(DELETED)

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Bert_the_Turtle]

How do we innoculate two dragon spirits? Honestly, how?

[KonThaak]

Oooohhhh, shit... Owowowowowowowowowow... >_< Pain-killer wore off, snapped me awake good and proper...

Uh... In answer to your questions, Bert, whatever you did seems to have worked.

Now I'm going to call the nurse and get some Flintstone's chewable morphine, stat.

I've still got a few hours before morning.

[KonThaak]

When I got separated from the others, I was in the refinery. (At least, I'm surmising it was the refinery, from the amount of pipes, machines, and pumps in the room...) At that time, I was armed with the handgun and shotgun that Ron helped train me with, Claw's saber, and my claymore, which was, at that time, inhabited by Cubrious... I was also wearing the armor and the flashbang suppression helmet that Bert had given me, plus my own magic armor, and a charm to help reduce damage I might receive in combat.

When I caught sight of Famine, he was wearing some kind of armor, he had flashbangs (which I only recognized thanks to Bert; I was glad for the suppression helmet at that point), and a couple of big guns I'd never seen before. I haven't talked to anyone knowledgeable enough to tell me what they were; I just know that he pointed them, and everything he pointed at was destroyed. It wasn't an energy weapon... I just don't know what it was.

I did know, while running away in a manner that would've made our Sir Robin proud, that all that armor I'd put on was pretty much useless against that kind of onslaught. It might have held for a few seconds, but there was no guarantee of that. This thing was shredding oil pipes into shrapnel at the drop of a hat...

I sent Cubrious off to confuse him... He made shadows move and echoed the sounds of my footsteps to throw Famine off my track. It worked.

I knew I had to do something they wouldn't fully expect, because Shepard had openly told us that these guys were all very fully informed on our abilities... That told me that if I was going to survive this encounter, I had to do it with abilities I hadn't talked about in the forums, yet.

Claw had an interesting proposal... My shapeshifting uses the spiritual energy of creatures to reshape my body. Normally, I use the lingering essence of a spirit in a bone or some other remain of a deceased creature, but since dragon spirits leave no remains in our plane, he was willing to bond to my soul directly to allow me to take the form of a hybrid humanoid dragon.

So we tried it.

And it hurt. At the time, I thought it was one of the most painful experiences I'd ever had. Now I think differently, but it still hurt like hell. A dragon has so much more energy than a human; it's damaging to a soul to try to house that much more energy in that fashion. My very soul was almost literally on fire.

That's not even mentioning the fact that I'd been in such a hurry to try it, I hadn't removed Bert's armor. My tail and wings felt like they were slowly getting crushed as they grew and curled in on themselves inside the armor.

I guess Famine heard me scream, because next thing I knew, I was getting hit with shrapnel from those weird guns. It ripped through Bert's armor, but my dragonscales kept me mostly safe from harm. Not quite completely... I knew I had more holes in my body at that point in time than I'd had going into the fight.

I got knocked off my feet, though, and I guess he figured there was no way I could survive a direct shot like that, because he turned his back. With my wings and tail free, I hit him with a rather hot blast of dragonfire, intense enough that it blew several pipes around him.

I don't know when all the machinery got activated...but at some point, it did, and I heard a giant drill firing up over me around this point in time.

Well, Famine drops his guns, and turns around, and starts coming at me all slow-like... His armor is ruinned. I see tattoos covering his body, and he's got a couple of katanas that are glowing blue...

He rushed me. I waited until the last possible second, then grabbed the katanas, rolled back, and kicked him up into the drill.

Here's the scary part... When I touched the katanas, they started rapidly draining Claw's spirit... Fortunately, I was in contact with them for so little time that they didn't do extensive damage, but he's going to be resting and unable to fight for a while, as a result.

Famine left me a final present... A couple of grenades he dropped on his one-way trip to the drill... They ended up blowing more shrapnel into me, as I was re-assuming my human form...

When Adama and Bert found me, I was suffering from multiple first-degree burns, and a lot of shrapnel wounds. They almost magically closed my wounds with the shrapnel still inside me, but they realized their mistake. I was in a coma, but I was still partly aware of everything happening around me... I don't remember posting the cryptic message on that page, but it was probably while I was out... That was the kind of thoughts I was having during that time.

