Sin of Association: Pride

[Koal]

First Lieutenant Shieva Winters kicked over yet another burned corpse with her armor-plated boot, her disgust hidden behind the cold visor of her Stormtrooper helmet. The damn place was a wreck. And to think they were on the first tier... 



It terrified her. Regular terrorists were to be treated with the utmost care and caution, but this was something far worse. Whatever caused this was dangerous and sending a message. What that message was seemed pretty clear the The First Lieutenant. Do not fuck with me, is what she read. And it was pretty damn clear. She rolled the body back into its position, charred skin and flesh caressing the black soot and ash beneath it. She was really glad in that moment that her helmet filtered out smells. Command had given her what, at the time, had seemed like an easy job. Primary objective was to locate Elijah Corvus, the former Director of the experimental facility here in Coruscant. And yet there were thousands of dead and rotting bodies here, not counting the ones that may or may not have been buried beneath the shell of the building. She glanced up at the sky and took into account the sun bearing down on her. Beneath the bone-white plating, she could feel rivulets of sweat running down her neck and around her breasts. Down to her stomach, taut with muscle and fear. She  felt so damn hot beneath her armor, and this unshakable presence of fear bore down on her like the commanders of her unit. She turned her head sharply as a sound found its way into her right ear, and she pivoted, throwing up a little dust in the wake of her momentum. Under a bit of collapsed rubble, an opalescent glow seeped out like the blood on the corpses, slow and lazy and hot. Shieva felt the fear slowly grow as she inched forward, and yet she also felt something else... A sort of ease that entered her mind. It was as she knew what might happen, but wasn't concerned in any way. She could handle whatever might come her way. She was a Stormtrooper, Goddammit!

That was the last thought to cross her mind before a black, sinewy claw erupted through her chest, killing her instantly.

"Humans... So soft and squishy on the inside." Koal turned around and shook the bloody viscera off his hand, whistling an old tune that had no name.

[Koal]

"Where am I?"

Koal felt nothing when his eyes fluttered open, but as his consciousness wrestled back to the land of the living, he became aware of a crushing weight on top of his body, as well as numerous burns on his skin. He bit back a scream as he attempted to move, only succeeding in aggravating his wounds. His lean body was pinned underneath a large portion of what appeared to be a collapsed building, but could see very well, do to the lingering ash and low level of light. The sharp pain in his right arm intensified as he wrestled in free, his vision becomes spotted and dimming as he struggled to stay conscious. 

"Do you know why I am here, Mr. Lynch? I am here to continue the work of these good people here. They have provided me with a lab and a home and many, many test subjects.

So, shall we get started?"

Koal felt his Demonic energy flare and he pushed a section of the rubble free, and winced as blinding rays of sunlight for forced his to screw his eyes closed and shield them from sight.  After a moment for adjustment, Koal crawled, albeit slowly and with little fitness, out of the ruined husk of the research facility. His bit back another scream of pain, when he lost his grip and tumbled down thirty feet onto the concrete below, his arm making a sickening snap as the bone broke. Then he heard footsteps, the sound heavy and unsure, as if the person who was here was scared... he felt his fangs pulse with need, the sinew black substance that made up his claws already coating the broken arm, and snapping it back into place.  Koal felt rational though get pushed aside before his need to feed on their fear. Their pain.

On their Pride.

The source of his hunger now was visible, the white armor that marked her as a stormtrooper standing out sorely in the dark and dismal corpse of the building. As weak as the soldier was, Koal doubted he could take her on in his state. He was staved, injured, and needed true rest desperately. But even so, he could kill her.

