[hr][h1][center][color=ffaa00]Echo Montegawitz[/color][/center][/h1][hr]
Owen’s outburst was not taken personally. She was accustomed to the little people accusing her, her family, and her associates of far worse. Of course it was always guilt by association, but in this case such things were big issues.[color=2b2b2b][i]A challenge, you most deficit of souls, Rend is truly your name, for I can see you tearing this new world apart with your pride. Go ahead and answer, why exactly is our very existence in jeopardy because of politics?[/i][/color]
A smile could not help but slip from Echo’s lips as Owen threw accusations at the seasoned debater and eloquent master of minions. And then came the shouting and the arguing, but to Echo’s surprise, the concept of murder and dominance emerged where there would never have been before. Rend would be arrested, put in jail at the very least, his popularity would plummet, his empire would crumble, and his financial options would evaporate by pulling a gun on someone. But there were no jails or financial prospects any more, the empire was not only crumbled, it was buried in the sands of the thousands of hour-glasses of history. As atrocious the thought, Rend was making a perfectly reasonable and tactful move (if not a very civilized one.) The rules to the game had changed.

Moments crawled by like seconds, distorted by the deafening report of the gun, and as soon as it started, it was now flipped around entirely. Rend was overpowered and Tahlia was the one in dominance. If only there had been just one more bullet, the situation could have been resolved without such dynamics. Now, instead, there was a power vacuum that tugged at the remainder of the crew. If Rend would have killed Tahlia, then he would have intentionally established a reign of fear. Now, Tahlia was in danger of establishing the same, only without intending to do it. Now was the moment, now was time for a leader to arise. But who was there to take action? Benji? He was so radically changed from the quiet fellow before that the weight of leadership would likely scare him witless. Where was he anyway? Would it be Yasmin? She was nice, but no leader. She would be taken on Mr. Toad’s wild ride by the whim of anybody who had an opinion. No, it called to her loudly and she found herself compelled to action.[color=2b2b2b]We dare not live our lives in fear of Tahlia’s eagerness for violence, we shall be no better off than savages.[/color]
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Echo rushed over, reaching out and grabbed, of all people... Owen.
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She locked eyes with him a moment, no fear in her eyes, no emotion, no pleading. This was a carefully calculated move. She shoved him toward the violence, [color=ffaa00]“[b][i]You[/i][/b] must intervene.”[/color][color=2b2b2b]I am sorry to rush you into all of this, but we are out of time.[/color]

There was no mistaking it. She didn’t give a crap about Rend’s life, or Tahlia’s pending atrocity and reduction of the human population by 1/6th. There was a greater cost, one that Echo could not meet, but she knew who could. It was a call specifically to Owen.