[IC] The Blood Compact: Turn Back The Clock

[Wraithblade6]

Patrolling the city during the daylight had been thankfully uneventful, but the feeling that he was missing something kept nagging at Mithias. He and Lightning were called back to the SOLDIER base specifically before nightfall, as they were both special agents, best at hunting down individual targets rather than getting caught on the front lines should a battle suddenly begin. Lightning had gone for dinner earlier, and Mithias had taken a position outside atop one of the buildings. The sun was setting, and from here, he had a good view of the whole of the city and around the base. One of the soldier's radios periodically went off nearby, stating some area was clear at the hour. He could tell that even the humans were anxious. Everyone was on edge, expecting something, and now, just as darkness would fall, was an opportune time for a vampire attack. A night of useless vigil would be the best he could expect.

The clouds seemed to be gathering that evening, hastening the darkness of night, yet such was not uncommon in the South this time of year. A single light on the aircraft runway flickered and went out, unnoticed, far to the west side of the base. However, the sudden black-hole of light's absence that followed provoked a soft gasp from even the vampire's lips as Mithias looked westward. A swift breeze picked up at that exact moment, and a young man's voice sounded on the base-radio asking for a report. The sentries in that location didn't reply. Mithias had already lept off the side of the building to investigate.

Promptly, the rest of the lights on the base also went out, and panic ensued. Mithias drew his swords, striding forward, scanning for any sounds or movement. This was no coincidental power-out. The attack had begun. Mithias considered how smart it was of the enemy to cut power and attack from the unexpected west side, but were they really so bold as to go straight for SOLDIER headquarters before taking the city? It wasn't difficult for the vampire to keep to the shadows, as darkness blanketed the whole area. Then suddenly, recognition hit him. Mithias hesitated as he sensed the presence of the one whose blood he shared. This, he hadn't expected. What was that sound? ...laughing? He slowed, searching, but not seeing any kind of an army, nor any gunfire. The humans appeared to be terrified out of their minds and incapacitated. It was definitely Gabriel's doing, but had he come alone?

The scent of fresh human blood was in the air, and Mithias exhaled his heavy disappointment. The Lord of Vampires, the First, was like a god to all life around him. He slapped justice in the face with murder. As a defender of life, Mithias could do little more to stop him than buy time and encourage others to flee. Inwardly, Mithais dreaded ever potentially having to confront the ancient vampire and put him down.

Gabriel of course knew Mithias was there, just about as quickly as Mithias' honed in on the faint red glow of Gabriel's eyes. It had been hundreds of years since they had last met, sire and son. Mithias had long been wondering, in the back of his mind if Gabriel hadn't finally left this Earth forever. ...perhaps only mentally. Time and era didn't seem to matter, and it was as if their last conversation had been yesterday, in some other world, a world without a Blood Contract.

For the moment, seeing as they were the only two still in their right minds, they were alone. Mithias stepped into the clearing, putting himself in plain sight. It was an honorable gesture. Much to his maker's chagrin, Mithias' mind was unreadable, like a black wall, or like a spherical room with heavy metal doors locked shut in all directions. Gabriel would have to rely mostly on words and actions to interpret his intentions, although unbeknownst to Mithias, he could read his child's heart. ... It loved him.

So many questions and so much to say, yet none of it needed be given breath. Mithias put away his swords and kneeled down with a hand over his heart and one word, "Father." He would defer to Gabriel to explain himself first, as would be proper respect for one as old and powerful as he, as well as his maker. Gabriel was known to have, or believed to have, the unique and unexplained power of clairvoyance. Whatever he said, was listened to. Whatever words were to follow would be between them alone and would decide the fate of Kilo Point and the future.

[akje]

((Music))

Sten was running faster than he'd ever done in his life.
He had just seen more than he could handle in a lifetime.
Just minutes ago they had been standing guard on a cold night, Frank said he saw a shadow move and went to check it out.
The sarge just lit up another cigarette and told him to "Make it quick, cause it's probably nothing."
Yeah... nothing.

Sten dove behind a corner, he didn't know if he was still being followed but he couldn't look around so he just kept running.
Another sharp turn, his path was obscured by another huge fog bank.
When the fog first started to come up it had made chills run down his spine.
But by now it instilled sheer terror. Eyes wide open, unable to look away from the white abyss, Sten stood frozen.

Suddenly he saw a tiny red light hover in the deep. The lit end of a cigarette!
"Sarge! Sarge over here!"
Latching on to a tiny speck of hope he ran into oblivion.
The light got closer, and closer. There was literally a light at the end of this tunnel! The sarge always knew what to do, he'd get out of this and...

The red point dropped from the horizon.

Seconds later Sten got to it. A half smoked cigarette lay on the ground, a thin line of smoke diffusing into the mist. Which was slowly turning darker.
A Sten looked around him all was gray, dark gray. The ground looked like it shook violently in intervals but he felt nothing.
Darkness enclosed around him. Now all was pitch black around him, he was dazed and unable to see further a meter away from his face.
Far away, yet close somehow, he saw twisted faces writhing in the darkness. Laughing at him, taunting him.
His head was pounding, the world kept shaking and it felt the air pressure was rising.
The sneering and hysterical faces floated around, fading in and out, flashing horrifying twisted faces.
Stan ran, he picked a direction and held on to his last shred of hope.

