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 Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:47 pm
Harrison shifted, irritable and distracted. He didn't like that the team kept touching these guys.
He didn't like that everybody was focused on the old lady, and nobody was watching the tent flap. Or that nobody was posted outside. He tensed as the lizards scampered out, taking a reflexive step back.
Jerry and Rin didn't seem bothered. They were focused on the grandma. They turned their ******** backs on the things.
He responded to Jordan with a grunt.
Children and the elderly. Sleeping bodies. Who cared, it was all the same s**t in a situation where they didn't have any information on the area, which was potential danger that needed to be secured, which nobody was doing either.
Until Rep exploded.
The good cop, bad cop routine was one he understood. Up until this point, the rhythm of the situation had been all on queue. Separate the lizards and lady. Interrogate them. Tell the lizards they wanted to help them, but if they couldn't tell them anything, they were going back in the tent with Rep. Lady would get the same routine, except threatening the lizards outside, and they could figure out what this village was for, how many were here, and whether the mess hall was stuffed with fruits and veggies or the poor dumb sons of bitches who used to own these huts.
None of that involved an oddly vulnerable, can't you give me this, and the leveling of the gun at something besides the other tearm.
Harrison didn't have time to do s**t as the nets exploded from the gun- 1, 2, Jerry, Rin, and before he could even think about taking care of that... 3, Jordan.
Harrison didn't move.
Some part of him was waiting for the fourth shot.
Rep tossed the gun aside.
He saw what was happening, as Tracey's glow turned to a bright red hot glow. Could probably get between them in time to take the hit. Thought about himself with a shattered fear shield and the rest of the team disabled, with unknowns at his back and whole villageful of unknowns outside.
Didn't move as the blood sprayed everywhere.
Harrison wiped his face with his arm. Spat.
"What now," he asked.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:35 pm
The only thing remaining of the small, peaceful hut was the jangle of windchimes rolling on the open floor against the pool of blood. The two creatures dissipated instantly - perhaps they would live to fight again, or perhaps the blast of the Fear charge would be too much for them.
Humans - civilians - did not get a second chance.
Her body had been so mangled by the attack - the charged attack - that there was practically nothing left of it even resembling human. Certain pieces, blotches of thicker red smelt odd, charred, pink and white fragments of bone mixing in with lumps, clusters of skin and hair. And then there was the blood, everything, so strangely colourful and bright and sickly that it could have easily been something else, it could have been a painting, it could have been art.
Yes, Rep had made a masterpiece. The others simply did not appreciate his work. They did not appreciate the splatter of beautiful, running crimson on the ground, stained by chunks of pinks and whites, dripping and spreading further now along the bamboo mats, into the grass.
Rep had won.
And then his cell phone buzzed. Once. Twice. A text lit up on the screen. Text from Allan ^_^ Are you ready to come back? We are waiting for you! Hope you enjoyed the food we made as well!
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:37 pm
Down, shocked, paralyzed, Ferros shrilling a high scraping screech of pain as the net dragged the charge painfully out of him. Jordan kept his eyes on the woman's face as she fell, she and her charges ended in a helpless second. By the time he could move again, struggle free of the net, it was already done.
He shook the net off and pushed himself to his feet. "William," he said, cold and firm. "You're acting irrationally and ignoring orders. You turned a weapon on your team for the purpose of murdering a human civilian. As your senior, I order you to stand down."
There was a chill and empty hollow in his stomach. The hurt could wait until he had time to deal with it.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:03 pm
Rep couldn't hear any of the commotion around him. He'd been so certain that he would feel nothing but the satisfying dissipation of creatures a danger to his mission, to his team, under Tracey's blade. What resulted was so much more visceral than he expected.
It had been so easy. So very very easy. Without a fear shield the human body yielded like so much nothing. And human, oh yes she was human all right. There was no mistaking that. He had completely decimated all that she was and laid her bare to the jungle.
He stared. Simply stared. His thoughts, previously such a buzz of activity - completely silent. Tracey was quiet too, he could feel the axe's silent horror that in that moment, that clash of bone and blade, he had caught the faintest, most insubstantial taste of fear. Raw human fear.
He felt alone.
Harrison's words lingered in his head.
What now?
He didn't know.
Blood was everywhere, it covered his hands, his clothes, dripped from Tracey's blade, its smell reminding him of gang battles long past, of the slash to his face when it was fresh, of horsemen and death. It was the very scent of humanity, imperfect, often disgusting, but like him.
He'd let them all down
As your senior, I order you to stand down.
The words were like punches to the gut.
The only sound he made in reply was a strangled desperate sob, as he slumped to his knees, dropping the axe completely with a dull thunk. It desummoned.
All that he'd wanted, was to do the right thing for once, be the guy who made all the right calls, the one who people admired and looked up to. To have Allan tell him good job, Simon to say he was worth leaving alive. To bring them to this mission and show them their faith in him had been worth it, that he could change, that there was something worth their time. To make them all proud.
