Into the Black

Serris · **Reply #1080 on:** February 08, 2014, 09:36:25 PM

(The Heights)

Soren looked over the list. He noticed that there was a conspicuous absence of mind altering substances. Nevertheless, he just checked off ammunition for his shotgun as well as a generator. "Well, that'll do." He passed the tablet to Axel.

"Any drugs?" Anne asked.

"Nope."

The mare sighed. "Fuck it, I'll go steal some later. Not from here, of course."

Soren yawned. His supply of moziafil was gone and he fogured it might be useful. But he had little money left. He looked around. He was associating with organized crime and preparing for a vigilante mission. He shrugged; "helping himself" to some moziafil was peanuts.

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(Patrick Anderson's Manor)

The Liger watched as his armed guards patrolled his house. The interior had several expensive imported marble furnishings and other high-end products.

He adjusted his tailored suit and looked in the mirror. Staring back was a Feline with the imposing mane of a Lion mixed with the stripes of a Tiger. His black business suit was set off by a dark blue tie. Two golden cufflinks made in the shape of his company logo (a microchip with a cursive P.A. carved on it) adorned his sleeve.

"Sir, are you sure this is a good idea?" a dark-skinned Human said as he watched his boss combing his mane.

"If I do not show up at my workplace, then these terrorists have won." The Liger spritzed some cologne on his suit. "In addition, this suit is my new bulletproof carbon nanotube suit. It's 200,000 creds well spent. In addition my podium has bulletproof corundum shields to protect me."

The guard sighed. "If you insist, Sir."

Pterano · **Reply #1081 on:** February 09, 2014, 01:00:52 AM

"Got it!" Tony called from the kitchen to Marita as he cracked some eggs over the first skillet and began whisking them around. He threw in the mushrooms, bacon, and sausage into the second skillet, and let those cook. Soon, as the eggs began to form, he dumped the ingredients in and let them all simmer together. He then went over to the fridge, retrieved some cheese, and sprinkled it into the fast cooking omelette. He moved it around slightly with a spatula to let the rest of the eggs cook and form up before folding it over onto itself and dumping it out onto a plate. He then turned down the heat (but kept it on just in case), and strode over to one of kitchen's many counters, and sat himself down upon the stool.

"Anyone want any eggs?" the ferret called out to the others.

"I don't deal in drugs, sorry." Don Stracci replied to Rose. "It's something I won't touch. I'm sure you could find some easily enough in Lanthae though." he stated. "Aha!" he said now, hearing Stryker report in. "Agent Lupis is at the Purifier compound, ironically enough. I'll be extracting details of its layout very soon." he informed the group.

Down below, Stryker could tell Emelina was getting a kick out of this. He withdrew the searing rod, and smirked. "Hmph... so... you get off on all this, huh?" he proceeded to tighten the skull splitter, hearing the distinct crack of bone as her cranium began to splinter under the spikes. "Just a little bit..." he muttered, noting the weight on her back was close to 300 pounds now.

He moved back to the pear, and twisted it again, causing near rupture of her rectum. "That was just sheer sadism... this next bit... I'm gonna need you to tell me the layout of the Purifier compound, and any relevant details an attacking force would need." he stated, switching on a recorder.

Nick22 · **Reply #1082 on:** February 09, 2014, 01:31:39 AM

i'll take some scarambled ' marita said. 'scrambled for me as well. 'overeasy please' rose said. marita went over tho the fridge and grabbed a gallon of milk. marie went over to an open cabinet full of glases and pulld out 4 of them, one for her, rose and marita and one for tonu..

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1083 on:** February 09, 2014, 02:00:17 AM

Emilena felt it coursing up, the heaviness in her abdomen. Peaking, like it almost had back at the Purifier base. "Oh, oh, mmmmmm!" her moans turned quickly into a haggard scream as she felt that wave crest. What little oxygen she could get was expulsed immediately as her muscles contracted throughout her body. In one uplifting moment, she squealed shamelessly and bloodied tears poured down her face as she ejaculated loudly and was left shuddering, creaking in the chafing contraption.

