Caging the Phoenix (Candy Van p2) [CLOSED] [MATURE]

It was almost an hour before anyone came back.

Heavy footfalls heralded his arrival. Clad in the full Sum Sine Sceleri, cannon wings spread in Modus: Vindincta configuration, there was barely a foot of clearance in the halls. But he moved with the calculated precision of the combat computer, and stopped right in front of Aoife's cell, barely glancing at her.

"It does not come surprise... to see you in this state... That this would occur... stood only a measure of time... given course often demonstrated..." His hands drifted behind his back, folding as he turned. His posture was relaxed, but his raised head and standing were calculated. Dominant. "Nor, given situation... you now find yourself in... do I stand in shock... that you would request my presence... Despite prior difficulty... you know what I am capable of... And while you stand a fool, Aoife Knight... I know you are not so foolish... as to be unwilling to turn... from most powerful source... of potential aid..."

He leaned a bit, looking down at Aoife's bruised and battered face.

"Question now stands... of what you think... I could... or indeed be willing... to do..."

Having used her time alone to make sure on her mental state, she would find that the other two were still there. If Crippled heavily and unable to do anything, 'Good. It means this can go ahead without fault.' No retort or witty comeback, she would rub her stomach and walk over to the bars before sitting back down passively, feeling over the bandages, "For starts, if it helps you feel safer despite my condition, you can activate my staple. Or you know, activate it for fun. I honestly don't care at this point. And is it not the duty for the wise to educate the fools? I figured you would be benevolent enough to help out a foolish child in her time of need, in exchange for whatever you desire. Want my aura locked away? Find a jammer and sure, as long as I am able to use it in a fight against Grimm. Want me to act as a maid? If there was a changing room and an outfit then I would put one on for you now. State your demands and then I will try my best to oblige them if you help me out."

Leonius shook his head at the mention of her staple. "... You seek advice? Make peace with the consequences... of your actions..." His hands emerged from behind his back, and he crossed his arms. "Your offer reeks... of desperation... Is attendance... at this academy... what you seek to preserve... or avoidance... of jail time..?"

He shrugged.

"In either case... you overestimate... my reach... It was the result of a diplomatic uproar... that I was able to apply... that nerve staple... Aura shackling... is heavily restricted... even in my homeland... and merely suppressing your aura... would not cause you... to avoid fate the administration... and Vale have in store for you..."

Leonius looked away, glancing back when he thought of something before turning.

"... One path out... comes to mind... of man and machine... But it is removal of limb... to cure broken limb... Accept your fate... There is little I can do... save what neither of us wish..."

Biting her lip, she would look at him, "With all due respect, Leo. But I prefer my arms, and legs. Plus the head comes in handy for the blue moon when I think my actions through." Sighing heavily, she would decide to at least hear him out, "... However, it is true I would prefer to do both, so I shall hear out your path. Though permanent scaring is not the best feature for me, or dismemberment."

"You would keep your limbs... your head... your skin largely intact save potential impact... of surgical implantation... by unskilled Barbarorum hands if proper arrangement... were not made..." He took a deep breath, his suit hissing as he did so, and let it out as a low, deep sigh. "... Price for avoidance of this fate... removal from this academy... and temporary loss of freedom... stands servitude... a greater loss... of the latter..."

He turned back, his visor locked onto her eyes.

"Servus Poenae..." Leonius swallowed. "Removal of ius libertas... the right of freedom... by judicial means... It is a principle of law... within my homeland... and as you have in eyes of law... harmed me... a Patrician of highest standings... the relationship between Pilum and Vale... permits our justice system... to usurp authority over you... And Beacon could be forced into compliance... as they were when you assaulted me... and I executed instruction... to implant that nerve staple..."

His natural gaze was as unblinking as the visor.

"... Vale dislikes the term... and we avoid its use... to give lip service to grounds of treaty... but I will speak truth to you... What I speak of... is slavery... And it bears within it... every offer that in desperation you made... and more..." He finally looked away, turning again and folding his hands behind his back. "... I installed that staple... because the alternative was to kill you... Because mercy is a virtue... I learned well from my father... and I remembered... when in those first days... we were becoming friends... and it is thought of such... that drives reluctance... to mention option to you..."

He glanced back.

"... Is desperation to avoid fate... the Barbaroroum have in store... so great that you would call me Dominus to avoid such...?" He shook his head. "... To do so would trade future for present... Consign yourself... to fate..." Turning to leave, he stopped, and sighed again. His eye and forward cameras did not return to her. "... I will see what legal aid... I can manage to lessen sentence... within courts of Vale... if you so wish..."

He didn't move, awaiting her reply.

Looking Leo, she would be completely calm in her deliverance, no hint of sarcasm and dead serious, "Well considering my family think I am little more than a pink ball to throw at walls. Please realise that outside of Beacon, my only possible line of work would be to kill for a living. So you offering to make me your slave so I can live in the present and not have a future? It could be called a blessing, Dominus." Tripping up when she reaches his wording, it would take her a few seconds to get correct.

