DualJay

Skeletor wears blues, has no red eyes(?), and is mega buff so he can punch out He-Man. But he still can't punch out He-Man. Actually I'm not so sure...

Brilliant deduction, Sherlock Cube!

Buy it for me and I will.

Chapter 14 [spoiler2]SPUF City Park Carol strolled through the park, wishing that the night air would do something for her. Her parents had always advised “some fresh air” whenever she felt unwell at all, but she couldn’t remember it ever working. Still, the tylenol hadn’t helped, so she had to try. ************* Jay’s red eyes would have glittered, but that might have given him away. So he satisfied himself with a grin. It was a stroke of luck that Carol had chosen to get her fresh air in the pack. That’d make this much quicker and more sure. A black paper crane fluttered down onto his arm. Empty park. Chieftain. Rammite was in the park as well, as was to be expected. Good. All was going according to plan. Picking up the paper crane, he spun an illusion from threads of foul magic, anchoring it on the false bird. ************* Something hissed in the trees. Carol whirled, pinpointing the sound with the instincts of someone who’d traveled to some less-desirable places. A tall shadow, with long, skinny limbs and two hellfire pinpricks for eyes was staring at her from behind a tree. It hissed again. Run. Carol broke into a dead sprint in the opposite direction. The thing was after her - close, oh so close, but not quite able to reach her. When she came to a fork in the path, another of the shadowy monsters reared up. Forcing her panic down, she instantly readjusted and took the other path. ************* Jay watched, spinning another illusion around one of his paper cranes. Two could herd her well enough, but he’d probably need three. Plus, she wasn’t scared enough - she was just running out of practically. Jay let loose an inhuman four-voiced shriek, simultaneously releasing a cloud of vile magic to envelop Carol and drive her to true fear. He sent a psychotic giggle directly into her mind, just to cement things. ************* Rammite strolled through the park as he did most Tuesday evenings. Peacefully, he hummed a show tune, to be interrupted by someone running into him from a sprint. Carol bowled Rammite over, screaming with fear as they collided. “Bloody hell! Calm down!” Rammite grabbed her arm with a vice-like hand. “What’s all the fuss about?” “They’re-” She broke down, sobbing. Rammite hesitated, then cautiously asked, “who’s ‘they’?” “I...” She took a deep. “I don’t know.” The fear was beginning to clear from her eyes. Glancing the way she had come, Rammite thought he might have seen as small form in the trees. But he blinked, and it was gone. “There’s nothing there now.” He knew better than to question her right now, and that he couldn’t leave her like this. “Come with me, okay?” He was far too busy to notice an exceedingly smug-looking Jay watching them from the trees’ shadows. ************************** Jay’s Office Jay studied his reflection. He’d been changing faster since using a lot of his power a fortnight ago in the park. His face was gaunt and skull-like, blood-red eyes glowing from otherwise shadowed and sunken sockets. Even when he shifted back as far as he could, he was still unmistakably... wrong. Fundamentally different from other humans, perhaps not even human at all. “‘Ey!” Now Octavius was yelling at him. The telepath had been ignoring his metamorphosis, but now... “Don’t forget the thing tonight?” “What thing?” “The celebration dinner.” Oh. That. Now that nearly everybody who had survived had mostly recovered - they were SubSPUFers, after all - there was to be a banquet. Tonight, apparently. Dammit. He hadn’t been planning on socializing - not that he did that anyways - until he figured out a way to hide his physical changes. Cube entered his office, and studied him. “This is a problem.” “It is. But I couldn’t go anyways.” Well, he was going. Just not officially. Some men just want to watch the world burn. An old friend of his had been very fond of that saying. He now understood that his friend - one of his few friends - had been talking about him, to him. ************************** Jindle Mann Foundation Headquarters - Ballroom The banquet was being hosted by the Jindle Mann Foundation - Byron had gotten a reservation thanks to Huff, who was the JMF chairman. It had taken forever to- “Byron!” He started, then focused guiltily on Skyla. “Stop zoning out like that.” She pulled him towards the dance floor by his non-bionic arm, his hand tingling slightly with her touch. “Sorry.” ************* Jay hung, high in the rafters of the massive ballroom, watching the proceedings. Ironically, he was being obscured by the brilliant lights and chandeliers which illuminated every inch of the room. He reached inside his jacket, pulling a glass shuriken out. He picked out a couple from among the dancers on the floor. ************* Byron spun Skyla around as the dance reached its climax. Nobody saw the shuriken flying through the air. The dancers whirled on. The musicians reached a fever pitch, and the shuriken was sheathed in between Skyla’s ribs. She collapsed in Byron’s arms, blood welling up from the wound. The crowd kept dancing for a brief moment, until they seemed to reach a collective realization: there was a killer on the loose. Panic broke out, helped along by a foul powder of magic Jay sent dusting down. “Byron!” It was Rammite. “We’ve gotta direct the crowds!” Right behind him was a young brunette in a sea-green silk dress. “Right, right. One of the big windows way up shattered outwards, our assassin may have left out through there.” Despite the professional calm, Byron was panicking. The brunette with Rammite seemed to sense his dilemma. “Wait! Get her to a safer place and I can treat her wounds.” ************* Carol crouched over Skyla in one of the quieter side rooms. Gently, she extracted the glass shuriken. A nasty weapon. Nearly invisible, sometimes shattered inside the victim’s body. She pulled out a knife, and prepared to cut away Skyla’s clothes so she could get at the wound. The two moderators looked away when she glared at them. She gently placed a hand over the wound to dampen the flow of blood while she cut away Skyla’s dress. A shock traveled down her arm. The wound closed. “W-what?” She stumbled back, stunned. “The wound - it just closed, all of the sudden.” Byron looked at her oddly. “Read any good books lately?”[/spoiler2] Also new title!

