Tag: Arc 11

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Bitch frowned.  Words that sounded nice, but that was all they were.  Just words.

And we’re back to that phrase.

So you don’t believe her? Freedom, oh, freedom, well that’s just some people talkin’?

(Your priiison is walkin’ through, this world all alone.)

“I’m going to give you two presents, Bitch,” Siberian whispered.  “One will be waiting for you when you go back to your… what do you call it?”

Her base?

It’s not gone, is it, as a misguided gift of freedom?

Bitch didn’t answer.

“Let’s call it your den.  I like that.”

I mean, that works.

Siberian closed the distance to Bitch with a surprising speed, her steps less controlled, carrying her long distances forward as she zig-zagged over the flooded street.  Before Bitch could react, or before the dogs could step in, she was next to Bitch, stopping.

Hi.

Siberian put a hand on her collarbone.  Bitch was lifted into the air and pushed down into the water, soaked, landing hard enough that the air was forced out of her lungs.

Oof.

Sounds like Siberian is strong too.

Hm… I wonder if the rigidity is in part due to being far heavier than she should be, to match the mass of a tiger? That and a tiger’s grip.

As she struggled to breathe, Siberian whispered, “The second gift is special, a treasure for a kindred spirit.”

I’m still not sure this isn’t going to be a kiss.

Bitch coughed, struggled, but she couldn’t move the hand.

“As of this moment, you’re the only one to hear me speak and live afterwards.”

Huh, neat. That would explain why she’s on record as not speaking.

Wait. Is the doggo shooter still alive and conscious, or did Siberian’s eye-poking kill him somehow? Because if so, then he’s currently among those who have heard her.

She kissed Bitch on the forehead, like a mother would with a child.

I knew it.

I knew there’d be a kiss at some point. Though I was picturing it as being on the mouth, to Rachel’s surprise, but this counts.

Bitch tried to twist away, and only succeeded in getting water in her eyes and nose.  She sputtered as she struggled to draw air into her empty lungs.

Careful, Siberian. Much longer now and that last thing you said could turn into a lie.

…

Although I guess she did say “as of this moment”, like it could change in the future. But trying to recruit a kindred spirit and then murdering them for no reason makes no sense.

Is this perhaps a preliminary test? To see if Rachel can get out of this herself?

When she could see again, Siberian was gone.  Her dogs were looking up at a nearby rooftop.

Oh, okay.

See ya!

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Bitch looked around the empty, flooded streets as Siberian was doing.  She didn’t answer.

Is the mention of the streets being empty perhaps supposed to be a metaphor for Rachel’s life in the territory being empty in a different way?

Maybe I’m overthinking, though.

“Maybe you can be happy like this.  A dog, collar around your neck, a fenced in territory.  You’ll never really understand what they’re all talking about.  The best you can hope for is a pat on the head when you’re good, when you do as you should, maybe some companionship whenever you’re a good girl.

Do you want to be a dog, or a wolf?

But maybe that’s what you want.” 

To be fair, in Brutus’ Interlude, the dogs seemed quite genuinely pleased with being good boys and good girl.

That probably doesn’t quite apply to Rachel, though.

“As opposed to what?”

“Being wild.  Being free.  Truly free.  It’s exhilarating,” Siberian breathed.

“Drop those human morals and laws. Do what you want with no care for others. Take the step from chaotic neutral to more-chaotic evil.”

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“We’re all animals,” Siberian murmured.  She walked over to Bentley, and Bitch hurried to give the dog the hand gesture for ‘stay’, then ‘off’ before the woman moved to touch him.  “Some more than others.  You and I, more than others.”

…she ain’t wrong.

“Philosophy shit?”

Pfft.

More like biology, I guess.

Siberian smiled, her hands tracing Bentley’s snout, the exposed muscles and horns.  “Philosophy shit.  Yes.  Touché.  An idea given meaning because people think it should have meaning.  But it’s just words, isn’t it?”

Now that’s philosophy shit.

But she has a point. The universe doesn’t give a crap about what we do or don’t define as “animals”. That’s all in the human mind.

“Sure.”

“Join me.  Stop pretending to be like them.  You know you’re bad at it.”

“I’m fine where I am.”

Are you really? What was that earlier about being so much more unhappy than the others, then?

“Mmm,” the woman smiled, her eyes lowered.  She clasped her hands together and pressed them to her chin, squishing her breasts up against her chest.

I wonder if the seductive-like behavior is just normal for Siberian or if she’s genuinely trying to seduce Rachel.

She turned, taking in the neighborhood, assessing Bitch’s territory.  “Maybe for now.  You have freedom to run, to do as you like.  It’s nice.  But you’re going to chafe at it sooner or later.  You’re going to realize that you’re still in a cage they made.  You’re still following their rules, in the end.”

I guess.

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The idea left Bitch shaken.  How?  Why?  Was it some power?  From the start, she’d known what the woman wanted to express as easily as she did with her dogs.

Yeah, I do think “some power” is at work here. A power similar to your own. Or rather, a side effect of a power, similar to your own.

