One Last Thing To Wrap Up Before We Go

[butterfly_kiss]

WHO: The Stabby Boys, The Investigation Team
WHERE: Outside of Temba Hangar
WHAT: Attempt to capture and deal with Billy and Stu
WHEN: Night of May 1st
WARNINGS: Violence, attempts on lives

A Plan Set In Motion | Any of the Investigation team who desires to be present, maximum 2 non-tae people per thread.

They've been working on their plans for a few weeks now. Laying out breadcrumbs, coming up with the proper ambush location, working on the proper chemistry for the truth serum (and man had Tae not had fun drinking it and then answering questions honestly to the people around her), and of course, coming up with contingency plans. Only when they all thought something reasonable was arranged did Tae call for the final plan review in the room she had set up in the hospital for their private conversations.

Not that she expected everyone to show up. They'd gone over things so many times before. It would likely be only those most tense, or most willing to rehash the rehashed that would show up. That doesn't stop her from setting up a tray of snacks, as well as a few cups of blue lemonade, just in case.

In fact, as someone knocks at the door and slips in she picks up her cup and takes a sip. Planning would be best with complete honesty.

"Come in," she finally says before sitting down.

Hopefully everything would go well tonight. That was the best she could hope for.

Who Hunts The Hunter | Keith, Billy and/or Stu, Sephiroth

The plan had been laid out. The observation points prepared. The bait set. The ambush team armed with sedative syringes and even Tae's sleeping pills that she'd given to other people when the nights got bad. There were ropes and handcuffs and quiet bodies hidden in dark places near the site of the waiting bait. Somewhere just barely in sight was York, walking on his merry way as bait, one they had been careful to set up as a good target over several nights that week. One that had maybe called the boys out on a personal level.

Hell, there was even a teleporting wolf ghosting along rooftops, watching the android and ready to swoop in as the hero.

And in one dark spot... A certain paladin waited, no doubt ready to spring the trap. A paladin with no idea that theirs wasn't the only set of watching eyes in the night.

The Interrogation | Tae, Billy and/or Stu, open to anyone on investigation team (no more than two others)

Two chairs in the back corner of the hangar, far from the shuttles that waited to carry He Rows back up to the ships in orbit. Bright lights set up to look upon them, to light them from several angles to make sure the nearby set up communication device could record everything. Two young men, tied to said chairs, looking worse for the wear and only just coming around from sedation. Outside of the ring of light, a few others to either join in or call out questions.

And front and center, one very tired and resolved doctor with a glass of some blue drink with a straw put in it.

"Good morning," she greeted as she saw the first signs of motion. "You must be thirsty."

She knew they would be. Her sedative did leave one with a damn wicked case of dry mouth.

"Here, have this."

And she would lean in to offer the straw. Time to drink up boys. To drink up and be honest for a change.

Network Post from Tae Takemi

Please find attached a video of the confessions of Billy Loomis and Stu Macher for their role in the attacks under the guise of a shadowy, cloaked individual with a mask akin to a melted ghost face. Throughout the video you will find that my own voice and their own are unaltered, and you are welcome to verify this through any datapoint knowledge or questioning of Venidelosia, who I specifically invited to observe the interrogation.

These confessions were, in all honesty, given under a degree of duress. They were gained by administration of something I have heard referred to as 'blue lemonade'. It was confirmed through prior records and the knowledge of datapoints that the plant in question induces uncontrollable honesty. I tested it myself to that end, and invite anyone who wishes to sample it to be certain of its efficacy.

Questioning was performed after the capture of the two young men by myself and a team I worked with. In the process they attempted to attack another person, though I understand this circumstance could be viewed as self defense.

No, I will not state who was involved in the whole process. They are welcome to come forth on their own should they desire. All actions made in planning were spearheaded by myself. All initiative was my own. All recruitment was done by me. I will accept full culpability in any punishment that might be levied upon those of us who came together to stop this madness. While this may make me a vigilante, the truth of the matter is that the attempts these boys made upon our lives must end. Our trust in each other must be preserved, even if it can no longer be extended to me.

So please, watch the confessions. Then discuss punishment. My personal opinion is that we ask Venidelosia to restrain them upon the Agrii ship to ensure our safety. It is not as though we can force a change of heart upon them. But I will not vote. My actions mean I should not have one.

I have asked Venidelosia to go in and open this text to inter-person communication. She says this will make it more like a message board so that people can jump between conversation threads should they desire. Please make use of it.

