'Last time I was in the Andean Nation, you were still a child. Trying desperately to find your place in this wide world. Leon, Ian, and Peter had just left the house, leaving you as the man of the house. I imagined it wouldn't have been easy, but I know you can do it, John. Even at a young age, you knew how to use the brain, a trait I highly encourage.'
A high-pitched call from the river and Antoine snaps away from the journal, his reddish eyes scanning the waters, and soon spot the owner of the call. It's a little and incredible bright-blue bird. The kingfisher– if he recalls correctly, it makes another call before turning its attention on the waters from the branch it is sitting on. Didn't take long before the bird swoops into the river and returns to the branch with a fish in its beak. Not far away, a small herd of big rodents. No idea what they are called, only that Antoine mistook them for beavers with a dog built. His daemon, Sabrina, lifts her head, her slit, and unblinking eyes, watching the bird swallow the fish before going back to sunbathe on the branch she decided to curl herself around on. In a smooth move, Antoine pulls out his camera and takes a picture of the scene. He can't show this photogram to his family, but if he ever can share some time with them. Antoine figures the boys and his wife would appreciate the scenery he found himself in. With the camera back in his pocket, he too resumes his given task— his only source to speak with his family.
'I always thought Adonia would settle into a species of snake; your cunning often pointed in that direction. But Saffira told me it wasn't the case; he Settled into a lizard— a basilisk. And now I am back in an old frontier of the Church, one they both got a tight hold, and yet unable to tame those living inside the wild jungle. I find myself wondering if I had a hand in his form. The Andean Nation is so vastly different from your little world of New France— much more colorful, yet dangerous. I wish you and the other boys might one day see this place with your own eyes, see a seemly endless forest with rivers dotting the landscape. It's easy to get lost in the beauty, but like the concrete jungle that is your home, letting one's guard down, and you might end up mauled.
This jungle holds a lot of dangers. Some big as the jaguar; a spotted cat bigger than any dog, and as fearless as your mother. Others, small as a tiny frog, it comes in bright colors but carry a poison that can kill a herd of cows. People here live by the Church's belief, yet the jungle's vibrant colors seem to have inspired them. Even the local Magisterium soldiers come with more color than I'm used to. it feels like everything that comes in bright colors is what I should stay clear from— except the birds, the worst they can do is give me a headache.'
A new sound, this time a city person like him, recognizes. The sound of a truck, loud and breaks the former tranquility the river gave. The truck scared the animals, made them disappear back into the forest. Antoine can't see the truck but knows he will figure out where it is heading if he finds the route. Perhaps it will lead him to the target.
'Unfortunately, I am starting to see further invasion of the Church here in the jungle. The few tribal living out here might come to an end. It's a pity. Their way of life seemed to stem from the Natives of America. Something about viewing one's daemon sharpens a spiritual manner. We might all learn from this different view on the daemon, give ourselves time to figure out why our daemon took the shape they did. Perhaps, the jungle of Andean is calling for you. Or maybe the jungle's mystique is just messing with my head.'
Writing down the date under this text, Antoine closes his journal, which is one of his most precious items, as it was the only way he could "talk" to his family. Too bad he cannot share these thoughts with his sons— adopted or biological. Sadly, it's too risky. With the journal safety stashed inside his chest pocket, and the slouch hat he snatched from a local proper sat over his dark brown hair. Antoine lets his snake daemon get onto his arm instead of the branch, and he leaves the riverside. Back to the search for where the Alethiomist might be hiding. Moving to where he concluded the sound came from, he does not find anything but that direction. Antoine muse a curse under his breath. "out of all the time we split up, I happen to need his tracking skills." It's typical that he's so dependent on that unsophisticated Wildman and infuriating that he hasn't picked up enough from Lawrence to track down one loud truck. He can't, however, wait for the bushman to make his arrival. With the Resistance communications towers down and over half of the teams dead, even Lawrence would have trouble tracking him down.
"Can't waste time waiting." Antoine tells himself, and with his mind desperately tries to remember how to track something. He starts searching the area for anything that might clue him in on the truck's location— thus a step to a road that might lead him straight to wherever the Church has their main base of operation in this untamed jungle.
Sabrina slithers down his arm and midway in the air, she turns into a clouded leopard, her favorite form. "We're in a valley; perhaps what you heard was only an echo."
