Jules sat down, got ready, and proceeded to open the Tome. Right at the moment when he opened it, it felt as though an immense power erupted from the pages. He felt as though the fog was completely eradicated upon opening the Tome. Jules still had the reflexes to quickly close the Tome, but he noticed an apparent impact on his surroundings. All of the women suddenly seemed distracted from their tasks. Jules noticed this situation quickly catching the Collar’s attention. He just managed to hide the Tome away as the Collar glanced in his direction. Then he proceeded to get the women back to their work. With the Collar’s back to him and his mind totally cleared, Jules saw his perfect opportunity to slip towards the front doors and, hopefully, open them and get out quickly from this now not-so-comforting place before he was caught.
Unknown to Jules, the Tome had an external impact as well. The four people who were still relatively near the Church saw its aura suddenly brighten almost to the point of blindness, and then begin to dissipate. With this event added on to the slew of recent bizarre happenings, they stood dumbfounded, not caring that two were enemies of the other two.
It was Vincent who first broke the ice.
“So,” he started, turning towards Tanner, “would this be a good time to see if we can get Jules out of there?”
Vince’s question snapped Tanner out of his stupor, and he replied,
“Sure. Nothin’s not worth a try.”
Their conversation caught the attention of Gunter and Sasha, who separated from them and consulted with each other, Sasha asking Gunter,
“What should we do?”
“Let’s let them bring the Tome out. Then ve can ambush them and get out of here” Gunter replied. “They are both still veak, so ve can take them out quickly.”
With that, the two Thanox agents moved into nearby shadows as Vincent and Tanner approached the Church.
MadGoblin
Posts: 1515
Member #2
Dec 29, 2004 16:04
"Funny that we had them at knife's edge and then come up with the plan of ambushing them from not there," Sasha grumbled.
"I dought you had a better plan in mind," Gunter snapped at his sassy underling from their shadowy position. Upon realizing the pointlessness of their retreat, the two pounced back upon the two agents.
"I never expected this," Ever told himself, as no one else was able to hear the thoughts of a disembodied spirit. "I thought living was bad, but to see all that I cannot change? That I cannot help? Truly, this is the more sinister punishment." The bodies of the Thanox members passed through him with no result. He was nothing to the physical world now. With longing eyes, he wished he could do something for his comrades, but, alas, he was powerless. They gained on the inattentive Vince and Tanner, but a tremble through the earth halted their advancement.
"Vat da-?" A thick hand tore through the blasted and battle scarred earth. It was too soon for Doc to have fully regrown after his incineration, so its origin was rather unexpected. Ripping out from the ground, the whole tired body was lifted out. Silver hair hung around a balding head, dusted and dirty from the soil. With rigid pulls of his muscles, the elder rose from sunken grave, reclaiming the war hammer.
"... Ever?" Vince questioned, startled by the loud outburst from the resurfacing of the man. In slow gait, the body of Samael approached the church with jagged steps. Not the smallest attention was given to any other present. Only the place of worship was in his sight. "Samael!" cried out Vince in another attempt to contact his thought dead companion as he dashed to him. Without outstretching an arm, the old man threw the younger aside with the unbalanced, rough movements in his steps.
"You fool," Ever whispered, "that's not me." He witnessed himself, his old self, staggering to the Church. His skin a sickly shade of grey, a tongue loosely hanging from his mouth, dripping a glowing, bright green saliva. Lifting his only arm high, the maul smashed into the already fading barrier around the sanctuary, utterly decimating it. Shards of fading holy wall rocketed from the resulting shock wave, passing through the concrete walls of the surrounding buildings but slicing though those unfortunate and unfit enough to be caught in their path. Screams poured out from within the holy structure, not screams of fainting as before but of the last breaths taken by the poor women.
"Vince," Tanner noted, "Something tells me that's ... not ... Ever. Who could have done this?" He asked this despite already knowing the answer. From the same hole in the ground carved by the resurrected Samael arose a slim figure, perfectly straight and proper. He did not claw or drag himself higher, he merely as lifted up. Within his gloved hand he clasped a vial, now empty, that still had the remnants of its bright green fluid clinging to its walls.
"My, my," spoke the Candyman, tossing the empty bottle aside, "that certainly was a walk through hell."
