Beneath the Mask VII
Location:The City of Glass - Vandelay Campus
Attendees: Susie, Raz, Goldlewis, Zenkichi, Roxas, Midna, Karin
Viewers: Blazermate, Tora, Giovanna, Geralt, Sakura, Pit,
Benedict, PartitioWord Count: 7139 (+8)
“And that, ladies and germs, brings us to our final question,” the moderator began. During the course of this event so far, there had been slight, gradual changes in his tone and speech, going from composed and businesslike to more casual and drawn-out, practically a drawl. The uptick in hamminess felt oddly appropriate to the almost pugnacious progression of the candidates’ debate. The moderator’s papers lay on the desk beside him, and he wasn’t looking at them. After swirling and finishing off the last of his drink, he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, and continued.
“They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and I don’t know about all of you, but I sure feel like I just watched a knock-down-drag-out fight. A vitriolic war of words. A testament to our candidates’ conviction. President Shinra and Senator Armstrong are truly worlds apart, whether you’re talking perspective or ideologies. Enough to put not just themselves, but all of Midgar’s citizens at each other's throats. But are we really so different? In the end, they’re both vying for the presidency. The highest office in the land. And no matter which side you come from, or what ideals you espouse, the goal of the president is the same. World peace. Even if your world’s just one little city. And even though everyone wants the same thing, we’re stuck fighting each other. Living each day in fear of a stab in the back. So, gentlemen, my question is this.”
The moderator leaned forward onto his desk, his hands clasped. “Let’s say a third party hacked into the control systems for the Pillars for Sector 05 and Sector 08, and planted a very specific logic bomb, set to go off automatically. If left alone for, say, five minutes, they’ll drop the corresponding plates, destroying both sectors in their totality. And let’s say you were each given a very special button–one that can stop the bomb from going off in the other candidate’s sector. If you press it, the logic bomb will instead permanently lock the Pillars, making sure those plates can never be dropped. But if you leave it alone, the other man’s army -and all his most loyal supporters- are up in smoke. And it wouldn’t even be your fault; that third party can take all the blame. Oh…and one more thing.” Smiling, the moderator snapped his fingers.
Multi-layered magic circles blipped into existence on top of the bewildered candidates’ pedestals, each consisting of a heart ringed by crosses, a little bigger than a dinner plate. Magic screens manifested behind both candidates, covering most of the stage. They transmitted images of two massive support structures, one in Seiran, and one in Detroit. “...This isn’t a hypothetical.”
“W-what!?” Shinra stammered. “What is this!?”
Armstrong grinned in amusement, his brow furrowed. “What’re you playing at?”
“World peace,” the moderator announced. “Ready in just five minutes. Press it, or don’t. That’s up to you. I guess what I’m trying to say is…do you believe in world peace?”
As ripples of fear spread throughout the people, both security teams leaped to their feet. Even Sundowner heaved a sigh of relief and stood, towering over everyone around him. “Finally!” As the citizens remained seated, paralyzed with uncertainty and confusion, the guardsmen readied their weapons with Roland donning his distortion mask. Some moved to check one other, but most of them -led by Sundowner and Penance- turned on the moderator. Before they could take action, though, their left eyes began to glow red, and they stopped in their tracks. Suddenly all the soldiers stood still as if confident they had the situation under control, the tentative but tense peace maintained so that the candidates could consider the choice laid out before them.
”Goddesses” Midna cursed, simply lost for words for a moment as she watched this all unfurl from a raised vantage point. Bystander syndrome locked her in place until everyone else went still, and the fact that she could still move while all of the Galeeming could not kick her out of being an observer and into being an active participant, one that started shadow hopping towards the stage as fast as she could.
She wasn’t the only one. Roxas sprang forward and tried pushing his way through the audience. He couldn’t just stand there and let the moderator get away with this! Of course, the crowded audience didn’t exactly make that easy. In fact Roxas honestly couldn’t get
anywhere really. The audience was just too packed and too frozen with fear to move.
”Why aren’t they doing anything?” Raz asked, sitting up in his seat.
”Just press the buttons!”By this point Goldlewis was already on his feet, the same question on his mind. Surely these men weren’t actually considering letting their opponents’ plates drop? Despite what the moderator claimed, the optics on this situation would be horrific. They couldn’t actually be wondering if the sight of their opponent completely crushed would be worth this absurd loss?
