[2011-03-04 18:43:48] <@Haruka_Emmerich> = =
[18:46:53] <@Haruka_Emmerich> The 'Psyche Ward' wing of the JUNKER infirmary is decidedly less hospital-like than the primary component, designed clearly for convalescence from issues of the mind rather than the body - and it is here that Haruka finds Akebara, lounged on a decidedly softer (yet still clearly utilitarian) bed, shivering almost in sync with the recently outed half-Fangire's own shakes.

[19:00:28] <Axel_Wildfire> "Mn..." Ake is awake in an instant at Haruka's approach - apparently upon arriving she undertook ten minutes of (fortunately non-destructive) hyperactive movement, then moved to the bed and has been sleeping like a log ever since. She rolls onto her back, shivering; she fell asleep on top of the bedclothes. "... s'cold."

[19:01:50] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Hmm, could stand to turn the AC up." She pokes at a thermostat console, dialing it up a couple degrees Fahrenheit. "You feeling all right, on top of that?"

[19:07:07] <Axel_Wildfire> "... how long was I asleep for?" she rubs at her eyes. "I feel like a brick."

[19:08:19] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "All night, seems like. Just hope the brick feeling isn't part of the paralysis number I did on ya." The white-haired lady flops into a chair alongside.

[19:09:14] <Axel_Wildfire> Ake shudders and starts dragging herself upright. "Don't remind me."

[19:11:34] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Skippin' that, then. Physically, looks like a clean bill of health otherwise." A sigh as she eyes Ake. "So...I'm really not too sure I have much in the way of questions about what happened yesterday."

[19:16:34] <Axel_Wildfire> "I do! What the hell were you *thinking*?" she complains, opening and closing her hands - she avoids Haruka's eyes, staring at her own hands instead.

[19:18:55] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "You really wanna know? Why I pushed you over the edge, despite you begging me to stop?" Haruka nervously grips her chair's handles. "I must warn you...my motives are surprisingly selfish."

[19:22:59] <Axel_Wildfire> "... let's hear it. It's not like I can say anything about them anyway." Ake mutters.

[19:24:52] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Hmph. All right. Let me start with this: it must've felt like hell for your lineage to suddenly fly in your face, didn't it?"

[19:25:23] <Axel_Wildfire> She shifts uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. "Yeah."

[19:27:43] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Now think back to me. When was the last time everything I stood for came undone thanks to the inconvenience of being a Fangire?" Haruka does her damnedest to suppress a smirk. This is something Ake really ought to know.

[19:29:26] <Axel_Wildfire> "... that would be the debacle with Inoue that is about the only thing that can make Wyll start yelling." Ake taps her palms against her thighs briefly, still looking at her hands, as if surprised to see them.

[19:32:10] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "For starters...I say for starters because if I wanted to prove a point simply about the Time Trippin' Wedding, I could've hit you with my OWN mindfuck or thrown any old Void Hour dissertation in your face and been done with it. But this goes far beyond just that, and I left you EVERY clue as I was disobeying your wishes. Think, Ake, what am I *REALLY* trying to teach you?"

[19:32:51] <Axel_Wildfire> "..." Now she looks up at Haruka, and it's apparent she doesn't have a clue.

[19:35:26] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I'm talking about all the shit AFTER it." A nervous patch of stained glass creeps out of Haruka's sleeves. "The part where the Checkmate Four decided to ooze out of the woodwork. The part where every illusion I had about the love of my life being the Queen I'd felt obligated to attend to was shattered almost for the sake thereof."
[19:36:22] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "The part where I kicked off a Fangire Cold War, all because I thought a little girl shouldn't have been deprived of the right to dream."

[19:37:00] <Axel_Wildfire> "I don't really get what that's got to do with what you did to me."

[19:38:58] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "You've been trying to escape from part of yourself, Akebara. A part of you that you're never going to shake off." A grunt. "Just as my family and I haven't been able to shake off death threats from a gaggle of assholes with fancy hand crests for the better part of sixty years."

[19:41:14] <Axel_Wildfire> Ake curls her fists. "I don't want this. I'm not like you."

[19:46:01] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Well, *I* never wanted *THAT*, either!" The stained glass is now splotches of nigh-acidic green. "I never wanted to have to live all this time after Void Hour with such despicable people baying for mine and my lovers' blood! I never wanted to have to raise a child, and hide from her the fact that people out there exist whose sole ambition is to kill her and all her kin!"
[19:47:04] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "But you don't fucking *GET* what you want in this world, Akebara. Especially when what you want happens to be denying part of your own biology."

[19:47:55] <Axel_Wildfire> "Then why are you forcing it on me?" she asks quietly. "To make me more useful to you or something?"

[19:49:42] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...I'm not obligated to answer that. I'm sorry." Haruka exhales uneasily. "Let it suffice that I deemed it necessary to expose you to my pain."

[19:50:23] <Axel_Wildfire> "You're not obligated to, but you fucking should." Ake hisses. "If you're going to do this to me then you should at least tell me why."

[19:54:27] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Because you're part of the family now, Ake. By getting as involved with Haru as you are, you've become part of a family that lives at DEFCON 2. And that means learning our legacy: our history of being dragged through the mud and fighting our way back to squeaky clean."

