The Forsaken Art

Anna laid back onto the bed, cuddling with Amanda, falling asleep herself. Her slumber was one of dreamless bliss, thankfully, as she feared nightmares of her sister's death.

Garreth walked through the streets of Venice, whistling to himself softly as he went. He mingled through the back alleys and the open streets both. He didn't yet know what Cress was about, and that irked him, since he values information so much, but he knew it was only a matter of time until someone who knew sent him a message, so he just went his merry way, unfortunately, being The Broker attracts all the wrong kind of attention. As he was walking through an alley, he noticed some happening not far away, and naturally curious as he was, he was going to go over and see, he was surrounded by a group of three individuals. 'hmm hmm, a small wolf pack. What can I do for you, cubs?" The man in front of him drew his sword. "You are The Broker, are you not?" "Hmm, hmm. I may be, I may be not. What does it matter?" Garreth didn't need an answer to know. They were here to kill him, just like the last bunch, and so, before they could act, he did. Quick as lightning, he whipped out his pistol and pointed it straight back, firing once. The bullet hit the man square in the forehead, and sent him crashing back into the wall. The ensuing crushing of the man's skull on his brain finished the job the bullet started and killed him, but Garreth was already in motion, from his other pocket, he had pulled his trusty spoon, and ducking under the sword swing, brought it on the man in front of him. Though the man closed his eye, the spoon pierced straight through the eyelid, and with one deft movement, the man's eyeball was wrenched out. He dropped his sword and clutched at his empty eye-socket, incapacitated for now. Garreth whirled to face the third and final member of the group, but he was faster than Garreth. He slashed with his sword, which must have been made of a material tougher than steel, as it was able to cut through Garreth's mask, which was for physical protection as much as it was for protection of his identity. The cut sliced both of Garreth's eyes, and he let out a small scream, but did not falter, not yet. He brought his pistol up under the man's chin and fired. BLAM and the man was lifted up and away, much of his brain matter raining down. Garreth tried to find the first man, the one who still lived, but he seemed to have recovered from the loss of his eye, as he cut through Garreth's stomach. clenching his teeth from the further pain, Garreth lashed out with his spoon, and through some divine luck, was able to drive it through the man's remaining eye and into his brain. Garreth pulled the spoon out and stumbled into the street. "Help! Oh, by the Gods, somepony ASSIST me!" This came out odd, as it must, considering his voice filter renders his voice low and full of malice. Garreth didn't stop to think of this though. I think i saw the Chickadee.... I can only hope she's as good a woman as I hear, and will help a wayward soul... "please, someone, assistance! Dottore, dottore!" Blinded as he was, Garreth tripped on a small step, and fell flat on his face.

Jack listened to the crusnik talk when he heard a scream. He instantly drew his blade and ran to the source. Several men were dead on the floor, and one man was flat on his face, and still breathing. Jack ran over to the man and helped him up.
"Are you alright?" he asked.

Garreth frowned. "That voice... ah, possum, is that you? Forgive me, I would identify you by sight, but well, that's not quite possible right now." he said, struggling to get up, grasping the stomach wound, while the slice across his mask and the blood pouring out of it belied why he couldn't see.

Jaide rubbed at her temples. There was simply too much, too fast. The Trent kid seemed fine enough but that Greyson... Jaide snapped her eyes up to meet his furious glare. And what the heck was that all about with the lady and the appearing and then the fire thing? Jaide recognized the woman as someone esteemed from Arce. She supposed their story was true but she needed to teach this guy a lesson.

Jaide, unfazed by Greyson's threats, marched right up to him. With her little body, she craned her neck upwards to look Greyson in the eye.

"You wanna come here so you can do a mission?" Jaide growled, "Fine. But let the authorities know first so we don't have panic on our hands. And don't EVER threaten me or mine again or else I swear to God I will sever all ties between Venice and Arce and you'll never eat pasta again!"

