Emil Sinclair 🐣 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
insinning) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dappledleaves2024-07-08 12:45 pm
insinning) wrote in dappledleaves2024-07-08 12:45 pm
CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY
It's a holy night. Silent night.
All is calm.
Everything is b r i g h t.
It's a holy night. Silent night.
All is calm.
Everything is b r i g h t.
no subject
Zap zap zap.
Punishment for a criminal. Punishment for his sins. It's okay. It's not okay. He hates this. He hates them.
He wants to remember their faces, rip out their throats let them feel like what it's--
No. That's bad. Those are the thoughts of a bad child, and he's been misbehaving too much so.
Why are they here where is he--
Oh.
It's dark. They turned off the lights again. And now, he's.
What is that message flashing? Can he reach for the room there? He's a P3 user. Not as good as Aria has been. Or Oria.
you could be better. We just need to cut into your brain a little more.
No. He doesn't want that. He wants...
He reaches for the room and accepts the invitation. ]
no subject
Hey.
[ The way he holds the lollipop makes him seem like he's from a cigarette advertisement when he takes it out of his mouth to greet him. After spinning it between his fingers, the candy goes back inside his mouth. ]
Did you manage to calm down? That last mission was quite something.
[ And then being repeatedly yelled at by their superior that their kette needed a third person replacement like usual. For Oria, it was just in one ear and out the other. He's so tired of it. ]
no subject
Um. I'm calm. Was it bad after I left?
[Like Sinclair had been taken away willingly and not flipped out the moment a soldier out their hands on him.
He looks at the candy. Oria ??]
no subject
I dunno. It looked like you wanted to bite someone despite willingly going with those soldiers.
[ Punctuated by a huff of a laugh before shoving his candy in Sinclair's mouth. He's still a bit down in the dumps because of Aria's death. Supposedly. Who knows what he's actually doing in reality at the moment. ]
no subject
I mean...biting people is bad. And causes more trouble. And if they have germs, that'd be gross.
[He says, as if he's learned this off by heart. He misses Aria, but for Oria...that was worse right? Because they were siblings.
Siblings...]
...they'll bring me back tomorrow. I've got a bit of a break now.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
2/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
no subject
And it seems like they've put the blame on the one person they can. They're lined up in front of military officials, including a few in a lab coat. The sight of the lab coat makes Sinclair flinch, and his gaze settles on something in the distance.
"Are you listening, subject 0011?"]
...that's not my name.
no subject
He has a name. It's Emil Sinclair. If you can't treat him with basic respect, you won't have any of mine either.
no subject
"Quiet, Severine. You don't understand the nature of equipment."
Sinclair flinches, looking down as his bravado fades and wars with rising resentment.
"But you are all soldiers. Your arrogance, the recklessness...you work with who we tell you! You follow our orders not anyone else. The failure of the dead sea mission is your responsibility!"]
no subject
Yeah, I get it. And you're a military dog. The sky is blue. So what? You're the one who's all arrogant, hiding behind the power of your superiors and depending on children to fight your wars for you. And what the hell are you doing in the meantime? Pushing papers? Waiting for your next order like a good dog? Shut the fuck up. You're fucking pathetic.
[ He glares while crossing his arms as if to hit him if he dares. ]
1/3
"And you brats think you're actually heroes? Let me tell you something, you're nothing without that," he jabs a finger towards the gauntlet. "Think you're little hot shits until you're a smear on the floor just like that stupid bitch who--"]
2/3
...shut up. [ The man groans, looking up and sees Sinclair standing there, shaking.
"You--"
Sinclair hits him again, hard. There's no gauntlet on his hand]
Shut your fucking mouth! Don't you dare talk about either of them like that--
[In a moment, Sinclair the soldier pinned to the floor, hitting him over and over again.
"Sinclair, stand down! This is insubordination," an older woman in military fatigues barks.
A man dark hair and glasses chuckles.
"We have a way to handle that." He motions to a helper, and they hand him a device. Someone shouts and then--]
3/3
"Make sure he didn't bite hjs tongue. It would be a shame Geroy's investment to go to waste because Limbus couldn't train its soldiers correctly.'
And what was simply going to be a standard disciplinary hearing has descended into something more dreadful.]
1/2
2/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
2/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
no subject
He is very pumped to go all out on training again, since he wanted to use the gauntlet so bad. Katherine trains with them. The coach notifies that Katherine will be sorted into a new AOU group, but for now, she'll keep training with Striking Badgers. They'll find them a third member yet, the coach says anyway.