And the rest, y'all already know...

[Bert_the_Turtle]

In our own defense KT, it was that or have you bleed out on us and I didn't have enough duck tape to cover all those holes.

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Shadowstalker]

Ben I think you got hit in the head very hard, and I hope for your sake Celeste takes that into account before she pops you one upside your head for this post of your's.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Oh yeah Ben, Celeste was all over you *chuckles*.

Now, where did I leave off?

Right, the deception worked. War climbed up "after me". I spotted some of the hardware he was carrying, a LAW and soem grenades and tried to get a bead on them with my Grenade Launcher; my idea was to detonate all the explosives he was carrying with him.

Unfortunately I couldn't get a clear shot and that would require climbing up after him which would've been a monumentally stupid idea.

While all this happened, War made it to the next level and started searching me out. Then he stars walking back towards me, though he's still a level above. I pulled out a half-pound block of C4 that I'd rigged before the fight to a remote detonater and hung it on the deck grating so he'd walk over it.

I waited inside an inactive boiler and watched as he approached my trap. Just as he stepped on the mark I triggered the explosive and pulled the boiler door shut; shielding myself from the explosion.

All was quiet in the aftermath of the explosion. I tried to take the Boiler Door off and use it as a shield but I didnt' have access to the hinges from inside the boiler and I sure as hell wasn't gonna stand out in plain view while I fiddled with the door. So, I tossed a Smoke and Tear Gas grenade out the door and crept out (I wanted to make sure I wasn't gonna be gunned down as soon as I left my hidey hole). I found a flat piece of metal which I later used as a splint for my leg and then I found War. His legs and arm were gone, as was an eye. He was pinned under a huge mound of twisted metal and had a pipe sticking out of his chest. His remaining eye rolled to look at me, and he lifted up his gun with his remaining arm. I threw myself to one side to make it harder for him to attack me while emptying my clip into his body (had my leg been working I would've sprinted out of range and let him bleed to death, but I was moving none too fast and couldn't risk being shot in the back as I hobbled away).

And thus War was ended. I used a roll of duck tape to patch up my leg, pulling flaps of skin over other flaps of skin and duck taping them together and then taped the metal to my leg to act as a splint. My shoulder got similar treatment. And thus I went to leave, but the exit was blocked by debris; and with me losing blood I didn't have time to clear it by hand. A small charge sent the debris flying away from the exit stairs but started a perilous race to freedom and safety.

I'll post some more later.

[Celeste Darken]

I walked over to Cee, shrapnel bouncin' off my rock hard abbs.

She got up and ran to me, " Ben, you saved me, how can I ever repay you. " she said to me.

"Shucks ma'am, " I said, " It weren't nothin' Its my job, my life to serve and protect. "

Cee gazed longingly into my eyes, a look of admiration and desire wellin' up within them. She drew closer...

I backed away, " Sorry Celeste,
but I know what your feelin' now is natural, havin' just saved your life and all, but I'm not the guy for you. Im a sheriff, and my mistress is the law. Maybe one day somewhere in this mixed up, crazy world you'll find find someone. "

" Oh Ben " she said, " I can never find someone as ruged and brave as you. "

" Well then, give me some sugar baby. "

. . . .?!!! One . . . two . . . three . . . four.

I suppose I should relate my portion of the story concerning the oil rig, as a certain man has several accounts . . . skewed. I shall take Shadowstalker’s suggestion in mind. And I suggest, Mr. Holister, while you are at the hospital, as soon as all the present . . . difficulties have been completed, that you have your head checked.

As Konthaak had stated, I must have hitched a ride with someone else; but that little detail is not important. Let us just say I have friends that don’t frequent the Lazlo Society and leave it at that. Since a number of posters have declared their faith and trust in me, let my word suffice that the individuals who helped me are also trustworthy; but they wish to remain nameless, as dealing with vampires in their line of business is not exactly . . . encouraged, let us say.

