The Birth of Aegis [Superhero] (IC/Open)

[Dyelli Beybi]

"Man keep Marcus safe. Ghost and Marcus go with man." "Then we have to hurry. My men can only hold the line for so long." He limped weakly towards the exit, using the wall for support. "I'll send for a team to get the pod out of here safely." The Ghost remained with the pod. "I guard."

"All right. I'm not sure this is a good idea, but like I said, it is your decision and I won't get in your way." Alice raised an eyebrow at Scott, shaking her head slightly. She couldn't imagine what would cause the nanites to trust this man. She didn't. He just hobbled around and kept insisting his shady organisation were really the good guys. Alice couldn't remember the last time she had found a story so suspicious... Also there was the matter of how he was planning to call a team in when the ground above them was crawling with, almost certainly hostile soldiers.

"We need to find out what happened up top." she said to Scott, "I'm going to go and take a look. Can you keep an eye on what's going on in here?"

She still wasn't feeling too great, but she imagined she could manage enough flight to let her take a look up the lift shaft... hopefully.

[Serah]

Alrick fought, he had enough, they had taken his grandson, for him, it was unforgivable, he hit whoever shot him, regardless of who they were or restriction on his own power.

"YOU FUCKERS TOOK MY GRANDSON! THERE IS NO TURNING BACK NOW!" He yelled, his voice was filled with anger, he only wished for revenge, and it was what he was going to get, cold, bloody revenge.

As he felt Alice's radio boot up again, he spoke, his voice was calmer.
"WE GOT A META DOWN! IT'S HEAMET!"
He continued to fight, hopping from person to person, either cutting or obliterating altogether.
Yet, as much as it seemed like his rage was without reason, that he had completely lost control, he still knew who where his allies and who were not, he didn't go into a blind rage, he was fully lucid, however, he was animated by the sentiment of vengeance.
"URYYYYY!"
Suddenly coming up to some soldiers, he literally dropped a road roller on them, he yelled again, louder, a scream that could wake the dead.
"URYYYYYYYYY!"

(OOC: I'm so sorry about the initial mistake.)

[Dyelli Beybi]

Alrick fought, he had enough, they had taken his grandson, for him, it was unforgivable, he hit whoever shot him, regardless of who they were or restriction on his own power.

"YOU FUCKERS TOOK MY GRANDSON! THERE IS NO TURNING BACK NOW!" He yelled, his voice was filled with anger, he only wished for revenge, and it was what he was going to get, cold, bloody revenge.

As he felt Alice's radio boot up again, he spoke, his voice was calmer.
"WE GOT A META DOWN! IT'S HEAMET!"
He continued to fight, hopping from person to person, either cutting or obliterating altogether.
Yet, as much as it seemed like his rage was without reason, that he had completely lost control, he still knew who where his allies and who were not, he didn't go into a blind rage, he was fully lucid, however, he was animated by the sentiment of vengeance.
"URYYYYY!"
Suddenly coming up to some soldiers, he literally dropped a road roller on them, he yelled again, louder, a scream that could wake the dead.
"URYYYYYYYYY!"

(OOC: I'm so sorry about the initial mistake.)

Alice floated up the elevator shaft, her head pounding from its earlier collision with the floor. Alrick was out of control. It was depressingly familiar. Battling a wave of nausea she dropped back down the shaft, settling awkwardly atop the wreckage of the old elevator cabin.

"Alrick. Listen to me." Alice spoke through the radio. She didn't snap at him this time, rather there was genuine compassion in her voice, "It is right to grieve, but you are giving into your darker impulses again. Like it or not, you are part of the Meta-human community, and anything you do reflects on all of us. Your actions will carry consequences for others - I understand the pain of losing someone, but you cannot allow it to turn you into a monster."

"I know it feels good, but you need to stop the violence." she concluded, "Now."

It had once been said that before you embark on a journey of revenge, to dig two graves. Alrick would need to dig many more than that.

[Serah]

Alrick fought, he had enough, they had taken his grandson, for him, it was unforgivable, he hit whoever shot him, regardless of who they were or restriction on his own power.

"YOU FUCKERS TOOK MY GRANDSON! THERE IS NO TURNING BACK NOW!" He yelled, his voice was filled with anger, he only wished for revenge, and it was what he was going to get, cold, bloody revenge.

