"No." bluntly stated the leader of Girasol. "No fucking way in hell we're doing that!"
"Kyung-Soon, it's the only shot we have right now." Jim pleaded over the radio. He was irritated by the vampiress' refusal, but not as angry as Kyung-Soon was about his suggestion.
"The hell it is! Think of something better! Or, here's a thought: Shoot the bastards already! It's been a week and you haven't done nothin'! Your food drops didn't show, your troops aren't here, and we're still underground! Do you have any idea what it's like down here?! It ain't pleasant and we're sick of it."
"I have an idea..." the demon replied, allowing a hint of annoyance to seep into his tone. It was a good thing the woman couldn't see his face, as the expression he wore hinted at something violent. "Listen, I know it sucks. It sucks for you down there, it sucks for the people up there, and it's gonna suck for the whole bloody country if these bastards get their way! We have to try to weaken them first, Kyung-Soon! If we don't, they could freak the fuck out and even more people could die! I'm trying to help you, but we all have to work together on this!"
"They killed Baldassare!" Kyung-Soon shouted into the microphone, baring her fangs with a snarl. "You want me to try and help them?! You want me to try and negotiate with them?!"
"Yes, because that is your job. You, as the leader of Girasol have a duty to your people and your city. That is the task that Baldassare left to you." Jim reminded, realising the problem. Of course Girasol didn't want to negotiate. They were still sore, still wounded, and still recovering. Taking a deep breath, the man calmed his nerves and softened his tone. "I can only do so much from here, so I need your help, Kyung-Soon. I don't expect you to like it and I don't expect you to be best pals with them, either. What I'm asking is that we work together toward our shared goal, okay?"
Pausing, he changed the subject in order to divert the tension. "What's been happening over there? How are things looking?"
"'Weird' isn't strong enough, but it's the only word I can think of." Kyung-Soon replied, trying to push the scolding from her mind. She didn't want to think about the sort of job she was doing as the de facto leader of the resistance in Gehenna. She jumped at the opportunity to talk about something else. "A lot of their people have been gathering in one of the buildings on the outskirts of town day and night. No one else can get near it. They pull out their guns as soon as somebody tries. Nobody's died, yet from trying, but it is a concern. As for the rest of it… More of the same. They're still putting out their propaganda as news, and punish people who they know talk bad about the situation."
"So it's still a 'Big Brother' situation, then..."
"I don't know what that means." the vampire stated.
"It's from a book they made me read in school. It's called '1984' and it's about a dictatorship and how they control people. According to Ciel, a lot of the stuff used in there is used by actual fascists."
"That's not going to help us any..." Kyung-Soon began, only to be interrupted by Samantha.
"I've read that book!" the youngest of the Westley siblings butted in. "I recommended it to Baldassare a while ago and he liked it. In it, the party that rules the country controls what 'truth' is by rewriting it. In it, the main character struggles to keep track of which version of reality to believe: The one he is told is true, or the one he has seen to be true. From what you've said about how the leader of the bunch attacking us, I'd say that he's a fan."
"Why's that?" the vampire questioned.
"Because he controls his people the same way. He gained power by creating a problem and making the faoladh afraid of being wiped out, when really, it's his own fault. He continues to manipulate the truth so that they'll stay complacent and loyal. It looks like he's already started to work on us."
Pausing, Kyung-Soon looked down at the table. "So they're just kept stupid?" she asked. "If this continues, we might be stupid, too. We won't remember what came before, so we'll be less likely to rebel, and that's if they don't just settle for killing everybody who dares to remember."
"We need to break the cycle." Samantha stated, getting up and walking over to the radio. Pushing the button, she told the menace: "The propaganda is really dangerous, Mister Phantomhive. People are only seeing that their side is winning, not that we're working. Isn't it dangerous to let morale drop?"
"You're right..." the menace replied. "That you, Samantha? You're in luck, Kyung-Soon, Samantha is smart, like, genius-level smart. You don't have to do everything on your end on your own. There's useful assets everywhere."
The angry expression on Kyung-Soon's face dissolved in that moment. He was right, she couldn't do this by herself. There was no way she could. It wasn't because she was lacking, however. It wasn't because she wasn't strong enough or clever enough to lead, it was because a leader leads people so that their strengths are combined. Even Baldassare, despite how much she looked up to him and how perfect he seemed at times, relied on others. He even relied on her from time to time, so she knew that she was dependable.
