Day 162, closed first, then open. | Come get in more trouble with Colin!

[freedom_engineer]

Who: Colin, Paarthurnax, and others later
Open: Closed, then open
What: Colin wants something dead, and he wants a team to do it
When: Day 162, after Rin's been stabilized and things have settled. (Gosh, sound familiar?)
Where: The Dragonfield, then the Monument as he looks to grab people
Format: Any

PAARTHURNAX!

[The urgency in Colin's tone was evident. He'd taken another bath to get the blood off him, but that scent was unmistakable.]

I need you, we need to hunt!




[Now that Colin had enlisted his air support, it was time to get a strike team. He had no snacks for bribery this time, just an eerie look of serenity on his face as he headed to the monument to track down some heavy hitters. He snagged his amplifier from his lab, so that when he speaks, he's not going to be hard to hear.]

HEY! I need our big guns out here, post-haste! We've got a mission, search and destroy time!

[Dare you approach?]

Comments

[dragonform]

[Ryu had gotten into a particular habit since coming to the Bastion. He would never really call himself a religious type, but he found himself visiting the memorial at least once during any particular day and offering a small prayer to the god of his people. Ladon may not have been able to hear it at all, but he felt that he should at least pay his respects to his people.

It's on his way home that he hears Colin's voice.]

What do you need?

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin watches Ryu's approach, and he nods.]

I need people who are able and willing to hit a target fast and hard.

And capable of holding back if needbe. We don't need to go on a killing spree. We need to bring down the RIGHT person...

[dragonform]

[Ryu hadn't heard the commotion at first. He didn't know what happened, or the people involved, but it was easy enough to see this was important.]

I can do both. I assume it's something on the Skyway?

[Between all the questions and medical emergencies, he really hasn't had a good opportunity to try fighting on the Skyway.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin nods again.]

I'm suspecting it's a Gasfella. Big cloaked figures, big weapons. It's the only thing I've seen that could have inflicted the kinds of injuries that we saw on those two.

I want to get as many people as possible, because Rin and Night were some of our heavier hitters. We need to be able to put it down fast and hard.

[dragonform]

What exactly happened to them? Are they alright?

[He's curious about Colin's plan. He certainly agrees that anything threatening the Bastion should be stopped.]

What do you have in mind? Do you plan to kill it?

[freedom_engineer]

No. No, they're not all right.

[Colin shakes his head.]

Night was killed, and Rin was almost dismembered.

I plan to hunt this thing down, and give it the opportunity to surrender. If it doesn't, it's going to be killed.

[dragonform]

[More dead. Deaths he might have been able to prevent. Deaths he could have prevented if he had been there. There's a certain guilt that comes with commanding power great enough to challenge a goddess.

No matter how strong you are, you're just one person. You can't save everyone.]

If I'm going with you, I should tell you something important. You want this thing brought down, and I can promise you in no uncertain terms that it will happen. But you need to understand exactly what I can do.

[He takes a small breath, mentally preparing himself to say it. It's a difficult thing to admit, even if Colin probably knows about dragons on the Bastion.]

I'm one of the Brood. There's a more significant history tied to my people, but the important thing you need to know right now is that I can become a dragon if the situation calls for it.

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin gives a Ryu a look, and he smirks.]

You might be surprised to hear it, but you're not the first person I've met who was capable of that.

Where I'm from, the Elerians are a race descended from dragons. Their priesthood is still capable of taking a dragons' form.

It's a potent talent, to be sure. That said... don't underestimate our target. Rin and Night are both demons, and it was able to take both of them at once. From the sound of it, our target is formidable....

[dragonform]

[The more he hears about other worlds, places where dragons aren't hated, it fills him with a certain sense of wonder. He has a slew of questions about them, but it would have to wait for now.]

This isn't something I would use lightly, Colin. A lot of blood has been shed because people were afraid of the Brood. I'm the only one left who still has this power.

[He pauses for a moment, trying to figure best how to explain this. It's clear there's still some hesitation within Ryu.]

They were almost wiped out because their power could have destroyed the world, if it had been used. I don't ever want anyone to think I'll use it in the name of vengeance or anger.

