Tetra (Outside) - Interview with the Vampire(s)
Leaning against the side of the van, and just taking in the surroundings, Tetra concluded that aside from a distant town, there was really nothing worth her time to explore, not unless she needed to get away or make a break for it. Her musings ground to a halt as she heard movement, and her eyes flicked to the opening door, spotting the two pale women she saw previously coming out. Hearing both of them address her, and hearing yet another comment about how she looked like a pirate, Tetra shifted her position to put her hands behind her head, attempting to relax as she spoke up.
"Eh, I got some of it. Ship goes underwater, and has bombs that can take out countries. That's about as much as I could get. They can keep them." Having answered the first vampire's question, Tetra's eyes turned to the second one. "A pirate CAPTAIN, thank you very much." ("Then again, what's a captain without a crew...those jokers had better be managing without me. If I come back and find out they got the ship destroyed...") Both vampires could see that Tetra's focus was wavering, her thoughts clearly elsewhere at the moment, but soon enough Tetra's eyes sharpened as she better took in their appearances. "So, do you two not get much sun, or what?"
Proud member of the AGOG community.
Lizard Metabolism
Griffith, Dreams of Cruelty, Main Room
She went on, explaining the link between herself and Artorius: a sickly little brother. Velvet's usually stern expression softened too. Clearly, she must have treasured those simpler, better times a lot; even knowing that they were destined to end in tragedy. Something got his attention however. A crimson moon? Why, that sounded eerily familiar to...
"...I've dreams of gore and drama, where the world itself bends into a horrific shape. There they stand, four figures beyond description and beyond human understanding. There I am, broken and battered, holding this little trinket high in my hand" Griffith looked down at the Crimson Behelit hanging on his neck. To Velvet, it seemed that one of its eyes just moved and opened to look at her - or perhaps it was just her imagination. "as I sacrifice my Band, my friends... my family. There too stands the crimson moon."
"...a terrifying thought, Velvet, to think I could stoop so low as the dreams say, as Artorius did. I'm no saint, and I've done things that would get me condemned by quite a few churches out there... but to betray a family I could not - no, I would not - go through. My dream shall be realized with them at my side, not as stepping stones for me to advance." A pause. "...but what happens once you kill him? What then? Or worse, what if someone takes the kill away from you?"
Maria, Fisticuffs Galore, Storage
"You'll find me not so easily damaged, lassie." Maria chuckled as she slowly rose from her wheelchair, towering over the demon hunter even in this prodigious age. "And yes, fisticuffs seem the most appropriate for the occasion. You're a gunwoman, I'm a swordswoman - so something outside of our expertise seems perfect for a spar."
"The only problem is to find a spacious enough place." The storage might have been good, but there were still people around - notably Puru - and Maria did not recall anywhere else in the van having enough space to accomodate them. "We could probably make out some sort of arena here; no doubt two foreign-looking women brawling in Van Habar would invite questions from the local authorities."
Max, Not In The Mood For This Shit, Kitchen
Oh, Delta came back. Max gave the diving-suit a brief nod. Then she went over to get some meat from Su-oh. She wasn't there when the reveal was being made. Shit. That could invite troubles. Troubles it invited; first with Spawn and then with Ammy trying their best to dissuade Delta from opening the container. Speaking of certain arrogant goddesses, she just threw a scroll into his face. "You wrote "mortal" with a capital letter." He replied flatly, not finding it in himself to argue at this point. "...and I'm pretty sure it's not as easy for a god with little recognition compared to someone like, say, a fucking chief goddess of the Shinto..." Well, okay, he found something in himself to argue.
At least Delta managed to get the meat. Shame about the container though. "Just pass it over when you need it opened next time, Delta." Max said with a sigh, deciding to focus on some particularly interesting spot on the ceiling as he idly poured himself the glass of green death from earlier. As good of a moment as any...
How do lizards fly?
....This was starting to get weird, the similarities she was seeing. What were the odds that some guy who looked oddly like Artorius, who once followed the same code as him, who just so happened to have dreams of sacrificing someone on a scarlet night, would not only happen to exist, but end up sitting right next to her? As for his question, the first reply came quickly.
