victory_road | 2nd Ω [Video/Action for Ecruteak]

[Action; Ecruteak City]

[Athena was not in a good mood. This isn't really surprising, considering her general attitude since being dragged to this planet and its strange form of captivity, but today was different. She's seen no sign of Rhys since they all arrived in town for the festival, and with Jack lurking about, all signs pointed to something bad happening. But with a lack of clues as to what exactly went down, Athena was left to pace her room at the inn like a caged lion, before deciding screw it. She was going to hunt Jack down and interrogate him if she had to.

However, the moment she stepped outside, the hairs at the back of her neck stood straight up as the feeling of being watched hit her like a truck. Mind immediately snapping back into her soldier mentality, Athena whipped around, one arm raised as if to bring up the shield that isn't there....

... Only to be confronted with a face she hasn't seen in years.

Athena can practically feel the color drain from her face as her sister stares back at her. That face so like her own and yet not, her eyes brighter and her features softer, her whole being unmarred by Atlas indoctrination and the weight of guilt over countless victims slain by her own hands. That face, a face Athena could only remember twisted with horror and pain, now looked at her with concern. A hand - one Athena could only remember holding while cold and still and slick with blood - reached out to her, and Athena nearly stumbled in her haste to keep the distance between herself and this shadow of her past.]

... Jess?

[Video; later]

[With the entrance she made, it's safe to assume that people probably had a certain... uneasy view of Athena. So when her face shows up on the gear today, pale and shaken, it's a wonder if this is even the same woman.]

How do we get rid of them.

[It's a demand more than a question. For most, they might already have a good idea of who "them" is, but for those who haven't had the misfortune of running into the ghosts yet...

Over Athena's shoulder, half-hidden by Xiphos stalwartly trying to keep the apparition a good distance away from his master, a girl can be seen. She's clearly a few years younger, and there's no hint of Athena's surly demeanor about her, but the face, the eyes... everything about her screams sister. And boy, just the sight of this kid seems to really be freaking Athena out.]

These... specters. Ghosts. All ghosts on this planet are pokemon, correct? Would that mean battling them will chase them off?

[She manages to not sound desperate, but if it was possible, she'd be going even paler at her own words. If that was the only way to deal with this, if the only way to get this ghost to stop wearing the face of her sister was to attack it again... that's one battle Athena isn't sure she can fight.]

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Don't give me that look, see for yourself.

[He picks up 'Angel' - while aggressive physical contact is impossible, affectionate contact seems to not be a problem - and moves to show the view of his living room. And a drooling, sprawled Rhys on the couch, covered in Meowth.]

See? He's fine! I mean, I dunno, maybe he's got alcohol poisoning, but that's not my fault. I tried to cut him off, he flipped out and started chugging moonshine. He...he is not a smart guy.

And yeah, I guess so.

[... Okay, that's promising. But still, there's a world of difference between getting a look at someone over video and in person. She's still not convinced he's a hundred percent okay right now, so her expression doesn't change at all. Call her paranoid, but she's dealt with all manner of unsavory people during her life as an assassin and after, so she knows not to trust anything like this at face value.]

If you're smart, you'll keep your distance from it. Who knows what they want from us, masking themselves like... [She nearly kicks herself as she hesitates briefly, fighting around the lump in her throat.] People like this. It can't be good.

Wow. You're one hell of a pessimist, Athena. They're not hurting anything. They aren't even doing anything, really.

[Why would he stay away? He can't remember the last time he got to do this. No, it's not really his daughter. But it's close enough. The apparition evokes the same feelings, the same reactions.]

[Which in itself says a great deal about Handsome Jack as a man.]

I mean, maybe you hate your surprise guest, but I sure don't hate mine.

I'm not a pessimist, I've just know that there's no way something like this is completely innocent or harmless.

[Maybe that other comment was meant to bait her, but she's not taking it. Like hell is she going to give Jack any info on that incident.]

Yeah, cause this place is sooooo sinister. Crissakes, this is the literal face of innocence, right here.

Maybe some Pokemon thing just wants to be nice. I don't know. But if you're seeing some kinda threat in all this...I feel sorry for you, Athena. I really do.

And I feel sorry for you. [No, she's really not.] Because if you think there's absolutely nothing wrong with pokemon wearing the faces of the dead, then you're deluding yourself.

You feel sorry for me? Why the hell would you feel sorry for me? I mean, I realize you think I'm some sort of monster in a man suit...but I'm not. I'm a guy. Contrary to what you might think, I do have feelings.

So what if it's technically not real... I still get to hold my daughter again. And that's the greatest friggin feeling in the galaxy.

Maybe if you weren't so messed up and emotionally broken, you could understand that.

[Hahaha wow it's a good thing Athena is already so fucking done with everything now. That snipe barely fazes her now.]

Right. You're the one who's clinging to a fake that in reality is likely just a ball of gas, and I'm the one that's messed up. Do you know how pathetic that is?

[Jack just shakes his head, a hard and cold look in his eyes.]

Come back and say that again when you've watched your own kid get murdered in front of you.

[There's not even one ounce of sympathy on Athena's face, nor is there even a hint that she's bothered at all by his glare.]

You're not the only one that's seen a loved one die before your own eyes. [You didn't feel her blood spill over your own hands, you didn't twist that knife or fire that gun, YOU don't know the pain of that being the first time you've even seen her since you were both children...!] This? Even just pretending a beast wearing her face is really her? That's an insult to her memory.

Never said I was. But you can't understand, when it's your own child. The life you made, that you promised to protect and keep safe. That's something only a parent can know.

What, you've never had dreams where you were with dead people you missed before? Same thing, it's just a dream that's going on while you're awake. And...everybody else can see it.

You get what I mean.

Bullshit. Don't give me that crap about how "you can't understand this feeling" because it's your own blood they're pretending to be. [You know what? Fuck it. If he really did research on her prior to hiring her, then he'd probably know why she went AWOL. And she can't exactly hide how similar her own ghost looks to her, so...] I made a promise that I'd keep my younger sister safe and we'd escape Pandora together, and that was broken with her death. I damn well know that feeling, so don't you dare say I can't know how that feels.

Dreams are dreams. This is the real world. There's a difference.

It's not about just blood. It's got nothing to do with you, christ. But you're not a parent. I know that whole thing....it sucks. Not saying it doesn't. But guess what? Far as I know, I'm an only child, so I don't know how the hell you feel. Just like you're not a parent, so you don't know how the hell I feel.

[Because he does know Athena's whole deal. And it does suck. And it's all the more reason he doesn't understand Athena's reaction.]

Yes? I...I don't even know what you're trying to argue...okay, look at it this way: it's like a hologram, or a 3D picture. It's a representation. Normal people use those.

2nd Ω [Video/Action for Ecruteak]

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