2010 dodge avenger shift cable bushing
[USA-OR] [H] Pokemon Black, Black 2, White, Silent Hills, Metroid Fusion CIB, Pokemon Ruby CIB, lots more [W] Paypal
2023.05.31 23:21 Captainstever15 [USA-OR] [H] Pokemon Black, Black 2, White, Silent Hills, Metroid Fusion CIB, Pokemon Ruby CIB, lots more [W] Paypal
Hi all, I have a bunch of games I'm looking to sell. Only accepting Paypal F&F at this time. Free shipping on orders of $50+, otherwise please add $5 for shipping costs. Photos available upon request!
submitted by Captainstever15 to GameSale [link] [comments]
| System | Item | Condition | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32X | Primal Rage | Loose | $60.00 |
| 3DS | 3DS XL NES Edition box | Box only | $80.00 |
| 3DS | Amazing Spiderman | Loose | $12.00 |
| 3DS | Amazing Spiderman 2 | Loose | $12.00 |
| 3DS | Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer | Loose | $13.00 |
| 3DS | Bravely Default | CIB | $36.00 |
| 3DS | Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past | Loose | $60.00 |
| 3DS | Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth | Loose | $48.00 |
| 3DS | Final Fantasy Explorers | CIB | $30.00 |
| 3DS | Fossil Fighters: Frontier | Loose | $32.00 |
| 3DS | Kid Icarus: Uprising | CIB | $80.00 |
| 3DS | Kid Icarus: Uprising | Loose | $60.00 |
| 3DS | Kirby: Planet Robobot | Loose | $39.00 |
| 3DS | Madagascar 3 | CIB | $9.00 |
| 3DS | Mario Golf: World Tour | Loose | $50.00 |
| 3DS | Nintendogs + Cats Golden Retriever and New Friends | Loose | $22.00 |
| 3DS | Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity | Loose | $26.00 |
| 3DS | Senran Kagura: Deep Crimson 2 | Loose | $56.00 |
| 3DS | Sims 3 (Heavily damaged / punctured case) | Game + case | $14.00 |
| amiibo | Ness amiibo | Loose | $25.00 |
| amiibo | Splatoon amiibo 3-pack (crease along top of cardboard) | NIB | $50.00 |
| Books | Horizon: Zero Dawn Collector's Edition guide | Loose | $120.00 |
| Dreamcast | Dreamcast system (w/ cables, 1 controller, VMU | Complete | $110.00 |
| Dreamcast | Maken X | CIB | $50.00 |
| Dreamcast | Sonic Adventure | CIB | $50.00 |
| DS | Bomberman | Loose | $13.00 |
| DS | Elite Beat Agents | Loose | $15.00 |
| DS | Final Fantasy IV | Loose | $18.00 |
| DS | Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift | Loose | $33.00 |
| DS | Fossil Fighters | Loose | $27.00 |
| DS | Geometry Wars Galaxies | CIB | $9.00 |
| DS | Legendary Starfy | Loose | $15.00 |
| DS | Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga | CIB | $9.00 |
| DS | My Hero Firefighter | CIB | $11.00 |
| DS | Need for Speed: Pro Street | Loose | $9.00 |
| DS | Pac-Man World 3 | Loose | $11.00 |
| DS | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | CIB | $7.00 |
| DS | Plants vs Zombies | CIB | $13.00 |
| DS | Plants vs Zombies | CIB | $15.00 |
| DS | Plants vs Zombies | Loose | $11.00 |
| DS | Pokemon Black | Loose | $70.00 |
| DS | Pokemon Diamond case only | Case only | $20.00 |
| DS | Pokemon White | CIB | $85.00 |
| DS | Power Rangers Super Legends | CIB | $12.00 |
| DS | Rhythm Heaven | Loose | $43.00 |
| DS | Rockman ZX (JP) | Loose | $26.00 |
| DS | Spongebob's Atlantis Squarepantis | CIB | $7.00 |
| DS | Yoshi Touch & Go | Loose | $12.00 |
| DS / 3DS | Lego bundle Battles, Indiana Jones, City Undercover, Friends | Loose | $12.00 |
| GB | Pokemon Red (JP) | Loose | $15.00 |
| GBA | Metroid Fusion (label fading, wear on box) | CIB | $100.00 |
| GBA | Pokemon Ruby (heavy wear on box | CIB | $240.00 |
| GBA | Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 box only | Box only | $35.00 |
| GBA | Wolfenstein 3D | Loose | $25.00 |
| GCN | Animal Crossing Memory Card (Some fading) | Loose | $18.00 |
| GCN | Conflict: Desert Storm | Game + case | $11.00 |
| GCN | Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix | Game + case | $23.00 |
| GCN | Finding Nemo | Game + case | $5.00 |
| GCN | Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (Blockbuster case) | Game + case | $9.00 |
| GCN | Metroid Prime 2: Echoes case w/ Nintendo Power insert | Case only | $20.00 |
| GCN | Nascar: Dirt to Daytona | CIB | $14.00 |
| GCN | NCAA Football 2005 | CIB | $14.00 |
| GCN | Resident Evil 0 | CIB | $17.00 |
| GCN | Resident Evil 4 | CIB | $30.00 |
| GCN | Resident Evil Zero | CIB | $19.00 |
| GCN | Resident Evil Zero | Game + manual | $14.00 |
| GCN | Super Smash Bros Melee (cracked inner ring) | Loose | $45.00 |
| Genesis | 6-Pak (label wear) | Loose | $10.00 |
| Genesis | Madden NFL 98 | Loose | $9.00 |
| Genesis | RBI Baseball 4 (Damaged art / case) | Game + case | $6.00 |
| Genesis | Road Rash 3 (tear in label) | Loose | |
| Genesis | Turrican (label tears) | Loose | $15.00 |
| Genesis | World of Illusion | CIB | $35.00 |
| Genesis | World Series Baseball | Game + case | $6.00 |
| Genesis | WWF Raw | Game + case | $22.00 |
| Genesis | X-Men (faded label) | Loose | $9.00 |
| N64 | Banjo Tooie (Not For Resale) | Loose | $150.00 |
| N64 | Donkey Kong 64 (JP) | Loose | $12.00 |
| N64 | ED64 Plus | NIB | $100.00 |
| N64 | Hey You, Pikachu! (JP) | Loose | $7.00 |
| N64 | Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask manual (N64) | Manual | $30.00 |
| N64 | Mario Kart 64 (Player's Choice) | CIB | $100.00 |
| N64 | Mario Party 2 (JP) | Loose | $8.00 |
| N64 | Mario Tennis (JP) | Loose | $9.00 |
| NES | Gauntlet | Game + manual | $25.00 |
| NES | T&C Surf Designs | Loose | $8.00 |
| PS1 | Bass Landing | CIB | $18.00 |
| PS1 | Brave Fencer Musashi | Loose | $55.00 |
| PS1 | Coolboarders 3 | CIB | $6.00 |
| PS1 | Crash Bandicoot Warped | Loose | $6.00 |
| PS1 | Destruction Derby Raw | Loose | $11.00 |
| PS1 | Final Fantasy IX | Game + case | $16.00 |
| PS1 | Final Fantasy Tactics (Greatest Hits) | CIB | $50.00 |
| PS1 | Incredible Hulk (No cover art / manual) | Game + case | $11.00 |
| PS1 | Loaded | Loose | $10.00 |
| PS1 | Mega Man X6 | Game + manual | $35.00 |
| PS1 | NHL Rock the Rink | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS1 | Parasite Eve (no demo disc) | CIB | $75.00 |
| PS1 | Resident Evil (longbox)(Cracked case and some art damage) | Game + case | $100.00 |
| PS1 | Revolution X (longbox) | CIB | $29.00 |
| PS1 | Rugrats: Search for Reptar | CIB | $18.00 |
| PS1 | Streak: Hoverboard Racing | CIB | $8.00 |
| PS1 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | Game + manual | $10.00 |
| PS1 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | Game + case | $10.00 |
| PS1 | Urban Chaos | Loose | $8.00 |
| PS1 | WWE Smackdown 2 (No cover art / manual) | Game + case | $10.00 |
| PS1 | WWF Attitude | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS1 | WWF WrestleMania The Arcade Game | Loose | $13.00 |
| PS2 | Another Century's Episode (JP) | CIB | $12.00 |
| PS2 | Art of Fighting Anthology (Water damaged art) | CIB | $12.00 |
| PS2 | Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 | CIB | $7.00 |
| PS2 | Dragon Quest VIII | Game + case | $20.00 |
| PS2 | Fight Club | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS2 | Fight Night Round 2 | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS2 | Fight Night Round 3 | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS2 | Frogger: The Great Quest | CIB | $7.00 |
| PS2 | Guitar Hero III | CIB | $13.00 |
| PS2 | Guitar Hero: Aerosmith | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS2 | King Arthur | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS2 | King of Fighters: Maximum Impact | Loose | $10.00 |
| PS2 | Medal of Honor European Assault | CIB | $8.00 |
| PS2 | Midnight Club (Sharpie on disc) | Game + case | $6.00 |
| PS2 | Mortal Kombat: Deception Premium Pack | Game + case | $25.00 |
| PS2 | Namco Museum | CIB | $7.00 |
| PS2 | NFL Street 2 | CIB | $20.00 |
| PS2 | Onimusha 3: Demon Siege | Loose | $10.00 |
| PS2 | Parappa the Rapper 2 | Loose | $40.00 |
| PS2 | Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 | CIB | $11.00 |
| PS2 | Resident Evil 4 | CIB | $15.00 |
| PS2 | Resident Evil Outbreak | Game + case | $18.00 |
| PS2 | Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2 | Loose | $40.00 |
| PS2 | Sega Classics Collection | Game + case | $11.00 |
| PS2 | Silent Hill 2 (no music CD) | CIB | $120.00 |
| PS2 | Silent Hill 2 manual (Crease on top right corner) | Manual | $30.00 |
| PS2 | Silent Hill 3 | CIB | $150.00 |
| PS2 | SSX | CIB | $8.00 |
| PS2 | Star Wars Racer: Revenge | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS2 | Tekken 4 GH | CIB | $11.00 |
| PS2 | Tekken Tag Tournament | Loose | $6.00 |
| PS2 | The Great Escape | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS2 | The Thing | Loose | $22.00 |
| PS2 | Thrillville | CIB | $6.00 |
| PS2 | Thrillville | CIB | $6.00 |
| PS2 | Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix | CIB | $6.00 |
| PS2 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 | Game + case | $7.00 |
| PS2 | Tony Hawk's Underground 2 | CIB | $17.00 |
| PS2 | WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2006 | CIB | $12.00 |
| PS3 | Amazing Spiderman 2 | Loose | $18.00 |
| PS3 | Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel Overkill Edition | CIB | $11.00 |
| PS3 | Batman Arkham Origins | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Binary Domain | CIB | $20.00 |
| PS3 | Borderlands 2 | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel | CIB | $6.00 |
| PS3 | Burnout Paradise | CIB | $8.00 |
| PS3 | Call of Duty Ghosts | CIB | $5.00 |
| PS3 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Game + case | $5.00 |
| PS3 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 | CIB | $7.00 |
| PS3 | Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood | CIB | $7.00 |
| PS3 | Dark Sector | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Darkness | CIB | $16.00 |
| PS3 | Dirt 3 | CIB | $11.00 |
| PS3 | Disney Sing It Family Hits | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS3 | Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition | Game + case | $14.00 |
| PS3 | Earth Defense Force 2025 | Loose | $14.00 |
| PS3 | Fallout 3 GOTY | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Final Fantasy X / X-2 Collector's Edition (coffee stains on book) | CIB | $20.00 |
| PS3 | Grand Slam Tennis 2 | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Hitman Absolution | CIB | $6.00 |
| PS3 | Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Lair | CIB | $7.00 |
| PS3 | Madden NFL 17 | CIB | $20.00 |
| PS3 | Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain Day One Edition | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes | CIB | $11.00 |
| PS3 | Minecraft | Game + case | $11.00 |
| PS3 | MLB 13: The Show | CIB | $5.00 |
| PS3 | Mortal Kombat | Game + case | $9.00 |
| PS3 | Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja: Storm 2 | CIB | $7.00 |
| PS3 | NBA 2K16 | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS3 | NCAA Football 12 | CIB | $8.00 |
| PS3 | NCAA Football 12 | CIB | $8.00 |
| PS3 | NCAA Football 13 (Water damaged art and manual) | CIB | $22.00 |
| PS3 | NCAA Football 14 (wavy art, minor disc art damage) | CIB | $125.00 |
| PS3 | Persona 4 Arena (Wavy cover art) | CIB | $16.00 |
| PS3 | Persona 5 | Game + case | $14.00 |
| PS3 | PS Move navigation controller | NIB | $35.00 |
| PS3 | Remember Me | CIB | $12.00 |
| PS3 | Resident Evil 5 | Game + case | $5.00 |
| PS3 | Rocksmith 2014 | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Sega Rally Revo | CIB | $14.00 |
| PS3 | Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes | CIB | $20.00 |
| PS3 | Skate 2 | CIB | $12.00 |
| PS3 | Skate 3 | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Skyrim: Legendary Edition | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS3 | Soulcalibur IV | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS3 | Street Fighter IV (water damaged art) | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS3 | Tekken 6 | CIB | $11.00 |
| PS3 | Tekken Hybrid | CIB | $32.00 |
| PS3 | Tekken Tag Tournament 2 | CIB | $17.00 |
| PS3 | Top Spin 4 | CIB | $14.00 |
| PS3 | Two Worlds II (Water damaged art) | CIB | $8.00 |
| PS3 | UFC 2009 Undisputed | Loose | $5.00 |
| PS3 | UFC 2010 Undisputed | CIB | $8.00 |
| PS3 | Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 | CIB | $19.00 |
| PS3 | Ultra Street Fighter IV | Game + case | $25.00 |
| PS3 | Ultra Street Fighter IV | CIB | $27.00 |
| PS3 | Uncharted 3 | CIB | $6.00 |
| PS3 | Vampire Resurrection (JP) | CIB | $58.00 |
| PS3 | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine | CIB | $19.00 |
| PS3 | Watchmen: The End is Night The Complete Experience | CIB | $36.00 |
| PS3 | Wolfenstein | Game + case | $12.00 |
| PS3 | WWE 2K16 | CIB | $13.00 |
| PS4 | Abzu | Game + case | $13.00 |
| PS4 | Borderlands: The Handsome Collection | Game + case | $6.00 |
| PS4 | Dragon Ball Xenoverse | CIB | $10.00 |
| PS4 | God of War | CIB | $13.00 |
| PS4 | Horizon Forbidden West Launch Edition | CIB | $28.00 |
| PS4 | Lego Dimensions | CIB | $29.00 |
| PS4 | Minecraft | Game + case | $16.00 |
| PS4 | Paper Beast Collector's Edition | NIB | $62.00 |
| PS4 | Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS4 | Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville | CIB | $9.00 |
| PS4 | Ratchet and Clank | Game + case | $9.00 |
| PS4 | Risk of Rain 2 | CIB | $12.00 |
| PS4 | Rocket League: Collector's Edition | CIB | $13.00 |
| PS4 | West of Dead: Path of the Crow | NIB | $28.00 |
| PS5 | Life is Strange: True Colors | CIB | $15.00 |
| PSP | ATV Offroad Fury Pro | CIB | $7.00 |
| PSP | Bad Boys | Game + case | $8.00 |
| PSP | Burnout Legends | Loose | $7.00 |
| PSP | God of War: Ghost of Sparta | Loose | $41.00 |
| PSP | Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition | Loose | $20.00 |
| PSP | Midnight Club: LA Remix | Loose | $17.00 |
| PSP | Need for Speed Rivals | Loose | $11.00 |
| PSP | Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0 (clear piece set in slightly) | Loose | $12.00 |
| PSP | Need for Speed: Pro Street (water damaged art) | Game + case | $8.00 |
| PSP | Pimp My Ride | Loose | $8.00 |
| PSP | Sonic Rivals | Loose | $12.00 |
| PSP | Star Wars Battlefront II | Loose | $10.00 |
| PSP | Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max (Clear shell) | Loose | $15.00 |
| SNES | Brain Lord | Loose | $50.00 |
| SNES | Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers | Loose | $14.00 |
| SNES | Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers | Loose | $14.00 |
| SNES | Robocop vs The Terminator | Loose | $23.00 |
| SNES | TMNT IV: Turtles in Time | Loose | $45.00 |
| SNES | Top Gear | Loose | $11.00 |
| Switch | Fitness Boxing 2 | NIB | $30.00 |
| Switch | Pokemon Shining Pearl | CIB | $30.00 |
| Switch | Super Mario 3D All-Stars | CIB | $80.00 |
| Switch | Yo-Kai Watch 4++ (JP) | CIB | $50.00 |
| Vita | Call of Duty Black Ops Declassified | Loose | $17.00 |
| Vita | Call of Duty Black Ops Declassified | Loose | $17.00 |
| Vita | Lego Batman 2 | Loose | $9.00 |
| Vita | Litte Big Planet | Loose | $20.00 |
| Vita | Need for Speed Most Wanted | Loose | $16.00 |
| Vita | Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale | Loose | $17.00 |
| Vita | Soul Sacrifice | Loose | $15.00 |
| Wii | 007 Quantum of Solace | CIB | $5.00 |
| Wii | Alice in Wonderland | CIB | $8.00 |
| Wii | Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party | CIB | $8.00 |
| Wii | Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure | CIB | $14.00 |
| Wii | Disney Sing It Family Hits | CIB | $12.00 |
| Wii | Dokapon Kingdom | Loose | $60.00 |
| Wii | Family Game Night 4 | CIB | $12.00 |
| Wii | Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery | CIB | $11.00 |
| Wii | Gold classic controller | Loose | $40.00 |
| Wii | Guitar Hero 5 | Game + case | $16.00 |
| Wii | Guitar Hero Aerosmith | CIB | $9.00 |
| Wii | Hot Wheels: Track Attack | CIB | $7.00 |
| Wii | Just Dance Kids | CIB | $6.00 |
| Wii | Just Dance Summer Party | CIB | $8.00 |
| Wii | Karaoke Revolution | CIB | $8.00 |
| Wii | My Ballet Studio | Game + case | $8.00 |
| Wii | My Sims Racing | CIB | $8.00 |
| Wii | Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution | CIB | $8.00 |
| Wii | NBA Jam | CIB | $12.00 |
| Wii | Nights Journey of Dreams (back art punctured) | Game + case | $8.00 |
| Wii | No More Heroes 2 | CIB | $23.00 |
| Wii | Resident Evil : The Umbrella Chronicles | CIB | $14.00 |
| Wii | Tony Hawk Ride | Game + case | $10.00 |
| Wii | Tony Hawk: Shred | CIB | $8.00 |
| Wii | Wii Play Motion | Game + case | $19.00 |
| Wii | You Don't Know Jack | CIB | $9.00 |
| Wii | Zelda Wii Remote (no battery cover) | Loose | $40.00 |
| Wii U | Tekken Tag Tournament 2 | Loose | $38.00 |
| Xbox | Battlestar Galactica | CIB | $10.00 |
| Xbox | Buffy The Vampire Slayer | Game + case | $17.00 |
| Xbox | Burnout 2: Point of Impact | CIB | $11.00 |
| Xbox | Crime Life | Game + case | $11.00 |
| Xbox | Destroy All Humans! | CIB | $10.00 |
| Xbox | Enclave | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox | Gun | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox | Half-Life 2 | Game + case | $10.00 |
| Xbox | House of the Dead III | Loose | $13.00 |
| Xbox | Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb | CIB | $15.00 |
| Xbox | Midway Arcade Treasures | CIB | $10.00 |
| Xbox | Minority Report | CIB | $7.00 |
| Xbox | Mortal Kombat: Deception Kollector's Edition: Baraka Version | CIB | $48.00 |
| Xbox | Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks | CIB | $28.00 |
| Xbox | Namco Museum | CIB | $7.00 |
| Xbox | Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones | CIB | $6.00 |
| Xbox | Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy | CIB | $11.00 |
| Xbox | Spiderman | CIB | $10.00 |
| Xbox | Spiderman 2 | CIB | $12.00 |
| Xbox | Star Trek: Shattered Universe | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox | Star Wars Jedi Starfighter | CIB | $10.00 |
| Xbox | Star Wars Jedi Starfighter | CIB | $10.00 |
| Xbox | Star Wars Starfighter Special Edition | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | CIB | $7.00 |
| Xbox | Terminator 3: Redemption | CIB | $19.00 |
| Xbox | Terminator: Dawn of Fate | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox | Time Splitters 2 | CIB | $15.00 |
| Xbox | Time Splitters: Future Perfect | Loose | $20.00 |
| Xbox | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x | Game + case | $10.00 |
| Xbox | Tony Hawk's Project 8 | CIB | $12.00 |
| Xbox | Tron 2.0 Killer App | CIB | $13.00 |
| Xbox | Turok Evolution | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox | Ultimate Spiderman | CIB | $27.00 |
| Xbox | Unreal Championship | Loose | $3.00 |
| Xbox | Urbz: Sims in the City Special Edition | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox | WWF Raw | Game + case | $8.00 |
| Xbox | X-Men Legends | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Alan Wake | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Avatar: The Game | CIB | $42.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Batman: Arkham City GOTY | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Blue Dragon | Loose | $13.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Borderlands 2 Add-On Content Pack | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox 360 | CSI: Hard Evidence | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two | CIB | $7.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Fable III: Limited Collector's Edition | CIB | $12.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Final Fantasy XIII | CIB | $14.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Gears of War: Limited Collector's Edition | CIB | $28.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Gears of War: Limited Collector's Edition (no plastic sleeve or art book) | CIB | $24.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Halo 3 Collector's Edition (one disc holder fell off) | CIB | $12.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Infinite Undiscovery | Game + case | $10.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights | Game + case | $10.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Kinect Sports Ultimate Collection | CIB | $13.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Kinect Sports: Ultimate Collection | CIB | $14.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Lego The Hobbit | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Blockbuster case) | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Monster Jam: Path of Destruction | Game + case | $22.00 |
| Xbox 360 | NCAA Football 08 | CIB | $6.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Ninety-Nine Nights (sharpie on disc) | CIB | $9.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures | Game + case | $10.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Rocksmith | CIB | $10.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Skylanders: Giants | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Snoopy's Grand Adventure | Game + case | $8.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Spiderman 3 | Loose | $14.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | CIB | $6.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PAL) | CIB | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan | Loose | $19.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Walking Dead GOTY | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine | Loose | $10.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition | Game + case | $15.00 |
| Xbox One | Grand Theft Auto V | CIB | $10.00 |
| Xbox One | Guitar Hero Live | Game + case | $35.00 |
| Xbox One | Guitar Hero Live (punctured back art) | Game + case | $30.00 |
| Xbox One | Just Dance 2020 | Game + case | $6.00 |
| Xbox One | Kinect Sports Rivals | Game + case | $12.00 |
| Xbox One | Marvel Avengers | CIB | $8.00 |
| Xbox One | Red Dead Redemption Game of the Year Edition | CIB | $14.00 |
| Xbox One | Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition | CIB | $26.00 |
| Xbox One | Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order Deluxe Edition | CIB | $15.00 |
2023.05.31 08:49 xMrPink85 [USA-CA] [H] Nintendo/Playstation/Xbox Games/Consoles [W] Paypal F&F
Prices are negotiable but do not include shipping. I will offer better deals and priority to those looking to bundle. Minimum purchase is $10. Add $4 S&H for individual games. Let me know if something doesn't seem right.
ONLY accepting PayPal Friends & Family for payment. Might be willing to meet in the Sacramento area for a larger purchase, and would then also accept cash. If you would like to trade, come check out my GameSwap post!
submitted by xMrPink85 to GameSale [link] [comments]
ONLY accepting PayPal Friends & Family for payment. Might be willing to meet in the Sacramento area for a larger purchase, and would then also accept cash. If you would like to trade, come check out my GameSwap post!
| PLAYSTATION | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation | DarkStalkers 3 | BL - CIB - Minor Staining | $69 |
| PlayStation | GranStream Saga | BL - CIB - Water damaged rear art | $28 |
| PlayStation | Legacy of Kain "EIDOS" Collectors Edition Triple Pack | SEALED - This one does have some minor wear to the corners/seal as seen in the pics. | $320 |
| PlayStation 2 | Final Fantasy X Brady Games Strategy Guide | Very worn. Has tear in front cover. No poster. | |
| PlayStation 2 | Final Fantasy X -2 Brady Games Strategy Guide | Moderately worn. Has smaller tear in back cover. Includes Poster. | Both Guides for $20 |
| PlayStation 2 | 24 The Game | BL - CIB | $8 |
| Playstation 2 | Crazy Taxi | BL - CIB | $10 |
| Playstation 2 | .Hack Infection | BL - CIB - Cover art has some water damage | $18 |
| Playstation 2 | .Hack Mutation | BL - CIB - Missing DVD | $35 |
| PlayStation 2 | Guitar Hero II | BL - CIB | $5 |
| PlayStation 2 | Guitar Hero Guitar Hero Encore Rocks the 80's | BL - CIB | $6 |
| PlayStation 2 | Myst III Exile | BL - CIB | $6 |
| PlayStation 2 | RPG Maker 3 | BL - CIB | $15 |
| PlayStation 2 | Wheel of Fortune | BL - CIB | $5 |
| PlayStation 3 | Ace Combat Assault Horizon | BL - CIB | $13 |
| PlayStation 3 | BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend | Limited Edition Big Box - CIB - Includes Soundtrack, Art Book, and Calendar. Box has heavy wear. Everything else is pretty minty. Game case has some minor shelf wear. | $13 |
| PlayStation 3 | Dark Souls II | BL - CIB | $6 |
| PlayStation 3 | Diablo III | BL - CIB | $5 |
| PlayStation 4 | 500 Million Dual Shock 4 Controller | Loose - Has crack in center but otherwise, pretty nice with very low usage. | $60 |
| PlayStation 4 | 7 Days to Die | BL - CIB | $10 |
| PlayStation 4 | Call of Duty Infinite Warefare | BL - CIB | $5 |
| PlayStation 4 | Dead Cells [Action Game of the Year] | BL - CIB | $25 |
| PlayStation 4 | Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age | BL - CIB | $19 |
| PlayStation 4 | Evolve | BL - CIB | $5 |
| PlayStation 4 | Final Fantasy XV Deluxe Steelbook Edition w/Slipcover | BL - CIB | $20 |
| PlayStation 4 | Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 | BL - CIB - Spine damage/tear | $9 |
| PlayStation 4 | Middle Earth Shadow of War | BL - CIB | $5 |
| PlayStation 4 | Nascar Heat 3 | BL - CIB | $6 |
| PlayStation 4 | Resident Evil Village Deluxe Edition | BL - CIB | $25 |
| PSP | Generation of Chaos | BL - Boxed (No Manual) | $15 |
| PSP | Sid Meier's Pirates! Live the Life | BL - CIB | $9 |
| PSVITA | Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus | Loose | $22 |
| PSVITA | Wipeout 2048 | Loose | $18 |
| Take both Vita games for $35 shipped |
| XBOX | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox | Blowout | BL - CIB | $5 |
| Xbox | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | BL - CIB | $10 |
| Xbox | Indiana Jones and The Emperors Tomb | BL - CIB | $20 |
| Xbox | Pac Man World 2 | PH - CIB | $8 |
| Xbox | Return To Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War | PH - CIB | $5 |
| Take all 5 XBox games for $35 shipped | |||
| Xbox 360 | 4GB - 360 Slim Console | Includes OEM power supply and controller. I can probably include an HDMI cable if needed. | $69 - I will include one free game listed below priced $10 or less and I will toss in a couple free mystery sports games (CIB) |
| Xbox 360 | 250GB - 360 Slim Console | Includes OEM power supply, controller and Kinect. I can probably include an HDMI cable if needed. | $89 - I will include one free game listed below priced $10 or less and I will toss in a couple free mystery sports games (CIB) |
| Xbox 360 | Dead Space 3 | PH - CIB | $5 |
| Xbox 360 | Dragonball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi | BL - CIB | $15 |
| Xbox 360 | Fable 2 Limited Edition | BL/Boxed - No special features disc - Includes manual | $5 |
| Xbox 360 | Fable 3 | BL - CIB | $6 |
| Xbox 360 | Forza 4 | BL - CIB | $6 |
| Xbox 360 | Grand Theft Auto 5 | BL - Boxed w/map | $5 |
| Xbox 360 | Halo 3 Limited Edition Steel book | BL - minor damage. Includes sleeve and manual, but no book.. | $15 |
| Xbox 360 | Hitman HD Trilogy - Premium Edition | BL - CIB - With slipcoveartbook. Moderate-Heavy wear. | $20 |
| Xbox 360 | Mortal Kombat | BL - Boxed (No Manual) | $5 |
| Xbox 360 | NBA Live 2010 | BL - CIB | $5 |
| Xbox 360 | NBA 2K18 | BL - CIB | $20 |
| Xbox 360 | Portal 2 | BL - Boxed (No Manual) | $5 |
| Xbox 360 | Test Drive Unlimited | BL - CIB | $12 |
| Xbox One | Battlefield 4 Steelbook Edition | CIB - Has some dings. | $10 |
| Xbox One | Battlefield Hardline | CIB | $5 |
| Xbox One | Call of Duty Black Ops III | Loose | Free with purchase of other XB1 game(s). |
| Xbox One | Dark Souls 3 | CIB | $9 |
| Xbox One | Madden 22 | CIB | $5 |
| Xbox One | Prototype BioHazard Bundle | CIB | $36 |
| Xbox One | Rare Replay | CIB | $10 |
| Xbox One | Skylanders Trap Team | CIB | $30 |
| Xbox One | UFC 3 | CIB | $5 |
| Xbox One | Watch Dogs 2 | CIB | $5 |
| Xbox One | Wolfenstein The New Order | CIB | $5 |
| NINTENDO | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gameboy | Ren and Stimpy Veediots | Manual Only | $5 |
| NES | Bart vs The Space Mutants | Manual Only | $8 |
| NES | Gradius | Manual Only | $10 |
| NES | Mega Man 1 | Manual Only | $60 |
| NES | Mission Impossible | Manual Only | $5 |
| NES | NES Advantage controller | Manual Only | $5 |
| NES | Zodas Revenge | Manual Only | $10 |
| NES | Kung Fu | Loose | $12 |
| NES | Ninja Gaiden II | Loose | $12 |
| NES | Skate or Die | Loose - Worn/snagged top label | $4 |
| NES | Wizards and Warriors III | Loose - Worn/torn top label | $24 |
| NES | Game Genie | Loose - Chip in handle | $15 |
| SNES | Buster Busts Loose | Manual Only | $7 |
| SNES | Hey Punk! Are You Tuff E Nuff? | Manual Only | $10 |
| SNES | Lawnmower Man | Manual Only | $5 |
| SNES | Mega Man X | Manual Only | $17 |
| SNES | World Heroes | Manual Only | $8 |
| SNES | Game Genie | Loose | $29 |
| N64 | N64 Console | Loose - Includes OEM expansion pack. No poweav cables | $80 |
| Wii | Red Steel | BL - Boxed (No Manual) | $4 |
| Wii | Trauma Center Second Opinion | BL - CIB | $8 |
| Wii U | Super Mario 3D World | NS - CIB | $12 |
| NDS | Red Super Mario Bros 25th Anniversary Edition DSi XL | Loose - With charger. Does have some minor wear and teascuffs on corners. | $80 |
| NDS | Spiderman Shattered Dimensions | Loose | $10 |
| NDS | Spyro The Eternal Night | Loose | $10 |
| NDS | DS Lite Car adaptecharger | NEW - Power A branded, Nintendo officially licensed. | $9 |
| NDS | DSi XL Stylus 5 packs. One of each color set available | NEW - Power A branded, Nintendo officially licensed. | $5 ea. or both for $8 |
| Switch | Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Edition OLED Switch | NEW | $350 |
2023.05.31 07:59 xMrPink85 [USA-CA] [H] PlayStation/XBox/Nintendo/Sega Consoles/Games/Manuals [W] Sega Games/Playstation Games/Nintendo Games/Lists/Offers
Happy to provide pics of anything you might be interested in. If you would like to buy, see my GameSale post!
If you are local to the Sacramento area I might be willing to do a local meetup. Cash/Paypal also acceptable on either side to help even out a trade.
Thanks for looking! Happy trading!
[HAVE]
[WANT]
Some specific items I'm after:
submitted by xMrPink85 to gameswap [link] [comments]
If you are local to the Sacramento area I might be willing to do a local meetup. Cash/Paypal also acceptable on either side to help even out a trade.
Thanks for looking! Happy trading!
[HAVE]
| PLAYSTATION | ||
|---|---|---|
| Playstation | Legacy of Kain Collectors Edition Triple Pack | SEALED This one does have some minor wear to the corners/seal as seen in the pics.. I would really like a big item from my list for this.. |
| Playstation | DarkStalkers 3 | BL - CIB - Minor Staining |
| Playstation | GranStream Saga | BL - CIB - Water damaged rear art |
| Playstation 2 | Final Fantasy X Brady Games Strategy Guide | Very worn. Has tear in front cover. No poster. |
| Playstation 2 | Final Fantasy X -2 Brady Games Strategy Guide | Moderately worn. Has smaller tear in back cover. Includes Poster. |
| Playstation 2 | 24 The Game | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 2 | Crazy Taxi | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 2 | .Hack Infection | BL - CIB - Cover art has some water damage |
| Playstation 2 | .Hack Mutation | Missing DVD - Complete and pretty minty otherwise. |
| Playstation 2 | Guitar Hero II | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 2 | Guitar Hero Guitar Hero Encore Rocks the 80's | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 2 | Myst III Exile | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 2 | RPG Maker 3 | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 2 | Wheel of Fortune | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 3 | Ace Combat Assault Horizon | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 3 | BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend | Limited Edition Big Box - CIB - Includes Soundtrack, Art Book, and Calendar. Box has heavy wear. Everything else is pretty minty. Game case has some minor shelf wear. |
| Playstation 3 | Dark Souls II | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 3 | Diablo III | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | 500 Million Dual Shock 4 Controller | Loose - Has crack in center but otherwise, pretty nice with very low usage. |
| Playstation 4 | 7 Days to Die | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Dead Cells [Action Game of the Year] | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Evolve | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Final Fantasy XV Deluxe Steelbook Edition book w/Slipcover | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 | BL - CIB - Spine damage/tear |
| Playstation 4 | Middle Earth Shadow of War | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Nascar Heat 3 | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Overwatch Origins | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 4 | Resident Evil Village Deluxe Edition | BL - CIB |
| Playstation 5 | Apsulov | CIB |
| Playstation 5 | Babylon's Fall | Sealed |
| Playstation 5 | Death Stranding | Sealed |
| Playstation 5 | Rustler | CIB |
| Playstation 5 | Thymesia | CIB - Case/art has some damage |
| PSP | PSP 1001 - Loose. PSP ONLY | Body and screen are pretty scratched up, includes a rubber grip cover and I can include a white replacement shell... Charge port can be touchy sometimes so it also includes a replacement port. |
| PSP | SanDisk Memory Stick PRO Duo | One 2.0GB Translucent Blue and one 512KB Translucent Green available. |
| PSP | Generation of Chaos | BL - No Manual |
| PSP | Sid Meier's Pirates! Live the Life | BL - CIB |
| PSP | Tekken 6 | BL - CIB |
| PSP | PSP 3000 Box and tray only - No PSP included | Box has moderate to heavy wear with some creasing. |
| PSVITA | Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus | Loose |
| PSVITA | Wipeout 2048 | Loose |
| XBOX | ||
|---|---|---|
| Xbox | Blowout | BL - CIB |
| Xbox | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | BL - CIB |
| Xbox | Indiana Jones and The Emperors Tomb | BL - CIB |
| Xbox | Pac Man World 2 | PH - CIB |
| Xbox | Return To Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War | PH - CIB |
| Xbox 360 | 4GB - 360 Slim Console | Includes OEM power supply and controller. I can probably include an HDMI cable if needed. |
| Xbox 360 | 250GB - 360 Slim Console | Includes OEM power supply, controller and Kinect. I can probably include an HDMI cable if needed. |
| Xbox 360 | Dead Space 3 | PH - CIB |
| Xbox 360 | Dragonball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi | BL - CIB |
| Xbox 360 | Fable 2 Limited Edition | BL - CIB* (No special features disc) |
| Xbox 360 | Fable 3 | BL - CIB |
| Xbox 360 | Forza 4 | BL - CIB |
| Xbox 360 | Grand Theft Auto 5 | BL - Boxed w/map |
| Xbox 360 | Halo 3 Limited Edition Steel book w/sleeve (minor damage) | BL - CIB - Includes manual, but no book.. |
| Xbox 360 | Hitman HD Trilogy - Premium Edition w/ slipcoveartbook | BL - CIB - Moderate - Heavy wear |
| Xbox 360 | Mortal Kombat | BL - Boxed (No Manual) |
| Xbox 360 | NBA Live 2010 | BL - CIB |
| Xbox 360 | NBA 2K18 | BL - CIB |
| Xbox 360 | Portal 2 | BL - Boxed (No Manual) |
| Xbox 360 | Test Drive Unlimited | BL - CIB |
| Xbox One | Battlefield 4 Steelbook Edition | CIB |
| Xbox One | Battlefield Hardline | CIB |
| Xbox One | Dark Souls 3 | CIB |
| Xbox One | Madden 22 | CIB |
| Xbox One | Prototype BioHazard Bundle | CIB |
| Xbox One | Rare Replay | CIB |
| Xbox One | Skylanders Trap Team | CIB |
| Xbox One | UFC 3 | CIB |
| Xbox One | Watch Dogs 2 | CIB |
| Xbox One | Wolfenstein The New Order | CIB |
| NINTENDO | ||
|---|---|---|
| NES | Nintendo of America Letter | w/ Official Nintendo Envelope, Cover Letter, Nintendo Power order form, service center list, Game Pak Directory, Replacement parts list, Nintendo history. Great little piece. Definitely shows some wear and a few markings but the order forms are blank. Not sure how to value this |
| NES | Bart vs The Space Mutants | Manual Only |
| NES | Gradius | Manual Only |
| NES | Mega Man 1 | Manual Only |
| NES | Mission Impossible | Manual Only |
| NES | NES Advantage controller | Manual Only |
| NES | Zodas Revenge | Manual Only |
| NES | Kung Fu | Loose |
| NES | Ninja Gaiden II | Loose |
| NES | Skate or Die | Loose - Worn/snagged top label |
| NES | Wizards and Warriors III | Loose - Worn/torn top label |
| NES | GAME GENIE | Loose |
| SNES | DOOM | CIB** - Might be willing to trade box/contents separately. |
| SNES | Rockos Modern Life | CIB - Box is worn, includes insert, manual and warning slip.. both have some wear, Cart is in great shape! Might be willing to trade box/contents separately. |
| SNES | Yoshi's Safari | CIB** - Might be willing to trade box/contents separately. |
| SNES | Buster Busts Loose | Manual Only |
| SNES | Hey Punk! Are You Tuff E Nuff? | Manual Only |
| SNES | Lawnmower Man | Manual Only |
| SNES | Mega Man X | Manual Only |
| SNES | World Heroes | Manual Only |
| SNES | GAME GENIE | Loose |
| N64 | Standard N64 Console and gray controller. No wires, but I'd be willing to trade towards an OEM set. | Includes OEM expansion pack. |
| Wii | Red Steel | BL - Boxed (No Manual) |
| Wii | Trauma Center Second Opinion | BL - CIB |
| Wii U | The Legend of Zelda Windwaker HD Edition Wii U | Complete in box** - Super Hard trade |
| Wii U | The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD | SEALED |
| Wii U | Super Mario 3D World | NS - CIB |
| Switch | Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Edition OLED Switch | NEW |
| Switch | BloodRayne Fresh Bites | Sealed - w/card |
| Switch | Fire Emblem Three Houses | CIB |
| Switch | Great Ace Attorney Chronicles | CIB |
| Gameboy | Ren and Stimpy Veediots | Manual Only |
| NDS | Red Super Mario Bros 25th Anniversary Edition DSi XL | Loose - With charger. Does have some minor wear and teascuffs on corners |
| NDS | Mario Party DS | Sealed - (Has some knicks/tear in seal.) |
| NDS | Pokémon Heartgold | CIB - NFR case, no big box or Pokewalker - Only considering trading this so I can upgrade.. Would also trade FOR the big box.. |
| NDS | Spiderman Shattered Dimensions | Loose |
| NDS | Spyro The Eternal Night | Loose |
| NDS | DS Lite Car adaptecharger | NEW - Power A branded, Nintendo officially licensed. |
| NDS | DSi XL Stylus 5 packs. One of each color set available (2) | NEW - Power A branded, Nintendo officially licensed. |
| 3DS | Animal Crossing New Leaf | CIB |
| 3DS | Bravely Second End Layer | CIB - Minor damage to case/art |
| 3DS | Legend of Legacy | Sealed |
| 3DS | Super Smash Bros. 3DS | Loose |
| SEGA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Saturn | Model 2 Console | Loose - Includes power cord + OEM controller |
| Saturn | Street Fighter Alpha 2 | CIB |
| Dreamcast | Crazy Taxi | Loose |
[WANT]
Some specific items I'm after:
- 3D Dot Game Heroes
- Attack On Titan 2 or Final Battle PS4
- Baten Kaitos - Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
- Castlevania Curse of Darkness - PS2
- Castlevania Lament of Innocence - PS2
- Castlevania Dracula X
- Conkers Bad Fur Day
- Chocobos Dungeon
- Clock Tower (all)
- Drakengard 2
- Earthbound
- Evil Dead (PS1-PS2)
- Folklore
- Geist - Gamecube
- Grandia Xtreme
- The Legend of Zelda Four Swords - Gamecube
- Majoras Mask N64
- Mario Party 6 - Complete only
- Mario Party 7 - Manual only
- Marvel vs Capcom 1 and 2 PS1/PS2 or Dreamcast
- Misadventures of Tron Bonne
- Mega Man 64 - Cart or CIB
- Paper Mario TTYD - Complete and NON Players Choice/Best Seller
- Parasite Eve II - Manual only
- Pokemon Crystal, Emerald, Ruby, and Silver
- Pokemon White, Black, HGSS (Big Box), Alpha Sapphire, Moon, Y, Ultra Sun/Moon
- Resident Evil - Saturn
- Resident Evil - PS1 Long Box
- Resident Evil Code Veronica - Gamecube
- Resident Evil Dead Aim (Also looking for other light Gun games like Point Blank, Time Crisis, House of the Dead..)
- Resident Evil Survivor
- Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles - Highly Prefer the Gun Bundle Version.
- Saga Frontier 2 PS1, Unlimited Saga PS2
- Shadow Hearts - PS2
- Shadow Hearts From the New World - Disc only
- Silent Hill Origins and Shattered Memories - PS2
- Suikoden, Suikoden II and Suikoden Tactics
- Tekken Long Box
- Twisted Metal Long Box
- Valkyrie Profile PS1
- Wario Ware/World - Gamecube
- Xenosaga Episode III - PS2 - Complete only. Lenticular preferred.
- I'd like to bulk up my Gamecube and Sega collections; Dreamcast, CD/Saturn and Genesis.. I don't really need any hardware at the moment. But a CDX or Nomad would be cool though!
- PlayStation 5 games. Official Sony dual controller charger - CIB or New
- PS1 - PS4 Heavies
- PS Vita Games and maybe certain Vitas.
- PSP Games
- PSVR Games
- PS1 Long Box games
- PSX Console
- Special Edition Sony/PlayStation stuff.
- Switch games, SE Pro controllers
- Gameboys
- DS/3DS games
2023.05.30 15:19 Guilty_Chemistry9337 Hide Behind the Cypress Tree (Part 2)
They didn’t tell us the name of the next kid that disappeared. They didn’t tell us another kid had disappeared at all. We could all tell by the silence what had happened. It spoke volumes. I’m sure they talked about it in great detail amongst themselves. In PTA meetings and City Councils. My parents made sure to turn off the TV at 5 o’clock before the news came on, at least in my home. They’d turn it back on for the 11 o’clock news, when were were in bed and couldn’t hear the details.
The strange thing is, they never told us to just stop going outside. They told us to go in groups, sure, but they never decided, or as far as I could tell even though, to keep us all indoors. I guess that sort of freedom wasn’t something they were willing to give up. Instead, they did the neighborhood watch thing. For those few months, I remember my folks meeting more of our neighbors than in all the time previously, or since. Retirees would spend their days out in their front lawns, watching kids and everybody else coming and going. They’d even set up lawn furniture, with umbrellas, even all through the rains of spring. Cops stopped sitting in ambushes on the highways waiting for speeders and instead started patrolling the streets, chatting with us as we’d pass by. Weekends would see all the adults out in their yards, working on cars in the driveways, fixing the gutters, and so on. They had this weird way of looking at you as you’d ride by. Not hostile stares, but it was like they were cataloging your presence. Boy, eight years old, red raincoat silver bike, about 11:30 in the morning, heading south on Sorensen. Seemed fine.
The next time we saw it, it wasn’t in our neighborhood, and I was the one who saw it first. We were visiting Russ, a sort of 5th semi-friend from school. We rarely hung out, mostly owing to geography. His house wasn’t far as the crow flies, but it was up a steep hill. We spent a Saturday afternoon returning a cache of comic books we’d borrowed. The distance we covered was substantial, as we had decided to take lots of extra streets as switchbacks, rather than slowly push our bikes up the too-steep hills.
The descent was going to be the highlight of the trip, up until I saw the Hidebehind. We were on a curving road, a steep forested bluff on one side. The uphill slope was mostly ivy-covered raised foundations for the neighborhood’s houses. That side of the road was lined with parked cars, and the residents of the homes had to ascend steep staircases to get to their front doors.
I was ayt the back of the pack when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Movement, something brown squatting between two closely parked cars. My head snapped as I zoomed past, and despite not getting a good look, I knew it was that terrible thing. “It’s behind us!” I shouted and started pedaling hard. The others looked for themselves as I quickly rushed past them, but they soon joined my pace.
Ralph’s earlier idea of directly confronting the thing was set aside. We were moving too fast, and down too narrow a street to turn around. Then we saw it again it was to our left, off-road, between the trees. Suddenly it leaped from behind one tree trunk to the next and disappeared again. That hardly made sense, the base of the trees must have been thirty feet below the deck of the street we rode down. One of us, I think it was India, let out one of those strangled screams.
There it was again, back on the right, disappearing behind a mailbox as we approached. That couldn’t have been, it must have outpaced us and crossed in front of us. Logic would suggest there was more than one, but somehow the four of us knew it was the same thing. More impossible still, the pole holding up the mailbox was too thin, maybe two inches in diameter, yet that thing had disappeared behind it, like a Warner Bros. cartoon character. It was just enough to catch a better glimpse of it though. All brown. A head seemingly too bulbous and large for its body. Its limbs were thin but far longer, like a gibbon’s. Only a gibbon had normal elbows and knees. This thing bent its joints all wrong like it wasn’t part of the natural order. We were all terrified to wit’s end.
“The trail!” Ralph shouted, and the other three of us knew exactly what he meant. The top of it was only just around the curve. It was a dirt footpath for pedestrians ascending and descending South Hill, cutting through the woods on our left. It was too steep for cars, and to be honest, too steep for bikes. We’d played on it before, challenging each other to see how high up they could go, then descend back down without using our brakes. A short paved cul-de-sac at the bottom was enough space to stop before running into a cross street.
Ralph had held the previous group record, having climbed three-quarters of the way before starting his mad drop. India’s best was just short of that, I had only dared about halfway up, Ben only a third. This time, with certain death on our heels, the trail seemed the only way out. Nothing could have outrun a kid on a bike flying down that hill.
We followed Ralph’s lead, swinging to the right gutter of the street, then hanging a fast wide left up onto the curb, over a patch of gravel, between two boulders set up as bollards, lest a car driver mistake the entrance for a driveway, and then, like a roller coaster cresting the first hill, the bottom fell out.
It was the most overwhelming sensation of motion I’ve ever had, before or since. I suppose the danger behind us was the big reason, and being absolutely certain that only our speed was keeping us alive. I remember thinking it was like the speeder bike scene from Return of the Jedi, also a recent movie from the time. Only this was real. I didn’t just see the trees flashing past it, I could hear the motion as well. Cold air attacked my eyes and long streamers of tears rushed over my cheeks and the drops flew past my ears, I didn’t dare blink. Each little stone my tires struck threatened to up-end me and end it all. Yet, and perhaps worse, half the time it felt like I wasn’t in contact with the ground at all. I was going so fast that those same small stones were sending me an inch or two into the air, and the arc of the flights so closely matched the slope that by the time I contacted the trail again, I was significantly further down the hill.
At the same time, I had never felt more relief, as the thing behind us had no way of catching us now. Somehow, maybe the seriousness of the escape gave us both the motive and the seriousness to keep ourselves under control. Looking back, I marvel that at least one of us didn’t lose control and end up splitting our skulls open.
We hit the pavement of the cul-de-sac below, and didn’t bother to slow down. We raced through the cross-street, one angry driver screeching to a halt and laying on his horn. This brought out the neighborhood watch. Just a few of them at first. Still, we didn’t slow down, our momentum carried us back up the much shallower slope of our neighborhood. Witnesses saw us depart at high speed, and this only brought out more of the watch. We heard whistles behind us, just like our P.E. teacher’s whistle. We figured that was the watch’s alarm siren. Regardless of what happened to that thing, it was behind us. We returned to our homes, shaken, but safe and sound, our inertia taking us almost all of the way there.
Another kid disappeared that Sunday, up on South Hill. We’d suspected it because we could see the lights of the police cars on a high road, surrounding the spot where it would turn out later, one of the kid’s shoes had been found. Russ confirmed it at school on Monday. It was a kid he’d known, lived down the road from his place, went to private school which is why we didn’t recognize his name.
I remember seeing Ralph’s face the next day when he arrived at school. He looked angry. Strong. Like he’d been crying really hard, and now it was over and he was resolved. He said he’d felt guilty because the thing we’d escaped from had gotten the other kid instead. He tried to tell his old man about it, then his mom, then any adult he could. He’d tell them about the monster who hides behind things. They needed to focus on finding and stopping that instead of looking for some sort of creeper or serial killer. Of course, nobody had listened to him. They hadn’t listened to the rest of us either when we’d tried to tell.
So he’d devised a plan. He was calling it the “Fight Patrol,” which we didn’t argue with. If the adults wouldn’t do something, we would. We’d patrol our neighborhood on our bikes, the four of us, maybe a couple more if we could talk others into it. We’d chase it off like that first time, maybe for good, or maybe corner it. Clearly, it could not handle being caught.
Naturally, we brought up the scare on South Hill. He argued that was a bad place. Too isolated, couldn’t turn around easily. We needed to stay on our home turf, lots of visibility, and plenty of the Neighborhood Watch within earshot. Maybe we and the adults working together was the key, even if the adults didn’t understand the problem.
Well, that convinced us. Our first patrol was that afternoon, after school. We watched everybody’s back like hawks. Nothing had a chance to sneak up on us. Nothing could step out from behind a bush without getting spotted. By Friday afternoon there were eight of us. The next week we split up to extend our territory to the next neighborhoods over.
Nothing happened. We never saw anything. Ben thought it was because we were scaring it away. Ralph just thought we were failing, and took it personally. I myself thought the thing had just moved to different parts of town, where the new disappearances were taking place. I told him we should keep it up until the thing was caught.
It was all for naught.
One day, India didn’t show up for school. I asked everybody, the teachers, the office staff, the custodian, my parents. All of them said they didn’t know, and it was so easy to tell that they were lying. That would mark the end of the Fight Patrol.
Ben didn’t show up a couple of days after that. When I got home and collapsed into bed, my mother came in to tell me that Ben’s mother had called. She’d taken him out of school and they were moving elsewhere. I called up Ralph to let him know the news, and he was relieved too.
My last day was Friday, and then I was taken out. Again, I called Ralph so he wouldn’t worry. I guess when there were only two weeks left of school, and it was just grade school, a couple missed weeks don’t amount to much. So I ended up spending the bulk of the summer out in the country, with my grandparents, which was why I brought up my grandpa in the first place.
I suppose I did fine out on their farmhouse. I was safe. There was certainly no shortage of things for a kid to do. I think my mom felt a strong sense of relief too. Things slipped through the cracks.
My grandparents didn’t have cable, too far out of town. They just had an old-school antenna and got a couple of TV stations transmitting out of Canada, Vancouver specifically. I remember one July day, sitting in their living room. My grandmother had just fixed lunch for me and my grandfather and had gone out to do some gardening as we watched the news at noon.
My grandfather was already being ravaged by his illnesses. He was able to get around, but couldn’t do any real labor anymore. He’d lounge in front of the TV in a special lounge chair. He hardly talked, and when he did he’d just mumble some discomfort or complaint to my grandma.
The lead story on the news was the current situation in Farmingham, despite being in the neighboring country, it was still big news in Vancouver, and the whole rest of the region. It seemed the disappearances were declining, but the police were still frantically searching for a supposed serial killer. I didn’t pick up much about what they were talking about, I was a kid after all, but my grandfather was watching intently, despite his infirmity.
He mumbled something, I didn’t catch. I asked him was he said, and as I approached I heard him say “fearsome critters.”
He turned his eyes to me and said again, distinct and in a normal tone of voice, “fearsome critters,” then returned his attention to the screen. “I don’t know why they call them that. Fearsome, sure. But ‘critters?” Makes it sound silly. Like it's some sort of fairy tale that it ain’t. Guess it’s like whistling past the graveyard. Well, they don’t have to worry about them no more, guess they can call them what they like.”
Then he turned to me. “Do you know what it is?” he asked. “Squonk? Hodag? Gouger? Hidebehind?”
“Hidebehind,” I whispered, and he turned back to the TV with a sneer. I had no idea what on earth he was talking about. Remember, this would be years before I learned he spent his youth as a lumberjack. And yet, somehow, I knew exactly what we were talking about.
“Hidebehind,” he repeated. “That will do it. They give them such stupid names. The folk back East, that is. Wisconsin. Minnesota. Ohio. Way back in the old days, before my grandfather would have been your age. Back when those places were covered by forests. They didn’t give them silly names back then, no. Back then they were something to worry about. Then they moved on, though. They all went out West, to here, followed the loggers. So as once they didn’t have to worry about them anymore, they started making up silly stories, silly names. “Fearsome critters,” they’d call them. Just tall tales to tell the greenhorns and scare them out of their britches. Then they’d make them even sillier, and tell the stories to little kids to spook them.”
“Not out here they didn’t tell no stories nor make up any names. It was bad enough they followed us out. I had no clue they even existed until I saw one for myself. Bout your age, I suppose. Maybe a little older. Nobody ever talks about them. Not even when they take apart a work crew, one by one. They just pull the crews back. Wait till mid-summer when the land is dry but not too dry. Then they move the crews in, a lot of them. Do some burning, make a lot of smoke. Drives them deeper into the woods, you know. Then you can cut the whole damn place down. But nobody asks why, nobody tells why. The people who know just take care of it.”
“I guess that’s why they’re coming to us now. All the old woods are almost gone. So they’ve got to. Like mountain lions. I supposed it’s going to happen sooner or later.”
We heard my grandma come into the back door to the utility room, and stomp the dirt off her boots. My grandfather turned to me one last time and said, “Whichever way you look at it, somebody’s just got to take care of it.” Then my grandmother came in from the utility room and asked us how our lunch had been.
Now that I look back at it, that might have been the last time my grandfather and I really had a meaningful talk.
We moved back home in late August. I had been having a fantastic summer. Though looking back, I suppose it could be rough for a still-young woman to be living in her aging parents' house when she’s got a perfectly good husband and house of her own in town.
First thing I did was visit Ralph. He’d been busy. He’d fortified his treehouse into a proper, well, tree fort. He’d nailed a lot of reinforcing plywood over everything. He hadn’t gone out on patrols by himself, of course, but the height of the tree fort afforded him a view of the nearest streets. He’d also made some makeshift weapons out of old baseball bats, a hockey stick, and a garden rake. The sharp rocks he’d attached to them with masking tape didn’t look very secure, but it’d only take one or two good blows with that kind of firepower. He also explained he’d been teaching himself kung fu, by copying all the movies he saw on kung fu movies late at night on the unpopular cable channels. That was classic Ralph.
As for the monster, it seemed to be going away. Its last victim had disappeared weeks previously, part of the reason my mom felt it was time to go back. This had been at night too. What’s more, the victim had been a college student, a very petite lady, barely five feet tall, under a hundred pounds. The news had speculated that their presumptive serial killer had assumed she was a child. I remember thinking the Hidebehind didn’t care. Maybe it just thought she couldn’t run fast enough to get away or put up a fight when he caught her. Like a predator.
At any rate, the college students were incensed. Of course, they’d been hyper-alert and concerned when it was just local kids going missing. Now that it was one of their own the camel’s back had broken. They really went hard on the protests, blaming the local police for not doing enough.
They started setting up their own patrols, and at night too. Marches with sometimes dozens of students at a time. They called it “Take Back the Night.” They’d walk the streets, making sure they’d be heard. Some cared drums or tambourines. They’d help escort people home, and sometimes they’d unintentionally stop random crimes they’d happen across. I felt like this was what the Fight Patrol could have been, if we’d just been old enough, or had been listened to. This would be the endgame for the Hidebehind, one way or another.
I stayed indoors the rest of the summer, and really there wasn’t much left. It doesn’t get too hot in the Pacific Northwest, nobody has air conditioners, or at least we didn’t back then. It will get stuffy though, in August, and I liked to sleep with my window open. I could hear the chants and challenges from the student patrols on their various routes. Sometimes I could hear them coming from far away, and every now and then they’d pass down my street. It felt like a wonderful security blanket.
I also liked the honeysuckle my mother had planted around the perimeter of the house. Late at night, if I was struggling to fall asleep, the air in my bedroom would start to circulate. Cold air would start pouring in over my windowsill, bringing the sweet scent of that creepervine with it, and I’d the sensation before finally passing out.
This one night, and I have no knowledge if I was awake, asleep, or drifting off, but the air in the room changed, and cooler air poured over the windowsill and swept over my bed, but it didn’t carry the sweet smell of honeysuckle. Regardless of my initial state, I was alert pretty quickly. It was a singularly unpleasant smell. A bit like death, which at that age I was mostly unfamiliar with, except a time some animal had died underneath the crawlspace of our house. There was more to it, though. The forest, the deep forest. I don’t know and still don’t know, what that meant. Most smells I associate with the forest are pleasant. Cedar, pine needles, thick loam of the forest floor, campfires, even the creosote and turpentine of those old timey-logging camps. This was none of those smells. Maybe… rotting granite, and the spores of slime molds. Mummified hemlocks and beds of needles compressed into something different than soil. It disturbed me.
So I sat up in bed. I hadn’t noticed before, but I’d been sweating, just lightly in the stuffy summer night heat. Now it was turning cold. Before me was my bedroom window. A lit rectangle in a pitch-dark room. To either side were my white, opened curtains, the one on the right, by the open half of the window, stirred just slightly in the barely perceptible breeze.
Most of the rectangle was the black form of the protective cypress tree. Only the slight conical nature of the tree distinguished it from a perfectly vertical column. To either side was a dim soft orange glow coming from the sodium lamps of the street passing by our house. It was perhaps a bit diffuse from the screen set in my window to keep out mosquitos. In the distance was the sound of an approaching troupe of the Take Back the Night patrol. They were neither drumming nor chanting, but still making plenty of noise. They were, perhaps, three or four blocks away, and heading my way.
For some reason that I didn’t understand, I got up, off of the foot of the bed. The window, being closer, appeared bigger. I took a silent step further. The patrol approached closer. Another step. I leaned to my right, just a bit, getting a slightly wider view to the left of the cypress tree. That was the direction the patrol was coming from.
That was when it resolved. The deeper black silhouette within the black silhouette of the cypress tree. A small lithe frame with a too-bulbous head. It too leaned, in its case, to the left, to see around the cypress tree as the patrol approached. They reached our block,on the other side of the street. A dozen rowdy college students, not trying to be quiet. None of them fearing the night. Each feeling safe and determined, and absorbed in their own night out rather than being overtly sensitive to their surroundings. They were distracted, unfocused If they had been peering into the shadows, if just one of them had looked towards my house, behind the cypress tree, they might have seen the Hidebehind, poking its face out and watching them transit past. But they didn’t notice.
It hid behind the cypress tree, and I hid behind it, hoping that the blackness of my bedroom would protect me. I stood absolutely still, as I had done once when a hornet had once landed on the back of my neck. Totally assure that if I made the slightest movement or made the slightest sound that I’d be stung. I hardly even breathed.
The patrol passed, from my perspective, behind the cypress tree and temporarily out of view. The Hidebehind straightened, ready to lean to the right and watch the patrol pass, only it didn’t lean. Even as I watched the patrol pass on to the right, it stood there, stock still, just as I was doing.
It was then I became aware that my room had become stuffy again. The scent was gone. The air had shifted and was now flowing out through the screen again, carrying my own scent with it. I knew what this meant, and yet I was too paralyzed to react. The thing started to turn, very slowly. It was a predator understanding that it might have become victim to its own game. It turned as if it was thinking the same thing I had been thinking, that the slightest movement might give it away.
It turned, and I saw its face. Like some kind of rotting desiccated, shriveling fruit, it was covered in wrinkles. Circles within concentric circles surrounded its two great eyes, eyes which took up so much of its face. I couldn’t, and still struggle, to think of words to describe it. Instead, I still think in terms of analogies. At the time I thought of the creature from the film E.T., only twisted and distorted into a thing of nightmares. Almost all eyelids, and a little drooping sucker mouth. Now that I’m more worldly, it reminds of creatures of ancient artworks. The key defining feature were the long horizontal slits it had for eyes. You see that in old masks carved in West Africa, or by the Inuit long ago. You see it in what’s called the “slit-eyed dogu” of ancient Japan.
As I watched the wrinkles on the face seemed to multiply. Then I realized this was the result of its eyes slowly widening. It’s mouth, too, slowly dilated, revealing innumerable small razor-sharp teeth. A person, standing in its location, shouldn’t have been able to see in. Light from the sodium streetlamps lit the window’s screen, obscuring the interior. It was no person. It could see me, and it was reacting to my presence. Its eyes grew huge, black.
My own eyes would have been just as wide if not for my own anatomical limitations. I was still watching when it disappeared. It didn’t see it move to the right. I didn’t see it move to the left, nor did I see it drop down out of view. It simply disappeared. One fraction of a second it was there, and then it decided to leave, and so it did. It was not a thing of this world.
There were no more disappearances after that poor woman from the university. I don’t think it had anything to do with me. The media and police all speculated their “serial killer” had gone into a “dormant phase”. There was no shortage of people who tried to take credit. Maybe they deserve it. The thing’s hunting had been on the decline. All the neighborhood watches and student patrols, I think that maybe all that commotion was making it too hard for the Hidebehind to go about its business. Maybe it had gone back to the woods.
Then again, maybe Ralph had been right the whole time. Maybe it really, really, really didn’t like to be seen.
So.
Now I’ve got some decisions to make. I think the first thing I should do is look at social media and dig up Ralph. It’s been a good thirty years since I last talked to him. He ought to know the Hidebehind is back. He’s probably made plans.
Then, there’s the issue of my son. He’s up in his bedroom now, probably still mad at me. Probably confused about why I’d be so strict. Maybe he’s inventing explanations as to why.
I’m not sure, but I’m leaning toward telling him everything. He deserves to know. It’d probably be safer if he knows. I think people have this instinct where, when they see or know something that they’re not supposed to know, they just bottle it up. I think that was the problem with grown-ups when I was a kid. It was the issue with my grandfather, telling me so little when it was almost too late. I think people do it because we’re social animals, and we’re afraid of being ostracized. Go along to get along.
Hell, my son is probably going to think I’m crazy. It might even make him more mad at me. And even more confused. He knows about the disappearances. “The Farmingham Fiend” the media would end up dubbing the serial killer that didn’t really exist. It’s become local “true crime” history. Kids tell rumors about it. It was almost forty years ago, so it probably feels safe to wonder about.
So yeah, I suppose when I say I know who the real killer was, a magical monster from the woods that stalks its prey by hiding behind objects, then impossibly disappears- that I’m going to look like a total nut. I’d think that if I were in his shoes.
Except… people are going to start disappearing again, it’s only a matter of time. The media will say that the Farmingham Fiend is back in the game. Will my son buy that? He’ll start thinking about what I told him, and how I predicted it. Then he’ll remember that he saw the thing himself, he and his friends, even if it was just out of the corner of his eye.
I hope, sooner or later, he’ll believe me. I could use his help. Maybe Ralph is way ahead of me, but I’m thinking we should get the Fight Patrol back together. Father and son, this time. Multigenerational, get the retirees involved too.
Old farts of my generation, for reasons I don’t understand, like to wax nostalgic over their own false sense of superiority. We rode our bikes without helmets and had distant if not irresponsible parents. Yeah, yeah, what a load. I think every new generation is better than the last, because every generation is a progression from the last, Kids these days? They’ve got cell phones, with cameras. And helmet cams. GoPros you can attach to bikes. Doorbell cameras.
It seems the Hidebehind loathes being seen. This time around, with my grandfather’s spirit, my own memories, and my boy’s energy? I think this time we’re finally going to beat it.
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The strange thing is, they never told us to just stop going outside. They told us to go in groups, sure, but they never decided, or as far as I could tell even though, to keep us all indoors. I guess that sort of freedom wasn’t something they were willing to give up. Instead, they did the neighborhood watch thing. For those few months, I remember my folks meeting more of our neighbors than in all the time previously, or since. Retirees would spend their days out in their front lawns, watching kids and everybody else coming and going. They’d even set up lawn furniture, with umbrellas, even all through the rains of spring. Cops stopped sitting in ambushes on the highways waiting for speeders and instead started patrolling the streets, chatting with us as we’d pass by. Weekends would see all the adults out in their yards, working on cars in the driveways, fixing the gutters, and so on. They had this weird way of looking at you as you’d ride by. Not hostile stares, but it was like they were cataloging your presence. Boy, eight years old, red raincoat silver bike, about 11:30 in the morning, heading south on Sorensen. Seemed fine.
The next time we saw it, it wasn’t in our neighborhood, and I was the one who saw it first. We were visiting Russ, a sort of 5th semi-friend from school. We rarely hung out, mostly owing to geography. His house wasn’t far as the crow flies, but it was up a steep hill. We spent a Saturday afternoon returning a cache of comic books we’d borrowed. The distance we covered was substantial, as we had decided to take lots of extra streets as switchbacks, rather than slowly push our bikes up the too-steep hills.
The descent was going to be the highlight of the trip, up until I saw the Hidebehind. We were on a curving road, a steep forested bluff on one side. The uphill slope was mostly ivy-covered raised foundations for the neighborhood’s houses. That side of the road was lined with parked cars, and the residents of the homes had to ascend steep staircases to get to their front doors.
I was ayt the back of the pack when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Movement, something brown squatting between two closely parked cars. My head snapped as I zoomed past, and despite not getting a good look, I knew it was that terrible thing. “It’s behind us!” I shouted and started pedaling hard. The others looked for themselves as I quickly rushed past them, but they soon joined my pace.
Ralph’s earlier idea of directly confronting the thing was set aside. We were moving too fast, and down too narrow a street to turn around. Then we saw it again it was to our left, off-road, between the trees. Suddenly it leaped from behind one tree trunk to the next and disappeared again. That hardly made sense, the base of the trees must have been thirty feet below the deck of the street we rode down. One of us, I think it was India, let out one of those strangled screams.
There it was again, back on the right, disappearing behind a mailbox as we approached. That couldn’t have been, it must have outpaced us and crossed in front of us. Logic would suggest there was more than one, but somehow the four of us knew it was the same thing. More impossible still, the pole holding up the mailbox was too thin, maybe two inches in diameter, yet that thing had disappeared behind it, like a Warner Bros. cartoon character. It was just enough to catch a better glimpse of it though. All brown. A head seemingly too bulbous and large for its body. Its limbs were thin but far longer, like a gibbon’s. Only a gibbon had normal elbows and knees. This thing bent its joints all wrong like it wasn’t part of the natural order. We were all terrified to wit’s end.
“The trail!” Ralph shouted, and the other three of us knew exactly what he meant. The top of it was only just around the curve. It was a dirt footpath for pedestrians ascending and descending South Hill, cutting through the woods on our left. It was too steep for cars, and to be honest, too steep for bikes. We’d played on it before, challenging each other to see how high up they could go, then descend back down without using our brakes. A short paved cul-de-sac at the bottom was enough space to stop before running into a cross street.
Ralph had held the previous group record, having climbed three-quarters of the way before starting his mad drop. India’s best was just short of that, I had only dared about halfway up, Ben only a third. This time, with certain death on our heels, the trail seemed the only way out. Nothing could have outrun a kid on a bike flying down that hill.
We followed Ralph’s lead, swinging to the right gutter of the street, then hanging a fast wide left up onto the curb, over a patch of gravel, between two boulders set up as bollards, lest a car driver mistake the entrance for a driveway, and then, like a roller coaster cresting the first hill, the bottom fell out.
It was the most overwhelming sensation of motion I’ve ever had, before or since. I suppose the danger behind us was the big reason, and being absolutely certain that only our speed was keeping us alive. I remember thinking it was like the speeder bike scene from Return of the Jedi, also a recent movie from the time. Only this was real. I didn’t just see the trees flashing past it, I could hear the motion as well. Cold air attacked my eyes and long streamers of tears rushed over my cheeks and the drops flew past my ears, I didn’t dare blink. Each little stone my tires struck threatened to up-end me and end it all. Yet, and perhaps worse, half the time it felt like I wasn’t in contact with the ground at all. I was going so fast that those same small stones were sending me an inch or two into the air, and the arc of the flights so closely matched the slope that by the time I contacted the trail again, I was significantly further down the hill.
At the same time, I had never felt more relief, as the thing behind us had no way of catching us now. Somehow, maybe the seriousness of the escape gave us both the motive and the seriousness to keep ourselves under control. Looking back, I marvel that at least one of us didn’t lose control and end up splitting our skulls open.