With a huffing breath, she stepped backwards. Her shade reminded her that the Crusnik apologized and that he wasn't necessarily in the wrong. It was a simple breakdown of communication, "I get that you got carried away. But you gotta understand, I just lost a good..." Jaide paused, clenching her fist and her jaw, "And then you guys come in without warning and raise hell. I didn't know if you were killing civilians or not."

And...? Prompted her shade.

Jaide ground her teeth, "And I'm sorry."

There was a scream and Jack had disappeared.

"FIVE MINUTES!" Jaide said exasperatedly, "Something's gotta happen every five FUCKING minutes!"

Jaide whipped around and went in search of Jack and the source of the scream. It wasn't too hard to find them, considering the amount of blood and the dead bodies.

Jaide saw Jack by a man in a sliced mask. She rushed over and noticed the slash on his face and the seeping wound in his abdomen. Swallowing her revulsion, she tore off her sleeve and used it as cloth for the wound. Her mind was reeling. This man was going to die and the best place for him would be inside CORE.

"Shit..." She cursed. She didn't have any time to weigh her options as her shade overwhelmed her and took over. It manipulated the shadows, swallowing Jack, Jaide, and the injured man, and transported them into CORE's infirmary.

Saving her anger towards that demon for later, she urged the doctor to come to her side.

"You're gonna be okay," She reassured the injured man, "You'll be just fine."

Garreth felt things go... weird, and then, once they settled, he retched. 'Urgh... what was... did we..." his mind flew, pulling pieces together. We just moved via some magical means... "Chickadee, as glad as I am to see you, so to speak, please, don't do whatever you just did again.... I am not predisposed to movement through magical means."

Sudden noise in the infirmary woke Amanda. "Ergh... who's being so noisy... What's go-" she stopped, and blanches when she saw The Broker. "Wha... What is he DOING here?!" the words came out on their own, taking advantage of her shock.

Garreth frowned. "Amanda? Is that you, come here, Ice Maiden. It is good to hear a friendly voice." He turned to where he though Jaide's voice was. "You must know what a risk you take, bringing me to CORE, Miss Fox."

Jack looked at the man. He had heard that voice, and remembered it just fine. Before he could voice his objection, Jaide had transported them back to the C.O.R.E base.
As soon as they arrived, Jack walked up to him.
"What the hell are you doing here?"

Jaide scrunched up her nose. Yes, that was vomit. Definitely smelled like it. With a sigh, Jaide removed her shirt. She twisted the shadows around her torso, clothing her in darkness.

"Chickadee?" Jaide repeated, flashing back to this morning. She looked at the doctor and barked, "Remove his mask!"

"But ma'am, this stomach injury is far more--"

"I said, remove his mask."

With a resigned sigh, the doctor went to remove the mask. Garreth swatted the hand away and threatened him. The doctor, confused, went back to work on his stomach.

"Who are you? Why do you call me chickadee? What's with the secrecy of your face? And how the hell do you two know each other?" Jaide rattled off, motioning between Amanda and Garreth.

Garreth smiled. "Right, yes. I didn't PROPERLY introduce myself the other day, did I. I am known as The Broker. As you might be able to tell from that alone... I am an information broker, and a powerful one, at that. As for chickadee, it's just a nickname, little fox. And if you mean the Ice Maiden, why she is a dear friend of mine... I do believe mentioning I was coming to visit her in Venice today.... Well, I did say I was coming to Venice at any rate. Which also answers YOUR question, Possum. I was visiting a friend. Is that a crime?"

Jack's eyes narrowed.
"And just by coincidence, you arrive on the same day that we lose one of our friends, investigate a disturbance in the middle of venice, and then we find you, in pieces on the floor?"
Jack was angry now, and it took all his self control not to let his hand stray to his Sai.
"and judging by what you are calling me...i believe we met before, in rome."

