Asking For It (Samhain/Orpheus)

The events would transpire as they would, and Blood tithe found himself unable to do anything to stop them. All of his training, all of his meditations and exercises of the trinity could not have prepared him for what he had just experienced. Sven's very essence was beheld, firmly within the clutches of a very desperate man. His resolve was of course to enact a terrible vengeance upon this poor soul. It was only a few motions before the very thing that tethered Sven to consciousness was shattered, broken upon impact and bursting outward, like a single raindrop upon a pond, a small outburst of material falling out like a rain of shining shards. Orpheus was stunned.

To see everything he had just said fail. To see everything that he worked for broken and cast aside by none other than Lucius Alba. Sven. Hector. That was not just his creation, that was his friend. That was one of the very few things he had left to remember his beloved bye. Hector, much like Isabella was the one who tried to keep Lucius upon the right path; even in their failure to do so still supported him. Cared for him. Orpheus eyes closed and opened once, his fist clenching before falling limp at his side. Orpheus did not turn to Lucius. He did not look at Lucius. He simply stood there. He stood there and silently contemplated.

"Disgruntled creations." Orpheus said. The words echoed throughout the room. His eyes raised as his armor began to power itself up for the first time in several months.

"Wrathful Monster." He spoke yet again as his one eye began to glow, piercing the shadows cast from his hood. Orpheus slowly began to walk towards Lucius, the next thing to spark alight was the sickly red energy talons and fangs that lined a large toothy grin dully beneath the shroud and shadows.

"Marked. Unclean." Orpheus finally stated letting out a growl. With a stomp of his boot the dark red and black energy fired through his foot and dispersed into the ground, scattering and shooting out in every direction, taking only straight lines but turning occasionally, forming a mother-board or circuit type of scarring within the ground. The very word itself seemed to radiate a form of power, and suddenly things began to come into perspective for Lucius, he could feel almost as if he were unclean, though it were not in the hygienic sense. Though he actually may not have noticed at all. Orpheus knew that neither he, nor Lucius could be called "clean" for a long, long time.



Orpheus had taken his fifth or sixth step before sighing, his eyes rolling as he felt the disruption of the zen around him. He had spent such time in the presence of a very similar entity, the exact same entity in fact, albeit a slight variation throughout some convoluted loophole in the fabrics of reality. Orpheus looked down towards Lucius' abdomen only to be greeted by indigo eyes and a sympathetic and almost sorrowful half-smile on the little face. It made Orpheus angry, to know that the little being looked upon him with pity, to know that this THING still had faith in him. In all of him. Both Lucius and Orpheus.

"....Child...."

[color:1d1d=009966]"...Man..." Was all the soft little voice offered up with a nod, matching Orpheus thinly veiled ferocity with compassion and sympathy. The words in their own right were actually quite shocking to Orpheus, though he would never allow such a thing to show. The fact that the child had acknowledged him as a man and not what he once was. The child's eyes turned, his brown hair had been trimmed on the sides since he had last seen Lucius, but the presence and appearance of the child was undeniably familiar. The look in his eyes was equally of pity and sympathy for Lucius as it was for his once-sin-counterpart.

"You can't begin to fathom how much I despise you...." The large, metallic monster of a man said as the energy in his claws began to flicker. The child didn't even look at him, but instead just kept staring at Lucius with the same sad eyes.

"You can't begin to despise me as much as I despise me....so it's okay." He said, finally taking his gaze from Lucius and looking back to the Blood Tithe. Silus had changed a bit since the last time the three were present. Trimmed hair on the sides instead of a mop, his trademark hoodie having been replaced a black moto racer jacket with a grey hood and lining. Rather than a slack jawed look on his face his eyes were fixated with an unusual determination as his thumbs hooked on the insides of his pockets and his shifted his weight to his left foot, his white high-top tennis shoes squeaking a little. "I don't know what Lucius did.... but it doesn't have to mean this."

"Well why don't we ask him then? Do tell Lucius. Tell him how Hector was manipulated. Tell him how Hector was talked down, tell him how Hector was cut from his strings. TELL HIM HOW HE DIED!" Orpheus voice rose and the maw of energy opened. Silus closed his eyes and wiped his hand across his face before blinking his eyes a couple times as the monster with furrowed brows and then looking to Lucius.

"Luuuuuuci. You got some 'splaining to do..."

You cannot reason with rage such as this. No amount of logic or justification can cool such a burning desire for blood. Just hearing Orpheus speak in such a way, one word at a time, quietly, tipped Lucius off. This monst-, no, this man, had been wounded at the very core of his being. Red had not seen such pain in anyone before. It was the same feeling he had felt when he lost Isabella, the same torturous burning that took him when he found he couldn't bring himself to break his promise, and join her.

