Blood and Diamonds: A High Energy Story

Oriphiel · 08-06-2015, 08:13 AM

It's time for the final entry in Sam's side story!

Side Story: Sam, Part Seven

Sam raised her hands, rolling her eyes and smiling slightly as she said "You got me. Let's talk." The lieutenant took a few steps toward her, still aiming his pistol at her head, saying "Why are you turning against us? And what the hell happened to you back in that apartment? Stan said you got killed, blasted to hell, but... I mean, he was obviously mistaken." "No, he was dead right. I did get blasted to hell. Why, don't I look it?" "Then... who patched you up? And, like I asked before, why the fuck are you attacking us?" "The aliens did this to me. They put me in my coffin, only to drag me back out of it. Now they've got me running errands for them, and i'm inclined to play by their rules for the time being," replied Sam. "The aliens?" asked the lieutenant incredulously, before letting out a faint laugh. "Should have figured they'd be behind all of this weird shit. Anyway, why are you helping them? Even if they saved you from dying, they're the ones who fucked you up in the first place." "I have my reasons," replied Sam. "I suppose the most obvious one is the device that they stuck in me, which shoots unbearable pain through my body if I disobey them."

The lieutenant shook his head, and replied "You don't need to worry about anything like that. It doesn't matter what kind of leverage they have against you. Those fuckers aren't going to be around much longer. Just come back to the hideout with me, alright? All you have to do is hold out there until we make our move, and you'll be free again." "What do you mean?" asked Sam. The lieutenant scratched his chin with his free hand, and replied "The Boss doesn't trust them. He's not sure what they're doing with all of the resources we've been grabbing for them, but he figures that it can't be good if they're keeping their motives a secret. They're probably planning on conquering the planet or some shit, you know? And besides, we don't need them anymore. They've given us a shit ton of guns, as well as shields and a bunch of other useful tech to sweeten the pot, and now we have enough to destroy every other gang in the city without breaking a sweat. So we're gonna take them out real soon, while we still have a cha-" Before he could finish, he was cut off by the HE53's dismembered arm hitting him square in his face. He had let his guard down while talking to Sam, and she threw it at him without hesitation. Sam closed the distance between them before the lieutenant could regain his senses, and grabbed his pistol with her mechanical hand just as he began to raise it up. The gun shattered as Sam squeezed her grip, and after punching the lieutenant in the jaw, she proceeded to lift him off of the floor by his lapel.

Sam struck the lieutenant a few more times, making sure that he was in no shape to hinder her any further, before loosening her grip and letting him fall to his knees. As she pulled the trunk from underneath the bed and opened it, the lieutenant tried to stand up, only to fall back to the ground with a moan. "Why?" he asked in a wavering voice. Sam pulled the diamond out of the trunk, and smiled. She flipped it in the air before placing it back in the trunk, which she closed and lifted off of the ground. On her way out the door, she briefly glanced at the lieutenant, replying "Like I said, I have my reasons." One of the Blue Shirts that she had knocked out earlier had gotten back to his feet, and he now stumbled towards her. With a single kick, she sent him flying backwards, crashing into the wall and sending a cloud of pulverized drywall into the air. She continued on her way, and once again began to whistle along to the song that was still stuck in her head.

On her way back to the aliens, Sam thought about what she should do with the information that she had gathered about the Blue Shirts' impending betrayal. Should she warn the aliens, or let them die? In truth, while Sam originally planned to find a way to kill the aliens herself and return to the Blue Shirts, she now found herself falling in love with her new powers. For personal reasons, she still felt at least a small amount of loyalty to the Blue Shirts, however she couldn't deny that she was utterly intrigued by the aliens' promise to upgrade her if she served them well. If this was just the first taste of the power that the aliens could offer her, what wonders might they provide her in the future, once she had proven herself to them and possibly even gained their trust? She had a long history with the Blue Shirts, and didn't want to side against the people who had essentially served as her foster family, however she eventually decided that she couldn't allow them to keep her from attaining the power that the future held in store for her. And so it was that Sam found herself allied with the aliens. At least, for now.

Oriphiel · 08-08-2015, 08:02 AM

Now, back to the main story. Here's a fun and cheesy Hi-NRG song that will destroy you with the power of crazy bleached 1980s wigs!

Chapter Eighteen

Tensions had been mounting between the aliens and the Blue Shirts the past few days, and a conflict seemed inevitable. The aliens were correct in their assessment of the Blue Shirts, who broke their promise to focus on providing resources after receiving a large amount of guns. In somewhat of a retaliation, shortly after Retix's late night walk with Luke, the aliens forced the Blue Shirt lieutenants who were "guarding" them out of the apartment, and began rebuilding the assassin Sam to act as their agent. As the Blue Shirts provided less and less resources to their allies, and the aliens sent a bionic former Blue Shirt into the field, both sides expected a battle in the days to come. Of course, the Blue Shirts planned to take the offensive and wipe the aliens out as soon as possible, however, they were stripped of whatever level of surprise such an attack might have had after Sam learned of their plans. And yet, even though the aliens were now certain that the Blue Shirts were coming to kill them, they didn't appear to be worried in the slightest, and seemed to take few precautions to protect themselves. The majority of the aliens simply continued to work on the device, while Retix and Heyt began a small project on the side. Meanwhile, The Boss of the Blue Shirts was taking care of business as usual, unaware that his plans had been discovered by the aliens...

The Boss was sitting at his desk, filling a piece of paper with random notes and scribbles as he talked to a Blue Shirt lieutenant. "Anyway," spoke the lieutenant after taking a drag from his cigarette, "she fucked me over. Didn't even tell me he was mine until I forced the truth out of her. After that, I had to get him back. He's my son, you know? So I... well, I already told you 'bout that. Pretty messy, I know, but I had to do it. I didn't have a choice. I don't like to get my hands too dirty if I can help it, especially not after you've ordered us all to not draw attention to ourselves while we get ready to make our move, but after she called in that fuckin' bouncer boy toy of hers to take me out, I had to finish things off for good. And I did. Now, I've got a son, but... I mean, I have no way of taking care of him. I try, but an old gangster like me can only do so much. Also, breast milk is expensive as fuck." The Boss raised a hand, and replied "It's fine. Admittedly, this isn't the most common problem that I have to deal with... usually, gangsters are more concerned with getting away from their children rather than taking care of them. But it does happen from time to time, and we have a method for dealing with such issues. In fact, I personally had to deal with this same problem myself, some time ago." "What do you mean? You have children?" asked the lieutenant, who was a little taken aback by the notion of The Boss having a family. The Boss smiled, and replied "Just one child. A son." The lieutenant laughed and tilted his head to the side, saying "Well, congrats. Here's hoping he grows up to be a badass. Who knows, he might even take over for you some day, right?" The Boss looked down, before continuing. "Anyway," he said, "there's a certain building near the edge of our territory. It's a brothel. I have an arrangement with the owner; the women there take care of the children that I send to them, in exchange for protection. They're taken well care of, and, obviously, they're kept far away from the building's business transactions, so you needn't worry about that." "A brothel? You're joking, right?" asked the lieutenant. The Boss smiled, and replied "Don't worry. They take very good care of their charges. It's not quite the roach motel you're probably imagining. In reality, it's a place that is kept fairly well hidden from the public, as well as other gangs, catering almost exclusively to high profile clients who desire quality as well as discretion. You have nothing to worry about." "Well, if you say so," replied the lieutenant, putting out his cigarette on the nearby ashtray, "but I have some questions. How long would they be willing to take care of him, and how often could I see him while he's in their care?"

Just then, the door to the office opened, and a man quickly entered. It was a Blue Shirt lieutenant, and he was covered with injuries. "What the fuck?" asked the lieutenant who was sitting down. The wounded lieutenant ignored him, and stammered "Boss... Sam is alive, and she's working with the aliens. They've done something to her, made her insanely strong, and now she doesn't give two fucks about us. She crashed the deal we were making with the rogue HE53, and completely wrecked everything..." The Boss raised a hand and gestured for him to stop, saying "Relax. I already know that Sam is alive once again. After the aliens kicked my lieutenants out, I made sure to have eyes on them at all times. This morning, when Sam left their apartment, my scout informed me. Still, while I was curious as to why and how they revived her, I didn't expect her to betray me, after all that I and the Blue Shirts have done for her. Are you sure that she's no longer loyal to us?" The lieutenant nodded. The Boss looked at him intently and asked "You're completely certain?", to which the lieutenant nodded once again, saying "Positive. She's the one who kicked the shit out of me. She said they stuck some device in her to keep her on their side, but... it seems like that's not the only reason she's fighting for them. I get the feeling that even if she didn't have the device in her, she'd still be on their side." The Boss sat down in his chair, and cleared his nose. "That's a shame. I expected so much more from Sam, though she always was a bit unpredictable. I suppose her usefulness was going to come to an end eventually. Anyway, it would now seem that the aliens are determined to make the first move. I suspected that they might turn on us, but I didn't expect them to do it so soon. Regardless, I was planning on removing them anyway, as you well know, so I suppose that the only real difference is that I now have violent provocation to add to my list of motives." "No," replied the injured lieutenant, "you can't attack them. They know you're coming. I told Sam about our plans to kill the aliens, before she turned on me. They're probably waiting to ambush you." The Boss picked up a pencil and started to twirl it in his fingers, saying "Well, that doesn't necessarily change things. We still have to attack the aliens, before they have the chance to attack us. But... you're right. They were already distrustful of us before, and now that they know for certain that we're coming to kill them, who knows what kind of nasty surprises we'll find waiting for us in that apartment? They probably expect us to come charging in like a bunch of fools, begging to be slaughtered, but I won't oblige them. We'll wait, until the proper moment comes."

"Fuck that," said the lieutenant who was sitting down. "We can't just sit on our asses and wait for them to hit us first. It doesn't matter what kind of toys they have up in that apartment. All we need is one of Leroy's bombs. Put it outside the door, set it, walk away, and boom, no more aliens." The injured lieutenant shook his head, saying "Oh, come on. A fucking bomb, man? When the time comes to make our move, I say we just gather up a warparty and take care of things the old fashioned way. I mean, we've got way more manpower than they do, and we even have those fancy alien rifles, which i'm sure are more than capable of blasting those fuckers to pieces." The Boss rubbed his forehead, and said "No. A bomb would cause too much collateral damage, and would attract far too much attention to our territory. We'd have the cops and the media focused on our territory and activity. I've also already stationed men at the borders, ordering them to hit the neighboring gangs when I've given the signal. We've waited for this moment for far too long, and i'm not about to stay on the down low for a month because I couldn't solve a problem without blowing it up. We need to hit the other gangs hard, taking them out as quickly as possible, and restoring order in our newly expanded borders before the cops have a chance to put the pieces together, so naturally I can't have them watching us in the meantime." "What about my plan? We could use the aliens' own weapons against them," said the injured lieutenant. The Boss put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment, before replying "Maybe. Our numbers are our greatest advantage, and these new weapons would give us a huge edge. It just seems too easy, though. The aliens are incredibly intelligent, as well as very distrustful of us. Would they really be so foolish as to hand us the means to kill them without being prepared for us? They must have something planned, and i'm not about to let them outsmart me... No, I think I'll bide my time. For now, I'll send more scouts to keep tabs on them. And it's not going to be enough to have just one or two men watching the front door; I need someone to finally be able to see what's going on in that apartment. After I know what they're doing, then I'll make my move."

Oriphiel · 08-17-2015, 09:42 AM

Hey, everyone! Welcome back to "Disco and Walls of Text Hell"! The song this time around is the Disco version of The Modettes' White Mice, the aptly named White Mouse Disco. Apparently, there were a bunch of songs back then that got the club treatment after gaining some momentum. In this case, White Mice was a good Post Punk/Dance Punk hit for The Modettes when it was released as a single in 1979, and the Disco version was created for their 1980 album The Story so Far.

Chapter Nineteen

The Boss' scouts watched Luke's apartment intently, waiting for a chance to see what was going on inside. However, the only time that they ever truly saw anything was when the aliens wanted them to; from time to time, the curtains would be drawn back, and the spies would see the aliens simply lounging about in front of a beat up television. They reported their meager findings back to the Boss, who firmly believed that the aliens had already taken precautions against him, and were now simply waiting for him to blindly rush in. In time, the curtains were closed once again, and this time they stayed shut. After a few days had passed, the Boss decided that he could wait no longer to carry out his plans. As a precaution, he placed a somewhat large unit of soldiers near Luke's apartment, ordering them to contact him and then confront the aliens if they ever tried to leave the apartment, hopefully killing them (or, at the very least, slowing the aliens down until a few war parties could arrive). In this way, he hoped to prevent them from attacking the Blue Shirts without forewarning. The only one who continued to come and go as they pleased was the irascible assassin Sam, who continued to set off on missions to gather resources for the aliens. She remained undetected, thanks to the stealth system that the aliens had installed in her. It was the first upgrade that she had been granted for her services, and it rendered her almost completely invisible.

The Boss eventually gave the signal to the soldiers he had placed along the edge of his territory, and the war began. They knew exactly where to strike, and used their weapons to demolish the key locations of their rivals. In a matter of minutes, the hideouts of every neighboring gang had been blasted to pieces, as the Blue Shirts' set their rifles to the maximum power output, an alteration that made them more like rocket launchers than rifles. For example, if a rifle with these settings had been used by the aliens to defeat Sam, the whole apartment would have been destroyed in an instant. The only downside of overcharging a rifle was that it drained it of it's energy, preventing it from being fired while it recharged. Of course, the first target in a contested territory was almost always the leader, and most were killed without having so much as a chance to fight back. The Boss had earlier placed many spies throughout the territories surrounding his gang, and he used their intel to know exactly where each leader would be. Not including the leader of the Red Sleeves, only two leaders managed to survive, having been ready for the Blue Shirts' attack before it began. The first was Francesca Leone, the leader of a gang called the Tulpas (an odd name which many assumed she had picked at random). She had been suspicious of the Blue Shirts for some time, and, for personal reasons, greatly desired to see them destroyed by her own hands. Years before, her gang was very small, and the Blue Shirts completely ignored her, not considering her to be much of a threat. Her father had been the ruler of a much larger gang that had been destroyed years before, and his territory had been divided amongst the surroundings gangs, as well as a group of lieutenants that had betrayed him. Francesca was in Italy at the time, pursuing an education abroad. After she heard what had happened, she returned to the city with a close knit group of friends and set about claiming vengeance on her father's traitorous lieutenants. In a matter of days, her fledgling force had assassinated all of them, and vengeance was claimed. From there, she turned her attention to establishing a territory of her own, from which she could reclaim the land that had been under her father's control.

She and her lieutenants set about reconquering the entirety of her father's territory from the gangs that had taken it for themselves, surviving countless battles against impossible odds as the much larger gangs refused to let go of their new holdings. The Blue Shirts finally began to take her seriously after her forces utterly destroyed one of their raiding parties, and the Boss attempted to place a spy in Francesca's midst. The spy was tactful, however he made a few mistakes that revealed his true nature, and the lieutenants of the Tulpas were eager to execute him. However, Francesca stepped in and ordered them to leave him be. In her mind, this was a golden opportunity. Now that they knew he was a spy, they could feed him misinformation, with the spy being none the wiser. The only problem was that after giving his leader too much false information, the spy would eventually realize that he was being used, and so Francesca decided to keep him mostly in the dark until she could use him to gain an edge at a decisive moment. She let him discover little bits of information every now and then, to keep him and his leader complacent.

In time, the leader of the Red Sleeves sent out a warning to his allies, telling them that one of his lieutenants had witnessed the Blue Shirts making a deal with a gang from out of town. Years earlier, Francesca had placed a spy of her own within the ranks of the Blue Shirts, and he confirmed the story. He had proven his loyalty many times to the Blue Shirts over the years, causing them to trust him immensely, and so he was eventually informed of the Boss' plan to conquer the surrounding area. It was in this way that Francesca learned of the Blue Shirts' impending attack, and she took steps to defend herself. She set up a series of ambushes throughout her territory, and used the Blue Shirt spy to create a large trap. As soon as her spy sent word that the Boss had given the signal to attack, Francesca and a group of lieutenants announced that they would be taking care of important business at one of her warehouses. The nearby Blue Shirt spy thought that this was fantastic luck, as it meant that she would be isolated from the majority of her gang, making her very easy to kill. He followed her and her cadre to the warehouse, and then ran off to report her location to the invading forces. Of course, the Blue Shirt lieutenants leading the attack were eager to take her out, and so a large force was sent to the warehouse to kill her. Shortly after they arrived, they surrounded the warehouse and began to search for her, while Francesca and her lieutenants watched them from afar. After finding the warehouse to be empty, they decided to simply destroy it from afar and move on. Just then, Francesca detonated a series of bombs placed around and within the warehouse, instantly killing the majority of the Blue Shirts below her.

Meanwhile, her men enacted ambushes throughout her territory, taking the Blue Shirts by surprise. Still, the Blue Shirts' weapons and numbers gave them a serious edge against the Tulpas, and the losses on both sides were great. Francesca detested the sight of her men being killed, however she remained rather optimistic about the situation; though many of her men would die, she had made a battle out of what would have been a slaughter, and that was comfort enough for her. After mounting as much of a defense as possible, she and the rest of the surviving Tulpas fell back, meeting with the Red Sleeves and combining forces.

The second leader to survive the onslaught was Hojo Naomasa. Naomasa was a strange man, often pursuing unorthodox hobbies and exhibiting a very carefree personality, however he had the scars to prove that he was very serious about maintaining his territory. He once belonged to an international syndicate of organized crime, with his forces simply being the city's local division, however he eventually broke off from them, forming an independent gang named "The Hojo". The reason for his leaving the syndicate was simple; he had supported the wrong side in the war of succession that followed the death of the syndicate's leader, and was no longer counted among their ranks. The syndicate was going to attack him, just as they were going to crack down on every leader who supported the losing side in any way, however they soon became very occupied after a rival syndicate attacked them, expecting their war torn forces to not be able to put up much of a fight. They didn't want to start a war on two fronts, and so they granted amnesty to all of the leaders that were in Naomasa's position, accepting many of them back into the fold in an attempt to build up as much manpower as possible. Naomasa accepted the amnesty, but refused to rejoin their forces, and they were far too busy to force him to come back.