As he felt Alice's radio boot up again, he spoke, his voice was calmer.
"WE GOT A META DOWN! IT'S HEAMET!"
He continued to fight, hopping from person to person, either cutting or obliterating altogether.
Yet, as much as it seemed like his rage was without reason, that he had completely lost control, he still knew who where his allies and who were not, he didn't go into a blind rage, he was fully lucid, however, he was animated by the sentiment of vengeance.
"URYYYYY!"
Suddenly coming up to some soldiers, he literally dropped a road roller on them, he yelled again, louder, a scream that could wake the dead.
"URYYYYYYYYY!"

(OOC: I'm so sorry about the initial mistake.)

Alice floated up the elevator shaft, her head pounding from its earlier collision with the floor. Alrick was out of control. It was depressingly familiar. Battling a wave of nausea she dropped back down the shaft, settling awkwardly atop the wreckage of the old elevator cabin.

"Alrick. Listen to me." Alice spoke through the radio. She didn't snap at him this time, rather there was genuine compassion in her voice, "It is right to grieve, but you are giving into your darker impulses again. Like it or not, you are part of the Meta-human community, and anything you do reflects on all of us. Your actions will carry consequences for others - I understand the pain of losing someone, but you cannot allow it to turn you into a monster."

"I know it feels good, but you need to stop the violence." she concluded, "Now."

It had once been said that before you embark on a journey of revenge, to dig two graves. Alrick would need to dig many more than that.

As he was about to decapitate someone, Alice's voice stopped him, his darkened eyes got brighter and his yelling suddenly stopped.
Dropping to his knees next to the downed soldier that was easily scared to death, he told Lios to bring back Heamet's body, Alrick simply stared at the ground like he had some case of PTSD and held himself as large tears started falling from his eyes, his hair covering three quarters of his face.

"God... Fucking dammit... Why did HE have to die... Why did he want to come with me... Why didn't I die instead...? With all the shit that I've done... I at least deserved that!" Alrick punched the ground, spider webbing it more than it was.

"Why... For fuck's sake... I would've gladly took his place..." His arm started to crack, his astral body wouldn't take more punishment that it already did, the crack went up to his face as he looked at Alice.

"I can't be mad at you... He did it of his own will..."

[Talion Union]

Creele limped out of cover, dragging his leg behind him, occasionally taking a shot at the enemy soldiers as he limped towards the elevator.

Fiver-1 stood near the entrance. "I'm not sure if the Tin Men can hold out against that thing. They might need some help."

The Ghost stood with the other human at the pod. "You want hurt Marcus?"

[Dyelli Beybi]

As he was about to decapitate someone, Alice's voice stopped him, his darkened eyes got brighter and his yelling suddenly stopped.
Dropping to his knees next to the downed soldier that was easily scared to death, he told Lios to bring back Heamet's body, Alrick simply stared at the ground like he had some case of PTSD and held himself as large tears started falling from his eyes, his hair covering three quarters of his face.

"God... Fucking dammit... Why did HE have to die... Why did he want to come with me... Why didn't I die instead...? With all the shit that I've done... I at least deserved that!" Alrick punched the ground, spider webbing it more than it was.

"Why... For fuck's sake... I would've gladly took his place..." His arm started to crack, his astral body wouldn't take more punishment that it already did, the crack went up to his face as he looked at Alice.

"I can't be mad at you... He did it of his own will..."

"You're wrong Alrick... you don't deserve to die any more than he did. He will be remembered... as much as I know I spent a pot of time telling you two off, it was only out of genuine concern." Alice said quietly, then stepped forward, drawing Alrick into a hug for a moment, "Where's Laurel?" she asked suddenly, "I need a way to evacuate the team."

[Talion Union]

As he was about to decapitate someone, Alice's voice stopped him, his darkened eyes got brighter and his yelling suddenly stopped.
Dropping to his knees next to the downed soldier that was easily scared to death, he told Lios to bring back Heamet's body, Alrick simply stared at the ground like he had some case of PTSD and held himself as large tears started falling from his eyes, his hair covering three quarters of his face.

"God... Fucking dammit... Why did HE have to die... Why did he want to come with me... Why didn't I die instead...? With all the shit that I've done... I at least deserved that!" Alrick punched the ground, spider webbing it more than it was.

"Why... For fuck's sake... I would've gladly took his place..." His arm started to crack, his astral body wouldn't take more punishment that it already did, the crack went up to his face as he looked at Alice.

"I can't be mad at you... He did it of his own will..."

