Players:
Summary: Connor and Daisuke have a chat about where things are heading.
Date: June 25, 2020
The Lone Wolf
Rating: PG-13
The Future - NYC - Battery Park
With the ruined remains of NYCs Financial District serving as a backdrop, Battery Park offers a stunning contrast to the city that nearly surrounds it. Left mostly untouched by the ongoing war, its flora and fauna have run amuck, reclaiming several of the sites New Yorkers once looked at from the multitude of windows above. Situated at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, this park still provides easy access to a network of subway tunnels, naval piers, and more. A short distance away, The Sphere continues to stand proudly, serving as a reminder of peaceand resistance. One just need know where to look to find either.
Sometimes fresh air is just needed and Daisuke knows that he has to run into Hosea again, he's not sure he'll be able to keep his temper. Sure they talked, things were calm at the end but Dai still doesn't trust him the least bit. He's sitting on the ground, over grown flora all around him with his back against a stone as he drinks from a dusty bottle. It's a bottle of Sake he found about a year ago and has been holding onto. Even though he can't get drunk the taste just makes him feel better triggering sensations of when times were better.
The polite cough behind him would be warning enough, but stepping around from behind some cover is Volk… moving with silent step through the grasses and the overgrown shrubbery as he unslings the large sniper rifle off his back and settles it to one side. Sitting down across from Daisuke, he watches the man for several moments, using the assault rifle slung to his chest like an arm-rest. After a bit, he then growls out, "This isn't… like you."
The polite cough behind him causes Daisuke to tense, like he's getting ready for a fight. "Hey Volk…and what isn't like me. The sake, the solitude, the need to just get away for a bit?" He says raising his eyebrow before offering the bottle to Connor. "We never really got to know eachother that well..but I'll just say one thing. Don't trust Hosea. He's too….forgiving and that'll put you in danger."
There's a roll of the eyes from the man as he rolls up his own balaklava, and reaches over for the bottle, swiping it and taking a short swig. There's a twitch of his eye as he pases it back, "Never did… knew him… from Xavier's. He won't… say… but to him… I think… America was… a joke. One he could… make fun of… by just… pretending… to be what… we thought he was. Didn't… like him… from the start. Always… something off."
"God." Is what Daisuke says. "He's…too religious. Thinks that there is some higher power that's gonna protect him from this. Sorry but when that bullet hits your chest, God isn't bulletproof nor is he going to send a bloody angel of mercy to save your ass." He sighs and shakes his head. "I could have taken out Caleb. I could have had him dead, without an injury, but then Hosea had to go…." He shakes his head. "Sorry it's not great Sake but it's all I could find."
Volk sighs once and leans his head back to look up at the sky, "More… crimes… have been committed… in the name… of God… than any other excuse… in history. I stopped… believing in… the ephermal… about the time… my family died. They say… God helps… those who… help… themselves." Another pull from the bottle, before he passes it back to Dai, and smirks, "Be glad… you have it. Scourge… would have… taken it… and used it to make… molotovs."
"No…no molotovs. This is Sake once of the best tasting drinks. You know…you said, this is not like me. Was it because it's the first time you've seen me drink?" Daisuke asks since he's almost never seen drinking and not because he doesn't like the stuff. "I..I can't get drunk. I can't get stoned, nothing. I've tried countless times and nothing. Just my mutation blessed me with being able to eat anything, not be able to get sick, drunk, high, anything. I…I kind of believe. My Grandmother was a Shintoist. I haven't been able to visit my Mother, Brother or Grandmother's shrines in years. I believe but don't practice."
"Not… what I meant…" Volk replies, and then reaches up and pokes the older man in the forehead, "You're… letting his belief… bother you.. more than it should. But it's… not because… of the… nobility… of the act. It's because… you felt like… prey… was taken from you. Your moment… was stolen. And it was for no good reason."
"I feel like he's a fucking idiot!" Daisuke says obviously annoyed. "I figured if I offered Caleb an exchange for his life so maybe we could get at Heather we'd have a chance, ya know? Then that idiot goes and won't let me kill him it's kind of like…well thanks for taking away my poker hand dipshit." Daisuke grumps. "Speaking of Heather..then there's this riddle Chloe gave me 10 years ago that seems…important now."
