The Keepers
Posts 357
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Post by Geata on Oct 31, 2016 0:57:38 GMT -7
The first thing that Geata had ever heard of the Keepers honestly turned him more towards the Bulwarks. Back then, when he was first starting out, he had still been sorting out his moral code, as ethics hadn't really seemed too terribly relevant before the discovery of his powers. The odds of him actually wanting someone dead and having the opportunity to act upon that desire were... slim to none, before suddenly portals. The theft of anything seemed ridiculous, as secret government intel wasn't anything that interested him and he was comfortable with a minimal lifestyle. Even when he had his powers he was originally content to just try and accomplish his goals on his own. There wasn't much that the Keepers really offered, from what he heard. The first thing he heard about the Keepers was that "they were a group of villains willing to do anything to take whatever they wanted, including the world itself." The only redeeming quality was that they were at least smart about it, from what he understood, which was more than what he thought could've been said about Pandaemonium. Now, though, things had changed. Geata no longer had the same goals, and circumstances had changed greatly since mid-April. As far as the city was concerned, he was now a wanted murderer, because he took the fall for a villain in order to save a hero's reputation. He had robbed food in the names of friendship and the less fortunate. He had met multiple Keepers and considered some of them friends. His views on murder had actually gotten more stern, but the rest of his ethics become more morally ambiguous, he felt. The Bulwarks definitely weren't an option anymore. He'd probably feel more at home with the Pandas (a phrase he never expected to think and found himself very determined to never utter aloud), considering the amount of friends he had made within the faction that he was pretty sure actually liked him back. But the Keepers were the only ones that actually serve his purposes. He supposed he had Aurora to thank for helping him start to realize it. If she hadn't told him about how she hated the Pandas but used the faction to achieve her goals, not only would he not have understood how useful factions were, but he wouldn't have understood just how little his personal ideals would be compromised by joining one. If it weren't for her, he'd never have struck upon his current goal, either, so he wouldn't have had any reason to really consider joining the Keepers. He doubted she'd actually understand should he actually try to show his appreciation, though, so it was just another something he'd keep to himself. Like the fact that he felt he'd be fairly welcome amongst the Pandas, it was a secret that he'd grin about when the mood struck him and nobody else was around, and one to be taken to the grave. The reason he was out and about in Malachite Isle, though, wasn't quite something he could actually figure out the origin of. He was trying to see if he could figure out where the entrance to the Sanctum was, or at least where one of them were. It was more of a personal test than anything; he wanted to see if he could figure out a closely guarded secret like that on his own in true Keeper fashion. He supposed he could cheat and ask Azoth, utilize connections and all that jazz, but that wasn't nearly as fun or worthy of being considered a test. If he could figure it out, he could probably use that to his advantage; if he could find such a thing on his own, he could easily claim that as proof that he'd be an asset to the faction. He had already slightly cheated and used his powers to find the actual Sanctum (portals made finding large, general areas very easy, he had found early on in his career), but that wasn't what he was wanting. He needed to find an actual entrance, not punch one through the very fabric of space itself. He found himself outside of a well maintained mansion. Not thirty minutes before, a suspicious individual had went inside. Geata, once again making use of his powers, checked all the rooms in the house. Nobody was inside, so Geata thought he might have finally found what he was looking for. He glanced down at the ground. Snow. That had been the biggest motivator for him to hurry his task, even if there wasn't a whole lot. He despised the cold, and the thought of getting back to home (whichever he decided to head to) and warming up was nice. With a nod to himself, he started to open the door to the mansion. Even if he had found the location of the entrance, he needed to see it himself to be satisfied. If there wasn't anything, though, he'd call it a night and resume the search at a later date. Sin Eater |
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The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
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Post by Sin Eater on Nov 2, 2016 21:37:07 GMT -7
Sin Eater was on her way out. With the way that Sanctum's tunnels twisted and turned, it was sometimes faster to go to the surface and cut straight from one access point to another. And so Sin Eater had emerged in a mansion owned ostensibly as a summer home by one of the Keepers' unpowered pawns, a wealthy businessman who relied on the group to discreetly satisfy appetites that would normally remain out of reach at any price.
