Post #3858 of main thread.
Please send your orders to issaikhaan ONLY. Do not send them to GH.
The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching seven by seven,
The little one stops to pray to heaven
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching eight by eight,
The little one stops to shut the gate
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
...The Ants Go Marching One By One
...Children's Traditional
8:47PM, Thursday, 10 November 1951
The Executive Meeting Room (Small Ballroom)
Fatlington Convention Center
Fatlington, New Jersey
The day seemed to drag on. The city was completely silent, except for the Convention Center. There, Crazed Rabbit was giving a speech about how boring things had gotten, and that it was time for a change. It was a powerful speech, absolutely riveting. The man continued, offering his services as Director, and giving examples of just how awesome he would be if selected. Unfortunately for Crazed Rabbit, people's trust in him had been shaken by his lack of participation in certain activities, and there were rumors that he had turned against his former associates. As such, his words were wasted on the crowd. When he realized he wasn't getting through, and that his fate seemed sealed, he decided to drop the charade and speak his mind.
"You people are all a bunch of mindless automatons! Why do you follow someone whose loyalties are nebulous, rather than someone whose loyalties are proven? You're a bunch of sheep, you shouldn't listen to anyone! Listen to me! You've got to make up your own minds! Don't follow anyone! Follow me!"
For a moment there, it seemed as though he had a point. But, there was still something a bit odd about what the Rabbit was suggesting.
"You're mafia! Don't you understand? You're supposed to be ruthless and evil, not hold hands with each other!" shouted the Rabbit plaintively. This was a disgrace, Rabbit knew this to be true. He was on a mission to demonstrate that it was wrong to behave this way. The Director had been sitting in the crowd, watching the events unfold. Finally, he stood up.
"Mister Rabbit, I do beg your pardon, but.... I believe that you are objecting to the very idea of 'organized' crime. You see, crime families become powerful for a reason. They keep their word to one another, and stand together against the law-abiding; they don't break ranks just to save their own skins, they don't allow one of their own to be mistreated without reprisal, and they form intricate networks of alliances and keep close-knit relationships. They also keep their silence about family secrets. Indeed, whichever family is most effective is the one which can demonstrate their strength, by standing together, by following the most effective leader, by deposing ineffective or inactive leaders, by weathering attacks and destroying threats. You appear to be an advocate for a certain methodology. I can respect that. Indeed, I've been watching you and your friends closely, and I admire everything that you've been able to accomplish. You've done very well. And yet, while you attack the unity of others, and attempt to undermine their confidence, and cause the chaos you crave, you turn around and seek out alliances with others like yourself; you wish to stand together with certain factions to bring down your opponents. You remain loyal to your friends, or at least the ones you've chosen to be loyal to. Perhaps you intend to betray them later, this is all beside the point. The point is, you cannot convincingly attack a group of people for behaving in a way that is at the very least similar to how you operate. Finally, if your way is better, then it will be demonstrated by trial. The trial is over, and I do not believe it has passed the test. You certainly had enough time... if your way was better, then thirteen days will have passed, and you would be standing where I am, telling everyone that the time has come for me to die. Do not think me unsympathetic. I find you brave and cunning, evil and ruthless. I respect that. But we are equally ruthless, and we are in competition. And the time has come for you to die."
Crazed Rabbit was not a whiner, not in the slightest. He was a man, after all. Although he had objections and stated them for the record, he was not a man who would dwell on mere lamentations. What he expected now was a death that was fitting for a man of his stature; a death fitting of a man, period. One that would be memorable. "Take me into custody then. Do your worst, Pizza man."
"As you wish." said the Director, who removed his fedora, and placed a brown and red hunter's hat atop his head. He removed his overcoat, revealing a brown hunter's outfit beneath it. He snapped his fingers, and was handed a shotgun by one of his goons. The crowd began to groan, expecting something more original. Several of the Director's goons approached Crazed Rabbit, holding a large trunk. They set it down next to him and opened it up to reveal an old, tattered, bloody Rabbit costume. Crazed Rabbit recognized it not as a Bugs Bunny outfit, but something more familiar... and sinister. It still smelled of cigarettes. "You expect me to wear that thing again, just so you can chase me around Fatlington dressed as Elmer Fudd? That's your idea of creativity? What happens next, are you going to quote classic lines written by better writers than yourself?" muttered the Rabbit.
The Director nodded grimly, eye twitching. "That is the sound of inevitability, mister Rabbit. When you hear the words, and know exactly what is going to happen next, but you cannot do anything about it. It's akin to Fate. You're familiar with Fate, aren't you Mister Wabbit? It is that which renders free will and choice to be nothing more than an illusion. An illusion that I'm afraid, you need to wake up from."
Crazed Rabbit's heart sunk. This wasn't how he wanted it to end at all... this was wrong. Terribly wrong.
"Perhaps you need to be shown. Let us try an experiment, Mister Rabbit. Try to do something unscripted. Perhaps you don't wear the Rabbit costume. What if the whole Elmer Fudd scenario doesn't happen? Look inside the Rabbit suit, you wascawy wabbit."
Crazed Rabbit approached the familiar Rabbit suit, worn by a ruthless and undetectable gangster. But suddenly, the suit began to move.... and the head slowly turned toward the Wabbit, grinning madly. Just as the Wabbit was about to touch the old suit, the head burst open, revealing thousands upon thousands of rats, who had been feasting on the corpse within the suit. The rats seemed almost demonic, and they were instinctively driven to attack Crazed Rabbit. Within an instant, they were scurrying up his body, biting him all over.