[19:55:29] <Axel_Wildfire> Another hiss. "So what, you're punishing me for finding someone who actually treats me like a human being!?"

[19:58:21] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "No. Not punishment for that. Hell, not even punishment for subjecting her to your car. More like...a warning." Haruka jiggles her arm, producing a handful of smoke grey-on-black somethings.
[19:58:49] <@Haruka_Emmerich> She turns one towards Akebara, revealing it to be a Ganbaride card embossed with Proto-DCD's face.

[19:59:47] <Axel_Wildfire> She blinks. "There shouldn't be a Decade card for Proto-DCD."

[20:00:39] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "It's not a Decade card. Proto Decade...has a sister. Or HAD, a long time ago."

[20:00:53] <Axel_Wildfire> Ake blinks again. "What?"

[20:04:08] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Sixty years ago, back when Aelita was running interference for SHOCKER, she challenged me to a duel of Gear-crafters. Hidden within a crate of inspirational reading material intended for SEES were schematics for a cobble-together of Diend and Dark Decade." Haruka flips through the cards in her hand. "I built that gear, fought her with it, and promptly destroyed it after - yet to this day, I'm still putting out cards for it. Would you like to know why, Akebara?"

[20:06:11] <Axel_Wildfire> "I have a feeling you're going to tell me."

[20:09:17] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "It's because of my choice of contract systems." Another shake, and more cards, far more vivid ones, become visible to Ake - Kiva, Blade, Super-1, Double and its myriad halves, G Den-O...even ZX herself. "You know how the von Harkonnen method became infamous for its...esoteric utility?"

[20:11:24] <Axel_Wildfire> "I've seen the dorm's security feeds of it." she looks annoyed. "Rather tasteless."

[20:13:12] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...sorrow is gender-neutral, Akebara. Sidestepped it by exposing my pain to others."

[20:15:17] <Axel_Wildfire> "Well, here's a thought, my card is still greyed out." Ake shrugs. "Looks like you didn't do it well enough."

[20:17:01] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Sure looks it. But this new development with Sagarc...I may well finally have a chance to be through with making these things once and for all."

[20:20:32] <Axel_Wildfire> "How do you figure that?"

[20:27:16] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "If I up and told you, you'd have me arrested. But then you ought to have inferred everything from our idle chatter over the security footage yesterday."

[20:28:15] <Axel_Wildfire> "I already told you, I can't say anything about it." Ake shrugs. "Besides, I wouldn't do that to Haru."

[20:29:10] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Well then." Haruka pockets the cards. "Don't say I didn't warn you when Rider War breaks out, then."

[20:29:53] <Axel_Wildfire> "As if it isn't coming anyway. Do tell."

[20:31:58] <@Haruka_Emmerich> Haruka taps at her earbud. May as well kill surveillance around here. "What can I say? Perfect excuse to dispose of Checkmate and finally give my family the peaceful life they've wanted. The peace they've DESERVED."

[20:33:47] <Axel_Wildfire> Ake curls her fists, takes a deep breath, and now manages to meet Haruka's eyes. "I'll help."

[20:34:20] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "You'll what?"

[20:35:10] <Axel_Wildfire> "Did I stutter or something? I said I'll help."

[20:35:56] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "You realize there's an exacting set of conditions that'll need to be fulfilled before we count as being in the right."

[20:36:41] <Axel_Wildfire> She shrugs. "What are they gonna do, sue us? Hard to do that when there's not much left but a pile of fused glass and ash."

[20:38:56] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "A-HEM. We're in friggin' JAPAN. We make our move without the right justification, and we get pounded for violating laws against hot war and all the other FUN things in life."

[20:39:23] <Axel_Wildfire> Ake smirks. "Oh I know. I'm just talking about the fact that we don't need *them* to supply the justification."

[20:39:43] <@Haruka_Emmerich> That gets a raised eyebrow out of Haruka. "Do tell."

[20:46:27] <Axel_Wildfire> "Well, obviously, manufacturing a casus belli has been a tactic of governments for years."

[20:48:21] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Governments, yes, but we're police. We need EVIDENCE. And I'm not so much of an asshole as to plant it." The Fangire crosses her arms. "It's always more fun to bust up the REAL culprits anyway. So we'll bide our time. And nobody hears what's been discussed here."

[20:49:27] <Axel_Wildfire> "Obviously... but if you have a hand, you should force it in. Playing weak won't bring luck to your side."

[20:50:23] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Right now we don't. THAT's the problem."

[20:50:36] <Axel_Wildfire> "Don't we?" Ake smiles. "Set a lure."

[20:50:56] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "And what might you be suggesting for that?"

[20:55:03] <Axel_Wildfire> She folds her arms. "Master Sun said: The Way of War is a Way of Deception. When able, feign inability; when deploying troops, appear not to be; when near, appear far; when far, appear near; lure with bait, strike with chaos. If the enemy is full, be prepared. If strong, avoid him. If he is angry, disconcert him. If he is weak, stir him to pride. If he is relaxed, harry him; if his men are harmonious, split them. Attack where he is unprepared; appear where you are unexpected. This is victory in warfare; it cannot be divulged in advance."

