Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

Azrael Erebus · (01-11-2021)

"A new year has only just begun, XWF!"

"Change is on the horizon!"

"The cusp of a brand new adventure, sits at the edge... right out of reach and yet, not out of the range of sight."

"What you do next could effect everything or nothing at all."

"What will you choose?"

"That is the question that every being should ask themselves. Are you part of the positive or the negative? Will you be a benefit to the world or a drain on society? Are you essential to the universe? You don't need superpowers, to be a vital piece in the puzzle. I had an abundant supply of abilities and then, I lost them all and still, I do my part. Can you say the same? There is more out there, beyond the realms of XWF and life is sacred, it should be cherished and celebrated. On a recent edition of Wednesday Night Warfare, a life was lost. Right before the video cameras. In the same time, it takes to blink an eye, someone died. Now, Peter Gilmour was far from perfect and not a man that I can say that I particularly cared about but that does not mean, I wanted to see him perish in such a manner. And if you find yourselves thinking it was justified or deserving, may I suggest you take a good long hard look in the mirror and see how such a thought reflects upon - YOU! As a being in this universe."

"With that being said, I now direct my words to other topics. Specifically, my upcoming match on Saturday Night Savage and my opponent for the fight, Mr. Charlie Nickles. However. Perhaps, I should remain in the subject of character worth, what that means in the grand scheme of things and the universe that surrounds us. You aren't a good man, are you... Charlie? You have done and seen some awful things in life, haven't you? Good. I am not perfect, either. Still, what do you strive for in this mortal coil? What do you yearn for exactly? Do you even know what you, truly desire? Or do you simply stumble through the darkness of your own blurred vision, bumping into walls and flailing your arms about, in desperate need of something? Something to prove your worth, perchance? A thing that makes you seem, important and worthy? So you aren't simply a ridiculous, shell? So others notice you for more than being a terrible person and a substandard joke in life? You can win a million matches, Charlie and still be worthless. I assume you know that though. That's why you're floundering about in the dark. Lost. Alone. Even in a crowd. It's quite tragic, really."

"I am not here to be your savior and enlighten you with a beautiful truth, Charlie."

"I am your adversary."

"Your opponent."

"The man on the other side of the ring."

"My intent is simple and pure. To take you out of the equation. Not life's rudimentary, math problem. This is the crude calculation of war. War can be had, even if there's only two individuals involved and the battle that ensues thereafter... is not any less brutal, you should understand this concept, human for your history is enriched with it. Battle is in my blood though. I have fought in a countless number of frays. Been a savior to entire worlds. What makes you think, you can destroy me? Even if I lose our fight, you are but a miniscule blip on the radar of my existence. I am sure you will believe, differently and you will tell yourself as such but unless you plan on killing me in the ring, you will never factor in against me and my life. Pain is a part of life, it's how we know, we're alive. So come at me, with all you've got because I will do no less."

"Understand that thought. Perceive it with absolute clarity. Forget the concept of human and alien. I am a man that has been through, multiple wars. I have seen things and done things, I am positive you, have never experienced let alone imagined and I'm coming into our fight, ready to destroy. Ready to dismantle you, with my bare hands. Please, wrap your mind around that idea and let it fill your conscious mind, with the reality of the situation. Cause when that bell rings, it's just you and me, Charlie. And you better fucking come at me with every intent to kill me, because I won't stop otherwise. I will put you down and render you motionless, even if the match is over and I lost, this is my main objective. I will utterly immobilize you and that condition shall remain unaltered. Until the shrill sound of paramedics, can be heard. For a stretcher will be your sole mode of transportation."

"Nevertheless, you will still remain alive, though your suffering - a thorough legendary experience through hell, you will not find yourself within the icy, cold grip of Death's boney hand. You simply will wish for it as you are treated for your injuries and slowly recover. From my perspective, you aren't worth a death, provided by the man from the stars. Relish in the gift of your pathetic, self serving, standstill of a life. Where your goals pertain to achievements attained inside a small, unimaginative world and you willingly wear blinders. Everyday. Repeating the same routine. Your only gain in existence being mere trinkets, cold and unfeeling material, that will never love you as much as you adore them. Live a long, painful life, alone Charles. Every scar a reminder of your priorities, souvenirs on your flesh and a collection, that will never go away. Well, at least... I promise the ones that I bestow upon you, won't ever disappear."