"It will all be over soon, Wabbit. But I offer you the illusion of choice.... do you wish to be eaten alive by the rats, or do you want to be hunted down by Elmer Fudd? Look inside the suit and you'll find two pills, one in each pocket of the Rabbit suit. The blue pill will put you to a merciful sleep, and you'll be a feast for my pretties. The red pill will make you very unpalatable to the rats, and they will disperse."
The rats were very painful, and Rabbit thought that he could outwit the Director and escape. It was time to take the red pill, even if it was a 'Matrix' rip-off. And as soon as he swallowed the red pill, it was exactly as the Director promised. The rats dispersed, leaving his clothing tattered, but he was otherwise all right.
"Be vewwy vewwy quiet...." began the Director.
But Rabbit was already out the door, bolting for freedom. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, until he found that he had an extra spring in his step. Whatever was in that pill was doing wonders for his energy level. He actually began skipping, bounding, and hopping, as he scrambled down the sidewalk, looking for a way to escape. Something large and loud flew by his head, and then disappeared. Wabbit looked up, and saw aurora borealis in the sky... a very rare occurrence for Fatlington indeed.
They're coming to get you, Crazy-Waisy. They love how you scamper. And they're going to get you unless you GET WITH THE PROGRAM, AND STOP WASTING TIME!
Another one of the creatures flew toward Crazed Rabbit, and severed Rabbit's left arm completely off, quickly gulping it down with its razor-sharp, insatiable maw. Rabbit looked at the gaping wound and felt the pain, but kept running. If he ran, he could outrun them... and he didn't look back. He knew what was happening. They were swarming all across Fatlington, gobbling up everything in their path, like locusts. As Rabbit turned the corner, he saw himself face-to-face with a man with a potato sack over his head, wielding a chainsaw. Crazed Rabbit dodged the swing and scampered away from the maniac, only to find himself surrounded by the living dead. He could see them everywhere, they were all around him, waiting for him.... and they were hungry for human flesh. Wabbit reached for his gun, determined to go out fighting. In its place, he found only a tennis ball.
"Be vewwy, vewwy quiet..." said a far away voice.
He stared at the tennis ball blankly, wondering where in the blue hell it came from. Then, the tennis ball spontaneously ignited, burning his remaining hand. Undaunted, he threw it at the lead zombie, who happened to be eating a bowl of oatmeal. Inexplicably, this caused a powerful explosion which incinerated the horde of zombies, saving Rabbit's life. The loud explosion caused Rabbit's ears to ring, but he paused for breath and to regain his composure.
He couldn't hear the chainsaw-wielding madman behind him, and had momentarily forgotten that he was there. In one brutal and terrifying moment, the chainsaw tore through the Rabbit's flesh, severing his other arm from his body. Crazed Rabbit screamed in pain, and began hopping away as fast as he could. He turned another corner, hoping to find safety, and instead saw a man standing in the middle of the road wearing a trenchcoat and Fedora. He didn't recognize him at first, but when the man opened his trenchcoat and revealed dozens of kunai blades, Wabbit knew who it was.
"Twilightblade? What are you doing here?" gasped CR, as a ridiculous amount of blood continued to spurt from his gaping wounds. Twilightblade, the original Neutral Avenger, said nothing, but grasped several kunai in his hands and threw them at the Crazed Rabbit, impaling him in several places, causing the wabbit to fall to the ground helplessly. "Just kill me and get it over with..." pleaded the Wabbit. As if acting on command, Twilightblade nodded and dumped a bag of golden powder on him, and the powder promptly exploded, completely obliterating both the Wabbit and Twilightblade.
"Be vewwy, vewwy quiet..." said the familiar voice.
Somehow, Crazed Rabbit was still alive. What was going on? He found himself wearing the tattered Rabbit costume from before.... and it smelled like death. He could barely see out of it, as all around was dark and cramped.
"Do you know where you are, Mister Rabbit? You're right back where you started. You see, what you call freedom is only an illusion. There is no freedom, no choice.... only destiny. You're back inside your suit.... and you're about to meet your destiny."
Crazed Rabbit felt tiny bites all over his body.... he was being eaten alive by rats! He was the corpse inside the suit, that the Director showed to him earlier! This was impossible.... the rats tore him to pieces, feasting on his whole body, and Crazed Rabbit couldn't move... he struggled to free himself from the trunk, but he couldn't escape. They ravenously devoured the Wabbit, who screamed and screamed. But it couldn't be real.... it wasn't real....
"You're right, Mister Rabbit. It's not real. Everything you've experienced is a result of that red pill you took. It has played tricks with your mind."
Rabbit was starting to panic. He wanted to be let out.... he wanted freedom. He wanted the fresh air of freedom! He couldn't breathe.... he couldn't speak....
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT OF THIS PRISON! HELP ME!!! HELP ME!!!" screamed Crazed Rabbit, as the horror of his situation finally set in.
Suddenly, the trunk opened up, and there stood the Director, dressed in the same hunter's outfit. The shotgun was pointed directly at Crazed Rabbit's face.
"....I'm hunting wabbit."
*BLAM BLAM BLAM*
"huh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh...." laughed the Director, as he turned to face the assembled Committee. The look in his eyes clearly demonstrated madness, as they twitched involuntarily.
"Meeting adjourned." he said, coldly.
OOC
Orders for Night Thirteen are due no later than:
Please send your orders to issaikhaan ONLY. Do not send them to GH.
Lynch vote tally:
Crazed Rabbit: 15 (Diana, fyre, Jarema, hero, Neri, Cahoma, Xehh, Gamez, Krill, TLD, TS, Beskar, Niklas, Kennigit, gibson)
fyremarble: 6 (CR, Chaotix, sturmhauke, Lewwyn, guiri, DiY)
Chaotix: 3 (Seon, AA, shlin)
Cahoma: 1 (gnarly)
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