Split

[Storyteller]

Rhett Keyes
Hudson had been roaming the sewers when suddenly the surrounding area around him manifested into something completely different, taking him aback. "What the ****?" He asked, looking around quickly, wondering how the hell he got from the sewers to-wherever this place was. And then his eyes fell on 'Jesse.' "What the ****?" He asked again, this time with a little more robust behind his words.

Jesse Fforde
The conversation with Hudson and Renard had gone well, but it left Jesse unsettled. It felt like the two men wanted to consider Jesse a sire, but he wasn't. Not to Beckett. Jesse was doing what he'd have done for any of his own, and he'd stepped up for Beckett and Renard only because it appeared Rhett wasn't willing. Which wasn't like Rhett -- the way he'd spoken about Dhara, once, and not because she'd been his wife, was proof that he cared for his childer. He helped them, wanted them to be safe. Jesse wasn't even sure Rhett would have introduced Beckett to Fforde; he wouldn't have needed to. He would have had it under control. And this... would not fly. Jesse missed Rhett. If there was anyone he could have spoken to about his current issues, once upon a time, it would have been Rhett. So, he went somewhere secluded. Somewhere Hudson wouldn't know how to get out of -- the Greenhouse in Cerberus, its plants still strewn all over the place, thrown and ripped from pots in a fit of rage. Jesse had positioned himself in front of the door that wasn't a door. There was no way out. Over the day, the tongue had grown back and Jesse suspected it had something to do with his 'conversation' with Clover. This would, at least, make this a little easier. "We need to talk," he said.

Rhett Keyes
The place wasn't at all familiar to Hudson. When he heard what Jesse had to say, he crossed his arms at his chest and nodded. "Okay. Talk then." He had an idea what it might be about, but really, he didn't feel as if it were any of Jesse's business. He leaned against the nearest wall, crossed his legs at his ankles and took a casual stance, waiting to hear what he said.

Jesse Fforde
"Who are you and why are you here?" he asked. That was the crux of it, really. If he could get to the bottom of Hudson, then maybe he'd be able to lure Rhett out. What Hudson had done didn't matter; there'd be no reprimand because Hudson didn't belong. Hudson was an interloper; he was possessing Rhett's body like it was a game park ride and Jesse's intention was to ban him from it. Maybe it would take more than a single night. But he had to at least try.

Rhett Keyes
Hudson snorted, kicked off the wall and then balked at Jesse. "The same person I was yesterday, the day before and the day before that. Why I'm here? Ask..Rhett is it?" He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't need to explain himself to some stranger, or his motives.

Jesse Fforde
"Okay. I'd love to ask Rhett. Rhett..." Jesse said, taking a step closer to the guy. It was Rhett. It was Rhett's face, Rhett's eyes, Rhett's voice. But he wasn't acting like Rhett. Now, he would no longer talk to Hudson. He would only talk to Rhett. "Rhett, who the **** is Hudson and why is he here?"

Rhett Keyes
Hudson stared back at Jesse, who seemed hell bent on talking to Rhett who he wasn't. "I'm sorry, Rhett's not here right now. Leave a message and maybe I'll pass it on. Maybe." He sneered and then started to move around Jesse. "Which way is out?" What the **** was this place?

Jesse Fforde
'Out' was a door built into the wall, secret and hidden. Jesse knew where the lever was to open it. If Hudson tried hard enough he'd probably find it, too. Somewhere in here were the snakes Clover had given Jesse -- the green one, and the black one. Both harmless, really. But they'd be watching. Jesse stepped in front of Hudson, shoved at his shoulders, pushed him back. "Rhett," he repeated the name. "What if Dhara was in danger? Would you come out, then? Come on, buddy. You're stronger than this..."

Rhett Keyes
Hudson didn't even register the name Dhara. He had never met her, had never heard of her, so the name failed to really trigger anything from Hudson other than a continual sneer in Jesse's direction. "He can't come out." It was as simple as that to Hudson-when he was in control he was in control. There was some form of 'trigger' from what he had researched to bring Hudson out, or Rhett out, but Hudson wasn't aware of what either was triggered by. "What if he's not?" Hudson was hell bent on trying to find a way to figure out what Rhett's trigger was, and making sure that trigger never happened. "The guy doesn't even drink blood from humans. The thing we need to survive." Hudson snorted, then began to look around for the door. There didn't seem to be one. What the ****?

