In the wealthier districts of the Mars colony cities, one could usually find businesses willing to cater to people with money, with no questions asked.
It was in one areas, in a hotel...specifically, in the penthouse suite, that a certain man was sleeping.
He was the sort of man that innocent women and children crossed the street...perhaps even the city, to avoid.
He slept soundly now, with no signs of the previous night's activity anywhere in evidence, save for the slight trickle of red remaining in the bathroom sink.
It was this man that had been chosen to house the mind of one of the champions that was to save the universe.
Which just goes to show you...Even the powers that be can screw up, BIG time.
There was a mental summons on his mind. He resisted fiercely. He hadn't gotten where he was by submitting to anyone who made demands, after all.
However...he'd finally come across someone who was strong enough to do as they pleased to him. With a tearing sensation...he was gone.
The soul that filled the vacancy was an ordinary type, fairly laid back, and casual.
That was then.
Dropped into the mind of a violent sociopath...the soul began to change...
An eye opened. But the eye didn't suit the body... this eye held emotion within it. Of all forms.
Emotion that felt as if it was being attacked..
Carthrat groaned, not taking notice of his surroundings. He felt messed up... like he'd gone insane the day before and killed someone, or something...
"Ughh... wha? What the hell?.."
This wasn't his room. This was.. rich. Way too rich.
He didn't feel right, either. His body felt a little heavier than usual, and his hands felt a little rougher...
*I... want to kill something.*
What on Earth?!
Carthrat sat bolt upright, suddenly awake. Scrambling out his bed, he stared at his surroundings with mingled shock and horror. He edges his way across the room, taking notice of how he was taller...
He came face to face with a mirror.
"Oh.. my... god..."
.
The face that greeted Carthrat in the mirror wasn't his own. In fact, even wearing his alarmed expression, it seemed to ooze a cruel menace.
Long, limp white hair hung in his eyes, obscuring most of his forehead and upper face. But two blue eyes burned there, seemingly lit from within. Deep lines on the cheeks beneath the eyes gave them a sunken, animal-like look.
The high cheekbones and angular jaw gave the impression of a face that was all angles, as through it had been chipped from ice.
Looking down, Carthrat could see the wide, scarred shoulders, topping a not overlarge but quite muscled torso...Also pockmarked with old scars.
Before Carthrat had a chance to dwell on any of this, there was a faint 'cawing' from near the bed. Carthrat's eyes travelled the length of the room, taking in the large bed, and expansive living area, adorned neatly and somewhat tastefully, with expensive looking furniture, and the usual paintings, albiet with larger than normal frames, and a small hallway off to right leading to another part of the suite.
On the other side of the lavishly decorated room, stood a tall wooden post, with an elegant looking, midnight black bird perched on it...
Carthrat stared into the bird's eyes.
They were just as cold as his own seemed... A strange emptiness seemed to have opened in his heart. Whispered thoughts of killing tried to force his way into his mind...
*The bird...*
The bird cawed again, and stared at him even more intently. Somehow, Carthrat sensed it seemed.. a little aggravated.
*Vicious's bird. I'm Vicious. I'm... god. I'm Vicious.*
It clicked in Carthrat's mind that if he was Vicious, he'd better start acting the part, otherwise he'd be in trouble.
With this thought firmly etched in his mind, he stared back at the mirror and tried to harden his face.
It didn't take much. Vicious's face seemed to be etched into a permenant scowl. With barely any effort, he just sunk into the role...
The bird cawed again, angrily.
Feed. Gotta feed the bird...
Carthrat saw the feed right in front of him, in that little paper thing Vicious kept it in... Picking it up, he moved over to the bird, and held it up near it.
The bird pecked a little of the feed, looked back at it's master, and pecked it again.
*Good bird.*
Carthrat put the feed next to the bird, and moved onto the next important problem: getting dressed. The way he saw it, if he took things one thing at a time, all would be allright..
Black pants and shoes. Dark shirt. Blue tie. Dark vest. Blue jacket with the strap..
Carthrat- no, he had to think of himself as Vicious now.. walked back to the mirror and inspected himself.
Looking every part the villian, no two ways about it. He already had the cruel features..
A small smirk found it's way over Vicious's lips, which made it's way into a cruel smile.
And clamped back into a scowl.
Incredible.. Carthrat was an amiable and friendly, if clueless person..
He couldn't think of anyone more his opposite than someone like Vicious.
An object leaning against his bedside table caught his eye. Moving over to it, he picked it up.
A real katana...
Vicious had of course seen and used it many times, but Carthrat had only used one twice, and never for more than a couple of strokes.