“You’re an animal, Bitch.” The woman gave special treatment to that last word.  Bitch stiffened.

Not completely accurate, but not wrong either.

The woman pulled away, one hand remaining to caress the side of Bitch’s face.  Her eyes were lowered again, Bitch noted.

I really do feel like this might end with a kiss at some point or other.

She was smiling lightly, her lips pressed together, teeth hidden.  Playful, gentle.  Bitch let herself relax.  It hadn’t been meant as an insult.

Nope.

More “you’re like me”.

The body contact was intrusive, but she could grit her teeth and bear it, at least until she figured out who this person was and how she could fight back.

It does seem like Bitch didn’t catch on to what Siberian was talking about when she said just “The Nine”.

Besides other reasons she might not get “Slaughterhouse Nine” from “The Nine”, I guess it’s entirely possible Bitch hasn’t heard of them.

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“Acting like one of them.  Playing and losing their games, decorating yourself in their clothing and their symbols, following their rules?”

Ah, so that’s why she’s naked.

“I-” Bitch paused, “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Are you sure?

The pause was telling.  She knew it was telling.  The woman understood her, she knew.

Didn’t think so.

The woman understood her.  The thought clicked.

There we go. It’s beginning to occur to Rachel what this woman could be to her.

The way the woman moved, her body language, everything, she was making sense to Bitch in a way that so few people did.

Yep.

I definitely think something similar is at play here between the two of them, not just in how they act but also why. Siberian has definitely made note of this as well. Rachel’s brutality is not the only reason she was picked.

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The woman was only a few paces away.  The question was, should Bitch retreat and put herself in an even weaker position, or did she stand her ground?

I have no idea.

She stood her ground.  The woman stepped closer, within arm’s reach, then another two paces, until her chest pressed against Bitch’s body.  She met the woman’s gaze, unflinching, until Siberian wrapped her arms around her, holding her close, resting her chin on Bitch’s shoulder.

Aww.

…kward for Rachel. 😛

“Aren’t you tired of pretending?”, the woman whispered in her ear.

Pretending what? That she’s a human?

“What?”  Bitch tried to pull away, so she could ask the woman the question to her face, but the limbs were unmoving, more resisting than steel bars would have been.

Hm… this power might be more useful than I thought. It seems fantastic for restraining victims.

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Anyway, let’s get back to the less hooved side of things.

“Team?”  She hated the short answers that were coming out of her mouth, the way that they were uncertain and they put her on weaker footing.

Ah, yes, confusion. Not a good emotion when you want to appear strong.

The woman’s response carried over the flooded street, through the growls that slowly ratcheted up from the dogs as the stranger approached their owner, “The Nine.  We have only eight, not enough.  So some of us are picking people.  Then we test them.  I picked you, and I like what I’ve seen.

I’ve been watching you for weeks, now.”  She smiled again.

That’s… how long has it been since Sentinel?

Also, I’m beginning to catch on to Siberian’s speech patterns. She can speak well enough, but she does tend towards simple sentences.

Thirdly, it sounds like there’s going to be some competition here, with multiple people being picked as potential ninth members. It’s entirely possible that’s what the testing is – a battle much like the one at the mall, but with fewer people and more powers. Last one alive gets to be the new member.

Has to be a lie, Bitch thought.  Her dogs would have noticed someone following her, wouldn’t they?

I dunno, tigers can be pretty damn stealthy.

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“They told me I should pick someone.  Someone they can test.  I read about you, I heard about you.  I want you on our team.”

Recruitment it is. At least partially.

So, in this scene involving a psychotic naked mass murderer and a socially stunted dog girl with a penchant for brutality, let’s talk about ponies.

Earlier in the chapter, I was talking about Rachel being analogous to Rainbow Dash as the Element of Loyalty in MLP:FiM terms. Here we have her facing a challenge of loyalty, which is pretty much half the reason the Elements of Harmony are a thing in MLP:FiM – each Element’s episodes tend to have them facing lessons involving the side of friendship they represent.

Hell, the whole situation is similar to the very first scene that showcases Rainbow Dash’s loyalty, in which the villain for the initial two-parter tried to tempt her into abandoning her friends to join a dark version of the flight team she aspired to become part of. Granted, it’s a little different in that Siberian inviting Bitch to the Slaughterhouse Nine isn’t meant for the specific purpose of fucking over the Undersiders (probably), but it’s still the same basic problem.

Will Rachel be like Rainbow Dash and pick her existing team – which she believes doesn’t want her – over the chance to join a more brutal team with a member she might actually be able to relate to, or will she give in to temptation?

I don’t know. Either would make for some interesting stories – setting aside the possibility of this being a trap, either a) Rachel becomes a Slaughterhouse Nine member and the remaining Undersiders potentially end up fighting her along with the rest of the Fellowship later, or b) she doesn’t, and Siberian potentially calls in the rest of the Fellowship to get rid of the reason Bitch wouldn’t join them – the other Undersiders.

It’s also worth noting that if she does take this offer, she’ll be disqualifying herself from Coil’s help securing this territory. Not that it seems like she really wants his help.