Home is where they rip your heart out

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:00 pm

Depressing title I know, but most of my visit home was like that.

At the start, i'd like to give a big thanks to Bert and his training camp. Some of the things I learned there saved my life.

This whole misadventure started when I got word from an old friend. My stepfather was in the hospital. He had been attacked on his way home from work and beaten nearly to death. As alarming as this was, the worse was yet to come. A message was left on his beaten body, addressed to me.

Learning of this, I made all speed home. When I reached the hospital, I was promptly grabbed by the police for questioning. Thankfully, I was quickly marked off the list of suspects. I had verifiable proof that I had not been in town. After the police questioned me, they let me see the note that had been left for me. It had only two words.

"Welcome Home".

The Dark Voice · Post by **The Dark Voice** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:20 pm

I hope you enjoyed you trip home Spider. My only regret is that I wan't the one to leave you that tantalizing note. Of course, I would've left it on his corpse.

My gratitude to whoever arranged this.

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:21 pm

I'm glad my training helped and saddened it was necessary.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Tue May 08, 2007 7:37 pm

Well, after reading that note, I was decidedly pissed off. I made my way back to the hospital where I was finally able to see my mother. She was understandably upset, but also glad to see me. I have not been home in three years. I call her regulalrly (she thinks I work for a travel agency) and send her gifts and cards on holidays and birthdays, but I always keep my distance from home. I have to.

I learned from her that my stepfather was in stable condition and the doctors had given him excellent odds for a full recovery. Good news, but that in no way reduced my anger. Some one had chossen a very painful way to send me a message and I was looking forward to replying to it, personally.

I watched over my stepfather for several hours while my mom got some rest. During that time I tried to think of who could have done this. I'm not in a habit of letting my enemies live, so I have very few and the ones I know that are still alive would have been much more extreme in sending this message.

A little while later my uncle arrived and told me to go home and get some rest. I was a little confused for a second, as I really didn't know which home he was talking about. I've considered the road my home for a long time now.

As I was walking to my rental car in the parking deck I heard a noise behind me and I whirled around. Standing there were two men in black suits. Men in Black if you like. How they had managed to sneak up on me was the first question that popped into my head. I didn't get a chance for second as a impact on my shoulder distracted me. I reached behind me and found something small stuck in my shoulder. I yanked it out and took a look at it. It was a tranq dart. I think I managed to get out a "What the fuck" before I blacked out, but i'm not entirely sure.

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Tue May 08, 2007 8:32 pm

You obviously didn't take my "There is never a wrong time for body armor" lesson seriously.

Shadowstalker · Post by **Shadowstalker** » Tue May 08, 2007 8:44 pm

No I think it is to much confidence in that trick of his.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Tue May 08, 2007 8:46 pm

Actually I'm still trying to get some Bert. :oops:

The trick usually works Shadow, they used psionics to mask their approach.

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Tue May 08, 2007 9:57 pm

Why didn't you ever say so?

Ron! Hook this guy up! Charge it to my account.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Tue May 08, 2007 10:59 pm

Gee, thanks. Still, i'm more than happy to pay for it.

Kei Nakamura · Post by **Kei Nakamura** » Wed May 09, 2007 7:11 am

Give me an address, I have a few sets of armor that were used in a couple experiments. I assure you you the ceramic inserts, and the kevlar layer are both working to at least the original specifications. as for the ceramics, they have been coated in a variety of substances.

Took damn near forever to find how to get various substances to precipate on the ceramics without imbedding into the kevlar weave, or destroying the fabrics.

Got hired for that one, someone had a team that was being found with vests intact, over skeletons, with teh ceramics and bones coated in various precious materials - never did figure out the diamond bit - the bones and fabrics cant survive at those preasure/heat ranges.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Wed May 09, 2007 11:13 am

What you want GS, something light and concealable for day to day? Something for field work? Something for battle conditions?

Do you want some of my modifications for dealing with mystic attacks?

