There actually was this kid I met before I woke up here. Flat Escardos, I think his name was. He was super impressed with my body and how it worked. Its just a shame that he's embroiled in all that mess in Nevada...
[He just shakes his head, his expression souring. That's right....Nevada...]
[Should he be glad that he's here, and not there? He wonders, some days.]
Ha, right, Las Vegas is there. Like a bunch of sinners and gamblers will save the country from the kind of destruction that's coming.
[He brushes aside some of his hair behind one of his ears, considering, thinking...before he finally huffs. Sure. He might as well tell someone outside the Servants.]
Do you know what a Holy Grail is? Or at least, have you heard of it?
Mm. Yeah, that's pretty much it. But specifically, what it does is have the ability to grant any wish a person desires. There's, of course, the original holy relic that contained the blood of Christ, but there are also artifacts that draw upon that original's power, and have immense magical power themselves. They appear very rarely from time to time, usually through rituals or circumstances that allow them to exist.
[A shake of the head.]
So, you have an artifact like that, and a bunch of mage families who will kill and murder to get any kind of power, so what do you think happens? A full-on war, of course. That's what's happening in Snowfield, Nevada. A Holy Grail War, and the poor inhabitants of that city are none the wiser as to the kind of devastation that it will bring.
[Well, this sounds very familiar, but in an extremely fantastical way.
He smile faintly, teasingly.] You sound like a Templar Knight. [And then he frowns in seriousness.]
I try not to get involved in the details of people's business. The profession I was in required neutrality and no emotion. To get the job done.
But there are things similar to this where I'm from. [He glances up.] I had a regular employer who just recently found a way to produce a hallucinogenic drug that caused people who took it to be controlled. He had plans to sell it to those in politics, and to the government to use on soldiers during war. They were testing it on criminals under the cover of rehabilitation.
Someone... a former student of mine, I guess you could say, was trying to stop him with his gang, and other gangs.
Which is to say, I understand, in a way, what you're trying to explain.
Haha, a Templar Knight? I guess so. Maybe my body is my armor.
[But even then, he's still very much a neutral player. He listens as Blanca speaks, his own frown mimicking the other's.]
A drug, huh? Doesn't surprise me, especially with the government's involvement. The US government is helping to fund and support key players in the Holy Grail War, too. [That's just how it is. The government wants to have its fingers in so many pies, for its own benefit.] Were you all succeeding? I can imagine how hard it is to bring an operation like that down.
Mm. There was... a little more going on besides only Banana Fish. The drug. The usual you would expect out of politicians, but shouldn't: extortion, paying for your position, and even pedophilia.
[He frowns again, but then smiles even if it's tight.]
It didn't feel right to let Ash do it alone, so I left my former employer, and went to assist him. We managed to... get a start, I suppose. Taking out a small piece of the corruption, and exposing a lot of the rest publicly.
Ash...is that the kid you were talking about earlier? [The one who didn't get the love he needed?] I mean, that's a good first step. Sometimes, you really need to get the public to get involved. Not in my case, though.
[Hansa lets out a short, bitter sort of laugh.]
The job of the Church is to keep everything under wraps. That was my job as Overseer.
[He parts his hands--not in a shrug exactly, but a kind of, "I agree, but what do you expect from some people?" way.]
Ah. No, that was my former employer I left, Mister Yut-Lung. I can't criticize him too much. He had a hard life, and he is young. Sixteen. He and Ash are similar in that regard, and Mister Yut-Lung understood that.
But Mister Yut-Lung didn't want Ash to have the happiness he could never find. The boy Mister Yut-Lung wanted me to kill--Eiji, was Ash's friend.
[He peers at Hansa, his smile amused. Not about that, but what Hansa has said.]
I imagine even the Church has its dark secrets like the rest of us.
Sixteen is pretty young. And I remember you telling me about him. Pettiness seemed to be his drive. To destroy someone who got something he didn't feel they deserved...
[Their previous conversation is coming back to him, now. To think of someone whose grudge consumed them, forced them into a dark path...]
Haha. [His own smile grows, twisting into a smirk.] Of course it does. I won't pretend it doesn't. In the end, I follow what the Lord says, and do what has to be done. Even if that means annihilating the Church's enemies.
[Hansa looks down at the water. Both of their reflections seem muted, rippling, dark.]
...I guess you and I are more similar than I thought. Both of us have blood on our hands. We're just trying to do our best, in this kind of dark, twisted world.