Suddenly there was a wall of light in the distance. He ran towards it and as he got closer he saw there was a light at the edge of the fog bank.
Running for his life and away from the faces that hounded him relentlessly, he dashed out of the mist and out on the street.
The light he'd seen had been a street lantern.
Under it stood two figures. Long coats, looking at each other.
Sten heard his own pounding footsteps echo in his head, the blood rush trough his veins and the feint laughing far away in the distance, from every direction.
He couldn't make out what the two talked about, or who they where. He could hardly focus to look at them, yet he couldn't look away.
In a flash he saw one turn his head and make eye contact, glowing red eyes and viciously sharp teeth. But the man hadn't moved. Had he?
The pressure got to Sten. He dropped to his knees.

All the chaos and horror was interrupted by a loud tone.
It brought calm and clarity. For a moment the world was forgotten.
Sten stared out into nothing, but with no fear. He understood now.
Tears ran down his face as he cried out in manic laughter.
Crimson lines ran from his face as it stared up at a blank sky.

He understood now.

[Shikaru]

"Magnus, your...guest...is on the training floor. He has incapacitated several vampires and has taken a belt of grenades from the armory. How would you like me to proceed?" BOB sounded in the elevator. "Hm...Spin up the turrets, blow the belt of grenades. It seems Johnathan has overstayed his welcome." Magnus replied. Shortly after the elevator stopped on the floor with a ding, turret fire was heard followed by a explosion. Sure, the grenades exploding wouldn't kill him, but it would throw him off guard. Magnus sat down in the elevator and closed his eyes, completely still, focusing on Johnathan. Shortly after Magnus appeared several feet in front of Johnathan, an illusion. "Why, hello Johnathan." Magnus told him. "Do tell, why have you broken several of my soldiers and forced me to dent my walls with that explosion?"

He grinned staring at Johnathans brief moment of shock. "Pick yourself up man. Surely that mild explosion didn't rattle you that much?" Magnus told him, grin growing wider revealing his long sharp teeth. "I take it you are here to kill me, and take over this army of mine, yes? Well, I can't have that now can I?" He continued standing there, grinning, taunting.

---

After she had finished eating Lightning made her way to one of the sniper posts setting up her gun, attaching the scope, and making sure the right rounds were loaded when similtaneously all the lights went out. Screams were heard around the outpost, quickly she looked through her scope. Darkness, nothing but darkness, even with a night vision scope. Something was clearly wrong here.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and descended the steps to the ground, promptly swapping out mags for shotgun shells at the bottom. She proceeded slowly down the road, looking in every direction for hostiles, human or otherwise. Nothing, and everything had gone silent. "Matt! Mithias!" She called out, no answer. What the hell was going on? She ran in the direction she assumed was the command office and flung the door open, empty. Then to the barracks, empty. Every building, empty, as if the world had simply swallowed them whole never to be found again.

---

Matt had no idea where the hell he was, but it was obviously somewhere in a forest. He had hoped it was near Kilo Point, he walked through the forest chakram in hand. It was completely silent, nothing. Something was definitely wrong...he continued walking, soon he felt a evil prescence, as if satan himself had spawned on the world to destroy everything that came in his path. He walked a bit farther and he could make out two faint outlines, "Hello?" He called.
------

[akje]

Hale walked.
He walked slowly, following a trail of army truck tires.
He wasn't tracking it, he simply walked since he had refused to get in said truck.
Motorized travel turned his stomach. That and he hated the loss of agency.
He wanted full control over where he was and how he was moving.
But most of all he was afraid of breaking the truck if he was on it.
So Hale walked.

In the distance he saw the lights of Kilo Point.
They seemed peaceful. Just by looking at it one would never expect this quaint little place was about to become the center point of the greatest war between mortals and monsters the modern world had seen. That is, unless you've read up on history. Then you knew this place had been the battlefield to a similar struggle once before. Or was it twice? Three times even? Hale struggled to remember. No, he was sure there was only one battle before this one, ten years ago... still...

Lights went out on one side of the city.
"The party started." Hale mused to no one in particular.
He picked up the pace. He wiped the rust of the heavy gun in his hands. This was gonna be fun.

[thewizardguy]

To Mithias, the rolling coils of mist seemed to be nothing more than a slgiht hindrance, lapping low among the ground without truly obscuring his vision. With vampiric senses, the night was almost as clear as day, and as far as he could see there were agents of SOLDIER, running from invisible foes. Like a silent play, each and every one scuffling around like a madman, haunted by Gabriel's power of illusion and manipulation, and yet not a single scream filled the night air. As if all sound had been muffled, cries dying in the throat before they could even be uttered. It was almost a comedic sight, ruined only by the perpetual expression of fear, written onto the faces of those least capable of withstanding the aura of fear that Gabriel had chosen to adorn. Mithias himself could feel it flowing around him, touching on the edges of his mind, attempting to seep through the slightest cracks in his mental defense.

