Kowareta Tsubasa (Insanity)'s Story

Inside the tall, dark building, there was a room, the door was brown and the wall was black. It was a room that even the guards had troubles walking passed it for you see, the door of the room wasn't brown...at least. it didn't use to be brown. No, it used to be a simple white wooden door with a golden handle...what'd happened to it then? Why was it brown, you might ask...it's simple, really. The brown color of the door wasn't a natural color. It was the color...of dry blood. Yes, you're corrected...someone had painted the white door with blood and let it dry. Do you understand why the guards were so afraid then?...because, behind that bloody door, contained a monster - a monster with a human face. And the monster's name was...Frankenstein Brokenheart.

There was a lot of strange noises coming from the room right now. It was the giggle...of a man. If one listened carefully enough, they might even hear someone talking to themselves. Yes, Frankenstein was a madman indeed...and he was having his fun right now. The giggles increased as well as the mumbles. No one would dare try to interrupt him at this moment.

"...he he he...bloody, bloody...I'm bloody Frankenstein...he he he..."

Kowareta giggled as he slashed his wrist one more time and watched with childish glee as blood oozed out of his wounds. Clapping his hands, he giggled again as the blood stained his floor and he touched it in amazement. He spoke to no-one as his tongue licked the blood hungrily "...he he he...tada tada tada...he he he..." The alarm clock gave a long, shrilling noise as it was the right time for a meeting or something like that, Frankenstein wasn't really sure about that. Everything was hazy right now...Hazy...Haze...they're kinda similar words, right? What's a 'haze' again? He forgot. But well, who cared about some Haze, he wanted to play. He stood up and walked to the table, his body swaying back and forth like a drunk. Taking the bandage and clumsily wrapped it around his bloody wrist, Frankenstein smiled as he raised his hands in front of him "...all nice and clean!... he he he..."

He opened his room and walked out, completely ignored the guards as they looked at him warily. Meeting meant missions....and missions meant blood...while blood meant fun! He giggled and walked to his destination, humming a merry tune.

---

As he walked to the room. He looked at it and grinned as he heard some familiar voices - his fellow Harvesters...how fun was that? He opened the door without even bother knocking it and waved his hand happily, greeting them "...Hello, what's up? he he he..." He covered his mouth with the palm of his hand, trying to suppress a giggle to no avail. As h e looked around, trying to find his favorite Harvesters, Frankenstein asked absently "...where're Richard and Feng?...They promised to play with me today...he he he...I think I just found something interesting to play yesterday...he he he...poor souls...he he he...we can play doctors!..." Clapping his hands together again and created a childish squeak, Frankenstein said cheerfully "...or you guys can play with me...you guys are the experiments and I'm the doctor...he he he..." He stopped giggling for a minute and bounced happily to where Lucas was standing "....Hey, Lucy!...what's a 'haze'? I forgot...Wait, your name isn't Lucy...it's Lucas...Lucas, Lucy...he he he...get it? It's funny..." The madman continued to speak as he danced around each person like a child, completely ignored their reactions...well, at least he was in one of his 'childish happiness'. It was a lot better than he was in his 'mad, sadistic mode'.

The streets of The Underworld reeked of something lovely today, probably freshly spilt blood. Richard felt alleviated after drowning himself in the thick scent, but where was it radiating from. That didn't matter at this moment, for he had received a reminiscent blank envelope holding an all too familiar letter. "A very important meeting, heh." Richard was far from believing that this meeting was going to be of any importance, sure they group finally finished their five year training session, but who cared. 'Maybe Swain will actually show his face, oooooo, I wonder if his blood tastes, good...' Richard just adored basking in the scent, or drowning in the feel, or especially cherishing the taste of the thick red liquid.

His lengthy trek through The Underworld came to stop upon entering the Krux Building. He walked into the bland waiting room; it was too empty for his taste, and unlucky for him, he wasn't the tenth person to enter. Richard was always the tenth person to attend a meeting or any gathering for that matter, he just loved being tenth. That was what he loved, the number ten, and well being consistent was a plus. "Ah, I'm early." Richard entered the room rather quietly, noticing the multiple Harvesters that flooded the room, then placing his eyes on Havok. 'Oye, such a fellow, here?' Richard wasn't paying any particular attention to anything, but noticed that Frankenstein was standing before him. "Ah, I believe I forgot about the little 'play date' we had scheduled. I apologize Frankie, heh." Richard really didn't feel too bad about missing the play date, he just enjoyed the combat aspect of it.

The dark haired man sat at the Chair, a cup of red liquid in his hands. For passers by, it would seem odd that such a dark figure seemed to be sipping tea, but upon closer inspection, the liquid was obviously not tea. Blood's metallic taste had always allured Lance, and today was no exception. Sure, Lance was meant to be at a Meeting, but he couldn't be on time all the time, could he? And besides, he was going to make full usage of the fact that the Cafe Owner owed him his life. Lance took another sip and clicked his fingers, observing as a Waiter made her way over to him, her blonde hair blowing in the slight artificial winds of the Underworld.

