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 Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:11 pm
The window moved back and forth noisely, as the wind buffetted it open and closed. The room inside was empty, the sheets a mess. Running down the street, Vahn never stopped.
I don''t care... if it kills me... His eyes narrowed, as he continued running, the greaves indenting into the ground as he quickened his pace. I don''t care anymore...!
His fists clentched tightly as the dull ring on his finger gleamed.
...Because I know I won''t die yet!
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:42 am
It was amazing how quickly people just pack up and leave a place if they sense their lives are in danger. As Sunstrike went north, more and more panicked civilians were moving south. But to him, they were just a blur of frantic colour.
Soon the crowds thinned as he got closer to the place where the strangers had arrived, everything seemed so empty. The only people left were the city guard, who seemed to be torn between protecting the running civilians, and staying to fight. Oh...and the dead....
Then he saw something that made him come to a full halt, surprise, jarring him out of his self-imposed path to...whatever.
His eyes scanned ahead of him for a second, before he ducked into the shadows. In front of him, watching the people move back and forth, were Hibon and Nahara.
"What on earth are you two sitting here for? You have to get out!"
The two looked at each other.
"We followed that man, Laffite...We wanted to know what his relationship with Vahn was..." Nahara answered first, quietly, and Hibon picked up after her.
"Then he dissappeared with a woman. Soon after that there was this explosion, and people began running. We stayed here because it seemed like the safest place at the time..." Sunstrike's eyes narrowed suddenly.
"That doesn't sound like you, Hibon...in fact...I was assuming you'd be at the source already..." The boy looked away, scowling, and the older man sighed, scratching his head. Then he blinked as Nahara suddenly tugged on his poncho, deep green eyes stared at him in confusion.
"Sunstrike....where's Vahn?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:39 pm
OOC: Fear, for Shouyin can control ghouls! Or well, -that- guy can.
The man with the sand coloured cloak stood atop one of the rough stone buildings of Strata. Around him, five twitching figures, draped in similar hooded cloths crouched low around the sides of the structure, making obscene noises and inspecting the streets below. The dark one had been sent here to collect, to bring fresh beings to his commanders. He was but an officer, but a keen intellect shone in his pale blue eyes. Like two pools of water reflected in the moonlight, deep and fluid.
However, this great source of life was brought about in great contrast to the rest of his being. Pallid grey flesh seemed to have been pulled over his face, like a mask over something even more hideous. This was made even more obvious by the flat and spread out nose, the small ears that hugged his skull and most disturbingly, by his lack of a mouth. Raising a bony hand with crude pointed nails he waited for his subordinates to respond. The first four began to creep downwards, fingers digging into the outside walls of the building as they crawled down. The last, one with a long bamboo spear attached to its back, removed the weapon and placed it in the officer's grip before moving down as well.
Now gripping the spear in both hands, the man approached the edge of the building, peering north at the oncoming source of terrified pedestrians and smiling grimly, despite his lack of lips or teeth to smile with. He leaped off the edge and plummeted downwards, his eyes bright with a rising bloodlust. A voice eminated now from the man, but if you there to hear it, you would not be able to pin the sound on him alone, nor anyone else. Everywhere, but nowhere.
- "We hunt, we harvest." -
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 11:21 am
He ran along, moving down one of the several lanes leading out of the Eastring, which would eventually bring him to the center of the city. He could clearly see the plume of smoke rising from the north, which meant that the main gate and entrance to the city was where the action was.
However, a quiet panic had seemingly settled over Strata, as there was more problems. His sprinting soon brough him parallel to a group of Militia who were hurrying not the north at all, but to another direction completely.
"H-HEY!" Vahn shouted out at the nearest one, reaching out and grabbing at the back of one. The action startled the guy and he all but wheeled around with the butt of hsi rifle into Vahn's face. "A-Ah-- dammit!"
"O-Oh! Sor-- hey wait! What the hell are you grabbing me for?!" The soldier, straightened himself out and stared as Vahn rubbed his face.
"What the hell is going on?!" Vahn ignored formalities and got straight to it.
"We don't know... we received reports that the North Gate was assaulted, but so was another gate. We've been sent to go secure the area. Citizens are ordered to stay indoors at this ti---" The guy slumped over as Vahn gave him a solid fist to his solar plexus, enough to render him unconscious from the pain.
