***Nirvana Resort, Oracle, AZ***
The loud speakers played the sounds of what only seemed to be thousands chanting. "Tot! Tot! Tot!" Over and over throughout the massive structure came the mantra "Tod! Tod! Tod!"
The angel closed his eyes, tightening the lids more and more, finally to release a scream that would deafen normal people. "STILLE! Bringen Sie zum Schweigen Ihre Schreie oder ich werde es für Sie machen!"
"TOT! TOT! TOT!" The mantra rose. "TOD! TOD! TOD!"
"Mein Gott hilft bitte mir. Beenden Sie den Schmerz, bitte ich bettle von Ihnen." He looked skyward and was greeted by nothing but covered darkness. "Sie werden nicht"
"Tot. Tot. Tot." Ezekiel Rage stepped forward, holding his two books, the pale Book of the Angels, he raised his arms, the minions all dropped to their knees and began to bow and rise like an ocean of waves.
"Minions! Today I speak of the final hours!" He raised his arms higher. Several curtains were drawn open, exposing containers of angels, all long since expired. "Sariel, you shall soon join your brethren and bring us to the heavens."
He closed his eyes, blood pouring out like tears down his cheeks. "Fordern Sie wie Sie hervorrufen die Engel des Gottes heraus! Sie täuschen, Sie Idiot, was Sie macht, denkt, dass ich Sie für diese Torheit vergeben werde? FORDERN Sie wie Sie töten meine Brüder heraus!"
"THE ANGEL SPEAKS OF PRAISE FOR OUR ACTIONS!" Ezekiel proclaimed.
***Outside of the Nirvana Resort, Oracle, AZ***
Dr. Quest listened intently to the sounds of what he could only think said, "Death! Death! Death! . Dead! Dead! Dead!" in German.
"Töten Sie! Töten Sie! Töten Sie! Verbrennen Sie die Welt!"
"Race, there is definitely some activity in there. I think we've found it." Benton explained, looking towards the door. "Call in the reinforcements."
Doug leaned towards the window, mimicking Benton, "Alright, so what's the plan. Do we charge or use stealth--"
"Neither, Doug. You wait here for the authorities with Jessie, and Race and I will sneak in and find Jonny, make sure he's alright and then we'll signal you somehow to tell you where to send the agents."
"And just WHY do you think you can just leave me here to play patsy."
Race glared at him, "Doug, this is not the time or place to disagree, if we're spotted they could KILL Jonny, and I seriously have to agree with Benton on this, we don't know Jonny's state. And judging by some of the pictures I don't think I want to see him like that so why I should I subjugate you to the same torture?"
"I'm coming, try and stop me."
Race clutched his knuckles and threw his hands in the air in exasperation only to quickly hide them so no one noticed him.
Benton looked at Doug, "Fine, come with us. It would be better to *watch* you instead of see you try breaking in and jeopardizing my son's-- Jonny's safety."
Doug nodded smugly. He actually WON, and Benton agreed. It was a beautiful day in heaven as hell froze over.
"Jessie. Stay here, we'll need someone who can contact the authorities on the outside." Race elaborated, making sure his daughter didn't mistake that as an opportunity to tag along.
***Inside the Nirvana Resort***
Ezekiel and his minions moved Jonny to an alter that was surrounded by the long-dead children. He reached inside a velvet bag that lay heavily in his belt. From within it he drew out two charms. He placed one charm around Jonny's neck, and the other around his own. The silver cross that hung upside down matched the mark on Jonny's forehead identically. Ezekiel touched his hand against the side of Jonny's face; Ezekiel's face was still hidden under the black mask.
Jonny's eyes stared past him, as if unable to see him but his awareness suggested otherwise. "Dieses Zeichen, diese Spotterei werden Sie zerstören. Sie sollen ewige Brandwunde durch meine Hände."
"That and the WORLD angel." He lifted a velvet parcel bag that housed several large nails pulling each out before the boy.
***Immediately Inside the Nirvana Resort, L3, ground floor***
"I'm simply baffled how we could slip in so easily. no security or anything." Dr. Quest mumbled to himself, a bag of tricks in his hands just waiting to be used.
"It's a mixed blessing. That just means there'll be more security the closer we get to Jonny and on the way out." Race added.
Doug looked at the two of them, "Well, it'll at least point us in the right direction, don't you think?" He glanced around, "Race, not to interfere or nothing but are you sure it was a good idea to leave Jessie alone out there.?"
Race glared at the man half ready to strike up a long strand of colorful words to describe how much he loved leaving his only child, his daughter, his Ponchita out in the open, unguarded and having to solely rely on her abilities against only god knows how many minions Zeke might send after them on their way out. Instead he elected a grunt. "She'll be fine." His tone was flat, but anyone who knew Race when he was upset could hear the undertone about as sharp as the sound of metal slamming into metal in a car accident.
Doug glanced at him suspiciously. Benton raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Can we try to stay on task. my youngest son. life endangered. does this ring a bell?" He glanced around. "No one seems around, Race, should we go up or down?"
"Splitting up would probably be best. I'll go down, you and Doug go up."
"How will we communicate with each other." Doug asked. Benton smirked, pulling out four small earpieces with three little stickers. He demonstrated how to put it on putting the sticker on his cheek by the corner of his lip the others followed his example.
"Can you hear me now?" Benton checked. Doug's eyes enlarged.
"Damn. I have surround-sound Egg-head in MY head." He bickered. Benton just smirked.
