[b][i]William Ascot[/i][/b]

[i]The Day Before the Tournament.[/i]

Another week, and another failure. It didn't matter; William now had [i]some[/i] sense of patience. As he talked with Andras, Wolf, and perhaps Vera in their appointed meeting place, William said after making his last draw, "Andras, I need to be honest with you, just as I need to be honest with myself. During that day, in the park, Vera made some good points about my plan to bring back Vittorio's friends and family. Those are good points, and I need to explain why I cannot stop yet, even as I acknowledge how good the points were."

A pause. "There are three reasons why I want to keep doing this; playing with cosmic laws.

"One, I [i]am[/i] a narcissist, albeit one who expresses his narcissism by looking for a cause that seems worthy, a cause that seems ur-important, a greater cause that nevertheless helps others. I want to fell like I am above the petty causes of School and Organization, like I can do something about the tradgedies that still happen in this world, and to fight for a cause I believe in. It's just that I fail to see how my involving others can ruin people's lives. Which brings us to the second reason why I keep doing this.

"Two, I believe that King, the Vig's leader, is right. I believe that there is a Greater Evil approaching Rhea, and that Mephisto, owner of Mephisto's, is connected to it. Wolf knows what we found in that secret lab outside of Rhea, and while said lab isn't enough evidence for my allegations, it still provokes suspicions.

"Two-point-a; if there [i]is[/i] a Greater Evil, not only is it a cause that fits my desire to be great, but also a threat to Rhea, the city. A threat to [i]all[/i] of us. If the defenses aganst the Greater Evil, not just Army and Police but also superpowered kids, are undermined, then we all suffer. King's warning has grown unheeded for too long, although to be honest, that's because he isn't presenting additional proof of his claims.

"Two-point-b; sorry if I'm being annoying with this, Vittorio and now Galbrek are undermining the 'superpowered kids' part of Rhea's defenses. Vittorio's feud towards Alto, fueled by his' being the person who's [i]still[/i] suffering the most in Rhea, and Galbrek's feud against [I]Humanity[/i], which comes from his own deep personal tragedy - which doesn't excuse his actions - are distracting teenager and adult alike. And killing them won't solve the problem either, because of the effort that will cost and the damage they can do before dying."

A pause, then. "And finally, Three. I can't allow a tragedy - no, tragedies - like what happened to Vittorio and even Galbrek to go unacknowledged. What sort of person am I; what sort of person will I be, if I just stand by and do nothing when someone not only suffers, but lashes out against others and causes suffering? I may not be perfect, but I'd at least want to say: It's not true that no one cares."

Looking at them all, William would say, "Which is why I am doing two more things: One, revealing my full and modified plans to you, and Two, giving you all the chance to back out and leave me to my own hubris.

"Said plans are these: To use Andras' powers to bring a full ressurection of Vittorio's friends and family, and one other person, with the prime priorities being 1.) Charlotte, Vittorio's lost love, and 2.) Galduric, Galbrek's good older brother, and whose death caused Galbrek's turn to darkness." 

A pause. "The idea is that Charlotte and Galduric would put Vittorio and Galbrek 'in check', plunging them into inaction or even... Converting them to the cause of Rhea's defense. There is also the prospect of additional fighters for the potential defense of Rhea." 

A faint smile. "After or during that, we find out exactly what's going on with Mephisto; the stuff I told Wolf about. And then we organize Rhea's defense by bringing forth every bit of power and information we can bear."

And now a frown. "Again, if you all want to leave, you can do it now; you all have that right."

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