Averick

"Languages? Oh lord no. I only speak fifteen. Now my older brother, he was brilliant with languages. I was always better with math and science." Doctor Von Krayzee looked at the Cybernetic Tomato and sighed. "Until recently, that is."

"Gaelic, for 'to your health'," Doctor Von Krayzee spoke up again, taking more money out of his pocket. "Cad a siad ag ol?"

He smiled over at Jameson. The Cybernetic Tomato put his hat back on and sat down. He fiddled with the drink straw on the bar in front of him, but didn't order anything.

Doctor Von Krayzee covered his drink as a body bounced off of the Cybernetic Tomato. The Tomato stood, took his hat off and put it on the bar, then turned around and pounded one glowing fist into the other.

"Raaaaaaaaaaah." It announced, as if to say "who wants a piece of this" but how a Cybernetic Tomato would say it... not like a person... with words... and stuff.

Doc Von Krayzee looked across at the bartender. "Just having a drink, you know, like normal people do."

Doctor Von Krayzee and the Cybernetic Tomato walked into a bar. "No, not with me, just a little behind, like we don't know each other. No, well, not that far. Stay where I can see you. You're getting juice all over the floor, drink this, it will help you recover. Shhh shhh, act natural."

The Tomato was now wearing a discarded Fedora from a Family member who was discarded in a local bin. Doctor Von Krayzee smiled insanely at the patrons as he took a seat at the bar. The Tomato sat next to him, holding up a cybernetic hand in the traditional "yo" gesture, when he caught the eye of the bartender.

"Another wine?" The Doctor hoped.

[ QUOTE ]

Watching the thing stand down, Jameson sighed and rubbed her jaw. Shouldn't bruise to badly. "So I'm going to take a wild guess that this--" she gestured her head to the cyborg, "is not what was freaking you out?"

[/ QUOTE ]

"Yes! I mean... no, I, well..." The Doctor stepped forward and spoke more quietly as the Tomato moved to his side and sat down, slightly leaning into him. The doctor looked around conspiratorially, "If anyone in the scientific community ever found out that I created a cybernetic Tomato... I'd be ruined." He whispered the last part emphatically.

Then he looked at the ground in shame and wonder. "It's not supposed to work. I mean, have you ever heard of such a thing? The science... the logic... everything I've based my prior work on... this couldn't... shouldn't... be possible." He was almost sobbing now. Then, his demeanor shifted to concern and he resumed eye contact. "You won't tell anyone, will you? If anyone asks, he's just a travel companion, or like, a hobo that I took in. No one has to know that I created him, do they?" He was absently petting the Tomato now, and it was making a sound much like a diesel engine barely idling.

Jameson faded to a soft outline for the Brutish Tomato, who's fury was growing with every strike. For a moment, the combination of obfuscation and backflip made it seem like Jameson was breaking contact, then the claws struck home, tearing through the shield and ripping his soft, juicy skin and scraping on the metal chassis underneath. A new wave of rage overtook the Cybernetic Tomato, and it put it's hands together over its head, bringing them down like a giant, red glowing mace, following it hard upon with a series of powerful swings, each boosted by the monster's anger and cybernetics.

Doc Von Krayzee came around the side of the building with his thermal mug full of chemicals and stared at the battle. "No no no no no! STOP!" As the doctor screamed, the Tomato took a single step back, to see if his attacker was going to press.

"Red wine... yes, this will be fine. Let's all just sit in here and drink, while nothing strange goes on... out there..." Our friend the disturbing smile was back, though this performance was less convincing than previous ones. Sort of phoned in, really.

Meanwhile... Jameson's blow struck the Tomato's defensive shield, making it briefly visible, then plunged deeply into the side of the beast, making pretty good headway past the skin. The blow did two things, one it enraged the Tomato, and two it allowed the targeting computer to get a picture of Jameson.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAH!" cried the Cybernetic Tomato, as it turned and swung toward Jameson, it's cybernetic fists now glowing brightly with tomato red energy.

Inside, Doctor Von Krayzee laughed nervously. "I didn't hear that either... will you excuse me?" He poured his wine into a small container and stirred it in, then ran out the front door, leaving a wad of cash on the bar.