"Chubby? I'm not chubby! This here is fat!"
- Coop, Low Brow... er, Megas XLR
[Editted by MadGoblin on Dec 29, 2004 17:04]
MintMan
Posts: 4061
Member #1
Dec 29, 2004 17:04
The Collar turned to Jules, fallen from the shock of Ever's attack.
"What are you doing?" interrogated the priest, seeing the healer at the doors. It was only a moment before he would have escaped.
"Did you feel that?" the boy attempted to change the subject. "What was that?"
"Our barrier... it has fallen," stated the priest. "I must work to reinstate it; our few powers will be enough to stave them off until he arrives." With that, he tended to one of the women, lying motionless in the now dim ring. Jules, still impacted from the wall's fall, did not realize the words as the Collar spoke them.
"'He'? 'He' who?" he asked, picking himself from off the ground. Cowardice took over his newly cleared mind; whatever was happening outside suddenly sounded like something Jules wanted nothing to do with.
"A friend, a fellow innocent," informed the Collar. "Try as I might, we cannot keep safe forever. He was going to bring a new source for our protection."
"Things are crazy out there..." wandered Jules' mind, staring blankly at the doors. Slowly creeping with a slight sense of guilt, he decided to make himself useful and aid a nun while his magicks would still function. He could still not piece together what it was about this priest that bothered him, so he remained altogether cautious. "Father, will your friend be okay?" wondered he. "Without any protection?"
"He must be 'okay', son," laughed the Collar, moving onto another of the fallen women after the previous had resumed the prayer. "It is His will." Jules tried to understand what it was this priest was trying to tell him, but could not rationalize it. He stooped to the stony floor, his palm brimming with a gentle aura, but the nun unconsious beneath him remained still. Dismissing his magick, he now knelt to touch her, a touch cold as death.
"Father!" he exclaimed, beginning to shake the woman violently. "She is badly hurt! She may be dead!" He panicked. His healing abilities could only do so much; they had already failed on her. The collar did not change his pace or give any visible notice to the boy. He simply tended to another one of the black-dressed women and advanced to the next in the chain.
Jules could not be nearly so calm. He pulled back the long, concealing veil from the nun's face, not exactly knowing what he planned to do. Whatever it was, his unthought of plans were halted by a sudden stench that wafted by. His clenched, tearing eyes delayed the discovery of a parched, wrinkled, mummified face peeking from out the long, black garb. Shock overcame the healer; he dared not to move.
The Collar was not phased by any of this. Just as the others, he sat next to the woman. After a short chant, a sudden breath of life shot into the poor woman. The eyes filled with a dazzling white, and dead lips pushed out a dusty air Jules could recognize as a simple plea.
"Let me die." Jules jumped back, still transfixing his gaze to what once was a corpse. The priest just lowered the shroud and set her back to her task and moving on to his next one.
"She was dead," finally mumbled the ghost-white healer.
"Of course she was," answered the Collar. "They all are. They can do no evil now." He looked up to the boy, setting yet another nun up for her endless task. "They are perfect batteries of innocence, and far more agreeable like this," he went on. "They are much like you, save purer."
"I am nothing like them!" vehementhly denied Jules. He retreated, pressing himself against a pew. "Who are you? What is this?" assulted Jules repeated. "This is not white magick; this is... is... is... just sick!"
"Of course it is White," assured the Collar, unusually pleasant for the current predicament. "All magick derived from the Most High is good." He went on. "We all make sacrifices. Keeping them from Him is quite difficult for me," the Collar said, with some reflection. "Once my friend arrives, they can all rest; there will be no need for them to pray for our safety." Jules only looked onward, his eyes begging for the mad priest's ramblings to be explained.
"Son, we shall all be safe," he told. "The whole world."
Jules did not dwell long on this.
"You want to use this barrier," the healer attempted to reason, "across the entire world?" The priest nodded. "But, I saw what happened to my friends. If you were to..."
"Sinners," the priest harshly snapped. "It is of no concern what happens to them; they await a far worse fate in the next life." Jules stared onward into the Collar's face, contorted in rage.
"You could not actually... protect the entire world, could you?"