"Heh...heh..." she panted heavily. "Oh man...okay......okay..."

Now that her sexual needs were sated, she realized just what a situation she was in. She also quickly learned the downside to continued stimulation after orgasm.

Suddenly she screamed, not a pleasured scream; a real, honest scream of unfiltered pain. "Oh god! Stop! Please!"

She felt it all; the screws dug into her skull, every inch of lacerated skin and shredded flesh. Her flayed burns and torn orifices. How crippled she was. "Oh, god please..." she begged, crying uncontrollably. "Just kill me already!"

-------------------------------------

Suddenly Lily arched her back and started crying. She was hit by it all at once; someone in this house was in genuine pain. She could feel all of it. And it hurt her.

Make it stop! screamed three consciences at once; hers, her parasite's, and the one assuaging her with uncontrollable fear and anguish.

She shook her head violently, trying to clear it. Her bitter tears stung her eyes. She didn't want to hear this! It was deafening!

Stop! she screamed at the other voice. I'm sorry! But I can't take it! STOP!

And then it stopped.

------------------------------------

Where Emilena once hung, now lay dangling, empty manacles. The pear clattered to the floor. A pair of blood-soaked pants lay in an ever-spreading puddle of bodily fluids.

Stryker was alone in the room.

Pterano · **Reply #1084 on:** February 09, 2014, 02:30:27 AM

Stryker smirked as he realized he'd finally broke her. She'd had her fun... but it was over. They always broke... and too bad too! He didn't even get a chance to mutilate her seriously yet! But then, as she started screaming and yelling for him to kill her (and he was considering doing other things, after smelling her ejaculation), she vanished. Stryker blinked. "What the... fuck?" he asked, looking around now. Where had she gone? The pear simply fell to the floor, as did her pants, the fork, and the skull splitter.

"Son of a bitch!" he shouted, moving forward now and looking rapidly from left to right.

"What? Gone?" Don Stracci asked into his headset. "What the hell do you mean gone? Well find her!" he yelled. "And alert security! Lock this place down!" he ordered. He then turned his gaze on the others. "It seems Ms. Echo... has vanished." he said, looking at Lily now, the monster clearly in some state of distress. "I'll doubt we'll find her." he clamped his teeth together and looked up at the ceiling. "Great..."

Tony smiled as a glass of milk was procured for him by Marie. "Thanks..." he said, accepting it as he dug into his omelette. "All right... I'll make your eggs soon, just want to finish my breakfast." he smiled again, chugging some milk. "Two scrambled and one over easy order... got it!"

Serris · **Reply #1085 on:** February 09, 2014, 02:58:51 AM

Soren felt a shiver run up his spine. "Emilena vanished...without a trace?"

"I'm vegetarian," Anne said.

Soren pushed the thoughts out of his head and got to work making his own omlette with vegetables and catfish pieces. Some catfish sausages and a glass of orange juice rounded off the breakfast.

The Human sat down to eat when he noticed the TV in the room. "Might as well. Activate."

The flatscreen came to life and the scene showed a Liger businessman standing in front of a well-dressed crowd. His name, Patrick Anderson and "CEO of Anderson Augmentations" appeared at the bottom of the screen.

bushwacked · **Reply #1086 on:** February 09, 2014, 05:52:41 AM

Axel flicked through the list of items, but half of the things on there was stuff that he'd probably be safer staying away from. Eventually he settled on a small snubnosed revolver, and the ammo to go along with it. Should be easy enough to use... He almost dropped the datapad in surprise when Lily started crying, but before he could do anything she suddenly seemed to calm down. Almost simultaneously, he heard the Don speaking into his headset.

"She's gone?" Axel glanced down at the figure on the floor. Did she do something? Suddenly feeling like it'd be safer in a group if there was a potentially enraged Emilena roaming around, he bent to gently lift Lily to her feet, and started to head towards the kitchen, handing the datapad back to Stracci as they passed him. "Did... did they at least find out where Lupis is?"