The Cybernetic Tomato turned toward the noise. "Raaaaaaaaaaah." It responded, in a digitially produced voice without inflection or sufficient volume to indicate aggression. Like someone would state, "my bus hasn't come yet," but only if they were a giant cybernetic tomato.

Inside, Doctor Von Krayzee heard the noise outside the window and panicked. "Hear what? I didn't hear anything..." he looked around, suddenly aware that he spoke before anyone else. "Who's corpse does a scientist have to reanimate to get a drink around here?"

Outside the bar, the Cybernetic Tomato peeked in through one of the windows and hiding in the bushes. His massive, red frame accented by his cybernetic arms and legs, and the green sensor bulb on his head. Leaves wrapped his shoulders and legs.

Inside the bar... "spiders." Doctor Von Krayzee looked across the bar deadpan. "No luck on the micro filament? Doesn't matter, does this place sell food as well? I've had a very troubling day, some food, maybe soup, would do me well."

"Did you say... potato?" The doctor looked horrified. His face froze in that form as if he were getting some sort of direct TV signal of a slasher film beamed into his head. Then, his expression slowly melted to astonishment. "I'm going to need another napkin."

As he began scribbling furiously, he questioned Brian "how many potatoes do you have? Do you know their power rating per kilogram? Oh, alright, if you must you can give it to me in wattage to pounds." Doctor Von Krayzee looked up, "I don't suppose you have any neurosensitive titanium wiring lying around... maybe somewhere in the back?"

His formulas on the napkin were incomplete structures of molecular bonds. Chemistry at a level over the head of many actual scientists, that he was scrawling on a cocktail napkin. "OK, yeah, sure, fine. Why wouldn't I be... fine. Fine."

The disturbing smile made its appearance again. "How... how, how are you?"

"What? Oh that? Nothing... nothing at all. I'm fairly certain that there's no way it could exist anyway. It's just not scientifically plausible. Too many problems with the equation for it to... AHHH!" The doctor shrieked like a little girl as he saw the dark figure move past another window behind George.

"Ah, there... I was saying that... it's nothing. It just can't be real. There's no nerves. Fruit have no nerves and cybernetics require a certain amount of electricity... the transistor is a very delicate piece of machinery and requires a certain level of energy... not to mention phase and amplitude... no, there's nothing out there. There can't be. Did my drink arrive yet?"

Doctor Von Krayzee looked at the bar in front of him for his drink. He held up the napkin, "but if it does exist... this... this might be the key!"

[ QUOTE ]

"I work out of the Arachnos Special Investigations office. Mostly I investigate the deaths of Destined One Candidates."

[/ QUOTE ]

"Destiny killed them, it's the only logical conclusion if you assume destiny exists as an axiom to begin the investigation. Unless of course, it's just a moniker, then anything could have done them in." The doctor was still drawing on the napkin, not making eye contact and talking at a volume that didn't distinguish between joining the conversation and babbling to himself.

Arbiter Klint was rumored to have been taken away and shot by Arachnos security forces when Recluse did his house cleaning. In truth, he was chosen for the position of security head for Shark Head Isle. He was chosen because he'd backstabbed everyone on his way up, he'd stolen from Arachnos and no one but Recluse and Mako knew how, and he was completely ruthless.

Now he spent his time deep underground, planning the restoration of order to the Shark Head islands. In the room were two other arbiters, Irons and Kessel. It was Klint that was speaking most of the time. Irons and Kessel listened, and they listened well. They were under the impression that there would only be one job opening at the end of this operation, and they both could count to two.

"I want you to start the sweeps today. I want you to deploy the subs and aircraft today. Tell your men that the schedule has been moved up. Watch for any reactions. It is essential that if we have leaks, we find out before we get into the deeper waters." With a wave of his hand, the other two Arbiters stood and left.

He was alone in his bunker, nine layers of armor below the surface. Just like he liked it.

The doctor noticed the drink menu moments later. "What? Where?" He looked around suspiciously until his eyes fell on Brian. "Oh, yes, a bartender. That must mean this is a bar. I'm in a bar."

A moment went by where he realized he was speaking aloud and he became very self conscious. "And I'm going to have a drink... in this bar." He said, nodding to the elven gentleman who had just strolled in. "Because that's what people do... in bars."

