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Post by Countess on Oct 11, 2024 18:28:39 GMT
Matias watches the scene closely, noting as much as he can. "Three young idiots, well armed... too well armed," he says, giving Fury their location in relation to where he knows she entered. He gives her a brief description of them too, noting their most unique features for her to differentiate them. "Possible hostage getting paid. Not so hostage now, are they? Shit job, shit pay," he mutters.
Matias immediately ducks, not knowing why, but seeing that flash of light and knowing to give in to his Instinct in times like these. "I'm made," he says, eyes wide. No gunshot? He could have sworn... Matias rolls a couple times, fishing a mirror out of a pocket. He holds it up, eyes quickly changing to little slits as he takes in the building. "Fury, something is wrong," Matias murmurs, that sick feeling curdling in his gut. What the fuck is this? "Get out, get the fuck out," he continues, crouching as he pulls his rifle back up to cover her hasty, and likely loud, exit. "Danger on the first floor, moving to the stairs," he says. "Could kill, but doesn't... have to? Fury, get out. This ain't our fight, not tonight," he says, eyes flickering over to the anchor he had placed for his grappling hook. Matias already knows where he will hook it on the building, opting for getting to Fury rather than his targets. Team will always come first.
What the fuck is going on?
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Post by Beriadan on Oct 12, 2024 15:06:53 GMT
No hostage? So it was a set-up, something to throw the police off their trail, no doubt. But they weren't the police. She gripled her blade, but when Matias spoke with confusion in his voice, Fury immediately stopped dead where she was.
If they knew where he was, then it was entirely and highly possible they knew she was in the building. That made this a trap, and she hated traps. They got messy. Fury began to double back, staying alert to her surroundings. Whatever it was, it had rattled Agent X, which meant it wasn't good news.
"I'm on my way."
Fury frowned as she began to climb the stairs. This should have been a routine execution. What was going on? The strange smell, the rattled Agent X in her ear... this was above their paygrade. Justice would have to wait.
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Post by swapgo on Oct 12, 2024 15:42:59 GMT
Fury could feel a flash of light come from behind her, and even without the Instinct to help her, she would be washed with a sense of dread from this close. Staring at her from the start of the staircase was an inmensely wide...person, a charitable description of one at least. There was a recognizable silhouette to them, a tilted-down brown fedora obscured his face, with a hatband so white it stood out in pitch darkness, a long trenchcoat, tattered, battered, burned, gone through its paces and some more, and a barely lit cigar poking from the side of...wherever its mouth was. There were some other things hanging from the figure, but the most striking was an old-timey camera, held in two monstrous hands with terrifyingly large nails that glinted in the dark, printing out a photo that it took no time to even observe before putting it away deep in his coat. "Uh-...who are you?", the creature shifted and turned around, making eerily little noise for his bulk, looking at the kid that made his way out; he had already concealed the money, and timidly rose his hands in the air. "Are...you here to punish the bad guys?". The creature shifted the cigarette to the other side of his face, illuminating it for a second. If Fury was still here watching, she would see that it was some sort of pale rodent, vaguely in the shape of a detective.
"Yes"
The sound of a gunshot shook the building, as the monster had reached for an oversized, short-barreled colt revolver. The boy stumbled against the wall and stammered to the floor, clutching his chest in shocked heavy breaths, trying to crawl away towards the open room near the stairs, completely terrified in spite of the fact that he was not bleeding in any way. The third floor was one high alert, and the giant turned his attention to where it was coming from. He absentmindedly discarded his cigarette, and the floor behind him, and the stairs behind him, caught fire, some sort of accelerant slowly dripping from a canteen in his waist. The third floor was seized by bedlam, and the sound of automatic arms, a police revolver, and screams.
From the outside, Matias could notice the chain reaction occur. The first floor was now lit up like a christmas tree, set ablaze in bright flames, yet puzzlingly, these flames produced no smokes, they did not impede sight, they merely seemed to burn. He could see his targets react to the appearance of intervention, and run towards it gun blazing, only for some sort of fireblast to take over the entryway and push them back towards the next room, trapping a couple of poor folks and the loot inside of a soon to be flaming deathtrap. The giant pushed in to visibility, with the benefit of this ghastly flame, Matias could get a clearer view of the demon hunting tonight; some sort of white, mole creature, with a 6-pronged golden starry nose and a hat that covered its eyes, if there were any, walking into flames and sitting down the poor souls that would prefer to die from a plunge than from flames with gunfire, before making their way to the next room.
