re_alignment | video;

Entry tags:

brave police: j-decker | kagerou

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[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.]

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((ooc: I'll rescind it and think of another way for him to respond. I REALLY don't want to mess things up for them in the long run!))

[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.]

[He's still shouting, still ranting, as if he hasn't heard. His words don't even make sense, anymore, they're noise. Just noise. To be noticed, to make himself impossible to ignore.]

[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.

[Deckard got to the temple . . . and realized he had no idea where Kagerou's room was. He asked and got vague directions from Acolytes, but they couldn't give him specifics. Oh, but then it proved not to be so much of a problem - just follow the echoes of incoherent shrieking.]

[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".]

[He just laughs.]

[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.]

((ooc: "probably be punished horribly" - gods, I'd love for him and AU!TC to meet. The stories they'd have to trade... @,@))

[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!]

No, no no.

[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!

[The sounds send a fresh shiver through his systems - the mad burbling laughter plus the threat. This is far from the first time someone has threatened to kill him, but it is the first time it's come from an ally - or anyway, he wanted to consider Kagerou, the "normal" Kagerou, an ally. This is even worse than that time Power Joe had been made to turn on them, those programming sisters making him see monsters in place of his teammates.]

[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.

[This is so much fun. He'll savor this feeling. Even when retribution comes, he'll still have this knowledge -- he'll still know he made their leader search for him. Hunt for him. He made him dance like a puppet on a string.]

[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.]

[Deckard thinks he hears a growl, though he's not sure. It could just be him hearing things in this absolute, ominous silence between bouts of laughter. Alertness ratchets up another notch as nothing at all happens right away - no mocking, no threats, no laughing, nothing.]

[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.

Edited 2013-10-31 06:02 (UTC)

[The weapon.]

[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?

[Deckard watches Kagerou watch him, realizing that the other's gaze is locked on his handgun. ~He really thinks I'd shoot him?~ Then Kagerou speaks, and the words rock him back on his heels.]

[~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?

Edited 2013-10-31 14:31 (UTC)

Isn't it obvious!

[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.

[What indeed? That approach hadn't worked, he got no real answer, not like he was hoping for. Well, that just means he needs to change tactics again. Kagerou seems afraid of his pistol – wary, at least – so . . . he lowers it again, aiming for Kagerou's shoulder. He has, of course, absolutely no intention of firing.]

[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.]

[There's a low, displeased hiss in response. His wings mantle again, broader, like he's trying to make himself look bigger, or stronger. His optics glow madly. Darting from one side to another, like he's looking for a way out.]

[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?

Just do it. Come on.

[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.]

Tch. Touchy. Touchy. I didn't do anything and you're so touchy.

[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.]

[Kagerou is moving. However he feels he needs to, he's moving, and in the direction Deckard needs him to. That's enough. He won't say or do more for now, just make his way for the front doors, even steps ahead enough to grasp a handle and pull the door open himself, gesturing Kagerou forward. The doors are massive enough that they can walk out together, abreast. Deckard's reluctant to let the broken ninjabot get either much ahead or at all behind him, as either could go badly wrong.]

[Of course he ducks out first. That hasn't changed, at least. He's still eager to see the sky. Deckerd can't fly, after all. Not without his additions.]

[But he won't tun his back. Not on this one. Not when he's dared to be so disobedient. There should be a reprisal coming. And he wants to see it. Maybe avoid it if he can.]

We're here. Happy?

Pay attention.

[The words come out in a growl, and he JUST manages to hide the wince at his own tone. Just a little longer . . . hopefully he only has to keep this damned charade up a little longer. It's almost a wonder Kagerou hasn't seen through the act yet. Then again, he seems to be only seeing what he wants to anyway . . . hence bringing him out here - to make him see something he /has/ to acknowledge as being other than what he's expecting, what he's used to.]

[He shifts away from the door, coming up a little forward of being abreast with the ninjabot, outside of arm's reach. His pistol is still leveled in one hand. He's moved specifically so that Kagerou can glance out and away without taking his gaze /too/ far off him. He sweeps out with his other hand.]

Look. Tell me what you see.

[He hisses, his lips peeling back off his teeth in a snarl. He stays like that for a moment, teeth bared, wings spread, looking like some kind of crazed bird demon than the quiet, solemn ninja he usually is -- like he could snap, bite, at any provocation. The attitude is irking him. He can't lash out because this one is the leader.]

[So all that's left is empty rage.]

[It's a long, tense moment before he moves to obey. He values his life too much to be more disobedient than this. He didn't strive to live, didn't manipulate and twist his double around just to be killed by the Brave Police.]

If I must. Oh fearless leader.

[He whips around, expecting to see the city, to see the familiar lines of buildings. Instead...]

[He freezes.]

[His head jerks wildly, body twitching, threatening to leap into the air, to jump up on a railing. To fly away shrieking denial.]

[Instead, he whirls back around, his face again a mask of rage, the snarl back on his lips.]

What is this! What did -- what did you do!

[Deckard watches the initial mental struggle, at once braced to defend himself against attack and wishing desperately he could somehow manage to calm the madness, his Super A.I. sparking and heart /hurting/ for the ninjabot.]

[Then Kagerou finally looks . . . and whirls back on him. He maintains his calm in the face of the other's rage.]

I'm flattered, Kagerou. [His voice is flat, not at all "friendly" but he's dropped the pretense of "mean/demanding/ugly".] I'm flattered that you think I have that kind of power. I don't. You want to know how you ended up in a room you don't recognize? It's because you're not even on the same planet. This isn't Tokyo or Nanamagari, Kagerou. This isn't anywhere in Japan. This isn't even Earth. This is a place where different realities collide apparently. And no, I don't know how you got here anymore than I know how /I/ got here. I said before that I took you for someone else? I know that you are Kagerou . . . you're just not the Kagerou I'm used to. Just like I'm not your Deckard. And from what you've indicated, I'm glad. I don't want to be your Deckard. He's . . . he's a monster.

[He'll say more given the chance, but for a moment, he stumbles on that last part - him . . . a monster . . . WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?]

Don't you say that! You always think -- you always said this was our world so why -- why, why, why did you do this! What--!

[His vents are cycling sharply. His optics blazing, and his whole body shaking with the effort of restraining himself. He looks half-panicked. Completely mad. There is nothing sane behind those darting, wild optics.]

[He makes a sharp, sudden lunge toward the other BP, restraining himself at the very last second.]

[No. No, this is all wrong. There should be a fight. There should be a struggle. Something. But there are only words. Denial he doesn't understand. None of this makes sense. Just as suddenly as he lunged forward, he darts backward, hissing, wings spread.]

[He can't stay here.]

[No, he has to move. There's a wild, avian scream, and he leaps straight upward. He has to move, to think. The others will know -- they'll see.]

[Deckard backpedals at the lunge. He'd begun to lower his pistol but it snaps back up on reflex, and then he tosses it down altogether as he brings his arms up defensively. He would not, HE WOULD NOT, shoot Kagerou, not even in self-defense. There was another way to handle this, there had to be. His mind is racing even as Kagerou catches himself at last instant. The shriek startles Deckard, and then Kagerou is leaping away. Damn!]

Kagerou! Kagerou, no! Come back here! Come back!!

[He can't follow. He can't fly, and even on foot, he's not fast enough. He knows Kagerou's speed. He's seen it in Shadowmaru. All he can do is watch . . . watch and hope that the broken ninjabot will be all right. He'd turn up again. He'd have to! And by then, hopefully Deckard would have better answers.]

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[Video] 2/2 If this approach is going to fuck things up for them later, just let me know!!!

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