Open Season (Open RP)

"Depends what kinda game it is, boss man."

His chest and arms marked with vicious slashes of red paint, the lumbering form of Iron Alligator paced up to Bill and the Flier he was standing on. With a solid silver chain wrapped around his torso and a pair of high-tech fighting gauntlets complimenting his usual mundane look of a tatty trenchcoat and cargo pants, the reptilian mutant exposed his fearsome array of teeth in an eager grin as he spoke.

"How many creepy psycho-goth jackasses I get ta put in their place if I play?"

Gator knew the answer already. This was going to be fun.

"Very good"
Raising his right hand towards the door he shot a blue flame spreading outwards until it reached all four corners of the door, there now stood a giant wall of flame blocking the doorways, it made little sound except for a small crackle every now and then.
"Dont worry, its not to keep you in, its to keep other out, its a special flame, one that would hurt even a ghost, i would like our little conversation to go uninterupted if possible."
Slowly he placed his hands together, meshing his fingers together trying to make it obvious he was keeping them in plain view.
"Of course if one of your friends wanted in here im sure it wouldnt stop them....however, i do wonder if they will be the first to get here, there are countless undead here and as a member of the Countess' court i heard her summons, others will come, demons, ghosts, nameless things from the abyss...."
He glanced around the room again, watching the other captives for a second before looking at Damsel again.
"What i propose....is that i let you go, you, and everyone here, i let you pass and do my best to make sure you leave the manor alive and...let us say, relatively unharmed, im sure you understand, what with the unpredictability of some of the courts member..."
He seemed to pause, as if thinking of something else for a moment, then he continued.
"Yes. i say you may all leave though there is a price...just one...one of these people, must stay, i will allow you all to leave, but you, Damsel, must choose to leave one member behind, all i ask is one, for the sake of your children, for the blade racers, for the elfs love, and anyone else i dont really care about...out of them all i ask that one remains."
"Of course you could fight me, perhaps you'd win, perhaps i would, leaving the captives defencless....with me here"
With this he looked darkly at Damsel, all emotion had drained from his face.
"Our battle could buy enough time for your friends to arrive...or mine, and they are not as generous as me, i assure you. so...you all leave, but one, guaranteed, i promise from the bottom of my heart,....if you choose to fight i will have to kill you of course, though i would like to avoid blood shed....so....what will it be...or rather, who will you leave behind?"

It was official. The five intruders were completely lost. Be it the winding and twisting corridors or the dreadful similarity of the stone walls, the team kept arriving back where they had been. "I think there are defensive spells in here Rachel, some very evil mind-warping magic. We've managed to avoid the deathtraps thanks to you but these halls are so confusing that we are quite literally lost. More lost than Matthew Fox in that TV show," said Pious replying to the mental messages. "Alright alright calm down sweetheart, there's no need for that kind of language".

Bill patted Gators shoulder as he passed him.

"There is enough for us all my friend..."

He looked back to the group to see who else was coming with him.

In the dungeon, Silvas watched the door become blocked and looked to Damsel. Silvas sent Damsel a mental message saying "two of us are in the room, if you choose to fight we will aid you, if you choose to leave one behind then leave Mary, we will get her out ourselves, the choice is yours but make it quickly please, we dont have much time".

"David" said Rachel, without so much as a thought. "We'll leave the boy. Now come on, help me unshackle the others."

Elizabeth was standing before her dark mirros watching the small army come closer... "Blundering fools! Do they think I am an idiot...?!" The image changed and she saw the cage with next to it Damsel and Erez'Zul... "Cursed... the woman escaped. But I see Erez'Zul is there just in time."

She spoke a small but powerful incantation and below Hazel a portal appeared dragging her through with black tenticles... "Mommy!", the little girl cried out... but it was alreaady too late and she was gone. Elizabeth hand pulled Hazel from her mirror... holding Pious his daughter high above the ground. Scared as she was.. she still kicked and screamed... "Wheehhh... I want my mommy! Daddy will beat you anyway... Let me GO!"

The blood countess smiled at Hazel and showed her her fangs... "Shut up or I bite you...", she said grinning... Then she grabbed a dagger from the table next to her.



She held the dagger against the screaming girl her throat... Hazel stopped screaming immediatly. "That is better...", the vampire-witch whispered. Another spell and her black mirror started to shimmer again... showing the view just in front of the mansion.

Outside a small hole appeared in thin air... about two meters above the ground in front of the mansion... The darkness oozed out and took the oval shape of the black crystal mirror that was used to create it. In it Elizabeth and Hazel appeared.

Her voice sounded like it came from nowhere... dragged by the wind but as clear as standing right next to her.

