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

[tempredmental]

The dropped knife...

As the fog in Keith's head started to clear (the pain from getting grazed by that energy attack helped, actually), his attention landed on that very knife. He pushed away from Billy, using his hand against the other's face to shove him back, and scrambled as best he could to grab it first. It wasn't easy on an injured ankle, but it wasn't the first time he'd fought through pain.

[3wingedangel]

Seeing that Keith was dealing with that situation, Sephiroth focused on Ghostface. He suddenly teleported to be right in front of him. “Hello.” Again he has the sword out, pointing at him.

[directors_cut]

Growling, Billy shook off the push with a huff, and pushed to scramble after him. With one hand it was considerably more difficult, and he caught at Keith's foot to try and drag him back.

[target_audience]

The sudden appearance startled Ghostface into stopping, a stark enough change in his flailing momentum that he was lurching back and looked unsteady as he rocked on his feet, though not unbalanced. Even as he wavered, his shoulders had dropped back, and he tilted his head, projecting some recognition in the move of a monster that appeared impossibly and greeted his victim like they were playing. Ghostface wrapped his gloved hands around the blade of the sword to steady the tip against his chest, leaning in helpfully.

[tempredmental]

Keith bit back a yelp as Billy managed to grab the same ankle that Ghostface had stomped on earlier, but he also yanked the leg towards himself in response to get it away from the source of the pain. He rolled, trying to get on his back, and kicked with his free leg towards Billy's face just as his fingers wrapped around the handle of his knife.

As he felt the hilt in his hand, he activated it, the dagger flashing with a bright white light before turning into a sword.

And then he remembered that Tae had given them the sedatives to use. He wasn't close enough to use it now, but it would help to have it ready. The needle was in the pouch on his belt...

[3wingedangel]

Well, that was ... not really what he planned to do to the boy, so the helpfulness actually made it more troublesome. Not to mention he was sure Ghostface didn't really want to be impaled by a sword longer than Sephiroth was tall, so it had to be some type of distraction to cause him to let down his guard.

"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked, unimpressed.

His right hand ventured into his coat pocket for the needle. He was fairly ambidextrous and could even manage the Masamune with his right hand, although he normally preferred his left.

[directors_cut]

Billy cursed, holding his face, blood dripping from his nose and his eyes widened as the blade transformed.

[target_audience]

The derisive snort behind the ghostly mask was a muffled sound with a hollow echo in the plastic. It was only a glance back toward Billy that made him tense again, and even then when he leveled his blank stare back on Sephiroth, it was to knock the blade aside with a careless backhand, assured in the lack of any commitment behind Sephiroth's performance. He hadn't cared to save that woman who got her shit rocked, either. It was up to Ghostface to snatch the sword away from him, at the hilt this time with a stomp on Sephiroth's foot like it was a release latch, to save Billy.

[tempredmental]

Keith scrambled to be able to reach his pouch with the non-sword hand, which actually did require swapping hands at one point. He had to hop a few times, and, once he was upright, he knew his balance wasn't the best. But, he was up and ready. He had the sword in his left hand, closer to Billy, his right near the pouch that had the needle. Most of his weight was on his left leg at the moment as he put himself in a more defensive stance, waiting for Billy to come to him.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth came to life at that, grasping the hilt tightly and moving his foot aside in one swift motion. He had just been waiting for Ghostface to get that close without the blade in the way. He was angry about what had happened in the past. He hadn't been able to save Sameen since he hadn't been in the room when she had been hurt, and then he had wondered if he had been wrong, as Wesker had said, to try to interfere in the mess when he had been so new. But he had researched and now he knew he had been right in the first place. This time he was going to see this end.

He took out the needle in a flash, jabbing it into Ghostface's body.

[directors_cut]

Billy, still on the ground, eyed the sword with a sharp glare, but wasn't foolish enough to try and continue that fight unarmed (ha). His eyes flit after Ghostface in concern and he moved instead to roll over and push up to his aid.

[target_audience]

It was just in time to watch Ghostface freeze, wavering only briefly, before releasing his hold entirely, then pitching over to thump in a cloud of dust on the ground.

[tempredmental]

Keith took only a moment to register what had happened before gritting his teeth and pushing himself to move towards Billy this time. His steps were uneven, but he was still relatively quick to attempt a tackle before trying to jab his own needle into Billy.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth watched Ghostface fall with a deadpan expression. "You got off easy," he remarked. "At least for now." It was hard to say how everyone would vote on what to do with these two.

