by Kell Inkston
Like the other guests these two hold only mild importance to this tale, but they'll be much more important in another time and place. I’ll tell you that they’ll be a sour set of opponents for a certain someone down the line, but for now they’re just here for a party.
"Good afternoon," Greed says, taking up Irefall's extended hand and shaking it, certain that she's not really interested in having her hand graced by a lizard's lips. Lust nods. "You have a lovely mansion," “she” says.
The brilliant hostess she is, Irefall nods back and smiles with such grace, Greed is almost put back. "It's so nice to meet you all. This is your first time here, isn't it?"
Greed nods. "That's right, your... well, everything is quite impressive. I like your little defense barrier idea, very complete, comprehensive," Greed says, already taking mental notes as he's so prone to do.
Lust taps the tiny dragon-kin neatly on his head. "Don't mind him, he's always scheming."
Irefall giggles. "In his defense, so am I." Lust and Irefall share a quick chuckle, just long enough for Greed and The Captain to make eye contact. Greed smiles, displaying a sharp row of teeth along with an outstretched hand.
"You must be The Reaper. I've heard quite a lot about you."
The Captain takes up his hand and they shake. "And you must be one of the Whihelmishian Prime Ministers."
Greed's smile turns into a grin. "You could call it that."
"A pleasure."
"Likewise, sir."
Though it's only the first time he's seen him, The Captain can already tell he will not much like this fellow.
The horseshoe crab is back and better than ever. "Theees waaeeeey, siiieeeeer an’ maaaadaaaaam."
"Creepy," Lust says under her breath as Greed leads the way inside after a leaving set of pleasantries.
Miss Irefall jaunts in place. "They're a professional connection more than anything. I hear they're the center of an important economic and trading node."
"Aww, just like you. You have so much in common," he says in a way she doesn't quite find kindly at all.
"Ahem, yes. Now I wonder who's ne-" The next car door opens. There's a bright metallic sheen inside.
"Ah!" Miss Irefall exclaims, tapping The Captain excitedly. "This here is a group of wonderful rouge automatons that have been zipping around causing all sorts of trouble."
The Captain snaps to Irefall. "You invited those outlaws? You understand they're on the O.E.L. ‘ten list.’"
Irefall looks to him with a pleasantly crass expression. "You know of them?"
"I read the paper yesterday while waiting for you and the young ladies to finish up your cattle fatteners."
"Our café delicacies?"
"Whatever you want to call that high sugar garbage. Point is, don't you think the Librarium would think it distasteful of you to be harboring them?"
Irefall scoffs. "How will they know, and better yet if they did know what could they do?... Hello!" she says to the approaching group.
Before the duo are three automatons, assembled with technology Irefall hasn't even the slightest reckoning of and The Captain is just scarcely educated in. One of them looks rather familiar, but he can’t quite put his finger on it.
The first one is just a bit taller than the standard man, and has a body of polished black metal, like a living, talking car. It has what The Captain assumes is some sort of deployment pack, likely filled with all manners of technological doohickeys and gizmos. It only appears to be unarmed, The Captain found out the hard way that O.E.L. creations tend to have the strength of at least three dozen men.
"Hello," says the black one, "I assume you're the one that had this missive send out as an invitation?" It speaks with a calm, collected voice- like a quintessential innocent bystander, which is a tone that is all all-too-intentional.
The Honorable Mayor bows her head. "It certainly was! I just couldn't help myself but invite the Omniverse's brightest and most current stars to one of the most important galas in all the realms. You must be Asegai, the fearless leader of the group."
"A giant hippie more like it. Couldn't even bring himself to kill a damn lizard," says the robot at the very back with a voice sounding like a sentient lawn mower that is inspired to kill all of humanity. It's a cloaked, hulking being of military camouflage and weaponry. Its visor, unlike the smaller two has a light emitter, blaring an obvious, critical, violent crimson. Ever since they stepped from the car, it's been looking over The Captain carefully.
