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[Thugren]

it takes a while, a long trek to the back of the ware house until you see cain sitting in the managers office. His back is to the door, and he is visibly smoking .

 

 

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Augustus shrugs and watches the elemental closely.

 

"if you dont feed yourself...Youll break down before exploding violently.."

he watches as the tiny commander speaks and shrugs.

 

'hes bothered that he will outlive his friends and loved ones."

[Armoured Priest]

Burias sighed to himself. Cain didn't smoke often, only when he really needed to relax. Thinking it was the only pilot thing to do, Burias knocked on the wall next to him. "Hey, is it ok to come in bruder?" he asked him, giving cain a choice if he just wanted to be left alone or not. Thought he was too worried to actually leave him either, probably would just sit in the hallway till Cain was ready.

 

Aberga just nodded to what Augustus had said, both in understanding what would happen if he stopped his core upkeep or whatever he would call it and at his answer to Tina. "Not something I would think be in the realm of possibility. "Thought I'd just grow old and die with everyone else." Aberga said in an odd neutral tone. Still thought it was poor form to show weakness, even with a loved one. Tina stood up and got next to Aberga, poking his side. "And how's that different from every other day? We didn't exactly have a safe Job Glowstick." she reminded the tall lizard elemental. "That's different, that comes down to our skill and some luck, things we can have a say in. Age, that's something out of our control. Out live you, our friends, then what? Memories start weighing down a lot you know." Aberga said to her. She just shook her blonde head. "Na na na, stop that thinking right now. You know we can't think that far ahead Ab, its just gonna start messin with ya. We'll get there when we get there, till then we got a company of snipers to baby sit since they can't do jack shit in a siege." She grinned up to Aberga. He chuckled as he leaned down and hugged her. "Alright alright I get it, we'll just focus on today." he agreed before letting her go. She sat back down as Aberga payed attention back to Augustus. "But I guess it would be prudent to learn from the guy whose been around centuries about dealing with it." he said to the ancient as he sat down to listen now.

 

Thaes was sitting there still drained and tired by everything now before he looked up at Jessica. "Probably not my place to ask, but I've crossed that line several times today, but why did you go after Cain? This is about your son, and he's still his father and I would think your husband too still" the pale son asked, curious and surprised she didn't follow cain like burias did. He would think to himself if he truely wrecked their family as much as the trial had done. He wouldn't be surprised if he did, just more disappointed in himself, again.

[Thugren]

Augustus raises his eyebrow and waves tina away, leaning back for a moment before speaking.

 

"The truth?"

 

he says with a puff of flavored smoke.

 

"YOu never let the people go... I carry every wife...Every son and friend ive lived with me wherever i go. You never get over the pain, but you learn to channel it. Use it to guide you and move your hands in a direction."

 

he takes another drag and looks directly into the elementals eyes.

 

"Immortality sucks abrega.....But people like us can do so much good that it makes up for it."

 

 

 

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Jessica says nothing, motioning for thaes to follow until they stand just behind burias and cain begins to think.

 

"What is there to say... What is there to scream about ."

 

in a startling show of temper, cain throws a light from the dek and it shatters against the wall in a shower of glass.

 

"What the fuck am i supposed to do?! what can i fix?! Nothing! Thats what!"

 

frustrated, the silencer runs his hand through his hair as if trying to figure out what to do.

 

"No matter how much i push, i always get pushed back.. I find Jessica, she wants nothing to me..I stabilize my son..I find out he is imploding."

 

the purifiers temper explodes again as he flips the desk, sending ancient rotted books and papers flying.

 

"What can i fucking DO! WHat more can i give! Everything besides you and the company is crumbling around me and..."

he slides to the floor, his back against another filing cabinet as the door swings open.

 

"I dont know what to say or do anymore burias....I just...An enemy makes sense...But nothing else does."

