Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Lutetia City: The Phantom Quarter

The first shot made a bloody crater out of Arty's chest, staggering him backwards a step. He didn't even have time to register the impact before the second shot went into his face, demolishing the majority of his skull into a bloody pulp and instantly knocking him backwards to the ground with a spray of gore. His body twitched once, then went still, leaving the sword to clatter to the ground as his hand went limp.
 
The paladin snarled at the corpse. Leveling his lawkeeper over his arm, he placed two more buckshots in the boy - the first for the crater in his chest, looking to pulverize his spine, the second for the arm that held his sword, all but removing it from its torso.

He snapped up his radio. "Control, this is Korius. Send backup to my location - I've been attacked." He looked down at the body of the boy. "Threat is neutralized. I suspect there are more. Somewhere."

Unless deterred, Sir Korius Roth would collect his sword from Arty's mangled fingers and promptly remove the ghoul's head from his shoulders.
 
Both the shots struck true, further reducing the teenager's body to a bloody mess. He reacted as one might have expected a corpse to: he didn't. To the particularly keen eye, however, it could be seen that the gunshots from earlier were still continuing to slowly heal - not so rapidly as to be blatant, but quickly enough to suggest a recovery time somewhere in the realm of minutes rather than 'never'.

It was likely that Korius would be distracted from his intent to decapitate Arty's body by the sound of footfalls in the slushy snow outside, swiftly followed by a figure appearing in the doorway. The new arrival was pale, both of skin and of hair, and his eyes were a disconcerting dead grey that - despite the furious scowl upon his face - betrayed little in the way of emotion. He looked no older than Arty, somewhere in his late teens, and was dressed in an old hoodie and tattered jeans. Ghast's lifeless eyes flicked briefly between Arty's bloody form and Korius, and his face twisted with rage.

"Get the fuck away from him!" he yelled, charging forwards in a dead sprint straight at the paladin with reckless disregard for his own safety. As he ran, one arm reached out to wrench a thick length of wood off of one of the rotting pews to serve as an impromptu club. The hefty chunk of debris was almost the same size as him, but he wielded it in one hand like it was nothing more cumbersome than a baseball bat.

Ghast wasn't the only arrival to join the confrontation. Not long after he burst onto the scene, two more figures followed - another young man and a teen girl, both similarly pale. The man was hefting a mean-looking baseball bat run through with rusty nails, and whilst the girl held back hesitantly at the entrance, he quickly threw himself into the fray after Ghast.
 
"What the-"

Korius stopped with his sword raised above his head, turning to confront the new arrivals.

"Stop, don't move!" He tried to swing his lawkeeper around for a clear shot, but Ghast was closing the distance too quickly. Instead, he maneuvered his sword to parry the ghoul's inevitable swing. The glowing Lemeux steel easily bisected the beam, the split in the wood catching fire as the blade passed through it. Unfortunately for Korius, splitting the makeshift club didn't work in his favor; the second half of the beam continued forward with the swing and caught him in the shoulder, staggering him.

"Fuck..." he spat. His lawkeeper came up to his chest and he took aim at Ghast - THOOM THOOM - aiming for the boy's leg and head. It seemed killing these freaks was going to be difficult, but perhaps he could stall them. He was all out of buckshot - lead would have to do.
 
Ghast didn't intend on staying still long enough to give Korius opportunity to line up a good shot, but the paladin was well trained. The first gunshot tore out a chunk of the boy's shin as he jerked aside to try and avoid it, and the second blew through his cheek, shattering bone and spraying blood. It didn't seem to phase him in the slightest. Abandoning the splintered pew to crash to the floor, Ghast launched himself at the paladin, trying to duck within the reach of his sword and grab hold of the man's wrists to shove his weapons away and then try and tug him to the ground.. As he did, Corby reached them, and swung his bat at the paladin's head with a roar.

In the meantime, Bex dashed over to the dying boy by the altar, kneeling at his side and checking for his pulse. It was still there, but just barely. He didn't have long.
 
Korius snarled as the ghoul dodged his swing and seized his wrist. He struggled with Ghast, attempting to wrestle back control of his weapons. The paladin was outclassed in terms of strength, but was far better equipped and trained than his paranormal adversary.
As Ghast tried to wrangle him to the ground, Korious used the forward moment to try and slam the front of his helmet directly into Ghast's forehead. Immune to pain or no, such a strike would seriously disorient his opponent. He also loosened his grip on his sword, letting the blade rest against Ghast's arm. It would immediately begin to melt through his flesh.

Things seemed to be going his way - that was, until the second ghoul with the bat stepped over him. He raised his hand in defense and the bat smacked against his plated forearm and his lawkeeper flew out of his hand.

