Antediluvixen

Task Force Echo (A Special Forces RP)

@BigPapaBelial

I never got a response, so I kept waiting and got sidetracked by other RP's and an overdose of life.

Knighthood: Of Gods and Titans (season 2)

Retooling Old Armories

Day -8, Evening

Adéla, Calder

Monochromatic Rainbow, Tracyarmav

“So, Calder, I have two questions - first: Just how good are you in a frontal assault? Second: How interested would you be in… acquiring an arms manufacturing giant that brings in twenty five billion credits each year?” She paused, “That’s about six hundred and sixty tons of gold equivalent, if you’re wondering.”

Calder rolled his shoulders and head, and clapped his massive hands together as a rumbling chuckle, akin to waves breaking on a rocky shore. “Assault is my purpose, the very reason for my existence, and more funds and access to more arms is always a boon to any warrior. Let’s have a go and see what we can find.” Calder reached into his pockets and checked to be sure his shield and mace were in their places, and they were. He had considered getting armor of some sort or another from the tower, but honestly, it cost him so little to heal himself, and it was so much fun to watch the horror spread through his opponents as they saw him take hit after hit and just keep coming. Yes, armor had it’s uses, but so did fear, and in Calder’s experience fear was more effective than armor.

Pulling up to a large and imposing building with the words “MACHINA INDUSTRIES” displayed in gigantic block letters, a stylized half gear serving as the C, Adéla held a hand up, “Whoa there, cowboy. Just give me a bit. Feel free to come in as violently as you like once you hear screaming and gunfire, mm’kay? I’ll make sure to throw someone through the door if I need you immediately.”

With that she hopped out of the car, blowing a kiss to the troll in the back as she marched into the building. Making sure her coat covered her weapon she strode up to one of the guards, winking at him as she walked inside, passing straight through their security scanners without a hitch.

The interior of the building was surprisingly spacious, and she took careful note of the rather unusual design, apparently intended to allow defenders to direct their fire onto an assailant. She chuckled, it was clearly designed by amateurs. This was going to be too easy.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she mentally flicked a switch and looked around, taking note of the Wills of the people in the lobby. Every single security guard seemed to have a completely average Will, and some even had dim little weak ones - they would probably crumple in a single hit. A few of the men and women in business suits caught her eye and she made note of them - wouldn’t want to kill them. They could be useful later.

One person caught her eye - a young man standing in a security guard’s uniform, but not holding a rifle. His Will was stronger than most of the ones surrounding him - she would have to dispose of him before the main show started, otherwise he could cause… problems. He wasn’t as powerful as Calder or herself, she could tell, but he could certainly add some unnecessary complications that would be best avoided. They didn’t want another magic user to complicate things.

An idea popped into her mind and she grinned - a good way to get most of the noncombatants out of the way while getting most of the guards clustered in one general area. She made for the area of the room he was in, settling down on a bench to observe him for a moment. Judging by the time, and the frequency with which he glanced at the clock, his shift was due to end any minute now. The perfect opportunity to jump him.

She busied herself pretending to stare at her phone, even as she took detailed mental notes of the layout of the entire building. The tick of the clock let her know that the guard’s shift had ended, and, as another man came to replace him, she got up to follow the man.

“Sir! A moment please!” She called after him, jogging to catch up. Once the guard had turned to look at her, a quizzical look on his face. “Hello, you probably don’t recognize me but I’m a shareholder in your company here, and a contractor working on a project I… probably shouldn’t mention actually. Anyway, I couldn’t help but notice that you aren’t carrying a standard weapon, and I wanted to inquire about any potential magical capabilities you might have? I was waiting for a business meeting, but it got cancelled at the last minute, and then I noticed you. I haven’t been able to find anyone else here with magical capabilities, and I had questions I wanted to ask a true combat mage. For a separate project actually. If you could help me I’d be immensely grateful, and I’d be sure to mention you to the boss~” Once more she pulled the trick of allowing her shirt to, ever so subtly, part and give the guard something else to consider.

“Well… I’m off duty now, so I suppose I can spare a little bit of time.” The guard seemed to be taken rather… off guard by her sudden approach, and was unsure how to answer. He did an admirable job of not staring however.

Her face lit up, and she beamed at him. “Great! I’ll just follow you along to wherever you were going, if that’s okay? It should only take a few minutes, ten at most. I can compensate you for your time too.”

