Forever Ago... (AN FMA RP -- Morpheaus & LoC)

[Lord of Chaos]

(Note: This is kind of a long-running sequel to an FMA series we did back in the day)


Forever has it been, or so it seems. A time ago, everything was so much clearer, details weren't that hard to define, and there was actually a white and a black to things. Now I see why they call them the "glory days". Those kind of days were when people were smart, and that everyone knew the right thing to do, even if the world around you could be collapsing upon you. Then again, there was a time when I thought the world was collapsing down upon me... losing friends, making plenty of new enemies and trying to make truth prevail.

Eventually, it worked. Things were set right again, and the world went back to it's state of being an oximoron -- randomly normal. The Fuhrer, corrupt as he was, was replaced, considering that the old one was dead anyway, thanks to me and some friends. It wasn't too long after that, that a special hit-squad was created to serve the military -- Branch 17. Little did I realize that that place would be my new curse upon life.

Things started out normally... we'd hit terrorist groups, rogue alchemists, you know the like. They all fell, one-by-one, to me and Shockwave... my old buddy and off-and-on enemy, or so it was back in the good ole' days. We lead the squad, and nothing stood in our paths... to the point that at one time, I could have sworn the military was paranoid that we might strike against them. I loved the military and the government, they were renewed in their sense of good and were set back on the right track... so fighting them was the last thing on my mind.

That's not how things would end, sadly. Once more, the military started growing more... gruff, in their ways, and I started to find myself questioning things again: "Why did we take that person out?", "What are their plans with that place?", and the like. It made my stomach churn with painful possibilities of what had happened before happening again. It didn't help that, one day, finally, something happened that did fully disillusion me from Branch-17 and the government. It dealt with a man, who had done something wrong...supposedly. I pleaded with Shockwave not to, but according to him, the man was the one responsible for a recent attack that had occured in East City... one that killed approximately eighty people.

I just watched reluctantly as they killed him. Once we were done... I left, without a trace, not even a word to Shockwave. Something had to be done, I knew the military were back to their old tricks... thing was, I didn't know if it was the Fuhrer again, or was it someone working behind his backs... or perhaps, even he was the puppet this time. Then again, maybe it was just me, and the fact that I might just be used to not trusting anyone anymore... not since she died...

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This is a straight-forward follow up to the series of FMA RP's me and Morph did back in the day, we even finished both of them. Anyway, essential idea = Is Raven right or wrong? I just posted the above storyline from his point of view, doesn't make him right. The goal of the rp is to get down to the bottom of things and solve the problem. As I said, pretty straight-forward.

Rules:
1. No God Moding or Power Playing
2. Be Literate or you're gone, period.
3. No One-Lining either, see above.
4. Be creative with your abilities...
5. Cursing and Romance allowed, but don't let it affect your rping and the tie to this story.
6. Acceptance is at the discretion of me or Morph.
7. Have Fun.
8. If you don't read the rules and post a crappy-half-followed-template, you're out, no exceptions.
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Template:

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Personality:
Appearance:
Bio:
Faction: (With Shockwave or with Raven, or on your own.)
Abilities: (Your Alchemy abilities, if you have them).
Theme Song:

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I'll post my template in a bit.

[lionheart06]

Weren't those rp's from like, years ago? Well, I'm in, I'll have a profile in by tomorrow.

[Lord of Chaos]

Yeah, they were, but that's what will make it better.

[Lord of Chaos]

Okay... something has happened. Anyway, we know who was in here and what was happening. For those that didn't, pm me. They did another roll-back, so bare with us.

[Morpheaus]

You saw my last post, didn't you? If not, I'll summarize it for you via msn or pm. I don't think this will be a problem, we all know who and where are we. Don't let this deter any of you from posting.

[Hip-Hop]

^Same as above

My AIM and MSN is n my KHI profile if ya need it.

[Lord of Chaos]

OOC: The last post I remember was the one where I answered... I think it was D2L's character who said that I'd have to go through him, and I gave him one chance, and kicked off my sandals. Personally I didn't get anything past that post, if something was posted. So...yeah. If you want to repost a response to that D2L.. or Morpheaus intervened (I don't know because I didn't get to read anything past that). So if there is something my character needs to be aware of... someone needs to give me a heads up. Otherwise, D2L, you have your response.

[Morpheaus]

Don't have much time, so forgive me if this is a shany summary. Basically, DL2 used fired a few rounds, used his alchemy and converted the bullets to a gaseous form. From there, he cart wheeled around and used another reaction to convert the gas to super hot plasma. This was all directed at you. I on the other hand, used the shockwave technique to destroy the train station, which DL2's character happened to be in. My character wasn't aware of this and still isn't. I put Lionel, Adrian, and Emilie about thirty yards away and slightly behind Raven, and the train station is about 60-80 yards ahead all of us.