"You're wrong Alrick... you don't deserve to die any more than he did. He will be remembered... as much as I know I spent a pot of time telling you two off, it was only out of genuine concern." Alice said quietly, then stepped forward, drawing Alrick into a hug for a moment, "Where's Laurel?" she asked suddenly, "I need a way to evacuate the team."

Creele limped towards them, stopping next to an APC. "Well, we ain't gonna fight our way out. There's an army, and I can't run like this."

[Dyelli Beybi]

"Fall back to the lift shaft." Alice said through the radio, "Everybody, if you can hear me, fall back into the interior of the bunker."

It was possibly not the best plan they had ever had, but if they disengaged and fell back inside, and if the Colonel did as she said she would do and reported the Nanites as destroyed, then there was a reasonable chance that the units outside wouldn't expend the time and resources to try to dig them out. Maybe. Or maybe they'd try to gas them or something. They would cross that bridge when they got to it. For now, staying alive was the immediate priority, "Also, has anyone seen Laurel?" she could do with someone who could open a portal about now...

[Serah]

"Fall back to the lift shaft." Alice said through the radio, "Everybody, if you can hear me, fall back into the interior of the bunker."

It was possibly not the best plan they had ever had, but if they disengaged and fell back inside, and if the Colonel did as she said she would do and reported the Nanites as destroyed, then there was a reasonable chance that the units outside wouldn't expend the time and resources to try to dig them out. Maybe. Or maybe they'd try to gas them or something. They would cross that bridge when they got to it. For now, staying alive was the immediate priority, "Also, has anyone seen Laurel?" she could do with someone who could open a portal about now...

Alrick obeyed and brought Heamet, however, what he didn't notice was that his bullet wounds that he got while he was back up were healing, slowly, but healing and completely closing, exterminating the bullets inside, his heart started to beat again, it was slow, however, it was normal after all, the brain hadn't fully regenerated and even if he opened his eyes, he would be blind, he couldn't hear anything but the thoughts of his grandfather.

'I'm going to kill every last one of them, they took him, now I'm taking them.' Alrick thought, those thoughts rang through Heamet's head like bells at a marriage, they started to be implanted in his brain before he took full possession of his own thoughts.

'Where... Ah yes. The bunker, I died. Alice probably asked us to fall back, if only I could move... Brain aneurysms are the worst... I have the biggest headache right now- wait. I'm thinking, did- did I just- I came back from the dead? Hot damn I'm awesome- ouch my thoughts. My everything.' He thought, he couldn't move yet, he felt like he was still a toddler, thinking yet not able to see nor hear.

'Hey... Lios. Can you hear me?' He tried to speak to Lios, to no avail. He didn't nor could hear him, he needed the other parts of his brain regenerated.

Bit by bit, his sense of feeling came back, he felt carried by someone, Alrick he thought, everything hurt more and more, his initial headache came back stronger than ever.

'Ow everything hurts like hell... The wind isn't blowing... everything feels dank. Like memes. Hehe, jokes. Just put a rare pepe and it'll be perfect... And to think I'm actually able to cheat death... Wait I wasn't shot, why is everything hurting? Ah, yes. Rad poisoning, fantastic. Well, I guess you could say... It ain't rad. Yeaaaaaah- ow. My everything. Still glad to see my sense of humor hasn't gotten lost in the depths of my idiocy. And I'm still speaking in a rather good manner, it's very GUD! Ah cool, Jojo memories.' He continued, he tried to move but still nothing, his motor abilities weren't in motion yet.

'For fuck's sake brain, repair faster. I need you to repair faster, like uncle sam needs me for the American army for no reason whatsoever because the government hates me. You have to fast faster. Never stop fasting. Like Sanic. Don't stop the fast.' As he finished these thoughts, he started to be able to move, not yet speak, but he could open his eyes slightly, his eyesight was still too bad for him to see anything, however, he started to be able to smell.

'It stinks! What the hell did they put in the place? It smells like something died in there! Oh wait, I am dead. Technically. Where's Laurel when you need her? I need to regenerate faster. I need to fast faster. I think the dankness is getting to me, I should stop.' His eyes fluttered open, but his pupils were devoid of any emotion, he truly was blind. That part of his brain would never be able to heal properly.

'I can't see anything! What the hell! I regenerated my sense of feeling, smell and even taste, but not my sense of vision? The hell man. What's the deal with you brain?' His sense of hearing came back to him, however, he couldn't talk, nor move.