His eyebrows raised. “Well, I was going to go and change into my regular clothes and grab a bite to eat…” this time he looked down, and she had to hold back a smirk.

“Oh, that’s no problem.” She gestured, “After you.”

The man shrugged and began walking, “What kind of compensation are we talking here, by the way?”

Adéla held back the urge to cackle maniacally. “Whatever you want. I’m sure I can provide it. Now,” she pulled out her phone and opened up a notepad, “First of all, how skilled at magic are you now, and how skilled were you when you first began? Capabilities, stamina, etc.”

The guard went off on a spiel about his upbringing and magical education, letting slip gobs of information that would be useful in just a few minutes. Adéla kept up the act, jotting down notes as fast as she could and nodding at the appropriate times. She fingered a second syringe of sedative, making sure it was within easy reach for when she struck.

The guard’s locker room was upstairs, which factored into her plan even better than she could’ve hoped. “Do you mind if I come in? I can keep asking you questions while you change. And… stuff, yeah.” She managed to fake a blush, averting her eyes as they neared the door.

The guard’s eyebrows shot straight to the top of his forehead. “You want to come into a men’s locker room?” He stood there for a second, incredulous. “I mean… I guess? Can’t guarantee what’ll happen if one of the guys walks in on us.”

If one of “the guys” walked in on them, she would have one fewer guard to deal with later. Shrugging, she smirked, “I’m sure I’ll manage.” Walking in right after the guard, she made sure one last time that the syringe was right where she could grab it easily.

The guard unexpectedly rounded on her. “What do you really want?” He demanded, she glanced down, noticing that he was apparently rather mixed on his opinions.

Raising her hands defensively and to show she was -apparently- unarmed, she played up the confusion. “What?” She showed him the phone full of notes, “Taking notes! Learning! Going to make myself some money - and you of course, too.” She added hastily, “Look I’m just a woman without much money or anything to do but work okay. I wanted to work on a project of my own, and you seemed nice.” She gulped, making sure to glance down below his belt every now and then, and making sure that he noticed.

He smirked at her. “Oh, really?” Stepping forward, he extended an arm, placing it on her shoulder, and then moving his face closer.

This is really going to work? Again? Adéla thought incredulously. She had been expecting something… far harder. No sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth. “Yes…” she replied, putting her own arm around his neck, the mini syringe in her hand as she pushed the incredibly thin needle into his neck. She’d tested them on herself before. They were almost impossible to feel.

Suddenly his hand flew to her neck, choking off her windpipe in a vicelike grip. His eyes were cold. “What are you here for?” He demanded, completely unaffected by the drug.

She choked and spluttered, chest growing ever tighter as her oxygen supply dwindled. She couldn’t reach her gun, and this was a mage, and one trained in combat at that. He could probably kill her before she’d have time to paint the walls with his brain.

His face went from one of grim determination to shock as her body began to grow. Her hair shrank into her head as a tattered crimson robe replaced it. Heavy armor grew from her body, forcing his hand off of her throat as thick tentacles rushed out from under the robe. Her face became obscured save for two dark, bottomless holes where her eyes had been. She in turn grabbed him by the throat with a now clawed hand, as he stared in terror at what she had turned into.

She wasted no time savoring the radically different playing field. Before the mage had a chance to react she punched the other clawed hand through his stomach and crushed his throat.

Striding briskly through the door, Adéla stood at the edge of the fourth floor and took a second to enjoy the calm before the storm. With a single… less than graceful leap, she jumped - but not before throwing the guard’s corpse beforehand. Slowing her fall by spreading a net of tentacles out to catch the walls, she still shook the floor of the building when she impacted.

The people in the lobby stared at her. In an alien yet still slightly feminine voice she yelled to the room, “Civilians please exit the building in an orderly line. Please no screaming until you get outside. You can return to work once the company is under new management, and probably get paid more. Thank you for choosing Mind Warping Abomination for your new employer!”

With that she grabbed a cluster of people and pushed them towards the doors, out of the line of fire, even as the security let loose regardless of who was in the way. Luckily the other occupants of the building had the good sense to duck and crawl, most too stricken with fear to scream for the moment, instead soundlessly complying with her orders. Adéla ripped the blast doors out of the main entrance, catching the hail of gunfire with the heavy reinforced slabs of… some alloy. She flung her tentacles out, grabbing four of the security guards and flinging them viciously against the walls.

