Searching for Mischief

He had been here before --just briefly. Being first teleported to this side of the Nexus upon his capture, the child had forgotten the place that had been where he took his first step in the space ship. However, the Lasombra had yet to return to this area that was the Second-In-Command's domain and haven. Until now.

"SIC's" side was a relatively restricted area, signs often warning that those who entered did so at their own risk. In addition, the fierce and disturbing assistant to the Dictator inspired haunting feelings in the minds of others. As such, the region under its control seemed to be even more untouched by the presence of the prisoners on the ship. This gave it a touch of mystery as to what it all held. Who knew what lavish treasures and secrets the Second-In-Command held here?

The rest of the ship was fine, of course, but this sector was too intriguing to leave it in its virgin state. This, combined with Athanasios's compulsion for taking what he wanted, led the cainite to venture to the Second-In-Command's side.

Carefully walking through the corridors, Thanos Ephah kept an eye out for any possible danger. And chickens. He still was not sure if all of the foul had been entirely rounded up. This reminded the ten year old of the figure SIC referred to as "that FUCKER Johnson". Was Johnson on the ship?

Thoughts such as these floated around in the young Sabbat's mind, their answers craved for.

Sic was cozy in their bed, in their quarters. They were having dreams, pleasant only to themself. Others would find the dreams to be the door into insanity and strangeness and FULL of chickens. Sic smiled gleefully as they put another stab into some faceless figure in their dream. Sic had been glad to realize that Freddy the Dick was no longer lurking in dreams, and had caught up on some MUCH needed sleep. Until a SMALL tiny interruption came upon them.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! CUT THAT DICK DOWN TO SIZE! INTRUDER ALERT!

Sic jolted up with a snort, looking around, disoriented, before stumbling out of bed and to a camera monitor, just one of many lining the walls. That particular monitor had a bright, shining light above it, to let them know just WHERE the intruder was. They scowled as they recognized the figure. They pulled their black cloak on and put the hood up. Typing the coordinates into their watch swiftly, they disappeared from that spot...and reappeared behind Athanasios.

"'Fuck you doing here? Haven't you heard that curiosity killed the fucking CAT?! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!!" They bellowed, voice managing to still stay monotone. They'd never kill a cat of course, but they'd DEFINITELY kill this little fucker.

The hair on the nape of the child's neck stood up as the Second-In-Command appeared behind him. Just how the entity managed to pull that off, the Lasombra was unaware. Although he knew a variety of vampiric disciplines could have certainly pulled that stunt, the cainite felt confident in stating SIC was not a kindred or any other variety of vampire. It seemed to have some other nature --one the child learned in occult could not determine. It was a mystery to him what the Second-In-Command was and it would probably stay that way for awhile.

Abruptly stopping his gait as the thing hollered at him in rage, Athanasios continued to face forward as he quickly devised a response.

"I am merely walking around, Second in Command Mister. I really don't see what the big deal is. And please don't be so vulgar around young kids like me; it sets a bad example." little Ephah calmly replied, completely still.

Perhaps the being would allow him to continue --however unlikely it was. Still, it was a test of SIC's reaction to the boy that was equally valuable; if you ever wanted to learn how far you could push someone's buttons, you had to try it yourself.

Sic tapped their booted foot as the kid explained why he was here. They just snorted a bit and narrowed their eyes with a dull look. This kid was FREAKY. They didn't trust him one bit. They didn't want this freaky kid or ANYONE in THEIR territory. DID NO ONE READ THE SIGNS?!??!?!??

"Its VERY CLEARLY written EVERYWHERE to stay out. And I'll cuss at you all I want you little fuck. I was cussing like this by the time I was 7. Who CARES about a bad example? As long as you stay out of my way and out of here, you could go do some CRACK for all I care." Sic grumbled, before getting behind the kid and shoving him towards the exit, which was a ways away.

"STOP coming here!"

Well, that didn't work. This called for alternative measures. Athanasios would not be deterred by this minor setback; his avarice would not accept failure. There was always a way --if one looked hard enough. It was merely a question of perception, alertness, and wit.

Swiftly twisting and wiggling out of the Second-In-Command's grasp, the Lasombra stood firm and crossed his arms as he held a gaze into the eyes under the hood. The being's red eyes waned and waxed with an eerie glow.