[Armoured Priest]

Burias didn't notice the other two in the hallway with him, too focused on his distressed brother. With the door opened for him, he walked over to Cain and sat down next to him on the floor. Taking off his helm and mask, he sat there for a moment before nodding. "I don't know either bruder. I wish I did. It's not your fault, you're just trying to do what you thought was right. You did not know any of this, none of us did. And Jessica the only one who did, schwester didn't even stop to explain why before taking Jacob and Joesph and going away. I mean, you care so deeply for them and yet....I don't know why she wants to do things like this. You two should be able to talk this out, like before. The one thing she could be mad at, still was not your doing. Even Thaes would say that, it what he was saying the whole time he got here. She even let me live with you two after what I did, even after Krieg shouted how stupid that was at you and her. And then there's the boys, who knows what they are thinking about all of this cause I doubt you or her talked to them too." Burias sighs, rubbing one of his eyes. "....Will you tell me what happened in the mine shaft? After arresting me at Blake hills? It's been....haunting me more often." Burias asked quietly.

 

Thaes just stayed in the hallway with Jessica, listening to the two as he thought back to the operations and the....test. He understood where Burias was coming from, but he doubt Burias really understood Jessica's point of view. Now matter how much the scientist would want the blame laid on him for what had happened back at that facility, it was still Cain's hands Jessica saw that did what cain did. Like Cain, she had to live with that memory, see that everytime she saw Cain or her sons. But she wasn't going to get over that if she just avoided him, it'll just make things worse in the long run. He wanted to say something but he only gave Jessica a look, wondering what she was thinking at this point while the two talked.

 

"Huh.....well, isn't that just fucking great." Aberga just smiled an empty grin and gave a short chuckle as he shook his head. "Think something like me could actually do some good? The only thing I know is just the craft of War sir, maybe I can learn things down the line, but...ah I'm just complaining at this point." he stopped himself as he leaned back against the sandbags. This wasn't the time to have the luxury of complaining about life, there was much to do. "As you probably know we might be heading up to detroit, you know anything about the area that we don't? Supplies will be an issue up in the frozen north." he said as he took a drag of his own cigar now. 

[Thugren]

the mineshaft...right.."

 

cain says, looking up at the ceiling as if looking at the sky above it, not the ancient stone walls.

 

"The squad wanted you dead...The mission was to kill you...Give the people a scapegoat that we could blame for the violence...But i couldnt do it..I wouldnt do it."

Jessica leans against the wall as she listens, the story even news to her as the silencer goes on.

 

"When you went to bed..I parked myself against the door... facing the squad and told them anyone who came close did it at their own risk."

 

A bitter laugh leaves his throat as he remembers the cold of the mineshaft, the feeling of bones breaking as he sent the medic absalon back to the squad in peices.

 

"I killed one of the members to make a point.....Strung him up like a fish and made it my announcmement....If they wanted you...I was going to kill the squad and make it look like ghouls did it... Than krieg came and he and i talked....I shot at him and we decided to give you a chance.... Than while you slept we killed the other 9 men of the squad, lured some ghouls into the mine shaft and made it look like we where attacked.. This way you never knew."

 

Jessica takes a step forward and lets out a soft breath, barely audible enough to be heard and whisopers..

 

"Cain i...."

 

cains ears perk and his head shoots up, looking into his wives eyes as he sees thaes as well.

 

"Hey jess..."

 

 

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Augustus smiles and nods.

 

"i was a sniper on inception day abrega....I than became a chemist...a scientist, a geneticist, a mutagist.."

he says each word with a tired shrug.

 

"And as for detroit.....Be careful with your tanks...They aretrained guerillas out there.....Theose tanks are goign to be more target than anything

[Armoured Priest]

Burias gave cain a quick hug, some tears forming in his eyes, before he whispered "Thank you, I'm sorry." which he let go of him so he could talk to Jessica. Thaes was just looking at the ground now, thinking he really shouldn't be here now if the two of them were about to talk. "Hey, uh, Burias, maybe we should go check on um...somewhere else that isn't here." Thaes told the pyromancer, unable to make a passable excuse at the moment. Burias stood up, but instead of going out the door, he walked over to thaes and gently moved him onto the chair and made him sit. "Nien, we are family, we work things out together not seperatly ok?" He told the Komodo as he sat on the desk instead of the floor again.

