Here In Peril

(Sorin, Doc, and Adri only, please. This thread takes place after "Wish I Had An Angel".

Credit to Doc for helping to write this post.)

[i]Entrance to the[/i] White Night

Azumi Ian stared at the place she landed, somewhat dumbfounded.  The gold pedestal she had landed on upon entering the ship (it was hard to think of it as a ship, really, looking at it from the inside) shone like it was constantly polished, but it paled in comparison to the rest of the hall ahead of them.  On either side of the pedestal were gold statues in the visage of the Greek goddess Eos (it could have been Rikka, but maybe she wasn't quite [i]that[/i] unnecessarily extravagant), ahead of her the hall stretched nearly fifty feet before stopping at a door wrought of silver, supposedly leading to the rest of the extravagant palace.   Above, the ceiling was curved into a high arch, and seemingly made of mirrors, as her own, black armored reflection stared back at her, as well as the hall, giving her a strange sense of infinity.

The walls were pure white marble, spiraling veins of gold snaking across their surface, shining enough to almost rival the reflective properties of the ceiling.  Where the walls, ceilings, and floors touched, there was white paneling with even more gold trim.  Chairs and stools sat against the walls, as if guests were always expected.

And finally, there was the centerpiece of this already overly-expensive room, a room she probably got for free due to the hypnosis of Cid Highwind.  In the approximate center of the hall sat a throne atop a marble white dais.  The throne bore that hand-carved and polished look, and designed ornately in dark reds and black tones, made was made of wood so dark one would almost think of it as delicious chocolate.  Cushions of crushed velvet made the throne look incredibly comfortable and luxurious.   Over the throne hung three very large crystal chandeliers, one in front, one behind, and one directly above it.

So distracted was she by her surroundings, Azumi barely took note of the others in the room. Naturally, Fatuus was the one sitting on the throne, not much surprise there, given his own color scheme. A familiar masked man had just entered from the opposite end of the hall (he seemed to be muttering that the palace didn't inspire fear as much as it should have). From the look.... Doctor Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. She had been warned of his Interference, but this was a surprise. Not one she showed outwardly, but a surprise nonetheless. She didn't see Rikka, and supposed the Light of Destruction was in her private quarters.

Despite the beauty of the [i]White Night[/i], Azumi was still struck by despair.  Some of the worst enemies known to Interferences had all gathered here, and made it their home of sorts.  In a way, the evil that had gathered here marred the beauty of the palace-ship, and it was a fatal reminder of the contract she was now soon to be under, whether she liked it or not. Sighing, the ODST finally stepped off of the pedestal.

She looked to Dani, who had come in with her, as if ignoring the existence of the others by force of will. "I'll assume she's in her room here. I'd like as many in attendance as possible for me to write this, but none of your magic tricks or drugs. And any of your other allies, I'd like to know about them as well and have them sign." She tried as hard as she could to keep her pride for as long as she could. Not much left she did have. But she did know.

This was going to be a [i]long[/i] day.

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At first, Dani said absolutely nothing as she appeared on the pedestal along with Azumi. Her shades were over her eyes in an instant; as extravagant and expensive this place was for them, it was certainly too hard on the eyes even for her. Not that she would make any complaints about it; at least her personal room aboard this palace was to her own liking. She had stepped off the pedestal before Azumi, and looked to the soldier as she stared at their new home in awe, before she too stepped off.

She could tell that she was trying so hard to keep hold of her pride. She could feel the despair growing within, something that almost made the hypnotist smirk with amusement. She held it back, and nodded to her request. "Besides dear Rikka and who is present now, there are no others that are that important to us right now."

With that said, Dani turned and walked across the enormous hall, toward the throne that Ignis Fatuus was sitting upon. The Nightmare Illusionist had been lounging about his personal throne, without his coat for now, resting against one side of the armrest. He was also tapping his cane against his heel, which was rested on the other side, a position very similar to a certain rockstar in the real world.

"If you continue to sit like that, you may damage your back, Will o' the Wisp," Dani said with a smirk, stepping up beside the throne.

Ignis looked up to the woman, and smirked back at her. "As if something as trivial as that has ever stopped me." Still, he straightened up, took Dani's hand and kissed it, like he did before. "How was your venture out?"

Dani smiled to the attention given, and even more to his question. "Very well, in fact. I've brought a new servant for our friend Rikka." She then gestured towards Azumi and said, "I assume you and Miss Ian have already met by this point, correct?"

