vicedirector | (no subject)

[ he continues thinking on this because honestly, he'd rather not have katerina up in their shit. their strength right now is having an ally who works for this game, that's why despite everything, rhys still feels vaguely safe. miata giving that up freaks him out to the core and that makes the possibility of his own death a very real thing. ]

The truth then. Use it as a weapon. You don't approve of her methods. Embellish your connection with Urashima -- and with that reaction earlier, you won't have to -- say that it was the last straw and say that, I don't know, I came to you privately -- don't include the other moles -- about what's gonna happen next. You were pretty upset then, spilled some things, I suggested swapping our roles to freak her out.

I just -- [ he pauses here and looks visibly upset for a moment. ] I don't... trust this game without someone here working for it, on our side. If she's the only one in charge, what happens to everyone left? I-I can't, I don't... know what'll happen. I want all of us to live, dude. How's it gonna work out for any of us if suddenly we're down one ally and the only one we've got left is the psycho with all the power?

We've still got Leviathan. I wouldn't say I trust her, because...well, that's kinda stupid, but there's a partnership here whether you like it or not. She did give me the other demons' stats, and it turned out to be true in Satan's case, so I can at least say she's on our side until this mess is over.

[ She nods. ]

And I understand that worry, all of it, but there's not much else I can do to make Katerina act. I'm all she has left, so she'll go to any length to avoid me getting killed. That's one of your worries down. I need you to believe me when I say I know how she'll react. We've literally known each other since we were seven.

You told me that you trusted me. Do you still?

Edited 2016-04-16 06:46 (UTC)

Yeah, but Leviathan is a demon. I agreed to our deal and everything but that was because you were the human left. You still had the power here and now... now you're giving that up? Dude, what.

[ but this still doesn't make sense to rhys and he just looks at her, growing more baffled by the second. he doesn't even know katerina, all he has are miata's own words and sure he trusts her but... ]

Yeah, I ... I trust you but this is a lot you're asking on good faith here. This is our safety. My safety. This is a big gamble and why would you trust winning a magic battle with her over something, I don't know, safer? If we swap, I could get close to her, get the book. I don't know. It's all so risky and I just --

[ he goes wide eyed for a moment, breath caught in his throat as he covers his mouth with a hand and takes a step back. ]

Oh my god, I'm really going to die. This is all going to blow up in our faces and I'm going to die just because of an argument between two childhood friends and I -- I deserve better than this.

[ another step back then and quieter, weaker: ]

I... I gotta go. I gotta get out of here.

I don't, that's why I'm trying to think of something better.

[ Truthfully, it's because she doesn't want Rhys having any power over her, but that's for petty reasons and like hell she's going to say it. ]

I can't say "you won't die", because hell, you might, but I can say you won't stay dead. But if you need a while to clear your head, fine. Go ahead.

[ way to just step on all of rhys' personal landmines, miata! like seriously, he feels like he's not playing with enough information here and what he's seeing is so... so little and so small and it's risking his safety and he can't. actually handle that. something in him seems to crack, a final straw of sorts because miata's explanation doesn't help.

he looks at her, face twisting in anger and a bit of desperation. ]

You're not telling me anything. You haven't been telling us the whole story the whole time! And I get it, that's part of... everything and I trusted you regardless up till now and now you're saying I won't stay dead? Like that's supposed to be enough for me? I know we won't stay dead on the off chance you win. But here you ae giving up your power here in this fucked up place because... I'm still not actually sure why. It'd freak her out? Maybe she'll make a mistake? Maybe she'll show up? How is that supposed to be enough for me? For any of us? I'm supposed to just blindly fucking follow you because you say you know how it'll work?! That's no guarantee at all!

