The Forgotten Ring

It didn't take long for the noise of the creature to reach Alaska's ears. Don't look. Don't look. Don't. Look.

She turned her head in the same instant that the thing screeched. Of course, it was a mistake to look. The creature(??) was terrifying to behold, and it caused Alaska to stumble again.

Opening her mouth, she tried to let out a scream herself, skidding to a stop. There was no way she would beat the thing to the door, and she had no clue where Beck had gone.

Fuck.

Deciding that she wasn't going to give the monster a chase -- assuming it was going off of instinct rather than intelligence -- Alaska held her knife in hand, leaning against the opposite railing for support. If it lunged at her, she'd let it run into her knife. It was fine.

This was fine!

And then there was something -- no, someone -- hurtling toward the creature.
 
The creature had slowed, it's snake-like tongue tasting the air in confusion as it's target went somewhat quiet. But, this also was what made it a perfect target for Beck to hit it square. It let out a startled grunt as it's claws was pulled from its hold and it fell with Beck further. The fortunate thing for Beck is when they landed, his weight crushed the surprisingly light creature, it's ribs making an audible crunch. The creature itself couldn't scream in agony, the wind already knocked from it so it merely blacked out.

Slowly, the body began to morph into a more.. Human-like shape. It's legs bent correctly back into place, the scales disappeared. Before them laid a very young looking woman, lying naked and unconscious upon the floor. The only thing that was of note, her eyes had burn scars upon the lids.
 
There was little time to take stock of the situation, to absorb the immense stupidity in the risk that he'd taken. Beck's heavy boots stayed true as he rocketed himself into the attacker, the sheer force of gravity propelling the 200-pound man and his target to the rubble-roused concrete waiting at the ground floor landing. Beck's lateral momentum carried him into a roll after breaking the center mass of the beast, knee striking an upward jut of broken rock while shoulder and neck rolled forcefully into the first rung of the handrails. Rifle and pistol broke away from the soldier's tumbling frame, the pistol landing closely to Alaska while the rifle tangled in the mess of bodies at the bottom of the landing.

As the stillness settled in, the world continued to hurl and spin within the consciousness of Praetor Beck. Equilibrium spiraled and his mind swam through raging currents in an attempt to reorient himself, the only anchor to sanity at the moment the surging pain in his leg and neck. He was too battered from the fall to take complete stock of the transformation before him, a weather survivor's instinct only somehow managing to tell him that he was out of immediate danger for now.

Groaning as he forced himself to roll to a seat position against the wall, Beck raised a hand to brush gravel from his scraped forehead, a tiny trickle of blood there to meet him.

Then, of all the damned things, the soldier choked out a broken laugh.
 
A slow prickling sensation wormed its way up the back of his spine all the way to his neck. Hairs stood on end and he was beginning to feel like this was all a huge mistake. Why didn’t he just use his astral form to come to take a peek instead of his real body? Lord, hindsight certainly was a bitch. Seconds before Kerrigan shouted for him to look out, he snapped his gaze towards the floor. Thankfully his instincts were pretty quick because while he was just staring at the jutting ice spikes, his limber frame was leaping backwards in an attempt to get away before he became an Orion on a stick.

“FUCK!” He shouted as he kept moving backwards, his body doing flips as he aimed himself towards the others. Unsure whether or not he could fuck with the ice shards, he finally landed nearby Morrigan and snarled, concentrating on the spikes. He was planning on melting them and keeping them away from the rest of the group at least until they could find the person responsible. He was vaguely aware of a pain in his right arm but paid it little mind as he focused only on the ice.
 
Alaska didn't think about it. The gun landed near her, and the next thing she knew, it was in her hands. Not that she needed it any longer. Their attacker had morphed into a person; she lay motionless before them, no longer a threat. For a moment, she considered freedom, but only for a moment.

Now wasn't the time, this wasn't the place, and she still didn't have an answer to the collar around her neck. Instead, she eyed the woman for a moment before hurrying over to Beck's side and crouching down beside him. When he laughed, she grinned and offered him the butt of the gun. "You dropped this."

She turned her attention back to the unconscious woman. "What do we do with her?"
 
Orion would find the area around Morrigan was very slippery indeed and she too was dancing from spikes. "What the fuck are you doing over here?!" She snarled. "GO FIND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE! Before we're both kabobs!" She growled.

Her voice sounded worried, but her eyes..? Her eyes were that of pure delight. Where was Zieg and Darius at this time? Why weren't they coming to help?? No matter. They must have their own issues to deal with.

--

The girl was rather battered. To leave her would definitely mean death eventually. To take her in, it may not be much different than being dead. She was an animal though. Having forgotten what it was to be human an age ago. It was what happened when someone was treated like an animal long enough, and it didn't help that she was a shape shifter. Her breaths came slowly, a small gurgle came occasionally.
 
The world stopped spinning long enough for Beck to take stock of the world. It wasn't the first time he'd opened his eyes to find a gun held at his face, but it was the first that he wasn't staring down the barrel in the process. With a wince, he lift his hand and placed it open palm on the grip, lightly pressing it back down to Alaska's side without taking it himself.