Ignis did look in her direction, and blinked once. This was certainly quite the surprise, especially since he could feel she was under no influence whatsoever. Perhaps he had underestimated the Hypnotic Seductress' abilities a bit too much now. He did have to give a smirk, though; this would prove to work very well for them. Provided she did not betray them, of course.

"Why yes, we in fact have met before. Along with the Holy Mother and unstable Goddess," he confirmed. "She was quite the hard shell to crack; I'm honestly surprised you had managed to bring her over."

Dani chuckled. "All it took was an ultimatum. However, since she has given herself up on her own free will, she has requested that she form a contract for us to follow, if you are willing to hear her out on that."

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Naturally, it was impossible for the Scarecrow to not noticed their new arrivals.  It was at least a distraction from the near-blinding walls of this palace-ship.  Deciding to put his thoughts on Rikka's rather obvious and overwhelming superiority complex (and perhaps a way to exploit in the future), he walked closer to the center of the room, standing on the opposite side of Ignis' throne from Dani.  Immediately, his mind began to analyze and try to decipher the woman's personality and disposition simply from her looks.

Judging by the armor and various weapons, she was most likely a soldier of some sort, obviously of a futuristic variety in comparison with his home world.  Her hair was an odd shade of orange, clearly meaning it had been dyed or bleached.  She carried herself with a sort of rigidity, another indicator of a military past.  But there was also a tint of depression, of despair.  A certain drooping in the shoulders, eyes somewhat downcast, no matter how hard she tried to hide her emotions, there were only so many body expressions one could cover up.  But even so, she also had pride.  Body language that expressed that she had not yet entirely given in, that this was only a temporary solution until a better one could be found.  A trait that Crane himself could respect, no matter if it were misguided.  It was something he had seen in very few, this short list of course including the Batman.  But enough of that, he had most of what he needed to know from her looks.  Anything else could be learned over time.  And he had a lot of time.

At Dani's suggestion of a contract, Crane couldn't help finding it a bit unnecessary for reasons he soon expressed.  "Why compromise when [i]we[/i] have the power?  My fear toxin can break her, and then we could easily bend this girl to our wills."

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Azumi gritted her teeth, not bothering to hide her rage at being spoken about like she was some weakling. She was about to respond as she approached Fatuus... but heard Scarecrow nearby. All things considered, she did fear the gas on some level, feared being broken down. But she still adopted a completely bored façade as she turned to him. "Now, then, I see that someone here doesn't know respect. How about they tie you to a post? Would probably fit with the theme, especially if you just get pecked apart by the birds."

She then looked to Ignis and Dani. "Now, as much as I love to hear the strawman's argument," she didn't' even bother looking to Doctor Crane on that one, "maybe the only people here with some half-decent self of respect would direct me to Rikka, perhaps walk me there if they don't trust me to go by myself or want to be there to see me sign myself in, want to make changes on my paperwork?" She looked them over, keeping that façade. "Provided you agree on it. Judging from your attitudes of a need for control, Fatuus' behavior around women and Dani's behavior around anyone, I'd think you'd want someone like me, right? And broken, I'm less valuable."

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The two villains had to hold back a chuckle to Azumi's remark to Crane, amusing as it was. They both listened to her request to meet with Rikka and nodded. Though Dani did have to make a comment at the end.

"Now, you give us too much credit for what we do, Emily," she said, once again using her middle name as an insult.

Ignis shook his head, having to make a remark himself, "I thought it was my job to add fuel to the flames, Dani." He looked directly at Azumi and said, "Though you do have a point, Miss Ian. If you can, you may prove useful to our needs." With that, he stood from his throne. "Now then, I suppose we should go ahead and meet with our dear Rikka, correct?"

Before he did step off dias, however, the Nightmare Illusionist turned to the Scarecrow briefly. Leaning over, he whispered to the ex-psychologist, quietly as he could, "It is because of our power that we are compromising, my friend. After all, we do not want this woman to go about betraying us now, would we?"

That said, Ignis stepped off, Dani following suite, and they began to lead the way to Rikka's room.

~*~

And as they would find, the Light of Destruction's room was truly no different from the main entrance or the halls. Gold and white once again made up the whole room, with floral-patterned wallpapers and ceiling, with a wooden floor so neatly polished that the light could easily shine upon it. A large chandelier hung over the center of the room, and a queen-sized bed with a high golden overhang laid out on one side of the room. Right next to the bed was a large golden, ornate throne, even larger than Ignis' in the entrance. On the opposite side was a golden dresser that also seemed to be of a dark wooden make. Separating the three things from the rest of the room was a small gate, almost at waist-height, with three small one-person stools with upholstery at the foot of the bed. Lastly, off to the right hand side, halfway to the door was a large golden vanity, with a couple of candelabra on either end.

