10-04-2017, 01:57 PM
“Who's there!?” a stormtrooper shouted, vaguely aiming his blaster in the general direction of the noise. The former Battle Rabbit was pleased to recognise the voice as Kroll's. Not only was that guy probably his closest friend amongst them, but more importantly, he was also their best sharpshooter.
“There is no need to shoot, I am unarmed. I promise.” the clapping did not stop as the man spoke... and judging by the sound, he was closing the distance between them.
“Sergeant! Sergeant, can you hear me!?” one of the others yelled as she crouched by the fallen man's side and began shaking him frantically. Given that there was currently just one woman left in the squad – the only other having been killed during the previous day's conflict – this would have to be Priya Singh.
“Priya!” A third 'trooper arrived, hauling the woman back before she made Davion's condition even worse, before tearing off his helmet – revealing the bright crimson hair and eyes of Leon Nash – and placing an ear on Davion's chest; trying to pick up a heartbeat over the sound of clapping and encroaching footsteps.
“Stop that nonsense and-” Davion snarled, giving him a shove, before breaking out in a fit of coughing. Blood spilled from his mouth and splattered against the concrete pavement. “... help me up...”
His voice sounded much weaker after the coughing. Priya and Leon shared a glance, before they lifted the man between them, and began backing off from the warehouse.
“We'll take him back to the transport.” the female 'trooper told them, then nodded towards the clouds of smoke still billowing from the warehouse. “The rest of you, handle the mystery guy.”
“... no, don't-”
“Will do.” Kroll said with a nod, completely ignoring his commanding officer's attempt at giving an order. In his current state, the sergeant would be lucky to survive even without being caught up in another firefight. And if the clapping guy did turn out to be harmless, they could easily arrest him without the help of a dying man.
No sooner had they made their departure than two people strode forth from the smoke: a slim, blue-eyed white man with shorn blond hair, dressed in a tatty white suit with grey patches sewn on in various spots, presumably covering tears in the fabric; and a lithe black woman with her dark hair braided in cornrows, who wore a white t-shirt with a grey wolf logo and white, three-quarter length tracksuit bottoms. The man's shoes were grey leather, though they seemed just as cheap as his suit. The woman was barefoot. He smirked at them, while her expression was utterly impassive.
“Well, well, well done.” the suit said cheerily, finally ceasing his clapping.
“Who are you two?” demanded Kroll, directing his weapon their way, as Hijiri and the few others who had gathered around him did the same.
“Who are we? Me, I am no one, just another weak and unimportant gangster in a tier filled with them. Hardly worth your time, Mr Stormtrooper.” the man seemed practically on the point of laughing, for some reason. “My dear associate, here, though...”
“I'm his Ace in the Hole.” the woman jerked a thumb toward the smiling man as she spoke, sounding faintly bored. Hijiri had been given a basic rundown on Tier Five slang the other day, and so was familiar with the term. She was a Prime.
Immediately, every stormtrooper's aim shifted towards her. The man laughed, and slid both hands into his pockets, backing away a few steps.
“Will you come peacfully, or force us to gun you down?” Kroll demanded coldly. The woman didn't react, and the man apparently found that threat amusing. No doubt it was apparent from their lack of reinforcements that this was not a well planned operation. It was probably pretty obvious that their squad would not be equipped with any Banishment Circles in a situation like this, so there wasn't really a whole lot they could do to threaten someone who could simply return from the dead after a week had passed.
“Now, now, now, my good man,” he began, happily, “let's not be too hasty here. How about we make a little bargain? You agree to fight my associate without firing upon me, and I will refrain from interfering in the battle? As a bonus, I even swear to surrender peacefully should you defeat her. I do believe that would be in the best interests of all parties, no? I don't need to worry about dying, and you are guaranteed a captive to torture – sorry, I mean 'question' – if you do end up going overboard and killing her during your battle. So... what do you say, friends?”
“Fine, if that's how you want it.” Kroll lined up his blaster for a headshot.
“Excellent!” the suit gleefully exclaimed, and glanced towards his Ace. “Show them.”
“'Kay.”
It was unreal, how quickly their situation deteriorated.
One instant, Kroll and the others were just a fraction of a second from firing, and the unarmed woman stood before them with no way of defending herself.
And the next, hair was swiftly growing out all across her skin, her skeletal structure was changing radically, her body was stretching and her muscles swelling rapidly; her clothes were shredded immediately.
In the moment it took them to pull their triggers, her transformation was over. Four lasers landed right on target... and sizzled. Some of her fur had been singed. Beyond that, the enemy Prime seemed completely unaffected.
The being which now stood before them, as well as apparently being immune to blaster-fire, was an enormous black wolf, no less than seventeen feet long, it seemed, and around nine feet high at the shoulder.
"Ah..." said Kroll, as the grey-suited man bounced on his heels and grinned brightly.
