Kagerou | BP-500X (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thxforthememories) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
re_alignment2013-10-27 11:32 am
thxforthememories) wrote in re_alignment2013-10-27 11:32 am
Entry tags:
video;
[The link appears to have been... dropped. It's just sitting on the floor of a hallway in Trion's temple. There's a partial view of a nearby room, the door half-open and sitting strangely on its hinges. The room itself appears... trashed. Like the storm blew through the room as well as the Haven.]
[Everything is absolutely still. Absolutely silent.]
[For several minutes.]
[And then something slams itself down off-screen, hard enough to rattle the Link itself. It actually vibrates a few inches forward at the impact.]
[Someone laughs. There's no amusement in the sound, only smug satisfaction.]
Look! Look, look, look!
[The voice is probably familiar, but the cadence is all wrong. The speaker grabs the Link, jerking it toward the room.]
I did it. I did it so well too, didn't I? You thought you had me -- what was it? What was it? Are you punishing me? Is that it?
No, no. That won't do. I got out!
[More laughter. Delighted, echoing laughter.]
[And all of the sudden, a face pops on-screen, upside down. The smile it wears is sharp, harsh. It's... Kagerou?]
Aren't. You. Proud? Brave Police.
[There is a fevered light in his optics -- both of which are visible now, the scanner no longer marking half his face. And then the feed goes dark.]
[Everything is absolutely still. Absolutely silent.]
[For several minutes.]
[And then something slams itself down off-screen, hard enough to rattle the Link itself. It actually vibrates a few inches forward at the impact.]
[Someone laughs. There's no amusement in the sound, only smug satisfaction.]
Look! Look, look, look!
[The voice is probably familiar, but the cadence is all wrong. The speaker grabs the Link, jerking it toward the room.]
I did it. I did it so well too, didn't I? You thought you had me -- what was it? What was it? Are you punishing me? Is that it?
No, no. That won't do. I got out!
[More laughter. Delighted, echoing laughter.]
[And all of the sudden, a face pops on-screen, upside down. The smile it wears is sharp, harsh. It's... Kagerou?]
Aren't. You. Proud? Brave Police.
[There is a fevered light in his optics -- both of which are visible now, the scanner no longer marking half his face. And then the feed goes dark.]
[Video]
It's the king. So he's come, mm?
Come to see to his assassin? [He throws his head back, laughing.] So good! So good you remembered!
You pretend you don't -- but I know. I know I'm in your mind.
[Video]
"King"? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. And you're no one's assassin, Kagerou. That's not what we were built for. Including you.
[He's...just...gonna ignore the "in your mind" part, because again...WAT.]
[Video]
[There's a mocking little bow.]
My lord.
There now, I said it. I told you what you wanted to hear -- now.
Tell me what I want to hear.
[Video]
K-kagerou!? Kagerou, quit messing around. I may be team lead, but I'm not a king, and I'm not anyone's lord. Least of all yours. I don't know what you want to hear.
...you're not - what's the word they use here?...overcharged - you're not overcharged, are you?
[Video]
[His head jerks to one side, both optics blazing.]
I didn't do anything! I killed them -- I found those criminals -- I did it on my own! And you lock me away for it? You should be kneeling to me!
Why are you playing this! Tell me where I am!
[Video]
["Tell me where I am!" - Deckard's jaw snaps shut, cutting off everything he was about to say.]
[This . . . this isn't Kagerou. Not "his" Kagerou, anyway, the one from his world. Or from a reality close to the one he's from. Just like Barricade isn't the Barricade he met just days ago, who was kind enough to alter his engine for him.]
[DAMN! What is this Kagerou's world like!? What have they DONE to him? ...what the hell is the version of /himself/ like there? He has the distinct impression that he really REALLY doesn't want to know.]
[He stuffs all the reactions going through his Super A.I., maintaining as calm of an exterior as he can manage.]
I'm sorry . . . I mistook you for someone else. I promise no one is punishing you. You've arrived here the same way everyone else has. This is a city called Haven, on a planet called Cybertron. I don't know how you got here - I don't know how /I/ got here. None of us do. But . . . we're here. You woke up in that room because that's where . . . you were put, I guess. It's not anything you did.
And, no, I don't expect you to believe me. But explore a little away from that room. You should find yourself in a massive temple of some kind. Go outside and look at the surroundings, and the sky. And then decide for yourself.
["Decide for yourself" . . . wow, talk about things coming back to smack him in the head. It was barely days ago when Kagerou told HIM that.]
[Video]
[It's like a switch is flipped. His voice rises with every word, an odd combination of shrieking and hissing trailing off the edges of syllables. His face is a mask of incoherent rage.]
You know me! You know me, you know me, don't say -- don't -- say -- you don't!
I did nothing! I did nothing wrong -- I did as you ordered -- I've been your killer! You said I was strong -- look, look look at me!
[He gestures wildly back to the broken room.]
