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| Dancing in the Buddha's Palm [Scipio's Solo] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 28 2014, 05:36 PM (2,219 Views) | |
| William Scipio | Dec 28 2014, 05:36 PM Post #1 |
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Dropping his bag and harness where he stood, Scipio unbuckled his modified, seven sword baldric and gently laid it on the ground, the blades rasping slightly as they were jostled. Then, in contrast to the loving nature with which he cared for his blades, Will threw himself to the ground, panting. He kicked the sled that carried the strange old man's package, annoyed that it was almost useless in alleviating his suffering- and the massive weight of whatever was in the bag. Hell, if he wasn’t sure he was immune to such things nowadays, he would have been sure he got himself a hernia when he tried to lift it casually. And if that wasn't a thing, he was pretty sure it would be if he had followed through. After stopping to get a bite, Scipio decided to check out what was in the bag. If it was a bomb, he could probably just dive away from the blast zone. And if it was a gift, like maybe a smart car or a black hole or something (What else could be that heavy?) then yay. He got a present. Drawing Sikanda, Scipio used it to cut off the top of the bag. If it was a bomb, he probably defused the activation mechanism, and if not, then he had in his hands the one thing that was irreplaceable. When death seemed un-imminent, Scipio gingerly lifted what remained of the bag's flap and peered inside. ...Huh? To be honest, Will didn't really know what he had been expected. What he had not been expecting, was clothing. Trying to take the clothing from the bag, Will actually found it easier to simply cut the bag away into nothing, and go from there. Looking at the black jacket with golden trim, belt and shoes, Scipio suddenly got a brilliant idea. Before his brain could catch up to what his mind was thinking, Scipio threaded the belt through his pants, shrugged on the jacket, and laced up the shoes- -only to fall over like the world's heaviest tree. Why did I think this was a good idea, exactly? Will groaned as he struggled under the weight of the vestments. Hell, if he hadn't upgraded his wardrobe with Kevlar threads, the belt alone probably would have just ripped through his pants. And Scipio probably wouldn't have minded. Hell, he couldn't even breathe! Simply lying there on the ground, slightly regretting the idea of even putting these clothes on in the first place (who trusts a random old man, anyways? An idiot like him, that's who!), Scipio finally managed to get his breathing under control, using his Ki to reinforce his body as much as he could, lightening the heavy load on him until little by little, he reduced his power output until he could control the clothing just by physical force alone. "Okay, on three." Scipio tensed his muscles, breathing deeply to maximize his power. "One...Two...Three!" Exploding upwards, Will just managed to get his feet underneath him, standing up proudly. Congratulations, you can stand up like a normal human being. How delightful. Scipio thought sarcastically at the small flutter of happiness in his chest. Still, he had managed to stand up under what felt like tons of weight- literally. Curling his arms to his chest, and slowly raising his knees above his waist, one at a time, Will tried to figure out the full range of motion he had. Hooking the baldric with his foot, using that to kick his swords skyward, Will caught Sikanda in the air, and pulled a second blade from the sheathe before pulling the sheathe onto his back. For the simple exercise he had planned, two blades would be plenty enough. Scipio began to run through several of the forms he had learned throughout his travels, at times switching to one sword, and occasionally attacking with bare hands. Sweat poured off his body in rivulets, making the nearby stream a constant necessity. Still he continued, the blood red blade flashing crimson in the dying sunset, the katana appearing as a falling star. However, at the end of the day, the only one doing the falling was Scipio. He was simply lucky not to have fallen on his swords. And yet, he couldn't help but wonder as he laid there in the grass, why bother with training at all? He was already the most powerful person he knew. He had to constantly hold back his power if he were to ever get any challenge out of his opponents at all. Hell, before Haven, he had even been kicked out of the last tournament he had entered for destroying the arena. Imagine that: he had been kicked out of an underground fighting tournament for being too strong. Let's pause and think about the irony of that for a moment, shall we? Not that Scipio needed to. He had thought well and hard about it. No one would ever challenge him anymore- they were too afraid. Hell, he was afraid of what he could do sometimes. For the past three years he had defined himself by his fighting prowess, but it was rather a Catch-22 when that same prowess meant that he could no longer fight! Shaking his head free of his doubts, Will turned to his swords, lovingly cleaning and polishing each of them in turn until he finally fell asleep against the tree's truck, weighted clothes still on, but no longer so burdened by their weight. --------------------------------------------- WC: 912 Words TWC: 912 Words Edited by William Scipio, Dec 29 2014, 12:05 AM.
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| William Scipio | Dec 28 2014, 06:36 PM Post #2 |
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Waking up the next morning, Scipio stretched, his muscles cramped and sore from sitting against the tree. Jumping up to his feet, he unfortunately forgot that he was still wearing his weighted clothing. As such, it wasn't too much of a surprise (to an observer, at least- he was shocked as hell) when he fell flat on his face. "What the hell was that?" Scipio growled, trying to push himself up. As the unfamiliar black jacket entered his vision, sudden recollection flooded his mind. "Oh. Nevermind, then." He muttered, ashamed at his reaction. Thank God there was no one to see his floundering. Picking up his swords, Scipio sighed, deciding that he might as well go into the next round of training. After all, it's not like he had anything else to do in the middle of a forest. Flowing from form to form, Scipio found his movements were decidedly lighter and faster than the day before, allowing him to achieve far more than he could have dreamed yesterday. With a grin on his face, Scipio decided to begin using the strange powers that he found he possessed, the almost magical abilities called 'Ki.' Breathing in deeply, the foundation of martial arts, Scipio prepared his mind and body for the draining effects of using his Ki Spinning low, as if to avoid an opponent's attack, Will directed his power into his blades, feeling the flow of his life energy even as it reinforced the steel as well as his muscles. Scipio breathed out, even as he swept his arm upwards, slicing through the trunk of the ancient oak as if it were nothing. Like twin scythes, Scipio's blades cut down the trees around him as if they were nothing more than stalks of grain. Grinning even as his muscles burned from the dual drains of the clothing and maintaining the flow of his chi, Scipio decided to rev up his training. Time to move into outward manifestations of power. Even as he cut down yet another tree, Scipio lashed out with his heel, crushing the bark beneath his leg. More importantly, however, the impact had loosed hundreds upon thousands of leaves that now fluttered to the ground. Scipio grinned as he flashed into action. The lancing trails of golden energy flowed down the lengths of the swords in his hands, the points spearing tens of leaves at a time. Simultaneously, the remaining five swords flew out as if with minds of their own. Thrown by Scipio with unerring accuracy, they impaled leaves, an easy visual cue of just how many he had hit so far. Despite his burning muscles and increasingly ragged breath, Scipio pushed himself, desperately trying to better himself. Sweeping an arc with Sikanda, which glowed with vibrant life energy, Will snarled, extending his Ki past the tip of his blades The swords swept upwards, slicing leaves far beyond the apparent length of the sword. Even as he cut through the leaves, leaving wide swathes of destruction matched only by a vegetarian, Scipio felt as if he was on his last legs (because apparently he had more than one set), and was unable to continue his training. Pushing on, burning the hatred of being unable to fight as fuel, and recalling the humiliation of being tormented at the hands of those East Egg bastards from his childhood, Scipio found something from deep inside him able to continue. With a final cry of desperation, Will dropped both his blades, forcing all the Ki he could bring to muster into the palm of his left hand. Sliding into a wide karate stance, and using his right to brace his arm, Will focused his golden energy on his palm, even as his swords came crashing down all around him. Screaming incoherently, Scipio lunged forward, slamming his palm into the trunk of a nearby tree. The golden wave of destruction flew outwards and detonated in the midst of the dead tree. The wave consumed any tree in its wake, eating the life force of any unlucky enough to get in its path. Smirking to himself, even as he fell flat on his back, spread-eagled, Scipio was happy. Somehow, that last attack seemed to burn up all his anger, leaving him with nothing but the sweat on his face and the carpet of ashes around him, proof of his training. Dragging himself to the creek, arms burning with the effort, Scipio lowered his face to the water and took a long draught, nearly drowning himself in the process. As he coughed the water from his lungs, Scipio rolled back to the clearing, his body too tired to do anything else. Only as he looked up and saw the stars, did Will realize that he had been training the entire day, and that night had already descended upon the world. Uttering a silent prayer, Scipio found his eyes irretrievably fixated on the heavens. Please, let there be something else out there. Someone else, who is stronger than I am. Something to make all this training worth it. If not on this planet, then out in the stars. As he closed his eyes for the day, surrounded by the devastation of his handiwork, Scipio decided that he would finish his trek through the forest, and would make his way to the nearest city. It was time to enter another tournament, see if he couldn't help heaven out with his prayer. -------------------------------- WC: 900 Words TWC: 1812 Words |