He spun around and drew the sword from it's sheath, striking air in one smooth motion.
Incredible.. he'd done a single lesson on Iai a long time ago, but this was more skilled than he thought he'd ever be. The strike just came so much more easily than he thought. Granted, it was a basic strike, the first thing you might learn, but the ease in which he used it...
Resheathing the sword and placing it in his belt, he moved over to his bird, which hopped lightly onto his shoulder.
So. He was Vicious. And until he got back home...
He'd best stay that way.
After all, this was just some mistake with the gods. They'd realise what they'd done, wouldn't they? They'd have his soul back before he knew it.
The one thing Vicious and Carthrat were similar in was that they prayed to no god.
As Vicious dressed, the bird watched him with cold eyes. The bird was not possessed of a great deal of sentient intelligence...but at a very primal level, it could tell it's master was in turmoil. It edged slightly up his shoulder, expecting a fight, as was common when Vicious was tense.
***
Intterupting Vicious' thoughts, there was a faint, rythmic knock at the door to the suite, in a prearranged pattern.
The muffled voice of a guard echoed through the closed door to the suite.
"It's Lin."
Vicious froze, fighting with inner fear.
*Wha.. what if he sees something's wrong? What if- NO. Thinking of failure will get you that far...*
"E.. enter."
A young chinese man entered the suite. He had close cropped dark hair, and and an intense look, and was dressed in a pseudo-military looking coat over a clean, neatly pressed suit.
He nodded to Vicious deferentially.
"The Elders want to meet with you about the report from Callisto, sir. As soon as possible."
*Callisto.. Callisto... of course. Jupiter Jazz. I know this ep... now, how would Vicious act? He hates the elders..*
The words came so naturally Vicious surprised even himself.
"Hmph. As usual, the fools cannot deal with their own problems," he said, walking out the room, trying to assume a confident air.
The bird on his shoulder shot a glare at Lin.
Lin inclinded his head. "The report from Gren DID go straight to you."
*Kuso!*
"Bah. They would have intercepted it by now, of course. They must know the entire report already... and simply plan to prattle on to me about their misguided beliefs."
Lin glanced curiously at Vicious. "They are our leaders." he said simply.
"Leading is a foriegn concept to them.." Vicious trailed off.
Lin shrugged noncommitally. "Nonetheless, they have the power." As they spoke, they left the suite, and headed to the elevator.
"Misplaced power..." replied Vicious.
*I hope I'm not overdoing it.*
Lin shrugged again, as they entered the elevator. "Perhaps. but they DO have it." With those words, the doors closed.
After a lengthy elevator ride, the doors opened into the lobby.
Lin stepped out ahead of Vicious, his eyes casually sweeping the area, his hand inconspicously close to his jacket. Satisfied, he turned back to the elevator.
"What do you suppose they'll do about the report?" he asked.
"No doubt they'll want to know why he contacted me. And they'll no doubt send me to investigate," replied Vicious.
"They will accept the offer, of course."
Lin seemed inclined to agree.
"They can't pass up the chance at that much 'Red-eye'..." The younger man observed as they exited the building and headed out into the street, and into a waiting limo.
"Will you go along with it?"
"Of course. After all, I havn't seen Gren in a while."
Vicious almost bit his lip. He actually meant that.
This couldn't be happening. He couldn't *really* be turning into Vicious..
Lin nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. There was a long moment of silence, as the city passed by the limo's windows.
The trip to the airport was uneventful, as the driver was the best available. Lin and Vicious were deposited at the airport gates in surprisingly little time.
Lin carefully led the way to the waiting shuttle, bypassing security easily, his eyes darting over the masses of people with a intense, ready look.
However, his vigilance was apparently for naught, as they boarded the shuttle, and lifted off to space with no incident.
OOC: Time skip! and...'Rat's first test!
After a long trip, the shuttle docked with a large red ship, in orbit around Mars. Lin gestured to the open door, leading into the larger ship.
"After you, sir. The Elders are waiting in the audience chamber."
Vicious didn't reply, simply walking past Lin into a darkened room.
His bird cawed. Vicious smirked a little. The elders hated that bird...
<-I did NOT think that. No way.->
Sitting down on a throne in the middle of the room, Vicious waited.
<-I know this scene. Thank god..->
As Vicious sat, the bird cawed softly. Lin began to speak.
"The Report was directly sent to Vicious from Callisto. The contact is requesting an...arrangement for some red-eye."
One of the old men sitting in the front of the hall eyed Vicious suspiciously.
"Why is he requesting YOU to make the trade?"
<-Control... control...->
"...we fought on Titan together. We were in the same unit."
