Chapter 19: Faith in The Fantastic Delusion

[Kith Keitoleinen]

"Call off anyone else that might be coming. Tell them that you were mistaken and you came upon a ...kennel club...discussing dog breeds. It was a mistake." Kith insists. He considers what Sidapa has said. He gets closer to Sidapa and speaks in a whisper. "Leave here, wait until after the meeting. I will tell Cephrien that you have gone home. Then, you can capture Armin Lehrer. He is a local organizer for Socialist Revolution. Return when...the meeting is over. There will probably be some socialists who stay behind. You can nab him them. If you capture him, you will likely get a promotion...and perhaps, they will even teach you to use Manala energy."

Li Violette wanted Armin dead many years ago. She doesn't want Socialist Revolution to eclipse Red Infinity in power. Kith figures this is a way to accomplish something in the interest of both the Invisible Hand and Red Infinity.

[Sidapa Amparo]

Sidapa is pleased with this idea. He can surely capture one..weak, human socialist. He might be weak and pathetic compared to other members of the Invisible Hand, but this...this he can do.

His face lights up.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" He says excitedly. He doesn't even bother to question why Kith would help him out, or ..why Kith would want a socialist organizer to get captured. Sidapa pulls out his phone and texts those on his list that it was a false alarm and that it was just a dog fancier's meeting. He even shows Kith the text.

Sidapa thanks Kith and runs off. He leaves the building to get a new knife and to wait for the rebel meeting to end.

[Kith Keitoleinen]

Kith is relieved. It seems that the rest of the socialists will be safe for now. As for Armin...it will be a small concern for Socialist Revolution, but certainly a better outcome than the capture of everyone.

Now, with that taken care of, he can take care of his private business with Keitoleinen. He still needs to kill someone.

Kith remains in the hall, alone for a few moments. He collects his thoughts and tries to decide where he will go from here.

[Malak Al-Dabaran]

"There is no emergency exit down here in the caffeteria. There are some windows in the kitchen though. We could break one and sneak out." Malak suggests to the other socialists. However, that loud noise has stopped. In fact, it is a lot quieter now. Malak gets up out of his seat and goes to the entryway to the old caffeteria.

He doesn't see a giant vortex. He doesn't see anyone but Kith. He looks back at the other socialists and rebels. "Well...we might be safe now..." He calls back to them. He steps into the hall to talk to Kith. He has no idea why Armin kicked him out of the meeting.

"Hey....so...what happened?" Malak asks the elf.

[Bonifaz Artz-Lehrer]

Bonifaz stops in a park, near a teleportation booth, and what he thinks is a safe distance away from the fight and the old school where the rebels were meeting. He takes a moment to catch his breath, since he doesn't usually have to run.

"I am going to explain a few things to you, so you don't feel...so out of the loop." Bonifaz begins. "First of all, that ...I don't even know a word for him...mediocre? ..socialist organizer, Armin...he is my older half brother. He used to live and organize in Germany until his party was infiltrated by a rival party. I don't really care or pay attention to the fights between socialist groups, but he moved and that was the last that I saw of him." Bonifaz explains. Hopefully that would explain some hostility at the meeting.
"As for Heikki, I am not concerned about him. He always seems to ..survive things. He has some mental illness problems. He has some delusions about being from the future and what not, but, other than that, I think he ...is clear thinking enough not to get us into trouble even if he is captured."

Bonifaz thinks about the plans and what will happen now. "I doubt it will be the two of us. Amelia should return. Although, I am not certain if she will do alright against a fully functioning Creditor. I have thought of having her repaired or reprogrammed. Maybe it is something to look into."

"I am not sure if capturing Max will stall the monitoring project. It may traumatize him and maybe it would be...fun...but in the long run, would it stall it? I am not convinced."

Bonifaz has a lot on his mind. He's worn out. He was angry over the factory, but now, he is just tired.

[Kith Keitoleinen]

"This location has been compromised. You will have to move, at least for a while. You will have to move the meeting." Kith replies. He pauses and wonders if he should mention anything about Armin or the return of Sidapa. He feels a little conflicted. He isn't sure what Li would want him to do. He is however, feeling a little guilty ...

"You should leave as soon as you can. If no one else shows up, Sidapa will return later." Kith states.

That is all he says before walking off.

He walks some distance, and notices Cephrien and Tristan.

"Cephrien, I have some things to take care of in Helsinki. I regret I must leave you now. Sidapa is gone and seemed thankful that you helped him. If you need any help with anythng let me know."

Kith leaves Cephrien to deal with Tristan. It seems that Cephrien will be able to handle Tristan now anyway.

Kith exits the school and notices a fight between two Creditors in the school yard. He doesnt' want to get involved, so he keeps walking. His destination is the nearest teleportation booth.

[Malak Al-Dabaran]

Malak takes Kith's advice seriously, and heads back to the others right away. He heads back up to the stage to address everyone. "We will have to leave and have our meeting elsewhere. It seems pretty obvious that our location has been discovered. So, let's pack up and get out of here while we can!" Malak orders everyone. "I think we'll have to take everything...even the computers that we have in one of the side rooms. We don't want to leave anything behind ..." Malak states. "So, everyone, start grabbing and packing. I'm not sure where we will go, but, just get your things ready and packed up."

Malak turns to Armin and some of the others near the front row.
"Does anyone here have any suggestions as to where we can meet and..where we will publish the rebel newspaper for now?" Malak asks. Moving is going to be such a huge ordeal. They had such a good location in London. He thought for sure that no one would discover it. Now, they will have try to find something better.