It would just require more tactical thinking on his part. Koal get his body pulse as an orb of rainbow-colored light coalesced in his palm, before he threw the raw Omnilium under a large pile of rubble. The stormtrooper noticed rather quickly, breathing become ingrained more ragged as Koal felt his soul latch onto hers like a leech on a vein.He immediately felt a portion of strength flow into him, and he felt his spin straighten a little as he began to stealthily follow the Imperial soldier, continuing to indulge himself on her lust and fear and all the dark fantasies swimming at the edge of her mind. The Demon felt a chuckle bubble up in the back of his throat as he dwelled on one. A lewd little woman, wasn't she? He shook his head slightly, his violet eyes slitted and focused, despite the Cheshire grin splitting his face apart. And right when she peaked, he leapt forward, his hand penetrating her body, the armor plating giving in to his less than gentle workings. He felt a small gasp escape her body before the muscles that encased his arm relaxed and fell off, unable to support the weight that urged it toward the earth. 

"Humans... So squishy and soft on the inside." Koal felt his strength returned as he pivoted on a heel and began to strut away, his body glowing with the relatable shine of omnilium before a simple silver t-shirt clung to his abdomen, highlighting his lean and muscular form. Over his shirt a black leather jacket faded into existence, and Koal reached up and ran long, slender fingers through the Stygian locks.

"Time to get to work."

[Koal]

The Sixth Tier of Coruscant made sense. It was a world separate from the world above in which wealth and power flowed from one person to another through a river of blood and false pride. Booze was more common than water, and every dark alley and corner club radiated a sickeningly sweet stench of sex and fear. The Demon That shared his soul reveled in the aura of danger and darkness that permeated the air. It would have a field day if It ever got loose. Which Koal fear may be more than-

“Hey there, handsome. Looking for some fun?” A seductive purr reverberated next to his left ear, and Koal fought back the urge to curl his lip in disgust. Looking to his left, he saw a woman, masked in a horrible layer of cosmetics, smiling in an expression that he assumed was lust. He clenched his jaw and smiled slightly, his muscles coiled and taut.

“Sorry... ma’am. I’m not interested.” His voice came out a lot raspier than he had intended, and the woman mistook it for a sign that he was lying. She took at step forward, into Koal’s personal space, and put a hand on his chest, the other on his thigh.

“You sure about that, sweetie? Nothing I could do to,” her hand moved and clutched at his groin through his pants, “convince you otherwise?”

Koal felt the Demon in him flare to life, and he pushed her off, his eyes shifting to the familiar blood-red color. He felt a couple bones in his body shift, and hissed in pain and anger at the woman.

“I said I was fine, you slut. Now back off and leave me in peace before I do something you’ll regret!” Her face, instead of shifting into fear, grew slightly curious. One thin eyebrow arched in a not-at-all impressed manner. She actually looked, concerned, in a way. Then it passed and she looked offended and puffed up her chest.

“You Primes always treat us like shit, ya know? We’re just down here trying to get by and live a life and you just trash us. There was a few others just like ya that came by earlier. One of em had a big green cape and mask. Looked like a fuckin loser if you ask me. Didn’t even say hi. So rude!” Koal felt his head perk up as she described the individual... could It be?

Doom was here? In the sixth tier?!

Koal felt a smile place itself on his face and he straightened up, letting his eyes fade back to their original color.

“I’m terribly sorry, miss. It’s just that I got roughed up by some soldiers on tier one and I mistakenly took it out on you.” He extended his hand, a small orb of Omnilium coalescing just above his palm.

“Please take this as a sign of my apologies.” Her eyes widened and she quickly snatched the substance, and cradled it against her body as if it were a child. Her eyes sparkled with a small bit of hope, and the human side of Koal reveled in it for a moment, his eyes soft and kind, before they hardened again

“Did you say which way the loser in the green cloak went again? Maybe I could go teach him a lesson for ya?”

“Now, you see, he went to that club just down the street. Word is though, he pissed off the Orc population downs here.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime, cutie. Come see me sometime, and let me rub those broad shoulders of yours...”

Koal fought back another grimace as he walked away.

[Koal]

People.

They were evil, and yet had a staggering possibility for good. They were selfish and cruel and hateful and everything that Koal hated.

But they were a necessity.

