Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
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The Darkness crept quietly through the forest, the resurrected Phoenix, and the other two adjutants in tow behind him, slowly plodding their way through the thick foliage. From time to time, the Darkness would stop, tilt its head back into the air, act as if it smelled the air as its long tongue rolled out of its mouth and drooped along the ground, before continuing the trek through the woods and towards the destination that they were heading to. Phoenixs body was bleeding heavily it seemed from the pores and from the orifices along his face, and occasionally the fog encircling him would break away or thin out enough to see that he had some grievous wounds. Tiger could be blamed for that one, trying to break away and snap Phoenixs head off, and put the poor bastard out of his misery, and had come quite close to killing him before the Darkness and its two adjutants had pulled him off and hurled him into a tree, and that had been the end of that story for quite some time. Theyd had to change course, away from the western coasts of the island, where the Darkness had been heading towards for unknown purposes. Instead, they were apparently heading towards where the Darkness had originated from when it had arrived here.
Crane and Snow were behind Tiger, and Sparrow forced was up front, lest the storm demon try to do any damage to the plans that the creatures had already made, and true to his belligerent nature, he had certainly tried. Phoenix had taken a lot of abuse since hed undergone, and it seemed to be pissing off the blue and red eyed adjutants of the Darkness. They would snap their jaws in sharp clicking sounds if the captured Bureaucrats didnt move fast enough, cursing at them in Mandarin from time to time (which they were oddly versed in for some reason), and generally acted the old trope of the unhappy and vicious warden entrusted with keeping prisoners alive for the time being.
Tiger stumbled once or twice and kept on going and following them, the agents of the Darkness, mostly because at this point, where else did they have to go? The food supplies and most of the weapons had been destroyed or confiscated, they had no maps out of the jungle and back to civilization, and there was no point in trying to escape when the four of them would inevitably kill the four of the Bureaucracy agents if they tried to escape.
Something darted in the corner of the peripheral vision of Tigers eye at one point as they continued the trek to whatever destination that the Darkness had picked out. Tiger turned his head slowly and almost imperceptibly to the right, in order to get a better look at it, and felt his hair stand on end when he saw a monstrous jungle cat with jet black fur watching them silently, mouth agape. Its eyes watched them go past, and it continued to pace and follow them as they walked down the small game trail towards their destination and to make matters worse, three more darted in and out of the brush right behind the first one. Rustling in the bushes farther on to the left and behind the group seemed to be from others that were moving, going for easy prey it seemed
Though granted, that meant that they could possible escape if the jungle cats attacked and then slice their way through the demons and try to head back in the general direction of any fishing villages or settlements that might be nearby, in order to reach civilization.
As if hearing his thoughts, the red eyed one sniffed the air and growled slightly. Tell your creatures to back off over there, Ryert.
Not my problem, Hari, you can deal with them right now because Im making sure that nothing else happens to attack us. The first time that small witch hurled us across this entire island, I ended up halfway through a tree and got attacked by sharks when I went down to the shore to get my bearings quite frankly I am fed up with the wildlife in this area and we should just set fire to this whole place and have at it.
Sharks dont swim on land, moron
In response, the one called Ryert smashed his fist into the others face, followed by a sharp kick to the other ones ribs. Hari hissed in response and made an effort to gouge out the eyes of the other specter and soon devolved into a slapfest in which both of them quite frankly looked like idiots scrabbling in the dirt.
That was put to a stop though by the Darkness, who brought them both up by their necks and bashed their heads together. We are supposed to be working you two stupid fools, dont you realize this? We have a job to do, and if you want, I can send you both back to the void if you wish and let you squander your time and your afterlife there if you want, makes no matter to me in the end! I have work to do, and no time waits for me or for any of us! Do you understand me?!
They were motionless for a second, and then then the Darkness smashed their heads together again.
I said, do you understand me!
Yes sir, They nodded slowly and then were dropped unceremoniously on the ground. The Darkness drifted away from them, slow, blackish tendrils of smoke and mist whipping out and in to form a barely human shape with the pale yellow eyes. It hissed slightly before continuing onwards, seeming to float over the ground, and a veritable patch of frost and an icy wake left behind it as it moved through the jungle. Amongst such greenery, it wasnt exactly inconspicuous to say the least of it.
Hari and Ryert pulled themselves off of the ground and snapped viciously at each other like a pack of dogs before they continued after the Darkness, and Phoenix pushed Crane and Snow forth, forcing Tiger and Sparrow as well to march behind the eldritch beings.
The cove that they found was a small one, a little inlet extending about a kilometer and a half into the mainland, with sheer and towering cliff faces looming over the windy waters that smashed against the columns. Sea towers, breaking forth from the waters and scraping up against the sky could be seen, ocean waters viciously trying to tear the rocky edifices down but not succeeding despite its tries. And inside of the bay, a strange sight was there
A submarine, the same one that they had tried to send back to the mainland for inspection by the Celestial Bureaucracy, was moored up along one wall of the area, a rudimentary set of docks set up; but these were no regular docks, these were advanced beyond any technological level that the regular people of the Earth had; monumental pillars and constructs had seemingly been pushed or scraped up out of the rock and planted here, to belch smoke and steam as forges handling liquid metal in massive quantities did their work. The submarine that the agents had first come for was illuminated brightly, and seemed to be under more construction and renovation, as it was in dry-dock and had an array of ladders and wooden beams splayed across everywhere on the face and the façade of the engine of steel. What the hell are you planning here? What madness is this?
Do you really think that Im going to give you my entire plan so that way if at all possible that when you escape that you might try to eventually kill me or stop whatever it is I am doing in order to bring the end to my machinations and my plots and plans? No, I am not nearly so stupid as to do that. Instead, what Ill tell you is what will happen when my plans finally bear the fruit that I have long sought for this world, so that way I may be successful here.
