RPII-The Infection Must Die (Dakari)

[Lucius Kilvayne]

In the back of my mind I can
Barely even remember when
There was nothing left to hide and
She had found her way inside then

Lazarus had been tending to the flock, and they were glad of it. His gift of life in the face of a sickness gone rampant had given the masses hope. It was almost too sweet that in the end, he would make them all despair again. Such was the nature of reality, to this man. All hope was fleeting, all good was transient, and all light was to be extinguished. Life was his to give, or take.

But he had not expected to be contacted by the man before his eyes at this very moment. Lucius Kilvayne, arguably one of the more influential players in the game unfolding. The man had somehow obtained the phone number assigned to the vessel. Intriguing, that was to say the least. It seemed that Trevor had met this man before, and they had some sort of loosely defined connection from that point on. Perhaps this was the first time Lucius had decided to call in a favor from the vessel. That was sort of amusing, in itself. He surely did not know what Trevor had been through of late, and his current predicament. No matter. The proposal was amenable to Lazarus' whims. Besides, he could use a favor owed from a man such as Lucius Kilvayne.

The situation was such that Lucius was, in fact, desperate. Or perhaps he wasn't a betting man. Maybe he knew that "Trevor" would agree before even asking. The man was hard to read, overall. Lazarus had agreed, and so he found himself in a very expensive hospital suite, with two very powerful Specials, one of whom had seen better days. Cholera had afflicted Dakari Johessman.

Lucius had come to him dressed as a businessman, but at the moment he resembled a medical professional. Then again, he was a scientist, so the white coat look was hardly knew for him. Lazarus had generally attired the vessel in the usual manner of his other half, so as not to arouse suspicions. Today he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, both of which were black. Black, it seemed, as though he were Death personified. But not today.

Today he would be defeating Death, and Death's ally Sickness.

Lucius walked up to Dakari's bed, and sat down next to her, with love in his eyes. Such a man as him, feeling such weakness. Lazarus had to wonder at this thing called humanity. It was that same weakness that gave him control. Love. To love a person so much that their life became yours. Perhaps there was something in it, but Lazarus was not convinced. For one, it had lead to man used to doing things for himself to seek the favor of another. So be it.

Lucius spoke to his fiance, and the words would have moved Trevor, if Trevor were present.

"I wanted to do this myself, but it is taking too long, and even though Gabe told me it wouldn't matter- I don't want to take a chance with your life."He sighed, frustrated that his own efforts had failed him, " What we have now is good for the world, sure, but this isn't about the world. This is about us. I want you to meet my friend Trevor."

Lazarus stepped forward, and smiled at the ill woman. She was beautiful despite everything she was going through, and he understood on some level why Lucius cared about her. She was fighting with great determination to defeat her affliction. He realized instantly that she was one of those meant to live beyond the changes in the world. Now he knew his role in this was fate.

"Hello," He said, " I have the power to end your suffering, to make your fight end immediately. I am capable of manipulating Life-force. I believe you understand the implications of such."

Lucius decided to offer some more explanation, "I met him some time ago when Gabe and I were trying to stop Alex from taking a potentially suicidal course of action. He is one of the good guys."

Was, Lazarus thought. Not that it changed what he would do here and now. His ways were mysterious, after all. The world had to survive the epidemic, just long enough for him to unleash the true Sickness.

[Dakari Johessman]

Tell me once, tell me twice
I will hear you

Exhaustion was the first among the many irritations this stupid disease had wrought upon her. She'd had the others; the diarrhea, the clear vomit, the slackening of skin, which was the second most irritating of her symptoms. The other two had been bothersome at first, but she was far too proud to allow either to happen in front of Lucius. It was her sisters who had rushed her to the hospital, and it was Ana who had contacted Lucius almost immediately after. They knew it was exactly what Dakari wanted them to do, even without her having asked it of them.

She understood why the rest of her family could not be present. They were in Jamaica, their current seat, expanding their influence farther and farther outward throughout the Caribbean. They had not yet attempted to bring any oil-rich or other such countries into their commonwealth, so no one was paying the silent coups much attention. Ana and Andrea, however, were stationed in New York for as long as Dakari was there, with Ana traveling between there and Jamaica and Drea checking on things in Atlanta and Las Vegas, particularly at the Angelis, during Kari's illness. All of her family members had wanted to come up and see her, particularly her father, but, given that he was still supposed to be dead, that would have been a bit troublesome. Through Ana, Dakari had told him to stay where he was.

But Lucius was with her, even as sick as she was, even as ugly as she felt. She got the sense, mostly from her two sisters, that he split his time between being with her and working toward a cure, and very little else. She felt honored by that, in a way she could not quite explain. In other conditions, she would have been furious at her pitiful state - the feeling of helplessness, having to depend on others, even if those others were her own sisters, put her in an extremely uncomfortable position, and it made her angry. Here, though, it took little more than Lucius' presence to soothe her. She hoped he would forgive her for taking up so much of his time.