"But we could," replied the priest, whose expression returned to normal. "A great power has been unleashed upon the world. The sinners shalt not have it; the book will be delivered to us this day. We alone shall-"
"Book?" interrupted an increasingly worried Jules. The focus drew too much attention, which the healer tried to distract from with a quick question. "I mean, you don't know any of this will happen." As secretive as possible, he attempted to conceal the Tome even further from the father's eye. "I expected to be home today, wasting away the night. How can you say-"
"Those of earth are not meant to know the future," sternly stated the Collar. "Those of heaven, however..." Jules stood in awe.
"You mean... Him?"
"No," the priest shook his head. "A servant of His. An angel." This piqued Jules' attention. "Of sorts," muttered the Collar as a hasty addition. The thoughts flooded in.
"Father," started he. "Which angel exactly promised you the Tome?"
The lone man turned his head, taking in the whole of the devastation. Summoning a sudden gale, he took himself to the only clue, the only thing left amid the destruction. With searing fingertips, his arm thrust down, burning his grasp deep into the object. With a sudden jerk up, the pinkish mass was held level to the mage's view.
"I can wait," he told in a commanding tone. And, as soon as the Doc's lungs regenerated, the screams began. A carefree bolt smouldering his still exposed face put a quick end to that. "Speak only what and when I tell you," ordered the hyrid wizard, raising an eyebrow to the skull of the giant.
"Now, where did they go?"
The Keeper had lost the trail of the party some time ago. Few things could harm his other half, let alone fill it with fear, so avoidance of the Candyman seemed a wise choice. Coppers and Silvers were on constant patrol with the recent catastrophes and reports of entire squads being burned away, hindering his path little but proving a great nuisance. The rain literally made for difficult tracks. The Keeper wondered about any of it at all.
"You said we would have the Tome," he spoke into his spirit. "We don't."
"I am aware," hissed Ishmael. "We should have had the Tome by now," it lied. It only knew that the Tome would be in the Church at this time. It did not know that this was indeed the case. "Wait! I sense something." The Keeper stopped at his symbiote's request. "A Church... is there a Church?" The man looked at the deathly skyline.
"Yes," he returned, seeing the crux from afar. "Of what importance is that? We only need the book to seperate us."
"True, but it must be read within that Church," it again lied. The contents of the Tome were the darkest of black magicks; no matter how twisted, white magick was still its enemy. The spell would be ruined at so much as the book openning; rather, its power would be drawn with covers closed, still more than enough to complete his dark designs. "Once complete, we shall be seperated at last," hissed the spirit within.
This, it spoke true.
"Perhaps, the Tome is nearby that Church then. If the spell to free us is in fact to be cast at midnight, it cannot be far from it." With a mighty bound, the aeromancer flew toward the steeple.
[Editted by MintMan on Dec 30, 2004 4:09]
draggy1234
Posts: 486
Member #97
Jan 14, 2005 15:33
Before the Collar could answer Jules’ question, another shock, from Ever’s second attack, ripped through the reforming barrier and sent the women down into stillness again. The Collar broke off from conversation with Jules to hasten the recovery of the barrier. Jules, left by himself again but not wishing to go near the doors, tried to sort out the panicky thoughts flooding through his mind. Not only were the people outside the Church trying to get at the Tome, but now the Church itself was involved as well, with an angel?!
After a few moments, Jules began to think more about getting the Tome away from the Church. However, the front doors were dangerous enough from the recent attacks. He began to look around quickly for another means of escape, a window perhaps, or something. At the same moment, Jules began wondering about what he should do with the Tome if he couldn’t escape.
Meanwhile, outside, the four agents motionlessly watched Samael in the work of decimating the barrier, with the Candyman walking up next to him.
“Heh heh heh.” the Candyman voiced to himself while watching the scene, apparently unconcerned about the four spectators. “Even a reforming barrier cannot hold off forever.” He grinned.
The Candyman stopped next to Ever and looked at him, as if waiting for his third strike and the opportunity to pass through the barrier once it was broken again.
The Thanox agents were so absorbed into the scene that it took a few tries to finally catch Sasha’s and Gunter’s attention. Maria came up behind them, seeing what they saw, and asked in a small voice, “Both of you…what is going on?”