[It sounds very harsh. Very... lawful good maybe. So good, you're almost bad in some of the things you do. But Blanca can't judge; he can't judge anyone being the person he's been.]
I was that way when I was a soldier. Not to the Church, but to the army, to the special operations.
[He follows Hansa's gaze out to the water.]
Next week, I want to show you something, if you wouldn't mind, Mister Cervantes. I haven't shown it to anyone yet, but I think someone should know just in case it comes up later.
[Even sometimes, you try to be lawful good, but your very nature means that the Church can't exactly keep you under its thumb. Its fine. Hansa is happy where he is. Not happy with the things he has to deal with, but happy all the same.]
[He nods.]
That's fine. You have your role and all. And I think I'll show you something, too. [He lets out a low exhale.] With the state of our memories, I don't know how much we can rely on. Its best we have someone to be a crutch in the case it falls through our fingers.
I didn't especially think I would care to let others know about myself much less... memories, I guess. Old professional habit. But you're right. The longer we're here, the more I'm realizing, it may be beneficial for at least one other person to know something about you.
Whenever you're ready. Don't feel as if you need to show, or tell me anything simply because I'm entrusting you with something of mine.
Hey, maybe I will. Too bad we don't have more Crown Royal to share.
[He looks at the hand, then smiles up at Blanca.]
Go for it. Get some rest. I need to check on Alex, anyways. [And then...a beat.] Hey, those scratches you had during the trial...were they from Lup? Did she really do that to you?
[Now that gets him to grin. He just shakes his head, chuckling.]
Oh, I'll overlook it just this once. [In a tone of voice that implies that he really doesn't care about how sinful it is or whatever.] She's a wonderful woman. I can hardly blame you.
[Hehe. What a cute look on Hansa, wow! He offers the man a friendly few pats of both understanding and parting on the back of the shoulder as he walks by over the bridge.]
Let's talk tomorrow. [He pauses briefly to look back.] With Archer, and... maybe with Mister Won as well. Goodnight, Mister Cervantes.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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I think I understand. There are a few types like that in New York.
You've never met a single "good" mage, Hansa...?
[He sounds a bit teasing, but not in a mean way.]
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[But he lets out a laugh at that.]
There actually was this kid I met before I woke up here. Flat Escardos, I think his name was. He was super impressed with my body and how it worked. Its just a shame that he's embroiled in all that mess in Nevada...
[He just shakes his head, his expression souring. That's right....Nevada...]
[Should he be glad that he's here, and not there? He wonders, some days.]
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Must be dangerous. You would think Nevada would be a place under the radar. But Las Vegas is there.
Is there trouble?
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[He brushes aside some of his hair behind one of his ears, considering, thinking...before he finally huffs. Sure. He might as well tell someone outside the Servants.]
Do you know what a Holy Grail is? Or at least, have you heard of it?
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He does tilt his head somewhat at the question.]
I know of the Holy Grail from our fiction. The Arthurian one. It's--what? A cup, or stone treasure that gives eternal youth and happiness?
Something people say is not only hard to find, but hard to get.
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[A shake of the head.]
So, you have an artifact like that, and a bunch of mage families who will kill and murder to get any kind of power, so what do you think happens? A full-on war, of course. That's what's happening in Snowfield, Nevada. A Holy Grail War, and the poor inhabitants of that city are none the wiser as to the kind of devastation that it will bring.
no subject
He smile faintly, teasingly.] You sound like a Templar Knight. [And then he frowns in seriousness.]
I try not to get involved in the details of people's business. The profession I was in required neutrality and no emotion. To get the job done.
But there are things similar to this where I'm from. [He glances up.] I had a regular employer who just recently found a way to produce a hallucinogenic drug that caused people who took it to be controlled. He had plans to sell it to those in politics, and to the government to use on soldiers during war. They were testing it on criminals under the cover of rehabilitation.
Someone... a former student of mine, I guess you could say, was trying to stop him with his gang, and other gangs.
Which is to say, I understand, in a way, what you're trying to explain.
no subject
[But even then, he's still very much a neutral player. He listens as Blanca speaks, his own frown mimicking the other's.]
A drug, huh? Doesn't surprise me, especially with the government's involvement. The US government is helping to fund and support key players in the Holy Grail War, too. [That's just how it is. The government wants to have its fingers in so many pies, for its own benefit.] Were you all succeeding? I can imagine how hard it is to bring an operation like that down.
no subject
Mm. There was... a little more going on besides only Banana Fish. The drug. The usual you would expect out of politicians, but shouldn't: extortion, paying for your position, and even pedophilia.
