He didn't seem to get the joke. "Freedom baptism? Sounds like some cultish Abbatial ritual. Forgive me, my view on religion is rather jaded." Lucien then strode up to the imprisoned mercenary with a stone-cold face. "Tell me, girl. Do you look into the eyes of the people you kill?"

[i]Wilson sighed, knowing the the man didn't get the joke. So much for that. Lucien approached the woman, who did not say anything. She looked to the ground, tears flowing silently from both eyes. She seemed to be shaking, still fairly traumatized from the ordeal. [/i]

"Look at me," he says with the calmness of a serial killer. In a flash he raised his hand to her throat, his bladed ring popping out and poking into her skin. He raised a hand to Wilson to signify he would do no harm. "I may not know what that man did to you down here, but you deserved every bit of it. Atonement is a painful thing, is it not? Yet here you are, still living in contrast to all of those you have killed. Oh how I would love to draw my ring across your throat and put you into the shoes of that little girl... But that would be too kind. So I will ask again: do you look into the eyes of the people you kill?"

Oui. [i]Her face looked like she had taken a heavy blow to the cheek, an open wound bleeding slowly. Her left eye was black, and blood matted her hair to her forehead. [/i] I was told it instills fear in them. [i]Her voice shook, even as quiet as it was. Wilson simply watched, expression unreadable behind his helmet.[/i]

"My people used to follow a mantra of an Old-Earth philosopher. Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. Have you heard of this before? You seem like a smart girl. Let me let you in on a little secret. You may bring fear into your targets behind the visor of your helmet, but within their dead eyes lies an ocean. An unfathomably deep ocean that whispers your sins. And when you take off that helmet of yours... All you can hear are the screams." Lucien traces his finger across the woman's throat, imitating where she held the knife to the girl. "Can you see them now? Halfway to death yourself... Soaked in whatever unholy ritual this 'freedom baptism' is... They await you. Beneath that ocean, every eye is watching. For you, dear mercenary. And I hope that terrifies you. It should, really. That's the fate for people like us. One day you'll look into the eyes of the living but see only the abyss. Perhaps it was in Mr. Wilson's visor, maybe it will be the reflection from my mask. But that horrid abyss will always be there, giving you that same look you gave to all of your targets. You work for a man named Atlas? Then be sure to not break under the weight of his world."

[i]She stared off silently, shaking a bit. Clearly she was more than traumatized, but it seemed that she was most certainly facing her punishment.[/i]

Lucien pressed the woman, showing no sympathy for her at all. "Would you like to know why I'm still speaking to you? It's because I'm making sure you understand the weight of your actions. The only way to truly wound a monster is to make them realize who they've devoured... And to let them know that there are greater monsters than them." He nudged his head towards Wilson. "I would like to know more about you, miss. What lead you to such a predicament? Now, now... Think beyond the attack. Beyond Atlas. To when you were a small lass with big dreams. What did you want to become?"

I wanted to make a difference in the world... I wanted to be heard... [i]She stared off at Wilson, who now had drawn his combat knife, and was approaching, in full armor, an absolutely terrifying sight. She immediately began attempting to escape, screaming.[/i] NO NO NO NO NO! I'M SORRY PLEASE GOD NO MORE MONSIEUR! PLEASE! [i]She was nearly crying. Wilson on the other hand, was laughing like a mad man, flipping the blade in his hand. Approaching on the opposite side of her from Lucien, he stopped, putting the edge of the knife on her cheek, catching a tear with it in the blood groove. He leaned down to look at her, and spoke.[/i] He's right, you know... you ain't the biggest fish in the sea, sweetheart... You're also damn lucky Wolfie's got a heart, else I'd have put a bullet between your eyes... [i]He leaned in close, and practically screamed in her ear.[/i] NOW ANSWER HIM! [i]She screamed, closing her eyes tightly, forcing more tears out and down her face. Wilson laughed again, and slammed the blade down into her hand. She shrieked in pain, and he simply continued on laughing. Struggling, she answered. [/i] I wanted to be a nurse... a medic...

"A medic, you say? And look where you are now. You do not delay death - you inflict it onto others. You became a monster in the eyes of medics, medics who thought they could save the lives you took only to see a red line drawn across your victims' throats. But this entertains me. You wanted to change the world by saving lives. How did you end up deviating so greatly from such an objective? Answer quickly now, or Mr. Wilson will have to take the other hand." The faintest hint of a smile peaked at the corner of Lucien's mouth. Another part of him was coming out - something even he was scared of sometimes. But he could not feel his own demons rising, as he was blinded by toying with the girl.

[i]Wilson wrenched the blade free, wiping her own blood on her cheek, and holstering the knife, in turn pulling out his machete, twirling it in the air. [/i] I.... I joined the Foreign Legion as a soldier... I was trained to be a field medic. I was approached by Atlas through an emissary, the man said that Atlas wanted someone with my abilities, said that there was a better salary, a better everything, and with as devastated as my home was from the Third World War, I took the opportunity. [i]She spoke through clenched teeth, clearly in a great deal of pain. She looked between the two men, terrified.[/i]

[i]Another lost soul caught up in the war of another man. Desperation is a powerful force indeed.[/i] "So I am to understand that you joined up with Atlas in order to survive. I get that, at least. We do what we must in order to survive. No one's innocent I suppose. You're as much as a monster as we are now. Even if your means justified the end, those lives you took are all calling your name. And look where we are now." Lucien raised a hand towards Wilson, as if to say [i]don't do anything just yet.[/i] "I could leave you alone with Mr. Wilson if you wish..." he said, letting that sink in. "Or I could keep you company for a tad bit longer. Something tells me you would prefer the latter. That language of yours - Old French, I assume? A local village in my home spoke a bastardized version of it. Through some old linguistic documents and learning, I picked up on a simple term of identification." He leaned in close to her ear, as slowly as a lover would when embracing his newlywed bride. "Je suis le prophète du faux. La deuxième bête des révélations. Je me nourris de vos péchés. Remember that, miss. Remember my name. Remember it every time you stare into that abyss - because I will be watching. And if you believe in God? Pray that you do not sin once more while I watch."