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Post by HungryHunter on Oct 7, 2018 8:06:19 GMT
He looked like a gargoyle perched on the tan couch, both in stillness and looks. His eyes were sunken, his nose prominent, exaggerating both. His chin rested on his fists, so tightly clenched they seemed to be one mass. A coarse forest of black hair graced his jawline, beginning to take root on his lip and cheeks. His hair hung in a loose, greasy mat down his back, limp and lifeless. Then the phone at his side buzzed and he sprang to life. It was in his hands before the second buzz. Its screen cracked the instant he heard the voice on the other side. “Spam.” He hissed it like a racial slur.
“Is there still… nothing from the HWIC?” He called out in desperation to Haruko, seated elsewhere in the room. He saw a flash of red at the doorway and ignored it. He knew Cosmina had been listening in for hours, but he didn’t care. She had a right to be worried about the kid she babysat. Tears were building up again. He thought he was out, but there were always more just beneath the surface. He grabbed another tissue and stood. "We can't just sit here, but..." He gripped his head in both hands. What could they do? Go out and search the world with a fine-toothed comb? When they didn't even know what they were looking for? The other option lurked in the back of his skull, mocking him even now. He would do anything before he stooped to that.
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Post by Vapovile on Oct 12, 2018 23:42:33 GMT
Sitting across the room, Haruko nodded her head when Dan asked if there was anything from the HWIC. "Sadly, no. Trust me; I would tell you if I found anything out." She stated, staring when Dan began to get more upset at the situation he was in. Haruko had also experienced a kidnapping of one of her kids...Kate, and Dan had assisted in getting her back. It was only right to help get Dan his kid back from this strange cult as well. She waved for Cosmina to get away before turning her attention back to Dan.
"If you are willing, I could call the Wild Hunt and ask for their help here. Cults are Huntsman's specialty, after all. But I know you don't like him much." Haruko stated, trying to remain diplomatic. She wanted to help Dan...but absent any new information from the HWIC, he was just going to keep staying here, getting more wound up over the situation.
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Post by HungryHunter on Oct 13, 2018 2:53:41 GMT
Dan cringed when Haruko mentioned calling Huntsman. He had known it was coming, but it still hurt to hear. He could only lift his phone to his ear and dial the number of the Wild Hunt. "Wild Hunt, Paranormal Pest Control. How may I help you?" A young man's voice answered. "Direct me to Huntsman... please." Dan grumbled. "Alright sir, transferring your call now." A bizarre remix of Bad Day by Daniel Powter played until an equally chipper voice answered. "Yo, Huntsman here! You are clearly a discriminating buyer if you asked for me by name." Huntsman cheerfully greeted him. "Shut up." Dan instantly snapped.
"Cranky! Why, you sound like- oh, Dan! Why, you called me! Oh, you must be truly desperate! How long's the kid been gone?" Huntsman's voice was a breathy hiss of pleasure. "Qiang? How did-" "I watched Abijah carry him in. He looked drugged. Or maybe she was just eating his thoughts to keep him pacified." "Watched her!? You know where she is!?" "She's the most direct emissary of one of the vilest, most dangerous demon gods in existence. Of course I know where she lives. I've just never had the forces to raid it and deal with her. With you... who's with you?" "Ah? Haruko, and she's going to call Leone when we learn where Qiang is." "I texted you the location. Make your calls, Danny." With a chuckle, Huntsman hung up. Dan looked at the phone in his hands like it was at risk of exploding. "Uh... Call Leone."
"The Mindbender" a vibrant neon sign proclaimed. A pink brain and blue cocktails danced to a light buzz. Everything else was grey and cold, a particularly vile sort of cold that clung to the body's moisture and made it heavy. Dan didn't even question that they were going to a bar, just putting a foot out to cross the street. "Wait a second. You're not even going to ask me why Abijah's in a bar?" Huntsman pulled him back by the hood of his coat. "I don't care." Dan's voice was a flat grunt. "You should. It's an esper bar. Abijah uses it as both a front and recruitment grounds." He eyed it warily. "We stay here until we've all arrived." He insisted.
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Post by Vapovile on Oct 21, 2018 4:14:52 GMT
The brief amount of Huntsman's voice that Haruko could hear over the phone made her annoyed with the shapeshifter even more. Why would he not share this information with them?! When Dan hung up the phone, Haruko nodded her head and took out her cell phone. "Already calling her number. Don't worry we'll get him!" She confidently stated, giving him a reassuring thumbs-up. When the phone answered, Haruko began to speak. "Hey, Leone! I know this is sudden, but..."