Alrick spoke, yet he couldn't make every word out properly, the tears had stopped and he dropped to his knees in awe, Alice was close and could see what was happening, Heamet had opened his eyes, and like a living person, they were closing and reopening.

"He's... He's alive... How? How did he come back from the dead? Is he even worse than a vampire? Gods damn it... This dick is alive." Alrick simply looked at him, and hugged him.

Heamet's sens of speech started to come back to him.

"S-surpriseeeee... I- I'm aliveeee..." Heamet spoke weakly during the hug, coughing.
"I don't... I don't know if it's you gramps but... But I'm glad... Glad I'm back."

"YOU ABSOLUTE DIIIIIICK!" Alrick shouted as he hugged him again, crying in his shoulder, tears of joy this time.
"I FUCKING HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, YOU HEAR ME?! I ABSOLUTELY HATE YOU! I LOATHE YOU FROM THE DEPTHS OF MY TWO SOULS! GO FUCK YOURSELF MAN. GO. FUCK YOURSELF. DO YOU REALIZE, JUST HOW MUCH OF A SHITHEAD YOU'VE JUST BEEN TO ME?! HEIN?! EST-CE QUE TU REALISE PETIT CON?!" Even if his thoughts were a string of insults, he thought the exact opposite, he truly cared about him despite his cold exterior shell.

"Heh... Hehe... Me too gramps, me too." He felt his tears going through his shirt and heard his astral body crackling with every movement.
"Are you... Are you...? It's best I don't ask..." Weakly smiling, he spoke, however, he was blind and walking around like this wouldn't be good.

"Alice? Are you nearby...? I'm blind... I can't see you anymore... So I'll just say that, Laurel has been taken by NATO I recall, I tried to contact her before dying but she didn't respond." He spoke, weakly, but loud enough so that she would hear through Alrick.

[Dyelli Beybi]

"Okay..." Alice, perhaps surprisingly, seemed to take Heamet's miraculous recovery in her stride - she didn't have time to deal with this nonsense, "Can you make a portal?" she asked, "If so, I need the two of you to go back up topside, grab Creele and bug out back to San Francisco. Nobody knows we're down here, so as long as they see you porting out of here, they won't come searching for me and Scott."

"Scott.. it' your choice where you go. I am going to stay here to make sure that our nanites get out of here okay."

[Serah]

"Okay..." Alice, perhaps surprisingly, seemed to take Heamet's miraculous recovery in her stride - she didn't have time to deal with this nonsense, "Can you make a portal?" she asked, "If so, I need the two of you to go back up topside, grab Creele and bug out back to San Francisco. Nobody knows we're down here, so as long as they see you porting out of here, they won't come searching for me and Scott."

"Scott.. it' your choice where you go. I am going to stay here to make sure that our nanites get out of here okay."

"Of course... Gramps, let me go for a minute, I'm going to teleport everyone back into the pub we were in before we left." Heamet spoke, he managed to stand up again.

"Creele, crawl up to me, I'm going to throw you in the portal, I can't see anything as I've said, I'm blind." Heamet held his hand in the general direction of Creele, he simply needed to grab his hand and he would end up in the bar.

"If anyone else wants to bail out, grab my hand."

[Talion Union]

"Tin Men! Fall back to the Bunker!" The Tin Men fell back to the Bunker, down to only 13 of the original 24. They dug in around the entrance for defense, ready to hold out to the last man. Creele stood with them, guns blazing.

[Anowa]

"Tin Men! Fall back to the Bunker!" The Tin Men fell back to the Bunker, down to only 13 of the original 24. They dug in around the entrance for defense, ready to hold out to the last man. Creele stood with them, guns blazing.

Mother
The hostiles were bunching up, a prime target. I alternated the Missile pods on my shoulders from lock on to free fire mode, 2 missiles streaked forth, I was down to 8 now. I halted fire from my wrist mounted cannons as the heat from nigh constant fire had nearly rendered them unusable.

[Dyelli Beybi]

"Heamet." Alice yelled through the radio, "Why are you guys still here? Creele, gather people together and bug out! No dramatic last stands!"

"Heamet!" she began again, "If people won't work with you take Alrick and leave them. I'd rather take some losses than total losses because someone refuses to stop fighting. Your mission is now to live. I would say go and get Laurel, but I don't think they've built a prison that can hold her."

