originally posted in:The New Dojo
[i]"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."[/i]
-Stephen King on [i]Real Monsters[/i]
[b][u]Contractors and Contractees[/u][/b]
[u]Dojoville, 0000 hours[/u]
[i]The quiet sobbing of a man was audible in the silence of night; his racking coughs, sniffs, and ultimately, the purely sad, pitiful sound of his cries that screamed to the dark, cloudy sky. In his dark alleyway, this man... was truly a saddening sight, an image that reflected the cruelty of humanity. The mercilessness.
The depressive sounds of this man masked the soft footsteps of another. The second man towered above the first, as the first was curled up in a fetal position on the ground. The second man stood at a decent height of 5'11", an ectomorph body type. His hair was shaggy, artfully messy, and jet black, while his eyes were a dark green.
For the second man's apparel, he donned a black, leather trench coat, the coat ending just below his knees. Underneath was a simple, army green, plain t-shirt, and a pair of black combat pants and boots. They looked rather clean; not recently washed, but not dirtied by dust and the like. On his hands were a pair of black, skintight gloves, that clearly served a purpose other than warmth.
On his back was a [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/39/dc/4f/39dc4fee3f08132d5490f4c22d03b1be.jpg]large sword[/url], 4'6" in length. Its color scheme was gold and silver; it had a kind of futuristic look to it, rather sleek, shiny, yet deadly. The material used to make the sword could not be determined; its blade looked to be silver, with a streak of gold running down its center, but upon closer inspection, that was clearly not the case.
Holstered on the second man's left were a few items; a [url=http://i.imgur.com/XirWanC.jpg]handgun[/url], along with several compartments storing .50 caliber bullets. The other two items were both foldable [url=https://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6743/16891559.1b/0_12ab5e_a8f65530_XL.jpg]knives[/url], folded closed and stowed beside the handgun. Finally, holstered at his right side was a [url=http://imgs.abduzeedo.com/files/articles/cool-futuristic-weapon-designs/max-hoek-destinyweapon1.jpg?1428843196]rifle.[/url] The entire rifle was some shade of gray, making for a rather unnoticeable design.
As the second man approached the first, his eyes were filled with pity, and sorrow. The first man looked up. There was pleading in his own eyes; now that his face was raised, he looked starved. Dirty, homeless. Heartbroken, as well. As their eyes met each others, the second man understood. Without either of them exchanging a single word, the second man silently drew his handgun from its holster. He pointed the barrel at the first man, loaded a single bullet, and pulled the trigger. The massive .50 caliber bullet flew from the gun to the man's head in an instant, breaking the sound barrier; the sound of the gunshot rang throughout the alleyway and through the streets of Dojoville, shattering the silence of the night.
The sound of sobbing was immediately cut off, replaced by the hollow, lifeless thunk of the first man's corpse hitting the concrete ground. A moment's stillness from the second man, before he turned away, exiting the alleyway. However, just then, a loud crashing sound was heard to the man's left.
Upon turning towards the noise, three figures could be seen. Two men, and a single woman; they each looked extremely muscular, yet still slim; their eyes were filled with a burning anger, and a deep sorrow that could make a fully grown male cry. The man leaving the alleyway immediately recognized that sight.
They were Contractees.
Slowly, his hands clenched into fists. Immediately, they ignited; black lightning and green flames exploded into existence on his fists, swirling around each other to fuse together, to create a unique energy; firetricity. The man entered a combat position; poised to attack; but it was three Contractees against one, and as such, he looked around to see if there was anybody to aid him.[/i][spoiler]Open. This is gonna be full of exterminating human lab rats (the Contractees), and a connection to a little mini-thing I'm making up on the fly.[/spoiler]
English
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[i]After what was perhaps a minute of utter silence, Victoria broke the quietness with yet another sigh, opening her blue eyes as she looked upon Vance sadly. She smiled a little, speaking up with a quieter voice so that she did not disturb Ike.[/i] "...I'm sorry, I...just take things too seriously at times. I can't exactly explain why I want to help, it's just...there. Every day in the Imperium and on the battlefield...I just slaughtered. From the wildest of maniacs to the most innocent of civilians, I kept slaughtering. I shot down those that screamed for my blood to be spilt. I shot down those who begged for my mercy. ...I'm.. I'm a monster. I'm no better than the Contractees that attacked us. Yet, I...I want to help people. I want to do something that might make an actual difference, that might benefit something other than a senseless cause that the Imperium supports. I wanted to help Ike, I.. I wanted to help you. I don't mind if you're a Contractee, but you're the closest that I have to an actual ally - no, not an ally, a friend. ...I hope that you understand." [i]Victoria clasped her armored hands together, looking down at her palms and allowing the silence to continue. Perhaps it was best that way, she thought - Vance was the type that she could respect, and thus she would respect his quietness.[/i]
