Not Like the Other [Xenon]

[Kari Muffin]

On the list of dumb ideas Harold had had in his life this was probably number two.

But he was too curious for his own good. And he had heard a rather unusual and impossible rumor. Impossible for most people. Because most people would chalk it up to crazy talk. With all that he had been through, he knew that the impossible was possible. And perhaps the crazy rumors were true.

It would just be a brief visit, and he was sure if he asked and was called crazy they would just throw him out. To be doubly sure he had planned out what he was planning to do several months in advance.

He had managed to get a proper appointment with the King using the excuse that he had information about summoned weapons that could possibly help his research. Harold had only hoped that that part of the rumor was true, and it was, so everything was going smoothly and the King accepted the idea of having a meeting at night.

A night of the full moon, so at the very least he would be a Heart and look far less suspicious. Like an Esterberry carrying a variety of books was suspicious. You could never be too careful in the court of Hearts, but none the less, he figured he didn't look that out of place.

He knocked on the door to the King's office. Hopefully the man was there and things would go... smoothly. He'd rehearsed. He had reassured himself. He had reassured Felaria. And yet he was still utterly terrified as he waited for a response. This wasn't going to go smoothly and he knew it.

[carcinoGeneticist]

This was a meeting that Apocalypse both dreaded and looked forward to.

Discussions of Weapons of any sort were always interesting, especially to the King. Sometimes, they gave him an odd feeling, sometimes they brought up unwanted memories. Always, though, he enjoyed himself at the time. But this was something new. This was an Esterberry know-it-all, an irritating twat who probably didn't even have a Weapon and would still assume to know all there was to know about them. As if anyone - anyone - could know more about them than Apocalypse himself did.

That was what had set his hackles on edge. When the man arrived and Apocalypse invited him inside, it didn't do a whole lot to relieve that angry feeling. Despite his being a Heart, the Esterberry was a total fop and looked for all the Suits like a bloody woman. He also looked like a doormat rather than a proud Heart. Not the best first impression.

The ex-Scythe did his best to push those grumpy feelings aside, and offered the man a seat and a polite smile. "Welcome. Your name was... Harold, correct?" There was no real point in rushing things, but the idle formalities weren't really needed. The man had made an appointment - Apocalypse knew what he needed to know, and he could assume that the Esterberry knew who he was. Otherwise, it would have been stupid to have made the appointment in the first place. "So. You're interested in Weapons. What, specifically, can I help you with?"

[Kari Muffin]

Harold wasn't the typical Esterberry know it all. He admitted, sometimes, that he didn't know everything there was to know in the world. And when it came to this subject matter he was lacking in a few departments. He had done research in the matter to satisfy his curiosity, and possibly found out how any of what he could have been through was actually possible.

And according to everyone it wasn't possible.

So when he had heard the rumor he had to jump on the opportunity. And now that he thought about it, it was probably a bad idea. He was feeling dreadfully nervous about the whole affair, and was debating on bolting on the appointment.

It was too late though, as soon as he entertained the thought it was time for his appointment. The Esterberry could feel his nerves bunching up and butterflies fluttering in his stomach. This had been a dreadful idea. He took his seat as he tried not to look like he was going to run away screaming. He did a somewhat decent job.


"Yes, Your Highness, I'm Harold. It's an honor to meet you." he said with a small smile. It was good that the King was getting to the point so quickly. "I have done quite a bit of research on Heart Weaponry, but my interest lies in places that aren't as researched. In particular cases where a Weapon has taken the place of a Summoner and a Weapon being bonded to a person other than the original owner. I was hoping that maybe someone like you would have more information on the subject matter."

[carcinoGeneticist]

The man had been doing research? Well, that was interesting. Apocalypse had carried over from the work left to him by the late King, and beyond that, he'd found very little modern-day research of interest. And he'd certainly never heard anything about this rather strange example of an Esterberry before the man had written to make an appointment. One of the King's eyebrows arched, but the pleasant smile on his face never once faltered.

