Expanse: The City Reboot (Dark Fantasy Epic) Main Thread (Open, Started)

[Evrant-Knight]

The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

Vergil was confused by what Vessel had just said, and began massaging his forehead in an attempt to try and make sense of it, but that didn't work.

"Die? What do you mean Vessel, I'm not dying anything, in fact I feel fine. Just what are you talking about?"

 

[FinalDream]

Daniel De?Silver - The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias


Daniel smiled and nodded at Vergil before returning, with the drinks, to the others who had found and settled in a large booth in the far corner of the bar. He approached with the hot drinks and dished them out before returning to collect the remainder, sat waiting patently on the bar. The smell of the hot, spiced wine, a southern staple adapted for the north, filled the air with a magnificent fragrance that reminded Katelyn of her homeland. She re-affirmed her promise, once again, to return home when all this had concluded. Daniel caught the glimmer of the daydream in her eyes and smiled, half hiding the fear of losing Kate altogether. She smiled back before taking a single sip of the hot liquid, relishing the warmth of the mug in her hands. He was about to speak when the door to the bar opened, letting a fierce draft of cold air rushing into the room, before it was quickly closed again. The woman sat the bar with the electric blue hair seemed unfazed and remained in her own little world.

The arrival was another woman, petite, with dazzling blonde hair that hung down the side of her face, allowing the ears to poke out of either side. She approached the barman with a smile and they hugged.

?Ellie!? The barman announced rather loud. ?I thought we were not going to see you tonight.?

?Well I had nothing better to do. I might as well sing.?

Daniel returned his attention to the group, ignoring the remainder of the conversation. ?Well.? He spoke aloud to all at the table. ?So we might as well take the opportunity to look around.?

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

Vergil listened patiently to the Vessel explanation of what might have happened to him. A mixture of fear and worry was being worn across the Vessel's face. After a while though, she stood up and started pacing in an attempt to make sense of this situation.

She then stopped, and looked deeply into his dark red eyes. Before she had never had been able to meet his gaze on equal terms, but now it looked as though she couldn't stop if she wanted to. There was a look of desperation as her eyes grew wide, and her face became more innocent looking; like a child.

"Vergil, when you were dead or dying or whatever you were. What was it like?" Vergil sat back in the tall armchair for a few minutes, a dead silence hanged across the room as he thought, pulling back the curtain on memories from the day when he effectively died. He soon stood up, and walked over to the Vessel, and embraced her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Vessel my dear, it was cold and empty; not much life to be had when you stare down the grim spectre of death. There was a darkness that stretch almost ad infinitum, but there was that one bright spot, one thing that kept me going, one esper of life that provided me with the strength to hold on to what I had left. That candle amidst a sea of darkness was you; it guided me home. The fact that I could see it at all, told me that my story had not finished there, that it was not my time to pass into the void of the unknown.

I know you never meant to bring this upon me; you were to put it simply, helping a friend in need, thank you so much." A joyful tear came to his eye, but he did not stop to wipe it away, he felt that it should stay.

"But even I want to retire at some point, to sit back and watch the world when I am old. If I was given one wish regarding who I would want to spend my autumn years with, it would be you; you have done so much for me, even if you think that you haven't."

 

[CrazyBlaze]

"I'll just take a coffee please. Alcohol isn't exactly a good idea right now," Coffee in hand Telnor took a seat in the a secluded corner, away from the rest of the group.

Ever since he had rejoined them, things had felt awkward between all of them. Not that he blamed them. Words and actions don't just go away because you say sorry. Things weren't the same between all of them and he felt that they never would be again. Not that they were ever close. A thief, an Assassin, and two former of the noble classes he had always been on the out. It wasn't a situation that he was entirely unfamiliar with. Because of the amount of traveling he had done as a child there was rarely a time where he was to grow and fit in. Only once did he ever feel like he belonged to a group larger than his own and even that was gone. Lost.

Starring into his coffee he felt memories of days long passed come to the surface. Days of laughing around a tavern after a victory. Days of standing shoulder to shoulder against those who would oppose them. Days of leading men into battle. Days of shoulders sore, arms aching and hands cramped as he learned the art of the sword. Days of haze as he lay sick on his bed as his friends looked after him. Days of laughing as his apprentices quarreled over who was better. Days of sorrow when he had lost it all.

It seemed so long ago and the weight of it made Telnor feel old and tired. He always put on the facade of the joker, of the one who would charge on straight ahead but it felt empty, most days but sometimes the facade was the only he could carry on.

"Why hello sweetie," a voice as smooth as honey pulled Telnor out of his inner thoughts. Looking up he saw a gorgeous red head. Her long red hair reached down to her back, her skin tight dress, showed off all her curves and it split from the thigh down revealing her long gorgeous legs.

"Lost in thought are ya," the red head asked sweetly after Telnor took to long to reply. "It's okay. You ain't the first to be speechless, my name is Jeanie," Jeanie slid up to Telnor brushing up against him, pressing her breasts up against his arm.

"I'm um. I'm Telnor. Pleased to meet you and your personal space," Telnor stuttered out.

