I'm back and more brain damaged than ever. Proceed at your own peril.
[Part 1: Deus Ex Machina]
Innominat's Domain, somewhere above the Empyrean's Throne, a few months earlier...
Velvet closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she stood quietly along Eastgand's Eastern Cape, the evening sun behind her basking the area in soft orange hue. Her day had been great so far, she had a great time playing with Laphicet and Phi, she and Niko had a very pleasant chat together, and the dinner she made for everybody turned out flawless, but that was exactly it...It felt almost too good. For a period of time now, everything Velvet did turned out exactly the way she wanted it to, everybody she talked to told her exactly what she wanted to hear, and not only that, a sense of Deja Vu lingered in the back of Velvet's mind, as if every day was exactly the same. This almost didn't feel real, no, it didn't feel real. Something was wrong. Velvet tried to think back to when this feeling started, but it was like something was blocking her from doing so. Her mind felt like it had a massive gap in it, and it was driving her crazy. Velvet opened her eyes and gazed across the ocean endlessly stretching across the eastern horizon. She needed to figure this out somehow, maybe tomorrow she could tell Arthur and Celica about this feeling she was having, Arthur was an exorcist, if something else was going on, he could figure it out. Velvet was about to head back to Aball when she heard an unsettlingly distorted voice call out from behind her.
"Velvet Crowe..." the voice called.
Velvet turned to face the voice, and gasped at the sight. A fairly well dressed gentleman stood before her, but his face was bizarrely blurry and distorted. No matter how much Velvet focused or squinted, she could not make out any of the man's features.
"What do you want from me?" Velvet asked cautiously.
"I am a representative for the Midgandian Empire's Internal Revenue Service. It has come to our attention that despite amassing a sizeable fortune through treasure and bounty hunting, you have not filed your taxes in four years." The figure rasped out, his voice sounded as if several different people's voices had been mashed together.
Velvet was taken aback by the accusation. "Bounty hunting? What are you talking about?! I'm a farmer! I raise crops and livestock, and hunt prickleboar every now and again! I don't bounty hunt, I've never even been outside of Eastgand before! I'm too young to pay taxes anyways, I'm only 16! Arthur and Celica handle that for me!" Velvet retorted at the figure.
"I see this place has affected your memory too...We will go ahead and fix that." The man said as he slowly, ominously snapped his fingers. Velvet grasped her head and fell to her knees, crying out in pain. All the memories of the past 3 years of her conscious life began flooding back at once. Tears streamed down Velvet's face - she remembered now. All of it. Velvet gnashed her teeth in rage and stumbled her way back to her feet, sending a piercing glare into where she thought the figure's eyes would be.
"There is no way I am paying for that!" Velvet shouted. "I worked my ass off for that money! You have no idea how much time I spent running around the world, finding all of those stupid chests, and then risking my life to kill those massive Daemons! You don't deserve a single Gald from me!" Velvet continued to growl out in rage at the distorted figure.
The figure appeared to be completely unfazed. "So...You're not going to pay you say?" The voice replied ominously.
"Damn right I'm no-"
"That's okay. We have our ways." The voice calmly interjected as Velvet suddenly became bound by a binding arte before she could even process his last words.
"You'd better let me go! You have no idea who you're messing with!" Velvet snarled out through gnashed teeth.
"That's just the thing Velvet, we absolutely do." The distorted figure replied as two masked men walked up behind Velvet and threw a black bag over her head.
"Alright you two, it is clear that she will not listen to reason. You may take custody of her and do as you please, although." The figure's gaze turned to Velvet. "Should she change her mind and pay what she owes, you will release her immediately. Our organization rewards good behavior."
"Then she'd better change it quickly or be as good a fighter as she's hyped up to be. It would be awful tragic if she had her change of heart right before we have to scrape what's left of her off the floor." One of the men spoke in an accent Velvet didn't recognize.
"What's the deal with this, anyways Yevgeny? I know the company is in dire straits after the scandal and everything and we need to do something to bring people back, but is it really necessary to be snatching 'guests' up like this? Can't we just send out those envelopes like Nintendo does? I've never even heard of this woman before, surely we wouldn't have to pay out as much as we would for say, Samus or Master Chief." The other masked man asked curiously.
