Just Fake It (Paradox) - [M]

[Ivory]

Ah, great.  That was fantastic.  She was probably going to get the blame for tattling -- which, technically, she supposed she had.  This was a different situation, though...  If it had just been what it usually was, she would have remained mum on the topic...  But the death of a guard, well, that was something else.

Still, she stood apart from Runako, hoping to make it clear to Carver and his gang that she was not involved in this...

"I didn't look very close," Mai answered reluctantly and carefully.  "Beyond there was a lot of blood.  Gil, I think, was killed from behind.  The wounds could have been similar."  She paused as she thought it over.  "Yes, I think they were the same.  I came to find you right away."

She hadn't even kicked Ilya or spit on him, as she would have liked to do!

"There's a trail of blood," she added, indicating the drops she had followed to the other two corpses.  "And foot prints at the other site."

(OOC: Now with an M!)

[Paradox]

"They look natural. Could blunt human nails do this? I don't recall Tia having particularly sharp nails. No, these cuts are too deep and almost clean as if they sliced through like a knife through warm butter. Ilys was dead before he even knew it . " His eyes followed the crimson trail that spotted across the stone floor. He stood up and followed it , moving slowly across the room and out and down the hall just a ways to the left where he found the bodies of Gil and Lilith.

Runako knelt down beside the bodies to examine them as well. Gil had lacerations on the throat much like Ilys. He frowned, "Lilith's injuries aren't consistent with the other two. " He felt the woman's abdomen, feeling the blood soak through her lower shirt. "It feels like a stab wound." He sniffed, "Mmm...she's been dead longer than the other two. "

ooc: I'm going to assume the cameras are magical devices. Not quite the same thing as modern tech, but of a similar nature. Totally forgot this was meant to be

[Ivory]

"So somebody helped her?"  That was what she took away from the whole speech.  She wasn't used to having to deal with this end of things; she was much more accustomed to just Guarding -- and, occasionally, stopping an escape attempt.

"Somebody...broke in and took Tia?"  That was closer!  If Lilith had died first...

She looked back in the direction they had come, then frowned at Runako.  "I don't understand."  Wanting to get out, yes, she understood.  But wanting to steal someone?  She didn't understand that at all...  Most of the patients were friends only with the others on their floor; most didn't even know other patients on higher floors...

[Paradox]

Runako looked up, "An accomplice? " He tapped a claw against his chin in an almost thoughtful gesture, "That's possible, but –well, maybe that would explain the lacerations. Maybe Tia wasn't in her room when Ilys came to visit her. Perhaps it was someone else. Someone with claws and someone who didn't take kindly to him. But who killed Lilith? The same person who killed Gil and Ilys  ?  But why the inconsistency? Why not just tear her throat like the others? Hmm. " He studied the bloody footprints, "These look a little bit large to be Tia's. And they're not human prints either. "

He stood up and turned to her, " I wonder if they are working together or if the killer thought Tia should go along with their plan. Perhaps it is a friend of Tia's which was why they chose her. Otherwise , I don't understand anymore than you do.  We're not likely to know the truth until we find Tia.    "

[Ivory]

Poor Tia!

In some ways, being abducted like this would be worse than finally snapping and going on a rampage...which Mai had sometimes fantasized about herself.

"Where do we go, then?" she asked, her usual distance presently gone in the wake of what may have happened to the poor, innocent girl...or what could be happening as they spoke.

For once, by the Gods, she even seemed eager to follow orders!

[Paradox]

Runako lowered himself down onto all fours and touched his nose to the floor , "We follow the scent. In other words, follow me." He pushed his nose along the ground, seeming not to be bothered by the blood. Runako had not known these people as well as others, that much was apparent, but his mind was on the mission wholly. He was created for this. "The Doctor's person bloodhound" as some liked to call him.

He moved down the hall,letting his nose lead him to a stairwell that led to the upper floor. "Carver knew Ilys, did he not? It may not have been a coincidence that he was on the scene before we were. I probably shouldn't have let him go so easily, but if he's somehow part of this mess then we'll catch up to him."He bounded up the stairs, clearing them with ease that might have been impressive for such a large creature.

The uppermost floor of the building was where most of the security guards resided. Unlike the other floors, it actually looked like a pleasant enough place to live in which was what lured so many patients into the program. It really wasn't as nice as it initially seemed for most. The guards lounging about all looked up curiously when they saw the Chief come bounding into the room with his nose lowered to the ground. They knew by his posture that he was on the hunt, but it was curious. No alarm had been raised and why had the Chief come here? Most escaped patients knew not to come up here. A couple had but only with the intent of suicide and possibly killing a couple guards before they were taken down.

"Chief ? What are you...?"

"Quiet," Runako growled and kept moving , "They came up here." He said to Mai.

[Ivory]

Being such a petite girl, Mai was a few steps behind Runako the entire way up the stairs!  She looked (for some reason) somewhat surprised to find the usual suspects hanging out in their usual places; it was strange to think that the rest of the building was functioning as usual while this great mystery was set forth.

And it was probably equally strange for them to see first Runako, then one of the most anti-social members of their number come strolling in like this...

