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Post by waybig1010101 on Jan 23, 2016 5:05:11 GMT
A cold wind blew on the streets of a Russian City as a official looking car, tinted windows and all, parked in front of an old building with a militaristic style to it’s architecture, it was an old military headquarters during the Soviet Union days and was repurposed as a government building. From the car, adorned with Chinese flags on the hood, an old and weary man came out supporting himself in a cane. His black coat all buttoned up with the added protection of gloves and a scarf to fight the gruelling climate. Minister Hou of the People’s Republic of China, the envoy of the Defense Ministry hidden seat of power, the newly founded Yǐncáng de shìjiè bàngōngshì (Hidden World Office/ 隐藏的世界办公室)
Created after the events in the Piao Miao Zhao Mountains, deep in the Zichuan province the Chinese started taking the Hidden World issues more seriously and as a survivor of those events he was tasked with gathering forces and starting relations with nearby powers to protect the Republic from these mythical threats. Unluckily this travel wasn’t just for that purpose, as a nefarious incident in the frontier of both countries was putting their peace as stake…. a Hidden Incident. Hou already met the man who he would encounter today, hopefully to talk about peace and maybe more, they both had a similar background but in different countries, military men turned into diplomats and now both handling the Hidden World for their countries.
Minister Hou, followed by a young man dressed in very simple black clothes and sporting a bald head, one of his recruits, entered the building. Since the events in Zichuan his right knee wasn’t in the best shape and until a couple of months he would have to use a cane to walk before the surgery. Hou reached the main lobby of the building and with a broken english, more because of being winded and cold than lack of proficiency, he asked. -Polkovnik Boris Balashov? Meeting?-
The secretary, a woman in her mid-forties with a distinguishable mole on the left side of her face, adjusts her eyes away from the paperwork on her desk to glance at the Chinese minister and his companion for a moment. Judging by the size of the bags under her eyes, it is clear that the lady hasn’t spend much, if any, time on a mattress as of late. Her face contains no expressions, or signs of life. If she was lying on the floor and remain motionless, she would resemble a corpse quite easily. Without bothering to get up from her chair, she points to a dense wooden door on the right side of the corridor. She doesn’t offer any words to the men as she seems to be eager to get back to the pages in front of her, well... as eager as a someone working nonstop for a week can express to be.
Hou nods silently, he knows that look, in his youth as a young officer he saw that same look on his eyes reflected on the mirrors as he splashed water against his face in a determined, yet futile, attempt to stay awake on consecutive night shift guard duties. Without saying a word he glances at his young companion and then walks towards the door. The young bald man moves past his employer with long and graceful strides, always in perfect balance and gently opens the door, that creaks softly with every movement. Hou enters the room, hoping to find Balashov in it, as he takes off his scarf and gloves and his companion enter with him and closes the door behind him with a loud clack.
The room inside is neither large or small, but feels rather compact with a collection of various artifacts from the Cold War Era. Along the walls are various rifles and pistols, these are known to many parts of the world as tools of oppression and violence, but to their current owner, they are memorials of fallen friends and companions. In his youth, he enjoyed warfare and combat, but now the man known as Polkovnik Boris Balashov only seeks peace and stability. As Hou enters the room, the aging Russian stands ups from his desk and speaks frankly, “Leave the assistant outside.” His voice is heavy as he enunciated every word slowly.
The veteran war hero and former member of the KGB is wearing a simple black military uniform with only a single badge on his chest. Men in his position tend to display their rank with a much more elaborate attire, but he did not seem to care too much about appearances. His beard is close to a foot in length and bushy enough to make sheep jealous. His once jet black hair is now grey and white, along with lacking the touch of a comb for many weeks now. His built hints of a well trained individual, but lacks the mass of his body in its prime.. His facial structure could have been handsome if it weren’t for his deform jaw and numerous scars across his face, with the most unique one looking like a lightning bolt over his right eye.
-I agree, I think this meeting should stay private.- Hou replied to Balashov’s first inquiry. The Chinese Diplomat turned to his bodyguard and spoke in chinese. -Please leave this room, we will have a private discussion, stay outside unless I call you Mingzhi.- The young bald man, identified as Mingzhi nodded and with a martial bow, with a closed fist over an open palm he greeted the Russian host before leaving and closing the door behind him. Hou focused his old eyes on Balashov’s for a moment before giving a silent glance to his cane and then to a chair. -Do you mind if I sit down, my knee isn’t as strong as it was and this climate isn’t helping.-
The Chinese Minister really wanted to sit down, but doing it before getting permission would be an even greater display of weakness than asking permission, and he was too tired and in too much pain to masquerade his request as a challenge to Balashov’s hosting capabilities. And even if he wasn’t in pain attacking others wasn’t a good way to start such delicate meeting. -So what do you want with a fellow old dog of war learning new tricks Balashov?- Hou asked trying to play a naivete card to start the conversation from an equal standpoint with both sides getting the basics out in the open.
