((Lunar, Brawl)) (D, D) Zaphod Boomerbrox appears on screan again! "I have a camera and I will not be repressed! The autobots have attacked the decepticons uprovokedly! Brawl is just the first victim! We will die under the reign of the Autobots and their evil culture! Rebel! Seek your repetance! the final coming is at hand! Aiiiiiieeee! Lunar transmits: '*evilly* Oracle, it's Lunar. Get alone, then respond.'. You transmit 'I am alone now.' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: 'Oracle, I have a friend of yours here. He's a bit . . . restricted, but I'll allow him to speak.'. You transmit 'Friend....who could you possibly...? *her voice stops short....*' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: '*Brawls voice* Oracle..don..dont worry about my baby..im fine. no matter what he says..im fine. and I love you. *Lunar's voice* How touching.'. You transmit 'You must have found him...I had heard he was down but I....' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: '*Lunar's voice, chuckling.* How touching. Stay awake, like a man. *Brawl's voice* cant..too cold.. *Slap. Lunar* Stay awake! Or she dies.'. Lunar transmits: '*lunar* Yes, Oracle, I found him. He's MINE now.'. You transmit 'I don't know why you do this! There isn't a trace of malice in him.' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: '*Brawl* leave..her..alone..'. You transmit 'What do you want from me? /You/ were the one who wanted no contact with me, and now you mock me with this? *It isn't clear if she sounds very sad, or outraged.*' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: '*Lunar, laughing.* Don't try it Brawl, it is out of your reach. And, Oracle, I contact you because I can imagine the look of horror on your face. I always told you Brawl was trouble. Well, he is!'. You transmit 'He is only trouble now because you make him so. Why imagine the look on my face, why not see it for yourself? *Oracle sounds quite mad by now...not angry, but boardering insane.*' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: '*Brawl* Told..ya..leave..her alone'. You transmit 'Brawl, can you even hear me? *Sounds pleading...something normal in her moment of insane passion*' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: '*sounds of a struggle, the signature slice of Lunar's claws extending, then a snap. Lunar.* He can't Oracle. He's not dead, but he's back in stasis. You wish to meet, we shall meet. Alone. No friends.'. You transmit 'I would not be stupid enough to bring friends. I am insulted....' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: 'Just making sure. Where, Oracle?'. You transmit 'You decide...' to Lunar. Lunar transmits: 'Hellpits. Now.'. You transmit 'I am there already.' to Lunar. Lunar transforms, landing in front of Oracle, a sneer on his lips. Oracle looks back at Lunar, her optics narrowed to angry, brightly glowing slits. Her fists are clenched into tight balls. Lunar looks at her, blinks, then actually begins chuckling. "Anger? No, more than that. Could it be hatred? In little Oracle? Incredible." There's something in his optics, something that doesn't fit . . . You say, "I could understand why you treated me so...but what did Brawl ever do to you? Yes, he can hurt people, but only because it's the only thing he's allowed to do. There isn't a sign of deception or malice in his whole frame. Even I show more malice than he does." Lunar chuckles, everything but his optics seeming fiendishly pleased. "You never showed more malice than him . . . until now. I must say I like it. But I hurt Brawl, and I will hurt him more, because he exists. He is, as you say, a mech without sign of deception or malice. Remember, that is part of the reason why I tortured you." You say, "But he also can't learn that same malice...your lesson would be more lost on him than on myself. I have done you more wrong than he has...yet I find no more scars on my body." Lunar chuckles. "With you, I discovered a slight flaw in my planning. I liked you. I do not have this problem with Brawl." Oracle shakes her head, some of her anger slipping into something much harder to handle. Lunar frowns, taking a step closer. "You hate me, don't you. I can see it. You can control your anger, you can't control hatred, because hatred cannot be controlled. You know all this, yet you cannot stop it. How delightful." You say, "I don't find it delightful...injustice hardly evokes delight." Lunar grins cruelly. "It does in me. You were once so good, so pure, and yet with every step you become me. Let the hatred take you, Oracle . . . it will eventually, fighting will only