Oct 16 19:30:09 107 PA - Party Crashing
From Chronicles
Heading toward the location of the apparent noise is... unrewarding for a while. Only occasionally can a less loud giggle be heard, or a moderately unpleasant "THWACK!" that seems to be coming from off around the lake, but there's not very much obvious to be seen in the scant light of the quarter moon.
"Hmmm." Gabriel slows up as he approaches the bushes. The sounds seem to be clearly not actually an issue. It was some kind of happy scream, not a screech. He shakes his head. "Boyfriend and girlfriend swimming naked and screwing on the banks of a public lake? Do these people have no respect for the sacrament of marriage?" His hand drifts over and unconsciously caresses his small silver ring. He almost turns around. In fact, he does turn around. Completely. As in, facing the other direction. Eyes thus averted, he then stoops, dropping to one knee in an unnecessary combat crouch. Just listening. If it's two kids screwing, it's time to walk away and try to forget.
There's another shrill, "Eeeheeeheeeee!" followed by a series of sharp cracks and a groan. There's a few moments of shuffling before a woman's voice can be heard, "C'mon, Burke, 'e ain't done nothin'," followed by another sharp crack and a nasal man's voice retorting - obviously the source of the laughter, "Wotwotwot? Ain't done nothin'!? Ehehehe you know that's not true not true not true don't be saying anything stupid 'less you wanna be joining in the beating heyheyhey?"
Okay, that gets his attention and decides a his mind. Maintaining his low profile, moving at a fast combat crouch, he heads toward a thinner portion of the bushes that ring the lake. For the first time since his arrival in this world, Gabriel's strange weapon is drawn within the city limits. The safety remains intact, but a round is chambered - silently, as perhaps the nature of the weapon belies. With the muzzle pointing to the sky, his left hand comes up to cup the base of the grip. He moves closer, quickly, eyes and ears open.
As Gabriel approaches, the three don't seem too worried with anybody seeing - and there are three silhouettes in the darkness, one long haired one holding her cheek, another larger one on the ground in a ball, and a third standing over the second. The moon's glinting off of his forehead, and he's waving around what appears to be a gun of some sort. "Nononono, heeeee'll get it, he'll get it he'll get it," he says, leaping forward over the body - a good two meters - before running back and giving a square kick to the prostrate figure. The woman just maintains her distance.
The muzzle of the long-barreled pistol is lowered, elbow lights upon knee, and sights are taken. But as it is still three to one, or possibly two to one, possibly even just one to one, but the one does still have a weapon of some kind... and it's possible that the rolled-up figure deserves it, Gabriel does nothing immediately. As there is no apparent absolutely immediate necessity to step in, he remains in the bushes and just tries to gather information. Is it a woman holding a cheek? Guy with long hair? What's the issue? Is the guy tied up? What kind of weapon is he waving? Are they drunk or high? All of these are good questions that deserve to be looked into. He just waits.
The woman maintains her distance while 'Burke' appears content to continue working over the man on the ground.
Gabriel shakes his head once, looks at the woman, the man on the ground, and makes a decision. Who knows what the hell the law is. The muzzle comes up, and the barrel aims at Burke's hand. "Courage is fire, bullying is smoke." A gentle nudge of the trigger, and the weapon fires. There is a flash no more than that of a small Christmas tree light blowing out, and a sound as quiet as a soda can's pop top opening.
The shot brings an interesting reaction from the three. The woman just sighs, hands moving to rest on her hips as she turns and seems to look right at Gabriel, "Hey, Burke, looks like we got us a bit o'," she pauses as she glances over to the man standing overhead, "Aww shit, Sid, th'fuck you turning up for now?" The gun clatters shakily to the ground as the woman smacks the bully upside the head, while the prostrate one promptly swings out tripping him and sending him to the ground with a loud, "Hah! Thought I was down, did you!?"
Obviously having been seen, Gabriel rises to his feet in a full combat advance, pistol raised, hoping that as he's yet to be accosted, there aren't any magicians or brain busters, or whatever they hell they call themselves aren't around. In a quiet but definitely commanding voice, as he's been used to using for decades now, and one that you might use on the neighbor kids who pissed you off, he states, "Ma'am, gentlemen. There's nothing I'd like better than to turn around and go back to my party. But I'm not leaving until all three of you decide on the same story. Go." The pistol remains pointed.
