(Untitled)
Who: Alex & Desmond.
When: Thursday night.
Where: Sector 4.
Summary: Desmond gets caught outside while the sirens go off. Alex runs across him.
Warnings: Violence?!
( take what i got to teach everyone to break stuff. )
When: Thursday night.
Where: Sector 4.
Summary: Desmond gets caught outside while the sirens go off. Alex runs across him.
Warnings: Violence?!
( take what i got to teach everyone to break stuff. )
With a flick of his wrist, his hidden blade snapped out and into place. He let out a breath and took a step forward.
The thing lunged from its hiding spot and headed in his direction at full speed-- too fast for him to see who or what the hell it could've possibly been. It was all he could do to roll out of the way at the last second, to dodge in the same direction the thing had come from. Before he even had time to think, or the thing had time to turn around, Desmond was already up on his feet and moving again, latching onto the closest building and scaling the wall, looking to the roof for sanctuary. Pieces of the structure crumbled and fell away beneath his grip, but he barely heard nor felt it. All that mattered was up, getting up, getting somewhere that felt safe again.
Desmond hunkered down into a crouch once he was safely on the roof and approached the edge with caution. Whatever had just come after him was looking decidedly confused and agitated, searching around its immediate area in a frustrated way for the prey that had escaped. As it moved, it became easier to see. It could've almost passed as a person in some grotesquely perverse way, if not for its brown and twisted, sagging flesh and what appeared to be razor-sharp talons where fingers should've been. Gripped by a nauseating sense of morbid curiosity, Desmond couldn't help but inch forward towards the very lip of the roof as much as he could, as though to get close enough to study the mutated thing.
He caught its attention. It snapped its head up to look at him, revealing a face that was not only malformed, but melting, probably from the fire that was seeping out through the cracks and holes of the skin. Desmond's heart skipped a beat, and in the very next instant, he realized that he was in the air already, acting on reflexes he didn't even know he had, and he landed hard on the thing, sending it collapsing to the ground with his blade through its neck. It didn't die gracefully. It thrashed and sputtered, letting out some horrific gurgling sound through the fresh wound in its throat. Desmond could feel the thing's muscles thrashing and writhing beneath him, and it sent a wave of nightmarish disgust through his body so powerful that he was forced to stand and stumble back away from the dying mass on the ground.
The thing's body began to fade away, and yet, that wasn't the most unsettling thing. The most unsettling thing was the sound of shuffling and movement growing ever stronger behind him, as though killing that one monstrosity had alerted all of the others in the city. Suddenly feeling desperate, Desmond quickly surveyed his surroundings, looking for the fastest way out.
And there, in his search, something caught his eye. There was someone up there, someone on the rooftops, but most importantly, someone who was outlined in blue. He didn't care who they were or what they were doing out. As soon as he could will his muscles to move, Desmond was clamoring for the rooftops again, towards the small beacon of hope that was this person. His head was spinning. He would never admit that he was scared, but fuck if he wasn't terrified, and just the mere idea of there being another person out was enough to make him feel better. How could it be real? How could any of it be real? If this was where the road to madness was leading, then shit, he wanted Altair back.
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He could have snorted as he watched the man slide to the roof's edge to apparently watch the monster, if he were the type to. Alex merely kept his gaze on him, eyes narrowed and body slightly tensed in preparation to fight, should the situation require-- though it would seem the random stranger had it under control, leaping off and landing on top of the creature only to stab it to death. Right in the jugular, apparently, as the monster was downed and dying instantly. He probably didn't need any assistance, not that Alex was planning on it - he had a mind to move on, really, as it was doubtful there was anything to be found out by lingering around, and he was getting hungrier.
Just as he was turning to leave, movement caught in his peripheral vision. Alex jerked back around swiftly, seeing it heading toward him - it, the stranger. Not just heading, but running. So obviously Alex had been spotted, but what did this guy want? Barely noticing the growing horde of monsters - they were ignorable to someone like Alex, someone who was far too used to chaos and quite versed in focusing on one thing in the midst of said chaos. Instantly he was on edge, watching the stranger approach and thinking only of the worst, that he wanted a fight. Well, if he was, he'd sure as hell get one.
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"Hey, whoa, don't shoot," he said. He instantly felt stupid for it. He knew in his head that this guy didn't have a gun, but he just really didn't know what else to say. The only other thing he could think of was, 'I come in peace,' and that probably would've probably been about fifty times worse. "I saw you on the roofs, and I was hoping you could help me. I'm lost out here, and I just want to get home."