---
Haruko approached the bar with Dan, trying to look pleasant despite Huntsman being a pain to deal with. "Esper bar? DOes that mean they will know our plan before we even walk in?" Haruko asked. Before she could get her answer, the group could hear the sound of a motorcycle approaching. The speeding vehicle began to skid to a stop when it finally pulled into the parking lot, finally coming to a complete stop just 2 feet away from Haruko. The figure on the bike wore a stylish orange sweater that covered her neck and arms, and a pair of black pants with numerous pockets lining the sides. She wore a large gold-studded brown belt with many rounds of ammunition and a few small weapons cleverly hidden among the fabric. The woman's head was revealed when she took off her black helmet to reveal her bright auburn hair that seemed to shine in the lights of the club. She wore a reddish brown cap that covered the top of her head, and a pair of rounded black sunglasses, which she tipped down to address Haruko.
"Bonjour, nerds." She said with a French accent, Haruko rolling her eyes and hugged the woman when she stepped off the bike, revealing she was significantly taller than Haruko. "Nice to see you too, Leone. Thanks for coming out here on short notice." She stated. Leone hugged back, patting Haruko on top of the head. "No problem at all! You know I'm always good to help out an old pal of mine. Though I suppose..." Leone looked up toward Dan. "...this one is for monsieur, no? And who is this..." Leone kicked her bike slightly, making it fold into a small briefcase that she attached to her belt. "...character?" Leone asked, looking underneath her sunglasses at Huntsman.
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Post by HungryHunter on Oct 21, 2018 9:09:33 GMT
Huntsman opened his mouth to answer Haruko’s question, but Leone turning the corner on her motorcycle made his jaw drop in appalled rage. “Well they know we’re planning something now!” He clawed his own face, leaving long marks. “You have any loud friends coming?” He growled to Dan through his fingers. “None of them picked up.” Dan curtly responded.
“Everybody’s here, we’re going.” Dan crossed the street without a second thought. “Ugh, alright. I’m Huntsman. I’d buy you some coffee inside, but I’m sure Dan thinks we’re in a hurry.” Huntsman followed Dan into the bar. The inside was slick and futuristic, in that 50s understanding of the future. Highly-polished metal surfaces surrounded wood that shone just as much. The bartender looked odd with his headband, doubled by the mirror behind himself.
The patron at the bar turned, showing a head completely covered in a tightly wrapped scarf, only thing showing soft brown eyes. The other three in the bar were bizarre. All three had thinning hair on oversized skulls that sat precariously on their slight bodies. Their large eyes were oddly shaped, turning to stare. Dan paused in the center of the room, looking around. All of them were utterly still, watching the group closely.
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Post by Vapovile on Oct 26, 2018 4:03:16 GMT
Huntsman's annoyed response made Leone roll her eyes, following Huntsman across the street. "Well, nice to meet you too. I gather Haruko has mentioned something about me, like how I am quite the...connoisseur of coffee." Leone stated, Haruko letting out a small chuckle as she followed them inside the bar. While Haruko also stopped to observe her surroundings, Leone kept walking and sat at one of the seats, confidently crossing her legs and placing her forearms onto the bar.
"Hello! I love the aesthetic of this place. Futuristic, yet clean. Could I get a glass of water while I look at this drink selection?" Leone asked, picking up the drink menu and looking through it. Haruko turned to Dan and Huntsman, not sure what to do. "Hm...the rooms seems tense. You're the expert here, how should we proceed?" Haruko whispered to Huntsman, trying to appear casual.
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Post by HungryHunter on Oct 27, 2018 5:15:33 GMT
"Haruko didn't tell me anything, I just smelled it on you. Literally and figuratively." Huntsman tugged on Dan's sleeve and directed him to the bar. Dan was half-shoved into a seat between Huntsman and the woman who was already seated. "Everybody sit, this place is great." Huntsman waved the others to the bar.
The bartender looked confused. His angular eyes narrowed further, but he made no complaint when Huntsman put money on the table. "Four Brainbusters." He grinned. The bartender hesitated taking it. "You're not here to cause trouble, are you?" His fingertips barely brushed the bills Huntsman was offering. "Nah, we're just here to see the boss. She here?" Huntsman slipped another bill from his sleeve, worth more than all those already on the table. "...yes." The bartender accepted the cash and began mixing the drinks.
