Description: Now that the King of Fighters distraction is done and over with, it's time for Shadaloo to once again concentrate on taking over the world. Vega addresses most of his minions and, after telling them how incredible he is, sets them loose upon the world. Also, Juri is given access to lots and lots of explosives. There had better BE a world to take over when she's done.
Shadaloo's army is not what it may have once been. What would, at one point, be a swarm of thousands of gaudily-uniformed men all standing in impeccable rows is down to a mere few hundred. The chamber that everyone's convened in is a large one, wide and tall to accomodate vehicles of all sorts. On either side, armored buggies and tanks line the walls, and down by the end, small fighter plans meant for a mere handful of passengers. The floor is a sturdy thing of concrete with painted strips and dashes indicating the myriad paths meant for the assorted modes of transportation.
Down near one end, a stand has been constructed--or rather, pulled out of storage--with steps leading up from either end. Massive banners with the organization's logo hang from the ceiling, lengths of fabric that must be no less than twenty feet across each! In the center of the 'stage', a single podium sits: a twisted thing of angular steel plates that looks excessively spartan. It's this podium which Vega himself is walking toward, face forward despite the cacophonous roar of admiration from the gathered masses...
Of these masses, there have been a number of people whose presence is not simply requested, but demanded. Juri, first and foremost, had been given her message in the form of one of the larger lackies; a private with no future in the military, but tough and sturdy and oddly willing whatever abuse she may have inflicted upon him. Funny how he looks just like the same man that died in the King of Fighters tournament... The Widow was the only one whose invitation was handled...specially. He doesn't need to resort to such things to get his trusted, /loyal/ dolls to attend.
Coming up to the podium, Vega runs his hands up the harsh edges of its top, his face adorned with a massive grin that spreads from nearly ear to ear. The adoration of his tools delights him like little else; to have his ego fed is the height of what his twisted remnants of a heart would call pleasure. And then he lifts his hand. Quickly, the roar that reverberates about the massive room quells, echoes fading away from those smart enough to obey.
Cammy is too restrained to be noisy with her adulation of the Master, so she doesn't contribute to the cheers of the troopers. But she is at the front row with all the other dolls, at attention and saluting, the lately rather morose Killer Bee rather exceptionally happy thanks to standing in the shadow of the Giant Chin. Smiling a rare huge smile.
When the Master indicates for silence, she shifts to an at ease position, and tilts her head slightly, gaze fixed upon him. Really she doesn't care too much about what he's actually going to say, because she already knows she'll agree with it. She just likes to see Vega in such a good mood. And this past year she's even been a bit worried about him on occasion, he seemed positively ill a few months ago after all.
The Brute.
Juri did not like him the first time she met him. She likes him even less now he's apparently some type of zombie. A zombie with no concept of pain... or worse, a zombie that /delights/ in the torments she can deliver. And oh how she tried her best to deliver them. The man only shivered in delight! Not delight of pain, which she can understand, but simply /delight/. Waves of disgust rolled through Juri, her stomach turning cartwheels. Finally she accepted. /Reluctantly/.
So to say Juri was none-too-thrilled to be summoned in this way is well established.
So that is how we arrive here and now, with Juri standing near the line of dolls ... with that big man standing behind her. His nose is broken. SHE broke it. All the more disturbing in that it is a squarish metallic facsimile due to half of his face missing and replaced with a crude cybernetic facade. His massive hand is curled around her right shoulder, and the still-human parts of her face are ... flushed. In comparison Juri is pale: Much paler than normal even. She looks like she may vomit at any moment.
A look that only grows more obvious as the crowd erupts in applause and Vega appears, grinning from ear to ear and looking for all the world like he is King of the World. She doesn't applaud of course, and nor does her 'companion' tasked with holding her in place as he is. She shoots a glare toward Cammy and the other dolls as well. OF COURSE he would put her near them too. That fucking bastard. She should of killed him when she had a chance.
