Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20160207063839/@comment-5999656-20160322183914

Platinum forcefully pushed her way against the streams of people, trying to find some way, any way, to get as far as she could. The haze had exploded into sparks behind her eyelids when she'd taken her rage out on Raizel, but now that impulsive fire had reached its climax, leaving the young detective alone to face reality once more. She turned down a side street where there were less bystanders, and kept running.

Why am I running?

All she had thought of doing was getting away from there. She'd done the wrong thing, opened the floodgates of her temper, and now the worst thing had happened again. The silver-haired girl's hands balled into fists, and she ignored the blood forming into droplets on one of them. This was her weakness. Her anger was pure destruction, and once again she had let it take over her. How many relationships had she broken because of this? These people weren't going to be as understanding as her friends from C4T3R.

"Platinum!"

The sound of Fen's voice somewhere in the distance rang over the ambient city noises, and Platinum start running faster. The last thing she wanted was to lash out uncontrollably against her most loyal friend. She remembered what had happened two years ago. She had tried to force her way into Fen's thoughts when they were both already overcome with melding emotions because of Rosso, and what had happened? Fen had tried to kill herself.

A small voice in the back of her head told Platinum that it was impossible that she was solely responsible for Fen snapping. But she took responsibility for her actions.

Something which those two fools won't.

All she wanted was to form a team. Not necessarily an outstanding one, or a unique one, just a typical Beacon team that could take on assignments. And what had she got instead? A firestarter and a psychopath. What the hell? What were the chances?

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Platinum slowed as she reached an empty parking lot. The concrete was rough and cracked, and she was far from the bright lights of the busier streets. Platinum had to release her pent-up frustration, and she did so with calculation. Spotting a small tree at the end of the lot, Platinum strode over, slid out her sabre, and deftly sliced the shrub in two. She then grabbed a fallen branch and held it before her with both hands, and snapped it. A loud crack resounded, and its noise was an outlet for Platinum's anger.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">___________________

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Fen had chased after Platinum, apprehension in her heart but eyes watching and mind racing. As she jostled against the crowds, she struggled to comprehend Platinum's outburst.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">They went too far. That was just... no.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I went too far.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">She'd just wanted to screw around, show her displeasure with being in a team by making her disinterest blatant and provoking Raizel. Maybe if she hadn't fucked around this whole thing would never have happened. And now that Platinum's moral code was decommissioned, it was up to her to salvage that abstract concept of <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">justice <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">from where it had fallen.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">She was going to step up and do her part. Her loyalty lie not in bettering the world but in protecting those who she cared about. Clearly her facade had contributed to Platinum's breakdown, so how else could she apologize than by being herself?

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">She ran after Platinum, not close enough to alert her teammate but enough to keep her silhouette in her sight. Only when the silver-haired girl stopped did Fen draw closer. Fen stood a few meters behind Platinum, feet planted on the bumpy ground and hands at either side of her. She watched as Platinum engaged in her strange emotional release, but said nothing.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Strange - ever since their early days it had always seemed like Platinum was always focused on doing her own things. Only when they were very small had Platinum ever really <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">needed <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Fen. The first day of school and no one would approach the shy, silent ghost child. No one other than Fen, that is. She bumbled up and introduced herself with a big smile on her face, and by some chance the girl had started following her around, and they'd become an inseparable duo. Even though they'd been partners, and Fen had watched as Platinum was faced with struggle after struggle, the girl had never once asked for help. Not when her mother disappeared, or her father left, or when he came back broken, or when Rosso died. Platinum had just gone about, quieter than before but still there. Like a ghost. All she did was disappear someplace private until the moment had passed. Fen had followed her before, but none of her words of encouragement seemed to impress the other girl. So she knew about this silent fury, and how Platinum sometimes hurt other people with her words or with her fists. But this was the first time she'd had to speak up and take control.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">________________________

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Platinum dropped the shattered bark on the ground and turned to see Fen standing some ways behind her, jacket billowing and face just distinguishable in the gloom. A silence followed before one of them spoke.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">" <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">What <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">?" The word was cold, blunt.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"What happened, huh?" This time Fen was the one with the angry tone, although it was less obvious than Platinum's.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"You couldn't figure it out? I'm done with this shit. Who fucking needs a team, anyway?" Platinum dropped these cruel words carelessly, although she was really looking for Fen's expression. Seems part of her was still looking for a fight.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"If you don't want to be in a team, then go back to Beacon and apply for a rearrangement," Fen said. Logic trumped any emotional fallacies. "Come on, Platinum. I'm pissed too, but how is punching someone going to-"

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Because she fucking deserved it!" Platinum cut her off, and her hands balled into fists again as her blood dripped out onto the tarmac. "Why do I have to be the unifier, huh?! Obviously none of you care, so why should I?! Just go back to doing your own thing, and we'll <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">all <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> be <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">happy <span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> again."

