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FantomDarc |
Day 425: Waging A War Alone. |
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Slevin cracked his neck as he tried to get his baring before shifting his weight, he headed off towards his old home, straight into Halloweener territory
before his mind finally resettled on a course of action. Once again he was back to grinding out information on the guy who had hacked him and Sanguinius. On
top of it, he had to come up with a plan to fuck over jack and the rest of the dragons so they'd give Sanguinius back. If those weren't enough, he had
to hope Ethan and the girl would make it out alive. "Thanks to prophet interrupting me.... I still have their entire little Mill
at my disposal, and I sure don't think those brainless morons can finish the light guns, so I might be ok for a while."
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TheCrappyNinja |
#1 | |||
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The bike slowed to a crawl as a familiar face came into view: Slevin's. Looking like he was thinking about doing something completely insane, as always,
Raze thought he might want a ride home, if that's where he was going. "So, where you heading off to?"
Coming up along side him, the vehicle began took a slightly wobbly path to compensate for Slevin's walking speed.
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She Lurks |
#2 | |||
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Erin, sitting behind Ethan on the bike, released her hold on Ethan's waist to give a friendly wave to the other man. The bike ride had been frightening at
times but also exhilarating at the same time. She had no idea where his home was, and hoped he really was as gentlemanly as he portrayed himself to be when
they got there.
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FantomDarc |
#3 | |||
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"Oh hey Raze. I'm going home first, then to find a way to make the Dragons all pay. Then probably to beat up the idiot who
destroyed by apartment." He said as he looked at the motorcycle. "Glad to see it still works. If you have time
later, I have a less than savory favor to ask you." He said as he looked down at his gloss black arm. He needed to find a way to hide it.
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TheCrappyNinja |
#4 | |||
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"Come on, I'll take you." It's a good thing none of them were very big, lest they not all fit.
Even so, the ride would definitively involve some uncomfortable proximity, especially for Erin, who would be in the middle. As for that unsavory favor... Raze
didn't want to tell Slevin that he was not really in the business of doing that kind of thing, and so kept quite about it.
But, then again, if it fucked with the Dragons, maybe he'd just have to consider it. |
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FantomDarc |
#5 | |||
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"Thanks man." Slevin said climbin on and trying to stay out of Erin's way.
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She Lurks |
#6 | |||
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Erin's eyes about bugged out of her head as the other man climbed onto the bike behind her, effectively sandwiching her in between the two men. Getting a
ride to a safe place was one thing, being in such close quarters to two adult males was an entirely different concept. She could only hope they would reach
their destination soon.
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TheCrappyNinja |
#7 | |||
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Fortunately, their adjoining apartments were not too far at all. At least not by vehicle.
"Home is where the ammo is." Raze quipped as the bike slowed down, and eventually stopped, in front of a building constantly flanked by thugs. The Halloweeners were ubiquitous anywhere there weren't Dragons, which was difficult to understand, considering the alarming frequency with which they battled them (generally sustaining a great deal of casualties). "Alright you moochers, off. I need to secure this thing." By securing, Raze of course meant tying the bike to something heavy, with a very thick chain. Otherwise, it would almost certainly be gone the moment he turned his back. |
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FantomDarc |
#8 | |||
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Slevin slid off and went inside, he had a list of people to see, and he wasn't exactly sure who he'd see first, but most of all, he went to his
apartment and grabbed a new comm, he needed a personal computer, he also started scrounging through his electronics before getting the tiny robot made for
Sanguinius. He needed a good count of what he had and what he could set up to lure the hacker that had made a fool of him out, of course, a lot of it hinged on
flat luck. On top of it, he needed a way to get in touch with the Dragons while pissing them all off.
He booted up a computer and quickly looked through his files for the connection to the Mill, they had fortunately stopped him from destroying the surveillance equipment, mainly because he wasn't that stupid, and they were. He was going to change the game in MANY more ways than one over the next few days. After this, a small reboot of his gear, and talking to Deepz and Darius, he might be ready to go. He also needed to as Jo a favor, but he had no idea how he was going to pull that one off. |
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She Lurks |
#9 | |||
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Erin also carefully slid off the bike, though with very little finesse and a great amount of awkwardness. She waited somewhat patiently for Ethan to secure his
bike, getting more and more curious about these two with every passing moment.
