Shadow games (Pain, Zeniro)

[stern]

Stern sat on the pier, notable in khaki shorts and a simple yellow t-shirt. It was a warm day on the bay, and he was enjoying a bit of sun at a favored resturant. Stern didn't get out much, what with all the work he had to do, so he thought he'd get a bit of fresh air while he was out for his meeting.

He had called Adam and Zeniro to meet him. The fact that he had mobilised them specifically was enough information to tell them what was to be discussed. Stern's plans with his open protests had accomplished thie objectives, or at least were ready for what Stern planned to do with them. He had not given the two any information about his plan yet, but they knew that was out of security and demanded loyalty more than anything else. Besides, with what he intended for them to do, they'd recognize the power of unquestioned leadership.

He sat, chewing softly of the complimentary bread. Watching the sun slowly settle on the horizon. It would be sun set soon, ironic, as the twilight days of Hircine were slowly marching to the present as well.

[Pain Killer]

Looks like this is it.

Taking a slow breath to prepare himself, the self-proclaimed Pain Killer stepped out of his car, taking extra care not to slam the door for fear of it falling off from the force. The old clunker wasn't much, but it was all he could afford at the moment, and at least it got the job done. Clad in his usual black tanktop and jeans, as well as the everpresent fingerless gloves, he began to head towards the restaurant, searching for the younger man he looked up to so much.

Maybe it's time to stop playing the pacifist role, and start getting some real work done.

The thought was exciting, as it'd been quite some time since Adam had last fought for something worthwhile at the school. After all, the first time he'd met Stern, Pain Killer had been dealing out some particularly bloody repercussions to those who would prey on the weak, and he'd seen what he thought to be a kindred spirit in Stern. The ends justify the means, or something like that...

Even as the thought finished forming in his mind, Adam caught sight of the man he'd been looking for, sitting at a table on his own. Having little doubt that there would be more joining him, Adam walked to the far side of the table, putting his hands in his pockets while smiling somewhat happily at the younger man.

"I guess the boring part's over, right?"

[stern]

"Boring? Oh Adam, I'm suprised by now you haven't picked up an eye for my talents. Zeniro has at least learned to appreciate them. You be supirsed how rewarding and refreshing mainuplation can be. It's much more relaxing than simply waving your fists...."

Stern trailed off, his hands rolling at the wrists to illustrate his point. He was more casual among his morre trusted subordinates, as the more personal attachemtns they made the harder it would be for them to betray him. It was a sacraficial tactic though, as it made it hard for Stern to simply abandon them when he was finished with him. Zeniro had not been necessary this time, but Stern stiil arranged for his arrival simply for the company.

"This time, we'll be doing a little of both though....I'm particulerly glad your here, cause I intend to give you the biggest work load."

Stern didn't seem to care of Zeniro's absence....Zeniro didn't care much about the why, and he trusted Stern's plans to be right. Give him orders and he'll do them. Adam required a bit more effrt, despite humbling him in public at the tournament long ago. It had brought him into more reliable behavior, but he still was a rather indpenedent mind.

"You'll notice that the rate of growth for my front has dwindled....the truth is, there's very few people left looking for a side. Now I want everyone to pick a side though, and seeing from my tactics you've probably noticed that I'm not being picky which one. Everyone has the guns, now it's time people start to realize if they don't pick a side they'll get caught in the crossfire. We need to create an escalation in this conflict, make people start looking for security. Let the fighters choose sides, and we'll bring the pacifists under are direct control of our front."

It was a general outline of the plan, and it started to mimic the creation of chaos of the last one. This time, however, he was making certain the explosion would be on school grounds, and desided to have a more formal trigger to launch it. There would be no screw ups this time.

"I intend to announce in a few days a big occasion to the school populace, give this doomsday a count down. That should help set the atmosphere. What I need you to do is to cause some internal agression in the Hand and Leon's group. given your unique connections to each group, you the best suited for this."

Stern spoke of Adam's roomate, Kyukaku, and of his brother Trent. He had never spoken of the latter before, and even now took effort to avoid the conversation. He was someone he felt Adam would sooner forget, and Stern was familiar with that feeling. Trent was the exact sort of person Stern told Adam the day they met that he didn't want the world to create anymore, and was willing to become such a monster if it could change the world so he was the last.

