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Post by Atalan on Jan 21, 2020 13:41:38 GMT -8
Atalan sat in the shade of a recently constructed pavilion and watched his people work on the construction of Satan City. It had been quite some time since construction had begun, and it was coming together nicely. At least well enough that he could let his peons work for a while so he could rest in the shade and drink a bit of chilled melon wine from a frosted metallic goblet. He thought he might even read a little and make an afternoon of it. He knew his plans were about to be derailed before even getting properly on track when he saw a nervous and sweaty lesser demon heading towards him, parchment in his hand. His face went from impassive to glaring as the demon approached and knelt before him. The demon was an imp; one of the lowest castes of demons known more for trickery and deceit than power. They had their uses as servants, but one had to be careful not to let them grow too confident or too powerful or you ended up with ones like that damned blacksmith from the desert. The green skinned imp bowed its head and murmured in a humble tone, "A message from Grazzel, master. He says it is important for you to read immediately." Atalan took the parchment and casually struck the imp with a backhanded slap that sent it rolling backwards as he said in a harsh tone, "You know you wait until you are told to speak, impling. Speak out of turn again and it will cost you a wing." The imp mewled and curled its wings close to himself at Atalan's words, shuddering at the thought of being maimed so. He kept his golden eyed glare fixed on the imp until it cowered down and lowered its gaze once more before he broke the seal on the parchment and began unrolling it to read the contents.
My Lord Atalan, Troubling news has reached me from the south boundaries of your holdings; rebellion and sedition seethe like disease amongst the peasantry there. A group of them have stumbled upon an old bunker that was stockpiled with weapons and technology; the scouts that have returned have verified that the insignia that show on the armor, vehicles, and weapons all match the Red Ribbon Army's during the height of its power. They have also began sending teams out to nearby villages and swelling their numbers, training those who are willing to join them to use the cast offs of the past's failures. The rebels have shot at and killed any scout or loyal subject to my lord Baron but thus far I have not sent in the guards as I felt that you might yourself wish to direct the course of action against those that dare to raise arms against you.. Please advise me whether you wish me to send in the troops or if you wish to deal with this personally, my lord, I await your orders. Servi tui in sempiternum Grazzel Fellblood
Atalan felt dampness on his left hand and glanced down to see that he had crumpled the goblet into a misshapen mass. He cast it at the imp, drawing a pained yelp as it bonked off its head. He felt a growing rage building in his chest that these fools would DARE rebel against him on his own land. It was unthinkable is what it was. He glanced around at the city rising before him; he had come here hoping to find some people to bend to his own ends, it was time to put that into effect. He began thinking quickly, thoughts racing through his head so quickly they almost made him dizzy. Finally he hit upon a plan and felt a diabolical urge to laugh come across him; he suppressed it to a manic grin as he grabbed the imp by the throat and picked it up, looking into the greasy little creature's eyes. His voice was low and menacing as he spoke to the captured imp, "Listen, worthless one and heed my words well if you wish to continue your existence. Go forth into this city and find one of the fighters working; and I want a fighter and not one of these useless peasants. Tell them that I have a task for a mighty warrior and send them my way, that is all. If they are... sufficient for my task, I will award you with the right to carry my message back to Grazzel. If not, I will send the messenger I choose with your skull to make sure he is not so.. haphazard with his choice of the next messenger. What are you waiting for, go on!"He cast the imp away and watched as the creature mewled in pain for a moment before it picked itself up and hurried off into the city, already frantically searching for someone suitable to the baron's needs. Atalan turned back to the pavilion with the table supporting the carafe of chilled wine and decided to make himself comfortable for a bit while he waited. No point in being parched while he waited for his orders to be carried out. Besides; plotting the murder of insurrectionists was thirsty work by nature. He found two more goblets among his effects and sat them out on the table, filling one of them with the sweet melon wine and settling back down to wait for his incompetent servant to bring him something he could work with. [918/12,000] Zaru
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Post by Zaru on Jan 21, 2020 14:21:20 GMT -8
Why had nobody ever told him that construction was hard work. Zaru, thankfully, had finished pretty much all of his work for the day in Satan City. It was pretty much finished up as he looked at it, and this was probably his last part in it. Just some minor things that had needed doing, no trouble for someone like him. In fact, that was the problem. He'd actually completed the task way too fast. The martial artist stood there with his hands in his pockets, the white gi adorned over his body that displayed the the sigil of the turtle school on it. To this day, he was still unsure why he kept that on it. He'd never been formally part, but maybe some part of him wanted to pay respect to where the fundamentals had come from, at least for him. He supposed that was one of the few things he'd thank the old man for; he'd found a good place to settle a martial arts family and clan, that was for sure. His belt blew in the gentle breeze as he glanced out to the distance, a setting sun not far off from where he stood, or at least it looked like it was close enough that he'd be able to rush over and catch it, somehow. Time must have gotten away from him just getting here, since there was no way it was the work that had taken such a long time. In fact, it was getting late. Usually, it'd be a good idea to just turn in. After all, every kind of martial artist needed rest, at some point. There was no exception to it, despite what some believed, right before they overworked themselves and collapsed of muscle stress and exhaustion during a bout. The young man was distracted from his self-reaffirming thoughts as he heard some scurrying noise behind him. Specifically, it was an odd little green....person. He wasn't sure if they were human or they were some kind of weird beastmen, or even like those other, taller green guys he'd seen now and again. What were they again? There were some demons that looked like them, so maybe he was one of those. Zaru could tell the little guy was trying to get his attention. Now that he thought about it, this thing was kind of gross. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to get too near it, but he'd never got anywhere judging a book by his cover, he supposed. The martial artist squatted down to stare the imp in the face, his face still blank and cold in its expression. "What do you want, shorty? I'm busy." He certainly had looked it, standing around doing nothing. The small creature cleared his throat, as though readying a speech he'd prepared just for such an occasion as this. "There are innocent people who need help, friend! My good liege, the Baron Atalan, has dangerous terrorists and insurgents attacking his lands. Some kind of resurgent Red Ribbon Army, intent on purifying the land of normal people, kidnapping them and forcibly replacing their bodies with those of androids! Truly terrible. We need the assistance of any who can offer it." Zaru raised an eyebrow at this guy. The story sounded kind of crazy, but just the idea was already starting to make his insides simmer, even if he looked indifferent on the outside. People being forcibly made into cyborgs? He didn't know if it was the same, but he knew that Red Ribbon had done something to forever earn the ire of the old lady and Uncle 17, so maybe they did deserve what they were gonna get. Still, maybe he shouldn't get involved. The imp quickly followed up. "I understand if you do not wish to endanger yourself with something like this; after all, my lord only expected me to call on great warriors!" Oh, now he'd done it. Zaru did his best to still maintain that blank, robotic expression, but he felt that jab sting. He was tempted to throttle this little pipsqueak for saying something like that, but that wouldn't exactly be the kind of thing you'd see a dignified martial artist doing. He was far smaller and weaker; what kind of man would kick someone when they're down, or pick on the weaker? "I'm in. Take me to your, uh...yeah, whatever. Take me to him." Zaru stood up straight as the Imp seemed to make a noise of excitement, which only sounded just the right way to reinforce his initial 'gross' impression. He followed the winged creature, which he was sure now was some kinda demon, to a pavilion of some kind. Zaru knew very little about demons other than the name; but considering that they seemed to just be kind of angrier, maybe more unreasonable versions of humans from what he'd heard, he didn't see them as very different. As he was led up towards the actual Baron, that only confirmed his feeling. This guy just looked like..a man, in some way. There were some features that were obviously different, like the ears and just...the way his energy felt. Though now that Zaru noticed, they weren't that far off in how much energy was swirling around them, as he felt it. These red ribbon guys must have been the real deal, if a man with this much raw power was asking for help. Zaru just kind of ignored whatever entrance the imp might've given him, or if he was trying to speak to the demon lord he was staring towards. "Name's Zaru. I'm responding to your, uh...your call for help, I guess? To help you take down these Red Ribbon guys who are hurting your people. Your assistant over there gave me enough of an idea." He didn't need to hear much more. People were getting hurt, he'd stop it. No biggie. He had it well in hand. He wasn't sure why people didn't just ask for his help more often; this guy had good senses. No wonder he was a Baron. Whatever that might've meant.
