This is part of the Curing the Sickness Story Line. Special thanks to the player of Revanche for this live play that has been adapted from!
Old marketplace : Aug 22nd : 2145 Hours
A routine patrol if there ever was one for the Watch Captain, as he made a quick round of the Alleys and back ends here and there.
There was something...Strange about one of the certain alleys, a deathly silence that filled the damp atmosphere, even though it seemed unpopulated it should have been making a noise, either the rats or the wind but all there was, was...Silence.
Then the words, "Stay still," and a flash of a camera? This caused a blazing white screen to envelope one of the various maze-like alleys of the city.
A pause in step, and then a step back as a brow somewhat raised... A cant of head, as eyed of blue narrowed ever so, coupled with a prick of ear. A glance across the street a moment, told him something in turn. In the form of clothes on a line, drifting with the wind and yet.... "No wind... You two go ahead, I'll check this one... Then head over to the next block."
The two other men took their leave, as Brian looked down the alley once more. Something else bothered him... Nearly every alley had someone, or thing and yet--- nothing here. Quiet steps took him into the alley itself and then--- A voice was heard, and then?a flash of light?
The light was blinding indeed, as a gloved hand lifted to cover his eyes but it was too late as Brian had been caught a bit off guard. "The hell?!"
"Good my child, now your medicine." A muffled gasp and the slicing sound of a body falling, only to land into the robed arms of the cloaked man, hidden partially in the shadows. The hood he bore managing to cover the pale flesh hidden underneath yet his shades... They glinted in the murky lamp-light of the alley like hot coals, and even though the eyes were nowhere to be seen you could swear they were glaring at the man who had somehow stumbled upon this most interesting of scenes, so to speak. A moment of silence and frozen stance the limp body in his arms, even gloves covered his skin, leaving nothing but a wispy, blackened figure, and the glimmer of glass before Brian. Then he stepped back, and let the shadows swallow him up, "Not yet..." The sound of footsteps began to carry in the air, rushing through the other side of the alley now.
His eyes returned enough to make something out, as he regained his footing. That voice... And what sounded like-- he didn't know. Then-- the eyes... That pair of eyes that looked-- well, he felt almost as if they looked through him in a sense, and for that moment--- in that darkened alley all alone... Confined somehow-- the walls... closing, and breathing was-- sh*t it was those eyes! Pricks were felt all over his body, as the hair somehow---- stood on such end, causing him to recoil ever so slightly.
The voice... Those terms... "You're dead... We ended you... I snapped your ne-- NO! He wouldn't do this, he couldn't! Something from within came to, and Brian recovered with steps forward, as his eyes of blue narrowed upon the shade. "What are yo----"
And then it spoke...
"Not yet?" Brian growled and pushed forward, with hand to his side arm, the images of what had been two years past and longer burning fresh, as the eldest Ravenlock grimaced in anger at the lack of response and more so the lack of will in regards to his body... No, not here and not now, damn it. This is what he had been here for... This is what had to give, and something----
?NO! Stop right there!"
Breaking from the chains so to speak, Brian drew his weapon and bolted for whatever it was as he called out on the radio, Mike-100 in alley bravo 5, possible subject, tail end of the alley---- "Stop right there!" And then it was gone!? "What the f*ck!? "
Brian turned to see where it had gone to!
"Not yet..." A taunting echo bounced off the encroaching walls of the alley, the footsteps seemingly growing louder, the sharp sounds of boots crashing against slippery cobblestones. Then there it was again! Passing under another lamp's faint glow, the flowing tendrils of its robes flying back like a set of useless appendages, the pace of the man surprisingly fast despite the weight of the limp body bearing down on his shoulder.
?Other end of the alley proper headed west bound! Cut that bastard off!? Brian was off once more, as he vaulted a crate and something else-- he had no idea, what the hell it was truth being told, and in all reality it didn't matter.