"Sorry, but I can't just sit around on my a** anymore." Lowering the soldier down, he took hold of the man's rifle and raced off to catch up with the remainder of the Militia that had gone to check out the second gate, gunfire already heard.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 1:58 pm
Sunstrike blinked and suddenly looked like a kicked puppy.
"I couldn't help him...he stayed at home. Something's seriously eating at his mind..." He sighed and looked back for the first time. I should have waited to see if he wanted to come...I...shouldn't have left...
Suddenly his arm was grabbed and Sunstrike yelped as he was forcefully dragged in the opposite direction.
"Now that you're here, you can fight them, right Sunstrike?" Hibon had a determined look on his face, despite Sun's sudden lack of enthusiasm, and he didn't stop as they crossed stunned guardsmen. "You're an adventurer after all...maybe you can fix everything for us..."
"Hibon, wait? Don't make him..." Nahara had grabbed ahold of his other arm and was pulling from the other side, making her brother stop, and Sun wince. The two went through a small physical tug of war before he shook them both off.
"I'll go! I'll go...now, what does the creature that landed look like?" Sunstrike was facing away from the disastor zone, the two siblings facing him.
"Erm," started Hibon. "Well, actually there are two...one is really REALLY tall, freeky looking...something weird is attached to his head...the second is tiny...looks like he's from the lizard clan." Sunstrike blinked.
"That was remarkably accurate for someone not near the dropzone Hibon." That's when the shadow etched itself over Sunstrike. Hibon and Nahara had already been backing up, fear all over their faces. Sun's ears drooped as there was a deep chuckle behind him. "Ah...seems we've found them after all then."
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 2:42 pm
It seemed that word of his troupe's arrival had spread quickly. Only a few drastically uninformed civilians had strayed into his soldiers' paths. They took no more than a couple a piece, paralyzing them with quick slashes of their unseen claws and hiding the bodies in alleyways for quick retrieval. They needed no more then they could carry, or at least cart.
Then the guards came. Not many at first, problems seemed to be going on elsewhere. He was right about that chaos in the north. Their only apparent armanent was that of a rifle. Absolutely useless against the knight or his ghouls. Better to hide their strengths, lead the guards on until getting shot was a necessity. He stepped forward, spear pointed ahead. The ghouls, done with their business of pedestrians, bounded out of the alleyways. Two remained up on the walls, hoods falling down, revealing two sunken and rotten visages, the other three spreading out in a semi circle in front of the guards, the knight in the back center.
Once again the voice rang out, more hollow then before, and echoing slightly:
- "Try not to kill them all." -
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:48 pm
Five.
That's how many Militia members, soldiers of Strata came into the scene. It would have been six hand't Vahn decided the guy needed more sleep.
"What the hell?!" Just a cursory glance at the mess that was around them, as the unti slowed down it's pace, apparently arriving at the scene.
Vahn stopped at the edge of the corner, peering around it at first, just to check out the situation before jumping in himself. "All of the guardsmen are down!" Came the cry from another Militia, even as the apaprent leader continued speaking into the radio clippe donto his shoulder.
"Into position!" The sergeant of the group immediately took a stance, his rifle cocked and held at arm's length. Three of the others kneeled down in front, aiming as well, all being cocked. "Halt!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:07 pm
Well, not getting shot would be a bit of a problem considering the face off position they were now in. Then again, it was only meant as a slight ploy. To draw the men with guns into a false sense of security. But that was just a reinforcement of the ever-existent advantage. Few knew what the knight and his ghouls were, and he assumed the same could be said of these Militia. There was a likely chance that none of these men knew what they were getting themselves into, but the ghouls were secure.
The blue-eyed freak shrugged slightly, and shifted calmly into a more suitable stance. Right leg back, spear somewhat elevated and pointed to just past four o'clock. Underneath the long cloaks, the muscles of the ghouls on the walls went taut, glazed eyes unnervingly focused. The two to the left of the officer bent down low, the farthest pointing somewhat towards the nearest building, the closest to a point in front of the knight. The final ghoul, to the right of the knight, simply raised its arms, two fists pointing at two of the kneeling Militia.