Here's the thing, Cube. This is my world. I don't try anything. I just do anything.

Fair enough.

She's not based off of you...

It's possible she's just shameless. After traveling by boat, train, truck, and plane for so long...

Is that even possible?

JebinZedula, a random normal SPUFer from KF forums.

Lesdin Gates is the best I could do with l'interguy.

Chapter 13 [spoiler2]Dual’s Office Jay slipped through his window soundlessly. Someone had been in the room. He grabbed a sketchbook off of the floor, flipping through two pages of portraits done in charcoal pencil, both of Cube. The third page was a different face. A young woman in a sailor’s outfit. Carol. So that’s where she’d been when he’d dropped off the book. ************************** Byron’s Office “Ugh. This is annoying. Why can’t they ever let us rest?” Rammite had a right to complain. He’d fought a half-ton monster three weeks ago. “We gotta deal with him.” The issue of their discussion was Lesdin Gates, a black doomsday preacher who was plaguing SPUF City. He’d violated several laws, but his following was too large to get him on just any charge. Raz looked up from his mob psychology book. “You never heard it from me, but I hear someone’s out to do something about it.” Byron nodded grimly. That would be convenient, and you didn’t get to be SPUF City commissioner by upholding every law all the time. “Any idea who?” “Buddy Ziller, if the word on the street is true.” “He’s already recovered?” Rammite didn’t look very surprised, despite the fact that Ziller had probably taken more of a beating than any of them. Byron snorted. “Of course he has.” ************************** SPUF City - Main Square Gates’s voice boomed across the open space. “Repent! For the end is nigh!” In the crowds, people were weeping and gnashing their teeth. He paused after noticing a commotion at the back. Police. Again. A microphone crackled. “Cease and desist!” “You! You uphold this system of cruelty and corruption, but there is still hope for repentance!” Lesdin zeroed in on one of the officers. “Jebin Zedalu! You were at one of my sermons two days ago!” Even at the distance, he could see the nervousness and fear on the man’s face. That was only to be expected, as Jebin had just been another face among the crowd. There had been no direct conversation between them to speak of. And yet, Lesdin knew the man’s name. “I saw repentance on your face, Jebin! You can still be saved!” By now, the SPUFer was shaking. The man on the microphone shivered, and seemed to break the spell Gates had over him. “Enough! Cease and desist!” Contemptuous, Lesdin waved a massive hand at the police truck. It burst into flames, and police desperately fled from the burning vehicle. Jebin dropped to his knees, tears of repentance on his face. ************************** Dual’s Office Jay switched off the small TV, ruminating on what he had just seen. From what he could tell, Lesdin had used genuine sorcery. Had the sorcerer’s book been put into play? He pulled a silver half-dollar from his pocket, muttered a quick incantation, and flipped it. Heads. The book was in play. He tore a page out of his notebook, scrawled a few symbols on it, and folded it into a paper crane. With a jolt of foul magic from Jay, it twitched, then flapped out the window. ************************** Carol’s Hotel Room The water steamed off of her skin - the shower was not helping with her headache. Carol felt like there was a pressure building inside her, threatening to drive her to the edge. She laughed softly to herself. Why did her thoughts always have a sexual undertone? She had to relieve the pressure, somehow. Which also sounded vaguely sexual. Ah well. She slipped out of the shower and dried her naked body off. Carol made a mental note to have someone get some tylenol for her before this headache killed her. Not that she thought it would. But still, better safe than sorry.[/spoiler2]

