En Route to Belfast, Kilkenny
9 May, 2011
22:48—Stephen's Perspective
:-:
Nearly half an hour has passed since Stephen and Dead Motion began their contest, and it seems neither is winning the battle against their stamina.
Stephen is a vampire. Without the proper amount of blood, he'll succumb to more than hunger; he will die from excessive blood loss.
D. Remedy is a Deathscythe, a nightwalker that's mostly human. Stephen has given him quite the beating thus far, and his mettle has been justly returned.
They're powerful, and, as they've concluded…Stephen and D. Remedy are equals in the field of battle: The vampire's strength, speed, experience and parasitic existence have induced injuries on D. Remedy that would kill a normal man. The Deathscythe's intellect, cunning, killer instinct and cooperation with his younger brother have broken the weakened Stephen. These two…are evenly matched.
This is indeed a setup.
If I'm having trouble standing, I know Kate will slip up any second now… She's never been good at fighting her hunger. As for me…
—I'm still nothing more than a beast. The way things are looking, it's only a matter of time before I blackout, and…and… These sprogs aren't safe around me.
But that's nothing new. Not after what they did.
Stephen can smell blood from his distance, and he also hears sirens.
The local authorities have been notified of the massacre at Queen's University. A thorough examination reveals that most, if not all, of the Queen's Square residents have been decapitated beyond recognition… Queen's Square was Infinity-funded, Infinity-owned. All because of what happened at Wonderland…
"...That look…
—you sense it, don't you?" D. Remedy averts Stephen from his thoughts, earning a fierce glare in the process. "Yeah, you do. I can tell… *Good*."
D. Remedy smiles…and laughs.
In response to D. Remedy's ridicule, Green Day's toxin comes alive: It dances round Stephen's standing body, excited by his heightening anger.
"...You… *You did that*!?
You killed all those people. And for what?
Let me guess: They died because the Old Man's theme parks are history. Carousing and snacking on human body parts… Unforgivable… You…
—sick… *You're all sick in the head*!" Uncontrolled laughter… Stephen's laughing, but this isn't a "happy" laugh. The doctor is livid!
No. He's beyond even that… Stephen is fighting a personality that hasn't been seen since the Rebellion: A vampire's urge to kill any and all in their midst. The predator that sleeps soundly in his old heart.
I…want to… I...I… I…will kill them…
I will kill them... Blood, death, destruction… I must…
—kill them…kill them…kill them… Kill them, kill them, kill them, KILL THEM!
"...Infect…Green Day!" With these words, the superficial bounds of Stephen's existence are released, casting an eerie jade territory from his frame.
This territory… It's hot, muggy and stinging to D. Remedy; a dreadful sensation that makes his flesh feel as if it wants to melt from his body. But it's not; this territory is doing nothing of the sort…
"My…pores…are on fire…" —Green Day's territory is agitating D. Remedy's pores, creating the illusion that his flesh is melting. As such, staying within its bounds is causing his flesh to burn, rash and itch beyond comparison.
"This pain is *nothing* compared to what you did to my people.
…Heh. Bet you're wondering what's going on… Fine, I'll tell you.
The laws of my existence are eerie: As long as you're in here, you'll feel its 'sting;' my toxin infecting your flesh. Pretty soon, it'll infect your head. And then..." The vampire Steps forward and thrashes D. Remedy with a fist to the solar plexus!
"Guh, ah—!"
The Deathscythe is launched away, but, unlike last time, D. Remedy is able to keep his younger brother near him due to their synchronization… In the next few moments, he reflects on what they've done: Murdering dozens of people, families, homes, workers and misfortunate…because they were ordered to do so.
As a result, the head they must claim has been taken to a dark place.
Becoming one with the suffering of his people, Stephen has activated Green Day and all its nightmares; an existence that can kill or heal: The gentle healing fluids, or the deadly toxic venom… Dead Motion's actions have called for the latter.