"Do you recognize the scene of the other person?" she wondered softly, her voice and expression troubled.  Perhaps it was a guard who snapped...

"And it didn't sound like Carver knew what happened either.  They didn't even know we were there until you spoke up." Unless Carver were secretly a genius, as well as a phenomenal actor.  That seemed too good to be true, though, especially knowing the brute as she did.

Her eye caught something, then, and she strode past Runako to retrieve it.  She turned the item over in her palm, studying it a moment before holding it up for Runako to see.  "If I remember correctly, this belonged to Hana.  Tia must have taken it after Hana died."  It was a single hair barrette, molded in the form of a series of pink flowers.

[Paradox]

Runako paused for a moment and appeared to be contemplating her question. He shook his head, " It is familiar to me, but it's an old familiarity. It's like a vague memory that has been buried with time. I know this smell and yet I do not.  It's pungent, inhuman. Not a pleasant smell and not human. I wish I could remember."

He nodded to here observations of Carver. Yes, he had thought as much though lately things weren't making a whole lot of sense. The case of Hana and Tia made this abundantly clear. Carver may not have been very bright or resourceful (which was why he used to follow that Ilys around like a lot pup) , but there were others that followed him that were. Any one of his lackeys could have planted ideas into his thick skull and let him do the dirty work. "I didn't find the murder weapon on the bodies. I guess it could be disposed of anywhere , but if I could find it ..."

Mai brought his attention to the barrette. He stared at it for a moment, feeling a flicker of cold dread rush through him, "Patients aren't allowed up here . To find this here..." There were guards here all the time! "Someone must have seen them. Why wasn't I informed?" That was a question he'd have to ask later.

"There are too many smells in this room. It's confusing me. We need to clear it of people or find someone who might have seen something. If you'll ask around, I'll check the rooftop real quick and then come back and start asking some questions of my own. Astrid should have the perimeter security tightened by now so whoever took Tia, if someone did, they're not leaving."

[Ivory]

Mai nodded slightly.  It seemed they had found a common cause after all these years...  She wasn't following his orders out of fear of what would happen if she didn't; she was obeying, simply, because she, too, wanted to find out what had happened to Tia...and Runako was the best person to find her and to figure out what happened.

"I'll move the lot of them back into the dining hall."  The employees had their own, naturally!  "And start asking questions.  See you there."  Unless Runako found her first...  God, she hoped he found her first -- alive!

~

It didn't take long for the petite girl to round up the group of lounging guards and to drive them into the lunchroom.  Having Runako at her back, clearly not in a good mood, did help, however; the moment there was a set of doors between them and the Chief, the complaints started.

"What's going on?"

"What's he looking for out there?"

"I'm supposed to be on duty soon!"

And so on.  Mai lifted her arms, trying to calm down the unruly group.  It would have been easier, she reflected, if she had ever made an effort to actually get along with any of them...  "Quiet down, everyone."

"Why isn't the Chief in here asking these questions?"

"BE QUIET, I SAID!" Mai snapped, voice rising to an impressive level, in spite of her tiny stature.  A hush fell over the room, unwilling though it was.  "Now, this is an official inquiry, so you'll all answer my questions, or you'll answer to the Chief later."

[Paradox]

Just as he suspected, there was no one on the rooftop. He made a quick sweep twice, searching for any clues but there was nothing to be found there but ice and silence.  Few ventured outside this time of year and only creatures like Runako with a thick, warm fur coat could withstand the chilly extremes.  Satisfied with his search, he went back indoors. By then , Mai had cleared the room. With the guards gone, their scents weakened and made things a bit less confusing. He nosed around until he came to one of the doors which belonged to a guard simply called Peter.

Runako tried the door. Much to his surprise, the door opened and the man stood there wild-eyed, hair and clothing disheveld and there was blood staining his uniform. Runako couldn't see it so well as he could smell it. "Hello ,Peter. "

"C-chief..." Peter had always been a little neurotic to begin with. He was a quiet man who mostly kept his head low and did his job. He was also a werewolf.

"Might I have a word with you?"

Peter looked around, noticing that the pair of them were alone. He looked uncertain, but he nodded and started to step out of the room while hastily pulling his door closed behind him. Runako's big hand shot out and forced the door aside.

"Are you hiding something, Peter? "

Peter's eyes widened and his shook his head, "N-no sir! I-I would never!"

"Step aside then."

The other nodded and moved so the Chief could enter.

Runako searched the room and it didn't take him long enough to find what he was looking for. He opened a dresser drawer and held up a bloody knife. "Care to explain this to me?"

"I- "

"Think very carefully about what you say to me. "

The man shut his mouth for a moment and looked around nervously.

"Did you stab Lilith?"

"WHAT?! NO!"

"Then what is the crime weapon doing in YOUR room?"

Peter whined like a frightened pup, "He told me they were going to hurt Tia. So I- I ...went to see her to check on her, you know? Because- I - she's my sister and I read in a book once that's what brothers are supposed to do. "

"You mean Ilys and his friends?"

Peter nodded.

