What, You think this is a Game?!

Mick watched his knives scatter and another round of buckshot which hung in the air momentarily before exuding a purple glow. He had to move. Now. He timed it perfecty another backwards somersault as the pellets smashed into the ground before him. Only just made it out... He thought to himself. He dashed forward, bearing his blades once more upon his foe. He swiped the blade towards the stomach of 5 and then the other lashed at his throat. All the while, Michael maintained an eerily blank face and even more eerily blank eyeballs...
 
Garneil couldn't help grit his teeth in anger. How did he manage to dodge that so easily? Then he realised Michaels face, he was just staring, his expression blank. Garneil knew now that he was fighting Michael when he was using his battle meditation. He wasn't afraid though, he had fought alongside and sparred with this face before. 8 leapt at him with his knives ready, attacking with such intent. Garneil grabbed Michaels wrist to stop the first blow and tilted back to avoid the second. Garneil had contact with Michael...he could physio warp him now. Garneil laughed with an evil cackle. "I''ve waited so long for this!" he used warp, surrounding 8 with a purple glow as he raised DBB to his face. Michael was slowed down considerably now "I don't care if they want you alive. I'll have my own satisfaction!" He stabbed at Michael his katana driving straight through the air.
 
Michael reached up and snapped 5's wrist away from his own with the pommel of his free blade. The katana had already dug it's way a few cetemetres into his chest. He stepped back, the blade retracting from his chest. He felt no pain and knew no fear in this state. It wasn't going to slow him down. He was already beginning to control the bleeding. The aura faded. "You will die here..." said Michael calmly in an eerie two-tone voice. He resumed his assault. He stomped down towards Garniel's foot and pivoted, bringing his other foot around, lashing at his target's head, a tiny blade protruding from his shoe.
 
Garneil had forgot the immense fear factor that 8 could portray in the heat of battle, yet he wasn't fazed as he watched him slide off the tip of his blade. Garneil cracked his wrist back in place as 8 spoke to him. He'd managed to break the warp? It'd been a long time and even though Garneil didn't doubt his abilities, the fact that 8 had broken the warp amazed him, he had grown since they last worked together. "You never cease to amaze me 8. You always..." his words were cut short as Michael tried to strike him with his bladed shoe. Garneil leant back and planted his hand on the floor to keep balance. The blade had just grazed his cheekbone and he could feel the warmth of the blood trickle down his face. "Bye 8" His purple eyes returned and then he was gone. The only thing giving him away being the smash of the window behind Michael. Garneil had leapt through it and smashed through another one in the other building, managing to extend his reach from Michael. "This is the wrong time you know." Headquarters had called Garneil. "Sorry 5, but there's an issue we need to discuss ASAP" garneil knew what it was. "Well you mean two don't you? Fine, me and my men will retreat for now. 5 out!" He looked up to notice a girl sitting there, looking shocked...and wearing a very old looking dress. "What the.....?"
 
Michael reached down and touched the spots of blood on the floor that had been previously inside 5's face. He smelled the blood quickly. "Your scent is mine, now..." he said, still in the creepy two-tone. The battle was over for now. His brain came back out of hiding. Michael clutched at his chest and cried out in pain. He shook it off and reholstered his knives. He was shaking... If 5 kept hunting him, he would pay with his life next time. It had started to rain just as the fight ended. Michael wandered outside and stood in the cleansing water that fell from the heavens.
 
Kali was perched on the edge of the pallet pile, watching with wide eyes as the two battled back and forth. She couldn't have asked for a better seat to watch the action, and she found herself getting really into it as she tried to keep up. They were fast, no doubt about that, but for the most part she was keeping a very accurate track of what was going on. From her seat, she could see when Bad Guy (as she had so lovingly named him) jumped out the window past Good Guy (the one she had sort of met). She tilted her head a fraction, wondering where he was jumping to. Scrambling to the window, she watched, but he went out of sight. Was he jumping to a ladder that she couldn't see?


Her thought was only half finished when she heard the shattering of glass in the next room. Without really thinking, she went and looked in the other room, her deep hazel eyes wide as she listened to him talking to somebody that she couldn't hear. As much as she wished she could hear the other side of the conversation, she had no time to brood about it because he had looked up and spotted her. Uh oh. She turned and ran for it, sliding down a metal handrail past some stairs and landing easily on the next landing down. That was one guy she didn't want to be caught by, she suspected.
 
