Mmkay. Yup. Yes. Mhm. Yeah. It's here. Finally. After a week. It's actually on time oh my gods. XD Yeah, I'm surprised too. SO. Anyway, uh, I'm out of things to say just...OH YEAH. Each OC will get one chapter centered around themselves in a third person standing point during the two year gap. If you would like a specific scenario, do PM me. If your OC has not appeared yet, that is because their chapter will be centered around their appearance, as I need to introduce them properly. If you feel that I need to do something specific with their personality or introduction, again, PM me. And if your OC is in this story, feel free to choose something bizarre. Just not lemony or something like that ^-^' I've got some special treats planned for ya'll, so stay tuned for the two year gap. This includes guest chapters that will be in first person.
All things said, let's continue!~
Chapter 19: CSI
It took a while, but we finally got the Grimleal cultist—Stand Man—gagged and bound in a very convenient interrogation room at the Plegian fort that was near an oasis that we had captured prior to this being documented. It was much like a modern one; a one-way mirror separating two rooms, enchanted to bring sound from the culprit's room into the room that looked through the glass, while keeping sound from the investigators' room from passing through and instilling a sense of fear with the fading concrete brick walls. Enchanted because this type of technology did not exist—this was the explanation Robin gave me.
The Grimleal cultist—obviously the culprit—sat defiantly, refusing to speak as Robin walked in through the hidden door. The rest of us: Rei, Noah, Frederick, Chrom and I, watched. I leaned on the desk parallel to the mirror, hands splayed across it, using my self-taught CSI/Game Theory/whatever the fuck this is skills to try and analyze the culprit's movements. It would take a simple glance at his eyes to know if he were telling the truth, and a peek at his facial tics to tell if he were lying or not. Covering of the nose or ears, or nose scrunches were normally clear indicators—that is called the Pinocchio Effect; an increase of temperature around the nose which causes the person to cover the area to stop the tingling feeling. Eyes drifting to the left would show that he is lying, as he is right handed, excluding the bottom left, as that indicates they are not lying about that specific thing. His eyes would drift to the bottom right.
Minus all those facts, I had been making progress with "Smash Run" training with Aquarius and had developed the ability to read emotions. It was kind of weird, to be honest. It was like looking into their soul, but not really. Just staring at their face and connecting the dots.
Behind me stood Noah, evaluating the situation from afar with a bored, but sharp gaze. Frederick was standing nearby in his usual manner; solid and unmovable with his hands clasped behind his back. Chrom was slightly in front of Frederick, on the knight's left side, arms crossed firmly over his chest, a slight frown on his face. Rei looked extremely bored, trying her best to be serious, and was doing surprisingly well. I had apparently called it too soon, as she walked over to Noah and began to tug on his cloak. The assassin was unfazed. That of which took a great deal of skill. This is Rei we're talking about.
"What are you going to do?" The Grimleal cultist smirked. "Torture me? I would gladly die for Lord Grima!" His defiant glare became manic as his eyes widened and his pupils contracted.
Robin chuckled to himself opening his tome and reading it like a crime report. "Oh, we're not going to torture you….Physically." He paced back and forth menacingly. I peered closer and saw that the man's face was slightly pale. This would be an easy nut to crack.
"I shall not talk!" he screeched, planting his feet firmly on the ground underneath the oak table he sat at.
"You'll sing like a bird when we're done with you." Robin slammed his book onto the table and turned to face the glass, smiling evilly. "Bring in the Rei."
"Who?" Rei stopped tugging on Noah's sleeve like a creep and smirked just as evilly, walking into the room as Robin left. The man looked bored by her entrance, losing the questioning look he had had seconds before. Of course, he didn't know Rei and obviously underestimated her. It's not a hard thing to do when she's 4'10" and blonde. Not saying blondes are dumb, that is just the overall impression she gives.
"…Is this the guy I'm annoying to death? He looks rather…" She looked at the mirror and then realized that she couldn't see us. "…Meh, whatever. Mr. Grimleal! Do you like waffles?"
The Grimleal cultist was unamused, and most certainly not nearing insanity. Well, the kind that spilled all the details; the kind he didn't have. A few moments passed and he began to grin like maniac. "You will be bent over, tied to my bed so that I may create more food for Lord Grima!"
