main plot The Taste of Death

[Voidus]

15 hours ago, Fatebreaker said:

"Family can cause a person to make strange decisions." Voidus replied quietly.

The Stranger blinked.

A... family?

The Stranger could count on one hand the number of times he had been caught completely off guard. This had just topped the list. 

"That... that's..." Unbelievable. Dangerous. 

"wonderful." A grin found it's way back on to his face. "I hadn't even an inkling. It appears you still have a few tricks yet." He shook his head ruefully "I'd say it's impossible, but I know you better than that. Family. Who would have thought? The one thing I can never have."

He gave a short barking laugh, as he stood and walked towards the barrier. He stared outwards, not seeing what was in front of him. "I can almost remember family, but that was a coppermind I lost long ago. Perhaps I traded it away, perhaps I used it in an experiment..."

He turned back towards Voidus. "You are truly fortunate, my friend. I will do all I can to protect you and yours, though I have no doubt you'll need any help. But I must ask," and he looked him dead in the eyes, "How do you get that close to someone, when you carry the weight we carry? How do you avoid crushing that which you hold dear? Did you create a family? Pick the perfect strains and genetic traits? Create powerful constructs that can withstand the pressure? How do you hold something so fragile?"

@Voidus

Voidus gave a bemused smile towards the Stranger and his questions. He shouldn't have expected anything else from the Stranger of course, being the head of a Research and Development division for as long as he had was bound to guide one's mental outlook into a certain process.

"It's... complicated." Voidus conceded wearily, hesitating before continuing on. "For the most part I suppose I didn't. They were from before. Before this world, before these responsibilities. Before all of this."

He leaned back, closing his eyes and smiling briefly as he lost himself in nostalgia before the smile slipped and his expression darkened.

"But that was a long time ago, and as you say a family is a fragile thing. One that I couldn't keep entirely whole."

A quiet moment passed where neither of them spoke before Voidus continued in a small, wavering voice.

"Such a very long time ago that I don't remember her name."

A bead of moisture slowly collected at the corner of his eye before gently folling down his cheek and then falling onto his arm. He stared at it for a moment with wide eyes, wiping at his eye reflexively with his other arm to catch any more. But there were none, even the act of grieving seemed beyond him now.

"I only have our child left." He finished, still staring at his hands.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

4 hours ago, ZincAboutIt said:

Lita turned back towards the TUBA member in the street, cocking her head a bit to the side.

"Lovely day for the end of the world, eh?" She said, tugging her sleeves back down to conceal her spikes. "We need to find your leaders, let them know what's about to happen. You'll want to get as many people out of the city and into your tunnels as you can, and quickly. Things are about to get..messy."

@Silva @kenod @Voidus

 

Laurelai gave Lita a small smile as she addressed the nearby TUBA member, she'd grown accustomed to the DA a lot sooner than Laurelai had when she first joined. It was a lucky thing she'd decided to try and get a drink that night, or Lita might have ended up putting her talents to use for one of the other guilds instead.

"Well, messier." Laurelai added, still smiling. She followed Lita's lead, subtly concealing her spikes from obvious view. "These creatures that already roam the streets aren't ours but they're already making a fair bit of mess. Still, as my colleague says it's about to get worse. So if you'd be so kind as to take us to where your leaders currently are?"

She began walking out of the alley, not waiting for an immediate reply.
 

[I think I am here.]

2 hours ago, Darth Woodrack said:

A plasma core bomb collar laky ran up and gave The Tattered One a jewel of stormlight to replenish his investiture reserves. He took it, and then shot three waves of spikes at Edahs, and sent a dozen needles at Darkness. Then he felt two knives go into his back. He sent jutted out needles from his entire back and shot them backwards.

“Sir!” Wes yelled as Mike went close to the monster, and the monster attacked them. He put his hands to his mouth in shock, and he saw a Plasma Core bomb collar lackey run up, give the monster more stormlight.

Sprinting, Wes charged the lackey, trying to throw him to the ground. He brought out his knife.

“What’s his weakness? What’s his weakness?!” Wes yelled, gesturing to the monster. If anyone should know, it would be the minions, right?

—///—

The Plasma Core building was not the only thing Lusk needed to keep his attention on.

The city was there too. Bird people, attacking the streets coupled with evil spren coupled with monsters spawning from the Void Rift. Lusk stood in silence.

Before him was a massive screen that ran the length of the wall, coating him in its red light. He frowned. The screen depicted a top down view of AlleyCity, and green dots represented all evacuation efforts by the guilds.

Of those green dots, a couple were darker. They represented what evacuation forces the Ghostbloods were adding to the table.