Koal fed on their emotions. Their Sin. They were what provided him with energy. With power. With everything that he needed. Their sins alone sustained him: Their hateful wrath, their sensual lust, their jealous envy, their never-ending swell of Pride.

So when a small child tugged on his pants leg and told him that her mother was in trouble and needed help, Koal grimaced but let her lead him along, all the while he fed off of her fear. But there was something hidden under the fear, and emotion he couldn’t place. Almost something akin to...satisfaction? And then Koal was tackled and put into metal cuffs and pushed to his knees. The little girl had let go and scampered away to the safety of a large ugly creature, who slipped a few imperial credits into her hand and then it aced his hand to shoo her away. The Demon could feel the stink of the Orcs breath when it opened its mouth to speak.

“Alright, kid,” It’s voice was low and guttural and very hard to understand, but Koal managed, “You ‘and over yer valuables and nob’dys gotta get hurt.” He looked quite satisfied with himself and began to chatter with his colleagues in their native tongue. Koal could feel his anger flare but kept his expression neutral as he looked up at the Leader, his voice innocent and compliant, his eyes wide and terrified.

“B-it s-s-sir how-how am I suppose to do that if I’m all chained up?” His captor fell for the bait, it’s face twisting in understanding before it began to fish out a ring of keys out of its crummy coat pockets and unlocking the cuffs. Koal stood up and rubbed his wrists, getting his blood flowing again before letting his face split into a sinister grin. A laugh bubbles out of his throat, startling the Orc Boss into taking a step back. Koal took a step forward, following it. Then another. Then another. Koal felt a liquid form over his arms, and the familiar black claws erupted from the tips of his blackened skin.

“Ah, man. You guys are just as dumb as you look, eh?” Koal leapt coward, using his claws to secure himself to the orc, before he opened his mouth, startling white fangs appearing, then bit the orc on the neck, ripping out his jugular in a fantastic display of brutality. Blood ran down the front of his shirt, ruining it. The crimson liquid coated his mouth and teeth as he continued to smile and advance toward the rest of the orca, who were knocking each other down to get away. Koal picked up a crude gun, fashioned together from low-quality metal and lead piping. He pointed it in the direction of the nearest orc, and pulled the trigger. It’s right leg exploded in a fray of bone and gore. Koal felt the scream reverberate in the alleyway, and he threw the gun to the side, not caring where it fell.

“Now, now, gentleman. What did we learn today?” His voice was uncharacteristically cheery, lilting tones coming out in his voice. A slight hint of his German heritage. A sign of his time spent under the Nazi regime. In the back of his mind, Koal felt his humanity feebly scrabble against the will of The Demon. It was a fruitless battle, of course, and Koal laughed again as he grasped the jagged bone protruding from the impromptu stump of the screaming orc on the ground. Flexing his shoulder muscles, he yanked a sharp piece of bone out of the socket, along with a nice chunk of flesh and ligaments. The Orc passed out from pain.

“Oh. Shame.” Koal dropped the bone piece and leave oiled up to find the other orcs gone.

“Heh. There’ll be more to come. And they won’t be ready for me.” Koal threw his ruined jacket to the ground and wiped some blood of his mouth both the back of his hand.

“But I’ll sure as hell be ready for them.”

[Koal]

“The empire thinks it can order us around, eh. You know what I think? I think that they ought to stay out of our business down here and let us be free!” A small group of men raised mugs high in the air with cheer and downed their alcohol like it was no tomorrow. While Koal, sitting in the corner of the bar, grit his teeth and tried his best to ignore their drunkard activity. Lifting a crystalline glass to his mouth, he felt a plan begin to take shape in his head. Doom was here in the Sixth Tier, presumably under duress from Orcish forces, if the idle chatter of the underworld was something to go by. He could hear a few orcs in the bar, speaking in that rough, garbled tongue of theirs. Very unpleasant to the ears, if he had to make a comment. Like sandpaper across the eardrums. He titled the glass back to his mouth, and saw that he had drained it. Sighing, he stood up and walked back to the bar, a bartender wiping a shot glass down with a less than clean towel. He was an older man, hair silver and white, muddy brown eyes narrowed behind a pair of round spectacles. His face was wrinkled, and he was missing no less than five teeth. He saw Koal’s predicament as he approached the bar, and was already pulling down the bottle of whiskey from the shelf when the Young Demon sat the glass down. Koal laughed, the sound devoid of humor and instead filled with a bitter resentment, a sign of his inebriated condition.