En Route to Belfast, Kilkenny
9 May, 2011
22:53—Li'l Thrill's Perspective
:-:
We didn't want to do it. Killing those people… They didn't deserve to die.
I don't blame the doctor for being pissed.
He has every right to snap: That many heads, and they did nothing but shut down a place that should've been gone a *long* time ago… There's no excuse for what we did; order or not, it was inhumane and we deserve his worst.
I know what you're thinking, li'l bro… Not now. Keep it together.
Considering the importance of their sync rate, D. Remedy's thoughts rejuvenate Li'l Thrill's battle instinct… He's right: If either one of them loses sight of what must be done, Stephen will overpower them just as he did a second ago. Thrill, listen to me. What I'm about to say is important:
The doctor has a heart for the people. You saw it, right?
So, if we take this fight to the city, he'll concede. We'll take someone from the city as a hostage, he'll have no other choice but to surrender.
It's a cowardly thing to suggest, but D. Remedy is right: Stephen is chasing them down, Stepping at untraceable speeds. The thought of his people suffering has awakened a rageful bloodlust; his existence seeps with killer instinct.
Li'l Thrill now understands what his elder brother means.
"...Fine. Let's head back to the city."
Alright. Wing Edge: Breaker Dance! Dead Motion's sync rate works a miracle: In thought alone, D. Remedy transmutes Li'l Thrill's greaver mode into full boots that instantly enable a jet propeller-boost from the soles of his feet.
Li'l Thrill's greaver and boot mode are collectively known as "Wing Edge". The "Breaker Dance" release serves as a modifier, which enables a serious increase in speed, dexterity and agility, as well as the ability to fly… Using this existential release, D. Remedy is able to give Stephen a thrilling chase.
"Where do you think *you're* going?
Running away from me… You're pissing me off, sprogs!" The vampire Steps even faster, proving that, even though he's spent some time in the operation room, he isn't out of practice; he's just as fast, fierce and deadly as ever.
D. Remedy snickers. "Good! Get mad, old man!"
"Keep talkin', sprog. I'll catch you…and suck you dry!"
"That just sounds *weird* coming from you, idiot!"
"I'm not 'weird,' sprog… I'm hungry. Real hungry!" In the blink of an eye, Stephen closes space with D. Remedy, intercepting him from the left with an acidic claw. Dead Motion is forced into a close-range contest, exercising their intellect to the fullest, keeping space between them and Stephen's hands.
Green Day's toxin… One touch, and they'll suffer greatly.
So powerful… His existence could melt us both in an instant. It's a good thing Rem knows what he's doing; if he didn't, we'd be dead by now.
And he's smart, really smart: The doctor will definitely surrender if we go there. We just have to *make* it to Belfast. If we can do that, then…
D. Remedy uses his head, balls his left fist, and… "Strike Edge: Dead Storm!"
—with a single punch, blasts a fierce tornado from his gauntlet.
Stephen is forced to exercise some good, old-fashioned dexterity…by placing his feet on the ground and Stepping high into the air!
Li'l Thrill's full gauntlet mode, "Strike Edge," enables unrestricted control over the air. With a simple punch, clawing, or swaying of the limbs, D. Remedy can create tornadoes strong enough to level cities. "Dead Storm," while powerful, isn't even the beginning of what can be done…
—but that will have to wait until later.
Li'l Thrill rallies his elder brother. "Run, Rem. Run, now!"
Alright, you don't have to yell at me. Despite his nonchalant behavior, D. Remedy turns on the jets and flees into the distance…heading straight for Belfast.
Dead Motion's retreat causes their storm to break.
Stephen halts for a second in mid-air, making good use of his abilities. Unlike Dead Motion, he doesn't need anything to fly: The air itself is naturally his to control, and he does it quite well… As a matter of fact, he could have ripped through the headhunters' Dead Storm with his bare hands, but he chose to fool them by mimicking their cowardly behavior… A feat that makes him smile.
"Run, run, run, but you cannot hide; not from this old paddy.
I'll let those sprogs believe they've the upper hand on me…for now."