The first earsplitting scream reached her ears as a cluster of people managed to get outside.
Calder sat waiting patiently, he was mildly annoyed at being asked to do clean up, but he’d done it enough times before so he complied with her request. It was several minutes later that things finally started happening. He noticed people stumbling out of the building in shock and horror, then came the gunfire, screams, and panic. Still, no one was cast into the streets so Calder took his time getting ready, pulling out his shield and mace, he considered the front entrance, and the side ally carefully. Mortal building, best leave them a route of escape, mortals get nasty when cornered.

Calder strode confidently forward, the masses moving around him of their own will, giving him a wide berth. As Calder reached the front of the building he opted knock in a front window instead of waiting for the last few stragglers to tumble out of the front door. Now inside he noticed that most of the guards were equipped with simple enough tech, machines relying on the user to point them in the right direction. He raised his mace high over his head, and geyser of steam poured out of the end, filling the lobby area rather quickly with extremely hot water vapor. The cloud and heat worked together to obscure vision of the guards, while a simple thread of Will shaped it to Calder’s whims. The vapors moved mostly naturally, but seemed to contain faces and shapes, often vague but somehow familiar to the viewer. Unfortunately or the guards, that did nothing to stem the heat, which was approximately 1645 K. It left little time notice the heat on direct contact.

That was infrequent however, as Calder let it rise to the top of the room and slowly roll back down the walls slightly. If the guards bunched up, he would direct his geyser at the clump of personnel, and leave behind well steamed, corpses. His only lament was a distinct deficiency of good marinating sauce to flavour his meal with. He did actively keep the steam from Adéla, not being certain how well she could take the heat. He also kept an eye out for civilians, no point in slaughtering his new employees after all.

As some of the guards watch in horror, Calder takes the time consume bits of arms and legs of the steamed corpses, mostly for the psychological effect on the survivors, he wasn’t really hungry, yet. Bullets flew towards him, his large bulk blocking the incoming natural light and leaving a hazy silhouette for them to aim at. And each one hit him, his raised shield, or his greaves. The shield and greaves rang with every hit, and Calder’s flesh … well the sound resembled a man trying to walk across mud flats, the initial entry quiet enough, but the exiting rounds, made a brief sucking pop. Still, he never seemed to notice the bullets. Calder’s shield protected his head, a mild nuisance it was to have to find your thought every half minute because of a lucky round.

He moved towards the emergency stairwell near the elevators, and sent his geyser into the inclosed space. He’d rather they used the elevators to move, since the wall displays above them kindly told him where each elevator was, and which way it was going. Since this was Adéla’s hit, he looked to her, clearing away any intervening steam with a thought, for further guidance, as to how she wanted to play this slightly volatile take over. Blood trickled from his chin down his chest, the blood of his … well, late afternoon snacks now. His own wounds healed almost instantly with minimal, if any visible, bleeding, so far.

Adéla looked between the stairs and the elevator, pondering for a moment which one to take. The elevator would be quicker, and would allow them to avoid more confrontations with security - but then again, they could kill the power and trap them inside.

Not to mention she wasn’t sure if she and Calder could even fit in there together. She doubted if even one of them could comfortably fit in there.

She walked towards it, eyeing the interior and glancing back at Calder. “We can squeeze in there, but we’re going to have to go one at a time.” She ducked her head and squeezed into the confined space. “It’ll be back down in just a few seconds, these elevators are terrifyingly fast.”

Clumsily pushing a button with a clawed hand, Adéla shot to the top of the building at a breakneck pace, g forces shunting her against the back of the elevator. Then, as the elevator came to a sudden halt, she went airborne momentarily, coming back down to land rather ungracefully and stumbling out of the elevator in a most undignified manner. But at least she was at the top - poking another button with a tentacle she watched the elevator shoot down back to the ground floor.

Calder would be up with her in a moment. So she began to walk, making a beeline for the ornate double doors that lead to the CEO’s office. She’d been here before, and now she had quite the score to settle.

