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Kai
For once, the night and day mosaics of the Council chamber were doing absolutely nothing to calm Kai. His mind was whirling at a hundred miles an hour scattering disjointed bits of information around his consciousness. Stasis. The woman who pretended to be Wolf. The real Wolf getting arrested. Scarlet and Thorne thinking The Emperor was going to use stasis constantly. Cinder's worries about prodigy-hating terrorists. Scarlet's worries about Wolf and the fact that she knew him. That last thought mostly made Kai feel guilty.
In his defence, Scarlet had been acting really weird. She said that it was because of stasis, but Kai still wasn't entirely convinced. And, well, these were uncertain times, with the Lunars back and all, and Scarlet was a new Rampion so she hadn't exactly had time to build up a strong foundation of loyalty or anything so it was okay to be suspicious. Right?
Okay, maybe not.
The doors swung open and a pair of Rampion guards walked in, Wolf held between them. They were glaring at him distrustfully, even though he wasn't actually resisting.
The shoved him onto the ground, and Kai winced in sympathy as Wolf went sprawling. Still, the large prodigy didn't so much as glare at the guards as he shakily got back to his feet.
Kai tilted his head, thinking of the last interview with the person they thought was Wolf. That Wolf had been snarky, condescending and arrogant. He'd smirked and joked and insulted The Council with a flippancy not even Thorne would dare use. That Wolf had been like an Alpha talking to a group of Omegas, dominant and disdainful. But this Wolf… this Wolf reminded Kai of a guilty dog that accidentally smashed a vase and was fearfully awaiting the judgement of its master, all docility and awkwardness. He seemed very interested in the floor, studying every inch of it rather than looking up at the faces of The Council.
Sighing, Kai opened his mind to Wolf's, bracing himself for the rush of ferocity and instincts that he really didn't want to hear (the glimpse he had at the trials was way too awkward for his liking). But the rush was more of a breeze, whispering weakly at Wolf to bare his teeth, to growl, to assert his dominance over these "challengers". And the thoughts themselves weren't hostile either, more… awkward and unsure.
Am I supposed to say something? Skies, I wish they'd stop staring at me like that. Who are those people standing at the side? Probably more guards. Well I hope one of them has super-strength or something in case I lose it. Hey, isn't that they cyborg girl from trials? I guess her metal fist would hurt, hopefully enough to slap me back to my senses. Oh, and there's that strange girl with the scars. What was her power again?
Kai blinked in surprise. That was the first time he'd encountered a thought of Winter that wasn't immediately followed by how beautiful she was.
"Ze'ev Kesley," The Emperor said. "alias Wolf. These are your names?"
Wolf nodded.
"Do you know why you're here?"
"Because I'm a danger to society?" Wolf guessed.
Crown Jewel shook her head. "That you are, but you are here because you are a member of the criminal organisation known as the Lunars."
Wolf shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Technically, I left the Lunars a year ago-"
"Quiet!" Crown Jewel snapped. "You are to answer our questions truthfully and fully. We will know if you don't comply with these terms. Understand?"
Wolf dipped his head in a nod.
"You say that you left the Lunars." Crime Minister said suspiciously, "But how? I remember what your organisation was like during the Blood Moon Time. Anyone who put so much as a tow out of place was killed. Very slowly."
Kai flinched as visions of desperate running through dark stone tunnels filled his mind. Hands gripped the heads of dazed men and twisted sharply with a sharp crack. Fangs sunk into flesh and the taste of blood coated his tongue.
"I was an Alpha at the time," Wolf told The Council, "I could pretty much go wherever I wanted except for planning rooms for the elite Lunar members. I managed to order guards away from their posts and pass through the base without much suspicion. I was almost out by the time someone noticed. From that point it was just a matter of never staying too long in one place and never showing I had powers." He spread his hands out in front of him. "I didn't get away hands clean. A couple other soldiers were sent after me and I had to take them out."
The Council glared down at Wolf, obviously not liking the blank way he talked about killing. But they weren't seeing what Kai was seeing. They didn't see the way Wolf's hands had shaken after breaking a neck, or how he desperately tried to spit out the blood in his mouth and on his teeth. Kai glanced over at Winter, who was looking vaguely nauseous.
"How many soldiers like you do the Lunars have?" President Star barked.
Wolf shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. Back when I left, there were roughly fifty packs. A pack is like a regiment. Each pack had six to fifteen members."
"Great, so there's more than five hundred of you abominations." President Star muttered.
Wolf looked down at his feet. An abomination. That's exactly what I am.
Kai cringed in sympathy.
Primal narrowed his eyes inquisitively. "How do the soldiers fight?"
Wolf opened his mouth to answer, but Crown Jewel beat him to it with a snort. "You honestly need to ask that Bromstad? You saw the way he handled that impostor this morning. Savagery and brutality is the only kind of fighting these things know. It's in their instincts or something."