There were still explosions up top which meant people were still fighting. Well, they did say that plans didn't survive first contact with the enemy, but she hadn't expected it to go as catastrophically wrong as it had. She needed to get eyes on what was going on, rather than lurking at the bottom of a smashed-up elevator shaft and relying on her team to fill her in - they just weren't doing it. Her head was throbbing like she had been smacked about with a large plank. Why was she always the one who took a beating. It really wasn't fair, she was definitely the smallest Meta-human she had met, but she always seemed to be the one who got subjected to unexpected physical violence.

There was no point dwelling on it. Summoning up what reserves of power she had left she pulled up her flight bubble and gently soared up in the elevator shaft, keeping near the back where she would be hidden in shadow...

[Serah]

"Heamet." Alice yelled through the radio, "Why are you guys still here? Creele, gather people together and bug out! No dramatic last stands!"

"Heamet!" she began again, "If people won't work with you take Alrick and leave them. I'd rather take some losses than total losses because someone refuses to stop fighting. Your mission is now to live. I would say go and get Laurel, but I don't think they've built a prison that can hold her."

There were still explosions up top which meant people were still fighting. Well, they did say that plans didn't survive first contact with the enemy, but she hadn't expected it to go as catastrophically wrong as it had. She needed to get eyes on what was going on, rather than lurking at the bottom of a smashed-up elevator shaft and relying on her team to fill her in - they just weren't doing it. Her head was throbbing like she had been smacked about with a large plank. Why was she always the one who took a beating. It really wasn't fair, she was definitely the smallest Meta-human she had met, but she always seemed to be the one who got subjected to unexpected physical violence.

There was no point dwelling on it. Summoning up what reserves of power she had left she pulled up her flight bubble and gently soared up in the elevator shaft, keeping near the back where she would be hidden in shadow...

"Her reaction made Heamet raise an eyebrow despite being blind he turned towards Alice and nodded.

"Roger." However, the orders went against his moral code, so instead of just bailing out immediately, he pushed Alrick in the portal and went to get Creel, creating a barrier under him to make him slide down in a small one man portal that took him to safety.

Taking a few shots to the shoulder he smiled at Mother and spoke.

"See you later, Mom." And fell through his portal, plucking out every bits of bullets in his arm. However, the friendly nickname didn't mean he was issued by Mother herself, it was purely and simply to confuse the AI, if it was even possible.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Alice noted with satisfaction that her team were gone... and completely missed the missile until it was far too late. The explosion tore her thin telekinetic bubble open in an instant, the concussive shock from the explosion flinging her back against the rear wall of the lift shaft, knocking the wind out of her. Then she fell, plummeting back down into the darkness.

Dimly she realized she should be doing something about the descent. She flung out a barrier in front of her, but it wasn't enough to hold her weight and she tumbled, landing on her back with bone cracking force. There was pain, but so much of it that she couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Why is it always me? she thought before the darkness swept over her.

She was alive. Just. Though without serious medical attention it would not be for much longer. A cursory examination of Alice would reveal two broken ribs, a pneumothorax, a shattered right ankle, a broken right radius, coccyx and left tibia along with a major concussion and large amounts of bruising.

[Talion Union]

Alice noted with satisfaction that her team were gone... and completely missed the missile until it was far too late. The explosion tore her thin telekinetic bubble open in an instant, the concussive shock from the explosion flinging her back against the rear wall of the lift shaft, knocking the wind out of her. Then she fell, plummeting back down into the darkness.

Dimly she realized she should be doing something about the descent. She flung out a barrier in front of her, but it wasn't enough to hold her weight and she tumbled, landing on her back with bone cracking force. There was pain, but so much of it that she couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Why is it always me? she thought before the darkness swept over her.

She was alive. Just. Though without serious medical attention it would not be for much longer. A cursory examination of Alice would reveal two broken ribs, a pneumothorax, a shattered right ankle, a broken right radius, coccyx and left tibia along with a major concussion and large amounts of bruising.

Fiver-1 stood over the seriously injured body of Alice. "Need a fucking medic out here!" One of the Task Force soldiers came down, landing with a solid thud, And crouched over her. "She'll need serious medical attention" He said in a heavy metallic voice. "I will heal her to the best of my ability." Creele leaned down into the elevator shaft. "I ain't leaving without you, Alice! If you go down, I go down! We're a team, damn it!"