“Sit.” Balashov grabs the edges of his desk to help balance himself as he stands up. He walks over to the side of the room where a small collection of bottles are located. “First, a drink.” Without waiting for a response, he pours hard liquor into two scotch glasses. One glass contains a small amount, the other is close to full. After dropping ice cubes into his glass, which causes some droplets to spill onto the counter, he heads back to his desk and offers Hou his glass. “Let us toast to a new age.” He chugs his drink empty without any hesitations. Once he finishes, he slams the glass onto his desk. He steps around and sits back down on his chair. He looks at the minister with slightly misty eyes, but it wasn’t due to the alcohol.
“I love my country. And you…you also love your county. I’m honest. And you...you are also honest. So let us not behave like fucking bureaucrats and politicians. We shall speak truth. This room tends to have unwanted bugs with ears, but today they will hear nothing. They told me to issue threats, to place blame on your government, but I don’t believe China is responsible for harsh winter, nor the earthquakes. Now… do you think Russia is behind this?
-Thank you.- Hou sits down, with some effort, and takes the glass offered to him, mimicking his host and drinks it in a single go. A very soft smile got drawn on Hou’s face as he hears Balashov’s words. This was unheard off in their world, but hearing those words from a fellow government officer clearly meant something for Hou. -I can assure you we don’t even conceive that notion, as this kind of patterns are impossible…. except for Hidden Means.- Hou dropped the “H” word to get Balashov’s ears tingling. -We had some experience in the recent years, first minor enough for the government to ignore them, but after the incident in Piao Miao Zhao, something you might heard about, we were forced to start the office I’m currently directing.-
Hou, who had been playing with the empty glass on his hand, gently placed it down on the table and looked directly at Balashov. -We think the guilty party is similar to the incident in Piao Miao Zhao and Tianchi.... Creatures of Myth in turmoil.- The Chinese Minister slowly reached inside his coat and slid an envelope over to his Russian pair. -We have some satellite images we got from bargaining with the islanders.- He spoke the last phrase with certain disdain, talking about the Japanese of course. -I had to move some old and dusty strings to get them, but it shows the epicenter of the incident being located here.- He pointed at the northernmost extreme of China, right in the border with Russia. -So what are we going to do about this… I have a couple of ideas.- And he left hanging that thread to entice Balashov to take it.
The old soldier reaches over his desk and takes the envelope without a moment to lose. His rough gigantic hands manage to carefully open the small package as he removes the classified information inside. He proceeds to place a small pair of glasses over his disfigured nose as he delicately examines the material in front of him. His hands shuffle through different images and table chats, which most of the data matching their own recordings of the instances, however; though he never cared for the science work, even he could tell that these current figures are more detailed than the most recent ones he received from his Russian comrades. “Incredible…” he said simultaneously as his eyes open wide upon seeing a particular image that strikes the fear of God into the man’s heart. His hands begin to slightly tremble, causing the edges of the picture to crumble up. “We would need to send an army to stop this...or worse, drop a Tsar bomba.” The weight on his head appears to increase as he refuse to look away from the image. Any solution to this crisis he could come up with would mostly likely ignite a war with China. Without looking up he asks, “What is the solution?”
-I know a group of individuals with a very particular set of skills, a group that helped us in Piao Miao Zhao and handled the situation in Tianchi without our involvement, as we were too busy in the organization and recruitment for my current office.- Hou once again searched for something inside his coat, this time around from the opposite side putting 1 photograph on the table. -Eve Harper, professional monster hunter, leads a private mercenary operation specialized on this kind of situations.- He points at another photo. -Garo Takayama, former JHWAB, a veteran monster hunter with years of skills and experience, he currently works with Harper.- The next photo slid over the table spinning a couple of times. -Falken Degiraz, freelance mercenary, annoying like no other man but quite capable.- The final photo was dropped on the table. -Alexander Stevenson, dangerous, deranges and lethal he is a hunter with experience and is extremely proficient.-
-Whatever the problem is I think they are the best equipped to handle it.- Hou looked at Balashov’s eyes. -The Chinese government will hire them as a olive branch extended to your country.- The Minister stood up with noticeable effort, his cane creaking under the force he was using to stand. -I can contact them as soon as I get in my car.-
“So I am to place my faith with these misfits?” Looking over the pictures of the individuals and back at the one that almost gave him a heart attack, he couldn’t feel easy about the decision. After weighing the options available to him, he finally settles on Hou’s proposal. “Very well, send the misfits to resolve issue.” Looking back up he continues to speak, “I suggest you contact them when you get back home if you wish to use telephone.” The look in his eyes alone would inform the minister about the threat of electronic spying. Pointing to a camera on the wall he comments, “As I said before, there are unwelcome bugs with ears here. Sadly, those insects are crawling everywhere these days. I have a man from America to thank for making the creatures deaf.”
Laughing to himself he remarks, “Oh, how things change over time. As a youth I could not have imagine the results of the past leading up to today. Yet again, I am surprise that I got to live for so long to begin with.” His hand moves to the handle of his desk’s drawer and opens it. Slowly he retrieves a heavy suitcase and offers it to his honorable guest. Once more his hand travels to the drawer, this time pulling out a small metal box. He opens the box, but the angle prevents Hou from seeing the inside. Keeping his hand near the box, Balashov says, “That suitcase is very important. Promise me that you will take it and follow the instructions inside. However, do not open it now. Wait until you are back home. And I have another favor to ask of you.” His facial expression could not be described by mere words alone as it would fail to deliver the raw emotion that the proud man exposes to his fellow man.
