Gundam Runners, ch. 3: Zechs Marquise/Milliardo Peacecraft
Warnings: Violence, multiple-personality disorder, heavy manipulation
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Zechs Marquise is a man of many faces; faces that he can slip on and off at will. He is a master of disguise, with a gift for interrogation. His ease with rules, functions, and etiquette make him the perfect Face operative; combined with his combat skills, he seems almost to be two completely different people.
Zechs was borne Milliardo Peacecraft, whose father was the central figurehead of a major Corp. When a rival Corp. assassinated his father, Milliardo (at the tender age of seven) was fostered into the wealthy Kushrenada family. He became fast friends with Treize, the sixteen-year old eldest son of Master and Lady Kushrenada. Despite the significant age difference, the boys discovered they had much in common, from their formal upbringing to their hatred of the Corporations. Milliardo hated them because it was to a Corp. he lost his father, and Treize hated them for the restrictions they imposed. The older boy harbored a deep fascination for the underground world of the Shadowrunners, and it was no large task to introduce the young Milliardo to the adventure and freedom this world held. By the time he turned sixteen, Milliardo was devoted to the cause of bringing the Corp. down.
Treize was delighted with his first recruit. Because of the training in formal etiquette Milliardo had received, and because of his talent with adopting different personas, it made sense to give him combat training and make him a Face. Milliardo became quite proficient in gleaning information from just about anything or anyone. However, he had one weakness. He was an empath.
Uncovered early into his career, this was almost a fatal discovery. During an infiltration, his identity was exposed and Milliardo had to fight his way out. He had the combat skills but little practice; he'd never before been caught. During the fight, Milliardo shattered the backbone of one of his attackers. A dam inside his head broke, and all of a sudden he was looking through the dying man's eyes, feeling what his opponent felt. He watched himself snap the man's neck before the overwhelming pain slammed his mind back to his own body; the incident left him broken. Half his mind was devastatingly grief-scarred from being inside the mind of a man he'd killed; horribly disgusted and terrified of what he'd done. The other half, the half that had killed the man, reveled in the adrenaline rush of battle. It was obvious to his wrecked mind that the two halves couldn't share one mind; because of his 'gift' he would never again be whole. To accommodate the sudden splitting of his psyche, Milliardo took on a second, permanent persona. Before he goes into battle and to bloodshed, he becomes Zechs Marquise. As Zechs, he wears a helmet mask; as if the Milliardo in him is still ashamed by the bloodlust. But Zechs is just as much a part of him as Milliardo; two halves of the same soul to deal with a war-torn world.
Warnings: Violence, multiple-personality disorder, heavy manipulation
******
Zechs Marquise is a man of many faces; faces that he can slip on and off at will. He is a master of disguise, with a gift for interrogation. His ease with rules, functions, and etiquette make him the perfect Face operative; combined with his combat skills, he seems almost to be two completely different people.
Zechs was borne Milliardo Peacecraft, whose father was the central figurehead of a major Corp. When a rival Corp. assassinated his father, Milliardo (at the tender age of seven) was fostered into the wealthy Kushrenada family. He became fast friends with Treize, the sixteen-year old eldest son of Master and Lady Kushrenada. Despite the significant age difference, the boys discovered they had much in common, from their formal upbringing to their hatred of the Corporations. Milliardo hated them because it was to a Corp. he lost his father, and Treize hated them for the restrictions they imposed. The older boy harbored a deep fascination for the underground world of the Shadowrunners, and it was no large task to introduce the young Milliardo to the adventure and freedom this world held. By the time he turned sixteen, Milliardo was devoted to the cause of bringing the Corp. down.
Treize was delighted with his first recruit. Because of the training in formal etiquette Milliardo had received, and because of his talent with adopting different personas, it made sense to give him combat training and make him a Face. Milliardo became quite proficient in gleaning information from just about anything or anyone. However, he had one weakness. He was an empath.
Uncovered early into his career, this was almost a fatal discovery. During an infiltration, his identity was exposed and Milliardo had to fight his way out. He had the combat skills but little practice; he'd never before been caught. During the fight, Milliardo shattered the backbone of one of his attackers. A dam inside his head broke, and all of a sudden he was looking through the dying man's eyes, feeling what his opponent felt. He watched himself snap the man's neck before the overwhelming pain slammed his mind back to his own body; the incident left him broken. Half his mind was devastatingly grief-scarred from being inside the mind of a man he'd killed; horribly disgusted and terrified of what he'd done. The other half, the half that had killed the man, reveled in the adrenaline rush of battle. It was obvious to his wrecked mind that the two halves couldn't share one mind; because of his 'gift' he would never again be whole. To accommodate the sudden splitting of his psyche, Milliardo took on a second, permanent persona. Before he goes into battle and to bloodshed, he becomes Zechs Marquise. As Zechs, he wears a helmet mask; as if the Milliardo in him is still ashamed by the bloodlust. But Zechs is just as much a part of him as Milliardo; two halves of the same soul to deal with a war-torn world.