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| William Scipio | Dec 28 2014, 09:09 PM Post #3 |
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Waking up, Scipio immediately noticed the difference between today and the first minute he put on the weighted clothing. It felt as if he could actually move somewhat normally today. Well, if that's true, then I suppose I might as well get moving! Scipio thought. He spent a moment collecting his things, checking that his swords were well taken care of as always, making sure he had enough food and drink to last through the forest, and with that was on his way. Ducking past the clearing, Scipio started with a light jog, at first wincing as with every step the jacket and belt would hop up slightly, only to slam back against his body with all the crushing force of gravity. Still, Scipio soon got used to the motion, and it ceased paining him a few minutes into his trek. My God, I am going to be a flash of light by the time I'm done with this clothing. Gotta love that crazy old man, huh? Scipio thought with a grin, the simple joy spreading throughout his limbs and increasing his pace accordingly. Leaping over a fallen log (one that was not his fault, for once), Scipio laughed with the pleasure of the exercise, all dark musings on the uselessness of training banished from his mind. Hey, let's see if we can fly, shall we? Scipio thought, the grin plastered on his face now stretching from ear to ear. Putting his head down and pumping his legs like pistons, Scipio started to sprint, trying to reach the top speed he wanted to take off with these clothes. It was difficult to keep a top speed with all the forest debris in his way, however, and sweat began to stream off Will's body as he loped and vaulted over the natural forest obstacle course. Finally, Will found something resembling a clearing, and decided that it was now or never for takeoff. So with three more ground eating hops, Scipio pushed off with all of his strength. Though it taxed his body, leaping with all his might every time he hit the ground, it was incredibly exhilarating, like being Superman. Well, I am leaping large buildings in single bounds, Scipio grinned. He felt like he was on top of the world. ...Or at least he was, until a stray branch caught his foot and threw him into a Mayday tumble of death. "Oh, shit!" Scipio screamed as the world spun around and around. Cradling his head in his arms, protecting that which was most important, Scipio curled into the fetal position, trying to minimize the area of his body that could be struck as much as possible. Scipio felt his back slam against something hard and firm- an oak tree, perhaps- before he heard the sound of splintering wood and dying nature, and continued well through the tree, as well as several other. That was the nice part of these clothes: they made him into something akin to a human cannonball, even if he could barely move in them. And here I thought being heavy was just a burden. Well, I guess I was wrong, huh. Scipio found his mind wandering in a rare moment of non-impact. Scipio hit the ground and skipped across the hard dirt like a flat stone across a pond. After committing several more herbicides in the first degree, he finally rolled to a stop. Opening his eyes slightly, still curled into a ball, Will couldn't help but laugh at the sheer destruction he had caused, as opposed to his apparent state of unharmed perfection. Well, as long as I'm glued to the ground, I might as well do some more training. Because that apparently was how this battle maniac's brain worked. Oh, I just took a tumble a few hundred feet long? Better start on those pushups! Still, work he did, and if he thought that the sweat poured off his body before, then this was just ridiculous. Scipio steamed in the relative chill, his body fighting every ounce that the weighted clothes put on it. Grinning, he dug his fingers into the ground, grabbing (no pun intended) every possible advantage and support that he could. Finally finishing the workout, Scipio simply fell spread-eagled on the ground, panting heavily as his body looked as if it would catch fire any moment. He stayed like this for a little while longer before slowly standing back up and continuing on his way to West City. ------------------------------------------------------ Word Count: 745 Words Total Word Count: 2557 Words |
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| William Scipio | Dec 28 2014, 11:54 PM Post #4 |
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Waking up, Scipio couldn't help but groan. Seriously? Can I not walk for five minutes in these freakin' things before falling asleep? Rolling over, Scipio looked right into the eyes of a wolf. While on this planet there could be some crazy things- Scipio was pretty sure he had once flown over a live dinosaur- this wolf was charmingly normal. The case could be made, however, that it was kinda weird that the animal wasn't chewing Will's face off, but he was willing to overlook this. Still, the wolf decided that it wanted to be normal by wolf standards, and Will was not willing to overlook that. Punching upwards, his mobility incredible after 80 hours of wearing these restrictive clothes, the wolf learned a horrible hands-on lesson of Newton's second law. Will's arm was heavy as hell and fast to boot. The Wolf is not so heavy and so was became the first of his species to fly... for a few seconds, anyways. Whimpering, the wolf scampered away the moment it got its feet under it. Chuckling slightly to himself, face ungnawed, Scipio hopped off his back, this time landing on his feet. Dusting himself off, he peered into the distance, trying to check out how far he had gotten this time before conking out for the night. Or day. It felt like Scipio had been out for a whole lot longer than just nine hours, and it would be oh so much easier to figure out if he had any memory of when he passed out. Shrugging, unable to figure out just where he was, Will spun around, ready for another day of walking. However, after a mere ten steps, Scipio had put yet another foot in front of the other... ...and stared downwards into eternity as his step plunged him over a cliff's edge. His flight instinct immediately kicking in, Will slammed his feet into the cliff's face, managing to bury his feet in the rockface. Trying to stop his heart from exploding in his chest, Will simply stood there for a moment, before slowly flying back up to the clifftop. Just because you can fly doesn't mean you still aren't scared shitless everytime you see a fall like that. Panting spread-eagled on the ground, staring up at the sky, it was some time before Will could gather himself. Flopping onto his stomach, Will covered his eyes from the sun using his palm, and strained his vision, looking for any landmarks at all to hint at his position in this wilderness. "Oh hey, that's West City right there!" Will said excitedly, jumping to his feet. Bracing himself, Will crouched down, ready to throw himself off the cliff and pray that he didn't go splat the way down. But then he got a better idea. Swinging himself down to the sheer rock facade, Will grinned at his own brilliance. As a final test of his newfound prowess, he would rock climb down the cliff. Everyone knew that climbing down was hellishly difficult as compared to up, so if he could do this he was set. From the moment he stopped supporting his body with flight, Will could feel his every muscle and sinew screaming in pain, begging him to stop. Will simply replied, 'hold on!' Foot, foot, hand hand... foot, foot, hand, hand... the pattern repeated itself ad infinitivum. Twice already Will had slipped, forcing him to thrust his entire hand through the rock face and use that to brace himself. His forearms felt like jelly, and every muscle was strained to breaking point. Did I fail to mention the man was only halfway down the cliff? Yeah. This was a very, very, very, very stupid idea. Why was he doing this again? Why even bother when you're probably the strongest being on the planet, anyways? What was the bloody point- "Shut up!" Scipio screamed. Birds fluttered away, frightened at the sudden noise as Will took in a deep breath, rage now propelling his movements. Speeding up, Will did everything he could to silence the thoughts rebounding inside his skull. There had to be some reason he was training so hard. It didn't matter if he had no idea what it was now- it just had to exist. That was the whole reason he was heading to West