Well before Midna reached the stage, however, the candidates made their choice. Armstrong hammered his button first, and after a very poignant second, Shinra did too. The giant cross-eyed happy faces blinking on both Pillars went dark, and their green lights were restored. A moment later, the screens fizzled out.
“Congratulations,” the moderator said, clapping. “You just made your world a safer place.” He fixed his attention on the camera. “And that, everyone, is the end of tonight’s event. I hope you’re all feeling informed and confident for the election next month. For now, from the Vandelay Campus, thank you and good night!”
The audience moved fast, vacating the theater as quickly as they could. Even faster were the security teams, covering their candidates from all sides as they escorted Armstrong and Shinra from the premises in different directions. Roland, being an intel gathering sort at heart, gave a signal to Penance that was what he was going to do, before he got into a hiding position to listen and observe on what was going on here. Thanks to his distortion mask and gloves, his stealth prowess was enhanced as he made no sound as he moved and he was forgotten about almost instantly when not observed.
”Okay that… that felt weird.” Raz hopped up onto his seat, tossing his ‘disguise’ to the floor.
”Like I’m glad nobody exploded and fell, but what was the point of that?” He lifted his goggles enough to peek at the moderator.
”I’m gonna try to follow that guy, see what’s up with him.” The moderator, however, did not go anywhere. Ignoring the security personnel that riddles him with looks that could kill, the man seated himself on top of his desk, casually waiting.
”C’mon!” Roxas exclaimed,
”We can’t just sit here, we’ve gotta do something!” and he tried once again to push his way forward toward the moderator. Maybe with the crowd now actually moving he’d have an easier time reaching his intended target. Raz was right behind him, using his smaller size and acrobatic training to hop over the seats, making a beeline to the moderator, as best he could through the fleeing crowd.
Zenkichi turned to Goldlewis, confusion on his face. He felt so close to figuring something out, but there was a more pressing matter at hand. The veteran just nodded at him, assuming that the detective was asking
should we follow them? If it seemed like this Udo was going to play ball, neither man could afford to miss what would happen next. Goldlewis pushed out of his row and headed down toward the front of the theater. When you were as big as he was, people tended to clear the way. Zenkichi followed the human battering ram, silently thankful he didn’t have to try and push past anybody.
”Jeeze, kids, wait up!” He called after the part of the group that had gone ahead.
Karin stood up too, and made sure her shirt was tucked in.
”H.C, Udo, you devil. Who are you, really?” She asked herself. As Raz and Roxas rushed forward, concern flashed across her features.
”Be careful, gentlemen, he isn’t going anywhere.” She said, running and vaulting over the seats to follow after. Susie decided to stay further back for now, keeping an eye on the exits and the flanks, as something didn’t seem right here.
”We can’t be sure of that!” Raz called over his shoulder. The two reach the moderator first, with Raz doing a frontflip over his head, landing on his desk.
”Hey, you!” Raz said with a sharp turn to face Udo.
”What is it you want with us?”“Milpico.” The moderator was smiling. In his hand he held a glass, and though he’d emptied it during the debate, it seemed to be full again, its top half all crystal-clear water, and its bottom half opaque white. “My favorite,” he elaborated. “But, you see, if you let it sit, the water and syrup separate. Here, see?” Holding it up from the top, he suspended it in front of his face and peered through the water at Raz.
“People are just like Milpico.” He held up his other hand and pointed it at the glass. “The syrup is the all-human desire, and the water is their survival instinct as living beings. Just plain old water would be bland, and syrup on its own would be too thick. But when you mix them together…” Swirling it around, he turned the disparate halves into an evenly distributed blend. Then he drank it all down in one gulp. “Mm-mm. Perfection.”
He tossed the glass up and down in his hand like a ball. “That’s just how people are. As for me, I’m…more than one hundred percent pure undiluted syrup.” Suddenly he hurled the glass upward. At the apex of its arc it exploded like a firework, and glittering dust rained down. When the Seekers looked back at Udo, the same man wasn’t sitting there any longer. He’d been replaced in an instant by someone wholly new. A wiry man with dull blue skin, messy gray hair, and short, impish horns. He wore orange glasses, each lens in the shape of an X, two leather holsters with sleek black guns, and a gray suit overlaid with cherry-red armor from the waist down. The rest hung around his waist, leaving his upper body bare. A row of orange crosses circled around his shoulders, and in the center of his chest lay a black heart, dripping, with golden teeth. A spiked black halo floated behind his head, and as the sparkles descended around him
he smiled terribly wide.