Like many leaders, Naomasa was suspicious of the aggressive Blue Shirts, and he had suspected that they would eventually attack his territory. He was on good terms with both the Red Sleeves and the Tulpas, and so he was likewise able to put up a fight. When Francesca's spy tipped her off that the Blue Shirts had been given the signal to attack, she warned her allies of the impending danger, and Naomasa set about attacking the invaders. Of course, the Blue Shirts had planted a spy in his forces not long ago, however Naomasa had discovered his treachery within weeks of his arrival. After his plans were foiled multiple times by the Blue Shirts, Naomasa spent the next few weeks closely watching his men, purposefully giving out information to rotating groups of soldiers, using the process of elimination to find the traitor. Sadly, though he had thought of feeding him misinformation, he had discovered the spy just before the upcoming battle, before he could come up with any serious plans to manipulate him. When Francesca warned him of the coming attack, Naomasa decided to simply execute the spy, and fall back on an old plan that he had set up quite some time ago, one that had been kept secret from everyone save for his most trusted lieutenants. First, he ordered his gang to fall back to a number of key locations that an invading force was bound to attack. Then, his lieutenants withdrew boxes of gas masks that had been stashed in these locations, as well as canisters of a powerful gas. The lieutenants then distributed masks to all of the soldiers, and prepared them for the upcoming battle. When the Blue Shirts arrived, the Hojo immediately covered the areas in thick clouds of fumes, which seemed to make the attackers very disoriented. As they blindly stumbled around, occasionally firing potshots around them, the masked Hojo were able to defeat them with ease. However, while the plan was a success, it was intended to be a shock tactic to quickly take out a large number of enemies, and wasn't suited to winning a drawn out fight; while the Blue Shirts were initially confused and suffered many losses, they quickly learned to steer clear from the clouds, which were eventually dispersed by the wind as the supply of canisters ran out. Thus, as soon as the clouds began to fade, the lieutenants ordered their men to fall back to a predetermined location. After the Hojo war parties regrouped with each other, Naomasa led them into the territory of the Red Sleeves, meeting up with Francesca's forces along the way.

If the three gangs had stayed in their respective territories, despite their tenacity and the ploys used against the armies sent after them, each one would have been unable to truly put up a fight against the massive numbers of the entire Blue Shirt force. However, by coming together and fighting alongside each other, they managed to mount a serious defense against the Blue Shirts. Even though they still wouldn't be able to last for very long, they now at least had the chance to postpone their defeat for as long as possible, dealing some true damage to the Blue Shirts before meeting their inevitable fate. They held their ground for the immediate future, however it seemed that victory was truly impossible to achieve; the Blue Shirts quickly demolished every other gang in the borough, making the Red Sleeves' territory the only contested area that had yet to be conquered, and Blue Shirt reinforcements poured in ceaselessly. Against the full force of the Blue Shirts, the alliance was eventually defeated, and the survivors retreated from the territory, having lost too many soldiers to be able to combat the Blue Shirts any further. In a single day, the Blue Shirts had defeated every gang except for the three holdout allies, and even they weren't able to survive for much longer than that. The Boss was overjoyed at his successful campaign, however he didn't have much time to revel in his victory; though he had conquered the borough, his territory was now very large and war torn. The Blue Shirts had become the strongest gang in the city, however the Boss needed to consolidate his current holdings before he could expand any further, which became quite apparent after multiple nearby gangs from other boroughs started to preemptively attack him. For now, the Boss put away his ambitions to conquer the city, and focused on strengthening what he already had, using his powerful technology to combat any would-be raiders. Beyond that, the Blue Shirts had done a lot of damage to the city in the war, and the police and media were now watching the borough very closely, just as the Boss had suspected they would. Still, he found himself desiring one last battle before going low profile and strengthening his gang's borders, avoiding attention until the time came to conquer more territory. As long as he planned his next steps carefully, the police, the media, the remnants of the three allied forces, and the neighboring gangs that were raiding his territory, could all be dealt with. There was now only one group left that could stop him; the aliens, with their mysterious machinations. They were a wildcard that needed to be removed as soon as possible.

Oriphiel · 08-18-2015, 09:02 AM

Chapter Twenty

Cleo was sitting on a chair by a desk, running a hand across her forehead in frustration, one leg resting on the desk and the other curled towards her. In front of her was a blank notebook. A friend gave it to her as a gift a few years ago, and since then she had felt a terrible inclination to fill it with something. Unfortunately, she could never quite decide where to begin, or even what her story should be about; all she knew was that she wanted to write something, something grand and memorable (or, at the very least, fun). Eventually, she stood up and tossed her pen across the room, tortured by the frustration that comes from being inspired and unable to express it. Normally, she didn't like to let her anger take control of her, but she found the stress of writer's block to be unbearable, and the events that had happened recently only added to her annoyance; she knew that the world was going to come to an end soon, and that this was one of her final chances to write her magnum opus. It seemed somewhat foolish, since it's not like she'd ever get the chance to publish it and show it to the world, seeing as the world was likely soon to become brainwashed and conquered. Yet she felt compelled to finish it anyway, not for the world, but for her. So she could finally have created something worth creating. Cleo walked over to her window and looked down at the street below, nervously rubbing the copper bangle around her wrist, thinking about what she and John had witnessed the night that they followed Luke and Retix. Unfortunately, they didn't get to hear the entire conversation; they had to keep their distance, staying on a nearby path so as to avoid stepping on the multitude of branches and leaves between them and the two they were eavesdropping on, and they were interrupted a few times by the occasional late night park walker. In the end, the parts that they did overhear were more than enough for them to be convinced that troubling times were ahead; they heard most of Retix explaining her background and motives, as well as her describing the history and function of the 'device' that they were building, and how the aliens were going to use it to brainwash the world, just as they had tragically used it on their own home planet. They also overheard most of what she had said about the Threx, how they were coming to conquer Earth, and also that wearing copper was a way to protect oneself from the aliens' mind enslaving machine.

The two were unsure of how to proceed after gathering such information, and after Luke and Retix left, John and Cleo stood there in silence. Eventually, Cleo scratched her head and asked "So, John, those people from 'out of town' that you wanted to spy on... they're aliens? Fucking aliens, man?" "Yeah," replied John in a dry voice. Cleo looked up, smiling as she shook her head and raised up her hands, saying "And you didn't think that maybe you should tell me about that shit?" "Sorry. Look, I had my suspicions, but I wasn't really sure that they were aliens until tonight. I mean, if I'd told you back at that club that I thought they might be from another planet, you probably would have thought I was going insane, so... I kept it to myself until I was positive." "Alright. I get it. So, now that we know for sure who they are and what they're up to... what do you think we should do?" she asked. John rubbed his chin and shook his head, before shrugging and replying "I don't know. What can we do?" Cleo looked down in thought, before saying "There's got to be something. I mean, yeah, our options are slim. Nobody would ever believe us if we tried to warn them, and with the kind of firepower the aliens are packing, I don't think we have much of a chance. But we're the only ones who can stop them. We have to try." "Should we really be trying to stop them?" asked John. Cleo shot him a confused glance, and replied "What?" John brushed back his hair, saying "I mean, what makes you so sure that we shouldn't be on their side?" Cleo shook her head, saying "You can't be fucking serious." John replied "No, i'm pretty fucking sure that i'm serious. There's a huge army of interstellar badasses headed right for us, dead set on utterly destroying everything that we've ever even slightly given a shit about, and the aliens are the only ones who can stop them. The world can't even begin to fight the Threx unless the device is activated, and everyone stands together. It's our only hope." "Maybe," said Cleo, "but what's the price going to be? We all get turned into mindless slaves? Are you really willing to throw away everything that distinguishes you from a fucking robot?"

John shook his head, and replied "They won't enslave us. They learned from their past mistakes, and they won't let our planet share the same fate that theirs did. The alien promised Luke that they'd turn the device off as soon as the war was over." Cleo rolled her eyes, and said "And you really expect them to keep that promise? Even if they do hold true to their word, what then? Do you really think everyone is going to wake up after, look around the war torn world around them, and just accept what happened? That they won't be angry and confused about everything? And even if they do react well to the changes, and they don't blame the aliens or anyone else for everything and start a bunch of riots in our newly chaotic world... then how long? How long until the aliens inevitably get tired of our typical human bullshit? How long until they, or someone else, can no longer resist the nagging temptation to activate the device, and make all of humanity's bothersome flaws and problems just disappear? I'm sorry, but... no. That's not me. That'll never be me. Nobody should ever have that kind of power, even if rejecting it means that we all end up dying horribly. If that's your plan, then we're going to have to part ways. I'm not gonna let myself get turned into a fucking zombie, just because I was too afraid to fight against the odds on my own terms." After Cleo said that, John looked down at the ground and became silent. Cleo was getting heated up by the conversation, but she calmed down as she looked to the side and then down at her feet. After sighing, she took a step towards John and stuck out a hand towards him. "You with me?" John looked up at her, noticing the slight smile on her face, and he couldn't help but smile himself. He looked down again, before finally shaking her hand. "Yeah. You're right," he said. Cleo tilted her head, and replied "As usual." "It's just..." John started, before sighing and continuing, "Stopping them is gonna be next to impossible. I mean, where do we even start?" Cleo smiled, and replied "Don't worry about it, sidekick. We'll find a way." After thinking for a moment, she continued "I suppose, for starters, we ought to go buy a shit ton of copper. Then, we can try to warn the Red Sleeves one more time. Most of them won't believe us, but a few will probably help us out, like Ricardo and Jackson." "And after that?" asked John. Cleo replied, "After that, we do what we can with the time that we have, and wait for an opportunity to convince everyone and plan our attack."

And recently, their opportunity had arrived; after the Blue Shirts attacked every gang in the surrounding area using alien rifles and shields, the Red Sleeves finally came to believe that John and Cleo were telling the truth. Of course, some of them still didn't believe that aliens were to blame, figuring that the rifles and shields were simply secret military tech that was leaked and sold to the Blue Shirts, yet they had seen first hand the kind of destruction that the Blue Shirts were now capable of, and were cautious enough of the possibilities to humor John and Cleo. Having stockpiled as many copper items as they could find in the days prior to the attack, John and Cleo distributed them amongst the surviving Red Sleeves, as well as many of the Tulpa and Hojo. For Cleo and John, it was now a matter of waiting; the allied gangs were hiding in a series of abandoned warehouses by the docks, training for the day that they would claim their revenge against the Blue Shirts, and also preparing for the possibility of the aliens using the device that Cleo and John insisted was real. Truly, it was a strange time to be a gangster. Cleo walked away from the window and headed for the door. She had taken long enough of a break from the action, and she knew that she wasn't going to be writing her story anytime soon. Still, as she walked across the room and prepared to head back to the abandoned warehouses, she couldn't help but once again feel inspiration rising inside of her, pressuring her to finally create a story worth reading, or at least worth writing. She quickly grabbed the notebook and the pen, taking them with her, hoping that she'd be ready when the time finally came that she could begin to write her story.

Oriphiel · 08-19-2015, 08:56 AM

Chapter Twenty One

Continuing to carry out the will of the aliens, Sam grew ever bolder with each upgrade that was bestowed upon her. Eventually, she was given another mission that put her in close proximity with the Blue Shirts, and she showed even less restraint than she had before; while searching for barrels of a certain chemical in a series of warehouses, she stumbled upon a narcotics deal, and decided to simply kill everyone in her way. When the dust had settled, she had slain two Blue Shirt lieutenants and seven soldiers, as well as a well-dressed man named Malcolm, who had been an invaluable asset to the expansion of the Blue Shirts' narcotics operations. This slaughter greatly increased Sam's reputation among the Blue Shirts, who had become fearful of the seemingly invincible (as well as invisible) assassin, and many were disappointed in the Boss, who seemed to be either unable or unwilling to fight her and the aliens. Of course, it wasn't long before the Boss himself heard of the spreading whispers of his impotency, and he was forced to kill a few of the more talkative of his men to strike fear through the ranks. He couldn't ignore the damage that Sam had done to his reputation, and he needed to claim vengeance for her massacre if he was indeed to save face. As he sat in his office, scribbling down random shapes and notes on a piece of paper to help him concentrate, he decided that he could wait no longer to dispose of his enemies.

"They deliberately opened those curtains, letting my scouts watch them as they sat around and relaxed," the Boss thought to himself. "They're too intelligent to have done it by accident. At first, I thought that they wanted me to see them lounging about so that I would think they were unprepared, and rush in blindly. But if they're truly as intelligent as I believe they are, could they really have expected such a simple ruse to work? Were they really trying to goad me into attacking them so that I would fall into an ambush, or were they actually trying to do the opposite? What if they know me and how I think, and they expected me to do exactly what I ended up doing, keeping me from attacking by showing me something that they knew would make me cautious? There are only two possible options... they either used a simple trick that I saw through, or they're currently using a brilliant trick that I completely fell for... and I really do believe that they're too clever to have done the former. In that case, the only reason they could have for using trickery to keep me away is that they're afraid of my soldiers and I, and they wouldn't be afraid of us if they weren't vulnerable. It's very likely that they never had any precautions set up to begin with, relying almost solely on manipulation to keep me away... and yet, they must have done something to protect themselves. There's no way that they could have believed that their trickery would hold me off forever. It can't be as simple as a booby trap in the apartment. That might kill a few men in the beginning of the battle, but the rest of my massive army would eventually overpower them. It must be something big, something involving all of my men, something..." he stopped for a moment, and his gaze turned towards an alien rifle that he had set down on his desk. "Is that it?" he thought. "Could they have rigged the guns and shields before sending them to us? By doing that, as soon as we attack them, they could do any number of things to us... perhaps the guns would explode, backfire, or maybe simply lock up and refuse to operate?"

After tossing the matter around in his head for a moment, he came to believe that he had finally seen through their deception, and settled on a plan of attack. First, deciding that he ought to handle this in at least somewhat of a low key fashion as the police and the media were focused on his territory and watching him carefully, he had every apartment in the complex (save for Luke's, of course) evacuated. This was actually very easily accomplished; the Boss sent a few of his more silver-tongued lieutenants to the apartment disguised as inspectors and police officers, and had them convince the landlord that many of the apartments were constructed using hazardous materials. The lieutenants then personally saw to it that the building was emptied, and that no civilians would witness the event or get caught in the crossfire. That being taken care of, the Boss then sent a large war party into the building, wearing plain clothes, yellow safety helmets, and hospital masks, rather than their gang colors, and hiding their weapons in boxes. Somewhat unfortunately, the landlord had contacted the city government to confirm that the building was found to have contained hazardous materials, and they had no knowledge of the incident. A real inspector was sent to the building, but the Blue Shirts took care of him rather easily, simply bribing him. The Blue Shirts retrieved their weapons from the boxes, using regular firearms with silencers instead of the gang's high-powered alien rifles, just as the Boss had ordered.

"They're here," said Heyt as he looked at the screen of a monitor. It was connected to a series of cameras that the aliens had created days before, and Luke had placed them throughout the complex. The feed showed the activity of the Blue Shirts as they tried to quickly and quietly evacuate the building, preparing to attack. Retix nodded, before turning towards Sam and asking "Are you ready?" Sam shrugged as she pushed herself away from the wall she had been leaning on, replying "Sure." Heyt glanced towards her and asked "And you're certain that you remember what you need to do?" Sam rolled her eyes, retrieving a metallic orb from her pocket and tossing it up and down as she said "Yeah, I remember. Get into position and activate this thing." "Right," said Retix, "that's the gist of it. Now, you'd better get going." After Sam had left, Retix turned to Luke and handed him a copper circlet, saying "Take this. It belonged to Gor, the alien who died as we were teleporting to your world." Luke looked at her, and asked "Aren't you going to enslave me, like everyone else?" Retix shook her head, and replied "Not a chance. You've proven yourself to be a true friend, and you're the only one that we can trust. Besides, if you don't keep your free will, how are you going to kill us if we misuse the device?" Luke smiled and took the circlet from her, placing it on his head.

The stage was now set. The Blue Shirts were to enter Luke's apartment, kill everything inside of it, clean up all traces of the battle, and then depart. Normally, the Blue Shirt soldiers weren't used to taking missions like this, using silencers and cleaning up the mess afterwards, so the Boss sent the assassin Stan to guide them and lead the attack. He lead the soldiers towards Luke's door, and set down his gun as he began to silently pick the lock.

"Do it," said Heyt. Valk nodded, and activated the device. Using the resources that Sam had brought them, as well as correcting the flaws that they discovered in the test results that they had gathered after using it on her, the device had grown much more powerful since it had last been activated. Now, it's range was large enough to seize control of every Blue Shirt in the building, and they became servile just as the apartment's door swung open. Retix and Heyt quickly set about examining a series of consoles, typing furiously and retrieving data. In a short amount of time, they were able to use the monitors to instill commands in the Blue Shirts, who stood in the hallway with vacant expressions. Retix glanced up at the Blue Shirts for a moment, before quickly looking back down at her work. "Would the leader of this attack kindly step forward?" she asked. Stan almost immediately reacted, entering the apartment. "Would you do me a favor? Call your boss, and give him a message. Tell him that the aliens were simply unprepared for the attack, and that you managed to kill them, as well as Luke and Sam, suffering only minimal casualties." "It will be done," replied Stan, who used Luke's telephone to make the call.

The Boss slowly set down his phone and leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief. "That's it," he said, as his smile widened. Stan had just informed him of the success of the mission, and he was now elated. He had outsmarted and killed the very last of his true enemies, the only ones who stood to upset his future plans, and now the conquest of the entire city was simply a matter of time.

"Is everything connected?" asked Retix. The device and the monitors, as well as Luke and the aliens, now had small nodes attached to them, and Tyl gave Retix a thumbs up as he finished his calibrations. Qez yelled "I'm done over here," as she finished running a cable from the device to the main monitor, and Heyt said "Ready," as he finished typing out a line of code. "Of course," he added, "the room might be too small for everything. I'll set up a security box, and arrange for a material push after the calculations come in."

As the Boss lit a cigar and placed it in his mouth, he couldn't help but feel a small amount of regret. He had known both Luke and Sam for many years, and it pained him slightly to have killed the two of them. Sam in particular could have proven to be a very valuable asset, if she had only used her new found powers to assist the Blue Shirts and betray the aliens. Just then, he heard noises coming from outside the door of his office. As he approached it, the door swung open, and he could clearly see that his two guards had been defeated and were now lying on the floor. The Boss pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the doorway, expecting an assassin to rush in at any moment, however nothing seemed to happen. Sweat dripped down his face as he stood there, waiting for the onslaught. All of a sudden, his pistol was knocked out of his hands, and he was sent falling backwards as something struck his chest. As he looked up in confusion, Sam deactivated her cloaking device, and smiled down at him as she fiddled with the metallic sphere in her hands. "Hey, boss," she said, before twisting the sphere and pressing a few buttons on it.

