genessia | [video] in which shit gets so very real

[ The feed turns on to a concrete ceiling, a single lamp hanging from the center of the room. There's the sound of footsteps walking a slow circle around the device before they stop - the sound of a metal chair being dragged away from the table, a person falling into it to be seated. ]

Showtime!

[ If the voice doesn't give him away, the visual certainly will as Mercury flips the device up off the table to hold it back at arm's length, his smirk ever-present. ]

How are we all doing today? Good? Great? Well I'm here to brighten everyone's day just a little bit more. Now I know some of you may have noticed a sweet little guy by the name of Armin just up and vanished. Poof! What a mystery!

[ He leans in a bit, grin widening. ]

Well fear not, citizens - I found him.

[ A blur, as he tosses the camera up to flip it around in his hand - to reveal Armin, tied to a chair on the opposite side of the table, wrists and ankles secured to prevent any hope of escape. There isn't a blindfold, but a gag prevents him from making much noise.

More importantly, he looks like hell. One eye is bruised to the point that it's nearly swollen shut, his face littered with scratches and abrasions. His clothes are shredded in places with visible (but not life-threatening) wounds beneath them, and it's clear he's been made to bleed quite a bit. His throat is bruised abundantly, as if he's been choked roughly and repeatedly, and there's dry blood beneath his nose indicating he's been struck there at least once. His hands are visibly ruined - fingers have been broken, and from the look of things his hands have both been burned horribly, as if they were actually lit on fire at some point. He's awake, very clearly unhappy (rightfully so) but also very much alive. There's some anger there, for sure, but from how wide his eyes are (well, the one that CAN open wide anyway) and the light tremble in his shoulders, the rapid rise and fall of his chest, he's afraid. Very, very afraid. ]

He's not having a good day, but let's see what we can do about that.

[ A blur, and the camera is switched back to Mercury as he pushes his chair to lean back on it, kicking his feet up to rest on the table. ]

I know what some of you might be thinking - "Hey, golly Mr. Mercury, didn't you kidnap him in the first place?" And you would be right! I sure did. But I'm going to tell you all what I told Armin on day one: If everyone cooperates, he'll go home safe and sound. So with that in mind, let's go over my list of demands. It's brief, don't worry.

[ He crams his other hand in his pocket, digging for a crumpled sheet of paper which he flattens out to begin reading from, clearing his throat. ]

Alright, so, number one...

[ He falls silent, eyebrows lowering a bit - then abruptly turns the device around to prop it on the table so it faces Armin. There's the sound of scraping metal again as he rises to his feet, walking briskly around to stand behind his prisoner with his hands buried in his pockets. He cocks his head a bit as if in thought, before raising one leg to press his foot against the back of Armin's head, heel against his scalp. The blond is trembling fiercely now, straining against his bindings and trying to turn his head to see what's happening, but he doesn't get the time to turn his head far enough. ]

Change of plans.

[ And that's that. He shoves his foot forward with a flare of white Aura as the firing mechanism in his boot activates with a deafening bang, and the gruesome sight of Armin's head being blown open (practically apart) is only visible for a millisecond before the blood splatters over the camera, obscuring the feed with a blanket of red. There's a thud as the momentum causes Armin's body (as well as the chair he's tied to) to fall forward against the table, then a second thud and a clang of metal as he falls on one side against the floor. It's a few seconds before the device is lifted again, Mercury's thumb dragging across the camera to clean the lens - even then there's still a red haze to everything, which does nothing to soften the wickedness of his grin, the air of satisfaction in his gaze, and he shrugs nonchalantly as he looks towards the mess on the floor. ]

My only demand? Don't bore me.

[ With that he tosses the device to the ground and strolls towards the door, laughing cruelly as he passes the body. After bouncing once and skidding a bit the feed ends up almost exactly as it had began - facing the ceiling, the single light still shining from above, but now with a few specks of red on the ceiling. With a click the light is turned off, and the feed remains black until the recording times out. ]

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[It was just a reversal of his teleportation power. Locating the body and then teleporting it to them instead other way around. He moves up to her and places a hand lightly on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.]

[It was easier probably, but if he could do that, he might know where Mercury was. But for now... Armin was here with her one way or another. She had to be strong though. This wasn't any time to break down... In fact, it was only because of her rage that kept her from doing so.]

[She wasn't wrong in that assumption. He did say he could find anyone.]

I'm going to send you both back to your house, okay?

[She was silent for a moment before speaking. It was as if she was debating with herself.]