Jesse Fforde
Jesse growled. There was nothing. Nothing at all. Not even a twitch. Hudson didn't even look like he was struggling, or fighting anything off. "I know you don't, Rhett. You don't like drinking blood from humans, but that doesn't matter. So what? It's better, in this climate, to hate the blood of humans. It makes you a good guy. We needs good guys to balance us out. Is that your problem? You're struggling with being a vampire? Come on out and we can talk about it..."

Rhett Keyes
A growl. Well, that was interesting. this Jesse guy was getting frustrated. It made Hudson smirk a little. "I don't know what Rhett's problem is, and I'd probably stop caring at this point." Hudson shrugged and then moved to where a solid border was at to feel for a wall, and then hopefully a door. "Maybe his problem is he's related to a bunch of tossers. Like you." Hudson suggested, still searching for that way out.

Jesse Fforde
Jesse smirked, too. Now Hudson had degraded to insults. He wondered what would happen if someone Rhett cared about were in clear danger; if Rhett were witness to it. If this didn't work, a plan started to formulate. "Oh I'm almost certain you think I'm a tosser sometimes, Rhett, but I'm a tosser who gives a **** about your existence. You're going to come back and realise you've allowed some ******* show pony slaughter people, turn others without a care in the world for their progress or development. Marisol's going to move on, you know that? She's a catch. Anyone would be lucky to have her. All she's going to see in your face is Hudson, soon, and she's going to be turned off forever. You're going to lose everyone, Rhett. Do you want to lose everyone?"

Rhett Keyes
Hudson stopped moving for a second, as if he was hesitant about something. Maybe he was, or maybe he was just thinking. "What makes you think Rhett is coming back?" Hudson asked as he turned to look at Jesse. He then shrugged. "It's possible." He laid out a threat that he couldn't quite deliver on-not that Jesse or anyone knew that.

Jesse Fforde
"I know you, Rhett. I know you're going to come back. I know you have to be in there, fighting to get back out again. What happened to you?" Jesse asked. He'd seen the hesitation. It didn't mean anything. But it could mean everything. "You know, I've seen Marisol out with Ysmir," Jesse lied. "The guy can seem like a dick on the forum but he's actually really caring. When Hudson's around, Marisol is lost. She needs someone's shoulder to cry on. If it's not Ysmir, it'll be someone else. Someone will be there to catch her. But you'll come back before that happens, yeah? This is just a glitch," he said. He grabbed at Rhett's shoulder to try haul him back into the room, to shove him into the center of it, away from the 'door'. He wasn't done yet.

Rhett Keyes
Jesse was a lot of things in Hudson's mind. Right now, he was annoying. "I'm not sure what you're doing, but Rhett can't hear you. ONly I can. and I'd appreciate you shutting the **** up." Hudson was pushed back by Jesse, which had him looking around in another area for the door. "Ysmir?" Hudson snorted. "Really?" Hudson then shrugged his shoulders. "Won't last." Was his final thoughts on that, before he tilted his head to the right and then let a bone in it 'pop.' "So, out?" He asked, pointing to the left, thinking Jesse might let it slip one way or another which way was out of here and this conversation.

Jesse Fforde
Jesse paced. He didn't look at the door, didn't indicate where it might be. Whenever 'Hudson' spoke and it had nothing to do with the current situation, he ignored it. Nothing was getting through. "I remember when we were younger," he said to Rhett, still speaking to the man inside he knew -- hoped -- was listening. "I was a lost cause, one of those youths you're so dead set on helping. I admire what you're doing with RetroKade. Did I ever tell you that? I admire it because one of those youths could be another me. You care as much now as you did then, and my life would have amounted to nothing without it. We used to sit and watch the sunset, most of the time in silence. You taught me that my art could amount to something more, that I had talent. You didn't give up on me then, Rhett. And I'm not going to give up on you now."

Rhett Keyes
Why the **** was Jesse still talking? Hudson started pacing like a caged tiger, before he snapped at Jesse. "**** off!" He then moved forward and gave Jesse a shove to the center of his chest to push him away from him and to hopefully knock the guy on his ***. And to again, shut him up. "In case you forgot, those kids put a bullet in Rhett's skull." Hudson snarled at Jesse, before pacing again. "They wanted to kill the guy you admire so damn much."

