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The Other Promise (Open For All); A metalhead reaction...is quite a fucking thing
Topic Started: Jun 18 2012, 09:31 AM (1,275 Views)
Blue Warlord

Rust could only stare in utter awe as Jagd charged fearlessly into combat with that complete monster of a creature. His fingers never stopping, the mechanic wished desperately he could help his friend as he did battle with Baur, the feelings reaching their peak as the mercenary leader shot past him like a bullet shot out of a gun. Baur kept going, lumbering towards him like some nightmarish juggernaut, screaming all the way.

Rust played the last chord as the halo of fire absorbed itself back into the Halford. Silence reigned for a moment.

"BOHEMIAN! RHAPSODY!!!"

With a ripple of power being emitted from under Rust's feet, a sonic boom ripped forth from the headstock of the Halford as a flame so hot it burned white and so powerful, it cut like a laser beam, six feet in diameter, shot itself down the corridor towards Baur. Catching the blast full in the face, the monster was carried down the corridor screaming aloud, flesh being stripped and burned to ash as it was blasted away. With a final roar, the creature was being flayed alive by fire, layer by layer until only an ashen skeleton remained.

Screaming himself, Rust continued to play his heart out, face straining with the effort, sweat streaming from every pore. His heart was pumping like mad, the amount of seithr flowing through his body almost unheard of for him in a week, let alone one attack.

The Bohemian Rhapsody reached the far end of the corridor and blew through the top security wall like it was made out of rice paper. The white hot flame laser continued outwards like some oversized blowtorch, acting as yet another beacon that something MASSIVE was going down at the 8th Hierarchical City HQ.

When the attack finally powered down, there was nothing left apart from the charred remains of the building and a small pile of ash where Baur used to be. The mechanic looked upon his handiwork. Then, Rust's eyes glazed slightly and nearly rolled into his head as he fell to one knee. Blood poured from his ears from being so close to the previous sonic boom and his vision swam.

With a hurl, blood and black vomit ushered forth from his throat, the pain indescribable. Another upchuck brought Rust to the floor completely, utterly spent, the seithr destroying his body from within.

"Mm..."

Nu waited until Rust was finished playing before she spoke; however, she nodded along with every part of the song, still smiling throughout the whole thing. She tilted her head when the last note rang, and she clapped her hands together in applause.

"That was really good! You're something else!"


With a growl, the rocker forced himself back to his knees, wiping the puked up blood from his face, eyes bloodshot, mouth still bleeding. Taking a ragged breath and using the Halford to lean on as he forcibly pulled himself up, the mechanic began to literally drag himself towards the admin office, fanatical devotion to finding his sister being the only thing keeping him going. A spark of madness lay behind his eyes, but Rust. Would. Not. Stop.
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The groan of steel preceded the wreckage of the door sliding off of Jagd. He laid still for a full two seconds before he raised himself up, checked the cuts over his face and shoulders, and unsealed a set of bandages, which he began wrapping around the head wound that dug so deep the slick white of his skull was visible under it. The door had almost literally scalped him.

It took another six seconds for the quick, jury-rigged binding to finish, and then he stood up and strode to Rust's side. He grasped one hand in the other, popped a pair of fingers back into alignment with a grunt, and then hauled Rust up to his feet and gave him a shoulder to lean on.

"Good shot." Jagd commented, and force-fed the man a pair of pills when his mouth opened next, to breathe or talk he didn't know. "Swallow, don't chew." Jagd instructed. "Anethesiac, lactic binder. Not healing, but will allow action. Deep breaths help the nausea. Keep moving."

He staggered through the door with Rust on a shoulder and immediately leaned him against the wall, then walked over to the biggest desk and started working his way through a directory.
Class. Dig it up, dust it off, hang that shit crooked on an ear. My halo's a land mine rind, amigo.

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Blue Warlord

Wordlessly, Rust gulped down the pills, following Jagd's instructions. Breathing as deep as he could, he allowed the man to help him towards the office, nodding at him in thanks as he was deposited by the wall. Soon, the pain began to dissipate, replaced by a strange numbness. An anaesthetic would get rid of the pain, but also unfortunately robbed Rust of the majority of his sense of touch too. In more preferable circumstances, an analgesic would have been preferable...

...though with the massive internal injuries dealt by the seithr usage, the stronger effect of anaesthetics were probably the better choice. Being able to walk without aid, Rust lumbered gingerly over to the next biggest desk, getting a second directory and pouring through it, eyes devouring each line of every page, scanning for any mention of where Nu might be.