[Lord of Chaos]

[Sweet]

Raven smiled for a moment as this other one started to react. So he didn't want to take his chance? That was fine, he'd make short work of him. As he fired the bullets, Raven shifted his feet, and suddenly blue lightning danced from the ground, striking the super-hot-plasma and redirecting it away from Raven. He then brought his hands up to the rain, and then clapped his hands together. From this, the wind seemed to invert and changed, creating a huge cyclone that was headed right towards the boy who shot at him. Whether or not he would dodge it would remain to be seen.

Meanwhile, Raven noted that the train station was destroyed. He noted the move that had been used -- a signature move of Shockwave's. He gritted his teeth as he turned, seeing them in the distance despite the rain. He turned his head back slightly to the boy, if he was still there, or still alive for that matter."Our fight is over. Consider yourself lucky." With that, he turned towards Lionel and the rest, and walked towards them. His hands were at his sides, and his feet were still bare, the rain cleaning them constantly as the mud soaked them. His hair was matted down into his face partially, but not so that it would in some way hamper his vision.

"Shockwave... why are you here?"

Those were the only words he could manage. There were so many feelings at the sight of his "best friend", that he didn't know where to begin. Slowly, ravens started to flock around him, even in the rain, and he just stared at the three of them.

[Morpheaus]

“Who did you think they would send when you decided to go rogue?” Lionel asked; he stared right into Raven’s eyes. The man had been his closest friend for more nearly twenty years, and if anyone could read the emotion in Lionel’s cool amber eyes, it was him. At the moment, Lionel hoped his old friend could see the hurt in his eyes...and the determination. “You shouldn’t have done this, Raven. These rebellions of yours do more to sows the seeds of political corruption than anything else.”

As Lionel spoke he strode forward several paces, approaching the most dangerous man in the world with a quiet confidence. Warm beads of water slipped down his face, smearing the blood and grime of the last twenty minutes into an ever changing mosaic of battle field gore.

“I know how you feel, but this isn’t the way to make amends. How many soldiers have you killed today, alone? Half these men weren’t a day over twenty; none of them understood what any of this was for. You know better than anyone how easy it is for the State’s rhetoric about serving the people to charm a young mind. And, dear god, look what you’ve done to these people; the Ishbalans don’t need this.”

Lionel motioned to the crater behind him and the Ishbalans taking refuge in the State’s camp. How cruel irony could be. After so many years of hiding from the fascists, the Ishbalans were forced into the indignity of State protection. “

“Sometimes, I wonder if you truly hate the nature of the orders we’re given, or if you just hate the fact that you’re the one picking the targets,” Lionel accused, a spark of electricity discharging from his tensed fists. For a moment it seemed Lionel would spring forward; instead, he reached into his waist coat and produced two pocket watches. On closer examination they proved to be those given to State alchemists; however, both had clearly been modified, one shined with a mother of pearl finish, the other an ominous jet black.
The little black watch...Such a large burden, more than anything that size had a right to be. Lionel unhooked it from his coat and tossed it to Raven.

“She’d have wanted you to have it,” he said even as the energies of a transmutation reaction slowly came to life around him.

[call_me_canada]

Emilie stood still as the General spoke, knowing it was not her place to interrupt such a conversation. Who knew how long it had been since these old friends had last seen, let alone laid eyes, on each other. A mixture of feelings--nervous, frightened, anxious--ran through her body as she watched the two closely. Her finger removed the safety on her gun and lay above the trigger as Lionel began to take steps towards Raven, her heart beginning to pick up pace.

The flock of ravens that had come to the aid of Raven sat around the remains of the train station and whatever else they could find, keeping an ever watchful eye on the man who Emilie could only guess had called them there. Water droplets fell onto the birds, sliding off their slick feathers, creating an utmost eerie scene. Emilie had seen what Raven could do with his birds already and wasn’t about to let any more military personnel fall to such a fate. When the time came she would be shooting the little bastards out of the sky.

Lionel reached into his coat, bringing Emilie’s attention sharply back to the two men before her. Instinct kicked in, her hand rising quickly with the barrel pointed directly at Raven’s chest. As Lionel produced two watches and held them to be seen Emilie’s body relaxed slightly but her gun did not leave its position. Curiosities filled her eyes at the sight of the second watch, black from time or maybe miss care. She hadn’t recalled him every possessing a second alchemist watch, especially one of such a color.

“She’d have wanted you to have it.”

Once again her curiosity flared at the mention of a third party member that both had known, but her curiosity quickly was overtaken by her concentration. Energy had begun to gather around Lionel’s fist once again. The time would be coming soon, Emilie anxious nature telling her to jump the gun now and bring things to an end. She couldn’t do that though. It was not her place to take the first move, she had to wait.

