maskormenacelogs | I am perpetual

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I am perpetual

WHO: Characters signed up HERE
WHERE: Helix Station or meetings around Maurtia Falls, based on character preference
WHEN: During the first week or so of August
WHAT: Witnesses and investigators meet up to inquire into the activities of RISE, and hold the team accountable
WARNINGS: Talk of violence?

RISE has been controversial since the first day Major-General Olivier Armstrong announced the formation of a government-backed paramilitary squad with trial and sentencing authority over 'rogue imPorts.' Since then, the unit's history has continued to be shadowed by drama. For every successful apprehension of a supervillain, there's a complaint about unfairness toward some imPorts. For every swift response to a crisis, there are mutterings about indefinite detention or recruitment of criminals. And for every life saved, there are questions about the hard-line attitude of RISE's famously terrifying leader, Armstrong.

Something had to give eventually, and this inquiry is the result. Both critics and defenders will make their voices heard, and the investigators will have to determine what is the truth- and what should happen next. At stake is the future of the imPort community's primary law enforcers, and the question of how much they can be trusted to protect others.

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"I didn't defy them. There was a manhunt, yes, but Crane feared for his life, and rightly so. You heard that it was a heinous act, which means you weren't here for it, but trust me--the harm he did, the victims he made. People were angry, they were bloodthirsty, out for revenge. RISE could not guarantee his protection, so I gave sanctuary, as I would for anyone who feared for their life.

"As long as he resided within my walls, he was my responsibility. I personally guaranteed he harmed no one else, as I guaranteed that no one harmed him. It was responsible of me to do so, considering Olivier's attitude at the time."

He cocked his head. "People did come to my home with the intention of killing him, but they were rebuffed. Kitty Jones was among them, you can ask her if you like. A week later, Crane was abducted leaving my sanctuary, and imprisoned by a vigilante for weeks thereafter. The protection I lent him ended at my door."

Adachi rubbed at his forehead, trying and failing not to let his exasperation show at that. Did mythical beings really have no idea how the human world worked this badly, or did they just do it for show?

"What you did was still considered criminal interference, Lucifer," he pointed out, waving his pen at him for emphasis. "You could have been brought in on separate charges."

If anyone were dumb enough to try and bring in Lucifer, anyway.

"Besides, did you have any proof that Olivier intended to kill Crane for what he did?"

"All I did was offer sanctuary. It's my church, and ultimately, it's my domain."

He narrowed his eyes minutely.

"Olivier implied she might. She didn't. It wasn't worth RISE's time. Now, ultimately, it's not your job to indict me in RISE's stead. You can influence the decision as to whether they don't have enough powers, or that they exercise too many, but really, all you're here for is to ask questions and write down the answers, isn't that so?

"You're not here to judge me, and whether or not I thought Olivier endangered his life really is irrelevant. What I thought doesn't matter--it is not on the table."

Adachi couldn't help the irritated look that crossed his face.

"I know what my job is, and getting testimony that points to other criminal activity isn't it," he replied, keeping his tone light, despite his expression. "And I didn't ask you if you thought Armstrong was going to kill him, I asked if you had proof."

He let out a tired sigh, tapping his pen against his notepad. "Being the devil and knowing human nature doesn't really count as proof, you know~?"

"Uh uh, no you don't. That playful act of yours is self defense. You hate people to see how smart you really are."

He shook his head. "I did come prepared for this, although of course you're welcome to examine the evidence yourself. Let's see..."

He bends forward, lifting his comm device out toward Adachi. On it is written this text, from D'Artagnan.

"Crane's parole officer."

"Let them bring you back. At least then you’ll taste what your victims did, and what you’re doing will be stopped in its tracks. If you think you’re invincible, you’re sadly mistaken. Just because the law has no teeth here does not mean the rest of us lack for them."

A male voice. Lucke. "The Ambassador for De Chima has the right idea. We should be focused on counter attacking the person responsible, hunting them down like the dog they are and dropping him for all to see."

"And finally Armstrong herself."

