Masterful and Relentless ["Eliane", Alastair]

Eliane couldn't help but tut like a chiding mother as she studied the warehouse they'd tracked Antonetta's collar to. This certainly made sense as far as keeping a prisoner here, at least. Out of the way, not much chance for collateral damage if something went wrong. That meant Arlette had probably warned them about the collars, though, if they were worried about that. Go figure.

It would have been nice to have a more full arsenal, but traveling with the Duvalier Group certainly had its perks, and Eliane was more than adept at smuggling things in without too much trouble. Just a touch of plastic explosive, and... Ah, there it was. As an explosion punched a hole into the side of the warehouse, Eliane moved in exceptionally quickly, a small handgun at the ready as she looked for any actual cover.

Not that she really wanted to use the gun. She preferred to get personal.

They had expected that it would only be a matter of time before an attempt was made to 'recover' Antonetta. Assuming that Bauher Kleinmund had been successful in removing the collar without corrupting the device, or in some way alerting the Duvalier Group to its removal. Disabling the remote detonation settings had apparently been rather challenging, a task only made possible by the information from Eliane, though Alastair would rather she were a little less smug about that. It stood to reason that Claudia would send in her best, the other Ovide siblings, so there could be no room for lapses in judgement lest this all blow up in their faces. Even still, something churned in the Sternritter's guts about the underhandedness of it all.

The warehouse itself had been mostly emptied, left with nothing but empty boxes and broken machinery. A perfect situation to funnel the target into an advantageous position from which he could dive in to deal a decisive blow and take them down quickly. For now, at least, this alternate Eliane could skulk further into the depths. Her explosives had bypassed the main door, but that was hardly a major concern. It told Alastair all that he needed to know, and now it was simply a waiting game.

Lurking in the shadows, he tailed her from quite a distance. Her senses were likely keen enough that he would not be able to get too close, so he kept his weapon drawn and ready.

Untold years of simulated training were burned deeply into Eliane's mind, and they carried her through the warehouse with a practiced effortlessness like that of a panther. Someone less trained than Alastair might well have lost her as she weaved through the building, even with it all having been an ambush. The woman cleared every corner methodically, a tenseness to her as she made every turn that seemed at odds with the cool smile she always wore on her face.

But it was quiet. She'd have expected some resistance by now. Then again, it would've been pretty amateur of them to respond to an intruder with panic. Either she was more alone in here than she'd initially expected, or the people she was facing were far better trained. Neither was good, but it did mean that she started to move more slowly, her footsteps more measured.

Eventually, she stopped entirely. Just listening, finger a hair's breadth from the trigger of her handgun. There was a lot to consider here.

Following behind like a distant shadow, Alastair did spare a moment to wonder what might be going through Elaine’s head. Was she surprised that there had been no immediate resistance or had the lack of any real sensory information told her all that she needed to know already about what this was? Understanding what little he did about her, it was likely somewhere in between both camps. The tactical acumen of all the Ovide siblings was second-to-none after all, so it was inevitable that her strategy would soon change.

The silence created another layer of uneasy tension, amplified only by the looming shadows that sprung from the darkness in every corner. The grip on his weapon grew tense, its form shifting from blade into compact bow as he edged closer along the gang rails high above her. He took his time, unwilling to lose his advantage over a simple misstep, until finally he was ready to take aim.

A bow made of pure energy had advantages over its mundane counterparts, there was no real noise as the string was drawn back. The limbs protested but only against his tense grip, as the arrow hovered in place. If he went for the head then maybe Eliane would go quietly, but then he risked putting her down a little too permanently. Instead, he aimed low. A crippling shot that could hardly be called merciful. And let the arrow fly.

Spiritual senses weren't Eliane's area of expertise. In fact, with such a low spiritual footprint and no soul to speak of, she only had her natural combative instinct to go off of. She realized she was in danger, but it was far too late for it to matter. Evasive action did little to help her, and while she moved, it left her with a severe wound piercing her leg.

"Ha... Well, someone's a good hunter, huh? I didn't think you'd be so cruel, you know. Using my own sister as bait, that's just evil..."

Eliane's eyes scanned the area for the source of the shot, watching the general direction it had come from with a trained eye. It was easy to focus only on movement, rather than details, but that would still mean she needed to see this attacker move. How good were they? She'd find out, wouldn't she?

How exciting.