"I'm not worried about someone else killing him. Like I said, most of the people on my world think he's a saint or something. Of the few that don't, none of them are strong enough to take him out. No, if anyone's going to find a way to kill him, it will have to be me."
Several seconds of silence followed as she considered how to word the other half.
"I'm not a fool." She finally said. "Killing Artorius won't bring my brother back. I know this. From the moment this started, I knew that there is no happy ending waiting for me. At best, when I kill him, I'll set off a power struggle in the Abby, his personal forces, and a lot of people will die as the Abby struggles to reassert themselves with the chain of command severed. At worst, the Abby will fall apart completely, humanity as a whole will be left defenseless against the demons, and I'll be responsible for the extinction of all humankind."
She let that thought hang in the air.
"Even if it doesn't go that far, I'm a monster. A demon who devours anything in her way. Human, beast, demon, it doesn't matter. I won't delude myself with false hope that it's all going to work out after. I know what I am. And I know how the tale of a monster always ends."
Lady shrugged. "Alright, well, don't complain to me then if you get hurt."
As Maria pointed out the need for an arena, Lady walked to the replcater, printing up a roll of red tape. She walked to the center of the room and started laying it down in a circle roughly the size of a sumo wrestler's ring. Once done, she put it down.
"That work?"
Amuro - Van, Living Room
It is a good thing that Amuro's face was now an inexpressive mask after listening to what Velvet had to say and her personal history. Even his own hatred for Char did not run as deeply as this girl's hatred for this Artorius person, or at least his own hatred had died down. Not that this Artorius man did not deserve it, losing someone you cared about and being betrayed were both injustices that stung deeply, and having both committed by the same person could drive someone to madness.
"Are you intending to kill yourself after you've gotten your revenge or to just let yourself waste away?"
And Amuro proceeded to speak the one question that was plaguing him without thinking. He wanted to smack himself for intruding into the conversation considering how poorly his attempts at communication had gone today and he didn't want to risk pissing off someone else.
Velvet's head turned to look at the weirdly armored man who spoke his very blunt question. Most would probably have gotten angry or offended, but it was a valid question, and Velvet could respect someone who diden't waste her time and beat around the bush.
".....I don't know." She responded. "I have to kill him first, before I worry about what comes after. There won't be an after if I can't, that much I do know. I've killed quite a few exorcists. Maybe someone will come after me for their own vengeance."
Edited by Meanken on Jul 17th 2018 at 1:06:10 AM
Amuro - Living Room: Open Mouth, Insert Foot.
"I can understand that, I've hated a man with the level of passion you hate Artorius, and I also know his kind well."
The gundam shifted his gaze from the TV to looking at Velvet. The only sign that maybe he wasn't a human underneath that armor was a small amount of steam venting from his mouth plate.
"You are prepared to die to make sure he goes down I take it?"
Lizard Metabolism
Griffith, Main Room
"Monster or not, there is still humanity within you. Not every demon can claim that." He replied shortly. She was entertaining the notion of complete human extinction, that by killing Artorius she would remove the one wall keeping demons away from humanity. A woman completely unconcerned with others for the sake of her revenge. At least she seemed to acknowledge that this was a horrible outcome, should it arise.
The robot man asked what her plan for the "after" was. "You take down the Shepherd, and scores of vengeful paladins would be after you..." Griffith hummed, rubbing his chin in thought. "I've no doubts that Velvet's unconcerned with her life as long as Artorius' is forfeit alongside hers." The brother talk bugged him some, but he could leave that be for now. "And are there no friends, no allies that would have kept you away from the world after your quest is done?"
Maria, Storage
"That looks quite agreeable." The old crone nodded, moving her wheelchair a bit outside of the tape's range. A little small, this arena of theirs, but it would do. "So, what shall the rules be? The first to be out of bounds loses? Knockout? Tapout?" She asked, rolling her shoulders in a preparation for their bout.
Maria's eyes set on Gwen. "Could you be a dear and preside over this duel for us, lassie? Just so it's clear nobody fouls the other."
How do lizards fly?
Velvet shrugged at Amuro's question, having long since decided that.
"If it comes to that? Yes."
Griffith then spoke again, asking another question.