The Darkness drew Tiger forward by his collar as he strained back away from him, bring his face a mere inch from its own. The smell of fetid and rotten meat and blood was on its breath as it rasped out its words, pale yellow eyes analyzing him and the ever present smile. I have labored to breach the veil that this world lays behind for so long, so long indeed, and when I finally breached it, I found entities that I had never encountered before protecting your world, and specifically your own people. Your own masters serve them, and have protected an upstart nation from its founding and and taken them to unimpeachable heights beyond any other nation in the world, and I have to say, they have done a marvelous job at it but you see, Im here to bring it all crashing down around you. Thousands of other worlds and places both unalike and alike in dignity to your own have fallen to me, and yours is just the next one on the block. Im here to slay your masters, the ones who shepherd the Chinese, so in that way this world may fall into chaos once the most powerful nation collapses. And I need specimens of course, specimens of which there are many on this world and will serve well in my armies once I finally figure out how they work, how they tick, and how they function.
But what will happen is quite thusly this; once the tearing wound that I have created that punctured the veil protecting your planet is finally open all the way, I can bring a veritable army of servants and slaves to my nature and cause here, ready to bring about the end of the world as you know it, and end all vestige and form of order, till only chaos and suffering remains behind us. That submarine you see down there is but a first, integral portion of my plots and my plans, and you know what? Its got the perfect weapons I need in order to bring about a downfall of many, many civilizations and forms of order all across this pale blue dot.
He read Tiger's expression as the Agent twitched at the sight of the missile array.
"How curious. Despite what primitive tools I've seen on this planet, you seem to fully know what this is.
I wonder why that is. Do you think you could tell me?"
Not able to bait out a response from Tiger, he proceeded to go on.
I will split the power of the atom using the weapons onboard that submarine. No less than forty Casa Nova thermonuclear missiles are onboard, and each one has enough power to decimate an entire city. First up on the chopping block is Louyang, the capital of your people, and from there, I will just work my way down the ladder of cities that are important to your people; cultural icons and monuments, financial and population centers, juggernauts of industry and power, all of them will fall before the power of the atom as it is split asunder by our weapons. I've done a couple flybys. Linzi, Satsuma, Kaesong, Huiji. All those great shining cities, reduced to ash. Picture it if you will; half a nation will be consumed by fire and hell, and the other half will be poisoned by what comes afterwards. And then, your people will not be able to support themselves; with your army incapacitated and your people dying in the streets as they are, the Manchus to your Northern borders will ride in and decimate you all while the Jews in the Far and Middle West will seize the opportunity to declare holy war and humble your arrogant mortal wards and contribute to the carnage But if they dont end your pet project and their people so easily, Ill bring an army, with weapons the likes of which you have never seen before, that they will leave no survivors behind, and no quarter, no mercy, shall be given to a single person in your world; at that point, I will have recovered enough specimens to build an army in short order, and that will be that.
Tigers head had tried to move slowly backwards during the whole monologue, but the creature kept a firm grip on his skull. And what will you do about the Bureaucracy? We arent going to really stand aside and let you ride in and kill everyone.
Smiling, the Darkness wheezed out more words. Oh, but you will. I know your weaknesses.
Reality-bending is a big no-no around Average Li in this world. I've got this."
Do you tell all your prisoners all of your intricate plots in detail or are you just daft?
The Darkness opened its mouth, then shut it, opened it again and shut. Well, its not like you can do much at this rate anyways, but because I am being merciful, Ill give you an option, yāoguài; I have been offering, instead of capturing and killing, for the most part, to let certain beings from this world join my ranks willingly if they do not try to directly interfere with me, on the offshoot that once this world descends into chaos, they may do whatever they want. Tell me, Agents; do all of you like living?
They were silent.
I said, do you like living, and breathing?
Again, only silence and the sound of the docks far below met his words.
The eyes of the Darkness turned a dark red color as his grip on Tigers neck tightened and he lifted the Agent off of the ground, choking him as he did so till Tigers feet dangled around the creatures neck. Dont like breathing eh, do you?! Breathing is reserved for those that join my cause, living is reserved for those that are loyal and swear fealty! I give no mercy, none at all, to those that attempt to pettily defy me, and continue to do so even when I present them with a gracious way out, in order for them to live and prosper under my banner in time! Tigers claws scrabbled at the hands that gripped his neck, the hands which were fully out of the mist and were clearly shown to be decaying, darkened and bloated flesh underneath the mist, marked and scarred. The world began to fade and turn a deep red as the breath and oxygen left his body as the choking continued. Not a shred of mercy, none at all, is handed out to those who will become my enemy in the future! You know of my plan, you know of what I do, and you know what will happen, and yet you defy me! This is unacceptable!
Purple stars and spinning colors and nimbuses filled his vision as Tiger, weakly, scratched and fought for air and breath. It felt as though his windpipe was being constricted down to the size of a straw, a reed perhaps, and no respite could be had from it. Tiger choked out one sentence before the blackness rushed up to meet him. Compliance is unacceptable.
Awaking, Tiger was overcome by a migraine that struck him down for many minutes as he writhed on the floor of the cell in pain and agony, the merciless feeling in his brain hammering against the poor flesh and senses on the internal part of the bony skull. He coughed up blood as well, and he could detect and feel massive bruises alongside his neck and the front of it, and a bruised collarbone as well; he was actually surprised he didnt have any broken or sprained bones in his body at this point after what he had gone through.