"That still doesn't explain to me what this knife-"

"Well, Tia said they were harassing her. Saying awful things about...about Hana and why she...died. She said Ilys and his boys were trying to mate with her. They said it would 'heal' her suffering, " he started to shake and growl inhumanly. "They wouldn't take no for an answer and threatened to do even worse things to her if she didn't cooperate. So , she played along. What else could she do?"

"...and where did you come in?"

"I stopped by as they were finishing their cruel acts. They had hurt so badly..."
Peter smiled sorrowfully and held out his hands. They were covered in blood, "I think you knew my part in this all along, Chief."

He didn't wait for Runako to say anything , " I've never killed anyone before, Chief , but I enjoyed killing Ilys and his friends. It's hardly what they deserve, but at least they'll never hurt another girl again. I'm sorry Chief. I did it for Tia and Hana because nobody else would."

"Is...Tia still alive?"

"She's dead." Peter answered without hesitation.

"Then where is the body?"

"I buried it in the tundra . You know, in an unmarked grave sort of like how people are supposed to die. I'd rather burn in hell than let the Doctor use her for one of his fucking experiments."

Runako looked as though he'd just been slapped, " Those experiments are for-"

"Just admit he's a sick, fucking bastard! If I could, I'd do that deranged fucker in myself. Nobody would shed a fucking tear," Peter snarled. "Wake up, Runako ! You've been here longer than most of us! How can be so fucking blind!?"

Runako shook his head, " Peter ,you're letting your emotions get the better of you. You need to calm down and tell me where Tia is so I can confirm your story,"

"Grragh! You sound like HIM, you fucking sycophant! I'm not telling you a damned thing!" Already, the man was starting to shift. His nails were growing and hair was rapidly growing on his skin, his muscles rippled and bulged, his face and ears proceeded to elongate .

"Please don't be difficult, Peter, or I'm going to have to have you detained. " Runako said this even though he knew that there was about to be a confrontation.

"You'll never find her! I'll take that knowledge to the gave and I'll take you with me!"

Still in mid-shift, Peter launched himself at the scrutiny Chief with a howl. 

ooc: Okay! It's ready to be replied to! Not quite where I was intending to go with this , but hey! It's going somewhere! And there can always be additional developments to this! I really don't mind if you'd add twists of your own!

[Ivory]

The howl traveled through the staff floor, reaching the dining area as clear as day.  Mai stopped mid-sentence, eyes searching for the source in the empty room behind her.  There, of course, was nothing there; yet that howl filled her with an instinctive sort of dread.

"Was that Peter?"

"Are we under attack?"

"What's going on?"

Mai ignored the questions; in part, because she didn't know the answer and, in part, because it was none of their damned business right now.  The staff floor was usually comfortable and quiet; if Peter were making such a fuss, Runako's investigation probably had something to do with it.

"Stay here," Mai commanded sharply, hoping that Runako's authority would be enough to make them obey.  They remained in the cafeteria when she left, but she had no way of knowing how long that would last.

Like the rest of the building, the staff floor could be a bit like a maze if you didn't know exactly where you wanted to go.  Mai retraced her steps and hesitated in the sitting room, unsure; fortunately a loud crash acted as a beacon, and Mai took off towards it at run...only to stop dead when two figures stepped into her path.

The now deceased Ilys aside, these were two of her least favorite people: Eckhart and one of his lackeys, Terric.  The sounds of combat were close -- perhaps just in the next hallway over -- so there was no way either man could miss hearing it.  Yet, neither made a move in that direction!  She had a bad feeling about their appearance here...

Caution won out over her desire to find Runako, and she regarded the pair in front of her carefully.  Finally, she asked, "Is Peter attacking someone in there?"

Eckhart's mouth stretched into a nasty grin.  "Yes."

Now, she liked what was happening even less.  "Is he attacking Runako?"

"Yes."  His grin stretched a little wider.

"Did you tell him to?" she asked, having taken a deep breath to steady her nerves.  This was bad.  So very, very bad.

"Well, well, well.  You aren't as dumb as you look, Hazuko."  Eck gave a nasty chuckle, and his friend joined him.  "It's time for a new Chief of Security.  If Chief can't handle one little werewolf driven mad by an addiction to combat drugs, don't you think it's time he be replaced?"

Mai recognized the other man now.  She tried to keep her nose clean, but sometimes she couldn't help but overhear things -- things like this other man, Terric, introducing a new line of combat drugs...highly addictive, highly effective, and completely toxic to the brain.  Peter probably had no real idea of what he was doing anymore...and if he were hyped up on combat drugs, did Runako even stand a chance?

Tentatively, Mai nodded slightly in agreement.  Survival.  Survival always came first, and if Eckhart were determined to kill Runako, she wouldn't stand between them and attack Eckhart head-on.

"I only care about finding the girl.  Tia."

"Dead," Eckhart replied dismissively.  His long legs carried him forward until he loomed over Mai's much shorter form.  When she dropped her gaze submissively and looked away, he caught her chin in his hand.  She could feel an unnatural heat in that hand, radiating outwards and making her want to squirm.  "I know you and Ilys shared a...special...relationship, Hazuko.  I'll see that he's avenged."  His finger caressed her cheek lightly; Mai felt like a pet being stroked by her master, and it made her feel sick to her stomach -- or, perhaps that was Eckhart's opinion of her relationship with Ilys making her feel ill.

