Wounds Still Fresh

[Joseph Goebbels]

Goebbels knew that when mammals deserted an area, there was death. When birds left as well...there was danger. When insects left, it was something that the natural world wasn't prepared to deal with. If the natural world couldn't handle whatever was in there, then Goebbels certainly couldn't. He heard the cry off in the distance and his heart leapt into his throat. "What...the hell was that?" he demanded of Locutus, knowing better than to ask just a casual question. It took more than that to get information out of this man, one had to be insistent and unwilling to back down. The more Locutus evaded the questions, the more Joseph would press him.

It was fully clear this was becoming dangerous. Joseph would have much rather dealt with people trying to shoot him, at least that he was used to. Was Locutus bringing him here to die? He seemed completely unimpressed with the surroundings and the danger. If these men here had done something without their leader's knowledge, then they were purposely hiding it from him...which meant it was something he didn't like. Quite possibly something extraordinarily cruel. But the Fuhrer had such a gentle heart underneath his intelligence that it made Joseph sick to think of everything they'd hidden. Like sweeping dirt under a rug.

"...So you're not protecting me. You're like them." Joseph looked at Locutus. "It's not a matter of keeping them from hurting me...it's a matter of you getting to me before they did." he still had a hand on the door. How foolish he was to think that Locutus was some sort of protector. He had to get back to Klaus. Much as he hated hiding behind the man...Klaus had connections.

[Locutus Ferox]

Locutus's brow furrowed. Goebbels had managed to draw a reaction from him, but this time it wasn't curiosity or amusement. This time it was annoyance. Once more the deity brought the car to a halt. Again he held out his hand towards the door, looking at Goebbels expectantly. "I see no chains on you Goebbels. No one's physically keeping you here. If you want to leave, now's your chance."

Again that creature's cry broke the silence, but at least it's cry didn't sound to be any closer. After the call died down the area around them was punched back into that muted silence. It was an almost oppressive silence, like being trapped in a small room. Locutus kept gazing at Goebbels, the slight annoyance visible on his face. Locutus drew his attention down to the storage space between them and drew out a folder. This folder he'd drop into Goebbels' lap or the seat if he had for some insane reason vacated it.

"If it's between Me or them? Which would you prefer Reichminister Joseph Goebbels? Who would you prefer?" Locutus waited till Goebbels would look through the folder to continue. Inside the folder were photos, some black and white, some color. Some of them were also people Goebbels would have known. People he would have thought died peacefully or died when Nazi haters had come to take them. All of them were clearly dead. "Those that survived didn't do so in much better condition. I haven't killed anyone who's refused my offer. So, I ask you again..... Who would you prefer?"

"You wanna know what's so important about you? You want to know why they're hunting your ass? Here is one of them!" Locutus motioned in the direction the car was going. "Only had they succeeded I'd not be here with you. I'm surprised you couldn't figure that out. You couldn't figure out they're more interested in your ability than your life. Some of them at any rate. These guys will cut you up, poke you, prod you, until they learn how you tick. And you think that running away from it all will protect you? Are you fucking insane?" For possibly the first time Locutus actually raised his voice to a shout. It didn't last long. He turned his head to face back forward and he stared straight ahead.

[Joseph Goebbels]

Joseph stood stock still in the silence for a moment. No way he was going out there to deal with whatever was crying in the distance. No way he was sitting here with this man. He was between a rock and a hard place, and so he sat there, quietly, listening to Locutus. "What else am I supposed to think?" he growled. "You have never given me a straight answer without me fighting it out of you. I've seen politicians who are more straightforward than you are. All I know is people are trying to capture me to figure out what makes me tick, and you have something to do with keeping me alive all this time. You haven't made your intentions clear, and dragging me out to one of the most dangerous locales in the middle of nowhere isn't exactly earning my trust!"

He scowled at him. "Forgive me for trying to figure out who and what you are, had you explained this all from the beginning it's likely we wouldn't be where we are now. Running has protected my ass all this time, why wouldn't it now, hm? Forgive me for returning to a method that's actually worked instead of driving toward an area where we are most definitely NOT welcome! Look at the bones! What other evidence do you need that we won't be safe here?! You have been switching back and forth from a protector to a man who couldn't give a shit what happened to me, and so its goddamn confusing!" He took one look at the folder and shut it. He didn't need to relive that. Ever. It was why he'd run here, not to relive it.