The ancient vampire smiled, as he always did, revealing the array of pointed teeth common to Oldbloods. His black coat was lined with gold, the interior a velvet red to match his eyes. When he spoke, the voice was a deep one, spoken with a strange, predatory grace. Like the words of a lion, inspecting it's prey, tinged by an almost childish excitement that Mithias recognized all too well. Gabriel was in a mood, and when he got into a mood, it ended badly for those around him. "Mithias, fancy seeing you in a place like this! I thought you were stationed a bit further away, but I suppose quite the event IS about to go down over here. After I'm done here, we should get a coffee, or a drink, or an orphan. You know I like myself an orphan or two." Gabriel simply smiled at Mithias's blanched face, devoid of color. However, both knew it was not the mention of infanticide that had shocked Mithias, for Mithias was used to his sire's sense of humor.

On either side of Gabriel stood the beings he had chosen as escorts on this particular venture. Two figures, one a black haired, thin man, the other a short brunette. They wore the SOLDIER uniform and apparel, most likely they had been stationed here, and had had the bad luck of running into Gabriel when he marched into the base. But even though they stood there, it was nearly impossible to consider them human.

There are certain tendencies built into the human neural system. Fingers that move together with other fingers, movements that coincide, that cannot be properly performed seperately. It is impossible for a human to smile, without their eyes smiling as well. The two agents smiled, baring their teeth in an almost impossibly wide grin, even as the blood from the tears this caused slowly dribbled down their chin. And yet, their eyes wept tears of blood, agonisingly switching from object to object, despeately searching for a way out. For beneath the hold Gabriel had placed on their movements, they were fully conscious. It felt wrong, on a very base level, just looking at these faces, so twisted beyond recognition, like a mask made of flesh.

"As much as I appreciate meeting you, my boy, you're not the reason I've come to this desolate corner of the world. No, there are certain people in this camp who I need to speak with, I have a message or two to give to a couple of SOLDIER. I know I usually don't do politics, but every now and then, I do like to get out." Giving Mithias a bright smile, Gabriel had already turned, as a figure blundered towards the small group, apparently scared out of his mind. Although it was hard to recognize the face, as the figure constantly looked around in a blur of movement, the uniform made it clear that it was, in fact, Matt. "Look, here he comes right now! Well, I guess someone up there likes me, what perfect timing!"

Slowly, the fog sank down, and Mithias could feel the terror that had attempted to infiltrate his mind sink back into the mists of Gabriel's thoughts. It was like a cloak, formed of the terrors of man, an apparel of horrifying majesty that dwarfed the quality of even the finests silks that he had crafted into his suit. And, so dressed for meeting, Gabriel faced the asssembled members of SOLDIER, escorts at his side, happily turning his back towards Mithias. "Why hello there, humans. I was just stopping by, do you mind if we have drink? I believe I have something to discuss."

[akje]

((Music))

It already felt like years since Sten had given up.
Eons had slipped by as he stared into the void of his madness.
There was no more resistance, the fear and horror just washed over him like a violent storm.
But there was nothing left to tear down.

Still giggling he stood up and staggered forward.
As he moved he felt like he could taste words and names in the air, smell feelings that accompanied them on the ground.
He heard a little bell jingle and smiled.
Slowly walking by the dark figures when their attention turned to poor Matt he mumbled.
"The emperor broke the wheel. But the wagon won't break."

He strode past them to the other side of the street, straight towards an old game store.
Casually he picked up a brick and threw it into the window before him without breaking stride.
"The magician has the moon, but the high priestes guards him. Only justice may prevail, for justice is trumped by the moon."
The alarm went off. A shrill beeping noise drowned out all sound for a minute. There was no apparent response.
Sten didn't seem to notice, nor did he seem to notice he scratched himself badly on the broken glass. A bloody cut showed on his shoulder.
The scent of fresh blood soaked the streets more and more.
Quikly thereafter he came out again with a deck of cards, he was shuffling them expertly while giggling.
Sten looked at the three without fear in his eyes, before shrouding himself in a cloud of flying cards.
Silently the cards fell to the ground and so did he.
He dipped his finger in the bloody cut and started to write letters on the cards.
"Fear the sword of judgement, for it deceives all but one."

[Shikaru]

"Alright....Who the hell are you? Wait...Mithias?...Why are you with him?..." Matt said assuming a fighting stance, chakram gripped tightly in front of him. "Mithias, you better have a damn good explanation. You, whoever the hell you are, explain yourself or get cut in two." He paused a few moments, gauging the situation. The figure in front of him seemed to have caused all the chaos, and Mithias could be working with him. Of course, Mithias could have been coming to kill him, and the man used some kind of compulsion. Either way he only saw one solution, the man in front of him must die, and Mithias must be brought in for questioning. Matt bent his arm back to the side chakram in hand, and hurled it diagonally towards the man, drew his guns, and opened fire.