Her plan was to be slightly late to the chess match she had scheduled with Azoth, but she hadn't been expecting to run into one of Azoth's allies before she even arrived. Her power picked up the holes in space, and moments later she was face to face with Geata in the mansion's foyer.
It seemed she'd be keeping Azoth waiting even longer than she had planned.
"More snooping, Geata? Didn't I warn you in our first meeting that some Keepers are more tolerant of trespassers than others?" A bright smile was plastered on her face, but there was a hint of irritation in her tone. She had been in a bad mood ever since the dragon attack, and having this encounter sprung on her wasn't helping matters any.
Even so, she couldn't just ignore him. A target had presented itself, so she felt compelled to vent at it.
"Unless you're looking for a fight? I suppose I could set you up as Unhallow's training partner. Going up against someone she hates could do wonders for her willingness to fight..."
Sin Eater's tone was thoughtful as she trailed off. Now that she had said it, it almost sounded like a workable plan. At least it was something to keep in mind.
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Nov 3, 2016 14:24:22 GMT -7
Of all the Keepers that Geata was less than ecstatic to come face to face with upon entering a strange building, Sin Eater was probably the one that put him most on edge immediately. However, as luck would have it, she was also the Keeper that he currently wanted to see the most. Considering his intentions of wanting to join the faction, trying to get on the good side of the Keepers who didn't much like him was something that he thought might be a worthwhile time investment.
"No, no," he said jokingly as he intentionally left the door hanging open, "I'm just snooping for now. I was trying to find an entrance to this sanctum I keep hearing about. Seemed like a good idea. Now that you're here, I guess I can say that I succeeded in finding one, so I can go and leave well enough alone." The comment about Unhallow's alleged disposition towards him was noted, but otherwise didn't really matter. Unhallow was not by any means the first person he cared about that couldn't stand him, and overall it didn't change the fact that he cared about her. It wasn't as though he hadn't expected as much, anyway.
"If she needs the extra motivation, sure, I'd be game. I'm assuming you'd keep me at least mostly healed for reusability purposes, yeah?" It was then that Geata struck upon what he realized was probably an idiotic idea. He hadn't tried to be nice to Sin Eater before, and was admittedly curious to how the girl would react. And, surprisingly, she had just given him the perfect thing to start with. He may not have fully believed what he was about to say next, but his words were devoid of sarcasm. "Unhallow really is lucky to have you looking out for her best interests."
Even though it was the first step to making nice with the Keeper, Geata didn't let the sentence sit long. "Anyway, this works out pretty well," he said cheerily. "I've actually been meaning to talk to you, Sin. I've decided to join the Keepers, and it's been brought to my attention that it may be in my best interests to perform favors for you guys to attempt to ensure that nobody vetos my joining. By any chance, is there anything I could do for you?"
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The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
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Post by Sin Eater on Nov 8, 2016 17:29:18 GMT -7
If she were in a better mood, Sin Eater might have entertained the idea of playing along with Geata. But as things stood, his complete lack of guile was just an annoyance piled atop annoyances.
"Ha!" Sin Eater's laugh was sharp and without mirth. She covered her mouth with a hand, grinning at the sheer infuriating absurdity of it all. "Do you actually think I'm looking out for her?"
Sin Eater began to correct him, her pleasant tone utterly unsuited to the words she spoke.
"If you're interested in joining the Keepers, then I suppose I had better tell you what we're all about. We don't 'look out' for each other. We use each other. And since using other people is impossible for someone utterly incompetent like Unhallow, that means she spends all her time as the one being used.
"She's a weapon. A tool. If any of us do anything for her, it's only to allow us to use her more effectively. There's no point in caring about her long-term happiness, because she's a disposable tool. Sooner or later, it'll cost more to keep her around than she's worth. Once that happens, we'll let her get herself killed... or we might even kill her ourselves."
