Sabotage! (Mission) (Ven)

There was another disaster going on in the world and this time K138Y was dedicated to getting on the scene. A flyer for a mercenary position in Luca led to a recruitment office where she was able to negotiate some terms. Transportation was the only addition she required. First a ride to the port in Midgar, which would require special needs since there was not a transport line directly to the port without first crossing the Vector lines anyways. Then when the job was all said and done, if she made it out, they would supply her with transportation back to Spira. Djose was the next stop on her pilgrimage but she did not necessarily need to go in order so she simply stated ‘to Spira’ and hoped the Fayth would guide her to work things out perfectly in some way. Transportation was a simple request so the deal was set.

They threw her on a boat leaving Luca immediately. Considering how fast the small boat was going it seemed the rumors that Gaia’s Governments were operating through the Mercenaries was accurate. It was unlikely that anyone in Spira had tech that advanced. It was only several hours before the boat stopped in the middle of the ocean and a small airship descended to pick her up, the mercenaries didn't mess around. The airship proceed to take her the rest of the way to Midgar but there was a layover in between that no one would give her any details about. But one mercenary in particular did bring K138Y aside and offer a job.

“I’m with a group called AVALANCHE. And if you are interested we've got a job for ya.”

The job was to help with a hit on a Mako Reactor. They needed someone, a tech savvy someone, to fry the false ID system from the inside. For K138Y that would be EASY and she accepted the job. But she wasn't going to do it, not exactly. The Mako Reactors needed to be shut down, they were draining the life energy of the planet. But AVALANCHE would blow the thing up and probably kill people in the process. K138Y would cause the reactor to shut down (hopefully), get at least some members of the dangerous group arrested, and not kill a single person in the process. The man flashed her a bag that had plenty of Gil in it, though not as much as she would have liked for such a dangerous job where she would have to become a terrorist. He offered her ten Gil as a down payment, he seemed to think this was generous but K138Y didn't think so. Apparently she had higher standards or this guy expected her to have no idea what kind of value money had.

K138Y had to find a solitary place to meditate, somewhere she wouldn't be bothered and didn't have to worry about her body. She ended up going with a public restroom since she could lock the door and most people wouldn't mind. She entered a meditative state and activated her new ability. The virtual landscape opened up in her mind and the paths all presented themselves. There was allot, the entire continent seemed to offer her paths to take. But she needed to track down specific ones. She filtered the results by only showing ones that included key words then proceeded to narrow the gap further and further until she had a road that would lead to the reactor the hit was to be on. More roads were presented at the reactor. This time breaking off into various areas of the reactor itself. She located the main control room and walked into the room through the connection established by the device. The only person present was a slightly robust man sleeping on the job. He was facing away from the controls and snoring at a small television that probably wasn't even regulation for him to have.

She silently swiped his ID badge and proceeded to use it to gain access to the controls. First she deleted all of the security footage that was stored, she didn't really want this guy getting into trouble either and if they didn't have the tapes of him being lazy then he couldn't be blamed. From there she set up a trap for AVALANCHE to be able to get into the facility but as soon as they tried to access anywhere past there a trap would spring as the building went into emergency mode and sealed all the doors. They would be trapped in the entrance hallway to await being arrested. Lastly she set up how she would take out the entire facility itself by creating a protocol that would behave like a virus. When the reactor went into emergency mode it would shut off after ten seconds, more than enough time for everything to be sealed. The protocol would start in the system where the AVALANCHE team, or person, would be trapped and proceeded to spread from there so that it would look as though AVALANCHE had caused the whole mess. After all was said and done the entire reactor would be shut down and a team would need to come in and try to find the non-existent virus that it would appear AVALANCHE put into the system. They would never find anything and perhaps never use the reactor again since they could never be certain AVALANCHE didn't have some sort of way into the system. Everything was looking good, this mission would be over quickly it seemed.

WCXP: 93
Total:93

LPWC: 934 (Receiving LPWC will be based on thread results with Ven)

This world did not know him.

It tasted different. The light here was a different shade, of different consistency. The people here had never felt his touch – nor had his own darkness been planted along his path. It was unusual – this feeling of newness. He had felt that wonder once before – the first time he’d been brought to the surface by Saint-Just. He could still remember the mask, and wonder what it was that the mask meant for him. At the time, it meant burial… though he learned, slowly, that it also meant life. Without that mask, he never would have taken shape, no matter what that shape finally turned out to be.