He sat alone in the cell once the migraine and the pain passed for the most part, leaving just a dull pounding feeling that would pulse and stop, pulse and stop, pulse and stop, over and over and over again, making his head numb as he tried to grasp stuff around him. From what he could detect, multiple Kesha and Garou were around, as well as some Manchus from the northern borders of Empire that he had hailed from, screaming out in barbaric tongues at any passerby. He knew for the most part from the various English & Hebrew curses thrown his way from the other cells as they recognized him as one of their persecutors. Said passerby were for the most part, human people with blank faces and deadened eyes, some with intricate tattoos emblazoned on their foreheads. Sometimes, shadowy figures would move through the halls, with a variety of different eyes and mist colors, the higher officers and adjutants marked by silver crests and medallions hanging around their necks. They would snap and hiss at any person or creature in their cell that refused to follow orders or insisted upon making a troublesome deal out of themselves.
Hari and Ryert dropped by once or twice to watch Tiger as he was on the floor, sitting cross legged with his mouth cupped in his hands and him watching back. Grinning mouths full of those white, marble tombstone teeth would snap and slither, as their blue and red eyes watched him carefully. Ryert, the crueler of the two it seemed, made offhand comments from time to time as if to provoke a reaction.
Were probing the breach right now, serpentspawn; were getting close to breaching through it and bringing about the end of your nation
Guess what, snakeman, were going to tear you apart for fun, maybe pit you against a few of those vampires that seem to have a strong hatred for you, maybe toss in a few of the desert witches and the barbarians as well, just for kicks and giggles, and see who comes out on top. My moneys on you getting your spleen torn out and shoved down you laughing throat, you maggot.
Still belligerent, he gave them his retort. "I'm sure you'd be exactly stupid enough to let us put on a gladiator show for you, only to have a full-scale prison break on your hands."
Ryert was noticeably taken aback and humiliated by this.
Well guess what snakeman, we just visited your compatriots from the camp, or whats left of them unfortunately, they got sent to the block ahead of you. That was said with a smile as black saliva dripped from the open mouth and the fangs of Ryert as he hissed and slithered behind the bars.
Tiger raised his eyes but did not open his mouth to dignify the demons words with a response.
You dont really believe us do you? You dont think that we left them alive after you refused and defied our master and his offer, do you? You angered him quite a bit, slaughtered a whole section of workers in a violent rage he did; hes often violent, oh yes he is, and quick to anger at that, especially when he thinks hes trying to be fair to so called xia who think that they are the ultimate arbiters of humanity. Ryert frowned, a first for him, and hissed slightly.
Nothing is ever like that.
Killing my compatriots will have done nothing.
You think, serpent man, you think that is correct? Ryert seemed to strain against the bars unconsciously before pulling himself back. We tortured and killed one of them, the one who used the water to try and cut Hari in half, we tortured him long and nicely. He begged and screamed for death close to the end, and even when we ripped out his tongue, he insisted upon subjecting our eardrums to that pestilent noise to the point where all we could hear was it but no, we removed his vocal chords, and then he was finally silent, then he finally shut up. You should have seen his eyes towards the end, in pain and suffering it was glorious, and he deserved every second of it.
And then our master made an offer to that little witch of yours, that one that does the teleportation trick, he offered to let her live and join us if she would just give up. I honestly liked her, even though she hurled me into a goddamn tree, and she honestly seemed to consider it, but then she refused, and our master grew displeased again, and I swear, he came close to wiping her out of existence, erasing her from reality before he held himself back. A pity we had to kill her, we tried to make it as fast for her as possible, but in the end, she tried to warp out, but there was a malfunction if you will.
Tiger hadnt realized he had been leaning forward, and he pulled himself back as his hairs stood on end. He couldnt believe them, what Ryert was saying was impossible, Crane and Snow dead?
And then Sparrow, he gave in right quick and tried to kill us with his lightning. Killed a dozen servants of the master and made it almost down to this level as if he was going to save you before we managed to catch him and kill him such a pity that he had to die, quite a useful man. Very hard to find people like him but you dont really believe us, do you?
Tiger knew better than to give his captors any more fuel to whittle down his psyche with and remained quiet. He was genuinely wracked with his failure to keep his squad alive though, and it was painful for him to maintain his poker face.
No emotion was on Ryerts face, and Hari stepped out of view to give a wheezing cackle, before appearing back into view with a satchel. Here you go, mate, hope you enjoy! He pulled the item from the bag and tossed it into the cell, where it bounced on the ground and rolled slowly towards Tiger. In response to that, as it drew closer, Tiger scrabbled back along the floor on his hands and feet towards the wall in shock as it approached him slowly.
It was Snows head, bloody and with a look of horror and fear upon his face.
Ryert was inexpressive as he looked at Tiger and turned away. Better think about what you are going to say when you get asked again, Tiger.
It was utterly hopeless to go on at this point, what was the point of doing so? Tiger thought to himself as he curled up into a ball on the floor and waited for death. Hed failed. Failed like he always had failed, and always would fail in the end, and he would continue to fail no matter what. Hed managed to screw up and get his entire team killed through his stupidity, he had insisted upon this mission in the end
Its not the end yet,
Tigers eyes snapped upwards towards the ceiling around the room, around the four corners, looking for whoever had spoken to him.
So you noticed me, did you?
Commander Hera what do you want?
I want that creature that has entered our realm to be exterminated from this dimension, to be cast out and left to rot. His kind should not be here, and his interference will cause much harm if we leave him unchecked. You have to eliminate him before his plans can come to. It will take some time for me to get here, but you might want to see about trying to stop him before anything drastic happens.
Pulling itself up out of the floor, the body of an exorcists blade appeared, as it drew itself up to full height, standing upright and falling against Tiger lightly. He caught it neatly and examined it while the voice continued to speak.