"Her name is Velvet Crowe, she is from the game Tales of Berseria. Weird you've never heard of her, Ivan, I was told that this game was pretty popular." Yevgeny replied.
"Tales? Those games are popular in Japan! We're supposed to be finding people who are popular around the world! Japan isn't the whole world you fucking weeb!" Ivan snapped.
"It is popular in West too! Hold on." Yevgeny pulled out what looked like a small black slab, but when he touched it the front of it appeared to start 'glowing' "Okay, Okay, the game sold...Less than 600,000?! What the fuck?! Victor told me this girl was a big deal!" Yevgeny angrily threw his hands down.
"So what do we do? Do we still take her with us?" Ivan asked hesitantly
"Might as well, we're here now." Yevgeny replied.
"And there's still the matter of my payment for tracking her down for you..." The Taxman interjected. "The Improbability Drive. It appears to be working just fine, seeing as it got us here without issue." He demanded as he extended his hand.
"Fine, a deal is a deal." Yevgeny walked up and placed a mysterious device in the Taxman's hand. "With this thing, nobody will be able to escape your clutches. No world, or hell, even Universe would be out of your reach. Taxes will now be more certain than death in your employer's world, as well as any other world that you offer your 'services' to."
As the exchange was going on, Velvet's head throbbed from the memories that came flooding back to her. Three years of horrible nightmarish events, the whole world she once knew wiped out in the blink of an eye, replaced with a nightmare she couldn't wake from. The peaceful world she thought was reality was all just a dream. Although a large part of her wanted nothing more than to forget and go back to living in eternal bliss, there was still a spark within her that didn't want to run. Was this really the fate she chose for herself? Or was it chosen for her by powers outside of her control? The same powers that had robbed her of everything, turned her into a monster, and left her a broken husk fated for nothing but suffering and damnation? Velvet closed her eyes and tried to focus. If this was a dream, that meant that she was in control. She just needed to focus...Let's start by taking care of his binding. Velvet's head continued to throb as she focused, but it wasn't long before she felt the binding arte begin to weaken. Yes, that's it! Just a little more...
Velvet's concentration was broken by a loud *crack* in the distance, followed by a persistent rumbling.
"What the hell was that?" Ivan called out.
"Looks like we made it through the warp in one piece. How's the bird looking, Adams?"
"Altitude's holding steady, Captain Graves! We're still flying." The pilot replied.
"Right then, Ramirez, get on the scope and see if you can locate Taxman! The drive should have dropped us close to his coordinates!"
"Already on it, sir. I've got eyes on Taxman, as well as what looks like two Mercs, and one female hostage."
"Alright, we're going in."
The rumbling began to grow closer and closer, as it grew nearer Velvet could tell it was somewhere above.
"Shit! Chopper! Is this a fucking sting?!" Yevgeny cried out as Velvet and the others were engulfed by a blinding white light.
"Taxman! This is the SCP Foundation! Surrender the Improbability Drive and give yourself up for Amnesiac Treatment and Containment!"
"Fools, you were followed!" Taxman angrily grumbled at the Mercs.
"We were followed?! It sure as shit seems like you're the one they're after!" Yevgeny shouted back.
"You're the ones that stole their devices!" Taxman retorted, his consummate professional act replaced with intense exasperation.
"And you're the freak that escaped from them!"
As the two parties continued to bicker, Velvet tried once again to concentrate, her binding was giving easier now that Taxman was distracted. Just a little more...There! Velvet's hands snapped out of their restrained position. She quickly threw the bag off her head and broke into a sprint towards the thickets.
"Shit! She's running! After her!" Ivan shouted, he and Yevgeny broke into a run and sprinted after her.
"Sir! We've got three runners!" Ramirez called out.
"Ignore them! Our priority is Taxman!" Graves replied urgently.
"Wait! I'm not done with you two yet!" Taxman rasped out as he tried to give chase, but a burst of automatic fire from the chopper's mounted gun kicked up a line of dirt in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.
"This is your last warning, Taxman! You will come along with us peacefully, or we will use force!" The Blackhawk's loudspeaker blared out.
Taxman turned to the chopper blaring its spotlight onto him. "It seems you lack respect for what I do for you people, you'd think an agency of your stature would understand why I am necessary. You know, I hear fuel is getting mighty expensive these days, it sure would be a tragedy if your agency suffered some...budget cuts."