[There's enough in Ryu's body language when he mentions the world possibly being destroyed that seems a little more reserved. Ever since he learned about the Calamity, there's been some part of him that feared Myria's logic might have been at least partially right. Such a destructive power could have contributed to the Calamity.]

However, I will use it to protect what little life remains here.

[It's exceedingly clear it took a lot for Ryu to say even this much. There was still more he needed to figure out.]

[freedom_engineer]

Mmm... reminds me of a few cultures I've heard of. Ancient species of Dragon no longer around any more, sects of Mrrshan that were destroyed because they overpowered other clans, Psilons who didn't agree with discoveries and were killed for heresy...

[Colin shakes his head.]

That doesn't happen any more where I'm from. When people try anything like that, they get shut down.

Whatever the case, while I'm sure there are people here who want vengeance against this thing, I only want it dead because it's posing too serious a threat to those of us who're still alive. I don't want it to suffer, I just want it to be dealt with quickly. We've got too many things to be worried about to be focused on some boogeyman who could kill without provocation.

[dragonform]

I agree, we can't leave anything to chance that might threaten this place. I just hope there aren't those among us who would see it as a moment to wipe out the other creatures out there just trying to survive.

[Bloodshed for survival is one thing in Ryu's book. But needless violence is a completely different matter.]

And if my powers as Brood are not needed, I can still help anyone injured out on the Skyway. I figure it would be easier to tend to any injuries out there in case we have to escort any wounded back, keep them from getting any worse.

[He looks Colin in the eye again. This isn't the expression of a young man who's just trying to keep people happy and calm. It's the expression of a certain pragmatism. Do what they need to in order to survive.]

I wanted to entrust this information to you, just in case. If you're leading this thing, you should know what you can call upon.

[freedom_engineer]

Oh, believe me. I have no intention of letting anyone run wild on anything out there. I'm trying to make peace with everything out there that will have it. I'm not about to go throwing that away over some petty vendetta.

Anyone gets out of line, I am going to deal with them personally.

[That's a matter of fact statement. He is not going to tolerate violence for the sake of violence. There will be no unwarranted killing, no roughing up any innocents who are probably having a harder time surviving than they are.]

And thank you for letting me know all of that, then.

[He gives Ryu a warm smile, then.]

I probably won't ask you to do it, but it's handy to know just the same.

[dragonform]

I don't mean to imply any sort of weakness, Colin, but what do you have in mind if you can't stop someone? Or worse, the majority of the group end up not listening to you.

[It's not that he distrusts the others. Far from it. He knows from personal experience that emotions on something like this can run very high. If it wasn't for wanting to protect Nina from monsters, as well as Balio and Sunder, he likely would have never used his powers as a child.]

I do have one other concern. If we capture or kill this one, what would stop its friends from taking revenge against us? I don't know much about the Gasfellas, but if they're smart enough to use weapons, it wouldn't be a far stretch to think it might be possible.

[freedom_engineer]

No offense taken. I'm not the best fighter here, not by a long shot.

But appearances aren't everything, and I've got tricks up my sleeve that the people here can't even fathom. Along with some strong backing. I believe Paar and I are of the same mind on this one. Even if people want to run afoul of me, I doubt anyone wants to run afoul of him.

[He's done calculations here that most people probably wouldn't want to be privy to, or even know that he'd even actually done them. He's confident that even in the face of a full mutiny, he could come out on top.]

That's not an unwarranted concern. And if the thing has gone to ground with those of its kind, it's unlikely we'll be able to dig it out, no matter how many people we bring.

That said, I intend to make very clear what crimes this thing has committed against us. And these things do understand us. Even if it has an entire city backing it... I will be putting them on notice.

[He suddenly grows more grim.]

I may not look like much, but I'm not someone that anyone wants to have as an enemy, and this things' actions are a threat to all of us.

[dragonform]

Then I'm really glad you've been thinking this through. It makes me feel a bit better to lend my sword to your cause.

[Having seen just how big Paarthunax is? Yeah, he's gonna agree with that sentiment.]

I hope we can come up with a way everyone can communicate reliably. It seems like both of our chances to survive would be way better if things like this didn't happen.