Hou took the briefcase and left. He couldn’t refuse Balashov’s request and nodded to it as he closed the door behind him. Mingzhi bowed to him with Martial Discipline shining on his eyes. The pair walked to the main lobby and the Minister moved closer to the desk before leaving, whispering something to the secretary.
10 Minutes Later
A gathering of cars and flashing lights surround the building. Soon the sound of heavy rifles and boots follow shortly after. A man wearing a blue suit emerges from the last car to arrive at the scene. The manner in which this man carries himself clearly showcase his authority, yet there something else that follows this leader. Issuing orders left and right, he slowly walks to the front door as his troops get into position. He stops momentarily as he is an arm’s distance away from the door. A smug smile appears on his face as he reaches for the door’s handle with his left hand. A minute earlier…
Inside his office, Balashov takes a deep breath and forces his body to stand perfectly upright with immense effort. He glances around his collection one more time. The memories of each object begins to play throughout his mind in chronological order. During this mental journey, his face remains unmoving as he reflects on both the good and bad times of his entire life. At the end of memory lane, he turns his attention to the Russian Flag and offers the grand flag a proper salute while saying the national anthem. As he approaches the final words, his right hand reaches for the inside of the box.
At the instance in which one hand is inside a small metal box, another man opens a door, and becomes a witness to the explosive passion of a true patriot. Much later people will describe it as a preview of hell, with burning corpses and rubble decorating the ground. Nothing alive for miles could have miss the bang that sound could barely keep up with. Meanwhile the massive smoke reaching the sky above signals the heavens of their new martyr.
5 Days Later.
A cold wind blew in the northernmost region of China. The dry taste inside his throat was telling the Minister, standing outside one of the recyclable HQ, similar to the one he used in Piao Miao Zhao, on his hand a crumpled newspaper had as it’s main story “Massive Explosion in Russian Government Building: 15 Casualties. Terrorism or Arson?”. He called the cavalry already asking for their expertise to deal with the current situation. He fulfilled Balashov’s request and took his secretary, who was also his wife with him to China.
The briefcase he gave him contained documents on the coalition that took his life, money, his will and a gun, with the words “No Surrender” engraved to it’s barrel. Balashov was a strange man. He overworked his wife to the brink of complete exhaustion to hide his intentions even from her, to that point he was compromised with keeping the peace and stopping the coalition that wanted war. There have been rumours… whispers about the coalition trying to stop his efforts, sending mercenaries to stop his own. That was a bad idea.
Soon the Hunters would arrive and the Hunt would start again. And no force on Earth was able to stop this group… Unless they start in-fighting.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 23, 2016 19:18:06 GMT
Eve trudged through the snow, cursing every snowflake in the sky. No planes flew in weather like this, and bundled up as she was, she couldn't even reach mach one. Her body still had the extra fat from Shift, but it barely helped, even under all her gear. Under her usual hat, she had another fuzzy stocking over her frizzy hair. Her body was poofed up with a huge snow coat over her normal one and equally oversized snow pants. Her face was wrapped in a blue scarf with Superman symbols spotting it, another two around her neck, one Batman, the other Wonder Woman.
She moved by leaps and bounds, exploding through snow drifts in great flurries that only annoyed her more. Why, why Russia again? Stupid fucking Russia, she should have let that pink punk have it! She'd hug Alex for warmth right now she was so cold. Finally, her sharp eyes picked up the HQ not far off and she picked up the speed. A final burst plowed through the snow and she clumsily landed just before the building, stiff and shaking form the chill. She was surprised to see the man from her first fight with a sacred beast standing there as well. "Hey, you're that guy from China." She remarked through her muffling scarf.
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Post by Kuma on Jan 26, 2016 3:36:02 GMT
-His name is Hou, Minister Hou, currently the head of the brand new Chinese Hidden World Office.- A gruff and raspy voice came from behind Eve. The crunching sound of boots stepping on freshly fallen snow followed the voice. Garo had been tailing Eve for her whole journey, unseen and unheard. As a native of Hokkaido the Veteran Archer was almost playing on home turf, walking through the snow surrounded by the cold, this was his territory, it was his home. With each breath of frosty air he could feel life returning to his veins, almost as if the poisons of living in a city were washed away by the freezing temperatures.
Garo wore his usual outfit, or at least a very similar version, since this one was white and grey, granting him a level of camouflage, plus the fabric was thicker, protecting him from the adverse effects of the climate and he was wearing a thermal undershirt. Under his jacket and over his undershirt, he was wearing a wire-mail, reinforced defense in case on combat, as each time he went to China in the last 10 months he broke a rib or worse, this time around he wasn’t going to suffer that. He also brought a couple of short crossbows, hanging on the sides of his waist with their respective quivers full of bolts, a large knife on his boot, a kodachi on the back of his waist, and his trusty bow Ryuyoko, with a full quiver of regular and special arrows.
