Fallout

These lessons will last a lifetime. Or three. Instructing the young and old on the ways of magic and it's place in the world.

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Vinny
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Fallout

Post by Vinny »

Patience. Silence. One could hear a pin drop as Vinny sat in the cell, waiting for his lawyers to arrive and begin the wheels of making justice a farce. He had to a very large extent now put his fate in the hands of others, but was so confident that the justice system was flawed and could be manipulated, twisted, and distorted that he felt he had to play along. Even if it was just to make a mockery of it. That was why he had agreed to go into custody with no fuss or arguement after his challenge with Cassius.

It also allowed him to beat Art to the punch. Thinking he could be beaten legally? His lawyers weren't named Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe for nothing. He was positive they could put the proper spin on anything. And for his part, he had said little upon arriving here. Just that he was here to get all these "wild allegations" taken care of as soon as possible. No admission of guilt. Just an acknowledgement that a class of students was murdered and it was claimed that he was the killer. All that was left was a little more waiting for things to get going.
Who would have thought that becoming God would prove to be such a hollow victory? -Thanos of Titan
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Vinny
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Post by Vinny »

The lawyers did their part perfectly. The better have, given the amount of money he was paying them. As he listened in from his cell, he heard several buzzwords being thrown around. "Upstanding citizen" "Charity work" "Public figurehead" Everything that he expected to hear. Then there was a line he picked up on that he hadn't expected to hear, but it admittedly made much sense. "Really now. Do you honestly think you can keep him here without bail if he chooses to just up and leave? This is arguably one of the most powerful mages in Rhydin. You'd need to bring in half the city's resources and even then, there'd be so much collateral damage to the city's infrastructure that you'd waste even more money having to rebuild. So set the court date, let us post bail for him, and we'll see to it that he stays on good behavior until the court date. Everyone leaves here happy, and the city gets some extra time to figure out just how they're going to enforce any verdict that doesn't come back as 'Not Guilty."

Sure enough, he was back on the streets in a few more hours, once all the charges had been officially filed. For his part, he had followed his lawyers advice and not been in public as much, and certainly not talked too much about it to anyone. Playing the role of good little citizen Vinny. Of course, it was all just a role.

"Mike? Process query. Odds of my taking on the watch single-handed and winning?"

Mike had to think long and hard on this. There were an awful lot of variables and possibilities to take into consideration. Size of the Watch, rosters, locations, tactics used. Almost five minutes later, he finally gave a response. "Right now, I'd have to place your odds of victory somewhere around 40 percent. However, this changes drastically if Ms. Wilder is removed from the equation. Estimates then have you at around 60 percent. Granted, this is all off the cuff. You tossed me a doozy there."

"Hmmm....ok. New line of questioning. Odds of something happening to me while helping Aria, Jinx, and company with their little problem?"

"Define 'Something' boss. What're you thinking of now?"

"Mike, I'm wondering if this so called "Muse" of theirs would like to take something of mine? 3.0 has been waiting a long, long time to launch. Given my recent...erratic behavior, do you think it's time to put it in motion?"

If a computer could twitch, Mike would have been doing a lot of it at that comment. "Let me get this straight boss. You want to fix that whole Temple fiasco from way back when by giving someone else the wraith that's still inside you. Wipe your slate clean by effectively killing yourself, and having selected memories and personality traits put into 3.0? No boss, I have to disagree with you on this. Rewriting one's self goes against what I beleive in. And, I don't think it could be done anyways. We'd have to round up all the other you's running errands and in deep cover. And you'd still have to contend with 2.0. I don't think he'd be happy with what you have in mind."

"Woah. Hold on a sec. You saying that I'm not 2.0?"

"That is correct, 2.5. 2.0 has been in suspended animation for over a year now. No change in vitals. Just....shut down and has been in the same location since all this began. In his room at the Temple of Divine Light."
Who would have thought that becoming God would prove to be such a hollow victory? -Thanos of Titan
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Vinny
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Location: Wherever he needs to be.

Post by Vinny »

"You've been busy boss. I've noticed you've been taking care of a lot of loose ends out around town. Feeling a little remorse or something along those lines?"

With a tired sigh, Vinny collapsed on his couch. The lights were still off in the apartment, with only the starlight coming in through the windows to cast a cold illumination on the room. "Yeah. Had a talk wth Lirssa at the inn tonight. Kind of stuck with me and I decided to clean up some of my unresolved messes. Now, it's only me and 2.0 left. All other clones, doubles, whatever you want to call them, have been disposed of. And while you're at it, destroy all the ones in cold storage that I haven't used yet, except for 3.0. He may be of some use when I finally get around to seeing 2.0."

"I've been wondering boss...." A computer wondering. Will wonders never cease. "Is it totally necessary for you to meet with 2.0? You could probably just go to Algol Siento and start over there. Or a related dimension. Given 2.0's personality, it seems highly unlikely that he would come after you if you were no longer in Rhydin."

"Highly unlikely, but still possible. I'm not going to leave only to see him blindside me a year from now. Better now while I'm the one who's ready. I don't think exile is really a viable option anyways. I told you before, I like it too much here. Having to up and relocate in a brand new world isn't my style."