Antoine stops and looks around; it's not fully apparent; the jungle hides it rather well, but the river is moving relatively fast and in the distance, he can hear rushing water. A waterfall, perhaps? "Maybe," he replies his daemon and hates to even admit that he completely lacks the survival skills to orientate himself out in the wild. Put him in a city and Antoine can find even the most hidden person, but throw him into a forest, and very easily can get lost. Knowing this and this time not having Lawrence around to drag his cadaver back to civilization, Antoine does not dare go further in the search for the truck. If he loses sight of the river, he very well might write his will.
"Let's go back, won't find the route out here." he tells Sabrina, she nods and he goes back to the river, uses it to guide him back to civilization.
Very much like the Kingdom of Auister, the influence of the Church is strong here in the Andean Nations. Whatever the people of the jungle let that happen by their free will or was forced, that has been lost to history. Ever since he and Lawrence started standing side by side, Antoine begins to think about the past. Wondering about a time without the Church, but like places such as the Andean Nations, Antoine sometimes ponders if the Church has always been around since the rise of men. Sure, it wasn't going under the name Church, but from what Antoine has gathered; it was the same belief system these invaders held. How far back it was, he does not know. That old root of the Church seemed adamant to remove former belief systems, which is a shame. For all he knows, the ancient religion of the people in this continent might've granted him the long question Lawrence indirectly made him ask.
"You can't trim through history books." Sabrina, once again in her ladder snake form, reminds him. "We have to find the alethiomist."
Right, has to leave the past alone for now. Antoine passes some of the local Magisterium soldiers. Still, even without some sort of mask, they do not react to him. The Andean Nations natives have a tan skin color, and even those who are white would at some point turn tan thanks to practical summer weather all year around. So with him having a skin color that is most often mistaken for tan, he blends in rather nicely.
Right as the soldiers pass, Antoine pretends his interest got caught by some clothing at a nearby shop, but his ears are turned towards them. These two soldiers are, however, not in a chatty mood, so he moves on. Finds another standing guard at an embassy building— if people could call it that. The Church has very little patience for cultures removed from it, so in reality, the embassy is more to find and "convert" other religions, so it resembles the Church's.
Finding a good spot, Antoine puts the hat over his eyes and pretends to be asleep. He's too far from the embassy to awake suspicions, but he does not have to be near. Only close enough for Sabrina.
She slithers off his shoulder, and although it's uncomfortable when she does it, Antoine forces himself not to start fidgeting as she takes a new form. Not sure what it is, only that it makes him want to steal a piano and play on it.
that makes him realize. 'Last time I played the piano was during a mission with Kreel— No, it was after her death…' and the grief hits him hard, but he does not outwardly show his sorrow. Antoine wept for his friend and her team when they found what their fate had become. He was trained to keep his emotions under a tight lock, to be nothing but a tool. But after he befriended the bushman, Antoine did everything in his power to remove himself from his so-called teacher. It took years, but he managed to open the lock and allow himself to feel the whole wheel of emotions. It was hard in the start, and Antoine can imagine Lawrence found it infuriating, but the bushman's already stable emotions and rock-hard confidence in himself, that was a great help. After the death of Kreel and the others, it was too easy to go back to old habits, and once again, Lawrence gave him the needed push— by making him angry. That man had an infuriate talent to piss him off. But it helped him go through the grieving progress and as a final salute for them. Antoine broke into a theater where he started to play on the piano stationed in there. Through the music, he voiced his sorrow of having lost so many good friends, people who in each their way made him into the person he's today.
Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Antoine breathes out the grief that flared up from his thoughts. No tears are falling, but that does not mean he has finished crying for them. 'It won't bring them back, but disposing of the Alethiomist will at least ensure the safety of those who remain.'
That makes him wonder 'How many spies are left? am I perhaps the only one that remains?' he sure hopes not, for if that's the case, then it falls to him to train newcomers— to become the Elite Spy. 'God, I hope Shade is still alive. I got enough by worrying about my family.'' If Shade happened to be killed in action, then Antoine doubts he will be one of the candidates. He's still a First Mark, and only Second Mark members can be chosen as an Elite. But even if he was a candidate, Antoine doesn't want to be an Elite. He has seen what power does to certain people, and he… is one of those that thrive better under someone's command. If Shade got killed and there weren't any spies left, then Antoine guesses that is the end of the Spy class.
