Participants:
Scene Title | Beyond the Milky Way |
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Synopsis | Eve Mas gets a visit from her captor. |
Date | October 26, 2020 |
Undisclosed Location
It’s a plain room, but really it’s probably the negation that makes things more uncomfortable than the rooms. There’s a couch, a bed, a toilet, a sink and some reading material, something to pass the time, but also cameras and occasional visitors. And locked doors and bars and negation.
Yeah, it was probably the negation that was the worst part.
There’s two doors between Eve and freedom, and they are never both open at the same time, a small beep calling out when the other side closes to let them know it’s safe to open the second door. That’s the warning that someone is visiting, with a snack, for a check up, for another round of negation, possibly. This time, though, it’s the tall agent that had been at Xpress, walking a little gingerly on their feet. They’re dressed more like an agent this time, with a suit and tie and proper shoes.
“Good afternoon,” they say, offering her a small smile under eyes that definitely have a hint of eyeliner on them. “Candybar?” they suddenly produce a Milky Way from seemingly nowhere.
Brown eyes eyes the agent.
"I liked your other outfit better." Eve remarks and looks at the Milky Way and her expression softens. It's her absolute favorite. "Only people with impeccable taste eat those." Eve's hand snatches out from the couch where she is curled up and she holds the treasure in her hands.
It's been rough.
Beating on the doors didn't do much. The windows. Screaming. It was worse because she was waiting for the doctors, the shrinks, the drugs. The straps. Her time in the asylum had been rushing over her since she had been placed here.
No doctors though. Just this person with the candy. Pale hands slowly unwrap the candy and she leans back, Eve wasn't crying but she's been sad. "You saved lives," Which was a great thing given the circumstances, "But the ones that were lost. They were all family. We're all family you know."
It would seem she's willing to not bring up the needling in her ass but surely Eve Mas hasn't forgotten such a thing.
Surely.
No, Eve Mas would not forget such a thing. Castle stays close to the door, as if knowing they may need to use it to escape, but they don’t actually reach for a weapon or anything to defend themselves this time around. Perhaps they think they could handle it if they needed to. Even with sore feet. “A lot died, unfortunately. And we weren’t able to contain the perimeter well enough to capture the suspects responsible. But we did get an ID on the primary suspect, at least. A known Pure Earth extremist. It’s been added to the stack of the many crimes he’s wanted for.” But not yet caught.
“The two you stayed with— they’re fine. I made sure to check on them after. They had a few scrapes and bruises, but they were okay, and they remembered what you did for them. They were grateful that you stayed by their side. But they were even more grateful that it wasn’t the end for them.”
That was one bit of news they had wanted to give.
“I liked the other clothes better too, but— I gotta try to look like a respectable Agent sometimes,” they add, gesturing at their clothes a little. “And it’s not so bad. A nice suit cuts a good figure too.” That’s said with a grin, cause— they did look good in a suit. They looked good in most things.
"It sure does! Do a twirl!" Waving her finger around for Castle to do so.
With a small laugh, Castle shakes their head and complies with the request for a twirl, grinning, because, yes, they cut a good figure.
The news of the couple that was saved makes Eve smile and she takes a bite from the candy bar. "They were sweet. Love always deserves a chance." A slight shrug of her shoulders as if to suggest the belief was silly. "Good for them! Good for the living."
But she was still here.
"I didn't kill those people you know, false advertising. The other ones. That was something else." Detroit still stained her name and she hadn't done much to clear it officially.
"What's a fancy person like you doing with a bunch of bores?"
There was no way of knowing exactly how many they had given a second chance at life, but Castle knew there had been more than a couple. They had checked on that couple specifically, though, because they had watched them die, they had held their hands as they went. It had been the one bit of hope that they had held onto at the time, that had allowed them to continue, really. It had been a horrible sight. All of it. “They’re not as bad as you think, really. You haven’t met very many of them yet. We’re a quirky bunch,” they respond to the question with a small shrug, as they lean back against the door again.