In sickness and in health…. They were not even married yet, and already their relationship was being tested in the worst of ways. She was being taken care of, at least, with one of the best suites available and the attention of the best doctors - counting Lucius, of course. She was barely keeping herself together as it was; being seen by everyone who happened to walk into the specially-prepared cholera wing would have made her made her the most miserable of all.

She looked up as someone entered her suite. Through blurred eyes, she saw her fiancé walk in, along with a second figure, one she did not recognize. When Lucius sat next to her, she reached out a hand to cup around his cheek. A faint smile formed on her lips as he spoke. His voice was almost musical, but it was the words that concerned her. "You're doing your best, darling," she said softly. "Even if you aren't the one to save me, you'll be the one to save us all."

Her glance swept over Trevor when Lucius indicated him, trying to find any prior knowledge of him. The man seemed to be a stranger, unless it was someone she had met in passing on one of the chat rooms. She seldom paid attention to who was on it outside of her circle.

She nodded as the stranger explained his presence, and gave a faint smile at his comment about being familiar with his ability. She'd had a close acquaintance with the same ability. Normally, she would not have trusted a stranger to do anything to or for her, especially not anything regarding her life-force, but Lucius seemed confident in him, which meant so was she.

"I would appreciate your help, Trevor," she said quietly. Even with Lucius' trust and her fairly desperate situation, she was still hesitant to ask for or even accept outside help. It occurred to her that she could call her father and see what he thought of it, but she knew him well enough to know what his advice would be. It would contradict Lucius' and also her own instinct. With a small smile, she reached for Lucius' hand nodded to Trevor.

Words: 733.
Attire: A hospital gown. Probably a very stylish one.
Excerpt: Delilah, "Never Be Another."
Comments: There goes happiness! >.>

[Trevor Taylor]

I was forced to walk alone
Living in an empty home
All I wanted was to hide and
Try to numb the ache inside

"You're doing your best, darling,"

In the darkness, a memory stirred. The words he had heard before. A time when all was failing around him, everything that had made sense was crumbling like the downfall of ancient civilizations. His love, his light, his future had faded into the Abyss. And something had come to take his place. He was lost in the shadow, the pain and misery of his pathetic existence. He couldn't live in this world.

So Lazerus had taken advantage, and was now walking in the world of man.

"Even if you aren't the one to save me, you'll be the one to save us all."


Trevor couldn't save her. The one he loved. Lazerus would be saving the love of Lucius Kilvayne's life. Lazerus had to wonder at how fate could be so unkind. A man of such as virtue as Trevor Taylor powerless to stop his lover from consignment to Sheol... and a man who built an empire on sins having the walking manifestation of God on call to save his fiance. The world really didn't give a shit about justice, Lazarus had long ago come to conclude. And this confirmed it.


But Trevor had cared a great deal about it, and that was something Lazerus didn't understand. This was a man who had seen it first hand. The reality of the world, the iniquity of its masters. He knew he darkness was all consuming. Yet he believed in the power of the Light to overcome all evil. He was a fool, Lazerus decided. An idealistic fool...but his power was promising.

"Only because I love you." Lucius said, "You already saved me."


Something about the look in her eyes. She was suffering, and that reached far into his psyche. Trevor wasn't down for the count, after all. He heard Lucius' voice, and the voice of Shosanna. It was not possible. She was dead and gone...but it was a memory. A memory. He had a purpose once. The vessel containing Trevor and Lazerus shuddered, imperceptibly, and new eyes looked upon the couple and their distress. The words Lucius had said, they were the last words that Shoshanna had spoken. He knew what his purpose was again.

Trevor Taylor had returned. He didn't know what was happening, but he could see the pallor of death and he could feel the miasma of contagion hanging heavily here. A woman was speaking.

"I would appreciate your help, Trevor,"

"And you will have it, Dakari Johessman," Trevor Taylor answered. He recognized the faces of the two in front of him. Famous faces, and one he knew to be a friend. Believed to be perhaps. He was a friend of a friend for sure. That was enough to make helping him the right thing to do. He reached his hand out to her, and moved closer to her. He held out his hand, and willed Lucius' life force to come into him, wreathing him in an aura of white light.He was surprised that Lucius seemed relatively unaffected by the loss of most of his animating energy. Lucius could read the confusion on Trevor's face, and looked right into the unreal blue eyes, and explained.


"I am like a hybrid car," He said, " I can run on electricity if need be. It helps me accomplish a lot, and I sleep very little."

"You are going to want to sleep tonight, though," Trevor said, "Give me your hand, Dakari. The transfer of his life force will be a way that Lucius saves you. It can be understood as such. Like an organ donation of sorts."