I Moderate (i_moderate) wrote in we_archive, @ 2006-01-22 17:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | death of the endless, jesse custer, maxine gibbons, stephen strange, the saint of killers |
i_assist Email to Jesse
Jesse,
I found something on one of the security cameras the people I'm living with have installed around. I was looking around for Didi, trying to maybe help her find the man who took that ankh she was looking for yesterday. Well, I found him and now I'm really scared.
I have the tape, and I was wondering if I could bring it to you to show you? I'm pretty sure about who it is, but you'd probably better confirm it, because you'd know what the Saint would look like better than I would, right? I don't know why he took her ankh, I can't tell from the tape, but it didn't look likehe hurt her other than that.
If you email me back, I'll head down to you as soon as I can get out of here.
-Max
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 14:45:21
Jesse pulled the small computer from his coat pocket and read the message from Max.
He had to read it twice to get it through his own head what he was reading.
"Oh shit."
Jesse looked at Didi, and then quickly responded.
Max
I have no doubt that it's him. If it looks like a chicken and walks like a chicken... don't leave the house. Don't come find me. I can't have you in the middle of this. Please. If he finds me right off, he won't bother with anybody else, but if you're here too... I don't know what will happen. I can't let you put yourself in that kind of danger.
- Jesse
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 14:59:39
Didi looked up at Jesse, worried at his tone. "What happened?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"
In her pocket, the button had started flashing as the silent homing signal was activated.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 15:01:51
Jesse nodded. "Yes. There is something very wrong." He looked at Didi unhappily. "I know who has your ankh, and it doesn't bode well for anybody."
He sighed and pocketed the computer again and drew out his smokes. He lit one up and then offered one to her. He didn't know if she smoked, but he felt that now was as good a time as any to start.
"We've gotta find Strange."
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 15:07:08
She looked at the cigarettes, considered her heart, and then decided that it couldn't make things any worse right now. She accepted one, and let him light it. Interestingly enough, she didn't choke on the first inhalation, nor the second.
"Yeah. Let's go." Didi looked down at Kojak and tapped his head. "Help us out here."
They talked for a moment, in a language that consisted of scents and tastes, until Kojak had an idea of what he was looking for. He started walking, sniffing around carefully but quickly as he cut acros the park.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 15:10:30
Jesse watched the dog do his thing. He had no idea what had gone on between the two of them, but as long as it helped, that's all that mattered.
He followed with Didi, she'd have to take the helm on this one. He definitely didn't speak dog. Hell, he hadn't even known what to do when a stick was brought to him.
"You think he'll catch the scent?"
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 15:13:23
"If Strange has been around here, yes. There's Bloodhound in his line, didn't he tell you?"
She reached out and took Jesse's hand, pulling him along with her. It was just as reassuring as she'd hoped it would be.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 15:16:22
Jesse wrapped his fingers around hers. It was comforting to him as well. He may have acted tough, and like he knew what he was doing, but honestly, he was a little scared about going up against the Saint. About actually looking for him.
"He doesn't tell me much of anything, actually."
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 15:26:27
"That's weird. He doesn't seem to stop talking around me."
She took another drag on the cigarette. "You said you know who has the ankh. And then you gave me something to smoke. So I don't think I'll like this answer, but... who has it?"
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 15:30:25
Jesse squeezed her hand tight for a moment. "He's called the Saint of Killers. He's immortal. All this fucked up shit. He's. Nothing can kill him. Nothing. He's got these guns, and they never miss. Even if the shot is impossible. I watched one of his goddamned bullets go through tank armor and tag a guy square in the face. Well. Not watched so much, as saw the first part, and then saw the second guy climb out of the top screaming about the second part. He never has to reload them either." Jesse shook his head and inhaled deeply of the cigarette.
"The guy is. It's insane, Didi. He's literally taken a nuke to the chest without it even damaging his clothes."
He looked at her, somberly. "That's who has your ankh."
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 16:08:42
She remembered the gaunt face, the ice-blue eyes. The harsh voice. And she stopped, squeezing his hand. "Oh, no. Shit. Shit. That's..." She let go of him, running both hands through her hair. "That's not good. That's really not good."