“Happy Chaos.”
That was all Roxas needed to see. He summoned both his Keyblades and pointed the tip of Oblivion squarely at the devil person,
"Enough mind games! Who are you? Really?" he was no longer in the mood for innuendos and doublespeak. He wanted answers, and no matter what he was going to get them.
“I just told you,” he laughed, unfazed. By this time the others had arrived, spreading out around him to listen. “My name. Happy Chaos! If that’s too much though, you can just call me C. I can be anything you like or nothing at all. But… I do exist.”
Though the details escaped him, Pit managed to grasp what the question was asking. He sat there rather perplexed by both some of the terminology and the question itself, since wouldn't the answer be obvious? Surely if someone had the power to save people at the press of a button they would. When the moderator revealed his gambit and showed that the situation wasn't imaginary the angel jumped to his feet in alarm, bar stool clattering to the ground behind him.
"What! The bombs are real?!" The concept of a "logic" bomb was completely unknown to him, and getting to either of the affected sectors in time was probably impossible, but even so he declared,
"we have to go stop them!"Sakura perked up again, staring at Pit and the TV.
Giovanna’s head swam from the revelation. “Five minutes…” she murmured, her voice lost in the fearful hubbub that filled Penguin Sniper. She glanced at the door, her mind racing. She was fast–incredibly fast, if mounted on Rei. If the worst case scenario came through and both candidates decided to let this happen, she might be able to make it in time. But making it wasn’t the main issue. Why weren’t the candidates doing anything about the moderator, now that he’d revealed himself as some sort of terrorist? More to the point, the Seekers had people right there. Giovanna hated inaction as much as anyone, but if anyone could do anything about this, it was the part of the team in attendance. “It’s in their hands,” she said bitterly.
Geralt had stood up, a frown on his face and his clawed hands clenched, but he did nothing. For once, he actually believed two men in power would do the right thing, if only because not doing so would be so painfully idiotic that they’d likely be slaughtered by the group right in front of them. And if they somehow walked away, there would be no coming back from it. No, Geralt knew they’d push those buttons. It just remained to see if they actually
did anything.
”I don’t think there is anything we can do but watch. Can any of you teleport there and disarm them before they go off? I don’t think so, right?” Blazermate said, looking a bit annoyed and almost bored with the situation. Mostly because there really wasn’t anything they could do, so they could only see what happened next.
The situation ended up resolving itself quickly, with the candidates hitting their buttons and the moderator declaring peace. Pit still looked like he wanted to head out into the city, his fists clenched and wings spread.
"Huh? Wait, so...? Is everything okay after all?"He had no clue, since the monitor had stopped showing the broadcast; cutting to an outro and whatever scheduled programming was on afterward.
“What was the point of that?” Giovanna asked, her question as rhetorical as it was angry. “Nobody in the world could be put in that position and not press that button. The others wouldn’t have let it happen, and even if nobody in the whole theater lifted a finger, they’d probably end up fighting to push the other man’s button anyway.” She threw up her hands in helpless frustration. “Whoever that mod was, this whole thing was one big set-up. He played us all for fools–the hell does he want?”
Of course, her vehement questions wouldn’t accomplish anything. That task fell to those at the venue, if they managed to find the man of hour and get a hold of him.
”...It-” Sakura began.
”It’s your turn, by the way, Giovanna-san.” As soon as she said it she looked sheepish.
A second or two passed by in almost stunned silence as Giovanna looked back at her darts partner. Then she cracked an incredulous smile. “Hah. I guess it is.” Now that it had transitioned to general media coverage, the TV wouldn’t be giving out any more information. It would be a few more minutes before they needed to head out to meet up with the others, probably. Might as well finish the game.
Geralt just sat back down, a frown on his face. Giovanna was right: what was the point of that? A power play? A test of some sort? They had no idea what was happening in the hall now, and that was frustrating, but they had to trust the others to get answers and get back to them. Part of him wanted to rush over and try and make something happen, but that would probably end very poorly.
