xp_logs | Breaking the World 5 and 6

Yvette, Jean-Phillipe, John and Sooraya catch up with Bemba and learn what's really been going on.

"What is he doing over there?" Sooraya frowned, unable to fully make out what the man was doing and pushed aside a few more branches. "It looks like he is... digging? Or am I seeing things wrong?"

Jean-Phillipe peered closer, and grunted quietly. "He is. And in a graveyard." He pursed his lips as if to spit, then thought better of it, realizing the noise might alert the man they were trailing. "I may only have the most passing of relationships with the church these days, but there are some things that even I know are blasphemous."

"But what could he be after?" Yvette was almost invisible in the shadowed area she was crouched in, her goggles pulled down to hide her eyes. "It is not like there are the wealthy people buried here, even."

Frankly, John was a little disappointed. He had been hoping that they'd encounter something more than... whatever the hell this was. "Okay. There's four of us and one of Bambi. I don't know about you, but I'm done with this stealth ninja thing and I want answers. Either we're wasting our time... Or we're wasting our time. Let's split up and make sure we don't lose him."

"We are not going to get anything further while watching him from here." Sooraya nodded in agreement. "I should be able to get close, especially now that it is night and if I stay close to the ground."

Jean-Phillipe nodded. "Two and two. One energy projector, one sneaky person." He grinned. "You and I, petite rouge?" He looked at John. "I will disable his vehicle, and then we move in?" It was strange, as assertive as he tended to be, Jean-Phillipe was not really any kind of leader. But the situation was fairly simple. He and Yvette went off one way, John and Sooraya the other. After a few minutes, Jean-Phillipe cut loose with a large, bright flash of electricity that hit Bemba's truck right in the hood.

It seemed for several long seconds that the man did not notice, until it was clear that he'd slunk down low to the ground not to keep digging, but to pick up a pistol and aim it in the direction of his truck. "Who is there? I heard the bang! I have a gun! If you show yourselves I will not start shooting!" His grip on the gun was steady and sure, but he turned several times, looking for whomever might be in the shadows.

Unfortunately for him, Yvette's skin enabled her to blend almost completely with the darkness. She had crept closer, unseen in the dark, and when he spoke she rose up, transforming into the Genoshan battle form. She wasn't as large as she had been as a mutate, but she was still a terrifying sight in the dim light. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

Bemba's yelp was cut off by the crack of the gun, and he fell backwards in a panic. "Nothing! I am ... help! Help, someone!" He skittered back on all fours until he bumped up against a grave marker and yelled again in fright. "Help please!"

"May I offer a suggestion?" Sooraya stepped forward from the darkness, stopping only two meters away from Bemba. "Just stay put and don't move." To strengthen her point she shifted when she saw him starting to scramble away again, flicking a stinging tendril at his bare leg. She remained hovering there in the sand shape, knowing the others could do the talking.

It did not do very much at all to calm him, and Bemba shot again wildly, this time into the cloud that had briefly been a woman and tried to scramble to his feet to run.

This was definitely one of those rare times John wished they had a telepath with them. Yvette could tear him to pieces, Jean-Philippe could electrocute him, he could roast the fella, and Sooraya was right now a dusty cloud; completely capable of causing death by choking. All very well and good, but they didn't want the guy dead. Still Bemba had a gun and if they didn't act right away, someone was going to get shot in the face, so John did the only thing he could think of. While Bemba was struggling, he took the opportunity to kick the gun away before grabbing the man by the shoulder to deliver a hard punch to his abdomen.

"Dieu, you really are a revolting specimen," Jean-Phillipe observed as the four of them came to stand in a circle around the grave robber. "I suppose it is what I expected to find, and yet." He nudged the man with a toe. "Get up, we have questions for you."

"Fine, fine, yes, ask your questions!" Anything to keep them from trying to hurt him. "What do you want to know? I will talk!" Bemba kept low to the ground, even after he was released, and his eyes kept drifting off to the gaps between the people. The red one could hurt him, and the men were obviously willing to fight, but perhaps the girl in the scarf. He'd lived through sandstorms before...