Something seemed to be expected from her, and so, swallowing the bile rising in her throat, she murmured, "Thank you."

"Now go back to your post and wait.  This will all be over soon."  The mage released her smugly, charmed by his ability to intimidate the younger woman into submission.  He had turned away already when Mai struck.

No, she didn't like Runako, and she wouldn't take on a soldier like Eckhart head-on to rescue him; that being said, she would rather suffer under Runako than scum like Eckhart -- and she possessed not a whit of honor.

Her weapons were in her hands in an instant.  Whether Eckhart heard her draw them or simply caught the motion from the corner of her eye, she couldn't say; flames were already licking up his arms as he turned to confront her.  The blow meant for the side of his throat landed against his shoulder with a resounding crack as bones broke beneath the blow.

Eckhart's howl of pain joined Peter's wolfish howls down the hall.

Mai ducked beneath his wild swing (not hard, given her height) and swung her right tessen in a broad arc that caught Terric in the mid-section.  The force of the blow crushed his ribcage like it was made of paper.  She didn't pause to watch him crumple to the floor -- Eckhart was the more dangerous of the two opponents, and he was still alive.  She spread her tessen out in front of her in time to absorb the fiery attack Eckhart threw in her direction, though she could still feel the heat even through her weapon.  The magic helped to rekindle her own magical power, a tremendous amount of which that had been lost in her initial attack on the men.

She had to take him down quick...or not at all.

The moment the flames hit, she sprung into the air, her weapons aimed at the mage's head.

[Paradox]

It was Runako that stuck the first blow before Peter's transformation from man to werewolf was complete. The Chief's strong arms shot forward and caught the wolfman's head in his hands and pulled him towards him, smashing his skull against the other's. The impact caused the wolfman to stagger, delaying his shift for but a few precious seconds which Runako wasted no time taking advantage of. He brought his knee up , slamming it into the wolfman's gut.

Though the combat enhancements heightened his pain tolerance, the blow Runako had delivered still caused the the wolfman to flinch, providing the Chief with a precious few moments to strike swiftly with a hard right hook to the jaw. Peter went down, stumbling back a several paces and crashing into the small desk that served as his personal work space. The poor desk splintered and broke under his weight.

"This is my final warning. Stand down. I don't want to fight you, " Runako growled and took a step forward to loom over his prone foe. For little less than half of a minute, Peter lie there on the floor with his lanky arms and legs sprawled out over his crushed furniture and a dazed look on his canine mug.

The wolfman lifted his head and met the Chief's eyes for a fraction of second , but it was enough. The expression in those eyes told Runako everything. There was pain, sorrow, anger, confusion, a madness. He'd seen that look in Hanna's eyes too. "Ch-chief, I can't...s-stop. It...burns-" Peter snarled, his voice substantially gruffer, but still his voice.

Runako took another step forward though a little more cautiously this time. He knew something was wrong, something that was driving the werewolf's killer instincts. A beast himself, he understood how easy it was to fall prey to one's killer instincts, how easily it was to leave one's 'humanity'behind. It was something no human would ever truly understand. Poor Peter. He was beast and man. It must have been even more difficult to control himself, "Tell me what's wrong.I can help you."

The werewolf shook his head back and forth violently. He couldn't be saved and he didn't want to be. Tia and Hanna were gone. His only friends in this nightmare were dead...all because of Runako and his incompetence or so the voices told him. It began with Eckhart meeting him for lunch to console him over his losses. Eckhart and Terric. They'd smiled sympathetically and listened to his grief. They seemed to care , they wanted to help. They agreed that Runako was to blame. Runako was incompetent and only cared about the Doctor's orders. He didn't care that Tia and  Hana were dead at all. They all agreed that Runako was not worthy of being the Chief and he deserved to die for his incompetence.  But Peter had been hoping that Eckhart and Terric would take care of him. Eck claimed he wasn't strong enough and Terric suggested that Peter be the one to confront the Chief.

It only now dawned on Peter ,in what was likely to be the very final moments of his fractured sanity and perhaps his life, that he had been deceived. The drugs hadn't made him a hero. They'd turned him into a monster. It was poison in his blood and in his mind and he couldn't fight it anymore. He surrendered and let it consume him entirely now.

Peter rose from the floor and turned to face Runako. Gone were all traces of humanity , replaced by the wild and snarling visage of a bloodthirsty creature which charged at  him. 

Runako had sparred with Peter before and knew the other was much lighter and not anywhere near as strong. Confident that he could stop the charge, Runako stood his ground and waited. This, he was about to find out,  was a mistake.

Peter tackled him, hitting him with the force of a speeding locomotive. Runako was dumbfounded as he went flying backwards, his enormous bulk crashing into the wall and blasting a Runako-sized hole through it. In a cloud of wall debris, the security Chief hit the floor rolling and was up on his feet just moments after touching the ground. Leave it to a cat to land on his feet...sort of!