”Honestly that looked like some mad jester kinda person just screwing with everyone to me. There was a clown medabot that did that in combat. Didn’t make his acid any less deadly though.” Blazermate said, trying to diffuse the situation. Still, if that was real, that moderator was some huge, huge player in Midgar for sure. If not, then her theory held water.
Within the next few minutes, Giovanna and Sakura finished their last game. Though a little spooked by the bomb scare and what the odd behavior of the debate’s moderator could mean, the two managed to focus in on their darts and sync up. The two might have come from wildly different worlds and backgrounds, but at the end of the day they weren’t so different as quick, offense-oriented, primarily close-range martial artists with just a hint of lightning. By setting one another up they could pass the baton effectively and, with the street fighter’s final shot, get their cumulative score to zero exactly to score a win. They celebrated with a spirited double high five; even Tora found it within himself to offer them some applause. After going out on that high note, they and the other Seekers joined the steady stream of people leaving Penguin Sniper in order to link back up with the rest of the team. Though it was starting to get late, Giovanna moved with pep in her step. Whatever the others had gleaned from their in-person attendance, she did not want to miss.
”Your eyes are normal,” Raz noted. He pushed his goggles up, as if showing the similarity.
”And you didn’t answer my question. You did this for, I dunno, for fun? Why rope us into it? How do you know about us?”“Hehe…yup,” Chaos replied in the brief instant before someone else spoke.
”C.” Karin said, flatly. She moved her hands from her hips into her combat stance.
”Like S. A Consul, then? That would explain his eyes, Raz.” She explained.
”He works for Galeem. How disappointing.” Roland didn’t understand some of the words being thrown out. Some of them seemed… Hm.. are they dealing with a Distortion here? It made sense then if Roland couldn’t understand some of his words. But still, this was super dangerous, especially if he went under Shinra’s radar.
C leaned back on his desk, the palms of his hands pressed against the wood for support. “Yeah. That’s the idea, at least. Don’t get me wrong, though. I don’t care who wins or loses. I’m just here for the drama.” He shrugged, still completely at ease and seemingly devoid of fighting intent.
“I know just about everything there is to know, but only on a technical level. The choices people make to get what they want, their emotions, responses…that’s what keeps things interesting. And you -the protagonists- are the most interesting of all. This world is in stasis, but thanks to you, we’ve got tasty little plot cooking. So, as your antagonist, I figured I’d…stir things up a little. Spill some beans. Why waste time chasing loose ends when we could get straight to the good stuff?” He chuckled, crossing his arms. “So. I figured, since I asked seven questions, it’s only fair you seven get to ask questions too. Oh, but…” C grinned at Roxas, Raz, and Karin. “You three already asked yours, haven’t you? That just leaves you guys.” He pointed at Zenkichi, Goldlewis, Susie, and despite any attempt to hide in shadow, Midna. “Think carefully, now.”
That certainly stabbed a spike of ice through Midna’s heart, her dark blanket of obscuring safety ripped away by a simple gesture. She had to take a few moments to squash that fear, before rising up out of the shadows, holding an oversized golden spear in her hands. She considered pointing it at the Consul for a moment, before deciding that that could wait and instead ending up putting the butt of her weapon to the ground even as she floated above it.
”If we are going to play this game, let’s be strategic about it, and consider what we really need to know, together” she suggested, tone laced with the restrained anger she felt towards C, anger she’d deliberately fed to thaw her fear frozen heart
”With a balance of what we need to know now, against what would help overall” ”Mine was a rhetorical question…” She complained under her breath, turning to Midna.
”If he really wanted us to skip to the interesting things, he’d tell us who and where this area’s Boss is.” ”Though, several of our allies suffer from terrible ailments. If he knows how to cure them, we could ask that.” Karin said.
”Galeem’s goals and methods are so asinine, well…” She muttered.
”We were also invited here specifically to help with the ever crisis, so even if we did cut through everything else and go straight at the guardian, we’d still have that and a dozen other injustices to contend with here” Midna pointed out, before suggesting that
”something that knowing how to help our friends would also help to address” because it was not as if Peach and Poppi where the only ones afflicted by their respective conditions.
”That’s a good point…” Zenkichi answered, having remained silent once he and Goldlewis caught up to the younger, faster Seekers.
”Lots of questions to ask, only a few will be most efficient. Find the Guardian, help our friends, solve the Ever Crisis. But…many ways to do those things.” Zenkichi was careful not to ask any questions in his brainstorming, just in case.