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[i]For a moment, Vance did indeed continue the silence, but eventually did speak. With a sigh, he stared off into empty space.[/i] "... you're no monster, Victoria. You're only a monster if you refuse to realize your past actions, and your current actions. Once you've realized their consequences... then you're no longer a monster. You're a human, who makes mistakes and lives to learn from them." [i]In a way, Vance was really telling this to himself as well as Victoria; that he was no monster, either. He slowly sat down on the ground in front of the bench to rest, laying his arms across the expanse of the bench's seat. He smiled lightly at Victoria's words; they truly were unique.[/i] "If you really wish to help me... I might as well tell you my goal; it's an ambitious one. I wish to bring down the scientists that would imprison us Contractees, as well as their supporters and their higher-ups–I wish to end the painful torture they put children like I once was through. And then, I wish to learn more about the Contractors; why they only appear before children in such specific circumstances, and their existence as supernatural beings. I admit that I don't know much about the scientists; I don't know who they take orders from, I don't know why they study Contractees.... This is why I'll need a great amount of help, sadly. And there's not many people willing to help...." [i]He broke off with a heavy sigh; never had he talked so much to a single person before.[/i]
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Edited by Orn: 5/29/2017 12:14:58 AM[i]After a moment of silence from listening to Vance's explanation, Victoria arose from her sitting position with renewed vigor, a smile across her lightly tanned face as she spoke up with a renewed voice.[/i] "...I shall help you, Vance. In whatever way that I can - I shall assist you, through combat and to our victory. I would be proud to, anyhow." [i]The Palatine placed her clenched fist over her heart, covered by a sheet of ceramite armor as if she was delivering an oath.[/i] "This I swear, my dear friend - we should likely keep moving, find a temporary residence for Ike to live... And I suppose, you and I could live together then?"
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[i]Vance smiled lightly at Victoria's first statement, pledging her aid; he thought that it was truly great, to finally have one who could help him through troubled times. And so, a kind of warm, fuzzy feeling rose up inside of him as he smiled gratefully at Victoria. To her final statement, he blushed, now looking away. He paused before speaking, assuring that his voice would come out normally.[/i] "... sure, if you'd like to," [i]He replied somewhat calmly; in his mind he was already thinking of the real estate in Dojoville. Just that kind of guy. Meanwhile, he turned his head to the Dojo gates; it looked as though the Contractees had finally left, and if one looked closely they could see that the streets of Dojoville were now completely empty of Contractees.[/i]
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[i]Victoria, who was initially confused by Vance's blush, decided to not comment as she stepped over to Ike and lifted him up. While it took some effort, she held up the Contractee teenager and looked over at Vance. [/i] "I suppose that you don't have a home, and...well, I would hate to force a citizen out of their home. That's even assuming that the Imperium holds some power here.." [i]Victoria sighed: she had no home, as this was literally her first day upon the planet of Tatakai. She knew nothing about the Dojo, nothing about real estate - nothing that an average citizen would know.[/i]
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"I don't have a home either," [i]Vance admitted with a sigh.[/i] "But I believe I have enough money from doing various jobs every know in order to pay 1/4th downpayment for a cheap condominium, the rest of the money I pay off as mortgage with a loan from the bank...." [i]He didn't seem to really like that idea.[/i] "Or we could just rent an apartment." [i]He shrugged, and stood up as well.[/i]
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"I suppose that we could. Except, erm...pardon me, but I am not accustomed to civilian life. What... What is an apartment, exactly?" [i]Victoria went a little pale, looking down nervously as if she expected Vance to be angry at her oblivious nature. Which she didn't, considering his quietness.[/i]
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"An apartment?" [i]Vance smiled at Victoria, laughing a little; not in a mocking manner whatsoever. It felt.. good, to actually laugh–obviously wasn't something Vance did often.[/i] "It's a building with many floors and rooms, each room serving as a living space for a different family or group of people. They're generally owned by a single corporation and rented out to buyers... basically we pay monthly to stay in a small, crowded room with loud neighbors."
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"Sounds like military barracks, except we don't have to pay money for those.." [i]Victoria oddly found a connection between the two, although she shrugged and realized what an apartment was: a temporary home, really. She liked the sound of it, except for the loud neighbors bit. Victoria hated loud people. [/i] "So...should be begin searching for an apartment?"