"Th-that's rude, Agonist! We're guests!" The shortest of them, if only by a couple inches to "Asegai" says. This one has a cute, young, girlish voice and, combined with the gleaming white chassis of the machine that's a tad thin in the middle, produces the appearance of femininity. It has an accent much like Jacqui the chef's- how strange. The hand on one of its arms is weirdly enlarged with a hole in the middle; The Captain takes a shot in the dark and guesses it's come kind of portable compiler. These three, like the two overlords are quite important somewhere else and at some other time, but for now they’ll be looking stupid and slow at the party like the majority of other guests.
"You're rude for not taking this situation more seriously, Sun. This could be a trap and you'd just start handing out macaroo-"
"If you don't mind," Asegai interrupts, quieting the two of them. He turns back to Irefall. "My apologies. It's simply we've been on the run for many weeks now and so you can understand we'd be pretty cautious about taking an unsolicited invitation."
"But you do have pastries, right?" Sun butts in.
The Mayor nods with an expression of the utmost cheer and charity, as if she were addressing a kindergartner. "We most certainly do!"
"Sun" fails reining in her enthusiasm. "Alright! Let's go in right away! I can't wait!" "She" grabs Asegai by the hand and leads "him" in with a skipping trot.
"Wh-but we haven't even introduced y-" Asegai's voice, calm even when being pulled along disappears down the hall.
The large one remains, uninterested in pleasantry but definitely interested in something.
"Whatever is the matter, sir?" Irefall asks.
Agonist does not even acknowledge her question, but rather continues to scan The Captain.
She tries again. "Ahem, miste-"
"Just what are you?" Agonist asks bluntly.
The Captain, already tiring of standing as reception committee to this procession of freaks and legends, pulls out his pipe and lights it for a slight diversion. "I wonder just how powerful that visor of yours is. What do you think I am?"
"You're composed of a solid, separate substance... Are you a swarm A.I.?"
Irefall scoffs and The Captain sighs. "Like the ship formations? Of course not."
"Then just what are you?"
With one hand to his pipe and the other outstretching, he presents himself for a handshake. "The Captain. Pleasure to meet you."
Agonist looks at his hand, and then looks back to his face. "That wasn't what I asked. You're smoking but you have no lungs. You're not scientifically possib-" Agonist receives a breath of smoke into its visor, blown freshly from The Captain's bandages.
"You'll be finding out quite a lot by the end of tonight, I imagine. Why don't you go collect data in the drawing room with all the other toys."
Unexpected by The Captain, Agonist laughs, shakes its visor like a head, and then sighs. Rather than having singular personality protocols, they have a bit more depth. Whatever this artificial intelligence is, it must be incredibly advanced, and is definitely jailbroken. "Fine, I'll see you two real soon," the machine says in a way that touches both captains as a thinly veiled threat. It trails slowly after the others down the maze of halls, and The Captain looks to Irefall. "Interesting choice. You always were one to go for the exotic."
Irefall coos proudly. "Of course, Captain. I've told you many times I love having interesting people over just to do interesting things with them."
"I certainly hope you're not thinking about activities like last nigh
t's."
She looks away in mock embarrassment. "Well it did cross my mind," She says with a smirk as the next car drives up. "Now who's next?"
This car is common, like the many others The Captain has seen since yesterday. The door opens by itself as if by magic, and Irefall sees The Captain flinch - another time she's gotten the best of him.
Of course, The Captain has prepared himself for this moment, but he isn't ready. It’s a relief, then, that they will not be dueling today.
"Nice to see you again, Johannes," a serene, inspired, young voice speaks from inside the car.
"My name isn't Johannes, you know," The Captain says amidst a pleasantly surprised-looking Irefall.
"I'm sure you'll come around. You always do." Out from the car steps a horror in the rough outline of a man. He's dressed in the attire of command and dignity, but his body is a swirling, fluctuating off-white - a creature made entirely out of sea foam.
