interstellar5555 | LOOKING FOR SOMEONE

Who: Garnet, Koumei, Molly, Pinkie, Greg, and Jamie
What: Where Are They Now? The Scoobies Come Together!
When: February 19th
Where: A club booth/Lesedi and Edward's offices later
Warnings: The characters in this log will be getting in trouble with the labels, so brainwashing, injuries and torture, implied or otherwise, is very likely.

It started with a simple text that evening. Well, no, that was wrong. It started with a knock on the door that morning.

Garnet had wanted to check on Nariko, on all of her bandmates. All that responded to her was silence. She kicked open the door, and was met with nothing. As if the bedsheets had never been used, or the bed even slept in at all.

Nariko - the girl she saw as a daughter, their lead singer - gone. For hours she sat on that bed, her hands over her face. Once the tears dried, however, she balled her fists and stormed out of the penthouse. She wound up here, at this club, typing on her cell phone, a grim expression set on her face.

Pinkie, Koumei and Greg. If others were at the club, and wanted to join in, fine. She didn't think there would be others, though.

P3nn Station. 8pm. I'll pay.

Its a sophisticated little place, a jazz club with a good clientele, a good waitstaff - and a good chance they will be left alone for the most part. She might be asked to perform. Otherwise, though, the guards could have their own drinks, and she would be able to talk freely with those who came.

If they came. As time ticked away, she knew her idea was contingent upon people arriving, much less be amenable to it. If this didn't work out, well - this was a nice club. She could come here again in the future.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Though it hurts, the rush is empowering. The first moments of it are blinding in their intensity, and though the sensations linger, that initial high is short lived. Even so, his emotions remain lost within the flood. It leaves him light headed.

It leaves him craving more - for that moment when every powerful feeling of life seemed to flow through him at once.

Blanche takes another sip and then smiles, still watching carefully.

"What do you think?"

Greg has been a very powerless man for his whole life. In this one, and in the one he's forgotten, he's sure. His memories tell of being near people with power, awed by them, but never equal to them. Here, even with all the fame and fortune he could dream of, the whole of it has been blatantly out of his control. That feeling... it's something foreign, something alien, something unbelievable.

Breathing uneven through clenched teeth, Greg eyes Blanche.

"Wh... why... are you giving me this...?"

"To show you what you'll be depriving yourself of if you carry on down this path. You have the beginnings of something extraordinary - something that separates you from the herd."

Something glints from within Blanche's eyes.

"Something that can benefit those around you if you work with us instead of against us."

Greg's trying to steady his breathing, but it's hard. It feels like he's too big for his body, like there's something locked away inside him, if he could just feel it again, just let it out--

"You--you hurt everyone. All of them, you--you made Naomi..."

He hasn't forgotten. He can't forget. The confusion and fear of children, the misery and helplessness of his friends, the desperation in Naomi's voice right before it ended. Greg could have the power to stop that, maybe... no, no, he could have the power to do that again. He can't.

His expression sharpens at the mention of Naomi's name. Perhaps it's a bit of a tense area, even for him. The iridescent liquid is left to swirl in his glass.

"I didn't make Naomi do anything. She offered herself to the task willingly."

He doesn't sound like he's lying. Does he ever? Greg's eyes go to the remainder of the drink in his glass. Desire and revulsion grapple with each other.

"Why?" He had to've had something on her. A bribe, a threat, a promise. Greg wants to protect people, not hurt them.

"Even selfless endeavors have a cost. If someone wants something they are obligated to pay for it. It is up to them whether or not the risk is worth the prize."

Greg is probably well aware by now that moral concerns are never really Blanche's focus, or he wouldn't be doing any of this. His tone in saying this is just further confirmation.

"It's not. I won't." Greg turned him down before. Nothing's changed since then. This man's still a monster. He still can't bring himself to lower the glass.

"Not even when the prize is your band? Your lover? Your son?"

He takes another leisurely drink and lets Greg think about that for a few moments. When he finishes, he seems to have shed the tension of Naomi's mention entirely.

"You're clever enough to have guessed that being 'fired' is more than its traditional implications. You've likely seen my opinion of some of your associates in that regard. You're a fool if you don't believe that Lesedi is considering the same fate for 'Steven', and she is much more spiteful than I."

Greg closes his eyes, rubbing at his face to muffle his groan. He can't think, everything feels swollen and mixed up and muddy. His band, his lover, his son, they've all gotten hurt already. Greg hasn't gotten a say in any of it. It's because he's so powerless, after all...

"I can't do anything to her." That's been the problem from the start. Even if he were strong, he can't possibly measure up to Santiago.

"Of course not," he says. "But I can. Hence the value of my approval."

He idly examines the mixture in his glass, the colours gently refracting.

"It would be in our mutual interest for me to remove Steven from his current location. In exchange for your service, I can have him brought to Virgo and kept safe. And, you already know the sway I have over the rest of your comrades...imagine the things you could prevent. All with one choice."

"I...?"

Steven could be out of there. Out of her hands. Lesedi's the one that hurt him, that broke him, that made him so frightened and lost and pained. He's wanted to get his son out of there for so long, since before he knew he had a son. Shouldn't he be happy for this chance? Shouldn't he do anything for it? Not just for Steven, but for all his friends, it would be so simple...

He grips the glass. "What service?"

"The specifics are highly variable, depending on what is needed in coming months. The most important factor is ensuring that your abilities are refined, and that I have you on side in the event you are necessary. There are many things that only performers, such as yourself, can do."

And he's found himself a little short handed in the last few month.

"Your consistent loyalty, first and foremost, is what I require."

It's as though his thoughts are moving through quicksand, sinking too fast to get realized properly. Doubts and fears are pulled under before he can figure out what to do with them.

Blanche is making an offer to train him, though. To do more of what he did earlier today. Anything could be possible with that kind of power, couldn't it? He could protect Steven, Meril, Luce, Sans. He just needs enough power to make that happen, but he's not strong enough yet. All he needs to do is learn, learn from an expert.

Distantly, Greg recalls not wanting to learn. He could never remember why, just that he was afraid. He's so tired of being afraid.

Greg's breath catches, a defeated little gasp, and he takes another drink.

Blanche smirks. The moment Greg takes another drink, he knows that the deal is done. He raises his glass once more.

"I'll make arrangements immediately."

It feels so good hitting him, and he wishes he could vomit it all right back up. Greg can't bring himself to look at Blanche.

"Don't let him get hurt. Please, whatever happens, make sure he's safe."

"I will do what I must," he says.

And it's done.

LOOKING FOR SOMEONE

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