Sooraya had resumed her human shape and stepped forward. Trying to remain non-threatening she asked: "Why don't we start why you are disturbing people's graves? Does it have anything to do with how you were able to buy your nice new truck, by any chance?"

"It does not matter, they are not your people! Why do you care?" Bemba pushed himself up to crouch on the ground and looked around carefully. Still no good gap to run away. "The man I robbed was a thief himself, he did not deserve what he had, and I have used it for good! I use that truck to help others. We... I do good things!"

"Good things? Like selling mutant children to military groups?" If Sooraya was the good cop, Yvette was the bad one, eyes flaring dangerously as she pushed up her goggles. "That is where the money for this truck is coming from, is it not?"

"No! it is not from children! It is from diamonds!" Bemba said, voice hissing out the word diamonds, like they were a shameful thing. "There was a soldier, he had diamonds, from the mines! They exploit people! They exploit the workers, men like me, women! He was already weak, and bleeding. I gave him a gentle death, quick and easy, and then took his diamonds. You cannot put them back in the earth, the ground is already broken, so I took them and sold them."

"And you do not exploit people at all, I am sure," Jean-Phillipe said with a sneer, leaning into the other man's personal space. "And what is here for you to profit from, eh?" It was clear he had been looking for something.

"Only more of the same!" Bemba said, jerking away. "I thought he had hidden more, he kept saying he could tell me where more was if only I brought him to hospital, but it was too far. He would not have lived!" He had no idea if the man would have survived, but these people seemed like they would not take it well if he outright admitted to killing the man just to take the diamonds. "They had killed the miners! He was a murderer! He buried them here, I was looking for more, to help... I was looking for more!"

So Bemba was a goddamn grave robber with a heart of gold. Or just a damn good liar. John flicked a glance at Jean-Phillippe. "We should take him back to Angelo. Question him there. Find out if he's a lying sack of shit." He looked back at Bemba just then. "Because I'm thinking he's a lying sack of shit."

"Angelo, he is your grey friend, yes? He has gone to speak to my..." Bemba screwed up his face in a mask of concentration. What was it Americans called the people who were in charge of them? "my boss. Yes, I think that is the term. She leads us, to change a broken world, that is what you would call her, the boss?"

Yvette's eyes narrowed. "Angelo was to be with Ord," she said. "Who is this boss of yours?"

"Aghanne. She knows of what you all are doing, making great cracks in the world. Just look at you!" Bemba pointed to Yvette's sharp fingers. "You, your big friend, all of you, you will break the world and none of you even think twice to consider it!"

Jean-Phillipe's eyes narrowed. "Break the world, eh?" He had a sinking feeling about what this Aghanne might be doing to Angelo, if her goal was to fix the world they believed he would break. "How about I start with breaking you?" he growled, reaching forward to grab Bemba by the shirt and jerk him closer. "You will take us to them, understood?"

"Yes, yes, do not harm me and I will take you!" It would fit with Mistress Aghanne's plans - break their leader, and break the hearts of those who watched him burn.

The group, after retrieving Fred, make Bemba take them to the monastery and play Big Damn Heroes.

"Fine! It is fine but keep that away from me!" Bemba covered his face with his hands, eyes wide and white between his fingers. "I will take you to them, but I leave you at the gate!" He wrung his hands several times, and inched towards the mutants, taking a step back for every two he took forward. "That one stays behind, she will slice me up as soon as you turn away!"

Yvette glared at the man. "I am not a 'that'!" she protested. "And perhaps there is something you want to be keeping me from in there, yes? Like the ambush?"

Sooraya also stepped forward, her eyes glittering. "We do not wish to hurt you, Mr. Bemba. But we do know Angelo is in trouble. We want him back safe. You only have to show us the way."