WC: 1022 MWC: [1940/12,000]
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Post by Atalan on Jan 22, 2020 12:26:37 GMT -8
Atalan glanced up from his tome as he sensed someone approaching; it was the little imp escorting a bald man in a gi. Atalan cast his sense at the man; he had a decent amount of power. His eyebrows rose the merest fraction of an inch, the imp had actually done its job. A pity, he would have to kill it some other time. He stood to greet the man in his smooth voice, "Zaru, is it? I am the Baron Atalan of the Southern Demonlands. Please, sit. Have a glass of melon wine, it is quite refreshing." Atalan shooed the imp away with a negligent flick of his hand before he grabbed the pitcher and poured another goblet of the wine. He set it on the other side of the table, gesturing for the younger man to sit across from him as he settled himself back down into a seated position.
Atalan studied the man as he came closer; he had a black and white gi that had symbols of the Turtle school... which was interesting. Perhaps he was part of some offshoot of the school he had not heard of. After the warrior settled himself in, he continued, "Indeed, there is a pocket of people trying to revive the ideologies of the Red Ribbon Army on the edge of my land. My concern, as my messenger may or may not have informed you is them forcefully recruiting people from the villages under my protection. Word has reached me from my seneschal that they have began to... experiment on some of the people they have captured. From what he says, they are being turned into androids against their will; something I cannot allow to continue."
Atalan paused to take a drink of the light faintly sweet wine and studied Zaru's mannerisms and thought about his words. He seemed very sure of himself; almost prideful. He could work with that. "I am going to handle this personally, but desired some back up in case things get a bit dicey; you never know what sort of strange technologies can turn up in these old military bunkers. Our basic mission will be to infiltrate their defenses and end the threat permanently; preferably by blowing up the bunker. Can you fly? if not I can arrange for transport for you."
As he waited for the bald man to answer, he drained the rest of the wine in his goblet and set it back on the table. If this man was true to type, he wouldn't be able to resist anything that called his abilities into doubt or cast him in a light to look weak. If he played this right, he just might get a right hand man to be his enforcer... and take another step on the road to the throne. His golden eyes flashed with inner light at the thought as he regarded the martial artist and awaited his answer to his questions. This had proven to be an interesting day indeed.
[2441/12000]
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Post by Zaru on Jan 22, 2020 13:38:38 GMT -8
Zaru wasn't really sure what to make of this guy - Atalan, this Baron of the Southern Demonlands. He seemed...alright, he supposed. He was friendly enough for a guy who ruled a place with 'Demonlands' in the name, so Zaru wasn't going to go around poking the bear. Besides, he actually got his name right. After one of his previous encounters, that made a nice change. It seemed like his luck was looking up when it came to meeting people; for a long time he'd avoided them, pretty sure that it would just get in the way of his training and also that he wouldn't really get them. People were complicated, and trying to figure them out was messy. Recently though, he'd met other martial artists. They were...mostly, really weird, but they weren't bad people. Atalan though, was at least straight to the point. He didn't mess around, except maybe for offering the wine. Zaru had a certain respect for that, so far. The bald man moved onto the seat that the Baron pointed him to, leaning back as he still kept his hands in his pockets. Rather than sit like a normal person, Zaru instead lifted his legs, planting his booted feet heel-first onto the table as he relaxed into the chair. He stared towards the Baron, still blank in his expression, and curious more than anything about this situation. He wondered if it was anything like the imp said- oh, right, he'd been offered something. "I'll pass on the wine, thanks. Not really my thing." He'd tried to skip on any drinking; interfered with the whole maintaining your body thing.
The young martial artist still seemed to listen intently as Atalan described the situation - so, things were as the little guy fluttering around had said. People were really being disappeared out of villages and conscripted into this new Red Ribbon Army. He would ask why, or how they'd appeared, but he knew nothing about the Demonlands, really. He'd never been, he only knew that it was arid, and he had no idea why anyone would live out there in the badlands. The heat was uncomfortable, dust would get into the worst places and you had to constantly cover and hydrate yourself just to stay alive. Why would he know anything about it? He had no desire to ever go there. The only glimpse he'd ever caught of it was on a road sign he passed by in a taxi, on the way up to Central City after he'd left the southern isles. As he listened to the news, Zaru nodded along, giving an air of understanding as the Baron continued to explain. Yet, as it continued, something bothered him on the inside, and he mulled it over in his head. What's a seneschal, anyway? Some kind of postman? Nah, couldn't be. An advisor, maybe. Guard? Maybe I ought ask- no, that'll look dumb. Just look it up later. Steal Lina's phone and look it up.