Irefall smirks cruelly. "I did tell you I had invited Captain Morris to our shindig, yes?"
"I expected nothing less from you," The Captain says bluntly.
Captain Morris steps up with angelic poise to the mayor, bows, and then to The Captain and presents his hand. "I'm under the impression that we won't really be getting the opportunity to fight one on one tonight, but you, as perceptive as you are, must be aware your life is being tried for tonight, correct?"
The Captain takes up Captain Morris' hand, and again the bandaged black sand grips the compacted seafoam of his truest nemesis. "I am aware. All in the game we play, I suppose."
Morris lets go and couples his hands together behind his back acquiescently, almost subserviently. "And I don't suppose if you make it out of this that you'd be interested in finishing up our battle?"
The Captain shakes his head. "Nothing has changed. There's no satisfaction I'd win in killing you. I'd only risk more of what I need."
"Well you better get sailing fast, Captain, because my crew is waiting outside the port for yours."
"You can expect me to do just that," The Captain says.
"Theees waiiy, seeir," the butler leads.
"Thank you," Morris politely files behind the butler and enters.
The Captain is still a moment. "You wanted the honor of having me done away in front of the captain that wants me dead more than anyone..."
Irefall scoffs. "Why yes, I did."
"...Good move- unbelievably pretentious of you. If you had a chance you'd make him sick with jealousy."
"I have to establish myself as the greatest somehow, Captain."
The Captain hums in thought. "So you chose these people simply because of how many different communities they reflect."
"Precisely. Everyone everywhere will hear about your demise. Won't that be fun?"
"Incredibly," The Captain says just as yet another car drives up, the next in a long line stretching out past the next block.
The two meet and greet for nearly half an hour more before joining in with the others and enjoying an incredibly awkward, though interesting afternoon with some of the most famous infamous figures in popular Omniverse Society. The Duke of Whales enters a lively debate with Agonist, who simply can’t understand why a blue whale can float, Morris takes an early libation with Greed, Pertalaine and Lust share beauty tips, if only meant as an ironic insult to one other, and The Captain sits back with Asegai to play a game of chess - they’re both very, very good and attracted a considerable viewership, though in the end Asegai won out after forty three moves. All is well here, but considerably less so just a few floors under them.
Gloriously Down Below
Colette Ketiere, a village girl pointed out by cruel fate, awakens somewhere dark, cold and unfamiliar. She would move, but she's scared- maybe it's nearby. Its a hanging, bitter dread, like the very end of a nightmare that acts as though it's ended but the grand finale, the climax, is only drawing nearer.
Thinking back on it, she has great difficulty recalling any defining feature about it, but it was real, very real, and coming for her. Rather than asking herself the obvious "wouldn't you be dead if it was going to kill you?" and as a result gain some emotional control over her situation. She peers into the dark, waiting for the lights to come on to reveal its horrific image yet again.
She grips the scant bedsheet of whatever it is she's on. Whatever it is it's uncomfortable as hell and she doesn't like it one bit, like sleeping on rubber.
In her out-of-mind state, she's certain the best thing she can do at this moment is just... wait. She waits, and waits, and waits. Colette enters a long trance, her thoughts are like sludge but her body’s frozen stiff in dread. It's only until a floor above her does she hear a sound, footsteps, and then the sound of someone tripping and falling over embarrassingly.
"Son of a bitch!" A familiar seasort voice rings from above as she hears scrambling sounds above to pick up what was dropped and now rolling everywhere.
Colette's brought back to reality, she's not the only person here, she decides that, if only once, he could make himself useful.
She takes a deep breath and tenses her body for immediate movement. "Yo!" She says up to the ceiling as she takes a stand.
The scrambling noises stop. "Deckhand?" He asks.
"It's me, Colette!"
Luisoix sighs in relief. "Good to hear, kid. Guess The Captain was right after all."