"See you in the ring, Chuck."

You watched as Azrael, gathered together a trash bag, tied it and pulled the full sack, from the rubbish tin located in the kitchen. Then; with a baby monitor in tow, he hoisted the bag over his shoulder and headed for the back door. Exiting through it, he made his way across the porch and down the steps, progressing to the garbage cans, Azrael tossed the trash away. With a sigh, he slammed the lid closed on the can and turned his attention, back toward the house.

That's when he was also able to observe, a straight shot, down the walkway, right to the front of his abode and witness that a small crowd, had accumulated. Arching a brow in inquiry, Azrael momentarily contemplated the scenario and then, proceeded to the front of the house. When he reached his destination, he seen a large portion of the neighborhood had assembled and they were all looking up, into the towering boughs of a rather large, oak tree. Quite confused, Azrael approached the group and asked aloud.

"What's going on?"

To which the closest fellow replied.

"That Morgan boy, got himself stuck up a tree."

Morgan. The surname of Azrael's next door neighbors. Howard and his wife, Meredith and their two children, Verity (age 13) and Wilder (age 11). While Azrael wasn't always socializing with the neighborhood and communication was rare, he knew who lived next door to a degree and his attention was drawn quickly, to the problem at hand. Azrael raised his gaze upward and sure enough, Wilder had managed to clamber his tiny form to great heights above and now, clung to the tree with a death grip.

"What exactly has been done to remedy this situation?"

"Well the fire department was called but they haven't arrived yet."

Azrael hated obvious statements and he fought the urge to roll his eyes, the lack of firefighters, clearly meant they didn't arrive. His concern outweighed his annoyance though. There was a small child trapped, very high in a tree, after all. So Azrael pressed further.

"When were they called?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe fifteen minutes ago."

Fifteen minutes ago?!?! Your jaw dropped and so did Azrael's, as his eyes widened in disbelief. It was then he shook his head in dismay at the fact that fifteen minutes had passed... or maybe even more, and nothing had been done. Still??? Nothing?? That was flat out appalling that these people allowed such a thing to occur and even had the nerve, to surround the tree in order to gawk at the incident. In real time. Because staring at a serious problem, would solve everything. Idiots. Narrowing his eyes in determination, Azrael said nothing more and marched toward the trunk of the tree.

With zero hesitation, Azrael immediately began to ascend the tree. Swiftly and efficiently, he scaled the mighty oak, pulling himself up branch by branch, to the soundtrack of shocked gasps and exclamations of distress and fright. There was no fear in Azrael's mind and his steady, rapid rise, demonstrated the lack of doubt. Determination radiated from his gaze, this was not the first time the spaceman surmounted great heights, with ease. In fact, his target was barely a fraction of the highest point that he reached, when randomly climbing things of his own volition, in previous settings.

The only difference was that now, he ran the risk of significant damage or even death, when scouring extremely tall objects. Azrael was on a mission though and his own safety mattered not. All that was important was rescuing a being that could not save themselves, from their terrible circumstances, on their own and needed help. The only thought Azrael possessed currently was accomplishing that task of protection and that alone, without question regarding any other outcome. You knew this about the man from the stars because from the moment you first encountered him, that was his mentality and most assuredly, it always would be his thought process.

In a surprisingly short matter of time, given the fact that Azrael was operating with zero superpowers, he yanked himself right up next to Wilder's position. The boy's eyes were clenched tight and he was squeezing onto the tree like he was trying to become one with the oak, latched on with all his might.

"Wilder. Hey, Wilder. Open your eyes."

"I can't."

The boy cried.

"If I do... I'll look down again and then, I'll freak out and fall, for sure."

Already not the perfect picture of calm here, Azrael refused to let himself chuckle at Wilder's answer to the problem. Instead he continued speaking calmly.

"Then just don't look down, I'm right here next to you. Look at me."

Gradually, Wilder opened his eyes and focused on Azrael with some confusion.

"Mr. Erebus? What are you doing up here?"