Calder wondered it was worth trusting the technology to get up the building in haste… and decided he’d rather trust only himself if he could. So he rode his own elevator up, taking a moment to set up a bigger, but cooler geyser in the floor of the stair well. Then he rode it to the top, rolling out of the stream as it reached the top floor. Though his momentum was such that he rolled a good meter along the ceiling before dropping to the floor, and landing on his own two feet, as if he did this sort of thing everyday. It was his fae blood that made him so graceful. He didn’t even try honestly, it was just a part of him like his scaly hide and toothy grin.

A quick glance around the room showed him Adéla storming across the room. He moved forward in something not quite a run, for the motion he made more than any lack of speed, and was soon advancing on her left flank, a half stride behind her, so she had a clear line of fire in front of her and to either side. One last, desperately loyal guard opened fire on the pair from ambush, aiming for Adéla. A mere twitch of his fingers and Calder created a wall of ice that simply swallowed the bullets. Each projectile gleamed through the clear Ice, leading a hazy trail of cracks to show their path. A gesture later, and the man found himself sealed into a hollow cube of Ice. His gun couldn’t even punch through the walls of his new cubicle, and if he stayed there too long he would suffocate, unless air holes were made. Calder intended to let the man pass out before restoring his air, so he wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble for the pair of entrepreneurs, as they finished their latest acquisition.The reached the double doors, and Calder pushed them open with magic, mostly to save the doors from being scared by an accidental scrape by talon or claws. Calder stood in the doorway behind Adéla sealing that exit physically until she deemed anyone free to go.

Adéla grinned malevolently as she strolled into the CEO’s office. She morphed back to her human shape gradually, swaying her hips seductively as she stopped in the middle of the room. “Six little piggies went to their jobs one day.” She twirled a finger, blasting a guard who’d been slowly raising his rifle and completely erasing his will from existence.

As space folded around him and ripped his body into nonexistence, Adéla whistled a merry tune that vaguely resembled the individual escapades of the little piggies. Only, when she began to sing it in a surprisingly gentle and soft tone as she warped back into her Aberrant form, the lyrics gave those present in the room chills down their spines.

She extended a cluster of tentacles from under the hem of her robe, crushing all the security cameras in the room into a fine powder, but not before they recorded a bone chilling, inhumanly malevolent cackle from her general area.

Knighthood: Of Gods and Titans (season 2)

@Wind Wild

PUBLIC ORGY

WE CAN DEFLOWER EVERYBODY

Knighthood: Of Gods and Titans (season 2)

@BeastofDestiny

I'm trying to think of a dirty joke to make about that but I can't think of it.

Knighthood: Of Gods and Titans (season 2)

So please don't feel left out cuz many of us look forward to tie you up and sink our teeth into- involve you. :3

@Wind Wild

Well I mean, who's to say interacting with people won't involve tying them up? Or (lightly) sinking out teeth in?

Affectionate nibbles on the ear can be very sexy.

>Grabs the rope and ball gag

Knighthood: Of Gods and Titans (season 2)

Y'all are more than welcome to boop on over to Adéla and strike up a conversation. Hell, anyone wants and I can have her approach them instead.

Knighthood: Of Gods and Titans (season 2)

@Viciousmarrow

>Has secretly been shipping Adéla and Ludelle even tho that makes no sense

Damn you.

Knighthood: Of Gods and Titans (season 2)

Oh gods.

He thinks it's an arranged marriage.

Knighthood: Of Gods and Titans (season 2)

Settle the Score

Monochromatic Rainbow, Wind Wild

Adéla, Ludelle

Day -7

Ludelle tried to put Adéla out of her mind but it was in vain. The woman’s presence in such close proximity was like itching powder and gave her no rest. Not a day had passed before the elf’s patience cracked and she set out to find the irritant and finally settle her scores with her.

The tower was huge and she still didn’t feel like interacting with anyone so asking for direction was out of the question. But luckily there was Senechal and she had no problem with AIs at all. Thus when she left her room, Ludelle’s steps were confident as they carried her straight to Adéla’s room. The latter was just coming out of her room only to run into a very annoyed face from the past.

“What are you playing at?” Ludelle started unceremoniously.

Adéla jumped as Ludelle burst into view. Her hand flew to the sidearm she always carried, but she let it drop as she realized who it was.

“What?” She asked incredulously, “What am I playing at?!” Rebounding from the surprise she marched forwards, poking Ludelle in the collarbone with an accusatory finger. “I lead a mission to rescue you from that prison, got my leg cut off in the process, and have endured you being nothing but spiteful and angry at me - and you’re accusing me of something?!” She hissed the words into Ludelle’s face, venting months of near starvation and explicit agony into a few moments. “I’m not playing at anything.”

