"Raise my walls, but the damage is done" (NoC RP#3)
Jul 25, 2023 16:13:12 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, Dave D-Flipz, and 2 more like this
Post by bloodiedfox on Jul 25, 2023 16:13:12 GMT -5
Brendan Harding stared at his own face in the mirror and wondered when he’d last slept properly. Everything had been a blur since the GUNS Finale. Any time he’d not been training for the Visual Kei unification match had been spent at the hospital watching over Armbishi. The doctors had done what they could, but given their lack of familiarity with werewolf physiology, let alone that of one who’d had a baby with an eldritch abomination motor vehicle, that hadn’t been much. They’d sealed the wound and stopped the bleeding, but now Armbishi was in a coma and no-one seemed sure how to wake him. Even Bob and Dilbert were drawing a blank. Add in having to convince H.R. Car-Wolf not to go on a rampage to try an get revenge on Pe… Fox… and it was almost too much to handle. As guilty as it made him feel, it was also something of a relief that the XHF had insisted he fly out to New York five days before the event. He wondered if Mongo was worried he’d no show otherwise, or if Nausicaä was trying to ensure he was as ready as possible for Dylan. Regardless, Jack had assured him he’d keep an eye on things for him. Which meant all he had to think about was his match…
And his husband.
Brendan splashed water onto his face, trying to drown out the conflicting voices in his head; the one begging him to save Peter and the other, the one that had spoken at GUNS, that one that said he would…
Brendan squeezed his eyes shut so hard it hurt. Then he wiped his face on a towel and stepped out the bathroom door…
Into a castle courtyard.
He blinked. He looked behind him to see the door he walked through was gone.
Don’t worry, you’re microsleeping.
He turned back around to see Misha Constantine leaning in the stone archway of some impossible tower.
So you figured you’d drag me into your little corner of Hell to do… what exactly? Gloat?
I really don’t feel like gloating.
Brendan gave his half-brother a sceptical look.
Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are. I would have thought Fox breaking bad would be delicious schadenfreude. But now it’s actually happening it just feels… sad. No low blows, no hammy villain monologues; he’s just stabbing himbo wolfmen and beating Death Trap half to death. Plus there’s the whole teaming up with a cross-dimensional megalomaniac trying to harness incalculable power for his own ends.
That still doesn’t answer my question about why I’m here.
Submaxiswear’s doing something.
‘Something’? That’s really descriptive, Misha.
Droll. The fact that with all my power I can’t tell what it is he’s actually doing is very concerning. He’s found some way of shielding it. All I can tell is that he’s drawing on the power of the entity in the gem somewhere in the mortal world.
Okay, so you’re saying I should try and find him and stop him somehow?
Find him, yes, but don’t even think about going after him on your own. We’re only going to get one shot at stopping whatever he’s doing.
So how will I fin…
In the blink of an eye, Brendan was in his hotel room.
…d him?
He looked around and sighed, then pulled out his phone.
Fox had wondered if Bone Church was a euphemism when Submaxiswear had first said the term. Then he had decided it would probably just be some rickety construction. He had not been expecting this.
The bones were growing out of the ground like some macabre copse. They had formed themselves into a structure that somehow stirred the subconscious reverence that only the most beautiful places of worship could inspire. His jaw was slack in awe as he stepped through an archway of giant ribs to enter the cavity of the spectacular abomination. Turning to look at every impossible angle, he backed into a solid wall of flesh and muscle. He turned to see it was not some additional growth of the building but simply SEIRIOS. The giant masked man stood still, not even acknowledging the X*Crown champion as he collided with him. Stepping around the behemoth, Fox saw what held his gaze: Submaxiswear sitting crosslegged before the glowing gem, its radiance spilling onto him. The features beneath the smaller man’s mask did not seem to shift in anyway, yet still he spoke to the new arrival.
Hello Fox. Do you like it?
This place? It’s… honestly, I don’t know what to say.