Instead his friends and loved ones had been betrayed for a mere spur of the moment hunch, a child's pathetic grasp at glory. Now they could see him for what he was.
He buried his face in bloody hands and his shoulders silently shook.
He had come here looking for monsters, and apparently he'd found one.
He'd just been looking in the wrong place all along.
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Bilious rolled 1 20-sided dice:
8
Total: 8 (1-20)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:48 pm
Jerry was soaking wet. His hair was sticking to his face. He could barely see through the wet gore dripping from his glasses.
He opened his mouth, he closed it again.
Just keep your cool, you didn't know her anyway, Roar nudged carefully. He could sense his hunter's panic, but he had never felt the man feel anything like this... not in a very long time, anyway, and not to this degree.
As Jordan wriggled out of the net and Roar could feel the ebb of the Fear-sucking pain, Jerry slowly, carefully wormed his way free.
"You killed her." His voice was even, but sharp and deadly. She had been someone's grandmother- at least ins pirit. She had been someone's protector. Those tiny creatures were no more dangerous than the shadowlings they had tripped over on their way there.
He sniffed, nose still running, and could taste blood.
Blood that wasn't his.
His stomach churned, eyes wide, and wild as the orange-glowing torch was pulled from his coat and clicked into place amongst Roar's teeth where a tongue might have been if the bazooka had had a tongue.
"You killed her. You didn't... didn't hesitate. You didn't think. You just... " Suddenly, flaimes erupted out of the canon, ripping through what remained of the wreckage of the hut in a warning blast.
Jerry's hands were shaking.
He would kill him. Simon would not get the pleasure of this one. He knew Rep was irrational, dangerous- he knew what it was like to be a liability, but Rep hadn't even tried. Hadn't even listened to his so called boyfriends who he claimed he respected. Not his friend, and certainly not him. And now they'd killed an innocent civilian... an old woman.
A dark room, surrounding him, enveloping him, suffocating him, and all he could do was scream and scream until tender, soft,elderly hands held him, whispered softly that it would be alright, that nothing would get him.
The only time of his life he didn't feel afraid was in those arms.
Rep had nearly crippled him. He had desecrated what was sacred of the woman he loved. And now... and now this?
He'd kill him. He limped closer, leveling Roar's aim carefully.
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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 10-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-10)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:02 pm
Rep didn't answer. He just fell to his knees and sobbed.
Harrison put an uneasy hand on Rep's shoulder.
He withdrew it to get out his dagger and deal with the nets, but by the time he turned around Jordan had already shrugged out of them, and Jerry and Rin were shaking of the drain and paralysis too.
Murder.
"She's dead, now," was all he said, saying it even with all of them splattered with the evidence. He took a step back towards Rep, and removed the second dagger. "He's down. Jerry, if you use that bazooka, it better not <********> be on me."Defending: Himself, Rep
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:02 pm
"Jerry. No." Jordan's voice remained cold and distant. "This is Allan's decision. Don't get yourself disciplined for an irrational, impulsive action fueled by anger. If William chooses to return quietly, it won't be necessary to use force."
He half-turned, looking to Rin while keeping Rep in sight. "Rin. Please contact Allan. Harrison, please keep watch outside." A pause. "William. Will you go back to base willingly, or do we need to take you there?"
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Bilious rolled 2 10-sided dice:
2, 8
Total: 10 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:09 pm
"HE KILLED HER!" Jerry shrieked, taking his anger out on the wreckage of the hut instead. The bark was ringed with fire, ripping through the debris in an eruption of flame and sound, "Don't you DARE DEFEND HIM NOW. He doesn't CARE he's a selfish... p-p-piece of s**t he doesn't GIVE A s**t HE WON'T LISTEN HE JUST KILLED HER LIKE IT WAS NOTHING-"
Streaks of white dripped through the red staining his face, roar's quills shivering as his hands shook. wrenching back around to Rep again, "Just... just killed her... shot us and killed her like that like he didn't even need to think... didn't... didn't even debate... he's going to get us all killed, he's going... going to... "
Damage: 4+8= 12
Target: Debris out of angst
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:23 pm
"Jerry. I am not explaining to Allan that you killed someone and I did not stop you. Not after what just happened. Stand. Down." Jordan's free hand curled into a fist. He showed no other outward signs of agitation.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:26 pm
He didn't feel like he was in his own head, he was back somewhere a long time ago, in a room where another woman would never wake again, and it was his fault. He was William Reid. The little boy who was broken, who could never make the right choices, whose anger was like a lurking demon in the dark.
Jerry was right. He was right. It was too easy to kill her, he didn't need to think. Death was easy, people were fragile. They shattered like things, gone in an instant of anger.
Murder was easy, the consequences intolerable.
William. Every single time, he flinched.
He made no effort to resist, struggling to get words past the lump in his throat as he let his hands fall, bloodied hand prints like tribal war paint on his tear streaked face.
"My mission is over."
He stood up, feeling the world vertigo whirl around him for a moment.