[ he runs a hand through his hair then but it doesn't seem to calm his nerves enough so he ends up scrubbing both of his hands through his hair, becoming super disheveled as he looks around in a panic. ]

No... no, I gotta figure something out. I gotta -- [ he cuts himself off then before looking back at miata and jabbing a finger at her. ] Fuck you though. Fuck you for asking us to bet our lives on your shitty fucking friendship with a shitty fucking person. I'm out. I'm out of here now, I'm not -- no. I quit. Just know, when we all die I hope it's you first for taking such a stupid fucking risk.

[ and apparently that's it for him and he's gonna start with the storming out now?! if no one stops him, that's definitely a thing that's gonna happen. ]

[ Good luck, he smacks into what feels like an invisible wall when he reaches for the doorknob. ]

If I didn't take this job, you'd be dead anyway, asshole. She would have been the Overseer from the start, and there'd have been no one working behind the scenes.

It's risky, yeah, I'm not gonna deny that, but like I've said a million times by now, there's not much else I can do.

[ Not said in a bragging manner, or anything, just stated simply like a fact. ]

What do you want to know, then? If we're doing this, blabbing isn't gonna do much beyond what me resigning will do.

[ that just frustrates rhys and he punches it, first with his flesh hand, then he lets out a yell and follows with his robot hand. he turns back to miata and this sure is an argument from across the room, huh. ]

You could trust us, for one! You could tell us the full story between you and Katerina and this entire stupid game instead of letting us pick bits and pieces through the shady shit you let out once in a while and assuming that that's enough for us to go on! How are we supposed to take your word that this is a good idea and not you being a coward when we don't know anything? You're childhood friends now? I thought she was just your boss. I thought she was an evil witch. Who in the world is Marta? Why did she kill those three people? Who are they? Why were we supposed to find their bodies? You say we're down to the wire but I didn't even know we were down to the wire because you haven't told us a god damn thing! Explain something for once instead of just saying "this is what I'm going to do" and expecting us all to be okay with it!

[ after that, he heaves slightly, reaching up to tug at his tie and loosen it because he's seriously like... way too close from hyperventilating in a panic and passing out which would just be embarrassing for everyone, really. ]

I didn't keep things from you guys because I felt like it. You know what would have made this shit easier? Having everybody actually know what's going on, sure, but her finding out what's going on and shutting us down preemptively wouldn't have served us well!

[ Miata crosses her arms, but surprisingly, she looks more stern than outright angry. ]

It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of "Katerina sticks her fucking nose into everything!"

Edited 2016-04-16 22:47 (UTC)

[ And then she stops. She's quiet, again, collecting her thoughts. ]

There's a war going on outside of here. Last year, it completely destroyed this town, and Katerina and I were the only ones who survived. We were invaded by a country next door called Lorelea, in a really, really bad raid.

Marta's my younger sister, for one. She died during the raid, crushed under a collapsed building. Katerina and I were the ones who found her, so there's your context for last weekend. [ Their conversation about the hostages, she means. ]

Those three people were high-ranking Lorelean government officials, the ones that authorized Lorelea's raid on Lettland. They're directly responsible for it, so I guess Katerina had to direct her rage somewhere. Honestly, I'm not sure why she did the body-finding thing; she's definitely losing it if she hasn't lost it already, so maybe that? Or she just wanted to humiliate them further, to demean them for what they did. But I honestly, truly, don't have a definite answer for that one.

[ She pauses. Got that so far, Rhys? ]

[ This is getting quite heated, and though Break's attention had quickly focused on Rhys as soon as he started to leave, he hadn't done anything. But by the time Rhys asks his questions, he starts to walk closer. Truth be told, he'd very much like to know the answers to those questions himself, but he doesn't think Miata's response here is going to make Rhys feel any better. After all, it wouldn't do so for him if he didn't have something to focus his efforts on.

He's still not sure if he can trust Miata, though that's just his own personality. But he is more certain with tonight that she's just a young lady doing her best. That's why he speaks up to intervene, because even if there's nothing wrong with that at all, and even if he can objectively understand the empathy behind Miata's explanation, he doesn't feel it himself. He doesn't feel a damn thing, because it's not truly his problem or his concern in the slightest, and he knows Rhys well enough now (or so he'd like to think), that he can guess that Rhys is lacking the same empathy.