The three look at the man, the one on the ground collecting his fallen gun with distaste - holding it by the barrel just long enough to slide it behind his back - and then they all spread out a little. "Party, eh?" goes the previously prostrate man, "Wait, wait, wait, you think you got us on the run run run?!" asks the previous bully, in a slightly different voice than previous, a small knife flashing into his hands, and the woman just lifts her own finger, aiming it directly at Gabriel, "Careful, old-timer, careful! It's loaded-d-d-d!" The moonlight is glinting off all three of their excessively large M.O.M implants.
Gabriel admits that he is still new to this town, but it seems logical enough that being outnumbered three-to-one by people who may-or-may-not be acting together, with metal studs sticking out of their heads... thinking to himself, "What the fuck are those things coming out of their heads?" as he is unfamiliar with MOM conversion... it's probably best to just leave. His weapon is lowered - ready, but not directly threatening - and he starts to back away. "Sorry to intrude. I must have thought that I heard something else. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
"Oh, hey, Sid," the second man says, reeling back for a moment to bash the knife-wielder's head. The woman is waving her finger around like a maniac before she bounds forward, "Hey now, hey now, hey. Maybe I was a bit rash, right? Right? I'll unload the thing." She pulls back on her thumb with a loud giggle, all the other fingers springing up and wiggling innocuously. "We're friends, right? You want to be friends? Let's check out this party of yours. Hey boys! Let's go. And play nice!"
SCENE CHANGE
"You haven't been a couple for more than four years? I know you have seen her sooner than 4 years." Sage replies, before shrugging faintly. "There are ways to know for sure, but not likely one that can be done this very second." She comments before looking between the others. "Hopefully she truly meant the couple hours... I'm not sure I want to become a full time babysitter unless I have to."
Sebastien's eyes are a little too wide as he stares down again at the child, uttering, "They can. They do! They are essentially human. Most offspring are Stalkers, though some come out human. She always said..." He leans in again, giving the kid a more thorough once-over. "Stalkers have blue eyes?" he notes softly.
Gabriel returns from his walk with with... what can only be considered an entourage. He even has a girl hanging onto his shoulders, beaming brightly, and despite it all he doesn't seem very happy about it. Maybe it's the one guy wearing armour in the back. Or the metal studs in their heads. Or the other with the black eye and blood-smeared face. "Ooohhhh, fancy! Thanks for the tip, mon frerrrrrrrrrre" the woman rolls the Rs to infinity as they all break away from Gabriel, descending for the moment on the snack table. No really, two of them physically leap onto the snack table.
Daeni glances between babe and onlookers prior to a roll of her shoulders. "Know she is mother? Maybe find child, feed, now give to other to feed. Not act like good mother." Daeni's assessment may or may not be accurate, given her own limited experience with maternal events or instincts.
Rubidia's attention is drawn from the soap to the new arrivals, and her biggest fan.. Who doesnt look too happy to have found himself some groupies. She moves away from Sage and the others towards Gabriel. "Who are your friends Gabriel?" She asks with an incredulous look at their manners.
"Whatever the case, I would like to make sure that the baby gets cared for... preferrably by the mother if possible." Sage replies, still finding the whole situation to be a little off. She hears enough commotion coming from the food area that she glances over there and sighs. "Well, looks like this gathering is about to come to an abrupt end... trouble may have finally arrived."
"I'll take care of it," Sebastien replies brisquely. "Him. I'll take care of him." He glances down at the baby again, narrowing his eyes. Well, it *might* be a him. The young man assumes. He frowns up at the incoming crowd of ne'er do wells, lips pursing. "Fine day to be out without armor," he remarks, and calls softly, "Sara!" The horse steps towards him, uncertain for the crowd.
Gabriel, uncharacteristically grumpy, makes a clear issue of keeping his strange weapon loose, but secure. He marches silently through the crowd, bypassing the Hallmark moment going on further away, and right up to the sparkle musician. His face is that of a man who knows that he's been beat, and there's nothing that he can do about it - but he's still pissed... and worried for others. "Rubidia," he says softly, "I hate this place. Everybody is a science-fucking-fiction walking monstrosity. Not you. You're fine, you were born to glow, travel like light, that's you. But these motherfucking assholes who pump themselves with chemicals, or bore machines in their heads, or take off limbs like a fucked up voluntary prosthetic! HA! I'm sick of it." He just stares at the Rubidia for a moment, then manages to glance at the baby. "Rubidia, do you know 'Earth Angel,' by the Penguins?"