Another of the group of wizened elderly men looked at Vicious, his glare seeming to penetrate down to the depths of Vicious' soul.
"Why does he rely upon you now?" the old man asked, looking for all the world like a chinese version of Yoda.
Under the steely gaze of the Elder, Vicious uncharacteristically flinched.
It was only slight, and he regained himself quickly.
But it was noticable to the Elders, who knew only too well of Vicious' seemingly emotionless disposition.
"Callisto is undergoing a depression right now. If he cannot see the future, he is sure to worry."
To match the minute flinch, the elder who had spoken let an equally minute smile flicker across his face.
"Is it not in fact YOU who are worried, Vicious? Your authority in limited in this area."
Another of the old men chimed in. "None may defy the will of the Van. Not even you, Vicious."
The oldest man, who sat in the center finally spoke. "You will travel to Callisto to make the exchange. Lin will accompany and...'assist' you."
With that, Lin and Vicious were ushered from the audience chamber, and directed back toward the shuttle.
They covered the distance back to the ship that had ferried them there, with assurances that lin would guard him for the honor of the Van being the sole converstation on the way back.
Once inside, Vicious was ushered to his personal seat, leaving him alone with his thoughts while the shuttle began the long journey to the gate...
Vicious stared outside the nearby window, watching space roll past as they began to enter the atmosphere..
Carthrat was to worried about his situation to appreciate the magnificent view. He could still barely get over the fact that he was Vicious, let alone work out what to do next..
*Vicious. I'm Vicious. Right. Got that. And it's way too easy for me to act like him..*
Carthrat was one of the most expressive person he knew, and that was saying something when talking about his little group.
How the hell could he act like Vicious so easily? Their personalities didn't match! They were totally different...
What the hell should he do?
Carthrat thought about this for a moment. He had knowledge of the Bebop universe... couldn't he use that to his advantage?
Of course he could. There had to be *some* way to backstab the Elders and gain control-
What? He didn't want to do that. He wanted OUT of the syndacite, and IN to some more normal life.
Yeah. Right. Jupiter Jazz. What happens at the end?
Ok, a plan. Vicious got hit by that missile, right? Fake a crash and feign your own death.
That'd work.
As the shuttle came in to land, Carthrat knew it wouldn't be that easy. While the Elders might dislike him, Vicious was too great an asset to just let die without searching for his body...
Looked like there was no way out.
Sensing his masters turmoil, his bird cawed mournfully...
As Vicious was lost in thought, he failed to immediately notice the passing starscape slow to a halt, and the fact that everyone else in the cabin was unnaturally still...as though they were frozen in time...
And to top things off, he-
Hang on. Everything had just stopped.
Maybe some kind god somewhere had decided to send him home!
Or maybe some new weapon had been introduced... or maybe some god had decided to fuck around with his mind even more.
Cursing, Vicious grabbed his katana and stood from his seat. This might be his chance to escape; he wasn't wasting it. He started to search around the ship.
A mad giggling, seemingly echoing from everywhere sounded thoughout the cabin. one of the shadows on the wall detatched itself, resolving into a humanoid shape, sporting a large grin.
"You're different from the others....and where do you think you're going, hmm?"
Vicious pulled out his Katana quickly and held it in a ready stance.
"Who the hell are you? Are you responsible for this?"
The shadow man's large, leering grin dissolved, replaced by a disdainful sneer.
"Do us both a favor and put that toy away. If I'm powerful enough to distort time for a moment to talk to you, do you think you can hurt me with that little thing? Besides, we both know you aren't as good as the man who REALLY owns it."
As the shadow man spoke, his form seemed to flex and shimmer, growing larger and smaller in turn, never seeming to hold one consistent shape for long.
Vicious stared for a moment.
Then he dropped the sword and stared hard at the... thing.
"Then what could you want with me? If you know who I am, send me back, dammit! I'm just a guy!"
The shadow man smiled again. Unlike his previously manic grin, this was a sinister, dark smile.
"I can't. I didn't bring you here. SHE did." He paused for effect, then continued. "But...As I said...you're different than the others. We could help each other, I think."
Carthrat *really* wanted to be somewhere else at this point.
In fact, if it was just him, he'd probably be running. But the part of Vicious that had melded with him stopped him... some kind of defiance against any 'superior' being made him stay and stare.
Then, something within the things sentence clicked.
"...SHE? And others? Who? And what others?
Start from the beginning!"
The shadow man didn't reply directly, merely walked around 'Vicious' in a slow circle, examining him from all angles.
He gave a slow chuckle. "Hmm...Experiencing technical difficulties in the personality department, are we? How does becoming a sociopath feel?"
