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

[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.