His pockets were not lined with the currency he’d earned before. While it would be of little concern for him to take what he wanted, this world, much like the last, was based on trade. While he would gladly take, that road led in a direction he was not certain he wanted to take.

Nevertheless, he required something more civil to wear. The fear his appearance still kindled in others was not unusual – and not helped by the ragged remains of clothes that left little to the imagination. He wished for his Spiran wardrobe, though he knew here, in this land of smog and reactors that the best he would find was something that would not help, in the long run. He would be given no comfort. Only a modest bit of clothing that would make him look less… dead.

It was preferential.

“Will you give me your clothes?” He said, his voice quiet, low, and completely without inflection. The man – someone a bit larger than him, and quite a bit more gruff, spun on his heel, eyes widening in surprise. Eriol, after all, was not seen or heard unless he chose to be – even with the chains that wrapped and bound the sword to his body. The man eyed him, and he could taste the fear in the air. “I am found. I found you.”

Why not simply take?

Those eyes. Those eyes, two separate shades, boring in to his soul. Those were why. He was not ready to be found, and many a person could track him by his dead. For if he was here, in this new world, there might very well be others like him, clawing their way from the earth. She might be among them. She could not know he was there – or else, he would be forced to react sooner than planned.

“Tell ya what, kid. You do a little job for me, I’ll give ya some clothes and some travelin’ money so you can buy yer own. Do we have a deal?” The bigger man reached out a hand, that Eriol simply looked at, as though it were a strange thing. Did the man not have need of his hand?

His head cocked slightly to the side, before nodding.

He got his outfit – a white shirt with only a few hints of wear and stains along the seams, and a pair of black pants that could barely remain on his hips. Luckily, he’d been able to liberate a section of chain that was not his own, and use it to fashion a belt. The deal was simple. His job was to disable and destroy devices. Creations of metal and wire that could ruin their plans for Shinra. He cared little for the details, nor did he expect much when they told him to bust up the joint. The level of violence was not specified, and so he simply assumed there was no limit.

His slow trudge brought him to the subway network – a place where the security staff would be. A place under surveillance, and certainly, a place that would not expect open hostility. Perhaps secrecy was what would normally be employed on such a situation, and indeed, he could possibly do that. However, that would consume more time than he was willing to spend on such a thing. Ignoring the cameras that would give away his position, he simply moved, one heavily-booted foot after the other.

“You! Halt there!” Eriol did as instructed, pausing just long enough to look at the man who’d called him out. “Do you have—“

Whatever it was the man wished to ask him was unheard, over the sound of the chains on his body loosening. The sword strapped to his back dug into the flooring, as black energy began to slip from his back, down the chain links attached to one another. It moved almost like a liquid, dripping along each link, until it finally reached the blade. “I do not.” He replied, keeping his voice even. “I wish to know where the checkpoint is.”

The soldier drew his weapon – but before it could be leveled on the boy from the dark, the man would find a sword buried in his chest. Eriol, who’s eyes remained impassive, simply continued to move forward, heedless of the now-gasping man, who’s spine had been severed by the blade. Under normal circumstances, he might survive, albeit maimed. But the black energy, corrosive as it was, already began to send dark tendrils under his skin.

“What the… what the---“ The stifled noises of a startled guard came from the side. Eriol glanced at the next soldier, who had apparently been a partner to the first – or at least close enough to have seen and heard everything that had taken place. The soldier didn’t make a move for his weapon, and instead turned to run. This was unusual – normally, those who were armed would attempt to draw said arm. Without it, Eriol would pay little attention to the man. Apathetically, the boy simply trudged forward…

Which was when the alarms began to blare. Turning his head upward, at the now-flashing light, the noise ringing in his ears. But not even that noise could drown out the story of the dead man behind him.


He had been standing there for minutes, listening, watching, waiting to see what would happen next. He would do as he was asked, and he would return to the road once more. Perhaps he would return to Spira. Perhaps elsewhere. Wherever the story next sent him.

The guard that had tripped the alarm returned, a sword in hand, though the tip was trembling as Eriol watched. With a subtle nod, that might even look as though he were leaning forward, he approached. “You’ll tell me the rest of the story, won’t you?” He asked, as he twisted himself around the much slower man, fingers leaving a trail of decay around his throat. “You’ll tell me a story about her?” The man choked, as the poison that was Eriol’s very being ate away at him.


