Searching for Answers(Open)

[Deleted]

It was getting on late into the evening when he finally made it to the bar his old friend had owned and ran, a little place called the "Crowbar." After being outed as an illegal BOW, Adams place of business had practically tanked. More "respectable" establishments picking up the business from STARS and RPD members that decided to take their custom elsewhere. Now it became something of a den for thieves and lowlifes, as well as, supposedly, a meet up spot for members of TYRANT. A pair of earphones drowned out the cacophony of noise from the city's nightlife, music pounding along in his head as he pushed into the old bar, immediately garnering stares. From his height and build, it was obvious he was no regular college kid out looking to go slumming for the night, and the massive sword he carried lent him a comical or dangerous air, depending on your own personal level of confidence. Emerald eyes swept the bars patrons, the hint of a playful smile dancing across his lips. A few moved from their seats to stand warily against the stranger who had entered what they considered their territory.

"So! I hear you fine examples of humanity might be in the possession of some information I'm after. Who killed Adam Kurgan?"" he announced to the room at large. His pulse quickened as he saw scowls and mocking laughter echoed throughout the room.

"What? That dead freak what was killed awhile back? Who cares?" one laughed disparagingly.

"Yeah, who cares what happened to some dead terrorist bastard? Good riddance I say!" another called out to general agreeance from the room at large.

"Now piss off, before we make you." another rumble of agreement met this declaration and a full blown grin stretched across his face.

"You know, it's best not to make judgements on people you don't know, right? Your moms should've taught you better!" he declared,a single stride bringing him in close to his leading opponent. The music swelled as he drove his fist into his opponents gut, lifting him several inches into the air and driving the breath out of him explosively to drop writhing on the ground. There was a stunned moment of silence before the bar erupted into chaos. He grinned and dropped back, letting them come to him as he swept aside their clumsy attacks with ease, reaching a hand up to unbuckle the baldric that held his sword on his back, letting it drop to the ground with an ominous rumble.

Without warning, the music cycled over to a new song that brought out a bark of laughter from him. Going with the sudden change in music he started bobbing in place as his opponents came at him, picking up the pace and swaying with the beat, unable to contain the grin on his face. As one thrust at him with a knife his torso swayed to the side as he went to one foot, hopping sideways, fist pumping in the air to crack across the jaw of one man, dropping him like a stone. As another thrust to where he was now he immediately swayed back the other way, hopping on the one foot back the direction he came, fist cracking another man and dropping him. Going with it, he flipped sideways, boots finishing the job as the man caught one after the other under the jaw, dropping him back and out of the fight. He planted his hands on the ground and spun deftly, boots lashing out to connect in the stomachs of the men around him and clearing the space around him. With a heave of his arms he entered another flip, bringing his heel down on another mans head and slamming him to the ground and now with his feet below him, he swept around once more, knocking men from their feet to crash down to the ground once more. He rolled backwards to avoid another man rushing at him with a knife as he regained his feet, a fighting grin firmly on his face. A dozen men were down and groaning and he leapt forward, driving his fist hard into the knife wielders ribs, hearing the sound of breaking bone as he blasted him back to smash against the wall and drop unmoving.

Without even breathing hard he grinned at the men.

"So! Wanna tell me now or do I continue to beat you within an inch of your miserable lives?" he asked pleasantly.

[Ayen]

Security around the city was tight. They wanted to know who they were, where they were coming from, and why they were here, and Ayanna had to do everything in her power to keep from admitting the truth. That she was here to hunt and kill a demon. Then they had to be screened. She was worried at first, but thanks to her human half she passed their little test and were allowed to enter the city in her blue 68 Firebird with a blue Harley Davidson motorcycle tied up to the roof. She would stop at the entrance of a bar and came out of the car looking through the window of the driver seat to where Ra was sitting in the passenger side.

"Stay here."

"Come on, Ayanna. I can help you."

"I don't need a square cramping my style. Stay here!

Ra grumbled something underneath his breath as Ayanna entered the Crow Bar to find the place trashed by some man with a huge sword on his back and customers on the floor in great pain. Clearly she wasn't about to get information on where a possible demon would be hanging around in a town this size.

"I see I came at a bad time."

[Deleted]

He paused in his questioning and looked up as another voice sounded. Absently he jabbed his first forward into the face of the man he was holding without looking to knock him out. He dropped him and stood tall before the newest arrival. He grinned bright and merry before speaking.

"Hi! You wouldn't happen to know who killed Adam Kurgan would you? These fine gentlemen don't seem to know anything and don't exactly like me enough to tell me even if they did it would seem." he added by way of explanation, gesturing at the bodies rolling around on the floor. "If not, that's fine too. Just tell me someone who might and I'll be on my way and they're all yours."

[Ayen]

"Adam who?"

Ayanna wasn't familiar with the name. She didn't watch much news. It was too boring and depressing for her anyway, and she doubted the name matched the demon she was searching for, so she didn't care. Ayanna walked over to behind the bar table and helped herself to a bottle of Pepsi. She was still too young to drink, so soda pop would have to do for now. Even though she could have just grabbed a bottle of alcohol while the workers here were away, she was too much of a good Christian to do that.