He is on the submarine Forward Unto Night that you saw earlier. Eliminate him and the submarine, and the nuclear stockpile onboard, and you will have succeeded in eliminating him from this world and the pressure he exerts upon this universe this will require great sacrifice though, and for that, I am deeply sorry to ask you to do this, but it is truly needed.
Tiger smiled. It wouldnt matter; he was going to die anyways. What did it matter if he sped it up a bit?
The blade cut through the bars of the cell nicely, and he was out in the hallway. First up on the agenda, slicing down the servants of the Darkness, which he did so neatly and viciously. Blood was in the hallway, along the floor and the walls as creatures from the Oceanian desert, Elohim from the Far West and Middle West, and Manchus from the northern steppes howled at him. Tiger grinned ruefully.
Forbidden knowledge seeped into his brain as Lilith weaved her will into his head as he marched on.
"Chant this sutra when you land the killing blow. You will know when. It will not save your life, but it will help to prevent as much damage as possible."
He nodded. A disaster of such magnitude would set them back for centuries even if he did succeed in expelling the Darkness.
Might as well cause as many problems as possible for the Darkness if he was going to take it down.
He ran down the hallway, blade in tow, and sliced open cage after cage filled with the creatures. Realizing that they had freedom, they leapt and scampered out of their cells and joined each other in becoming free at last, and going out to tear people limb from limb in the outer parts of the facility.
Tiger had no time for that though. He had to make his way to the submarine in the harbor, as he tried to get his bearings by going up the stairs and dashing out into the overcast day, clouds high in the sky, and a storm brewing on the horizon. Tiger didnt care though; he laughed as the wind howled and shrieked around him, waves dashing against the rocky crags as the Forward Unto Night sat in the inlet, its gargantuan top doors opening up.
The Darkness loomed upon the brow of the ship, gnashing its jaws as it gazed into the horizon. There would be only death and suffering today, the carnage of millions unleashed upon the world.
Behind it, the missiles, a full rack of the specially made M-31 Minutemen Thermonuclear Lance Rockets were prepped and ready to go. He smiled. That intriguing barrier perfectly demolished almost everything supernatural that tried to pass through, but it did nothing against conventional weaponry.
It was interesting and novel, but ultimately unchallenging to the eldritch being.
A screeching sound came from behind the Darkness, shortly before a sword slammed into his neck, spilling out the caustic fluid that acted as this forms blood and splattering it across the front of the great steel vessel in front of him. No matter at all. He wrenched himself up, caustic fluid spilling out onto the body of the vessel and dripping into the water.
You really think that is going to stop me?
The Darkness slowly shifted his frame around, his entire form seeming to do a one hundred and eighty degree turn without physically turning, till his face appeared on the other side, facing down the relentless Tiger.
Even if it doesn't, it's only to remind you that no one is going to just let you have your way.
Oh, I wouldn't have it any other way, but it's not too late; what are you looking for? I can give it to you.
Satisfaction. I owe it to my squad as penance for my failure.
They doomed themselves when they refused my charity and my offer of allowing them to live. A straight sword was drawn forth from inside of the Darknesss shadows. And now you too, are doomed to suffer because of what your stubborn refusal to give in attempting to kill me and forcing me to leave will accomplish nothing; I got what I came here for, which was live specimens. Killing your mortal wards was secondary. There are other worlds to conquer and take over, and I will make sure that I will do so, even if I fail here. You will sacrifice yourself but for naught, and I will go on, forever immemorial, forever immortal.
Why hold back? We're both creatures of darkness. Do not deny yourself the pleasure of becoming one with your rightful kin, the Darkness said as the Agent tried to drive the blade into his chest. He blocked it easily, and parried in quick succession another two flourishes before catching the sword with his own and holding it down with his blade. No. You are not a master worth serving. No real progress would come from seeing to your agenda,"
You're a hypocrite!" the creature let out a whooping laugh. "You have the gall to decry me as wasteful when you yourself are perhaps as much so as I am your masters are trying to overthrow something so very beautiful. If I might say so myself, you're not doing the right thing. And yet you think you do good by eliminating me. Killing me, or rather, attempting to kill me, changes nothing. Not your inefficient attempts to drag this world into your masters' vision or your little war with God.
You misunderstand. I'm not out to do good. I'm just keeping things on schedule. The agent drew the blade up in front of him, the black blood dripping off and pooling on the top of the submarine. No one intrudes on our fight with God and gets away with it.
You can't kill God. Even at world's end, he will still be here. And I don't have a problem with that. Like I said before, he's keeping things special as they are; not something I've seen very often. I think I might just snag him too eventually... The Darkness slashed out with the blade out that point, a shrieking cry of steel on steel ringing out in the air as the twin weapons slammed into each other with massive force. Tiger was faster and brought his sword back to slice out at the Darkness, landing two blows on his side. More blood, more acidic blood, splashed out and landed on the hull of the submarine, steaming and burning through the hull as it made contact. It didnt care though; it stabbed forward with the cold, white blade it had in hand, driving it home in Tigers right shin, causing the man to scream out in pain.
That was good; the fool would suffer before he died.
As if in response, Tiger swept the legs out from underneath the Darkness, sending it crashing against the deck. Quite honestly, a mortal had never done that to him before, and what could be called his skull smashed against the deck, denting it and putting a massive hole in the top part of it. He remained in perfect control of his faculties though, which didnt help much when that bastard of a troublesome Agent proceeded to shove a hard, leather boot in his face.
When the Agent spit on him though, all bets were off. He flew upwards, pushing a surprised Tiger backwards, causing him to nearly fall into the missile bay of the submarine, and clapped his hands together, a concussive blast issuing forth to send the agent hurtling backwards to smash into a secondary conning tower of the massive steel construct that they stood upon.
