Daxam

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: @FunnyGuy @Exit
Mentions: @PigeonOfAstora}

---

When Erik slammed on the brakes, Vincent lost his grip and flew over the front of the van. He landed on the ground and rolled into a sitting position as Erik and Akaia got out, talking about explosions, which he could vaguely remember hearing during his mad dash toward the van. He stood and stretched as Erik gave Renee his warning, then followed the revenant and Sidhe as they made their way to a smoking ruin. As he walked, he found himself thinking back to what Erik had told Akaia, about how he could protect Vincent from Poppy. At first, Vincent thought he was exaggerating, but as he thought about it, he broke out in a cold sweat. Poppy was the medic. Sure, medics healed people, but they also knew how to hurt them. There wasn't much Vincent was afraid of, but he quickly realized that an angry medic should be part of that exclusive club. Well, it's too late to worry about that, he thought. You passed the point of no return when you slipped under the door. Deal with the fallout later.

Vincent took a slow look around. He wasn't much of an expert on anything that didn't involve cooking or punching, but even he could tell the scorch marks were fresh. The smoke that still billowed from the gaps were a decent hint, too. He was wondering whether a Lost or another revenant were responsible when Erik told him to yell. Vincent grinned and said, "Sure thing, boss."

He faced farther into the ruins and drew in a deep breath. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs, "WHOEVER'S OUT THERE, COME ON OUT! IF YOU MAKE ME COME AFTER YOU, I PROMISE IT WON'T BE PLEASANT!!"

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: @dreamingflowers, everyone in the van}

---

Vincent watched Poppy turn away to check on their new arrival and felt himself relax a little. After he crashed through the window, he had felt a chill run down his spine before he realized Poppy had arrived to see what had happened. He wasn't afraid of much, but in that instance, he had been incredibly reluctant to follow the medic into the infirmary for worry of what she may do to him. While she was busy with Indigo, Vincent, displaying a level of stealth even he hadn't known himself to be capable of, slipped off of the bed and peeked past the garden to find the van had disappeared. They left without me! he thought.

He glanced back over to Poppy, who was still preoccupied with Indigo, then looked at his arm as his leg started to bounce restlessly. The wounds had stopped bleeding and were already on their way to closing, now that the last of the shards had been removed, so he decided to follow the "professional" medical advice of a third party (himself) and discharge himself from the infirmary.

Moving as quickly and quietly as he could, Vincent hurried toward the vehicle bay. He briefly thought about stopping by his room to grab his coat and gloves, but figured it wasn't worth risking getting caught by an angry medic. Besides, he needed to see about getting the sleeve of his coat repaired after it had been shredded during his last outing into the city. He did, however, swing by the armory to grab a spare mask. Afterwards, he made his way to the shutter door and took hold of the handle near the bottom. He slowly pulled up on it, his gaze fixed over his shoulder as he watched out for Poppy or anyone that might report him to her. When the door had been lifted a couple of feet off of the ground, he dropped to his stomach and rolled underneath. The moment he was clear of the door, which nearly came down on him as it shut, he jumped to his feet and broke out in a dead sprint.

Sorry, Poppy, he thought as he followed the freshest tracks in the road. I'll make it up to you later!

---

A few miles of non-stop sprinting later, Vincent noticed the shape of the van in the distance and urged himself faster. When he was close enough, he leapt toward the van, barely registering the sounds of explosions in the middle distance, and landed face down on the roof. He held onto the sides of the van as he caught his breath, then lowered his head in front of the windshield. "Stop the van! Let me in!" he yelled.

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: Everyone in the Great Room, @khosmik}

---

Vincent arched an eyebrow at the...drawing on the whiteboard. It wasn't his first time seeing Erik's "artistic skill" in action, but like before, it left him with more questions than answers. He leaned forward to get a better look at it as he tried to figure out who was whom amongst the stick figures. He pointed at the one that looked like it had balled fists and asked, "Why do I look...angry? I don't think I'm an angry person...Well, that angry, at least."