Jeanie slid a finger down Telnor's face, "Oh personal space is sooooo overrated don't you think?" she ran her finger down his face to his chest before she turned away from him, signaling to the waitress for two beers.

Telnor tried to raise a protest but Jeanie put a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"Now now. Don't go raising no fuss," Jeanie leaned in close whisphering in his ear, "I know what a man likes and you look like you would like a beer and a bit more," Jeanie grabbed Telnor's head and passionately kissed him, with Telnor barely raising a protest.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

Surprise. That had been the expression that dashed across his face as the Vessel said those words. Never before had she been so sultry before, it almost looked as though she wanted it. The voices in his head that acted as the two sides of his conscience were just as surprised as Vergil was.

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"Wow, never expected that to actually happen boss. I know that I'm your more devious and talkative side, but I'm actually speechless. Still, she is offering herself up to you. You wouldn't want to deny the dame a taste of pleasure now would you?"

"Impressive, the Vessel has actually managed to silence your more renegade self sir. Whilst normally, I would be somewhat appalled for you to take up on this kind offer; from the sounds of it she is sorry for what has happened to you, and partially blames herself for some of the misdeeds, and wants to repay. Would you deny the fair lady her offer? For once in our existence sir, I have to agree with our darker friend here sir."

"Wait, what just happened here? Did the old sod actually agree with me? Well I never, thought we'd live to see the day that would happen boss. If your noble side is actually agreeing with me, go for it. Wouldn't hurt to have a little bit of fun now."

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Vergil began taking off his weaponry and gear, gently dropping them to the floor, and out of harm's way. He then cradled the Vessel's head in his hand, as he passionately kissed her. Whilst this was going on, Vergil began to undress the Vessel, causing her to shiver briefly from the cold; he then pulled the Vessel closer, and showed her a devious looking smirk.

"Don't worry Vessel, I'm sure I can keep you warm." Vergil remarked, his smirk turning into a smile with but a glance. They then simply went at it.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

Comfort. Pleasure. Joy. All these words and more began to form as the pair slowed down after their intimacy. Vergil panted slightly as he held onto the Vessel, her legs crossed behind his back as he stood up, back against the wall. He slowly began to sink to the floor. The Vessel smiled at him slightly.

"Are you done?" She asked. Vergil rested his head on the Vessel's shoulder, showing her a content smile, feeling satisfied at what had happened.

"Yeah, I'm done." Vergil said softly to the Vessel as he kissed her neck.

"Was it what you wanted?"

"Oh, it was my dear. Thank you. So much tension had been building up over the last couple of days due to what has been happening lately; you could say that helped me release it."

 

[FinalDream]

Katelyn Verneer - The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

As she took a sip of her wine she watched as Daniel walked to the bar holding a copy of the flyer. He whispered into the ear of the barman and slid the paper across the bar. Immediately the barman changed his expression and nodded to Daniel to follow him into the kitchen to speak in private. Katelyn felt the urge to follow and hear the words for herself but decided not to risk drawing anymore attention to what was happening and remained in her seat. At that moment a loud cheer rose in the room from the other patrons as a young woman walked on stage and began to sing to the sound of a slow piano. The emotion breaking on her voice made the song something special and Kate sat back to admire the tune. She almost chocked on her wine when she saw a sigil on the arm of the girl forming the image of a burning flame.

Using the cover of the night the two ships sailed to the illuminated shoreline. Captain Felicia Jones stood on the deck of her ship and watched the crew bring the boat into the stone dock, walking down the ramp to greet the solitary guard who had come to check out the unusual looking ships. She smiled and spoke a greeting as a member of her crew crept up behind the guard and slit his throat, dumping the body into the water afterwards. Without a word she signalled the rest of her crew to begin departing and looked onwards at the glowing sign for the Ocean Horizon bar.

A scream pierced the air of the bar and the music stopped. The voice was silenced as the strange looking soldier decapitated the vocal man. Katelyn rose to her feet and grabbed her mechanical bow as the reminder of the Warfleet soldiers filled the bar. Captain Felicia Jones smiled as she entered.

?Kill them all but he girl.? She grinned pointing her sword at the woman on stage.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

Vergil closed his eyes for a brief moment, storing the recent memories for later. Suddenly though, he heard a disturbance going on downstairs, sounded as though a fight had broken out. He then heard a loud thud, opening his eyes, he saw the door open, and a man falling to the floor, with the Vessel already looking over him. The Vessel then turned to Vergil after pulling out a rather interesting looking knife.

"Put him on the bed, he'll be out cold for a while and I may need him if anyone gets hurt." Without responding, Vergil quickly got up and dragged the man towards the bed, then lifting him up on to it. Afterwards, Vergil put on what clothes had come off, then proceeding with his weaponry and other gear. He thought that he could see a brief glow of green from the Vessel, but it might have just been the dark lighting of the room playing tricks on him. The Vessel soon turned to Vergil.

"You want some of this?"

"You do remember that your positive and negative energy doesn't register me; so I doubt it would even work on me. No offence." Vergil remarked as he pulled out one of his swords, sensing that a fight was breaking out down below.

