agogelogs | [CLOSED: KEBECHET PLAYER PLOT] A thousand armies couldn't keep me out

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[CLOSED: KEBECHET PLAYER PLOT] A thousand armies couldn't keep me out

WHO? Everyone involved in the plot to abduct Kebechet from the Regency villa!
WHAT? All the pertinent information is here.
WHEN? Somewhat after the return from the Eclipse and the discovery of the destruction of the COST villa and Grothia's abduction.
ANYTHING ELSE? Each group should write its own starter, but I've linked the pertinent information for everyone so you're not flying blind.

Those who had been abducted by the Regency in Gallipoli managed to escape, but their experiences -- interrogation, intimate psychological torture, and sleep deprivation among them -- left them hungry for revenge. Their tormentor, Kebechet, also made an appearance on the COST network while they were being held, and her insults, manipulation, and disdain managed to anger even more of COST's operatives.

It's not that there's been an uneasy peace since both the Regency and COST have been working on their objectives in Jhashch; it's more that hostilities have mostly stayed at a relatively low buzz, played out in the arenas, or the deaths of the Aranean noble family most sympathetic to COST's cause. But a few things have changed that. A COST operative, Hei, learned that Kebechet has been present on Jhashch, disguised as the meek little shabti secretary who follows Mhic Nathair around (in reality, Kebechet's rank is much higher than that of the woman she pretends is her boss). He wasted no time in passing this information on to one of the abductees, Daenerys Targaryen, the sort of woman who's full of kindness until you give her good cause to turn you and everything around you to ashes.

Much like the Regency just did to COST's villa, and to their Commander, Grothia -- a real shabti herself, escaped from her creators, helping to lead the fight against them, not someone merely acting the role of one of the Regency's clone-slaves.

Using the BCE¹, Daenerys and several of her friends and fellow abductees recruited willing and able help from among other COST members, until they arrived at a plan. Breaking into several teams, they would create a significant distraction near the Regency compound, sneak in, drug and abduct Kebechet... and use PASIV technology to try to get into her head.

After that... well, before Grothia's abduction, when Daenerys approached Grothia for permission for the operation, Grothia had strongly implied that it could only end in Kebechet's death. And Mordred is involved, which makes the chances that Kebechet will walk away at the end almost infinitesimal.

¹ Handwaved.

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[He nods: they'd definitely underestimated the Regency. They had treated a diplomatic function like it meant something. They hadn't had a detachment of troops or a dragon to use to guard the villa. They had assumed, in some way, a sense of fair play.

He rubs his thumb over her fingers and against the side of her hand.]

I know. If Arthur has a way to get into someone's dreams... still sounds mad to me, even after seeing what Ryuji can do... then it's not impossible that they could see into your minds.

The Gallipoli nurse, she cared about her mother. She cared about a lot of things. Did you get the sense of what Kebechet cared about, other than her sister?

Edited 2018-07-02 01:40 (UTC)

[ It's moments like these--where he's standing like a steady pillar, unruffled by her agitation--that leaves her heart aching. If anything could have been her totem, it should have been him. But it's far more easier to assign it to a person, and that's not what the concept of a totem was for.

Still, he was one all the same. He understands this, at least. She's not alone, and hasn't been for months, now. ]

I still don't understand how it's possible. How that... thing can inject something into me to sleep, and connect my mind to so many others. But it's real, and if you die in there...

[ She shakes her head. Frowns at him. ]

The Regency. It's not a lie to say they're brainwashed. It was as if Arthur dipped into your mind and broke away all the memories that meant something to you, leaving darkness behind. It's almost like the Unsullied, but far worse.

[He's weary -- all of this has been so wearying, from the moment they set foot on Jhashch. But when has he had the chance to be anything other than a pillar? When has he ever chosen not to try to withstand and hold against everything the world throws at him and his family? Only when he's too wounded to remain on his feet.]

So the Regency has cleansed their minds of anything but loyalty to the Regency? [That sounds mad too, but it would explain so much of what he's seen -- and it says disquieting things about what may be yet to come.] Is that what she tried to do to you?