It all hit Lucius now, what he had done. Out of anger he destroyed the only real friend he ever had, one of the few beings that understood him on this rock. He never stopped to consider if he could fix the problem. He didn't think about getting his friend back. All that had been going through his mind was betrayal. Now he realized it was he who had betrayed Sven.

Lucius put his hand to his chest. He was finding it oddly difficult to breath, and a piercing pain had settled in his rib cage to go along with it. What was this? He realized it was nothing physiological. It was all in his head, yet he couldn't dispel this never ending sense of guilt that resided in him. What had he done? Was this who he truly was? Was he destined to be alone?

I'm sorry....... Lucius said within his mind, not getting the familiar response from Hector he had once counted on. Lucius lowered his head. Blood was undeniably enraged, and there was nothing that could be done to stop the rampage that was about to happen.

Except for Silus, that is.

It seemed like forever since Lucius had seen the boy. For a split second, Red had almost not recognised him, but his unique features made it undeniable. Too bad the circumstances weren't exactly ideal, or else Red would have greeted him properly. Instead, the Rise Head simply stayed quiet, letting the brief conversation between Silus and Blood unfold.

A difficult thing, admitting when you've done something wrong. Especially when that thing was not what you had ever intended. Lucius had always been driven to do things he thought he would never do, and this was the tip of the iceberg. Not only had he lost a friend today, but he was the one who had put the final nail in the coffin. He had killed his best friend.

"I killed him......... When he was the most alive he had been in his entire life, i ended him. I mocked him. And.........and i lost my friend." Lucius said, pulling back his hood and throwing what was left of his mask off. His eyes were watery, yet as sharp as knives. The tears in his eyes might as well have been boiling.

"I'm not sure what you think i should have done. I loved him, but he threatened to end the lives of my children. DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS, BLOOD?! HOW IT FEELS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN YOUR FRIEND, AND YOUR FAMILY?! Oh, you were cutting his strings! Give me a break! I just lost infinitely more then you did, and yet.......and yet you stand here, like it's all my fault......." Red said, wiping a single tear that had dripped down his cheek. He paced back and forth a moment, not knowing what to do with himself, before finally dropping to a sitting position on the palace floor.

"But that's just it......isn't it? I......i did all of this. I always lose them... Everytime. Every single time................ I'm so sorry"  Lucius said in a lower voice then before, talking with his head down before looking upward at the final words. In truth he knew Blood had felt pain for this, perhaps as much as he had, but Orpheus had acted like Red did what he did with no remorse. That, that is what made him lash out as he did. Anyone could see this man was hurt, that what he did was done out of grief. But that can only justify actions for so long, especially for the likes of Lucius Alba.

"I believe you." Orpheus said as he clenched his fist and his eyes lowered, the gaze seemed to be a glare but the sorrow in the eye and the sheer pain emanated nothing but pity. Orpheus pitied Lucius. That was just as plain and simple as it was. Orpheus was a monster, crafted in evil and baptized by the blood of innocence and schooled in the ways of primal destruction. Death, Chaos, Emptiness and Sin. All of these were what dominated the mind of the Blood Tithe. Orpheus Reinhardt? For a moment he had almost forgotten that name. "But tell me Lucius... where does "Sorry" get you? Where has it ever gotten you? Look at you, Lucius Alba." Orpheus said, the venom of malice within every word. Orpheus opened his hand and a surge of his own energy began to course through him.

    "Once upon a time that name would have been engraved upon a tombstone and celebrated within the history books. There would be nothing but praise and the adulation of scholars for years to come from the path you paved. The path you would have paved in her name." Orpheus began what would have been a long rant, but he knew the second that he said anything about Isabella Lucius would pull his usual pride and selfishness about invoking her. "SILENCE!" He roared, so loudly that the glass upon the tables shook. Palace guards could have been in there at any moment...but of course as Silus was standing right there it would not likely be that way. "SHE is the only reason I'm still here. SHE is the reason I came to YOUR aid. SHE is the reason Hector did this. Why Sven did this. Look at you, Lucius Alba. Your name will go down as a tyrant. A terrorist and a traitor. Hector did what Hector always did. He loved Isabella and Lucius. His family. But he looks at you and sees what you do. The Death, destruction and chaos. You are not Lucius Alba. Lucius Alba knew the meaning of the words "I'm sorry."... but to you.... they're just a smoke screen. Do you even remember how it feels to be truly sorry? Enough to change what you are? Look at everything you've done.... how you've ruined HER name... and look at how easily you blame us for it."

                 "That's enough." Silus finally said, his voice was rather forceful and rough from his usual kind and compassionate tone. He turned to look at Blood Tithe, his back to Lucius as he stood between him and the pulsating creature of energy.