City to begin with, wasn't it? To find out if there was someone on this cardboard and styrofoam Earth of his who could pose a challenge. Capsule Corp could find them. Finally, rage could no longer power Scipio's body. Will's hand, cramping with pain and frustration, and slicked with sweat, slipped from the rockface, his arm flying backwards. That was all the overweight jacket needed to throw off Will's balance and send him hurtling to the ground. Cursing, Scipio slammed his foot into the rockface, sheer determination holding him together. He would be damned if he would quit his training just from this. Or at least, that's what Will thought, until his back slammed into the dirt. Winded, Will just laid there, coughing and rolling as best as he could with one of his legs stuck in a mountain. Here I was, so pumped to finish climbing this mountain, and I don't even notice the ground a foot below me. Somehow, Scipio found this incredibly funny, and couldn't stop laughing. Naturally, this did not help his breathing problem. A few minutes later, Scipio finally collected himself enough to get his breathing under control. Ripping his foot out of the mountainside, Will shakily stood up, and began to totter forward. With every step, he became more and more confident, until his jelly legs felt like they could actually support his weight without staggering like those of some drunk's. Almost there...Almost made it. Scipio thought as he closed in on West City, nearing the end of his journey. Scipio laughed as he continued onward, his body slowly gathering more energy as he ran faster and faster. He knew that he would soon pay for this boost of energy, but for now he was flying high (figuratively) and was going to do everything he could before he collapsed. If that was to include sprinting the rest of the way to West City, and possibly up the side of Capsule Corp's main building, then so be it. Maybe I should attack the King's Guard? They're powerful, right? To Scipio's elated brain, this actually sounded like a half-decent idea. Being without battle for so long was like anathema to Scipio; he needed it as much as he needed sleep. After a week stuck inside that miserable forest, fighting, running, flying, and climbing with the ridiculously heavy training gear, a sprint through relatively flat lands was a cakewalk. Just on the outskirts of West City, Scipio took a break, lying down so as to give his muscles some form of rest before he entered Capsule Corps' home town. Reaching into his pack, Scipio pulled out all the food stores he had planned to use for his journey. It was going to be a feast. Gnawing on some beef jerky, and cracking open a can of tuna, Scipio slowly sharpened Sikanda, the familiar, repetitive motion calming his nerves. Okay, so maybe attacking the King of Earth is not the best of ideas. Should I challenge them to a duel? No, they might force me to join them. Maybe I can try my hand at being a bodyguard? Hell, the entire job description is fighting tough guys. It would be worth it if just one of those guys had any power to them whatsoever. Disliking his current train of thought, but keeping the idea stored away for later, Scipio flipped over to his stomach and began to churn out pushups and the like, determined to get the max effort from his muscles before they caved under the weight of his vestments. Actually, maybe I could just get a ridiculously heavy version of these clothes. If I'm lucky, they might just slow me down enough to make the average fighter a challenge! This idea had a certain appeal to Will, but he decided to put it on the backburner, as he dug into his final can of food and popped the top of an energy drink. Chugging it, Scipio stood up once more, flipping Sikanda into its sheath. Alright. Final push. Let's do this, shall we? Grinning, Scipio slowly fell into a sprinter's stance. Taking off, Scipio laughed at the simple joy of running. He finally had a goal in mind, and several plans to bring it about. Life was looking up for the battlefiend. Panting slightly, Scipio pumped his legs like pistons, his arms blurring to keep up. There was always someone better than you were, and C.C. could help Will find that person. These happy thoughts circled around and around, chasing each other as Will finally made his way into West City. Slowing down to a jog (partially so that he didn't get a ticket- again) Will quickly made his way to C.C.'s main building. Not that this was difficult- even if he hadn't stopped for directions, the damned thing was the biggest building in the city. What was a problem, however, was the fact that the security guard "didn't like the look of him" and threw Scipio out the door. To be fair, Scipio still had all seven of his swords, but the guys there had guns! Come on, people! Walking around to the backside of the building, Scipio rubbed his hands together. He had seen a map of the building's layout on the way here, and he had found where the main office was. The only problem was that it was at the very top of the building. No matter. Scipio had learned how to deal with this in the wilderness. And so, defying pathetic concepts like 'reason' and 'logic,' Scipio grabbed hold of a steel outrigging, swung himself onto a perfect seam running up the building, and began to climb. About 15 minutes into his upward climb, Scipio wanted to scream. "Whoever told me climbing down was harder than climbing up was a filthy freakin' liar." He muttered, pushing off the seam and grabbing onto a windowsill by the tips of his fingers. It crossed his mind that perhaps the person hadn't climbed down a mountainside before climbing up, or hadn't tried to free climb up the side of a building, but these thoughts were thrown out as 'unimportant,' and 'likely to cause me to fall to my death.' Bunching up his muscles, Scipio soared upwards, his jump propelling him to the next story's window. From there, Scipio took a break. Next was the hardest part of all: the sphere at the top. While the sphere meant he could walk the last hundred feet or so, it also meant that he had to climb upside down. Taking a deep breath, Scipio swung his arms back and jumped upwards once more, his hands hooking into the sill of a long window. Clenching his teeth, Will wedged his body inside the window sill, his feet completely useless for this next portion. Bracing himself in the long, curving chimney, Will slowly inched himself upwards, using the window braces available every couple inches or so. Sweat streamed from his forehead, tormenting him. Any move that wouldn't immediately lead to his slow ascent would quickly lead to a rather fast descent. And so Scipio powered through these minor torments, even when his left shoulder cramped, nearly throwing him from the side of the building. But still Will would not allow himself the comfort of flight. Hell, he wasn't entirely sure he could do it with the gear, anyways. Not without a running start. But willpower would get him through all the same. Finally, the sphere started to level out, meaning that the journey was almost over. Good. Rest was almost at hand. Ten more minutes passed until Will had made it to the executive suite. Unable to knock on the window without slipping, Scipio resorted to headbutting the glass until a man wearing spectacles opened the window, shocked. Scipio tumbled through gratefully, his muscles in heaven at the inactivity. Still, Will had one final job, the reason he came here to begin with. "Hello there. My name's William Scipio. I'm sorry to ask so suddenly, but could you do me a favor and kiss my ass?" Will started with a smile. The old man looked at Will, startled. ”Wha-what? What are you talking ab-“ Laughing, Scipio said, ”End Simulation,” and watched as the world winked out around him. ”Ohh God, I was afraid for a minute there that the poor hologram was gonna short-circuit! Oh that was just too good!” Scipio laughed as the world phased back to normal, his training facility ending the hologram training. Rubbing his neck, Scipio was amazed at just how lifelike the weight on his body had felt. He had seen the ‘weighted clothing’ option when playing with the settings, but he had never expected it to be able to feel so real. Stripping his clothes off in the training room, Scipio grabbed the bottle of whiskey he had left outside the door, heading for the showers. You know, I really hope Marcus didn’t schedule another meet & greet tour that he didn’t tell me about, Scipio thought, remembering the last time that happened when he was walking to the shower. Sure, the 18 year old daughter enjoyed every second of it, but her father was pissed. Anyways, he was in *my* house! What good is it if a man can’t walk around naked in his own damned house? He thought, swigging from the bottle in his hand as he snapped his fingers, turning on his shower, the water turning itself to just the perfect temperature. ”God I love technology!” Scipio murmured as he cleansed himself of the day’s training. Stepping from the shower, being dried by currents of air, Scipio put on a golden bathrobe with black trim, and that damned coat of arms that Marcus had made for him on the back. Scipio had to admit, as overdone as he thought all this was, damned if he didn’t approve of the ostentation just a little bit. Throwing himself down on the couch, booze completely unshaken, Scipio looked out at his view of Haven. From the high rise, he could see the entire city, all the way up to the forest. ”So, let’s find out what trouble we can get into today!” He declared. --------------------------------- Word Count: 2,419 Words Total Word Count: 4,976 Words Edited by William Scipio, Dec 28 2014, 11:59 PM.