She shifts her feet as if to move but the large man grips her shoulder harder. Almost reflexively she stomps on his foot, /hard/, and in response he moans in delight. Another wave of nausea runs through the Broken Doll's form, but at least she is obeying her order to stay.
For now.
Standing to attention with the others dolls and off centre towards the ;left of the podium, arrayed as the Dolls tended to be in a familiar order. Animate and enthusiastic than usual Juni's salute is crisp and perfectly synchronised with the other women dressed similarly. She doesn't smile or visibly brighten even when looking up at the podium and the godlike being signalling for quiet., relaxing into a parade rest she does cast and eye backwards with a faint twist of her head glancing at the troopers behind who were slow to quiet which they take as a cue to do so.
Gauntleted hands clasped behind her back and staring up at the podium she hangs on every word, both expectant and curious like many of the other Shadowloo personnel.
Why, of COURSE Vega is in a good mood! Whyever would he not be? Why, not even Juri's having spared her messenger can get him down today. The fact that he's doing his /job/ and thoroughly weirding the odd little orphan out is just icing on the cake.
His hand lowers now, fingers once more curling tightly about the edge of the podium's top. He stands tall and sure, his cloak a charcoal-colored decoration that dangles obediantly behind him. There is nothing at all that can go wrong today. Nothing at all.
"I stand before you as your leader. Your master." His voice carries through strangely clearly, despite not having a microphone before him. Telepathic words pierce through the tightest of plugs. He WILLS himself to be heard. And he continues. "Your GOD." The rank and file once more explode into a fervor most zealous, a rare chance to break from the stringent protocol usually expected of them. "And now!" As the clamor escalates, so too does his voice to overcome it. "Now, the savior of this wretched, mishandled world!" Both of his hands lift and extend outward, the motion drawing a billowing of his cloak. "Foiler of false gods who would dare to set foot upon my land! MY territory!"
As he speaks, he paces toward one edge of the stage, hamming his act up with balled fists and excessive boasting. Indeed, in the safety of his own home, in the company of his own men does he claim credit for the events on that misbegotten island. Not once is there mentioned the aid of another...but who is to tell him otherwise? The only other person that is present is vastly outnumbered...
Cammy has no idea what he's on about really - that if she's even concentrating on his words at all. Though she did wonder where Sagat has been lately, she did rather like Sagat after all, and he is rather conspicuous by his absence in here. Thai giants are hard to miss.
But it doesn't bother the Doll much, she just beams happily. She likes it when the Boss hams it up, and declares his awesomeness in front of the serried ranks of thugs. He's so obviously having a good time!
This is pretty much the doll equivalent of a family picnic or something.
Really it's amazing at all that Juri can hear anything at all over the grinding of her own teeth! The man really does inspire quite a flurry of emotions within the young Korean woman. Feelings of murder, hatred, disgust. If it weren't for the man attached to the arm attached to the hand firmly gripping her shoulder she'd very likely feel nauseous due to the man on stage instead.
She looks around briefly for Sagat as well. Shit. The one person she could trust to be equally disgusted by this display, and of course he's nowhere to be found. She genuinely hopes he's dead but at least he could have made himself fucking USEFUL beforehand. Fine, let this chinny buffoon caper around on stage and...
'Foiler of false gods who would dare to set foot upon my land!'
Juri's jaw falls open. Why of all th- no, of course he would. Of course he would claim credit for SAVING THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD when he went off for a nap or something, leaving her and some random fire starting asshole to face the End of the World by themselves. Once again her eyes shift around and this time they fall upon Cammy. Cammy, with a face so deliriously happy it's clear she's eating this shit up with a spoon and asking for seconds. Thirds more than likely.
And that's when Juri starts laughing. A soft, slow one at first that slowly builds until her entire body starts shaking! She really can't help it, you see. She is finally releasing shrieking gales of laughter that threaten to outpitch any thunderous applause Vega is likely receiving!
Thankfully for Vega there is a large man with his hand on her shoulder that is just waiting for the word to gag the bothersome Korean bitch with another equally meaty hand that smells of something rotten (or rotting).