Now I will point out that depending on the type of vest and where on the shoulder the dart hit, there may have been little that could have been done. Kevlar, as good as it is, does have a habit of letting needle like objects through with little obstruction and very few body armour systems include lates in the shoulders for mobility reasons.

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Wed May 09, 2007 12:54 pm

A layer of scale mail would take care of anything like that.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Wed May 09, 2007 1:06 pm

Not prfectly, but it would seal 99% of the gaps.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Wed May 09, 2007 1:42 pm

Well I guess what I would want is something light and concealable, not only for day to day but also so it won't interfere with my movements. My fighting style is very fluid and I really don't want anything tripping me up. As for encounters with magic users, Karlash protects me some there, as do certain magic items i've acquired over the years.

As for whether the body armor would've helped with the needle, i'm not so sure. These guys were well briefed on what I could do and i'm sure they had several contingency plans.

DarKnyht · Post by **DarKnyht** » Wed May 09, 2007 3:28 pm

Body armor cannot always be on. If someone is determined to do you harm, they will find an opening in your defenses.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Wed May 09, 2007 10:45 pm

I awoke sitting in, of all places, a waiting room. Like the kind you find outside of an Exec's office. There was no one else in the room, and so I took a moment to take stock. I quickly realized they had stripped me of all weapons, including Karlash. The room itself was not too large and had only two doors, some chairs, and a desk. I looked over at the desk and saw a phone sitting on it. I stood up and began moving over to the desk, when one of the doors opened and a woman walked in.

"Good sir, you're awake. I'll call back and let the Director know."

She walked past me, sat at her desk and dialed a number on the phone. After a quick conversation she hung up and gestured at the chair I had previously occupied.

"Please have a seat sir. You'll be taken back to see the Director momentarily."

I glanced at the door which she had entered the room from.

"There are a group of guards out there." She said, noticing the glance.

I sat back down, not really ready to make trouble until i knew excatly what the hell was going on here. And to be frank, I was really off my guard. I had expected to wake up in a cell or something. At the very least, I had expected to be restrained in some way. Demons and cultists I can handle, but this was something new. My thoughts were interrupted by the inner door opening. Two men in black stepped into the room.

"Please come with us sir." It sounded like a polite suggestion, but I knew I had no choice.

"Have a nice day sir." The woman said as the door closed.

The two men escorted me down a long, door lined hallway. I was now convinced I was in some sort of office building, as each door opened into a office. People were working in each one, On the phone, doing paperwork, etc. I tried looking out the windows as I passed, but everyone had their blinds closed. At the end of the hall we took a left and entered another hall, this one devoid of offices. It had only a single door at the end.

"You know guys, if Donald Trump wanted to have a meeting he could have simply called." They didn't even flinch. We arrived at the door and one of my escorts knocked on the door and then opened it. He gestured for me to enter.

"Thanks for the tour guys. I hope that cat gives your tongues back."

I walked into the office and they closed the door behind me. I only spared the office a glance. It was large and well furnished. That really didn't matter to me as all my attention was drawn to the man sitting behind a large desk.

"Dad?"

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Wed May 09, 2007 11:35 pm

Wow!

What happened next?

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Wed May 09, 2007 11:46 pm

Light, concealable, unobtrusive, conventional . . . see what I can come up with.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Thu May 10, 2007 12:34 am

My father, the man who I had not spoken to in eight years. The man who had just left me and my mother after the death of my little brother and sister. The man who looked at me like a failure. The man I despised.

Sometimes I wonder what my mother ever saw in him. He is cold, calculating, ruthless, and arrogant. He is also brilliant, rich, and charming.

I hate it when people say that I am alot like him. I think I hate it because they are right.

I sat down in a chair opposite him and just looked at him. I wasn't going to start this conversation.

"You've caused me alot of trouble Konrad. Your recent activities have raised concerns with my superiors. You have alot of explaining to do."

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Thu May 10, 2007 1:14 am

Given my own recent, brief, violen reunion with my own father, I will say that was the worst way he could start things.

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Thu May 10, 2007 1:32 am

Ouch.