 

"Urban fighting eh? That's going to get messy real quick. Good thing we got a unit of living flamethrowers." He nodded, understanding the dangers of fighting in a city with armored vehicles. "You know what their deal is? or If they're willing to talk first? Not exactly much up there to rebel about as far as I remember. Or is just a hideout for them?" the commander questioned, wanting to see what options he had before him before commiting anything later down the line.

[Thugren]

neither says anything for the longest time, both one visibly remembering the last few seconds before their worlds went into hell, and with a voice very thin , almost unhearable, jessica whispers.

 

"Can i sit?"

 

cain nods and moves over a bit as his wife sits down, carefully arranging the furs around her , and when she can finally sit, she leans over and lays her head on cains shoulder.

 

"Its been a long time since weve been to canada right?"

 

SHe asks, making cain frown sadly as he strokes her hair.

 

"Accalia camer back and said everything is looking good...We should go back and see russ or konrad before they get to breeding age. "

jessica laughs and closes her eues .

 

"Is that really what you think about...The first time we talk and its about the farm?"
 

cain smiles as he kisses the top of her forehead.

 

"Theres nothing in the world i can say Jessica... No amount of im sorries..No amount  Of i wish i t could change are gfoingto fix waht happened... ALl i can do is move forward..DO what i can and try to change something for the future."

jessica looks up at cains words and he sighs before he continues.

 

"Where do i begin...Where do i even start... Theres no manual for a revolution....Theres no manual for when your son gets turned into..... Whatever ho siht made him.... Maybe its what i deserves for all the work i did before all of this, but im trying to learn as i go..And i cant learn if i beat myself for everything ive done up until this point."

jessica looks at him intently for a long moment before chuckling softly.

 

"SO are you going to make Russ or konrad head sled dog..."


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"Most of them are working with what seems to be drachen blut detractors.... The survivors of blake hills  or the infantrymen that came with them.. But ever since they met up with some demagouge named talisman, many of them are splintered and fractured ...You may get lucky depending on who you meet."

 

Augustus smiles and reaches into his vest, pulling out a pda.

 

"Theres another commander in that area that even gave me trouble .... His son may be willing to work with you."

[Armoured Priest]

Burias smiled a scarred grin as they talked, just happy that they were finally talking to each other for once rather than just encountering one another like they have been since it all happened. "Should go up there one day, I bet they miss all of you a lot." Burias suggested, remembering the last time Cain's family went up there, Burias had to stay, mostly due to Krieg not wanting to give him the time off for it. All the while Thaes sat in the chair, looking down at the floor for the most part as they talked, feeling a little more relieved himself as it looked like they might work things out now. He wondered how their sons would feel seeing this, he hoped better, he wasn't sure how they see their father since after the incident. Was it similar to Jessica? Or did they see it differently?

 

"Gave you trouble? Sounds like a serious problem then." Aberga said, not joking in the slightest. He has dealt with skilled leaders before, but he doubted any of them could give Augustus hassle. "Why would his son be willing to help? Doesn't agree with what dear old dad is doing or something?" He asked, wondering what angle he could work with the son if they can meet up with him. Since they're drachens, he wondered if Burias and the Vorboten could talk to them. Could provided with more allies and cut back any losses they could have incurred in trying to take the prison facility in detroit.

[Thugren]

jessica closes her eyes, and visibly drifts into a nap, and cai looks up at bruais as he speaks.

 

"We should all go up during the winter...We cant do many operations anyway."

 

he says with a warm smile as he strokes his wifes face.

 

'THaes.....Thank you for what your doing."

 

Cain says, looking dead forward at the wall.