Rei shook her head, pouting at the prospect of being ignored. "Hey…You didn't answer my question! DO YOU LIKE WAFFLES?!"
The man deadpanned in response. "Only if I am eating them off of your naked body while I strike you with leather whip embedded with glass." If anything, I noticed the fear be instilled in Rei, rather than the cultist. She easily hid it, as it was my power that told me she felt this way, and not a traitorous emotion.
Rei nodded firmly, leaning against the table for support. "Now that question is outta the way…DO YOU LIKE PANCAKES?!" A collective sigh came from the observation room; this was very painful for us all to watch.
"Same answer, replace waffles with pancakes." The Grimleal was becoming impatient, I could see it, but he also hid it rather well.
"…Do you like French toast?"
Robin facepalmed, the smack loud in the bouncy room, and leaving a nice red mark on his face. "THIS is the best we have?"
"Same answer, replace baked goods." Grimleal said. "Just assume, bitch!"
"You're not very nice…" If Rei were a cat, her ears would have flattened and her eyes would've gotten all glossy. That was what her tone said anyway.
"Well…" I started, embarrassed and fearful for my best friend. "Rei is supposed to be the best. Libra rules over inner balance and judgement, so…" Despite her crazy antics, Rei was actually really smart and good at this stuff. I know she comes off as crazy, but she was in all the possible AP classes back home. She also shouldered flute, softball and violin, and that added to her GPA with more hundred averages. She wasn't a refined genius, but she did have intellectual worth and anyone who says otherwise will face me.
Noah sighed loudly, drawing everyone's attention and shaking his head. "…Geez… You guys aren't even doing this right…"
"We're trying the mental approach first. It's a tactic often used on CSI." Or something like that. I really only watched Cold Case, but whatever. They don't need to know that.
"This guy is either too stubborn, or too stupid for the mental approach." While his rationale was indispensable, I enjoyed watching the show and really didn't care whether or not the cultist cracked, as long as I got a chance to be all badass. Um, it's boring around here, all right? And I've totally wanted to do something like this since forever. It's probably what I would've done for living at home if...well I were home. But we all know we're never going back. We've made our mark on this world, and we need to stay here now so things go right. That's our job. We're guardians now. And our decisions become less and less ours...
"…and that is how loudly I think you will scream," we heard the latter half of what the cultist said. It must've been bad because Rei seemed to be having a mental breakdown. Still, being the best liar in the history of the universe, she played it off rather well. She had the most elaborate lies. I never believe her when she does, and just question her on it. She apparently takes this as me being gullible and not investigative. Hah. I'm not gullible. Right? ...Right?!
"Ohhh!~ Screaming? I love screaming!" She sang. "Especially when everyone's screaming 'cause they're dying 'cause of me!" Now this was completely true. And terrifying, but mostly true. We've plotted the murder of many, many people many, many times. We never went through with it, but she came up with the most bizarre and far-fetched scenarios that actually worked. There was this one time—Erm, right. Never mind.
Another evil grin spread across the cultist's face. "You will be doing the screaming when I—"
Noah interrupted by sticking his head into the room to save all of our already dirty minds. "Trying to keep a PG-13 rating Mr. Grimleal." The Grimleal simply glared at him until he went back to his original spot.
Rei frowned, bringing out her Long Island accent. "C'mon, Grim-Grim! Talk to me! There's gotta be something you can share with us!" As much as I hated when she used her accent because it annoyed the crap out of me—I don't have one for some reason, so I can say it's annoying—it was funny in this one moment. The Grimleal gave her a hilarious "what the fuck" expression, raising a brow. When she didn't say anything else, he continued.
"At the end of our plot, all of the males will be dead, and all the females will be bred," the Grimleal said. This plan was becoming more and more disturbing as we went on. To be honest, the offensive things didn't scare me, but the fact that innocents were being dragged into this...It was horrible.
Rei tilted her head, pretending to be oblivious of his motives. "Oh, so you want to be Pokemon Masters?" Typical Rei. Finding comedy in the most disturbing and serious speeches. I guess that was a talent of hers; she always tries her best to amuse everyone. Huh, maybe that's why we're friends. Yes. I have always been debating that since the day we met.
