Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 5, 2017 20:22:59 GMT
One of Bellerouge’s many city buses pulled up just a block away from the police station. A few people got off, most of them heading towards the shops that were nearby. Yang, on the other hand, made a beeline for the station. It had been a week since Weiss had been mysteriously kidnapped from her home one night, and Shadow had just called her, saying they might finally have a lead. Going through the scene of the crime had been frustrating. There was signs of a struggle, so Weiss had at least fought back. The note was still being analyzed, although it had been typed instead of written, so trying to trace the handwriting wouldn’t get anywhere. Several of the cameras had been overheated from the inside, and the ground had been disturbed underneath her window. This could lead to many culprits, considering that the LaFayettes had more than a few enemies. But, Shadow had seem to think this new lead might help them get on the right path.
Yang found Shadow, along with everyone else from the Others Unit, in one of the back rooms of the station. Chairs were set up, as well as a T.V. that had a DVD player hooked up to it.
“What’d you guys find?” Yang asked as she hurried inside.
“We didn’t really find it,” Shadow replied. “Mr. and Mrs. LaFayette did. They said a blank package had been left on their doorstep, and it contained this.” He held up a plastic bag, that held a single DVD disk inside. “They watched it, and immediately contacted us afterwards, saying that Weiss was on the DVD…as well as Thrax.”
Yang’s eyes widened and she instinctively clutched her right arm. Thrax? He was the one who had kidnapped Weiss? Why? For the longest time, Thrax’s target had been Adeline. Why go for Weiss now?
“Have you watched it yet?” she asked.
“We were just about to,” Dimitri replied. “We wanted to wait until everyone was here. Thrax has been getting pretty unstable. Pitch’s last encounter with him was proof enough of that. Odds are, he slipped up making this little DVD, and we may be able to find some clues in the footage.”
Yang’s stomach twisted. She couldn’t imagine what Thrax must have put on this thing. As Shadow popped the DVD in, he glanced at Riku. His face was stony and hard, no doubt holding back whatever he was feeling. Yang wondered how healthy that was though. This was his sister they were talking about. Anyone would understand if he got upset. Everyone looked up at the TV screen as something came into view. The image was blurry at first, but then it came to focus as it showed Thrax adjusting a camera. When it was up to his satisfaction, he gave a grin.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. LaFayette!” he said cheerfully, as if he was a T.V. announcer. “This is a special recording made exclusively for you two. Aren’t you just the luckiest or what?” He gave a laugh. “But it’s not just me up here. I’ve got your lovely daughter starring in here as well! Say hello, Weiss!”
He stepped aside, and Yang’s eyes widened. It was Weiss alright, but she looked like she’d gotten hit by a truck. Bruises circled around her neck and dotted her face. Dark circles were under her eyes and Yang was pretty sure she saw a long cut on her arm that was just starting to heal. Her blue eyes stared at the camera with a sullen expression, as if she was determined not to show any emotion at all. Yang couldn’t see much of what was behind her, although she did notice the barrel of water that was in front of her. She didn’t want to think about what that was going to be used for.
“Now, I’m making this little video because I wish to address a certain delusion you both seem to have,” Thrax said, his tone taking on a more business-like matter. “You’ve gotten the police involved in this, despite being told not to. You seem to think you can exert control over this situation, that you can sway how this will turn out. And that is where you delusion lies.” He cleared his throat before continuing.
“You see, you are not in control of this situation. You are not in control of your daughter. I am. I’m the one who’s in charge of this little operation. I’m the one who’s in charge of her.” He patted Weiss’s head with mock affection. “I control whether she leaves this room or not. I control what food is brought to her.” He paused for a moment, giving a grin so wicked that Yang’s heart faltered for a moment. “I’m even in control of when she breathes.” And then, to prove his point, Thrax shoved Weiss’s face into barrel of water.
Sunshine gave an audible gasp. Riku jumped, before his eyes became filled with anger and his hands curled into fists. Yang, however, only felt her stomach churn even more and she felt like she had trouble swallowing. Weiss was struggling hard, trying to pull Thrax’s hand away, and Yang could only think of the night Cinder had tried to kill her, when she'd used her own variation of the “cement shoes” method and had tossed her into the river. Yang could still remember the panic she’d felt, the way her heart had raced at breakneck speed, the crushing weight on her lungs as she went longer and longer without air.