[Lord of Chaos]

He looked at Lionel, at him prodding with questions. He just stared into those amber eyes. Indeed, he could see the feelings present there, but they did nothing to warm him or even to change the expression on his face. He heard him question his own intentions and tell him off about all he had done recently. He just stood there, taking it all as if none of it meant anything to him. Whether it really did or not was only within Raven's mind. He just looked down for a moment as if taking this all in, or maybe if he was thinking of something else, only he knew.

He also knew that Emilie was busy with her weapon. Even from there, with the training he had received over the years, he could hear the safety being taken off. His intentions didn't show any kind of movement though; he didn't want to fight at the moment. Raven slowly looked back up at Lionel, and heard the something that almost brought anger to the surface of his face:

"Sometimes, I wonder if you truly hate the nature of the orders we’re given, or if you just hate the fact that you’re the one picking the targets.”

He said nothing however. For a moment he thought about it... he could feel the ebbing edges of thought brave the seas of his silenced mental turmoil. Raven did look up however, when he saw Lionel reaching for something in his pocket. Something inside of him told him that it was nothing to be afraid of -- in fact, it was almost as if a voice just spoke it in his ear. Then he saw it... her watch. The black watch that had belonged to Kali. Lionel had it? How did he? Did he save it from the destruction? Maybe they recovered it afterwards. Then how come he didn't inform Raven of this?! He gently caught it in his palm as he heard Lionel's words:

“She’d have wanted you to have it.”

He looked down at the watch for a moment. All those painful memories... they came flooding back up once more. Had Lionel planned this as a tactic to get Raven emotional and confused? Could be, but then again he sort of suspected that Shockwave's intentions were not so ominous... Raven could feel his heart tighten up inside of his chest as he clenched the watch even tighter, and then took out his own watch -- one that was a deep, Raven Blue in color. Even in the rain it almost glinted. He turned it around in his hand for a moment, feeling of it and her watch as well.

"... So long ago, Lionel. Why couldn't those days return? Can you answer that? You always want to put yourself in the right. Yet, if my memory is correct, you've been wrong on more than one occasion... As for myself... These Ishbalans did not deserve this, but I had to protect myself, and the best way is to give yourself ground... or take it away from the enemy. Only a few of them died, many were just injured or scared, there's nothing to worry about. As for those State Alchemist -- don't you dare give me that bullshit. You know that they knew what they were signing up for, and even on the contrary, that is yet another reason to stop the State... I never picked the targets Lionel -- that was up to you, our Superior, or the Fuhrer himself. No one else..."

He slowly turned away from them. As he did, sparks seem to ignite around his feet. Suddenly, walls of metal, creating a maze between him and the others appeared, running throughout the town. He slowly walked forwards, already knowing the way through this maze since he built it. As long as he kept his alchemy concentrated, it would be very, very difficult for them to transmute through the walls -- not that that limited their options, it would just buy him sometime. He just kept walking, never running, as he rubbed the watches. Truth was, the reason he could do all of this, was because he had transmutation circles tattooed on the bottom of his feet that allowed him alchemy without his hands. It made him that much more dangerous...

It was time to leave town though, so now he had to find a new way, and the rain wasn't going to let up soon.

[Abbazaba]

( Because of the rollback I lost the subscription to this thread.. now I'm utterly confused. I'll read the summaries and edit this with my post shortly. )

The rain patted on his head, sending clumps of hair around his eyes. Normally they wouldn't do so, but he had skipped cutting his hair for the job. Now he wished he hadn't. It hindered his ability to see for a moment, but once the annoyance grew to become unpleasant, he snapped his head, sending the water from his hair flying to the right. It stayed off of his forehead for a few minutes while he watched Raven carefully. When enough rain had fallen on him again, his hair drooped to the side, causing him to make another snap. At three more of the movements his hair seemed to stay, so he went back to observing the incredible alchemist.

He had found a nice spot behind the remains of the building he noticed on his way in town earlier. It still held value, but now it was drenched in a brown, thick, and muddy substance. Despite the rain washing away the outer layer of the sludge, it still remained in a thin sticky coat. Art made no attempt to touch it after the first time, fearing that he would be stuck forever.

Hearing Raven proved to be quite the task. His voice trailed off right when Art seemed to catch it, then faded with the pattering of the rain around them. His face seemed to be serious, but at one of Lionel's comments, appeared to ease slightly. Two minutes later he was ignited in sparks. Metal walls sprung from the sludgy floor to ultimately create some sort of series of hallways. It was a maze. Art was forced to step back as one of them poked out from beneath his feet. Raven's power was undoubtedly amazing and awesome. "How the hell can he do all this? Just one man capable of this? Or is it a trick?" He stepped forward to test the durability of the walls. They were either fake and flimsy, or cold steel. His palm slapped on to it and his fingers pulsed against it. A bright light shone from around his entire hand, then it disappeared. "It's definitely real," he whispered, walking away.