-Harper-san, Hou-dono… I hope the mission here is worth the trip. - He commented with a very uncharacteristic smile on his face. That smile suddenly vanished as a voice, preceded by a strange buzzing sound, came from behind him, accompanied by a flash of blue light, like lighting. –Oh, first time I share an opinion with an arrow shooting fossil.- Falken teleported from parts unknown and he looked like crap, to the point that when Garo turned around to snap at the Cyborg Mercenary he ended up silent, looking at the tired and bloodshot eye (his only natural one) and the large and dark eye bags under the Dual Wielding Angel of Death eyes.
-What?- He asked rudely to Garo, who was still silent, his mouth hanging half-open from the shock. Falken rubbed his eyes as he popped the bones of his neck, with a quite disgusting metallic scrapping sound, for a moment before snapping his fingers, as if he figured something. –Ah!- He pointed at his face. –You mean this?- As if was a magic trick he passed his hand over his face, restoring it to the usual, with the artificial skin cells showing a small ripple of orange electricity as he did. –I don’t know what happened, I go to the lab wiz who is renting me a pocket dimension for my arsenal and then I kinda blacked out.- The Mercenary pointed with a gesture of his head to the burnt mark in the floor. –He lent me his teleporter to get here fast…- He turned to face Eve. -But there is something more important than that…-
Falken walked towards Eve and whistled, then winked and ended with a –Heeeeeeeello Nurse…- He smiled charmingly. –Did you miss me?- Garo rolled his eyes and moved past them to shake hands with Hou while asking in a whisper. -Did you really need to call him?- |
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Post by waybig1010101 on Feb 1, 2016 4:26:06 GMT
Arriving at the base with a heavy fur coat over his typical attire, the ghoulish looking hunter walks through the front door with his infamous creepy grin. He eventually enters the room with everyone already inside. So far everything is occurring to how he imagine it would with the group's current standings remaining the same as before. He gives Minister Hou a small greeting with a hat tip, before reaching the table. He proceeds to sit in one of the chairs and wait patiently for the remaining snow on his clothes to melt. He has never seen a snow storm like this before. Outside there is already records being broken over and over again as the hours continues to pass by. He couldn't imagine what could be behind this disaster, but it intends to find out. After a couple of seconds go by as he sits on the chair, before a sudden quake erupts and violently shakes the entire building for a few moments before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. He remains perfectly still without a change in facial expression as he remembers that this marks the ninth quake he has felt today alone since he has come to China again.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 1, 2016 4:58:52 GMT
"Thanks Garo. Hi, Hou." Eve tipped her uppermost hat to Minister Hou and thrilled when she heard the voice behind her. "Hey, Falken!" She didn't seem to notice his appearance malfunction. "Why yes, I did miss you. You are warming me up when we get the next mark." Eve lifted her hand and pointed to the semicircle on her hand, the marks left by the other sacred beasts. That's what was important here. "So, details. I've done my research and I'm guessing we're making turtle soup?"
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Post by Kuma on Feb 4, 2016 4:34:18 GMT
-More than that Ms. Harper, much more than that.- Hou walked to a screen inside the portable HQ and turned it on. He turned around to face them. –But first of all thanks to you all for coming in such short notice, and for taking care of the Byakko situation a couple of months back.- He did a bow filled with ceremony and gratitude. The screen behind him finally started showing images with a introductory *BLIP* each time a new image popped into the screen, most of them maps and charts –Is with great sadness that I must call you back to action once again, as a dire incident isn’t just threatening China, but also the world.-
With a remote control he made one of the images pop up in the front, the map with an epicenter for the seismic activity. –The creature, codename “Black” is causing seismic disturbances in the border with Russia as the two entities sharing a body are in-fighting.- Hou, almost imperceptibly, sighed. –We tried to establish a dialogue with the Russian government trying to explain this wasn’t an attack from China, as they originally thought.- He opened another image showing the building he visited to have a meeting with Balashov. –Let’s say that parts of the Russian Government don’t want peace and even if we aren’t guilty they plan to use this incident to spark a war… That will destabilize the whole political and hidden status quo in the region.-
New images appeared in the screen preceded by the clicks on the remote. Shadowy figures in the snowy tundra, photos taken from far away. –As in the Piao Miao Zhao, the presence of codename “Black” attracted other creatures from the Hidden World, but they aren’t the only ones involved.- A new set of images, this time depicting some kind of military operation, with a marker on a small map indicating that the images were taken on the Russian side. –The Coalition in the Russian government that wants war has sent mercenaries to stop the Chinese efforts to control the situation.- He looked at them. –Meaning they are coming for you, thankfully I think we managed to hide your identities from their intelligence network, so they might not be prepared for you.-
