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Broken_Illumination Captain
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 Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 12:22 am
[Occurs during "Careful Analysis"]
Ashral narrowed her eyes and kept a close view of the thing under the bed.
/Yes, Ree?/
"Are you.. Zira?" she called out softly then tensed up as the figure moved out from the bed, shadows at first that slid across the floor and pooled up in front of her. Ashral gripped the hilt tighter, a slight twinge of fear in her eyes and she shifted a foot back defensively. "Identify yourself!" she demanded suddenly, as the shadow formed up into a very large black fox. It wasn't talking yet, and Ashral didn't exactly know what to do as she took a step back and readied to draw her sword, not sure if this was a friend or foe.
/..Child, I'm not going to harm you../
Ashral's eyes widened as she didn't expect the voice in her mind. "Get out of my head! Get out of my head right now!!" she yelled angrily, getting into a stance to attack.
//Just confirm it was you..// he muttered hurrying the rest of the way to Ashral before she attacked. He paused as he reached the door and saw the large black and red fox. Wings flared and feather bristle as he bared his teeth automatically. Blinking he took a breath "Wait...Ashral. She is a friendly.
Zira that is you right?" he muttered watching the fox carefully as memories flash of the ground rushing past him and his head against black shadow like fur. She was a friendly, at least nothing she had done had made him think otherwise..he owed his life to her. Slowly he lowered his lowered his wings and closed his mouth releasing the breath he had.
Zira nodded, /Yes, this is my true form... I am still Zira./ she focused on Ashral as she watched her carefully.
"She's in my head!! Tell her to get out!!!" she continued to yell angrily. Her breathing quickened but she didn't move at all. She understood that the creature was friendly, but she couldn't stop from her concerned racing thoughts about Zira being in her head and putting her voice in her head. She already heard voices in her mind, she didn't need more. And heaven forbid they dug around, she couldn't stand the idea as she clenched her teeth.4
"okay .... It's okay Ashral. She is likely in my head to. Want to go stand outside? Zira... can you not look in Ashral's mind //at the moment// " he said glancing between the large fox and Ashral, focusing on the quick breathing.. close to panic. "Ashral can you check the other rooms in the meantime?"
Ashral narrowed her eyes, focused on Zira as the hand that gripped the hilt was shaking.
Zira nodded, then spoke directly to Ree, /That's not exactly possible. But I will say nothing. Her thoughts are too loud to not hear them, but I also have no need for the information, so I usually disregard it./
She exhaled shakily as she forced herself to take a step back. Then another. She reluctantly slid her vision to Ree and nodded slowly, "I'll... check the other rooms... then go outside where we came in..." she informed, casting another defensive gaze to Zira before pushing herself to turn and began to walk down the hallway, and moved into another corridor to check rooms on her own.
Zira watched Ashral move away from the situation and out of view then shifted her gaze to Ree curiously.
//That is all I ask... // he thought toward Zira as he watched Ashral leave, feeling relieved. "Thank you" he nodded slightly to her as he looked back at Zira. He knew exactly where Ashral was coming from, he didn't want anyone reading his thoughts either but there wasn't much choice either...and zira likely heard that haha...ha. "What happened? Kae messaged me that Kage was here trying to take Hexxis and we found blood in two rooms before arriving here and finding you. " he said quietly, watching her.
Zira shifted, her ear twitching slightly as she listened to Ashral moving elsewhere, eyes directed at Ree. Her mouth never moved, as her voice projected into Ree's mind only. /Kage infiltrated the building with invisibility and attacked Dr. Enid, the person sent by Spectrum to evaluate Metas for spirits. Then Kage attacked Melody while using commands on Hexxis to keep her subdued. Hexxis' mind became a mess as she attempted to fight back mentally but his powers were simply too strong for her to combat in tandem with her previous conditioning. Mara, Syth, and myself were called in to help combat him. Though, that would prove difficult as none of us have the skillset to gain an advantage over him in a powered suit. We did all we could, and almost had him in a position to defeat him, but his command on Mara to kill herself put quite an unexpected disadvantage on our side. With that, she did manage to shoot herself, and Melody healed her. Within the ruckus, Alice commanded me to wound Hexxis so she can become trackable. Faulty at best, but it's what she wished. They just recently left with Dr. Enid to take Mara to the hospital since Kage just escaped with Hexxis in tow. Now you and.... Ashral... are here. This does not seem safe for you... Her mind is also a mess... much like Hexxis'.../ her eyes narrowed slightly but she seemed very calm and blank as she relayed all the information she had.
//...your the first to tell me I should get away in the calmest way. Even Ashral told me to leave... I am not sure why I haven't other than what I saw after you left us. // he thought quietly to her while looking a hint sadly. //Thank you for that too...// he took a breath and just started to organize things. First was Mara, injured but healed and headed to the hospital...where he can't go.Second was Kage had a power suit... that was bad and also who he heard as they headed in the opposite direction..darn it. Also, he learned a few of Hexxis commands? Not surprising...a lot of ex SIU had them now which is why he didn't want Tri or Mara to know. Third.... "Then there is no reason we should stay... " he sighed worriedly but Mara was being already taken in and he couldn't stay around. //One last thing... You said her mind was like Hexxis, how?//
/I just advise... What you do with your life is none of my concern. Though I'm glad that you find solice in that. While it is unintentional, you are welcome./ She tilted her head to the side as he spoke. /It would seem that way.. There was quite the ruckus so surely someone will be by soon to investigate./ She seemed to sigh, or at least exhale heavily even when her expression was still blank. She them titled her head a bit again as he questioned ashral's mind. /Her mind is plagued with conditioning which is hidden far deeper than Hexxis' mind. Likely due to her overpowering thoughts of her past life which surprisingly is just as suppressed. Her guilt for her past drives her, but it also makes her unstable. Is there something specific you are looking for in her mind? She is still within range and I can delve into her thoughts or memories at your command. She would never know that I had viewed them.../ she offered then watched his face for his reaction. She wasn't good at judging what was going too far into someones privacy or not. And Kae wasn't the best role model to guide that either.
Ree look hesitant then shook his head //Very tempting but if I ask you to tell me I would be breaking what trust I may have gained with her even if she does not know. There is no pressing need for me to know either... // he sighed softly then smiled faintly at the fox.
//I kind of understand her reluctance to have anyone read your mind. That in a way is the last refuge for your being...where you can be yourself. // he shrugged slightly. // Thank you for what information you did give me...maybe to much to hope that is hidden so deeply that it won't even activate when I needs too? Yeep.... yeep to much hope. I am aware of it and her past, not completely but have enough of an inkling. I was not aware that it was not as easily accessed as Hexxis// he through looking toward the door. // .... something to think about. We better go... to much to hope you want to come with? // he threw out randomly, not really expecting her to agree but liked having someone else to throw ideas at.
Zira closed her eyes, bowing politely. /Unfortunately, I will have to decline. My service is to Alice, and so I must stay and wait for her return or be patient for her to reach my range again to give me further instructions on what needs to be done./ she opened her eyes and looked to Ree. /Thank you for the offer./
Ree tilted his head slightly, Alice? he didn't know her but Zira was in her service? Not kae?. //Then she is lucky, if you ever change your mind I wouldn't mind you with us // he smiled faintly at her. // Take care// he nodded slightly and turned toward the door, already frowning as he touched the Comm. "Ashral... everyone else went to the hospital. We need to leave before more people arrive. Kage left .. in one of the battle suits "
Zira nodded again, /I will consider your offer if circumstances change./ she said simply then backed up toward the bed. /You as well, please be careful./ she replied then shifted back into the shadows underneath the bed and faded away from sight.
Ashral jumped slightly at the voice from the comm, almost thinking it was the other voice again, but calming down as she realized it was Ree speaking to her. "Right, I'll phase back and meet you where we came in..." she instructed then began to move down the hallway she was in and phasing through walls until she reached her destination. She phased outside where they had entered the building in the first place and waited patiently, a look of worry on her face.
Ree moved away from the room and headed to Ashral thinking as he stopped in front of the wall they phased through the first time and glanced toward the direction of the broken wall with a feeling of frustration. Why did kage want hexxis? why did he have one of the suits? Why did he attack Mara was already easily answered. Ugh.
Phasing through the wall he glanced at Ashral with a concern looked. "Yo....." he muttered automatically and sighed since he really didn't feel it. "....Truthfully.. .what do you think of Hexxis? "
Ashral appeared relieved to see Ree and smiled, chuckling a bit at his greeting. "......yo.." she repeated. Releasing a breath she stepped towards him. However, her smile dropped immediately as he asked her about Hexxis. She thought for a moment. "I dont exactly have a great opinion of her. She took me away from you.. And refused to let me leave. She fought me on pretty much everything. She's trying to be all stoic and strong when she can't decide what she even wants. I don't know, there was a time where I pitied her because I wanted to understand her.. But after her whole little adventure in belrad, I have a lot less pity and a lot less respect for her..." Ashral narrowed her eyes about the situation then sighed again. "Why are you asking?"
Ree nodded in agreement "Not being in her head.. I also wanted to get to know her more, that was before what she pulled off in Aldas. I understood she had her reasons but... she made her decision even if she didn't know it. " he muttered and shook his head. "This is different. She doesn't remember who she is ... and while I might be angry with her I don't wish her ill." he shrugged slightly. "I just wanted to know to see how involved we will get. " he said taking out his phone he had charged back at the tree with a solar cell and made a call to the third number on his phone.
Ashral bit her lip in thought, looking away. "I do wish I knew what she was doing... She wouldn't talk to me much, just kept trying to get me to stop talking about you or Tri... At first, she didn't even know why she was even in Belrad... I mean, we grew up there... or rather, she did. I thought maybe it was something to do with that, but she didn't even go back home, she went to a library... and then sought out that Mercenary that Tri told her not to go to. Idiot. Everything after that... was a mess..." she frowned, her eyes pained. "You know, I didn't want to be apart of any of that... I just wanted to find you again..." she sighed, "Look, the only thing I know is that yeah, Hexxis was acting very strangely... She kept purposefully doing out of the ordinary things. I didn't understand it, but maybe she thought something was wrong... or maybe that was just her being messed up in the head. All I know is that her whole thought process changed after that argument that you and Tri had... So if something was actually wrong... that's where it started. But you're right, she made her decisions..." she looked to Ree with a continued pained look. "Maybe I feel bad now because she doesn't remember... Maybe I could have done something if that was part of the whole thing... But that doesn't matter now, she wouldn't even talk to me about it. So there was nothing I could do but watch her continuously endanger her life and sleep with a mercenary... " Ashral shook her head, "I understand...." she looked to Ree with a frown. "Do you want to try to help her?... If that's what you want, I will do everything I'm capable of to help that... I don't know much, but I was her headmate for seven years... I at least know quite a bit more than most I guess." She quirked an eyebrow as he pulled out his cellphone and called someone, keeping her eyes on him carefully.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 12:39 am
Cordelia was talking with someone when he cellphone began to rang. "Ahh... I have to take this, hold on.." she moved to a more private location and answered it. "Hey, what's going on?"
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"That is the problem. She didn't talk about it, she decided going to some one else was that she was warned away from was better. She was just freaking lucky she didn't end up in Haven. And she sle-ugh" he shook his head frowning as he narrowed his eyes. "Tri is going to kill him...I am not sure if I am not tempted to hurt him either. Hexxis was just a kid..." His wings bristled as he took a breath, looking angry. "...then again of course he took advantage of her ....you two.." realizing that Ash might have experienced it too and trapped within Hexxis head she didn't have much of a choice either. He looked at her wide-eyed for a moment and his wings lowered as he looked away. "Sorry....." Feeling more guilty that that fight ended up with that kind of experience for both of them . If Hexxis didn't run off, he was certain she just left and then just tried to talk her self into some type of reason, then this wouldn't have ended so badly. "If you want to go after Zephyr...I will help you " he muttered looking up at her then away as he heard a greetings and took a breath as he shifted to a nicer tone but still obviously angry.
