𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕤 ℝ𝕖𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕟

Badou sighs. He had the feeling it wasn't quite over, but he was hoping to pull the wool over his own eye, trick himself into thinking maybe it'd be okay. That's how you don't stay on your toes, however...

"Heh. It'd hardly be a smooth collaboration, but you can bet it'll still cause a lot of problems for the rest of us," Harukaze replied with a shake of his head, crossing his arms.

He'd broken out of the Conductor's grasp once, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to the chance for revenge... especially with the new memories swirling in the undercurrent of his mind.

His fingers curled into a fist.

It isn't surprising, in a place like this. Apparently. The pattern would be apparent to a blind mouse.

At that, Harukaze actually laughed. It was a little bit bitter, but still a genuine laugh despite that. "You've got that right," he muttered, and the corners of his lips were getting dangerously close to an actual smile.

He definitely knew "those guys with names like that." After all, he'd been one of them, once. "You know, I wonder if those two are working together," he mused. "It would hardly surprise me."

He stretched out his arms over his head and sighed, the almost-smile disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. "I know for a fact it's not over... bastards like that, they're much too fond of their 'experiments' to just sit down and accept failure. I'm sure we'll have to deal with them again sooner or later."

                 —  𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃  𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃  𝐍𝐎  𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃  in  his  hand  ,  but  then  he  did  not  need  one  .  he  had  long  discovered  that  the  serrated  edge  of  his  prison's  bed-frame  more  than  sufficed  .  drawing  upon  all  that  lan  had  taught  him  ,  rand  flowed  from  form  to  form  .  the  rat  gnaws  the  grain  bled  into  the  water  flows  downhill  .  the  water  rising  flowed  into  the  courtier  taps  his  fan  ,  then  into  the  boar  rushes  down  the  mountain  into  moon  on  water  .  rand's  head  jerked  towards  the  man  who  aided  him  ,  but  there  was  no  time  to  question  him  .  theirs  was  time  too  little  time  to  spare  .            another  man  bolted  out  from  behind  the  cover  of  a  desk  .  rand  grit  his  teeth  and  continued  through  the  forms  .  men  cried  out  as  they  fell  ,  but  rand  deafened  his  ears  to  them  .  blood  smeared  across  pale  linoleum  tiles  .  it  splattered  across  the  jumpsuit  they'd  stuffed  him  in  ,  like  a  turkey  to  truss  and  pass  around  on  a  platter  .  rand  bolted  between  one  broad  shouldered  man  as  he  tried  to  beat  his  newfound  ally  across  the  back  of  his  head  .  he  speared  him  through  ,  and  then  turned  his  wild  gaze  across  the  room  for  anyone  else  who  dared  .  i  am  the  hunter  now.  AND  SO  RAND  HUNTED  DOWN  EACH  AND  EVERY  ONE  OF  THEM  .

          when  it  was  done  ,  rand  wiped  the  blood  from  his  makeshift  blade  and  ,  by  habit  ,  nearly  went  through  the  motions  of  sheathing  it  .  he  caught  himself  just  before  then  ,  and  in  the  sudden  STILL  AND  QUIET  ,  surrounded  by  death  on  all  sides  ,  rand  looked  down  at  the  other  man  .  the  one  who  had  barreled  in  and  aided  him  .

        ❝  good  work  .  ❞ 

Once, the sight of floors painted with blood, piled high with bodies, might have horrified him-- but that was already ancient history. Now, he was more than familiar with this sort of thing, and though the feeling of blood on his hands was a little unpleasant and sticky...

These people, at least, more or less deserved it.

And if they didn't, then they shouldn't have associated with those who did.

The battle wrapped up surprisingly quickly. The researchers had been caught off-guard-- though as word spread throughout the facility, they would probably be more and more prepared.

Fortunately, this guy... the guy who looked only a little crazed, Harukaze thought... seemed to be a decent fighter.

No... he definitely was still alive. After all, he hadn't been present the moment Harukaze's disparate 'selves' had recombined, almost as though he had anticipated the puppet's escape from his grasp. Besides that...

"That bastard wasn't even the slightest bit concerned," he shook his head. "Trust me, he's still out there. People like that... have an annoying tendency to stay alive."

"What, like a storm's coming?"

"Hm," he crossed his arms, gaze flicking back and forth. It really was quiet today. Even the usual thugs didn't seem to be especially active, just a few lurking around the shadows here and there.

Then again...

"They say you trade in information." Harukaze tilted his head slightly. "What do you know about that person called 'The Conductor?" he asked.

THE GUY WAS RIGHT , THOUGH . it was going to get dark soon . sunlight seeped through branches and evergreen needles , painting the trucks a bleeding orange . normally link would find it beautiful . normally , though , he wasn't hiking in vain pursuit of lost folk , and so painfully aware of the night's fell chill .