Suddenly, Thrax pulled Weiss’s head out of the water. The girl collapsed to the ground, coughing and sputtering. That broke Yang out of her thoughts and she let out a slow breath. She couldn’t lose it, not when she needed to focus on this case. She saw Pitch glance in her direction, but he didn’t say anything.
“You see my point?” Thrax said to the camera. “I’m the one running the show now. And once your daughter is truly mine, there won’t be anything you can do, not with all your money and power.” He laughed, his head rolling back until the DVD suddenly ended.
The tension in the room was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Nobody knew what to say. Everyone looked at Riku, who looked like a bomb whose fuse was getting shorter by the minute.
“Riku, I…” Sunshine tried to say something comforting, but her words fell short. What could you say to someone after watching something like that?
“That monster,” Riku said, his voice quiet at first, but suddenly getting louder. ‘That absolute monstrous…evil…foul…crazy…” He was on his feet, but couldn’t seem to finish his sentence.
“He’s not going to get away with this, Riku,” Sunshine said, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me. Once we catch him, he’s going to atone for this and every crime he’s ever committed.”
“How are we gonna find him though?” Jim asked. “He’s evaded authorities for months. He seems untouchable.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Aqua said. “Did you see the look in his eyes? He’s losing it. And people who lose their minds are more likely to make mistakes.” She stood up and started pacing. “Sending this DVD to Mr. and Mrs. LaFayette was a foolish move on his part. He must be so caught up in having control that he thinks he can get away with anything. He’s not just telling them to get off his back. He’s taunting them. He’s confident that whatever he’s planning with Weiss will succeed, so it doesn’t matter what he does now.”
“I know what he’s planning on doing with her.”
Everyone’s heads swiveled towards Pitch as he spoke. Those were the first words he’d said this entire meaning. Pitch saw that he had everyone’s attention, and he continued.
“Thrax’s original plan was to spread chaos in this city with Adeline at his side. With his power, and the strength of a powerful witch with a demon side, he’d do some real damage. But, Adeline hasn’t succumbed to her demon side like he’d hoped, so he’s given up on her.” He looked at the blank TV screen. “Now, he’s kidnapped another young magic user, and he wants to make her ‘truly his.’ Think about what that means.”
“You think he’s going to give Weiss a demon side, like Adeline?” Yang asked. The idea was too horrible to even think. Weiss had been strong enough to stand up against Thrax the night she’d lost her arm. If someone with that much power became evil…
Pitch shook his head. “If he wanted to do that, he’d have done it already. My thought is, he’s going for the other method. If he and Weiss use magic to make an unbreakable bond between them, and Weiss swears to serve him, then she’ll be under his control forever. The thing is, this method can only be done by a willing participant. Adeline wasn’t willing to do it, so that’s why he settled for creating a demon side in her. You all saw how Weiss looked. He’s beating her down, until she feels like her only option is to bind herself to him.”
“Then we have to figure this out as fast as possible,” Riku said, his voice barely in control. “The longer she’s with him, the more likely it’ll be that she’ll give in. Who knows how much he’s done to her in just a week.”
“I think I know where we can start,” Shadow said. “Did you guys notice the stone that was used to make that room they were in?”
“Wait, what?” Yang blinked in confusion. What did the stone have to do with it?
“Here, let me show you.” Shadow rewound the DVD, pressing the pause button right before Thrax started laughing maniacally. “Here. You see this?” He pointed at the wall on the left side of the screen. “It looks like shiny concrete. I know of only one stone that looks like this, and it’s stone that’s been enchanted and tinkered with to stop any magic use nearby. Using this would make the perfect prison for a powerful magic user like Weiss.”
“I thought that was only used in certain prisons and hospitals,” Dimitri said. “Places where someone really dangerous is kept.”
“Well, it’s used that way if you buy it legally,” Shadow replied. “There’s a lot of paper work and background checking before you buy stone like this. People who sell it want to make sure you’re not using it for nefarious purposes. Of course, the system’s not perfect. Anytime criminals have gotten a hold of it, they’ve used fake papers and identification to pass any inspections. Or they blackmail whoever’s selling it.”
“So, if we find out who’s sold this stone recently,” Sunshine said, thinking out loud, “we can figure out who bought it, and see if it can lead us to wherever Thrax is hiding.”
Shadow nodded. “Precisely.”
