Retribution, Second Movement (CLOSED)

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

There was nothing else the Frumentarii needed from the woman who shivered, cold, naked, and in pain in her own dungeon. She had not laid down in three days. She had not slept in two, after her captors had started injecting her with drugs that prevented her from passing out. Her fingernails and toenails were gone, having been ripped out shortly after being brought to the dungeon, and the cuffs keeping her suspended by her wrists had needles driven through the palms of her hands. She had been given water and food via a tube down her throat, while the gag keeping her from speaking after she had told them what they wanted to know, designed to wick away saliva and gastric juices to keep her from choking to death on them, kept her mouth perpetually dry even as it restrained her tongue. A single needle pierced a vein in her arm, the old woman of the group smiling cruelly at her captive as she injected Yvaine with something that burned as it entered her body. "... This feeling should call memory," she told Yvaine, smiling entirely too warmly for a torturer. "This is the poison that calls fire to every nerve in your body... This dosage stands enough to keep you in agony for some hours until the Imperator comes to speak with you."

She didn't mention the chemicals to keep her from passing out. But they were no doubt there. They always were.

Finishing the injection, Fausta patted Yvaine on the cheek a few times, before leaving the dungeon and letting the venom run its course as every pain receptor in Yvaine's body started firing. She paused just out side the door to listen for sounds, before vanishing, going to the room she had claimed in the house that once belonged to their captive. She had a letter from her oldest grandchild to read, after all.

=====

Pia bit her lip, her face flushed, as she watched her master get dressed. "... Was that satisfactory, Dominus?" She had not moved from the bed, her fingers brushing the collar around her neck, the skin-tight flexible band the only thing she wore. The only thing she never took off. "Worry seemed to pull you from moment..."

Nonus simply nodded, smiling back at the girl. "It was quite so, Pia, action of Dominus Domus merely weighs upon mind..."

"Decimus Regulus..." She said the name quietly, almost in awe.

"Indeed... Leonius protects his would-be assassin. Even after she hurt him. Despite his rage toward her." Nonus sniffed, adjusting his tunic. "I worry for the boy. Mercy is no trait for a Patriarch."

Pia was quiet for a moment. "... Wasn't his father the same..?"

It was Reaper's turn for silence, as he looked away. "... I misspoke. It is no trait for a Patriarch who lacks the strength of Marcus Regulus..."

"As I recall," Fausta said as she blinked into the room, Pia squeaking and covering herself, "the previous Decimus Regulus only made his strength known when people questioned whether he was a suitable successor to Aurelius." She looked at Pia. "... And do calm down, dear."

"Come to berate a young fool for his worries, Scarecrow?" Nonus paid little heed to Pia's nervousness, simply smiling at Fausta as she poured herself a drink. "I'd thought you busy with missives, or our captive."

"Six year olds aren't the most eloquent or long-winded of writers, and watching a woman writhe in agony to catch her if she tries to escape is a job for trainees." Fausta remained watching Pia. "... Dear. Get dressed and fetch an old woman some bread. I need to bash some knowledge into your master's forehead, and I've not eaten since jentaculum."

"Umm," was all Pia could say, her face bright red.

"Yes, I know what you two were doing. My children didn't just magically pop from the sky, carried earthward by flocks of doves." She took a drink, smirking. "... Though honestly, that would have been so much easier." She turned her attention back toward Nonus as he nodded his approval of her instructions. "The last Decimus Regulus told you that story, yes? How people thought he was weaker than his father, and how they paid the price?"

"In his defense, Aurelius Decimi Regulus is difficult to follow." Nonus smiled, his eyes below Pia's waist as she pulled on her tunic and blinked away to fetch food for Scarecrow. "But yes. He did. And I fail to grasp its connection-"

"You told me what Leonius did. I saw it from the camera dump he placed within hand." Fausta's face grew cold, and slightly nervous. "He went into the situation forcefully. He snapped arm like a dried twig to establish dominance and illustrate intent. Even when you got involved, he made it clear that he was in charge. Like a Patrician, Reaper. Like a Senator. Like his father."

"Leonius is an engineer. A tinkerer. If he knew what to do, it was that computer. That fire robbed him of what his father was. Our issue is that suit that sustains his tragic mockery of life."