As one of those who guard the Master of Shadow The Dolls are usually privy to more than the usual rank and file of the organization and but the roaring of the crowds is not lost on Juni, she experiences a moment of confusion that their fervour and reactions should increase so much more when for herself viewing Master Vega at this level wass normal and furthering his agendas her purpose. Disdain for the cheering men twists the corners of her mouth into a sullen looking if not childish frown, their loyalty should already have been this strong. The small blonde haired Doll does not assume to even comprehend the actions or intent of her Master and instead watched fascinated and wondering what will happen next.
She doesn't have long to wait as the building of a laugh, somehow piercing through the waves of cheering and of her sisters Juni is the one to visibly turn her head and stare rather than surreptitiously observing as the others must be, the men continue to cheer and iots difficult enough to spot the source with attempting to be subtle about it.
Boy, does Vega ever like to hear himself speak. Juri's laughter is either not noticed or actually drowned out by the cheers around her. Only when one of the dictator's scientists on the sidelines notices the girl laughing does he spur the semi-revived Brute to cover her mouth. Beyond that, a few minutes go by for his rendition of the end of the King of Fighters tournament: Goenitz, would-be diety, amassing the powers of chi to his command. "Chi!" His fist pounds on the metal structure before him, and surprisingly, it maintains its shape in its entirety. "What fools they are, thinking that they could ever best true power--MY power!" Again, his fist rises and comes down. There's a metallic clang that rings out into the room as his wristguard slams against it, but again, nothing appears damaged. However, about his body forms a pale violet hue. Flame-like licks dart away from his outline, dying out as soon as they're born. His eyes take on the distincting color as well.
"But once again, we see that nothing can stop us. NOTHING!" The swell of Psycho Power dies down once again as his hand reaches out. The man's massive arm sweeps across all present, gesturing to the rows of uniforms. "I have here the finest soldiers ever trained, an unstoppable and frightening force." The hand lowers and now the left rises, this time gesturing toward the dolls, all set in their impeccable row, a strange mix of leotards and fashionable hairstyles. Perhaps he had heard of what became of Quon--or maybe he'd simply been informed that he hadn't been around his assassins as of late. Whatever the reason, he seems to bear just a /bit/ more pride when looking at Cammy. That's not to say that Juri is a slouch either; they really are some of his greatest masterpieces. "My assassins, deadlier than any other, second to none in their loyalty." And then...Juri. His eyes fix upon her directly and damned if his smile doesn't grow ever wider.
/You have questions./ He speaks to her and her alone, the words forcing themselves into her mind. /You didn't really think that I'd let someone like -him- kill me before you got your chance, did you?/
"And here, the Queen of Fighters, her throne set upon the mangled bodies of the world's best brawlers!"
Strange. It almost sounds like praise.
"And NOW!" His right hand raises, fist clenched in a tight, massive ball. "After all these months of planning and plotting, it's time to remind the world to whom they should truly worship; by whose hand their insignificant lives were spared slavery under one unfit to lead them!" His lifted hand snaps outward, pointing off into the distance. "Today, we start with the maggots that scurry about the underworld; those that would seek to foil my plans, to take that which is mine! Rival gangs, mafia lords, even the proud Triad worms; not one will survive! Drive them to feast upon the carcass of their outdated traditions; hound them until the very last man is slaughtered and burned!"
The soldiers are REALLY getting into this. They've been forced to train and train and train for months, laying low and not seeing much action, but now...well, not Vega has apparently declared a war on all rivals. They've been waiting for this chance, to go out and wreak their havoc.
It's true, Cammy decided in the end that there's only space for one man in her life. Or perhaps god would be a better description - at least it would suit Vega's ego to think so. And right now at least she is truly thinking of nobody else but His Evilness up there on the podium.
At least until Juri's laughter can be faintly heard. The doll glances over at her, with a slight frown, and an eyeroll. Bah. Trust her to ruin this joyous occasion. She always ruins /every/ joyous occasion.
Cammy turns back to Vega, and tries to blank Juri out.
