Video; un: darkness (Backdated to November 28th)

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul looks very grim when he starts off the video.]

Since some of you might wonder where he is and since he had messages for me to pass along to some of you, I'm here today to tell you Wesker is dead. I killed him.

[He quickly goes on before any screeching or condemnation can start being thrown his way.]

It was not out of malice, amusement, or anger. It was an act of mercy. The zealots took him and by the time I found him he was little more than a corpse but somehow still breathing. There was no hope for his recovery.

[Maul's eyes shut for a moment, still seeing the eviscerated body lying on the table that looked more like an autopsy victim than someone still alive, lungs and heart able to be seen and still working despite all that had been done to Wesker's body by those seeking his blood.]

I'm not sure how he lasted even that long with what they did to him. I ended his suffering. Hopefully, he will be back in a short time.

[There is a private message afterwards which is only sent out to a handful of people. Vira-Lorr, Luz, Orpheus, and Ariadne.]

He asked me to pass on a message to you.

Comments

( video | un: duckling )

[danserai]

[ oh . . . not dr. wesker. and what of cypher? she swallows tightly, tears threatening to spill. ]

He . . . He's dead?

[survivalthroughhate]

Yes. I made sure of it.

[Maul's voice isn't so much cold as it is just weary. It hadn't been a satisfying killing for Maul. Mostly he just felt nothing and the small space of him that could feel at all was taken up with fury at the zealots for what they'd done.]

[danserai]

[ this . . . is the worst. ]

A-And . . . Cypher?

un: trienemybest; video

[droptheious]

[Well. There is definitely a difference in how Maul is holding himself here. There's no crowing, no attempt at justification, no declaration of war. Just...quiet resignation.

It's...encouraging, even despite the loss of life that brought them here.]

It was good of you to tell us. [Much as that's obvious to most people, he knows that Maul needs a little more of a nudge than others. He's learning things at this point of his life that most learn as children. ] I'm sorry you had to do it. Was he a friend?

[It was importantthat part was public, but he wants to give Maul the chance to talk without all eyes on him, too. So he shifts to private.]

Do you need anything?

Private

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul nods, a little too worn-out to accept the praise from Varian. He'll be happier later on when he can feel something a bit more. He's usually so good at being in touch with his emotions but not right now.]

He was. We met in Deerington when I was a deer. [Which meant Maul had been full of the desire to help people, a rarity when he was human.] I've saved his life more than once but this time I was too late.

[Something that was a bit galling to Maul. Apparently, all he's good for is death, even when he actively wants to save someone's life instead.

Once their conversation is switched over to private, Maul lets his guard down just a little bit.]

......No. I don't feel happy about his death but I also don't feel any guilt or sadness. It needed to be done.

Private

[droptheious]

[Varian wouldn't blame him. He needs time to adjust. This...is a lot. ]

Then I'm really sorry. It's a lot harder to have to do that to someone you genuinely care about.

[It's like killing a piece of yourself in the process, he's pretty sure.]

That wasn't really what I asked. Even if you don't feel guilt or sadness, you still killed a friend.

video; un: doublehedgedsword

[laminae]

[Yikes. Fern isn't sure who this Wesker guy is, and he knows Maul is far better equipped to deal with this kind of situation than he was with Eda, but it still is never easy doing a mercy kill.]

Geez, dude.... [He sounds sympathetic here.] Are you okay? I guess the guy's still dead, huh?

[survivalthroughhate]

I didn't feel happy about killing him but neither did I feel sad about it. It was merely something that needed to be done.

[It's moments like this that it is easy for Maul to revert back to the mindset of being a weapon, unable to feel much of anything when he killed someone. Weapons didn't ask questions or consider the morality of what they'd done. They simply did their job and killed without thinking.]

It happened yesterday, so yes, he's not been revived yet. [He pauses.] If he revives at all.

[laminae]

Right. I get it.

[Of course he does, he used to be literal weaponry.]

You don't think he will? But Flynn did.... [Ohhhh Glob what if reviving isn't a sure thing here??]

Video UN: glyphywitchy

[imaglyphwitch]

Oh no, not-

[Luz had to switch off a moment because there's an explosion of sobbing and angry sounding words in Spanish. She's only been talking with him a month ago! He helped her get to sleep! Granted, Luz had her own scars thanks to the Zealots, but that was HER.

It was completely different when they got to a friend.

