn't good either. See, what Haüyne is saying here, is you can explore the rabbit hole, or you can hit the bottom and break your neck, you know?"
He waited.
"Aren't you tired of not knowing what goes bump in the night? What pretends to know best for you? We do, we know. We want to stop it." He crossed his arms.
The threats should have worried Lily infinitely more than they did. She'd known, for months - years, even - there was something terrible and infinitely bigger than her going on in Destiny City - so this proof, this obvious clearance, wasn't especially worrying. Monsters, teenagers just like her chasing them off, adults and kids alike in unusual costumes too wrong for the season? Anyone would have known there was something unusual. Lily wasn't the investigative type, however, and she'd never particularly wanted to be. Whatever happened in the city...it had never affected her, or her family, directly before now. It was a large city, after all. Such large numbers of people to choose from, it was no wonder that some people attracted danger far more than others.
"...If you want to do anything to me, it's not like I'm going to stop you." Her voice was calm, collected, and quiet. "I'm not going to say anything about how you'll get stopped. I don't have a motive in this. I'd just like to get home alive." She smiled warm and slow. "It's okay. Whatever helps you."
Why did there have to be some many of them? If this were a one on one thing her success would be guarenteed. Manipulation was so simply one on one - you just conversed and listened a little to your target, ciphered out exactly what it was to them that was important. And then once you had that invaluable information you could simply massage or twist it to your needs. Feed them everything they wanted to hear.
But with three... the chances were nearly impossible to convince three very different people all at once. Even the ability to convince one came into question when there was so much background noise and obnoxious questioning and fight back. They had given her three captives for a reason however - when most had only two, and while paired up with one of the weaker/less experienced of her ranks. It meant they had great faith in her - and she was going to do her very best to live up to it.
Even if they convinced only one - she could bring home one recruit and Empressite could bring home two starseeds. Her eyes glanced mildly over to the Lieutenant as she followed her lead - echoing and expanding upon her words. Good girl.
The topic of their restraints arose once more and Dahlia sighed mildly her attention shifting to the more vocal female. "Indeed. It's hardly the strategy I'd use on my own. I prefer a much softer touch. Simply show you the dangers of this world. Talk to you over time to let you know you have an option, an opportunity."
"But unfortunately we do not always have that luxury. The terrorists have gotten more aggressive lately. Murdering our potential recruits, anyone who could possibly stand up to them. It seemed necessary to grab as many of you guys as possible to talk to. And unfortunately, because we were afraid you might not hang around long enough to listen it was decided that you should be made to listen."
"That said...." There was a soft glow of light as the creme colored cat, once tiny and dainty, shifted until what remained looked mostly human, except for cat ears and the tail that still swayed, making the metal coins on her bellydancer-esque outfit jingle and clink.
"If you guys promise to listen and behave nicely I'd be happy to take those restraints off for you." Hand outstretched she pointed one exposed claw towards the ropes.
The gift shop was broken, run-down, and mostly empty. A few shelves that contained remnants of things long past still remained, shattered and pathetic, on the walls, and an old-fashioned cash register with the drawer hanging out stood on the counter.
He did not regret voluntarily coming along for this mission - though admittedly, Aurostibite did not necessarily agree with the method of brute force to gather ranks. Still, it would be a good learning experience, as well as a test of his own skills, good for his impending promotion that loomed just around the corner.
And, it seemed to be that fate was playing a rather funny hand, because one of Aurostibite's two captives was familiar - though it had been some years since he'd last set eyes on the red haired man. No flicker of this recognition was visible in Aurostibite's eyes, however, and he stepped towards the two, boots clicking on the floor.
"Are you awake?" he asked them both quietly. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
The murmuring sounds out voices nearby stirred Breana from her place of repose. She groaned. Too many voices chitchatting around her, couldn’t they see she just wanted to sleep?
“What the hell…?” Like the two who woke before her, she too had a similar reaction. Barely awake, the smell of moldy stale food hit her like a truck making her stomach lurch. “Oh gross...” Someone needs to come Fabreeze this place… Unable to move her arms, which were uncomfortably tied behind her back, she rolled onto her side much to her body’s protest. and with a fair amount of effort Bri managed to sit upright Head swimming as though she had been tossed into a laundry machine and set to spin cycle, her body ached from laying on the stone tile floor for far too long.