“That’ll be ten Credits, Mister Faust.” Koal had used a fake name, lest there be people lookin for him. Quite weird that he had chosen the name of his former captor to use. Maybe it was a certain elementa that he was after. The sheer fact that that man had ended Koal’s life was now protecting it. He chuckled again, his eyes flicking from red to violet of their own will, and threw the credits on the grubby Bar.

“No problem, Cap’n. Thanks for the booze.”

“Hm.” The old man made a noise of affirmation, going back to wiping down the shot glass.

Koal swept up the crystalline vessel with an emotion akin to glee, and walked back to his secluded alcove in the corner of the bar. Passing by the group he had overheard earlier. As he passed by the revelers, one of them sieved his arm in a wobbly yet firm grip, his cheeks flushed and eyes bloodshot from the alcohol. Koal froze, muscles tensing, as he fought the urge to rip the offending limb from his body as retribution. Letting out a loaded breath, he looked down at the man, who was speaking to him.

“-o you think, kid? Hasn’t this empire forced itself on us enough? Caused enough pain to us and our families?” And that what sent Koal off the edge. His eyes ceased their frenzied switching, settling on a dark red, almost of a color akin to wine, and he hated his fangs in a display of rage. He grabbed the man by the throat and pushed him against the table as his friends started to shout and pound at him, but they could not compare to his strength. The poor victim that the Demon has in its grasp feebly clawed at the sinewy claw that had secured itself to his throat, and deep in his mind, Koal compared his darkening complexion to that of a blueberry.

“You think you know pain, worm? You think you know what it feels like to have everything you are stripped away to leave nothing of what you once were? There are things worse than dead, you impudent swine, and I intend to introduce you to each and every one of-“

BANG

A bullet ripped through his arm, forcing the boy to drop the man, who desperately gasped for air as he slumped to the ground. It didn’t do much damage, only passing through flesh, but it hurt like hell.

The bartender held a polished silver revolver in his hand, the hammer cocked back as he pointed it at the Demon, who cautiously regarded the grizzled old man behind the trigger. They locked eyes for a moment, Brown meeting red, and there was a moment of understanding. Koal relaxed a bit, eyes lightening in their color, but not reverting completely, and the shadows on his arms dissipated into the air around him. Lowering the pistol a by a fraction, the Old Bartender began to speak.

“The only reason I ain’t killed ya is cause ya been me best customer in a long while. Now get yer hide outta my bar ‘fore I change my mind.” His voice was strong, for an elderly man. He Held a lot of authority and a loaded gun. Koal took the offer, growling deep in his heat as he threw the door open and stepping into the neon-tinted streets. He didn’t know where he would go. He didn’t know where Doom was, if he was still alive. Numerous factions fought for power down here, so taking a location by force was out of the question. He was running out of options fast, and that was bad. The sewers were an option, but not one that Koal was going to accept. He would die before he bent his pride far enough to sleep in shit-water. He almost gagged at the thought.

As his thoughts slowed as his frustration gave way to curiosity, Koal began to observe his surroundings. The street was uncharacteristically empty, a few cars lining the sides of the streets. All of them were vacant. It was almost as if the entire area was bracing for something... or perhaps, someone. Living shadow covered his arms once more, and his eyes darkened as he took cover behind a car, as he prepared himself mentally for what was to come.

“Let it come then. Been too long since I’ve had a proper fight.”