( WC 1213 )

The trap was all set, as soon as AVALANCHE entered the area it would spring the trap, K138Y's work here was done. She took one more look around the room to make sure everything was good to go. But she spotted something wrong on one of the security monitors. A man was killing the security guards. She watched in a panic, unsure what to do. In this astral state there was no way she could stop him, the guy would take one swing her way then realize he could just walk straight through her. She decided that the best way to deal with him would be to spring the trap now and seal the guy in a tunnel between two bulkheads. It would potentially buy her enough time to get down there and take care of him herself while minimizing the number of pedestrians he could kill, which apparently he was quite good at. She began running through programs to figure out the best method for sealing him in when the alarm started to blare. Back on the security monitors one showed that a guard had triggered the alarm and was now attempting to face the man herself. It was foolish for him to think that he would stand a chance after how easily the other men had been defeated.

In her own control room the lazy security guard woke up with a start. Finding her here would just make the whole ordeal more complicated and suddenly they would be going after her when she was only trying to help. The whole situation might even be blamed on her since the security cameras were no longer recording and the only trace of evidence would be that one man saw her in the control room. The other man was covering his tracks by killing everyone in sight and clearly didn't care about the cameras. Not sure what else to do, K138Y picked up a fire extinguisher and brought it down over the guys head which immediately knocked him out. Now she had time to activate the bulkhead sealing. There was no time to be precise about it so she simply sealed them all. It meant she would need to break them down in order to get back into the facility from the subway in order to confront the guy.

K138Y deactivated her astral ability and awoke in the bathroom stall she had left from. Someone was banging on the door and demanding she hurry up. She threw open the door and ran out of the restroom, using her haste to prevent running into anyone. At night like this there wasn't much going on usually but with the alarms blaring it had woken everyone up to see what was going on. Official authorities were trying to detain the public as well as get to the reactor to investigate the problem. K138Y pushed her way through and ended up at the sealed subway tunnel. There was a crowd of people trying to figure out a way to get into the vault. There was no way for her to get through without revealing herself...unless.

"Get out here Behamut..."

It was only a whisper but it summoned the mighty Bahamut and everyone at the entrance scattered. A giant purple mammal was better than any siren or demand to get people to move back into safety. Bahamut easily smashed through the barrier with K138Y on his back where she could tuck down and refrain from being easily identified. The next barrier was just as easy but the last one, where she had last seen the other intruder, was too small for Bahamut to fit through. She had him punch down the door then entered on her own after dismissing him. It was dark, but hopefully he was in here somewhere.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you just murder all these people."

WCXP: 67
Total:160

LPWC: 1601 (Receiving LPWC will be based on thread results with Ven)

The alarms that continued to blare as he made his way casually through the zone seemed to not bother him in the least. While the incessant sound might make another person nervous, or at least a little bit frazzled, Eriol merely embraced it as normal. There were several discarded bodies in a path behind him, as he walked, zombie-liked down the station line, long lengths of chains rattling as they trailed behind him. He held the hilt of the greatsword as though it were a weapon of much smaller proportions, the chains leading from the pommel dangling lifelessly from the back.

He was approaching the location that he needed to reach - the scanners, that allowed the people to make their way through unidentified. It was curious - why they hadn't done this in the first place. Was it an aversion to the ending of life that made them forgo this path? Or was it fear? His interest was tempered, however - when push came to shove, the human condition didn't interest him enough to spend more than a few errant thoughts on it. Not since Spira. His interest in life had been crystallized, and shattered, in the same span of a week - light becoming so fragile that it was meaningless to try and understand it.

Eriol's steps brought him towards a door - something marked with the number seven. It was his destination - between seven and eight. The scanners there were what he was supposed to break. However, despite that fact, as he walked, he heard something different than the loud noise overhead, or the screams of men and women telling him to stop. Words - they echoed around him, in the darkness, the lightly flashing alert lights giving an almost eerie quality to the substation. He paused, considering them, though the source was clearly not before him.