A final set of images, these ones diagrams of the seismic activity and their effects. –Lastly, just to make this whole situation even more difficult to handle the activities of codename “Black” are causing tremors and quakes in regular intervals. - He looked at his wristwatch for a second. -15 minutes in-between each quake.- He opened a small briefcase and slid it over the table. It had 4 high tech wristbands. –These are Seismic Detectors, they can sense the geological activity and give you a window of warning to take cover, but beware, they aren’t always as precise as you may need them to be, but is better than nothing- He cut the feed of the screen and glanced at the group. –The wages are the same as before, plus you will be given an official permit to perform Hidden World activities in China once this situation is over.- He bowed to all of them, with quite some effort. -So I beg for your assistance as time is short and I fear it might well be running our as we speak.-
Garo was quick to reply, standing up and helping Hou back to his chair. - Of course I will help, old friend, yet I can’t assure my participation unless Harper-san approves it through the Wild Hunt offices.- He turned to Eve with an almost pleading look on his eyes. Falken clucked his tongue in disgust of Garo’s straightforwardness as he lazily placed his legs over the table. –For that kind of money I’m also in, if we took two of them how difficult can the third one be?- |
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Post by waybig1010101 on Feb 7, 2016 5:48:53 GMT
Alex did not blink at all during Minister Hou's briefing, and even after the man is done sharing what he knows, the gruesome hunter's eyes continues to stare without any signs of motion. He replays the information over and over again in his mind. And when he manages to close his eyes, he keeps them shut for a while in order to visualize the situation in his head. It took an immense amount of self-control to contain his excitement from the others, but he eventually calms himself down enough to finally open his eyes again and say, "Count me in." He smiles at the end of his sentence and he looks at Eve as she is about to deliver her response to Garo's plead. He already knew her answer as he quickly examines his new gear along with his typical tools to make sure that he is ready for some winter hunting.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 7, 2016 20:14:51 GMT
"Of course, Garo." Eve gave him an odd smile and hugged him. Hou's difficulty in moving bothered her. Garo couldn't be much younger. How much longer before he couldn't move the way he had to on the hunt? She shook it off and gave Falken a thumbs up. "Hell yeah. I doubt a turtle is outrunning your traps, eh Alex?" She smiled at the twisted hunger.
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Post by Kuma on Feb 8, 2016 4:21:04 GMT
As everybody confirmed their involvement in the job, Mingzhi the Monk, Hou’s assistant entered the room carrying two large suitcases. Without waiting for permission he placed them in the table with a strange movement, as if his body didn’t even make an effort to lift them. It wasn’t a matter of strength; it was as if he didn’t waste strength with his movement. The young man’s fingers started dancing over the complex locking dials with expert eyes centered on the task at hand, it was quite rare to see such perfection applied in such mundane movements, even among professionals as the ones in the table. Mingzhi surely went through some rigorous training to end up moving as he did.
Garo was a bit puzzled at Eve’s hug. He was, deep down, a very traditional man, and the western customs were something he wasn’t quite fond of. But considering she was his employer the Old Archer resisted stoically the instinct to stop her and lecture Eve about proper manners. Garo turned his attention to Hou, who clearly was feeling the pain on his bad knee thanks to the cold climate. –Old friend, are you sure we can leave you alone here? - The Veteran Hunter looked around. Not many security measures, at least not enough to handle creatures like last time. –One of us should stay here to protect you.- A scheming smirk formed on his face. –Degiraz, why don’t you stay here?-
Falken rudely clucked his tongue while leaning even more back in the chair. –No chance old man, you should be the one staying.- As Falken talked somebody stealthy moved over them, in the snow covered roof of the HQ. –You’re the one who can end up dead if he gets a bullet in the head or if he gets winded.- The Amoral Mercenary winked at Eve. –I can keep going and going.- Garo didn’t lose his condescending smirk. –Such a perfect way to convey you don’t have anything important in your head, you truly have your way with words Degiraz.- The intruder kept moving in complete silence aiming towards the window in the roof, right over Hou’s location.
The Minister shook his head, unable to believe this was the group that took care of the situations last time and was going to do so right now, for a moment he asked himself “What am I doing? Leaving this horde of barbarians’ free pass in my country is madness” but finally he overcame his doubts and interrupted the shouting match between Falken and Garo. –I can assure you two that I’m completely—Hou was interrupted by the sound of reinforced glass breaking and somebody shouting –Umrite obez’yanny!- (Die monkey! In Russian) A man in full winter tactical gear, with a tinted visor covering his face fell from the broken window with a couple of combat knives on his hands.
The first to react was Mingzhi, who stopped the task of opening the complex locks of the briefcases and in a single fluid motion, like a powerful river climbed atop the table without even putting weight on it and from there he jumped, connecting a powerful (and flawlessly executed) spinning roundhouse kick mid-air against the would-be assassin’s temple. The impact was as weird as the movement previous to it, as a strange gong-like sound echoed in the portable HQ and a small golden shockwave was released at the point of impact. It was clearly Ki, but honed to an amazing level of purity and intensity. The sound was more than enough to hide the disgusting crack of the assassin’s broken neck as he fell on the ground lifeless.