"I am not leaving and you cannot force me to stay out." the young boy affirmed, turning his head to the side.

The child quickly licked his lips. "Besides, I'm not going to do anything bad; I wouldn't dare cause another fiasco. I merely want to look around. What is the problem with that?" the cainite pressed, lightening his tone.

Hopefully, this effort would succeed. There was always more persuasive methods should the need rise.

The kid wiggled out of their arms and Sic growled, glaring at the kid as he tried 'explaining himself'. Sic grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and drew him close, filed teeth gleaming.

"I am the SECOND IN COMMAND OF THIS FUCKING SHIP. THAT MEANS I CAN MAKE YOU LEAVE, MAKE YOU MY BITCH, HELL, I COULD RAPE YOU AND IT WOULDN'T FUCKING MATTER!!" Sic growled, chest heaving as the anger built up. Their drew the boy closer. "THE PROBLEM, IS THAT YOU GUYS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. AT ALL. THIS IS MY TERRITORY. MY SIDE OF THE FUCKING SHIP. STAY ON YOUR SIDE!! IS THAT SO HARD TO ASK?!?!??!??! YOU HAVE A TON OF SHIT TO DO ON THE MAIN DECK!" They placed the kid back down on the ground, eyes glowing a deeper shade of red than ever.

"LEAVE....now......before I fucking KILL you, you fucking brat."

Athanasios's complexion remained still during the Second-In-Command's raging fury. Not even blinking or moving a muscle on his face as he was placed back on the metallic floor after getting a thorough tongue-lashing. Obviously, the ten year old would get nowhere with charisma; SIC had made it clear that it would not allow any intruders in his side of the ship. However, the greedy child wanted what he couldn't have.

"I understand, Second-In-Command. I should go." the Lasombra somberly muttered, his visage turning to one of disappointment and dread. He turned around and started walking away from the demonic entity, hanging his head.

Suddenly, the cainite stopped. He slowly twisted his head to profile with SIC's horrifying look.

"But you really should let me in your territory, you know." Thanos Ephah stated, transforming his words into an unnoticeable command with the power of Domination. If he succeeded, he would force the hooded creature to obey his order.

The member 'Athanasios Ephah' has done the following action : Dice Roll

'Attack Coin' :

Sic grinned smugly, glad to have gotten the kid to go away. FINALLY, that SMUG irritating little kid would be OUT of their side of this fucking ship.

Athanasios Ephah wrote:

you really should let me in your territory

Sic's mind went blank, as it received the command. Sic's face contorted from a blank slate to annoyance. They stepped aside, opening the path to the kid.

"Go on in, I guess......but stay out of my quarters!" Sic grumbled. Different from Kev's mental 'pushing', Sic had no idea they had just been given a command.

Athanasios internally smirked as he manipulated the Second-In-Command. Perfect This was absolutely excellent. With that out of the way, the ten year old would be able to explore to his dead heart's content. These feeble mortals were no match for a cainite. Even the deranged and mighty SIC was low before him. This is what made vampires superior. Thus, it was the Sabbat's ideology to not try and pretend to have the pathetic humanity these people had. Still, it was not the time to show his nature to this ship. First, he had to become a necessity in the cogs of the Nexus.

However, this was all plans for ahead. He would ponder this later; he had to utilize the opportunity at hand to its fullest.

The young Ephah cheerfully smiled as he walked away from the Second-In-Command.

The Lasombra continued his adventure in the odd creature's territory, searching for anything interesting.

Link scooted along on his stomach, crawling through what had to be the longest tunnel he'd ever been in. He'd found the entrance to it and had ducked down and crawled inside with giving it a second thought. There was bound to be something at the other end, or maybe some rupees hidden inside. Either way, it was something to do and some place to explore, and as everyone knows, a young boy with nothing to do is likely to try find something to do, and Link was no exception.

The young Hylian rounded a tight corner and found himself facing a grate. He would have liked to have kicked it out, but there was no way he was going to be able to turn around in the tiny space inside the tunnel. Putting his hands against it, he pushed, hoping it might give. With a creak the thin metal gave and the grating popped out of the whole, falling to the floor with a clang.

Link poked his head out, and looked around. He was in a part of the ship he had not yet been in.

