The Keepers
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Post by Geata on Sept 20, 2016 4:54:18 GMT -7
Geata mused on the offer he had received from the faceless super. Anonymous wanted to have a meeting, back where they had first met. The first thing that came to mind was that it was a trap. Even if it was, though, it wasn't as though he couldn't get away. And if it wasn't, it could prove especially beneficial to at least see what Anonymous wanted to discuss. That was why Geata, after dealing with the informant, made his way to the designated rooftop. It had been a while since Geata had been in that area of the city while in costume. He had been pretty busy ever since the previous dragon attack, running around for the investigation team or for Azoth, not to mention how he'd been helping to rebuild the docks. And on top of it all, he had his own goals that he was pursuing. Even though it was only a few months ago, going to that particular rooftop almost felt as though he was revisiting a simpler time, back when he had plenty of free time to spare on simply going around and trying to play at being a hero. In remembrance of those days, when Geata arrived and found he had made it there first, he took a seat and tried to relax. It wasn't exactly easy, as he found himself worrying about how things were going with the various groups he had allowed himself to become involved in, but he eventually succeeded. All he had to do was wait for the other super to arrive, and go from there. An0nymou5
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Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
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Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 20, 2016 11:37:03 GMT -7
Anonymous let out a light grin underneath his covered face when he detected a familiar present nearby.
“Guess you decided to come at last,” he thought to himself.
It was just another usual day for everyone around the neighborhood, where ordinary people went on like a bunch of mindless drone focusing on their task without question. Because of this, no one paid any attention to a little homeless man sitting on the side of the street with a cardboard sign next to him, begging for their kindness without any success. It was a perfect disguise; Anonymous always know how these drones think, so an appearance of a dirty homeless man is enough to give him some needed privacy while he read their thought.
Looking across the street, he can still remember the little incident with some guy decided to rob the store, and his little fun of messing with a police officer that day. However, that wasn’t why he’s here in the first place; he was waiting for a certain super to arrive for quite some time now. Catching on Geata’s thought, he could tell the guy is a bit suspicious, but without fear; quite laughable and naïve, but there’s no reason for Anonymous to be hostile to the guy. Looking at the time, Anonymous the quietly walked into the building and started to make his way up to the rooftop.
Once he arrived at the door, he pulled out a small white envelope from his chest and took a quick moment of silence. He opened the door and quietly peeked around the crack, making enough noise to catch the guy’s attention. Taking on the role of a homeless man, Anonymous pretend to look nervous and frighten from the sight of a super.
“U-Um…” Geata can detect a hint of nervous in his shaking voice, “a-are you h-here to meet someone? I-I was told to be here around this time t-to deliver a letter.”
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The Keepers
Posts 357
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Post by Geata on Sept 20, 2016 13:39:16 GMT -7
The noise of someone making an appearance did indeed catch Geata's attention. He turned his head to get a good look at his company and was surprised to find that it wasn't Anonymous. Geata still knew better than to let his guard down completely, though. He remembered Anon changing appearances back when they had met in the docks. He didn't know for sure if that was just from the illusion or not, but it was probably safest to assume that it was something else that the super could do. Or perhaps he had already started using his powers on Geata so that he could look however he wanted. All the possibilities were a headache and a half to try and figure out, but luckily he had a way to get around it all, hopefully.
Azoth had said that Anonymous was a mind reader. Geata, ever willing to find out how true that was, decided that it was time to try a field test. Anon, if that's you, cut the crap already, he thought. Hopefully, if it was Anonymous, being called out like that would prompt him to drop the act. If not, it wouldn't exactly prove anything. However, if it wasn't, it wouldn't do any good to be outwardly suspicious.
"Hello," Geata said warmly with a small wave. "Worry not, I'm not going to hurt you. Would you prefer to bring the letter to me, or should I come over to you? I'm fine with whatever you decide."
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Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
Power Level 30
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Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 20, 2016 16:28:55 GMT -7
“Well at least the guy isn’t as dump as he look,” he thought to himself once he got the message that Geata’s thinking about in his head. However, it wouldn’t be fun to break his character now, and the idea of giving the guy some annoyance suspicion is just too tempting to leave it alone.