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Post by Countess on Nov 7, 2024 4:00:50 GMT
"Keep talking to me, Fury, what are you seeing in there? Where are you, I am on my way," Matias says as he aims his grappling gun, thankful he had already anchored it down here. He aims for roof, knowing that will give him the best chance of hooking on securely. It isn't a completely quiet process, but he doesn't exactly care about that right now. He shoots, watches as it secures itself, and he makes the line taut.
That is when he hears the gunshot.
Matias is sliding down the rope before he can think about it. The flames that start to appear do not dissuade him of this action. "First Floor burning, evac will have to be via roof," he says. "Meet you half way?" Matias adds, trying to make sense of what the fuck he had seen. Mutant, perhaps? No, no... no mutant had ever made his Instinct react like that.
Matias hits the side of the wall with a bit of pain, having gone a little too fast down the line to slow down at the last minute. The wind is knocked out of him, but he doesn't care. All it takes is a quick vault up, and he is on the roof and tearing through the entrance he had seen Fury go in through.
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Post by Beriadan on Nov 9, 2024 20:17:28 GMT
Fury winced as she felt the flash and the dread wash over her. The creature before her... she didn't know how to process it. Fury gripped her blade, but the giant didn't seem aggressive. Even when it withdraw a large pistol and shot the boy to the floor, it did so im a very matter-of-fact way.
She wasn't sure what kind of photograph the creature had tucked away into it's coat, but Fury felt a lot of dread. Slowly, she spoke into her ear-piece, keeping her eyes on the creature.
"I don't even know how to begin. My exits are blocked. There is... something else here, basically doing what we came here to do. I'll try and get as high as I can go."
She paused, crouching by the boy that had been "shot". Fury frowned.
"Must be your lucky day. He has judged that you should live... but I'm afraid you'll have to face me, too."
Fury swung her blade around, thrusting the point down towards the man's heart. If he was truly innocent, then it would strike his skin and stop there. If not... well, then he should have left this place when he had the chance.
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Post by swapgo on Nov 9, 2024 21:34:51 GMT
While hanging from the roof, Matias could hear the racket at the third floor slow down, automatic fire ceased and was drowned out by a singular, echoing gunshot, sometimes two. After an eerie moment of pause, he could hear the smaller weapons fire only once, and then a second time. A young person peeked their head from the third window of the flamebound room, contemplating the night sky, while being completely, utterly engulfed in flame. They did nothing but to cry, less in pain and more in sorrow. This was not a person that was burning alive, or even the pain of one, but a different kind of odor of death entirely.
The rooftops were undisturbed past the flakes of snow, yet as he made his way to the door, his instinct would warn him of impending peril, behooving him to brace for something to come. The sensation would fade after a moment, leaving him to ponder its meaning.
-
The boy seemed cognizant of Fury, but he showed no resistance to her judgment. Similarly, her sword found no purchase on his chest, however, as it went through his shirt, it would reveal something shining in pale white under it. Whether Fury bothered to investigate it further, she would see a white, 6-pronged, star-shaped scar on his chest, whatever judgment this mole provided hadn't ended. "So...are you going to do it?", the boy stood up, rent to tears, "This is what I deserve, right? It's my fault that Marco is...that he might-". Someone scampered from the hallway, tossing away a burning jacket, it was someone older, likely the third party on the car. He paid no attention to Fury and rushed to the open elevator door, slamming all the buttons to get it going, before another gunshot took over the ambience, apparently reaching the man's ribs through the wall, and then a second one to the side of his head. His barely conscious body slumped to the floor of the elevator as its doors closed, sending it to the sixth floor.
The mole creature made little noise, yet his steps still somehow felt imposing when he was in sight. A freshly lit cigarette vaguely illuminated its white fur as it seemed to inspect a small wad of photographs in his hand. His head would slowly turn towards Fury, it was clear that his trigger finger would soon follow.
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Post by Countess on Nov 10, 2024 4:45:33 GMT
The chaos of the floors beneath him is dying down. That can be good... and bad. He isn't going to make any assumptions, only observations. The face of the young man on fire haunts him- it had not been pain, but grief that consumed him. This, whatever this is, must be magical or otherworldly. If he gets closer, he will be able to tell. He doesn't want to get closer, however. Dread is curdling low in his belly. It makes him gulp hard.