Her slender body was athletic, with toned muscles all around, but they didn't make her seem disgusting to anyone. She was fit, obviously, but she wasn't one of those crazed bodybuilders that pumped themselves full of chemicals and toxins in hopes that they would grow to an immense size, able to crush anyone in front of them, although Lance was sure that he and the other Harvesters could easily take them down, they were just Human, after all.

The girl's blonde hair flapped about lazily as she leaned down and took his cup from him. Her tanned skin glowing slightly and she bent over, giving Lance a good look at her body. Her breasts were above average, that was for sure, and her thighs were admirable. Lance licked his lips, thinking about how nice it would be to get between them and have some fun. He wasn't a rapist though, no, he was too polite for that. Well, most of the time, anyways. He stood, thanking the Girl and giving her a slap on the ass as he left. He was sure she was staring at him as he left. He felt her amber eyes digging into the back of his skull, whether in hatred or pleasure, he didn't know, and right now he didn't care to find out. He grinned at some passers by that passed him on the way to his destination, and nodded his head, a signal to which they hastily replied. It was a 'Hello', without speech. Lance's way of acknowledging somebodies existence. He continued on his journey, slightly anticipating what was to come.

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He eventually reached Krux's massive Building, one that towered above the rest, casting everything around it in a darkness that signified just how insignificant the general populace of the Underworld was. Lance pushed the door open, stepping into the expansive lobby, but not bothering to look around. He located the elevator and stepped inside, heading to the designated floor where he and the others were to meet Swain, face to face, for the first time. He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples to relieve whatever had been building up inside of him. Hsi thoughts wandered, and he began thinking.

Lance was curious. Why had Swain chosen to actually speak to them in Person, it was usually one of his underlings that spoke to the Harvesters, which meant that this was important, or at least something new to Krux. Maybe a new recruit? No, Krux wouldn't hire anybody else unless it was absolutely necessary, and Lance highly doubted that it was necessary that day. Maybe today would be fun, since their Training had finished. Five years that were boring and slightly, and irritatingly, easy. Lance had worked as a Butler, and was used to hard work and strict rules, so he got along fine. He opened his eyes as the customary 'ding' of the Elevator doors opening resounded throughout his tiny space, and he observed the fact that practically everyone, or maybe everyone, aside from Swain, of course, was already assembled in the room before him. He stepped into the room, looking over everybody present. He sighed and stalked over to the seat in the furthest corner of the room, far away from the crowds. Crowds... Lance hated them, so loud and busy and obnoxious. Crowds also brought back... unpleasant memories. Were they really unpleasant though? Lance could only remember his Mansion life, his Mother's face and name, and... well, what happened to him, of course. He would never forget that. It was always in the back of his mind, tormenting him, torturing him with the fact that he couldn't remember who abused him. Who took advantage of his innocence. Lance... no, Deon would never forgive them, but Lance was a bit busy right now.

Lance slammed his right hand down onto the table beside him, sending a small electrical charge through it. His left hand rubbed his forehead in anger and frustration, and he groaned. It'd been so long since he'd had a good, relaxing sleep. He liked sleep, and since he wasn't technically a Butler anymore, although he still technically was part time, he was still almost permanently sleepy. Insomnia is a bitch, you know. Lance shook his head and blinked away his anger, closing his eyes again immediately afterward, meditating to relieve stress. His Mother took him to see a Councillor, who had taught him how to Meditate. He closed his eyes, crossed his legs and focused on nothing, but kept his sensed about him so that he could tell what was going on around him.

Inside his head, a Maelstrom was brewing, and it didn't look good for anyone who pissed him off.

Ace was already awake and on his way to the Krux Headquarters. He decided to take the scenic route, that is if anything could be scenic in the underworld. The route Ace took had more prostitutes but less Murder, slavery, and worst of it all child sex slaves. He hated Child Sex Slaves, if he could get away with it he would slaughter every person that forced a child to have sex for money. As he started walking looked up at the dark red sky, it's as if the sky was blended with blood to create a beautiful Permanent Hazy Sunset. Prostitutes looked at Ace as he wore his suit. He didn't look back but something caught the corner of his eye. Behind one prostitutes' legs was a small little girl, only about eight. He stopped and walked over to her mother. He handed her some money and left. "That wasn't for you, that was for her...that be enough to start moving out of these slums. Oh and if I will be coming back..." He smiled at the young girl and continued along his path.

He made it to a cafe, the scent of blood and other spices mixing in the air made a beautiful smell. All the seats were full and he was the only one actually standing. He has been to this cafe before, it was always full. Today a blonde male about 4'8" was working. "I would like The Green Tea Chai Latte Oh by the way Please no blood I don't want my coworkers to murder me over a simple drink." The man went in the back and within three minutes brought out the drink. He handed Ace the drink and Ace smiled. "Why thank you, I'm quite in a rush so I will come back and pay you later." He simply walked out knowing no one could stop him even if they wanted to.