"If you have seen half the shit I have, if you'd been shot at half the times I have, you'd learn that being honest with people you're protecting only protects them. I never lied to people I tried to protect, I told them the exact situation. I didn't let them hound me with questions, and then give cryptic answers. Jesus, if it weren't for the shooter I'd think you were making this up as you were going along." Joseph said quietly, locking the door to the car. He wasn't leaving, out there he would die. It was time for Locutus to give him some answers. He grabbed the shifter and slammed it up into park. "You're telling me the entire story from whenever you decided to come save the drunken werebeast to where we are now. You're going to tell me honestly, and you're going to drop this mysterious stranger bullshit." he said coldly, his eyes focused on Locutus.

[Locutus Ferox]

Locutus chuckles and shook his head as the man got sharp with him. The man was bold, that was for sure. Ignorant might have been more accurate on second thought. After a while he looked over at Goebbels, letting off the clutch slowly now that the transmission had been slammed into neutral. He depressed the parking brake with his foot and then turned off the engine. Finally he rolled his shoulders up into a shrug. Then it happened.

The moment Goebbels blinked, even for an instant, the world would have faded for a moment. When his eyes reopened he was sitting back upon the couch within his apartment. Gone was the car around him. Gone was the jungle beyond. Gone was the deafening, stifling silence that had made the world muted. In that single instant he was transported what he could easily assumed was hundreds of miles, for bunker 437 was a fair ways away from Rio. Locutus however was no longer in front of Goebbels.

A faint growl came from behind him. Then came that voice. It was the same voice, the same man, only it had changed slightly, deepened slightly perhaps. There was now what one could call... feral tone to it. "And sometimes not telling protects people just as much." Before Joseph could turn around and react to the sudden growl and voice, two large hands settle to either side of his head.

However, Goebbels wouldn't need to turn much to realize that these weren't human hands. They were large and claw like. Long fingers and sharp canine like claws grasped the couch loosely. For there was no question if they grabbed hold tightly, they'd have crushed the furniture. Covering them was a coat of fur, different shades of grey and some of brown. Not unlike that of the timber wolf.

Turning further Goebbels would catch sight of the creature those large hands belonged to. Trailing up past those hands were two massive trunks of arms. If Locutus had looked like he could tie a man into a knot before, one could only imagine what they could do now. They didn't possess that over the top bodybuilder appearance, however. They maintained the subtle yet still well defined look he had before, but only on a larger scale. Past those fur covered arms was a massive frame. Locutus had been six and a half feet tall before. Now he was easily pushing Seven, if not Eight. The chest was massive, bare, and equally covered in fur...and muscle.

Below that was a midsection devoid of any visible fat that lead down to a well structured pelvis. It was covered with what one might assume, if they didn't know better was the tattered remains of his shirt, but visible through it were massive fur covered thighs that trailed down to equally powerful calves. Those powerful legs spoke of a predator acclimated to not only being able to outlast it's prey in running, but to easily overrun them.

At the top sat the creatures head. It too was a far cry from the humanoid bald form Goebbels had known of Locutus. It was now equally covered in fur and it had been reformed. Canine ears sat to either side, though they weren't that fluffy cute kind girls often liked to play with. They spoke of practical use, aiding in listening for prey. The mouth and nose had taken a twist. Now they were somewhere between a human jaw and nose, and a snout.

Perhaps though, the most unsettling thing about the creature was the eyes. Those deep, glowing, red eyes. If it wasn't the sinister appearance of those eyes, it was the look of intelligence in them. Those eyes spoke of a nameless, seemingly ageless intelligence. They seemed far from one would expect on a beast of that appearance. The being before Goebbels would clearly appear to be a were-creature, but far unlike any the man would have ever seen. The question was. Which was more unsettling? The beast that was now in Goebbels' apartment... or the fact that he was...in his apartment?