"He's stronger than I remember, " Runako murmured, " Astrid's right. I'm getting softer in my old age." He shook the dust and debris free from his grizzled fur with a couple good bodily shakes.

Predictably, Peter came charging through the wall after him at full speed, arms out and claws slashing forth. It was a bold, reckless attack but the speed was what caught the old man off guard. "Not good!"

He barely raised his arms in time to shield his throat as Peter rammed into him, knocking him to the floor and leaping on top of him. Runako kicked both legs up and out, his large clawed feet catching the werewolf in the gut and sending him flying back across the room and falling short of creating yet another hole in the wall. 

Runako gathered himself up and sprang forward, running on all fours at top speed. His opponent was up quickly and seemed to have the same idea in mind . It was only a matter of seconds before the pair of them clashed, in a fury of shredding claws and biting fangs. Most of the fur and and blood belonged to Runako and it seemed that Eckhart may have got his wish then as Peter broke through his defenses and his closed down on his throat.

The instincts of the beast took over the chief's senses then and he released an ear-shattering roar that made most of the people in the dining area stop and hastily cover their ears to shield themselves from the enraged sound.   

Runako's stuck quickly with a single yet brutal swipe of his wicked claws. The savage blow sliced across his opponent's throat, reducing the jugular to mess of torn flesh and blood.

Peter was dead before he hit the ground and Runako lowered himself down, gripping the corpse's throat in his maw and shaking wildly, snapping the bones.

Ooc: I had to rewrite quite a bit of  this so it's a little shorter than it was meant to be. I had a bit with Astrid which I guess I can just insert in my next post since it doesn't immediately affect what's happening right now. I'm sorry for the delay. My computer must have messed up last night when I fell asleep because it crashed and it seems and I had no recovery option available.

[Ivory]

OOC: Mature for creepy torture and creepy themes and creepy creeps!

Time seemed to slow as Mai's body traveled through the air, a folded tessen extended defensively as she swung the second in a downward arc towards her enemy's head.

But Eck had earned his Seraph title, and he had taken to the position like a spider emerging to slay the latest victim of its web.  He was a warrior, backed by training, by experience, and by a willingness to kill any who stood in his way.  He had mastered both martial arts and magic, and he knew how to combine the two to create his own unique style.  Perhaps the most dangerous thing about Eck, however, was that he was a smart man who had studied those around him...

And he put that knowledge to the test now.  Knowing that he would die if Mai's tessen were to hit him -- and also knowing that she could absorb any magical attack he could fling from a distance -- it left him in a very precarious, but manageable, situation.

To Mai, it seemed that, as she was beginning to grow accustomed to the slow progress of the world around her as she moved towards him, time resumed its normal pace...and that, suddenly, was much, much too fast.  The mage caught her arm in his and shifted, using her own momentum to bring her midsection down into his knee.

Mai struggled to breathe as the air left her lungs, not even entirely sure where her attack had gone wrong.  The magical power she had channeled into her attack vanished too, scattering into the air around them and dissipating.  It left her even weaker than before as the world swam in front of her.  For a moment, she had no senses at all.

Slowly, then, they returned.  Touch came first: a burning, vice-like sensation on her wrist from Eck's hand, followed by an explosion of excruciating pain and numbness as he drove her hand into the wall.  Her cry of pain reached her own ears, as if from another, followed by Eck's sneering voice.  "Pathetic."

She felt the floor at her back, then, as he lowered her, somehow gently to the floor.  His boot came down on Mai's other wrist, and he ground into her tender flesh until she was forced to release her only other weapon. 

"You should have listened!" he sing-songed as he drew back his foot and kicked her, hard, in the side.  She cried out, miserable, and it was music to his ears.  "But no one is going to miss you!"  He punctuated the "you" with another kick.  This time, from somewhere, there was a crack of breaking bone from the force.  "So I guess it doesn't matter!"  This time, she only whimpered from the pain the two subsequent, rapid-fire kicks caused at the end of his statement.

"No, no, don't fall asleep," he encouraged in a coo as he leaned over her.  "What else can we do to keep you awake?"  His fingers slid with a seductive skill beneath her top, tracing a meandering pattern onto her flesh.  Some distant part of her felt it, but the sounds of alarm were so heavily sedated by the pain he had drilled into her that she could not identify it until a new pain shot through her.  Beneath him, Mai twitched and twisted, sending new flashes of pain through her mind from her side.  The fire from Eck's hand had burned away her shirt, and he leered at the hand-shaped burn he flames had left on her breast.  It was still smoldering, and he inhaled deeply to better enjoy the scent of her ruined flesh.

Mai stared up at him in wordless horror, and he, in turn, smiled down at her serenely, rambling on to his captive with a glint of madness in his eye.  "With a bit of re-education, I always thought I could grow to like you.  You're a little old for my usual preferences, but we can just burn away your wrinkles.  One by one."  He caressed her face with his fingertip, making her whimper softly in fear that he might decide to show her what, exactly, he meant then and there.  That seemed to be the reaction he wanted, however, because his smile grew.  "Do you want me to let you live, Mai?"

Mai found herself nodding.  Survival.  That was the only important thing.  Always, survival.

