Setting
He took a breath, looking back at Robin, "Don't even know if I killed her. Only ever saw her dissolve into the water, knew she'd be back, didn't expect this."
When Robin mentioned curses, his expression momentarily flickered from anger to fear, before he grit his teeth. "Need to get her out. Burt will have to wait. Need her out. Come on," he said, starting forwards again towards the gates, "Know somewhere we can go for help."
If she could do that much, how did they know that she wasn't simply toying with them? What if she could kill Nairi at any moment, with just a snap of her finger?
For the first time in years, Robin found himself in dispair, found himself running faster for far more than just himself.
"Out here?" he asked Nairi. "Was it just Burt? Or Mr. Martin? Who are we going after, again?" He obviously wasn't quite sure which trail Nairi had picked up on especially. Did he even see Burt at any point in time?
He soldiered on and out the gates, face set in a stoic grimace. Every so often he stopped to touch at a rock or something else in his path, get a new read on what direction Martin had been going, and then kept moving.
"It's...good...to be home..." he reminded himself as he coughed up more blood. Even the armor he wore underneath sported numerous rents where claws and fangs had proven mightier than the metal. The only thing holding him together right now was his willpower. If he had to stop to check his weapons at the gate, it was very possible he might not make it. But he had to try...it was better than just laying down and dying on the paved road.
He pulled out a dildo, unscrewed the base and applied a coagulant to the wound on his midsection. Shit. He was out, and there weren't any plants he could use between here and the bar. He stopped and fell to one knee, holding his head as he tried to figure out which of the three gates he should be walking towards. Damn that paladin. He beat me within an inch of my life, and help is at least six inches away. Clever bastard.
Carefully, she reached out and touched his shoulder. "Darien, it's Ike. What's happened to you? What's wrong?" He was bleeding. She moved to kneel on the ground in front of him, and worried her bottom lip. She couldn't heal worth shit. She was a fucking demon, not some high brow mage. But she could give him a little bit of energy so his own natural healing factor might help some. Carefully, Ike transferred a little bit of her energy to him. She'd have to feed later, but the brothel was doing well.
Just being with her seemed to give him the strength to get back on his feet, but the extra bit of energy transfer definitely helped. He managed to sheathe his weapon before drawing her into a weak hug. "I missed you so fucking much. But this is no place for a reunion. We gotta get somewhere safe. Whoever did this to me, he wanted me to live. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."
"Where did you go to cause this?" Somewhere dangerous, to be sure. She supported him carefully, and couldn't be happier than their place was in Eastern Wing City as it was. If it had been much farther, he'd not make it there, she was sure.
"But enough about me. I want to hear about how you've been before I pass out. And no sucking my energy while I'm unconscious because I want to enjoy it just as much as you do...Ratike." He smiled slightly as he dropped the reminder of the name and the events that had brought them together. It was quite the shame that he could not yet pay back his energy debt to her, but Darien figured Ike would know of at least one way to kick-start his recovery.
It caused too much trouble, in her opinion. "Don't pass out." She cautioned him, and gave him a bit more energy. "I have plenty of energy to keep you awake and healing. And I can always nip out for a quick feed if I'm running low. There was a reason they ran a brothel after all.
"Thanks. Ike. Good to know that after everything I've done and been through, there are still some people that are willing to lend me a hand. And spare your energy...I think I'll take a nice long nap now. Wake me up in the morning, okay? Tell the girls that the boss is back and will welcome their get well soon presents."
Darien took a nice long sigh and nuzzled into the pillow, falling asleep with one of Ike's hands in his. Now was when her loaned energy would be put to best use, knitting together the rent flesh and repairing burst capillaries. Whoever thrashed him had been very careful to leave him alive, but otherwise spared no effort in giving him the grand tour of a world of pain. That was why Darien needed to sleep...unlike Ike, he wasn't attractive or skilled enough yet to replenish himself. Healing had to come first.
"Ike. Do not open that door. That is the man that fucked me up. Odds are he's here to finish the job after he sensed a lot of evil here. Everyone change into your best disguises and set the furniture up against a raid, just like we practiced. I'm not having him come in here unimpeded. And don't try to use your glamers, he can see you for what you are just like he did with me. Tonight we fight for the right to live our lives as we choose. Tonight we do battle against the misguided zealot. Tonight...we go to WAR."
Darien sighed and started kitting himself out in full battle-rattle, refilling on alchemical goodies to stash in his vest and warming up with a few forward and backward fencing steps. A grim look came over him as he got ready to face his greatest nightmare. A paladin.
Meanwhile, Gary continued to pound on the door, getting close to the breaking point of the solid wood.
