The Walls // Paladin HQ (F5)

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
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Kraven grinned sadistically, but didn't make a move until Ryder started to circle him. Immediately after, Kraven opened fire with both machine guns "Fool...!" he yelled to Ryder, he continued to follow Ryder with machine gunfire, aiming to gun him down as he yelled "FOOL....! FOOLY FOOLISH FOOLY FOOL! FOOLY FOOLISH FOOLY FOOL! FOOLY FOOLISH FOOLY FOOL! FOOLY FOOLISH FOOLY FOOL! BWAHAHAHAHA FOOLISH CLOWN!" he screamed, and then he ran out of ammo for both "Well shit..." he commented, staring at the machine guns awkwardly, leaving an opening for Ryder.

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Ryder almost hesitated as Kraven ran out of ammo--this situation was just entirely too familiar...
But he wasn't going to miss his chance.
As soon as the bullets stopped flying, Ryder stopped his circling, skidding to a halt before launching himself towards Kraven, running at the man full-speed, bat raised high, swinging it down in a powerful attempted blow as he got close to the nun-man, aiming for the head.

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
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Kraven grinned at Ryder madly as Ryder's bat smashed against his face "HAHAHAHA! NICE HIT RYDER!" was his only reaction to an attack that probably would have smashed anyone else's face in. Kraven just seemed to shrug off the attack "MY TURN!" Kraven tossed his machine guns aside and pulled out a shotgun, firing right towards Ryder "WHEN YOU DIE... TELL DEATH... I SAID... HI!" he yelled as he fired again and again and again at Ryder.

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Ryder's eyes widened slightly when he saw Kraven pulling out the shot gun, and he twisted his body slightly in an attempt at getting away, the first bullet ripping through his side rather than his gut. He quickly grabbed his bat with both hands, one at each end, hooking it under Kraven's gun and pulling upwards, forcing the barrel of the gun to point up, the rest of the bullets flying up to the ceiling and embedding themselves there.
"I told you...already..." Ryder growled, flinching against the pain from the bullet wound in his side as he struggled to keep Kraven's gun pointing upwards. "I'm not...gonna die...! Not after I've come so far...! No way in hell...!"

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
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Kraven smiled at Ryder, bringing his face closer to the red head as he announced that he had no intention to die "Oh...!?" even with his Gun aiming upwards, Kraven didn't seem the least bit worried. And then Kraven pulled out a second shotgun from his robe, aiming it at Ryder again "TWO GUNS, BITCH!" he yelled as he fired at Ryder, again, and again, and again. Kraven wasn't holding back, he seemed fully intent on killing Ryder now "You're going to tire out sooner or later CATTLE! YOU ARE BUT ANOTHER VICTIM OF DEATH! THERE IS NO CHANGING YOUR DESTINY!!!"

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

"Shit--!" Ryder paled visibly as the second gun came out, quickly dropping the pressure he was exerting onto Kraven's first gun so that he could quickly move forward, keeping close to the nun as he ducked under his arm, and around to his back. For the first time in his life, Ryder was feeling thankful that Kraven was so much taller than him...
Ryder stayed by Kraven's back, waiting for the man to turn around--he was going to try to bash at least one of Kraven's guns out of his hand with the bat--he just had to wait for the man to turn around first--!

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Kraven just stood there, a dark, shadowed expression on his face, he didn't turn to Ryder. He just stood there, and then suddenly he dropped both shotguns. The man pulled something else out of his robe, then seemed to attach it to his chest. Then and only then did Kraven turn, suddenly giving Ryder a massive bear hug "WE'RE BOTH DYING TOGETHER! BWAHAHAHAHA!" the man yelled, Ryder could see it now, Kraven had attached a bomb to his chest. And he wasn't letting go of Ryder, he perfectly intended to blow the both of them up "WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT NOT DYING!? BWAHAHAHA! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! WE BOTH DIE TONIGHT RYDERKINS! WE BOTH MEET DEATH TONIGHT! DEATH AND EXPLOSIVES AND OTHER AWESOME THINGS!" he yelled, his grip tightening around Ryder.