"What the hell is Pokemon—?" The Grimleal sighed. "Never mind. You will be bred so that all your children will be fed to the dragon." So you're going to force children to be brought into this word only to inexplicably and inexorably face death? That's...No. Forgiveness. Always offer forgiveness. Murdering him now would only make you just as bad of a monster.
"…DO YOU WANNA BE A MASTER?!" Rei yelled.
"What in the flying fuck is that supposed to mean? I AM your master!"
"…" Rei cleared her throat. "DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS TO BE—"
The Grimleal sneered. "Untie me, take off your clothes, and find out."
"Hm…" Rei pulled out the chair on the other side of the table forcefully, and sat down. She took a pen from the table and clicked it repeatedly as she thought of her next tactic. "It seems this song is not torturous enough." She smiled evilly and began to sing the devil's J-Pop. Think for a minute, I am sure you will figure out who sings this song and why it is the devil's J-Pop.
"You are singing Grima's anthem!" Grimleal man say what? I was only kidding before, but this is actually your god's anthem? Geez, no wonder he's the fell dragon, he listens to this fell stuff. "'I will eat babies, babies, babies OH!'" Rei abruptly stood and slammed her hands on the table.
"GODS. SHUT UP. I'M SUPPOSED TO BE PISSING YOU OFF! GODS!" I can't believe it. Rei has reached her limit. She never does, and that makes this a bad sign. Just how stubborn is this guy? We're threatening his life, there's no time for "heroics," so he should just spill.
The Grimleal shook his head. "You are, but really, you are only making things worse for yourself when our roles are reversed." He seemed to really push this idea of him being successful. It'd nice if he'd just shut up about it already. Honestly, we don't give a fuck about how hard you'll bang her. So just stop.
Rei took up a herp derp expression and turned away, muttering, "…Welp. I tried. Who needs math for things in life anyway…" and then left. How math related to this subject, I'll never know.
Robin sighed, tapping his pile of papers on the desk. "Who else can we send?" Now that is a question we all want answered. I sort of want to, because—if I get started, the fangirling won't stop—I'm a CSI nerd.
"Well, maybe I could try…" I downplayed my excitement. "I've dealt with Rei, certainly this guy isn't that bad."
"I think that girls aren't the best people to be interrogating him," Noah piped up. Well, you sexist li—"I am not being sexist, I am just saying his retorts are sexual in nature..." There is some truth in that statement, I suppose…
Letting out a huff in annoyance, I let it go. That was logical, and I should abide by it. "…Meh. I've heard worse…Why don't we just both go in at once?"
"Because your presence will only stir him up." Stir him up? I don't care. I want to do something. ...Well, I guess I'm not going to win this one. That was logical, as stated before. I would just make everything worse.
"Fine. You go." I forcefully pulled out a chair from the desk on our side and sat down, pissed. "…But if you fail, I'm going in." Hey, I'm not going down that easily. I still want some form of action against evil.
"Be back in two minutes tops," was all he said as he entered the room.
By this point in time, Chrom and Frederick had left for some meeting. I really don't remember, but it apparently had happened because Robin said so. I guess I was just too focused on this to notice. Speaking of being focused on this, the cultist started speaking again.
"Do you want to hear exactly how you will be eaten?" Grim asked.
Noah instantly retorted. "You wanna hear about how you are going to die?"
"I am not afraid of death!"
"I know you are. Your threats against Rei are dependent on a future where you are on top. If you die here, that will never happen."
"Stupid geniuses. …I-I totally thought of that!" I said mentally.
"No, you didn't. This mortal is certainly more worthy of my presence."
"B-but Aquarius!"
"…Unfortunately, he does not have a matching element for his sign. And you're going to be in some form of power. And I'll need that."
"What…?"
"You need to make big decisions as my Host. This makes things easier."
"I-I don't care!" the Grimleal cultist stammered, pulling me back into reality. It seemed as if he had cracked even more, albeit slightly.
"I will first chop off your legs, then pull out your fractured femurs. I will use those to crucify you. Fun fact: When you are crucified, you are struggling to catch your breath the entire time. I will just let you hang there and watch as you die of suffocation." Since when did he become an expert on crucifixion? I'm sort of scared of what he does in his free time now. Does he crucify people or something? Has he been crucified? ...No, he wouldn't be here then.