Oria is sparring with Katherine to help her learn how to defend herself when she's not covered by anyone. It's a great time and Katherine is learning a lot. She's really grateful and is about to say as such, but her eyes go wide.
"Oria, your nose is bleeding!"
Oria wipes it, shrugging it off. It's fine until it isn't when he wobbles midair and plummets. Sinclair catches Oria in time to prevent another incident and Katherine panics, saying that she didn't do anything that would cause Oria to suddenly be like this. They were just sparring with defensive instructions. Sinclair probably saw them. Nothing was weird about it.
Oria, unconscious, is taken to the infirmary, where Sinclair and the others find out that Oria isn't the only one with this problem. There are a few other Gauntlet Knights throughout the AOU faction that have been suffering the same, if not worse, symptoms. One of them is extremely pale and coughs up blood. The infirmary staff aren't sure if it's contagious, so they're working with hazmat suits and usher the visitors out. They need to be quarantined until they can confirm what is going on.
The AOU chatroom promptly explodes with worries and conspiracies that pop up more by the minute to the point it gets extreme overwhelming. Is it a targeted attack against AOU? Who would do such a thing? What about their wall of peace? Which nation is attacking them? Is it an insider? No one knows. No one can answer.
It's been three days. Still no news from the medical department. However, Sinclair receives the notification that Oria is online through Selcom. It must mean he's conscious now, finally, after several days. Will he text or try to find him in VR?
The illusion of choice is always apparent. ]
no subject
Being locked out of the medical ward while this was going on only made things worse.
As soon as he gets Oria's notification he bursts into the VR]
Oria...!
no subject
When he walks inside, he's greeted with Oria's avatar that is on the verge of fritzing out. His face can't be seen with how the reception signal seems to be extremely poor, though nowhere in the building was ever this bad. It must be connected to whatever is going on instead. If interacted with, the avatar doesn't respond.
It lasts for a while until the avatar disappears completely. Oria has logged out of VR, says the notification. ]
no subject
Sinclair reaches out much too late and in the emptiness of the VR room, he feels sick. If things got worse... if something happened to Oria and the others...
He sends a few messages to Oria again.
I hope you're okay
please be okay
And he'll see if there's anything he can dig up among the messages from the knights and if the guards are willing to share anything with him. He doesn't want to sit and wait anymore]
no subject
but i sti▓l have the sense to m▓ss▓ge you
[ At least Oria seems to be "okay" as in he's not dead from this mysterious outbreak. Sort of. His texts seem a little glitched too.
Unfortunately, all the other knights have are rumors and some of them quite fantastical. But there are rumors about a hacker hacking into your body and collecting information about you, including secrets and memories.
If Sinclair asks the guards, they heard that it's destructive for factory-borns, but Oria is presumed to have received one of the more concerning symptoms of the entire bunch. Was the guy that frail before? He seemed so healthy! ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Christmas Eve Comes
Ah. This was it. They had avoided it for so long. But the military strategists did know what they were doing.
A few of the knights look surprised. Terrified. Sinclair just thinks about the aching spot at the back of his neck.
But he can't quite hide the mutiny in his expression. He may be a tool loaned by Limbus Company and he's not sure how they made AOU settle things with the ABN other than the trade and declaration of Sinclair being private property of the company, but whatever it was, this general was furious whenever he looked Sinclair's way.
But since he couldn't touch Sinclair directly, he turns his attention to Katherine and makes a gesture. Before any of them can react, she goes crumbling to the floor with a sickening crack of a baton.]
Stop it!
[ Sinclair shouts only to face the muzzle of a gun. There's sobbing, tears...
"Silence! There will be no mercy for traitors!"
Ah...
"Next time it will be the firing squad. Fail to follow through on orders and..."]
no subject
If the option for the firing squad was actually available, you would have used it already. Your threat of pointing a gun at him [ He gestures over to Sinclair with his head because his arms are too busy being crossed with a dash of irritation in that body language. ] might as well not even happen either. You really don't know how any of us work, and that's why you failed to keep us in check and resort to brute force, because that's all you can think of.
[ Hello. Oria is here to do some verbal PvP again with you lot. The tone of his voice definitely sounds like he's looking down upon them for saying such a stupid thing. ]
Most of the Knights are commodity--a military resource. We already know that you're trying to use us for your own gain, but at least try to maximize our usage. A tool is only as good as its wielder, and you lot suck ass. Not to mention that we're valuable. How many Knights are even made a year? Not that many. I'm sure you want to shirk the nation's military might for the sake of your own ego for lording over some kids more than half your age.