It wasn't entirely the truth, but it wasn't a lie, either. The whole truth was that he was terrified at the prospect of being alone while the creepy creatures of the night swarmed in on him and tore him apart out on the streets. Though, even up where he was, and with another person, he still didn't feel safe.
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Though Desmond might have thought his words stupid Alex only stared, growing a bit less tense and instead questioning. The whole situation was bizarre. Far more used to being screamed at, ran away from or attacked, Alex wasn't quite sure what to say the moment the man asked him for help. Well, it wouldn't be the first time he'd walked someone home in the Port, though the previous person he'd known much more. This man - could he be trusted? At least for the time being?
Alex could sense the fear despite Desmond brushing it off, could see it, especially after the reaction to the monster he'd killed earlier - but he said nothing. Most people were afraid of the things. Rather than comment on it Alex only seemed to oblige, presenting him a simple question - "Where do you live?"
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"Not far," he told him, speaking quickly, but not too much as to not be understood. "It's a mile and a half up the road, maybe, if that. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but I think I might've pissed off the nighttime populace."
A terrible screech sounded off in the distance behind him then, as if on cue. Desmond turned halfway in its direction as an immediate reaction, but kept his muscles tight and his expression steady. His heart sank. Out in the darkness, it was impossible to see anything.
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Despite the sudden screech Alex continued to look at Desmond, barely taking note of it as he did so. After hearing such things every night for months, it was as insignificant as a bird singing.
He spoke up again, voice steady yet low as if to not draw more attention to themselves - "Then lead the way." A pause as he finally glanced into the stretching Darkness. Couldn't see much either, but he wasn't terribly worried.
"We might have some problems along the way, though."
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...And yet, still, he couldn't completely silence the questions floating at the back of his mind about who this guy was, what he was doing out after the sirens, and why he seemed so damn willing to help a complete stranger without requiring any explanation at all.
"I know," he said. "And thanks."
He nodded over in the direction that he intended to go before he moved, just as a tiny indication of where they were headed. Then he was moving, across the roof at first, and then right onto the next one with ease. As he landed, he caught himself, realizing that he was a little... different than most people, in terms of skill. He spun on his heels to make sure that the other man was following him, and could follow him, feeling slightly like an ass for not asking if this was a good route to take first.
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And Alex was right behind him. Too close, not expecting him to suddenly stop and turn around and he nearly stumbled as he attempted to avoid crashing into the stranger. He backed up instantly, his own hands raised for a moment this time in an attempt to quell any surprise he probably caused. There was a problem with interacting with people when he was hungry - Alex had to make a conscious effort not to view them as food. Getting that close to Desmond, short as the interval had been, was almost too much. He could smell him, hear his pulse, feel the heat radiating off him. Alex hadn't consumed a person in the months he'd been here, and if his strange consumption ability had a preference it would definitely pick humans over the monsters that roamed here.
He stared at the stranger harshly, hoping he'd get intimidated and make some more distance as Alex shook off his sudden urge to tear him apart. "--Sorry." Feasibly, he could just let the man panic and run off with little moral consequence, yet he felt now that he should help. For whatever reason. Maybe he could get some answers out of him later, at least, and maybe he should try not to make as many enemies.
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...But for the time being, no matter how weird this was, he needed him. This was confirmed three times over when a bit of red warning crept into the corner of his vision. When he looked to see what it was, he immediately wished he hadn't. A group was gathering in the streets, of what, he couldn't tell. He didn't care. In that moment, all that mattered was getting the hell out of there.
"Alright," he said in affirmation, mostly for himself. "Let's go."
With that, he turned and continued on his path, hoping for some kind of miracle that staying to the rooftops would keep both of them from harm.
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"Fuck."
A mutter under his breath as he noticed the creatures hauling themselves roofward, apparently having locked onto the two of them and planning on trailing behind them. They could probably outrun that particular group, but the fact that more were gathering up ahead and clambering up the side of the buildings they raced across meant that eventually they were going to run right into them.
The last thing Alex wanted to do was activate his biomass - no, that would definitely freak the other man out, and he didn't particularly want him flipping a shit and running the other way, presumably to his death. Still, even without the virus visibly making itself known Alex was fairly sure he could fend the things off without causing too much alarm. Could pass it off as superpowers given to him by the Core if he was questioned, even. But hopefully it wouldn't come to that.
Alex kept an eye on the approaching creatures and the stranger ahead of him, deciding he'd follow his lead yet again - if he wanted to fight or what. Maybe he had some hidden ability of his own.