We hit the pavement of the cul-de-sac below, and didn’t bother to slow down. We raced through the cross-street, one angry driver screeching to a halt and laying on his horn. This brought out the neighborhood watch. Just a few of them at first. Still, we didn’t slow down, our momentum carried us back up the much shallower slope of our neighborhood. Witnesses saw us depart at high speed, and this only brought out more of the watch. We heard whistles behind us, just like our P.E. teacher’s whistle. We figured that was the watch’s alarm siren. Regardless of what happened to that thing, it was behind us. We returned to our homes, shaken, but safe and sound, our inertia taking us almost all of the way there.
Another kid disappeared that Sunday, up on South Hill. We’d suspected it because we could see the lights of the police cars on a high road, surrounding the spot where it would turn out later, one of the kid’s shoes had been found. Russ confirmed it at school on Monday. It was a kid he’d known, lived down the road from his place, went to private school which is why we didn’t recognize his name.
I remember seeing Ralph’s face the next day when he arrived at school. He looked angry. Strong. Like he’d been crying really hard, and now it was over and he was resolved. He said he’d felt guilty because the thing we’d escaped from had gotten the other kid instead. He tried to tell his old man about it, then his mom, then any adult he could. He’d tell them about the monster who hides behind things. They needed to focus on finding and stopping that instead of looking for some sort of creeper or serial killer. Of course, nobody had listened to him. They hadn’t listened to the rest of us either when we’d tried to tell.
So he’d devised a plan. He was calling it the “Fight Patrol,” which we didn’t argue with. If the adults wouldn’t do something, we would. We’d patrol our neighborhood on our bikes, the four of us, maybe a couple more if we could talk others into it. We’d chase it off like that first time, maybe for good, or maybe corner it. Clearly, it could not handle being caught.
Naturally, we brought up the scare on South Hill. He argued that was a bad place. Too isolated, couldn’t turn around easily. We needed to stay on our home turf, lots of visibility, and plenty of the Neighborhood Watch within earshot. Maybe we and the adults working together was the key, even if the adults didn’t understand the problem.
Well, that convinced us. Our first patrol was that afternoon, after school. We watched everybody’s back like hawks. Nothing had a chance to sneak up on us. Nothing could step out from behind a bush without getting spotted. By Friday afternoon there were eight of us. The next week we split up to extend our territory to the next neighborhoods over.
Nothing happened. We never saw anything. Ben thought it was because we were scaring it away. Ralph just thought we were failing, and took it personally. I myself thought the thing had just moved to different parts of town, where the new disappearances were taking place. I told him we should keep it up until the thing was caught.
It was all for naught.
One day, India didn’t show up for school. I asked everybody, the teachers, the office staff, the custodian, my parents. All of them said they didn’t know, and it was so easy to tell that they were lying. That would mark the end of the Fight Patrol.
Ben didn’t show up a couple of days after that. When I got home and collapsed into bed, my mother came in to tell me that Ben’s mother had called. She’d taken him out of school and they were moving elsewhere. I called up Ralph to let him know the news, and he was relieved too.
My last day was Friday, and then I was taken out. Again, I called Ralph so he wouldn’t worry. I guess when there were only two weeks left of school, and it was just grade school, a couple missed weeks don’t amount to much. So I ended up spending the bulk of the summer out in the country, with my grandparents, which was why I brought up my grandpa in the first place.
I suppose I did fine out on their farmhouse. I was safe. There was certainly no shortage of things for a kid to do. I think my mom felt a strong sense of relief too. Things slipped through the cracks.
My grandparents didn’t have cable, too far out of town. They just had an old-school antenna and got a couple of TV stations transmitting out of Canada, Vancouver specifically. I remember one July day, sitting in their living room. My grandmother had just fixed lunch for me and my grandfather and had gone out to do some gardening as we watched the news at noon.
My grandfather was already being ravaged by his illnesses. He was able to get around, but couldn’t do any real labor anymore. He’d lounge in front of the TV in a special lounge chair. He hardly talked, and when he did he’d just mumble some discomfort or complaint to my grandma.
The lead story on the news was the current situation in Farmingham, despite being in the neighboring country, it was still big news in Vancouver, and the whole rest of the region. It seemed the disappearances were declining, but the police were still frantically searching for a supposed serial killer. I didn’t pick up much about what they were talking about, I was a kid after all, but my grandfather was watching intently, despite his infirmity.
He mumbled something, I didn’t catch. I asked him was he said, and as I approached I heard him say “fearsome critters.”
He turned his eyes to me and said again, distinct and in a normal tone of voice, “fearsome critters,” then returned his attention to the screen. “I don’t know why they call them that. Fearsome, sure. But ‘critters?” Makes it sound silly. Like it's some sort of fairy tale that it ain’t. Guess it’s like whistling past the graveyard. Well, they don’t have to worry about them no more, guess they can call them what they like.”
Then he turned to me. “Do you know what it is?” he asked. “Squonk? Hodag? Gouger? Hidebehind?”
“Hidebehind,” I whispered, and he turned back to the TV with a sneer. I had no idea what on earth he was talking about. Remember, this would be years before I learned he spent his youth as a lumberjack. And yet, somehow, I knew exactly what we were talking about.
“Hidebehind,” he repeated. “That will do it. They give them such stupid names. The folk back East, that is. Wisconsin. Minnesota. Ohio. Way back in the old days, before my grandfather would have been your age. Back when those places were covered by forests. They didn’t give them silly names back then, no. Back then they were something to worry about. Then they moved on, though. They all went out West, to here, followed the loggers. So as once they didn’t have to worry about them anymore, they started making up silly stories, silly names. “Fearsome critters,” they’d call them. Just tall tales to tell the greenhorns and scare them out of their britches. Then they’d make them even sillier, and tell the stories to little kids to spook them.”
“Not out here they didn’t tell no stories nor make up any names. It was bad enough they followed us out. I had no clue they even existed until I saw one for myself. Bout your age, I suppose. Maybe a little older. Nobody ever talks about them. Not even when they take apart a work crew, one by one. They just pull the crews back. Wait till mid-summer when the land is dry but not too dry. Then they move the crews in, a lot of them. Do some burning, make a lot of smoke. Drives them deeper into the woods, you know. Then you can cut the whole damn place down. But nobody asks why, nobody tells why. The people who know just take care of it.”
“I guess that’s why they’re coming to us now. All the old woods are almost gone. So they’ve got to. Like mountain lions. I supposed it’s going to happen sooner or later.”
We heard my grandma come into the back door to the utility room, and stomp the dirt off her boots. My grandfather turned to me one last time and said, “Whichever way you look at it, somebody’s just got to take care of it.” Then my grandmother came in from the utility room and asked us how our lunch had been.
Now that I look back at it, that might have been the last time my grandfather and I really had a meaningful talk.
We moved back home in late August. I had been having a fantastic summer. Though looking back, I suppose it could be rough for a still-young woman to be living in her aging parents' house when she’s got a perfectly good husband and house of her own in town.
First thing I did was visit Ralph. He’d been busy. He’d fortified his treehouse into a proper, well, tree fort. He’d nailed a lot of reinforcing plywood over everything. He hadn’t gone out on patrols by himself, of course, but the height of the tree fort afforded him a view of the nearest streets. He’d also made some makeshift weapons out of old baseball bats, a hockey stick, and a garden rake. The sharp rocks he’d attached to them with masking tape didn’t look very secure, but it’d only take one or two good blows with that kind of firepower. He also explained he’d been teaching himself kung fu, by copying all the movies he saw on kung fu movies late at night on the unpopular cable channels. That was classic Ralph.
As for the monster, it seemed to be going away. Its last victim had disappeared weeks previously, part of the reason my mom felt it was time to go back. This had been at night too. What’s more, the victim had been a college student, a very petite lady, barely five feet tall, under a hundred pounds. The news had speculated that their presumptive serial killer had assumed she was a child. I remember thinking the Hidebehind didn’t care. Maybe it just thought she couldn’t run fast enough to get away or put up a fight when he caught her. Like a predator.
At any rate, the college students were incensed. Of course, they’d been hyper-alert and concerned when it was just local kids going missing. Now that it was one of their own the camel’s back had broken. They really went hard on the protests, blaming the local police for not doing enough.
They started setting up their own patrols, and at night too. Marches with sometimes dozens of students at a time. They called it “Take Back the Night.” They’d walk the streets, making sure they’d be heard. Some cared drums or tambourines. They’d help escort people home, and sometimes they’d unintentionally stop random crimes they’d happen across. I felt like this was what the Fight Patrol could have been, if we’d just been old enough, or had been listened to. This would be the endgame for the Hidebehind, one way or another.
I stayed indoors the rest of the summer, and really there wasn’t much left. It doesn’t get too hot in the Pacific Northwest, nobody has air conditioners, or at least we didn’t back then. It will get stuffy though, in August, and I liked to sleep with my window open. I could hear the chants and challenges from the student patrols on their various routes. Sometimes I could hear them coming from far away, and every now and then they’d pass down my street. It felt like a wonderful security blanket.
I also liked the honeysuckle my mother had planted around the perimeter of the house. Late at night, if I was struggling to fall asleep, the air in my bedroom would start to circulate. Cold air would start pouring in over my windowsill, bringing the sweet scent of that creepervine with it, and I’d the sensation before finally passing out.
This one night, and I have no knowledge if I was awake, asleep, or drifting off, but the air in the room changed, and cooler air poured over the windowsill and swept over my bed, but it didn’t carry the sweet smell of honeysuckle. Regardless of my initial state, I was alert pretty quickly. It was a singularly unpleasant smell. A bit like death, which at that age I was mostly unfamiliar with, except a time some animal had died underneath the crawlspace of our house. There was more to it, though. The forest, the deep forest. I don’t know and still don’t know, what that meant. Most smells I associate with the forest are pleasant. Cedar, pine needles, thick loam of the forest floor, campfires, even the creosote and turpentine of those old timey-logging camps. This was none of those smells. Maybe… rotting granite, and the spores of slime molds. Mummified hemlocks and beds of needles compressed into something different than soil. It disturbed me.
So I sat up in bed. I hadn’t noticed before, but I’d been sweating, just lightly in the stuffy summer night heat. Now it was turning cold. Before me was my bedroom window. A lit rectangle in a pitch-dark room. To either side were my white, opened curtains, the one on the right, by the open half of the window, stirred just slightly in the barely perceptible breeze.
Most of the rectangle was the black form of the protective cypress tree. Only the slight conical nature of the tree distinguished it from a perfectly vertical column. To either side was a dim soft orange glow coming from the sodium lamps of the street passing by our house. It was perhaps a bit diffuse from the screen set in my window to keep out mosquitos. In the distance was the sound of an approaching troupe of the Take Back the Night patrol. They were neither drumming nor chanting, but still making plenty of noise. They were, perhaps, three or four blocks away, and heading my way.
For some reason that I didn’t understand, I got up, off of the foot of the bed. The window, being closer, appeared bigger. I took a silent step further. The patrol approached closer. Another step. I leaned to my right, just a bit, getting a slightly wider view to the left of the cypress tree. That was the direction the patrol was coming from.
That was when it resolved. The deeper black silhouette within the black silhouette of the cypress tree. A small lithe frame with a too-bulbous head. It too leaned, in its case, to the left, to see around the cypress tree as the patrol approached. They reached our block,on the other side of the street. A dozen rowdy college students, not trying to be quiet. None of them fearing the night. Each feeling safe and determined, and absorbed in their own night out rather than being overtly sensitive to their surroundings. They were distracted, unfocused If they had been peering into the shadows, if just one of them had looked towards my house, behind the cypress tree, they might have seen the Hidebehind, poking its face out and watching them transit past. But they didn’t notice.
It hid behind the cypress tree, and I hid behind it, hoping that the blackness of my bedroom would protect me. I stood absolutely still, as I had done once when a hornet had once landed on the back of my neck. Totally assure that if I made the slightest movement or made the slightest sound that I’d be stung. I hardly even breathed.
The patrol passed, from my perspective, behind the cypress tree and temporarily out of view. The Hidebehind straightened, ready to lean to the right and watch the patrol pass, only it didn’t lean. Even as I watched the patrol pass on to the right, it stood there, stock still, just as I was doing.
It was then I became aware that my room had become stuffy again. The scent was gone. The air had shifted and was now flowing out through the screen again, carrying my own scent with it. I knew what this meant, and yet I was too paralyzed to react. The thing started to turn, very slowly. It was a predator understanding that it might have become victim to its own game. It turned as if it was thinking the same thing I had been thinking, that the slightest movement might give it away.
It turned, and I saw its face. Like some kind of rotting desiccated, shriveling fruit, it was covered in wrinkles. Circles within concentric circles surrounded its two great eyes, eyes which took up so much of its face. I couldn’t, and still struggle, to think of words to describe it. Instead, I still think in terms of analogies. At the time I thought of the creature from the film E.T., only twisted and distorted into a thing of nightmares. Almost all eyelids, and a little drooping sucker mouth. Now that I’m more worldly, it reminds of creatures of ancient artworks. The key defining feature were the long horizontal slits it had for eyes. You see that in old masks carved in West Africa, or by the Inuit long ago. You see it in what’s called the “slit-eyed dogu” of ancient Japan.
As I watched the wrinkles on the face seemed to multiply. Then I realized this was the result of its eyes slowly widening. It’s mouth, too, slowly dilated, revealing innumerable small razor-sharp teeth. A person, standing in its location, shouldn’t have been able to see in. Light from the sodium streetlamps lit the window’s screen, obscuring the interior. It was no person. It could see me, and it was reacting to my presence. Its eyes grew huge, black.
My own eyes would have been just as wide if not for my own anatomical limitations. I was still watching when it disappeared. It didn’t see it move to the right. I didn’t see it move to the left, nor did I see it drop down out of view. It simply disappeared. One fraction of a second it was there, and then it decided to leave, and so it did. It was not a thing of this world.
There were no more disappearances after that poor woman from the university. I don’t think it had anything to do with me. The media and police all speculated their “serial killer” had gone into a “dormant phase”. There was no shortage of people who tried to take credit. Maybe they deserve it. The thing’s hunting had been on the decline. All the neighborhood watches and student patrols, I think that maybe all that commotion was making it too hard for the Hidebehind to go about its business. Maybe it had gone back to the woods.
Then again, maybe Ralph had been right the whole time. Maybe it really, really, really didn’t like to be seen.
So.
Now I’ve got some decisions to make. I think the first thing I should do is look at social media and dig up Ralph. It’s been a good thirty years since I last talked to him. He ought to know the Hidebehind is back. He’s probably made plans.
Then, there’s the issue of my son. He’s up in his bedroom now, probably still mad at me. Probably confused about why I’d be so strict. Maybe he’s inventing explanations as to why.
I’m not sure, but I’m leaning toward telling him everything. He deserves to know. It’d probably be safer if he knows. I think people have this instinct where, when they see or know something that they’re not supposed to know, they just bottle it up. I think that was the problem with grown-ups when I was a kid. It was the issue with my grandfather, telling me so little when it was almost too late. I think people do it because we’re social animals, and we’re afraid of being ostracized. Go along to get along.
Hell, my son is probably going to think I’m crazy. It might even make him more mad at me. And even more confused. He knows about the disappearances. “The Farmingham Fiend” the media would end up dubbing the serial killer that didn’t really exist. It’s become local “true crime” history. Kids tell rumors about it. It was almost forty years ago, so it probably feels safe to wonder about.
So yeah, I suppose when I say I know who the real killer was, a magical monster from the woods that stalks its prey by hiding behind objects, then impossibly disappears- that I’m going to look like a total nut. I’d think that if I were in his shoes.
Except… people are going to start disappearing again, it’s only a matter of time. The media will say that the Farmingham Fiend is back in the game. Will my son buy that? He’ll start thinking about what I told him, and how I predicted it. Then he’ll remember that he saw the thing himself, he and his friends, even if it was just out of the corner of his eye.
I hope, sooner or later, he’ll believe me. I could use his help. Maybe Ralph is way ahead of me, but I’m thinking we should get the Fight Patrol back together. Father and son, this time. Multigenerational, get the retirees involved too.
Old farts of my generation, for reasons I don’t understand, like to wax nostalgic over their own false sense of superiority. We rode our bikes without helmets and had distant if not irresponsible parents. Yeah, yeah, what a load. I think every new generation is better than the last, because every generation is a progression from the last, Kids these days? They’ve got cell phones, with cameras. And helmet cams. GoPros you can attach to bikes. Doorbell cameras.
It seems the Hidebehind loathes being seen. This time around, with my grandfather’s spirit, my own memories, and my boy’s energy? I think this time we’re finally going to beat it.
2023.05.30 15:10 VillainTheory Psylocke - Hero Kit Deep Dive
Better late than never, right? Here’s a breakdown of the upcoming hero Psylocke where I will analyze her and all her revealed cards in detail, talk about what aspects and cards she’ll like, before trying to predict how powerful she will be in comparison to all the other heroes.
Disclaimer: The character isn’t out yet! This is all in theory and done for fun.
So, Psylocke was revealed a few weeks ago now and to absolutely no one’s surprise she’s psionic. Phoenix has company! But is she any good? (Spoiler alert: yes!)
Let’s take a deeper look and see just what she can do~
Identity Card: The Simple Things
First things first: Psylocke is her identity card. That is to say, everything that is good about her starts here in a big way and there is a LOT to unpack. So we’ll start with just the simplest parts of it.
She has the Mutant and Psionic traits in alter-ego as Betsy Braddock, and the Psionic and X-Force traits in hero form. This is a mirror of Phoenix’s traits, with X-Men swapped for X-Force. And like Phoenix, she is the only other character now to begin the scenario with the Psionic trait (as close as Cable may be).
She has the standard 6 hand size in alter-ego, 10 hp and 3 REC. This is all very vanilla. But that’s where the vanilla ends. In hero form, she has 1 THW, 1 ATK and 2 DEF like Nova and Adam Warlock along with a hand size of 4. Now, I wouldn’t blame you if you had alarm bells going off at this point - but fortunately, she has many redeeming factors just like the aforementioned characters.
Still, despite all the positive qualities I’ll soon cover here, it’s worth remembering throughout that her hand size of 4 is a notable downside - perhaps her biggest one. She effectively has 20% less cards per turn starting in hero form than most other heroes. This means 20% less resources from your hand, but also 20% less options. And that matters a lot.
But on that note, we should really talk about the abilities on her identity card.
Identity Card: Setup
We should begin with her first alter-ego ability. She has a Setup ability called Psionic Manifestation where you have to put your two Psi-Energy upgrades into play, “Psi-Knife side faceup”. What does this mean?
It means you put two identical copies of your Psi-Knife card into play. This is a two-sided card and is immensely powerful. They have the Psi-Energy and Weapon traits on both sides, and are Permanent on both sides.
On one side, the card is of course a Psi-Knife. On this side, the cards give you +1 THW and you can exhaust them as a Hero Resource to generate a mental resource. And when you generate a resource with it? You may flip Psi-Knife to its other side.
And on its other side, it’s Psi-Katana. Same traits, same permanent, but now it’s restricted? Kinda weird. But each gives Psylocke +1 ATK and can be exhausted to generate a physical resource instead (and may be flipped back to its Psi-Knife side). Note that it doesn’t ready when flipped, so each one is generally only generating one resource per turn.
That was a lot of numbers and traits and keywords. In short, what this really means is that Psylocke can bounce between having 1, 2 or 3 THW, and 1, 2 or 3 ATK. And that she starts with two resource generators in play from the very beginning of the game.
This is very, very good. Here’s some comparisons.
Look at Phoenix or Spectrum and imagine if they could change between 3 THW and 3 ATK at will. Because Psylocke can.
Do you like SP//dr? Imagine if she started with +1 handsize and +1 Interface upgrade in play. Because that’s how Psylocke starts.
Alternatively, think of any hero. Would you trade 1 hero hand size to start the game with 3 THW, 3 ATK, and 2x Quincarrier in play? Because that’s basically what Psylocke has done.
This is all a long way of saying that Psylocke, despite her hero hand size, will still have 6 resources (1 per card, 1 per Psi-Knife/Katana) every turn she starts a turn in hero form. This is equivalent to Spider-Man Peter Parker or Venom without having to take damage to generate a resource.
And, if she starts the turn in alter-ego, 8 resources - this is Black Panther with Golden City or Captain Marvel with Alpha Flight Station.
She got money.
The downside compared to these heroes all comes back to her hand size. She is generating resources instead of drawing cards, and so while “rich”, she won’t have the plethora of options in hand and ability to quickly find key upgrades in the same way they do.
Fortunately, Psylocke generally has better hero cards than all of those named - or less set up time. She doesn’t need to play a bunch of upgrades, and she has ample access to flexible damage, threat removal, and status cards (namely confuse). Those confuses will be instrumental in constantly going alter-ego to be mega-rich. But we’ll get to that.
Identity Card: Hero Form Interrupt
Let’s move on to Psylocke’s hero ability, “Psi-Energy Control”. It’s an Interrupt that allows Psylocke to flip one of her Psi-Knives or Katanas when she uses a basic power.
This isn’t adding pure power. What it adds is flexibility and versatility to what she already has. Remember the comparison to Spectrum and Phoenix? Or have you ever played Shadowcat and struggled to end the turn in Phased? Psylocke doesn’t have any issues in changing her setup cards to whatever side she wants them to be.
It’s very, very generous.
When you spend the resource generators on Psi-Knife or Katana, you can flip them. And now, with this hero ability, you can flip them when you use any of your hero’s stats, THW, ATK or DEF. What this really means is that you will generally have a minimum of 3 ways to flip your upgrades per turn. More if you can ready Psylocke.
You could start with two Psi-Knives at the beginning of the turn, at 3 THW, then pivot to 3 ATK, and then still end at 2 THW/2 ATK. Or any other combination. No matter where you start, you can get where you want and then some.
Now, many of her events do incentivize having one of each - one Psi-Knife and one Psi-Katana - but even if you really want to stick with 3 THW, it’s a simple matter of spending at least one of your Psi-Knives’ resources on said event, choosing to flip one, and then using your hero ability to flip one back when you do go to make a basic thwart.
Now, with multiple events it could become trickier, and surely either her obligation and/or nemesis set will interrupt things, but honestly? Overall, on the vast majority of turns, it’s going to be extremely easy.
Identity Card: Alter-Ego Action
Much like how Psylocke will want to constantly go alter-ego for an extra two cards, let’s return to her alter-ego side and look at her second ability there. It’s an action where you exhaust one of your Psi-Knives or Psi-Katanas, and in turn can shuffle a psionic card from your discard pile into your deck.
In essence, you are spending 1 resource to shuffle a card back into your deck. This might seem like a bad deal, however, given her small hand size in hero form? There are going to be times where you might just have too many resources and not enough cards to spend them on.
There are also some cards that punch above their weight. Remember her Psionic trait? She can use Cerebro. To cut a long story short, you can use this alter-ego ability to shuffle Professor X back into your deck and then use Cerebro to immediately find and play him. And he is very good.
This is reminiscent of Domino. Now, if you’re in a 2-player game, all you need to do is do this and play Professor X every single turn to guarantee you can block the villain’s activation for both you and the other player on Every. Single. Turn. And thwart for 3.
Karma, in Protection, will also be another great use of this trick. If a minion pops up without the elite trait, you can effectively guarantee getting Karma at the right time to control it. This is potentially very high value.
So, Psylocke here might be X-Force, but she will still love X-Men allies. Especially the Psionic ones.
Generally, I believe these allies out-value her own hero cards, but in their absence her cards - or even the aspect psionic cards - are still great targets. I imagine Yondu voltron decks will love shuffling Psychic Kicker back into their own deck for silly value. And we are likely getting more psionic cards here - even Cable’s precon comes with two new psionic allies.
All in all, this ability is a great resource sink and actually has credible combo potential. To conclude, her setup ability makes her powerful and her hero ability and other alter-ego ability make her consistent. It’s going to be difficult to have a bad turn - and that’s one heck of a positive.
Events
First things first, her events all have the Psionic trait. This makes most of them ideal candidates for Team-Building Exercise and new resource card The Power of the Mind - a double resource for psionic cards. And as alluded to earlier, each does different things depending on which side your Psi-Weapons are on.
Flurry of Blades
A 3-cost attack event that is a hero action. Deal 2 damage to an enemy. For each Psi-Knife, choose an enemy and confuse it. For each Psi-Katana, choose an enemy and deal 2 damage.
While a little costly, it’s the perfect target for Team-Building Exercise and her resource generators or Power of the Mind. And it’s very flexible. You can put 2 damage on three different enemies, 6 damage on one, or 4 damage on perhaps a minion and then confuse the villain. This is Black Widow’s Dance of Death but with the ability to confuse and easier to pay for.
Mental Detection
A 2-cost thwart event that is a hero action. Remove 1 threat from a scheme. For each Psi-Knife, remove 2 more. For each Psi-Katana you control, draw 1 card.
This is really either 1 threat removal and 2 cards drawn, 5 threat removal, or 3 threat threat removal and 1 card drawn. The first one is good if you have too many resources or are fishing for an important upgrade, but otherwise is the worst option in my opinion given the value of thwarting. The other two options are both amazing. A block of 5 threat removal can be too much in solo play - but is great in multiplayer and still useful in case a big side scheme or Masterplan shows up. It’s For Justice with +1. And then 3 threat removal and 1 card draw is super flexible and can be compared somewhat to Cyclops’s Tactical Brilliance.
Nice.
Psionic Redirect
One of the rare 2-cost defense cards in the game. It’s a Hero Interrupt that says, when you would take any amount of damage from an enemy attack, prevent 2. For each Psi-Katana, prevent an additional 2. For each Psi-Knife you control, confuse that enemy.
This is the card that is going to encourage you to end your turn with one Knife and one Katana, at a 2/2/2 statline. Because the confuse is easily the most valuable part of it and, if you can confuse the enemy, it’s generally very worthwhile. The timing here is particularly interesting and, in multiplayer, is really going to help you chain confuses together when multiple people are alter-ego.
Unfortunately, this is the card which doesn’t work with Team-Building Exercise since it’s an Interrupt.
Overall, this is a good card if you can get the Confuse and benefit from it. But otherwise too expensive - you might as well have just played a 2-cost ally, used it, and blocked. Shield Block, Back Flip, Quick Shift, and honestly most hero defense cards outclass this when used purely to avoid damage.
Upgrades
Next up we have the two regular upgrades previewed. Both work similarly in that they offer a passive benefit while in play, but can be cashed in for a one-time effect which then discards them. They are, in some ways, reminiscent to Miles Morales’ Power Within/Defense Mechanism cards with passives.
Psionic Training
Psionic Training is the first card and, in most decks, better of the two upgrades. It’s 1-cost and its passive ability is that it allows Psylocke to ignore the guard and patrol keywords. These are situational, usually you will want to simply defeat the minions, but it has some value in certain scenarios and perhaps if you enjoy rush decks.
However, it’s Psionic Training’s activated ability which makes it so good. It has a hero response where, if Psylocke thwarts, you can discard Psionic Training to confuse an enemy. A 1-cost confuse is good. A 1-cost confuse that sits on the board for when you need it while giving you a passive benefit? Amazing.
Weapons Training
Next we have Weapons Training. It’s a 2-cost upgrade that gives you 1 retaliate while it’s in play. Unfortunately, that’s very expensive for little impact, especially when you consider that she’s encouraged to often go alter-ego and thus not be attacked.
Its activated ability, however, is decent. It’s a hero response again that says after Psylocke attacks, discard Weapons Training and ready each Weapon upgrade you control. What this really means is that you can ready up your Psi-Knives and/or Psi-Katanas. The problem is, you spend 3 effective resources (2-cost + the card itself) on playing Weapons Training in the first place, so to justify it you really need to have gotten good damage from the Retaliate - right?
There are other benefits here. You could have other weapons, but given how Psi-Katana has the restricted keyword, you better bring Side Holster. This gives Hand Cannon or Godslayer a lot of potential burst damage. Or you could use it in Justice and convert Sonic Rifle into burst damage as well. But, generally, I think you’ll save Weapons Training until you have an incredibly valuable hand, then cash it in for one big turn of awesome.
But I also think you’ll generally just prioritize other cards over it for the most part, unless you draw a poor hand.
Signature Ally: Angel
Your signature ally is Angel - he’s 3-cost and has the Aerial and X-Force traits. His statline? 1 THW, 2 ATK, 3 hp. If this was where he stopped, he’d be one of the worst signature allies. Fortunately, he has a great ability: “After you play Angel from your hand, ready your identity”.
Psylocke naturally has big stats, able to attack for 3 or thwart for 3 no matter her aspect. And so she loves readies. Combine this with any stat boosts and it’s even better for value. Med Lab, Chance Encounter and Regroup are his friends.
While not game-changing or mind-blowing, he’s very good and very flexible.
Team-Up Card
The one benefit of waiting to write about Psylocke is that now we have Angel’s preview, and Angel’s preview reveals that they have a team-up card. Is it good? In multiplayer, it’s decent. In solo, for Psylocke, it’s alright. If Psylocke and Angel are in play, it readies both of them and lets you search your discard pile for an identity-specific event.
Readying Psylocke alone is pretty good and tutoring (searching for) an event is great. But with the additional hoop to jump through of having to have Angel in play to use it, I don’t know if good really cuts it. I think, if you focus on boosting your stats, it’s most valuable. And as a psionic card, you can use your alter-ego ability to shuffle it back into your deck.
Psylocke - Basic Cards + Resources
Now that we’ve finished looking at her cards, let’s talk about how a real deck will look with Psylocke.
First and foremost, I think she’s likely going to want 1-2 Team-Building Exercises in most of her decks. With Psionic or X-Force on all but two of the cards revealed, it’s going to be a good cheap resource generator.
However, it does conflict somewhat with her Psi-Knives or Katanas and new resource card The Power of the Mind. In hero form, with only four cards, there is only so much to pay for. Now, with the weapons, you start with two resources. If one of the cards you draw is a double resource, now you have 4 resources and 3 cards left. If two of them are resource cards, now you have 6 resources to pay for 2 cards and are likely going to waste 1-3 resources here. With Team-Building Exercise, you’re wasting even more.
Do you run either Team-Building Exercise or two of the Power Of cards, neither, or can you run them together, then? For that, I think the answer varies based on how you build the rest of your deck. She won’t particularly like or want 0-cost cards for the most part, in my opinion. And she will especially value card draw to find targets for all her resources. If you bring mostly 2+ cost cards and include card draw, especially Cerebro, I believe you could bring a combination - but it’s going to be something you have to review for every deck.
Even on its own, the Power of the Mind is good for her. There’s a reason she comes with it and all her events are at least 2-cost! The fact that this can pay for Psionic allies is huge. We already talked about Professor X and Karma earlier, but we also have allies like Marvel Girl, Caliban, and Fantomex. Cerebro helps guarantee it has a target too.
It’s surely due to the likelihood of resource overload that her precon contains new card Telepathy. Telepathy is a 1-cost upgrade with the Psionic and Superpower traits, that you can only play if you have the Psionic trait. What does it do? It’s a hero action (thwart) that makes you exhaust it and pay two mental resources to remove 2 threat.
2 mental resources for 2 threat removal? On top of the 2 effective resources to play it? Yikes. I think you’ll generally be better off with something like Starhawk, Machine Man, Med Lab, or Jarnbjorn. But Telepathy is an option that exists.
Lastly, while Deft Focus is off the table, X-Gene is solidly on the table. She can use it as a Mutant and it works for her events which her hero ability allows her to cycle back in.
Psylocke - Aspects and Archetypes
So what aspect will Psylocke like and how shall we build her in them? In all honesty, I think she’s going to be great in every aspect in different ways. But one stands out over the others.
The Psionic aspect cards also go without saying as interesting choices for her. But I don’t see any of them particularly synergizing with her hero kit. Aggression’s Psychic Assault confuses the villain, but she is already dripping with confuses. Justice’s Psychic Manipulation can halt a villain from scheming, but she is - you guessed it - already dripping with confuses. Protection’s Psychic Misdirection is a fun card and great for multiplayer, but with all those confuses? She wants to go alter-ego a lot, and so will miss a lot of opportunities for it - though it will combo well with a new Protection card from Angel called Taunt.
This leaves Psychic Kicker which I mentioned before. The problem is, as a 0-cost card, it’s not inherently desirable for all her resource generators. But, with the right targets, is likely still going to make it excellent.
To go through each aspect in detail, Leadership is Leadership. It’s always good. It also has a lot of combos, and her being so rich is going to mean she can pull them off better than most heroes. Make the Call is already an S-tier card, but considering it solves all her excess resource problems, is just so incredibly good for her. Cerebro and the ability to shuffle Psionic allies back into your deck is also going to let you push the few Psionic allies and X-Men you have even further. The classic Command Team + Professor X only gets better here.
In Protection, she has all those readies and Karma as talked about. And she has Starhawk who she can always afford to replay. Is Jocasta worth it for her defense event? Honestly, probably. And she might also like Black Widow since she’ll basically always have a mental resource ready.
Outside of the allies and readies, I don’t see anything mindblowing for her - Repurpose will work well, maybe even Leading Blow, but not a lot else screams with synergy for her. With 2 DEF and wanting to go alter-ego, “Perfect Defense” builds won’t be her thing.
In Aggression, we can boost her ATK higher. We can also use those sweet physical resources generated from her Psi-Katanas for cards like Drop Kick and Jarnbjorn. Any readies we can find here, she will love them. She also has the potential in multiplayer (where it’s most valuable) to use X-Men Instruction to shuffle Sunfire back into her deck and then tutor him with Cerebro for a good time. Cerebro in general means Boot Camp is in for a good time.
Sadly, since she really wants to spend her weapons, I don’t think toys like Fusillade or Mean Swing will be much good. Running other weapons with Side Holster, as mentioned, might be okay but I don’t think it will be the smoothest way to run her.
And then we have Justice. Justice, if you hadn’t already guessed, is likely going to be her best aspect - at least in solo play. Because she comes with a little card called Float Like a Butterfly. This is a new card for 2-cost, is an upgrade, and max 1 per player. It has an Interrupt which says when a character you control attacks a confused enemy, increase the amount of damage that attack deals to that enemy by 1.
Did I mention already that she brings a lot of confuses? Justice happens to bring plenty too. And this Float Like a Butterfly card? It’s boosting your allies’ damage, your events’ damage, and Psylocke’s ATK damage too. It’s like Boot Camp, Combat Training and Honed Technique had a child that grew up to be a Justice card.
Now, while you will primarily get damage on the villain with this on not minions, damaging the villain is how you win games. And this is going to add a lot of damage. Remember Flurry of Blades? That just became 9 damage on the villain. And, while this might seem solo-oriented, you can play a copy on other players. Throw one onto your Aggression and Leadership player for a very good time.
This is all before considering that, as a 3 THW hero, she’s just a really good threat remover. Nice.
Conclusion:
Overall, Psylocke has almost everything going for her. Money, good events, good traits, and good aspect synergy. The only big flaws that I can see come from a small hero hand size and a slight weakness to Stalwart villains.
Damage? She has it. Not tons of it, but a solid amount and it’s flexible. Threat removal? She has a good bit more than average. 3 THW will see to that alone, but she also has a good thwart card and can cycle it back into her deck on demand.
As for survival, her defense card is pretty good and - with all that confuse - she’ll be able to dodge a lot of villain activations and use her REC if necessary with great freedom. And her economy is absolutely solid - she has more resources than most heroes, is a great user of some of the best resource generators in the game, and has a Power Of card tailor-made for her.
So. Where do I think she falls against the other 46 heroes we’ll have by the time she releases?
Let’s first break down all her strengths and weaknesses we’ve covered~
Strengths:
However, I will say that I think Psylocke might be the weakest of the four X-Force heroes. Which is crazy given the upsides of her resources and stats. But, to grossly simplify it, she has less powerful events than Cable, less combos than Domino, and less damage and survivability than Angel.
Including the other X-Force characters? Out of 47 heroes, I’m more specifically predicting she could fall anywhere between 11th and 17th. That’s as precise as I can be without seeing all the X-Force support and all of her hero kit - and, you know, actually playing her!
We might well get more psionic cards too which could make a big difference.
I do think she’s strong, stronger than say Ant-Man, Nova, and Spectrum - but it’s stiff competition to outperform, say, Storm, Gamora, or Captain Marvel as just a few examples. Gamora? Maybe. The others? I'm not convinced yet. And I bet most people reading this would all put those characters into very different orders and power ratings to each other! The top 10 heroes in particular are already hotly contested and extremely competitive - with the other new heroes included, I don’t quite think Psylocke makes it while Cable, Domino and Angel all have a great shot.
But 11-17 out of 47 heroes is still amazing and very, very strong.
In terms of fun, I think she looks great and is probably going to be the most enjoyable of all the psionic characters to play. She’ll have fun sequencing puzzles, interesting events you’ll want to think about and are satisfying, as well as good combos you can pull off.
To compare her to other heroes, she has shades of Shadowcat without a defensive focus (her setup card also has a resource generator and she requires sequencing), SP//dr with a stronger start but less room to grow, and Phoenix with her huge stats and psionic/mutant shenanigans. I think, like She-Hulk and Colossus too, she’ll be very heavily rewarded - largely in hand size - to keep on flipping alter-ego and in doing so resemble them slightly with big power spikes depending on what form you begin your turn in.
If you like all those heroes, you will probably like her. If you dislike one or two of them, I think you’ll still enjoy her as I think she takes the best parts of many. But if you somehow dislike all of them? You’re probably not going to enjoy Psylocke.
Personally? I'm super excited to play her!
And that about does it! Do you like Psylocke? Did I miss anything? Do your predictions fall close to mine or am I way off the mark? And whatever the case may be, thanks for reading!
submitted by VillainTheory to marvelchampionslcg [link] [comments]
Disclaimer: The character isn’t out yet! This is all in theory and done for fun.
So, Psylocke was revealed a few weeks ago now and to absolutely no one’s surprise she’s psionic. Phoenix has company! But is she any good? (Spoiler alert: yes!)
Let’s take a deeper look and see just what she can do~
Identity Card: The Simple Things
First things first: Psylocke is her identity card. That is to say, everything that is good about her starts here in a big way and there is a LOT to unpack. So we’ll start with just the simplest parts of it.
She has the Mutant and Psionic traits in alter-ego as Betsy Braddock, and the Psionic and X-Force traits in hero form. This is a mirror of Phoenix’s traits, with X-Men swapped for X-Force. And like Phoenix, she is the only other character now to begin the scenario with the Psionic trait (as close as Cable may be).
She has the standard 6 hand size in alter-ego, 10 hp and 3 REC. This is all very vanilla. But that’s where the vanilla ends. In hero form, she has 1 THW, 1 ATK and 2 DEF like Nova and Adam Warlock along with a hand size of 4. Now, I wouldn’t blame you if you had alarm bells going off at this point - but fortunately, she has many redeeming factors just like the aforementioned characters.
Still, despite all the positive qualities I’ll soon cover here, it’s worth remembering throughout that her hand size of 4 is a notable downside - perhaps her biggest one. She effectively has 20% less cards per turn starting in hero form than most other heroes. This means 20% less resources from your hand, but also 20% less options. And that matters a lot.
But on that note, we should really talk about the abilities on her identity card.
Identity Card: Setup
We should begin with her first alter-ego ability. She has a Setup ability called Psionic Manifestation where you have to put your two Psi-Energy upgrades into play, “Psi-Knife side faceup”. What does this mean?
It means you put two identical copies of your Psi-Knife card into play. This is a two-sided card and is immensely powerful. They have the Psi-Energy and Weapon traits on both sides, and are Permanent on both sides.
On one side, the card is of course a Psi-Knife. On this side, the cards give you +1 THW and you can exhaust them as a Hero Resource to generate a mental resource. And when you generate a resource with it? You may flip Psi-Knife to its other side.
And on its other side, it’s Psi-Katana. Same traits, same permanent, but now it’s restricted? Kinda weird. But each gives Psylocke +1 ATK and can be exhausted to generate a physical resource instead (and may be flipped back to its Psi-Knife side). Note that it doesn’t ready when flipped, so each one is generally only generating one resource per turn.
That was a lot of numbers and traits and keywords. In short, what this really means is that Psylocke can bounce between having 1, 2 or 3 THW, and 1, 2 or 3 ATK. And that she starts with two resource generators in play from the very beginning of the game.
This is very, very good. Here’s some comparisons.
Look at Phoenix or Spectrum and imagine if they could change between 3 THW and 3 ATK at will. Because Psylocke can.
Do you like SP//dr? Imagine if she started with +1 handsize and +1 Interface upgrade in play. Because that’s how Psylocke starts.
Alternatively, think of any hero. Would you trade 1 hero hand size to start the game with 3 THW, 3 ATK, and 2x Quincarrier in play? Because that’s basically what Psylocke has done.
This is all a long way of saying that Psylocke, despite her hero hand size, will still have 6 resources (1 per card, 1 per Psi-Knife/Katana) every turn she starts a turn in hero form. This is equivalent to Spider-Man Peter Parker or Venom without having to take damage to generate a resource.
And, if she starts the turn in alter-ego, 8 resources - this is Black Panther with Golden City or Captain Marvel with Alpha Flight Station.
She got money.
The downside compared to these heroes all comes back to her hand size. She is generating resources instead of drawing cards, and so while “rich”, she won’t have the plethora of options in hand and ability to quickly find key upgrades in the same way they do.
Fortunately, Psylocke generally has better hero cards than all of those named - or less set up time. She doesn’t need to play a bunch of upgrades, and she has ample access to flexible damage, threat removal, and status cards (namely confuse). Those confuses will be instrumental in constantly going alter-ego to be mega-rich. But we’ll get to that.
Identity Card: Hero Form Interrupt
Let’s move on to Psylocke’s hero ability, “Psi-Energy Control”. It’s an Interrupt that allows Psylocke to flip one of her Psi-Knives or Katanas when she uses a basic power.
This isn’t adding pure power. What it adds is flexibility and versatility to what she already has. Remember the comparison to Spectrum and Phoenix? Or have you ever played Shadowcat and struggled to end the turn in Phased? Psylocke doesn’t have any issues in changing her setup cards to whatever side she wants them to be.
It’s very, very generous.
When you spend the resource generators on Psi-Knife or Katana, you can flip them. And now, with this hero ability, you can flip them when you use any of your hero’s stats, THW, ATK or DEF. What this really means is that you will generally have a minimum of 3 ways to flip your upgrades per turn. More if you can ready Psylocke.
You could start with two Psi-Knives at the beginning of the turn, at 3 THW, then pivot to 3 ATK, and then still end at 2 THW/2 ATK. Or any other combination. No matter where you start, you can get where you want and then some.
Now, many of her events do incentivize having one of each - one Psi-Knife and one Psi-Katana - but even if you really want to stick with 3 THW, it’s a simple matter of spending at least one of your Psi-Knives’ resources on said event, choosing to flip one, and then using your hero ability to flip one back when you do go to make a basic thwart.
Now, with multiple events it could become trickier, and surely either her obligation and/or nemesis set will interrupt things, but honestly? Overall, on the vast majority of turns, it’s going to be extremely easy.
Identity Card: Alter-Ego Action
Much like how Psylocke will want to constantly go alter-ego for an extra two cards, let’s return to her alter-ego side and look at her second ability there. It’s an action where you exhaust one of your Psi-Knives or Psi-Katanas, and in turn can shuffle a psionic card from your discard pile into your deck.
In essence, you are spending 1 resource to shuffle a card back into your deck. This might seem like a bad deal, however, given her small hand size in hero form? There are going to be times where you might just have too many resources and not enough cards to spend them on.
There are also some cards that punch above their weight. Remember her Psionic trait? She can use Cerebro. To cut a long story short, you can use this alter-ego ability to shuffle Professor X back into your deck and then use Cerebro to immediately find and play him. And he is very good.
This is reminiscent of Domino. Now, if you’re in a 2-player game, all you need to do is do this and play Professor X every single turn to guarantee you can block the villain’s activation for both you and the other player on Every. Single. Turn. And thwart for 3.
Karma, in Protection, will also be another great use of this trick. If a minion pops up without the elite trait, you can effectively guarantee getting Karma at the right time to control it. This is potentially very high value.
So, Psylocke here might be X-Force, but she will still love X-Men allies. Especially the Psionic ones.
Generally, I believe these allies out-value her own hero cards, but in their absence her cards - or even the aspect psionic cards - are still great targets. I imagine Yondu voltron decks will love shuffling Psychic Kicker back into their own deck for silly value. And we are likely getting more psionic cards here - even Cable’s precon comes with two new psionic allies.
All in all, this ability is a great resource sink and actually has credible combo potential. To conclude, her setup ability makes her powerful and her hero ability and other alter-ego ability make her consistent. It’s going to be difficult to have a bad turn - and that’s one heck of a positive.
Events
First things first, her events all have the Psionic trait. This makes most of them ideal candidates for Team-Building Exercise and new resource card The Power of the Mind - a double resource for psionic cards. And as alluded to earlier, each does different things depending on which side your Psi-Weapons are on.
Flurry of Blades
A 3-cost attack event that is a hero action. Deal 2 damage to an enemy. For each Psi-Knife, choose an enemy and confuse it. For each Psi-Katana, choose an enemy and deal 2 damage.
While a little costly, it’s the perfect target for Team-Building Exercise and her resource generators or Power of the Mind. And it’s very flexible. You can put 2 damage on three different enemies, 6 damage on one, or 4 damage on perhaps a minion and then confuse the villain. This is Black Widow’s Dance of Death but with the ability to confuse and easier to pay for.
Mental Detection
A 2-cost thwart event that is a hero action. Remove 1 threat from a scheme. For each Psi-Knife, remove 2 more. For each Psi-Katana you control, draw 1 card.
This is really either 1 threat removal and 2 cards drawn, 5 threat removal, or 3 threat threat removal and 1 card drawn. The first one is good if you have too many resources or are fishing for an important upgrade, but otherwise is the worst option in my opinion given the value of thwarting. The other two options are both amazing. A block of 5 threat removal can be too much in solo play - but is great in multiplayer and still useful in case a big side scheme or Masterplan shows up. It’s For Justice with +1. And then 3 threat removal and 1 card draw is super flexible and can be compared somewhat to Cyclops’s Tactical Brilliance.
Nice.
Psionic Redirect
One of the rare 2-cost defense cards in the game. It’s a Hero Interrupt that says, when you would take any amount of damage from an enemy attack, prevent 2. For each Psi-Katana, prevent an additional 2. For each Psi-Knife you control, confuse that enemy.
This is the card that is going to encourage you to end your turn with one Knife and one Katana, at a 2/2/2 statline. Because the confuse is easily the most valuable part of it and, if you can confuse the enemy, it’s generally very worthwhile. The timing here is particularly interesting and, in multiplayer, is really going to help you chain confuses together when multiple people are alter-ego.
Unfortunately, this is the card which doesn’t work with Team-Building Exercise since it’s an Interrupt.
Overall, this is a good card if you can get the Confuse and benefit from it. But otherwise too expensive - you might as well have just played a 2-cost ally, used it, and blocked. Shield Block, Back Flip, Quick Shift, and honestly most hero defense cards outclass this when used purely to avoid damage.
Upgrades
Next up we have the two regular upgrades previewed. Both work similarly in that they offer a passive benefit while in play, but can be cashed in for a one-time effect which then discards them. They are, in some ways, reminiscent to Miles Morales’ Power Within/Defense Mechanism cards with passives.
Psionic Training
Psionic Training is the first card and, in most decks, better of the two upgrades. It’s 1-cost and its passive ability is that it allows Psylocke to ignore the guard and patrol keywords. These are situational, usually you will want to simply defeat the minions, but it has some value in certain scenarios and perhaps if you enjoy rush decks.
However, it’s Psionic Training’s activated ability which makes it so good. It has a hero response where, if Psylocke thwarts, you can discard Psionic Training to confuse an enemy. A 1-cost confuse is good. A 1-cost confuse that sits on the board for when you need it while giving you a passive benefit? Amazing.
Weapons Training
Next we have Weapons Training. It’s a 2-cost upgrade that gives you 1 retaliate while it’s in play. Unfortunately, that’s very expensive for little impact, especially when you consider that she’s encouraged to often go alter-ego and thus not be attacked.
Its activated ability, however, is decent. It’s a hero response again that says after Psylocke attacks, discard Weapons Training and ready each Weapon upgrade you control. What this really means is that you can ready up your Psi-Knives and/or Psi-Katanas. The problem is, you spend 3 effective resources (2-cost + the card itself) on playing Weapons Training in the first place, so to justify it you really need to have gotten good damage from the Retaliate - right?
There are other benefits here. You could have other weapons, but given how Psi-Katana has the restricted keyword, you better bring Side Holster. This gives Hand Cannon or Godslayer a lot of potential burst damage. Or you could use it in Justice and convert Sonic Rifle into burst damage as well. But, generally, I think you’ll save Weapons Training until you have an incredibly valuable hand, then cash it in for one big turn of awesome.
But I also think you’ll generally just prioritize other cards over it for the most part, unless you draw a poor hand.
Signature Ally: Angel
Your signature ally is Angel - he’s 3-cost and has the Aerial and X-Force traits. His statline? 1 THW, 2 ATK, 3 hp. If this was where he stopped, he’d be one of the worst signature allies. Fortunately, he has a great ability: “After you play Angel from your hand, ready your identity”.
Psylocke naturally has big stats, able to attack for 3 or thwart for 3 no matter her aspect. And so she loves readies. Combine this with any stat boosts and it’s even better for value. Med Lab, Chance Encounter and Regroup are his friends.
While not game-changing or mind-blowing, he’s very good and very flexible.
Team-Up Card
The one benefit of waiting to write about Psylocke is that now we have Angel’s preview, and Angel’s preview reveals that they have a team-up card. Is it good? In multiplayer, it’s decent. In solo, for Psylocke, it’s alright. If Psylocke and Angel are in play, it readies both of them and lets you search your discard pile for an identity-specific event.
Readying Psylocke alone is pretty good and tutoring (searching for) an event is great. But with the additional hoop to jump through of having to have Angel in play to use it, I don’t know if good really cuts it. I think, if you focus on boosting your stats, it’s most valuable. And as a psionic card, you can use your alter-ego ability to shuffle it back into your deck.
Psylocke - Basic Cards + Resources
Now that we’ve finished looking at her cards, let’s talk about how a real deck will look with Psylocke.
First and foremost, I think she’s likely going to want 1-2 Team-Building Exercises in most of her decks. With Psionic or X-Force on all but two of the cards revealed, it’s going to be a good cheap resource generator.
However, it does conflict somewhat with her Psi-Knives or Katanas and new resource card The Power of the Mind. In hero form, with only four cards, there is only so much to pay for. Now, with the weapons, you start with two resources. If one of the cards you draw is a double resource, now you have 4 resources and 3 cards left. If two of them are resource cards, now you have 6 resources to pay for 2 cards and are likely going to waste 1-3 resources here. With Team-Building Exercise, you’re wasting even more.
Do you run either Team-Building Exercise or two of the Power Of cards, neither, or can you run them together, then? For that, I think the answer varies based on how you build the rest of your deck. She won’t particularly like or want 0-cost cards for the most part, in my opinion. And she will especially value card draw to find targets for all her resources. If you bring mostly 2+ cost cards and include card draw, especially Cerebro, I believe you could bring a combination - but it’s going to be something you have to review for every deck.
Even on its own, the Power of the Mind is good for her. There’s a reason she comes with it and all her events are at least 2-cost! The fact that this can pay for Psionic allies is huge. We already talked about Professor X and Karma earlier, but we also have allies like Marvel Girl, Caliban, and Fantomex. Cerebro helps guarantee it has a target too.
It’s surely due to the likelihood of resource overload that her precon contains new card Telepathy. Telepathy is a 1-cost upgrade with the Psionic and Superpower traits, that you can only play if you have the Psionic trait. What does it do? It’s a hero action (thwart) that makes you exhaust it and pay two mental resources to remove 2 threat.
2 mental resources for 2 threat removal? On top of the 2 effective resources to play it? Yikes. I think you’ll generally be better off with something like Starhawk, Machine Man, Med Lab, or Jarnbjorn. But Telepathy is an option that exists.
Lastly, while Deft Focus is off the table, X-Gene is solidly on the table. She can use it as a Mutant and it works for her events which her hero ability allows her to cycle back in.
Psylocke - Aspects and Archetypes
So what aspect will Psylocke like and how shall we build her in them? In all honesty, I think she’s going to be great in every aspect in different ways. But one stands out over the others.
The Psionic aspect cards also go without saying as interesting choices for her. But I don’t see any of them particularly synergizing with her hero kit. Aggression’s Psychic Assault confuses the villain, but she is already dripping with confuses. Justice’s Psychic Manipulation can halt a villain from scheming, but she is - you guessed it - already dripping with confuses. Protection’s Psychic Misdirection is a fun card and great for multiplayer, but with all those confuses? She wants to go alter-ego a lot, and so will miss a lot of opportunities for it - though it will combo well with a new Protection card from Angel called Taunt.
This leaves Psychic Kicker which I mentioned before. The problem is, as a 0-cost card, it’s not inherently desirable for all her resource generators. But, with the right targets, is likely still going to make it excellent.
To go through each aspect in detail, Leadership is Leadership. It’s always good. It also has a lot of combos, and her being so rich is going to mean she can pull them off better than most heroes. Make the Call is already an S-tier card, but considering it solves all her excess resource problems, is just so incredibly good for her. Cerebro and the ability to shuffle Psionic allies back into your deck is also going to let you push the few Psionic allies and X-Men you have even further. The classic Command Team + Professor X only gets better here.
In Protection, she has all those readies and Karma as talked about. And she has Starhawk who she can always afford to replay. Is Jocasta worth it for her defense event? Honestly, probably. And she might also like Black Widow since she’ll basically always have a mental resource ready.
Outside of the allies and readies, I don’t see anything mindblowing for her - Repurpose will work well, maybe even Leading Blow, but not a lot else screams with synergy for her. With 2 DEF and wanting to go alter-ego, “Perfect Defense” builds won’t be her thing.
In Aggression, we can boost her ATK higher. We can also use those sweet physical resources generated from her Psi-Katanas for cards like Drop Kick and Jarnbjorn. Any readies we can find here, she will love them. She also has the potential in multiplayer (where it’s most valuable) to use X-Men Instruction to shuffle Sunfire back into her deck and then tutor him with Cerebro for a good time. Cerebro in general means Boot Camp is in for a good time.
Sadly, since she really wants to spend her weapons, I don’t think toys like Fusillade or Mean Swing will be much good. Running other weapons with Side Holster, as mentioned, might be okay but I don’t think it will be the smoothest way to run her.
And then we have Justice. Justice, if you hadn’t already guessed, is likely going to be her best aspect - at least in solo play. Because she comes with a little card called Float Like a Butterfly. This is a new card for 2-cost, is an upgrade, and max 1 per player. It has an Interrupt which says when a character you control attacks a confused enemy, increase the amount of damage that attack deals to that enemy by 1.
Did I mention already that she brings a lot of confuses? Justice happens to bring plenty too. And this Float Like a Butterfly card? It’s boosting your allies’ damage, your events’ damage, and Psylocke’s ATK damage too. It’s like Boot Camp, Combat Training and Honed Technique had a child that grew up to be a Justice card.
Now, while you will primarily get damage on the villain with this on not minions, damaging the villain is how you win games. And this is going to add a lot of damage. Remember Flurry of Blades? That just became 9 damage on the villain. And, while this might seem solo-oriented, you can play a copy on other players. Throw one onto your Aggression and Leadership player for a very good time.
This is all before considering that, as a 3 THW hero, she’s just a really good threat remover. Nice.
Conclusion:
Overall, Psylocke has almost everything going for her. Money, good events, good traits, and good aspect synergy. The only big flaws that I can see come from a small hero hand size and a slight weakness to Stalwart villains.
Damage? She has it. Not tons of it, but a solid amount and it’s flexible. Threat removal? She has a good bit more than average. 3 THW will see to that alone, but she also has a good thwart card and can cycle it back into her deck on demand.
As for survival, her defense card is pretty good and - with all that confuse - she’ll be able to dodge a lot of villain activations and use her REC if necessary with great freedom. And her economy is absolutely solid - she has more resources than most heroes, is a great user of some of the best resource generators in the game, and has a Power Of card tailor-made for her.
So. Where do I think she falls against the other 46 heroes we’ll have by the time she releases?
Let’s first break down all her strengths and weaknesses we’ve covered~
Strengths:
- Consistently high damage (3 ATK)
- Consistent threat removal (3 THW)
- Resource rich
- Low set up
- Lots of confuses
- Versatile events
- Works well with some of the best resource generators
- Psionic & Mutant traited
- Small hero hand size
- High-ish risk of resource overload
- Events need to confuse to get full value
However, I will say that I think Psylocke might be the weakest of the four X-Force heroes. Which is crazy given the upsides of her resources and stats. But, to grossly simplify it, she has less powerful events than Cable, less combos than Domino, and less damage and survivability than Angel.
Including the other X-Force characters? Out of 47 heroes, I’m more specifically predicting she could fall anywhere between 11th and 17th. That’s as precise as I can be without seeing all the X-Force support and all of her hero kit - and, you know, actually playing her!
We might well get more psionic cards too which could make a big difference.
I do think she’s strong, stronger than say Ant-Man, Nova, and Spectrum - but it’s stiff competition to outperform, say, Storm, Gamora, or Captain Marvel as just a few examples. Gamora? Maybe. The others? I'm not convinced yet. And I bet most people reading this would all put those characters into very different orders and power ratings to each other! The top 10 heroes in particular are already hotly contested and extremely competitive - with the other new heroes included, I don’t quite think Psylocke makes it while Cable, Domino and Angel all have a great shot.
But 11-17 out of 47 heroes is still amazing and very, very strong.
In terms of fun, I think she looks great and is probably going to be the most enjoyable of all the psionic characters to play. She’ll have fun sequencing puzzles, interesting events you’ll want to think about and are satisfying, as well as good combos you can pull off.
To compare her to other heroes, she has shades of Shadowcat without a defensive focus (her setup card also has a resource generator and she requires sequencing), SP//dr with a stronger start but less room to grow, and Phoenix with her huge stats and psionic/mutant shenanigans. I think, like She-Hulk and Colossus too, she’ll be very heavily rewarded - largely in hand size - to keep on flipping alter-ego and in doing so resemble them slightly with big power spikes depending on what form you begin your turn in.
If you like all those heroes, you will probably like her. If you dislike one or two of them, I think you’ll still enjoy her as I think she takes the best parts of many. But if you somehow dislike all of them? You’re probably not going to enjoy Psylocke.
Personally? I'm super excited to play her!
And that about does it! Do you like Psylocke? Did I miss anything? Do your predictions fall close to mine or am I way off the mark? And whatever the case may be, thanks for reading!
2023.05.29 20:07 North_Banana5650 2016 Dodge Dart bushing
My car has a recall but the part is on back order. I figured out in the mean time to tape it down so i can shift gears but pops off again. I was looking at places like auto zone and not sure what kind of bushing to get. Can anyone tell or help me figure out what kind to get? I looked at videos and it doesnt look hard to put a new bushing on:
Shifter Cable bushing
2016 dodge dart sxt 2.4
submitted by North_Banana5650 to autorepair [link] [comments]
Shifter Cable bushing
2016 dodge dart sxt 2.4
2023.05.29 18:45 North_Banana5650 2016 Dodge Dart sxt shifter bushing
I know there is a recall for the shifter cable bushing. I have called dodge dealerships and either no part in stock or they dont call back
Can anyone tell me exactly what kind of bushing to get for this specific vehicle at either autozone ect. I have been reattaching it and put tape on it to shift the past week but its getting annoying to do this and seems like an easy fix by the videos I have seen.
submitted by North_Banana5650 to MechanicAdvice [link] [comments]
Can anyone tell me exactly what kind of bushing to get for this specific vehicle at either autozone ect. I have been reattaching it and put tape on it to shift the past week but its getting annoying to do this and seems like an easy fix by the videos I have seen.
2023.05.29 14:23 Moist-Accountant-516 Potential added cars for Driver: San Francisco
Driver: San Francisco is one of the best open-world racing games I've played. I really appreciated its story, Shift mechanic, and car diversity, but there were unfortunately too few cars for me. I understand that Reflections didn't have a lot of time to model a lot of cars nor were they able to license from certain manufacturers, but just imagine if there were no licensing restrictions. Here's a list of cars that I think would've fit Driver SF.
I don't know if the Porsches can co-exist with RUF, but the Panamera and CGT don't have RUF equivalents.
submitted by Moist-Accountant-516 to driver [link] [comments]
2010 Acura MDX 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD 2010 Acura TSX V6 1971 AMC Javelin AMX 2011 Audi A1 1.4 TFSI 2009 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 TFSI quattro 2008 Audi A4 3.2 FSI quattro 2011 Audi A8 6.3 FSI L 2010 BMW 135i Coupé 2009 BMW 330i xDrive 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo 2008 BMW M3 Coupé 2005 BMW M5 Sedan 2010 BMW X5 xDrive50i 2008 BMW X6 xDrive50i 2010 BMW Z4 sDrive35is 2009 Buick Enclave CXL 1987 Buick GNX 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe Police 2005 Chrysler 300C SRT-8 2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 2008 Dodge Magnum SRT-8 2011 Honda Accord EX-L V6 Coupe 2009 Honda Civic Si Sedan 2009 Honda Element 2009 Honda Fit Sport 2010 Honda Insight 2008 Honda S2000 CR 2007 Hyundai Accent SE 2009 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Grand Touring Coupe 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2010 Infiniti FX50 2011 Infiniti G37 IPL Coupe 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 2008 Lexus GS 460 2008 Lexus IS F 2010 Lincoln MKZ AWD 2009 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S 2010 Mazda CX-7 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata 1995 Mazda RX-7 2009 Mazda RX-8 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 2008 Mercedes-Benz C 350 Sedan 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG 2007 Mercedes-Benz R 63 AMG 4MATIC 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR 2010 Nissan Altima 3.5SR 2008 Nissan Armada 2009 Nissan Murano LE 2010 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL Hatchback 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT 2009 Porsche 911 Turbo 2003 Porsche Carrera GT 2009 Porsche Panamera Turbo 2008 Saab 9-3 2.8T V6 Aero Convertible 2010 Saab 9-5 Aero 2012 Scion iQ 2011 Scion xB 2011 Scion tC 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5XT Premium 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STI 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan 2010 Toyota Camry XLE 2010 Toyota Corolla XRS 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser 2010 Toyota Prius 2011 Toyota Sienna XLE 1993 Toyota Supra TurboAs you can see, most of these cars are everyday USDM cars sold between the mid-2000s and 2011. I know the Audi A4 exists in the game, but I changed it to a 3.2 FSI model for it to be balanced with the Alfa 159. Let me know what you guys think of the list, and I may add more cars, but I want to be careful with the additions because I want to create a balanced extended list.
I don't know if the Porsches can co-exist with RUF, but the Panamera and CGT don't have RUF equivalents.
2023.05.29 00:40 RandomAppalachian468 Don't fly over Barron County Ohio.
The whirring blades of my MD-902 throbbed against the warm evening air, and I smiled.
From 5,000 feet, the ground flew by in a carpet of dark forests and kelly-green fields. The sun hung low on the horizon in a picturesque array of dazzling orange and gold, and I could make out the narrow strip of the Ohio River to my left, glistening in the fading daylight. This time of year, the trees would be full of the sweet aroma of fresh blossoms, and the frequent rains kept small pockets of fluffy white mist hanging in the treetops. It was a beautiful view, one that reminded me of why being a helicopter pilot trumped flying in a jumbo jet far above the clouds every day of the week.
Fourteen more days, and I’m debt free.
That made me grin even more. I’d been working as a charter pilot ever since I obtained my license at age 19, and after years of keeping my nose to the grindstone, I was closing on the final payment for real-estate in western Pennsylvania. With no debt, a fixer-upper house on 30 rural acres all to myself, and a respectable wage for a 26-year-old pilot, I looked forward to the financial freedom I could now enjoy. Maybe I’d take a vacation, somewhere exotic like Venice Italy, or the Dominican Republic. Or perhaps I’d sock the money back for the day I started a family.
“Remember kleineun, a real man looks after his own.”
My elderly ouma’s voice came back from the depths of my memories, her proud, sun-tanned face rising from the darkness. She and my Rhodesian grandfather had emigrated to the US when they were newlyweds, as the violence against white Boer descendants in South Africa spiraled out of control. My mother and father both died in a car crash when I was six, and it had been my grandparents who raised me. Due to this, I’d grown up with a slight accent that many of my classmates found amusing, and I could speak both English, and Afrikaans, the Boer tongue of our former home.
I shifted in my seat, stretched my back muscles, and glanced at the picture taped to my console. Both my parents flanked a grinning, gap-toothed six-year-old me, at the last Christmas we’d spent together. My mother beamed, her dark hair and Italian features a sharp contrast to my father’s sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. Sometimes, I liked to imagine they were smiling at me with pride at how well I flew the old silver-colored bird my company had assigned to me, and that made the long, lonely flights easier to bear.
A flicker caught my eye, and I broke my gaze away from the photograph.
Perched in its small cradle above the controls, my little black Garmin fuzzed over for a few seconds, its screen shifting from brightly colored maps to a barrage of grey static.
Did the power chord come loose?
I checked, ensuring the power-cable for the unit’s battery was plugged into the port on the control panel. It was a brand-new GPS unit, and I’d used it a few times already, so I knew it wasn’t defective. Granted, I could fly and navigate without it, but the Garmin made my time as a pilot so much easier that the thought of going blind was dreadful.
My fuel gauge danced, clicked to empty, then to full, in a bizarre jolt.
More of the gauges began to stutter, the entire panel seeming to develop terrets all at once, and my pulse began to race. Something was wrong, very wrong, and the sludge inside my bowels churned with sour fear.
“Come on, come on.” I flicked switches, turned dials, punched buttons, but nothing seemed to fix the spasming electronics. Every gauge failed, and without warning, I found myself plunged into inky darkness.
Outside, the sun surrendered to the pull of night, the sky darker than usual. A distant rumble of thunder reverberated above the roar of my helicopter’s engine, and I thought I glimpsed a streak of yellowish lightning on the far horizon to my left.
Calm down Chris. We’re still flying, so it must just be a blown fuse. Stay in control and find a place to set her down.
My sweaty palm slid on the cyclic stick, and both feet weighed heavy on the yaw pedals. The collective stuck to my other hand with a nervous vibration, and I squinted against the abyss outside.
Beep.
I jumped despite myself, as the little Garmin on my panel flared back to life, the static pulling aside to reveal a twitching display. Each time the screen glitched, it showed the colorful map detailing my flight path over the ground below, but I noticed that some of the lines changed, the names shifting, as if the device couldn’t decide between two different versions of the world.
One name jutted out at me, slate gray like most of the major county names, appearing with ghostly flickers from between two neighboring ones.
Barron County.
I stared, confused. I’d flown over this section of southeastern Ohio plenty of times, and I knew the counties by heart. At this point, I should have been over the southern end of Noble County, and maybe dipping lower into Washington. There was no Barron County in Ohio. I was sure of it.
And yet it shown back at me from the digital landscape, a strange, almost cigar-shaped chunk of terrain carved from the surrounding counties like a tumor, sometimes there, sometimes not, as my little Garmin struggled to find the correct map. Rain began to patter against my cockpit window, and the entire aircraft rattled from a strong gust of wind. Thick clouds closed over my field of vision like a sea of gray cotton.
The blood in my veins turned to ice, and I sucked in a nervous breath.
Land. I had to land. There was nothing else to do, my flight controls weren’t responding, and only my Garmin had managed to come back to life. Perhaps I’d been hit by lightning, and the electronics had been fried? Either way, it was too dark to tell, but a storm seemed to be brewing, and if I didn’t get my feet on the ground soon, I could be in real trouble.
“Better safe than sorry.” I pushed down on the collective to start my slow descent and clicked the talking button for my headset. “Any station, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, over.”
Nothing.
“Any station, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, requesting emergency assistance, over.”
Still nothing.
If the radio’s dead, I’m really up a creek.
With my hand shaking, I clicked on the mic one more time. “Any station, this is—”
Like a curtain pulling back, the fog cleared from around my window, and the words stuck in my throat.
Without my gauges, I couldn’t tell just how far I’d descended, but I was definitely very low. Thick trees poked up from the ground, and the hills rolled into high ridges with flat valley floors, fields and pastures pockmarking them. Rain fell all around in cold, silvery sheets, a normal feature for the mid spring in this part of Ohio.
What wasn’t normal, were the fires.
At first, I thought they were forest fires for the amount of smoke and flames that bellowed from each spot, but as I swooped lower, my eyes widened in horror.
They were houses.
Farms, cottages, little clusters that barely constituted villages, all of them belched orange flames and black pillars of sooty smoke. I couldn’t hear above the helicopter blades, but I could see the flashes on the ground, along the road, in between the trees, and even coming from the burning buildings, little jets of golden light that spat into the darkness with anger.
Gunfire. That’s rifle fire, a whole lot of it.
Tiny black figures darted through the shadows, barely discernable from where I sat, several hundred feet up. I couldn’t see much, but some were definitely running away, the streaks of yellow gunfire chasing them. A few dark gray vehicles rumbled down one of the gravel roads, and sprayed fire into the houses as it went. They were fighting, I realized, the people in the trucks and the locals. It was horrific, like something out of war-torn Afghanistan, but worse.
Then, I caught a glimpse of the others.
They didn’t move like the rest, who either fled from the dark vehicles, or fired back from behind cover. These skinny figures loped along with haphazard gaits, many running on all fours like animals, swarming from the trees by the dozens. They threw themselves into the gales of bullets without flinching, attacking anyone within range, and something about the way they moved, so fluid, so fearless, made my heart skip a beat.
What is that?
“Echo Four Actual to unknown caller, please respond, over.”
Choking back a cry of shock, I fumbled at the control panel with clumsy fingers, the man’s voice sharp and stern. I hadn’t realized that I’d let go of the talking button and clicked it down again. “Hello? Hello, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot out of Pittsburgh, over.”