Speaking of L4D2, here's a story of why you NEVER L4D2 with me... So, once I was playing with my friends, IRL, XBox to XBox. Now, first round. Me and K, who is the most skilled player, make it out. S and N die. Second round, me and S make it out. Third round, it's just me - I start to go back to rescue someone, and K goes with me, and then I run back when he charges ahead. Fourth round, it's me and K. Fifth round, I alone survive... Because I molotov K while he's at the door of the chopper.

Get it? A blast? Wait, I forgot my joke. I had something funny. Ah well... I'll try to make next chapter longer, or just release two chapters in one day. Lesib&, more like.

necessary good

Watch out for his sea men.

Don't be ridiculous. Also, if Carol comes by, tell her I don't work with you anymore and am now a lawyer.

What? No.

Fine. Also, if a huge sea captain comes in, run.

The noodle incident was not my fault.

Random coincidence.

Sorry, saw a great bargain on a book.

Story is over. You cannot stop us now.

Chapter 12 [spoiler2]Dmitri’s House Ahab placed his palm on Dmitri’s front door. A gentle push told him it was heavily reinforced. A less-gentle push knocked it off of its hinges. “I’m back, Dmitri! And there will be HELL to pay!” Ahab roared. When he kicked down the door to Dmitri’s bedroom, he was instantly met with a sucker punch right to the solar plexus. Despite being winded for a brief moment, Ahab had enough momentum to carry through into a plier hand on Dmitri’s throat. His massive hand squeezed, blocking Dmitri’s airflow. Even intoxicated and lacking oxygen, Dmitri put up one hell of a fight. His fist drove into Ahab’s face - that’ll be a black eye for sure - but Ahab blocked the kick to his groin with his thigh. “Wait...” Dmitri struggled for air. “Please...” Ahab loosened his grip slightly and shifted his grip, pinning Dmitri to the ground. “I didn’t mean to...” “You split with the book!” “I had no choice... I was gonna find you. I s-swear.” “LIAR!” Ahab grabbed Dmitri by his face, lifted him, and slammed his head into the wall. Despite being in the slums, the house was built like a fortress - probably with Ahab in mind. Look at all the good it did. Rage pumped through his veins. Again and again, Ahab crushed Dmitri’s skull against the wall. Blood and cranial fluids spurted out from the back of his head. “Damn... you... to... hell!” The corpse fell from his hands. The bloody pulp that had once been Dmitri’s head had been too slippery to hold on to. Breathing heavily, Ahab stared down at the cadaver for a few seconds. Or maybe an hour. Slowly, he walked into the study where he knew Dmitri had his safe. The safe was open. There was blood on the ground and signs of a fight in the room. No. A strongbox that had been inside the safe had been ripped open, and cash had spilled out the floor. For someone who lived in a slum, Dmitri had been well off. But the one thing Ahab had been here for - well, besides revenge - was gone. The Warden’s Tale had been taken. ************************** Slums of SPUF City Jay tore through back alleys and byways. He lunged from rooftop to rooftop, desperate to shake his pursuer, never letting go of the small brown book in his hand. He was nearly out of the slums. He could lose his tail on the skyscrapers. His form blurred, as if he was only half-real, he scaled the skyscrapers at impossible speeds, sparing a brief glance back. Looked like his pursuer was too real for seemingly-sheer glass surfaces. ************************** Binary’s House Beep. Beep. Beep. Rammite slammed his fist into his alarm clock. Time to go to work - wait. It was Saturday. Dammit. He must’ve set his alarm by mistake. No way he’d get back to sleep now. Might as well... get some reading done? Where did that book come from? Curious, he looked at the cover. A Warrior’s Tale. Rammite opened it, and began to read. ************************** Dmitri’s House There was no sign of where the thief who’d taken his book - and whoever attacked him - had gone. Ever the practical one, Ahab kneeled and began to sort the Dmitri’s papers. He gathered the money from the strongbox, when he saw it. An ash-grey book. No. Immediately, he felt the Compulsion. He had to act fast - if he read it, his knowledge and understanding of the books would drain away. But he couldn't resist. Even as one hand reached for the book, the other scrambled for a pen and paper, desperate to write down what he knew before it was lost. He wasn’t fast enough. He sat in Dmitri’s creaking office chair and began to read. [/spoiler2]