Blowing up the bunker seemed a little overkill, especially if there was all that stuff in there. Still, he wasn't here to tell a Baron how to run his own house, since he didn't really care that much. The Red Ribbon guys would be easy enough to drop and just drag off to....whatever counted as the police in the Demonlands, he guessed. If not, there were always the security guys at the border to the Plains. He wasn't about to hand them over to Desert Wolves, though. Braindead bikers would probably just try to make them into an engine or handlebars, somehow. "I can fly just fine, thanks. Been doing it for a long time, actually. I can handle this no problem; when are we leaving?" This was a nice place, but he didn't plan on making himself at home, and he was eager to get out and do something, test the results of his new training. Taking down some bad guys and helping strengthen relations with the Demonlands was a real productive way to do it. He was looking forward to doing both.
WC: 683 | 3124
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Post by Atalan on Jan 24, 2020 9:02:19 GMT -8
Picking up the wine that the other man had refused, Atalan knocked it back and drained it in one go. He supposed this man was some sort of peasant and he couldn't be too disappointed in his lack of education in the finer things in life. If he turned out to be a worthy tool, he might even take the time to educate him; one's servants were a reflection of themselves after all. Couldn't have the hairless buffoon embarrassing him... but that was putting the cart before the horse. First he needed to see if he was even capable of being made a servant. Then he would see about convincing him... something about quelling an uprising in blood always seemed to be either the best or worst recruiting tool. It definitely revealed if the fighter was good demon soldier material... so all he had to do was take this buffoon to the action.
He nodded in approval as the man told him he could fly, at least that was one complication avoided. He stood and looked down at the fighter before he said, "Very well. Let me give my people a few instructions; I then need to make a quick call to pinpoint the bunkers location and we shall leave. Please, be at ease in the pavilion until I return."
Atalan moved out of the pavilion and down towards his work crews, where it didn't take him long to find the human he had found to be the most industrious and put him in charge of the project they were working on. On pain of death if something went wrong of course. He then stepped into one of the newly formed alleys here in Satan City and found a semi private wall to use. He quickly sketched four runes that formed the points of a rectangle before adding a few more in the center and infusing it with his will; the runes burst into crimson light that swirled together into a pool of glowing light that slowly cleared into a view of a green demonic face - his seneschal, Grazzel. Grazzel bowed his head and murmured respectfully, "My lord, I assume you received my dispatch?"
Atalan nodded, "Yes, well done. now, what can you tell me of the exact location of this bunker. I want to suppress these people before they grow into a true thorn in my side." he punctuated the last sentence by clenching his fist before the view port, causing his knuckles to pop ominously.
Grazzel moved out of view for a few moments and came back unrolling a map of his barony. He turned the map so Atalan could see and tapped a circled section at the very south east corner of his boundaries. Grazzel tapped the map and said, "They are somewhere within these two plateaus, my lord. None of the scouts who have gotten close have returned with more detailed information; they either are killed or run away before the dissidents blaster rifles can kill them. Still, I hope that is sufficient, my lord."
Atalan studied the map thoughtfully for a minute before saying, "That is good enough, Grazzel. I have recruited a new potential... ally. He will help me look for the rebels and annihilate them. If he does well enough, I plan to offer him a place within my service, so you might need to prepare a room. See to it." He raised his hand as if to dismiss the connection and then paused and casually added almost as an afterthought, "Oh, yes. Kill those scouts who ran for me, will you, Grazzel old boy? Set a good example to encourage bravery. You are dismissed."
Atalan raised his palm towards the image as his seneschal bowed his head and snapped the connection with his will. The light wavered and then disappeared, leaving a plain wall with no sign that anything extraordinary had ever happened. He strode back to the pavilion where Zaru waited and gestured for him to meet him outside, "I've got the Red Ribbon wannabes pinpointed to an approximate area. Let's go and make sure their influence doesn't spread more than it already has. Their ideologies are dangerous."
Atalan crouch slightly and propelled himself up into the air, a crimson aura springing to life around him as he launched into the sky. He paused and waited for Zaru to take off and then blazed forward, heading for his homelands. His hair whipped back from his face as he flew, leaving a crimson trail like a comet behind him. He actually rather enjoyed the act of flying; it was quite calm and quiet. It gave him time to think about things... his visage began to darken a little as his thoughts turned to the rebels... Not yet... wait until you get there to unleash your anger... don't waste it.
It only took a little over an hour to reach the general area where the bunker was located. He mimed to Zaru to keep his eyes open and proceeded to fly a slow search pattern over and around the area. At first nothing really presented itself which was not that surprising; most of the life in the badlands avoided the noon sun. He did see one scrawny hare that fled as it saw his shadow, but not much else... until a glint of metal caught his eye. It looked like a set of doors set into the side of one of the plateaus! He got a bit excited and began to drift closer to be sure it was indeed what they were seeking when an energy bolt shot just in front of his face.
He darted back and looked toward the source to see a man in a ratty Red Ribbon uniform taking another bead on him. He set off in a steep corkscrewing dive towards his attacker, who tried to shoot him twice more unsuccessfully before the Baron's fist lashed out and caught him right in the temple as he flew past. The human flew into a nearby boulder and crumpled into himself, dead or unconscious. Either would suit his purpose, Atalan decided as he swung back around and landed nearby. He picked up the carbine and bent the rifle barrel into an angle to make it unusable and eyed the rebel. "I hit him pretty hard but I think he might live. We'll let him stay where he lies for now, I'm sure these blasts will draw attention from yon bunker."
