Forums » General Roleplay » On the Wings of Freedom: 1x1

The voice brought a chill that surpassed even the cold rain and she shrunk, like a dog being scolded for breaking a vase. "Who- I... I haven't found her yet," was her only reply and as soon as it left her lips she knew she was in deep trouble. "Listen," she said quickly, "It was raining out. It was a really bad storm and I thought you guys would take shelter at least until the morning. We'll start our search again today, sound good?" She looked up at Wolfe, brushing the already soaked bangs away from her eyes. "C'mon. Zuzu's probably at the pub right now so we should hurry." She walked past Wolfe, keeping her face hidden as she cursed her luck for running into him this early.

Wolfe's eyes narrowed at her. And if he had been in a slightly better mood, he would have played along with her littler charade. But he was cold, tired, and wet... so he wasn't about to take the lie. He reached out, grabbing her firmly by the arm and turning her around completely to face him. "What the hell do you think you are playing at? I watched you two escape from that crowd of people, and I followed you to this hotel. You took her up with you. I saw it with my own two eyes. So don't give me that bullshit about not finding her. Are you thinking about turning her in on your own? Because that isn't our deal!"

She tried to yank her arm away but the mercenary had a good hold of her. "The deal's off!" she said, turning to face Wolfe, "I'm taking her with me whether you like it or not." She stopped struggling to look back up at him. "Erasai's sticking with me. I'm taking her out of this country. So either you let go or I'll be forced to make a scene right here, right now."

"You won't make a scene," Wolfe said, a small smirk coming across his face. "Not unless you want to draw attention to yourself. And what if Zuzu is nearby, and he sees the ruckus you plan on making?" He let go of her, nonetheless, and sighed. "What the hell are you planning then? To just run away with her? You know what isn't going to go over very well with the researchers, and even your own men. And it sure as hell isn't okay with me." He rubbed the back of his head, wondering how all this came about. He supposed, if he really thought about it, it was all his fault to begin with.

"Listen, Alexis. This thing isn't just about taking her back for the sake of research. This is about for her sake too." He closed his eyes, seeming to be conflicted about something. "Just... take me to her. I'll talk to her, and convince her to go with us, back to the labs."

Alexis wasn't going to let herself be intimidated by him. Sure he was much taller than her and probably a lot stronger, not to mention he was probably armed while she didn't have anything but her fists and her magic, but both her father's fate and Erasai's depended on her actions at this point. "Like hell I would. You don't know a thing about her and yet you say its for her sake. I got a lot riding on this, too, so don't think I'm doing it just for her," the only problem now was what to do with Wolfe. He knew where Erasai was and she probably didn't know what was going on just outside the hotel. "What I plan to do no longer concerns you so I'm sorry, you either let us go or... or else..."

Wolfe broke out in laughter. Her attempt at intimidation was quite amusing. "Really? Or else?" He wiped a small tear from his eye; mostly because of the tiredness. "You are the one who doesn't know everything, girl. I know more about this than you think. But, I guess I could go ahead and radio in my group." He held up his radio, waving it in front of her face. "Or did you forget about that? All I am asking is that you let me talk to her. Trust me on this one, okay? I'm not gonna try anything funny, because I know you both can kick my ass if you tried together. Just talk, okay?"

She was afraid of him bringing them up. He hadn't fully splintered away from his group and was very well in command of the situation. Kick his ass? With her magic, maybe but against his men, well, she wasn't sure how combat ready Erasai was to be able to really rely on her at the moment. "Fine," she said in a sneer, "but if you try anything funny don't expect to get far." She stomped off back into the hotel, mumbling to herself as she tried to figure out what to do now that she had been compromised. On top of all this, her phone started vibrating. She checked it and saw Zuzu was calling. He was probably at the pub, waiting. Not now, Zuzu, she thought angrily as she stuffed it back in her pocket. It vibrated again and she simply ignored it. "Ring up the presidential suite, please," Alexis said to the front desk, "I need to get a hold of my roommate."