Exits blocked. Not for long. He will claw his way through Mictlān to get Fury out of there. "I am on my way, breathe and act smart," he tells her. "Fear is the mind killer," he continues, not expecting to quote Dune today. Funny where things take him. The words are for her as well as him. The Instinct is a low reminder in his mind, this is not where he should be. Some things are not meant for mortal eyes, mortal experiences...
Matias is careful as he moves down the stairwell. Something is here, something terrible, something searching, something that doles out judgments he is not ready to receive.
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Post by Beriadan on Nov 14, 2024 12:40:31 GMT
Fury took a step back, her sword lowered, eyes focused on the star. Someone else had already passed judgement here. She shook her head ever so slightly. This whole situation was... weird, to her. Fury's blade had never been stopped in this manner before. It was like someone else had claimed this man.
"No. Your end isn't here, at the end of my blade."
Fury ducked as two gunshots rang out, hitting another passing man. She spun, facing the mole creature as it stepped into view. What was in its hand? She frowned, gripping her katana tight. Photographs. Was she one of them? Was Matias? Fury took a deep breath.
"Agent X, I'm compromised. Get away while you can."
She raised her sword before her, grasping it with two hands, taking a firm stance. Fury couldn't outrun a bullet, but she guessed whatever this being was, wouldn't be aware how quick she could be. It was like her, a creature that seemed to pass judgement on those. Would her sword work on it? Fury had a sinking feeling that it would, in the same way that it's own judgement would work on her.
Only one way to find out.
"I don't know who you are," she said slowly, training the blade in an exact vertical position before her, "or what you think I'm here for... but if your here for these people too, then we're on the same side. How about a truce?"
It was worth a shot.
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Post by swapgo on Nov 14, 2024 16:55:41 GMT
As Matias descended from the attic, the door of the elevator would open to greet him. Inside of it was a man, slumped at the back of the chamber, though not haphazardly, but rather relaxed, contemplative. A white, star-shaped scar shone to the side of his head, and it reeked of...life, of vigor, somehow. Despite him being bloodless, this person was hemorraging something, something vital to existence, something that he knew instinctively what it was, but couldn't quite put it into words just yet. "What, they brought the fucking Navy Seals in?", he complained, staring at Agent X with eyes that have less life in them than an actual fresh corpse. "Doesn't matter man, go off. Spent all them bullets on that thing anyways", he threw his hands up in concession, providing no hindrance to Matias.
Fury standing her ground seemed to give the creature pause, not on some sort of kinship, but it robbed him of hurry if his quarry believed that escape was unnecessary, he picked up the brightly lit cigar from his mouth with his left hand, tapping it to extinguish its flame. He took a single, soundless step forward, and yet it felt like the complex quaked, prompting the gutless young man to cower slowly towards the stairs and behind Fury. "I am Matthew Stefan", the mole spoke in a grim tone, his mouth revealing a burning flame behind its sharp row of teeth for the brief moments it was open. Fury could see that the mole's garbs were ridden with all kinds of strife, bullets, cuts, burns, tears, loosely patched and held together here and there, even its hat that continued to conceal its eyes, or if there were eyes at all. "I know what you are here for. I can smell it, there's a touch of indignation, just under the top notes of righteousness, and a base of pure zeal", he took a deep breath, not towards her, but towards the photograph in his hand, before putting it away. "It almost masks the stench of your sins. There can be no justice without punishment. Death is no punishment, it denies it", he argued. The mole discarded the cigar, and its weapon was somehow already in his left hand, fully formed, and coming down to slowly to take the shot.
"There is only one justice"
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Post by Countess on Nov 14, 2024 17:58:39 GMT
"Not going anywhere, mija," Matias says gently. "We are both compromised," he says as the elevator doors before him open. His eyes are on the poor soul within, something... terrible happening to him. What could happen to Fury. What could happen to himself...
He isn't abandoning her. Matias isn't afraid.
The man in the elevator only confirms the severity of the matter. Bullets won't work on this. He doesn't waste time talking to the man, just gets in and jumps upwards to start crawling onto the top of the elevator. So much machinery... He feels his body ripple, a transformation starting to take place. He needs to be more, so much more... Bulk is put on him, fur starting to sprout under layers meant to withstand this partial shift. It is an inbetween state he is in, larger than before, stronger and better too. He looks to the various instruments and iron chords that keep this functioning.
