Mazrim took a deep breath. It'd been far too long since he'd taken a break. Slowly letting the sweet draw out, he stretched out with his senses, and took in the serene glow of this realm. He wasn't sure if it had a name, since it seemed to be mainly uninhabited. Oh, sure, there was the pathway that led from the Rock to a "drift" gate. But other than that, little went on in the Paradisiacal land. Foliage bloomed in abundance, though not quite overtaking the land completely. Animals and insects abound, though nothing humanoid in nature. It seemed to have only recently come in phase with the Nexus prime, and had yet to be developed by some entrepreneuring individual.
Twisting slightly, Mazrim continued to bask in the healthy glow of a yellow sun, quite similar to the one that beamed down on Lioran, his most recent "home". The thought of Lioran brought a slight frown to his lips. Mazrim was truely getting annoyed at his inability to locate his most invested venture from that world. Since that business with Legion and the Dark Tide, as well as the events that followed, he had been unable to find any sign of Draenoric Dinosguerd, the current Dragon diety of Lioran, and his most recent student. Draen was alive, he knew that, though he really had no clue where. And he knew that Draen was also no longer in control of himself. Something had happened, and the DragonLord was now not simply one being, but two, both trapped in the same form. All this Mazrim could feel from his bond with the ancient DaemonDragon. But he had no blasted idea where to find Drake.
Sighing to himself, Mazrim sat up upon the smooth stone on which he was laying, and reached out to retrive his walking staff.
Suddenly he froze, sensing a disturbance nearby, and sent out his hearing.
"HELLLLPPPP!!!" came screaming from the forest around him.
*****
Three shots rang out in the stillness of the hollowed out shell of a building.
PINGPINGPING
The three bullets whizzed by above his head, causing three tiny holes to blossom in the wall he was staring at. Silas sighed, took stock of his modified Beretta 9mm, and returned the favor. Three shots of his own rang out, the first two ringing out very similar to his adversary's. The third one thudded hollowly in the rotted wooden door, splintering it slightly.
Silas was just able to drop away in time as two more shots sped for him. He landed on his back, the broken bar that he was hiding behind shielding him slightly, but not before the second shot grazed his right cheek.
Four more shots thudded into wood of the bar, each almost breaking through. Silas was going to have to finish this soon, or he just might not have any cover left.
Slipping the Beretta in its holster, Silas drew his HK MP5 sub-machine gun from its position strapped to his leg and checked the magazine to be sure it was full. Flipping the mode to 3 round bursts, he grabbed one of the bottles of alcohol left behind the bar.
Glancing at it, he sighs again.
//What a waste of good Scotch...// he thinks before throwing it at the wall to his right, causing it to shatter loudly.
Without waiting to be sure his foe fell for the ploy, he threw himelf to the left, wide of the sheltering bar. As he did this, three more shots rang out from the other side of the room.
Still on his back and sliding in a ready position, Silas saw the man he'd been chasing for the past few days. Red dishevelled hair, rumpled clothing, black gun of his own, looked like a beretta also. Aimed to the right.
Silas took all this in with a glimpse, and without a second thought, pulled the trigger. Three rounds of ammunition exploded from his weapon, causing it to buck slightly in the one-hand grip.
Three large green holes exploded in the guy, the first actually taking off the hand holding his weapon. The second ruined his right hip, mangling the muscle tissue surrounding it and spinning him slightly so he was facing away from Silas. The third shot tore a hole in his lower back, splattering the wooden doorway Silas had splintered earlier.
With a final gasp, the body dropped to the floor, a wet and sticky sound the last thing it heard.
Silas sat the smoking weapon to the floor, reached into his shirt pocket, and retreaved the pack of Marlboro cigs. Lighting one up and drawing a long drag, he tilts his head back and blows the smoke up to the ceiling.
"One more for ya, big guy."