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #1087 on:** February 09, 2014, 01:35:56 PM

-REDACTED-

Pterano · **Reply #1088 on:** February 09, 2014, 02:23:29 PM

"Yes... we found out he's at the Purifier compound." Don Stracci said here. "Your old buddies it seems are harboring him... or he's employing them. Either way, you get to kill two birds with one stone." It was convenient for him, as well, because this way, he could have others do his work for him. He had nothing personal against the Purifiers however, even if he considered them a dirty business. This way at least, he could avoid directly involving his family in something that had nothing to do with them.

Don Stracci regarded Lily again. "I have a feeling your girlfriend was responsible for Ms. Echo's vanishing. She certainly seems to have powerful abilities... but I wonder if she has any control?" he mused aloud.

Tony finished up his omelette now, and proceeded to start cooking the eggs for Marita, Marie, and Rose. He noticed Soren watching the TV, and narrowed his eyes to see the liger on screen. "Hey... I think I've heard of that guy." he said, beating the eggs in a bowl as he watched the speech commence. "Wonder what this is about." he murmured, pouring the whisked eggs into the pan now and beginning to move them around with the spatula. He then cracked two more eggs for the over easy batch.

Serris · **Reply #1089 on:** February 09, 2014, 03:19:15 PM

(Anderson Augmentations)

Patrick looked at his papers. In front of him hovered several camera drones. The corundum shields that surrounded him and the armored business suit he wore along with the two armed guards flanking him should have kept him safe but a twinge of nervousness ran through him.

He took a sip of his water and cleared his throat. "As you all may have heard, I was the victim of a cowardly attack." Murmors ran through the crowd.

The Liger held up his hand for silence.

"However, I will not bow to these Luddites. My company pledges to make augmentations more affordable and more advanced. It is for the world, that I make them, to surpass our own limits! To those who would attack me over creating augments and the Augmented themselves, I dare you, tell the mother whose paralyzed child recieved a spinal cord stimulator and can now take their first step! I dare you, tell the blind man who can now see infrared when all he saw black he's a degenerate!"

The crowd watched in awe as Patrick continued to speak. "I have saved hundreds if not thousands of lives with my company's augmentations and implants!" His voice dropped to a near whisper and he glared into the camera, his amber slit-pupilled eyes daring them to challenge him. "How many lives have you terrorists destroyed? How many fathers who have to tell their children 'Mommy's never coming home'? How many police officers have to tell widowed husbands and wives that their spouse was kidnapped and later found dead? All because of your Luddite beliefs."

The crowd applauded as Patrick finished his speech. Their applause was cut short when a sonic boom echoed through the air and the sound of one of the corundum barriers breaking was heard.

The two armed guards quickly hustled their boss to safety as soon as the sound was heard. Screaming broke out as the crowd began to disperse.

One of the guards radioed for assistance while the other checked on their boss.

Patrick only gurgled as he stared glassy-eyed into the smoggy sky. The heavy steel dart, fired from a camera drone that had been gutted and had a railgun stuffed into it, had smashed through the corundum barrier and retained enough energy to competely rip through the Liger's neck, tearing apart his trachea and other vital structures before it exited through the back of his neck, nearly taking his head off in the process, and buried itself into the concrete sidewalk.

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(The Heights)

The Liger's deep resonant voice echoed out from the TV screen as he made his speech. Everything had been broadcast, including the shooting.

Soren stared wide eyed at the scene. His half-eaten omlette lay in front of him. The spray of blood and tissue that issued forth when the dart ripped through the unfortunate man's neck killed his appetite.

"Did...Did I just see what I thought I saw?" Anne asked as she continued eating her pancakes.