"I don't care how you do it, but your the one they're most likel to believe. They'll ignore anything I'll say, and Kvist's members will probably run away from me when I get near after how we sucked them dry in Varron. Use your connections to cause as much internal strife as you can. We cannot cause any fracture, but I just want them on edge. Use Maverik's weak alliegance to spread rumors, and you can probably use your brothers mind against him if you tried. This is a critical part of the plan, we need to make those who havent picked a side take one now for the effect I have planned."

Everything Stern had done in Hircine led up to the next part in his scheme, having polarized the situation with his extremely liberal group to unbalance the population. Those who liked what he said flocked, and to balance those who thought otherwise flocked to the leaders that suited them. The plan would need those who didn't bother to think to give it bite though. His reputation kept two forms again, peace to the masses but completely untrust worthy to all others. They wouldn't even trust him to lie, which made dealing with him so difficult.

"I don't care what you have to say or do, and I don't care if they kow I'm planning this, just cause as much strife as you possibly can. Can I count on you to get this job done?"

[Zeniro]

((OOC: Been swamped in my dissertation, sorry for such a late reply I haven't had time to even look at the board recently. I will however make time to post here. I'm in the last legs of my course before I finally get a bit of time to myself.))

[Pain Killer]

"I...yeah. I got it."

The mere mention of his brother threw Adam for a bit of a loop, keeping him from agreeing right away as he normally would have. If it was what Stern needed to be done, however, then it simply meant Pain Killer would need to get over his fear of his brother long enough to get the job done.

Then he could go back to avoiding him like the plague, until the time came to save his sister. Actually, this might work out better...

"So this internal strife, as you put it, it's going to make the groups start recruiting out of the general student body? Is that the plan for now, or do I not need to know?"

While the words may have sounded disobedient, Adam's tone suggested that it was innocent curiousity. He was used to taking orders from the younger student without being given the reasoning behind it, and truth be told, he didn't much mind not being told either. Too much information would force him to think too much in a critical situation, worried about what Stern would want him to do, rather than simply acting on his own gut feelings.

Removing his hands from his pockets, Pain Killer took a seat at the other end of the table, not realizing it was rude to do so without being invited to sit first. The thought never crossed his mind, instead, he was busy trying to figure out how to state his latest complications without giving too much away. Aw hell, might as well just come out and say it.

"I don't know if you've heard about this, but there's a group that allied to take out the Pillars. Leon's part of it, Shuya as well. I joined too, due to... personal reasons. I doubt they'd be happy to know I told you, but I figured you should know, whether it impacts your plan or not. If it does, I'm sure I could just step aside when the time comes as they battle the Pillars."

In one moment, he'd betrayed those who had put their trust in him. Adam had thrown his lot in with Stern.

[stern]

"Well, it's part of the plan. Though they won't be recruiting from the central populace, the populace will come to them. Anyone who wants to fight already has a side. Now it's time to make everyone who doesn't want to feel like they need one."

Stern spoke as Adam sat down, suprised he had not done so earlier. Stern was a man who used formality, but was not bound on it. A tool, not a way of life. Such frivolous things held little sway on his judgement outside of the public eye.

"As for how much you need to know....I'm afraid as an honest face among my people I need you out of the loop for the grand scene when it unfolds....don't worry though, everything will be clear when it happens."

Stern listened to Adam deliver old news, not really showing much change in appearance as things were told. He didn't seem to hold much worry about the allinace he was hearing about, but in the end it didn't really matter what he showed on his face....most were better off no believing what he did.

"I knew about this for some time, it's no suprise that Leon decided to make this move shortly after my return. I inspire a sense of desperation in him, causing him to choose a target and go for another the entire time we duel....his grand standing is actually part of the plan this time....the alliance with Shuya is a bit unexpected though, but it actually saves me some trouble."

Stern had actually began making an effor to contact Shuya descretely, giving the job to Zeniro to avoid having it linked to him. He was actually intending to restart the tension between the alliances groups, and use that to get the school as a whole nervous. This turn of events may prove that those effort were not needed though....as a Leon and Shuya alliance was of convience at best. Such things would last until they lost use....at best.

"In the end, this all plays into my plans. You forget that I try to stay out of the small games while I work on my big picture Adam...we did so last time, and we're going to do it again. More importantly though, I'm curious as to those personal reasons of yours.....I doubt it's simply Darren that causes you to do this, you know I could always find a way to incroprate that little item of buisiness into my plans if need be...."

Stern's mind raced to a number of ways he could do so, and multiple plans popped into his mind. They were all a bit risky, or had Adam doing the leg work, but all performable and would speed up thier time table somewhat.