Finally, he turned his neck, so out of the periphery, he could see the person who was speaking. The rest of him followed, body shifting until he was fully facing her. She was a ways away from him - whether she came forward, or he did, they would have to cross a veritable garden of ashen skin and rotting bone. His plague - his existence had rendered the corpses into something that denied the time of death. Organic material, living or dead, did not survive contact with him unscathed. The blackness would ultimately leave the bodies truly putrefied, as though they had been lost to time and age.

"I do not hurt."

His reply was small, and might have even been lost among the sounds of alarm. The sound of a door opening, and the tromping of boots behind him was the only indicator he had that someone else was coming. He didn't move at first... not until the chambering of a round was audible. His muscles tensed almost imperceptibly, and the sword would pass cleanly through the man's skull, without so much as glancing behind him. His eyes remained on her - whoever she was.

"I exist. It is as I am." He added, though he tilted his head at her. "They stand in my way. How, then, should I proceed?" His voice was neutral, his gaze unwavering, unblinking. He had clearly stopped his advance, the only reason the other individual had been killed - any of them had been killed, for that matter - had been the brandishing of a weapon. He'd even let the alarm-blower go, until that person had returned with a weapon. "If it is not a threat, I try not to be myself. It is hard." His eyes, unfocused, turned back up to the flashing light, attracted almost like a moth to flame.

What, then, would she do?

He let out a breath, chest falling, as he turned to the now open door, and began slogging ahead again. His hand snatched the hilt, pulling it free of the man's face as he passed, seemingly have forgotten the woman and her protestations.

( WC 674 )

The scene didn't seem to have any effect on the man. He spoke minimally, disregarding her threat, then put on a show of killing another guard. Her request had meant nothing for him, but death was not new to K138Y. He spoke in a bit of a code, from which all she could really decipher was that he didn't want to be himself and that he wasn't just killing mindlessly. It seemed the man had a goal. As he walked away it left her to try and interpret the situation. It was clear by his speech pattern and mannerisms that he was afflicted in some way. Mind control wasn't out of the question but seemed a bit unlikely. She kind of wondered if he was an un-dead of some kind. The chains, the strange speech, and the awkward head tilts where signs of reanimation in some cases. Though that wouldn't explain why he was here. A glace around the room revealed the puzzle piece she was missing as the lights blared against the walls that told her just where they were. A big 7-8 was painted on the wall to state the location. This guy wasn't on a blind rampage, he was running the same mission K138Y had been doing. With that realization in mind she ran ahead of him and tried to stop him.

"Wait a second! Wait just a second." She put her palms out to his chest to bring the man to a stop. There probably wasn't anyone else in the direct area, moving forward would mean hitting one of the sealed bulk doors so that would need to be removed before anyone inside could be killed. Unless someone was hiding around here. "Clearly I'm missing some details here, but from the looks of things you and I have a common goal. That is to say we have been employed by different people to do the same mission. " She hoped to have his attention now and let off the mans chest. "Look I already did the job. The safe, easy, and death free way." Realizing this may have sounded as though she was saying it was to late to claim the reward since she had already done the job, K138Y backtracked a little. She didn't need a mercenary trying to kill her to get some shitty amount of Gil. Who the hell went on a killing spree for seven hundred Gil anyways? "How about we both cash in on the reward? We can say you distracted everyone while I went in and messed up the scanners, yeah?" ugh, she was picking up some of the Spirian accent. Yeah? Yeah? Yeah?

Hopefully the deal would sound favorable. He seemed to want nothing more than to complete his goal, clearly by any means, and knowing the goal was already done should work well. K138Y had also not followed through on her vague threat, that would likely make her appear weak. Not that appearance of strength worried her but it could mean the difference between avoiding a fight and a full on brawl. It worried her that he would feel this made them companions, but she wasn't one to make companions with people who went on killing sprees. This could all just be a misunderstanding. Right?

WCXP: 57
Total:217

LPWC: 2163 (Receiving LPWC will be based on thread results with Ven)

Her figure darted in front of him - not unusual, considering the slow, plodding pace he kept when he was not actively engaging in harm. Her hands, though - those were what caught his attention. She reached out, placing them both upon his chest, before he could tell her otherwise. Wait. She said. If only he could have told her the same thing.

He felt his darkness reaching for her, caressing... trying desperately to reach through his flesh and into her hands. It could not.