Huntsman tossed something to the others. Dan lifted his to his eye and shuddered. It was a little earbud made of Huntsman's flesh. He looked at Huntsman in disgust, but Huntsman tapped his ear. He repeated the gesture until Dan sighed and put it up to his ear. It conformed to fit him perfectly and he heard a whisper. "It's not going to be fun, but you're really going to want to drink what he's about to give us.” The earbuds informed the group. The glasses were set before them, Huntsman getting two while the others got one each. They were a sludgy green, oddly opaque and viscous.
“Drink up.” Huntsman swallowed his without further remark. Dan swirled his in its glass, giving it a cautious sniff. It smelled like rotting lemons and boiled milk. Even Huntsman wouldn’t make me drink poison for fun, would he? Dan thought. Yeah, he would. But he hates Abijah. Rely on his hate, that’s the only way. Dan put the glass bottom-up and it poured slowly down his throat. It felt less like a liquid and more like a slug crawling down his throat.
The sludge tasted as poisonous as it smelled, and twice as poisonous as it looked. He gagged and leaned on the bar. A wave of nausea overtook him and the bar flashed a bright, brilliant, emerald green. He couldn’t get used to that before he reeled backwards, falling from the bar stool. Huntsman’s laughter rang out somewhere far away. “Hell of a high, eh? You’ll be over it in a minute, and then you’re resistant to telepathic tricks for a couple days.” His voice came through a fog of delirium.
Dan could barely see anything with the way his vision twisted and bent like a funhouse mirror. “So you have a friend coming? Who’s the fourth drink for?” The bartender asked. “Her!” Huntsman smashed the woman beside him in the face with his spare glass and she fell besides Dan. He wasn’t sure if it was his warped vision, but soft brown tentacles seemed to be poking through the folds in her scarf. There was a flurry of motion up above and Dan heard glass shatter as Huntsman flowed over the bar.
“I saw that coming.” The barkeeper hissed. “Not well enough, clearly!” Huntsman howled and more things broke. The three strange men from the corner came flying, moving with apelike agility. Two tried to grab Leone’s arms and slam her down on the bar. The third whipped something that looked like a glowing scalpel from his overalls and brought it down at her neck. Haruko would feel something on her ankle, and if disorientation from the drink held her back, would find her feet yanked out from under her by the soft tendrils of the woman on the ground.
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Post by Vapovile on Nov 11, 2018 10:49:20 GMT
"Brainbusters?" Leone asked, the drink not sounding appetizing at all. When the fleshy earpiece was thrown at them, both Haruko and Leone looked at it with disgust. Neither wanted Huntsman within 5 feet of them, let alone directly in their ears. Still, they placed the piece inside of their right ears and took the drinks given to them. Leone leaned over at Haruko, looking at the glass of green sludge before them all. "Do we really have to drink this? Just...look at it!" Leone asked. This was a far cry from the colorful mixed drinks she liked to order at bars. Haruko gave a nervous smile back. "Erm...yes, we do." She stated, trying to look appreciative toward the bartender. Both seamstresses took gulps out of their cups...
...and promptly began to retch. The disgusting mixture was worse than either had thought possible for a drink served for actual money. Haruko was unceremoniously pulled off by the woman on the ground, using her sense of her own body proportions to pull a tiny light blue knife from her jacket. She aimed to plunge it directly into the tendril that had pulled her down, the knife letting out a violent electric shock from the battery in the hilt that was many times more powerful than a taser. Leone let out several swears in French when she was pinned to the bar, opening her eyes in time to see the third person approaching.
"So this is how you treat guests, non?" She asked, kicking her feet together and letting the long silver knife extend out of her heel. Leone then brought her heel upward, aiming to either stab one of the people holding her down directly in the spinal column...or directly between her attacker's legs.
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Post by HungryHunter on Nov 12, 2018 7:56:30 GMT
Leone’s knife struck deep and one of the men holding her went limp. Leone was able to move as the glowing scalpel came down, leaving a burning hole in the bar where it struck. The surviving assailants made identical reaches into their jumpsuit pockets and withdrew pistols. They resembled something out of a cartoon, bright green with orange rings along their barrels. Their effect was no joke, however, firing blistering green beams that bore straight through the wall.