[1080/4204]
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Post by Zaru on Jan 24, 2020 12:21:04 GMT -8
Whereas he'd refused the drink, Atalan necked the entire thing in one go. This guy liked his wine, huh? Zaru was left waiting as the Baron went off to go 'give instructions', apparently. He supposed that was one of those trappings of power, or whatever they called it - whenever you were getting something done, even if you were doing it yourself, about seven people would probably need to get briefed. Looking around the pavilion, Zaru wondered if this sort of thing was really worth it, in the end. Sure, you had people attending to your every whim and life could be easy if you wanted it to be, but where was the challenge? Where was the reason to do anything, really? You had all the money you could want, you had land, you had a title. There was more to life than that, but if you were born into this, you wouldn't know that. Zaru was mulling it over in his head, comparing it to what he was thinking about doing in the future. This place was smaller than what he had in mind for himself, but it was more than doable. Where would he put the training rooms in a place like this, though? You needed multiple. A courtyard too, and rooms for people to sleep...man, there was a lot of planning that went into stuff like this, huh? Even if he was going to be taking part in Satan City and it would give some places for the family to stay and practice, he wanted a place for his own style, one day. He'd figure it out, once he knew himself. Huh, that already sounded like something a pretentious old master would say, didn't it? He was getting the hang of this. He'd be spouting off wisdom in no time. Zaru's eyes caught sight of Atalan returning, and motioning to him to head outside. Zaru stepped outside and down the steps of the pavilion's entrance, moving to meet with the Baron. He had always kind of assumed guys with noble blood were meant to be tall and imposing, and although Atalan was certainly the second part of that, they were actually around the same height. Of course, his Uncle Amon had always joked that they had hero's blood. While neglecting to mention that said hero barely scratched five feet flat, if even that. The very thought irked him, but he supposed it could've been worse; he could've been from the family of some other turtle student, and grew up as a dirtbrain biker in the middle of a desert, or something. There was always someone worse off. "Found them already, huh? That was pretty fast. Your guys must know what they're doing." He had remembered hearing about the old Red Ribbon Army being very good at hiding themselves, so he assumed these guys were the same; even if he'd never get his shot at the genuine article, Zaru was ready to jump at the chance for revenge for the old lady and her brother. It was an imitation that he'd be knocking over, sure, but that still felt good enough. Besides, they were doing awful things out there; how could he stand around and not help? He'd been asked to do something, so he wasn't gonna back down like some kind of selfish coward. It wasn't like anyone here really knew him, so it wasn't as though he had a reputation that was going to be affected, but there was a principle here he had to stick to. Zaru knew that a real martial artist, at least from everything he understood about the discipline, couldn't sit by and let others suffer. To be apathetic, to not use your strength to try and protect others who didn't have it - you may as well have suffered a death of the spirit before a death of the body. Zaru floated up through the air after Atalan rather easily, not seeming to need to leap or pool his power so much to do so; flight was one of the things he'd gotten a hang on rather quickly. Thankfully, that meant he could do it without having to focus a lot - he'd kind of hate flying if he had to focus particularly hard all the time. Actually flying was pretty nice, depending on the weather and how you let the breeze hit you. His aura tended to burn up flies and any other creatures like that if they got close, so none of them in his mouth at least. Suddenly, his mind went to wondering again. If more people learned to fly, how many insects and other weird small flying things would die, getting caught up in the auras of powerful ki users? He made a note to try and work on making his aura a little less...explosive in the air, compared to most. His own aura was a simple white colour, compared to the rather powerful crimson that Atalan had going on. So far, that was the main noticeable difference between humans and the Baron that Zaru had really been witness to. Maybe he could transform, or he had some hidden techniques. Probably bad idea to pick a fight with nobility, but he was curious about it; he was sure if he did this for him, he could find a way to arrange some kind of sparring match. The guy's energy was actually stronger than his own. Searching around the badlands was nowhere near as exciting as one would think, but he did his best to keep his eyes out, like Atalan had directed. He hadn't really ever seen the Demonlands before, but so far it just looked a lot like brown rocks, or rocks with slightly different shades of brown. The place was arid and dry; no wonder the Red Ribbon could hide out here. There wouldn't be many that would want to live out in this place, and certainly even less who would want to search in an environment like this for a bunch of dangerous and psychotic terrorists that'd turn you into a mechanical version of yourself if they got a hold of you. The idea made his skin crawl. His eyes caught the glint of metal at almost the same time as it caught the view of his travelling companion, and he was just aside Atalan when he dodged the energy bolt. With it heading towards him, Zaru seemed to simply deflect it upwards with unusual ease; whoever fired it was an amateur, who knew very little about ki, or they were using a highly primitive gun. Neither were particularly threatening possibilities. Zaru's eyes widened for a moment as he saw Atalan's fist crush into their attacker's head and send him rocketing into a nearby boulder. Simply floating there, Zaru turned and listened to his Ki. The man was alive, very injured, but alive. From what he could tell, the man wasn't in any danger of dying, not yet. Hopefully they'd have this wrapped up quick enough that everyone could get medical attention. Turning towards Atalan, Zaru spoke rather matter-of-factly. "That man wasn't any real threat; you could've just easily knocked him out. I get that you're upset about your people, but try and mind your temper, huh?" The expressionless face didn't betray any emotion, but Zaru was already a tad indignant at the situation. The guy had shot at them first, true, and if what Atalan said was true, he had more than enough reason to be furious. At least, if he really cared about his people. Yet, something didn't feel quite right. He supposed he'd never felt strong enough to hurt someone that weak compared to him, that bad. Whatever, they'd patch him up after this was over. He'd worry about it then. "Let's just get inside."
WC: 1,304 | 5508
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Post by Atalan on Jan 24, 2020 20:59:38 GMT -8
Atalan barely kept himself from snapping back at the man when he suggested he should mind his temper... but he took a deep breath and reigned it in... for the moment. It was not yet time to unleash his anger on this man; that would only come after this engagement if at all. Atalan turned his hard golden eyed gaze upon his companion and spoke in a deliberate voice, "Perhaps I could have been... a little gentler. They weren't so gentle when they killed the ones who tried to scout this place, however. Still... he should live. Let's turn our attention on the bunker, shall we?"
Atalan stepped a little to the left to gain a bit of a clearer view of the metallic doors before he reached up to the air and drew three simple runes that formed the point of a triangle. He then drew two more runes in the center and watched as they flared a dim crimson and swirled together to form a triangular pool of light before it cleared up; leaving an odd effect on the air there. If you looked through that wavering piece of the air, it acted much like a set of binoculars or a telescope, bringing the distant door and its guards into close and sharp view. There was a small squad of guards in Red Ribbon regalia around the door, armed with more blaster rifles. There were also two mechs patrolling the area. They were bipedal mechanical tanks with guns mounted on either side of the "head" and long grasping arms that had powerful hands to grasp and crush things at the end of them. Atalan stepped back and gestured for Zaru to take a look, "Examine the enemy disposition, we shall attack soon. We will each take a mech first and go from there, its best not to plan too far ahead in a battle, plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy."
While Zaru stepped up to take a look, Atalan surreptitiously slipped a beacon from his pocket, activated it, and tossed it by the wounded man as he said, "Now you can see the type of force we are facing... we must strike decisively. Once we get in, you start towards the prison levels, follow the signs for the "forced guest quarters" once you are inside. I will attempt to gain control of the command center and shut down their automated defenses. We'll meet bck up by the entrance once we are done, and make sure this Red Ribbon menace is finished once and for all."
He waited until Zaru indicated he was done with the viewer and dismissed it with an effort of will. Stepping up close to the cocky young fighter, Atalan studied him one more time before he nodded, "It is time, Zaru. Show me you are the warrior you are made out to be and grow your own legend, here and now. We'll go on my movement, be ready."