Race started to hasten his step as he made his way to the elevator shaft, readying to pry it open and move towards the lower floors. Taking it as their cue, Benton and Doug made their way to the steps, bickering between themselves as to which way to go. Race grimaced, WHY oh WHY did he have to hear them bickering simultaneously in his head? --Besides pure and udder abuse of privilege and technology.
He slid open the elevator door and looked down. "Holy Mother of." He whistled seeing the long descent. 'That's got to be. what, 20 floors down maybe?' He paused his thoughts, gathering them up momentarily, "I guess I'll go all the way to the bottom, that way no one will be able to warn the others as I make my way up."
Dr. Quest, thinking Race was asking something of himself replied, "We'll be working our way from the top floor down, Race. Hopefully we won't need to meet in the middle."
***Sub Level 17***
A hot and sweaty Race Bannon swore under his breath as all he found were cleaning supplies and the routine set of dust bunnies and cobwebs. Now THAT was ironic. The gargantuan cleaning closet was filthy and unmanaged. He sighed, and it was a long way down too!
***Level 14***
Dr. Quest swore as he made his way into Ezekiel's office, melting the locks with acid. That lush bastard, his ENTIRE office was decorated in dark wood, not exactly the sort of wood you find in the area. He made his way towards the desk. He opened the drawer, ignoring the paperwork on top of the muddled desk. "What in hell. there's hundreds of files in here." He sat down and began looking through each file. He came to one labeled Quest, Jonathon C. He snarled as he began to read the synopsis.
If he saw Ezekiel Rage he knew he'd kill him for that alone.
How could ANYONE describe a child, let alone his perfect one in such a sinister way? And what he had planned for him. it made Benton's stomach turn. He sighed it wasn't Doug's fault. Apparently Rage had taken specific likings to Jonny, this file went as far back as when Jonny was only 8 years old. Maybe Ezekiel deserved less pity then he evoked being that he was planning the destruction of the world long before Carla and Abby Rage ever died.
He returned the file to its former position and looked through some of the other files. His eyes then fell onto the desktop which, before then he had left unchecked. As he found the photographs of before-and-after images his stomach turned inside it's self. He shot up from the chair and raced towards the next room. "Race, we have to find Jonny ASAP!" All the while he muttered, "That sadistic son of a bitch. the media never showed HALF of that."
***Sub Level 14***
Race heard chanting. Lots of chanting. He narrowed his eyes, it was nearby, but where. it didn't appear to be on this floor at least, not with how loud it was. THE NEXT FLOOR! He ran towards the elevator shaft and climbed up. The screams grew, as did the chanting as if to cover it and make it go away.
"Tot, tot, tot. TOT, TOT, TOT! *TOT* *TOT* *TOT* Tot!" More screams.
"Der Schmerz, Gott aufhält es machen. MACHEN Sie BITTE ES AUFHÄLT!" He pleaded.
Race just was thankful he didn't speak German, though he had an all- to-bitter idea of what exactly the boy was screaming, it made his skin crawl.
The scream halted. No longer any tangible words, just long successions of vowels and unutterable torment.
***Sub Level 13***
Race leaned against the door to the elevator and opened it ever so slowly. All the while he debated, 'Is it better to leave Benton and Doug in the dark. so they don't have to see him like this. or should I call them in for all the help I can get.' His eyes reflected in deep pools of cerulean the thoughts coursing over him. 'He deserves to at least see Benton, he should be able to know he's safe and if I know that boy at all I know that's how Benton makes him feel.' A small sense of jealousy rushed past Race. The thought of how close Jonny was to his father, though he knew that was only natural with all they had gone through, he quickly wrote that last thought off as being completely selfish. He began whispering into the air, "Benton. Doug. I've found where our little candlelight vigil is. Get down to the 13th sub-floor. I'll be waiting inside." He ripped off his earpiece and threw it into his pocket, drawing from it instead a Glock and a canister of knockout gas quickly followed by a small gas mask. "I'm bringing in the tear gas. Tell Jessie to send them to the 13th Sub Level." He didn't even need to hear them to know Benton was darting down the steps barking out the orders over the airwaves to Jessie.
***Outside of the Nirvana Resort, 5 minutes later***
Phil Korvin and a swarm of I1 officers filled the streets as Phil glared at one of his agents, Will Harkness, signaling to her to remove the girl and prep the ambulance.
The fiery red head was led away by an equally fiery brunette.
Jessie followed, greatly upset that she couldn't see Jonny as he came out of the building in his time of need. She understood though. After all, she had seen the pictures, the horrors. she just hoped Mr. Wildey didn't find his grandson, she wasn't quite sure if his heart would allow him to see such a sight especially at that age.
***Inside the Nirvana Resort, SL 13***
"Brother Samuel. Sister Winona. what is going on!" Ezekiel spat as one by one his minions fell to the ground seemingly unconscious, each choking in gasps of air.
As they dropped they still managed to whisper out, "Tot. tot. tot. the angel is bringing us our wish. tot. tot. tot."
Race glared. Those bastards would PAY for that, but first he had to secure Jonny. He fumbled over the bodies of the cult, making his way closer and closer to a velvet drop cloth. Something about that made his hairs stand on edge, his nerves tingled.
His body was disgorged over the two pieces of wood, his blood carpeting the floor. His eyes were open widely and all he saw was his on blood and the bodies erected around him. He threw his head back into the hard board and pivoted it transversely from his neck all the while muttering softly, "Können Sie wie dies ist Ereignis... warum... warum... warum!" Tears of warm liquid balled inside his eyelids, though by now not even he could tell the difference between his own tears and blood.