[Dyelli Beybi]

Alice noted with satisfaction that her team were gone... and completely missed the missile until it was far too late. The explosion tore her thin telekinetic bubble open in an instant, the concussive shock from the explosion flinging her back against the rear wall of the lift shaft, knocking the wind out of her. Then she fell, plummeting back down into the darkness.

Dimly she realized she should be doing something about the descent. She flung out a barrier in front of her, but it wasn't enough to hold her weight and she tumbled, landing on her back with bone cracking force. There was pain, but so much of it that she couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Why is it always me? she thought before the darkness swept over her.

She was alive. Just. Though without serious medical attention it would not be for much longer. A cursory examination of Alice would reveal two broken ribs, a pneumothorax, a shattered right ankle, a broken right radius, coccyx and left tibia along with a major concussion and large amounts of bruising.

Fiver-1 stood over the seriously injured body of Alice. "Need a fucking medic out here!" One of the Task Force soldiers came down, landing with a solid thud, And crouched over her. "She'll need serious medical attention" He said in a heavy metallic voice. "I will heal her to the best of my ability." Creele leaned down into the elevator shaft. "I ain't leaving without you, Alice! If you go down, I go down! We're a team, damn it!"

Alice wasn't responding. She was completely still, a thin trickle of blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth. As far as Creele, or anyone not capable of getting a good look at her would be concerned, she was dead - just another shattered body lying in the aftermath of Mother's attack.

[Ace des Coeurs]

"Look at 'em." a voice said, watching as everything unfolded before him in a cup of water mixed with red substance, "They have no idea what's comin'. Now then, let's get started."

The man smirked as he laid cards across a table with symbols etched into the wood. Taking a small vessel containing what smelled like blood, he sprinkled a red substance over the cards and over the table, closing his eyes and beginning a chant.

"Soek die wêreld, vind diegene met krag. Moet 'n deal gemaak, en 'n ooreenkoms moet getref. Vind die een wat mag begeer die meeste, die maklikste om te mislei." he chanted, over and over again.

After about three minutes of this, he set the vessel down and slowly turned the cards over, one-by-one, and arranged them into a circle around the cup of water. Dipping his index and middle fingers into the cup, the waters swirled about them, glowing red as images began to appear. They showed heroes and villains as well as those who were neutral in the fight.

"Which one should I go to?" he asked himself, laughing evilly as he saw her, the girl unconscious, death gripping her by the soul, "Ek sal spreek met hierdie persone siel, en ek sal in gesprek met hul gees."

Sprinkling a yellowish substance, the man closed his eyes, the Voodoo he was using ripping his spirit from his body and sending it to the girl, Alice.

"It seems you're in quite a predicament." he said, his voice surrounding her.

[Dyelli Beybi]

"Look at 'em." a voice said, watching as everything unfolded before him in a cup of water mixed with red substance, "They have no idea what's comin'. Now then, let's get started."

The man smirked as he laid cards across a table with symbols etched into the wood. Taking a small vessel containing what smelled like blood, he sprinkled a red substance over the cards and over the table, closing his eyes and beginning a chant.

"Soek die wêreld, vind diegene met krag. Moet 'n deal gemaak, en 'n ooreenkoms moet getref. Vind die een wat mag begeer die meeste, die maklikste om te mislei." he chanted, over and over again.

After about three minutes of this, he set the vessel down and slowly turned the cards over, one-by-one, and arranged them into a circle around the cup of water. Dipping his index and middle fingers into the cup, the waters swirled about them, glowing red as images began to appear. They showed heroes and villains as well as those who were neutral in the fight.

"Which one should I go to?" he asked himself, laughing evilly as he saw her, the girl unconscious, death gripping her by the soul, "Ek sal spreek met hierdie persone siel, en ek sal in gesprek met hul gees."

Sprinkling a yellowish substance, the man closed his eyes, the Voodoo he was using ripping his spirit from his body and sending it to the girl, Alice.

"It seems you're in quite a predicament." he said, his voice surrounding her.

The voice being around her didn't last long... from the Baron's perspective he would suddenly be on a featureless grey plain under a tin coloured sky with only two living things in sight to break up the monotany - a surprisingly vibrant rose bush and a manifestation of Alice. In this vision, which a part of her mind was sharing, he wore a black Victorian style dress, her head veiled. Beneath her feet a tomb opened up in the grey earth.