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Is that so?" Fen's liquid-smooth delivery sent a chill up Platinum's spine. "You think I'm gonna be happy after you added to the mess? As though I should just forget everything you said to me earlier? Take some goddamn responsibility."

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Yeah, cuz if I don't, you'll try to kill yourself. Isn't that how you solve problems?"

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">She'd gone too far, Platinum knew the moment those words left her mouth. But she was spiteful that, when there had been so many other options available, Fen had chosen to take the permanent way out.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Fen's eyes widened, then narrowed into angry slits.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Right. You're gonna go there." That was all she said.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"..."

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"..."

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Fen, I'm sorry."

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"You should be. I am too, you know. I shouldn't have let things go so far. I knew about Cyzarine's problems, and I said nothing. But you know what? Whatever happened has happened, and it's my job to pick up the pieces. That job'll be easier if it's the two of us. So let's get this out of the way. Why are you so angry? Why did you do that?"

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">There it was. The signal for confession time.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"I thought Raizel had destroyed my reputation," Platinum admitted. "That's in addition to the other stuff she caused beforehand. I saw no point in letting her off the hook easily," she challenged. But Fen said nothing. And as Platinum thought it out, she realized that maybe she wasn't as liable as she'd first thought.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Fine, so I was unjustified. How come all of a sudden you care about the team, huh?"

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"I don't."

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">That took Platinum aback.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.89;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:13.333333333333332px;font-family:Arial;color:#d5d4d4;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">"An institutional construct like teaming usually has no relevance to me. But it matters to me if it's what's causing you to fight against other people. And since I respect your original devotion to being in a team, I'll be the hero this time."

Fen was presenting a purely objective argument and sounding pretty tough while doing so, but all she really wanted to do was apologize for her own carelessness. <span style="font-size:13.3333px;font-family:Arial;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;white-space:pre-wrap;">I'm sorry for not realizing earlier what was really important to me. And to show that she wasn't the weak girl she'd been before. But how was she supposed to say that?

"Alright? I did a whole lot of thinking after that day, and I realized that it's stupid to take your life away from the people who care about you. And maybe I got a whole lot more selfish after that day, okay? Because I realized that it does me no good to throw my life into things that I can't fix. Better to take control over what I can and to leave alone the things I can't." Fen was being totally, one hundred percent honest here. Her motivations after Rosso changed. No longer was she going to idealistically chase heroism.

"You know I'm never gonna be a Huntress. I just want to be able to take care of myself and the people I care about. That's it. But doing that includes making sure you don't go off the rails when things go terribly." Fen crossed her arms. There, she's stated her justification.

"So do you want to have a team or not?"

"I do. But -"

"Good, so I'm not wasting my time. Maybe those two really are a hot mess, okay? But I'm pretty damn sure they've learned their lesson after this, so is it so hard to see what happens next? Is it?"

"No," Platinum sighed, and rubbed her wet fist against her jacket, staining the silver fabric with streaks of red. Oh shoot.

"No one will blame you for doing the right thing. You know you went above and beyond what a normal leader would have done. So your reputation, if anything, should be boosted by tonight." At the cost of Raizel's, naturally, thought Fen.

"So there. Are there any other problems I need to address?"

"I think that's... it, actually."

"Then let's go back." Fen turned and began retracing their path, back to the police station.

"Fen."

"Yeah?" She stopped, but didn't turn.

"Look... I really am sorry. But I can't handle a team by myself, not when it's like this. So can you -"

"Help you out this time instead of opposing you? Of course. I'm done playing the deceiver." And that was it. Somehow, Fen realized, she only made the right decisions when it was really, absolutely, irrevocably necessary. Because of that day, she mused.