[ She holds his gaze, then gives a light tug to pull him off to the side. The others are in different stages of awakening, and she doesn't wish to speak of these things so out in the open.

Not that there's very many places they can retreat to, but at least standing by the side of the room offers them some semblance of privacy. ]

It seems like it. I don't know how they did it, but if she was trapped in that room for an extended period of time... I could see it happening. You can't sleep in there, the walls and floor shift so often, and the walls will open to shine light in your eyes if you doze off. Imagine that while trying to convince a person to follow a cause.

[ She hadn't realized the implications and how far-reaching they were until they saw Kebechet's mind. ]

I don't know if that's what she intended. Our conversation was amicable enough in the beginning, before I refused her offer and she-- [ A hesitation. She huffs. Might as well speak of it, they kept so few secrets between them. ] A hand dragged me through the ground and into a fiery pit, where my father sat.

[Is that what spending time in a dungeon would be like? Not the light or the cleanliness, but the discomfort? He remembers the ice cells at Castle Black, how they were in almost every respect the last place a man would want to be: too small for most men to stand or stretch out, and in spite of the furs provided, still very cold.

For a moment he nearly feels sorry for the woman, but the moment passes as Dany continues to speak, and his look becomes warier, and disgusted.]

Your father.

[A madman, the worst of all bad kings, someone she had never met, someone whose shadow he knows his betrothed has had to live under and try to escape.]

What could make her want to do that to you if it had been done to her?

He dragged me down, actually. [ A thin, brittle smile. ] I can't imagine how a real meeting might've transpired between us. He said I was soft like my brother, and not a true-- [ She stumbles, so hesitant to speak of her family name in the presence of enemies. ] --not one of my family.

[ His question has her look turning thoughtful, but soon she's shaking her head, meeting his eyes. ]

I don't know. Perhaps that's how it begins. "This is our strength, bend the knee to us."

Your oldest brother, or the y--? [He cuts himself off, then sighs. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the woman Rhaegar Targaryen had stolen was Jon's own aunt, so little had she been spoken of when he was a boy. He owes his existence to the war, he knows, and Dany owes her long exile to it, but other than that, they seem to have so little to do with either of them.]

It doesn't matter. Maybe she meant to hurt you with it. You know it's a lie. And if you're not like your family in the worst ways, where's the trouble in it?

[He covers the hand he's been holding with a second hand.]

You know I think you're nothing but your own self.

Older, [ she says, finding the need to make the distinction between the two. Viserys had been soft, once, the only role model she had as a girl growing up. That kindness in him rusted away over time, caked beneath layers of anger and madness... until she'd seen his smile before he died. ] And I know it's not true. That image of him very well may be a lie, as well.

[ His hands are larger than hers, of course they are. Never has she felt so entirely safe with one gesture. Not a hug, not a kiss, but both his hands holding hers. ]

It was time I told you of what she did to me.

This war of theirs doesn't end until everyone has killed everyone. There's no room for disagreement, no chance to live in peace. An empty room is peaceful, but no less empty.

[Her hands remain between his, and he tilts his head down to speak to her softly.]

I don't like what she did to you. I wanted to kill her. Still do.

But I can't.

Edited 2018-07-05 00:09 (UTC)

Which means we contribute to the line of bodies, in this long and drawn out battle. Even if it's to protect what's ours, I don't like it. How do we defeat an enemy wiped clean of anything that might make them listen to reason?

[ With her back to most of their allies, she can afford a softer look. ]

I know. [ But she also understands the toll killing takes on him. The toll of this world, for so very long, as he fought over and over in the arena. ] You've helped, and that's far more important.

I'm not her commander or her lord, and she didn't take me. Didn't do much to me but insult and threaten me and our world. She took you, but you're back in one piece. And with her like this... [he looks at Kebechet, across the room, bound, not looking big or threatening at all]... it wouldn't be right. Not for me to do it. It should be one of you who she took.

As to the war... the commander was right. We have to cut the head off the snake and burn it. Killing shabti won't do it. Getting the ymir won't do it, but it would be a real start.

-- Where the snake's true head is, though... I don't know if we'll ever find it.