“I-It’s alright,” he replied, “I-I’ll just leave the letter here.”
Once he left the letter behind, staying true to his persona, Anonymous quickly ran way after he closed the door. He wouldn’t know for certain if Geata will chase after him with his teleportation, but he doubt the guy can see through his act like that unless he’s also capable of mind-reading. Besides, he need to make his way to the other location that he intended Geata to arrive; since the guy can teleport there, Anonymous need to make every second count in order to get there. When Geata picked up the letter, inside will be a small folded map of the downtown Emerald City along with a letter:
“If you’re reading this, then that mean my little messenger managed to get in touch with you at our rendezvous point. I apologized for not showing myself there, but I need to make sure you’re there alone. Now that I have your attention, meet me at the Marion Park south of here; I’m sure you lived here long enough to know where it is. If not, well I accompany a map for you so you won’t get lost along the way. It’s a small park, not a lot of people knew about it, and not a lot of traffic so we will have some privacy for our little game. I’ll be waiting; don’t worry, you’ll know it’s me as soon as you saw me.”
The park is about five blocks away from the building that he’s at right now; it wouldn’t take too much time getting there on foot. However, this is a little experiment on his part: if Geata arrived there before him, then that mean he can teleport quite a distance away. The park also just got open recently, so he wouldn’t have heard about the place. Let’s see if a distance of five block away without knowing the place is enough to slow the teleport down. If not, then it’s a valuable data for him to know so he can try again some other time.
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The Keepers
Posts 357
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Post by Geata on Sept 21, 2016 20:03:41 GMT -7
Geata noticed that the man did not turn into a faceless creep. He also noted again that it proved absolutely nothing. Shapeshifting, he concluded, was complete and utter bull and he would never trust an ordinary looking person any time he knew Anonymous was around but not within his line of sight. That being said, he was a fairly convincing actor and Geata wondered for a moment if there really was a chance that he might be overcomplicating things. He quickly decided otherwise as he used a portal to grab the letter and quickly read it.
The first thing that he did once finished was throw the map over the side of the building. He then stood and, taking the opportunity while stretching his back, looked up to see where the sun was. Once he established his cardinal directions, he opened a portal to the top of the tallest building along his path and simply walked through. Between his portals and his knowledge of the city layout, it took around a minute for him to find the small park and get to it.
When arrived he found he was, once again, there alone. Unsurprised, he made his way over to the swings and took a seat.
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Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
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Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 22, 2016 20:22:34 GMT -7
It took him slightly longer to get to the park on foot, but eventually he finally made it. And without even a second to think, Anonymous can already tell Geata is inside, waiting for him. Guess he didn’t need to know the part ahead of time in order to teleport to the location. This is good to know, since he can remove his theory of him need to recognize the place in order to teleport there. Now all he needs to do is to find out just how far his teleportation can reach. That will be for another experiment for another time, however.
Anonymous changed back to his faceless self as he entered the park, making sure no one was around to bother him. In order to make sure of that, he even place a road block at the entrance to stop any unwanted visitor to come by. Everything was set before Geata get here; Anonymous took out a small briefcase and a can of soda from the bush and walked toward Geata sitting at the swing.
“Ah, wonderful,” he said to him, “I was worry you might not show up today again; I figured I go get something to drink while waiting for you to come.”
He then walked toward a small table with two chairs facing each other right near the children’s playground and set the briefcase down next to his seat. He then gestured Geata to come over:
“Please, make yourself comfortable. We have much to discuss and talk about, so sit back and relax.”
He sat on his seat and crack open the can of soda before placing it on the table. Resting his arms on the side and lean back against the chair, Anonymous took a sip from the can before looking back at his guest:
“Want some?”
