Settle The Score | The Assassination of Fenix Down (Player Plot Open-Log)

[aelwyn_aberration]

Who: Aelwyn + Anyone Who Wants To Be Involved In This Assassination
When: April
Where: Around Gloucester, Springfield, the Circus, assorted other locations.
Summary: A murder is planned, executed, and staged. The details are yet to come.
Warnings: Discussions of murder, actual murder, blackmail, espionage, gaslighting, TBA.

[Several months ago, following the Circus' initial visit, Aelwyn was given permission to take down Fenix Down and his circus. Now, after more recent revelations about their unseen enemy, the plan has become a higher priority.

The plan is as follows. To ensure that this doesn't implicate ADI, a false cult will be created for this specific purpose. They'll keep the entity behind it vague, but one must be selected to ensure anyone paying enough attention would be able to identify it. They'll create conspiracy theories, fabricate old reports from decades ago to make it seem like this group is only recently being resurrected.

And then, with that done, they'll execute the plan itself. Staging the kidnapping and murder as if it was the act of that cult, and an extensive interrogation.

OOC Post here!]

Comments

aelwyn!

[cacophonish]

[ Jeff's not as easy to pin down as he used to be. He's not at Bonnie's with any regularity, and ever since the blackout, he doesn't even seem to spend as much time around bars of parties. There are hours out of the day where he seems to be totally unaccounted for, disappearing into some new interest that's been keeping him occupied.

But he still bums around town, and lately, he's been making more appearances out with his guitar, busking cheerfully and (if one's been paying attention to these things) without lacing his music with mind-fucking magic.

Today, he's out at the docks, performing for tourists and other passers by on the boardwalk. ]

[aelwyn_aberration]

[In truth, she'd been worried that he was going to disappear or skip town like Ren, Kurapika and Akechi did. It's... a relief, to catch up to him now.

Even if she might inevitably have to put him down. At least he seems to be doing better. She watches his performance to completion, or at least till a lull in the crowd and a moment where he's not playing and then she approaches. Unlike him, there is a tinge of magic to her eyes. A simple precaution that would block him from breaching her mind with his enchantment.

It's not that she's afraid (maybe a little), but he's done it without even meaning to before.]

Calhoun. And here I was worried you'd run off into the wind.

No magic?

[cacophonish]

[ Jeff notices Aelwyn when she joins the crowd, his gaze landing on her and lingering, watching as he continues to perform his own version of some Jesus and Mary Chain. His eyes are as sharp (hungry) as they were the last time they saw each other, but otherwise, there's a brightness in him that hasn't been there in a long time.

It's like there's a spark lighting him up from the inside, and he's just so vibrant and...

Unburdened.

He grins as he finishes playing, and seems to wholly focused on Aelwyn that the small crowd around him may as well not exist. They start to scatter when they realize the show's over, a few of them dropping some cash in his guitar case as they leave. ]

No magic. [ But she can't say the same, that's for sure. He sees that little something extra in her eyes, and there's a sort of conspiratorial amusement in his smile, like they're sharing a personal joke. ] I've seen the light. 'Just say no.' It's abstinence only from here on out.

[ Or, more likely: he's found another way to feed. Or maybe he just doesn't need to keep scaring people for scraps of magic anymore. There's certainly a sense that he's feeling pretty secure and confident now. No trace of that nervous, prey animal energy that had come to define him for so many months. ]

Were you really worried about me?

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Hm, well, from her current observations it seems like he's still dangerous. Good. She needs that. Besides, she's dangerous too.

She sits down next to him, up against the wall. She looks a bit odd with her still rather preppy dress sense surrounded by the docks. But at least the local gangs know not to fuck with her anymore, after she's been tormenting them for nearly eight months.

She giggles at his joke, because really, it is that stupid, but she'll play along.] Wow, they were right all along. It's just that simple, huh. I'll be sure to inform everyone I meet they can just simply not.

[ADI is a circus of delusional clowns. On this, they are agreed. At his next question, she shrugs.]

A little, yeah. It's not like I have many friends left here. If you skipped town, I might cry.

Your boyfriend was more worried, though. You ghosting him?

[cacophonish]

[ Jeff hums in understanding. It's another thing they've got in common, the one thing connecting everyone who's been here for as long as they have: loss. Those few friends he has left, the ones who haven't vanished, he'd probably tear this town apart just to hold onto them. ]

I almost did. During the blackout. I guess all those things going bump in the night really freaked me out. [ He admits it casually, like it's just another joke. Jeff sets his guitar down in its case and flops down beside her. ]

Nah. I'm not ghosting him, just... giving him space, I guess. In case he's pissed. He can find me if he wants-- when he wants. [ Jeff tilts his head back against the wall and laughs fondly. ] Like a game of hide 'n seek.

[aelwyn_aberration]

Well, speaking personally, I'm glad you didn't. It'd get boring quickly. [She smiles. It's sincere, despite the joking tone between the both of them.

She relaxes against the wall, humming.]

Guess he's pretty shit at seeking, then. Then again, you're pretty hard to find nowadays. [She shrugs.] He asked me about it. Was worried you'd been sent away on a mission for ADI, which made me giggle a bit.

[cacophonish]

I'd feel the same if you vanished. [ Jeff grins, and he holds up a pinky for swearing, just to make this all official. ] I'll stick around if you stick around.

[ Jeff tilts his head, trying to imagine any kind of reality where he'd be trusted with some top secret ADI mission, and lets out a laugh. It goes on for just a bit too long. ]

Maybe I should start leaving more clues for him. Cause a big scene at a nightclub or something. [ He shoots her an amused, sidelong look. Jeff doesn't need to specify how he'd cause a scene; Aelwyn knows what he's capable of.