Garreth sighed and glanced at Jack. "Didn't I just explain that? Yeah, we met in Rome. It's where I mentioned that I was coming to Venice today, and if you are accusing me of killing one of your comrades.... Well, Ice Maiden here would attribute that I rarely work through such direct methods.... I only kill people who try to kill me, like those three wolf cubs back there. Happens quite often, really. very inconvenient. as for that 'disturbance', what can I say, I was curious and was coming to investigate."

Jaide got a puzzled look on her face. She tilted her head to the side, akin to a confused puppy, and blurted out, "Never heard of you."

"Well, Mr. Broker. I'm not really concerned with you seeing the inside of... here. Obviously, you don't really know where here is. And you can't exactly see," Jaide waved her hand in front of his face for emphasis. She looked over at Amanda and playfully teased, "I didn't know you had any friends..."

She looked up at Jack, "It doesn't really matter right now. We'll get him fixed up, keep him in here, and then I'll transport him somewhere far, far away. He's not going anywhere and I highly doubt he'll be able to recant what he's seen here."

Jack nodded slowly at Jaides comment.
"Fine. But if he tries anything i will gut him like a fish."
He then took a step back, allowing the doctors to help.

Garreth smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that, miss Silva. After all, I am well aware of this building's location. And, well perhaps friend would be a strong term... she gives me info about your day-to-days, and I will, in return, help her find her long-lost and long-since-presumed-dead brother."

Amanda blanched further and punched The Broker square in the face. "Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! You're going to get me killed, you son-of-a-bitch!" The Broker smiled. "Oh please, Ice Maiden. I wouldn't allow them to harm you. and if they did, well, that would irrevocably force me over to the New Republic's side, instead of theirs, and all those interesting little tidbits I've managed to come by could quite come to haunt them. How IS your sister doing these days, by the by, Chickadee?"

Anna, had slept through this, until Amanda started shouting. She awoke, sleepily stretching and yawning, before seeing Amanda punch some injured man in the face. She scrunched her eyebrows together, drawing her longsword with a long exaggerated steel on leather sound. She yawned once before shaking her head, clearing the fogginess of her vision. Extending her hand and focusing on the cells of everyone around her, she absently asked, "what's up guys?"

Jaide visibly paled, the blood draining from her face. Amanda had betrayed them? She looked up at Amanda with such sorrow glistening in her eyes, one would think the wall she built had crumbled. However, Jaide quickly recomposed herself and her eyes turned cold once more.

That is, until the Broker mentioned her sister.

"STOP!" Jaide said suddenly. The doctor jumped and looked incredulously at Jaide, "Stop working on him."

She stood up and dusted off her pants, "You're not much of a threat if you're dead, now are you?" She said smoothly. She started to walk away when her shadow was bound and her body froze.

He might be of use! Argued the shade, Information is power. Power you need.

He knows about my sister! Jaide snapped back.

As I have said, information is power. He might know how to fix her.

That comment made Jaide's mind go blank. Her sister? Up and moving again? It seemed so surreal, so unreal that even her dreams wouldn't dare attempt to tempt her. Yet, there, in her mind's eye, she saw her sister playing in a meadow. She was giggling as she chased butterflies. Jaide's heart shattered and her body visibly shook.

"Keep working on him," Jaide recanted. She walked over to his bed and sat down next to him again, "You can say whatever you want about me. You can threaten me. You can even threaten CORE. But do not bring her up."

Jaide then leaned back in the chair and crossed her shapely legs, "How much do you charge?"

Jack witnessed Jaide shake. She had a sister?
He walked up to her.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "maybe you should rest. You have put up with a lot today."

Garreth waited as she said he wouldn't be a threat dead. How wrong she was. A position such as his, there are backup plans for the backup plans of the backup plans.When she turned back to him, however, internally, Garreth grinned. Hah! I knew that would work! outwardly, he raised his eyebrows quizzically. "Charge? Oh, my dear, you seem to be mistaking me for someone else. And you might want to rethink your thoughts about Amanda. She has not betrayed you... Oh no, there are other members in your little organisation who have given me far, far juicier tidbits of information than she. She refuses to say anything that may actually compromise you. Something about honour and integrity, bah. I am in a position where I could greatly help either CORE or the New Republic... as it is, I have not decided either way yet. So sway me, Chickadee. Convince me your organisation is the right one to choose."