Race quickly found the point of his search. A small smile greeted his lips as he found the boy alive but quickly faded as he assessed the situation. Oh, this was bad. far beyond bad. He didn't even think a word in the English language existed to describe just how bad this was. Terrible, Abominable, Monstrous. none of them fit the bill; all too small, all too positive to even describe the tip of this atrocity. No, he would refer to one of the seven German phrases he knew by heart. "This is the body of all Angst." He quickly reminded himself that Benton and Doug's presence would arrive all too soon. He quickly struggled to remove Jonny from the crucifix, but first to dislodge the symbol around his neck. He wasn't quite up to recalling his days of theology or to remember about lucky Saint Peter particularly in context of this boy, the boy he raised as if he were his son. "Jonny! Can you hear me?"
"Ich kann." The boy said weakly.
"I'm going to get you out of here."
"Nein!" he cried with tremendous passion. "Wäscht die Angst, es über mir und frage ich, werde ich hier sterben... wie dies? Geben Sie bitte wenigstens mir die Würde zu wissen; der dies alle weg waschen werden. Dass die ganze Welt verschwinden wird, wenn nur in meinem Gemüt. Mit allen meinen Sünden alle meine Qualen, aller mein Kummer und grösstenteils aller mein Schmerz." Tears welled in his eyes.
"Ich bettle Sie, mich hier zu verlassen, zu sterben. BITTE lassen ich Sie flehe an, dass mich sterbe. Dies ist meine Strafe, lässt jetzt mir repent."
Race looked at the boy, he must be in shock he knew Jonny could understand him, but why would he only reply in German? It made no sense. "Jonny, what's wrong?"
"Helfen Sie mir nicht." Race glared. That was a combination of the other two phrases he knew. "Help me," and the word, "Not."
"Ich gehe zu, damit es behandeln, kind."
He closed his eyes, a slight hint of anger washing across him. "VERDAMMEN Sie SIE nur verlassen mich Sie Bastard!"
"Ich kann nicht, ich werde nicht. Sprechen Sie jetzt Englisch!!"
"Ich werde nicht, Sie Bastard!"
Race glared at Jonny in complete frustration. "That's it, I'm getting you down from here now! Brace yourself, this is going to hurt."
"Gute."
Race rattled off the last phrase he knew, "Ficken Sie ab Jonny!"
That seemed to quiet him down for the moment. The silence was quickly shattered as Race lowered the boy from the wooden boards.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jonny screamed, the pain flew over him and yet for all he could wish, he wouldn't pass out into painless sleep.
Of course, with perfect timing like Benton's the scientist and his father-in-law stepped into hearing range just as Jonny's vocal chords shot off the shrill noise of ultimate pain.
"JONATHON!" Benton screamed, running head first into the room without a thought in his mind not centered on Jonny's pain and the hope to ease it. Doug followed close in step to the younger man, also knowing just how unnatural that sound was, especially when escaping his grandson's lips.
"JONNY!" The elder man screamed almost simultaneously with Benton.
Race called to them, "Don't come near here. Either of you! We need to get him to a paramedic, I'm bringing him out. brace yourselves for this."
He raised one of Jonny's limp arms around his shoulder; he could feel Jonny's body shed its heat and dampen with a cold sweat just as he lifted the broken boy. He carefully dragged the boy towards the opening in the curtains. "Benton, help me get Jonny up, Doug, get Phil Korvin, tell him he's going to need about 13 body bags." He looked back towards the shielded area. "But tell him if I have my way he'll be needing an extra one to fit an adult man, but that I could cut it up for him if it makes it any easier." He glared at the floor littered with the cult of Rage. It almost made him chortle and if it wasn't as bad as it was, he might have, litter was really quite the adequate word for it because not a SINGLE one of these pieces of fuck deserved to be anything better than trash. He didn't care about their circumstances, not any longer. If you could do that to ONE child, let alone as many as they no doubt had, they didn't deserve the title of human being, hell SHIT was a step up from their level.
Tears brimmed Benton's strong eyes turning them into a heart-wrecked sap as they befell his ailing son. "That son of a bitch." Escaped Benton as he collapsed onto his son, wrapping him in his arms as soon as they made contact with his ever-soft skin. The blood seeped into his clothing faster than a towel could steal water from an ocean. "Jonny, can you hear me?"
Race looked at Benton nervously, "He's lost a LOT of blood, and he hasn't said a word of English since I found him, I'm no expert but, shit, he's in shock Benton. we need to get him to medical attention NOW, hell five hours ago if not longer back still."
Desperate, still, he stroked Jonny's face as he and Race made their way with the tattered boy's body. "Jonny, can you hear me?"
"Vater. es ist Sie Vater?"
"Ja ist es Sohn. Ich habe recht hier."
Race looked at him nervously. "What the hell are you saying to him? He's trembling!"
"Schauen Sie mich nicht an. Siehe an mir nicht."
"Ich muss." Benton stroked the boy's face trying to still his trembling.
"Warum! Müssen Sie warum Sie sehen mich?!"
"Weil ich Sie LIEBE!"
His tears spilled faster than rain from a sky, and Benton's soon matched their velocity. He put a hand over his eyes so to hide his tears from the frantic boy. "Bitte spricht Sohn, auf englisch. Ich weiss, dass Sie können."