Garneil was shocked that she ran. However someone who is running usually has reason. He got up quickly and went after her. He saw the girl slide down the hand rail. Garneil leapt over the balcony to beat her to the bottom. When she got off the rail she had turned round to be standing face to face with him. He knew that she had been watching, why else would she run? He marched into her, pushing her backwards before her back hit the wall. He slammed both his palms against the wall, the noise being a sharp thud, pinning the girl between his arms. Garneil leant forward and look her straight in the eye over the rim of his blacked out glasses. "It's usually the guilty who run...what are you running from...and why?" His voice was the calm yet intimidating type, he raised an eyebrow at her and turned his head so his ear faced her. "Speak up, i need to be on my way soon enough" She wasn't replying so he slammed his fist against the wall and pushed his chest closer to hers, their body's being only centimetres from each other, he wanted to squeeze out an answer from her, make her crumble.
 
"Shit!" Kali squeaked the second that she saw him right in front of her. She stepped backwards quickly and nearly fell when he pushed her, but thankfully the wall was there. As he demanded answers, she just stared at him. This was a bad spot to be in, but she had been in worse and didn't take kindly to people trying to force her to say things. So, she did the first thing that came to mind and brought her knee up hard between his legs. At the same time, she twisted her upper body to slam her elbow into the side of his jaw and push his chest to ensure he went down. Less than a second later, she bolted to the side and jumped down the other flight of stairs. She raced to the door and fled the building, her rapid steps taking her down the alley and hopefully out of sight.
 
Garneil locked his knees together, blocking the girls attempt at striking a man's vulnerable's. He dropped his head back to avoid the elbow but she managed to push him as he did so, knocking him off balance. To stop falling over Garniel put his hand back and flipped over back onto his feet. The girl had ran for the stairs and into the alley and Garneil had lost his temper. He dropped from the window into the Alley, landing about 16 feet in front of the girl. He drew DBB off of his back and aimed it at her as he walked closer and closer, both barrels looking at her, accompanied by the tip of the blade. "Move and your face will be plastered...in pieces! against that wall! Do you understand!?" He was gritting his teeth now with anger. "I've had the shittest day! And now it's going to get longer by having to drag you back to headquarters!" He sighed and flicked his fringe out of his face. "We can't have someone wandering around knowing about this kind of thing. Especially someone as delusional as you." He pointed to her dress as he said this, a look of unbelief and annoyance across his face. "So what's it going to be? You gonna talk and come back quietly? Or am i going to have to take you by force and let the interrogation department make you worm out some words?" Garneil laughed as he adjusted his glasses. "They haven't seen anyone in a while...i'm sure they'd be itching to 'meet' you" He smiled at the girl.
 
Skidding to a stop as the guy landed in front of her, Kali was starting to get irritated. He just wouldn't quit, and now he was pointing a gun at her. Greaaaat. She sighed and crossed her arms, frowning at him as he raved about his bad day. It was hardly her fault that he had run from a fight that he was losing. She decided against pointing that out and instead, frowned more as he called her delusional and pointed to her top.


"I stole it from a Ren Faire, I'm not delusional!" she snapped, annoyed. Sure it was an old style, but the black pants were formfitting and modern, as were her shoes. Besides, it looked good on her - at least, she liked to think so. "I'm not really interested in meeting anybody today, thanks. Why don't you go meet them yourself after you tell them that you and your men lost your target?" she quipped, only repeating what she had heard him say before.
 
"Oh so you're talking now? And who steals from a Ren faire!?" Garneil was confused but there was something he liked about this girl. She made him chuckle, she had charm and gusto. Even though her dig at him had really annoyed, he admired how forward and snappy she was. "Well didn't you do your homework! Got a few questions wrong though." he smirked at her in a patronising way. "We have a little situation going on back at headquarters and well we are needed there instead. Although we need to capture or rather kill a treacherous little shit...we have more pressing matters" Garneil had begun to get worked up but he let out a sigh and exhaled slowly. He put his finger on his ear, activating a headset. "Bring her round." After that a giant wind picked up and over the top of the roofs a large helicopter appeared, the kind that could hold up to 20 men. A large rappel dropped down with a platform on the bottom. He stepped onto it as he put DBB back in it's holster on his back. He shouted over the noise of the chopper "So are you coming or am i gonna have to drag you on here!?" He laughed afterwards and patted his lap jokingly.
 