After a time Luz switched back on, trying to compose herself]

Ok. W-what did he say?

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul is a bit gentler with the girl than he would be with many others. Luz is a compassionate soul and he knows she will take this hard.]

That he got too close, a scientist that became an experiment. The usual musings that he tends to make.

[Half the time, Maul felt Wesker spoke in non-sequiturs that he didn't expect people to answer.]

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz swallowed, clenching her fists. There wasn't anything she could do, was there]?

That sounds...right.

You're lucky, Darth Maul. You could at least find the person you could fight, to at least attempt to get rid of the hurt.

I have no idea who did this to him, and if I did...I'm still pretty scared.

They got to me too.

video; UN: TripleJ

[kyley_b]

[Kyle looks very pale, and unusually grim.]

Good. You did the right thing. It's.

[He swallows hard.]

It's awful. You did the humane thing. He'll thank you.

[His throat works again and he clicks the feed off for a while. When he comes back his face has a bit more colour.]

You okay?

[survivalthroughhate]

[Why does everyone keep asking that?]

Is there a certain way I should be feeling?

[Beneath the snark, there's a genuine note of curiosity to the question. Maul knows the way he feels about killing isn't normal and the way most people should have felt. He was very confused right now, wondering how someone normal would have reacted in the same circumstances.]

[kyley_b]

I don't know.

But I thought, you know... if you needed to talk or anything. I'd listen. That's all.

video; un: Dr. Disraeli

[delilahs_death]

[Jezebel appears with his mouth in a tight grimace. He's typically rather nonchalant at the amount of death and destruction in this place, but Wesker is someone he might consider a friend, and the news leaves him uneasy.]

How long ago did this happen?

[survivalthroughhate]

[It heartens Maul to know Jezebel isn't pleased by this. He would have thought poorly of the other psychopath if he had.]

Yesterday. I only just escaped the blood farm today or I would have told everyone when it happened.

Text; un: Reaper

[no_reload]

They'll sing your praises this time because you used the word mercy. They'll cast you down when it will be any other word.

[Reaper hated the upcoming month of December more than any other month. He tended to be a massive recluse, and he was far more negative than usual. The blood effects of this month don't help his mental state either.]

Private

I'll be watching. If anyone even injects punishment for you, I will put them in the sand as a corpse.

Private

[survivalthroughhate]

Don't I know it. They take any opportunity to paint me as an unrepentant monster.

[Maul having a victim complex? Must be Tuesday.]

Thank you, Gabriel. Don't hesitate if anyone does. I am not in the mood to be made into a scapegoat again while they remain on their high fathiers.

private video | un: katherine

[manipulative]

I know it's a very silly question to ask, but sometimes it's nice to be asked it: how are you feeling?

[ as someone who has killed friends out of mercy and out of a need to advance herself on the chessboard, she imagines he feels a mix of emotions—none of them entirely pretty or easy. ]

[survivalthroughhate]

[He and Katherine don't know each other that well, so Maul is a bit guarded as he answers, but the fact it's a private conversation does help keep his hackles from rising up.]

Why does everyone keep asking this...? [He mutters to himself before he finally gives an answer.] Not much of anything at the moment. I didn't feel bad doing it but there is no satisfaction to be gained snapping the neck of a man eviscerated and still left alive in a helpless state.

Voice; UN: Cuddlebunny

[lightthedarkness]

[She's not going to ask if he's okay, there's not really any point in that. All she can do is offer him company and someplace safe.] Do you want me to come over? Or come here?

[survivalthroughhate]

.....Come over here.

[Maul is curled up on a couch in one of the living rooms, Venge beside him and resting their head on metal legs. They're being quiet and just letting Maul process all of this on his own time.]

Private Video: UN - Runeseeker

[onerthes]

[She sighed and rubbed her forehead, to the right of her eye.]

Ngh... I can imagine several reasons he sustained himself so long. Durable is one thing to describe the doctor. Thank you for doing this mercy. He should be back soon.

...

What was the message he had?

[There were several things she could imagine.]

[survivalthroughhate]

No thanks is necessary. I did what needed to be done.

[Maul's tone wasn't nearly as gruff as it could have been. He was more tired than anything else, unhappy with this task but knowing it was better that it had fallen to him than anyone else.]

That you are like a sister to him. That the scientist had gotten too close and so became the experiment himself.