"Arschloch!" Jonny swore as his father leaned him against a wall. They were mere steps from the elevator and freedom respectively. "VERLASSEN Sie MICH ALLEIN!" He cried out. He choked back gobs of saliva and mucus that made his breathing all the more challenging on top of the pain in his chest and back. He gasped amid swallows. His eyes looked sleeted over, empty, void of everything except the one thing Benton would ever want in his eyes. That look of pain so severe it almost always seemed to follow by death. The fear in the man rose bitterly in his chest and pit of his stomach concurrently.
"NEIN! I will NOT Jonathon stop trying to give up. I DEMAND it, do you understand?"
Through sniffles, Jonny retorted, "Ja verstehe ich vater." He allowed his head to drop into his father's shoulder so as to hide his tears shamefully brought on by self-pity.
"Good. Come on." His sternness was washed away quickly by his sympathy for his son. He slid his hand around the back of his son's neck and gently stroked up and down Jonny's vertebrae as far down as level to his shoulders then back up to his hairline trying to woo him to slumber.
The anguished boy finally buckled to a dark and heavy sleep that lasted just short of eternity.
Dr. Quest pushed his hair back thankful that the boy finally nodded off so that he could allow his ire, his seething hatred escape. "Doug!" He glared coldly at the old man.
Until then Doug had been so dumfound that he hadn't even found the ability to speak, as the irate man spoke to him he glanced towards him, finally realizing just how bad Benton's temper was. "What.?" He said, just shy of coming off timid, though in fact timid was far from the feeling he harbored, no, merely shocked and horrified at the state of his sole remnant of his daughter.
"Doug, take him up to an ambulance. Take Race with you." He grabbed his gun.
Doug blinked, "No! I know exactly what you're thinking and what you'd like to get away with. And granted, in a court of law it would probably be written off as a justifiable moment of temporary insanity brought on by shock but my grandson is NOT going to lose his father for a day let alone a year or more just so one scum bag can die. Now get your ass up that elevator. This Ezekiel Rage will GET his, don't you worry. But not one of the three of us here will be the ones to bring it about."
Benton was taken aback by Doug's sentiment. He shook his head to clear it. "No, Doug. I cannot allow the chance for him to get near my son EVER again. This has to be the last time. It must be."
"Don't you think I know that? But you can't kill him. If you do that, everything Jonny endured is for nothing, because in the end you sunk to that piece of shit's level."
"He's lower than shit." Race informed.
"Still. Benton, you can't expect to become a murderer. in RAGE and be able to look at that boy the same way ever again. No, it can't be us. Now get moving before MY grandson bleeds to death in this dank hole."
The reminder of Benton's competition over Jonny's affection by calling him 'his grandson' and the statement about bleeding to death finally snapped Benton back into place. "You. you're right. Thank you Doug. I lost my head for a moment."
"Yeah, and you were almost tolerable. For a moment." Doug picked.
***Just Outside of the Nirvana Resort***
Dr. Quest and Race managed to finally pull Jonny out into the earliest minutes of dawn, the few striated clouds pulling out the lighter colors of the night time sky as it prepared itself to change drastically over the next few hours.
As Jessie's eyes laid sight on Jonny she dropped to her knees in a form of shock that everyone seemed to be experiencing, though she was the only one who manifested it into a physical sign. Phil lowered his bottom jaw until his neck reminded him that his jaw wasn't able to drop any lower.
He said a small prayer incapable of believing a human body could look like THAT and still be ALIVE. He raised his mouth quickly and hoped no one had heard the comment, especially given how inappropriate to the circumstances THAT could be.
As if to answer everyone's shocked gaze, though, the boy's chest rhythmically rose up and down, the wings attached to his back swayed heavenly then back to the ground just as a bird's would as it respired. Race had to quickly remind all the field agents to move into action, "Medic! We need a MEDIC!"
The paramedics quickly sprinted into action. Phil squawked to his people, "MOVE IN teams! I don't want a FLY getting out of that place without handcuffs on, understood people? MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT!"
(Status _ Part Seven: Gebrochenen Engel hat Träume niedergerissen _ Completed.)
German Dialog translations:
*SILENCE! Silence your cries or I'll do it for you. *My God please help me. End the pain, I beg of you. You will not. *How dare you evoke the angels of god! You fool, you idiot what makes you think I shall forgive you for this folly? How DARE you kill my brethren! *Kill! Kill! Kill! Burn the World! *This sign, this mockery will destroy you. You shall forever burn by my hands. **Kill! Kill! Kill! Burn the world! **Death! Death! Death! (Yeah, tot means death okay!) *The pain, god make it stop. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! *How could this happen. why. why. why! *I can *No! The fear, it washes over me and I ask am I going to die here... like this? Please at least give me the dignity of knowing that this will all wash away. That the whole world will go away if only in my mind. With all my sins, all my torments, all my grief and mostly all my pain. I beg you to leave me here to die. PLEASE I beseech you let me die. This is my punishment now let me repent. *Do not help me. **I'm going to, so deal with it, kid. *DAMN YOU just leave me you bastard! **I can not. I will not. Now speak English! *I will not, you bastard! *Good. **Fuck off Jonny. *Dad. is it you dad? **Yes it is son, I'm right here. *Don't look at me. Don't see me. **I must. *Why must you see me?! **Because I love you! **Please son, speak in English. I know you can. *Asshole! Leave me alone! *Yes I understand father.