"If that's what we're out here after, keep it."

Slowly, the soldier pressed against the wall and grabbed the nearby railing to pull himself back to a standing position, waiting a moment as if running an internal diagnostic to assess any potential injuries beyond the "everything hurts" pain that permeated. Nothing appeared to be broken. Maybe a rib, but that wasn't enough for them to stop now. And the girl was right, there was a very pressing concern in front of them.

"Never seen one like this," he spoke either aloud to himself or to Alaska, gingerly dropping back down to one knee to get closer to the unconcious girl. "Either we tranq and cuff it and throw it in the truck, or we, well, you know," he said, making a finger gun to match the one held by Alaska and pointing it down at the sleeping figure's head.
 
Blinking, Alaska tightened her fingers around the gun. She tried to picture a similar scenario with Morrigan in Beck's place. Would she have offered the weapon back, then? Would Morrigan have let her keep it? It was hard to say. Once Beck was back on his feet, she stood sticking close by in case he needed some support but he seemed able to stand without her assistance.

Her gaze flitted from the gun in her hand to the woman on the floor. Neither option appealed. "It isn't her fault, you know." She said, idle. "Enough people continue to say something about you, you tend to start to believe it." It was the same here. People treated POAs like they were animals -- she was wearing a collar for goodness sake -- and drove them into the wilderness. It wasn't long before they turned feral. It seemed almost kinder to just end it. Either way, she was dead. If they killed her now, it would be quick... If they tranquilized her, assuming she survived, she'd be another government slave.

"We should probably take care of it now and get back to the mission," Alaska said at last.
 
Beck continued slow, carefully-measured breaths as he studied the sleeping frame of the creature like a hunter viewing a kill. His casual indifference to its current state -- that of a naked human girl by all appearances -- didn't seem to register anything more than if it had retained its more ghastly form from moments before. With a slight groan, he pressed against the top of bended knee and returned to a standing position as Alaska spoke.

"We should probably take care of it now and get back to the mission."

Beck nodded in acknowledgment, noted that the girl's voice carried a sense of gravitas that had been missed all along, certainly something he hadn't heard during their awkward forced chatter at the beginning of the mission.

"Probably," the soldier barely more than grunted. Take a step back, he leaned against the open doorway and crossed his arms.

"Go ahead, then."
 
Honestly, she should have seen that coming. Alaska was the one holding the gun after all. Still, she blinked at Beck in surprise and then stared back at the woman. Clearing her throat, she swallowed hard and approached.

There was a slight shakiness to her hand as she aimed it at the creature. This is mercy. It was true, but that didn't make it any easier. Taking a deep breath, Alaska steadied her hand and pulled the trigger. God, how she hated guns.

Bending on one knee, she made sure the woman's eyes were closed, murmured a very quiet apology, and straightened up, not quite meeting Beck's eyes as she turned back to face him. "Alright," she wiped the sweat from her palm on her jeans, blinking back tears, "back to business."
 
Beck didn't flinch with the bark of the pistol and his eyes never broke from their stare of Alaska's face as she put their former attacker down in a bit of mercy that seemed far less merciful as it took the form of a seemingly helpless girl. In truth, Beck had already been measuring the proper tranquilizer dosage in his mind under the money-in-the-bank assumption that Alaska wouldn't have been able to pull the trigger, that she would have opted for allowing for survival, that she would have done anything other than the moment's notice execution that she instead carried out without a word.

It was done. The girl-wolf-creature was dead and Alaska stood before Beck. If her voice sounded different before, her frame seemed taller now.

"We better find the others soon," he offered, the closest he could come to a sympathetic tone with words that simply threw them back into the fray. "Maybe if you're lucky that handler of yours is getting digested. Come on," he beckoned, far less of a command than his instructions up to this point.

After all, she wasn't some damsel, some weight around his neck anymore. She was a killer, just like him.
 
Swearing the moment his feet nailed the ice near Morrigan, Orion had to go into another flip just to keep from falling on his ass. His red eyes fell on his temporary handler and he just growled at her. Maybe he wanted her to be a kabob. The idea was pretty appealing after all. He glared at her, dodging another shard as he moved forward again.

"I'm trying not to die, BITCH!" Orion snarled out his words, not mincing how he felt. He got like that anytime his livelihood was being threatened. It was like his filter just shut off.

Moving forward yet again, he moved beyond the freezer area, searching for whoever it was that was causing the current situation. He closed his eyes a brief moment to send off his Astral self to look elsewhere, needing to find the person behind the attack.
 
Orion would find nothing there once again. But the attack intensified. Morrigan's gun went off several times, the bullets in Orion's general direction, some whizzing right past him. None would hit, but it would be close.

And suddenly, the air would grow colder as a voice seemed to echo from around them. It merely laughed and cackled, mocking Orion's efforts.
 