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| William Scipio | Jan 7 2015, 07:29 PM Post #5 |
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Quickly dressing, Scipio holstered as many knives as he could under his clothes, and then added one of those cool- looking whip like swords as a belt, the leather sheath acting to camouflage it, as well as ensuring Will didn’t cut himself into cheese every time he sat down. Even his belt buckle was traded out for one that had a little switchblade built into the middle. Where Scipio was going, he was going in loaded for bear. Cracking his neck, Scipio grinned savagely to himself. He was going to enjoy this, because today was day one in hunting down those ‘Order of the Golden Dawn’ Bastards. Ordering up room service, knowing that there wouldn’t be much time for food or drink once the hunt itself began Scipio grabbed a nearby book as he waited for night to fall. He had gotten some information from an old Merc friend whom he had asked to look up where these guys could be found, and apparently the man had found some solid intel. Straightening the bowtie on his suit, Scipio realized he hated how he looked- all dressed up to the nines, feeling as fake as can be- but he knew that he had to look like this, if he were to have any chance in the slightest of finding these bastards that dared hide from him, the so called ‘golden dawn.’ So, putting on a big damn fake smile, Will checked himself out one more time in the mirror, grinning if not at his appearance, then at his deceit, and set off, calling for a limousine as the elevator doors closed behind him. Stepping out of the limo, Scipio ran his fingers through his ruffled hair, straightening it as he bid a fond farewell to the women in the back seat, telling the driver to take them wherever they said was home. Putting his clothes in order, wiping the lipstick from his cheek, Scipio received many knowing smirks as he buttoned up his suitcoat and strode into the casino, an evil grin slowly growing on his face as he contemplated the best way to raise hell. Deciding that careless drunk was always a good way to do it, Scipio ordered a double whiskey on the rocks, before grabbing his drink and heading over to the tables, stumbling ever so slightly. Taking a large draft of his drink, Scipio headed over to the highest ante poker table and smiled obliviously at the pit master. ”Got an open seat, brother?” He slurred, sitting down without waiting for an answer, slamming his drink down on the table, just barely managing to keep from spilling any. ”Oh man, that was close, huh? Even if the booze is free here, I’d hate t’ waste it, nahwhaImean?” Scipio breathed heavy liquor into the face of one of his fellow players, and immediately every shark there smelled blood in the water. If only they realized that it was theirs. Leaning forward as one, the players asked the pit master to deal all of them in. Nodding, the man expected Scipio to be a minor cash front for all of them. Unfortunately for the group, Scipio was lucky as could be, and when he wasn’t, he left nothing to chance. Moving faster than the eye could follow, Scipio marked which players had the slightest facial twitch, stealing their cards and adding to his own hand before they knew what had happened. All they would know is that they would feel a slight draft before their Jack of Hearts became a 2 of Clubs, completely ruining their lovely royal flush. It must have been absolutely infuriating, seeing the absolutely wasted drunk who just arrived at their table and kept ordering drink after drink clean house like he was the damn janitor. Laughing at yet another win, his stack of chips quickly growing, Scipio decided to start laying down his trap. ”Oh God, the chips are just rollin’ m-my way, hhhhhuh? Glad I got a big enough payroll t-t’ play with the big boys, nahwhaI’msayin’? Anyways, ‘M celebratin’ ‘cause I got rrrrrreal lucky earlier- sold some info on some dumb bastards called ‘The Golden Dawn,’ or summat like dat. Anyways, it was worth waaaaaaaay too much money to rat ‘em out, but I’m nnnnot supposed to tell anyone, so shhhhhhhhh.” Scipio smiled obliviously, a drunk sharing secrets he never should have possessed in the first place, and never should have mentioned if he wanted to live. Most of the time. After his little speech, Scipio saw the pit master radio in something on his earpiece, and from there, it didn’t take very long for the men in black to come for Scipio. “Excuse me, sir, could you please come with us for a bit?” Scipio pouted. ”B-but I’m wwwwwinning? Can I at least come b-back to my chips?” He stuffed a few into his pocket for emphasis. The speaking man sighed. “Yes, your chips will be here when you come back, ready to color up or trade in as you desire. Now, please come follow.” Like an obedient puppy, Scipio was close behind, tottering and stumbling as necessary to keep up his spell of illusion, swiping a drink from a nearby waiter’s tray as he did so. Say what you will about this deadly den of dissolution- it had damn fine alcohol in it. Having been pulled basically by the guards at the end of their journey, Scipio was unceremoniously thrown to the ground in front of their boss, the lunatic swordsman managing to finish his drink before hitting the plush rug on the ground. ”Ow! Wha’ wuz dat for!”” Scipio said indignantly, really playing up the confused drunk. ”Leave us.” the man in the playboy white tux commanded, never once turning around as he took a sip from his own drink, watching his monitors carefully for other cheaters. The two men turned around sharply and marched out, never once questioning their boss. Scipio was impressed and the tiniest bit excited. He must have been somewhat powerful if they weren’t worried at all about leaving a potentially drunk crazy man with him. Or he had a gun. Scipio was less happy about the second possibility, and so hoped it was wrong, even if it was the more likely option. Standing up unsteadily, Scipio dusted himself off as the man turned around, laying a glock down on the table, pointing at Scipio. Dammit. It was a gun after all. For a moment, I had so hoped it was gonna be Ki. Scipio sighed. ”You can drop the act now, Mr. Scipio. We know who you are and what you are here for. There is only one person outside our Order who knows we exist, and that is you, though we thought you had died during your madcap raid of Haverford’s operations.” Scipio stiffened slightly as his disguise was completely seen through, his every sense on edge and straining for an attack. The white coat before him placed both hands on his table and leaned his slight frame on them before continuing. ”I must really thank you for that, by the way- the man was an insufferable buffoon, and was beginning to lose us money. You came along just in time.” Scipio smirked, his normal dark sense of humor bleeding through. ”Oh? Can I collect a consultancy fee, then?” The man before him shrugged before taking out a PDA. ”Very well, I suppose- you did do us a service. Shall we say…3 million zeni? No, let’s go 5 million- you saved us a massive amount of profits, after all. Which account would you like this to be wired to? And don’t bother giving us a fake routing number or a burner account- we know all your accounts, and how would you get your money then?” Scipio’s jaw dropped, though not because they knew his finances or the amount of money offered. ”Oh my God. And here I thought that fucking Haverford or whatever was just a goddamned moron, but you blind fucks just don’t get it, do you? I had to kill someone I truly liked because of you bastards, and you think you’re gonna get off easy, just like that? Just 5 mil and you’re off the hook?” Scipio laughed. ”I told Haverford, and now I’ll tell you: Blood will pay for blood, mate. Tell me where your friends are and it will be a clean death, I promise you that much.” The man shook his head and rolled his eyes. ”My God, you are exactly as droll as I imagined you would be. Since negotiations have clearly broken down, shall we continue this on another day?” Scipio reached into a sleeve and pulled out a knife. ”I think not. Instead, I’d like to raise the stakes, if you cat-“ Scipio was cut off as he was immediately enveloped by a massive blast of lime-green Ki. ”What was that? I couldn’t hear you over the sounds of your disintegration, bastard! Ahahahaha!” The playboy laughed maniacally, as he threw out Ki with reckless abandon. After he had put his hand down, brushing off his suit, muttering, ”Well, that was invigorating,” the casino owner stood there, slackjawed, as he saw Scipio standing in the middle of the blast radius, with his tuxedo not even the slightest bit ruffled. Lowering his psychokinetic shield, Scipio smirked. ”What, that’s the best you got?” Scipio blurred out of reality for a moment, before appearing before the playboy, grabbing the man by the face, Scipio’s eyes revealing their trademark psychotic battle glint. ”Shall I show you how to really use Ki?” Will sneered, before turning around and throwing the owner through the wall into the casino. Stepping through, pulling out his belt sword, Scipio whipped his arm across his body, cleaving the first man to come his way in half. He vaulted over the second one, wrapping the flexible whip sword around the man’s arm before pulling, disarming him in the most pun-like aggravating way possible. Knives flew through the air, targeting others who were drawing guns. ”Everybody out! Casino’s closed for the night!” Scipio snarled, sticking his palm out and firing a golden Ki blast that leveled several of the slot machines and an ice sculpture of a swan. ”Enjoying your lesson, fucker? Shall I continue?” Scipio roared, laying waste to the Order’s casino, not harming the innocents but brutally dispatching any that dared stand against him, before all that remained was the boss’s office and a few patches here and there where the ceiling still stood. Panting slightly, Scipio stalked over to where the playboy boss was playing dead, his leg trapped under a support beam. Smiling sadistically, Scipio grabbed the man by his face, lifting him up. Scipio heard the leg snap as the beam refused to give way. ”Now, I’m going to ask you only once, because I know you have it: Gimme the info on your boss. Otherwise…well, I’ll let your imagination fill you in on what will happen, shall I?” Scipio smirked as he turned sideways, allowing the casino owner to see what had become of his precious moneymaker. The moment he saw the damage Scipio had wreaked, the fight went out of the man’s eyes like a dying light. He reached into his pocket and silently pulled out a flash drive, handing it over to Scipio. ”Thank you kindly.” ”You-you’re gonna let me go, right?” he asked, his voice muffled by Scipio’s hand. Scipio merely smiled beatifically. ”Blood will pay for blood.” Ignoring the man’s desperate screaming, Scipio fired off a final Ki blast, obliterating the man’s head, and dropping the body to the floor with a final slump. Walking over to the boss’ nearby computer, Scipio plugged in the flash drive, pulled up the files, and whistled at the results. ”Order of Golden Dawn, you naughty, naughty boys…Providing funding to the BBA? Tch tch tch…that won’t end well for you, but now I can at least justify this to Gatz.” Scipio pulled out his new cell phone from his pocket, quickly dialing the first number that popped up on screen. ”Yeah. Scar? Mhm. Gather the Crows together. Tell them that hunting season’s starting early this year.” ---------------------------------------------- Word Count: 2025 Words Total Word Count: 7,001 Words. So...Close... Edited by William Scipio, Jan 8 2015, 03:20 AM.