Comments

[directors_cut]

Eyes lingered on that knife, eyes sweeping over Keith like he wasn't sure he could trust him, struggling to catch his breath. His eyes widened in horror before he could answer or get out a warning, edging back fearfully.

"He's got a knife," he panted, words that could be meant for either figure, holding his side with a pained whine.

[tempredmental]

Yeah. Keith could feel it. He didn't waste time responding to the 'warning'. Think it through, Keith... If he reacted too fast without planning, he'd get stabbed in the kidney, and that definitely would not be good.

He still had his own knife in his hand, but his hands were occupied trying to pull the arm loose from around his neck. Did he risk dropping his own dagger? He knew that these two couldn't activate its sword form because they weren't Galra. He wasn't worried about that.

He clenched his teeth. His grip on the arm tightened with his free hand, and then he dropped his knife. Quickly, he attempted to reach back and grab the attacker's hand that was holding the knife to his back, just below the chest armor's protection, and tried to push it back away from him while shifting his weight in attempt to throw them both to the ground. His aim was to roll away from the knife being used against him and get it out of his attacker's grip.

It wasn't a perfect plan, and there was definitely a high chance he could still get stabbed if the other person was fast enough.

[target_audience]

The ghostface mask was placid as it stared back at Billy, focus locked onto him even as Keith squirmed and tried to find his leverage. It was clumsy, and had the monster flexing to try to squeeze around his throat tighter and dislodge his clinging fingers, but Keith was at a distinct disadvantage trying to make a grab behind his back. The shift in his weight was just rewarded with a quick, sharp stomp the back of his ankle, with the same heavy, black boots that had made so much cover noise when Billy came running.

[directors_cut]

Trusting one to keep the other busy long enough, Billy knelt to grab the dropped dagger, quick to excuse himself from their immediate space, backing away unsteadily with the blade outstretched. His strength seemed to be failing him, shoulders landing heavily against the side of the hangar, leaving a bloody streak as he slid down.

[tempredmental]

Keith couldn't stop himself from yelping. Damn it. He stopped trying to grab for the knife at his back and put both hands on the arm around his neck. He shifted his grip, this time, though, risking the knife at this point by pressing painfully hard on a pressure point in his attacker's elbow to make the arm go numb.

[target_audience]

The killer only had a second to try to readjust his grip on the knife, and then he was grunting in pained surprise at the effect that grip had on his arm, making him fling it out to free it from that pinch, releasing Keith's neck. This did only frustrate him, drawing a sound like the chuffing of a tiger from behind Keith, muffled under the mask as he swung the knife up wildly to plant it in Keith's shoulder and stop him from moving around so fucking much.

[directors_cut]

For his part, Billy appeared too weak to help, slumped over in the illusion of having passed out or maybe worse. But his ears were primed, ready to jump back to life as soon as it seemed that the tide had shifted.

[tempredmental]

As soon as his attacking pulled the arm away, Keith dropped into a crouch on the leg with the uninjured ankle, and swung his other leg out to sweep his attacker's knees, hoping that it would knock the other guy off balance before he could hit with that knife.

[target_audience]

He was already thrown off by Keith suddenly dropping, rocking him too far forward and easily sent pitching over with the sweep at his feet. He let it happen, making no apparent effort to catch himself, instead dropping his full weight onto Keith to take as he fell, flinging both arms around him this time to drag him to the ground.

[tempredmental]

With all his weight on one leg, Keith was vulnerable to being knocked off balance, so the attacker was able to pull him over. Keith used the momentum to twist himself and pin one of those grabbing arms to the ground with his own weight, and he gripped the wrist with the knife-holding hand, digging a thumb into the pressure point there to work on getting the knife free.

[target_audience]

The killer snarled again in strangled frustration, biting his tongue to keep from complaining as his hand spasmed in pain and he heard the metal clatter to the ground. Meanwhile, though, he had braced a leg around Keith's to keep him pinned as well, and grabbed him by the ear, using it to drive his face brutally into the ground, grinding it into the dirt.

[tempredmental]

Keith clenched his jaw against the pain, unable to shake off the ear grab. He yanked his arm back hard, driving his elbow into his attacker's ribs hard before making a grab for the knife.

[target_audience]

The air went out of him, and the hit reflexively brought his arm down to protect his stomach. On the way, he grabbed Keith's elbow instead and yanked it back again, this time to stretch it awkwardly as a knee was pressed into his back, wrenching his shoulder and giving the killer the momentum to pull himself up, trying to roll Keith onto his face to pin him down under that knee.