“Ha! A rescue mission, sure, and you in the role of the glorious leader! That’s a good one, how stupid do you think I am? Are you seriously expecting me to believe that your presence here is pure coincidence?” The other woman’s frown deepened.

“Why would I be here?!” Adéla bristled, glaring daggers at Ludelle. “You’re the hacker, tell me, what did you find on me in the Stygian Blade’s database, hmm? I can assure you it probably didn’t say I was working as an informant for them.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “I lead that mission because I had a friend in prison. A friend who didn’t deserve to be in that prison. And in a prison I helped to design! Of course I lead that mission, I wanted to be the one to personally break you out of your cell!”

Adéla took a step back, looking Ludelle straight in the eyes for a moment. “We all got fucked over by the Blade, and I wanted to right some wrongs.” She faltered, sighing. “I have something to show you, but first tell me what you found in their database on me. I want to know why you’re choosing now to come and interrogate me.”

Ludelle scowled, glaring at Adéla. It’s true that she found some very interesting bits and pieces about Adela but nothing definitive and nothing she couldn’t dismiss as falsified information. And she had a reason to be weary. After all…

“He warned me about you. Marcus said that you’re a fox and will try to get me killed. He had no idea… But even infiltrating the Tower of Stars, just to get me... That’s a new low even for you, Adela.” There was electricity sparkling brightly around her pupils - something she didn’t usually do unless she expected a confrontation of some sort. And Adéla knew just how stubborn Ludelle could be. And just how persuasive Marcus could become.

Adéla took a step back. She’d wanted to forget ever hearing the name of Ludelle’s boyfriend. Well, former boyfriend. The man was a scumbag - he’d almost certainly never cared a whit about Ludelle, and manipulated/took advantage of/whatever her at every opportunity.

Gods how she had wanted to punch him.

“Marcus said…” she looked at Ludelle with wide eyes. Even after all this, she was still in love with that hyena? That… inhuman beast in the shape of a man? “Oh sure, I’ve done my fair share of bad things, there’s no denying that, but why would I be here… chasing you or whatever you think I’m doing?!” She gripped Ludelle’s shoulder, not blinking. “I’m here at the Tower because it’s somewhere the Blade can’t reach me, okay? They’re still out for my blood - do you have any idea the kind of risk I took leading that assault?”

“Why would I try to get you killed? That’s the exact opposite of what I want.” She paused, unsure of how to proceed, “Think about it for a moment, please. You’ve known me for years. Why would I suddenly decide I wanted you dead? You say Marcus said I was a fox…” she trailed off, “What if I told you some of the things he’s done?”

Stepping back from Ludelle a few steps, Adéla gripped the edge of her shirt and pulled it off, leaving her almost uncovered from the waist up and revealing much more than cleavage. Golf ball sized blobs of flat scar tissue dotted her entire torso, and her ribcage was oddly shaped, seeming to be lacking a rib or two, and some ribs only seeming to be half there. She turned around, revealing an equal number of smaller blobs of scar tissue, with the addition of obvious knife wounds and a small cluster of more scars that were undeniably tally marks on her right shoulder - twenty one of them.

“Take a good, long, hard look.” She managed to choke out, the anger suddenly gone. “There’s what the Blade did.” The intensity returned, “I. Don’t. Work. For. Them.” She glared at Ludelle, “And you want to know what Marcus did? Look at those tally marks on my shoulder. And then I’ve got a few memories to show you.”

Ludelle had blanched, her face as white as a sheet. The way the name of her beloved left Adela’s lips was like a slap to the face; the scars - the crack of a whip. Ludelle was no fighter and just the sight of her old friend’s disfigured body was enough to make her gut twist. She remembered back when it was young and beautiful and nothing like this. “No…” she whispered halfway through Adela’s speech, then louder once she finished: “No! Shut up, I don’t believe you!” If she’d seemed ready for an argument before, now she seemed ready for a fight. “I know what kind of person you are, Adela, and i know what you’re capable of to achieve your goals! Do you remember that family, that little child you pushed to suicide even when he had NOTHING to do with it?! You have no heart! And I've fallen for your tricks often enough.” She shouted and turned to leave.