Brian had the tunnel vision for the shade, and that was all the matter to the man, as he took another crate and then knocked someone clear off their feet in his pursuit! That voice again, driving him further as frustration began to set in somewhat more so with each step taken and each other step lost. Out of the alley he came, and the backup hadn't arrived yet... A curse let loose, as he looked back and forth for some break-- "Where in the f*ck did you-- THERE!" The light gave the man what he needed as Brian took off once more, giving no mind to the slick cobblestone what so ever, or the fact that this shade-- this thing, was so damned fast while carrying a bod--- "Oh sh*t... It's a ---" Then the radio crackled to life, ?It's the subject, carrying a body---- I don't know what the hell it is, southbound now! Southbound! Where the hell are you gu--- "Stop! Damn you, STOP!" And then Brian fired three rounds at the shade, as he cried out to a passer-by he knocked aside, "Get inside NOW!"
As the first bullet sliced the air beside his head, the shade's direction swiftly made a turn away, crashing through an abandoned structure's door, likely an old warehouse or factory by the shipping gear and machinery lain around. The door easily buckled under the weight, dust flying up into the night sky as heavy boots tread quickly over the shattered door, and he hastily formed a bee-line for the stairwell, the chime of metal being stamped on ringing through the empty, degraded structure-
"I'll never stop...You are but a child!"
?Shots fired! Warehouse, east side of the street! Moving inside! Set a perimeter outside and NOTHING get out!?
The voice of the Captain left nothing to debate, as he heard the back up in the distance. His eyes narrowed as he fired another three rounds left to right through the door frame to make sure it was clear before he burst inside in pursuit. A piece of the door catching his foot as the Watch Captain fell roughly to the floor, crashing into the side of what might have been an engine block for all he knew.
The sickening thud of flesh to solid steel following, coupled with a heaving indeed. The wind knocked from the man as he fought like a mad man to recover. Shifting to his feet and shaking the cobwebs and pain that racked his form, he moved to the stairwell in response to sounds... A loud curse let out, as he felt that ankle give way to his weight...
A sprain. "F*ck..." And then that voice again... "A child... A child!? You son of a whore, I'll end this bef-- damn you!" -----
That was it... It all began to come back...
Other similar circumstances... Other players and places... And this would be the same ex-- "NO!" Steps were taken with no regard to the sharp pain that pulsed from his ankle, and leg as Brian took his way upward. His weapon aimed, as he made the second floor! "Renna! Jacyn!?" Why the he--- why those names!? No, it isn?t them--- ?You're surrounded, come out NOW! Hands up, where I can see em, NOW!"
"Fine, hands up...." Then the body came. It crashed just before Brian, the neck twisted hideously back so that the head was almost facing the back of him, the flesh twisted and veins pulsing, eyes rolled back to reveal the starting white colour, "There are plenty more sinners...."
The body was like the other victims, ragged, poor yet...Healthy looking. Except for the broken neck.... He wasn't on the second floor! Where was the shade now? Above? Below? Was he even there?
"You're looking weak there, alone and frightened of course. Who knows who you're up against....Wait. I do." Then came the chuckle, thick and blood-curdling, like an old horn being blown once more and it just rang on and on, bouncing off every wall, every machinery and every item surrounding Brian, giving the impression that this...Thing--was everywhere.
The body caused Brian to back up a step or three, as he took a quick glance to assure a threat status, and then he fired again. Four more rounds pierced the air, and then-- "What!?" Brian aimed upwards, towards the voice! "Tell me about the sinners!? We all sin, right!? Tell me about the sinners!" A quick turn around, and to the side! "Where are you!?" Keep the perimeter! No one gets out! Hold the line! -- Weak!?? Brian turned again, and then looked up and down. The clip was popped and another loaded, as he kept his vigil while taking the stairs once more, and then--- The horn...
It struck him like a hammer, and then again and again... His weapon was dropped, as it clattered to the floor, yet he heard not a damned thing, courtesy of the attack. His hands gripped the railing, as he fell to a knee with a grunt. Again and again he was struck, by the unseen force, that bounded throughout the warehouse!
