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 Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 1:22 am
A few plates impressively clicked on the table, proving once again that Rep had amazing prowess this entire encounter over absolutely nothing. A few moments passed where everyone just stood there.
Charlotte clapped at Rep slowly, very, very slowly. "Very well, since nobody else will, I might as well explain everything. For those of you unaware of who I am, you could say I am a shareholder to a very expensive company."
"It started when we found something, purely by accident. We called it the holy grail, because of the nature, shape, and name of it. We sealed it, and we were the ones that contained it."
"At first this facility was enough to contain the grail. Unfortunately, it began to awaken, and well, took quite a fair bit of my assets when it did. Unless the grail sleeps again, the infection, the virus, will spread. Unfortunately, for it to sleep, we have to siphon its power by purposely making it infect others, and then we hope, just maybe, there is opportunity. It doesn’t matter. This plan failed. Unfortunately, there will have to be a next time."
"I am curious though, did you come like your leader to take the Grail and place the infection right on your precious little island, waiting for the day it will infect your island? Or did you think you could destroy an object that hasn’t even fully manifested yet? "
She leaned back. “But wait, there is always a third option.” A sarcastic smile. “You are Hunters after all, destined to be the good guys, to save the world, and humanity. You could just walk away right now, and stay the good guys. This is the story you wanted right? To always be right, to always be just. If you leave now, then everyone will be saved. I highly doubt, Deus Ex is burgeoning in ready sacrifices. This is the good ending. Congratulations. You are all heroes."
The creme brûlée was nearly finished, but Charlotte did not seem like she wanted to move. The remainder of the food on the table was untouched.
At some point, Caelius got up, and left. The three of them were abandoned, as always.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 1:36 am
Rep leaned on the table heavily, glaring at Charlotte and wishing that he could murder people by sheer force of resentment. The infection came from the grail somehow, whatever the grail was. "I've been ******** running around after this stupid ******** infection for months now and you are saying your inept ******** COMPANY has been ******** with it."
He clenched the only hand he freely could and wished he could swing. "We aren't ******** heroes. Or I'm no. If you can contain the ******** grail, so can we and we aren't ******** NUTCASES."
But the idea of the thing anywhere near Harrison made him feel sick and grim.
Cael was gone too and the canine and pathetic sense of loyalty he felt made him wonder if despite everything he should just leave. This was beyond and above him, he'd had his orders to find Cael.
It didn't feel like a good ending.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 1:40 am
"If you insist," Charlotte replied, "find at least a thousand civilians. Watch them kill each other, and then, maybe you have a chance to right all the wrongs in this world. That's what you like isn't it? I've read your profile report Rep, you like to dirty your hands." She lowered her gaze. "Now is your chance to."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 1:44 am
Rep tensed uncomfortably at the accusation, Charlotte's comment ran painfully close to the vein. He'd failed possibly hundreds of people, letting them succumb to this corruption with his own ineptitude already and part of him said that perhaps...humans were just humans, they multiplied... a thousand was nothing.
He grit his teeth. "What good does letting them die do? Does this grail run on blood? Is it sacrifices. Is that what will finally stop it? How do you know?"
But he sounded much too interested in the realistic possibilities.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 1:52 am
"The grail runs on knowledge." Charlotte made herself comfortable in her seat again. "The problem with this knowledge is that well, it wasn't quite made for humans of any kind. When that knowledge spreads, it creates a sort of infection. The word going around these days I hear is virus. The virus spreads the knowledge and eventually this consumes the host and a transformation happens of sorts. Sometimes the host does not even die, they just become not exactly quite human. I'm sure you have witnessed it before, Rep. You did a valiant effort of sacrificing, but what you personally lack is power." Charlotte knew.
"So there is a sword, and it manifests in protecting others. There is a staff, and it seeks revenge. A heart that requests destruction, and now this grail that requires knowledge. To my understanding, this is the sixth of the last. I could give you the grail right now, in it's incomplete form, and watch it absolutely destroy everything you are and love, or you could leave it with me and let me finish what I started. You know my coordinates, you know how to find me. If I fail, then, we can always negotiate. Sometimes Rep, you cannot win a battle with force. I wonder if you are really in the right division if you cannot even grasp that."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:01 am
Gale gave a derisive snort.
"Most unfortunately, walking away from something doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, no matter how much one might like to pretend," he said flatly. "You can't expect that we'll all just ignore the fact that there's a ticking time bomb here that's slowly driving people into madness, infecting hundreds."
Caelius' departure was entirely ignored.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:03 am
Knowledge somehow made sense. "Sort of like how too much fear will kill you." he said. "Or joy, or any of those ******** up things." Except this didn't kill you, what it did was worse. "And I didn't..." but he didn't want to drag it out and debate it. Perhaps on his own, but not right here and now.
He gritted his teeth again and tensed in restrained irritation at the fact that she was right, that they couldn't afford to take the grail right now, he couldn't afford to risk it.