Rather than revel (or revolt) in the extravagance of the room, Ignis turned to Rikka, who would either be resting on the bed, or lounging in the throne, while Dani stood next to him. "Dearest Rikka, we do not mean to intrude. But, we happen to have a guest that seems to be of the utmost interest to you."

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Rikka looked up from the book that she was reading from her bed.  "Next time knock."  Rikka muttered at the sudden intrusion into her room.  The self proclaimed goddess put her book down and got up.

"Now who is this guest that is so important that you entered my room so rudely?"  Rikka asked.  Really there were a few people that would be so important to Rikka and for them to catch Yuki or Abigail so quickly seemed incredibly unlikely.


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Azumi walked in next, trying her best to keep a cool façade, one that wasn't afraid of Rikka. She glanced at the book she had been reading, then away, to her.

Moment of truth, yes. It was time to start to write it up, to sign herself over, to surrender. She had lost, couldn't go back now, especially not with how she was now surrounded on all sides by who could, quite possibly, be her most dangerous enemies.

Oh, and Scarecrow too, she guessed.

The woman stepped in between Dani and Ignis, entering the room with her arms crossed, the helmet at her chest, and spoke.

"Hello, Rikka. Missed you since Radiant Garden." She paused, looking up as if in thought. "Actually, it wasn't like there was much to miss, right? What with how you were by the end." She looked back, still as nonchalant, hazarding a smirk. "Don't worry, I have it all on film, got a bunch of copies. I can run one off for you if you want. After all, since we're gonna be here a while, might as well have some comedy, don't you think?"

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Crane begrudgingly nodded at what Ignis said, although not agreeing himself.  He supposed it would do no good to have a henchman (or henchwoman, as the case may be) to be continually broken psychologically, but he didn't see a reason they needed one.  However, it was within his interest's to keep good favor with the rest of the Collective, so he did not voice these concerns.  And, perhaps, this 'compromise' could be turned to his favor.

Following the others, albeit somewhat behind, the Scarecrow entered Rikka's room.  He resisted the urge to either shield his eyes or vomit at the sight of the over-extravagance of the room, covered in its obnoxiously expensive furnishings that only further proved the Light of Destruction's overblown ego.  Rikka was definitely not a person he cared to be around, and he did smirk beneath his mask when the soldier-girl mentioned some sort of incident in Radiant Garden.  If it really was so embarrassing for the self-proclaimed goddess, he would have to get his hands on a copy of one of these videos.  It could certainly prove entertaining.

But back to the matters at hand, the Master of Fear certainly didn't care if Rikka was insulted by their sudden presence, but he remained silent, despite his urge to say some caustic comment about Rikka's own manners.

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Dani herself had to chuckle at the mention of blackmail on the Light of Destruction. "Such copies certainly have to be shared for the rest of us, I think."

Though Ignis was amused himself, he decided to get straight to the matter at hand. "Anyway, what we are here for, we happen to have a new ally among us. Dani, would you be so kind to explain the reasoning?"

The hypnotist nodded, placing a hand on Azumi's shoulder. "Indeed. You see, Rikka, Azumi Emily Ian here has surrendered herself personally. Since you have already claimed her to be your personal servant, I thought it to be fair to hand her over to you. Though she is offering to form a contract with each of us, if you will be willing to listen."

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Oh how much Rikka wanted to hurt Azumi right there for bringing up their encounter back in Radiant Garden.  Especially bringing it up in front of her allies.  "You know Azumi."  Rikka said, trying to change the subject back to her.  "I think I recall telling you something.  That you would come to me, begging to be my maid and here you are."

Rikka grinned as she started getting momentum.  "So tell me little Azumi why are you so willing to work for me now?  What about this contract you want to make?  Though I must admit, a part of me wants to give you over to Ignis and Dr. Crane to do with what they will, but I am a benevolent master so I won't."

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The captive woman shoved Dani's hand off of her. Even through the kevlar underarmor and the titanium-ceramic composite over armor, she still felt slimy, unclean, worse than the mud she has often sloughed through, the grime, the bloody, fleshy remains of Flood creatures and Necromorphs.