Atalan took a couple of deep breaths... then exploded into motion, blurring forth towards the steel doors. They barely had time to register there was an intruder before he was jumping up at the mech on the right and ripping the arm off. He threw the arm at the squad, who mostly were able to scatter though a few were bowled over. The guns on the right side tried to turn towards him as the mech started stumbling around, but he simply let himself fall down to the ground and out of the line of fire. As he landed he sprinted forward and grabbed one of the mech's legs and set his feet as he started pulling. His muscles bulged and his tendons started to pop... but the mech started tipping over as his strength was able to start spinning it around. He started moving his feet, spinning around like a hammer tosser in the olympics until he had built up quite a head of momentum... which is when he released the mech directly into the closed doors, sending the giant machine through them and leaving a gaping hole for them to enter the bunker through.
A fierce grin stretched across Atalan's face as he sped forward and through the breach in the defenses. Sirens were blaring in the base as he entered and people were scrambling to reach the front entrance and defend it. He slipped to one of the side hallways and ran into a group of the insurgents as the rushed to stop him. He heard some of them gasp in recognition as they rounded the corner, but he didn't give them time to say anything as he grabbed the nearest one by the arm and used him as a club to brutally bash the others until they all stopped moving. Tossing his impromptu weapon aside, he continued down the corridor, humming a happy tune under his breath.
In the next hall, he managed to trigger some automatic turrets that shot hails of both energy bolts and primitive lead bullets; he manged to avoid most of them but even with his speed he still caught a few energy blasts that reddened his skin and ripped his clothes. It didn't stop him from reaching the turrets and shredding them with his bare hands... now he was angry. He didn't like having to replace his clothes because a few damned peasants didn't like how he treated them. They were already going to rue this day... but now he was going to lower the percentage of people he allowed to survive.
He finally reached the outer door of the control room and ran into his first real challenge... there was another demon there. He even recognized him; his name was Gerolp. He was one of the lackeys of his neighbor, Baron Frewtz... Atalan's vision reddened with anger... madness almost overtook him then and there but he just managed to stave it off. "How dare you interfere with my Barony?" he hadn't even realized he had said it out loud at first, but the other demon, a large four armed purple skinned fellow, laughed at his words. "Soon, the Demon King will make this my territory, and you will be nothing but a footnote in history. Prepare to die... Baron." Atalan growled low in his throat as the two demons approached each other...
[1058/6566]
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Post by Zaru on Jan 26, 2020 3:55:48 GMT -8
Zaru continued to glance in the direction of the wounded man as Atalan mentioned that the terrorists hadn't exactly been gentle with innocent people. Yeah, that was what he thought. He'd get angry over his people, so he was gonna take it out on the bad guys a little bit. He supposed he could understand it, to a certain extent. If he was meant to be looking after the people living here, that was a big responsibility. Must have been a lot on his shoulders, like it would be on anyone's. Still, he'd try to keep an eye on the guy - he didn't want him to have this kind of thing on his conscience if he could help it. Zaru, perhaps more than anyone, understood the desire to end those who hurt others, especially people you cared about. He'd hid away that vengeful and angry part of himself through his training, but not everyone had that outlet; even if the did, it didn't always work. Still, these were just the grunts, so even killing them was just hurting someone who'd probably been brainwashed or hurt themselves. It wasn't going to do anything for anyone, least of all those who had been genuinely hurt. He made a mental note to try and remember that saying; he'd sound like he knew more what he was talking about if he told someone that, and besides. It was usually always the man in charge who deserved to die the most, anyway. He could think of very few exceptions.
The martial artist peered through the odd, triangular lens that Atalan had created and that was floating in front of him. He stared through to note the threat of soldiers ready and waiting, along with mechs big enough to crush a man in the grip of their hands. Where did these guys get this kind of tech from? Sure, there had been Red Ribbon in this area before, but for these guys to turn up and start attacking the locals - where had they come from? A force like this couldn't have come from the North without being noticed, and no way they came from the Southern Islands. Hidden out in the Eastlands, maybe. They could have gotten passage on some kind of criminal ship that would get them to the Southlands with no questions asked. Zaru's face twitched as he thought of his sister. She'd do something like that. Maybe he ought to go keep a closer eye on her, one of these days. Her and the rest of his siblings, while he was at it. At least Macad was easy to find. Zaru stood up straight again, turning and glancing to the Baron as he formulated a plan of attack. Seemed reasonable enough; Atalan disabled the base, he rescued any captives. There were bound to be cells in here, deep within the belly of the beast. He was confident he could find it, no problem. "Sure, I got it. Just don't get too whipped up in there - if they've come into your lands, they'll have arrived here with a plan. They might have surprises waiting for you specifically, in there." It made sense to him; a man of Atalan's power and energy levels would set off most organisations that wanted to take over the place and use the populace for their extremist whims. He would be number one on the hitlist, and they'd have prepared their defences to suit. At least, he would've, if he was some kind of base commander.
Rushing in at the same time as Atalan, Zaru was met with his own resistance. Soldiers aimed weapons at him, which weirdly enough, were using lead bullets. He thought that was odd; Red Ribbon or not, a group moving in to try and take the place would have better standard issue weapons than that. Zaru easily caught bullets that came his way or simply dodged them, delivering a knockout blow to one soldier with a simple palm strike to his face. The second tried swinging the butt of his gun at Zaru, far too slow to actually hit him. The martial artist gripped his arm and shoulder, using his own momentum to toss him over in a flip. The man landed flat on his back and was left laying there, only for the third to try something similar and receive a front kick to the chest, sending him flying into the wall and knocking him out, too. Zaru wasted no time in his movement, attempting to close the distance with the mech that stood ready to take him. The guns fired at him, but couldn't keep with his speed as he continued getting closer and closer. The mech pilot seemed to panic within his cockpit, desperately pressing on different controls to try and figure out something that he could do. The mech reared back and oddly, let out some kind of mechanical roar or whine as it balled a fist up, attempting to simply flatten Zaru with a punch as he got near. With the strike coming straight for him, Zaru waited until it was inches from his body before he suddenly leaped into the air, both of his legs and knees pulled up, preparing the tension in them. The fist kept moving toward, exposing the actual arm to Zaru as he was in the air above it for a split second. Focusing ki into himself and enhancing his physical capabilities even more, Zaru shot down like a bullet of his own and stomped straight through the mech's arm, severing it and sending shards of metal flying. Without a wasted second, he dashed to the other side as his feet hit the ground, his fist striking and shattering and the other arm while he kicked simulatenously, destroying the leg. The mech collapsed on its side as he rushed the canopy where the pilot sat, beginning to tear it open with his bare hands. As the pilot rushed for his sidearm, Zaru pulled him out and slapped it from his hands, knocking him out with one blow and leaving him draped across his destroyed vehicle.
