It was late at night, at the Good Times Bar on planet Houston. The bar was almost completely empty except for a single man that sat in the corner, and the bartender. The room was silent save for a light hum of music in the background. The lighting was very dim, almost none at all save for the glowing neon lights of the bar sign outside.
The man sitting at the corner table was rather rugged looking, possibly a blue collar worker. He sat starring off into the distance, fixated on the wall, every once in awhile taking a sip of his alcoholic beverage. The bartender on the other hand was at work cleaning all the glasses that had been used that night. The mood was very relaxed and quiet.
Just then, a whistling noise was heard from outside. It started out faint and grew louder as it approached from down the street. The doors opened and in walked a strange looking man. His cloths were odd, and his hair looked as if he had cut it himself. The bartender, and the man in the corner both looked up as the door slammed behind the man that had just come in.
The man approached the bar and sat on one of the stools. He looked over at the man sitting at the table in the corner, he had been starring at him since he walked in. His glance quickly made him turn his head. The bartender spoke up, 'what can I get yah stranger?' The man looked back at the bartender, 'Its Draze, and I'll take the strongest thing you have,' the man smirked. 'Well'¦ in that case, I will have to go down to the cellar to grab another bottle of our own brew,' the bartender replied.
The bartender walked off into the back, leaving only Draze and the man in the corner left in the bar. Draze looked back over at the man, and caught him starring again before he turned his head. Draze squinted his eyes and got up off the stool and walked over and sat at the table with the man. The man leaned back as if startled all of a sudden.
Draze: Greetings.
Rugged Man: Hello.
Draze: What is your name?
Rugged Man: Why do you want to know?
Draze's attitude changed at a pin drop from relaxed to serious, and calmly pulled out a knife from his back pocket and placed it on the table.
Draze: Its impolite'¦ Not to introduce yourself.
The man looked worried.
Rugged Man: Its Ja'¦. Jack
Draze smiled.
Draze: hello'¦. Jack.
Jack: Your that man from the TV, aren't you? The one wanted by the authorities?
Draze frowned.
Draze: now.. Why would you bring something like that up, when we had just started this conversation off to such a good start. Yes, I am that man.
Jack: Are'¦Are'¦ you going to kill me?
Draze: No.. course not.. I am a magician. I much prefer magic tricks!
The man nodded in disbelief.
Jack: Why is it you do.. What you do?
Draze: Why is it you do what others do?
Jack didn't reply. Draze leaned forward.
Draze: Call me a innovator.
Draze laughed.
Draze: I suppose you could say it all started when I was born on planet New Berlin. I've loved magic since my early years of childhood, but it wasn't enough. It lacked'¦ realism'¦ overtime I needed more. So I decided to explore science more, antimatter, and even spirituality of the soul. And I found exactly what I was looking for, but my practices were frowned upon, and eventually lead to a forced exile. But, that did not stop them from trying to find me. They ran me down, and people of New Berlin beat me to near death. If it wasn't for a lone outlaw coming to my aid, I would of died. He gave me cardamine, which enhanced my system, and allowed me to barely survive. But, the cardamine came at a cost. It became addictive'¦ it warped my mind, nearly killing me later. Fortunately the Zoners were able to cure me of this'¦ disease.
Draze smirked
At least part of it!
Draze laughed
I tried to bring happiness to all. To show people, that magic and science could go hand in hand. But now, everyone can see the show! Whether they want to, or not. They didn't enjoy my trick, my magic'¦ so this time it will be for real. I shall make everything they ever loved, vanish into thin air. Their very souls are up for grabs.
Draze leaned back into his chair. Jack sat silently
Jack: I am sorry to hear that.
Draze slammed on the table, and laughed madly
Draze: Don't you be sorry!!! Jack'¦ You know, there is a reason I came to this bar.
Jack: huh?
Draze: Your so predictable. Every night, you come to this same damn bar.
Jack: What? Have you been following me?
Draze: Oh.. Don't you remember Jack, because I sure do. I remember you along with the others beating me to near death. You think it's a coincidence that I came here? At this time? NOW?!
Draze laughed. Jack looked terrified
Jack: We screwed up! I am so sorry. Things were never suppose to go that far!
Draze: Your apologies mean nothing to me. Your just like the others, before they forever vanished.
Jack began to sob..
Jack: Please'¦
Draze: don't beg, you are the one that made me what I am. In fact, I should thank you, because I see things oh so clearly now. The veil has been lifted from my eyes. You took a ordinary man, and turned him into something else.
Draze's face expressed a somewhat insane look.
Draze: I see the insanity all around me now. Along with you, it shall vanish!