An excruciating moment passed, and I continued to zoom over the trees, the fires falling away behind me as more silent forest took over.
“Roger that Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, we read you loud and clear. Please identify yourself and any passengers or cargo you might be carrying, over.”
Swallowing hard, I eyed the treetops, which looked much closer than they should have been. How far had I descended? “Echo Four Actual, my name is Christopher Dekker, and I am alone. I’m a charter flight from PA, carrying medical equipment for OSU in Columbus. My controls have been damaged, and I am unable to safely carry on due to the storm. Requesting permission to land, over.”
I watched the landscape slide by underneath me, once catching sight of what looked like a little white church surrounded by smaller huts, dozens of figures in the yard staring up at me as I flew over a nearby ridgeline.
“Solid copy on that Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot. Be advised, your transponder shows you to be inside a restricted zone. Please cease all radio traffic, reduce your speed, climb to 3,000 feet and proceed north. We’ll talk you in from there. How copy, over?”
My heart jumped, and I let out a sigh of relief. “Roger that Echo Four Actual, my altimeter is down, but I’ll do my best to eyeball the altitude, over.”
With that, I pulled the collective upward, and tried my best to gauge how far I was by eyesight in the gathering night, rain still coming down all around me. This had to be some kind of disaster or riot, I decided. After all, the voice over the radio sounded like military, and those vehicles seemed to have heavy weapons. Maybe there was some kind of unrest going on here that I hadn’t heard about yet?
Kind of weird for it to happen in rural areas though. Spoiled college kids I get, but never saw farmers get so worked up before. They usually love the military.
Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I turned out of reflex.
My mouth fell open, and I froze, unable to scream.
In the sky beside me, a huge shadow glided along, and its leathery wings effortlessly carved through the gloom, flapping only on occasion to keep it aloft. It was too dark for me to see what color it was, but from the way it moved, I knew it wasn’t another helicopter. No, this thing was alive, easily the size of a small plane, and more than twice the length of my little McDonald Douglass. A long tail trailed behind it, and bore a distinct arrow-shaped snout, with twig-like spines fanned out around the back of its head. Whatever legs it had were drawn up under it like a bird, yet its skin appeared rough and knobby, almost resembling tree bark. Without pause, the gigantic bat-winged entity flew along beside me, as if my presence was on par with an annoying fly buzzing about its head.
Gripping the microphone switch so tight, I thought I’d crack the plastic, I whispered into my headset, forgetting all radio protocol. “T-There’s something up here.”
Static crackled.
“Douglas Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, say again your last, you’re coming in weak and unreadable, over.”
“There’s something up here.” I snarled into the headset, still glued to the controls of the helicopter, afraid to deviate even an inch from my course in case the monstrosity decided to turn on me. “A freaking huge thing, right beside me. I swear, it looks like a bat or . . . I don’t know.”
“Calm down.” The man on the other end of the radio broke his rigorous discipline as well, his voice deep, but level. “It won’t attack if you don’t move too fast. Slowly ease away from it and follow that course until you’re out of sight.”
I didn’t have time to think about how wrong that sounded, how the man’s strict tone had changed to one of knowledge, how he hadn’t been the least surprised by what I’d said. Instead, I slowly turned the helicopter away from the huge menace and edged the speed higher in tiny increments.
As soon as I was roughly two football fields away, I let myself relax, and clicked the mic switch. “It’s not following.”
“You’re sure?”
Eyeing the huge flapping wings, I nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I’m well clear.”
“Good. Thank you, Mr. Dekker.”
Then, the radio went dead.
Something in my chest dropped, a weight that made my stomach roil. This wasn’t right, none of it. Who was that man? Why did he know about the thing I’d just seen? What was I supposed to—
A flash of light exploded from the trees to my right and shot into the air with a long finger of smoke.
What the . . .
On instinct, I jerked the cyclic stick to one side, and the helicopter swung to avoid the rocket.
Boom.
My world shook, metal screeched, and a dozen alarms began to go off inside the cockpit in a cacophony of beeps and sirens. Orange and red flames lit up the night sky just behind me, and the horizon started to spin wildly outside. Heat gushed from the cockpit door, and I smelled the greasy stench of burning oil. The safety belts dug into my shoulders, and with a final slip, the radio headset ripped free from my scalp.
I’m hit.
Desperate, I yanked on the controls, fought the bird even as she spun toward the ground in a wreath of flames, the inky black trees hurtling up to meet me. The helicopter went into full auto-rotation, the sky blurring past outside, and the alarms blared in a screech of doom. Panic slammed through my temples, I screamed at the top of my lungs, and for one brief second, my eyes locked on the little black Garmin still perched atop my control panel.
Its screen stopped twitching and settled on a map of the mysterious Barron County, with a little red arrow at the center of the screen, a few words popping up underneath it.
You are here.
Trees stabbed up into the sky, the belts crushed at my torso, glass shattered all around me, and the world went dark.
Copper, thick, warm, and tangy.
It filled my mouth, stank metallic in my nose, clogged my throat, choking me. In the murkiness, I fought for a surface, for a way out, blind and numb in the dark.
This way, kleineun.
My ouma’s voice echoed from somewhere in the shadows.
This way.
Both eyes flew open, and I gagged, spitting out a stream of red.
Pain throbbed in my ribs, and a heavy pressure sent a tingling numbness through my shoulders. Blood roared inside my temples, and stars danced before my eyes with a dizzying array. Humid night air kissed my skin, and something sticky coated my face, neck, and arms that hung straight up toward the ceiling.
Wait. Not up. Down.
I blinked at the wrinkled, torn ceiling of the cockpit, the glass all gone, the gray aluminum shredded like tissue paper. Just outside the broken windows, thick Appalachian bluegrass and stemmy underbrush swished in a feeble breeze, backlit by flashes of lightning from the thunderstorm overhead. Green and brown leaves covered everything in a wet carpet of triangles, and somewhere nearby, a cricket chirped.
Turning my head from side to side, I realized that I hung upside down inside the ruined helicopter, the top half burrowed into the mud. I could hear the hissing and crackling of flames, the pattering of rain falling on the hot aluminum, and the smaller brush fires around the downed aircraft sizzling out in the damp long grass. Charred steel and burning oil tainted the air, almost as strong as the metallic, coppery stench in my aching nose.
They shot me down. That military dude shot me out of the sky.
It didn’t make sense. I’d followed their orders, done everything they’d said, and yet the instant I veered safely away from whatever that thing in the sky had been, they’d fired, not at it, but at me.
Looking down (or rather, up) at my chest, I sucked in a gasp, which was harder to do that before.
The navy-blue shirt stuck to my torso with several big splotches of dark, rusty red. Most were clean slashes, but two held bits of glass sticking out of them, one alarmingly bigger than the other. They dripped cherry red blood onto my upturned face, and a wave of nausea hit me.
I gotta get down.
I flexed my arms to try and work some feeling back into them, praying nothing was broken. Half-numb from hanging so long, I palmed along my aching body until I felt the buckled for the seat belts.
“Okay.” I hissed between gritted teeth, in an effort to stave off my panic. “You can do this. Just hold on tight. Nice and tight. Here we go . . .”
Click.
Everything seemed to lurch, and I slid off the seat to plummet towards the muck-filled hole in the cockpit ceiling. My fingers were slick with blood and slipped over the smooth faux-leather pilot’s seat with ease. The shoulder belt snagged on the bits of glass that lay just under the left lowest rib, and a flare of white-hot pain ripped through me.
Wham.
I screamed, my right knee caught the edge of the aluminum ceiling, and both hands dove into a mound of leaf-covered glass shards on the opposite side of the hole. My head swam, being right-side-up again enough to make shadows gnaw at the corner of my eyes.
Forcing myself to breath slowly, I fought the urge to faint and slid back to sit on the smooth ceiling. I turned my hands over to see half a dozen bits of clear glass burrowed into my skin like greedy parasites, red blood weeping around the new cuts.
“Screw you.” I spat at the rubbish with angry tears in my eyes. “Screw you, screw you, screw you.”
The shards came out easy enough, and the cuts weren’t that deep, but that wasn’t what worried me. On my chest, the single piece of cockpit glass that remined was almost as big as my palm, and it really hurt. Just touching it felt like self-inflicted torture, but I knew it had to come out sooner or later.
Please don’t nick a vein.
Wiping my hands dry on my jeans, I gripped the shard with both hands, and jerked.
Fire roared over my ribs, and hot blood tickled my already grimy pale skin. I clapped a hand over the wound, pressing down hard, and grunted out a string of hateful expletives that my ouma would have slapped me for.
Lying on my back, I stared around me at the messy cargo compartment of the MD-902. Most of the medical supplies had been in cardboard boxes strapped down with heavy nylon tow-straps, but several cases had ruptured with the force of the impact, spraying bandages, syringes, and pill bottles all over the cluttered interior. Orange flames chewed at the crate furthest to the rear, the tail section long gone, but the foremost part of the hold was intact. Easily a million-dollar mess, it would have made me faint on any other trip, but today it was a godsend.
Half-blind in the darkness, I crawled along with only the firelight and lightning bolts to guide me, my right knee aching. Like a crippled raccoon, I collected things as I went, conscious of the two pallets of intact supplies weighing right over my head. I’d taken several different first-aid courses with some hunting buddies of mine, and the mental reflexes kicked in to help soothe my frazzled mind.
Check for bleeds, stop the worst, then move on.
Aside from my battered chest and stomach, the rest of me remained mostly unharmed. I had nasty bruises from the seatbelts, my right knee swelled, my nose slightly crooked and crusted in blood, but otherwise I was intact. Dowsing every scratch and cut with a bottle of isopropyl alcohol I found, I used butterfly closures on the smaller lacerations that peppered my skin. I wrapped soft white gauze over my abused palms and probed at the big cut where the last shard had been, only stopping when I was sure there were no pieces of glass wedged inside my flesh.
“Not too bad.” I grunted to myself, trying to sound impassive like a doctor might. “Rib must have stopped it. Gonna need stitches though. That’ll be fun.”
Pawing through the broken cases, I couldn’t find any suture chord, but just as I was about to give up, I noticed a small box that read ‘medical skin stapler’.
Bingo.
I tore the small white plastic stapler free from its packaging and eyeballed the device. I’d never done this before, only seen it in movies, and even though the cut in my skin hurt, I wondered if this wouldn’t be worse.
You’ve gotta do it. That bleeding needs to stop. Besides, no one’s coming to rescue you, not with those rocket-launching psychos out there.
Taking a deep breath, I pinched the skin around the gash together, and pressed the mouth of the stapler to it.
Click.
A sharp sting, like that of a needle bit at the skin, but it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the cut itself. I worked my way across the two-inch laceration and gave out a sigh of relief when it was done.
“Not going to bleed to death today.” I daubed ointment around the staples before winding more bandages over the wound.
Popping a few low-grade painkillers that tumbled from the cargo, I crawled wriggled through the nearest shattered window into the wet grass.
Raindrops kissed my face, clean and cool on my sweaty skin. Despite the thick cloud cover, there was enough constant lightning strikes within the storm to let me get glimpses of the world around me. My helicopter lay on its back, the blades snapped like pencils, with bits and pieces of it burning in chunks all around the small break in the trees. Chest-high scrub brush grew all around the low-lying ground, with pockets of standing water in places. My ears still rang from the impact of the crash, but I could start to pick up more crickets, frogs, and even some nocturnal birds singing into the darkness, like they didn’t notice the huge the hulk of flaming metal that had fallen from the sky. Overhead, the thunder rumbled onward, the feeble wind whistling, and there were other flashes on the horizon, orange and red ones, with crackles that didn’t sound quite like lightning.
The guns. They’re still fighting.
Instinctively, I pulled out my cellphone, and tapped the screen.
It fluttered to life, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get through to anyone, not even with the emergency function designed to work around having no service. The complicated wonder of our modern world was little better than a glorified paperweight.
Stunned, I sat down with my back to the helicopter and rested my head against the aluminum skin of the craft. How I’d gone from a regular medical supply run to being marooned in this hellish parody of rural America, I didn’t know, but one thig was certain; I needed a plan. Whoever fired the missile could have already contacted my charter company and made up some excuse to keep them from coming to look for me. No one else knew I was here, and even though I now had six staples holding the worst of my injuries shut, I knew I needed proper medical attention. If I wanted to live, I’d have to rescue myself.
My bag. I need to get my go-bag, grab some gear and then . . . head somewhere else.
It took me a while to gather my green canvas paratrooper bag from its place behind the pilot’s seat and fill it with whatever supplies I could scrounge. My knee didn’t seem to be broken, but man did it hurt, and I dreaded the thought of walking on it for miles on end. I focused instead on inventorying my gear and trying to come up with a halfway intelligent plan of action.
I had a stainless-steel canteen with one of those detachable cups on the bottom, a little fishing kit, some duct tape, a lighter, a black LED flashlight with three spare batteries, a few tattered road maps with a compass, a spare pair of socks, medical supplies from the cargo, and a simple forest green plastic rain poncho. I also managed to unearth a functioning digital camcorder my ouma had gotten me for Christmas a few years back, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to do any filming in such a miserable state. Lastly, since it was a private supply run from a warehouse area near Pittsburgh to a direct hospital pad in Ohio, I’d been able to bring my K-Bar, a sturdy, and brutally simple knife designed for the Marine Corps that I used every time I went camping. It was pitiful in comparison to the rifle I wished I had with me, but that didn’t matter now. I had what I had, and I doubted my trusty Armalite would have alleviated my sore knee anyway.
Clicking on my flashlight, I huddled with the poncho around my shoulders inside the wreck of the chopper and peered at the dusty roadmaps. A small part of me hoped that a solution would jump out from the faded paper, but none came. These were all maps of western PA and eastern Ohio. None of them had a Barron County on them anywhere.
The man on the radio said to head north, right before they shot me down. That means they must be camped out to the north of here. South had that convoy and those burning houses, so that’s a no-go. Maybe I can backtrack eastward the way I came.
As if on cue, a soft pop echoed from over the eastern horizon, and I craned to look out the helicopter window, spotting more man-made flashes over the tree tops.
“Great.” I hissed between clenched teeth, aware of how the temperature dipped to a chilly 60 degrees, and how despite the conditions, my stomach had begun to growl. “Not going that way, are we? Westward it is.”
Walking away from my poor 902 proved to be harder than I’d anticipated. Despite the glass, the fizzling fires, and the darkness, it still held a familiar, human essence to it. Sitting inside it made me feel secure, safe, even calm about the situation. In any other circumstance, I would have just stayed with the downed aircraft to wait for help, but I knew the men who shot me down would likely find my crash site, and I didn’t want to be around when they did.
Unlike much of central and western Ohio, southeastern Ohio is hilly, brushy, and clogged with thick forests. Thorns snagged at my thin poncho and sliced at my pant legs. My knee throbbed, every step a form of self-inflicted torture. The rain never stopped, a steady drizzle from above just cold enough to be problematic as time went on, making me shiver. Mud slid under my tennis shoes, and every tree looked ten times bigger in the flickering beam of my cheap flashlight. Icy fear prickled at the back of my neck at some of the sounds that greeted me through the gloom. I’d been camping loads of times, both in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, but these noises were something otherworldly to me.
Strange howls, screeches, and calls permeated the rain-soaked sky, some almost roars, while others bordered on human in their intonation. The more I walked, the softer the distant gunfire became, and the more prevalent the odd sounds, until the shadows seemed to fill with them. I didn’t dare turn off my flashlight, or I’d been completely blind in the dark, but a little voice in the back of my head screamed that I was too visible, crunching through the gloomy forest with my long beam of light stabbing into the abyss. It felt as though a million eyes were on me, studying me, hunting me from the surrounding brush, and I bitterly recalled how much I’d loved the old Survivor Man TV series as a kid.
Not so fun being out in the woods at night. Especially alone.
A twig snapped somewhere behind me, and I whirled on the spot, one trembling hand resting on the hilt of my K-Bar.
Nothing. Nothing but trees, bushes, and rain dripping down in the darkness.
“This is stupid.” I whispered to myself to keep my nerves in check as I slowly spun on the spot. “I should have went eastward anyway. God knows how long I’m going to have to—”
Creak.
A groan of metal-on-metal echoed from somewhere to my right, and I spun to face it, yanking the knife on my belt free from its scabbard. It felt so small and useless in my hand, and I choked down a wave of nauseas fear.
Ka-whump. Creak. K-whump. Creak.
Underbrush cracked and crunched, a few smaller saplings thrashed, and from deep within the gloom, two yellow orbs flared to life. They poked through the mist in the trees, forming into slender fingers of golden light that swept back and forth in the dark.
The soldiers . . . they must be looking for me.
I swallowed hard and turned to slink away.
Ice jammed through my blood, and I froze on the spot, biting my tongue to stop the scream.
It stood not yards away, a huge form that towered a good twelve feet tall in the swirling shadows. Unpolished chrome blended with flash-rusted spots in the faded red paint, and grime-smeared glass shone with dull hues in the flashes of lightning. Where the wheels should have been, the rounded steel axels curved like some enormous hand had bent them, and the tires lay face-down on the muddy ground like big round feet, their hubcaps buried in the dirt. Dents, scrapes, and chips covered the battered thing, and its crooked little radio antenna pointed straight up from the old metal fender like a mast. I could barely make out the mud-coated VW on the rounded hood, and my mind reeled in shock.
Is . . . is that a car?
Both yellow headlights bathed me in a circle of bright, blinding light, and neither I nor the strange vehicle moved.
Seconds ticked by, the screech-thumping in the background only growing closer. I realized that I couldn’t hear any engine noises and had yet to see any soldiers or guns pointed my way. This car looked old, really old, like one of those classic Volkswagen Beetles that collectors fought over at auctions. Try as I might, I couldn’t see a driver inside the murky, mold-smeared windows.
Because there wasn’t one.
Lightning arched across the sky overhead, and the car standing in front of me blinked.
Its headlights slid shut, as if little metal shades had crawled over the bulbs for a moment and flicked open again. Something about that movement was so primal, so real, so lifelike, that every ounce of self-control I had melted in an instant.
Cursing under my breath, I lunged into the shrubs, and the world erupted around me.
Under my shoes, the ground shook, and the car surged after me in a cacophony of ka-thumps that made my already racing heart skip several beats. A weather-beaten brown tow truck from the 50’s charged through the thorns to my left, it’s headlights ablaze, and a dilapidated yellow school bus rose from its hiding place in the weeds to stand tall on four down-turned axel-legs. They all flicked their headlights on like giants waking from their slumber, and as I dodged past them, they each blared their horn into the night in alarm.
My breaths came short and tight, my knee burned, and I crashed through thorns and briars without thought to how badly I was getting cut up.
The cheap poncho tore, and I ripped it away as it caught on a tree branch.
A purple 70’s Mustang shook off its blanket of creeping vines and bounded from a stand of trees just ahead, forcing me to swerve to avoid being run over, my adrenaline at all-time highs.
This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening.
Slipping and sliding, I pushed through a stand of multiflora rose, and stumbled out into a flat, dark expanse.
I almost skidded to a stop.
What had once been a rather large field stood no taller than my shoestrings, the grass charred, and burnt. The storm above illuminated huge pieces of wreckage that lay scattered over the nearly 40-acre plot, and I could just make out the fire-blackened hulk of a fuselage resting a hundred yards away. The plane had been brought down a while ago it seemed, as there weren’t any flames left burning, and I threw myself toward it in frenzied desperation.
Burned grass and greasy brown topsoil slushed underfoot, and I could hear the squelching of the cars pursing me. Rain soaked me to the bone, and my lungs ached from sucking down the damp night air. A painful stich crept into my side, and I cursed myself for not putting in more time for cardio at the gym.
Something caught my left shoelace, and I hurtled to the ground, tasting mud and blood in between my teeth.
They’ve got me now.
I clawed at the mud, rolled, and watched a tire slam down mere inches from where my head had been. The Mustang loomed over me and jostled for position with the red Volkswagen and brown tow truck, the school bus still a few yards behind them. They couldn’t seem to decide who would get the pleasure of stomping me to death, and like a herd of stampeding wildebeest, they locked bumpers in an epic shoving match.
On all fours, I scampered out from under the sparring brutes, and dashed for the crumpled airplane, a white-painted DC-3 that looked like it had been cut in half by a gargantuan knife blade. I passed a snapped wing section, the oily remains of a turbo-prop engine, and a mutilated wheel from the landing gear. Climbing over a heap of mud, I squeezed into the back of the ruined flight cabin and dropped down into the dark cargo hold.
Wham.
No sooner had my sneakers hit the cold metal floor, and the entire plane rocked from the impact of something heavy ramming it just outside. I tumbled to my knees, screaming in pain as, once again, I managed to bash the sore one off a bracket in the wall.
My hand smeared in something gooey, and I scrabbled for my flashlight.
It clicked on, a wavering ball of white light in the pitch darkness, and I fought the urge to gag. “Oh man . . .”
Three people, or what was left of them, lay strewn over the narrow cargo area. Claret red blood coated the walls, caked on the floor, and clotted under my mud-spattered shoes. Bits of flesh and viscera were stuck to everything, and tatters of cloth hung from exposed sections of broken bone. An eerie set of bloody handprints adorned the walls, and the only reason I could tell it had been three people were the shoes; all of them bore anklebones sticking out above blood-soaked socks. It smelled sickly sweet, a strange, nauseas odor that crept into my nose and settled on the back of my tongue like an alien parasite.
Something glinted in the beam of my flashlight, and my pulse quickened as I pried the object loose from the severed arm that still clung to it.
“Hail Mary full of Grace.” I would have grinned if it weren’t for the fact that the plane continued to buck and roll under the assault from the cars outside.
The pistol looked old, but well-maintained, aside from the light coating of dark blood that stained its round wooden handle. It felt heavy, but good in my hand, and I turned it over to read the words, Waffenfabrik Mauser stenciled into the frame, with a large red 9 carved into the grip. For some reason, it vaguely reminded me of the blasters from Star Wars.
I fumbled with a little switch that looked like a safety on the back of the gun and stumbled toward a gap in the plane’s dented fuselage to aim out at the surrounding headlights.
Bang.
The old gun bucked reliably in my hand, its long barrel spitting a little jet of flame into the night. I had no idea if I hit anything, but the attacking cars recoiled, their horns blaring in confusion.
They turned, and scuttled for the tree line as fast as their mechanical legs could go, the entire ordeal over as fast as it had begun.
Did I do that?
Perplexed, I stared down at the pistol in my hand.
Whoosh.
A large, inky black shadow glided down from the clouds, and the yellow school bus moved too slow to react in time.
With a crash, the kicking nightmarish vehicle was thrown onto its side, spraying glass and chrome trim across the muddy field. Its electro-synth horn blared with wails of mechanical agony, as two huge talon-like feet clamped down on it, and the enormous head of the flying creature lowered to rip open its engine compartment.
The horn cut out, and the enormous flying entity jerked its head back to gulp down a mass of what looked like sticky black vines from the interior of the shattered bus.
At this range, I could see now that the flying creature bore two legs and had its wings half-tucked like a vulture that had descended to feed on roadkill. Its head turned slightly, and in the glow of another lightning bolt, my jaw went slack at the realization of what it was.
A tree trunk. It’s a rotted tree trunk.
I couldn’t tell where the reptilian beast began, and where the organic tree components ended, the upper part of the head shaped like a log, while the lower jaw resembled something out of a dinosaur movie. Its skin looked identical to the outside of a shagbark hickory but flexed with a supple featheriness that denoted something closer to skin. Sharp branch-like spines ranged down its back, and out to the end of its tail, which bore a massive round club shaped like a diseased tree-knot. Crouched on both hind legs, it braced the hooked ends of its folded wings against the ground like a bat, towering higher than a semi-truck. Under the folds of its armored head, a bulging pair of chameleon-like eyes constantly spun in their sockets, probing the dark for threats while it ate.
One black pupil locked onto the window I peered through, and my heart stopped.
The beast regarded me for a moment, making a curious, sideways sniff.
With a proud, contemptful head-toss, the shadow from the sky parted rows of razor-sharp teeth to let out a roar that shook the earth beneath my feet. It was the triumphant war cry of a creature that sat at the very top of the food chain, one that felt no threat from the fragile two-legged beings that walked the earth all around it. It hunted whenever it wanted, ate whatever it wanted, and flew wherever it wanted. It didn’t need to rip the plane apart to devour me.
Like my hunter-gatherer ancestors from thousands of years ago, I wasn’t even worth the energy it would take to pounce.
I’m hiding in the remains of the cockpit now, which is half-buried under the mud of the field, enough to shield the light from my screen so that thing doesn’t see it. My service only now came back, and it’s been over an hour since the winged beast started in on the dead bus. I don’t know when, or how I’m going to get out of here. I don’t know when anyone will even see this post, or if it will upload at all. My phone battery is almost dead, and at this point, I’m probably going to have to sleep among the corpses until daylight comes.
A dead man sleeping amongst friends.
If you live in the Noble County area in southeastern Ohio, be careful where you drive, fly, and boat. I don’t know if it’s possible to stumble into this strange place by ground, but if so, then these things are definitely headed your way.
If that happens . . . pray that they don’t find you.
submitted by RandomAppalachian468 to nosleep [link] [comments]
From 5,000 feet, the ground flew by in a carpet of dark forests and kelly-green fields. The sun hung low on the horizon in a picturesque array of dazzling orange and gold, and I could make out the narrow strip of the Ohio River to my left, glistening in the fading daylight. This time of year, the trees would be full of the sweet aroma of fresh blossoms, and the frequent rains kept small pockets of fluffy white mist hanging in the treetops. It was a beautiful view, one that reminded me of why being a helicopter pilot trumped flying in a jumbo jet far above the clouds every day of the week.
Fourteen more days, and I’m debt free.
That made me grin even more. I’d been working as a charter pilot ever since I obtained my license at age 19, and after years of keeping my nose to the grindstone, I was closing on the final payment for real-estate in western Pennsylvania. With no debt, a fixer-upper house on 30 rural acres all to myself, and a respectable wage for a 26-year-old pilot, I looked forward to the financial freedom I could now enjoy. Maybe I’d take a vacation, somewhere exotic like Venice Italy, or the Dominican Republic. Or perhaps I’d sock the money back for the day I started a family.
“Remember kleineun, a real man looks after his own.”
My elderly ouma’s voice came back from the depths of my memories, her proud, sun-tanned face rising from the darkness. She and my Rhodesian grandfather had emigrated to the US when they were newlyweds, as the violence against white Boer descendants in South Africa spiraled out of control. My mother and father both died in a car crash when I was six, and it had been my grandparents who raised me. Due to this, I’d grown up with a slight accent that many of my classmates found amusing, and I could speak both English, and Afrikaans, the Boer tongue of our former home.
I shifted in my seat, stretched my back muscles, and glanced at the picture taped to my console. Both my parents flanked a grinning, gap-toothed six-year-old me, at the last Christmas we’d spent together. My mother beamed, her dark hair and Italian features a sharp contrast to my father’s sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. Sometimes, I liked to imagine they were smiling at me with pride at how well I flew the old silver-colored bird my company had assigned to me, and that made the long, lonely flights easier to bear.
A flicker caught my eye, and I broke my gaze away from the photograph.
Perched in its small cradle above the controls, my little black Garmin fuzzed over for a few seconds, its screen shifting from brightly colored maps to a barrage of grey static.
Did the power chord come loose?
I checked, ensuring the power-cable for the unit’s battery was plugged into the port on the control panel. It was a brand-new GPS unit, and I’d used it a few times already, so I knew it wasn’t defective. Granted, I could fly and navigate without it, but the Garmin made my time as a pilot so much easier that the thought of going blind was dreadful.
My fuel gauge danced, clicked to empty, then to full, in a bizarre jolt.
More of the gauges began to stutter, the entire panel seeming to develop terrets all at once, and my pulse began to race. Something was wrong, very wrong, and the sludge inside my bowels churned with sour fear.
“Come on, come on.” I flicked switches, turned dials, punched buttons, but nothing seemed to fix the spasming electronics. Every gauge failed, and without warning, I found myself plunged into inky darkness.
Outside, the sun surrendered to the pull of night, the sky darker than usual. A distant rumble of thunder reverberated above the roar of my helicopter’s engine, and I thought I glimpsed a streak of yellowish lightning on the far horizon to my left.
Calm down Chris. We’re still flying, so it must just be a blown fuse. Stay in control and find a place to set her down.
My sweaty palm slid on the cyclic stick, and both feet weighed heavy on the yaw pedals. The collective stuck to my other hand with a nervous vibration, and I squinted against the abyss outside.
Beep.
I jumped despite myself, as the little Garmin on my panel flared back to life, the static pulling aside to reveal a twitching display. Each time the screen glitched, it showed the colorful map detailing my flight path over the ground below, but I noticed that some of the lines changed, the names shifting, as if the device couldn’t decide between two different versions of the world.
One name jutted out at me, slate gray like most of the major county names, appearing with ghostly flickers from between two neighboring ones.
Barron County.
I stared, confused. I’d flown over this section of southeastern Ohio plenty of times, and I knew the counties by heart. At this point, I should have been over the southern end of Noble County, and maybe dipping lower into Washington. There was no Barron County in Ohio. I was sure of it.
And yet it shown back at me from the digital landscape, a strange, almost cigar-shaped chunk of terrain carved from the surrounding counties like a tumor, sometimes there, sometimes not, as my little Garmin struggled to find the correct map. Rain began to patter against my cockpit window, and the entire aircraft rattled from a strong gust of wind. Thick clouds closed over my field of vision like a sea of gray cotton.
The blood in my veins turned to ice, and I sucked in a nervous breath.
Land. I had to land. There was nothing else to do, my flight controls weren’t responding, and only my Garmin had managed to come back to life. Perhaps I’d been hit by lightning, and the electronics had been fried? Either way, it was too dark to tell, but a storm seemed to be brewing, and if I didn’t get my feet on the ground soon, I could be in real trouble.
“Better safe than sorry.” I pushed down on the collective to start my slow descent and clicked the talking button for my headset. “Any station, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, over.”
Nothing.
“Any station, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, requesting emergency assistance, over.”
Still nothing.
If the radio’s dead, I’m really up a creek.
With my hand shaking, I clicked on the mic one more time. “Any station, this is—”
Like a curtain pulling back, the fog cleared from around my window, and the words stuck in my throat.
Without my gauges, I couldn’t tell just how far I’d descended, but I was definitely very low. Thick trees poked up from the ground, and the hills rolled into high ridges with flat valley floors, fields and pastures pockmarking them. Rain fell all around in cold, silvery sheets, a normal feature for the mid spring in this part of Ohio.
What wasn’t normal, were the fires.
At first, I thought they were forest fires for the amount of smoke and flames that bellowed from each spot, but as I swooped lower, my eyes widened in horror.
They were houses.
Farms, cottages, little clusters that barely constituted villages, all of them belched orange flames and black pillars of sooty smoke. I couldn’t hear above the helicopter blades, but I could see the flashes on the ground, along the road, in between the trees, and even coming from the burning buildings, little jets of golden light that spat into the darkness with anger.
Gunfire. That’s rifle fire, a whole lot of it.
Tiny black figures darted through the shadows, barely discernable from where I sat, several hundred feet up. I couldn’t see much, but some were definitely running away, the streaks of yellow gunfire chasing them. A few dark gray vehicles rumbled down one of the gravel roads, and sprayed fire into the houses as it went. They were fighting, I realized, the people in the trucks and the locals. It was horrific, like something out of war-torn Afghanistan, but worse.
Then, I caught a glimpse of the others.
They didn’t move like the rest, who either fled from the dark vehicles, or fired back from behind cover. These skinny figures loped along with haphazard gaits, many running on all fours like animals, swarming from the trees by the dozens. They threw themselves into the gales of bullets without flinching, attacking anyone within range, and something about the way they moved, so fluid, so fearless, made my heart skip a beat.
What is that?
“Echo Four Actual to unknown caller, please respond, over.”
Choking back a cry of shock, I fumbled at the control panel with clumsy fingers, the man’s voice sharp and stern. I hadn’t realized that I’d let go of the talking button and clicked it down again. “Hello? Hello, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot out of Pittsburgh, over.”
An excruciating moment passed, and I continued to zoom over the trees, the fires falling away behind me as more silent forest took over.
“Roger that Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, we read you loud and clear. Please identify yourself and any passengers or cargo you might be carrying, over.”
Swallowing hard, I eyed the treetops, which looked much closer than they should have been. How far had I descended? “Echo Four Actual, my name is Christopher Dekker, and I am alone. I’m a charter flight from PA, carrying medical equipment for OSU in Columbus. My controls have been damaged, and I am unable to safely carry on due to the storm. Requesting permission to land, over.”
I watched the landscape slide by underneath me, once catching sight of what looked like a little white church surrounded by smaller huts, dozens of figures in the yard staring up at me as I flew over a nearby ridgeline.
“Solid copy on that Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot. Be advised, your transponder shows you to be inside a restricted zone. Please cease all radio traffic, reduce your speed, climb to 3,000 feet and proceed north. We’ll talk you in from there. How copy, over?”
My heart jumped, and I let out a sigh of relief. “Roger that Echo Four Actual, my altimeter is down, but I’ll do my best to eyeball the altitude, over.”
With that, I pulled the collective upward, and tried my best to gauge how far I was by eyesight in the gathering night, rain still coming down all around me. This had to be some kind of disaster or riot, I decided. After all, the voice over the radio sounded like military, and those vehicles seemed to have heavy weapons. Maybe there was some kind of unrest going on here that I hadn’t heard about yet?
Kind of weird for it to happen in rural areas though. Spoiled college kids I get, but never saw farmers get so worked up before. They usually love the military.
Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I turned out of reflex.
My mouth fell open, and I froze, unable to scream.
In the sky beside me, a huge shadow glided along, and its leathery wings effortlessly carved through the gloom, flapping only on occasion to keep it aloft. It was too dark for me to see what color it was, but from the way it moved, I knew it wasn’t another helicopter. No, this thing was alive, easily the size of a small plane, and more than twice the length of my little McDonald Douglass. A long tail trailed behind it, and bore a distinct arrow-shaped snout, with twig-like spines fanned out around the back of its head. Whatever legs it had were drawn up under it like a bird, yet its skin appeared rough and knobby, almost resembling tree bark. Without pause, the gigantic bat-winged entity flew along beside me, as if my presence was on par with an annoying fly buzzing about its head.
Gripping the microphone switch so tight, I thought I’d crack the plastic, I whispered into my headset, forgetting all radio protocol. “T-There’s something up here.”
Static crackled.
“Douglas Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, say again your last, you’re coming in weak and unreadable, over.”
“There’s something up here.” I snarled into the headset, still glued to the controls of the helicopter, afraid to deviate even an inch from my course in case the monstrosity decided to turn on me. “A freaking huge thing, right beside me. I swear, it looks like a bat or . . . I don’t know.”
“Calm down.” The man on the other end of the radio broke his rigorous discipline as well, his voice deep, but level. “It won’t attack if you don’t move too fast. Slowly ease away from it and follow that course until you’re out of sight.”
I didn’t have time to think about how wrong that sounded, how the man’s strict tone had changed to one of knowledge, how he hadn’t been the least surprised by what I’d said. Instead, I slowly turned the helicopter away from the huge menace and edged the speed higher in tiny increments.
As soon as I was roughly two football fields away, I let myself relax, and clicked the mic switch. “It’s not following.”
“You’re sure?”
Eyeing the huge flapping wings, I nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I’m well clear.”
“Good. Thank you, Mr. Dekker.”
Then, the radio went dead.
Something in my chest dropped, a weight that made my stomach roil. This wasn’t right, none of it. Who was that man? Why did he know about the thing I’d just seen? What was I supposed to—
A flash of light exploded from the trees to my right and shot into the air with a long finger of smoke.
What the . . .
On instinct, I jerked the cyclic stick to one side, and the helicopter swung to avoid the rocket.
Boom.
My world shook, metal screeched, and a dozen alarms began to go off inside the cockpit in a cacophony of beeps and sirens. Orange and red flames lit up the night sky just behind me, and the horizon started to spin wildly outside. Heat gushed from the cockpit door, and I smelled the greasy stench of burning oil. The safety belts dug into my shoulders, and with a final slip, the radio headset ripped free from my scalp.
I’m hit.
Desperate, I yanked on the controls, fought the bird even as she spun toward the ground in a wreath of flames, the inky black trees hurtling up to meet me. The helicopter went into full auto-rotation, the sky blurring past outside, and the alarms blared in a screech of doom. Panic slammed through my temples, I screamed at the top of my lungs, and for one brief second, my eyes locked on the little black Garmin still perched atop my control panel.
Its screen stopped twitching and settled on a map of the mysterious Barron County, with a little red arrow at the center of the screen, a few words popping up underneath it.
You are here.
Trees stabbed up into the sky, the belts crushed at my torso, glass shattered all around me, and the world went dark.
Copper, thick, warm, and tangy.
It filled my mouth, stank metallic in my nose, clogged my throat, choking me. In the murkiness, I fought for a surface, for a way out, blind and numb in the dark.
This way, kleineun.
My ouma’s voice echoed from somewhere in the shadows.
This way.
Both eyes flew open, and I gagged, spitting out a stream of red.
Pain throbbed in my ribs, and a heavy pressure sent a tingling numbness through my shoulders. Blood roared inside my temples, and stars danced before my eyes with a dizzying array. Humid night air kissed my skin, and something sticky coated my face, neck, and arms that hung straight up toward the ceiling.
Wait. Not up. Down.
I blinked at the wrinkled, torn ceiling of the cockpit, the glass all gone, the gray aluminum shredded like tissue paper. Just outside the broken windows, thick Appalachian bluegrass and stemmy underbrush swished in a feeble breeze, backlit by flashes of lightning from the thunderstorm overhead. Green and brown leaves covered everything in a wet carpet of triangles, and somewhere nearby, a cricket chirped.
Turning my head from side to side, I realized that I hung upside down inside the ruined helicopter, the top half burrowed into the mud. I could hear the hissing and crackling of flames, the pattering of rain falling on the hot aluminum, and the smaller brush fires around the downed aircraft sizzling out in the damp long grass. Charred steel and burning oil tainted the air, almost as strong as the metallic, coppery stench in my aching nose.
They shot me down. That military dude shot me out of the sky.
It didn’t make sense. I’d followed their orders, done everything they’d said, and yet the instant I veered safely away from whatever that thing in the sky had been, they’d fired, not at it, but at me.
Looking down (or rather, up) at my chest, I sucked in a gasp, which was harder to do that before.
The navy-blue shirt stuck to my torso with several big splotches of dark, rusty red. Most were clean slashes, but two held bits of glass sticking out of them, one alarmingly bigger than the other. They dripped cherry red blood onto my upturned face, and a wave of nausea hit me.
I gotta get down.
I flexed my arms to try and work some feeling back into them, praying nothing was broken. Half-numb from hanging so long, I palmed along my aching body until I felt the buckled for the seat belts.
“Okay.” I hissed between gritted teeth, in an effort to stave off my panic. “You can do this. Just hold on tight. Nice and tight. Here we go . . .”
Click.
Everything seemed to lurch, and I slid off the seat to plummet towards the muck-filled hole in the cockpit ceiling. My fingers were slick with blood and slipped over the smooth faux-leather pilot’s seat with ease. The shoulder belt snagged on the bits of glass that lay just under the left lowest rib, and a flare of white-hot pain ripped through me.
Wham.
I screamed, my right knee caught the edge of the aluminum ceiling, and both hands dove into a mound of leaf-covered glass shards on the opposite side of the hole. My head swam, being right-side-up again enough to make shadows gnaw at the corner of my eyes.
Forcing myself to breath slowly, I fought the urge to faint and slid back to sit on the smooth ceiling. I turned my hands over to see half a dozen bits of clear glass burrowed into my skin like greedy parasites, red blood weeping around the new cuts.
“Screw you.” I spat at the rubbish with angry tears in my eyes. “Screw you, screw you, screw you.”
The shards came out easy enough, and the cuts weren’t that deep, but that wasn’t what worried me. On my chest, the single piece of cockpit glass that remined was almost as big as my palm, and it really hurt. Just touching it felt like self-inflicted torture, but I knew it had to come out sooner or later.
Please don’t nick a vein.
Wiping my hands dry on my jeans, I gripped the shard with both hands, and jerked.
Fire roared over my ribs, and hot blood tickled my already grimy pale skin. I clapped a hand over the wound, pressing down hard, and grunted out a string of hateful expletives that my ouma would have slapped me for.
Lying on my back, I stared around me at the messy cargo compartment of the MD-902. Most of the medical supplies had been in cardboard boxes strapped down with heavy nylon tow-straps, but several cases had ruptured with the force of the impact, spraying bandages, syringes, and pill bottles all over the cluttered interior. Orange flames chewed at the crate furthest to the rear, the tail section long gone, but the foremost part of the hold was intact. Easily a million-dollar mess, it would have made me faint on any other trip, but today it was a godsend.
Half-blind in the darkness, I crawled along with only the firelight and lightning bolts to guide me, my right knee aching. Like a crippled raccoon, I collected things as I went, conscious of the two pallets of intact supplies weighing right over my head. I’d taken several different first-aid courses with some hunting buddies of mine, and the mental reflexes kicked in to help soothe my frazzled mind.
Check for bleeds, stop the worst, then move on.
Aside from my battered chest and stomach, the rest of me remained mostly unharmed. I had nasty bruises from the seatbelts, my right knee swelled, my nose slightly crooked and crusted in blood, but otherwise I was intact. Dowsing every scratch and cut with a bottle of isopropyl alcohol I found, I used butterfly closures on the smaller lacerations that peppered my skin. I wrapped soft white gauze over my abused palms and probed at the big cut where the last shard had been, only stopping when I was sure there were no pieces of glass wedged inside my flesh.
“Not too bad.” I grunted to myself, trying to sound impassive like a doctor might. “Rib must have stopped it. Gonna need stitches though. That’ll be fun.”
Pawing through the broken cases, I couldn’t find any suture chord, but just as I was about to give up, I noticed a small box that read ‘medical skin stapler’.
Bingo.
I tore the small white plastic stapler free from its packaging and eyeballed the device. I’d never done this before, only seen it in movies, and even though the cut in my skin hurt, I wondered if this wouldn’t be worse.
You’ve gotta do it. That bleeding needs to stop. Besides, no one’s coming to rescue you, not with those rocket-launching psychos out there.
Taking a deep breath, I pinched the skin around the gash together, and pressed the mouth of the stapler to it.
Click.
A sharp sting, like that of a needle bit at the skin, but it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the cut itself. I worked my way across the two-inch laceration and gave out a sigh of relief when it was done.
“Not going to bleed to death today.” I daubed ointment around the staples before winding more bandages over the wound.
Popping a few low-grade painkillers that tumbled from the cargo, I crawled wriggled through the nearest shattered window into the wet grass.
Raindrops kissed my face, clean and cool on my sweaty skin. Despite the thick cloud cover, there was enough constant lightning strikes within the storm to let me get glimpses of the world around me. My helicopter lay on its back, the blades snapped like pencils, with bits and pieces of it burning in chunks all around the small break in the trees. Chest-high scrub brush grew all around the low-lying ground, with pockets of standing water in places. My ears still rang from the impact of the crash, but I could start to pick up more crickets, frogs, and even some nocturnal birds singing into the darkness, like they didn’t notice the huge the hulk of flaming metal that had fallen from the sky. Overhead, the thunder rumbled onward, the feeble wind whistling, and there were other flashes on the horizon, orange and red ones, with crackles that didn’t sound quite like lightning.
The guns. They’re still fighting.
Instinctively, I pulled out my cellphone, and tapped the screen.
It fluttered to life, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get through to anyone, not even with the emergency function designed to work around having no service. The complicated wonder of our modern world was little better than a glorified paperweight.
Stunned, I sat down with my back to the helicopter and rested my head against the aluminum skin of the craft. How I’d gone from a regular medical supply run to being marooned in this hellish parody of rural America, I didn’t know, but one thig was certain; I needed a plan. Whoever fired the missile could have already contacted my charter company and made up some excuse to keep them from coming to look for me. No one else knew I was here, and even though I now had six staples holding the worst of my injuries shut, I knew I needed proper medical attention. If I wanted to live, I’d have to rescue myself.
My bag. I need to get my go-bag, grab some gear and then . . . head somewhere else.
It took me a while to gather my green canvas paratrooper bag from its place behind the pilot’s seat and fill it with whatever supplies I could scrounge. My knee didn’t seem to be broken, but man did it hurt, and I dreaded the thought of walking on it for miles on end. I focused instead on inventorying my gear and trying to come up with a halfway intelligent plan of action.
I had a stainless-steel canteen with one of those detachable cups on the bottom, a little fishing kit, some duct tape, a lighter, a black LED flashlight with three spare batteries, a few tattered road maps with a compass, a spare pair of socks, medical supplies from the cargo, and a simple forest green plastic rain poncho. I also managed to unearth a functioning digital camcorder my ouma had gotten me for Christmas a few years back, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to do any filming in such a miserable state. Lastly, since it was a private supply run from a warehouse area near Pittsburgh to a direct hospital pad in Ohio, I’d been able to bring my K-Bar, a sturdy, and brutally simple knife designed for the Marine Corps that I used every time I went camping. It was pitiful in comparison to the rifle I wished I had with me, but that didn’t matter now. I had what I had, and I doubted my trusty Armalite would have alleviated my sore knee anyway.
Clicking on my flashlight, I huddled with the poncho around my shoulders inside the wreck of the chopper and peered at the dusty roadmaps. A small part of me hoped that a solution would jump out from the faded paper, but none came. These were all maps of western PA and eastern Ohio. None of them had a Barron County on them anywhere.
The man on the radio said to head north, right before they shot me down. That means they must be camped out to the north of here. South had that convoy and those burning houses, so that’s a no-go. Maybe I can backtrack eastward the way I came.
As if on cue, a soft pop echoed from over the eastern horizon, and I craned to look out the helicopter window, spotting more man-made flashes over the tree tops.
“Great.” I hissed between clenched teeth, aware of how the temperature dipped to a chilly 60 degrees, and how despite the conditions, my stomach had begun to growl. “Not going that way, are we? Westward it is.”
Walking away from my poor 902 proved to be harder than I’d anticipated. Despite the glass, the fizzling fires, and the darkness, it still held a familiar, human essence to it. Sitting inside it made me feel secure, safe, even calm about the situation. In any other circumstance, I would have just stayed with the downed aircraft to wait for help, but I knew the men who shot me down would likely find my crash site, and I didn’t want to be around when they did.
Unlike much of central and western Ohio, southeastern Ohio is hilly, brushy, and clogged with thick forests. Thorns snagged at my thin poncho and sliced at my pant legs. My knee throbbed, every step a form of self-inflicted torture. The rain never stopped, a steady drizzle from above just cold enough to be problematic as time went on, making me shiver. Mud slid under my tennis shoes, and every tree looked ten times bigger in the flickering beam of my cheap flashlight. Icy fear prickled at the back of my neck at some of the sounds that greeted me through the gloom. I’d been camping loads of times, both in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, but these noises were something otherworldly to me.
Strange howls, screeches, and calls permeated the rain-soaked sky, some almost roars, while others bordered on human in their intonation. The more I walked, the softer the distant gunfire became, and the more prevalent the odd sounds, until the shadows seemed to fill with them. I didn’t dare turn off my flashlight, or I’d been completely blind in the dark, but a little voice in the back of my head screamed that I was too visible, crunching through the gloomy forest with my long beam of light stabbing into the abyss. It felt as though a million eyes were on me, studying me, hunting me from the surrounding brush, and I bitterly recalled how much I’d loved the old Survivor Man TV series as a kid.
Not so fun being out in the woods at night. Especially alone.
A twig snapped somewhere behind me, and I whirled on the spot, one trembling hand resting on the hilt of my K-Bar.
Nothing. Nothing but trees, bushes, and rain dripping down in the darkness.
“This is stupid.” I whispered to myself to keep my nerves in check as I slowly spun on the spot. “I should have went eastward anyway. God knows how long I’m going to have to—”
Creak.
A groan of metal-on-metal echoed from somewhere to my right, and I spun to face it, yanking the knife on my belt free from its scabbard. It felt so small and useless in my hand, and I choked down a wave of nauseas fear.
Ka-whump. Creak. K-whump. Creak.
Underbrush cracked and crunched, a few smaller saplings thrashed, and from deep within the gloom, two yellow orbs flared to life. They poked through the mist in the trees, forming into slender fingers of golden light that swept back and forth in the dark.
The soldiers . . . they must be looking for me.
I swallowed hard and turned to slink away.
Ice jammed through my blood, and I froze on the spot, biting my tongue to stop the scream.
It stood not yards away, a huge form that towered a good twelve feet tall in the swirling shadows. Unpolished chrome blended with flash-rusted spots in the faded red paint, and grime-smeared glass shone with dull hues in the flashes of lightning. Where the wheels should have been, the rounded steel axels curved like some enormous hand had bent them, and the tires lay face-down on the muddy ground like big round feet, their hubcaps buried in the dirt. Dents, scrapes, and chips covered the battered thing, and its crooked little radio antenna pointed straight up from the old metal fender like a mast. I could barely make out the mud-coated VW on the rounded hood, and my mind reeled in shock.
Is . . . is that a car?
Both yellow headlights bathed me in a circle of bright, blinding light, and neither I nor the strange vehicle moved.
Seconds ticked by, the screech-thumping in the background only growing closer. I realized that I couldn’t hear any engine noises and had yet to see any soldiers or guns pointed my way. This car looked old, really old, like one of those classic Volkswagen Beetles that collectors fought over at auctions. Try as I might, I couldn’t see a driver inside the murky, mold-smeared windows.
Because there wasn’t one.
Lightning arched across the sky overhead, and the car standing in front of me blinked.
Its headlights slid shut, as if little metal shades had crawled over the bulbs for a moment and flicked open again. Something about that movement was so primal, so real, so lifelike, that every ounce of self-control I had melted in an instant.
Cursing under my breath, I lunged into the shrubs, and the world erupted around me.
Under my shoes, the ground shook, and the car surged after me in a cacophony of ka-thumps that made my already racing heart skip several beats. A weather-beaten brown tow truck from the 50’s charged through the thorns to my left, it’s headlights ablaze, and a dilapidated yellow school bus rose from its hiding place in the weeds to stand tall on four down-turned axel-legs. They all flicked their headlights on like giants waking from their slumber, and as I dodged past them, they each blared their horn into the night in alarm.
My breaths came short and tight, my knee burned, and I crashed through thorns and briars without thought to how badly I was getting cut up.
The cheap poncho tore, and I ripped it away as it caught on a tree branch.
A purple 70’s Mustang shook off its blanket of creeping vines and bounded from a stand of trees just ahead, forcing me to swerve to avoid being run over, my adrenaline at all-time highs.
This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening.
Slipping and sliding, I pushed through a stand of multiflora rose, and stumbled out into a flat, dark expanse.
I almost skidded to a stop.
What had once been a rather large field stood no taller than my shoestrings, the grass charred, and burnt. The storm above illuminated huge pieces of wreckage that lay scattered over the nearly 40-acre plot, and I could just make out the fire-blackened hulk of a fuselage resting a hundred yards away. The plane had been brought down a while ago it seemed, as there weren’t any flames left burning, and I threw myself toward it in frenzied desperation.
Burned grass and greasy brown topsoil slushed underfoot, and I could hear the squelching of the cars pursing me. Rain soaked me to the bone, and my lungs ached from sucking down the damp night air. A painful stich crept into my side, and I cursed myself for not putting in more time for cardio at the gym.
Something caught my left shoelace, and I hurtled to the ground, tasting mud and blood in between my teeth.
They’ve got me now.
I clawed at the mud, rolled, and watched a tire slam down mere inches from where my head had been. The Mustang loomed over me and jostled for position with the red Volkswagen and brown tow truck, the school bus still a few yards behind them. They couldn’t seem to decide who would get the pleasure of stomping me to death, and like a herd of stampeding wildebeest, they locked bumpers in an epic shoving match.
On all fours, I scampered out from under the sparring brutes, and dashed for the crumpled airplane, a white-painted DC-3 that looked like it had been cut in half by a gargantuan knife blade. I passed a snapped wing section, the oily remains of a turbo-prop engine, and a mutilated wheel from the landing gear. Climbing over a heap of mud, I squeezed into the back of the ruined flight cabin and dropped down into the dark cargo hold.
Wham.
No sooner had my sneakers hit the cold metal floor, and the entire plane rocked from the impact of something heavy ramming it just outside. I tumbled to my knees, screaming in pain as, once again, I managed to bash the sore one off a bracket in the wall.
My hand smeared in something gooey, and I scrabbled for my flashlight.
It clicked on, a wavering ball of white light in the pitch darkness, and I fought the urge to gag. “Oh man . . .”
Three people, or what was left of them, lay strewn over the narrow cargo area. Claret red blood coated the walls, caked on the floor, and clotted under my mud-spattered shoes. Bits of flesh and viscera were stuck to everything, and tatters of cloth hung from exposed sections of broken bone. An eerie set of bloody handprints adorned the walls, and the only reason I could tell it had been three people were the shoes; all of them bore anklebones sticking out above blood-soaked socks. It smelled sickly sweet, a strange, nauseas odor that crept into my nose and settled on the back of my tongue like an alien parasite.
Something glinted in the beam of my flashlight, and my pulse quickened as I pried the object loose from the severed arm that still clung to it.
“Hail Mary full of Grace.” I would have grinned if it weren’t for the fact that the plane continued to buck and roll under the assault from the cars outside.
The pistol looked old, but well-maintained, aside from the light coating of dark blood that stained its round wooden handle. It felt heavy, but good in my hand, and I turned it over to read the words, Waffenfabrik Mauser stenciled into the frame, with a large red 9 carved into the grip. For some reason, it vaguely reminded me of the blasters from Star Wars.
I fumbled with a little switch that looked like a safety on the back of the gun and stumbled toward a gap in the plane’s dented fuselage to aim out at the surrounding headlights.
Bang.
The old gun bucked reliably in my hand, its long barrel spitting a little jet of flame into the night. I had no idea if I hit anything, but the attacking cars recoiled, their horns blaring in confusion.
They turned, and scuttled for the tree line as fast as their mechanical legs could go, the entire ordeal over as fast as it had begun.
Did I do that?
Perplexed, I stared down at the pistol in my hand.
Whoosh.
A large, inky black shadow glided down from the clouds, and the yellow school bus moved too slow to react in time.
With a crash, the kicking nightmarish vehicle was thrown onto its side, spraying glass and chrome trim across the muddy field. Its electro-synth horn blared with wails of mechanical agony, as two huge talon-like feet clamped down on it, and the enormous head of the flying creature lowered to rip open its engine compartment.
The horn cut out, and the enormous flying entity jerked its head back to gulp down a mass of what looked like sticky black vines from the interior of the shattered bus.
At this range, I could see now that the flying creature bore two legs and had its wings half-tucked like a vulture that had descended to feed on roadkill. Its head turned slightly, and in the glow of another lightning bolt, my jaw went slack at the realization of what it was.
A tree trunk. It’s a rotted tree trunk.
I couldn’t tell where the reptilian beast began, and where the organic tree components ended, the upper part of the head shaped like a log, while the lower jaw resembled something out of a dinosaur movie. Its skin looked identical to the outside of a shagbark hickory but flexed with a supple featheriness that denoted something closer to skin. Sharp branch-like spines ranged down its back, and out to the end of its tail, which bore a massive round club shaped like a diseased tree-knot. Crouched on both hind legs, it braced the hooked ends of its folded wings against the ground like a bat, towering higher than a semi-truck. Under the folds of its armored head, a bulging pair of chameleon-like eyes constantly spun in their sockets, probing the dark for threats while it ate.
One black pupil locked onto the window I peered through, and my heart stopped.
The beast regarded me for a moment, making a curious, sideways sniff.
With a proud, contemptful head-toss, the shadow from the sky parted rows of razor-sharp teeth to let out a roar that shook the earth beneath my feet. It was the triumphant war cry of a creature that sat at the very top of the food chain, one that felt no threat from the fragile two-legged beings that walked the earth all around it. It hunted whenever it wanted, ate whatever it wanted, and flew wherever it wanted. It didn’t need to rip the plane apart to devour me.
Like my hunter-gatherer ancestors from thousands of years ago, I wasn’t even worth the energy it would take to pounce.
I’m hiding in the remains of the cockpit now, which is half-buried under the mud of the field, enough to shield the light from my screen so that thing doesn’t see it. My service only now came back, and it’s been over an hour since the winged beast started in on the dead bus. I don’t know when, or how I’m going to get out of here. I don’t know when anyone will even see this post, or if it will upload at all. My phone battery is almost dead, and at this point, I’m probably going to have to sleep among the corpses until daylight comes.
A dead man sleeping amongst friends.
If you live in the Noble County area in southeastern Ohio, be careful where you drive, fly, and boat. I don’t know if it’s possible to stumble into this strange place by ground, but if so, then these things are definitely headed your way.
If that happens . . . pray that they don’t find you.
2023.05.28 23:07 QuirkyCabbage Transmission suddenly stopped working
I own a 2014 Ford Escape and today my car stopped driving and a message stating “transmission fault. Service now” came on the dash. There were zero warning signs until yesterday. I am somewhat ignorant about cars so I am trying to get a general idea what to expect before going to the mechanic and financially getting taken advantage of.
Yesterday, when I was driving home, the car started sounding like a wind up toy car. I initially thought it was power steering, but it the PS fluid was good. It was also raining yesterday so I thought maybe the belts were wet so I went on a short drive today. At first, there were no problems and was convinced it was due to the rain. Then, I was about 3 miles from my house and went on the highway. That is where the problems began. The car made a loud wind up toy car noise and was jerky. I instantly pulled in a gas station to stop and turn around. Then that is when the message came on the screen about transmission. On the drive home, I couldn’t go past 35 mph and it would keep slowing down. Putting my foot on the gas wouldn’t made a difference. I had to keep pulling over to turn off and on the car to keep it driving. Which also is something I never experienced with transmission previously. There were also a few times the rpm would go past 7 even without my foot on the pedal. At one stop sign, the car made a sound I can only describe as a cartoon breaking down sound.
The car did not overheat. I will also stress again, there were no warning signs. No sounds, smells, check engine lights, issues with shifting or driving, or problems of any sort. I never heard of transmission going instantly out, but it is acting too severe to be transmission fluid. I haven’t checked the transmission fluid yet, but I doubt it is that. There is also a recall on the 2014 Ford Escape’s transmission shifter cable bushing, but that description doesn’t match the issues I am experiencing.
Any idea what it could be?
submitted by QuirkyCabbage to CarRepair [link] [comments]
Yesterday, when I was driving home, the car started sounding like a wind up toy car. I initially thought it was power steering, but it the PS fluid was good. It was also raining yesterday so I thought maybe the belts were wet so I went on a short drive today. At first, there were no problems and was convinced it was due to the rain. Then, I was about 3 miles from my house and went on the highway. That is where the problems began. The car made a loud wind up toy car noise and was jerky. I instantly pulled in a gas station to stop and turn around. Then that is when the message came on the screen about transmission. On the drive home, I couldn’t go past 35 mph and it would keep slowing down. Putting my foot on the gas wouldn’t made a difference. I had to keep pulling over to turn off and on the car to keep it driving. Which also is something I never experienced with transmission previously. There were also a few times the rpm would go past 7 even without my foot on the pedal. At one stop sign, the car made a sound I can only describe as a cartoon breaking down sound.
The car did not overheat. I will also stress again, there were no warning signs. No sounds, smells, check engine lights, issues with shifting or driving, or problems of any sort. I never heard of transmission going instantly out, but it is acting too severe to be transmission fluid. I haven’t checked the transmission fluid yet, but I doubt it is that. There is also a recall on the 2014 Ford Escape’s transmission shifter cable bushing, but that description doesn’t match the issues I am experiencing.
Any idea what it could be?
2023.05.28 16:39 girl_from_the_crypt Stuck on earth and looking for a job: So this is what government work is like...
My savior human is distraught. I alone would have trouble enough coping with Kit Sutton's absence, but with Nettie Peterson's grief added to mine, it's been impossible to go about my day with any semblance of serenity.
It's quite simple; when Nettie's unhappy, I cannot be content. She finally let me visit her earlier today. That doesn’t mean her overall state has improved, though. We went to talk in the garden, only there wasn’t much talking involved—she merely sat in her mother’s chair, staring blankly at the storm-tossed flower chaos.
“Didn’t you want to fix your plants back up?” I inquired.
“M-hm,” she muttered.
“It’d be a shame if your pretty garden was gonna stay like this.”
“M-hm.”
“If you need help, you let me know, okay?”
“M-hm.”
“I won’t try to eat the geraniums again.”
“M-hm.”
I leaned forward to try and catch her deep brown gaze. “Nettie, please say something. I thought we wanted to share our feelings more.”
“There’s nothing to share,” my savior human answered, her voice dry and monotone. “Kit’s not here anymore.”
“Yes, and I’m upset, too. But either I’m a horribly poor judge of human behavior or there's more to this.” I tilted my head at her. “I’ve never seen you this way. You said you didn’t always want a solution to your problems, and I’d be happy to just sit and listen as well, but you’re not talking either.”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“Clearly not.”
Nettie let go of a soft breath. “I didn’t wanna tell you. Not until… It’s just that in the last couple days, Kit and I were getting kind of…” She faltered and trailed off.
“Kind of what?” I prompted.
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Please try, if you can. I want to understand.”
My best friend refused to meet my gaze. “See, that’s what I envy you for sometimes. You have an outsider’s perspective. You only see what’s in front of you and you don’t concern yourself with the rest.”
“I am concerned! I’m really concerned about you right now. You’re my best friend, and I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like my caretaker, but I wanna be here for you now. Please. Let me.”
“I… I know, that’s not what I was saying…” She adjusted her bra strap, her hand coming to rest on her shoulder as though she was hugging herself. “If there was something I’d kept secret from you—nothing bad, just something personal—would you be mad at me?”
“I can’t even imagine being mad at you,” I replied.
"That's good to know," she murmured, finally lifting her head to meet my gaze. "It doesn't change things for now, but it's… good to know."
After that, she fell silent again, and I left not much later. I was setting out for a pretty gloomy rest of the day when Frankie Preston texted me, asking to come hang out at the hotel. I've only stayed at a hotel twice, when Nettie took me on vacation with her. The first time was to Croatia, the other to the south of France. My savior human speaks fluent French.
Anyways, I was glad to follow up on the server's invitation. I won't describe the exact location of the hotel he'd chosen, but it was a fairly nice place. I took Kit Sutton's car there, which definitely gave me a weird feeling. In a way, it was nice. It felt like her. The worn seats, the ancient scent tree, the assortment of guitar picks in the cup holder. The empty takeout bag lying in the footwell. When I pulled up to the hotel parking lot, I was almost reluctant to get out. When I eventually did and entered the lobby, I found that I didn't quite know where to go. I opted to simply walk up to the front desk. There was a man sitting behind it, but he didn't look up from his computer screen upon my approach.
"Mm-yes?" he muttered, and it took me a moment to realize he was addressing me.
"Hi," I began.
Something about my voice must have caught his attention, as he abruptly lifted his head to meet my gaze. "Hi," he echoed, a smile forming on his face. I couldn't help but take note of the silvery gleam of his blond hair. It was long and wavy, tied back behind his head. I wondered how it felt. "And you are…?" he prompted, taking me in.
"Sunshine," a voice rang out from behind me. I whirled around, giving Fran a bright smile which, to my delight, he reciprocated. "You have no idea the kind of acquaintance you just made."
I glanced between the two in confusion. The receptionist spoke up first. "Oh. Oh, I see! This is her, isn't it?"
"Yes. Eva, this is… one of the many banes of my existence. He's my younger brother, but only in the most remote sense of the word, I assure you." The waiter gave the receptionist a look that was somewhere between contemptuous fondness and pure contempt.
The other man grinned. "Oh Frankie, my Frankie, you are just the most bitter piece of work there is."
"Younger? You look far older than Frank," I remarked.
"Ouch. But what are looks, really?" He waved me off. "And what is age with creatures like us? Frankie tells everyone he's twenty-two, I say I'm twenty-seven. We just made up these numbers to match our faces. He's existed for way longer, though. That's probably why he's so miserable." He leaned forward, twinkling at me. "Me, I see the world through fresher eyes."
I didn't quite know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut.
"Frankie, won't you introduce me?"
The waiter sighed deeply. "This is… Zion. Zion Boyd. I told him it's a perfectly silly name, but he wouldn't listen. I'm glad Rhonda picked mine for me."
Zion Boyd laughed quietly. "You're an asshole."
"You're an idiot."
"You wanted to hang out?" I reminded Fran.
"Right!" He grabbed my wrist and began steering me towards the winding flight of stairs in the back of the hall. "Ignore him. Forget him entirely, if possible. You're not missing out.”
He brought me up to his suite, a pleasantly large, open space. The tall windows let in the light of the setting sun, painting blushing hues upon the wallpaper. I sat down on the living room couch, switching on the TV not because I was in the mood to watch anything but rather for the background noise. Frankie joined me after a second, placing before me a glass of cold coconut water as he regarded me through thick lashes. "You got something on your mind, don’t you?”
"Your brother."
"Aw crap. That smarmy, handsome piece of shit…" Fran clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. "I knew this would happen."
"What? No. I was wondering about what he said," I clarified, shifting uneasily in my seat.
His hands stilled. "Oh." He smiled brightly. "Do tell."
"He called you creatures. And there was something else in there about your ages."
"So? What do you think? Any grand theories?"
I shrugged. "I could probably try to piece things together. But I'd rather hear it from you."
"Ah, would you. Well, I'm sorry, Sunshine, but it doesn't work like that."
"Don't you think I need to know?"
He reached out to poke my sternum with his finger. "No. I give you everything you need. When I decide you need more information, I'll give that to you, too."
I frowned at him, but hadn't yet regained the ability to speak when my phone rang. I reluctantly fumbled it out. It was an unknown number, but I recognized the voice that greeted me from the other end. “Mary Markov?”
“Miss Shirley! Nice talking to you again.”
“To be honest, this is a bad time…”
“That’s of no relevance. Remember when I told you I might get back to you?”
“Yes.” I exchanged meaningful looks with Frankie, who rolled his eyes. He scooted closer to me and pressed his cheek up to mine to listen to the phone call. His skin was almost unnaturally smooth. I swallowed thickly when I felt his jaw working on his bubble gum, moving against mine.
"Miss Shirley?" Mary Markov asked. "Are you still there?"
"Did you say something?"
A sigh. "Look. You want money, I want your help. Come to the address I’m sending you now. It’s a big parking lot by a hiking trail in the woods. I have business there, and I could use the extra manpower.”
“Right now? I’m kind of on a…”
“You can bring the misanthropist with you.”
“What’s a misanthropist?” I inquired.
“She means me,” Fran supplied.
"She does," Miss Markov confirmed.
"We're coming." I ended the call, turning to Frankie. "That's okay, right? Are you with me?"
"Sure. Money's important. It'll be better if you have your own so I won't have to give you mine." He got up to collect our jackets. "At least this way, you won't get stabbed for it."
We took Kit's car over to the meet-up spot. Mary Markov was waiting for us beside a black pickup truck that seemed rather ill-suited for her. She was wearing a blazer, suit pants and dress shoes that were somehow pristine despite the muddy ground.
"There you are," she said, her tone crisp. Pointing her chin at the woods behind her, she added, "I hope you're ready for a bit of a hike."
"What do you need me for?" I asked.
"The Collective you came into contact with. We have reason to believe that they are meeting up here, among other places. There are probably hideouts to be found, and other things, too."
"Like what?" Fran raised a skeptical brow.
"The objects you were hired to guard. They're important; we don't rightly know what they are but they're constantly being kept on the move. There's no doubt the Collective wants them to remain obscure, and they're being clever about it."
"And you're hoping we'll go in there unprepared and just stumble across them?" the waiter inquired.
"Not exactly. There's a particular member of the cult we've managed to keep our eye on, and we followed her here. She's with at least two others, so we believe they're up to something important," Mary Markov explained. "Go in and find them. When you do, stay low and observe. I'll stay here. If anything goes wrong, call me and I will send for reinforcement."
"Why don't you let your agents go in? Why pull Eva into this? Again?"
"Frankie, I'm fine," I assured him, taking a step towards the newsreader. "What do I get paid?"
"You won't be disappointed in the money," she promised, smiling thinly. "To answer your friend's legitimate question—," she glanced over at Frank Preston as though she didn't consider his query legitimate at all, "—you are quite handy. Normally, when humans have to defend themselves and it comes to an altercation, there's… screams. Blood. Gunshots. Bullets are costly. Personnel even more so. When our agents get hurt, it might take months for them to recover. You don't need that kind of time. You're altogether less likely to be injured fatally. Employing you might end up saving us some lives and we'll be sure to make it worth your while."
That's, in short, why I found myself trudging through the mud and brushes alongside a very grudging Frank Preston that night. The storm had taken its toll in the woods, too—our chaotic surroundings reminded me of a larger-scale version of Nettie's garden. Trees had been uprooted and were lying dead in our path like organic roadblocks. The ground was covered with broken branches, twigs and young leaves. The wet soil squashed beneath our shoes every step of the way. With nightfall approaching, there was not much light reaching the forest floor. This certainly protected us from visibility, but it came at the price of my vision. I couldn't really see what was beneath me, so I kept tripping and staggering.
Frankie was somehow as graceful as ever, unbothered as he stepped over roots and rocks as if he could sense them before placing his feet. He was much quieter than me, but he thankfully wasn't smug about it. He kept one hand steady on my shoulder, aptly guiding me away from obstacles and protrusions. After a while, this began to work very well, and I became less noisy the deeper we proceeded into the woods. The server’s grip suddenly turned painfully tight, stopping me in my tracks. I realized why when I caught a glimpse of brightness not too far ahead. My chest tightened when I spotted the beam of a flashlight traveling the forest floor.
“Hush,” Frankie murmured into my ear. “Don’t. Move.”