So don't -- don't deny me! I exist! I'm here! You can't ignore me.
[Video] 1/2
[Okay . . . so . . . the reasonable approach isn't going to work. What does he do!? If Kagerou won't listen to him-...]
[An idea begins to form. But . . . oh, he's not sure he can pull it off! No . . . no, he has to. He has to at least try. If it means getting Kagerou to calm down enough to listen to him, to really /listen/...]
[His optics dim, nearly going dark, head bowing a bit as he . . . he MAKES himself remember. Remember the hurt, the anger, t-the jealousy, every ugly thing he'd fallen into that one time when he'd felt rejected and abandoned by Yuuta.]
[Seems Kagerou's used to a meaner, more demanding version of him. He'll do his damnedest to deliver.]
[Video] 2/2 If this approach is going to fuck things up for them later, just let me know!!!
[Deckard looks back up, his expression far darker than it was a moment ago, voice as hard as he can make it.]
I'm not about to ignore you, assassin of mine. Broken furniture hardly shows someone's strength, though. I will be the one to decide if you've something wrong or not. Don't you dare move. Your king is on the way. [There's a flinch in his expression at his own wording - nearly imperceptible but there.] I'd better find you where you stand now.
[With that, he snaps off the video feed, and TAKES OFF top speed for Alpha Trion's temple . . . HATING this charade with every fiber of his being. But if it'll give Kagerou what he's looking for, at least long enough to get him to listen, then it's what he'll do.]
[He'll be sure to apologize later. Out loud. Because he's already apologizing in his own head.]
[Video]
[And then, mid-tirade, he stops. Blinks. Air circulates through his vents far faster than it should, almost as if he were panting.]
[His lip curls. But the screaming has, for now, stopped.]
I didn't do anything. You had no reason -- you hear me. You had no reason.
Are you scared. Is that it. Is that why.
[Action]
[He'd been trying to hold onto the anger he'd brought up, determined to carry the charade once he got here. But the shrieking nearly broke his heart. What had they DONE to him!? Had they tortured him? They must have.]
[A new anger replaced the one he'd been trying to remember, anger at those who had abused his fellow sentient robot so viciously. It's with holding onto THAT emotion that he strides through the halls even when the screaming stops.]
Kagerou! Where are you? Show yourself!
[He realizes that he's pulled his pistol. It was habit when he entered an area where he felt threatened. He started to put it away, but . . . no. He had no intention of using it, except maybe if he needed to try to slow Kagerou down (if the ninjabot was anything like Shadowmaru, Deckard knew he didn't have a chance in hand-to-hand combat should the other attack him), but likely he'd be expected to show a weapon, to show "strength".]
[Action]
[Sure, he can hear the voice. He heard the engine easily enough. But he remains where he is, hidden, cloaked in shadow and stealth systems.]
[His laugh echoes. There is nothing sane or humorous in the sound. It's mocking, and that alone. Daring the other BP to find him. He doesn't believe it's possible. Not for a second. But it's a challenge, all the same.]
[He's wedged himself in a dark corner near the temple entrance. Just watching. Yes, he'll probably be punished horribly for this. But no matter. Anything to one-up their leader.]
[To prove how dangerous it would be to ignore and deny him.]
[Action]
[The laughter sets him on edge, a soft shiver of nerves running through him. He suddenly realizes he's probably in over his head.]
[The whole team had run a few exercises and drills when time - when lack of an active case - has allowed. They were Duke's idea, so it's only something the team has been doing for the past two months or so. Twice now, it's been the rest of the team against Shadowmaru. Without his stealth systems in place, it still took the ENTIRE rest of the team to track him down and try to corner and capture him - they managed the first but not quite the second. With the stealth systems? He wiped the floor with the whole team,hands down. Both times.]
[And now, Deckard was facing someone with the same abilities. Only, this wasn't just a training exercise. Damn. He . . . he HAS to, though. He HAS to make this work! Somehow.]
[Adjusting the grip on his pistol, he squares his shoulders and his resolve, holding the anger in his heart at the people who did this to his fellow robot, letting it harden his voice as he growls out the words.]
Kagerou. I know you're here. You want me to see you? You want me to not ignore you? Then quit hiding like a coward and face me!
[He's so glad Yuuta's not here to witness this. His boss would be so ashamed of him acting like this, saying such terrible things!]
[Action]
[It comes out in sing-song tones, the words echoing from high above. Even as he speaks them, he's moving. He learned how to play this game long ago. Stay in one place, and you were shot at. Or just plain shot.]
You don't get it!
[He can't help it. He starts laughing again, unable to contain the mad, bubbling sound. His optics glow, before he dims them again, always moving, every motion silent, save for the sound of his voice.]
You're here! You can't ignore me now, can you! You ignore me and you--
[He all but dances around for a better angle. For a better view of the other BP's back. Oh, he's going to catch hell for this. This won't end well for him. But for the moment, he's caught up in the glee of it. The power of it. It's intoxicating.]