"In itself, a reason you should not underestimate the man within it, you fool." Fausta crossed her arms, not bothering to hold her tongue toward her leader. "You have committed the cardinal sin of letting the child you knew clinging to his father's side blind you to the man who now stands in your path. He knows his weaknesses, and has compensated for them. That power armor that puts the Triarii to shame, that tactical computer the Centurions whisper about, the augments that not only restore his natural strength but enhance it... He is a tinkerer, and a walking corpse, yes, but he has tinkered away his greatest weaknesses, and you stand too blinded by past knowledge of the boy to see that!"

Nonus said nothing as Fausta finished her drink.

"... You need to be very careful dealing with your wife's cousin, Nonus. Not just because he stands your Dominus Domus, or can rip an Ursa limb from limb with his bare hands." She took another drink, looking Nonus dead in the eyes. "It is because he is very much his father's son. Who was very much the son of his own father. Rather than make him pliable, that accident, and the technology tied to him because of it, makes him unpredictable. And you cannot afford to play guessing games with someone like that."

"... Then this Viola girl... The assassin, the blade unsheathed in threat to a Patriarch... What would you have us do, with your decades upon decades of experience?" Nonus smirked, catching Fausta's glare at the crack about her age.

"Whatever good Leonius and the Senate would have us do." She smiled at Pia when she blinked in, holding a plate of bread, fruit, and carefully seared beef for Fausta. "... After all. I don't want to see what happens when you anger the grandson of a man who put the whole of the Senate to the sword for not playing nicely like good children, even in the best of cases. Less so, when he thinks fourty times faster than us, doesn't sleep, and carries as much firepower as a full Century of Principes. A man like that does not need the power of the holy sword to make his ire well known. I did not throw my lot in with you, Nonus, only to have you self-destruct by pissing upon your own Patriarch and unleashing the Beast within him."

"Noted. Thank you for your counsel, Gnaea Dentra. Pia, leave the crone her food. If I cannot sate my bloodlust for the tool Yvaine brought against our Dominus Domus, I will at least have the rest of her @&#%ing organization..."

Pia merely nodded, fidgeting slightly under Fausta's gaze as she followed her Dominus out of the room, relaying his instructions for Frumentarii to be sent against known associates of their captive.

"Tch," was all Fausta could say, popping a grape in her mouth as she looked back at the bed Pia and Nonus had previously occupied.

=====

It didn't take long for a pair of Frumentarii to find one of their marks, a short radio burst signalling another pair to come. Walking through an alley, their mark would be unlikely to see the two perched on the edge of a building.

Pale skin. Gold eyes. Roughly the right weight, general shape and size, and dressed like their mark tended to. It was seeing her wrists that settled it, and the first of the two blinked down, suddenly appearing in her path.

"Kasumi Futo. Blood begets blood, and you must answer for your association with Yvaine Lux. Kneel and surrender, and you will not be harmed," the young woman before her said, her face obscured by the mask and hood of her uniform. "Yet," she added, drawing a short sword.

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Kasumi immediately assumed a fighting stance, Hell, where did she come from? She thought, quickly analyzing the woman before her. Odd looking uniform, mask, and what looked like armour wrapping up the whole outfit. Whoever this was, they were well equipped, and they knew exactly who they were looking for. Her eyes darted around, looking for other potential threats. It was highly unlikely that this woman would just drop down in front of her demanding surrender without some sort of backup. Sure enough, she spotted what must have been the woman's partner on the edge of one of the buildings creating the alleyway. Two on one, then, but Yvaine? She must have gotten caught or something. "Who are you?" She replied, staying alert for any sudden movements, "And what have you done with Yvaine?" She dropped one hand to her side, preparing herself for an attack.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

"I said kneel!"

A small orb fell from her sleeve, into the palm of her glove that didn't have anything in it, and she looked at her mark.

"I am Frumentarius Agrippa Fulvii Crispa. And you will see what has happened to your &$#%ing employer first-hand, Barbarian."

The orb fell from her hand, and she was gone, her presence soon known again as a boot met Kasumi's back, and with inhuman strength she was kicked toward what soon revealed itself to be a powerful flashbang.