Carthrat blinked. Then growled.
"It feels like shit. Are you going to tell me something useful now?"
The shadow man snapped a glare up at Vicious, his apparent good humor dissolving.
"You apparently misunderstand me, so I'll speak slowly and in one syllable words. This is NOT my doing. But, We can help each other, and turn this situation to our advantage. Are you going to to continue being petulant?"
Vicous glared right back.
"What do you propose?"
The grin came back, full force accompanied by chuckling and an enthusiastic slap on the back.
"That's the spirit! Now, first off...Tell me what I can give you to secure your services...and I'll tell you what I need you to do!"
"Back to my normal life?" replied Carthrat sarcastically.
There *were* a few things he'd like... but he just didn't trust this person.
The other man bounced lightly on the balls of his feet.
"Unfortuantely...that's beyond my scope at the moment. However, if you succeed in accomplishing my goals, it MAY be a possibility."
The next moments were filled with frenetic pacing. "Anything else? In this universe, my influence is growing...I can fulfill your darkest, most twisted desires..."
The shadow man looked up, locking gazes with Vicious, his eyes endless pools of red....
A million thoughts rushed through Carthrat's head, along with a million different emotions...
Just say no, Carthrat. Decline his offer. He's obviously going to cheat and lie. Isn't that how this always works?
"...I'll think about it."
" 'Think about it'?" The shadow man mocked.
"Do you want to go home, or don't you? If you help me, I can send you home...and I can also sweeten the pot in the meantime..."
The shadow man paced, and suddenly turned back to Vicious. "Ally with me, and I can offer you the galaxy..."
Carthrat felt unease, and it showed.
"I'm... not sure I'd want that much even if I could take it... hell, I don't even know what I want... or what the hell is happening to me..."
A slightly desperate look came to his face.
"Can you at least help me stay as.. well, me? I don't wanna be Vicious... hell, who's sick idea was it to put me in him? I swear, I'll kill him..."
The shadow man smiled. "I can offer you control. But, because what's happened to you isn't my doing...I can't do all that you ask. Yet."
"But, again, I can give you the ability to control the worst of your...impulses. And when I've accomplished my goals...you'll have what you want. I'll have the power to make it so..."
The shadow man's form fluctuated wildly as his voice dropped, shifting and writhing into various shapes, nearly in time with his words...
Though he was in Vicious's body, Carthrat still managed something resembling a grateful smile.
"Thanks... and who exactly are you? What's going on?"
The shadow man smirked.
"The question isn't who I am...but rather WHAT. And as for your second question...I can't answer that yet."
He watched Vicious for another moment, his vague form flicking oddly in the bright lighting.
"Continue to Callisto. You'll need what you're going to get there." He instructed.
Carthrat/Vicious sighed.
"Well. Callisto... just... follow the series, I guess..."
The shadow man smirked. "Not exactly. Tell me...how badly do you want to go home?"
Carthrat was about to say 'more than anything', but something stopped him.
What was at home for him, after all? Another pointless day wasting away at home or school or enduring the pointless babble of his so-called 'friends'...
Granted, he had *some* control over his life there, and not much more here, but if he played his cards right..
Hang on. Home was where he had to be, wasn't it? Carthrat wasn't Vicious. He wasn't cut out to BE Vicious. He might want control, and power, and the ability to kill, but aside from that-
This couldn't be happening...
"...relatively badly."
The shadow man grinned, and inclined his head.
"Remember...that's only one of the possible rewards. Think of this as a chess game. Reach the end of the board, and the possiblities are endless. The question is...how far are you willing to go to reach the end of the board?"
"That would depend on who's playing the game.
To be perfectly serious... I think I'll stay here a while. I mean, it's not like I have a choice...
Who knows. Something might come up..."
The shadow man regarded him thoughtfully.
"Focus, spanky." he chided irreverently. "I want you to do something when you go to Callisto. Something that wasn't in your anime collection."
"...like what?"
"...Kill Spike Spiegel."
The shadow man stared hard at Vicious. "Do you have any difficulty with that?"
Carthrat blanched.
"Kill Spike?!"
In absolute truth, Spike was probably the person Carthrat most wanted to be. It'd be like... way too weird.
"Welllll... I need one piece of info to kill him.
When the hell does the music box get into the frigging fighter? Gren never goes near it till the end... Vicious had Spike right up until then.."
The sillouhette smirked at the white haired man.
"You watched the show, but you didn't pay attention," he chided. The shadow man made a gesture as though he was deep in thought, then chuckled.
