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Post by victoria on Nov 14, 2009 21:08:14 GMT -5
[[ooc: Warning: very violent stuff ahead]]
Mana walked along the decrepit buildings. Here you could find humanity at it's rawest form. Desperate, dripping with suffering and outrage, diseased, starving... dyeing. Killing each other for scraps of food, like animals. A wretched race indeed. Humans were nothing more than a virus on this planet. Scum...
Mana was aware that she, too, was a human. She'd someday go the way of the world and burn too. She was comfortable with that idea. It was part of what made him so dangerous, other than her ability to think on her toes. She wasn't afraid to die, and if it meant bringing this world a step closer to the end, she would gladly sacrifice herself.
Act I had been a success. She had taken the picture of the young man on the rooftop and submitted it in a series of anonymous e-mails to the Britannian authorities, posing as several civilians, blaming him for the bombing. She had found getting information about the young man was a problem. But eventually she'd find something...
Meanwhile Mana was plotting her next piece. Act II would involve Britannia doing something outrageous... but first she'd need a contact or two. Britannian civilians were harder to buy. She'd need something more substantial than e-mails tips to the Britannian police leading them to an assault on innocents.
Gauron was still on her mind. She wondered if he had made it out of the building on time. She wasn't really worried, but rather curious. Why had he done what he had done? Simply out of amusement? She didn't have a psychological profile on the man, so she had no way to know.
Mana was wearing the hood of her hoodie up, with wrap-around sunglasses. In this side of town she didn't look much different to the hoodlums... so she blended in quite nicely, while keeping anonymous.
Mana had looked into Gauron, and after hacking a few files, she learned little that would lead her to him. By no it was a matter of chance to meet him again... and she partly hoped she would meet him here. This just seemed like the type of place he would go to. A place that was virtually lawless, with plenty of people on edge just waiting to cause trouble... and get in trouble. A reasonable place to stab a few deserving people for the fun of it.
Mana turned into an alley. She was being tailed by two men. She had noticed them following a few blocks away. She had simply been waiting for a good place to have some entertainment. Three other men stepped out of the shadows of the alley, stopping Mana's advance, as the to that had followed her stopped behind her. They all brandished knifes or pipes or other sort of melee weapon. Mana smirked, pulling her hands out of her hoodie pockets, showing a single combat knife with a serrated backside. The men laughed, "Oooooh, baby has fangs!" one of them called out. "Careful honey, you'll hurt yourself." another said with a chuckle. Mana lowered her hood, "Men... always talking too much..." She darted towards one of them that was standing forward, sinking the knife into his belly and pulling up. She chuckled, pulling the knife out, letting the serrated backside do it's work against the mugger's sternum and organs. The man fell to the ground, holding his guts as they fell out.
Another man with a pipe came forth, swinging. Mana ducked and swept-kicked him, making him crash onto the pavement. Mana stepped on his face, leaping towards another man and kicking him in the face. Mana gracefully dodged another man's swipe, slashing at his throat. She then turned to the last one standing, smiling at him. The man dropped his knife and ran. Mana chuckled, walking over to the man she had kicked. He was on all fours, rubbing his jaw and spitting a tooth. Mana straddled the man's back, grabbing his hair and pulling his head back. The man's groans were cut short as Mana slit his throat, bleeding him out on the sidewalk, as the man with the pipe watched in dazed horror, trying to crawl away. "You are all the same..." she said as she stared at the man crawling away, while still holding the bleeding man's hair. The initial arterial spray was done, and by now he was just choking on his own blood, unable to do anything about it. "Scum... a disease. Man kills man, man kills woman, woman kills man. Yet you all reproduce like insects, and no matter how much of you I kill, more of you come out. It's so frustrating! Mana shoved the bleeding man onto the concrete, wiping the knife on the back of the man's shirt. She began to walk calmly to the crawling man, who now begged for mercy between sobs, "I have to wonder... what would you guys have done to me? Would you have listened to my cries for mercy?" she giggled, shaking her head, "Of course not. It would have probably turned you on even further..."
Mana slid his knife back in her pocket, taking the pipe the crawling man had left behind. She brought it down on the man's leg, hearing a loud snap followed by a scream. Mana laughed, "Oh no... you're the last one... you will suffer."