*Broken Angel Demolished Dreams
The loud speakers played the sounds of what only seemed to be thousands chanting. "Tot! Tot! Tot!" Over and over throughout the massive structure came the mantra "Tod! Tod! Tod!"
The angel closed his eyes, tightening the lids more and more, finally to release a scream that would deafen normal people. "STILLE! Bringen Sie zum Schweigen Ihre Schreie oder ich werde es für Sie machen!"
"TOT! TOT! TOT!" The mantra rose. "TOD! TOD! TOD!"
"Mein Gott hilft bitte mir. Beenden Sie den Schmerz, bitte ich bettle von Ihnen." He looked skyward and was greeted by nothing but covered darkness. "Sie werden nicht"
"Tot. Tot. Tot." Ezekiel Rage stepped forward, holding his two books, the pale Book of the Angels, he raised his arms, the minions all dropped to their knees and began to bow and rise like an ocean of waves.
"Minions! Today I speak of the final hours!" He raised his arms higher. Several curtains were drawn open, exposing containers of angels, all long since expired. "Sariel, you shall soon join your brethren and bring us to the heavens."
He closed his eyes, blood pouring out like tears down his cheeks. "Fordern Sie wie Sie hervorrufen die Engel des Gottes heraus! Sie täuschen, Sie Idiot, was Sie macht, denkt, dass ich Sie für diese Torheit vergeben werde? FORDERN Sie wie Sie töten meine Brüder heraus!"
"THE ANGEL SPEAKS OF PRAISE FOR OUR ACTIONS!" Ezekiel proclaimed.
***Outside of the Nirvana Resort, Oracle, AZ***
Dr. Quest listened intently to the sounds of what he could only think said, "Death! Death! Death! . Dead! Dead! Dead!" in German.
"Töten Sie! Töten Sie! Töten Sie! Verbrennen Sie die Welt!"
"Race, there is definitely some activity in there. I think we've found it." Benton explained, looking towards the door. "Call in the reinforcements."
Doug leaned towards the window, mimicking Benton, "Alright, so what's the plan. Do we charge or use stealth--"
"Neither, Doug. You wait here for the authorities with Jessie, and Race and I will sneak in and find Jonny, make sure he's alright and then we'll signal you somehow to tell you where to send the agents."
"And just WHY do you think you can just leave me here to play patsy."
Race glared at him, "Doug, this is not the time or place to disagree, if we're spotted they could KILL Jonny, and I seriously have to agree with Benton on this, we don't know Jonny's state. And judging by some of the pictures I don't think I want to see him like that so why I should I subjugate you to the same torture?"
"I'm coming, try and stop me."
Race clutched his knuckles and threw his hands in the air in exasperation only to quickly hide them so no one noticed him.
Benton looked at Doug, "Fine, come with us. It would be better to *watch* you instead of see you try breaking in and jeopardizing my son's-- Jonny's safety."
Doug nodded smugly. He actually WON, and Benton agreed. It was a beautiful day in heaven as hell froze over.
"Jessie. Stay here, we'll need someone who can contact the authorities on the outside." Race elaborated, making sure his daughter didn't mistake that as an opportunity to tag along.
***Inside the Nirvana Resort***
Ezekiel and his minions moved Jonny to an alter that was surrounded by the long-dead children. He reached inside a velvet bag that lay heavily in his belt. From within it he drew out two charms. He placed one charm around Jonny's neck, and the other around his own. The silver cross that hung upside down matched the mark on Jonny's forehead identically. Ezekiel touched his hand against the side of Jonny's face; Ezekiel's face was still hidden under the black mask.
Jonny's eyes stared past him, as if unable to see him but his awareness suggested otherwise. "Dieses Zeichen, diese Spotterei werden Sie zerstören. Sie sollen ewige Brandwunde durch meine Hände."
"That and the WORLD angel." He lifted a velvet parcel bag that housed several large nails pulling each out before the boy.
***Immediately Inside the Nirvana Resort, L3, ground floor***
"I'm simply baffled how we could slip in so easily. no security or anything." Dr. Quest mumbled to himself, a bag of tricks in his hands just waiting to be used.
"It's a mixed blessing. That just means there'll be more security the closer we get to Jonny and on the way out." Race added.
Doug looked at the two of them, "Well, it'll at least point us in the right direction, don't you think?" He glanced around, "Race, not to interfere or nothing but are you sure it was a good idea to leave Jessie alone out there.?"
Race glared at the man half ready to strike up a long strand of colorful words to describe how much he loved leaving his only child, his daughter, his Ponchita out in the open, unguarded and having to solely rely on her abilities against only god knows how many minions Zeke might send after them on their way out. Instead he elected a grunt. "She'll be fine." His tone was flat, but anyone who knew Race when he was upset could hear the undertone about as sharp as the sound of metal slamming into metal in a car accident.
Doug glanced at him suspiciously. Benton raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Can we try to stay on task. my youngest son. life endangered. does this ring a bell?" He glanced around. "No one seems around, Race, should we go up or down?"
"Splitting up would probably be best. I'll go down, you and Doug go up."
"How will we communicate with each other." Doug asked. Benton smirked, pulling out four small earpieces with three little stickers. He demonstrated how to put it on putting the sticker on his cheek by the corner of his lip the others followed his example.
"Can you hear me now?" Benton checked. Doug's eyes enlarged.
"Damn. I have surround-sound Egg-head in MY head." He bickered. Benton just smirked.
