Olympus Mons, Recruiting

[The Butcher]

The Butcher sat absentmindedly at his desk, the large tumor which he had grown, and began to use to recruit his new cult members was pulsing several feet away, hooked up to a large machine with tendrils casually swaying below it, almost touching a chair, more like a throne, which The Butcher used on his members, or anyone who he had manipulated their minds under the guise of "Needed Surgery".

He sighed, thinking of the reports he had heard about from his members in c-sec. They said that some officers were hunting him, an Asari and the one with a grudge against Cazador, and that they were seeking members to take him down.

He lightly drummed his fingers on his desk while glancing at a chamber growing in the corner, one that he hoped would enable him to gain the perfect physical form, and nodded at its progress. "Well, in chess it is pointless to fight with but one king." He mused, standing and walking over to his 'throne' with the large mass above it.

Calmly he sat down in it, letting the tendrils connect to his neural network and begin broadcasting his thoughts to those with a proper receiver node in their brain.

"Children, seek out a force, slavers, bounty hunters, pirates, anyone who seeks wealth or power, and bring them to my side. Additionally, if you find any members of the alliance nosing around about me, take care of them, I do not care how. All glory to Ral Turnadil." He finished, feeling the reply of acknowledgment from many, the screams of madness from more than he would like, and fearful sobs from just as many.

He opened his eyes after sending his message, as he always felt when using the invasive thing, and saw a woman wearing a nice dress standing in front of him, with pale white skin, black hair, and eyes as dark and lifeless as coal.

As he stood she gave a low bow before offering him a towel, which he took and wiped his face down with. He had made the woman from a dead body he had found in the martian wilderness, as for why she died, or who she was before The Butcher could not say.

He did see, from time to time, the flickers of life or understanding, or even more enjoyable horror, in her eyes, which lead him to believe her old personality was not all the way dead.

If she ever gained control of that body, The Butcher had no disbelief's that she would try and kill him, and judging from her muscle structure that could very well happen, however that thought also excited him, kept him on edge, but most of all, it amused him.

"Come along then." Was all he said before walking passed her toward the growing chamber, intending to make it's trial run soon. "Oh what fools these mortal's be." He quoted to himself, delighting in the bloody game that was about to begin.

[Cazador]

Cazador approached, dragging with him a string of five struggling captives. He had bound them in various materials he had discovered aboard their ship, pulling them along with ease as they did their best to slow his journey. Some were sliding along on their backs and stomachs, while others skidded along on their feet in a vain attempt of resistance.

The hunter then stopped before the father, holding onto the men like dogs on a leash.
"C sec...knows. They..are many. Spectres too. Sister and doc..tor...are...discovered."

[The Butcher]

The Butcher nodded, seeming not at all disturbed by the news. "then it all goes as palnned, that is good." He stepped over to the captives and started looking over them like one might appraise cattle.

[Nova-FoV]

((Time skip! The girls arrive! Le-gasp.))

When Naomi and Noh finally arrived at the hidden base at Olympus Mons, they were exhausted. After finding a ship and chartering it under the radar to Mars, they had had to find some way to get away from the encased cities to Olympus Mons, and from there, find the base. Now that they had finally reached their destination, Naomi felt a combination of relief and anxiety. On one hand, they had finally made it here, and were now under the care of the Butcher himself. Even the thought evoked excited chills down her spine. But at the same time, there was no telling just what it meant to be under the Butcher's care. Was she going to wake up in a different body?

When they entered, they found themselves in a long, empty corridor, almost pitch black with darkness. Even the light from flashlights didn't seem to do much good against the impenetrable dark. There was an eerie silence enveloping the place that pressed on them, with the only sound being an occasional distant leak of water.

Naomi held Noh close protectively, unaware that she was doing so. She had grown attached to the girl in the short time that she had known her, and now facing her fear of this place, she subconsciously felt fearful for Noh as well.

[The Butcher]

As Naomi and Noh entered the mountain, the distant sound of chanting began eminating from deep within the mountain. Noh seemed to perk up at the sound and held Naomi's hand and began pulling her along to the center of the mountain. Taking twists and turns that were impossible to tell or remember, the mountain itself seeming more like a maze once they were inside.

As Noh entered the central "Village" the various monsters and creatures were singing together, many of them having tatoos on their bodies that matched. They were gathered around a large fire, and dancing as well as singing.

Noh seemed perfectly enthralled by the dance and quickly joined in, holding the hands of some of the kids and laughing. A figurecould be seen watching Naomi and Noh from the other side of the fire, leaning against the wall and having a cigarette.