”We could ask what the Guardian is, where it is, we could ask how to cure Peach and Poppi. We could ask how to hunt the source of the Ever Crisis. I’m not sure.””We need to know where Peach was taken,” Raz said, talking right past C.
”If we go poking around Psych-OSF for the rebels we’re bound to raise some alarms. But if this guy can tell us where she went then we’d find her and have a direct line to them, and maybe a way to deal with the Other side of the Ever Crisis!””There is also a question that we can ask that, if he is being truthful, would benefit us beyond Midgar as well.” Susie said.
”I will take that one. And seeing as he seems to be a showman, asking mine last might be prudent. Someone should ask about our missing friends though.” Susie had heard of the word or rank of “consul’ before, but she had never met one until now or knew what they could even do. And from the looks of it, they could control the galeem’d. Considering they were called servants of Galeem by her allies, it made some sense they could control them.
Roland, being a bit too far away to hear the whispering among the seekers, could only catch every few words by reading their lips. Even then he never put too much stock in lip reading, especially with how some of them didn’t even have one. What was more concerning about this group was the strange fire haired girl that seemed to rise out of the shadow of one of those group members. He’d need to observe these people either way as they seemed to know who this moderator was, in some way… There wasn’t much choice on his end, he had to get closer to hear everything.
Susie’s claim made Goldlewis frown. He’d been wracking his brain to try and come up with the perfect question, and with so much potentially on the line, someone else being both presumptuous and vague wasn’t contributing much to this team effort. “Well, spit it out then,” he urged her. “This ain’t an opportunity we can take chances on. We gotta deliberate and make the most of it.” Keeping calm, he smoothed back his quiff. “For instance. The Guardian’s location ain’t a bad idea, but what if we asked how to get to it instead? That oughta tell us where it is, too.”
”Oh, potentially.” Karin said.
”Or he’d say something like ‘you walk.’” ”Unless the answer is some actual thing we have to do,” Raz speculated,
”like how we had to ring the bell on top of the mountain to reach that Guardian. Then he might just give us the last step. Man, this is hard.” Raz looked at Happy Chaos again.
”Can someone ask him if he’s going to answer for real or not?”“You can bet your britches that tricky li’l sumbitch would count that as a real question,” Goldlewis pointed out, almost as exasperated by this chicanery as Raz. “We’ll just have to take everythin’ he says with a grain o’ salt.”
”If you're curious as to what my question would be Goldlewis, it would be something as simple as ”What are the common powers every Consul has.” or “What are your plans?” or even “tell us all the information you have on the organization's thirteen members.” Learning about these people could open many new windows of opportunity we never knew existed. They obviously have some great power, as with just a mere thought they managed to effortlessly control all the guards of Shinra and Armstrong, alongside the two candidates. “ Susie said, not withholding her plans as per Goldlewis’ request.
Having said her piece, Karin folded her arms and chose to keep her eyes on Happy Chaos instead. She imagined he found all this rather amusing.
Goldlewis nodded, appreciating the robot’s candor. “Well, that last one ain’t a question. The other two…not bad, but there’s so much to ask about the Consuls, a question like that might barely scratch the surface.”
“Wow, you guys sure are overthinking things,” C called over, drumming his feet against the sides of his desk. “As much as it tickles me pink, I’m also kinda starting to get bored. You gonna quiz me, or what?”
The veteran gave him an annoyed look, then turned back to his team. “...We gotta ask somethin’, I suppose. In the end it’s your question, Miss Susie.”
At this point Roxas was starting to tap the ground with his foot. He’d kept quiet, not really having anything else he thought was worth adding to the discussion. So instead he kept his focus on Chaos. He glared at the demon person intently. He still held his Keyblades in his hands and was still pointing Oblivion’s tip at the being. Their cryptic nature reminded him a lot of Luxord and Xigbar - both of whom were fond of talking in riddles. Personally Roxas just found that sort of thing frustrating. He’d rather just, as Chaos put it, “skip to the interesting part”.
”I’m going to go with an ever crisis question that helps our friends then, if there aren't any objections” Midna said, glancing around to see if there were any objections. Raz tilted his head to the side at Happy Chaos, a silent ‘go ahead’. He didn’t want to make the guy more bored, ‘cause who knows what he’d do.