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| William Scipio | Jan 9 2015, 08:22 PM Post #6 |
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![]() Scipio sat in the wreckage of the casino, pouring himself a cup of wine from the owner’s private cache, humming as the few sprinklers that still worked sprayed everything but him, courtesy of his telekinesis. Here, in this district of town, the police didn’t respond even to the wealthiest of citizens, giving up the entire area as lost to the gangs and internal corruption. Gatz would hate hearing that, so Scipio reckoned he was just doing the boss another favor, wiping this place off the damned map. Scipio raised the glass to his lips and took a sip as his Crows assembled before him. ”Damn…you really took this place to hell and back, huh, boss?” Drake sneered, kicking a fallen support beam. He snapped his fingers, and as one, the sprinklers all shut off, allowing the Crows to remain dry. Alice looked around and nodded. ”I almost feel sorry for them- though they must have done something horrible to earn your wrath!” Alice was quick to rectify her statement, not wanting to even insinuate that Will might have been in the wrong. Felix merely looked around in distaste. Scipio could clearly tell that the soft-spoken and soft-hearted mercenary probably wished that Scipio had not taken so much apparent pleasure in his rampage, but knew that even if he did go overboard most of the time, Scipio shared many of his goals and was never without reason in any act of violence. ”At least he did it in style.” Alexander laughed, and Arthur nodded silently. Scipio grinned evilly. ”Damn straight- I do everything in style. And you’re right- they took something of mine. And no one steals from a Crow.” ”So then, what’s the plan, boss?” Anastasia asked quietly, speaking up for the first time. Standing up, Scipio slowly tilted what was left in his wine glass onto the floor. The crimson fluid arced through the air like a rivulet of blood, staining the carpet. ”We bleed them dry, take them for everything they have, and make them wish they had never earned our ire.” Scipio threw the flash drive to Drake, who immediately plugged it into a PDA he had in his back pocket. The psychokinetic whistled. ”Daaaaaamn… they got their fingers in everything, huh? Looks like they gotta be living like kings. We’re gonna fix that, right?” Scipio grinned as he walked over the table, walking on thin air just as easily as if there was an invisible path of glass just under every step he took. Gently touching down in front of his subordinates, Scipio nodded slightly before smirking and continuing past his team. As one, they all fell in step behind him, forming a V with Scipio at the apex. Exiting the casino, the door comically falling to pieces just as the last of their group made it through, Scipio whistled at the sight before him. ”We got a fucking helicopter?” Anastasia laughed slightly at Will’s incredulity. ”Mr. Gatz has…very deep pockets.” Scipio flashed her a grin, immediately digging into his bag of comebacks. ”As long as you keep your hands out of those pockets, woman- he’s a married man!”” Alice pouted at the easygoing banter between the two old friends, Drake muttered something under his breath about Scipio ‘being a goddamned easygoing playboy,’ and Anastasia merely raised an eyebrow and laughed as the Crows boarded the helicopter, ready to raise hell. ------------------------------------------------- As the chopper silently flew its way to the destination, the light disappearing from the sky as they rushed the horizon, Scipio closed his eyes, allowing the sounds of the back-and-forth conversations and stingers float past his ears, the group relaxing just before the dawn of combat. He managed to get some shut-eye before the conversation ”So, Will, why are we going after these…what were they called again? Order of the Golden Dawn?” Scipio didn’t even bother opening his eyes to answer Felix’s question. ”I told you- they took something of mine and broke it. More importantly, they used me like a goddamned tool to do it.” Scipio chuckled before continuing, opening his eyes and leaning forward. ”Plus, thanks to that itty bitty flash drive I showed ya, we have proof that these fucks are financing the other fucks stupid enough to fuck with us.” Arthur raised an eyebrow. ”You…really love that word, huh?” Scipio grinned. ”When you’ve got such an incredibly versatile word in the English language as ‘fuck,’ a word that can go absolutely fuckin’ anywhere in anything, even in the middle of another god-fucking-damned word…well, it seems a shame not to use it!” “Sir! We’re almost at the drop zone!” Immediately all business, Scipio began to issue orders to his team. ”Alright, codenames only from here on out- we take everything we can, give them nothing to use against us. Cheshire, you’re with Midnight. Merlin’s with Camelot, and Wonderland’s with me. Cheshire, get to a tower and make it yours. I don’t wanna hear their ugly ass voices at all. Shadewalker, cover our entrance- pick off any snipers, then when the coast is clear, meet us inside and head for security, open this bitch up wide for us. I wanna own this goddamned place by the time we leave, and I want them to know it. You’ve all got your assignments. Damn radio silence- talk whenever the hell you want, and flood the channels as you do so. I want them to know we’re here, and I want them to know that we’re here to stay.” Scipio put on the terrifying mask of the Blood Crow’s battle armor, turning from the easygoing playboy into a grim specter of death. Darkness flooded his vision before the HUD popped up, throwing reams of information at him. ”And Crows?” ![]() ”Make sure they know Death has come for them.” ---------------------------------------------------------- Word Count: 969 Words Total Word Count: 7,970 Words Edited by William Scipio, Jan 9 2015, 08:23 PM.
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| William Scipio | Jan 10 2015, 06:09 AM Post #7 |
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Scipio watched as his group prepared for the jump, and grinned beneath the mask. ”Feet first into hell, and hope you manage to fly on the way! That’s how the Crows do it!” Scipio called, before spreading his arms like a preaching prophet and allowing himself to slowly topple backwards out of the aircraft. Casually twisting around in midair so that his feet were the first to hit ground, Scipio slammed into the dry and cracked earth like some vengeful god, descended from the heavens for some Old Testament levels of smiting. His group touched down a bit more delicately, the Redgrave brothers flying down with their expert Ki manipulation, and Drake carrying everyone else down with his Telekinesis. ”Let’s begin, shall we?” Scipio darted through the clearing, the Crows close behind. Calling a general halt at the edge of the clearing, Scipio nodded at Cheshire, waiting for him to sneak his way over to the tower. A minute was all it took. ”Bladedancer, tower’s ours. They ain’t calling anyone tonight. Light them up.” Smirking beneath the mask, Scipio stepped out into the clearing, sticking his hand out for a gun. Wonderland was kind enough to hand him her arm, which transformed into a shotgun the moment it was disconnected from her shoulder. Cocking it with a single arm, Scipio spun the weapon around until the trigger was close at hand, and fired three times before handing it back to Wonderland. ”Thanks, love.” The cyborg merely blushed as she took her arm back, the entire base now wide awake and terrified. Scipio strode into the middle of the field, under the emergency lights, and laughed as the bullets pinged off him, deflected by his armor or telekinesis. Walking through the hail of bullets with as much ease as one might walk through the rain, Scipio raised both arms as if questioning, ‘is this all you got?’ before advancing, indefatigable. The lead storm slowly petered out until there was only silence, at which point the other Blood Crows stepped out, all wearing the armor, their masks like faceless skulls, omens of death and destruction. Activating the broad speaker in his suit, Scipio simply said, ”My turn.” Disappearing from sight, Scipio reappeared behind the common soldiers, blades raised like the executioner’s axe. Two swings, two deaths, and the Blood Crows sprang into action as a unit, seeding death and terror amongst the ranks of the Golden Dawn rank and file. Shots rang out as Shadewalker took out any that might attempt to pick off a Crow from afar, the sky lit up like daybreak as Merlin fired blast after blast of blood red Ki, his brother glowing with a lime green light as he gathered Ki and fed it to his brother. Soldiers flew hundreds of feet into the air before breaking on the ground like dolls, courtesy of Cheshire, and many soldiers were cleaved in half by the sheer air pressure exuded by Wonderland’s massive poleaxe. Midnight floated across the battlefield, not so much dodging or attacking as seeming to be just where he needed to be at any given time, as if he could predict and anticipate the actions of all those within his sight. And Scipio? Well, Scipio danced through the night like this was all some elaborate ceremony, blurring as he moved between targets, always killing as efficiently as possible, every stroke of the sword lethal, never once missing a target. Like a machine, the Blood Crows scythed down the opposition until there was no one outside, and only giant cargo bay doors separated the Crows from the inside of the gargantuan base. ”It’s so adorable, how they think this can hold us out.” Merlin chuckled as he held up a single hand, palm glowing like fire. ”Try to leave something standing afterwards, will you?”” Scipio chuckled. Merlin smirked beneath his mask. ”We’ll see.” he said, firing a massive Ki laser and absolutely obliterating the door. Stepping through, Scipio shrugged. ”Well, at least the walls are still standing. More than I was expecting, really. Good job on holding back for once.” Alex laughed. ”It’s a man’s right to show off, isn’t it?” Scipio rolled his eyes before entering the hallway, travelling it with his vision for a moment, before seeing that it split into three parts. ”Alright, this is where we part, ladies and gentlemen. Merlin and Camelot, take the left, hit up the R&D labs. Kill the researchers, download their work then destroy the databases. Midnight and Cheshire, you’re on barracks to the right. I hate surprises, so make sure to get rid of anyone who might be able to challenge us. Shadewalker, feel free to mosey your way up over here and head up to the security room. Do what you do best, love. Wonderland? We got ourselves some brass to execute.” The Crows as one nodded before splitting up to complete their assigned tasks. Scipio walked forward, Wonderland in tow. Any time a heavy door closed in their face, Scipio would merely incline his head at it, Wonderland demolishing the thickest of steel plating with a single swing of her poleaxe. ”Shaaaaadewaaaaaaaalker…. Any time you wanna open up these doors would be great. I ain’t doing shit, but I’m getting tired of these hissy bitches hiding like they think it’s gonna save them. You working on that at all, or are you busy with your nails?” Scipio grinned as he heard Shadewalker tching over the radio. ”Sorry about that, boss- I was actually fixing my hair, and though I don’t expect you to know this, it actually takes some work to look this gorgeous. By the way, after this mission, can I use some of your product? I know you have some, you narcissist- I’ve seen you with a straightener before.” Scipio patiently listened to the sounds of combat on the other end of the line. ”Hey, no slob’s ever gotten a woman to come home with him. Gotta look good at all times, on good days and bad. Though I gotta say- even with sex hair I am always goddamned attractive.” Scipio laughed, slouching down against a nearby wall, waving at Wonderland to stop murdering the steel plating in front of them before taking off his mask, enjoying the fresh air for a second. Pulling out a cuban cigar from what was supposed to be an ammunition bag, Scipio stuck it in his mouth, Wonderland removing the tip on her pinky finger to reveal a lighter. Smiling gratefully at the cyborg, Scipio took a deep drag, and the two of them sat there in amiable silence, waiting for the damned doors to open already. --------------------------------- Word Count: 1113 Words Total Word Count: 9,083 Words |