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Post by Josef "Gauron" Totschläger on Nov 14, 2009 21:32:21 GMT -5
Gauron walked through the Saitama Ghetto, wishing that his headache would go away. It had been almost two days since he had had even a single soda and his head was trying its hardest to explode. It was so bad that he couldn't even appreciate the suffering that was present in the hearts of the people of the Ghetto.
He hadn't planned on coming here after destroying his apartment, but there had been no other options. Shinjuku was a war zone and would offer little in the way of places to hide. The other Ghettos were no better. He strode past the burnt out husk of what had only a few weeks ago been a restaurant and almost wished that it hadn't been set ablaze. He was willing to put up with nearly anything to get some caffeine in his system.
A few more rundown blocks brought the sounds of fighting to his ears. There were coarse shouts and metallic clangs. His headache got worse. With eyes full of hate and a heart set on murder, Gauron drew his pistol and stalked towards the alley that the sounds were coming from. He turned and what he saw almost eliminated the pain in his head.
There were six people in the slim corridor and blood was splattered everywhere. Of those six, four were corpses or in the process of dying horribly. One of the two alive was currently torturing the other. The sight brought a shred of joy to what had been a terrible day. The torturer was laughing like a maniac as the man screamed for mercy. Gauron would have enjoyed it further - and recognized the woman's voice - if it hadn't felt like his brain was several sizes too big for his skull.
He spoke when the current round of screaming stopped. "Well, well. Looks like someone's having some fun."
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Post by victoria on Nov 14, 2009 21:45:57 GMT -5
By an impulse Mana turned quickly to face Gauron, having drawn a silenced gun from her hoodie with a speed that could only be acquired from practice. The gun was aimed straight at Gauron, but as she saw his face, a smirk played on her face.
There she stood, with blood on her clothes, sunglasses still on her face, her hair loose and waving faintly in the cool breeze. She still held her gun out, aimed at Gauron, with a bloody pipe on her other hand. The man she had been torturing was barely alive, only able to groan weakly as blood seeped out of his mouth from internal injuries. "Mr. Gauron... fancy seeing you here." she said casually with her almost sarcastic manners. She dropped the pipe, taking off her sunglasses, her icy storm blue eyes shifting to the gun in his hand and then back to his face, "Are you planning on using that on me? After all we've been through I'd hate to have to end you. There's very few people of our breed in this world." she said with an almost friendly, yet positively dark tone.
Mana kept her smirk, as she moved her gun-wielding arm down to the groaning man at her feet. She stared right at Gauron as she pulled the trigger, the familiar suppressed sound of gunfire made her smirk twitch, widening for a split second. Having ended the man's suffering she put her gun on a dumpster lid nearby, taking out her knife and sitting it next to her gun. She calmly took off her bloody hoodie, revealing the dark purple tanktop beneath. She flipped the hoodie inside-out, having chosen a reversible one for this walk. She put her hoodie back on, sliding her weapons back into her hoodie's new pocket. She took another look at Gauron, "So what is ailing you, Mr. Gauron?" she had noticed his slight cringes. Even someone who wasn't as meticulous about details as Mana would have noticed.
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Post by Josef "Gauron" Totschläger on Nov 14, 2009 21:56:43 GMT -5
The woman stood and spun to face him, a silenced pistol pointed at him. Such a thing had long go stopped scaring him. "Mr. Gauron... fancy seeing you here. Are you planning on using that on me? After all we've been through I'd hate to have to end you. There's very few people of our breed in this world." She took her sunglasses off while she spoke and he finally recognized her. Again, the headache lessened.
"Oh, no. Were you someone else, I would have killed you by now. I've got plans in the works and an important question for you," he said as he holstered his gun.
She killed the man laying at her feet with a single round from her pistol before starting to change her clothes. "So what is ailing you, Mr. Gauron?"[/b]
It was disgracing to be seen in such a state and Gauron hated the fact that she of all people had seen it. He would get over it. "I haven't had anything with caffeine in it in over a day. My head is trying to kill me," he said dismissively. "But never mind about that. The million-dollar question right now is whether or not you're going to disappear again."
