Characters: Faye Valentine (OU), Shadow the Hedgehog (OU)
Where: The office building lobby, possibly other locations TBA.
When: After
this conversation here.
Summary: Faye thinks she knows what Shadow is thinking, and she wants in. They meet up to discuss things. Plot plot, scheme scheme.
Warnings: ...Hopefully none? But Faye's annoying and
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She followed the hedgehog at a distance of a few yards, her hands still in her pockets. Here we go again, she thought. She found herself once again in the annoying position of having to prove her worth to an essential stranger. With Spike and Jet it had been easy; she'd foiled them a few times, and then helped them in a tight spot. With Hao Asakura she'd had nothing but words, and she didn't have much to offer him. Hao... boy was he ever useless, she scoffed.
Shadow was a different, and difficult case. He already plainly thought she was a moron- which was okay, she thought he was a moron too- and he was much stronger than her, which they both knew since he had recently kicked her ass in a manner quite embarrassing for her. Well, she didn't really need him to think of her as his equal, she was content to work 'under' him if need be, she just needed to convince him that she was useful enough for that. She knew she was, but....
"How I might be useful to you kind of depends on what your plan is... I'm good at lots of things~. ...I'm assuming, of course, you've got a plan. I mean, obviously you're not going to wait around for this war to be over and the Warden to send us home. You're going to take the Consulo from him and use it yourself. But the details... well, I'm sure there's more than one way to do this."
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Hell, he wasn't going to give her any details, not yet. While he didn't suspect that she was a spy of the Warden's, or something ridiculous like that, she'd shown him how she acted when things didn't go her way. If she decided she didn't like how their discussion went, she might try to sabotage his ideas in retaliation.
Besides, there was no point in telling her anything if she wasn't good for anything. If she wasn't willing to be specific, then he wouldn't waste his time further.
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"Hmm," she replied, "well I've always thought of the Consulo as some kind of computer. I've got a friend who's good with computers... and I mean good with computers they way most people are good at walking and breathing. I was hoping to hack into the Consulo and figure out how to use it. ...If that's even possible. Now that I've seen it, I'm not so sure it works that way. I honestly haven't taken a real close look at the thing, though, have you? I don't know if it's got the right kind of interface."
She thought for a moment. "...The other possibility I can think of is to try to get the Warden to tell us how to use it, or to get him to use it for us. That's... risky, and I don't know how forthcoming he would be. But...." She shrugged.
There was another thoughtful pause, then she continued. "Either way, the Warden's not gonna want us messing with the Consulo, and I bet there will be a bunch of do-gooders who won't want us messing with it either. So we'd have to get the Warden and all them out of the way while we get done what we need to get done."
One more thoughtful pause, then she nodded. "If it comes to fighting, I'm good at hand-to-hand... against humans anyway... and I'm a more than excellent shot with a gun." Faye had no problems with tooting her own horn here. "I've got a pet hacker, I know a few people who might be sympathetic and useful, and I might know a good place to hide the Warden, if it comes to that." She raised her eyebrows at the back of Shadow's head.
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They came to the floor he'd decided on earlier, and he made his way to a couch over by the window. There had been some sort of group that used this space before, he recalled. Nice of them to furnish it.
"Your skills are nothing unique," he said. "Everything you've mentioned, I already have access to, and your ideas are nothing I haven't already thought of." Her hacker friend sounded potentially interesting, perhaps, but he could see the Consulo right now and how in the world did one hack something that looked like that?
"However, if you are willing to bring your allies and have the group of you play backup, it may be useful. There are too many here who enjoy following the Warden's rules and would immediately go to his aid."
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Faye let his dismissive words slide right off of her. His next words were the more important ones, after all.
"You know what they say, the more the merrier~! The way I figure, we're both planning the same thing, essentially, it would be better to communicate and work together than to get in each other's way, wouldn't it? Why waste energy fighting each other when we want the same thing? ...Backup I can do, and I can inquire, carefully of course, with a couple friends to see if they'll join me. ...Uh, but I'll need to know what I'm backing up."
((I just won 500 points for getting Faye to say that, btw~! XDDDD ))
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Faye wasn't someone he could trust, he knew that. Backup would be nice, but was it worth compromising the security of his plans for?
"Fine," he said firmly, fixing her with a severe expression. "But on the following conditions: you will no one the details. Not even your friends. If I find you have, and word has gotten out, don't expect any mercy." Faye seemed like someone who valued her life. Hopefully it would be enough to keep her quiet.
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She nodded seriously at Shadow's warnings. "Fine. I can see why that would be necessary. I can keep a secret. But you'll have to make a clear distinction between the details and the not-details. I ought to be able to tell them something, right? But I wouldn't want to make you angry with me, that would be terrible." Her lips twitched, but the amusement didn't reach her eyes.
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"The moment the Consulo is fully operational, we move. We need to capture it and the Warden for ourselves, preferably as quickly and quietly as possible. We'll get him to talk, I don't care what it takes, and use his knowledge to operate the Consulo to return home. Your hacker friend and Rouge should be able to do so easily if they work together on it.
