=LUDE GOES HERE== After some time, Trune has returned to the resistance base, and rest in a small side room. Alone with his new clothes, Trune looks on his own reflection in a small hand mirror. It is during this moment of self-contemplation, that there's a knock at the door.* Trune glowers into the hand mirror and generally looks uneasy with his appearance. He's wearing a high necked black shirt with silver trim, black pants with his old boots, although they've been heavily cleaned and polished, and a bright red overtunic that's held together with a small silver pin in the shape of a griffin. His hair is slicked forward and isn't quite as flyaway as it usually is. * Trune stops looking at himself in the mirror once he hears the knock, though it doesn't stop him from looking like he wants to get out of these clothes as soon as humanly possible, "...Yeah?" Trune? Can I see you for a minute? Er...sure I guess. Come in. * Vytor walks into the room and shuts the door behind him. Hey. Got some time to talk? * Vytor specifically schools his face and reaction in regards to Trune's clothes, knowing that making a fuss would only make the situation worse. I think so, yeah. I'm pretty much ready whenever they are...though I dunno about this anymore. I think I look like the dorkiest seducer in the history of man. For what its worth, you look better in that outfit than you think you do. Good, because I can barely move my neck. My suffering better be worth it. Do you have to stay in that outfit, or can you ditch it for a while ? Eh, I can probably ditch it. It didn't take long to get into it...most of the time was spent on my goddamned hair. OK, I was hoping you could also bring the ECC with you to the forge while we talked. ...The ECC? Er...okay I guess? * Trune looks confused as to what Vytor is getting at, but doesn't question it any further, "I'll be ready in a few." OK, I'll be outside. * Vytor slips back out the door and waits. * Trune heads outside of his little room in a few minutes, dressed in his old and somewhat weather-worn clothes. It looks a little odd now, considering his hair is slicked into something that's rather unnatural for him, "Okay, so I have the ECC with me. What do you have planned?" I have an idea I want to experiment with, but I can't do it without the ECC. Up for it? Yeah, I admit, you have me curious now. Good to hear. * Vytor sets off towards the Destiny and the Forge, with Trune in tow I also wanted to check up on you. You've been through a lot today. Do you want to talk about it? * Trune sighs, rubbing a finger between his eyes, as if he has a headache, "I never really expected to run into her. Well, okay, I thought about it, yeah, but I didn't expect her to make a power grab like that. I should've." What did she do to you? She's...the reason I got involved with the elementlors in the first place. If I hadn't met her, I probably wouldn't be here now. Really? * Trune nods, "She's smart...really smart. She was pretty popular back at school. She was the one who mentioned the elements having...well, sentience in the first place." So she started you on your original theory? Yeah. Started in class one day. She got into a big debate with one of the professors about it too. Everyone thought she was kind of nuts, including me. Over time though people could see she was serious. They dared her, egged her on to prove it. And I...well... I was curious. About her, I mean. * Vytor nods. So I said I'd help her, and Heath went along with it too. He was brand new, I think he just wanted to fit in. So what happened? Well...at first I wasn't really serious. I didn't think we'd find anything, I just wanted to be with her, you know? But we started finding things out...and I started to believe her. The proof was starting to become undeniable. We became obsessed with it, I guess. Must have been petty exciting for you. I admit it, it was. I mean, I was essentially finding out things that would turn the academy on its heads. I told my dad, and he thought I was crazy. Swore and down with me that I was going down the wrong path and it would end in failure. I...didn't listen to him. After what you had been discovering, I'm not surprised. * Trune then pauses, and looks a little glum, "No. That's not true. I did listen. Just not in the way my dad wanted me to. I didn't want to be a failure in his eyes. I was tired of him looking at me that way. Never good enough. Not living up to his name. So I pushed harder." * Vytor nods again. I trusted Mik' when I honestly shouldn't have. I should have seen signs coming miles away, but I didn't. I should have known that taking the staff from Bree would end badly, but I didn't want to be a failure. Not again. Sounds like you really did have something to prove. I...guess I did. You've met my dad, and you've only seen a glimpse of what he can be like. I had to live with that every day. My condolences. * Vytor leads Trune to the Forge, and starts setting things up. * Trune sighs, "It's okay. I managed to find out things regardless of that. I hinted to Heath about it, he's gonna be stoked about it once I can tell him." That's true enough. So, what went wrong when you all made your move? Well, I found out information about Bree's staff, how it was elementally aligned and all. Mikayla thought it would be great in our experimentations. She convinced us to take it from Bree and put it back when we were done, and we got caught. All of us. We knew we were in deep shit, but we just figured we'd be expelled or jailed for a couple of years...Bree went psycho, though. She swore we were out to kill her and we should be killed on the spot. Hmm. I think we were starting to convince her we were just stupid academy kids...until Mikayla told her we really were out to kill her and we kidnapped her to do it. She told a bunch of bullshit just to save her ass. Hence where she is now. * Vytor starts shaping the containment field of the Forge while he listens. Yeah...I still don't know why Bree