The last thing she remembered about the night before was being asked to go to the grocery store to get a few things for the Halloween party her father's work was hosting was being grabbed from behind by someone hiding in an adjacent alley. Though her sister, Fiona, was super busy as of late, she had promised that she would help make some fun halloween themed cupcakes since they had been assigned the Monster Mash Cupcake Walk, seemed to reason their baking night wasn’t going to happen.
Finally, after struggling a bit with the binds around her wrists, Bre gave up and glared daggers of annoyance at the woman with long teal hair. Despite the smile on her face, it seemed to reason she wouldn’t be offering them aid any time soon.
Sorry for the double quote ;__; derped on coding.
Shanyume
Anxious Friend
Offline
Lucyal
Offline
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 4:58 pm
SWINGS - Olga - CIV
"Uh---but---" She was going to try and protest, because, as nerve wracking as this situation was (and she knew, that she was in deep, deep, deep trouble) their captors, so far, were being rather....erm...civil. As Haüyne came close though, Olga froze, and watched the corrupt senshi, tense. As Haüyne leaned in close, Olga stared back, eyes wide, her lips twisted and held her breath. She wasn't sure why she was holding her breath---she just did. The bangs tickled her nose, and it scrunched up.
Listening to Pyro though, and then Lily, it was Lily's words that got her. Olga tossed her head to the side, breaking her stare with Haüyne and sucking in a much needed breath. "Just like that?" She asked the girl, in disbelief, and wondered if it was a thing to be predisposed to Chaos. Well, yeah, she wanted to live too but---
Olga shot a wild eyed look at Pyro, and then glanced back at Haüyne, and tried to shy away from the senshi, but obviously couldn't get too far. "If we break our neck, it's not from falling, it's going to be from you---you guys think strong arming us into joining is a choice!?" Her voice cracked a bit, and she cleared her throat, and she shot a frantic look back at the Negaverse Lieutenant. "Stop what? Why do you drain the energy from people, huh? Why do you guys take star seeds? What's your purpose? Both of you---"
Daekie
Pixie Nyxie
Ivynian
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 5:43 pm
GIFT SHOP - ANDREW COLLINS/??? - CIVILIAN
A girl of few words, huh. Couldn't blame her, considering. He could fill the space for them, and did so without hesitation. "Good. I'm, uh. Well. I don't really remember. Good stuff, right? But your parents had to have called the cops by now, so they've gotta be inbound. Then we'll get the heck out of here, we'll go home, and I'm gonna sleep for years..."
He stiffened silently when someone else spoke, staring at the Nazi-wannabe with a curled lip. "But kidnapping isn't a stretch, right? Jesus. What are you, early twenties? What the hell do you want? If it's money, you're gonna be sorely disappointed..."
Unless he was a millionaire and had no idea. Wouldn't that be ironic?
kuropeco
whimsical blue
Tsunake
Territorial Friend
Offline
Ivynian
Cat
Offline
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 6:12 pm
SWINGS - (Haüyne) - (NEGA)
Using a purely Hostage situation was already shooting anyone in the foot as far as getting someone to just willingly sign on. Like smacking a dog over the face with a rolled newspaper and expecting it to come lick your hands a second later. People weren't dogs, and the United States of America had a mindset far too entitled to personal freedoms and having to be allowed a choice in everything to make this very viable. Capture-bonding was almost looking like a possibility, if this one could be kept on edge enough to feel the 'danger' as more nebulous and them as a bulwark perilous but safe, but Pyro's words went too far in making them direct aggressors.
Damnit, lost her. Haüyne sat back to heels, squinching nose. Patience with cajoling in an already stacked situation was not a strong point for the corrupted. Lily's words were just asinine. And didn't help but to interrupt Olga's focus. "That one can't even follow directions to think. Won't put up enough self-agency to make an effort. 'oh whatever you want to dooooo to me.' And get a load of that- whatever helps us, but I just said what would and she can't be ******** to follow a damn word. Useful, alright, useful as a sock-for-a-...well."