"I did, back on my world, have a small group of people who followed me." She looked away from the two as she spoke, and if they managed to get a good look at her face, they might notice something between an unusual (For her) uncertainty and perhaps some lingering guilt. "But I wouldn't go so far as to call them allies or friends. They had their own reasons for joining me, their own goals they wanted to accomplish. We had mutual enemies, and so it made more sense to work with each other then work apart. But I made sure each of them understood the arrangement. I used them for my own ends, and they used me. Each of us understood this. Once I kill Artorius, each of us will go our separate ways. Assuming they're still alive after he killed me and I ended up here."
Amuro - Living Room
Well Amuro has only know Velvet for around, what 5 minutes now? So those hints and signs fly right over his head and he just kind of keeps staring at her with expressionless eyes.
"All I can say is good luck and I hope your frien-"
He stopped and decided that friends would probably be the wrong word.
"- allies, haven't died yet. From everything it sounds like your world is a nightmare of death and oppression, no reason to want the body count to climb higher. That's probably hypocritical to say all things considered, but it can be pretty painful to lose 'allies' even if you aren't that close to them."
Edited by Bcom on Jul 17th 2018 at 7:12:26 AM
The sound of a completely new voice from nearby drew Scott up short. He looked around in confusion, even in turning in place to try and find the source. Finally, after far too long, he glanced down a touch and spotted Flowey. "Whoa. That's pretty freaky. How does a flower even have a face?"
As the flower continued to talk, Scott slowly moved closer. Reaching out, he slowly poked Flowey in the face. It was like he was looking at a living cartoon. Its mouth and eyes were moving, but it was just a flower. Still, he was partially listening to what it was saying, and it was right! "Yeah! Those idiots don't understand, even though they're not any different! Did you know one of them even eats people? And she acts like *I'm* the one with a problem!" A frown spread across the Canadian's face at the last accusation, a glare directed at Flowey. "I don't need anyone. And she doesn't. She's just a hot chick I have sex with. Casual sex. She can't tell me what to do."
Vampire Hunter
Carmilla & Sypha, Outside
"You are going to find out anyway," Carmilla began to explain to Tetra. "We are vampires, undead beings who need to drink blood to survive."
Carmilla and Sypha waited for Tetra's reaction to that revelation.
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Turning back to Amaterasu and ignoring the ongoing silliness, she was leaning towards angry with her. "So sure, you get to do that. Become a big, important god who...what, do all yours have to do is burn some rice every once in a while? Maybe throw it around like it's a wedding. Something easy, that anyone can do."
It looked like it was going to be a challenge, but Susan slowly pulled herself up off the seat and looked down at Amaterasu. "I'm not gonna lie. I love what I do. It just feels...right to me, like...like seeing your kids live up to be the adults you'd want them to be. But if I could drop all of that and become just something nice, someone that didn't need people eating people, I would...if I could.
"That's my problem. I can't. We couldn't. One of my family had to have crying, screaming children sacrificed by drowning them every year to live...and he was one of the kind ones." She reached out with her long arms, and grabbed Amaterasu roughly by the shoulders. "They're all dead now, because my people were forced by the sword to follow some alien god. They couldn't sacrifice. We withered, and I only escaped death by taking this weak, almost powerless form."
"Tell me, Amaterasu." Susan leaned in very, very close, breathing on her with breath that smelled like strong liquor just as much as it smelled like rotting meat, staring at her with her creased, squinting eyes. "Tell me that I should kill myself just because people are doing something they'd do."
"The fourth is my son, by the way. She's off somewhere else." She stepped alongside Jeanne as she listened in to Velvet's tale of bears, er, I, aaa...or Artorious, whatever, and then she did something that she just knew would instantly ingratiate the edgy saint.
Santa lightly tried ruffling Jeanne's hair.
Tetra (Outside) - Friendly Neighborhood Vampires?
Upon hearing the rather blunt admission that the two women before her were not only undead, but fed on blood to survive, Tetra felt her hand instinctively twitch towards her pistol, but with a noticeable show of effort, she managed to stop herself from doing anything rash. However, Tetra fixed both of them with a stern look, as if sizing them up.
