Shoot someone: Check.
Who: Longcoats and some Zero
What: Getting Zero out of his tin can (finally)
When: January 4th, 4 pm
Where: Somewhere in the forest by the rebels' old camp
Warning: Nope
They had told him that they would come back, but of course they never did. What had he been thinking, trusting in anything that Cain had said? The man hated him after all, and he probably though it was a justifiable action to leave Zero here, stuck in a fucking tin can for the rest of his life.
‘Pissed’ didn’t quite cover his mood right now, or for the past several weeks… days… months… How long had it been? How many times had the sun risen in the forest and then set again? He’d lost count after day two, driven by the anger. Anyone sane would pity the poor soul who decided to open the tin suit for the man, because if they were not the right person, he would probably kill them.
There was one thing Zero did know, however, and that was that Azkadellia had fallen. What became of her worried him, but it didn’t replace the anger, merely fueled it. She had been a great queen, and she would have come for him if she were still in power, because he’d been her loyal general, her best general.
God damn it.
If she was still alive, she would be sorry that she hadn’t let him out right then and there, because if she was still alive, she could have at least looked for him, or told the others to go after him.
Zero wanted out. Zero wanted out now. It had been at least a week without a hot shower, or a cold one, without food, water, or sex. The last one hurt the most, and was definitely high on Zero’s ‘to-get’ list as soon as he got out of here
Twigs snapping under his heavy boots, Thomas Dawson strode through the forest as if he owned the place. He wasn’t afraid of any lingering rebels as he headed towards the place where it was rumored that their main camp had been. After all, most of the ex-rebels were now just scrambling to form a proper military. Gordon Ransom walked to his right, his hand never leaving his piece. Gordon always had been overly cautious. But his ability to keep an almost constant guard was a definite ability just over a week after the Eclipse. He’d spotted the Queen Lavender’s forces patrolling more than once, giving the alarm with enough time for the trio of Longcoats to scramble into hiding. Dawson sneered at the man to his left, prancing along like a lamb in spring. The smaller man wasn’t all that bright, and an annoying tendency to spout off like he wasn’t the junior of the three. Dawson and Ransom liked to take turns beating the third into the ground. Let him know who was in charge.
Gordon’s eyes scanned the forest carefully before shifting towards his side as he rolled his eyes at the man - who may as well be a woman - moved about in a very... well an not stealthy like manner. "Should just be up here," Ransom commented in a tone just loud enough to be heard. Moving ahead of the other two he pulled his gun out slowly, eyes taking in everything that was around them before the tin suit in the distance caught his eye. "There." Keeping a slow and careful pace he found himself to the side of the suit that was rumored to be holding the ex-general. The look on the man’s face would prove to be priceless, if not fatal, when he learned everything that had happened within the past few days. Holding the gun upright he glanced to the third and less respected man, "Open it." Gordon wasn't stupid, it very well could not be Zero in there, but at the same time it could - which is why he wasn't going to be the one to open it up.
There was noise outside the suit, and he could see out of it easily enough to note three men approach. By the look of them, Zero could not quite tell if they were with him or come to kill him. All three were wielding guns, and he was unarmed, at least two of the three seemed to have a good idea of where they were going. After a moment of studying the men, he recognized one of them. Gordon Ransom. He’d been a Longcoat, and a good one at that, one that Zero knew by name, although only acknowledged as ‘hey you’ just like everyone else. Zero had hired him himself.
As the door of the tin can shuddered, Zero pressed one palm against it, giving an impatient snort and push against the metal. It had been long enough, and he was sure the men were here to provide him with guns and news, since at least one of them was a Longcoat after all. The door finally flew open, and after a moment, the man inside walked out, his steely gray eyes narrowing instantaneously as the man who’d opened the door.
“It took you long enough.” He barked, turning to the others and studying them. “How long did it take you idiots?”
“A week, sir.” Dawson replied immediately. He cleared his throat. “Carroll, give the General his gun.”
A week. It hadn’t been quite as long as he’d imagined it, not months at least, but long enough. Zero gave a snort of displeasure, turning to the third and final man, whom he did not even recognize from the Longcoats’ forces. As the man who’d just been referred to as ‘Carroll’ held out a gun, Zero ripped it eagerly from his hands, tracing over the cool metal with his fingers as if holding a long lost lover. It felt great to have his hands on a weapon once more, a weapon that actually meant something, one he could kill with.
“As I said, took you long enough.” He snarled once again, turning his attention back to the man who’d replied. “What was the cause of the delay?” The moment they would return to the castle, he would make sure that at least one of these men was punished.
After the gun was given to Zero he placed his own back in its holster, "The Sorceress fell," Gordon stated simply, his eyes shifting towards Carroll as he apparently flipped out about being so close to Zero. "All of the Longcoats have been forced into Exile, or killed - most are in the realm of the unwanted to escape the Queens forces." He informed unmoving from his spot. "We had to confirm the location from a couple of the ex-rebels we caught before drifting out here."
