Darkly Dreaming Zex...ter. [Closed, complete]

[book_of_mirage]

WHO: Zexion book_of_mirage, Rudy Cooper imabarbieboy
WHAT: Discussion of... things.
WHERE: Moonflower Teas
WHEN: Day 190

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[imabarbieboy]

Rudy desperately needed something to immerse himself in. Selene's project was intensive and involved, but it was slow going, and so far he'd hit a bit of a block in it, anyway. And especially now that his room was finished, the doctor had nothing else to do but brood - and admire the 10 pints of blood so careful stored away in his new room-sized refrigerator.

"You in here, Zex?" Rudy stepped into the private room, eyes immediately settling on the blue-haired man at the table. Zexion was reliable - at least in his skills and in his secrecy - and Rudy knew when he gave out an invitation like this it would be something good.

He took a seat at his table, ordering a tea for himself. He didn't need caffeine these days to keep him awake.

"So, I've got a hunch that you've got an idea brewing."

[book_of_mirage]

"One which I imagine you'll appreciate," he said. "One moment."

Zexion closed his eyes then, taking a deep breath. There was a moment when the room went utterly, completely silent; eerily so. A moment later, everything seemed normal again.

"I've made it so that no one outside this room can hear our conversation. If they try, they'll simply hear whatever they expect to hear: likely something dreadfully boring. It takes a bit of effort on my part, but I'd rather we be able to speak freely."

"Now, this will require a bit of explanation on my part... I'm not sure if you were aware, Rudy, but I have no heart. I mean that quite literally, as well. If you were to take my pulse, you'd feel absolutely nothing. In my world, hearts are a bit more than simply that lovely muscle that keeps blood moving about your body; they are exactly what all those stupid poetic metaphors say they are. Centers of emotion, of memory, of feeling. And their removal causes certain unusual changes in a person. For one thing, well, all those pesky problems of

[imabarbieboy]

He shouldn't have been surprised. He'd heard of were-things, regenerating cheerleaders, and live superheroes, among other things; a heartless man wasn't that big a deal. But it was the appeal of it that called to him - of escaping morality, regret, emotion, memory, feeling. Human heart had been precisely Dexter's weakness, and Rudy had no doubt that he would have survived the day without it.

"Oh, like the palm of my hand," he answered, fully attentive. "Too messy for my tastes... but what did you have in mind?"

[book_of_mirage]

"I've found a way to remove a person's heart without killing them," he said, "using a similar ritual. It will indeed involve the usual cutting open of the stomach and reaching up under the ribcage, but if done right, and if the person involved has a strong enough will to live, well, they shall, unchained from all those burdensome emotions and with new talents besides," he said. "Of course... we're speaking of a 1% chance of survival. Most victims generally don't have the heart to live through such a traumatic experience."

"And there are other benefits besides. Indeed, I'd hardly want most people going through the process to survive. The removed hearts can act as a power source for those of us with supernatural abilities. According to my calculations, they should be able to counteract the antimagic effects here enough to give people back about 75% of their powers. In other words... we have an extremely valuable commodity on our hands. The only problem is that most people are unwilling to part with their hearts, and others would be

[imabarbieboy]

Traumatic experiences? Handling hearts? Keeping it neat? It was Rudy's specialty to remove and replace things in the least messy way possible. Right up his alley indeed.

He smiled, almost laughed, almost shook with the excitement of it all. He had known Zexion would be a good person to have around, but this? He hadn't expected this much out of their acquaintance. He hadn't expected to find a kindred spirit.

A blood brother? And with Dexter gone...

Rudy let out a breath, mentally skipping the subject of his deceased brother. He focused himself on Zexion's offer, taking a long sip of tea before setting down his cup and holding out his hand.

"Count me in." Then, after a pause, he added, "But I hope you won't mind if I take you literally on that. I hate leaving messes behind."