He looked up, this time not at the sky but at the buildings, he noticed the Krux building tower out all of the others. He took an alleyway that eventually led to the Krux building. He walked into the main lobby and he stuck his tongue out to the women at the counter, it wasn't an insult it was his way of checking in. "Ah Ace the others are waiting for you, Swain has yet to come but don't worry he will arrive." she smiled and pointed to the elevator. Ace nodded and walked inside, he was pretty sure he knew which floor it was. He pressed the button and elevator music played, surprisingly it was Jazz. Swain probably doesn't know about this. Ace snickered as the elevator doors opened. He could make out the others in the room ahead. He continued walking and looked at everyone else. He sat down on the leather couch opposite of Nyx. He stayed quiet for awhile and sipped his tea. He finally spoke. "Anyone know when Swain is coming?"

Like any other partially sane half-demonic human --or would it be just 'mortal'?--, it could easily be said that Feng was not, in fact, enjoying herself. What had destroyed her relatively peaceful evening of staring out the window, and pretending that the voices in her head didn't exist, had come as the form of six, no, seven words: "Swain wishes to meet with you all." Now, don't get it wrong. Swain wasn't the problem; although she wasn't exactly the most thankful for his part in inscribing four obnoxious individuals into an already occupied brain. No, Feng's worries described only the truth that she'd be stuck in a stuffy room with thirteen potentially insane Harvesters. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but it was very difficult to make fun of any one person or even crack a joke, when half the audience would undoubtedly turn their heads and glare with faces of stone; like the embodiment of 'We are not amused. Shut up.'.

It didn't do so well to one's metabolism to be so heavily stifled, and such was the reason why these meetings kind of sucked out all the unicorns and rainbows from one's day. Which were already low in population, seeing as the lot happened to live in the underworld. Everything was scarce, especially narwhals. But what can I say? In any case, seeing as there was most probably some type of significance in this little gathering, Feng could do nothing else but plaintively sigh and heft a polearm over her shoulders; forced to listen to the sound of cows dying as she walked out her bedroom door. Which, although it sounded incredibly funny to Feng's ears, ended abruptly a few moments later; followed by the high-pitched shriek. From just that, there really wasn't a question about who and what happened; even as this Chinese lady wasn't quite near the door yet.

Although, of course, there was that distinct, ominous feeling for a certain sexually driven animal; along with that tiny inkling that she was forgetting something, neither of which garnered much attention at the moment. In any case, as Feng neared the meeting room just after Ace, her normal, easygoing mood overlooked the kid's casual features; and such was the way, with a slight smile on her face, that the only Asian child of all the Harvesters waltzed in. The first thing she noticed, of course, was that the sexual predator was currently sprawled over a cast-iron table; followed by a disgruntled Rose on a couch. Like routine, actually. Closely behind that was Frankenstein and Richard, two guys in a crowd that she honestly had absolutely no idea how she'd gotten involved in. At the sight of both, Feng finally remembered the little scheduled 'playdate' she'd promised; a decision she'd only first agreed to on an easy whim. Then, well, there was no stopping the fact that she'd have to follow through. But whatever.

Everyone else, as it was, were situated normally enough not to make too much of an impression. But shame. I'm not the last. That could've pissed off a couple uptight people. In any case, seeing as the play date duo had probably forgotten about the affair by now already, several choices presented themselves. One would be to hang around a overly morbid character, another for perhaps some delightful silence, and the last, well, who just hands themselves to Elissa? Michael, shut up. Not everyone happens to be a literal angel. Yes, she would still kill you in the most gruesome way. Voices in her head aside, there was really only one option any sane person would pick: being that of hanging out with Rose, Reial and Ace. Because, you know, intelligent silence is hard to come by; and both would most probably not mind a sarcastic comment. Because it's just that hard to resist in a meeting, yes.

Thinking that perhaps, just maybe, she'd need it for a potential assault, Feng lifted her sheathed polearm from her back and set it beside her; waving a simple hello as she set down beside Rose. One pointed glance at Elissa, then Rose, couldn't help but prompt a comment; especially as the two had an incredibly amusing love-hate relationship. Or at least that was what it looked like. "You two having fun, again? I get that it's how you show love, and I know that the table needed some too, but it really could do better. You should throw her at Richard, next." Degrading the guy was a fun past-time, as well as annoying him. Most of the reason why she did so was very plainly because he still believed in trust and loyalty, even when they happened to, you know, be in the underworld.. Actually, it does look like it's been a while since he got some..

But in any case, that was that. "Anyone know when Swain is coming?" A simple shrug was all Feng could give, waiting for another to answer. It was normal just to assume that he'd get there when all thirteen, fourteen including the twins, were assembled. Which would hopefully happen sometime very soon, since Elissa was bound to go on a rampage with or without sooner or later. Yes, Satan, that's a bad thing.

Rose glanced over as Tai sat down. A warm smile crossed her face as her friend sat down. "Ah, Tai!"

"You two having fun, again? I get that it's how you show love, and I know that the table needed some too, but it really could do better. You should throw her at Richard, next."

Rose smirked at her snide comment. "Why don't you just run Richard through with your polearm already and call it good?" She laughed. Feng was the one person among the Harvesters that gave Rose a sense of peace in her life of chaos. They often made sarcastic jokes about the others and their surroundings as an attempt to hang onto their humanity.