[Wraithblade6]

As one of the "humans" came stumbling forward out of the darkness, Mithias stood up. He blinked as he recognized the commander, Matt. Obviously, Gabriel had drawn this particular mortal here, and so should have been fully prepared for whatever consequences may have resulted. Mithias noted Gabriel hadn't bothered to disarm the commander prior to bringing him here, but bullets certainly couldn't kill the blooddrinking archfiend. Nonetheless, knowing both their personalities, Mithias knew this exchange was going to be rocky. For one thing, there was no way an ancient vampire was ever going to send advance notice of his location. They always had enemies. So, an arrival such as this was fairly unavoidable. Matt however, like most humans, lacked the ability or desire to discern between vampires and to understand their ways. He would interpret this as an attack, especially since the entire base had been expecting one, and naturally defend himself.

Inwardly, Mithias winced. He hoped he could keep things civil, lest his ties of blood trump his contract with SOLDIER. He didn't know why Gabriel had chosen this night, this base, this human, or why he always had a fragrant blood-red rose brooch every time he appeared, but he could only assume there was a reason he wasn't mentally manipulating from afar. ...and he partially hoped that reason wasn't merely personal amusement.

Mithias met Matt's suspicious gaze, feeling tensions predictably begin to rise. Matt was a brave man, but at that instant was wavering on the edge of serious stupidity. The vampire held his hand out in a calming gesture to him, approaching slowly. "Commander, wait. You don't understand the situation." But his words seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Matt had already made a decision.

As Matt reached for his chakram, the soft sound of vibrating metal could be heard behind those elegant coattails. Words weren't going to cut it, and Mithias would be damned if he didn't at least attempt to save his human commander from the results of pissing Gabriel off. Mid-air, the chakram rung itself around a titanium sword with a clamor, sliding down to the forte as Mithias moved in front of the mysterious and eerie visitor. There was little time to frown before a barrage of bullets followed. Mithias clasped his vambraces together in a mock shield while the projectiles mostly deflected off his armor. "Stop Matt!" He tried to say over the gunfire.

To a vampire, it seemed to take an eternity, but even commander Matt ceased fire, seeing it futile and against the wrong target. Mithias could only assume any human would have simply been acting out of fear, but he couldn't read minds.

Not certain where Gabriel had gone to, or if he had moved, Mithias peered over his arms at Matt and sighed heavily.

"Commander Matt. It is my duty to inform you that Gabriel is an Onyx-class vampire... THE Onyx-class vampire. If you will recall your training, you know that the very fact that you are still in your right mind and that he is revealing himself to you mean that he has peaceful intentions. He has come to talk... to you." Mithias paused a moment, to see if any of this was registering with the human. As he continued, he extended his sword toward the commander, sliding the chakram ring down the blade and stopping it perfectly at the tip for Matt to grab. "This is a vampire that is tens of thousands of years old, Matt. Twenty to thirty times even my age. He knows more about the world than any of us. I urge you to hear him." Mithias and Matt both knew, that although they didn't have any solid evidence against him, Gabriel was technically on SOLDIER's kill-on-sight list. He was feared greatly, simply for what he was.

[thewizardguy]

The steady click of metal gears shifting into position was instantly recognizable. This was not the first time that Johnathan had stood face to face with automated security systems, although even he had never encountered one as sophisticated as Bob. Mechanics remain mechanics already, and Johnathan had already took cover as the turret popped out from the cieling, only to find another moving down near his position. He already knew there was no cover he could move to in time, not if his intial calculations of the turret's firing rate were accurate. However, he was thickly armored, and he had few locations to protect, and as such merely moved his hands in front of his face to form a shield against the incoming hail of gunfire. Moments later, of course, he was blown to the side as the belt of grenades he had taken from the armory went off, the explosion ripping through even his armor, leaving a large hole, filled with shrapnel.

Johnathan stood his ground despite the shockwave, and both his arms remained intact however. He had long outrgrown the necessity for pain. It was a receptor, information as to the state of his physical form, and nothing more. Although to most pain prohibited, to Johnathan it didn't even slow him down, and neither did the sudden lack of his left lung, and massive internal damage and blood loss. He'd walked off worse, after all. Overall, there was very little that had happened to piss off Johnathan, when you think of it tactically. But one thing truly did annoy the humanoid killing machine.

That bastard had broken his favorite armor.

Even as the illusion appeared before him, Johnathan almost subconsciously recalled the gathered information he had gained from Soldier. While the higher ups certainly didn't like him, and had tried to kill him a fair number of times, Soldier was almost always willing to help when it came to killing Oldbloods. They were all too happy to have Johnathan go out and kill their opponents for them, and thus provided all the data gathered on Magnus, from his abilities to his hideouts and known associations, a veritable gold mine. Flashing this information in front of him, Johnathan smiled, as he stood up. Magnus wasn't able to read thoughts, or if he could it had never been confirmed by SOLDIER. But if he was, he'd be moving for the exit already, and Jophnathan had every intent to cut him off.