--die!
[Action]
[He's frustrated because he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't how to fix this! Normally, he'd wrestle the frustration back, but now he embraces it - carefully, not letting it get away from him, but just enough to keep the edge in his voice that is so foreign to him normally but that he so desperately needs right now. He glares into the shadows around and above him.]
Report, Kagerou. I never got your report from your last mission. [He's assuming there was a "last mission" - some of what the ninjabot said earlier indicated as much.] I will be very displeased if you don't show yourself and answer me.
[Action]
[And it will probably cost him. But no matter. He's made himself too valuable to kill.]
[He's about to laugh again, to mock him again, but... he really can't evade a direct order like that. It's pushing it too far. Even he can't risk that.]
[He does growl though. Snarling, really. He drops down, landing silently behind the other BP. His approach is equally silent, stiff-legged, anger at being commanded barely leashed below the surface.]
Boo.
[He doesn't shout. He simply hisses the word, when he's crouched close enough behind.]
[Action]
[Has he pushed this too far? Has Kagerou left? ...no. No, he is still here. Somewhere. Deckard is sure of it.]
[And then the soft "boo".]
[He manages to not YELP!, though it's a near thing. He doesn't manage to keep from jumping, though, spinning on a heel and backpedaling for a bit more space between them, leveling his pistol in both hands out of sheer reflex. Just as quickly, though, he pulls his hands back, elbows bending to point the gun at the ceiling. Fear and frustration turn to anger - more at himself for reacting, for playing right into this Kagerou's game. He gives himself a few seconds to regain his inner bearings, his Super A.I. sparking with a hammering pulse that's so much worse than the time he and Gunmax had had to..."borrow"...gasoline. He stares at Kagerou, letting the grimace at himself and the anger show on his face. It's only once he's sure he has control of himself again, though, that he finally speaks.]
There you are.
[Action]
[His optics, both visible, gleaming madly, lock onto it, watching it warily. It's not aimed at him, for the moment, but it's drawn. Maybe he's miscalculated.]
[But still. He has value, doesn't he. No one else can move unseen as he can. No one else can produce such results. He stays crouched, though, staring like a wary animal, wings spread and frame gone tense for a potential fight. His shoulder hunch.]
[It's several long beats before he speaks. He's waiting. Gauging the situation.]
Here. Here I am. But you don't look pleased, mm? What is it? What have I done, this time, hm?
Will you put more holes in my wings, clip them, again? Because it worked so well last time, yes?
[Action]
[~W-what!? No! No, Kagerou, I would /never/-!~ He clamps down on the reactions, keeping from spilling the thoughts out loud and /hoping/ they don't show on his face. Too much. He's grimacing. Damn...how is he supposed to respond to that?]
[How is he supposed to react - if he's understanding the mad ramblings correctly - to the revelation that, as much as anyone or anything else, it's probably been HIM who's punished and tortured this robot.]
[~This is so wrong! This is so, SO wrong!~]
Did it? [He's grasping at straws, trying his best to play off Kagerou's revelations to see what more he can learn. As much as he knows he'll probably hate pretty much anything he hears, at least maybe he'll hit on something he can use, something that'll help.] You tell me how well it worked. What did you learn last time?
[Action]
[He doesn't even bother making it a question. A grin slashes its way across his face, as if carved with a knife. He all but preens, spreading his wings wide for display.]
[They're just as pristine as they were before this... change... happened.]
Do you think just pain would do any good? Really? To me? You need better methods, yes.
[He stands, then, posing, his arms spread, and his torso inclined in a mocking little half-bow. He doesn't even lower his head. His optics remain fixated forward, flicking between the gun and the other BP's face.]
You found me, fearless leader. Or is it master, mm? Now what? Now what will you do? Now what.
Re: [Action]
[Kagerou doesn't need to know that.]
Now I take you outside. I have something to show you.
[He's hoping Kagerou will just do it without much fuss – hoping…though not expecting; this robot is so severely unstable! But maybe the threat of a wound in a major limb joint will make him think before he bursts out with another bout of insanity or something. And with any luck, finding himself on an alien planet will be enough of a shock to Kagerou's broken mind that Deckard will be able to start making some real progress with getting him to settle down. Or...something.]
[Action]
[He doesn't want to go. He doesn't want to submit. But fine. Very well. If he must.]
Let's make it fast, mm?
[Action]
[He'll shift and start moving back for the main doors, trying to corral Kagerou into going with him without getting ahead of the ninjabot and without touching him. As much as he wants to wrap an arm around his shoulders or put a hand on his arm, he's half-sure that'll result in another emotional/verbal snap.]
[Action]
[He keeps muttering to himself, though. But does start to move, in little fits and starts, as if to prove he's doing this of his own volition, and nothing else.]
[As if the pistol is completely forgotten.]
[Action]
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