002=VIDEO [ forward dated to March 10th ]

[rebellions]

[ It's an evening like any other since the beginning of the blackout ─ since the last rays of sunshine have disappeared behind the horizon already, there are few people left on the streets, whatever little light there is still around coming mostly from candles in the nearby windows and an occasional brazier a person or two may stop by to warm up on their way home.

Even so, it shouldn't be difficult for anyone familiar with Aldrip to recognize the area shown in the video feed despite the surrounding darkness ─ and that's doubly true for those who have been through their "sentencing". The building displayed is, without any doubt, the City Hall, the very same where the Council (supposedly) dwells and casts their judgement upon the Chosen. The person filming this, whoever they are, approaches the main entry to the building before stopping right before its doors. They reach out to it, but instead of placing their hand on the knob as some might have assumed, they press their palm against the surface of the door instead. It's at this point that the mysterious figure speaks up, and those who know him will surely have no trouble realizing who it is. ]

... Restriction 666 released, dimensional interference field deployed.

[ Multiple elaborate magic circles start appearing from beneath his hand, their blue light illuminating the area and making it easier to see for those who haven't recognized the place yet. Paying them no mind, the voice continues: ]

IDEA Engine, linked. BlazBlue... activate.

[ An ornate crest flashes in front of him, and then the screen is filled with blinding light. What follows is a loud sound of an explosion, but it doesn't come just from the recording ─ no, anyone in Aldrip will probably be able to hear the almost deafening, sharp noise. The whole thing only lasts seconds, probably, but it might feel like it takes longer than that for the light to finally fade ─ and once it does, the area is completely unrecognizable. Where the City Hall stood just moments ago, there is nothing but a sea of fire and rubble. Surely, there are screams, too, and people rushing in to see what was the cause of the explosion ─ but their voices are drowned out by the sound of falling rocks and crackling fire.

Finally, Ragna turns the charm to face him, appearing completely unfazed like he didn't just raze a building to the ground. ]

The sentencing's been called off. I'm done playing their games.

Comments

audio

[melnik]

[ A rough, admonishing voice is on the other end. ]

You idiot! What have you done?

[ Listen, he can't judge the desire to act, to do something, because he's done nothing but dig for answers with the other Chosen since he showed up here. But this seems like the worst possible way to go about it! ]

Did you really think it would be so easy to orchestrate a prison break, or are you just so careless that you'd put us all at risk to make some dumbass statement?

audio

[opheliac]

Chief, you're still alive! I thought you would have been gobbled up by the black-out creepies.

[melnik]

You! [ He recognizes the voice, but still isn't entirely sure of her name. ] Just what would give you that idea?

[opheliac]

Me! ( it is definitely her, yes. ) Because the darkness is the perfect time to hunt prey, that's all.

[melnik]

I don't know what you're implying is out there, [ assuming she's not entirely just trying to creep him out ] but I doubt it would stand much of a chance.

[opheliac]

Want one of my explosives?

[melnik]

Seriously? [ Well, he's not going to use it to blow up any buildings, but... ] If you're offering, I wouldn't mind putting one away for a rainy day.

[opheliac]

Totally serious! I like you and because I like you, I'll let you borrow my things.

( things are about to get really interesting now that her partner decided to do some real damage, so there's no need to make this professional. )

[melnik]

[ The fact that she likes him is a surprise to him, but he did say he wanted to work together and he meant that. It's a nice surprise and he's not going to turn down free weapons. ]

Thank you. I don't think I ever got to introduce myself. Colonel Miller.

[opheliac]

The name's Jinx! I might have introduced myself, or not. My head sometimes do loopey loops, and I get things mixed up.

( and that's as far she will explain and admit about her "episodes". )

But I'm gonna keep calling ya, Chief. It super suits you.

[melnik]

[ Hmm. Vague enough to mean a number of things, but worrying enough that he decides not press her on it at the first sign of common ground. ]

If you insist. So, should I take it you're gearing up for their response to this... mess?