Vincent's focus on the drawing was pulled away as a sudden, loud sound suddenly split the air and filled the Crow's Nest. He didn't remember much, but that sound put him on alert as easily as if it had simply flipped a switch. An alarm. He thought about why an alarm would blare out like that. Fire? I don't smell any smoke. Was he asleep and his alarm was cutting into his dream? I'm awake, though...At least, I'm pretty sure I am... Was Poppy cooking, again? No, still no smoke. Then, it suddenly hit him.

An intruder.

He grinned. Did the Lost find them? Or maybe it was a group of thieves looking to get their hands on whatever food or blood beads they had. Or...No...not my comics! He shook his head. He didn't care what they might be after. This was his home, now, and he was going to defend it and everyone in it with everything he had. He sprinted out of the Great Room and made a beeline for the heavy metal door that sealed the front entrance. In true Vincent fashion, he didn't stop to think and threw his fist at the door. A loud thud sounded out followed shortly by a yelp of pain. "Who the hell makes a door you can't break down?!" he yelled.

He looked around for another quick exit. As far as he was concerned, there wasn't any time to waste opening the door. His eyes settled on one of the windows flanking the door and he took a few steps back. After he gained some distance, but before he could be stopped, he sprinted forward and leapt through the window, his arms crossed in front of his face. Shards of multicolored glass flew out with him as he crashed through the beautiful stained glass, surely making any surviving historians around the world weep with grief. When he landed, he skidded down the road before stopping a few feet behind the new arrival. He straightened up, looked around for any thieves or Lost, then turned, ready brawl, only to meet eyes with a rather disheveled individual.

Vincent took a moment to take in the person's appearance and, when he decided they weren't much of a threat, he sighed, his shoulders visibly sagging with disappointment when he realized he wasn't going to have any fun. Seemingly unaware of the shards of glass in his forearms, Vincent asked, "So, who are you and why're you here?" He sniffed the air and added, "You need a bath."

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: Everyone in the Great Room}

---

Vincent crossed his arms and silently listened as Erik read Cerise's farewell. He hadn't known her long, but she had struck him as someone he could've gotten along with. Hell, he figured she'd be able to make a thrall a friend if given the chance. He could also tell from Erik's unsteady voice and the expressions on everyone's faces just how much it was affecting them all. He couldn't help but feel bad that he couldn't feel stronger toward her departure, since he had known her for less than a week, but on some level, he could understand why she felt she had to leave. She had something she had to do and he respected that.

He glanced at the letter that Dallas had set down and noticed his name written on it, surprising him. He picked it up after Desmond and read through the short message. Though there wasn't much to read, he was able to get an even better understanding of the kind of person Cerise was. As he set it down, he let out a sigh and found his resolve bolstered even more. If there was a chance she would be back, then Vincent would do everything in his power to make sure everyone was still there to welcome her back. He stepped over to stand next to Lysandra as she stated she'd go wherever she was needed. Over the years, or at least from what he could remember, he had left friends behind on his journey and had been left behind by those who fell or wandered off. In that respect, he could understand what she and the others felt, even if some of them didn't outwardly show it.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a brief, gentle squeeze before he crossed his arms. He glanced over at Akaia as she spoke and made a note to check in on her, as well, as he said in an attempt to lighten the mood, "Well, it goes without saying that I'm in. I've been stuck inside for over a day, so I'm getting a bit stir-crazy." Slightly more serious, he added, "So, like Akaia asked, what's the job?"

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: Erik (@FunnyGuy)}

---

Vincent had drank way too much the previous night. Though he was a revenant and had a tolerance that allowed him to drink practically anyone under the table, even he still had his limits. The sleep had been a deep, peaceful one, thanks to the alcohol...at least, until he was woken up by the sound of someone shouting.

“REVENANTS! SIDHE! HUMANS! TO THE STRATEGY ROOM! EVERYONE! DON'T CARE HOW YOU GET THERE! WALK, FLY, ROLL, SKIP, CREEP IN, HOWEVER! JUST GET THERE!”