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. But it was comforting to think of it that way.

The soldier did her absolute best to keep her smug façade, but could not. It showed in her eyes.

Fear. She didn't want to know what Scarecrow or Ignis could do to her, but if she set her ground rules right, she wouldn't have to. So she spoke, her words slow, calculated, ignoring how Rikka referred to herself.

As she spoke, she drew her automag handgun, and began to take it apart as a show of how she would not attack. taking off the slide, pulling out the ammunition magazine... A nervous habit, she knew. But it had to be done to help her out.

"I'm willing to work for you if it means my friend's family will be left out of the equation. That means for every Collective member." She looked back to the other, a serious expression replacing the fear, then looked back to her, the same expression still on. "If I can get a paper to write my conditions down on, and if all of my conditions are, and continue to be followed, you will..." She took a breath now. Time to just let go. "You will be allowed to do as you want with me within their constraints. It's insurance for my safety and the safety of my associates."

She had reassembled the parts by the time she was done. "So, how about it? Oh, and before you ask, no, giving you back your sash isn't in the cards. I think I'll keep my trophy."

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Both Ignis and Dani said nothing, even after Azumi had shoved the latter's hand away, as the ex-corporal turned to their side spoke with the Light of Destruction. Her disassembling her gun had amused them both, as well as the fear that, while very well, she tried so hard to hide. They waited until she was done, where Ignis held his hand out, and in a small burst of his black flames, a sheet of paper had appeared in his grip. And yes, it didn't burn; don't question the logic behind this.

"Here is the paper you need, Miss Ian," he said, handing the paper over to her. "And do not fret; while you are a lovely woman now that I see your face, I have no interest in laying a hand on someone else's toy." But then he raised his cane sword-gun, trailing the gun barrel end against her face threateningly. "That is, however, only if you do not betray these conditions yourself..."

"Now Ignis, must you try to scare her even more?" Dani asked, barely containing her amusement. As Ignis lowered his cane away from the soldier woman, the Hypnotic Seductress turned to her next, to have her own say. "Though I would suggest that you refrain from giving us orders any further. You are no longer a leader; you work [i]for[/i] us now."

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The Scarecrow merely watched, content to observe for now.  Observance was a much more useful tool than trading gibes and threats with the soldier woman.  Oh yes, he could see that she feared them.  She could disguise fiddling with her weapons as simply some sort of habit, but it was a habit to hide fear, nonetheless.  And no one could hide their fear from him.  Fear led to people making mistakes, if not controlled properly, but he could see that this woman was good at hiding her emotions.  Not that it would be of much use to her when he finally cracked her, whether or not the Light of Destruction approved.  He had patience in spares, and was quite capable of waiting long after Rikka's eventual downfall.  And he knew she would fall, no one with such an ego could last long against so many 'heroes' she would challenge.

Disgruntled as he was by his allies allowing Ian to make her own terms, he supposed it could only be fair.  Of course, Crane didn't necessarily care about fairness when his toxin could do the job, but the others appeared to be calling the shots in this case, so he would have to go along with their plans, for now.  He was sure that he was intelligent enough to find some way around Ian's plans, if he tried hard enough.  And he could approve of Azumi's sass towards Rikka, anyhow.  Perhaps she [i]was[/i] better with her sanity intact, if she kept up like that.

"Very well, miss Ian,"  He said, speaking up now, "name your terms."

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Rikka listened as Azumi spoke.  Really she had no problem with her terms.  Depending on who her friends family is, it should be fairly easy to ignore them for the time being.  Until a point where Azumi would work for her without needing the little contract.  Azumi wouldn't need to worry about any problems for Rikka, though the Light of Destruction wasn't sure about the others.

"Who is this family you want to protect?"  Rikka asked.

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Contrary to what Ignis or Dani would believe, the expression of their imminent worker was not one of fear at all, at least not when the gun came up. Instead, she wore a satisfied expression, if a bit legitimately bored. Gunfire was no strange occurrence to a soldier. It wasn't her life she feared for. Being a soldier would be nigh impossible if she feared a gun. She just took the paper, tensing as if prepared for a heat through her gloves... but nothing came. Okay, first thing worked.