"I can't wait to see your home. I'm sure it's lovely. Are you married? Do you have any children? Oh, maybe a dog?" |
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TheCrappyNinja |
#10 | |||
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"Well, I did have a dog for breakfast, yesterday. Or was it a cat?" Raze didn't like personal
questions very much, and he certainly did his best to deflect them whenever they were thrust upon him. "If it was a
cat, it was one huge ass cat, I'll tell you that much right now." Meanwhile, his hands were busy securing the chain he kept wrapped around the
back of the bike to a decrepit lamp post, presumably once used for illumination of the Underground. Once the bike was secured and turned off, he followed
Slevin's path, deviating from it only by a few meters.
Standing in front of Raze's door, one would notice that the doorknob had a suspicious lack of a keyhole. Furthermore, one might also notice that there were not one, but two peepholes on the door. One was of the standard variety, allowing the occupant of the household to see who was at said door, whilst the other one performed the opposite function. Still even more peculiar was the fact that this second peephole didn't show very much, save for a mirror not too far from the threshold. The reflection on the mirror showed only the door itself, but (rather more importantly) it also showed the three locked deadbolts which kept it closed. With a single look through the secondary peephole, and following some familiar, yet inexplicable noises from just behind the door, Raze opened his apartment up to the viewing public. "Mind the mirror... and don't ask."
Last Edited By: TheCrappyNinja 07/21/09 3:48 AM.
Edited 1 time.
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She Lurks |
#11 | |||
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Erin took a moment to ponder his response. Surely he hadn't literally meant he had eaten a domesticated animal. It must have been one of those jokes that
went over her head. She followed Ethan to his apartment with eager anticipation, making sure to take note of his instructions, as was proper to do when a guest
in someone's home. She peeked around him to see inside, keeping her hands linked behind her, to avoid getting into trouble by touching something she
wasn't supposed to.
"I don't suppose you'd have any girl's clothes for me to change into, I know I must look such a mess." She wasn't a vain girl, but her mother had taught her about the value of a clean, neat appearance. One look at her reflection in the mirror inside Ethan's apartment disconcerted Erin to the core. "Oh, dear. I don't suppose I could use your washroom? I'm positively covered in...everything. It will take forever to get all this out of my hair. Oh, how terrible of me! Here I am going on about myself like a ninny. Considering what we just escaped, I suppose it could have been much worse, don'tcha think?" |
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TheCrappyNinja |
#12 | |||
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Raze looked her over. "Girl's clothes..." In fact, he did have female clothes which had never been
retrieved by their owners, but whether they'd fit her, or not, was a different story. "Washroom? There's a
bucket and a rag in the next room." These sure were some odd questions, though at this point, Raze was no longer surprised by them.
When Erin mentioned amazement at "having escaped", however, he realized what might be the poor girl's predicament. "So, how long have you been down here?" Now, his jokes ceased. She didn't have any idea where she was... not really. She thought she had escaped? Silly girl. |
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She Lurks |
#13 | |||
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Erin's smile dropped from her face at the mention of a bucket and rag as a means of bathing. What kind of establishment was this? Before she could ask for
clarification, he turned the question game around on her.
"You mean Underground? About a year. My father was detained topside and we had to move down here just to get by. Oh, we worked so hard for that shop and now it's gone!" |
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TheCrappyNinja |
#14 | |||
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A year in the Underground and she was just now feeling the sting? She was luckier than most. "You learned to fight
yet? If not, I suggest you find someone to teach you. Same goes for those brothers you mentioned." That was truly the best piece of advice he could
offer. "I'll see if I can find those clothes. Meanwhile, I suggest you clean yourself up while you have the
chance. Down here, something you have one moment can be gone the next, as I think you've learned." Raze quietly
moved towards the other room in the apartment; his bedroom. At the door, he turned towards Erin, realizing something, "Then again, that's how it is everywhere, isn't it?" He smiled briefly, unsure if that was for her comfort,
or for his own, before pushing the unlocked door open and entering the room.
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She Lurks |
#15 | |||
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"I suppose you're right. Bad things sometimes happen, but this too shall pass."