[Joseph Goebbels]

Goebbels sat stock still a moment, staring at his apartment. Eerily silent...and he would have blamed it all on an odd, drunken dream if he hadn't felt the hands. He immediately ducked out of them and stumbled off of the couch, turning around to look at Locutus. He stared at the werewolf. Joseph was terrified of other supernaturals even at the best of times, but this was far too strange. He was tempted to run. He straightened up and looked at the wolf, steeling the coward inside of him that wanted to take flight. He also had recognized that voice...

"Locutus?" he asked, scowling at the creature in front of him. "So...you're not exactly like me. You're a deformed version of a werebeast." he said, calmly. He was under the impression there was no in-between as far as transformation. One was either a bird or a man, no steps in between. Locutus looked caught between the two, seemed unable to go forward or back. He didn't have the same eyes Goebbels had when he was a bird...they were intelligent. Goebbels didn't believe in God or Gods, he never had. Being the son of a preacher had beaten any belief in gods out of him a long time ago. So he didn't think of Locutus as a diety, just an abnormality. "Why didn't you tell me? You needn't have pushed around the subject...how the fuck are we here anyway?" he asked, looking around his apartment. "Am I actually here or... are we in the car and I'm just hallucinating..." He was terrified of Locutus, and half-ready to fly out of the door if he showed signs of being aggressive.

He rubbed the skin behind his neck, his stomach ill. "...Listen, I'm sorry for shouting at you. But you need to make this all clear. Right here, right now. I need to know the whole situation...ignorance protects no one, I learned that the hard way." he said.

[Locutus Ferox]

His brows perked, not that... in this form it was much visible, but perk they did. "Deformed?" He chuckled as he turned his hands over looking down at the massive claws. "Hardly. Perhaps you do not fully understand the power you were gifted with. Never-the-less.... But the tip of the iceberg."

Locutus padded around the couch slowly, those eyes never leaving Goebbels as he shifted around. Joseph apparently only knew but a fraction of his own power, and even less so of the deity's. "We are here because I again offer you a chance to leave. A chance to run and hide. You may have your peace... until they drag you into their circle. If you truly think you can escape them, then by all means. Here's where you get off. You weren't hallucinating. You really are here, and you really were just in a car outside bunker Four thirty seven. I am surprised you are so surprised by this. Even after I showed up in your locked apartment. A werewolf would be incorrect. It is only one of my abilities. The truth is, you, Joseph Goebbels, have had quite the audacity to try to run from, backtalk, and yell at a god. However, given I had not exactly told you... I think I won't hold it against you."

"Ah..." He holds up a clawed finger, not giving Goebbels the space to interject. "But you do not believe in gods. Not surprising giving your upbringing. But, now you know why I didn't tell you. Because even if I did, you wouldn't believe me."

[Joseph Goebbels]

"I still don't believe you. Obviously you're more skilled in werewolf abilities than I am...that just makes you more experienced, not a god. Gods don't exist, they never did." Joseph said. He'd spent too much time as a skeptic, maybe the others' beliefs in God had pushed him the opposite direction. Or perhaps it was because of his upbringing...but the idea of gods or god was simply ridiculous to him. "I don't want to stay here if you think I'll be pulled away. Judging by the power you have to transport me here...why did we drive?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Could this...god not simply transport them to safety? He could obviously go long distances. "Nevermind. I wish to stay with you." he said. Not so much because he believed in his holiness, more because he believed in his own safety. Locutus clearly had the powers to keep him safe in that hideous form. "Speaking of you...change back. You're going to set the walls peeling with that ugly face." he said, the truth being his stomach was turning the longer he looked at the half-formed creature.

He rubbed his arm. "Listen, I am sorry for getting angry with you, but you're still avoiding the questions. You think you're a god, and with those transporting powers I probably would too...is that why you think the bunker is so safe?" he asked. "Because you'd be able to tackle whatever came out?"
Joseph was curious as to what Locutus meant by the tip of the iceburg. If Locutus could do such things...who was to say that Joseph couldn't as well? Could he learn to be just as fast?