Sin Eater advanced toward Geata, a grin plastered on her face. Shattering his misconceptions was proving to be a very effective way to vent her frustration.
"Oh, though I suppose I lied a little bit there. Personally, I care about Unhallow's state of mind a little bit. You see, I don't much care if Emerald City gets destroyed by dragons, and I don't much care about the glory of the Keepers in general. But I do enjoy watching Unhallow suffer. That's how she's 'useful' to me. Would you like to know how many times I've made her cry? Sorry, I don't remember. But I haven't gotten bored of her yet, so I'll be doing my best to keep her around awhile longer."
She stopped in front of Geata, too close for most people's sense of personal space, and she stared up at him, taking in every hint of emotion she could make out with her power and from the portion of his face visible above his mask.
"So, Geata, it goes without saying that Azoth finds you useful. But do you think you have what it takes to be useful to the rest of us? It would be a waste if we just ended up disposing of you right away."
Her grin widened, and a harsh note entered her voice.
"Or do you think you have it in you to use us in turn?"
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Nov 9, 2016 18:48:54 GMT -7
Geata blinked in surprise when Sin first got started, but his face quickly took on a look of bemusement. He wasn't really surprised, honestly, though he had hoped for better from the girl. Still, he wasn't quite disappointed. It wasn't her fault she was the way that she was; she wasn't wrong about how the Keepers generally were, and who knew how long Sin had been a Keeper? Spend too much time in that sort of environment and it was sure to warp your mind. What she needed was a friend, someone who cared about her and helped her care about others. Luckily for her, Geata was willing and able to at least attempt to be her friend.
"Tell me, why are you this way, Sin Eater?" His tone was a mix of curiosity and concern, and he let the question hang in the air as he made his next move.
Sin may have been in Geata's personal space, but a step forward made it clear that, for once, personal space wasn't something he was concerned with. He was banking on the hopes that his actions would surprise her to the point of momentary inaction. His survival instincts were astoundingly adamant on the idea being a bad one, but he was an idiot and thus his instincts were potentially faulty as well, so he disregarded them.
He went to wrap his arms around her in a hug. "Don't worry about me," he would say quietly if successful and not immediately bleeding, "I can make for a pretty useful minion when I feel like it. No need to dispose of me right away."
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The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
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Post by Sin Eater on Nov 17, 2016 4:57:17 GMT -7
Despite Sin Eater's own tendencies toward personal space invasion, the hug caught her completely off-guard. Her surprise quickly turned to anger. Unexpected physical contact was not an effective way of getting on her good side.
"Fuck off!" The response came reflexively as Sin Eater shoved away from the other super, her faux-pleasant tone instantly gone without a trace. The satisfaction of confronting Geata with unpleasant truths had gone away, too. It wasn't the first time someone had tried to take the kind approach with her, but it still stung especially badly in light of recent events. Sin Eater didn't want to hear anything else Geata had to say, but leaving it here would feel like giving up.
"There's nothing special about being 'this way'. I'm the same as anyone else, the same even as you. If there's any difference, it's that I know what makes people tick and I've made my peace with it.
"I should be asking you what made you that way, but I think I already know. Proclaiming your selflessness, offering yourself up unconditionally... You're playing a part, acting the way you were taught because you can't imagine doing any differently. Disgusting. You really think you're in a position to ask other people why they see the world the way they do?"
It had come out as a question, but Sin Eater didn't want an answer. She retreated out into the light snowfall in hopes of dissuading Geata from bothering.
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Nov 18, 2016 13:31:39 GMT -7
Geata honestly wasn't surprised in the slightest by the shove. What did take him by surprise was the change in tone. Like she said, he didn't really know what made people tick, but he was pretty sure there were only two possibilities: either he was on the right path to getting through to her, or Sin Eater was not somebody that he wanted to bother with at the moment. Either way, though, he was following through with the course of action he decided upon.