Jack: please.. I don't want to di'¦
Draze grabbed the knife and slashed it across Jack's throat, spraying blood all over the wall. He looked at the lifeless body pouring blood all over the table. His head twitched.
Draze: gone'¦forever. Like magic!
Draze stood up, and pushed the chair in. He reached over, and finished off the mans drink. Then, Draze walked out the bar. The bartender came back in from the back. He saw the blood covering the wall and immediately dropped the glass, horrified. He ran over to the phone, and called the police.
Draze Aldridge was born to a noble family on planet New Berlin in 787 AS, in a large city just on the southern hemisphere of the planet, called Magie, famous for none other then its Magic shows, and its extravagant entertainment block. Draze's father was a actor in one of the local theatres, famous for his show, he was a descendant from a long line of noblemen on the planet New Berlin, and like his father, Draze was destined to follow a similar path. But, acting did not interest Draze, magic did, the highest form of entertainment within the city. Every weekend, Draze and his father would go to one of the most popular magic shows within the city. As a result, Draze became fascinated with magic at a very earlier age.
Every weekend, he would watch the shows as if it was his first time seeing them. Above all, his favorite trick was to watch the magician pick a audience member, to come up on stage to perform a disappearing act. Of course, later in the show, with a wave of his cloak, the man would reappear with a poof of smoke. He was obsessed with learning every trick he could. He knew what he wanted to be when he grew up.
By the time Draze was 18, he was already preforming in magic shows. He was quickly becoming known as one of the most up-and-coming performance artists. But Draze didn't stop there, he was dead set of becoming one of the greatest magicians to ever live. Women came and went through Draze's life, and friends were none existent, there was no room for them, and magic. By the time Draze was in his mid 20's, he was known as one of the greatest magicians New Berlin had ever seen. His shows would sell out, each and every night. Draze had achieved his dream, just as he had set out to. But, even being the most highly sought after performance artist in New Berlin was not enough for Draze, something was missing, but what?
Draze came upon that answer during his late 20's one day. As he was rehearsing, he thought to himself, why couldn't his magic be real? What was stopping him from making it real? Societies restraints? No, nothing could stop him from pursuing real magic, and with that, he turned to science, modern societies 'magic.' Draze worked alone during the day in the catacombs of his families mansion, to attempt to create a device that could breakdown a object all the way down to its atoms, and then reassemble it again later. He preformed all his research during the day, and preformed at his show at night.
Around the time he was 35, he had solved it. His years of research had paid off with a little thing called antimatter. More common to space pilots as a form of weaponry, it was not entirely well known. Draze's new machine harnessed antimatter. He preformed countless number of trials on random objects over and over again, vaporizing them down to their very atoms, and then reassembling them again, as if magically disappearing and then reappearing again. He had decided it was time to move to human trials.
It started out with a single person that he has befriended and persuaded to come help him test out a new show prop. Deep within the catacombs of his families mansion, his machine roared to life with his volunteer inside it. Sparks of electricity shot out from the sides like small lightning bolts. With a dark purplish, black flash, his volunteer'¦.was gone. Draze flipped the switch expecting his volunteer to reappear, but nothing happened. Nothing. Not a single spark. Draze was horrified, where was he? What had happened wrong? Did he just kill a man? He couldn't possibly call the authorities, he would be locked up for murder. What could he possibly do? There was nothing Draze could do, so he kept it a secret, a dark secret that would follow him for the rest of his life.
Draze was devastated at what he had done, but what made it even worse, is that he was more disappointed that his device had failed. For several years, Draze had slipped into a depression, and his shows began to show it. Every night, his shows seemed to get darker and darker, and as a result, his audience began to get smaller and smaller. His family recognized his depression around the time he turned 37, and if they had recognized it just a year earlier, things might of turned out differently, but they didn't. Around age 36, Draze snapped, gathering a group of his dedicated fan base, full of women, and children, and men alike, he led them into his families mansion where he had his device set up'¦
With promises of a grand spectacle, he led them into the machine, where he planned to activate it, and then turn to use the machine on himself. One last, final act.
He threw the switch, and men, women, and children shouted out in agony as they were dematerialized into nothing. Without a single particle left from his fan group, it was Draze's turn. He flipped the switch again, waiting for the power level to reach maximum again, when he felt the swift, hard bash of a metal object hit his head before he blacked out.
When Draze came to, he was in the hospital, handcuffed to a gurney. A family landscaper had followed Draze and his fan group down in the catacombs, hoping to catch a glimpse of what he had been working on forever, when he saw the murder of the entire group. Quickly reacting, he bashed Draze over the head with a thick metal pole, knocking him unconscious. Draze would now be held accountable for his actions.