Taxman snapped his fingers, and with that, alarms began sounding in the Blackhawk's cockpit.
"What the...We're at bingo fuel!" Adams cried out.
"Bloody hell! Did he just do what I think he did?!" Graves cursed as the chopper began to lose altitude.
"I've got no flight controls! We're going down!" Adams continued to call out.
"Can you autorotate?!" Graves shouted in response.
"Negative! We're too low!" Adams replied as alarms continued to blare.
"Bugger! Look for a clearing!" Graves called out as the Chopper spiraled towards the forest.
"Already got one lined up! But altitude's dropping fast! Brace for a hard landing!"
"The suns about to go down, it's almost time." One of the Brigands anxiously spoke.
"Yeah, those Villagers really are a bunch of pushovers, Sid didn't even have to slap anybody around before they agreed to our 'deal'. So much for community and standing up for one another, just march up to them waving some pointy sticks around and they'll sell each other out without a second thought. I almost feel bad for the poor girl, but a hot piece like that is too good to pass up." Another Brigand spoke up.
"Maybe once we're done with her we should head over to that house of theirs and take her younger sister too, hell, I might not be into that sort of nasty shit myself, but I'd bet that younger boy could fetch a good price somewhere, plenty of sick fucks willing to pay top dollar for-" The Brigand's musing was interrupted by a large black object swooping overhead before slamming into a nearby clearing in the trees.
"Holy shit! The hell was that?!" A Brigand jumped onto his feet at the sound of the crash.
"No point in speculating, let's take a look, maybe we can find some salvage from it or something..."
Graves snapped out of his daze and sat himself up as quick as he could. "Everyone still alive? Sound off!"
"Adams, still here!"
"Ramirez, I'm alright!"
"Kerry, I'm fucked up, but I'll live."
"Streicher, I'm alive."
"Right, we're all alive. At least that's something. Adams, how's the bird?" Graves spoke as he tried to shake off his disorientation.
"I'll need to take a look from the outside, but the rotors seem to be intact, and I don't think the hull got banged up too bad either. We might still be airworthy if we could get the fuel back." Adams reported as he looked out the cockpit windows.
"Ramirez, how's the M134?"
"The mounting got knocked loose, I don't think I'd chance firing it off in this state."
"Right then, Kerry, access the drive and see if you can undo what he did to the chopper, otherwise, salvage it. We'll warp back on foot once we've secured Taxman. This is a setback, but our mission hasn-"
"Captain! Multiple unknowns incoming!" Adams called out and ducked out of view of the windows.
Graves gave a motion for everyone to be quiet as a group of voices began to draw nearer. Adams quietly retrieved his Walther from the weapons locker while Graves readied his Mk. 18, and the rest of his team followed suit with their weapons.
One of the Brigands let out an excited whistle as the group came across the crash site. "Now this is pay dirt! We can definitely get a ton of scrap off of his thing!"
"Forget the scrap! That looks like some kind of door! This thing might be holding cargo! That crazy bastard Locke must have been trying some new Cargo transportation method or something to try to stop us from ambushing his caravans! Well he didn't escape us this time, as they say, what comes up must come down!" Another Brigand rubbed his hands together in excitement, ecstatic at his good fortune.
"Wait, if it's some kind of transport, doesn't that mean there would be guards!" One of the Brigands interjected cautiously.
"So what if there are? If that's the case, we just kill them all! Alright, how does this thing open..." The Brigand eagerly replied as he tugged on the door of the Blackhawk.
"Maybe to the si-Yes, there we go!" The Brigand cried out as the door began sliding. "Alright! Come to Pa-"
A deafening *bang* sounded as the back of the bandit's head exploded outwards, splattering chunks of skull and brain matter over his compatriots. Expressions of paralyzing shock and horror washed over the rest of the group, and before their leader's body even finished falling to the ground, a deafening roar resounded from the chopper as the group was cut down by a hailstorm of bullets. Most of the Brigands were frozen in fear and were fish in a barrel to the Task Force, but even the smart ones that tried to run as soon as the shooting started didn't get far and were perforated with relative ease.
"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Graves shouted out as the storm of bullets quieted down. The small clearing of forest had become a graveyard, about a dozen bodies littered the once peaceful grove. All of the Brigands were either dead, or had enough sense to stay down.