[He frowns again, but then smiles even if it's tight.]
It didn't feel right to let Ash do it alone, so I left my former employer, and went to assist him. We managed to... get a start, I suppose. Taking out a small piece of the corruption, and exposing a lot of the rest publicly.
no subject
[He scowls, slightly.]
Ash...is that the kid you were talking about earlier? [The one who didn't get the love he needed?] I mean, that's a good first step. Sometimes, you really need to get the public to get involved. Not in my case, though.
[Hansa lets out a short, bitter sort of laugh.]
The job of the Church is to keep everything under wraps. That was my job as Overseer.
no subject
Ah. No, that was my former employer I left, Mister Yut-Lung. I can't criticize him too much. He had a hard life, and he is young. Sixteen. He and Ash are similar in that regard, and Mister Yut-Lung understood that.
But Mister Yut-Lung didn't want Ash to have the happiness he could never find. The boy Mister Yut-Lung wanted me to kill--Eiji, was Ash's friend.
[He peers at Hansa, his smile amused. Not about that, but what Hansa has said.]
I imagine even the Church has its dark secrets like the rest of us.
no subject
[Their previous conversation is coming back to him, now. To think of someone whose grudge consumed them, forced them into a dark path...]
Haha. [His own smile grows, twisting into a smirk.] Of course it does. I won't pretend it doesn't. In the end, I follow what the Lord says, and do what has to be done. Even if that means annihilating the Church's enemies.
[Hansa looks down at the water. Both of their reflections seem muted, rippling, dark.]
...I guess you and I are more similar than I thought. Both of us have blood on our hands. We're just trying to do our best, in this kind of dark, twisted world.
no subject
I was that way when I was a soldier. Not to the Church, but to the army, to the special operations.
[He follows Hansa's gaze out to the water.]
Next week, I want to show you something, if you wouldn't mind, Mister Cervantes. I haven't shown it to anyone yet, but I think someone should know just in case it comes up later.
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[He nods.]
That's fine. You have your role and all. And I think I'll show you something, too. [He lets out a low exhale.] With the state of our memories, I don't know how much we can rely on. Its best we have someone to be a crutch in the case it falls through our fingers.
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I didn't especially think I would care to let others know about myself much less... memories, I guess. Old professional habit. But you're right. The longer we're here, the more I'm realizing, it may be beneficial for at least one other person to know something about you.
Whenever you're ready. Don't feel as if you need to show, or tell me anything simply because I'm entrusting you with something of mine.
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[There's a playful sort of tone in his voice, like yeah, of course, why not? Just go along with things. Enjoy what happens. Isn't that how life is?]
Besides, I like you. Isn't that enough?
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That's enough. I'm honored. I enjoy hearing about your adventures. I hope you'll indulge me in more some other time.
[When he turns, he puts a hand on Hansa's shoulder.]
Thank you for the company. I need to check on Miss Lup before she buzzes out of her skin this week.
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[He looks at the hand, then smiles up at Blanca.]
Go for it. Get some rest. I need to check on Alex, anyways. [And then...a beat.] Hey, those scratches you had during the trial...were they from Lup? Did she really do that to you?
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She's quite feisty. [He chuckles.] It's just something casual. I'm sure you understand how difficult it is to resist a pretty woman.
At least, I hope you won't condemn me for having a little fun and not being married.
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Oh, I'll overlook it just this once. [In a tone of voice that implies that he really doesn't care about how sinful it is or whatever.] She's a wonderful woman. I can hardly blame you.
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Miss Alex is very wonderful, too. [Pointedly. Since, you know. Not that he's assuming.] But she is someone you have to be more gentle with.
Tell her hello for me when you see her.
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[Hansa sort of just smiles to himself, looking away.]
I'm a priest, Blanca. [He almost looks...vaguely bittersweet.] But I'll keep that in mind. Say hello to Lup for me in return.
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Let's talk tomorrow. [He pauses briefly to look back.] With Archer, and... maybe with Mister Won as well. Goodnight, Mister Cervantes.
[And then he keeps going.]
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Yeah. [He raises a hand in goodbye.] See you tomorrow. Have a good night.
[And he'll just stand here, looking down at the water.]
[He'll probably be here for a while.]