She took it, ignoring the others for a moment walking to the nearby vanity and taking a pen from a drawer after checking a few, then came back and knelt in front of one of the small benches, hoping none of them thought of it in any extra way beyond simple practicality of allowing her to work right. She spoke as she wrote. "Correction: I never said I was working for all of you. I seem to recall someone saying something about me working for one particular person. Anyone else is secondary, tertiary, quaternary, what have you. Plus, I don't work for her, even, until I sign. I'm writing it up." She looked back at Ignis again with the same bored expression. "Same to you. I will only break what I write down if you do, if any of you do." Then to Dani, though she looked to her work again, seeming to not even want to give her the light of day to even speak to her face as she continued to write, to think, speaking almost subconsciously. "And I still am a leader, just not here. I have ways to lead, and if you go against it, I will have an entire armed force on your a**es before you can blink, so don't even try. And no, they wouldn't be stupid enough to attack inside. They'd blow this place out of space. Now, that thing about tact? Use it. I'm working here."

Though she didn't feel it necessary to respond to Scarecrow, she answered Rikka, her greatest rical and adversary of Interferences as far as sge could tell. "The family of Gregory Zivaku. Him, his brother... I'll write it all down." She liked to them again. "And if you could each sign when it completes and be sure that any other members, now or in the future, abide, that would be appreciated. Not that I expect any of the sort."

And she did, silent for the rest of it. Her brow furrowed in concentration, closing loopholes, leaving some intentionally, fixing wording... And she had it. It was all written out, save a signature and those of the others.


[font=Blackmoor LET]I, Azumi Emily Ian, upon signing this document, shall consider myself in the employ of Rikka, the Light of Destruction, primarily, and, secondarily, Dani. I adhere to their orders in that command structure as much as possible so long as the entire Collective follows the following conditions:

[list][*]No necessity to work in Rikka or, if specified by Rikka, any Collective member aside from her's capacity at all times, but rather on a scheduled timetable, with the option to come and go without being monitored, as well as to have my work private if I ask.
[*]Any command by Dani must be allowed by Rikka unless the latter specifies otherwise. The former is only the secondary recipient.
[*]Ignis Fatuus is not to speak with or come near me, nor associate with me at all if possible unless I specify.
[*]Doctor Jonathan Crane, also known as "the Scarecrow", is not to use me for any of his "research", be it as an "assistant" or a subject.
[*]No members of the Zivaku family are to be targeted by the Collective as a whole, nor anyone associated with the Collective is to attack them, whether physically, mentally, psychologically, or otherwise sexually, in any capacity. All in all, this group is to be completely left alone by the Collective and all of its members and associates. The Zivaku family here is defined as those with the surname Zivaku and their romantic partners both.
[*]No orders for assassination or any form of killing an innocent or any otherwise human target, nor to betray my non-Collective allies.[/list]
Within these constraints, I will allow my employers to do as they will to me and ask me to do as they will, albeit only those specified, and only Dani under extraordinary circumstances.[/font]


She looked to them, keeping herself cool outwardly now, clearing her mind, trying to believe she was anywhere else. "So, someone want to check it over, make any edits?" She was no lawyer, but hoped this would do well enough.

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Again, the two leaders of the Collective said nothing, even as Azumi showed no fear to having a gun pointed to her as well as insult them. Even though she seemed a bit bored to that sort of implication, Ignis was very well aware that the woman knew what he could do besides violence, so he said nothing on the matter. And Dani knew she said nothing on giving them any sass; not like her words really mattered to her. Even if she were still the leader that, as she said, could bring up an armed force against them, they would make sure for that to not happen in the distant future.

When Azumi was finished, Dani was the one who walked forward, looking over what the soldier had wrote. She hummed to herself as she read, looking for any of the possible loopholes that she could have left. As far as she saw, there were none for them to work around.

"Everything looks to be in order..." she said, but then picked up the pen. "Except for one thing." She crossed over "in the employ" and wrote above "as a servant" instead, along with replacing "employers" for "masters". With that, she put the pen back down, her usual smirk crossing her face.

"I believe that works well enough now."

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Rikka smiled as Dani modified the contract.  It would suit her much more than being an employer.  But there were a few things that Rikka needed to do.  "I would like to my own condition."  Rikka said as she took the contract from Dani.  Under Azumi's condition she wrote 'I will not give any information about the Collective to any non-Collective Interference.'

Rikka looked up at Azumi and said.  "We need to make sure you aren't just going to use this to help your little allies.  The instance we find you doing such you'll be given to Dr. Crane and Ignis.  And with your contract rendered void, it will let us eliminate the Zivaku's.  And when that happens it will be all your fault Azumi.  Going so far to help them but in the end just leading to their deaths."