Erasai was lounging on the couch in that short time away from Alexis, the TV on, and she was flipping through the channels. Sometimes it was nice to be by yourself, enjoying the small things in life. She stopped a moment, and looked around when she heard an odd ringing sound. It took her a moment, before she noticed it to be the very slim phone just to the side of her. She almost hesitated to answer, but figured it might be something important. She pick it up carefully, and answered, "Hello?"

"Erasai? Hey, it's Alexis, listen..." She looked over at Wolfe then over at the attendant who waited patiently for the phone to be returned. She needed to phrase it in a way that didn't draw any suspicion from the front desk. "I have a visitor with me right now. He's, uh, can you send the elevator down? He wants to talk to us."

Erasai's lips pursed together tightly, and she spoke with little emotion. "Sure, I'll send it right down. I'll be waiting." She hung up the phone, and looked around the room. It would be a shame to have to mess it up.

Wolfe looked to Alexis, raising his brow. But he heard the ding of the elevator, and looked over to it. He was a little surprised at the quick reaction from Erasai. "Alright then, let's get this over with, shall we?"

She hung up and nodded, giving the attendant a nervous smile before following Wolfe to the elevator. "Everything alright, ma'am?" the attendant asked just as they entered. She gave him a reassuring nod before the doors shut, leaving her and Wolfe alone as the elevator climbed up to the top floor. Her phone vibrated again. Zuzu, she assumed and she fingered around for the call cancel button and let it go to voicemail. "Erasai is not going with you," she muttered under her breath.

"Hopefully after I explain things a bit, she will change her mind... and so will you," Wolfe said, but then looked down to her questioningly. "Why the change of mind to escape with her? Or had that always been the plan?" He doubted he would get an answer, since the doors to the elevator opened, and he saw the door at the end of the hall that led to the presidential. He took lead this time, and made his way toward the door. He had to prepare himself, because he knew there was a good chance the experiment was not going to be happy to see him. He knocked on the door lightly, and after a few seconds, it opened slowly, though no one was immediately there to greet him. He didn't find that odd, and braced himself for things to get very ugly, very fast.

He took a step forward, and into the room, and the moment he did, he was thrown against the wall and held there by the girl inside. Her angelic wings fully produced and the faint aura around her body, showing that she wasn't taking any chances.

"Long time, no see, LeAnna. Jesus, you've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we met," he said, gasping just a bit from the sudden contact. "Are you controlling that? Or did you get so worked up that the energy produced on its own?"

"Don't use that name," Erasai said, her hair falling slightly into her face. It was apparent, as well, that her hair was now reaching her mid back.

"Right... you go by... what was it? Erasai Hawke? That last name sounds quite similar to mine, doesn't it?" Wolfe said, smirking at her. "Just let me talk, alright? It's really hard to do so with you squeezing the life out of me against this wall."

"I don't understand you! First, you help me out of that place, and now you want to take me back?! Just what are you playing at?!" Erasai actually pressed against him a bit more, not ready to let him go.

Alexis shrugged as she stood in the elevator, keeping her arms crossed and avoiding eye contact. "I don't know where I stand. I've been conflicted about it since Erasai got away the night the city went on lockdown." The door opened and she proceeded on in silence as Wolfe lead the way. This was bad. Erasai probably didn't know what was going on. She might see Alexis as a traitor again.

As the door opened and the events took place, Alexis stood and watched, her heart skipping a beat as she saw the bright wings again. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or afraid to see Wolfe pinned against the wall like that but it wasn't long before the words he spoke caused her to intrude, taking Erasai by the arm in an attempt to free Wolfe from being choked to death.

"Wait!" she said, squeezing Erasai's arm, "You two know each other? Why is he calling you LeAnne?." If she was going to get answers she had to have both of them alive and she put herself in between them. "Stop, both of you! Erasai, let him talk. I promise if he does anything weird I'll take care of him just, don't kill him, please."