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Sept 26, 2016 12:40:52 GMT -7
Geata was somewhat surprised Anonymous didn't appear as the homeless man. There was still a chance that they weren't one and the same, but there was still the chance they were. Not that it was important. What was important was the fact that Anonymous was there, and there didn't seem to be any psychic hijinks going on. Geata didn't lower his guard, but as long as he didn't perceive a threat, he would be cordial.
He waved to the faceless super as he approached before getting up and sitting opposite him. The thought of them having much to discuss was slightly unsettling, but no hostile actions were being made. Geata was willing to, at the very least, hear him out. He hoped that Anonymous would be willing to show the same courtesy and not become hostile as long as his proposition was being entertained.
"No, but thank you," Geata said to the offer of a drink. "I wouldn't mind knowing what you had in mind for this meeting, though, if you'd be willing to share."
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Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
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Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 27, 2016 0:01:45 GMT -7
Anonymous let out a smile from Geata’s question. He picked up his briefcase, placed it on the table and opened it before him. Inside the briefcase reveal a folded chess board made of gopher wood along with a complete set of chess pieces. The black pieces are made of dark maple wood, while the white pieces are made from white ivory. The whole set is polished to the point that they could see a hint of their reflection on the board and the pieces.
If anyone would place the price tag on the set, it should worth about hundreds of dollars, even more depend on how authentic the materials are. It’s so easy to obtain the chess piece from a wealthy stock-broker who has no need of such thing other than displaying them in a glass box. A chess set is made to be touch and play, not displaying to boast about how wealthy they are. That guy doesn’t even remember he owned this chess set anyway, so there’s no point for him to keep this any longer.
“Since we didn’t have a chance to play our chess game the last time we see each other, I figured we might as well have our little game here, with actual pieces instead of a big game of mental chess.”
He folded out the chess board and placed it on the table between them. He doesn’t set up the pieces just yet, since he still doesn’t know if Geata would be willing to play.
“I’m sure you have played chess with little Misty before, right? We’ll use the similar rule that she set for you. Let’s see if I recalled them correctly: each time one of us move a piece, a question is being asked to the opponent, and they must answer that question truthfully. And you’re not allowed to ask anything about the other’s secret identity or how their power work.
However, I personally don’t like the two passes idea that allow you to take the vow of silence and not answering the question, so there won’t be a need for that. After all, we don’t really have much of a chance to properly talk like civilize people for the past few months. And don’t you worry; I promise I won’t do anything hostile with my power on you until our little game is complete. What do you say, Skeletor? Are you up to play the game?”
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The Keepers
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Post by Geata on Sept 28, 2016 20:09:50 GMT -7
Geata smirked as he gave a sigh in response to Anonymous's promise. "Not until the game's done, eh?" he asked jokingly. "Sounds to me like it's in my best interest to stall this game as long as possible. Or leave once we're halfway done, saying that we can finish at a later date, since technically the game wouldn't be done in that scenario. I won't do that, obviously, as I imagine that wouldn't work too well in reality, but if I may have a moment?"
Not waiting for a response, Geata pulled out his phone and sent a text to Azoth that read: Hey, A. Anonymous has challenged me to a game of chess, your rules sans passes. Seemed like a good opportunity to see if there was anything you'd be interested in knowing, seeing as of how it's likely I'll run out of things I'd think to ask. With that done, he put the phone away and regarded his opposition.
"I accept your game, as I'm sure you've already realized. However, since you're the one who wanted to play, I request that you start us off, since it's likely that you've already got a few questions in mind, at the very least."
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Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
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Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 29, 2016 7:41:36 GMT -7
Anonymous let out a smile as soon as Geata agreed to play his chess game; he reached out his hand toward Geata in order to finalize the deal between them:
“Just in case you need to hear the terms correctly, allow me to repeat them: each time one of us make a move, we ask a question, and you must answer them truthfully. Question about each other’s secret identity or how each other’s power work is forbidden, which is quite disappointing for me since I really curious about your power. There are no “vow of silence” passes in order to not answer the questions the other asks. I’m not allowed to use my power for any hostile action toward you during the game, and our little truce will last until the game is done.