There is the Queen of Fighters! Being manhandled by the Brute, a man easily three times her size. A man she could easily break into dust if she wasn't so disgusted by him that even his touch makes her want to take a shower. That is in itself saying something. It would seem that Shadaloo has managed to produce something that even an unrepentent monster like Juri Han cannot handle.
Though there are always limits.
Juri reaches hers when Vega speaks into her mind. That is something she enjoys almost as little as being touched physically by the Brute: The fact that man, that PRESENCE is inside of her mind. Worming around. Oozing. Festering. Almost without thinking Juri unleashes a wave of Psycho Power directly into the Brute behind her! Far too small to be seen if you weren't looking for it, though the Brute suddenly stumbles back from her gasping, shuddering in pleasure. The arm the was holding her mouth shut received the brunt of it and seems ... twisted somehow. Broken, almost certainly, by the flash of purple energy.
Her eyes stare coolly back at Vega now, both hands firmly placed on her hips. She speaks into his mind as well with eyes narrowed as thin as slits.
/I guess I should be thankful./
Should be, but clearly isn't. Were that long belt of hers an actual tail she'd be lashing it like a cat in a fury. Instead she takes a moment to grimace at the thunderous applause from all around her. She would shoot the entire crowd a glare meant for each one individually, if she could, but for now she simply settles for whoever should cross her gaze. Finally she gives Vega another message... though this time accompanied with a small smile?
/Well ... at least all of that sounds like a good time./
She licks her pale lips.
Juni, unable to get a clear line of sight to the source of the laughter visibly shifts her head a little while attempting to spot the source of the disturbance but then returns to facing front as if an unspoken command had rippled through from the other Dolls. Juni returns to face forward parade rest and focuses upon the speech before Master Vega once again speaks and she like the others feels a great sense of pride as he specifically mentions them, a faint stab of envy as he focuses upon Cammy but her brows draw down as her addresses someone-Juri Han, the source of the laughter earlier becomes apparent, the Prototype Doll is here. As the speech continues Juni suspects and attempts to persuade herself there will be important work enough for all the Dolls, perhaps even the original Prototype.
Such a simple woman, his failed Doll. Pepper upon her hedonistic pleasures and she's content...and thus, relatively easy to direct. The fact that she's quiet about the truth of the tournament is no small amount of amusement on his behalf. While their minds are connected, his conceit is overwhelmingly evident. As always, everything eventually concedes to his will...
With that, the bulk of his army is sent off. The men are eager--exceedingly so, even if it disgusts the much more highly-favored Juni--and they march off to prepare their things. Of course, their commanders will direct them, order them, regulate the damage; even Vega knows better than to send a few hundred men out for random chaos. No, it has to be controlled, subdued. Targets will be given. And who would lead them?
"Cammy. Juni." Vega steps down from the stage, walking down the line of his leotard-adorned tools. His hands are tucked behind his back and under his cloak, one hand curled around the other's wrist. "I want you two to personally oversee your own squads. Some targets will require a bit more...subtlety." The ravenous smile he'd held earlier is gone, but he's not frowning. Now that the show is over for the lesser minions, it's time to address his more competent underlings seriously. "You can do that for me, can't you?"
For the moment, Juri is ignored...but he does look at the Brute just once. The damage to him is actually rather impressive, and were his skeleton not all but replaced by some sort of titanium-based alloy, he'd have crumpled long ago. One has to wonder just how much of him has been replaced! A spark fires forth from a tear in synthetic flesh, prompting the dark Lord to grant a nod to one of the scientists. A button is pressed on the slim pad-like device he'd been carrying, and then, the Brute just...powers down. His shoulders droop and his knees buckle, but he stops short of falling over. More importantly, Juri herself is now free of her 'chaperone'. "I need this thing repaired and ready for our show next week. I do NOT wish to be disappointed." The stern warning is granted with the expected affirmative pandering, and like that, this...strange device not unlike a forklift with an Iron Maiden (sans spikes) drives forth to snap the poor experiment up and whisk him away!