"...thanks, Rust..."

Having spent her tears, Nu looked up at her friend, her vision still a bit blurry; a faint smile crossed her face, and then she hugged him again, resting her head against his shoulder.

"You're the best kind of friend... thank you so much for everything you've done... Nu won't ever forget about you as long as she lives."


With renewed vigour, Rust tossed the useless directory behind him, continuing to look through the various drawers and sections to the desk. By complete accident, he knocked the edge of the table with his elbow, a side effect of not being able to feel anything thanks to the anaesthetics. Said bump knocked free a hidden panel in one of the lower drawers.

A bloody grin found it's way onto Rust's face as he laid it flat on the table and opened it. His bloodshot eyes scanned the pages again, until he thumped down with a fist.

"Got it." he reported, with a voice that sounded like gravel mixed with glass and nothing like his normal self. "Basement Level 13. Containment Unit N. Thank God they're unoriginal."

FINALLY they were getting somewhere! With the small book gripped in hand, Rust didn't even wait for Jagd as he tried to make his way out of the room and towards the hole they'd made earlier. On wobbly legs, he just about managed to leap down, using an unconscious N.O.L officer as a safety mat.
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Jagd followed, pocketing a ring of keys and a series of keycards.

The ground floor was far, far messier than before, the mines Jagd had left stuck to the doors doing their bloody work. The Dunmainn twins stood on opposite sides, their light rifles angled at the floor behind overturned tables. The sound of the Brigand's engine hummed in the distance, and Michael gave Jagd a thumbs up from where he sat. "You're good, boss." he says. "NOL backup T minus 20, Brigand's ready to intercept. We'll hold, you retrieve."

Jagd saluted sharpish. "My thanks." he said. "Elevator?"

"Back of the lobby." Michael said with a headjerk towards it. "Be careful. Quarter of the troops retreated down it."

Jagd nodded and offered Rust a hand up.
Class. Dig it up, dust it off, hang that shit crooked on an ear. My halo's a land mine rind, amigo.

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Blue Warlord

Still slightly shaking, Rust gratefully accepted the hand up, wiping his face again to clear the sweat and blood from them. He looked to Michael.

"Dunno who the rest of you are...but thanks...sincerely. If we get out of this, I owe you all a drink..." he rasped out, forcing a grin before heading for the elevator alongside Jagd. Once inside, he hammered on the B13 button and waited, soft elevator musak already beginning to play.

"Jagd..." he spoke, eyes facing the door rather than his ally, using the Halford as a makeshift crutch. "...how did you know I was here? Hell...why come at all? This seems like exactly the kind of thing you'd want to avoid, full out rebellion against the Library... aren't the others in your group a bit resentful about all this for my sake? Cause...if we mess up now it's pretty much goodbye."

"...there won't be any saying goodbye, Rust."

Nu shook her head, then smiled; it was as if she'd read his thoughts.

"Nu will destroy the Library. Ragna's in this now... we're going to get rid of Terumi and all those other bad guys, and we're going to clear Nu's name. It might take a while, but we'll do it. And until then... you're not gonna die, Rust. Nu won't let you. Ever."

Her statement was made with a degree of intensity she'd never shown before... not even when the Wing of Justice was attacking her.


The mechanic blinked. The memories...they were getting clearer with each one. That one had actually felt like he'd been in the room alongside her. Despite everything...he chuckled slightly, shaking his head.

"Never mind... I know the answer already..."

"Ding! You have now reached: Basement. Level. 13."

Another Powerchord shot out of the elevator and down the corridor as soon as Rust was able, more seithr ravaging his system.
Edited by Blue Warlord, Jun 20 2012, 01:19 PM.
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"Unhealthy." Jagd chastises, steps past Rust, and flings both arms wide, pulling a ripcord sewed into the shoulders and arm of his coat. A rainbow of grenades soar from his outstretched arms, their pins nowhere to be seen, and Jagd steps back into the elevator and hits the Close Door button as the lower lobby full of NOL grunts stare at the twenty-six grenades scattered about the room now.

The elevator door dents in a moment later as a concussion shockwave shatters the glass of the light above them and knocks out the power for the entire level. The mercenary frowns. "Breaker box present. Favorable outcome, but unanticipated. No matter."