“Alright, then we know what we have to do,” Aqua said. “We need to start looking up who’s sold this stone in the past couple of months, maybe even the past year or so. We should also analyze the DVD a little more, see if we can find anymore clues in the footage.”
This seemed like a good game plan to everyone. Yang could see the determination in their eyes. They finally had a lead to catch Thrax for good. Yang just hoped that they could find out where he was, before Weiss gave in.
Yang found Shadow, along with everyone else from the Others Unit, in one of the back rooms of the station. Chairs were set up, as well as a T.V. that had a DVD player hooked up to it.
“What’d you guys find?” Yang asked as she hurried inside.
“We didn’t really find it,” Shadow replied. “Mr. and Mrs. LaFayette did. They said a blank package had been left on their doorstep, and it contained this.” He held up a plastic bag, that held a single DVD disk inside. “They watched it, and immediately contacted us afterwards, saying that Weiss was on the DVD…as well as Thrax.”
Yang’s eyes widened and she instinctively clutched her right arm. Thrax? He was the one who had kidnapped Weiss? Why? For the longest time, Thrax’s target had been Adeline. Why go for Weiss now?
“Have you watched it yet?” she asked.
“We were just about to,” Dimitri replied. “We wanted to wait until everyone was here. Thrax has been getting pretty unstable. Pitch’s last encounter with him was proof enough of that. Odds are, he slipped up making this little DVD, and we may be able to find some clues in the footage.”
Yang’s stomach twisted. She couldn’t imagine what Thrax must have put on this thing. As Shadow popped the DVD in, he glanced at Riku. His face was stony and hard, no doubt holding back whatever he was feeling. Yang wondered how healthy that was though. This was his sister they were talking about. Anyone would understand if he got upset. Everyone looked up at the TV screen as something came into view. The image was blurry at first, but then it came to focus as it showed Thrax adjusting a camera. When it was up to his satisfaction, he gave a grin.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. LaFayette!” he said cheerfully, as if he was a T.V. announcer. “This is a special recording made exclusively for you two. Aren’t you just the luckiest or what?” He gave a laugh. “But it’s not just me up here. I’ve got your lovely daughter starring in here as well! Say hello, Weiss!”
He stepped aside, and Yang’s eyes widened. It was Weiss alright, but she looked like she’d gotten hit by a truck. Bruises circled around her neck and dotted her face. Dark circles were under her eyes and Yang was pretty sure she saw a long cut on her arm that was just starting to heal. Her blue eyes stared at the camera with a sullen expression, as if she was determined not to show any emotion at all. Yang couldn’t see much of what was behind her, although she did notice the barrel of water that was in front of her. She didn’t want to think about what that was going to be used for.
“Now, I’m making this little video because I wish to address a certain delusion you both seem to have,” Thrax said, his tone taking on a more business-like matter. “You’ve gotten the police involved in this, despite being told not to. You seem to think you can exert control over this situation, that you can sway how this will turn out. And that is where you delusion lies.” He cleared his throat before continuing.
“You see, you are not in control of this situation. You are not in control of your daughter. I am. I’m the one who’s in charge of this little operation. I’m the one who’s in charge of her.” He patted Weiss’s head with mock affection. “I control whether she leaves this room or not. I control what food is brought to her.” He paused for a moment, giving a grin so wicked that Yang’s heart faltered for a moment. “I’m even in control of when she breathes.” And then, to prove his point, Thrax shoved Weiss’s face into barrel of water.
Sunshine gave an audible gasp. Riku jumped, before his eyes became filled with anger and his hands curled into fists. Yang, however, only felt her stomach churn even more and she felt like she had trouble swallowing. Weiss was struggling hard, trying to pull Thrax’s hand away, and Yang could only think of the night Cinder had tried to kill her, when she'd used her own variation of the “cement shoes” method and had tossed her into the river. Yang could still remember the panic she’d felt, the way her heart had raced at breakneck speed, the crushing weight on her lungs as she went longer and longer without air.
Suddenly, Thrax pulled Weiss’s head out of the water. The girl collapsed to the ground, coughing and sputtering. That broke Yang out of her thoughts and she let out a slow breath. She couldn’t lose it, not when she needed to focus on this case. She saw Pitch glance in her direction, but he didn’t say anything.