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The Scarecrow remained silent during the short verbal exchanges between the other members and Azumi.  He was not interested in creating more arguments, partiularly when this contract could possibly be bent more to his favor than the others.  He wanted to remain withing the others' good graces, anyways, despite his utter dislike for some of them.  After Dani and Rikka made their own modifications, Crane took the paper to look over for himself, removing his mask for practically the first time around the others to better read the contract.  The sewn burlap may have been good for intimidation, but it was a tad impairing on the sight.  Naturally, he was disappointed that Azumi had remembered to bar experimenting on her, but that did bring up several questions.

"Now, that is interesting, miss Ian.  I do not believe that any of my fellow members mentioned my first name,"  He pointed at the correct spot on the page.  "nor were my experiments brought up.  Now, you may have heard of the latter from others, but my name?  Whoever could know that?"  He said, eying the soldier suspiciously.  Of course, if his hunch was correct, Azumi would know exactly who would know his name.  To his knowledge, there was only one person among the worlds beyond his own that would know his full name, and if the Batman was involved with this woman in any way, this could lead to very interesting possibilities, particularly if this woman had been taken under the bat's wing, much like various other 'sidekicks' he had over the years.  Yes, he would have to keep a very close eye on her.

As for the rest of the conditions themselves, Crane did not care to make any changes.  The others had already expressed their reluctance to allow him to use his fear toxin on Azumi, and would not agree to change that particular condition.  He didn't care if she was called a slave or an employee, either.

"Asides from that one intriguing note, I will agree to these conditions."  So saying, the Scarecrow took the pen, and wrote his own scrawling signature, 'Doctor Jonathan Crane' at the bottom of the page, to make it all official.

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Try as she might, a sigh of despair came out as the edit was made to the "employment" wording. Not wanting to question that, she crossed it out again, and wrote it in her own handwriting, so they could have record that she agreed. Whatever would make them back off. It wasn't like it mattered anymore what she thought.

Then came the comment from Rikka, and the one from the Scarecrow. One distressed her greatly, the other less so. In order to maintain her grip on sanity, she addressed the latter first as she wrote the former's terms in. While she did answer truthfully, she did not betray her mentor in the process.

"Scarecrow, you are a comic book serial villain. Your name bumps around the worlds. I would think someone who's shown up enough to be featured in a game prominently enough to be Interfered, and therefore to escape his universe, would be famous enough to have his name told around. You should be flattered that I would know your name without you having to tell it. It just tells of your fame, or rather your notoriety. You could have been seen by Interferences, but not been approached, whether out of fear or a lack of concern over your abilities." Still, as he signed, she wrote more, quicker, hastier, showing her nervousness despite her best efforts at concealment.

She spoke to Rikka as she did this, her voice showing some shakes. She didn't want any of them attacked, not Kynthia, who she believed had been through enough personalized trauma and assault for a lifetime, let alone just being left alone by this group, or the rest of them. But the demigoddess was both her self-assumed charge and her responsibility as an Assassin now. Having the name told aloud brought out her fear, forced her to do something that she believed the self-proclaimed goddess incapable of.

She swallowed her pride. She bowed her head to the younger woman, averting her eyes as she wrote down one last condition. "Rikka, please listen. You tell me all of what will happen if I break the contract, which I have no plans to do, though I won't take part in deliberate criminal activity unless I say. But what are the reassurances that you all won't? That Fatuus won't grab the women off alleys and do whatever he wants with them, no matter how perverse. That Dani won't do the same with the men. That Scarecrow won't take both, and you won't beat them all down until they bow and throw their eternal praises at your feet?" She doubted that last one due to the family's resilience, but had to offer praise where she could.

"So I need one last condition. Just one." She looked up at her, eyes pleading, needing this, to have some insurance on their end aside from their word, which she truly didn't believe for a second. "If one of you breaks this contract, which I will copy into data as soon as I can once it is completed so we have a copy of it -- I can't change it in that form, if anyone wonders -- I need the right to break the words of it, to betray you all in turn, but only in accordance with reestablishing the principles associated with the contract. For instance, if one of you takes a family member, I would need to be allowed to have a hero of some sort save him or her from you. I need to be absolutely certain that everything here is written, agreed to, and bound to both sides. Otherwise it's nothing. You're my enemies, and we both know this, regardless of my employment status. Maybe it'll change eventually, who knows? But without that clause, this might as well mean nothing. So here you are." And she put down her last copy of it, edited once more, as far as she knew final. "I'll sign this. But I need to know it's enough for all of you."