”Good” she said when she got only confirmations, silent or otherwise, before turning to demon, pausing to mull over her phrasing, and then stating
”The three parts of the ever crisis, they all have ways to turn victims into new soldiers: Redshifting, that machine virus, the way the regime turns people into others” before asking
”How do we cure those affected, how do we bring them back to normal and out of the crisis’s clutches”C scratched his neck idly. "I know, you don't need to explain." Shaking his head, he suppressed a chuckle. "Took a while on that one, huh? You might regret asking it though. Redshift can be cured by Blueshift up until the point of aberrating, but after? The data's corrupted. Not even formatting the spirit would work after that."
"The logic virus can't be cured. It burrows in so deep that it becomes you. Other than formatting, your only option is restoring to an uninfected backup. And for Others…well, the best you can do is a very special serum, distilled in the Supernatural Life Research Facility. In the end, you either accept the new normal, or throw 'em out and start again. Or go back in time and stop it from ever happening. Sucks, eh?" C shrugged, his face impassive.
Goldlewis swallowed, uneasy. The Seekers couldn't be sure that the Consul spoke the truth, but his word was all they had to go on. Supernatural Life…Midna and Raz discovered that name just this afternoon, so it really did look like C knew things others didn't, barring the possibility of espionage. Still, he couldn't know for sure. Not until they found out the truth for themselves, and to do that, they needed the next three questions to count.
Karin raised an eyebrow.
”Formatting a spirit?” She looked at the others.
”I’ve never heard of that. Like resetting a computer?””That's what I assume. ” Susie said. Thinking about it for a moment, she then said.
”It has to be something with the friend hearts. I remember you all telling me about them. Pinkie always had weird powers.” Susie concluded.
”But we’ve already freed her … unless it's also re-corrupted her or … wait … what exactly else can these things do?” Midna muttered mostly to herself, before trying to make use of the rather dower news she’d received for her question, mulling it all over in her head as the rest of the questions rolled in.
”My question. What are the powers of the Consuls and what can you all do?” Susie said, seeing her turn was up to ask her own question. While not beneficial to the group at the moment, it could be some valuable information.
C cracked a smile. "Now we're talking. This should keep things interesting when you run into the others, huh? Well, for starters, us Consuls can all warp around. Gets us from A to B, but not really usable in a fight. We can drain life, especially from Flame Clocks, and change into our Moebius forms, but not everyone likes it. And last but not least, we can change the perception of those who aren't destoried." He tapped his temple with his index finger. "Not bad, huh? But we also get a unique, 'consummate' ability. One apiece.
Those are the real kickers."
So far Roland had heard quite a bit of interesting information so far. Although all the talk about the red shift and ever crisis stuff seemed pretty standard, the way this guy said it reminded him of the blue sicko. At least this guy wore what he was on the outside. Then the question the pink haired robot lady asked got some interesting words out of this guy. A couple more words he couldn't understand, but one thing he said did confirm Roland’s suspicions. This guy was a walking cognitohazard. Roland would have to be extremely careful around him, just so he wouldn’t forget this information. That additional info about time travel meant that… Did he used to work for TimeTreck?
Zenkichi cradled his chin in one hand, thinking hard as his foot tapped against the floor. The Supernatural Life Research Facility was as good a place as any to start investigating to find Peach. As for his question, he frowned and shrugged. Midna was right in that they had a lot to do before going after the Guardian here. And frankly…he needed to know.
”What is Konoe planning? I’m sorry, guys, but…I need to know. And frankly, with how deep his fingers have been in this Administration…I’d be shocked if he didn’t know a lot more than he was letting on.” Part of Zenkichi was a little ashamed that he’d let his personal vendetta get involved in their goals, but he’d made it clear that the man was a threat on his radar when they started working together. Ignoring him when he had this golden opportunity wouldn’t be right.
