Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Arachne Basilisk: A Deeper Agenda

Serpine couldn't find Arachne in her office, or in her room, or anywhere she normally was. Either she was hiding, or she was with Mevolent somewhere and this had been planned. After what they had been using B-J for, he wouldn't be surprised if he had just decided her usefulness had ran out and she was just a liability now.

Arachne the sub-general was walking in what could be seen as a graveyard. This was where everyone who had died from Mevolent's side was buried right now. Except B-J, of course. She had only just been found. Arachne was making sure every grave had a name to it. Every body was marked. She didn't like the idea of 'gone and forgotten'. She strolled quietly through between the graves, locating Vehemence, Trilby, Electrolytic...they would always have a special place in her heart. She just wished she had been there to see them die. She knew what would happen now. Esra was miserable. Nefarian was miserable. There were two prisoners in the cells. Those prisoners would bear the brunt of the bad moods of those with keys to the cells. She felt sorry for them. It was all for a reason though. It had all been a big risk. She had no guarantee that Cadence would succeed with her job, the same for the break out crew, but she knew they would attempt. She knew Jasmin. She had no way of knowing whether Gale would beat Jerry or not, she had just had to hope. She had her plans. She would follow her plans no matter what.

-----

The girl was very pale, but the make-up on her face made her skin look fair. In contrast to the clothes she wore, the rest of her skin looked paper-white. Her lips were painted deep purple, her eyes were blue, her raven hair running to the small of her back. It was impossibly straight and neat. She attracted stares in her hot pink hoodie, short peach-pink skirt and brown and yellow striped tights. Her blue shoes with slightly raised heels clacked against the cracked, unpleasant pavement. She tried to avoid the litter and kept the flap that opened her handbag turned towards her so that no-one could steal from her. She looked about average in terms of beauty. Her handbag was a silver colour with a spiderweb design on the front. It looked pretty, was all. Otherwise she would have gone for something less obvious. She wasn't sure how to get to her destination. She couldn't ask for directions. It would attract unwanted attention. She had to find her own way. At least, that's what she thought until she heard a snatch of conversation involving Mevolent. She crossed over to a large group of sorcerers in a bit of a poor condition. She stood in their way and they stopped, but still chatted amongst themselves.
"Excuse me." The two men at the front turned to face her. She recognised one of the men at the back. "I'm looking for...someone."
"And you are?" The darker-skinned mage at the front asked suspiciously. Oh crud. She hadn't taken a new name yet. All the dressing up for nothing. They were waiting.
"Penguin." she blurted, then internally cursed herself. It had just been the first word that came to mind. The second man raised an eyebrow. The first had spoken with a Spanish accent, this second one was French.
"Penguin?"
She nodded. "Yes. Anemone Penguin...Nemone."
The French man nodded slowly. "I see."
The Spaniard sighed. "And who are you looking for, miss...Penguin..."
"...Mevolent..."
The people behind the men fell quiet. "I see..."
"I have to get there, you see. They have my...family."
"Maybe it's safer to wait for reinforcements. We can-"
"Just tell me how to get there. I know what I'm doing."
The man sighed. "You didn't hear it from me." He told her where to go and the group continued on their way, staring at her. As they walked, she heard the Spaniard mutter 'pendejo'. She shrugged, now Nemone until further notice.

-----

Arachne was able to avoid B-J's more immediate family as she slipped into her room. She lay on her front and opened her laptop, starting a video conference. "I'm progressing well." She started in an airy, conversational tone. "What about you?"
"My, ahem, 'partner' took her with him. I can easily recover her, but I need more reassurance you'll do as asked. The other one kept up her part of the bargain. Can I count on you?"
"You can, as long as I can count on you. Daemon did not kill all of us, you know."
"I know. You're still here, are you not? She timed it for when you were away. Unfortunately she did the same with Hazardous, a grave mistake. And the assault on Sunshine failed."
"It is good. Sunshine has his uses."
"He is a danger."
"He is the safest one to possess the Grotesquery. We could not have hoped for someone better. He is a hope to people like you, Sarok. People who do not want the Faceless Ones to return, like Sunshine himself."
Sarok nodded. "Once I hear of your success, I will return to you what we have taken. It is good doing business with you, Arachne."
"And you, Sarok."
"You know your targets?" Arachne nodded. "Kill them and them alone. Remember, I cannot act directly to obtain my own objective, I will have to get my partner to oblige within the parameters of my binding."
"I understand. Do what you can." She left before Sarok could say any more. She felt a bit hopeless when it came to someone like her. She swung her legs off her bed, checked the hall was clear and hurried out. She was avoiding those she had annoyed as she moved to talk to Mevolent. Her task was going to be hell to complete.

-----

'Nemone' had gotten inside the castle with no bother. They had mistaken her for some girl named Helix. She hurried through the halls, looking for the cells. She had gotten there fast enough. The only problem was she had no idea where to go or what to do.

Someone cocked a shotgun behind her. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned, raising her arms, and found the girl who must have been Helix. "And you are?"
"I'm Helix" 'Nemone' replied. This Helix girl had such an annoying voice. She would have a hard time trying to copy it.
"No, I'm Helix."
"No, you're a reflection. You're my reflection."
She looked confused. "Did you hit your head or something?"
"No, but you're about to." She charged forward, calling Helix's bluff. The gun wasn't loaded.

The only problems now were hiding Helix's body and then finding the cells. Easier said than done.

-----

Daemon sighed, sinking into a chair at Belinda's house. Nostradamus looked uncomfortable from where he sat on the carpet. Belinda was making coffee. She liked hers with hints of vanilla. Nostradamus hated coffee. They were waiting for Springheeled Jack to report back. It was a little awkward, but Daemon insisted she knew what she was doing.

Belinda came back with the coffee and stated she had seen him approach. Unfortunately for him, they had another job for him.

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