"Am I supposed to just take your word for it that you won't try to snack on me in my sleep, then? If I wake up and find one of you hovering over me, we'll find out if vampires are bulletproof."
Proud member of the AGOG community.
Vampire Hunter
Carmilla & Sypha, Expected Reaction
"Oh, please... Don't worry your pretty little neck," Carmilla dismissed Tetra's worries as she and Sypha frowned.
"You and half of the beings in this van would shoot us if they found one of their number drained of blood," Sypha clarified just how stupid attacking one of the Van's members for their blood would be.
Edited by GameGuruGG on Jul 17th 2018 at 1:09:26 PM
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Lizard Metabolism
Griffith, Main Room
"Perhaps his Reason posits that he gives everyone a second chance, so to say." Griffith wondered, rubbing his chin in thought. "He could have probably just killed you back then, three years ago, but decided not to for some reason. Maybe your allies are still out there in the same vein, being kept in confinement or reeducated for his purposes."
She might have dismissed them as pawns, but Griffith knew much about pawns, and it was clear to him that Velvet was at least slightly fond of her motley crew. "It is as ser here said." He said, gesturing towards Amuro. "When you travel with someone for a time, even if you do not come to like them as a true friend, you find yourself sharing tales, laughs, eating the same food, sleeping by the same campfire. A bond is inevitable to form, whether it is desired or not."
"In any case, if we ever stumble upon your world during this journey, be so kind to point me towards Artorius" Griffith smiled thinly. "so I can cripple his legs for your convenience."
How do lizards fly?
Tetra (Outside) - At Ease, Sort Of
While not appreciating their tone, Tetra was at least grateful that the two vampires realized that attacking members of the Van would be unwise, so she slowly nodded, conceding the point. "Alright." After a brief pause, Tetra frowned and spoke again. "Are you two new around here too then? Or am I the only fresh meat?" ("Ugh, maybe not the best choice of words there. I know what I saw in the kitchen.")
Proud member of the AGOG community.
Velvet sat in silence as the two men made their viewpoints known. She considered continuing to deny she cared much for them, but at this point, was it worth it?
"....Thanks." She eventually said. Then she look up at the two again, and noticed something.
"Are....are you ok over there?" Velvet asked Amuro. "You kind of have smoke coming out of your armor. You're not about to start breathing fire or something, are you?"
Edited by Meanken on Jul 18th 2018 at 8:06:43 AM
Amuro - Living room
"Oh. I forgot I was doing that, thank you for pointing it out."
The steam stopped almost as soon as Velvet pointed it out, though Amuro still rubbed his faceplate to get any liquid that might have condensed on it off. He didn't feel like getting rust this soon into his stay here.
"and I don't breath fire, that would be pretty cool but I lack the internals for it."
He tapped his chest, generating an almost hollow sound from his fingers hitting his armor.
Velvet cocked her head to the side in minor confusion as he tapped himself, signaling that there was nothing inside what had seemed to be just a suit of armor.
"An empty suit of armor that can move and talk on its own? Are you...some kind of demon or something?"
Amuro - Living Room
Amuro couldn't resist laughing a bit, the fact someone not from his own world would end up calling him a demon by random coincidence was just too funny not to.
"Well I was called the white devil by my enemies. But no, I'm not a demon, at least not one from your world. My name is Amuro, though I'm also called 'Gundam' by a few people. It's a pretty long, and somewhat complicated, story to how I ended up like I am so I'll spare you the boredom."
Lizard Metabolism
Griffith, On Gundams, Main Room
"Oh no, by all means, Mr. Amuro. I've seen some technology before on this trip, but you seem to be a whole new step in progress." Griffith hummed, regarding the Gundam curiously. "Why Gundam though? Is there some meaning behind that? A Gun Dam, or a bulwark against the enemies?"
How do lizards fly?
Amuro - Living Room
"In my world, there are giant piloted war machines known as 'mobile suits', there are different versions and variations, but one of those was the gundam. The gundam itself was an extremely powerful mobile suit, and capable of handling most things the enemy threw at it. Due to that, after the first war that it was used in other machines started being designed to look like it and even called 'Gundam' as well to try and inherit the psychological factor."