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There was one coming at him. Right at him. It was too far away yet for Desmond to discern what the hell it was, but it didn't matter. He steeled his nerves and readied himself for a jumping assassination, like he'd performed as Ezio so many times--
--until the very next second when something wrapped around his ankle and pulled, throwing Desmond to the concrete and dragging him towards the edge of the building to his right. Panic flared in his chest. He couldn't see whatever the thing was that had him, but he could hear the thing growling eagerly. Worse, the rope-like tendril that had wrapped itself around him had the grip of two men, and he could feel the thing's muscle contracting and working. Disgusted and maybe even a little violated, Desmond hacked at the thing with his blade. He managed to cut halfway through it when a sharp stabbing pain struck him, right where the thing had its tightest grip. He let out a pathetic yelp before landing one final blow to the thing, cutting himself free.
He took a breath and flopped onto his stomach, trying his hardest to ignore the pain of whatever it was that'd stabbed him. Fuck if it didn't still hurt. It was only then that he came to realize that that entire ordeal had happened in seemingly less than five seconds, and the monster that had been running at him before was still headed towards him and the strange hooded man.
"Hey, look out!" he shouted.
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Alex turned back to the stranger, striding toward him relatively calmly, given the situation.
"Can you still run?" A glance over his leg where the tentacle had been, his eyes narrowing. Didn't really like the idea of having to carry someone he didn't know to their apartment, the whole escorting thing was awkward enough for him as it was. But sure, he'd do it, if only to give himself a small shred of inner conciliation for all the lives he'd taken. And probably would continue to take.
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Desmond's head was spinning. He wasn't entirely sure if he'd spoken out loud or just thought really loudly. Regardless, it was in that very moment that he realized that meeting this guy in the Darkness was either the best thing that could've happened in the given situation, or the very worst thing.
He clamored to his feet awkwardly, swaying a bit before he fully regained balance. The pain in his leg never dulled, and it was now accompanied by some terrible tugging and throbbing, as though there was something still in his leg that was still being pulled by something. He sucked in a deep breath and cringed, forcing it from his mind.
"Run? If you needed me to, I'm pretty sure that, right now, I could fly if it meant getting the hell out of here," he said. He glanced over his shoulder then, just to gain a sense of where he was. "Let's keep moving. We're close now. I can make it that far."
...Hopefully.
Then, in a sudden change of pace, he took to the streets instead, abandoning his post at the rooftop. The very real threat of being dragged to ground level wasn't exactly something that appealed to him; in fact, it was probably the quickest way to die out here. Well, maybe. Assuming that... tentacle... thing... came back for him.
"I wonder if tentacles regenerate themselves," he thought out loud again, not really addressing the other man. "Like a starfish. Now that's terrifying."
He kept moving as he spoke, and already he was drawing parallels between this and his escape from Abstergo. Except, this time, he was trying his hardest (and mostly failing) to suppress an agonized groan every time he put pressure on his leg.
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Still, it'd be preferable that this man didn't die on their little escort mission, so Alex kept his guard up. And good thing, as another mutation approached along the way - Alex simply kicked its head off in the most literal sense, barely breaking the speed of his run as he did so. Standard monster fodder, really, he'd just have to hold off consuming them until he was alone.
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He led the way around a corner, and there, finally, by the grace of god, was the apartment building. He knew that he was probably going to get a lot of shit for fucking with the darkness proofing around the door, but at that point, he didn't care. Whatever became decayed on the inside would repair itself, and if he could keep the inside of the door barricaded enough, it would hold the monsters out regardless. He dashed to the door and began tearing at the locks. Previous to this night, in a paranoid fear of being locked into this place against his will, he'd learned the weaknesses of them all. The door opened freely and Desmond barreled inside. Then he looked to his escort.
"Hey--" he started. "You're welcome to crash here tonight."
Not that he thought that this guy would have any trouble surviving out in the darkness, but either way, Desmond was sure that no sane person would actually want to be out there, powerhouse or no. Besides, it seemed the least he could do after this guy had sincerely saved his ass out there.
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A pause. The offer was nice, but Alex was far too uncomfortable in the presence of a stranger to even consider sleeping over. Besides - he did have a shift for the night. Not like he really slept in the city's nights. Still, he gave a short nod of acknowledgment before replying - "Gotta make the rent." Alex regarded him coolly for some beats afterward, even so. He seemed... nice enough, though it might have been desperation for help in a dire moment. Who the hell knew with these people here.
He wanted to tell him something like, be more careful next time, or see you around, but Alex felt rather awkward just standing in this man's apartment and so he turned to head back out.
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