“And we know— that it wasn’t really you in Detroit. We have testamonties from multiple people who were there who said you were possessed, as well as those statements you had released. We believe you. We know it wasn’t really you and that you normally wouldn’t be capable of that sort of thing. We’re not clear on how you survived, but we can figure that part out later, I’m sure.”
No, they hadn’t figured out how she survived at all yet. “You just have to be patient. We got a lot going on right now.”
They had an Exchange coming up, after all.
"The woman with the doors, she was nice. She got me waffles, from Belgium." That amounted to a lot for the former seer.
"I'll tell you, how I survived." Eve looks off to the side so very casually as if she's getting to unveil the way to make the softest eggs possible, "If you can keep it a secret for now." The grin on her lips is entirely too wide and her white teeth are clenched together as her eyebrows raise, doe brown eyes shifting back to the agent. "Mmmm? What do you say?"
Leaning forward until she's almost sliding off the couch, "I think it's pretty wicked."
“Reeves is pretty great,” Castle has to admit with a grin, cause, well, they happen to be quite fond of the woman. Not just because she happens to be able to open doors to a lot of places that no one else possibly could, but for many reasons beyond that, really.
As she looks about to confide, though, there’s a pause, before they glance up toward the cameras that they know are there. “Anything you tell me won’t really stay a secret for very long, I’m afraid. And even if you whisper it, it probably won’t, either.” It’s said with a small bit of regret, especially since it would probably benefit them to have her talk.
But maybe it wouldn’t benefit everyone.
“We don’t need to know right now. So when you’re ready to tell, you can tell. But for now, you should keep what secrets you want locked up.”
"I know many secrets. /Mmmm." Eve stops and tilts her head still on the edge of the couch. "Who are you, exactly? What Government Fairies have I found myself with. //Neutered." It's the first time the woman has even alluded to the stabbing since Castle walked in. Anyone that knew Eve knew she hated being negated and did it just out of not wanting to always hurt her friends and family with her former gift. Chestnut brown eyes narrow and look Castle up and down. "Skinny skinny, are you eating enough?"
The pale woman waves the question off with her hands, "What exactly do you want dearie?" A sly smile crosses Eve's lips. They weren't charging her, they weren't throwing her in prison. They believed her. They wanted something.. Eve extends the other half for the Milk Way over towards the agent.
"I'm rather interested in you. Time Fairies don't just fall into your lap every day," though Eve Mas sure had a knack for running into them.
There's a light tapping of a beat underneath her raven locks, in her head, but the dance had started the moment the door opened.
“You’re not neutered— you’re just restrained. For the moment,” Castle says with a shake of their head, though they still seem amused, even as they answer the question on which government agency she happens to have found herself in the grasps of. “Office of External Affairs, which is basically a fancy way of saying everything outside of the known world. Which to most people is thought to be space, but between us— you know it’s not just space we’re talking about here.”
Outside. Beyond. External. The world apart from the one that everyone thought they knew about. The other worlds. The worlds between.
“That’s what we’re interested in. While lots of agencies are protecting us from domestic threats, we’re focusing on the— external threats. The threats that most of the world can’t, shouldn’t and will probably never even know exist.”
But she does. And they do.
And after a moment, they reach out and take the offered half of the milky way.
A disgruntled face is made and Eve lifts one middle finger towards Castle. Restrained. It was all… "Poppycock!" Frustrated she looks away as Castle takes the chocolate.
"You speak of the In Between, the space between and the worlds beyond it." She watches as they take the candybar and she tilts her head. "Well Roger, there are loads of secrets there." Eve stops and looks up at the cameras with a raised eyebrow.
"I think I've been there." It's said offhand, Eve was still discovering herself, "I know something that's lived there. Was trapped there." Her speech is slow but no less sing songy, eyebrows twitch and she grins madly towards the DOE agent. "Ahhhhhhhh."
External threats.
Her back touches the couch and she slides into a more comfortable position, entirely amused and entertained at this time, "You believe me." Eve looks down at her fingernails, "You are rather late to the party dearie."