  "Move child."
  "Don't do it."
  "I am not going to be his scapegoat anymore."
  "Stop being selfish, This has nothing to do with you Orpheus! The universe doesn't revolve around you or the guilt you feel from Lucius' actions. Stop acting like you've got this-this enlightenment that makes you better than him!"
  "I AM BETTER THAN HIM! IN EVERY WAY! I'VE BEEN A BETTER FATHER. A BETTER DISCIPLE, A BETTER MAN!"
   "But here you are acting like a child." The moment Silus said it, Blood tithe unleashed a pulsating shock that sent Silus flying backwards, smacking into Lucius with his back before he flipped over and landed on the floor, five feet back. In that moment Blood Tithe's energy died and Orpheus was calm.

  "I...what have I...." Orpheus was left speechless, although he held no love for the child specifically. Well it was more of a respectful rivalry if nothing else, there was a bittersweet tinge of pain knowing that even as a monster this child looked for the best in all of Lucius, himself included, however he couldn't help but feel a small twang of distain within his heart. The thought that such a small and annoying child was responsible for him was... irritating. Silus tried to stand himself up and coughed, looking down for a moment before his eyes seemed to bug out of his head, quickly reaching down and rubbing his forearm on the ground, cradling his side with the opposite arm.

  "Y-you hit me. That's what you did. Ow." He said as he winced and leaned against the wall. He quickly shifted his racing jacket and kept his hands in the sleeves. An eleven year old trying to be cool under pressure was something he had down...but looking cool was harder. He began to suck on his teeth a bit before deciding to speak again.

  "T-this isn't something that you get right the first time...you make mistakes. You fail. You stumble and fall. You scrape your knees and wound your pride. You make mistakes. You live and you learn. You get up and you keep moving. You never give up. Even if you gotta break everything down to start again...because maybe that's when you remember something you forgot. Like being sorry." Silus explained things in his usual way, although he took in a few deep breaths as he tried to recover from that slight outlash. He looked at Lucius and then too Orpheus again. He cleared his throat and looked back and forth between the two, like he was expecting something to happen.

   "We killed your friend's mother...." Orpheus said quietly before looking to Silus, the most perplexed look upon his face. "We killed your friend..."
   "I know." He said, the quickness and the severity of the gaze made it quite clear that he truly did know.

  "Then why would you do this? Why would you help him? Why would you help me?" Orpheus said as he tried to understand, completely unable to. He wanted to know, he wanted to understand. He couldn't' though.

  "Because you're sorry. Because every sinner has a future, and every saint has a past." Silus said as he leaned back and slid down the wall looking to Lucius and smiling a little.

   "...You're just such a little Christ figure. I actually just threw up in my mask." Orpheus said as he turned to walk away a few feet, his gait was different though as he let out a heavy sigh.

   "Peter Pan, Lucifer...never Jesus though... Not good enough...." He said with a little chuckle before staring at Lucius. "We all good here? We all understand how this "Better person" thing works now?"

Lucius slowly got to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot, and on his face was a snear that got increasingly pronouced as Blood talked. He wanted to interject, wanted to defend his pride, but he couldn't.

"Don't you eve-" was all he could muster to try to avoid hearing his corruption speak about Her, but he was cut off by an almost prepared shout commanding silence. There was no interrupting this lecture, Orpheus needed his point across, that much Lucius knew.

Lucius decided to let the exchange between Orpheus and Silus happen. There was no point in trying to rant when they were having an argument, and besides, his head was still swirling. The points Blood made, they were all true.

Just when Red realized that, Silus was hit with a burst of energy.

"Silus!" Lucius yelled, truly worried for his little friend. He was about to move to see if he was alright, but the boy got up in only a second, back at his war of words with Orpheus.

Lucius smiled. Not his usual snide smirk, but an actual smile of amazement. After all this, after seeing all that Red was, this boy still believed in him, as well as Orpheus. How? Lucius barely believed that his old self still existed himself, how could Silus? It was beyond him, and beyond Blood, judging by his own confusion with Silus' desire to continue to help them.

But Lucius was not as strong as Silus thought. In fact, he was spread thin now. It was easy just letting his anger and grief take control, but now, now he had to live with what he had done, and what he would soon need to do. This is the path Red had taken, this is who the world would know him as, just as Orpheus said.

There was no going back. He had to finish.

"You're right, Orpheus. You're right." Lucius said, stumbling toward one of the palace walls. He leaned on it, resting.

"You've always been better, i see that now. You seem to know exactly who you are. You're stronger, smarter..... You're a better man." Lucius continued, his chest convulsing and heaving. He coughed, spitting blood onto the marble floors of his palace.

"But, this isn't about me. This was never my crusade, this burden came to me. The arrogance, the pride, merely a tool to achieve the big picture." Lucius said, turning to face Orpheus, his back up against the wall. The pain was getting worse.

