the name's greed (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nestingdevil) wrote2014-11-10 09:21 pm
nestingdevil) wrote2014-11-10 09:21 pm
(no subject)
WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, avaricious. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 012.07.333.07 *** avaricious has joined 018.07.154.55 <avaricious> ithsihoitiwrks ? <BANNED USER> SCREENED MESSAGE. UNSCREEN? Y/N -- <avaricious>thdvllsnst <avaricious> vdndrere | ||||
CONTACTS
0.0.0.0 ♦ "MASON" | Heather
TEXT ABOUT THEM GOES HERE.
0.0.0.0 ♦ STOCKE
TEXT ABOUT THEM GOES HERE.
0.0.0.0 ♦ AOBA
TEXT ABOUT THEM GOES HERE.
0.0.0.0 ♦ "JUSTINE"
TEXT ABOUT THEM GOES HERE.
0.0.0.0 ♦ KILLUA
TEXT ABOUT THEM GOES HERE.
0.0.0.0 ♦ ZOLF J. KIMBLEY
TEXT ABOUT THEM GOES HERE.
0.0.0.0 ♦ EDWARD ELRIC
TEXT ABOUT THEM GOES HERE.
0.0.0.0 ♦ "XANDER" | SANDRATH
TEXT ABOUT THEM GOES HERE.
<avaricious>
[Mello could have chosen a worse option.]
[Still - ]
>>AVARICOUS has posted an AUDIO MESSAGE. If you wish to listen, type LISTEN01
[The recording clicks on with a static(y) buzz, and the Sin circles the receiver.] No, I didn’t think so. Wouldn’t do you much good, anyway. [Dropped, is his voice; the tune of it, a jazz singer’s last call, holding to the cigarette smoke.] Though, I am a little surprised. Didn’t take you for the sort. What changed your mind?
[Because, something like that - it certainly doesn't happen overnight.]
[Greed's heels tease - his presence, merely hovering.] Oi, oi, oi - do you really think I would take it personally? You should know me better, M. [M, not Mello. It's his preferred title. The name he gave. And if nothing else, if only one thing's true, the devil?]
[He's always played fair.]
Ehh. Doesn't matter - couldn't stop you anyway. But - [The quiet on the other side is telling. As if all the pieces are clicking into place, one at a time.] - we could use that. Any information - you'll make sure to bring it to me first, right?
[Dramatically, the former homunculus stills; his nails, inches from the receiver.] I told you, when you first came to me: you're one of mine, M. What you do from there -
[A beat, then:] - it's always been your choice.
<Mello>
I needed a favor that mana couldn't provide. I had to do what I had to do.
[And because the details are important for the maintenance of the 'favor's' effects:]
She's going to wipe Linden from my memory altogether. I don't think I need to go into detail as to why I found it necessary. The mess I got us into was just the tip of the iceberg; this is something that won't see an end unless I end it.
[Of course Greed has his loyalty on the matter. Favors or no, allegiance or no: the Gods need to fucking go. All of them. Maybe it will even prove beneficial for Mello to work from the inside.]
You have my word, for what it's worth.
[Maybe not much, but Mello's promise is genuine this time.]
I don't like them any more than you do. Anything I do in Her name will only be to further my own standing. I have nothing to gain from seeing them thrive.
[But more importantly.]
I need one thing from you, and I'm willing to pay whatever trade you require. As of the end of this conversation, no one can mention him to me in any capacity beyond acknowledging he's the prison's warden. I don't want to end up chasing my tail on this.
<avaricious>
[Wiping a memory: oh, doesn't that hit a note. Greed's uncharacteristically silent on his side of the line. The furnace boils and bubbles; the static fizzes like the flat-line of a heart monitor. No, he doesn't have to guess the details - he already has an inclination. And as Mello briefly elaborates, the Sin subconsciously pats his fingers across the waist of his pants. The sound of pressed-on leather, airy, soft, but nonetheless present.]