[tempredmental]

"Nnnngngggg-!" Keith tried to roll, stretching his free arm towards the knife and trying to turn around the knee in his back to relieve the pressure on his shoulder. The grip on his arm was on his elbow, and he bent the elbow, bringing his hand closer to his attacker's hip. Pressure points seemed to be working, so he pulled against the grip in a struggle of pure strength to get his hand closer enough to jam a finger into that hip. And, with the knee in his back, it meant that one leg was no longer wrapped around him, so he squirmed, moving to try to avoid getting pinned.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth had been tense as they had waited. He was the type to mentally go over and over a scenario and find all the ways it could go wrong. And something was wrong. He could tell; it just didn’t feel right. York wasn’t being attacked at all. And when he tried to call Keith and failed to receive an answer, he spread his wings and flew off.

It wasn’t entirely a surprise to see the struggle, but it was angering. He should have been here sooner!

He dropped down by Keith’s assailant, bringing the sword into view as he pointed it warningly. “Let him go.”

[directors_cut]

Surprisingly silent, the supposedly passed out teenager rose from his place on the ground with the arrival of this new threat. With Keith's blade he crept up behind the man and made to plunge the blade into his side.

[target_audience]

This dude was really starting to annoy the monster. He took that new pinch with a growl through grinding teeth, not bothering any more to keep the hold on him, instead letting the heel of his hand driving into any meat that it landed on to keep the killer balanced so he could snap a punch at the back of Keith's head and bounce it off of the fucking ground. That was when he froze, staring down a sword, the ghostface mask impassive but still, nothing to betray how his focus behind the dark mesh flicked toward Billy. He took his chance with another punch.

[tempredmental]

That left Keith slow to move. His vision blurred and his ears rang as he struggled to stay conscious. But his attacker hadn't picked up the knife. He could reach it. He pulled deep, grabbing it and letting his weight roll him away as the attacker was focused on Sephiroth. His vision swam with the movement, and he wasn't sure for a second if he really saw another person creeping up with a knife (his knife?) behind his rescuer. But then he realized Billy wasn't against the hangar anymore. With one last push, he got up to his knees and sidearmed the attacker's knife past Ghost Face and Seph, right at Billy's shin.

Whether it struck or not, Keith didn't know. He dropped into the dirt, unconscious.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth sensed someone coming up behind him and was about to strike or trip them with a wing when Keith pushed the knife aside. Then Keith fell. That further angered Sephiroth, that Keith had been this badly hurt before he had come.

Sephiroth kept his sword on Ghostface while glancing from the corner of his eye to see if the knife had hit its mark. He wouldn’t use strong magic against the boys unless he had to, but he had an attack prepared if they forced his hand. He wasn’t sure how willing they would be to fight him when he had interrupted their fun.

[directors_cut]

Billy hissed in pain, staggering his own attack as he flinched with the sharp bite of the blade. Pain was a good motivator. The boys knew that well enough, not all of Billy's wounds were fake.

Teeth clenched, he swung wildly, slashing the dagger at those massive wings in a rage.

[target_audience]

Ghostface, still on the ground, tried to fling himself to intercept that thrown knife, mostly falling over onto his hands with a grunt of frustration, then whine as it hit its target. The sound grew into another growl of anger, which he could at least channel into one more brutal thump to Keith's unresponsive back.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth grunted. A couple of those slashes had hit their mark. Feathers flew in all directions.

He sent out spheres of light and dark energy, mostly at Billy but also at Ghostface. He moved forward, reaching to try to haul Ghostface up from under one of his arms.

"It's over," he said coolly. "Get up."

[directors_cut]

Billy fell back with a scream, utterly unprepared to fight against magic or light, or whatever this was supposed to be, teeth grit hard enough to ache. That blade, still clutched in his remaining hand, was brought down hard and vengefully, aiming for the man's boots(?).

[target_audience]

Ghostface appeared to be slightly more prepared for magic, but he still cringed back, not eager to find out what this kind did. It was Billy's panic that hardened him slightly, his arm that had been fairly limp in Sephiroth's hold going tense like he might wrench away, only to bunch as he clenched that hand against his side to keep Sephiroth held for Billy's stab, and a simultaneous punch to his groin.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth managed to avoid being stabbed in the foot by leaping out of the way and starting to lift off the ground with his largest wing. He kept the hurt wing close to his side. He did partially take Ghostface's punch as he tried to haul him up too, and he grunted in pain, thrown off-course a bit.

He sent out another round of orbs. He was hoping to avoid using his fire powers in this area. It might be a good way to give the boys a taste of their own medicine from the warehouse, but he didn't want to start a fire. They didn't need more problems.