The case against Draze started out with a ton of promise, the prosecutors sought the death penalty for Draze, but they hit a serious snag about a week into the case, a big one. There was no real evidence that Draze had killed anyone. There wasn't even a trace of fiber left from any of the group members. There was nothing that could prove he actually had murdered them, even if they were considered missing. The only real evidence they had was the family landscaper who had witnessed it first hand. The problem? He disappeared about a week into the trials. No one could find him or reach him anywhere. It was if he had completely dropped off the grid.
Today, many people believe that the only witness to Draze's horrific mass murder jumped planets, because he was afraid a background search would be done on him, and they would of found out that he was in fact a member of a anti Rhienland war effort group. Others suggest that a family member had been helping him with the device, who didn't want him to see jail, killed the landscaper. Of course, there it no evidence to suggest anything happened to him at all. But, what happened to him is unknown to this day.
With one of the biggest upsets in Rhienland's court systems history, Draze was set free, with no charges that could stick to him. The public was in a uproar, the families of the missing demanded justice from the local PD for the horrific tragedy that had befallen them, but the PD, bound by the law, could do nothing. And so, the public decided to extract its own vengeance on Draze. Late at night, they showed up at his families mansion, armed with torches and weapons. They breached the house and dragged out Draze. Draze was shot twice in the chest, and stabbed several times in the side, his face was badly beaten. The mob left Draze in the street, satisfied that there he would die. But their biggest mistake was not making sure he actually was. After the mob had left, it began to rain. Bleeding in the street, Draze began to crawl toward a alleyway. There he sat clinging on to what little life he had, when a was approached by a hood man. The man took Draze to his house where he gave him cardamine to help stop the bleeding, and attempted to bandage and stitch him up.
Draze's condition was critical for three days, where he almost died, and certainly would of if it was not for the help of the hooded man. The cardamine that he was given helped enhance his system, and keep him from dieing, but there was of course a drawback to it. He would be forever addicted to it for the rest of his life now. When Draze came to, he found out that the man who had helped him was in fact a Outcast.
Draze also learned that a warrant for his arrest had been issued regarding the murder of one of his very first volunteers, and worse yet, his family had abandoned him. He would have to flee the planet now, or face certain death by the local authorities, or at the hands of the people. And so he did. He fled the planet with the Outcast onboard of a stolen civilian bomber. Once he was safely away from the planet he sought refuge with the Outcasts in Omicron Alpha. There he lived for several months, until he sought out help from the Zoners.
There was a problem with the cardamine he was taking, it was not combining with his DNA properly, and in effect, it was slowly killing him. With the help of the Zoners, and a experimental medical process, they were able to cure Draze of his dependency on cardamine. But, they were not able to reverse the affects that the drug had on Draze. The effects of the cardamine had warped Draze's mind badly. He suffered from delusions, and was highly volatile. Draze would mutter strange things in his sleep, and he became highly psychotic. Toward the end of his time with the Zoners, he broke out of his confinement room, and set the entire station on high alert, murdering several people with a form of a chemical acid, before escaping the facility in a his vessel.
Draze was headed toward the house systems, with a crazed look in his eye, and revenge on the Rheinland mob in his agenda. One by one he murdered the members of the mob that had left him for dead that night. Draze returned to his families mansion once more to gather some things. Among the things he took was his machine, but Draze had another use for it now. He was to remodel the machine, and fit it to his ship, creating a devastating antimatter weapon. Draze has yet to be captured to this day, but recent reports have him roaming the systems with a new magic show, yelling at the top of his lungs, ' come one, come all, to the last show you will ever see.'
Draze looked at the files. He brushed over them with his blood stained hands. The cat was out of the bag. He was wanted, and there was people out looking for him. The Blue Hyena? They had even went through the trouble of marking down his stage nickname.
The death of one of the last individuals that participated in a brutal beating against him was still fresh in his mind. He pictured his knife making contact with the individuals neck, and blood hitting the walls. It was a brutal killing, one that was out of his zone of comfort. He was not used to such brutality, his kills were always more thoughtout. But, revenge can sometimes make one become rather sloppy. He sat back in his flight chair smirking.
[color=#990000]
It seems they dont like my preformances. Some just never truely appreciate a good show.
He turned his attention to his computer
Ah. It seems my Outcast friend is in town looking for work.
He tapped his index finger on his head twice
I have just the thing!