And they took flight. The two on the walls would dive down, the one on the right wall at the sergeant, the one on the left to the nearest guard. The ghouls on the left of the mouthless man would both leap as well. The farthest onto the wall of the nearby building, hoping to draw one of the guard's attention so the diving one could strike. The closest would jump in front of the knight, acting as a bit of a shield so he could approach more easily with his long spear. And the final one would take two shots out of the gauntlets attached to his wrists. A needle would fly out of his left arm at the center guard, and another at the right one.
Cheers to co-ordination.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 8:39 pm
Five.
That's how many Militia members, soldiers of Strata came into the scene. But there were only 4 positioned in clear view right now.
The fifth man. Run off? Tripped, fell and hit his head into sweet slumber? Or maybe coming late, and actually seeing as two of the intruders leapt downwards.
These weren't any pushover rent-a-cops. The militia were the real deal. You see, these people had been fighting a war for the past 50 odd years, against lizards. Talking, walking, biting, clawing, cold-blooded lizards. And as such, they were trained, had formations, regulations, rules, armaments, training-- you get the picture.
"Now all of you, drop down to the ground." The sergeant bellowed out, seeing as the strange visitors had apparently halted whatever the hell it is they were doing.
However, the sergeant hadn't literally meant for them to drop to the ground, let alone at them.
This is when the late man came in handy. A crack was heard, as first one shot was fired, then a second. Simple and clean, the man behidn the rifle stared through the sights and squeezed off several shots as two of the strangers suddenly took to the air, pushing off their hiding spots. While the shots weren't certainly aimed to kill, they would at least throw the things off course of their intended leap, while also alerting the rest that things wouldn't go as peacefully as planned.
However, the men were going to have their hands more than full, as they began letting off shots, one soldier falling to the ground punctured with what looked like a needle.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 10:10 pm
The shots succeeded in pushing the ghouls back, forcing them to land in front of their targets. The leftmost one keeping his footing and then jumping at the left guard, while the right tripped over it''s arms and wound up in a heap a few feet from the ghoul who''d shot the needles. The guard on the right had fallen victim to the needle, so the firing ghoul focused its attention on the newcomer, running forwards and shooting a volley of two more needles.
The monster who''d leapt in front of the knight would tackle the center guard, while the blue-eyed man''s spear would come thrusting forwards into the sergeant''s chest. The lone ghoul still on a building would jump at the leftmost guard as well, effectively double-teaming him.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:14 pm
The entire gate was in ruins, thanks largely to the angry sandstorm that had apparently come out of nowhere and blasted itself into town.
The guards had been taken down, and the unlucky citizens nearby ahd also fallen victim. Even the reinforcements sent were taken apart easily, by the intruders. It was to this scene, that Vahn came running into, staring wide-eyed.
"What's going on here...quit joking around!" The rifle in his grip was held a little more tightly, even as yellowed eyes fell upon the nearest body. "Hey! ...Hey!" Without even thinking any further he ran right for the person, reaching the body and kneeling down.
"Hang in there...ok?" His left hand rested on the person's shoulder, as he started ot shake the female, tryign to wake her. "What's going on here?" The person now half in his arms stirred slightly, shallow breathing and pale skin staring up at Vahn. "What the hell happened here?!"
"W-Well...there was a sudden explosion...and when I realized..."
Vahn's brow furrowed, as he listened, staring up and right at the group itself, the fallen militia members on the floor, the seargent impaled int he chest. "I see." Letting go of the woman, he bgean to stand right back up, his body slightly hunched over as he held a hand against his own face.
"How grateful...because of you all, my pain has been blown away." Extending his right arm out, he pointed his palm straight at the group, his tone getting deeper and deeper. "Now...did you bastards do this?"
He waited, but it didn't seem like they were talking, just grunting and wheezing maybe, although he didn't see that the leader of the pack didn't even have a mouth. "Say something...well. what is it you bastards?!"
~~
The shadow lengthened until it actually came crashing down in the midst of the three. It was the lifeless body of a militia member. Lifeless not because it had been mangled, or torn apart-- but it was literally just that: lifeless. The soul had been literally sucked out of the man's body.
It was then that the immense pressure was felt, as a wave of heat dispersed outwards, nearly suffocating everyone withing the vincinity. The ground itself began to tremble slightly, before the moment passed.
"What is that?!" Hibon exclaimed out, as Nahara herself nearly fainted from that kind of body; she wasn't as physically adept as Hibon stamina wise, and he was more susceptible to innate damage.