"Okay." she began. "So how to we boost morale and weaken the enemy's faith in their leader? They have control of the printing press, so we can't hand out fliers. Even if we did, we would be caught. Posters get torn down, and spreading rumours effectively takes some skill."
"I think I might have one..." Jim stated. "You're gonna love it. It's a flashy middle finger to the enemy. I can probably have it going within a few hours. Tomorrow, at the absolute latest."
"Lay it on us, then."
It was a rather brutal idea. As soon as he got off the radio with Girasol, Jim relayed the plan to Integra quickly so he could get approval for it. Then, he started running. He ran to the Graphic Design department, who usually only handled making signs to design a flier for him. Not just any flier, though: propaganda. They were naturally on board with the excitement and carried out the specifications he needed. It was simple and had to look good in black and white, because the next phase of the plan involved the printers at the base going haywire. He printed those fliers to almost every printer in the building and had his friends and underlings start running, too.
Ciel, Elizabeth, Audrey, himself, and others who were on the case were running back and forth between offices and departments in order to round everything up. Next they moved into the really insane part of the plan. Rather, Ciel and Alois did. They made their way to the roof with boxes of the fliers in their arms. Just like he promised, Alois got things moving in a matter of hours.
His husband, however, although incredibly impressed with the headway he was making, was not entirely pleased about the situation. It wasn't that he thought that the plan was foolish or that Jim had made a mistake, somewhere. It came from himself.
"Jim, after we do this, I want you to do something for me." the Watchdog began as they continued to climb.
"Yeah?" the blonde answered. "What do you need? Anything new?"
"Try to sit for a moment and do nothing, please." Ciel stated, earning a confused look and a head tilt from his spouse.
"I don't- what? What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'll tell you, but before that, I must remind you that I am on your side and am fully supportive of your efforts. I am fully aware of just how important this operation is to you and why you are so focused, however- and I mean this with no disrespect- but you're starting to scare me a little."
"What?" gawked the menace. He smiled a bit at how ridiculous that statement was. "How so? It's just work. Is work scary?"
"It is when you don't leave the base for several days and I must remind you to change clothes every day." the Watchdog replied. "I heard about you doing this before, but unfortunately, I was kidnapped at the time and subsequently the cause of the behaviour, so I didn't get to see it firsthand. You're obsessed."
"I mean, who wouldn't be? When I think about what could be happening to those people, I want to work harder. The scale of it is… Huge. It's an entire city of people, with their own lives, families, and friends to worry about and if anything happens to just one of them, it's not insignificant. It's gonna be felt by somebody and people are going to be hurting. Like with Baldassare. It's my job to take care of them and they're depending on me, so I have to do it. Until they're out of danger, I'm on high alert."
"Right." Ciel nodded, agreeing with him. "I'm not asking that you stop trying or care less in any way. I want you to succeed. Those people absolutely do need you. Your work is important and for a lot of people, could mean the difference between life and death. I don't want you to just stop working arbitrarily. What has me concerned is actually that you aren't making yourself a priority amoungst all of this. You seem to be skipping some necessities in order to always be on top of everything. It's good to be on top of everything, but not at your expense."
"So what do you suggest, then? I just take a nap or something?"
"No. In fact, I don't think that would be a good idea. Knowing you, instead of sleeping, you would wind up focusing on the issue you've been pulled away from and how anxious that makes you. You'll start to feel like you're failing. After all, you've failed to fall asleep in the time alotted, even. No. Instead, what I want you to do is to take a take a few minutes every once in a while to do maintenance on yourself. Take a shower, change clothes, brush your teeth, all of that sort of thing, but also take a while to sit and reflect. Process everything, you know. It is easier to think when the pressure is not this constant, oppressive force that is looming over you and I believe that it will actually even improve your productivity. It is certainly best for your mental health..."
"Hmm..." the blonde hummed, obviously not very pleased with the suggestion, but lacked the argument to protest. He had been running almost nonstop for the past few days and indeed, he was starting to grow more agitated. The more aggressive he became, the less he became capable of doing what was required of him.
"Also, I… I'm just worried about you, if I'm entirely honest." Ciel confessed. "I love you, so I want you to be taken care of, but I also cannot ask you to sacrifice the things that are important to you… Though, also because it is my job, but mostly because I am your husband." Pausing, he looked over at his husband and smiled.