[font=Blackmoor LET]I, Azumi Emily Ian, upon signing this document, shall consider myself as a servant of Rikka, the Light of Destruction, primarily, and, secondarily, Dani. I adhere to their orders in that command structure as much as possible so long as the entire Collective follows the following conditions:

[list][*]No necessity to work in Rikka or, if specified by Rikka, any Collective member aside from her's capacity at all times, but rather on a scheduled timetable, with the option to come and go without being monitored, as well as to have my work private if I ask.
[*]Any command by Dani must be allowed by Rikka unless the latter specifies otherwise. The former is only the secondary recipient.
[*]Ignis Fatuus is not to speak with or come near me, nor associate with me at all if possible unless I specify.
[*]Doctor Jonathan Crane, also known as "the Scarecrow", is not to use me for any of his "research", be it as an "assistant" or a subject.
[*]No members of the Zivaku family are to be targeted by the Collective as a whole, nor anyone associated with the Collective is to attack them, whether physically, mentally, psychologically, or otherwise sexually, in any capacity. All in all, this group is to be completely left alone by the Collective and all of its members and associates. The Zivaku family here is defined as those with the surname Zivaku and their romantic partners both.
[*]No orders for assassination or any form of killing an innocent or any otherwise human target, nor to betray my non-Collective allies.
[*]Any breach of this contract by the Collective will allow a counter betrayal by myself in order to only reestablish the bounds of the contract and ensure the total safety of the Zivaku family.[/list]
I will not give any information about the Collective to any non-Collective Interference.

Within these constraints, I will allow my masters to do as they will to me and ask me to do as they will, albeit only those specified, and only Dani under extraordinary circumstances.[/font]


She took a deep breath. "...is this enough? I can just sign if it is." She looked to Rikka, the smugness gone from her own eyes completely as she looked at her nemesis. "And once I do if it is, you should tell me how to address you. I don't know. And... it's probably best not to show this structure in public. Just a word to the wise."

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Rikka gave another look through the contract.  Now Rikka wasn't good with legal issues but from what she could tell, there weren't any loop holes that Azumi could exploit.  Though Rikka was sure if Azumi wanted to do something against the contract she would try to make sure they wouldn't find out.

"I have no problems with this contract."  Rikka said as she signed under Scarecrow's signature.  One thing to note was for Ignis and Dani was that Rikka signed as 'Rikka Masami'.  "Ignis, Dani, do you two have any objects or shall we finish signing this so I can prepare Azumi for her new duties."

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Once Rikka was done looking over the contract, Dani moved to look it over once more. Before she did, however, she had to look at Crane, now unmasked, and had to make a comment, "You should keep that mask off more often, doctor. You have such a handsome face; no need to hide it with an ugly thing." She left it at that; flirtatious as she was, she wasn't foolish to risk becoming the next test subject to the Scarecrow's fear toxin.

Back to the contract, Dani once again looked it over from the changes she had made. Other than that, everything looked to be in exact order. She did note Rikka's signature, but paid it no mind as she took the pen and signed her own name, simply a cursive 'Dani'. As spiteful as she even admitted to being, the woman allowed for as much reassurance to the ex-corporal as she could manage, "You won't have to worry about myself in breaking these conditions. I'm not stupid enough to betray anyone without reason. Besides, if it really helps, I have no real interest in the Zivakus, or any of their partners."

As she was done, Ignis Fatuus was the last to have a look. Before he did, he had to note the one thing that Azumi had said about him, to which he had to give a chuckle. "I'm afraid that you really don't give me enough credit, my dear Azumi. It is not just women that I take, after all..."

With that said, the Nightmare Illusionist looked over the contract, read the conditions thoroughly. Though he agreed to just about all of them, even the one on himself not associating with their new addition, one thing had come to mind on the Zivaku partners. Among his intended targets was Cheryl now, who was associated with that Isaac boy from what he overheard. He did worry about Azumi betraying them on breaking that condition, but after what he had seen of that unstable woman, he honestly doubted those two would go far. With that in mind, he signed himself, cursive like Dani's, but with an added title: 'Ignis Fatuus, leader of the Collective.'

Egotistical? Perhaps. Necessary? Probably not. But it wasn't like it mattered to him.

