Building Up

[Eon Saverem]

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Boring... how very boring. Tegan stood among his fellow cannibals, twiddling their thumbs. When night fell they took refuge in an abandoned... well, now abandoned... shop. They had finished their small squatter meal hours earlier. The Cannibal Commander was at ends with himself, he wanted to gather as much information as he could of the likely whereabouts of the Golden King. To no avail, it seemed every one they had encountered had no knowledge of his resurgence. Tegan and his men seemed to be the ones with the most intelligence on the subject.

Earlier, Tegan had kept watch over the Ice Machine that had brought aid to the pitiful citizens of Nippur. He was a Prime named Kopaka and was in search of Mickey Mouse. He had hoped that the bounty hunter would lead him to Gilgamesh as well. If the False King had returned, Tegan was sure that he would want revenge on the one that Banished him. So if Kopaka found, or even captured the Mouse, then it might give the 'Return of the King' part of this story the chance to strike. He had sent Knotch to watch over the Ice Prime and track him, if discovered Knotch was to offer his assistance due to the Prime's good nature gesture with the Golden Cross. Something nagged at him though... the man that stood behind Kopaka in the carriage. He wielded a massive cross, as if a poster boy for the caravan. At first sight, the cannibal knight thought little of it... until at one moment the man made a break for the adjacent streets, whispering something to the Prime in passing, his gaze focused on the roof tops...

He ran past Tegan and the two had locked eyes, and in that moment the former knight of Camelot felt a burning inside his chest. One that reminded him of years past when he crossed swords with a worthy adversary. It made him feel like the once noble knight he began as... and it sickened him to his core. Never had he experienced such mixed emotions. It made Tegan want to rip the man's heart from his breast. Yet he sits here, knowing that he must keep an eye on his feral men. They were getting hungry and he would not allow them to venture off to hunt in the streets of the city. It would bring a much to quick end to their charade. Instead, he sent Plum to follow the man. Neither of them had returned yet, and even the Cannibal Commander could feel his blood starting to boil. Quelling his primal urge, he gazed out the window upon the square. Few people still remained in the area, with no homes to return to.

He noticed some of the guards beginning to mobilize, and made their way to the gate. Looking down at his garb he thought of heading out to meet the incoming presence. Standing up and moving to the door he turned to his men, "Listen up... I've got a strange feeling in my gut. I think I'm going to go welcome this new visitor. If any of you leave for any reason... I won't be one of the hungry ones any more. Do you comprehend?" The group of cannibals nodded in acknowledgement. They all knew that they were little to now match for Plum or Knotch... let alone their Leader on this mission. Tegan smirked and nodded.

As he exited the structure he could see what appeared to be a boy clad in red armor being confronted by the guards. He had a red armored dog with him, as well as four unconscious men being carried by it. Tegan thought he had seen the white robes the men were wearing before, but couldn't remember where... As he neared, about twenty yards away. He watched as one of the guards caved the skull of one of the unconscious men in. Blood and circuitry poured out, the boy fired a yellow orb of energy into the guard's chest and Tegan's eyes widened. "What the fuck!?" The boy was the Prime known as Protoman, and the guys he had brought in... a white robed man stood up and yelled out a chant and detonated himself. The explosion detonated the other three, and the blast knocked the Cannibal Commander back through the wall of the shop his men were in.

Fire and destruction raged at the Gate of Nippur... and even the Cannibalistic, Masochistic, and Diabolical Knight Tegan... felt a tinge more pity for the cesspool that was Nippur.

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