Ludelle’s words stung Adéla like the crack of a whip - a red hot iron being thrust straight through her heart. The worst part wasn’t even that it was true… Adéla had done truly despicable things over her life to get what she wanted, there was no denying it. What burned her more than anything was that, above all else, that was what Ludelle associated her with now. In spite of all the good she had done, everything else her friend could remember her by, even the simple fact that she was a friend, or at least… had been…

No, her old friend chose to remember her by the worst things she’d ever done.

Leaving her shirt discarded on the floor, Adéla chased after her faster than she should’ve been able to. She caught up with Ludelle just as the elf was leaving, grabbing her by the wrist and refusing to budge. Ludelle was a hacker and a magic user - she couldn’t compete in a contest of strength. Adéla did however anticipate her trying to shock her off, and kept a charge of anti-magic flowing through her body, ready to swat away any such attempt.

“Look at those scars.” She hissed, grabbing Ludelle’s free hand and placing it on the tally marks carved into her flesh. “Feel that.” She stared into Ludelle’s eyes, months of agony and suffering plainly visible in her own. “You love Marcus so much? You’re so blinded by love that you can’t see he’s worse than I am?” Adéla closed her eyes, a single tear welling as painful memories resurfaced. “Let me show you what your beloved did to mine, and to me as well.”

Before Ludelle could struggle free, Adéla whipped out a small cable, linking one end around her temples and pushing the other over the struggling woman’s head. A small mental signal to the device and a link had been established - in a fraction of a second, months of memories flooded from Adéla’s mind to Ludelle’s, along with every sensation, emotion, and thought she had had.

´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·One Year Prior*´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *

Adéla stood at the front of her squad as she surveyed the damage. Two members of her team down, but not dead, if she got them back to base in time they would be just fine - have a couple interesting scars to show off, but no worse for wear. The poor saps lying in crumpled heaps all around the old quarry however… they wouldn’t be going anywhere. She walked around, finding the survivors and quickly ending their suffering. This hadn’t been a battle - just a slaughter. Barely any of them had had any sort of armor, and their weapons were in terrible condition.

She honestly felt sorry for them. She wasn’t sure why Marcus had ordered her to wipe out this gang, ostensibly it was something to do with arms shipments but she suspected there was something else involved.

“Colonel,” a voice came from behind her and she stood, holstering her prized custom engraved pistol after closing the eyes of the final survivor and ending his misery. “all hostiles eliminated. No sign of the arms shipment the General indicated.”

“So I noticed.” Adéla called over her shoulder, making one final visual sweep for any last survivors. “Well, this one was a wild goose chase.” She made her way back to her team, patting them on the back with an armored hand, “Let’s get out of here, everybody. I’ll tell the general that his weapons cache wasn’t here and that the smell is awful.”

The two injured teammates had already been loaded onto stretchers, and Adéla walked over, fistbumping Sanchez, “Nice job, saw you take that guy down right after he got you in the leg. I’m glad to have you both on the team.” Turning to the rest of the group she grinned, “Drinks are on me tonight! Let’s blow this joint, if I never see this pit again it’ll still be too soon.”

She froze as a click and a high pitched whine met her ears.

“Then I guess I need to apologize for two things.” A familiar voice growled from behind. Adéla turned to look, only for another series of clicks and whines to sound out. There, right behind her, was her second in command - and he had his rifle pointed straight at her midsection.

“What…” her eyes widened behind her helmet before narrowing, “Drop the weapon if you want to live, Wood.”

The man’s smile was unnerving and sickening. “Turn around again, oh great leader.” He gestured with his gun, “I’m not the one who needs to worry.”

She turned, already knowing what she would see. The shock was still the same however, as the sight of her entire team aiming their weapons at each other met her eyes. She wanted to ask why, but knew it would be futile - she knew how the Stygian Blade worked. Some higher up wanted her gone, probably. They’d set up the trap expertly at that, there was no way she was getting out of this one.

Closing her eyes she turned back around, facing Wood. She took a deep breath, seeming to accept her fate.

Without warning she lashed out, whipping her own gun out of its holster she raced forward, firing off a volley of shots that smashed into her former second in command’s helmet. She couldn’t tell if the shots had penetrated, but like hell was she going down without a fight.