"Hey. Things here and there. I was curious, have you had any word from Andy?"
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Ashral thought for a few moments silently on what he said. "Hexxis chose not to tell Zephyr about me... I was going to reveal myself when he revealed his Malice, but Hexxis said the last thing we needed was for them to find out I existed. I don't know why... but neither of them knew about me..." she spoke softly this time, sighing. "So even if I hate Zephyr for what he did... I don't think he even knew the details of anything regarding us... Hexxis had already grown by the time she met him, so for all he knew, she was just a really tall teenager or a shorter adult. Age never came up when I was there." She kept her eyes fixated on the phone, hearing the same female voice as before. He was calling her this time. She narrowed her eyes then looked away to the floor, barely able to mask her growing jealousy of his interaction with this unknown female over the phone.
"Andy? Uhh.. Yes and no. Zaku mentioned that Andy went somewhere safe for a while because she had an egg that she didn't want or something... Though, he said he didn't know how long she'd stay there... He seemed concerned about her. But that was a while back... So I mean.. who knows..." she answered idly. "Why are you asking about her? Don't tell me you got your eyes on her.." she joked, laughing a bit. She wasn't serious at all, just playing around at this point.
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"Eyes on her? Uh no..we didn't hit it off. " he said with a hint of surprise her joke pulling the truth out of him before it passed his mind as he made a face, well this was awkward. He wanted to respond back to Ashral but he didn't expect to hear any of that during the phone call. Giving her a apologetic look he continued as "An egg? ....wow. " He sighed, okay this was not what he was expecting and now to try and not make things worse. " She didn't want it? Then...never mind. " there was a flicker of pain on his face " So you know where Andy is...." Well things were lining up now. " Would you be willing to say why Zaku wants Hexxis? " instead of killing her. Maybe it was to try and convince her to join him or just talk? That seemed like him going from the pattern he did with Mara and Tri. Then Cordellia intrested in helping find Hexxis....it made sense now..kinda.
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"Wait wait wait.. hold on a second.. " she blinked with confusion. "First of all, what are you getting at?? Why would you ask if Zaku wants Hexxis.... He's never showed any signs of something like that... unless... Is this about Andy and Kylar?? Because Andy is alone... That shitstain shadow gave her back her memories and Andy left a while back. Like I said, she's safe and with the egg they had... but why do you think Zaku plays into any of this..." she sighed, "You're really losing me, Ree. I'm very confused by all this..." she confessed, not exactly sure what he knew and how, and more importantly what he was alluring to. She was hesitant to reveal more information about Zaku's involvement in anything until she knew for sure why he was even asking about it.
Ashral narrowed her eyes further with pain as Ree spoke to the girl on the phone, reflexively grabbing her arm that held her sword as she looked away. Her thoughts were racing, and she just remained silent, not even noticing the sympathetic look he had given her.
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"Kage left?" There was a flicker of surprise as he frowned, it could all be a lie but the fact she mentioned Andy had an unwanted egg at the opening of the conversation already alluded to it being true. Also running off with the egg, if Andy had all her memories back....darn it darn it darn it. If he was her, he would have left as well or not... he had no clue. It also meant there was less likelihood of Zaku using Kage ..or was it? Good personal relationships between members weren't always possible and he could still be using him even now that Andy regain her memories. Except they had left or Cordellia wouldn't have asked him to keep an eye out for Andy. Then everything falls back to Cordelia being loyal to Zaku and him having to second guessing everything related to the renegades...then there was the time she portrayed Tri. Hah ...okay simple and SIU didn't have much personal . Pro vs con. Cons were actually small...just Mara. "I guess Kage missed Andy so much he decided to take Hexxis as his new wife " he said dryly, imitating Tri unconsciously. "Mara is pissed.... so...you know just thought he might have been with you andin ought to give you a warning "
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"Hold the ******** up,..... Kage took Hexxis?!?!" there was some shuffling for a moment as she cursed under her breath. "..s**t s**t s**t.... that's-.. god dammit..." She took a deep breath and bit her lip in debate on whether to say anything at all. "Okay, look. Zaku was watching Hexxis... well, had someone looking into her anyway.. Her and Melody.. Wasn't really going to interfere just observe for now and make sure they were both okay and not in any kind of danger since he thinks SIU is a little crazy after what they did to Lucian... Zaku was just making sure they weren't torturing those two, and if they were he was going to get them out. But we don't have any dealings with that ********, Kylar.. Kage.. whatever the ******** he goes by now. He showed up with Andy waaaay before parley happened asking about Kate and Michael got pissed and told him to leave. So Kylar took Andy and we hadn't seen her since until just very recently got a call from a contact that Andy showed up at their home seeking help because she had an egg she didn't want and remembered everything and didn't know where else to go. Zaku told me about it because he's worried wreck about Andy, and SIU, and Hexxis and Melody. Zaku's honestly sitting back now and moving pawns, he's not going to attack anyone right now.. things changed. He's got different motives now and at one point even hinted not wanting to fight anymore but I wasn't sure if he was serious or just a moment of exasperation. s**t's a mess here, I doubt renegade is going to move unless Murder Squad move in or Yoko goes all psycho murder crazy and tries to take renegades like she threatened Zaku about a few days ago." she took a deep breath, her speech almost a flurry of information laced with anger and slight panic. "I left renegades... I mean, I help them if they need it... but I left. I'm not even with them right now, I just talk to Zaku on the phone and go there if they need a long distance teleport. I'm not going to fight anymore... I really can't." she frowned, then stared at the ground, a bit of guilt in her voice. "Zaku understood... he's okay with it."
Ashral crinkled her nose at the notion that Kage had taken Hexxis as a wife. She seemed angry about something, just trying to stay quite as she turned to focus elsewhere, but still listening to his conversation closely. Though it just seemed he was collecting information in regards to what had just happened, it still caused a deep pain in her chest the same as she felt before the last time he had talked to that girl.
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"SIU doesn't experiment on metas. Even so we did have a clause for any bounties or renegade members we caught" he said reaching out to lightly hug Ashral with a wing when he noticed her looking away. He motioned toward the nearest building as he pulled Enshroud around them before pulling away and walking toward it. "At least that was until someone on your side frames us..me for (Criel's) murder. " he sighed and forced himself from the issue they had tip-toed around while he mentally adding the fact there was a plant to pass on to Mara. Know a spy leave a spy.
Also egg and a contact, he had a pretty good idea who that was except he wasn't going to be welcomed there either and if Kage wasn't working with the renegades assuming Cordelia was being truthful....then maybe he went to the place he and Andy were hiding out? Because if the Renegades weren't the one to have control over Kage...he had no idea who else it could be...or how Kage managed to get a suit. Norcrest? He assumed it had all been Renegade dealings after Parley, especially after learning two of Mara's teammates had died that day. It still brought a sick feeling to his stomach when he thought about it, guilt for actually convincing them to talk. Many of them would still be alive, the golden alters would be in place and he wouldn't be running around hiding for the rest of his life. All this brought on by one telephone conversation..Talk.....hm
"So he had no dealing with Kage since that day. Well...huh. " he said with a sigh and closed his eyes. " What I don't understand is why so many have their focus on Hexxis. You have to know SIU is taking a large portion of the blame for Parley ...barely stick and stones being sent to Belrad. They shouldn't be a threat to the renegades any time soon and Hexxis...why is everyone so interested in her? Haven, mercenaries, SIU, Kage, and now Zaku. It can't be her dazzling personality and steadfast loyalty. " he muttered reaching a decision as he listened. Zaku wasn't planning an attack and from Tri mention during his capture he seemed to be looking for other avenues. Normally this would be traitorous and support the rumors but there was no be here to judge him either. Mara was injured and Tri was who knows where!
The last thought made him narrow his eyes since he had expected Tri to have returned by now, what was so important he would leave Mara . "I am glad that you stepped away and that he understood. Not everyone would, but you are helping them in your own way. If they care they will be as understand as Zaku is right now. Family is family chosen or not..but so are friendships. They still hurt deeply but also anchor your strongly " he said quietly glancing toward Ashral.
"Zaku is a lot different than what we were lead to believe... Or maybe he had just changed. Do you think he might be willing to talk to me? " he asked quietly, knowing a lot more of his questions could be answered by the leader but what to exchange for it assuming that he did talk.
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"Yeah, he doesn't exactly realize that... well, more like he wanted to make sure since Lucy talked about Melody getting tortured too. Contact said she seemed fine and Hexxis was super ******** robotic. Ha... that's not surprising from what I've heard... " as he brought up the murder of Criel, she frowned. "Ree... I want to let you know something about that... EE had no idea what was going on there. Zaku still genuinely believes you really did it... but I overheard Murder Squad talking... I guess they forget I listen to a lot from the shadows." she took a steady breath. "Kage was the one that killed the Criel leader and framed you. Michael jumped on it thinking if they could get Zaku to believe you did, they'd light a fire in him to fight harder.. didn't exactly work. Zaku's a special kinda guy that doesn't let his angry cloud his judgment in the fight. I figured I would tell you... because that's really ******** up for everyone to be pointing the finger at you about it... I know you didn't do it... From that angle, there was no way you could have... but not everyone else understands that kind of calibration crap like Michael and I do. That's why I listened in, I knew something wasn't right." she explained with a sense of guilt in her voice.
Ashral blinked and looked to Ree as he hugged her with his wing, then saw his signal and nodded, looking away as a flush of color hit her cheeks and she walked with him to wherever they were going. She was still gripping tightly onto her arm and frowning, as she bit her lip again and stared toward the ground.
"Nope, Zaku doesn't like Kage. Came in all cocky like a girl who can't remember s**t is capable of making her own life decisions.. what an idiot. I can't believe he let him take her.. but Zaku was busy planning for parley and I guess didn't have the energy to try fighting Kage on it." she shook her head then perked slightly as he asked about interest in Hexxis. She couldn't help but laugh.. so he didn't know. Maybe she should tell him... "You do realize that Zaku is probably interested in Hexxis for a different reason than everyone else.. which is why he's less likely to move in on it unless she's in danger... Man, Zaku is going to really be pissed to find out Kage took her... Ha... that's going to be great. That douchebag is making enemies everywhere... SIU, mercenaries, renegades... Is nothing sacred anymore.." She was entertained by the idea of it all honestly, "Dazzling personality and steadfast loyalty.. Ha, wow, that's real cute... How about more like her genetics." She smiled for a bit then leaned against the wall, "Honestly, the other renegades don't like that I left, but I'm still being useful so I doubt they'll make much of a ruckus about it... They don't even know I talk to you... That would do it though." She blinked and then narrowed her eyes, thinking about it. "Honestly?... I could talk to Zaku about you too talking. I don't think he'd be opposed to it if I bring it up to him. Want me to pass your number to him to call you? Or meet in per-.... Nevermind, a phone call is better right now.. with his current state of mind." she sighed.
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"What......" He blinked and stopped just as they reached the house, his eyes wide as he listened. Kage was there? He killed (Criel)? That also made sense why Cordelia never asked him about it...he assumed it was because they knew and why bother to lie to your enemy when the damage has already been done far and wide. But how? How was Kage there how did he kill (Criel) within the foot between them..and more importantly why?
He stared blankly as he dropped Enshroud and moved to sit against the wall of the building, realizing then they should move out of view. Getting up again he motioned to Ashral to the wall and phased into an empty warehouse.