"Anyone know when Swain is coming?" "Does anyone know when Swainee baby will be here?"

Hmmm. Good questions. Where WAS Swain? Rose figured he was going to show himself when all the Harvesters arrived. All of us were here except for two. Rose answered there question, "We can't complain about Swain being late when not all of us can show up on time even."

Rose returned her attention back to Feng and decided to get revenge. She was about to throw a clever retort about Feng and her playdates with Franken when Charlotte recovered and had locked onto Feng. This set Rose over the edge. Swiftly pulling her scythe from off her back, she set the weapon on fire and put it in between Feng and Charlotte.

"Don't make me tell you to behave again, Charlotte." Rose stared her down, daring her to make a move. Although, anything she did would probably just entice Charlotte more. She glanced over at Havok for help. He was probably the strongest among us and he wasn't even a Harvester. Perhaps that's why Swain appointed him as his right hand man.

Frankenstein was...bored out of his mind. His mind had wandered on its own as he listened to the others exchanging conversations. His attention span was never a long one anyway. He sat down on the ground, ignoring everything around him as he poked the couch like a curious cat and giggled every once in a while. He mumbled between each giggle "...the table is being a meanie to you? Don't worry...I shall make the table regret it...right table?...wait...why do you break up with me chair? I'm sorry for not talking to you..." His face had a disappointed look on it as his mouth curls into a dark scowl "...no...bad chair, bad...I won't let you break up with me...the sink said he would kill you if you did so..." He punched the couch and began to wail "...no, I don't like it...I don't like it...how dare you break up with me?...I don't like it!" He slammed his fists repeatedly to the couch with an angry look on his face. However, it disappeared as quickly as it came and he giggled again "...just kidding...I love you...yeah, I know you love me, too...chair..." He chuckled and stood up, stretching his entire body as he began to bounce again. His patience was rapidly reaching its limit as Swain still refused to come.

"...It's no fun...I want to play...not waiting...this is no fun..." He pouted as he walked behind Richard. Wrapping his arms around the young man's neck, Frankenstein giggled again as he purred "...fight me, Richardkin...I want to play...I wanna see blood...I want to be bloody Frankenstein..." He clapped his hands together childishly and said in a faked high pitched voice "...maybe Fengkin will want to play with us, too...we can play doctors..." He pressed his index finger to his mouth and whispered hastily like he had some kinds of super secrets "...you know what, Richardkin...I saw something interesting just a moment before...I saw a child! How nice is that? We can play with him...I can let you cut him if you want to...he he he..." He looked around and whispered again "...shh...you're not supposed to tell anyone about that, 'kay?"

Frankenstein didn't release Richard as he tapped his cheek with his finger and looked at Loki as the man walked into the room "...ah! Mister BUTTERFLIES!....He he he..." He called out excitedly and smiled brightly, continued after a small pause "...I saw some hell butterflies yesterday so I captured one for you!...he he he...I put her inside a cage...he he he...you have to play with me to get her though...she's pretty..."

Looking around, Frankenstein became impatient...again "...where's Swaine Swaine...I hate waiting..." He whined and gave them a sad expression, looking like a kicked-puppy.

((Sorry Haze, but I must borrow Havok. Oh and your partner assignments are listed in the OOC.))



Rose protested and pleaded with Feng to rethink her actions as she shoved her scythe away. "Tai! You can't be serious... Don't give into Charlotte's demands! You underestimate her! You have no idea the kinds of things... she'll DO to you..." She shivered as she recalled an obviously disturbing memory. She was about to let loose another stream of protests when she noticed how restless everyone was getting. Having all thirteen, including both twins, Harvesters in one room was probably not a wise decision.

Luckily, it seemed as if everyone wouldn't have to wait for much longer. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Gullies did a silent headcount and followed it with a satisfied nod. No one else seemed to notice as he walked over to the large red wall and lean against it. Rose couldn't quite make out what he did exactly, but whatever he did, the wall began to pull apart to unveil a large dark hallway. Everyone silenced their mindless chatter to stare at the new hallway.

Havok motioned with his head for everyone to follow him. Rose stood their for a moment just staring at the hallway then proceded to be the first one to enter. The hallway was long and twisted and seemed to go on forever. Perhaps it did. It finally came to abrupt halt to a door. Gullies opened the door and revealed a large room with a meeting table in the center. It had a total of sixteen chairs around the table and each gothic-style chair had a numeral marked on the back. Except for two. One of which Gullies took beside.... a taken chair. There, at the very end of the table, was him. Swain. He gave off every vibe as being a very important and a very shrewd business man. Although, he didn't seem very old. Only in his thirties, if that. He had long white hair that ended at his shoulder and was very tall. Even when seated. He was adorned in a pure white suit with gold trimmings. Very flamboyent and gaudy. There was also one more detail that caused Rose to frown when she laid eyes on him. He was wearing a carnival mask that covered only the upper portion of his face.