He cast a suspicious glance toward the door and then looked at the menu. "Barkeep, my good man, I would like a Divine Wind please." Doctor Von Krayzee was completely unaware that he was translating from Japanese. He just smiled his most convincing smile, which could be comfortably described as "a bit off".

It was then that he noticed the silhouette in the window. Sort of a sphere with leaves on the side, like he were being stalked by ball that was hiding in a bush. He gasped and looked around the bar to see if anyone else had seen. Then he looked back and it was gone. "Is it gone? Was it ever there?"

He redoubled his efforts on the napkin, referring to the drink menu as if it were some sort of chemical source material. "And a splash of vodka or maybe whiskey... no.. there's something missing."

There was nothing special looking about Doctor Von Krayzee. He looked perfectly normal. An older man, balding mostly with a comb over and glasses, he dressed in a shirt, tie and slacks with nice shoes. He did wear a lab coat, everywhere he went, though, which was a bit odd. There was also the smile. He had this... smile that didn't quite look right. Other than that, though, and the lab coat, he fit right in.

Fitting in recently, however, had been hard. He found himself stumbling down an alleyway in Port Oaks, looking for refuge, but whenever he looked over his shoulder he could see the silhouette watching him from the rooftop nearby, or the darkness of the alleyway. He couldn't escape it. It was behind him... watching him.

He ducked into a nearby bar and looked around. He tried to wipe the wild expression from his face and straightened his coat and tie a bit. Then, calmly as he could muster, he walked to the U shaped bar and sat down. He looked about, smiling at anyone who was staring and pulled a pen from his pocket.

He grabbed a napkin and began to scribble on it, mumbling softly to himself as he did so. His facial expressions turned intense, as he stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth in concentration.

Dr. Murry backed away from the door. He could hear something that he didn't like. What he didn't like even more was the sudden pounding on the water tight door. He fell over one of the stations and knocked instruments all over the floor. He scrambled toward the suit, climbing up into it and activating the seal.

The suit clamped down and pressed the air against his skin with the pressure. He breathed heavily, as if he'd just climbed a thousand flights of stairs. His eyes watched as the door began to give under whatever was battering it from the other side, and water began spraying into the room.

The sirens could still be heard, and the flashing, rotating lights kept up, even as the water began gushing into the room. Soon he was entirely submerged, and he felt like throwing up. The suit wasn't mobile in the rigging, and wasn't meant for underwater combat anyway. He was literally a dangling piece of meat.

Soon the flashing lights succumbed to the pressure, and with a bright blue flash, each died. All that remained was the lights around his face, which he was desperately trying to remember how to turn off. His fingers fumbled with the buttons near his hand panel and the temperature changed inside his suit, the tracking and guidance system kicked on.

Then the flamethrower kicked on. For a brief second there was an orange light in front of him. He froze.

Then there was darkness. His breathing got more ragged.

The screaming started when the reptilian face looked in through the faceplate. It didn't cease. He could hear speaking in a language he could not understand. He was terrified to think what these creatures were discussing less than two inches outside his suit. He couldn't keep himself from thinking that they were discussing recipes, or who brought the can opener.

He began flailing, using the power assist movement to try to free himself from the rigging. The rigging was, of course, designed to prevent precisely this.

Outside, the conversation was proceeding very differently than presumed. "Where is the Eye?"

"Do not worry, there will be something else for Arachnos to be doing shortly."

"Unbelievable." Sword crouched, completely invisible on top of what was left of a hangar.

Assassin-Guardian, also completely invisible knelt nearby. "Distractions. Internal security will be chasing the eye around like a rat in a maze while we perform our tasks. Meanwhile, the eye will do what it needs to in order to uncover the new head of internal security for Shark Head. Then we will do our job. In the meantime, you watch them, and make sure they don't get into too much trouble."

Sword leaped from the roof to a dry patch where he could watch Eugene. "Define... too much", he whispered to himself. There were some days he wished that Consort-Inquisitor were still calling the shots.

Meanwhile, in an Arachnos controlled area of Shark Head. An underground lab suddenly lost power. Doctor Murry fumbled about his lab for his emergency flashlight for a moment, until the red emergency lights came on.