Leonius was silent for a moment. It was a quiet few seconds as he composed a message, then sent it, relayed through heavy encryption and relays beyond the comprehension of the Barbarorum of Vale. Then he looked back at her.

A single mental command was all it took as the door across from hers opened to send a message. Sum Sine Sceleri had been in the Beacon Guard systems since before their conversation began. Another message came, to reassure those overseeing the cell block he wasn't going to let her escape.

"... Are you sure?" He looked her over. "... Strip... I would test... your resolve..."

Blinking , she would take a few seconds to react. Even for Knight, to strip in prison would be unheard of (Though the same could be said for being in prison at all). Deciding to comply, she would remove the remains of her clothing and armour, leaving her in only her underwear and bandages, "H-Happy? There is nothing to look at, you don't have to tell me as it has been said countless times."

"... A fact I have long been... aware of... Now the rest..."

He turned his body toward her, crossing his arms.

"This makes you... uncomfortable... does it not..? Without ius libertas... you are at the beck and call... of another... and if you take this route... devices like that nerve staple... and a nanomesh collar... all Servi wear... will force compliance..."

He didn't look away from her.

"... Are you so willing... to sell your freedom... for a reprieve from this..? To someone who may well take... revenge for prior assault..?"

Closing her eyes, she would blush heavily before removing the last vestiges of clothing immediately moving to cover herself. Unable to hide properly by staying stood up, she sits on the ground, her voice little more than a whisper, "P-Please, c-can I put my clothing back on? I-I don't want to get a cold. A-as for the servitude, I am used to receiving beatings, so your assaults will be tolerable.. Just please help me out."

"... Is it cold... or embarrassment... that moves your request..."

He tilted his head back a moment.

"Stand... Arms at your side... Does my gaze cause you... discomfort..?" He didn't avert it. "... I encourage you to think on this... A Servus has little... legal or ethical... standing... no right of refusal... All that one is... belongs to their Dominus... And while you would serve... one of the most powerful men... in Pilum... the Patriarch... of the Great House Decimus... that does not... do much for you... You would still be forced... to fall to command..."

He kept his gaze upon her skin.

"... Until the day... death takes you... you will be... property... to be used as seen fit..." His tone betrayed his reluctance, but he had spent his youth being trained in the way of the Senator. To push emotion aside in favor of best path. He swallowed again, and repeated his command. "... Stand... arms at your side..."

Slowly complying with his demands, her own reluctance to show her body would be evident."Can I put my clothes on? The cold and dirt are not good for my injuries and the Guard are not ones I want to show my broken body." Sighing heavily afterwards, she would state, "Actually I know the answer to that one so I shall replace it. What is your next demand?"

"Your cell is rather clean... your wounds have been sterilized... and bandaged... You have difficulties... doing this... Is it that pride that has gotten you in trouble so much... that prevents you from voicing your embarrassment?" Leonius tilted his head. "... Why are you so set on this path..? There is little room for pride... down this road..."

With a click, the door opened, and Leonius entered the cell, looking down at the much smaller person before him. The door closed behind him.

"... I have dispatched preliminary instruction... to prepare for this arrangement... but I still hold doubt... about whether it is a wise route..." The visor burned as it stared down at Aoife. "... I will attempt to illustrate... the realities of this offer... one last time... and let you consider... "

He took a deep breath, the hiss filling the cell. His voice was cold, and as unyielding as the plating that covered his body.

"... Turn around..."

Looking up at her captor, she would turn while sitting, blushing heavily and tears forming as she thinks of all the things he will probably do to her. Suddenly snapping mentally, her aura would suddenly burst out in flames. If it could be called that, being little more than a small flame on her back what died instantly, causing Aoife more pain, crying out loudly in a mix of pain and embarrassment, she would snap, the self-pity coming out in her voice, "FINE! I am embarrassed. Do you think I should be proud of having the body of a twelve year old? ..But I want to stay here, I have friends I want to be with, family who have higher than I can make up to expectations of me here.. And I just watched the closest person to me raped before my eyes. With all respect, if becoming your slave is my only way out and to stay here? Then I will become your slave."

A momentary concern crossed the combat computer and Leo's mind as Aoife's aura flared, but its weak manifestation came as no surprise to man, nor machine.

"Hmph... there is nothing wrong... with your body... Another flaw in the thinking... of the Barbarorum..." He took her by the shoulders, 'helping' her to her feet. "... You do not fear prison... or expulsion... you fear separation from those... you are close to... You fear not being there... for the people you care about... You fear disappointment in you..."

Standing uncomfortably close, he whispered in her ear, a deep hiss that resonated thanks to the mask.

"... And you fear... me..." His hands, still on her shoulders, tightened a little. "... You are right to... what you do not grasp... is the nature of this exchange... Your present is safe... but your future in peril... What happens... when these four years end... and you remain bound to me... as Servus to Dominus... If I return to Pilum... you are dragged with me... And the problem begins anew... Few are the methods of manumission... permitted within Pilorum law..."