The sphere emitted a wave of light, as if scanning the environment, and the particles of the beams seemed to penetrate and pass through everything nearby. The sphere was now hovering in midair, and Sam ran out of the room as quickly as she could. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash in the office, followed by a wave of energy that caused the room to shake. The Boss felt a strong force pushing him away from the sphere, and looking around him he saw that the walls, along with the furniture, seemed to be affected by the force as well. His desk and chair flew away from the sphere, and large sections of the walls broke off in rectangles and were pushed backwards. This chaos continued for a few more seconds before finally coming to an end, and the sphere fell harmlessly to the floor. The Boss looked up and saw Luke and the aliens standing where his office used to be, along with an array of monitors and other technology. Luke began to walk towards him, while the aliens prepared to activate the device once again after turning it off seconds before teleporting, which had been a necessity. Back at Luke's apartment, Stan and the Blue Shirts were just now beginning to regain their free will, retaining no memory of what had just happened. The Boss attempted to run from Luke and the aliens, however he found that his leg had been injured and he could not stand up. Luke stood over him and looked down into his eyes. The Boss looked up at him, and said "This wasn't what I wanted. After you chose to be loyal to them rather than to me, there was only so much that I could do. I'm sorry, s-" before being cut off by Luke, who asked "Do you know what happens when someone gains power without earning it?" Before the Boss could answer, the aliens activated the device, and every Blue Shirt in the hideout fell under their control.

Oriphiel · 08-25-2015, 07:42 AM

Chapter Twenty Two

Having conquered the Blue Shirts' hideout, the aliens now had a force of considerable strength at their disposal. Using the terminals connected to the device, they were able to establish behavioral perameters in all of their subjects, allowing them to instantaneously issue general orders over the entire force. Unfortunately, the terminals weren't yet able to give specific commands to individual soldiers, which had to be assigned in person. Sam was granted immunity to the control of the device, so that she could continue to quickly gather crucial supplies both inside and outside of the device's area of control; otherwise, the device would have stripped her of her full range of skills in exchange for obedience, and she would have suffered amnesia every time she left the device's range. The aliens currently needed her to be as effective as possible, as they couldn't send the enslaved Blue Shirts out on missions until the range of the device had expanded beyond the hideout, and they had to rely almost solely on her to procure the necessary resources. Sam, eager to obtain new upgrades, was as prolific as ever, and the range of the device quickly began to grow. As it spread, the aliens were able to send the Blue Shirts out to gather resources as well, which expedited the process even further. Soon, the majority of the borough fell under the control of the aliens, and every person within their territory quickly dropped everything and set about gathering materials for the device. Unfortunately for Sam, after the aliens had gained control of the borough, Heyt informed her that her body simply couldn't handle any further upgrading. Though this bothered her to no end, she continued to serve the aliens to the best of her abilities, for the time being.

During this time, the allies had been regrouping after the devastating loss that they had suffered at the hands of the Blue Shirts. The leaders of the allies spent a great deal of their time bolstering their numbers, forming alliances with all of the gangs that were eager to destroy the Blue Shirts before they could conquer the entire city. Meanwhile, the lieutenants gathered as many weapons as they could find while the soldiers honed their marksmanship, preparing for the day when they could reclaim their territory. John and Cleo assisted in every way that they could, hoping that the allies would attack in time to prevent the activation of the device. As the days passed on, the alliance grew to become a force capable of challenging the Blue Shirts, and the soldiers were sent out on scouting missions and raids to prepare for the upcoming battle. One of these raiding parties managed to cross deep into the Blue Shirts' territory undetected, and discovered a very odd sight; every single person, whether they were a civilian or a gangster, was occupied solely with acquiring scrap metal and electronics. The raiding party ducked into a large hardware store to avoid being detected by a passing group of Blue Shirts, and found that the store had been stripped clean of everything of value (save for a few copper pipes and rolls of wire). One of them walked over to a window and scanned the streets, while the others looked around the ravaged store. "What the fuck is going on?" asked one of them, to which the man beside him simply shook his head. The lieutenant leading the party replied "Something's not right here. It looks like the aftermath of a riot or some shit, but... I didn't hear about anything like that going down last night. And where the fuck are the cops? I know that they tend to stay off to the side when bad shit happens around here, but you'd think a huge fuckin' riot would be enough to get them to show up." "They did show up," said the soldier by the window. As the others turned to face him, he pointed out the window towards a police officer across the street. Of course, the officer had been enslaved by the device, and the raiding party stared at him in confusion as he hauled off a bag of materials. "Are you fucking kidding me? They're in on it?" said one of them, and another replied "Looks like it." As the raiding party continued to talk amongst themselves, the soldier by the window thought to himself in silence, rubbing the copper wire that he had wound around his wrist into a thick makeshift bracelet. Just like the others, he had been skeptical when John and Cleo warned the allies about the device, however he now slowly began to realize that they were right, and that the copper they had given him was all that was currently keeping his mind free.

"It's the device," he said, turning to face the others. "What? You mean that thing John and Cleo were talking about?" replied one of them, and another shook his head and said "Don't start with that alien bullshit." The lieutenant looked down in silence for a moment while the others continued to talk, thinking about the situation for a moment before interjecting "He's right. There's no other explanation. The device is real, and it's been activated." As the members of the raiding party looked at him incredulously, still unconvinced that the aliens and the device were real, they began to voice their disagreement. The lieutenant ignored them, saying "We were too late," to himself in a quiet voice. Just then, a young woman in the streets glanced through the window of the hardware store, noticing the raiding party. The behavioral perameters instilled in her beckoned her to attack anyone in her vicinity that had been registered as an enemy, and the sight of the gang colors worn by the raiding party caused her to feel an insatiable anger. She recklessly flung herself towards the man on the other side of the window, who had turned to face the rest of the raiding party, shattering the pane as she grabbed hold of him. The broken glass filled the air, slicing up both her and her quarry, yet she seemed to completely ignore the large cuts that had formed across her body.

As the other members of the raiding party rushed to help him, the man near the window struggled to fend off his attacker, who was trying to stab him with a piece of broken glass. He managed to knock the shard out of her hands, however she refused to relent; now lacking a weapon, she continued her assault by biting into his neck. He lifted his arm in an attempt to push her away, and his copper bracelet came close to her face, causing her to fall backwards as she noticed it. She, along with the rest of the alien's slaves, had been programmed to avoid coming into contact with copper, keeping them from accidentally freeing their minds while gathering resources. The young woman glared at him with a confused expression as her mind beckoned her to simultaneously fight and retreat, now outnumbered as the other members of the raiding party came to assist him. Eventually, her instinct to attack proved stronger than her instinct to avoid copper, and she rushed the raiding party without caution. As one of the men pushed her back, the man who had been near the window grabbed hold of her and pressed his bracelet against her skin. She looked at him for a few seconds with tired and confused eyes, before losing control of her legs and falling backwards in a heap. Now seperated from the copper bracelet, she began to fall under the control of the device once again, until a copper pipe was placed in her hands. She gripped it loosely as she began to regain her senses, and the raiding party took a moment to relax and plan their next move. However, though the young woman was now no longer a threat, the commotion of the fight had attracted the attention of many people nearby, and they began to make their way towards the raiding party, gathering a variety of makeshift weapons.

Upon noticing the encroaching attackers, the raiding party quickly collected themselves and rushed for the store's back door. They ran out onto the streets with only a few copper pipes to defend themselves with, and the attackers soon caught up to them. At first, the raiders put up a good fight, fending off their attackers without too much trouble, however more and more enemies joined the fight as it dragged on. Unfortunately, an enslaved Blue Shirt with an alien rifle happened to be alerted to the chaos, and he fired at the raiders as he leapt into the fray. Almost instantly, two of the raiders were killed by the Blue Shirts' shots, and everyone else in the fight was knocked back by the blasts. The surviving raiders quickly got to their feet and began to run from the fight, desperately trying to escape their pursuers. The Blue Shirt managed to kill one more with a well placed shot, before the others evaded him by splitting up. In the end, only one member of the raiding party managed to return to the allies, and he informed them of the activation of the device. The leaders of the alliance now understood how powerful the aliens had become, and that they would grow even stronger as their device's range was increased. If they were to have any hope of defeating them before they could conquer the entire planet, they would need to strike as quickly as possible. As the soldiers of the alliance were prepared for the upcoming battle, the leaders formed a rudimentary plan.

Destroying the device was obviously the prime objective, as it would liberate the enslaved army that would undoubtedly be defending the territory, making the aliens exponentially easier to kill. That being so, the leaders of the alliance decided that Luke's apartment was where the focus of their attention should be, as they were not aware that the device had been relocated to the hideout of the Blue Shirts. Suddenly, as they were discussing the matter, one of the maps that they had been marking with battle plans began to rise into the air. "That's a fuckin' horrible plan. You're all gonna get slaughtered," said Sam, as she turned off her cloaking device.

Oriphiel · 08-26-2015, 04:48 AM

Chapter Twenty Three

Immediately, all of the nearby guards took aim at her. Sam laughed, raising a hand as she said "Relax. If I'd come here to kill you, I'd have butchered your entire pathetic army without any of you catching so much as a glimpse of me. I am, after all, an invisible fucking assassin." "You're Sam, I presume?" spoke Francesca, aiming a sawed-off shotgun at her. Sam nodded, brushing back her hair with a metallic hand as she replied "Yeah, i'm Sam. Or at least, you know, most of me still is." Francesca, still aiming her firearm at Sam, smiled and said "I've been looking forward to meeting you... almost as much as I've been looking forward to killing you. They say that you're invincible, yes?" Sam laughed slightly, replying "Nobody's invincible. But hey, I guess I do come pretty close..." Before she and Francesca could converse further, Naomasa (who was the only ally in the room that hadn't pulled out a gun) took a sip from the drink that he had been pouring for himself as Sam had entered, and asked "Are you alright?" The surrounding allies looked at Naomasa incredulously, confused by his out of place question. As Sam had entered and announced herself, Naomasa had almost immediately noticed that she was in pain. Though she tried to hide it behind a laid back demeanor, Naomasa could tell by her face that she was trying hard to remain calm, although the most obvious and telling sign of her condition was that one of her fists was clenched very tightly. Shocked by his seemingly inhuman perception, Sam stared at him for a moment, until Naomasa smiled slightly and nodded towards her hand. Sam, looking down in the direction of Naomasa's nod, began to laugh as she noticed the dead giveaway that was her clenched fist. "You caught me," she replied, opening her hand and stretching her fingers. "They warned me about this. You know, if I ever tried to betray them. Suppose they thought that it'd be enough to keep me from doing anything rash. I put on a pretty good show for them when they first used it, and I have to admit that it did hurt like hell, but they forgot to take one thing into account... and that's the fact that I've hurt like hell my whole life. This..." she stopped and gestured towards the scar on her neck, "can't hit me with anything that I haven't already learned to live with."

Of course, none of the allied soldiers knew quite what Sam was talking about, as it was unknown to them that the aliens had implanted a device in her that caused her to feel pain whenever she so much as thought about betraying them. However, Naomasa quickly began to understand the situation, and he took another sip from his drink before asking "So, they implanted a device in you, in an attempt to control you?" Sam narrowed her eyes, replying "Yeah. Didn't you already know that?" Naomasa shook his head, saying "All I knew was that you were in pain." Eager to unravel the motives behind Sam's arrival, the leader of the Red Sleeves finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind: "Why are you here?" Sam, becoming slightly more serious, turned towards him and curtly replied "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to help you pathetic sacks of shit out. That's why the aliens' toy in my neck is setting my nerves on fire." "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" interjected one of the guards, before the leader of the Red Sleeves gestured for him to be silent by raising a hand. Turning to face Sam once again, he asked "And what if we don't want your help?" Sam laughed, replying "What's the matter? You don't trust me? You think the aliens sent me to trick you, or something like that? Like I said before, I could have already killed the shit out of all of you if that was my goal." One of the guards angrily answered "Oh, come on! You really expect us to fall for your bullshit? We ought to kill your ass right now, before you get a chance to stab us in the back, like you've done to everyone else!" This set off a commotion among the guards and lieutenants, as some of them began to voice their disdain. The leader of the Red Sleeves glared angrily at the soldiers, causing them to quiet down. Facing Sam, he asked "Why are you betraying the aliens?"

"Well," replied Sam, "I guess i'm just not much of an idealist. I never cared for politics, you know? The way I see it, the world is always going to be run by power hungry assholes, and every problem that gets solved either ends up making no difference at all, or leads to a thousand more problems popping up in the future. It just... it never fucking ends. Really, all you can do is try to make the most of the pile of shit that is life. I know who I am, and I know what I want. In the end, that's really all I can bring myself to care about. Morally, this whole power struggle between you fuckers and the aliens doesn't mean shit to me. All I want is to become as powerful as I possibly can, and I'll help whichever side stands to benefit me the most. Right now, that side happens to be the alliance. I mean, yeah, working for the aliens was pretty great for awhile, and they've given me more strength than any human has ever possessed. But lately, they're doubtful of my loyalty... which I suppose is actually quite reasonable of them, since here I am, betraying them. They refuse to upgrade me any further, and they've taken precautions to make sure that I don't use my powers against them. I've overhead them talking about me, and I've learned that most of my upgrades have some failsafe hidden in them; they can see through my cloaking device, the gun they installed in my arm won't work on them, they supposedly have some sort of projectile that can easily pierce the shield around me, and so on. Not only has their usefulness to me come to an end, but... they're the only ones in the world who can destroy me. And I simply can't have that. So... yeah. That's why i'm here. I need your help. Believe me, I'd take them out on my own if I could, but they just have too much leverage over my powers, and their device has enslaved more people than even I could hope to fight. At best, I could smash maybe a few of them to pieces before the rest of them and their big fucking army took me out."

“I never expected you to be so much of a coward,” replied Francesca. “Like you said, the only reason you’re willing to help us defeat the aliens is to make sure that there’ll be nobody left on the planet who can kill you. You’re too afraid to fight them yourself, and so now you’re bowing down to us mere 'pathetic sacks of shit’, begging for our help.“ Sam rolled her eyes and said “Think what you want. The fact remains that I’m your only shot at taking out the aliens. I know where the device is, and I know how to get to it. Take it or fucking leave it.” The leader of the Red Sleeves sighed, and asked “Alright. What did you have in mind?” “First of all,” replied Sam, setting the map back down on the table, “you should know that the device isn’t at Luke’s apartment; it was moved to the Blue Shirts’ hideout. In terms of how to get to it, well… I happen to know a thing or two about the aliens’ defense system. Like I said before, I overhear things. Kind of a habit of mine. Anyway, right now, the aliens have sent almost everyone under their control to go and gather materials to help power up their brainwashing machine. However, that doesn’t mean that the device is undefended; the aliens have a system of cameras set up throughout the borough, and they’re ready to order their slaves to attack if they spot any large groups of intruders on the monitors. However, there’s a flaw in their system; when they send out orders using the main monitor attached to the device, which is the only way to command their slaves over a long distance, they can’t send out orders to individual soldiers or even small groups. If they send out commands using the monitor, everyone gets them. I figure that if you all send some soldiers to attack an area near a few cameras, the aliens will be forced to send their whole army to stop them. This would clear out the borough, allowing the rest of the alliance to head right for the device without running into any trouble. As long as you steer clear of cameras, you’ll be able to attack the device before the aliens even know what’s happening. To that end, I have some good news… after overhearing the aliens talking about the cameras, I did a little digging when they weren’t looking, and discovered the locations of them. I can show you exactly where the distraction unit should attack, and I can also guide the real army on an unmonitored path towards the device. After that, you’ll have to take out the unit of heavily armed Blue Shirts that the aliens keep at the hideout. They’re close enough for the aliens to give them commands in person, meaning that they can override the general orders of the console, allowing them to constantly defend the area. Like I said, they’re well armed, but there aren’t that many of them. You should be able to kill them without too much trouble.”

“There are three problems with your plan,” said the leader of the Red Sleeves. “First, anyone who joined the distraction team would basically be committing suicide. And there’s no way that they could draw out the entirety of the aliens’ army and keep them occupied for more than a few minutes.” “Then I guess the people attacking the hideout will have to move quickly,” replied Sam. “But, in the meantime, the distraction team would still be utterly slaughtered. Who would possibly agree to-“ began the leader of the Red Sleeves, before he was cut off by Francesca, who said “I’ll do it,” while lighting a cigarette. “Francesca,” said Naomasa, “that’s not necessary. My men are more than capable of carrying out this mission.” However, Francesca smiled and lifted a hand, gesturing for Naomasa to relent. The leader of the Red Sleeves turned towards Francesca and asked “Are you certain?” She nodded in response. That being settled, the leader of the Red Sleeves continued, saying “Very well. Sam, the second problem with your plan is that we have no idea how to destroy the device. While we’re sitting around in the hideout, trying to figure out how to deactivate it, the aliens will have ordered all of their army to return to defend it after realizing that the first attack was just a trick.”

“That’s not a problem,” replied Sam. “Back when the device started enslaving the borough, I witnessed something pretty fucking hilarious. While the device was shooting out it’s mind control waves, it grabbed hold of a Red Sleeve scout that happened to be dicking around in Blue Shirt territory, without wearing any copper. So, after grabbing a bunch of scrap metal, he headed over to the hideout to drop it off, right? Well, just then, one of the armed guards started freaking out, trying to shoot him. Apparently, it was some kind of glitch; even though the aliens’ slaves are ordered to shoot members of gangs like the Red Sleeves on sight, there was supposed to be some line of code entered into the monitor that overruled that instinct if the enemy gang member happened to be enslaved by the device. Anyway, one of the guard’s shots blasted through the ceiling, towards the area above where the aliens were working on the device. After restoring order, the aliens tried to act like it was no big deal, and I left to go carry out some missions. Later on, after I got back, I was finally able to sneak a peek at the device to see if it had been hit, and, well… the shot had just barely cut through the casing, but there seemed to be a few scorch marks around the damaged area. I remembered that some of the chemicals that I had nabbed for the aliens were pretty fucking flammable. Unfortunately, the aliens improved the device’s shielding after the incident, making it much more sturdy, but I know a way around that. Near the device is a generator… it’s shielded as well, making it impervious to most forms of damage, but it’s also connected to some sort of weird array of discs that the aliens installed on the roof of the hideout. These discs are how we’ll destroy the device. They’re very sensitive to electrical currents, and the aliens made sure to put a special type of lightning rod near them that would apparently protect them from being overloaded. One of my upgrades allows me to fire electrical blasts from my arm. See what I’m getting at, here? I’ll fry the discs, overloading the generator, and the device will be totally exposed. After that, my guess is that a shot from a fully charged alien rifle would easily finish the job.”