[20:57:51] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Not that far a cry from Leonhart, actually. And we DO have the manpower to move beyond champion-based warfare." Haruka smirks. "And so it appears we have a lure in place already. It only remains to be seen who bites."

[21:04:02] <Axel_Wildfire> "Well, in this context, we need something that would piss them off enough to start attacking. Maybe even hit them first on the down-low so we can officially deny it, then call their hitback a cassus belli... and, of course, if they don't, we can keep hitting them."

[21:06:14] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "That assumes you have a clear-cut 'them' to goad out. Checkmate's none too eager to reveal themselves - odd, really, considering their beef with D&P, and me and Yukari in particular. Last we've heard of 'em that could constitute casus belli would've been their Dear John letter to us about thirty ago."

[21:06:54] <Axel_Wildfire> "Ah, that makes it trickier. But still..." Ake ponders for a second. "... they want Haru, right? I know what's under her eyepatch."

[21:07:10] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...so do I. I put it there."

[21:07:36] <Axel_Wildfire> "Then we have our bait."

[21:08:19] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "That's my niece you're talking about. But I'll allow it, seeing as you're so willing to offer yourself as collateral."

[21:09:04] <Axel_Wildfire> "I know who I'm fucking talking about Haruka." she snaps. "Do you want to crucify the fuckers or not?"

[21:11:00] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I wanna crucify the RIGHT fuckers. But I wanna do it in a 'right makes might' sense. The way we're talking about it now, we're stuck in the same other-way-round rut that's defined Fangire politics for centuries."

[21:15:51] <Axel_Wildfire> "Haruka." Ake catches her eyes. "You *know* they're 'the right fuckers'. The only problem is making everyone else see it."

[21:18:06] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "That's a problem we'll address in our own time. Right now, we've got this Tenpai business to clear up." Haruka finally rises, stretching. "We've got a Rider taken hostage, and a civilian Rider going berserk on a slippery-slope assumption. You want in?"

[21:19:00] <Axel_Wildfire> She looks down at her hands again and curls her fists. "... to be honest, I'm not sure that's a good idea right now. When I changed, everything just went away... all I knew was that I had to keep running, and then I ran into that one guy and everything just went 'KILL' in my head."

[21:20:45] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I'm calling that projection of...well, you know...and leaving it at that. Just fight as Proto-DCD, then. On the beat or keeping things stable here, doesn't matter to me."

[21:22:12] <Axel_Wildfire> "I'll... I'll do patrol. I don't trust myself right now, and I don't want to botch an operation like that. Sorry."

[21:26:05] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Fair enough. We haven't drawn up the proper all-Rider Squadron paperwork yet, so you'll be taking it with your old Rio assignment. That cool?"

[21:34:37] <Axel_Wildfire> "That's fine. Actually, no, that's probably for the best." Ake nods. "One thing... um... everyone knows by now?"

[21:36:10] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Not everyone. I'd give it a couple more weeks to filter about - less if you decide to get it off your chest yourself."

[21:36:55] <Axel_Wildfire> "... so everyone knows I'm a monster. Great." she mutters, looking down at the floor.

[21:38:28] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "No. They don't know you're a monster. Because you aren't one." Haruka takes a deep breath. "Kaijin is a matter of biology, monster is a state of mind."

[21:40:22] <Axel_Wildfire> "They sit in the box seats, Haruka. They sit in the box seats and they sip champagne as you bleed and die for their entertainment." Ake says quietly.

[21:41:40] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Because they're monsters, not because they're kaijin. A human can be as much of a dick as a Fangire or an Orphenoch. Conversely, we all have the same potential to rise above that."

[21:42:20] <Axel_Wildfire> "I don't have a problem with Orphenochs." her voice remains quiet.

[21:44:05] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I'm not asking you to do any more with your prejudices than put them aside as decorum demands." She yawns. "Even if a little less self-loathing would do you good..."

[21:44:35] <Axel_Wildfire> "... when you have time... teach me to control it." Ake's voice is still quiet, but kind of demanding.

[22:52:52] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I can handle that if you'd like. Kaijin forms are...well, they're scattershot when it comes to how much control you have off the bat, but you CAN develop, whether via restraint or finesse." Haruka gently squeezes Ake's hand. "I could do no less for my aspiring daughter-in-law, after all."

[22:54:25] <Axel_Wildfire> She blushes and shifts to take Haruka's hand. "Thank you. It's a different kind of power to Proto-DCD, and it pays to keep your options open, after all."

[22:57:32] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Indeed. Now then...if you're ready to head out, I can buddy you up with a new hire you'll just LOVE."

[23:13:00] <Axel_Wildfire> "New hire?" Ake blinks. "What happened?"

[23:13:39] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Ever wanted to see a Kuuga who knew what he was doing?"

[23:15:40] <Axel_Wildfire> "... that would be a wholesome change."

[23:16:22] <CouchAlmark> Elsewhere, Kouta sneezed.
[23:17:40] <Axel_Wildfire> = =