Gasp. Cammy is actually being addressed. Personally. She snaps out of her happy reverie when she realises that Lord Vega actually said something she needs to ponder. Though what to say is easy enough to work out.
She gives Vega a crisp salute. "Yes, Lord Vega!" she recites, and then, when dismissed, files out, along with her squad of assigned minions.
Maybe burning down Rust's apartment will suffice? Hopefully Rust is a target, right?
A simple woman with simple tastes, or at least Juri seems. She is more than content to let Vega believe that of her at least, for he is a simple man of simple tastes as well. They are both such smugly arrogant peas in the same psychotic pod. Though she craves destruction and he craves domination, really, are the two so different in the end? The end of a body or the end of a will to resist. In the end something is destroyed, something is snuffed out.
The Shadaloo Spider doesn't even seem to mind when she isn't given a squad to oversee. Not that she cares. She is not the sort of person to enjoy ordering men around, after all. This is acceptable to her. She looks toward the creature she had just demolished with her mind and seems to find his state much less acceptable.
Oh she had hurt him alright, but he for all the world seems to be enjoying it. Getting off on it. He doesn't scream in terror or pain, but in delight and pleasure. It's even more of a relief when he is finally shut off by a remote. Her eyes /mark/ that remote. Oh yes, she will find a way to secret that handy little device away. And then find a deep dark hole to march that Brute in and leave him and its control device there. FOREVER.
When Cammy responds to Vega's dispensation with eagerness, the failed Doll sniffs loudly in disgust. A cold laugh escapes her lips before she shakes her head, "Children with their toys. Really, I wonder if you have the guts to send men to die for you. I do." Juri licks her lips, "Of course, I'd march them all in a meat grinder if I could. I wonder what kind of noises they'd make..." A soft, pleasured sigh, "But really kitten, you're too soft hearted. I'm sure you'll fuck it up somewhere." And she'll be there to laugh.
Unperturbed by the explosion of activity from the dismissed men and the Juni watches thepodium and Lord Vegas location though her attention is directed towards the locationj of the biggets threats in the area which would be Juri Han. When summoned the little blonde haired moves without hesitation and though slightly behind and to the side of Cammy in deference her salute is crisp enough to quiver for the brief moment it is held. She answers with an "Affirmative" cool voice bordering on the robotic, Saluting again unlike Cammy she turns on her heel to collect her men and wonders absently about a target. Perhaps she should consult with Juli about this as the other was far more used to command but that would have to wait until later. Of the pair Juni had no illusions as to which was the more competent commander. Juni bristles at Juris not because of any insult intended towards she or her sisters but at the impudence the woman was displaying in front of her master, as a Doll, even a failure still her creator and reason to exist,
At least Cammy seems eager, but then...she always is, isn't she? The rest of the Dolls are dispersed with a wave of his hand. Most of them are eager to get back to their games back in the Doll chambers; after all, they weren't given squads to direct! No, they'll be his personal entourage for the coming days...
"Excellent... Soon, I shall finally have what's coming to me." Juni is given one of those toothy grins that would make a crocodile feel nervous. Surely, "what he has coming to him" can only be good things.
And now, Juri. His boots click upon the ground as he stands before he. He towers over her generally, but with him so elated today, he feels...larger. Not looks; it's just that his presence is so overwhelming today, fed by his nearly boundless ego. "I would have never thought we'd find something that you'd be /good/ at...but now I find your particular talents useful." As the scientists and Dolls and soldiers have all left the two more or less alone, he speaks more freely. More directly, even. "I'll be brief: spreading chaos is something that--" His words are low and quiet, muttered as though against his will. "Despite your flaws...you manage to do well. In fact, I want to encourage this behavior." Oh, is he giving her PERMISSION to be herself? How terribly magnanimous. How WONDERFUL. How...he extends an arm, presenting to the Spider a very particular keycard. She's free to vent and bitch all she wants, until she looks at it.
It seems that Juri, in all of Vega's infinite wisdom, has been given full access to the first-level armory. You know...the one with the mid-grade explosives.