Then darkness--- something struck the back of his head, as he felt himself slip more so-- fingers loosened, as cries for a response came over the radio with no response from the felled Ravenlock. Darkness began to creep into the peripheral, as he said something that even he could not make out. Images flared back and forth, as he sank further within that blanket of night-- And then... Something caught the eldest Ravenlock.. It was a light rune of blue---of frost. The cold--- the frost, took him by that hand of his... Fingers extending more so, as the man continued to feel himself slip... "You---'re not Jacyn..."
A hand stretched and caught that railing, as he pulled with all he had left within. The darkness of his eyes gave way to such a bright glow of frost, as he cried out sending a blast of frost laced with what seemed to be blood in all directions, again and again, as he---- Then the door burst open, with a flash grenade as Watchmen and women stormed the building sending light in all directions..
Brian in turn lost all consciousness, and fell down the remainder of the steps to the floor in a crumpled heap, "I got the Captain!" cried a Watchman, as others moved in further. "Search the building, two by two now!" "His hand!? What happened in here... Secure him, and get him out. Hold the area! Get me medical, where's Serah!? She's gone!?"
"The seventh sinner...." his shades gleamed with a malevolent glee as he watched the madness from overhead, the flash of teeth were exposed from beneath his pale visage, and he whispered his final word, "Violence."
The tendrils of shadows licked at the air around him, lashing out like crazed serpents as his form slipped out of a previously-shattered window, not even the broken glass cracking as he navigated past them. His shades once more glanced back, and he couldn't hold back the torrent of silent chuckle to himself, a gloved hand reaching out to scratch at the shadows beneath the hood.
This one is....Unique. The sinner we have needed, but not yet....No. Not yet....
The scene played out, as the building was soon secured. Medics arrived to tend to Brian and others who had been injured
during the incident. Crime scene followed, and examiners as well.
It was orchestrated chaos indeed.
Old marketplace : Aug 22nd : 2145 Hours
A routine patrol if there ever was one for the Watch Captain, as he made a quick round of the Alleys and back ends here and there.
There was something...Strange about one of the certain alleys, a deathly silence that filled the damp atmosphere, even though it seemed unpopulated it should have been making a noise, either the rats or the wind but all there was, was...Silence.
Then the words, "Stay still," and a flash of a camera? This caused a blazing white screen to envelope one of the various maze-like alleys of the city.
A pause in step, and then a step back as a brow somewhat raised... A cant of head, as eyed of blue narrowed ever so, coupled with a prick of ear. A glance across the street a moment, told him something in turn. In the form of clothes on a line, drifting with the wind and yet.... "No wind... You two go ahead, I'll check this one... Then head over to the next block."
The two other men took their leave, as Brian looked down the alley once more. Something else bothered him... Nearly every alley had someone, or thing and yet--- nothing here. Quiet steps took him into the alley itself and then--- A voice was heard, and then?a flash of light?
The light was blinding indeed, as a gloved hand lifted to cover his eyes but it was too late as Brian had been caught a bit off guard. "The hell?!"
"Good my child, now your medicine." A muffled gasp and the slicing sound of a body falling, only to land into the robed arms of the cloaked man, hidden partially in the shadows. The hood he bore managing to cover the pale flesh hidden underneath yet his shades... They glinted in the murky lamp-light of the alley like hot coals, and even though the eyes were nowhere to be seen you could swear they were glaring at the man who had somehow stumbled upon this most interesting of scenes, so to speak. A moment of silence and frozen stance the limp body in his arms, even gloves covered his skin, leaving nothing but a wispy, blackened figure, and the glimmer of glass before Brian. Then he stepped back, and let the shadows swallow him up, "Not yet..." The sound of footsteps began to carry in the air, rushing through the other side of the alley now.