So, if you can't care for this explanation, then he has to reminds Rhys of a reason to care. It's that simple, because that's all it amounted to for himself. ]

Rhys— Regardless of all of this, remember that it's not just you that you're fighting to save here. I don't even mean anyone else you've met, because so far as I'm concerned, you have no reason to care about us at all. If there's one person you wish to protect, even yourself, then you have to be cruel enough to discard everyone else.

[ Which... Is not the best start to a shonen speech, but he's getting to his point. ]

But it's not just yourself. I heard the way you were worried about that woman, Fiona. She's still here. [ He motions generally, and though it is technically in the direction of the chapel, obviously it's just idle. ] She's still in that chapel with everyone else. I don't think you're selfish enough to leave her behind and let her get killed by whatever Katerina is planning to do to them. If I'm wrong, then so be it, but I don't think I am. Save her, if no one else.

[ there's a lot of things that rhys can say to this because first, he feels insulted that miata really thought they couldn't keep this secret. he thought she couldn't, like physically couldn't with magic. it made the most sense to him! but if she could tell them this entire time, and kept them in the dark because of katerina... because she doubted their ability to go against katerina, because of some weird relationship between the two of them instead of just boss and employee. oh, he is mad.

then she explains and he's not mad anymore, he is furious. these two women have been against each other because of some fucking war? this is a revenge plot for some idiot who couldn't deal with her own shit? his life is in jeopardy because someone's just sad? he thought katerina was a threat, a real threat that wanted something bigger like the end of the world or some bullshit like that. but this is revenge. he was pulled from his life because of some shitty fucking revenge plot from some no name bitch and miata knew the whole time and didn't tell them because she's just as caught up in it at katerina.

his eyes are wide, he takes a step closer and he opens his mouth to reply with a snarl because that is it. he is done being jerked around by people he doesn't care about for things he doesn't care about. he doesn't fucking care about some stupid war, he doesn't care about these low class ingrates who have dragged them all into their personal drama when all he wanted to do was go back home. he wanted to see fiona again, see vaughn, see his fucking robot and tell loader bot just how much he appreciated him. he'll never be able to tell him now just because of some idiots having issues and --

and then of course, break interjects. he blinks, looking wide eyed over at break and the fury in his face sort of drains into a cold realization. he hesitates, his shoulders slumping and he looks really, truly scared for a moment. in a quiet, flat voice: ]

I didn't know Fiona was still here.

[ he looks to miata then and instead of anger or anything like that, he just sort of seems... hollow. ]

Why is Fiona still here?

Because she kept the hostages. They're collateral, if someone pisses her off.

[ Like you, says the look in her eyes. ]

[ he opens his mouth and then closes it, pressing his robot hand to his eyes and gritting his teeth.

after a moment, he'll murmur his agreement -- ]

Do what you want, I won't get in your way. Just... make sure Fiona doesn't get hurt because of this. Please.

[ and that is when he'll turn to finally go because he needs some time to process this and while miata is officially dead to him, he knows if he stays he'll say something he can't take back. it's probably best to just let him go now. ]

[ She doesn't say anything, because really, opening her mouth and rambling was what got her into this mess in the first place. But she nods, and the barrier lifts. ]

[ Break is listening as sharply as he can, since there's a lot of nuance here he knows he's missing. He can't see how Rhys's face shifts, but he can imagine it, and that's enough. But when he finally hears that quiet, flat voice, his worries at least face somewhat. If Rhys is angry, he'll be reckless and rash. Break knows that well, since ultimately, because the same held true for himself, that's why he was here. He nods, but though the answer to "why" isn't a surprise, he hopes that Rhys will be able to turn that into something more productive. ]

Leviathan mentioned it in passing. If there was another path before us, then I think you and I both would gladly take it.