 

'I beleive youl lsave my boys....YOuve suffered enough....I beleive your due some success."

 

 

---------------------------------

 

"hes doesnt beleive in the same fight his father is waging...Hes more liberal..beleives that people should be making their own way, not just filling his fathers army."

 

Augustus smiles and puffs on his cigar.

 

"how in the fuck did you get cubans in this age?... I have to know."

[Armoured Priest]

"Oh, uuuh, Thank you. I'm not doing it alone though so don't thank just me, wish I brought Johten and Jarvan now or even Miss Kani, I think everyone would have gotten along really well." Thaes reminded him, not wanting to take any credit. He was just fixing a mistake he made a long time ago now, one that shouldn't have occurred at all. "Guess I'm staying just a little longer than planned." he nodded to Jessica. "Gives the two back home a chance to talk to their father. After thinking he was dead for so long, I think he owes them that much anyways." he shrugged, giving a brief summary of what happened before he and Jessica arrived here. Burias just shook his head. "Why do all of our parents like doing these things? I am sensing a pattern here." He said with a weary grin underneath his mask.

 

Aberga gave a quick chuckle. "You'd have to thank Tina for that, she find damn near anything, she's the one that got me on them in the first place." the reptilian elemental grinned, thinking back to when the two of them were still kids more than anything, training under Thrask still. "Hell, she's the only reason I'm even sociable to anyone. Especially after what happened when the whole debacle between the ghouls and Varghen thing went down. Yet there she was, not giving a damn what I was....." Aberga trailed off before giving a heavy sigh, the earlier mirth lost as he remembered what he was just recently told. "...And I'm going to outlive her....Isn't that just a damn slap in the face huh? ....I don't want to forget about her Augustus."

[Thugren]

cain strokes jessicas face tenderly, letting her rest against him as he motions for them to leave.

 

--------------

 

Augustus simply sighs and cocks his head.

 

"YOull never forget them abrega..But if you cant find a way to continue living after theyve passed..Ill make something for you to join them.. Is that ok for you?"

 

He asks, his face suprisingly understanding

[Armoured Priest]

Both of them nodded as they got up to leave the two of them in peace, Thaes following Burias since he knew the layout of the place better. That and he doesn't really know anyone else here besides Krieg and Aberga. They were out in the hallway and heading out when Burias said something to Thaes. "Hey, what's wrong? Everything is going to be better now." He asked the albino. Thaes shook his head. "No it's not that, not as worried about that right now. I just....don't exactly now many people here. And there's not a lab here, I think." Thaes shrugged. Burias put an arm around Thaes, which surprised him, and laughed. "Then I will introduce you to everyone! You know Able already, now for the rest of black company!" he declared as he rushed to the exit, half carrying the Komodo. "Wait! I don't think.." Was all the scientist could say before they were already out the exit and heading back to the campfires.

 

Aberga was quiet for a long time, looking at the ground as he contemplated what Augustus had offered and what he should be doing in the future. He wasn't sure how well he would be able to handle Tina's passing, which only made him question how he would deal with the passing of so many over his unnatural lifespan. And there was the men under his command and the friends he had here and now to think about. But, he felt as if he had a sense he should keep going and help the future generations, something to make all his previous campaigns mean something other than just forcing control for the sake of control under ho siht. And he wasn't sure of his own mother's lifespan, wouldn't she still want her son around? After a several minutes of thought, the commander nodded his head. "I'll keep it in mind. Somehow having that option is reassuring. She means a lot to me, but you understand that already. You've probably been there more than you would want to admit.... Still, thank you for letting me speak with you about this. Other than mother, you're the only one here that actually knows about the price of immortality." He sighed before finishing his cigar. 

[Thugren]

as burias leaves, he is stopped by krieg who holds up a single hand.

 

"Burias...Im goiung to need an escort...Obriegs sent a unit of headtakers after us...And ive managed to speak them into peaceful communications...Ive already told melinko and yuko...Im just about to get cain and jess as well..Would you mind coming?"