Amanda noticed Anna wake up. "Hey... Well, I just got accused of being a gigantic traitor to CORE, so... yeah. Apparantly that's a thing."

Anna scrunched her eyebrows together, trying to find the right words to reply. She hurumphed, setting her chin on her hand and thinking, stabbing her longsword down into the matress she sat on. She worked a sentence in her head, before saying, "but, you're.....well, you're you! How does you being a traitor work?!"

Aldron untactful as he was, picked this moment to walk in, holding a few bags with boxes in them. The smell of chinease food was strong, and he set the bags down on a table, focusing first on Anna, then Jaide, Jack, Amanda, and then the new guy. He shrugged, setting boxes out and saying, "I went and got some food, if you guys are hungry. Who's the new guy?"

Jaide rubbed at her throbbing temples. She closed her eyes and hung her head a bit. Jack asked her if she should take a break and she shook her head no. "Thank you, though," She added, giving him a sweet smile. He was turning out to be a very good member of CORE.

Jaide thought she wouldn't be so hurt by the prospect of someone betraying CORE, but she was. She frowned a little, her cool facade breaking once more.

And then there was food.

Sniffing, she was reminded that she hadn't eaten all day. She snatched the bag and opened it up, tearing into it like a professional sumo wrestler. Her chopstick skills were impressive, she didn't need a fork.

"New guy got stabbed," Jaide said, swallowing hard, "Apparently he's The Broker... and I guess he wants me to have sex with him for him to be 'swayed' to our side. Although I don't see how he'd be able to get an erection with the amount of blood he's lost.

Anna squeaked when Jaide mentioned sex, before Aldron spoke up, "if he wants motivation, I can always start breaking his bones, starting his toes."

He opened a bag, and motioned for Anna to join him, and she did, picking up her blade sitting down on his lap. He handed her her own bag of food, and the feasted, Aldron studying the Broker, and Anna just being hungry.

Jack picked at the food he was given. He wasnt used to eating nice stuff like this. as Jaide mentioned what the man wanted, he couldnt help raising an eyebrow.
"You arent going to, are you?"

Aldron looked up, saying, "boy, I could easily break every bone in not only his body but yours also. I'm a magically mutated fighting machine. From what I know about myself, which is very little mind you, I was bred to hurt people."

Garreth spluttered. "Wh-WHAT?! CHICKADEE! Do not spread such foul rumours about me! I said convince, with words! By Aphrodite, if I wanted to fuck someone, There's plenty of people who would be willing." He ran his hand through his hair. "Ahem. What I mean to say is, no, that is not what I meant." he shot a glare at where he thought Amanda was, as she started giggling at his discomfort. "Ice Maiden, if I wasn't blind, I'd come over there and kick your arse!" "Maybe you should learn to think a bit more before you speak, Broker. You also got Jaide into the mindset that I of all people was betraying CORE." Garreth bit his lip. "Hmph. I cleared up that misunderstanding, didn't I?" Amanda snorted. "Yah, right. And pigs have started flying." Garreth frowned. "Hmph." Then, he glared at an approximation of where Aldron was. "I wouldn't DO that, Aldron Blackheart, or I might have one of your 'daughters' killed."

Aldron swore at the man, and Anna gasped as she was pushed off of his lap as Aldron leaped at him, sending a punch into the masked part of his face where the nose would be. He felt the material dent under his fist, but it absorbed most of the blow, and unfortunatly there was no crunch. His other hand slid up under the man's chin, grasping his throat and lifting him off the ground. His right hand jutted out in two punches to the Broker's chest, and a sickening crack was heard with each impact. Aldron squeezed, restricting the Broker's windpipe, before saying, "I lost one daughter today. You go near the other, and I hunt you down. No matter where you are. No matter how long it takes. I will kill you. If she did not before."