"I think I got something." Sabrina's voice, closely followed her snake form slither around his right arm. He does not move, there's no need at the moment. "Heard over their radio that someone higher-ups will pay the "Facility" a visit later today." That sounds like a clue. If it's the right one, that is the question. "Did you get a location?" he asks his daemon.
she turns her head over to a truck. "No, but I heard the higher officer wanted to add a few extra men for the inspection."
"All to look good for the higher-ups." He smirks and gets on his feet. Without looking suspicious, Antoine hurries back to his little hideout. It's a small summer home, currently empty as the owners have returned home so they can resume whatever work they got. Antoine had no issue picking the lock and making himself at home. Of course, he had to be careful when he got inside, never knowing if someone was watching over the house. But this place beats a hotel and saves Antoine precious money. Most likely, the only good thing about his earlier job as an assassin, it paid a hell of a lot more than being a resistance member, but he still wouldn't go back.
He slips inside through the back door, throws the hat and the west he snatched for this tourist disguise onto the nearby chair. "Check the intercom." He tells his daemon while pulling out his spy uniform; at first glance, it looks like a fancy suit, but this suit is lined with some sort of electromagnetic that will render the wearer close to invisible. Dell might have explained to him how it worked, but Antoine never bothered to learn. All he needed to know was what would break this invisibility cloak and how long the battery in the watch lasted— the object that caused the suit to turn invisible.
The cloak can be active for about an hour on a full charge, but this sort of device is delicate. Too much movement or soak the suit, and the cloak will start glitching. Fortunately, the weather today is dry, so Antoine won't have to worry about the water issue this cloak has.
Sabrina leaps onto the table where the long-ranged walkie-talkie he brought, her tail does a small flick. "Someone from the Resistance seems to be calling." She calls and takes a seat before the communication device.
"It better be the bushman." He replies to the clouded leopard, and with the suit on, Antoine walks over to the muted device. The last thing he needs is the neighborhood to hear the voices of the Resistance through the windows and heading to the living room, the place best sound protected. Antoine re-activates the sound.
"—Nomad Sniper calling, is anyone out there?" A familiar voice calls through the walkie-talkie, which puts a smile on Antoine's face. It means Lawrence is not far away.
"Spy here, it took you forever tracking me down." He responds dryly and wonders if it's because it was difficult for Lawrence or if his friend had to bury the team in Mexico. "You're losing your touch."
"Ah, bugger off, Spook./em Lawrence retorts back, but the hidden laugh didn't go unnoticed for Antoine em"Met some troubles on the way— and it would've been easier tracking you if you had called to Headquarters.
Got a legit excuse for that. "I tried, but all their comms are down." Antoine replies, but it wouldn't be the first time he "forgot" the tell Headquarters where he was going. Might be why they never trusted him to receive the Second Mark. An incoherent grumble from the walkie-talkie, Antoine is quick to ignore his partner's annoyance. He's interested to know if his warning had been worthwhile. "Did you find team 51?"
"Yeah," Lawrence replies quietly, and instantly Antoine dreads the worst. "They got hit pretty hard, but thanks to your warning, half the team survived."
That's good news, maybe now their bad losing streak is turning around. Antoine sure hopes so, but one never knows when it comes to wars such as theirs. Perhaps they are fighting a losing battle, that the Magisterium has made such a hard blow that Team Fortress cannot recover. Shaking those pessimistic thoughts aside. "Clearly, that team didn't keep you for so long." He drawls, they agreed he would go on ahead so Lawrence could quickly pay Dell a visit, but that should only have been a couple of hours, not days.
Lawrence didn't reply straight away, which caught Antoine's attention immediately. He's been working by that man's side for so long that he knows how to read him, even when the bushman isn't right before him. "What happened?" He demands, and Sabrina shows his dread by flicking with her tail and ears halfway down.
"Truckie's with me, now fully committed to the cause." His friend replies, but it's clear there's more to it. Dell wouldn't openly join without one hell of a good reason. "We'll explain when face to face. It's not safe over the radio. Yeah, it's always a risk talking over the intercom. They never truly know who might be listening. "Have you found the target?"