Athanasios was walking down the hallway with a grin, still smug with how he handled the Second-In-Command.

creak

On its descent, the metal sheet first hit the ten year old boy on his head before falling to the ground with a clatter.

The child saw stars of light briefly cross over his vision as he felt a sharp pain square in the noggin. Squinting his eyes and rubbing the top of his skull, the Lasombra looked around to determine what had caused the spontaneous injury. On the floor was a metal grate --having just appeared moments before. Why was this on the ground? Where had it come from? The only rational theory was that it fell from a vent. Tilting his head back to look up, the child spotted something poking out of a hole above.

The cainite's body tensed up, preparing for defensive maneuvers should the unidentified thing be hostile. He had encountered a worm in an abandoned room before; who knew what was in the vents?

However, with further inspection Thanos managed to notice that it was a familiar appearance.

"Link? Is that you?" the mafia boss asked, confused.

Link noted that this end of the tunnel was not at floor level like the other end was, it was in the air. As he looked down he saw... Thano! And from the slightly stunned look on the other boys face and the location of the grate Link had just dropped it must have hit him.

"Ah! Are you okay?" He asked, trying briefly to figure out how he was going to get down while in his current position, be for giving up and just falling out, hands in front of him. As he hit the floor he curled into a roll and sat up, facing the opposite wall. He leapt to his feet and hurriedly turned to face his friend.

Smiling as the other boy effortlessly emerged from the opening, Athanasios felt that there was no longer a threat at hand. He loosened up in the company of his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing here? Sneaking around the Second-In-Command's side again too? Boy! I haven't been here since that last time we were here with the chickens. I still don't know if we caught them all." the Lasombra babbled, words flowing from his mouth. The child was not outgoing to many people, but when he was, he was a fountain of speech.

"So as you were saying?" the boy asked again, remembering he had posed a question.

Link smiled as Thano appeared to be perfectly fine. Perhaps it hadn't hit him too hard, that was good. "Yeah, I wonder if we did find all the chickens..." Link laughed a little, looking around as he one might come strolling into the hallway as they stood there. They hadn't been given a reward for finding the ones they had so far, so Link suspected there might still be a few running around. That was a sure way to tell if you had finished a job--when you got something for it.

Link looked up at the hole he'd just come from. It was far to high to get back out of, unless he could find a block to push over here. The boy hero was somewhat disappointed he hadn't found a treasure at the other end of the tunnel, but an unexplored area was a good find too.

The young Lasombra tilted his head as he happily chuckled with Link. It was nice to have a companion with him; friends slightly dampened the ravenous hunger inside the boy. However, Thanos was not completely used to socializing with mere mortals. Then again, the question of why socialize at all still hung in the child's mind. Why was it again that he didn't just wreak havoc on the ship and usurp command?

The Dictator

Trying to beat that figure would be suicidal in this current state. The odds were stacked against him; the Dictator held all the cards. And with the Second-In-Command right beside him, Athanasios was in even less of a position to strike. No, now was not the right time. He would have to be starved of power for now.

His expression shifting into one of concern and seriousness. The cainite wanted to get back to business.

"So Link, ever thought about what other stuff SIC has laying around here? I bet there is something he wants to hide." The ten year old whispered, seeing if he could catch Link's interest.

Link pondered this for a moment. It seemed likely that there were things hidden in the part of the ship, secrets about what was going on, cool new items he could use to stop whatever evil was threatening everyone. And, while he hadn't been really threatened by SIC, he didn't trust them. They acted suspiciously, and Link was sure by now that there were parts of this story he wasn't being told. Why did that always seem to happen? Still, he was up for a good exploration of this part of the ship, who knows what might be here.

"Yeah," The green-clad boy agreed simply, blue eyes bright with the excitement of an adventure. "Maybe we can find out what's really going on here." Or at least find a key to the secret. It was worth a try, though if SIC caught them it would be a problem, so they'd have to be sneaky about their exploring.

Thanos nodded at Link, agreeing that they needed to figure out what was actually happening. This place was still mysterious in many ways. Spaceships were not usually considered mysterious but the Nexus definitely was. There were secrets within this ship just waiting to be uncovered. With power lying just beyond information, the Lasombra wanted to find out as much as he could about the Nexus Dawn. Luckily, he had Link with him on this. Perhaps their combined efforts could lead to a discovery.

