Vice the Maverick (7)

Attack on Truce

Seikou wanders into the square, looking... different. A beam sabre's hilt now rests on his back instead of his staff, and his eyes are... empty...

Variance wanders in himself from the Western Gate, hand dropping from where it was nursing his still-burning neck as his eyes catch Seikou's. "...Sei... Seikou?!"

Seikou stares at Variance in silence for a moment before pulling the beam sabre off his back. "...How could you...?" he states in a voice like ice.

Variance's expression changes once again to that bewildered confusion that's been favoring him for the past few days. "...What?"

Seikou steps forward, flicking on the beam sabre. It's pitch black, and he grips it tightly. "How could you forget about me?"

You say 'Forget...? I -never- forgot you, and never will! What's gotten into you?!'

Aura tromps in from the north, a semi-agitated look on her face as she stops, suddenly aware of the presence of others nearby, and attempts to recollect herself, suddenly taking on a more timid air.

Seikou is still walking forwards, not yet noticing Aura's enterance. "You didn't come for me. You sat and trained on your little hill while I could've been in pain."

Despite the company being that of reploids, Aura seems a bit stand-offish, standing idly off to one side while glancing off in another direction, pretending not to pay attention.

Variance stands his ground, weapon still lowered helplessly beside him. "I didn't know where he took you, I was tryiing to find you! I swear, I had every intention of saving you!"

You say 'And I still do!'

Seikou grins a little as he raises the blade in preperation to strike. "Well, I'm afraid it's a little too late for that now..." He cuts diagonally, anger evident in the stroke.

Aura gasps audibly, hesitantly taking a step back away from the impending fray, violet eyes growing wide.

The black stream of plasma just barely misses its chance to strike Variance, the ivory-clad Hunter jumping and leaning slightly out of its reach. Still he doesn't raise his weapon...

You say 'It's never too late! Please~!'

Seikou notices the gasp and turns around a little to face Aura. "...Aura..." he whispers, eyes softening for a moment. However, he quickly regains his composure and turns back to face Vari. "No! This is your fault, and you will face the consequences!"

Variance starts to protest once again, but suddenly grips his neck, almost dropping his polearm from the burst of pain...

Aura looks distraught as she tries to discern what's happening, but doesn't seem capable of moving, glancing between Seikou and you in apprehensive dismay, unaware of what the right and wrong is.

Seikou raises an eyebrow at Variance's behavior. "...Is something wrong, Vari-sama?" The sama is pronoinced with utter disdain, and he grins darkly.

Variance tries to get a word in edgewise through the strangling pain, and actually manages to make a fair show of it, considering the circumstances. "...Fight it..."

Aura seems to break suddenly from whatever trance of fear she'd been held by, and frowns, looking upon Seikou in startled confusion. "What.. why are you..?"

Seikou turns to look at Aura. "...Because nobody gives a damn about me anymore. I decided that if even my dearest partner saw me as more of a -threat- than anything else, I might as well become one..."

Someone phases in on top a roof no far off from the square, still continuing to peer at the three reploids.

Aura suddenly looks more understanding, her expression gaining a bit of anger.

Aura says 'You.. lied to me, then. I thought Hunters were stronger.. than that..'

Aura seems rather dismayed, as if even hearing this from someone she'd only met once before was enough to do emotional damage.

Seikou blinks. "I said nothing about us being strong. I said they were trying to fight... I never said we were succeeding... and now, thanks to Vari over there, another battle's been lost!"

Aura shakes her head, black-gloved hands clenching into fists as she tries to get the gist of it all.

The pain lessens enough for Variance to look something other than struggling, namely inwardly wounded. No... that can't be right, he's been fighting for Seikou the whole time... "I..."

Aura says 'You made it sound as though.. you had it under control. I don't..'

Aura cuts herself short, looking from Seikou to you in confusion, suddenly unsure of whether she even had any business here or not.

Seikou walks over to Vari and looks angered again, ignoring Aura for now. "Don't try to redeem yourself, Variance. You didn't even try to recover me. You probably were just glad a threat like myself was gone... And now you're just paying the price."

Aura, fearing the worst and taking nothing for herself into consideration, reaches out suddenly to grab at Seikou's arm. "Stop it. Please, just.. stop.. There doesn't need to be any -more- pain..!"

"That's a lie!" Variance again instictively grips his neck again, thrown into another fit of burning pain... wait. Vice... He looks up again, questioningly. "What has he been telling you?"

Seikou slaps Aura's hand away annoyedly. "Stay -out- of this, girl! This is not your battle!" His eyes contain a small amount of... worry?

Aura's hand is slapped away, but she doesn't move back at all, adamant in her position on the matter, whether it truly was or wasn't her fight. "You're going to let a misunderstanding swing your weapon in your stead.. aren't you?"