Erasai nearly turned and struck Alexis, but caught herself. She looked to the blond for a long moment, and then back at Wolfe. She released him slowly, and back away, but not before saying, "So, you two are still working together? Is that why you are here?"

"Not exactly," Wolfe said, rubbing his chest. "She didn't want me to come, but I insisted. But first thing is first, it would help the both of you better if Alexis knew a little bit more about me." He dusted himself off and closed the door, and then made his way around the room. Erasai was not pleased as she watched him, and then she frowned when he made himself comfortable on the couch.

"LeAnn Fairheart is Erasai's real name. I know that, because I used to work in the facility that she was in. I was a hired guard, meant to keep watch over the experiments," he said, just talking aloud, not looking at anyone. "Sure, it was kind of scary, being surrounded by developing weapons that could destroy a normal human with ease, but, I liked the job. At least, until I started seeing the repeated experimentations that were being preformed. A lot of the kids I looked over died, but LeAnna was one of the few I grew to know and like."

Erasai scoffed at that comment. But Wolfe paid no mind.

"When LeAnna was allowed to return home, I escorted her, along with another experiment who wanted to return home for a bit as well. They had tracking collars placed on them, but I slipped them the code to get it off. I was tired of seeing these kids getting killed and being forced to kill, just for the purpose of the government trying to build the ultimate weapon. And so, they escaped."

"But not for long... seeing as you double-crossed us," Erasai said, nearly shouting.

"I didn't double cross you! I learned what would happen to you guys if your powers developed without supervision."

"You killed her!"

"She resisted! I had no choice! She was going to kill all of my men!"

"Freedom or death! That's all I have now too! I'm not going back!" Erasai shouted, nearly looking like she was going to jump him again.

"If you don't go back, the engineered DNA is going to take over your body. One day, when you use that power, you won't have control of your mind anymore, and you won't be able to revert back! You'll just go on a killing spree! And, with it developing at the rate it is now, with you, I wouldn't even know of a way to stop you."

"Good, then I can kill the ones who did this to me." Erasai said, solemnly.

"Well, that's all good, but what about the ones who care about you? The ones, that you care about?" Wolfe said, looking at her fully now. "Please drop your power now... So you don't allow it to develop at a greater pace."

Erasai looked at him quietly, and then, looked down. "I can't... not until I calm down. I didn't activate it, it did it on its own, when I got the phone call. But I am still in control... see? Just because they say that is what will happen, doesn't mean it will. I've killed a lot of their hypothesis, so why wouldn't this one be different? Maybe they just told you that, so you would bring me back."

"I'm not willing to risk it, are you?" Wolfe said, and then looked to Alexis. "What do you think? Do you really want to be around her if she does lose control?"

If seeing the wings was enough to make her heart skip, the look in Erasai's eyes as she was about to strike Alexis nearly made her have a heart attack. "I'm not working with him, Erasai... really I'm not." She was unsure if she was right to address her with the false name now that more of the truth was revealed. LeAnn Fairheart was something she was going to have to get used to and she couldn't help but feel a little bitter about just learning the real name now. Of course this bitterness was swept away by the reminder of how she deceived Erasai in the first place.

Everything else that unfolded in front of her was a little hard to accept. She never figured Wolfe to be a compassionate person or be the type to help some children in need like he claimed. What was most difficult to accept was the last bit. The whole losing-self-control part. If she was conflicted about what to do, the new information only complicated things a lot more. If she did go on with her plan, she might doom thousands of lives. If she sent her back and gave power back to the men who created her, who knows how far the government would take this new weapon? It might condemn thousands, maybe millions more.

"No, of course I'm not willing to risk all that!" Alexis replied and Looked at Erasai. What she said earlier, how she didn't even realize she was using her powers, only troubled Alexis even more. She was way in over her head at this point. All she wanted to do was protect her father but now the fate of thousands was presented to her. "But there has to be another way. Erasai... you wouldn't do that would you?"