prolong it. The darkness is far easier, and far more fulfilling." Oracle takes a step forward and lashes her hand across Lunar's face. It is clear from the manner of this strike that she intended no real harm, though the purpose of this movement is unclear. Lunar snaps his head back, his combat instincts telling him to roll with the punch . . . but he regains control in an instant. He laughs. A cruel, unearthly sound, echoing around them. "You hate me. That's good. You hate me, and yet you are fascinated by me." He steps one step closer. "Ever since we TRULY met in the Golden Blaster, I have fascinated you. The darkness, the cruelty, the hatred, they drew you in, called to you. As you tried to pull me from the darkness I pulled you from the light." He smiles. "And you hate me for this, all the while wanting it so much." Oracle seems to calm down considerably. "You contradict yourself." Lunar raises an optic ridge. "How so?" You say, "You are inconsistant. You try your hardest to 'teach me evil' then you tell me to stay away, that you don't want me corrupted. Now, once again, you find glee in any sign I show of becoming /you./" Lunar sneers, though something appears in his optics as she says this . . . something different. He holds out on hand, claws retracted. "Oracle, my imperfection and weakness has nothing to do with this. You want it, you are consumed by the darkness already, you simply have yet to give in to it. Give in now. You hate me, Oracle. You have started down the road, and the end is sure." His hand is still extended towards her, palm up. "Reach the end of the road, Oracle. Save yourself the pain of fighting a hopeless battle." You say, "I believe in fighting for what I believe in...I never really believed in much...history is a dead thing with neither feeling nor consequence as it has already happened. I won't give in...that would be a /weakness/. And I learned from a certain mech that weaknesses can't be tolerated." Lunar chuckles. "Good. Very good. You resist admirably." The hand is still out. "But you don't want to fight it. I've seen the glint in your optics, how you are obsessed with me despite claiming to want Brawl. You want the darkness, Oracle. And now, in hating me, you have fulfilled the last part of the sequence. It's unstoppable now, Oracle, and fighting will only break and destroy you. Instead you can embrace the darkness as I did, and become strong." Oracle frowns. "Then I'll be destroyed." Her tone is very, very calm. Lunar speaks in the same calm tone. "I don't wish you to be destroyed, Oracle." You say, "And I don't wish to become like you Lunar. It appears we can't both have what we want." Lunar frowns. "It is inevitable, Oracle. You've begun the path, and there's no way to get off once you start. Delay will only cause you to break . . . and I think you would fear that even more than you fear being like me." He smiles evilly, yet somehow alluringly. "And am I so bad? You seem to like me. Oh, I'm not saying you'll go around hurting people, that's not you . . . but the hatred is there, and will always be there. Is that so wrong? Am I so wrong?" You say, "Perhaps you are not wrong, but I don't believe you are right either...and if I end up a little less naive and trusting as before, it is a loss, but I will still function. But I don't think I will stop fighting it. If I don't draw the line somewhere, I will be more like you than I care to be, and perhaps, you care me to be." Lunar frowns. "What do you mean by that?" You say, "Which of my statements confuse you?" Lunar narrows his optics. "The insinuation that I would not want you to become like me." You say, "Simply because if you did, you would never have said otherwise. You're tricky enough to get what you want through manipulation...why would you tell me that you wanted me to stay away from you so that I didn't become like you, if you didn't mean it? What purpose would that serve?" Lunar looks down, then back up. "I cannot answer that question. I don't know the answer. But I do know that your path is inevitable, as mine was." You say, "A self-fufilling prophecy...dangerous..." Lunar chuckles. "LOOK at me, Oracle? From the moment I began hating Kali, I became like this. It was inevitable. Now you hate me, and you too will become like me. It is a certainty." You say, "Is that what /you/ want?" Lunar sighs. "What I want is irrelivant. It will happen." He smirks. "And, it will be . . . satisfying." Oracle's face remains blank. "Why?" Lunar chuckles. "I have been trying to corrupt you, Oracle, and I have." You say, "Then why say you didn't want such a corruption. You wouldn't