❝ BUT WE ARE TALKING KINGS AND SUCCESSIONS! ❞ And not just of any kingdom either —- a fucking hell dimension. Never in her life did Felicia ever think she would be discussing the stealing of an entire kingdom with a pompous half-demon.
OH, HE KNEW EXACTLY WHERE THAT LINE WAS FROM! It would have been so easy to finish that little verse, but he had to resist. No use in breaking out in song in the middle of a very important discussion. Well, almost – he just couldn’t help himself. ❝ So prepare for a chance of a lifetime,❞ he said running a hand under her chin, ❝ Be prepared for sensational news… ❞
HIS GAZE IS STILL HARD, GLARING at the other . ross has no doubt that ky will harm him in one form or another but he isn’t scared . he hadn’t been a POW , soldier , liaison and run with the avengers for nothing . he could handle pain and torture . another thing the CIA teaches you as well . “ do what you want with me , but i don’t have what you seek . ” everett gives him a pointed stare .
IF HE WAS YOUNGER, there would have been another outcome; saying that it was fine, punching ross in the face, and tracking down other leads. of course, those day’s were long past and while it would have saved time over-all to take that secondary route… he didn’t think it was needed. “if you can’t give me what i want,” he said, moving to grab ross by the chin. “it seems you’re… disposable. doesn’t it?”
“You are well aware of what I meant.” Grant kept the gun steadily aimed at him, watching carefully. “I’m listening.” A chat? He raised his chin higher, staring him down as thoughts raced through his head. What could be possibly want to chat for?
“Am I now? See, you have to be a bit more specific,” he was about to say ‘next time’, but there was doubt that they’d be in this situation again. A reason to why he took a step forward, and then flashed a slight grin. “You can listen all you want, but the real question is if you’re even going to hear anything i say.” A pause. “More importantly, I have an offer for you, but it’s hard to say anything when you have a gun aimed at me.”
That cutting remark sees flames engulf Blaze’s face, melting flesh with a kind of agony he could never get used to no matter how often he repeated the process. What he’d give to burn the damn contract that brought him within the sphere of the red fiend’s influence. It was an annoying mistake in a past littered with faults– but this day its mention was purely derogatory, and the addled blond is soon enough able to pull himself together again, keeping the Rider at bay.
“Trust me, if this…thing that’s inside me was a myth, I’d be a lot better off.” Perhaps his family would still be alive, but that was wishful thinking. As things currently stood, the spirit that shared living space with his very person was crying out for retribution, slashing at the walls that Johhny had erected with bony fingers and searing features. The Rider wanted nothing better than to see this man be held to account. And Blaze was finding it difficult to deny him such a wish.
To keep himself focused, he tugs abruptly on the chain, causing Ky’lar to fall face forward into the dirt, an act of humiliation designed to calm his Rider -possessed mind. “No, because I’m not a fuckin’ walking encyclopaedia of knowledge on this shit, am I?!” Johnny the fiery skeleton may possess such knowledge, but as your typical human, what bits of information he retained had its limits.
Starting over, Johnny takes a piece of the chain and wraps it around his arm, pulling himself closer to Ky’lar as he did so. It was clear that he was beginning to enjoy this arrangement a bit too much, though that could partially be explained by his shortening proximity to the half-bred, the showing of a pleasant simper a consequence of dear old Zarathos making strides in breaching the barrier that prevented his return.
“Not for much longer, you don’t!”Letting spittle fly from his mouth, Blaze’s features once more begin the gruesome act of changing, flesh dripping free to reveal the fire shrouded structure of bleached-white bone beneath. “And you can tell ‘em yourself! Because I’m gonna send you to hell!”
The act of humiliation just caused him to become far more agitated than he was before; his human form starting to twist and fade way as it revealed just what he truly was.
If he had more restraint, he might not have let his human form slip away like this, but he lacked that ability. No, it wasn’t that simple; in truth, Ky didn’t think he needed to control himself. Not when things got this personal.
