Carth's magical adventure, ROUND TWO, MOTHERFUCKERS!

[Carthrat]

Carthrat figures there's still time to get in a couple C-class fights, and heads on down to the checkin booth to see.

[Anastasia]

After wading through the line to the checkin bot...

"I'm sorry, sir, but one cannot compete in more than one division a day. Since you have competed in D rank and there are no more D  rank matches today, you may not fight again," the checkin robot goes on in it's spiel, likely recorded well beforehand.

[Carthrat]

Bah, there goes another quick-money option.

Carthrat starts smoking, walking around and wasting time until dinner, upon which he grabs Rachel and drags her out for something to eat.

[Anastasia]

Rachel is still rather subdued as you get a light meal of meat and what is hopefully potatoes in a small eatery. As you eat in the small, cramped eating area...

"Carthrat, do you kill people as your first instinct? Respond with lethal force," she asks, looking down at her plate of food, her voice quiet.

[Carthrat]

"Naw, my first instinct is to laugh at them and tell them how pathetic they are," replies Carthrat. "Then I kill them."

[Anastasia]

"Oh," she murmurs, picking at her food listlessly.

An uneasy silence decends on the table...Rachel seems content to move her food around on her plate while you eat.

[Carthrat]

Carthrat sighs. "How many people do you think I've killed, Rachel?"

[Anastasia]

"...Under your own free will? More than I care to honestly think about. Granted, you probably didn't have a choice or you had a good reason..." she sighs.

[Carthrat]

"You're wrong," replies Carthrat, leaning back, "but that's not important. It dosn't matter if you kill someone, Rachel. You don't need justification after you've done it, only when you've made up your mind to do so. There's no point dwelling on what you've done; you can only learn from mistakes, and the way I see it, you didn't make any."

[Anastasia]

Rachel looks down, her fork sending a bit of food across her plate. "But it does matter, Carthrat. No matter what the reason, killing someone DOES matter." She spears a bit of potato with her fork, a soft ploosh as the metal penetrates the spud. "It's funny...my first reaction today was to cast Flame Blade. That's quite capable of killing someone, you know. Stab'em just like this potato."

[Carthrat]

"Huh," replies Carthrat. "So what do you think you *should* have done?"

[Anastasia]

She puts down her fork, instead waving her hand lightly over the plate and murmuring a few words under her breath. The food on the plate glows and the potatoes and meat separate into two piles.

"Like this, maybe? Separation instead of resorting right out to violence?" she sighs. "No...I understand this is a rough universe by all indications. You don't have to remind me. It's just...oh, bloody hell," she murmurs, shaking her head. "I can live with killing, I think. Selena help me. But...

When I cast the spell, I remembered you as a demon." she whispers. "For a moment...."

[Carthrat]

Carthrat thinks carefully before answering.

"As a demon, Rachel... I never had a reason. I never had justification. It took every ounce of will I had to just stop myself from lashing out, randomly, killing people.."

He tugs White Glow.

"Why do I kill people now? I ask myself that question from time to time, and the same old answers come to me.. survival... profit. Protection. Maybe even a higher cause. The reasons aren't describable, I can't tell you if they're good or bad. Maybe because this thing is an artefact of vengeance and redemption, causing me to redeem myself by meteing out some kind of holy judgement.

Maybe because I'll do anything to get Diane back.

Maybe because I enjoy killing and could never let it go.

I don't know. A trace of the demon could be left within me.

Yin. Yang. Good. Bad. It stopped mattering to me when Yuki died, y'know? And I only started caring about it in the first place when I met her. Maybe even that was selfish.

And once again, I see a goal before me. I have to rescue Diane. I don't know why. She would survive if I didn't come to help, I'm sure of it. But nonetheless, the goal stands before me. And because I believe the ends justify the means.."

He trails off.

"Rachel. All I can tell you is that you have to make up your own mind. Today. If you follow me, you might never kill again. If you're lucky. On the other hand, we may end up cutting a bloody swathe throughout the galaxy. I've done it before, en route to my goal. It's a risk you'll have to take. You said the galaxy is rough? You havn't seen rough.

I don't believe in good and evil. There are no solid definitions. Right now, what I define as 'good' is getting to Diane, and protecting you. What I define as 'evil' is people trying to kill me, shortchange me, hurt you, hurt Diane.. because of the actions I'm willing to take on this course, some will think of me as an evil, cruel man.

So be it.

So it's time to choose, Rachel. If you come with me, you will almost certainly have to kill again. I can't tell you how I deal with it. I don't know how I deal with it, only that I do. But if you want, I'll put you on a ship back to Earth right now."

[Anastasia]

She responds quickly. "I'm coming with you...I already made up my mind about that, come hell or high water. Past that? I...don't know right now." she pushes her plate forward. "How about we go back? I'm not really hungry anymore, and I'd like to think awhile."

[Carthrat]

"Heh. I have some thinking to do, too," says Carthrat...

Yuki.. am I an evil man, now?