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Post by victoria on Nov 14, 2009 22:20:36 GMT -5
"Caffeine? Well, this is you lucky day." she pulled out a small bottle from her pants pocket. It was a commercial brand of caffeine and ginko pills. These pills were usually sold to college students due to their ability to keep people alert and focused. She tossed the bottle to Gauron, "I always disappear... but at the moment I don't have a teenager with a knightmare trying to kill me, so I have no reason to run." she took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, proceeding to light a cigarette, exhaling through her nose as she spoke, "I was actually hoping to bump into you. I knew you'd get away from the building, but I have to ask... why did you get involved?" she raised a brow at him, clearly suspicious, "I could guess you just did it out of some odd sense of familiarity towards me, but people like us do not do such things. You must have something planned... am I useful to your current mission in any way? If so don't get your hopes up... like I said before, I don't work for people... I make people work for me." Even though those were her words, her pose stated she was willing to listen. She wasn't sure if Gauron was any good at reading body language, but psychology being one of her obsessions, she figured she'd test his ability to read people. He was a truly interesting man, and for once Mana's curiosity about someone was not a threat. She didn't trust him, but then again, she didn't trust anyone. It's part of being a misanthropist. However, she did have a certain respect for him.
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Post by Josef "Gauron" Totschläger on Nov 14, 2009 22:40:38 GMT -5
"Caffeine? Well, this is you lucky day."[/b] The woman produced a bottle of pills and tossed it to him. After skimming over the label, he decided that they would suffice. He popped the top off and dumped a few into his mouth before crunching them greedily. He sighed thankfully. The pounding wasn't gone, but would be soon enough. Then he'd be back at 100 percent.
"I was actually hoping to bump into you. I knew you'd get away from the building, but I have to ask... why did you get involved? I could guess you just did it out of some odd sense of familiarity towards me, but people like us do not do such things. You must have something planned... am I useful to your current mission in any way? If so don't get your hopes up... like I said before, I don't work for people... I make people work for me."[/b] She had lit a cigarette and didn't appear to be ready to run off again. Gauron took that as his cue to explain himself for what may have been the first time in his life. It was a strange feeling.
"Why did I get involved?" He chuckled. "You said it yourself. People of our caliber are rare these days. Aside from that, I've got something I think you'll like... A chance to play on the winning team, so to speak." He munched on a couple more pills before continuing. "You could say that I tested you the first time we met. I certainly didn't expect you to pass. Before you get angry about it, let me say that I've been around long enough to test just about anyone. As a result of that, I want to offer you something. A sort of gift." He grinned and held out his hand. If he had been wearing a thinner jacket - or if the observer had very good vision - a faint glimmer of magenta light would have been visibly emitting from his left deltoid. "So how about it?"
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Post by victoria on Nov 14, 2009 23:00:31 GMT -5
"The wining team? I certainly hope you don't mean your employers. The Chinese, was it?" she chuckled, shaking her head. She looked at his hand as he stretched it out for what she presumed was a handshake. Handshakes... so many times she had shook the hand of people she would kill just a few minutes later. It was a formality she had with the cattle... the disposable tools she used for her work. Still Gauron's stance showed a casual formality. Mana's eyes looked straight into Gauron's eyes, carefully studying him. Such firmness in that stare of his... it was as though he had seen everything there was to see in this world. But that grin... well, if Mana was into strong men, Gauron would be it. But alas, that was not the case. Mana really didn't have a 'type' to speak of. Human relations were limited in her case. Everyone is disposable... and Gauron was included on that list, at least in her mind. Then there was the faintest hint of a glimmer on his left deltoid, but it was so faint Mana dismissed it. His hand had no object attached to it, so surely whatever that was it wasn't something that threatened her... yet.
She finally shrugged as she took a drag of her cigarette, "I'm listening..." she said, the smoke escaping her mouth, as she reached out to give him a firm handshake.
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Post by Josef "Gauron" Totschläger on Nov 14, 2009 23:28:18 GMT -5
"The wining team? I certainly hope you don't mean your employers. The Chinese, was it?"[/b] she asked. She really didn't seem to like the thought of working with them.
"Oh, no. The winning team is my team. If you agree, you and I will be working together as partners. I'll be cutting my ties with them as soon as my Knightmare is finished, anyway."
With what felt like agonizing slowness, the woman reached her hand forward. When she clamped her hand around his for what had seemed an inconspicuous handshake, he felt something resembling an static shock.
The alleyway and ghetto around them was wiped away and replaced. In a fraction of a second, they were in a new place. Their surroundings changed into a white, foggy place that technically didn't exist. There was a space between them. It looked short - about 10 feet wide - but would prove to be impassable. Gauron typically disliked this realm. It was too bright. Today, however, it offered quite the opportunity. Truly, he would remember this day. Aside from that, the alternate space eliminated his headache, so he decided not to hate it for the time being.