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Edited by Diase: 5/29/2017 5:51:37 PM"Guess we should," [i]Vance agreed, beginning to walk towards the dojo gates once more. As he opened the gates with his right hand, his left pulled out a cell phone, and well... he opened an app to check his balance in the bank. He nodded satisfactorily at the amount he saw, then put his phone away as he looked back at Victoria.[/i] "After you," [i]He said, gesturing through the opened gate; outside it was clear that the Contractees were gone, although they definitely left behind evidence of their being at the dojo's gates; trampled everything, roadkill, leftover belongings, et cetera.[/i]
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"...This is just brutal. It's unorganized, crude, yet effective.." [i]Victoria stared upon the remnants of the Contractees, before realizing what she had just said.[/i] "...No offense to you, of course." [i]She looked over at Vance, smiling a little.[/i] "You're actually quite elegant in combat, really. Me, I just...aim and improvise." [i]Victoria then began to move, walking down the mountainous pathway of the Dojo. She was still tense, as if expecting the Contractees to appear at any moment.[/i]
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"No offense taken... really, I feel rather awkward in combat," [i]Vance admitted. He spoke truthfully; even with his well-balanced physique and raw power, he still felt awkward–as though he hadn't quite found a style of combat that fit him. No Contractees appeared as they made their way down the rocky pathway–although, everything was eerily silent besides their footsteps and conversation. No birds, wildlife, and the usual hum of activity that came from Dojoville was all but gone. They eventually arrive in the now bloodstained streets of Dojoville. Doors were shut, shops and homes with their windows smashed in; it wasn't utter destruction, but would take a while to clean up. Luckily, they could still shop for apartments.[/i]
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[i]As Victoria held onto the still teenager within her arms, a slight look of disturbance crossed her face, memories of ancient battles entering her mind. She sighed, looking back at Vance.[/i] "...This honestly has begun to remind me of the Daemon forces of Chaos and the Orks once they finish raiding and slaughtering...on a smaller scale, of course. ...Let me apologize, for my behavior earlier. I was suspicious of you, even hateful - the Sisters of Battle are educated and taught to destroy what we consider "heresy" - things that we consider impure, evil, or wrong. Is it right? ...That depends on your views."
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"You've got me confused there," [i]Vance commented in response to Victoria's first statement. To the second, he shrugged.[/i] "That's alright; I'm used to it, by now." [i]The tone in his voice was slightly bitter, not towards Victoria, of course, but towards a much larger group of people. In truth, he cared not about how one spoke towards him–because actions speak louder.[/i] "Anyways... that building seems to he open," [i]He pointed a rather small yet well-kept apartment building, strangely intact with a glowing vacancy sign on its front door.[/i]
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"...You think that they'll accept a beaten/down man with a great sword, an armed soldier and an unconscious child?" [i]Victoria joked calmly, smirking to herself.[/i] "Then again, they would perhaps be suited to seeing such an odd group. Shall we keep moving?" [i]Victoria soon yawned, stretching in place while still holding Ike in her arms. She was getting tired.[/i]
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[i]Vance smiled at Victoria, before looking back at the apartment.[/i] "Long as we've got money," [i]He said, before making his way into the apartment building. The room entered was, of course, the lobby; it looked very similar to a hotel lobby, with a front desk and many couches to rest in. It was strangely clean and orderly, considering the recent ordeal–but then again, response to danger was a requirement in a town so close to a complex housing so many warriors. Vance walked up to the front desk–and it was really more similar to getting a hotel room than getting an apartment room, although it took admittedly a much longer time with a lot more paper filling out. Finally, after an hour, everything was sorted out and Vance had two keys to a cheap apartment room with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. He walked back to Victoria, tired out but satisfied, holding one key out to the Sister of Battle.[/i]
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[i]The boy's invisibility spell was working like... well, a charm. Not a single sound was heard, not a single Contractee sighted. That was, until a sudden, extremely painful looking wound appeared on Vance's right arm; it looked like a stab wound, from a rather long weapon. He yelled out, looking around for the invisible attacker, but they were gone. A few moments later, the invisibility spell wore off. The attacker was the woman, who was about twenty yards away; the stab wound was a three foot long javelin, which was thrown at Vance. The woman held another javelin, readying it. Meanwhile, behind Victoria was the boy, holding a wooden club; he raised it, and aimed a slammed towards Victoria's head.[/i]
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[spoiler]this one?[/spoiler]
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[spoiler]yes[/spoiler]
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[spoiler]ok[/spoiler]
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Cylus happened to be on one of his nightly strolls when he heard the crackling of fire. He didn't think anybody else would have been out that late, so he decided to investigate. He approached the source of the noise and found himself behind a man holding green flames which crackles with electricity. "Hey!" he shouted. "What's going on here?"
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[i]The man turned his head backwards towards Cylus, then gestured towards the three Contractees in which he faced. They had now turned to face Cylus and the man, lowering themselves into combat stance as well; they looked as though they could pack a serious punch.[/i] "I can explain better once these three are corpses on the ground," [i]The man stated; his voice was soft, barely audible.[/i]
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"Huh, sounds about right." Cylus said. He was wearing his suit and was carrying his gear, so he was prepared for a fight. He pulled a blade and also ignited his hands with flames, his being an electric blue. He whispered a phrase in a Dragon's native tongue and the flames grew brighter. "What's your name?" he asked. "You can lead the way."
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"... my name is superficial," [i]The man replied.[/i] "Call me whatever the hell you want." [i]Without warning, the three Contractee charged; the man hurled a blast of firetricity at the group, however the female made a gesture; a wall of a strange, translucent blue energy formed, and completely blocked the blast.[/i]
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"Got it..." Cylus says. Upon seeing the woman block the hurled balls of fire, Cylus decided to take another approach. He closed his eyes and entered Phase Run mode, his suit bringing him to another dimension. He disappeared without a trace. Seconds later, he reappeared behind the three attackers and stabbedthe woman in the back with one of his burning blades.