Using his free hand he ran his hand through his hair and started pacing. "....Then Zaku and Mara agreed on the same thing. Kage got angry when Mara didn't give him the amount of trust and respect he thought he deserved. Putting it -very- nicely. " he muttered his mind on the memory of (criel's ) face then the sword that had come from no where.
".....Genetics....well...that explains why Mara wanted to test Zaku's DNA" he muttered and sighed smirking very faintly. "Tri will be pissed.........or technically maybe he already knew" the smirk faded as he blinked and stared into the rest of the warehouse blankly. "Tri nor Mara know I talk to you either .... Or they would also be..huh more unhappy. But yes... Pass his number on to him, through the phone is better for me as well "
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Ashral seemed slightly alarmed and increasingly angered by his phone call, watching his actions as he seemed to be taking whatever information she was giving him very hard or at least deeply considering it. 'She's going to take him. He cares about what she has to say. What if she's asking him to-...' Ashral exhaled a bit sharply as she followed and listened to him. They were still talking about Kage, which somehow relieved her. Now genetics... and Tri being pissed... and how neither Mara not Tri knew of them talking. '..secret lover... ' She bit her lip and looked away again, pain in her eyes as she forced herself to just move, she couldn't just stand still and listen anymore, her thoughts were betraying her and it was making her angry. She moved, looking around the warehouse for nothing in particular, just moving at this point as she stayed within sight of Ree, but kept her face looking away as she tried to collect her thoughts, she just wanted to calm down before she did anything irrational. That's the last thing Ree needed, was for her to be unpredictable or go crazy now.
Cordelia sighed "Ha... so you do kind of know then...." she commented, then shook her head. "Honestly, he had no idea.... Then again, how the heck you not know you lost a kid along the way.... though I'm curious about the other parent... if Zaku's not taking care of her, then who the hell was?" she spoke idly, then snorted. "It was something I didn't want to think about... but he confided in me to tell me about them and how he didn't know since he woke up from the coma not really remembering much... since it's already a thing that exists and it can't be changed.. I guess I have to accept it, right?" her voice cracked a bit as she took a steady breath. "Sorry, personal stuff... Ignore all that. So what are you planning to do now? You going after Kage to get your sister back?"
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"....." He sighed as he thought about it then ....well if she hadn't figured it out. " I actually didn't know. I only knew Mara wanted Zaku's DNA ...I assumed it was to confirm something. If Zaku believes they are his well....have you looked closely at Melody? " he muttered and looked after Ashral with a frown, he was going to cut the call short if the arm grabbing and wandering off was any indication. ".....accept it?" He listened quietly and frowned, this was ..okay then. "You like him?" He took a step after Ashral and stopped.
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Cordelia was kicking at the ground with her foot idly again, "I've never met Melody... so I don't know what she looks like... I've only seen Hexxis maybe once..." she confirmed then hesitated as he asked if she liked Zaku and frowned. "...yeah..." she answered simply. "But I've never told him... When I think about telling him I get to nervous and chicken out.. Maybe one day I'll finally tell him.. You know, if either of us don't die in all this..." she laughed nervously then sighed.
Ashral was staring off for a moment, trying to decide what to even look for but couldn't think of anything, gripping her arm tighter, then sighing and just stared at the ground where she stood, just thinking and trying to make sense of anything right now.
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"....Okay.... Uh. I am going to give you two choices. A: I am blunt and you will likely hate me B: I sugarcoat things or C: we switch subjects . Okay that was three choices..I can count...I think " he smirked very slightly then frowned and started pacing again, top wings twitching. Really it was none of his business but possible his experience with Ash was making him want to tell her what he knew...weren't cats a little more secretive?.
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Cordelia seemed unsettled by the sudden choice given to her. He knew something. She was scared to pry, but then again, if he knew something that she should know, maybe she should ask him to tell her... that seemed fair, she told him a lot. So maybe this is like.. returning the favor? "Uhm...." she sighed, "I guess just tell me... You've peaked my interest, now I can't just walk away from that... Uhm... maybe blunt is best?... I'm not sure... Now, I'm nervous again..."
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"Okay ... Melody is Raziel's daughter. That is confirmed in both markings and DNA ..Zaku was the iffy one. Melody was also raised by Spectrum and is currently 7 years old...about as old as me. Huh" he shrugged " That is about the same time Zaku fell in coma. If I had to speculate ...I say he plays for the other team or might be interested in both sides" he said quickly with a wince, yep thinking about it maybe he shouldn't have stuck his nose into this.
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The line was silent for a good long while as she processed what he had said. Covering her mouth, she stifled a deep exhale as tears were filling her eyes. "...uhm......thanks..." she managed to force out. She didn't know what else to say as the deep pain in her heart overcame her own thoughts. The line went silent again.
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"Sorry...I just thought you might want to know that if he had told you everything else. " he paused as the line went quiet. "Thank you....I ....better go. Sorry...." he muttered feeling guilty of telling her while at the same time...maybe it might help her? He didn't know, he kind of hope it did... "Just...sorry "
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Cordelia exhaled shakily, a slight pitch of distressed breath as she bit her lip. "It's okay... I would have eventually figured it out.... Thank you for telling me..." the was a deep sense of pain in her voice, like she was ready to break down crying at any moment. "I.. I'm going to go now..." she swallowed hard, "If you need anything... you can still call me..." she spoke softly through a fragile voice. "...bye.." Without even waiting for his response, she hung up.
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Broken_Illumination Captain
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Broken_Illumination Captain
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 1:04 am
Ree grimaced and turned off the phone sighing and he pocketed it and ran his hand through his hair. Shoot...well he messed that up badly. Turning he headed toward where he could see Ashral. "Ash?" He said quietly and walked to her stopping until he was only a few feet from her.
Ash had been staring at the ground where she stood, lost in thought it seemed. Only his voice pulling her back from the thoughts in her racing mind. She tensed a bit then turned a bit more away from him as she appeared to wipe her face on her sleeve, taking a deep breath to steady herself as she slowly looked to him. "I.. don't know what we're doing right now..." she confessed, frowning as she looked like she might have been crying or at least close to it, her eyes still red even if her face was dry. She looked away, gripping at her arm again. "We should... figure out where we are going first..."
Ree stared for a moment and looked hesitant before moving the rest of the way to her, confusion evident on his face. As he noted a red tint in the black part of her eyes. "....what's wrong?"
Ashral hesitated, gripping her arm even tighter as she kept looking away. "...I don't know..." she answered suddenly, trying to find the words to explain what she felt. "Is that girl... your girlfriend?" she asked quietly, her face turning slightly red as she could even bear to look him in the eyes for now.
"What? ..." He looked surprised. ready to smile then stopped as he realized she was serious. "No.....no....just no. She is an ..enemy dash acquaintance dash ...maybe eventual friend? It depends if she doesn't blame me for telling her that her crush might be gay ...or bi. Um....in short no. She isn't ...." He looked thoughtful. "Never really found anyone I was interested in that that way " he shrugged slightly then froze and sigh turning more serious. "Did you want to talk about what we were speaking about in the house?" He asked quietly.
Ashral seemed extremely relieved as he denied her being his girlfriend. 'He's lying again.' She ignored the negative thoughts for the moment as she honestly wanted to hold on to the fact that he didn't already have a girlfriend. Though, that relief was quickly replaced with a stabbing pain as he confessed that he never found anyone of interest. Did he not even consider her at all? Pain in her eyes, she was about to drop it, but then he asked if she wanted to talk about what they had discussed in the house. Part of her just wanted to get defensive and deny it all, but that would make her a liar. No, the other side won over as she looked to him in his eyes, pain in her own as she exhaled slowly, brows furrowed. "....yes." she answered simply, closing her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts for a moment before she opened them, looking just slightly more determined, even if her fear and sadness were still apparent in her expression. "....It hurt to consider that maybe you have a girlfriend... I know we talked about being siblings... and I asked you to get know me and reconsider later... once I was.. myself . I've avoided talking about it because I'm scared of what you'll say... but I need to know... would you ever consider me as anything more than just a sister?" she asked genuinely, narrowing her eyes solemnly but never breaking eye contact, her hand that gripped her arm was shaking even if she stood her ground.
Ree held her gaze quietly as he shifted his wings, the only sign of nervousness as he took time to consider her words and to just really look at her. Not at what she looked like but her emotions as she told him how she felt and what she harbored. He knew it too, just from the way she acted but had been ignoring it until now, wondering if today was a good day to be pushing something like that realizing there was never going to be a good day.
What did he feel when he looked at her?
Reaching out slowly he brushed her cheek with the side of his hand as he continued to hold her gaze. He wanted to protect her if she needed it...he wanted to see her grow stronger and be happy unlike when she was alive last.
Could he love her?
Reaching up he took a strand of her hair and lightly held it between thumb and forefinger, staring at her as he tried to figure that out. He could...he could love her in the romantic way but then they would be unhappy...or at least he might be. Would he link himself to her? She had the possibility but he still wasn't sure...he wasn't even sure of himself. Did he kept chasing an ideal or try and see? Even if he was already mentally rejecting the idea? He did love her but it was the love of a friend than that of someone he might consider closer.
Lowering his hand he sighed softly and leaned forward to kiss her on the top of her head gently, knowing she might get angry and stab him because he just couldn't. maybe one day it was a possibility but if he did now he was just taking advantage of her and not being true to himself or her. He reminded her of her brother, that is who she really loved and knew not him. "No...you are my sister, my friend..maybe my partner one day but you love someone else. I will stay by you but you deserve someone who can at least figure out his own thoughts and if he doesn't return those feelings.....well. There are many more people in the world... You meet me...there are better..much better " he said quietly as he took a step back and looked at her sadly and more than a bit confused about himself and her.
Ashral watched him careful, almost holding her breath as she felt like her heart would just give out at any moment from how fast it was beating now. He was thinking, considering, maybe that was a good sign. She inhaled deeply as he touched her cheek, her eyes narrowing into a sense of longing as she swallowed hard. She could feel her hands shaking as she watched him touch her hair and look over her, his silence deafening the air as she focused solely on him and nothing else. She bit her lip in anticipation. He lowered his hand and leaned in, her heart racing even faster but then sudden diversion to kiss her on the head left a painful yearning within her that only continued to increase with every passing second, left to hang in the silence of the moment.
Then he spoke, as he explained, her expression faded into one of anguish as he denied her want for something more. You love someone else. Those words hurt more than anything she'd ever experienced, years of loneliness and the experimentations she endured that only now began to flicker for just a moment then faded away again like a distance memory she couldn't find anymore. She wanted to be hopeful when he mentioned if Shogu didn't return the feelings, but that was even more short-lived as he suggested someone else... seemingly anyone else but him. She exhaled shakily as her eyes drifted away from him, wanting to mask the pain but she simply couldn't, her grip on her sword tightening reflexively as she slowly let go of her arm. Tears were welling up in her eyes as her breathing quickened. "I'm not even love with him anymore.... That was such a long time ago... I know I came back to talk to him,... and maybe there was a time where that may have been my sole purpose, but that's changed now. I don't want to be with Shogu... I want to be with you.... You're the one I'm in love with... I don't want someone else ." she spoke almost harshly, her body tensing. She closed her eyes tightly, "That's not good enough... give me a reason why I shouldn't love you like I do and I'll go back to how we were... just siblings.. Protecting each other and just.. existing. That's fine. But I want you to acknowledge my feelings... that I feel this way and that I can't change that... at least this once." her voice had picked up in volume but softened by the end of it again. "....If this is just something I can never have... I'll accept that... I told you I would." she looked at him, tears spilling down her cheeks as she forced a smile. "I just want to know, if your answer is still no.... then help me understand... explain to me why my love isn't good enough." she inhale a sharp sob, obviously holding back as she was trying to stay strong.