I stood stock-still, trusting the fingers still digging into my skin.
The light passed over us, nearly reaching us but not quite. I breathed a silent sigh of relief, which died in my throat when a familiar voice carried over to us on the breeze.
“Hurry up already, would you?”
“Don’t… don’t stress me. Why aren’t you helping?” a young woman replied.
“Because it’s your fucking job.”
I felt myself break into a cold sweat. My heart was thumping so fiercely it was beginning to hurt; my pulse racing. Breaking from my rigor, I leaned over to whisper to Frankie. “That’s them.”
“What?”
“The one who stabbed me.”
Fran’s hand disappeared from my shoulder, moving down to quickly grasp mine. The pair before us was still on the move, the light of their torch slowly fading into the distance. “Listen to me,” my partner proceeded to hiss into my ear. “There’s two of them and two of us, but technically it’ll just be you. I’m not gonna leave you on your own, but the most I can do is hold one of them down.”
“But you’re strong…”
“I can’t actually hurt anybody. I gladly would, but it’s literally physically impossible for me. Do you still want to follow them?”
I paused. I didn’t want to. In fact, every fiber of my being was yelling at me to run, to get out of those woods, and yet… “We have to.”
A sigh. “I really feel like I ought to talk you out of this.”
“Don’t.”
“If things get dire, I’ll grab you and bail.”
“I’ll allow it. I’m still doing this.”
“Guess I was wrong. You might get stabbed for your pay this time around, too.”
“This is bigger than just money, Fran.”
His hand wandered back to my shoulder, nudging me forward. “I know. You want to tear this creep apart.”
I paused. “If Markov asks, we didn’t plan on it.”
“Finally, some murderous tendencies in that sunny mind of yours.” The cheer in Frankie’s voice was only a little forced.
I steeled myself as we took up walking once more. Soon enough, we caught up with the two cultists, trailing behind them at a safe distance. I could hear the faint scraping of a wheelbarrow on the uneven ground. The eerie creaking noise was enough to speed up my heartrate once more. Frankie’s words still echoing through my mind, my thoughts were racing. A part of me was convinced I was making a terrible mistake, but there was something driving me on. Whether it was curiosity, an underlying thirst for revenge or illusions of grandeur, I’ll never know. Yet forwards I went. Abruptly, the pair stopped, the wheelbarrow grating to a halt. Frankie instantly dragged me down to hide behind a dead, uprooted tree, and not one second too soon.
The beam of the flashlight roamed the underbrush, its owners remaining blissfully unaware of our presence. “Here we are,” the person who’d attacked me spoke up again.
“Woah,” the woman pushing the cart answered eloquently. Whatever they were looking at was undoubtedly rather impressive.
“You’ve never been here before, have you?”
“No… Does it go as deep as they say?”
“Deeper. It’s a whole-ass tunnel system down there. We’ve spent years prepping for this, remember?”
“Okay. Whew. Well then, off we go. Can you help me lift him up, at least?”
The other person groaned. “Fine.”
Frankie Preston had grabbed my arm. The distant shine from the cultists’ torch bathed him in an almost unearthly glow. He was cowering beside me with tense shoulders, his face a cold, concentrated mask. He wasn’t even chewing on his gum anymore. His wired posture reminded me of a lurking wildcat in a nature documentary. When he turned to look at me, I could almost tell what he was thinking.
Whatever these two had come here to do, it was happening now, meaning that this was our last chance to intervene.
Trying to free my mind from all thoughts of flight, I rose to my feet. Step by step, I made my way out of our hiding spot, instantly drawing the pair’s attention. Two heads whipped around to face me. The flashlight dropped and rolled a little ways across the ground, its wide beam illuminating the small clearing and revealing the reason for the cultists’ venture. There was a dark hole in the ground at our feet, the opening reminiscent of a gaping, toothless maw. My gaze wandered over to the pushcart. Its bulky contents were covered by a large, green tarp. The tall, lanky person slowly raised their hands to their hips, uttering a low, mildly surprised “huh”. The woman, who was stockier and far shorter in stature than them, stood frozen in shock. The eyes that stared at me from behind her black mask were blown wide.
“Hey you,” the tall one said. “I had a feeling we’d meet again soon.”
I didn’t respond. My stomach suddenly burned with a phantom pain. I couldn’t tear my eyes from the person’s gloved hands, trying not to jump when their fingers twitched into the direction of their pocket. Trying to keep my breathing steady, I reached up to unzip my jacket. As it fell to the ground, I felt my tentacles pierce my skin. Simultaneously, my teeth began to elongate, curving outward as they uncomfortably stretched out my gums.
“I had a feeling something like this was gonna happen, too,” my former assailant added, tilting their head at me. “I do love being right.”
The woman, who had been stunned speechless up to that point, let out an ear-shattering scream, but before anything coherent could emerge from her throat, the other person had spun around and struck her square across the face. The blow had come with such force that she crumbled immediately, her shriek dying in a strangled whimper before she hit the ground unconscious. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My mind was spinning, but I forced my eyes to remain hard, praying that my large fangs were twisting my face enough to veil my terror. I lifted myself over the fallen tree, partly employing my extra limbs. The cultist didn’t shrink away, instead taking a large step towards me. Before I knew it, the surface of their mask was scraping against my teeth. Too startled to move, I held their gaze for several seconds. Up close, I could see the only part of them that wasn’t obscured.
There was something very, very wrong with their eyes.
At first, I couldn’t put my finger on it. Their iris was of a pale, watery color that could not quite be defined as blue. Their surreal milky sheen was enough to send a chill up my spine. And then I realized it. There were only the irises. That black dot that all humans and most other known lifeforms typically have in their eyes, the pupil, it simply wasn’t there.
I stood rooted to the ground, staring into the stranger’s eyes. I thought I could see different colors swirling around in those not-quite-blue orbs. I was abruptly noticing a sudden inability to move on my part. I wanted to lift my arm and shove the cultist away, I wanted to unhinge my jaw and sink my teeth into their flesh, but I couldn’t. I was distantly aware of the heavy rising and falling of my chest, of my heart thundering in my ribcage, but it didn’t feel real somehow. Nothing felt real anymore. The world had turned iridescently turquoise and violent, flashing lights dotting my vision as my breathing grew quicker.
Somewhere in the back of my head, the last waking part of me was screaming.
And then, all of a sudden, everything turned dark again. I blinked furiously, trying to orient myself as the outlines of trees and bushes swam into focus again. The sweet smell of pine needles and damp soil hit me as I emerged from the hypnotic half-slumber. Before me, ramrod straight, stood Frankie Preston, and somehow, the sight of him had triggered the flight instinct in the cultist I had failed to provoke. Our eye contact broken, they staggered back, just as Fran stepped aside. This time, I didn’t throw away my shot. I threw myself at the stranger, lunging forward with my teeth bared. They dodged me by a hair’s breadth, bolting towards the manhole and, within a split second, they had disappeared down the pitch-black shaft. No sound of impact met our pricked ears.
Frankie wordlessly took out his phone, proceeding to place the call to Mary Markov. He walked over to me as they talked, grabbing my hand with his free one and pumping it almost rhythmically like he was trying an unconventional method of resuscitation. His voice and that of the newsreader on the other end sounded strangely far away. After hanging up, he hastily typed something before finally shoving the device back into his pocket. With an almost methodical precision, he wrapped his arms around me and picked me up, holding me close to his chest. My tentacles were hanging limply from my back as my teeth slowly began to reassume their normal size and length. Entangling my trembling fingers in his curls, I must have looked absolutely pitiful. The server sat down on the fallen tree, his grip on me unfaltering as I adjusted to sit on his lap, feeling myself unwind.
We remained like this, not speaking, until we heard steps draw closer. Mary Markov and two of her agents were walking towards us at a speedy pace, the newsreader crouching down in front of us while the two men immediately took to the unconscious female cultist.
“You were in here for quite a while,” she began, her voice drifting in and out of my ears while Frankie’s soothing touch curled around the edge of my senses. “I had a feeling something had gone wrong, so I’d already sent for backup. Good thing, too, I guess.” Her voice held a barely hidden note of accusation.
“Leave her be. She’s obviously in no condition to speak,” the waiter growled.
I would have confirmed this, but I was in no condition to speak.
Mary sighed. “Nevermind then, we’ll discuss this later. For now, let’s check what they were transporting.”
I patted Fran on the back to alert him.
“Feeling curious? Even after all of this?”
I nodded into his nape.
A grunt. “Well, fine. Not like this could have gone any worse, huh.” He stood up and walked us over to the wheelbarrow, closely followed by Mary. The newsreader inspected the tarp, then grabbed one corner and flung it off the cart. A sharp gasp escaped her and I craned my neck to look. Frankie instantly turned around, trying to avert my eyes from the sight that had just been revealed to us, but it was too late. I had already seen the contents. The headless body lying folded in the barrow.
A human with their head removed doesn't look entirely human anymore. I could tell from the stature that it was a male body, but its condition made him feel less like a person. I couldn't help drawing this distinction, even though it made my stomach turn. Rigor mortis having washed over the carcass, he was in a bent, twisted position that would have been painful to anyone still alive. One of his arms, freed from the tarp, was dangling loosely over the side of the cart. One of Mary’s agents gagged and covered his mouth. I shot him a sympathetic glance, though I don’t think he caught it. I was too tired to scream or throw up. Thus quenching any visceral reaction to the gruesome sight, I buried my face in Fran’s shirt once more, closing my eyes.
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
18: something in the caves
submitted by girl_from_the_crypt to nosleep [link] [comments]
It's quite simple; when Nettie's unhappy, I cannot be content. She finally let me visit her earlier today. That doesn’t mean her overall state has improved, though. We went to talk in the garden, only there wasn’t much talking involved—she merely sat in her mother’s chair, staring blankly at the storm-tossed flower chaos.
“Didn’t you want to fix your plants back up?” I inquired.
“M-hm,” she muttered.
“It’d be a shame if your pretty garden was gonna stay like this.”
“M-hm.”
“If you need help, you let me know, okay?”
“M-hm.”
“I won’t try to eat the geraniums again.”
“M-hm.”
I leaned forward to try and catch her deep brown gaze. “Nettie, please say something. I thought we wanted to share our feelings more.”
“There’s nothing to share,” my savior human answered, her voice dry and monotone. “Kit’s not here anymore.”
“Yes, and I’m upset, too. But either I’m a horribly poor judge of human behavior or there's more to this.” I tilted my head at her. “I’ve never seen you this way. You said you didn’t always want a solution to your problems, and I’d be happy to just sit and listen as well, but you’re not talking either.”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“Clearly not.”
Nettie let go of a soft breath. “I didn’t wanna tell you. Not until… It’s just that in the last couple days, Kit and I were getting kind of…” She faltered and trailed off.
“Kind of what?” I prompted.
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Please try, if you can. I want to understand.”
My best friend refused to meet my gaze. “See, that’s what I envy you for sometimes. You have an outsider’s perspective. You only see what’s in front of you and you don’t concern yourself with the rest.”
“I am concerned! I’m really concerned about you right now. You’re my best friend, and I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like my caretaker, but I wanna be here for you now. Please. Let me.”
“I… I know, that’s not what I was saying…” She adjusted her bra strap, her hand coming to rest on her shoulder as though she was hugging herself. “If there was something I’d kept secret from you—nothing bad, just something personal—would you be mad at me?”
“I can’t even imagine being mad at you,” I replied.
"That's good to know," she murmured, finally lifting her head to meet my gaze. "It doesn't change things for now, but it's… good to know."
After that, she fell silent again, and I left not much later. I was setting out for a pretty gloomy rest of the day when Frankie Preston texted me, asking to come hang out at the hotel. I've only stayed at a hotel twice, when Nettie took me on vacation with her. The first time was to Croatia, the other to the south of France. My savior human speaks fluent French.
Anyways, I was glad to follow up on the server's invitation. I won't describe the exact location of the hotel he'd chosen, but it was a fairly nice place. I took Kit Sutton's car there, which definitely gave me a weird feeling. In a way, it was nice. It felt like her. The worn seats, the ancient scent tree, the assortment of guitar picks in the cup holder. The empty takeout bag lying in the footwell. When I pulled up to the hotel parking lot, I was almost reluctant to get out. When I eventually did and entered the lobby, I found that I didn't quite know where to go. I opted to simply walk up to the front desk. There was a man sitting behind it, but he didn't look up from his computer screen upon my approach.
"Mm-yes?" he muttered, and it took me a moment to realize he was addressing me.
"Hi," I began.
Something about my voice must have caught his attention, as he abruptly lifted his head to meet my gaze. "Hi," he echoed, a smile forming on his face. I couldn't help but take note of the silvery gleam of his blond hair. It was long and wavy, tied back behind his head. I wondered how it felt. "And you are…?" he prompted, taking me in.
"Sunshine," a voice rang out from behind me. I whirled around, giving Fran a bright smile which, to my delight, he reciprocated. "You have no idea the kind of acquaintance you just made."
I glanced between the two in confusion. The receptionist spoke up first. "Oh. Oh, I see! This is her, isn't it?"
"Yes. Eva, this is… one of the many banes of my existence. He's my younger brother, but only in the most remote sense of the word, I assure you." The waiter gave the receptionist a look that was somewhere between contemptuous fondness and pure contempt.
The other man grinned. "Oh Frankie, my Frankie, you are just the most bitter piece of work there is."
"Younger? You look far older than Frank," I remarked.
"Ouch. But what are looks, really?" He waved me off. "And what is age with creatures like us? Frankie tells everyone he's twenty-two, I say I'm twenty-seven. We just made up these numbers to match our faces. He's existed for way longer, though. That's probably why he's so miserable." He leaned forward, twinkling at me. "Me, I see the world through fresher eyes."
I didn't quite know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut.
"Frankie, won't you introduce me?"
The waiter sighed deeply. "This is… Zion. Zion Boyd. I told him it's a perfectly silly name, but he wouldn't listen. I'm glad Rhonda picked mine for me."
Zion Boyd laughed quietly. "You're an asshole."
"You're an idiot."
"You wanted to hang out?" I reminded Fran.
"Right!" He grabbed my wrist and began steering me towards the winding flight of stairs in the back of the hall. "Ignore him. Forget him entirely, if possible. You're not missing out.”
He brought me up to his suite, a pleasantly large, open space. The tall windows let in the light of the setting sun, painting blushing hues upon the wallpaper. I sat down on the living room couch, switching on the TV not because I was in the mood to watch anything but rather for the background noise. Frankie joined me after a second, placing before me a glass of cold coconut water as he regarded me through thick lashes. "You got something on your mind, don’t you?”
"Your brother."
"Aw crap. That smarmy, handsome piece of shit…" Fran clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. "I knew this would happen."
"What? No. I was wondering about what he said," I clarified, shifting uneasily in my seat.
His hands stilled. "Oh." He smiled brightly. "Do tell."
"He called you creatures. And there was something else in there about your ages."
"So? What do you think? Any grand theories?"
I shrugged. "I could probably try to piece things together. But I'd rather hear it from you."
"Ah, would you. Well, I'm sorry, Sunshine, but it doesn't work like that."
"Don't you think I need to know?"
He reached out to poke my sternum with his finger. "No. I give you everything you need. When I decide you need more information, I'll give that to you, too."
I frowned at him, but hadn't yet regained the ability to speak when my phone rang. I reluctantly fumbled it out. It was an unknown number, but I recognized the voice that greeted me from the other end. “Mary Markov?”
“Miss Shirley! Nice talking to you again.”
“To be honest, this is a bad time…”
“That’s of no relevance. Remember when I told you I might get back to you?”
“Yes.” I exchanged meaningful looks with Frankie, who rolled his eyes. He scooted closer to me and pressed his cheek up to mine to listen to the phone call. His skin was almost unnaturally smooth. I swallowed thickly when I felt his jaw working on his bubble gum, moving against mine.
"Miss Shirley?" Mary Markov asked. "Are you still there?"
"Did you say something?"
A sigh. "Look. You want money, I want your help. Come to the address I’m sending you now. It’s a big parking lot by a hiking trail in the woods. I have business there, and I could use the extra manpower.”
“Right now? I’m kind of on a…”
“You can bring the misanthropist with you.”
“What’s a misanthropist?” I inquired.
“She means me,” Fran supplied.
"She does," Miss Markov confirmed.
"We're coming." I ended the call, turning to Frankie. "That's okay, right? Are you with me?"
"Sure. Money's important. It'll be better if you have your own so I won't have to give you mine." He got up to collect our jackets. "At least this way, you won't get stabbed for it."
We took Kit's car over to the meet-up spot. Mary Markov was waiting for us beside a black pickup truck that seemed rather ill-suited for her. She was wearing a blazer, suit pants and dress shoes that were somehow pristine despite the muddy ground.
"There you are," she said, her tone crisp. Pointing her chin at the woods behind her, she added, "I hope you're ready for a bit of a hike."
"What do you need me for?" I asked.
"The Collective you came into contact with. We have reason to believe that they are meeting up here, among other places. There are probably hideouts to be found, and other things, too."
"Like what?" Fran raised a skeptical brow.
"The objects you were hired to guard. They're important; we don't rightly know what they are but they're constantly being kept on the move. There's no doubt the Collective wants them to remain obscure, and they're being clever about it."
"And you're hoping we'll go in there unprepared and just stumble across them?" the waiter inquired.
"Not exactly. There's a particular member of the cult we've managed to keep our eye on, and we followed her here. She's with at least two others, so we believe they're up to something important," Mary Markov explained. "Go in and find them. When you do, stay low and observe. I'll stay here. If anything goes wrong, call me and I will send for reinforcement."
"Why don't you let your agents go in? Why pull Eva into this? Again?"
"Frankie, I'm fine," I assured him, taking a step towards the newsreader. "What do I get paid?"
"You won't be disappointed in the money," she promised, smiling thinly. "To answer your friend's legitimate question—," she glanced over at Frank Preston as though she didn't consider his query legitimate at all, "—you are quite handy. Normally, when humans have to defend themselves and it comes to an altercation, there's… screams. Blood. Gunshots. Bullets are costly. Personnel even more so. When our agents get hurt, it might take months for them to recover. You don't need that kind of time. You're altogether less likely to be injured fatally. Employing you might end up saving us some lives and we'll be sure to make it worth your while."
That's, in short, why I found myself trudging through the mud and brushes alongside a very grudging Frank Preston that night. The storm had taken its toll in the woods, too—our chaotic surroundings reminded me of a larger-scale version of Nettie's garden. Trees had been uprooted and were lying dead in our path like organic roadblocks. The ground was covered with broken branches, twigs and young leaves. The wet soil squashed beneath our shoes every step of the way. With nightfall approaching, there was not much light reaching the forest floor. This certainly protected us from visibility, but it came at the price of my vision. I couldn't really see what was beneath me, so I kept tripping and staggering.
Frankie was somehow as graceful as ever, unbothered as he stepped over roots and rocks as if he could sense them before placing his feet. He was much quieter than me, but he thankfully wasn't smug about it. He kept one hand steady on my shoulder, aptly guiding me away from obstacles and protrusions. After a while, this began to work very well, and I became less noisy the deeper we proceeded into the woods. The server’s grip suddenly turned painfully tight, stopping me in my tracks. I realized why when I caught a glimpse of brightness not too far ahead. My chest tightened when I spotted the beam of a flashlight traveling the forest floor.
“Hush,” Frankie murmured into my ear. “Don’t. Move.”
I stood stock-still, trusting the fingers still digging into my skin.
The light passed over us, nearly reaching us but not quite. I breathed a silent sigh of relief, which died in my throat when a familiar voice carried over to us on the breeze.
“Hurry up already, would you?”
“Don’t… don’t stress me. Why aren’t you helping?” a young woman replied.
“Because it’s your fucking job.”
I felt myself break into a cold sweat. My heart was thumping so fiercely it was beginning to hurt; my pulse racing. Breaking from my rigor, I leaned over to whisper to Frankie. “That’s them.”
“What?”
“The one who stabbed me.”
Fran’s hand disappeared from my shoulder, moving down to quickly grasp mine. The pair before us was still on the move, the light of their torch slowly fading into the distance. “Listen to me,” my partner proceeded to hiss into my ear. “There’s two of them and two of us, but technically it’ll just be you. I’m not gonna leave you on your own, but the most I can do is hold one of them down.”
“But you’re strong…”
“I can’t actually hurt anybody. I gladly would, but it’s literally physically impossible for me. Do you still want to follow them?”
I paused. I didn’t want to. In fact, every fiber of my being was yelling at me to run, to get out of those woods, and yet… “We have to.”
A sigh. “I really feel like I ought to talk you out of this.”
“Don’t.”
“If things get dire, I’ll grab you and bail.”
“I’ll allow it. I’m still doing this.”
“Guess I was wrong. You might get stabbed for your pay this time around, too.”
“This is bigger than just money, Fran.”
His hand wandered back to my shoulder, nudging me forward. “I know. You want to tear this creep apart.”
I paused. “If Markov asks, we didn’t plan on it.”
“Finally, some murderous tendencies in that sunny mind of yours.” The cheer in Frankie’s voice was only a little forced.
I steeled myself as we took up walking once more. Soon enough, we caught up with the two cultists, trailing behind them at a safe distance. I could hear the faint scraping of a wheelbarrow on the uneven ground. The eerie creaking noise was enough to speed up my heartrate once more. Frankie’s words still echoing through my mind, my thoughts were racing. A part of me was convinced I was making a terrible mistake, but there was something driving me on. Whether it was curiosity, an underlying thirst for revenge or illusions of grandeur, I’ll never know. Yet forwards I went. Abruptly, the pair stopped, the wheelbarrow grating to a halt. Frankie instantly dragged me down to hide behind a dead, uprooted tree, and not one second too soon.
The beam of the flashlight roamed the underbrush, its owners remaining blissfully unaware of our presence. “Here we are,” the person who’d attacked me spoke up again.
“Woah,” the woman pushing the cart answered eloquently. Whatever they were looking at was undoubtedly rather impressive.
“You’ve never been here before, have you?”
“No… Does it go as deep as they say?”
“Deeper. It’s a whole-ass tunnel system down there. We’ve spent years prepping for this, remember?”
“Okay. Whew. Well then, off we go. Can you help me lift him up, at least?”
The other person groaned. “Fine.”
Frankie Preston had grabbed my arm. The distant shine from the cultists’ torch bathed him in an almost unearthly glow. He was cowering beside me with tense shoulders, his face a cold, concentrated mask. He wasn’t even chewing on his gum anymore. His wired posture reminded me of a lurking wildcat in a nature documentary. When he turned to look at me, I could almost tell what he was thinking.
Whatever these two had come here to do, it was happening now, meaning that this was our last chance to intervene.
Trying to free my mind from all thoughts of flight, I rose to my feet. Step by step, I made my way out of our hiding spot, instantly drawing the pair’s attention. Two heads whipped around to face me. The flashlight dropped and rolled a little ways across the ground, its wide beam illuminating the small clearing and revealing the reason for the cultists’ venture. There was a dark hole in the ground at our feet, the opening reminiscent of a gaping, toothless maw. My gaze wandered over to the pushcart. Its bulky contents were covered by a large, green tarp. The tall, lanky person slowly raised their hands to their hips, uttering a low, mildly surprised “huh”. The woman, who was stockier and far shorter in stature than them, stood frozen in shock. The eyes that stared at me from behind her black mask were blown wide.
“Hey you,” the tall one said. “I had a feeling we’d meet again soon.”
I didn’t respond. My stomach suddenly burned with a phantom pain. I couldn’t tear my eyes from the person’s gloved hands, trying not to jump when their fingers twitched into the direction of their pocket. Trying to keep my breathing steady, I reached up to unzip my jacket. As it fell to the ground, I felt my tentacles pierce my skin. Simultaneously, my teeth began to elongate, curving outward as they uncomfortably stretched out my gums.
“I had a feeling something like this was gonna happen, too,” my former assailant added, tilting their head at me. “I do love being right.”
The woman, who had been stunned speechless up to that point, let out an ear-shattering scream, but before anything coherent could emerge from her throat, the other person had spun around and struck her square across the face. The blow had come with such force that she crumbled immediately, her shriek dying in a strangled whimper before she hit the ground unconscious. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My mind was spinning, but I forced my eyes to remain hard, praying that my large fangs were twisting my face enough to veil my terror. I lifted myself over the fallen tree, partly employing my extra limbs. The cultist didn’t shrink away, instead taking a large step towards me. Before I knew it, the surface of their mask was scraping against my teeth. Too startled to move, I held their gaze for several seconds. Up close, I could see the only part of them that wasn’t obscured.
There was something very, very wrong with their eyes.
At first, I couldn’t put my finger on it. Their iris was of a pale, watery color that could not quite be defined as blue. Their surreal milky sheen was enough to send a chill up my spine. And then I realized it. There were only the irises. That black dot that all humans and most other known lifeforms typically have in their eyes, the pupil, it simply wasn’t there.
I stood rooted to the ground, staring into the stranger’s eyes. I thought I could see different colors swirling around in those not-quite-blue orbs. I was abruptly noticing a sudden inability to move on my part. I wanted to lift my arm and shove the cultist away, I wanted to unhinge my jaw and sink my teeth into their flesh, but I couldn’t. I was distantly aware of the heavy rising and falling of my chest, of my heart thundering in my ribcage, but it didn’t feel real somehow. Nothing felt real anymore. The world had turned iridescently turquoise and violent, flashing lights dotting my vision as my breathing grew quicker.
Somewhere in the back of my head, the last waking part of me was screaming.
And then, all of a sudden, everything turned dark again. I blinked furiously, trying to orient myself as the outlines of trees and bushes swam into focus again. The sweet smell of pine needles and damp soil hit me as I emerged from the hypnotic half-slumber. Before me, ramrod straight, stood Frankie Preston, and somehow, the sight of him had triggered the flight instinct in the cultist I had failed to provoke. Our eye contact broken, they staggered back, just as Fran stepped aside. This time, I didn’t throw away my shot. I threw myself at the stranger, lunging forward with my teeth bared. They dodged me by a hair’s breadth, bolting towards the manhole and, within a split second, they had disappeared down the pitch-black shaft. No sound of impact met our pricked ears.
Frankie wordlessly took out his phone, proceeding to place the call to Mary Markov. He walked over to me as they talked, grabbing my hand with his free one and pumping it almost rhythmically like he was trying an unconventional method of resuscitation. His voice and that of the newsreader on the other end sounded strangely far away. After hanging up, he hastily typed something before finally shoving the device back into his pocket. With an almost methodical precision, he wrapped his arms around me and picked me up, holding me close to his chest. My tentacles were hanging limply from my back as my teeth slowly began to reassume their normal size and length. Entangling my trembling fingers in his curls, I must have looked absolutely pitiful. The server sat down on the fallen tree, his grip on me unfaltering as I adjusted to sit on his lap, feeling myself unwind.
We remained like this, not speaking, until we heard steps draw closer. Mary Markov and two of her agents were walking towards us at a speedy pace, the newsreader crouching down in front of us while the two men immediately took to the unconscious female cultist.
“You were in here for quite a while,” she began, her voice drifting in and out of my ears while Frankie’s soothing touch curled around the edge of my senses. “I had a feeling something had gone wrong, so I’d already sent for backup. Good thing, too, I guess.” Her voice held a barely hidden note of accusation.
“Leave her be. She’s obviously in no condition to speak,” the waiter growled.
I would have confirmed this, but I was in no condition to speak.
Mary sighed. “Nevermind then, we’ll discuss this later. For now, let’s check what they were transporting.”
I patted Fran on the back to alert him.
“Feeling curious? Even after all of this?”
I nodded into his nape.
A grunt. “Well, fine. Not like this could have gone any worse, huh.” He stood up and walked us over to the wheelbarrow, closely followed by Mary. The newsreader inspected the tarp, then grabbed one corner and flung it off the cart. A sharp gasp escaped her and I craned my neck to look. Frankie instantly turned around, trying to avert my eyes from the sight that had just been revealed to us, but it was too late. I had already seen the contents. The headless body lying folded in the barrow.
A human with their head removed doesn't look entirely human anymore. I could tell from the stature that it was a male body, but its condition made him feel less like a person. I couldn't help drawing this distinction, even though it made my stomach turn. Rigor mortis having washed over the carcass, he was in a bent, twisted position that would have been painful to anyone still alive. One of his arms, freed from the tarp, was dangling loosely over the side of the cart. One of Mary’s agents gagged and covered his mouth. I shot him a sympathetic glance, though I don’t think he caught it. I was too tired to scream or throw up. Thus quenching any visceral reaction to the gruesome sight, I buried my face in Fran’s shirt once more, closing my eyes.
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
18: something in the caves
2023.05.28 15:05 resurrective Chapter 17 – The trial of heart
The black domes, they were pocket dimensions, which were completely detached from the material world. Bound to the stream of souls, flowing inside the ephemeral branches of the world tree, they presented a personal hell for each person cast into them. They are a limbo of regrets, the hell of one’s own making, places where the living meets the dead.
There’s only so many ways to elope them. One must either reconcile with the restless souls, or join them, succumbing to their rage and regret that they carried into their afterlife. After all, to even get there, one must possess unparalleled strength and resilience; and only those who had caused deaths and destruction on their path to greatness can even hope to get to this trial.
Freia, Flare, the First princess of Jioral. For some – a good friend, lover, and companion. For others – a nightmare embodied, a vessel of divine powers, a force to be reckoned with. She had many enemies: princes and princesses felled by her authority, treacherous servants and greedy nobles, the knights, who opposed her corruption, slavers and bandits, destroyed on her quest for redemption and restoration of herself… But there were more. Children she had burned, serving her kingdom, women who perished by the tides she conjured, men that had been torn apart by raging tornados of her making, elderly that were buried under the rubble she created…
And how did she oppose them?
“Flagella terram et vescere inimicis meis, o magnum tempestas ignis!” The sorceress chanted, spinning her staff above her head. Then, right before the raging mob reached her, she hid from them behind a vortex of fire. One move and this wave of heat would incinerate everything and everyone in this accursed realm. But…
“TRAITOR!”
“DON’T HIDE FROM US, FLA-A-A-ARE!”
“COME TO US, SISTER!”
“YOU WERE NEVER ONE OF US!”
“USURPER!”
“GIVE ME BACK MY MOM!””
“THE FALSE PRINCESS!”
“SUNNARI (die)!”
“THE DAUGHER OF A WHORE!”
“YOU SHOULD’VE ROT IN THE SLUMS!”
Curses and jealousy, bitterness and hatred. The chorus of tortured souls surrounding the fiery boundary couldn’t be silenced even by the roaring flame. There couldn’t be any redemption.
“I’m sorry for all of you, who unjustly died by my hand!..” And even though there were people deserving their apologies, those who had to perish in favor of Flare’s political ambitions, those she sacrificed to appease her tyrannical father…
“THEN JOIN US, FLARE!”
“PAPA! WHERE ARE YOU?! GIVE HIM BACK!”
“REPENT, BITCH! DISPELL YOUR WITCHCRAFT!!!”
“But I won’t give in to you!” The pink-haired woman exclaimed, absorbing mana into her staff. “Furthermore, there’re those of you I will never regret killing! And there are those, for whom I must live! I MUST GET OUT OF THIS PLACE!!!” Then, she slammed the lower tip of her weapon into the floor made of the absolute darkness. Instead of wailing, being consumed by fear, guilt, self-loathing, and, ultimately, perishing, Freia sundered this entire “world”. One magical strike from her, and cracks of white and gold covered the entire dome. The wall of fire faded, but when the vengeful spirits rushed forward to maul their prey, they crumbled into piles of black salt. “I’m so… so sorry!” The girl lamented, kneeling near the remains of children, whose future she stole. “But I… I must move forward. I must save…”
…
Sparks and crackling, whistle and dazzling – time and time again the surge of lightning breached through the veil of darkness.
“UO-O-O-O-O-O!!!” A guttural scream filled the oppressive silence under the dome. Eve Reese, so childish and bashful, so eager to prove herself, now wore a stone mask of indifference. “Nira-a-a (no-o-o)!!! Yuarmta (I won’t forgive you)!!!” Cornar yelled, held still by at least seven shadows, he had been tortured, killed, bruised, smitten by the raging element of lightning. No longer did the girl see him as a threat; no longer did she cower at the feet of her former husband. Maybe, Eve was condemned to getting back her memories as a means of punishment, something that would make her sympathize with this petty little tyrant…
“Yuarm yau (I don’t need your forgiveness).” The Me-ua kahul spoke, looking at her crackling right arm, trembling with power and guilt combined. Not for forsaking her would-be-spouse, not for becoming Panakea’s pawn…
These souls, these loyal shadows – turned out, she never called upon them… until the very end. Her subjects, her brethren… Eve feared that if she let them out, they would tear her tyrannical husband into little pieces.
“Haa… Haa…” And now, she had to choose. To turn around and let someone else fix her problem, or… “Haa… HAA!!! HAA!!! HAA!!! SUNI (I’ll kill you)!!!”
A Punch to the maw, to the chest, through the ribs, to the heart! He didn’t die! He couldn’t die here! This scumbag of a man, this monster just wouldn’t go away! No matter how much pain she caused him, no matter how many times she slit his throat, broke through his torso, shocked him with spells, cut him with magical light…
And what of Cornar?
“A-A-A-A-A!!! A-A-AGH!!! HA-HA-HA-A!!! NA SHENBATA, SETOAN (you can’t get rid of me, woman)!!!” The son of Hakuo never relented. He relished in his immortality, laughed through the hellish torments Eve inflicted upon him. The skinned lion spotted a weakness in Eve’s heart, and he pressed at it, as if breaking the girl would get him back to the world of the living…
No, he wanted to take Eve to the world of dead.
“Gha-a-a-a… Agh-h-h…” The queen-to-be grabbed her forehead, her rugged breath not only siphoned all the focus out of her, threatening to cast the girl into a pit of despair, it also deteriorated her control over the mana she wielded. Unlike the city of salt, there was enough ambient magic to harvest here, but doing so would require skills, precision, and, most importantly, personal discipline and control over one’s own mind.
“Praibi, orna Iblis (Drain yourself, my Iblis)!” The prince of Batnara shashu tribe provoked, feeling the grip of the shadows losing its strength. A little more, and he’d be free… A little more…
“Hm…” But Eve wouldn’t relent. She once again covered her arm in a coat of magical lightning. She would never surrender; the queen would never let anyone treat her like a slave ever again. Not after Keyaruga’s perseverance taught her a lesson of resilience. Not after his gentleness, however tainted by his wounds, showed her what true love should look like.
She took a swing, prepared to strike…
“…” But then, two winged shadows stopped her hand. Amda and Sana, they were barely recognizable in their spiritual forms… but Eve would never mistake her parents for anyone else. They couldn’t speak, yet they still communicated with their daughter through other means. Emotions, wishes, urges – they never wished such evil to befall their daughter, but what they hated even more – was to see their child descend into the same pit.
“I… I don’t… have to?..” They asked her to stop, to let them relieve her of that burden. “B-but!.. No! You will die!” The girl snarled, grabbing her parents in a hug. She knew what was to come – her mother, father – they wished to sacrifice themselves to drag Cornar back to the afterlife. But that… wouldn’t that mean she’d lose them all over again? Wouldn’t…
“…”
“Yes! You’re dead! So what?! What do I?..” The feeling of pain and powerlessness engulfed the verdant woman. Barely had she found the strength to stand before her fallen tribe, before those who she desired to see the most now left her.
“YOTJAR (finally)!!!” With Eve’s will getting weaker, so did the shadows of her ethereal court. Her tyrannical husband finally broke free, slamming and stomping her shadows, as they fruitlessly tried stopping him. Amda and Sana Reese hugged their child for the last time… and now they stood up to defend their precious daughter. That is… the least they could do.
…
Freia broke inside another dome. From the outside, they looked like bright constellations of stars, formed on the points of a massive, galactic-scaled pentagram. The personal chamber for each of the contenders. One was broken from the inside, collapsing inwards, into a black hole with an orange halo – this was Freia’s dome. There were four more. Two were dimmed, two still shone brightly. The Hero of Magic travelled through this empty space, lit by numerous distant stars. In her current form, things like speed, form, and time – none of them mattered, aside from her destination. And now, she had to choose one of the two luminous chambers.
…
What is true power? Does one determine this abstract concept by the weight one can lift with their muscles? Maybe it was the charisma necessary to lead the masses? Enough money to influence others? Authority earned or inherited?
“Well-well-well…” Whatever the answer truly was, Ellen had none of it right now. No strength to fight, no troops to hide behind, and certainly – those who opposed her now had little if any need of whatever amount of gold she now carried.
“WENCH!”
“TANOUTUR (murderer)!”
“NEZAH (why)?!”
“MERA RIVARO (my life)!..”
“YAU MA (how dare you)!”
“YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE, BITCH!!!”
Oh, they came for Norn. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them, some she could recall from her Murian and Teuteccain campaigns – the series of expansions past the great wall; others were the court warlords she and John unseated in her ascension; rebellious villagers too came to exact their revenge on the younger princess, after her demons decimated them; and there were the victims of Buranikka’s carnage. This was the mountain of corpses Norn Clatalissa Jioral used to climb onto the very peak of political power…
“Now then, what do you want from me? An apology? Maybe my penance?” Even now, surrounded by countless dead souls, whose entire being now revolved around their grudge, the girl wouldn’t let herself be crushed by their rage. Not mentally, at least.
“DIE!”
“MAN WOR YAKSI (give me your eyes)!”
“SUFFER, YOU MONSTER!”
“I JUST WANTED TO LIVE!!!”
And so, hundreds of voices began howling in unison. So passionate, so eager to share their hardships and aspirations, that Ellen actually started pitying them a little. So many words, so much pain in them.
“Haa… I guess, that something like this was bound to happen someday. Well…” Instead of listening to the rest of the traumatizing nonsense and wailing, the crimson-headed cutie just began… to simply undress. “I don’t have the power to struggle, I can’t break out of here, and all of you came here for me. So go on. Rape me, maul me, kill me, do whatever you want. I’ve already done everything I wanted.” Ellen, now naked and completely defenseless, stretched out on the ethereal black floor, looking into the endless black void above her. The raging souls now came closer and closer, dozens of faces now loomed above her, as their hands reached out to grab the fallen warlady and tear her apart. This… was the end.
Keyaruga, Setsuna, sister… I hope you won’t miss me too much.
And so, she closed her eyes. Time to finally die.
…
…
…
There was no pain, nobody dragged the girl around, not even a single blow fell upon her. Ellen was… safe?
“A-A-A-A!!!”
“UGH-H-H!!!”
“YOLA-A-A-A-A (it hu-u-u-urts)!!!”
Slice and dicing, the ripping of flesh and clattered bones, “death” of a sort, dealt to the undying, torment for the tormented who themselves wished to inflict suffering upon her – someone kept the restless souls away from the princess. Someone precise, fast, and masterful with his tools of mayhem.
“Haa, is that you, Organ?” Ellen asked sullenly. Denied her excruciating retribution once more, she could only cover her tightly shut eyes with her palms.
“How did you know, Your Highness?” Indeed, it was him. As brutal as he was gallant, the deceased demigod was the only one out of these dead souls, who spoke to her, and not wailed at her like some sort of a beast.
“I know only two men, who’d come for me here, and the other isn’t so discreet, you moron.” The young general replied, opening her eyelids. The first thing she saw was the Champion of Jioral, covered in black blood. His prized amber eyes were no more, only black gaping holes were there instead. “Why’re you here? Do you want a piece of me for yourself?” The girl asked, still unwilling to stand up. Honestly, she felt robbed at this moment. This would be such a fitting end for her, but no! “Don’t tell me you’ve just barged in here to… Pff! PROTECT… me.” The second princess spat these words through her painfully clenched teeth.
“First things first, Lady Norn, I suggest you cover your shame and cease this indecency.” The warrior spoke, piercing and slashing the mob with his sword, impaling them with his hidden blade, tossing them back with his kicks. He was far from his prime form, and so, wounds and sores, cuts and lesions were left on him, as he, alone, overpowered dozens of raging men and women, keeping them away from the girl he swore to protect. Indeed… “Forgive me, princess, but I made a vow to your mother, and death is hardly a valid reason to…”
“YAKS… (giv…) A-A-A-A!!!”
“…to renounce my…”
“DOKI-I-I (step away)!!!”
“…loyalty to her!”
Despite everything, no matter the odds, Hawkeye continued to push back the angry spirits. He couldn’t dodge, as every missed blow could land on the lady, he couldn’t step back, as she needed protection more than any time in her life, and, certainly, sustained by this oppressive dimension, he couldn’t die. He couldn’t kill anyone, as they just rose anew from their own black blood, but the man couldn’t retreat.
“He-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…” The princess chuckled, curling her torso in order to sit up. It hurt her stomach, but the girl persevered nonetheless. “Why am I always surrounded by stupid stubborn men, who just can’t help but dingle their balls before me? Seriously, a dead man, upholding a promise to a dead woman, how much more ridiculous can this get?” The girl scoffed, pulling back her panties, bra, and whatever she left lying around, back on. After all, why even bother now? “Be honest, idiot! What do you want from me?”
“I came here…”
Slash, backflip, tackle, toss – Organ Trist twirled around his commander, pushing back everyone, who came too close to his prized princess.
“…to ask you, Lady Norn!..”
Shoulder slam, side-kick, a flurry of bloodshed embodied in the son of Artemis!
“…to save my…”
Stabbing enemies with that hidden blade, crushing their skulls with the handle of his blade, ripping their eyes out and tossing them away – however useless this double-sided brutality may seem, Hawkeye had purpose, skill, and, most of all, conviction, that allowed him to push the mob away.
“…daughter! Save Marianna!”
After all, what can be stronger, than a father, eager to protect his dear child?
“And you think keeping me alive will help you with that? You, moron, this bloated pigeon trapped me here! I have only one way out – fucking death!” The second princess, now properly clothed again, yelled however loud she could. Unable to comprehend the reasoning behind this idiocy, the girl just stood there, pulling her crimson hair. “Also, you’re severely mistaken! I’m not Norn! Norn’s dead! My name is…”
“…Elly! Elly-y-y!!!” Barely had the princess opened her mouth; before the dome had been breached from the outside. The Hero of Magic emerged above the ground. She levitated, using magical blue flames; she secured her sister by forming a wall around her, a barricade made from powerful ice spears. The sorceress even went so far as to send one into the undead Champion, it was one he easily avoided, though. “Step away from my sister, Organ!!!” The raging magician demanded, pulling her sibling towards her with a gust of mystical wind.
“Ghh! Oh, hey there, Friea!” The fallen warlady spoke, bracing herself against the dizziness her brief flight had caused. Still, this didn’t look good. The last time those two met, Hawkeye severely injured the pink-haired girl, and she just wouldn’t live through it again, unless two gods appeared to help her. This time, though, it was her turn to be a deity-savior.
“Get away! You’ve bested me once, but this time, I can crash this entire realm down onto your head!” The Hero of Magic promised, putting her staff between her sister and her enemy.
“Aw shit, this just gets better and better…” The little genius lamented, nervously shaking her head. Not only was her glorified suicide rudely interrupted, but now this situation threatened to kill her sister as well. Still…
“Elly, Elly… Ellen? Ellen the Adopted?” Despite Freia’s expectations, Organ Trist was more interested in the new name she called Norn, rather than anything else, really. He already had his fair share of battles, after all. “Ho-ho-o! I guess, in the end, you really did become the better version of yourself! And the ‘brother’ in question – is that sir Keyaru?” The blinded man asked with the same smugness he once boasted with in his grandiose life.
“What’s the point of answering you now? Aren’t we just traitors to you?” The heroine replied with every bit of animosity she had in her. “Hold on, Elly, I’ll get you out of here.” Freia stated, charging her staff with the magic that shaped this entire “world”.
“Heh, aren’t you afraid of what that damn poisoned pigeon might do to you for breaking her rules?” The crimson-haired cutie scoffed, witnessing the entire black dome covering with cracks.
“I don’t care about her rules! All I want is to see you safe!” The sorceress spoke with even more defiance toward Caladrius than Norn ever had in her. If needed, she would challenge this feathered nightmare to a duel, anything, just to save her family.
“I see…” Hawkeye uttered, kneeling before the two girls. All that time, rather than monitoring Freia’s moves, his supernatural senses were aimed outside, to make sure no restless souls cross the fence of magic ice. But now… “I see your eyes, Princess Flare, they’re just like hers. I’m sure; you’ll make Lady Reeharoze proud of you yet.” Now, before he once again departs to the other side, there was one last thing to tell them. First praise, then a claim… “Lady Ellen, I beg of you. The life of Marianna now lies in your hands.” …and finally a plea. With all that said, Organ Trist crumbled, his body turned into black salt. And with it, the entire realm began to collapse in itself…
“Hold tight, Elly…”
…
And now, there was only one dark dome left. Arguably, the worst of them all, this particular world was to be the prison for Keyaruga… or his cemetery. No doorways to run into, no windows to jump from. He was alone, trapped with hundreds of those who were slain by his hand. Those poor bastards – the restless souls, their minds were so obsessed with hatred, and their grudge – powered by the sheer immortality of their ethereal blackened bodies. This was hell in its purest form. The question is – a hell for who, exactly?
“YE-E-E-E-E-EAH!!! IT’S HEALING TIME!!!” Keyaruga snarled and began splattering blood all over the place. Everyone who was touched by that substance became horribly mutated – their heads bloated, their muscles strained so much, they crushed their very bones! “WHAT’S WRONG?! KILL ME!!! KILL ME NOW!!!” The man demanded, dancing around his would-be tormentors with his blade, blessing his foes with the exquisite gift of perpetual agony! Saber in his right hand, Georgius on his left, one complementing another.
Despite what the lad asked, nobody could bring him down. His immortal flesh defied any blade, his bones healed in an instant, his mad frenzy alleviated any pain.
He thought he could kill his enemies for the second and final time, give them proper death in the most excruciating manner. He was wrong…
“DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! AGAIN! AND AGAIN! AND ALL OVER AGA-A-A-A-AIN!!!” The hero yelled chopping off heads and severing limbs! He killed so many, he couldn’t even count the slayings! He murdered the same people over and over, each time their agony being more exquisite then the last!
Kill a man once, he won’t even notice, his rage will only rise! Kill him thrice – he’d waver! Five – and the seeds of fear are sown. Ten – and he’s broken completely!
Keyaruga just couldn’t help himself, he hated these scum so much, he just couldn’t contain all his passionate hatred. It was so strong, that the feeling of pure, raw, primordial wrath transcended every possible modification he had put into himself.
“A-A-A-A-A!!! UGH-H-H-H-H!!!” A soldier was weeping, hugging his boot. “S-S-S-S-SPA-A-A-ARE ME-E-E!!!”
“YO-O-OU!!! I remember you!” The healer spoke, raising the cretin by his neck. “My first kill! You watched me being raped, drugged… BEATEN!!!” The man yawped, slicing off his upper face with one nimble slice. “AND YOU NEVER!!! EVER!!! EVER FUCKING HELPED ME!!!” The lad, tainted by black and red blood, slammed the sentry into the ‘floor’…
“A-A-A-A-A!!! PLE-E-E-EASE!!!” …and gleefully sliced off his arms, ignited sparked his left armored hand into a gauntlet of blazing heat!..
“GU-GHH-GUU!!! UA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!” And finally, cauterized the wounds, just so that the retard wouldn’t die too soon.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!!!” The crazed avenger yelled, grabbing Leonard, so conveniently nearby, weeping. “YOU SAID, I’VE DONE NOTHING FOR THIS FUCKING KINGDOM?! I’LL SHOW YOU, WHAT I CAN DO NO-O-OW!!!”
And so he did, the madman rested his two fingers on the sadist’s forehead. A second passed, and a purple spark had announced the richest form of suffering.
“Oh… U-u… Uo-o-o-o-o-o… Khh…” Indeed, although it wasn’t as vocal as previous ones, Keyaruga was more than pleased with the result. He knew of a human having specific nerves, specifically for reacting to pain. And he just overloaded them. Toxic spiders, dangerous medusas, venomous snakes and scorpions – all of them could do that with their poisons. Hell, even Keyaruga could brew neurotoxins. But damn, this thing had one ultimate merit compared to all of those – the instant effect, so potent, in fact, that the victim can’t even cry out from the excruciating pain!
“He-e! That’s a neat trick.” The lad mumbled, approaching a maid, lying on the “floor” like an embryo. Flare’s bodyguard shivered and sucked her thumb, completely lost to this twisted world. Just one little touch… “Pam! You’re already dead!” Keyaruga sneered tapping his armored fingers by her temple.
“Uh… Uh… Ugh… W… Wha-?.. A-A-A-A-A-A-AGH-H-H!!!” The woman grabbed her skull, but it was too late. All the blood, bile, and even marrow now came into her brain, bloating it, up until it burst in a fountain of black blood and shining entrails.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!! I FUCKING LOVE IT!!!” The deranged healer laughed so loud, and his presence was so overwhelming now, that nobody even dared to come close to him, let alone attack, unless they wished to become a victim of a new twisted experiment. Oh, their fear, this agonizing panic! They’re giving me a fucking boner! I wanna fuck! I want a woman! Oh, this! This will do nicely!
And so, Keyaruga dropped his saber, unfastened his belt, ripped the dress, slapped that ass which he had found, grabbed it, pushed it in! The woman with a blackened tail was slowly dying of blood loss, but that barely concerned the lad. He grabbed her pelvis and began to move, so fast, so frantic, and so mindless, that no one could see a human in him. No-o, this was a wild beast, slamming his bulging cock into the defenseless female, too tired to react, let alone resist somehow. She wasn’t even tight, just barely warm, but even that was enough. A few minutes of such suffering inflicted on her, and he came, this was a brilliant orgasm, deeply perverted, and twisted to the very core…
Oh, that’s the fucking best! I love it so much!
Keyaruga grabbed her hand, wiped his penis with it, pull back his pants, and…
I don’t remember her. I wonder, who that is.
He pushed the body, rolling it to the back.
“Ha-a-a… Hello again, Kailia…” The mad lad recognized her instantly. An agent, sent to find and assist Eve Reese in her quest, hired by someone named Carol. But that alone wouldn’t be enough to get Keyaruga to brutally rape her. “You’ve killed my Norn, but I spared you. Heh, after Kali left, I tasked you to ward off whoever they sent after my Eve, but… It seems like you’ve failed. Really, really sad.” The healer spoke, resting his left hand on her dying flesh, recovering it in an instant. And just like that… “Oh, fuck!” She nearly stabbed him with a knife. Gods only knew where she got it from… “Sit still.” But then, Keyaruga just pressed his finger on her forehead, and completely shut down her limbs functions. He pitied her… but could do nothing for this miserable leopard woman.
“Haa… Damn, it’s getting boring here.” The hero lamented, picking up his weapon of choice. At this point, he just put it back in its sheath. Only then did he spot a couple of new faces in the crowd of weeping bastards. “You there! You don’t look like you should be here. What’s… wait…”
“STAY AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!!!” The woman cried, she was weeping into her man’s now tainted shirt.
“Heh! He-heh! No-no-no-o! Oh no-o-o!” Keyaruga frantically shook his head, unable to believe what he just saw. This was the worst. This… “Anna! Kurt! What… What’re you even doing here?! I… I avenged you! You shouldn’t have…” His parents were there, they stood among the thugs, slavers, robbers, bandits, zealots, murderers… But they… they weren’t one of them…
“You killed us, traitor. You raped my wife, after everything she’s done for you. You’re disgusting little shit!” The mighty harvester told him, pointing his war-scythe at the hero. The only thing that held him at bay, though, was his spouse, loudly crying with black tears pouring from her eyes.
“Heh… You… really think I’d…”
“No. But you’ve proven it.” Kurt spoke with the coldest possible rage in his voice. Keyaru’s cruelty couldn’t be doubted, after all. Not after everyone he maimed this day. “I don’t give a fuck, what the hell is wrong with you, but I’ll slice your guilty ass as many times as I need.” The older man spoke, pushing Anna aside. And then, he lunged.
Kurt struck as a true warrior – he was swift, accurate, precise – his war scythe – basically a reforged farming tool, grazed Keyaruga’s torso, cut his leg, he even stabbed his foster son through his chest. But… there was no blood.
“Calm down, you two.” The hero demanded, stoically taking hit after hit, like the heavy glaive-like blade was nothing. While Anna crumbled to her knees, lost in her weeping, Kurt wouldn’t stop attacking. “You can’t kill me, I’m immor-…” Barely did the lad say so; before his foster father grabbed the handle in a wide grip, and just swept his head off with one precise strike.
“NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!!!” Strangely enough, despite all of the delusions his parents had about him, Anna just couldn’t stand seeing her child being killed so brutally. “A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!!! WHY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y?!!!” As Keyaru’s head rolled on the ground, the thugs, at least those who weren’t affected by any of hero’s inventive afflictions, started to get rallied again.
“You had it coming, you ungrateful dipshit!” Kurt spat through tightly closed teeth. He couldn’t watch, couldn’t face what he had to do with his adopted prodigy. Even if he was a criminal. Even if…
“I really did…” But the bastards weren’t enjoying the show for too long. Right when the healer seemed to fall, a new body started to grow from his neck-stump, the clothes, the pouches, the weapons – everything turned into ash just to materialize again on the proudly standing conqueror of death itself.
“What devilry is this?” Kurt’s reaction was understandable. A mix of fear, anger, and disgust, was all over his tainted face. In turn…
“KEYARU-U-U-U!!!” Anna just dashed forward to hug her child. No matter, how disgustingly atrocious his resurrection was, without even looking at the beheaded body that now lied nearby, the woman just went ahead and embraced the lad. She… didn’t seem to be in her right mind, even for a dead soul.
“Anna, I… I…” The shivers began taking a hold of him. His hands, his knees – they trembled so much, this simple touch he though he lost forever, this… This was enough to make him cry. “I’m sorry… I’m so, so, so, so-o-o sorry!..”
“DIE, FUCKER!!!”
“THAT YOU HAVE TO SEE ME DOING THIS!!!” Keyaruga yelled, grabbing Leonard by his wrist. Just a little pressure – and he dropped his sword, the weapon faded into nothingness. Then, the man pushed Anna back, punched his foe in the gut, and proudly showed his captive to his family. “Haa… He-heh! He-e-e… This… This is Leonard, Flare’s… right hand…” The hero spoke, this time trying to maintain his sanity, as his parents now cautiously looked at him. “I… I came from the future! I had to rewind time’s flow itself… Because Flare was evil, and he…” Then, the man put his hand onto the barely struggling imbecile, thus transforming him into Keyaru, the motionless child, whose entire mobility, except for breathing, was shut down for the ease of what he was about to do. “I killed Flare! And he took my guilt. Then…” Afterwards, the healer went ahead and summoned raging flames upon his free hand. Kurt and Anna watched motionlessly, as he placed the magic-shrouded palm onto his ‘own’ face, burned it, scourged the blackened flesh with the sorcery he ‘learned’ from Flare… “My trick was revealed, and he headed out to our village, looking just like me. The rest… you know the rest.”
And finally, Keyaruga dropped the motionless doll, unable even to cry out from the excruciating pain the Hero of Healing inflicted upon it. He then faced his parents, still shocked by such a display of merciless brutality, they couldn’t even properly reply, this entire spectacle of bloodshed, mayhem, rape, torture, demonstration of immortality, and now – proofs of metamorphosis – all of that left them utterly silent.
“Kurt, Anna… I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you… But I can’t let you, or any one of these fuckers keep me here! I… I have a family! Freia, Setsuna, Ellen, Eve – I so wanted you to meet them… But you can’t now. You… might not believe me, and I understand that.” The red-eyed lad uttered, as his posture slouched more and more, along with his fading bravery. “This is what it’s like to be a man! I must be strong! I have to be ruthless now, so that nobody would challenge me in the future!” The man added, now turning his back to his foster parents. He stood straight, he stretched his shoulders, took a deep breath, and… “LISTEN HERE, YOU FUCKING MONSTERS!!! WHAT YOU’VE FELT NOW IS BUT A TINY BIT OF WHAT I’LL DO TO YOU, ONCE I’M FUCKING DEAD!!! NOW YOU WILL GO INTO THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL, AND WHEN YOU’RE THERE, PRAY I DON’T FUCKING DIE ANYTIME SOON!!! BECAUSE WHEN I FINALLY KICK THIS SHITTY BUCKET, I’LL FIND EACH OF YOU, AND WE’LL BE PLAYING FOR THE WHOLE OF ETERNITY!!! BUT WHY WAIT, WHEN WE CAN HAVE SOME FUN NOW, HU-U-U-UH?!!!”
The speech was told, the impact made. His words were so zealous, so passionately intimidating, that the weeping fools now reached a whole new depth of despair.
“GET US OUT OF HERE!!!”
“SAVE ME-E-E-E!!!”
“HE’S THE DEVIL!!! DE-E-EVIL!!!”
“UA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!”
“KUUNDA (I’m so scared)!!!”
“HE-E-E-E-E-ELP!!!”
And so, this entire crowd, this mob of immortal corpses, just ran away. Everyone, who could still stand on their feet, began fleeing in panic, trampling each other in the process. What they failed to notice, though, is that the dome is endless only for its main victim. Everyone else just came up against the invisible wall.
The Trial of Heart – its goal is twisted, to be certain. To pass it would mean releasing the dead souls from their grudge toward you. A saint would shift it to forgiveness, but the deranged avenger pumped so much fear in those criminals, that their hatred was replaced by the purest and most animalistic terror. Still, with the task done, the souls began to dissipate in a white light. They would finally be free…
“REMEMBER!!! YOU’VE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME!!! WE’LL MEET AGAIN, YOU FUCKING SHITBAGS!!!” Unfortunately for them, though, Keyaruga’s long shadow still loomed above them all. And such, even in relief, the crowd continued to cry, to sob, to wail, to…
“Keya… ru…” But not all left because of dread. When the avenger turned around, his foster mother, crumbling into white flakes, stood on her tiptoes to give him a last kiss on the cheek. “You’ve grown… so much…”
And so, she faded. Kurt quickly followed, although it wasn’t forgiveness or benevolence that filled his raging soul. No, it was an impotent acceptance. He saw Keyaruga as a mirror, in which he saw himself, before he deserted the royal guard and found himself in Alban.
“Someday… you’ll follow my path…” And this was what the man spoke at last, dropping his war-scythe to the ethereal ground. With no souls to redeem in the most twisted of ways, the dome of blackness quickly turned insufferably bright.
The Trial of Heart had been passed.
submitted by resurrective to RedoOfHealer [link] [comments]
There’s only so many ways to elope them. One must either reconcile with the restless souls, or join them, succumbing to their rage and regret that they carried into their afterlife. After all, to even get there, one must possess unparalleled strength and resilience; and only those who had caused deaths and destruction on their path to greatness can even hope to get to this trial.
Freia, Flare, the First princess of Jioral. For some – a good friend, lover, and companion. For others – a nightmare embodied, a vessel of divine powers, a force to be reckoned with. She had many enemies: princes and princesses felled by her authority, treacherous servants and greedy nobles, the knights, who opposed her corruption, slavers and bandits, destroyed on her quest for redemption and restoration of herself… But there were more. Children she had burned, serving her kingdom, women who perished by the tides she conjured, men that had been torn apart by raging tornados of her making, elderly that were buried under the rubble she created…
And how did she oppose them?
“Flagella terram et vescere inimicis meis, o magnum tempestas ignis!” The sorceress chanted, spinning her staff above her head. Then, right before the raging mob reached her, she hid from them behind a vortex of fire. One move and this wave of heat would incinerate everything and everyone in this accursed realm. But…
“TRAITOR!”
“DON’T HIDE FROM US, FLA-A-A-ARE!”
“COME TO US, SISTER!”
“YOU WERE NEVER ONE OF US!”
“USURPER!”
“GIVE ME BACK MY MOM!””
“THE FALSE PRINCESS!”
“SUNNARI (die)!”
“THE DAUGHER OF A WHORE!”
“YOU SHOULD’VE ROT IN THE SLUMS!”
Curses and jealousy, bitterness and hatred. The chorus of tortured souls surrounding the fiery boundary couldn’t be silenced even by the roaring flame. There couldn’t be any redemption.
“I’m sorry for all of you, who unjustly died by my hand!..” And even though there were people deserving their apologies, those who had to perish in favor of Flare’s political ambitions, those she sacrificed to appease her tyrannical father…
“THEN JOIN US, FLARE!”
“PAPA! WHERE ARE YOU?! GIVE HIM BACK!”
“REPENT, BITCH! DISPELL YOUR WITCHCRAFT!!!”
“But I won’t give in to you!” The pink-haired woman exclaimed, absorbing mana into her staff. “Furthermore, there’re those of you I will never regret killing! And there are those, for whom I must live! I MUST GET OUT OF THIS PLACE!!!” Then, she slammed the lower tip of her weapon into the floor made of the absolute darkness. Instead of wailing, being consumed by fear, guilt, self-loathing, and, ultimately, perishing, Freia sundered this entire “world”. One magical strike from her, and cracks of white and gold covered the entire dome. The wall of fire faded, but when the vengeful spirits rushed forward to maul their prey, they crumbled into piles of black salt. “I’m so… so sorry!” The girl lamented, kneeling near the remains of children, whose future she stole. “But I… I must move forward. I must save…”
…
Sparks and crackling, whistle and dazzling – time and time again the surge of lightning breached through the veil of darkness.
“UO-O-O-O-O-O!!!” A guttural scream filled the oppressive silence under the dome. Eve Reese, so childish and bashful, so eager to prove herself, now wore a stone mask of indifference. “Nira-a-a (no-o-o)!!! Yuarmta (I won’t forgive you)!!!” Cornar yelled, held still by at least seven shadows, he had been tortured, killed, bruised, smitten by the raging element of lightning. No longer did the girl see him as a threat; no longer did she cower at the feet of her former husband. Maybe, Eve was condemned to getting back her memories as a means of punishment, something that would make her sympathize with this petty little tyrant…
“Yuarm yau (I don’t need your forgiveness).” The Me-ua kahul spoke, looking at her crackling right arm, trembling with power and guilt combined. Not for forsaking her would-be-spouse, not for becoming Panakea’s pawn…
These souls, these loyal shadows – turned out, she never called upon them… until the very end. Her subjects, her brethren… Eve feared that if she let them out, they would tear her tyrannical husband into little pieces.
“Haa… Haa…” And now, she had to choose. To turn around and let someone else fix her problem, or… “Haa… HAA!!! HAA!!! HAA!!! SUNI (I’ll kill you)!!!”
A Punch to the maw, to the chest, through the ribs, to the heart! He didn’t die! He couldn’t die here! This scumbag of a man, this monster just wouldn’t go away! No matter how much pain she caused him, no matter how many times she slit his throat, broke through his torso, shocked him with spells, cut him with magical light…
And what of Cornar?
“A-A-A-A-A!!! A-A-AGH!!! HA-HA-HA-A!!! NA SHENBATA, SETOAN (you can’t get rid of me, woman)!!!” The son of Hakuo never relented. He relished in his immortality, laughed through the hellish torments Eve inflicted upon him. The skinned lion spotted a weakness in Eve’s heart, and he pressed at it, as if breaking the girl would get him back to the world of the living…
No, he wanted to take Eve to the world of dead.
“Gha-a-a-a… Agh-h-h…” The queen-to-be grabbed her forehead, her rugged breath not only siphoned all the focus out of her, threatening to cast the girl into a pit of despair, it also deteriorated her control over the mana she wielded. Unlike the city of salt, there was enough ambient magic to harvest here, but doing so would require skills, precision, and, most importantly, personal discipline and control over one’s own mind.
“Praibi, orna Iblis (Drain yourself, my Iblis)!” The prince of Batnara shashu tribe provoked, feeling the grip of the shadows losing its strength. A little more, and he’d be free… A little more…
“Hm…” But Eve wouldn’t relent. She once again covered her arm in a coat of magical lightning. She would never surrender; the queen would never let anyone treat her like a slave ever again. Not after Keyaruga’s perseverance taught her a lesson of resilience. Not after his gentleness, however tainted by his wounds, showed her what true love should look like.
She took a swing, prepared to strike…
“…” But then, two winged shadows stopped her hand. Amda and Sana, they were barely recognizable in their spiritual forms… but Eve would never mistake her parents for anyone else. They couldn’t speak, yet they still communicated with their daughter through other means. Emotions, wishes, urges – they never wished such evil to befall their daughter, but what they hated even more – was to see their child descend into the same pit.
“I… I don’t… have to?..” They asked her to stop, to let them relieve her of that burden. “B-but!.. No! You will die!” The girl snarled, grabbing her parents in a hug. She knew what was to come – her mother, father – they wished to sacrifice themselves to drag Cornar back to the afterlife. But that… wouldn’t that mean she’d lose them all over again? Wouldn’t…
“…”
“Yes! You’re dead! So what?! What do I?..” The feeling of pain and powerlessness engulfed the verdant woman. Barely had she found the strength to stand before her fallen tribe, before those who she desired to see the most now left her.
“YOTJAR (finally)!!!” With Eve’s will getting weaker, so did the shadows of her ethereal court. Her tyrannical husband finally broke free, slamming and stomping her shadows, as they fruitlessly tried stopping him. Amda and Sana Reese hugged their child for the last time… and now they stood up to defend their precious daughter. That is… the least they could do.
…
Freia broke inside another dome. From the outside, they looked like bright constellations of stars, formed on the points of a massive, galactic-scaled pentagram. The personal chamber for each of the contenders. One was broken from the inside, collapsing inwards, into a black hole with an orange halo – this was Freia’s dome. There were four more. Two were dimmed, two still shone brightly. The Hero of Magic travelled through this empty space, lit by numerous distant stars. In her current form, things like speed, form, and time – none of them mattered, aside from her destination. And now, she had to choose one of the two luminous chambers.
…
What is true power? Does one determine this abstract concept by the weight one can lift with their muscles? Maybe it was the charisma necessary to lead the masses? Enough money to influence others? Authority earned or inherited?
“Well-well-well…” Whatever the answer truly was, Ellen had none of it right now. No strength to fight, no troops to hide behind, and certainly – those who opposed her now had little if any need of whatever amount of gold she now carried.
“WENCH!”
“TANOUTUR (murderer)!”
“NEZAH (why)?!”
“MERA RIVARO (my life)!..”
“YAU MA (how dare you)!”
“YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE, BITCH!!!”
Oh, they came for Norn. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them, some she could recall from her Murian and Teuteccain campaigns – the series of expansions past the great wall; others were the court warlords she and John unseated in her ascension; rebellious villagers too came to exact their revenge on the younger princess, after her demons decimated them; and there were the victims of Buranikka’s carnage. This was the mountain of corpses Norn Clatalissa Jioral used to climb onto the very peak of political power…
“Now then, what do you want from me? An apology? Maybe my penance?” Even now, surrounded by countless dead souls, whose entire being now revolved around their grudge, the girl wouldn’t let herself be crushed by their rage. Not mentally, at least.
“DIE!”
“MAN WOR YAKSI (give me your eyes)!”
“SUFFER, YOU MONSTER!”
“I JUST WANTED TO LIVE!!!”
And so, hundreds of voices began howling in unison. So passionate, so eager to share their hardships and aspirations, that Ellen actually started pitying them a little. So many words, so much pain in them.
“Haa… I guess, that something like this was bound to happen someday. Well…” Instead of listening to the rest of the traumatizing nonsense and wailing, the crimson-headed cutie just began… to simply undress. “I don’t have the power to struggle, I can’t break out of here, and all of you came here for me. So go on. Rape me, maul me, kill me, do whatever you want. I’ve already done everything I wanted.” Ellen, now naked and completely defenseless, stretched out on the ethereal black floor, looking into the endless black void above her. The raging souls now came closer and closer, dozens of faces now loomed above her, as their hands reached out to grab the fallen warlady and tear her apart. This… was the end.
Keyaruga, Setsuna, sister… I hope you won’t miss me too much.
And so, she closed her eyes. Time to finally die.
…
…
…
There was no pain, nobody dragged the girl around, not even a single blow fell upon her. Ellen was… safe?
“A-A-A-A!!!”
“UGH-H-H!!!”
“YOLA-A-A-A-A (it hu-u-u-urts)!!!”
Slice and dicing, the ripping of flesh and clattered bones, “death” of a sort, dealt to the undying, torment for the tormented who themselves wished to inflict suffering upon her – someone kept the restless souls away from the princess. Someone precise, fast, and masterful with his tools of mayhem.
“Haa, is that you, Organ?” Ellen asked sullenly. Denied her excruciating retribution once more, she could only cover her tightly shut eyes with her palms.
“How did you know, Your Highness?” Indeed, it was him. As brutal as he was gallant, the deceased demigod was the only one out of these dead souls, who spoke to her, and not wailed at her like some sort of a beast.
“I know only two men, who’d come for me here, and the other isn’t so discreet, you moron.” The young general replied, opening her eyelids. The first thing she saw was the Champion of Jioral, covered in black blood. His prized amber eyes were no more, only black gaping holes were there instead. “Why’re you here? Do you want a piece of me for yourself?” The girl asked, still unwilling to stand up. Honestly, she felt robbed at this moment. This would be such a fitting end for her, but no! “Don’t tell me you’ve just barged in here to… Pff! PROTECT… me.” The second princess spat these words through her painfully clenched teeth.
“First things first, Lady Norn, I suggest you cover your shame and cease this indecency.” The warrior spoke, piercing and slashing the mob with his sword, impaling them with his hidden blade, tossing them back with his kicks. He was far from his prime form, and so, wounds and sores, cuts and lesions were left on him, as he, alone, overpowered dozens of raging men and women, keeping them away from the girl he swore to protect. Indeed… “Forgive me, princess, but I made a vow to your mother, and death is hardly a valid reason to…”
“YAKS… (giv…) A-A-A-A!!!”
“…to renounce my…”
“DOKI-I-I (step away)!!!”
“…loyalty to her!”
Despite everything, no matter the odds, Hawkeye continued to push back the angry spirits. He couldn’t dodge, as every missed blow could land on the lady, he couldn’t step back, as she needed protection more than any time in her life, and, certainly, sustained by this oppressive dimension, he couldn’t die. He couldn’t kill anyone, as they just rose anew from their own black blood, but the man couldn’t retreat.