For a moment the glare from Volk is icy, his eyes burning with the same intensity that one might consider his sanity in question as he growls out, "Dai… focus. Stop… brooding… on his failures… and just look to… what not to do… next time. If… that's who Hosea… chooses to be… then let him. It will… take him… down the path he chooses… to it's.. conclusion. Understand?" After the moment passes, he settles back and his eyes fade a bit, "What's… the riddle?"
Daisuke rolls his eyes and shrugs and just keeps his mouth shut. "The riddle is something Heather gave Chloe 10 years ago..she knew about Time Travel. We tried so hard to figure it out but couldn't. It didn't make sense but…now that Ahab had a Time Traveling Bondage Heather….Keep sight of my many faces, Listen to the bells and chimes, Retrace all my muddled paces, And turn back the tides of time."
Muddling this over for several moments, Volk's eyes lid, "I've… had… this conversation… before… I know it. I know… those words. From somewhere…" Shaking his head, it seems like a great effort to focus on old memories, before finally he starts panting and leans his head back, "Damn… I… know this…" And then there's a hard exhale, "This… is the problem. Memories… I cannot tell… something is wrong there… I should… I feel like… I have heard that… poem before. In… the past. But I… cannot… remember it."
Connor pages, "This is happening because Chloe wants past RP on the same subject! XD" to you.
"Well I heard it 10 years ago Connor, Chloe might have told you back then too." Daisuke says as he knows he wasn't the only one who heard it. "Pietro doesn't remember it at all. Though it makes a bit more sense, that last line. We have to turn back the tides of time…some how. Then her many faces…do we remember exactly when she was turned? Listen ot the bells and chimes, I'm still thinking it's an alarm of some sort. Like a clock bell or watch alarm. Lastly Retrace all her muddle paces…well..well shit. Maybe she's left clues through out time! And we've been missing it for how long?"
Shaking his head once, Volk stands up and moves over towards Dai, sittinf down next to him, "Maybe… you're looking… to obliquely… listen to the words… Many Faces. Two things. Either… Many Heathers… or… the watches… Heather wears. Have you noticed? So many… up and down… her arms. Also…" He then coughs a few times in pause, and actually digs out a canteen to sip from, "Taken… to context… what if… there is a code… hidden… when… they go off? The rest… may be… effect… instead of cause. See… first half… do… second half."
"There's so many options Connor. I know I've gone through the faces, like clock faces, a few times. You have no idea how badly this riddle made me want to slam my face against a table." Daisuke says as he looks over at the park and sighs. "I miss when things were simplier ya know? Nevermind…but how can we lok at the watch she wears if we can't get at her?"
Fishing into his pocket, Volk pulls out a rather intricate looking chesspiece. It looks like the base is a pawn that was compressed from car steel, and then intricate clock gears have been placed around it and worked until it has become the image of a queen, "Answer is… play… the game. Heather is… a pawn now… it chafes her… even in… her programming. She knows… I have a plan. She knows… she can't stop me. But still… we both… have to play… the game. So… engage her. If… on the battlefield… do not fight… physically. Fight… by other means…"
Daisuke looks at the chesspiece and smiles. "Shit…you know what, I bet there's something carved on that or something. Show it to Chloe too. She'd remember the riddle. I wanted to get her…set up something, but Caleb, not a smart Hound and Hosea….he really has NO right to tell me what my life is like and that I don't understand." There's just too much on Dai's plate and he's not at peace with things right now, too bitter. "We're all pawns but…she's a bigger player than she realizes. She's not just a pawn she's an end game prize."
Putting the piece away, Volk then motions for Dai's pistol at his side, fishing into his pockets and pulling out some parts in a roll-out kit, "Pass… it over. Guns… are gone… but… scrounged up… a nice… surprise… for you." Smirking a bit towards the end as he waits for the pistol to be handed over.
Daisuke takes out the glock he's been holding onto since he got out of the mutant camp a while back. "Yeah I know, ammo's not what it used to be." He says making sure the saftey is on and handing it handle first to Volk. "Saved my ass several times. There's about a half a clip in there and if you try to shoot me Volk…I do know your weakness." There's a small grin as Daisuke doesn't fully trust anyone, you trust them to a degree.
