The Inquisitor Tower // ｌｅｖｅｌ ７ -- ＰＲＩＤＥ

At long last-- you`ve arrived at the very top of the Inquisitor`s tower. Congratulations!
The floor itself is... an entirely steel corridor. It doesn`t wash over any color just yet-- but, it does evoke the image of many a James Bond villain`s lairs. At the very far side of the room-- you swear you can make out a distinctive platform, atop of it is a large, particularly menacing office chair facing the opposite direction from the entrance, and therefore shielding whomever may be sitting in it. In front of that is a round table, surrounded with chairs and what-have-you-- probably for when the Legion of Doom meets here every Wednesday. You`re sure of it.

The room is scattered with stair cases leading seemingly nowhere-- and, oh wow-- that is definetely a gigantic laser pointing directly at you, attached to the roof of this establishment. Wonderful. And just as you place your attention to the heating tip of it-- you take a step forward, and suddenly the floor everywhere but under where you`re standing spreads away, creating a gigantic gap between you and the rest of the floor.

And, lo and behold-- separating you and the rest of the floor is water. Shark-infested water.
One jumps up-- revealing a not-so-stealthily placed laser atop it`s head. That`s... yeah. Good luck.  

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
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"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
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As Ryder jogged up the stairs and into the next floor, he took one look around, and the first thought that hit him--was that this looked an awful lot like the villain lairs in all of those James Bond movies he watched with Jo all the time. He expected the floor to wash over a color, but it didn't happen, strangely enough. His pace slowed to a walk as he moved into the floor along with Jackal--only to suddenly feel the floor shifting beneath them, revealing the--...pit of sharks? Sharks with--lasers. Of course. He sighed, averting his eyes from the shark-infested moat in irritation--only to see the giant laser pointing at them from the ceiling.
"...Well." He commented shortly before taking note of the large office chair across the room, facing away from them. He frowned slightly, obviously annoyed, calling across the room, "Hey, you! Quit the dramatics and turn around already! I'm really starting to get tired of all of your bullshit!"

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Jackal
NOT Jack Harrison
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Jackal walked into the room, examining the room "I don't like this room- not colorful enough... it could use some PINK." he spoke- to no one in particular, then moved on with Ryder. He looked at the sharks- and oh, the laser. Those looked fun, no doubt they would be trouble in the next few immediate moments of Jackel's life. And then Ryder yelled at chairs- Jackel wanted to do the same so he did "Yeah! Damn chairs! I'm done with your bullshit!" he yelled, shaking his fist. He didn't really know if there was a person attached to said chair- he wasn't sure- so he just assumed the chair was the one behind it all "It's just us and you now chair! You can't escape! And to think a chair was behind this ALL ALONG DUM! DUM! DUUUUUM!"

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"...-!!"
Jackal Theme - Monochrome Memory

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder heard the Inquisitor's voice echo throughout the room, and instinctively took a half step back when the laser suddenly fired by their feet. Apparently that thing was real. Of course it was real, though--this was the Inquisitor that they were talking about. As the Inquisitor told them to pick the method of their demise, Ryder sighed heavily, running his free hand through his hair in frustration, before looking up towards the speakers where he'd heard the Inquisitor's voice.
"None of the above," he replied, without a hint of question in his voice--just solid determination. "You've been jerking us around for way too long--if you're really as great as you think you are, then you'll come out here and face us yourself--not throw movie cliches at us." As much as Ryder loved James Bond films--he was just--kinda done right now--

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Jackal
NOT Jack Harrison
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Jackal shook his fist at chairs some more "CHAAAAIRS-!" and then The Inquisitor told him to stop yelling at chairs "Don't tell me what to do-" and then shark. Jackal kind of just stood there as the shark just barely missed him, Jackal wasn't sure if The Inquisitor somehow trained that shark to scare the fuck out of him or not- cause it probably had the perfect opportunity to eat Jackal there. Either way, Jackal grabbed animal crackers he just happened to have on his person and threw them into the water "It's okay! If I throw enough animal crackers the sharks will get full! No living being could deny the sweet taste of 'Barnum's Animal Crackers'!" he yelled as if he was on a commercial. Then Ryder kept yelling at The Inquisitor, then The Inquisitor pointed out Ryder was being suicidal "Hah! Jokes on you! Ryder's Muslim! When he dies he's going to work at McDonald's!" he yelled up to The Inquisitor- BUT THEN he mentioned Jo, or at least insinuated her presence, to which Jackal's eyes immediately narrowed "You're bluffing...-!"