“Sir!” Someone called from behind. Lusk didn’t remove his gaze from the screen but he beckoned for the underling to continue.

“TUBA has begun moving evacuations to the tunnel systems! The Canton is moving more people in it’s safehouses!”

Lusk nodded, it was good news. Each guild, doing their part, evacuating the city before someone trigger-happy decided to drop a bomb on it. As for the Ghostbloods, evacuations were happening on a squadron scale.

Ghostblood teams were dispatched in cars, trucks, to ace as many people as they could. Protocol Evac was in session. Lusk sighed, but it came out as a cough.

This had better work.

[AonEne]

4 minutes ago, Voidus said:

"Such a very long time ago that I don't remember her name."

Quote

I am going to murder you. Duuuuuude THIS IS SAD. STOP BEING SAD. I AM NOT USED TO WANTING TO HUG A SPIKY PERSON, OKAY? Ahhhfjvhgsjlvhsl stop iiit. And his kid is alive? WHAT? I need to know more! Must! Have! Information! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US VOIDUS AGH.

 

[Voidus]

7 minutes ago, AonEne said:

Quote

I am going to murder you. Duuuuuude THIS IS SAD. STOP BEING SAD. I AM NOT USED TO WANTING TO HUG A SPIKY PERSON, OKAY? Ahhhfjvhgsjlvhsl stop iiit. And his kid is alive? WHAT? I need to know more! Must! Have! Information! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US VOIDUS AGH.

 

Quote

Well if you murder me then you'll never have more information.

 

[AonEne]

Quote

*sad puppy dog eyes*

 

[Voidus]

Quote

*Cold inquisitor eyes*

 

[+ZincAboutIt]

Lita followed Laurelai further into the street, trying to keep her thoughts together. She was about halfway through her first vial of tin, and almost didn't register the hyper-focus of her senses anymore.

Not good, Lita.

Everything was sharpened to a razor edge, the world a mess and whirl of light, sound, scent, and temperature. Beside her, Laurelai's heartbeat was somewhat elevated. Further behind, KanMien seemed calmer, breath coming even. Lita could smell some of the fear coming off the TUBA member, though whether he was afraid of them or simply afraid in general was beyond her guess. She'd long tuned out her own heartbeat, which still thumped hard and fast against her ribs. If she looked close enough, she could see individual motes of dust twirling in the dawn light that speared between the alleyways of the city. Two blocks further south, something was noisily tearing a person apart; Lita could hear each drop of blood patter against the cobblestones, gentle as rain.

So much, so much at once. She'd never gone so long burning this much Tin, and she could feel her mind retreating into itself, her own fear stuffed into a back corner to make room for everything happening around her. There was only the act of observation now, a sharp and terrible clarity that both narrowed her focus and flung the gates open wide. Lita felt a small, strange smile touch her lips, and she knew that her eyes would seem almost black to anyone looking at them, pupils dilated nearly to the edges of her irises, blotting out the green.

Definitely not good, Lita. 

She turned to Laurelai and was momentarily distracted by the presence of one of her long, blonde hairs stuck on one of her eyelashes. Lita nodded towards the TUBA member.

"He's rather terrified," she whispered; her voice sounded loud as breaking glass to her own ears. "I can hear his heart - like a little bird." 

@Voidus

[AonEne]

Quote

*even sadder eyes*

I mean THIS IS HUGE. Well, you know that, this is your character, after all, but HOLY CREPES VOIDUS HAS A FAMILY? Even better, a partially living family! Does he remember his child? Does he know where they are right now?

...Lita, don't die?

 

[Silva]

"Uh..." Eiran said. He frantically tried to check the future for danger coming his way. There was none. That meant that he could say pretty much anything and not get skewered.

An unpleasant vision then appeared.

Well, not anything. 

He cleared his throat. "Whatever you want to say to them, you can say to me and I'll pass on the message." 

The fact they didn't know where Deteca was was a welcome surprise. For years they'd always assumed the DA knew everything about them. It was nice to know that wasn't the case.

His heart rate sped up even more.

@Voidus @ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt]

1 minute ago, AonEne said:

...Lita, don't die?

Quote

Where will you be when the Tin hits?  

 

[Darth Woodrack]

Quote

Wait, Voidus, how powerful would the child be? Can I have it as a character? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please?(I would add more pleases, but this is directed at a mod, so I’m not going to push it.)

@Voidus

The bomb on the neck of the bomb collar lackey exploded.

@I think I am here.

[xinoehp512]

2 hours ago, Darth Woodrack said:

A plasma core bomb collar laky ran up and gave The Tattered One a jewel of stormlight to replenish his investiture reserves.