He spit the dirt out of his mouth with a dark growl; not even bothering to notice that he was indeed reverting to his demon form. His family, Johnny, the Rider – it all formed in his mind as one big enemy that needed to be taken out.
However, Ky knew he couldn’t handle any of them – this much proved it as his pushed himself up slightly. Not entirely off the ground, but just so he could fully see Johnny, and try to come up with some sort of plan.
Not that a plan would do any good at this rate; he was like a chained animal. A dog that was on a leash, but given enough slack to bite. All he had to do was wait until that time to strike out – to prove that he was more than just a caged beast.
“I’m not going back!” he managed to shout out. “I like it here!”
For a brief moment it felt good to have the bastard’s undivided attention, all soul-destroying threats aside. It was an occasion he would’ve liked to preserve in the form of a Polaroid, or even captured on video, but alas did not have such devices on his person– hell, he didn’t even carry a phone half the time.
Given that he was at war with himself to prevent the Rider from appearing and extracting his payment of vengeance from this easy target, Blaze’s expression falls flat for a moment, eyes closing shut to prevent the manifestation of that fiery gaze. During this time, his grip on the chain slackens, but doesn’t falter, and he prays with every scrap of faith he’s been allowed to retain all these years that the kid doesn’t use this chance to skedaddle.
For if he ran, John was certain that he would not be able to contain Zarathos’ wrath.
“Looks like you’ve got some smarts left in ya. That’s promising.” Satisfied with Ky’lar compliance, Blaze thought to respect it by immediately rattling off his queries. “First, I wanna know who exactly you are. Second, why the fuck you’re here on earth. And thirdly – which is the most important question of all – do you know who I am?” Well aware of what the man’s pedigree was like, he felt tempted to leave him in the dark, not knowing the reasons for why he’d shown him such violence.
How could he tell a son that he hated his father for how he perverted the memory of his wife when the moment, long in its passing, was still a fresh wound to the jaded biker? The simple answer was he never could.
“I’m the damn Ghost Rider, kid! And you’re exactly who I need to get even with your bastard father!”
“You mean Mephisto’s former plaything,” he said, running a hand through his hair; adapting to the situation as best as he could by responding with (his own version) of facts. “The Rider’s are a myth – something told to scare low-level shit-stains at night.” Or maybe, that was just him; even before Ky was exactly what he was now… he knew about them. Though, the amount that was actually known was just a small chunk of sand in a vast expanse.
Still, there was the question of who he was; interesting, he was taken this far, and the other didn’t know? Well, Ky always did like a little flair, but he doubted it would have decent consequences in this little bind he managed to find himself in.
“An’ shouldn’t you already know the answers to your bloody questions?” A little rage sparked in his tone, but old habits did die hard – especially when the Son of Blackheart wasn’t in control of the situation. “Chaining me up, taking me here, and for what?” Ky had a few idea’s actually, but he wouldn’t voice them. Not yet at least – whatever this… Rider wanted? Ky had a feeling he wouldn’t like it. Not one bit. “Just so you can say you ‘kidnapped’ one kid and for what?” Granted, he was keeping himself quite well in control; even if he was desperately holding back his true form from slipping from his grasp.
“News flash for you – I live here!” Some of the time, but he wouldn’t mention that. Not even as his fingers started to dig into his flesh. “And not you, not my Grandfather, or even my Father will change that.” However, if they wished to do so, they could easily. Ky just thought one of them would drag him back forcefully. Not send a lackey. “ So, tell the dear family the Son of Blackheart is done with their shit.”