The sound of her voice: "Tch, why would I ever respect that? I think religion's nonsense, and you're harboring a criminal. If I have to blast the whole thing with a mortar and arrest him when he's revived, I will."

"Happy?"

Adachi's expression soured even more than it already was. He was getting really tired of these otherworldly types calling out his bullshit. If he wanted beings more powerful than him worming around his head, he would have happily stuck with... whatever thing that took over when he was facing against the brats. Shame that power it left him didn't seem to work in this place (not that he knew how it worked to begin with); would the power to suppress gods even work on the devil himself? Probably not...

He was about to bite out a scathing reply back, when Lucifer finally offered up his evidence. He grimaced at it, but his pen was taking it down in quick shorthand.

"...not that it matters considering the nature of the network here, but were these statements public or private?"

"Public, but for the statement made by Crane's parole officer. That was a comment that was shared with me when Crane was soliciting my protection. He feared for his life--understandably."

He doesn't add any more than that, but he does settle back slightly. The look on Adachi's face, bitter acceptance, cheers him immensely, but of course he keeps his mouth in a tight, thin line, as though he hasn't noticed it.

Not that Crane's guilt was in question with the incident, but his own parole officer making a comment like that was... well. It wasn't uncommon, but it was still pretty bad, and could be used if an investigation like this ever went to trial. Assuming they would even get a trial going with how the government worked here.

"Was this parole officer assigned by RISE or the government?" he asked. Not that he couldn't look it up, but still.

And don't think he doesn't know Lucifer's being a smug son a bitch under that expression.

"I'm afraid I don't know how the system works. I believe it's in place, no matter whether RISE or the government itself makes the arrest, so--perhaps it's cooperative, I wouldn't know.

"But I would suggest that Olivier does seem to endorse the system. You'd have to ask her."

He lifted his hand, propped it against his chin.

"I didn't interfere thereafter. When Crane left, and when he was eventually taken into RISE's possession, I kept out of it, as I do presently.

"My more recent problems with RISE are another matter entirely."

That was part of the problem, wasn't it? It was hard to tell the difference between the government and RISE, or if RISE had the same authority as the government or not. This was just one massive cluster.

"And what are those recent problems?" Adachi asked, almost afraid of the answer he was going to get.

"You'll remember the events of this January, I imagine? Many of us were abducted, myself included; stripped of our powers, forced to live in squalid filth, made to live with the litter of a cannibal's meals--taken - stolen - like we were belongings to be lifted from one governance and repurposed for another.

"Not that we had any communication, with our captors or anyone on the outside."

He waved his hand. "I'm setting the scene, familiarizing you with our discomfort. Mine in particular goes like this: my powers tie in with my...species, let's call it. I have never been stripped of my powers, of my grace, of my...ability to view the world the way I do. I see the universe in light and color and energy, in flow, in waves, in constants and unconstants. Even now, I am looking through you. I breathe time, I hear souls, and I can smell and taste the constituent parts of the very fabric of the universe, its atoms. The way I see the world is carved out of divinity itself, and it was stolen from me.

"So you can imagine that I was angry. Angry and disoriented. You might even say afraid."

Adachi felt his jaw tighten at the reminder. Though what Lucifer was describing was way worse than what he experienced, being cut off from a part of his soul was no picnic.

"I know. I was there too."

"Then you remember. The whole incident with Carl, a moot point, a distraction."

A pause. He shakes his head, and decides to repeat it anyway, conveying the feeling as it came to him.

"When our powers returned, I spread my wings. My grace, the full strength of an archangel; my power vibrated the air inside our prison, resonated inside me. It glowed. My wings were projected on its walls. And then I was gone.

"Not far. I left you behind, and I tore through every Russian I could find on that submarine. I killed more than a dozen of them with my bare hands. I tore them in half. I pulled their spines out through their throats. I had been...wronged. I don't know how to describe it. Something cloying and revolted, an assault on the fabric of my being--all I could think about was revenge upon those who had treated me that way."