Nick22 · **Reply #1090 on:** February 09, 2014, 03:29:05 PM

Marita had only been half-heartedly paying attention, but after the shooting, her eyes were fixed on the screen. ' my gawd, that guy just got shot on live tv!" she started. '' my gawd, someone was just killed..' Marie said, her meal fiorgotten.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1091 on:** February 09, 2014, 03:42:18 PM

Lily was cradling her head. The lingering aftereffects of the mental trauma she'd just heeded witness to wasn't a thing to shrug off.

It was that police officer. She'd gotten a glimpse of who it was when they'd briefly connected minds. The don had obviously had her tortured, and probably planned for worse...

It left her feeling nauseous. She felt no ill will towards anyone, including Emilena. She hoped the officer hadnt been tortured on Lily's behalf. She worried about how she had stopped the pain; if she'd killed Emilena, she was hardly better than the don.

She looked nervously at the people surrounding her. These were dangerous people, quick to hate and ready to kill. Even her former friends. Even Axel...she could sense it. Something had changed in his thought patterns. To protect her, he was willing to hurt others, or look away as they were hurt. He'd lost part of the kind soul she'd seen when they first met.

What am I doing to these people? Lily wondered. And how far will they go?...

Pterano · **Reply #1092 on:** February 09, 2014, 04:55:48 PM

Tony had to admit... the speech was pretty good. He could kind of see where the augment side of the argument was coming from... kind of. He still wasn't fully into augments, but... he could sort of see... holy crap!

The barrier breaking and the liger being shot on live television caused Tony to freeze. "What... the...?" was all he could say at first. "Oh my god! Oh... my... god!" he exclaimed, his paw going up to his mouth now, aghast at what just occurred. Anne finally broke the silence, followed by Marita and Marie.

"I just... I can't..." Tony shook his head, at a loss for words. "Unbelievable..." was all he could whisper. The smell of the cooking food however, brought him back to reality. "Crap!" he said, dumping the scrambled eggs onto two plates now before they started to burn. He flipped the two other eggs over gently, and waited for them to cook a tad more before he slid them onto another plate.

"OK... hopefully you girls haven't lost your appetite..." Tony said softly, shaking his head. "I uh... I think I'll get the car ready." he said in a low voice, and exited the kitchen now as he dropped off the girls' eggs "Hope you enjoy."

He headed over to his father and Axel. "Hey Axel..." the ferret tapped the rat on his arm now. "You about ready to get going? I think I'm gonna fire up the Pierce-Arrow. Want to take Lily to the garage and get her inside the trailer?" he suggested, looking down at the psionic creature now.

bushwacked · **Reply #1093 on:** February 09, 2014, 05:46:36 PM

Axel shook his head at the Don's question. "I... I don't know..." He had no idea what to think, but considering how panicked she'd been, any form of control was hard to imagine. We need to get to Lupis fast...

He turned at Tony's greeting. "Yeah, the sooner we get on the road the better. I guess the others'll meet us down there after they've eaten?" He put an arm around Lily's shoulders and spoke in a soft tone. "Hey... you ready to go? We're taking you to the garage, you can lie down in the trailer if you want."

Raising his head, Axel gave the Don a grateful smile. "Thanks for everything you've done... We would have been totally screwed. And, ah, I'll keep my mouth shut about, you know... everything I've seen here..." He trailed off as he realised that shutting up was probably a good idea. Turning to Tony, he gave a nod and started to lead Lily in his direction. "Lead the way."

Nick22 · **Reply #1094 on:** February 09, 2014, 06:10:40 PM

Marita and marie pushed their plates towards Rose who quickly started eating. " I'm not hungry' Marita said. " me neither' marie nodded. ' It only took Rose a couple minutes to wolf down the eggs. " come on girls we're getting in Ton's car " Marita said.

Pterano · **Reply #1095 on:** February 09, 2014, 06:27:12 PM

"You will... if you know what's good for you." Don Stracci replied, then let a smile crease over his features now. "It was a pleasure hosting you. I hope you drop by again... any friend of the family, as they say." the older ferret said, taking Axel's hand now and shaking it firmly.

Tony approached his father afterward, smiling shyly. "Well dad... it's good to be back... truly, it is. Sorry we couldn't stay the night..."