Juri gives Juni a tooth-filled smile. Not what anyone would call friendly, by any means... predatory is more its alike. In fact there is a bit of an unnerving resemblence between Juni and Vega at that moment. Two people as different as can be in many ways, but both possessed of unrelenting evil and cruely.
Though if you value having a jaw to smile with, it is probably best not to point out any similarities to Juri herself.
That cruel smile fades when she sees Vega turn toward her, and is soon replaced with that same indignant frown that comes so naturally to her. She offers no salute, she does not stand at attention, and if anything those violet colored eyes of her stares up at Vega with a sense of challenge. The woman is absolutely insane: She looks like she's ready to take on the big man right here, right now. And she would. Or at least, try to.
Chaos is something she is good at, and her eyes seem to tell Vega that he does not need to tell /her/ that. Even the fact that he seems to idly comment on her lack of use in other matters only brings a faint smirk that soon fades away to that earlier frown. "Encourage." She mutters dryly in response to Vega's own words, and then looks down at the keycard being offered to her.
Her eyes slide open to their full wideness. "Explosives." Her lips quirk slowly into that sadistic grin of hers and she snatches the card away before he can take it back. Oh yes, she'll have /fun/ with this too. "Hm. Well, not like I was planning on doing anything else anyway." Juri's tone is as menacing and seductive as always, in equal measure, "Though ... a few bombs here and there can't hurt." Juri's left eye, the Feng Shui Engine, looks up directly in Vega's face. The eye narrows again and she speaks low, "And for all of my 'flaws' and 'failures' and other shit you keep liking to throw in my face all the fucking time, I did win that god damn tournament. Not you, showing up at the last minute to prance about in that stupid cape of yours and get blown to who knows where."
Juri's taunting doesn't even phase the would-be god. He knows what happened. She knows what happened. What she /doesn't/ know is where exactly he went...and he would never, EVER tell her that he'd simply expended so much power that an immediate escape was his only option. And yet... "Yes... Next time, I'll stick around to help you finish off the trash that I'd already left on death's door, shouldn't I?" Ah, but HE doesn't know about the dealings with Orochi himself. He thinks everything ended with Goenitz. Ah, isn't a mutual lack of information wonderful?
With a sweep of his arm, Vega pulls his cloak around himself and begins to walk toward the nearest exist. The floor under the stage parts and sinks info the base, even as the grandoise banners are rolled up into the ceiling. "Just try not to blow up yourself up," is the only bit of advice he cares to offer, speaking without even looking back. He's done, by the look of it. The question is, will Juri let him have the last word?
While Vega is talking, Juri quietly tucks the card away. WHERE she managed to tuck it is a question that may entertain many of the idle conversations of soldiers here at the base. When Juri isn't in earshot. And she can't possibly pick up anything with her voodoo psychic powers. Once it is out of her hands though, Juri takes a moment to dramatically wipe her hands on one of the loose white pant legs. Oh yes, all the while watching Vega to make sure he knows that she is wiping her hand clean because she feels /dirty/ holding anything he himself has touched.
One wonders then how she feels about that eye?
For her part though, the Spider refuses to inform Vega about Orochi. Not that she knows what he might do with the information, but she genuinely doesn't care to find out. Let him stew in his own misconceptions or whatever. Her eyes watch the stage disappearing with mild interest. "So much money..." She mutters, a tad bitter sounding. Of course, he spends so much of his damn ill gotten goods on making fancy stages appear out of nowhere to pump up his ego in a room full of sycophants.
Juri smirks at the request for her not to blow herself up. Was that concern? No it was an underhanded insult. "What, and let myself die before killing you?" Her voice is low, her tone dark. "I wouldn't give you the pleasure."
With that, Juri turns on her heels and walks toward another door way. Toward the stairs, of course, but she'll be damned if she goes through the same doorway Vega uses. EVEN IF it would be more convenient. Screw it!
Log created on 18:31:40 09/10/2011 by Vega, and last modified on 21:52:24 09/10/2011.