Moone lunged, and Keepses swung into action around him, immediately going once again for the Pontifex.
Moone kick-swept Keepses's legs out from under his feet, and Keepses splashed to the soggy ground, flat on his rear. Keepses attacked with his right arm, his left arm thrusting downward to push himself up again; Moone could block Keepses's right-handed chop with his foot, but this provided Keepses even more momentum to get up, pushing him twisting backwards over his left arm and spinning him onto his feet-- low at first, but springing upwards immediately in a flying leap toward the Pontifex.
Keepses, flying low along the ground, tackled Pontifex in a grapple; Moone simply dropkicked the man in the square of the back. Keepses fell, tugging Pontifex along with him, and they landed in a heap, both face down but heads pointing the opposite way. Keepses twisted like a snake underneath Pontifex and tried grabbing him in a choke hold, but found Pontifex's neck too low along his own relative position to get sufficient leverage-- he simply kneed him in the face instead.
Moone stood above the two, and opened his mouth to object once again that they should have been on the same side, when a sniper bullet whizzed by his head. It wasn't just Keepses here, it seemed, but at least one more member of his cell with him-- perhaps even the entire thing.
How to get out of this one... well, duck and weave, first of all; the first bullet had missed him so he couldn't have been dealing with the most competent sniper, which was a bonus; hopefully he wouldn't change position from the perch he had currently, and after all it wasn't like he would have had much time to set up...
Moone made his way deeper into the water, until it was a couple of feet deep, and dropped into it, submerging himself completely and rendering himself invisible. Keepses by this point was on top of the Pontifex, attempting to choke him underwater. Moone burst up from the water behind Keepses, grabbing his head in a full Nelson grip and prying him away from the Pontifex with his momentum. He held Keepses out in a human shield position in front of him, and the Pontifex took a sputtering catch of breath below. Keepses made a "stand down" gesture with his fingers, in the direction of the sniper's perch, and Moone moved to negotiate.
"It wasn't me, Himsy," Moone whispered into Keepses's ear, pressed near to his mouth. Keepses's clothes were damp from his fall into the [muddy, storm water], and he had the wet-dog smell of musk and earth. "I've told you this. Thought it was Gef, remember, but it wasn't Gef after all. It was MacBeth."
"Well, that's a shocking and unexpected twist," Keepses said, voice somewhat muffled with Moone's hand pressed into his face.
"Cloud is still alive."
Moone kick-swept Keepses's legs out from under his feet, and Keepses splashed to the soggy ground, flat on his rear. Keepses attacked with his right arm, his left arm thrusting downward to push himself up again; Moone could block Keepses's right-handed chop with his foot, but this provided Keepses even more momentum to get up, pushing him twisting backwards over his left arm and spinning him onto his feet-- low at first, but springing upwards immediately in a flying leap toward the Pontifex.
Keepses, flying low along the ground, tackled Pontifex in a grapple; Moone simply dropkicked the man in the square of the back. Keepses fell, tugging Pontifex along with him, and they landed in a heap, both face down but heads pointing the opposite way. Keepses twisted like a snake underneath Pontifex and tried grabbing him in a choke hold, but found Pontifex's neck too low along his own relative position to get sufficient leverage-- he simply kneed him in the face instead.
Moone stood above the two, and opened his mouth to object once again that they should have been on the same side, when a sniper bullet whizzed by his head. It wasn't just Keepses here, it seemed, but at least one more member of his cell with him-- perhaps even the entire thing.
How to get out of this one... well, duck and weave, first of all; the first bullet had missed him so he couldn't have been dealing with the most competent sniper, which was a bonus; hopefully he wouldn't change position from the perch he had currently, and after all it wasn't like he would have had much time to set up...
Moone made his way deeper into the water, until it was a couple of feet deep, and dropped into it, submerging himself completely and rendering himself invisible. Keepses by this point was on top of the Pontifex, attempting to choke him underwater. Moone burst up from the water behind Keepses, grabbing his head in a full Nelson grip and prying him away from the Pontifex with his momentum. He held Keepses out in a human shield position in front of him, and the Pontifex took a sputtering catch of breath below. Keepses made a "stand down" gesture with his fingers, in the direction of the sniper's perch, and Moone moved to negotiate.