"About what?"
He smirks. "Nothing, kid. Where are you?"
Colette makes a quick spot-check to see if there's light anywhere. "No idea, but it's cold and stupid in here. Get me out."
Luisoix hums. "Alright, probably dumb question, kid, but do you still have any of your equipment?"
Colette reaches for her pistol- not there, and also to her pockets. Her lighter is still with her. "Uh, yeah... I have my lighter."
"Well, have you used it?"
Colette sighs, the horror already leaving her. She’s certain she’ll be okay now. "Yes, obviously!" For the first time in the room she strikes her lighter and raises up an excited flame.
She wishes she didn't.
It's standing right there in the room with her. The details of the room do not matter much, other than the fact that she's certain she's locked in. "No!" Colette screams just as Luisoix speaks up.
"No wh- Don't look at it!" He says, rushing around to find the way downstairs.
Already her stomach churns with a powerful contraction, sending another round of bile onto the floor as she turns away immediately. She retains herself by averting her gaze, just like Luisoix directed.
"Kid!" Luisoix starts again. "The less you perceive it the more control you'll have. Don't look, don't think about it... and definitely don't let it touch you!"
Colette scrambles in the dark against the wall of the room. She's dropped her lighter, so she could no longer see it even if she were looking at it, but as always, the stakes get higher and the madness increases.
The eldritch begins moving toward her. The sound is not properly describable with any written language, but it is truly, truly dreadful. If this were a common person with a common mind and heart there would be much soiling of the trousers and freaking of the outs, but Colette's too good for either of those.
She pulls in a deep, focusing gust of air, turning her eyes toward the goal, and she begins shimmying across the room to where she thought the door might have been.
That terrible noise of it galumphing nearer, she can hardly stand it, and somehow she knows that if she were typical she couldn't, but there's something pushing her, a sense of weird security, not from her physical environment, of course, but from within. While she can't believe the eldritch could be real, she is equally unable to believe that her mettle could be this strong. She knows she's more than the common person, she shot herself in the hand, did all sorts of crazy things to complete her missions, but this monstrosity is beyond her reckoning. It seems impossible to her that she's actually on her feet, searching for a door. For the first time, Colette entertain
s the idea that she, like Jim, might have another person in her body, sharing for better or for worse.
She works her way to a knob, and without a pause she turns it - it's unlocked! Colette flings open the door and edges out the second when she feels the touch from the eldritch, an incomprehensibly-terrible feeling. Colette collapses on contact, falling onto the floor in the hall, lit up with dreary electricity. She struggles to regain herself, but from the dark room and the open door, the eldritch reaches out to grasp her.
The thought shoots through her mind, it was keeping her alive just to terrify her; that must be it. It must be feeding off her fear, she thinks. It must be something like that.
She inhales to scream, but only saliva and puke comes out, her body's rejection of everything the eldritch is proves to be too much.
And then, here comes Luisoix.
The midgety, dark-gray fish man reaches into his pack and tosses a weird purple gem down across the two and elsewhere through the hall. Colette could have sworn she's seen one of those before, but she's not sure what it is.
With the speed of a galloping stallion, the eldritch releases Colette and chases after the gem. Luisoix grabs Colette and with his... shockingly underwhelming strength he starts dragging her to the stairs. Colette closes her eyes, depriving her of the sight of the eldritch picking up the small, shining jewel.
With some difficulty and many cuss words Luisoix gets Colette up step after step, until finally they're back in the quiet parts of the manor, not off limits, but also not frequented. "Pretty sure I don't even need to ask you if you're okay, but at least you're alive. Frankly, I'm impressed you got as far as the door."
The gasping Colette takes a full minute to regain herself, her gaze pointed straight for the door they emerged from, just in case. "Got to say," Luisoix adds, "I guess The Captain really did know what he was doing, picking you. He told me once he can see souls, maybe he saw something strong in you."