Shepard had it in his mind to divide us and pick us off individually with his “Horsemen.” The idea was to “divide and conquer,” I presume. Bert was to deal with War; Konthaak, Famine; Adama, Pestilence. And as for myself . . . Death.

But we all knew him better as Ben Holister.

My battle took place on a high tower with no cover anywhere. It was literally a featureless platform at the top, the drop off was a good sixty feet, with nothing but the waters of the sea to surround us. I could barely make out another tower, even higher than the one we inhabited, a little ways apart, though too far for me to worry about with such immediate concerns to take the forefront of my mind. At first, I thought my battle had already taken place and involved two foes: Ben Holister, nearly unrecognizable as once our friend, his features frozen in an expressionless grimace that somehow still exuded the inner conflict within; the second figure was a man dressed in blood-spattered robes, his wounds received by an entire arsenal of weaponry: there were the smooth and jagged tears done by blade; riddled bullet holes rimmed in blood, by automatic machine guns; and charred and smoking flesh and robes, flames and explosives; each wound seemed strong enough to shred an ordinary human thrice over, yet the robed man lurched for me wearily.

“Better hurry,” Holister said, though I was uncertain to whom he was addressing. “I won’t wait too long; and you’re nearly dead, anyway.”

I sensed no trouble from the second man; he laboriously made a staggered path toward me, though every step must have been agony. He nearly fell at the last step, and I quickly knelt in front of him, my brow furrowed when he collapsed in my arms. He weighed no more than a feather; even if I hadn’t my supernatural strength, to hold him would have required no effort. He slowly raised his gaze toward mine, his eyes clouding over as death sought to tug him free; but he held on stubbornly. I tried to place his face within my memory, but was unable. It was indescribable, but not in a bad way. It was a face no different than any other human in a large crowd. It seemed washed out and faded, a face that no memory could hold. His cracked lips parted, and when he spoke, I instantly understood.

“Nocturnal goddess . . .” he croaked, his failing eyes seeking my face. “You are just as beautiful as I imagined . . .” He broke off in a fit of coughing, but he rallied. “I wanted to see you before I died. To apologize for . . . my failure. I failed you . . .” He raised a reddened palm, caressing my cheek gently.

A flash of memories . . . his memories . . . touched my mind.

“Finish . . . what I began . . .” he implored, and then suddenly sagged in my arms.

“Grim . . .”

I didn’t speak, nor could I find the proper emotion to convey when he died. And for that reason, I was expressionless when his body turned into mist and discorporated.

“Interesting,” Death spoke in Ben’s voice. “How he wanted to see you before he died. Especially in that false form, pretending to be a human. I would have thought his demonic visage much more suitable, considering that he was a monster from hell. Declared from his own lips; do not bother to deny it.”

I slowly stood, the fire inside my eyes licking through my irises angrily. “Shepard,” I announced caustically. “Tonight, you die. Tonight, Ben Holister goes free.”

He smiled humorlessly and brought up the weapons he had chosen to start the melee.

And the battle began.

It was rather uneven to start, though well-matched. I held back because I had no desire to kill him; I knew Ben was not responsible for his actions. In the meantime, Death, augmented through magic, held back because Ben would not give up his body and mind without a fight. We feinted back and forth for the first portion of the battle, seeking openings within established defenses. Death was decked in combat fatigues and armed with a slue of weapons, all calibrated to killing vampires. My opponent was going after me with an eighteen inch, silver-plated, kris dagger when the photographs came.

I smelled Konthaak’s signature of magic on them, these pictures of Ben and Molly. And suddenly, I knew my chances of getting through Death and to Ben had just gotten a lot easier. Up to now, I had been dodging and parrying his attacks, trying to reason with the human just underneath the monster. But now I took a chance, remaining still and cajoling Ben to come out. Death charged me with the twisted dagger leading, aiming for my heart. I took his wrist and deflected it downward, intentionally ramming it through my stomach. Gritting my teeth against the dull pain, I grasped his wrist and held him fast.

“Benjamin Holister,” I called to him, staring into his eyes. “Listen to my voice. You are not the murderer they would want you to be. You are a father. To her,” I showed him the picture of Molly, and his distant gaze became focused on it. “Do not return with the need to explain yourself. You are not only a father, you are a man of the law. Humanity’s law; thus, you should be one of their saviors. Not one of their destroyers.”