He stood at close to six feet, with black hair and a fine trimmed goatee. He vaugly resembled The Butcher, but older and more well developed, and as soon as he stared at Naomi, the mismatched eyes, one red and one grey, identified him quickly as the very same mad doctor. He gave a sly grin and dropped his cigarette on the ground before turning down a corridor and vanishing from sight.

[Nova-FoV]

Naomi let herself be pulled along, assuming that Noh inherently knew where she was going. There were things that could be naturally programmed into a person's body. Naomi had already witnessed that the Butcher had put fight and intelligence and curiosity into Noh, so why not a natural knowledge of her home?

They arrived at a central village. Naomi recognized the Butcher's work when she saw it- creatures born of different parts, or that had been altered to be greater than anything nature would have. Noh seemed to belong here- she was eager to join the others in their strange dance and chanting, and interacted with the other children as one might brothers and sisters.

She didn't dwell too long on the creatures there, because across the fire she could see a man watching them. Different than what she had expected, but as soon as their eyes met she knew him. The Butcher had taken to a form more fitting of the genius that he was. He finished his cigarette and disposed of it, then disappeared down a corridor. From the grin he had given her, she knew that he meant for her to follow. So she did.

As she circled the fire and the dancers to the other side and walked down the corridor where the light and noise quickly vanished, she realized that she was trembling. Even her breath couldn't seem to draw smoothly. As much as she tried to correct herself, she knew that it would do no good. This was the epitome of her past two years, and everything that she had been working for. At last, she was in a sanctuary beyond the madness of society. And she was here with him- The Butcher.

[The Butcher]

As Naomi walked down the hallway, a large door with no handles. When Naomi stood infront of it, many eyes opened up quickly and then closed. After a moment the doors swung open to a large office, with several chairs and a large cherry wood desk with two cups of tea and a kettle with steam coming out of it on top.

The room itself had a throne of sorts sitting in the corner and a decaying chamber in the other one. The office itself was clean, almost to an unatural extent, with two statues that seemed perfectly life like. One statue actually, as one of them, a woman, cleared her throat.

The Butcher seemed unbothered by the woman being there, in fact he seemed to not even notice her. He calmly gestured to the chair and slightly inclined his head."Tea?" He asked calmly.

[Nova-FoV]

Naomi slowly advanced into the room, taking in all of its oddities. It reminded her of home, really, the way that it was strangely clean, but would make an ordinary person feel uncomfortable. By only glancing at the woman she could tell that she was somehow unnatural- perhaps it was her pallid, death-like skin, or her empty eyes. Naomi had become a good doctor by strong intuition, and her intuition told her that this woman was another one of the Butcher's pieces of work.

Naomi took a seat in one of the chairs in the office. She noted that it was, in fact, very comfortable, but she couldn't seem to relax. She had come too far to be able to relax now.

"Tea?" he asked her calmly.

She nodded, then found her voice. "Yes, thank you." She found herself musing about the fact that normally she was the one to keep a cool, level head. She didn't like the positions reversed.

[The Butcher]

The Butcher nodded and the woman handed Naomi her tea. After the woman handed her the tea she moved to The Butcher's side and became impassive once more. He took his own tea and had a sip before starting talking.

"You have made it quite far, I am glad I was correct in giving you the job." He nodded to the woman who pulled out a large gold coin that looked like a seal with the emblem of a broken trinity on it. "I would also like to welcome you to Funesto Dues, you need not pay any membership fees, or change what you are doing, however there is conference every once and a while that is rather enlightening."

He took another sip before continuing. "Of course you would not want many to see that symbol, but if you happen to run into any of cerberus' higher ups they will not even think to touch you. I do not normally offer such a gift as this however..." He geastured to himself and let another grin cross his face. "I am not myself these days."

"Tell me, how did you like my gift? Is she well? My dear gluttony..." He let out a sigh as he asked.

[Nova-FoV]

Naomi didn't really know what to say as he welcomed her to Funesto Dues. She was not familiar with the cult or its beliefs or members, but she didn't bother to ask. She figured she would have plenty of time to learn, and she was a very fast learner.

"Tell me, how did you like my gift? Is she well? My dear gluttony..."

"Gluttony?" she didn't entirely understand what he meant. If gluttony was a name, she supposed it was an appropriate one. "She's well. Noh is what she calls herself." Thinking about the girl, Naomi visibly relaxed and even smiled. "She... has learned a lot. She was very much looking forward to meeting you. I think she will make a nice addition to your... family." She paused for a moment, thinking, then looked at the Butcher. "She is incredible. An absolute masterpiece. I have toyed with genetic alteration, but to create an entire human being, and one so perfect..." she trailed off and shook her head, her expression drenched with admiration.

[The Butcher]

The Butcher nodded at her explanation, seeming content wih what she said.

"Gluttony?"