"It wasn't me, Himsy," Moone whispered into Keepses's ear, pressed near to his mouth. Keepses's clothes were damp from his fall into the [muddy, storm water], and he had the wet-dog smell of musk and earth. "I've told you this. Thought it was Gef, remember, but it wasn't Gef after all. It was MacBeth."
"Well, that's a shocking and unexpected twist," Keepses said, voice somewhat muffled with Moone's hand pressed into his face.
"Cloud is still alive."
"Cloud? Right, the chick who, it's your fault, over. Yeah. Only she's not dead? Curious."
"We figure she was brought back to life somehow."
"Is that the truth?" Keepses asked. Moone could tell that he was plotting how to get out of Moone's grip somehow. Moone had felt Keepses's boon knack for plotting back when he'd had his aura on him-- he'd figure something out, alright. Even if it meant signaling to shoot Moone through him at the cost of his own life. Dude did seem pretty suicidal, after what happened to him. However Moone was to convince Keepses, he had to enact it quickly.
Thinking back on the time of his possession of Keepses's aura, Moone immediately realized a plan of his own, a plan that would get Keepses to believe him. Hopefully.
"I had your aura on at the time. For the whole thing. Cloud, MacBeth, all of it. You can see for yourself... You're somewhat psychic, aren't you, Keepses? Why don't you go ahead and read your own mind."
Keepses raised his eyebrows, nodding slightly. His psychic powers were fairly latent, unmodified; he wouldn't be able to read Moone's mind, even with direct physical contact, but he would be able to read his own. The memories stored in his own aura, memories of events that had not happened to him. Usually he used the power to access past lives and things like that; what was this, but very little different from channeling a previous [life?]
Keepses seemed leery of a trap, but his curiosity of the truth finally seemed to outweigh his qualms over anything that would be able to happen while he was contacting himself, so he tilted his head back and closed his eyes gently. Moone could see it, as Keepses [brought his third eye back.]
Keepses's eyes fluttered underneath his eyelids as he brought his third eye back into itself, poking around the dual memories he had of the time period, both of tracking Moone down and being Moone as he made his way to and around the summit. His voice came up occasionally, in a dull dry moan, asking questions and receiving answers from Moone, who guided him as to where he should look. Cloud's [livingness] Keepses confirmed first, and tracked it back to seeing MacBeth and being impossibly inside the bubble that he'd set up and extended outward. Keepses had met neither [full name] MacBeth nor Mushroom Cloud in real life, but apparently could sense Moone's history with them, from being Moone during those memories.
Keepses opened his eyes at last, and [his eyes widened]. "I..." He seemed to come to himself, and finally announced his sniper, and the rest of his team, to stand down. Four or five people tromped out of the brush, and stood around on the higher drier ground. [describe them physically, and give them more characterization or something maybe.]
"That's... really quite something," Keepses said, as Moone let go of him and he turned around so they could face each other as equals. He seemed to be mulling something over. "I never realized your aura would be quite so powerful, enhanced by the, him, like that," he said, gesturing to the Pontifex with a splash-kick of the water that the three of them were about ankle-high in. "If I had power like that... like that aura boost you've got on right now... well, just a test-drive would be something."
Moone exchanged glances with the Pontifex, and looked back at Keepses, not as readily able to start trusting him again as Keepses had him. "One," Moone said, "you were just about to kill him not fifteen minutes ago. And, two--" he exchanged another quick glance-- "I... I don't think you can give out halfsies on the aura. Besides --thirdly I guess, or no this is still a vital part of point two-- I need the aura; it's the only thing keeping us from being assaulted by presumably all kinds of swamp beasties right now; I haven't been jumped in months and my blood has probably ripened to smell even more delicious in the interim, it being all untainted and everything. You realize how many things would be all over us if I let down my-- hold on, how did you track us down in the first place, if the tides of my aura are externally invisible?"
"IP digits," Keepses shrugged. "I just tracked your [computer, Usenet technical stuff.] I wouldn't be to concerned about keeping your bubble up; if we managed to track you down other creatures would be able to track you down as well. If they truly would be as determined as you imply they'd be."
Moone glanced around, paranoid again. He dialed up his external detection, widening his bubble slightly so as to detect threats from longer distances, at the expense of weakening his own ability to escape said threats if they should come for him. If they did, he'd just be able to dial it down and reboost his boon again. "And so you just figured it'd be alright to go after the Pontifex again."