“He-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…” The princess chuckled, curling her torso in order to sit up. It hurt her stomach, but the girl persevered nonetheless. “Why am I always surrounded by stupid stubborn men, who just can’t help but dingle their balls before me? Seriously, a dead man, upholding a promise to a dead woman, how much more ridiculous can this get?” The girl scoffed, pulling back her panties, bra, and whatever she left lying around, back on. After all, why even bother now? “Be honest, idiot! What do you want from me?”
“I came here…”
Slash, backflip, tackle, toss – Organ Trist twirled around his commander, pushing back everyone, who came too close to his prized princess.
“…to ask you, Lady Norn!..”
Shoulder slam, side-kick, a flurry of bloodshed embodied in the son of Artemis!
“…to save my…”
Stabbing enemies with that hidden blade, crushing their skulls with the handle of his blade, ripping their eyes out and tossing them away – however useless this double-sided brutality may seem, Hawkeye had purpose, skill, and, most of all, conviction, that allowed him to push the mob away.
“…daughter! Save Marianna!”
After all, what can be stronger, than a father, eager to protect his dear child?
“And you think keeping me alive will help you with that? You, moron, this bloated pigeon trapped me here! I have only one way out – fucking death!” The second princess, now properly clothed again, yelled however loud she could. Unable to comprehend the reasoning behind this idiocy, the girl just stood there, pulling her crimson hair. “Also, you’re severely mistaken! I’m not Norn! Norn’s dead! My name is…”
“…Elly! Elly-y-y!!!” Barely had the princess opened her mouth; before the dome had been breached from the outside. The Hero of Magic emerged above the ground. She levitated, using magical blue flames; she secured her sister by forming a wall around her, a barricade made from powerful ice spears. The sorceress even went so far as to send one into the undead Champion, it was one he easily avoided, though. “Step away from my sister, Organ!!!” The raging magician demanded, pulling her sibling towards her with a gust of mystical wind.
“Ghh! Oh, hey there, Friea!” The fallen warlady spoke, bracing herself against the dizziness her brief flight had caused. Still, this didn’t look good. The last time those two met, Hawkeye severely injured the pink-haired girl, and she just wouldn’t live through it again, unless two gods appeared to help her. This time, though, it was her turn to be a deity-savior.
“Get away! You’ve bested me once, but this time, I can crash this entire realm down onto your head!” The Hero of Magic promised, putting her staff between her sister and her enemy.
“Aw shit, this just gets better and better…” The little genius lamented, nervously shaking her head. Not only was her glorified suicide rudely interrupted, but now this situation threatened to kill her sister as well. Still…
“Elly, Elly… Ellen? Ellen the Adopted?” Despite Freia’s expectations, Organ Trist was more interested in the new name she called Norn, rather than anything else, really. He already had his fair share of battles, after all. “Ho-ho-o! I guess, in the end, you really did become the better version of yourself! And the ‘brother’ in question – is that sir Keyaru?” The blinded man asked with the same smugness he once boasted with in his grandiose life.
“What’s the point of answering you now? Aren’t we just traitors to you?” The heroine replied with every bit of animosity she had in her. “Hold on, Elly, I’ll get you out of here.” Freia stated, charging her staff with the magic that shaped this entire “world”.
“Heh, aren’t you afraid of what that damn poisoned pigeon might do to you for breaking her rules?” The crimson-haired cutie scoffed, witnessing the entire black dome covering with cracks.
“I don’t care about her rules! All I want is to see you safe!” The sorceress spoke with even more defiance toward Caladrius than Norn ever had in her. If needed, she would challenge this feathered nightmare to a duel, anything, just to save her family.
“I see…” Hawkeye uttered, kneeling before the two girls. All that time, rather than monitoring Freia’s moves, his supernatural senses were aimed outside, to make sure no restless souls cross the fence of magic ice. But now… “I see your eyes, Princess Flare, they’re just like hers. I’m sure; you’ll make Lady Reeharoze proud of you yet.” Now, before he once again departs to the other side, there was one last thing to tell them. First praise, then a claim… “Lady Ellen, I beg of you. The life of Marianna now lies in your hands.” …and finally a plea. With all that said, Organ Trist crumbled, his body turned into black salt. And with it, the entire realm began to collapse in itself…
“Hold tight, Elly…”
…
And now, there was only one dark dome left. Arguably, the worst of them all, this particular world was to be the prison for Keyaruga… or his cemetery. No doorways to run into, no windows to jump from. He was alone, trapped with hundreds of those who were slain by his hand. Those poor bastards – the restless souls, their minds were so obsessed with hatred, and their grudge – powered by the sheer immortality of their ethereal blackened bodies. This was hell in its purest form. The question is – a hell for who, exactly?
“YE-E-E-E-E-EAH!!! IT’S HEALING TIME!!!” Keyaruga snarled and began splattering blood all over the place. Everyone who was touched by that substance became horribly mutated – their heads bloated, their muscles strained so much, they crushed their very bones! “WHAT’S WRONG?! KILL ME!!! KILL ME NOW!!!” The man demanded, dancing around his would-be tormentors with his blade, blessing his foes with the exquisite gift of perpetual agony! Saber in his right hand, Georgius on his left, one complementing another.
Despite what the lad asked, nobody could bring him down. His immortal flesh defied any blade, his bones healed in an instant, his mad frenzy alleviated any pain.
He thought he could kill his enemies for the second and final time, give them proper death in the most excruciating manner. He was wrong…
“DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! AGAIN! AND AGAIN! AND ALL OVER AGA-A-A-A-AIN!!!” The hero yelled chopping off heads and severing limbs! He killed so many, he couldn’t even count the slayings! He murdered the same people over and over, each time their agony being more exquisite then the last!
Kill a man once, he won’t even notice, his rage will only rise! Kill him thrice – he’d waver! Five – and the seeds of fear are sown. Ten – and he’s broken completely!
Keyaruga just couldn’t help himself, he hated these scum so much, he just couldn’t contain all his passionate hatred. It was so strong, that the feeling of pure, raw, primordial wrath transcended every possible modification he had put into himself.
“A-A-A-A-A!!! UGH-H-H-H-H!!!” A soldier was weeping, hugging his boot. “S-S-S-S-SPA-A-A-ARE ME-E-E!!!”
“YO-O-OU!!! I remember you!” The healer spoke, raising the cretin by his neck. “My first kill! You watched me being raped, drugged… BEATEN!!!” The man yawped, slicing off his upper face with one nimble slice. “AND YOU NEVER!!! EVER!!! EVER FUCKING HELPED ME!!!” The lad, tainted by black and red blood, slammed the sentry into the ‘floor’…
“A-A-A-A-A!!! PLE-E-E-EASE!!!” …and gleefully sliced off his arms, ignited sparked his left armored hand into a gauntlet of blazing heat!..
“GU-GHH-GUU!!! UA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!” And finally, cauterized the wounds, just so that the retard wouldn’t die too soon.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!!!” The crazed avenger yelled, grabbing Leonard, so conveniently nearby, weeping. “YOU SAID, I’VE DONE NOTHING FOR THIS FUCKING KINGDOM?! I’LL SHOW YOU, WHAT I CAN DO NO-O-OW!!!”
And so he did, the madman rested his two fingers on the sadist’s forehead. A second passed, and a purple spark had announced the richest form of suffering.
“Oh… U-u… Uo-o-o-o-o-o… Khh…” Indeed, although it wasn’t as vocal as previous ones, Keyaruga was more than pleased with the result. He knew of a human having specific nerves, specifically for reacting to pain. And he just overloaded them. Toxic spiders, dangerous medusas, venomous snakes and scorpions – all of them could do that with their poisons. Hell, even Keyaruga could brew neurotoxins. But damn, this thing had one ultimate merit compared to all of those – the instant effect, so potent, in fact, that the victim can’t even cry out from the excruciating pain!
“He-e! That’s a neat trick.” The lad mumbled, approaching a maid, lying on the “floor” like an embryo. Flare’s bodyguard shivered and sucked her thumb, completely lost to this twisted world. Just one little touch… “Pam! You’re already dead!” Keyaruga sneered tapping his armored fingers by her temple.
“Uh… Uh… Ugh… W… Wha-?.. A-A-A-A-A-A-AGH-H-H!!!” The woman grabbed her skull, but it was too late. All the blood, bile, and even marrow now came into her brain, bloating it, up until it burst in a fountain of black blood and shining entrails.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!! I FUCKING LOVE IT!!!” The deranged healer laughed so loud, and his presence was so overwhelming now, that nobody even dared to come close to him, let alone attack, unless they wished to become a victim of a new twisted experiment. Oh, their fear, this agonizing panic! They’re giving me a fucking boner! I wanna fuck! I want a woman! Oh, this! This will do nicely!
And so, Keyaruga dropped his saber, unfastened his belt, ripped the dress, slapped that ass which he had found, grabbed it, pushed it in! The woman with a blackened tail was slowly dying of blood loss, but that barely concerned the lad. He grabbed her pelvis and began to move, so fast, so frantic, and so mindless, that no one could see a human in him. No-o, this was a wild beast, slamming his bulging cock into the defenseless female, too tired to react, let alone resist somehow. She wasn’t even tight, just barely warm, but even that was enough. A few minutes of such suffering inflicted on her, and he came, this was a brilliant orgasm, deeply perverted, and twisted to the very core…
Oh, that’s the fucking best! I love it so much!
Keyaruga grabbed her hand, wiped his penis with it, pull back his pants, and…
I don’t remember her. I wonder, who that is.
He pushed the body, rolling it to the back.
“Ha-a-a… Hello again, Kailia…” The mad lad recognized her instantly. An agent, sent to find and assist Eve Reese in her quest, hired by someone named Carol. But that alone wouldn’t be enough to get Keyaruga to brutally rape her. “You’ve killed my Norn, but I spared you. Heh, after Kali left, I tasked you to ward off whoever they sent after my Eve, but… It seems like you’ve failed. Really, really sad.” The healer spoke, resting his left hand on her dying flesh, recovering it in an instant. And just like that… “Oh, fuck!” She nearly stabbed him with a knife. Gods only knew where she got it from… “Sit still.” But then, Keyaruga just pressed his finger on her forehead, and completely shut down her limbs functions. He pitied her… but could do nothing for this miserable leopard woman.
“Haa… Damn, it’s getting boring here.” The hero lamented, picking up his weapon of choice. At this point, he just put it back in its sheath. Only then did he spot a couple of new faces in the crowd of weeping bastards. “You there! You don’t look like you should be here. What’s… wait…”
“STAY AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!!!” The woman cried, she was weeping into her man’s now tainted shirt.
“Heh! He-heh! No-no-no-o! Oh no-o-o!” Keyaruga frantically shook his head, unable to believe what he just saw. This was the worst. This… “Anna! Kurt! What… What’re you even doing here?! I… I avenged you! You shouldn’t have…” His parents were there, they stood among the thugs, slavers, robbers, bandits, zealots, murderers… But they… they weren’t one of them…
“You killed us, traitor. You raped my wife, after everything she’s done for you. You’re disgusting little shit!” The mighty harvester told him, pointing his war-scythe at the hero. The only thing that held him at bay, though, was his spouse, loudly crying with black tears pouring from her eyes.
“Heh… You… really think I’d…”
“No. But you’ve proven it.” Kurt spoke with the coldest possible rage in his voice. Keyaru’s cruelty couldn’t be doubted, after all. Not after everyone he maimed this day. “I don’t give a fuck, what the hell is wrong with you, but I’ll slice your guilty ass as many times as I need.” The older man spoke, pushing Anna aside. And then, he lunged.
Kurt struck as a true warrior – he was swift, accurate, precise – his war scythe – basically a reforged farming tool, grazed Keyaruga’s torso, cut his leg, he even stabbed his foster son through his chest. But… there was no blood.
“Calm down, you two.” The hero demanded, stoically taking hit after hit, like the heavy glaive-like blade was nothing. While Anna crumbled to her knees, lost in her weeping, Kurt wouldn’t stop attacking. “You can’t kill me, I’m immor-…” Barely did the lad say so; before his foster father grabbed the handle in a wide grip, and just swept his head off with one precise strike.
“NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!!!” Strangely enough, despite all of the delusions his parents had about him, Anna just couldn’t stand seeing her child being killed so brutally. “A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!!! WHY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y?!!!” As Keyaru’s head rolled on the ground, the thugs, at least those who weren’t affected by any of hero’s inventive afflictions, started to get rallied again.
“You had it coming, you ungrateful dipshit!” Kurt spat through tightly closed teeth. He couldn’t watch, couldn’t face what he had to do with his adopted prodigy. Even if he was a criminal. Even if…
“I really did…” But the bastards weren’t enjoying the show for too long. Right when the healer seemed to fall, a new body started to grow from his neck-stump, the clothes, the pouches, the weapons – everything turned into ash just to materialize again on the proudly standing conqueror of death itself.
“What devilry is this?” Kurt’s reaction was understandable. A mix of fear, anger, and disgust, was all over his tainted face. In turn…
“KEYARU-U-U-U!!!” Anna just dashed forward to hug her child. No matter, how disgustingly atrocious his resurrection was, without even looking at the beheaded body that now lied nearby, the woman just went ahead and embraced the lad. She… didn’t seem to be in her right mind, even for a dead soul.
“Anna, I… I…” The shivers began taking a hold of him. His hands, his knees – they trembled so much, this simple touch he though he lost forever, this… This was enough to make him cry. “I’m sorry… I’m so, so, so, so-o-o sorry!..”
“DIE, FUCKER!!!”
“THAT YOU HAVE TO SEE ME DOING THIS!!!” Keyaruga yelled, grabbing Leonard by his wrist. Just a little pressure – and he dropped his sword, the weapon faded into nothingness. Then, the man pushed Anna back, punched his foe in the gut, and proudly showed his captive to his family. “Haa… He-heh! He-e-e… This… This is Leonard, Flare’s… right hand…” The hero spoke, this time trying to maintain his sanity, as his parents now cautiously looked at him. “I… I came from the future! I had to rewind time’s flow itself… Because Flare was evil, and he…” Then, the man put his hand onto the barely struggling imbecile, thus transforming him into Keyaru, the motionless child, whose entire mobility, except for breathing, was shut down for the ease of what he was about to do. “I killed Flare! And he took my guilt. Then…” Afterwards, the healer went ahead and summoned raging flames upon his free hand. Kurt and Anna watched motionlessly, as he placed the magic-shrouded palm onto his ‘own’ face, burned it, scourged the blackened flesh with the sorcery he ‘learned’ from Flare… “My trick was revealed, and he headed out to our village, looking just like me. The rest… you know the rest.”
And finally, Keyaruga dropped the motionless doll, unable even to cry out from the excruciating pain the Hero of Healing inflicted upon it. He then faced his parents, still shocked by such a display of merciless brutality, they couldn’t even properly reply, this entire spectacle of bloodshed, mayhem, rape, torture, demonstration of immortality, and now – proofs of metamorphosis – all of that left them utterly silent.
“Kurt, Anna… I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you… But I can’t let you, or any one of these fuckers keep me here! I… I have a family! Freia, Setsuna, Ellen, Eve – I so wanted you to meet them… But you can’t now. You… might not believe me, and I understand that.” The red-eyed lad uttered, as his posture slouched more and more, along with his fading bravery. “This is what it’s like to be a man! I must be strong! I have to be ruthless now, so that nobody would challenge me in the future!” The man added, now turning his back to his foster parents. He stood straight, he stretched his shoulders, took a deep breath, and… “LISTEN HERE, YOU FUCKING MONSTERS!!! WHAT YOU’VE FELT NOW IS BUT A TINY BIT OF WHAT I’LL DO TO YOU, ONCE I’M FUCKING DEAD!!! NOW YOU WILL GO INTO THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL, AND WHEN YOU’RE THERE, PRAY I DON’T FUCKING DIE ANYTIME SOON!!! BECAUSE WHEN I FINALLY KICK THIS SHITTY BUCKET, I’LL FIND EACH OF YOU, AND WE’LL BE PLAYING FOR THE WHOLE OF ETERNITY!!! BUT WHY WAIT, WHEN WE CAN HAVE SOME FUN NOW, HU-U-U-UH?!!!”
The speech was told, the impact made. His words were so zealous, so passionately intimidating, that the weeping fools now reached a whole new depth of despair.
“GET US OUT OF HERE!!!”
“SAVE ME-E-E-E!!!”
“HE’S THE DEVIL!!! DE-E-EVIL!!!”
“UA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!”
“KUUNDA (I’m so scared)!!!”
“HE-E-E-E-E-ELP!!!”
And so, this entire crowd, this mob of immortal corpses, just ran away. Everyone, who could still stand on their feet, began fleeing in panic, trampling each other in the process. What they failed to notice, though, is that the dome is endless only for its main victim. Everyone else just came up against the invisible wall.
The Trial of Heart – its goal is twisted, to be certain. To pass it would mean releasing the dead souls from their grudge toward you. A saint would shift it to forgiveness, but the deranged avenger pumped so much fear in those criminals, that their hatred was replaced by the purest and most animalistic terror. Still, with the task done, the souls began to dissipate in a white light. They would finally be free…
“REMEMBER!!! YOU’VE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME!!! WE’LL MEET AGAIN, YOU FUCKING SHITBAGS!!!” Unfortunately for them, though, Keyaruga’s long shadow still loomed above them all. And such, even in relief, the crowd continued to cry, to sob, to wail, to…
“Keya… ru…” But not all left because of dread. When the avenger turned around, his foster mother, crumbling into white flakes, stood on her tiptoes to give him a last kiss on the cheek. “You’ve grown… so much…”
And so, she faded. Kurt quickly followed, although it wasn’t forgiveness or benevolence that filled his raging soul. No, it was an impotent acceptance. He saw Keyaruga as a mirror, in which he saw himself, before he deserted the royal guard and found himself in Alban.
“Someday… you’ll follow my path…” And this was what the man spoke at last, dropping his war-scythe to the ethereal ground. With no souls to redeem in the most twisted of ways, the dome of blackness quickly turned insufferably bright.
The Trial of Heart had been passed.
2023.05.28 06:04 InfernoAA God Made the World in Six Days, I’ll Perfect New Japan's on the Seventh Part Five: Destined
In Part Four, the comeback tour of rockstar Hiroshi Tanahashi was cut brutally short at the hands of the Leader of the New School, Zack Sabre Jr., who embarked on a quest to prove himself New Japan's most valuable gaijin. After beating back Will Ospreay for Royal Quest, he ran into another familiar face in Minoru Suzuki, almost clobbering him into retirement until Naomichi Marufuji made the save. Ending his saga with Just6Guys with a win over Maru, he placed a bow on the long-standing Blackpool Combat Club rivalry by besting Jon Moxley, cementing Sabre-Gun as New Japan's undisputed leaders... That is, without taking Los Ingobernables de Japon into account.
Since becoming one again, LIJ’s been on a tear through NJPW’s ranks this year in spite of Shingo Takagi dropping the belt and PAC losing the New Japan Cup Finals to the current World Champion. IWGP United States, IWGP Tag Team (Death Triangle have become LIJ affiliates through PAC), and NJPW World Television Championships in their grasps, they seek to round out the group by all holding titles simultaneously. But that begs the question – who’ll be going after the World Title? Though Shingo’s battle ready, he insists Tetsuya Naito take it this time, the Stardust Genius having worked his back off to rebound from Wrestle Kingdom. Failing every attempt in the past 3 years though, the question remains whether he can truly pull it off this time, or if it’s just not meant to be.
Kizuna Road - Night Four (July 1, 2024)
Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & El Phantasmo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC)
With Naito confirmed as Sabre’s #1 Contender for Wrestle Dynasty, SG and LIJ have themselves a scaled-down rematch from New Year’s Dash, Zack picking his trusty right-hand man ELP, and Tetsuya bringing the US Champion, knowing PAC has unresolved issues with ZSJ from the NJC. Though it drives the Bastard to work doubly-hard, especially considering how it’ll look if he pins the World Champion, it also makes their teamwork suffer, PAC becoming self-absorbed in getting the pin. Backfiring, a Sudden Death from Phantasmo knocks his lights out, SG getting their win back from NYD and putting the challenger on the backfoot heading into Madison Square Garden!
Sabre-Gun def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (16:12)
PAC appears distraught after the match, but Naito simply tells him ‘tranquilo’, not taking it personally. Though he’d hoped to use this match to get into ZSJ’s head, it appears he’ll just have to do that himself, like he’s always done.
Wrestle Dynasty (July 14, 2024)
Also on the show:
Shota Umino (c) vs El Desperado - NEVER Openweight Championship
Just6Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Ryohei Oiwa) (c) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs Kyle Fletcher - NJPW World Television Championship
PAC (c) vs El Phantasmo - IWGP United States Championship
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Meiyu Tag - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Tetsuya Naito XI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
In what’s been a very successful night for LIJ thus far, clean-sweeping their way through the competition, it all rests on Naito’s shoulders now to bring it home. Perhaps the most unreliable man to slot in this spot, and yet, the most beloved, MSG fully invested in Tetsuya’s chase, either the grandest of celebrations or coldest of heartbreaks will end the night! Naito keeps his cool, emanating his usual larger-than-life aura as he walks out in a pristine crimson suit, paying homage to Shingo, whilst Sabre’s cockier than ever with his recent streak of huge wins, knowing he has Tetsuya doubting himself after their tag. As he hands his title over, the two come face-to-face, SABRE SPITTING GUM INTO NAITO’S FACE, but Tetsuya doesn’t let ZSJ’s tactics faze him, having come too far for too long to let mind games be his downfall.
Circling each other, Zack lunges for a lock-up but Naito walks past, smirking and stretching in the opposite corner. Sabre rolls his eyes as Tetsuya turns around and tells him ‘tranquilo’, before going for it again… Zack snatching the headlock this time as Naito tries to repeat, but Tetsuya instantly whips him to the corner, teasing the COMBINACION CABRON as ZSJ braces himself… Naito stops in front of him and does the ‘Abre los Ojos’ taunt!
Furious, Sabre piefaces him, NAITO RETURNING A FOREARM, AND WE’RE OFF! Trading strikes, Zack rocks Tetsuya with European Uppercuts, Naito returning forearms, before a Japanese Arm Drag stops Zack in his tracks! Naito goes for another, but Zack hooks onto Tetsuya’s legs, tripping him up and contorting the foot! Tetsuya boots him off with the other, a Neckbreaker and a Somersault Senton connecting, though Sabre absorbs the latter, trapping Naito’s arm onto the mat to STOMP THE HAND!
Picking him back up, he cracks Naito with chops, before whipping him at the ropes, Naito hitting off them one after the other to build momentum, teasing the Flying Forearm Zack’s expecting… only to roll into the Tranquilo pose! ZACK MEETS HIM WITH A NECK TWIST!!! Tetsuya scrambling to the corner, Sabre steps on his throat against the ropes, BEFORE SLAPPING HIM! NAITO SPITS IN ZACK’S FACE!!! A harsh uppercut knocks Tetsuya back, a Running European following and a PENALTY KICK! Naito dodges and nails the FLYING FOREARM SMASH!
Teasing the Tornado DDT, it’s cancelled by an Enzuigiri, Zack leaping for the KIMURA- NAITO COUNTERS INTO VALENTIA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!! Sending Sabre into the corner, the COMBINACION CABRON CONNECTS! AND A MISSILE DROPKICK! Naito teases the DRAGON SUPLEX, but Sabre flips through and STOMPS HIS ELBOW! SNAP GERMAN ON THE NECK FROM SABRE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! Naito woozy, his head’s only further knocked around by a ROLLING ELBOW! A CORNER HIGH KNEE connects, before a Hammerlock Suplex floats into a TESCO MEAL DEAL!!!
Naito’s hand flails about the mat as Sabre keeps him grounded, no Valentia escape this time, forcing Tetsuya to work the old-fashioned way to the ropes! MSG backing the Stardust Genius, after much deliberation he gets a foot on the ropes! But Zack’s right back on him, going for a NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX- NAITO STANDS HIM UP WITH A SNAP DDT! An EVOLUCION’S shut down though, Sabre hitting the brakes to nail the ARM PELE! Fishing the arm, Zack tries to float into a FLYING ARTICLE 50- NAITO STUFFS HIM WITH A GLORIA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE SURVIVES!!!
Rallying momentum, Tetsuya nails the TORNADO DDT! Sabre nursing the head, a DRAGON SUPLEX FOLLOWS!!! In the drop zone, Naito tests the waters for a RUNNING DESTINO- SABRE SHUTS IT DOWN WITH A EUROPEAN CLUTCH!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NAITO’S DREAMS STAY ALIVE!!! Getting dangerously close with the flash pin, Tetsuya throws defiant forearms, Zack catching and contorting one, but a ROLLING WHEEL KICK knocks him off! ESPERANZA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE KICKS OUT!!!
Hooking the head, Naito hoists Sabre up… ZACK WITH A GUILLOTINE CHOKE MID-AIR!!! Tetsuya’s eyes bulge out his skull, looking for the nearest turnbuckle to ram Sabre into it, but ZSJ’s quicker, yanking him to the mat and transitioning into a JIM BREAKS ARMBAR!!! Brutally bending the arm at an awkward angle, there’s a manic look in Zack’s eyes as NYC desperately cheers on Naito, who does his best to hang on! Sabre keeps tugging further and further, eager to ruin Tetsuya, but it backfires, helping him stretch his leg to the ropes!
The crowd erupts as the referee forces Sabre off, though Naito’s clearly hurting all the same, a European helping no less! Zack rallies with further Uppercuts, one knocking Tetsuya down, before firing a PENALTY KICK!!! NAITO ABSORBS IT AND ROLLS THROUGH, SABRE GOING FOR SECONDS BUT HE EATS A RUNNING DESTINOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!! Shaking himself off, Naito attempts another, though Sabre stops it with elbows, before hopping into a REAR NAKED CHOKE!
Tetsuya tries to run forwards to free himself, though ZSJ swivels on his back into a GEDO CLUTCH!!! ANOTHER FLASH PIN! BUT NAITO ROLLS THROUGH THIS TIME INTO HIS OWN – POLVO DE ESTRELLA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE STAYS IN!!! AND AN EVOLUCION!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICK OUT!!! NAITO’S GOING FOR THE SWING DESTINO!!! BUT A ZACK DRIVER COUNTERS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Slapping up Naito’s neck, Sabre dumps him on it with a TIGER SUPLEX!!! Naito woozy, Zack nails the PENALTY KICK!!! NAITO’S REFUSING TO STAY DOWN! Hearing MSG’s cries, he wills himself back up as Sabre watches in fascination… ONLY FOR ANOTHER PK TO CUT HIM OFF!!! And just like the 2022 NJC Finals, he’s going to end it here with a SECOND ZACK DRIVER- NAITO NAILS A DESTINO MID-AIR!!! HE’S STILL MOVING SOMEHOW!!! Stumbling to his feet, Tetsuya measures his man… DESTINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE’S FOOT’S ON THE ROPE!!!
Saving Naito more than once, it’s come to Zack’s aid now too! Hammering Sabre with forearms, Naito tees up another DESTINO- PELE KICK!!! Tetsuya falls forward, Zack catching him in a STRETCH MUFFLER!!! IF HE CAN JUST GRAB THE OTHER LEG, IT’S ALL OVER, COMPLETING THE ORIENTEERING WITH NAPALM DEATH!!! Zack bends Naito further and further as he tries to grab hold… TETSUYA SWINGS BACK! AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! SABRE LETS GO!!! AND A ZACK DRIVER FROM NAITO!!!
Sabre on his back, Naito thinks about waiting for the Destino… but then he sees the top rope. The crowd cry at him not to, screwing him over time and time again, but Tetsuya can’t help it! Heading up top, the world holds their breath, NAITO SOARING THROUGH THE AIR… STARDUST PRESS CONNECTS!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! IT’S A MIRACLE IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!! NAITO’S WORLD CHAMPION AGAIN!!!
Tetsuya Naito def. Zack Sabre Jr. (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (31:18)
New York LOSES their minds as Naito’s handed the title, Tetsuya himself struggling to process what just happened! But then LIJ rush out – PAC with the US Title, Hiromu with the TV Title, Shingo, Yota, and Titan with the NEVER 6-Man Titles, and even the Lucha Brothers with the Tag Titles! THEY’RE DRAPED IN GOLD, BABY! Sharing embraces all around as a dismal Sabre trudges to the back, there’s not a single dry eye in the arena as the outcasts raise their fists to the sky with one hand and their titles with the other, golden tickertape hailing down! Naito’s on top of the world after 3 long years, and it feels damn good! Doing the customary championship edition roll-call, the show fades on LIJ holding all their gold… and PAC looking over at Naito’s.
G1 Climax 34
Entering his second of fifteen G1s as the reigning champion, Naito heads B Block opposite stiff competition. Though dispatching of Hiromu in friendly competition on Night One, the two are subsequently assaulted by KONGOH post-match, allowing NOAH’s KENOH to upset him the following night! Behind the 8-ball already, Tetsuya’s motivated to make a comeback, mowing through Narita, Tanahashi, Yota, Sabre, and KENTA to take back the lead! Suffering another surprise defeat at Jeff Cobb’s hands after multiple failed attempts from the Hawaiian Hulk to best him, it opens the door for a returning JAY WHITE to spoil his final night, wrecking Naito’s legs with a ladder, allowing Zack to advance on 14 points! As for B Block, a draw between Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada on the final night puts the Commonwealth Kingpin through, the rivals meeting one more time! Other key underlying stories see Shibata finally beating Okada, Ospreay avenging his Takagi loss, PAC beating his fellow LIJ members but losing to SANADA, and KONGOH causing ruckus throughout the competition.
G1 Climax 34 Finals (August 19, 2024)
Also on the show:
Jay White vs BUSHI
Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr. - G1 Climax Briefcase
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, PAC, Hiromu Takahashi, Titan) vs KONGOH (KENOH, Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Hi69, Shuji Kondo)
Perhaps the focal reason for Naito not making the Finals, KONGOH’s tournament chicanery, as led by KENOH, was a masterfully crafted plan. After losing to Tetsuya in last year’s LIJ vs KONGOH series at Wrestle Kingdom 17, the thought of ruining the Stardust Genius for vengeance never left the Rogue Fist’s mind, and with his win over Tetsuya in the G1, their score is now 1-1. Reigniting the intense rivalry between the two stables, they have an upgraded rematch to their Wrestle Kingdom 16 5-on-5, both sides having greatly changed since then.
Once again, PAC’s especially adamant to claim the spotlight, the loss to SANADA making him temperamental despite having the 2nd best LIJ record in this year’s tournament. An argument breaking out between PAC and Shingo as to who should get the pin is put on ice by Naito, though it doesn’t keep Titan from eating a nasty PFS from KENOH, handing the invaders the win!
KONGOH def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (19:57)
Redeeming WK16, KENOH offers the angriest of satisfied smiles, the group cackling as they gesture belts around their waists, warning that their business isn’t yet over. LIJ left behind, there’s a sour mood in the air from the loss, though when Shingo offers a fist in apology, PAC, taking a look at a nodding Naito, ultimately returns one, showing that despite popular belief, LIJ’s still fine.
Splitting off for Shingo and co. to gear up for KONGOH’s second wave whilst Naito and PAC are scheduled for AEW’s ALL IN supershow, this time taking place in Tetsuya’s home of the Tokyo Dome, both men are set for defences on the show. In PAC’s case, it’s a rematch against J6G’s SANADA, the Bastard adamant to gain Naito’s favour by beating the traitor. As for Naito, he has Jay on his tail!
Until the recent G1, White refused to show his face on any sort of NJPW programming (including Forbidden Door) since being embarrassed at Okada’s hands and having his faction torn to shreds. Leaving Japan to join AEW, no longer having connections to hide behind nor help him, he was forced to be the lone wolf for once, becoming even more merciless, knowing he’s all he has. After spreading chaos abroad, most recently coming up short in the AEW World Championship picture, trauma from his Okada loss clinging onto him anytime the stakes are raised too high again, he decided it was time to return to his roots to clear his head and eliminate any shred of weakness left in his body so that he can claim the top prize again, and there’s no better place to do so than the building his title was taken from him – the Tokyo Dome.
The last time he faced Naito in the Tokyo Dome, he had Gedo by his side, yet still lost. Now though, he declares if he’s to have this match, he wants a compensatory factor. A means of looking out for himself, like Naito has LIJ. He’s already beaten Tetsuya thrice in singles competition, knowing he’s the better wrestler, so this time… HE WANTS A LADDER MATCH!!! Japan’s become more and more geared to the Western market, the culture shifting from traditions, so unless he’s a snob like Okada, he'll embrace the new vision and accept the challenge. Jay using the perfect words to get under Tetsuya’s skin, he accepts, looking to tear down the foundations of the Rainmaker’s regime with his reign, starting with this!
RevProxNJPW 12th Anniversary Show (August 24, 2024)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC) vs The Knight Dynasty (Ricky Knight Jr. & Zak Knight)
The night before ALL IN features a special RevPro crossover event with their partners, NJPW, the 12th Anniversary being celebrated in Japan. Naturally, Naito tags with the most RevPro familiar member of LIJ, PAC, the two champions battling the celebrated Knight Dynasty, who are considered the present and future of the promotion! What begins as a fun exhibition sees more of the differences between PAC and Naito come to light, the hot-headedness of the Bastard and the collectedness of El Ingobernable wanting different things out of the match, yet still managing to remain reasonably on the same page. A close call on a 619 from Ricky sees Naito shove PAC out the way in the nick of time, absorbing the blow himself, though without acknowledging it, PAC springs to action, a Black Arrow on Zak scoring the victory!
Los Ingobernables de Japon def. The Knight Dynasty (13:10)
As the referee approaches LIJ with their titles, PAC’s quick to receive both, Naito only recovering just in time to find the Bastard lingering for a moment as he looks between the pieces of gold, before finally handing Tetsuya’s over him and walking off, leaving the leader confused yet unconcerned.
ALL IN Tokyo (August 25, 2024)
Also on the show:
PAC (c) vs SANADA - IWGP United States Championship
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Golden Lovers - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Jay White V - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Ladder
Stepping into the mastermind of the Switchblade, White baits Naito to play his game, the long-time rivals settling their score over a belt they both have history with. With no Gedo around, Jay’s focus is to demolish Naito’s already tattered knees with the ladder like he did to cost Tetsuya the G1, slowing down each climbing attempt bit by bit. Given the two’s creativity, it’s a sick warfare of increasingly dangerous spots, Naito taking Jay with him to neck bump city, White cruelly massacring Tetsuya’s body with reckless abandon.
White’s notably more in his element here, letting the Tokyo Dome atmosphere heal him whilst hurting Naito. A HANGING BLADE RUNNER cuts a Stardust Press attempt short, the magic only lasting once, but a ladder bridge CANADIAN DESTROYER buys Naito some momentum back! Ultimately, a war atop the ladder sees Naito boot Jay off, allowing him to unhook the gold to retain!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. Jay White V to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (25:30)
Though Naito walks out with his belt, PAC doesn’t, making the Bastard’s issues all the more prominent, taking more frequent looks over at Tetsuya’s gold, which begs the question – was there more to PAC joining LIJ than originally thought? Still, he wishes Naito good luck for Wrestle Grand Slam, telling him he wants to see the belt on him when they go England. But for now, the end of his trilogy against KENOH awaits!
Wrestle Grand Slam (September 8, 2024)
Also on the show:
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs KUSHIDA - NJPW World Television Championship
El Desperado (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - NEVER Openweight Championship
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan) (c) vs KONGOH (Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Shuji Kondo) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs KENOH III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
For over two years, the rivalry between LIJ and KONGOH has slowly simmered to this boiling point, coming down to the leaders now to settle their 1-1 score over NJPW’s top title! With the 6-Man Titles changing hands earlier in the night, Naito must put his 200% into assuring the same doesn’t occur here, or it’ll be disaster on New Japan’s waterfront.
As two men that could not be more opposite collide, it’s an intense war over the company’s possession, everyone from fans to wrestlers on the edge of their seats as the last of the NOAH invaders try to leave their mark. KENOH shows nothing but hatred towards Naito for ruining his past chances, whilst Tetsuya savours his every moment in the Sun, having slaved away to hold this belt. A PFS almost does Naito in, whilst the DESTINO does the same for KENOH! Ragdolling the older star with Dragon Suplexes, KENOH sets up for the ENRIN… BUT IN HIS STARDUST PRESS MOMENT, HE MISSES!!! DESTINOOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! New Japan remains safe in the hands of Naito!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. KENOH to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (28:33)
Offering a handshake to KENOH out of respect for their series… the Rogue Fist declines it, though from the look in his fiery eyes, an inkling of acknowledgement is there for Tetsuya. Telling Naito to keep the belt warm for him, he declares he’ll be back sometime again, and when that happens, he’s going to usurp Naito once and for all!
And as they leave with their 50/50 successes, it’s back to LIJ to end the show on their usual note… except, PAC interrupts the tradition. He’s confused, no, he’s incredulous. What are they celebrating here? Failure? Or are they calling it ‘survival’? Is no one going to point out the elephant in the room? Just two months ago they were on top of the world, all draped in gold, but now they’re left with just Naito and the Lucha Bros’s gold. And yet, they’re celebrating? He’s been out here losing sleep over his missing US Title!
If they wish to continue to be taken seriously, they need to act the part. Luckily… he has a solution. They say iron sharpens iron, so rather than fighting these large-scale wars outside their stable… why not have a ‘friendly’ within? Naito has the title and an incredible row of suitors before him, so he should pick one to defend against! Tetsuya seems perturbed by the idea knowing what almost happened the last time LIJ fought within, but as PAC insists, even pointing out how he’s the only one with a clean record over Naito… Tetsuya turns to him and raises the title! If such claims are going to be made, they need to be backed up too! Challenging PAC with his title on the line, a grinning Bastard accepts, bumping his fist!
Burning Spirit - Night Seven (September 25, 2024)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi) vs Death Triangle (PAC & The Lucha Brothers)
Slyly manoeuvring his way into the title rematch he’s desired ever since getting a taste of the gold against Shingo last year, this is more so PAC’s chance to prove himself over the statement he’s seeming to be making. Nonetheless, with various combinations of LIJ facing Death Triangle over the Burning Spirit tour, they supposedly rely on each other to improve their own skill, these 6 especially drawing the very best out of each other. Working more seamlessly with DT than he had LIJ as of late, the freakish chemistry between the AEW lads has a Fear FactoDouble Stomp/Black Arrow combo end Hiromu, PAC grinning as he stares down Naito, the challenge growing closer by day…
Death Triangle def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (18:24)
Giving a brief interview heading into the match at Royal Quest, Naito states that he can’t be certain on what PAC’s intentions are, but all he knows is that no matter what, LIJ sticks together. If this match is what PAC needs for his peace of mind, then it’s all his. All he can hope is the Bastard has the same idea of family in mind.
Royal Quest IV - Night Two (October 6, 2024)
Also on the show:
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - G1 Climax Briefcase
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs PAC II - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
The relationship between LIJ and PAC has developed into one of the more intriguing dynamics this year, raising a multitude of questions, but now, the true light of it all will be revealed. Whether it’s friendly fire or another coup, Naito’s ready for whatever PAC may happen to have up his sleeve, whilst the Bastard lets his actions do the talking. For once, it’s an utterly no-nonsense showdown between Los members, Tetsuya taking the threat of PAC very seriously, the Jordie clearly driven to make the grand prize his. And as the match rolls on, Naito starts to see parts of himself in PAC with each cheer or cry from his home crowd.
Just like Naito, he’s the incredibly-talented misfit who was overlooked, but unlike a young Naito, PAC doesn’t realise he has the world on his side already despite his quirks. Whilst Naito had to suffer through his changes, PAC’s a made man, and with each near-fall, the crowd see it too, becoming more and more invested in him! On the cusp of his crowning moment, PAC shows no hesitation unlike the Stardust Press, NAILING THE BLACK ARROW!!! ONE! TWO! THR-BUT NAITO KICKS OUT!!! PAC may have ‘it’, but Naito’s operating on an entirely different level as World Champion, and no matter what PAC may have thrown at him, it’s not his moment just yet. DESTINOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. PAC to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (30:11)
Maybe a different day. Both men propped in opposite corners of the ring, they suck deep for breaths, PAC only taking his eyes off Naito when he spots the title bring brought over to him. That should’ve been his. He should’ve been champion right now, but… he starts tuning in the crowd again. A standing ovation for the hometown boy. Though he may not hold the title right now, he’s still a champion in their eyes… Solace. Always overlooked, all he needed was approval. And now more than ever, he feels he has it. Noticing PAC’s realisation, Naito grins and nods to him, the two bumping fists together, no sour ending on this one.
At least, not between LIJ… OKADA’S HERE!!! After shockingly beating Ospreay for his G1 briefcase earlier in the night, the Rainmaker has his sights on the Tokyo Dome main event, and if things are to be believed, it may be Naito defending against Kazuchika on the grand stage! The long-time WK rivals locking eyes, there’s a different atmosphere between the Ace and the Dark Ace now. No longer does Okada look upon Naito condescendingly, but with disgust. Though he failed to beat Shingo earlier in the night, Kazuchika’s been vocal all year about the damage he feels LIJ have caused the company.
Where he did everything to purify the promotion with his reign, beating away outsiders, Naito did the exact opposite, bringing them further into their ranks and breaking tradition with a ladder match. With this briefcase in his hand though, he has the power to change that… but so does he. OSPREAY JOINS IN!!! The man who lost his case earlier in front of his own family, he can’t even look the smug Okada in the eyes. Rather, turning to Naito, he declares his desire to return to WK’s main event to not be over just yet! Against better judgement, he gave Shingo a shot at this title last year and it cost him everything. All he asks is Naito returns the favour! Smirking, Tetsuya tells him ‘earn it’, WK’s main event scene growing all the more interesting!
Battle Autumn - Night Five (October 15, 2024)
Elimination: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Death Triangle) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Aussie Open)
Desperation drives a man to his darkest pits, and Ospreay is very much there. Banding his troops together one year on since the last LIJ/UE tag of this magnitude, the ante’s upped even higher now, needing to survive an elimination match to receive the match of his desires. Both stables going to war here, all their integrated rivalries of the past years come to a head, the one between Ospreay and Naito lying at the centre of it all. UE get a tough break to start with when Great-O-Khan hits the deck early, Mark Davis following, though a comeback removes the Lucha Bros from the equation!
Cobb goes next, before Ospreay takes out PAC, a double countout subsequently removing the leaders from the equation! Boiling down to Shingo and Kyle, the Aussie Arrow pulls out the underdog performance of his life, channelling all of Ospreay’s moves before a GRIMSTONE ELIMINATES SHINGO! OSPREAY’S HEADED TO KOPW!!! Raising Fletcher onto their shoulders, it’s a grand celebration from UE, Will receiving one last lease on life! As for Naito, he can only stand and wait, a final challenge paved in his path to the Dome.
United Empire def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (25:33)
King of Pro-Wrestling (October 27, 2024)
Also on the show:
KUSHIDA (c) vs Taiji Ishimori - NJPW World Television Championship
Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) (c) vs Catch 22 - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - G1 Climax Briefcase
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Will Ospreay IV - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
One year ago, Ospreay’s overzealousness cost him the chance to main event Wrestle Kingdom with the World Title, but now, as it all comes full circle, it’s official, the winner of this match defending against Okada! With that in mind, both men are equally ravenous to make the grand opportunity theirs! Their fourth match together, it’s rife with callbacks, Naito especially making sure to remind Will of the way he beat him in last year’s A Block Finals to get in his head.
To Tetsuya’s surprise though, this matured Ospreay is impervious to his strategies! No matter what the champion throws, the challenger always has an answer, their see-saw saga featuring plenty of nail-biting near-falls that could send either man through, but it’s a TRIAD OF HIDDEN BLADES that ultimately calls it, Ospreay finally reclaiming his throne, a date with destiny set in stone!
Will Ospreay def. Tetsuya Naito (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (35:38)
Before WK though, Power Struggle is on the calendar! Featuring the likes of Death Triangle dethroning KONGOH for the NEVER belts for PAC to fully find his place in LIJ, Ren Narita dethroning Katsuyori Shibata for the NEVER Openweight Title, and Shingo Takagi taking the US Title from SANADA, it also sees Ospreay team with Catch 22 against Okada and the two men who ended Francesco Akira and TJP’s legendary reign, SHO & Taiji Ishimori, with UE scoring the vengeful win! And on the final Road To Tokyo Dome special, Ospreay finds a surprising ally in Shibata against Okada and Tanahashi in a HUGE blockbuster tag, CHAOS getting their win back here as Shibata keeps chasing down a rematch with Tana!
Wrestle Kingdom 19 (January 4, 2025)
Also on the show:
Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) (c) vs Li-YOH - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) (c) vs CHAOS (Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
SHO (c) vs Francesco Akira - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Ren Narita (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NEVER Openweight Championship
Shingo Takagi (c) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - IWGP United States Championship
Minoru Suzuki vs Taichi - Retirement
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada XII - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Finally, this is what it’s all led to. A story set in motion from the very first moment Ospreay set foot in NJPW under Okada’s guidance in CHAOS 9 years ago. Fighting through loss after loss after loss, he finally achieved his clean win over Okada last year to reclaim his World Championship, but now, he must accomplish an even greater task – beat the Final Boss in the Tokyo Dome itself! Failing on both occasions against Okada on NJPW’s biggest stage akin to Okada’s own chase of Tanahashi, it’s his Wrestle Kingdom 10 moment now as he walks into the Dome as the reigning champion, with the Ace as the challenger! Win and he’s immortalised in history. Lose and Okada resets the company’s entire trajectory. High stakes weighing on Will’s shoulders, it’s time to elevate under pressure!
Entering with WK level entrances to boot, Okada dripping sheer gold, and Ospreay with an entire kingdom of suited individuals accompanying him, they get underway as the bell sounds! And for the first time, it’s Ospreay controlling the opening sequence with the Tanahashi-style headlock! Big brothering Okada, he doesn’t let the Rainmaker out the gates in his own ballpark for a few minutes straight… BEFORE WILL EXPLODES FOR A HANDSPRING ENZUIGIRI!
Okada dodges, going for a GERMAN, but Will flips through, nailing the HOOK KICK, an OSCUTTER coming up empty, Kazu swinging for a ducked RAINMAKER, and it’s a stalemate! Trading forearms, a Lariat dumps Okada out, Ospreay running Kazu’s routine of the guardrail whip and Big Boot, a RUNNING CROSSBODY EATING A DROPKICK! Nailing a TOMBSTONE on the floor, Okada sets up a table at ringside before rolling Ospreay in, the MISSILE DROPKICK and AIR-RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER harping on the neck! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!
Wrenching the MONEY CLIP, it doesn’t get him far, a BRAINBUSTER catching Okada by surprise! SHOOTING STAR PRESS! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! A PIP PIP CHEERIO eats a BEAUTIFUL DROPKICK, before Okada whips Ospreay at the corner, only for Will to pop him up onto the turnbuckles, slamming Kawada Kicks into his face! CHEEKY NANDOS! Ospreay tries for a LIGER BOMB through the outside table, but Okada drops to the apron! Will charges for a Yakuza Kick, but a LANDSLIDE BLOCKS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY STAYS IN!!!
Hammering the neck, Okada lunges for a RAINMAKER, though a SNAP CUTTER blocks! ROBINSON SPECIAL! Will winds up the CHELSEA GRIN, but it receives a slap and a JOHN WOO DROPKICK! A pair of Short-Arm Rainmakers ricochet off Ospreay, but a Rainmaker is feigned for a DDT! DIVING ELBOW DROP!!! ONE! TWO! THR-WILL KICKS OUT AGAIN!!! A TOMBSTONE is countered by knees, Ospreay whipping Okada at the ropes, Kazu countering a BACK BODY DROP OVER THE ROPES!!!
Will narrowly missing the table, Okada follows with a TOPE CON HILO… BUT OSPREAY MOVES OUT THE WAY, THE RAINMAKER EXPLODING THROUGH THE WOOD!!! Shoving Okada’s lifeless body inside, Ospreay sets up a HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOO!!! A STORM BREAKER is blocked, Okada nailing a sick CORNER GERMAN! Dropkick rocks Will, before the TOMBSTONE connects! RAINMAKER’s dodged, Ospreay rebounding into an OSCUTTER- DROPKICK!!! AND A RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okada keeps the wrist, going for seconds… OSPREAY NAILS A RAINMAKER OF HIS OWN!!! Wrist still held, Will nails close-range elbows to the neck, before winding up another HIDDEN BLADE- HEAVY RAIN!!! OKADA NAILS HIS OWN HIDDEN BLADE!!! Teasing the STORM BREAKER, Ospreay spins out, dumping Kazu with a LANDSLIDE!!! AND A HIDDEN BLADE… Okada collapses! As Will tries picking him up, a DROPKICK awaits! ANOTHER DROPKICK! AZTEC SUPLEX – A LA ULTIMO DRAGON!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!!
Okada decks Ospreay with a RAINMAKER, but Will doesn’t go down fully, Kazu nailing a SECOND! Going for the Ripcord this time… RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA KICKS OUT!!! ESSEX DESTROYER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICK OUT!!! Cracking a HIDDEN BLADE off Okada’s nose, an OSCUTTER follows, before he floats into a STORM BREAKER- FALLING RAINMAKERRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okada smelling blood, he tries for another, AND A HIDDEN BLADE CONNECTS AT THE SAME TIME!!! Keeping hold, the two knock each other loopy with one free arm… OSCUTTER’S CAUGHT WITH A TOMBSTONE!!! Okada picks him back up, going for a SPINNING TOMBSTONE- OSPREAY REVERSES INTO A SPIKE PILEDRIVER!!! Ripcord… HIDDEN BLADE!!! AND A STORM BREAKER!!! Hoisting him up for one more… A SECOND STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Kazuchika Okada to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (40:51)
HE’S DONE IT! OSPREAY’S FINALLY SURPASSED THE ACE ON HIS OWN STAGE! No longer is Okada himself anymore, but rather the Tanahashi to Ospreay’s Okada, the cycle continuing. And like his counterpart 9 years ago, Kazu leaves as empty-handed as he walked in for the first time in a decade, the times officially changing! And as sunlight washes over the Land of the Rising Sun, a new dawn is revealed. The dawn of the Ospreay Era.
Epilogue
Heading into 2025, NJPW is rife with changes, seeing more of the once Young Lion names step up as the likes of Tanahashi and Naito begin to slow down. CHAOS features a massive shakeup the following night as Shinsuke Nakamura returns, kickstarting his road to retirement, having been vocal in his interest of facing Tanahashi, proceeding to feud with Okada over his failures. As for Ospreay, his reign runs until Sakura Genesis, where one NJC Winner Katsuyori Shibata finally dethrones him 8 years on from his loss to Okada, though Will’s time with the title is far from over yet, remaining an integral part of the picture alongside ZSJ, Shingo, and more.
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Since becoming one again, LIJ’s been on a tear through NJPW’s ranks this year in spite of Shingo Takagi dropping the belt and PAC losing the New Japan Cup Finals to the current World Champion. IWGP United States, IWGP Tag Team (Death Triangle have become LIJ affiliates through PAC), and NJPW World Television Championships in their grasps, they seek to round out the group by all holding titles simultaneously. But that begs the question – who’ll be going after the World Title? Though Shingo’s battle ready, he insists Tetsuya Naito take it this time, the Stardust Genius having worked his back off to rebound from Wrestle Kingdom. Failing every attempt in the past 3 years though, the question remains whether he can truly pull it off this time, or if it’s just not meant to be.
Kizuna Road - Night Four (July 1, 2024)
Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & El Phantasmo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC)
With Naito confirmed as Sabre’s #1 Contender for Wrestle Dynasty, SG and LIJ have themselves a scaled-down rematch from New Year’s Dash, Zack picking his trusty right-hand man ELP, and Tetsuya bringing the US Champion, knowing PAC has unresolved issues with ZSJ from the NJC. Though it drives the Bastard to work doubly-hard, especially considering how it’ll look if he pins the World Champion, it also makes their teamwork suffer, PAC becoming self-absorbed in getting the pin. Backfiring, a Sudden Death from Phantasmo knocks his lights out, SG getting their win back from NYD and putting the challenger on the backfoot heading into Madison Square Garden!
Sabre-Gun def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (16:12)
PAC appears distraught after the match, but Naito simply tells him ‘tranquilo’, not taking it personally. Though he’d hoped to use this match to get into ZSJ’s head, it appears he’ll just have to do that himself, like he’s always done.
Wrestle Dynasty (July 14, 2024)
Also on the show:
Shota Umino (c) vs El Desperado - NEVER Openweight Championship
Just6Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Ryohei Oiwa) (c) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs Kyle Fletcher - NJPW World Television Championship
PAC (c) vs El Phantasmo - IWGP United States Championship
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Meiyu Tag - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Tetsuya Naito XI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
In what’s been a very successful night for LIJ thus far, clean-sweeping their way through the competition, it all rests on Naito’s shoulders now to bring it home. Perhaps the most unreliable man to slot in this spot, and yet, the most beloved, MSG fully invested in Tetsuya’s chase, either the grandest of celebrations or coldest of heartbreaks will end the night! Naito keeps his cool, emanating his usual larger-than-life aura as he walks out in a pristine crimson suit, paying homage to Shingo, whilst Sabre’s cockier than ever with his recent streak of huge wins, knowing he has Tetsuya doubting himself after their tag. As he hands his title over, the two come face-to-face, SABRE SPITTING GUM INTO NAITO’S FACE, but Tetsuya doesn’t let ZSJ’s tactics faze him, having come too far for too long to let mind games be his downfall.
Circling each other, Zack lunges for a lock-up but Naito walks past, smirking and stretching in the opposite corner. Sabre rolls his eyes as Tetsuya turns around and tells him ‘tranquilo’, before going for it again… Zack snatching the headlock this time as Naito tries to repeat, but Tetsuya instantly whips him to the corner, teasing the COMBINACION CABRON as ZSJ braces himself… Naito stops in front of him and does the ‘Abre los Ojos’ taunt!
Furious, Sabre piefaces him, NAITO RETURNING A FOREARM, AND WE’RE OFF! Trading strikes, Zack rocks Tetsuya with European Uppercuts, Naito returning forearms, before a Japanese Arm Drag stops Zack in his tracks! Naito goes for another, but Zack hooks onto Tetsuya’s legs, tripping him up and contorting the foot! Tetsuya boots him off with the other, a Neckbreaker and a Somersault Senton connecting, though Sabre absorbs the latter, trapping Naito’s arm onto the mat to STOMP THE HAND!
Picking him back up, he cracks Naito with chops, before whipping him at the ropes, Naito hitting off them one after the other to build momentum, teasing the Flying Forearm Zack’s expecting… only to roll into the Tranquilo pose! ZACK MEETS HIM WITH A NECK TWIST!!! Tetsuya scrambling to the corner, Sabre steps on his throat against the ropes, BEFORE SLAPPING HIM! NAITO SPITS IN ZACK’S FACE!!! A harsh uppercut knocks Tetsuya back, a Running European following and a PENALTY KICK! Naito dodges and nails the FLYING FOREARM SMASH!
Teasing the Tornado DDT, it’s cancelled by an Enzuigiri, Zack leaping for the KIMURA- NAITO COUNTERS INTO VALENTIA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!! Sending Sabre into the corner, the COMBINACION CABRON CONNECTS! AND A MISSILE DROPKICK! Naito teases the DRAGON SUPLEX, but Sabre flips through and STOMPS HIS ELBOW! SNAP GERMAN ON THE NECK FROM SABRE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! Naito woozy, his head’s only further knocked around by a ROLLING ELBOW! A CORNER HIGH KNEE connects, before a Hammerlock Suplex floats into a TESCO MEAL DEAL!!!
Naito’s hand flails about the mat as Sabre keeps him grounded, no Valentia escape this time, forcing Tetsuya to work the old-fashioned way to the ropes! MSG backing the Stardust Genius, after much deliberation he gets a foot on the ropes! But Zack’s right back on him, going for a NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX- NAITO STANDS HIM UP WITH A SNAP DDT! An EVOLUCION’S shut down though, Sabre hitting the brakes to nail the ARM PELE! Fishing the arm, Zack tries to float into a FLYING ARTICLE 50- NAITO STUFFS HIM WITH A GLORIA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE SURVIVES!!!
Rallying momentum, Tetsuya nails the TORNADO DDT! Sabre nursing the head, a DRAGON SUPLEX FOLLOWS!!! In the drop zone, Naito tests the waters for a RUNNING DESTINO- SABRE SHUTS IT DOWN WITH A EUROPEAN CLUTCH!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NAITO’S DREAMS STAY ALIVE!!! Getting dangerously close with the flash pin, Tetsuya throws defiant forearms, Zack catching and contorting one, but a ROLLING WHEEL KICK knocks him off! ESPERANZA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE KICKS OUT!!!
Hooking the head, Naito hoists Sabre up… ZACK WITH A GUILLOTINE CHOKE MID-AIR!!! Tetsuya’s eyes bulge out his skull, looking for the nearest turnbuckle to ram Sabre into it, but ZSJ’s quicker, yanking him to the mat and transitioning into a JIM BREAKS ARMBAR!!! Brutally bending the arm at an awkward angle, there’s a manic look in Zack’s eyes as NYC desperately cheers on Naito, who does his best to hang on! Sabre keeps tugging further and further, eager to ruin Tetsuya, but it backfires, helping him stretch his leg to the ropes!
The crowd erupts as the referee forces Sabre off, though Naito’s clearly hurting all the same, a European helping no less! Zack rallies with further Uppercuts, one knocking Tetsuya down, before firing a PENALTY KICK!!! NAITO ABSORBS IT AND ROLLS THROUGH, SABRE GOING FOR SECONDS BUT HE EATS A RUNNING DESTINOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!! Shaking himself off, Naito attempts another, though Sabre stops it with elbows, before hopping into a REAR NAKED CHOKE!
Tetsuya tries to run forwards to free himself, though ZSJ swivels on his back into a GEDO CLUTCH!!! ANOTHER FLASH PIN! BUT NAITO ROLLS THROUGH THIS TIME INTO HIS OWN – POLVO DE ESTRELLA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE STAYS IN!!! AND AN EVOLUCION!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICK OUT!!! NAITO’S GOING FOR THE SWING DESTINO!!! BUT A ZACK DRIVER COUNTERS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Slapping up Naito’s neck, Sabre dumps him on it with a TIGER SUPLEX!!! Naito woozy, Zack nails the PENALTY KICK!!! NAITO’S REFUSING TO STAY DOWN! Hearing MSG’s cries, he wills himself back up as Sabre watches in fascination… ONLY FOR ANOTHER PK TO CUT HIM OFF!!! And just like the 2022 NJC Finals, he’s going to end it here with a SECOND ZACK DRIVER- NAITO NAILS A DESTINO MID-AIR!!! HE’S STILL MOVING SOMEHOW!!! Stumbling to his feet, Tetsuya measures his man… DESTINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE’S FOOT’S ON THE ROPE!!!
Saving Naito more than once, it’s come to Zack’s aid now too! Hammering Sabre with forearms, Naito tees up another DESTINO- PELE KICK!!! Tetsuya falls forward, Zack catching him in a STRETCH MUFFLER!!! IF HE CAN JUST GRAB THE OTHER LEG, IT’S ALL OVER, COMPLETING THE ORIENTEERING WITH NAPALM DEATH!!! Zack bends Naito further and further as he tries to grab hold… TETSUYA SWINGS BACK! AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! SABRE LETS GO!!! AND A ZACK DRIVER FROM NAITO!!!
Sabre on his back, Naito thinks about waiting for the Destino… but then he sees the top rope. The crowd cry at him not to, screwing him over time and time again, but Tetsuya can’t help it! Heading up top, the world holds their breath, NAITO SOARING THROUGH THE AIR… STARDUST PRESS CONNECTS!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! IT’S A MIRACLE IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!! NAITO’S WORLD CHAMPION AGAIN!!!
Tetsuya Naito def. Zack Sabre Jr. (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (31:18)
New York LOSES their minds as Naito’s handed the title, Tetsuya himself struggling to process what just happened! But then LIJ rush out – PAC with the US Title, Hiromu with the TV Title, Shingo, Yota, and Titan with the NEVER 6-Man Titles, and even the Lucha Brothers with the Tag Titles! THEY’RE DRAPED IN GOLD, BABY! Sharing embraces all around as a dismal Sabre trudges to the back, there’s not a single dry eye in the arena as the outcasts raise their fists to the sky with one hand and their titles with the other, golden tickertape hailing down! Naito’s on top of the world after 3 long years, and it feels damn good! Doing the customary championship edition roll-call, the show fades on LIJ holding all their gold… and PAC looking over at Naito’s.
G1 Climax 34
Entering his second of fifteen G1s as the reigning champion, Naito heads B Block opposite stiff competition. Though dispatching of Hiromu in friendly competition on Night One, the two are subsequently assaulted by KONGOH post-match, allowing NOAH’s KENOH to upset him the following night! Behind the 8-ball already, Tetsuya’s motivated to make a comeback, mowing through Narita, Tanahashi, Yota, Sabre, and KENTA to take back the lead! Suffering another surprise defeat at Jeff Cobb’s hands after multiple failed attempts from the Hawaiian Hulk to best him, it opens the door for a returning JAY WHITE to spoil his final night, wrecking Naito’s legs with a ladder, allowing Zack to advance on 14 points! As for B Block, a draw between Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada on the final night puts the Commonwealth Kingpin through, the rivals meeting one more time! Other key underlying stories see Shibata finally beating Okada, Ospreay avenging his Takagi loss, PAC beating his fellow LIJ members but losing to SANADA, and KONGOH causing ruckus throughout the competition.
G1 Climax 34 Finals (August 19, 2024)
Also on the show:
Jay White vs BUSHI
Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr. - G1 Climax Briefcase
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, PAC, Hiromu Takahashi, Titan) vs KONGOH (KENOH, Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Hi69, Shuji Kondo)
Perhaps the focal reason for Naito not making the Finals, KONGOH’s tournament chicanery, as led by KENOH, was a masterfully crafted plan. After losing to Tetsuya in last year’s LIJ vs KONGOH series at Wrestle Kingdom 17, the thought of ruining the Stardust Genius for vengeance never left the Rogue Fist’s mind, and with his win over Tetsuya in the G1, their score is now 1-1. Reigniting the intense rivalry between the two stables, they have an upgraded rematch to their Wrestle Kingdom 16 5-on-5, both sides having greatly changed since then.
Once again, PAC’s especially adamant to claim the spotlight, the loss to SANADA making him temperamental despite having the 2nd best LIJ record in this year’s tournament. An argument breaking out between PAC and Shingo as to who should get the pin is put on ice by Naito, though it doesn’t keep Titan from eating a nasty PFS from KENOH, handing the invaders the win!
KONGOH def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (19:57)
Redeeming WK16, KENOH offers the angriest of satisfied smiles, the group cackling as they gesture belts around their waists, warning that their business isn’t yet over. LIJ left behind, there’s a sour mood in the air from the loss, though when Shingo offers a fist in apology, PAC, taking a look at a nodding Naito, ultimately returns one, showing that despite popular belief, LIJ’s still fine.
Splitting off for Shingo and co. to gear up for KONGOH’s second wave whilst Naito and PAC are scheduled for AEW’s ALL IN supershow, this time taking place in Tetsuya’s home of the Tokyo Dome, both men are set for defences on the show. In PAC’s case, it’s a rematch against J6G’s SANADA, the Bastard adamant to gain Naito’s favour by beating the traitor. As for Naito, he has Jay on his tail!
Until the recent G1, White refused to show his face on any sort of NJPW programming (including Forbidden Door) since being embarrassed at Okada’s hands and having his faction torn to shreds. Leaving Japan to join AEW, no longer having connections to hide behind nor help him, he was forced to be the lone wolf for once, becoming even more merciless, knowing he’s all he has. After spreading chaos abroad, most recently coming up short in the AEW World Championship picture, trauma from his Okada loss clinging onto him anytime the stakes are raised too high again, he decided it was time to return to his roots to clear his head and eliminate any shred of weakness left in his body so that he can claim the top prize again, and there’s no better place to do so than the building his title was taken from him – the Tokyo Dome.
The last time he faced Naito in the Tokyo Dome, he had Gedo by his side, yet still lost. Now though, he declares if he’s to have this match, he wants a compensatory factor. A means of looking out for himself, like Naito has LIJ. He’s already beaten Tetsuya thrice in singles competition, knowing he’s the better wrestler, so this time… HE WANTS A LADDER MATCH!!! Japan’s become more and more geared to the Western market, the culture shifting from traditions, so unless he’s a snob like Okada, he'll embrace the new vision and accept the challenge. Jay using the perfect words to get under Tetsuya’s skin, he accepts, looking to tear down the foundations of the Rainmaker’s regime with his reign, starting with this!
RevProxNJPW 12th Anniversary Show (August 24, 2024)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC) vs The Knight Dynasty (Ricky Knight Jr. & Zak Knight)
The night before ALL IN features a special RevPro crossover event with their partners, NJPW, the 12th Anniversary being celebrated in Japan. Naturally, Naito tags with the most RevPro familiar member of LIJ, PAC, the two champions battling the celebrated Knight Dynasty, who are considered the present and future of the promotion! What begins as a fun exhibition sees more of the differences between PAC and Naito come to light, the hot-headedness of the Bastard and the collectedness of El Ingobernable wanting different things out of the match, yet still managing to remain reasonably on the same page. A close call on a 619 from Ricky sees Naito shove PAC out the way in the nick of time, absorbing the blow himself, though without acknowledging it, PAC springs to action, a Black Arrow on Zak scoring the victory!
Los Ingobernables de Japon def. The Knight Dynasty (13:10)
As the referee approaches LIJ with their titles, PAC’s quick to receive both, Naito only recovering just in time to find the Bastard lingering for a moment as he looks between the pieces of gold, before finally handing Tetsuya’s over him and walking off, leaving the leader confused yet unconcerned.
ALL IN Tokyo (August 25, 2024)
Also on the show:
PAC (c) vs SANADA - IWGP United States Championship
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Golden Lovers - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Jay White V - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Ladder
Stepping into the mastermind of the Switchblade, White baits Naito to play his game, the long-time rivals settling their score over a belt they both have history with. With no Gedo around, Jay’s focus is to demolish Naito’s already tattered knees with the ladder like he did to cost Tetsuya the G1, slowing down each climbing attempt bit by bit. Given the two’s creativity, it’s a sick warfare of increasingly dangerous spots, Naito taking Jay with him to neck bump city, White cruelly massacring Tetsuya’s body with reckless abandon.
White’s notably more in his element here, letting the Tokyo Dome atmosphere heal him whilst hurting Naito. A HANGING BLADE RUNNER cuts a Stardust Press attempt short, the magic only lasting once, but a ladder bridge CANADIAN DESTROYER buys Naito some momentum back! Ultimately, a war atop the ladder sees Naito boot Jay off, allowing him to unhook the gold to retain!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. Jay White V to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (25:30)
Though Naito walks out with his belt, PAC doesn’t, making the Bastard’s issues all the more prominent, taking more frequent looks over at Tetsuya’s gold, which begs the question – was there more to PAC joining LIJ than originally thought? Still, he wishes Naito good luck for Wrestle Grand Slam, telling him he wants to see the belt on him when they go England. But for now, the end of his trilogy against KENOH awaits!
Wrestle Grand Slam (September 8, 2024)
Also on the show:
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs KUSHIDA - NJPW World Television Championship
El Desperado (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - NEVER Openweight Championship
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan) (c) vs KONGOH (Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Shuji Kondo) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs KENOH III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
For over two years, the rivalry between LIJ and KONGOH has slowly simmered to this boiling point, coming down to the leaders now to settle their 1-1 score over NJPW’s top title! With the 6-Man Titles changing hands earlier in the night, Naito must put his 200% into assuring the same doesn’t occur here, or it’ll be disaster on New Japan’s waterfront.
As two men that could not be more opposite collide, it’s an intense war over the company’s possession, everyone from fans to wrestlers on the edge of their seats as the last of the NOAH invaders try to leave their mark. KENOH shows nothing but hatred towards Naito for ruining his past chances, whilst Tetsuya savours his every moment in the Sun, having slaved away to hold this belt. A PFS almost does Naito in, whilst the DESTINO does the same for KENOH! Ragdolling the older star with Dragon Suplexes, KENOH sets up for the ENRIN… BUT IN HIS STARDUST PRESS MOMENT, HE MISSES!!! DESTINOOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! New Japan remains safe in the hands of Naito!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. KENOH to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (28:33)
Offering a handshake to KENOH out of respect for their series… the Rogue Fist declines it, though from the look in his fiery eyes, an inkling of acknowledgement is there for Tetsuya. Telling Naito to keep the belt warm for him, he declares he’ll be back sometime again, and when that happens, he’s going to usurp Naito once and for all!
And as they leave with their 50/50 successes, it’s back to LIJ to end the show on their usual note… except, PAC interrupts the tradition. He’s confused, no, he’s incredulous. What are they celebrating here? Failure? Or are they calling it ‘survival’? Is no one going to point out the elephant in the room? Just two months ago they were on top of the world, all draped in gold, but now they’re left with just Naito and the Lucha Bros’s gold. And yet, they’re celebrating? He’s been out here losing sleep over his missing US Title!
If they wish to continue to be taken seriously, they need to act the part. Luckily… he has a solution. They say iron sharpens iron, so rather than fighting these large-scale wars outside their stable… why not have a ‘friendly’ within? Naito has the title and an incredible row of suitors before him, so he should pick one to defend against! Tetsuya seems perturbed by the idea knowing what almost happened the last time LIJ fought within, but as PAC insists, even pointing out how he’s the only one with a clean record over Naito… Tetsuya turns to him and raises the title! If such claims are going to be made, they need to be backed up too! Challenging PAC with his title on the line, a grinning Bastard accepts, bumping his fist!