"That wasn't instinct though, I was fine when I fought with that woman." Wolf protested.
"Then why did you attack her as ruthlessly as you did? I wouldn't be surprised if she has spinal damage."
An image flashed across Wolf's mind, of a girl with vibrant red hair being thrown into a wall, her features twisted with pain, followed by a surge of rage and worry. And something else… something strong…
Wolf hesitated. "Does it really matter why?"
General Thunder scowled. "Now I'm suspicious. What was your reason? You had one, didn't you?"
"I was just trying to help."
"Oddly brutal way of helping." Crime Minister murmured. "You didn't have an ulterior reason did you?"
Wolf bit his lip. I could just say no. But they did say they had a way to check if I was lying. I don't want to get even further on their bad-side. "Yes, but it's not important."
"We'll be the judge of what's important or not." The Emperor declared. "Now tell us the other reason."
Wolf shifted his weight uncomfortably. Kai could see that his ears had turned bright red.
Shaking his head, he stepped forward. "Council, his other motive is irrelevant to what you're talking about. And also very personal so there's no need for you to try and drag the information out of him."
President Star raised a sceptical eyebrow. "No offence Diplomat, but your mind-reading isn't exactly top-notch. How do we know this guy's not just putting on a front for you to see like the last one did?"
"Wait, you're a mind-reader?" Wolf exclaimed.
"Um… yes?" Kai said awkwardly.
Wolf's eyes darkened with fury and he snapped his head around to glare at The Council. "You have had someone here, sifting through my thoughts, and you didn't think to tell me?" he growled.
Crown Jewel raised an eyebrow. "Telling you would defeat the purpose now, wouldn't it?"
"Telling me would have let me know that my privacy was going to be invaded! Which I have a right to know!"
"Rights?" President Star snorted, "You're and unstable, vicious freak of science that if left to your own devices would eat everyone in this room."
"You think I asked for this?" Wolf roared, "You think I like being pushed to kill people by my own brain? That I enjoy people running in terror at the sight of my teeth?"
"No, of course not." The Emperor said placatingly, with a pointed glare at his colleagues. But either they didn't see the gesture, or ignored it.
"Well, you should have thought of all that stuff before you volunteered, huh?" President Star drawled mockingly.
"Vargas!" Primal hissed, but the damage was done.
"You think I volunteered for this?" Wolf barked furiously, "You think I willingly let myself be poked full of needles and have my teeth pulled out to make room for fangs? I was just some strong twelve-year-old boy they plucked off the streets! Every one of us was just some strong twelve-year-old boy they plucked of the streets!"
The Emperor raised his hands for silence. "Enough! That includes you Vargas!"
Wolf shut his mouth, glaring angrily at President Star.
The Emperor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Mechanic, did you detect any lies?"
Cinder shook her head. Her eyes were wide with shock at Wolf's outburst.
"Diplomat, did his thoughts match his words?"
Kai cast an uneasy look at Wolf, who was now glaring at him. "Yes, they did."
"Soul Blood? What of his emotions?"
Winter bowed her head. "Aside from the sudden burst of outrage just then, all I got was nerves and awkwardness. He has no intention of hurting anyone, despite President Star's insults."
The Emperor nodded in satisfaction and stood up from his chair. "Judging from that outburst, regardless of President Star's comments, I'd say you don't hold any fond feelings for the organisation known as the Lunars. Am I correct?"
Wolf nodded.
"Then here is my proposal. We give Ze'ev Kesley a trail run so we can properly start to understand his personality, without jumping to conclusions based on past affiliations and powers, by placing him under strict supervision of a Rampion. This Rampion will act as his guide around headquarters and will report back any suspicious activity or information Ze'ev might have revealed."
"I agree with this course of action." Said Crime Minister, "Wolf is strong, and we need to learn more about these soldiers."
"Or whatever other stuff the Lunars are hiding" General Thunder added.
Primal dipped his head. "I'm in agreement too."
"Well I for one think it's a terrible idea." Crown Jewel sniffed, "We already know this man is dangerous from the spectacle at trials."
"There's no telling what will push this guy over the edge." President Star said darkly.
The Emperor nodded sagely. "Those are valid points. But majority still rules, so we're still going through with the motion!" he added with a brilliant grin.
Fighting a smile, Kai stepped forward. "Emperor, I'd like to make a suggestion for Wolf's supervisor."
The Emperor tilted his head. "Who is it."
"Well, being able to fly would be handy for this kind of assignment, so how about Red Comet?"
A/N: Oooooh
Wolf's interrogation everyone! And Kai's powers in action! But the Lunars' deadline is drawing nearer, and they still haven't found a solution. Will the gang figure something out? Please review!