For five long years, they hadn't even heard a direct word from him and even now he wouldn't show his face to them? The more she thought about it, the more it caused her to frown. Even so, she still took her seat towards the middle of the table. The chair labled, "VII." Rose propped her head up with one arm while the other drummed her slender fingers against the mahogany table. As the first one to sit down, Swain turned to smile at her beneath his shrowd of mystery. She gave him a half smile and then proceded to frown again at her thoughts.

As soon as everyone proceded to sit in their assigned seats, Swain stood up and cleared his voice. Just as Rose thought, he was a very tall man and towered over the table.

"Good evening to all of you. As all of you know, my name is Swain." He said as an almost purr. His voice sent shivers down Rose's spines. His voice was beautiful and hypnotic, but was completely unhuman. His voice wasn't like anything she'd ever heard before.

"Now, first of all, I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm wearing this mask... As much as I'd love to share my identity with you all, I cannot at this point in time. Why? Because we've been infiltrated." Rose's eyebrows raised at the comment. Infiltrated? How is that possible?

"You fourteen, including Gullies, are the last people I can trust. However, before I can get into that matter, I'd like to show you some things first."

He gestured towards the wall behind him as a screen lit up. On the screen were a couple charts. The title was, "Krux's Monthly Profit Compared To Rival Companies." On the very top of the chart was Krux highlighted in red. On the bottom, were a whole rainbow of lines that weren't even close to Krux. However, as you looked thorough the months, you'll notice in the last year one dark blue line that dramatically sky-rocketed up the chart right below Krux. During a couple months, the line was even above Krux's.

Rose was fairly certain she was voicing everyone's opinions when she said, "Well so? Every company has to deal with competition. No big deal."

"Ah, yes, as right as you are, Nyx, it wouldn't be any concern of the Harvesters.... if an incident hadn't occured yesterday. It was quickly covered up, so no one would learn of it. Now, I'd like you to pay very close attention to the next picture..."

A new picture appeared on the screen and Rose raised her eyebrows. Now, a normal person would probably either pass out, vomit, or scream, but the Harvesters were quite used to this kind of thing. Even so, it did mildly surprise Rose.

On the screen was a brutal homocide of a woman. Not just any woman either. She was known as Swain's secretary, Nira. Rose often saw her running about the building taking care of things that needed to be done. She was a thin lady with sleak blonde hair. She reminded Rose of a fox. Now, she lay on the ground maliciously ripped and torn to pieces. She was barely recognizable. The only thing left in tact was her head with a look of pure horror etched into her face. The rest of her body was scattered about. Some of her organs were cruelly sown back together in unnatural positions. However, the detail that really left an impression was the message. Written beside the gory mess was a short sentence typed out in..... bones. Nira's bones specifically. It said, "STEP DOWN." Rose was sure to take in one more insignificant detail before Swain took the picture down. A medium-sized black feather lying next to Nira's head.

"So, as you all can see, we have reason to believe this rival company was the one who organized this distasteful show of aggression. However, we have no clue what this organization's name even is. Out in the market, they're simply known as Company X. Because of all this secrecy, it's very difficult to track them. We do believe that there's evidence somewhere. In fact, we believe that a few of their followers are still hanging around in the building. Which leads me to give you your first assignment as full-fledged Harvesters. Investigate any evidence, destroy the spies, and bring your findings. Also one more thing, absolutely NO killing of any other individuals other than the spies. If you kill an innocent, you will severely punished."

Swain put an emphasis on 'severely punished', which sent yet another chill down Rose's spine. This man was extremely powerful. You could feel it coming off of him in waves.

"Final note. I'm assigning you into pairs. None of you are to go without your partners." He waved his arm and a stack of black letters flew out. One landing in front of each person.

"Each has your partner along with the sector you will be investigating. Good luck to you all." With that, the meeting was over and we were free to go. As she strolled out, she carefully opened the letter. She nearly screamed when she saw who her partner was. This can't be..... how can I be stuck with HIM! she ranted in her head. She crumbled the letter in her hand and collapsed on the waiting room couch while hitting her head against a sofa cushion.

The letter simply stated Zehn as her partner, that they were to investigate Nira's room, and that they believed there were seven spies in total in the building somewhere. However, Rose couldn't get over the fact she was paired with a man...

Richard was observing the ever entertaining Frankie. It wasn't overly surprising that the boy... erm man would be hopping around like a crazed bunny on steroids. The only odd thing that, even after years of witnessing, even remotely creeped Richard out was the man's manic one sided conversations. "Frankie... I, forget it..." Richard figured that Frankenstein wasn't listening, like always. Richard also assumed that Frankenstein was probably the furthest gone of all the Harvesters, except maybe Elissa, but she was just a sex crazed love muffin. Either way, Richard was usually the man stuck babysitting Frankenstein, which wasn't all too bad, but it ended up being a pain in the ass moreover. He could remember one time when the two went out and Frankie had his first taste of blood in days... He essentially became a whole different person, rampaging like a rabid tasmanian devil. It literally took Richard's full strength just to restrain him and calming him was a whole different story.