You think you can challenge me and live mortal? You think you can best me and try to stop me? You think you can knock me out, an eldritch being from a plane that is on such a high level, that revealing my true form, what I truly am, would be on a scale so large, you wouldnt even measure up to one of my pores!? You know nothing, you pathetic sack of blackened flesh, and dont think that you, or your masters can save you!
Thats what you think.
Crane and Snow were behind Tiger, and Sparrow forced was up front, lest the storm demon try to do any damage to the plans that the creatures had already made, and true to his belligerent nature, he had certainly tried. Phoenix had taken a lot of abuse since hed undergone, and it seemed to be pissing off the blue and red eyed adjutants of the Darkness. They would snap their jaws in sharp clicking sounds if the captured Bureaucrats didnt move fast enough, cursing at them in Mandarin from time to time (which they were oddly versed in for some reason), and generally acted the old trope of the unhappy and vicious warden entrusted with keeping prisoners alive for the time being.
Tiger stumbled once or twice and kept on going and following them, the agents of the Darkness, mostly because at this point, where else did they have to go? The food supplies and most of the weapons had been destroyed or confiscated, they had no maps out of the jungle and back to civilization, and there was no point in trying to escape when the four of them would inevitably kill the four of the Bureaucracy agents if they tried to escape.
Something darted in the corner of the peripheral vision of Tigers eye at one point as they continued the trek to whatever destination that the Darkness had picked out. Tiger turned his head slowly and almost imperceptibly to the right, in order to get a better look at it, and felt his hair stand on end when he saw a monstrous jungle cat with jet black fur watching them silently, mouth agape. Its eyes watched them go past, and it continued to pace and follow them as they walked down the small game trail towards their destination and to make matters worse, three more darted in and out of the brush right behind the first one. Rustling in the bushes farther on to the left and behind the group seemed to be from others that were moving, going for easy prey it seemed
Though granted, that meant that they could possible escape if the jungle cats attacked and then slice their way through the demons and try to head back in the general direction of any fishing villages or settlements that might be nearby, in order to reach civilization.
As if hearing his thoughts, the red eyed one sniffed the air and growled slightly. Tell your creatures to back off over there, Ryert.
Not my problem, Hari, you can deal with them right now because Im making sure that nothing else happens to attack us. The first time that small witch hurled us across this entire island, I ended up halfway through a tree and got attacked by sharks when I went down to the shore to get my bearings quite frankly I am fed up with the wildlife in this area and we should just set fire to this whole place and have at it.
Sharks dont swim on land, moron
In response, the one called Ryert smashed his fist into the others face, followed by a sharp kick to the other ones ribs. Hari hissed in response and made an effort to gouge out the eyes of the other specter and soon devolved into a slapfest in which both of them quite frankly looked like idiots scrabbling in the dirt.
That was put to a stop though by the Darkness, who brought them both up by their necks and bashed their heads together. We are supposed to be working you two stupid fools, dont you realize this? We have a job to do, and if you want, I can send you both back to the void if you wish and let you squander your time and your afterlife there if you want, makes no matter to me in the end! I have work to do, and no time waits for me or for any of us! Do you understand me?!
They were motionless for a second, and then then the Darkness smashed their heads together again.
I said, do you understand me!
Yes sir, They nodded slowly and then were dropped unceremoniously on the ground. The Darkness drifted away from them, slow, blackish tendrils of smoke and mist whipping out and in to form a barely human shape with the pale yellow eyes. It hissed slightly before continuing onwards, seeming to float over the ground, and a veritable patch of frost and an icy wake left behind it as it moved through the jungle. Amongst such greenery, it wasnt exactly inconspicuous to say the least of it.
Hari and Ryert pulled themselves off of the ground and snapped viciously at each other like a pack of dogs before they continued after the Darkness, and Phoenix pushed Crane and Snow forth, forcing Tiger and Sparrow as well to march behind the eldritch beings.
The cove that they found was a small one, a little inlet extending about a kilometer and a half into the mainland, with sheer and towering cliff faces looming over the windy waters that smashed against the columns. Sea towers, breaking forth from the waters and scraping up against the sky could be seen, ocean waters viciously trying to tear the rocky edifices down but not succeeding despite its tries. And inside of the bay, a strange sight was there
A submarine, the same one that they had tried to send back to the mainland for inspection by the Celestial Bureaucracy, was moored up along one wall of the area, a rudimentary set of docks set up; but these were no regular docks, these were advanced beyond any technological level that the regular people of the Earth had; monumental pillars and constructs had seemingly been pushed or scraped up out of the rock and planted here, to belch smoke and steam as forges handling liquid metal in massive quantities did their work. The submarine that the agents had first come for was illuminated brightly, and seemed to be under more construction and renovation, as it was in dry-dock and had an array of ladders and wooden beams splayed across everywhere on the face and the façade of the engine of steel. What the hell are you planning here? What madness is this?
Do you really think that Im going to give you my entire plan so that way if at all possible that when you escape that you might try to eventually kill me or stop whatever it is I am doing in order to bring the end to my machinations and my plots and plans? No, I am not nearly so stupid as to do that. Instead, what Ill tell you is what will happen when my plans finally bear the fruit that I have long sought for this world, so that way I may be successful here.