This made Vincent jump out of his bed as he shouted, "HOLY MOTHER OF SHIT!!" only to fall, entangled in his blanket, to the floor. Now laying upside down off the side of his bed, he glared at the door and growled, "Someone wants to die this morning..." He disentangled himself from his blanket and stood up, clutching his head as it pounded. He waited a moment, listening for the voice he heard the other day. Hearing nothing, he decided it was simply a hangover and sighed as he picked up some clothes from the floor.

Once he was dressed in jeans and a sleeveless shirt, he left his room, still rubbing his temples as he made his way to the Great Room, where he found Erik peering at a map on the table. When he saw the megaphone on the table next to him, he thought, I thought I recognized that voice. Deciding to get revenge for the wonderful sleep that had been stolen from him, Vincent approached the table. "Mornin'," he grumbled as he picked up the megaphone and looked at it, as if curious about it. Then, as easily as if he were crumpling an empty soda can, Vincent squeezed the device and shattered it in his hand. He looked at the bits and pieces as they fell out of hand, then at Erik. "Oops...sorry," he said, though he couldn't bring himself to sound too apologetic about it.

He dropped the remains of the megaphone and looked at the map on the table. He let out a yawn and asked, having already pushed his willful destruction of Erik's megaphone out of his mind, "I take it this is where we're going next?"

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: Everyone in the Great Room, Lysandra @Force and Fury}

---

Vincent hadn’t realized how tired he truly was until he returned to the Crow’s Nest with the others. He said his goodnights to everyone, walked into his room, and suddenly felt as if his limbs were suddenly too heavy for even himself to lift. He shrugged his coat off and let it fall to the ground as he trudged over to his bed. Once there, he fell forward and landed facedown on the mattress. He didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he opened his eyes the next morning to find that his room, rather than being pitch-black, had started to light up with the watery light of early morning.

He stood up, only then noticing that he had fallen asleep bent over his bed, and stretched his arms over his head with a yawn. His left forearm ached a little, as did his side and leg, but other than that, he could tell he was fully healed. He threw a quick left jab just to be sure and, satisfied, grinned. He looked over at where he had placed the phone the day before and slipped it into his pocket. Gotta remember to ask Lys about this, he thought as he left his room.

He spent most of the day helping out with set-up for the celebration later that evening. He stopped, however, when he saw people from the provisional government arrive to collect the mistle sample and Ionna. As they walked away with her, Vincent nearly made a move to stop them, unsure where such a powerful sense of distrust and anger toward the agents came from, but stopped himself when he caught sight of the looks Erik and Poppy gave him. Instead, he let out a deep breath as the door closed behind the agents and Ionna, then busied himself with the rest of the set-up.

A couple of hours later, he was back to his normal, cheery self. He couldn’t deny that he still felt sour about how they had given Ionna to the provisional government, but he understood. Despite being a revenant, she was only a child. Whether or not she was strong or good in a fight didn’t matter, given that what Vincent had seen over the years would scar a well-adjusted adult. Given that Ionna wasn’t only a child in appearance, but mentally, it was only a matter of time before she had seen something that would damage her irreparably.

Vincent stepped into the Great Room and found that Erik, Cerise, Lys, and Desmond had all beaten him there. A sweet scent drifted into his nose and he walked over to find them standing around a cake. ”Ooh, someone made cake!” he expertly deduced. ”I’ll have to steal a piece of that later.”

When he remembered the phone in his pocket, he turned to Lys. ”Oh, Lys, if you’ve got time, I’ve got a favor I need to ask you,” he said.

"I charge by the minute, bub. You're on the clock." The words sounded businesslike, but she softened them with a small grin.

”Well, I hope you’ll be alright with an IOU,” Vincent responded with a chuckle. He brought Lys off to the side for some privacy and pulled the phone out of his pocket, the light glinting off of the cracked screen. ”So, I’ve got this thing,” he said. ”Last group of people I was with called it a ‘phone.’ I have no idea where I got it from, I just noticed it was in my pocket a while back and I’ve tried to turn it on, but I never had any luck with it. So, I was thinking I’d go to the smartest person I know and see what she can do with it.”