Moving his hand up, Johnathn grabbed the crucifix bolted into his skull. A loud cracking could be heard almost echoiing through the metal corridors, as without so much as flincing, Johnathan cracked his own skull open. With an almost explosive burst of blood, the crucifix was ripped out of the skull, bolts and all. And even as they did, the air almost instantly changed. A wave of raw killing intent shot down the psychic link Magnus had created, the unnatural pent up rage of hundreds of years of brutal slaughter. Every shred of anger and murderous intent Johnathan would have felt in the 800 years since his last awakening, suppressed and combined into this state of pure fury and murderous intent.

Johanthan's entire body started fluctuating, twisting in ways the human anatomy was incapable of supporting. Even as the bullets struck harmlessly into flesh that stretched impossibly, plates of armor jumped loose from Johanthan's skeleton, ripped off by his convulsions, the bolts popping out of his skin as the holes close. Bullets pepper his flesh, to no apparent effect, as the holes simply close as if nothing had happened. His flesh is red and raw, covered in seeping blood, as Johnathan screeches as a beast, a sound that no human or vampire could have produced. For 800 years, johnathan had suppressed not only his hatred, but his regenerative capabilities, as well as a fraction of his strength and speed.

Johnathan's arm burst open, the skin splattering the walls as a stream of blood shot out. It moved as if of it's own volition, reaching up like a swarm of red tentacles, and with incredible strength, ripped the turret from the wall, digging into it's circuitry and mechanics. Even as Johnathan was electrocuted, he only let out another mindnumbing screech, and within seconds the second turret had been wiped out. The vampires that would have intervened had fled, those manning the cameras ran. There was a primal fear that outdid any sentient thought, hundreds of years of evolution had not suppressed this base instinct. The survival instinct.

There was no longer such a being as Johnathan. Not now. Now, there was only the Beast.

And Magnus was it's prey.

((PS: Grenades do not explode when they are shot. While this is a popular misconception, it is wholly incorrect. Grenades explode due to a chamical reaction, which is not affected by heat or motion, and is thus one of the most stable explosives one could carry around. I allowed this to work in this post because it fits action movie logic, but I in no way wanted to encourage this misconception.

Thank you for your time.))

---

A slow smile crept across Gabriel's face as Mithias acted as hi personal meat shield. He had been prepared for an event such as this, of course, but it was nice to see that little Mith was as loyal as ever. Not even Gabriel could move the stick anymore, so firmly had it been planted up his ass. But there were a number of problems that needed to be dealt with before Gabriel considered how next to amuse himself. He was the oldest of vampire kind, known in fear as the God of Vampires, the Absolute Alpha, and this little twerp of a mortal being had had the balls to decieve himself into the delusion he had a chance. A hope. That he, a fruitfly with a life span less than a thousand years long, could defeat a God. And the bright smile that had briefly illuminated Gabriel's face slipped into a sadistic smirk.

"Oh my. It seems we have a hero here, attacking me head on like that." Gabriel's tone was a slow drool, every note dripping with pleasure. "It seems SOLDIER has a lot of heroes, why, I met one just by the gate. A brave man, he fights because his family was slain by vampires. Got himself a wife and children, and then moved on to make sure no vampire would ever threaten his family." A click can be heard as Gabriel pauses, just for a moment, in his speech. Not a word is spoken, not a sound is heard, it's as if the entire camp, now gathered around Gabe, was holding their breath. "Such a brave, compassionate man, when he saw me walk through the fog he didn't even hesitate. He fought his way through the fear I'd forced on his mind, pulled the pin on a grenade, and tried to tackle me. Because that's what true heroes do, isn't it? They die for their loved ones, they die for their country, they die for their...."

A loud bang echoes through the clearing, as the man on Gabriel's right blasts his own brains out. Blood hits the ground, out towards the crowd so as not to ruin Gabriel's rather expensive outfit. Still outfitted with the chilling, inhuman smile, he dropped to his knees, and then crashed to the ground. However, the tears of blood had been mixed with real tears, and the expression of pain in the man's eyes had been unmistakeable. In his last moments, he had been fully conscious.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I lost my train of thought." Gabriel leaned forward, crossing his arms to lean his head on his remaining minion's head. His smile is one of genuine, almost childlike joy, as his eyes sweep the crowd. "Who wanted to be the hero again? Please do step forward."

[akje]

The scent of blood and fear hung thick in the air.
It made Hale somewhat exited, he was almost at Kilo Point and... wait.
Kilo point was downwind. This was coming from his home. He turned around and looked back at his tracks.
He pondered if he should return.

---

"E-excuse me... Sir?"
Sten had crawled over to Gabriels feet, leaving a trail of blood and cards.
"I am no hero, but I have seen things." His eyes stared up, they seemed to dare and look the oldblood in the eyes, yet they seemed to see nothing.
"And it's all wrong! It's all so wrong teacher!"
Sten scrambled on the floor as he gathered his bloodied cards.
With a strange look of pride, like a child he held up two cards. "These cards do not oppose one another."

In his left hand was a tarot card, it depicted an official looking figure in christian priest robes, beneath him depicted were two monks bowing before him and a set of keys crossed between them. The card read in neat gothic letters "The hyrophant". Written over it in blood it said "Gabriel".