Seikou says 'It's not a misunderstanding! He -abandoned me-! I coud've died!'

You say 'That's not true! Whatever you heard from him could never be called the truth!'

Aura looks from Seikou to you, and then back again, suddenly apprehensive again.

Seikou whirls around. "And why not? I didn't see you trying to stop him when he carried me away..."

Aura blinks, instantly tense. "Who is.. 'he'?"

Seikou says '...Vaisu... The one who awakened me to the truth...'

Aura looks as though someone had just slapped her across the face.

Variance pauses, looking even more hurt than before. "...You didn't see it because you weren't conscious to! I -tried- to stop him! Dammit, I put a BLADE THROUGH HIS STOMACH!" His voice drops off again, and still he stands, on the verge of tears..

Aura says 'You would follow.. the same person who had threatened me in my own home.. Without question, even after..? I..'

Aura lowers her eyes, speechless.

Seikou looks conflicted or a moment, turning from Aura to Vice, his eyes normal again... Then he falls to his knees. "No! I will NOT listen to you!" he screams.

Someone throws a pair of energy beam kunais at Aura's feet, a warning it seems. "Stay out of this!"

Aura shrieks mildly, the weapons aimed at her feet knocking her enough out of her distressed state to stumble backwards, falling against the bench before collecting herself.

Seikou looks up at where the kunais came from. "...Don't hurt Aura..." he whispers, throat dry.

Aura looks up and around for the source of the kunais and the voice, apparently angered. "You coward! Why did you do this to him?!"

Variance stands a little straighter to attention, his own gaze flitting about the square, trying to find the voice. And once he does... Well, saying it wouldn't be pretty at first wouldn't be entirely accurate.

Vice hops down from the roof, he walks towards Seikou, ignoring Aura's question. "Remember what I've said."

Seikou says '...You said nothing about Aura. Leave her out of this.'

Aura instinctively reaches to her sides, the hilt of both knives easily grasped as she looks between you and Seikou, still quite upset.

Vice looks somewhat angered. "Why are you in this town in the first place?! I've told you to go to the town at the base of the mountain."

Seikou shakes his head. "I apologize... I got lost..."

Variance suddenly takes a step forward, finally raising his weapon, if only in defense. "Don't apologize to him, he hasn't done anything for you."

Seikou half-turns to look at Variance. "...He saved me from my inner turmoil... And he told me the truth about you..."

Aura remains where she is, halfway off to the side, caught between the idea of not involving herself in something that didn't concern her, and that of what she believes is the right thing.

You say 'He told you -lies- about me! Bent the truth for his own gain!'

Seikou says '...Prove it to me, Hunter...'

Vice snickers, the look of satisfaction is seen on his face. He turns to Seikou once again, whispering something. "Take care of the hunter and the girl will remain safe."

Seikou nods and lunges at Variance again, slashing with the sabre in standard Seikou fashion.

Variance tenses and curses under his breath, throwing his weight to the right and swinging his blade just close enough to Seikou to fend off his saber. He wasn't going to hit him, not yet, and hopefully not ever. A vain hope, to be sure...

Aura whirls, taking Seikou's advancement away from Vice's voice to unsheath and whip a long-bladed knife in the direction of the voice, with unconcealed precision and dexterity, a light growl escaping her throat as she does.

Seikou is blocked and looks annoyed, kicking at Variance instead of attempting to break the block. He hasn't even noticed Aura's behavior yet, too caught in the battle against vari.

Vice notices the knife approaching from a great distance, giving him more than enough time to sidestep away from it.

Variance grunts in idle protest, haphazardly taking a wide step backwards to steady himself from the reeling induced by the kick. He keeps his spear's blade in front of him, slowly circling around Seikou, waiting for the next attack...

Seikou attempts to slash through the spear's handle this time, rather than directly attacking Vari at the moment.

Vice turns to the hunters, or rather hunter and former hunter. "Seikou, you're taking far too long. If the fight carries on any longer, I'll just have to kill the girl."

Alamarde has arrived from the north.

Seikou shakes his head. "I'll finish it, just please don't hurt Aura..."

Aura scowls, leaving her other knife in its sheath, violet eyes narrowing. "Mavericks.. I think I understand, now.."

Variance steps back again, pulling his weapon's somewhat fragile shaft from the burning blade... a split-second too late. Another curse escapes him as his usually dependable spear falls from his hands, both parts clattering lifelessly to the ground. Oh, -yay-.

Seikou grins at this and slashes at Variance's chest, attempting to shatter the gem there as well as do pure physical damage.

Aura composes herself, turning halfway from Vice and towards Seikou and you, distressed. "Why do you continue to obey him?! Threat after threat, and still without question..?"

Seikou is still in mid-slash, but he turns his head to look at Aura. "...Why do you care? This isn't your battle. You don't know me... You don't care about me..."