LINK SLIPPED THE SHIEKAH SLATE from his belt and drew up his quick log of his assignment . one man and one woman had entered these very woods . their friends had mentioned their trip had been an intended few hours . they had not been seen overnight . he showed the screen to his fellow traveler .

Missing persons... it seemed like way too many people went missing in these woods. It wasn't all that surprising-- humans had a tendency to bite off more than they could chew, to lose track of time, to downplay the dangers that lay ahead until the trouble had already caught up to them...

Harukaze sighed lightly and shook his head. "I've seen some people. I've even sent a few back toward the path," he said. "It seems like with the first hint of spring, everyone wants to go on a hike, but no one remembers that it still gets far too cold at night."

It was troubling, though. It would be one thing if it were a pair of Echoes that had wandered off like that. They'd either have a miserable time, or they'd just end up back at the tower, after all-- probably also quite miserable. Some of them took that sort of thing harder than others. The Aercon, though...

He glanced up through the gaps in the boughs above, criss-crossing against the sky's fading light.

They'd already spent a night out here, and the cold wasn't the only danger. More than likely, they were already dead, but... who knows, maybe they were sturdier than he thought.

Badou tries not to look for trouble, but it just finds him!!! He hopes this won't turn into trouble, but he could appreciate a good conversation.

He propped his chin on his hands, scoffing lightly. "Heh. It's not like I'm not used to it," he said. "Maybe I just like seeing what kind of messes humans get themselves into."

Gazing out across the neon streets, he sighed, then hopped down from his vantage point. Now that he'd been spotted, it wasn't much use staying there. He could find a better spot later.

"It's all too quiet right now," he muttered, and shook his head. "You'd better be careful. I bet that's due to change any time."

"Getting yourself in some deep trouble as always, huh?" It's nice to see a familiar face, though it would have been so much better if they hadn't met in a place like this.

"You really think you can take on one of those machines with your bare hands? Suit yourself," Harukaze raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, tossing aside the chair leg in favor of the blade he'd stolen from the machine he'd pounded into rubble. He preferred a sword to a bludgeoning tool anyway. "Maybe if I have to come to your rescue, I can repay you for when you helped 'me' back then."

He still felt strange, after his ordeal at the Conductor's hands. He was settling, slowly, but it was still strange.

Harukaze glanced down the corridor. "I want to find out who's responsible for all this," he said, his voice laced with a sharp, profound bitterness. "It feels too... gratingly familiar. I've been searching for someone with access to the Palpus Wing, but no luck so far. The highest card I've managed to find is specialist."

He held up the access card he'd been using now. It was rather conspicuously stained with blood, the same as Harukaze himself.

"You think so? I've seen a few at night, maybe that's in the big city...what about stray cats?"

A sigh. A moment's pause, as if debating internally whether he should bother to reply. Then, he shook his head.

"Heh. More likely, maybe," he muttered.

Things had been resolved, they were... peaceful, at least for now. But that 'for now' held a lot of weight... and peaceful times had always been some of the hardest.

"So... what are you doing in this part of town this late anyway? Looking for trouble?"

The people hanging out under the indistinct neon glow tend to be a little rough, and the guy doesn't seem like much of a fighter, despite the eyepatch and cigarette. More like the type to run away from danger, screaming his head off.

There's nothing more that Uriah hates than being contained and caged like some animal. However, he doesn't lose his cool. It doesn't take long for the man to start getting to work. A lot of the things here are electric, and that meant he'd have some way of escape. The camera. He can do something about that.

-----

Removing the camera and using that to disrupt the electricity is easy, and it's what allows him to escape (albeit not without its own challenges)

The electrical current courses through him, affecting the metallic plate drilled at the back of his neck. He's out on the other side, though.

“So, you're here too, Snowy? Ha... why am I not surprised?"

Wearing the same plain white jumpsuit and lacking his typical wide-brimmed hat, Harukaze's rather delicate appearance was even more apparent than usual-- to the point of looking just a bit pathetic. Though the blood and machine oil staining that white fabric told quite a different story... some of it was the dark burgundy of his own, though far more was still-bright red, emanating a faintly metallic scent. The bloodied chair leg he'd used at the beginning had long since been swapped for a blade that had been attached to a now-dismantled machine.

His expression was mostly annoyance, but there was still a slight touch of delight there.

The chair leg, which he'd kept on him just in case, was offered to Uriah.

It's a strange sight, but he's seen stranger.

"Tch..." he muttered. "You know, pigeons are only out in the daylight. They're not going to be on the rooftop at this hour. You'd be better off watching out for bats-- after all, they carry all kinds of diseases, and their teeth are so small that you might not even know you've been bitten."

Harukaze has been kidnapped! Fortunately, he managed to escape by using the Eye Light. Even though he's a little ragged and worse-for-wear after crossing the barrier, that won't deter him from his self-imposed mission: find the heart of this facility, and the person who brought him here, and demand answers-- then, destroy the whole thing.