In his right hand he held another tarot card, this one depicted a cart, in it a confident looking man. The cart was being pulled by two lions. This card was titled "The Chariot" and read "Matt" in bloody letters.

"Any conflict here is madness. For you are not opposed you see?"
His tone of voice seeped despair, yet somehow his face was hopeful, obsessive.
It was like he had forgotten fear. At this point Sten didn't think about these things anymore, he just followed the motions trying to solve a puzzle that made no sense and all the sense in the world at the same time.

[Wraithblade6]

The gun when off and cranial guts spattered onto some of the SOLDIER members that were standing around. There were a few screams. Mithias stood motionless, expressionless except for a slight crease between his eyebrows. He knew something like that was coming, and he had been as powerless to stop it as he was now to do anything about it. Even trying to do anything to Gabriel, had he wanted to, would surely result in mass slaughter if he failed, and failure was extremely likely.

When Gabriel was in a mood, he could be wicked, ruthless, morbid... but he wasn't only capable of evil. Mithias knew there was more to him than that, a lot more. This was merely a tactical display, successfully decreasing the likelihood of any additional, blundering attacks. Mithias chose not to intervene, counting on his father's wisdom, and allowing the shroud of either cowardice or prudence to cover his actions at the present moment.

Any other vampire would have been killed, or at least captured and brought to trial. By all rights, Mithias should have arrested Gabriel, or more likely fought to one of their deaths to uphold the moral contract that keep peace and equality between the species, but he couldn't. When it came to his sire, he was overwhelmed with doubts. Did one murder justify execution of an immortal life? Did Gabriel kill the man or was it suicide? There were so many questions. In the end, the debt he owed Gabriel, the fact that the vampire had touched his soul, demanded acknowledgement. It demanded obedience. These secrets Mithias kept to himself.

"It's all so wrong teacher..." The meek voice sounded up from below.

For some unknown reason, the word, "teacher," triggered something in the vampire's mind. Mithias' eyes unfocused as he suddenly appeared to be lost in thought. Teacher... hadn't someone called their father that before... "Their?!" Mithias ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he had ever since he was human, a telltale sign he was disturbed. he felt like he was forgetting something very important. Who in hell was it?? He looked down at the bloody, dirty, scrambling human who mumbled about cards and their opposition. He and his insanity were so incredibly familiar. Then Mithias noticed the name "Matt" written in blood on one of the cards. Matt... Matt... Matt... Words written in blood on the back of the inside of a van flashed into his memory like a scene from a nightmare. "Mart... Martin." Mithias began a whisper just as the switched flipped off in his mind, a scene of a fiery explosion... and he couldn't remember anymore.

The black-haired sireling looked at Gabriel in confusion, yet accusingly, with a look that appeared to say, "The fuck just happened?"

[akje]

The dazed and bloodied man looked up from the bits of brain pulp he was looking at in his hands.
"Yes! That name's in here too."
Frantically Sten started to shuffle cards around, placing them in patterns.
"The teacher foils the stars, but first the star guides justice to avoid judgement."
On the ground laid more tarot cards, names smeared on each.
The star card read the name Mithias had whispered. Justice held his own and judgement read Johnathan.

Sten tore up the wheel of fortune card reading Charles and placed a card with Magnus on it over it.
"The emperor breaks the wheel and seeks the chariot. He doesn't know he seeks the mage as well."

With a wide gestures he moved cards around while splattering blood in every direction.
With a flourish he picked up the world card and wrote Kilo Point on it.
"Is this the prize at the end of the game?"

---

Hale was nearly at the village, in the distance he saw mist. Normally this wouldn't bother him, but the mist seemed stationary, ignoring the wind.
This was unnatural and more than likely old blood trouble. It clearly wasn't Magnus's style, so it's probably some old blood who found reason in helping the humans out.
"There's no reasoning with old-bloods, so we'll avoid them." Hale mumbled to himself.
He'd walk around and start his path of destruction elsewhere. He'd rather fight some soldiers than a monster.

Hale went trough his pockets,fished out a pack of smokes, then realized he had no fire.
With a groan he put it back and increased his pace.

[FoxFireOfDawn]

Glacia and Kol had both agreed on the idea to stop further back from the city, so they were on the outskirts. They would set up a small fort, only far enough away not to get caught in anything major. The four other members of SOLDIER inside had also agreed, so that's what they were going to do. They were walking over to their area now. "Who's gonna be in charge, then?" asked a girl called Violet.
"You're all the filth of the Earth, so it's most likely to be me, as I definitely stand above you all." Kol replied, glaring at Violet as if to say she's a disgrace to humanity, "Glacia, get to a vantage point as soon as you're able. We should all stay relatively close, so their still visible, but roughly, I'd say."
Glacia lightly clapped, smirking, "Well done, pup, you called me by my name! An award is needed." Kol simply glared in reply while the three others named Drake, Flint and Sarah laughed. After screwing around for a couple more minutes, they were all in their positions.