"Well, I seen you up here in the tree and I know when I climb trees, sometimes I tend to lose track of the distance I'm traveling and it seemed like you might need a bit of assistance getting back down, so I figured that I'd scale on up and offer to help you out. I'm certain you are fully capable of doing so on your own, I merely thought that I'd ask. Common courtesy and all. We are neighbors. Plus, I've been meaning to climb a tree lately and have been putting it off, this gave me a solid reason to finally do it. So what do you say, can I interest you in a trip to the ground?"

This question was only answered with a quick nod and Azrael, returned the gesture with a single nod of his own in affirmation, coupled with a reassuring smile.

"Okay then, this is what we're going to do and now, I'm going to ask that you listen closely and follow my instructions, very carefully."

Azrael reached over with one arm and wrapped it around Wilder, whilst holding onto a branch with his other hand.

"You are going to have to put your arms around my neck, wrap your legs around me and hold on tight cause I'll need both my hands to climb down, okay? Can you do that? It'll seem scary cause for a second, you'll have to let go of the tree but I promise, you won't fall. I won't allow it. You can trust me in that knowledge too. Do you think you can be brave and trust me? Trust that I've got you and nothing bad will happen? Do you think you can do that for me?"

Wilder nodded and complied, then with the kid adhered to him for dear life, Azrael descended downward to the ground. Moving with immense caution, till he reached the bottom of the tree. Right when the firefighters arrived. Yet Azrael paid the rescue workers no mind and knelt down on the grass. His concentration affixed primarily on assuring Wilder, everything was indeed, safe and sound.

"Well, we made it, we're here, it's alright to let go now."

Shaken but recovering, Wilder released his hold on Azrael and stepped back as Az rose to a standing position. Almost instantly, Wilder's parents zoomed over as Wilder raced towards them and they shared a warm embrace, that nearly toppled them all over at once. It was a touching scene and Azrael smiled, happy that he made it happen. With his good deed completed for the day, he spun around and came face to face with Maxwell Maximus. For a brief second, he was unsure of what to do?

Naturally, Maxwell was his mortal enemy, a nemesis through and through but there were so many people around, now was not the time to start battling it out. At risk of severe consequences, involving possible casualties and innocent lives lost or at the very least, folks getting injured. Maxwell wasn't the type to care for others, his intentions were never pure and he was unpredictable, if Azrael greeted him with instant violence, the disturbance would effect everyone around them. So Azrael made a choice and simply stood his ground, glaring at Maxwell. Loathing his very presence.

"Always the hero, even without powers, 'eh? That was quite the feat you pulled off. Rescuing that kid. I'm impressed but then, bravery was always one of your better qualities. Anyone else might have at the very least, questioned the odds and taken a moment to mull things over but not you, you leapt right into action, without even a second thought, edgewise. Marvelous, truly. Always the impulsive, savior."

"What do you want, Maxwell?"

The spaceman snarled through gritted teeth, fists clenched at either side.

"To talk. Nothing more or less."

"Talk? You want to talk?"

"That's it and if after you hear me out, you want to murder me? I won't even put up a struggle, go on and kill me... dead, but if you decide not to deliver my death, you will not regret it."

"Why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't and there's zero reason that you should but if you don't listen to my words, that means you'll be turning your back on... everything. It is your choice though."

"Fine. We can talk but know that if even the slightest thing feels off, I will exterminate you from existence, without a single, solitary shred of reluctance or remorse."

"Understandable."

"Oh and this discussion of ours, involves a full body scan, you stripping nude and a very intrusive and thorough, examination performed by a robot that can and will self destruct, on command. Deal?"

"Whatever it takes."

"Great. Then lets talk."

Horrified, you cannot turn away, mostly because you're the silent, invisible, ineffective watcher. However, even if you weren't, you'd still be rendered frozen, stuck still in absolute shock. Azrael was going to have a chat with Maxwell Maximus? What the what??? You couldn't believe it. If you weren't the one that perceived it; right then and there, you'd call total balderdash, otherwise. Was this a mistake? A trick? Or was there really more to it? Only time, would tell.

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode This is only the beginning...
Author	Message