"Well well... all this weaponry just for lil' ol' me!? I am honored..." A small drop of blood was already visible where the blade touched Hazel her skin. "Still this is not how I planned to play this game. PIOUS HUNTER! I guess you are leading most of these idiots! Withdraw this army of yours now or your daughter will be the first to die!"

Shuffling her feet begrudgingly as she waddled slightly through Operations, the heavily pregnant form of a blonde woman approached the group preparing to take off. Swiftly she placed a hand on Bill's arm and the other instinctinctively over the bump of her stomach. "Aquis is in fullon mojo mode so won't be on comms but will be guiding things through her scrying thimgummy" She declared before smiling playfully "That being the technical term"

"I'll be helping Tommy here on comms if you need anything" she added quickly before looking into the eyes of the man known as the Headbreaker "and take care, yeah?"

Meanwhile the statuesque form of red redhead dressed in a small back and green costume with a radiation theme strolled up to the flyer slinging a bag over her shoulder. "One field medic reporting for duty" Doctor Bradley, better known to some as Radiation Burn, reported to the group in a soft Irish lilt.

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Erez'Zul watched as the little girl was dragged into darkness, unmoving, uncaring.
"I guess you spoke to soon, very well....the boy is mine to do with as i like, and i really dont like children, therefore..."
Raising his hand a flame erupted from it, firing directly at the boy named David.

Blade saw the mirror with Elizabeth in it and floated down infront of it. "Pious isnt leading this assult Bathory, i am. and i didnt bring the fire power for you, i brought it for your finaciers, that council or whatever i assume you have? What do you want in return for the kid and your hostages? for the troops to back off?".

Bill closed his eyes and lightly rested his head against Becky's, then placed his hand on her stomach,

"I will my love." he opened his eyes and gave her a quick wink and a grin, "Be back before tea-time!"

He tapped Bradley's shoulder as she passed,

"Welcome aboard doc!" Finally he pointed up towards the tower to signal they were ready, "CLEAR THE LAUNCH AREA!!!" he stepped inside the Flier, pulling the door shut behind him.

At first there was a light hum. Then a wind whipped up though the hall as the turbine engines burst into life. Slowly the hanger doors screeched open reveling the world outside.

Bill sat in his seat and looked at those who were coming with him, nodding to them in turn.

The flier raised up and moved forward only slightly...before bursting forward out of the now open doors and rose high above Sharkhead.

Bill shouted at the pilot above the engine noise "KEEP AN EYE OPEN F'THE ARACHNOS FLEET! SLIP IN BEHIND THEM AS IF WE WERE THERE FROM THE START!!!"

She had smelled the fire from across the bending corridors. She had heard Damsel talking. Now, she was running flat out through the dungeons, pushing her lungs beyond its limits, stretching her muscles through the cramps and aches. As though in slow motion, she dove through the flaming door, the heat melting away her ghostly disguise. She barged past two shadowy figures and flung herself into the path of Erezul's erupting fireball. Her body took the shot and instantly burst into flames, her Nighthunter's armour struggling to cope with the damage.

Sabrina San thought she had saved her son but when she landed next to him, she knew instantly that something was wrong. Several moments passed as the woman's skin continued to burn. She remained unmoving, fixed to the cage where her young son had spent the last week of his precious life. A single tear fell from her eyes and landed on David's forehead. His whole face had been forced round and the neck was broken beyond repair.

In an instant Silvas and Laya appeared, Silvas rushing to Sabrina to put out the flames and heal her burnt flesh, Laya moving between Damsel and Erez, taking a battle stance and preparing her body for battle. "you wont harm another person, Im taking my daughter and all the people your witch mistress took, understand?" said Laya.

Erez'Zul showed a brief glimmer of suprise, it quickly vanished as fast as it had come.
"Oh my that was VERY good...and yet...perhaps i was the one who was too rash"
He started to laugh, there was no humor in his laughter but it became louder and louder, suddenly he stopped, the room became quiet as the blue flame blocking the doorway slowly broke apart, fading away.
"My deepest sympathys for the departed...it wasnt me who killed him, but i assure you...if you hadnt come, his husk would have rotted here, forever."
He looked once more at Damsel, slowly walking towards the wall and placing his hand on it.
"You would have left him to rot, he meant nothing to you at all, see her tears flow...know her pain, i said you could choose anyone in the room...i also said the fire i used was special, did you not think i could sense your two friends in here, i knew they were here the second my fire filled the door, and yet you gave him up without a thought....pitiful."
His hand started to merge with the wall, as if his whole body was becoming some sort of jelly, oozing together into one being.
"Of course i couldnt see them....clever little trick...but if i was you, i would have fought...oh well, cell a vie..."
Erez'Zul fully merged with the wall as if he was a part of it now, then in a second, he was gone.