"I do, obviously," she retorted, then sighed. "I didn't have a choice, I needed a shirt and it was closeby! Besides, I know you're just jealous that you don't have some sort of poofed up manly vest to match," she added with a smirk. She frowned as he pointed out she was wrong about something, despising the way he looked at her, as though she were a silly child. Tempted as she was to slap him, she had no desire to move closer. Instead, she listened as he spoke about some headquarters somewhere. So, Good Guy was treacherous? He hadn't seemed it before. There were two sides to every story, she knew that. Sighing, she wondered which one she was supposed to listen to, or which way she was supposed to run to get away from them all.


She looked up as the helicopter appeared, blinking in surprise. So, Bad Guy was a secret agent man. That was just lovely. What a wonderful thing, to run into some guy who probably worked for the government. He probably already knew she had a record. She cursed inwardly and watched him step on the platform and call out to her. Cocking an eyebrow, she weighed her choices. She could go with him and possibly be making a huge mistake yet sate her curiosity, or she could run and hope that his seemingly cheerful attitude meant he wouldn't waste the time and energy to chase her down with a helicopter waiting for him. Both choices seemed awful. He could easily be tricking her. She glanced back down the alley hesitantly, then ran over to him and stepped up onto the platform.
 
Michael saw a government troop-chopper come down not too far from where he was. He snuck towards it, keeping to the shadows, becoming almost invisible to the naked eye. He saw the strange girl hesitate before stepping onto the platform with 5. He knew him well enough to know that he would torture her ruthlessly until he heard what he wanted. And she knew nothing. He drew a circular blade, sending it careening towards the rapel line, slicing it clean as the chopper was taking off. "Lies..." said Michael as he stepped from the shadows into the rain. "He speaks nothing but lies. He will torture you until you beg for your death. And then he will continue still, keeping you onthe verge of life for as long as it takes... If you go with him, you are signing your own death warrant..." he said, walking a few steps closer to the pair. "Come with me if you want to live." he said to the girl.
 
Garneil couldn't help but laugh at the girl as she frowned at him, obviously annoyed at him. He got some sort of thrill from winding her up. He watched her as she looked back and forth between him and the alley. He was pleasantly surprised when she ran over and stood on the platform. He smiled at her and removed his glasses, tucking them in his pocket and exposing his dark brown eyes. "Hold on tight ok?" He put his arm around her and with his other tugged the rope. Instantly the platform shot up at a breakneck pace. As they went up Garneil couldn't help but stare at the bullet ridden street and the two buildings he had been in. He thought to himself "We'll see each other soon 8, i can find you now. And who was that old vet? Why was he firing at me? Also what was 13 involved with that made him so dangerous back at the headquarters." He looked at the girl in the corner of his eye, studying her he thought that maybe she would be a good Headsmen herself. Not in the Conflict field but maybe as an infiltrator or retriever. Being a thief and all he was sure she was used to sneaky around and being light fingered. He wanted to ask her but the words didn't come out. He would have to explain more when they got back, also he would be a dead man if he said more than allowed with out consulting the high office.
 
That moment the platform dropped back down to the ground, landing with a heavy crash. How could he have been so blind and not seen the blade! The girl was a distraction indeed. He spun round to the girl. "Don't listen to that madman! I've done my damage to society and yes, i do torture those unwilling for 'idle chat'. But this man won't save you! He will draw you in and just drop you like a used cigarette...stomping on you afterwards." Garneil didn't have time for this. He wanted to be able to just cut down 8 while he was here, but he was needed back at the base. Also if they were to fight he was worried that the girl would be caught in the crossfire. "Walk away 8...just walk. This is a one time passing grace. I have new orders now. You aren't a concern at the moment and fighting in front of her won't help us to convince her on either side." He sighed and called to the chopper with his headset. "Send down another rappel and two strap vest's. We've got a hitch-hiker"
 
"I'm not walking anywhere... And I think you should let her make up her own mind. She seems like an intelligent young woman. And I won't let you turn her into another monster..." he said calmly. He fiddled with the knives on his belt. "Be a man, 5. Or are you just going to fly away like a wounded birdy?" he taunted. He spat blood onto the ground next to him. He spoke to the girl now. "If you go with him, the next time we meet, we will be enemies..."
 
"Your tactics are pitiful. Trying to lure me in with insults. Be a man learn when you need to walk away." Garneil laughed to himself. "Not everyday you see a monster with comon sense and well being for others. And the last time i checked you were a monster too correct?" he smiled at 8 with a sadistic grin as the two rappels came down behind him. "A snake may shed it's old skin, but it's still the same snake." He fastened the vest harness onto himself and looked to the girl. "He is right though, you can make your own decisions. You have 5 before we leave, choose wisely. Pull this toggle on the front to pull yourself up. That's if you;re coming of course" He looked back to Micheal as the rain fell from him, it had gotten heavier now, little streams ran down the curbs of the paths in the streets and everyone was running to find shelter. "I'll see you again soon...Michael." Garneil pulled the chord and he was whizzed off into the sky, disappearing into the helicopter.
 