Lys took the phone from him. "Hmm," she replied, turning it over in her hands. "Flattery will get you far." She furrowed her brow momentarily. "And yeah, it's a phone: smartphone by the looks of it, probably a Samsung. Battery's shot for sure, screen’s probably gone too, internal corrosion…" She trailed off. "I'll have to crack it open later and see. No promises, but I'll work on it." She raised her eyebrows playfully. "Who knows what we might find." She took a sip of her drink and tucked the phone under one of her legs because the people who designed clothes had not seen fit to bless most women’s clothing with useful pockets.

Vincent grinned and said, ”Hey, I’ll take what I can get! Those people said these things could play music, too, so if there’s any on there I can listen to, then I’d call that a win!” He then clapped his hands and added, ”Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go cook. I just thought of something this party’s missing.”

With that, he walked over to the section of the Great Room set aside for cooking. Before he joined the Commune, he had only cooked a handful of times, but since it had always only been for himself and only out of boredom, he never cared too much about how well he did. But now that he was part of a group that not only had humans that actually needed to eat but also had a proper kitchen, he found himself almost overcome by a powerful urge to cook. Despite the fact that he wasn't even sure he could cook, Vincent found that he felt almost as confident about this as he did when he charged into a fight.

Besides, how hard can making a pizza be?

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: ???}

---

Vincent silently watched Poppy walk off. In truth, he couldn't blame her for being so cold toward him. He was a new face, after all. He had met people in the past just like her, who closed themselves off to others, those who wanted to protect themselves from the pain of losing someone close. Whether he was ever like that, he couldn't remember, though he doubted it.

"Since you're new, here's a piece of advice. If you plan to keep up your reckless attitude, don't become too close to any of them."

Those words echoed in Vincent's head. While he had been on his own, his way of fighting had become so ingrained in his habits that even his dispersals did nothing to change it. He would be the first to admit he loved to fight, the reason behind which had been lost to him, and he was even aware that he often put himself in incredibly dangerous situations, such as rushing toward the Tsar Bomba on his own. Somewhere deep within, he knew he wouldn't have been able to fight it on his own, yet the thrill of taking on such a dangerous creature erased whatever common sense he might have had.

That said, he felt that the way he fought was perfect for him. He didn't have to worry about coming up with a plan and he could even keep the enemy focused on him while the people who were good at planning could think of something. The way he saw it, every group could benefit from having someone like him, someone willing, if not eager, to put themselves on the front lines to keep their allies safe

"Is that really what you think?" a voice not his own suddenly said. "Are you throwing yourself in harm's way to keep others safe...or because you hope it might finally end the pain you don't even remember having?"

Vincent brought his hand to his temple as a dull throb resounded through his skull. The voice sounded familiar, very familiar, but trying to remember something that no longer had a place in his mind was like trying to breathe in a vacuum. After a moment, he took a deep breath, straightened up, and slapped himself across the face. "No use in worrying about it, he thought as the sharp pain from his own open-palmed slap drowned out the dull headache. "Whatever memory that's from is probably stuck in a vestige somewhere I'll never find. Besides, it doesn't make any sense to miss something I don't even remember having!"

"Alright, I'm ready to go home!" he said to empty air as his usual grin returned.

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: Poppy (@dreamingflowers)}

---

There was nothing quite like running for your life that got the blood flowing, as far as Vincent was concerned. While he would have loved nothing more than to stick around to finish off the Tsar Bomba, every instinct, the very thing that had kept him alive (or undead or whatever he was as a revenant) so far, he had was yelling at him to run, that there was no way he could kill it without causing it to explode. As much as he loved fighting, he knew when to cut and run.