The other two remained speechless, leaving Maria to grasp what was happening.
“No…” Ever whispered to himself. “Is there any way I can stop this? Stop this destruction?”
Then, Ever noticed the aeromancer, from his high vantage point, approaching the Church from far away.
“This…can’t be happening.” Tanner said, his voice starting to become shaky.
Vince, unable to continue watching at that moment and witnessing their helplessness against the Candyman’s actions, turned his eyes to the dark sky.
“Man.” Vince said. “What I’d do for some help about now…”
MadGoblin
Posts: 1515
Member #2
Feb 17, 2005 19:22
"Help you say?" called out an all too familiar voice. "Vhy, Vincent, you vere never one for accepting assistance."
"Yeah, he was always one for assisting himself," Maria implied. Half alarmed at their appearance but still in dismay at the worlds end, the duo only feignedly drew their weapons.
"What do ya two want?" Tanner growled. "Isn't there enough goin' on already?"
"That is exactly it, child," Gunter sighed. "This is not vhat vas suppose to happen. Thanox needs the book, not this church."
"Wait," Vince stopped the giant in the middle of his sentence, "you can't possibly be suggesting-"
"An alliance?" questioned a third familiar voice as a woman donning a crystalline visor approached. "Oh, how cliche is that? The sworn enemies unite to crush a common foe?"
"Ya guys had us at knife's edge not that long ago," Tanner reminded with a mark still left on his neck. "Now we're suppose to be all buddy-buddy? 'Tisn't that bad!" At his words, a great, winged figure soared overhead, diving into the church as the force field buckled around his approach to accept him. "Oh, shaeti, 'tis the end of the world as we know it."
"Oh, brave warrior, save me," blandly rambled Maria unaffectionately holding out her arms. Tanner still took the invitation, taking quite a nasty shock from her damaged, mechanical appendages.
"Still worth it," he coolly spoke, smoothing down his frizzed hair.
"It's all nice and good that you're willing to play the part of the hero when someone is making you look bad at being bad," Vince grumbled, annoyed at Tanner's antics, "but just how does anyone expect to stop anything if that wall is absorbing all our magic powe-" A great sound drowned out his words at Ever, or his body, took the last strike on the heavenly barrier. The blow glistened with the damnation he carried within himself. The shield was not just cracked as before but actually swallowed by darkness, dissolving into mere fading twinkles of light. The crux at the steeples's peak cracked before shattering into pieces that littered the once hallow grounds. It was not just gone, it was broken from its divine source. White magic of such magnitude required holy land to serve as a conduit. Ever saw the end of this. Curious, Vince held up his finger to witness it ablaze.
"Rock on."
"See you in hell, candy boys!"
- Homer, The Simpsons
VinnyD
Posts: 443
Member #9
Apr 28, 2005 19:46
OOC: It's been a while, but lets see if we can finish this bad boy up...
BIC:
The Candyman tossed Ever aside, allowing the corpse to slap the mud, discarded from Candyman's possesion. None of the newly formed team had time or reason to tend to him, as they raced after Candyman who seemed to glide up the large stairway entering the church. He gracefully opened and closed the doors behind him, which Vince made into splintering cinders as the group ascended. Finally reaching the summit of the staircase. Candyman stepped around shards of stained glass littering the floor. He saw an inverted cross hanging above a descending staircase opened only moments ago...
The collar turned his gaze upwards from the conversation with Jules, sensing a white aura approaching quickly.
"Come child! Our destiny awaits," He shouted hurriedly as he yanked Jules to a side of the room. At the precise moment they were under the cover of a large mounted rood, the plate glass dome shattered beneath a man draped in dark clothes. Ethereal wings shielded him from crashing glass daggers. Raising his eyes to meet the two, the angel walked to them.
"Welcome to my humble abode." The collar greeted with a grimace. "If you're done with the dramatics, may we progress with the business at hand?"
"Excellent idea." A voice reverberated from the split angel.
The collar then turned to Jules, extending a hand. "The book if you please."
Jules's eyes widened, at which the collar scoffed, and began to chuckle.