No. No

Eriol looked taken aback. She was a construct - like Iblis. The creatures that could walk, and talk, but were not truly alive. Not truly things that he could touch. The look remained for only a few seconds, before fading. He remembered Iblis. He was a creature of logic, understanding, and a dictation that even Eriol could understand, most of the time. It was a creature that, like him, lacked most emotions. Tilting his head a little, he listened as she spoke, completely enamored by the things she said. He did not like the fact that it was not alive... but he would not argue the fact with her for now. The monkey had had a negative reaction when pressed.

He couldn't smell anything, of course - not like with people. There was no fear in the air, no explanation beyond her desire to keep people alive. She reminded him, almost entirely of Yuna. Someone who possessed light. But unlike Yuna... this was a thing. This was neither light, nor dark. Could it be? It was a question Eriol found himself longing to know the answer to. Perhaps if something as solid as one of these beings could touch the Light, her might be able to do the same. She offered him a deal - explaining that the mission was over. That the problem was resolved, that things could easily be collected at this point.

They could split it. The prize, what he was planning on earning, they could share. His brows furrowed uncertainly - he wasn't sure if sharing was a thing he could do. But he was at least willing to try. However...

"I do not wish to give up my clothes." He replied, softly, but he nodded, subtly. "If the job is done, I have no need to go forward. Though the stories..." He spoke, a simple longing in his voice. He wouldn't get to hear the remainder of the story if he left now. Still... he could hear other stories, once he left. "This place tastes different." He added, mostly for her own benefit - so she'd know, in case she was wondering, what the that flavor was. Turning the boy simply began walking the way they'd come.

"We can split it. Are you from the land of the light?" He asked, keeping his voice as neutral as it had been. "Like Yuna?" It was a decent assumption - only Yuna had done like this Iblis-woman. Though Yuna, in the end, had cracked and broken, becoming as jagged and dark as Eriol himself. There was corruption in her that not even the darkness he was could reach. As he walked, he tugged the chain so that the sword would be dragged back to him - and he used the lengths of chains to re-bind the weapon to his back, covering the gaping wound that the chain vanished in to.

Perhaps a lack of emotion could hold the light without burning..? Or would he, even with his inability to infect this iblis-woman, be able to ruin yet another light, before he could truly understand it?

( Wc 612 )

The way he reacted, the way he looked taken aback suddenly when K138Y touched him that quickly faded to a look of uncertainty. Then talked about not wanting to give back his clothes...This implied that something surrounding the mission related back to him loosing his clothes, at least that's what it seemed to mean if K138Y was catching onto the way he spoke. Everything he said directly related to something, it wasn't just nonsense. In this case it lead her to think that he may have been a street walker of some kind, his current clothes didn't look like they were exactly the correct sizes but it was hard to tell with the blood. A mercenary may have offered him clothing as a down payment for a job, the same way she had gotten the handful of Gil. Though the relative theory may have fallen through when he mentioned stories and tastes, K138Y could not find a connection for those. She tried to say something, opening her mouth to speak, but there wasn't anything she could think of saying. Just silence and red lights blaring on the wall.

He filled that silence with acceptance to her deal. Followed by an odd set of questions that took her by surprise. Was she from the land of the light like Yuna? Yuna was a well known summoner who lost her way, or at least that was the story. Some said it was due to leaving Spira, that she was tainted by the technology pleasures of the outside world. K138Y clearly didn't believe that in the slightest. But she didn't know if she was necessarily from the land of the light. He didn't need to know that and she did think of herself as a good person, but didn't have any idea what the land of the light was. She caught up to him again as he got to the doorway that had been too small for Bahamut to fit through.

"My names K138Y, and I suppos.e you could say I am from the land of the light. Care to give me your name? If we are going to pretend to be have been partners in this crime we should know one anothers names" She moved ahead of him into the main tunnel and summoned Bahamut, a ride out would be necessary if she was going to avoid him killing his way out. "We are going to need another lift Bahamut. No hurting anyone, just get us to safety." She gestured for her 'guest' to get on his back then they could rush out of there.


WCXP: 46
Total:263

LPWC: 2614 (Receiving LPWC will be based on thread results with Ven)

His name. He paused, looking at her uncertainly. Names were not things he took particular notice of - no one had given him one. He had nothing by which to call himself that wasn't a title. After all, the only thing he knew for certain about himself was where he'd come from. Still, his face had a name - the face he wore now, stolen from someone else. He looked thoughtfully at her, before shaking his head.