For the soldiers in the base, there was a frightening efficiency in everything Zaru did. He didn't take his time or enjoy the violence, simply disabling everyone who came at him as quickly as he could. It was odd; every soldier so far that he'd encountered had been yelling orders or what was happening in a Southlands accent. Not a single one from anywhere else. Why was that? They couldn't have conscripted this many locals this fast, and for conscripts or forced soldiers, they sure fought a lot harder than you would think. They seemed to have a genuine dedication. Zaru followed the way to the cells, rushing through corridors with incredible speed as whole hallways of men were left unconscious in seconds, unable to resist a ki user. Finally, he reached where he was looking for - the detention centre. Bursting through the doors, he was confused at what he saw; the cells had no people in them. Well, not human people. They were all demons, all of them. Had they turned or killed the humans already? Before he could ask, he heard a clearing of the throat and a man's Southlands accent as he approached. "Can't let you go any further, sir. This stops right here." The man emerged wearing an old officer's uniform, despite how young he looked. The rank seemed to be of a Lieutenant, and as he approached, Zaru could feel no natural energy. He was an android, then. Great. The lieutenant moved closer, standing not far from Zaru as he took a fighting stance, not dissimilar to other Southlands fighting styles. "I don't know why a human would ever work for a man like that. If you could see the things he's done-" The man glanced up, hearing the alarms get louder as more areas fell. "...I don't have time for this. I don't know how he got to you, but it ends here. I need to get past you, to stop your master."
Master? Zaru tightened his fighting style, able to tell the man intended for combat. Yet, his mind was bothered. Something...didn't seem right. What had he gotten wrapped up in?
WC: 1382 | 7948
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Post by Atalan on Jan 26, 2020 19:06:29 GMT -8
"I'm going to tear your heart out through your eye socket Gerolp. Their will be ballads that exist solely to celebrate how gruesomely I am about to kill you." Atalan rasped out through his gritted teeth as he closed in on the taller demon. Gerolp had been Baron Frewtz's enforcer since before Atalan had taken the reigns of his Barony, a large burly purple brute that did all the work Frewtz himself didn't care to. He was exactly the kkind of demon Atalan despised; apt to kill and waste a whole village and lose its production rather than just teach a lesson. Normally he wouldn't care... but he suspected that he had crossed into his borders and done it a few times, costing him a LOT of zenni. He couldn't prove it, ever, or he would have went to war with them long ago. They had always held each other in contempt, the brute and the wizard; he could see Gerolp's confusion manifest on his face as he got nearer to him and he was better able to see the muscular and solid form where there had once been a lithe one. Atalan didn't give him too much time to think about it, he went on the offensive and grabbed one of his arms and pivoted with his whole body before he could pull back, slamming his foe into the nearest wall. The wall cracked in a dome around his foe's body, which only deepened and cracked further as he used two of his arms to push off and launch back into Atalan with a feral snarl. Two purple fists crashed into him, one in the gut and one in the face causing him to grunt and fly backwards into the wall, making his own cracks as he felt the shock of impact against the concrete. The impact shook him for a moment but he managed to slide to the side and Avoid the follow up attack as Gerolp's fists smashed into the crater where Atalan had just been standing and send shards of concrete flying everywhere. Atalan charged in and tackled the demon, taking him down to the floor. A flurry of grappling ensued; limbs scrabbled for purchase and tried to deny it to their opponent. He managed to snake an arm around his opponent's throat and get a lock on it, trying to tighten his grip and lock it down to ensure he would drop. Gerolp got 2 hands up and managed to partially hold the grip from fully locking in as the two foes strained against each other. Taking a deep breath, the purple demon managed to gasp, "What in the hells happened to you? I thought you were a wizard..."Atalan laughed grimly and answered, "I was... and I am. I have just turned my focus another way, Gerolp. Soon, you will..."His words cut off as his opponent's other two arms finished snaking around to the back of his neck and pulling him forward and launching him over his foe's head. He managed to twist in the air and come down on one knee, sliding back down the hallway. He hopped up to his feet in time to meet Gerolp's follow up charge, dodging punches by stepping out of the way, blocking a few and parrying a few more; his foe eventually threw one punch that was just a little too hard for him to recover in time. Atalan's hand shot out and grabbed the offending wrist and flipped Gerolp over and onto his back, punching down and smashing his other fist into his face. That stunned the demon just long enough for Atalan to infuse and boost his muscles with ki as he grabbed the other fighter's lower left arm... and ripped it off at the elbow. He started beating the other demon with its own arm, but was too reckless; Gerolp roared as he pulled Atalan's ankle and caused him to fall to the concrete floor. On level playing field once more, they started to grapple for an advantage... though the purple skinned demon was weakening by the moment. Atalan started just throwing heavy punches wherever he could get through, weathering the return blows that came. He took one to the temple that nearly made him black out but he managed to roll away and spring back to his feet by reflex, though he was a bit wobbly. His foe looked even worse as he struggled to a knee and then started trying to stand. Atalan didn't give him the chance to finish, he charged in grabbed one of the right arms and began swinging the purple skinned demon into the walls... BAM... BAM... BAM... BAM! He heard bones crack as Gerolp screamed in agony; he dropped the demon and then leaned against a nearby wall, sliding down to rest for a moment. Gerolp just wheezed as he lay, dying, a few low moans escaping his lips as if he was struggling to say something... finally he seemed to be able to force it out, "I must admit this was an unexpected turn of events... you were always such a scrawny weakling that I focused on the arcane... that I only prepared to defend myself against that. Baron Frewt will kill you one day. I will be waiting for you in hell with allies to make your eternity as terrible as you deserve..." his voice trailed of, followed soon by his breathing. Atalan stood up and turned towards the control room; this jerk had cost him too much time already. * * *
Outside, a demonic force gathered, armed with state of the art battle equipment. Some of the most reliable and well maintained blaster carbines were prevalent as well as spears, swords, and old style sniper rifles. They dug in defensive positions at the entrance to the bunker and began waiting... their patience was soon rewarded as a few squads came out on the offensive; lead bullets flying at the force. They answered with a hail of blaster fire that chewed into the ranks as thunderous shots echoed for miles signalling their officers being shot. The demon force began to laugh as the whole force fell... this was going to be WAY too easy. That was okay though, because it was also so MUCH FUN. They radioed back to Grazzel and reported that they had successfully rendezvoused with the Baron's signal beacon and had made first contact with no casualties. IF they continued to do this well, there would be bonus pay for all of them; and the baron always followed through on that for his troops. The excitement built even more as they set themselves back up, waiting for more fish in a barrel... [1120] [9068/12000]
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Post by Zaru on Jan 27, 2020 13:05:56 GMT -8
Zaru narrowly dodged left, avoiding a punch that came rocketing his way. The lieutenant had a momentary look of shock on his before Zaru's knee came rushing up, crushing into his abdomen. Android or not, the pain was visible on the man's face as began to fall back. Before he even got the opportunity, Zaru's fist came rushing up and collided with his face. The lieutenant was sent tumbling back and rolled backwards over the control desk that was sitting behind him. Some of the demons in captivity let out a roar and a cheer, clearly enjoying the show they were getting one way or another, regardless of whether they were being freed. Something about it put a bitter taste in Zaru's mouth. Now that he thought about it, everything seemed to be doing that right now. Why did he have a cold feeling running down his back? Was there some kind of ki that was doing it? His senses were naturally attuning and detecting something that was...wrong, very wrong, but he wasn't sure exactly what. Now he stood there, feeling like an idiot as he watched the officer start to recover. Now that he thought about it, this man didn't particularly look like a terrorist. The more he considered it, if they were Red Ribbons, specialists and insurgents, why did they wear uniforms? If they'd moved into the Demonlands like this, they must have had the resources to make everything unmarked. Things started clicking into place, though he was beginning to wish they hadn't. He felt things collapsing around him. The android came rushing at him once more.