[ Since there are so many unknowns here, and that's never sat well with Break. And yet— ]

But we have to save the people important to us.

[ and then rhys bounces!! Break looks like he wants to follow, but for now, he doesn't. Considering the axe that got put through Rhys's door, he knows he'll see him a bit later anyways. ]

[ After Rhys leaves, she turns to Break. ]

...thanks. I didn't think he would explode like that. Get upset, yeah, but not...this.

I'll put forth 110% these next weeks.

Edited 2016-04-16 23:43 (UTC)

[ Break is actually a little surprised to be spoken to, but after a moment of that surprise, he nods lightly. ]

You're very lucky that Katerina wants leverage.

[ He has to say that first, because honestly, if not for that, Break wouldn't have intervened. He would have had no way to do so that wasn't completely selfish, and Rhys would have picked up on that immediately. For better or for worse (probably worse), Break finds that the two of them are similar in that way. It's also why he sighs heavily and reaches up to rub the back of his neck tiredly, because there are things he'd like to say too. But for once, he holds his tongue. It wouldn't help, and there's nothing else here left to argue, so he won't provide his barbed commentary for the sake of it.

So instead, he steps closer to Miata. He's not the best at motivating people, since it requires him to show much more faith in how things will turn out than he may actually feel, but maybe this is partially for himself too. He smiles at the thought, since he knows he's definitely selfish in that way. ]

Well, he's angry because you're asking a lot of us. Giving up your own life for a gamble isn't an easy thing to do, and especially if it's for reasons that honestly don't mean much to us. Not to say I don't understand, but we're little more than strangers here. Giving up your life for a stranger isn't something that's in everyone's heart to do. It's not in mine.

[ So long as she'll let him, he'll take one of her hands and give it an encouraging squeeze. ]

It's also why I still don't like the idea of you putting yourself in with the rest of us. But if it's what you want to do, then I'll give twice as much effort to make sure that this goes well. I can't give up my life for a stranger, but I'll give it up for the sake of people I care about. You're here to do what only you can. I'm at least entrusting you with that, Miata.

...!

[ She looks genuinely shocked at this pep talk. Honestly, she expected something more like "look I did this one thing, but it wasn't for you, and if you fuck this up I'm gonna haunt you." But no, it's only a scolding that's also sort of a light threat, and then an actual pep talk.

Miata stays completely silent while he talks, and definitely doesn't move when he takes her hand. ]

[ And then she laughs, just a little bit. ]

Understood. It matters to me, and it matters to her, but it's not your town and your family, so I get it.

[ That may have been another, smaller reason why she was reluctant to spill info. "What? That's a boring sob story." ]

It'll be difficult, but I'm certain it's not impossible. So, thanks for your effort and faith.

I won't let you down, not any of you.

[ ugh who infected these two with the shounen virus ]

[ Pretty much right after he says all of this, Break is feeling a twinge of regret, because, god, he's terrible at this. He feels it in his bones how terrible he is at saying anything like this, because he doesn't feel that there's a bone in his body that's noble enough to support those kinds of words. He's the sort of person that will lie, cheat, and steal for the sake of his own selfish goals, and he won't even regret it. So saying something like this feels odd to him, and he starts to withdraw awkwardly, since he's at least thinking that the silence means his words fell flat.

(Or, worse, she's about to cry. He hopes it's not that, since he can't deal with people crying.)

He draws his hand away, but his hand pauses and falters in the air as she laughs. It's unexpected, but hearing what she says, he ends up ducking his head lightly. ]

Well, that is—

[ He stumbles over the sentence awkwardly, but he just sighs out a laugh of his own as he drops his hand to his side. His voice is definitely tired, but it drifts into a lilt that's definitely playful and teasing instead of being serious. That's much more comfortable for him. ]

It's an old man's job to make sure that the young people don't screw things up too badly, isn't it~? Rhys dragged me down here for a reason, so I'll just have to babysit everyone, him included.

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