Until the man spoke further. That smile was gone in an instant, and the King's slitted pupils narrowed. His heart started to beat faster. Not out of fear - right? This was an outsider. What could he know of Apocalypse's past, of his secrets? Nothing. Nothing, unless someone had told them. If that was the case, blood would be spilled. Soon.

"Bonding to another is possible. From what I understand, it's been told that some Weapons have passed through generations of Summoners. As the Summoner forms the shape of the Weapon, it might have some differing qualities, but the soul is the same." He spoke carefully, trying to keep the growl out of his voice. He locked his gaze on Harold, unblinking. "That I will talk to you about. The rest is shit. There have been no instances of a Weapon and Summoner changing places for over two hundred years, and even then, my own research has indicated that it never happened."

The smile reappeared, but it was clearly forced, and the man was displaying way too many teeth. Very sharp teeth. "But myths have a habit of making their way through the years. Especially the particularly fanciful ones."

A random man off the street wasn't going to get the King's darkest secret. Not in this lifetime.

[Kari Muffin]

Harold watched man carefully. He wasn't particularly fantastic at reading other humans, so reading another one was strange. His nerves bunched up even further when the man's expression changed from a smile to something else entirely.

And his words... Harold shifted in his seat looking like a mixture between thoughtful and disappointed. He had been passed from one person to another without changing in the slightest, at least from what he could tell. Of course it was just based on his opinion which could have been easily skewed on the matter.

And then the talk about a Summoner and a Weapon not exchanging places... he was saying the exact same thing that all the text books were saying.

And then the look on his face changed dramatically. The Esterberry's eyes widened at the amount of sharp pointy teeth that happened to be in the King's mouth. That wasn't right. Why the hell did he have teeth like that in his human form?

But he had come so far....

"I found out about an incident that happened a little over a hundred years ago that disagrees with the "fanciful myth." There was a case where a Weapon took the place of a summoner..." He shifted in his seat. "But... information about passing weapons to generation would be fine. You wouldn't particularly have information about passing a weapon to a.... non-Heart, Your Highness?"

Please don't get angry.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Calm. Apocalypse needed to be calm. He wasn't calm, though, and that was the problem. He was raging inside, teetering between the desire to scream to the world what he was and the desire to kill this man out of the paranoid fear that he already knew. The corner of his lip twitched. His eyebrows lowered. He didn't blink.

"Also bullshit." The tone of voice used was soft and clipped, carrying an almost dangerous undertone that dared Harold to disagree. "I came across the same story, and none of its pieces add up. Besides - you're a Card. Would you want for your Weapon to claim your life? I know I wouldn't want mine to do anything of the sort."

Hopefully, that would be the end of it. At least, this part of it. The faster Apocalypse could steer the conversation back to something safe, the better. While the discussion of swapping Weapons was odd, it was securely logged under "safer" in the King's book. He settled once more, but he didn't seem to be much more relaxed. "I don't... See why not. I have heard of Summoned Weapons belonging to non-Hearts, and if a transfer from Heart to Heart could exist it doesn't seem completely out of line. Though it seems a perversion, wouldn't you agree?" He smiled his most asshole-Heart smile, raising an eyebrow. "I feel it is a power better left to us. The Weapons chose Hearts for a reason."

[Kari Muffin]

It was impossible for him not to look offended at any of the King's statements. This had been the worst possible idea to come here expecting to get more information. Clearly the rumors had been wrong and this King was just a... asshole who expected everyone to take everything lying down.

He was just insulting everything he had gone through.

But this was the King of Hearts. He had to be polite. This man was notorious for her temper. He had something to live for. He had to go back to Felaria. He needed to be careful.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, how do you know it's the same story? This story was passed down in my family, and as far as I can tell it's true." He shifted in his seat nervously. "And to be honest from the research I've found, when a weapon is passed on from one family to another it's only because of a strong sense of will from the dying owner. There was a case in which a Club was bonded to the sentient weapon of her mother who was a Heart."