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

She's fast. Kasumi thought as she fell towards the device, @$%&. She tucked in a shoulder and did her best to turn away from the flashbang, snapping her eyes shut before it went off. The device exploded, causing her ears to ring horribly. She rolled, gaining her feet to face her assailant, The other one's behind me now. She reminded herself as she raised a hand. She thrust it forward, sending a ball of fire towards the woman. She then thrust her other hand at the woman, pushing the fire along with a gust of wind from her left vambrace.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

The Frumentarius didn't remain there for long, vanishing again and re-appearing behind Kasumi once more. "You Barbarians are always amusing to fight. Flailing around, helpless in your ignorance..."

The blade of her sword had tilted forward and split, the two rails it formed crackling with energy as a number of bullet-like packets of kinetic energy split the air with a series of quiet high pitched whines, a silenced burst of gunfire threatening Kasumi's knees.

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Maybe it was pure instinct, maybe it was something else, but Kasumi knew she couldn't be still as she lost sight of her attacker. Her ears were still ringing, but she whipped her left arm around and let out a blast of wind, throwing her to the side. As she flew towards the side of a building, she caught a glimpse of the woman. She pointed her right arm at her and let loose a snaking bolt of electricity at the woman.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

As the woman had previously used fire and kinetic dust, line of sight with those bracers seemed to be something the Frumentarius's years of specialized training, and basic common sense, said was a bad idea. So she blinked, vanishing as the lightning raked her former position.

She appeared above Kasumi, apparently intent on dropkicking her in the forehead from close range, but vanished again before making contact. In her place, four small orbs fell, and quickly burst into a cloud of mist that gave a burning sensation on contact with skin or eyes.

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Kasumi snapped her eyes shut again, Can't lose these, no way. She thought. She quickly rolled out of the cloud, then the burning began, "Argh!" She cried in pain. She opened her eyes and looked at her arms, which were now bright red from the poisonous gas. She turned again to face the woman, Alright, gotta come up with a new tactic. She thought. She sent a wave of fire towards the woman, and spun, releasing a continuous stream of flames as she did so.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

The Frumentarius again blinked out of the way, but the spinning took her by surprise, re-emerging just as fire washed over her coat. "@&#$ing Barbarian!" She quickly blinked away again, out of range, and patted at part of the exterior that caught on fire to put it out. In the burn hole that had formed, some kind of metallic weave caught some light, shining. "Tch. I'm going to take that out of your hide."

Another orb rolled out of her sleeve, and she threw it low, letting it roll and bounce toward Kasumi, where it exploded, violently.

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Kasumi smirked at the woman's anger before spotting the orb rolling at her, Shit, too late to dodge. She hopped back as best she could, crossing her arms in front of her before it detonated. The explosion rocked her, sending her flying backwards. She landed on her side, rolling a few times before quickly regaining her feet. She winced as she felt a shard of shrapnel stuck into her leg. She ignored it, focusing instead on her enemy. She used her fire Dust again, making a whip of flames come out of her vambrace. She launched herself forward and swung the flaming whip at her adversary, at the same time releasing a trail of lightning out behind her.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

Another burst of kinetic energy darts was the response to Kasumi's assault, but it wasn't from the Frumentarius she was attacking. The woman was already vanishing to avoid the whip.

This came from her partner, the broad-shouldered man who was attacking from the other end of the alley. The hail of gunfire didn't deter Agrippa, however, as she re-appeared to Kasumi's side in a crouch, swinging at her knees with her sword while kinetic darts flew overhead.

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Kasumi heard the gunfire from the other end of the alley, and quickly ducked forward to avoid the deadly projectiles. As she ducked, she saw the woman slashing at her knees, Shit, I can't dodge that. She realized. However, she directed the lightning that was crackling out behind her down towards the woman, reaching for her with her right arm. She cried out as the blade bit into her leg, but she held fast with her counterattack. This is not good.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

Again, the woman vanished before Kasumi could strike, and while her attention was focused downward, the other Frumentarius appeared. Muscles enhanced by augmentations and power armor, the kick he landed to the side of Kasumi's head sent her flying.

Straight into the arms of two more Frumentarii, who held their swords, blades split and tilted forward, against her shoulders. "Persist in your struggles, and we will remove your arms. Disengage your bracers. Now."

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Blood trickled from the side of Kasumi's head, and she was just barely able to keep it up, They got me. She conceded, pressing the release on her weapons, watching helplessly as they clattered to the ground. She spat, blood spattering onto the ground, "Alright, you got me." She said, "Now what?"