Actually... I still have a bone to pick... Could he send him there and then...? Could I trouble you to find Mercury...?

Tonight, take your friend home and mourn him. You will get Mercury another night. I promise you, when the time comes, I will bring him to you. I keep my promises and you see I have the power to do it.

I can't do that. There's no way that I could withdraw....

[Even if that was the smart thing to do and she was thinking a little more logically -- but only a little -- from talking to David, her rage still had a greater hold on her. And if she were to let go of that rage, even if it wasn't likely to disappear overnight, it was the only thing blocking the flood gates. She had so much to think about here that she didn't want to. Maybe this was just another internal wall trying to at least do that much?]

You aren't withdrawing, you are bringing home a fallen comrade. You're going to get your shot at him, I promise. So go home with your friend, sharpen your blades and skills. And when the time comes, cut off that bastard Mercury's head.

[It's taking everything to ignore those tears threatening to pop up. No matter how much rage has stopped her from doing so, frustration is just making it all that much harder to keep from happening. That's when her ears finally betray her.]

I can't do that!

[She knows how logical it sounds. She knows he means well. And she knows that he'd probably help her do it too, but her stubbornness and angst was still there... Her hands formed balls as her shaking became more visible.]

Eren isn't here any more and the only person who could calm me down is gone. I can't do nothing now. I have nothing else to do. [She could say to live for, but that's a lie even if she feels that way.]

Mikasa..he's gone, but he will be back. [He didn't know how comforting that would be, because her friend did still die in such a gruesome way.]

Armin will come back to life. Death is permanent here. But he will still have the memories of what happened. You will have to help him get through that.

He'll... come back...? But death.... [That's something that no one has bothered to tell her about because it never came up.]

I have to do this.

[Unlike her other statement, this barely came out.]

Death isn't a permanent thing here. [Really, that should be part of the info people are given when they arrive. But maybe it would make them more reckless.]

You do, but it doesn't have to be now. Let the smug asshole think he has gotten away with it for now and enjoy the surprise on his face when you do take him down. It will be worth it, Mikasa.

But... [How is that even possible? Well, leave it to Genessia to do that...

But at least now she's gone quiet as her hold on Armin tightened. She lowered her head and though her face wasn't completely visible, her tears rolled down her cheeks. Of course she was still pissed and wanted to kill the bastard, but David basically keeping her from actually doing much and forcing her to think it over...

There was so much suppressed emotion being forced out of her like a bulldozer busting down her walls that she put up as her legs buckled and she crumpled onto the ground of the roof of the building they were on now. Still holding Armin delicately as if he was still alive, her tears wouldn't stop flowing.]

....I promised I'd protect him. I promised I won't let anything happen to him.....

[Again it was barely audible, but she didn't have the energy to fight it or argue at this moment when she'd be so thoroughly emotionally compromised from all of this.]

[He sank down onto the roof top with her. He’d hug her if she wasn’t already clutching her friend’s body. He can feel those emotions spilling from her without even using his Telepathy. Powerful emotions like that could always be felt by someone sensitive to them.]

There was nothing that you could have done, Mikasa. There are..a lot of unknown elements in this place. Things can be done without your knowledge and you can’t hope to be in every place at once. When your friend gets back, he isn’t going to blame you for what happened.

What’s done is done, Mikasa. There..isn’t anything that you can do to change that. But what you can do is make sure it doesn’t happen again in the future. You can make sure no one hurts you or your friends ever again. Promise him again once he returns, and do everything in your power to make sure you can keep it.

[She really wanted to argue that even if he didn't blame her, she'd still feel guilty, but she didn't have the energy to. Even if she had protested, he made a lot of sense; She knew that. She should have said something, but nothing came out.

Finally after a while...]

Take us home...

[Even if she kept trying to fight, there was no way she'd be able to now. At least she knew that much.]

[David knew she would keep blaming herself, there was nothing he could do to stop that. His only hope was that she would channel it into something beneficial to her.

He waved his hand lightly in her direction and she and Armin's body vanished only to appear instantly inside of her home.]

[Once she realized that they were in their apartment, she just wondered how everyone would react to her holding his body... Or rather... were they even there? She stormed out immediately but, she couldn't answer for what they would do. Still, Mikasa didn't bother to get up and check. She didn't even bother to call out for anyone. Instead she remained on the floor of the apartment, near the couch still holding Armin... As if trying to collect her thoughts.]

[video] in which shit gets so very real

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