Murry hated the red emergency lights. They remind him of those submarine movies. Since the facility was now entirely submerged, the possibility of water rushing in to crush the life out of him was now a distinct possibility. He kept a sedative on him at all times, in case he suddenly felt a panic attack coming on.

The sedative was in his hand, and then the needle in his arm, in moments. As the warmth spread through his arm and his nerves began to feel the gentle wave of liquid "I don't care" rushing over them, muting them, he found the intercom instead.

"Hello? Hello? This is doctor Murry from lab 12. There seems to be some kind of power outage."

"Stay calm doctor, we're looking into it. Did your backup generators kick in yet?"

"Not... not yet, though the emergency lights-" there was a muffled explosion that resonated through the metal walls. "Dear god, what was that?"

"We're not certain. We're working on it. Stay in your lab doctor and don't open that door." There was a click, and the intercom went dead.

Doctor Murry played with the dials and yelled "hello? hello? hello!" before banging on it once, then holding his hand in pain. He suddenly noticed the emergency flashlight magnetically sealed to the side of the intercom. He took it down and shined it around his lab.

The powered armor he was working on was still in the center of the lab, up on the rigging that held it in place so that he could work on it. Pieces of armor were set on tables nearby, some in complete disrepair, some being used as parts. There was one piece that was very important, on it's own high tech pedestal opposite the powered armor. The power supply.

Another explosion rocked the structure. When doctor Murry held his ear to the metal wall, he could swear he heard water rushing in from the ocean. He looked at the red and white striped door that locked off his lab and prayed that it held.

Murry shined his flashlight around his lab, vainly searching for some other escape route. Then there was an explosion in the corridor outside. He could hear shouts. It sounded like Wolf Spiders and Crab Enforcers and those mystical Mu people, yelling things. He didn't like yelling. Yelling made him nervous.

The yelling turned to screaming. Then shrieking. Then nothing. Then a beaker fell off of the table Murry bumped into to get further away from the door.

Then the intercom crackled to life. Doctor Murry ran to it, knocking over a small stand of tools used for finer work on cybernetic interfaces. When he got to the intercom, he heard the sounds of gunfire, and screams. It was quiet, all except for a single voice, speaking in a tongue he didn't recognize.

He could hear water rushing in over the intercom, and the labored breathing of what he imagined to be a wounded security officer. As the sound persisted, he stepped away from the intercom in horror, holding the flashlight in front of him as if it would protect him from the sounds.

The breathing became more labored, and the sounds of sputtering, as if water were interfering with the security officer's breathing horrified doctor Murry. He didn't want to make that sound.

Another sound came across the intercom. That of a creaking, almost groaning noise. He imagined it was some kind of creature. Then screaming in pain. Horrible terror and agony. It went on and on. Doctor Murry was certain he didn't want to make that sound.

Finally, it cut out. The doctor theorized that the water reached the intercom and burned out the electronics. The sound of water outside his security door could be heard now that the screaming was no longer drowning it out, and he rushed to the red and white striped door, to put his ear against it.

He was certain it was water. He panicked.

Blood Widows don't carry short blades. Nonetheless, in the melee, there was no one near Demiise and the Crab Spider but a Blood Widow, and there were suddenly two short blades lodged in the Crab Spider, through the weakest portions of armor on the sides of the suit and directly into the heart and spleen. "That's my food! Get your own." The harsh whisper behind the mask betrayed the voice as other than human.

After quickly extracting the limb from Dennis's back, Assassin-Guardian pulled him up over his shoulder and out of the melee. From the outside, it simply looked like a Blood Widow helping a fallen comrade off the battlefield. Though the compassion may seem out of place, the chaos was unbelievable.

Recluse watched from the podium as arrests were made throughout the organization. Innocent, guilty, it made no difference. His goal was fear. He had achieved that.

Assassin-Guardian drug him to a nearby railing looking over the water nearly a hundred feet below. She stood him up against the railing, and looked back at the bedlam. She shook her head inside the concealing helmet. "We need to disappear."

Before Dennis could thank her, or ask her what was going on, she kicked him over the railing. She was immediately intercepted by a Crab Spider working with internal security.