"I am the boy from the land of the dark." He said, his words as emotionless as ever. "But my face used to be called Eriol. I will respond to that, if you wish." Though he'd watched her, as she explained she might be considered as having come from the land of the light. Perhaps... she was the normal one? Her eyes weren't different from each other. She could just be, it seemed. Curling his fingertips around a length of chain, he saw her move.

When the dragon appeared, he didn't look surprised - he'd been with Yuna when she'd claimed Valefor. He understood the concept of the creatures and how they could come to be. Though, he'd never seen someone ride one before. She looked down at him, and he nodded. A single jump would put him up behind her, sitting, albeit uncomfortably, on the back of the monster.

Again, he was surprised, as his darkness reached for it, but could not pass through him to it. Perhaps this was a better situation than the one he had entered in to, previously.

"K138Y." He said, though he wasn't sure that was actually supposed to be a name. "Do you fight against Sin?" He asked, curiously. "Do you choose to die for people?" His question was serious, if impassionate. It seemed that the light made itself self-sacrificing, where the darkness seemed hellbent on sacrificing others to whatever goal it had. He, after all, seemed to do just that, regardless of whether or not he knew his goal.

"I do not think I understand why, if people will die with or without your intervention."

( WC -351 )

K138Y had never been forced to think about her life path before. Eriol asked the right kinds of questions though. But so far she had never needed to truly think before acting, everything had just seemed to come naturally. See summoner and decide to become summoner. Spiras Relegion focused on summoning so she became a Yevonite. People were in danger so she helped them. It all made sense when it was happening, but when it was time to actually sit down and ask herself why...There weren't any answers really. Instead of answering she urged Bahamut to get going and she ducked down while he trampled his way out of the subway tunnels. Eriol didn't seem to mind if he was spotted so she didn't bother offering for him to do the same. There was already a team who was infiltrating the base but they all scattered as the giant Bahamut came through.

She thought first on Eriol's words, trying to translate the missing parts. He called himself from the land of the dark, if Yuna was from the light and he was from the dark then perhaps it meant he was evil? Though it was rarely so black and white, he may very well have considered himself evil. His decision to kill anyone in his way at the reactor seemed to be an evil act. But it still begged the question of if he knew what he was doing or not. Eriol presented his name as if it were not his own. This made her question back to the idea of drugs and homelessness. Perhaps he did not consider himself to be the same person he once was. Perhaps he needed this mission, or rather the rewards of the mission, more than she did.

Next she had to analyse his personal questions. Did she fight Sin? Did she choose to die for people? She had not yet fought Sin...but she expected to one day. Was that the same thing?K138Y did not see herself as choosing to die for people. Rather she saw herself as choosing to fight for people. But she did often lay her life on the line when fighting, if she ever died would she be dying for them or for herself? The goal to fight and protect was hers, that made it her life she fought with.

Bahamut finally arrived to a safe area. A beach that was uninhabited and just a few minuets from the hangar she had received the mission at. She dismissed Bahamut while they were both still on his back, trusting Eriol to be able to save himself. But the silent ride had given her the chance to process answers for him.

"Eriol, I have never fought against Sin. Not directly. But I plan to one day, when I'm ready." K138Y started walking towards the lights of the hangar. "I do not choose to die for others. I have chosen to fight for others, death is just an eventual part of the plan." That seemed true enough, that had been the general direction of her own thoughts. "Most people will eventually die, this is true. But my goal is not to just prevent death. I give life a chance. Any life saved could mean new life or it could mean them passing on the favor and saving another life." The answer didn't even make much sense to K138Y but it seemed to work. Though she couldn't help but feel something was being left out. "Honestly...All of my actions might be selfish in nature. I only help people to fulfill my desires of having a purpose in life. I collect summons to give my life a goal. I would continue my pilgrimage with or without the existence of Sin. I do not see myself as light or dark, I do not think anyone is so simple. Everyone forges their own path, I just like seeing mine mean something along the way."


WCXP: 68
Total:341

LPWC: 3291 (Receiving LPWC will be based on thread results with Ven)

Silence.

Silence was comfortable. It meant there was no one whispering, no one saying things he couldn’t understand. There were no intrusions, no deep, penetrating thoughts, nothing that would confuse and hurt him. He preferred silence, for the most part, unless, of course, he was hearing a story. That was the one time where noise was expected and encouraged. Even asking questions to people – such as K138Y – didn’t necessary guarantee an answer, nor did he feel as though it was rude for him to not get one. There were no secrets when it came to him – but he recognized that they existed for others.