"Not yet." Antoine reluctantly admits, he loathes the fact that he cannot find a single building in this area. Antoine will acknowledge that he does have a love/hate relationship with the jungle. He likes it for sightseeing purposes and hates when it comes to missions. The only reason he went to this particular area; "But thanks to one of the miss's, I have a rough estimate where the target is located." The Elite has a group of women— none of them fighters, but all trained in infiltration and so far, not once has he been before one with lousy information. The one stationed in this area gave him the location of his target, but due to her not being a fighter, that miss could not reach this 'Facility.' At least Antoine got that little issue solved thanks to his own infiltration. "And I might have a clue to pinpoint the location; was about to check it when you called." He explains and quickly checks his watch's battery. It got almost a full charge, so he should be fine.
"Oh good." He blinks at how relieved Lawrence sounded; fortunately, his partner explains why he's glad about this annoying delay for the mission. "There's a change of plans. We need the target alive."
Oh? Antoine wonders why that's the case. Must be serious for such a choice. Forcing a loyalist to the Church working for the Resistance is a pain in the neck. "Then let's hope this person is a coward." he replies and thinks he's wasted enough time. He can't miss the ride. "Follow the Rio Guanare. I'll meet you in the town called Biscucuy."
"Alright." and Lawrence ends the call. Muting the walkie-talkie, Antoine activates the cloak and heads out to see if he can catch that ride.
Getting onto the truck was, in fact, the easy part; approaching without catching the attention of the five soon-to-be stationed soldiers was tricky. The cloak will hide him, but it isn't perfect, and if someone happens to stare in his direction, then the chances the person spots the slight shimmer are high. Good thing he's been doing this for a very long time and knows how to avoid detection. He sticks to the side of the truck, waits, and when sure the five new recruits are busy talking among one another, he climbs up in the back and settles down in the corner. About ten minutes, the soldiers get inside as well, and one of them throws his bag at Spy's spot. Fortunately, no one notices the quick glitching, and there are too many people for the daemon dogs to get his scent.
The drive at first is okay, he only has to listen to these soldiers joke around, and one of them brags he got laid last night. Spy rolled his eyes at that, but mainly as that remark made him recall he once had been like that. After an hour's drive, the soldier's talk did die down as they left the asphalt route and onto what feels like a track on a field. This part is uncomfortable at best and straight out painful for his behind at worst.
And when the truck finally stops, he is sore places Spy refuses to admit. The soldiers grab their stuff and from how they are moving, it looks like he's not the only one suffering. That does lighten his mood.
Spy carefully follows but quickly gets mixed feelings about having found the facility. It is big, much bigger than he anticipated, and has some uncanny resemblance to one he came to call Gates of Hell. 'Don't tell me they have continued those experiments.' It was such an immoral act, so much so that Spy wouldn't want that to his worst enemy. And that's saying a lot, considering he wants to throw that person onto a pike and watch him bleed out. What's worse, he can see machines that are made to detect the spy's cloaking device. Only high priority buildings have such machines, for these cloaking detectors require a lot of power and lots of maintains. 'Do they have this high security because of those horrid experiments, or is it for the Alethiomist's protection?' and he finds quite the irony if the latter is the case. An alethiometer is known as a truth device, difficult to decipher, but whoever can hold the utmost truth in their palms. The Church has banned and destroyed alethiometer due to this fact. Only they are allowed to have a person who can read the truth. For how else can they bend it, so it suits their views? He leaves the docking area, which fortunately was outside the range of the detector. With the jungle as his cover, Spy uncloaks himself and, with narrowed eyes, watches this building. He notices people that aren't dressed like a soldier or a doctor. They all look like ordinary people. a person dressed in a dark grey coat, a doctor, guides them inside one of the doors. 'If this place is like the other one. then those people won't leave alive… and if they do, they wish they were dead.' nothing he can do for these people; as it stands now, their fates are sealed by the Magisterium.
He spots a ticket inside and as quietly he can, Spy sneaks over to the patrolling guard, and the moment that person is out from the nearby camera's sight. He sheathes his knife and plunges it through the guard's throat but lets it stay there so the uniform won't get bloodstains. The guard is dead in a matter of seconds, Spy drags the body back into the jungle and swiftly replaces his uniform with the guard. Sabrina takes the same form the guard's daemon had, and Spy resumes the same patrol. Then, right as he passes the camera again, he walks over to the door the doctor took those people to. It's locked, but so far, it hasn't stopped this Spy from going places he's not allowed. Neither will this lock, he successfully picks it "child's play." he muses, for that was one of the easier locks. But right as he's about to enter this facility.