Edahs gratefully sucked the stormlight out of the jewel as the lady approached. Hopefully she wouldn't be too mad.

@Darth Woodrack

2 hours ago, Darth Woodrack said:

Either way, it wouldn't dissolve quickly enough for what you rpd. In any case, it would pass through him, and it seems unlikely that these two will face each other again.

Quote

 They didn't dissolve very much before he spat them out.

 

[Voidus]

2 minutes ago, AonEne said:

*even sadder eyes*

I mean THIS IS HUGE. Well, you know that, this is your character, after all, but HOLY CREPES VOIDUS HAS A FAMILY? Even better, a partially living family! Does he remember his child? Does he know where they are right now?

Quote

RAFO 

The corner of Laurelai's mouth quirked up as Lita began a commentary. Laurelai hadn't realized she was burning so much tin, hearing heartbeats at that distance was no easy feat even for a tineye.

"Whatever you want to say to them, you can say to me and I'll pass on the message." The man from TUBA said, clearing his throat as he did.

"In the interests of ensuring that our message is delivered as completely as possible I'd be more comfortable if we took it there ourselves." Laurelai said calmly. "We've made an agreement not to attack any of you so you don't need to worry about their safety."

And if we were trying to attack you they wouldn't send three members from the counter intelligence division, they'd send a horde of monstrosities that would crush you with weight of numbers and horrifying abilities. She thought wryly.

[+ZincAboutIt]

While Laurelai spoke, Lita felt her hand stray automatically to one of her pockets.

No. Definitely not. With a reluctance that frightened her, Lita moved her hand back down to her side and turned down the burn of her Tin.

Right, you're a rusting spy. Do your job, you can go mad later. 

"I realize that 'trust' is a bit of a sticking point between our two guilds, but we've stuck to the end of our accord thus far." Lita met the man's eyes, hoping that she looked slightly less wild-eyed. "You do want to help these people, don't you? The fastest and most effective way to do that is to let us speak to your leadership."

Lita smiled at him. "As of this moment, we're effectively on the same side. I suggest you take advantage of that. Now."

@Silva

[Fatebreaker]

41 minutes ago, Voidus said:

RAFO 

Quote

What a power move 

 

[+Sorana]

Quote

I'm not trying to get Mike killed, but what do you suppose for him to do? Not attack the tattered one at all, just because has no investiture healing? That's not how he would act. Mike is extremely loyal, too loyal maybe. He won't leave his friends alone. He knows that the chances that he can harm the tattered one with his knives and abilities are small, but if he can buy time for someone else to kill him, that's fine as well.

==============

And I know about Silva = Sister Rey. But as the discussion about up or down had already been started two posts before you wrote that she followed, I figured she would like to have all information/ arguments?

Spikes shot at him, but Mike had expected it. It seemed like this was the usual defense of that creature. He changed. Squirrel was small and fast. Most of the spikes missed squirrel as she placed her feet on the hilt of one of the knives and jumped up into the air. The others drew blood and squirrel shivvered in pain, but instinct had her jump anyways. She landed on a nearby windowsill and looked around. The she jumped again, used her tail to steer her towards his legs. He had't shot out any spikes out of them so far. As soon as she was below his upperbody Wolf pushed her aside and took her place. He went for the knee, or the place where a knee should have been, aimed to break, to bite.

@Darth Woodrack

===================

Zokora shrugged.

"I am fine with both. We know, that there are some laboratories on the floors above us. But we don't know if they conducted their experiments below the ground as well."

She quickly typed a message to Lusk.

Do you have any information about the upper floors? Can we see something through the windows?

"I will follow you. In the end we need to clean out the whole building, cellar and tower."

@I think I am here.

@Grey Knight

@Darth Woodrack

Edited June 14, 2019 by Sorana

[Elend Venture]

 

  Damon walked into the last room quietly. In front of him was the small council from the dark crusade. They all had their backs turned. He hesitated a moment, raised his revolvers, and...Crack! A gunshot fired somewhere. Damon dropped painfully to the floor, bleeding from a grazing wound in the calf. As heads turned among the three men in front of him, he opened fire, twelve bullets and scores of steelpushed carpentry nails and coins flew at the council members from point blank range. Some riflefire erupted from his right and the floor around him exploded in lead and splintered wood. His cloak had gained just a few more holes to add to the rest from this eve of darkness, but he had come through the torrent of fire mostly in one piece. Not for the last time, Damon wondered why the rusts he had chosen the dark over the light.