"Y-you don't scare me!"
"Really? Then I know you are lying. What is that dark wet spot on the front of your pants?" Noah said. And he was indeed right. The Grimleal cultist had wet himself.
"Eep!"
"If you don't tell everything to Erin, I am coming back with a cross."
As he left the room, I was still contemplating that sentence. He was going to what? H-he's not actually going to crucify him, is he? I mean, that's hardcore. …And terrifying.
Robin nodded his approval and thanks. "That seems to have shaken him up. Mind games should work now."
"You're welcome."
"Ah, yes. Thank, lord and savior…" I sighed and entered the room. Unfortunately, the Grimleal cultist seemed to calm down quite a bit. Great. Hoping to, uh, I dunno, intimidate him, I slammed my hands down on the desk. "Okay, bitch. Tell us everything you know!"
"Why?"
"You see, wouldn't it please your Master Grima to know that you have a good idea of your mission?"
"I know he know that I know what my mission is. You can't fool me."
"Hm…"
"I can see your bloody and broken body tied to my bed right now."
"Well, considering your condition, that isn't very likely. Now…lovely day for an ambush, isn't it?"
"Yes. It is." He reached forward with now-free hands. Gods, how could I have been so stupid? This guy was clearly of the assassin class. Yes, yes, all of you, I sense your facepalms. 'Tis not like those binds were chains.
I jumped back instinctively and yelled, "ROBIN!" And that was all I remembered as I was clubbed on the back of the head with one of the chairs.
By the time I had come to, the room was clear of everyone but Noah. "You all right?" he asked. "He manage to knock you out before I got in here."
"Oww…." Finally realizing the pain, I rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah, I'll live."
"Our job is done here."
"Mmkay. He got away? Or…"
"He told everything."
"All right. What's to come?"
"I want to tell everyone." With that he stepped away, and strapped up against the wall was Grim-Grim. Well, strapped is an understatement. He was crucified just as Noah described.
"Well." No man deserves to die like that. I realize that I shouldn't be hopping on the depressed as fuck, but peace searching train, but it's true. This is what I truly believe. I'm not trying to be noble, I'm trying to be me and do what's right. I know not killing anyone is a moral dilemma that only ends in a loop, but…Heh, I need to stop. Focus on the task at hand, Erin. "At least he died a Jew…Erm…"
"I am a man of my word. C'mon." Noah gestured for me to follow and left the room.
I did, saying, "Right, right…To the tactics room then!"
The tactics room was a bastardized party room. The walls were lined with bottles of booze, ale and wine—quite possibly why the Grimleal all acted like they were drunk. It made sense that this was the room—tactics meetings were stressful. Being one of the only people who didn't indulge in the drinks, I was the "designated driver" and had to make sure everyone went to bed. Needless to say, I was ready to take a nice bottle of Feroxi firewine, chug it, and hopefully die after I dealt with them last time. Hopefully, I won't have to deal with this again.
So sitting at our miniature Round Table, we commenced the stress inducing meeting.
"Basically, the Grimleal told us what we already know." And you needed to share this because? "Emm is being held by Gangrel, and plans to execute her in public within the month. He did tell me something else interesting though." You just said that he basically told us what we already know…Geez. Next time say, "I learned only one thing," or something. "Three locations of breeding camps to swell the number of livestock for Grima's consumption. It appears Phila and her Pegasus Knights are in one of these."
"Hm…I thought they were—That they'd be locked in the capital. In the dungeons…"
"Not according to our informant."
"We should move out to these camps. Maybe some advantage will come of it, like additional troops or—"
"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU DIRTY OLD PERVERT!"
AN: First off, I apologize for the shortness of this. I made a mistake when checking the script length, thus it is short and practically a skeleton. I have to admit, this was fun to right, but also really hard for me. So, the 99.9% of the time usual lack of detail. U.U I'm trying. And I've noticed, so no need to point it out ^-^'.
Second off, there's now a tumblr page where you can ask the signs questions! If you want the link, check my profile on here!
Third off...