“Well,” said the leader of the Red Sleeves, “though it sounds quite risky, and we have no way of knowing if it’ll work until the very moment when we either succeed or die, it may be the only possible way that we can destroy the device. Now, the final flaw with your plan is the aliens themselves. According to John, they can deflect shotgun blasts with ease, and they’re very physically strong as well. If we’re going to destroy the device, we’re bound to run into them along the way, and so we need to know how to fight them.” “Now that,” replied Sam, “is something I can’t help you with. I’ve searched for any tricks or strategies that I could use to take them all out, and it seems like the only way to do it is the hard way; punch through their shields, and fuck ‘em up before they get a chance to recharge them. It’ll be tough, but you have to remember that they can be killed, if you hit them hard enough, you know? Anyway… that’s my plan. Distract them, ambush them, and then blow the device up. What do you say?” The leader of the Red Sleeves thought about it for a moment, glancing at Francesca and Naomasa. After Francesca nodded towards him, and Naomasa shrugged, he turned back towards Sam and replied “I suppose it’ll have to do. We’ll spend the rest of the night fine tuning and organizing the plan, and we’ll attack tomorrow morning.” “I’ll be there,” replied Sam, as she turned and walked away.

Oriphiel · 09-09-2015, 11:55 AM

Well, I think it's safe to say that the users of Music Banter really need to shell out the cash for new computer mice; people are still accidentally clicking on this journal, now to the tune of over two thousand times! I guess I should do something special, in the off chance that someone actually likes this journal, and didn't accidentally click on Blood and Diamonds while scrolling through the journal forum.

I'm not sure what I should do to commemorate the occasion... How about one more side story before I write the final entries and finish this journal off for good?

Side Story: Convertible, Part One

After using Sam's advice to come up with a plan, the leaders of the alliance informed their men of the coming attack, and the warehouses buzzed with activity. For the majority of the soldiers in the alliance, it was a sleepless night, as everyone prepared for their impending doom in their own way. After hitting a punching bag for awhile, Ricardo began to get a headache from the noise and heat of the crowded warehouse, and he stepped outside into the cool darkness of night. After taking a few steps towards the docks, he made out a familiar face ahead; Cleo was sitting on one of the docks, dangling her feet above the water, writing something down in a notebook. "Hey," said Ricardo as he sat down beside her. Cleo looked up at him, but before she could answer, Ricardo added "Is that a new notebook? The one you had when we first met was red. Remember, back at the club, when you kicked that guy in the face after he tackled me?" Cleo smiled, and replied "Good times," before looking down, and adding "How could I forget? And yeah, you're right, it's a different notebook. A friend gave it to me. You know, you've got a good memory, man." Ricardo shrugged, saying "I guess. I've always been pretty good at remembering things. Haven't forgot a birthday in a long time... not that anyone I know celebrates theirs. Anyway, what happened to the other notebook? Did you fill it up, or something?" Cleo set her pen down and smiled, replying "Does it matter? I mean, no offense, but why do you care?" Ricardo looked down and tilted his head, saying "Just making small talk. Beats just sitting around, thinking about how we're all gonna die horribly tomorrow." "Fuck that," replied Cleo. "I'm not dying anytime soon, not until I finish this fucking story. After that, the universe can fuck me over any way it wants, but until then, it's gonna take a lot more than some assholes from space take me out." With that, she picked up her pen once again, and began twirling it around in her fingers. Ricardo smiled, and said "Hey, I was just joking around. I'm right there with you. Fuck those aliens, and fuck dying. So... what're you writing? Sounds like you really give a shit about seeing it through to the end. Is it the same story that you were writing back when we first met?" Cleo laughed, and replied "Fuck no! That was just some piece of shit story I threw together for a skin mag." Ricardo laughed, saying "I didn't know that skin mags even had stories. But then again, I guess there are all kinds of people, with all kinds of needs, right?"

Cleo rolled her eyes, saying "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, the story i'm trying to write now is... different. More personal, you know? At first, I didn't even know where to begin, but now i'm really starting to get in the groove. Or at least I was, until you interrupted me." Ricardo smiled and raised his hands, saying "My bad. Didn't mean to stifle your precious creativity." "It's fine," replied Cleo, rolling her eyes again. "So," said Ricardo, "what's it about, anyway?" Cleo thought for a moment, before replying "Well... me, I guess. I've been writing about everything that's happened to me during the past few days. It's my point of view during all of this weird shit, yeah? Figure people might find it interesting in the future. Could give them some answers after all of this shit with the brainwashing aliens and the Threx goes down. Hell, I guess you could say that it'd be historic. An eye witness account." "Oh, ain't that sweet," said Sam as she deactivated her cloaking device. "That's just what the world needs. Another fat fucking historical book that's only good for either boring or bludgeoning people to death with." Startled by her sudden appearance, both Cleo and Ricardo almost fell forward into the water. "Oh, come on!" exclaimed Ricardo. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Sam shrugged, and replied "Hanging around." "Hanging around?" asked Ricardo. "Yeah," said Sam as she folded her arms, "hanging around. Look, if you had the power of invisibility, you'd do it too, alright? So don't give me any shit."

Ricardo shook his head and laughed, saying "You know what? I don't even care. I don't give a shit about you, and I couldn't fucking care less about what you do. As long as you, you know, do it somewhere else. So fuck off." "I've got a better idea," said Sam, as she stepped closer to Ricardo. "How 'bout I rip off your legs, and kick the shit out of your face with them? I bet that'd look fucking hilarious." Ricardo laughed, and replied "No, you know what really looks hilarious? A burned up bitch with a can opener for an arm. Tell you what, if I need help opening a real badass can of soup anytime soon, I'll give you a holler." Sam smiled, and said "I'm hearing a lot of tough talk, but I wonder what kind of noises you'll make after I open you up. I've dealt with assholes like you before, and one punch from me is all it takes to turn 'Fuck you' into 'Oh god, please stop'." "Ooh," said Cleo, "that's a good one. I've got to remember that shit for when I introduce you in the story. Let people really get a taste for your personality." Sam looked over at her curiously, asking "Really? You're putting me in there? You're not just fucking around?" Cleo shrugged, before nodding lightly. Sam shrugged as well, saying "Hey, that's actually kinda cool. I'm flattered." After thinking for a moment, she narrowed her eyes, and continued "If you fuck me up, like write me in as a stupid fucking asshole or something, I'll... I don't know, break your knees or something. Just don't do it."

Cleo was about to say something, when she was interrupted by the screeching of tires. The three of them looked in the direction that the sound came from, and saw a well-dressed man stepping out of a fancy convertible. "Fuckin' lazy assholes. Making me come all the way out here to do this shit myself... I should fire the lot of 'em," he said as he walked towards a small seafood restaurant. "Never shoulda bought this fuckin' place. Fuckin' con artist got me good..." He unlocked the door, and stepped inside. Ricardo and Sam both looked at each other, and smiled. Without hesitating, they both ran towards the restaurant. Cleo closed her notebook and stood up, following behind them. As they reached the convertible, both Sam and Ricardo jumped inside, with Sam ending up in the driver's seat. "Fuckin' a," said Sam, as she looked down and saw that the man had left the keys in the ignition. "Hey," whispered Ricardo angrily, "no fucking way! This is my ride! Go find your own!" Sam looked over towards him, and replied "Is your ass in the driver's seat? No? Then fuck off." "Oh, c'mon! You're invisible! You can go steal any car in the city, any time you want! Look, i'm sorry about insulting you earlier. That was low of me. But please, let me have this one!" Sam gave Ricardo the finger, and replied "You're gonna be sitting on this before your ass ever touches the driver's seat. Now fuck off!" Cleo caught up to them, and put a hand on the car as she leaned forward and looked inside. "What's the plan?" she asked. Before Sam or Ricardo could respond, the owner of the convertible stepped outside, and almost immediately noticed them messing with his ride. "Hey, get the fuck out of there!" he yelled, dropping a parcel as he ran towards them. Sam turned the keys, and Ricardo grabbed Cleo, pulling her in just as the convertible began to race away. "Fuck!' she groaned as she fell in, maneuvering her way into the backseat. Sam and Ricardo started to laugh as the convertible picked up speed, and it wasn't long before they found themselves cruising up the street towards the city's neon soaked downtown.

Oriphiel · 09-13-2015, 10:01 AM

Side Story: Convertible, Part Two

Cleo looked up at a large advertisement on the side of a building, folding her arms and tilting her head. On it was a man with absurdly styled hair wearing tattered jeans and a leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up, chains draped over him haphazardly. Above him, in bold red lettering, were the words 'Express Your Individuality', followed by a brand logo. Cleo narrowed her eyes and continued to examine it, though she felt the urge to turn away. There was something about it that left a pit in her stomach, yet she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She felt herself shiver, as she thought about what advertisements looked like a hundred years ago, and what they would look like a hundred years in the future. It made all of the creativity, innovation, and energy of every generation, including her own, seem like an insignificant joke that keeps getting told. She felt cold and alone, as though nothing she or anyone could ever do would truly matter. Every name would be forgotten, every tower would fall, every hero would become tomorrow's fool, and eventually, everything would turn to dust, and be nothing at all. "You done yet?" she asked, lowering her gaze. "Just about," replied Ricardo, who was urinating on the wall below the advertisement. As he finished and zipped up his pants, he looked up at the poster briefly with a vacant glance, before clearing his nose and walking away. "Let's get the fuck out of here," said Cleo, as she nodded her head towards the car.

Ricardo looked at her and answered "Sure. Where's robo-bitch?" "She'll be back in a sec. Said she wanted to get something to drink," replied Cleo as she jumped into the front passenger seat. "Hey, now. Don't be a fucking seat thief," said Ricardo, looking at her expectantly. "Fair is fair, sidekick. Pull me into a moving car, the least you can do is give me a front row seat," replied Cleo, as she pointed towards the backseat with her thumb. Before Ricardo could argue with her, Sam knocked down the wall of the nearby convenience store with a well placed kick, and stepped outside carrying two kegs of alchohol. "What the fuck?" asked Ricardo, looking at Sam with an incredulous expression. "I had a thirst for beer, and a thirst for action, so I decided to quench them both at once. I'm one efficient motherfucker," she replied with a smile. The owner of the convenience store ran outside with a pistol, firing a shot at Sam while screaming obscenities. Thanks to the powerful shield emitters that the aliens had equipped her with, the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off of the back of her head. Sam looked back at him and raised up one of the kegs, yelling "Don't make me feed this to you, you fuckin' worm!"

After placing one of the kegs beside Ricardo in the back, Sam hopped into the driver's seat and started the car up. As she drove away, she used her robotic arm to punch a hole into the top of the keg sitting in her lap, and she drank freely from it. Of course, Sam being thusly distracted, the car began to swerve tremendously. "You're gonna get us killed!" yelled Cleo as she reached for the steering wheel. Sam lowered her keg and pushed Cleo's hand away, saying "Hey, it's all good! I know what i'm doing! Just fuckin' relax!" "Just don't fuck up the wheels before we get a chance to spin them, alright? And did you really need two whole fucking kegs?" asked Ricardo. Sam laughed, and replied "Well, I figured one keg is good for a party, and i'm a party and a half, you know? So I rounded up." Ricardo looked at her with a confused expression, shaking his head as he said "The fuck are you talking about?" While Sam and Ricardo continued to argue with each other, Cleo put her head back against her chair and closed her eyes, trying to get used to Sam's erratic driving. Eventually, she began to feel a bit more calm, and she turned her head to the side as she opened her eyes. Her gaze fell upon an endless river of neon streaks, constantly racing past her as the car sped across the city's downtown. The night was warming up, though the wind hitting the convertible provided a constant cool breeze, and the late-night businesses and restaurants along the street filled the air with a variety of scents. The car picked up even more speed, and all the world seemed to fade into a steady blur. It was at this moment that Cleo thought back on the advertisement, about how insignificant it had made life seem, however the image didn't give her the same depressed feeling that it had before. On the contrary, it suddenly came to her as a great comfort. For whatever reason, as the convertible continued to race through the city, insignificance seemed like something charming in the wake of inevitability. Even if she only had a second longer to live, it would be a second worth living for, and dying for. People come and people go, and all they can do is accomplish what they can with what they have. The image of dust that once terrified her now seemed to be a sandy beach that stretched as far as her imagination would allow, and she didn't mind the rising tide. In her mind, nothing mattered now, and yet she couldn't help but smile.

Oriphiel · 10-05-2015, 09:34 AM

Though it's kinda late for it, I couldn't help but give in to the tradition of reviewing a few random albums every thousand views. A few days ago, I went to a record store and grabbed some vinyl that I'd never heard of before. Also, well... one of them is technically just an EP, and not a full album. Sue me.

Side Story: Convertible, Part Three

As the convertible sped through the neon drenched streets of the city's downtown, Cleo noticed that she had knocked the glove compartment open with her knee when she had jumped into the front seat earlier. Giving it a curious glance, her attention fell upon a stack of cassette tapes that had been pushed to the back. Cleo grabbed a few, and looked them over. Judging by the fact that the names of the bands were hastily scrawled across the tapes with a marker, it was fairly obvious that they were bootlegs. Her curiosity mounting, Cleo popped one of the cassettes into the car's tape deck, and began to rewind it. "The fuck did you just put in?" asked Sam, as she lifted the keg of beer in her lap to her lips. Cleo shrugged, and began to examine the rest of the tapes as she replied "No clue. I found 'em in the glove compartment." Sam smiled and shrugged back at her, saying "Alright. But if they suck, I swear, I'm driving back to the docks and feeding 'em to that asshole." Cleo set the tapes down and leaned back into her chair, closing her eyes as she replied "I'm right there with you. But go easy on him, sidekick. After all, he donated his ride to us quite generously, didn't he?" Sam laughed as she started to lift the keg once again. "Yeah, I guess he did. Alright, I won't feed him the tapes... but he's still gotta eat this," she said, taking her hand off of the wheel and making a fist. As the car began to swerve, Sam set her hand back down and regained control. "Nice driving, robo bitch," said Ricardo, to which Sam responded by giving him the finger. Of course, in taking her hand off of the wheel to make the gesture, the car began to swerve once again. Ricardo laughed and shook his head, before leaning forward and lazily tapping Cleo on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "Hey Cleo," he said, using his free hand to brush back a few hairs that the wind had blown into his face, "why do you always call people 'sidekick'?" Cleo shrugged, and replied "Habit, I guess. Why do you call Sam 'robo bitch'?" Ricardo smiled, saying "It's fun to say, you know?" As Sam glared back at him, he added "Hey, no hard feelings, right?" Sam rolled her eyes, and pushed Ricardo back into the backseat of the car, with him laughing all the while. Just then, the tape deck clicked as the tape was completely rewound, and the music began to play.

Burning Rome - Debut

Cleo wasn't really sure what to expect from a tape labelled "Burning Rome", but it turned out that it wasn't anything super exotic; at it's heart, it was solid 1980's style rock, with a bit of an AOR feeling to it. It started off strong, and had a few catchy and memorable songs on the first side, however it began to lose some steam as it carried on. Cleo enjoyed it, though it didn't exactly have the energy and beat of the club music that she normally enjoyed listening to. Sam seemed to have fun with it, occasionally setting down her keg so she could drum along on the steering wheel. As the tape began to reach it's end, Ricardo noticed a woman with a knife running after a frightened would-be purse snatcher along the side of the road. After the car passed them, Ricardo turned around in his chair to see what would happen next, and noticed a car speeding up from behind. Glancing through the windshield, he quickly noticed that the three men inside the car were all carrying guns. Just as Cleo popped in the next tape, which was luckily already rewound, Ricardo yelled "Oh shit! We've got company!"

The Toasters - Self Titled EP

Sam and Cleo looked over their shoulders, and the music began to play. The mysterious car began to pull up beside them, and the men rolled down their windows and fired their guns wildly at the convertible. Sam quickly pulled the wheel to the side and rammed into the attackers, cheerily asking "Who the fuck are these assholes?" "Why are you asking me? How the fuck should I know?" replied Ricardo. Sam laughed as she pulled back from the attackers and tried to speed away, but they followed her without relent. "Wait a minute... remember that convenience store you fucked up? The owner was probably under someone's protection, paying tribute, you know?" asked Ricardo. "Whoever they are, they're pretty fuckin' stupid if they think those puny little guns can leave a scratch on me," said Sam, laughing even harder. "Hey, you might be invincible, but we aren't. Get us the fuck out of here," said Ricardo. Sam rolled her eyes, and replied "I know. I'm trying to get away from them, aren't I?" As the battle raged on, Cleo quickly realized that there was nothing she or Ricardo could do in this situation, and so she once again closed her eyes and enjoyed the music. Marked "The Toasters", Cleo expected it to be standard rock like the last tape, and was surprised to hear that it was Ska, a genre that she had very little familiarity with. Still, it was immediately enjoyable, being very fun, energetic and lighthearted. Though it was only four songs long, Cleo really enjoyed the tape while it lasted, except for one song that was a bit too slow paced for her tastes. Unfortunately, Sam and Ricardo were too preoccupied to either notice or enjoy the music, and the convertible sped on as the streets were filled with the sound of gunfire, screeching tires, and Ska.

Maggie Bell - Suicide Sal

The next tape seemed to be a blend of rock, soul, and funk, with a powerful Joplin-esque singer tying it all together. Cleo wasn't too crazy about it, and there were a few songs that just didn't stand out at all to her, but it was still a fairly solid body of work that had a presence to it. "Fuck this," said Sam with a smile as she slowed the car down slightly, allowing the car behind them to catch up. "The fuck are you doing?" asked Ricardo. Right as the car pulled up beside them, and the men prepared to fire their guns, Sam used her robotic arm to throw the keg in her lap at them. It smashed through the front of the car with ease, killing the driver. Without any guidance, the car crashed into a street lamp before flipping over. As Sam drove the convertible away from the scene, Cleo smiled and said "Looks like we've got a keg up on the competition." "What?" asked Ricardo, who didn't get the joke. Sam rolled her eyes, as Cleo explained "You know, like a leg up, but..." Ricardo shook his head and fell back into his seat, taking a deep breath and laughing. "That's so fuckin' bad..." he replied. "Alright," interjected Sam, "it looks like our joyride is coming to a close. After that gunfight, the cops'll be hot on the ass of anyone driving a car fitting this description. They're twitchy enough as it is with all of that weird shit going down in the Blue Shirts territory... nobody working, cops deserting, mass looting, you know?" "Sounds good to me," said Ricardo. "I think I've seen enough action for one night." Cleo gasped, glancing back at Ricardo and replying "What? Is that even possible?" "Yeah, yeah..." said Ricardo, smiling and shaking his head. In time, the convertible was disposed of, and the first rays of the coming day began to stretch across the sky as the three made their way back to the docks.