He began typing and finished with hitting the enter button, sending off a message
A new show! Thats what I will do! I shall bring my magic show to Sirius! Where I will be a star among the stars!
He chuckled
My show will be more popular then ever! Everyone will know my name, far and wide! They will be stunned as I preform true magic for them.
He smirked as he looked out his cockpit at his antimatter gun. His head twitched
It shall be the greatest show in Sirius!
He looked at his ship
Well.. I am going to need something a little more fitting for a renown magician.
He narrowed his eyes with a crazed look.
And perhaps a stage crew as well. I am going to give them the show of a lifetime! But first things first...
I've made plans to meet with the golden ladies of Kusari, The Golden Chrysanthemums. They are a pleasant bunch, and can supply me with what I need in order to procede on with my magic show. Ah hah. I've always been silver tongued, today I shall exercise it. But, if they were to learn about my show and my background, they might turn on me... I cant let that happen. My Outcast associate Dario Gaspar has joined me now, we shall work for them for the time being, and gain their trust. Afterall, I offer what others cant.
-He smiles-
Soon, my show [color=#CC33CC]The Pandora shall be fully operational.
The Golden Chrysanthemums have provided Dario and I with a Orchid Bomber to further fulfill my work for them. The ship will do just nicely for my plans. There are some minor problems though, it appears that a few of them are looking into my past work. It is only a matter of time before they find a reason to turn on my associate Dario and I. But, I will not let them try to stop my show! AHAH. No one will stop my show! Sirius will get the preformance it so rightfully deserves...
The Golden Chrysanthemums are on to me. They do not like my work in Liberty, they say I slaughter innocent civilians, but I dont see them as innocent. Tough luck, we do as we please. No one controls us! No one! Insanity is all around me. People doing the same things day in and day out. I cannot take it anymore! They are all going to participate in a little trick...
The Chrysanthemums have bountied me now. Most amusing. My work with them is finished anyways. I will be leaving toward the house systems soon with my associate Dario, with my Orchid.
-He smiles-
The color is dreadful, but we will take care of that! Some modifications will be done. Whats next on the agenda..
P.S. Did I ever say how much I love seeing people disappear?
I've made it to the house systems. I have begun my little show, and am now enacting the second phase of my plans. Its going to be a real killer.
-He smirks-
I've also had my assistants apply some paint to my ship. They did so with no questions asked, or else suffer my wrath. I told them to add some...bling..
One of my assistants failed to produce results today, I had to show him the airlock. But as a result, I came upon
some rather interesting drone technology, a donation from a company man. Perhaps it was slightly forced.
-He laughs-
It proves to quite useful, ready to sacrifice itself for my show, and my will. It will prove useful in drawing
crowds in locations I cannot venture, and drawing volunteers for my acts... and my tests.
On another note, in a few days, it will be the anniversary of the day I almost died. The day I started to see
things clearly. The day the zoners tried to cure me... I'll have to plan something special.
I have come across something very interesting in my research. Upon my scans of Sirius I managed to pick up a most interesting substance out in space. Upon sending my probes out, none returned. Instead they sent back fatal flight log recordings. Whatever this substance is, it is incredibly powerful. Powerful enough to take out a recon drone and de-materialize much of its surrounding core. I had to see this substance for myself.
The power readings are off the charts. It is almost twice as volatile as anti-matter. There is no current classification for this substance, so I took the liberty of dubbing it the [color=#6600CC]Merlin atom. It couldn't of come at a more perfect time either. As soon as I find a way to stabilize it, I can proceed to unlocking its full destructive potential. More tests must be run and subjects are needed. I have sent out my assistants to round up as many subjects as possible. Just image the destructive potential this substance could add to my show!
My plans for the Zoners are still on. In fact, they are looking even brighter with this discovery. Which made me think, why only share my misery with just the Zoners? Humanity was the real disease, the real target of my show, why not share it will everyone? Why not let everyone get a chance at the main act.
*he laughs*
I think I will do just that. Lets put humanity on the stage.
Draze's Flight Logs Disk 8 - Something Special, Something unorthodox
My how the stars dance this night. How the wreckage and debris flow through space.
How the glass of my cockpit glows with the blood of the fallen, in this great vast... space.
I created something new, something radical. Something deserving of embrace.
This Anti-Matter is divine and holds the key to my fate.
With this atom I am god, humanity is on my stage. Will they flock under my rule, or be decimated on this day?
This Merlin Atom has brought me visions of a most promising day.
When anarchy rules and my show is center stage. On this day, I shall carve out my own digital bible, from the carnage of my rage. Will they flock to the cult of Pandora? Or become formless matter adrift in this vast... space.
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