Specter

Chapter 34 (Day 3): A Chance For Reconnection

We last read Chapter 33, in which Moody a.k.a. Specter has an unprecedented meeting with none other than the spirit of the Iron Kingpin himself during her dream sequence the night after her attempted kidnapping and execution at the Pearly Skates Skating Rink. To her suspicion, the Iron Kingpin starts off affable and, in fact, remains that way for the entirety of their conversation, inviting her for a civil "picnic" on the expansive floor beneath his former throne. After Specter repeatedly presses the Iron Kingpin as to why he's visiting her—asserting that her rebels killed him and ended his tyranny over the Rusted Citadel—the Kingpin simply states that she killed his person and not his influence; that many more of his loyalists still live, admire his ideals, and are hiding in the shadows, always ready to strike. The Iron Kingpin's spirit then tries to tempt Specter into being the one to carry on his legacy—despite her being responsible for ending it in the first place—bribing her with promises of a world ruled correctly, and one where she's free to do as she pleases without supposedly being "pushed around" by the new king, Ryker, or his court. But when Specter rejects him, the Iron Kingpin instead shifts gears and offers her his entire empire; his finances, his arsenal, his remaining loyalists, and his notoriety and standing.....if only she will shake his hand on the deal. This is enough to make Specter have a moment of weakness, and though she doesn't accept right away, she also doesn't immediately reject him this time, either. Not wishing to pressure Specter further, the Iron Kingpin then leaves the picnic and departs, saying that he will meet her again the following night and to simply drift off to sleep somewhere should she wish to contact him before that. Then, a conflicted Specter is whisked back to the real world.

Meanwhile, in the Ember Holding Cells, a woman is forcibly hauled into one of the blocks and thrown in a cell immediately next to Doc; during this process, one of the Steelguard Troopers reveals that the woman killed her husband to escape from him and his abusive ways. Though she initially rebuffs Doc due to his past history, Doc eventually gets through to her and encourages her to defend herself if she truly thinks she did the right thing, to which she seems to take his words to heart. The chapter ended with the breakfast bell ringing and the inmates all heading to the cafeteria.

This time, Specter jolts awake from her latest dream, and is met by two of her co-workers on Ryker's court.....and a familiar face from Specter's past arrives at the Citadel, seeking her out.....

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-Obsidian Sanctum, Rusted Citadel, Asia-

Specter's eyes widened as she fully awoke from her dream in which she conversed with the Iron Kingpin over a picnic, though some might have definitely referred to it as a "nightmare" instead. She wasn't even sure if the food she had was even real, or if the whole thing was just some trick of the mind brought on by her recent investigation into the dissenter attacks.

At any rate, she immediately sat straight up in her bed, panting heavily, as she whirled her head all around to gather her bearings and examine her surroundings.

Sure enough, she had been taken out of the so-called "dream pocket", and the run-down throne room—which presented itself as it had been during the Iron Kingpin's reign and not King Ryker's—was gone, as was the picnic table, the plates, the champagne bottle, the sandwiches, and all the fixings that came with them.

Oddly enough, Specter could've sworn she tasted a hint of liquor in her mouth despite rejecting the Kingpin's offer of champagne towards her in the dream; this only annoyed her more than anything, as the tyrant had apparently always found a way to get under her skin, even in death.