All around them were images of the past, his and hers. Flashes of who they were, who they wanted to be, what they did, and what they wanted to do. This place held in it everything that made them who they were. They were the same being and nothing alike simultaneously. In a single moment of clarity, he knew much more about her than just her hitherto elusive name.
"Mana Montblanc. I offer you power. It used to be called 'The Power of the King.' Those, though, were the days of Lelouch vi Britannia. And yes, I was around back then. Anyway, in exchange for this power, you must agree to a contract. My terms are simple: you must endeavor to create a perfect world; a world without such stains as morality or indecision. A beautifully desolate, war torn world." She had already proven that she could do that by blowing up the mall. Gauron was certain that she would agree.
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Post by victoria on Nov 14, 2009 23:47:26 GMT -5
Mana's eyes opened wide as the world dissolved around them. She went to reach for her gun, but her body could never react fast enough. For a second she thought he had somehow drugged her, but that thought soon vanished as she found herself standing in this void filled with memories. She had heard of the supernatural, in her years she had even used the guises of 'religious missions' and even cults to make people do what she wanted. But she, herself, had always been pretty much an atheist. She felt her purpose was something of a calling, something beyond human nature, something that was meant to be. She never gave a name or put a face to whomever gave this calling... to her, it was simply her purpose, and she would not question it.
Now she stood on front of this... this man?... she wondered if she was allowed to call him that. The images rolling past her were so vast, infinite in comparison to her young life. He spoke of a power, and of a contract. She focused on him again, smiling at the proposal, "Power?... and in return all I have to do is continue what I've already deemed my purpose? Working with someone who is ageless... ancient... as yourself..." Mana closed her eyes, a smirk crossing her face. She chuckled softly, nodding, "You have yourself a deal, Gauron." she said with a smile.
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Post by Josef "Gauron" Totschläger on Nov 15, 2009 11:46:14 GMT -5
""Power?... and in return all I have to do is continue what I've already deemed my purpose? Working with someone who is ageless... ancient... as yourself... You have yourself a deal, Gauron."[/b] He was hardly ancient, almost 140 years old was nothing compared to some of the others, but this was no time to nitpick. She was happy to accept the contract. He was happy to offer it.
His face cracked into a manic grin. "I knew you'd say that. Very well, then." He focused his entire concentration on her for a brief moment. In that tiny scrap of time, the power was given and the two were connected so that whatever happened, Gauron would be able to find her. They were partners, after all.
As suddenly as the strange realm had appeared, it disintegrated. They were once again in the alley, surrounded by bodies and blood. "Welcome to Geass," he said as he broke the handshake. He stepped back, straightened his suit and waited for her to speak.
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Post by victoria on Nov 15, 2009 14:58:00 GMT -5
The whole experience was rather... interesting... to say the least. The power felt like it changed her in some form. Something felt different... and quite noticeably too. It felt... fantastic.
"Geass..." Mana said as she rubbed the palm of her right hand after it was freed, "I feel it... but what does it do?..." Mana wanted to field test this new ability... and what better place than this? Just as she thought that the rest of the gang came to avenge their fallen muggers. It was a small gang... just four guys, including the one that had ran. They had guns now. "You will pay for what you did!" the runner yelled as they all aimed their weapons at Mana and Gauron from the other end of the alley. "What did I say about talking to much?..." Mana chuckled, turning to them, activating her Geass, the magenta bird crest showing on her right eye. The men sent catatonic for a split second. One of them started sobbing uncontrollably, falling to his knees and dropping his gun. Another snickered maniacally, foaming at the mouth, putting the gun to his head and blowing his brains out. The last two had buldging eyes, blood-shot. They began screaming with rage. Mana raised a brow, "Interesting..." Mana grabbed Gauron's wrist and with a fluent motion pulled him behind the nearby corner of the alley, hiding them from view of the raged ones. One of the berserk ones opened fire on the crying one. While the second berserker opened fire on the first. Being the last remaining he screamed in rage again, running off into the streets, shooting at random people.
Mana snickered, looking at Gauron, "I'm going to enjoy this power you've given me..."
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Post by Josef "Gauron" Totschläger on Nov 15, 2009 16:01:44 GMT -5
She was different now. More alive. She was radiant with the newly acquired power. "Geass... I feel it... but what does it do?..."[/b] she asked, rubbing her hand.