So like, are you done yet? Can we move onto the real topic? If this is all you got, I'm leaving and taking the others with me. And you can't stop me.
no subject
He blinks, and bends down to help Katherine up, checking on her forehead. He ended up liking her after all, despite bristling at the attempts to force them into a team. After all, she was just a kid, like them.
The general's face twists. Oria isn't wrong. But then again...
"Further insubordination is going to result in a court martialing. You may have your name to protect you Severine, but don't think you can speak like this! Now, if you're all traitors, it doesn't matter if there are only a few of you." The soldier puts down his gun at the gesture from the general as files and images get projected around the room.]
no subject
He doesn't think his name protects him from anything--or at least, the things that are worth protecting. He looks at the projected images as he thinks about this for a while. The strategic formation that they call the phalanx is recommended for defensive type Knights to lead the way and protect the other Knights from danger. There seems to be three of these, each separated into groups with several kettes (and rotte). Slow, but steady. An impregnable shield that will run over anything in its path--what a phalanx represents. Of course, in an aerial battle this will be difficult to maneuver, which is why they have their own special formation that deviates just slightly.
In the meantime, the sniper Knights will be in formation behind the phalanx to aim at several group leaders. Attackers will be sent as decoys to scatter the opponent's defenses and take them out piece by piece. Every other role are given specific methods to handle the enemy and support their fellow Knights.
Katherine is bleeding a little from the head, but she does her best to pay attention to the briefing and gets out a handkerchief to wipe it from her head. She tries to assure Sinclair that she'll be fine, and thanks for helping her.
Luckily, Oria doesn't drone out the rest of the information, but one thing does catch his attention--it's when the general's assistant(?) steps forward at the end and mentions that there will be changes to the initial plan depending on who is still active at the end of the day. Oria thinks he's talking about possible traitors that the military will wipe out to serve as an example for the others or something, but Oria is unaffected.
So, be on your best behavior and let the AOU come out triumphant. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/3
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
2/2
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Christmas Day
Well, it's not like he had siblings to exchange presents with to begin with. Time with Aria and Oria had helped ease that instinctive disgust.
It's all wiped out the moment he looks into the eyes of a CoU Gauntlet Knight charging at him, screaming "just fucking die--!"
It's over in a flash of light.
Sinclair finds himself splattered with blood and viscera from the knight's body as it falls from the sky, his own gauntlet painted red, and he draws in a shaking gasp, as all too familiar carols of 'silent night' become a few voices quieter.
So that's how simple it was to take a life. Was it his instincts that decided that living was more important? He could have dodged that, used his shields, anything but...]
... why...why are we doing this? I don't, I can't...if this is what we need to do then--
[he shouldn't be a knight, he should have handed in his gauntlet and become a test subject if he didn't want to live too. But feeling this way was too late, too fucking late. Those were words that would get him sued into hell if that was said aloud and wasn't it funny it wasn't illegal for him to murder someone like that, but to say a few cusses just so--]
no subject
[ Oria shouts, trying to get Sinclair's attention so, so badly. Sinclair doesn't look good mentally and Oria would be the same, except he's not as shaken as he should be. Yes, he's killing fellow gauntlet knights. Yes, he's listening to the carols. It's not just because he can't sing, but he feels like it will lessen the guilt of shooting down a caroler. And another. And another. And another—
Though, to Oria's credit... he did try to fend them off without fatally injuring them, but he's been taking too much chip damage in the process to his shield. He's not sorry that he wants to live and will do things that will ensure that, so it might be time to change tactics. ]
Get a hold of yourself!
[ He tries to grab his arm, even as there are more children plunging below, their lives long lost before they hit any sort of surface. ]
no subject
Sinclair's eyes are wide, almost unseeing when he glances over to meet Oria's gaze]
How can I...when all we're doing is killing people we're supposed to care about?
[His chest heaves a little, but his body is still moving on instinct, shields coming up to protect them from a barrage of bullets]
And the people responsible, the people that want this the most, are just sitting there watching.
[His arm moves up again, seemingly of its own accord. Light begins to gather]
I don't want to die. But I don't want them to die either.
no subject
Emil, stop. Look. Listen. Look at me. No setting off atomic bombs. None of that. We're going to make it out alive.
[ If it was everyone else versus them, Oria would side with Sinclair. He's already shown that once and he's not afraid to show it again.
Also, if Sinclair isn't showing signs of stopping, Oria will slap him. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)