Boss
The only way out is through
Camilla Ferrari | Lucy Black | Samantha | Tom B. Stone | Diana Young
Evening
Brookfield | Downtown
Streets
Brookfield | Downtown
Streets
In Tom’s case, it was a close call. Just as the lowly life forms were primed to attack, the blade of the dagger separated him from his assailants, granting him much needed alone time with his digging, but splashing the creature’s blood and acid around at the same time. Tom nearly pissed himself when the massive metallic wall? Blade? Whatever, came falling from the skies, blocking him off from his foe. Tom let out a sign of relief, although it was quickly changed to a pained grunt as he found himself surrounded by the monsters blood. He used his tentacles to swipe away the acid, as well as swim away from it. He did his best to ignore any pain as he turned to the pulsing purple light that had drawn his attention earlier. ”Hmm, this must be what's keeping this Beasty kicking. Alright Spike, time to get to work.” With that he sent a dozen of his tentacles into frenzy against the fleshy wall of the creature. Attempting to get to the source of the light.
Between the summoned blade and Tom’s intuition towards the source of light, the battle was reaching a nearing end. The barrage of tentacles slammed against the surface of the light--a small orb-like structure that shattered into several smaller fragments. Immediately, the creature fell to the ground, burdened by the weight of the blade, and roaring from the waves of pain that coursed through its body.
In an instant, the blade continued its journey through the remainder of the stomach and pierced out through the bottom and into the ground. As a result, the creature’s interior became a sudden whirlpool of acid; with Tom being swirled towards the center and inevitable out of the body. For him, the sudden burst of light was a blinding experience; though breaths of fresh air meant that he was no longer trapped within the pooled abyss from before. Finally freed from the belly of the beast. Tom crawled out of his putrid prison looking royally pissed off. He wanted to snap that gum haired brat in half! But figured it wouldn't do him much good. Although he did think stealing some of Fluffys core could potentially be rewarding. So he snatched a piece of the many scattered,and placed it in his...wait…”what?” Tom said suddenly realizing he was naked. He figured his clothes much as burned off from the acid. He didn't know where to put the core. So he figured he'd have Spike hold it until he got some clothes. Because he really doubted anyone would look inside the jaws of his tentacle. With that done he turned his attention towards the dying creature he had just been expelled from.
The roars of the creature came to a sudden stop; replaced by heavy whimpers that signaled the seeming end. All across its body, its skin began to bubble and lift, and in a matter of seconds, the body of the creature had expanded to nearly double its size. And then it exploded, raining grotesque bits of blood and guts all across the surrounding streets. All in all, it was an astounding victory for the party at hand...or at least it should had been if it wasn’t for the sudden growls that began to emerge from the shadows.
Dozens upon dozens of hounds--all of which resembled the individual heads of the former creature--were littered across the street. Their eyes were bright crimson and fixated on each of warriors that remained on the field. Without any hesitation, one of them howled; a signal that began their nimble charge in the direction of the weakest members; in particular, Lucy and Ben.
That was when Ben’s borrowed weapon was yanked from his grip by an invisible tether. In one smooth motion, Len caught the pistol and fired off a concussive blast that temporarily halted the closest hounds. She had just created a window of opportunity long enough to revert the settings on her weapon and return it to its lethal rounds. Every shot found its mark in the head of the approaching hollows, but there were simply too many.
The remainders of the ground team had long abandoned their tracked vehicles, which only served them up as a boxed-in target for hollows. In mere seconds, the streets became a warzone once more. VTOLs provided as much support as they could from above, picking off stragglers and easy targets with their side-mounted weaponry.
Eventually, Len’s ammo ran out, and a hollow managed to slip past her defense to the more enticing targets - Lucy and Ben. With a single large leap, the creature was within striking distance. At least until it was knocked away by a lightning fast roundhouse kick. “Are you okay?!” Camilla asked, but before anyone could answer, a dense fog seemingly came out of nowhere, covering the entire block in darkness. The smoke was thick, yet fast acting. The once overwhelming numbers of hollows had suddenly disappeared as quickly as they came. “..zzzt- Anyone?! Status report!” panicked one of the VTOL pilots, who had completely lost sight of everyone on the ground.