[Locutus Ferox]

The beast of a creature heaved a sigh and rolled his shoulders. The man was skeptic but it wasn't unexpected. The sounds of bones popping filled the air as they reset, forming back into more humanoid ones. Slowly the shape of Locutus would return, pants reforming on his lower frame but leaving his upper frame exposed.

"Can't be helped..." he stated simply as he walked around Goebbels towards the balcony. "I could say a lot of things, but you'd never believe them. So I guess all that's left for me to do is...." He trailed off and snapped his fingers. Suddenly all the pain in Goebbels' leg would vanish. It obviously wasn't fully repaired, but the pain was absolutely gone. Not a trace of it remained.

Meanwhile Locutus stepped out onto the balcony looking back towards Goebbels for a moment before turning back to face the horizon. Suddenly he lifted his arms towards the sky, almost as if gesturing it in a way. As he did so the sky immediately began to change. The scant wispy white clouds suddenly began to fill out....rapidly. They grew and grew and grew. As they grew they darkened. There was no mistaking their content. Rain. Heavy, heavy rain. They soon blotted out the sun, pitching the entire city into darkness. He didn't much like doing this, but it was a stepping stone to proving his point. Suddenly the apartment shook. The booming of thunder rolled through the city, rattling glass as it passed through.

The city's lights came on as the light was blocked out enough to where even midday still it was utterly dark. That darkness however was punctuated by bright flashes of light. Millions of volts and amps coursing through the air, breaking it down in it's path. The air around it super heating, causing rapid expansion and the tremendous boom of thunder.

Locutus then turned around and looked towards Goebbels. "There are many things in this world that you may not believe in. But that doesn't mean that they do not believe in you." He let that hang in the air as he turned about to face the balcony once again. This time he held his hand out, away from the apartment and the balcony. Suddenly A blindingly bright flash of light filled the apartment followed by an intense wave of heat as suddenly a bolt of lightning struck Locutus's palm. Oddly, however, nothing around Locutus caught fire. When the light died away and Goebbels would be able to see again, he would see Locutus standing there, holding a brilliantly glowing sphere of what one could only assume was electricity within his hand.

[Joseph Goebbels]

Joseph felt the pain in his leg dissipate. He experimentally leaned weight on it and felt a small jolt up his thigh. No, not fixed, just not painful. "How did you...?" he trailed off, looking up at Locutus. For the first time in over a century, he didn't feel pain. Weakness yes, but the overwhelming burning in his joints and bones was gone. He leaned against the back of the couch and rubbed his leg, looking at Locutus on the balcony. The rain began, the clouds knitting together and starting a downpour. This wasn't all too uncommon, flash rains emerged from the tropical forest often without warning.

But the clouds didn't gather THAT quickly. He watched Locutus, tempted to go to him. But then lightning struck the man's arm. For a split second he thought he would look up and see a burnt corpse standing there, but Locutus seemed about as shocked as one would be from static. He held the lightning in his palm. Now, Joseph did not believe in gods...but this man was either mad, brilliant, or both. Joseph did notice that all the displays were closely tied to nature. Rain, lightning, thunder...the wolf. He stayed back against the couch, eyeing him. It was obvious he would never have those powers.

"You're not a god. Just trained. If a man can turn into a wolf who is to say he cannot learn to master the elements?" he challenged. "Nothing you can say or do will make me believe you are a god. Nothing. Even if you were, is proving your point more important than getting back to a safe area?" he asked. He was quite nervous that Locutus would do something mad to prove he was a god. He had teleported them and demonstrated a considerable control of the elements...but was this enough to prove a man's divinity? In the days of stone tablets and easily suaded men yes.

For Joseph, no.

He did appreciate that Locutus had healed his leg...or at the very least the nerves were stilled. He bit his lip. "Thank you, for my leg." he said. He still couldn't put weight on it, but no pain was good enough for him. Agony put him in a hideous mood.

[Locutus Ferox]

"Who said anything about going anywhere safe? I don't really foresee anyone particularly nabbing you while you're around me. You really aught to relax. You know though. I find it funny that you ask me for a straight answer. I give you one and.... you don't believe it. All this time... You've been pushing and pushing for a straight answer, and getting upset when I don't give one. I finally give one... and it falls on deaf ears."