Amuro leaned back to stare at the ceiling, remembering his experiences in the one year war and the unrelenting hell he found himself thrown into by climbing into that first Gundam.
"I've never really been sure what 'Gundam' originally meant, but for now the term means an extremely powerful weapon of war with facial features similar to the first Gundam."
He brought his gaze back down and looked at Griffith.
"However despite my appearance, I was originally human, I lost my body trying to save my world from an asteroid and my soul ended up stuck in this body due to the psychic material embedded in it."
Velvet crossed her arms as Amuro explained what a Gundam was, tapping one of her fingers as she spoke.
"That's a pretty bold statement. How powerful would a weapon have to be to be able to kill anything else with ease? I've seen some pretty big demons before, and have heard of even larger. You're telling this "Gundam" thing can kill even the most powerful dragons without serious risk? Exactly how large are they?"
As for the other part, Velvet just looked confused, clearly lost.
"I understood maybe half of that. Probably less. What's an asteroid? And Psychic Material? And why would someone make a suit of armor out of..."
She paused, giving the armor a close look.
"I don't even know what that is. It's not steel or silver or bronze or....any kind of metal I've ever seen before. And....is that painted? Why the hell would you paint a set of armor, won't it just get scratched up as soon as it gets into a fight?"
Edited by Meanken on Jul 18th 2018 at 1:46:41 AM
Kawakaze Living Room -> Storage
Kawakaze picked up the other half of her rigging and began heading to the storage room, "Most people seem to think that.... We have been made with technology from the go.... sirens, beings that come from another timeline... according to them..." Kawakaze responded and nodded before they arived at the storage room without really looking to see if she was walking in on any thing.
Velvet looked over as Astolfo explained what a Holy Grail War was, and was about to reply when he suddenly got up and left. She shook her head at how easily he managed to distract himself. Then she turned to Griffith, nodding slowly as he explained his views. Then he asked his own question, and she sat in silence for a few seconds, letting it hang in the air before speaking.
"I first met Artorius years ago, when I was still very young. It was me, my younger brother, and my older sister. Our parents had died, and we were being raised by my sister. One day, she came home with a man. She had found him injured while walking, and brought him home for treatment. At first, it was only supposed to have been a few days, but they quickly became very friendly, and he ended up becoming a part of the family. Then, my sister died in a demon attack, and Artorius took the role of raising us."
"He was the one who taught me how to hunt, how to fight. Often, he would be gone for long stretches of time, and it fell to me to care for my brother. He was sick often, and I would have to stay home and care for him. But I never minded. We would talk a lot, he always had his head in a book, always wanted to show me something he thought was cool. He wanted to grow up to be an explorer, to go on grand adventures and see the world."
Griffith would notice that Velvet's usual angry, dour expression had vanished, and she was almost smiling as she talked about this.
"But that diden't last." The smile vanished. "Three years ago, during the Scarlet Night, where the moon hung blood red in the air, I woke up to find my brother gone. I searched for him, only to find the village we lived in was under attack by demons. I ran, tried to find him. And I managed to find him, with Artorius. Just in time to watch him impale my brother with a sword."
A pause followed this. "I tried to stop him. For my trouble, he cut my arm off, and in the process of trying to interfere with what he was doing, became a demon myself." She held up her bandaged arm to emphasize. "He killed my brother, used him as a sacrifice in his ritual to empower humans to be able to see maliks, the race of people he would later enslave, who until then could only be seen by a select few humans. I tried to kill him then and there. But I was too weak. He beat me without any effort, and then had me taken to the farthest corner of the world he could find, a prison island far from any civilization, and then had me tossed in the deepest, darkest pit he could find to rot."
"For 3 years, 3 years, I sat in that pit, eating whatever demons they threw in for me, keeping myself alive, preparing myself for the day I found a way to break free. Preparing myself for the day when I finally kill that bastard. The day I kill the man who sacrificed my brother, betrayed my trust, and took everything I ever cared about from me. He destroyed my life. And I will have his back in return."
Lady's eyebrow raised as Maria outright challenged her to a fight.
"What? A sparing match? What, with swords, fists? No offense, but I don't think that's a good idea. I hit pretty hard, and I'd prefer not to kill an old lady because I punched you too hard. I'd never live that down."