He tied the boy's hands together and looked over to see if Keith needed any help.

[directors_cut]

Billy struggled right up until the needle pierced him, slowing as he fought it, but passing out a moment later like his counterpart.

CW: blood mention

[tempredmental]

Keith stood there, catching his breath, before limping back a few steps. He knew he couldn't carry either one at this point. He stared at the unconscious bodies for a moment before raising his glance to meet Sephiroth's.

"Can you carry both of them?" he asked. "If not... we could give York and Tae a call to send Kosmo out for help. He can teleport them back in or..." Teleport Keith back in? His voice had trailed off, unable to really finish a thought at the moment. The fog in his head had cleared up a bit with time after waking back up, but he could feel the oncoming concussion migraine and was having a little trouble processing thoughts beyond just reacting to things. Combine that with exhaustion and pain, he honestly wasn't sure how much longer he'd be upright himself. He really did just want to go to sleep...

He gingerly touched the left side of his face, opposite the burn scar, to see if he was bleeding from where Ghostface had jammed him into the dirt. There was definitely some, and he knew he was going to have a pretty decent road rash there for a while until it healed.

Re: CW: blood mention

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth wished he could currently teleport farther than line of sight. But he nodded. "I can take them ... but are you able to walk?" He looked Keith over appraisingly. He could see it looked like Keith had a concussion. "You should probably have Kosmo take you back."

His lower left wing he was keeping close to his body. It had been hurt by the knife, and while the damage hopefully wasn't too grievous, he didn't want to further jar it until he could properly take care of it.

Re: CW: blood mention

[tempredmental]

"Okay..." Keith leaned forward. putting his hands on his knees. "Yeah. Good idea..." He couldn't argue. He could walk, but it would be slow-going. Add the fact that, between his ankle and the concussion, his balance was way off. He was likely to stumble or fall and just potentially make everything worse.

He pulled out his com to make the call.

"Are you hurt at all?" Yes, he was concerned about Sephiroth, even in his own condition.

Re: CW: blood mention

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth nodded, glad on the one hand that a fuss wouldn’t be made but concerned on the other that Keith must be badly hurt to agree.

“I am alright,” he said. “I may need to stitch my wing.” He looked it over. There was blood amid the feathers. He would have to wash and clean it before the blood matted in the feathers.

[tempredmental]

"Do it yourself?" Keith raised an eyebrow as he slowly straightened back up. That was hardcore. He fought off a short bout of dizziness, sending Tae and York an update... that Billy and Stu were caught and down, but that it hadn't been without a fight. Sorry, York, you didn't get your moment this time. He also asked them to send out Kosmo to help with transporting.

[3wingedangel]

“Since wings aren’t common in my world except on animals, I had to learn,” Sephiroth replied.

He watched in concern. He had better not lift the boys until Keith was safe. He might sway and start to fall at any moment.

[tempredmental]

Keith was definitely unsteady, but he didn't look like he was going to fall over just yet. That said, shortly after he sent his message, there was a bright flash of light as Kosmo appeared once he was told by the others to head out there. The wolf gently pressed himself against Keith's side, and Keith responded with a rub of the wolf's head.

"Hey, buddy..." He then nodded at Sephiroth's comment. "I guess that makes sense," he said quietly. "But, if you do need help, it doesn't hurt to ask someone with the medical data point. It might have information in there about wings." He shrugged a bit.

"I'll see you back at the hangar?"

Medical would probably be a better place to go, but the main doctor was over at the hangar anyway, so it wasn't a terrible idea. And Keith did at least want to try to watch the interrogation. He just wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to stand watching it and potentially listen to excuses and lies and attempts to dodge the effects of the blue lemonade, let alone deal with his growing headache.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth was glad of that, but he had definitely known times where someone seemed more alright than they were and things suddenly escalated. It was a relief when Kosmo arrived.

"It wouldn't hurt to find out, yes," he agreed.

He nodded. "I have to deliver these two first of all." But then he did want to tend to his wing. He was very protective of them and didn't want to run any risk of infection to the injured one. But after that, he intended to be present for the interrogation. He could imagine that lasting for quite some time after the sedative wore off.

[tempredmental]

Keith nodded slightly.

"Okay... later."

The unspoken signal from Keith gave Kosmo the okay, and the two of them were gone again in a flash.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth nodded. “Goodbye.”

He picked up both boys and also left.