Haruko similarly escaped when her knife made the tentacled creature grabbing her jolt and writhe. Dan stood alongside the tendriled beast. She jumped back, bent in an inhuman fashion. Her scarf totally unwrapped, showing that her eyes and forehead were the only human features she had. Everything below was a mass of tentacles, waving furiously at Dan and Haruko. She reached her hands out and Dan felt a distant fuzziness in his mind. The mindflayer took a few steps back, eyes widening.
“So the stuff works at least.” Dan growled, rubbing eyes that were still seeing colors that didn’t exist. “Of course it does! You think I’d just drug you guys right before a big fight!?” Huntsman seemed to be having no luck in hitting the bartender. “Yes!” Dan yelled as he charged the mindflayer. She could only slide into a low stance, resembling mantis style kung fu, as he approached.
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Post by Vapovile on Nov 13, 2018 13:30:30 GMT
Several more swears in French escaped Leone's mouth when she freed herself, turning toward her assailants in time to see them bring out their pistols. Being a weapons expert, Leone studied their weapon's designs. The shape of the barrel, the rings attached to the outside, the HW nature of the bar, the engravings along the side...in Leone's professional opinion, these pistols were most likely...bad news for anything in front of them. She reached into her belt and pulled out 2 long metal tubes that clicked together, Leone clicking the handle out to produce a double-barreled shotgun.
"Those are cute...but this is better for close range, no?" Leone asked, diving down to avoid the beams and aiming her shotgun up at them. She quickly loaded two grey-tipped shells into the cartridge slots and clicked the shotgun back together, firing the first shot at one and then the other. The rounds were built largely for concussive blasts; a large round escaping the barrel and producing a loud boom that reverberated throughout the room. If struck, the shell could launch the assailants straight into the nearby wall and leave a solid indent of their body shape. She was hoping to leave these jokers alive, so she was starting with level 2 concussive rounds for now.
Now having gotten free of the tentacle and recovered enough from the horrible drink, Haruko looked up to see the tentacle monstrosity before her. "...well...can't say I was expecting this..." The seamstress remarked. She totally would think Huntsman would poison them before a fight. "Dan! Try not to hurt them too much!" She stated, hoping to keep them alive for questioning. Reaching into her coat, Haruko produced 3 more taser knives and looked at the creature before her. "Look...I really don't want to fight you all." She stated, looking up once more and tossing two of the knives at the creature's tentacles. She hoped to stun the creature enough for Dan to get a few hit in. He was far more effective close-range than her.
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Post by HungryHunter on Nov 17, 2018 6:00:06 GMT
The short folk seemed slow on the uptake. They watched with curiosity when Leone drew her barrels, only seeming to understand what she was doing when she pointed the weapon at them. They put out their hands, but only one was fast enough. One was smashed through the wall, the other blocking the projectile with a wave of telekinesis that threw over every table and chair between him and Leone. He held out his hand and his fallen comrade's pistol flew into his hands. Thumbs tapped hidden buttons on both and the pistols were aimed. This time, instead of beams, the pistols both began firing off rings of plasma that expanded as they went.
The mindflayer was ready for Dan, but not when she was being fried by Haruko. Electrical impulses paralyzed her long enough for Dan to hit her with a few brutal body blows, throwing her into the wall. She let off mental attack after mental attack, but Dan felt nothing but a tingle. "Are you going to sit down and leave us alone?" Dan asked the tentacled creature at his feet. She glared up, tendrils waving. One shot out and grabbed Dan's leg, pulling it out from under him. She grabbed a chair and threw it at Haruko, power fueled by desperation.
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Post by Vapovile on Nov 21, 2018 22:32:26 GMT
"Aw shit..." Leone said to herself when she saw the strange pistols change their firing capabilities. Judging from their energy concentration, Leone made a snap decision to leap forward, through the ring of plasma and aimed her shotgun directly downward into his cheat. A smug smile spread across her face.
"Au revoir, monsieur." She cooed, firing her concussive blast into the minion and sending him straight through the floor with a loud 'crash'. Leone emptied the spent cartridges from her shotgun and refilled them, turning to see the fight between Dan, Haruko and the strange tentacle creature.
Haruko looked on at the chair being thrown at her and dove down to the ground, letting the chair crash against the floor behind her. "Well...guess she still wants to fight." Haruko muttered to herself, jumping back onto her feet and pulling out a single knife from her jacket. "Watch out, Dan!" She called over, tossing the knife directly at the creature's right kneecap. This should be enough to take her out of the fight.