The martial artist turned and began to back up, easily dodging the blows of the officer even in his trance-like state. He'd done something wrong. He had done something terribly wrong, hadn't he? If he hadn't done it himself, he was enabing something. He'd let his stupid ego and his desire to improve wrap him up into the politics of a place, though he hoped that was all. Were these....were these even really terrorists or insurgents? They fought with zeal, but many were obviously untrained, even this man. They had all their faculties, they weren't brainwashed. In the cells, there wasn't a single person in there that wasn't some kind of demon, their ki would have made it obvious if their appearances didn't already. Something was wrong. Zaru finally retaliated, one of his arms shooting up like a piston as a short palm strike struck under the officer's chin, knocking him silly and whipping his head back. Without a moment of hesitation, Zaru moved up that same hand to the side of the man's head and slammed it downwards, into the side of the desk. The lieutenant crumbled to the ground and lay flat on his back when Zaru crouched down, extending his hand like a piston once more as he now had a clenched fist extended. The android didn't even have time to react as Zaru stopped mere inches from his face, a short pause lying between them before he spoke. "What's going on here?" The lieutnant blinked a couple of times in surprise, still a bit loopy from the strike to his head and unsure of the question. "Wh-what-" Zaru grit his teeth, trying his hardest to control the blood boiling up inside him. Let it not be true. Don't become what he said you would. Please. Don't be true. "Are you kidnapping people? Forcing them to be cyborgs? Killing those who don't fall in line?" The lieutnant paused, his face calming as he realised what was going on. The anguish and fury on Zaru's face told him all he needed, and he spoke quietly in response, while still in pain. "No. L-Look, there's reinforcements coming. From hidden exits, they'll ambush the demons-""
Zaru suddenly stood up and retracted his fist, simply stepping over the man as he moved to the door. It opened automatically, and he stood still for a moment before talking, though he didn't want to look at the recovering android. "Stay here. You couldn't take him, anyway." Zaru rushed from the room and began sprinting as fast as he could, back towards where he and Atalan had entered and immediately gone down different paths. Instead of leaving, the martial artist began heading down the path that the Baron had gone. Before he could go much further, he stopped in his tracks. He stared down the hallway, towards where there were bodies scattered about the ground. Not like what he'd left, though. Each and every single one of these soldiers were dead, severely clubbed and beaten until their body just couldn't take anymore. It was than brutality, it was cruel, the manner in which they died. Zaru's fingers began to shake as his eyes twitched. He tried to hold himself together. He didn't want to be. How could he have become this? Why did he allow himself to be this? He had let someone turn him into the one thing he'd worked so hard to never be. As he stared at the broken bodies lying in front of him, all he felt was shame and regret, if for a few seconds. His fists clenched and tightened as his muscles began to tense, and all Zaru could feel was a burning, searing anger that gripped his entire person. He could barely keep control of himself even just standing there, with nobody around to take it out on. The man began sprinting down the corridor once again, far faster than before, desperately trying to catch up to Atalan. He had to. He couldn't let him get away. What was he going to do when he met him, though? He had no idea. It wasn't like he could give the Baron the benefit of the doubt, could he? Not for the sake of the men who were laying in the corridor, who never got a chance. Who never had any opportunity to prove a thing to their murderer before their lives were snuffed out. His face hardened even more as he sped up further, the fury gripping him again. He tried to push the thought away, but he was drawn back to his younger years. Back before he ran off.
"I don't get it, uncle Amon. What's the point of all this? Why would I learn to fight if I'm not gonna use it? People need help out there!"
"Discipline is important, Zaru. For everyone. Especially for you, and for me."
"Why us?"
"We have the same nature. The same nature that your father has. Promise me you will be careful. Your desire for justice is right, but you so fervently chase and hate after those who have done wrong. Make a vow that you won't become what I see you becoming."
"What's that, uncle?"
"A killer."
WC: 1145 | 10,211
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Post by Atalan on Jan 28, 2020 10:26:52 GMT -8
Atalan strode back towards the command center, ready to get this thorn from his side so his lands could get back to being peacefully submissive and productive. As he neared the door at the end of the hallway, two more doors opened up to either side of the hall and vomited soldiers bearing rifles into the hallway. They formed up into a double line across the hallway as their officer chivied them into position urgently, the front row kneeling while the back row stood, all with rifles at their shoulders. Their leader called out, "This is your one chance to stop before we open fire, demon spawn!"
Atalan didn't break stride as he activated his personal barrier and continued striding towards them, undaunted. A thin fluttering edge of panic entered the man's voice as he got nearer, "Oh gods, it's the Baron! Take aim and fire! Fire at will!"
The soldiers leaned over their rifles to aim as Atalan started sprinting forward to cover the last 15 feet. At 10 feet the first shots were fired, bouncing from his shield; at 5 feet he shield was almost depleted... then he was in and among them. He grabbed the barrels of two of the nearest humans and ripped them from their grip, pulling one of the men's trigger finger along for the ride. He began using the guns ass clubs, wading into the crowd with no mercy in him. Screams and yells of pain and defiance echoed through the hallways as thunderous gunshots and flat cracks played a counterpoint. When the guns broke and bent beyond use, he swapped to throwing people against the wall or just breaking limbs and leaving them helpless. He finished with the leader, taking his gun and using it to kneecap him in both legs and then dragging him, screaming, along behind him as he approached the command center door. He saw pale scared faces looking out of the window into the hallway as he dragged the screaming man towards the door. He raised his voice to be heard over the peasant screams, "OPEN THIS DOOR NOW, OR I WILL KILL THIS MAN AND ALL OF YOU INSIDE ONCE I GET IN!"