@Grey Knight

Edited June 14, 2019 by ElendVenture

[+Sorana]

Lena walked up the stairs. She looked around, finally pushed to door open. It was quiet here, to quiet. She had been here a few times, had spoken to the teachers, had made sure her son got a place to stay after Seb had killed her grandma. She had considered to give him to her brother, but then had decided against it. He was hers. And while she knew that she wasn’t able to care for him fulltime, she wanted to have a chance to meet him now and then, wanted for him to know his mother. She hastened through the empty hallways, her steps echoing eerily, her breath to loud in her ears. The tiles were partially destroyed, doors ripped out of the walls. And blood, everything was covered in blood. His classroom – empty. Head down again, out of the building, into another one. His dorm – empty. But his shoes were gone, his backpack as well. Turn around, head down again. The gym – empty. Her steps were faster, when she pushed open door after door, stared into one empty room after the next. They were gone, all of them. Then she saw it. A stuffed animal, a little bear. It was missing a leg, but she knew it, had selected it herself. Feeling cold she picked it up, continued in this direction. Another turn. A dead body, a woman. She’d teached maths, or physics. Lena wasn’t sure. She followed the hallway found a dead monster, its head smashed in, the wings broken. A heavy sand-filled ball was lying close to it on the ground. Lena started running again, rushed towards the door at the end of the hallway. Another dead adult. She wanted to push the door open and slammed against the glass and metal. Locked.

“Hello?”

She called out, knocked.

“Is anybody here?”

The door opened and she saw the pale face of another teacher, and behind him several children. Lena ignored him, pushed past him into the room, scanned the faces. Where, a girl, another girl, there. She ran towards him, closed Mart into her arms and pulled him close. Her arm protested the movement, remained where it was, and so she held him only with one arm.

“Mart.”

He clung to her and it felt good, so incredibly good that he was alive, that he was here.

“Did you lead them here?”

The man grabbed her shoulder and whirled around, stared at him. Her hand remained with Mart, she wouldn’t let go of him, not here, not now.

“Nothing was here. Nothing living at least.”

She replied and he nodded, nodded again and then a third time. His hand played nervously with his beard. Then he turned around to close the door.

“Wait, we leave.”

Lena stopped him and grabbed Mart’s hand. Staying here, in this trap?

“The guilds are evacuating the city. They are working together. They can get you and the other children out.”

He shook his head.

“We are safe here. In this room. The monsters were here already, they won’t come back.”

Shrugging Lena pulled Mart out of the room. It was his decision. But to stay here, for who knew how long? Without food or water. It was no chance she would take.

[Silva]

16 hours ago, ZincAboutIt said:

"I realize that 'trust' is a bit of a sticking point between our two guilds, but we've stuck to the end of our accord thus far." Lita met the man's eyes, hoping that she looked slightly less wild-eyed. "You do want to help these people, don't you? The fastest and most effective way to do that is to let us speak to your leadership."

Lita smiled at him. "As of this moment, we're effectively on the same side. I suggest you take advantage of that. Now."

She was looking at him. And smiling.

It was terrifying. After this was over, he'd never complain about paperwork again. At least, not for a little bit.

He swallowed heavily, trying to calm his nerves.

"Fine," Eiran said. His voice was trembling. "I'll give her a call. If she says it's okay to bring you over, I will. Otherwise, I cannot." 

One hand slipped into his pocket to take out his phone.

---

People liked to try and kill her, Freedom realized. First Crow, then the Waiter, and now this guy. His attention was off her for the moment, but she'd been the first he'd gone after. 

She put on the earpiece a Ghostblood had thrown her. Apparently the gamble had paid off, however temporarily. 

“What’s his weakness? What’s his weakness?!” one of the group yelled. He was trying to attack a lackey.

Well...the lackey had tried to bring the creature more stormlight. The acid droplet guy had hijacked it instead. Meaning...

"He needs stormlight to keep going indefinitely!" she called back to him, pulling him away from the lackey as a bomb around the lackey's neck exploded. "Don't let him get more and then maybe he'll get weakened!"

She let the blast of it hit her at an older age. Burns were pretty healable, she'd been taught, so long as they weren't exposed to rough elements for too long. Once the worst of it dispersed, Freedom let herself return to the appearance of before. All signs of injury from being near an explosion were gone. It still amazed her at how that worked.

@Darth Woodrack @I think I am here.

[Darth Woodrack]

Quote

Ark said that people complained that this guy was to OP and is ordering me to get him out of the plot. So, if you want to complain about a sudden exit, complain to him. If not, don't criticism me. If you want to chase hum, then it your choice and I'm not holding up the plot, so feel free.