08-06-2015, 08:13 AM	#31 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	It's time for the final entry in Sam's side story! Side Story: Sam, Part Seven Sam raised her hands, rolling her eyes and smiling slightly as she said "You got me. Let's talk." The lieutenant took a few steps toward her, still aiming his pistol at her head, saying "Why are you turning against us? And what the hell happened to you back in that apartment? Stan said you got killed, blasted to hell, but... I mean, he was obviously mistaken." "No, he was dead right. I did get blasted to hell. Why, don't I look it?" "Then... who patched you up? And, like I asked before, why the fuck are you attacking us?" "The aliens did this to me. They put me in my coffin, only to drag me back out of it. Now they've got me running errands for them, and i'm inclined to play by their rules for the time being," replied Sam. "The aliens?" asked the lieutenant incredulously, before letting out a faint laugh. "Should have figured they'd be behind all of this weird shit. Anyway, why are you helping them? Even if they saved you from dying, they're the ones who fucked you up in the first place." "I have my reasons," replied Sam. "I suppose the most obvious one is the device that they stuck in me, which shoots unbearable pain through my body if I disobey them." The lieutenant shook his head, and replied "You don't need to worry about anything like that. It doesn't matter what kind of leverage they have against you. Those fuckers aren't going to be around much longer. Just come back to the hideout with me, alright? All you have to do is hold out there until we make our move, and you'll be free again." "What do you mean?" asked Sam. The lieutenant scratched his chin with his free hand, and replied "The Boss doesn't trust them. He's not sure what they're doing with all of the resources we've been grabbing for them, but he figures that it can't be good if they're keeping their motives a secret. They're probably planning on conquering the planet or some shit, you know? And besides, we don't need them anymore. They've given us a shit ton of guns, as well as shields and a bunch of other useful tech to sweeten the pot, and now we have enough to destroy every other gang in the city without breaking a sweat. So we're gonna take them out real soon, while we still have a cha-" Before he could finish, he was cut off by the HE53's dismembered arm hitting him square in his face. He had let his guard down while talking to Sam, and she threw it at him without hesitation. Sam closed the distance between them before the lieutenant could regain his senses, and grabbed his pistol with her mechanical hand just as he began to raise it up. The gun shattered as Sam squeezed her grip, and after punching the lieutenant in the jaw, she proceeded to lift him off of the floor by his lapel. Sam struck the lieutenant a few more times, making sure that he was in no shape to hinder her any further, before loosening her grip and letting him fall to his knees. As she pulled the trunk from underneath the bed and opened it, the lieutenant tried to stand up, only to fall back to the ground with a moan. "Why?" he asked in a wavering voice. Sam pulled the diamond out of the trunk, and smiled. She flipped it in the air before placing it back in the trunk, which she closed and lifted off of the ground. On her way out the door, she briefly glanced at the lieutenant, replying "Like I said, I have my reasons." One of the Blue Shirts that she had knocked out earlier had gotten back to his feet, and he now stumbled towards her. With a single kick, she sent him flying backwards, crashing into the wall and sending a cloud of pulverized drywall into the air. She continued on her way, and once again began to whistle along to the song that was still stuck in her head. On her way back to the aliens, Sam thought about what she should do with the information that she had gathered about the Blue Shirts' impending betrayal. Should she warn the aliens, or let them die? In truth, while Sam originally planned to find a way to kill the aliens herself and return to the Blue Shirts, she now found herself falling in love with her new powers. For personal reasons, she still felt at least a small amount of loyalty to the Blue Shirts, however she couldn't deny that she was utterly intrigued by the aliens' promise to upgrade her if she served them well. If this was just the first taste of the power that the aliens could offer her, what wonders might they provide her in the future, once she had proven herself to them and possibly even gained their trust? She had a long history with the Blue Shirts, and didn't want to side against the people who had essentially served as her foster family, however she eventually decided that she couldn't allow them to keep her from attaining the power that the future held in store for her. And so it was that Sam found herself allied with the aliens. At least, for now. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------

08-08-2015, 08:02 AM	#32 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Now, back to the main story. Here's a fun and cheesy Hi-NRG song that will destroy you with the power of crazy bleached 1980s wigs! Chapter Eighteen Tensions had been mounting between the aliens and the Blue Shirts the past few days, and a conflict seemed inevitable. The aliens were correct in their assessment of the Blue Shirts, who broke their promise to focus on providing resources after receiving a large amount of guns. In somewhat of a retaliation, shortly after Retix's late night walk with Luke, the aliens forced the Blue Shirt lieutenants who were "guarding" them out of the apartment, and began rebuilding the assassin Sam to act as their agent. As the Blue Shirts provided less and less resources to their allies, and the aliens sent a bionic former Blue Shirt into the field, both sides expected a battle in the days to come. Of course, the Blue Shirts planned to take the offensive and wipe the aliens out as soon as possible, however, they were stripped of whatever level of surprise such an attack might have had after Sam learned of their plans. And yet, even though the aliens were now certain that the Blue Shirts were coming to kill them, they didn't appear to be worried in the slightest, and seemed to take few precautions to protect themselves. The majority of the aliens simply continued to work on the device, while Retix and Heyt began a small project on the side. Meanwhile, The Boss of the Blue Shirts was taking care of business as usual, unaware that his plans had been discovered by the aliens... The Boss was sitting at his desk, filling a piece of paper with random notes and scribbles as he talked to a Blue Shirt lieutenant. "Anyway," spoke the lieutenant after taking a drag from his cigarette, "she fucked me over. Didn't even tell me he was mine until I forced the truth out of her. After that, I had to get him back. He's my son, you know? So I... well, I already told you 'bout that. Pretty messy, I know, but I had to do it. I didn't have a choice. I don't like to get my hands too dirty if I can help it, especially not after you've ordered us all to not draw attention to ourselves while we get ready to make our move, but after she called in that fuckin' bouncer boy toy of hers to take me out, I had to finish things off for good. And I did. Now, I've got a son, but... I mean, I have no way of taking care of him. I try, but an old gangster like me can only do so much. Also, breast milk is expensive as fuck." The Boss raised a hand, and replied "It's fine. Admittedly, this isn't the most common problem that I have to deal with... usually, gangsters are more concerned with getting away from their children rather than taking care of them. But it does happen from time to time, and we have a method for dealing with such issues. In fact, I personally had to deal with this same problem myself, some time ago." "What do you mean? You have children?" asked the lieutenant, who was a little taken aback by the notion of The Boss having a family. The Boss smiled, and replied "Just one child. A son." The lieutenant laughed and tilted his head to the side, saying "Well, congrats. Here's hoping he grows up to be a badass. Who knows, he might even take over for you some day, right?" The Boss looked down, before continuing. "Anyway," he said, "there's a certain building near the edge of our territory. It's a brothel. I have an arrangement with the owner; the women there take care of the children that I send to them, in exchange for protection. They're taken well care of, and, obviously, they're kept far away from the building's business transactions, so you needn't worry about that." "A brothel? You're joking, right?" asked the lieutenant. The Boss smiled, and replied "Don't worry. They take very good care of their charges. It's not quite the roach motel you're probably imagining. In reality, it's a place that is kept fairly well hidden from the public, as well as other gangs, catering almost exclusively to high profile clients who desire quality as well as discretion. You have nothing to worry about." "Well, if you say so," replied the lieutenant, putting out his cigarette on the nearby ashtray, "but I have some questions. How long would they be willing to take care of him, and how often could I see him while he's in their care?" Just then, the door to the office opened, and a man quickly entered. It was a Blue Shirt lieutenant, and he was covered with injuries. "What the fuck?" asked the lieutenant who was sitting down. The wounded lieutenant ignored him, and stammered "Boss... Sam is alive, and she's working with the aliens. They've done something to her, made her insanely strong, and now she doesn't give two fucks about us. She crashed the deal we were making with the rogue HE53, and completely wrecked everything..." The Boss raised a hand and gestured for him to stop, saying "Relax. I already know that Sam is alive once again. After the aliens kicked my lieutenants out, I made sure to have eyes on them at all times. This morning, when Sam left their apartment, my scout informed me. Still, while I was curious as to why and how they revived her, I didn't expect her to betray me, after all that I and the Blue Shirts have done for her. Are you sure that she's no longer loyal to us?" The lieutenant nodded. The Boss looked at him intently and asked "You're completely certain?", to which the lieutenant nodded once again, saying "Positive. She's the one who kicked the shit out of me. She said they stuck some device in her to keep her on their side, but... it seems like that's not the only reason she's fighting for them. I get the feeling that even if she didn't have the device in her, she'd still be on their side." The Boss sat down in his chair, and cleared his nose. "That's a shame. I expected so much more from Sam, though she always was a bit unpredictable. I suppose her usefulness was going to come to an end eventually. Anyway, it would now seem that the aliens are determined to make the first move. I suspected that they might turn on us, but I didn't expect them to do it so soon. Regardless, I was planning on removing them anyway, as you well know, so I suppose that the only real difference is that I now have violent provocation to add to my list of motives." "No," replied the injured lieutenant, "you can't attack them. They know you're coming. I told Sam about our plans to kill the aliens, before she turned on me. They're probably waiting to ambush you." The Boss picked up a pencil and started to twirl it in his fingers, saying "Well, that doesn't necessarily change things. We still have to attack the aliens, before they have the chance to attack us. But... you're right. They were already distrustful of us before, and now that they know for certain that we're coming to kill them, who knows what kind of nasty surprises we'll find waiting for us in that apartment? They probably expect us to come charging in like a bunch of fools, begging to be slaughtered, but I won't oblige them. We'll wait, until the proper moment comes." "Fuck that," said the lieutenant who was sitting down. "We can't just sit on our asses and wait for them to hit us first. It doesn't matter what kind of toys they have up in that apartment. All we need is one of Leroy's bombs. Put it outside the door, set it, walk away, and boom, no more aliens." The injured lieutenant shook his head, saying "Oh, come on. A fucking bomb, man? When the time comes to make our move, I say we just gather up a warparty and take care of things the old fashioned way. I mean, we've got way more manpower than they do, and we even have those fancy alien rifles, which i'm sure are more than capable of blasting those fuckers to pieces." The Boss rubbed his forehead, and said "No. A bomb would cause too much collateral damage, and would attract far too much attention to our territory. We'd have the cops and the media focused on our territory and activity. I've also already stationed men at the borders, ordering them to hit the neighboring gangs when I've given the signal. We've waited for this moment for far too long, and i'm not about to stay on the down low for a month because I couldn't solve a problem without blowing it up. We need to hit the other gangs hard, taking them out as quickly as possible, and restoring order in our newly expanded borders before the cops have a chance to put the pieces together, so naturally I can't have them watching us in the meantime." "What about my plan? We could use the aliens' own weapons against them," said the injured lieutenant. The Boss put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment, before replying "Maybe. Our numbers are our greatest advantage, and these new weapons would give us a huge edge. It just seems too easy, though. The aliens are incredibly intelligent, as well as very distrustful of us. Would they really be so foolish as to hand us the means to kill them without being prepared for us? They must have something planned, and i'm not about to let them outsmart me... No, I think I'll bide my time. For now, I'll send more scouts to keep tabs on them. And it's not going to be enough to have just one or two men watching the front door; I need someone to finally be able to see what's going on in that apartment. After I know what they're doing, then I'll make my move." __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| ----------------------------- Last edited by Oriphiel; 12-21-2015 at 10:58 AM.

08-17-2015, 09:42 AM	#33 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Hey, everyone! Welcome back to "Disco and Walls of Text Hell"! The song this time around is the Disco version of The Modettes' White Mice, the aptly named White Mouse Disco. Apparently, there were a bunch of songs back then that got the club treatment after gaining some momentum. In this case, White Mice was a good Post Punk/Dance Punk hit for The Modettes when it was released as a single in 1979, and the Disco version was created for their 1980 album The Story so Far. Chapter Nineteen The Boss' scouts watched Luke's apartment intently, waiting for a chance to see what was going on inside. However, the only time that they ever truly saw anything was when the aliens wanted them to; from time to time, the curtains would be drawn back, and the spies would see the aliens simply lounging about in front of a beat up television. They reported their meager findings back to the Boss, who firmly believed that the aliens had already taken precautions against him, and were now simply waiting for him to blindly rush in. In time, the curtains were closed once again, and this time they stayed shut. After a few days had passed, the Boss decided that he could wait no longer to carry out his plans. As a precaution, he placed a somewhat large unit of soldiers near Luke's apartment, ordering them to contact him and then confront the aliens if they ever tried to leave the apartment, hopefully killing them (or, at the very least, slowing the aliens down until a few war parties could arrive). In this way, he hoped to prevent them from attacking the Blue Shirts without forewarning. The only one who continued to come and go as they pleased was the irascible assassin Sam, who continued to set off on missions to gather resources for the aliens. She remained undetected, thanks to the stealth system that the aliens had installed in her. It was the first upgrade that she had been granted for her services, and it rendered her almost completely invisible. The Boss eventually gave the signal to the soldiers he had placed along the edge of his territory, and the war began. They knew exactly where to strike, and used their weapons to demolish the key locations of their rivals. In a matter of minutes, the hideouts of every neighboring gang had been blasted to pieces, as the Blue Shirts' set their rifles to the maximum power output, an alteration that made them more like rocket launchers than rifles. For example, if a rifle with these settings had been used by the aliens to defeat Sam, the whole apartment would have been destroyed in an instant. The only downside of overcharging a rifle was that it drained it of it's energy, preventing it from being fired while it recharged. Of course, the first target in a contested territory was almost always the leader, and most were killed without having so much as a chance to fight back. The Boss had earlier placed many spies throughout the territories surrounding his gang, and he used their intel to know exactly where each leader would be. Not including the leader of the Red Sleeves, only two leaders managed to survive, having been ready for the Blue Shirts' attack before it began. The first was Francesca Leone, the leader of a gang called the Tulpas (an odd name which many assumed she had picked at random). She had been suspicious of the Blue Shirts for some time, and, for personal reasons, greatly desired to see them destroyed by her own hands. Years before, her gang was very small, and the Blue Shirts completely ignored her, not considering her to be much of a threat. Her father had been the ruler of a much larger gang that had been destroyed years before, and his territory had been divided amongst the surroundings gangs, as well as a group of lieutenants that had betrayed him. Francesca was in Italy at the time, pursuing an education abroad. After she heard what had happened, she returned to the city with a close knit group of friends and set about claiming vengeance on her father's traitorous lieutenants. In a matter of days, her fledgling force had assassinated all of them, and vengeance was claimed. From there, she turned her attention to establishing a territory of her own, from which she could reclaim the land that had been under her father's control. She and her lieutenants set about reconquering the entirety of her father's territory from the gangs that had taken it for themselves, surviving countless battles against impossible odds as the much larger gangs refused to let go of their new holdings. The Blue Shirts finally began to take her seriously after her forces utterly destroyed one of their raiding parties, and the Boss attempted to place a spy in Francesca's midst. The spy was tactful, however he made a few mistakes that revealed his true nature, and the lieutenants of the Tulpas were eager to execute him. However, Francesca stepped in and ordered them to leave him be. In her mind, this was a golden opportunity. Now that they knew he was a spy, they could feed him misinformation, with the spy being none the wiser. The only problem was that after giving his leader too much false information, the spy would eventually realize that he was being used, and so Francesca decided to keep him mostly in the dark until she could use him to gain an edge at a decisive moment. She let him discover little bits of information every now and then, to keep him and his leader complacent. In time, the leader of the Red Sleeves sent out a warning to his allies, telling them that one of his lieutenants had witnessed the Blue Shirts making a deal with a gang from out of town. Years earlier, Francesca had placed a spy of her own within the ranks of the Blue Shirts, and he confirmed the story. He had proven his loyalty many times to the Blue Shirts over the years, causing them to trust him immensely, and so he was eventually informed of the Boss' plan to conquer the surrounding area. It was in this way that Francesca learned of the Blue Shirts' impending attack, and she took steps to defend herself. She set up a series of ambushes throughout her territory, and used the Blue Shirt spy to create a large trap. As soon as her spy sent word that the Boss had given the signal to attack, Francesca and a group of lieutenants announced that they would be taking care of important business at one of her warehouses. The nearby Blue Shirt spy thought that this was fantastic luck, as it meant that she would be isolated from the majority of her gang, making her very easy to kill. He followed her and her cadre to the warehouse, and then ran off to report her location to the invading forces. Of course, the Blue Shirt lieutenants leading the attack were eager to take her out, and so a large force was sent to the warehouse to kill her. Shortly after they arrived, they surrounded the warehouse and began to search for her, while Francesca and her lieutenants watched them from afar. After finding the warehouse to be empty, they decided to simply destroy it from afar and move on. Just then, Francesca detonated a series of bombs placed around and within the warehouse, instantly killing the majority of the Blue Shirts below her. Meanwhile, her men enacted ambushes throughout her territory, taking the Blue Shirts by surprise. Still, the Blue Shirts' weapons and numbers gave them a serious edge against the Tulpas, and the losses on both sides were great. Francesca detested the sight of her men being killed, however she remained rather optimistic about the situation; though many of her men would die, she had made a battle out of what would have been a slaughter, and that was comfort enough for her. After mounting as much of a defense as possible, she and the rest of the surviving Tulpas fell back, meeting with the Red Sleeves and combining forces. The second leader to survive the onslaught was Hojo Naomasa. Naomasa was a strange man, often pursuing unorthodox hobbies and exhibiting a very carefree personality, however he had the scars to prove that he was very serious about maintaining his territory. He once belonged to an international syndicate of organized crime, with his forces simply being the city's local division, however he eventually broke off from them, forming an independent gang named "The Hojo". The reason for his leaving the syndicate was simple; he had supported the wrong side in the war of succession that followed the death of the syndicate's leader, and was no longer counted among their ranks. The syndicate was going to attack him, just as they were going to crack down on every leader who supported the losing side in any way, however they soon became very occupied after a rival syndicate attacked them, expecting their war torn forces to not be able to put up much of a fight. They didn't want to start a war on two fronts, and so they granted amnesty to all of the leaders that were in Naomasa's position, accepting many of them back into the fold in an attempt to build up as much manpower as possible. Naomasa accepted the amnesty, but refused to rejoin their forces, and they were far too busy to force him to come back. Like many leaders, Naomasa was suspicious of the aggressive Blue Shirts, and he had suspected that they would eventually attack his territory. He was on good terms with both the Red Sleeves and the Tulpas, and so he was likewise able to put up a fight. When Francesca's spy tipped her off that the Blue Shirts had been given the signal to attack, she warned her allies of the impending danger, and Naomasa set about attacking the invaders. Of course, the Blue Shirts had planted a spy in his forces not long ago, however Naomasa had discovered his treachery within weeks of his arrival. After his plans were foiled multiple times by the Blue Shirts, Naomasa spent the next few weeks closely watching his men, purposefully giving out information to rotating groups of soldiers, using the process of elimination to find the traitor. Sadly, though he had thought of feeding him misinformation, he had discovered the spy just before the upcoming battle, before he could come up with any serious plans to manipulate him. When Francesca warned him of the coming attack, Naomasa decided to simply execute the spy, and fall back on an old plan that he had set up quite some time ago, one that had been kept secret from everyone save for his most trusted lieutenants. First, he ordered his gang to fall back to a number of key locations that an invading force was bound to attack. Then, his lieutenants withdrew boxes of gas masks that had been stashed in these locations, as well as canisters of a powerful gas. The lieutenants then distributed masks to all of the soldiers, and prepared them for the upcoming battle. When the Blue Shirts arrived, the Hojo immediately covered the areas in thick clouds of fumes, which seemed to make the attackers very disoriented. As they blindly stumbled around, occasionally firing potshots around them, the masked Hojo were able to defeat them with ease. However, while the plan was a success, it was intended to be a shock tactic to quickly take out a large number of enemies, and wasn't suited to winning a drawn out fight; while the Blue Shirts were initially confused and suffered many losses, they quickly learned to steer clear from the clouds, which were eventually dispersed by the wind as the supply of canisters ran out. Thus, as soon as the clouds began to fade, the lieutenants ordered their men to fall back to a predetermined location. After the Hojo war parties regrouped with each other, Naomasa led them into the territory of the Red Sleeves, meeting up with Francesca's forces along the way. If the three gangs had stayed in their respective territories, despite their tenacity and the ploys used against the armies sent after them, each one would have been unable to truly put up a fight against the massive numbers of the entire Blue Shirt force. However, by coming together and fighting alongside each other, they managed to mount a serious defense against the Blue Shirts. Even though they still wouldn't be able to last for very long, they now at least had the chance to postpone their defeat for as long as possible, dealing some true damage to the Blue Shirts before meeting their inevitable fate. They held their ground for the immediate future, however it seemed that victory was truly impossible to achieve; the Blue Shirts quickly demolished every other gang in the borough, making the Red Sleeves' territory the only contested area that had yet to be conquered, and Blue Shirt reinforcements poured in ceaselessly. Against the full force of the Blue Shirts, the alliance was eventually defeated, and the survivors retreated from the territory, having lost too many soldiers to be able to combat the Blue Shirts any further. In a single day, the Blue Shirts had defeated every gang except for the three holdout allies, and even they weren't able to survive for much longer than that. The Boss was overjoyed at his successful campaign, however he didn't have much time to revel in his victory; though he had conquered the borough, his territory was now very large and war torn. The Blue Shirts had become the strongest gang in the city, however the Boss needed to consolidate his current holdings before he could expand any further, which became quite apparent after multiple nearby gangs from other boroughs started to preemptively attack him. For now, the Boss put away his ambitions to conquer the city, and focused on strengthening what he already had, using his powerful technology to combat any would-be raiders. Beyond that, the Blue Shirts had done a lot of damage to the city in the war, and the police and media were now watching the borough very closely, just as the Boss had suspected they would. Still, he found himself desiring one last battle before going low profile and strengthening his gang's borders, avoiding attention until the time came to conquer more territory. As long as he planned his next steps carefully, the police, the media, the remnants of the three allied forces, and the neighboring gangs that were raiding his territory, could all be dealt with. There was now only one group left that could stop him; the aliens, with their mysterious machinations. They were a wildcard that needed to be removed as soon as possible. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| ----------------------------- Last edited by Oriphiel; 10-09-2015 at 05:39 AM.