It should not have been surprising that she could pull something like that off, even if she wasn't in conscious control - Alice's powers allowed her to influence the world around her, reshape it with her will in a variety of ways. How much simpler was it to reshape the contours of her own mind?

Somewhere in the background a disembodied voice was softly speaking. If the Baron chose to listen he might recognize it;

..Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public man, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

"Yes." the manifestation of Alice said, "A predicament indeed, but one that I have always been fated to face. Everything dies."

She paused, frowning at the Baron, though it wasn't clear if she could actually make anything out about him, "You aren't Harvey." she said, "I expected him to be here.... So you are some other entity drawn to this conflict. And you speak like a salesman - Faie perhaps?"

"It hardly matters." she glanced at her wrist, though there was no watch, "Time passes and I must soon go to meet my Maker. Speak your piece."

Even in the time it had taken her to speak the horizons of the mental construct had drawn noticeably closer. It would not be long before all that was left was the girl, the rosebush and the grave.

[Ace des Coeurs]

Baron Samedi appeared before her, leaning on his skull-adorned cane. His face was painted to look like a skull, which it did do an almost hyper-realistic state, his clothes dark. Samedi smirked as he looked the girl over before his attention went to the world of her mind.

"I don't think y'alls time is up quite yet." he said, his eyes returning to her, "I'm willing to drag you out of perdition and back to the blinding light of the Land of the Living. I am offering to resurrect you, and let you keep on fighting that good 'ole fight of justice."

He reached his hand out too her, smiling innocently.

"Only thing I ask in return is that you perform a favor for me." he told her, "Just do as I ask whenever I say the word... Please. Surely such a small thing is worth protecting the world for a lil' while longer."

[Dyelli Beybi]

Baron Samedi appeared before her, leaning on his skull-adorned cane. His face was painted to look like a skull, which it did do an almost hyper-realistic state, his clothes dark. Samedi smirked as he looked the girl over before his attention went to the world of her mind.

"I don't think y'alls time is up quite yet." he said, his eyes returning to her, "I'm willing to drag you out of perdition and back to the blinding light of the Land of the Living. I am offering to resurrect you, and let you keep on fighting that good 'ole fight of justice."

He reached his hand out too her, smiling innocently.

"Only thing I ask in return is that you perform a favor for me." he told her, "Just do as I ask whenever I say the word... Please. Surely such a small thing is worth protecting the world for a lil' while longer."

Alice, or her subconscious, chuckled at the offer, "An unspecified debt to be collected later and at a time of your choosing? That sounds like a terrible deal! If you aren't Faie, then you definitely work for a credit card company."

She might not have wanted to die, but she didn't seem afraid of it, "The answer to that proposition is 'I would rather die', which, in a hilarious twist of fate, I am about to do... But." she said, "if you are the gambling type I might be able to make you a different offer. Information. It will be interesting, but the catch is I don't know what it is."

She glanced up towards the horizon and sighed, "If you are interested I can give you more details. If not... well they say that death waits for no man. Or woman."

[Anowa]

Baron Samedi appeared before her, leaning on his skull-adorned cane. His face was painted to look like a skull, which it did do an almost hyper-realistic state, his clothes dark. Samedi smirked as he looked the girl over before his attention went to the world of her mind.

"I don't think y'alls time is up quite yet." he said, his eyes returning to her, "I'm willing to drag you out of perdition and back to the blinding light of the Land of the Living. I am offering to resurrect you, and let you keep on fighting that good 'ole fight of justice."

He reached his hand out too her, smiling innocently.

"Only thing I ask in return is that you perform a favor for me." he told her, "Just do as I ask whenever I say the word... Please. Surely such a small thing is worth protecting the world for a lil' while longer."

Alice, or her subconscious, chuckled at the offer, "An unspecified debt to be collected later and at a time of your choosing? That sounds like a terrible deal! If you aren't Faie, then you definitely work for a credit card company."

She might not have wanted to die, but she didn't seem afraid of it, "The answer to that proposition is 'I would rather die', which, in a hilarious twist of fate, I am about to do... But." she said, "if you are the gambling type I might be able to make you a different offer. Information. It will be interesting, but the catch is I don't know what it is."

She glanced up towards the horizon and sighed, "If you are interested I can give you more details. If not... well they say that death waits for no man. Or woman."

Hussar
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary Alice." I spoke from Alice's left, "greater powers are at work here, you need not worry about death."