“You see my point?” Thrax said to the camera. “I’m the one running the show now. And once your daughter is truly mine, there won’t be anything you can do, not with all your money and power.” He laughed, his head rolling back until the DVD suddenly ended.
The tension in the room was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Nobody knew what to say. Everyone looked at Riku, who looked like a bomb whose fuse was getting shorter by the minute.
“Riku, I…” Sunshine tried to say something comforting, but her words fell short. What could you say to someone after watching something like that?
“That monster,” Riku said, his voice quiet at first, but suddenly getting louder. ‘That absolute monstrous…evil…foul…crazy…” He was on his feet, but couldn’t seem to finish his sentence.
“He’s not going to get away with this, Riku,” Sunshine said, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me. Once we catch him, he’s going to atone for this and every crime he’s ever committed.”
“How are we gonna find him though?” Jim asked. “He’s evaded authorities for months. He seems untouchable.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Aqua said. “Did you see the look in his eyes? He’s losing it. And people who lose their minds are more likely to make mistakes.” She stood up and started pacing. “Sending this DVD to Mr. and Mrs. LaFayette was a foolish move on his part. He must be so caught up in having control that he thinks he can get away with anything. He’s not just telling them to get off his back. He’s taunting them. He’s confident that whatever he’s planning with Weiss will succeed, so it doesn’t matter what he does now.”
“I know what he’s planning on doing with her.”
Everyone’s heads swiveled towards Pitch as he spoke. Those were the first words he’d said this entire meaning. Pitch saw that he had everyone’s attention, and he continued.
“Thrax’s original plan was to spread chaos in this city with Adeline at his side. With his power, and the strength of a powerful witch with a demon side, he’d do some real damage. But, Adeline hasn’t succumbed to her demon side like he’d hoped, so he’s given up on her.” He looked at the blank TV screen. “Now, he’s kidnapped another young magic user, and he wants to make her ‘truly his.’ Think about what that means.”
“You think he’s going to give Weiss a demon side, like Adeline?” Yang asked. The idea was too horrible to even think. Weiss had been strong enough to stand up against Thrax the night she’d lost her arm. If someone with that much power became evil…
Pitch shook his head. “If he wanted to do that, he’d have done it already. My thought is, he’s going for the other method. If he and Weiss use magic to make an unbreakable bond between them, and Weiss swears to serve him, then she’ll be under his control forever. The thing is, this method can only be done by a willing participant. Adeline wasn’t willing to do it, so that’s why he settled for creating a demon side in her. You all saw how Weiss looked. He’s beating her down, until she feels like her only option is to bind herself to him.”
“Then we have to figure this out as fast as possible,” Riku said, his voice barely in control. “The longer she’s with him, the more likely it’ll be that she’ll give in. Who knows how much he’s done to her in just a week.”
“I think I know where we can start,” Shadow said. “Did you guys notice the stone that was used to make that room they were in?”
“Wait, what?” Yang blinked in confusion. What did the stone have to do with it?
“Here, let me show you.” Shadow rewound the DVD, pressing the pause button right before Thrax started laughing maniacally. “Here. You see this?” He pointed at the wall on the left side of the screen. “It looks like shiny concrete. I know of only one stone that looks like this, and it’s stone that’s been enchanted and tinkered with to stop any magic use nearby. Using this would make the perfect prison for a powerful magic user like Weiss.”
“I thought that was only used in certain prisons and hospitals,” Dimitri said. “Places where someone really dangerous is kept.”
“Well, it’s used that way if you buy it legally,” Shadow replied. “There’s a lot of paper work and background checking before you buy stone like this. People who sell it want to make sure you’re not using it for nefarious purposes. Of course, the system’s not perfect. Anytime criminals have gotten a hold of it, they’ve used fake papers and identification to pass any inspections. Or they blackmail whoever’s selling it.”
“So, if we find out who’s sold this stone recently,” Sunshine said, thinking out loud, “we can figure out who bought it, and see if it can lead us to wherever Thrax is hiding.”
Shadow nodded. “Precisely.”
“Alright, then we know what we have to do,” Aqua said. “We need to start looking up who’s sold this stone in the past couple of months, maybe even the past year or so. We should also analyze the DVD a little more, see if we can find anymore clues in the footage.”
This seemed like a good game plan to everyone. Yang could see the determination in their eyes. They finally had a lead to catch Thrax for good. Yang just hoped that they could find out where he was, before Weiss gave in.