Variance quickly brings his hands together, shouting an arcane phrase. The black flame clashes against the brilliant sphere of white light that shimmers into being and he winces, the mental drain from his action quite obvious.

Aura steps forward urgently, barely amidst the ongoing battle, stubbornly. "But you obviously care about -me-! You wouldn't be asking for my safety if you didn't..!"

Seikou looks annoyed. "...Impressive, Hunter..."

You say 'Listen to yourself... You were so happy when you were talking about her before, and now you're saying she doesn't -care-? ...You really -have- changed, haven't you?'

Vice continues to watch the battle, analyzing every move the two reploids make, but is suddenly distracted due to the comment being made by the girl.

Seikou shake shis head vehemently, eyes closed, pressing down against Vari's shield with all his might. "Ooone understands but Vice! Noone can unserstand what I went through! Don't you see that?!"

Aura looks up, eyes shimmering. "You say you don't care.. but if you didn't.."

Alamarde says quietly, looking at Aura. "You're a machine, why are they fighting for you? Do they wish to court you like a human? I didn't know machines could feel jealousy."

Aura turns again, taking a wild swing in the direction of Vice's voice, whether she can't see him or otherwise, oblivious to Alamarde's query.

Variance struggles to remain standing, still forcing his will into upholding the barrier around him, the only thing between him and most likely certain death. "You're right... no one can truly understand but you..."

Seikou nods and sighs. "That's why I need to be with him..."

Alamarde says to himself, absently, I wonder if machines can truly die or if they feel pain.'

Vice dodges the reckless swings, then turning to face Seikou once more. "You are driving my patience. You have five minutes."

Seikou turns to Aura, pressing down further. "Flee! Now! I don't know if I can do it in time..."

"But..." A slight, cynical smirk makes its way onto Variance's still-struggling features as an aura springs up about him, though not the usual dim white light of gathering mana. It's more of a light lavender, its consistency broken by a vivid red band around his neck. "But we can come pretty close."

Seikou blinks. "The hell...?" he mutters.

Aura shrieks in distress as her punch connects with naught but air, and sidesteps, eyes flashing angrily. "I'm tired of running! -I'm- not the coward here! And if you really were concerned with my safety, you'd open yourself to all viewpoints, not this creep's!"

Seikou says '...What the hell am I supposed to do...? He's the only one who's experienced my pain... How can you understand?'

Variance drops to one knee, still pouring all of his power into the thin shield of mana around him. "Vice... He showed me what it's like. I imagine it's an infinity times worse for you, but it's enough for intuition to complete. The burning pain, the clashing..."

Seikou says '...Vaisu... did that to you...?'

You say '...It wasn't much, more of an exhibition than an actual infection... And I still don't fully understand, which is why I'm saying you can still fight it off.'

Seikou shakes his head and lessens the pressure on the beam sabre a little. "How could he pretend to care about my pain and then inflict it upon another...?"

Biting on his lower chin, Alamarde glances at the spectacle before him, eyeing it with interest as he taps his chin with the fingers on his left hand, speaking to himself. "In this strange world, robots can be humanlike.."

Alamarde says, in afterthought, "Flaws and all."

Seikou drinks water from the Fountain of Truce.

Aura glares intently at the spot where she assumed Vice to be. "You called him a 'Maverick' for a reason, didn't you? You feel wronged from what your friend did.. but turning on your friend now.. how does that make you any better..?"

Aura seems to be speaking to Seikou, despite her eyes being elsewhere.

Seikou shakes his head and fully releases the pressure on the shield. "...Vaisu... how...? You sayd you knew how it felt... and then you inflicted it on someone I cared about just like that?!" He whirls around. "HOW COULD YOU?!"

Aura backpedals considerably as Seikou shouts, eyes widening as she looks upon him instantaneously.

Seikou charges where Vice's voice was coming from, slashing with the shimmering black blade...

Alamarde exhales, as he glances around, before speaking, to himself mostly, "Too much like humans, this will be dangerous...they'll have to be handled like humas, then."

Variance says nothing else, the lingering pain of over-exertion muting any attempts to speak as he lowers his hands, the barrier returning to its usual dim state. This is where he would stand and join the charge, but again, exhaustion.

Aura looks a little unsteady from the shouting and previous arguing, but casts a sidelong glance in Variance's direction, alert in almost every fashion. "Are you okay..?"

Vice reaches for his own saber, surging with red plasma. He parries Seikou's slash with one of his own.

Variance nods, still down on one knee and now panting. "I'm fine."

With a casual shrug, Alamarde walks over towards the fountain, sitting upon the brim as he sticks a bare hand into the waters.

Seikou kicks at Vice's chest as usual, glaring at the Maverick with a furious intensity.