As Richard returned to the situation at hand, Frankenstein appeared to be talking to him. "Hm?" He realized that Frankenstein was talking about fighting... again. "No Frankie. We will not fight, at least not now..." He listened as Frankenstein continued to ramble about his usual habit of playing doctor with anyone he could find. "You will NOT be playing doctor, now sit patiently and wait for the meeting to begin." As soon as the words left his mouth Richard knew Frankenstein would 1. whine like a four year old that's fallen on the ground and 2. begin rambling again claiming that Richard was stupid and such. Thankfully Havok had opened a a passageway leading through a dark hall where the meeting was presumably held. 'Saved by the Bell.'

Richard made sure to be the tenth person to enter the hall and the tenth person to sit, like always. His little incident in the waiting room was terrible but it seemed that nobody noticed his folly. He sat with the lovely X branded on the backrest. "Ah thy lovely ten." Richard cracked a smile of pure elation at his success, proceeding to lean on his elbows that rested on the tabletop. He looked down at Swain noticing the tacky mask covering the upper half of his face. "Not revealing your identity, huh..." He spoke quietly as the remaining Harvesters fumbled around, sitting in their seats. He watched the excruciatingly boring presentation on the large screen, seemingly not amused. 'Why is this so pointless.' He listened as Rose commented, "Ah, good point Mistress Obvious." He listened in further, trying to appear interested, but then... a new picture was shown. Richard knew the face, he knew the women... His eyes widened, heart cracked and brain went blank. "NIRA!" He couldn't restrain himself, he immediately drew his sword slamming it on the table while arising from his previous posture. "SWAIN! WHO DID THIS?!?!?!" Richard was not only floored, but enraged, depressed and more importantly... losing his self control. He attempted to regain his composure but couldn't take the sight of the women he actual gave a damn about, dead... gruesomely tortured, mutilated. "I sincerely apologize... I, uh, lost my cool for a moment..." Richard returned to his seat as Swain distributed the black envelopes. He almost felt as though it wouldn't matter who he was paired with, they wouldn't understand his personal connection to the case. Either way, he opened the envelope to read the name of his partner and there location of investigation... 'Nyx and Nira's room.' The room he visited many times in his leisure.

Frankenstein's crestfallen as he began to sulk and whine "...b-but...b-b-but I want...b-but I want to play..." He puffed his cheeks and poked Richard "...meanie...you're a meanie, Richardkin...dumb Richard..." He tightened his hold as he felt Richard began to move to his seat "...I will get you back for that, Richardkin..." He licked the back of Richard's neck and giggled "...you're the patient next time you play with me, Richardkin..." He grumbled finally and released the younger man, blowing a kiss to Richard's direction "...and I promise I will take real good care of you..." Winking, Frankenstein covered a giggle with his hands as a strange hallway appeared out of nowhere and he began to walk...and hum a very soft tune as his feet took him to his newest destination.

Moving to his seat, the black- red VIII shone brightly under the dimly lit light bulbs. He gave a big grin to the one who wore number VII - Rose Ceilmarz - one of those that seemed to barely tolerate his behaviours. It was kinda funny...She gave him the weird, funny feeling whenever he wanted to play with her...and then there's the beautiful red thingies...It always made him laugh. He gave a big grin at a man in strange clothes and strange hair sat at the end of the table - Oh, it was Swainie...How funny...He suppressed another giggle and this time, managed to only smirk sadistically. Well, at least he hadn't created any noises yet...He tossed Richard and Feng a grin as he waved at them and put his elbows on the table, trying to use his incredibly short attention span to focus on the matter at hand.

"Good evening to all of you. As all of you know, my name is Swain."

Swainene purred and Frankenstein cocked his head to one side, the craziness immediately died down and his insanity was replaced by sheer curiosity, his own sadistic nature and craving to hear the man's voice more...It was...irresistible. Frankenstein licked his lips, longing to taste the man's blood...it must taste so gooood....The craziness began to resurface but once again, the man pushed it down by his will.

"Now, first of all, I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm wearing this mask... As much as I'd love to share my identity with you all, I cannot at this point in time. Why? Because we've been infiltrated."

'Infiltrated'? Who would dare to do that? Anger rolled out of Frankenstein's body as he gave a low growl, which was effectively shut down again by Swain's voice "You fourteen, including Gullies, are the last people I can trust. However, before I can get into that matter, I'd like to show you some things first."

The next five minutes or so went by quickly as Frankenstein felt his attention drifted away...what a boring subject! Who cared about business? He certainly didn't...he vaguely listened to Rose as she talked some nonsense and he wouldn't even bother to pay attention to it...This was getting boring...fast.

"...Now, I'd like you to pay very close attention to the next picture..."