Everything in her mind tell her to run, just to regress into her mind and forget any of this happened. Forget her love, and forget every meeting him. She wanted to, and voices in her mind urged her to stop, but she couldn't. She'd come this far, she refused to turn back now. She had already said what she had to say, she might as well hear his answer.
Ree looked pained as he shifted his wings nervously as he watched the anguished on her face and knew he made her experience that but couldn't justify his feelings, not even enough to explain it to her. He didn't understand himself and that was the problem, he left her a piece of hope by not telling her why and he didn't know how to explain it.
Maybe it was just him, if he couldn't explain it perhaps it was fear? He never really felt like that for anyone...he loved his family, if he needed comfort he ran to Tri or Mara even now that he looked as old as any of the adults and they didn't judge or at least Tri never did. Did he just not reach the age? Physically he had ..Hexxis barely hit teen and was already with someone. Why didn't he? Male..female he found them pretty but that was all. Even now he had told Cordelia about his own speculations but while he felt guilty for her pain he ...didn't really understand. Perhaps...perhaps he should just try it and not question. If he couldn't explain it it maybe it was just because he was over thinking it and nothing more.
He leaned down to her, his hair brushing against her forehead as he lowered his head more, blue eyes glowing faintly as he he looked confused and pained. "I can't explain it...so because I can't.......let's try?" He said quietly as he felt a surge of wrongness as he leaned forward to her and tried to gently kiss her on the lips if she would let him.
Ashral was trembling, anger and confusion filled her from within as she demanded answers. It was silent for a long while, she inhaled, ready to yell but paused, as she felt his hair brush her skin. Opening her eyes suddenly as she looked to him, her unease and confusion, and longing clear in her expression, accompanied by the anger she felt from the lack of real answers. She stared at him, eyes narrowed as he then spoke. She blinked in immediate surprise as he suggested they try. Her heart swelled but it still hurt. He couldn't explain it... but he was still willing to try. That... that was fine... consideration and a chance at being more. She almost couldn't believe that's what he had just said, her face still staring in complete surprise and disbelief as she dropped her sword to the ground, a clang before it faded away. He was getting closer, this time it was a different kind of kiss. Her heart raced again as she softened her eyes then closed them, pushing forward to meet his kiss. A moment that she honestly wanted to last forever... even if the nagging voice in the back of her mind told her it wasn't real. For right now, nothing mattered, the whole world falling away as she only wanted to exist in this very moment for eternity.
Ree felt her push upward into his kiss and he held it for a second longer before eventually pulling away. Wings twitching slightly as the sound of the sword echoed inside the warehouse, he hadn't even noticed she had it in hand. Glancing down he watch it fade silently before looking up at her with a faint smile but it felt force, he felt nothing with the kiss ..maybe he wasn't supposed too even if some part of him said he was. "So ...you're my girlfriend then " pushing away the wrongness of it as he took a breath. "Next step. What to do. Zaku is ...going to call me. He is the Leader of the renegades ...no idea how that will go. Kae is coming tomorrow to SIU and well not sure about Hexxis. Tri is likely not even close so no reason to worry him until after Mara is better ..he can't do much either " he said trying to move things to what they were doing before.
As he pulled away, there was a flush of color to her face but she didn't look nervous like she had before. As he called her his girlfriend, her eyes shifted away for only a moment before returning to look him in the eyes again and smiled. "...yeah... and you're my boyfriend now..." she added, nodding a bit as she seemed genuinely happy about it, though calm. The racing thoughts in her mind had seemed to die down or did she just not want to hear them anymore. No matter, for once her mind felt legitimately clear which was odd but comforting. He moved on to what they were doing, the list of things about the current situation. "What are you going to talk to Zaku about?" she asked, pulling a hand to her chin in thought, a smile still on her lips. "So if Mara is out for the while, Kae is going to show up, and little chance of Tri showing up... seems like we could be safe around here to keep an eye on things? Unless maybe we should look for Hexxis... then again.. that would put us too far to get back to the tree when the week is over...." she blinked, thinking a bit more in depth. "What do you think we should do.... things seem... handled ..." she looked to Ree with a sense of curiosity. "We could always just go... do something.. just us.. if there's nothing else to do.."
Ree nodded solemnly as if the words were serious instead of anything to be taken lightly. Turning away he looked toward a grim covered window to look at the light then back. "Depends on when he calls me I guess. Andy used to stay somewhere the other Renegades didn't know..I was hoping she might have told him. Pass that on to Kae ..then I don't know. ...I don't even know what Kae will be able to do after her cover was broken last time. Likely Belrad will send their own people here to secure the are and investigate so we will need to move anyways. I could call Mara's phone see who has it and they will answer...I am assuming they got her safe " not actually allowing himself to think of anything else. "....yea..if we start looking for her we need to calculate return time ..or we could take that boat to the island .." He was more reluctant now to do that after what happened..it felt like he was abandoning them by doing that.
Ash nodded, thinking on the facts they knew. "I guess talk to Zaku, get the information if it's there and tell Kae about it. Belrad will have SIU covered, so we won't be able to touch that. Maybe call Mara's phone, make sure that's all handled as well." She furrowed her brows in such a deep thought about Hexxis, "Those would be the only two options I guess. Go pursuing Kage... and hope we get back in time... or just let Kae and the others handled that as well. I figure, there's not much we can do with everyone looking for you... so feeding them information should at least be helpful enough then we can go take that boat to the island." she suggested, watching him carefully as she smiled at him. "Does that sound good? Or do you have any ideas on something else instead?"
Ree smiled faintly at that and nodded. "Pretty much what I was thinking. Gather information and throw it at them to see what they can do with it, unless it is something close by" he looked troubled. " As for Mara I still want to give it an hour or so more... I rather not call and wait worriedly because they don't know either" he ran his hand through his hair feeling a little better the more they just talked of other things. "The other thing I did just find out other than Hexxis is Zaku's daughter.... hah...ha....ha." he sigh and pulled his wings up higher. " Is that Kage may have been the one to frame me by killing (criel). I don't know how .... or if it is something to reel me in, but that is what Cordelia said she heard from some other members. "
"Mm.. so we wait out here for an hour or so, gather information, give it to who needs it then move. Sounds like a plan to me..." she nodded then looked curiously at him as he mentioned Hexxis, the proceeding words catching her a slight bit off guard but mostly concerning her. "So the renegade leader... is Hexxis' father..." she repeated for clarification then narrowed her eyes in a slight confusion. "I don't know whether this is useful information or not, but Zaku made Hexxis very angry... To the point of actually trying to kill him back at the hospital despite the access level she was at. I remember her thinking about that a lot from the result that happened after that." she frowned, a look of guilt on her face, then sighed. Ree mentioned that it appeared that Kage had framed him for the murder, her face shifting into anger and a sense of determination. "How can we prove it...." she asked suddenly, staring fiercely into his eyes. "Why... why would he frame you..." she then asked, trying to get more information before getting too furious about the situation of it.
Ree blinked, focus...focused he had to focus.Taking a breath he straightened a bit and nodded. "Then that's a plan " he shifted his wings again and nodded again as Ashral repeated what he said about Hexxis only to look up in alarm as she mentioned Hexxis being angry. Angry at the hospital long before they started noticing changes or even emotions in her. "Ashral... would you say her anger is similar to what you feel when you see Tri? " he narrowed his eyes slightly trying to make a connection there...maybe it wasn't just a malice thing but something more ...Haven like.
He shook his head as she moved to Kage seeing the determination and anger there was was slowly raising his own. He didn't know he didn't have any suspicions there because all he knew was Kage leaving with Hexxis and that was the last he saw of him. "Proving it will be hard... only because justice is not really what is at stake here but convenience and supporting self-righteous views. As for why ...I don't know.... or maybe this is for when I accidently killed Hexxis or tried to kill them. Likely that, I just have no idea how Kage got there at all and stayed completely hidden in all that" he lifted his hand an ran it through his hair feeling as if he was whining when he was just trying to figure it out and nothing other then that came to mind. He frowned ad pulledout his phone as he looked at the unknown number. "..." pressing answer he lifted it to his ear. "Hello?"
Ashral thought for a moment on the question, trying to figure it out. "I could not feel what she felt, so I'm not fully certain.. but she described it as something she couldn't control. Just a desire to see him dead at all costs that seemed to negate her access levels. She would never have purposefully activated me like that... so I felt it odd which is why I even talked to her about it briefly. I doubt she thought anything of it since I only used it as a stepping stone to cause her more grief. But thinking on it, what she described is similar to how I would describe how I feel about Tri. An unexplained and very deep urge to do anything to see him cease.. bleed even. Anything to spill their insides and watch them take their last breath slowly before fading away from existence." she explained, a frown on her face, hoping that it was at least some kind of helpful to Ree.
Proving his innocence would be difficult, something that Ashral didn't want to accept. She wanted to find any way to show everyone he wasn't guilty of the crime he was framed for. But was it worth it by now, his name had already been sullied and dragged through the mud and proving to the world that it had been some other unknown assailant now would prove far more difficult than she was capable of doing. She sighed, "Maybe it's payback for trying to stop him from taking Andy or trying to hurt her... weren't they together..." she commented then looked away thoughtful. The phone rang and her eyes narrowed at it before pushing down her immediate jealousy. He said Zaku was supposed to call. She hoped it was Zaku... she didn't want to face the pain she felt when he talked to Cordelia.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 9:39 pm
Zaku ran a hand through his hair and he sat on the edge of the bed, staring out tiredly through the bedroom of his. "At least this time I'm expecting you on the line..." he sighed, his joke a bit lack-luster by this point. "Cordelia said you had an interest in speaking to me... hopefully not another parley request... I'm a bit done with those now..." he spoke softly, his exhaustion strong in his voice.
He looked at Ashral and winced. "you would joke about that wouldn't you" the exhaustion was catching as he tried not to match the voice. Again the phone call was right in the way of another conversation he rather be continuing than switching out of. He looked at Ashral and said Zaku's name silently before looking away again. What was it that Cordelia had said? "At least you're not getting shot at? " that was definitely not what Cordelia had said. Closing his eyes he tried to center himself again as he tried to recall what he wanted to ask him. "Was that all Cordelia told you?" he asked quietly.
Zaku gave a tired chuckle, "Touché." Leaning back to lay onto the bed, he moved a hand up to idly mess with a piece of his now blonde hair, a frown forming at the corners of his mouth. Sighing and closing his eyes, he focused on the call. "Actually, yes. She usually calls, but she just sent a text with your number saying you wanted to talk to me.... Though I'm curious how long you two have been in contact without my knowledge. A little concerning, but not that important, I guess." he opened his eyes slightly, staring up at the ceiling. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
Ashral exhaled with relief as he confirmed it was, in fact, Zaku. She smiled faintly and nodded. Oddly, the voices in her head had nothing to say on the matter, her thoughts still lingering in the temporary clarity of her mind. Looking around for a bit, she then sat down on the ground against a wall. Since they'd be there a while, she figured she might as well get comfortable.
"Nothing concerning... we just talk about frivolous things. Everyone's favorite movie, what they are doing the next day, the color of your underwear... those type of things" he smirked faintly then sighed as he remembered why she might not be answering and who this was. "I was calling about Hexxis... and it seems to have devolved to Kage. You wouldn't happen to know where Kage and Andy used to stay after they left SIU?"
Sighing, he grunted with a slight unamusement for the subjects they apparent talked about, but let it pass. He tensed, narrowing his eyes as he mentioned Hexxis, then Kage. "I have a vague idea. Recently came to the knowledge that Andy had traveled with someone from Hinale to a safe house, received by a friend. So my money's on that city if I had to guess." his voice then became stern, "What does this have to do with Hexxis..."