Jesse Fforde
And what was Hudson? Rhett's protector? A fugue state so that Rhett could heal? No, that couldn't be it. Jesse had spoken to Marisol -- he knew she had spoken to Rhett since that night, though Jesse hadn't. Rhett came out for Marisol. Was Marisol the key? "You'd give up on all of them because of the actions of one? Of a couple? Come on, Rhett. You're better than that," he said. He'd been shoved, and he did stumble back -- he might have been stronger than Rhett, but Rhett still had his own strength. Strength that Hudson now wielded. Jesse came back at Hudson. He closed the distance between them and grabbed the cloth of his shirt, getting right up in his face. He shook Rhett, wanted to slam him up against a wall. He wanted to knock some sense into him. "Come out, Rhett. Come the **** out already!" he shouted. Jesse was sick of this ********. He wanted his friend back.

Rhett Keyes
A lot had happened that night that had and hadn't been identified on a few fronts. Some that may never be identified-still, the chain of events had brought Hudson back out of a dorment state and now that he was 'back,' he wasn't ready to be shoved back to where he'd been living...the night Rhett had been 'born' in a sense. "One? A couple?" Hudson asked after being shaken by Jesse. "Don't kid yourself, or try and kid me." Hudson chuckled and shook his head. "You say people need people like Rhett in the world? I say ********. People need people like me. Like you. You're not fooling anyone with the good guy act. We're vampires, and the sooner everyone figures that tidbit out, the sooner we can all accept that your friend Rhett isn't coming back. So next time he does come out, you go ahead and say your goodbyes, because as soon as I-" He stopped talking as soon as he got in Jesse's face. "Rhett's not coming back." A lie, Hudson knew it was a matter of time before he'd be back, but Jesse and the rest of them didn't know that.

Jesse Fforde
Jesse shook his head. "You're wrong," he said. He let go of Hudson. He stepped back. It would look like he'd given up, but he hadn't. For now, maybe, but he had plans. "I need people like Rhett. Because you, whoever the **** you are, are not needed by anyone. How could you be? You're a pathetic, useless, immature ****," Jesse said, spitting at Hudson's feet. "No one will ever need you. No one will ever want you. Do us all a favour and **** off."

Rhett Keyes
"Hudson." He said his name again, before he decided he was done with Jesse, or at least listening to Jesse. Hudson threw his right arm back, then tossed it in Jesse's direction intending to hit him right in his big, opinionated, worthless mouth.

Jesse Fforde
Jesse should have seen it coming. Maybe he had. Maybe he allowed it to happen. He stood there, he took it, so that he might have an excuse to return the favour. Knuckles collided with flesh and Jesse bit down on his own tongue. He could taste blood. The shadows squirmed at Jesse's feet, but he wouldn't let them loose. No, this was a fight without weapons. Jesse could honour that. Jesse swiftly recovered, his own fingers curling into a fist that was delivered as a swift uppercut.

Rhett Keyes
When the punch connected, Hudson had to admit that it felt pretty ******* good. Finally, silence from the guy. The smug feeling he felt didn't last long before Hudson was reeling backwards from a punch that knew was coming since he dished one out first. He took a few steps back, then charged at Jesse, much like a linebacker would, attempting to tackle the guy to the ground so he could really have at his face.

Jesse Fforde
The tackle connected and Jesse considered letting go. He considered going down and letting Hudson do what they **** he wanted. Reduce Jesse's face to a pulp if he wanted. He considered, and then decided. It was a long shot. A super long shot. But if Rhett was in there, if he was watching, would he care enough to let it? Or did he, too, think Jesse deserved a beating? And so he went down. He landed heavily on his back; his fists clenched, but he didn't fight back. Not yet.

Rhett Keyes
A punch and then two connected with Jesse's face, and Hudson wasn't getting anything back. Was he stronger than Jesse? the thought entertained him for a second, before he punched him another time. And then another. Maybe after tonight, he would finally get the big picture. But after the fifth punch connected with Jesse, Hudson began to slow and hesitate. He had landed a blow before, right to his jaw, and now? Now he was flat on his *** taking it in. "I expected more from a big mouth know-it-all." Hudson grabbed Jesse by the shirt and slammed him down against the ground, before moving to get off the guy. "Some leader." Hudson shook his head and moved to the right side of what seemed to be a garden to find the door out. Again.

Jesse Fforde
With every blow landed, Jesse turned back to Rhett, eyes bright and searching for some sign. After the fourth he smiled, though he wasn't mirthful. So, it hadn't worked. If Rhett was in there, if he could see what Hudson was doing, he didn't care. Jesse could have assumed as much; Rhett's concern for Jesse lived in the past. Before Hudson could get very far, Jesse swept out a foot, intend on tripping him over, on sending him sprawling. And if he went down, Jesse'd be the one on his feet, insistent on delivering a swift, hard kick to Hudson't gut.