Roar's volleys of destruction were distantly registered, but he didn't flinch.
"I won't resist any of you."
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Bilious rolled 2 10-sided dice:
8, 9
Total: 17 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:29 pm
"He... he k-killed her..." Jerry trembled, his voice weak, repeating it now as though he couldn't even comprehend the idea. "He..." There was a tight whine in his throat before he lurched to fire off another Runic-enhanced firey blast. Thankfully, the moist tropical air stopped the fire from spreading, but the barking blasts sent birds around the small camp flying.
When the explosions faded, there wasn't anything left to cover the noises bubbling up from the man's chest.
He hadn't signed up for things like this.
Damage: 11+8 = 19
Target: An already broken chair
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 5:00 am
Even as the nets hold gave way, Rin wouldn't move. She was horrified. Soaked in blood and... bits... she could hear voices, shouting, mad, sad, hurt. She could hear them, but she wasn't listening. The meanings didn't matter right now. She saw a ******** pretty much exploding. At the ******** hands of her friend.
She wanted so bad to be mad, furious, he shot her - point blank in the ******** face... but... he was still a friend and still she knew that was possibly the last nail in his coffin. She didn't just witness the horrific murder of an old lady, but she witnessed the death of the first friend she had ever had.
Goodbye, William... I'm not really ready to say that, but you sort of took that... choice... away when you shot us.
She wouldn't even open her eyes at this point, trying to use the darkness to just... go somewhere else, anywhere else... please.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:05 am
Harrison stayed between Jerry and Rep during the tirade.
After a while, Jerry cried too.
Harrison's heart twisted. Attacked his teammates, murder. The sobs didn't feel like they were for the old lady. Once the purpose had faded from Jerry's eyes, Harrison relaxed, marginally.
"Your phone's buzzing," he muttered to Rep, then went to go stand outside like Jordan had asked.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 9:57 am
She couldn't go anywhere though. Try as she might, she kept coming right back. The old lady was dead, Rep betrayed them - could have killed them, but now he was going to die too. She wanted to be scared, wanted to be pissed, furious, she wanted to beat him unconscious for what he'd done but she just... couldn't. Her mind kept coming back to...
Warily she opened an eye, chaos was still going on around her and... OH GOD, IT WAS A ******** HAND! She wildly slapped the chunk of debris away that had earlier landed on her stomach. It was a revolting and horrible mess. She wondered if she could cope. Her eyes closed again and she shifted to lay back down again.
No.
This may be your last chance.
She opened her eyes again and sat up, body shaking uncontrollably with every little movement. She got to her knees and then her feet and soon she was running after Rep. She didn't care if Jerry was firing about her or if anyone else was in her way - she shoved them out of it.
She reached Rep and threw her arms about him in a tight python squeeze, head bobbing weakly to draw her lips up to his ear. She spoke sternly but the hurt was hard to hide, "What you did... it's ...horrible... I may never forgive you, William."
"...but..." there was a pause as she fumbled a little to keep control of the wet sound to her tone.
"...I still want to say goodbye," she drew her lips back down, pausing their escape to kiss him on the cheek. Leaving a crimson mark on his face in the shape of her lips as she pulled away.
She turned her back on him, like he turned his back on them and started to walk away, "Goodbye William, may you finally rest in peace."
She kept on walking, left the tent, kept on walking head held high. She wasn't going to cry for him. Not again. He brought it on himself this time.
She just didn't know for certain where she was going now. Maybe back. Maybe fight more weak little shadows. That was all they were meant to do. It was all she really wanted right now. To go back and do what they were supposed to do in the first place. To have done things right from the start.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:23 am
Rep couldn't look at them. Couldn't meet anyone's gaze as the explosions died away into the forest.
Harrison's comment temporarily brought him out of the distant numb reverie he'd been in, fishing with blood slicked hands for his phone. He stared at the message for a while, brain locked and unresponsive, letters on a glowing screen. It took some time for the message to sink in, and as it did there was a numb chill that overtook him.
Allan. He couldn't stand to face the division leader. He'd sent him on a mission, trusted him. All the little efforts, the lunches, the weapons, it broke his heart. He'd never realised how much he looked up to the lighthearted man until he was faced with the prospect of destroying any chance he had of his approval ever.
The lump in his throat was back and it was all he could do to keep himself from breaking down all over again.
Confusion, fractured confusion as Rin hugged him. He flinched at the touch, he didn't deserve hugs, not here, not now. But he realised slowly why it was. Why she'd made the effort to hug a murderer.
It was a farewell. She'd given up on him, given up on the hope he'd walk away from this.
He wanted to call back to her, wanted to say he was sorry, sorry for everything, that if he could turn back time and never have come into her life, he would. If on that very first day he could have left her to settle alone, instead of getting his claws in her, in her heart, only to break it.
But the words were strangled too tight with emotion. He could only stand, stand and not look at anything, phone clenched so tightly in his hand his knuckles turned white.
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