Well. Mostly. There's some new tricks up his sleeve now. ]

Pretty sure he's gonna punch me when he finds me. [ Jeff gives a fond sigh. ] I miss him...

[aelwyn_aberration]

[She looks at his pinky, figuring out how exactly she's supposed to do this before raising her hand and touching his little finger with hers. She figures this is a pinky swear? Wild. Humans are crazy.] It's a deal. With a wizard. That means it's binding or I get to hunt you down and turn your organs into coffee mugs.

[She laughs at the big nightclub scene. It's not like he didn't scare her when he did it to her, but... well. Between everything, her empathy's a little bit shot. She can hear Ren's disapproving silence from here...] Well, because my good friend and self appointed moral life coach Ren Amamiya isn't around to say it. There's people there, how could you, they might need to go to work and take public transport, isn't there a better way?

[Her voice is extremely flat. She does miss him, a little. Even if he was a headache. But her expression sobers a little as she amends.] Though, honestly, I'd avoid big public incidents. ADI only turns a blind eye when it's more convenient for them to do so. And I don't think any of us are ready to fight them yet.

There is something I thought you might be interested in, though. If you don't mind working with us, that is. Or me, specifically.

[cacophonish]

[ Ren... Jeff remembers him. He'd liked Ren, he remembers, though it's hard to feel anything but a faint impression of that now, like aftershocks from another life. He snickers. ]

Perfect impression. It's like he never left.

[ And Aelwyn's right, of course. Big incidents would only land him on their radar again, which isn't great for his own self preservation. No, better to keep on doing what he's doing: pick a few targets, keep it subtle, and quietly feed on the fear buffet of his new friends and acquaintances around town.

But... Ready to fight them yet. There's a sentiment that gets his eyes lighting up, bright with interest. Yet. A smile lingers on his lips. ]

For you? I'm listening.

[aelwyn_aberration]

[She liked Ren too. Sort of. She hated him a little as well. Akechi understood it, even if it was different for Akechi. Ren only ever helped her in her imagination.

And she shot him in the head in his.] Well, no. A perfect impression would be obnoxiously judgemental silence.

[It's not as if he's here to defend himself. But also it's true. Ren spoke a single word for every sentence that Aelwyn did. Maybe Aelwyn's just chatty.

She notes his response to that comment with some amusement. Some concern as well, really. Jeff could be a threat, or he could be her wildcard.]

Well, I'm going to kill Fenix Down. I'd like you to lure him out of his cult for me. You're a changed man now, what better time to join the circus?

[cacophonish]

Fenix, huh...

[ It's not too long ago that Jeff would've refused. He would've balked at the idea of killing Fenix-- killing anyone-- and tried to talk Aelwyn out of it. Just leave him alone; he's not really hurting anyone, and besides, we have more in common with them than with the ADI, right?

He certainly never considered Fenix Down a friend or anything, but the man-- avatar, whatever-- kind of helped him, in a way. He'd given him some direction, was the first to point out which Entity had been whispering in his head, coiling up in the space where Ziggy had once been.

Jeff still has his business card, tucked away in his wallet. Something to save for a rainy day.

When Aelwyn floats her proposal, he doesn't balk. He doesn't gleefully jump at the opportunity, either. Jeff just takes a moment to consider. Could he lure Down out? Would the ringmaster be vulnerable to his particular brand of magic? There's so much he still doesn't know about what he is, and maybe Down could teach him.

...like Katie Dunn could have taught him, right?

The thought's a lot less appealing now than it had been before his change. He'd always been searching, lost and longing for some kindred connections, desperate to find it in others touched by the Fears. And now? He sees them for what they are. Playthings for Entities that have nothing to offer him.

He doesn't need Fenix Down's guidance anymore than he needed Katie Dunn's. Fuck 'em both. He'll teach himself, learn and experiment and prod at the boundaries of his abilities, like he always had back home. ]

I should pay him a visit. We've got a lot of catching up to do.

[ But. ]

If I do this, I want something in return.

[ And judging by the tone of his voice, he doesn't mean some vague promise of something. Jeff already knows what he wants. ]

[aelwyn_aberration]

And what would that be?

[Quick and to the point. She's a little suspicious, but it's not as if anything's set in stone.]

[cacophonish]

Dibs on their funky mirror.

[ He shoots a sweet, innocent smile. ]

I'm not gonna use it to terrorize people. Promise. I just wanna play with it. Myself.

[ Sounds masturbatory. Whatever. She's smart enough to know what he means. He wants to experiment with the artifact, see what effects it may have on him now, with his... condition. ]

So, you know. [ He shrugs. ] The clowns won't need it anymore, and I sure as fuck don't want the ADI to have it. [ He sighs and stretches his legs out. ] I can get it myself-- unless I've got my hands full with Down. Then I'm gonna need someone to grab it for me.

[aelwyn_aberration]

[She considers this for a moment, looking for any loopholes. He's right, of course. ADI will lock it up to be misused after another of their prisoners gets loose. At least this way she'll have more of an idea where it is.

Though... the idea intrigues her.]

We'll be causing a blackout. You should be able to steal whatever you'd like.

If you find anything Desolation related, I'd very much appreciate it if you could bring it to me.

[cacophonish]

[ Another blackout. Fitting, given what just happened here in town. Seems like a good cover-- hell, maybe it'll paint a target on Katie's back, sic whatever remains of the cult on her tail after this is over.

He laughs at the thought, giddy, a little lightheaded, and offers his hand. ]

Deal. I find anything too hot to handle, it's yours.

[ After all, any Desolation artifact is better off in her hands than the ADI's, just as the mirror's better off in his. ]