"Okay. A freebie, this time. Next time you get lost, A hint will cost you. Gren will slip the music box into the bag of red-eye. He didn't need to go near the fighter. You...or...Vicious, put the music box on himself."
The shadow man smiled, crimson eyes fixed on Vicious. "All caught up now?"
Carthrat internally slapped himself. Of *course*...
"One... more thing. Whoever it is you're fighting... would they happen to have a few surprises waiting for me?
Because if they do, Speigal will act somewhat differently, I'm sure, and you know as well as I that this entire plan relies on knowing every move he's going to make.."
Chaos' eyes were solid red, but he somehow managed to convey the impressing of rolling them.
"Do you really need your hand held every step of the way? You won't last a minute in the body you wear now if you don't show a little ruthless creative thinking..."
Carthrat bit back a sarcastic remark.
"Well, hadn't you better dissapear and let me get on with it, then?" he replied, moving back to his seat, and picking up his discarded weapon off the floor.
The shadow man grinned darkly. "Aren't you forgetting something? Or don't you want my help anymore?"
"What, to protect my mind? I'm sure it's not all that simple...
Go ahead... though I'll need Vicious's... 'killing' mentality to take out Spiegal... may as well leave what's already sunk in there.. or whatever it is you do."
The shadown man smirked.
"I don't protect. I can organize it a little for you, though. It should make it easier to manage your new...'drives'. Vicious has quite the interesting little accumulation of 'habits', you know."
The writhing shadow form stared directly into his eyes. "Do you want it, or not?"
Carthrat steeled himself. "Do it."
The Shadow man grinned suddenly, and reached for Vicious. His arm elongated and it looked as though he was going to grab Vicious' head...
Only his shadowy fingers ENTERED the white haired man's head.
Vicious felt a sudden, blindingly sharp burst of agony behind his eyes...
Carthrat reeled back, clutching his head as the world around him seemed to dissolve...
Then it reformed, only slightly different...
..of course it was different. This was his house. Carthrat walked forward, opening the door...
...into a spartan apartment, with a black raven hovering overhead...
...walking towards a train, cursing his luck...
..leaving the train, discreetly flinging a slight amount of blood off his sword...
The surroundings abruptly changed again, and the ship and the shadow man reformed.. then spilt! And reformed! And split again before falling away from his vision and reappearing once again, leaving Carthrat staring at the shadow man once more...
And with a splitting headache.
"You do that again and I'll fucking kill you, bitch!" screamed Carthrat, clutching his skull.
OOC: I hope that's the kinda thing you wanted, Bean. ^^;
The shadow man grinned. "Now, is that any way to show gratitude?" he asked, chuckling.
"You should have a little better control of the 'urges' now." He commented, declining to mention that he'd tampered slightly with the white haired man's perspective...
"I think you'd hate it as much as I would if I groveled," replied Vicious. "And it isn't in my... Vicious's nature to thank people."
"I suppose you'll contact me after I kill Spike. Well, I'm sure you don't want to keep me waiting much longer.. unless you can give me the magic ability to dodge bullets or something.."
Chaos laughed.
"You know, you have the tools now...who needs magic? I'm counting on seeing some inventive, creative thinking here. Do what I want, and the multiverse is your oyster, whitey."
"Hmph," was Vicious's only reply.
The shadow man smiled inwardly. Damping down the dislocated person's morals and inhibitions should go quite a ways toward making him the amoral agent of Chaos that he intended....
Still smirking, the shadow man faded away...
<--->
Time resumed, and Lin looked over at Vicious. He looked...different than he had a moment before.
"Sir...are you alright?"
Vicious nodded absently.
"What's the ETA to landing?" he asked.
Lin looked to the pilot, who held up two fingers.
"We'll be on Callisto in two hours, sir. Do you have pre landing instructions?"
Vicious shook his head again.
"What arrangements have been made for our landing? Do we have men, ships, or weapons at our disposal?"
Inwardly, Carthrat decided to make some napalm. Neo-Vicious. He who slices, dices, and detonates. When he got off this mission and got some time... he was going shopping.
To be the best Vicious he could be!
Or something like that. It wasn't like he had a choice, anyhow.
If the situation wasn't so serious, Vicious would probably have facefaulted.
Lin looked puzzled. "Just what you requested, sir. Two men for errand work, unknowns, and unlinked to the Red Dragons; One fighter with an enlarged cargo bay, and the customary weapons...Do you have new instructions?"
Vicious thought quickly.
*Gren. Gren can shoot. Vicious can dodge.
However, Carthrat CAN'T dodge. So... remove Gren's ability to shoot.
How do we do that? With a...*
"...yes. I also require two flashbangs or stun grenades. Can this be arranged?"
