explosivecombat | NIETZSCHE; DEAD PHILOSOPHERS' INBOX

A Rembrandt? It's a painting — Rembrandt was a Dutch artist and one of the greatest painters in history.

[... :|a ]

That does ring a bell. I remember stealing a Rembrandt...I must've been about twenty-one years old, it was an early heist. I hadn't even made a name for myself yet. That must've been the job when Mason went to prison; I was working with him at the time, and I remember he got caught as we were getting away. He didn't listen to me, I remember that.

The person I was speaking to said that she went to prison after she was caught trying to steal a Rembrandt. Mason Dixon broke her out a few years later; she's working as his henchwoman.

She said he's the world's greatest thief, where she's from.

He WHAT?

She was also behaving in a way that convinced me that if I ever see this man, I'm going to kill him on sight; I do hope that you aren't terribly fond of him, as that might make things somewhat complicated.

...

[There's some small comfort that he keeps saying "her" and "she", to keep her distanced from what really ought to be "you" and "your", because all of a sudden there's something cold in her stomach and the hairs at the back of her neck are standing on end.]

What did he do?

[To me.]

I didn't receive many details, but I received a few. It seems that he's convinced her that what happened to her was her fault - for being headstrong, I think that's how she worded it. Being sent to prison and then working for this person seems to have broken her confidence a good amount; she says that she still tries to steal things under Mr. Dixon's direction, but she often gets caught. He allows her to go back to prison for a short time, and then he comes to get her, and he "forgives" her for her mistakes and for being a [fuckup] failure.

She insisted that she needed to get back before he noticed that she had ended up somewhere she wasn't supposed to be - when I said that he wouldn't notice, she became incredibly anxious and said that "he'd notice," with all the finality of someone who knows they're about to face retribution as soon as he does notice. She also made sure to clarify that she needs to be "useful," and she said a few things that made me think that she doesn't have very much of her own - for example, I asked her what sorts of things she liked, and she said she liked her motorcycle. She promptly amended the statement without any further questioning from me, saying that it wasn't really hers, it was just one she uses sometimes; it gave off the impression that everything she has is supposedly his, and he's just letting her "borrow" it.

I don't think it was entirely him, per se - it seems that prison did a fair amount of nasty things to her head, as it does. She asked a lot of questions; she needed a fair amount of direction in terms of basic decisions. That tends to happen after a decent stint in solitary, I think. But he's definitely taking advantage of the situation, and he's broken her just as badly as prison - or at least that's the impression I came away with.

Edited 2013-11-30 09:03 (UTC)

No wonder you're going to kill him.

[And how telling that she's so carefully avoiding ever touching on her own personal thoughts about the subject.]

It doesn't add up, though. Mason's...even if he had taken control like that, he's not that vindictive. What you're describing...he never had a grudge like that against me back then. I would've known if he had.

...there's evidence that there are multiple versions of some worlds - different timelines, different dimensions, I'm not sure how to describe it, but sometimes there are two or more versions of the same world that seem to have taken divergent paths for some reason. I don't know what causes it, but I'm not the only one that's experienced it - there are a few others in this place who seem to have found evidence of similar happenings.

It's possible your world is one of those - something was different in an alternate version, and it resulted in her.

The one of you that had blue eyes.

I've created at least one before, myself. It was set right later, but it doesn't take much. Just a time machine and a single change.

A time machine...? They actually exist for you?

I have one. Two, actually; I borrowed one from the people who set things right after I meddled with history, as well.

Such things are only in movies, where I'm from.

But there are at least two other versions of myself out there that I know of; it seems as though things might be similar for you. At least it's not completely unheard of, apparently.

[...Let's see, mental math time. One...two...]

Three. I can name three.

Three...?

The blue-eyed one, the prodigy, and the one I met.

You taught me how to activate my circle, Teacher. Or a version of you did, anyway.

What?

What was he like, then?

When you were in Ishval, was there a point where...um. You were about to be...transferred, I think. To a new district? And you thought the war was about to be over soon, or would, once you'd finished whatever it was you had to do. Does that sound right?

Yes, it does - I was working in the Gunja district the first few weeks after I arrived, but I received orders to handle business in the Kanda district close to the war's end.

He was just about to be transferred.

I didn't realize you knew Major Armstrong.

[...oh.]

...I do, yes. Not very well, mind you; we've had more than our share of differences over the years.

I heard something about a breakdown.

...Was there someone else you knew who'd fit the description of "short, dark-haired, handsome, and idealistic"? Someone you didn't like, maybe?

Oh, definitely - do you remember when I was telling you about the various sorts of combat alchemy I've seen utilized, and that person who was able to control fire came up? I believe I mentioned him as being a rival of mine.

I do remember. He fits that description?

That other version of you didn't seem to enjoy the thought that your rival might be my teacher.

Well, he's a good deal shorter than I am and certainly dark-haired; women seem quite fond of him so I assume he can be considered handsome (though I've never found him to be such), and I believe the point in time you're referring to came shortly after I got into an incredibly barbed argument with him regarding ideals. So I can see where he fits that description, and why I might not have been pleased to hear that at the time.

Because you were jealous, or because you wouldn't have liked the thought of him passing on his ideology to a malleable student?

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