Crushing Violet/Echoes
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
The Golden Giza, that great monument to greed that almost dominates the mindset of St. Martial. Angie walks through the doors to it with no hesitation, the size of it doesn't intimidate her, nor the shape of the structure. She's been through those doors and inside it many times before. Most times as an enforcer, a couple times as a guest. This is the first time she comes to ask for a favor.
Due to her enforcement work for the casino, and in all honesty, also due to her beauty, she is kept waiting no more than five minutes to see Johnny Sonata, the big guy in charge of the whole deal. The older gentlemen in the garish yellow suit is standing before his desk as always, some flunky behind it doing some work on the accounts. Johnny never cared for sitting behind a desk.
"Alright kid, here's the deal," says the golden voice that belongs to Johnny Sonata, "I only got a minute, but I like your style so I'll give you two."
Angie stands up straight, dressed in her enforcement outfit, figuring it was better to deal with all this looking more bad-ass than D-skank. "Sir," she always addresses him as 'Sir', "I was wonderin' if ya coul' se' me up a meetin' with Ghos' Widow?"
Sonata stands up straight, "Ghost Widow? Why do you want to meet with her? Luck told me you were rather harsh against her agents."
Angie expected some questioning, her dislike of the Arachns Organization being rather well known, "Well, Sir. I'm having a bi' of a prollem. An'....Ghos' Widow migh' be able ta help me."
Sonata laughs his big booming laugh, "Oh kid, eventually everyone turns to the Spiders for help. I'll see what I can do. Just keep our business our business, right?"
Angie smiles at him, "Course sir, Thank ya sir." Sensing the interview was at an end, and getting what she wanted, she turned to walk out.
"Sweetheart, wait a minute." Angie pauses as Sonata says this, he never used that word towards her. She's heard him say it a few times to other female employees and it never rang properly to her ears. "Yeah," she asks turning back to face him.
His voice is a little condescending, there's a smirk on his lips as he says, "I thought you were a tough cookie, so, why the Avril Lavigne karoake tickets?"
Angie takes a deep breath, thankful her mask is hiding half her face. Her eyes take a tinge of sorrow as she thinks of Twist. "They were fer my...ex girlfrien'."
A bit of surprise hits Sonata's face, his voice signals disappointment with its tone, "A dame like you is a femme? What a shame. Get going, I'll have Basse call you when I get a meeting set up."
The Widow's tower, that great spire reaching up into the sky on Mercy Island. And here Angie was, inside it. Of her own free will, and not to collapse it either. So here she stood, not in the belly of the beast, but perhaps it's soul. And that's precisely why she came.
She stood in center of the room, red lights glowing with menace upon the dark metal walls, waiting for the ghost that is bound to Arachnos to see her. It was a mildly long wait, of course, but eventually Ghost Widow floats in.
Angie stands up straight, her eyes concentrated on the figure before her. She can't believe she has come as a supplicant to an Arachnos leader, but here she was.
The Widow starts to speak in a completely dispassionate tone, "Angelica Bardoux, Crushing Violet. Ha, Gal Storm. I see you have great hatred for Arachnos. You have destroyed, hm, collapsed rather 7 bases and killed, hm, torn apart rather 1500 agents? And all because of what one failure of an agent did? You know, you have got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. I believe it is going to get you into trouble someday. And now you have come to see me, why?"
Angie listens to the small monologue quietly, and on the sense of the question she says without a trace of the nervousness she is feeling in her voice, "I've go' a demon problem, an'--"
The Widow cuts her off, "So you seek our help because of what the demon known as Shade has done to you?"
Of course, Arachnos is well informed of everything that happens in the Isles it seems. There is a reason Recluse stays in charge. "Sor' of. Demons go' a thing fer souls, right?" Angie pauses with this question, but there is no answer so she keeps talking, "Well, I figured ya coul' teach me how ta use mine, ya know, like a weapon er somethin'?"
"Ah, and there are so very many boons I could ask in return for teaching this to you. It would be most beneficial to the organization if you would stop your foolish attacks." Angie can feel Ghost Widow's stare over her, but before Angie can answer in assent or dissent to this proposition, the shade continues, "But it is not to be."
Angie expected this, but still the words are like a blow to her. She takes a deep breath and opens her mouth to speak, but Ghost Widow speaks before her, "Your soul is not yours to control. You may go now."
Ghost Widow glides out of the room as Angie stares in shock, the words ringing in her ears and the import of the statement falling upon her like a million bricks. But it makes no sense. How can her soul not be hers? Was it stolen when she died? She had more questions, ones with more urgent questions, but the shade was gone.