“Hehehe. You sniffed out just the right person to ask, detective.” C drew his legs up onto the desk, crossing them, and put an elbow on one knee in order to rest his head in the palm of one hand. “Konoe…plans to create a utopia. Without conflict or crime, where evil is paid unto evil, until evil is no more. Of course, this would’ve never happened on its own, not under Shinra, who to Konoe seemed the very embodiment of the status quo, plodding, ineffectual, motivated solely by greed. So a while back, I let slip a dirty little secret. What spirits are, and what they can do. Then Konoe had an idea. A way to achieve his desire, but to do it, he needed two things.” C held up fingers as he explained. “Powerful allies, and absolute power.” Snickering, the Consul leaned back on the desk. “So he made some friends. Kale Vandelay, his fellow multi-billion tech superstar who needed just a little favoritism to kickstart his technological empire, and Yoseph Calvert, commander of Peace Preservation, including Neuron Task Force. Though, you can just call him ‘Y’ for short, hehe…”
“Quickly making himself indispensable to the Administration as head of Public Security, Konoe began to amass power, consolidating everything under not Shinra’s, but his control. All in a bit to make the Administration's leader nothing more than an empty suit. First was Peace Preservation, freeing up Y to focus on Neuron. Then was Psych-OSF, courtesy of a clever little infiltration. With these forces under his control, he began to beef them up. Vandelay’s Project HOLLOW to make more people, and Hojo’s Project ADVENT to make obedient psionic soldiers. General Affairs was a thorn in his side, thanks to one man: its boss, Rufus Shinra, ambitious but seemingly loyal to his father. But Konoe still managed to bloat it up. With the G-men, his loyal little Shadows, infinitely useful and replaceable. So now Rufus barely has a grasp on…well, anyone, eh?” C grinned at Zenkichi. “And now, the only piece on the board is DespoRHado. Its bosses would never play ball, so it’s going the way of the dinosaurs, and who better than Konoe’s old buddy Vandelay to take up the slack?” He held up his hands. “And when Midgar’s in the palm of Konoe’s hand? Personality Rehabilitation, Kale’s Project Armstrong, and Y…hoho, well, let’s just say that Konoe’s plan is nothing less than the eradication of the masses’ free will.” C glanced around, interested to see everyone’s reaction. “How d’you like them apples?”
”Yeah, that tracks.” Zenkichi replied simply. It all lined up with how Konoe worked earlier. If C was to be believed, he was the real brains behind the corruption in Midgar. How accurate that was, given that Konoe was working, albeit unknowingly, for the Demiurge, was slightly up for debate, but he was still a high up enemy to be dealt with. Unfortunately, this time, he didn’t have the same kind of backup in Public Affairs to protect him, especially given that Konoe was his boss. He did, however, have an idea of who might be willing to protect him if he were able to convince them of this: Armstrong. That, however…came with its own set of problems.
”While the details are different, he was the same way last time I dealt with him. He has…some issues, to put it simply. I can explain more later, but Konoe’s psyche basically depends on viewing himself as a righteous hero, otherwise he may very well fall apart.” While psychological manipulation wasn’t beyond him, directly exploiting Konoe’s worst memory…felt a bit low. He’d have to explain to the others what he and the Phantom Thieves saw, and hopefully it would engender some sympathy from them.
"Weeeeell," Raz piped up, a little sheepish,
"I might be able to help with that…"While he might have taken issue with Zenkichi using up an invaluable question to inquire about a personal enemy of his, Goldlewis could scarcely do so now that he’d managed to turn up a treasure trove of information. Though aware of Konoe’s reputation as a clever, ambitious, and wealthy justiciar, he would never have guessed just how deep his involvement went into Midgar’s current state of affairs. C’s exposé also dropped the names of a handful of top players, and while Goldlewis knew a little about Vandelay, it was the other that interested him. “Y…” he murmured. Based on what Karin said earlier as well as precedent, this Y sounded a lot like another Consul. That made at least two present and active in Midgar, and it seemed like C had revealed the true names -or perhaps former names- of both. By now, the veteran’s head was just about spinning from everything he’d learned tonight. But there was still one crucial answer the team needed.
He stopped forward, his wide frame and heavy footfalls drawing C’s gaze. “Evening, Mr. Secretary of Absolute Defense” the Consul greeted casually. “Been a while, eh? Y’know, I’m kind of sad we never met face-to-face when I visited the White House. You’re an interesting man. A walking contradiction.”
Goldlewis crossed his arms, his face humorless. “I should’ve realized earlier. Thinkin’ back on it, the stunt you pulled tonight was just like the one from back then. ‘Cept with less nukes. You’re a mighty capricious feller, Chaos. But I guess we oughta be grateful, considerin’ what you could do. I reckon only helpin’ us ‘cause it’ll make things more fun for you later on.”