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"...-!!"
Jackal Theme - Monochrome Memory

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder actually had to spare a moment to stare at Jackal's antics--but as the Inquisitor continued to talk, his attention was pulled back to the disembodied voice. As the man brought up Jo, his hands tightened into fists--his knuckles pale white on his grip around the handle of his bat. He looked down at the metallic ground as the Inquisitor spoke his threats, teeth clenched with the sheer effort of keeping silent. It was obvious that he was trying to keep himself collected. Obvious that he was trying to keep himself from having another emotional implosion. He took a few deep breaths, then looked up slowly.
"...And you think that Jo would want me to play into that...? I know that she's alive...I doubted that once--but I won't make that mistake again. Jo's harder to kill than anything that you can dish up. And even if she was here...she wouldn't want me playing into your hands. The day that she's a damsel in distress is the day that pigs fly." He managed to keep his voice even as he spoke, but inside he was struggling to keep himself calm. With Jo having disappeared again--any inkling of information about her, any possible direction--it was like dangling a gold bar in front of a money-hungry millionaire. He could barely resist going further into it, barely resist just demanding the Inquisitor to tell them where Jo was--but that wouldn't get them anywhere, he knew.
He looked to Jackal then, his face serious and his mouth set in a tight line.
"You heard the man--let's beat the shit out of these sharks, then go find the Inquisitor and beat the shit out of him, too. Sound like a plan?"

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder kept a firm, straight look on his face, not giving an inch--at least, until Jo's voice blared across the loudspeaker, seemingly from the other side of whatever room the Inquisitor was in. His shoulders drooped slightly, and his mouth fell open in shock--then the Inquisitor...hadn't been bluffing? Then again, that could be a voice recording--
But what if it wasn't?
"Shit..." he murmured, feeling his fists clench once more. This could be real. Or, it could be a simple trap, meant to fool him. He couldn't tell which--all he knew was that he wanted this living hell of a tower to be over and done with.
"...Alright you..." he finally spoke again, addressing the Inquisitor's voice, doing his best to keep his voice even, as difficult as it was. "...Fine...We'll play along with your game...for now...we survived through the rest of your goddamn tower, and we can do this too...we'll get through this place, find you...smash your head in...get Jo back...and go home. Simple as that..." He clenched his teeth, pausing for a moment before speaking again, his voice now more obviously wavering in frustration. "And I swear...if you touched a single hair on Jo's head...I'll break one of those metal bones of yours for each and every cut that you put on her. For every bruise--you're getting dents tenfold. And if you did anything worse than that...? Then you'd better pray that that metal body of yours is pretty durable--because I'm not gonna hold back. Got it?"

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Jackal
NOT Jack Harrison
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Jackal was still smiling even after hearing Jo, but this only had to do with the fact that he couldn't help that fact, in truth he was incredibly angry. His fists clenched, he didn't say a word, he let Ryder do the talking. Usually he regretted such things, but in this case, he wasn't. Ryder was right, Jackal was behind him 100%. First thing was first, Jackal poured the rest of the animal crackers into the water with the sharks "Bwahahahaha-" then he stood side by side with Ryder "Inquisitor! You're not very funny... and you don't even act like the man Jack once knew... so here's how it's going to be... I'm going to find you, I'm going to find something that causes A LOT OF PAIN, THEN I'M GOING TO KILL YOU OKAY!?" he yelled, aiming his snotgun to the chair.

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"...-!!"
Jackal Theme - Monochrome Memory

Jackal
NOT Jack Harrison
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Jackal was going to yell at chairs more, but then The Inquisitor told him to stop aiming his gun at the chair, to which Jackal simply replied "Dont' tell me what to do-" before grabbing Ryder. The pink-garbed man grabbed Ryder with both arms before simply saying "Hold on Ryder- I'm gonna jump!" and before giving Ryder any time for preparing for such a jump, Jackal ran forward. He JUMPED the sharks, two of which practically flew out of the water and barely missed them, only for Jackal to land on the other side- dropping Ryder. Jackal then pointed his snotgun to the chair again and yelled "I AM YELLING!"

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"...-!!"
Jackal Theme - Monochrome Memory

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

"Wait what--" was all Ryder had time to say before Jackal grabbed him, full-out leaping across the shark-infested moat. Ryder had a perfectly clear view of the two sharks that very nearly got them--and that wasn't very pleasant at all. Stil, they made it across alright, and Ryder quickly got his footing on the ground on the other side. He didn't move though--he'd been about to rush forward, but then it occurred to him that the Inquisitor had told them not to move much once they got over--so, he stood his ground, gripping his bat as tightly as ever--and impatient as all Hell to knock the Inquisitor's head off.