[akje]

In the distance, far out of human vision but clear to Hale there was a small fortification.
A bunker with a tower and some armor plating. Simple but sturdy. Not for long.

Hale left deep brown steps in the wet grass. The leaves wilted under his step. It had been over an hour since he'd been near Magnus.
His destructive nature had time to breathe. And breathe he did. The cold wind filled his lungs as the sun hid behind dark clouds.
The air was humid and slightly frigid for the time of year, but that really made the scents of nature come out. He liked autumn.

A few minutes later he was in sight of whoever was in the tower, assuming they were watching down sniper sights.
For him that meant they were also in earshot, and he was planning on sharing that privilege with them.

"Mortals!" He bellowed with a voice that carried like wrathful thunder down the valley.
"My name is Hale Wittenberg and I work with the old blood vampire and soon to be king Magnus." After that he paused, trying to see if he could spot any barrels aimed at him yet.
"You have 5 seconds to find something white to put on a stick and wave out the window."
With a smirk he started to count down as he took the safety of his gun.
"5...4..."

[FoxFireOfDawn]

From inside the makeshift fort, Kol laughed like a hyena after hearing the words that their visitor had shouted. "Aah, I'm surrounded by filth and parasites today. Surrendering to a bastard won't do any of us good. Mark, set, fire, you filth." He mumbled afterwards. The four members quickly took their aim and started to fire, Kol smiling like a loon under his mask, simply watching as he unsheathed his gun-blade. Each one was fearful of Hale since he would most definitely slaughter whoever was in the fort and partly of Kol because of how insane he seemed to be. After some bullets were fired, Glacia soon joined them from atop the tower.

[akje]

Hale got exactly the answer he was hoping for and grinned widely as he spun to the side to avoid gunfire.
Immediately he set to a sprint for the bunker while moving side to side so he could minimize hits.
Bullet wounds weren't a real threat, but enough of them will slow you down no matter how fast you regenerate.

Hale was a big believer in "No such thing as overkill" and his grenade launcher was the most recent attempt at disproving this theory.

Halfway to the outpost he aimed and shot several grenades onto the sides of the bunker, and a few down the firing holes into the outpost.
In seconds they will deliver their deadly payload twofold.

The grenades outside the building peppered the walls, leaving cracks and craters everywhere. The sounds from the contained blasts inside were muffled.
Dust clouds came out. Not waiting to see if anyone was still alive, Hale shot a few more rounds in the direction of the building and lobbed a few into the top of the tower.

With a loud clunck the smoking gun released an empty magazine and Hale quickly reloaded as he cautiously walked over to the smouldering building.
He wondered if anyone would have survived that barrage.

[akje]

doublepost

[FoxFireOfDawn]

As soon as Hale started to move, the four other members started to panic. "Guy's fast." Flint mumbled. They didn't stop firing, but when they saw the grenades land into the base and at the sides, they tried to back up. Kol was the first to get onto the stairway leading up to the tower. Drake had gotten close, but he hadn't been quick enough. Having one of his arms completely blown off, while the other two had died from it. Kol quickly rushed to the side of the screaming soldier and sighed, putting pressure on the wound and making a makeshift bandage from clothing.

The building shook as the grenades from atop the tower exploded and a coughing, bleeding Glacia collapsed at the bottom of the stairway. Kol chuckled, looking over what remained. That guy's a bastard and so are grenades. he thought, propping up a groaning Drake on a wall and going to check on Glacia. "Everything's a pain in the ass today..." he mumbled, slightly pissed off.

[thewizardguy]

A deadly silence fell over the area, but it was different from before. Gabriel looked at Mithias with a strange expression, his face equal parts blank, and full of mixed expressions, so as to be utterly confusings. Mithias was perhaps the most experienced when it came to his father's peculiar personality, but to him this was new. It was quite clear that there was distress in the ancient vampire's eyes, but it seemed impossible. All throughout his existence, Gabriel had seemed like an unreachable entity, something inhuman, greater than life, an image that had only been reinforced the more Mithias had learned. He was not a man, not a vampire, or at least not in the eyes of those around him. He was a force of nature, something to be feared and worshipped but never trifled with. A fickle, demon God. This was a reputation that Gabriel had worked hard to uphold, an image that had, more powerfully than any display of force, cemented him as an object of fear. However, in this moment, Mithias could see a crack in the armor, a sliver of emotion that might alude to the mortal man Gabriel must once have been.

"There are some things that are best left forgotten. Ignorance, after all, is bliss. Treasure it, for it is all that shields you from the harshest of truths." These cryptic words were backed by a sad smile, even as a wave of sensation hit Mithias, like a wall. Sights and sounds screaming around him, as Gabriel's mind hit him with a force he hadn't even known was possible. It was like standing face to face with a tsunami, and even mithias' armor was cracked, opened by hesitation and surprise, for Mithias had always believed himself immune to psychic assault.

And like snow before the summer sun, the glimpes of the past dissapeared from Mithias' mind.