Ree narrowed his eyes slightly as he considered the information again and turned it around in his mind. "Kage kidnapped Hexxis..." he said idly waiting to see how he would react.
"Son of a-... This isn't a joke, is it?..." he responded immediately then the line went silent for a bit. After a few moments, he sighed. "So you think he took her to where he took Andy..."
"Actually...I am curious why you are so interested in Hexxis " he said sternly with a hint of warning as he shifted the phone in his hand.
Without confirmation, Zaku was still unsure the motive of the call. While he didn't exactly trust Ree, Cordelia appeared to which was the only reason he even have this a shot. "I am interested in a lot of people for different reason. I'm honestly impressed how bold you are asking me a question like that as if we are close enough of friends that I would give you that answer... It's truly impressive." he shook his head and chuckled a bit. "So why in the world... did Kage choose Hexxis to kidnap? As far as I was aware they don't even know each other...." he sat up again, resting his elbows on his knees as he sat in the edge again. He tried to think about the information he had, but couldn't exactly focus, knowing that Hexxis was likely in some form of danger. Either that or this was some kind of ruse to get him to come out of hiding... He simply wasn't sure.
Ree chuckled softly without much humor "I would love to tip toe around the subject with you if we were both feeling up to it, but we're not. Mara knows you're Hexxis genetic donor and somehow you came upon that information too I assume or I just gave you a very unhappy wake up call." He adjusted the phone in his hand. " So again...why are you after her? "
Zaku narrowed his eyes and sighed. "It was bound to be discovered I suppose." he commented softly. "I wasn't after Hexxis. I had someone go survey her situation. Told them if Tri was with her to leave her alone and come back, but if she was alone or in some kind of distress to inform me immediately and prepare for possible extraction depending on the situation she was found in. Now... that person I asked to watch her wasn't Kage... I would never trust him. Gave me a really bad vibe when he came around last, he was asked to leave and took Andy with him. Something I regret now..." Leaning back just a bit, he thought for a moment. "So now that everyone's on the same page... Why did you call? Surely it couldn't be to tell me that SIU has both of my daughters and there's almost nothing I can do for them besides observe them from afar and hope they don't get killed... or kidnapped. " his tone was a bit more apathetic than usual. "Or are you calling to ask for help?"
"......A spy. Actually I shouldn't be surprised but I am, considering SIU had major staff reductions recently, that takes nerve. " he said sounding surprised as he started to pace again. Carefully choosing his words to take some of the heat off Cordelia. Resting his decision on the fact Zaku continued the conversation instead of hanging up. " As for the reason of my calI, I didn't call to taunt or ask for help and you already gave me what I needed. " he stated plainly as he glanced to Ashral. "What I am wonder now is if you want to help. Because your instincts are correct, Kage is trouble even when he was in SIU and more so now. I am not offering as part of SIU but as her brother "
Zaku paused, this could be a trap. He'd be stupid to take this. It was times like this Cordelia would be yelling at him not to do it... but she was the one that told him to call Ree. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. "I want to help..." he answered calmly then came to a stand. "Not as part of the renegades.. but as someone who should have tried to be a better father to her.. even if she still ended up choosing Tri in the end." he added then shoved his free hand into his pocket. "I have no intentions of taking her away from a life that makes her happy... if you are worried about that. I just want to ensure her safety and happiness. It's the least I can try to do for never being there for her." he muttered, trying to clarify his intentions before narrowing his eyes. "Temporary truce then?"
Ree stopped pacing and frowned, trying to understand what angle Zaku might be playing but nothing in his voice gave anything away, only the attempt to clarify his intentions gave him a different view of the person assuming they were true. "You were in coma for as long as they have been alive. You have a pretty good excuse .." he said a little gruffly before adding. " Temporary truce then" he said nodding his head once and sighed. "So to confirm, it will just be you helping or will someone else be coming? Not a trap, just trying to add up numbers"
He thought again, "I'm afraid it will just be me... There's no way I could ask the other parent to come out of hiding to help, though I'm sure they'd try if they found out." he sighed, "The only other person willing to help is Cordelia..." he mentioned, then sighed, "And my informant... That's about all I can gain as far as this cause especially it being not tied to the renegades." he offered. "Should I ask them to help with this?"
"Considering who that is, let's not. " he sighed again and ran his hand through his hair, well if he wanted confirmation of Razal being alive that was pretty much it. " Yea, go ahead. I am going to ask a few more people soon. " he muttered holding the phone. " So I guess I should catch you up. I am assuming you know the state SIU is in from your informant " he smiled faintly at the irony of all of this as he continued. "As far as I have seen and been told. Kage broke in using one of Mara's missing suits, fought quite a few metas and had Mara kill herself on command before leaving with Hexxis. Currently everyone is at the hospital and as far as I know ...amazingly...no one is dead"
"Yeah.. I'd rather not either..." he responded simply then tried to think while pacing just a bit. He listened carefully as he caught him up with information about SIU. Kage was using mind control to affect Mara and somehow was able to kidnap Hexxis in the scuffle of everything. His heart sank a bit as he lingered a bit too long on the notion that Mara might actually be dead, but later dismissed after Ree clarified that no one had died. "And what about Melody..." he asked, figuring that just because someone wasn't dead, didn't mean that they weren't heavily injured. Looking around the room for a bit, he moved to the dresser and pulled out a secondary phone and began to text Cordelia with that phone while he stayed on the line with Ree.
"I am not sure, I am going to call after we finish. Of the seriously injured, Mara was the only one mentioned by the person who stayed behind. " he paused and moved toward the window to look out of one of the less hazy areas...there were two spots of heavy bleeding back at SIU. Wait Hexxis...a trail to follow. "Hexxis was also injured in an attempt to be able to locate her. So she was taken and injured " he sighed. "I am also working off the assumption that Kage went back and and is not working for someone else. Other wise ...." Suits would have GPS but he wouldn't have access to that now..actually they would have to wait for Kae ...and if she still had any clout what so ever.
He didn't like that there wasn't any solid information on Melody, but there wasn't much he could do at the moment with everything that was happening. Hexxis was injured, s**t, how did that even happen. This was a damn mess and Zaku could barely contain his distress over it all. "Well, I'd check Hinale first. If not there, then I don't know where else he would have gone." he sighed with exasperation as he continued to text Cordelia from the other phone. "Where can I meet you... Depending on where it is, I can be there tonight or in the morning." he offered. No more sitting back, even if he didn't quite have the same strength as before, he still would make an appearance just to help get Hexxis back.
"That might be a problem. If he is in Hinale it will take me two days to get there and hunt or I can wait and see if there is a slim chance I can get at the tracking over here and see if it is online. Which might take a day or more" he said looking thoughtful."We're in Belrad, where are you?" Not really expecting the exact city but likely something close.
"Hmm.. well we'd be in a similar boat.. I'm currently in Midena. If I have Cordelia come here first, and we travel manually to Belrad, by then, she should be rested enough to jump us to Hinale... though we won't have a jump back for at least half a day from her. " he offered, thinking.
Ree closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "How long will it take you to drive down and how many people can Cordelia take in such a big jump?"
Zaku put down his other phone and thought for a moment, "It will take me roughly 8 hours to get there by car. Cordelia can take up to 4 people with her. Though, she'll need rest right after with a distance that far."
Ree looked thoughtful "so that leaves one more space... and almost no fall back plan. I need to talk to the other to see if we have more options. One last thing..are you on a schedule? " he frowned faintly , not liking this but they at least had a bare minimum plan.
"I'm not... things are handled for the moment, so I have free reign of movement for the while." he answered calmly then looked to the corner of the room as Cordelia stepped out of the shadows silently. He pocketed his secondary phone. "I'll head to Belrad now if everything is squared away..."
"You have my phone. I'll see you then " he said quietly and waited a moment before hanging up.
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Broken_Illumination Captain
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Broken_Illumination Captain
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 5:03 pm
Within the moment he was already calling a new number (Mara) and waiting as he listened to it ring as he looked toward Ashral. "Zaku is coming " he said quietly, only now finally allowing the worry of what he was doing to show.
Melody made a soft harp noise as the phone in her pocket vibrated. She hesitated, hard to tell who was calling when there was no names in the phone. She pressed the answer button then stayed silent, seeing if they'd talk first... depending on who it was, she could just hang up and they'd be none the wiser.
Ree blinked as he heard the soft movement of cloth and checked to see if the phone had connected. ".... Tri? " he muttered, oh shoot. Oh course Tri would rush back ...shoot shoot shoot.
Melody blinked, "....Ree?.." she spoke softly into the phone. Shifting to sit up into a more comfortable position in the chair that sat beside Mara's bedside.
"Melody....good. " he said with relief "How is everyone? And is Tri there?"
Melody sighed with relief, "Mara is being hospitalized. She's unconscious but fine, she just lost a lot of blood is all. As for the other, they are fine too. Maybe some bruises here and there, but ultimately unscathed." she leaned onto the railing of the bed gently. "Tri isn't here... Right now it's just me in Mara's hospital room... Syth and Z-.... Dr. Enid are getting a hotel room and Zira is back at SIU I think..." she took a deep breath. "How are you.... and Ashral?"
"....... So...Tri has gotten in touch with you and Dr Enid is the spy that for some reason you're covering for. Oh other wise good good. " he sighed and looked to the ceiling for help but desperately relieved Mara was fine. Assuming Tri got in touch with her because she said Ashral but it could have been Mara and then the slight hesitation before the other name. Really it was guesses but that was what he looked for anyways. "That is everyone in SIU right? You, the spy, Zira....you mention someone else? "
Melody frowned, "Tri did call earlier... yes. And Dr. Enid isn't a spy... He's therapist transferred from Spectrum to look for Manes and Malices... I know him from back then... he's not a spy.." she corrected, trying to covered her tracks on her slight misstep. "Yeah, that's everyone... Me, Mara, Syth, Zira, and Dr. Enid."
Ree sighed "Okay then... " he closed his eyes for a moment. " Syth ...she is the only one I don't recognize. Can you tell me about her?"
"She's uhm... Alice's wife." she answered simply, biting her lip for a moment. "So... my aunt.."
"I ...don't recognize Alice? " he said sounding confused since that was not a name that was mentioned but....wait Zira mentioned her as well.
Melody shifted a bit as Alice's voice roared up in her mind. "...please calm down.." she whispered. "Alice is Kae's daughter. The one that died 20 years ago..." she explained further, hoping that was enough information for him to grasp who she was.
Ree closed his eyes and tried to push down his own anger, it was actually easier dealing with Zaku than it was with melody. "I haven't been in the loop for a while. Just tell me outright already where she is and how she is fitting with things "
Melody made a soft sad harp noise, "She's my Mane..."
"I ...see " he sighed softly. "Kae must be over joyed. I need to go, but since I seem to be the bearer of bad new today and everyone has been turning this into a ******** mess. Ask Mara when she wakes up how Hexxis and Zaku are connected. Can you also keep me posted if anything changes? And do you need anything? "
The tone changed suddenly, "Yeah, I need you to be just a little less of a di-.." there was some shuffling and some soft harp noises before Melody's voice came back on. "I'm sorry... I'll ask Mara about it and let you know if anything change. I don't need anyway, Dr. Enid gave me a hundred dollar and I'm fine... Goodbye Ree." she spoke hurriedly then hung up without another word.
"......" Ree blinked and looked toward Ashral then back at the phone and called again.
The other voice picked up the phone, "Really..."
"Alice I presume?" There was a flicker of curiosity as he asked since the voice was different unless Melody passed it on to this Syth.
"I could say yes, but you really don't know who I am... so what's the point." she sighed, "Now... why in the world would you call back when you got the information you wanted... Curious."