He saw the faces withdraw... probably to debate on whether to let him in or not. The squad leader or whatever he was started panting and whispering, slowly getting louder as if he was gathering breath and defiance as he went, "no... no... No... NO!" Atalan released his shirt and picked him up by his throat, dangling his broken legs in the air as he looked into his plain sun weathered face, and told him, "Speak again to do anything but to answer a direct question and it will be the last thing you ever do, worm. There are plenty more workers in there, losing one won't hurt production that much."
He resolved to give them 3 more minutes before he used his prisoner as a battering ram to start opening the door. Luckily for the bumpkin officer, it was only about a minute and a half before the doors opened and revealed about 20 scared young men and a pile of discarded weapons laying in a pile in the middle of the floor. The one nearest the door had his hands up, "We... s-s-s-surrender, Baron... please don't kill us..."
Atalan stepped in and gestured to the wall furthest from the door and commanded, "Line up against that wall and kneel before me. Some of you might live this day if you obey my words." He waited while they shuffled to follow his directions and tossed the wounded officer towards them, where he landed with a scream as his broken legs impacted. He seemed to pass out from the overload of the pain... which was a pity, really. He was going to miss the show... but maybe he would prefer it this way. Atalan began pacing in front of the line of prisoners, his golden eyes shining as he studied them. These were all young men... the most likely to rebel but the most productive in his fields and factories. He was going to have to kill some of them for their defiance, there was no changing that. Maybe just enough to be an object lesson... that would be for the best.
He randomly pointed out 4 of the 20 young men, "You... you... you... you. Come forth and kneel in a line by your leader. Bow your heads in submission and beg my forgiveness."
They began to plead and beg for his forgiveness... he paused and listened to them beg for their pathetic lives like the drones they were. He smiled almost benevolently as he stepped closer, grabbed the unconscious man's arm and lifted him over his head in a swinging motion as if he was using a flail; he then brought him crashing down onto the first man in line with a crunching sound, swiftly repeating the motion with the second, then the third prisoner. The fourth man in line had gotten to his feet and started to flee before the terrible might of his lord. Too late he had learned the price of rebellion Atalan mused as he sprang forward and caught him up by the throat and began squeezing. The prisoner began to flail and punch at the muscular arm to no avail. Atalan calmly said, "You are forgiven. The price for your rebellion and your fellow peasants will be paid for in your blood. Rejoice that you are buying their life with theirs; a pleasant thought for you to take into the abyss, perhaps."
Atalan flexed his hand and finished the execution with a crack, casting the man towards the entrance he had come in through. He cast his eyes towards the others and saw they were thoroughly cowed. This would do just fine...
[975]
[11186/12000]
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Post by Zaru on Jan 28, 2020 10:55:04 GMT -8
You fool. You utter fool. How had it become this? How had you let yourself be so stupid, so caught up in yourself and how highly you thought of your abilities that you hadn't seen what was right in front of you? How didn't you know, or see what you were becoming? Zaru continued to torture himself on the inside as he rushed down the corridors, his uncle's words echoing in his mind along with all the ones he'd heard over the years. The ones from his father, from Macad. From everyone who thought he was all the same, but worse. That he would be the worst example their family, or any martial artist, had. How many times had he been put down like that, told he was going to be a murderer? Maybe not a gangster like Macad, a warlord like Haz, a pirate like Karuka or a bandit like Casho, but that didn't matter. Whether or not it was in a different flavour, that was what they thought of him. No good. Scum, like his father, like his mother, like his brothers and sister. For so long now, he'd fought and struggled. Not just against all these opponents who had natural advantages he didn't, but against himself. He had that nature in him, that dark heart that they had. That uncle Amon had, too. He wanted to control it, to lock it away and forget it. Unfortunately, it seemed like he had only managed the second part. Zaru had lost sight of what he was fighting and struggling for, who he was trying to become. He would never admit it, but he avoided association with the old man for good reason. He didn't want others thinking highly of him just for their relation; for all the disrespect Zaru showed him, he knew that the man was very much a hero in his own right. If he was going to be like him, viewed like him, it would be because he'd earned it, because he'd been stalwart. Strong enough to stay on the right path. Zaru's boots clanked across the metal hallways as he continued to rush over bodies, his teeth gritting as even now he tried to control himself. All of this was useless. All of this self-pity, and all of this stupid wondering about whether or not he could be forgiven. It was too late for him, now. He'd been just like them, and there wasn't really any going back, was there? He couldn't pretend to be clean anymore. Every man and woman lining these corridors, every person not going home to their families, who perhaps went out one day and were just never heard of again, all because he felt some kind of need to prove how good he was at martial arts. His ego caused this. He could see their blood on his hands, and it was driving him nuts. He didn't want to give in anymore, to feel himself fall to that temptation. It was so easy, so simple to slip up once and he'd never forgive himself. He wanted to keep control; he was almost at the command centre. He silently talked himself through it, imagining the situation. He just had to disable Atalan, he could do that. Disable him, keep it contained. Then he could...turn him over to authorities, somewhere. He would figure it out. As Atalan threw the last man across the room, there was no second cracking noise of his body colliding with the wall, or even the splat of his body rolling across the floor. Instead, there was only the noise of a slight impact. The man's lifeless body was not on the floor, but in someone's arms. Zaru stood there, quivering with rage as his body seemed to curl up for a moment, not in pain, but in sheer effort. Resist. He felt the fury seeping in again, but far worse. There was nothing to hold it back, as much as he tried. He knew he couldn't let it take control, he couldn't. This was more important than anything he'd ever done. He had held on so long, for so many years, and how could he let it do this to him now? Zaru grit his teeth hard as he seemed to struggle some more, still holding the man in his arms. He slowly crouched down onto one knee, lowering him to lay on the floor. Staring down at him made Zaru quiver even more, his body shaking with rage. Don't give in. He knew there was something more important, and...and- Zaru's thoughts trailed off as he lifted his hand for a moment, staring at it. He could see it on his hand. Blood all across his palm, and his fingers. It wasn't even clear if it was real or not, but it was real enough to him. Zaru slowly stood, his gaze turning to Atalan. Kill him. His eyes filled with seething anger and murderous intent, his face twisting as his body fought the last of the battle against his soul. No more. He gave in. "ATALAAAAN!" Was just about all he could muster as he shot across the room like a bullet, his body barreling towards the Demon Lord, and towards the wall behind him, with perhaps more ki and force than he'd ever mustered all at once.
WC: 896 | 12,082
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