"Speak for yourself, poudre," Jean-Phillipe said with a hard look. He would have no issue with hurting Bemba. Especially if Angelo was hurt. "How about I stay out here with you, cul?" he offered, electricity playing over his fingers.

"How about we all just calm the fuck down." John was already losing his patience, but his best friend was in danger and they were getting nowhere fast. There really was no point in causing more panic so he tried his best to keep his voice calm and leveled, despite the rising anger he felt. "Let's be realistic here, man. You don't have much of a choice." He lifted both of his hands to show that he wasn't armed as he took a step forward. "But the sooner you get us to them, the quicker this all blows over. Now I'll make sure Red here keeps her distance, but I suggest you get us moving."

"Yes, yes we will go. Just do not let her touch me! Or him! Or any of you!" Bemba kept shuffle stepping to try to stay out of reach of the mutants, but it seemed like one was always in arm's reach. "No, no ambushes! You can get your big friend if you want, to keep you safe if there are, but I promise, no ambushes. There are not enough people for that!" He hoped there wasn't an ambush - if there was, he was just as likely to be shot as the mutants.

"As long as you do not run away or betray us, I will not need to touch you," Yvette replied tartly. Although she was very tempted to poke him in the butt if he kept complaining. "Our friend is in danger. Stop wasting the time."

"Agreed, let us be on our way," Jean-Phillipe muttered. Finally, after enough badgering, Bemba began to lead them. First, though, was a quick detour to their camp to retrieve Fred and fill him in on the situation. Bemba quailed again in the face of a large, angry Fred, but continued to lead them through the undergrowth to an old stone temple.

Angelo was missing. No ones really knew what was happening to him, and an ancient wooden door was between Fred and answers. Fred could've easily, almost gingerly removed the door from its frame, were he in a better mood. Sadly, Fred wasn't even in the same neighborhood as 'good mood'. After swinging an arm bigger than almost the entirety of Yvette, the largest remnant of the door would've fit easily into someone's pocket. Fred was the first through the doorway, if only because he was so massive by then that moving through the portal warped what was left of the frame.

As the dust - and wood chips from the sturdy plank that had been barring the door and that Fred had just snapped clean in two - settled, the group found their fears very much confirmed. On the far side of the room, a bloodied and dazed Angelo was tied to a stake, dry wood piled around him to his neck, so lost in his nightmare he didn't seem to have even heard the crash. As Aghanne laid a torch to the wood at his feet, the prayer he was murmuring became louder.

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for this sinner now at the hour of his death. Amen. Holy Mary, Mother of God..."

"Angelo!!!" The sound of Sooraya's cry had not died away before she was shifting, her eyes glistering furiously before they disappeared in the cloud of sand. One 'whip' leashed out from the milling cloud, striking the woman's other hand in which yet another torch was being clutched. It clattered to the ground and rolled away from the pyre, still burning merrily.

Sooraya's cry was echoed by Yvette's as the small red mutant charged forward, spiked carapace growing even harder and sharper. Her goal was the stake and freeing Angelo and she was so intent on that she dismissed the group of young mutants clustered around the cave.

Sooraya had disarmed the woman, and Yvette was working to liberate Angelo from danger. Fred's load roar seemed to indicate a bit harsher approach. Aghanne, even after Sooraya's attack, was far too close to Angelo for Fred's current liking. Fred's hand grasped her around the waist easily, and he roughly threw her as far as the room would allow. The sleeves on Fred's uniform caught fire as he hefted burning material from the pyre and chucked it aside; he was far too interested in what he was doing to notice whether it hurt or not.

Jean-Phillipe couldn't match Fred for volume, but his angry snarl cut through the room as well, followed by the sizzling crackle that announced the use of his electric power. The group of young mutants, clearly Aghanne's brainwashed cultists, began to surge forward to defend their mistress, but were just as quickly driven back temporarily by a volley of electrical bolts filling the space between them.