That mean that if we need to put the game on hold, as you put it, to finish some other day, then logic dictate that we must also put our truce “on hold” as well; it’s only fair. With all of that, let’s shake on it so we can finally get our little game started.”
As soon as he finished explaining, his hand suddenly lit in blue flame through Geata’s view. This is merely a little flare that Anonymous decided to have people see each time they decided to make a deal with him. The flame isn’t real, so they don’t burn the other person’s hand no matter how long they decided to hold his hand. He’s certain little Skeletor would at least smart enough to know the flame is just an illusion. As soon as Geata would shake his flaming hand, he will see the blue flame spread to his own hand as well, but he’ll feel nothing from it.
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The Keepers
Posts 357
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Post by Geata on Sept 29, 2016 15:47:11 GMT -7
Geata nodded along to the rules presented, only half paying attention. He knew what they were, and the differences had already been explained. The two biggest things that he had to worry about was the fact that no passes were allowed, and he would have to leave the area immediately after the game was done if he didn't want to see how hostile Anonymous was towards him without the offer of a truce keeping him restrained. He noticed there wasn't a question count mentioned, but he decided against saying anything about it. If it wasn't just an oversight, the lack of passes made him inclined to simply flee once question ten was answered.
He tilted his head as the faceless super's hand erupted into flame. Considering the amount of powers that had already been showcased, odds were against that it was actual fire. Geata simply shrugged at the change of aesthetics and took the hand offered, shaking it firmly. If Anonymous wanted to make it seem even more like a deal with the devil, so to speak, so be it.
"Alrighty," the masked super said. "Go ahead and make your move, Mister Mind-Reading Illusionist."
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Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
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Post by An0nymou5 on Oct 1, 2016 12:42:39 GMT -7
Anonymous smiled when Geata shook his hand, clearly doing it without a second of thinking. Geata might seem like he’s a clever guy, but he clearly have no idea what he just walked into. As he promise, he won’t do anything hostile to him while they’re playing this chess game. After all, there’s no point of hurting the “informant” when they’re willing to answer the questions. He let go of his hand and the blue flame disappeared from Geata’s vision.
“Alright, I’ll take you up on that offer.”
He said as he started to set up the board with white pieces on his side and black pieces on Geata’s side. After all, according to the chess rule, the one who control the white pieces goes first; there’s a possible joke in there somewhere. He took a long sip from his soda can before placing it to the right of the chess board.
“Now then, let’s start with something easy” he took a white pawn and move it forward, “that night when you meet your informant at the abandon mansion while I go on my own personal business, what did you learn from him? I would like to know every small detail that informant told you.”
-- *Each time Geata form a strategy in his head about what his next move to be in the chess game, I want you to explain the detail of what he's planning*
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The Keepers
Posts 357
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Post by Geata on Oct 3, 2016 12:26:20 GMT -7
Geata paid no mind to the disappearance of the flames, or to the setup of the pieces. He was only half paying attention to the move made, as well. His strategy was decided upon almost instantly, as it was what he usually went with anyway. He would not plan ahead, not more than a move, for his own moves. Instead, he'd focus solely on trying to predict his opponent's moves and stopping them. That was only if he could be bothered to care, though. The actual winner of the game was irrelevant. What mattered were the questions and answers, and, sadly, Anonymous wasted his first question.
"More or less," Geata started, "dragons have powers the same way that we do, not a different source or anything of the like, which means anything that shuts down our powers can shut down theirs. Trying to shut down lots of powers at once is taxing, which leaves them vulnerable to being shut down. I was planning on getting that information out as much as I could, so thanks for the opportunity. Sadly, given how you tried to imitate Azoth's powers instead of keeping her from using them, I'd say that information is more or less irrelevant to you."
He moved a pawn forward absentmindedly, keeping his hand on the piece. "I'll go ahead and get this out of the way, I suppose. Why this approach? Why bother with a game of chess when you could've simply asked me questions? Even if I didn't answer them, I'd likely give away at least partial answers in my thoughts. It seems a bit unnecessary, in my opinion." Once done, he removed his hand and awaited an answer.