Gabriel sighed, as he straightened, and simply left. The SOLDIER around him stared straight ahead, unmoving and unblinking, their perception of time halted. It was a good thing that they were incapable of sight, not truly. While these images would be recieved, they would never be consciously processed, never to be dug up again. As Gabriel walked out of the camp, he walked with a slumped back, and lines of weariness on his face. For the first time in a long time, he had had to truly exert himself, and it had come at a cost. In this moment of weakness, only Mithias was left to wonder watch, unaffected by the freeze, and severely confused.

Smiling sadly, Gabriel straightened, and walked away into the wind. The SOLDIER would reawaken, and, to them, he would have simply teleported. A magician's parlor trick, to show off a power he didn't truly possess. However, he had different goals, and different ideals. And he had no intention of staying.

Too many bad memories.

---

He seemed to come out of nowhere, the vampire in the green suit. One moment, one would have sworn he wasn't there, and the next, it was as if he always had been there, as if it was only natural. Arm outstretched, he caught a grenade in the palm of his hand, looking up to find himself in the middle of what appeared to be a siege. Once more, it seemed, he had walked into something he should have stayed out of, and he couldn't just leave alone. Perhaps it was destiny, perhaps it was just that certain people are drawn to certain events. Whichever it was, Tsukune was sure he would once more nearly die, and most likely it would be at the hands of the oldblood he could see wielding the grenade launcher. It wouldn't be easy trying to halt this attack, the man looked determined to go through with it. Over the last couple of years, Tsukune had become uncumfortably familiar with the eyes of a killer, and whoever this man was, he possessed the look.

With a flash and an explosion, the grenade in Tsukune's hand exploded. He screamed in pain, dropping to his knees as his entire right arm was ripped apart and spread all over the surrounding walls. In retrospect, a cynical and smug part of his brain told him, perhaps catching a live grenade and then standing still to think wasn't the greatest plan he'd ever come up with.

Shut up, brain.

Standing up, Tsukune spit out some blood, and rushed at the Oldblood. He'd definitely lost the element of surprise, as well as one of his arms, and as such there was no better plan than to just rush in and hope for the best. Tsukune knew he couldn't take this man in a fight, he looked like trouble and was far more heavily armed. But he had no doubt he'd be able to do some good, esspecially with the other humans in the small fort doing their part. If he was able to do as much as slow the bastard down, hold him still, it would be mere seconds before some bright-eyed fellow put a bullet between his eyes.

Of course, then he'd have to block the bullet as well. His goal was to get nobody killed, not even the vampire.

Shit. This was a horrible plan.

........ Shut up, brain.

[akje]

Sten stared at the empty space where the cause of his madness had been.
He looked up at Mithias with a look of shock, but also a smile of laughter.
"He is right, the voices and memories keep us from moving on..."
He raised a pistol to his own head without breaking eye contact with Mithias.
"I am free!"
Click.

Sten's face turned to disappointment.

Click. Click.
Click.

He fell down to the ground and grasped the vampires knee.
"Help me move on monster. I.. hehe. I.. he. I can't keep this up for long. "

The empty gun dropped to the ground as both hands grasped the long black coat.
"Ki-hi-ill me now. That's what you do isn't it?!" His shoulders shook with laughter.
A low and aerie giggle escaped his throat, one he so clearly tried to contain.
Any humans around that still lived stared in shock.
They hadn't noticed themselves, but on one of them a slight smile cracked his terror stricken face.

"Hahaha, Do I have to beg the monster to do what the monster does?"

---

((continue music from last post))

Hale heard screaming. That was both good and bad news.
The good news was that clearly: the grenades had done some damage.
Of course it'd be hard not to do damage with a beast like this. Shooting barrages of grenades that exploded into more grenades? He could still remember Magnus's lead developer scratch his head and think up excuses. But Hale was glad he'd taken the effort to 'convince' the man. Now he had quite the toy for convincing people with.
The bad new was that if there was screaming: that meant there were still living beings in there and that meant he wasn't done yet.
But to hale this 'bad' news sounded pretty fun.

He did wonder how long the gun would hold out though, the thing was smoking from more sides than just the barrel and it had heated up enough that he could probably light a cigarette on the barrel. And style demanded that he did.

While he looked over the barrel with a smoke from his mouth to the gun he saw a figure jumping out of the fort and rushing for him.
His new opponent trailed blood behind him.
The fact the figure seemed to have lost a good portion of his arm told Hale this man was either brave, stupid, or very dangerous.
In every case this would be a fun fight.
First things first he needed to know if there were still live humans in the fort and if this guy was defending them.

So hale set a few steps to the side, lining himself up with the mysterious assailant and the fortress.
His movements were clearly telegraphed, he showed his tactics clearly.
The gun groaned under the stress and wear as Hale pushed the machine to it's limits.
He emptied the magazine in a straight line barrage of death.
The guy would get the choice: Take the hits, or dodge and let the humans have it.

---

Bouwe sat in the co-driver seat of Angela's car. He looked at the pillars of smoke arising on various sides of the city.
"Something big is going down. Should we be outside tonight?"
The sound of explosives in the distance echoed, and for a moment he thought he saw the windows tremble.
"How far away from our destination are we?"