facing the fallout wasn’t something he was good at. hadn’t learned the taste of humility for the countless times it’d been shoved down his throat. hadn’t adjusted to the feeling of loose teeth or that swell of blood pushing d o w n on his tongue. but that didn’t mean brock couldn’t needle around for the fragments of his pride enough to grin through that order he’d fallen into. up off of knees he’d been forced to drop down on … stood with squared shoulders and enough tension to say the fight was still there, simmering, ready to become a PROBLEM, given the opportunity. to pick a second fight with the same stranger. better his odds for having weighted experience, now. for which fist he favored and the sneaky tricks up his sleeves. the wideness of his maw and how, at times, he admit he’d felt something close to fear scaled up his spine. alarm in the rungs of his rib cage, unsurprised for the unnatural presence opposing him, but unable to combat it, all the same. too familiar a fist fight with a righteous man. that impact that said there’d be worse to come if he struggled. and, oh how he looked forward to that. “ so what now ? ” curiosity shadowed by the mockery of a predator unwittingly trapped. what now because there’d be more. there was always more. from him. from those who’d come after him. the drones that flew to the hive on instinct. “ all this pussy – footin ’ is cute but i’d rather get my jaw broke than watch you stall. ”
“a broken jaw will heal,” he said, taking a step forward, “what i have planned won’t repair itself so easily.” talking could have been done; words issued to defuse the situation. to get away clean, but when was ky ever clean? maybe once, a lifetime ago for some, and recent history to others. still, there was the point of what exactly to do; giving into the other’s so-called wishes would only serve to hinder his own plans (in a slight way). not doing so, could make the situation he found himself in worse. if he was going to put the other in their place, he’d do so with his own sense of flair, and style. suffice to say, he’d do it his own way. “now, you have two options.” ky almost said more – almost, but at the last moment he slammed his right fist forward. right into rumlow’s jaw. it was just a taste, but one he’d give over, and over again if needed.“you can see option one,” ky said calmly. “shall we try another?” he was about to say that he could do it all day – something he could very easily do. at the same time, however, he didn’t think it was ultimately needed.
A trail of fire lights up a barren stretch of land, the intended destination after spending several long hours burning hellfire infused rubber on the open road. Gloved hand clutching the handlebar, he keeps the bike on a steady path, leaning into the breeze whilst letting his opposite arm extended, fingers wrapped tightly on a coil of chain that drags his reason for being here behind him.
This continued for a few more miles across the shrub strewn wasteland, until the leather-clad rider banks sharply, turning the bike with a twist of the brake, back wheel dredging up earth and stones as all gained momentum was lost. Having stopped, he swings the hand holding the chain overhead, chucking it and the man restrained by it to the dirt, little care given for the harshness of the toss, still holding the length of chain like a dog leash.
Getting off the bike, alightened features are quenched by the reemergence of flesh, the haunting visage of the spirit swapped for the human cursed to house his essence. He admits it is a foolish move, to force such a reversion, with a great deal of willpower alone needed to keep the vengeance essence of Zarathos from putting in another appearance so shown, but stubbornness demanded he treat this confrontation devoid of demonic features.
After all, it was seldom that he was afforded an opportunity to hold leverage over his most hated enemy, the very devil that answered his desperate prayer and cursed him with a face of fire. He wasn’t going to botch this chance.
“Up and at ‘em, kid! I got plenty of questions that need answerin’, and not a lotta time to spare, so unless havin’ your soul bein’ incinerated sounds appealing to ya, I advise ya to sit up, shut up and listen to every damned thing that I gotta say!” Were it all but bluster, Blaze would’ve added a touch more flare to his act. He was a showman at heart, after all, but in this case his words rang true; he could feel the Rider stirring beneath the surface, trying its best to get free and deal with the sinful descendant of his greatest enemy. Should the blond come across as crabby, he wasn’t about to start offering any apologies.
“Feel free to nod if you got all that memorised.”
Every fiber of his being wanted to rip Blaze apart. He already could feel the unending itch to shift into his true form. Something, he’d been trying to avoid for weeks, but surely he could let up his resistance in this case. Surely, it wouldn’t do too much harm.
However, he wasn’t going to go down that path – not yet at least. He’d wait to see what the biker was going to say. Only then, he’d formulate a real plan to get out of this bind.