“Not even a thank you?” Carroll sniped. Adding a “Sir” almost as an afterthought.
From initial anger, which could really be considered a minor annoyance, Zero’s mood spiked downward towards a mood in which he would have killed over a light bump in the shoulder. “The Sorceress fell?” He repeated a little indignantly. How could she have fallen? “What became of Azkadellia?” The rest of the information didn’t matter, obviously the Longcoats would be killed or exiled or punished in some other way, as for the ex-rebels… who cared what they were up to?
At Carroll’s comment, Zero raised the gun and pointed it in the direction of the man’s head. “Thank you,” he answered with a sarcastic tone to his voice. Pulling the trigger, he watched the bullet glide smoothly through the air and piece the skin of the man’s neck, the sickening crunch of bone indicated that the spinal cord had been broken as well. “For being complete imbecile.”
Dawson watched Carroll fall to the ground, choking on his own blood, with disinterest. At least he wouldn’t have to listen to his whining and snide comments any longer. “The Sorceress fell.” He made sure to say ‘Sorceress’ and not ‘Azkadellia.’ Especially with the next tidbit of information he had to relay to the Witch’s former general. “Queen Lavender has retaken the throne. The House of Gale claims that Azkadellia herself was possessed by one of the Ancient Witches. And that she has now been driven out.”
As the other man decided to be bold he figured what was coming was about to, and so the gunshot did nothing but cause him to smirk before continuing off of Dawson’s statement, "It's been said that her sister DG, is going to be taking over as Queen soon, but nobody knows when the coronation is. Yet. Another little... bit of information you might like to know. Wyatt Cain is the head of the guard for the castle, and Jeb is Azkadellia’s personal guard - one of them."
He didn’t want to believe a word of this, but the two men knew better than to lie to Zero, especially when the man was in a mood like this one. Zero was ready to kill at only one wrong word shed in his direction. “Possessed?” That was new. Everyone had considered the ancient witches dead before this, dead and long buried in the ground where all things dead should be. What would one of them be doing possessing Azkadellia now? “I find that a little hard to believe.” He stated, staring off past the two men and wondering if they had horses. He needed to get to Central City, no, the Realm of the Unwanted, that was a better place for him and people he might find of interest now. ”Wyatt and Jebbidiah Cain?” He let out a soft laugh at the idea, shaking his head. “They would be around the Princesses then,” or so he found it safe to assume. “We’ll get a little resistance force of our own built up, why don’t we…” It was an order, not an option, and anyone to question it would be shot. Zero would not live quietly in a kingdom ruled by Queen DG.
“Yes sir.” Dawson replied immediately, one side of his mouth curving up into a smirk at the thought of causing a little chaos.
"What's been said," Gordon stated as he shrugged, allowing it to be known that he may or may not believe that story either - after all it did seem a little out there considering the fact that the stories of the witches were so long ago, and all of them ended with them being defeated. "I thought you might say that. I have a few men already waiting for us to return to the realm of the unwanted, ready to join forces with you."
It would be a lot more than just a little chaos. No, Zero planned to get together as much men as possible to build a little army of his own. Plenty of Longcoats had been away from the castle at the same time Zero’d been captured, and surely at least some of them had escaped the capture. Then, there were those in exile. As Gordon spoke again, Zero almost gave the man a smile in appreciation. “More men. Excellent planning, I hope they were among the more loyal of the Longcoats.” If they weren’t, they would simply be disposed of, it wasn’t that hard, although Zero would prefer not to send someone to buy him more bullets too often. “Do you have horses?” He was free, had his gun back, and already planted a bullet into someone’s backbone; today was turning out pretty good. All he could use now was a meeting with Desi and a nice long bath, maybe with Desi as well. Too bad she worked in Central City… He’d hunt her down eventually.
“Three, sir.” Dawson replied, smirking still. He and Gordon had planned on getting rid of Carroll either way. They had figured Zero could’ve done with some cheering up, and killing annoying minions had always brightened his day. He motioned back in the direction they’d come from with one hand. “Just outside the forest, from there we can get to the meeting point. If we ride hard we can get there in a handful of hours.”
Nodding his head to the both of him he turned and motioned down the path they had taken to get to him, "Didn't want to draw extra attention." Now that they had Zero with them it would be easier to get the old Longcoats to return to their forces and to their cause.
“Of course.” If they ever reformed the same ranks of Longcoats that existed before, these two would certainly be getting some kind of promotion. “We’ll be going to the Realm of the Unwanted first, then rounding up any Longcoats that happen to not be there after everything settles down a bit.” He was already back in his commanding General mode, ready to give orders even though he wasn’t aware of today’s date.