"Sorry, I don't know an Adam Kurgan, and I don't care to."

She popped open the soda's top and took a sip of her Pepsi. It tasted refreshing and good like it always did. But good soda like this you couldn't find in the wasteland so she was thankful.

"You wouldn't happen to have seen a tall blue monster with horns, wings, and a tail by any chance would you?"

Ayanna doubted he had, but it didn't hurt to ask. She had to start somewhere after all and she got the feeling the guys who just got their asses kicked weren't going to be very talkative.

[Deleted]

He sighed and shrugged. "Worth a shot. He watched as she grabbed a can of pepsi and moved to lean over the counter himself, rooting around for a can of soda to drink for himself. As he moved back, popping the can open he frowned at her question. "Can't say as I have unfortunately. Doesn't sound any kinda good. Need any help killing it? I'm free!" he responded brightly. He paused for a moment and laughed, "Oh right! I'm Zack, Zack Faire, nice to meetcha! Technically I'm a mercenary these days, so I pick up any odd job that happens to be laying around." he added by way of introduction. He sat his drink down for a moment and shuffled over, grabbing his sword to lean against the counter beside him.

[Ayen]

"I already have help, but thanks for the offer."

In truth she probably needed more help to kill it. The demon whipped her ass back in Kansas City after killing her father and before fleeing, but her pride wouldn't allow anyone else to join her. She wanted to be the one to see to the creature's end, and she wanted to make damn sure the demon knew who she was before she killed it.

"Ayanna. I just got here five minutes ago. So, who's Adam Kurgan?"

[Deleted]

He grinned again at the rejection, "No worries. Uh, here actually!" he paused for a moment as he patted himself down, digging out a scrap of paper and pen to scribble his number down. "Here, give me a call if you change or mind or need help on something else!" he said, offering her the slip. As she asked about Adam, his face lit up in a clearly obvious case of hero worship.

"Well, round here they knew him as the Old Man I guess. He used to own and operate this bar. Before that, he was out fighting for everyone from one end of the country to the other. He worked with the BSAA on the West Coast, and out here he was mostly with White Rabbit and I think Wonderland too back in the day. He trained me up and taught me everything I know, I wouldn't be alive except for him." he said, eyes sparkling as he went on, waving his arms and everything as he was unable to contain himself.

[Ayen]

Ayanna took the piece of paper and placed it in her jean jacket pocket before taking another sip of her soda while Zack explained who Adam was.

"I see."

She was vaguely familiar with White Rabbit, but didn't know a lot about it. She just didn't pay attention to current affairs. The whole deal with the BOWs. Since her thing was demons and supernatural entities right now. Though she didn't see much difference between a BOW and a demon.

"So why kill him?"

[Deleted]

He sighed and shook his head. "Because, to a lot of people, the bio altered like Adam and others are considered monsters. No minding that they all have their own lives they want to lead, that they fought and died for everyone in the world without being asked. It's a normal thing, I guess. Humanity afraid of the unknown and that which is different. We've seen it time and time again played out through history." he said softly, taking a sip from his soda. "And of course, that's not counting the fact that most of them never asked to be changed or altered in the first place. A lot had no choice at all. They were just picked up by Umbrella, TriCell or whoever and experimented on. No consent, no warning, nothing. Now, most of them just want to be able to live in peace, but the world won't let them. Treated as second rate and forced to take drugs that inhibit them, make them nauseous and fuzzy feeling, half dead and numb." he continues, growing frustrated by the thought of it all.

"All because they can do more than most? Nevermind that relatively far fewer of them seem to go bad than most of the 'regular' humans? It's simple fear of the different and a superiority and purity mentality like they saw back in the second world war. For no good reason, I say." he huffs out, staring angrily at his soda can. After a few moments he shook himself free and offered a grin to the woman. "Sorry, I'm sure you don't care to hear me rant about our state of country affairs. Long story short, he was killed because he was different and well known around the country running with some of the biggest names in the last forty years." he ended, shrugging and shaking his head.

[Ayen]

((OOC: Sorry for the wait. I've been busy.))

Ayanna took another sip of her Pepsi as she listened. It was more will power just to listen than she wanted to give, but she had asked the question in the first place, so it was only right to lend an ear. The statement made her wonder if they would treat her the same way if people knew what she was. It was a question she didn't want the answer to.

"It's all right. I was the one who asked. Sounds like a lot of bullshit. I have bullshit of my own to deal with, so..."

She trailed off. Right now Ayanna just wanted to focus on finding the demon that killed her father and then taking her leave of the city. It sounded like there was more going on here than she wanted to be a part of.

"Have there been much 'demonic' activity in the city?"

[Deleted]

((OOC: No worries, I get that life happens, lol.))