Whether it was out of nerves or whether she just liked the sound of her voice, it was unclear why she constantly kept her mouth running. She moved to the room with the bucket and cloth to try to tidy herself up as best she could without undressing, talking all the way. "I really do appreciate your hospitality and for going out of your way to see me to safety. Not many people down here would have stopped to help. I do hope I'm not too much of a strain to bear. I could help if you have anything around here that needs doing, at least until my brothers return. When do you think it will be safe to go back? I'm sure they're worried about me. They've always been good at taking care of themselves, and me. They've always been there to shield me from the evil that prevails down here. Oh! I do hope they are safe! What ever will I do without them?" |
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TheCrappyNinja |
#16 | |||
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"Where is that damned-- aha, I have you!" Rifling through his closet, Raze was looking for an outfit he
remembered had been left here by a girl approximating Erin's size. As he found it, her fashion sense suddenly came to the forefront of his mind,
"You sure liked your ass-less chaps, didn't you?" Raze mumbled to himself, with a smile.
Fortunately for Erin, this outfit was one of her more conservative ones; a tight top and denim jacket, with what was a very short skirt by most definitions (except her's). Exiting the room with wardrobe in hand, Raze tapped lightly on the door to the "washroom". "I've found you an outfit." Giving the "outfit" a good looking over, he had to admit that wasn't perhaps the most accurate of terms. Or half of one, anyway. |
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She Lurks |
#17 | |||
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Her face now clean and back to it's pale shade, Erin turned to see what Ethan had found her. It was shorter and...tighter and...smaller than what she was
used to wearing, but beggars couldn't be choosers, and the outfit at least looked clean and did contain all the necessary parts required. She smiled widely
up at Ethan.
"How kind of you. Your daughter won't mind my borrowing her clothes?" |
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TheCrappyNinja |
#18 | |||
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"I sure as hell wouldn't let any daughter of mine--- I mean... uh, no, it's fine." Raze chuckled
nervously, his gaze avoiding Erin's and his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "But you know, if
your brothers can take care of themselves, I'm sure they'll be fine." He might have been trying to sound reassuring, but his words were
nonetheless true. If they were strong enough, their chances were good.
"Strength is just about the only currency the Underground respects. Well, that and credit." Raze knew this from bitter experience. Even at this moment, he realized that Erin might well mean him ill, her intent concealed behind a facade of smiling innocence. Still, he had already decided not to let this possibility turn him into the very thing he had to guard himself against.
Last Edited By: TheCrappyNinja 07/22/09 3:35 AM.
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She Lurks |
#19 | |||
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"What about a good, solid work ethic? That's gotta be worth something."
She took the clothes from him graciously and excused herself so she could finish cleaning up and change. It took a bit of scrubbing, but she finally got most of the dirt and dust off her body. She didn't have a brush for her hair so she shook it out as best she could, dislodging most of the debris from her hair and loosening her curls, giving her hair more volume. The clothes worked out fairly well, thanks Erin's petite size. The skirt sat low, which allowed the hem to cover an extra inch of thigh. The shirt clung to her, though not as much as its previous owner, but didn't quite reach the top of the skirt, leaving about an inch or two of skin on her mid-section visible. Fortunately, the jacket lent some cover. At the very least, she looked like she belonged in the Underground. Although Erin wasn't used to clothes like this, she finally gave her appearance a stamp of approval and left the washroom to seek out Ethan. "Ta-da! Oh! I needed to be clean so badly, I can't thank you enough!" |
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TheCrappyNinja |
#20 | |||
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"Oh, yeah... that's worth something, right up to the point where someone steals what you've worked for,
leaving you an ear to ear smile for your trouble." Raze believed that nothing in the Underground was
worth acquiring unless you had the means to protect it. Of course, people can't live like that. They have to work, they have to earn money, and they have
to hope that today they'll make it home uneventfully. If someone is stepping on your shadow, however, all the hoping in the world ain't gonna to help
you. You're going to have to protect what's yours. Unfortunately, this kind of talk could depress a crater, and while Raze would rather she not find
these things out the hard way, he welcomed a change of topic.
"Dazzling." Mimicking what her outfit's former occupant used to say when admiring herself in front of a mirror, Raze was suddenly reminded of Slevin's request; something about an unsavory favor. Realizing that he had had better go check just what this favor was (for the sake of all parties involved), he headed for the door. "Come on, let's go show Slev your new outfit." Though he'd be surprised if Erin turned out to be so much as a thief, Raze didn't want to leave her alone, much less alone in his apartment. She wouldn't understand some of the things she might see, and he wasn't prepared to answer those questions. |
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