"You know I learn everything, and if I find out something important is kept from me, your not going to like my reaction."

Stern didn't allow disloyalty in his ranks, he demanded conviction in all his followers. If Adam had something that could make him change sides, he was best to tell Stern. Better Stern have suspicion than he simply break his back to avoid the trouble if he found out on his own.

[Pain Killer]

As soon as Stern said his last words, Adam's eyes widened in surprise, his gaze travelling to the table's surface. His gloved hands clenched into fists, gripping the material of his jeans underneath the table, purposefully out of the sight of the younger man. Despite the fact he'd suddenly found himself very uncomfortable, the self-proclaimed Pain Killer knew he couldn't drag out his response, as it would no doubt give the wrong impression.

"You're right, it's not just Darren. It's Mya, my sister. Before Varron High closed down, she was kidnapped. Then everyone was shipped off, and I had no idea what to do. A few weeks after my fight with Darren, though, Shuya contacted me, and told me that he knew where my sister was. It turned out, Trent took her."

The words came out soft and slow, as even now Adam had reservations about revealing his reasoning. Once he'd started, however, there was no reason to stop. He glanced back at Stern, obviously still nervous.

"I would've told you earlier, but..." -I didn't want to look weak- "... I didn't know how to say it. With all the work that needs to be done at the school, there was no point in bringing up something like this."

Finally, Adam fell silent. It was the longest time he'd talked to Stern, and with as little social skill as he possessed, it was all he could do to sit and hope that the student he looked up to would accept his reasoning.

[stern]

"Makes sense, Trent is part of the Hand now, and you have people going against them while I'm not. I can understand your desire to join that alliance....but you should have checked with me first, and you know I use the Hand fairly often to do work for me. You could have ruined everything."

Stern was not using a particularly harsh tone now, as some inner chord was struck that seemed to spark what appeared to be genuine concern. He knew he should be lecturing Adam, but seemed to lack the conviction to do so.

"Besides, it's just a bad plan. Your enemy is one man, not an entire group. I'm concerned that you think that Leon and is his friends aren't capable of doing something I am not. Stick to interference with that group as your punishment, I've changed my plans regarding your brother."

As usual, it was what Stern didn't verbally say that was the point of the last speech. Stern could not have Adam be concerned about his sister, or playing hero to go rescue her. the only way to resolve that was to put him to work elsewhere and deal with the problem personally.

Given that he was doing it personally, Stern had molded his appearance in front of Adam to say it was as good as done.

"Do you have any knowledge of her condition and location? I assume you know where Trent is living as well."

[Pain Killer]

Pain Killer's eyes lit up the moment Stern implied he'd deal with the situation, surprise and relief both flooding through him. The best he'd hoped for was for Stern to allow Adam to deal with his brother, incorporate it into his plan somehow. Even that plan wasn't completely wanted, as Adam was sure Trent would either beat him or outsmart him. Stern, however, was a different story. He'll know what to do... I'm sure of it.

"I wish I did know where he lived, as then I would've tried something to get her back. Trent's a psycho, and while he has some sort of... fetish, for me and Mya, I wouldn't put it past him to leave her in bad condition..."

Pain Killer trailed off, remembering the night Mya had told him Trent had stabbed her, attempting to kill her for destroying the unborn child within from when he'd raped her. That was the first night he'd ever seen her cry, and the tears had nearly torn his heart in two. Scowling, he looked back at Stern, his face determined.

"If I'd have known you were here in San Francisco, I would never have joined up with Shuya and Leon. Stern, I swear to you now, I will follow you to Hell and back, whatever you ask of me."

[stern]

Stern nodded hearing conviction in Adam's voice. There was the loyalty he demanded with the trust he gave with revealing his plans to him. Stern now believed he had regained any losses he had gain from his absence in Adam's case. He still, however, intended to deal with this situation personally. He himself had simliar experiences, and he couldn't let someone go through the same thing. It would be much worse if it ended the same way Stern's had.

"Hmmm no, leads then. I have given Zeniro orders to contact Shuya to arrange a deal we had previously, as we had made arrangments I had hoped to restart. Perhaps when he arrives he'll have news for us of a meeting, and I'll see if Shuya has more information then."

Stern watch a a waitress came to the table, and placed a drink for Stern down. Another quickly came with a large pizza, with more toppings than one would expect the pizzas crust to be able to withstand the weight of. Stern quickly took a slice, motioned toward the waiter who had delivered the food.

"I recommend you get a drink quick and dig in, Zeniro and I tend to eat a good deal with our weight."