Race started to hasten his step as he made his way to the elevator shaft, readying to pry it open and move towards the lower floors. Taking it as their cue, Benton and Doug made their way to the steps, bickering between themselves as to which way to go. Race grimaced, WHY oh WHY did he have to hear them bickering simultaneously in his head? --Besides pure and udder abuse of privilege and technology.
He slid open the elevator door and looked down. "Holy Mother of." He whistled seeing the long descent. 'That's got to be. what, 20 floors down maybe?' He paused his thoughts, gathering them up momentarily, "I guess I'll go all the way to the bottom, that way no one will be able to warn the others as I make my way up."
Dr. Quest, thinking Race was asking something of himself replied, "We'll be working our way from the top floor down, Race. Hopefully we won't need to meet in the middle."
***Sub Level 17***
A hot and sweaty Race Bannon swore under his breath as all he found were cleaning supplies and the routine set of dust bunnies and cobwebs. Now THAT was ironic. The gargantuan cleaning closet was filthy and unmanaged. He sighed, and it was a long way down too!
***Level 14***
Dr. Quest swore as he made his way into Ezekiel's office, melting the locks with acid. That lush bastard, his ENTIRE office was decorated in dark wood, not exactly the sort of wood you find in the area. He made his way towards the desk. He opened the drawer, ignoring the paperwork on top of the muddled desk. "What in hell. there's hundreds of files in here." He sat down and began looking through each file. He came to one labeled Quest, Jonathon C. He snarled as he began to read the synopsis.
If he saw Ezekiel Rage he knew he'd kill him for that alone.
How could ANYONE describe a child, let alone his perfect one in such a sinister way? And what he had planned for him. it made Benton's stomach turn. He sighed it wasn't Doug's fault. Apparently Rage had taken specific likings to Jonny, this file went as far back as when Jonny was only 8 years old. Maybe Ezekiel deserved less pity then he evoked being that he was planning the destruction of the world long before Carla and Abby Rage ever died.
He returned the file to its former position and looked through some of the other files. His eyes then fell onto the desktop which, before then he had left unchecked. As he found the photographs of before-and-after images his stomach turned inside it's self. He shot up from the chair and raced towards the next room. "Race, we have to find Jonny ASAP!" All the while he muttered, "That sadistic son of a bitch. the media never showed HALF of that."
***Sub Level 14***
Race heard chanting. Lots of chanting. He narrowed his eyes, it was nearby, but where. it didn't appear to be on this floor at least, not with how loud it was. THE NEXT FLOOR! He ran towards the elevator shaft and climbed up. The screams grew, as did the chanting as if to cover it and make it go away.
"Tot, tot, tot. TOT, TOT, TOT! *TOT* *TOT* *TOT* Tot!" More screams.
"Der Schmerz, Gott aufhält es machen. MACHEN Sie BITTE ES AUFHÄLT!" He pleaded.
Race just was thankful he didn't speak German, though he had an all- to-bitter idea of what exactly the boy was screaming, it made his skin crawl.
The scream halted. No longer any tangible words, just long successions of vowels and unutterable torment.
***Sub Level 13***
Race leaned against the door to the elevator and opened it ever so slowly. All the while he debated, 'Is it better to leave Benton and Doug in the dark. so they don't have to see him like this. or should I call them in for all the help I can get.' His eyes reflected in deep pools of cerulean the thoughts coursing over him. 'He deserves to at least see Benton, he should be able to know he's safe and if I know that boy at all I know that's how Benton makes him feel.' A small sense of jealousy rushed past Race. The thought of how close Jonny was to his father, though he knew that was only natural with all they had gone through, he quickly wrote that last thought off as being completely selfish. He began whispering into the air, "Benton. Doug. I've found where our little candlelight vigil is. Get down to the 13th sub-floor. I'll be waiting inside." He ripped off his earpiece and threw it into his pocket, drawing from it instead a Glock and a canister of knockout gas quickly followed by a small gas mask. "I'm bringing in the tear gas. Tell Jessie to send them to the 13th Sub Level." He didn't even need to hear them to know Benton was darting down the steps barking out the orders over the airwaves to Jessie.
***Outside of the Nirvana Resort, 5 minutes later***
Phil Korvin and a swarm of I1 officers filled the streets as Phil glared at one of his agents, Will Harkness, signaling to her to remove the girl and prep the ambulance.
The fiery red head was led away by an equally fiery brunette.
Jessie followed, greatly upset that she couldn't see Jonny as he came out of the building in his time of need. She understood though. After all, she had seen the pictures, the horrors. she just hoped Mr. Wildey didn't find his grandson, she wasn't quite sure if his heart would allow him to see such a sight especially at that age.
***Inside the Nirvana Resort, SL 13***
"Brother Samuel. Sister Winona. what is going on!" Ezekiel spat as one by one his minions fell to the ground seemingly unconscious, each choking in gasps of air.
As they dropped they still managed to whisper out, "Tot. tot. tot. the angel is bringing us our wish. tot. tot. tot."
Race glared. Those bastards would PAY for that, but first he had to secure Jonny. He fumbled over the bodies of the cult, making his way closer and closer to a velvet drop cloth. Something about that made his hairs stand on edge, his nerves tingled.
His body was disgorged over the two pieces of wood, his blood carpeting the floor. His eyes were open widely and all he saw was his on blood and the bodies erected around him. He threw his head back into the hard board and pivoted it transversely from his neck all the while muttering softly, "Können Sie wie dies ist Ereignis... warum... warum... warum!" Tears of warm liquid balled inside his eyelids, though by now not even he could tell the difference between his own tears and blood.