Flame curled up from Eck's palm.  He showed it to her, watching the fire dance in her terror-filled eyes, then slowly moved down the length of her body.  "Spread your legs."

It hurt to breathe, but Mai found herself panting in fear.  Gods.  Oh, Gods, no.  His eyes narrowed slightly.  "Don't make me repeat myself."  Slowly, trembling from head to toe, she obeyed.

"Now, tell me you want to be burned.  Beg for it."

Tears rolled slowly out of Mai's eyes.  Survive.  All she had to do was survive.  Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

"Louder."

Mai's tongue felt swollen and thick, and there was blood in her mouth from biting down on it too hard.  With concentration, she managed to get it to obey.  "Please."

"Tell me what you want me to do."

"Burn me.  Please, burn me."

Whether Eck truly intended to, or whether he just wanted to get off would remain a mystery as a roar, loud enough to be ear-splitting, seemed to rock the entire hallway.  Even Eck flinched.  The fire in his palm vanished, and he rose to peer in the direction from which it had come.

"It seems Peter has failed."

[Paradox]

This thread is rated MATURE for viewers of age 18 and up . It contains violence, torture  and rape.  I, Ivory nor the SotE staff take responsibility for any minors who choose to disregard this warning. Thanks. 



"Perimeter's secure, ma'am, "Niall reported, throwing a hasty salute as he crested the stairs of the northern watch tower where Astrid stood alone, going over some paperwork in her hands which she had "borrowed" from the med labs.

Astrid nodded slowly, not bothering to look up from what she was studying. She had suspected that things on the outside would have been quiet. It wasn't that she doubted Runako. Of course not. The Chief had a talent for sniffing out trouble whenever he caught wind of it.

The concern she felt must have been plain on her face because Niall inquired about her well-being. The Seraph, considered to be Runako's second , snapped the folder closed and looked up at the man. She shook her head. Niall seemed like a good, honest kid but once upon a time, so had scumbags like Ilys. "Remain vigilant, Niall. Everyone here is under suspicion. Guards, medical staff, patients. Everyone. If you find anything out of the ordinary or someone acting strangely, don't hesitate to report it. "
Niall looked suddenly uncertain and Astrid didn't miss the look. "What?"

"I ...thought I might have seen something."

"Tell me." 

~
Bloodlust subsiding, Runako's jaws released their hold of Peter's bloody throat and watched the corpse crumple beneath him lifelessly. He's dead. Stop. Runako forced his feral instincts down a notch and let his usual rational mindset settle back in. He shook himself and moved to leave the room, readying to cross into the rec room but that path was blocked. He released an intimidating snarl at a pair of guards whom had snuck back to the common room in spite of Hazuko's orders.

Runako recognized the three clowns.They had been put forth for Seraph training before by Eckhart, but ultimately rejected because they had no respect for the position, no discipline. Eckhart had not been too pleased that his buddies had been denied , but Runako had made it clear that there were only three Seraph for a reason. Few people had the passion to push themselves to their physical and mental limits to excel as a warrior, and even fewer were willing to shoulder responsibility and make sacrifices for others. They wanted to reap the rewards without shouldering the responsibilities that came with the position.

"  Didn't Hazuko order you to stay put? Get out. "  Runako was in no mood for insubordination.

Uncharacteristically, Eck's lackeys stood their ground and the looks on their faces told him their intentions long before their words did.
"Sorry , Chief, but we can't let you pass."

Runako growled menacingly and struck out with his claws. The trio broke their blockade and let him pass. They may have been Eckhart's 'friends' but they had no death wish and weren't about to die for his ambitions.

The Security Chief crossed into the next room and encountered a scene that made his fur stand on end. He dropped down instinctively on all fours and approached with the caution of a big cat stalking prey. Hazuko was lying prone on the floor. Something was wrong. Someone had attacked her. Who had done this? The stench of the perpetrator was everywhere. Runako narrowed his eyes and released a soft growl.

~
"Floor three is trying to escape NOW?" Astrid asked Niall incredulously as they hurried down the stairs to the third floor. The timing of it all seemed rather bothersome though she wasn't as surprised as she was exasperated.
"With Runako busy it's a good time as any to try."

"Yes, but how would they know that? "

Niall shrugged, "This is the usual time he'd make his rounds. They probably think he's busy. Maybe we should call for backup."

Astrid rolled her eyes, " It's the third floor, Niall. You don't even need a Seraph to handle these fools." She opened the door at the end of the stairwell and peered inside , "It's dark in there. Be careful. They're pretty harmless, but Runako did receive some pretty nasty lumps on the back of his head once. "She chuckled at the memory. 

The pair of them entered the dark room together with Astrid taking point. Slowly, she moved, "Too quiet. Could be a trap."

Behind her, Niall raised his spiked mace high and then brought it down on her head.

~

He continued to approach Mai and as soon as he reached her, he gasped. He could now see what had been done to her more clearly, " Hang on! I'll get a medic-"

He felt heat behind him, flames licking his back and scorching fur and flesh and sending a searing agony spreading through his senses. He whirled around to face the direction in which the flames had come and bellowed, "Eckhart! Come out, you rat! I can smell your cowardly musk all over this room!"