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder stared at the sign as it fell from the ceiling and somehow landed perfectly vertical on the ground. Because somehow that made sense here--because nothing made sense in this tower anyway--
As he read the sign, though, he arched an eyebrow a bit. Gas thi--
Oh. Right. That gas thing. The gas thing in his bat that he almost never used. Oh.
He looked to Jackal, frowning a bit before speaking,
"You have a gas mask with you...?" As he asked this, he reached down to his belt, unclipping his own gas mask and putting it on. He then got to fiddling with his bat, flipping a few switches on the side of it, before pointing it out in the direction of the rest of the room, releasing the gases from the thin containers along the sides of the bat. "Don't breathe it in," he spoke, his voice muffled by the gas mask on his face. "You won't be moving much for a bit if you do."

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Jackal
NOT Jack Harrison
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Jackal looked at the sign- gas- thing...? Gas.... thingy? Jackal could not think of anything--- farts? Maybe...? then Ryder had an idea- and it sounded much smarter than what he was thinking! SO that was probably the right one! Yeah! Jackal nodded to Ryder when he asked if he had a gas mask "Yeah yeah!" the guy quickly took out what seemed to be some sort of mask made of some weird animal skin- god knows where that came from, then put it on "Smells like beef jerky-" he commented before looking to Ryder.

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"...-!!"
Jackal Theme - Monochrome Memory

Jackal
NOT Jack Harrison
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Jackal smiled as he saw the lasers appear once Ryder had used the gas "Ryder!? Your gas can make little lasers appear out of nowhere!? THAT'S AWESOME! Now we can limbo!" he energetically told Ryder before running forward. He started to try and limbo through a few lasers, before cheating and just jumping over the ones that were too low "Do you know what we need!? Giant [Censored]! [Censored] are great! Hey! Inquisitor! Do you have any [Censored]!?" he asked, shaking his fist up at the ceiling. Oh, and then he got past the last laser, Jackal was a lot more nimble than he looked.

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"...-!!"
Jackal Theme - Monochrome Memory

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder's eyebrows raised slightly when the lasers became visible, and then he realized--he should have expected this. It was a James Bond floor. What spy-themed floor wouldn't have invisible hallway lasers--?
He was...surprised by how quickly Jackal was able to get through them, honestly. Ryder himself began making his way through the lasers quite slowly, being as careful as he could--needing to be even more cautious, due to the fact that he had to carry his bat through without it touching any of the lasers, as well. And before Ryder knew it, Jackal was already through, when he was only about half of the way through.
"How--?!" he said in astonishment at Jackal's feat as he continued to make his way through the lasers painstakingly slowly, making sure not to touch a single one--having genuine worries like what would happen if his spiked up hair touched a laser--like would that still count as a touch--legitimate concerns--
However, eventually, he finally got past the last laser, and took a moment to just recollect himself after that stressful experience. "Christ, that was unnecessary..." he grumbled, shaking his head slightly. "Still don't know how you got through so fast..."

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Jackal
NOT Jack Harrison
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Jackal pat Ryder on the back "There, there..." once he had gotten past the lasers. Of course, anything Ryder may have said was lost by Jackal immediately running down the hallway yelling "LEEEEEEEROY JEEEEEEENKIIIIINSSSSS!" despite the likely chance that he would trip a shit ton of traps. ... EXCEPT he didn't- it seemed like they were done with traps. As a matter of fact, Jackal reached the chair "We finally meet... time to see who's under that mask! It's...!" Jackal immediately turned the chair only to find....
...
...
...
THUGALICIOUS. Jackal gasped in shock "MEIN GOTT!!" he had forgotten all about Thugalicious! He had given the cat to Ivy... then it just disappeared... WHAT HAPPENED!? Either way, Jackal fell to his knees "YOUUUUU! IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN! YOU HAD IT ALL- THE RESOURCES, THE CUNNING, THE POWER... ONLY YOUUUUUUU COULD HAVE DONE THIS!!!" Jackal began to repeatedly punch the metal floor until his fists began to bleed "THUGALICIOUS I THOUGHT WE WERE COMRADES IN ARMS!? HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME!? THIS AIN'T RIGHT! NONE OF IT! HOW COULD YOU TURN ON VULTURE TEAM! YOU BETRAYED US!!" he yelled continuously, tears streaming down his face "THIS ISN'T THE END THUGALICIOUS! VULTURE TEAM WILL STILL FIGHT! WE'LL FIGHT TO THE END!"