There had been a reminder he had something to protect, something that mattered and it was that which pushed him away from the dangerous and intoxicating power this artifact presented, not power in a way he could wield but a potential power, a punishment wrought upon the arrogant, indirect but potent. But he couldn't risk it, he couldn't afford it, he lacked power and everything else. All he could do was mop up the mess that it left behind and hope that someone, this woman or anyone could stop it.
"I know it fine ******** well." he said, hurt more than he could easily hide by the implication once again he was in the wrong place. But he knew, he knew because of that important person, the only person to him who was NOT an acceptable sacrifice to anything and who was the focus of everything he had. "I don't want it on the island. We had an outbreak there and it went tits up incredibly ******** fast. If you can stop it, then ******** stop it, but I don't ******** trust you either."
He shook his head. "If Cael left I shouldn't even be wasting your time." he frowned. "If s**t gets out of hand here though, I can help, somehow, anyhow. I'm ******** feeble right now but I can fight those things and I want this to stop as much as anyone."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:03 am
Charlotte leaned over on her chair. She looked a little too excited. "Then, Gale, would you like to see it?"
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:08 am
"...yes," he said, after a moment's consideration, eyes narrowing slightly. Gale did not trust Charlotte as far as he could throw her, but there was too much at stake here.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:09 am
With the theatrics mostly done, Lucky limped over and took over one of the empty chairs. It felt cathartic to bleed on something that was probably worth more than he was several times over. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, everything ached. His eyes followed Caelius as the death lead got up and left without so much as a word. Strange indeed.
He wiped away some of the blood on his face and observed Charlotte and Rep's exchange with a muted interest.
"So why invite us here?" he snapped. He felt he had earned the right to be ornery. "Was this all some kind of... demonstration to try and convince us to stay out of your way? Or are you trying to recruit more of us warm bodies to replace the ones you let rip each other apart downstairs?"
He thumbed in the direction of Rep and Gale with half-lidded eyes. "Because I should warn them, the benefits really aren't worth it in the end."
"How do you know it can infect hunters anyway? Nobody in here's been more bloodthirsty than usual." To be honest, with Rep, he wouldn't have known the difference. He wondered if this was all a setup - the Ouroboros were not very subtle about wanting to destroy the hunters, and nothing would be better for them than delivering the demise of Deus Ex Machina to their own island on a silver platter. Humanity's last line of defense impaled upon their own stupid, talking sword.
He didn't exactly wait for Gale to answer her before jumping in: "Show us."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:14 am
"You are correct in one thing, Rep, and that is your position. If I were you, I would consider asking your division leader about his thoughts on armies for the war. It must be nice feigning ignorance when everything around you is moving past you."
Charlotte didn't quite directly answer Lucky. Instead, she gave him the same smile Sam always did. "Oh Lucky, you were always my favourite." It was difficult to tell if this was an honest feeling or not.
"Now please, this way."
Without waiting, she walked past the marble dining room, past the marble hallway, to a beautiful greenhouse garden. There was a strange barrier covering it, it felt like a barrier of protection, intangible and yet substantial. "You can try to take it if you'd like. I won't stop you." She knew what would happen if they did. "Whenever you are ready, by all means."
She gestured towards the garden.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 10:08 am
"I don't care what he wants." Rep said. "His goals have always been pretty in line with the s**t I want. He wants power and not to be bothered, I want to survive if I'm worth it. That's all." Cael could want some horrible army of twisted creatures to do his bidding and that would also be fine with Rep, as long as Harrison was ok, and perhaps they got a paycheck now and then.
He followed to the greenhouse despite his instincts to the contrary, but kept a distance from the barrier. "Guys you really. Really shouldn't do that." He couldn't begin to explain why he felt protection was so important and why taking it outside the barrier would be Bad. He knew that Excalibur had something to do with his own protection from the infection, but he didn't know how to articulate it without making himself seem insane or putting himself at risk of really becoming someone's lab specimen.
"I think that keeps it.." he tried, before giving up entirely.
Oh what the ******** it was going to be horrible.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 1:45 pm
Gale followed resolutely along behind Charlotte, limping somewhat pathetically, an arm wrapped around his stomach, and he was relatively certain that he'd broken at least one, a sharp, stabbing pain needling upwards into his torso.
The barrier stretched in front of them. Gale was under the impression that this was a Very Bad Idea, but...
Expression shifting to one of determination, he reached out a steady, but cautious hand.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:12 pm
Charlotte's Sam impression forced Lucky's face into a tight-lipped expression of uncertainty. Who was she? He followed along behind the others, keeping an eye out for anyone or anything coming up behind them. The paranoia seemed to be unwarranted - there was nothing but the garden, and Charlotte, very much unarmed and daring them to take it from her.
As mad as Lucky was, he couldn't ignore the warning bells going off in his head. Something wasn't right about this. It was still too easy. Even Rep wanted nothing to do with the thing. What didn't they know?
He reached out and grabbed Gale's shoulder, several seconds too late for it to stop him. "Gale, wait-"
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:13 pm
Rep stepped right the ******** back, in case there was a blast radius.
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