She was careful to make certain she was not seen, though he did not mind it at all. If others wished to claim him, they could do so at their own leisure. The beast was uncomfortable – he was not used to riding anything short of a boat or airship. Animals tended to die when he tried to ride them, so walking was the only option normally presented to the boy. The sand was kicked up beneath it, and he watched as the particles flew away and coalesced in seemingly random patterns, before they fell back to earth.

Fell like he was now doing.

He landed stock-straight, without a bend to his knees, and only the subtlest of rattles from his chains. She called his name, and he froze, uncertainly. No, he’d never actually had someone call him by that name, and he wasn’t entirely certain how to respond to it. He followed through the normal patterns of thought – she simply wished to address him, and finally had something to title him. So she used it. It was no magic, just uncertainty.

She spoke, and he remained unmoving – if he was breathing, his chest was not rising and falling in indication of such a thing. He simply listened, as she explained that she’d yet to take up the fight against Sin directly, though, like Yuna, it was her goal. Which meant, of course, that she would be dying in the eventual. He didn’t understand how, but he knew that it would happen. Or at least, Yuna stated that a death – the death of a Summoner – was required to sate the monster.

His brows furrowed – the first indicator that he was processing any of her words. She wanted to give life a chance? Wasn’t life, on its own, the single chance a person was given? They had the possibilities laid out before them, and every choice, no matter how big or small, lead inexorably to their end. The choices merely dictated how close ‘the end’ was to the beginning.

“Purpose.” He murmured, gently, his voice losing that carefully neutral tone for just the span of a breath. There was something there – longing. Emotions were hard. But needs were not. He did not have many needs, and part of him longed to have them. His purpose… her purpose. Yuna had said it once, herself, that her purpose was to save as many lives as she could. He’d asked her ‘If life is your purpose, why can’t death be mine?’

Something he slowly was coming to understand.

She did what she did not for some great reason – or at least, not in the way she saw it. He looked down at the sand beneath his boots. “Purpose…” He repeated, quietly. “What purpose can anyone truly serve?” He asked, quietly. “Save death.” He added, kneeling just long enough to scoop up a handful of sand, with a tiny crab scuttling around atop it. His darkness was reaching to it, though the fine layer of dirt was insulating it, currently.

“I do not understand your choices.” He said, simply. “I do understand your desire for purpose. I have not understood purpose since my creation. I am what I am, bound and chained to this world even though I do not believe I belong here.” He was watching the small creature intently.

“What purpose can any creature truly have? There is only one constant: Death. Every living thing understands death. They fear it. They cling to everything they can, even each other. Their fingers are bleeding and ragged, in a desperate attempt to avoid the fate that they share.” He brought his other hand up, and pressed a finger gently onto the creature’s carapace. His aura took hold, and in seconds, the tiny creature was twitching.

“K138Y. You search for purpose. You seek to forge a path that leads to the same end as every other creature, even if I am not that end. But you have not answered why. You say you wish for it to mean something – but do you know what that something is?” He watched as the life passed from the thing. “I was once asked why someone would choose death as their purpose. I did not understand the question before, though I do, now.” He let the still body of the animal fall to the ground, losing interest in it.

His eyes – dead, some might say – lingered on her again. “Death spurs life. Without it, no one would strive. No one would cling to purpose or reason or each other. Death makes life into a window that one must eventually close. So what purpose can there be for wedging that window open for a few more seconds?” His question was genuine, and held the curiosity of a child that was too bright, but too naïve to truly grasp the implications of it.

“The light is brittle. It breaks, and is eventually consumed by darkness. I…” He looked, suddenly, as though her were in pain.

“I am from the dark. I do not belong. I reach out to the light and it crumbles beneath my fingers and it burns my flesh. I was dragged from peace, kicking and screaming into this world with no way back. What purpose does the light have, other than to be eaten alive by an inevitable end?” His hands were pressed into either side of his head, fingers tearing through bits of hair.

“You… You.” He was trembling, as his knees buckled, his chains dragging him into the sand. “I want to understand. I want to know what need there is for the darkness in this place, and you… you don’t even know what need there is for you in this place.”