08-18-2015, 09:02 AM	#34 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Chapter Twenty Cleo was sitting on a chair by a desk, running a hand across her forehead in frustration, one leg resting on the desk and the other curled towards her. In front of her was a blank notebook. A friend gave it to her as a gift a few years ago, and since then she had felt a terrible inclination to fill it with something. Unfortunately, she could never quite decide where to begin, or even what her story should be about; all she knew was that she wanted to write something, something grand and memorable (or, at the very least, fun). Eventually, she stood up and tossed her pen across the room, tortured by the frustration that comes from being inspired and unable to express it. Normally, she didn't like to let her anger take control of her, but she found the stress of writer's block to be unbearable, and the events that had happened recently only added to her annoyance; she knew that the world was going to come to an end soon, and that this was one of her final chances to write her magnum opus. It seemed somewhat foolish, since it's not like she'd ever get the chance to publish it and show it to the world, seeing as the world was likely soon to become brainwashed and conquered. Yet she felt compelled to finish it anyway, not for the world, but for her. So she could finally have created something worth creating. Cleo walked over to her window and looked down at the street below, nervously rubbing the copper bangle around her wrist, thinking about what she and John had witnessed the night that they followed Luke and Retix. Unfortunately, they didn't get to hear the entire conversation; they had to keep their distance, staying on a nearby path so as to avoid stepping on the multitude of branches and leaves between them and the two they were eavesdropping on, and they were interrupted a few times by the occasional late night park walker. In the end, the parts that they did overhear were more than enough for them to be convinced that troubling times were ahead; they heard most of Retix explaining her background and motives, as well as her describing the history and function of the 'device' that they were building, and how the aliens were going to use it to brainwash the world, just as they had tragically used it on their own home planet. They also overheard most of what she had said about the Threx, how they were coming to conquer Earth, and also that wearing copper was a way to protect oneself from the aliens' mind enslaving machine. The two were unsure of how to proceed after gathering such information, and after Luke and Retix left, John and Cleo stood there in silence. Eventually, Cleo scratched her head and asked "So, John, those people from 'out of town' that you wanted to spy on... they're aliens? Fucking aliens, man?" "Yeah," replied John in a dry voice. Cleo looked up, smiling as she shook her head and raised up her hands, saying "And you didn't think that maybe you should tell me about that shit?" "Sorry. Look, I had my suspicions, but I wasn't really sure that they were aliens until tonight. I mean, if I'd told you back at that club that I thought they might be from another planet, you probably would have thought I was going insane, so... I kept it to myself until I was positive." "Alright. I get it. So, now that we know for sure who they are and what they're up to... what do you think we should do?" she asked. John rubbed his chin and shook his head, before shrugging and replying "I don't know. What can we do?" Cleo looked down in thought, before saying "There's got to be something. I mean, yeah, our options are slim. Nobody would ever believe us if we tried to warn them, and with the kind of firepower the aliens are packing, I don't think we have much of a chance. But we're the only ones who can stop them. We have to try." "Should we really be trying to stop them?" asked John. Cleo shot him a confused glance, and replied "What?" John brushed back his hair, saying "I mean, what makes you so sure that we shouldn't be on their side?" Cleo shook her head, saying "You can't be fucking serious." John replied "No, i'm pretty fucking sure that i'm serious. There's a huge army of interstellar badasses headed right for us, dead set on utterly destroying everything that we've ever even slightly given a shit about, and the aliens are the only ones who can stop them. The world can't even begin to fight the Threx unless the device is activated, and everyone stands together. It's our only hope." "Maybe," said Cleo, "but what's the price going to be? We all get turned into mindless slaves? Are you really willing to throw away everything that distinguishes you from a fucking robot?" John shook his head, and replied "They won't enslave us. They learned from their past mistakes, and they won't let our planet share the same fate that theirs did. The alien promised Luke that they'd turn the device off as soon as the war was over." Cleo rolled her eyes, and said "And you really expect them to keep that promise? Even if they do hold true to their word, what then? Do you really think everyone is going to wake up after, look around the war torn world around them, and just accept what happened? That they won't be angry and confused about everything? And even if they do react well to the changes, and they don't blame the aliens or anyone else for everything and start a bunch of riots in our newly chaotic world... then how long? How long until the aliens inevitably get tired of our typical human bullshit? How long until they, or someone else, can no longer resist the nagging temptation to activate the device, and make all of humanity's bothersome flaws and problems just disappear? I'm sorry, but... no. That's not me. That'll never be me. Nobody should ever have that kind of power, even if rejecting it means that we all end up dying horribly. If that's your plan, then we're going to have to part ways. I'm not gonna let myself get turned into a fucking zombie, just because I was too afraid to fight against the odds on my own terms." After Cleo said that, John looked down at the ground and became silent. Cleo was getting heated up by the conversation, but she calmed down as she looked to the side and then down at her feet. After sighing, she took a step towards John and stuck out a hand towards him. "You with me?" John looked up at her, noticing the slight smile on her face, and he couldn't help but smile himself. He looked down again, before finally shaking her hand. "Yeah. You're right," he said. Cleo tilted her head, and replied "As usual." "It's just..." John started, before sighing and continuing, "Stopping them is gonna be next to impossible. I mean, where do we even start?" Cleo smiled, and replied "Don't worry about it, sidekick. We'll find a way." After thinking for a moment, she continued "I suppose, for starters, we ought to go buy a shit ton of copper. Then, we can try to warn the Red Sleeves one more time. Most of them won't believe us, but a few will probably help us out, like Ricardo and Jackson." "And after that?" asked John. Cleo replied, "After that, we do what we can with the time that we have, and wait for an opportunity to convince everyone and plan our attack." And recently, their opportunity had arrived; after the Blue Shirts attacked every gang in the surrounding area using alien rifles and shields, the Red Sleeves finally came to believe that John and Cleo were telling the truth. Of course, some of them still didn't believe that aliens were to blame, figuring that the rifles and shields were simply secret military tech that was leaked and sold to the Blue Shirts, yet they had seen first hand the kind of destruction that the Blue Shirts were now capable of, and were cautious enough of the possibilities to humor John and Cleo. Having stockpiled as many copper items as they could find in the days prior to the attack, John and Cleo distributed them amongst the surviving Red Sleeves, as well as many of the Tulpa and Hojo. For Cleo and John, it was now a matter of waiting; the allied gangs were hiding in a series of abandoned warehouses by the docks, training for the day that they would claim their revenge against the Blue Shirts, and also preparing for the possibility of the aliens using the device that Cleo and John insisted was real. Truly, it was a strange time to be a gangster. Cleo walked away from the window and headed for the door. She had taken long enough of a break from the action, and she knew that she wasn't going to be writing her story anytime soon. Still, as she walked across the room and prepared to head back to the abandoned warehouses, she couldn't help but once again feel inspiration rising inside of her, pressuring her to finally create a story worth reading, or at least worth writing. She quickly grabbed the notebook and the pen, taking them with her, hoping that she'd be ready when the time finally came that she could begin to write her story. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------

08-19-2015, 08:56 AM	#35 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Chapter Twenty One Continuing to carry out the will of the aliens, Sam grew ever bolder with each upgrade that was bestowed upon her. Eventually, she was given another mission that put her in close proximity with the Blue Shirts, and she showed even less restraint than she had before; while searching for barrels of a certain chemical in a series of warehouses, she stumbled upon a narcotics deal, and decided to simply kill everyone in her way. When the dust had settled, she had slain two Blue Shirt lieutenants and seven soldiers, as well as a well-dressed man named Malcolm, who had been an invaluable asset to the expansion of the Blue Shirts' narcotics operations. This slaughter greatly increased Sam's reputation among the Blue Shirts, who had become fearful of the seemingly invincible (as well as invisible) assassin, and many were disappointed in the Boss, who seemed to be either unable or unwilling to fight her and the aliens. Of course, it wasn't long before the Boss himself heard of the spreading whispers of his impotency, and he was forced to kill a few of the more talkative of his men to strike fear through the ranks. He couldn't ignore the damage that Sam had done to his reputation, and he needed to claim vengeance for her massacre if he was indeed to save face. As he sat in his office, scribbling down random shapes and notes on a piece of paper to help him concentrate, he decided that he could wait no longer to dispose of his enemies. "They deliberately opened those curtains, letting my scouts watch them as they sat around and relaxed," the Boss thought to himself. "They're too intelligent to have done it by accident. At first, I thought that they wanted me to see them lounging about so that I would think they were unprepared, and rush in blindly. But if they're truly as intelligent as I believe they are, could they really have expected such a simple ruse to work? Were they really trying to goad me into attacking them so that I would fall into an ambush, or were they actually trying to do the opposite? What if they know me and how I think, and they expected me to do exactly what I ended up doing, keeping me from attacking by showing me something that they knew would make me cautious? There are only two possible options... they either used a simple trick that I saw through, or they're currently using a brilliant trick that I completely fell for... and I really do believe that they're too clever to have done the former. In that case, the only reason they could have for using trickery to keep me away is that they're afraid of my soldiers and I, and they wouldn't be afraid of us if they weren't vulnerable. It's very likely that they never had any precautions set up to begin with, relying almost solely on manipulation to keep me away... and yet, they must have done something to protect themselves. There's no way that they could have believed that their trickery would hold me off forever. It can't be as simple as a booby trap in the apartment. That might kill a few men in the beginning of the battle, but the rest of my massive army would eventually overpower them. It must be something big, something involving all of my men, something..." he stopped for a moment, and his gaze turned towards an alien rifle that he had set down on his desk. "Is that it?" he thought. "Could they have rigged the guns and shields before sending them to us? By doing that, as soon as we attack them, they could do any number of things to us... perhaps the guns would explode, backfire, or maybe simply lock up and refuse to operate?" After tossing the matter around in his head for a moment, he came to believe that he had finally seen through their deception, and settled on a plan of attack. First, deciding that he ought to handle this in at least somewhat of a low key fashion as the police and the media were focused on his territory and watching him carefully, he had every apartment in the complex (save for Luke's, of course) evacuated. This was actually very easily accomplished; the Boss sent a few of his more silver-tongued lieutenants to the apartment disguised as inspectors and police officers, and had them convince the landlord that many of the apartments were constructed using hazardous materials. The lieutenants then personally saw to it that the building was emptied, and that no civilians would witness the event or get caught in the crossfire. That being taken care of, the Boss then sent a large war party into the building, wearing plain clothes, yellow safety helmets, and hospital masks, rather than their gang colors, and hiding their weapons in boxes. Somewhat unfortunately, the landlord had contacted the city government to confirm that the building was found to have contained hazardous materials, and they had no knowledge of the incident. A real inspector was sent to the building, but the Blue Shirts took care of him rather easily, simply bribing him. The Blue Shirts retrieved their weapons from the boxes, using regular firearms with silencers instead of the gang's high-powered alien rifles, just as the Boss had ordered. "They're here," said Heyt as he looked at the screen of a monitor. It was connected to a series of cameras that the aliens had created days before, and Luke had placed them throughout the complex. The feed showed the activity of the Blue Shirts as they tried to quickly and quietly evacuate the building, preparing to attack. Retix nodded, before turning towards Sam and asking "Are you ready?" Sam shrugged as she pushed herself away from the wall she had been leaning on, replying "Sure." Heyt glanced towards her and asked "And you're certain that you remember what you need to do?" Sam rolled her eyes, retrieving a metallic orb from her pocket and tossing it up and down as she said "Yeah, I remember. Get into position and activate this thing." "Right," said Retix, "that's the gist of it. Now, you'd better get going." After Sam had left, Retix turned to Luke and handed him a copper circlet, saying "Take this. It belonged to Gor, the alien who died as we were teleporting to your world." Luke looked at her, and asked "Aren't you going to enslave me, like everyone else?" Retix shook her head, and replied "Not a chance. You've proven yourself to be a true friend, and you're the only one that we can trust. Besides, if you don't keep your free will, how are you going to kill us if we misuse the device?" Luke smiled and took the circlet from her, placing it on his head. The stage was now set. The Blue Shirts were to enter Luke's apartment, kill everything inside of it, clean up all traces of the battle, and then depart. Normally, the Blue Shirt soldiers weren't used to taking missions like this, using silencers and cleaning up the mess afterwards, so the Boss sent the assassin Stan to guide them and lead the attack. He lead the soldiers towards Luke's door, and set down his gun as he began to silently pick the lock. "Do it," said Heyt. Valk nodded, and activated the device. Using the resources that Sam had brought them, as well as correcting the flaws that they discovered in the test results that they had gathered after using it on her, the device had grown much more powerful since it had last been activated. Now, it's range was large enough to seize control of every Blue Shirt in the building, and they became servile just as the apartment's door swung open. Retix and Heyt quickly set about examining a series of consoles, typing furiously and retrieving data. In a short amount of time, they were able to use the monitors to instill commands in the Blue Shirts, who stood in the hallway with vacant expressions. Retix glanced up at the Blue Shirts for a moment, before quickly looking back down at her work. "Would the leader of this attack kindly step forward?" she asked. Stan almost immediately reacted, entering the apartment. "Would you do me a favor? Call your boss, and give him a message. Tell him that the aliens were simply unprepared for the attack, and that you managed to kill them, as well as Luke and Sam, suffering only minimal casualties." "It will be done," replied Stan, who used Luke's telephone to make the call. The Boss slowly set down his phone and leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief. "That's it," he said, as his smile widened. Stan had just informed him of the success of the mission, and he was now elated. He had outsmarted and killed the very last of his true enemies, the only ones who stood to upset his future plans, and now the conquest of the entire city was simply a matter of time. "Is everything connected?" asked Retix. The device and the monitors, as well as Luke and the aliens, now had small nodes attached to them, and Tyl gave Retix a thumbs up as he finished his calibrations. Qez yelled "I'm done over here," as she finished running a cable from the device to the main monitor, and Heyt said "Ready," as he finished typing out a line of code. "Of course," he added, "the room might be too small for everything. I'll set up a security box, and arrange for a material push after the calculations come in." As the Boss lit a cigar and placed it in his mouth, he couldn't help but feel a small amount of regret. He had known both Luke and Sam for many years, and it pained him slightly to have killed the two of them. Sam in particular could have proven to be a very valuable asset, if she had only used her new found powers to assist the Blue Shirts and betray the aliens. Just then, he heard noises coming from outside the door of his office. As he approached it, the door swung open, and he could clearly see that his two guards had been defeated and were now lying on the floor. The Boss pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the doorway, expecting an assassin to rush in at any moment, however nothing seemed to happen. Sweat dripped down his face as he stood there, waiting for the onslaught. All of a sudden, his pistol was knocked out of his hands, and he was sent falling backwards as something struck his chest. As he looked up in confusion, Sam deactivated her cloaking device, and smiled down at him as she fiddled with the metallic sphere in her hands. "Hey, boss," she said, before twisting the sphere and pressing a few buttons on it. The sphere emitted a wave of light, as if scanning the environment, and the particles of the beams seemed to penetrate and pass through everything nearby. The sphere was now hovering in midair, and Sam ran out of the room as quickly as she could. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash in the office, followed by a wave of energy that caused the room to shake. The Boss felt a strong force pushing him away from the sphere, and looking around him he saw that the walls, along with the furniture, seemed to be affected by the force as well. His desk and chair flew away from the sphere, and large sections of the walls broke off in rectangles and were pushed backwards. This chaos continued for a few more seconds before finally coming to an end, and the sphere fell harmlessly to the floor. The Boss looked up and saw Luke and the aliens standing where his office used to be, along with an array of monitors and other technology. Luke began to walk towards him, while the aliens prepared to activate the device once again after turning it off seconds before teleporting, which had been a necessity. Back at Luke's apartment, Stan and the Blue Shirts were just now beginning to regain their free will, retaining no memory of what had just happened. The Boss attempted to run from Luke and the aliens, however he found that his leg had been injured and he could not stand up. Luke stood over him and looked down into his eyes. The Boss looked up at him, and said "This wasn't what I wanted. After you chose to be loyal to them rather than to me, there was only so much that I could do. I'm sorry, s-" before being cut off by Luke, who asked "Do you know what happens when someone gains power without earning it?" Before the Boss could answer, the aliens activated the device, and every Blue Shirt in the hideout fell under their control. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------