"So now I guess we need to figure out what we should do. We could just search from room to room until we find something odd." the mafia boss suggested, contemplating their current options. "That is unless we have something specific in mind."

The problem was that the two had little to no clue about what was held in the Second-In-Command's side of the ship. Its contents were shrouded in darkness.

Link usually just checked in every room he came across, all that were unlocked at least. And if one was locked, he remembered where it was and came back after finding it's key. Of course, finding their way through this maze-like ship would be difficult with not map, but Link had not yet been able to find a map of it. Not even a map on the wall. There were signs and arrows in the living quarters, but below in the bowels of the ship, and in the areas beyond where the residents were technically supposed to go, there was nothing.

"We can start by checking every door, then maybe we'll find a clue and a more direct path." Link suggested, figuring that when you have nothing to go one, you have to start somewhere. He walked to the nearest door, a cold metal one, and gave the handle a twist. It didn't turn. "Locked." He wondered how many other doors would be as well. Or if there would be traps, something he had been surprised to not find any of so far on the large ship.

Well, it was as good a plan as any. They might as well be thorough about their investigation of the Second-In-Command's side of the ship; going from door to door was the best option to do so. Even if it was time consuming and inefficient, it was the most direct approach that would eventually pay off.

As Link reported that a door was locked, Athanasios strolled over to a door on the other side of the hallway, trying to jiggle the handle.

Nope

The Lasombra then checked the next door in the hallway. However, it too was locked. SIC sure did like his privacy.

Link tried another locked door. "We need to find a key." A lot of keys... or a magical, one that would open any lock. Not that these doors seemed to have locks on them. This place was very weird. The boy made his way to the next door, and to his surprise, it opened. The room on the other side was empty, but Link, remembering to hurriedly wave to Thano to follow him (he still had to get used to having another kid with him) walked in and started looking around. Why would there be an empty room? Maybe there was a switch that would activate a treasure chest, and it would have a key in it!

If only the doors had been constructed out of traditional pin locks. Then the two boys would not need a key; Athanasios would simply use an arm of the abyss to set all of the pins in place and unlock the door. But of course, these were all card key activated locks. So far, none of the doors had been unlocked. Ephah wouldn't have been surprised if all the doors were locked tight.

Just then, the Lasombra saw Link waving over to him from an opened door.

Oh goody! An open door.

The vampire child walked over to Link, entering the empty room. The room was completely bare. This was a rather curious find. Why would this empty room be unlocked?

Stepping around the room, the little mafia boss inspected the room more closely. Perhaps there was something hidden.

Link pulled out his sword and hit it against a wall, trying to see if it sounded like it could be bombed. Of course, he had no bombs so even if it could this would do them little good. But he continued with it anyway, if he did find something he'd remember where it was and come back later, after he found some bombs.

As he moved to the next wall the sound his sword made when it hit the panel did indeed sound different. It sounded hollow. So he could bomb this wall! If only he had some bombs...

The young hero put his hand on the wall, just to check. As soon as he put any pressure on the panel it moved slightly. "Thanos, look at this! This panel's loose." He called to his friend, excitedly, pushing on it to see if he could move it enough for them to get through, or at least see what was behind it.

It had seemed like there was nothing special to the room, when Link stated a panel was loose. Turning around to see what Link was referring to, Athanasios Ephah saw his friend push aside a panel on the wall to reveal a hole into what appeared to be another room.

Whats this?

Stepping closer, the Lasombra inspected the panel and hole. The hole was not large enough for them to get through. Maybe if they fully pushed the panel out of the way, they could crawl through the hole.

"Here, let me help." the boy said as he pushed against, nudging the panel away from the spot.

The boys could now see that the hole was large enough to squeeze through. This was a rather fortunate find!

"Can you see what is on the other side?" the vampire inquired, hovering over Link.

The two boys managed to move the panel out of the way to reveal a hole that should be large enough for a kid to fit through.

"Can you see what is on the other side?"

Link peered through the hole, checking for any signs of movement. He would not soon forget their last adventure and the discovery of the giant worm. But there seemed to be no life in the other room.

What was there seemed to strange metal things hanging from the walls, some of which Link recognized as weaponry. "I think it's an armory." He said, and he ducked through the hole, turning to his side to get his shield to fit.