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| William Scipio | Jan 11 2015, 09:28 PM Post #8 |
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Anastasia’s Story![]() Watching as her boss boldly strode out into the clearing, his Ki control and sheer output leagues above anyone else in the Blood Crows, Anastasia shook her head slowly before darting over to a nearby radio tower she saw, one jutting off the top of a building, marveling at her own Ki control as she did so. A month ago, she thought that Scipio had finally gone off the deep end, talking about ‘Ki Control’ and ‘an ability that bordered on magic.’ Too many hits to the head, or perhaps finally the soldier’s curse, PTSD, had finally gotten to him. But after realizing the inhuman abilities that the swordsman had regularly flaunted, even in the beginning of his mercenary career, Anastasia had slowly come around to learning how to use her body’s natural Ki flow from her old friend, and was amazed at the results. Once she was human. Now? Well, now she somewhat understood some of Scipio’s joking claims to demigod status: her body felt lighter, faster, stronger; every blow she delivered could kill a building, never mind a man, should she not reign in her power, her every step could clear a city block should she not moderate herself. It was like being in one of those old comic books that Damien, her brother, liked so much growing up. Reaching the top of the building, Anastasia actually laughed as two men stationed there dared to attack her. Unslinging the black case from her back, Anastasia used it like a weapon of mass destruction, using the sling holding it as a focal point and the case itself like a mace, caving in both of their skulls with no difficulty whatsoever. Scaling the radio tower like a spider, Anastasia hooked both legs around a small support beam and hung upside down, building her sniper rifle with trained hands. Plugging in her music player, Anastasia began to sing along to Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust,’ wildly off-key the entire time. She didn’t even come close to hitting a single note- but neither did she even come within a hairline of missing her targets, either. Every shot rang out in time to the music, each bullet finding its way between the eyes of yet another poor sniper or lookout, her Ki training having massively increased her senses and accuracy, as well as her general aptitude in nearly every area of life (except, again, for her unholy cacophonous singing). *Bang* *Bang* Bang* ”Another one bites the dust~” *Bang* ”And another one gone” *Bang* ”And another one gone” *Bang* ”Another one bites the dust!” Looking around for any more that might dare challenge her team and seeing no one, Anastasia broke down her beloved rifle, lovingly slotting each piece into its home in the black case on her back before unhooking her legs, dropping down the 100 meter high tower as easily and confidently as if it were merely 100 centimeters off the ground, and landing just as softly and silently. Ki truly is a miracle, isn’t it? Can’t believe that crazy bastard was hiding this from me all that time. Silently making her way through the shadows, her every step earning her nickname as she slid by the opposition, ending their lives without them ever knowing they were in danger, Anastasia infiltrated the base, kicking in an air vent and crawling through, leaving her rifle behind, but making a mental note where it was so as to come back for it later. Army crawling her way through the base, Anastasia froze at the soldiers beneath her, grinning as they talked worriedly about the infiltration of the base. ”Oh Shaaaaaaaaaaadewaaaaaaaaalker~” She heard over the radio, and she wasn’t the only one to hear it, either. The guards, suddenly looking up, brought their guns to bear. ”Shit!” She shrieked, flailing to rip a hole in the ceiling to allow her some space to drop through and dodge. ”What? What could you possibly want right now?” She yelled into her microphone, backflipping and side stepping to avoid the hail of bullets that came her way. ”Shaaaaadewaaaaaaaalker…. Any time you wanna open up these doors would be great. I ain’t doing shit, but I’m getting tired of these hissy bitches hiding like they think it’s gonna save them. You working on that at all, or are you busy with your nails?” Shutting off her comm, Anastasia screamed at the man she had to work under. Did the power finally go to his head, that he forgot the whole meaning of the word ‘stealth’? Not everyone was immune to bullets like you are, you blithering idiot! Anastasia thought rather cruelly, before kicking out at the first guard, the spring knife embedded in her heel catching the man in the throat and spraying ruby red blood over the walls. Leaping at the second man, she caught his head between her legs, kneeling on his shoulders as she reached up and into the hole she had made earlier with her entrance. Enjoy the last sight of a woman you’ll ever have, you bastard. Anastasia thought evilly before twisting at the hips, breaking the man’s neck and killing him. Shaking her head, Anastasia reached up and delicately wiped the blood from her eyes, sighing as she did so. Knowing that the boss would give her shit should she even dare mention that she had some difficulty fighting people who couldn’t even utilize Ki. Pushing her hair back into place, she breathed in deeply, catching her breath before continuing down the hall and turning back on her comms. Thinking quickly, she responded as calmly as she could, ”Sorry about that, boss- I was actually fixing my hair, and though I don’t expect you to know this, it actually takes some work to look this gorgeous. By the way, after this mission, can I use some of your product? I know you have some, you narcissist- I’ve seen you with a straightener before.” smirking as she did so. Bantering back and forth with Scipio, Anastasia entered the guard room, slitting the first guard’s throat before throwing the same knife into the back of the next man’s head. ”Tch- so sloppy, they don’t even have cameras leading into the security room. I think there are child care centers with higher security measures than this.” Anastasia shook her head in mock sadness before turning to the control panel before her. Cracking her knuckles and rolling her neck, she grinned evilly before setting herself upon the controls. Fingers flying, screens flashing, Anastasia slowly but surely coaxed the system into letting her in. ”Ladies and gentlemen, we…are…in.” She said, pressing the ‘enter’ key with a flourish, opening every internal door while activating the electric fence around the compound. ”This place has just gone from their sanctuary to their tomb. Show them what it means to be stuck in a death trap with a Crow, boys.” Anastasia grinned as she took a seat, monitoring the progress of her companions at every step. ------------------------------------ Word Count: 1,170 Words Total Word Count: 10,253 Words |
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| William Scipio | Jan 12 2015, 05:43 AM Post #9 |
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The Tale of the Redgrave Brothers![]() ![]() ”Man, we got the boring job, didn’t we, little bro? Midnight and Cheshire get the soldier’s barracks, you know the bossman reserved the best hall with the most dangerous badasses for himself and Wonderland, and we got stuck with the frickin’ research labs.” Alexander sighed as he raised a hand and pointed imperiously at some poor soldier that dared even think about attacking them. A thin lance of crimson energy sprang forward, spearing him through the heart and dropping the man as readily as a bullet. ”Ugh, this sucks. No style to these mooks at all.” Alex pouted, sticking both hands into his pockets as he sulked forward. Arthur shrugged sympathetically. Raising his hand, palm facing the next soldier, he fired a baseball-sized sphere of lime-green energy, one that hit the man in the chest and expanded, leaving its poor victim looking like he was attacked by a certain facehugging alien species. ”You never know- maybe we’ll get lucky, and they were working on some top-secret super robot from behind the scenes! Besides, you know he trusts us- as good as Cheshire can be with computers, he’s a wild card, and Midnight…well, there’s just something off about that guy, something I don’t like. And Shadewalker’s got her own job. If he didn’t think we could do it, Bladedancer would just take it upon himself to get this shit done, but here we are, so we should do a good job about it, right?” Arthur smiled kindly at his brother. ”By the way, how are your mana reserves?” Alex grunted, 3 more arrows of pure energy lancing forward, perfectly impaling their targets and dropping the poor soldiers like mayflies. ”Nice explosion, c’est bien. 8/10 for power usage and control, little bro. Anyways, I’m doing just fine. If it’s only this level of enemy, I can naturally replenish my own levels faster than I can drain them. Just keep helping me clear the rabble, alright? I’m getting bored of this.” A sudden thought occurred to Alex, which brought a smile unbidden to his lips from under his armor. ”Oh, and thank you for using the term ‘mana’ again. I swear, I’d follow the man down to hell itself, but sometimes Bladedancer just has no sense for the beauty of some words. I mean, ‘Ki,’ really? Feels like I’m a monk or something- which we both know the boss could never be- or that I’m in that old epic…what was it? Journey