"You gave pretty good advice to Kyung-Soon, earlier." the bluenette said. "There are assets, everywhere. I know you want to be by the radio as soon as there are updates, but I can go get you or send someone for you in the event of that happening as soon as it does while you're performing maintenance. I'm not going to force you to continue if there are more pressing matters at hand. You've also given me pretty good advice about the dangers of overworking in the past…"
After a while, the menace finally let out a small chuckle. "So I'm a hypocrite, huh?"
"I wouldn't go that far… People just… Forget, sometimes."
"Our roles have reversed..."
"'Oh, Jimmy-darling, you should come to bed, already!'" Ciel teased, repeating the sort of thing the menace would say to him if he tried to do work on his business too late at night while doing a poor imitation of his husband's accent.
"Oh, my God, you..." Alois trailed off and shook his head with a smile, prompting the other to smile with him. "What is with you calling me 'Jimmy,' lately?"
"I'm not very good with pet names..." the bluenette stated. "I think it's cute..."
"Fine, fine… I'll try to do things your way..." relented the other with a roll of his eyes. "Just get me as soon as something happens, okay? And don't call me Jimmy in front of other people..."
"A definite affirmative on your first request, but as for the other one… I'll have to think about it, I'm afraid..."
Just as Alois scoffed at his beau again, they made it to the roof and whatever banter they were engaging in had to stop. It wasn't because it was unprofessional, but rather because it could hardly be heard over the sound of the helicopter propellers whipping the air. It was waiting for them to climb aboard. It was loud, but it wasn't frightening. The only time it became frightening was when it approached its destination and the people below could hear it.
The sound of the helicopter reached the ears of the citizens and invaders of Gehenna. It sparked a panic among the citizens, but the invaders stood in shock for a few moments before raising their weapons, ready to strike. Alois didn't mind, however. They could fire all they liked. If the copter went down, it didn't hurt his feelings any. He would just crash in Gehenna and carry on down there. It suited him just fine.
When he opened the door to the copter, however, he didn't leap out or draw any weapons. Instead, he grabbed his box and stuck his hand inside. "Ready, Pooch?"
Ciel opened the door on the opposite side before answering. "Ready."
"Fire at will!"
With that, the two began tossing fliers out, allowing them to gently fall to the ground for everyone to see. It was a somewhat grandiose gesture, but the situation called for some theatrics. The people who lived there needed to know that their lion had not forgotten them. Both them and Philosophers alike scrambled to get a hold of one of the documents so that they could see what they said.
"The First Supernatural City of Britain: Gehenna. Built by supernaturals for supernaturals so they can be supernaturals in safety and comfort." it had printed on one side with the Gehennan lion. "This isn't safe. This isn't comfortable. This isn't right. Down with the Philosophers! Join the Resistance!"
In between the last two words were the images of the white rook chess piece and a sunflower. To the invading group, they had no idea what those images meant, but combined with the image of the lion, those who had been in the city for a while understood perfectly. The Lion, HELLSING, and Girasol were working together and had forces within the city at that very moment. Right then, the worst thing that could ever happen to Feargus and his forces did. The people they were subjugating felt hope and knew there was a way out. At that very moment, the gears were already in motion.
"There's the drop!" one of the Girasol vampires said, pointing as they approached the wall opposite to the side that the Philosophers were meeting on. "Go, go, go!"
Yes, Jim's intention was to inspire hope, yes, but he had another objective that he needed to fulfill. He needed to distract the enemy's forces so that he could land another drop on the city. While his helicopter was flying over, so was a HELLSING drone carrying supplies. It took the craft multiple trips, but it manages to lower quite a bit of blood, food, and essentials for keeping warm inside the wall. Quickly, the Girasol agents loaded it all up and returned to their hideout while Jim still had the enemy's attention.
He definitely had it, especially with the other side of the flier, where it listed off important things to know about the invading forces! In a convenient, bullet-point list, he informed them who He talked about clones, he talked about Abhartach, he talked about Feargus was and why he was in power. He explained the faoladh can transform whenever they want and slipped in the little detail about how they could most likely procreate if they simply stayed in their wolf-form. He also pointed out how Feargus liked to lie. It was important information, yes, but while the first side was specifically targeted at Gehennans, the other was targeted at the faoladh. Needless to say, they were concerned.
It was only after Feargus himself showed his face that things started moving again. He had seen the papers flying from his seat in the commandeered police station and had to come out to investigate. Angrily, he began shouting and gesturing wildly.