Stern took a large bite out of his slice, his mouth stretching to the point that most of his rivals would make a joke about his big mouth.

[Pain Killer]

"...Thank you."

It still felt weird to express gratitude, but at this point, Adam felt it was necessary. His role model had taken it upon himself to deal with Pain Killer's problems, and despite the Rydell boy's usual insistance to do things on his own, this was a situation that he wouldn't handle properly. As the waitresses dropped off the food and drink, respectively, Adam took Stern's advice, ordering a glass of water. He'd never had the desire to drink anything else, save alcohol on the extremely rare occasion. Nodding in response to Stern's offer, Pain Killer took a slice of the pizza, holding it in his gloved hands but not eating any quite yet. Instead, he simply looked at it for a moment, before his eyes travelled back to Stern.

"You know, I think you're a good guy."

His words weren't exactly elegant, but considering the source, it was a fairly decent admission. Such an amount of generousity and assistance had made quite the impression on the youngest Rydell boy, to the point where he found it necessary to voice his thoughts. To do such a thing sober was almost unheard of during Adam's stay in Varron and San Francisco.

"That makes me think, though. How did Zeniro come into the picture? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind him, but he's got a mean streak a mile wide. Yet, he follows you unwaveringly."

With his question voiced, Adam took a bite of his own slice, waiting patiently for Stern's response.

[stern]

Stern stopped chewing mid-bite, taken back by Adam's blunt behavior....it wasn't that he was the first to believe Stern was a decent person, or even a good, but it wasn't expected to come from someone so close to the plan. Amongst the original Individuals, they considered thier cause rightous, but they did not consider themselves good people. Stenr quickly finsihed what food he had in his mouth, then took another bite, as if trying to avoid answering. It was probably the first time Adam had seen Stern uncomfortable, and this realization of this is what gave Stern the ability to bring himself back to reality.

"Don't be mistaken, my aims in helping you are exaclty the same as the ones that gave you this problem, personal. I'm doing this because I want to, not because I care about your sister or your happiness with her particulerly."

It was odd to chastise someone for a compliment, but Stern needed focused allies, not enthralled ones. Stern had told Adam the day he recruited him that he would create a world where monsters wouldn't be created anymore. Stern had every intention of being the last one ever built by the school system. Still, it was obvious by his actions earlier that he was uncomfortable with such conversations, probably more than Adam. He could pretend to be social much better than Adam, but he was a natural liar. Being social, however, was something he had forgotten long ago.

"As for Zeniro...we met a few highschools back, during the early day's of the masses plan. He is one of those monsters that this callous system made, though he had the personality for it long before that happened. Still, a rebel without a cause has nowhere to go, and I simply swooped in an filled the void, giving him a direction he needed. That's probably why he stuck with me, even after he found out so much about my methods. Afterall, no dog want's to be a stray at heart."

Most would feel insulted being called a dog, but Stern felt no insult as comparing Zeniro to one. He felt more comfortable with his than he did with most humans, the only thing besides Stern that Zeniro had ever been able to discover he valued. Stern had to admit he could see the appeal, as he equally saw the qualities in Zeniro himself. There was an honesty in savagery. If he want's to kill you, you just have to look, and if you ever look weak he'll be the first to prey on you. Harsh, but it came with honesty, depenability, and a motivation to keep you going. Stern often wondered, if he should get away with his scheme for some reason or it failed, what would happen to Zeniro and himself. Most likely, Stern had to admit he would become like Zeniro than the other way around.

~Where is he anyway....?"

[Zeniro]

Zeniro looked at his right hand, it bled heavily along the ridges of the knuckles. His expression was dark, telling the story of events that had occured only minutes ago. Zeniro favoured walking, he had set off with ample time and would have made it to this meeting early, however a combination of Zeniro's flaws meant that he would turn up top the meeting late.

Zeniro's disregard for his own safety and his lack of flight instinct when it came to fight or flight meant that he had taken the quickest route to the meeting place. For Zeniro this meant taking a route through a part of town that most people went out of their way to avoid. Needless to say Zeniro's appearance attracted all the wrong attention, unable to back down from something Zeniro saw as a direct threat he had charged head on into a group of three run of the mill street thugs. The fact he had to fight three of them did not help Zeniro time wise, and when he realised that they had made him late...then his frustration and anger boiled over and Zeniro had literally beaten the final gang bangers face into a bloody pulp until all that was left was a bloodied gargling mess.