The frown on Harold's face was his typical one as he looked at the King. "Your Highness, are the rumors true about your researching weaponry to the fullest extent? Because it seems I've found very different information from yours. And i was hoping to fill in a few of the gaps to help... uh... I'm sorry, Sir. If you don't have any information I shouldn't be bothering you."

He bowed his head in apology. Hopefully he could slip out without incident.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Something in the man's words made Apocalypse's blood boil. Everything he was saying was an insult. The summoner's will this. The summoner's will that. His family. What the fuck did he know? He wasn't even a King!

But Apocalypse knew. He knew it far too well. His summoner, in all of her will, had wanted to die, and that had meant nothing in the face of his own desire to live. He was still sitting here, and he was more alive than ever before. He could tell, from the sharp intakes of breath, from the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears, fueled by a living heart.

"There aren't a whole lot of stories. If you'd looked beyond your own damn family legends, you would know that. You know nothing about Weapons." The man said shortly. "If the Weapon didn't want it to happen, regardless of the will of the Summoner, it would have rejected the attempt. Weapons can hate their summoners, can refuse to act for them. They're not just tools - that's a common misconception by Cards with bloated egos and shit for brains. If the Weapon didn't want to change hands, it wouldn't have. It's that simple. I personally cannot see why one would decide to go to a Club, but the bonds run deep. Maybe it was an act of loyalty. That isn't what I'm contesting. I'm contesting this dying owner bullshit. We have our own wills, you arrogant asshole."

Too much rage. And now - he'd let something out.

The King froze. He stared at Harold, fury barely contained in his expression. At least he had an excuse to kill the man, now. Xiven would understand. Word of this just couldn't get out. "If you make a single move for that door, your head will hit the floor long before your body falls to meet it." No. He'd let the rage get the better of him. "I misspoke. That is all."

[Kari Muffin]

The look of protest on Harold's face as the man spoke was one of the most animate expressions the man had ever made in his entire life. (Well... this one?) He knew absolutely nothing about what it was like to be a Weapon and yet he was preaching about them like he knew everything about them. Did he know what it was like to to find out that your summoner had died and you had no choice but to stay behind? Did he know what it was like to completely fuck up the one last chance you had because you were selfish? Did he know what it was like to die?

No. No he didn't.

Harold could feel his rage bubbling as he looked at the man, his fists clenching and digging into his nails. "You have no idea what it's like," he practically hissed. "You honestly think you know everything because you're the King of Hearts. You have no idea what it's like to watch two of your summoners--the people you love more than anything--die, and--"

And then everything decided to process, from the threat that Apocalypse had made to the words he had suddenly spewed out.

Wait. The King had said "we have our own wills." And besides the death threat.... he misspoke?

"I'm sorry Your Highness. You misspoke and I was horribly rude. We can put this all behind us, I hope?"

[carcinoGeneticist]

Apocalypse's muscles tensed. He stared at the Esterberry for a long time, his eyes narrowing. The preaching, the tone, the anger... It was so much like his own fury. The King clutched at the edge of his desk and sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Before he did something wrong. Before he lost this opportunity.

Whatever this opportunity was, exactly. The King didn't say anything else, he just sank back into his chair, closing his eyes.

"You don't understand, either. I don't know - It's been so long since there was even a rumor, I have no idea how you're still alive now, I..." Count to ten. Take deep breaths. Don't - don't do anything stupid. His own Weapon shifted in his mind, just as stunned and frightened as he was. It didn't seem right, though. This man, he wasn't a King... "You just didn't want to live enough." He said softly, under his breath. He could have lingered on, as... This man claimed to have done. But he'd known - that wouldn't have been enough.

Rhiannon flinched. "Pale, I... I know him. From a long time ago - when Rose and I first met."

Then his eyes flicked back to the Esterberry's, cool and focused. "You... Knew her." There was no additional information given.