For many, the smokescreen was yet another inconvenience. However, for a select few, like Camilla, Len, Ben, and perhaps even Samantha, a faint hint of familiarity was felt. Emerging out of the fog was the Dominion’s number one target -- Dominic Ferrari. Len’s blood boiled with anger, and out of impulse, raised her gun toward the man; right as a steel blade was lifted up by her neck. “Now, now, old friend, let’s not jump into any hasty actions.” Kaivant said with a hint of humor in his tone. “After all, it’s been how many years since we’ve all seen each other?” “Kaivant.. Of course.” Len growled, her aim never leaving Dominic’s figure. “Once scum, always scum.”
Kaivant exhaled a mocking scoff in response to the insults that he had received. “I’m hurt...” he said, with a small chuckle that implied the opposite of what his words had claimed. “...besides, today I’m on business. Dom is under the jurisdiction of the Chinese branch, hence immune to any actions on your part.” “Strange of you to recite Dominion law, with your blade at the neck of a Dominion Templar. Remember, you’re standing on American soil.”
“No need to be rough, Kaivant. Her magazine’s empty anyway.” Well shit. Whilst blinded by rage, Len had totally forgotten that crucial aspect of having a pistol. The tense impasse suddenly had a fourth entree. Off to the side, Camilla had walked into view with her head down. At first, Dominic sounded surprised. “Camilla... You’ve... Grown..?” In the midst of his confusion, he failed to notice the ominous aura emitting from the girl as she started to approach her father. “Sam and Colt have been lo-”
WHAM
Dominic was cut off by a sudden haymaker from his daughter - the force was enough to knock his mask to the ground, exposing his weathered face corrupted by his long-term contract with Kenshi. Kaivant whistled in response to the blow, all while lowering his sword from Len’s neck. So long as Dominic remained untouched by the others, there was nothing more for him to do but watch the family drama unfold.
“..You knew..” Camilla’s voice strained with sorrow, while her fist shook with anger. She had told herself that she’d remain calm, but it was one thing to plan, and another to actually follow through with it. Tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably. “..All this time, and you knew?!”
Dominic remained silent. No words could explain his reasonings. “..I’m taking you in, dad. For the good of everyone else.”
The sound of Kaivant clapping his hands broke the tension between father and daughter. He had sheathed his sword back onto his head, moments before stepping forward as the focus of everyone’s attention. “This whole family reunion is touching and all, but that’s where I’ll have to stop ya, Camilla. Unfortunately, you don’t get much of a say in regards to your father, or that...acquaintance of yours over there.” He nodded in the direction of Lilith, who by this point, had fainted and was laying plastered on the ground. “In fact, this entire incident is sort of our expertise, and we’ll be taking point on clean-up…with the help of the American branch, of course.” He flashed Len a quick smile at the mention of her organization, moments before Chinese agents began to rush into the area--two units that were all dressed in covert attire and were equipped with a peculiar set of equipment that was unlike any other.
“You won’t touch her.” growled a very different Camilla. Looking over her shoulder, Kaivant’s gaze was met with an animal’s. Thin, yellow irises glared into Kaivant’s skull, carrying with it a primal rage. Electricity began to bounce around her body, which emitted nothing but hostility. The sheer force of her murderous aura was enough to push back the smoke that enveloped the area and expose the situation.
Samantha had been quiet for the whole family intervention. She was...confused why Dominic and Camilla were arguing, but an afterlife of partying with one's siblings meant that her family was about as close as they could get. Yet as Camilla’s animosity grew, Samantha’s concern rose with it. Water dripped from her hands as she glanced about. They needed an exit plan. She spied a manhole nearby, the cover ripped off from her scramble for resources before. An idea forming in her mind, she inched closer to both Lucy and the unconscious Lily. She didn’t understand Camilla, but protecting her was the only role in life she still understood.
“Camilla. Say the word and I can get us out of here...I only need a few seconds.” With her eyes, she flicked between Lilith and Lucy, including them in the ‘us.’
Suddenly, her hostile demeanor was completely shattered when Dominic ruffled her hair with his hand. “If you think it’s for the best, then I agree.” Camilla watched her father in confusion as he raised both hands in submission. “You got me.” He declared towards Len and Kaivant.
Collaboration Post
5/6
5/6