A cacophony of gunfire erupted behind her, and her body spasmed as the shots tore through her armor, punching straight through her body. She gasped as she lost all sensation below her midsection, at least two shots tearing straight through her spine.

Her gun clattered to the ground as she collapsed, the hard concrete around her now red with her blood. Wood pushed himself to his feet, pulling off his helmet as he sauntered over to her prostrate body. He kicked her in the face before bending down and picking up the gun she had dropped.

“Catch.” He called to her team, tossing the weapon over to them. “Put it in the case, and don’t lose it. Cutting off her head is unnecessary, Marcus just wants the gun as proof.”

Adéla was rapidly losing consciousness, she heard and saw everything through a dark haze. Marcus had always been a snake. She should’ve done something about him long ago. Another thought pushed its way to the front - what about Ludelle? She was infatuated with him, there was nobody standing in his way with her if she died here and now.

Darkness overcame her.

´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·Two Months Later*´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *

Medical nanites were amazing. Adéla was still paralyzed below her chest, and having to drag herself everywhere - but she hadn’t bled out. Life threatening organ damage had been repaired at the cost of permanent scarring. The microscopic little robots were incredible, but they weren’t miracle workers.

She’d dragged herself over to a small pool of water which, judging by the worrying color, was contaminated with industrial runoff. She didn’t have a choice in the matter though. She could drink the tainted water or die of dehydration. Hopefully she would be able to avoid the worst effects of drinking it - so much for advanced healing technology if she just died from highly toxic chemicals lurking about in the water instead.

Her body was wasting away however. The nanites and her cybernetics were incredibly power hungry, and she was wracked with pain as they literally devoured her body.

The gnawed bones of the last rat she had caught lay nearby. Her mouth was caked in its blood, and her hands were marred with the bites it had inflicted before she’d crushed its skull. The rats were thick down here, they’d been feasting on the bodies of the gang she and her team had wiped out two months ago. She had no fire or means of cooking the rats, and so she’d been eating them raw. Playing dead to lure them close before grabbing a few and enduring their frantic bites. They were probably full of parasites - but she had no choice.

One of the guns dropped by the gang had been left behind, it was in decent shape and she kept it nearby. She hated to see it though. Every day she told herself she would survive and get out of this pit, but every day, as hunger tore at her body and the taste of foul water burned in her throat, it looked more and more appealing.

Her arms were twigs at this point, she was barely clinging to life on rats and contaminated water. She’d seen her reflection in the pool - it was just like the pictures of starving people in undeveloped nations. Her skull poked at her skin, and the full figure she had prided herself on was completely gone, her hair had mostly fallen out and what remained was thin and matted.

She’d never appreciated just how important socialization was until now. She was going absolutely insane from the isolation - nothing but rats and spiders for company. She’d resorted to eating the spiders too.

With a sudden manic burst of energy she began speed dragging herself towards the ladder that lead out of this pit. Rocks, rubble, concrete, metal and wood scraps, everything on the ground dug into her gut and sides as she hauled herself across. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she reached it and she took half a second to take a breath before heaving herself up unto the first rung.

The burst of manic strength kept her going, with only the strength of her arms, Adéla dragged herself up the ladder, rung by agonizing rung she heaved away. Her legs dangled uselessly below her as she moved upwards. With every movement she cursed the names of her former team.

Wood, Sanchez, Allen, Turau, Bokun, Kitagawa, Rudolph, Jensen. They would all burn in hell if she had her way.

Wood, the ever confident second in command - she thought he was trustworthy, if ambitious, but now she knew. Sanchez, the reliable point man, always had a smile on his face… she wondered if he had been smiling when he literally shot her in the back.

Allen, kind of a quiet guy, but he was there when she needed him, except this time he’d been there on the wrong side.

Turau, she was also pretty quiet, kind of a loner, but an absolute nightmare with a precision rifle, Adéla had heard its distinctive boom when she’d been been shot - she was pretty sure that was the first bullet to go through her spine, which would explain why it was taking so long for the nanites to heal.

Bokun… she didn’t know anything about him really, he was fairly new, but he would still pay all the same.

Kitagawa was overly serious, he never seemed to appreciate her attempts to add humor into mission assignments now and then.

Rudolph and Jensen were practically inseparable, the two had been best friends since they were both little girls; she remembered they’d often tried to recruit her for girls’ nights after missions, though they had the worst timing ever, so she usually had to decline… she didn’t want to think about those two trying to kill her.