His eyes returned enough to make something out, as he regained his footing. That voice... And what sounded like-- he didn't know. Then-- the eyes... That pair of eyes that looked-- well, he felt almost as if they looked through him in a sense, and for that moment--- in that darkened alley all alone... Confined somehow-- the walls... closing, and breathing was-- sh*t it was those eyes! Pricks were felt all over his body, as the hair somehow---- stood on such end, causing him to recoil ever so slightly.
The voice... Those terms... "You're dead... We ended you... I snapped your ne-- NO! He wouldn't do this, he couldn't! Something from within came to, and Brian recovered with steps forward, as his eyes of blue narrowed upon the shade. "What are yo----"
And then it spoke...
"Not yet?" Brian growled and pushed forward, with hand to his side arm, the images of what had been two years past and longer burning fresh, as the eldest Ravenlock grimaced in anger at the lack of response and more so the lack of will in regards to his body... No, not here and not now, damn it. This is what he had been here for... This is what had to give, and something----
?NO! Stop right there!"
Breaking from the chains so to speak, Brian drew his weapon and bolted for whatever it was as he called out on the radio, Mike-100 in alley bravo 5, possible subject, tail end of the alley---- "Stop right there!" And then it was gone!? "What the f*ck!? "
Brian turned to see where it had gone to!
"Not yet..." A taunting echo bounced off the encroaching walls of the alley, the footsteps seemingly growing louder, the sharp sounds of boots crashing against slippery cobblestones. Then there it was again! Passing under another lamp's faint glow, the flowing tendrils of its robes flying back like a set of useless appendages, the pace of the man surprisingly fast despite the weight of the limp body bearing down on his shoulder.
?Other end of the alley proper headed west bound! Cut that bastard off!? Brian was off once more, as he vaulted a crate and something else-- he had no idea, what the hell it was truth being told, and in all reality it didn't matter.
Brian had the tunnel vision for the shade, and that was all the matter to the man, as he took another crate and then knocked someone clear off their feet in his pursuit! That voice again, driving him further as frustration began to set in somewhat more so with each step taken and each other step lost. Out of the alley he came, and the backup hadn't arrived yet... A curse let loose, as he looked back and forth for some break-- "Where in the f*ck did you-- THERE!" The light gave the man what he needed as Brian took off once more, giving no mind to the slick cobblestone what so ever, or the fact that this shade-- this thing, was so damned fast while carrying a bod--- "Oh sh*t... It's a ---" Then the radio crackled to life, ?It's the subject, carrying a body---- I don't know what the hell it is, southbound now! Southbound! Where the hell are you gu--- "Stop! Damn you, STOP!" And then Brian fired three rounds at the shade, as he cried out to a passer-by he knocked aside, "Get inside NOW!"
As the first bullet sliced the air beside his head, the shade's direction swiftly made a turn away, crashing through an abandoned structure's door, likely an old warehouse or factory by the shipping gear and machinery lain around. The door easily buckled under the weight, dust flying up into the night sky as heavy boots tread quickly over the shattered door, and he hastily formed a bee-line for the stairwell, the chime of metal being stamped on ringing through the empty, degraded structure-
"I'll never stop...You are but a child!"
?Shots fired! Warehouse, east side of the street! Moving inside! Set a perimeter outside and NOTHING get out!?
The voice of the Captain left nothing to debate, as he heard the back up in the distance. His eyes narrowed as he fired another three rounds left to right through the door frame to make sure it was clear before he burst inside in pursuit. A piece of the door catching his foot as the Watch Captain fell roughly to the floor, crashing into the side of what might have been an engine block for all he knew.
The sickening thud of flesh to solid steel following, coupled with a heaving indeed. The wind knocked from the man as he fought like a mad man to recover. Shifting to his feet and shaking the cobwebs and pain that racked his form, he moved to the stairwell in response to sounds... A loud curse let out, as he felt that ankle give way to his weight...