"Fucking hell, my ears! My EarPro ain't doing shit in this thing!" Kerry cried out clasping his ComTacs.
"Stow the bellyaching, if these guys have any friends in the area they'll have heard the shots, and my gut tells me they do. Kerry, get back on the Improbability Drive and get our fuel back, Adams, see if there's any other damage and if you can fix it, Ramirez, set up overwatch and let us know of any movement. Streicher, you and I will pull security on the chopper." Graves barked out to his team as he loaded a fresh magazine. Just as he finished the last order, a voice called out from the thickets.
"Fellas! What's happening over there?!…Guys?!"
"So much for overwatch, more Scavs incoming!" Ramirez cracked his neck as he snapped his rifle's bolt forward.
Velvet's exhausted breathing filled the air as she sprinted through the forest, leaves and twigs crunched and crackled beneath her boots, brush and branches rustled violently as she shoved her way through the foliage. Her first thought was to get back to Aball, but she quickly wizened and resolved that there was no way she could lead these men back to her home and put Laphi and Celica in danger. If they were after her, she was going to lead them as far away as she could. She'd rush to the Morgana Woods, and if they were still on her trail, she'd make for Taliesin. She could alert the guards and if nothing else they could keep them occupied while she slipped away. Velvet was alarmed at how naturally the thought of using other people as fodder came to her, but this was no time for reflection. She didn't know who these men were or what they wanted from her, but she knew they were up to no good, and she wasn't interested in anything beyond that. As the sunlight disappeared and the forest became enveloped in darkness, Velvet noticed a familiar but sinister red light shining through through the canopy.
"A Scarlet Moon...No...It can't be!" Velvet's exhaustion turned to panic as she shifted into overdrive, running faster than she thought possible.
Velvet was shocked to see the gates of Taliesin before her so soon. A journey that would usually take an hour at least ended up only taking her about 20 minutes, she knew she was probably the fastest runner in Aball, but this was a record for her. There was no time to pat herself on the back, though, she needed to get inside the gates.
"Halt! The gates are closed until sunrise!" One of the Gate Guards stopped Velvet in her tracks.
Velvet tried to muster the strength to explain to the guards what was going on, but she could only pant out the important parts through panicked breaths. "Bandits...After me...At least three...Need help..."
The guards exchanged looks. "Just let her in, Alvin. She's too well dressed to be a Bandit, even if she is, we can handle one girl."
"Fine, fine, get inside, we'll handle them." The guard spoke as he unlocked the gate, just as the gate swung open, the two Mercs rounded the bend.
"There's the bitch! Grab her!" Yevgeny yelled out at the sight of Velvet.
The guards readied their polearms and jumped into formation "Halt! You will go no further if you wan-" Suddenly, two loud cracks echoed through the air, and the guards' lifeless bodies crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
A cold panic rushed through Velvet's veins as she saw the two guards drop dead within less than a second of each other, and she frantically slammed the gate shut. "What the hell was that?! Some kind of handheld cannon? Only Locke has those kinds of things!" Velvet tried to regain her composure. Could those mercenaries be Locke's? No, they were way too advanced, even for Locke, and Locke wouldn't attack Aball, they did too much trading with him, that wouldn't make any sense. Those guards didn't stand a chance, but Locke might have something that could stand up to those guys, whoever they were. Velvet quickly rushed to the cliffside fortification where Locke ran his "business", him being the wealthiest Merchant on this side of the archipelago, he had no shortage of enemies and had defenses set up to deal with any potential aggressors. She just needed to convince him that these Mercs were a threat to him, and he'd have something to fight them off with...
"Mr. Locke! Open up! Please!" Velvet cried out as she frantically slammed on the door-knocker.
"What in the blazes is going on out there?" A groggy voice sounded from the other side of the door as the peephole slid open. Locke stood on the other side in his bathrobe, an ornate tobacco pipe clamped in his mouth below a thick moustache. "Don't you realize what time it is, young lady?"
"Mr. Locke, listen to me! There are people after you!" Velvet tried to reason.
"Lots of people are after me, young lady, what else is new?" Locke replied dismissively. "Is it perhaps those two chaps behind you there?" Locke motioned to the two masked men rounding the corner.