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Ryder felt himself being jerked forward as Kraven hugged him, and he saw the bomb being smushed in his face as Kraven did so. He was stunned for a moment, before he started frantically struggling against Kraven, jerking his body around and kicking at the man's legs in a desperate attempt at getting away.
"Let go...! LET GO! I'LL KILL YOU--!" Ryder shouted, his mind becoming frenzied once again as his survival instincts kicked in and he struggled against Kraven with all of his might.

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
__________________________________________________________________________________________

The time of the bomb literally began to count down as Ryder struggled for freedom and his own life. Kraven just laughed maniacally, showing no worry whatsoever that he was about to literally blow himself up. The counter continued to go down... 5... 4... 3... 2... Ryder still couldn't get free from Kraven's grasp. And then the bombed reached 0, Kraven's laughter only intensified. And then, an explosion of confetti hit Ryder's face, and a pie labelled "BLAM!" in icing flew out of the bomb to Ryder's face. Kraven then finally let go of Ryder, continuing to laugh like a complete and utter psychopath.

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

And all in an instant, Ryder's face was coated and covered with confetti and apple pie filling. He just stood there for a moment, stunned. He'd....always hated apple pie.
He lifted a hand up, wiping the mess off his face and glaring at Kraven.
"...Y'know...I'm done with your shit."
Ryder raised his bat once more, not hesitating to try to strike the nun-man with it now that the supposed 'bomb threat' was gone.

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
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Kraven jumped back to avoid Ryder's bat "BWAHAHA! DONE!? DONE!? NO! YOU ARE NEVER DONE! YOUR DONENESS IS FOOLISH! YOU FOOL! OF FOOLISHNESS!" Kraven barked back to Ryder, making all the sense he usually does. Kraven then pulled something out of his robe yet again! It was, a RUBBER CHICKEN. Kraven pointed the rubber chicken out at Ryder "HANDS UP IN THE AIR I'VE GOT A CHICKEN AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!" he yelled to Ryder as he... well... aimed his rubber chicken at Ryder.

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Well--Ryder knew well enough what that chicken was. So, he didn't even hesitate before--
"FUCK YOU AND YOUR MISSILE CHICKEN--"
--Ryder immediately closed the distance between himself and Kraven, aiming to smack the rubber chicken out of Kraven's hands with the bat before the inevitable missile could be shot out of the chicken's beak.

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Kraven viciously smiled to Ryder "BCAWWWWW!" he mimicked a chicken screech as the rubber chicken's beak opened. But then Ryder hit it, causing the rubber chicken to fly upwards and fire into the ceiling. Piece of the roof began to fall on them, to which Kraven immediately jolted back. When Ryder was dealing with pieces of flying rubble, Kraven unleashed his next weapon. Kraven pulled a hydon-mega-particle-cannon-Mk-9002 out of his robe. The weapon literally seemed to stretch the whole room, and it was aiming right towards Ryder. All seemed lost, but as Kraven pressed his finger down on the trigger, the weapon BEGAN to charge up "OOoooohhh.... I shoulda probably warmed this up first..." he casually commented "Hey! Hey Ryder! Stay where you are! My gun has to charge up first!" he yelled to Ryder from the other side of the room, the barrel of the gun literally in Ryder's face.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Ryder couldn't help but just stare at the canon for a moment. How had Kraven even fit that inside of his robes...?! As the weapon began to slowly charge up, though, Ryder seemed to panic less, and raised an eyebrow.
"...You're kidding, right?"
He simply stepped to the side, around the barrel of the weapon, then began to run down the length of the room towards Kraven.
"You know that this is seriously bullshit, right?! I know that you're covered in weapons and shit, but COME ON!"

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Kraven arched an eyebrow at Ryder "No... no seriously- just stay there! I can't aim straight with this thing!" Kraven yelled over to Ryder, by the time Ryder had already half crossed the length of the cannon, the thing fired, completely obliterating HALF of the building. The whole half began to topple itself, letting in the cold night breeze of the desert that surrounded No Man's Land. Kraven dropped the cannon and pulled two rocket launchers from his garb, firing both at the same time at Ryder as he ran towards him, then drew two machine guns, unloading them at Ryder, before finally taking out a rock and throwing it at Ryder's head.

