Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-5543592-20170125214247/@comment-5543592-20170129152043

The Sergeant chuckled.

"Wrong: they never show themselves.  They're a group of monks who live at the top of the Space Needle.  Been there longer than anyone can remember."

As Sergeant Pepper led Timothy to the Cause entrance, he crossed paths with the young Causer escorting the four Apocalyptians, Rick, and Duncan.

"Well look at that." Sergeant Pepper said, throwing a lax salute at the Causer. "I was just delivering this two to you." He gestured to Timothy and Susannah. "Victims of a Brotherhood ambush.  They used the dead parent trick."

"Sick bastards." Muttered the Causer. "Alright, follow me you guys.  I'm already taking these six into the hideout anyway, so I suppose you can come too."

At this people could get the feeling that perhaps this secret hideout wasn't so secret.

"This is where we part, Master Ashford.  I wish you good fortune." He saluted Tim as well, and then beckoned to his Handman, and the two hurried off.

"Eight of you now, hm." The Causer murmured. "Odd how that works out..." He shook his head and lead them past the ruins of the South Tower, and stopped there, at Beacon Hull. The entire main level of the building looked to be collapsed, unaccessible. With the sun steadily dropping behind the horizon, the whole street was awash in a gray glow, making it difficult to see what the Causer had taken them there for. He came to a man hole, lifted it aside, and then dropped in.

Leading them through one long tunnel that was narrow and lit by emergency lighting that had likely been powered on since the bombs dropped, they must've walked a good block underground, until they came to a place where the roof of the tunnel had collpased in, making a sort of makeshift pathway up to the surface.

The Causer climbed that easily, his power armor doing all the work for him. Once they were all up above, it was clear to see that they were inside the ruins of the South Tower. A working elevator sat over on a wall behind an ancient, untended, receptionist's desk.

He led them all to the elevator, and packed them inside. It was quite cramped, especially with the man in power armour taking up most of the space.

The Causer pressed the second button from the top, the 39th floor, and the elevator shook, then began to rise steadily.

There was a long moment of awkward silence, before the doors dinged, and opened, revealing the Cause's headquarters.



It was a massive layout that took up the entire floor. Walls had been knocked down and rubble cleared away so that one big empty space could be filled.

There were multiple areas-- desk set-ups were Causers could sit and work, evidences lock-ups, a crime lab, an armoury of Tesla-Beta cannons, and a whole area dedicated to the Causer's special power armour.

Men and women walked about the space, some in armor, some not. They read from papers held in front of their faces, absorbed in their work, whilst wearing suspender straps with gun holsters hanging off them. Others set at desks and discussed cases or missions, and more still tinkering with weapons, arguing with each other. The muffled sound of gunfire from somewhere hinted at there being a shooting range. Sealed off areas hinted at barracks or perhaps individual apartments. There was probably even an old-fashioned locker room.

The entire room was surrounded by massive floor to ceiling windows that allowed for a perfect view out into the night sky of Seattle. Apparently while the group had been passing underground, the sun had finally set.

The entire 39th floor of South Tower was like someone had taken what it meant to be a cop before the war and turned it into a lifestyle.

And standing right in front of the elevator was a man dressed in  the orange&black Cause armor with his arms folded, and staring right at the Causer who had brought them up. He was bald and had a thick steel coloured beard. And he did not look pleased.

"David." He said, sounding frustrated. "Who are these people?"

"Oh well I picked them up on the street--"

"And brought them back here.  Without radioing it in.  If any of them were dangerous you'd be in a whoel sort of different trouble now."

David paused on what next he was going to say, and face-palmed, making a loud clanging sound when his gauntlet hit his helmet.

"I'm sorry, chief, I just thought they could help us with--"

"The radio problem." The older man finished. He sighed. "Yeah I guess they could.  Go get yourself something to eat and power down your armour.  We'll have a talk about protocal later."

The young Causer dismissed, the stature of his armour slumped in a look of defeat, the 'chief' now turned his attention to the newcomers.

"My name is Abel." He told them. "Welcome to the Cause."

 Kheiro stood outside the house, the wind whipping the cloak that hung down to his ankles. The night sky shown overhead, that too shielded by the clouds. Queen Anne’s Hill was spread out behind him, but the only thing that interested him was this one home that looked like it had suffered a recent fire.

 He climbed the walkway up to it, and stepped inside, two of his men flanking him.

 “They were here.”   He noted, his strange, synthesized voice seeming very loud in the quiet house.

 He pulled at his mask, adjusting it and stepped outside, standing over the Glowing One’s corpse.

 “Mathias.”   Kheiro said, crouching beside the dead creature, and turning over the corpse so that he could examine the wounds. “Couldn’t wait to die, could you? Throws quite the wrench in my way, you know.”

 Mathias did not respond.

 Kheiro stood up again and dusted his gloved hands off against each other. “No matter! The prophecy can be fulfilled in more than one way.”

 He turned and stepped back into the house. His soldiers had followed him outside, and they made way for him.

 “I feel it.”   Kheiro said, speaking aloud, although it was beginning to look more and more like his men would listen to him regardless of what he said. “We stand on the edge of fate, the beginning of a new era.”   He turned to face the two soldiers. “Do you feel it? That sense of…” he made a fist with one hand, “righteousness, racing through the air.”

 “We do, sir.”   The two said in unison.

 “Good.”   Kheiro chuckled, a crackling noise through his mask. “Good…”

He glanced around the house’s interior, and seemed to come to a decision. “Come. This stop was unnecessary. My business takes me elsewhere.”   He exited the house to join up with the rest of the company he had brought, the soldiers following after him.