"Better than going after you. Safer. The idea was to take out your support, and by this point you'd have been so reliant on it that with your lessened boon you wouldn't know how to flee. You'd be so weakened and everything, you know?"
Moone retracted his bubble again, clenching his anal sphincter tightly. Even more paranoid now, and also anal retentive apparently. Was what Keepses said true? Probably not the way he'd described it. But perhaps the shock of losing the aura so suddenly would leave Moone temporarily... blinded, for lack of a better word. He met the Pontifex's eyes sheepishly. "Well, you can't have the aura," he said back to Keepses. "For now."
"Though actually, I can go 'halfsies,'" the Pontifex corrected, raising a finger slightly. "It just wouldn't be as powerful a boon as a bestowal of my full aura, of course. I'm not sure how much of my aura needs to be on Moone for him to keep his tides twisted the way they are."
"Ah," both Keepses and Moone said together.
"Also," continued the Pontifex, "my aura isn't as sticky on semi-doses as it is with the bestowal of the full thing. It will drain off, just like any normal bestowed aura would, after a period of time."
"Well, I think I'll keep it for now. Though I suppose I won't be able to forever."
Keepses nodded. "Fair 'nuff. It would probably be best to get out of here, still. Like I said earlier, if we could track you down... well, maybe others could track you down, or even us down, to track you down."
Moone stepped closer to the water-logged fountain. "It's true, that I've got both the Pentagram and whoever MacBeth's organization is, on my tail, but I think here's actually the best place for us to be. We'd be able to, stop the Pentagram, make them see my innocence, from here, as well as possibly take down MacBeth. Theoretically. And, um, not right now."
Keepses gave Moone a quizzical look, and Moone gave a run-down of what his plans would be with the fountain. If it dried in time. And if Cloud was still contactable via [it.]
Keepses looked over at the fountain, walked up to it, and kicked one of the stones over. "Huh. Well is that your only lead? Because, uh, this sucks; I mean, it looks like you won't be getting anywhere with this."
"Right," said Moone. "And you're here kicking at stones and acting like, you've got a plan that doesn't suck. This is the final, line, we've got nowhere else to go. You're not offering up any suggestions; why is that?"
"Because your [plan] does suck," Keepses said casually, picking up a pebble from the Fountain and skipping it across the water. "And I've already thought of a plan to take MacBeth down."
"We figure she was brought back to life somehow."
"Is that the truth?" Keepses asked. Moone could tell that he was plotting how to get out of Moone's grip somehow. Moone had felt Keepses's boon knack for plotting back when he'd had his aura on him-- he'd figure something out, alright. Even if it meant signaling to shoot Moone through him at the cost of his own life. Dude did seem pretty suicidal, after what happened to him. However Moone was to convince Keepses, he had to enact it quickly.
Thinking back on the time of his possession of Keepses's aura, Moone immediately realized a plan of his own, a plan that would get Keepses to believe him. Hopefully.
"I had your aura on at the time. For the whole thing. Cloud, MacBeth, all of it. You can see for yourself... You're somewhat psychic, aren't you, Keepses? Why don't you go ahead and read your own mind."
Keepses raised his eyebrows, nodding slightly. His psychic powers were fairly latent, unmodified; he wouldn't be able to read Moone's mind, even with direct physical contact, but he would be able to read his own. The memories stored in his own aura, memories of events that had not happened to him. Usually he used the power to access past lives and things like that; what was this, but very little different from channeling a previous [life?]
Keepses seemed leery of a trap, but his curiosity of the truth finally seemed to outweigh his qualms over anything that would be able to happen while he was contacting himself, so he tilted his head back and closed his eyes gently. Moone could see it, as Keepses [brought his third eye back.]
Keepses's eyes fluttered underneath his eyelids as he brought his third eye back into itself, poking around the dual memories he had of the time period, both of tracking Moone down and being Moone as he made his way to and around the summit. His voice came up occasionally, in a dull dry moan, asking questions and receiving answers from Moone, who guided him as to where he should look. Cloud's [livingness] Keepses confirmed first, and tracked it back to seeing MacBeth and being impossibly inside the bubble that he'd set up and extended outward. Keepses had met neither [full name] MacBeth nor Mushroom Cloud in real life, but apparently could sense Moone's history with them, from being Moone during those memories.