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Post by HungryHunter on Nov 27, 2018 3:03:07 GMT
Leone’s dodge was unbelievable. The alien-looking man gaped at her and couldn’t react before she pulled the trigger. Her shotgun blew a table-sized hole in the floor. If Leone looked down, she’d see her enemy lying still on a concrete floor, framed by chunks of wood. Not far away, Haruko’s knife similarly surprised her opponent. The mindflayer was kneecapped. She screamed and stumbled. Dan was upon her before she recovered. Her frail psychic’s body fell to a single elbow across the face.
“Thanks for having my back.” Dan turned to Haruko. “Not just there. I’m glad you’re here. All of you. Even you.” He nodded at Huntsman, who was standing in front of the bartender, pinned to the wall by hundreds of bony spurs. His regular eyes were dull, staring at nothing. His third eye had faded to black. “I’m glad to be here too. Now you children follow close and do what I say, this field trip’s just begun and this place does not follow OSHA regulation.” Huntsman turned his arm into a hatchet and smashed through the back wall in a few wild swings. “Couldn’t be bothered to figure out whatever magic bullshit I was supposed to do..” Huntsman tossed shards of the broken mirror aside and stepped through.
A dark staircase lay on the otherside and the group took the first flight. It turned back under the bar, into a dim hallway lit by a few distant lights and the hole Leone had shot in the ceiling. Huntsman kicked the bar patron as they passed, making him groan. Huntsman grinned. They came to a much longer flight of stairs, going down and down ahead of them with seemingly no end.
“Alright, here’s where we get serious. The drinks I bought you will defend you from regular telepaths, but that’s not what we’re going to deal with coming into this place. The very location will… do things to you.” Huntsman’s voice shook just the slightest bit. Dan hesitated on the first step. What sort of place made the Huntsman tremble? A laugh came rattling from the darkness, far below. "I'm not the only one who heard that, right?" Dan glanced around. "Nope. It sounds like you, which is a bad sign. It's already getting into your head." Huntsman was grinding his teeth, body changing in hideous waves. Was the heartbeat pounding in Dan's ears his own, or another trick? Could anybody tell in a place like this?
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 2, 2018 6:25:15 GMT
"No problem at all, Dan." Haruko confidently stated, watching the scene unfold. Were they really going to wreck this entire place? Given the current situation, the stealthy option seemed completely gone. Leone peered down the hole she created in the floor. "Whew...that's some weak flooring there. I can see he's still breathing, so that's nice." She stated, reloading her shotgun. "Field trip, huh? So would that make this kid a souvenir we're taking back?" Leone jokingly asked, Haruko rolling her eyes. "Not appropriate, Leone." "Hey, I can joke about stuff!" Leone shot back.
When the group descended the stairs, Haruko was surprised to see Huntsman nervous. This monster never seemed to be nervous...why was this different? Was it just the darkness? A little voice in her head laughed at the prospect. As they went further down, Haruko spoke up. "So...what do you mean by...doing things to us?" Haruko asked, having no idea what to expect.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 13, 2018 23:04:26 GMT
Dan didn’t react to Leone’s joke. He just marched ahead. Huntsman held up a finger in response to Haruko’s question, making her hold for the disturbingly long climb down the stairs. He finally lowered it when they reached the bottom. “I mean it’ll do that.” He pointed at the figure lying face down on the ground. Despite how shredded the figure was, it was clearly Qiang. “Qiang!” Dan yelled, lunging forward. “No you idiot, that’s not real!” Huntsman yelled, dragging him back. “You really thing Abijah went to all the trouble of kidnapping Qiang cause she wanted to kill him? She could have bashed his brains in and dumped him in the ocean. This place is playing off of your worst thoughts. All of us. We’re going to be seeing a million things like that, so don’t ever let down your mental guard. Especially you, mister baggage!” He jabbed Dan in the chest to finish off his speech and stepped into the room. Something that might have been a tongue speared Qiang’s body and whipped it off into the darkness surrounding the tiny bubble of light around the stairs. Dan whimpered, but didn’t charge again. “Progress.” Huntsman commented with no joy in his voice, growing more and more eyes. “I can’t see shit no matter what spectrum I look in…” He took shorter and shorter steps until his foot squished into something. He looked down and found brain matter on the floor. Lights flooded the room, red, hot lights. They were surrounded by corpses on all sides, mangled, stacked, twisted to fit into each other like horrible twisted bricks. Even in the light and their varying stages of completeness, they were recognizable. Haruko and Rong Jie, repeated forever.