A sprain. "F*ck..." And then that voice again... "A child... A child!? You son of a whore, I'll end this bef-- damn you!" -----
That was it... It all began to come back...
Other similar circumstances... Other players and places... And this would be the same ex-- "NO!" Steps were taken with no regard to the sharp pain that pulsed from his ankle, and leg as Brian took his way upward. His weapon aimed, as he made the second floor! "Renna! Jacyn!?" Why the he--- why those names!? No, it isn?t them--- ?You're surrounded, come out NOW! Hands up, where I can see em, NOW!"
"Fine, hands up...." Then the body came. It crashed just before Brian, the neck twisted hideously back so that the head was almost facing the back of him, the flesh twisted and veins pulsing, eyes rolled back to reveal the starting white colour, "There are plenty more sinners...."
The body was like the other victims, ragged, poor yet...Healthy looking. Except for the broken neck.... He wasn't on the second floor! Where was the shade now? Above? Below? Was he even there?
"You're looking weak there, alone and frightened of course. Who knows who you're up against....Wait. I do." Then came the chuckle, thick and blood-curdling, like an old horn being blown once more and it just rang on and on, bouncing off every wall, every machinery and every item surrounding Brian, giving the impression that this...Thing--was everywhere.
The body caused Brian to back up a step or three, as he took a quick glance to assure a threat status, and then he fired again. Four more rounds pierced the air, and then-- "What!?" Brian aimed upwards, towards the voice! "Tell me about the sinners!? We all sin, right!? Tell me about the sinners!" A quick turn around, and to the side! "Where are you!?" Keep the perimeter! No one gets out! Hold the line! -- Weak!?? Brian turned again, and then looked up and down. The clip was popped and another loaded, as he kept his vigil while taking the stairs once more, and then--- The horn...
It struck him like a hammer, and then again and again... His weapon was dropped, as it clattered to the floor, yet he heard not a damned thing, courtesy of the attack. His hands gripped the railing, as he fell to a knee with a grunt. Again and again he was struck, by the unseen force, that bounded throughout the warehouse!
Then darkness--- something struck the back of his head, as he felt himself slip more so-- fingers loosened, as cries for a response came over the radio with no response from the felled Ravenlock. Darkness began to creep into the peripheral, as he said something that even he could not make out. Images flared back and forth, as he sank further within that blanket of night-- And then... Something caught the eldest Ravenlock.. It was a light rune of blue---of frost. The cold--- the frost, took him by that hand of his... Fingers extending more so, as the man continued to feel himself slip... "You---'re not Jacyn..."
A hand stretched and caught that railing, as he pulled with all he had left within. The darkness of his eyes gave way to such a bright glow of frost, as he cried out sending a blast of frost laced with what seemed to be blood in all directions, again and again, as he---- Then the door burst open, with a flash grenade as Watchmen and women stormed the building sending light in all directions..
Brian in turn lost all consciousness, and fell down the remainder of the steps to the floor in a crumpled heap, "I got the Captain!" cried a Watchman, as others moved in further. "Search the building, two by two now!" "His hand!? What happened in here... Secure him, and get him out. Hold the area! Get me medical, where's Serah!? She's gone!?"
"The seventh sinner...." his shades gleamed with a malevolent glee as he watched the madness from overhead, the flash of teeth were exposed from beneath his pale visage, and he whispered his final word, "Violence."
The tendrils of shadows licked at the air around him, lashing out like crazed serpents as his form slipped out of a previously-shattered window, not even the broken glass cracking as he navigated past them. His shades once more glanced back, and he couldn't hold back the torrent of silent chuckle to himself, a gloved hand reaching out to scratch at the shadows beneath the hood.
This one is....Unique. The sinner we have needed, but not yet....No. Not yet....
The scene played out, as the building was soon secured. Medics arrived to tend to Brian and others who had been injured
during the incident. Crime scene followed, and examiners as well.
It was orchestrated chaos indeed.