"Neither's valuing their lives to really think. Just more run around and not considering a damn thing outside of themselves. We need critical thinkers, not yes-Socks and space cadets. They're not flour to make dough. These are sheep. Let's get this over with and get something out of it, right?" And this one knows about starseeds? Where did you learn that terminology, funnyone? You got a friend somewhere, or you're a closet caped avenger. Sheep are meant for sheering and slaughter.
Daekie
Pixie Nyxie
Lucyal
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 6:24 pm
SECURITY - Xenotime - Nega
The shrieking rant was met with a bored expression and a very exaggerated yawn. If anything the girl was screaming at her bothered her, it certainly didn't show. Xenotime sank a few inches further in her chair, the corners of her lips ticking upwards before splitting into an all out grin as Iolite finally lost her temper and interjected.
Now the general rose to her feet, walking slowly around the chair to approach the two ladies sitting on the ground. Cool eyes fell to the quieter of the two, regarding her as she asked what they were doing there. A fair question, one the fighter would answer in a moment, but first...
The initial brush of fingers through Maxine's hair was a disarmingly soft one, almost gentle as her nails brushed the girl's scalp. A soft and soothing gesture to match the subtle hush of her voice as she shushed the loud girl. Like a mother scolding a spoiled child, coddling and ineffective, before the the hand drew back. The backhand she laid against Maxine's cheek was almost casual, but at her level, against humans, it was likely enough to make the poor girl's head rattle a bit. Not that she'd give her much chance to recover. Xenotime's fingers where their to catch the point of the other girl's chin, forcing her head around to look up at her. "Let's get one thing very clear." Fingers squeezed, but her voice never once rose in pitch. Level and deceptively gentle. "If this was the scenario you're imagining. You have something to offer."
A harsh shove to push her away, and Xenotime was looking down at Julie. "We're not looking for ransom. We're looking for recruits." Of the two of them, it was her the general would rather deal with.
"Behave yourself, and you'll come out of this just fine." The threat was there, if unspoken. Maxine was a shining example.
The chatter was comforting, in its way. The man seemed confident in what he was saying, or at least he cared enough to want to be comforting, which was in itself a comfort. He even had a good point. She was never late like this getting home from school, even on the days she got lost on the way there. Her parents were going to notice and the police would be called. They were looking for her now, for sure!
She could just picture it now... men in swat uniforms, wielding large black guns, kicking in the door and rushing inside to save them!
Flo started again, hearing someone speak as they joined them. Wide blue eyes fell on a strange man with long, dark hair. He had a very official looking uniform, though the peacock feathers were a little odd... and he didn't seem outright threatening. Was he the one that had kidnapped them? Was he here to save them? Was there more of him?
As he approached, the short girl rocked back onto her butt and leaning back on her hands, inched closer to her fellow captive with slow scooting motions. If she had to trust someone, she supposed she would throw her lot in with someone who was obviously not on the other side. Her eyes flicked from the stranger to the... less-stranger, looking for some hint of what they were supposed to do.
Tsunake
kuropeco
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:45 pm
SECURITY - MAXINE RUTGER - CIV
A voice coming from somewhere unexpected put Maxine's tirade to a halt. Was that the cat just now? The woman didn't seem to have spoken. "Come again?" She didn't get a chance to add more before the woman in the chair strode up to her, gently nestling her fingers in her hair and shushing her. The gesture sent a shudder through her body and an ohshitohshitohshit through her mind. The backhand met its mark, and Maxine yelped out of reflex, something she very much wished hadn't happened. Apparently the impact was all she needed to be convinced that this woman was some kind of badass. "Whoa," she whispered as the world readjusted itself from being twisted yet again as the General yanked her head to face her. She wriggled in her bonds a bit before remembering that she couldn't exactly rub the sore spot.
"Recruits, huh," she mumbled, her eyes now on the newly-crowned badass in green and grey. "Why me, then? Sure, I'm tough, but I think you could use someone, uh, taller, maybe." At five foot one, Maxine was not exactly an intimidating figure. "Or someone with a few more badass credits. I'm working on 'em, but, well." She wasn't going to explicitly say "I haven't earned enough badass credits yet," but really, even she knew that she had mere pennies worth of badass credits compared to the lady in front of her.