"Don't think I don't realize you've been carrying that treasure for a while. I had enough information to have a hunch when you entered, but you just had to open it in here. You had to expose my church's "workers" to the divinity in that book. Yet a dichotomy is present within it. The book would be an asset to the sinners had they been able to keep it from us.
And dichotomy is a concept that continues to manifest itself tonight!" The collar knocked a stunned Jules to the floor and easily relieved him of the book. He then gripped the giant rood and began to rotate it. Straining to turn it, he commanded the angel.
"Assist me oh heavenly one! You will receive your payment sooner that way!"
The split angel easily turned the cross alone, inverting it. A clicking noise was heard inside the wall, and a section of the floor descended to allow passage.
"There are many things we must hide from him you see. The ends justify the means however, and we are far lesser evils than your collegues. Proceed into the ruined shrine with us boy, and see history be made!"
Jules attempted to grab at the tome, but felt the angel's grip tear him back only feet away. Willingly or not, Jules would assist them.
A bit later and outside, pergatory was beginning to get to Ever.
"Damn it all, why even follow them in? I have no influence. Trapped in this realm I am useless to their fight! The apothecary has procured too much power, but what does he know about that book that should influence his actions. He's no mercenary, so what business does he have in..." Ever stopped. He felt a presence he missed dearly. In all his time he ached for it. Blissfully lifted up, Ever's cares drifted away. He was among divinity, and flowing away. Suddenly he was jerked back into pergatory.
"Wha...?" He ached again, and was confused of the sensation.
"You broke the rules." Ever thought, or at least he thought he thought it. But he felt the touch, and knew he hadn't meant to think it.
"Is it really?"
"Repent."
"I...I apologize!"
"That will not be sufficient. You broke the rules, and now you must become indentured to me."
"But, I thought."
"No punishment is permanent if the crime isn't. You may repent. Feel my gift, but be warned, the curse is lifted."
Ever regained consciousness. Knowing exactly what he must do, his stained wings lifted him from the ground.
Slightly earlier and inside, Jules was dragged into the putrid hole. Demonic armor lined a hallway leading to a single room. Candles line a pentagram inscribed into the stone floor.
Jules looked on remarking, "Heh, I thought the pentagram was only a symbol adopted by satanists from pagans. Funny what you think of in dire times."
"It may have been adopted by satanists, but that does not mean the morningstar did not accept it!" The collar rebuked.
The angel was weary of his surroundings. While he was doing a thing for good, calling upon Lucifer was not something he had agreed upon.
"This does not bode well. While our actions may end up justified, seeking the aid of the unholy one is something I'm not sure may be forgiven." The split angel said.
"Oh spirit," the Collar returned, "we are tricking him. He will see this as an opportunity to control the mortal world. You see, this spell nessecitates the use of not only white but also black magick. Only the truely pure may deal with the devil in this manner and gain our goal."
The angel was still on edge, but saw no other way to achieve his desire. He was actually tricking Satan, doing a good thing as he was fighting a bad demon. This could be justified he decided.
"Yes, you are correct I suppose."
"Of cour..." He was interrupted when a rumbling began from above, signifying the collapse of the barrier. "Hmph! We must make haste, BOY, read from the book now!"
Jules resisted, but the angel and collar had means through which to make him...
"Dammit they are beginning!" Candyman cursed, rushing to the opening. A hooked chain caught his ankle though, sending him to the floor. He attempted to break free but he was preoccupied with defending against a flurry of knives called upon him. "Fools! You do not realize the gravity of this situation. Release me or you'll kill us all!"
"You mean you intend to keall us, is dat vat you mean?" An ice spike grazed his pant leg, and destroyed the chaing freeing him.
"I do not have time to explain myself idiots, only that I am the least of your worries if you don't follow me into that passageway."
"Hyeah. Like we gunna listen to you, we've seen yur evils Candyman, and as soon as we go into that hallway we gunna get dusted. I'm suprised at yur lack of fight." Tanner shouted.
It became increasingly difficult for Candyman to fend them off as he attempted to go to the shrine. Almost as difficult as explaining his intentions to them.
"You haven't seen evil yet!" Candyman flared ready to contaminate the lot of them because of frustration. "You will though if you contin..."
A familiar figure flapped through the open ceiling, drawing the awe of all. The crimson capped wings carried him into the middle of the scuffle.