What: Getting Zero out of his tin can (finally)
When: January 4th, 4 pm
Where: Somewhere in the forest by the rebels' old camp
Warning: Nope
They had told him that they would come back, but of course they never did. What had he been thinking, trusting in anything that Cain had said? The man hated him after all, and he probably though it was a justifiable action to leave Zero here, stuck in a fucking tin can for the rest of his life.
‘Pissed’ didn’t quite cover his mood right now, or for the past several weeks… days… months… How long had it been? How many times had the sun risen in the forest and then set again? He’d lost count after day two, driven by the anger. Anyone sane would pity the poor soul who decided to open the tin suit for the man, because if they were not the right person, he would probably kill them.
There was one thing Zero did know, however, and that was that Azkadellia had fallen. What became of her worried him, but it didn’t replace the anger, merely fueled it. She had been a great queen, and she would have come for him if she were still in power, because he’d been her loyal general, her best general.
God damn it.
If she was still alive, she would be sorry that she hadn’t let him out right then and there, because if she was still alive, she could have at least looked for him, or told the others to go after him.
Zero wanted out. Zero wanted out now. It had been at least a week without a hot shower, or a cold one, without food, water, or sex. The last one hurt the most, and was definitely high on Zero’s ‘to-get’ list as soon as he got out of here
Twigs snapping under his heavy boots, Thomas Dawson strode through the forest as if he owned the place. He wasn’t afraid of any lingering rebels as he headed towards the place where it was rumored that their main camp had been. After all, most of the ex-rebels were now just scrambling to form a proper military. Gordon Ransom walked to his right, his hand never leaving his piece. Gordon always had been overly cautious. But his ability to keep an almost constant guard was a definite ability just over a week after the Eclipse. He’d spotted the Queen Lavender’s forces patrolling more than once, giving the alarm with enough time for the trio of Longcoats to scramble into hiding. Dawson sneered at the man to his left, prancing along like a lamb in spring. The smaller man wasn’t all that bright, and an annoying tendency to spout off like he wasn’t the junior of the three. Dawson and Ransom liked to take turns beating the third into the ground. Let him know who was in charge.
Gordon’s eyes scanned the forest carefully before shifting towards his side as he rolled his eyes at the man - who may as well be a woman - moved about in a very... well an not stealthy like manner. "Should just be up here," Ransom commented in a tone just loud enough to be heard. Moving ahead of the other two he pulled his gun out slowly, eyes taking in everything that was around them before the tin suit in the distance caught his eye. "There." Keeping a slow and careful pace he found himself to the side of the suit that was rumored to be holding the ex-general. The look on the man’s face would prove to be priceless, if not fatal, when he learned everything that had happened within the past few days. Holding the gun upright he glanced to the third and less respected man, "Open it." Gordon wasn't stupid, it very well could not be Zero in there, but at the same time it could - which is why he wasn't going to be the one to open it up.
There was noise outside the suit, and he could see out of it easily enough to note three men approach. By the look of them, Zero could not quite tell if they were with him or come to kill him. All three were wielding guns, and he was unarmed, at least two of the three seemed to have a good idea of where they were going. After a moment of studying the men, he recognized one of them. Gordon Ransom. He’d been a Longcoat, and a good one at that, one that Zero knew by name, although only acknowledged as ‘hey you’ just like everyone else. Zero had hired him himself.
As the door of the tin can shuddered, Zero pressed one palm against it, giving an impatient snort and push against the metal. It had been long enough, and he was sure the men were here to provide him with guns and news, since at least one of them was a Longcoat after all. The door finally flew open, and after a moment, the man inside walked out, his steely gray eyes narrowing instantaneously as the man who’d opened the door.
“It took you long enough.” He barked, turning to the others and studying them. “How long did it take you idiots?”
“A week, sir.” Dawson replied immediately. He cleared his throat. “Carroll, give the General his gun.”
A week. It hadn’t been quite as long as he’d imagined it, not months at least, but long enough. Zero gave a snort of displeasure, turning to the third and final man, whom he did not even recognize from the Longcoats’ forces. As the man who’d just been referred to as ‘Carroll’ held out a gun, Zero ripped it eagerly from his hands, tracing over the cool metal with his fingers as if holding a long lost lover. It felt great to have his hands on a weapon once more, a weapon that actually meant something, one he could kill with.
“As I said, took you long enough.” He snarled once again, turning his attention back to the man who’d replied. “What was the cause of the delay?” The moment they would return to the castle, he would make sure that at least one of these men was punished.
After the gun was given to Zero he placed his own back in its holster, "The Sorceress fell," Gordon stated simply, his eyes shifting towards Carroll as he apparently flipped out about being so close to Zero. "All of the Longcoats have been forced into Exile, or killed - most are in the realm of the unwanted to escape the Queens forces." He informed unmoving from his spot. "We had to confirm the location from a couple of the ex-rebels we caught before drifting out here."