Emotion: Perturbed, my actual emotion is sad that I have to make this guy go away because people don't like him, or fighting him, and mad at Ark for making me do it.

The Tattered One jumped out of the way of the wolf, but it managed to tear his leg, and it didn't heal.

"Well, actually," He said, backing away, "Any source of investiture would work, stormlight is just the most convenient. Now, I'll meet you again shadowed one. You on the ground, you survive this round. Mike, I'm under strict orders not to kill you, I am kind of annoyed that that crazy fire lady outranks me, so I advise you to stay out of my way in the future. Good by."

The Tattered One turned around, cut a hole in the wall with a spike he made through the amount of stormlight he had managed to siphon, and ran out of the building.

[Vargo Seldon]

Darkness looked at Mike, raising an eyebrow.  "Your girlfriend can burn the city down, is part of the bureau of villainy, and can boss that guy around?" He said, "All I can say is: may Voidus help your future."  

With that, he plunged deeper into the building, hoping the others would follow.

Quote

To be honest Woodrack, I'm fine with that character.  All of us fighting him at once would surely kill him.  Our only mistake is throwing ourselves at him one at a time.  For what it's worth, My vote would be to keep him here.

@Sorana @Rest of team

———

Stormbreaker peered down the elevator shaft.  He looked to the Space Marine.  "Yes, it is a choke point, but if me and Hasharan go first, we can hold it long enough for the rest of you to get down.  We're both heavy duty fighters.  I'm more skilled, and he has shardplate.  Together, we can hold it almost indefinitely since we both do not tire."

@Grey Knight

[xinoehp512]

Edahs looked at the departing figure for a brief moment before turning to run after Darkness.

Out on the street, a ball of light streaked to a stop in front of the building. Following him were TUBA's best warriors. @AonEne

"This is it, folks," he buzzed.

[Darth Woodrack]

1 minute ago, Vargo Seldon said:

Quote

To be honest Woodrack, I'm fine with that character.  All of us fighting him at once would surely kill him.  Our only mistake is throwing ourselves at him one at a time.  For what it's worth, My vote would be to keep him here.

 

Quote

Okay, so the main problem that Ark pointed out in the Tattered One, is that you guys cannot physically kill him. Stop him? Yes. End him forever? You don't have the capability. You take five Max/Mara level emotional allomancers? It's possible. You take a shardblade, cut him into tiny pieces then hide them across the planet? Wouldn't kill him forever, but it would be hard to put him back together.

Though, you would have stopped him eventually, and I think he should have stayed as well, he would not be dead.

Emotion: Tired.

 

[+Sorana]

18 minutes ago, Vargo Seldon said:

Darkness looked at Mike, raising an eyebrow.  "Your girlfriend can burn the city down, is part of the bureau of villainy, and can boss that guy around?" He said, "All I can say is: may Voidus help your future."  

With that, he plunged deeper into the building, hoping the others would follow.

Wolf vanished abruptly, left Mike on the ground.

"She's not my girlfriend."

he replied tonelessly. Bella, a part of this? Bella commanded them all? He had asked her to come, to follow him, she knew he was fighting them, and she had let him go alone. She hadn't told him, instead she had watched the city burn. She had accepted his betrayal, had told him she didn't care. He knew why. Because she didn't care. She had this large scheme, had her own plans. And she knew he had no chance to make a difference. He had endangered his squad for her and it was for nothing. Because she didn't care. He was just a guy that had adored her, and she had liked it.

Mike grabbed a knife, and cut the tattoo off, let the flaming skull fall on the ground.

Wordlessly he followed Darkness inside, a hand pressed to the bleeding wound on his arm.

"Do you have a plan where to go?"

@Vargo Seldon

[Grey Knight]

26 minutes ago, Vargo Seldon said:

Stormbreaker peered down the elevator shaft.  He looked to the Space Marine.  "Yes, it is a choke point, but if me and Hasharan go first, we can hold it long enough for the rest of you to get down.  We're both heavy duty fighters.  I'm more skilled, and he has shardplate.  Together, we can hold it almost indefinitely since we both do not tire."

13 hours ago, Sorana said:

Zokora shrugged.

"I am fine with both. We know, that there are some laboratories on the floors above us. But we don't know if they conducted their experiments below the ground as well."

She quickly typed a message to Lusk.

Do you have any information about the upper floors? Can we see something through the windows?

"I will follow you. In the end we need to clean out the whole building, cellar and tower."

Azrael nodded. "It's decided, then. Stormbreaker goes down, the assassins go up, and the Dark Angels will go both ways. We can cover the most ground that way."

@Vargo Seldon @Sorana