A man that looked nearly identical to Dan sat with Rong Jie in his lap, her sightless eyes locked on Dan. “I was right. You did come crawling back. It just took longer than I expected.” He snarled. Dan didn’t respond. It seemed he couldn’t. His mouth seemed to be sinking in on itself, refusing to open for fear of vomiting. Huntsman was agitated, looking at the wall of corpses and debating whether to climb it. He was hearing noises behind it that made him think perhaps it was better to stay in here. “I could not imagine having a greater failure than you.” Rang in Dan and Huntsman’s ears alike.
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 19, 2018 0:41:12 GMT
Huntsman's insults made Haruko frown at the shapeshifter. "I don't appreciate you attacking Dan. He is obviously distressed, and that was pretty realistic." She noted, looking at the fake Qiang. Her mind briefly flashed to images of what if that had been Kate or Cosmina laying on the ground. Logically she knew they were back home...but seeing the image was still distressing. Leone stepped up and patted Dan on the shoulder. "While he has no people skills, he is right. Qiang is still probably safe. So don't worry so much, oui?" She states, giving a small smile before continuing down the stairs.
Once they reached the bottom, both haruko and Leone turned their heads rapidly to take in the surroundings. Both of them obviously recognized the mangled Harukos in the room...but who was this other woman? The site was completely grotesque to Haruko, who tried to unfocus her eyes to not take in so many details. Leone simply frowned at the stack of bodies. "Guessing since he looks like you..." Leone asked, looking at Dan. "...this all has to do with something in your mind, yes? Who is that?" She asked, keeping her hands at her sides, ready to draw her pistols if the situation turned violent.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 24, 2018 7:43:28 GMT
“Yeah? Well I don’t appreciate you enabling stupid behavior.” Huntsman snarled back at Haruko. He expected her to snap at him, but no response came. He grumbled something vile and pressed his ear to the wall. “It’s my father. Bo Xu. Well, it's pretending to be him.” Dan raised his fists. The nearly-identical man pushed himself from his throne of Harukos, moving strangely. He rocked like a man at sea or a private eye leaving a bar.
The only thing that differentiated him from Dan was the grey in his loose hair and the beard that pointed from his chin. “Not just him.” He spoke in Dan’s voice and his chest split apart. A spear of bone shot free and plunged right into Haruko’s chest. Dan could only scream as she fell. “Fuck!” Huntsman yelled, leaping away. “That wasn’t… that’s not supposed to…” He watched helplessly as Dan lunged at the apparition, his roar shaking the rotten walls. His fist smashed straight through its chest. Blood trickled from the hole. Not Bo Xu's. Dan tried to rip his arm free, but the only result was tearing his flesh. The copy laughed, and his face was entirely Dan's for the first time.
One second, Haruko was with the others. A second later, she blinked and it was all gone. There was only pitch black in every direction. Anything she said would get no response, nothing coming back but silence. Then, a sound. Little clicks, the sound of feet. Everything went silent again for an immeasurable length of time. Touch was next. A tickle at her back, and then a hard, crushingly strong hand yanking on her ankle.
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 31, 2018 1:15:11 GMT
The scene between Dan and Bo made Leone tilt her head slightly in confusion. This guy had issues with his dad? Her eyes then widened when the bone spear shot out and stabbed Haruko in the chest. "Haruko! Don't you da..." Leone began, then squinted her eyes at the Haruko before her. "That's not how a body reacts..." Leone remarked at the body. Her attention was then drawn to the scene between Bo and Dan, drawing a black assault rifle from her side and pointing it directly at Bo. "Dan, get down!" Leone commanded as she fired 4 rounds directly at the apparition's head. If these bullets hit something solid, it would at least give her information on what this thing was.