"Don't you two see? I don't care that you're greater then I. I DON'T CARE about being the better person. I should be dead, my legacy fingerprints in the sand of the world, waiting to be inevitably washed away by time. I would have been fine with that, but not now. With Her gone, nothing matters. Nothing but our vision of a peaceful world. She died.......she died without fulfilling her story......" Lucius said, pausing as he touched what seemed to be a hidden keypad on the slick palace wall. He then put his hand against it, which the wall scanned, and the sound of an air tight door opening could be heard.

"....Even if i have to be The Devil On Earth, even if i have to be a puppet, even if i have to be nothing but a forgotten tyrant to this world, and even if i have to be worse then you, i intend to change that. You're better then me, but at least I'm loyal." Lucius said, stepping into the closest-like room. In seconds, his gear was repaired and reassembled, and he would step out, touching the computer on his wrist.

"Now get out of my house, you're above it, aren't you?" Lucius said as dozens of guns appeared from various locations in the throne room. They all shot streams of red energy bolts at their target, which, was of course Orpheus. No need to explain what they could do if they hit. The corrosive energy obliterated anything it came into contact with on a cellular level.

The sound of Peacekeepers closing in could be heard. This was the end of this rivalry.

Silus was listening to the two argue. Lucius stood and stumbled, Silus just watched, a chill running down his cheek and his spine as he took in a quivering breath. Lucius stumbled before the Blood Tithe, Orpheus hadn't said a single thing since Lucius had begun. Not even his typical remarks or commentary. This is what this all boiled down to. This is what the entire existence of these two technological tyrants came down to. When you lay both of them out there in the grand design of existence, this is what made them tick.

     Duty and Guilt...

   Orpheus watched as several guns appeared form their concealed areas. The defenses of the castle were even farther improved from what Orpheus had known. It was no small feat to catch him off guard. Orpheus moved to take a defensive stance. The energy fired out and the creature was blasted with a force of powerful crimson energy. The crackle and spark of it jumped around his suit and continued to soak in. While the armor proved formidable in resisting the corrosive properties, that which was contained within was not so resilient. The streams of energy relentlessly assaulted the target, all before Silus went to stand up. He fell forward slightly and then stumbled back and slid down the wall and leaned his head back. He didn't want to risk there being an attack made against him.... and truthfully he didn't feel like moving right now. He just wanted to rest a moment.

      "Lucas." He said, utilizing the power of his voice to send whispers upon the spirits of the air, seeking out to find the son of Lucius Alba. "Isalia, Ryan." The same method was to them. He couldn't understand why he had the strength to do this as his body began to deteriorate away from beneath the metal structure that was once his body. "Be good to each other. Be there for each other." The message was transmitted to their minds, whispers of the wind spirits that carried his hushed voice to their minds. He began to feel the pain, but then felt nothing but the sensation of a tingling numbness as his flesh had melted away. He had but only another moment to think as he spoke his final words from his last gasp.

  "I'm sorry....I tried." His entire ody had been broken and ripped away in the beams of brilliant light. Naught but dust particles and a partially metal skeleton lay in the wake of the energy. The Peacekeepers came into the room and their guns were pointed everywhere, all of them looking for the threat. The strategic team moved with purpose as their guns were raised and their attention was at it's peak. There was a small comment between them all as they scoured the area.

   "We've got one confirmed kill." Captain Victus said as he walked through, his posture that of a seasoned soldier, as his eyes swept the room. His helmet wasn't with him this day, revealing a rather charming and roguish look of a ragged and tortured soul. But the fire in his eyes burned with the fires of purpose and passion. The majority of his armor would appear to be on vacation too. At this hour of the morning it was sheer urgency that bid his presence. His eyes then settled on the corner as he walked over towards the resting child, his hand steady upon a devil's tenderizer. He moved over and knelt down beside the unconscious body, the other peacekeepers surrounding with weapons trained on the slumped over figure. Quite quickly he was recognized as a friendly, and the weapons lowered.  Captain Victus reached out after the resting small framed child.

     He reached down, moving the arm of the smaller boy, much to his surprise the arm fell limply out of the jacket. With a small motion Captain Victus noticed something off behind the racing jacket, and moved to pull back the deceptive cloth. The black jacket pulled back and revealed a heavily crimson stained white shirt underneath, a vertical evisceration with the foul odor of burning flesh. The Captain looked up to the other Peacekeepers. He then looked to Lucius with frosted blue eyes. Lucius turned to him and stared at him through the mask, the scrutinizing gaze was enough to even make Victus hesitate. He took a moment to swallow back his hesitation and quietly breathed three dreaded words with a heavy heart.



 "....Two confirmed kills."



(Topic Concluded)