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The soldier among them listened as the others spoke. She did wonder what "new duties" Rikka had in store for her, probably something degrading, like living in a castle dungeon. She didn't have any real choice in the matter, so she decided to think on other things, like what Dani had said (deliberately ignoring Ignis' admission). Yes, she admitted Crane's face was attractive, but there were cases where beauty was only skin deep. Dani herself and Ignis were both key examples of this.

All seemed in order amongst the members here. Azumi looked over the signatures again, noting Ignis' arrogance in naming himself their leader (a position she believed he, if anything, shared with Dani), and a lack of surname for Dani, along with the last name of Rikka. Things to remember.

It was time to surrender now. This was effectively a treaty, though she would watch that the others would follow it. The woman hesitated. Again, she was vulnerable, and ready to leave herself as such. She took a deep breath, held the pen... and looked to Rikka. "I don't know your standards for... followers, but... I suppose I'll have to live here now, so do as you will."

A final show of some form of her own will, possibly. Finally, she wrote, with her service number below in order to keep her own integrity.

[font=Edwardian Script ITC]Azumi Emily Ian[/font]
[font=Blackmoor LET]Service Number 81121-51172-AI[/font]

She sighed, dropping the pen in the drawer, and stared at the paper. She could get one of those "omnitools" when Cetea could help her get one, and then copy it as a digital copy. She just hoped it wouldn't change in that time.

It was done. She tried, in vain, to keep her head high, to show some sense of strength, but the success of this was doubtful as she looked to the woman to whom she had signed herself. "Now... what do I call you? By name? Or is there a title or honorific you prefer? You can show me my .... duties whenever you're ready."

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After Dani's comment, Crane pulled his mask back on, but not fast enough to disguise his scowl of contempt, not that he cared whether or not she saw it.  He didn't care for the... company of women, nor men.  He only saw them as distractions to his research, and Dani was not a person he cared for on the best of days.  He had the distinct urge to take a shower after her flirtatious words, as if he could wash off the metaphorical slime they created.

And thankfully, Azumi signed the contract, effectively ending the overall rather dull proceedings.  Already, he ached for the seclusion the room he had turned into a makeshift laboratory gave him, and he didn't particularly care about this woman, anyways, not in the short-term.  He began to quickly withdraw from the room, looking back at the others.

"I will retire to my quarters.  Do not disturb me unless absolutely necessary."

With that he left, going to work on his toxins and to contemplate over today's events, and what they could mean for the future.

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Rikka smiled as Azumi signed the contract.  She barely payed any attention to Scarecrow leaving as she took back the contact.  She would put it someplace safe, just in case.  Better to be safe than sorry, especially now that Azumi is going to be on the White Night for long periods of time.

"You will refer to me as 'My Lady' if Ignis or anyone else wants to be called anything specific they can tell you themselves."  Rikka said as she turned to look at Ignis and Dani.  "If you two don't need anything else I will take Azumi to get sized for her new uniform and sho her what her duties will be from now on."

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At the comment from Rikka on taking back the contract, Azumi looked to her, then down. Of course, she knew that she would be here for, as far as the Collective knew, the rest of her days. Not that she expected it, but whatever they believed. "My Lady", was it? Well, she had ways to sneak insults into that without being noticed. It just took a slight change in pronunciation, perhaps not even enough to be noticed.

"Yes, malady," she mumbled under her breath at the comment on what to call her. Not quite what she meant, but it was relatively close. Still, she couldn't hide a blush at the comment over Rikka going to size her for herself, and, for all she knew, her personal feeling was probably betrayed as a result. She just hoped it had gone unnoticed.

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"I need nothing at the moment," Ignis said, having caught the stealth insult, but saying nothing to it. "If you really want something to refer to me as, Miss Azumi, 'bastard who talks too much' will suffice. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get to sorting out plans of my own." With that, he exited the room, back to his personal throne in the entrance.

After Dani smirked at Scarecrow's exit, finding his repulsion amusing, she nodded to Rikka, smirking again at Azumi's little insult. "I'll have to think of it. Right now, you may call me any other insult you have for me. Until then, Emily, 'malady'." She too walked out on that note, to her own personal ballroom upon the ship.

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Rikka noticed the insult so she would give Azumi the punishment for such things.  A smack upside the head.  "I think you should try not to do that.  Or attempt to be a little more subtle.  Now come along Azumi, I need to show you your room and then we can get you your uniform."  Rikka said as she walked to one of the empty rooms that would soon become Azumi's.

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