Adéla kept climbing, determined to get out, to survive, to reach a hospital or something and get back on her feet and kill her team. She would kill them, but first she would make them all feel her pain. Make them feel the pain that lead her to scrawl I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive on the cement with a rock.

But her hand slipped. Before she could react she plummeted, halfway up the ladder she fell backwards, frantically clawing at thin air as the ground rushed up at her. Her outstretched hand managed to reach it and she clamped down, halting her fall only a few meters from the ground.

Her shoulder shrieked in protest at the sudden stop, and her lower body slammed into the hard metal of the ladder with agonizing force. She gasped in pain and let go, landing on the hard and unforgiving cement below.

She lay there for a moment, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably in pain, fear, and loneliness. She would die here, with nobody around, no friends, nobody. She would die with broken bones and a paralyzed lower body. She would die with the taste of contaminated water in her mouth and her fingernails caked in rat blood. She would die without ever seeing another face again, or hearing someone’s voice - even her own voice, she was unable to speak for some reason, probably purely mental.

She would die here. She would die, she knew she was going to die.

Her thoughts went to her friends, or what friends she had left now that her team had turned traitor. Ludelle’s was the only name that stuck out at her, almost everyone else had decided to put a bullet in her back.

Her eyes flashed open as the realization hit her. They’d been part of the team that countered the Blade’s plans too! They knew Ludelle had played a role in that too. Who knew what they were doing to her?

That decided it. She wouldn’t die. She couldn’t die. Not until she was sure Ludelle at least was safe, the others could fight and probably escape. Her elven friend however...

She cast a look at the gun again, resolving that this would be the last time she let it tempt her before tearing her gaze away as she heard a noise.

A small family of rats seemed to be heading her way. Judging by their lack of fear they’d not been around long to see their compatriots devoured. She went limp, holding her breath as they neared…

The one at the front, a true monster of a rat almost as long as her arm, sniffed her face and body, walking around to the front as the rest scurried after.

She lunged, grabbing the big one by the neck and another big one in her other hand. A third rat had been passing by her face and she lunged at that one too, biting his head off before he had a chance to bite too much of her mouth. The two big ones in her hands had clamped down, and her blood flowed anew as they tore into her hands.

Two quick squeezes and they bit down ever harder before going limp.

Dropping the fresh corpses, Adéla ripped two pieces of fabric off her pants, tying them down over the holes in her hands with a few loose rubber bands she’d found down here.

The knife on her belt was dulled from frequent use, but it still cut through the rats all the same. She pulled their skins off, discarding them to the side as she moved back over to the pool with the three fresh carcasses.

She bit into the big one first, hot thick blood running into her mouth as she ate the sickening meal raw. The second bite went down no easier than the first. Even after two months of living on this her stomach still turned. But survival was a good motivator to keep eating. And so she took the third bite before tearing into the carcass like a wild animal.

Adéla let Ludelle watch. She felt mildly sorry for the Elf - she was experiencing every sensation she’d felt at the time. She didn’t wish that pain on her, or most anybody.

And the other woman was visibly shaken. Her body was trembling, her lips sealed and her jaw clenched, either from the pain she’d experienced in the memories... or the one she was experiencing right now. Adéla had been her friend, one of very few people she’d ever trusted in her life and for all she hated her right now, she never wanted to see her how she saw her just now. Adéla was no saint but she hadn’t deserved all that…

Or had she?

She still remembered Marcus’ warnings. His gentle hand stroking her cheek as if she was a child, protectively, tenderly. “Be aware of Adéla.”, “You know what she’s capable of.”, “Never trust someone with blood on their hands.”

Ludelle was clearly fighting back tears when she locked eyes with Adéla. Compassion was clearly visible in her eyes but there was something else in there too. Something she couldn’t bring out of her throat but she didn’t have to because her friend knew.

With a snarl, half-angry and half-desperate, Ludelle sent a surge of electricity through the cable connecting them strong enough to melt the jack on Adéla’s side and pulled her hand away with a jerk. Her eyes lingered on the other woman for a second longer before she turned and practically ran away, bumping into a passing Knight as she did so.

Warhammer 40,000 - Chasing Chaos

@Skyrte

Ik that feel...

So many midterms... so many essays...