She didn't even have a gun. Would a gun even work against a paladin?
He finished strapping on his armor, gesturing to Ike to help him with the bits in the back. The breastplate was a little heavier than what he was used to, but against a heavier weapon he needed the extra protection. "Okay. In my lab, there's a control panel overlooking the plant. I want you to turn on the sprinklers and turn up the temperature control. I want it hot and humid in there for maximum activity. Me...I have a date with destiny." He gave Ike a smooch on the cheek and a stroke of her wings before walking off with a purpose.
Gary finally smashed down the door and looked around angrily, easily hopping the impromptu barricade before being met by the same man as before. "So, this is where you live? I will enjoy making it the place where you die as well. Consorting with demons...I cannot allow such iniquity to flourish!"
"Funny. I can't allow someone to come in my house and wreck my shit. You're no better than I am right now. Let's end this. Not as good versus evil, but as man versus man." The two circled each other, blades held at the ready and watching for a move from the other.
Darien drew on his experiences at Gambit's Bar and grabbed an arm chair, using its legs to stop the paladin in his tracks and twist away the powerful sword before delivering a deadly jab that got caught in the seam between the chest plate and the shoulder. The warrior of light moaned and kicked for a while before reaching for his sword and slamming Darien in the side, sending him sprawling.
Good thing I went for the heavier stuff, Darien had just enough time to think before Gary was on him again, using his superior strength to come down and wrest away the Point of No Return from the bind. "Any last requests, conspirator?" he growled from behind the visor, blade held high and ready to go right through his throat.
"Yeah, I do. I got something to show you. IKE, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" The breastplate meant he couldn't use the tentacles, so time to break out the emergency protocol.
"Th-this better work."
"Welcome to the jungle, motherfucker!" Darien cried as the vines came for all three of them. Gary was incredibly surprised. "What...what is this demonic trickery?" He went for his short sword and tried to cut himself free, but it just wasn't fast enough after Ike had put it into overdrive. Speaking of, the residents had to deal with its might as well. Darien knew what was coming and was so far able to dodge and counter each one of its advances. "Ike! Let's scram and let him swelter in that lunchbox!"
The question was, would Ike be able to slip free of its grasp in time? After all, they both knew what this thing was capable of better than the surprised Gary Mandolera.
A black SUV came down the road, stopping and parking. Currently this vehicle was on Auto Pilot and could be summoned at any given notice, so the Fireknaughts felt a bit more comfortable in this unknown location.
"Sir, it seems kinda dead out here. Shouldn't we be a bit more into the city?"
"Nah, we're in the right spot. Here is where we'll find what we need and plant our roots. You'll see."
"I hope so. We've been cooped up in those warehouses for year and i'm ready to do something besides shine the artillery."
"That will come, but first we need to build a path into the city and become a 'normal'. To do that, we'll need money. So keep quiet and keep an eye out. No need to talk too much and get the wrong persons attention."
Or was it more home invasion, as some sort of heavily armored knight swung a massive two-handed blade at a smaller, nimbler foe with a rapier trained on his assailant? After the knight proved victorious, it seemed the fallen one had planned for this, and called for the woman to help him escape. The brute gave chase. Three left...but two returned. It seemed the questing paladin had fallen for some sort of cunning trap.
"Man, oh man. So much traffic today," the man in a fedora and breastplate lamented. "Come on in, boys, big dumb and righteous smashed the door on his way in. Ike, stay on your guard until I say otherwise."
With their brief cases held tight and moving in uniform, the group followed the man inside without hesitation and looked around. They noticed the damage at the doorway, but inside didn't seem to suffer much at all. The Fireknaught didn't intend to end up here, but they figured they'd see if they could find any leads while here.
One of the Fireknaught spoke up, "We just came to make sure everything was okay. What was their deal?"
He sighed and withdrew a vial of a viscous red liquid from inside his armor. "Stage blood. All I gotta do is get hit where I was carrying it. The armor will take it, but the candy glass will shatter and bam, it looks like you're bleeding out something bad. One of you boys care to test it to see if it fits your needs? I was trying to make something a vampire could drink without the predatory aspect, but I guess this will have to do."
If they hadn't noticed the news van pull up, they would now. Winne Rineswurth emerged in her trademark mustard skirtsuit, television crew piling out behind her. Her heels were slick black, her pearls were shining white, and her creepy-wide smile was all too red to be comfortable around in person. She shone on the telecasts.
"Where's hair?" Winne barked, a moment before turning that grin on the Imperial Guard. A younger girl rushed up, flushed, to spray and fluff the newscaster's hair; "We're live in five people!"