I hope you made him eat his words.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Thu May 10, 2007 1:58 am

I was quite confused at his words. Not to mention more than a little angry. Still, what was he talking about? My father worked for a R&D firm, what did that have to do with my recent activities.

"Don't look so surprised boy. Of course we would keep an eye on you. You are after all my son."

"Who are we?" I asked, finally deciding to join the conversation.

He was silent for a minute, than rose from his chair.

"Follow me."

We left his office, picking up the two men in black again. He walked all the way to the opposite end of the hall. All that was there was a blank wall. My father ran his hand down one part of the wall. Almost immediately, the wall parted revealing an elevator. It opened and we walked inside, escorts and all.

My father inserted a key into the control panel, and the elevator doors closed and it started moving down.

"Let me give you a history lesson."

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:00 am

Concealed elevators - never a good sign.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Thu May 10, 2007 6:23 pm

As the elevator descended, my father lectured on.

"In the beggining, hunters of the supernatural had no need to hide. The supernatural was more prevalent then and mankind had not yet started worshipping science and reason as they do today. Some secret societies were formed, but the need for secrecy simply did not exist like it does today."

"Your not telling me anything I don't know." I said, tiring quickly of his lecture. He continued on, ignoring me.

"Then, the age of Reason dawned and the supernatural was pushed into the realms of myth and legend. No one wanted to believe that it existed. Those who hunted it were called madmen and fools. To continue their work, the hunters went underground and the number of secret societies exploded. Unfortunatley, many of these societies had conflicting agendas and soon fell to infighting. This infighting continues to this day, though with much less violence."

"Still, there was few attempts at unification of the societies until the arrival of Queen Victoria."

"The Queen Victoria?" I asked, a little shocked at this development.

"Yes, the very same. She herself was a member of a secret society, and was quite disgusted at the infighting amongst the societies. Using her influence as Queen of the British Empire, she managed to get many of the societies to agree to a conclave of sorts. Her hope was that she could get the many societies to, if not unify, then at least agree to some common goals. She proposed a charter of sorts, with a unified course of action. Quite a few of the societies, especially the ones from the eastern world, vehemently disagreed to this charter, thinking it was another attempt at western imperialism. They stormed out. Still, many stayed, as they were quite intrigued with the Queen's proposal."

Now I was fascinated.

"In the end, after much wheeling and dealing, the charter was signed by many of the remaining societies. They would keep much of their independence, but would have to answer to a council. This council would be made up of ambassadors from each of the societies."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Wow."

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Sun May 13, 2007 12:31 am

You know, I just looked at the number of posts i've made and its over 500.

Seeing this has made me think back on my entire association with the Lazlo Society. My recent encounter with my father has made me do alot of retrospective thinking, about alot of things.

When I returned to the Society, back in March, I believe I had a grand total of twenty posts. That's after two years of being a member. I realize that I had a tendency to go missing for months at a time, but I think the low number of posts was also due to another reason. I really wasn't interested, at the time, in being a big help to the Society. Frankly, I just wanted some help on my case (those damn grimoires, they started alot of things for me) and really didn't care about any one else's investigations. Then I opened the first of Belladrox's locks. It took that to make me realize that there were bigger things going on than my own crusade against the darkness.

So, when I returned in March, I decided to be alot more committed to helping the Society as a whole. I'm really glad I made that descision.

Koralth · Post by **Koralth** » Sun May 13, 2007 12:58 am

GS, I promise you that I'm thankful you made that decision, too. I appreciate that you and your crew are here for us.

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Sun May 13, 2007 3:18 am

The least I can do, seeing as how Zack risked his neck to save me.

The Dark Voice · Post by **The Dark Voice** » Sun May 13, 2007 3:28 am

If this doesn't show how untrust worthy the Spider is, I don't know what will. How long until he he shows his true colors again and abandons you all.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Sun May 13, 2007 10:48 am

Hi Voice,

The answer is obvious . . . he won't leave us until at least Belladrox is defeated.

Hannah

PS: I guess that means you'll have to be dead too.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Sun May 13, 2007 10:08 pm

That's my girl.