He draws out two pairs of night-vision goggles and hands one to Rust. "Containment unit down forward arc, second unit on right. Point four kilometers away. Should hurry."
Class. Dig it up, dust it off, hang that shit crooked on an ear. My halo's a land mine rind, amigo.

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Blue Warlord

"Don't care."

Coughing slightly and wiping his mouth, the mechanic nodded, slipping on the night vision goggles. He'd used these before thanks to a couple of night time shifts that required the dark, so he managed to sort them out with ease. The world became a greenish haze as Rust got used to the strange goggles and by that time, he was already using the Halford to prise open the dented elevator doors. With a grunt, he just about managed to wedge the doors apart, allowing both him and Jagd out into the pitch black corridor before yanking the Halford back.

The elevator doors closed by themselves, but a sudden ding and movement behind the closed lift doors made Rust curse harshly.

"Back up generator for the elevators. In case people got trapped down her in a power cut." Rust explained. Seeing the elevator hading towards level B4, he assumed there were reinforcements there that Jagd's people hadn't got to yet. He thought for a second, before ripping open a panel near the elevator and taking out his pocket set of tools. The rocker got to work with the mechanisms inside.

"Give me a moment." he requested tersely, fiddling about for a few more seconds until...

DIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDDIDING!

Every single number on the elevator board lit up. The mechanic nodded.

"It'll stop at every single floor, both up and down. Buys us some time because there are no stairs from B7 onwards." he replied to the unasked question, pocketing his mini tool set. "Let's get moving."

Hobbling along, he began to navigate his way past the downed bodies, giving a swift boot if any showed any hint of stirring. When most of your internal seithr has turned against you, 0.4 km is a hell of a long distance.

"Jagd." he asked as he gingerly continued. "Do you have a plan for the Cauldron itself? I have no idea how to start destroying it. Ragna said something about using huge amounts of seithr, but none of us have that grimoire of his."

His voice was still raspy, but the anaesthetics were kicking in fully now, reducing the pain significantly. He returned to a normal walk, his body unknowing of the damage it had suffered, Rust's will forcing it to move.

"I suppose we could..." he looked down, more specifically at the weapon in his hand. He fell silent as he continued forward.
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Jagd gives him a Look. "I am demolitions." he said plainly. "Stop stealin' mah cookies." And he strides down the hall ahead of Rust, eyes flicking between the doors.

"Kokonoe's kindness gifted seithr recombinant bomb." he called back. "Will fuse Cauldron together, detonate it. Quite violent. Recommend evacuation before activation, otherwise rescue pointless. Will deal when time comes, however. Current status, comrade?"
Class. Dig it up, dust it off, hang that shit crooked on an ear. My halo's a land mine rind, amigo.

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Blue Warlord

Despite the situation, Rust couldn't help but bark out a laugh at Jagd's out of the blue statement.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry man. Shouldn't have doubted that you'd have something up your sleeve. Plus, my brain was in some dire need of melting." Calming down a little, he listened to the mercenary's description. "And you know Kokonoe too, huh? Crazy bitch is helping me even when she doesn't know it."

Thinking of his boss, he smiled softly. This'd be impressive on a resume, that's for damn sure. Hell, maybe enough to get above Simple Lackey in the totem pole. But enough of career prospects.

"Think I'm doing okay..." Rust managed. "Anaesthetics are doing their job, but tomorrow morning is going to be an utter bitch."

It was a simple statement, but it proved one thing. Rust wasn't planning on dying just yet.

Nearly there. A few more doors and she's there.
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Jagd smirks. "Therapy good for you. Can attend afterwards." The rest he acknowledges with nothing more than a raised hand and a nod: by now, they're past gratitude. It's do or die time.

They come to Containment Unit N and Jagd blows the lock off the door with a shotgun slug. Inside is a twelve foot drop into a water cushion. The mercenary shrugs at Rust and makes the jump. Below is a large, wide room, the floor filled with four feet of water, cool and cold and clear, distilled. At the other end of the room, which is wide enough that it's a strain to see, is the machinery of the Murakumo machine. A pale figure hangs in it.

Between them and the machine, a white humanoid stands. Around eight feet tall, its taloned feet rest on the surface of the water without disturbing it. A black, barbed spear rests in its hands. Across its chest is written the legend: Kingfisher.

Jagd's mouth forms a thin line. "Rust, require backup."

The Kingfisher glides towards them across the surface of the pond, silent, supple and deadly.
Class. Dig it up, dust it off, hang that shit crooked on an ear. My halo's a land mine rind, amigo.

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