Frankenstein raised his head to meet the large screen...only to stare in shock at a picture of a very familiar woman...He subconsciously giggled and spoke out loud "...someone decorated Nira...she's beautiful now...he he he..." But inwardly, he was seething...everything was beginning to turn red at the picture of Nira's corpse. He actually liked the woman very much...she had played with him, talked with him, treated him like a human with normal intelligence...unlike the others, who could only treat him like a child with three-year-old intelligence. Yes, Frankenstein knew very clearly how others treated him...he was crazy...but he wasn't dumb...He knew they only thought of him as a mindless, stupid Harvester with a brain that could only function properly when he saw blood...well, that part was true...but...whatever. But he didn't lack of the ability to realize, to think...he just didn't act like that. Nira...on the other hand, treated him very fairly...she played doctors with him, and comforted him whenever he's on one of his bloodthirsty mood...and she tolerated his behaviours...just like some certain Harvesters. He gave some of his Harvesters a look...He guessed that was why he liked playing with Richard so much...and Elissa, too...though most of the time, the woman wanted to rape him rather than to play with him...Now, returning to the current problem. Frankenstein didn't even notice he had begun to laugh sadistically until he stopped his train of thoughts and covered his mouth with his hands, trying to control his own actions. He began to have troubles breathing because of the laughter. Putting a hand on his stomach, Frankenstein spoke between each large gulp for air "...so...pretty..."

As much as he was showing his amuzement to everyone else, if one paid enough attention, they might see his twitching fingers,...or the fact that one of his hands was gripping the table tightly, trying hard not to stand up and shout like Richard had done. Oh, sometime, playing the part of a madman took too much effort.

Frankenstein listened to the rest of the man's speech with a small nod between each pause the man gave. Alright, partners...he could work with that...as long as they didn't interfere with his revenge...and the chair. He picked up the small piece of paper, opened it and read out loud.

Tai Shan-insanity-------------Basement

He giggled...oh, lucky him...he had Feng...Well, the woman at least would let him have his revenge...He hoped...the last time he was in one of his 'mood', Richard had stopped him...the man was such a rule-follower that it wasn't even funny. He took the paper and stood up. With a bright smile and cheerful voice, Frankenstein said "...shall I and Tai Shan go now? I can't wait to spill blood...!" He clapped his hands but stopped as a dark, sadistic smile appeared on his face, making the cheerful air around him vanish. His voice lowered until it contained nothing but pure sadistic pleasure and evil intents "...they shall learn why they should never EVER mess with me..." Oh yes, whoever did this would very, very soon learn why everyone tried to avoid a fully pissed-off Frankenstein Brokenheart - the Harvester with the codename 'Insanity'. And right now? Right now, that 'insanity' wanted nothing but revenge toward whoever harmed his loved one.

He gave Swain a deep bow, his sanity returned to him fully as he prepared to rip off the heart of the attackers, spies...or whoever stood in his way. He turned to face Feng "...is it alright to go now? or do you wish to listen more, Tai Shan...?"

Charlotte & Havok

Elissa's body still ached violently as she complacently sat in her little chair, listening to Swain's little speech with no interest, and replayed the scene of how she'd gotten there on an endless lope. Much to the displeasure of the teeth she ground in rage. Feng's teasing breath had been to much, the mocking eye contact had been torture, and self control had snapped within her body. She could still feel traces of the raw excitement that had flooded her body as she'd gripped Feng's throat, the painful need she'd had as she tried to close the gap between their lips, and the cruel tug of her hair Havok had administered to try and break them apart. Like a fool, she'd resisted, pushed him away at first, but when he went for her hair once more, now in a violent frenzy, she'd shoved Feng away and responded with a dagger aimed towards his throat. A blow that never landed. She'd triggered his apathetic wrath, and without hesitation he'd grabbed her arm and jerked her to her knees violently enough her shoulder dislocated with a loud crack sound. In her lust-fueled hate, she simply couldn't let that be the end of it.

She'd placed a violent kick at his legs, causing a quiet crack of his knees and momentarily dropped him to the ground. Pouncing on him with grace, she'd straddled his waist while removing her glove, plotting to ram the toxins into his mouth and be done, but once more she'd been stupid enough to underestimate him. His fist collided with her jaw, forceful enough to bring a another crunch of a sound form it, dazed she was easily tossed aside. Picking himself up, he's grabbed her by the wounded arm and jerked her to her feat before slamming her face-first against a wall. Pain had exploded within her, sweeping away the lust as she felt a rib break. Karma for her stupidity came full-circle as Havok planted a heavy-booted foot dead center in her back, pushing her into it all the harder while grabbing a fistful of her air and jerking her upper body back. Two more ribs cracked as he bent her back far enough to make direct eye-contact. A single whimper had escaped her before he'd removed his foot, and tossed her into a into the meeting room, pushing her into some little chair, beside Frankenstein of all people. Twice she'd been mocked, then truly humiliated in front of every other harvester.

By now, she'd been returned to reality, and the pain her chest by a simple letter that'd been passed her way. Ignoring everyone around her, and scoffing, she opened it, glowering at it's contents. Shallow. “Figures.” She mumbled to herself, as the mopy little fuck that was her partner exited the room in disgust. “Prick can't even wait two seconds for a woman..This entire assignment can fuck off.” She hissed, before slamming her head against the desk, not bothering to pick it back up. “This couldn't get worse..”