[ Not to say he'd be incredibly surprised if she was just sitting on a stash of explosives anyway. ]

[opheliac]

I'm always geared up! A girl's gotta get ready for any surprise special occasions. ( a very brief pause. ) — 'Sides, all of my weapons been dressed up for a month or two, and they've been yapping how bored they've been.

They need to fulfill their purpose, not just lyin' around in my room all day.

[melnik]

Well, it's not my intention to wipe off the dust just for the sake of it, but if it reaches a point where we need to defend ourselves, I can tell you they won't go to waste.

[ Unfortunately, he gets the feeling the Council isn't going to fire back with bombs... but it's always good to be prepared. ]

[opheliac]

Just promise me you won't die. You just got here, and I haven't poked at your brain yet!

[melnik]

That's not going to happen! [ From the emphatic way he says it, the first reaction is definitely about the brain poking bit. But. ]

Believe me, I'm not going to die in a place like this. I hope that you'll take care of yourself as well.

[rebellions]

Can't believe how many times I need to repeat this when the video is right here, but fuck it, I'm feeling nice today: I blew up the City Hall.

[ He replies in a sarcastic tone, knowing full well that's not what the question was really about. ]

The latter, but taking a step towards the prison break thing would be a nice bonus, too.

[ Well. At least he's honest...? ]

[melnik]

[ Credit where credit's due... though he still sounds frustrated by this answer. ]

I haven't even been here a month and even I know that's not going to happen. So, how did you think they were going to respond to this?

[ Because it's still not clear what he even stood to gain. ]

[rebellions]

That's what I'm trying to find out, old fart. For one, they didn't stop me, so we can rule out them being omnipotent and all-knowing.

[ Granted, it's a lot of assumptions, but playing it safe has never gotten him anywhere, so he figures it's better to take it at face value and worry about the details later. ]

Next up... let's see if they rewind time to prevent this shit.

[ He says, like that's the most natural thing to expect to happen. Okay then. ]

[melnik]

[ Can they rule that out? For all they know, they're happy to be given an excuse to punish them more. He doesn't see a point in arguing about that specific thing though. Not when everything else he just said is right there. ]

What?! And then what, they come down on us, accusing us of more supposed crimes, and we can't even remember who to blame for it? I hope they're not going to let you off that easy.

[ Not that it isn't all complete speculation anyway, of course. The hypothetical isn't the part that really bothers him. ]

And I hope you're not trying to say that besides giving the Council the middle finger, you were just trying it to see what happened.

[rebellions]

[ Those are all very good points... if Ragna had any interest in listening to other people. Unfortunately, that isn't the case, so he just shrugs it off, replying with a cocky smirk on his face. ]

... And if I did? What then?

[ Why does he make it sound like a challenge... ]

[melnik]

Then you're even stupider than I thought.

[ Look, if there was some point in taking that challenge, maybe he would consider it. But as things stand, going headlong into a fight with this guy isn't going to fix the damage that's been done. ]

[rebellions]

[ Ragna clicks his tongue impatiently, not exactly happy with name-calling... but at the same time, it's not the first time he's hearing that, today or in general. It's getting old, but what can you do? ]

That's all you people say, but I've yet to hear any useful suggestion for an alternative.

[melnik]

[ True, it isn't very constructive. Then again, Miller does tend to think it's warranted in this situation. ]

I don't know about everyone here, but from my perspective, you didn't exactly give us much of a chance. Any suggestion now is just damage control.

[rebellions]

You snooze, you lose. Not my fault you couldn't figure out your own solution earlier.

[ Granted, he's not familiar with the voice on the other end, so chances are this is a newcomer... but Ragna can't be bothered to care about details like that. ]

[melnik]

[ He wasn't expecting that to change his point of view, honestly. ]

No. But it is your fault if something happens to the rest of us because of your stunt. Just remember that.