"A car is coming." Sabrina warns him, taking the form of a white wolf. Spy turns and is surprised to see a rather nice looking and not at all meant for this terrain car. "Must be the higher-ups the soldiers spoke about."
The car stops but instead of a higher officer, a slender, black-haired woman steps out of the vehicle. One Spy has seen before, and seeing this woman with the strange— almost glowing yellow eyes here, it spells trouble. He does not know the name of this woman, only the nickname Lawrence gave her; Crow. Due to the shape of her daemon. She's said to be the right-hand woman to the chief of the General Oblation Boards, which the Magisterium is part of. How a woman came to such a high status, Spy does not know. Only that she is considered more of a threat than even the Bishop of the Church, maybe more than her own boss. So seeing her here makes Spy instantly wary but knows that she is here for something important. And he's going to find out what it is.
He abandons the door, does leave it unlocked in case he needs a quick escape. Pulling the hat further down, he pretends to be part of the Crow's escort. She barely bothers them a glance, which is what he hoped for.
an elderly doctor approaches, first Spy mistakes him for having been experimented on by the dead eyes he got, then he notices a praying mantis on the man's shoulder. "Ah, welcome to our facility; it's a pleasure to see the chief is interested in our work." It seems this man's soul is alright but still left her human dead inside.
The Crow does not speak, only lights up a cigarette. The doctor hesitates, then with a smile that hides his uncertainty. "This way, I am sure you will find our progress most intriguing." She follows, and so does he and the other man, the doctor keeps babbling about how big of an honor this visit is, and it takes a lot out from Spy not to groan and roll his eyes.
"Spare me the pleasantries and show if the money was worthwhile." The Crow cuts the doctor off. She taps her cigarette, letting the ash fall to the spotless floor. "I don't care for trifle talk. All that matters is you proclaimed progress in intercision. Show me what you have claimed is true."
'Intercision? What's that?' Spy wonders. It can't be good if she's interested in it.
The doctor is flustered from the blunt and lack of politeness the Crow had, but not wanting to be viewed in a bad light. "oh yes, of course, this way, ma'am." And the doctor brings them to a section that looks like a prison disguised as hotel rooms. Spy find the design choice… unnerving. This whole place aims to make people feel safe while luring them into the lion's den. "It was tricky to find heretics in these parts— it's a good, of course." The doctor adds quickly, nervous he said something wrong. The Crow only takes a drag of her cigarette, her daemon staring unblinkingly at the man as Laraine would to people Lawrence felt unsure about.
Doubt that crow feels the same way.
The doctor clears his throat. "We had to ask for volunteers and search this dreadful jungle for the remnants of the past. And I am pleased to announce that converting the remnants has proven highly successful thanks to the gracious payment you sent our way. With it, we were able to enhance our tools." The doctor opens one of these doors, "Come over here." he calls, and a middle-aged man steps out from the room.
At first glance, this person looks fine. But the more Spy stares, the more he notices the wrongness of this man. The man's eyes are empty, as if there's nothing behind them. It soon becomes apparent why, for no matter how much he searches, Spy cannot see any sign of this man's daemon. Sabrina quietly steps behind him, like him, horrified of what has happened to this person. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time he has seen this terrible act, but unlike the last Gate of Hell, the people were aware of the loss— suffering and dying. This man does not seem aware of anything at all.
The doctor puts a hand on the man's shoulder, which the soul-less man barely reacts on. "This man, along with many others, have chosen to accept the truth of the Church." And turning to the man, "Don't you, my good man?"
The man nods. "God is the creator of all. the will of the Church is the will of God, I will obey as his loyal servant." He speaks monotone, as if he's merely reciting a script.
This freaks Spy out, while the Crow seems pleased. She throws the cigarette, which hits the other soldier. The soldier pretends that didn't happen, although his daemon's ears have flattened down in annoyance. The Crow didn't notice, too focused on the soul-less. "You will fight for our cause?" She asks the man.
"If it's God's will."