 

 

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Augustus smiles and motions him away, looking to alduin with a smile.

 

"enjoy the life you have elemental....Dont sweat things, you of all people know that all it takes is one well placed shell to silence all worry."

[Armoured Priest]

Burias just sighed heavily at the news, the kind that just had to show up the moment Cain and Jessica were having a happy moment. "I mean, do you have to get them? It's the first time they have been together without fighting or leaving after like five mintues. Besides, we can handle it right? They have to get close, which means they have to get close to fire!" Burias said, letting lose a small spark for comedic effect. "....Please?" He pleaded a little this time. Meanwhile Thaes was able to slip out of Burias' crushing grasp and took a needed breath. "I can see that this is out of my depth and I'll just....actually I don't know what the hell to do...were the hell is Aberga." He asked mostly to himself before seeing the towering commander just now leaving Augustus, almost looking....relieved? 'Well, I came here to talk about what was in the books....maybe he'll tolerate me long enough to give me tips on how to help Jacob and Joesph.' He thought to himself as he walked over to the venerable scientist.

 

"Yea....you're right about that." Aberga nodded with a small smile. HIs attention was grabbed by the pale form of his adopted brother coming up to them now. He looked over to Augustus with a softer expression now. "Please be easy on him, he meant well, even if he rushed it all." He asked before heading out, meeting up with Tina so they can get the company ready to move when Cain gave the word.

[Thugren]

Augustus says nothign to abrega as thaes comes forward, watchign the pale komodo carefully.

 

"Hello there young one....What can i do for you?"

[Armoured Priest]

(for me: surgery daimen paleghoul kani )

 

Thaes, his movements jerking and unsure, sat on the pile of sandbags used as seats, something of a good thing as he didn't have to worry about his tail being pressed against a back rest. He was now fully aware of how much he feared he had thrown things into disarray with his actions and how much he might have peeved the venerable scientist that could break him even easier than obrieg had. His throat felt dry despite the constant drool his species were known for, keeping silent for awhile as he tried to get his mind in order and to ask the right sort of questions right now. "....I apologize for basically starting a witch hunt even if I came here with the good intentions of finally showing everyone what had happened." he said and not asking anything yet, wanting to at least start this off on a better foot than he did when he first teleported here with Jessica.

[Thugren]

Augustus doesnt say anything for a few moments, watching the pale komodo calmly.

 

'ID say that was unbefitting of a scientist...But at the same time i cant actually complain...Ive actually had real witchhunts sent after me so i cant exactly complain."

he pats a cigarette on its filter and lights it.

 

"YOu arent here to apologize to me..SO what can i help you with Thaes."

[Armoured Priest]

Thaes didn't react to Augustus, there probably wasn't anything he could say to change the old human. "....Jacob needs an operation, for Jacob's and Joesph's sake. I'm only working on basic principles with no known alternatives so far. Kani is going to help create a body for Joesph to inhabit, Johten is going to act as the conduit between the two bodies with huge risks involved. Is there anything I can do to mitigate the risks or another other possibilities?" he asked him.

[Thugren]

for a long moment, augustus closes his eyes and thinks.

 

"If i remember correctly, it is going to be a full cranial graft...you cant risk removal of the brain tissue becasue doing so would kill Jacob..... WHich one will be moved to the new body?"

he asks as he lights the cigarette and pulls a long draft

[Armoured Priest]

"Joesph, letting Jacob stay in his own body. Given their psionic nature, and a body with similar qualities as Jacob's and Cain's, the idea is that it will be easier to transfer his psych instead of doing any more surgeries on Jacob at this point. If it's even possible, because as far as I know this is the first time something like this has been tried." Thaes explained, wafting away some of the smoke. It irritated his sense more than it would a normal person, mostly due to his own weaker constitution, and he hated it when Aberga or anyone else smoked around him. Though the hot water he landed in earlier, he didn't say anything about it to Augustus.