"What are you doing here?"

"Chasing that traitor." She pointed.

When he looked, he saw a melee as the longbow operative had shed much of his disguise and was now fighting to break free and reach the water, figuring that the death defying leap was his best chance. When he glanced back, she was gone, but he had more pressing matters at hand.

The crowd went wild when Recluse made his appearance, his remaining lieutenants at his side as a show of power and solidarity. They didn't go wild like when a rock band takes the stage, or even an elected official, but more like when a sports team takes the field. There was an earnest involvement in the event. There was also fear and apprehension. Four rows down from where Demiise was stationed, an Arachnos commander sat with his entourage in the stands, cheering for their commander in chief.

When Recluse spoke of victory, he cheered. When Recluse spoke of dedication, he cheered. When recluse spoke of loyalty, he cheered. When Recluse announced that traitors were going to be pulled from the stands, and the arrest team started moving in on him, he panicked. The crowd around surged to get away, and out of the fighting, but with just three blasts, he'd slipped the crude noose the Crab Spiders had set for him and found himself face to face with Demiise, holding a weapon reserved for the Arachnos upper echelon.

When they arrived at the security station, the Blood Widow turned and put a different belt on Demiise. "Here, you'll need this. Your standard side arm could get through the Wolf Spider armor but if you're required to take down a Crab, your rounds would simply bounce off. It's non-lethal, Lord Recluse wants the traitors alive. One shot, ONE shot. Since you couldn't be on time for the briefing, you get the abridged version. You will be with Tango group, here's your frequency, arrest and detain is your job, if they get out of line, use your powers to freeze them in place until further detaining units can be summoned. If there's a fight, leave it to the Crabs. You're supposed to blend in, so try to fill out that stupid uniform, we don't have time to get you another and leaving you in your vestments would give you away."

She turned to leave the security stations. "And don't ask me for any help, personally I hate talking to you, the mere stench of your magic is personally offensive."

"You!" A particularly powerful Blood Widow suddenly appeared out of the crowd in front of Demiise. "You show up here now, on a day like today and didn't think we'd notice?"

There was an uncomfortable pause, Demiise was getting nothing psychic from her at all, it was as if her mind was completely blank. "And look at that uniform, couldn't you find anything that would blend in better? You'd better come with me." She turned and started heading to the security center closest to the point she was standing.

"This is Champion flight, two one six, surveying the damage from here it looks like the island was split by some kind of seismic event. Some of the stronghold is still standing, and there's regular flights too and from..." The sound of a loud crash came over the mic, followed by alarms and sirens from the cockpit. "Mayday mayday mayday, Champion two one six is hit. We're hit!"

There was a pause while traffic control requested position information, then the pilot resumed. "We're going down. Champion two one six is going...."

"It just cuts off there, sir. We can only assume that Arachnos is still active in the area." The Longbow officer finished his report.

"Very well, any news from the Legacy Chain? There was talk of discovering who or what was behind the events that took place on Shark's Head." The commander leaned forward in his chair, dragging the voice recording of Champion two one six's last moments to his private folder on his touch screen desk.

"No, sir. They say they lost contact with their people. Missing and presumed dead at this point. They can't spare anyone else to go looking for them. That was the fifth team in five days to disappear." The officer adjusted his stance back to full attention.

"I see. Order all QRF out of the area and declare it a no fly zone. I don't want any more of our pilots flying over someplace we can't get them out of. We're just going to have to face the fact that we're blind there, for the time being." The commander took a sip of coffee. "I appreciate your work on this. There's a spot opening up in Paragon here soon. I'm putting your name in for it."

"Sir, if this is about my wife..." the officer started but was cut off.

"Jim, I'm not going to lie to you and say it isn't. Your wife is a wonderful woman and she's put up with you being out here for two years. Trust me, when you're as old as I am, you'll understand. You're going to Paragon. There's plenty of bad guys there too, you'll just be able to come home to her every night."

"Yes sir." The officer resigned himself.

"You're dismissed." As the officer turned to go, the commander added, "Jim, just make sure you do."

"Sir?"

"Keep coming home to her. I'm on my third marriage. Understood?"