"What are you all waiting for?!" he demanded. "Shoot at them! Shoot! Shoot!"
When the barrage of bullets began, the demons took that as their cue to leave. Both of their objectives were completed, for now. They would return to to base and listen for more news. They hoped that it sparked something, but all they could do for now was wait. As they left, all Feargus could do was fume.
After reading one of the fliers for himself, he snarled and skulked, shoving it towards one of his underlings before barking orders. "Pick them all up! Every last one of them! Take them away from everyone who has one and burn them! Don't even read them!"
"Yes, sir!" They all answered as they were supposed to, but many of them couldn't shake just how odd the situation was. While most of them followed the orders to a T, they didn't follow one of them. Many of them looked at the fliers out of curiosity, including the man's own daughter, Claire. The only difference between her and the others, however, was that she was the only one who doubted him from the start of the mission.
Her king told her that Feargus was lying to them. He told her how Feargus had hid the ability for female faoladh to reproduce so that he could usurp power, but didn't expect for HELLSING to know. She didn't know how they did, but somehow, it made it feel even more true. While she kept her guard up around both her king and her enemy, if both of them say it at once, what does that mean? Furthermore, HELLSING also brought them with the solution to the problem. The only thing was, she wasn't sure if it would work. The more she thought about it, the stranger things seemed, but also, the more they seemed to add up.
She not only looked at the flier and read it carefully, she folded one of them and held onto it. This was her first direct act of rebellion. Now whether or not she did anything beyond that, she had not decided yet. For now, she was just going to continue pretending that everything was fine until she analysed the situation more thoroughly. From this point on, she would take in everything her father told her with a healthy amount of skepticism.
"This is the most absurd thing they could have possibly done!" Her father ranted and raved at his subordinates in the commandeered police station. "What are they trying to do? Annoy us? What we must consider is this: why didn't they go on the offensive when they could have, hm? What I suspect is that they're trying to let the supernaturals do their dirtywork so they don't risk any of their own. If they maintain that they have everything under control, it undermines everything we say to them."
"That explains the bit about their 'resistance,' but what about the other side of the flier?" one of his underlings questioned. "Why would they try and educate them about faoladh?"
Pausing, the man looked over at the soldier with a sour expression. "Close your eyes." he instructed and when she did, he slapped her upside the head. "You weren't supposed to look." he reminded. "Soldiers follow orders and if you can't, then what good are you? Bad soldiers are expendable. You don't want to be expendable, do you?"
Claire had heard this all before. Women were required to be soldiers for their people and if they couldn't do that, they were worthless. They failed their purpose and they failed at life, so they could be tossed aside without another thought. At least, that is the idea that Feargus spouted and others parroted. Yes, the daughter of the Whelan family had heard all of this before, yet, it felt like she was hearing it for the very first time. She listened, taking in the same words in a new way. She understood him, but not in the way that she did before. Now, her doubt made her wonder about the validity of his claims and exactly how wise his instructions were.
"We need to know what they're planning in order to counter them properly." she replied, vouching for her comrade. "We keep the other side ignorant, not our own. Ignoring the enemy's actions and words and failing to think of them could result in them getting a jump on us and causing us to fail."
Blinking, the man looked over at his child with a rather puzzled expression. "What?" he gawked, wondering if he had heard her correctly. "Dear daughter, do you think that your father is a fool?"
"No."
"Then why do you question me?" he demanded. "You, who is the greatest of soldiers amoung your peers, should also be the most obedient. After all, what kind of soldier doubts their command? Your duty is not to ask questions, but to follow orders. Do you not love the faoladh?"
"I do, father. I do love the faoladh, even moreso than I do myself." the woman replied. "That is why we should take measures so that we always avoid unnecessary loss. The point of the mission is to gain troops and cause our overall forces to increase, not lose troops and cause our forces to decrease. We cannot fail the mission, father. His majesty will not be pleased."
Curiously, he watched her, searching for any signs of weakness or change. It was obvious that he was suspicious, but as she voiced her argument in a way that was not motivated by ethos and pathos, instead choosing to focus on the most logical train of thought that was beneficial to the overall cause, she could not be argued against. She had invoked their king. If he denied her, it would practically be an act of treason.
"I will overlook this, just this once." he said. "Don't do it again."