“Sooner rather than later, but yeah, basically,” C shrugged, then smiled. “I know you don’t like wasting time, Mr. Secretary. So I figure there’s only one question on your mind. I’ll answer it, too, so go ahead and ask.”
After taking a deep breath, Goldlewis did. “What are the step-by-step directions we oughta follow in order to reach this region’s Guardian?”
“And there we have it. Listen close, ‘cause I don’t like repeating myself.” C rolled off the desk and stood to his feet behind it in dramatic fashion. “First, you reach the Shinra building. Any side will do, but you might get a kick out of the entrance in Suoh. Then, you go down.” He pointed his index finger toward the floor. “Way, way down. To the city computer, Arahabaki, the home of Psynet. Make it through, and descend still further through the Twinning. At the very bottom lies the Cornice, and there you’ll find the being you seek.” C shrugged. “Of course, it won’t be easy. If it can, the Administration will throw everything it has at you the minute you breach the Shinra Building. Plus, the way from Arahabaki is one hundred percent impassable unless you have the right privileges, and only five people do: Shinra, his son, Konoe, Zanotto, and the head of the Time and Space Division–Binah.”
Roxas said nothing, but a tiny smirk appeared on his lips.
Impassable? We’ll see about that. Roxas had a certain… trick up his sleeve that he had yet to demonstrate to any of the others. And it sounded like this supposedly impassable path was going to be the perfect chance to show it off.
“So it’s a tough road, but…” C grinned. “Complicated stuff like this has a way of working itself out, right? So really, your first step is juuust…to wait. For tomorrow morning. Midgar’s a pot that’s been simmering for a while, and thanks to tonight, it’s just about to boil over.”
”Well that’s ominous…” Zenkichi muttered. He was just glad that he was right about Konoe, though Shinra and Armstrong gave some pretty hefty ideas regarding his involvement in far too many places. Raz had been quick on the draw, jotting down everything Happy Chaos said about reaching the Guardian in the notebook he always canonically had.
”What are these Consul guys again? I don’t think I was around for that meeting…”“We’ll talk later,” Goldlewis told him. For now there was an elephant in the room, and his name was Happy Chaos. The veteran narrowed his eyes at C, cognizant of his coffin’s location nearby. With the turn this night had taken, he couldn’t guess what might come next. “That’s all seven questions, partner. What’s next on the docket?”
C gave a theatrical bow. “That’s all I had planned, folks. For now at least. And what an interesting night it turned out to be, hm? A lot of cats out of the bag. I hope you all make good use of them.” He shrugged again, throwing his hands up. “As for me, it’s about time I exit stage right, don’t you think? Lots to do, and so little time.”
”We’re going to tear everything Galeem has built down, C. I’d recommend you sit the rest of this conflict out in the bleachers.” Karin said. How helpful his advice was had yet to be seen, but he was still a Consul. The most he had earned was a warning that she wouldn’t be caught off guard by any attempt of his to ‘make things interesting’ in the other direction.
In reply the Consul just gave a mock salute, then surrounded himself in purple particles in order to disappear. Roxas tried to attack, and almost to his surprise his Keyblades connected in time. C slumped backward like a puppet with his strings cut and fell flat on his back, seemingly dead as a doornail. Then a hand just like his own emerged from under him and rolled him over, revealing a second C that climbed up from the ground beneath the original. As he stood, the first one fizzled away. “Aw, be a good sport, would you? The bad guy always gets away in moments like these. Makes for a more climactic showdown later.” He rolled his eyes, then proceeded to teleport again, much faster this time. Within a matter of seconds, only the Seekers -and a certain enterprising Turk- remained in the debate hall that had minutes ago been a throng of humanity, swirling with barely-suppressed emotion.
”Argh! I hate it when they do that!”Goldlewis sighed and heaved his coffin over his shoulder. “We got a lot to talk about,” he drawled. “But we’d be better off doin’ it back at base. Let’s find the others and hustle on outta here before anythin’ else happens.”
”Yeah.” Raz tapped the notebook page with his pencil a couple of times.
”Jeez, talking to Lili just got way more awkward.”Seeing as these people seemed to be the only lead he had to exactly what was going on with this weirdo, Roland tagged behind keeping himself out of sight. These people seemed to be immune to whatever cognitohazard that monster was using, perhaps they had more info on exactly what was going on.
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