Cursing loudly when he felt bullets zipping far too close for comfort, Orion snapped his gaze towards Morrigan while his other form kept searching for the enemy. He clearly flipped her off, eyes narrowing dangerously. He was so tempted at that moment to drown her or soak her in hopes that whoever was attacking them would freeze her. Maybe then he could get away, especially since he didn't know where Darius or Zieg was currently at.

"Shooting the ice is a waste of time, you ignorant bitch! Stop trying to hit me!" He snapped, anger that was generally tucked deep down inside of him flaring dangerously towards the female handler. When the air grew cooler and a cackling voice echoed, he clenched his fists angrily.

"Come out and fight me, you coward!!!" He shouted, hating being mocked.
 
He was only answered with ice clubs appearing, aiming to beat the living crap out of him. The wind within picked up a tad as ice started covering the entire building. Morrigan let out a shriek of pain somewhere in the darkness. Things were not going their way.
 
Her stomach felt sick, twisted in knots. She didn't want to find the others, but she knew that they had to. Nodding, Alaska turned away from the woman, following Beck out the door, pausing to glance back before stepping over the threshold. What's done is done. There was no use in dwelling on it. At least, that's what she told herself, but it didn't stop her from wondering if she had made the right decision.

"That would be the highlight of my day," she decided.

If there is any justice in the world (and she very much doubted that there was), Morrigan will get digested.

Of course, when they got outside, Alaska could feel Morrigan's familiar emotional aura. They weren't too far away, but Morrigan felt... almost happy? It was unusual for her handler to feel anything other than bitterness, at least that was the impression she'd gotten in the weeks she had spent with the other woman. See, no justice. Alaska had killed someone, and Morrigan was happy.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a scream, and she straightened up, following Beck's lead.
 
The moment the icecubes appeared, Orion was beyond over the mission. He swore loudly and covered his face while moving himself somewhere that was a little more protected. He wasn't sure if it would work, but refusing to let fucking ice kill him, the redhead started to manipulate the properties of the ice, determined to turn them into water before they reached him. Hell, he was entirely out of his element, and the only current thing going right for the male was the sound of Kerrigan screaming.

"Serves the bitch right." He muttered, still concentrating on the task at hand, hoping reinforcements were coming sooner than later.

"Fucking coward, you afraid of a little hand-to-hand combat?!" He snarled out, still trying to get the owner of the ice to come out and play fairly.
 
Inspecting the length of his rifle to make sure it well survived the fall, Beck grumbled to himself about the lack of a clear directive at the moment. The old adage shone true -- no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. His larger issue was that they didn't seem to have any information about the enemy -- who they were, what they were capable of, even a specific goal to accomplish. Sure, there were orders, but there was so much that they weren't being told. He suspected that Morrigan knew more than the rest of them, but it made Beck long for the days of war. Horrible as it was, at least it was simply compared to this mess.

His thoughts were broken quickly by unmistakable pops of gunfire highlight with a scream. He turned and locked eyes with Alaska for a moment, but what was news to him seemed obvious to the girl. It was clear that she also knew more than she was letting on.

"If it's another one of those things, keep your distance use some cover to let it give you a shot," he explained as they made a bee-line in the direction of the noises, ever growing louder. "I think we're firmly in shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later territory. Try not to shoot Darius if you can help it, though. There are worse people in the world and I was planning on have a cigar with him later."

The distance closed quickly. Beck gripped the rifle as he beckoned for Alaska to take a position lateral to his own, using a tactic he'd specifically thought beyond her moments before.
 
More laughing. A distorted voice of both male and female origin rang. "Why should I fight you hand to hand, when I'm so clearly winning this fight the way I am..?" Frost began to form on what was left of the glass in the building, causing it to shatter and break outwards with the pressure. "Why would I take it easy on someone who refuses to fight back. One who could fight and won't? Me, a coward? No, you're the coward for not using what you are!"

In a distance from the building, there were sounds of more fighting. Darius and Zieg were in combat with what seemed to be a group of.. something. It was hard to tell in the dark, but Darius guns would occasionally sound off their position in the night. It was obvious they were too far to assist the groups at this point.

For Beck and Alaska, they'd find the outside suddenly drop a couple of degrees outside the building. Inside, it was a considerable difference. The floor was slick with condensation and ice.
 
Alaska's short legs struggled to keep up with Beck. Running was something she was alright at, though usually, she was running away from the danger not toward it. Still, for every step he took, she was taking two or three, even at a sprint. Especially at a sprint. She let out a little snort. "Sure, sure, I'll make sure you and Darius have a cigar later." Because that was a priority at the moment. Although, once they were situated, it was clear to her that Darius wasn't even closeby. "I think he's safe from my accidental gunfire at the moment," she added, peering from around her cover to try and figure out what was happening.

She could feel Beck, and Morrigan, and the redhead's frustration and anger, but nobody else despite the obvious attack coming from... somewhere. Alaska didn't even see anyone she could shoot (except, of course, Morrigan). Instead of checking on Morrigan and Orion, she glanced around for potential hiding spots.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top