Sanctum Night One ~ Keiji vs Madame
Sept 8, 2016 20:17:47 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 20:17:47 GMT -5
I decided to post it here, because why not?
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In Keiji's laboratory, he and his heroic spirit, the soothsayer, are huddled together at a computer in hushed discussion.
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In Keiji's laboratory, he and his heroic spirit, the soothsayer, are huddled together at a computer in hushed discussion.
Keiji turns to the soothsayer, "Don’t do anything destructive without my consent first. Keep the phone I gave you on at all times. Wait for my sign."
The soothsayer frowns but nods in agreement, grabs his bag, and leaves the room in a rush.
Keiji looks at his phone and sees it's 1:00AM. Time to go. It's about a 30 minute drive to the newly negotiated meeting spot -- an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city. There is no way he was going to meet on her turf as she had demanded. He wants to arrive early, so he heads to the parking garage, locates his silver Mercedes, and speeds off.
As Keiji drives, he thinks about the battle ahead and his strategic plan. How lucky he is to have an associate who knew Madame when she was younger. Certainly not many people know her personal details, for if they did, her vulnerability would be obvious. Keiji smiles, confident in the night's outcome.
Keiji turns off his car lights as he drives into the dark, empty lot. Although there appears to be no one else there, he senses that he's not alone. His plan is to use magic, but he slides his Glock 17 into his waistband. He pulls his suit jacket over the gun….it never hurts to have firepower as backup.
Keiji exits the car and quietly closes its door. The moment he turns around, he is blinded! He is stunned but quickly recovers. Raising his hands with a slashing motion, the powerful spotlight dims, flickers, then dies out. Total darkness! He is filled with the intensity of the absorbed power and ready to fight! He scans the rooftop -- she's gone! His prior research into her skills helps him realize she truly does have the power of invisibility. This was going to be harder than he thought. He would use the darkness to his advantage. With a swoop of his arms, dust, rocks, and debris silently rise from the ground and form a dense cloud. He is hoping her eyes had not yet adjusted to the darkness to perceive his next move. A forceful push with his hands sends the cloud straight towards the roof.
The dust, rocks, and debris pelt the rooftop with great force, revealing Madame's shape on the right side of the roof. Suddenly the cloud is heading right back toward him! She must be a Rebounder! He jumps behind his car to avoid the cloud's impact, but before he's fully shielded he is nicked in the temple by a brick fragment. The pain radiates through his head and he feels nauseous. Rocks and debris pound his car, and window glass flies everywhere. Keiji laid on the cement in pain.
Madame's clear, strong voice echoes in his head, "It is obvious, Professor, that you have no defensive skills. All your tricks are brute force. Not very interesting. I knew you were but a small stepping stone to my victory, but nevertheless, I expected more of you. No matter how strong your offense is, I will simply send it back to you and you will suffer from your own skills. So, are we done here? I'd like to rest a bit before my 7:00AM breakfast meeting."
That's it! he thinks. With his head throbbing, he stands. In his fury, he screams to her, "There are other ways to bring you down!"
It would take great strength to topple the warehouse, especially with his painful injuries, but he was determined. Teeth gritted, growling intensely, he curls his hands into fists.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Look behind you." Madame says with a smile.
Keiji turns to his side and takes several steps back so that Madame stays in his field of vision. He glances behind. There, less than 20 feet away, stands an archer with a flaming arrow pointing straight at him. He could practically feel the heat, even from this distance. With the thought of being hit by that burning arrow, Keiji uncurls his fists. Isn't that something…? thinks Keiji. They have the perfect combination -- Madame’s defense with her heroic spirit's offense, but it isn't enough.
"Although I would take great personal delight in delivering you your death, it is generally frowned upon by our magical peers. This is ever so sad for me. A lost opportunity. But I must follow my logical mind over my heart's desire to see your blood color this lot crimson red. So I'm giving you the chance to bow out, admit your failure, your pathetic weakness, your…."
"Stop." Keiji interrupts. "There is more than one way to fight, you know. Yes, there are the classic offensive and defensive skills. But there is also unorthodox means such as espionage, sabotage, infiltration, abduction, ransom, and assassination. The way of the ninja, you might say….the way of my Japanese ancestors." As Keiji spoke, he concentrated on absorbing her energy to boost his own, and he could see her fatigue begin.
"What are you getting at, Professor? This is not a lecture and I am not your student. Why delay the inevitable? Admit your defeat."
Keiji replies, "First call off your archer, then I'll make my point. Believe me, I’ve got something you want to hear and I won't do it under threat."
Madame, frowning, nods her head and the archer lowers his bow just a bit.
Keiji was ready to deliver his ultimate blow -- he had kept it in his back pocket to use in case all else failed. It is the one thing she couldn’t defend against.
"Well, as you likely know, I have a heroic spirit also. You may be wondering who or where he is right now…."
At just that moment, an eerie sound of sweet, light music was heard from around the corner of the building. Madame's eyes darted around, revealing her growing tension and anxiety. Where is that sound coming from? she wondered.
"Ah, right on time! Allow me to introduce you. Meet the Soothsayer of Youth!"
The soothsayer rounds the corner, his pipe raised to his lips, with the sweetest of all sounds emanating forth.
Madame looks confused, then bursts into laughter, "Oh, Professor, I'm terribly frightened! Please call off your sweet piper as this music has me shaking in my boots!"
Then Madame's laughter abruptly stops and her eyes grow big. For at just that moment another figure, small with brown curly hair, rounds the corner, following the piper, with a dazed, trance-like look.
"Jonathan!" she whispers in shock. How had he come here? She had always kept him a secret, separate from this magical part of her life. Now he was here, and they both were vulnerable. What have they done to you?….. she thought.
"Yes, how quickly the tables can turn, Madame." Keiji says smugly. "My heroic spirit has proven quite useful.. Your son here was quite an easy catch…...unlike you, he has no defensive skills whatsoever. It's sad, really, to see such a little, weak thing so vulnerable. Clearly untrained."
Thinking quickly, Madame motioned to her archer and he immediately redirects his bow toward the piper. The arrow hisses through the air. The piper, as though he had eyes in the back of his head, takes the boy by his shoulders and whirls him around as if he were a shield. The arrow pierces Jonathan directly in the chest and the boy crumples to the ground. The piper tosses him aside and dashes toward the Mercedes.
Madame screams and runs toward Jonathan, waving her arms wildly in seemingly odd patterns. So focused on Jonathan, she's unaware that she is at the edge of the rooftop.
Keiji, in shock over this unexpected turn of events, watches Madame, drained of her energy and exhausted, stumble and fall from the rooftop. Almost without thinking, he uses his powers to ease her fall and she lands lightly on the ground.
As the Mercedes peals out of the parking lot, an unconscious woman and dead boy lay on the cement.
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