The Darkness drew Tiger forward by his collar as he strained back away from him, bring his face a mere inch from its own. The smell of fetid and rotten meat and blood was on its breath as it rasped out its words, pale yellow eyes analyzing him and the ever present smile. I have labored to breach the veil that this world lays behind for so long, so long indeed, and when I finally breached it, I found entities that I had never encountered before protecting your world, and specifically your own people. Your own masters serve them, and have protected an upstart nation from its founding and and taken them to unimpeachable heights beyond any other nation in the world, and I have to say, they have done a marvelous job at it but you see, Im here to bring it all crashing down around you. Thousands of other worlds and places both unalike and alike in dignity to your own have fallen to me, and yours is just the next one on the block. Im here to slay your masters, the ones who shepherd the Chinese, so in that way this world may fall into chaos once the most powerful nation collapses. And I need specimens of course, specimens of which there are many on this world and will serve well in my armies once I finally figure out how they work, how they tick, and how they function.
But what will happen is quite thusly this; once the tearing wound that I have created that punctured the veil protecting your planet is finally open all the way, I can bring a veritable army of servants and slaves to my nature and cause here, ready to bring about the end of the world as you know it, and end all vestige and form of order, till only chaos and suffering remains behind us. That submarine you see down there is but a first, integral portion of my plots and my plans, and you know what? Its got the perfect weapons I need in order to bring about a downfall of many, many civilizations and forms of order all across this pale blue dot.
He read Tiger's expression as the Agent twitched at the sight of the missile array.
"How curious. Despite what primitive tools I've seen on this planet, you seem to fully know what this is.
I wonder why that is. Do you think you could tell me?"
Not able to bait out a response from Tiger, he proceeded to go on.
I will split the power of the atom using the weapons onboard that submarine. No less than forty Casa Nova thermonuclear missiles are onboard, and each one has enough power to decimate an entire city. First up on the chopping block is Louyang, the capital of your people, and from there, I will just work my way down the ladder of cities that are important to your people; cultural icons and monuments, financial and population centers, juggernauts of industry and power, all of them will fall before the power of the atom as it is split asunder by our weapons. I've done a couple flybys. Linzi, Satsuma, Kaesong, Huiji. All those great shining cities, reduced to ash. Picture it if you will; half a nation will be consumed by fire and hell, and the other half will be poisoned by what comes afterwards. And then, your people will not be able to support themselves; with your army incapacitated and your people dying in the streets as they are, the Manchus to your Northern borders will ride in and decimate you all while the Jews in the Far and Middle West will seize the opportunity to declare holy war and humble your arrogant mortal wards and contribute to the carnage But if they dont end your pet project and their people so easily, Ill bring an army, with weapons the likes of which you have never seen before, that they will leave no survivors behind, and no quarter, no mercy, shall be given to a single person in your world; at that point, I will have recovered enough specimens to build an army in short order, and that will be that.
Tigers head had tried to move slowly backwards during the whole monologue, but the creature kept a firm grip on his skull. And what will you do about the Bureaucracy? We arent going to really stand aside and let you ride in and kill everyone.
Smiling, the Darkness wheezed out more words. Oh, but you will. I know your weaknesses.
Reality-bending is a big no-no around Average Li in this world. I've got this."
Do you tell all your prisoners all of your intricate plots in detail or are you just daft?
The Darkness opened its mouth, then shut it, opened it again and shut. Well, its not like you can do much at this rate anyways, but because I am being merciful, Ill give you an option, yāoguài; I have been offering, instead of capturing and killing, for the most part, to let certain beings from this world join my ranks willingly if they do not try to directly interfere with me, on the offshoot that once this world descends into chaos, they may do whatever they want. Tell me, Agents; do all of you like living?
They were silent.
I said, do you like living, and breathing?
Again, only silence and the sound of the docks far below met his words.
The eyes of the Darkness turned a dark red color as his grip on Tigers neck tightened and he lifted the Agent off of the ground, choking him as he did so till Tigers feet dangled around the creatures neck. Dont like breathing eh, do you?! Breathing is reserved for those that join my cause, living is reserved for those that are loyal and swear fealty! I give no mercy, none at all, to those that attempt to pettily defy me, and continue to do so even when I present them with a gracious way out, in order for them to live and prosper under my banner in time! Tigers claws scrabbled at the hands that gripped his neck, the hands which were fully out of the mist and were clearly shown to be decaying, darkened and bloated flesh underneath the mist, marked and scarred. The world began to fade and turn a deep red as the breath and oxygen left his body as the choking continued. Not a shred of mercy, none at all, is handed out to those who will become my enemy in the future! You know of my plan, you know of what I do, and you know what will happen, and yet you defy me! This is unacceptable!
Purple stars and spinning colors and nimbuses filled his vision as Tiger, weakly, scratched and fought for air and breath. It felt as though his windpipe was being constricted down to the size of a straw, a reed perhaps, and no respite could be had from it. Tiger choked out one sentence before the blackness rushed up to meet him. Compliance is unacceptable.
Awaking, Tiger was overcome by a migraine that struck him down for many minutes as he writhed on the floor of the cell in pain and agony, the merciless feeling in his brain hammering against the poor flesh and senses on the internal part of the bony skull. He coughed up blood as well, and he could detect and feel massive bruises alongside his neck and the front of it, and a bruised collarbone as well; he was actually surprised he didnt have any broken or sprained bones in his body at this point after what he had gone through.
He sat alone in the cell once the migraine and the pain passed for the most part, leaving just a dull pounding feeling that would pulse and stop, pulse and stop, pulse and stop, over and over and over again, making his head numb as he tried to grasp stuff around him. From what he could detect, multiple Kesha and Garou were around, as well as some Manchus from the northern borders of Empire that he had hailed from, screaming out in barbaric tongues at any passerby. He knew for the most part from the various English & Hebrew curses thrown his way from the other cells as they recognized him as one of their persecutors. Said passerby were for the most part, human people with blank faces and deadened eyes, some with intricate tattoos emblazoned on their foreheads. Sometimes, shadowy figures would move through the halls, with a variety of different eyes and mist colors, the higher officers and adjutants marked by silver crests and medallions hanging around their necks. They would snap and hiss at any person or creature in their cell that refused to follow orders or insisted upon making a troublesome deal out of themselves.