His adrenaline was kicking out now and the pain in his right hand was starting to settle in, oddly enough Zeniro found this soothing. It took his mind away from the anger and the other sadistic thoughts that played through his head. He exhaled slowly as he slipped on his leather fingerless gloves to conceal the wound. He was aware that people often reacted to him badly when he was stained with blood. Once Zeniro reached the meeting place he arrived just in time for food, something which brought a rare satisfied smile to the Maori's face.

"Sorry I'm late...I've been working up an appetite...."

Zeniro looked from Adam to Stern, offering a simple nod to them both before he took a slice of the pizza and began to shove the food into his mouth. To many people Zeniro looked and behaved more like a wild animal, this was true even when he ate, his slice of pizza dissapeared into the void of his mouth so swiftly youd've thought someone was either going to take it away from them...or he had arrived late to an eating contest and was catching up.

[Pain Killer]

"Personal, hm?"

It was more of a rhetorical question than anything else, as Adam doubted Stern would go into any real detail beyond what he had already decided to tell. Besides, it wasn't in his nature to pry. Instead, he went back to chewing in silence, listening to Stern as he spoke. No dog wants to be a stray at heart... I guess that's the same with everyone. Everyone needs a purpose.

In a matter of moments, however, Pain Killer was brought out of his thoughts by the arrival of Zeniro, who received a nod in response to his own acknowledgement towards Adam. A small rush of anxiety flowed through him, hoping that Zeniro had indeed met with Shuya and brought good news. However, the youngest Rydell would not say anything just yet, as no doubt Stern would get to it in good time. Instead, he would simply hold what was left of his slice in his hands, slowly switching his gaze between the two others present, as he eagerly awaited what would come next.

[stern]

Stern moved his hand in front of Zeniro after he got his food, barring him from returning. It was a very primal, alpha-male form of communication. He was in charge, he said who ate. If he wanted to eat, he followed the rules. Followed the rules, he could eat his fill. Then again, Zeniro had rarely let Stern down, so his forward nature would likely not bother Zeniro much.

"Have you managed to contact Shuya yet....things have become more complicated and I need to speak with him personally?'

Stern removed his hand from in front of Zeniro, clearly showing he wanted to make sure Zenro was listening during the feasting. It was obvious Stern did not care which answer he got if he had to meet Shuya personally, but an open line of communication would help. He didn't expect an answer soon, as eating was the only case where Zenro actually did bite off more than he could chew.

"Anyway, I was explaining the next part of the plan to Adam, we run confusion tactics and panic the populace into becoming more polarized, yet still disorganized....Adam is messing with the fanatically pious, so you get to enjoy one of your favorite types of people...authority figures and those who hide behind them."

Stern knew that giving Zeniro any orders beyond that was uneccesary...he would go, raise hell, do a good deal of damage, and that would be that. Even if the Pillars had checked the records of Stern's involvement with Zeniro, it would only serve his purpose better if they viewed him as more of a threat now....and nothing gave a wake up call better than Zeniro hunting down your lackeys for his amusement.

[Zeniro]

((OOC: Well Shuya still hasn't answered my forrest thread for him, so we'll go as if I haven't had chance to find him. Keeps things moving.))

Zeniro watched Stern's hand, any other man who did this to him would likely have said hand removed and then force fed to him. Stern however was different, he knew Zeniro's bestial nature and tapped into it perfectly, he was the man who called the shots and did so unwaveringly. In return Zeniro did anything he asked unwaveringly, literally willing to lay his life on the line for the man he regarded as his leader. Zeniro paused and watched Stern, Feeling a slight anger with himself that he hadn't been able to get hold of Shuya in time. Zeniro's fault really, he may have been to heavy handed in his tracking and put Shuya off coming face to face with him. He clenched his teeth at his own brutality...search and destroy was he fortay...not retrieve. He looked to Stern and the briefest of headshakes would let the man know he hadn't been able to come face to face with Shuya to relay the past agreement.

His mood lifted ever so slightly however as Stern divulged what it was he had been telling Adam. Things were indeed progressing. They always did, at times they accelerated at a frightening pace and before any one knew it all hell had broken loose. This hell often came in the form of a rabid Maori on a mission hell bent on destruction..often for no apparent reason. As Stern spoke Zeniro heard the words he had been waiting for....although he only put it in so many words, Zeniro's twisted mind already started doing the rest. His lips twisted into an unsettling smiel and he nodded his head slowly.

"Anyone you want me to tear to pieces first?"