“Not as late to the party as you think we are,” Castle says with a shake of their head, looking down at the Milky Way for a moment before stopping the conversation to take a small bite and chew and enjoy it. It gives a moment of silence where they can look at each other, until they speak up again. “We had eyes on you up until just before Detroit. We know a bit about what happened when you went off and vanished at sea, the rift that opened up in the ocean and all that, but after Detroit we spent months trying to get out hands on you. Every time we got close you flitted away like a red cloud.”
Hence, it would seem, the restraints. “We half expected that to happen again, honestly. You didn’t seem inclined to sit down and talk to us. We do believe you— and our goals are the same, I hope. As long as your goal is to save the fucking world, at least.” Cause, well, that’s their goal. And by them, it may mean Castle. But it possibly also meant the group that they were a part of.
“I’m not the one who’s gonna ask you the important questions, though. I just wanted to check on you. And bring you a snack.”
"What's worse, to stay for a chit chat or to save the fucking world?" Eve snickers and stretches her arms out. Same goals. Potential friends. She could use that, the worlds could. "I had just a few tiny things to tidy up before the ol' turning myself in. I figured you would arrive there," She looks off to the side.
Obvious guilt for the lives lost but still, there was just no time for that. "Well aren't you just the most darling, checking up on a dying woman."
Eve cackles and rubs her hands together after a loud smack, "I'm on a ticking tick tick ticking clock Agent Castle. So the speaking with your head honchos must come and soon too." She doesn't particularly seemed bothered by the impending death, the former oracle had never feared death.
Maybe that was why fate had married them so.
“The world isn’t going to end tomorrow,” Castle says with a shrug, “And if it was, nothing we did today would stop it. But if we sit down, share information, make some kind of plan— “ It sounds as if they aren’t exactly sure what kind of plan there could even be at this point, but, well— it was probably better than running around talking to random people? Maybe? “We might still have a shot at saving the world. But sometimes you gotta stop moving for a little while first. Cause the rest of us can’t keep up with you.”
That was the big part of it. She had information they needed. And they couldn’t get it anywhere else, really. “We need your help, and quite honestly, I don’t think you can save the world on your own either. Your boyfriend— are you really dating Mortimer? Warren, whatever he goes by— Anyway— he could see that we were your best shot at getting what you wanted. So just try to hold on and do your best to cooperate and hopefully we will all get what we want out of this.”
"No, no it's not. There are steps to take. Rituals to harness the energy of. Connectivtity. On path sides yes?" Eve's eyes shine with mischief.
"Yes but this here body won't last me past Christmas if the ol Docs are correct." Shrugging herself at that. There's a hint of annoyance, did it not get annoying… surviving? Over and over. Maybe this is why Adam and the Entity were the way they were, if you can't die… what are you really?
Sharing.
"I do need… a personal assistant." Eyeing Castle up and down. Poppy had long since graduated from anything sort of position like that. "Well if you folks share with me I would be inclined to do the same wouldn't I, mmmm?" But they had a point, "No, nobody saves the world alone." Eve pauses and tilts her head, "A partnership, friendship. I'm sorry to say you've got a ways to go to make up for my bruised ass cheeks sweetie."
Blinking at the mention of Warren she chuckles, "Oh WarMortJack? Yes well, he gets me. Not many men do, or women. There is another, rarely seen. His name is Ghost," Eve's grin is practically wolffish, "But he is nothing of the sort in bed if you know what I mean-"
From the face that Castle is making they did not exactly want details. Raising hands, there’s a universal gesture of please stop and the way the light hits their eyes makes them flash with a little more blue-green than moments before and then the hands drop there is a noticeable change in demeanor and accent. There was something Aussie in the way this accent seemed to be, and something different about the way they held themselves, something more feminine in energy, really. “Eve.” Even the way they said her name seemed different.
“I know you want to be included in this. You deserve to be. But if you follow your usual patterns of word games and eccentric behaviours, they will leave you out of it and there will be nothing that we can do to stop that. So do yourself a favor— ignore the badges, ignore the suits. You said it before. We are one family. We want to help you. We want you to help us. Do you understand? Ignore your usual instincts, because this is the path that you want. And if you stray now, I don’t know if you will find it again.”