-As I was saying… completely safe.- Hou finished his line before Mingzhi, who was still in mid-air, slowly descended on the ground, Wuxia style, just in front of the briefcases. The Minister gave his assistant a nod and the young monk opened the briefcases. Mountain climbing equipment, rations, bullets of different calibers, grappling guns and a set of high tech satellite communicators for each of them, this time around he was a bit more prepared and had more funds. –Grab what you need and a communicator... I only can wish you Godspeed.- Garo nodded, just picking a grappling gun, a strong rope, a climbing axe and the communicator. Falken gave an arrogant smile, clucked his tongue with contempt and left the room, ready as he was. |
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 15, 2016 6:22:50 GMT
"Woah! How'd you do that?" Eve wasn't very much impressed with the pure strength of Mingzhi's attack. She could do far more with her own fists. But the way he drifted down was fascinating. With that ability, her agility would be as good as Huntsman's. She grabbed up a grappling gun and satellite communicator, popping both into her mouth, jaw unhinging to swallow them. She'd desconstruct and reconstruct them a few times to figure out how they were made. She took a second to glare at Falken. "Falken, knock it off. We're a team and I expect you treat your teammates with respect. And if not for the team's sake, do it because Garo is my employee."
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Post by waybig1010101 on Mar 9, 2016 20:46:25 GMT
A few minutes before…
Aggressive grunts echo throughout the lowest floor of a secret prison hidden underneath a snow covered mountain. A man wearing a blue suit is accompanied by two gigantic men in military uniforms, each one carrying an assault rifle. They walk down a long corridor containing only a few light sources to aluminate the path ahead of them. As they pass by a couple of doors, they could hear plenty of painful screams and pleads for mercy becoming quieter and quieter they further they travel towards the end of the hallway. As they slowly approach the source of the grunts, each solider decides to check their weapon one last time before stopping at the end of the hall, where a single metal door awaits them. The blue suit man lifts his hand, signaling his troops to wait here. The door opens slowly, creating a rather heavy noise during the process. Once the space is large enough for the man to enter, he walks right in.
The poorly lit and unsanitary room appears to been modify with a old hospital bed, where a heavily injured man wrapped in bandages from head to toe is struggling violently to break through his restrictions. "Even after being injected with a potent anesthesia, you refuse to settle down." said the man in a raspy voice. The room contains no windows, no television, or anything pleasant. Outside the meager medical equipment and the metal chains, there is nothing else in the room besides one simple wooden chair position right next to the bed. The patient/prisoner takes a while to examine his recent visitor. “Having trouble seeing me?” As he walks closer, the lower parts of his face become easier to see. His jaw is completely burn along with certain sections missing any skin at all, thus revealing a few teeth, especially on the left side of his mouth. Meanwhile, the upper portion of his face remains hidden by the shadow of his rather large fedora. He sits down on the chair, leans back comfortably, and crosses his legs.
He exhales strongly before saying, “Why does the boss insist on keeping you alive?” Looking to the side he begins to recap the current situation, “After all, we have figured out what you were trying to pull off with that imbecile from china. In fact…” He looks at a small device and smirks to himself, “We have someone ready to strike against him as I speak. And we already captured the traitors that assisted your little plot.” The man remains perfectly silent and still in his bed. “I doubt he cares about the past, when the two of you used to be war buddies. From what I heard, even back then you two were always at odds with each other.” He stares at the man, but receives nothing in return. “No matter, I’ll discover the secret soon enough. And when I do…” He moves forward and presses his finger against his temple. Making his hand appear to be a gun, he finishes the gesture with a flick of the wrist as he says softly, “Bang.”
Normally, he would smile when he senses fear of death in people, but against this man, his actions have no impact whatsoever. The silence is soon replace by a faint beeping sound from man’s device. Taking a moment to examine the device, he smiles saying, “Seems that we need to add a name to the causality list.” His attitude reveals that he lacks any negative emotion about losing a solider. On the other hand, he seems to be getting rather excited by the news. “Maybe this won’t be as boring as I thought it was going to be.” He stands up and looks down at what he perceives to be a pathetic relic of the past and remarks, “Goodbye Mr. Balashov.” And with that, he departs from the room, yet right before he leaves he says, “You know…It was such shame that Minister Hou couldn’t be present during that little stunt of yours. But don’t worry, I made sure he wouldn’t feel left out.” The wounded man closes his eyes as he tries to control his emotions. Once outside, the blue suit man takes another look at his handheld device and clicks a small button. The red dot that represents his fallen solider begins to flicker.
Looking at the fresh corpse in the room, Alex takes a moment to admire the monk's work. While nodding his head, he offers Mingzhi a strong pat on the shoulder before collecting the rest of the equipment. As he packs, he looks at the would be assassin, and begins to feel something is off about the guy. A moment later, the man’s body rips apart into tiny fragments as the bomb inside his stomach detonates. The shockwave seems to have been delayed a bit due to being inside a body, but it will not be long before the flames of the explosion will consume the entire building. However, the blast’s expansion suddenly stops and the whole explosion itself remains in stasis like state, thus creating a small sphere of flames with a tiny hole in the center. The sphere exists for a few more seconds before disappearing from the world altogether. A few moments later, a small smoke trial exits from the barrel of Alex’s gun, which is currently pointed at the spot where the explosion began. Had he hesitated to fire a split second sooner, he would have been a pile of dust right now. He places his weapon in its hostler and slowly leaves the room to catch up to the others.