The three spend a few moments grabbing things from the table until the bloodied one pushes it up and over, sending the other two rolling to the ground among bits of crab and shrimp and dip and chips with a loud "Woop-woop-woop!" before bounding back and away. It takes a moment before a knife goes sailing by him - from one of the fallen crazies - though a quick duck sends it into the nothingness away.
"Look hungry," Daeni shifts her attention towards the trio at the table that is subsequently upturned. This prompts her to add, "for food, maybe also fight." That focus might linger, were it not for the pan to Gabriel and snort that follows in lieu of any spoken comment.
Rubidia looks confused, her eyes darting between Gabriel and th4e crazies with uncertainty. As close as he is Gabriel can probably hear Rubidia's headphones already playing back his request. So thats how she does it.. "I'm not performing for those, at least not a performance they'd enjoy." She remarks, looking at how they are wrecking the party.
Seeing the party begin to get wreaked and the potential for damage, Sage comes to an easy decision. "I'm going to make sure the baby is safe before having to deal with this..." She comments, making a gesture towards the mess that is becoming of the food area. Fortunately the majority of it will have gone to better use than what's currently happening. She'll begin to put some distance between herself and the potential danger with an attentive eye towards the Crazies, before beginning to move off to look for help to notify should the situation get out of hand.
Sebastien watches the group come, blinking at the state of things. "Anyone without armor would die in a fight against that," he murmurs softly, considering them. Though the thrown knife catches his attention, and he peers back at the child with a mouth like a white line. All the blood pressed from his lips. Uttering a quiet curse, Sebastien reaches to pat Sara's nose and draw down her head, speaking softly to the horse, "Sara, be a good girl. Watch my back. Wait for me to signal." He pats the horse's snout again, and steps back, yelling at the one who threw the knife. "Cut it out! You're welcome to eat, dance, and have a good time, but you will behave or you will leave." Sebastien strides towards the group, unarmored squishy that he is. This ... is going to hurt.
The one who ducked the knife is off tittering to himself, pulling a face at the two who're picking themselves off the ground, obviously enjoying his little joke. "Wot wot?" "Wot wot?" the two echo, giving Sebastien a bit of a cockeyed look. "Why'd we eat if we ain't hungry?" asks the woman. "An' why'd we dance when we ain't hungry?" echoes the one in armour before continuing, rubbing one of his studs, perplexed, "Man man, you ain't making NO sense."
Gabriel puts his hand on the grip of his weapon, but doesn't yet draw it. He just gazes at the three party-crashers, guessing that this is probably no longer the time for music. "Rubidia, in my day, we would call these people assholes. I don't now if there's a new word for them now. But it's still apt." A hesitation, then, "Rubidia? Do these guys have metal skulls or anything?"
Rubidia shrugs, turning to face the crashers. "Metal or not they are going to rue crashing my performance." She decides as she becomes an embodiment of the purest light. soothing heat emenats from all around her as she takes up her megaphone. "Leave, or suffer." The options are simple, though whether the weclome comapny is excluded is left in thew air.
Daeni now finds some amusement in the situation, if her smirk upon observing Sebastien and the trio is any indication. "Should ignore. Are weak, worthless," she advises Sebastien, and possibly Rubidia. "Why waste time swat insect?"
"If you neither want to eat nor dance," Sebastien speaks, levying a finger at the armored instigator, "then take your nuisance elsewhere. You are unwelcome here." He strides towards that one, glancing briefly at the crazy sort off to his right before slowing, eyes narrowing as he stops his advance. Instead just thinking.
"Whorl," goes one at Rubidia's sudden display, "Blimey," goes the one in armour, getting a little excited at all the activity. "I'm glad Burke's not here," he continues to the other woman crazy, suddenly ignoring the pillar of light. "He'd be going MENTAL about this, but shit, it's a good time, right?" "Yeah," she agrees, "dunno know what this bloke's talkin' about, though. Bein' a bit forward, ain't 'e?" The one at the fringe suddenly exclaims, "Shit man, is that a HORSE?" and bounds toward it, eyeing from a few meters away. "I LOVE 'orse!" A moment passes and he squints into the light, and then says to Daeni in a bit of an aside, "Look! 's a horse." He looks like a child on Christmas morning.
"These would normally be the kind of people who I'd just kick the shit out of. However, I figure if people look like fucking Frankenstein gone manic, well, they're probably right to be killed." Gabriel offers to the nearby Rubidia. "My father taught me, 'Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice.' These assholes need some justice." His head moves side to side a little. "Need to make sure I have a clean shot at them if anything happens." He remains near the being of light, but moves slightly to the right, clearing his line of fire."