The man turned back towards the balcony yet again. He pulled one of those long blades from their hidden sheaths with his left hand. He twirled the blade a moment before tossing it into the air. He then catches it with the right hand, that hand filled with the swirling sphere of electricity. Another huge bolt of lightning explodes off from the tip of the blade, catching the nearby car in a lot and demolishing it. What remained quickly caught fire, though given how wet everything was, there was very little risk of the fire spreading.

"So seeing my other form didn't work. Elemental displays don't seem to work. That rules out... fires, volcanoes, earthquakes, blizzards, and tsunamis right? What if I brought a meteor down? Or perhaps if you suddenly understood what that spider on the corner of your couch was saying? So many things I could do... but I doubt any of it would truly prove it.... No one would have to escalate for that wouldn't they?"

The deity tapped the tip of the blade on his chin as he pondered just what he might due to prove what he had claimed. Meanwhile he was blatantly ignoring the rest of what Goebbels was complaining bout. Getting to safety, traveling by car, he was too busy thinking something up. Perhaps this was a moment where one should have aptly "Opened mouth and inserted foot."

[Joseph Goebbels]

"You don't have to prove shit to me, but yanking me around is extremely annoying. You were taking me somewhere, then yanked me back here, now you let me know it's all for nothing." Joseph sat down, running his hand over his face. "At this point I'd settle for you not messing with my head..." he looked over at Locutus, who seemed deep in thought. Good, it stopped him from blowing up any more stationary objects. Joseph got up and walked to the kitchen. He'd been feeling chills and small headaches this whole time, which meant he was in bad need of a drink. He put his hand on the bottle and paused.
He couldn't, he had to stay clean for this. He rested his forehead on the rim of the fridge and sighed, stepping back and shutting it.

"Listen, I can believe you lead the werebeasts, if they're as organized as I'm getting the impression they are..." Joseph said, gazing at Locutus. "But that under no circumstances makes you a god. What is so bad about someone not believing that, anyway? Thousands of people believe in different gods or goddesses, what's the difference with my soul not believing a damn word of it?" he shrugged. "If I'm right, I can learn something from you, yes? How to...control this better. You can help me." he eyed the muscled man thinking deeply on his balcony. He really hoped he'd come inside before the man who owned that car down there looked up and saw him.

[Locutus Ferox]

"Again, you misunderstand the situation. You see it isn't my job...or my goal to make you believe in me. I've always stated people are entitled to their own beliefs. Can't force one's submission and devotion. My goal is to make you aware of me. And to say I lead the "Werebeasts" would be incorrect."

The blade twirled slowly within his grip as he looked out to the now darkened horizon. Rain began to fall heavily as the clouds opened up. Still the sound of thunder rippled through the air as multiple bolts of lightning flashed across the dark horizon. Locutus found it a bit ironic that every time he met someone, a storm was not far off. Granted this time he had beckoned it, unlike those other times.

He took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the rain as he stood, beginning to get soaked by the torrential downpour. He watches the car burning, though given the amount of immediate damage the bolt did, and the huge downfall of rain, the fire is mostly subdued, small flames flickering here and there. The Gas had detonated instantly and had burned off, and the rubber had been vaporized due to the huge heat build up where the electricity sought contact with the ground. Most of the flames left didn't produce too much smoke, even less so now due to the rain.

[Joseph Goebbels]

"So...this entire thing....was just to make me aware of your presence?" Joseph was a bit shell shocked he would go that far just to make him aware. Was he really that arrogant? He thought back to the man trying to kill him. Or Locutus, he didn't really know anymore. "But...the men trying to kill me, or capture me. Whatever. What about them? You're not going to leave me here...what happened to taking me out of the country?" he asked. Locutus seemed to have either forgotten or dropped his entire reason for being here...and just reset them. Joseph ran a hand down his face. Damn sobriety. He grabbed a bottle from the fridge and poured himself a glass, nursing it while he thought. His first thought was to strike first against the people trying to kill him, but it would be one lone falcon swooping in and clawing people's eyes out.