*****
"The evidence submitted by Maximum Cop Riley is unsubstantiated at best and to put it frankly, verging on slanderous. Maximum Cop Riley is well known for his dislike of the Karish family," indicating the gray skinned humanoid being at the defense table "and for his habit of 'investigating' his race at every opportunity. This is just another example of the MC influence increasing in Coloron. Do you truly want to give them the authority to invade your lives here? They may have complete and utter juridiction in the major Hubs, but we will _not_ simply lie back and let them take over our home. We may be a part of the Nexus, but ladies and gentlemen, we don't have to -submit- to the Nexus. I trust you will make the right decision, and continue the tradition of closing our borders to outsider influence into our internal affairs. Thank you. Have a good meal."
As David Innian walked over to his client, the scaled Karish broke into a slight grin. It's mouth barely moved, but it's words insinuated their way into David's mind. "we...? our... home...? funny... mr. innian... i swear... you said... you were from angel... city..."
Leaning closer, David replied in a whisper "You know that, I know that, and hell, old Grest there," he nods to the judge who was getting up to take his mid-night meal, "might even know that. But this -is- closing statements, and Riley nor the pet MC lawyer there can do a damn thing about it without granting you a mistrial. The people of Coloron might not like me, or my employer, but they like being 'controlled' by the Nexans even more. Don't worry, we'll have you out... 'hunting' again soon enough."
"Stacking some of his papers, David walked towards the room's exit, sure that he'd won yet another trial."
Behind him, two gun shots rang out, and people scattered.
*****
Stepping out of the ruined warehouse, Silas wiped the trickle of crimson still running down from his right cheek with a sigh. Checking to be sure he's alone and finding it true, Silas closed his eyes, calling on the wound to close. More and more concentration go into the act. In his mind's eye, Silas pictures the blue crystal cave, feels himself floating into it. Passing through the semi-opaque material, he floats purposefully until he finds the small crack, and getting there, seals it off again.
Opening his eyes and staggering a little, Silas reaches up with his left hand across his face. Instead of the smooth skin he was expecting, the raised scar tissue greets him. His healing ability was getting weaker.
Another sigh, and checking to be sure he still had the target's left eye for positive ID, he started the long walk to the portal.
Passing others on the street, he would occasionally nod his head in greeting, speaking to a few he knew a little more personally. About an hour later, Silas turned off the street onto another one, a little side street. Walking a short distance, he comes to a stop in front of a door and looks up at the sign, smiling slightly at the semi-familiar sight.
The Blue Boar.
With a chuckle, he opens the door and steps inside.
*****
Leaping to his feet, Mazrim rushed towards the sound. Brushing through foliage, he hoped not be too late.
Suddenly, he burst into a circular clearing. In the center of the clearing stood an immense plant, apparently carnivorous. It stood about fifteen feet tall, looking distinctly like the "evil" plants in the cartoons he had seen the humanoid children watching in the Nexus.
Everything from the two leaves with their pointed end curled into feet, to the leaf "hands", to the caricature-like head with a mouth full of gleaming, razor sharp teeth.
In one of those "hands" was a girl, looking to be about twelve or thirteen years old. She struggled with all her might to break her way out of the plant's grasp, but to no avail. The plant-creature was even drawing her to his mouth in that torturously slow gesture of cartoons.
Shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation, Mazrim muttered a few words, calling on the Primal Essence power of his surroundings. He was amazed at the amount of power he was able to draw forth. This land truely had not been touched in a very long time.
Mazrim gathered the power he drew from the land. It was what enabled his magical abilities to function. In any place where he existed, Mazrim was able to draw upon the intrinsic properties of every partical, borrowing from those particals the Primal Essence of creation, thus powering his magics.
Mazrim concentrated, focusing his will on the place where the plant-creature's "hand" leaf connected with the main body. In his mind's eye, Mazrim pictured shears, and drew them together. The leaf suddenly tore violently at it's base, falling from the plant-creature's body and dropping the girl. She landed on her right side and let out a cry of pain.
With a deafening roar, the creature turned, just noticing the new face emerging from the trees.
And with almost comical grace, it began running towards him.
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