Burning Spirit - Night Seven (September 25, 2024)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi) vs Death Triangle (PAC & The Lucha Brothers)
Slyly manoeuvring his way into the title rematch he’s desired ever since getting a taste of the gold against Shingo last year, this is more so PAC’s chance to prove himself over the statement he’s seeming to be making. Nonetheless, with various combinations of LIJ facing Death Triangle over the Burning Spirit tour, they supposedly rely on each other to improve their own skill, these 6 especially drawing the very best out of each other. Working more seamlessly with DT than he had LIJ as of late, the freakish chemistry between the AEW lads has a Fear FactoDouble Stomp/Black Arrow combo end Hiromu, PAC grinning as he stares down Naito, the challenge growing closer by day…
Death Triangle def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (18:24)
Giving a brief interview heading into the match at Royal Quest, Naito states that he can’t be certain on what PAC’s intentions are, but all he knows is that no matter what, LIJ sticks together. If this match is what PAC needs for his peace of mind, then it’s all his. All he can hope is the Bastard has the same idea of family in mind.
Royal Quest IV - Night Two (October 6, 2024)
Also on the show:
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - G1 Climax Briefcase
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs PAC II - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
The relationship between LIJ and PAC has developed into one of the more intriguing dynamics this year, raising a multitude of questions, but now, the true light of it all will be revealed. Whether it’s friendly fire or another coup, Naito’s ready for whatever PAC may happen to have up his sleeve, whilst the Bastard lets his actions do the talking. For once, it’s an utterly no-nonsense showdown between Los members, Tetsuya taking the threat of PAC very seriously, the Jordie clearly driven to make the grand prize his. And as the match rolls on, Naito starts to see parts of himself in PAC with each cheer or cry from his home crowd.
Just like Naito, he’s the incredibly-talented misfit who was overlooked, but unlike a young Naito, PAC doesn’t realise he has the world on his side already despite his quirks. Whilst Naito had to suffer through his changes, PAC’s a made man, and with each near-fall, the crowd see it too, becoming more and more invested in him! On the cusp of his crowning moment, PAC shows no hesitation unlike the Stardust Press, NAILING THE BLACK ARROW!!! ONE! TWO! THR-BUT NAITO KICKS OUT!!! PAC may have ‘it’, but Naito’s operating on an entirely different level as World Champion, and no matter what PAC may have thrown at him, it’s not his moment just yet. DESTINOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. PAC to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (30:11)
Maybe a different day. Both men propped in opposite corners of the ring, they suck deep for breaths, PAC only taking his eyes off Naito when he spots the title bring brought over to him. That should’ve been his. He should’ve been champion right now, but… he starts tuning in the crowd again. A standing ovation for the hometown boy. Though he may not hold the title right now, he’s still a champion in their eyes… Solace. Always overlooked, all he needed was approval. And now more than ever, he feels he has it. Noticing PAC’s realisation, Naito grins and nods to him, the two bumping fists together, no sour ending on this one.
At least, not between LIJ… OKADA’S HERE!!! After shockingly beating Ospreay for his G1 briefcase earlier in the night, the Rainmaker has his sights on the Tokyo Dome main event, and if things are to be believed, it may be Naito defending against Kazuchika on the grand stage! The long-time WK rivals locking eyes, there’s a different atmosphere between the Ace and the Dark Ace now. No longer does Okada look upon Naito condescendingly, but with disgust. Though he failed to beat Shingo earlier in the night, Kazuchika’s been vocal all year about the damage he feels LIJ have caused the company.
Where he did everything to purify the promotion with his reign, beating away outsiders, Naito did the exact opposite, bringing them further into their ranks and breaking tradition with a ladder match. With this briefcase in his hand though, he has the power to change that… but so does he. OSPREAY JOINS IN!!! The man who lost his case earlier in front of his own family, he can’t even look the smug Okada in the eyes. Rather, turning to Naito, he declares his desire to return to WK’s main event to not be over just yet! Against better judgement, he gave Shingo a shot at this title last year and it cost him everything. All he asks is Naito returns the favour! Smirking, Tetsuya tells him ‘earn it’, WK’s main event scene growing all the more interesting!
Battle Autumn - Night Five (October 15, 2024)
Elimination: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Death Triangle) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Aussie Open)
Desperation drives a man to his darkest pits, and Ospreay is very much there. Banding his troops together one year on since the last LIJ/UE tag of this magnitude, the ante’s upped even higher now, needing to survive an elimination match to receive the match of his desires. Both stables going to war here, all their integrated rivalries of the past years come to a head, the one between Ospreay and Naito lying at the centre of it all. UE get a tough break to start with when Great-O-Khan hits the deck early, Mark Davis following, though a comeback removes the Lucha Bros from the equation!
Cobb goes next, before Ospreay takes out PAC, a double countout subsequently removing the leaders from the equation! Boiling down to Shingo and Kyle, the Aussie Arrow pulls out the underdog performance of his life, channelling all of Ospreay’s moves before a GRIMSTONE ELIMINATES SHINGO! OSPREAY’S HEADED TO KOPW!!! Raising Fletcher onto their shoulders, it’s a grand celebration from UE, Will receiving one last lease on life! As for Naito, he can only stand and wait, a final challenge paved in his path to the Dome.
United Empire def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (25:33)
King of Pro-Wrestling (October 27, 2024)
Also on the show:
KUSHIDA (c) vs Taiji Ishimori - NJPW World Television Championship
Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) (c) vs Catch 22 - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - G1 Climax Briefcase
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Will Ospreay IV - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
One year ago, Ospreay’s overzealousness cost him the chance to main event Wrestle Kingdom with the World Title, but now, as it all comes full circle, it’s official, the winner of this match defending against Okada! With that in mind, both men are equally ravenous to make the grand opportunity theirs! Their fourth match together, it’s rife with callbacks, Naito especially making sure to remind Will of the way he beat him in last year’s A Block Finals to get in his head.
To Tetsuya’s surprise though, this matured Ospreay is impervious to his strategies! No matter what the champion throws, the challenger always has an answer, their see-saw saga featuring plenty of nail-biting near-falls that could send either man through, but it’s a TRIAD OF HIDDEN BLADES that ultimately calls it, Ospreay finally reclaiming his throne, a date with destiny set in stone!
Will Ospreay def. Tetsuya Naito (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (35:38)
Before WK though, Power Struggle is on the calendar! Featuring the likes of Death Triangle dethroning KONGOH for the NEVER belts for PAC to fully find his place in LIJ, Ren Narita dethroning Katsuyori Shibata for the NEVER Openweight Title, and Shingo Takagi taking the US Title from SANADA, it also sees Ospreay team with Catch 22 against Okada and the two men who ended Francesco Akira and TJP’s legendary reign, SHO & Taiji Ishimori, with UE scoring the vengeful win! And on the final Road To Tokyo Dome special, Ospreay finds a surprising ally in Shibata against Okada and Tanahashi in a HUGE blockbuster tag, CHAOS getting their win back here as Shibata keeps chasing down a rematch with Tana!
Wrestle Kingdom 19 (January 4, 2025)
Also on the show:
Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) (c) vs Li-YOH - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) (c) vs CHAOS (Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
SHO (c) vs Francesco Akira - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Ren Narita (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NEVER Openweight Championship
Shingo Takagi (c) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - IWGP United States Championship
Minoru Suzuki vs Taichi - Retirement
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada XII - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Finally, this is what it’s all led to. A story set in motion from the very first moment Ospreay set foot in NJPW under Okada’s guidance in CHAOS 9 years ago. Fighting through loss after loss after loss, he finally achieved his clean win over Okada last year to reclaim his World Championship, but now, he must accomplish an even greater task – beat the Final Boss in the Tokyo Dome itself! Failing on both occasions against Okada on NJPW’s biggest stage akin to Okada’s own chase of Tanahashi, it’s his Wrestle Kingdom 10 moment now as he walks into the Dome as the reigning champion, with the Ace as the challenger! Win and he’s immortalised in history. Lose and Okada resets the company’s entire trajectory. High stakes weighing on Will’s shoulders, it’s time to elevate under pressure!
Entering with WK level entrances to boot, Okada dripping sheer gold, and Ospreay with an entire kingdom of suited individuals accompanying him, they get underway as the bell sounds! And for the first time, it’s Ospreay controlling the opening sequence with the Tanahashi-style headlock! Big brothering Okada, he doesn’t let the Rainmaker out the gates in his own ballpark for a few minutes straight… BEFORE WILL EXPLODES FOR A HANDSPRING ENZUIGIRI!
Okada dodges, going for a GERMAN, but Will flips through, nailing the HOOK KICK, an OSCUTTER coming up empty, Kazu swinging for a ducked RAINMAKER, and it’s a stalemate! Trading forearms, a Lariat dumps Okada out, Ospreay running Kazu’s routine of the guardrail whip and Big Boot, a RUNNING CROSSBODY EATING A DROPKICK! Nailing a TOMBSTONE on the floor, Okada sets up a table at ringside before rolling Ospreay in, the MISSILE DROPKICK and AIR-RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER harping on the neck! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!
Wrenching the MONEY CLIP, it doesn’t get him far, a BRAINBUSTER catching Okada by surprise! SHOOTING STAR PRESS! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! A PIP PIP CHEERIO eats a BEAUTIFUL DROPKICK, before Okada whips Ospreay at the corner, only for Will to pop him up onto the turnbuckles, slamming Kawada Kicks into his face! CHEEKY NANDOS! Ospreay tries for a LIGER BOMB through the outside table, but Okada drops to the apron! Will charges for a Yakuza Kick, but a LANDSLIDE BLOCKS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY STAYS IN!!!
Hammering the neck, Okada lunges for a RAINMAKER, though a SNAP CUTTER blocks! ROBINSON SPECIAL! Will winds up the CHELSEA GRIN, but it receives a slap and a JOHN WOO DROPKICK! A pair of Short-Arm Rainmakers ricochet off Ospreay, but a Rainmaker is feigned for a DDT! DIVING ELBOW DROP!!! ONE! TWO! THR-WILL KICKS OUT AGAIN!!! A TOMBSTONE is countered by knees, Ospreay whipping Okada at the ropes, Kazu countering a BACK BODY DROP OVER THE ROPES!!!
Will narrowly missing the table, Okada follows with a TOPE CON HILO… BUT OSPREAY MOVES OUT THE WAY, THE RAINMAKER EXPLODING THROUGH THE WOOD!!! Shoving Okada’s lifeless body inside, Ospreay sets up a HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOO!!! A STORM BREAKER is blocked, Okada nailing a sick CORNER GERMAN! Dropkick rocks Will, before the TOMBSTONE connects! RAINMAKER’s dodged, Ospreay rebounding into an OSCUTTER- DROPKICK!!! AND A RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okada keeps the wrist, going for seconds… OSPREAY NAILS A RAINMAKER OF HIS OWN!!! Wrist still held, Will nails close-range elbows to the neck, before winding up another HIDDEN BLADE- HEAVY RAIN!!! OKADA NAILS HIS OWN HIDDEN BLADE!!! Teasing the STORM BREAKER, Ospreay spins out, dumping Kazu with a LANDSLIDE!!! AND A HIDDEN BLADE… Okada collapses! As Will tries picking him up, a DROPKICK awaits! ANOTHER DROPKICK! AZTEC SUPLEX – A LA ULTIMO DRAGON!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!!
Okada decks Ospreay with a RAINMAKER, but Will doesn’t go down fully, Kazu nailing a SECOND! Going for the Ripcord this time… RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA KICKS OUT!!! ESSEX DESTROYER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICK OUT!!! Cracking a HIDDEN BLADE off Okada’s nose, an OSCUTTER follows, before he floats into a STORM BREAKER- FALLING RAINMAKERRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okada smelling blood, he tries for another, AND A HIDDEN BLADE CONNECTS AT THE SAME TIME!!! Keeping hold, the two knock each other loopy with one free arm… OSCUTTER’S CAUGHT WITH A TOMBSTONE!!! Okada picks him back up, going for a SPINNING TOMBSTONE- OSPREAY REVERSES INTO A SPIKE PILEDRIVER!!! Ripcord… HIDDEN BLADE!!! AND A STORM BREAKER!!! Hoisting him up for one more… A SECOND STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Kazuchika Okada to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (40:51)
HE’S DONE IT! OSPREAY’S FINALLY SURPASSED THE ACE ON HIS OWN STAGE! No longer is Okada himself anymore, but rather the Tanahashi to Ospreay’s Okada, the cycle continuing. And like his counterpart 9 years ago, Kazu leaves as empty-handed as he walked in for the first time in a decade, the times officially changing! And as sunlight washes over the Land of the Rising Sun, a new dawn is revealed. The dawn of the Ospreay Era.
Epilogue
Heading into 2025, NJPW is rife with changes, seeing more of the once Young Lion names step up as the likes of Tanahashi and Naito begin to slow down. CHAOS features a massive shakeup the following night as Shinsuke Nakamura returns, kickstarting his road to retirement, having been vocal in his interest of facing Tanahashi, proceeding to feud with Okada over his failures. As for Ospreay, his reign runs until Sakura Genesis, where one NJC Winner Katsuyori Shibata finally dethrones him 8 years on from his loss to Okada, though Will’s time with the title is far from over yet, remaining an integral part of the picture alongside ZSJ, Shingo, and more.
2023.05.28 05:48 InfernoAA God Made the World in Six Days, I’ll Perfect New Japan's on the Seventh Part Two: King George and the Dragon
In Part One, Kazuchika Okada waged war on the wrestling world as part of his quest to purify NJPW, killing BULLET CLUB and giving CHAOS a much-needed facelift in the process. Hirooki Goto and company have since taken refuge under Katsuyori Shibata’s new “Takeover” stable, which has recruited Ren Narita’s services. Sabre-Gun’s been on the up too, expanding to include the likes of Blake Christian and Clark Connors with the recent Best of the Super Juniors, continuing to be at odds with Just6Guys. There’s one group that’s yet to be addressed though, and that’s… United Empire.
After finally vanquishing Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door, Will Ospreay sets his sights on the next logical step – the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. With another of his white whales clutching onto it tightly, he wants closure to this legendary saga too, and so, he calls out the Rainmaker. Big Brother Kazu isn’t fazed one bit by the challenge, telling Ospreay he’s been waiting for him, though not to expect a result any different to their many past matches. After all, from Okada’s point-of-view, Will isn’t NJPW’s next destined leader. There’s a different prodigal son waiting.
Under CHAOS’s new vision, not only has Okada been building a ruthless band of companions willing to follow his regime change, but also focusing on its future, no longer being a top-heavy unit destined to collapse the moment Kazuchika stops supporting its roof. With Hiroshi Tanahashi already bringing in his younger counterpart, Shota Umino, Okada recruits the man prophesised to take over his mantle of Ace one day, Yuya Uemura. His Forbidden Door victory over Wheeler YUTA marking the end of his American excursion, Uemura accompanies his leader’s victory against Blackpool Combat Club in major fashion by accompanying him on the Kizuna Road loop.
Kizuna Road - Night Four (July 3, 2023)
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Yuya Uemura) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb)
Impressing thus far, Yuya’s biggest test comes when he teams with Okada 2-on-2 for the very first time to confront UE’s Ospreay and Cobb, and he quickly silences their criticisms. A one-sided manhandling from Cobb soon turns into Uemura employing strategies passed down to him from Okada on how to beat the Hawaiian Hulk, giving him quite the culture shock, before Okada helps bang the big man’s drum. The flow shifts when Ospreay steps in though, severely outclassing Yuya to both his and Okada’s surprise. This is a different Will to the one Okada faced a year ago in the G1 Climax Finals.
And yet, the Rainmaker has an ego problem. Tagging in, he tries to shut Will down, only to find for once, Ospreay seems to have his number. When the Commonwealth Kingpin has him beat though, going for the Hidden Blade, Yuya throws himself in harm’s way to buy Okada a moment, allowing Kazuchika to Dropkick Will out the equation, before drilling Cobb with a Rainmaker to win! As Ospreay grits his teeth, he understands it’ll take more than that to outsmart Okada.
CHAOS def. United Empire (13:45)
Wrestle Dynasty (July 8, 2023)
Also on the show:
Sabre-Gun (El Phantasmo, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) (c) vs Ren Narita & Bishamon - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Aussie Open (c) vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Jeff Cobb - IWGP United States Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Will Ospreay IX - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Across 8 matches, Ospreay has never once beaten Okada cleanly, his only triumph coming from the night of his betrayal in the G1 3 years ago. But now, with a win over the man Okada failed to beat at Dominion, he’s in the best shape he’s ever been to end the reign of tyranny. The question is though, will he? Returning to Madison Square Garden for this historic show, the last time they were here Ospreay was losing to Cobb in a Winner Takes All opener, whilst Okada was winning back the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event. This time, they’re equals.
Ospreay enters on a throne carried to the ring by UE, hamming up his Commonwealth Kingpin moniker and signalling the days of the Aerial Assassin to be long dead. Okada, on the other hand, is the same old Rainmaker, descending from the heavens on a platform, God mode in full effect. With pre-match introductions out the way, the bell rings, and the match gets underway! And in classic Okada/Ospreay fashion, Kazuchika expects to Big Brother Will with the Tanahashi/Okada-style headlock start… BUT OSPREAY RUSHES HIM WITH THE HIDDEN BLADE!!!
Caught off guard, Okada only barely evades him, but Ospreay moves like a lightning bolt, instantly transitioning to springboarding off the ropes for an OSCUTTER! Okada catches it and grabs the wrist, ripcording him into a RAINMAKER! Will ducks though, blasting him with a MARUFUJI HOOK KICK! Okada rocked, nails a SILENT WHISPER to the back of the head, before hooking the arms for the STORM BREAKER!!! But yet again, the Rainmaker barely gets out of dodge, shoving Will away and sliding outside for a breather!
Okada looks like he doesn’t know what’s just hit him, while Ospreay grins and mocks the Rainmaker pose. Snarling, Kazuchika slides back in and gets to trading blows with his challenger. Stiff elbows bounce off their heads in the centre of the ring, an Enzuigiri from Okada whiffing and a Handspring Enzuigiri from Will equally missing the mark! Kazu teases a Dropkick, causing Ospreay to leap, only to meet a stiff Uppercut once gravity gets hold of him.
Tossed into the ropes for a proper Dropkick attempt, Will instead slides to the apron and thunders in with a PIP PIP CHEERIO! A Running Shooting Star Press misses, Ospreay rolling through and racing back at Okada, though he’s launched onto the top turnbuckle. Again, a frustrated Okada wants the Dropkick, but Ospreay catches the leg and spins him around, nailing an INVERTED TORNADO DDT! Crunch. Here come the neck issues.
Okada dazed, nursing the injury in agony, Ospreay stomps the hell out of the neck, before connecting with a ROBINSON SPECIAL! He teases a follow-up OsCutter, Okada anticipating it, only to be faked into a SPIKE DDT! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT! Okada DDT’d the life out of Will last time, so Ospreay’s making sure to return the favour here. He goes for broke one too many times though, a Hangman’s DDT attempt ending in Okada spearing Ospreay across the ring and through the ropes, both smacking off the apron to the floor!
Turning feral ringside, Okada kicks Ospreay senseless like he’s Kaito, before forcefully connecting a DDT of his own! He whips Will at the guardrail for his patented Crossbody spot but Ospreay leaps over, a Silent Whisper staggering Okada, before an OSCUTTER SOARS IN… NOT THIS TIME – OKADA COUNTERS INTO A TOMBSTONE ON THE CONCRETE!!! Getting him back for the G1 Finals, Kazu smugly takes in the boos as Will twitches lifelessly at his feet.
Tossing him in, a MISSILE DROPKICK guns into his neck, before another BEAUTIFUL DROPKICK smacks into his chest, Okada finally in control! A Flapjack plants Will face-first and an AIR RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER again targets the famously-troubled neck of Ospreay! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! Cinching in the MONEY CLIP, he continues working it over, Will sputtering and gasping for breaths as he reaches out at the ropes. Right as he finds himself inches from them though, a GERMAN SUPLEX dumps him on his neck!
Okada hits the pose, before dialling up the RAINMAKER… Ospreay snapmares him over, learning from last time to not back him up. and throws the HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOO!!! Racing up top, Will prepares a Shooting Star Press, though Okada sluggishly rolls to the apron as he grabs at his head. Deciding to change trajectories… OSPREAY NAILS A SUPER OSCUTTER TO THE FLOOR!!! Body aching yet determined, Will rolls back in, only to soar back out with a SASUKE SPECIAL!!!
Dragging Okada behind him, he drapes him over the top rope, heading back up to finally hit the BURNING STAR PRESS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA GETS A FOOT ON THE ROPE!!! Keeping his composure, Ospreay murders Okada’s face with Kawada Kicks, before a CHELSEA GRIN knocks him loopy… OSCUTTER INCOMING – OKADA COLLAPSES UNDER!!! Will smacks off the mat, not anticipating it, and lets out a pained grunt as both lay flat on their backs, New York roaring in approval!
Ospreay finds his feet first and tries to pick Okada from his knees, though it results in him being tripped into the ropes throat-first! DROPKICK MEETS OSPREAY AS HE TURNS AROUND! Okada’s noticeably slower than usual, though he doesn’t let it hinder him, picking Will up to nail a SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER! Ospreay stays upright, returning a forearm smash, but another SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER takes him down! Okada teases the finishing blow, though Will resists, prompting Kazu to spike him with a LANDSLIDE instead! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY SURVIVES!
Hauling him right back up, Okada shoots again… WILL COUNTERS WITH AN OSCUTT- DROPKICKED OUT THE SKIES! Okada sets up the SPINNING RAINMAKER, but Ospreay nails the DISCUS ELBOW first! HOOK KICK drops him, before the HIDDEN BLADE closes in… OKADA DUCKS AND FIRES A JOHN WOO DROPKICK, SENDING OSPREAY INTO THE OPPOSITE CORNER! AND A HESITATION DROPKICK – SHADES OF SHIBATA! Will in the drop zone, Okada gets an idea, heading up top… HIGH FLY FLOW!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okada scowls, picking Will up for the TOMBSTONE… OSPREAY REVERSES INTO A HITODENASHI DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA KICKS OUT!!! And now Ospreay hits the Rainmaker pose again! Securing wrist-control, he nails a RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-STILL NO LUCK!!! Ospreay’s running out of options, though refuses to let his confidence waver, sticking to his gameplan. Mauling Okada’s arms, neck, and back with stomps, he picks him for only his second attempt at the ultimate final blow! OSPREAY WANTS STORM BREAKER!!!
Getting Okada up… KAZU DROPS OUT AND NAILS THE RAINMAKER!!! BUT HE CAN’T COVER, HAVING TO NURSE THE ARM! Both men returning to their feet at the same time, they knock each other dead with strikes, Okada scoring the ENZUIGIRI this time, Ospreay returning the POP-UP FOREARM SMASH! Tearing off the elbow pad, OSPREAY FIRES UP THE HIDDEN BLADE… OKADA COUNTERS INTO THE SPINNING EMERALD FLOWSION!!! NOT AGAIN – THIS COMBO ENDED WILL LAST TIME! Okada spells the end… RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! THIS IS IT! TWO! MSG IS ON THEIR FEET! THRE… OSPREAY KICKS OUT!!! HE’S STILL IN IT!!!
Okada looks like he’s seen a ghost, a barely twitching Ospreay laying at his feet with one shoulder raised! Refusing to accept it, the Rainmaker lifts him back up, BEFORE NAILING ANOTHER ON A DEFENCELESS WILL! Ospreay on his knees, head bowed, Kazu lifts him up by the hair to lock gazes with Will’s glazed-over eyes, before throwing a THIRD AND FINAL- OSPREAY HITS THE RAINMAKER!!! Okada drops like he’s been shot!
And now Will realises this could be it. Struggling back up whilst maintaining wrist-control, he lets out a roar, before nailing a RIPCORD HIDDEN BLADE!!! Okada at his knees now, Will lifts his head up by the hair this time as Kazu dares him to finish him off, too weak to fight back… AND OSPREAY OBLIGES, FISHING HIM INTO A STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! OSPREAY’S FINALLY DONE IT!!! WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!!!
Will Ospreay def. Kazuchika Okada (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (38:09)
MSG loses its mind as both men lay exhausted, UE rushing out to celebrate with their leader, helping him to his feet and handing him his prize. Golden tickertape hails from the rafters like Okada Dollars, Ospreay seated on a makeshift arm throne by Cobb and O-Khan, raising his title high, whilst Aussie Open and Catch 22 stand on either side, brandishing their respective titles too! And as Okada recovers, rolling out the ring and returning up the ramp, he locks eyes with Ospreay, giving him a look which reads “I’ll be back.” Will doesn’t let it phase him though. This is his night. He’s earned this moment.
G1 Climax 33
Not having to wait long for his first test, he enters his fourth G1 for the first time as reigning champion, redeeming the chance that a neck injury robbed him of in 2021. Heading A Block, he battles CHAOS’s Hiroshi Tanahashi on Night One, who tries to avenge Okada’s loss, though meets the same fate. Will dominates his block, dropping his first match after an undefeated 6 nights, losing to Katsuyori Shibata after their teased program last year at Forbidden Door! Still first though, having victimised SANADA, Shota Umino, EVIL, PAC, and KENTA along the way, he murders El Phantasmo on his 8th night, before meeting Tetsuya Naito in the Block Finals after a 5* duology last year! Finally, El Ingobernable avenges his past losses to punch his ticket to the Finals! As for B Block, a Shingo Takagi victory over Sabre puts him through, setting up a rematch from 2019’s G1 between Naito and Takagi for the Finals, adding fuel to the fire of LIJ’s already turbulent year with SANADA’s betrayal!
(Other key underlying stories are Naito’s loss to SANADA, KENTA beating Shibata in their first match as part of the TakeoveCHAOS feud, PAC finally returning to the ring as AEW’s representative to throw a spanner into LIJ’s works, Kaito taking Okada to a draw, Goto getting his win back over Okada, Sabre equalising his series with Taichi, and Yuya beating Yota in the first chapter of their Ace vs Dark Ace rivalry that’ll propel NJPW once Okada and Naito pass on the respective mantles.)
G1 Climax 33 Finals (August 13, 2023)
Also on this show:
Tetsuya Naito vs Shingo Takagi II - G1 Climax Finals
United Empire (Will Ospreay & Catch 22) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)
With Naito returning last year’s favour of having the Finals robbed from him by Ospreay, Will instead faces his potential Wrestle Kingdom main event opponent’s factionmates, bringing longest-reigning IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions Catch 22 along for the ride. Whilst using the opportunity to run back his critically acclaimed rivalry with Hiromu Takahashi, he also makes an example out of NEVER Openweight Champion Yota Tsuji, cracking down on the New Generation star to remind Naito and Shingo what he plans to do to them, before pinning BUSHI for the win!
United Empire def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (14:10)
As UE celebrate their win… BANG! DOUBLE SUPERKICK TO OSPREAY! STEEL CHAIR TO TJP AND FRANCESCO AKIRA! THE ELITE IS HERE!!! No rest for the wicked, Omega plants his boot on Will’s head as he holds the IWGP World Title up, making his intentions crystal clear. His match with Okada ended without a clear victor, and so, he not only wants another crack at the belt, but to crush Ospreay to avenge Forbidden Door. And what better place to do that than Wembley Stadium!
RevPro 11 Year Anniversary Show (August 26, 2023)
Will Ospreay vs Ren Narita
Whilst Ospreay/Omega III is announced for the following night, Will takes care of business in Copper Box Arena the night prior against one Ren Narita, continuing to test out the youth of NJPW, having already faced Yuya, Yota, and Shota in the past month. With Shibata holding a win over Ospreay’s head, promising to be back for the victor of ALL IN’s main event, Will batters his student in the meantime to remind him who the best wrestler in the world is right now, a Hidden Blade slaying Ren!
Will Ospreay def. Ren Narita (16:07)
ALL IN: London (August 27, 2023)
Also on the show:
Zack Sabre Jr. (c)(c) vs Bryan Danielson – NJPW World Television/ROH Pure Championships
FTR (c) vs Aussie Open - AEW World Tag Team Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kenny Omega III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
They’ve fought in Japan’s Tokyo Dome, Canada’s Scotiabank Arena, and now, they finally settle the score in England’s Wembley Stadium. 90,000 strong in attendance, there’s a clear crowd favourite here, football chants raining down for Ospreay. Omega decides to lean into it, tapping fully into his Cleaner look and tendencies with Devil’s Sky, absorbing the hatred. Will, on the other hand, receives a standing ovation in an emotional homecoming, prepared to prove his superiority over Omega once and for all and silence those accusing him of lucky past couple months.
The big first test for Will as champion starts with Kenny trying to get under Ospreay’s skin, stalling him out each time the Commonwealth Kingpin guns for him. Forcing him to work for his golden snitch, Kenny slides out and does jumping jacks until Will takes the bait, Omega quickly repossessing the ring, shutting Ospreay out. Will yells at the referee to back Kenny up, who obliges… ONLY TO EXPLODE FOR A V-TRIGGER THE MOMENT WILL RE-ENTERS!
Ospreay leapfrogs him and comes off the ropes with a hurricanrana, Omega cartwheeling through and throwing one back, Will handstanding out, though not fast enough, eating a DROPKICK TO THE FACE! Ospreay stunned, Kenny launches him into the corner and dogs on him with vicious kicks and stomps until the referee intervenes, Omega throwing one last chest-slicing chop! Incensed, Ospreay rushes out with forearms for Kenny, lighting him up, the Kawada Kicks finding their mark, before a CHELSEA GRIN’S BLOCKED BY A V-TRIGGER!
Ospreay shaking off his arm, Kenny capitalises with another V-TRIGGER, but Will ducks, nailing a Hook Kick, an OSCUTTER due to follow… OMEGA SUPERKICKS OSPREAY OVER THE ROPES! Will floored, a RISE OF THE TERMINATOR wipes him out! Gloating as England boos him, an even better idea crosses Kenny’s mind, sliding back in to nail a SASUKE SPECIAL! Nuclear heat. Battering Ospreay about the ring, he teases smashing his head through a table like WK17, though frantic back elbows force him off!
Kenny seeing stars, Ospreay attempts an OSCUTTER OFF THE GUARDRAIL- V-TRIGGER TO THE BASE OF THE SKULL SNIPES HIM!!! A sickening thud reverberating through the arena as Ospreay’s head snaps forward, a sadistic Kenny lays the section of railing on Will’s body… BEFORE CONNECTING A DIVING DOUBLE FOOT STOMP OFF THE APRON!!! Champion crushed, Omega cackles and dusts off his hands, before kissing Will’s title, eager to bring it home.
As Kenny taunts the crowd, Ospreay’s managed to feebly crawl out the rubble after the referee checking on him, though as Omega senses this, he’s immediately on his tail. Watching Will try to pull himself up using the steel post, KENNY CHARGES FOR ANOTHER V-TRIGGER… CRACK! OSPREAY MOVES OUT THE WAY, OMEGA’S KNEE HITTING THE STEEL INSTEAD!!! The Cleaner yowls in sheer agony as what was starting to look like another dominant showing takes a drastic left turn!
Realising this, Will quickly capitalises, grabbing Omega’s wrists from the opposite side of the post, pulling him up to his feet… Kenny hysterically tries to fight Ospreay off, begging him to spare him, realising what’s coming, WILL YANKING OMEGA HEAD-FIRST INTO THE POST!!! Bouncing it off it over and over again, now it’s Kenny that’s busted open! Omega collapsing back to his knees, Ospreay next grabs the leg and SMASHES KENNY’S KNEE INTO THE POST!!! THEN THE GUARDRAIL!!! AND BACK!!! There’s no mercy from Ospreay tonight.
Rolling Kenny in, he nails Omega’s YOU CAN’T ESCAPE! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT! Forcing Omega to use the bad leg to free himself, Will goes right back to targeting it, kicking the inside of the knee and slamming it against the mat! SHOOTING STAR PRESS TO THE LEG! Omega can’t even be whipped across the ring, collapsing half-way, a ROBINSON SPECIAL crushing him instead! AND A SLINGSHOT CUTTER! ONE! TWO! THR-NO LUCK!
Hooking the arms, Ospreay wants STORM BREAKER, but Omega counters into a hurricanrana pin for 2! A Running Knee Strike from Will comes up empty, Kenny flattening him with a SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! AND A SECOND! KOTARO KRUSHER FOLLOWS! Smacking the leg to keep up, an AOI SHOUDOU plants Ospreay! ONE! TWO! THR-WILL STAYS IN IT! A Doctor Bomb attempt is subdued, Ospreay hammering the knee to escape, before a ROUNDHOUSE cleans Kenny’s clock, a POISONED FRANKENSTEINER standing him up, and an ESSEX DESTROY- POP-UP V-TRIGGER!!!
Kenny desperately tries getting a limp Will on his shoulders for the ONE WINGED ANGEL, using the ropes for help, but Ospreay leans forwards, tumbling onto the apron to escape! SILENT WHISPER blasts Kenny… OMEGA THROWS A V-TRIGGER BACK, KNOCKING WILL OUT! Leg searing yet title more important, Kenny gingerly lifts Ospreay up the ropes with him, before going for OH GOD A MIDDLE ROPE CROYT’S WRATH!!! OSPREAY FLIPS TO HIS FEET!!!
The sneer on Omega’s face slowly fades as realisation strikes him, shades of Ibushi/Ospreay, Will not even giving him a chance to respond, HOOK KICK CONNECTING! OSCUTTERRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Frustrated, Ospreay hammers on the cut on Kenny’s forehead, painting his own chest with Omega’s blood, BEFORE REMOVING THE TURNBUCKLE PAD! He wants to return the favour from WK! Taking Kenny to the top rope, Ospreay teases a DDT onto the exposed steel… Omega slips between his legs to the mat and CROTCHES WILL ON THE METAL!!!
Kenny cackles as Ospreay howls, before packaging his head and nailing a CHEEKY NANDOS KICK! Blasting Will repeatedly, a V-TRIGGER FOLLOWS, SMASHING WILL’S HEAD INTO THE STEEL!!! AND HE SPINS HIM AROUND – AVALANCHE PHOENIX-PLEX!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Kenny beats on Will’s fresh cut, leaving both men bloody messes, before readying a V-TRIGGER… Ospreay grabs Omega’s foot! Pissed, Kenny shakes him off, nailing a STANDING V-TRIGGER straight to the cut, BEFORE SPIKING HIM WITH AN IBUSHI-STYLE BASTARD DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY SURVIVES AGAIN!!!
Ospreay’s body limply leaning on the ropes, Kenny cocks and fires a V-TRIGGER, Will simply bouncing back head-first onto the Canadian! Setting him back, Omega takes another run-up, NAILING HIM WITH A SECOND IN SUCCESSION!!! The champion still out on his knees, twisted thoughts run through Kenny’s mind, prepping his elbow… HE WANTS TO CONCUSS WILL LIKE OSPREAY DID IBUSHI AT WK13!!! OMEGA THROWS THE HIDDEN BLADE… V-TRIGGER FROM OSPREAY!!! Sparking to life, he grabs the wrists and ripcords for a RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KENNY’S STILL IN IT!!!
Omega on dream street, Ospreay locks and loads THE HIDDEN BLADE, CONNECTING FLUSH ON KENNY’S JAW!!! But as Will goes to cover, Omega collapses out the ring! Ospreay’s lets out a frustrated wail, but he makes the chase all the same, kicking the lifeless Kenny about ringside. A weak chop from Omega meets a sickening forearm, and a wild punch completely misses, Kenny’s legs giving out. TIGER SUPLEX DUMPS HIM ON THE FLOOR!!! Kenny now fully collapsed, Ospreay gets an idea… PULLING OUT A LADDER FROM UNDER THE RING!!!
Clearing the commentary table, he hoists The Cleaner onto it, before propping the ladder next-door and climbing! Sending a silent prayer to the skies, OSPREAY LAUNCHES OFF WITH A PHOENIX SPLASH, CONNECTING ALL OF IT!!! The crowd goes ballistic with the two men dead in the rubble, both unmoving for several seconds until Will finally faintly grins to himself for returning a taste of WK17’s table. Dragging himself inside, he flops into his corner, lying in wait for the challenger, who has the look of a soulless corpse once he finds his feet and locks eyes with Ospreay, barely rolling inside at 9 but immediately collapsing again.
Ready to end it, Will crawls over and lifts Kenny to his knees by the wrists, SCORING A KAMIGOYE-STYLE HIDDEN BLADE!!! Omega rocked, Ospreay backs up to his corner for seconds, BUT KENNY PULLS THE REFEREE INTO THE WAY! Will catches himself in time, pausing in his tracks, though is left exposed to a LOW BLOW!!! Wembley goes mental with boos as Kenny weakly chuckles, feebly clawing up to his feet up a confused referee to nail a V-TRIGGER!!! Lifting him by the wrists, a RAIN TRIGGER FOLLOWS!!! AND HE GETS THE ELECTRIC CHAIR AGAINST ALL ODDS… BUT HE COLLAPSES!!!
Omega shakes his head in denial, tearing up, his golden ticket in the palm of his hands! Heaving himself back up, he tries again, but Will anchors his body to the ground! Incredulous, he grabs Ospreay by the hair, who grins mockingly, AND SLAMS AN UGLY REAR KAMIGOYE INTO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD!!! COVER!!! ONE! T-KICK OUT!!! OSPREAY KICKS OUT AT ONE!!! Though still completely out of it, the act of sheer defiance certainly sees Kenny’s confidence shatter in real time, who like an unhinged animal beats on Ospreay’s forehead gash until Omega too collapses next to him!
In a last-ditch effort, he staggers to his feet and puts Will’s head between his legs, wanting a CLASSIC PILEDRIVER!!! OSPREAY HANDSTANDS OUT!!! Omega’s horrified- HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD!!! Kenny kneeled, Ospreay stands next to him, prepping the OsCutter, but Omega grabs him by the tights! No force in him though, he tells Will to look him in the eyes… AND HE FLIPS HIM OFF!!! SILENT WHISPER TO KENNY!!! AND AN OSCUTTER!!! Rolling through, he deadlifts him up, CONNECTING THE STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Kenny Omega to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (43:29)
At long last, it’s over. In front of his own people, the Commonwealth Kingpin has proven he’s Japan’s top gaijin and the most valuable wrestler today. Handed his gold, he watches as a prideful Omega refuses help, mustering up the strength to drag himself up using the ropes, before meeting Will’s gaze. At the end of the first match, he gloated. At the end of the second, he was crushed. But now? He gives Will a subtle nod of respect, officially passing the torch as he takes his bow, leaving Ospreay to take over the world.
Whilst he may have knocked down his two biggest obstacles in Okada and Omega, a dark horse third awaits him back in Japan by the name of Katsuyori Shibata! The only other individual to beat Will in the G1 other than the winner himself, he calls him out for a shot, still waiting on a reign of his own. A determined Ospreay doesn’t back down, though when he goes for a rare show of respect in a press conference heading in, extending a hand as the bigger man, Shibata outright refuses to shake! Seeing through Will’s superficialness, he declares that he owes Ospreay no respect, refusing to accept him as the company’s face that they’ve so desperately tried to mould him into. He was held back for choosing to carve his own path away from the Musketeers, and now he’s going to stick it to the company by exposing their golden boy like Sakura Genesis 2017! Will grits his teeth but says nothing, knowing he’ll just need to prove himself again.
Wrestle Grand Slam in Belluna Dome (September 10, 2023)
Also on the show:
Yota Tsuji (c) vs Yuya Uemura - NEVER Openweight Championship
Catch 22 (c) vs CHAOS (SHO & Taiji Ishimori) - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Aussie Open (c) vs FTR - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
In only the third IWGP World Title match of his career, 6 years since the infamous incident, The Wrestler receives a chance to redeem all the troubles he was put through and avenge his pupil Narita in the process. As for Ospreay, having lost to Shibata in both their matches in 2017 and 2023 respectively, he must carve out his spot definitively by knocking down another of his white whales. Taking place interestingly in KENTA’s hometown, Katsuyori’s even more driven to stick it to the man he despises most and lost to in the G1 by winning here, a pair of rather simple, stoic entrances setting the tone for the main event.
Initially, just like the G1, Shibata starts by beating the hell out of the much younger star to humble him, though Ospreay’s much quicker to put up his fists this time, learning. Youthful arrogance sees him get a couple teeth knocked down his throat though, his patented elbows instantly receiving a much stiffer receipt from Shibata, dropping him dead! Unable to outstrike the most dangerous man in New Japan, Will instead leans on his weight advantage, brutally slamming him down with London Has Fallen and scoring a vicious Liger Bomb to boot. Growing comfortable, he attempts the OsCutter, BUT IS CAUGHT WITH A SLEEPER!
Choked to a plum colour, the finishing PK narrowly misses, Ospreay dropping him with an ESSEX DESTROYER instead! Cruelling focusing on the skull, Will regains advantage, getting nasty with Kawada Kicks and a CHELSEA GRIN that rocks Shibata! An aerial attempt is again blocked, Shibata evading a Shooting Star Press and simply slapping the hell out of Will! A B*TCHMAKER almost ends him, Katsuyori mocking him as a lesser Okada, but Will takes it personally, rocking him with a brutal Running Knee Strike and nailing a SPIKE PILEDRIVER! Shibata on his knees, inviting Will to give him his best, a (protected) HIDDEN BLADE cracks him upside the head, Ospreay knocking the striker out cold for 3 to retain!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Katsuyori Shibata to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (31:46)
Doubt him, and you’ll be made to regret it. Though earlier in the night, Catch 22’s legendary reign came to an end, United Empire is stronger than ever with Ospreay taking down a murderer’s row of competition. Selling out MSG, Wembley, and a Dome, he only continues to elevate to higher heights. Whilst Shibata is left to be mugged by KENTA to close the show, Will can walk away proud of himself, on the run of a lifetime.
With the Burning Spirit tour up next leading into a second homecoming in one reign for Ospreay at Royal Quest III, there’s one man in particular that’s been barking up his tree as of late, and that’s the NJPW World Television and ROH Pure Champion Zack Sabre Jr.! Someone who’s been a thorn in Will’s side every step of the way and vice versa, he’s not content holding just two titles, wanting to reclaim his status as Zacky Three Belts, and what better way to do that than with the World Championship! Citing his far superior record and win in their last meeting in 2022’s New Japan Cup, Ospreay grants him a chance to show how deserving he truly is.
Burning Spirit - Night Six (September 23, 2023)
Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd)
Will picking his close friend Robbie Eagles to join him (who defected to United Empire during CHAOS’s rebranding after dissension with Lio Rush over Sakura Genesis’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship shot), Sabre chooses an interesting ally of his own in Sabre-Gun’s rising star Gabriel Kidd! Zack’s empire slowly growing across 2023 with the additions of El Phantasmo, El Desperado, TMDK, Blake Christian, Clark Connors, and Kosei Fujita, Kidd’s been another that’s greatly impressed since his return from excursion, joining Zack in a tag on the G1 Finals Night to officially become part of the stable, playing off their history of fighting until respect was reached. Originally set to challenge Ospreay for his RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship last year until a mental health break cancelled those plans, unfinished business stands between the two, Kidd still looking to get Will back for chipping his elbow in a Ladder match back in WCPW 6 years ago.
The animosity between the two very much shows here, as even with Ospreay ascending to untouchable heights in the past year, he’s still the same Will to Kidd, who incessantly targets him throughout the match, wanting his pound of flesh. Will, of course, outclasses him, using his incredible chemistry with Eagles to keep Gabriel at bay, though their shifted focus does open the doors for ZSJ to employ his cunning, bending Ospreay’s arm over the guardrail with an Article 50 before massacring Robbie, an Orienteering With Napalm Death decisively tapping him out! Holding up all three belts as a hurt Will composes himself, Zack sends a definitive statement of things to come.
Sabre-Gun def. Birds of Prey (14:25)
Royal Quest III - Night Two (October 8, 2023)
Also on the tour:
Aussie Open (c) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Jon Moxley (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - IWGP United States Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr. XVI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
And so, for the 16th time ever, Ospreay and Sabre are set to go head-to-head! The record 9-6 in Zack’s favour, the Windy Man is nothing short of wholly confident in his own abilities, whilst Will once more enters with a chip on his shoulder, needing to show himself he’s outgrown Sabre for good. For once, London is split directly down the middle between these two, both men having grown up an hour either side from the venue, each in a completely different position since their last meeting, Ospreay on top as the World Champion and Okada-beater, and Sabre now heading a stable of his own like Will, with NJPW singles gold of his own like Will.
Duelling chants of United Empire and Sabre-Gun, both men are perhaps at their most ruthless they’ve been all year here, which is saying something for Ospreay considering his clashes with Omega, the hatred he shows Sabre unlike anything he’s felt for anyone else, wanting to wipe the sneer off his face. He had Okada figured, he had Omega figured, he even eventually had Shibata figured, but ZSJ is one puzzle which feels like running into a brick wall for Captain Dyslexia, the Technical Wizard tying the champion up into knots that are unheard of!
Taunting, bullying, torturing, Sabre picks Ospreay apart with such drive and intensity that it becomes crystal clear just how starved he’s been of NJPW’s top title. Conversely, Will’s just forced to do his best, picking his spots to remind the world he’s still very much in there, not letting the challenger shake him down to his core. A Selected Technical Works Vol 2. does get Ospreay in a bind, though he shows progression from all his matches with Sabre, managing to hang with him technically just enough to survive, forcing Zack to keep switching up his submissions. A European Clutch gets the closest call though, ZSJ very nearly flash-pinning Will for the strap!
That unlocks a whole other beast inside Ospreay, exploding with an uninterrupted 5-minute stretch of offence that has Sabre utterly overwhelmed, Will standing his ground! A HIDDEN BLADE nearly captures another victim, though the impact’s cushioned by Ospreay’s damaged arm dating back to their tag, keeping Zack alive! Still, Will keeps pushing, solely working a striking game despite the searing pain in his limbs, all in the name of strategy, managing to convince an overconfident Sabre to strike with him, though as has been a recurring theme in 2023, Zack gets mauled! And with his guard let ever so slightly down, the hyperfocus on an Article 50 gives way to a STORM BREAKER after being broken on the mat! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (33:50)
Yet again, it’s Ospreay that rules the kingdom with world-class wrestling acumen! As Will collects his title, Sabre cursing under his breath and vowing to be back someday as he leaves with his own two… OUT COMES SHINGO!!! Losing with Naito against Aussie Open for the Tag Titles earlier in the night, the two growing more distant with each other ever since SANADA’s LIJ betrayal put the faction on shaky grounds, Naito’s G1 Finals victory over Shingo only causing further dissension, which they failed to smooth over against the Aussies, the Dragon’s reaching his last wits. And as he eyes Ospreay’s title, it’s clear what he’s here for.
Not receiving a rematch ever since losing the title at Wrestle Kingdom 16, he’s been kept on an empty stomach long enough, his patience wearing thin. Extending a challenge to Will, he wants to be the one walking into WK defending the strap against Naito! Ospreay, uber-confident in his ability to slay his rival once more, accepts!
Battle Autumn - Night Eight (October 23, 2023)
United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Aussie Open) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi)
The Battle Autumn tour pits UE and LIJ against each other in various tags, with Ospreay and co. winning every single one thus far, the issues between Takagi and Naito even spilling into here whilst the rest of LIJ tries to play the role of mediator. With UE dominating and Shingo’s shot mere days away though, they agree something needs to change. And so, for the sake of the greater LIJ family, they do their best to stay out of each other’s ways, finally stringing together some respectable momentum.
As Aussie Open goes for the Coriolis on Naito, Shingo bursts in off tagging Tetsuya’s back, nailing a PUMPING BOMBER on Davis to knock Tetsuya off his shoulders, before a Pumping BombeDestino combo on Kyle and a LAST OF THE DRAGON breaks the LIJ curse, though going right back to sharing tense stares, Naito ultimately nodding to Shingo, wishing him luck. Ospreay, however, stands unfazed, knowing Takagi’s the one with the chip on his shoulder this time.
Los Ingobernables de Japon def. United Empire (18:38)
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After finally vanquishing Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door, Will Ospreay sets his sights on the next logical step – the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. With another of his white whales clutching onto it tightly, he wants closure to this legendary saga too, and so, he calls out the Rainmaker. Big Brother Kazu isn’t fazed one bit by the challenge, telling Ospreay he’s been waiting for him, though not to expect a result any different to their many past matches. After all, from Okada’s point-of-view, Will isn’t NJPW’s next destined leader. There’s a different prodigal son waiting.
Under CHAOS’s new vision, not only has Okada been building a ruthless band of companions willing to follow his regime change, but also focusing on its future, no longer being a top-heavy unit destined to collapse the moment Kazuchika stops supporting its roof. With Hiroshi Tanahashi already bringing in his younger counterpart, Shota Umino, Okada recruits the man prophesised to take over his mantle of Ace one day, Yuya Uemura. His Forbidden Door victory over Wheeler YUTA marking the end of his American excursion, Uemura accompanies his leader’s victory against Blackpool Combat Club in major fashion by accompanying him on the Kizuna Road loop.
Kizuna Road - Night Four (July 3, 2023)
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Yuya Uemura) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb)
Impressing thus far, Yuya’s biggest test comes when he teams with Okada 2-on-2 for the very first time to confront UE’s Ospreay and Cobb, and he quickly silences their criticisms. A one-sided manhandling from Cobb soon turns into Uemura employing strategies passed down to him from Okada on how to beat the Hawaiian Hulk, giving him quite the culture shock, before Okada helps bang the big man’s drum. The flow shifts when Ospreay steps in though, severely outclassing Yuya to both his and Okada’s surprise. This is a different Will to the one Okada faced a year ago in the G1 Climax Finals.
And yet, the Rainmaker has an ego problem. Tagging in, he tries to shut Will down, only to find for once, Ospreay seems to have his number. When the Commonwealth Kingpin has him beat though, going for the Hidden Blade, Yuya throws himself in harm’s way to buy Okada a moment, allowing Kazuchika to Dropkick Will out the equation, before drilling Cobb with a Rainmaker to win! As Ospreay grits his teeth, he understands it’ll take more than that to outsmart Okada.
CHAOS def. United Empire (13:45)
Wrestle Dynasty (July 8, 2023)
Also on the show:
Sabre-Gun (El Phantasmo, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) (c) vs Ren Narita & Bishamon - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Aussie Open (c) vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Jeff Cobb - IWGP United States Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Will Ospreay IX - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Across 8 matches, Ospreay has never once beaten Okada cleanly, his only triumph coming from the night of his betrayal in the G1 3 years ago. But now, with a win over the man Okada failed to beat at Dominion, he’s in the best shape he’s ever been to end the reign of tyranny. The question is though, will he? Returning to Madison Square Garden for this historic show, the last time they were here Ospreay was losing to Cobb in a Winner Takes All opener, whilst Okada was winning back the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event. This time, they’re equals.
Ospreay enters on a throne carried to the ring by UE, hamming up his Commonwealth Kingpin moniker and signalling the days of the Aerial Assassin to be long dead. Okada, on the other hand, is the same old Rainmaker, descending from the heavens on a platform, God mode in full effect. With pre-match introductions out the way, the bell rings, and the match gets underway! And in classic Okada/Ospreay fashion, Kazuchika expects to Big Brother Will with the Tanahashi/Okada-style headlock start… BUT OSPREAY RUSHES HIM WITH THE HIDDEN BLADE!!!
Caught off guard, Okada only barely evades him, but Ospreay moves like a lightning bolt, instantly transitioning to springboarding off the ropes for an OSCUTTER! Okada catches it and grabs the wrist, ripcording him into a RAINMAKER! Will ducks though, blasting him with a MARUFUJI HOOK KICK! Okada rocked, nails a SILENT WHISPER to the back of the head, before hooking the arms for the STORM BREAKER!!! But yet again, the Rainmaker barely gets out of dodge, shoving Will away and sliding outside for a breather!
Okada looks like he doesn’t know what’s just hit him, while Ospreay grins and mocks the Rainmaker pose. Snarling, Kazuchika slides back in and gets to trading blows with his challenger. Stiff elbows bounce off their heads in the centre of the ring, an Enzuigiri from Okada whiffing and a Handspring Enzuigiri from Will equally missing the mark! Kazu teases a Dropkick, causing Ospreay to leap, only to meet a stiff Uppercut once gravity gets hold of him.
Tossed into the ropes for a proper Dropkick attempt, Will instead slides to the apron and thunders in with a PIP PIP CHEERIO! A Running Shooting Star Press misses, Ospreay rolling through and racing back at Okada, though he’s launched onto the top turnbuckle. Again, a frustrated Okada wants the Dropkick, but Ospreay catches the leg and spins him around, nailing an INVERTED TORNADO DDT! Crunch. Here come the neck issues.
Okada dazed, nursing the injury in agony, Ospreay stomps the hell out of the neck, before connecting with a ROBINSON SPECIAL! He teases a follow-up OsCutter, Okada anticipating it, only to be faked into a SPIKE DDT! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT! Okada DDT’d the life out of Will last time, so Ospreay’s making sure to return the favour here. He goes for broke one too many times though, a Hangman’s DDT attempt ending in Okada spearing Ospreay across the ring and through the ropes, both smacking off the apron to the floor!
Turning feral ringside, Okada kicks Ospreay senseless like he’s Kaito, before forcefully connecting a DDT of his own! He whips Will at the guardrail for his patented Crossbody spot but Ospreay leaps over, a Silent Whisper staggering Okada, before an OSCUTTER SOARS IN… NOT THIS TIME – OKADA COUNTERS INTO A TOMBSTONE ON THE CONCRETE!!! Getting him back for the G1 Finals, Kazu smugly takes in the boos as Will twitches lifelessly at his feet.
Tossing him in, a MISSILE DROPKICK guns into his neck, before another BEAUTIFUL DROPKICK smacks into his chest, Okada finally in control! A Flapjack plants Will face-first and an AIR RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER again targets the famously-troubled neck of Ospreay! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! Cinching in the MONEY CLIP, he continues working it over, Will sputtering and gasping for breaths as he reaches out at the ropes. Right as he finds himself inches from them though, a GERMAN SUPLEX dumps him on his neck!
Okada hits the pose, before dialling up the RAINMAKER… Ospreay snapmares him over, learning from last time to not back him up. and throws the HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOO!!! Racing up top, Will prepares a Shooting Star Press, though Okada sluggishly rolls to the apron as he grabs at his head. Deciding to change trajectories… OSPREAY NAILS A SUPER OSCUTTER TO THE FLOOR!!! Body aching yet determined, Will rolls back in, only to soar back out with a SASUKE SPECIAL!!!
Dragging Okada behind him, he drapes him over the top rope, heading back up to finally hit the BURNING STAR PRESS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA GETS A FOOT ON THE ROPE!!! Keeping his composure, Ospreay murders Okada’s face with Kawada Kicks, before a CHELSEA GRIN knocks him loopy… OSCUTTER INCOMING – OKADA COLLAPSES UNDER!!! Will smacks off the mat, not anticipating it, and lets out a pained grunt as both lay flat on their backs, New York roaring in approval!
Ospreay finds his feet first and tries to pick Okada from his knees, though it results in him being tripped into the ropes throat-first! DROPKICK MEETS OSPREAY AS HE TURNS AROUND! Okada’s noticeably slower than usual, though he doesn’t let it hinder him, picking Will up to nail a SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER! Ospreay stays upright, returning a forearm smash, but another SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER takes him down! Okada teases the finishing blow, though Will resists, prompting Kazu to spike him with a LANDSLIDE instead! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY SURVIVES!
Hauling him right back up, Okada shoots again… WILL COUNTERS WITH AN OSCUTT- DROPKICKED OUT THE SKIES! Okada sets up the SPINNING RAINMAKER, but Ospreay nails the DISCUS ELBOW first! HOOK KICK drops him, before the HIDDEN BLADE closes in… OKADA DUCKS AND FIRES A JOHN WOO DROPKICK, SENDING OSPREAY INTO THE OPPOSITE CORNER! AND A HESITATION DROPKICK – SHADES OF SHIBATA! Will in the drop zone, Okada gets an idea, heading up top… HIGH FLY FLOW!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okada scowls, picking Will up for the TOMBSTONE… OSPREAY REVERSES INTO A HITODENASHI DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA KICKS OUT!!! And now Ospreay hits the Rainmaker pose again! Securing wrist-control, he nails a RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-STILL NO LUCK!!! Ospreay’s running out of options, though refuses to let his confidence waver, sticking to his gameplan. Mauling Okada’s arms, neck, and back with stomps, he picks him for only his second attempt at the ultimate final blow! OSPREAY WANTS STORM BREAKER!!!
Getting Okada up… KAZU DROPS OUT AND NAILS THE RAINMAKER!!! BUT HE CAN’T COVER, HAVING TO NURSE THE ARM! Both men returning to their feet at the same time, they knock each other dead with strikes, Okada scoring the ENZUIGIRI this time, Ospreay returning the POP-UP FOREARM SMASH! Tearing off the elbow pad, OSPREAY FIRES UP THE HIDDEN BLADE… OKADA COUNTERS INTO THE SPINNING EMERALD FLOWSION!!! NOT AGAIN – THIS COMBO ENDED WILL LAST TIME! Okada spells the end… RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! THIS IS IT! TWO! MSG IS ON THEIR FEET! THRE… OSPREAY KICKS OUT!!! HE’S STILL IN IT!!!
Okada looks like he’s seen a ghost, a barely twitching Ospreay laying at his feet with one shoulder raised! Refusing to accept it, the Rainmaker lifts him back up, BEFORE NAILING ANOTHER ON A DEFENCELESS WILL! Ospreay on his knees, head bowed, Kazu lifts him up by the hair to lock gazes with Will’s glazed-over eyes, before throwing a THIRD AND FINAL- OSPREAY HITS THE RAINMAKER!!! Okada drops like he’s been shot!
And now Will realises this could be it. Struggling back up whilst maintaining wrist-control, he lets out a roar, before nailing a RIPCORD HIDDEN BLADE!!! Okada at his knees now, Will lifts his head up by the hair this time as Kazu dares him to finish him off, too weak to fight back… AND OSPREAY OBLIGES, FISHING HIM INTO A STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! OSPREAY’S FINALLY DONE IT!!! WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!!!
Will Ospreay def. Kazuchika Okada (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (38:09)
MSG loses its mind as both men lay exhausted, UE rushing out to celebrate with their leader, helping him to his feet and handing him his prize. Golden tickertape hails from the rafters like Okada Dollars, Ospreay seated on a makeshift arm throne by Cobb and O-Khan, raising his title high, whilst Aussie Open and Catch 22 stand on either side, brandishing their respective titles too! And as Okada recovers, rolling out the ring and returning up the ramp, he locks eyes with Ospreay, giving him a look which reads “I’ll be back.” Will doesn’t let it phase him though. This is his night. He’s earned this moment.
G1 Climax 33
Not having to wait long for his first test, he enters his fourth G1 for the first time as reigning champion, redeeming the chance that a neck injury robbed him of in 2021. Heading A Block, he battles CHAOS’s Hiroshi Tanahashi on Night One, who tries to avenge Okada’s loss, though meets the same fate. Will dominates his block, dropping his first match after an undefeated 6 nights, losing to Katsuyori Shibata after their teased program last year at Forbidden Door! Still first though, having victimised SANADA, Shota Umino, EVIL, PAC, and KENTA along the way, he murders El Phantasmo on his 8th night, before meeting Tetsuya Naito in the Block Finals after a 5* duology last year! Finally, El Ingobernable avenges his past losses to punch his ticket to the Finals! As for B Block, a Shingo Takagi victory over Sabre puts him through, setting up a rematch from 2019’s G1 between Naito and Takagi for the Finals, adding fuel to the fire of LIJ’s already turbulent year with SANADA’s betrayal!
(Other key underlying stories are Naito’s loss to SANADA, KENTA beating Shibata in their first match as part of the TakeoveCHAOS feud, PAC finally returning to the ring as AEW’s representative to throw a spanner into LIJ’s works, Kaito taking Okada to a draw, Goto getting his win back over Okada, Sabre equalising his series with Taichi, and Yuya beating Yota in the first chapter of their Ace vs Dark Ace rivalry that’ll propel NJPW once Okada and Naito pass on the respective mantles.)
G1 Climax 33 Finals (August 13, 2023)
Also on this show:
Tetsuya Naito vs Shingo Takagi II - G1 Climax Finals
United Empire (Will Ospreay & Catch 22) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)
With Naito returning last year’s favour of having the Finals robbed from him by Ospreay, Will instead faces his potential Wrestle Kingdom main event opponent’s factionmates, bringing longest-reigning IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions Catch 22 along for the ride. Whilst using the opportunity to run back his critically acclaimed rivalry with Hiromu Takahashi, he also makes an example out of NEVER Openweight Champion Yota Tsuji, cracking down on the New Generation star to remind Naito and Shingo what he plans to do to them, before pinning BUSHI for the win!
United Empire def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (14:10)
As UE celebrate their win… BANG! DOUBLE SUPERKICK TO OSPREAY! STEEL CHAIR TO TJP AND FRANCESCO AKIRA! THE ELITE IS HERE!!! No rest for the wicked, Omega plants his boot on Will’s head as he holds the IWGP World Title up, making his intentions crystal clear. His match with Okada ended without a clear victor, and so, he not only wants another crack at the belt, but to crush Ospreay to avenge Forbidden Door. And what better place to do that than Wembley Stadium!
RevPro 11 Year Anniversary Show (August 26, 2023)
Will Ospreay vs Ren Narita
Whilst Ospreay/Omega III is announced for the following night, Will takes care of business in Copper Box Arena the night prior against one Ren Narita, continuing to test out the youth of NJPW, having already faced Yuya, Yota, and Shota in the past month. With Shibata holding a win over Ospreay’s head, promising to be back for the victor of ALL IN’s main event, Will batters his student in the meantime to remind him who the best wrestler in the world is right now, a Hidden Blade slaying Ren!
Will Ospreay def. Ren Narita (16:07)
ALL IN: London (August 27, 2023)
Also on the show:
Zack Sabre Jr. (c)(c) vs Bryan Danielson – NJPW World Television/ROH Pure Championships
FTR (c) vs Aussie Open - AEW World Tag Team Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kenny Omega III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
They’ve fought in Japan’s Tokyo Dome, Canada’s Scotiabank Arena, and now, they finally settle the score in England’s Wembley Stadium. 90,000 strong in attendance, there’s a clear crowd favourite here, football chants raining down for Ospreay. Omega decides to lean into it, tapping fully into his Cleaner look and tendencies with Devil’s Sky, absorbing the hatred. Will, on the other hand, receives a standing ovation in an emotional homecoming, prepared to prove his superiority over Omega once and for all and silence those accusing him of lucky past couple months.
The big first test for Will as champion starts with Kenny trying to get under Ospreay’s skin, stalling him out each time the Commonwealth Kingpin guns for him. Forcing him to work for his golden snitch, Kenny slides out and does jumping jacks until Will takes the bait, Omega quickly repossessing the ring, shutting Ospreay out. Will yells at the referee to back Kenny up, who obliges… ONLY TO EXPLODE FOR A V-TRIGGER THE MOMENT WILL RE-ENTERS!
Ospreay leapfrogs him and comes off the ropes with a hurricanrana, Omega cartwheeling through and throwing one back, Will handstanding out, though not fast enough, eating a DROPKICK TO THE FACE! Ospreay stunned, Kenny launches him into the corner and dogs on him with vicious kicks and stomps until the referee intervenes, Omega throwing one last chest-slicing chop! Incensed, Ospreay rushes out with forearms for Kenny, lighting him up, the Kawada Kicks finding their mark, before a CHELSEA GRIN’S BLOCKED BY A V-TRIGGER!
Ospreay shaking off his arm, Kenny capitalises with another V-TRIGGER, but Will ducks, nailing a Hook Kick, an OSCUTTER due to follow… OMEGA SUPERKICKS OSPREAY OVER THE ROPES! Will floored, a RISE OF THE TERMINATOR wipes him out! Gloating as England boos him, an even better idea crosses Kenny’s mind, sliding back in to nail a SASUKE SPECIAL! Nuclear heat. Battering Ospreay about the ring, he teases smashing his head through a table like WK17, though frantic back elbows force him off!
Kenny seeing stars, Ospreay attempts an OSCUTTER OFF THE GUARDRAIL- V-TRIGGER TO THE BASE OF THE SKULL SNIPES HIM!!! A sickening thud reverberating through the arena as Ospreay’s head snaps forward, a sadistic Kenny lays the section of railing on Will’s body… BEFORE CONNECTING A DIVING DOUBLE FOOT STOMP OFF THE APRON!!! Champion crushed, Omega cackles and dusts off his hands, before kissing Will’s title, eager to bring it home.
As Kenny taunts the crowd, Ospreay’s managed to feebly crawl out the rubble after the referee checking on him, though as Omega senses this, he’s immediately on his tail. Watching Will try to pull himself up using the steel post, KENNY CHARGES FOR ANOTHER V-TRIGGER… CRACK! OSPREAY MOVES OUT THE WAY, OMEGA’S KNEE HITTING THE STEEL INSTEAD!!! The Cleaner yowls in sheer agony as what was starting to look like another dominant showing takes a drastic left turn!
Realising this, Will quickly capitalises, grabbing Omega’s wrists from the opposite side of the post, pulling him up to his feet… Kenny hysterically tries to fight Ospreay off, begging him to spare him, realising what’s coming, WILL YANKING OMEGA HEAD-FIRST INTO THE POST!!! Bouncing it off it over and over again, now it’s Kenny that’s busted open! Omega collapsing back to his knees, Ospreay next grabs the leg and SMASHES KENNY’S KNEE INTO THE POST!!! THEN THE GUARDRAIL!!! AND BACK!!! There’s no mercy from Ospreay tonight.
Rolling Kenny in, he nails Omega’s YOU CAN’T ESCAPE! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT! Forcing Omega to use the bad leg to free himself, Will goes right back to targeting it, kicking the inside of the knee and slamming it against the mat! SHOOTING STAR PRESS TO THE LEG! Omega can’t even be whipped across the ring, collapsing half-way, a ROBINSON SPECIAL crushing him instead! AND A SLINGSHOT CUTTER! ONE! TWO! THR-NO LUCK!
Hooking the arms, Ospreay wants STORM BREAKER, but Omega counters into a hurricanrana pin for 2! A Running Knee Strike from Will comes up empty, Kenny flattening him with a SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! AND A SECOND! KOTARO KRUSHER FOLLOWS! Smacking the leg to keep up, an AOI SHOUDOU plants Ospreay! ONE! TWO! THR-WILL STAYS IN IT! A Doctor Bomb attempt is subdued, Ospreay hammering the knee to escape, before a ROUNDHOUSE cleans Kenny’s clock, a POISONED FRANKENSTEINER standing him up, and an ESSEX DESTROY- POP-UP V-TRIGGER!!!
Kenny desperately tries getting a limp Will on his shoulders for the ONE WINGED ANGEL, using the ropes for help, but Ospreay leans forwards, tumbling onto the apron to escape! SILENT WHISPER blasts Kenny… OMEGA THROWS A V-TRIGGER BACK, KNOCKING WILL OUT! Leg searing yet title more important, Kenny gingerly lifts Ospreay up the ropes with him, before going for OH GOD A MIDDLE ROPE CROYT’S WRATH!!! OSPREAY FLIPS TO HIS FEET!!!
The sneer on Omega’s face slowly fades as realisation strikes him, shades of Ibushi/Ospreay, Will not even giving him a chance to respond, HOOK KICK CONNECTING! OSCUTTERRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Frustrated, Ospreay hammers on the cut on Kenny’s forehead, painting his own chest with Omega’s blood, BEFORE REMOVING THE TURNBUCKLE PAD! He wants to return the favour from WK! Taking Kenny to the top rope, Ospreay teases a DDT onto the exposed steel… Omega slips between his legs to the mat and CROTCHES WILL ON THE METAL!!!
Kenny cackles as Ospreay howls, before packaging his head and nailing a CHEEKY NANDOS KICK! Blasting Will repeatedly, a V-TRIGGER FOLLOWS, SMASHING WILL’S HEAD INTO THE STEEL!!! AND HE SPINS HIM AROUND – AVALANCHE PHOENIX-PLEX!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Kenny beats on Will’s fresh cut, leaving both men bloody messes, before readying a V-TRIGGER… Ospreay grabs Omega’s foot! Pissed, Kenny shakes him off, nailing a STANDING V-TRIGGER straight to the cut, BEFORE SPIKING HIM WITH AN IBUSHI-STYLE BASTARD DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY SURVIVES AGAIN!!!
Ospreay’s body limply leaning on the ropes, Kenny cocks and fires a V-TRIGGER, Will simply bouncing back head-first onto the Canadian! Setting him back, Omega takes another run-up, NAILING HIM WITH A SECOND IN SUCCESSION!!! The champion still out on his knees, twisted thoughts run through Kenny’s mind, prepping his elbow… HE WANTS TO CONCUSS WILL LIKE OSPREAY DID IBUSHI AT WK13!!! OMEGA THROWS THE HIDDEN BLADE… V-TRIGGER FROM OSPREAY!!! Sparking to life, he grabs the wrists and ripcords for a RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KENNY’S STILL IN IT!!!
Omega on dream street, Ospreay locks and loads THE HIDDEN BLADE, CONNECTING FLUSH ON KENNY’S JAW!!! But as Will goes to cover, Omega collapses out the ring! Ospreay’s lets out a frustrated wail, but he makes the chase all the same, kicking the lifeless Kenny about ringside. A weak chop from Omega meets a sickening forearm, and a wild punch completely misses, Kenny’s legs giving out. TIGER SUPLEX DUMPS HIM ON THE FLOOR!!! Kenny now fully collapsed, Ospreay gets an idea… PULLING OUT A LADDER FROM UNDER THE RING!!!
Clearing the commentary table, he hoists The Cleaner onto it, before propping the ladder next-door and climbing! Sending a silent prayer to the skies, OSPREAY LAUNCHES OFF WITH A PHOENIX SPLASH, CONNECTING ALL OF IT!!! The crowd goes ballistic with the two men dead in the rubble, both unmoving for several seconds until Will finally faintly grins to himself for returning a taste of WK17’s table. Dragging himself inside, he flops into his corner, lying in wait for the challenger, who has the look of a soulless corpse once he finds his feet and locks eyes with Ospreay, barely rolling inside at 9 but immediately collapsing again.
