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 Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 4:39 pm
Aha! So there it was. A smirk slowly crawled up one corner of Michael's lips.
"I need no weapon," he said, and with a wild shriek became a flash of grey smoke or light, his mouth stretched ominously, and thudded into and through the spirit before him with the potential to knock the soldier away a few good feet, or at least knock him down. It wouldn't do to scare the thing with his full power. Then he'd have to think of a new tactic altogether for getting him to cross.
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:50 pm
Need no weapon?! Hah. This guy didn't want to fight did he? Oh... The ghost was pushed back and knocked down. It snarled and sent physical bullets Michael's way.
"You may not need weapons! Your fleshfriends do!" It declared, looking pointedly in the direction Dari and Toby were.
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:55 pm
Michael's voice went grave. The bullets hadn't seemed to hurt him, but the words certainly had.
"If you hurt them, I'll tear your soul in half and send you to Hell instead," he rumbled, suddenly becoming larger.
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 7:08 pm
The ghost didn't pause. It circled Michael like a predatory animal. "You have no power over me," it decreed. "You have no power! No power!" It vanished from Michael's sight.
It reappeared next to Toby, taking the werewolf's hand. "Come outside with me."
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 8:07 pm
Ah, s**t. Toby startled when he felt something at his hand and reflexively looked. He wished he hadn't. The thing indeed had no eyes, but it was definitely looking right at him. He couldn't possibly know what it was at this point.
"No." You had to be firm. Hopefully Michael was nearby.
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:22 pm
No?! The ghost released Toby's hand, frowning. Why not?! It wasn't like he'd asked the guy to hand over his gun! It was a perfectly reasonable request! "Come outside with me," it insisted, louder now. "Come outside with me! Come outside with me! COME OUTSIDE WITH ME!" By this point, it was screaming it's demand. It paused and looked towards the door, where the other man was unpacking--Dari.
"You," it said, seemingly losing interest in Toby altogether. It headed outside and neared the van. It offered the alien its hand. "Come with me, please."
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:14 pm
Michael appeared then, blasting through the spirit once more, knocking it back with more force and away from Dari. All Dari had seen was the spirit trying to get him to follow. He was hard to kill, sure, but that didn't mean he wanted to be tortured. Pain was new but wasn't really fun, and it wasn't like he could go into jelly mode. He raised his camcorder and capture the event for the Bureau.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:24 pm
The ghost hadn't expected Michael's attack. It's eyes briefly switched from gorged to that brilliant blue. It frowned in confusion. "I said please," it said, resentfully. How dare Michael attack him?! It fell back, stood, and shoved back. "You won't win!" It insisted.
It looked around for a moment. It didn't seem to like Dari's camcorder. "Leave this place!" It ordered. The sounds of gunfire filled the air, but this time it only seemed to be sound. Maybe it was an unconscious move. "Come with me," it invited Dari again.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:44 pm
"What do you think we are?" Michael asked, voice rumbling as he approached the ghost, "Fools? We know your intentions, child. If you want to fight, fight me!" He was a large and looming shape, loud and roaring, scleras gone red and hands clenched.
Dari stumbled back, but kept recording. Toby jogged to meet them as they went further into the grass lot. They had been trained that, in the case of ghosts, the exterior was safer than the haunted building. You never wanted to be choked down a hall while something was attacking you.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:53 pm
"Cowards," the ghost frowned at Michael. A grenade seemed to appear in his hand. If they wouldn't come with him...fine! "I was going to go easy on you too, coward. You haven't seen battle! You don't know what it's like out there in the field!" It looked to Michael, eyes glowing a firey read.
"And now you'll die." It threw the grenade.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:02 pm
"GRENADE."
It was a trained reaction, and Toby began to run. Michael roared, and Dari reached down and shoved the grenade through an opening in his chest. It had no pin. His chest wept black, and he lay on the ground, and that was that.
Pieces went everywhere, eerily remaining as blood and flesh until it hit the ground and dissolved in red muck. Toby made a strangled sound. He began to scrape Dari from his face and looking for the pile he'd reemerge from. He was coming back, right?
Michael turned to the ghost, eyes literally flaming, and took it by the throat.
"I MAY NOT KNOW BATTLE, BUT I KNOW DEATH. I KNOW MURDER!" He reached back and tore a whole in the universe, revealing the white glowing staircase of yore. Many others waited at the top. He brutalized the other spirit just a bit before heaving him through the light. His nose was bleeding again.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:30 pm
The spirit was weak by the time Michael had thrown him towards the white light. A young man with blue eyes now stood there, tears pouring from his eyes. What had he done? What had he done? Even in life, he'd hated to see such suffering... War had been hard on him. He'd died trying to help a wounded soldier.
And now he'd murdered someone. Someone who hadn't done anything to him. An innocent. He swallowed. There wasn't anything he could do. The guy had just...he was gone.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:40 pm
Michael stared the man down for several seconds before he disappeared, rushing back out on the field to look for the worst, for Dari's spirit. The white light closed up as soon as the ghost went up a couple of stairs. He had damn well better send some good vibes from Heaven, considering he had just blown a man up.
Toby had been holding black mush in his hands, hoping it would congeal into a tiny blob that they could at least take home and feed, which would hopefully remember the, god, please let him remember them. It began to burn. He poured it out on the grass and it simply soaked in. It didn't seem to be eating, just leaving.
"Oh god."
- - -
They were at the site another day and Dari did not emerge. A crew was called to clean up "the mess." It was a tense, silent time as they shoveled dirt back into the crater and cleared what was a thin sheen of black burning fluid. Some of the grass and dirt had dissolved, but not gone, only become goop.
They invited the workers back into the fort, but kept watch. They had removed Michael's name from the ledger easily and left the clerk confused. She had remembered three men, of course.
No Dari.
Michael couldn't find his spirit and Toby couldn't find his body. Toby wept. He remembered the spacecraft, the way his people had been spattered around the ship and how none of them had come back, not even after the goop had settled. It had to be specific parts, Dari had said.
Toby did not drive home. He had another agent assist. Michael was present in the van although not solid or visible, offering whatever comfort he could.
He had to call Cody. He dialed the number and held the phone to his ear, eyes red. He was chewing the skin on his fingers.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:48 pm
Cody picked up after seeing Toby's name. Why was the werewolf calling him? We're they back from whatever mission they'd been sent on? Dari hadn't told him much about it. "Hello? Toby, how are you?" If they were home and not using those private number things, maybe he'd take Dari out to dinner. The moon was supposed to be huge next full moon-- a Super Moon or something. Would that have some effect on him?
The alien'd probably know. Dari knew everything.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:53 pm
"Uh. Not well, actually," Toby admitted. He wasn't going to lie. Cody was family. he snuffled and felt the tears welling up again. He had seen it happen. He couldn't stop hearing it and seeing it, red meat and blood and then caustic, lifeless black fluid. "Dari's not coming home."
He didn't know how else to start.
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