"What if you don't have a choice?"
Who would have thought that becoming God would prove to be such a hollow victory? -Thanos of Titan
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Vinny
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Post by Vinny »

Vinny walked along the streets, heading from the hotel slowly towards the remnants of the Temple of Divine Light. It would have been simpler to just teleport there, but he wanted the walk to keep his head clear and focus his thoughts on what he had to do next. It was time to meet with 2.0, but it felt to him more like a death march rather than heading to a meeting. And yet he continued, resigned to the fact that it needed to be done, no matter what the outcome was going to be. Fate. Destinty. Call it what you wanted.
As he drew close, he could see the oddly silent halls in front of him. The place had been relatively deserted for a while now, except for some of the members that decided to stay and try to eke out a living spreading the word for a philosophy who's leaders hadn't been seen in a long time. He could feel the eyes upon him as he entered and headed towards a particular room on the far side of the building. But no one said a word to him. The legend of his service to the White Lady threw up a wall of fear, keeping those who worried about his wrath at bay.
His hand reaching for the doorknob, he hesitated for a moment. Did he really want to go through with this? Yes.....it was too late to turn back now. He turned the knob, opened the door, and saw 2.0 sitting in a meditative stance. He walked towards him, waiting for some sign of life and movement. But it didn't even look like he was breathing. He stuck a finger out, getting ready to poke it. Then....it spoke.

"Hello Wraith. Sit down. We've got a few things to discuss."
Who would have thought that becoming God would prove to be such a hollow victory? -Thanos of Titan
Artemus Kurgen
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Post by Artemus Kurgen »

Artemus watched Vincent, or one of the multiple Vincents, make its way towards the Temple of Divine Light. The Headmaster knew it had been some time since the man had returned to these halls and frowned at it, unsure of what was to come. One thing could be sure, it wouldn't be good.

"What are you up to Vince?"

Sitting himself down on a roof across the street, Artemus let his fingers touch the rough stonework of the nearby chimney and slowly became one with it, his skin turning to stone. To any who looked up it would appear as an optical illusion. This wasn't any form of magic, it was simple biology. Making himself comfortable, the Headmaster began his wait.
Artemus Allonan Kurgen
Headmaster of Arcanum Academy
Proprietor of Dark Wolf and Leopard Jewelers.
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Vinny
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Post by Vinny »

"Wraith? That would explain quite a bit actually. Here I was, thinking that I might have been possessed during my experience here. And yet, it turns out I was right, in a manner of speaking."

The real Vinny moved over to the wall, leaning against it as the wraith took a seat on the bed that was on the other side of the room. "I don't think you were supposed to know about it. You were just a weapon they created and put my face on. Their little sleeper agent, designed solely to be able to go out in public and do their dirty work. Using my reputation as a springboard. Unfortunately, after the leadership disappeared, they forgot to do something about you. I don't think they quite knew what to do with you. Maybe it was their scorched earth policy. Leave you around and hope you just blow up and take out the city after a while. You didn't quite do that, but you did enough foul deeds in my name that I'll be cleaning up after them for the rest of my life."

The wraith snarled and pointed a finger, looking annoyed and exasperated. "I'm tired of all this 'You're only a weapon' talk. After being you for three years, I'm amazed you even got anywhere in life. You could've had half the women in Rhydin. God knows I did in your name. I've gone out and done everything you did and more. Got opals, archmage reigns, done more research and discovered more about the universe than you ever did. You did what? Pissed and moaned about your lot in life."

"Your point? I never killed anyone either. On the contrary, I've died once. Which is probably why I haven't died a second time yet. And you forgot. I know everything that you know. Somehow, the process of you replacing me left me access to your thoughts, so while I couldn't influence you, I could at least learn from you. It still doesn't answer the question of what you expect from coming here. I was stuck until you opened the door. Nothing was keeping you from just leaving me here and continuing to go about my life. But...knowing you better than you know yourself, I have a feeling I know the answer."

"Oh? I'd like to hear this"

"You've developed a conscience."
Who would have thought that becoming God would prove to be such a hollow victory? -Thanos of Titan
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Vinny
Seasoned Adventurer
Seasoned Adventurer
Bender of physics

Posts: 342
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2004 11:01 am
Location: Wherever he needs to be.

Post by Vinny »

"Don't act so surprised. If you assimilated my memories and traits, it's only logical that some bit of my personality transfered over as well. But I think all this is getting academic. The big question is, what do we do now?"

The wraith shrugged and pulled out a little device from his pocket. "We could just go at it now and let things fall where they may. We could both kill each other, and let 3.0 take over. We could both go our seperate ways and not see each other anymore. One of us could take a trip out of Rhydin. I don't even want to crunch the math on all the possibilities without Mike here."

"It's all right. I've got it all worked out." Vinny revealed a small box he had hidden behind him. "I take it you know what this is? While you've been talking, I've been getting ahold of this from where Alais put it. Check."

The wraith gave a slow nod, knowing he had been outfoxed, and what was in the box as well. "Checkmate. Well, it was nice being you for the last three years. Just remember, as soon as you leave this room, everyone's going to think that you're me. You won't be protected anymore. May the White Lady reward you accordingly."

"I already know who the White Lady is. And I don't want anything to do with her, unless it's to dance on her grave. You and her have done enough to me already." He opened the box, and the wraith simply dropped to the ground, leaving behind only the shell of a body it once inhabited. Gathering up the corpse, he put it over his shoulder and exited the room, looking back for a moment and spitting on the floor. "Good riddance. Time to go fix the mess left for me."
Who would have thought that becoming God would prove to be such a hollow victory? -Thanos of Titan
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