"Of course I wouldn't do that!" Erasai yelled, almost offended by Alexis' words. Wolfe chuckled and she glared daggers at him. "You shut your mouth. You are the one here that I have to deal with," she said to him next. Wolfe raised his hands defensively.

"Listen, to be honest, I left the company, and joined a mercenary group that they had hired. I'm trying to help, I'm not just in it for the reward. I don't have trouble killing men who deserve it, but I'll be damned if I let you kill anyone else."

"I'm not going with you," she repeated, making sure to enunciate. Wolfe gave a heavy sigh.

"Fine... I guess. But at least do me this much. Let me go with you, and if you do lose control, give me permission to put you out of your misery."

Erasai blinked, not knowing what to think. But she continued to frown. "Oh, how noble of you... wanting to kill me."

"Stop twisting my words, girl! Jesus, you're a bigger pain in the ass than before."

Erasai turned, looking at Alexis, really just wondering what they were going to do. If they let Wolfe go, he would just more than likely tell someone of their last known position. And if they took him with them...

"What choice... do we have really?"

What Wolfe said rang in her head. To put her out of her misery... If Wolfe didn't come along and if things did turn out like he said then it would be on her hands if... She didn't like it one bit. Erasai just wanted to live free but it just seemed fate wouldn't allow it. "I don't like it," she said, "Erasai's right. How can I be so sure that you won't give our location away if he's with us? I mean as far as I know you might still be working for them but," she looked at Erasai, "Wolfe has a point. What if you do lose control and I'm the only one there? I really don't want to be the one to take care of you. Or at least try to."

Alexis looked at Wolfe, weighing the situation and really not liking what it was coming to. "Wolfe can come with us..." she said.

"Fine," Erasai said, irritated. "But it is pointless. I'm not gonna lose control. Now... can we settle down, so I can calm myself? I can't just go walking out there, with wings."

Wolfe grinned, and then nodded his head. "Sure, take your time. Well, not really. We should probably leave soon."

Erasai started pacing around the room, but found it somewhat difficult to relax while doing so. Just being near Wolfe agitated her. If she really did lose control, she was placing all the blame on him.

"So, you never really did explain... What did you take the last name, Hawke? Like I said, it is very similar to mine," the man said, smirking at her. Erasai grew flustered and stomped off toward the bedroom, but not before saying, "It isn't similar to yours, so get over yourself!" And then the door slammed.

"This should be an interesting group of companions," Wolfe jested, looking at Alexis. "We'll give her a few minutes alone, then we should be on our way... especially before Zuzu finds us. Although, I wouldn't mind a reason to punch that guy in the face."

"What did you mean by 'what did you take'?" Alexis asked, as Erasai disappeared into the bedroom. What did she mean by 'it isn't similar' to Wolfe's? "Zuzu's the least of my concern right now. I got my eye on you Wolfe. I'm not going to let you undermine my plans of getting off this island."

She stepped up towards the window overlooking the city streets and watched as the cars drove by, the threat of an uncontrollable weapon of mass destruction at the top of her mind. If only she could find a way to fix all of this without the help of others. She just wanted to go home, live free, without the threat of losing what mattered to her the most.

"I'm just teasing her, Alexis... Can I call you Alex? I don't know, it just seems to come off the tongue better." He stood stretching, and rearranged the pillows on the couch. "Anyway, I guess I shouldn't tease her too much. Since her emotions can trigger her angelic state." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, getting a somewhat distant look. "That's too bad."

He went to the kitchen, and looked through the fridge, finding the left overs from last night; mostly all being Erasai's. "I'm eating some of this... since I had to wait outside in the cold rain all night long." He pulled out some of the food, eating it cold.

After a few minutes, the bedroom door opened, and Erasai emerged, looking as normal as she did before today. "Alright, let's go then," she said, brushing her hair over her shoulders. "Don't slow me down, Wolfe."