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Post by Kuma on Mar 12, 2016 1:32:36 GMT
When Alex patted Mingzhi he would be able to feel the truth behind the silent monk, not that it mattered as when the Grotesque Hunter touched Mingzhi’s shoulder a strange mechanical noise filled the room as the Silent Monk lifted the leg he used to kick the would be assassin, with the knee up to his shoulder. Mingzhi’s extremity opened up, revealing that under his skin he was completely robotical. With a sound similar to a shotgun spewing a cartridge the leg let out a small canister, which to anybody versed in the fine art of Ki Sensing, would easily notice the traces of ki on it. The Silent Monk lowered his leg as the compartment closed. A barrel mounted around his artificial bone spun around, like a revolver’s, surely placing a new Ki-Canister on his leg, ready for the next attack.
The Old Minister decided to explain before anybody could ask. -I bought Mingzhi and 6 more like him from a Japanese Scientist…. He called them… How was it?- Hou tried to remember as he stroke his chin, his eyes wandered as he tapped into his aging brain, trying to recall the name. His eyes shone as he finally found the name he was looking for. –I remember know, he called them “Quán jīnshǔ sēng”.- Anybody with some Chinese on his repertoire could understand the meaning of that, or in the case of Falken (Who had a translator incorporated to his mainframe) he could just translate it. –Full Metal Monks? A bit on the nose, both the robot part and the Kubrick reference.- The Mercenary grinned smugly as he leaned even more. So somebody else was doing Cyborgs or Androids… he should check on that soon.
-I needed to fast manpower and I managed to acquire it, no big deal. It was a bargain, the Scientist seemed to make this set after some experience changed his outlook in life, he said he created them based on some of the premiere Bounty Hunters and Fighters in Japan, after getting data.- The Minister Smiled. –I was quite impressed with his demonstration and used part of the funds I got from the Party to buy the whole set.- His expression hardened up. –But let’s not talk office politics now, the mission has been issued. Godspeed, you can trust Mingzhi with my safety.- Garo left in silence, still chewing the info he received. No JHWAB approved Hidden World Genius was allowed to sell to foreigners, and even if they could none of them could create such Androids. This might be worth investigating once he visited Japan once again. |
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Post by HungryHunter on Mar 12, 2016 4:42:54 GMT
"Eeeee! He's a robot!?" Eve's eyes sparkled. Literally. Whether the cause, sparks lit up her cornea. "Hey, buddy. You the boring kind of monk, or are you allowed to have fun?" She eyed Mingzhi all over, searching for any exposed mechanical tidbits. She dimly realized that she really should deal with the turtle, and reluctantly backed up, tossing a sticky note paper airplane with her cell number to the monk before turning away. She cautiously stepped out into the cold, shuddering again at once as the wind slapped her across the face. She growled at nature and pulled some paper crumpled up in her coat pocket. "Alright, let's make this fast." She spread the papers as flat as she could get them, showing distinct charts of the area. "I looked up info on the earthquakes and calculated a rough epicenter. It's not perfect, but it gives us a general notion of where it should be. Any objections to the plan?" She asked, staring into each of their faces in turn.
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Post by waybig1010101 on Mar 30, 2016 5:11:53 GMT
His face remains perfectly still as the group steps out into the cold blizzard. He never really had too much of a problem with freezing temperatures, but even he isn't immune to the chilling environment today. Each time the wind hits his body, which occurs quite frequently, he would shiver a bit. And even though he hates wearing heavy clothing, as it typically gets in the way of his ability to move and fight, he couldn't afford to discard a single article of clothing on him right now. While cleaning snow of his goggles, Alex makes no effort to protest against Eve's plan. Looking at the charts, he figures that they will need to travel roughly 50 miles before reaching the estimated epicenter. Looking ahead, he couldn't believe that walking would be the most efficient means of transportation. He wonder if Minister Hou had some snow mobiles for them to use. He searches around in hopes of spotting the precious vehicles.
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Post by Kuma on Mar 31, 2016 4:17:49 GMT
Garo was the first to find the snow vehicles. His contorted face, almost as if he was eating a very sour candy, was more than enough to understand the situation. Seemingly the assassin sabotaged 4 of the snowmobiles that were in the open, clearly a back-up plan to deal with Hou if he started escaping. But in his rush the Russian Hitman didn’t notice two snowmobiles hidden under a small and twisted tree, covered with impermeable camouflaged fabric to protect them. The Veteran Archer returned to the main room, the snow crunching under his feet with each step. –I have bad news and worse news…. Which do you want to hear first? - He asked to everyone present.