Michael coughed blood as Garniel disappeared into the chopper. He felt like dieing... He had to get home and patch himself up before he lost too much blood. He needed to go. "Follow me if you want... If not, I need to go home and not bleed out in the street..." he spluttered. He began to stumble back through the dark, towards his hideout.
 
Kali nodded as he told her to hold on tight, but just as they started to zip up, they crashed down. She tumbled off and rolled to the side, springing back up to her feet automatically. Looking around in confusion, her gaze landed on Good Guy - the one from before. He looked awful, but what really interested her was what he was telling her. According to him, the one she had just been about to leave with was a liar and would torture her. She flinched at the thought and glanced at the other for a moment, then looked back at Good Guy. The line he used was so cheesy, but it struck her deeply. Was Bad Guy really that bad, or did they just hate each other?


She turned and listened to Bad Guy as he defended himself, admitting to torture but claiming that Good Guy was worse. He called Good Guy '8', as if he were nothing more than a number. She wasn't sure what to think of either of them, and she was standing an equal distance between each now. Good Guy 5 was saying that she could make up her own mind, but he also promised that they would be enemies if she went with Bad Guy. Why? Why couldn't they be friends no matter what she did? She didn't even know what she was choosing between!


There was a lot to take in. 5 was apparently Michael, but she had no idea what Bad Guy's name was. Michael was injured, which made her want to help him, but Bad Guy claimed he was a mad man and a user. On the other hand, Bad Guy had freely admitted to torturing people before and she had no sense of who he really was. She was being forced to pick sides in a fight that she didn't know what was going on in or who was fighting for what. What were the stakes? Why were they fighting in the first place?


She looked up at the helicopter, then down the alley where Michael had vanished. Suddenly she felt alone, and was feeling very much like a child who didn't want to have to make her own decisions. Walking away from it all wasn't an option after all she had seen, was it? She bit her lower lip indecisively and simply stood there in the pouring rain for a full minute. By then she had no idea where Michael was or if he'd be okay, but she knew exactly where the helicopter was since it was still above her. Her gaze fell on the vest, and even though she knew it was a bad way to make a decision, she was sick of thinking. She stepped over to it and hooked herself in, then pulled the toggle.
 
(( Mick is 8, Garniel is 5 lol ;p ))

Michael felt a deep dissapointment as he heard the zipline retract. He made his way eight kilometers through the blood and the rain to an apartment building. He rode the lift to his apartment and opened the door to a surgically clean living area. He walked in, dropped his key onto the hall table and took off his jacket. The jacket was so heavily lined with knives that it made a loud thud as it hit the floor. He went to the bathroom and flicked on the light. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. His hair that went down past his shoulders was stained with blood although his face remained relatively untouched, apart from a few cuts and scrapes. He removed his tie and undid his bloodstained undershirt. He had to peel it off the dried blood around the wounds. The scrape from the bullet, he could just patch, but the surgical-like incision made by 5's blade was going to require stitching. 5 stitches to be exact... After he was finished fixing himself, Michael hobbled to the fridge and grabbed a beer. He twisted the top open with his forearm and took a sip, the fizzing satisfying liquid coursing down his parched throat. After he had finished he decided to turn the living room light on.

There sat a man. Not one of the numbered Headsmen, but he was there a d he had invaded Michael's home. Without warning, Michael grabbed the man by the collar and lifted him above his head. "What is your purpose here?!" shouted Michael, who's only reply was to receive a kick to the stomach. He headbutted the henchman, breaking his nose. As the henchman stumbled back across the room, Michael drew one of his blades from his belt an hurled it into the man's chest, killing him instantly. He retrieved the knife, rehostered it and went for a fresh set of clothes. He slammed on a fresh under shirt, put his tie back on and adorned his special jacket. He swiped his key off the table and ripped back the door handle to meet the butt of a shotgun. Having been completely unprepared, the butt smashed him in the forehead, knocking him down, unconscious.

When Michael woke about an hour later, he was in a dark room with a single lamp above him. He was in an interrogation room. And still had all of his equipment. The Headsmen were always a bit thick. There was a one way window to his left and a door directly ahead of him. If he ever got out of this room, he would find 5. And kill him...