“There is no need to shoot, I am unarmed. I promise.” the clapping did not stop as the man spoke... and judging by the sound, he was closing the distance between them.
“Sergeant! Sergeant, can you hear me!?” one of the others yelled as she crouched by the fallen man's side and began shaking him frantically. Given that there was currently just one woman left in the squad – the only other having been killed during the previous day's conflict – this would have to be Priya Singh.
“Priya!” A third 'trooper arrived, hauling the woman back before she made Davion's condition even worse, before tearing off his helmet – revealing the bright crimson hair and eyes of Leon Nash – and placing an ear on Davion's chest; trying to pick up a heartbeat over the sound of clapping and encroaching footsteps.
“Stop that nonsense and-” Davion snarled, giving him a shove, before breaking out in a fit of coughing. Blood spilled from his mouth and splattered against the concrete pavement. “... help me up...”
His voice sounded much weaker after the coughing. Priya and Leon shared a glance, before they lifted the man between them, and began backing off from the warehouse.
“We'll take him back to the transport.” the female 'trooper told them, then nodded towards the clouds of smoke still billowing from the warehouse. “The rest of you, handle the mystery guy.”
“... no, don't-”
“Will do.” Kroll said with a nod, completely ignoring his commanding officer's attempt at giving an order. In his current state, the sergeant would be lucky to survive even without being caught up in another firefight. And if the clapping guy did turn out to be harmless, they could easily arrest him without the help of a dying man.
No sooner had they made their departure than two people strode forth from the smoke: a slim, blue-eyed white man with shorn blond hair, dressed in a tatty white suit with grey patches sewn on in various spots, presumably covering tears in the fabric; and a lithe black woman with her dark hair braided in cornrows, who wore a white t-shirt with a grey wolf logo and white, three-quarter length tracksuit bottoms. The man's shoes were grey leather, though they seemed just as cheap as his suit. The woman was barefoot. He smirked at them, while her expression was utterly impassive.
“Well, well, well done.” the suit said cheerily, finally ceasing his clapping.
“Who are you two?” demanded Kroll, directing his weapon their way, as Hijiri and the few others who had gathered around him did the same.
“Who are we? Me, I am no one, just another weak and unimportant gangster in a tier filled with them. Hardly worth your time, Mr Stormtrooper.” the man seemed practically on the point of laughing, for some reason. “My dear associate, here, though...”
“I'm his Ace in the Hole.” the woman jerked a thumb toward the smiling man as she spoke, sounding faintly bored. Hijiri had been given a basic rundown on Tier Five slang the other day, and so was familiar with the term. She was a Prime.
Immediately, every stormtrooper's aim shifted towards her. The man laughed, and slid both hands into his pockets, backing away a few steps.
“Will you come peacfully, or force us to gun you down?” Kroll demanded coldly. The woman didn't react, and the man apparently found that threat amusing. No doubt it was apparent from their lack of reinforcements that this was not a well planned operation. It was probably pretty obvious that their squad would not be equipped with any Banishment Circles in a situation like this, so there wasn't really a whole lot they could do to threaten someone who could simply return from the dead after a week had passed.
“Now, now, now, my good man,” he began, happily, “let's not be too hasty here. How about we make a little bargain? You agree to fight my associate without firing upon me, and I will refrain from interfering in the battle? As a bonus, I even swear to surrender peacefully should you defeat her. I do believe that would be in the best interests of all parties, no? I don't need to worry about dying, and you are guaranteed a captive to torture – sorry, I mean 'question' – if you do end up going overboard and killing her during your battle. So... what do you say, friends?”
“Fine, if that's how you want it.” Kroll lined up his blaster for a headshot.
“Excellent!” the suit gleefully exclaimed, and glanced towards his Ace. “Show them.”
“'Kay.”
It was unreal, how quickly their situation deteriorated.
One instant, Kroll and the others were just a fraction of a second from firing, and the unarmed woman stood before them with no way of defending herself.
And the next, hair was swiftly growing out all across her skin, her skeletal structure was changing radically, her body was stretching and her muscles swelling rapidly; her clothes were shredded immediately.
In the moment it took them to pull their triggers, her transformation was over. Four lasers landed right on target... and sizzled. Some of her fur had been singed. Beyond that, the enemy Prime seemed completely unaffected.
The being which now stood before them, as well as apparently being immune to blaster-fire, was an enormous black wolf, no less than seventeen feet long, it seemed, and around nine feet high at the shoulder.
"Ah..." said Kroll, as the grey-suited man bounced on his heels and grinned brightly.
Quote:Word Count: 992, according to OpenOffice's word counter.
Total Word Count: 10087/5000-10000.
![[Image: Hijiri_Name_Sig.png]](https://image.ibb.co/k1H7Hd/Hijiri_Name_Sig.png)