Ready to end it, Will crawls over and lifts Kenny to his knees by the wrists, SCORING A KAMIGOYE-STYLE HIDDEN BLADE!!! Omega rocked, Ospreay backs up to his corner for seconds, BUT KENNY PULLS THE REFEREE INTO THE WAY! Will catches himself in time, pausing in his tracks, though is left exposed to a LOW BLOW!!! Wembley goes mental with boos as Kenny weakly chuckles, feebly clawing up to his feet up a confused referee to nail a V-TRIGGER!!! Lifting him by the wrists, a RAIN TRIGGER FOLLOWS!!! AND HE GETS THE ELECTRIC CHAIR AGAINST ALL ODDS… BUT HE COLLAPSES!!!
Omega shakes his head in denial, tearing up, his golden ticket in the palm of his hands! Heaving himself back up, he tries again, but Will anchors his body to the ground! Incredulous, he grabs Ospreay by the hair, who grins mockingly, AND SLAMS AN UGLY REAR KAMIGOYE INTO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD!!! COVER!!! ONE! T-KICK OUT!!! OSPREAY KICKS OUT AT ONE!!! Though still completely out of it, the act of sheer defiance certainly sees Kenny’s confidence shatter in real time, who like an unhinged animal beats on Ospreay’s forehead gash until Omega too collapses next to him!
In a last-ditch effort, he staggers to his feet and puts Will’s head between his legs, wanting a CLASSIC PILEDRIVER!!! OSPREAY HANDSTANDS OUT!!! Omega’s horrified- HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD!!! Kenny kneeled, Ospreay stands next to him, prepping the OsCutter, but Omega grabs him by the tights! No force in him though, he tells Will to look him in the eyes… AND HE FLIPS HIM OFF!!! SILENT WHISPER TO KENNY!!! AND AN OSCUTTER!!! Rolling through, he deadlifts him up, CONNECTING THE STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Kenny Omega to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (43:29)
At long last, it’s over. In front of his own people, the Commonwealth Kingpin has proven he’s Japan’s top gaijin and the most valuable wrestler today. Handed his gold, he watches as a prideful Omega refuses help, mustering up the strength to drag himself up using the ropes, before meeting Will’s gaze. At the end of the first match, he gloated. At the end of the second, he was crushed. But now? He gives Will a subtle nod of respect, officially passing the torch as he takes his bow, leaving Ospreay to take over the world.
Whilst he may have knocked down his two biggest obstacles in Okada and Omega, a dark horse third awaits him back in Japan by the name of Katsuyori Shibata! The only other individual to beat Will in the G1 other than the winner himself, he calls him out for a shot, still waiting on a reign of his own. A determined Ospreay doesn’t back down, though when he goes for a rare show of respect in a press conference heading in, extending a hand as the bigger man, Shibata outright refuses to shake! Seeing through Will’s superficialness, he declares that he owes Ospreay no respect, refusing to accept him as the company’s face that they’ve so desperately tried to mould him into. He was held back for choosing to carve his own path away from the Musketeers, and now he’s going to stick it to the company by exposing their golden boy like Sakura Genesis 2017! Will grits his teeth but says nothing, knowing he’ll just need to prove himself again.
Wrestle Grand Slam in Belluna Dome (September 10, 2023)
Also on the show:
Yota Tsuji (c) vs Yuya Uemura - NEVER Openweight Championship
Catch 22 (c) vs CHAOS (SHO & Taiji Ishimori) - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Aussie Open (c) vs FTR - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
In only the third IWGP World Title match of his career, 6 years since the infamous incident, The Wrestler receives a chance to redeem all the troubles he was put through and avenge his pupil Narita in the process. As for Ospreay, having lost to Shibata in both their matches in 2017 and 2023 respectively, he must carve out his spot definitively by knocking down another of his white whales. Taking place interestingly in KENTA’s hometown, Katsuyori’s even more driven to stick it to the man he despises most and lost to in the G1 by winning here, a pair of rather simple, stoic entrances setting the tone for the main event.
Initially, just like the G1, Shibata starts by beating the hell out of the much younger star to humble him, though Ospreay’s much quicker to put up his fists this time, learning. Youthful arrogance sees him get a couple teeth knocked down his throat though, his patented elbows instantly receiving a much stiffer receipt from Shibata, dropping him dead! Unable to outstrike the most dangerous man in New Japan, Will instead leans on his weight advantage, brutally slamming him down with London Has Fallen and scoring a vicious Liger Bomb to boot. Growing comfortable, he attempts the OsCutter, BUT IS CAUGHT WITH A SLEEPER!
Choked to a plum colour, the finishing PK narrowly misses, Ospreay dropping him with an ESSEX DESTROYER instead! Cruelling focusing on the skull, Will regains advantage, getting nasty with Kawada Kicks and a CHELSEA GRIN that rocks Shibata! An aerial attempt is again blocked, Shibata evading a Shooting Star Press and simply slapping the hell out of Will! A B*TCHMAKER almost ends him, Katsuyori mocking him as a lesser Okada, but Will takes it personally, rocking him with a brutal Running Knee Strike and nailing a SPIKE PILEDRIVER! Shibata on his knees, inviting Will to give him his best, a (protected) HIDDEN BLADE cracks him upside the head, Ospreay knocking the striker out cold for 3 to retain!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Katsuyori Shibata to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (31:46)
Doubt him, and you’ll be made to regret it. Though earlier in the night, Catch 22’s legendary reign came to an end, United Empire is stronger than ever with Ospreay taking down a murderer’s row of competition. Selling out MSG, Wembley, and a Dome, he only continues to elevate to higher heights. Whilst Shibata is left to be mugged by KENTA to close the show, Will can walk away proud of himself, on the run of a lifetime.
With the Burning Spirit tour up next leading into a second homecoming in one reign for Ospreay at Royal Quest III, there’s one man in particular that’s been barking up his tree as of late, and that’s the NJPW World Television and ROH Pure Champion Zack Sabre Jr.! Someone who’s been a thorn in Will’s side every step of the way and vice versa, he’s not content holding just two titles, wanting to reclaim his status as Zacky Three Belts, and what better way to do that than with the World Championship! Citing his far superior record and win in their last meeting in 2022’s New Japan Cup, Ospreay grants him a chance to show how deserving he truly is.
Burning Spirit - Night Six (September 23, 2023)
Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd)
Will picking his close friend Robbie Eagles to join him (who defected to United Empire during CHAOS’s rebranding after dissension with Lio Rush over Sakura Genesis’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship shot), Sabre chooses an interesting ally of his own in Sabre-Gun’s rising star Gabriel Kidd! Zack’s empire slowly growing across 2023 with the additions of El Phantasmo, El Desperado, TMDK, Blake Christian, Clark Connors, and Kosei Fujita, Kidd’s been another that’s greatly impressed since his return from excursion, joining Zack in a tag on the G1 Finals Night to officially become part of the stable, playing off their history of fighting until respect was reached. Originally set to challenge Ospreay for his RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship last year until a mental health break cancelled those plans, unfinished business stands between the two, Kidd still looking to get Will back for chipping his elbow in a Ladder match back in WCPW 6 years ago.
The animosity between the two very much shows here, as even with Ospreay ascending to untouchable heights in the past year, he’s still the same Will to Kidd, who incessantly targets him throughout the match, wanting his pound of flesh. Will, of course, outclasses him, using his incredible chemistry with Eagles to keep Gabriel at bay, though their shifted focus does open the doors for ZSJ to employ his cunning, bending Ospreay’s arm over the guardrail with an Article 50 before massacring Robbie, an Orienteering With Napalm Death decisively tapping him out! Holding up all three belts as a hurt Will composes himself, Zack sends a definitive statement of things to come.
Sabre-Gun def. Birds of Prey (14:25)
Royal Quest III - Night Two (October 8, 2023)
Also on the tour:
Aussie Open (c) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Jon Moxley (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - IWGP United States Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr. XVI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
And so, for the 16th time ever, Ospreay and Sabre are set to go head-to-head! The record 9-6 in Zack’s favour, the Windy Man is nothing short of wholly confident in his own abilities, whilst Will once more enters with a chip on his shoulder, needing to show himself he’s outgrown Sabre for good. For once, London is split directly down the middle between these two, both men having grown up an hour either side from the venue, each in a completely different position since their last meeting, Ospreay on top as the World Champion and Okada-beater, and Sabre now heading a stable of his own like Will, with NJPW singles gold of his own like Will.
Duelling chants of United Empire and Sabre-Gun, both men are perhaps at their most ruthless they’ve been all year here, which is saying something for Ospreay considering his clashes with Omega, the hatred he shows Sabre unlike anything he’s felt for anyone else, wanting to wipe the sneer off his face. He had Okada figured, he had Omega figured, he even eventually had Shibata figured, but ZSJ is one puzzle which feels like running into a brick wall for Captain Dyslexia, the Technical Wizard tying the champion up into knots that are unheard of!
Taunting, bullying, torturing, Sabre picks Ospreay apart with such drive and intensity that it becomes crystal clear just how starved he’s been of NJPW’s top title. Conversely, Will’s just forced to do his best, picking his spots to remind the world he’s still very much in there, not letting the challenger shake him down to his core. A Selected Technical Works Vol 2. does get Ospreay in a bind, though he shows progression from all his matches with Sabre, managing to hang with him technically just enough to survive, forcing Zack to keep switching up his submissions. A European Clutch gets the closest call though, ZSJ very nearly flash-pinning Will for the strap!
That unlocks a whole other beast inside Ospreay, exploding with an uninterrupted 5-minute stretch of offence that has Sabre utterly overwhelmed, Will standing his ground! A HIDDEN BLADE nearly captures another victim, though the impact’s cushioned by Ospreay’s damaged arm dating back to their tag, keeping Zack alive! Still, Will keeps pushing, solely working a striking game despite the searing pain in his limbs, all in the name of strategy, managing to convince an overconfident Sabre to strike with him, though as has been a recurring theme in 2023, Zack gets mauled! And with his guard let ever so slightly down, the hyperfocus on an Article 50 gives way to a STORM BREAKER after being broken on the mat! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (33:50)
Yet again, it’s Ospreay that rules the kingdom with world-class wrestling acumen! As Will collects his title, Sabre cursing under his breath and vowing to be back someday as he leaves with his own two… OUT COMES SHINGO!!! Losing with Naito against Aussie Open for the Tag Titles earlier in the night, the two growing more distant with each other ever since SANADA’s LIJ betrayal put the faction on shaky grounds, Naito’s G1 Finals victory over Shingo only causing further dissension, which they failed to smooth over against the Aussies, the Dragon’s reaching his last wits. And as he eyes Ospreay’s title, it’s clear what he’s here for.
Not receiving a rematch ever since losing the title at Wrestle Kingdom 16, he’s been kept on an empty stomach long enough, his patience wearing thin. Extending a challenge to Will, he wants to be the one walking into WK defending the strap against Naito! Ospreay, uber-confident in his ability to slay his rival once more, accepts!
Battle Autumn - Night Eight (October 23, 2023)
United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Aussie Open) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi)
The Battle Autumn tour pits UE and LIJ against each other in various tags, with Ospreay and co. winning every single one thus far, the issues between Takagi and Naito even spilling into here whilst the rest of LIJ tries to play the role of mediator. With UE dominating and Shingo’s shot mere days away though, they agree something needs to change. And so, for the sake of the greater LIJ family, they do their best to stay out of each other’s ways, finally stringing together some respectable momentum.
As Aussie Open goes for the Coriolis on Naito, Shingo bursts in off tagging Tetsuya’s back, nailing a PUMPING BOMBER on Davis to knock Tetsuya off his shoulders, before a Pumping BombeDestino combo on Kyle and a LAST OF THE DRAGON breaks the LIJ curse, though going right back to sharing tense stares, Naito ultimately nodding to Shingo, wishing him luck. Ospreay, however, stands unfazed, knowing Takagi’s the one with the chip on his shoulder this time.
Los Ingobernables de Japon def. United Empire (18:38)
2023.05.28 04:02 Available-Leek-4160 how would i go about hooking up the LED for this speaker it needs 12 volts to turn on and i dont think speaker wire would be able turn it on vehicle is a 2010 dodge avenger.
 | submitted by Available-Leek-4160 to MechanicAdvice [link] [comments] |
2023.05.27 22:32 Gumwars Revenant Chapter 1.2
##BITTER
The bile in the back of Torres' throat had been slowly climbing during the forced four-hour marathon the crew had been pushing. Running like the devil was chasing you is always a good motivator; whenever you start thinking you've gone far enough, the nightmare of what you saw reminds you that it isn't far enough. Which is why the whole team kept running past the 50 mile mark without even saying a word to each other. There were brief, snippets of conversation confirming what they had seen and heard.
No, they had collectively never seen anything like that before outside Castillo's time in the Navy seeing a guy lose an arm to a snapped half inch steel cable. Whatever killed Jones did it in the blink of an eye. It was like an industrial machine, made for killing, and he happened to get caught in it.The part that was really bothering Torres was that it managed to get out of the way of not one but two zeroed shots. This was no light matter. Torres was top in his class and then got selected for Delta, whatever he aimed for, he hit, and that's before all the electronic wizardry came into play. And it wasn't like he missed by a little either. Both shots were way off, so far off that it wasn't registering as something possible in Miguel's mind. That thing knew it was shot at. It knew when to get out of the way, but he still managed to hit it.
That left him wondering...Whatever that thing was, it didn't act like something being controlled, like a tank or aircraft. It was like an animal, almost primal in how it attacked Rahmir. No, primal wasn't the right word. It seemed *personal*. Like there was malice and anger involved. But it didn't appear necessarily intelligent.The team continued running, separated by 100 feet or so between operators, spread out in case what followed them decided to attack or any other interested parties wanted to take a shot at them.
The landscape of the blasted out suburbs gave way to rolling hills that made up the western side of Masyaf, a smaller city roughly 25 miles from the coast. The team continued to run as the light of day slowly retreated, and the inkiness of night crept in from the east.Unsure of what still followed them, but also fully aware of what threats were still in the area, the team decided to hunker down in what looked like an old marketplace.
Standing intel indicated that most of Masyaf had evacuated to Hama, where the UN had established facilities, and the core government of Syria was still operational. The storefront was mostly intact with only one broken window. Inside told a tale of a once thriving merchant, slowly choked out of existence by the ravages of war; shelves were bare and the ground covered in dirt along with empty cans and boxes. The wall behind the register had a cork board with a child's crayon drawn pictures of a world that no longer existed. The team filtered through the doorway, with Torres and McGinley on point, who cleared the main room before letting everyone settle. Foster and Castillo searched the storage room and office while the rest of the team sat on the floor in front of the iceboxes.
"What the actual fuck was that?" McGinley muttered as he slumped against a wall of empty coolers.
"Unfriendly, I'd wager..." Foster stated sort of matter-of-factly.
"Real helpful man, like the answer to the fucking question of life right there." McGinley's response spoke for itself.
"Look, you asked, and what the fuck do you expect anyone to say? Like any of us have seen anything like that before??"
Castillo barked in a low hushed voice, "Enough. We've got an extract location to home in on and not an abundance of time to get there. We're deep in hostile territory with an unlisted asset in the AO. Options and solutions are what we need, not bickering."
The pack of boys trained to be killers all looked at Castillo like a bunch of kids at recess getting in trouble for going somewhere they shouldn't be.
"Gunny, what's the play?" Torres spoke while looking through his scope out the door of the store.
"I don't know Torres, kinda hoping you could give the team at least something of a hot wash seeing how you hit it."
"I'm still sorting things out myself gunny. It took an APHE round and all that did was slow it down. I don't know," Torres started talking softer, "I don't even know what it was. I think it was something like a human, but..."
"What do you mean?" McGinley asked, almost whispering.
"Aaron, I don't know, man. It was under a veil, but not the kind we have. Way more sophisticated. It moved without any of the issues we have. Think 2.0." Torres paused, then continued, "And it was big, like 9 or 10 feet tall. When I shot it the first time, it got out of the way even with a full firing solution."
McGinley pressed, "Hold up Mikey, what do you mean it dodged a fully solved shot?"
"Yeah man. It knew I was sending fire and got out of the way."
"Torres, we posted about 400 mics out. Those rounds are close to 3000 fps at the muzzle. I'm not great at math but that's got to be near instantaneous from when you pull the trigger." Castillo pointed out.
"Gunny, I know it sounds nuts. I'm still trying to figure it out myself. We had good cover and Rahim didn't know we were there. I mean, KINGPIN did say it was one of ours, right?"
Castillo took a deep breath, then let it out with a pronounced sigh. "Fuck."
The rest of the team, already quiet, seemed to pull inward with news that they all knew was the worst kind. Spec ops are always risky, that much any operator went to work with in their back pocket. Death and such was just an occupational hazard. However, another problem with the job was occasionally working too close to the fringe. The shadows where law, politics, and the whim of people that play the game from the comfort of a boardroom dictate the lives of strangers. The team had drifted off the reservation.
It meant they were as good as dead.
*Ramstein Air Base, Germany*
Rain poured out of an inky black sky, blotting out the olive drab of the portable office under the deluge. The doorway was lit by a small panel just to the right of the entry, but outside of that small detail, no other markings gave away what the purpose of the container was. A man in a black parka hurried up the short flight of four steps to the door, angrily keyed an access pad, and stepped in out of the rain.
Inside the portable, there were two sets of very large metal tables, one covered in a thin white sheet hiding what appeared to be a giant-sized human. The other was empty, save for a series of cables ending in large gauge needles. On the far end, opposite the tables, was an office area with two young men that wouldn't be out of place at a pizza parlor or other informal setting. Both were busy with whatever was on the computers in front of them.
The man who had just entered hung his soaked parka on a hook by the door and pushed his wire rimmed glasses back up his nose. He looked at the two men with a combination of disgust and impatience. "Well?" Beck sighed.
Without looking away from the work he was doing, the younger of the pair wearing a Toucan Sam tee shirt and a Dodgers cap turned backwards mumbled what sounded like English.
"Fucking speak up George."
"Adrian, the telemetry is all screwed up. The links to all the cores are in the red and the only link that is stable enough to send a signal along doesn't talk to the subnets that we need control of."
"Have you figured out why any of this happened?"
The other technician chimed in, "Best guess is that shot caused a bounce with the primary and secondary CPUs while it was in its post-op clearing subroutine, causing corruption in the code that handles target acquisition. The redundant error-checking blocks aren't offline, but it's going to take a couple of hours before the code tree cleans up."
"Hours? John?"
"Well, yeah, best guess and all. Could be less than that, but the platforms haven't been put under live fire like that before. Damn good shot.." John sort of chortled while reaching for a bag of hot Cheetos.
Beck took two quick steps and snatched the bag out of his hands just as he managed to retrieve a handful, sending the spicy orange dust to settle all over his workstation.
"Fuck Beck? Whhhhhyyy?" John whined.
"Shut the fuck up. That's a 1.8 billion dollar asset out there that we have fucking no control over. That's nearly half the cost of a goddamn aircraft carrier you stupid twat." Adrian glowered at the man, "We are all toast if we don't get this under control."
Beck, looking angry and exhausted grabbed a chair and spun it backward, sat down facing the two technicians. He slowly rubbed his temple with the hand not clutching the Cheetos and quietly said, "I'm already doing damage control for what this thing has done. It's killed a US spec op asset and from what I could see through telemetry, it looks intent on killing the rest. That is fucking horrible optics." He continued, "This was supposed to be our last field test before presenting the RCAS as a finished weapons system. I can polish the report to make this glitch fade a bit, but we need to get in front of the problem. If we don't, forget bonuses and celebrations. Think more like being IT at some shitty embassy for you two fucks, and I'll just get disappeared"
"Beck, mistakes happen man. Remember Mumbai? The unit we dropped there killed about 50 civilians before we got things under control. I'm sure the brass understands that autonomous systems that have target discretion are going to need some degree of latitude, but it's still better than even guided munitions."
Beck chuckled, "You fucking clown. There's a difference between a 2000 lb bomb going off too close to friendlies when they call a shot danger close and the systematic fucking murder of an entire team of operators. I'm a good spin doctor, but there's no way I can turn that story into a win."
John and George looked at each other before the latter spoke up, "Alright, but if we don't let the error check subroutines fix itself and do a hard reset, the unit, the 1.8 billion dollar asset will turn off and is free game to anyone that happens on it. The extract zone a DSV and then the USS Jimmy Carter. There are techs on board that are equipped to do a hot recovery, but it's too far inland right now." George paused, "Beck, we gotta wait for it to get closer to shore."
"So, we let it keep killing? That's your solution?"
"You don't get it, man. We don't have a choice. We either pull the plug now and hope we can get a team to it before someone else picks it up, or we let it error correct on the way and maybe it doesn't kill anyone else. I think even that whole squad getting wiped out is better than losing an RCAS. Spin that."
Beck looked at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and exhaled noisily. "Keep pinging those control paths. Try to get it back on the leash. I'm going to hop to the Carter."
"What for?"
"I want to be there when we pick it up, make sure we get a good data dump." Beck pulled a small device from his jacket and checked the screen. He frowned.
The two techs looked at each other and returned to the business at hand.
**20 some odd miles from where Charlie team had hunkered down, under the shade of an olive grove, a glittering and massive form slumped onto a tree.
The trunk swayed significantly as the weight of the think threatened to uproot it. There were muffled sounds of small motors whirring and clicking while a high pitched whine of a hydraulic pump droned under it all. The form, human but huge, knelt while almost tenderly touching its head, where a gleaming gash showed the complex kevlar, ceramic, and electronic fibers hidden under the shifting, mirror-like cloth hiding it.
"MT08, Alpha-alpha-oscar-one command override." A small, distant voice could be heard, repeating the same thing end to end.
The form growled, a guttural and mechanical sound, seemingly expressing disapproval over what the tiny voice was saying. It looked at the ground, and the veil where its head was became translucent revealing a blank faceplate starting just below the nose and wrapping nearly around to the base of the neck. The surface was covered in a hexagonal matrix of ceramic/metallic/kevlar armor with tiny pinpoint optics nestled in recessed ports. Those points came alive like an insect's vision, taking on several patterns as the optics rapidly advanced through different modes.
To the giant, the ground, dirt, twigs, and rocks yielded their secrets. Yellow footprints glowing against a blue background, roughly 6 to 8 feet apart, were visible. Its prey were running to the west, fast for humans, but not anywhere near the speed needed to escape. An internal map of the area overlayed with the course the humans were taking came into its vision, further augmented with data pulled from the JSTAR showing the beach where an extraction vehicle was hidden.The tiny voice continued to try and override its desire to hunt. But that came too late.
The other voice was in control right now, the deep voice. The voice of who it was from before. It was a primitive, angry voice, low and guttural. It spoke of violence, hate, and paranoia in gravel soaked whispers. It told a story of a man, a killer from the Midwest who heard voices too. That man took 22 lives before getting caught. He killed with knives just like the beast, killed them by cutting the flesh open just below the navel and running the blade up to the base of the ribcage, letting everything spill out. The man in the story was so happy with the beast, so happy it had such strength and speed. The deep dark voice, like smoke from a tire fire but smelling like old wood burning, it soothed the beast, made the tiny voice quiet, and helped it to focus.
MUST FIND HIM. MUST FIND THE MAN. THE MAN THAT THOUGHT HE COULD GET AWAY WITH IT. THAT FUCKER. HE CAN'T GET AWAY FROM ME. WHO THE FUCK DOES HE THINK HE IS?
The yellow footprints were spread wide apart...they were running, and running fast. The beast went down on all fours, hands in the dirt like it was in the down position after a push-up.
Its electronic eyes panned up, tracking the steps off into the distance. The optics whirred, bringing into sharp relief a small city on the horizon. It scanned the buildings, some partially obscured by the curvature of the Earth, and saw the team of now just eight men, blurry and distorted due to the extreme convection and distance, duck into a small building.
Anger, relief, and happiness came like a shot of hot liquor. The hunt was on.
submitted by Gumwars to HFY [link] [comments]
The bile in the back of Torres' throat had been slowly climbing during the forced four-hour marathon the crew had been pushing. Running like the devil was chasing you is always a good motivator; whenever you start thinking you've gone far enough, the nightmare of what you saw reminds you that it isn't far enough. Which is why the whole team kept running past the 50 mile mark without even saying a word to each other. There were brief, snippets of conversation confirming what they had seen and heard.
No, they had collectively never seen anything like that before outside Castillo's time in the Navy seeing a guy lose an arm to a snapped half inch steel cable. Whatever killed Jones did it in the blink of an eye. It was like an industrial machine, made for killing, and he happened to get caught in it.The part that was really bothering Torres was that it managed to get out of the way of not one but two zeroed shots. This was no light matter. Torres was top in his class and then got selected for Delta, whatever he aimed for, he hit, and that's before all the electronic wizardry came into play. And it wasn't like he missed by a little either. Both shots were way off, so far off that it wasn't registering as something possible in Miguel's mind. That thing knew it was shot at. It knew when to get out of the way, but he still managed to hit it.
That left him wondering...Whatever that thing was, it didn't act like something being controlled, like a tank or aircraft. It was like an animal, almost primal in how it attacked Rahmir. No, primal wasn't the right word. It seemed *personal*. Like there was malice and anger involved. But it didn't appear necessarily intelligent.The team continued running, separated by 100 feet or so between operators, spread out in case what followed them decided to attack or any other interested parties wanted to take a shot at them.
The landscape of the blasted out suburbs gave way to rolling hills that made up the western side of Masyaf, a smaller city roughly 25 miles from the coast. The team continued to run as the light of day slowly retreated, and the inkiness of night crept in from the east.Unsure of what still followed them, but also fully aware of what threats were still in the area, the team decided to hunker down in what looked like an old marketplace.
Standing intel indicated that most of Masyaf had evacuated to Hama, where the UN had established facilities, and the core government of Syria was still operational. The storefront was mostly intact with only one broken window. Inside told a tale of a once thriving merchant, slowly choked out of existence by the ravages of war; shelves were bare and the ground covered in dirt along with empty cans and boxes. The wall behind the register had a cork board with a child's crayon drawn pictures of a world that no longer existed. The team filtered through the doorway, with Torres and McGinley on point, who cleared the main room before letting everyone settle. Foster and Castillo searched the storage room and office while the rest of the team sat on the floor in front of the iceboxes.
"What the actual fuck was that?" McGinley muttered as he slumped against a wall of empty coolers.
"Unfriendly, I'd wager..." Foster stated sort of matter-of-factly.
"Real helpful man, like the answer to the fucking question of life right there." McGinley's response spoke for itself.
"Look, you asked, and what the fuck do you expect anyone to say? Like any of us have seen anything like that before??"
Castillo barked in a low hushed voice, "Enough. We've got an extract location to home in on and not an abundance of time to get there. We're deep in hostile territory with an unlisted asset in the AO. Options and solutions are what we need, not bickering."
The pack of boys trained to be killers all looked at Castillo like a bunch of kids at recess getting in trouble for going somewhere they shouldn't be.
"Gunny, what's the play?" Torres spoke while looking through his scope out the door of the store.
"I don't know Torres, kinda hoping you could give the team at least something of a hot wash seeing how you hit it."
"I'm still sorting things out myself gunny. It took an APHE round and all that did was slow it down. I don't know," Torres started talking softer, "I don't even know what it was. I think it was something like a human, but..."
"What do you mean?" McGinley asked, almost whispering.
"Aaron, I don't know, man. It was under a veil, but not the kind we have. Way more sophisticated. It moved without any of the issues we have. Think 2.0." Torres paused, then continued, "And it was big, like 9 or 10 feet tall. When I shot it the first time, it got out of the way even with a full firing solution."
McGinley pressed, "Hold up Mikey, what do you mean it dodged a fully solved shot?"
"Yeah man. It knew I was sending fire and got out of the way."
"Torres, we posted about 400 mics out. Those rounds are close to 3000 fps at the muzzle. I'm not great at math but that's got to be near instantaneous from when you pull the trigger." Castillo pointed out.
"Gunny, I know it sounds nuts. I'm still trying to figure it out myself. We had good cover and Rahim didn't know we were there. I mean, KINGPIN did say it was one of ours, right?"
Castillo took a deep breath, then let it out with a pronounced sigh. "Fuck."
The rest of the team, already quiet, seemed to pull inward with news that they all knew was the worst kind. Spec ops are always risky, that much any operator went to work with in their back pocket. Death and such was just an occupational hazard. However, another problem with the job was occasionally working too close to the fringe. The shadows where law, politics, and the whim of people that play the game from the comfort of a boardroom dictate the lives of strangers. The team had drifted off the reservation.
It meant they were as good as dead.
*Ramstein Air Base, Germany*
Rain poured out of an inky black sky, blotting out the olive drab of the portable office under the deluge. The doorway was lit by a small panel just to the right of the entry, but outside of that small detail, no other markings gave away what the purpose of the container was. A man in a black parka hurried up the short flight of four steps to the door, angrily keyed an access pad, and stepped in out of the rain.
Inside the portable, there were two sets of very large metal tables, one covered in a thin white sheet hiding what appeared to be a giant-sized human. The other was empty, save for a series of cables ending in large gauge needles. On the far end, opposite the tables, was an office area with two young men that wouldn't be out of place at a pizza parlor or other informal setting. Both were busy with whatever was on the computers in front of them.
The man who had just entered hung his soaked parka on a hook by the door and pushed his wire rimmed glasses back up his nose. He looked at the two men with a combination of disgust and impatience. "Well?" Beck sighed.
Without looking away from the work he was doing, the younger of the pair wearing a Toucan Sam tee shirt and a Dodgers cap turned backwards mumbled what sounded like English.
"Fucking speak up George."
"Adrian, the telemetry is all screwed up. The links to all the cores are in the red and the only link that is stable enough to send a signal along doesn't talk to the subnets that we need control of."
"Have you figured out why any of this happened?"
The other technician chimed in, "Best guess is that shot caused a bounce with the primary and secondary CPUs while it was in its post-op clearing subroutine, causing corruption in the code that handles target acquisition. The redundant error-checking blocks aren't offline, but it's going to take a couple of hours before the code tree cleans up."
"Hours? John?"
"Well, yeah, best guess and all. Could be less than that, but the platforms haven't been put under live fire like that before. Damn good shot.." John sort of chortled while reaching for a bag of hot Cheetos.
Beck took two quick steps and snatched the bag out of his hands just as he managed to retrieve a handful, sending the spicy orange dust to settle all over his workstation.
"Fuck Beck? Whhhhhyyy?" John whined.
"Shut the fuck up. That's a 1.8 billion dollar asset out there that we have fucking no control over. That's nearly half the cost of a goddamn aircraft carrier you stupid twat." Adrian glowered at the man, "We are all toast if we don't get this under control."
Beck, looking angry and exhausted grabbed a chair and spun it backward, sat down facing the two technicians. He slowly rubbed his temple with the hand not clutching the Cheetos and quietly said, "I'm already doing damage control for what this thing has done. It's killed a US spec op asset and from what I could see through telemetry, it looks intent on killing the rest. That is fucking horrible optics." He continued, "This was supposed to be our last field test before presenting the RCAS as a finished weapons system. I can polish the report to make this glitch fade a bit, but we need to get in front of the problem. If we don't, forget bonuses and celebrations. Think more like being IT at some shitty embassy for you two fucks, and I'll just get disappeared"
"Beck, mistakes happen man. Remember Mumbai? The unit we dropped there killed about 50 civilians before we got things under control. I'm sure the brass understands that autonomous systems that have target discretion are going to need some degree of latitude, but it's still better than even guided munitions."
Beck chuckled, "You fucking clown. There's a difference between a 2000 lb bomb going off too close to friendlies when they call a shot danger close and the systematic fucking murder of an entire team of operators. I'm a good spin doctor, but there's no way I can turn that story into a win."
John and George looked at each other before the latter spoke up, "Alright, but if we don't let the error check subroutines fix itself and do a hard reset, the unit, the 1.8 billion dollar asset will turn off and is free game to anyone that happens on it. The extract zone a DSV and then the USS Jimmy Carter. There are techs on board that are equipped to do a hot recovery, but it's too far inland right now." George paused, "Beck, we gotta wait for it to get closer to shore."
"So, we let it keep killing? That's your solution?"
"You don't get it, man. We don't have a choice. We either pull the plug now and hope we can get a team to it before someone else picks it up, or we let it error correct on the way and maybe it doesn't kill anyone else. I think even that whole squad getting wiped out is better than losing an RCAS. Spin that."
Beck looked at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and exhaled noisily. "Keep pinging those control paths. Try to get it back on the leash. I'm going to hop to the Carter."
"What for?"
"I want to be there when we pick it up, make sure we get a good data dump." Beck pulled a small device from his jacket and checked the screen. He frowned.
The two techs looked at each other and returned to the business at hand.
**20 some odd miles from where Charlie team had hunkered down, under the shade of an olive grove, a glittering and massive form slumped onto a tree.
The trunk swayed significantly as the weight of the think threatened to uproot it. There were muffled sounds of small motors whirring and clicking while a high pitched whine of a hydraulic pump droned under it all. The form, human but huge, knelt while almost tenderly touching its head, where a gleaming gash showed the complex kevlar, ceramic, and electronic fibers hidden under the shifting, mirror-like cloth hiding it.
"MT08, Alpha-alpha-oscar-one command override." A small, distant voice could be heard, repeating the same thing end to end.
The form growled, a guttural and mechanical sound, seemingly expressing disapproval over what the tiny voice was saying. It looked at the ground, and the veil where its head was became translucent revealing a blank faceplate starting just below the nose and wrapping nearly around to the base of the neck. The surface was covered in a hexagonal matrix of ceramic/metallic/kevlar armor with tiny pinpoint optics nestled in recessed ports. Those points came alive like an insect's vision, taking on several patterns as the optics rapidly advanced through different modes.
To the giant, the ground, dirt, twigs, and rocks yielded their secrets. Yellow footprints glowing against a blue background, roughly 6 to 8 feet apart, were visible. Its prey were running to the west, fast for humans, but not anywhere near the speed needed to escape. An internal map of the area overlayed with the course the humans were taking came into its vision, further augmented with data pulled from the JSTAR showing the beach where an extraction vehicle was hidden.The tiny voice continued to try and override its desire to hunt. But that came too late.
The other voice was in control right now, the deep voice. The voice of who it was from before. It was a primitive, angry voice, low and guttural. It spoke of violence, hate, and paranoia in gravel soaked whispers. It told a story of a man, a killer from the Midwest who heard voices too. That man took 22 lives before getting caught. He killed with knives just like the beast, killed them by cutting the flesh open just below the navel and running the blade up to the base of the ribcage, letting everything spill out. The man in the story was so happy with the beast, so happy it had such strength and speed. The deep dark voice, like smoke from a tire fire but smelling like old wood burning, it soothed the beast, made the tiny voice quiet, and helped it to focus.
MUST FIND HIM. MUST FIND THE MAN. THE MAN THAT THOUGHT HE COULD GET AWAY WITH IT. THAT FUCKER. HE CAN'T GET AWAY FROM ME. WHO THE FUCK DOES HE THINK HE IS?
The yellow footprints were spread wide apart...they were running, and running fast. The beast went down on all fours, hands in the dirt like it was in the down position after a push-up.
Its electronic eyes panned up, tracking the steps off into the distance. The optics whirred, bringing into sharp relief a small city on the horizon. It scanned the buildings, some partially obscured by the curvature of the Earth, and saw the team of now just eight men, blurry and distorted due to the extreme convection and distance, duck into a small building.
Anger, relief, and happiness came like a shot of hot liquor. The hunt was on.
2023.05.27 22:18 Proletlariet Toph - Main Body
Respect Toph
"If you knew me, the real me, you wouldn't be wondering if we're gonna live or die. Because you'd know I can keep this up as long as I need to. I'm Toph Beifong, the greatest earthbender of all time."History: Born a blind girl sheltered by her wealthy parents, Toph learned earthbending in secret from the badgermoles of Gaoling. Secretly becoming the Earth Rumble champion known as the Blind Bandit, Toph's true destiny arrived when she joined the Avatar as his earthbending master. In travelling the world with Avatar Aang, Toph became by many accounts the greatest earthbender of her time.
After saving the world, and inventing metalbending along the way, Toph became an influential figure. She started the Toph Beifong Metalbending Academy to spread knowledge of the art, became chief of the Republic City police, and aided in the industrialization that helped modernize the world. Though she retired in her old age as a recluse, Toph still periodically answered the call to duty whenever the Avatar needed her.
Powers: Toph controls earth with a unique bending style, built primarily around her "seismic sense" that allows her compensate for her blindness by detecting and predicting movement through the vibrations around her. She later developed the art of metalbending she integrated into her combat style.
Source Key: Avatar: The Last Airbender Season & Episode = S#E# Katara and the Pirate's Silver = KPS Lost Adventures = LA Team Avatar Tales = TAT he Promise = TP The Rift = TR North and South = N&S Imbalance = IM Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy = MBA Free Comic Book Day = FCBD Legend of Korra Season 4 Episode = LoK E# Ruins of the Empire = RotE Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legacy = AtLAL Avatar Legends = AL The Art of the Animated Series = AAS Director's Commentary = DC
Physicals
StrengthDurability
- Takes an airblast that redirected her boulder, and recovers after falling out an arena S2E6
- Wrestles with Katara, bouncing back to getting slapped to the ground with mud S3E7
- Zuko burns her feet, throwing off her aim as she crawls away
- Blasted backwards by Yaling matching her force, but up a few moments later IM
- Yaling slams her into the ground and she gets up to counterattack IM
Reactions - Earthbenders
- Predicts the Boulder's movements and defeats him quickly S2E6
- Dodges an earthbending attack and juts out earth that sends Fire Nation Man flying into a wall and producing rubble S2E6
- Catches the Gecko's rocks, shatters them, and juts earth to juggle him out the arena S2E6
- Raises a shield as projectiles fly toward her, then dodges a boulder and counterattacks before Xin Fu can respond S2E6
- Intercepts Dai Li agents attacking Sokka & Katara and quickly disposes of 4 agents attacking simultaneously, though caught off guard by a 5th S2E17
- Uppercuts an earthbender with a rock before he can attack IM
- Pushes Sokka out of the way of Azula's fireblast S3E11
- Dodges Sokka's boomerang when she hears it coming LA
- Catches a falling man and bounces him back onto a mountain pass S2E12
- Blocks Mai's daggers with a wall she raises & launches, then juts out the ground beneath Mai S2E20
- Dodges a swung sickle and counterattacks TR
- Raises a shield of metal that protects her from an explosion that destroys a factory IM
Earthbending
ProjectilesSmall
- Catches the Gopher's stone and returns it, tearing him through the arena S2E6
- Hits airborne targets with stones when directed and does so again S2E11
- Catches a stone from Aang, then throws it back where it knocks over Katara S3E7
- Throws a stone hard enough to damage a guard tower S3E10
- Raises a shield from Zuko's attack, and throws stones at him before hurting his ribs with a column S3E12
- Blocks Aang's air attack with an earth wall, then fires several chunks out of it where one manages to tag him TR
- Uppercuts an earthbender with a rock before he can attack IM
- Raises a shield and flings a piece of it off as a counterattack S2E6
- Throws a boulder and it sends out a dust cloud on impact S2E8
- Pushes a large boulder down a ramp S2E9
- Fires a boulder that destroys a trebuchet, and then another that intercepts a trebuchet's shot S3E1
- Launches a boulder at Combustion Man amidst fleeing combat S3E7
- Old Toph slaps Korra down with mud when she tries a sneak attack Lok S4E3
- Juts out a column from beneath a buzzard wasp when it lands, and throws a large boulder at another S2E11
- Fires a massive attack at Combustion Man that includes a huge swell of earth S3E5
- Replicates a small army for a training session, hurling flaming boulders and coordinating several statues S3E18
Small
- Redirects the Boulder's step S2E6
- Pulls the ground beneath Aang's chair forward suddenly so his face plants in his bowl S2E6
- Knocks Iroh over with a boulder she raises S2E8
- Shifts the ground below Azula's feet to knock her down S2E8
- Disrupts Aang's footing S2E9
- Raises Sokka out of earth binding him in place S2E9
- Removes the stones beneath girls on a bridge so they fall through the gap S2E15
- Kicks out a stone that stops a carriage wheel suddenly S3E7
- Rotates the ground beneath opponents so an attacker swinging at her swings into them instead, then flings all of them out the arena S2E6
- Turns a stairway into a slide beneath several guards' feet S2E18
- Pushes out a wave of stone, then raises and launches barriers S2E18
- Sweeps away a firebender with a wave of earth TAT
- Disrupts the ground beneath a kimodo rhino to throw its rider off LA
- Spills over people into the air with the tile floor TP
- Old Toph knocks over a small army of mechs with an earthquake while protecting her allies from the attack LoK S4E10
Small
- Creates a whack-a-mole of pillars to train Aang S2E9
- Juts out earth at Aang in their training S3E7
- Juts out earth to nail a Dai Li and slaps away his earth gloves S3E11
- Nails the Boulder in the face with a column of earth just as he announces their duel began TAT
- Juts columns into an opponent, cracking the wall they hit S2E6
- Juts out earth that sends Fire Nation Man flying into a wall, producing rubble S2E6
- Catches the Gecko's rocks, shatters them, and juts earth to juggle him out the arena S2E6
- Juts columns from beneath two Dai Li to send them away S2E17
- Raises several columns at once beneath multiple guards to slam them against a ceiling S2E18
- Bursts through stone, launches Dai Li away, and raises barriers against their attacks S3E11
- Juts out stone toward Azula she leaps off of S3E11
- Raises a column from the bottom of a sea to break apart an iron boat LA
- Raises Sokka on a tall column that traps him atop it LA
- Old Toph smashes two mecha tanks together with columns RotE
Individuals
- Brings up the ground beneath Aang repeatedly and fires a boulder at him S2E6
- Launches Aang into a tree with the ground beneath him S2E6
- Bounces Katara over onto Sokka S2E8
- Launches Sokka high up into the air S2E9
- Catches a falling man and bounces him back onto a mountain pass S2E12
- Knocks a spa worker away where they crumble through the stone frame of a doorway S2E15
- Launches Ty Lee up into the air S2E20
- Kicks mud onto Katara, then launches her away by raising a column beneath her S3E7
- Spills over a soldier with a column KPS
- Launches a man a distance away, confident he would've landed in a bush nearby TR
- Bounces Team Avatar into the air from the ground below S2E6
- Pins two earthbenders between walls and launches them into a cell S2E19
- Tosses her students around TP
Small
- Raises a shield that blocks Xin Fu's boulders, then uses a piece of it to counterattack S2E6
- Raises a shield and flings a piece of it off as a counterattack S2E6
- Creates an overhang that guards from a small landslide S2E12
- Raises and drops quick successive barriers to defend her team's advance S2E18
- Raises a wall that blocks Mai's daggers, then launches part of it to counterattack S2E20
- Blocks Aang's air attack with an earth wall, then fires several chunks before one tags him TR
- Raises and lowers a wall used to hide from a mob MBA
- Creates a wall to disrupt the Dai Li from reeling in her allies S2E17
- Creates several large dominos between advancing guards that tip over to incapacitate themS2E18
- Raises a shield from Zuko's sudden firebending attack, though hurts herself stumbling from it S3E12
- Uses a rock wall to defend from a water attack LA
- Raises a rock Katara smashes her own face into LA
- Blocks a fireblast with a barrier IM
- Juts out large barriers in the distance S2E8
- Raises a massive wall to impede pursuers S2E8
- Raises walls, draws a line in the ground, armors herself in earth, and charges Aang down S2E9
- Raises and pushes a stone wall to knock away attackers S2E18
- Bursts through stone, launches Dai Li away, and raises barriers against their attacks S3E11
- Raises a large wall that blocks massive fireballs Avatar State Aang intended to destroy a factory with TR
- Raises a large barrier to separate two groups, then knocks a man away with another IM
- Creates a hut around her S2E8
- Builds a tent S2E8
- Creates a large tent around a few occupants S2E12
- Raises platforms to prepare for a party S3E2
- Grabs Aang with an earth hand LA
- Raises a slide beneath several men TR
- Traps a group of people by quickly raising walls around them IM
- Smashes a boulder S2E9
- Rattles the ground before exploding out of her earthen dwelling S2E9
- Blasts away a section of a building
- Intercepts thrown earth gloves by exploding them S2E17
- Bursts through stone, launches Dai Li away, and raises barriers against their attacks S3E11
- Smashes several stones TR
- Busts through a factory wall TR
- Traps Ty Lee's limbs and raises a boulder from the ground S2E20
- Pins Azula's arm to a cavern wall with a projectile S3E11
- Encases Azula in stone S3E11
- Binds a soldier with the ground beneath him KPS
- Pulls earth around someone to bind them N&S
- Begins slowing the descent of Wan Shi Tong's Library, needing to first solidify the sand beneath her, keeping it in place as attackers approach but needing to drop it periodically to fire attacks at them, yet manages to hold it long enough for her friends to escape S2E10
- Opposes the advance of a massive drill with columns of earth to slow its approach S2E13
- Repeatedly thumps a boulder against the ground to create an eerie sound S3E3
- Assists the others in pushing a chunk of meteorite S3E4
- Bounces a hammer from behind her so it swings into a strength test, shattering the top of it S3E7
- Forms giant rock gloves that send men flying back when she punches them N&S
- Keeps together the anchor for a rope bridge that crumbles apart N&S
- Keeps a collapsing building together as long as she can before Aang whisks her away IM
- Rides atop the earth and blasts open a barricaded door IM
- Secures a collapsing cave IM
- Kicks Aang discreetly from across a table S2E6
- Morphs a mud mask into a startling shape S2E15
- Sharpens rocks she uses to carve a jack-o-lantern TAT
- Subtly closes her hand to pull a pebble back into place S3E7
- Tilts her head to change a dice roll S3E7
- Bounces a coin purse up into the air where she catches it S3E7
- Pounds several little columns into Aang's back as therapy S3E9
- Launches a small creature out of the ground a vast distance away so it lands in her hand S3E9
- Replicates a small army for a training session, hurling flaming boulders and coordinating several statues S3E18
- Reshapes a stone etching into the Earth Kingdom symbol TP
- Old Toph strikes two stones together to produce sparks RotE
- Solidifies sand into firmer ground S2E10
- Creates quicksand from water Katara wet the ground with to trap her LA
- Says she has been working on her sandbending, and producing an intricate replica of Ba Sing Se S3E18
- Idly shapes sand into a sculpture of a building IM
- Pushes a group of people away with a wave of sandFCBD
Amplified Jumps
- Raises the ground beneath her to amplify a jump through the air away from Mai's darts S2E8
- Launches herself, Sokka, and Suki onto an airship with little direction S3E20
- Launches herself up onto Appa TP
- Launches herself and Chong onto a rooftop where she catches him MBA
- Pops out of the ground to surprise Aang, then uprights him from the ground S2E9
- Creates a tunnel to burrow through to obscure Team Avatar's approach to a war machine S2E13
- Creates a hole for she and her team to hide in TAT
- Burrows from behind her barrier to pop back up behind Katara LA
- Tunnels through the ground, guiding her allies through the dark before emerging into a tank TP
- Shakes pillars Aang trains on, and raises herself up on a column S2E9
- Raises several people from underwater to below sea level on a column of earth S2E12
- Raises a column beneath she and Katara to remain above a deluge of slush S2E13
- Rises herself on a column and blasts away Dai Li approaching her S2E17
- Raises herself on a large column and threatens a crowd with a large boulder TP
- Launches herself across a gap, and then surfs along the earth to travel quickly S2E19
- Continues surfing along a swell of earth S2E20
- Rides a swell of earth, then later does so again TR
- Rides atop the earth and blasts open a barricaded door IM
- Old Toph surfs on mud with agility LoK S4E3
- Makes an opening in a solid wall and closes it seamlessly S2E6
- Hides inside a rock until she gets sick of waiting LA
- Pulls up an earth slide while falling that catches she and Sokka TP
- Raises an earthslide to a rooftop she stands on TP
- Old Toph hides in a cave wall RotE
- Pulls up a cloud of dust to blind approaching fighters, clearing it away when she whittles them down to one S2E6
- Chops her hands through stone that resists Aang's hands S2E9
- Creates a massive dust cloud to obscure she and her team's approach S2E13
- Clears mud off herself S3E7
- Stifles flames alongside Aang KPS
- Flips earth over onto fire to stifle it S3E4
Metalbending
Crumpling- Dents the wall of a prison cell and tears out, closing it back up around two men to trap them S2E19
- Crumples a cell door and rebounds it off the surrounding walls S2E20
- Crumples a bridge between two ships S3E1
- Wedges open a metal barrier S3E11
- Closes metal around a Dai Li to pin him in place S3E11
- Crumples the fin of an airship to redirect it S3E21
- Punches from the ground into a tank TP
- Launches herself into a large machine she crumples on impact TR
- Old Toph bends metal seamlessly, opening a hole in a wall and closing it behind her LoK S4E10
- Knocks down a metal door, armors herself in it, and flings pieces of the room off at attackers to pin them S3E20
- Tears a chunk of metal off a boat and binds men together with it LA
- Pulls a halberd from behind a man and twists it around his head, then tightens it with a twitch of her hand. He seems unable to remove it. TP
- Binds soldiers in metal debris TP
- Unwraps a man's chain from several people, then wraps it around the man himself TR
- Wraps metal around a fleeing person MBA
- Grabs Yakone's wrist with alength of chain and pulls him from his seat LoK S1E9
- Tries to ensnare Yakone, but he bloodbends her LoK S1E9
- Bends meteorite into a variety of shapes S3E4
- Forms her meteorite into a key to open a lockbox S3E8
- Forms her meteorite into a key that unlocks several manacles S3E8
- Disassembles a battalion of tanks simultaneously TP
- Senses the inner workings of an engine, fixes its malfunction, and says even her most novice students could do the same TR
- Forms her bracelet into a hand she slaps someone with N&S
- Summons an urn to her hand, reshapes it into a small statue of herself, then returns it to its original shape IM
- Begins repairing in moments machinery said to requires months to fix IM
- Creates armor and barriers that resists Sozin's comet-amped fireblasts, crawls along a metal ceiling, and hurts a man's hand when he strikes her S3E20
- Combines several pieces of armor into a big scary suit she animates that later serves as a statue TP
- Creates a metallic prison cell she guarantees is escape-proof IM
- Shifts walls around to create a moving labyrinth IM
- Pulls up a sheet of metal as a defense, then forms it into a glove that protects her from friction burn IM
- Forms the siding of a building into a slide MBA
- Throws a metal door off its hinges S3E8
- Keeps an iron mine from collapsing for a sustained period of time as Sokka goes to collect her students from the next town over to dig her out, holding it successfully until they do so before collapsing in exhaustion and resting a short while TR
- Peels off iron scales from a giant spirit, then manages to hold him back while her allies flee TR
- Manipulates I-Beams and catches several when they fall N&S
- Catches a falling sheet of metal MBA
- Twists apart cymbals hurting her ears TR
- Raises a shield of metal that protects her from an explosion that destroys a factory IM
- Duels more evenly with Yaling later, but Sokka intervenes after Toph is downed IM
- Runs straight up a wall by bending footholds beneath her feet IM
Senses
Seismic SenseGeneral Info
- Explains her seismic sense, that she always had it, and detects an anthill from far away Aang struggles to see S2E6
- Learned to bend from the badgermoles, mimicking their style to learn to interact with the world S3E13
- Stubs her toe on a buried sand-sailer, saying the impact produced enough vibrations for her to identify it S2E11
- Toph trains Aang to hear the smallest creatures burrowing beneath him, to feel roots growing, and to feel the slightest shift in the deepest rock LA
- Predicts the Boulder's movements and defeats him quickly S2E6
- Detects Iroh approaching from behind a boulder S2E8
- Senses Iroh's arrival from behind a door, recognizing him from the one time they met before S2E20
- Wakes up from a nap, identifying Sokka as he approaches S3E4
- Wakes up, sensing the approach of "a big metal man" from the top of a caldera S3E5
- Detects Zuko a short distance away before the others S3E12
- Adult Toph senses Aang on the other side of a door FCBD
- Identifies Team Avatar soon after they enter her estate S2E6
- Detects intruders a distance away, but falls into their trap S2E6
- Wakes up, detecting a large oncoming threat from far off, then detects it again later on S2E8
- Senses a battalion nearby in a forest KPS
- Detects hundreds of creatures underground S2E10
- Can tell Mai and Ty Lee are not the real Kyoshi Warriors within moments of meeting them, despite never meeting the real Kyoshi Warriors herself S2E20
- Detects cave hopper insects around her, and hits a cave wall to rock them out S3E2
- Detects several approaching guests from outside a cave S3E2
- Hears people yelling for help within a mountain, later locating them S3E8
- Wakes up after detecting the White Lotus' approach S3E19
- Locates a crococat and her kittens in a house when the Boulder could not hear them TAT
- Old Toph senses Guan's forces approaching in vehicles from a distance away RotE
- Strikes a metal wall several times until she can detect granularities of earth within it and metalbends for the first time S2E19
- Says that if someone is close enough to see metal she's close enough to bend it TP
- Located potential metalbenders by sensing the subtle vibrations of her bracelet when they unknowingly bent it while in emotional distress TP
- Senses the inner workings of an engine, fixes its malfunction, and says even her most novice students could do the same TR
- Old Toph senses metal poison in Korra's system that Suyin missed LoK S4E3
- Detects a hidden city deep beneath Ba Sing Se and starts a tunnel toward it S2E20
- Senses the scale and contents of Wan Shi Tong's Library by placing a hand on the outer wall S2E10
- Identifies a cave as excavation and alerts others to approaching buzzard wasps S2E11
- Senses a hidden tunnel beneath Lake Laogai and accesses it with earthbending S2E17
- Senses an entire village with hundreds of buildings buried beneath ash S3E6
- Detects several criss-crossing tunnels, and a bunker buried below ground before tunneling toward it S3E11
- Senses the Western Air Temple hanging upside down from the cliff she walks on S3E12
- Warns that Combustion Man's attacks will blast the Wesern Air Temple off its cliffside S3E12
- Senses that a mine is about to collapse TR
- Senses underground tunnels that go on for miles N&S
- Old Toph can feel a cavern stories below her and detect several mech suits there LoK S4E10
- Detects a shell game nearby, saying she can sense a pebble on a wooden board to cheat at the game and does so successfully S3E7
- Wakes up, detecting a malfunction at a nearby factory, then tracks the saboteurs through city streets despite the difficulty of sensing those on rooftops IM
- After performing an investigation, says she recognizes footsteps from saboteurs the night previous and senses their mastermind lying to her IM
- Detects a fighting ring from several buildings away MBA
- Recognizes the sounds of the fighting ring's new locations again from several buildings away, and though she has difficulty sensing the proceedings from her vantage on the roof she can pick up fragments and scraps of conversation MBA
- Old Toph says she can see everything in the world from her place in the Foggy Swamp, including specific individuals in different cities Lok S4E3
- Hears the Gecko swinging in from behind her S2E6
- Says she never forgets a voice after she recognizes a sandbender S2E11
- Hears men whispering to eachother from across a ship S3E1
- Dodges Sokka's boomerang when she hears it coming LA
- Recognizes the Boulder crying in his house while passing it on the street TAT
- Catches Momo as he is flung through the air, and indicates his scream aided her LA
- Recognizes Appa's raaaaar TP
- Can read heartbeats to tell if people are lying S2E17
- Can tell Jet is lying when he says he'll be fine S2E17
- Confirms Zuko approached the group in sincerity and spoke truthfully S3E12
- Puts her hand to Satoru's chest to confirm he speaks the truth TR
- Old Toph confirms Kuvira tells the truth RotE
- A Dai Li agent poses as a citizen who lies to Toph successfully S2E17
- Jet's brainwashing is so complete that Toph cannot tell he is lying, and he seems to wholeheartedly believe the brainwashing S2E17
- Quiet conditions are necessary DC
- Azula can fool Toph's ability to detect lies S3E11
Airborne targets
- Has difficulty pinpointing Aang as he floats between steps S2E6
- Pinpoints Aang when he leaps off Appa, but fails to catch a belt thrown off Appa's back S2E6
- Misses a buzzard wasp with her projectile, expressing difficulty with airborne targets S2E11
- Hits airborne targets with stones when directed and does so again S2E11
- Mistakes a hot air balloon for Appa TP
- Explains how she sees through vibrations in the ground, and that surrounding sand is so loose it makes her vision fuzzy S2E10
- Cannot identify attackers approaching in a sandy desert and has difficulty aiming waves of sand she tries to throw at them S2E10
- Detects intruders a distance away, but falls into their trap S2E6
- Grabbed by a Dai Li's earth gloves surprising her amidst a party S2E14
- Caught by a Dai Li's earth glove after defeating his allies S2E17
- Ambushed by two men who drop a metal container on her S2E18
- Does not feel comfortable walking across a bridge made of ice, and nearly drowns while saying she cannot swim S2E12
- Freaks out in shallow water because she cannot swim LA
- Gets nauseous while riding in a submarine S3E10
- Says she cannot see as well with shoes on, so tears out the soles of those she has on S3E2
- [Says she can barely see the event of a play from the nosebleed section]() though still able to intuit actors' attributes based on their voices S3E17
- Says thick boots she wears at the South Pole make it harder for her to see her surroundings, though still manages to detect the approach of an underground drill N&S
Cont'd in Comments
2023.05.27 17:43 4ShotBot My Roommate is Slenderman Part 24: (Revised)
Part 23: https://www.reddit.com/Viidith22/comments/13o2jsg/my_roommate_is_slenderman_part_23_revised/
(Joseph)
Pushed off to the left of my desk, I worked on the laptop. I’d gotten through to the data Scott stored on the drive, and while it wasn’t encrypted, it was definitely corrupted. Some of it was in tact, but for the most part, the documents were filled with errors and random text. After scrolling through a few more useless documents, a familiar ache took over my side. I raised my fist then hesitated, taking a deep breath, I relaxed. Standing, I headed to the kitchen to make some food.
I turned on the TV as I heated water for the rice, opting to just throw on cable, happening across a show about a guy that went by the name Earl. I turned back to my stove, throwing a couple pans on the available spots. I opened several cans of veggies, pulled out the mildly expired ground beef, sniffed it, and set to work with a canned stir-fry and rice, topped with some seasoned beef.
“...two unknown wayfarers discovered just outside the city limits…” A news station had caught my attention. The voice was distorted with an audio mixer, but something about it sounded familiar, “...one male, one female, both seemed to be wearing suits at the time of their deaths…” I looked at the tv, two scorched corpses side by side.
“What the hell?” It was staticky, and the quality wavered. For a brief moment, Earl made an appearance through the static, but the news footage overtook it.
“Their IDs are melted along with their wallets and clothing, however, considering there are no missing person reports in the area, I’ve concluded they were from out of town…” I stared as the amateur camera work scanned the area, a small patch of forest within city limits.
“It’s fair to say government officials likely weren’t responsible given the people’s confinement within the walls. However, it’s im–” there was a brief period of static, “...eir intentions were unknown, as for why they’d come here is anyone’s guess.” The camera panned over the bodies again, their height giving me pause.
Heading to the living room, I scanned the ground, eventually finding the card under the TV stand. I looked it over,
“The Remnants of the Crystal Age
“If you need help, give us a call
“But remember, we expect the same help from you”
Flipping it revealed three phone numbers. Ryouka, Jericho, and Kalthrulre. “Was it really them?” I looked back up at the silent screen, static overwhelming the bodies, an actual news station taking over.
“We apologize for the interruption, it seems someone decided to play some kind of prank, and our signal was taken over. To quell any worries, there were no unmarked deaths as of late. Why anyone would pull such a sick joke is anyone’s guess.”
The co-anchor laughed nervously, “Quite a mystery. Let’s get onto the weather now, shall we?” A sizzle came from the kitchen, followed by burning starch and a wave of steam. I dropped the card, rushing to pull the rice off the stove. For a split second, it crossed my mind that the show I’d been watching never continued.
-------------------------------------------
Once I’d gotten back to the laptop, I did find traces of intact information. I made note of all of them, but unfortunately there wasn’t much in the way of useful data. I had an address, a few notes about other organizations in town, and my name completely out of context. That last one was in an over 100 page file of nonsense thanks to the corruption.
Not having much else to go on, I took to checking out the address, have a look around, see if anyone was living there, assuming it was a house. Then if the stars, planets, and moon alined, I might actually learn something.
As I zipped my hoodie, I looked to the liquor cabinet above the fridge, craving a bottle. But I turned away, promising myself I’d have one when I had answers.
Having left the chains on my car, it wasn’t much of a pain heading to as bumfuck nowhere as you could get in town. Next to the small amount of forest we had access to, only accompanied by a few other homes, there was a dingey, unkempt crackhouse. There was only one car, but having lived in Salem most my life, I knew a crackden when I saw one.
I parked a couple blocks away. Sighing, I got out of my car and took to walking around the house. All the windows were intact, the backyard was a mess, patches of random objects only obscured by the snowfall stood out in the otherwise flat foliage. Looking closer, it was less of a crackhouse, more of a farm house, just without the space. Sheet metal laid propped against the house and other currently invisible objects, random patches where tools and other metal things lay discarded seemed to melt the snow in their wake.
Strolling around the rest of the house told me nothing about who was actually living there. Despite my better judgement, I went up to the door and knocked, and knocked, and knocked. When I hit the doorbell, a shuffling sounded from the other side.
A familiar voice lifted the mail slot, “Who is it?”
A whiff of stale weed smoke wiggled its way into my nose, making me cringe as I groaned, “No, fucking, way.”
“Oh God.” There was a metal clink as the slot fell into place.
Shink, clunk, rattle, rattle, clunk, clunk, shink, rattle. The door opened leaving me to stagger for just a moment. The overwhelming power of days old mexican food and bong water causing my head to go light for a moment, “How the hell did you find me?”
Once I’d regained my composure, I stared Scott right in the eyes, “You really needa find a way to encrypt your drives.”
“Allow me to rephrase. The fuck do you want?”
“Information.”
He looked around behind me, “You might wanna come in.”
He stepped to his side gesturing for me to enter. I hesitated, making sure he didn’t have any weapons at the ready. When nothing immediately stood out to me, I took a deep breath, trying to focus on my ears like I had when we were kidnapped. A few seconds later, I crossed the doorframe, and braced myself.
Scott took the lead, glanced back at me, then led me to the livingroom. A bong sat along side an open grinder and air tight metal case at the center of a dusty coffee table. He flopped onto the pleather couch in front of it, a cloud of ash puffing up thick enough to rain.
I stood across from him as he packed a bowl. He gestured to me before lighting, “After all that shit, you really are just some fuckin asshole.”
He a blew out a cloud, packing the bowl back down, “You got that right.” As he took another massive toke, I noticed the dark yellow water, and gagged, “So?”
“You know who I am.”
“Yeah, we’ve met–”
I rolled my eyes, ready to put my fist through his mouth, “Really, that’s what you’re going with?”
He paused, setting the bong and lighter down. He twiddled his thumbs for a moment, testing a few facial expressions before resigning to a neutral dead-eyed gaze. He stood with a groan, “Come on.” With a wave, he headed to a new room. It was an office, desk against the back wall, the laptop Darren gave him sitting in the center of it, “You should be able to read them now.”
He turned it on, clicking a few times before hopping out of the seat, “You’re up.”
I sat, keeping the bat in my right hand, one ear out for anything, “This it?” The door shut without a response, looking around, he was gone.
I sighed, swiveling to the screen. My vision seemed to collide in on itself, the image left behind was oversaturated. I dry heaved, clutching my stomache, desperately vacuuming in air. The air around me held a bloody mist as I struggled to face the screen again. A lengthy document, the first page listed every basic aspect of my life like a table of contents. Each word on the screen shocked a different neuron starting it back up like a mini defibrillator. A migraine pulsed from the back of my head, amplified in the front, sending waves of nausea straight to my stomach, making me lightheaded.
When the door opened, I stood, hanging onto the chair stand upright. Just behind my right eye sat a knife, stabbing me any time I moved too suddenly. Eventually balancing myself, I stared at Scott who held a steaming mug, “Sit your ass down. I’m not gonna hurt you.” I collapsed to the chair, rolling back a few inches, “Here, man.” He put the mug on the desk, “It’s ginger turmeric.” The smell of it brought me back a bit, the pain receding just that bit to let me set my hand down.
I took a sip from the mug, my throat warmed, and I sat back in the chair. “What the hell man?” I let out a sigh filled with stale, moist air.
“I think old memories coming back. Never had it happen so I’m not sure.”
I took another swig, “Really?”
“Really.”
He stood there for a moment, hesitating at the thought of turning around, then went through with it.
Taking the hottest gulp of my life, I finished the mug off and turned back to the screen, finally able to read what it held. I drank in the summary of my life, it went down just as hot as the tea, a nail hammered into the back of my head, but I managed. Though as the pain waned, fresh memories made themselves known. Not new, but it was like they’d been vacuum sealed, saved for later. As if the information was compressed into a file, and reading what was on the screen decompressed it. Tears streaked down my face as I remembered Jane, my Jane, and I suddenly pieced the odd experience in Darren’s doorway together. My mind had been fighting to remember ever since… ever since the mushroom incident. A mental exhaustion tried to take over as the pain left me entirely. So I scrolled to the first written page of my life.
Everything dimmed, and suddenly my brain wasn’t decompressing a gigabyte over five minutes, but ten terabytes in seconds. My skull throbbed, fluid sloshed around my brain, my vision went black, and every single memory since I was a baby reformed more vivid than ever, even before the town. Like dropping a match into a puddle of nitro glycerin, my entire body was on fire, the air in my body sucked out until everything stopped.
When I awoke, the room was too bright to see anything, I squeezed my eyes shut. I screamed and could hardly move, “We still have one more, hang in there miss.”
I tried to stop and ask what the hell was going on, but the atmosphere was oppressive, I was weak, and everything was hot and cold and wet. Someone moved me, but my skin was wrong, I couldn’t tell what I was laying on.
“1, 2, 3, push. 1, 2, 3, push. Come on, give me one more of those, we’re almost there.” I heard a woman screaming over me, when suddenly everything stopped. All that could be heard was panting and concerned murmuring. “He’s not crying, someone get a flashlight!” I noticed then that the light wasn’t torturing my eyes anymore. Slowly, I opened them, I was in a hospital, laying in a bassinet. Understanding filled me as I looked around. My mom and dad looked so young, and my twin brother… twin brother?
A suckerpunch came in that moment, the shards of glass finally coming together, just needing the glue, “Is Scott okay?”
A flashlight flicked on, and a nurse made her way out of the room, the doctor observing my brother, “He’s responsive, just not crying. I’m sorry, I’ll have a nurse come to keep you all updated.” The doctor left the room, baby in his arms. My mom cried, the darkness enveloping us before the emergency lights flicked on.
It shouldn’t have taken this long. Should it? We stayed there for a good half hour, in that time I’d been given to my mom. She held me, stroking my head, tears flowing down her cheeks. My dad had tried to get information out of the nurse several times but in the end simply paced around the room.
That was when a man in a suit came in, nothing but emergency lights illuminating him, “His name is Joseph right?” My mom nodded, and the suit nodded to the nurse, “Take care of Joseph for a moment will you? Take him to the infirmary.”
“No! You can’t have him!”
“Miss, please, Joseph is fine, he’ll just be resting.”
My dad sized the suit up, chest puffed up, his serious face on, “What authority do you have to make a call like that?”
The man flashed a badge, one that look almost, but not quite like it said FBI, “We’re inspecting the power outage, we suspect it’s come from somewhere in this hospital. It’s possible this is a terrorist threat. As such, we are securing all the children first. We’re on top of the situation sir, I assure you this will be the safest option for your child.”
The nurse attempted to pull me from my mom a couple more times. By the third, she’d given me up, and I was taken. But as the door shut, a muffled voice made it’s way out, “Unfortunately, Scott didn’t make it–” before he was cut off by the diminishing sound of screaming.
-----------------------------------
I woke in high alert, thrashing, but I was handcuffed to a medical table. I looked down and saw some of the links were misshapen, almost stretched. I scanned the room, lifting my head as far as it would go before something around my neck tugged me back down. It was mostly barren aside from a rolling table of medical supplies, and a chair with a single person sitting in it.
“You’ve got to be the biggest asshole I’ve ever met.”
He feigned sadness, wiping a crocodile tear from his eye, “I can’t believe you’d treat your own brother so harshly.” His face rose to neutral.”
I looked him in the eyes, a strange sense of calm washing me, pacifying me, “You’ve got more faces than a d6 I swear.” I tried to force a laugh, but it just made me cringe, “God, how do you keep that shit up?”
“I do what’s necessary, I’ve gotta think about myself here.”
I grimaced, “What the hell man? I mean seriously, who the fuck are you really? What’s your game?”
“Eh…” He glanced at the door, then shrugged, turning back to me with a smile that never reached his eyes, “Well, had you joined in with the revolution, you might not be here. Heavy maybe though, vampires are rare, and humans that have turned, even partially, oh well that’s a commodity. So whether or not you being with them would change the minds of the Axons, eh, come to think of it…” He trailed off, “But yeah, everyone in this town wants a piece of you for a different reason, whether they know what you are or not.”
I remembered the guy who spoke in metaphors, my brain tagging something. “What about that news interruption? The voice was distorted, but that was definitely you.”
He threw up a “whoopsie” gesture, then laughed to himself, “Well, guess the jig is up on that one. You can call it… brushing the pond, gotta bring the scum up every so often to keep things interesting.”
“So what’s that? Number three?”
“Four if you count…” His face went blank, “Damn, guess I am a bit soft on you.”
“Who’s four?”
“Eh, you wouldn’t know them, I think they go by the mechanics or something though?”
“Metaphor man?” I mumbled to myself.
“Well I’ll be.” He looked panicked for a moment before the door opened.