"Ivan, fire a warning shot." Yevgeny commanded.
Velvet gasped and ducked as Ivan raised his weapon at her and pulled the trigger of his AK-74u, the bullet whizzed over Velvet's head and struck Locke's pipe, snapping it in two. Locke remained speechless as he slammed the peephole shut. The door behind Velvet swung open, followed by Locke quickly seizing Velvet by the collar and deftly yanking her inside, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Wait a minute, I recognize you...You're that Velvet girl, from Aball. What in the devil are you doing all the way out here? What do these men want with me?" Locke asked, stroking his moustache.
"They're working for the IRS, they're trying to make us pay taxes!" Velvet said the one thing that was sure to get Locke's attention.
"Taxes?..." Locke's eyes glazed over as a tranquil fury began burning inside of him. "Taxes...They want to make the great Tacitus Seymour Locke of Taliesin...Pay Taxes?! Fiends! Alright Lass, let's show these leeching ruffians what for, shall we?"
"Well that was fucking genius, Ivan. Now you've pissed off one of the locals." Yevgeny scolded Ivan
"You said to fire a warning shot!" Ivan replied defensively.
"I said a warning shot, not shoot a fucking civilian! The hell is wrong with you?!" Yevgeny continued to chastise.
The argument was interrupted by the sound of a panel dropping from the cliffside above the doorway, revealing a cannon loaded with grapeshot pointed directly at the duo.
"Tally Ho, lads!" Locke cheerfully called out as he dropped a match into the cannon.
"сука блять!" the duo cried out in unison. Yevgeny dove for cover as the canon let out a thundering roar, sending a wall of lead flying down the alley. Ivan, however, reacted too slowly, and once the smoke cleared, all that remained were a smoldering pair of boots and a dark red stain on the cobblestone street.
"Looks like we're clear for now, how are we on ammo?" Graves called out as the last Brigand fell.
"I packed plenty, if there's one thing the Rangers taught me, it's to be ready for anything." Ramirez replied.
"All good here too, I almost feel bad about this, between the guns and the NODs it hardly seems fair...almost." Streicher added.
"Well then, why don't we even the odds a little?" A distorted voice called from the thickets, the Task Force readied their guns as the distorted figure emerged from the trees. Suddenly, however, the cluster of IR lasers trained on Taxman disappeared, and the world went from bright green to nearly pitch black with traces of red shining from above. "That's some pretty expensive equipment you have there. I think the funds would be better suited for more deserving little boys and girls, wouldn't you agree? The defense budget is high enough already."
"Damn!" Kerry cried out in frustration. "That fucker took our NODs!"
"Well, he should have taken our bullets." Ramirez said calmly as he softly squeezed the trigger of his rifle. Had his target been any normal human, the shot would have landed directly center mass, but unfortunately, Taxman lurched to the side just in the nick of time, however, the bullet managed to graze his front and passed directly through the pocket where his Improbability Drive had been sitting. A burst of sparks briefly illuminated Taxman before a massive pulse shook the earth, the shockwave speeding towards the horizon in all directions.
"That's...not good." Kerry uttered out in bewildered concern.
"You imbeciles...Now you've really done it..."
"Say again, Yevgeny?" Victor's voice sounded over the radio.
"I said Ivan is dead! The Foundation is onto us, Taxman made off with the Improbability Drive and the girl escaped in the confusion! She's fortified herself in some kind of bunker and is raining fucking artillery on us! I need more-"
Yevgeny was interrupted by a booming shockwave that blasted through the city. Before Yevgeny could process what was going on, a loud scream sounded from the street beside him as a guard came flying towards him head first, as if gravity had turned on its side for him, and he splatted against the adjacent wall at mach speed. Not long after, a massive whale fell from the sky and smashed into one of the nearby houses, crushing it under its massive weight, and not a second afterwards, a bowl of petunias slammed into the ground next to Yevgeny and shattered.
"Victor...Bring me everyone."
"What do you mean everyo-"
"EVERYONE!"
Stay tuned for Part 2 - Velvet is caught in the middle of a three way conflict between the mysterious Mercenaries, the SCP Foundation, and the entity known as "Taxman" as the destruction of Taxman's improbability drive causes her dream to collapse around her. Witness the final moments of the "Eternal Dream" as Velvet's fate is changed forever.