Despite the deterrent of cold, he made his way to the doorway. He leaned against it before speaking, his answer already figured out. "What's so wrong with trying to be better than I am? While I disagree with the selfless bit - I don't think I've ever once claimed anything similar - you're right about the rest. I'm putting on an act, yes. I wouldn't be much good to anybody, let alone myself, if I lazed about all day or gave into my fears over the fact that almost everybody I talk to could kill me easily. There's no better way to deal with your problems than to pretend they don't exist, in my opinion."
He grinned slightly underneath his mask. Of all the people he expected to one day discuss that with, Sin Eater definitely wasn't the person he planned on talking about it with first. It was actually unnerving, really. It had happened, though, but it wasn't what he was wanting to talk about. He was wanting to use the opportunity presented to him to see about not having to deal with Sin trying to prevent him from joining the Keepers.
"Anyway, whaddya say, Sin? Got anything that needs doing? I'm happy to assist, if you'd like."
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The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
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Post by Sin Eater on Nov 28, 2016 15:14:50 GMT -7
"It's implicit in your actions - it's nestled between the lines in the words you're saying even now. You may not come right out and call yourself 'selfless', but you speak in terms of what you can do for other people and what they can do against you, refusing to even talk about what you can do against them and what they can do for you. Do you not realize that your power is one that could singlehandedly destroy the world?"
Sin Eater's tone was full of venom. She wasn't angry at Geata so much as she was angry at what he represented. But considering the difficulty of venting one's anger at abstract concepts, Geata himself would have to do as the target.
"Even now, you refuse to accept your own agency. As blind as you are, you're in no position to claim you know what it takes to be 'better' in the first place. As long as you're just playing a role, you aren't good or bad. You're just a stupid animal following basic social instincts with a thin veneer of rationalization. I'd say that you're barely even human, if not for the fact that most everyone else does the same thing."
She crunched through the thin snow as she paced in her agitation. A part of her was aware that this conversation was starting to get too close to home for comfort, but she didn't care.
"I could hardly care less about having something like you at my disposal. Having you do something to hurt your friends could be amusing, but only in the short term. And I don't have Azoth's pathological need to accumulate wealth and power. I doubt that there's a single thing you could do to make my life better."
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Nov 29, 2016 16:00:31 GMT -7
Geata started to rub the back of his neck as he thought over what Sin Eater had said. It seemed he had not understood what she had originally meant, probably, and was now getting a clearer picture. It wasn't that she had issues with him trying to act friendlier than he was generally accustomed to. If he was understanding correctly now, her issue was that he was allegedly just playing a role with his entire personality and that he was some mindless drone enslaved to the mindset of modern society or some crap. He wondered briefly if it was superpowers that led to supers trying to be philosophical, or if powers were just more inclined to appear in already loony people.
"It's not that I refuse to talk about that," he said slowly, trying to figure out what he was going to say as he was speaking it. It was pretty obvious to him that she had put more thought into the subject than he was ever likely to. "It's just that... hmm... in order for me to really put much thought into what people could do for me, I'd have to actually want something that they could be useful in getting. I generally don't, though. I mean, technically, I'm offering to do a thing for you in order to get you to do something for me, but I assume that's not what you're getting at."
The comment about his power being capable of destroying the world needed extra consideration before he continued. He was aware that a good number of powers, his included, would be able to be used to murder everyone on the planet, assuming that they weren't stopped and had enough time to actually do so. Sin's comment struck him as meaning something else, though, and he was having a difficult time trying to figure it out. He guessed that was probably answer enough.
"No, I'm not aware of any way that I could destroy the world. And, even if I was, it wouldn't be anything that would really appeal to me. Even without the fact that, you know, that would kill most everyone; I'm one of the idiots who live on the world and I kinda need it not destroyed to continue living on it."
He decided to neglect to comment on the comments about him and the majority of everyone else being quote "stupid animals" end quote. In part because he wasn't really feeling philosophical enough for a debate, but mostly because he simply didn't know enough about people in general to make any sort of compelling argument. As far as he knew, she might be right. It didn't really change much for him either way, so it was left to be pondered at a later time.