to the West, or something?” Alex puffed out his chest, a move that was completely clear to any who viewed him, even under the heavy shock-troop armor plating. ”If one claims to be a sorcerer, then they had better be calling what they do to be magic. I mean, come on-“ Casually as blowing out a flame, Alex fired five more lines of scarlet death, and Arthur followed up with a rising wave of energy that vaporized all that it touched. ”Look at this! We are blatantly flouting the laws of nature, and firing lasers and explosions from our hands like we were in some videogame! This is ridiculous! And yet, here…we…are.” Alex shrugged theatrically as the duo stepped into a massive antechamber, one that looked like the main research lab. It seemed all but deserted, with nothing save strange life forms floating in murky tubes of unidentifiable liquid. Arthur once again smiled at his brother, the only indication his demure posture below the armor. ”10/10 as always, for the pretentious speech, brother?” Alex laughed for a moment before striding forward. ”But of course!” The two brothers walked down the sterile white floor in amiable silence, occasionally peering into a tube, trying to discern the contents, or attempting to decipher a computer screen, green reboot code floating over a sea of black screen, but taking careful note to touch nothing. Finally the pair stood before a giant central computer, one of the few still activated. ”Well, Camelot, I reckon this is your area of expertise. Tell me when we’re good.” Alex waved Arthur to work as he pulled up two chairs, leaning back in one and using the other for a footrest. Nodding, Arthur sat down to the computer, pulling up Anastasia on the comms. ”Hey, Shadewalker, it’s Camelot here in the research labs. Mind pulling me up real quick, tell me if there’s any traps on this thing?” Arthur sat quietly, his hands in his lap as he heard rapid fire tapping on yet another computer, God knows how far away. The compound was absolutely massive, after all. ”Yeah, good call, Camelot. There’s a self-destruct switch it looks like, and a ‘release’ command, whatever that is. Doesn’t look good, regardless. Okay, here’s what you gotta do: there’s a password, “Breaking Dawn On A New Day,” with every first letter on every new word capitalized. Including ‘on’ and ‘a.’ Fuck that up, and you blow yourselves up. However, there looks like there should be a computer in the back right, 3 from the end of the row that you gotta upload the code to as well. Gotta input the code into both simultaneously, or you activate the release command.” Arthur nodded to his brother, who wandered over to the given coordinates and blanched. ”Ahh…Shadewalker, you sure about those directions? You wouldn’t happen to have it flipped, would you? Back left instead?” Anastasia immediately sounded pensive. ”No, why do you ask? You have to do exactly what I said, or we can’t get the data. What’s wrong, Merlin?” Alex grimaced. ”We got nothing, Shadewalker. Looks like they destroyed the thing on the way out.” Both Redgrave brothers winced as they heard Anastasia’s fist slam down on a table, and a string of expletives that must have stretched for a sold minute before deep panting ensued. Finally, silence. ”Okay. We’re not screwed. You guys can still save this. It looks like…it looks like even if you activate the release command, you can still activate the computer and get the data. What does the release command active- oh. Shit.” Anastasia cursed once more, flipping over to a monitor showing the Redgrave brothers and seeing line upon line of test tubes, with hundreds of itty bitty killing machines just waiting to consume the brothers upon awakening. ”I’ll tell Bladedancer, reroute him t-“ ”No!” Both brothers shouted in perfect unison. Arthur spoke up, fire in his eyes. ”No, we can’t bother Bladedancer with our problem. He tasked us to do what needed to be done-“ ”-And damned if we’re not gonna finish what we started.” Alexander finished, clenching his fist tightly as he strode over to Arthur. ”Alright then, you know what to do. I’ll try to help as much as I can, but security doesn’t seem to have a lot of control over there in the research labs, and what I do have has been weakened by the raid. Good luck, boys.” Alex smirked beneath his mask, his usual bravado resurfacing at Anastasia’s worry for him. ”Oh, come on now, Shadewalker- you know we’re invincible! Frankly, you should be feeling sorry for these mutant freaks that are stupid enough to rush us. We’ll wipe them from the earth, and we’ll do it with aplomb!” Alex laughed as he charged his Ki, body laced with bloody energy, monitors floating off the tables as the sheer density of his Ki overrode the laws of gravity, electricity crackling like white hot whips as he sauntered up the aisle of tubes. ”Gonna kill all you sick fucks…gonna wipe you off the earth with more style than you’ve ever experienced in your test tube lives~” Alex began singing, giddy with his own power. Nodding to his brother, Alex stood, facing the test tubes. ”Do it.” He snarled, assuming a battle stance. Arthur nodded before entering the password, his fingers flying to enter as much data as possible. The test tubes hissed and water flooded the floor as the creatures were released, all manner of biological abominations flooding the brothers, aiming to kill what had interrupted their sleep. Acting like a human turret, Alex gunned down beast after beast, only for them to regenerate immediately after getting blasted. Throwing up a shield, holding it in place with one hand, Alex continued to blast with the other, throwing away his ‘stylish’ lances of energy for high output explosives, hoping that it would put the bastards down for a little bit longer. Behind him, Arthur stuck his right hand backwards, lime colored energy flowing from him into Alex, explosively increasing his power output before Alex put a stop to it. ”Don’t worry about me- I can handle this level easy! Just focus on getting the data as fast as possible!” ”Got it!” Arthur gave a cool front, but internally, he was desperate, praying for the computer to accept him as quickly as possible, agonizing over each new protection screen, savagely attacking each new firewall as it popped up. His fingers sweated and trembled within their iron casing; twice he nearly dropped the casing, desperately worried about his brother and his inability to replenish his mana fast enough to deal with the horde arrayed before them. Finally, the little downloading bar popped up to Arthur’s fierce delight. No longer did he have to work on this goddamned computer. He could support his brother. And did his brother need it- Arthur could feel Alex running dry on energy, his hits no longer decimating the undying hordes as they did only moments before. ”We’re good to go! Just need to hold out for the files to download! Go full turret!” Arthur yelled, feeding his brother energy while replacing the sickly, smoky, dirt red shield with his own vibrant green one. ”Just the words I’ve been dying to hear!” Alexander snarled, throwing both hands forward and redoubling his assault. Suddenly, the zombie-like, regenerating bio-beasts, that had once been knocking on the shield and causing cracks in its seamless exterior, now were desperately fighting not to be obliterated, fighting an endless stream of crackling red death. The perfect salvo, Alex and Arthur worked in flawless harmony, each covering for the other’s mistakes and errors, Arthur occasionally picking off or crippling monsters that Alex missed, and Alex feeding some of his extra energy, Ki that would otherwise be burned and useless, into the shield, making it all but impenetrable from the outside. Arthur took a quick glance at the screen behind them; the download was nearly complete. ”Brother! Kick it out, we’re at 90%!” Alex grinned savagely; there was nothing he liked more than being told that he could go all out. ”Hell to the ye-what the hell are they doing?” Alex watched in confusion as the creatures began to eat one another, having been so damaged by the Redgrave brother’s fullisade. ”I guess…we…win?” Arthur shrugged in confusion. Arthur kicked the ground angrily. ”What the hell? I was just getting into that! Pas bon- that sucked! 0/10 for the lame-ass finish!” Alex shook his head in disappointment. Suddenly, the security systems surged to life just as the mass of cannibalistic bioforms flooded forward like the sea tide attacking the shore, only to be turned away by the laser grid. ”Holy Shit!” Alex called out. ”Boys, it’s not over yet! I’m reading increased heat levels from that thing- it’s generating mass and energy by eating all the little forms. They’re merging, and it looks like they’re getting better at regenerating as well! Get out of there!” Arthur took off his mask and looked at Alex, grinning. Alex returned the motion, his helmet clunking and rolling uselessly on the floor next to him. ”What are you guys- no, you can’t be that stupid!” ”Sorry, Shadewalker- but unfortunately, we can.” ”You know, sometimes a man just has to finish things in style. And we know just how to close the curtains on this thing with a bang.” Both brothers dropped any semblance of defense, instead focusing their all on charging their Ki to well above their maximum. Monitors exploded and the shattered remains dancing madcap through the air as the two summoned every ounce of Ki they could. ”Whatever you crazy bastards are gonna do, do it now! The fence is gonna die!” Both brothers breathed in and out, perfectly in sync as they spun and danced around one another, using the ritualistic motions to trap the energy and keep it flowing between them, using the conduit between them to carry far more power than either would be able to tolerate alone. Finally, just as the laser grid failed and the behemoth surged forward, the Redgrave Brothers finished their dance of death, backs firmly in contact, leading arm aimed at the opponent and other arm coolly in the back pocket. Roaring their defiance at the creature, the two unleashed hell on earth. Their bodies in contact, their compatible wavelengths perfectly feeding on each other and strengthening their output by magnitudes, the Redgrave Brothers were able to dominate the sheer Ki output that Scipio could bring to bear. Completely obliterated by the white beam of pure death, the monster wasn’t even fortunate enough to have a single cell of its being survive the attack. Both brothers stood there in the aftermath, hands on knees, panting from sheer exhaustion. The only break from this was a single fist bump between the two brothers, and Anastasia simply saying, ”Holy…shit.” Grabbing the flash drive as it beeped at them, the brothers picked up their respective helmets putting them on and becoming specters of death once more before sauntering off to the meeting point, their job complete. --------------------------------------------- Word Count: 2275 Words Total Word Count: 12,528 Words Edited by William Scipio, Jan 12 2015, 05:49 AM.