He pulled the shaking girl a bit closer. One of his enormous boots slipped between her feet, pushing them apart.

"... If this goes through... you stand risk of things falling apart anyway... should you fail to regain ius libertas before end of time in Beacon... But you will face little new risk of expulsion..." His right hand left her shoulder, and moved to her hip. "... New implants will permit... twenty-four hour observation... and unsanctioned violence will bring with it... swift punishment... and removal of means... You will never know privacy... nor unsanctioned outlet... for rage that is quickly becoming thing of legend..."

He took hold of her chin with his left hand, turning her face to look at her tears.

"... While you are yet free... I will give you opportunity to rethink present course... Now place hands... upon wall... if you think me your Dominus..."

Trying to close her legs, she would try to be more defiant, though it wouldn't work well with the tears or the signs of fear what were becoming more prevalent by the second, "Y-You are not my boyfriend, you have no right to do that to me. I want your help to keep me in Beacon, and yes I will become your slave AFTER your part is done. But I will not taint myself with another man for as long as I am with Aphelion. If you want to have your implants placed inside me to stop my violence, my rage. Then I shall allow it. My freedom would be bound to you until it is repaid, but I am NOT going to let you get what you want then find out you have done nothing for me."

"No right? If you recall... lack of rights... is precisely the cost of this risky endeavor..."

He sighed, giving a sad chuckle.

"... Recall that I advised... against this... that your desperation lead you... to consider this path... and now you find yourself... terrified by the road you chose..." His hand slid up from her hip, over her stomach and flat chest, and took hold of her neck. "... I find now opportunity... to impress upon you true magnitude... of what you have sought... and force you to consider path... in light of full consequence..."

The tingle. The weakness of the limbs. Leonius held Aoife up as he activated the nerve staple, applying just enough pressure to her throat to keep her from being able to make too much noise.

"... I am sorry... but you have shown a need... for more direct methods... to learn..."

Yelping as her throat is grabbed, she would close her eyes as if thinking if she can't see him, he is not there. Tears flowing all the more, and unable to control any of her limbs, her body would become as flushed as it possibly could considering the circumstances, though she would still try to speak,  "P-Please.. Don't.. Please.. Just.. Stop.."

"You now resort... to begging..."

The Pilorum were renowned by those who knew of the Holy City for their potential for cruelty, and the Great Houses and their heads were trained from childhood to be able to ignore moral qualms, quash thoughts of compassion, and crush those they needed to in order to achieve their goals. Leonius was in many ways, an echo of his father, and like Marcus, he took a softer view. Though primal parts of his brain pushed him on, and the tactical computer urged subjugation in response, Leonius stood his ground.

"Status of Servus... and all that such entails... is the path to avoiding expulsion and prison... The path I advised against... but you pressed forward... willing to sacrifice liberty... for the present... And now faced with consequence of such..."

He pulled her close, the chill of his armor pressing against her back.

"... Do you find original fate more agreeable... or do you still wish to call me Dominus... to avoid Barbarian legality..?" Loosening his grip on her throat, he closed his natural eye. "... There can be no... half measures in this... Pilorum law... will not allow such... and attempt will leave you... within reach of Vale's courts... You do not think me a man... you think me a machine... and I am afraid that I must be... as cold and unyielding as such..."

Another deep breath. Another hiss filled the cell.

"Vale... or Pilum... You must choose one... whose law will decide your fate... Which am I... Aoife... Am I Leonius... or am I to be... your Dominus..?

Sniveling now, her breathing and heart rate would be sky rocketing. Unable to decide herself, her senses would be dulled by the coldness on her back, "T-Two questions... T-Then I shall decide.. First. What are my chances of staying without becoming a slave.. Second. My chances of freedom if I do become one?" Swallowing afterwards, she would cough and try to keep a good mindset, despite being completely helpless before him and acting like a child.

"Second first... Manumission requires... full payment of the worth of the Servus... either by itself or a third party wishing to free it... and extraordinary service to Pilum... and the Senate... to authorize such a payment... Being Patriarch of a great house... and able to force the holder of my seat to compliance... this task, though no easy feat... Should be quite possible... perhaps within three years... depending on how circumstances... present themselves..."

He merely held her for how.

"... Second... depending on how good of a lawyer you can find... You stand between fifteen... and fourty percent chance of avoiding prison time... of any significant amount... Beacon, however... has much less stringent of evidence standards... and the jury is not made... of your peers... I estimate an eighty-five percent chance... that you will face expulsion..."

Gulping, she would spend even more time deciding on what to do. She didn't want to leave, but she also didn't want to be Leo's pastime. Deciding a minute later, she would sigh heavily and sniff loudly, unable to wipe her tears away, "...Very well. If you can save me from my fate, I shall change it to serve yours. HOWEVER, you must hold up your part of the bargain before I do this. If you can keep me around with as little ****ing me as possible, then I shall serve you and your family when my time at Beacon is over. Just... Please don't violate me... I want to be with him foremost.."