trusted her. I probably never will. But we got thrown in the dungeons and I got cat o'nine tailed everyday until Franz busted me out. Perhaps Bree saw something in Mik' that reminded her of herself. May I see the ECC please? Maybe...oh! Here you go. Thanks. * Trune hands over the ECC to Vytor. * Vytor settles the ECC in place, but only the highest 1/4 of the staff is actually in the forging space, the rest hangs freely. So Mik basically sold you out to save her own skin, and now enjoys a cushy position here in Meribia. Yeah...yeah that's the short of it. * Vytor adjusts a few dials on the ECC, and it actually starts to hum as it activates. * Trune shakes his head, "Honestly, I think she was using me from the start." Based on what you've told me, that seems likely. Some people naturally seem to gravitate towards a willingness to use and sacrifice others for their own ends. ...She won't do it again. I believed her about Heath. I swear, she almost did it again. But she won't. Never again. * Vytor sets up a second forging field to the left of the first, then reaches into his bag and places one of his home-made galvorn ingots into it. Wise man. So what are you going to do now that you have a chance to face her as an equal? * Vytor starts to gently massage and fold the galvorn ingot inside the forging field, as the temperature within it begins to rise. I...I don't know. All I know is she won't burn the others. She'll try, I know her. She doesn't just invite people to a dinner party without some ulterior motive. She...she eats people like Niri alive. I won't let her. * Trune 's voice is soft now, but quite determined. Good to hear. Remember that we're here to back you up if you need it. Thanks, I appreciate it. * Vytor continues to work the ingot within the field, as its color changed from a ruddy black to a white-hot blob. "We're not about to let her victimize you again." * Vytor begins to compress the white-hot mass with field adjustments, tweaking the field temperature as he does. Thanks...just...hm. Hm? Help me keep an eye on Niri, okay? If she's that power mad, she might try to go after her. Of course. Oh, that reminds me. Hm? * Vytor ceases his fiddling, allowing the field to cool slowly as he walks away from it, approaching Trune. He stands in front of Trune, and with a very serious expression says "Niri" in a deadpan voice, then looks down at Trune's shoes. * Trune looks befuddled for a faction of a second, then slowly that confusion turns to embarrassment. His cheeks redden a little, "Goddess, am I that transparent?" Well, it was either that the word 'Niri' caused some fascinating change in your shoes, or yes, you can be that transparent. <> * Trune wets his lips, looking slightly uneasy, but continues, his voice soft now, "Yeah...I like her. Really like her...but I don't think she feels the same." How do you know? Well, man, you just mentioned how transparent I am, but she hasn't really caught on at all. I'm more like a brother to her, I guess. If I'm that transparent she would have said something by now either way, don't you think? I think she just chooses to ignore it. * Vytor raises an eyebrow at Trune, "This IS the same Niri who occasionally is as obtuse as some triangles, right?" * Trune can't help but crack a grin, "Well, YEAH, but..." No buts. Its entirely possible that she IS unaware. * Trune sighs, "Even still...I don't know if it's the time to be telling her. She's...got a lot on her plate. Last thing we need is some schmuck telling her he likes her." Shmuck? Is that you, your father, or Mik talking? I've been traveling with you for some time, Trune. And I would not call someone who's achieved as much as you have, a shmuck. * Vytor returns to the forge, and carefully extracts the amorphous ball he's managed to create thus far. He sets it down in the ground, draws his hammer, and smacks one side of it hard with the hammer's handle. * Trune looks a little surprised; he's obviously not used to someone vouching for him, "...Thanks." I'm serious Trune. You've been working on the kinds of deeds that make the Truth Bearers famous. That's not nothing. * Vytor carefully peels away the cracked exterior of his work, revealing what looks like a kind of metallic gray crystal. He holds it in one hand and begins rubbing it down with a clean cloth from his pocket. * Trune finally begins to take notice of Vytor's handiwork, "...Interesting. A crystal?" With the right amount of heat, and a slow and controlled cooldown, the normally amorphic structure of galvorn actually works itself into a geometric lattice, very similar to that of a crystal, save that its metal. * Vytor walks it over to Trune, "Here, hold this. Can I see your athames please?" Yeah, sure, hang on. * Trune takes hold of what Vytor asked him to, and passes along his athames. Thank you. * Vytor returns to the forge, expands the field slightly around the tip of the ECC, and places the athames next to it. Seriously Trune, you don't give yourself enough credit. You done a lot to be proud of. Moreso given the fact you've had so much arrayed against you along the way. And Niri knows this. Yeah...but is it enough? * Vytor carefully begins to work the tip of the ECC, working very slowly and listening to the sound of its humming as he works. There's only one way to know. ...Maybe. Maybe when this is all over. We have a city to save, first. I agree. But if I might make a suggestion? Sure, shoot. * Vytor starts to work and stretch the athames into long, ribbon forms, "Its OK for you to feel confident. Not invincible or crazy, that's Ryllan's gig. But you've the right to be confident in your abilities." * Vytor slowly moves the control box of the ECC upwards, closer to the tip, then he begins to carefully affix the stretched athames onto the sides of the ECC, carefully working each into partial spirals curving upwards from it. * Trune is quiet, pondering now. He speaks up after a while, "I want to be confident, yeah. I want to understand this