The angry, hot notes of the woman's cries fitted beautifully with the music. And it filled his own mind with the peace needed to violate himself so horribly, to become something as filthy as that beautiful wreched woman soldier, to take her over and dominate her and see through her eyes -
He eased his own consciousness into hers, hunting for a thread of memory. Of emotion. He felt the connection between her and Roy, all that past between them. She would give her life for him...would she?
There was one way to find out for sure.
He stripped away the layers of paint he had used to cover himself in their minds, and spread his arms wide, hovering at ease a metre above the floor.
"Such confusion!" he crowed. "Why? Do you expect things here to follow the pattern of everything you've seen before? This game is organic! Expect a lot of new blood to descend upon you soon. If all goes well, four people you will recognise will be among them." He paused. "Including the one who Erin begged for so dearly - that mad bomber. She's too madly in love with him to even think about rejecting that application, wouldn't you think?"
He paused, and turned his face towards Roy. "Court!" he addressed him, breath hissing through the mask, "You know me. You know my world and my powers! You begged publicly, making quite a fool of yourself, for something to arrive to torture him. You're just like every other human since the dawn of Time." He pointed a long, naked finger at Roy's single Homunculus eye. "You love seeing people suffer. You love to make them suffer. You feel a desire to...to toy with the idea of suffering. Isn't that why we have stories? To play with thoughts, filled with pain?!"
His fists clenched, and he turned to face Riza.
"Woman," he addressed her. "Another of your kind is torturing the other half of my mind as we speak. I have no idea who you really are, and for your sake - and your sake alone - I will introduce myself."
He spread his arms wide. "I am Psycho Mantis, the greatest and most skilled practitioner of psychokinesis and telepathy in this or any other world! And I have been sent here, to this very room, to feed you suffering. Make no mistake - no silly little port-switching cheat will save you from me this time."
no subject
He eased his own consciousness into hers, hunting for a thread of memory. Of emotion. He felt the connection between her and Roy, all that past between them. She would give her life for him...would she?
There was one way to find out for sure.
He stripped away the layers of paint he had used to cover himself in their minds, and spread his arms wide, hovering at ease a metre above the floor.
"Such confusion!" he crowed. "Why? Do you expect things here to follow the pattern of everything you've seen before? This game is organic! Expect a lot of new blood to descend upon you soon. If all goes well, four people you will recognise will be among them." He paused. "Including the one who Erin begged for so dearly - that mad bomber. She's too madly in love with him to even think about rejecting that application, wouldn't you think?"
He paused, and turned his face towards Roy. "Court!" he addressed him, breath hissing through the mask, "You know me. You know my world and my powers! You begged publicly, making quite a fool of yourself, for something to arrive to torture him. You're just like every other human since the dawn of Time." He pointed a long, naked finger at Roy's single Homunculus eye. "You love seeing people suffer. You love to make them suffer. You feel a desire to...to toy with the idea of suffering. Isn't that why we have stories? To play with thoughts, filled with pain?!"
His fists clenched, and he turned to face Riza.
"Woman," he addressed her. "Another of your kind is torturing the other half of my mind as we speak. I have no idea who you really are, and for your sake - and your sake alone - I will introduce myself."
He spread his arms wide. "I am Psycho Mantis, the greatest and most skilled practitioner of psychokinesis and telepathy in this or any other world! And I have been sent here, to this very room, to feed you suffering. Make no mistake - no silly little port-switching cheat will save you from me this time."