"It is indeed." Spy raises a brow slightly at the Crow's tone; she said it as if the whole god speech is a joke. That's strange when it comes to someone so high up the Church's food chain. "We need holy warriors to fight the impure which calls itself Team Fortress." As if they didn't have enough by fighting brainwashed soldiers, now the Magisterium is planning on using soul-less people.
"I do not know how to fight, but if it's in the Church's will, then I will fight for you." The man replies, still monotone and with no hint of hesitating. It's like nothing matters to him anymore.
"Good." the Crow smiles and eyes the doctor. "You will proceed with the Intercession, and I will speak with Grey if we can send you extra funds for this pleasing success."
The doctor lets out a breathe of relief, "Oh, thank you."
She eyes the soul-less man. "Where is the daemon?"
"In safe storage. We're using the daemon to see when we lose the converted."
"Any side effects?"
The doctor waves his hand dismissal, "Only the state of the daemon, but as the converted don't need them, I see no need to fix it."
The Crow does not argue against this lack of concern for someone's daemon. It angers Spy that these two people sound like they are talking about trash and not a person's soul. Glancing, Spy can see that this talk does disturb the other soldier, but he won't voice these thoughts. Afraid he might end up like that man before them. The Crow picks up another cigarette. "Now, I want to meet your honored guest."
"Of course." The doctor shushes the soul-less back into his room and starts walking again. "I must warn you, though, this person is… she's not loyal, and well… best you keep any kind of fire away." This catches the Crow's attention. Her glowing yellow eyes seem more intense, even though her expression stays the same. Spy is also curious about this person, wondering if it's the alethiomist the doctor spoke about.
They leave the prison area. Spy steals a quick look inside one of the rooms, spotting another person sitting there, but as it stands now; there's nothing he can do for them.
He follows them over to another section, where he notices a lot more fire extinguishers around, and for a good reason. There are signs a fire has been burning. The doctor opens a metal door, "This way." the Crow walks inside, and the doctor tells Spy and the other soldier, "Be on your guard, and if she tries anything; you know what to do." before letting them inside.
Spy is not sure what he expected, but diffidently not this. Sitting inside an almost empty room, only a metal table and three chairs are in here. In the corner, a tan-skinned and quite muscular person with short messy dark-brown hair. The clothing is torn, but that's not what took him off guard. This person is covered in scars, some are from cuts and stitches, but most are burn scars. The right arm is covered in them, going all the way up to the shoulder. The doctor clears his throat, making the person turn to look at them. This person has amber eyes, another burn scar over the left side of the jaw, but when this person gets up and if the doctor hadn't said 'she,' Spy could've easily mistaken this person for male. She's flat-chested, and although she has enough meat around the hips, the muscular built, and the scars hid the feminine traits quite well. Besides her, a large otter, and he is NOT happy to see the doctor from how he starts baring his teeth. The doctor points at the table. "Sit." This scarred woman does not move, only that she starts smiling, a very innocent smile.
"I smell cigarette. Is the visitor a smoker? Do you have a lighter, or maybe tiny matches?" The woman asks in a close to sing-song voice. It takes Spy by surprise how husky it is, this woman titles her head, still smiling innocently, but it only freaks Spy out as he has seen what she will do if getting her hand on a lighter. Not to mention her daemon's aggression reveals her true intentions. "Would you like to share? I hear good things will come for those who share."
"Talkative, aren't you?" The Crow remarks intrigued. Spy is not sure as to why. Had she expected this scarred woman to be a quiet one? "Tell me about yourself, and maybe I will let you have my lighter."
The person giggles with a wide smile, "Who am I? Haven't they said?" She puts her hands behind her back and poses the right leg slightly behind the other, making her almost look like an innocent child introducing themself. "I am the hellhound of this place; fire is my only friend, and if you give me the lighter." Her eyes intensify like a house fire that's introduced to the air outside. She turns her gaze to the doctor, the smile now sinister. "I can light this place, make it warm and color the walls red. Oh, and of course, I can't forget the good doctor. I got a parting gift that's worth dying for." She steps over to him, the doctor makes a sign, and the soldier pulls out some sort of baton. Spy follows, for this woman freaks him out. whatever they did to this woman, it has made her unhinged but fearless and thus dangerous, for she does not stop even she's threatened to one hell of a beating. "I'm still debating. Maybe you can help? Would you like your chest opened up by the fire ax out on the hall or maybe burned your face off? Both sound good, don't you think?"