"FUCK!" He roared in pain. He attempted to jerk his sword away from Ghast's shoulder and swing for Corby's midsection - literally trying to cut him in half.
 
Ghast's head snapped backwards when Korius' helmet struck his forehead, not even noticing the flesh on his arm burning as stars danced across his vision. His grip on Korius' wrists loosened enough for the paladin to pull his arms free to block Corby's strike and retaliate.

Corby lurched back away from the paladin's slash, but the burning blade still scored a deep gash across his stomach. Like Ghast and Arty before him, however, he didn't so much as flinch. And while Korius was focused on Corby, Ghast was already recovering from his disorientation. His hands came up to clutch at the paladin's throat, closing around it in an attempt to choke him. In the next instant, Corby made to dart in again, this time bringing his bat down towards the elbow of Korius' arm that was wielding his sword.

While the boys tangled with the paladin, Bex had spotted the lawkeeper that had skidded across the church's floor. She jumped to her feet and ran for it, snatching it off the ground and turning to point it at Korius.

"Drop the sword!" she yelled over the din of the scuffle. "Or I'll shoot!"

Despite the slight nervous shake to her voice, there was a resolute certainty behind her words. There was no hint of a bluff.
 
"KKk...kkkccdggff..." Korius choked. Ghast's superhuman grip was swiftly bringing him to unconsciousness. Luckily, he managed to spot Corby as he wound his bat back for another swing. The paladin instinctually drew his elbow over his torso, protecting his arm. In the next move, he twirled his blade in an arc between him and Ghast. Unless the Ghoul removed the choke, he would lose both his hands at the mid forearm.

If separated from the two ghouls, Korius would find himself staring down the barrel of his own lawkeeper. He glared at Bex, snarling something, before he threw his sword, point-first, into the floor. She had the gun, he had the sword. He was outmatched.

"Fucking do it, Wyrm-spawn," he spat, perhaps expecting her to go through with it anyway.
 
Ghast released Korius with a growl, shoving him backwards to interrupt his swing and pulled his arms back away from the blade's path. He was ready to keep brawling, but Bex's shout cut through the noise of the fighting. As the paladin dropped his sword, Ghast pulled himself to his feet and stepped away. Corby had already moved aside to make sure Bex had a clear shot. Her eyes flicked to Ghast for prompting.

Taking point, he stepped around to where Bex was stood, favouring his shot leg. "Yeah, I'd love to tell her to shoot you, you fucking deserve it. But I'm not a fucking idiot. We do that, your church comes down on us like a ton of bricks no matter where we hide." He spat at the paladin's feet. "You're lucky Arty'll recover, or else I'd say fuck the consequences."

He brought a hand up to wipe the blood from his face from where his cheek had been blasted out. It had already healed over completely, his face contorting into a grimace. "I'm not gonna lose anyone else to you murderers. So get the fuck out before I change my mind."
 
Snarling, the paladin turned and stomped out of the church - his wounded arm close to his torso. He prayed to Selene that his backup arrived before they escaped.

None of them (except perhaps Arty) had heard him call for backup. Doubtless they knew that re-enforcements were en route, but perhaps they weren't aware just how close the cavalry was. They had little time.
 
Once the paladin was gone, Ghast immediately went to Arty's side. The younger ghoul was still a mess - it'd take a while for the demolished bone of his skull to heal enough for him to regain consciousness - but he wasn't so badly damaged that he wouldn't recover.

"Ghast," Bex called. "The kid."

Ghast looked up at where Bex had gestured towards the boy by the altar. His breathing - already shallow when they'd arrived - had all-but ceased. He was white as a sheet. "Think he'll thank me or hate me? Wanna take bets?"

"Looks to me like he got attacked," Corby remarked, having paced over to look down at the dying boy. "Don't think he wanted to die. Might take a while for him to get used to, but... Arty got over it, right?"

Grimacing, Ghast nodded. "Yeah. Here's hoping. You watch the door, Corby, I don't trust that fucker to stay gone, and he's probably already called for backup. Bex, you know how to use that gun?"

"Past point and shoot?" Bex raised an eyebrow. "Why would I know that?"

"This is Lutetia. I dunno, basic survival? Whatever, toss it to Corby, then get back here. If he panics, you'll probably be better at calming him down than me." Ghast waved a hand, getting to his feet and walking across to where the blonde boy was fading away. He knelt down, frowning with sympathy at him, as Bex and Corby went about their task. "Rough day, huh kid? Seems like that's going around. Hope I'm not about to make it worse. Like, I dunno, if you're super religious or something. Haven't struck out with a self-loather yet, so don't break my streak, aight?"