However, he did decide to respond to her denial of his services. The line about having him hurt his friends struck a nerve, but he smiled through it anyway. "Well, if that's how you feel, Sin, no need to sugarcoat it. I'll leave you be, I suppose." He opened a portal on the ground before him, but one last thought occurred to him that he felt the need to add. "Oh, and Sin Eater? If you ever find the need for some friends yourself, just let me know, okay? I can't say that I'd be immediately willing, but I'm easily persuaded and could forgive you for your past transgressions as long as I heard a decently convincing apology," he chuckled, though he was being serious. "I'll be keeping what you've said in mind so I'll make for a better conversation partner, Sin, so until next we meet!"
He gave a cheerful wave before hopping into the portal. He hoped she would cheer up a little with him gone, but somehow doubted she was the sort to really cheer up at all. His last thought before starting to enter the portal was that she really could use a real friend or two, even if she didn't take his offer seriously.
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The Keepers
Posts 90
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Post by Sin Eater on Dec 14, 2016 4:45:20 GMT -7
Geata's admission of his own aimlessness only frustrated Sin Eater even further. For all that Sin Eater projected the appearance of being carefree and unconcerned, the truth was that there were some things she was deadly serious about. To lack any serious goals was a luxury, and the way that Geata flaunted that luxury was unforgivable.
But Sin Eater couldn't just come out and say as much, so she settled for glaring her hatred into him.
It was what came next that truly enraged her. The sheer presumptuousness of assuming that being around him would make Sin Eater happier was bad enough, but then to suggest that she was at all interested in being forgiven... Geata couldn't have insulted Sin Eater any worse if he had tried.
She had warned him not to try to rescue her again.
Sin Eater was seeing red. Her thoughts were turned inward, tearing Geata's useless words to pieces over and over again. She was hardly paying attention to the world in front of her. The roar of rushing water seemed to fill her ears.
Her power was one that expressed itself on its own whenever she wasn't consciously holding it back. When she first developed it, she had been sick for weeks from unknowingly absorbing all the illnesses in her neighborhood. Over time, she had learned to control it precisely, even learning to lightly sleep without absorbing any flaws in the process. But with her emotions running high, her control was slipping. The pain of a hole spreading through her guts didn't even consciously register.
A loud, wet splat and a warm dampness on her face finally broke Sin Eater's train of thought.
She could absorb anything she could detect, after all. When she first noticed that she was capable of sensing the holes Geata made in space, the tactical implications were obvious to her. She had kept it a secret, planning to use it to immobilize him and cut off Azoth's escape route in some future plot. But now the point was moot.
Sin Eater blinked down at the thing that had been Geata. He had been cut in half... or a bit less than half, really, by the portal being 'healed' away when he was halfway through. With her power, Sin Eater could tell that he was going through the effects of severe circulatory shock. His heart rate would spike, but grow weaker and less regular, and then it would stop entirely. His brain would shut down not long after.
This was a big problem. Sin Eater relied on favors owed to her by other Keepers in order to rescue her when she was captured or immobilized. Her power might make her impossible to kill, but it wouldn't save her from being caught... or buried. And with how many of the Keepers prioritized fighting against dragons, Sin Eater had always been careful to avoid killing other supers, especially supers who fought against dragons themselves.
There was still plenty of time to save him. But Sin Eater couldn't do that, either. It would be an obvious admission to the world that she did have limits, that she could be controlled. Undoing what she had done to Geata would also undo everything she had done with her three years in Emerald City.
The surprise of what had happened had overwritten Sin Eater's usual careful control of her expression and mannerisms. She didn't even consider fixing that. The only witness here was a dead man.
As Sin Eater stared down at the bloody mess, there was fear in her eyes.
She turned and ran. It would only take a minute or two to arrive at the scheduled meeting spot with Azoth. By the time she got there, her carefree persona would be carefully replaced, her mental state flawlessly calm. She would turn this situation to her advantage. There could be no more looking back.
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