A finger is raised at the approaching offender and much more intense light is shot at his eyes. "You will wish you didnt gaze upon me." Rubidia swears, sounding quite off put in a scottish way.
Daeni remains near the horse that now seems more interesting to the unstable humans than the table. "Look like horse, walk like horse, is horse. Only stupid mother boy need ask if horse." Her terminology is not flawless, but perhaps more vernacular than some might expect. This is noted as the light beside her brightens and becomes more focused.
Sebastien comes out of his reverie with nary a second glance to the sides, instead staring at that armored fellow before him. "Pack up and leave," Sebastien directs. "And tell your man to not touch Sara. She bites." The carnage has ended, at the very least. Sebastien's eyes narrow then, sweeping down the armored man before peering to his left, finally inspecting the troublemakers for weapons. A little late, that.
All three seem to frown to themselves as Gabriel makes his statement, the beam of light going wide, though the crazy does a back flip in the sudden startled moment. "Shit, who wants to look at you?" he mutters before turning to Daeni, "Yeah, 'cept it don't SMELL like a horse now does it? Who's the stupid mother boy now? Huh? It's you! I hate it and I hate you," he almost screams, both hands lifting as he sticks his tongue out in a raspberry. The woman just peers at Gabriel and the man snaps his fingers, "Not my man. Why don't you leave? I like it here."
Nerves are the only real account Rubidia has for her spotlight missing it target. To the spectators they may wonder how long it has been since she saw real combat, if ever. Shrugging it off as she sends another beam out to bling the approaching crazy.
"Is more safe you look hor-" Daeni's snorted retort is abbreviated as her feet leave the ground, and not of her own intent. A reflexive tense and jerk do not aid her in returning to the ground, nor making any significant movement. She promptly growls, "Put down!"
Sebastien is pressed back, his feet teetering over the soft soil, coming to a halt in the earth four paces back from where he'd been standing before. His head tilts to the left, peering at the armored woman with a smirk. "Cute trick, mademoiselle," he murmurs, circling forward. His hands are empty, wondering, "And just how far do you want this to go? Do you want to kill people? Bloody them? What on earth are you doing here, exposing yourself like this?"
The horse-loving-crazy leaps instinctively backwards a good four meters, screaming as he bounces off a tree and falls to the ground, though Daeni remains suspended despite her order. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" he yells as he scratches at his eyes, the girls hand coming up to point a finger at Sebastien, "You! Stop glowing, or I smoke 'im!" The one in armour slowly draws two knives per hand, moving to juggle them. "Want, what who? Who said we want? We were just having a party, our mate over there invited us, you see?"
Rubidia likes it when they make the choice of who's next easier. Without heistation her finger turns to the female. "Be smote." She says mockingly.
Sebastien raises his hands, a gathering pressure suddenly in the air. White light flares from his hands, running skyward in a flicker, seen in an instant. So brief a blink would miss it, and then they're there. A pair of psi-swords, held in a vee before him. His voice raises, a trained oratory skill obvious as he speaks loudly and clearly for all to hear. "My name is Sebastien Dubois, Cyberknight. You will cease this. You will leave peacefully and intact." Beside him, a Crazy is speared by light. "Mostly intact," he continues, and rolls on, "If you raise arms against me, you will die."
Gabriel suddenly looks like he's been punched in the gut, but by someone who doesn't really know how to throw a proper punch. Still, clearly uncomfortable. "Mother FUCKER!" Rolls out in thick home-grown Kentucky. No, it's not the kind of language that you use around women, but dammit, sometimes things just need to be said. Rubidia's attack is noted, as is the one against him, and his compatriots. The long-barrelled pistol is brought up, and once again he offers a nugget of truth, one that this time people might remember from days long past: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." He appears to be waiting to see if anyone starts to kill.
Daeni has not begun to kill, although her rising growl and rapid string of elven explicatives suggest that she might to do soon enough. The horse that does not smell as one now becomes a foothold as Daeni attempts to push off from it in whatever fashion she can manage. Floating above the ground is not where she wishes to be at this moment.
"The name's Knifey McGee!" the juggling crazy exclaims, amused as the one next to him groans and starts scrubbing at her eyes. "Nice to meet yah! Just a juggler, hired out an' everything, see?" He gives another snap . "Oh no! They're throwin' knives!" he yells, the other two slowly scrambling toward the voice. "It'd sure be a shame for you to cut down my good, poor, helpless friends in cold blood, Mr. Cyberknight! Seems like a right bastardy thing to do!"