Holister froze. A wild look of chaos rushed through his eyes. He suddenly cried out in pain, dropping to his knees, clutching at his head. He gasped once, and fell to the deck.

Shepard was not one to have his crony leave his side so suddenly. I spun about with the force of the bullet hitting my shoulder. I pinpointed the shot to a man on the distant tower. He was older, his face horribly misshapen.

A man, if it could be called that, stood by on the deck, a flechette in his hand. Here was the cyborg, a thing of metal. He was a Juggernaut intent to destroy me. The wound had only grazed me, but it hurt far more than was ordinary for silver, healed slowly, and bled sparks like an artery.

Shepard called out from a loudspeaker, “My dear Celeste, you do remember my son David, don’t you? I’m sure he remembers you. You are not leaving this place alive, monster!”

As a second hail of bullets came screaming.

“Kill her, then that traitor Death!”

“DIE SLUT!!!” Shepard yelled his favorite monicker of me through his . . . “son’s loudspeaker. I leaped out of the way of the bullets, skirting the lip of the deck and drawing the fire away from Holister. But its wild burst slapped into my hip, and another agonizing splash of pain with it. It was far faster in movement than any machine that bulky had a right to be. I hit the deck, it approached. It loomed over me; Shepard gloated; a mistake. A panther’s growl escaped my lips, and I lunged up, tearing into it. It staggered beneath my blow, but Holister had one thing correct: it was specifically made to kill me. A punch to my temple sent me sprawling to the deck yet again.

I waited, braced on my hands in a prone push up position. When it drew near, I vaulted into action, weighting myself down by adhering my palms against the deck floor and spinning my legs against it, memories of gymnastic endeavors fueling the double strike against the back of its knees. As it tumbled to the ground, I pounced on its back and interlaced my fingers over the top of its metallic head, my palms against its temples.

“Haven’t you figured it out?” I growled to Shepard, putting the full force of my vampiric strength to shove its head together. “I am already dead.”

“So tell me, Shepard,” I snarled. “How does it feel to be damned? Did you sell your soul yourself, or did you have to have help for that, too? And how many others have you bargained for?”

Suddenly a sharp ping erupted in my chest, sending agony throughout my body. A series of hollow silver reeds ejected from the thing’s spine and into me; the scent of water, obviously blessed, filled my nostrils, and I was forced to back down.

My body began to smoke as the lethal does of some sort of poison coursed through me. The torso of the wretched abomination spun to face me; sinew and entrails simply plummeted to the ground in a macabre “flop.”

As a flash of intense flames erupt from the tubes benathe its arms.

Still fazed and dizzy by the Holy Water coursing through me, I forgot my immunity to fire and leaped clear. And here Ben did[/I awaken. But he wasn’t quite as . . . eloquent as he portrayed himself. I won’t post his exact words; Molly should keep [i]some of her father’s dignity.

But he was a good shot. I will give him credit for that. It turned its attention away from me as two more slugs buried themselves into the chest of the monstrosity.

Thats when I saw it . . . a glowing green fluid filled cylinder with a human heart in side of it, buried deep in the titanium chest cavity. It sprayed fire in Ben’s direction as he dove out the way, throwing away the spent gun and grabbing a fresh one. Ben unintentionally distracted the thing, while I leaped upon its back and planted my feet to its shoulder blades, adhering to it in case it tried another pirouette. Ripped away at the metal encasing the strange canister, I yanked the thing free and jumped clear.

It suddenly dropped like the dead thing it was.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Woot! *Cheers!* Go Cee!

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Shadowstalker]

Holister you know such statements can get you in a lot of trouble don't you?

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Yeah, he might end up working with Adam and Jamie and those bastards are *Really* nuts!

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Just like Fuzzy always said, "If brute force isn't working, you're not using enough of it."

[KonThaak]

:lol: Well at least I did actually take down Shepard when he tried playin' sniper on Cee. Of course I used a LAW on the guy, but it worked. :wink:

"LAW" man to the end, huh, Holister?