The officer smiled. "Yes, sir." With a salute he left his commander's office and walked down the hall.

Lamient stretched his arms out over the water, and the ocean receded around a crypt door. He was still hip deep in water, but the dark ground under the ocean could be seen, and a Circle Thorn sword was lying in front of the crypt. There was a terrible rushing noise, and water came shooting out of the cracks on the side of the crypt, filling the empty space nearly as fast as Lamient’s magic could empty it. After a few seconds, the water pressure equalized, and the door swung open. The elderly mage walked out of the hip deep water and into the door of the crypt, down the stairs.

Carver, sword out, followed close behind, while Saul looked around for hidden danger before following. Once they were inside, the door sealed shut magically behind them, and the water crashed down over it, but was unable to find a way in.

The light from their magical items cast an eerie and unnatural glow on the previously submerged chamber. There were destroyed pieces of furniture, broken braziers, and torches rendered useless by soaking them in salt water. “No bodies.” Carver commented as he used his magic to light the room.

“Is that a complaint? That sounded like a complaint. Because this isn’t creepy enough as it is.” Saul shook his head.

Lamient finished the thought. “Where did all the bodies go? The door is closed. It’s like they were all devoured. Only bits of cloth and their personal effects are left. The evil that struck this place may still be here. Any clues we find might save our lives.” He pushed on further into the cavern.

Water dripped from the walls and the floors still had pools of saltwater collecting on them. There was an eerie noise of the ocean moving through caverns that were not protected by Lamient’s magic. Several caverns looked the same, with some exceptions. Books destroyed, furniture smashed, and tattered banners and cloth. The cavern was cleared completely, nothing stood against the waters, or what they held.
When they reached the chamber Lamient was looking for, he stopped. There were several smashed portals, but one remained. One remained locked in a dark, swirling mist. Purple and black energy oozed off of it, pooling beneath it and then being pulled up over it. It was then that Lamient realized what he was looking at.

It was also then that he realized they had destroyed his spell. Water was rushing in from above them and on the sides where the cavern joined to caverns still under water. First one, then another of them came through the portal. There was no fighting them. The spells of the Legacy were entirely ineffective. Lamient tried to transport away, but his spell only reached as far as the next cavern where the thundering sound of water could be heard.

Carver fought valiantly, slashing this way and that, falling back to better terrain and using the stone walls to cut down the angles of approach his enemies could use to reach him. He lost track of Saul. The creatures moved with incredible speed, and ignored his blade as if it did no damage to them at all. His spells washed over them. The sound they made was unbearable. The pressure in the cavern was increasing. There was unbelievable pain every time they slashed at him, and his step faltered. His sword clattered against the stone as his leather boots slid on the rock.

“Nooooo!” He cried out.

“No!” Another voice spoke. “I want this one… alive.”

“Noooooooo!”

A seagull landed on the portion of a marble cross that extended above the incoming waves. The small recon group of Legacy Chain surveyed the remains of the “Ghost Mire”.

“Why all the Circle? There were survivors in every group that lived here except one.” Carver scratched his chin with his left hand. He did everything with his left hand these days, as his right was always holding a spell or a sword. Today it was a sword. Four days ago, that would have been different, but now…

Lamient, a powerful mage in his own right, knelt down and picked up a handful of Earth. As he released it in a shower of grains, he could hear the screams of tortured souls. Saul gave a forced laugh behind him. “Oh yeah, that’s not unnerving or anything. Can we get out of here? There’s nothing here.”

The old mage turned over his shoulder. “Everything is here. Don’t you see what has happened? This isn’t a faction war. These creatures are trying to turn back the ages and awaken the Old Gods. This isn’t about villains, it’s about the end of humanity.” He looked back at the ground in front of him, wiped off his hands, and stood. “What we’re looking for is in there.”

“What? In the water? In the ocean?” Saul asked, exasperated.

Lamient began wading into the water. “You want to save the world from creatures that live in the deepest depths of the ocean, you’re going to have to get wet. I hope, it will be the least of our problems today.”

Carver turned back to see survivors clustered around one of the remaining towers and the Recluse soldiers who were ignoring them from the battlements. “I agree. Our day could be worse.”