He doesn't look up as the man ejects the clip, clears the chamber, and tosses the half-full magazine back towards Dai, "Do tell…" Volk grunts out as he begins breaking down the pistol and checking the parts, beginning to swap them out for newer and cleaner pieces that he's brought with him.
"It's noble, something I wish I still had. Your friends." Daisuke says with a smile. "It's…it's not a bad weakness, it's understandable. Means you still care. Me, all my good friends are dead except for Sophie. I can't lie and say I don't miss Jericho but ya know what…I've been through worse I can get through this." Daisuke says as he watches Volk. "Then your own power is your weakness. You can…overload. Destroy yourself. You're like a generator, pour too much power in and on constant use and if the fail safe doesn't kick in..boom."
There's almost a smirk and a chuckle, before he says, "Volk… means Wolf. In Russian. And I am… very much… A Wolf now…" As he takes out a new slide with several holes in the top to match the barrel he's installing. After several moments of simple tooling, the Volk finishes and then flips the pistol to hand to Dai, "Congrats… Full-auto… conversion. New… selector switch… on the side. The… holes in… the top… channel some… of the powder charge… to compensate… for muzzle… climb. More stability. When shooting… on the move." The rest he remains silent on, but it looms there as if the truth has been known for a while now.
"Yes but the question is are you a lone wolf or are you a pack wolf?" Daisuke says looking at the gun. "You know this is gonna be dangerous?" He says putting the clip back in and back on the holister. "I don't know what I am now, just the same thing I've always been, a fighter. I always have been even when I didn't know it. I'm also bad luck."
Volk rumbles back, "Maybe… a little of both. You're not bad luck… what you are… is… a warrior looking… for honor. Looking for… your sword. But… since no blade… fits your hands… right… you are… forging… your own. The road has… had many failures, but still… one day… your sword will be… honed… and drawn to strike." Another drink before the coughing fit hits again, and then he adds softly, "Help… Chloe… help… Rashmi, Daisuke. Soon… this fight… is over… and my reason… for being here… will be done. There are… other… battles… to be fought. Ones… just as important… as this… but… they are in places… no one else… can go. Will you… be that sword for… them?"
"Connor…" Daisuke says as he wants to refuse, he really does. "You don't understand, I really am bad luck. Ever since I was four and lost my Mother. That was the start. I can be strong for me but other people…I dunno." He still doesn't say no though, it's a lot for him to think about. "I just have a few questions, are you selfishly going in to die like Jericho did? Cause if you are I hope your spirit doesn't find rest. My second question is what is your reason for being here? Think about that and again, is it selfish? And third, why me?"
To the first, he easily shakes his head, "No… I'm going after… Ahab. In the places… he's gone that… others can't. The larger war… is in time. And time… is something very few of us… could navigate. But… we have a plan." There seems to be almost a relief in the admission before he continues, "I came back… because I had lost myself… and what was left… was here… invested in… others. Trust… hope… Faith… things you forget when… you're a stranger… in someone else's… war." Eyes come up and meet Daisuke's as he comes to the third answer, "Simple… I trust you. I look… in your eyes… and I see… another wolf. Part of you… wonders… if you're better. Part of you… is grateful I walk beside you… and part of you.. howls for those you've… lost. They need… someone… like us."
Daisuke looks at his bottle of sake, there's about a quarter of the bottle left and he hands it to Volk. "There, you have the rest. You could use it more than me right now." He says standing up and offering a hand out to Connor. "I'll try, no promises but I'll try. I've always been damaged goods but aren't we all now?" He says looking around. "Let's head back to base, I think…I think you have to explain this to your friends or else when you leave I'll tell them and it'll hurt more coming from me then them. If they're your weakness, you might be theirs too."
Taking the bottle, and swigging it all down, he sets it carefully like a gravemarker in the middle of the spot where the two have been talking, "Only one… that matters… is Rashmi. She's… the lynch-pin. She… can show… the others. Robyn. Dead. James… knows… to a degree… our last fight… was that. The last. Lucas… Lucas won't… listen… but Rashmi…. she can… reach them all. Better… than me." And touching Daisuke's shoulder, the pair suddenly vanish from the scene, leaving the bottle to teeter and fall over from an errant breeze.