"Anyone with a suggestion, please meet me or the party leadership right away!"

[Amelia 20]

Amelia does not understand the words or reasoning of the other Creditor. She will not relent in her attack, though, she does not understand why or for whom she is attacking. Amelia grabs Annika by her hair and starts running with the other Creditor. She runs quickly...faster...faster...faster...until they near a tree. She bashes the head of her fellow Creditor into the tree before blasting her with her eye lasers.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"We have to go?" I ask, but it seems to make sense. We were just ...almost attacked I think. I quickly help some others gather literature and pack it into boxes. This hide out seemed like a great HQ for Socialist Revolution and now we must move? And the meeting is not even half way over!

I have no idea where we will go. I just help pack things up as quickly as I can.

[Li Violette]

I am very worried about Kith and Cephrien, but what can be done? I have to give a speech and there is not much I can do now to help them. I wonder how many members of the Invisible Hand or supporters of the Hand they must contend with. This could be very awful for me.

I am visibly nervous when I appear on stage to give my speech. But, I try to shake it off. I have to do my job.

"Hello everyone. I am sure you were watching when Master Scrag announced the opening of a new prison in Rome. The Economic Council is very pleased with this announcement, which came as a surprise to even the Moderator himself. The project was shrouded in secrecy. In any event, there will be a large celebration in Rome next week to celebrate the opening of th Temple of Terror. There will be a parade and the Master himself will appear to give a sermon. Everyone is invited to attend. I would also like to inform you that the Temple of Terror is accepting applications for torturers and guards. With the unemployment rate as it is, this is a wonderful opportunity. The Master estimates that the tower will create over 500 full time jobs." I say. There is applause, but this time, there is no audience. It is just a sound effect from off stage.

"The reason for the prison is to create a safe and peaceful world. There are some people bent on creating violence and chaos, and this will be a monument of peace...a building to house those who challenge all that is good in society. With that said, I hope that you all attend the celebrations next week in Rome."

I smile at the camera and pause for a moment. It is a commercial break. I take a sip of water and wait for the camera cue that I am back on.

"The Moderator also announced a new monitoring system last week at the birthday party of the beloved head of Global Bank, Annette Rosenthal. You can expect to see blimps watching over us, keeping you safe from terroristic threats. These blimps are going to be constructed by Allmart, a company known for its quality." I say, and almost choke.

"It was also decided that M TV sattelites would be revamped with a little help from Intelligent Design. These too will be monitoring the world, looking out for any threat to the peace."

I explain the project a little bit more and that ends my speech.

"Thank you for listening. Have a nice night."

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

When Kith explains his situation, he simply nods and lets him leave. He turned his attention back to Tristan. He lets out a calm sigh as he takes the gun away from his forehead and holsters it back into his coat.

"If you side with me --" Ceph begins, slightly tilting his head to look down at the soldier from an angle.
"We can get your son."

He hesitates on this statement. Cephrien wasn't sure how much power Li had, perhaps she would be able to make such an arrangement.

"Besides.."

Ceph slowly got off of Tristan and turned his back to him, turning his eyes to a window. Sunlight beamed in through the glass and illuminated his dark form. Slowly, he took his beautifully crafted sword and slowly slid it down into the sheathe on his side. There was a quiet Click~ and then Ceph let his arms down to his sides as he slightly turned to look at Tristan out of the corner of his eyes.

"-- It's only a matter of time until the Manalist faith becomes a mere pile of ashes."

[Salome Weil]

"Everyone...if you need a place to go, why not stay at my place in Paris for a while. It is not far from here and I think it is safe. It is an old house...and if we go there, we can brainstorm where you can have a new HQ." I suggest to the socialists. I help lift a heavy box that must have a computer in it.

"You can trust me. I am an anarchist. My name is Salome Weil. I work for Countess Cola at a factory in Paris. The Countess owns France, but I am sure it is at least equally safe as London."

[Tristan Tuzanic]

"You would help me? Heck, I would leave it a second. Consider me...not a part of them. But...I think Scrag will come for me." Tristan replies to Cephrien. He gets up and brushes some dust off of his pants. He wonders if he could escape them. He has wanted this for years. Could he really do it? Well, it is worth a try.
"I guess ...I always thought the only way I would escape them is through suicide."

[Momo Kurokawa]

Momo sits on the plane with Dinari and Max. Her phone rings so, she excuses herself for one moment to take the call. She once again sits in the bathroom of the plane. She should have her cell phone off, but there are important things going on.

"I want...20 mechas sent to Helsinki. I want them to attack his mansion and Sota's main office. He won't know what hit him." Momo says over the phone. She gives some more orders. Some of her mechas and spideroids have already arrived in Northern Finland and thus far, no one has detected them. With luck, they will be in Helsinki and catch Keitoleinen and his company by surprise. "No heavy damages to the labs if it can be avoided." Momo orders. She wants the labs for herself and doesn't want to invest too much in rebuilding them.

[Annika 25]

Annika decides that she doesn't want to deal with the rogue Creditor. She pushes herself away from Amelia and takes off as quickly as she can. It is better to flee and report her to Annette and Global Bank than to stay and fight senselessly. Annika forgets all about the rebels and leaves the scene, darting off as quickly as she can. She is determined to return to Switzerland and either talk to Annette or tell her findings to another Creditor and return to fight the malfunctioning machine on better terms.