Race quickly found the point of his search. A small smile greeted his lips as he found the boy alive but quickly faded as he assessed the situation. Oh, this was bad. far beyond bad. He didn't even think a word in the English language existed to describe just how bad this was. Terrible, Abominable, Monstrous. none of them fit the bill; all too small, all too positive to even describe the tip of this atrocity. No, he would refer to one of the seven German phrases he knew by heart. "This is the body of all Angst." He quickly reminded himself that Benton and Doug's presence would arrive all too soon. He quickly struggled to remove Jonny from the crucifix, but first to dislodge the symbol around his neck. He wasn't quite up to recalling his days of theology or to remember about lucky Saint Peter particularly in context of this boy, the boy he raised as if he were his son. "Jonny! Can you hear me?"
"Ich kann." The boy said weakly.
"I'm going to get you out of here."
"Nein!" he cried with tremendous passion. "Wäscht die Angst, es über mir und frage ich, werde ich hier sterben... wie dies? Geben Sie bitte wenigstens mir die Würde zu wissen; der dies alle weg waschen werden. Dass die ganze Welt verschwinden wird, wenn nur in meinem Gemüt. Mit allen meinen Sünden alle meine Qualen, aller mein Kummer und grösstenteils aller mein Schmerz." Tears welled in his eyes.
"Ich bettle Sie, mich hier zu verlassen, zu sterben. BITTE lassen ich Sie flehe an, dass mich sterbe. Dies ist meine Strafe, lässt jetzt mir repent."
Race looked at the boy, he must be in shock he knew Jonny could understand him, but why would he only reply in German? It made no sense. "Jonny, what's wrong?"
"Helfen Sie mir nicht." Race glared. That was a combination of the other two phrases he knew. "Help me," and the word, "Not."
"Ich gehe zu, damit es behandeln, kind."
He closed his eyes, a slight hint of anger washing across him. "VERDAMMEN Sie SIE nur verlassen mich Sie Bastard!"
"Ich kann nicht, ich werde nicht. Sprechen Sie jetzt Englisch!!"
"Ich werde nicht, Sie Bastard!"
Race glared at Jonny in complete frustration. "That's it, I'm getting you down from here now! Brace yourself, this is going to hurt."
"Gute."
Race rattled off the last phrase he knew, "Ficken Sie ab Jonny!"
That seemed to quiet him down for the moment. The silence was quickly shattered as Race lowered the boy from the wooden boards.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jonny screamed, the pain flew over him and yet for all he could wish, he wouldn't pass out into painless sleep.
Of course, with perfect timing like Benton's the scientist and his father-in-law stepped into hearing range just as Jonny's vocal chords shot off the shrill noise of ultimate pain.
"JONATHON!" Benton screamed, running head first into the room without a thought in his mind not centered on Jonny's pain and the hope to ease it. Doug followed close in step to the younger man, also knowing just how unnatural that sound was, especially when escaping his grandson's lips.
"JONNY!" The elder man screamed almost simultaneously with Benton.
Race called to them, "Don't come near here. Either of you! We need to get him to a paramedic, I'm bringing him out. brace yourselves for this."
He raised one of Jonny's limp arms around his shoulder; he could feel Jonny's body shed its heat and dampen with a cold sweat just as he lifted the broken boy. He carefully dragged the boy towards the opening in the curtains. "Benton, help me get Jonny up, Doug, get Phil Korvin, tell him he's going to need about 13 body bags." He looked back towards the shielded area. "But tell him if I have my way he'll be needing an extra one to fit an adult man, but that I could cut it up for him if it makes it any easier." He glared at the floor littered with the cult of Rage. It almost made him chortle and if it wasn't as bad as it was, he might have, litter was really quite the adequate word for it because not a SINGLE one of these pieces of fuck deserved to be anything better than trash. He didn't care about their circumstances, not any longer. If you could do that to ONE child, let alone as many as they no doubt had, they didn't deserve the title of human being, hell SHIT was a step up from their level.
Tears brimmed Benton's strong eyes turning them into a heart-wrecked sap as they befell his ailing son. "That son of a bitch." Escaped Benton as he collapsed onto his son, wrapping him in his arms as soon as they made contact with his ever-soft skin. The blood seeped into his clothing faster than a towel could steal water from an ocean. "Jonny, can you hear me?"
Race looked at Benton nervously, "He's lost a LOT of blood, and he hasn't said a word of English since I found him, I'm no expert but, shit, he's in shock Benton. we need to get him to medical attention NOW, hell five hours ago if not longer back still."
Desperate, still, he stroked Jonny's face as he and Race made their way with the tattered boy's body. "Jonny, can you hear me?"
"Vater. es ist Sie Vater?"
"Ja ist es Sohn. Ich habe recht hier."
Race looked at him nervously. "What the hell are you saying to him? He's trembling!"
"Schauen Sie mich nicht an. Siehe an mir nicht."
"Ich muss." Benton stroked the boy's face trying to still his trembling.
"Warum! Müssen Sie warum Sie sehen mich?!"
"Weil ich Sie LIEBE!"
His tears spilled faster than rain from a sky, and Benton's soon matched their velocity. He put a hand over his eyes so to hide his tears from the frantic boy. "Bitte spricht Sohn, auf englisch. Ich weiss, dass Sie können."