He heard Bex's footsteps coming up behind him, but he ignored them, in favour of leaning over the dying boy. He placed his hand on the kid's neck and gently applied pressure, cutting off his airflow. He had to die to be reborn, after all. The boy gave only the barest of twitches as he was denied his shallow breaths, and after just shy of a minute, fell still entirely. Ghast took a moment to prepare himself, and then hunched closer to the kid's face. He opened his mouth, and exhaled.

What came from his throat wasn't air, but a sickly green-black mist, pouring from him into the boy's own mouth and thence further into his body. Ghast's eyes went dark with the same glow, as somewhere in the back of his mind he heard Bex's voice. "Wow, is that what it always looks like?"

The transmission process took less than half a minute, but it always felt like an eternity. For a brief moment, he felt the necromantic energy pouring out of him seize onto the soul of the boy that had yet to fully leave his body, binding it back to the flesh even more firmly than before. From there, it spread outwards, permeating his form and filling it with necrotic power. And then it was done. Ghast jerked his head backwards, cutting off the flow of energy in the same instant that the boy's eyes snapped open and he took in an instinctual gasp of air.

"Wh- what? Where am I?" The boy looked around at the church and the pair of teenagers beside him in shock. "Wh- who are you?"

"Whoa, steady," Ghast flashed him a grin that was intended to be reassuring, but given his somewhat bloodied appearance, was anything but. "You're alright."

"One of our friends found you bleeding out on the street," Bex cut in, crouching down next to them. "He brought you here, and Ghast helped you. Do you remember getting stabbed?"

"... uh, yeah." The boy nodded, still eyeing Ghast's bloody face with concern. "I was just ... I was trying to find somewhere warm to spend the night, or somewhere I could start a fire... then there was this pain in my side... it was like I got punched in the gut. All the air went out of me and I just ... went down." He absently patted at his coat. "Guess he took my wallet. Wasn't anything in there anyway... wait..."

The boy's eyes slid down and his hand moved to pat at his side with confusion. "How long have I been out for? I'm not even in pain."

Ghast and Bex exchanged a glance. Ghast shrugged and grinned.

"... what?" The boy looked confused. "What's funny?"

"Uh, look. I'm not sure there's an easy way to tell you this," Ghast rubbed at the back of his head. "Uh. You're dead."

There was a pause, as the boy stared at him in an attempt to decipher whether he was joking. Ghast kept a straight face, and shrugged again. "... real funny. You can stop bullshitting me any time, though." Another pause. "You ... you're not laughing. You can't be serious, right?"

"Yuup. You're dead. So am I, so's she." Ghast gestured to Bex, who nodded. "Undead, specifically. I ... you died, and I brought you back. As one of us."

"What the fuck..." The boy stared down at his hands, wide-eyed. He put two fingers to his neck to check for a pulse. "What the fuck? You just ... I can't believe you ..."

"It was that, or you stayed dead." Ghast frowned, shrugging. "I mean, that's still an option... I think I can undo it. But I figured..."

"Y-yeah, no, I ... sorry. I mean, I'm not dead, so ... or, I'm still here, so that's good." The boy ran a hand through his hair. "That's... wow. Thanks? I think?"

"What's your name, anyway?" Bex cut in.

"Oh. It's ... it's Liam." He replied, frowning. "And you guys?"

"Ghast," Ghast answered. "Or Alex, but I don't like using my old name these days. This is Bex," he nodded towards her. "Arty is the one that found you but, uh, he's kind of indisposed right now. And Corby is the guy by the door."

"Right. And, uh, where are we, exactly?" Liam glanced around. "I'm ... I'm getting Phantom Quarter vibes, still."

"Yep. Some old church, fuck knows what it was called. Can't stick around here long, though. Paladins will be here soon." Ghast glanced at the door, and as if on cue, began to pick up the sound of roaring engines in the distance.

"Paladins, right... why do we have to... Oh. Oh. Undead. Oh."

"Yeeaah. Sorry. You probably have a ton more questions, but we really need to get going." Ghast got to his feet and offered Liam a hand, which he accepted. "C'mon. We should be able to lose them easy enough. Know these streets like the back of my hand, and they can't take those bikes everywhere. Bex, grab Arty. Corby!" Ghast yelled across the church to the other boy. "We're skipping out! Taking the back way, and that might involve making one."