What could only be described as deranged laughter sounded from his left, " Chief, it's so good to see you alive and in such good physical condition. I heard the sounds of a confrontation but Hazuko was rather insistent about me staying here and keeping her company. " Eckhart stepped out of his hiding place and into plain sight where Runako could see him. He licked his lips lewdly. "You know how women can't resist me. They're like moths drawn to a flame." At those words , fire flared from his fingertips. 

Runako eyed his foe critically, observing his every movement. He wasn't wearing his protective armor. This wouldn't be an easy or painless fight. " You killed Hana on purpose. " It all sunk in now.

Eckhart grinned like a madman and replied cheerfully, " Well deduced, inspector moron. I'll bet you only just figured this out now. Tell me more. Tell me how I set this all up just to kill you."

"Why?"

"Why?" Eckhart mocked and then laughed as if he found the question to be the most hilarious thing in the world. He stopped suddenly and thrust his arm forward, a wave of flame spraying forth from his palms which Runako curled up in a defensive ball over Mai, shielding her from the fire. He wasn't immune, but he imagined himself more resistant to magics than she was.
"Aw. Isn't that sweet of you to protect her?  " He  cackled, "Keep standing there while I roast you alive!"

~
Astrid felt something move behind her and instinctively she dodged aside, just in time to avoid Niall's swinging mace. Was this idiot for real? Attacking a Seraph? He was either crazy or...

"Think you can get the jump on me , asshole?" Astrid spun around and kicked high, her boot slamming into her opponent's chest and blasting the air from his lungs and cracking ribs. Niall collapsed to his knees, wheezing and sobbing.

"Get 'er!" Niall cried and then she realized where floor three had been skulking. At his cry, she was rushed by three men. A normal human woman wouldn't have stood a chance, but the Seraph were not exactly human and her opponents were about to learn why. She made quick work of them all because none of them had training . They were just patients and only a small part of her felt sorry for them while she kicked their asses so badly that she knew they'd think twice before messing with her again.

The mob dealt with ,she walked over to Niall and seized him by the shirt collar.

"What are you playing at , Niall? Start talking or I'll kill you. "

Niall shook his head, "H-he...said to distract you..."

"Who?"

"Eck..."

"Shit!" She kicked the traitor in the face and then ran.

~

Runako remained where he was, crouched defensively over Hazuko while the fire burned him. Damn me! I should wear my armor more often. Eckhart wasn't letting up with his magic and soon enough Runako would be faced with the decision of abandoning Hazuko to save himself from being burnt to a crisp or dying in some vain attempt to keep her from harm. If he died, so would Hazuko. Eckhart wouldn't risk leaving witnesses alive.

He wasn't any more fond of the woman than she was of him, but he WAS her commanding officer and he felt a responsibility to look out for one of his own. Then again...he could not allow Eck to get away with this. He'd sacrifice Hazuko if that's what it came to. Many more lives were at stake otherwise.
"How boring. Aren't you going to fight back? Maybe I should turn up the heat?"

Eckhart's amusement was interrupted , however, when something blocked the flow of his magic from reaching his victims. There was only one person capable of doing that. "Astrid, sweetheart... so good of you to show up."
"You sick and traitorous fuck. Go to hell!"

Eckhart turned his attentions away from the other two and focused on the psychic. Her special abilities cancelled his out. He smirked, confident that he could beat the bitch the old-fashioned way. They exchanged several blows, both of them evenly matched in martial arts. Eck was stronger, but Astrid was lighter, faster. Both were clever and both were determined to win. The fight lasted a good three or four minutes with neither opponent giving ground until Astrid managed to slip past Eck's defenses and score a powerful kick to his midrift.  Eckhart stumbled back, getting a little to close to where Runako was.

Runako wasn't known to be a dirty fighter but the moment Eckhart was in range and had his back to him, he uncurled himself and with a roar he brought his claws raking down into the man's back, tearing him apart as if he were little more than scrap paper.  Eckhart's screams died as quickly as they began and when Runako was done with him, his corpse was hardly recognizable.

Ooc: Take that, creeper!   Sorry this took me so long. :/ You know...just wasn't feeling well.
 

[Ivory]

OOC: Your warning is better than mine.  *warning envy!*

Mai was expecting the worst...and, so, when Runako appeared, she simply expected he leave her to die.  It's what she would have done -- should have done -- rather than trying to rescue him.  What the hell had she been thinking, attacking a Seraph?  Well, hindsight...  It was always 20/20, wasn't it?

But Runako didn't run.  In fact, he actually stayed to protect her.  She stared up at him in mute confusion, the pain (and his much bigger, heavier body) preventing her from moving.  Her words, too, seemed caught in her throat.

That was okay.  She certainly wasn't going to volunteer to let Runako use her as a shield.

Combat erupted then, with Astrid's timely interference.  Mai let her head fall to the side, her dark eyes watching...and often losing track...of the pair of combatants.  She couldn't tell if they were just that fast, or if she kept losing consciousness, and part of her wasn't sure why she was even fighting that darkness...except that she had always been stubborn.