His hands slipped from his head, going limp at his side, several strands of hair following them down.

“Show me a reason.” He murmured, looking up at her, his voice resuming its unemotional cadence. “Show me your purpose.”


( WC - 1138 )

K138Y was not sure she liked Eriol very much. He had pushed her to think, which could be good. Really good even. She even though she had gotten through to him with her statement of needing a purpose. Though it may have very well have been whatever effect he was under, drugs or a spell perhaps, wearing off since he seemed to be opening up and talking more. Coherently even. As Eriol ranted about death, K138Y considered turning it around on him. Life was a constant as well. Every creature equally understood life, creation. She considered telling him as much but stopped as she watched him kill the crab with just a touch. The rest of the walk into the airship hangar would be mostly silent on her part. Even when Eriol's lifeless eyes bore into her.

Part of the silence was due to having to consider what the extent of Eriol's power, his touch of death, could do. Did he have control over it? Had she been in danger when touching him? Had her summon been in danger? If he could kill with something so simple as a touch why did he choose such a violent destruction for the guards? There were few answers but she needed to consider them just in case there was future interactions with Eriol. But she also did not know what to say to his dark thoughts that seemed to stumble out of his mouth. He truly believed himself be be dark, believed himself to be some sort of bringer of death. Based on what he did with the crab he apparently had part of that down. But he chose to focus his life on the concept. His eventual breakdown was not exactly unexpected.

"Purpose is not so easily shown."

K138Y reached down and lifted Eriol up from behind like a fallen child. Risking the potential touch of death as it had not effected her before. She had gathered that he was not born, that he was a creation just like her and the The Children of the Iblis race. She set Eriol on his feet to change positions and then cradled him while walking. The Mother's instincts were kicking in the way they did around The Children. Eriol was just another lost child who had not had anyone to guide him. She spoke to him softly the rest of the walk while carrying him.

"I have another purpose. One that I did not pick for myself but would pick it again if I had the choice." Perhaps the choice had been hers...she just hadn't known it at the time. "I am The Mother, awakener of the Iblis race." Not entirely true, The Mother was living in K138Y, but K138Y was not necessarily The Mother. "It is my job to help guide Iblis, the way a mother guides a child. Perhaps I could also be your guide."

A part of K138Y regretted the offer after it came out. The Mother instinct had just kicked in and now she was cradling a man who could kill with a touch in her arms and assuring she could fix his problems. She wasn't sure what she was getting herself into but it was to late to back out now. She would have to find a way to follow through.

As they arrived at the airship hangar she set Eriol down on his feet and waited silently for the mercenary who had employed her to notice she was back. He walked over with a happy look on his face and a spring in his step. He greeted her with a shout and throwing his arms in the air. "EEEEH! My goodness you really gave that subway station a shakedown. Those guards down't even know what hit them. If anyone earned this it was you!" He held out the small bag of coins, no where near worth the hassle of the mission. K138Y didn't accept and looked over at Eriol. "Eh? What? I did not agree to higher two people for this job."

K138Y stepped up into the mans face. "I don't know who, but one of your partners highered my friend here to do the same job, gave him some clothes to wear so just maybe you might be able to recognize who it was." The man gave him another look over and realization dawned on his face. "So we teamed up to do the mission. My 'partner' here brought attention down on himself as a distraction while I made my way into the control room and granted you guys access."

The man took a step back and unhappily forked over the extra Gil. K138Y thanked and dismissed him. It was a little rude for her usual attitude, but she was done dealing with these criminals and not so sure what she had gotten herself into with Eriol. She handed him his share of the Gil then another mercenary grabbed her attention. "Its time to get going, the smuggling vessel is about to leave."

"I'll be along shortly." K138Y turned back to Eriol and hugged him, it seemed appropriate. "I know I agreed to provide some assistance to you. But I have a mission that needs doing for now." She searched for something to write with but couldn't find anything. instead she tore the side off of a crate and used the metal edge of one of her fingers to carve a map into it. "If you can find it, I'll try to meet you here. At the entrance to the Ice Cavern, just outside of the forest that was recently turned to stone." She handed him the MAP and walked away. Getting on an airship that proceeded to take off.

WCXP: 100
Total:441

LPWC: 4380 (Receiving LPWC will be based on thread results with Ven) ((NO LPWC EARNED))


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