"Sabrina" said Rachel, choking on her emotions and welling up with tears. "I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. That monster gave me an ultimatum and I offered up David because he was... because he was already... I'm so sorry. The Chinese girl... it was this crazy little Chinese girl, I don't know if-" Rachel sighed, realising her rambling and feeling completely powerless. Her fire had been doused and all hope was slowly drained from her. "Oh Pious, where the bloody hell are you?"

Before the concussive round hit, Kurze was already on the move - dropping his shadowform to move faster.

The rifle was now slung over his back and the twin Desert Eagles in his hands again, gesturing to his enforcers, the two black clad men fanned out and opened sustained fire to the merc group by one wall, the thugs providing cover for the arsonist who was already lighting more dynamite to launch at the mechs training their weapons roofward.

He managed a last glance at the bruiser of his mob, launching a volley from his scattergun to the mob below the far wall - before a dark shadow dropped in front of him, in a brief second he managed to assess the situation, and that sitation was around 8ft tall, skinless and covered in bony protrusions with a baleful glow around its eyes.

Demon

Kurzes eyes rolled black as he allowed the darkness within him to take form and cocked the hammers on his dual pistols - with enough time to utter the the words

"Bring it"

Before the demons fists came crashing down around him . . .

The final gunship avoiding its attackers assault had been damaged by the explosions of its twin, it turned and spun around firing a final blast of bullets from its chaingun. It sent a message,

"Retreating to base, damage unsustainable repairs requested".

With that it sped off heading to Leeches base belching smoke as it did so. Leeches ten Infected soldiers shrugged at each other, then the sergeant who was a Devolved nodded to them.

"We open fire Mistress promises power, we fight for her, fire, kill them for the mistress".

So all ten of them opened fire at the small army in front of them using rifle grenades and laser blasts.

In the castle Leeches walked out the front door to join Bathory her robot bodyguards following her with their force field bubbles covering her, her robots lifted their weapons but did not fire yet and Leeches lifted her rifle also and chuckled.

"Looks like a standoff, how quaint".

Suraya woke up screaming... "No more... no more.. please!" Not yet realising that it wasn't Bathory or any of her goons. Her body was filled with small knife marks... even though it seemed the old ones where healing without scars... due to the woman her magical healing... there where new ones too. She was also hanging upside down. And her blood stained wedding dress was completely torn away leaving something that was just able to cover her.

Outside the castle, the three unidentified figures began to fight back against the ten infected leeches had ordered. The dark skinned man's magic aura faded and his true form stood exposed in blacke and white robes similar to the Nighthunter's armour, but with a hood and cloak covering him aswell. The man, Molacki looked up, his skeleton head focusing on his attackers as he cmmanded his seven commander zombies to attack, making it an even match up. The hooded Man with a demonic face, Yarg, charged at one of the infected drones, slicing towards him with his two blades. Next to him the armoured figure of Imp began to fire his rifle, and the battle was joined. The Wolf Hunters against Leeches Infected soldiers.

++++

Inside Silvas watched Sabrina run off but made no move to follow her, instead he lowered his head and said a short pray for her and her son before begining to unlock the cages. Laya Ran to her daughter and picked her up, carrying her she went back to Damsel and put an darm under her. Silvas helped Suraya to her feet saying in a calming voice "Blade is outside, He's drawing the fire, we need to hurry and get you all out of here". With that the group began to walk to the door and the nighthunter strike team. "where are the Hyena's? arent they supposed to be here?" Laya said moving towards the door.

"Hyenas are holed up" Pious said flatly, embracing his wife. He was saddened by what he'd just seen but there was no time to fully process his emotions. "Lets just get out of here" he said, before letting go of Rachel to count the prisoners, who quickly went back to help Altair and Misty Hunter. The young girl Mary was being carried by her mother, seen to by the Silvatian. "Wait, where's Hazel?" asked Pious, looking from Rachel to Suraya. "My daughter... where is she?"

Out of the sewer openings all around the building came armored zombies... their rusted metal making the only sound that gave them away. Slowly these unholy creatures closed in... and several of them started to form a wall of undead meat in front of the building...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blade Racer What do you want in return for the kid and your hostages? for the troops to back off?".

Elizabeth could only see straight in front of the mirror and still was oblivious to the rescue of the others... She pressed the dagger closer. "I don't know what you are talking about Balfear! But I have your niece too I believe... So time to leave I gather."

Elizabeth tried to see more though her limited view from the mirror... "All those armies... I wander what Arachnos would think of this. I gather Aeon will not be happy." She gave a cruel but serious smile... "Shall I give him a call?"