["Father purified me - "]
I know I do. If I didn't think you were worth the time, I wouldn't have been so giving before. If this is what you want to do, I can't really stop you, now, can I. [A lull sinks itself behind his teeth. Perhaps, it's a little too personal. A little too close. Either way, the loss of his smile is all-too clear. As if as if - ]
[The Sin shifts, dragging his heel up and off the floor with a peel.] Having you on the inside makes things a little easier. Still, you're absolutely sure? There's no going back, after that. Those memories of yours - you sure you won't end up regretting it? [While he talks, the gem in his ear softly shivers. The chime of it is tinny. Bell(y). Like the last, beckoning call from a church and hasn't Mello always, always, favored himself the Martyr.]
[Greed pockets his hand and as he moves further away from the receiver, a grunt briskly interrupts the conversation. The former homunculus wrenches his window open - forcing the city below and all its activity to curl, just curl, inside.] Payment? Is that what you think I want? Don't be a pissant, M. You're one of mine still, even if your plan is stupid. [A beat and something pnks into the receiver.] I'll let the others know. What they do after is their choice.
Just remember what you're doing. [Ah, there it is: the bite. The Sin's lips set tight on the line and while the snarl is obvious, the anger? The bitterness?]
[This time, it isn't the other's cross to bear.]
Tell me when you're done. [His tone creeps and the Sin leans his elbow across the window frame. Loss. Giving in. Payment. In the end, he's said it before: nothing's free. Not in this world, not the next. Mello's made his decision.]
[And nothing, not even the devil, can change that.]
<Mello>
[If Greed is annoyed, taken somewhere that has nothing to do with Mello, personally — Mello feels the need to explain that this is a form of murder-suicide to him. Wipe L, wipe part of himself, scatter the evidence and cross his fingers while hoping for the best.]
[Anything can throw this off, in the end.]
[Anything.]
I'm sure.
[More positive than he's ever been, really. The defeat that comes with giving something away is secondary.]
She made a promise, and I trust that she doesn't betray those. For what it's worth, I believe her followers are loyal for a reason.
[The details, the details.]
If this thing gets too big, she'll return them to me. I hope it never comes to that.
[Is doing everything in his power to ensure it before the wipe hits. It's why he's contacting everyone he believes he can trust and the rest? He'll clean up as he goes along.]
I've already made the deal. The effects should kick in soon enough.
Consider it already done.
<avaricious>
[One of the laptop's keys lets off a staggering hitch. It sounds gluey. Stuck. Like that of a struggling fly trying to wrench itself free from a slap of sticky paper. Eventually, though, the former homunculus releases it - the pry of his claw, a single, solitary plck.]
[Promises. Betrayal. Following. Loyalty. And hasn't it all been said about him before.]
[Greed's heel claps distractedly on the other side of the line - his mind, all-too-obviously elsewhere.] I'm sure they do - that's nothing new. Humans. They'll always find something to follow, something to give them an answer. [An inhale dries at the backs of his teeth.] I can't really blame them, nor can I hold it against them. There's nothing wrong with wanting a little hope, after all.
[A hush of uncharacteristic silence slips in and for a while, the Sin's quiet. He reads the text once, a second time, a third. "I've already made the deal." "The effects should kick in soon enough."]
["Consider it already done.".]
[Whoosh: a strike of fire. Cnk: his nails. Greed sucks sharply and a wheeze of smoke envelopes the receiver.] Then it's already done. Suit yourself, M.
[Another pause, and the laptop's lid screeches a note. No - there's no more room to for convincing. No more time to change his mind. Mello's signed his signature and dotted the line; his sale of memories, a devil's contract.]
[And ah, ah, what is the price of piece of mind, anyway?]
[The former homunculus taps the window frame.] Just remember what you're getting into.
<Mello>
[And it stands, but he does. Because he wants Greed's trust and respect, because those with whom he worked were always beneath him, and it blinded him to the truth that sometimes, he isn't at the top of the food-chain.]
[He's always been a pompous, stubborn thing.]
[The borderline annoyance is clear in the Sin's words. Suit yourself. He's come to learn that when Greed utters those words, it's a resigned dismissal, a blatant proclamation of disagreement.]
[But if he knew. If he understood — ]
[Mello's not going to plead his case any more than he already has. He's received the agreement he sought upon contacting his boss, and that's all he needed, isn't it?]
I know what I'm doing.
[No, really. He doesn't. But determination can lead to conviction that fools even the sharpest of minds.]
Linden shouldn't pursue the matter. [Always reassurances.] He threw his chance to intervene.
[And that's all he has to say about that.]