Falken was the first to reply, with a huge smirk on his face. -I know, I know, the bad one is that you are an old fart and the worse one is that you soiled your adult diap-
*SWISH! CLANG!*
Without even looking in Falken’s direction the Old Hunter shot and arrow right besides the Infamous Mercenary’s head, drawing blood from his cheek. Garo did this without even paying attention, in a clear showcase of his skill, large enough to plug Falken’s mouth shut. The Veteran Archer faced Eve and Hou. –The bad news is that the Assassin...- He pointed at his corpse with his chin. –sabotaged the snowmobiles… The worse news is that he missed some, but just two, so we’ll have to share them.-
Hou took the word. –Those snowmobile were there as a back-up for me and Mingzhi, but you can take them, I will contact the nearest military base to get replacements and probably a small number of soldiers to help secure the perimeter. - The Minister glanced at the Cyborg. –I trust Mingzhi, but more security wouldn’t hurt. -
With the blessing of Hou to take them Garo asked Eve. –So what now Harper-san?- |
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Post by HungryHunter on Mar 31, 2016 12:49:50 GMT
Eve looked up from digging through one of the broken snowmobiles when Garo's arrow sliced Falken's cheek. "Garo, please don't shoot anything at Falken unless you want to kill him." God, Falken was a child. Had she seriously flirted with him just a few minutes ago? What a waste. Hot cyborg and he was a prick. "Okay, so assuming we can't leave Falken here and take the monk, I need to know which of us can drive a snowmobile." She herself couldn't, but how hard could it be? "Oh, right. I also need to know if they can hold somebody who's 300 pounds." Eve's endoskeleton made her vastly heavier than she looked, and with her current body, she didn't look like a feather.
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Post by waybig1010101 on Apr 9, 2016 4:09:14 GMT
Studying the snowmobiles, Alex hesitates to comment that he can operate the vehicle, since he didn't want to waste his hands on driving should he need his hands, but he eventually speaks out, "I could drive it. And don't worry-" He examines Eve from head to toe before saying, "300 pounds might slow it down a bit, but that won't stop it." Looking at his remaining comrades, he imagine that having them too go together might not be ideal for efficiency, yet it would most likely be interesting to witness their interactions. Moving towards one of the snowmobiles, he slowly sits himself down on the driver's end. While he waits patiently for someone to get on, without much care who goes with him, he decides to inspect their means of transportation in order to get a better understanding of what he is working with.
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Post by Kuma on Apr 12, 2016 3:22:45 GMT
-Sorry Harper-san, my hand slipped.- Garo spoke with a strange tone, it was weird seeing him make jokes like that and clearly it was just a façade to hide his real, and very noticeable, feelings about the situation. The Old Archer quickly shifted gears and added his two cents to the matter. –I also know how to pilot these vehicles I have a couple of them in my old house over Hokkaido.- Garo walked towards one of them while he closed up his jacket and fastened his scarf. –I can take us Harper-san, Stevenson-dono…- Garo placed his hand over Alexander shoulder with a confident smile. The inclusion of that suffix was clear evidence of the respect the Old Archer had for the eccentric master of wires. –I’m sorry but you will have to drive that walking pile of junk with a bad attitude again. - He said while offhandedly pointing at Falken without looking at him.
-HEY! Who’re you calling a pile of junk?- Falken roared as he walked towards Garo, snow crunching loudly with each of his steps, and grabbed the Old Hunter from the coat. For a moment their eyes crossed, the steely gray in Garo’s jagged eyes and the dark blue and bright red from Falken. They held the stare for a couple of seconds, trapped in a struggle of wills, until the Veteran Archer, almost impossibly to detect, raised his eyebrow a couple of millimeters while his eyes locked on the Infamous Mercenaries hand. Falken released Garo and walked away, not sure of why he did it. He might be potentially one of the most dangerous in the group, but the former JHWAB Agent presence was beyond anything he could produce, as Garo’s bloodlust was like a fine wine, that got better with age, while in comparison to him Falken’s killing intent was like cheap moonshine.
-Whatever.- Falken mumbled trying to save face and falling, metaphorically, flat on his ass. |
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 16, 2016 5:11:58 GMT
"Great. Garo, I'll ride with you. Alex, babysit Falken." Eve assigned roles and knelt to examine the machine. Such pretty babies! She was gonna have to borrow one of them to figure out how to copy its capabilities. She froze in her assessment when she saw Falken grab Garo. Long slits appeared down her arm, but she made no other movement until Garo was released. "Could you two get these running?" She cheerfully asked Garo and Alex as she walked over to Falken where he stood apart from the group. "Hey, Falken." She gave him a gentle smile.
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Post by waybig1010101 on Apr 16, 2016 5:40:05 GMT
Alex offers no words to Garo as he starts up the snowmobile's engine. The sound of a running engine brings back a pleasant memory of when he learn to drive a snowmobile with his father. He looks up in the sky, ignoring the snow falling down on his face as he tries to remember the moment he shared with his parent. Yet, between every few seconds of reliving the memory in his head, his mind would cut back to the day his life had changed forever when he was attacked by a sadist hidden world creature. For him, this is how he typically experiences recalling the past. Regardless of the context of the memory, every time he attempts to reflect his past experiences with his parents, he would always mix in images from the worst night of his life. Sometimes he gets extremely lucky and manages to think about something from before he become aware of the hidden world without having to be consistently reminded of how he was violently introduced to this part of the world. Before long, he returns his gaze back to the group after no longer wish to torture himself. He just remains silent to himself as he waits for his companion to get on.
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