The last to enter, John had been momentarily stunned by the chaos that greeted him. The screams of the young mutants under Aghanne's control kicked him into action, and he concentrated his efforts on getting rid of the spreading fire. Of course he had taken in the fact that Angelo was injured, but he'd pushed aside his worrying for now. The guy was alive, and he figured he would fucking yell at him later. As he took a quick look around, he pulled the flames from a torch, ready to make full use of it as the tendrils of fire curled around his clenched fist.

The torch dropped but the damage was done, her skin burned from the lashes of sand, "No - you do not..." Her words were cut off as she was picked up. Aghanne hit the wall and dropped to the floor once she was thrown- tears stained her cheeks from the pain and for the fact that these people knew not what they were doing. Standing up slowly, blood trickled down her nose and at the side of her mouth, her dark eyes started to glow white, "NO! YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!" The nearest child closest to Angelo reached to pick up the torch. "They will destroy us all..." The rest started to block the intruders from their mistress. "...Stop them! If Angelo is allowed to live he will carve the path for destruction!"

Yvette slashed through the ropes binding Angelo to the stake, trying to hold him up without him brushing the sharp edges of her armoured form. "Fred!" she called, glancing over her shoulder. "Help me with him!"

Angelo slumped against her as soon as the ropes were no longer holding him on his feet, then seemed to come back to himself and realise just who was helping, trying to shift so at least he was only touching her clothes. "Thank you", he muttered.

For as furious as he was, Fred managed to calm down when he heard Yvette yell for him and saw what she was yelling about. Trodding his way over, Fred managed to comfortably support Angelo's entire weight at the size he'd expanded to in his anger, "Keep cool, Jello. We'll get you outta here," he rumbled...

Seeing Angelo was safe with Yvette, Sooraya focused her attention on the children approaching them. Quickly her sandform spread out, various tendrils lashing out in the Whip. The stinging effect was far more gentle then she had used with Aghanne though, just enough to sting badly and hopefully push the innocent children back.

Jean-Phillipe was not as gentle with the throng. He understood mind control might be at play, but it would not be enough to simply try and push the children back. Instead, he directed his power at them, if carefully metered. The aftereffects of mild electrical shock (and a few bruises from his steel-toed boots) would heal. But more importantly, they would also remove Aghanne's converts from the situation.

Unfortunately, there were just too many between Angelo's friends and Aghanne. Jean-Phillipe might have been willing to injure in the process of rescuing Angelo, but even he was not willing to kill. "Merde! She is getting away!" he called as he continued to struggle with the press of bodies.

(placeholder Da'mien)

Sooraya directed a small portion of her attention to the fleeing figure. She might have slipped through the throng of people, but in the end she could not. There were too many of the young mutants... protecting Angelo and her friends were the priority here. 'Why in the world are you doing this?' she thought angrily in the direction of the woman, knowing she would not hear it anyway.

Aghanne looked around her and angrily looked at the red one taking down Angelo. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was losing control of her followers and knew she couldn't stay here and risk being caught. These people were not ones to show kindness to others. Looking over at Angelo, "You cannot escape your fate", before taking a back tunnel.

Her young followers were starting to stop fighting, looking around in confusion, as Yvette and Fred helped Angelo towards the door. He was staring in the direction of Aghanne's escape route, his own expression lost and uncertain.

Ord, who had been just as brainwashed as the rest, fell to his knees with his hands on either side of his head and his eyes closed. He was muttering something in some strange tongue, raising his voice until it became a dull roar. The only distinguishable English words interspersed in his ravings were the words 'lost' and 'death.' Still yelling, he curled up in the fetal position and began rocking back and forth.

Jean-Phillipe spared an upraised middle finger in the direction of Aghanne's escape before grabbing Ord roughly by the arm and pulling him up and along behind the rest of his friends and coworkers. "You will need to explain many things," he told the older man. And the children would need help recovering from this.

Now was when their real work began.