The "transformation" stops Eve more than the first words out of "Castle's" mouth. Brown eyes study their face, their body, those eyes. Their everything. Something about this wasn't right, something about Castle wasn't right.
But accents were a fun game for Eve and the changing of Castle's had the former seer emulating an French accent from one of her friends. "Want? No my dear, I was dragged from my bed for this, chosen before my own birth. Whether I like it or not," Eve is bitter at this. "I will ignore the badges, the suits, the rul-" She stops and corrects herself, "I'll focus on the work. I promise that //Sweet One. But we will not defeat this spirit with conventional thinking or means. You'll all have to indulge in your creativity. We are… one family yes." Something Eve doesn't think Castle really would have much problem with.
There's something about the last bit that Castle says and it has Eve's hair falling into her face as she tilts her head, ignore her instincts. Everything inside the pale woman was trying to tell her something about Castle though. There's a small frown and Eve leans forward, pressing her lips against Castle's ear to whisper, "Qui es-tu?" A question already asked but her tone is firmer, what aren't they telling her?
Probably a lot, honestly, from the way they smile with a hint of secrecy as they back up a little. “You aren’t the only one who’s been in this since before you were born. Don’t forget that, either. There’s going to be worry and concern, because no one’s sure what side you are actually on, who you were chosen by. Being chosen and choosing are two different things. So make sure this choice now is yours. It won’t be easy.” That’s possibly an understatement, and they aren’t answering that question either, are they?
At least not until the voice switches back to that slight lack of an accent— that hint of an irish lilt on the tongue stresses the ‘rrs’ in a way that’s endearing. “I’m just trying to help you. But it really is up to you. Sometimes you have to slow down to everyone else’s speed if you want the rest of the world to let you in on the ride. I think it’ll be worth it.”
“Forty one people are confirmed dead at Xpress, a hundred and twenty needed hospital treatment,” they suddenly change gears, holding out half finished Milky Way again as if she may want it back now. Or perhaps because, well, they don’t really have an appetite for it still. “We weren’t able to catch those responsible, but we do have a suspect. The same suspect behind multiple attacks by Pure Earth in recent years.”
Clapclap
Her hands against their face and Eve stays silent, digesting their words and the transformation, again. "Yea, my cousin, her brother, a best friend…" Eve smiles her own slick smile and sits back on the couch but promptly spins until she's hanging off the edge and upside down. "There are lots of us who were chosen since birth, you'd be surprised, dear." Wrinkling her nose and closing her eyes. She doesn't like to hear about the dead. The offering of the Milky Way can be heard and Eve waves it off towards the table, her stomach not yearning for sweetness now. The bitterness of regret bubbles up her throat like bile but she bites her tongue and grimaces.
"Racists," Her eyes fly open, staring ahead as if she could laser through the stone. "Slime buckets, heretics, silly morons." Eve turns right side up and places her hands on either side of the couch, sinking further into the cushion.
"Who?" It's as if it's the old days of PARIAH and they were planning a run in with Humanis First. Eve didn't mind spilling blood for the right reasons but she lived for spilling the blood of those types.
“And people you’ve never even met,” Castle adds on, as she lists off people that she knows who have been called on this burden. They won’t list off their own list, because, well— it would include people she doesn’t even know. It wouldn’t matter, in the end. The point was made. She was not alone in being chosen.
“Zachary Becker, but does it really matter who?” they ask, with a raised eyebrow. “He’ll get caught eventually. It’s only a matter of time.” It wasn’t their job to catch him, either, but it was someone’s. And they would use the evidence from Xpress to look for clues on where he might be getting his resources. Since they were able to disable some of the third round of bombs before explosion— that was a potentially powerful asset right there.
The door buzzes behind them and they step back through it, but don’t close it immediately, because there’s something else that they wanted to add on, “The couple that we sat with— they wanted to say thank you for sitting with them. I thought you would want to know that.”
Many died. But some lived who shouldn’t have. They don’t take credit for it, even if they could.
“Get some rest. You’re going to need it for the next couple days.”