“Not even a thank you?” Carroll sniped. Adding a “Sir” almost as an afterthought.
From initial anger, which could really be considered a minor annoyance, Zero’s mood spiked downward towards a mood in which he would have killed over a light bump in the shoulder. “The Sorceress fell?” He repeated a little indignantly. How could she have fallen? “What became of Azkadellia?” The rest of the information didn’t matter, obviously the Longcoats would be killed or exiled or punished in some other way, as for the ex-rebels… who cared what they were up to?
At Carroll’s comment, Zero raised the gun and pointed it in the direction of the man’s head. “Thank you,” he answered with a sarcastic tone to his voice. Pulling the trigger, he watched the bullet glide smoothly through the air and piece the skin of the man’s neck, the sickening crunch of bone indicated that the spinal cord had been broken as well. “For being complete imbecile.”
Dawson watched Carroll fall to the ground, choking on his own blood, with disinterest. At least he wouldn’t have to listen to his whining and snide comments any longer. “The Sorceress fell.” He made sure to say ‘Sorceress’ and not ‘Azkadellia.’ Especially with the next tidbit of information he had to relay to the Witch’s former general. “Queen Lavender has retaken the throne. The House of Gale claims that Azkadellia herself was possessed by one of the Ancient Witches. And that she has now been driven out.”
As the other man decided to be bold he figured what was coming was about to, and so the gunshot did nothing but cause him to smirk before continuing off of Dawson’s statement, "It's been said that her sister DG, is going to be taking over as Queen soon, but nobody knows when the coronation is. Yet. Another little... bit of information you might like to know. Wyatt Cain is the head of the guard for the castle, and Jeb is Azkadellia’s personal guard - one of them."
He didn’t want to believe a word of this, but the two men knew better than to lie to Zero, especially when the man was in a mood like this one. Zero was ready to kill at only one wrong word shed in his direction. “Possessed?” That was new. Everyone had considered the ancient witches dead before this, dead and long buried in the ground where all things dead should be. What would one of them be doing possessing Azkadellia now? “I find that a little hard to believe.” He stated, staring off past the two men and wondering if they had horses. He needed to get to Central City, no, the Realm of the Unwanted, that was a better place for him and people he might find of interest now. ”Wyatt and Jebbidiah Cain?” He let out a soft laugh at the idea, shaking his head. “They would be around the Princesses then,” or so he found it safe to assume. “We’ll get a little resistance force of our own built up, why don’t we…” It was an order, not an option, and anyone to question it would be shot. Zero would not live quietly in a kingdom ruled by Queen DG.
“Yes sir.” Dawson replied immediately, one side of his mouth curving up into a smirk at the thought of causing a little chaos.
"What's been said," Gordon stated as he shrugged, allowing it to be known that he may or may not believe that story either - after all it did seem a little out there considering the fact that the stories of the witches were so long ago, and all of them ended with them being defeated. "I thought you might say that. I have a few men already waiting for us to return to the realm of the unwanted, ready to join forces with you."
It would be a lot more than just a little chaos. No, Zero planned to get together as much men as possible to build a little army of his own. Plenty of Longcoats had been away from the castle at the same time Zero’d been captured, and surely at least some of them had escaped the capture. Then, there were those in exile. As Gordon spoke again, Zero almost gave the man a smile in appreciation. “More men. Excellent planning, I hope they were among the more loyal of the Longcoats.” If they weren’t, they would simply be disposed of, it wasn’t that hard, although Zero would prefer not to send someone to buy him more bullets too often. “Do you have horses?” He was free, had his gun back, and already planted a bullet into someone’s backbone; today was turning out pretty good. All he could use now was a meeting with Desi and a nice long bath, maybe with Desi as well. Too bad she worked in Central City… He’d hunt her down eventually.
“Three, sir.” Dawson replied, smirking still. He and Gordon had planned on getting rid of Carroll either way. They had figured Zero could’ve done with some cheering up, and killing annoying minions had always brightened his day. He motioned back in the direction they’d come from with one hand. “Just outside the forest, from there we can get to the meeting point. If we ride hard we can get there in a handful of hours.”
Nodding his head to the both of him he turned and motioned down the path they had taken to get to him, "Didn't want to draw extra attention." Now that they had Zero with them it would be easier to get the old Longcoats to return to their forces and to their cause.
“Of course.” If they ever reformed the same ranks of Longcoats that existed before, these two would certainly be getting some kind of promotion. “We’ll be going to the Realm of the Unwanted first, then rounding up any Longcoats that happen to not be there after everything settles down a bit.” He was already back in his commanding General mode, ready to give orders even though he wasn’t aware of today’s date.