"Because I didn't...I thought I might have more of a chance with you if that was the reason she was rushing was because she was losing control. Especially since Zira mentioned you to me " he said quietly frowning slightly as he listened. "Syth....she is your wife?" There was a hint of curiosity but he didn't push more trying to keep his mind on this instead of what he just told Ashral. " I am attempting to go after Kage...do you think she might be interested? The other thing I am calling for is to know what happened exactly, Kage was in one of the suits but mind control sounded new "
"First of all, let's get one thing straight... Melody has been through quite a lot today and managed to at least do her best to keep her cool in all this and intends on staying by Mara's side until she's better. So how about you cut her a little slack here and be just a bit nicer to her. She considers you her friend and honestly, I'm just not seeing it. The person she described can't possibly be the person who just spoke to her." she fired off into a rant, stern and scolding. Taking a deep breath, she released her anger. "Now that I've got that out on the table... That is correct, Syth is my wife. And no, I honestly doubt she'd be willing to go risk her life to go chasing down that twit for a broken teenage girl... As for what happened.. Hexxis and Melody were sitting in a therapy session with Dr. Enid. Kage showed up out of nowhere in a suit, punched the doctor, told Hexxis to identify him as some other person and likely used mind control on her too to do it because she bloody did it. Mara and Syth came to aid, there was fighting. Kage commanded Mara to kill herself if anyone left the room... we didn't listen, Mara shot herself. Melody healed her, then Kage grabbed Hexxis and ran for it. That's when we were making our escape all thanks to Dr. Enid who not only got us out but drove us to a hospital to get Mara aid." she explained, then gave a noise of displeasure. "Anything else you'd like to know?" she spoke politely, though it wasn't clear whether it was genuine or forced.
"We are currently in two different situation right now. Thank you Melody for what you did for Mara and thank you Alice for keeping her and the others safe. Just stay there until someone comes looking from Belrad or until Mara wakes up. You already seem to be getting a room so... good. Call me if you need anything" he said with a flicker of irritation, realizing for the first time how he missed Tri and Mara's mindset.
Alice took a deep breath, repeating to herself not to get angry. "Right." she retorted bluntly then sighed, "You will be contacted if we need anything or things change." she stated, trying to stay nice, but it was obvious she was irritated by the whole conversation. She didn't even bother to wait for a response as she hung up the phone on him again. It took everything not to just throw the damn electronic across the room in frustration, Melody reminding her that Ree is likely in a bad situation too and that she'd call him later when things were calmer. Alice didn't like it, but gave up the fight against Melody on the matter.
Ree looked down at the phone and sighed as he closed it and finally looked at Ashral, there was one more call he wanted to make but he actually wanted to think about things right now. The group of metas Mara had now weren't much use...they were better out of the way anyways. So that left him with what he had now and no more information. "Well...." he sighed and sat down looking toward Ashral then glanced down at the phone. One last place..
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 5:52 pm
Lifting the phone he called Kae and waited.
The phone picked up and there were voices but barely audible. There was a bit of shuffling and then a muffled voice and a giggle. "...heeeeelloooo?.."
Ree sighs even more "Hello.. can you pass me to Kae?"
"Yeaaaaah" she answered happily as there was a bit more shuffling. "How in the-..?!" the was a couple of thwacks and then an excitedly shriek, then silence. After a few moments, there was an audible sigh on the phone. "Hello, this is Kae..."
".....Why the hell do you want more kids. Just ...why. There are freaking enough" he muttered. "Hello Kae"
"Ree?" she shifted, trying to keep her eyes on the road. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine" he said tiredly. "Mara is stable and with Melody dash Alice. Everyone else has gone to get a room to wait out the night. I assume you can get in contact with them tomorrow. I am wondering what you intend to do when you arrive.. when your alibi was uncovered last time?"
Kae couldn't help but laugh, "I'm a shapeshifter with something like 50 different IDs in my glovebox right no-... Do not touch that!!!....... Anyway, it shouldn't be hard to get a fake identity back into SIU undetected. Last time I only had about an hour of prep time... this time I can be a bit more careful about it. I assure you I won't make the same mistake again..." she assured then sighed, "You sound exhausted..."
"....Your daughter just scolded me because I wasn't 'nice' " he chuckled softly. "I see... truthfully.." he frowned but really who else could he depend on on the SIU side? Mara is down, Tri will likely...won't be helpful because of Ashral. The other metas were to green. "I think I managed to get some people to help me find Hexxis.. the problem is we need to know if SIU is still able to follow the suit signal before we waste time.... if you would be willing to help?"
Kae began to laugh, "So you got a lecture from Alice... Don't read too much into it. She doesn't deal with high stress situations well and is likely still high-strung from earlier. She might even call you back to apologize later..." she quirked an eyebrow. "So you acquired yourself an a-team and need to know if I can track a GPS signal in a suit. Ha. Of course I can. Take me an hour at most, but I can get into the system and track it." she slid her vision to the two smaller children in the car with her. "Though, I won't be able to start working on it until I get there..." there was a pause and some noise. "Close that door right now or I'm kicking you out going 90, child..." she sighed as the noise stopped. "In short, yes I am willing to help."
"Good to know" he said quietly but they were in different situations, Melody never really worked with them before and under normal circumstances he would have been nicer. Shaking his head he focused on the phone again but he was tired. "An ..A-team? " he tilted his head as if he found that strange. "I found some people, I have no idea how this will work but they are willing..or it can dissolve into a mass of backstabbing " he felt the need to clarify that for some reason as he folded a wing forward for no reason other than to trace the edge of an errant feather. "Thank you.... I am going to do some poking out here but I should be in the vicinity when you arrive. " he said quietly.
"That's always fun... Cohesive team or self-destructive mess waiting to happen.. You know, this is why I spent so much time alone.. No one to disappoint when you are only relying on yourself..." she sighed. "No need to thank me... It'll just go to my head..." Kae laughed then thought for a moment. "Hold on..." there was some shuffling and a distant voice of Kae's "...be a dear would you and grab that bottle... Yes, that one.. You know how to take off that cap, right? Great! Now I want you to drink as much of that as you can. Chug it! Yup!.... That's it? Well give the bottle to your brother... You do the same... You're both doing great." she chuckled as there was silence for a bit then Kae came back on the line. "I may be able to start working on hacking into the system a little sooner than expected... I'll let you know when I arrive."
Ashral had been deep in thought, drawing off images in the dust on the floor as she had begun to hum to herself. She drew a smiling face and an sad face and then drew a sword in between them. She seemed fixated on what she was doing not even paying attention to his calls for now. She was too far away to tell who's voice was on the other end.
"...." He winced and decided not to tell her that this would likely be the first time leading anyone without Tri or Mara there. "Fun fun for sure... And I don't know, being a genius scientist hasn't blown up your brain by now ... " he chuckled softly, responding to Kae's laugh and mild irritation with the kids she was brining, why was she bringing more kids? Newly found metas? "....did you knock them out?" Mild curiosity as he listened to the conversation. " Okay then, be careful "
Kae chuckled, "not yet.. It's just Nyquil... But they'll be asleep soon..." she sighed, "alright, you too. See you."
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Broken_Illumination Captain
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Broken_Illumination Captain
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 6:44 pm
Hanging up he turned to look at the battery life before pocketing again and thinking hard. //Zira?//
It took a few moments, but there was an answer. /Yes, Ree?/
//Mind if I ask you a few questions about the fight and Kage in general?// he thought as he lowered himself to a sitting position glancing over toward Ashral. //Like if you had to fight him again what would you avoid or do? Or what was missing in the fight that might have been helpful?// he thought quietly,normally he would have looked at the security footage but that was the same problem as him gaining access to the security system for the armor units. Now he wished he had Tri's knack for breaking into things.
/I am capable of answering questions, yes. I would avoid fighting him altogether, while I am built to withstand a lot of damage, I am not intended for combat situation even if I am confident I will fair well in such circumstances. As far as the fight as a whole, I feel the lack of being in tune with one another causes a drastic decline to the situation. Three personalities being stubborn and one passive personality. This is no good when there is not a strong leader to command. While Mara did very well to start, adapting to conditions of Kylar being able to manipulate her shadows and even becoming resourceful enough to rely on telepathy to give commands, it quickly crumbled when Kylar have the command for her death. At first, it was handled, everyone was on the same page despite not everyone being telepathically linked, however Melody and Syth losing crucial abilities hindered progress and set us at a disadvantage. Otherwise, we could have very well beaten him even if he was in a suit. Another hindrance, was Hexxis. While she is an extraordinary fighter and built for combat, her commands caused her to be incapacitated at the very start of the fight and in fact work against us to the point where the only option left was to let her get captured in favor of retreat and regrouping. Is this sufficient information, or do you have further questions?/
Ree pulled out his phone again and started writing himself notes, this was already to much for him to easily keep in order in his head without losing bits and pieces along the way. //A few more. Kylar? Kage? seem to have evolved a few new powers.... I am going to go through what you told me and if you can tell me what you saw of it. First the command, he commanded Mara to kill herself. Was she able to fight it? or did she automatically try to kill herself? //
/Yes, since last meeting him, his powers have increased. His commands are stronger, developed the ability to lock powers much like Hexxis as well as the ability to turn invisible and turn a key into a sword. These are the things I observed during our combat. As for the command, he gave her the command to stand down and if any of her companions left the room or attacked him, she was to kill herself. I attacked his suit which did not seem to affect the command given. However, Syth was instructed to retrieve an armored suit, as she left to do so, Melody binded Mara with wires. The reaction was immediate and she was trying but did not have the mobility to complete the task. However, Kylar locked her ability to produce wires and I was not fast enough to stop Mara from shooting herself in the neck. It was then I teleported her into the other room to be assessed./
// ....... We didn't know he could command. // he sounded tired as he abbreviated a lot of key points as Zira talked until he had a list that didn't make him in the least bit happy. Invisibility and Key to sword... was that how he was there all this time, how he framed him? Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment he thought and looked back down at the list. //Okay ...you mentioned he could control shadows as well? // that part was important but Zira didn't mention it in the list, if he controlled shadows there was a likelihood he was immune. It wouldn't affect him to much but it would have to be taken into account when they plan. //I don't see why he didn't extend that to everyone.... or just mow them down as he locked their main skills ...// he shook his head. //Is there anything else you think I should know about what happened during the fight? even your own thoughts? //
Ashral sighed as she looked to Ree and moved to crawl over to him, laying onto her back to put her head in his lap, staring up at the ceiling as she sighed, deep in thought. She had been thinking really hard about the things Hexxis had been doing. Maybe she could be helpful if she could remember anything useful other than the stuff about Hexxis' anger for Zaku. She wasn't looking at Ree now, just staring off as though she was thinking very hard.
/He did not make that ability known when he was at SIU as a potential member. So I can understand that you didn't know./ There was a pause. /Yes, he can control shadows. After analyzing that he affected shadows as such, Alice and I refrained from use those abilities as it would be a waste of effort to do so. I am completely shadow based, so I aided physically, and Melody used wires instead./ she was silent, considering his question for a moment. /The fight would have been much easier if Alice was not confined to Melody's body. Not just because of numbers of bodies, but also because Alice has abilities that could have aided in us taking him down, and would have prevented the clash of personalities and motives when acting. They think differently and it is difficult for two vying souls to control one body. Besides that, they could stand to learn each others abilities and understand what their 'teammates' are capable of and what they are not... and become a more 'cohesive' team. That would help. As for observations of the fight, Kylar modified the suit he had to have two batteries. He also uses stun frequently as well as understands draining the battery for concussive blows to gain an advantage. While he focused quite a number of attacks on Melody, he was unable to affect Melody as she took no damage at all. I was affected by the concussive blast, and the rest of his attacks focused for Syth and keeping Hexxis subdued. Tactics would suggest Syth and Hexxis might have powers he is afraid of and is very threatened by Melody's golden form and high defense within that form./ There was another pause. /Does this provide enough information for you to use?/
//It has...thank you. You've given me a lot to think through. One last thing before I let you rest. Has anyone arrived at SIU yet? I think I might need to grab some things// he said quietly looking down at Ashral as she moved to him and laid her head down on his lap. Reaching out he gently started started playing with her hair one handed as he held the phone in the other.