"Yes, I made seven of them, Cazador is wrath, Noh is gluttony... as for the others..." He gave another smile, seeming to have an almost boyish charm to him. "You seem rather attached to the girl, this is... interesting."

and one so perfect..."

"Perfect? She is not perfect, nothing i have ever made is perfect. As a fellow being of science you should understand that once perfection is gained, then there can be nothing greater." He took another sip of his tea while thinking of what he was saying. "Once perfection is gained, no one can gain anything higher. Eternity with life would not be so bad, as long as I had some thing to gain. Once perfection is gained everything becomes... boring."

[Nova-FoV]

"Yes, I made seven of them, Cazador is wrath, Noh is gluttony... as for the others..."

Naomi glanced at the woman standing to the side. Beautiful, even... sultry. Lust, perhaps. And Naomi couldn't help but wonder if she held any of the Butcher's interest. Or if he even had such an appetite.

"...Once perfection is gained everything becomes... boring."

Naomi nodded and dropped her gaze- of course, she should have known to use better wording. She could already tell from the way that this encounter was going that she would have much to learn. She only hoped that she did not come across as too insolent to be of any worth. She had talent, that much was true, and she had come a long way experimenting on her own in the two years since they had first met. However, her talent was still raw. She needed to be taught. The more she had learned of the Butcher's work over time, the more she had come to idolize him. And now she had no greater hope than to learn at the master's hands.

"Noh... she sees you as both a father and a God. At first she had an impression that I was her mother, but now... I don't know what she thinks of me."

[The Butcher]

"Noh... she sees you as both a father and a God. At first she had an impression that I was her mother, but now... I don't know what she thinks of me."

"That is often the way with human relationships, do not worry yourself over it or you will give your pretty face wrinkles." He finished his tea and the woman removed the glass, taking it some where before returning, adding in flirting with general conversation as if it was second nature.

"Now then, while Glut- I mean Noh is away, I have some things to show you." He stood up and dusted himself off before walking up to a blank wall, that seemed to flake away to show another hallway.

"Would you be so kind to follow?" He asked, and before waiting for her walked the length of the short hallway into a massive library, filled with rows upon rows of books. He waited for Naomi to enter before gesturing to the walls.

"There are my lab notes, everything in here is written in exact and perfect order. No riddles, and no puzzles... well I should say most of them." He indicated a closed black book on top of a desk. "These are where I let my logic give way to my emotion. While it may not teach you... exact abilities it will probably not teach you, and perhaps it is the ramblings of an old man but..." For the first time in his life The Butcher looked tired. "There are some things only age can teach you."

He went up to the desk and pushed some buttons and a black CD came out. "All the records, save the ones in the black book, are in here." He gestured towards her with the CD. "These will all be yours soon enough."

[Nova-FoV]

Naomi looked around the massive library, then her gaze settled on the black book on the desk. "I just have one question," she said, looking up at him. "Why are you doing this? You are... powerful, and could live forever if you wanted to, and you don't need anything or anyone." She shook her head, searching for an answer and finding none. "I just don't get it. Why have you given so much to me when I've done nothing to deserve it?" She thought back to the first time they'd met, when she'd brushed him off as a child and come away from their encounter disturbed. She felt so ashamed for her ignorance back then, and she couldn't see why he'd decided to give her another chance after that.

[The Butcher]

The Butcher nodded with her reasoning, not so much because he expected the question, but because if she had just taken it all without question she would never have left the base alive.

"Why are you doing this? You are... powerful, and could live forever if you wanted to, and you don't need anything or anyone."

"Why? Simple really, because it has been my intention all along to die soon." He gave a casual shrug as if the concept of death did not scare him, or perhaps he as the master of it had learned the truth behind it. "Making men into gods is the motto of Funesto Dues, and while I have used genetic engineering to gain my future throne, it is not the only path, I just worked with what I had... as for why you..." He eyed her calmly for a few moments before shrugging. "Maybe I am a sucker for a pretty face, then again perhaps not. Maybe in you I see the same qualities that made the original 'Butcher', or maybe I am tricking you with that answer as well... perhaps age has just taken its toll on my warped mind." He grinned once more, the moment of weariness replaced once more with an almost boyish charm.

"As for why I started this whole project, one that has taken almost 50 years of my life to finish, it is quite simple, I was asked to. On the death of some one important to me they asked a simple request, the only request they had ever made of me. While I could not shed tears that day, I did agree to their dying wish. Is it because I am a romanticist? Perhaps, or maybe I just can not turn them down to their face now that they are dead." He explained, offering the black CD once more.

"In short, Dr. Chance, I am not asking you to live and carry on my work. I am asking you to die, and be reborn once again as The Butcher of Ral Turnadil. The galaxy needs one you know, even if it is not the original."