Understandable, the doctor does not want either of these things. "One more step, and you will be punished! So get over to your seat and behave!"
She only laughs at this threat. "Oh, have you forgotten? I am from hell; punishment is what I do!" Her daemon starts acting weird, his whole body makes a strange shimmer, but right there, the doctor waves his hand at them, and the soldier runs over where he starts hitting her with the baton. Spy has to do the same, and when she's beaten bloody. The soldier drags her over to the chair, where he puts a chain over her hands. She shakes her head, making some of the blood fly off, but this woman does not seem much bothered by the beating. Spy figures she gets those daily and has become numb to them.
"Now you know who I am. So," The woman proclaiming to be from hell smiles to the Crow. "can I get the lighter?"
The Crow takes a seat on the other side of the table. She lights yet another cigarette and makes the wise choice in returning the lighter into her bag. The woman looks quite disappointed by this but quickly shrugs with, "Oh well, maybe next time."
"Quiet!" The doctor snaps and hits her over the head. The woman takes a moment to recover from that one. "Be grateful you're still alive. Now, condemn yourself."
"What if I like to go to hell?" She retorts back, again in a sing-song voice.
The doctor makes a move to hit her again, but the Crow stops him with a single-hand move. "Show me." Annoyed, he does as told. Out from a pocket, the doctor retrieves a hand-sized golden object. He opens it before the fire happy woman, revealing a very strange compass. Instead of showing the four corners of the world, it got small symbols surrounding the edge of the device. It has four pins, one large and three small. This is the alethiometer, the truth device, the golden compass. Which makes that woman the alethiomist. Quite a surprise, Spy expected an old pencil pusher— like the last one. A person who would spend days with nose in a book, trying to figure out what the alethiometer was trying to say. The former reader was a Church loyalist, and although he was a threat, he was a slow reader, never left such devastation as this new reader apparently did. Back then, the teams were safe as long they always were on the move and never made long planning assaults.
"Tell me, which group of the rebels causes most trouble by now?" The Crow asks.
"This question is getting tedious." The woman complains. She moves to lie on the table like a bored child. "Can't you ask other questions? Like 'do the cut people miss their daemon?', or maybe 'will the Boto be—'"
"No," the Crow cuts the scarred woman's sentence, "Ask it the question. Or face the consequences."
"Like take my family away? Kill me? Cut my daemon away?" the woman asks, clearly already heard those before. Spy is not sure why she's so nonchalant about it. She does answer this unsaid question. "I've already killed mother; that's how I got this pretty mark." She lifts her badly scarred right arm. "And father," She glances to the doctor, Spy's heart sinks at what she hinted at. "he will soon follow."
The doctor shifts on his feet, "She uh… won't be able to read the device without a daemon." The otter daemon does a toothy smirk and slides under his human's chair, staring devilishly at the doctor.
The Crow nods slowly and turns to the woman. "Fortunately, I have dealt with people such as you. If death does not scare you, then for the rest of your days, torture will shatter your already unhinged mind. when my men are done, you won't know your own daemon." She learns calmly towards the burnt woman. "Is that what you want?"
Silence
The large otter looks up to her, making a small whining sound. A sigh and the woman picks up the alethiometer. She moves the three smaller needles. Spy learns slowly over, giving him just enough view to see the woman move the first needle to an angel, the second to the horse, and the third on the helmet. With all three needles in place, the fourth begins to move. Her daemon leaves his spot and gets on his hind legs, giving him a clear view of the alethiometer. Spy notices that the large otter goes into a strange focus, and the woman sits in a sort of trance. She only breaks out from this trance when her daemon breaks his focus from the device and slides back under the chair. To Spy's shock, "A team located in Oxford is searching for kidnapped children. Their leader is a ferocious man, and with his leadership, this group will find and get the children out from the scientists' clutches."
She translates the device's message like second nature. Somehow she— through her daemon, can read the alethiometer's message without any issue. That explains why none of the teams could counter these attacks, for how can they when this woman could figure out their plans in a matter of minutes?
The mission suddenly feels a lot harder now that he knows who the reader is. 'How in god's name am I supposed to get this woman to join us? She fears nothing, and I dread what she's capable of if she gets her hands on a lighter.'