Painful, but not exactly lethal.

Then there was the matter of Locutus. The man seemed unwilling to leave him, and Joseph had thought he had a plan in mind. "...Listen, about the people trying to kill us, I propose we kill them before they kill us." he said softly. He lit a cigarette and put it between his teeth. The rush of nicotine and alcohol seemed to help his frayed nerves a bit. Additionally, there was also the danger of being left alone again. If he was going to be with someone, why not an attractive man who annoyed the hell out of him versus Klaus? At least Locutus was pretty to look at if untouchable.

Well, unless he wanted to get his neck broken. That had almost happened before. Miscommunications with someone that large would almost certainly lead to death even if Locutus was a human, nevermind the lightning slinging.

Joseph smoked quietly, sipping scotch. "Well? What do you want to do? We either hang around here with you starting small fires or we have a plan...also, where did my bags get to?" he wondered aloud. He really hadn't wanted to lose that cane, especially not so soon. It was a pity but he could afford to lose it. Klaus would just not be particularly pleased with him if they ever saw each other again. Then there was the bunker. What was Locutus' reasoning in bringing him there? To start a fight? To what? Gods knew when it came to this man, he didn't seem to be able to make up his mind.

[Locutus Ferox]

Locutus couldn't help but to chuckle once again. Goebbels didn't seem to be concentrating on the subtleties of the conversation. Nor did he seem to be adding it all together.... or at least it wasn't adding up to four. Locutus pushed himself up from the lip of the balcony, turning to face the apartment and striding in. Despite how wet he was, he didn't drip onto the floor, probably to the relief of Goebbels.

"For the record..." Suddenly he'd make a snapping motion, as one would do a towel, and of course one appeared. He then went about drying off his head. "You asked me for a straight answer. That is what...." The deity motioned behind him. "This was about. As for the men the leaving the country. As I said before, that's up to you. You seem to be switching on and off. Complaining bout going, complaining about staying. Perhaps a bit of faith would do you some good."

He snapped his arm again and the towel vanished. He wasn't completely dried off, but he certainly wasn't drenched anymore. He ran a hand over his bald head and looked around the apartment before shaking his head again. "Us? You mean you. They aren't foolish enough to try and kill me. That man may have been a professional in some fields, but not the paranormal. He had no idea what he was facing. Secondly, they're only interested in killing you if you refuse them. Though like I said, you're not going to be in a much better situation even if you agree... though at least you'd be alive yeah?"

He looked back over his shoulder and watched Goebbels going for the booze and chuckled. "Didn't last long did you?" Again the deity found the man most amusing, for a mortal. The stalwart defiance of his existence, the man's own contradictions. "Your stuff is still in the car. The plans haven't changed, only your behavior. We are here because I was hoping you would take that small display for what it was. I guess I'll just have to deal with you stubbornly refusing hmmm?"

With that being said the deity raised his hand as if to snap them back to where they had been.

[Joseph Goebbels]

"Then I've made up my blinking mind and I will go with you. Anyone who knows me could have told you that I don't go anywhere without complaining as a stinking policy. Keeps me from getting my expectations up." Joseph said. "Besides back there I wasn't complaining, I was CONCERNED for our wellbeing. There's a difference." He watched the man raise his hand to snap them back to the car, and snubbed out the cigarette in an ashtray. He released the glass and came back to stand in front of Locutus, expecting to be taken back. Well then, if the man wanted him to have faith then he would have faith. He'd have faith that this one knew where he was going, and would protect him against people who wanted to see him locked up in a facility like one of Mengele's experiments.

He liked being close to Locutus, it kept him from being so lonely. Having Klaus for company was like having a brick wall to talk to...if only his surviving son wasn't so hateful of him. Herald had lived through the war to become a bitter old man. He was from Magda Goebbels' first marriage, and had been a good friend and adoptive son to Joseph. But after that note he'd sent him...Joseph shook his head. Stupid to think about. But Locutus was really the only human company he'd had in a while. "I'm sorry for doubting you. I just don't believe in lying." he said, grumbling. "I truly don't believe you're a god, but I'll trust you know what you're doing from now on."