Scytheus/LupinV

Exaltation

One should never equate the works of Lupin to those of a two-bit thug. I've never put anyone in the poorhouse with my acts. Hey, I figure, if you're having a harder time of it than I am, then a)the last thing you need is me in your life and b)the last thing I need is anything you have. I know no one likes to be the target of theft, but fact of life is: NO ONE has gotten rich by being nice.

Speaking of rich, my old man told me of a rich to-do up in Bastion with more money than he can spend. Some stupid, spoiled brat, noble devochka who's probably gonna die in a couple of years from hitting the drugs so hard. "Shame to let all that money go to waste", I thought. But then the old man hits me with the news. We weren't going to lift any jewel, we were going to get a "daiklave" of some sort. Don't get me wrong, I'm into objet d'art as much as the next guy. But I heard about daiklaves, they're so huge only the Dragon-Blooded can lift them - let alone carry them. But pops had it all figured out. He had some sort of drink - a potion - that ws supposed to allow heightened strength for a short time. Long enough to pull the heist. Heck, pops was gonna be in on it so, to me, it was foolproof. I was in. Turns out it was just gonna be me and the old man on this one. I felt sort of honored - a one to one with the smartest man I know. Perhaps if I wasn't so geeked, things would have turned out better...

We got to the place and I drank the potion. I was fully ready to go. We snuck inside the mansion - opulent place by the way, tres chic - and I lifted the daiklave. I actually lifted the thing was what was so amazing to me. I knew better than to start playing with it, but I couldn't believe it. Pop's potion worked like a charm. The sword was unbelievably beautiful. I mean a beauty that only a fool wouldn't display proudly. But I digress, we were on our way out...

Perhaps it was the sword, perhaps it was the mansion, maybe it was me feeling all warm that I pulled everything off so top notch in front of my old man; but somehow, I was distracted. Not very long, but long enough to trip an alarm like a rank amateur. Luckily, pops thought this out before hand. "I'll run out the front way. Security forces will be quick to think that I was the burglar. But it will not take them long to realize that I might not have been alone. You won't have a lot of time Lupin, but it should be enough for you to find an alternate escape route with the daiklave". With that, he smashed a display case and snatched out a jade statuette of the Maiden of Secrets. I headed down a hallway and up a flight of steps.

I wound up in a hall of doors - probably where the guest quarters were. But then everything flashed and the hall was well lit - albeit slightly blurry - with sunlight pouring through the sunroof and windows at the end of the hallway. A BEAUTIFUL woman was walking away from me lookin over her shoulder. Everything about her becknoed to me. The scent of her perfume, the rosy color of her hair, her sensuously smart glasses, the way she switched her hips as she walked... She reached on of the doors and opened it and invited me in. Everything flashed, and once again, I was back in the mansion surrounded by the sounds of alarms. I then walked down the night-filled corridor towards that same door, opening it. By now I heard Legionnaires in the house downstairs. As I walked into the moonlit room, there were opulent bedroom furnishings and in the bed was that same girl however now she looked upon me with shock and distress, covering herself with a dark satin sheet. I looked at the bedroom window and saw, sitting there was...myself? I ran towards my doppelganger without thinking and he dropped out of the window backwards. I reached the window and looked out, but there was only the alley and a pile of garbage two stories below the window. I heard footsteps and turned to find the furnishings were gone and at the door were the legionnaires. Quickly, I jumped out of the window and landed in the pungent mess below with the legionnaires loudly tattling "There's another one over here!" I scrambled to my feet and stumbled back down. Damn! My ankle was twisted in the fall... AND THE SWORD WAS GONE! CRAP! My old man was not gonna like this. But, first things first - run. I ignored the pain and ran as best I could to another alley. No matter what I did though, those damn legionnaires would start getting close. It's like they were dogs on my scent or something. Then I noticed it. I was glowing like a candle! Great!

I wished with all I could. Hell, for the first time, I prayed! To whoever would listen, to please stop making me glow! Then, the glowing decreased and I tried to hide in a pile of refuse. Again, a legionnaire happened to come down the alley I was hiding in. He didn't come right towards me though. So he problably couldn't see me. But then he started looking around. Crap! If he would have just walked away maybe this would have been over by now. Now, it would only be a matter of time before he found me! I should have never stopped to rest either. 'Cuz now I was too tired to move again. Well, praying worked once... As the legionnaire approached, I prayed harder and harder. When he got close enough to touch the refuse heap I was in, BOOM! All of a sudden, this white night owl burst forth from the heap and started clawing at the legionnaire's face. While he was distracted, I ducked into a nearby sewage drain.

Well, I made it back home. So did the old man apparently. I told him how I lost the sword. He was disappointed sure, a little puzzled, but all in all he took it well. He proposed that I work off the goof-up by repaying him the monetary value of the daiklave. Aw man, those things are practically priceless! There was no telling how long it would take to pay him back. But my only alternative was to have my gonads crushed slowly. So, now I'm on a neverending quest to pay my dad back.

Lupin V - Night Caste Solar

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y248/vincious/Exalted/4edee288.jpg

Comments

Now I can stop obsessing. Thanx!! - Issaru

Wow, a hella nice intro, great voice and character, and a doubly fine illustration... but come on, the name "Lupin"? Why why why why why why why? It's all well and good to borrow ideas, but then to put a sticker on it that says, "I blatantly borrowed this idea from this source:"? Name aside, I hope you're having/had/willhave fun with this character. --UncleChu