A crackle of static, and suddenly the whole city was alive with panic, as the sound speakers came on, and the urgent voice on the other end began voicing out reports. Please listen!!! This is a live report from Militia Command!! In the North district of Strata, intruders have been spotted!! In the--
Still in the epicenter of the crater made by their entrance, both figures stood still, most likely taking in their enviroment. The smaller one in front seemed to have finished pulling down the zipper of his jacket. Those yellowed eyes stared out, as the haze of smoke dissapated.
The bigger one behind him, continued smiling stupidly, which was made comical by the fact that he had very large and plump lips, like a gorilla. His entire lower jaw was covered in the remants of a bloodred mask, and his features did indeed look like lizard in make up, at least the facial features.
The tail hanging out his backside was a real giveaway. Seriously.
"Buhaaa! No matte rhow many times I come here, this place never changes... boring as always!!" the bigger one bellowed out, as a hand started rubbing against his scaled and flesh belly, his jacket unzipped and hanging loosely. The two seemed to wearing a uniform of sorts, which eerily matched the Kyonuske's garb, except in a more contemporary fashion.
"I don't want to hear any complaints." The raven haired one said softly, his eyes staring up at his brutish looking companion. "Like I said before, I was fine with coming by myself. the only one who force yourself to come was yourself, Samuel."
"Alright, alright, alright, sorry." Samuel was already plodding away, aiming to exit out the crater, when his eyes caught hold of something. "...What the...?"
There were several militia members, as well as normal citizens standing around the crater, and destruction of the northern gate.
"A crater?"
"But there isn't naything around..."
"But something had to have fallen there, right?"
"Look, a survivor!"
"I wonder if it's okay to go near it..."
The babbling continued on, as Samuel cocked his thick neck to the side, growing annoyed. "...The hell are these guys? Don't just stand and stare like idiots!" Growling further, he licked his lips as his eyes widened. "Maybe I'll just have to suck you all up!" Puckering his lips up, as if he were about to plant a kiss, he started sucking in the air around himself, but along with the air, white streams of something were also being sucked in.
"AHH!?"
"AUUHHHH!!!"
"GAH!"
Everyone near the crater bursted into a symphony of screams.
"Buhhaaaa!" Samuel patted his chest, as he let out a burp. "Unbelievable!"
"That was to be expected." Spoke the raven-haired figure, eyes stiill regarding Samuel. "There's no way those dilluted fellows' souls would be appetizing."
"But they were standin' around and staring like assholes dammit!" Samuel blurted out, tail twitching idly.
"Impropable. They weren't even aware of us. There's no way they were threatening you."
"I get it, I get it, but it still pisses me off!!!" Samuel said angrily, his big lips moving as he picked his fanged teeth. "Besides does it really matter how many people we kill?"
"One is all we need. Anyone besides that is just a waste of time." Came the cold reply.
"All this crap for just one guy?! Gimme a break!" Samuel bursted out into a zeal of laughter.
"All we need to do is sift through the trash-- quite a simple task if you ask me." The raven-haired one turned his head to the side now, eyes peircing the surrounding and the bodies that laid around. "...Surprising." His eyes were resting directly at where Suntrike, Hibon and Nahara were. "It seems as if you missed a couple."
"Oh?" Samuel bent down, picked up the nearest body and flung it towards the group's direction..
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:59 pm
Sunstrike, unaffected by the rising heat, but feeling damned uncomfortable within the pressure, turned around and clicked his teeth in irritation, staring at the two....he was hard pressed to say humanoids.
This was bad...very very bad. Sun didn't know what they had done to the person who'd been thrown, or the others scattered about the general vicinity close to themselves, but he did know that he didn't like it...or the fact that Nahara and Hibon were in the same path.
Nahara was suddenly over his shoulder as he picked her up, then he looked to Hibon. "We're out of our league here, boyo. We gotta get Vahn and get out..."
The boy bit his lip and looked at the people around them, nodding suddenly and sprinting off. Sunstrike was about to follow....when someone suddenly blocked his path...
"s**t..." He whispered and looked up into curiously lethal yellow eyes. These bastards move fast...