"Demonic activity?" he echoed with a faint frown. He'd never heard of demons being a thing before, but then again, in the old days people never would've thought zombies were a thing. He considered everything he'd heard as he'd been coming into town and making his way to the bar, sifting through every scrap of news to consider whether or not it could be considered as demonic. "Well...I haven't heard the term demon exactly, but there was an incident in town with a woman, or something that looked like a woman at any rate, who went on a rampage. She fought against a T-103 type Tyrant, slaughtering a bunch of civilians. Not sure what ended up happening to her after that, but you can probably catch clips of the fight online and it might bear mentioning that she was referred to as an 'Unnatural' as opposed to B.O.W. There was another incident around the same time, someone or something murdered a bunch of guards at a checkpoint coming into town and then just vanished, the way I hear it. Nobodies heard anything else that I know of, and it's presumed their still lurking around the city somewhere."

He pauses as he takes another sip off his soda, looking thoughtfully at the wall. "I'm afraid those are the only issues I've heard about that could match what you're asking about. Sorry I couldn't offer more, but I hope it helps a little bit at least." he added apologetically.

[Ayen]

Woman? Couldn't be him. Unless he was a shapeshifter, but Ra would've mentioned something like that surely. She was more interested in the man who attacked the checkpoint as that could have been her guy. As he did just disappear after attacking the church in Kansas City.

"Sounds like the city is a hot spot for some real danger. I'll be on my guard. You've helped more than you know."

Ayanna took another sip of her Pepsi until it was empty and went to search for a remote for the TV in the corner. She found it and turned it on to a local news station, but they were only talking about some faction named TYRANT.

"What's TYRANT?"

[Deleted]

He shrugged at her remark. "Hey, it's no problem, I'm glad to be able to provide at least a little help!" he said with a grin. As she fumbled around for the controller and started flipping channels until the news came up, he took the time to finish off his own drink, setting the can down on the bar. He fished out a few bills to cover the drinks and set it on the table before glancing around. Right. He dug out several larger bills and placed them carefully beside it. For the mess. As the news was droning on in the background, his attention snapped to it as it mentioned TYRANT. Seemed like they were being blamed for everything that happened around here.

"TYRANT? I'm surprised you don't know at this point, seems like everyone else does. If you listen to the news and rumor mill, they're the hot new terrorist agency running around. In truth? They're more a civil rights movement for B.O.Ws and anyone not strictly human. They believe that altered and infected deserve the same basic rights as every human and shouldn't have to live their lives drugged up just to stay in society." he answered with a shrug. "They're led by a woman they call the Maiden of the Revolution and use Alice's face for pretty much everything, so I think they draw a lot of inspiration from her and what she tried to do with Wonderland back in the day. They seem to based her in Raccoon somewhere, but I just got to town myself so I'm not certain on that." he finished, eyes still on the news channel. TYRANT huh? Could be just what he needed for a new place.

[Ayen]

Civil's rights group blamed as a terrorist organization on the news? Sounded about right. She knew about BOWs from the history books, but never encountered one that was more human. She encountered several different kinds of bad BOWs in the wastelands, but that was all. Hard to think some of them were just regular people fighting for equal rights, but that was the world we lived in now apparently. She wondered if she would be lumped in there because she was half devil?

"Maiden of Revolution, huh? I gotta say it has a nice ring to it."

They probably didn't know anything about the demon she was searching for, and their fight wasn't her fight for now, so she would stay away from them for the time being. She was a stranger in Raccoon and the last thing she needed was to get swept away with the city's problems when she had her own to worry about.

"Sounds like a lot has happened in the city. What do you have to do with any of it?"

[Deleted]

At her question he grinned. "Who, me? I'm just your friendly, neighborhood mercenary. Been back and forth all over this country so I've racked up a lot of experience, but at the moment I just got into town and I'm just trying to find the guy who killed Adam." he replied easily. "And just be careful with everything going on out there. Lotta tensions are rising in the city and they've got checkpoints around that like to look to give people a hard time, especially if they aren't strictly human." he said. Truthfully he had no idea if this woman was anything more than a vanilla human, but it was probably impolite to ask to he kept his curious nature to himself for a change. Even still, he'd seen a few regular humans got caught up in things if they showed even the slightest bit of sympathy or empathy for a B.O.W. Especially with the recent attack in town by the woman-thing that killed a bunch of people and a monster from the old days stirring. T-103s weren't exactly top of the line anymore, but he hadn't seen them in droves or anything.

"Well, lovely as this has been chatting with you, I'm sure you've your own business to be about as I should be. Give me a ring if you need anything, alright?" he said, rising from the stool and reshouldering his sword. "Anything else before I go? Don't want you to wander off unprepared. There's been a lot of chaos and nightmares in this city and I feel like things are about to get a whole lot worse, real fast. There's a...tension, here. Like everyone's waiting for the next event. Way I hear it, it's how the city felt back when everything started with the STARS team, the Cannibal Killers case and the Spencer Mansion in the mountains." he added. Hopefully she'd be smart enough to stay out of trouble, unless she really was more than she seemed and a capable fighter. Even still, he was worried enough for himself even after all his training and experience. He wanted to give her as much of an edge as he could.