Wise. Words cannot truly describe it, nor what it will be. A crucible, a cage, a home, a grave. All those and more, yet also none and nothing.
Informative.
Scoff as you will, but you will see in due time.
I’m sure, but I have more important things to focus on right now, namely…
The X*Crown, yes. Do not worry, we will be there to assist you.
Who said I’m worried? Who said I need help?
The people who doubt you. Do not concern yourself with them. You do not need our help but you will have it nevertheless. Never hurts to be sure, hmmm?
True. Still, don’t get involved unless it’s absolutely necessary, okay?
Submaxiswear said nothing. Beneath his mask, an impossibly wide smile formed.
And his husband.
Brendan splashed water onto his face, trying to drown out the conflicting voices in his head; the one begging him to save Peter and the other, the one that had spoken at GUNS, that one that said he would…
Brendan squeezed his eyes shut so hard it hurt. Then he wiped his face on a towel and stepped out the bathroom door…
Into a castle courtyard.
He blinked. He looked behind him to see the door he walked through was gone.
Don’t worry, you’re microsleeping.
He turned back around to see Misha Constantine leaning in the stone archway of some impossible tower.
So you figured you’d drag me into your little corner of Hell to do… what exactly? Gloat?
I really don’t feel like gloating.
Brendan gave his half-brother a sceptical look.
Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are. I would have thought Fox breaking bad would be delicious schadenfreude. But now it’s actually happening it just feels… sad. No low blows, no hammy villain monologues; he’s just stabbing himbo wolfmen and beating Death Trap half to death. Plus there’s the whole teaming up with a cross-dimensional megalomaniac trying to harness incalculable power for his own ends.
That still doesn’t answer my question about why I’m here.
Submaxiswear’s doing something.
‘Something’? That’s really descriptive, Misha.
Droll. The fact that with all my power I can’t tell what it is he’s actually doing is very concerning. He’s found some way of shielding it. All I can tell is that he’s drawing on the power of the entity in the gem somewhere in the mortal world.
Okay, so you’re saying I should try and find him and stop him somehow?
Find him, yes, but don’t even think about going after him on your own. We’re only going to get one shot at stopping whatever he’s doing.
So how will I fin…
In the blink of an eye, Brendan was in his hotel room.
…d him?
He looked around and sighed, then pulled out his phone.
Fox had wondered if Bone Church was a euphemism when Submaxiswear had first said the term. Then he had decided it would probably just be some rickety construction. He had not been expecting this.
The bones were growing out of the ground like some macabre copse. They had formed themselves into a structure that somehow stirred the subconscious reverence that only the most beautiful places of worship could inspire. His jaw was slack in awe as he stepped through an archway of giant ribs to enter the cavity of the spectacular abomination. Turning to look at every impossible angle, he backed into a solid wall of flesh and muscle. He turned to see it was not some additional growth of the building but simply SEIRIOS. The giant masked man stood still, not even acknowledging the X*Crown champion as he collided with him. Stepping around the behemoth, Fox saw what held his gaze: Submaxiswear sitting crosslegged before the glowing gem, its radiance spilling onto him. The features beneath the smaller man’s mask did not seem to shift in anyway, yet still he spoke to the new arrival.
Hello Fox. Do you like it?
This place? It’s… honestly, I don’t know what to say.
Wise. Words cannot truly describe it, nor what it will be. A crucible, a cage, a home, a grave. All those and more, yet also none and nothing.
Informative.
Scoff as you will, but you will see in due time.
I’m sure, but I have more important things to focus on right now, namely…
The X*Crown, yes. Do not worry, we will be there to assist you.
Who said I’m worried? Who said I need help?
The people who doubt you. Do not concern yourself with them. You do not need our help but you will have it nevertheless. Never hurts to be sure, hmmm?
True. Still, don’t get involved unless it’s absolutely necessary, okay?
Submaxiswear said nothing. Beneath his mask, an impossibly wide smile formed.