Inwardly, Carthrat congratulated himself on his plan. This way, Lin would survive.
And that changed everything...
Lin nodded. "Yes. Fairly simply, in fact. Is two all you need, Vicious?"
Vicious nodded. He was slightly tempted to ask for a gun, but that just wasn't Vicious. Besides, he didn't want to push his luck.
"Yes."
And so, he remained silent for the rest of the journey...
...though his thoughts were hardly so.
Space. Never thought I'd end up out here.. the stars, unobscured by all the crap on land... I sound like an old man.
He sighed a little.
Why Vicious? Why me? That shadow guy.. he wants Spike dead. Why would he want Spike dead?
A rush of emotion flooded Vicious after the thoughts of Spike. Betrayal, fear and anger mingled into one as he was caught in a sudden ride through the memories of Vicious...
"Spike's dead. He was killed by members of Blue Crow in a shootout at a church earlier this evening."
Vicious took it in, not beliving a word of it. Spike, die in a gunfight? Never.
"What of... her?"
"She hasn't been contacted as of yet. Would you wish us-"
"I'll do it myself."
Snapping out of his reverie, Vicious's thoughts turned more alarmed..
Am I... becoming Vicious? All this anger.. it feels like I'm about to burst! It's not like Spike betrayed ME.. he only betrayed Vicious. And since I'm not really Vicious, and I'll wake up from this dream any moment...
Those chilling words struck him...
"I'm only watching a dream I never awakened from."
"I'll wake you up right now."
And the anger diminished, replaced by some fear...
It.. can't be. Never. Ever.
Some time later, the shuttle exited the jump gate and approached Callisto, landing into a cold, snowy morning. The city scape was not nearly as immense as the Mars city where he'd woken up, but Vicious was struck by the low slung city's dreary and cold nature. In fact, if you listened, you could almost hear the low, mournful sound of a saxaphone...Or could you?
As the Shuttle landed, Lin turned to Vicious.
"We're two days early for the rendezvous. Do you have any orders in the meantime, Vicious?"
Vicious quickly ran through his thoughts.
"Lin, make sure the warehouse is secure. I have some... private business to attend to while here. I shall meet you at the warehouse at five this afternoon. Do as you will after you have checked the warehouse. Make sure you're there when I said."
In truth, Carthrat just wanted to get away from all of this and have a drink or two. He couldn't *stand* the way his thoughts were turning darker every passing minute!
He reflected that getting even slightly tipsy probably wasn't the smartest thing to do in this situation.. but right now, he didn't care.
Lin gave Vicious a sharp look, and spoke up.
"I will accompany you, Vicious."
Inside, Carthrat swore.
Outside...
Vicious raised an eyebrow.
"As you say..."
He strode off, having thankfully memorised the location of the warehouse earlier.
Lin followed Vicious, nodding, as the nearby crew of the shuttle hastened to carry out the orders Vicious had issued to Lin in his stead...
Carthrat swore. Multiple times.
In his head, of course. Vicious, to the best of Carthrat's knowledge, had no private business on Callisto. He couldn't exactly buy a drink; Lin would get suspicious.
And so, he wandered throughout the streets of Callisto aimlessly, memorising location after location using the wonderful, wonderful photographic memory he seemed to have acquired off of Vicious...
He abruptly stopped, as did Lin. His raven swooped down from the sky and landed on his shoulder.
A worried expression flashed over his face as he realised he'd come to exactly the place he wanted to stay away from...
"The Blue Crow"
Don't panic, Carthrat. Just keep walking...
Outside the Blue Crow, the thin, mournful wail of a saxophone trickled out through the door. As Vicious stopped, a patron, reeking so badly of liquor that he was nearly emitting smell rays visible to the naked eye, stumbled from the bar.
The door hesitated as it closed, affording Vicious a glimpse inside. It was dark, but adequately lit, with customers drinking away their lives, each walled off in their own private hells that they drank to escape from.
Futher on, beyond the tables, a man with hair dark like liquid night, was blowing into the saxophone that breathed life into the tune.
His eyes were closed, and he was clearly putting his all into the music.
As the door swung closed, his eyes languidly...almost lazily slitted open...and abruptly widened as he locked gazes with Vicious....
Vicious looked back, equally stunned for a moment. He managed to reassert his cold front just a fraction of a second too late as the door shut...
He moved off quickly, but not hurridly, quickly turning down a side street and walking like he knew where he was going..
As Vicious walked down the side street, with Lin following silently, the shadows on the brickwork of nearby buildings began to move, not quite in sync with Vicious and Lin.