She looked up at Jesse, her eyes worried. "He can't have it, Jesse. No matter what else happens, he can't have it at nine o'clock tomorrow."
Her hands clenched into themselves, and for a moment, she looked like she was going to stumble. "Even if it's not me that holds it, you have to get it away from him."
From: [info]i_estrange Date: 01/22/2006 16:12:30
The dream -- no, the nightmare -- concerning Death had consumed his sleep ever since its first appearance in his mind during slumber. And almost immediately upon awakening, or probably deep in his sleeping subconscious, he'd known and understood the threatening connotations of the event that was going to occur. Death as a normal, living, breathing mortal being was nothing short of a recipe for disaster. And Dr. Strange didn't need to see any warning signs or bright flashing lights to tell him when it had occurred. Because the moment she'd ceased being Death and had become the young Didi, the dimensions let him know; loud and clear.
It was chaos rising in the Dark Dimensions. Villainous creatures, unforeseeable evils, plaguing demons all stepping up in mutiny against their boundaries. Another piece of the puzzle that held the separating barrier between the world of night and the waking world of humans had been removed, and they were trying their hardest to slip through the cracks and infest the light dimension with their pestilence.
And it gave Strange one hell of a headache.
The fate of millions may rest in your hands if an event should cause the Dark Dimension to spread into our world, the Ancient One had told him. Chaos will erupt amongst the pocket universes. And even the Eternal Vishanti will have no means of stopping it. It must be prevented at all costs.
And so Strange kept himself in tune, so to speak, with the many planes of existence from the moment Death became human; watching, waiting, carefully keeping track of disturbances. The theft of the ankh not going unnoticed. Because from the moment that it was taken from her, there was a cry of ear splitting joy from the Chaos worlds that gave Strange a sort of mystical whiplash.
They didn't have to look too long for him. Because he was already quick on their search. And in a puff of purple sparkly smoke he appeared directly in front of them, fingers pressed hard against the sides of his head and the orb on his chest glowing brighter than usual.
"I agree."
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 16:16:05
"He won't have it Didi, I swear to you. I'll get it back to you. Nobody will have it in their hands unless it's you, alright?" He squeezed her hand again. He wasn't quite sure why she was so insistent, but it didn't matter. "Don't you worry no...."
He was cut off by smoke and sparkles and Jesse blinked and gave a little cough. He squinted and saw Strange.
"Well." He said after a moment. That's convenient."
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 16:37:00
Convenient or fated, she didn't really care. He was here now, and maybe the universe had decided she did need some extra assistance. Since it had decided to dump this crap on her. It was considerably worse than the Jack The Ripper episode.
"You know why I need it back," she said, looking at Strange. "Do you know how we can find it?"
From: [info]i_estrange Date: 01/22/2006 16:46:40
"The man who has it is not easy to lose. He's practically a homing beacon of dark energy wherever he goes."
Strange closed his eyes for a moment.
"I apologize now if I seem inattentive. I've transplaced half of my psyche in order to hold back the northern walls of the chaos barrier. Everything is hanging by a thin thread right now. The universe is essentially up for grabs.. At least, the darker aspects of it is.."
He opened his eyes and stepped to the side. He mumbled a few Tibetan phrases and the Eye shimmered and emitted a holographic image of the Saint in his last location. Another convenient little method thanks to the science of light waves never completely disappearing.
"I can't retrieve the ankh from here. But I can take us to him. Although .."
And he gave a wary sidelong glance to Death, or Didi, before returning his gaze to Jesse.
"I don't think I need to say that it's going to be dangerous having Death with us, but I will anyway."
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 16:52:05
He watched Strange do his thing. It was an amazing thing. And he'd have to find a way to thank him for all the help later.
"I can get the ankh back. Don't worry none about that. You just get me there."
Jesse looked at Didi when strange mentioned that it would be dangerous for her to be there.
"I'm not going to tell her she's got to stay behind, no matter how much better it would make me feel. If she wants to come, she does. But you're right. There's too much that could go wrong with her right there with us."