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"...-!!"
Jackal Theme - Monochrome Memory

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

"Hey, hang on--!" Ryder called to Jackal, trying to stop the man before he ran off, but that was all in vain--luckily, no more traps were triggered. He followed Jackal down the hall, just in time to see Jackal turn the chair around--only to see that cat that had scratched up his hands back in the diner sitting on the chair. Oh. As Jackal proceeded to vocally react to it quite emotionally, Ryder just kind of stared. And stared. Why. Why this. Why was this a thing--Why--

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

ＴＨＥ ＭＡＳＴＥＲＭＩＮＤ

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Thugalicious would let out a lengthy meow in response to Jackal`s outburst-- it dropped into a laying positino, extending it`s arm to not-so-gently bap Jackal on the forehead. It stared at the pair rather intently, emitting a grumbling purring noise-- until, suddenly, it averted it`s gaze from them both, instead becoming very focused on a sight behind them.

As Jackal and Ryder examined Thugalicious-- the air would fall still and thick, leveling out a nauseating kind of foreboding... before the abrupt noise of the safety being flicked off a pair of pistols cut through the thick air. Jackal and Ryder would feel the cold metal of the nose of a gun gently prodding against the back of their necks-- as the sound of an eerie, yet luxurious chuckle would echo in the quiet room.

"If you even pretend to be surprised, I`m blowin` yer heads off." A voice cooed-- a voice that was all too familiar. It was Jo by all means, precisely on point-- her voice, body language, appearance-- was completely identical to Jo. However-- the pair of damp blue eyes that stared hard enough to bore holes into the back of Jackal`s and Ryder`s heads was hard to overlook, should one put enough thought into it. "I think betrayal is an ugly word. Call it justice. I admire the fighting to the end part, though-- let`s see how much you can do. ... Just don`t take it out on poor Mister Bond, yeah--?" To emphasize the fact, she delivered a sudden kick the back of Jackal`s ankle-- with... steel toed boots. Yeah.

"Considering you`ve both got this nasty habbit of surviving-- I figured this`d be the best way to go about this. S`all part of the plan I just made up! So, smile--! It`s called gun play." Again, she chuckled, shoving the firearms the slightest bit closer. "Remember to stay still-- while I`m plenty sure you`ve got lotsa questions-- I`ll tell you now that you won`t get answers. At least-- not any you`ll want. Close your eyes maybe--? It`ll be over in a second!"    

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♔ Jo`s Theme - I Always Kill The Things I Love ♔

？？？Ｊｏｓｅｐｈｉｎｅ Ｂｅａｕｍｏｎｔ？？？
ＨＯＭＥＷＲＥＣＫＥＲ

 

Jackal
NOT Jack Harrison
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Jackal stared at the cat as it bapped his head "OH GOD IT'S ATTACKING RYDER!" he yelled, falling over on his side. And then he heard a familiar voice "...!?" that voice was way too familiar. No, it couldn't be... Jackal immediately turned to where his cat was looking "Whatchu lookin' at Thugalicious!?" and then there was Jo. Instead of reading the atmosphere or listening to Jo's words, Jackal opened up both arms wide, a bigger smile on his face than usual "JO! YOU'RE BACK! HAHA! HOW'S IT GOING BROTATO!?" Jackal slowly walked towards Jo. Then he was kicked in the back of his ankle- hard. Jackal ended up falling over from it "Haha-! Nice! Typical Jo greeting! THIS IS GREAT!" he took a look at her firearms "Are those NEW GUNS!? AWESOMETASTIC! WHERE'S THE INQUISITOR!? ARE YOU GONNA SHOOT HIM!?"

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"...-!!"
Jackal Theme - Monochrome Memory

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder had continued to just stare at the spectacle of Jackal and the cat--when suddenly, he felt the cold metal of a gun probing at the back of his head, coupled with an unnerving chuckle--which made him spin right around on his heel immediately, preparing to strike--but outright freezing when he saw who it was. He lowered his bat slightly, staring at Jo with wide eyes.
"J...Jo...?" he said quietly, thoroughly drowned out by Jackal's shouting. Ryder looked from Jo's face, down to the guns pointed at them, then back up at Jo's face. She had two eyes again...? Had she just gotten a cybernetic one, or something--? Either way, this one was way more hi-tech, if it was cybernetic...
He wa at a loss. He felt like the next time he saw Jo, it would be a heartfelt reunion--but what was this? What was this? There was no way that Jo would betray them...right...? All he could do was stand there and stare, emotions roiling around inside him like a sea before a tsunami. Still, he swallowed the lump that had lodged itself into his throat, and after Jackal was done speaking, Ryder spoke in a quiet, careful voice, "Jo...just a second ago, weren't you just shouting at the Inquisitor to leave you alone...? We came here to waste the guy...why are you--...?" He trailed off, less than pleasant memories of when Jo's memory had been erased coming back to him in that moment. He really hoped that that wasn't the case this time around.

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Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues