Aiman and Ralsis

[ryocker]

Aiman smiled, biting a bit of baby carrot. "Something you want. Something the Crystal Room has. I take it what they have was something precious to you- but i fail to see why you need Princess to get it back- although her skills are impressive..."

Next she started eating raw lunchmeat- and, childishly enough, offered him a piece of it.

[doctorzero]

Ralsis eyed the meat, but didn't take it. "I would hardly say that Princess has any skills mentioning. However, she is best described as an agent of anarchy and chaos--despair and bloodshed tend to follow her wherever she goes, making her extremely dangerous. It's for this reason why they were so interested in capturing her. However, no matter how competent Crystal Room Limited may be, they will never succeed in capturing her, or at the very least contain her, for long. As detestable as she is, the universe favors her and will never allow her to be contained. Here, however, there is nothing preventing her from being locked away permanently if they so choose, assuming, of course, they actually manage to capture her. Thankfully, that was averted by mere coincidence--so I really must thank you for being there when you did. If you hadn't, she would've slipped from my grasp long before I arrived, and I would've lost a valuable bargaining chip.

[ryocker]

Aiman started chewing on the lunchmeat when it seemed Ralsis refused. "So she's more or less your spare item for poker money..." Odd as that sounded, it seemed like a fairly good way to make an organization bow down to your will. Especially considering Princess's track record. "And I take it you'd be requiring additional help from third parties to keep things neat and tidy during the exchange.

"But why exactly would you pick me for this? You seem to have about as much magic power as I do- possibly more." Of course it was easy to tell- when you've been around magic your whole life, you gain a way to pick it up on your own. But Aiman wasn't here for flattery nor lock picking- she was trying to make a point. "And furthermore, what do the Crystal room have that's so special to you?"

At this, a small sprout of broccoli (with cheese) found its way into her mouth. once she chewwed it up enough, she tucked it to the side. "You've implied they hold prisoners. Do they, perhaps, have someone you love locked up? Or is it something more dangerous?" Waiting for her answers, she swallowed- then finally noticed something.

His eyes were the same shade of yellow as hers.

[doctorzero]

It was those same eyes that seemed to bore into her soul. "What I want from them...I suppose you could call it revenge. I mentioned my mother, Queen Staccato. She was brutally slain by their hands, particularly by those of Captain Evan Carmichael. And as the saying goes, blood must be paid with blood.

"That's not the only thing. What they have once belonged to my mother, and I want it back. I'd rather not reveal what that is just yet, for reasons that will be made apparent later."

"And as for why I would choose you--I won't deny that you being there was, as mentioned, a happy coincidence. I had half a mind to simply leave you there at their mercy, but I occurred to me that you might be useful. Should you accept my offer, I will be sure to reward you appropriately--within reason, of course."

At this point he reached forward and took a small slice of cheese. "Regrettably, should you choose to refuse, I am afraid I would not be able to allow you to leave the lab until my business with them is done--it's too much of a risk, you see, as they would immediately locate you and take you in for interrogation and eventual imprisonment. And I can assure you that even you would not be able to escape. I would be sure to make your stay comfortable, if that makes you feel any better. But should you accept my offer..." he tossed the cheese into his mouth and swallowed it. "Well, I believe I mentioned that rewards would follow.

"Well, miss Aiman? What do you say?"

[ryocker]

Aiman looked down at her lap when he was done speaking. Seeing a small, childish exterior trying to have serious thought must've insighted a giggle from most. But with reason- Aiman knew there were stakes in this, and she knew risks were certainly going to follow.

But none of that mattered. Not when she started chuckling. "Hmm...hmhmhmm~ I've been looking for a good source of excitement since I came to this interdimensional sess-pool. I'll admit I've had some fun toying with the local inhabitants, but this. This, it's large, devastating...

"And just my kind of work." she grinned- revealing that she had a pair of adult teeth coming through the front of her mouth. "You have yourself a partner, Mister Ralsis." she finally replied, extending her small hand to him.

[doctorzero]

A grin broke out on Ralsis' face as he took her hand. "Then we have a deal, miss Aiman! I hope this will be a profitable venture for both of us."

There was a muffled shriek in the distance. "And that must have been Princess," Ralsis noted. "That reminds me, there's also a few things I would like to show you, miss Aiman, as soon as you are done eating."

[ryocker]

A few more gulps were heard, with a perfectly clean plate in front of her. "...what was that? I didn't hear you over finishing." She got up and followed after him a while later. "So... what am I about to be seeing?"

[doctorzero]

"If we are to be partners in this venture, then it's best if I inform you of everything," Ralsis explained.

They entered an elevator, where Ralsis pressed the button indicating down. "As mentioned previously, the scientists of this station have been sealed in the lower levels of the facility without any hope of getting out without my consent. Other than preventing them from attempting to contact help or, heaven forbid, actually try to stop me--" He snorted. "--like they ever could, but the point is that they also serve as another hostage. Merely having Princess would not be enough--if anything, she would just be to sweeten the deal. But in case of that not working out, I have another trump card."

The elevator stopped. "Tell me, miss Aiman, what do you know of the Subspace Incident?"

[ryocker]

"Very little, should I be honest," she said, daggerishly. "I lack the knowledge of most other worlds- and my own world is a swirl of pain and torment. So I wouldn't know the goings on of the more beautiful realms even if I tried.

"...I say beautiful because... I switched places with her once. The woman with my name and appearance- my other self. Nothing was as cruel, more were starting wars than ending them- I wanted her world... but knew I couldn't have it.

"...forgive me," she said, a tear trickling her cheek. "I went overboard with my explanaition of the what I know. I should've been more relaxed than that..."

[doctorzero]

Ralsis gave her an aside glance, but didn't seem to react to her tears. "Understandable, miss Aiman. The Subspace Incident is a rather messy ordeal brought about by Crystal Room Limited as well as several other factors some time ago. CRL is quite guilt ridden about the incident, as many people were involved in it as well. And as it just so happens that I recently came across one of those people."

The elevator dinged. "It's just a little further," Ralsis said reassuringly. "Come along."

The hallway they traversed had another long window aside it. The sight of what was beyond it stopped Aiman in her tracks.

It appeared to be a large hanger. Taking up the majority of it was a gigantic metal machine, half completed and almost humanoid in appearance. It was clearly unfinished--parts of its frame was missing pieces. One shoulder had an enormous canister-like object on it; the other, what could only be described as a green cannon. Set between them was what looked like a missile launcher.

Ralsis took notice of Aiman's distraction and said, "Ah, that was there when I arrived. Well, it didn't have the weapons, but I decided to have the Unity add my own touches to it. I'll be sure to tell you about it later. Come along, Aiman."

[ryocker]

Indeed- the large mecha was a pretty distracting sight- but at this point she was becoming annoyed. "Alright, I'm COMING! Jeeze- stop treating me like I'm some kind of little kid! I'm over 300 for *beep*'s sake!"

Not wanting to be nagged at again, she made sure to stay close- close enough to be right behind him during the rest of the trip there. "Is this the room you were talking about?"

[doctorzero]

Ralsis seemed amused by her response. "Of course. Allow me to introduce you to our most valuable hostage..."

With a single press of a button, the door opened into a dimly lit, rather empty room, complete with a single occupant.

Sitting against the wall was a teenager in black. Nearly everything about him screamed black; his hair, his clothes, even the wings on his back.

Well, what was left of the wings. Both of them were badly damaged. One wing seemed to have had half of it broken off, while the other one had large amounts of feathers missing. The bone was even showing.

Upon closer inspection, a pair of manacles could be seen on his hands and feet, chaining him to the wall.

"Hello there, Pit," Ralsis said cheerfully. "Enjoying yourself?"

The angel didn't say a word.

"Still silent, I see," Ralsis continued as he knelt to look at his face better. "Well, you'll have to say something eventually. But I have some good news for you, friend."

The angel didn't react at all. If it weren't for his breathing, Aiman would've thought he was dead.

"Very soon, I will be giving Crystal Room Limited a call, and they'll coming running to save you--assuming, of course, that they'll accept my terms. But you know as well as I do that they would never leave someone like you to die, am I right?"

Still nothing. Ralsis sighed in frustration. "You don't have to play the silent game with me, Pit. At least try some of that witty banter I've heard so much about."

The angel's only response was to look up at Ralsis. Aiman would've been taken aback if she had looked into his eyes; they burned with a fierce hatred.

If Ralsis had noticed it, he didn't show it. "Well, I suppose that will be all, Pit," he said softly. "I shall come back and tell you of CRL's decision. Pleasant dreams."

And with that, he stood up and left the room, beckoning to Aiman to join him.

Dark Pit merely stared after them as the door shut.

---

Once they had left the room, Ralsis turned to Aiman. "Any questions?" he asked cheerfully.

[ryocker]

Aiman looked back at the closed doors, what seemed to be a look of longing in her eyes. "Just a few. His name is Pit, right? Why is he here? And second;

"Can I have a little fun with him later? Black wings or not- you don't find an angel very often- I'm rather curious as to what I could do with what's left of his body." She wore an extremely twisted look on her face- one that could only be described as homicidal.

[doctorzero]

Ralsis gave her a disapproving look. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, miss Aiman. He is a valuable hostage, and I would prefer it if he was left as undamaged as possible. The only reason his wings were like that is because it was unavoidable when I captured him.

"As for why he is here, I already answered that question: He is a hostage. I found him a few days ago; he had just recently come across the island. Luckily I managed to subdue him and bring him here before anyone, least of all CRL, noticed."

[ryocker]

"I see..." she said, understanding his words well. "It's a shame I can't collect much more from him... Oh, and I'll ask one last question- consider it a favor."

She tugged on his pants laeg, wanting him to bend down so she could whisper it. Mainly because she didn't want any... prying eyes to hear this. "Do you have any way of locating an ageing formula for me? I'd be grateful if I could look my best at your side in all of this..."