Keepses opened his eyes at last, and [his eyes widened]. "I..." He seemed to come to himself, and finally announced his sniper, and the rest of his team, to stand down. Four or five people tromped out of the brush, and stood around on the higher drier ground. [describe them physically, and give them more characterization or something maybe.]
"That's... really quite something," Keepses said, as Moone let go of him and he turned around so they could face each other as equals. He seemed to be mulling something over. "I never realized your aura would be quite so powerful, enhanced by the, him, like that," he said, gesturing to the Pontifex with a splash-kick of the water that the three of them were about ankle-high in. "If I had power like that... like that aura boost you've got on right now... well, just a test-drive would be something."
Moone exchanged glances with the Pontifex, and looked back at Keepses, not as readily able to start trusting him again as Keepses had him. "One," Moone said, "you were just about to kill him not fifteen minutes ago. And, two--" he exchanged another quick glance-- "I... I don't think you can give out halfsies on the aura. Besides --thirdly I guess, or no this is still a vital part of point two-- I need the aura; it's the only thing keeping us from being assaulted by presumably all kinds of swamp beasties right now; I haven't been jumped in months and my blood has probably ripened to smell even more delicious in the interim, it being all untainted and everything. You realize how many things would be all over us if I let down my-- hold on, how did you track us down in the first place, if the tides of my aura are externally invisible?"
"IP digits," Keepses shrugged. "I just tracked your [computer, Usenet technical stuff.] I wouldn't be to concerned about keeping your bubble up; if we managed to track you down other creatures would be able to track you down as well. If they truly would be as determined as you imply they'd be."
Moone glanced around, paranoid again. He dialed up his external detection, widening his bubble slightly so as to detect threats from longer distances, at the expense of weakening his own ability to escape said threats if they should come for him. If they did, he'd just be able to dial it down and reboost his boon again. "And so you just figured it'd be alright to go after the Pontifex again."
"Better than going after you. Safer. The idea was to take out your support, and by this point you'd have been so reliant on it that with your lessened boon you wouldn't know how to flee. You'd be so weakened and everything, you know?"
Moone retracted his bubble again, clenching his anal sphincter tightly. Even more paranoid now, and also anal retentive apparently. Was what Keepses said true? Probably not the way he'd described it. But perhaps the shock of losing the aura so suddenly would leave Moone temporarily... blinded, for lack of a better word. He met the Pontifex's eyes sheepishly. "Well, you can't have the aura," he said back to Keepses. "For now."
"Though actually, I can go 'halfsies,'" the Pontifex corrected, raising a finger slightly. "It just wouldn't be as powerful a boon as a bestowal of my full aura, of course. I'm not sure how much of my aura needs to be on Moone for him to keep his tides twisted the way they are."
"Ah," both Keepses and Moone said together.
"Also," continued the Pontifex, "my aura isn't as sticky on semi-doses as it is with the bestowal of the full thing. It will drain off, just like any normal bestowed aura would, after a period of time."
"Well, I think I'll keep it for now. Though I suppose I won't be able to forever."
Keepses nodded. "Fair 'nuff. It would probably be best to get out of here, still. Like I said earlier, if we could track you down... well, maybe others could track you down, or even us down, to track you down."
Moone stepped closer to the water-logged fountain. "It's true, that I've got both the Pentagram and whoever MacBeth's organization is, on my tail, but I think here's actually the best place for us to be. We'd be able to, stop the Pentagram, make them see my innocence, from here, as well as possibly take down MacBeth. Theoretically. And, um, not right now."
Keepses gave Moone a quizzical look, and Moone gave a run-down of what his plans would be with the fountain. If it dried in time. And if Cloud was still contactable via [it.]
Keepses looked over at the fountain, walked up to it, and kicked one of the stones over. "Huh. Well is that your only lead? Because, uh, this sucks; I mean, it looks like you won't be getting anywhere with this."
"Right," said Moone. "And you're here kicking at stones and acting like, you've got a plan that doesn't suck. This is the final, line, we've got nowhere else to go. You're not offering up any suggestions; why is that?"
"Because your [plan] does suck," Keepses said casually, picking up a pebble from the Fountain and skipping it across the water. "And I've already thought of a plan to take MacBeth down."
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