After they'd come some ways down the street, various people began moving out of the shadows, each and every one of them staring hard at the interlopers in their territory...
Pretending nothing was happening, Vicious continued walking down the street, though his eyes flickered left and right, slightly with fear, and slightly with cold planning..
His grip tightened on the his sword..
And, with a subtle flick of his shoulder, his raven was sent high into the sky, cawing loudly..
The people made no moves other than to glare at Vicious and Lin.
However, a fair distance down the street, a large man with Asiatic features stepped out to the middle of the street to face them.
He spoke with a quiet, cultured accent, but with definitive authority.
"What business do you have in our part of the city, sir?"
The Carthrat side of Vicious thought, "Fuck. Run."
The Vicious side of Vicious thought, "How DARE he..."
The two merged into the words, "Moving through it to get to OUR party of the city."
A smirk flicked it's way over Vicious's face. "Sir."
<->
I can't BELIEVE I just said that...
The large man merely raised an eyebrow. "Very well. One thing. You and your companion each carry weapons. Will you give you word that you are not here to start trouble?"
"Of course."
Vicious mock-bowed to the man, though keeping aware that he may be attacked from behind.
"I, Vicious, swear that I will not bring trouble to your part of the town.."
With that, he straightened, and started walking again.
And Lin followed casually.
The large man, shrugged and moved aside to let them pass. Apparently, that had been all he wanted. Even as he did, however, and even larger man stepped out from the crowd, directly in front of Vicious.
If the first man was large, this man was immense. A large, blonde head topped a beefy barrel chest, which seemed even bigger for the thick winter coat worn on it.
"Leader!" He called to the Asian man. "You would take the word of these swine?"
Vicious raised an eyebrow.
"I, of course, make no promises for any of your own men which make trouble," he called above the man...
Lin calmly drew his gun and stepped around and slightly in front of Vicious, aiming straight for the larger man's head.
"Stand down." Was all the young man said.
Vicious's smirk deepened.
OOC: The plot thickens! @_@
The Asian man shrugged. "He's acting on his own, as are any who support him. He can accept the consequences. However, should you assault anyone not challenging you..." he let the statement trail off dangerously, and Vicious could suddenly see the glint of gunmetal in the shadows...
The large man simply snarled, and moved his hand as though to slap Lin's gun away.
Lin shot him between the eyes.
A large hole appeared, as though by magic, and the large man fell to the ground, silently, save for one slow gurgle.
Without missing a beat, three men dashed from the crowd, each brandishing a length of lead pipe...
Vicious flung his hand out, sending a single knife hurtling towards the lead mans chest. Without looking to see it's exact effect, he pulled up his still-sheathed sword and stood in a backstance, waiting for the men from behind to get slightly closer...
However, the lead man was apparently sharper than he looked, which really wasn't difficult, as he looked like the product of several generations of hasty, unplanned sex between relatives. He twisted, and lifted the lead pipe up and attempted to swat the knife from the air.
He didn't entirely succeed, as the knife clanged off the pipe and ricocheted up to smack him solidly in head...
Hilt first.
With an angry snarl, and a darkening red spot on his forehead, the lead man charged Vicious, while the other two charged Lin, apparently giving the man with the gun priority...
The backstance is really a most useful stance for dealing very strong, quick, and powerful blows... backwards.
So, with the lead man NOT dying or curling up, injured, Vicious was forced to make a 180 degree spin, attempting to slam the man in between the ribs with his still-sheathed sword...
Being as the man had not bothered to lower the pipe, Vicious' slam slipped under him arms and caught him in the lower part of his ribcage, knocking him back with a resounding crunch.
The man stepped back to steady himself, wincing in pain...
Vicious spun back into a forward stance, drawing his sword as he did so.
Initiative. It's won all my fights. Initiative..
His left hand, still holding the saya, swung up to interpose itself between the piece of pipe and Vicious's sword, which promptly swung towards the mans neck..
The thug, canny enough to realize what Vicious was attempting, but too slow to disentangle the pipe, raised an arm in desperation.
This proved to be a mistake.
The razor-sharp blade bit into flesh, without effort, or mercy, cutting directly to the bone. The blade, sharp as it was, slice neatly through the radius, but the cut changed the angle of the blade, making it to shallow to slice though the second, but the damage was done.
Blood sprayed from the damaged appendage, and the thug instinctively dropped the pipe and clutched his injured arm, screaming...
Barely thinking, Vicious twirled his sword again, coming with a final, neat strike to the man's neck..
The man's head fell from his shoulders, sending a geyser of blood into the air, crimson drops staining Vicious' snow white hair as the corpse fell, almost comically slowly, to the ground....