Hari and Ryert dropped by once or twice to watch Tiger as he was on the floor, sitting cross legged with his mouth cupped in his hands and him watching back. Grinning mouths full of those white, marble tombstone teeth would snap and slither, as their blue and red eyes watched him carefully. Ryert, the crueler of the two it seemed, made offhand comments from time to time as if to provoke a reaction.
Were probing the breach right now, serpentspawn; were getting close to breaching through it and bringing about the end of your nation
Guess what, snakeman, were going to tear you apart for fun, maybe pit you against a few of those vampires that seem to have a strong hatred for you, maybe toss in a few of the desert witches and the barbarians as well, just for kicks and giggles, and see who comes out on top. My moneys on you getting your spleen torn out and shoved down you laughing throat, you maggot.
Still belligerent, he gave them his retort. "I'm sure you'd be exactly stupid enough to let us put on a gladiator show for you, only to have a full-scale prison break on your hands."
Ryert was noticeably taken aback and humiliated by this.
Well guess what snakeman, we just visited your compatriots from the camp, or whats left of them unfortunately, they got sent to the block ahead of you. That was said with a smile as black saliva dripped from the open mouth and the fangs of Ryert as he hissed and slithered behind the bars.
Tiger raised his eyes but did not open his mouth to dignify the demons words with a response.
You dont really believe us do you? You dont think that we left them alive after you refused and defied our master and his offer, do you? You angered him quite a bit, slaughtered a whole section of workers in a violent rage he did; hes often violent, oh yes he is, and quick to anger at that, especially when he thinks hes trying to be fair to so called xia who think that they are the ultimate arbiters of humanity. Ryert frowned, a first for him, and hissed slightly.
Nothing is ever like that.
Killing my compatriots will have done nothing.
You think, serpent man, you think that is correct? Ryert seemed to strain against the bars unconsciously before pulling himself back. We tortured and killed one of them, the one who used the water to try and cut Hari in half, we tortured him long and nicely. He begged and screamed for death close to the end, and even when we ripped out his tongue, he insisted upon subjecting our eardrums to that pestilent noise to the point where all we could hear was it but no, we removed his vocal chords, and then he was finally silent, then he finally shut up. You should have seen his eyes towards the end, in pain and suffering it was glorious, and he deserved every second of it.
And then our master made an offer to that little witch of yours, that one that does the teleportation trick, he offered to let her live and join us if she would just give up. I honestly liked her, even though she hurled me into a goddamn tree, and she honestly seemed to consider it, but then she refused, and our master grew displeased again, and I swear, he came close to wiping her out of existence, erasing her from reality before he held himself back. A pity we had to kill her, we tried to make it as fast for her as possible, but in the end, she tried to warp out, but there was a malfunction if you will.
Tiger hadnt realized he had been leaning forward, and he pulled himself back as his hairs stood on end. He couldnt believe them, what Ryert was saying was impossible, Crane and Snow dead?
And then Sparrow, he gave in right quick and tried to kill us with his lightning. Killed a dozen servants of the master and made it almost down to this level as if he was going to save you before we managed to catch him and kill him such a pity that he had to die, quite a useful man. Very hard to find people like him but you dont really believe us, do you?
Tiger knew better than to give his captors any more fuel to whittle down his psyche with and remained quiet. He was genuinely wracked with his failure to keep his squad alive though, and it was painful for him to maintain his poker face.
No emotion was on Ryerts face, and Hari stepped out of view to give a wheezing cackle, before appearing back into view with a satchel. Here you go, mate, hope you enjoy! He pulled the item from the bag and tossed it into the cell, where it bounced on the ground and rolled slowly towards Tiger. In response to that, as it drew closer, Tiger scrabbled back along the floor on his hands and feet towards the wall in shock as it approached him slowly.
It was Snows head, bloody and with a look of horror and fear upon his face.
Ryert was inexpressive as he looked at Tiger and turned away. Better think about what you are going to say when you get asked again, Tiger.
It was utterly hopeless to go on at this point, what was the point of doing so? Tiger thought to himself as he curled up into a ball on the floor and waited for death. Hed failed. Failed like he always had failed, and always would fail in the end, and he would continue to fail no matter what. Hed managed to screw up and get his entire team killed through his stupidity, he had insisted upon this mission in the end
Its not the end yet,
Tigers eyes snapped upwards towards the ceiling around the room, around the four corners, looking for whoever had spoken to him.
So you noticed me, did you?
Commander Hera what do you want?
I want that creature that has entered our realm to be exterminated from this dimension, to be cast out and left to rot. His kind should not be here, and his interference will cause much harm if we leave him unchecked. You have to eliminate him before his plans can come to. It will take some time for me to get here, but you might want to see about trying to stop him before anything drastic happens.
Pulling itself up out of the floor, the body of an exorcists blade appeared, as it drew itself up to full height, standing upright and falling against Tiger lightly. He caught it neatly and examined it while the voice continued to speak.
He is on the submarine Forward Unto Night that you saw earlier. Eliminate him and the submarine, and the nuclear stockpile onboard, and you will have succeeded in eliminating him from this world and the pressure he exerts upon this universe this will require great sacrifice though, and for that, I am deeply sorry to ask you to do this, but it is truly needed.
Tiger smiled. It wouldnt matter; he was going to die anyways. What did it matter if he sped it up a bit?