"Hey... don't fall asleep at the wheel, OK?" his dad answered, pulling his arm now and dragging him in for a hug. Tony's eyes widened... it wasn't every day his father just hugged him, after all. He reached up, and tentatively hugged his father back. "Hey... whatever happens out there... you're my son and... I'd hate to see anything happen to you... anything." he stated.

"Yeah... I know dad... I won't... do what I did again. I'll come back... I promise."

"When you do... you'll be my underboss... I mean that." his father said.

"Really? Your... underboss? You mean that?" Tony asked, pulling back a bit.

"Hey, only if you do a good job." his father winked. "Now go... do your thing." he nodded in the direction Axel was going.

"Sure dad... take care of yourself, OK? And... I love ya, pops."

"Mm-hm." Don Stracci nodded, smiling. "Love ya too. Get going." he said again, releasing his son now.

Tony backed away, taking a good look at his father before he turned and led Axel and Lily to the garage. Flipping on the lights, he watched as they bathed the polished auto bodies in their glow. "OK... let's see..." Tony retrieved the Berline's keys, and headed for the right car. It was a big dark blue 1936 Pierce-Arrow Berline with a Pierce-Arrow Travelodge trailer hooked up to the back. It sported a powerful V-12 engine that was the best in its day, and still stood the test of time even in 2037, though of course, his father had modded the drive shaft to produce more speed, and gave it a few more combat resistant features as well...

"OK..." he opened up the door of the trailer, which was very spacious and luxurious inside. "Here it is. Pierce-Arrow came up with the idea to design this trailer as something to try and boost sales during the Depression... anyway... she can stay in here rather comfortably without anyone knowing. You... gonna ride back here with her, or up front?" he asked, holding the door open for Lily. "I figure we'll swing by the front of the house, pick up the guns and the others, and get going."

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1096 on:** February 09, 2014, 09:15:58 PM

Lily allowed herself to be led to the garage. She looked nervously at the cars; they looked clean, but she smelled age and blood on all of them.

She was still preoccupied with the second conscience in her mind. She was probing it carefully, trying to figure out what it was. Since the pain outburst, it was lying dormant, recovering.

What are you? she asked cautiously. Are you okay?...Can we work together?

It ignored her.

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #1097 on:** February 10, 2014, 01:18:51 AM

Inside the Stracci manor, Adrian's broken body convulsed as it finally succumbed to the injuries it had sustained over the past few hours. As he flatlined, he managed the strength to grab one of the doctors trying to save him and pull the man close to him.
"T-tell...Emilena...tell her I...love her..."
He choked out, then, as his hand went limp, he managed the ghost of a smile as a single tear rolled down his face. He would later be buried in an unmarked grave, without ceremony or mourners, just another casualty of the city that he had fought for.

Serris · **Reply #1098 on:** February 10, 2014, 02:29:30 AM

(The Heights)

Soren finished up washing the dishes. "All right, ready to roll?"

Anne wiped down the dining room table and then wiped her muzzle with the same rag. "Let's do this!"

Soren and Anne made their way to the front of the house. Along the way, they stopped by Don Stracci's office. "Don Stracci," Soren said. "I must thank you for your hospitality and help."

"I thank you for your hospitality, Don Stracci," Anne said. "Now if you'll excuse us, the Purifiers have got a date with pain."

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(Purifier Compound)

Aaron finished off his catfish hash and black coffee. He looked at Marcus. "Looks like one silicon slut's out of the picture."

He tossed a newspaper to the Doberman. The headline read "Patrick Anderson, Cybernetics Magnate Shot!"

"Anyways, what about our latest assignment? We were supposed to steal some shit from an electronics factory or something."

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1099 on:** February 10, 2014, 05:01:13 AM

Nairda nodded, clenching his fist.

"The Purifiers will have to pay for what they've done~" He mused wryly, steely-eyed and resolute in his resolve. He followed the rest of the team, chuckling softly to himself...