The battle ended, then, and Mai found herself staring at the victors...and the bloody lump that had been her attacker.  She didn't try to sit up; she didn't dare.  She did, however, manage to chuckle softly.  "Well.  That wasn't so bad."

[Paradox]

It took a few moments for the blood lust to leave him, but when it did, he felt...guilt and fear seeping in. Eckhart's betrayal only solidified what certain individuals had been warning him about all along which he refused to listen to all because the Doctor had made these choices and the Doctor was always right.

Eckhart could be disciplined, the Doctor said, could be made to behave better. It was Runako's job to see that it happened. He swallowed. It was his fault, he knew. He'd failed somehow to make Eckhart better and now he was dead , damage had been done and the Doctor was going to be very disappointed.

"Runako," Astrid's voice brought him out of his little moment of self-pity, " why don't you and Hazuko check into the infirmary. I'll clean things up."

"Are you sure?" Not that he doubted the woman. Eckhart was good, but he honestly wouldn't have lasted long against her.

"Yeah. I'm good."

Runako frowned but nodded and glanced down at Mai who was still sort of just lying there, "Can you move on your own, Hazuko? Or do you need assistance?"

ooc: Short post! Sometimes it happens though!

[Ivory]

OOC: I am terribly upset that this post is not 1000+ words long!  Harrumph!

Mai turned her attention up to the Chief with a slight frown, looking as though he had just asked her to mentally solve a long division problem rather than simply stand.

Truthfully, she was going over the bumps and bruises she had accumulated.  Some weren't simply bumps and bruises, she knew.  The now-dead (and good riddance!) Seraph had hurt her badly...and would have kept doing so were it not for Runako's interference.

The burn on her chest seemed to ache a bit, but the initial pain had faded.  That, probably, was not a good sign.

Tentatively, she rotated her hands without moving her arms.  Both wrists throbbed, but it wasn't until she made a fist with her left hand that she felt any pain in her hand.  There was probably a broken bone there somewhere, but her right hand was fine.

That left just the pain in her side.  That still pretty consistently hurt and was the real reason she hadn't moved yet.  There was a pinch, there, and she knew something was definitely broken.  Even thinking about sitting up shot a bolt of pain through her body  She just hoped she wasn't damaged too badly otherwise...

"Well," she said at last, "I think he broke something here."  Carefully, she maneuvered her hand to touch her side with a feather light touch.  She was proud as hell, and she didn't want to have to ask for help, but...  She knew she was not in good shape.  "I don't think I can sit up.  But if you get me on my feet, I think I can walk."

Probably.

[Paradox]

Runako frowned , but nodded. It was probably better to carry her , but he'd let her try to save whatever little dignity she could.She might appreciate it from him. Might.

"Very well," he moved in front of her and held out a hand. One of his hands alone was large enough to engulf both of hers. The palm was furry and had soft, pink kitty-like pads on it,"Take my hand. Brace your feet against mine and try to pull yourself up. Slowly. Don't push yourself too hard."

Knowing her pride just well enough, he thought that she would be foolish and not listen to him.

ooc: Word count rps would love me!

[Ivory]

Mai nodded ever-so-slightly and obeyed, reaching out to clasp his hand with the healthier of the two.  She was athletic and, against anyone but a Seraph, usually a decent enough fighter.  It was just a matter, in her mind, of putting mind over matter to gain her feet.

And so it was.  But it still hurt like a bitch.

Mai landed on her feet with a grimace and a pained groan that sounded, distinctly, unpleasant.  She was also clasping Runako's hand as tightly as she could, considering it was so much larger than hers.  She would have been breathing more deeply if not for the amount of pain even that caused.

Eventually, though, she managed to straighten into something that only partially resembled a hunch.  "Alright.  Ready to go."

It was hard to move, but it wasn't impossible.  In fact, once Mai found a posture and step that worked well for her, she could have nearly surpassed a speeding turtle!

As they moved towards the infirmary, well out of Astrid's hearing and eye sight, Mai offered a quiet, "Thank you, Chief."

[Paradox]

"Don't. It is not deserved." Runako replied quietly as he helped her along, " I was soft on him. I thought I could change him. I thought I could change a lot of people..." He shook his head, "He is gone, but the damage has been done. I will have to spend the next few months re-evaluating everything and every member of Security. The Doctor will not like this, but I feel that it's necessary. Eckhart had conspirators. We'll need to sniff them out and deal with them before someone else gets it in their head to finish whatever Eckhart was trying to start. I don't want any more people to die for this."

This wasn't a report that he looked forward to giving the man because it made Runako look incompetent and part of him feared that there may have been truth in those rumors that claimed he'd be replaced.Surely, the Doctor had not thought about replacing him with an arrogant pup like Eckhart? Astrid was a much more suitable choice if anything.

They were nearing the infirmary now, " I know it's too late to apologize, but I am sorry. You and Astrid were right about him. " And possibly a whole lot more. He had a lot to consider over this re-evaluation period . "Anyway, here we are. "

ooc: Shitty posts happen sometimes! I'm sorry. ;-;