The blade cut through the bars of the cell nicely, and he was out in the hallway. First up on the agenda, slicing down the servants of the Darkness, which he did so neatly and viciously. Blood was in the hallway, along the floor and the walls as creatures from the Oceanian desert, Elohim from the Far West and Middle West, and Manchus from the northern steppes howled at him. Tiger grinned ruefully.
Forbidden knowledge seeped into his brain as Lilith weaved her will into his head as he marched on.
"Chant this sutra when you land the killing blow. You will know when. It will not save your life, but it will help to prevent as much damage as possible."
He nodded. A disaster of such magnitude would set them back for centuries even if he did succeed in expelling the Darkness.
Might as well cause as many problems as possible for the Darkness if he was going to take it down.
He ran down the hallway, blade in tow, and sliced open cage after cage filled with the creatures. Realizing that they had freedom, they leapt and scampered out of their cells and joined each other in becoming free at last, and going out to tear people limb from limb in the outer parts of the facility.
Tiger had no time for that though. He had to make his way to the submarine in the harbor, as he tried to get his bearings by going up the stairs and dashing out into the overcast day, clouds high in the sky, and a storm brewing on the horizon. Tiger didnt care though; he laughed as the wind howled and shrieked around him, waves dashing against the rocky crags as the Forward Unto Night sat in the inlet, its gargantuan top doors opening up.
The Darkness loomed upon the brow of the ship, gnashing its jaws as it gazed into the horizon. There would be only death and suffering today, the carnage of millions unleashed upon the world.
Behind it, the missiles, a full rack of the specially made M-31 Minutemen Thermonuclear Lance Rockets were prepped and ready to go. He smiled. That intriguing barrier perfectly demolished almost everything supernatural that tried to pass through, but it did nothing against conventional weaponry.
It was interesting and novel, but ultimately unchallenging to the eldritch being.
A screeching sound came from behind the Darkness, shortly before a sword slammed into his neck, spilling out the caustic fluid that acted as this forms blood and splattering it across the front of the great steel vessel in front of him. No matter at all. He wrenched himself up, caustic fluid spilling out onto the body of the vessel and dripping into the water.
You really think that is going to stop me?
The Darkness slowly shifted his frame around, his entire form seeming to do a one hundred and eighty degree turn without physically turning, till his face appeared on the other side, facing down the relentless Tiger.
Even if it doesn't, it's only to remind you that no one is going to just let you have your way.
Oh, I wouldn't have it any other way, but it's not too late; what are you looking for? I can give it to you.
Satisfaction. I owe it to my squad as penance for my failure.
They doomed themselves when they refused my charity and my offer of allowing them to live. A straight sword was drawn forth from inside of the Darknesss shadows. And now you too, are doomed to suffer because of what your stubborn refusal to give in attempting to kill me and forcing me to leave will accomplish nothing; I got what I came here for, which was live specimens. Killing your mortal wards was secondary. There are other worlds to conquer and take over, and I will make sure that I will do so, even if I fail here. You will sacrifice yourself but for naught, and I will go on, forever immemorial, forever immortal.
Why hold back? We're both creatures of darkness. Do not deny yourself the pleasure of becoming one with your rightful kin, the Darkness said as the Agent tried to drive the blade into his chest. He blocked it easily, and parried in quick succession another two flourishes before catching the sword with his own and holding it down with his blade. No. You are not a master worth serving. No real progress would come from seeing to your agenda,"
You're a hypocrite!" the creature let out a whooping laugh. "You have the gall to decry me as wasteful when you yourself are perhaps as much so as I am your masters are trying to overthrow something so very beautiful. If I might say so myself, you're not doing the right thing. And yet you think you do good by eliminating me. Killing me, or rather, attempting to kill me, changes nothing. Not your inefficient attempts to drag this world into your masters' vision or your little war with God.
You misunderstand. I'm not out to do good. I'm just keeping things on schedule. The agent drew the blade up in front of him, the black blood dripping off and pooling on the top of the submarine. No one intrudes on our fight with God and gets away with it.
You can't kill God. Even at world's end, he will still be here. And I don't have a problem with that. Like I said before, he's keeping things special as they are; not something I've seen very often. I think I might just snag him too eventually... The Darkness slashed out with the blade out that point, a shrieking cry of steel on steel ringing out in the air as the twin weapons slammed into each other with massive force. Tiger was faster and brought his sword back to slice out at the Darkness, landing two blows on his side. More blood, more acidic blood, splashed out and landed on the hull of the submarine, steaming and burning through the hull as it made contact. It didnt care though; it stabbed forward with the cold, white blade it had in hand, driving it home in Tigers right shin, causing the man to scream out in pain.
That was good; the fool would suffer before he died.
As if in response, Tiger swept the legs out from underneath the Darkness, sending it crashing against the deck. Quite honestly, a mortal had never done that to him before, and what could be called his skull smashed against the deck, denting it and putting a massive hole in the top part of it. He remained in perfect control of his faculties though, which didnt help much when that bastard of a troublesome Agent proceeded to shove a hard, leather boot in his face.
When the Agent spit on him though, all bets were off. He flew upwards, pushing a surprised Tiger backwards, causing him to nearly fall into the missile bay of the submarine, and clapped his hands together, a concussive blast issuing forth to send the agent hurtling backwards to smash into a secondary conning tower of the massive steel construct that they stood upon.
You think you can challenge me and live mortal? You think you can best me and try to stop me? You think you can knock me out, an eldritch being from a plane that is on such a high level, that revealing my true form, what I truly am, would be on a scale so large, you wouldnt even measure up to one of my pores!? You know nothing, you pathetic sack of blackened flesh, and dont think that you, or your masters can save you!
Thats what you think.
. To the best of my knowledge, Tyo has never read this story.