A little saddening (at, you know, the sudden loss of the rainbows and giggles that make up amusement), more so awkward. Because, unfortunately, Feng here just so happened to be one of those very few killers that didn't actually appreciate watching people getting beaten up. Even, as it seemed, a deranged sexual predator. Oh, but wait! That's not it! I have an angel spoiled brat in my head! Because, for the past couple minutes (or ever since she'd let the uptight mother phoenix go), said annoying angel had been practically screaming at her to heal a certain criminal; not shutting up all the while as Feng made her way to the meeting room, half-distracted with an impending, horrific headache. 'Since, after all, it is your fault for egging and teasing Charlotte on. I mean, really. That line was too cheesy even for an angel. Why don't you give me a shot? You can do a good deed, maybe get into god's good book (haha yeah right) and start working on that nonexistent sex life! Three birds with one stone! Because, girl, believe me. You need some action. Do you even realize the last time you--'

As you can see, Michael doesn't understand the meaning of the middle finger. Not that she could make it at him, anyway. And to think he used to be a nice guy. And devoted. And holy. Satan, the fuck did you do? But, before the devil could answer, Swain began to talk. And, apparently, so did Michael. It was entirely by chance that Feng's ancient Chinese counterparts didn't-- Oh wait. No, they started chatting too. With a head full of overly talkative voices --a rare occurrence, mind you, as they're usually too egotistical to talk amongst their natural enemy-- it's not really difficult to believe that Feng really had no way of paying attention; nor was she in the mood even if she wanted to. They were so damn distracting that she couldn't even focus enough to take an impression of the evil CEO, although Michael instantly noted when a sexual predator was thrown into the room. Not an improvement, thank you. (You should see what it's like to listen to very, very Chinese accented English in the midst of an annoying brat, in a serious meeting, behind the stereotypical 'evil laughter' soundtrack. Beyond painful. Evil laughter? That's Satan trying to be funny.)

So, rather than anything, the first half of Swain's speech fell to deaf ears. And then, much like a sudden break of light in the clouds, three out of four idiots shut their traps in pure, somewhat utter shock. Or, well, maybe they thought that Feng should be listening. But either way, the kid was completely whole enough to see Nira's death scene; capturing the essence in now-turned sober, indefinitely hard eyes. And, although the photo was beyond gruesome, this Chinese lady gave not a single sign to show disgust, rage or sadness; all of which some of the others immediately seemed to demonstrate, whether noticeable or not. Instead, the only things that might've shown were the aforementioned eyes; and deeper still the sudden, clear silence within her thoughts. Besides, of course, the evil laughter. 'Me, shocked? Well I never!'

Feng's lack of reaction could mostly be given to the fact that she never really knew or spoke to Swain's secretary in the first place, other than a few greetings here or there. But even as that was, the slow, deadly boiling anger of defiling a corpse so was easily brewed --much to Satan's glee-- over the second half of Swain's speech; in which, with the appearance of a potential outlet, toned down the overwhelming emotion to a sort of dangerous, cold calm. By the time the kid had opened her black letter and read the name inside, her brain was very much her own again; headache and all. So, when Frankie verified their partnership and lost his childish charms, she was all very willing to go. Hey, those play dates weren't for nothing. I'd say we work pretty well together, even more so when he.. appears to be sane. Or, well, it could be said that Feng honestly wouldn't have cared who she'd been stuck with. As long as, you know, revenge was possible.

"...is it alright to go now? or do you wish to listen more, Tai Shan...?" With a carefree, cold smile --half from the happiness of having her head back--, Feng stood, grabbed her polearm, and made straight for the door; calling words over her shoulder as she did so. "No, it's alright. Let's g--" AGAIN? Or that's what she planned on doing, had not a certain angel starting up his efforts again. And when an inanimate brat starts, he'll never shut up. Her course changed then, as she veered back, this time walking a burdened beeline towards Charlotte (her back, preferably); who happened to be situated next to Frankie. So, you know, maybe it'll be less awkward. "On second thought, give me a second. An obnoxious idiot won't shut up unless I do." With a very, very long sigh, Feng summoned an angel; getting a halo and kind of slightly.. shining at that moment. 'Hey, where's the wings? You know they're damn awesome.' Shut up.

As fast, and hopefully as effortless, as possible, Feng put a quick hand on Charlotte's shoulder; immediately spilling a cold, somewhat relaxing sensation that could only mean a divine's trademark: healing. If it were not for the momentary good nature that always took the kid when Michael came, she probably would've just kind of.. left it at that; if she ever started helping in the first place. But alas, life was never goes the way you want it to. So, instead, Feng ended up pouring a small chunk of her energy to pull broken bones back together and partially numb pain for about five minutes; all knit in a nice little self-serving bundle that would work and finish the job even when she left. A chunk and a bundle she could go without, but it kind of bothered her nonetheless. In any case, it took maybe five, ten seconds of her just standing there; violently internally throwing it together until Michael was satisfied enough to leave, just because she was pissed off at said angel. (So, as you may imagine, it might sort of hurt in those five-ten minutes of healing anyway.)

Needless to say, the moment Feng was done she threw back her hand, returned to normal and headed for the door, polearm on shoulders; knowing that Frankie would catch up, if he still happened to be there, whenever. "Right. Ready whenever you are, big guy."