08-25-2015, 07:42 AM	#36 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Chapter Twenty Two Having conquered the Blue Shirts' hideout, the aliens now had a force of considerable strength at their disposal. Using the terminals connected to the device, they were able to establish behavioral perameters in all of their subjects, allowing them to instantaneously issue general orders over the entire force. Unfortunately, the terminals weren't yet able to give specific commands to individual soldiers, which had to be assigned in person. Sam was granted immunity to the control of the device, so that she could continue to quickly gather crucial supplies both inside and outside of the device's area of control; otherwise, the device would have stripped her of her full range of skills in exchange for obedience, and she would have suffered amnesia every time she left the device's range. The aliens currently needed her to be as effective as possible, as they couldn't send the enslaved Blue Shirts out on missions until the range of the device had expanded beyond the hideout, and they had to rely almost solely on her to procure the necessary resources. Sam, eager to obtain new upgrades, was as prolific as ever, and the range of the device quickly began to grow. As it spread, the aliens were able to send the Blue Shirts out to gather resources as well, which expedited the process even further. Soon, the majority of the borough fell under the control of the aliens, and every person within their territory quickly dropped everything and set about gathering materials for the device. Unfortunately for Sam, after the aliens had gained control of the borough, Heyt informed her that her body simply couldn't handle any further upgrading. Though this bothered her to no end, she continued to serve the aliens to the best of her abilities, for the time being. During this time, the allies had been regrouping after the devastating loss that they had suffered at the hands of the Blue Shirts. The leaders of the allies spent a great deal of their time bolstering their numbers, forming alliances with all of the gangs that were eager to destroy the Blue Shirts before they could conquer the entire city. Meanwhile, the lieutenants gathered as many weapons as they could find while the soldiers honed their marksmanship, preparing for the day when they could reclaim their territory. John and Cleo assisted in every way that they could, hoping that the allies would attack in time to prevent the activation of the device. As the days passed on, the alliance grew to become a force capable of challenging the Blue Shirts, and the soldiers were sent out on scouting missions and raids to prepare for the upcoming battle. One of these raiding parties managed to cross deep into the Blue Shirts' territory undetected, and discovered a very odd sight; every single person, whether they were a civilian or a gangster, was occupied solely with acquiring scrap metal and electronics. The raiding party ducked into a large hardware store to avoid being detected by a passing group of Blue Shirts, and found that the store had been stripped clean of everything of value (save for a few copper pipes and rolls of wire). One of them walked over to a window and scanned the streets, while the others looked around the ravaged store. "What the fuck is going on?" asked one of them, to which the man beside him simply shook his head. The lieutenant leading the party replied "Something's not right here. It looks like the aftermath of a riot or some shit, but... I didn't hear about anything like that going down last night. And where the fuck are the cops? I know that they tend to stay off to the side when bad shit happens around here, but you'd think a huge fuckin' riot would be enough to get them to show up." "They did show up," said the soldier by the window. As the others turned to face him, he pointed out the window towards a police officer across the street. Of course, the officer had been enslaved by the device, and the raiding party stared at him in confusion as he hauled off a bag of materials. "Are you fucking kidding me? They're in on it?" said one of them, and another replied "Looks like it." As the raiding party continued to talk amongst themselves, the soldier by the window thought to himself in silence, rubbing the copper wire that he had wound around his wrist into a thick makeshift bracelet. Just like the others, he had been skeptical when John and Cleo warned the allies about the device, however he now slowly began to realize that they were right, and that the copper they had given him was all that was currently keeping his mind free. "It's the device," he said, turning to face the others. "What? You mean that thing John and Cleo were talking about?" replied one of them, and another shook his head and said "Don't start with that alien bullshit." The lieutenant looked down in silence for a moment while the others continued to talk, thinking about the situation for a moment before interjecting "He's right. There's no other explanation. The device is real, and it's been activated." As the members of the raiding party looked at him incredulously, still unconvinced that the aliens and the device were real, they began to voice their disagreement. The lieutenant ignored them, saying "We were too late," to himself in a quiet voice. Just then, a young woman in the streets glanced through the window of the hardware store, noticing the raiding party. The behavioral perameters instilled in her beckoned her to attack anyone in her vicinity that had been registered as an enemy, and the sight of the gang colors worn by the raiding party caused her to feel an insatiable anger. She recklessly flung herself towards the man on the other side of the window, who had turned to face the rest of the raiding party, shattering the pane as she grabbed hold of him. The broken glass filled the air, slicing up both her and her quarry, yet she seemed to completely ignore the large cuts that had formed across her body. As the other members of the raiding party rushed to help him, the man near the window struggled to fend off his attacker, who was trying to stab him with a piece of broken glass. He managed to knock the shard out of her hands, however she refused to relent; now lacking a weapon, she continued her assault by biting into his neck. He lifted his arm in an attempt to push her away, and his copper bracelet came close to her face, causing her to fall backwards as she noticed it. She, along with the rest of the alien's slaves, had been programmed to avoid coming into contact with copper, keeping them from accidentally freeing their minds while gathering resources. The young woman glared at him with a confused expression as her mind beckoned her to simultaneously fight and retreat, now outnumbered as the other members of the raiding party came to assist him. Eventually, her instinct to attack proved stronger than her instinct to avoid copper, and she rushed the raiding party without caution. As one of the men pushed her back, the man who had been near the window grabbed hold of her and pressed his bracelet against her skin. She looked at him for a few seconds with tired and confused eyes, before losing control of her legs and falling backwards in a heap. Now seperated from the copper bracelet, she began to fall under the control of the device once again, until a copper pipe was placed in her hands. She gripped it loosely as she began to regain her senses, and the raiding party took a moment to relax and plan their next move. However, though the young woman was now no longer a threat, the commotion of the fight had attracted the attention of many people nearby, and they began to make their way towards the raiding party, gathering a variety of makeshift weapons. Upon noticing the encroaching attackers, the raiding party quickly collected themselves and rushed for the store's back door. They ran out onto the streets with only a few copper pipes to defend themselves with, and the attackers soon caught up to them. At first, the raiders put up a good fight, fending off their attackers without too much trouble, however more and more enemies joined the fight as it dragged on. Unfortunately, an enslaved Blue Shirt with an alien rifle happened to be alerted to the chaos, and he fired at the raiders as he leapt into the fray. Almost instantly, two of the raiders were killed by the Blue Shirts' shots, and everyone else in the fight was knocked back by the blasts. The surviving raiders quickly got to their feet and began to run from the fight, desperately trying to escape their pursuers. The Blue Shirt managed to kill one more with a well placed shot, before the others evaded him by splitting up. In the end, only one member of the raiding party managed to return to the allies, and he informed them of the activation of the device. The leaders of the alliance now understood how powerful the aliens had become, and that they would grow even stronger as their device's range was increased. If they were to have any hope of defeating them before they could conquer the entire planet, they would need to strike as quickly as possible. As the soldiers of the alliance were prepared for the upcoming battle, the leaders formed a rudimentary plan. Destroying the device was obviously the prime objective, as it would liberate the enslaved army that would undoubtedly be defending the territory, making the aliens exponentially easier to kill. That being so, the leaders of the alliance decided that Luke's apartment was where the focus of their attention should be, as they were not aware that the device had been relocated to the hideout of the Blue Shirts. Suddenly, as they were discussing the matter, one of the maps that they had been marking with battle plans began to rise into the air. "That's a fuckin' horrible plan. You're all gonna get slaughtered," said Sam, as she turned off her cloaking device. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| ----------------------------- Last edited by Oriphiel; 09-14-2015 at 06:22 PM.

08-26-2015, 04:48 AM	#37 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Chapter Twenty Three Immediately, all of the nearby guards took aim at her. Sam laughed, raising a hand as she said "Relax. If I'd come here to kill you, I'd have butchered your entire pathetic army without any of you catching so much as a glimpse of me. I am, after all, an invisible fucking assassin." "You're Sam, I presume?" spoke Francesca, aiming a sawed-off shotgun at her. Sam nodded, brushing back her hair with a metallic hand as she replied "Yeah, i'm Sam. Or at least, you know, most of me still is." Francesca, still aiming her firearm at Sam, smiled and said "I've been looking forward to meeting you... almost as much as I've been looking forward to killing you. They say that you're invincible, yes?" Sam laughed slightly, replying "Nobody's invincible. But hey, I guess I do come pretty close..." Before she and Francesca could converse further, Naomasa (who was the only ally in the room that hadn't pulled out a gun) took a sip from the drink that he had been pouring for himself as Sam had entered, and asked "Are you alright?" The surrounding allies looked at Naomasa incredulously, confused by his out of place question. As Sam had entered and announced herself, Naomasa had almost immediately noticed that she was in pain. Though she tried to hide it behind a laid back demeanor, Naomasa could tell by her face that she was trying hard to remain calm, although the most obvious and telling sign of her condition was that one of her fists was clenched very tightly. Shocked by his seemingly inhuman perception, Sam stared at him for a moment, until Naomasa smiled slightly and nodded towards her hand. Sam, looking down in the direction of Naomasa's nod, began to laugh as she noticed the dead giveaway that was her clenched fist. "You caught me," she replied, opening her hand and stretching her fingers. "They warned me about this. You know, if I ever tried to betray them. Suppose they thought that it'd be enough to keep me from doing anything rash. I put on a pretty good show for them when they first used it, and I have to admit that it did hurt like hell, but they forgot to take one thing into account... and that's the fact that I've hurt like hell my whole life. This..." she stopped and gestured towards the scar on her neck, "can't hit me with anything that I haven't already learned to live with." Of course, none of the allied soldiers knew quite what Sam was talking about, as it was unknown to them that the aliens had implanted a device in her that caused her to feel pain whenever she so much as thought about betraying them. However, Naomasa quickly began to understand the situation, and he took another sip from his drink before asking "So, they implanted a device in you, in an attempt to control you?" Sam narrowed her eyes, replying "Yeah. Didn't you already know that?" Naomasa shook his head, saying "All I knew was that you were in pain." Eager to unravel the motives behind Sam's arrival, the leader of the Red Sleeves finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind: "Why are you here?" Sam, becoming slightly more serious, turned towards him and curtly replied "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to help you pathetic sacks of shit out. That's why the aliens' toy in my neck is setting my nerves on fire." "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" interjected one of the guards, before the leader of the Red Sleeves gestured for him to be silent by raising a hand. Turning to face Sam once again, he asked "And what if we don't want your help?" Sam laughed, replying "What's the matter? You don't trust me? You think the aliens sent me to trick you, or something like that? Like I said before, I could have already killed the shit out of all of you if that was my goal." One of the guards angrily answered "Oh, come on! You really expect us to fall for your bullshit? We ought to kill your ass right now, before you get a chance to stab us in the back, like you've done to everyone else!" This set off a commotion among the guards and lieutenants, as some of them began to voice their disdain. The leader of the Red Sleeves glared angrily at the soldiers, causing them to quiet down. Facing Sam, he asked "Why are you betraying the aliens?" "Well," replied Sam, "I guess i'm just not much of an idealist. I never cared for politics, you know? The way I see it, the world is always going to be run by power hungry assholes, and every problem that gets solved either ends up making no difference at all, or leads to a thousand more problems popping up in the future. It just... it never fucking ends. Really, all you can do is try to make the most of the pile of shit that is life. I know who I am, and I know what I want. In the end, that's really all I can bring myself to care about. Morally, this whole power struggle between you fuckers and the aliens doesn't mean shit to me. All I want is to become as powerful as I possibly can, and I'll help whichever side stands to benefit me the most. Right now, that side happens to be the alliance. I mean, yeah, working for the aliens was pretty great for awhile, and they've given me more strength than any human has ever possessed. But lately, they're doubtful of my loyalty... which I suppose is actually quite reasonable of them, since here I am, betraying them. They refuse to upgrade me any further, and they've taken precautions to make sure that I don't use my powers against them. I've overhead them talking about me, and I've learned that most of my upgrades have some failsafe hidden in them; they can see through my cloaking device, the gun they installed in my arm won't work on them, they supposedly have some sort of projectile that can easily pierce the shield around me, and so on. Not only has their usefulness to me come to an end, but... they're the only ones in the world who can destroy me. And I simply can't have that. So... yeah. That's why i'm here. I need your help. Believe me, I'd take them out on my own if I could, but they just have too much leverage over my powers, and their device has enslaved more people than even I could hope to fight. At best, I could smash maybe a few of them to pieces before the rest of them and their big fucking army took me out." “I never expected you to be so much of a coward,” replied Francesca. “Like you said, the only reason you’re willing to help us defeat the aliens is to make sure that there’ll be nobody left on the planet who can kill you. You’re too afraid to fight them yourself, and so now you’re bowing down to us mere 'pathetic sacks of shit’, begging for our help.“ Sam rolled her eyes and said “Think what you want. The fact remains that I’m your only shot at taking out the aliens. I know where the device is, and I know how to get to it. Take it or fucking leave it.” The leader of the Red Sleeves sighed, and asked “Alright. What did you have in mind?” “First of all,” replied Sam, setting the map back down on the table, “you should know that the device isn’t at Luke’s apartment; it was moved to the Blue Shirts’ hideout. In terms of how to get to it, well… I happen to know a thing or two about the aliens’ defense system. Like I said before, I overhear things. Kind of a habit of mine. Anyway, right now, the aliens have sent almost everyone under their control to go and gather materials to help power up their brainwashing machine. However, that doesn’t mean that the device is undefended; the aliens have a system of cameras set up throughout the borough, and they’re ready to order their slaves to attack if they spot any large groups of intruders on the monitors. However, there’s a flaw in their system; when they send out orders using the main monitor attached to the device, which is the only way to command their slaves over a long distance, they can’t send out orders to individual soldiers or even small groups. If they send out commands using the monitor, everyone gets them. I figure that if you all send some soldiers to attack an area near a few cameras, the aliens will be forced to send their whole army to stop them. This would clear out the borough, allowing the rest of the alliance to head right for the device without running into any trouble. As long as you steer clear of cameras, you’ll be able to attack the device before the aliens even know what’s happening. To that end, I have some good news… after overhearing the aliens talking about the cameras, I did a little digging when they weren’t looking, and discovered the locations of them. I can show you exactly where the distraction unit should attack, and I can also guide the real army on an unmonitored path towards the device. After that, you’ll have to take out the unit of heavily armed Blue Shirts that the aliens keep at the hideout. They’re close enough for the aliens to give them commands in person, meaning that they can override the general orders of the console, allowing them to constantly defend the area. Like I said, they’re well armed, but there aren’t that many of them. You should be able to kill them without too much trouble.” “There are three problems with your plan,” said the leader of the Red Sleeves. “First, anyone who joined the distraction team would basically be committing suicide. And there’s no way that they could draw out the entirety of the aliens’ army and keep them occupied for more than a few minutes.” “Then I guess the people attacking the hideout will have to move quickly,” replied Sam. “But, in the meantime, the distraction team would still be utterly slaughtered. Who would possibly agree to-“ began the leader of the Red Sleeves, before he was cut off by Francesca, who said “I’ll do it,” while lighting a cigarette. “Francesca,” said Naomasa, “that’s not necessary. My men are more than capable of carrying out this mission.” However, Francesca smiled and lifted a hand, gesturing for Naomasa to relent. The leader of the Red Sleeves turned towards Francesca and asked “Are you certain?” She nodded in response. That being settled, the leader of the Red Sleeves continued, saying “Very well. Sam, the second problem with your plan is that we have no idea how to destroy the device. While we’re sitting around in the hideout, trying to figure out how to deactivate it, the aliens will have ordered all of their army to return to defend it after realizing that the first attack was just a trick.” “That’s not a problem,” replied Sam. “Back when the device started enslaving the borough, I witnessed something pretty fucking hilarious. While the device was shooting out it’s mind control waves, it grabbed hold of a Red Sleeve scout that happened to be dicking around in Blue Shirt territory, without wearing any copper. So, after grabbing a bunch of scrap metal, he headed over to the hideout to drop it off, right? Well, just then, one of the armed guards started freaking out, trying to shoot him. Apparently, it was some kind of glitch; even though the aliens’ slaves are ordered to shoot members of gangs like the Red Sleeves on sight, there was supposed to be some line of code entered into the monitor that overruled that instinct if the enemy gang member happened to be enslaved by the device. Anyway, one of the guard’s shots blasted through the ceiling, towards the area above where the aliens were working on the device. After restoring order, the aliens tried to act like it was no big deal, and I left to go carry out some missions. Later on, after I got back, I was finally able to sneak a peek at the device to see if it had been hit, and, well… the shot had just barely cut through the casing, but there seemed to be a few scorch marks around the damaged area. I remembered that some of the chemicals that I had nabbed for the aliens were pretty fucking flammable. Unfortunately, the aliens improved the device’s shielding after the incident, making it much more sturdy, but I know a way around that. Near the device is a generator… it’s shielded as well, making it impervious to most forms of damage, but it’s also connected to some sort of weird array of discs that the aliens installed on the roof of the hideout. These discs are how we’ll destroy the device. They’re very sensitive to electrical currents, and the aliens made sure to put a special type of lightning rod near them that would apparently protect them from being overloaded. One of my upgrades allows me to fire electrical blasts from my arm. See what I’m getting at, here? I’ll fry the discs, overloading the generator, and the device will be totally exposed. After that, my guess is that a shot from a fully charged alien rifle would easily finish the job.” “Well,” said the leader of the Red Sleeves, “though it sounds quite risky, and we have no way of knowing if it’ll work until the very moment when we either succeed or die, it may be the only possible way that we can destroy the device. Now, the final flaw with your plan is the aliens themselves. According to John, they can deflect shotgun blasts with ease, and they’re very physically strong as well. If we’re going to destroy the device, we’re bound to run into them along the way, and so we need to know how to fight them.” “Now that,” replied Sam, “is something I can’t help you with. I’ve searched for any tricks or strategies that I could use to take them all out, and it seems like the only way to do it is the hard way; punch through their shields, and fuck ‘em up before they get a chance to recharge them. It’ll be tough, but you have to remember that they can be killed, if you hit them hard enough, you know? Anyway… that’s my plan. Distract them, ambush them, and then blow the device up. What do you say?” The leader of the Red Sleeves thought about it for a moment, glancing at Francesca and Naomasa. After Francesca nodded towards him, and Naomasa shrugged, he turned back towards Sam and replied “I suppose it’ll have to do. We’ll spend the rest of the night fine tuning and organizing the plan, and we’ll attack tomorrow morning.” “I’ll be there,” replied Sam, as she turned and walked away. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| ----------------------------- Last edited by Oriphiel; 10-10-2015 at 05:03 PM.