"Shall we go see what is happening down there then?" He then asked, showing a brief smile.

 

[FinalDream]

Katelyn Verneer - The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

It had lasted no more than a minute, but the effect had been utterly devastating. The soldiers moved in the direction of the girl on stage and cut a passage through the fleeing civilians with an automated precision that left none alive. Acting as one entity they had massacred the entire bar except for the group who had fallen back in a tight formation to protect the stranger on the stage. Captain Felicia Jones stepped forward, over the bleeding bodies, and eyed the group with a cautious glance. She knew the fight would have attracted the attention of the guards and she had little time to snatch the girl before their arrival. She glared into the eyes of Katelyn and raised her cutlass.

?Give me the girl and we will let you live.?

Silence. She looked at the others and repeated herself with irritation and impatience straining her voice. Daniel moved forward and with a smile suggested that she might go and do things with herself instead. Felicia hardened her expression at the retort and ordered the death of the group, while silently cursing the others who had infiltrated the upper levels and failed to materialise. Katelyn raised the knife-like edges of her mechanical bow in anticipation of the attack but a scout for the Warfleet ran into the bar at moment and shouted, in a heavy southern accent, about the arrival of the guards. Felicia cursed aloud this time and ordered a retreat, looking back only once with disgust before vanishing into the night.

It had all been too much for Ellie, who had been somewhat lost in the situation, and she fainted on the stage.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

The first thing Telnor did when the Warfleet burst into the room was pull Jeanie down underneath the table. At first Jeanie thought that he wanted to continue undisturbed but as the screams filled the room, her face grew white and she bite down on her lip. Slowly Telnor drew his sword, so as to avoid any noise but before he could do anything, the soldiers retreated.

As he rose from under the table, he looked around slowly at the massacre that had taken place. His fist grew white as he clutched the handle of his sword, anger burning in his eyes. So focused was he that he did not notice Jeanie sliding a note into his pocket.

In Telnor's mind there was only one thing to do. Anger coursing through his veins, Telnor slipped through the front door and followed the tracks in the snow. It was easy for him to follow such a large group. Moving quickly he caught up with the soldiers. Before he had thought to fight them but looking at their numbers he realized that would have been suicidal.

Quietly he grabbed one of the soliders from behind, held his hand over the soldier's mouth and his other arm around his neck and choked him until he past out. Then he began to carry the body back to the bar. The solider would be useful in finding out why they attacked and where they were from, with a little incentive of course.

Arriving back at the bar he dumped the soldier's on the stage for all to see.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

Vergil could hear the sounds of fighting going on down stairs, and wanted to get involved, but he waited the return of Vessel. Suddenly, the noise dulled and grew softer as things came to a halt. Looking down below, he could see the soldiers retreating, and Telnor following after them.

'He's going to get himself killed one of these days.' Vergil said to himself as he looked down the corridor and saw the bodies of those that the Vessel had killed. He knelt down and found the knife that the Vessel was carrying was embedded in the neck of one of the soldiers; a woman from the looks of it. With a single sharp tug, Vergil pulled the knife out and wiped the blood off on the woman's uniform.

"This ought to come in handy." Vergil remarked, then he could hearing the sounds of someone crying. Turning his head, he could see the Vessel was sobbing into her hands. He went over to her and held her gently.

"Its alright, its all over Vessel, they've gone now."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

Vergil still held onto the Vessel as her crying began to slow down a little. But then he could hear a groaning from the nearby room, and saw that the man that the Vessel had chloroformed earlier was starting to stir. He gestured the Vessel to remain quiet as he stood up and crept into the room, where the man was clambering off the bed.

The moment he saw Vergil, the man attacked, clutching a dagger he began making a series of swipes and thrusts. Using his wrist blade, Vergil blocked and parried the blows, the sound of metal glancing across metal could be heard. After kicking the man in the right shin, Vergil forced the dagger to fall, then moved behind the soldier and put his arm around the soldier's throat, where he held the pose until the man passed out and collapsed onto the floor. After finding something to bind the man's hands with, Vergil retrieved the dagger and left the room.

"Well, he's dealt with for the mean time." Vergil remarked as he offered a hand to the Vessel to help her up.

 

[FinalDream]

Katelyn Verneer - The Ocean Horizon Bar - Januarias

She called out to Telnor but it had been too late and he vanished into the night. She hoped the guard would not mistake him for one of the Warfleet and decided to turn her thoughts to the girl instead. He could look after himself. After an initial inspection she seemed fine and in the following minute, with the help of some water provided by Daniel, she regained conciseness and sat on the end of the stage holding her head in her hands to avoid looking at the macabre sight. Katelyn sat down next to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulder and began to talk as Telnor returned with the guard.

Daniel stood from inspecting the dead and walked over to the captured guard with some interest, he had never seen one of the Warfleet so close before. He wore a long tanned robe that covered the dull, but elaborate, metal armour and his scarred skin was covered in what seemed like tribal tattoos, inked in a dark blue. Daniel took a step forward and pulled down the hood of the robe to reveal the face of a middle aged man covered in more scars and ink.

?Well, this should be enlightening.?