Rhett Keyes
He went down before he could get far, Hudson finding the ground, and then a foot to his stomach. He grabbed Jesse's foot and kept it connected to his stomach, before he turned it, attempting to break the foot. As his hands twisted Jesse's foot, he moved his leg out to kick at Jesse's other leg, the one supporting him, to send him back on his ***.

Jesse Fforde
Jesse could be lithe when he wanted to be. He was quick on his feet and, to avoid a broken foot he had to move with it, his body twisting to accommodate. When he went down it wasn't onto his ***; instead, his knees were bend and he went forward, one such knee headed straight for Hudson's chest. Jesse's arm was lifted, ready to deliver a blow to Hudson's nose with his elbow.




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This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the Cerberus area. Participants and rewards were: Rhett Keyes earned 1855 RPP. Jesse Fforde earned 2407 RPP.

[Rhett Keyes]

Something inspired, or woke something in Jesse, because the scenario turned into something a little more difficult than it had been a few minutes before. Instead of hearing the satisfying 'pop' of a broken foot from the pressure Hudson was applying, Jesse moved into the twist and was on Hudson with both knees. "OMPH." Hudson said as he felt his chest crack from the weight of the other guy on him.

Just as he was going to push Jesse off him, by twisting his body to the right, the sting of an elbow to his nose set in and Hudson heard the bone break and saw the blood on Jesse's shirt. His blood. Hudson laughed, mostly through his nose which caused blood to spray out of it, getting his face and some of Jesse's clothing. It was ruined anyways. "There's the hot shot." Hudson commented, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he coughed, feeling the rattling of his chest as he did that. "******." Hudson growled out as he sat forward and wrapped both arms around Jesse's torso to give him the same chest rattling he gifted Hudson; only by squeezing as hard as he could with the strength only a killer could possess.

(OOC: Bone Crusher)

[Jesse Fforde]

Rhett laughed -- he wouldn't refer to the guy as anything but Rhett from now on -- and Jesse let his guard down. The arms of his erstwhile 'friend' wrapped around Jesse's torso, and now it was the Necromancer's turn to laugh. What was this? Hug and make up? But then the pressure intensified, and instead Jesse felt the tables turn. Now it was Rhett who was the boa constrictor and Jesse's ribs started to crack and snap.

Snap, Crackle, Pop.

His arms were pinned even as he roared, rearing back only so that he could lunge forward again, forehead headed straight for Rhett's already broken nose. The fury was fuelled not only by the adrenaline of the fight but because he'd never thought this would happen. This was Rhett, for ****'s sake. The one guy he'd always thought he'd be able to reveal all to, to get support from, and now this. It was ******* ludicrous.

Jesse might not have had his weapons -- might not have been able to get to them, had he had his weapons -- but he did have the shadows. They surged around him, now. They hardened into a sharpened point. They curled around behind Rhett and aimed to strike him in the heart.

[Rhett Keyes]

Triggers.
It was hard to pinpoint them, but each male had them.
Unbeknownst to either, well, all three males; Jesse, Rhett and Hudson, Jesse had accidentally managed to get through to the person underneath Hudson. Rhett.

It wasn't the crack to the skull from Jesse's head butt that triggered, or shook something inside of Hudson, allowing Rhett to surface, but the smack to the ground at the back of his head that had the guy seeing stars. Literally. Or blobs. It was hard to tell as he tried to reel in what was going around Rhett.

The blobs, or stars shifted into a large, looming figure that arced high in the air, as Rhett grabbed his head and tried to shake the blobs, stars and looming shadow out of his line of vision. The stars vanished, and the blobs not long after, but the lunging shadow didn't. Neither did a face, he didn't expect to see, pretty much right on top of him. "Jesse!" Rhett said as he rubbed at his right temple with one of his hands, the other, pushing against the guy's chest.

Rhett was confused at a lot things going on around him. Why was Jesse bleeding? Why was he on the ground and Jesse looming over him in a way that seemed to imply they were going at it like common thugs? "JESSE! STOP!" Rhett sputtered out, tasting blood-his blood on his lower lip. But, it was far too late for Jesse to stop. The looming 'figure' which was now a large set of combined shadows shot down on Rhett without any remorse or pause.

Pain was an understatement to what Rhett experienced then and there. As the shadows cut through him and his heart, Rhett felt as if his chest were going to explode and maybe it did. No vampire needed a heart, but the hole in his chest still hurt like a ***** and had Rhett questioning everything. Why? Why did Jesse do it? And what did he do to deserve it? "STOP!" He snapped out, Rhett clearly admitting defeat to whatever it was that was going on as he used both hands to cover his face from any further assaults from his . "Stop, man!" Rhett tried to push again, but he was too tired, too weak and too sore to really apply any real pressure to his sire, because every time he moved, he felt the pulling of ripped muscles from the hole in his chest.