say such a thing unless it gave you some advantage...or if it was true." Lunar looks away. "Perhaps it was true. But I had to try, because of what I am. And now, because of what you have become." Oracle speaks calmly. "Yet I wouldn't have become such unless you sent me that radio message." Then she shuts her optics in a wince as she remembers Brawl's broken voice over the radio. She shakes her head to drive out the sound. Lunar frowns, something still in his optics. "I'm going to hurt him, Oracle. I won't kill him . . . but I'll do worse. Worse than I did to you." You say, "Are you going to let me see him?" Lunar shakes his head. "No, for two reasons. First, it would give you strength, and I cannot allow you any quarter to resist the inevitable. Whatever part of me still cares about you doesn't wish to see you broken. Second, I cannot allow you to leave once you see where I am hidden." Oracle quirks an optic ridge. "That is true...I doubt your associates would appreciate such a breach of secrecy...but I could hardly fight your darkness if I could not escape it...why not size such an opportunity." Her tone is almost challenging...though what she is challenging is not clear. Lunar takes one step closer to her. "Would you wish me to? I could. I could take you, I would never have to hurt you, I would just have to keep you with me. My influence, coupled with your infatuation with the darkness, and you would fall. You wouldn't be able to resist. Is that what you want?" Oracle speaks, Lunar's words come back mocking to him. "What I want is irrelevant. You are stronger than I...if you wanted to do that, I could do very little to stop you. That is why I question you." Lunar places a hand on her . . . but not forcefully. Gently, laying a hand on her cheek. "I would not. If I forced you, you would resist, as would any captive. You must want it . . . and you do want it, but you must accept it." Oracle doesn't answer...perhaps she is thinking of a way to outsmart Lunar, perhaps she is thinking about Brawl...perhaps she isn't thinking at all. Lunar's hand remains on her cheek, that contact, initiated by him no less. "You want it, Oracle, don't deny it. Why deny it? Goodness, kindness, they are nothing but conventions. Break them, Oracle. You know you want to." You say, "I happen to like those conventions. I'm not fond of utter chaos." Lunar shakes his head. "Not chaos . . . darkness. Those who think darkness is chaos don't understand it at all. You know differently Oracle, if you'll be honest with yourself. Come with me." You say, "I couldn't do that. Perhaps Brawl is stronger on the outside, but he is much weaker when it comes to emotions. At least you know how to stop them..." Lunar frowns. The hand is still there. "Brawl is not an excuse. If you actually care about him, I will see that he never knows you are there. It is you, Oracle. You want it, you need it, and it is inevitable. Don't fight it, you'll only destroy yourself. You could learn to love the darkness, Oracle, as I have." You say, "But I don't think you love it.." Lunar sighs. "Oracle, I force myself to love it. I cannot be reclaimed, I said otherwise in the brig simply because I did not wish to hurt you. I can't be reclaimed. And now, neither can you. Please, Oracle, make yourself love the darkness. Perhaps you will find it's not so bad after all." You say, "I don't think it is so inevitalbe. You don't seem to care who you hurt, and I can't bring myself to hurt. That what makes us so different." Lunar frowns. "I couldn't hurt you, Oracle. Not totally. You know that, you know I am not the emotionless monster I pretend to be. But I am of the darkness, and you will soon be . . . if you don't destroy yourself. Oracle, for yourself if no one else, or if not for yourself then for me, give in. Come with me, into the night." Oracle shakes her head. "I don't have enough evidence that you are correct." Lunar laughs. "You know it!" His optics lock with hers. "And," he almost whispers, comfortingly, alluringly, yet somehow cruelly at the same time, "Even if I'm wrong, you want it. You want the darkness, you can feel it." Oracle just looks back at Lunar, saying nothing. Sometimes a strong conscience /is/ an asset. Lunar subconsiously moves a half-inch closer. "No, Oracle. Don't let your petty conventions save you, don't let ritual and society save you. You want the darkness, you wish deep in your spark that you could join me here, you have already been seduced by evil." He says a barely audible, yet commanding, "Come." Oracle doesn't move...she is too proud to run away, yet fights any slight compulsion to draw closer.