road I've started on. There's...still a lot I don't know." Confidence doesn't come from knowing everything. Confidence comes from being willing to take a risk despite that. And believe it or not, you've been doing that for years now. Confidence is no guarantee of success, I could tell you many stories about that. You have confidence, you just need to see it. * Vytor returns to Trune, "May I have the crystal, please?" * Trune hands the crystal back to Vytor, "There's more to it than that. I'll tell you when this is all said and done." This? Being the saving the world thing, or what we're doing now? * Vytor returns to the forge, and begins to carefully work the crystal onto the tip of the now modified ECC. Er...about the not knowing stuff angle. I'm putting it really mildly, honestly. * Vytor nods. "Understood." I'd tell you now, and I can if you really want, but honestly we can't really do anything about it until this is all said and done. I will tell you though. Promise. I'll wait until you're ready to tell me. You have a lot on your plate as is. * Trune coughs and rubs his forehead, "Understatement of the month." * Vytor draws some jeweler’s tools from his pocket, and begins some fine silver inscribing onto the tip and body of the ECC. "Seriously Trune, talk to Niri about how you feel. Those kinds of feeling can fester if they're not addressed. Maybe not today or tomorrow. But soon." You may not be aware of it, but she does worry about you when you're in danger or in trouble. * Trune 's voice sounds slightly guilty all of a sudden, "Heh, sometimes I think I give her too much to worry about." But I'm gonna try to change that. Considering what we're doing, we can't HELP but worry about each other. I know, but I'm special. It must be my unlucky charm. * Vytor completes his inscribing, puts his tools away, and disengages the heating elements, allowing the forging field to cool. Mikel, on the other hand...man. Hm? * Trune smirks a little, "I only wish I could get out of the shit he does. I'd be Mr. Finesse. Though with Emili his lucky streak is probably over." * Trune frowns a bit and looks sympathetic. You ever heard the story of the inventor named Hugresh? Er, no, I haven't. What'd he do? Hugresh was in infamous inventor back in the days of the Blue Star. He wanted to fly. He even built his own bird wings, and they even worked. He was so enthralled with his own success, he flew higher and higher, reveling in the wonders of the world below him. But he flew too high, and the lubricating elements in his wings froze and cracked. His wings stopped working, and he dropped like a rock into the center of town. ...Wait, I think I've heard this, just another version. Did he fly so high...yeah. He fell. Eventfully, everyone who flies too high comes down again. Unfortunately, Mikel has finally been brought back down. ...Never thought of it that way. Man. I feel bad for him. Kinda ashamed, too. I was jealous. Of what? Just...his luck. He can be kind of a prat at times and everything was going his way...not so much for me. Then I saw how pathetic Leah was with her whole jealousy spiel and realized I was being pathetic too. Well, let me ask you this, with all the luck he had, did Mikel want to leave you behind, or bring you along as much as he could? He brought me along, mostly. I mean, I know now I was acting pretty stupid. But you still felt that way. And you know what? It makes you completely normal. The important thing is that you realize that. Therein is the difference between you and Leah. Thanks. Its OK to feel that way, Trune. Hell, I was extremely jealous of Angie for a while after she made the Harmonic engine. * Trune looks a little surprised, "Really...you..don't seem the type. No offense." I'm as fallible as anyone else, believe it or not. ;) * Trune smirks, "Noted. Still, kinda surprising." It took some time for me to get past that. For a while, I felt like nothing I could do would ever match anything of that kind of genius. I looked back on all the various theories and prototypes I had ever designed, and it all looked kind of...pathetic. If you still feel that way, don't. You're honestly one of the best blacksmiths I've seen or read about. Well, I came to realize something after a while. Maybe I'm not the best at making something new. Lord knows I've tried. But that's not where I excel. Where my genius lies, is in taking what I have to work with... * Vytor extracts his finished work from the forge, "...and making it better." * Vytor walks over to Trune, and hands over the finished product. "All yours. I call it the Eightfold Spire." * Trune eyes the new weapon with wonder, "Wow...Vytor, this is incredible." When you finally face her, I want that traitor to know she's not messing with the same young man she did before. This time she's in over her head. Hope your right. This does boost the confidence level, though. I mean...it's just so /shiny/. ...In all seriousness thank you, Vytor. I'll make good use of it. I swear it. I know you will. I wouldn't have made it for you if I didn't believe in you. Now I just need for you to believe in yourself. Right. I'll try. No, I will. So long as everyone else understands that, we're good. In terms of what's going to happen tonight, I mean. * Vytor claps Trune on the shoulder, "Good." * Trune looks out the window, seeing the sun start to dip, "I'd better get re-dressed...though I really don't want to. Formal wear...I swear I'm going to have nightmares from this." Think of it this way, when she gets what's coming to her, you're going to look damn good doing it. Heh, damn right. Though honestly I expect to have horrible nightmares of cologne, silver trim, and hairgel gone horribly, horribly wrong. ...But at least I'll look badass. Very true. Come on, let's get you back before the others discover you're missing. * Trune nods, standing up, "Right. I have to get ready in more ways than one." * Vytor shuts down the forge, then leads Trune back to the rebel HQ. ===END!==