/There is no one here and I do not sense anyone nearby with an intent to come here. You should be clear to enter and I can notify you if someone should arrive./
//Thank you // he thought to her gratefully and let out a sigh as he relaxed and leaned his head back.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 5:11 pm
"Done for now" he said quietly, closing his eyes as he just let his mind go blank for a bit before they had to get up. opening his eye he glanced down at Ashral and tilted his head, leaning forward until his hair made a curtain between them as cat like eyes look down to red. "Mrrr?"
Ashral blinked and looked to him, unaware of his silent conversation as she stared into his eyes, almost lost for a moment before blushing a bit and looking away for a moment. "Hey Ree...." she took a breath before looking back into his eyes. "Do you really think I could be Mane?... Like... if I tried really hard... I could maybe control it?" she asked softly, a slight look of concern in her face as her eyes showed her struggle with the idea.
Ree leaned back and switched gears for a moment as he put the phone away, they had time. A mane...."Yes. I think that you can change in that way, but you have to want the change and to work for it.... you really have to want it, not for someone else but for yourself" he said quietly.
"Always for yourself....you fought death to come back to this world for one single goal. You are strong no doubt about that but to change yourself... I guess you have to just argue with yourself, fight yourself and question." he chuckles softly. "which is why you don't see people changing all that often"
Ashral thought for a moment, "I don't want to always have to kill...." she paused, "And I don't think Hexxis did either..." she added. Her gaze fixated on him as she spoke. "I don't think I ever really wanted to... I was always fighting it, but back then I wasn't strong enough or I would become to blind to the sensation of it all. I always regretted hurting others... I never wanted it... It just.. happened." She frowned. "Maybe if I keep fighting it I'll win one day and I can just.. be a Mane.. hmm.. Or just.. me." Her expression softened slightly. "I've killed a lot of people... and I honestly I cannot say that I enjoyed a single death I've caused..." Taking a breath, "I want to change from what I was. If that's even possible..."
He listened and looked thoughtful, thinking of the photos in his pocket and the negation she had kept repeating back at that house. "Perhaps a long time ago fighting was your reaction in an overly stressed environment. It wasn't the best reaction but ... " he just sighed. " Being guilty makes a difference..a huge difference if you want to change. Those who like it? they don't care, they are ...." he blinked as he realize he didn't have a word for it as he tried to describe something then shook his head. "..dead" yes that felt right. "Even a mane will kill..I assume they don't like it either but I don't know" shifted his wings slightly so he wasn't squishing them as he looked down at her. "Which is why I say you are you.... if you want to be a better person fight for that. That will also change how people view you if you change how you view yourself "
She made a noise of understanding and nodded slowly. "Wonder if anyone would notice or care if I changed... I mean, I want to be different. I was.. confused and angry as a child... I did a lot of things that I regret even now..." she frowned, "Everyone is just so quick to call me a malice and make assumptions based on that.. and maybe I didn't do the greatest job of proving them wrong either..." she sighed thinking for a moment. "I wish more people saw me like you do..." she spoke softly.
"...I saw you because of how you acted. You proposed a deal..you changed the terms when you realized they were wrong. You didn't have to ..actually no one expected you to. Then you kept to that promise even when you have multiple chances to kill me and the time without the collar you could have easily gone your own way. " he said looking into the rest of the warehouse as light started to lessen. "You are working toward it and.... how will anyone know? Outside of Hexxis and those that shot at you ....and that collector guy..." oh yea..he forgot to tell Tri about that.
Quickly typing it into the phone for later...assuming there was a later. "You can be Farrow and no one will know. Well other than you are will me and a Shadow and at least Tri and Mara would be looking for that ...and Melody...."
She listened to his words, hanging onto every one as though they meant the world to her. "You and I would know I had changed.... I guess that's all that really matters to me..." she smiled faintly. She began to look hopeful, her smile growing as he mentioned her being Farrow. Her smile began to fade as he reminded her that they would be looking for a shadow with him. Looking away, she frowned. "I guess there's no way around that..." she sighed. "I think I'm strong enough to fight the urge to attack if you don't get hurt first..... Like I said, the only time I can't control it is with Tri...." she paused and stared off for a moment. "I think there was a time I felt like that before... but I think it was far before I went to a place called Eden." she spoke idly, before shifting her gaze to him again. "What if Hexxis felt that way.... or was scared that she would..."
Ree frowned faintly as she talked, feeling disturbed as he thought to the song...of the cat and the place called Eden. "Perhaps she did...perhaps that is why she didn't want us to ask questions. Except she went around it in the worst way possible, hurting everyone near her." he shook his head. "I doesn't matter......or maybe it does. Seem I ended up pulling a bunch if people to us and we might actually be the ones going to try and rescue her. Do -you- still want to go rescue her? " he said quietly, his own reasons leaned more toward guilt most of all.
Ashral thought for more than a few moments. "I guess I'm conflicted about. Not because it's Hexxis. Because won't everyone know who I am... No one is going to work with me..." she sighed and closed her eyes. "It only makes me mad that just because everyone calls me a Malice, they won't give me the chance..." She seemed frustrated as she opened her eyes again and frowned. "I... just want to make sure that I make the meeting... As much as I am scared to talk to him... I have too much that I've kept from him that I need to tell him... I don't want to go against my word to meet him..."
"ahhh ....yes that. Um can we get up? I need to grab some things before SIU gets swarmed. Then we might need to go get some things. Would it be breaking your word if we go back and add an extra part to the note? like if he doesn't find us there...leave a number to call or a phone hidden around the tree? As for the second part... I might know of a way you can be hidden at least for a while.... " thinking back to the masked renegade who was with Cordelia.
Ashral nodded and sat up slowly then turned to look at him before pushing herself to her feet. She thought on what he said then shook her head. "Knowing him, I doubt he will have a cellphone. Wouldn't he have left a number if he did?..... Besides... It would feel weird telling him such important things over the phone like that. I know that may be the way people do it now a days, but Shogu and I from a different time... It just feels more... respectable that way." she looked away, not sure if what she was saying even made sense. "Maybe I should stay behind..." she was already moving to grab her arm, narrowing her eyes in stern thought. "I can't guarantee that I won't kill anyone if someone hurts you..." she bit her lip in thought then looked to Ree. "What do you think, Ree? I don't want to leave you..." she frowned. "I feel like we did this before..." she muttered softly.
Ree shook his head "I was thinking if we don't make it we can ask him to wait, he is in a way making you wait a week for him. But talking to him is your reason for being here out of everything literally in the world and dead. " he muttered looking a bit better as he got to his feet and looked down at her carefully. Maybe when he accepted that ...accepted trying... perhaps that was what she needed. Maybe she could be alone for the moment but then Shogu, she wouldn't have been the only one who might have changed and he was the one who tried to kill her originally at the end. Maybe his own goal was for her to die.... or just who knows. On one hand he started this ..he should continue this on the other Ashral was prepared to finally meet her brother. The difference was if he would be there to help her if she needed it or just hope things went well. If she came..while they might have a week things were completely up in the air ...including living or even getting back in time. He had hope to leave a phone but Ashral didn't even think he might know about it... but his host might have so he might have learned?
"I can't ask you to come with me. There is no guarantee we can arrive back in time if things even work out " he said quietly. "At the same time if I don't go...well it is to late to just cancel things without losing face and gaining the enmity of the renegade leader. " duh just duh but it felt better trying to organize it out loud. ".... Stay. You want to see how others will react to you? Tomorrow Kae will come and take over SIU hopefully until Mara returns..... After we leave go to her and say you want to join as a true race Shadow, that you don't mind working with metas. Say you have a problem beserking..." he grimaced at the memory. "see what she says, if you don't agree we can set a back up place for you to stay until the week is up and I can return. does that sound better?"
Ashral looked to the floor in deep thought, "I don't know.. I don't feel right making him wait. I told him at dusk.. and I don't want to be a liar.... I don't want to lie to him anymore..." she gripped her arm tighter. She took a deep breath, and collected herself, dropping her grip of her arm, looking at Ree with a serious look. "I will stay here.... And I will wait for you to get back." she spoke confidently as she listened to his idea. "I can do that. And I'll be fine, I'll just stick with SIU if I can until the week is up. If you're not back by then, I'll talk to Shogu then come to find you." Glancing away for a moment, she looked Ree in the eyes and held out of her hand, summoning her sword to it. "You can even take this to fight with if you want... If I have it with me, they might suspect who I really am..." she smiled, offering him the sword calmly. "Just promise you'll come back, okay? I think..." she paused and shook her head, "No, I know that I can be okay while you're gone if I know that you'll be back." she corrected then smiled softly. "How does that sound?"
"....." he looked down at the sword and raised his hand to rest it on the scabbard and pommel looking concern as he glanced up. "My sword fighting skills aren't the best...fair is what Tri used... aka run" he smirked very faintly and it faded. "What will you use to protect yourself? It doesn't matter what SIU thinks but being defenseless within SIU or when going to meet Shogu is ... not wise" he said quickly before saying something else, narrowing his eyes slightly to convey how serious he was about this. " I will promise that if I can I will come back within 2-3 weeks or at least call... actually getting you a pre-paid phone might not be a bad idea..."
She kept her gaze with him, "I can manipulate and shape shadows as well... so I can make shadowed ones... this is my sword. Even if you don't know how to use it, it could be useful if you get in a bind since it's a real sword. But if you think it will not help, that is fine too..." she listened to his promise. 2-3 weeks. "So you won't be back before I talk with Shogu..." she paused and took a breath then steadied herself and nodded seriously. "I can use a phone to talk to you... I like that idea... Then if I feel like maybe my thoughts are getting a little overwhelming I can talk to you." she smiled, feeling better about the idea now that they talked it through. "I will wait for you when you leave then." she gave a single confident nod and took a deep breath still smiling.
Ree looked down silently at the sword and finally up at her. There was no way to back out of taking it without offending her somehow "....Thank you" he said quietly and took the sword. "I will bring it back to you when I can and ...no. 2-3 weeks is margin for error to get back if something happens. If everything goes perfectly it might just be 1-2 days and this is without being able to communicate " he said quietly not expecting things to go perfectly at all as he looked down at the sword and started blushing slightly. "uh .........how do I put it on?" he lowered his wings slightly but looked back up at her, not hiding his gaze but at that moment wanting too. He never had to actually walk around with one.
Ashral smiled as he took the sword, and nodded at his correction to the timeframe. "That sounds better... Let's hope everything goes well." she commented reassuringly. As he looked over the sword then blushed, she blinked. He didn't know how to put it on... She could help but start laughing, stifled at first then genuinely laughing like she had back at the abandoned house. She moved forward to him with a smile, standing only inches from him as she took the sword and slid it into the belt at his hip. She took the long strings attached to the scabbard and wrapped them over the bottom of the sword and around to his belt loop, threading it through. She twisted the string slowly into a loop, making sure he was watching as she was careful about each step. Finally, threading the string through the loop only halfway and tightening it. "There.." she spoke happily and looked up to him with a smile, she paused, staring at him for a moment, starting to blush. "Now... you can tie it or remove it easily......"