Edited 2018-07-05 05:01 (UTC)

Perhaps not to kill her, but it's still enough. [ She doesn't turn to look at Kebechet. Of all the things she pictured, the mask-less woman is not it. It sickens her, if nothing more, than because if there was more time, maybe change could be brought about.

Or maybe she is as broken as her brother had been, before he'd died. ] The Commander is dead. That would be more than a valid reason to.

[ As for the snake, she frowns. ]

We can't do this forever.

It might be. A valid reason. [It's a concession on his part.]

She's been dead since we took her, if not before. But it's not that she kills our commander, so we kill her, and then there's another reprisal, and so on and on. It's that they're looking to kill all of us always.

If we do this for our children, taking the chance that they're real, we can't do it forever. And I can't --

[He presses his lips together like he's clamping down on his next words, and he shakes his head once, heavily.]

[ She's silent, head tilting, eyes widening just enough to encourage him to finish that thought. But just in case-- ]

You can't what?

I've seen as many battles in these last months with COST as I'd seen in my whole life until then. There's more waiting at home.

It's not easy to watch people try to kill you over and over. Oh, I know you don't like me talking that way. I don't want to stop you from doing whatever it is you want to do. But if you die --

[He looks sad, and tired, and it hasn't occurred to him to reverse the sentiment today. In some ways, he was made to fight, raised to it.]

[ She makes a face, readying to counter his comment about people trying to kill her, but he beats her to it, continuing on.

...And that's the crux of it. She feels the same way about him, how he fights, how he walks straight into battle. He'd been injured in the arena match and she'd felt her heart jump into her throat, threatening to suffocate her. He was the one who had died, before they'd ever met.

Fear dogged her every step as a child, as a young girl, up until the point where she'd learned the Usurper was dead and she'd learned how to be strong. Without thinking she's stepping closer, into his space. The hand not in his is curving around his neck, tugging him closer to meet her for a kiss. ]

People have tried to kill me my entire life, [ she says, voice impossibly soft when the kiss breaks. There's no need to repeat all she's lived through, nor the things he has. ] We will survive this, and what waits us at home.

[He kisses her, then says so softly that his lips move against hers,]

You always have more faith than I do.

[It's easier to have faith when you haven't seen how easily you can die. You have to see it to know.

It's not something he wants her to know; it's not a faith he wants her to lose. Let her keep this fierce belief that we'll win in the end.]

[ Her lips twitch, the hint of a smile. ]

I suppose I've enough for us both.

[ She's seen enough death to know she wants no more of it. But Kebechet is here, and she must die. With a quiet exhale, she leans back just enough to catch his gaze. ]

You'll learn.

[He leans his forehead down to hers, heedless of the rest of the people in the room.]

Might be that I will, if I have you to teach me.

Edited 2018-07-06 01:46 (UTC)

[ Her eyes drift shut, and she leans into him, her fingers just grazing the ends of his loose curls. ]

You certainly will, then.

Would that I could, I'd have made you my totem.

Your totem? I don't understand.

[To any outside observer, they're just standing there wrapped up in each other. He puts the palms of his hands on either side of her jaw.]

Edited 2018-07-07 01:51 (UTC)

[ To any outsider, it's likely the most affectionate either have ever been publicly. Dangerous to be doing this here and now. So very, very dangerous, and yet she can't stop herself from soaking up his attentions like a flower showered in sunlight. ]

When you enter the dreams, it's easy to mistake them for reality if the architect is convincing enough. The totems are meant to remind you which realm is real versus the dream.

Are you saying you don't dream about me?

[His expression is as wry as it might be, under the circumstances.]

A way to anchor you to what's real and true.

[ Her look suggests any dreams she has of him are far more pleasant. Even so, she lightly grips one of his wrists, pulling his hand from her cheek so she can press a kiss to his palm. ]

If you forget, you can become lost in those dreams.

I prefer the real you over my dreams of you.

[She knows of some of his dreams... the Wall, the rising Dead, the Night King... but not all of them, not of the burning castles, or of all the things he knows that Ghost knows.]

There was a time when I had good dreams of you. And bad ones, where someone shot an arrow at you and you fell from the sky. Why didn't you use me? You wouldn't have known what was real?

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"far more easier" ....ffs

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