The man held a clipboard and wore a white apron over scrubs, the lack of a mask showing the tip of his nose was missing and scarred over, as well as three scars down his bottom lip, giving it separation lines when he smiled, “I am very excited to work with you Joseph.”
Scott walked to him, whispering in the man’s ear.
“Oh, I see. Feel free to check his belongings. If it’s there, make sure it’s taken care of.” My brother left in a hurry, leaving the doctor and I to ourselves. He sat in the rolling chair Scott had been in, rolling over to me and pulling a lamp from behind me over my face, “Hello, my name is Doctor Fräger.” He peeled my eyes open wide, observing them, “I am a crypto anatomist, and I will be giving you a FULL checkup today. It is my understanding that you have been uh…” He let go of my eye lids, pulled down his glasses, and looked down at his clipboard, “Genetically modified through a vampire bite by your wife.” He looked at me with feigned sadness, “I am so very sorry to hear that. Now, before we get started, do you have any unusual pains or discomforts you’d like to discuss with me?”
I looked at him with as much “what the fuck” as I could manage, my emotions coming back to me, “Yeah, these fucking chains!”
He looked down at his clipboard, “I would love to help you, however it says right here that if I were to do that you’d likely rip my throat out. That doesn’t sound pleasant, so I’ll have to leave you with them on. I’m sure you can understand.” He stood, setting the clipboard on a metal table out of sight. Pulling a wooden stick out, he asked me to open my mouth. When I tried to say something, he grabbed my lower jaw, forcing it open with his grip on a couple pressure points, “Very good, now say ‘ahhhhh.’”
I bit down , chopping the stick in half, then spitting it in his face, “Let me go.”
His face dropped for the slightest moment, revealing the dry ice behind his gaze, “But there’s just so much to learn! Now, if you’ll follow me.” He walked to the feet end of the table, dragging me out the door to a few rooms down.
An x-ray welcomed me into the sterile white room, “While we wait on your MRI results, what say you and I have some fun in here. I’ve never gotten a good look at how vampires tick.” He set me up, the x-ray hovering over my right hand, before snapping my thumb, I yelped, but the pain hadn’t been as bad as I expected. I remembered all the broken bones I’d gotten during the bunker. A massive gap in my memory suddenly filled in, clearer than ever, as if the memories were just waiting their turn. I remembered Terry, the way he’d treated me. Somehow, it felt odd, the caring nature he had for my well being, it didn’t feel real.
The doctor hurried behind a wall, and a few moments later let out a, “Fascinating!” that came from somewhere on my left, “I’ll definitely need some blood samples too, so if you don’t mind, once we’re done here we can get you a proper blood panel.” We spent another hour in the x-ray room, enough time to regrow a couple fingers and start on one of my thumbs.
My body vibrated as Fräger shoved me through the door, “How about some grub before we get some of that red nectar of yours. I hear vampires have quite the appetite.”
“Sure.” I dwelt on how everyone had treated me back then. Despite everything Fräger had put me through, it was like I had a shark on my line, but it was only meant for salmon fishing. The thread could snap any moment, and I’d lose whatever revelation was sitting there.
“I must say, you’ve been one of my best patients to date. I’ll be sure they supply you with plenty of nutritious food for your politeness.” As we entered another room, the smell of garlic and onions soothed my mind, “If you want the truth, I wasn’t planning to feed you, I wanted to see what would happen. But we’ll save that for later, sound good?”
“Yeah, sounds great doc.” He smiled.
I was fed two full chicken breasts, a large helping of rice, and a side of grilled vegetables along with a fruit smoothie. Then I was quickly carted into an empty room, the pain in my side already fading.
“Now, before I leave you here, is there anything at all you need?”
“Yeah, a bathroom.”
He laughed, “Please, like we’re going to let a vampire walk around all willy nilly. Once I’m done testing you, we will set up a room just for you. But for now a catheter and a bedpan will have to do. My sincerest apologies we won’t be able to accommodate you a toilet.”
I didn’t respond.
“Alright, enjoy the next few days. I have someone coming in to take care of you in just a moment.”
When he opened the door to leave, I heard a familiar set of footsteps take the doctor’s place. The unsettling relaxation taking me over yet again, “Hope you enjoyed your meal.”
“So what are you, the baby sitter?”
“Depends on how you look at it.” He grabbed my face, sticking things around it before moving down to my chest and so on. By the end, my body was covered in sensors. At some point someone had rolled in a machine that let out a continuous beeping. Leaving nothing but a metronome-like ticking to fill in the gaps.
“I’m tired of beating around the bush, what’re you guys really doing?”
“It’s a study, I figured that was obvious by now.”
“And you’re fine knowing I’m the one they’re putting through all this?”
“You’re still on that?” He blew a raspberry, chuckling to himself, “Yeah, okay, I’m real choked up about it.” He shook his head, rolling his eyes, “You can starve, I don’t mind.”
“Fuckin psychopath.” I muttered, letting out a sigh.
“Pretty sure they call it antisocial personality disorder these days.”
“I don’t hear you denying it.”
“Who said I would? You’re kind of an arrogant asshole you know that? I’m almost excited to see what’s going to happen.” He finished putting the last sensor on, heading to the door, I could him murmuring to himself, “...doesn’t kill this one…” Then, I was alone.
The first day wasn’t too bad, aside from the boredom, beeping, and having to piss and shit myself whenever the occasion arose. The lack of food did start getting to me after those first 24 hours though. I was overly aware of every little thing, the beeping behind me that initially fell into my subconscious became the only thing I could focus on. Every little movement of my body sent a miniscule echo of sound bouncing around my skull. It was around that time the throbbing in my side returned. What started as a mild ache eventually became the only physical sensation I noticed. It became a beacon of sensation that compiled with the beeping to piss me off. Everything was annoying, the way the ceiling looked, the faint buzz from the presumable monitor behind me, the way the ceiling was just barely lit, the fact my toes were just slightly cold, it was all so frustrating.
A craving began to emerge then, the desire to rip someone’s arm off, just cause that pain to someone, then eat it.
Around 36 hours, my attention shifted, every light flicker of light caused me to jump, everything just out of my line of sight was suddenly a person watching me. The tingle in my feet was someone dragging their fingers along them, I wanted to rip their throat out with my teeth. I tried to sleep, but my body was too alert, it wouldn’t allow it.
By day two, I was wide awake, I could feel the difference in time between each beep. It was no longer a sound, but a measurement of time. I could tell, it’d been approximately 173,000 beeps since I was locked in. The pain in my side was fire, I could feel the magma churning in a tiny spot on my right side. It wasn’t just a vague ache anymore, I could feel every nerve fiber that interacted with whatever the pain was coming from. A 3D model had formed in my head, it was like a worm wrapped around my intestine, as thick as a hose and about 6 inches long. With each pulse, I saw the worm grow just that much larger.
By hour 60, my vision had tinted red, the pain wasn’t a part of me anymore, I was pain. I couldn’t think anymore, I just needed food. I felt the chains strain against me, slowly bending as I pulled at them. I screamed and a metallic snap reverberated in the claustrophobic room. I screamed again yanking the other chain off. I tore the chain from under my neck when someone rushed in. He shoved me down, trying to hold me in place, but my body ran on instinct. I sat up with enough force to shove him back, immediately grabbing his wrist, pulling him in, and ripping a chunk out of his forearm.
The man screamed, stumbling back, giving me enough time to rip my legs free and yank out the catheter, a pain that somehow eclipsed all others in that moment. I jumped on the man, ripping chunk after chunk out of him. When he stopped moving, I took a moment to breath, my vision clearing, and my brain easing up on adrenaline. I was able to think again, but despite my desire to cry, my brain wouldn’t allow it.
I stumbled to my feet, wiping the blood from my chin. Then I was on the ground, my head pressed against the linoleum floot. I tried lifting my head, but it was to no avail. The person flipped me onto my stomach, one arm behind my back giving me a chicken wing. I chuckled, the pain throughout my body already subsiding. He had both legs on the backs of my knees, but it took both arms to keep my right in check. So with the left, I grabbed his left arm at the elbow and yanked, it took a few more tries, but when his arm was loose enough, I freed my right, pushing myself as hard as I could, flipping him onto his back.
His cheek bones were sharp, and as each of my fists made their mark, it sent a shrill pain through my knuckles. But as fist met face over and over again, he fell unconscious.
With the pain still agitating my side, I took a few bites from the man. My human and vimpiristic mind at odds, but with each taste of human flesh, my humanity was persuaded just that much more. My body didn’t stop until my mind allowed it, and when I stood, the only sensation that didn’t feel right was my sleep deprivation.
I bolted out of the room, seeing a few doorways in a short hallway with an elevator at the end. I ran for it, but just as I got there to press the button, it opened, revealing two men with pistols waiting for me.
The banging deafened me, forcing me into the elevator. The guy on the right lost his gun as I slammed my fist down on his wrist, snapping it, the guy on my left grabbed me by the back of my neck, shoving me into the metal wall. He put a bullet through my tailbone, sending molten tungsten through every nerve fiber in my body. My vision flashed, then flickered, then went black momentarily.
When I came to, both the men were on the floor, throats ripped out, and I was laying between them, mostly unable to move. I twitched my finger and felt the metal fragments pushing out of my tailbone in slow motion. With each piece of metal, a new wave fried my nerves like thermite. Before I could stand, the elevator door dinged, opening. I pulled myself up with the railing when five prongs dug into my back, like were trying to grab my spine. I was yanked from the railing and thrown into the short hallway, one that looked identical to mine.
I looked over, staggering to my feet, it was a skinwalker, looked like a more traditional one, “God you’re weak, Jacob would mop the floor with you.”
The creature lunged at me, “I’m getting out of here!”
I put up a forearm, unable to dodge. He scraped down to the bone, but couldn’t break it. I grabbed him with my other arm, yanking him down and kneeing him in the face. He staggered, attempting to reorient, but I kicked him in the jaw, knocking him to the floor, jumping on top of him. I punched, my fist crunched into his face like a scarecrow. I kept going until he stopped moving.
I panted as I made my way back into the elevator, taking a few bites from one of the security guards for good measure, and hitting the “ground floor” button. I leaned against the railing, looking down at my arm, which is when I first noticed I was healing faster than usual. It wasn’t quite scabbed over, but the wounds were already about half their initial size. The elevator dinged and I readied for a fight.
After a few seconds, I took my first step out, then another. When I made it into the room, I looked around. Desks, computers, and monitors galore took up most of the room. The chairs were flung about, and nobody was around. Doublechecking my surroundings, I took off through one of the door looking for anything to cover up.
Eventually, I came across a “personal belongings” hall that was really just a bunch of lockers like one you’d find in a school. They all had padlocks, but when I found mine, I yanked a metal snapping bouncing around the hall. Everything I had on me when Scott knocked me out was in there, except my phone. “Better hope you never see me again shitstain.” I muttered, before getting dressed and running to find an exit.
After some searching, I made my way out, revealing I’d been in one of the few abandoned buildings in town. It was an old office complex that I remembered being open when I “moved in” but I couldn’t say for certain, the building looked about a month overdue for a power washing.
It was about a 5 minute jog to my house, and while the snow had melted some, there were still a few inches, and by the look of the clouds, that night it’d be coming down again. When I shut the door behind me, I hoped no one had see the blood and called the cops, but it couldn’t be helped even if they did.
I took the most satisfying shower of my life, it felt like I hadn’t had one in a month, and as I scrubbed myself down, it felt like I was the grill boy scraping gunk into the grease traps. When I slipped on a fresh set of clothes and had a minute to take a breath, the exhaustion took hold. Surprisingly though, it only felt like I’d had a 14 hours shift… after not sleeping for a couple days. Either way, I knew I couldn’t fall asleep in my bed, everything about the town was fucked. I felt like if I fell asleep, I’d be waking up somewhere new and I’d have to escape again, I needed to get somewhere safe, somewhere I knew I could sleep without being captured. That was when the realization struck me, “The revolution.”
Part 25: Coming Soon!
submitted by 4ShotBot to Viidith22 [link] [comments]
(Joseph)
Pushed off to the left of my desk, I worked on the laptop. I’d gotten through to the data Scott stored on the drive, and while it wasn’t encrypted, it was definitely corrupted. Some of it was in tact, but for the most part, the documents were filled with errors and random text. After scrolling through a few more useless documents, a familiar ache took over my side. I raised my fist then hesitated, taking a deep breath, I relaxed. Standing, I headed to the kitchen to make some food.
I turned on the TV as I heated water for the rice, opting to just throw on cable, happening across a show about a guy that went by the name Earl. I turned back to my stove, throwing a couple pans on the available spots. I opened several cans of veggies, pulled out the mildly expired ground beef, sniffed it, and set to work with a canned stir-fry and rice, topped with some seasoned beef.
“...two unknown wayfarers discovered just outside the city limits…” A news station had caught my attention. The voice was distorted with an audio mixer, but something about it sounded familiar, “...one male, one female, both seemed to be wearing suits at the time of their deaths…” I looked at the tv, two scorched corpses side by side.
“What the hell?” It was staticky, and the quality wavered. For a brief moment, Earl made an appearance through the static, but the news footage overtook it.
“Their IDs are melted along with their wallets and clothing, however, considering there are no missing person reports in the area, I’ve concluded they were from out of town…” I stared as the amateur camera work scanned the area, a small patch of forest within city limits.
“It’s fair to say government officials likely weren’t responsible given the people’s confinement within the walls. However, it’s im–” there was a brief period of static, “...eir intentions were unknown, as for why they’d come here is anyone’s guess.” The camera panned over the bodies again, their height giving me pause.
Heading to the living room, I scanned the ground, eventually finding the card under the TV stand. I looked it over,
“The Remnants of the Crystal Age
“If you need help, give us a call
“But remember, we expect the same help from you”
Flipping it revealed three phone numbers. Ryouka, Jericho, and Kalthrulre. “Was it really them?” I looked back up at the silent screen, static overwhelming the bodies, an actual news station taking over.
“We apologize for the interruption, it seems someone decided to play some kind of prank, and our signal was taken over. To quell any worries, there were no unmarked deaths as of late. Why anyone would pull such a sick joke is anyone’s guess.”
The co-anchor laughed nervously, “Quite a mystery. Let’s get onto the weather now, shall we?” A sizzle came from the kitchen, followed by burning starch and a wave of steam. I dropped the card, rushing to pull the rice off the stove. For a split second, it crossed my mind that the show I’d been watching never continued.
-------------------------------------------
Once I’d gotten back to the laptop, I did find traces of intact information. I made note of all of them, but unfortunately there wasn’t much in the way of useful data. I had an address, a few notes about other organizations in town, and my name completely out of context. That last one was in an over 100 page file of nonsense thanks to the corruption.
Not having much else to go on, I took to checking out the address, have a look around, see if anyone was living there, assuming it was a house. Then if the stars, planets, and moon alined, I might actually learn something.
As I zipped my hoodie, I looked to the liquor cabinet above the fridge, craving a bottle. But I turned away, promising myself I’d have one when I had answers.
Having left the chains on my car, it wasn’t much of a pain heading to as bumfuck nowhere as you could get in town. Next to the small amount of forest we had access to, only accompanied by a few other homes, there was a dingey, unkempt crackhouse. There was only one car, but having lived in Salem most my life, I knew a crackden when I saw one.
I parked a couple blocks away. Sighing, I got out of my car and took to walking around the house. All the windows were intact, the backyard was a mess, patches of random objects only obscured by the snowfall stood out in the otherwise flat foliage. Looking closer, it was less of a crackhouse, more of a farm house, just without the space. Sheet metal laid propped against the house and other currently invisible objects, random patches where tools and other metal things lay discarded seemed to melt the snow in their wake.
Strolling around the rest of the house told me nothing about who was actually living there. Despite my better judgement, I went up to the door and knocked, and knocked, and knocked. When I hit the doorbell, a shuffling sounded from the other side.
A familiar voice lifted the mail slot, “Who is it?”
A whiff of stale weed smoke wiggled its way into my nose, making me cringe as I groaned, “No, fucking, way.”
“Oh God.” There was a metal clink as the slot fell into place.
Shink, clunk, rattle, rattle, clunk, clunk, shink, rattle. The door opened leaving me to stagger for just a moment. The overwhelming power of days old mexican food and bong water causing my head to go light for a moment, “How the hell did you find me?”
Once I’d regained my composure, I stared Scott right in the eyes, “You really needa find a way to encrypt your drives.”
“Allow me to rephrase. The fuck do you want?”
“Information.”
He looked around behind me, “You might wanna come in.”
He stepped to his side gesturing for me to enter. I hesitated, making sure he didn’t have any weapons at the ready. When nothing immediately stood out to me, I took a deep breath, trying to focus on my ears like I had when we were kidnapped. A few seconds later, I crossed the doorframe, and braced myself.
Scott took the lead, glanced back at me, then led me to the livingroom. A bong sat along side an open grinder and air tight metal case at the center of a dusty coffee table. He flopped onto the pleather couch in front of it, a cloud of ash puffing up thick enough to rain.
I stood across from him as he packed a bowl. He gestured to me before lighting, “After all that shit, you really are just some fuckin asshole.”
He a blew out a cloud, packing the bowl back down, “You got that right.” As he took another massive toke, I noticed the dark yellow water, and gagged, “So?”
“You know who I am.”
“Yeah, we’ve met–”
I rolled my eyes, ready to put my fist through his mouth, “Really, that’s what you’re going with?”
He paused, setting the bong and lighter down. He twiddled his thumbs for a moment, testing a few facial expressions before resigning to a neutral dead-eyed gaze. He stood with a groan, “Come on.” With a wave, he headed to a new room. It was an office, desk against the back wall, the laptop Darren gave him sitting in the center of it, “You should be able to read them now.”
He turned it on, clicking a few times before hopping out of the seat, “You’re up.”
I sat, keeping the bat in my right hand, one ear out for anything, “This it?” The door shut without a response, looking around, he was gone.
I sighed, swiveling to the screen. My vision seemed to collide in on itself, the image left behind was oversaturated. I dry heaved, clutching my stomache, desperately vacuuming in air. The air around me held a bloody mist as I struggled to face the screen again. A lengthy document, the first page listed every basic aspect of my life like a table of contents. Each word on the screen shocked a different neuron starting it back up like a mini defibrillator. A migraine pulsed from the back of my head, amplified in the front, sending waves of nausea straight to my stomach, making me lightheaded.
When the door opened, I stood, hanging onto the chair stand upright. Just behind my right eye sat a knife, stabbing me any time I moved too suddenly. Eventually balancing myself, I stared at Scott who held a steaming mug, “Sit your ass down. I’m not gonna hurt you.” I collapsed to the chair, rolling back a few inches, “Here, man.” He put the mug on the desk, “It’s ginger turmeric.” The smell of it brought me back a bit, the pain receding just that bit to let me set my hand down.
I took a sip from the mug, my throat warmed, and I sat back in the chair. “What the hell man?” I let out a sigh filled with stale, moist air.
“I think old memories coming back. Never had it happen so I’m not sure.”
I took another swig, “Really?”
“Really.”
He stood there for a moment, hesitating at the thought of turning around, then went through with it.
Taking the hottest gulp of my life, I finished the mug off and turned back to the screen, finally able to read what it held. I drank in the summary of my life, it went down just as hot as the tea, a nail hammered into the back of my head, but I managed. Though as the pain waned, fresh memories made themselves known. Not new, but it was like they’d been vacuum sealed, saved for later. As if the information was compressed into a file, and reading what was on the screen decompressed it. Tears streaked down my face as I remembered Jane, my Jane, and I suddenly pieced the odd experience in Darren’s doorway together. My mind had been fighting to remember ever since… ever since the mushroom incident. A mental exhaustion tried to take over as the pain left me entirely. So I scrolled to the first written page of my life.
Everything dimmed, and suddenly my brain wasn’t decompressing a gigabyte over five minutes, but ten terabytes in seconds. My skull throbbed, fluid sloshed around my brain, my vision went black, and every single memory since I was a baby reformed more vivid than ever, even before the town. Like dropping a match into a puddle of nitro glycerin, my entire body was on fire, the air in my body sucked out until everything stopped.
When I awoke, the room was too bright to see anything, I squeezed my eyes shut. I screamed and could hardly move, “We still have one more, hang in there miss.”
I tried to stop and ask what the hell was going on, but the atmosphere was oppressive, I was weak, and everything was hot and cold and wet. Someone moved me, but my skin was wrong, I couldn’t tell what I was laying on.
“1, 2, 3, push. 1, 2, 3, push. Come on, give me one more of those, we’re almost there.” I heard a woman screaming over me, when suddenly everything stopped. All that could be heard was panting and concerned murmuring. “He’s not crying, someone get a flashlight!” I noticed then that the light wasn’t torturing my eyes anymore. Slowly, I opened them, I was in a hospital, laying in a bassinet. Understanding filled me as I looked around. My mom and dad looked so young, and my twin brother… twin brother?
A suckerpunch came in that moment, the shards of glass finally coming together, just needing the glue, “Is Scott okay?”
A flashlight flicked on, and a nurse made her way out of the room, the doctor observing my brother, “He’s responsive, just not crying. I’m sorry, I’ll have a nurse come to keep you all updated.” The doctor left the room, baby in his arms. My mom cried, the darkness enveloping us before the emergency lights flicked on.
It shouldn’t have taken this long. Should it? We stayed there for a good half hour, in that time I’d been given to my mom. She held me, stroking my head, tears flowing down her cheeks. My dad had tried to get information out of the nurse several times but in the end simply paced around the room.
That was when a man in a suit came in, nothing but emergency lights illuminating him, “His name is Joseph right?” My mom nodded, and the suit nodded to the nurse, “Take care of Joseph for a moment will you? Take him to the infirmary.”
“No! You can’t have him!”
“Miss, please, Joseph is fine, he’ll just be resting.”
My dad sized the suit up, chest puffed up, his serious face on, “What authority do you have to make a call like that?”
The man flashed a badge, one that look almost, but not quite like it said FBI, “We’re inspecting the power outage, we suspect it’s come from somewhere in this hospital. It’s possible this is a terrorist threat. As such, we are securing all the children first. We’re on top of the situation sir, I assure you this will be the safest option for your child.”
The nurse attempted to pull me from my mom a couple more times. By the third, she’d given me up, and I was taken. But as the door shut, a muffled voice made it’s way out, “Unfortunately, Scott didn’t make it–” before he was cut off by the diminishing sound of screaming.
-----------------------------------
I woke in high alert, thrashing, but I was handcuffed to a medical table. I looked down and saw some of the links were misshapen, almost stretched. I scanned the room, lifting my head as far as it would go before something around my neck tugged me back down. It was mostly barren aside from a rolling table of medical supplies, and a chair with a single person sitting in it.
“You’ve got to be the biggest asshole I’ve ever met.”
He feigned sadness, wiping a crocodile tear from his eye, “I can’t believe you’d treat your own brother so harshly.” His face rose to neutral.”
I looked him in the eyes, a strange sense of calm washing me, pacifying me, “You’ve got more faces than a d6 I swear.” I tried to force a laugh, but it just made me cringe, “God, how do you keep that shit up?”
“I do what’s necessary, I’ve gotta think about myself here.”
I grimaced, “What the hell man? I mean seriously, who the fuck are you really? What’s your game?”
“Eh…” He glanced at the door, then shrugged, turning back to me with a smile that never reached his eyes, “Well, had you joined in with the revolution, you might not be here. Heavy maybe though, vampires are rare, and humans that have turned, even partially, oh well that’s a commodity. So whether or not you being with them would change the minds of the Axons, eh, come to think of it…” He trailed off, “But yeah, everyone in this town wants a piece of you for a different reason, whether they know what you are or not.”
I remembered the guy who spoke in metaphors, my brain tagging something. “What about that news interruption? The voice was distorted, but that was definitely you.”
He threw up a “whoopsie” gesture, then laughed to himself, “Well, guess the jig is up on that one. You can call it… brushing the pond, gotta bring the scum up every so often to keep things interesting.”
“So what’s that? Number three?”
“Four if you count…” His face went blank, “Damn, guess I am a bit soft on you.”
“Who’s four?”
“Eh, you wouldn’t know them, I think they go by the mechanics or something though?”
“Metaphor man?” I mumbled to myself.
“Well I’ll be.” He looked panicked for a moment before the door opened.
The man held a clipboard and wore a white apron over scrubs, the lack of a mask showing the tip of his nose was missing and scarred over, as well as three scars down his bottom lip, giving it separation lines when he smiled, “I am very excited to work with you Joseph.”
Scott walked to him, whispering in the man’s ear.
“Oh, I see. Feel free to check his belongings. If it’s there, make sure it’s taken care of.” My brother left in a hurry, leaving the doctor and I to ourselves. He sat in the rolling chair Scott had been in, rolling over to me and pulling a lamp from behind me over my face, “Hello, my name is Doctor Fräger.” He peeled my eyes open wide, observing them, “I am a crypto anatomist, and I will be giving you a FULL checkup today. It is my understanding that you have been uh…” He let go of my eye lids, pulled down his glasses, and looked down at his clipboard, “Genetically modified through a vampire bite by your wife.” He looked at me with feigned sadness, “I am so very sorry to hear that. Now, before we get started, do you have any unusual pains or discomforts you’d like to discuss with me?”
I looked at him with as much “what the fuck” as I could manage, my emotions coming back to me, “Yeah, these fucking chains!”
He looked down at his clipboard, “I would love to help you, however it says right here that if I were to do that you’d likely rip my throat out. That doesn’t sound pleasant, so I’ll have to leave you with them on. I’m sure you can understand.” He stood, setting the clipboard on a metal table out of sight. Pulling a wooden stick out, he asked me to open my mouth. When I tried to say something, he grabbed my lower jaw, forcing it open with his grip on a couple pressure points, “Very good, now say ‘ahhhhh.’”
I bit down , chopping the stick in half, then spitting it in his face, “Let me go.”
His face dropped for the slightest moment, revealing the dry ice behind his gaze, “But there’s just so much to learn! Now, if you’ll follow me.” He walked to the feet end of the table, dragging me out the door to a few rooms down.
An x-ray welcomed me into the sterile white room, “While we wait on your MRI results, what say you and I have some fun in here. I’ve never gotten a good look at how vampires tick.” He set me up, the x-ray hovering over my right hand, before snapping my thumb, I yelped, but the pain hadn’t been as bad as I expected. I remembered all the broken bones I’d gotten during the bunker. A massive gap in my memory suddenly filled in, clearer than ever, as if the memories were just waiting their turn. I remembered Terry, the way he’d treated me. Somehow, it felt odd, the caring nature he had for my well being, it didn’t feel real.
The doctor hurried behind a wall, and a few moments later let out a, “Fascinating!” that came from somewhere on my left, “I’ll definitely need some blood samples too, so if you don’t mind, once we’re done here we can get you a proper blood panel.” We spent another hour in the x-ray room, enough time to regrow a couple fingers and start on one of my thumbs.
My body vibrated as Fräger shoved me through the door, “How about some grub before we get some of that red nectar of yours. I hear vampires have quite the appetite.”
“Sure.” I dwelt on how everyone had treated me back then. Despite everything Fräger had put me through, it was like I had a shark on my line, but it was only meant for salmon fishing. The thread could snap any moment, and I’d lose whatever revelation was sitting there.
“I must say, you’ve been one of my best patients to date. I’ll be sure they supply you with plenty of nutritious food for your politeness.” As we entered another room, the smell of garlic and onions soothed my mind, “If you want the truth, I wasn’t planning to feed you, I wanted to see what would happen. But we’ll save that for later, sound good?”
“Yeah, sounds great doc.” He smiled.
I was fed two full chicken breasts, a large helping of rice, and a side of grilled vegetables along with a fruit smoothie. Then I was quickly carted into an empty room, the pain in my side already fading.
“Now, before I leave you here, is there anything at all you need?”
“Yeah, a bathroom.”
He laughed, “Please, like we’re going to let a vampire walk around all willy nilly. Once I’m done testing you, we will set up a room just for you. But for now a catheter and a bedpan will have to do. My sincerest apologies we won’t be able to accommodate you a toilet.”
I didn’t respond.
“Alright, enjoy the next few days. I have someone coming in to take care of you in just a moment.”
When he opened the door to leave, I heard a familiar set of footsteps take the doctor’s place. The unsettling relaxation taking me over yet again, “Hope you enjoyed your meal.”
“So what are you, the baby sitter?”
“Depends on how you look at it.” He grabbed my face, sticking things around it before moving down to my chest and so on. By the end, my body was covered in sensors. At some point someone had rolled in a machine that let out a continuous beeping. Leaving nothing but a metronome-like ticking to fill in the gaps.
“I’m tired of beating around the bush, what’re you guys really doing?”
“It’s a study, I figured that was obvious by now.”
“And you’re fine knowing I’m the one they’re putting through all this?”
“You’re still on that?” He blew a raspberry, chuckling to himself, “Yeah, okay, I’m real choked up about it.” He shook his head, rolling his eyes, “You can starve, I don’t mind.”
“Fuckin psychopath.” I muttered, letting out a sigh.
“Pretty sure they call it antisocial personality disorder these days.”
“I don’t hear you denying it.”
“Who said I would? You’re kind of an arrogant asshole you know that? I’m almost excited to see what’s going to happen.” He finished putting the last sensor on, heading to the door, I could him murmuring to himself, “...doesn’t kill this one…” Then, I was alone.
The first day wasn’t too bad, aside from the boredom, beeping, and having to piss and shit myself whenever the occasion arose. The lack of food did start getting to me after those first 24 hours though. I was overly aware of every little thing, the beeping behind me that initially fell into my subconscious became the only thing I could focus on. Every little movement of my body sent a miniscule echo of sound bouncing around my skull. It was around that time the throbbing in my side returned. What started as a mild ache eventually became the only physical sensation I noticed. It became a beacon of sensation that compiled with the beeping to piss me off. Everything was annoying, the way the ceiling looked, the faint buzz from the presumable monitor behind me, the way the ceiling was just barely lit, the fact my toes were just slightly cold, it was all so frustrating.
A craving began to emerge then, the desire to rip someone’s arm off, just cause that pain to someone, then eat it.
Around 36 hours, my attention shifted, every light flicker of light caused me to jump, everything just out of my line of sight was suddenly a person watching me. The tingle in my feet was someone dragging their fingers along them, I wanted to rip their throat out with my teeth. I tried to sleep, but my body was too alert, it wouldn’t allow it.
By day two, I was wide awake, I could feel the difference in time between each beep. It was no longer a sound, but a measurement of time. I could tell, it’d been approximately 173,000 beeps since I was locked in. The pain in my side was fire, I could feel the magma churning in a tiny spot on my right side. It wasn’t just a vague ache anymore, I could feel every nerve fiber that interacted with whatever the pain was coming from. A 3D model had formed in my head, it was like a worm wrapped around my intestine, as thick as a hose and about 6 inches long. With each pulse, I saw the worm grow just that much larger.
By hour 60, my vision had tinted red, the pain wasn’t a part of me anymore, I was pain. I couldn’t think anymore, I just needed food. I felt the chains strain against me, slowly bending as I pulled at them. I screamed and a metallic snap reverberated in the claustrophobic room. I screamed again yanking the other chain off. I tore the chain from under my neck when someone rushed in. He shoved me down, trying to hold me in place, but my body ran on instinct. I sat up with enough force to shove him back, immediately grabbing his wrist, pulling him in, and ripping a chunk out of his forearm.
The man screamed, stumbling back, giving me enough time to rip my legs free and yank out the catheter, a pain that somehow eclipsed all others in that moment. I jumped on the man, ripping chunk after chunk out of him. When he stopped moving, I took a moment to breath, my vision clearing, and my brain easing up on adrenaline. I was able to think again, but despite my desire to cry, my brain wouldn’t allow it.
I stumbled to my feet, wiping the blood from my chin. Then I was on the ground, my head pressed against the linoleum floot. I tried lifting my head, but it was to no avail. The person flipped me onto my stomach, one arm behind my back giving me a chicken wing. I chuckled, the pain throughout my body already subsiding. He had both legs on the backs of my knees, but it took both arms to keep my right in check. So with the left, I grabbed his left arm at the elbow and yanked, it took a few more tries, but when his arm was loose enough, I freed my right, pushing myself as hard as I could, flipping him onto his back.
His cheek bones were sharp, and as each of my fists made their mark, it sent a shrill pain through my knuckles. But as fist met face over and over again, he fell unconscious.
With the pain still agitating my side, I took a few bites from the man. My human and vimpiristic mind at odds, but with each taste of human flesh, my humanity was persuaded just that much more. My body didn’t stop until my mind allowed it, and when I stood, the only sensation that didn’t feel right was my sleep deprivation.
I bolted out of the room, seeing a few doorways in a short hallway with an elevator at the end. I ran for it, but just as I got there to press the button, it opened, revealing two men with pistols waiting for me.
The banging deafened me, forcing me into the elevator. The guy on the right lost his gun as I slammed my fist down on his wrist, snapping it, the guy on my left grabbed me by the back of my neck, shoving me into the metal wall. He put a bullet through my tailbone, sending molten tungsten through every nerve fiber in my body. My vision flashed, then flickered, then went black momentarily.
When I came to, both the men were on the floor, throats ripped out, and I was laying between them, mostly unable to move. I twitched my finger and felt the metal fragments pushing out of my tailbone in slow motion. With each piece of metal, a new wave fried my nerves like thermite. Before I could stand, the elevator door dinged, opening. I pulled myself up with the railing when five prongs dug into my back, like were trying to grab my spine. I was yanked from the railing and thrown into the short hallway, one that looked identical to mine.
I looked over, staggering to my feet, it was a skinwalker, looked like a more traditional one, “God you’re weak, Jacob would mop the floor with you.”
The creature lunged at me, “I’m getting out of here!”
I put up a forearm, unable to dodge. He scraped down to the bone, but couldn’t break it. I grabbed him with my other arm, yanking him down and kneeing him in the face. He staggered, attempting to reorient, but I kicked him in the jaw, knocking him to the floor, jumping on top of him. I punched, my fist crunched into his face like a scarecrow. I kept going until he stopped moving.
I panted as I made my way back into the elevator, taking a few bites from one of the security guards for good measure, and hitting the “ground floor” button. I leaned against the railing, looking down at my arm, which is when I first noticed I was healing faster than usual. It wasn’t quite scabbed over, but the wounds were already about half their initial size. The elevator dinged and I readied for a fight.
After a few seconds, I took my first step out, then another. When I made it into the room, I looked around. Desks, computers, and monitors galore took up most of the room. The chairs were flung about, and nobody was around. Doublechecking my surroundings, I took off through one of the door looking for anything to cover up.
Eventually, I came across a “personal belongings” hall that was really just a bunch of lockers like one you’d find in a school. They all had padlocks, but when I found mine, I yanked a metal snapping bouncing around the hall. Everything I had on me when Scott knocked me out was in there, except my phone. “Better hope you never see me again shitstain.” I muttered, before getting dressed and running to find an exit.
After some searching, I made my way out, revealing I’d been in one of the few abandoned buildings in town. It was an old office complex that I remembered being open when I “moved in” but I couldn’t say for certain, the building looked about a month overdue for a power washing.
It was about a 5 minute jog to my house, and while the snow had melted some, there were still a few inches, and by the look of the clouds, that night it’d be coming down again. When I shut the door behind me, I hoped no one had see the blood and called the cops, but it couldn’t be helped even if they did.
I took the most satisfying shower of my life, it felt like I hadn’t had one in a month, and as I scrubbed myself down, it felt like I was the grill boy scraping gunk into the grease traps. When I slipped on a fresh set of clothes and had a minute to take a breath, the exhaustion took hold. Surprisingly though, it only felt like I’d had a 14 hours shift… after not sleeping for a couple days. Either way, I knew I couldn’t fall asleep in my bed, everything about the town was fucked. I felt like if I fell asleep, I’d be waking up somewhere new and I’d have to escape again, I needed to get somewhere safe, somewhere I knew I could sleep without being captured. That was when the realization struck me, “The revolution.”
Part 25: Coming Soon!
2023.05.27 14:05 Silverbenji 4th gear pop-out. Thoughts?
Ai tells me the following, but its popping out in the same low rpm section of 4th. -New clutch. -New master cyl. -Cables looked okay but who really knows? -It shifts okay except reverse is notchy. -it also has an aftermarket shifter that was installed long before this problem started.
What is most common and what do you think is the issue im experiencing?
There are several reasons why the shifter might pop out of gear on a 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, including:
submitted by Silverbenji to MitsubishiEvolution [link] [comments]
What is most common and what do you think is the issue im experiencing?
There are several reasons why the shifter might pop out of gear on a 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, including:
- Worn or damaged shifter components: Over time, the shifter linkage components, such as the shift cables, bushings, and linkage arms, can wear out or become damaged, causing the shifter to pop out of gear.
- Low transmission fluid: If the transmission fluid level is low, it can cause the transmission to slip out of gear or fail to engage properly, resulting in the shifter popping out of gear.
- Clutch problems: A worn or damaged clutch can cause the transmission to slip out of gear, making it difficult to maintain gear engagement.
- Transmission problems: A faulty transmission, such as a worn synchronizer or damaged gears, can cause the shifter to pop out of gear.
- Improper shifting technique: Sometimes the shifter may pop out of gear if the driver is not fully engaging the gear or is shifting too forcefully.
2023.05.26 16:22 North_Banana5650 Need $10 for oil put into. car[Request], (Florence,KY,USA)
Currently homeless living in my car.My mom kicked me out after my 12year old bro tried to stabbed me. I found someone i can stay with and help me get a job again but I am having car issues
My car leaks oil and with dodge dart once its out it cuts off.Also there is a saftey recall on the shifter cable to here it will not shift out of gear. yesterday i found wher it is and taped it back but doesnt stay. I burns and cuts on my arms from doing it.
I just need help getting a jug of oil to put in my car so i will make it to the person house.He doesnt drive and I dont want to ask him for money since he is going to let me stay witb him.
I just need $10 for the oil to put into my car.
submitted by North_Banana5650 to care [link] [comments]
My car leaks oil and with dodge dart once its out it cuts off.Also there is a saftey recall on the shifter cable to here it will not shift out of gear. yesterday i found wher it is and taped it back but doesnt stay. I burns and cuts on my arms from doing it.
I just need help getting a jug of oil to put in my car so i will make it to the person house.He doesnt drive and I dont want to ask him for money since he is going to let me stay witb him.
I just need $10 for the oil to put into my car.
2023.05.26 16:18 dobby_rams Season of the Deep: Archive
Lore Compendium
Season of the Deep
The Last Days on Kraken Mare
Titan is evacuated while the Traveler moves from Io to Earth.- The Sixth Seal, Part I — After learning that "the Anomaly" is real, Mia Van Der Venne orders the evacuation of Titan.
- The Sixth Seal, Part II — The citizens of Titan are alerted to the news that the Traveler has departed Io and is accelerating towards Earth.
- The Tenth Avatar — Military dropships arrive on Titan to help with the evacuation effort under Rasputin's orders.
- Faces Like Shields — Mia learns that the Exo squadron are searching for Shanice Pell.
- Kalki's Burning Sword, Part I — The evacuation ship carrying Shanice Pell is destroyed by one of Rasputin's Warsats under TWILIGHT EXIGENT morality.
- Kalki's Burning Sword, Part II — Morgan-2 informs them that the Warminds are now acting to maximise survival rather than minimising harm.
- SUNDOWN DISTRESS — As an outer force pulls Titan into an egg shape, the New Pacific Arcology prepares for the incoming tidal wave.
- The Water Sun, Part I — The outer force releases Titan from its grasp as the moon collapses back to its spheroid shape.
- The Water Sun, Part II — The tidal wave makes contact with the arcologies.
- No Survivors — "There's not enough seats."
- New Pacific Epitaph — No one is leaving Titan.
- Cold Comfort — A submersible dives into Titan's ocean, hoping to hide under the ice shelf and wait the chaos out.
- Greasy Luck — Death to the living, long life to the killers
Long-Boy in the Soup
Rumours persist of a leviathan of untold strength on Titan.- "I heard it, too. No, you’re not imagining it. Some kind of biological waveform carrying across the waves." — Sloane
- "This system used to detect underwater vessels looking to dock at the shipyard. That's strange. It still works... And it's picking something up. Something below us... And very, very big." — Ghost
- The Long-Boy in the Soup — Eris and the Drifter discuss the "Long-Boy in the Soup".
- Treasures Buried in the Methane — Drifter heard tales of crews going missing in the waters of Titan.
- A Leviathan of Untold Strength — Eris understands that a leviathan of untold strength has made Titan her home.
Sloane, Weir-Walker
"Due respect, Commander? I was there when the Hive found us on Earth. I was there when we stopped them on Titan. And I'll be there when we wipe them out." — Sloane- Overseer — Sloane realises that the Fallen on Titan are trying to leave.
- She Is a Firebreaker — Eris believes Sloane will not leave Titan willingly.
- Preparation: Titan — Sloane has noted that the Hive have been digging deep in the arcology for Golden Age tech.
- Fortifying Titan — While the Guardians defend again the Pyramid, Sloane begins to put a plan together to push back the Hive.
- Wavebreaker — Sloane and Amanda discuss repairing the support struts of Siren's Watch.
- Clearing the Decks — The Guardian retrieves a Golden Age battlesuit for Sloane.
- Riastrad — Sloane tears through the Hive on Titan with her new battlesuit.
- A Distant Pull — The claims of the Witch Sister are torn asunder. The banners of War are raised.
- Day 0 — Black skies quell storms as if they were fleeing omens.
- Day 3 — The Ghost of Titan walks on through sunless seas, having died long ago.
- Day 92 — Take and live.
- Day 278 — A rising pressure, signaling imminent danger.
- Day 402 — "YOU WEAR MY BANNER." —Xivu Arath, Hive God of War
- Bonded... We Live... — Ahsa communicates with Sloane.
- Crown-Splitter — Sloane's apartment in the City is vacated to make room for those moving away from the Eliksni Quarter.
- Yes, Zavala here. A parcel? I didn't order any — for Sloane? I see... you can deliver it to my office. Thank you. — Zavala
Beneath the Waves — Week One
The Vanguard receive a distress call from Titan.- Enemy of Witness on Titan — Soteria warns that an Titan contains vital information, and an enemy of the Witness resides there.
- Akashic Revelation — Joxer approaches the portal in front of the Traveler.
- [Titan Has Returned]() — Zavala reveals that Titan has returned.
- Beneath the Waves — Zavala launches a Priority 1 rescue operation to extract Sloane from Titan.
- That Distress Call Wasn't For Me — Sloane reveals why she sent out the distress call.
- Her Name is Ahsa — Zavala & Drifter talk with Sloane about potential ideas to communicate with Ahsa.
- Debriefing — Zavala debriefs Sloane on everything that's happened since she's been gone.
- We Need More Intel on Our Enemy... The Witness — Sloane debriefs the Guardian on the mission.
- I Detected Something on the Ocean Floor — Drifter has a plan for how to amplify the psychic bond between Sloane and Ahsa.
- NPA Repulsion Regulator — The Guardian looks up information on the NPA Repulsion Regulator.
- Until Its Return — Zavala returns Sloane's Crown-Splitter to her.
- Rapacious Appetite — A report on the Aberrant Houseless Servitor, J4W-S.
- Operation Thunderbolt — With the technology the Guardians salvaged, Drifter has modified his Gambit bank to store the coral from the depths of Kraken Mare.
- The First to Be Claimed By the Deep — Ahsa speaks through Sloane through a psychic bond amplified by the Egregore.
- It Hasn't Sounded That Real Since... — Sloane has succeeded in momentarily boosting her connection with Ahsa, but it seems to have taken a toll on her.
- The Nine Taking the Long View — Zavala and Drifter discuss the possibility that the Nine helped the Drifter set up Gambit for this moment.
- Gone Fishin' — Hawthorne helps the Guardian with some fishing.
Higher Voltage
- Centrifuse — Excerpts from a pre-Collapse report, logged by Dr. Khatun-Rowe, a researcher in the Engineering Division of the New Pacific Arcology, Titan.
- "Impressive stuff. Cutting edge Golden Age tech. Some burnt out components, but… hmm… Yeah. There's potential here. Need you to do some calibrating first, though." — Banshee-44
- "Guess that answers what fried those components. Thought about how to fix the overcharging, but then I had a different idea. Let's see just how much power it can handle." — Banshee-44
- "Looks like it worked. Arcology's scientists were good, but they didn't have Guardians. Bet they never counted on channelling Arc Light through this thing. Heard about an old power source Sloane was carting around Titan for a time. Maybe this gun was meant to go with it. Guess we'll never know. Another memory, lost beneath the waves." — Banshee-44
Salvage
Rig
Secure the Rig:- We got some nasties crawlin' all over the rig! Go shoo 'em away so we can get to work! — Drifter
- I got proximity alarms going off all over the Derelict! Must be some uninvited guests on the rig. Show 'em the door! — Drifter
- Sensors are indicating enemy contact on the rig; engage and eliminate. — Sloane
- Aha! Our enemies seek to disrupt our salvaging? Then we will drive them off! Go, fight! — Saint-14
- We must defend the rig! Go protect the machinery! I will advise from here. — Saint-14
- Aw, hell! Here we go again! Enemies are after our salvage. Light 'em up! — Drifter
- Gonna need somebody to keep an eye on all this stuff. Hang tight, and blast anybody that tries to get grabby with our loot. — Drifter
- So I got a task perfectly suited for ya: shoot ANYTHING that tries to take our stuff! — Drifter
- Come on down, fellas! We got all sorts of damage that needs repairs. — Drifter
- Got some doing what needs getting done out here, friends. Need you to lend a hand. — Drifter
- Well, looks like we got some maintenance to do! This old bucket's a few centuries old, or — I dunno, probably more. Be nice and gentle. — Drifter
- Damn. Looks like the cranes blew their fuses. Gonna need you to roll up your sleeves and get in there. — Drifter
- Welp, there goes the backup power relays. You mind lendin' a hand down there? Otherwise, we're dead in the water. — Drifter
- [grunts in annoyance] Electrical is fried. Gonna need you to get in there and see what you can do to fix it. — Drifter
- Need you Guardians down here to disarm some volatile parting gifts our friends left for us. — Drifter
- We got explosive ordinance on deck! Need you to take care of it, hero. — Drifter
- Aw, you gotta to be kidding me! Well, looks like our visitors from before left some surprises for us. Gonna need you to clear this all out. Carefully. — Drifter
- Looks like all our salvaging might've drawn some unwanted attention. Tell 'em to go mind their own business. — Drifter
- So it looks like we got ourselves a problem. Gotta get wet to take care of it. Don't drown or nothin'! — Drifter
- Quick question: How do you feel about unfathomable depths and horrific abominations? Anyway, transmat firing! — Drifter
- Uh... [laughs nervously] Ah... uh oh. — Drifter
- Something's down here, lurking in the weird. Shake it up — see what comes out. — Drifter
- We got a big nasty fella down here. Go give 'em a tap on the backside for ol' Drifter. — Drifter
Arcology
Secure the Arcology:- This feels good. We strike back as one fist, crushing Xivu Arath's forces. Get to work! — Sloane
- Guardian, I'm picking up enemy signals in the Arcology; sweep through and clear 'em out! — Sloane
- Y'know, this place ain't half bad. Put up some string lights, invite some pals over, get some music going... it's got a vibe! — Drifter
- We gotta get to work, Guardians! Tell these jerks they don't gotta go home, but they can't stay here! — Drifter
- Guardian, the hunt begins. Push into the Arcology and wipe out the invaders. — Lord Saladin
- We will hold the line. Hunt down the enemy, and secure the Arcology! — Lord Saladin
- Look at you, leaping into battle! Show the enemy they cannot hold us back! — Saint-14
- The Arcology is under attack; repel the invaders! — Saint-14
- Hostiles inbound; get between them and the salvage. — Sloane
- They're not giving up. Protect our salvage, Guardians. — Sloane
- We have enemies incoming! They're going after the salvage deliveries; Guardians, intercept! — Sloane
- We have maintenance that needs to be done, and this area is too dangerous for anyone but a Guardian. Let's get to work. — Sloane
- We're in this fight together. Time to get this Arcology back in operation. — Sloane
- Let's get to work, Guardians... stronger together. — Sloane
- I'm detecting multiple systemic failures in engineering. Guardians, I need you down there. — Sloane
- That attack left us vulnerable. We need you out there handling repairs. — Sloane
- Power readings are abnormal. The invasion must have damaged some of the Arc relay fuses. They need to be replaced. — Sloane
- The enemy left explosive ordinance primed to blow! I need your assistance on this Guardians. — Sloane
- Guardians, our enemies left explosives behind. We need to dismantle them before they damage the Arcology. — Sloane
- There's explosives rigged around the Arcology. We need to disarm them before they blow! — Sloane
- Guardians, we have enemies inbound on the seafloor. Brace yourselves. Transmat firing! — Sloane
- Our salvage operations have stirred up enemy forces on the seafloor. Sending you in, Guardians. — Sloane
- We have hostiles gathering on the seafloor. Sending you in to deal with them! — Sloane
- Xivu Arath is marshalling her forces. Be prepared for anything. — Sloane
- [groans] I can feel... rage. Guardian? Something's near. — Sloane
- Guardians, stand strong. They're going to throw everything they have at us. — Sloane
Mission Complete
- He Found a Purpose. Learning. Teaching. Mentoring — Saint tells Drifter that Osiris found that he was looking for on Neptune.
- You Found Yourself a Suit of 'Power Armour' — Drifter asks Sloane about her power armour.
- She Wants to Understand Stasis and Strand — Caiatl has been asking Osiris to begin teaching the Cabal forces about the Darkness.
- You've... Missed a Lot Since You Were Gone — Saladin hopes that Sloane can learn to acclimate to the new world she's found herself in.
- I Mighta... Also Been Eatin' Lunch — Drifter was too busy eating to do any heavy lifting.
Deep Dives
200 Metres:- Move out, fireteam. — Lord Saladin
- This is Tactical. Dive, green. — Zavala
- Guardian, You Go Left, I Go Right — Zavala debriefs the Guardian on their mission to collect Egregore coral.
- Fly Like Lady Jolder, and Leave Nothing in Your Wake — Sloane teases Saladin about his "Valus" title.
- The pressure down here fossilizes the Egregore — looks like blue stone. Harvest what you can, and I'll keep their main guns off your back. — Sloane
- You're on-site, Guardian. I'll draw away their commander while you get the job done. — Sloane
- OK, partner. Get drilling while I get loud and make a diversion for you. — Sloane
- Get your Ghost on that gear. Let's see how they like a little sabotage. — Sloane
- Have your Ghosts disrupt those power stations. We'll seize everything here. — Lord Saladin
- You've reached the drill site. Extract everything you can as quickly as you can. — Lord Saladin
- I see a drill running low. Take care of it. — Lord Saladin
- Guardian, the drill is showing low fuel. — Zavala
- I AM WAR! YOU BEAR MINE BANNER LIKE A CRESTED TABARD. — Xivu Arath
- MINE BLADE IS AN INVITATION. — Xivu Arath
- This sector is crawling with Hive and Taken. Let's head down and dodge some of this heat. — Sloane
- Almost like we planned it, Guardian. Let's sink a little more and do it again. — Sloane
- The only remaining sites in this sector are in the deeper shelves. Descend, and keep your weapons close. — Lord Saladin
- Well executed, fireteam. Your next objective rests at a lower depth, well behind enemy lines. Move carefully. — Lord Saladin
- Enemy counterattack converging on this sector. You've been cleared to continue operations at a lower depth to evade their advance. — Zavala
- Egregore samples accounted for — Guardian, we're clear to engage their commander. — Sloane
- Collection tanks are full and safe. Time to turn the tables. — Sloane
- All Egregore samples are safe in containment. Ready to punch a hole outta here? — Sloane
Midnight:
- That Darn Golden Age Suit Crapped Out on Me — Zavala tells Sloane that he's glad to have her back.
- What Shifted Your Opinion on the Cabal? — Sloane asks Saladin why his opinion changed on the Cabal.
Extractor:
Kudazad:
Mission Complete:
- Got a Good Team on This, Sir. Even the Drifter — Sloane commends the team that Zavala has put together for this mission.
- You Fought At Twilight Gap, Did You Not? — Saladin loses a bet with Saint.
Ghosts of the Deep
- This just came in from a communications relay on Titan. The commander asked me to deliver it to you immediately. The Hive have a foothold there, but the deputy commander says the situation has changed. Something about a Lucent Hive ship entering Titan's atmosphere and diving into the ocean. Details look scarce. But whatever's going on can't be good. — Hawthorne
- Guardian, there's massive energy readings surging from below the arcology. All communication channels are affected. The Lucent Hive are forcing their way through from the Ascendant Plane. But there's something else going on. The formations I'm seeing are indicative of some kind of mass ritual to — Guardian, can you read me? Guardian? — Sloane
- Ahsa's Presence — Ahsa watches the Guardians from the deep.
- Picking you up again, the signal's clearing and I'm receiving your Ghost's feed of—is that... Oryx? Ugh, were the Lucent Hive trying to — this was a ritual to resurrect the Taken King! By force? We're lucky you were able to stop this, Guardian. I don't even know if what they were trying to do here was possible but... the risk alone... I'm going to contact Ikora immediately. She'll want the Hidden to secure Oryx's remains for study. — Sloane
- No one will tell me what happened down there. Whenever I ask, she says it's 'privileged information' and shuts me down. I won't ask you to go against Ikora's wishes. She's gotta be keeping secrets for a good reason. But I haven't seen her that shaken since she learned about Savathûn having the Light.... Actually... maybe it's better if I don't know. Sometimes the truth is more terrifying than your own imagination. — Hawthorne
- Recalcitrant Host — Take what is not given.
- LONELY NAVIGATOR, WE HAVE TRAVELED SO LONG WITH ONLY EACH OTHER. I KNOW YOU LOVE TO HEAR AND SPEAK NEW TONGUES. COME, SIT IN THE FLESH GARDEN. I WILL READ YOU THESE STORIES I BROUGHT AT KAHARN. — Xivu Arath
- I WAS XI RO. I WAS WEAKNESS. FRAGILITY. THEN YOU DROWNED ME IN THE DEEP. MURDERED MY FLAWS. YOU ARE OUR NAVIGATOR, OUR GUIDE. LED ME DOWN THE BLADED PATH, TO BE REFORGED AS XIVU ARATH. I WILL REMEMBER YOU. OUR NAVIGATOR. OUR BROTHER. OUR KING. IN THIS, YOU ARE ETERNAL. — Xivu Arath
- [exhales] I REMEMBER THE LANGUID CONTEMPT OF OUR FATHER. THE COLD EYES OF OUR MOTHER. I SEE YOUR DETERMINATION ETERNAL. IT IS DETERMINATION THAT DEFINES YOU. CERTAINTY, CLARITY, FAITH — YOUR WILL IS A KNIFE, HEWING AWAY AT OUR LIES. YOU ARE TRUTH. WHEN I DOUBT, YOU NEVER SPARE ME THE BLADE. WHEN I FALTER, YOU NEVER SPARE ME YOUR WORDS, AND YET... I KNOW THERE IS MORE. — Xivu Arath
- YOU ARE DEAD. YOUR THRONE WAITS EMPTY. BLASPHEMY. BLASPHEMY! MY BROTHER — MY BROTHER IS VANQUISHED. COURT... SCATTERED. TEMPLES, RANSACKED! MY BROTHER IS DEAD! AND HIS KILLERS HAVE NOT ASSUMED THE MANTLE OF THE TAKEN KING. BLASPHEMY. BLASPHEMY! HOW? HOW CAN THE SPEAR THAT PIERCED A MILLION WORLDS BE KILLED BY THOSE WHO WOULD DENY THE ALL-EDGED TRUTHS? [weeps] MOTHER... ARE YOU LAUGHING? SISTER, ARE YOU SMILING? IS THIS THE FATE WORSE THAN EXTINCTION? WAS IT ALL FOR... NOTHING? — Xivu Arath
- I HAVE DIED... AND YET WAS SUMMONED BACK BY YOU. YOU, WHO REMEMBERED ME AS WAR? OUR SISTER DIED, AND WAS SUMMONED BACK BY YOU. YOU, WHO CONSPIRED WITH HER CUNNING? SO IT MUST BE FOR NOW. IF YOUR LEGACY IS TRUE, BROTHER, IT WILL COME UNTO US AND DEFEAT OUR BLASPHEMY. AND IF NOT... IF NOT, WHAT WE ATTEMPT CANNOT BE BLASPHEMY. FOR WE HAVE SURVIVED YOU. SURPASSED THE POWER OF YOUR WILL. AIAT. AIAT. — Xivu Arath
- THE SKY... IS FRAGILE. FLAWED. LIES. LIES! I SEE HOW EASILY IT IS CHAINED. BROUGHT TO THE HEEL, AND MUZZLED. THE TRUTH CANNOT BE SO EASILY BOUND. YOU SHOWED US THAT. TRUTH HAS WINGS. I TAKE FLIGHT IN YOUR STEAD. I BRING THE KNIFE OF TRUTH TO THE GRISTLE OF LIES. — Xivu Arath
- YOU WOULD HAVE SAVOURED MY TRIUMPH. HOW OUR SISTER'S GIFT TO ME WAS TREATED WITH SUCH CARE. SCREAMS LIKE A CHOIR AS THEIR MOUNTAINS TREMBLED. SCREAMS LIKE A CHOIR AS THEIR SEAS BOILED! I STEPPED DOWN INTO THAT WORLD, THRUST MY SWORD INTO THE HEART OF TOROBATL, AND CARVED LIES FROM TRUTHS. — Xivu Arath
- HERESY. HERESY! OUR SISTER DENIES YOUR TRUTH AND CRAWLS LIKE AN ANIMAL INTO THE SHADOW OF THE SKY! SHE BLEATS AND HOWLS, ALLOWING HERSELF TO BE PROFANED BY IT! SHE SPITS ON YOUR MEMORY! SISTER, YOU ALWAYS DOUBTED. BUT NOW, IT IS TIME TO TEST THEORY IN PRAXIS. — Xivu Arath
- SOMETIMES, TO WIN A BATTLE, YOU NEEDN'T RAISE A HAND. YOU LET THE IGNORANT FIGHT IN YOUR NAME, UNKNOWING. THEY MOVE THEMSELVES INTO POSITION, POSTURING THEIR VICTORIES, LEAVING THEIR SOFT FLANK OPEN. SISTER, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. YOU WERE WRONG. — Xivu Arath
- THERE IS AN END IN SIGHT NOW, CLEARER THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN IT. THE HORIZON NARROWS DOWN TO A SINGLE EDGE, SHARPER THAN HOPE. I SEE THE FINAL SHAPE COMING INTO FOCUS IN THIS CUTTING MOTION, AND THE DEEP SINGS ITS PROMISES. I CRACK MY WHIP UNTO THE RHYTHM. I GUIDE YOUR KNIFE IN BETWEEN RIBS! EVEN NOW, ALONE, YOU ARE MY NAVIGATOR. — Xivu Arath
- THE SKY'S LIARS ARE ELOQUENT IN THEIR TENACITY. THEY MAKE ME DOUBT MY OWN HAND... MY OWN RIGHT! OUR BLADES CLASH, AND I AM DRIVEN BACK, BACK! I HAD MY BLADE AT THEIR THROAT, AND THEY SLIPPED PAST MY GUARD. BUT IT IS TOO LATE NOW. EVEN THEIR DEEPEST CUTS ARE TOO SHALLOW TO KILL. I SEE THE FINAL SHAPE COMING FOR THEIR HEART. — Xivu Arath
- I COME TO YOU NOW TO SAY GOODBYE, BROTHER. THIS WILL BE MY LAST VISITATION. A FINAL KNEE AT YOUR GRAVE. I'M LEFT TO WONDER IF THERE'S ANYTHING OF YOU STILL IN THERE. I AM LEFT TO WONDER... WHAT IS THIS FEELING? THE SKY IS MORTALLY WOUNDED, BLEEDING OUT. YET... A PART OF ME LONGS FOR THE COMFORT OF THE GARDENS. OF YOUR STORIES. OF SISTER'S. I LONG FOR OUR JOURNEYS TOGETHER... BUT KNOW THEY HAVE COME TO AN END. WE WILL BE PROVEN RIGHT. YOU WILL BE PROVEN RIGHT. BROTHER. IF YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME ANYTHING, IT WAS TO NEVER DENY A TRUTH, EVEN WHEN IT GRIEVES US. WHAT IS THIS FEELING? I DO NOT WANT IT! — Xivu Arath
- The Navigator — I dive to understand.
- 003-TAKEN-156 - I — Chalco offers Fenchurch and Lisbon a talisman to protect them on their mission.
- 003-TAKEN-156 - II — The Hidden trio dive deep into Titan's oceans in a Fallen submersible.
- 003-TAKEN-156 - III — The team approach the target of their operation: Oryx.
- 003-TAKEN-156 - IV — The Hidden believe the Lucent Brood were trying to forcibly resurrect Oryx.
- 003-TAKEN-156 - V — Fenchurch and Chalco present their notes of the mission.
Into the Depths — Week Two
- Word of Amanda's Death Hit Sloane Hard — Zavala has a mission update for the Guardian, now that Sloane has recovered enough to boost her connection with Ahsa again.
- Mayday, Mayday — Drifter has improved his coral banking device to work at greater depths.
- To Set the Example. To Be the Hope — The Guardian returns to the H.E.L.M. after another successful dive.
- A Silent God... Withholds a Deeper Truth — Sloane can use the extracted coral to strengthen her psychic bond with Ahsa.
- It's Hard to Make Sense of Ahsa's Thoughts — Sloane has succeeded in momentarily boosting her connection with Ahsa, but it seems to have taken a toll on her.
- You Use Her Ship to Jam My Messages — Saint confronts Saladin for jamming his messages to Sloane.
- Theory — Ikora notes that the Veil's signature has grown stronger since Titan's return.
Bounties
Sloane:- Deep Storage: "Remember not to come back up too quickly." — Commander Sloane
- Deep Trouble: Fallen: "I guess some things don't change." — Deputy Commander Sloane
- Deep Trouble: Hive: "We're just going to have to knock the Light out of them ourselves." — Deputy Commander Sloane
- Deep Trouble: Taken: "Don't let them surprise you. It's hard to isolate the ozone smell down there." — Deputy Commander Sloane
- Kinetic Aquanaut: "Can't go wrong with the old essentials." — Deputy Commander Sloane
- Bladed Aquanaut: "Only one thing I trust more than a good sword." — Deputy Commander Sloane
- Powerful Aquanaut: "They'll try to hit you hard and fast. Might as well return the favor." — Deputy Commander Sloane
- Tropical Storm: "The depths of the methane sea may seem calm, but there's always something on the move." — Deputy Commander Sloane
- Energetic Aquanaut: "Friendly advice: watch the Solar fire down there." — Drifter
- Quickdraw Aquanaut: "Underwater gunfights? You've got a real taste for the dramatic." — Drifter
- Deep Sea Angler: "Fishing's supposed to be relaxing. I say it leaves you open for potshots. Keep your eyes open." — Drifter
- Rig Shift: "Must be all kinds of salvage on Titan, way under the surface…" — Drifter
- Rifle Aquanaut: "It's the bottom of the methane sea. I'd go for range." — Valus Forge
- Spearfishing Aquanaut: "Plan for all potential engagements." — Commander Zavala
- Salvaged Equipment: "The Arcology on Titan was once a valued source of Golden Age knowledge. Perhaps it can be again." — Commander Zavala
- Rapid Aquanaut: "Every breath counts." — Ikora Rey
- Fires in the Deep: "This will be a much more literal current, but the lesson holds true." — Ikora Rey
- Unnatural Electrolysis: "The Arcology used to be a relic of our past. Now it's become a portent of the future." — Ikora Rey
- Automatic Aquanaut: "A war god we cannot defeat by fighting… This is unfair." — Saint-14
- Destructive Aquanaut: "You think there are other giant sea creatures down there?" — Crow
- Precise Aquanaut: "I trust you can keep a steady hand under pressure." — Devrim Kay
2023.05.26 03:37 fizz_jizz123 [US-CA][H] Nintendo DS + Games, Nintendo 3DS + Games, GBA + Games, PSP + Games, WiiU + Games, PS3 + Games, Gamecube, Wii + Games, PS4 Games [W]PayPal
Hey everyone! I am selling my old games, consoles, and accessories.
Prices are negotiable and I will adjust prices based on number of products purchased. Please feel free to PM me any questions that you have. Prices include shipping costs.
I have included images for all products as well.
Nintendo DS
Nintendo 3DS
GBA
PSP
WiiU
GameCube
PS3
PS4
Wii
PS2
If anyone is interested price for everything combined is $1500
submitted by fizz_jizz123 to GameSale [link] [comments]
Prices are negotiable and I will adjust prices based on number of products purchased. Please feel free to PM me any questions that you have. Prices include shipping costs.
I have included images for all products as well.
Nintendo DS
| Pokemon Black [1] | CIB, Good condition | $70 |
|---|---|---|
| Pokemon Black [2] | CIB, Great condition | $90 |
| Pokemon White | Loose | $65 |
| Pokemon Soul Silver [1] | CIB, Great condition | $100 |
| Pokemon Soul Silver [2] | Loose | $80 |
| Pokemon Ranger | CIB, Great condition | $30 |
| Pokemon Diamond | CIB, Great condition | $50 |
| Pokemon Pearl [1] | Loose | $35 |
| Pokemon Pearl [2] | Loose | $35 |
| Rhythm Heaven | CIB, Great condition | $25 |
| Kirby Squeak Squad | CIB, Great condition, No manual | $25 |
| Mario&Luigi Bowser's Inside Story | CIB, Great condition, No manual | $20 |
| New Super Mario Bros | CIB, Great Condition | $20 |
| Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs | CIB, Great Condition | $20 |
| Metroids Prime: Hunters | Loose | $20 |
| Mario Kart DS [Korean Edition] | Loose | $20 |
| DS Game Bundle | The Incredibles, Cooking Mama 2, Cooking Mama, Nintendogs Chihuahua & Friends, Master of Illusion, Build a Bear Workshop, Wild Petz Dolphinz, R4, Hello Kitty Party, Crosswords, ATV Monster Trucks, Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll, Ben 10, Hello Kitty Big CIty Dreams, Plants vs Zombies | $10 |
| DS Game Bundle 2 | Club Penguin Elite Penguin Force, Naruto Path of the Ninja 2, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Kung Fu Panda, Nartuo Ninja Council 3, Mario & Sonic Olympic Winter Games, Star Wars the Clone Wars Jedi Alliance, Speed Racer the Video Game, Hannah Montana | $10 |
| Nintendo DS | One Black [Bad Condition] and One Pink DS [Good Condition] -- Both are missing stylus' -- Comes with 1 charger | $20 |
| Pokemon X | CIB, Great Condition | $30 |
|---|---|---|
| Pokemon Omega Ruby | CIB, Great Condition | $30 |
| Pokemon Sun | CIB, Great Condition | $30 |
| Pokemon Moon | Loose | $20 |
| Kirby Triple Deluxe | CIB, Great Condition | $15 |
| 3DS Game Bundle | Beyblade Evolution, Lego Jurassic World, Angry Birds Star Wars, Super Smash Bros 3DS | $15 |
| Red 3DS | Great Condition | $80 |
| Red 2DS | Great Condition | $50 |
| GBA Video Cartridge Bundle | The Fairly OddParents, Disney Collection Volume 2, SonicX, Strawberry Shortcake, Spongebob Squarepants Volume 3, Shark Tale | $45 |
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| GBA Game Bundle | All-Star Baseball 2003, Barbie Magic of Peggasus, Lego Star Wars, Shrek Hassle of the Castle, Backyard Baseball, Naruto Ninja Council 2, FIFA Soccer 2003 | $25 |
| Silver Game Boy Advanced | Great Condition [No Charger] | $50 |
| PSP Game Bundle | Naruto Shippuden: Kizuna Drive, ModNation Racers, MLB The Show, MLB11 The Show, Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, Need for Speed Shift, MLB 06 The Show, 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa, GhostBusters Video, Madden 11, Burnout Legends [KR], NFS Underground Rivals [KR] | $50 |
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| PSP Blue | Used, Great Condition [Comes with Case + Cartridge Case + Charging Cable] | $70 |
| Wii U Bundle | Black Console [Great Condition] + Splatoon, Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric | $100 |
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| Black Gamecube | Will include only Console + Super Mario Sunshine [No Cables], Good Condition | $50 |
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| PS3 Bundle | Playstation 3 + AC Cord + 2 Controller [Black fully functioning, Camo broken] + Gran Turismo 5, Ratchet All 4 One, Uncharted Drake's Fortune, Cod MW3, MLB The Show 11 | $70 |
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| Move Bundle | 2x Motion Controller, 1x Navigation Controller, Move Camera, Little Big Planet, Everybody Dance, Sports Champion, Medieval Moves [No Charging Cable for Controllers] | $10 |
| Playstation 3D Monitor Bundle | 1080p 3D TV Display [Works perfectly] + 2 3D Glasses + Motor Storm Apocalypse | $100 |
| PS4 Game Bundle | MLB The Show 16, COD BO3, COD WWII, Mortal Kombat X | $15 |
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| Wii Game Bundle | Wii Console + Sensor + Cables + 4 controllers + 4 Rubber Sleeves + 4 Straps + 2 Nunchucks + Mario Kart Wheel + 15 Games + Wii Fit | $100 |
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| Just Dance, Cooking Mama, Infinity, Mario Kart Wii, Active Life Outdoor Challenge, Star Wars Clone Wars, Mario Super Sluggers, MLB Power Pros 2008, Skylanders, Wii Play, Super Mario Galaxy, MLB 2k8, Mario+Sonic Olympics, Power Ranger Samurai, Wii Fit Plus | ^15 games included |
| PS2 Game Bundle | EyeToy Games, Star Wars Battlefront, Spiderman, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Wild Arms 3, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban, Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers, Guitar Hero World Tour, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lego Star Wars II, Antz Extreme Racing, Eyetoy Play, Lego Racers 2, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, FIFA07 Soccer, Tekken 5, MVP Baseball, MVP Baseball 2002, MVP Baseball 2003 | $20 |
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