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Ryder's eyes widened as he saw Kraven switch weapons again. Just how much firepower was this guy carrying?! He scrambled to avoid the rockets shot out of the rocket launchers, which, upon impact on the ground, kicked up a big cloud of smoke. And, all that could be heard from Ryder from within the dust cloud as the bullets flew into it was something along the lines of:
"FUCKFUCKSHITFUCKFUCKINGSHITSHITSHIT--"
Once the bullets stopped, Ryder stumbled out of the dust cloud, looking bedraggled, his clothes torn up in several places where the bullets had grazed him. He glared at Kraven and looked like he was about to yell at him--when Kraven's rock hit him straight in the forehead, literally knocking him back onto his butt. He sat there for a moment, a small dribble of blood dripping down his forehead, and he blinked, trying to clear the stars from his eyes, before he stumbled back up to his feet. "You--you dick--I'm gonna--ow--"

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
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Kraven kind of stood there, his shadow over Ryder "I'm not a dick..." was his only response to Ryder, in a hushed whispered voice. The man raised an eyebrow at Ryder as he got back on his feet "I think... I THINK IT'S TIME TO END THIS!" Kraven tossed another rock he had in his hand aside, instead grabbing his combat knife. He then dashed towards Ryder, aiming to slash him across his throat "COME ON RYDER! LET'S END THIS! ONE OF US DIES! BWAHAHAH! NO MATTER WHAT- NOBODY REALLY WINS! IT'LL BE AWESOMIRIFFIC! YAYIFICATIONS! FUCK YOUR SHOES!" he yelled madly as he got close. It all seemed to happen slowly to Kraven as he finally got close enough, he could see his own limb extending towards Ryder's throat in slow motion.

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Ryder readied himself for another gun to come out of Kraven's garb--but what the man pulled out wasn't a gun at all. It was his combat knife. Ryder backed up a few steps when Kraven suddenly dashed at him--gripping his bat in both his hands and pulling his arms back, then standing his ground. He was taking a gamble here--but it was one that he believed he could win.
"I already told you, scumbag--I'm not gonna die here! You don't have anyone left who believes in you, Kraven--and that's why you don't understand--!" He swung his bat forward, aiming for Kraven's hand with the practiced aim of a years-long baseball player--aiming to hit the knife out of the man's hand--maybe even injure the hand, too, if he was lucky. "Everyone in Vulture believes in me--Jo believes in me--! And that's all the back-up that I need to win!"

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Kraven smiled yet glared at Ryder as he swung his bat, disarming Kraven of his knife. But Kraven didn't move back, he jsut stood there, face to face with his enemy "That reliance on others will get you killed Ryder... you're just as alone as me... you just don't know it yet..." he told Ryder, his grin growing. He left himself completely open to attack from Ryder "Come on... kill me! Kill me you pussy! DO IT! DO IT DO IT DO IT!" Kraven suddenly pulled out a pistol from his garb, literally handing it to Ryder "COME ON YOU GIGANTIC PUSSY! BLOW MY BRAINS OUT! DO IT IT'LL BE FUN! SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST REMEMBER!? PROVE TO ME HOW RIGHT I AM DO IT!"

