[ Maverick Hunters Headquarters ]

Variance continues his little fit of pacing back and forth across the room, arms crossed in Deep Thought. So sudden... he -had- to be plotting something in the relative safety of the containment area, why else would he give in so quickly? His gaze occasionally flickers to the door to Signas' office and Vice's holding cell beyond, narrowed with suspicion.

You say '...Why so quickly...?'

Seikou suddenly bursts in through the door, hair flowing behind him, panting, clearly having run at top speed. His eyes are desperate looking. "Variance... in Shrike... Dead..." he gasps in between breaths.

Variance immediately turns his attention to Seikou and his broken words, a look of bewilderment filling the moments it took for them to sink in. Again he looks to Signas' door, muttering something in regards to Vice before turning back to look at the ground, still quite taken aback.

Seikou manages to barely catch his breath, slumping against a wall. "I called... a healer... but I'm not sure... how many survived..."

"But... who could be doing it?" The question comes quiet, mostly to himself, then Variance raises his head again, stiffness and concern taking place on his features simultaneously. "Do you have -any- idea who it was?"

Seikou shakes his head, looking truly disraught. "I scanned the area as best as possible. There wasn't a single likely subject, I'm afraid... The only other known Maverick is the shadow one from a few weeks ago, right?"

Variance nods numbly in reply, his thoughts capturing his attention once more. It might have been... Unless there's someone new out there, which would definitely not help things. "You rest, I'll go survey the damage myself."

Seikou nods and falls into a chair, staring at the desk. "I couldn't save them..."

Variance stops just before leaving, a barely stifled sigh escaping him. Once again, here he was, going to report the death toll on -another- Maverick raid, and again Seikou felt responsible. Not like he hadn't felt the same way when he arrived a mere second too late, but still...

"...You tried everything you could, that's all anyone can really ask for." Variance's gaze turns slightly in Seikou's general direction, thought not looking straight at him. "Sometimes you -can't- do anything, and as horrible as it sounds, that's life."

Variance fully turns around from the front door, meeting Seikou with a tone of... regret? "We've all felt that way after situations like this, even me, though I never show it. But if we dwell on the 'what-should-have-been's, we'll never get around to making sure the next incident turns out better."

Seikou looks up at Variance, his eyes still filled with depression, but with something lurking underneath... "At least let me go with you to help..."

Variance nods and tries to look as reassuring as he can manage through his own bout of unhappiness. "I don't suppose I could stop you... It'd be wrong to."

Seikou climbs to his feet slowly and nods. "Off to Shrike..."

Variance slides open the door and proceeds out, allowing Seikou to go further ahead if he so desires...

[Shrike]

The place is indeed in bad shape. Bodies lie strewn everywhere, most dead from stab wounds, a few slashed instead. A few of the medics Seikou mentioned run from body to body, helping the dead where they can... but little can be done.

Variance stares in complete shock at the horrific sight. All this... slash wounds, stab wounds... No words come to him, not even those in the form of routine orders. The blood, -everywhere-... He simply stands, speechless.

Seikou shakes his head. "I'm sorry..." he whispers.

Variance eventually comes back to his senses enough to speak, albeit quietly and slightly broken. "...I don't understand... not even Vice would go to these lengths..."

Seikou says '...I wish I could tell you, Variance... I really do...'

Variance takes a few slow steps into the battlefield, still stunned into near-silence. "...Whoever did this..." He pauses again, fists subconsciously clenching as his voice returns, much more determined, "Needs to be -stopped-. No one else can suffer this... -massacre-!"

Seikou nods, eyes shadowed by his hair. "...I'll try my hardest to stop him..."

Variance suddenly stiffens and turns to Seikou, a small tinge of hope evident in his expression. "You... you know who it was?"

Seikou turns to Vari and pauses for a moment. "...I was just saying that I'll stop... whoever it is..."

Variance pauses and nods before going amongst the medics, trying to get every last bit of information he can from them(despite they came even later than Seikou). He wasn't going to let this one sit idly by, not after -this-...

Seikou starts searching through the island for someone, anyone, who's still alive and not a medic...

Seikou finally comes back over to Variance, eyes clouded. "There's... nothing else we can do..."

Variance sighs, still standing next to one of the more decimated bodies... wait. Against his conscience's pleas, he looks down at the bloodied corpse again. Slash wounds... still open and slightly cauterized... a beam saber? His now-alert gaze flits back to Seikou... and hadn't he called him 'Variance' earlier instead of his usual honorific Japanese 'Vari-Sama'?

Seikou starts to head back towards the ferry, but turns to glance at variance. "Is something wrong, Variance?"

Variance slowly shakes his head in denial of the only plausible conclusion, the one suspect he never wanted it to come down to. "...It... came back, didn't it?"

You say 'I wasn't there... and you lost control again...'

Seikou looks... frightened for a moment, but then instead his eyes grow cold, like the way they did the times before. "Whatever do you mean, Variance...?"

"I said I'd always be there..." Variance continues to look to Seikou, amethyst eyes hiding despair to no effect. "And I look away for a minute and my promise is broken..."

Seikou shakes his head. "There was nothing you could do for him this time. Rocket Town broke him... Even Aura couldn't help..."

Variance takes a step back, still trying to fight the truth. "There's a way... there has to be a way..."

Seikou shakes his head again, stepping forward, switching the blade on. "This is the first time since the other world he's -killed-, Variance... That changes things..."

Variance recedes as Seikou advances, still unarmed, vainly hoping his words can still get past the Maverick, as quiet and strained as they are. "Please, come back... "

Seikou says '...He fought so hard, Variance... But in the end, he had to give... Seeing what Vice did to Rocket Town was just the right trigger... he's given up, Variance. He's gone.'

All the fighting, all the hopes that he could be rid of the Virus for good... they can't have been for nothing, right? There's still -something- left, right? A similar mantra echoes in Variance's frenzied mind as he tries to find something to hold onto, -anything- that he could grasp and say he knew anything about...

Seikou grins and finally reaches Variance. "Are you ready to face oblivion...?" he whispers...

Variance stands still, trying to stay as hopeful as possible while instinctively gathering a Charge at the threat of being attacked. He tries to say something, but nothing is voiced...

Seikou grins and cuts diagonally with the long black blade...

Variance throws himself backwards, just barely escaping with a deceptively thin laceration across the front of his chestplate and a few feet between him and Seikou. A quick, forceful shout rips through the air, which concentrates and ripples slightly as it flies towards his unwitting opponent in more of a distraction than full-on attack.

Seikou is struck, flying back and landing on his back. He quickly climbs to his feet, however, and grins at Variance. "Is that all you have...?"

Variance immediately takes a few hurried steps back, putting more distance between them. He pulls together another thin aura of mana, waiting for Seikou's next move...

Seikou air-dashes yet again, stabbing at Variance as he begins to fall...

Variance steps back from Seikou's striking range, raising his hands in another 'spell'. This command phrase is even shorter, but makes for much more spectacular ends, a flash of pure white light, much like that of the sun, enveloping the immediate area around them both.