Rubidia makes not reaction to being pushed back by some unseen force. As she starts to float it really becomes questional if it happened at all. "Knify, take your friends and go or join them in their damnation." She suggests. Her tone has gotten all high and mighty with this wee bit of combat. godess of light going to her head a bit.
Gabriel smolders, both controlled and vicious at the same time. The weapon is raise, poised and ready to fire. He seems to be chanting things under his breath, and also addressing someone next to him. And it's not Rubidia.
Sebastien dips his head, grinning at McGee. "My friends don't like me," he speaks conversationally. "My enemies ... well, you may get a chance to ask them of my character, soon enough. That is, if you wish?" He winks, eyes on the man, not the knives. Still, he holds his ground.
When her efforts merely put her into a slow, cartwheel-like spin, Daeni and her patience have endured enough. Before all might fall from the quiver, she retrieves an arrow even as her bow is unshouldered with the other hand. "Not put down, you die first." Once nocked and drawn, Daeni takes aim upon the knife-wielder, to the best of her ability, as he is the one remaining able to see and thus best able to appreciate her ultimatum. She is not a knight, and has no qualms concerning cold blood or bastardly actions.
"Curles, you heard 'er. Let 'er go," Daeni drops like a stone to only moderate sniveling from the man, "You give my friend a ride on your pony and we'll go, honest to god." he replies, smiling brightly before catching two of the knives at a time and sliding them into his belt with lightning quick hands. "He'll cry the whole ride home if he doesn't, mistah."
Rubidia relaxes slightly, though one would need welding goggles to see as much. She's not about to be any less visible while a threat is about. At the odd request she simply looks to Sebastien. His horse after all.
Gabriel really doesn't do much. He maintains his attention on the three crazy people with Frankenstein bolts in their skulls. The long-barrelled pistol however doesn't waver, ready to jump a few degrees to any side and plug the necessary target. "There is a great streak of violence in every human being. If it is not channeled and understood, it will break out in war or in madness." This seems to be directed to Rubidia, his erstwhile battle partner.
"Sara!" Sebastien calls, straightening a touch. "Your word?" he asks softly, his chin ducking at the armored one. "Let him on! Once around the park. Top speed." The swords vanish as Sebastien glances over his shoulder, murmuring with a smile on his voice, "Take him for a ride."
Daeni does not land upon her feet, initially, yet is quick to tuck and roll to them. Her demand was met, and so her draw relaxes. The juggler will not die first, although she does regard the one responsible for her lack of footing.
The armoured crazy just grins, "Come on Curly, get up, Joss, help him out." He watches the scene unfold for a few moments with a growing grin, "Tch," he says, "you're both useless." Once Curly's managed to get himself on the horse, 'Joss' will take off, leaving the one in armour to wait, smiling merrily as he leans against a tree.
Things settleing down Rubidia floats back to her gear, making a call to arrange its pickup and transport to her next gig. She didnt look to really understnad what Gabriel said ot her and offeredn no reply. She comes back unlit and looking chipper. "That was so exciting!"
Gabriel instantly seems cheered again, as if nothing had happened. A smile on his face, and his weapon quickly seated and snugged back into its combat harness. Looking over to Rubidia, he says, "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." Then he shrugs, and with laughing eyes says, "But if someone pisses me off enough, and he deserves it, I'll plug him through the fucking forehead." Still, that rather violent statement having been made, he smacks his hands together and inhales. "Well! Time to clean up," and he begins to walk toward the mess.
The horse barely waits for the man to settle before there's an acceleration. She's simply gone, a spray of dirt clouding the air, and there's a sense of motion near the trees as the 'horse' goes airborne, leaping some uneven ground in a crash of leafless branches in the night. A few sharp cracks ring out through the park, little sounds of motion in the night, and it seems barely any time has passed and Sara trots from the far stand of trees, decelerating down the trail towards Sebastien.
The man in armour looks quite amused by the display, though he gives one final snap while the horse is decelerating to a stop, sending Curly flying from the seat, but after a moment's skidding roll he's bounded back up, his nose adding to the blood that's already been smeared all over his face. "There you go, let's go, let's go, let's go. Got plenty to do tonight, tonight!" The two crazies start moving away, together, making one final rude gesture toward any remaining in the area as they go.