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| William Scipio | Jan 12 2015, 07:47 PM Post #10 |
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A Cheshire Grin at Midnight![]() ”Boring…boring…boring…God, why do all of you suck so hard at this?!” Drake savagely kicked the broken corpse of yet another soldier that had gotten his way. This one hadn’t even gotten a chance to defend himself- Drake had long ago grown bored of playing around, and so had begun to simply snap the necks of his opponents as he came across them. Unfortunately, unlike the other, more professional mercenaries, Drake didn’t know how to do this properly and lethally, leaving his victims quivering wrecks on the ground, paralyzed and struck by fear, but able to see and feel everything- which was just fine for the sadistic Drake Cross. A single shot rang out, a bullet between the eyes of the man Drake had been ‘playing’ with. ”Cheshire! Cut it out! He’s gone. Once they are no longer a threat, we stop. That’s what makes us human.” Drake smirked ferally at Felix. ”Well, what if I don’t want to be human? Humanity is…boring. Godhood sounds so very much more satisfying.” Drake flexed his fingers, looking nothing so much as a jackal in his suit of armor; hunched over slightly, his hyper aggression exuding a predatory aura, Drake didn’t look so much as a mercenary as he did a wild beast prepared to chew your face off. ”This is why I’m always paired with you- you’re too much of a bother for anyone else to handle, and too crazy for Bladedancer to deal with.” Drake merely smirked to himself. No, that ain’t the reason, Midnight. Frankly, you’re more fucked up than I am- but if only you knew. Staying silent, Drake laced his fingers behind his head, casually sauntering next to the highly alert Felix, whose head snaked back and forth, looking for any that might stand against them. The two heard a massive explosion from across the compound, the sound loud enough that even the tons of steel separated them and the source could not muffle it. The two looked at each other and sighed. ”Fucking brothers.” Midnight nodded in annoyance, both that he would actually agree with Cheshire, and that the Redgrave brothers would burn so much energy, presumably to overkill whatever had dared stand in their way. It was just so…wasteful. Sighing, Felix turned back to his own problem, pulling up the base map on his HUD, courtesy of Anastasia. ”Alright, looks like we should be getting close to the training facilities. Turn here aaaaannnndddd…oh. Hello, there.” Felix and Drake turned into a company of soldiers that were just marching through the training grounds that looked exactly like a battlefield: Everything, from the barbed wire and scorched No Man’s Land, to the turrets and trenches, was lovingly cultivated and mimicked to repeat a battle from World War II. More importantly, though, were the hundred soldiers aiming down the sights to fire upon Cheshire and Midnight. ”Move!” Felix yelled, throwing himself to the side while firing with his sidearm, 4 shots perfectly dropping 4 unlucky soldiers. Levitating himself with his telekinesis, Cheshire played merry hell with gravity, soaring above the soldiers while they were too busy wondering why they were suddenly floating. Reloading in a trench, Midnight found his lips twisting into a madcap grin against his will, and a silent chuckle rose in his throat unbidden, yet he did nothing to stop either sensation as his adrenaline rose, enjoying how it felt. ”Pull!” He snarled at Cheshire, darting forward as he did so. ”Go for it, you crazy bastard!” Cheshire laughed at Midnight, ripping giant clods of earth and stone from the ground all around the giant pack of soldiers. The moment Midnight sprang upwards, his feet touching one of the earth mounds, Cheshire lackadaisically spun his hand in a lazy circle, causing the orbiting mounds to whirl around the group in a frenzy, the occasional rock breaking orbit and completely smashing in a soldier’s head. Though all of this, Midnight danced through the air, his lithe body using the stones as launch pads, his honed senses and powers of prediction allowing him to land on the quickly moving stones despite the average mortal barely seeing a blur of stone. Midnight’s blade fell like crashing starlight, each silvery sweep of steel signaling the end of yet another human life, while his gun tolled the bell of death each time it rang out, his strikes never ending, never erring in accuracy. And all the while, a low, hysterical laughter could be heard from within this sphere of death, starting just on the edge of hearing before breaking out above the shrieks of utter terror from within the death trap. Midnight’s internal madness, his battle lust that surpassed even that of Cheshire or Scipio, came to bear, not reveling in his own power, the strength that his sword arm possessed, or the accuracy his eyes owned, but rather, enjoying the sheer bloodshed, death, and misery he spread amongst the enemy ranks. Midnight, when in full battle mode, was as much a spectre of sheer terror as he was a vision of death. In his perfect insanity, Midnight embodied the true ideal of the Blood Crows: a shadowy organization that hid its true form beneath a veneer of civilization. Once that façade was torn away, however, all that remained for onlookers was death and destruction. Laughing at the sight before him, Cheshire made the stones dance, annihilating any soldier they so much as touched, their movements in perfect sync with those of Midnight’s. This was their ultimate tag team, the technique that only they, in their madness and careless power, could use: The Deathwish. This was the true reason that Scipio always paired up Cheshire with Midnight- it wasn’t that Midnight was Cheshire’s sitter, the idea that the two opposites would manage to tame one another, but that Midnight was the only one that truly could keep up with the telekinetic’s taste for blood. However, there was one small break in their collective insanity: Midnight remembered nothing of it. After the battle, with Midnight panting, licking the blood from his blade, Cheshire approached him, patting the blue haired man on the shoulder. ”Nice job, man. I always knew you had it in you.” Drake snickered. Midnight shrugged his teammate’s hand off, turning his head to spit on the ground. ”Get away from me. I’m sick of how you tortured all those poor soldiers. There should be no fun in bloodshed- only the necessity to move towards another future. You didn’t even stop when I asked you to. They were done well before you were finished playing with them.” Drake rolled his eyes, sighing loudly as he continued walking forward. ”Whatever you say, G-man.” Touching his comm, Drake turned it back on, calling into Anastasia. ”Hey, gorgeous. Guess who? I’ll tell you now- it’s your favorite man calling! Anyways, we just completely wasted these fucks, so we’re gonna head towards the boss. Mind routing us so that I can see your pretty face again.” ”Ugh. Fine. Whatever. Here, it’s up on your HUD.”” ”Thanks, I always knew you loved me. On our way to meet with Bladedancer.” Drake smirked as he loped forward. Midnight had his own problems, but Cheshire- Cheshire was a whole different bag of dark. He was like the negative inverse of Scipio, all of his flaws magnified and expounded upon, with none of his (admittedly rare) redeeming qualities. Midnight and Cheshire made a perfect team, alright- they would write one madcap story after the next, each one as ephemeral and truthful as the Cheshire’s grin- and just as dangerous to listen to- for where Drake got his nickname. ![]() ------------------------------------------ Word Count: 1279 Words Total Word Count: 13,807 Words |
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12:32 PM Jul 13