"Cease this!" Ever's newly rejuvenated voice boomed. He looked several hundered years younger, with a slightly faded brown beard and less folds on his face. The group's collective mouths gaped as he continued. "There is no time to explain, and even less to waste. Just proceed into the ruined shrine so this may end!"
The group nodded, following as he and the surprised Candyman raced ahead into the decayed monastery. Without more than a few steps into the room, the demonic armor sprang to attack them. The restored Ever merely wiped them away with his hammer. Vincent grabbed a sword from a fallen suit, and caught up to Ever, wheezing.
"Dammit man! What the hell is going on? You're alive and apparently with the red armor and wings some sort of angel." He paused to demolish a suit attacking from the side. "You were cursed forever!"
Ever did not shift his eyes or even acknowledge the questions except for stating, "Nothing is forever." He continued bashing the hell suits until they were at the gateway to the dark sanctuary. A surreal sight was before them. A large black mass of liquid floated over the pentagram. It was shifting to and from a solid mass of unknown material. The collar faced back at them from a pedastal before the sight. His eyes were slashed, both leaking blood and juices. Then the group detected a slight whimper in a corner of the room. Their eyes happened upon a bloodied Jules, curled up in tattered rags.
"I didn't want to...." He weakly stated, and passed out.
"Your friend put up quite a fight!" The collar cackled insanely, "But in the end we got what we wanted with minimal loss." His hands raked his dead eyes, and wiped the running fluids from his face. "I sense something different in here, a white aura stronger than my spirit friend." The collar looked in Ever's direction, whom wasted no time in crushing him with the war hammer.
"Nooooooooooo!" Cursed the split angel, whom descended too late to assist the collar. "You fools! Only he could stop the morningstar from coming!" Ever obliterated the half angel.
"What does he mean?" Vince asked Ever, whom answered angrily as he attempted to seal the hovering blob. "He means, that Satan is coming through this portal to consume Earth and humanity thanks to the Tome."
Ever's efforts proved futile, and the ground began to shake. The Blob was pulsating more rapidly, and two red orbs could be seen flashing in the center. Tanner's ever-present cigarette fell from his lip, and Gunter looked on in terror. Both Maria and Sasha gripped each other and let out an ear ringing scream. Sweat dripped from Vincent's brow as Ever's leverage on the ground began to give way.
"Well, this is it." Vincent's grip on the dark sword tightened, and he launched into a full sprint. Pushing off of the ground, he catapulted himself airborne at the pedastal and tome. Stabbing fiercely, he sunk the blade screeching into the pages of the book.
"NO!" Ever roared as Vincent was suspended holding the sword. The gelatinous blob began to writhe and fell to the ground, but the red orbs remained. Time stood still as Vincent's blade cracked the tome, and the orbs shot into his chest.
The sword shattered across the room and Vincent remained in midair. His body gurgled and cracked while the others watched in terror. Falling into a lump on the ground, Vince rose again grimacing. His eyes glowed black with white pupils as he inspected his hands, body and surroundings. He then opened his mouth, but the noise which eminated from his maw was not that of any human. A terrible shrieking roar tore the building asunder. As the bricks began to collapse, he rose to the pedistal and spoke.
"I AM BORN"
OOC:Oh yeah, end of prologue. :P
[Editted by VinnyD on Apr 28, 2005 22:54]
MintMan
Posts: 4061
Member #1
Apr 29, 2005 24:21
Hooray! It is finally over! I mean, it rocked, but what has it been? Four months since it was last actively added to?
Let us hope the best for Aftermath: The Logue!
I would go over the whole thing in a post-mortem, but who the Hel can remember that much ancient history?
This story was much shorter (post-count-wise, not length-wise), so there really can't be as much to haul:
* rewards VinnyD with 5 Books and 5 Revolvers for making one of the greetest stories in RE history * * rewards MadGoblin with 5 Chains and a Rood for flat-out doin' his thang * * rewards boyachi with 4 TrackingDevices and a Car for making a very integral character and establishing himself as another power writer at RE * * rewards draggy1234 with 3 Medals and a Helicopter for callin' the cops so much * * rewards Hankosha with 2 Prisons because... yeah *