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Ryder looked at Kraven in surprise as the man shoved the pistol into his hands. Ryder held the pistol in his left hand, his bat in his right. He looked at Kraven's psychotic smile for a moment, before slowly raising the gun, leveling it at the man's head--knowing that he was probably wearing a bullet-proof vest under his nun's garb. He paused there for a moment--feeling his grip on the handle of the gun tighten as his finger lightly brushed against the trigger. All of Kraven's words were wearing away at him--bit by bit, piece by piece, shaving away at the denial that he was holding up to keep from seeing himself in the same light as the man before him. They...were both killers in the end...right...? Ryder had wanted to believe that he was morally higher up...wanted to believe that he could save the world without becoming a monster...but...
"You...You know what...?" Ryder finally spoke after a moment, his expression almost seeming blank, as he looked back upon everything that had happened--every single little horrible thing that Kraven had brought up--every single drop of despair that that man had poured into Ryder's life--he stood there, staring at the man he was pointing a pistol straight at, talking in a quiet, strained voice. "You...You're right. You're...goddamned right...about something...It's survival of the fittest, yeah...and the fittest...? It's not you...you're aren't the fittest here...! You...You aren't fit to rule...or even...live...! Do you know what you've done to people...?! The fittest one here isn't you...it's...it's me...! And I'm going to PROVE IT--!" And in that moment, a fierce look of determination came over Ryder's face as he focused in his aim on the center of Kraven's forehead--and then pulled the trigger.

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death

Father Kraven
The Father of Death
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Kraven's smile grew and grew, until it looked somewhat demonic, and then, it was over. Kraven's brains were blown out, and his body went limp over Ryder. Just before Ryder pulled the trigger, the last thing he would see would be Kraven smiling at him, his eyes glowing blue for a moment. Yet now it was over, Kraven lay dead at Ryder's feet, killed off in the most anti-climatic fashion. He'd survived so much, yet he was simply killed off by one of his own guns when he dared Ryder to shoot him. It should have felt nice, like a burden was lifted. But nothing changed, something just felt wrong. Kraven didn't FEEL dead, and there was a strange presence pushing Ryder subconsciously to move upwards to the roof. On the half of the building that had been blown off, Ryder could see the sun slowly rising through the desert horizon.

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"DEATH! Death is my father! My brother! Death is everything to me!"
Father Death Theme - Dies Irae

Ryder Mercy
Curveball
-------------------------------------
“I'm going to wipe every last speck of that man off of this planet...I won't let him hurt anyone else...!”
-------------------------------------

Ryder couldn't help but stare in disbelief for a moment--he'd expected Kraven to get out of that somehow--but no--the man was dead. He was dead, that same psychotic grin plastered on his now half-of-a-face. For a moment, Ryder's breath hitched in his throat as the nun-man's blood sprayed out over him, splattering everything. After a moment of pause, Ryder flinched, shoving the man off of him and backing up along the ground, having fallen over when Kraven's weight fell on him. His eyes were wide and staring--that was...really it? He'd...he'd finally done it...he'd killed Kraven...! He'd killed him, and--
And...he didn't...feel any different...He didn't feel fulfilled...at all...
Ryder slowly pulled himself to his feet...feeling a bit numb as he did so. He stared at Kraven's body again, remembering when the man had told him his life's story...Ryder knew that Kraven often switched personalities...and probably made some things up...but what if that had been the truth...? What if...in reality...Kraven had really been just like him...? Trying to make up for past mistakes...trying to fix things as best as he could...
Only to be gunned down in cold blood.
Ryder turned away, suddenly feeling the intense need to throw up--but he held it down. He looked out of the blown-up side of the building, looking at the sunrise...before suddenly rearing back his arm and throwing Kraven's pistol over the edge, not wanting to touch the thing anymore. After a moment, he heard the gun clatter to the ground. He watched the sunrise for a moment more...feeling a strange sense of sudden isolation opening up a void in his chest. He'd started out in No Man's Land like this...fighting a man in nun's garb, with a plain wooden bat...and now was this how he was ending his life here, too? Were they going to escape after this...?
...Did he deserve to escape after this...?
Kraven's words echoed through Ryder's mind...and as they did, he suddenly spoke, his words coming out fast and somewhat broken, trying to drown out the dead man's words.
"No--no--I'm not like you--! I--I'm not--! I'm not a...mur...derer..." The single word that he had once hated so much crossed his lips...
And with that, he couldn't take it anymore. He turned quickly, gripping his bat tightly in his hand out of sheer reflex as he dashed towards the stairs leading up to the roof, unable to stand being in this room anymore...

*Exit*

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Ryder's Theme - Armed With Death