*sigh* To the person who keeps PMing, asking about Ophiuchus and if that their OC can be that sign, I'm sorry to say that it cannot and another OC to the amount I have now will be a hassle. And I'll be addressing the general public when I say this, as people seem to believe their sign has shifted, and need to understand, because of "the addition of Ophiuchus." Ophiuchus is not a Zodiac sign. Your sign does not change, nor is it based on constellations alone. Your Zodiac sign is based on the seasons (aka the sun's position), hence the name SUN Signs, and signify the beginning middle and end of them. Therefore, Ophiuchus is not considered part of the Zodiac, as it would also cause imbalance. To explain further, each signs' characteristics come from the seasons in which they are spotted. For example, my own sign, Aquarius, is the nice, cool beginning of winter and the brisk, calming breezes that turn into solitude and raging blizzards. A fire sign like…let's say Leo, a sign that is visible in the summer, signals the hot, hot end of August and summer where it becomes cold again, thus the destructive-less-destructive flame essence. Capricorn is the dampness of fall and Taurus is the fertility of the soil in spring.
Now, tell me how you think Ophiuchus could fit in? It would upset the balance, and completely rewrite the research of the great astrologer Claudius Ptolemy.
That is my reasoning, and if you do not like it, I apologize. Ophiuchus is not part of the Zodiac, it just appears in the general area of the other signs' constellations. It was not even mentioned in Ptolemy's research. It is part of the sidereal zodiac, and is only used by 1% of people.
Chapter 19 BTS:
The Signs Explained:
Previous: Aries (A long ass time before that.)
Age we're in: Pisces (300 B.C – 1900 A.D?)
Coming: Aquarius (Either now, or the winter is coming….O.O)
Some believe we are already in the Age of Aquarius, while other believe we're still in Pisces. I personally like to believe we're in Aquarius, but according to fact, we're in Pisces. A sign moves one degree or so every 71.5 years.
Capricorn: The damp end of fall.
Aquarius: The transition of mild to cold weather. Coldest time of the year.
Pisces: At this point in time, it is time to change and get ready for spring.
Aries: A time of new growth, and energy and enthusiasm to face the future.
Taurus: The calmness and bountifulness of May.
Gemini: New life grows up and begins being independent, much like Gemini.
Cancer: This is a time to be protective, much like Cancers.
Leo: This is the final burst of heat at the end of summer; fiery and bringing in luxury.
Virgo: This is where the last of the crops are harvested, and it is time to work again.
Libra: This is a time to balance and plan for winter. Each move could make the scale of survival tip in your favor, or not.
Scorpio: Plants are ready to face the winter without fear, much like Scorpios.
Sagittarius: The final ray of sunshine that beckons the end of fall and jump into a long winter.
What you think, and what is actually true:
Aquarius
Think: Smart, lonely, heartless, cold, detached, probably an alien, and humorless. (God)
Truth: Scared, flawed, loving, clingy, funny (in our own funky, weird way) (Still God) (^-^' Hey, I've been called such. Not to be sacrilegious or anything)
Capricorn
Think: Cool, collected, and ambitious
Truth: Wants to be loved
Pisces
Think: Cute, cheerful, and happy
True: Powerful, murderous (from personal experience ^-^' Sorry if that offends.)
Aries
Think: Brave, fierce, and will probably end you.
True: Bullied, vulnerable, overcompensates, wants love
Taurus
Think: Loyal as fuck
Truth: Lazy as fuck (I'm sorry….Rei is a Taurus IRL, and *shudders* It's too true)
Gemini
Think: Lonely. Emo. Silent. Emotionless. Super-duper smart and will totally murder you in your sleep.
Truth: Has problems with being abandoned and struggles with their identity.
Cancer
Think: Reliable. Strong. Totally your mother's disciple.
Truth: Emotional train wreck
Leo
Think: Strong, brave, happy, sunny, loyal, and confident.
Truth: Exactly the opposite of everything, minus loyal. There's still loyalty.
Virgo
Think: Shy, smart, organized
Truth: Inner turmoil
Libra
Think: Balanced, friendly, fair, fashionable
Truth: Wishes they can help everyone.
Scorpio
Think: Evil, lonely
Truth: Emo as fuck. Hates everyone. Crazy emotions. (Again; based on personal experiences)
Sagittarius
Think: Wise and majestic
Truth: Makes up all their epicness. (My best friend is a Sag, and he's XD so like this.)