"Arschloch!" Jonny swore as his father leaned him against a wall. They were mere steps from the elevator and freedom respectively. "VERLASSEN Sie MICH ALLEIN!" He cried out. He choked back gobs of saliva and mucus that made his breathing all the more challenging on top of the pain in his chest and back. He gasped amid swallows. His eyes looked sleeted over, empty, void of everything except the one thing Benton would ever want in his eyes. That look of pain so severe it almost always seemed to follow by death. The fear in the man rose bitterly in his chest and pit of his stomach concurrently.
"NEIN! I will NOT Jonathon stop trying to give up. I DEMAND it, do you understand?"
Through sniffles, Jonny retorted, "Ja verstehe ich vater." He allowed his head to drop into his father's shoulder so as to hide his tears shamefully brought on by self-pity.
"Good. Come on." His sternness was washed away quickly by his sympathy for his son. He slid his hand around the back of his son's neck and gently stroked up and down Jonny's vertebrae as far down as level to his shoulders then back up to his hairline trying to woo him to slumber.
The anguished boy finally buckled to a dark and heavy sleep that lasted just short of eternity.
Dr. Quest pushed his hair back thankful that the boy finally nodded off so that he could allow his ire, his seething hatred escape. "Doug!" He glared coldly at the old man.
Until then Doug had been so dumfound that he hadn't even found the ability to speak, as the irate man spoke to him he glanced towards him, finally realizing just how bad Benton's temper was. "What.?" He said, just shy of coming off timid, though in fact timid was far from the feeling he harbored, no, merely shocked and horrified at the state of his sole remnant of his daughter.
"Doug, take him up to an ambulance. Take Race with you." He grabbed his gun.
Doug blinked, "No! I know exactly what you're thinking and what you'd like to get away with. And granted, in a court of law it would probably be written off as a justifiable moment of temporary insanity brought on by shock but my grandson is NOT going to lose his father for a day let alone a year or more just so one scum bag can die. Now get your ass up that elevator. This Ezekiel Rage will GET his, don't you worry. But not one of the three of us here will be the ones to bring it about."
Benton was taken aback by Doug's sentiment. He shook his head to clear it. "No, Doug. I cannot allow the chance for him to get near my son EVER again. This has to be the last time. It must be."
"Don't you think I know that? But you can't kill him. If you do that, everything Jonny endured is for nothing, because in the end you sunk to that piece of shit's level."
"He's lower than shit." Race informed.
"Still. Benton, you can't expect to become a murderer. in RAGE and be able to look at that boy the same way ever again. No, it can't be us. Now get moving before MY grandson bleeds to death in this dank hole."
The reminder of Benton's competition over Jonny's affection by calling him 'his grandson' and the statement about bleeding to death finally snapped Benton back into place. "You. you're right. Thank you Doug. I lost my head for a moment."
"Yeah, and you were almost tolerable. For a moment." Doug picked.
***Just Outside of the Nirvana Resort***
Dr. Quest and Race managed to finally pull Jonny out into the earliest minutes of dawn, the few striated clouds pulling out the lighter colors of the night time sky as it prepared itself to change drastically over the next few hours.
As Jessie's eyes laid sight on Jonny she dropped to her knees in a form of shock that everyone seemed to be experiencing, though she was the only one who manifested it into a physical sign. Phil lowered his bottom jaw until his neck reminded him that his jaw wasn't able to drop any lower.
He said a small prayer incapable of believing a human body could look like THAT and still be ALIVE. He raised his mouth quickly and hoped no one had heard the comment, especially given how inappropriate to the circumstances THAT could be.
As if to answer everyone's shocked gaze, though, the boy's chest rhythmically rose up and down, the wings attached to his back swayed heavenly then back to the ground just as a bird's would as it respired. Race had to quickly remind all the field agents to move into action, "Medic! We need a MEDIC!"
The paramedics quickly sprinted into action. Phil squawked to his people, "MOVE IN teams! I don't want a FLY getting out of that place without handcuffs on, understood people? MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT!"
(Status _ Part Seven: Gebrochenen Engel hat Träume niedergerissen _ Completed.)
German Dialog translations:
*SILENCE! Silence your cries or I'll do it for you. *My God please help me. End the pain, I beg of you. You will not. *How dare you evoke the angels of god! You fool, you idiot what makes you think I shall forgive you for this folly? How DARE you kill my brethren! *Kill! Kill! Kill! Burn the World! *This sign, this mockery will destroy you. You shall forever burn by my hands. **Kill! Kill! Kill! Burn the world! **Death! Death! Death! (Yeah, tot means death okay!) *The pain, god make it stop. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! *How could this happen. why. why. why! *I can *No! The fear, it washes over me and I ask am I going to die here... like this? Please at least give me the dignity of knowing that this will all wash away. That the whole world will go away if only in my mind. With all my sins, all my torments, all my grief and mostly all my pain. I beg you to leave me here to die. PLEASE I beseech you let me die. This is my punishment now let me repent. *Do not help me. **I'm going to, so deal with it, kid. *DAMN YOU just leave me you bastard! **I can not. I will not. Now speak English! *I will not, you bastard! *Good. **Fuck off Jonny. *Dad. is it you dad? **Yes it is son, I'm right here. *Don't look at me. Don't see me. **I must. *Why must you see me?! **Because I love you! **Please son, speak in English. I know you can. *Asshole! Leave me alone! *Yes I understand father.
*Broken Angel Demolished Dreams