[Jesse Fforde]

The shadows had a mind of their own as soon as they were solid; as soon as they had a target there was no waylaying their trajectory, even if in that split second before collision Jesse realised that something had changed. It was in the eyes. Whatever anger or amusement or mischief had existed—that which identified Hudson for who he was—had been replaced by wide-eyed confusion and shock. Whether it was the blow to the front of the back of the guy’s head Jesse couldn’t yet decipher, and maybe he should have done it from the start. He should have shot Rhett for a second time. Less drastic, he should have just gone the old school path and tried to knock some ******* sense into him.

The shadows, having done what they’d been commanded to do, now dispersed. They resumed their ordinary shape, their ordinary softness. Numerous times did Rhett shout for Jesse to stop, and now Jesse did. His hands were free and physical defences dropped. He let out a ragged breath, his rage eking from him and sapping his energy along with it. He leaned forward, forehead resting against Rhett’s for half a second before he reared back and rolled away. He reached out, lazily, and lightly slapped Rhett on the shoulder.

”Welcome back,” he said, huskily.

”Stick around this time, yeah?” he added, hand now resting on Rhett’s shoulder. He couldn’t heal the hole in his heart; it was too big, too critical. And rather than try to heal whatever damage he’d done to the back of Rhett’s skull that had put the pieces back together, he instead opted to replenish Rhett’s blood. He was still salty with Hudson, anyway, and wasn’t quite ready to heal all the damage he’d done.

[Rhett Keyes]

There was finally a moment of recognition that came from Jesse as their foreheads connected for a brief second, before the guy rolled away. Then came an almost, reassuring pat to Rhett's shoulder before Jesse said the one thing Rhett knew was coming, but didn't want to hear.

'Welcome back.'

It almost seemed normal-this back and forth, these nights. Sol had told and shown him some of the things 'Hudson' said and did. It was confusing, for him, but for everyone. It was even more confusing to Rhett because he had come to realize something. One of the two was a lie. And that was alarming. Especially being that Rhett believed that Hudson was his genuine nature. Meaning, who he was supposed to be. And there was zilch that Rhett liked about the guy.

When Jesse said the next thing, Rhett slowly rolled his head to his sire's direction and then closed his eyes. It was almost always the same questions, no matter who he was asking. "How long? How many days?" One night was too many in Rhett's mind, but until he found a way to remain as Rhett, there was little that could be done in his head about keeping Hudson at bay. "And who did I piss off now and need to make amends with?" Obviously, it wasn't Rhett who pissed off anyone, but somehow it was always Rhett doing 'damage control,' because while Hudson could give two shits about anyone and anything other than himself, Rhett wasn't the same guy. Not by a long shot.

[Jesse Fforde]

”I don’t really know,” Jesse said in regards to time. ”I’ve spoken to Marisol about it – she says you’ve been you, with her. She’d know better than me,” he said, still staring at the brick ceiling.

”As for who Hudson has pissed off, most everyone on the Crownet. But that’s nothing serious. He at least had the wherewithal to let me know he’d sired,” Jesse said, turning his head now to properly look at Rhett. Rhett, who was probably completely unaware that his blood had turned someone and they, in turn, had turned someone else. He had a little miniature bloodline of his own brewing beneath him, and he didn’t even know it.

”Beckett. And Beckett sired Renard a few nights later. I’ve spoken to them, helped them out as much as possible, but summoned Hudson here because I knew you wouldn’t have left them high and dry,” he said. He sighed, and pushed himself into a seated position, flinching a little as he did so. Pain was an old friend, and he didn’t mind it. Whatever wounds he had sustained remained where they were; they’d heal in their own time, rather than Jesse hurrying them along.

”And I doubt Hudson trusts me enough to allow a summon. But it worked, and I think that means something. However long he might have stuck around, at his core – at your core – it’s still you,” he said, voice strong and unwavering. He was confident of his conviction. Whoever Hudson was – whether some kind of interloping hijacker or some odd personality glitch within Rhett, he wasn’t the stronger of the two. Jesse had faith that Rhett could stick this out; that together, even, they might be able to figure out how to rid Rhett of this devious, careless, reckless monkey for good. The bright, bold stare that he levelled in Rhett’s direction only challenged the older man to defy said faith – at his own risk, of course.