The Crow seems surprised by this revelation as well. "Interesting. You can read it without books. How's that possible?"
The scarred woman shrugs but does say, "Maybe it's the pretty mist people. They are kinda stuck-up, but better conversation than you rotten lot." but that didn't make much sense at all. Spy figures that this surface insanity is what gave her the ability, but he could be wrong.
"I accidentally noticed this ability when she started to play with my antique alethiometer." The doctor replies, puffing his chest up in pride. "Seems reasonable to make that her life mission." The woman's daemon sneers at him, and she stares at him like a cat about to kill a bird.
The Crow learns back in her chair, not giving a darn in what is going on between the two. "A new question then," The woman eyes her. "does any danger awaits this facility?" Spy tense up, well aware that he, Lawrence, and Dell are a threat to this place. He wants to shoot the woman, stop her from turning the pins to the hourglass, sword, and snake, but knows he will reveal himself if he does and they need her.
Like before, the daemon reads, and she translates through the bond daemon share with their human. This time, however, it takes longer than before. Spy notices that the otter turns his head enough to look at him, sign the woman is aware of him. Spy slowly reaches for his gun, but then, the otter pretends to be more interested in the floor. The woman slowly puts the alethiometer down. "Yes," Spy gets hold of the gun, the woman eyes the Crow, for once serious. "I will get free and burn this whole place to the ground, because of a fault in your maintenance."
She then turns the three pins to helmet, ant, and bird. The otter turns back, and after a moment, she speaks again. "No one currently here can stop it," She smirks up to the now nervous doctor and the quiet watching Crow. "This is the last time I read the truth for you. After this disaster, the fire will be given, and the hellhound is free."
Stunned by what just have happened, Spy lets go of his gun and review the words she said. She could've been lying, but something tells him that this woman only withholds some of the truth. She knows he's here, maybe so far, knowing he needs her ability to read the truth device. Not sure about the machine part, but when this meeting is over, he has every intention to investigate the rest of this place. 'That last part, "the fire will be given, and the hellhound is free," does that mean I can gain her trust by handing over my lighter?' She did mention good things would come to those who gave her such a thing.
The Crow gets up, a scowl on her face. "Make sure this won't happen." She commands the doctor and eyeing the now grinning scarred woman, "You will stay and be our tool for as long as you live."
"You will all burn~" The woman sing-song and continue to do so as they leave the room. Right before the door closes, Sabrina blocks it with her body, keeping it from locking up, and Spy pretends to be guarding the door and the singing/laughing woman. The others didn't take notice, the doctor busier making all kinds of apologies, the Crow enraged about the impending danger, and the soldier… well, he's too freaked out to pay his surrounding much mind. When sure they are gone, Spy opens the door again, making the still chained woman look up. She grins to him, "Will you do the sharing?"
He hesitates but figures it's best to be on this woman's good side. He slides his lighter over to her, the otter grabs it and smugly keeps it in his mouth. "How much do you know?" He asks her.
"That you and your friends are my ticket out from here." She replies cheerfully. "That you need my ability to find someone important. But if you want me dead afterward, I do not know." Still smiling disturbingly innocently, she asks him. "Do you want to kill me when I no longer are of use?"
A part of him screams yes! while Sabrina words, he will say; "Depends, if you can play nice." And with those words, he leaves. Has to find this machine she spoke about and get a mapping about this area so they won't be running around blindly when the attacks happen. If that woman is going to be a problem, only time will tell, but no matter the case. Spy will have his revolver ready. People like her, fearless, unhinged, and with no personal strings; they are incredibly dangerous. He should know; someone like her trained, molded him into a killer.
So far, this chapter is by far the one that needed the most changes. Had to rewrite the whole thing, but I think it came out better than the last time. There are a lot of changes, a few such Spy as he's more open about his relationship with his family. The scarred woman's personality is sort of the same, but after I made a proper background story, a lot of changes needed to happen. She's less quiet and ready to blow at little warning, now she is open to what's going on inside her head, unafraid to show how deadly she can be if given the chance.
I changed the meeting between her and Spy. Instead of being reluctant and persuaded, she knows Spy and the two others' goals and decides they cannot be worse than getting tortured daily.