WATER RIDE - WALLACE SUITE - CIVILIAN Wallace was no stranger to rude awakenings. When he was at the place he still thought of as home, he was likely to be woken up by his brother deciding to barrel into him, or his easily excitable sister. At the apartment he shared with Flannery, he was liable to be woken at any hour, often by some uncomfortable prodding, at the drop of a new idea.
But the prodding didn't stop, and Wallace moved to shove Flannery away. Or tried. His arms protested when he tried to move them, and his legs seemed to be stuck together. At this point, he finally opened his eyes, and waited for them to focus. His glasses were jammed on his face unevenly, hanging from just one ear, so he couldn't make everything out. Which may have been for the best, given what he could see: a stranger in a strange costume.
Strange costume. Strange place. Tied up, with no memory of how he got that way. Finally the pieces began to fit together, and Wallace did not like the picture they revealed on bit.
No, he thought first, and that opened the floodgates. No no. No no no no no. No no NO. Oh no no no, no. Hell no. No, no, no, NO. Just... no.
Maybe this was a dream. Some reaction to stress. Crossing his fingers made his wrists hurt, so he just closed his eyes and hoped for the best.
When he opened them, the scene was the same, and he couldn't keep from voicing his opinion: "Not this crap again."
The stranger was talking, but Wallace didn't really care about what he was saying. He cared about what the hell was going on. And while he was reluctant to admit it, he cared about where Flannery was, since his last clear memory placed them together.
Tuning back into his captor made him suppress a snort. Sure, he was scared, but more than that, he was angry. He'd already had enough of this to last a lifetime, and he was done playing along. "You're the one who should be afraid. I'm going to see to it that your whole organization is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Quote:
A quick note- Gaia does not always ping me if spaces are added to my username! Sorry for any inconvenience!
[Mistress Morbid]
Matisha
~Kiana_Nala~
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:49 pm
{Roller Coaster} Empressite – Nega
This mission had fast lost any appeal it might have held, and she was getting more and more bored and annoyed, not a good combination. She was fast reaching the point where she might simply say screw it all, rip all three starseeds and call it a day. That might mean she failed in her mission, but at this point, she couldn't be arsed to care.
The largest source of annoyance was that smart a** little boy. It was obvious fairly swiftly that there was likely no way he would join them. He might possibly do so if forcibly recruited, but as a mere lieutenant she didn't have the power or ability to do so. Oh well.
The area here was run down and decrepit at best, and it would be an easy matter to run down any if they chose to escape, so the restraints did seem a little redundant. And if any did manage to escape her or Dahlia, there were plenty of other agents there, even if it would look bad on her if they needed to intervene.
Perhaps a demonstration of the consequences ahead of time might be useful...
'We're here to to have a conversation in peace, that's true, but obviously I'm not as nice as Dahlia. We will release your bonds, but should you try to run before you've heard all we have to say and had any questions answered, it won't go well for you. If I am forced to run after you, I may rethink the decision we made to try and help you. If I wasted my valuable time, ' she looked over at Dahlia, 'Pardon me, if you wasted our valuable time, I will be more than cross.'
She sauntered back over to Niall. 'Should any of you try to run, I'll simply remove your –heart – and crush it in my hands.'
She made as if to reach her hand into his chest to remove the heart suiting actions to words, hand hovering mere mililmeters from his chest. One, two, three heartbeats. Long enough for them all to get the picture.
'Now that's over with, how about we sit here and have a lovely little chat.'
Pyrophanite stared at Olga and wondered if the girl was stupid or just...stupid. Really stupid.
"You saying that she's useless?" Pyro rocked back on heels, sometimes he didn't always understand Haüyne but he'd like to think he got the gist of her. His head knocked to Lily but really it could've been to either ones.
To Olga, he just sneered.
"I don't know what those are. Starseeds, Energy draining? Those things sound like something terrorist are trying to brainwash you with." Pyrophanite knocked his fist against his palm. "Hey Haüyne, She's got a friend doesn't she? Or maybe she's one of those terrorist? What do we do?" he cocked his head. "We tell a general?"