The maze lead him away, or what he thought was the opposite direction, of where Raven and the other alchemists were. It was simply a deterrent. Mustering up his common sense, he turned around and started the way he came from. His intentions had become unclear by now, shrouded by the action and twisted by the excitement, and in all reality, he wasn't sure if he wanted to punish Raven, or befriend him. In time he would discover which of them were his true needs and wants.

[Morpheaus]

OOC: Crappy post, but call_me_canada said she'd never have sex with me again if I let this die.

Lionel stared blankly at the newly risen steel barrier. Raven’s flair for the dramatic was quickly becoming an irritation, but at least the labyrinth lead further away from Central. For now, Lionel would be content with herding him away valuable locations.

He stepped forward and rapped his knuckles on the nearest wall, which yielded a very, very low clang. Thick enough to stop cannon fire. Of course, Raven came from the same school of cautionary measures that Lionel himself did. Not only would the wall be difficult to transmute and there would be plenty of deterrents for them on the other side. Going in would give too much of the advantage to Raven, and there wasn’t time to go around.

“He’ll be expecting us to come to him,” Lionel said turning to Emilie. “Let’s disappoint him. There are plenty of opportunities for mayhem within reach.”

Turning his eyes skyward he smiled at the growing storm. Lightning cracked across the darkening sky. This is going to be a big one he could tell. It was an appropriate setting for the occasion.

“If you can, use the thunder to flood the labyrinth with sound, Thunder. Whatever it takes to hurt him, I don’t care, but stay on the outside. You enter those walls and he owns you.”

Lionel made sure Emilie and the rest of his team understood the commands, he couldn’t afford any more losses. Once they were ready Lionel smiled reassuringly at Emilie.

“Whatever happens tonight, learn from it. It’s not going to end here. Raven knows the game well enough to escape. I know you’ve heard and seen things tonight...Things that could shake a person’s trust in their leader. Undeniably, I’ve committed some terrible crimes- On rare occasions my actions have led to some good, but I’m still accountable for all the sins of the past. Regardless of it all, I’ve never lied to anyone in my command, and I’ve always done what I could to make things right...I hope that’s enough for you.”

[call_me_canada]

OOC: Morph. . . I swear ><

Emilie looked over at Lionel as he began addressing her, simply nodding her head as she observed the storm. Throwing up a quick salute she immediately went to work though the General words lingered in her head. What could be possibly be talking about? His sins of the past? Maybe she had given herself too much credit in her knowing of Lionel. This entire day had just sent her for a loop, seeming to knock everything she knew out of place.

Bringing her attention back towards her duty, Emilie walked towards the wall and ran her hands across the cool surface. Her hand dug into one of her pockets, producing a small piece of chalk which she immediately began to use on the wall. As she began to trace a transmutation circle the white trail that she left behind soon hardened after contact with the water. When she was younger Emilie has grown so frustrated during a storm one night, after her transmutation circles had continuously been washed away. Her father and she were quick to solve that problem though.

Finishing the one circle she moved on to draw three more on the length of the wall. Each was positioned as high as she was able to reach with a simple line connecting them all. Moving back a bit she peered at her work, making sure all was in place before she tried anything. The lightning cracked above them and was soon followed by thunder. She bit down on her lower lip a bit in slight disappointment; it would have worked better if she could have positioned the circles on the very top of the wall. Emilie hadn’t risked it though; she had been warned not to step inside the wall and sitting on top would have taken her just as close.

“All is ready sir!” Emilie glanced back at the others, she would just have to wait a moment more. Her mind raced to Raven—his face, voice—this was her chance to finally help to strike him down. Though Lionel had said it himself that chances of Raven’s escape were high Emilie wanted nothing more then to be the one to kill him off. He had caused enough trouble for the Branch and put a bad name towards the General. His time of games was going to come to an end.

The lightning cracked and Emilie could feel the approach of the thunder. Reaching her palm towards the sky the thunder roared and the electric blue color sparked to life in her palm. A grin spread across her face as she brought her hand crashing into the wall, holding it down firmly with her other, and the blue light danced across to the other circles. They roared to life, the ground giving a small shake as the sound waves rushed into the metal labyrinth.

The ground was torn to pieces as the waves echoed off the many walls, only helped to increase the intensity. Emilie could feel her alchemy as it raced down the many halls, urging it to build up speed and power. Her target lay somewhere within here and she wasn’t going to let it escape.