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 5:04 pm
The ghouls had all regrouped, forming another sort of semi-circle around the new subject. Two to the right, three to the left, the knight in the center, watching the blood slowly drip off the tip of his spear. His blue eyes observed the fellow closely trying to pull out some reason for his bold statements. He didn't seem like much, covered with the scars of a veteran, but a little young. Clueless though, must've missed the previous display, considering he still gripped the rifle tightly.
An eery howl of laughter eminated outwards. One might even be convinced to glance behind themselves, for the sound pulled at you from all directions. The knight gestured with his spear, indicating the lack of any other beings in the general vicinity.
"Do you see anyone else hero? Or are my eyes deceiving me, and this blood is someone elses, and not that of the man lying back so peacefully?" Another laugh, more of a vocal grin. A humourous sign of superiority.
- "Well?" -
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:08 pm
Wha... "What the..." Nahara was sweating bullets, the mental strain getting to her, as she litteraly felt as if someone had tried to vacuum her up or something. Her vision blurred and went sideways as she was hefted up off the ground, Sun's voice ringing clearly through her ears.
"What on earth's...going on?!" Hibon felt as if he were frozen in place, after that tinglign sensatio had swept through his body and then passed, leaving him nearly collpasing. However, he noticed he was fairing a bit more than Nahara... If it hadn't been for what they both received in that tablet... they might have been...
"Everyone... did they really die!?!" Hibon shouted out in disbelief, staring at the bodies that now littered the ground, looking towards Sunstrike. "What...the hell are those guys--" He could plainly see who it was that now blocked their path, and he also felt like he might ruin his pants anytime now.
Nahara was breathing shallowly now, her eyes continually blurring as she tried to settle herself down. What's this? I can't...avert my eyes... Her eyes threatened to close on her but she fought the urge, even as she became disoriented and lightheaded.
"So...you escaped my Soulsucker, huh?" Samuel asked as he stared down at the trio. His big monkey face stared with considerate interest. "If that's the case, then that means your strong enough to resist it or at least hide yourself. Ain't that right?"
My body...feels faint...
"Ezekiel! Is this the one?" Samuel bellowed out, his head turned towards the raven-haired figure, in regards to Nahara.
"Look closely, idiot." Exekiel said coldly. "It's soul is about to shatter simply from your presence. She's trash, nothing more."
"..Oh! Well then... I won't waste my time on leftovers. That's too gross for my tastes." Samuel bellowed out in laughter, as he reared back his left leg. "Later!"
A flash of movement as the brute's foot came swinging in, and then a loud crack, as it connected... straight into Hibon's hands. Hibon's clothing literally shredded and ripped, fromt he force of impact, his muscles standing out and covered with sweat.
"...Ah?! Who the hell are you?" Samuel hissed out, as he stared down at Hibon, as if noticing him for the first time.
AHHHH ******** ME! That was some kick!! What the hell am I gonna do now?! Blood trickled down and drippe donto the ground from Hibon's hands, as he held Samuel's foot firmly at bay, the strain and pain not showing on his face. "...Sunstrike. Listen to me...take my sister and get out of here."
~~
"What's this, what's this?" Vahn shouted out, arms drooping, and body slightly hunched forward as he stared out at the group in front of him now. "...Are you all mute, just for this idiot?"
Vahn's teeth gritted, as he raised both arms up slowly, leaning in with his shoulder towards them. "I assume that you bastards were the ones that damaged other people's property?!" He twisted around to face them fully, flinging his right arm about to punctuate the anger rising in his voice.
His brows furrowed as his eyes slanted, the fire in his voice never dying down at all, as he got psyched up. "You think you get away with it by pretending not to notice?!" He suddenly slammed his right foot into the ground, cratering it a little from the weight of his greave, in turn giving him some height to his jump, aiming to leap right into the thick of it.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:48 pm
Hmm, well at least the man could back his words up. That was quite an impressive jump, beyond what those lowly militia were capable at least. Better to make this more interesting. The ghouls quickly began to vacate the streets, climbing up walls and through windows or breaking down doors. Whether there were people in the houses they now occupied the knight couldn't tell, but it simply meant they could add more to the harvest count. They would spread out evenly, hiding underneath window sills, waiting for a signal. However badly their assistance was required would depend on the skill of this lone soldier. Whatever the case this event would stay a game.
And the dark one leapt to meet his opponent, spear pointed forwards.
- "Don't disappoint me hero." -
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