Ree blinked then made a face and finally stuck his tongue out playfully as she laughed. At least until she took the sword back and moved closer to him. Not stepping back he held his ground but looked confused as she moved through each of the steps. Watching carefully as she reached the end he was lost somewhere near the middle. He would need to practice himself while they were still together and see if he could at least do a semi good job. "I think you'll need to explain it again later.... " he said staring quietly at the strings and how they held the sword to the belt, a lot different than what he was expecting. Looking up at her he gave her a faint suspicious look "you're going to laugh again aren't you? " he smirked slightly.
Ashral just smiled at him, as he mentioned he would need it explained again later. That was natural. She was doing good not laughing up until he asked if she would, then she couldn't help it. She began to laugh again. "Sorry.. It's just.. I forget not everyone is skilled in swordsmanship... so even tying it is foreign... But I don't mind teaching you. When you get back I will show you techniques for using a swords better if you'd like.." she offered, her smile jovial and genuine as she smirked, looking up at him. She glanced out the window to see it was getting darker faster. "You should go collect your things before you go.... Before anyone shows up, right?"
Ree smiled faintly even as she laughed then nodded. "Actually I would like that " his mind shifting to the moment he realized Hexxis had blocked his powers, now Kage had the same ability. One or two skills shut off and he was pretty much helpless. It wouldn't do much now but if she was willing he will take it up. He smiled back tired but at least genuine as he took a breath and sigh "Right.. have to go do that. I'll be back.. likely dropping things in here" shifting his feet slightly as he got use to the sword. "But that seem good! ... and i'll be right back ..." he said moving to the window and sight teleporting toward SIU.
Ashral seemed to only smile more as he accepted the offer for her to train him when he got back. She was looking forward to that. She watched him get used to the sword at his hip and chuckled softly. He moved away and to the window as he sight jumped away. Ashral blinked and released a steady breath. Awkwardly shuffling her feet at first as she didn't know what to do while she waited for him to come back.
The first piece he returned with was the armor that had been left on the ground. Nearly each piece in place except for the torso and pants which he held onto uncomfortably, using at least 4 jumps to and fro. Reappearing inside he took off each piece in a pile and sigh turning around to jump again.
Ashral moved toward the pile and stared at it. She seemed concerned, fixated on the pieces for more than few moments before forcing herself to look up from them, she waited for one of the times he had jumped back, trying to speak before he jumped again. "Do you need help with anything?...."
Ree lowered some equipment and just looked exhausted as he looked back up at her( 6 teleports used). Help? She could but she might be seen more easily moving bet-oh.....oohhh. "Ah Yes... I forgot you could teleport" he smiled faintly, that would make things a little easier. "Need to grab a few more things then ...sleep while we can"
Ashral nodded with a smile. "Alright, just tell me what I can do to help... then we can sleep."
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Broken_Illumination Captain
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Broken_Illumination Captain
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:37 pm
[[FAST FORWATD 7 HOURS]]
Ree stared at the list blankly as he laid partially on his side, one set of wings curled around him while the other set covered Ashral behind him. So far it hasn't been that hard, it was almost like they were still just friends or siblings but with a different title and expectations and she was much happier. Was this how it is supposed to be? He actually envy those humans who had been with someone for nearly half or more of their life span happily, was this the right way? It wasn't bad so far even if he still felt only a slight twinge of wrongness.
And.......that doesn't help him with Hexxis right now.
Yawning sleepily he focused on what he had up and felt like it was just stupid ... Not wanting to wake Ashral right now to throw ideas against her but also trying to find ways to make this more plausible with what limited resources they had. Oh yes....assuming they don't betray each other ...he was starting to assume that a lot.
Ashral had been sleeping pretty soundly beneath the darkness of Ree's wings that covered her.. It felt safe as she was content to sleep for a long while if he let her. She was clutching the prepaid phone in her hand, haven fallen asleep while playing with it in her curiousity to understand it better. She was fairly still, as the only indicator that she was even still alive was her slow deep breaths while she slept.
Cordelia yawned as she took a sip of coffee and shuttered at the bitterness. "Zaku... Please stop drinking coffee black.. That's weird..."
Zaku sighed, then forced a smirk. "...there's sugar in it... Just not a lot, I guess.." he commented, his smile fading quickly into a more serious expression. "We are in Belrad now..."
"Wait, what? Did you break the sound barrier while you were at it? We are a full hour early." she remarked, looking at the dash clock. She sighed and pulled out her cellphone and dialed Ree, waiting for him to pick up as she leaned back in the seat a bit.
Ree jerked slightly as his phone vibrated, glancing down quickly at the number he slide it open. "Hello?" he whispered softly, lifting the wings covering him to block out the sound waves from bothering Ashral.
"Heyyyy rise and shine, cupcake, we are in belrad early." she laughed tiredly. "Apparently someone has a lead foot... Sorry. Anyway, where the hell do we need to go to get to you?"
"..... you're early..my co-conspirators aren't even out of bed yet. " he tried to chuckle then sighed tiredly. "(address) " he said quietly, it wasn't the warehouse they were in now but close enough, he already set one crate over there and left two here. "I'll meet you outside"
"mmhmm" she wrote down the address on a scrap piece of paper. "Okay, we should be there in a few minutes... See you soon." she then hung up the phone.
Ree sighs as the screen goes back to the list and she shut it off before replacing it back in his pocket. Shifting to his elbows he turned to glanced down under his wing at Ashral. "Ashral?" he asked quietly not pulling the wing back and making her cold without warning. Instead he nudged her a bit with his middle wing by squeezing then loosing.
Ashral made a faint noise as she began to wake up from the movement. Taking a deep steady breath, she opened her eyes slowly. "...hmm?.." It took her a moment before she realized she wasn't even under any kind of floorboard and she blinked, looking at the phone in her hand with a slight confusion then sighed and looked to Ree. ".....Ree.."
"Yep" he said with a slightly nod watching her carefully, the call was basically the start of it all. "Time to wake up, rise and shining optional" he made a faint face. " They called, and are going to meet me in the other building. Might be good if you stay. They have a spy in the SIU metas and who knows what they might or might do if they come back and find you there "
Ashral sighed and thought for a moment, reluctant to get up but doing for after a bit. Rubbing her eye with a free hand she yawned. "Wasn't I suppose to join them... hmmm..." she spoke idly, still half-asleep and a bit confused. Stretching a bit, she opened her eyes a bit wider, less tired as she stared at Ree. "Where am I going...?"
Ree tilted his head slightly confused. "You are going to them after we go. I think Zaku just invited the spy to join us... they might be aware to look for you because of me.. Melody was" he sighed. "After we leave you can go and try to join them. There should at least be someone there...or they might tell you to wait. " he sighed. "Okay we're not leaving right away I can sneak out now and then and come back here until we officially leave. is that okay?"
Ashral just seemed confused but nodded anyway. "Leave now... come back later and join after you left... okay." She looked at him then the phone, and slipped it into her stocking for now. "Wish you didn't have to go...." she mumbled then sighed.
Ree frowned faintly. "you look confused... and yea. but seems everything piled up at the exact same time" he said pulling his wing back slowly.
"Hmm.. still sleepy... I'm fine.." she muttered then yawned again. "So you're leaving soon..." she frowned.
"I need to go meet Zaku and Cordelia, we will should be in that other warehouse near by. But yes..as soon as we get things figured out or it might just end here" he sighed.
She was silent for a while, staring at the ground. Pain filled her eyes as she grabbed her arm. "...I think I'm scared..." she shifted her gaze to look straight at Ree. "Like, I know it's stupid to think this is forever... you'll just be back in a few days........ right?" her voice lowered, worry laced in her words, "You'll come back like you always do...."
Ree looked at her carefully ruffling his wings and resisted the urge to stretch almost cat like before getting up. "... being truthful. I just asked the main guy we keep trying to kill or capture into helping me look for a daughter he barely knows. Last time I -talked- to him I convinced him to call parley which ended with me being framed for the murder of one of the criel leaders and I think he was shot by his own people. The last time I -saw- him, we were attacking their base trying to get at Kae. If I was him and it it was a daughter I barely knew I maybe would be more interested in cleaning up a loose end than working with them. In short... I can't give you any guarantees" he said quietly but realistically.
"I think I made friends with one of his... officers but if could just be a trap either ways. Either now or later .. or never. " he shrugged faintly even so that was part of what he was worrying about last night. "That is why I got you the phone... if I can't answer within a day or two then either I ran out of batteries or I ran into trouble " //or i'm dead// he said quietly.
"On the other hand.. we might just hit it off perfectly and fine Kage already dead and Hexxis eating his corpse" he said suddenly switching his tone to lighten the mood as he smiled faintly. "you need to meet up with your brother.. I would really want to be here to see that so I will try to be back by then. This is just an what could happen" he reached out to hug her lightly with his wing.
Ashral could only listen with a frown as he explained the situation he'd be in. Not a favorable position to be in, and honestly screamed 'trap' to her. She could only hope it wasn't true. She glanced down to the phone in her stocking as he mentioned it. Looking to him, she narrowed her eyes in concern. "You know if you don't come back in 2-3 weeks like you said, I'm going to come find you..." she proclaimed, "Honestly, I can't even guarantee I just won't try to come for you if you're not back after I talk to Shogu..." she muttered in addition before sighing.
It was a few moments, before she made a sudden stifled laugh about his comment on Hexxis. It was just too funny as she began to laugh. "That would be funny... and disturbing.." she commented with a chuckle.
She sighed, looking at him with an almost guilty and sad look. "I hope you get back in time... I'd like you to meet him..." she then felt his wing hug her as she hesitated a moment before leaning in to hug him directly, burying her face into his chest. "...please don't die..." her muffled voice barely audible. "....I finally got you to consider me... you can't go and die now... that's.... that's not allowed."
"Well ...2-3 week is a little long" he smiled as she hugged him and he rested his arms around her while pulling his wings back, realizing how much smaller she was. " but hunting me down wouldn't be rejected if I don't start answering my phone in a day or two or even after you meet Shugo. " he muttered.
"That is also part of why I am going to bring at least one of those suits... worst case Mara comes back gets pissed and can track where we are or someone who knows. But not planning to die okay? Just looking at the worst case scenario " he lowered his head and gave her a light kiss on the top of hers as hugging. "Not allowed. Got it.." this time he laughed, noticing the large difference from yesterday to today. "I really need to go though, they said just a few minutes" he let a hint of a whine enter his voice mostly in play.
"Okay, then I'm coming to you if you don't come back by the time I talk to Shogu." she spoke with a certain determination, despite its unsettling undertone. She looked up to him, brow furrowed but obviously standing her ground about him not being allowed to die. As he mentioned he had to go, she squeezed a bit tighter before letting go. "....if you must..." she forced a smirk that only lasted for a few seconds. "Please be careful out there... I promise I will be here waiting for you when you get back... You have my word." she bit her lip and took a step back.
//this is what I called the sappy goodbyes ..so different when you're in one.. // He smiled at her determined look ad leaned one of his wings in forward like an arm to give her a slightly tighter hug before letting go too and smirking faintly at her at least until he smirk faded feeling the difference with their ages as he remembered old movies where the person stayed waiting until they were old or died while the person they waited for died or cheated on them. Yet nothing came to mind to prevent that other than well she was going after him if he didn't make it back in a week. Good enough. He smiled and saluted her "I'll be back. If i'm in trouble pretty sure you'll hear it" he chuckled and turned away heading toward the door and out to the other warehouse to meet Zaku and who ever else.
Ashral watched as he left. Lingering there for a bit longer as her gaze shifted to the ground and she grabbed her arm. After a few moment, she took a deep steadying breath then turned to walk the other direction, phasing out of the building and moving along shadows to find a place to hang out for a while to watch out for anyone coming back to SIU.
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