Gauron shrugged. "It's comes in many forms. Mine freed me from fear for a short time. Lelouch's - ah, it looks like you will have a chance to test it." He had heard the hurried footsteps of people rushing to them and now four men stood at the end of the alley, hoping to avenge their fallen comrades. "Idiots," he hissed.
Mana spun around to face them. Gauron felt a pull from deep within himself as she activated her Geass and used it on the group. He smiled when they reacted. One fell heavily to his knees in a fit of sobbing. Another giggled psychotically just before ventilating his brains. The last two, though, had the best reactions. Gauron allowed himself to be pulled to the side as they began to go berserk. He carefully watched from where Mana had taken them to hide.
One of the berserkers turned his weapon on the crier and gunned him down in a hail of bullets just before the second turned and eliminated him. The survivor sprinted out of the alley way and out of sight. Gunfire and screams could be heard echoing through the streets of the ghetto.
"I'm going to enjoy this power you've given me..."[/b] Mana commented after a short bout of sinister giggling.
"Use it well... Use it often. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes." He wouldn't tell her about the final stage. No, immortality was something that he enjoyed far too much. There were few things better than witnessing the fear in an enemy's eyes when they realized that they could never kill you no matter how hard they tried. He didn't want to share that with anyone.
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Post by victoria on Nov 15, 2009 23:40:38 GMT -5
"Stronger the more I use it..." she echoed what he said, looking at him with a raised brow, "So what is the catch?" she asked with suspicion. This all sounded too good to be true, and Mana knew what that meant: it WAS too good to be true. It just had to be.
She heard one last gunshot and the angry screaming ended. Surely someone had stopped the last berserker. She couldn't help but chuckle, "This will make my work that much easier..."
Mana heard sirens. She sighed softly, "Well, your apartment is no more... have you found a place to stay? she began walking, "And furthermore... does this mean I have to help you with your current job?" she remembered him speaking about a royal Britannian wedding, a smirk crossing her face, "If so... can we put the blame on someone else?" she snickered. This would be too perfect.
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Post by Josef "Gauron" Totschläger on Nov 16, 2009 9:26:09 GMT -5
"So what is the catch?"[/b] she asked with suspicion crowding her voice. She was careful when she needed to be. Gauron liked that. He wouldn't need to train her very much - if at all.
"Well, I suppose it could be said that the user 'leads a life of solitude,' but that hardly seems a problem for you," he said with a shrug. "My Geass actually gave me cancer. Majhid rather enjoyed that fact."
Gauron had stopped listening to the chaos being caused by Mana's surviving victim, but wasn't surprised by the final gunshot that no doubt ended his life. Mana seemed to droop when sirens were heard in the distance. They seemed to follow her wherever she went.
"Well, your apartment is no more... have you found a place to stay?"[/b] She had started walking. Gauron strode beside her with his hands in his pockets.
"I have a few hideouts here and there but nothing too useful. I was planning on going back to the Tokyo Settlement soon enough." He wouldn't turn down an offer, but refused to appear weak in any way.
"And furthermore... does this mean I have to help you with your current job? If so... can we put the blame on someone else?"[/b]
"Oh, no. The Chinese hate me enough as is. Learning that I have a partner in all of this would put a lot of money and time to waste," he said, thinking of his Knightmare. "If you're talking about the wedding, that's not related to the Federation. They don't want me to go." As if that could stop him.
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Post by victoria on Nov 16, 2009 17:27:02 GMT -5
"Wait... your geass gave you cancer. That arises two questions: one, do you still have a geass? and two, will my geass give me cancer?" she raised her brow.
"I suppose I could head to the Tokyo Settlement myself, but habit has made me very paranoid about staying in one obvious place for too long. As is... I barely ever sleep in one place twice." she brushed her hair back with her hand as she lead the way into another alley.
"Well, I am pleased I do not have to work for your employers. It's nothing personal against the federation, but I do not like to work for governments... or organizations... or anything of the sort. However, I would like to crash this wedding... I am certain we can force an escalation in Britannia's aggressiveness if we change the tune of the wedding march. I'm thinking.... mmm... Ode to Joy?" she chuckled, looking over her shoulder at him.
It wasn't clear where she was leading them to. The more she walked, the less people were around, and the more ruins scattered the urban landscape.
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