09-09-2015, 11:55 AM	#38 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Well, I think it's safe to say that the users of Music Banter really need to shell out the cash for new computer mice; people are still accidentally clicking on this journal, now to the tune of over two thousand times! I guess I should do something special, in the off chance that someone actually likes this journal, and didn't accidentally click on Blood and Diamonds while scrolling through the journal forum. I'm not sure what I should do to commemorate the occasion... How about one more side story before I write the final entries and finish this journal off for good? Side Story: Convertible, Part One After using Sam's advice to come up with a plan, the leaders of the alliance informed their men of the coming attack, and the warehouses buzzed with activity. For the majority of the soldiers in the alliance, it was a sleepless night, as everyone prepared for their impending doom in their own way. After hitting a punching bag for awhile, Ricardo began to get a headache from the noise and heat of the crowded warehouse, and he stepped outside into the cool darkness of night. After taking a few steps towards the docks, he made out a familiar face ahead; Cleo was sitting on one of the docks, dangling her feet above the water, writing something down in a notebook. "Hey," said Ricardo as he sat down beside her. Cleo looked up at him, but before she could answer, Ricardo added "Is that a new notebook? The one you had when we first met was red. Remember, back at the club, when you kicked that guy in the face after he tackled me?" Cleo smiled, and replied "Good times," before looking down, and adding "How could I forget? And yeah, you're right, it's a different notebook. A friend gave it to me. You know, you've got a good memory, man." Ricardo shrugged, saying "I guess. I've always been pretty good at remembering things. Haven't forgot a birthday in a long time... not that anyone I know celebrates theirs. Anyway, what happened to the other notebook? Did you fill it up, or something?" Cleo set her pen down and smiled, replying "Does it matter? I mean, no offense, but why do you care?" Ricardo looked down and tilted his head, saying "Just making small talk. Beats just sitting around, thinking about how we're all gonna die horribly tomorrow." "Fuck that," replied Cleo. "I'm not dying anytime soon, not until I finish this fucking story. After that, the universe can fuck me over any way it wants, but until then, it's gonna take a lot more than some assholes from space take me out." With that, she picked up her pen once again, and began twirling it around in her fingers. Ricardo smiled, and said "Hey, I was just joking around. I'm right there with you. Fuck those aliens, and fuck dying. So... what're you writing? Sounds like you really give a shit about seeing it through to the end. Is it the same story that you were writing back when we first met?" Cleo laughed, and replied "Fuck no! That was just some piece of shit story I threw together for a skin mag." Ricardo laughed, saying "I didn't know that skin mags even had stories. But then again, I guess there are all kinds of people, with all kinds of needs, right?" Cleo rolled her eyes, saying "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, the story i'm trying to write now is... different. More personal, you know? At first, I didn't even know where to begin, but now i'm really starting to get in the groove. Or at least I was, until you interrupted me." Ricardo smiled and raised his hands, saying "My bad. Didn't mean to stifle your precious creativity." "It's fine," replied Cleo, rolling her eyes again. "So," said Ricardo, "what's it about, anyway?" Cleo thought for a moment, before replying "Well... me, I guess. I've been writing about everything that's happened to me during the past few days. It's my point of view during all of this weird shit, yeah? Figure people might find it interesting in the future. Could give them some answers after all of this shit with the brainwashing aliens and the Threx goes down. Hell, I guess you could say that it'd be historic. An eye witness account." "Oh, ain't that sweet," said Sam as she deactivated her cloaking device. "That's just what the world needs. Another fat fucking historical book that's only good for either boring or bludgeoning people to death with." Startled by her sudden appearance, both Cleo and Ricardo almost fell forward into the water. "Oh, come on!" exclaimed Ricardo. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Sam shrugged, and replied "Hanging around." "Hanging around?" asked Ricardo. "Yeah," said Sam as she folded her arms, "hanging around. Look, if you had the power of invisibility, you'd do it too, alright? So don't give me any shit." Ricardo shook his head and laughed, saying "You know what? I don't even care. I don't give a shit about you, and I couldn't fucking care less about what you do. As long as you, you know, do it somewhere else. So fuck off." "I've got a better idea," said Sam, as she stepped closer to Ricardo. "How 'bout I rip off your legs, and kick the shit out of your face with them? I bet that'd look fucking hilarious." Ricardo laughed, and replied "No, you know what really looks hilarious? A burned up bitch with a can opener for an arm. Tell you what, if I need help opening a real badass can of soup anytime soon, I'll give you a holler." Sam smiled, and said "I'm hearing a lot of tough talk, but I wonder what kind of noises you'll make after I open you up. I've dealt with assholes like you before, and one punch from me is all it takes to turn 'Fuck you' into 'Oh god, please stop'." "Ooh," said Cleo, "that's a good one. I've got to remember that shit for when I introduce you in the story. Let people really get a taste for your personality." Sam looked over at her curiously, asking "Really? You're putting me in there? You're not just fucking around?" Cleo shrugged, before nodding lightly. Sam shrugged as well, saying "Hey, that's actually kinda cool. I'm flattered." After thinking for a moment, she narrowed her eyes, and continued "If you fuck me up, like write me in as a stupid fucking asshole or something, I'll... I don't know, break your knees or something. Just don't do it." Cleo was about to say something, when she was interrupted by the screeching of tires. The three of them looked in the direction that the sound came from, and saw a well-dressed man stepping out of a fancy convertible. "Fuckin' lazy assholes. Making me come all the way out here to do this shit myself... I should fire the lot of 'em," he said as he walked towards a small seafood restaurant. "Never shoulda bought this fuckin' place. Fuckin' con artist got me good..." He unlocked the door, and stepped inside. Ricardo and Sam both looked at each other, and smiled. Without hesitating, they both ran towards the restaurant. Cleo closed her notebook and stood up, following behind them. As they reached the convertible, both Sam and Ricardo jumped inside, with Sam ending up in the driver's seat. "Fuckin' a," said Sam, as she looked down and saw that the man had left the keys in the ignition. "Hey," whispered Ricardo angrily, "no fucking way! This is my ride! Go find your own!" Sam looked over towards him, and replied "Is your ass in the driver's seat? No? Then fuck off." "Oh, c'mon! You're invisible! You can go steal any car in the city, any time you want! Look, i'm sorry about insulting you earlier. That was low of me. But please, let me have this one!" Sam gave Ricardo the finger, and replied "You're gonna be sitting on this before your ass ever touches the driver's seat. Now fuck off!" Cleo caught up to them, and put a hand on the car as she leaned forward and looked inside. "What's the plan?" she asked. Before Sam or Ricardo could respond, the owner of the convertible stepped outside, and almost immediately noticed them messing with his ride. "Hey, get the fuck out of there!" he yelled, dropping a parcel as he ran towards them. Sam turned the keys, and Ricardo grabbed Cleo, pulling her in just as the convertible began to race away. "Fuck!' she groaned as she fell in, maneuvering her way into the backseat. Sam and Ricardo started to laugh as the convertible picked up speed, and it wasn't long before they found themselves cruising up the street towards the city's neon soaked downtown. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------

09-13-2015, 10:01 AM	#39 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Side Story: Convertible, Part Two Cleo looked up at a large advertisement on the side of a building, folding her arms and tilting her head. On it was a man with absurdly styled hair wearing tattered jeans and a leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up, chains draped over him haphazardly. Above him, in bold red lettering, were the words 'Express Your Individuality', followed by a brand logo. Cleo narrowed her eyes and continued to examine it, though she felt the urge to turn away. There was something about it that left a pit in her stomach, yet she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She felt herself shiver, as she thought about what advertisements looked like a hundred years ago, and what they would look like a hundred years in the future. It made all of the creativity, innovation, and energy of every generation, including her own, seem like an insignificant joke that keeps getting told. She felt cold and alone, as though nothing she or anyone could ever do would truly matter. Every name would be forgotten, every tower would fall, every hero would become tomorrow's fool, and eventually, everything would turn to dust, and be nothing at all. "You done yet?" she asked, lowering her gaze. "Just about," replied Ricardo, who was urinating on the wall below the advertisement. As he finished and zipped up his pants, he looked up at the poster briefly with a vacant glance, before clearing his nose and walking away. "Let's get the fuck out of here," said Cleo, as she nodded her head towards the car. Ricardo looked at her and answered "Sure. Where's robo-bitch?" "She'll be back in a sec. Said she wanted to get something to drink," replied Cleo as she jumped into the front passenger seat. "Hey, now. Don't be a fucking seat thief," said Ricardo, looking at her expectantly. "Fair is fair, sidekick. Pull me into a moving car, the least you can do is give me a front row seat," replied Cleo, as she pointed towards the backseat with her thumb. Before Ricardo could argue with her, Sam knocked down the wall of the nearby convenience store with a well placed kick, and stepped outside carrying two kegs of alchohol. "What the fuck?" asked Ricardo, looking at Sam with an incredulous expression. "I had a thirst for beer, and a thirst for action, so I decided to quench them both at once. I'm one efficient motherfucker," she replied with a smile. The owner of the convenience store ran outside with a pistol, firing a shot at Sam while screaming obscenities. Thanks to the powerful shield emitters that the aliens had equipped her with, the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off of the back of her head. Sam looked back at him and raised up one of the kegs, yelling "Don't make me feed this to you, you fuckin' worm!" After placing one of the kegs beside Ricardo in the back, Sam hopped into the driver's seat and started the car up. As she drove away, she used her robotic arm to punch a hole into the top of the keg sitting in her lap, and she drank freely from it. Of course, Sam being thusly distracted, the car began to swerve tremendously. "You're gonna get us killed!" yelled Cleo as she reached for the steering wheel. Sam lowered her keg and pushed Cleo's hand away, saying "Hey, it's all good! I know what i'm doing! Just fuckin' relax!" "Just don't fuck up the wheels before we get a chance to spin them, alright? And did you really need two whole fucking kegs?" asked Ricardo. Sam laughed, and replied "Well, I figured one keg is good for a party, and i'm a party and a half, you know? So I rounded up." Ricardo looked at her with a confused expression, shaking his head as he said "The fuck are you talking about?" While Sam and Ricardo continued to argue with each other, Cleo put her head back against her chair and closed her eyes, trying to get used to Sam's erratic driving. Eventually, she began to feel a bit more calm, and she turned her head to the side as she opened her eyes. Her gaze fell upon an endless river of neon streaks, constantly racing past her as the car sped across the city's downtown. The night was warming up, though the wind hitting the convertible provided a constant cool breeze, and the late-night businesses and restaurants along the street filled the air with a variety of scents. The car picked up even more speed, and all the world seemed to fade into a steady blur. It was at this moment that Cleo thought back on the advertisement, about how insignificant it had made life seem, however the image didn't give her the same depressed feeling that it had before. On the contrary, it suddenly came to her as a great comfort. For whatever reason, as the convertible continued to race through the city, insignificance seemed like something charming in the wake of inevitability. Even if she only had a second longer to live, it would be a second worth living for, and dying for. People come and people go, and all they can do is accomplish what they can with what they have. The image of dust that once terrified her now seemed to be a sandy beach that stretched as far as her imagination would allow, and she didn't mind the rising tide. In her mind, nothing mattered now, and yet she couldn't help but smile. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------

10-05-2015, 09:34 AM	#40 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Though it's kinda late for it, I couldn't help but give in to the tradition of reviewing a few random albums every thousand views. A few days ago, I went to a record store and grabbed some vinyl that I'd never heard of before. Also, well... one of them is technically just an EP, and not a full album. Sue me. Side Story: Convertible, Part Three As the convertible sped through the neon drenched streets of the city's downtown, Cleo noticed that she had knocked the glove compartment open with her knee when she had jumped into the front seat earlier. Giving it a curious glance, her attention fell upon a stack of cassette tapes that had been pushed to the back. Cleo grabbed a few, and looked them over. Judging by the fact that the names of the bands were hastily scrawled across the tapes with a marker, it was fairly obvious that they were bootlegs. Her curiosity mounting, Cleo popped one of the cassettes into the car's tape deck, and began to rewind it. "The fuck did you just put in?" asked Sam, as she lifted the keg of beer in her lap to her lips. Cleo shrugged, and began to examine the rest of the tapes as she replied "No clue. I found 'em in the glove compartment." Sam smiled and shrugged back at her, saying "Alright. But if they suck, I swear, I'm driving back to the docks and feeding 'em to that asshole." Cleo set the tapes down and leaned back into her chair, closing her eyes as she replied "I'm right there with you. But go easy on him, sidekick. After all, he donated his ride to us quite generously, didn't he?" Sam laughed as she started to lift the keg once again. "Yeah, I guess he did. Alright, I won't feed him the tapes... but he's still gotta eat this," she said, taking her hand off of the wheel and making a fist. As the car began to swerve, Sam set her hand back down and regained control. "Nice driving, robo bitch," said Ricardo, to which Sam responded by giving him the finger. Of course, in taking her hand off of the wheel to make the gesture, the car began to swerve once again. Ricardo laughed and shook his head, before leaning forward and lazily tapping Cleo on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "Hey Cleo," he said, using his free hand to brush back a few hairs that the wind had blown into his face, "why do you always call people 'sidekick'?" Cleo shrugged, and replied "Habit, I guess. Why do you call Sam 'robo bitch'?" Ricardo smiled, saying "It's fun to say, you know?" As Sam glared back at him, he added "Hey, no hard feelings, right?" Sam rolled her eyes, and pushed Ricardo back into the backseat of the car, with him laughing all the while. Just then, the tape deck clicked as the tape was completely rewound, and the music began to play. Burning Rome - Debut Cleo wasn't really sure what to expect from a tape labelled "Burning Rome", but it turned out that it wasn't anything super exotic; at it's heart, it was solid 1980's style rock, with a bit of an AOR feeling to it. It started off strong, and had a few catchy and memorable songs on the first side, however it began to lose some steam as it carried on. Cleo enjoyed it, though it didn't exactly have the energy and beat of the club music that she normally enjoyed listening to. Sam seemed to have fun with it, occasionally setting down her keg so she could drum along on the steering wheel. As the tape began to reach it's end, Ricardo noticed a woman with a knife running after a frightened would-be purse snatcher along the side of the road. After the car passed them, Ricardo turned around in his chair to see what would happen next, and noticed a car speeding up from behind. Glancing through the windshield, he quickly noticed that the three men inside the car were all carrying guns. Just as Cleo popped in the next tape, which was luckily already rewound, Ricardo yelled "Oh shit! We've got company!" The Toasters - Self Titled EP Sam and Cleo looked over their shoulders, and the music began to play. The mysterious car began to pull up beside them, and the men rolled down their windows and fired their guns wildly at the convertible. Sam quickly pulled the wheel to the side and rammed into the attackers, cheerily asking "Who the fuck are these assholes?" "Why are you asking me? How the fuck should I know?" replied Ricardo. Sam laughed as she pulled back from the attackers and tried to speed away, but they followed her without relent. "Wait a minute... remember that convenience store you fucked up? The owner was probably under someone's protection, paying tribute, you know?" asked Ricardo. "Whoever they are, they're pretty fuckin' stupid if they think those puny little guns can leave a scratch on me," said Sam, laughing even harder. "Hey, you might be invincible, but we aren't. Get us the fuck out of here," said Ricardo. Sam rolled her eyes, and replied "I know. I'm trying to get away from them, aren't I?" As the battle raged on, Cleo quickly realized that there was nothing she or Ricardo could do in this situation, and so she once again closed her eyes and enjoyed the music. Marked "The Toasters", Cleo expected it to be standard rock like the last tape, and was surprised to hear that it was Ska, a genre that she had very little familiarity with. Still, it was immediately enjoyable, being very fun, energetic and lighthearted. Though it was only four songs long, Cleo really enjoyed the tape while it lasted, except for one song that was a bit too slow paced for her tastes. Unfortunately, Sam and Ricardo were too preoccupied to either notice or enjoy the music, and the convertible sped on as the streets were filled with the sound of gunfire, screeching tires, and Ska. Maggie Bell - Suicide Sal The next tape seemed to be a blend of rock, soul, and funk, with a powerful Joplin-esque singer tying it all together. Cleo wasn't too crazy about it, and there were a few songs that just didn't stand out at all to her, but it was still a fairly solid body of work that had a presence to it. "Fuck this," said Sam with a smile as she slowed the car down slightly, allowing the car behind them to catch up. "The fuck are you doing?" asked Ricardo. Right as the car pulled up beside them, and the men prepared to fire their guns, Sam used her robotic arm to throw the keg in her lap at them. It smashed through the front of the car with ease, killing the driver. Without any guidance, the car crashed into a street lamp before flipping over. As Sam drove the convertible away from the scene, Cleo smiled and said "Looks like we've got a keg up on the competition." "What?" asked Ricardo, who didn't get the joke. Sam rolled her eyes, as Cleo explained "You know, like a leg up, but..." Ricardo shook his head and fell back into his seat, taking a deep breath and laughing. "That's so fuckin' bad..." he replied. "Alright," interjected Sam, "it looks like our joyride is coming to a close. After that gunfight, the cops'll be hot on the ass of anyone driving a car fitting this description. They're twitchy enough as it is with all of that weird shit going down in the Blue Shirts territory... nobody working, cops deserting, mass looting, you know?" "Sounds good to me," said Ricardo. "I think I've seen enough action for one night." Cleo gasped, glancing back at Ricardo and replying "What? Is that even possible?" "Yeah, yeah..." said Ricardo, smiling and shaking his head. In time, the convertible was disposed of, and the first rays of the coming day began to stretch across the sky as the three made their way back to the docks. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------