Bittersweet Victory
Time
Day 2~Night
Location
Cedarvale Apartment Complex in the Lobby-Entertainment District, Ominar
“About time…” Rex growled as he shot past Afua at a speed far faster than she thought a mass of furry muscle could move. His heavy feet pounding against the ground like war drums and shaking the objects in the lobby as he made his way for the stairs, as the elevator wouldn’t hold his weight. Squeezing through the doors to the staircase, he climbed the stairs four steps at a time, quickly reaching the 3rd floor were Masha had been spotted earlier by one of Rex’s men.
His feet pounded down the hallway, the suspended ceiling lights swaying with the shockwaves. Whoever was giving the two ladies a visit, would feel a trembling turning into quakes as something large barreled it’s way towards their room.
Afua, not wanting to collide with great beast of a Licenti, shifted to the side then shot up after him. Her hand went to her pendant at her neck as she summoned a large monster of a creature from within. The animal use to be a lion in the hallway several feet behind him. Much of the flesh was peeled and decayed, revealing the creature much fresher than either of her two cats, as she gestured for it to chase after Rex and assist him.
Meanwhile, in the apartment, Nikki tried to rip free of Zachary as she kicked him in the foot and caused him to let go. She then went for the hallway only to stop at the sound of something huge coming toward them. Her eyes widened into a ‘what the fuck’ expression as the other two men shifted their attention toward the door still ajarred.
Ron looked at Simone, still struggling with Masha, then snapped at the distracted individual, “Simone, stop fucking around with her and get up. We got to go.”
Masha hissed and struggled to free herself from his grip. She was at a disadvantage, being so small and slight that when it came to grappling against someone his size, she was not going to win. And her current position didn't allow her the normal things she used to disarm a man. So there was nothing that she could do but keep up struggling. If he was holding her arms, he couldn't probably do much either. But then...totally not subtle rescue arrived. Or she hoped it was her rescue and not back up for them.
His strength proved the greater too and he flipped her over. She squirmed and shoved her knee up to wherever she could make contact while the little cat launched itself at his unprotected back side. She wasn't certain if she hit anything, but his grip slipped and she was able to get herself out from under him.
Nikki would suddenly feel a gust of wind as the door swung open in a blink, a massive gun pointed relatively towards her. An ear splitting boom went off, shaking the ground from the recoil alone, the bullet wizzing past Nikki’s ear and slamming directly into the side of Simone’s head. As the bullet passed through the other side, his head blossomed like a flour bag, spraying blood and brain matter across the room and into the kitchen.
When the gun went off, the bullet already passed her, Nikki hit the floor quickly and covered her head for protection. She mumbled a curse in her irritation as she looked over her shoulder at the resulting damage.
Time seemed to freeze in place. Simone, his head blown into pieces, stood over Masha with his arms immediately slacked at his side. As if taking a cue from some unseen director, it then slouched and fell across Masha’s body, pinning her to the ground. Any remaining blood started to pool into a puddle across the grimy tile. However, the undead cat didn’t have a chance to even scream as a chunk of its already mutilated figure was taken out. The force of the gun’s fire sent it flying across the tiny kitchen and into the table, its form limped and unmoving like its origins.
Behind Rex, he could hear Afua fall against the wall and yelp in pain. She hadn’t been warned or even thought of disengaging her connection to her undead pet causing her to feel the full effects of the animal’s recent ‘death’. A side effect and flaw of the spell, much to her dislike. She mumbled a few curses in her original language as she nursed a throbbing headache, her lion growling and paced behind the behemoth of a wolf.
“You be warning next time,” Afua snarled during her recovery, her voice struggling with the pain.
Masha gasped at the sound of gunfire. She was not used to it in such a small space and she certainly wasn't used to it without it being ‘silenced’. She clasped hands over her ears as soon as she was able, not even caring about the blood that covered them. Which was good, because in a moment she was covered in blood and grey matter. She didn't even flinch about it. Though when she looked up at his headless body she pouted a little bit in disappointment.
And then he fell on her again, pinning her down and splattering her with more bloody fluid. “Fuck this,” she grumbled, looking around from her perspective, trying to get up again, but unable to move his corpse very easily from her angle. “If it isn’t too much…” she started, forgetting for a moment about the other thugs and the likelihood that everyone else’s ear were ringing like hers were still.
Ron and Zackary stood, silently in shock over the ease which Rex’s gun blew off Simone’s head.The white haired man was the first to snap back into the present as he began to mumble something under his breath, a incantation, for protection. It was only a one shot deal but any physical attacks wouldn’t harm them. Zackary only hoped the gun wasn’t some sort of magitech fuckery, his experience causing him to personally loath it.
Escape was the first thing on Ron’s mind. His figure began to glow and his arm reached out for the older man, wrapping about the shoulder area. He then tugged Zakhary toward the back wall while he jerked the table to the side and sent out of their way. It needed a running start to active which left them both exposed to the gun.
The gun boomed again, the shield deflecting the round and ricocheting it into the wall. As the dust cleared from the wall’s impact, both thugs were gone in a blast of blue energy.
Ron breathed heavily as they materialized again, but this time just outside their sedan. Zackary quickly flipped over the hood and shot toward the driver’s side, aiming to get the car started for a fast getaway. Meanwhile Ron ducked in to sit shotgun. Zackary fumbled with the keys as he tried to insert it into the ignition, Ron’s panicked eyes watching him in growing anxiety. Neither noticed the figure rushing toward them from a dark alley until the window shattered upon Ron’s back.
Promptly, an arm gripped Ron about the neck causing him to choke and be pulled backwards through the window. His arms tried to rip the arm off as his fingers scrambled across metal workings of an Exo Skeleton lacing over the natural uniform. Feet kicking and arms continued to fight against the individual that overpowered him, Zackary finally got the engine running as Ron was hauled out of the sedan.
It suddenly took off, wheels screeching and left black skid marks on the pavement in its departure.
The soldier’s arms wrapped about in a rear choke hold, the right slipped under his chin and wrapped about to pin Ron’s head in place. Naturally the thug tried to fight it. His hands clawed and scratched uselessly across the arms as the man held his ground. A leg kicked out at Ron’s knee causing his figure to lower to the ground.
By the time others were arriving, the younger man was gasping and beginning to fade fast. The last thing Ron heard before he blacked out were garbled, static like words before darkness took him.