"I will do only what is beneficial to the faoladh and our liege, King Abhartach, Father." Claire answered. "I am single-mindedly devoted to the cause."
She did not agree or disagree with him, but spoke truthfully. Her words were not out of place and did nothing to cause concern amongst her peers. If anything, it only comforted them that she was able to speak on their behalf. Truly, it was an amazing feat, given Feargus' tendency to shut down any argument by twisting words or accusing the other person of being treasonous. Claire was emboldened by the knowledge that her king favoured her, although she was secretly terrified that her father would try his best at retribution. The bolder she became, the more dangerous she became, as she sought information beyond simply what she was told.
In secret, she would even discuss with her compatriots about the contents of the fliers. They, too, wondered what it all meant and if HELLSING was merely trying to trick them. She remained quiet about her conversation with Abhartach, however. She couldn't speak of it. If word got back to her father, disaster could befall her. She did know one thing for certain: Her father was destined to fail his mission and that whatever came afterward would be her own doing as leader of the collective clans of faoladh.
What would she do? The thought puzzled her, as she didn't believe there was a choice to begin with, yet the thought occurred to her. She is meant to control Gehenna on behalf of her king. What other option was there? Whether they lived or died in Gehenna was up to Abhartach's victory. Just like the illusion of choice, the thought of an alternate scenario popped into her head. "What if Abhartach failed?"
It was a horrible, horrible thought. It was blasphemous! Her king would not fail. He would win and England and the commonwealth would be his. She was sure of it. At least, she was, but with the revaluation that her father was not as truthful and dependable as she believed him to be caused that doubt to spread. Farroel didn't seem to fear Abhartach and while her view of her brother had changed, she still did not think badly of his character. What if Farroel was right? What if Abhartach was wrong? What if the worst-case scenario for them did happen and they were left to fend for themselves? There was no question of whether or not they could. If Britain broke the rest of the Philosophers, they would stand no chance. What would happen to her? What would happen to her people? Would they finally be gone for good?
Claire could not share these thoughts with her comrades, despite how much as their hearts had begun to sway as well. It would take time for them to realise what she had. It would also take time for her to know what to do with it all. Free will was such an immense burden to bear. Yet, she preferred her new situation of "knowing" rather than "not knowing." Although it meant that her situation was more serious than she thought, it also seemed more hopeful. It was difficult to know what to do with agency once she acquired it. For now, however, she would observe the situation and come up with her own thoughts. Either way, she wished to help the faoladh first and foremost. However was the best way to go about that, she did not know yet. Only time would tell. Unfortunately for Feargus, hope was the biggest threat to masters and free will is a difficult thing to destroy.
Alois knew this. That is why he pushed her and the others. It was a soft nudge, but a nudge, nontheless. That was why the fliers were double-sided. While it appeared that one side was meant for the enemies and the other his allies, he was targeting both at the same time. To Gehenna, he was giving them tools. To the Philosophers, he was giving them knowledge. He told them about their leader, but also presented them with an alternative suggestion.
"The First Supernatural City of Britain: Gehenna. Built by supernaturals for supernaturals so they can be supernaturals in safety and comfort. This isn't safe. This isn't comfortable. This isn't right. Down with the Philosophers! Join the Resistance!"
While he didn't expect them to be signing up for the resistance in droves, he did expect them to do one thing: Look at Gehenna more carefully. He wanted them to see what they were destroying and see what they were missing out on. The Phantomhive had presented them with an alternative option. They were not just choosing between Feargus, Abhartach, and death. He was offering them the chance to surrender, promising them freedom. Unlike Abhartach or Feargus, however, he had the intention and ability to fulfill that promise. One thing that Jim understood very well was that there is more to war than just fighting. He would negotiate first. Before that, however, he had to set them up so that they would feel more inclined to do so.
A/N: School has started, so I'm writing slower, but I'll keep keeping on... I might need to speed things, along, though. Otherwise, we won't get to the good stuff for a looooooooonggggg time!
What are you guys thinking of this bit? I know it's not usually the shootouts we're used to, but it makes more sense, to me.
I feel like we might get a bit light on dialogue in places, but we'll get there. I promise~! Ugh... I'm tired of teasing things... I just wanna do the thing!
...
I'm gonna do the thing.
Might take me another chapter or two, but I'm gonna do the thing... I wanna make you sweat it a little bit before I do, so hopefully, it'll still work if I hurry along?
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