"One distraction.... coming up," Matias says, straining with all of his strength. One by one, the chords are snapped by his bare hands, skin splitting and healing as he does so. The pain is unbearable- but the thought of whatever happened to the man in the elevator happening to Fury is so much worse.
The elevator lurches once, Matias moves to hold onto the lip of the floor above him. The last chord is snapped, and the elevator starts to plummet.
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Post by Beriadan on Nov 18, 2024 12:13:01 GMT
As the self-proclaimed Matthew Stefan stepped forward like a silent, devastating earthquake, Fury felt sweat roll down the back of neck. Yet she didn't balk, hand gripped steadily upon Yawarakai-Te, her family blade. This creature wasn't a kindred spirit. It was an antithesis to Fury, right down to the fur on its fuzzy nose. She swallowed, keeping her breathing steady, her stance strong.
"There isn't any justice."
Fury's hand tightened around her blade. She couldn't move faster than a speeding bullet or leap canyons in a single bound, but she was trained in all sorts of combat. Closing the distance between an enemy with a fire-arm when all you wielded was a blade was lesson 101. She heard noises above, and trusted that Mathias was on his way.
"There is only me."
The elevators final chord snapped, metal screeching against metal as it descended, shaking the building by the very foundation. Fury's movement happened simultaneously. She ducked low and surged forward, the legendary katana flashing in the firelight as she took it in a two handed grip. Fury weaved across the distance, feet slamming against the floor, giving the giant moleman a moving target along with the confusion of the falling box. There wasn't much she could do against a bullet, but as long as she could get close...
Fury swung her sword in an upward sweep, aiming to slice through the creature from hip to chest and out the other side. If it was like her, then it wore sins as much as she did. Fury knew her own blade could slice through her like mist, and she just hoped, wished and prayed that this Matthew Stefan would be the same.
Righteousness, indeed. She felt the weight of his words against her, arguably, small ego. Zeal. No, she had none of that. Indignation, perhaps, against the rules of the world and the unbalanced scales, but Fury wouldn't take such words from someone who was fulfilling the same role as she. She clenched her jaw tight as she swung. Fury wouldn't have her worldview shaken by words. It had already been shaken by death.
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Post by swapgo on Nov 18, 2024 19:17:41 GMT
The defeated man watched with numb amazement as Matias climbed through the machinery, scoffing as he pulled out a cigarette. "Ah, just some other crazy bozo with supersomething, I see. It's just how it was meant to be for the little man", he tries to light a fire, but the ripple of the elevator moving causes him to drop his implements, and he just gives up on the ordeal. "Turns out momma was right, crime's looking real good until you realize your place in the world, and then...so suddenly...it all comes crashing-"
The strenuous cacophony of the elevator crashing through the floors seemingly stunned the blind creature, or at least disturbed its aim for Mayumi to approach him before he was confident in taking his shot, flaring an infernal grimace as he sensed Fury took the initiative. A resounding shot echoed through the third floor and missed, a beam of light that illuminated the Worldmaker until Mayumi swung her sword at the fiend, tearing through it, finding no resistance.
It was the sword that resisted.
The scene was taken in by the sound of rushing liquid, Mayumi had pierced the accelerant canteen the monster carried, soaking both of their feet. Photos fell to the now wet floor, still images of victims, wasted, wracked, burning, and then an animated picture of her, watching her from above and behind, it put into perspective the discrepancy in size of the monster she sought to challenge. It cut through everything but the judge, and it was not his ferocious, bulletproof hide that prevented her sword from finding purchase. "We disagree", Stefan reached to move the sword down with his gun as he trained it down at point blank, while his other hand once again procured a cigarette, lighting it as it entered its mouth before holding it aside. The unnatural flames that took on this building weren't meant for her, and yet her own actions, she could just be engulfed with them at the monster's behest. "Your confidence to deliver judgment is inebriating. It was awfully distracting while I was doing my work", he mentioned. The boy behind her was more terrified than guilty and had long booked it upstairs. "Are you willing to accept this judgment?", it challenged her, the barrel of his weapon was so large that she could stick her arm inside of it.
"How about you", the monster didn't tilt his head, but his voice seemed to be directed at the elevator. One of the photos strewn through the floor floated towards Matias, it would be exhausting to look at himself through it, an infinite mirror in the cramped space of the elevator shaft, the monster was also surveiling him, this was the source of his dread. [/b]
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