Ghast hopped down the steps to the altar and hurried across to where Korius' sword was still embedded in the stone, glowing away, and snatched it by its hilt from the ground. Now armed, he turned back to face the others. Bex had hefted Arty's still healing form over her back with ease, and Liam was staring at her with a slightly slack jaw. As Corby came up behind him, the engines were getting close. Too close. "Let's move!" he barked, running towards the door into back of the church in search of a back door. The others followed after him, including Liam after some herding on Corby's part. They were all gone from view by the time the paladin's bikes were pulling up outside, but still inside the building.
 
When Crista was told that Korius had called in for back up she was less that eager to help. Her and Korius had never really gotten along and so didn't work together. They had strongly opposing views on how to treat the supernatural residents of Lutetia and Crista was sure if any evidence of her time with John was discovered he would be the first to attack her. Thankfully that was not the case at the moment. Despite her protests Crista was not one to disobey orders or leave a fellow paladin in need. She got on her bike started on her way to the Phatom Quarter as quickly as possible. Perhaps if Korius was kept busy she could do something for the people he had attack without raising suspicion.

Soon she arrived where Korius' GPS put him and parked up in front of the church. She looked down at him from her bike and greeted him coldly.

"Hello, Korius."
 
Korius stood near his bike outside the church, a Repentance in his arms. Crista might notice he was without his sword and his lawkeeper. The torso of his platemail was dented and two potions were missing from his belt.

"Sorrel." He growled. "They sent you?" He sounded frustrated.

Not a few seconds later, another destrier rumbled up to the duo. The mounted paladin looked younger than Korius but older than Sorrel. He halted his bike and spoke over the roar of the motor.

"Well whadya we got here?" he smirked, cutting the engine, "Sir Korius Roth - the lone wolf - callin' for backup? How the mighty have fallen."

"Eat a dick, Decker."

Sir Ethan Decker looked over at Crista. "And if it isn't the lovely Dame Crista Sorrel! What's a pretty thing like you doin' patrolling a beat like this? Shitholes like the Phantom belong to washed up assholes like Roth."
 
"Well, I was in the middle of other business, but you know how things are."

Crista had just been by John's place looking after Luka, but when called had to leave since she wasn't reported as being busy at the time and didn't want to answer questions later. Crista turned off her bike and got down to Korius' level. She did not step towards him as she felt being any closer might physically repulse her.

"Looks like you've lost something Korius. A few things as a matter of fact."
 
"Then let's go get them back," he growled, racking his shotgun. "Three targets, possibly four if the last has healed himself. Metahuman - probably undead. Incredible healing factors and pain resistance, increased strength. Use bladed weapons or high-impact ammunition. They have at least one firearm, my sword and a bat."

He gestured towards the church. "Come on. We may still catch them."
 
"I doubt they'd show mercy to you a second time if you went after them Korius. That and the face that you are unarmed doesn't stack in your favor. If you're going to go after them again. I suggest you stay behind Ethan and me and keep your mouth shut or you'll provoke them."

Without waiting for a response Crista stepped past Korius and went into the church. She didn't draw her sword yet. She did not want to risk scaring them off before she had the chance to talk to them. Hopefully, though not likely, Korius would have some sense about himself and stay quiet so she could handle this peacefully.
 
The paladins' entrance into the church was greeted with the sound of a resounding crash from the back of the church, as a window was shattered in the vestry.

"Bex, you first," Ghast instructed, waving her through with Arty on her back. He cast a nervous glance towards the small room's door. There wasn't any noise yet. Were they good? He hoped they were good. Once Bex was through, he had Liam follow, but just as their newest 'recruit' started to climb through, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. "Shiit. c'mon, get a move on."

Corby trained his gun on the door to the room as Liam dropped down to where Bex was waiting, but Ghast waved him on ahead too. The larger ghoul shot him a glower, but complied. It would likely be right as Ghast himself was about to turn and make his escape that the paladins reached the door to the vestry.
 
Crista walked towards the back of the church towards the vestry where she heard the glass breaking. Still she did not draw her sword as she stepped towards the room, hoping they weren't all gone yet.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I'm not here to hurt you."

She now stepped into the vestry and looked to see if any of them were still present.
 
As the door swung open, Ghast wheeled around, holding out Korius' glowing blade defensively and narrowing his eyes at the paladin who stepped into the room. "Yeah, like fuck you aren't," he spat. After a moment's hesitation, he turned back to the window. "Run!" he yelled. "Go! I'll keep them busy and catch up!"
 
Decker rounded Crista, his lawkeeper trained forward.

"Ha! This scrawny piece of shit took your weapons?" he snorted, "you're even older than I thought, Korius."

"Shut up," Korius spat. He glared at Crista. "Sorrel - that thing is a nonhuman and he assaulted me. Put an explosive slug in his brain. Hurry - we can still catch the rest."
 
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