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Yeeeah, ok Ben, no more Evil Dead or Army of Darkness for you.

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Great, I figured it'd work out.

So, lessee, where'd I leave off...


The small explosive charge I used to clear away the debris blocking the exit must've been the straw that broke the camels back. I could hear metal screaming from stress as I raced back towards the stairs, stopping momentarily only to grab the LAW that War had. I was racing (that is hobbling) up the stairs as fast as I could, the stairwell collapsing right behind me. I managed to hurl myself up the last few and onto the landing before the rest of the stairs gave way beneath me. At this point I tried to get moving again and blacked out for an undetermined amount of time. I remember feeling sick to the point it felt like I was dying and my cry of help on the radio was answered by Dr. Chase and then I knew only blackness.


Some more later.

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Heh, I wasn't kidding when I said I should've died twice that day. and yeah, I'd hate to have lost me too.

[Ron Caliburn]

Yeeeah, ok Ben, no more Evil Dead or Army of Darkness for you.

Hey now, those are great instructional videos.

[Kolya]

"Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand things with alloys and compositions and things with... molecular structures."

[Celeste Darken]

Did she ever tell ya' that we slept together.

!!!!!!!????? Five . . . six . . . seven . . .

Somehow, I doubt the veracity of your “rock hard” abs, Mr. Holister, though I’ll leave your “bed skills” alone. I didn’t experience them. And for the record, the only “crushes” I go through, I inflict myself; just ask Willie in Saginaw. Those men won’t recover their SUV soon. As for finding the right man, the only one I have ever felt even the slightest attraction to is . . . never mind. Needless to say, it would never work out; he is a human, I am a vampire. That combination doesn’t mix very well. For that matter, neither do vampires and vampires. I doubt our privies even work in the same way, if at all.

Why am I even discussing this!?

Back to the story.

Ben approached me, bloodied, battered and singed, and said, quite literally, “I don’t have a clue of what’s goin’ on here, but I’m glad I came for the fireworks. You look like hell, Celeste, here, let me give you a hand.”

I grabbed him to push him down, but not before Shepard had shot a hole through my shoulder. Shepard began ranting how I had killed his son . . . again. Before he could get in another shot, Ben shoved me aside and dove, and the next bullet ricocheted off the deck railing.

Then a young girl’s voice called out. “Daddy! I found you!” Molly was running across the deck, somehow having found a way up.

And I have to ask, Mr. Turtle . . . WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! Giving a seven-year-old child a BAZOOKA!? Shepard was getting ready for another shot . . .

“Keep Molly safe,” I hissed to Ben, then leaping away, the sniper barrel following.

“You want your son back, Shepard!?” I roared, smashing the canister over my knee. Then catch!” Tossing the contents overboard, I grabbed the cyborgs ankles, twirled in a circle several times overhead, and released the catch.

“YOU--!” Whatever else Shepard was going to roar was drowned out by his wrath; he sent a bullet shearing through my side, lungs, and heart. The force of the blow hurled me to the ground.

Ben had rushed to Molly and shielded her from any danger. By then he had the LAW in possession, passed on by his daughter. He aimed below the tower.

Flames erupted; the tower began to sway wildly. Shepard fell hard, slamming onto the deck with us. Tossing aside the spent weapon, Ben picked up Molly and rushed to my side, where I was painfully getting to my feet.

The sound of a helicopter could be heard in the distance.

[Holister]

(DELETED)

[Shadowstalker]

Sheesh it is a wonder any of you made it back much less all of you, I am glad all of you did in fact make it back. Celeste you are giveing Holister some leway as he seem to be suffering from some kind of delusions, tho if he keep it up I may have to give him a pop up side the head to knock his marbels back in place if that is possible.

[Ron Caliburn]

Me, and the blood sucker?

You must have taken a couple more hard ones to the head than they thought.

[Shang Li]

Mr. Holister - I hope you did not drink the tea I gave you for your trip yourself. That was supposed to be to help make the locals more helpful when you asked them questions. (a touch of jimson weed [a very minute touch], some oolong, and some dried poppy milk if you must know)