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

"Now we take you back to your boss."

Something sharp pierced Kasumi's neck, and unconsciousness soon settled over the girl.

She would come to wearing little more than a ragged tunic, in a cold, pitch black room. The stone(?) floor under her was frigid to the touch, and all around, a faint, chilling mist could be felt.

"Prisoner is alert," someone said, before the displacement of air and mist suggested movement.

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Kasumi lifted her head, it feeling heavy from whatever drug they had put into her system. She placed a hand on the floor, pushing her up into a kneeling position, her hands on the floor in front of her, Frag...where the hell am I? She wondered. Her vision was blurry and her hair fell down in front of her eyes as she tried to stop the room from spinning. As she regained her senses, she felt a soreness but opted to not think about why. She shivered at the thought and pushed the feeling to the back of her mind, lifting her head to look around the room. For the first time in her life, she felt fear. Not of death, but of what might happen to her in this cold...dark room, and that nobody would ever know.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

With how hard the Frumentarii could be to keep track of when one had their full senses, in complete darkness, where the Fio Spacium allowed them to still operate without restriction, they seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Thus, when a boot suddenly kicked Kasumi over, back onto her back, it was hard to tell where the kick had come from before her assailant was gone. "How do you feel, Barbarian? Cold, yes. Hungry, probably. Nauseous, to be expected."

The boot came down on Kasumi's face, barely avoiding crushing her nose as treads graced her forehead.

"You gave one of our number a tiny bit of trouble before her partner got bored. Some assassin..." Someone or something unseen grabbed her ankle, and suddenly lifted her up by one leg, and she hung in mid-air, the garment slipping down and away. "Pathetic. I'd question if we had the right woman, if you hadn't confirmed it."

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Kasumi cried out as the boot slammed her face. Suddenly, she was lifted into the air, her only protection against the coldness of the room slipping off and onto the floor. The world spun, not only because of the effects of the drug, but now from hanging upside down as something clutched her ankle. "Coward!" She attempted to call out, but her voice came feebly from her bloodied mouth. "If you're going to attack me, look me in the eye!" She said weakly, her breath coming faster from the beating she was receiving.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

There was no response to Kasumi's taunt. Only a feeling of cold metal as something took hold of the little toenail on the foot being held.

Then pain as it was torn out.

Four more times, the process repeated.

"... Apologize."

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Kasumi couldn't hold back the screams of pain as her toenails were ripped out one at a time. She gritted her teeth as the voice came, demanding her to apologize, "Go to hell." She replied, spitting out a gob of blood in front of her.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

"Hmm."

It was the only response, and the sizzle of something very hot branding the sensitive nail beds once protected by her toenails followed.

"Apologize." Again, the command came, once all five toes had been brutalized.

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Again, she screamed, but this time, the pain was too much for her already battered body. If she could see, she would've seen the tunnel vision coming over her eyes like a veil. Her body fell limp, and the pain receded into the back of her mind. As she passed out, a simple realization came to her, This is where I'm going to die.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

When Kasumi awoke again, the same dark room would meet her. The same cold environment. The same voice, that shortly after she became conscious, uttered those familiar words. "... Prisoner is alert."

Again, she was grabbed, the same leg used to dangle her upside down.

The tip of a needle pressed against the burnt and torn flesh of her toenail bed, but went no further. Yet.

"Apologize."

Posts : 798 Join date : 2013-09-11 Age : 103

Kasumi gritted her teeth again and swallowed, Frag... She thought, before she managed to say two words, "I'm...sorry." She said, although with much hesitation. She simply dangled, having let her body go limp, Damn these people. I never should have gotten involved with Yvaine.

Posts : 960 Join date : 2013-09-13 Age : 38

There was a moment of still silence, only the mist and Kasumi's own breathing.

Then a sharp whine split the air, and the needle drove in, straight through her toe, cracking the bone as it pierced through. The needle was left inside, as another touched the next toe down.

"Apologize."

» Retribution, First Movement (CLOSED)
» In the Eye of the Storm (Closed) (Prelude to Retribution, Third Movement)
» The Mark of the Beast (CLOSED) (Prelude to Retribution, Third Movement)
» E.M.P (Closed)
» Closed