A tall woman to Alice's right spoke, the woman was adorned in the armor of what seemed to be a Greek Hoplite, "Indeed, you have garnered quite the amount of attention for your future exploits, I heard The Oracle has a few prophecies of you." she turned to look at The Baron, "It would be beneficial for your health to leave."

[Ace des Coeurs]

Baron Samedi appeared before her, leaning on his skull-adorned cane. His face was painted to look like a skull, which it did do an almost hyper-realistic state, his clothes dark. Samedi smirked as he looked the girl over before his attention went to the world of her mind.

"I don't think y'alls time is up quite yet." he said, his eyes returning to her, "I'm willing to drag you out of perdition and back to the blinding light of the Land of the Living. I am offering to resurrect you, and let you keep on fighting that good 'ole fight of justice."

He reached his hand out too her, smiling innocently.

"Only thing I ask in return is that you perform a favor for me." he told her, "Just do as I ask whenever I say the word... Please. Surely such a small thing is worth protecting the world for a lil' while longer."

Alice, or her subconscious, chuckled at the offer, "An unspecified debt to be collected later and at a time of your choosing? That sounds like a terrible deal! If you aren't Faie, then you definitely work for a credit card company."

She might not have wanted to die, but she didn't seem afraid of it, "The answer to that proposition is 'I would rather die', which, in a hilarious twist of fate, I am about to do... But." she said, "if you are the gambling type I might be able to make you a different offer. Information. It will be interesting, but the catch is I don't know what it is."

She glanced up towards the horizon and sighed, "If you are interested I can give you more details. If not... well they say that death waits for no man. Or woman."

"I like you, girl." Samedi said, smirking, "You've got a lot of spunk, I appreciate that. It's such a breath of fresh air, since most people are willing to do just about anything in order to get out of dyin'. I'll tell you what, I'll give you one for fr-"

Alice, or her subconscious, chuckled at the offer, "An unspecified debt to be collected later and at a time of your choosing? That sounds like a terrible deal! If you aren't Faie, then you definitely work for a credit card company."

She might not have wanted to die, but she didn't seem afraid of it, "The answer to that proposition is 'I would rather die', which, in a hilarious twist of fate, I am about to do... But." she said, "if you are the gambling type I might be able to make you a different offer. Information. It will be interesting, but the catch is I don't know what it is."

She glanced up towards the horizon and sighed, "If you are interested I can give you more details. If not... well they say that death waits for no man. Or woman."

Hussar
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary Alice." I spoke from Alice's left, "greater powers are at work here, you need not worry about death."

A tall woman to Alice's right spoke, the woman was adorned in the armor of what seemed to be a Greek Hoplite, "Indeed, you have garnered quite the amount of attention for your future exploits, I heard The Oracle has a few prophecies of you." she turned to look at The Baron, "It would be beneficial for your health to leave."

"And what have we here." Baron Samedi said, walking around the woman and examining here, "It feels like something I ain't seen in a long, long time. And I mean long before I myself became the Loa of the Dead, and the true Baron Samedi still walked the Earth."

[Dyelli Beybi]

Hussar
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary Alice." I spoke from Alice's left, "greater powers are at work here, you need not worry about death."

A tall woman to Alice's right spoke, the woman was adorned in the armor of what seemed to be a Greek Hoplite, "Indeed, you have garnered quite the amount of attention for your future exploits, I heard The Oracle has a few prophecies of you." she turned to look at The Baron, "It would be beneficial for your health to leave."

"Harvey!" Alice exclaimed, a smile breaking across the face of the subconscious construct who then turned and unexpectedly hugged the angelic entity, like she was a long lost daughter, "I knew that we weren't hearing voices, though the waking me will probably still think I'm going slowly mad."

"If it is the will of the Lord that I should live then far be it from me to die." the grave at her feet abruptly vanished. Apparently she was touched with a spot of religious fervor. That was something she had kept well under wraps, but probably also explained a fair bit about her, "And I wasn't afraid." she said, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die."

"And what have we here." Baron Samedi said, walking around the woman and examining here, "It feels like something I ain't seen in a long, long time. And I mean long before I myself became the Loa of the Dead, and the true Baron Samedi still walked the Earth."

"I was going to guess at 'Valkyrie'." the Alice-construct added conversationally, "But she looks more Greek than Norse."

The horizon was creeping in a lot more slowly now. The angelic presence of Hussar had her fighting to stay alive in a way she had not been before.