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Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
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Post by An0nymou5 on Oct 3, 2016 16:31:19 GMT -7
Anonymous smiled at Geata’s answer; truly this guy has no idea how powerful knowledge can be, even if they’re pointless. This piece of information that Geata shared with him actually gave him a deeper insight to how the dragon’s power work. Even if he’s personally can’t shut down anyone’s power, it is quite an interesting piece of information. To think that a common unpowered informant actually get his hand in such data, Anonymous just can’t believe they actually smart enough to get such data.
“Come now, Skeletor,” he said to him, maintaining eyes contact without even looking down at the board, “no information is classified as “irrelevant”. After all, one cannot look at the big picture without paying attention to the tiniest detail upon a canvas. I did say we’ll be staring off with an easy question, so there’s no rush in spoiling the fun.”
Seeing the mental planning of his thought, Anonymous is already taking an interest in his train of thought. He seems to be a type of guy who just went with the flow around him, going down a path without much purpose. Heck, he didn’t even have any strategy in mind when playing this chess game. The only way to counter a chaos pattern is to use the very same method against him.
“I quiet like this game, you see” he answered Geata’s question, “chess is basically a battle of the mind, a game of shadow, if you could imagine. From one perspective, it is a trivial game between two people using strategy to move each piece to their end goal. However, you can say it is an endless struggle between the forces of darkness and light, heroes vs. villains; a fight that will never end.
After all, once one side is declared a victor, the chess pieces reset, and a new game started all over again. All the chess pieces are doomed to repeat the same fate over and over again, being controlled by something that they can’t comprehended; all they can do is simply following what they’ve been told to do. Don’t you ever wonder what would happen if the two sides finally put all their differences aside in order to work together? A board where there’re no segregation between black and white, where they can finally break free of their endless cycle.
But never mind that; I choose this approach because it’s the best way to kill time. Simply asking you a question is such a bored; besides, I have no guarantee that you will answer my questions truthfully, or even answer them at all. So I figured we wager a game of exchange like how little Misty used to all her…associates.”
He then picked up one of his white knight and twirling it around his finger before he set it down on the board:
“Speaking of which, here’s my next question for you: I’m certain you and little Misty, or Azoth as you called her, are quite close as “business associate”. What information has she ever shared with you from the day you two first met until now? And I do mean every pieces of information she shared with you, no exception.”
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The Keepers
Posts 357
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Post by Geata on Oct 5, 2016 0:51:06 GMT -7
Geata gave an awkward chuckle as Anonymous asked his second question. There was a certain irony occurring that the masked super was fully aware of. It seemed to cruel to be true, although he mused it was likely karma for the other's actions. Still, it struck him as slightly unfair, not that he wasn't enjoying the turn of events.
"Honestly?" Geata smiled sheepishly, although there was a certain smugness in his eyes as well. "I don't remember. The only one I can give you details on was the most recent one, which was about a space dragon the size of a large planet that ate stars. Other than that, the most I can tell you is that it's all been dragon related. Sorry, Anon, but you're not getting the Keeper archive through me."
If Anonymous used his powers to check Geata's mind (which he fully expected), he'd see that there wasn't anything but truth to his answer. Geata got the information, hung it up on the wall, and didn't bother with it until it was necessary. The most that the telepath would be able to glean from Geata's memories was that it all pertained to dragons.
Although he was being the absolute most useless informant ever, Geata was admittedly proud of the fact that he wasn't being much use to the super who, more likely than not, was probably to be a lifelong enemy. Unfortunately, he had no clue what sort of questions would prove beneficial to ask, and there was no response from Azoth yet. If he was terribly unlucky, there probably wouldn't be until after the game was over and he was far from the playing field.
He slid a second pawn forward, possibly freeing a bishop if needed, as he thought. "What was it," he said slowly, eyes on the board, "that you were hoping to achieve that night with the informant?" Maybe not the best question, but maybe it'd reveal some of Anon's motivations. Geata wasn't too particularly hopeful, but he was willing to give it a shot.
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