There was a pause after that first shot, that eerie silence returning, but it did not last for long. There was another rush of energy as, from his elevated position, Alastair launched himself forwards with a Hirenkyaku and looked to close the distance before she had a chance to take any pot shots at him. She was right to comment on his hunting, as he had winged her and now sought to bring about a swift end. It was not that he took pleasure from any of this, but he had been raised to hunt creatures just as dangerous as her.

His sword slid free of its sheath with a serpentine hiss, the blade shining in the darkness as it seemed to absorb and reflect what little light there was, as Alastair launched into the attack with a targeted thrust to press the advantage against her injured side. The reinforced steel was Duvalier made, after all, a fitting match for the Ovide agent.

There was no room for emotion nor conversation in this exchange, especially because he knew Eliane a little too well, and yet his eyes did burn with a quiet flame in response to her judgement. What did she know of good and evil, after all. The crueller thing would be to drag this out any longer than he had to.

Closer. That was good, at least, even if the pressure was enough that Eliane could taste it. Not spiritual of course, but that genuine intensity that someone dangerous carried with them in a situation like this. Her wound kept her from reacting as quickly as she wanted to, however, and the blade that pierced into her kept any further movement from being viable. Still, she didn't really seem upset about it, the gun in her hand simply held there, her finger leaving the trigger.

"Absolutely merciless, huh... I see why Arlette likes you so much."

Dropping the handgun, Eliane simply turned her face toward Alastair, a smile on her face that seemed both more empty and more cruel than any the real Eliane had ever worn. On the surface, it was identical, but there was nothing at all behind those purple eyes.

"So what now? You take out Wolfina next? Or are you going to go back to the real me and tell her all about this?"

The false Eliane's smile only seemed to widen as she said that, practically dangling it in front of Alastair's eyes. She was curious what he'd do with a morsel like that. After all, she hardly should have known she was a fake.

Alastair was hardly surprised by Elaine’s pragmatic response to his assault. In fact, he had some small amount respect for those that knew when they had been bested. No small amount of him had expected her to drag it out to the bitter end, but he would not fool himself by considering himself familiar enough with her that he could assume her intentions.

The revelation that she knew of her twin was, frankly, the less surprising turn of the two. Lady Duvalier was hardly a woman to ever be underestimated, especially in the field of information gathering. Though this knowledge did hardly settle his concerns with the other Eliane, nor did it set his mind at ease about letting her go free after all this was over. Another matter to discuss with Ms Arlette, perhaps.

“Quite brazen of you to assume that I have such a familiar bond with either of you. You will be taken to a Vandenreich holding cell until we can ascertain your intentions. I will be grateful if you come quietly.”

Retracting his blade slowly, though not yet going as far as to remove it, Alastair’s other hand went into his coat to produce a pair of handcuffs. Even reinforced, he was unsure if they would truly hold her but they would at least prove a minor hindrance. Edging closer, his guard as vigilant as ever around this mischievous woman, he waited to see if she would let him do so or make an unwise attempt to escape.

"Come quietly? I'd prefer not to, you know."

Eliane, in spite of her obviously disadvantageous position, wasn't simply kidding around with Alastair about that one. She had no intentions of going into captivity.

"I doubt I'll be able to convince you to let me go, so just get it over with and cut me open. Might as well make it quick, right? Unless you think I'm worth more than that~"

She knew, naturally, that he probably didn't like the idea. She also knew that she'd simply be replaced again if she was killed, but frankly, that didn't really matter much. Without a soul, she wasn't going to genuinely return. It would be a different Eliane, or at least, a different shell of one.

But dying making someone unhappy was a good way to go, wasn't it?

“I would never value the life of another creature so lowly.”

Alastair’s disdain for Eliane, even her clone, paled in comparison to his moral code. There was no doubt in that as it seemed like his words alone might burn the air as he spoke them. Still, the handcuffs remained in his hand like an offer waiting to be taken. She was spiteful to a fault, arrogant and apathetic, yet he dared to wonder if she could be brought to heel in some crude way. His voice carried with it the iron will of a man that had seen too much wanton death.

“The weight of your existence is what you make it, and I will not hesitate if you choose to throw it away, but I think that you know that you will not return. Another body, perhaps, but a different you that propagates only a cycle of ignorance.”

It was rare, truly, for him to have Eliane in a position where he felt like he could call her mentality into question, but he was glad for it. The process was at least somewhat cathartic, though he had to remain on edge as he waited to see if his words was cause even the slightest movement within her and whether that movement would be to throw herself on his sword.

“Do you truly wish so desperately to die as a tool?”