"Meanwhile, there will be those who won't approve of such tactics. Samus Aran is the primary threat - she trusts the Warden and will likely kill to defend him. She is highly trained and possesses a suit of powered armor which enhances her abilities. There are a handful of others who will assist the Warden, but are mostly normal humans. They can be dealt with easily.
"If possible, get me someone experienced with torture. The Warden will not wish to talk. I am willing, but there may be those who are better qualified."
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Take a moment, Faye. Think it over. This is your last chance to back out. After this, you're committed.
Faye was not particularly a fan of torture. It wasn't that she had anything against inflicting pain, in general, when pain was deserved. But torture was not quite on the same level as punching someone in the face, or even shooting someone. She weighed her moral qualms against her situation. She wanted very badly to go home. If she stayed, she might die. She had been brought here against her will, and held against her will... no matter how dire a threat the Entropi might be, there was no sanctioning that. The Warden might be deposed now, but he was a part of the group that had brought her here; he'd dug his own grave. ...Or had he? The Warden had implied that he was, somehow, constructed by the Keepers, specifically for the purpose of serving them. Could he be faulted? ...Yes. He obviously had free will. He had a choice, and he chose to help fasten the shackles.
Faye's heart hardened, and she made her choice. She would do as she had always done. She would do what she had to, to survive. She'd have plenty of time to worry about morals later, if she lived.
All of this passed within a few seconds' time, during which she stared impassively at Shadow. She took a small breath and spoke carefully. "...I'll see what I can do, but I don't know that I'll be able to help there. Things like 'what's your opinion on torture, and by the way are you any good at it?' haven't really come up in conversation. I can think of a few people who seem like they might be good at it, but they're not people I trust at all. ...I don't expect I'd be any use in that department, either... I'm better off keeping the would-be do-gooders at bay."
She considered the rest of his words, then. "...Fully operational... I wonder... I think maybe he needs the Indigeo to operate it. ...Well okay, so what, you'll call me when the moment comes and tell me where to go and what to do? How do you plan to 'capture' that, without anyone noticing?" She gestured to the Consulo. "...Regardless, we'll stick the Warden... somewhere..." she raised an eyebrow, "...and fight off the opposition if they've noticed he's missing, and meanwhile you or whoever's best qualified interrogates and/or tortures him?"
Faye frowned. "Samus... I've heard the name before, but I know very little about her. Do you know anything about that armor? Like, is it bulletproof? ...Or anything about her weapons?"
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What if it took a while? Perhaps the easiest thing to do was quietly remove the Warden first, and once he'd agreed to assist, take the Consulo while using the Warden as hostage. No, surely there was someone better. Someone the residents of the compound in general were more sympathetic toward. Maybe Samus, maybe Jing. The hostage could be sent through first, to another spot in the compound, to ensure that the Warden hadn't lied.
"I'll remove the Warden first," he said. "I'll send you a message on the PDA when I go to do so - something without any reasonable context. Meaningless, but to you it will stand out. When you see it, gather your allies and encircle the Consulo, but remain at a distance so as not to be obvious. If idiots show up and try to do anything, I'll leave you to determine the best tactics for dealing with them. Either way, you'll know when it's time to go.
"As for Samus-" Shadow thought a moment, then brought out his PDA and took a moment to find a specific entry, before holding the device out to her. "That will tell you everything we do know about her, and a few others known to defend the Warden."
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After a very brief pause, Faye stepped forward, pulling one of her hands out of her jacket pocket to accept the PDA. She read the entry quickly, then handed it back. "Well, it's not much information, but I suppose you can't just walk up to these people and say 'hi, what are all of your strengths and weaknesses?', can you? ...I hope 'long range combat' doesn't mean 'missiles'."
Faye shoved her hand back into her pocket and walked over to the wall next to the couch and window, leaning back against it and looking through the window at a slant, idly observing the sparse foot-traffic below. After a moment she glanced back to Shadow. "...So, Boss, which are the top-secret details, and which are the things I may divulge... at my discretion, of course... to someone I've decided is a low-risk addition to the effort?" She raised an eyebrow.
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"I'd like a list of your allies sent to me, once you've chosen them. Additionally, if you do find any specialists, send them to me."
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She thought for a few moments. "...I'll tell you right now, I'm thinking of Edward Elric and Pharaun Mizzrym. But I'll keep you posted on whether I decide they'd be any help to us, or if I think of anyone else. ...Will Rouge be with you, or at the Consulo? Is there anyone else involved I should know about?"
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"It's safer to bet on conflict occurring," he said. Yes, there was a good chance that nobody would notice a thing, especially with how few people were around these days. But these people were also incredibly stupid, many of them, and would pick a fight they thought they could win without knowing anything about who they were facing. Faye had demonstrated that well.
"Rouge may well be with me. Unless I tell you otherwise, assume that. Miss Honda will be in the vicinity of the Consulo." He hated to leave her there by herself, in case she did something stupid without knowing, but she was the least suspicious of the three of them and should be safe there. She would prefer to stick with him, he knew that, but she'd been scarred enough by this place, and there was no telling what it would take to coerce the Warden to act in their favor.
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She raised an eyebrow. "Who's Miss Honda? She any good in a fight?"
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