---
In an instant, Haruko found herself in a void of darkness. "...wha..." The seamstress asked out loud. What was this place? "Daaaan? Leone? Hunts...man?" Haruko's voice trailed off at the last name. Perhaps it was better if she didn't find him. Unfortunately, no voice returned her calls. The seamstress drew two knives from her jacket and held them up defensively, trying to sense the direction the sound of feet was coming from. Haruko then had to hold back a yell when something tickled her back, following it up with a strong yank at her ankles. "Hey! Let go of me!" She angerily shouts at whatever grabbed her, pulling her right hand back and throwing it at the direction of where the hand came from.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 1, 2019 5:31:20 GMT
“I know, right? Can’t believe he fell for it twice. He really doesn’t see enough dead bodies.” Huntsman prodded at the fake Haruko. He snorted and jumped up to the top of the wall. “You assholes have fun! I’m out before-” The wall shook, dropping him to the other side. He landed like a cat, coming up swinging, but just like Haruko, nothing was there. Unlike her, he had surroundings, seeing them clearly though the darkness. It was the darkness of night, stars overhead and moon glowing, not the infinite black of the void. The lights of the city below glimmered just as much.
his place was familiar. The reality of where he was came to him when the first firework went off in the sky. “No…” Huntsman growled. He was there. Right under the tree where he left him. Ron stood in full armor, a gaping hole straight through his torso. He stood straight and tall, covered entirely in his own blood. The armor wasn’t accurate to reality. It was sexualized, tighter on Ron’s body, complete with an accentuated codpiece. “Really? You expect me to react? I don’t give a shit about you anymore.” Huntsman mocked the apparition. It didn’t respond.
“What? You can’t even copy his voice!? Can’t make him make that gasp he made when I stabbed him!? This is the piss-poor work I would expect from-” Ron and the tree he stood under were pulverized by something from the sky, setting the hillside ablaze. “What the fuck!?” He yelled. More fireballs were raining from the sky, dropping from the fireworks above. Every single one, he realized in horror, was the burning body of Ron.
Leone’s bullets went through Bo Xu’s skull like she was shooting soggy toilet paper and Dan was allowed to slide to the floor. The bulletholes closed while the boxer turned his head to Leone. When he he begun to change. Maybe the lighting had hidden those chitinous plates, the whisker-like antennae waving around his mouth. “Failure! Not a speck of fighting spirit!” He kicked Dan in the ribs and kept doing it until Dan stopped trying to get up.
“You will all fall and I will take Haruko. She will be the first to help me rebuild my army.” Bo’s look at Haruko was fond, but it didn’t last long. He lunged at Leone and threw punches with hands that were now clawed, trying to drive Leone into the wall and disarm her. Dan came from behind with a hook to the kidney. His aura flickered and flared, hair jolting and jumping, on the verge of entering the Avatar State.
Something cracked on Bo Xu’s side, but by the sound Dan made, it wasn’t Bo’s carapace. Bo smiled and Dan shuddered. It wasn’t Bo anymore. It wasn’t just the carapace. The way his hair had grown out into a matted mess. The avatar as he saw himself, everything that title meant to him. “You won’t touch her. Right Leone?” He grit his teeth and grimmaced at her in an attempt to smile.
Haruko’s knife went clean through something to impale itself in the concrete floor and she was released. The room was silent once more for another eternity. Then it came from all sides, screams, howls, roars, hisses, distressingly human yells. With the unbearable clamor came attacks from all directions. All of them were nothing alone. Weak punches from undersized fists, shallow cuts, all of them just enough to hurt and no more. But they came in an endless wave from all directions, trying to wear her down.
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Post by Vapovile on Mar 10, 2019 22:26:08 GMT
The current situation puzzled Leone. This man was clearly someone Dan hated dearly, and seemed to like Haruko? Or...maybe this was some straw man drawn from Dan's mind? Regardless, she nodded her head at Dan. "Would I allow someone like this to touch my friend? Of course not. I do want an explanation after this, though." And with that, Leone took a step forward and aimed her shotgun directly for the man's face.
"Sounds like you have armor...but you left a little gap." Pulling the trigger, Leone released a spread of miniature fireballs out of her gun, designed to hit the man even if he tried to dodge. In her haste to attack Bo though, she lost track of where the real Haruko was. Come to think of it...where was Huntsman as well?
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The eerie silence made Haruko back away from the newly-arrived voices. They seemed strangely...familiar. The wave of attacks that followed made Haruko leap backwards and begin tossing knives around the room, each attached to razor wires in her coat. "Where are you?! Show yourself, now!" Haruko ordered whomever was attacking her, wincing at the pain. She hoped the figure would run into the wires and get sliced by them. In an attempt to speed to process up, Haruko pulled out 5 explosive knives from her coat and tossed them in a circle around herself, letting them explode on contact with the floor. Why were these sounds sounding so familiar to her?!
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