By the time the group stopped to rest, the sun had started to dip below the horizon as it pulled a deep blue curtain flecked with stars across the sky. Vincent took a moment to look around before, having not seen anything in the dying light of the evening, he let out a long sigh. "Goddamn, that was fun!" he exclaimed as he stretched his arms over his head. "I haven't had a good time like that in as long as I can remember!" It was always a thrill for him to go up against a tough enemy and, as far as he could remember, that was the strongest one he had fought, yet. Due to his excitement, he was probably one of the few who wasn't tired.

It was then that he noticed Poppy sitting against an old bus stop. He heard Cerise call out to everyone that they found a place to scavenge, but he wasn't all that interested in whatever old stuff might be inside. Instead, he walked over to where Poppy was sitting and leaned against the glass of the bus stop next to her, his hands in the pockets of his coat. "Think this is the first time I got to chat with you since I joined up," he mused. "This is a good group. I'm glad we all got out of there with all our fingers and toes."

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: Team VCAL}

---

"A Tsar whata?!" Vincent yelled back, then felt the air tremble as the creature let out a roar. He felt a thrill of...something run through him. It wasn't fear or even excitement, exactly. No matter what the monster was, he wasn't about to back down from a fight...but he also understood that whatever could make that kind of noise wasn't something to be taken lightly. [color=orange]First thing's first, make sure the others are okay, he thought. Worry about whatever Lys mentioned after!

He took a deep breath in...then out. Red and orange energy enveloped his arms and shoulders, growing more vibrant with every passing moment. Based off of the crow's cry, he took his best guess and turned to face the wall of a nearby building. "Alright! I'll clear a path to the others!" He ran toward the wall and crossed his arms in front of his head. With a loud crash, he broke through the wall as if it were wet paper and continued to sprint forward, letting nothing stop him.

---

---

The thrall dropped from the second story window, its eyes locked on the group ahead of it. It took a step forward, but stopped when it heard something crash behind it. When it turned, it had just enough time to register a closed fist hurtling toward its face before the thrall's world went black. Vincent stood over the dissolving remains of the thrall and let out a breath before he focused his attention on the other half of his comrades. He saw Dallas rush into a building and, assuming that they had things handled on their end, he turned his attention toward the sound of crumbling buildings. When he saw the mass of silvery flesh, he felt a strange mix of trepidation and excitement rush through his body. "Oh. So that's what's making all that racket."

As he walked toward it, he walked past a collapsed wall and took hold of a piece of a rebar that stuck out. He pulled it free, revealing a large chunk of concrete still attached to the end, and let the makeshift hammer rest on his shoulder. "I'm gonna go take out the Charred Wombat or whatever! You all can join me when you can, but don't get upset if I kill it before you get a chance!" With that, he brandished his improvised weapon in both hands and broke out into a sprint straight for the Tsar Bomba.

Code Vein (Closed)

Vincent Ryder

_{Interactions: Team VCAL}

---

Vincent walked along with his group, his fingers laced behind his head as he followed behind Cerise and ahead of Lysandra. Thanks to Poppy's care and the blood pack he was given, which now hung empty from his mouth, his arm was mostly healed. It still ached and he was sure the bones were still cracked, at the very least, but he was at the point where he was comfortable fighting with both arms, if he needed to. He would just have to remember not to hit so hard with his left as he would with his right, though even he was aware of how likely he was to remember that.

Though he seemed at ease, Vincent's senses were on high alert for danger. His eyes scanned the empty windows and doorways of the abandoned buildings flanking his group, his ears strained for the slightest out of place sound. He was on the lookout for the slightest whiff of trouble -- literally. He was well aware of the injuries he and his comrades sustained during their last fight and resolved himself to take more of the burden of the next fight on himself. Can't believe I spent most of that fight trying to take out one of those bastards, he thought. I'm gonna do better next time. I have to.

He pulled himself out of those thoughts and spat out the empty blood pack. He dropped his arms to his sides and asked his group, "So, anyone got any idea how much longer it'll be till we get there? I've been wanting to take a crack at the kitchen back home."