Adachi made a face at that. It made him glad that he was curled up in a ball of agony as his Persona went berserk after their powers came back. He really didn't need to see any of that.

"Yeah, I get it," he replied. "What does this have to do with RISE's involvement?"

He nods. "I'm getting there. Thank you for staying with me."

"So, when I was haplessly murdering the enemy, my fellow prisoners attempted to stop me. Gogo Tomago and Miles Naismith both attempted to halt my advance. I injured Gogo severely, proceeded, and attacked Miles in turn. He was a little more effective at slowing me down, but not for long. He drew my interest and my focus - selflessly - and I left him with a mark on his breastbone, and injuries enough to leave him unconscious.

"I moved to the warship that was approaching us, and attempted to find more victims, at which point I was halted by Sabriel. Of RISE.

"To be fair, I had declared intent to fly to Russia and tear the Kremlin to the ground. I needed to be stopped, and I'm grateful that I was. Sabriel understands that, I think. She has been terse before, given stressful situations, but never anything but cordial.

"I was transported back to Maurtia Falls, where I expected that - when the air had cleared - I would be released, but I understood that Olivier was attempting to form a case against me. I had attacked fellow imPorts, and she was well within her rights.

"But no charges were filed. Gogo and Miles didn't wish to pursue criminal charges against me. I was held ad infinitum, for weeks, my powers once more stripped from me, as Olivier - driven by personal vendetta - attempted to find some law that she could indict me with.

"I spoke with my lawyer, Jeff Winger. He attempted to make a case for my release. He spoke to Mitchell Hundred on my behalf. Even Sabriel tried to parlay with Olivier. Eventually she attempted to blackmail me for my release, using Miles' situation. It did not go quite as well as she planned. Miles attacked me with a knife--and I, powerless. Quite a mess, to allow him into holding with a weapon. Not very professional."

Not for the first time did he feel a cold lump in the pit of his stomach. What he described sounded like the kind of thing that people did in history books: things that people in the modern age condemned and said they would never do... never mind that anyone involved in military tactics probably did do. Olivier was treating RISE like they were in the middle of a war, not human beings dragged into a different world.

Dammit.

"Did you... sorry," Adachi began, making a face as he felt an unsettling twist hit his stomach. "Did you survive the encounter? Or did you have to go through nano-restoration?"

"It was a flesh wound, fortunately. Although it was quite unsettling to experience injury when I was, for better or worse, rendered utterly mortal. I've been stabbed before, you understand, I have been a warrior for most of my existence, when I wasn't a prisoner, but the wounds were always inflicted with divine steel, not manmade toothpicks."

He tilts his head slightly. "Something else is troubling you." A statement.

Was it bad he was relieved Satan didn't end up dead? Actual death while detained was... hell, was the government even going to listen to them about this?! This was insane right now, and he honestly didn't know how to handle it. He started with clearing his throat, shaking his head; damn, way to set him off his game.

"Eh... this isn't about me, Lucifer-san," Adachi replied, not realizing he was being politer than usual as he scribbled down quick notes on what he just heard in his book. "Is there anything else you can add about your involvement with RISE?"

"I've had good relations with Sabriel. She knows her mentor's disadvantages very well, and I would feel more confident were the organization under her control.

"That said--"

He tapped his comm device against the table. "I've shared with you another conversation that you may wish to add to the evidence. This one was private, but I formerly release it into evidence."

The one person he had yet to see show up for these inquiries, not that he was going to say that out loud. In fact, this wasn't the first time he brought Sabriel's name, and really from what he remembered of her from the one display at a swear in some time back, she seemed to be the one with the better head on her shoulders. Maybe the issue was more of a need of change of management, and that was made all the more clearer by the conversation Lucifer shared. Just... dammit.

"Thanks," he muttered, jotting down the conversation in his notes. "I guess I don't need to tell you keeping you imprisoned 'just because' isn't a lawful reason."

If nothing else, Armstrong was definitely the big issue. He could think RISE was okay as long as she wasn't head of the group, right?

...maybe?

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