From what he knew, this was Rider of some sort; he’d heard about them, but he didn’t know very much more than ultimately knowing it was a bad sign. Well, a very bad sign at the moment since this took his already shitty day, and made it ten times worse.
He rubbed at his lips with the back of his hand a few moments after he hit the ground. Not even caring that he was on his own in this. Yet, he didn’t voice his ‘usual’ bout about how his father would ‘take care’ of him – no, even Ky knew this wasn’t something he could just boast his way out of.
So, he spit some blood out of his mouth, and gave a nod. It wasn’t like he could do anything else for the time being and he wasn’t going to risk ‘mouthing off’ to someone that had already taken him this far. Clearly even the Son of Blackheart had some (very slight) respect for power andability.
He smirked. Yes, some spells could be weak
when used by themselves. But when combined with other suitable spells? The
outcome was usually a success. However, Loki didn’t know who ( or what ) the
demon wanted to subdue, so he had no choice but to trust the other’s
assumptions.
“Very well. What ideas do you have? There could be a way to
figure out
your…conundrum.”
One might brand him a traitor for willingly helping a stranger. However, he sensed that
the demon’s foe wasn’t of Asgard, so it wasn’t really going to hurt any of
them, was it? And if it did…well. He
wouldn’t be surprised. The man was more likely to be a treacherous stranger than a moral ally. It would be more SHOCKING if the man turned out to be the latter.
“More than I can count,” he said, arms calmly moving behind his back, “All of them involve certain…situations going according to plan. None of them have a very high likely hood of succeeding.” Even if one of his plans did, even Ky wasn’t so blind as to believe it would be that easy. A direct assault wasn’t going to gain him any favors, but maybe if he could find something that could help.. he’d have a much larger chance of survival.
“My target,” he said, “Isn’t one that can be taken on by conventional means. I might be able to beat him in a fair fight, but there is no doubt in my mind it won’t be fair.” More than likely wouldn’t even be a fight if things went right, but that was quite honestly not the point he was brining it up. “A reason to why I need something…” he didn’t even know what he was looking for at the moment. “To bring him down to size.”
“Yes, you were.” He decides to ignore everything else and focus on the fact that Thor was going to give in. Once, Ky would have enjoyed such a thing, but not when it was quite clear in his mind that submitting to plans wasn’t going to get them anywhere.
Maybe if the situation was reversed, it would have worked, but for the time being, there was no way possible for it to. The moment Thor gave in was the moment that everything Ky was betting on would be lost. A reason to why his disgust was aimed and directed at Thor’s own movements and actions or rather, in-actions.
“It doesn’t matter what you say you weren’t going to do, your actions speak for themselves.” More importantly, Ky wasn’t going to let Thor go back down that road; not unless it was absolutely necessary. “Not to mention,” he said, taking a step forward, “We’re both stuck here and i’m -” he cut himself off for a few moments as he flashed a grin towards the other, and started over his previous stateement.
“Not to mention,” he said again, “You’re not leaving anytime soon.” Ky then gripped one of Thor’s shoulders, “So, it’s about time get with the program, and do exactly what I say.”
there’s a little quirk to her lips as she crosses her arms over her chest, “ promise? ” it’s really not all that smart to be taunting him like this and she realizes that, but on some level, she wouldn’t be too upset if it did prove fatal. “ listen, i’m stuck here until this is over, so i need you to either work with me, end me, or give me a really good reason to be out of commission for this one. ”
“i can’t truly promise anything.” or, even if he could, ky didn’t think it was needed for the moment. no, if ky was going to promise something, it would be that things wouldn’t be easy against him, and that whatever he did… couldn’t be changed. however, getting to that point wasn’t going to be easy; he didn’t like giving out promises unless he was truly pissed off. so far? he hadn’t gotten to that point. “it just would be in your…. best interests to leave.”
Hellfirebound 