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 17:05:24
People talked about death a lot. When she was there, when she wasn't there, in passing, whenever. In almost all instances, they hadn't been aware that death was actually Death, and so she hadn't bothered giving it any thought.
But here she was with two men who knew her, and were still talking about her instead of to her. It made the mortal Didi a bit annoyed. "Well, since you two seem to have all this worked out, you probably don't need a perfectly normal, vulnerably mortal, non-superpowered damsel in distress causing any extra trouble for you. Just because she also happens to be Death."
From: [info]i_estrange Date: 01/22/2006 17:14:51
Strange opened his mouth to say something in response to Jesse, when he was cut off by Death's snap. Then he focused his attentions on her, his mind seemingly lost for a moment as if in remembrance of someone else he knew who would have made a similar statement.
"That is exactly why I am forewarning you both about this. If any harm should come to you, the entire nature of the universe will shift. All kinds of evil will spring up from their dimensions and attack this one with full force. We're weak and vulnerable right now, and becoming even moreso as long as he holds the ankh. And there aren't enough of us to hold it together if--"
He winced and pressed his fingers to his head again.
"There's no time to argue this."
He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, intertwining the fingers except for the index fingers which he held pointing towards the sky. The Eye glowed a darker hue of gold and in a few moments the space between him ripped apart, exposing a dark gap of nothingness on the other side.
"Quickly! Step through before the environment changes."
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 17:19:23
Jesse didn't hesitate at that. He knew that Didi was upset, but there was no time to explain what he'd meant by what he said. Strang was telling them to go, and even though he was pointing at something Jesse didn't understand, he trusted the man to not do things to get him killed.
He tugged Didi's hand and stepped through the whatever it was and waited for whatever was going to happen next.
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 17:24:58
There was a sharp bark, and Kojak bounded through the rift after Jesse before Didi could tell him not to. She followed as well, without even giving the thought of hesitation the slightest chance of crossing her mind.
From: [info]i_estrange Date: 01/22/2006 17:40:00
The portal, which literally had been a rip in the fabric of the City's plane -- not an easy task to accomplish when half of your psyche was battling against the demons of the nightmare realm -- was cold and tingling. If they had remained in the distance between where they had been and where they were going for any long period of time, they would have been forever trapped in a realm of perpetual nothingness. And most of their atoms would have probably separated and disjointedly bounced back and forth against invisible dimensional walls for eternity; while they were still alive no less.
Thankfully, Dr. Strange had some background in using these quick teleportation methods, and it was a quick and painless transport to the opposite end of the City. A park, to be exact, which was eerily lacking children on the swingset and people walking their dogs. But what it wasn't lacking was the man whom they sought out. The thief of Death's ankh.
And once Strange stepped out of that portal, it pop! disappeared. And he immediately placed himself in front of Death. He would assist as was necessary, but someone had to make sure from the get-go that under no circumstances was she to be harmed.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 01/22/2006 17:44:26
Jesse looked around.
"Oh, goddamn it. The dog." He'd momentarily forgotten about Kojak, and seeing him here now didn't seem like a good thing. He'd have Didi and the dog to worry about getting hurt, and the knowledge that the Saint wouldn't care about hurting either one of them.
And there he was.
The Saint of Killers turned to face the three who had mystically appeared out of nowhere. Normally, something like that wouldn't bother him any, but he felt the one he'd been looking for. That put a smile on his face. A nasty one.
But he stood at his end of the park, not moving. His hand rested on the butt of one of his guns. He didn't have to be close to use it.
"Been lookin for you, Preacher." The Saint said, low, but it carried to them.
Jesse's heart nearly gave out on him. He instintively drew Didi behind him.
From: [info]i_amjustme Date: 01/22/2006 17:55:49
How nice it was that chivalry wasn't dead. Even Kojak was standing in front of her, his upper lip curled back and a snarl coming from his throat that was completely unexpected, given how sweet he'd been. His front paws were ready to pounce, and the hair along his back, neck, and shoulders was standing straight up.
With three males standing at her defense, Didi stood straight. "You have something of mine," she said. "I'd like it back. Now." Her voice was soft, and it didn't shake, but it carried far enough.