Vicious ignores the blood, and looks over to see how Lin is faring.
A shot rang out as Vicious looked, just in time to see one of the thugs crumple to the ground, his eyesocket forced empty, and a large, messy hole out the back of his head...
And Lin had no more time, as the other closed before Lin could re-aim and swung his pipe into Lin's head with a sickening crack...
Vicious slid towards the last man, cursing his luck as he stabbed forward towards the thug's heart..
To Vicious utter astonishment, reflexes seemed to take over, as he executed the move flawlessly, and the sword speared through muscle and tendon nearly effortlesstly as the gleaming blade pierced the heart and exploded out the man's chest...
The thug died before Vicious could withdraw his sword.
Vicious retracted the sword, and stared at in wonder for a moment, wide-eyed.
Shaking away his comical expression, he shoved the thug's corpse away and knelt down to check on Lin...
Lin was breathing fine, but examination of the where he'd been hit revealed matted, bloody hair...
Vicious thought quickly, then came to a conclusion.
Lin had a damaged head; there wasn't much he could do for him out here. So...
He had to get to the warehouse with Lin!
Vicious couldn't tell if Lin was unconcious or not, so he spoke.
"Lin, can you stand?" he murmured into Lin's ear, keeping a wary eye out for other members of this gang that might decide killing Vicious was a good idea..
Lin stirred slightly and began to struggle to his feet, nodding slowly, while mumbling apologies.
The people surrounding them, on the other hand, seemed content to level icy cold glares at them, and no further challengers broke their ranks.
The large asian man stood slightly in front of his people, arms crossed.
"As promised, we will not hold you responsible for this. However, I suggest you leave now, before any misguided loyalty surfaces among others..."
Vicous shrugged in response, and moved off with Lin, heading towards the Safehouse...
Fortunately, thanks to Vicious' memory, they had no trouble in reaching the safehouse. Lin was awake and largely coherent, though he was beginning to grown unsteady on his feet...
Vicious ordered Lin to lie down.
Lin did so.
Then, Vicious decided to take a look around the safehouse...
It wasn't that big, but then again, it didn't need to be. There was a kitchen, a lounge with a couple small coffee tables and an expensive TV, what appeared to be an arms cabinet (interestingly enough, containing a couple of pistols, the two flashbangs Vicious had ordered, a couple of throwing knives and throwing stars, and interestingly enough, a wrist crossbow, which contained four small bolts. There was also a sword stand in the room, holding all three swords.
Vicious grabbed the flashbangs, and reached for one of the guns;
Then drew his hand back. As much as Carthrat might need one, Vicious shouldn't, and Carthrat HAD to act like Vicious.
To an extent. There was no way he was gonna put up with Vicious' lame fashion sense...
The clothing in the house was also fairly expensive, considering it was just a safehouse. Unfortunately, most of it seemed to be just black clothing. But there *was* one interesting article to the side...
After getting changed, Vicious admired himself in the mirror. Reflective sunglasses. White-grey good pants. Black belt. White sleeveless vest. Brown Trenchcoat.
And dammit, he looked GOOD. The inner Carthrat of Vicious was still marvelling at the opportunities open to him...
He managed to fit out his coat with two shuriken and two knives, then set to work figuring out how to use the mini-crossbow.
He also found a useful-looking device in the coffee table, which looked suspiciously like the scanner Spike had used in that episode about the fridge..
Vicious chuckled, before pocketing the scanner...
After a few minutes (and a bolt in the wall), Vicious managed to work out how to load and fire it properly, and attached it to it's rightful spot on his wrist.
He pocketed his mobile phone, then turned back to the mirror.
And he still looked every part the backstabbing villian Vicious was...
Then... what to do next?
He tried to repress it. He made up little games in his head. He went through a couple of motions with his sword. He even watched TV, something he'd practically sworn off doing in his former life.
But there was no escaping it. In this, situation of all situations...
Carthrat was bored.
Common sense dictated that he should enjoy the boredom while it lasted, as it wasn't likely to last much longer.
But Lin was asleep; it was still daytime, he wasn't tired, and he had a bank account that was burning a hole in his pocket.
Against everything logic, danger, and caution screamed at him, he rationlised it; he was Vicious, sure, but he wasn't about to spend his entire life simply killing, killing more, and then eventually killing everyone above him until he got killed.
He almost went outside.
Thankfully, he checked the safehouse fridge first; and found a couple of bottles of vodka.
There was no orange juice, and Carthrat didn't know how to properly mix drinks; so he had a couple of shots.
After all, no point living if you can't be alive, right?
After a few more shots, he turned in for the night..