A Pale Story

They gave him fair warning. He did not comply.

They have to protect their own lives as well as protect to public.

They opened fire.

He didn't understand their warnings. He doesn't understand their guns. He doesn't understand this pain, or why he has to suffer.

But he is suffering. And it has to stop. He knows at least that much.

He forced himself to his feet, hiding behind his shield. They just shot around it. The one with the shotgun got too close. He fired. The buckshot ricocheted off his armor. The Pale stumbled. The cop fell.

"Jimmy! Man down! Man down! Requesting backup we got another dangerous freak from the rift!" more noises from one of the man's mouth.

The Pale was more concerned with the blood. His blood mostly. Too much was spilling out. His body slowly restored itself, but it still frightened him. It still hurt. He didn't like it. He had decided that just now. Pain was bad. He didn't like bad things.

He stumbled away from the last pain. He felt like doing that more. He began to move away from where the pain was coming from. He looked back once more to the dancing blue and red lights that had entranced him and lured him to all this pain and suffering. They were still beautiful, though. He could not stay and enjoy them. He had to go. He moved away from the shouts and the thundering roars. More lights began to screech at him. Horrible cries coming from them as they approached. He didn't understand their sirens, but he understood that more pain would come from those lights.

He turned away and began to move, slow at first. Then fast. Fast enough to get away. He avoided the things that were in his way as best he could. He stumbled and crashed through wood and paper. A newsstand. He didn't know what it was, but he fell through it. Shouting, screams, cries. Filled with fear and anger. More pain would come from them, he knew it. He fled in panic. Where was he running? He didn't know. He didn't know what else he could do.

The chains on his armor cluttered together, rattaling loudly as he ran. He moved quickly, running but his chest did not burn. His breath did not become deep. He ran and ran. The obsidian was lighter than iron or steel, but it was still full plate mail. Even so it did not much burden him. These things did not much matter to The Pale. He just wanted to escape the pain. He wasn't running at his full speed. He didn't know what his full speed was. He was just moving away from the pain. That's all he knew.

When most people saw the tall figure in dark black armor rushing towards them, they moved out of the way. People shouted when they saw him, drawing attention to him. So most saw him in time to move. Since his physical limits were not being tested by this level of activity, they set his pace. As fast as they cleared a path for him was as fast as he moved. It never occurred to him that he could just move through them, flick most of them aside with the slightest of ease, he went around or waited for the path to be clear. They usually moved quickly enough. That was just the natural thing to do, unless he stumbled which was quite often. When he came upon a woman who was blocking his path, it was quite obvious right away that she wasn't going to move. So just like when a stampeding bull came across a tree in its path, he tried to move around her. The tree was not what the bull was stampeding towards, it wouldn't just run it down. That would have accomplished nothing.

The question was, would the woman simply allow him to pass? He avoided her with about as much grace as that stampeding bull would have. He moved so quickly and abruptly to the side, that his should dug into the building besides the sidewalk. The glass of the shops window front, that he slammed into, cracked but did not give way. He would try to continue forward, stopping to turn back and look at the woman once more before he went. He had left the police some many blocks away, but his fear of the pain was still great. Still, despite his panicked flight, he had to stop and recognize what he perceived to be beauty. He remembered that, though he had no words for it, he looked and saw it. His heart became heavy with another feeling, different from the others. Though it was just as painful.

He had continued forward, his lingering fear driving him. He did not notice her subtle touch, but did slow down when she called out to him. Her voice was distinctly different from the usual chorus of noise within this strange new concrete juggle.

He turned to her, as she came around him. He slowly begin to feel pressure bring him to a stop as she began to apply her strength. It wasn't a force that he felt threatened by. Not a strike, and not accompanied by any battle cries or roars like those men with the lights had done with the pain the gave him.

He came to a stop, his bright blue eyes peering out at her from the darkness of his helm. He was only a few inches taller than her, and his armor added only a little more than that. So he found it hard to ignore her as she stood right in front of him. He remained silent of course, as his pale blue eyes studied what was before him. Two circles. A triangle. A line. Arranged just so. That was a face. He recognized this yet again. Like his own... but more like hers. He drew back a step, without even realizing. Still it was different, different than before. There wasn't any anger or fear. Not yet.

He stared at her, silent still. He had forgotten about the pain, and his fear, if only just for a slight reprieve.

Suddenly, another voice. EverAfter's eyes abruptly tore away from his gaze on the woman in front of him towards the newcomer. His head turned to see another face. Also similar and different all the more. Again. there was a distinct lack of anger and fear. It puzzled him. He had already become accustomed to the fear and anger of the people here. Their pain too.

He stepped away from them, he was thoroughly through with being enamored by beauty. He didn't want them to lure him towards more pain, like the dancing lights. He backed away cautiously, step by step.

More noises made with their mouths, but that same distinct lack of anger and fear was present. There was something else there, too. Something soothing... Her hand made its way towards his, and pulled back. He was about to reach for the shield which he slung back behind him, but when he noticed the approaching hand wasn't doing anything threatening, he stopped.

He didn't take another step away. He was like a stray dog who had been abandoned by its former master and wary of trusting again. He looked at the hand intently, almost as if he were about to sniff it.

Then he heard them, those noises that accompanied the lights, and those men and their roaring. He turned towards them alarmed, he wanted to flee.

Before he could though, more wonders. They simply did not seem to cease in this strange new land. A stark contrast from the abysmal void of nothingness between the dimensions he was banished to. His appearance had changed, though he still felt the same. He looked down at the hand which was about to accept the woman's. It did not look like his own. He raised up his hands and turned them about to look at them. They were his right? His now exposed face showed confusion begin to turn into frantic panic. The sirens were getting closer, as well. He began to turn away from them, but stopped and caught his reflection in the window face of the store besides them.

But it was not him. He didn't recognize that face in the reflection. He backed away from this strange as if it were anyone else. Then the sirens and their lights went past. He turned to them now, frantic and frightened, but they did not stop for him.

He stumbled and fell backwards, he scrambled away from the women, his reflection and the lights and sirens moving further away. His breath had become heavy, and his eyes darted around overwhelmed.

Elena Vexus had kept an eye on this individual ever since he was the epicenter in a disturbance in the fabric of reality. It had occurred in New York and it had perplexed it her to no ends. Vexus found the fact that someone had crossed between dimensions absolutely fascinated and could not help but investigate. She immediately sent a clone and Helena to find this man and see what information she could extract about his inter dimensional travels.
On her way there, it seems like the man had caused quite a fuss involving the authorities, New York was beginning to recover from its recent damages. Helena was but a few blocks away and Elena could see nearly everything that was happening via the cameras throughout the city. Helena and Elena were getting quite a few looks as they waltzed through the streets of New York. Elena with her bright pink hair and Helena with her odd outfit and large weapon. To Elena's surprise Chelle had found this individual and was trying to help him out, however they were beginning to move and Elena was beginning to lose visual contact with them so the two of them picked up the pace. They caught some sight of them and one other individual, without even having to scan for a facial recognition Vexus knew that it was none other than Elena Marie. What a gathering this was turning out to be.
The police cars had taken off trying to find him, which vexus had interfered with their transmissions telling them their location. She noticed that Marie had used some sort of magic to alter his appearance. She could tell that his previous form was still there and what existed now must have been some sort of illusionary overlay. The sudden change seemed to have startled the man and he took off running yet again, and this was her chance. Vexus had Helena bolt to cut off the running man, she rounded a tight corner and down an alleyway. She emerged in front of the man looking at the other two ladies. Helena stood proudly before the man looking down on him keeping her ring blade around her chest and her arms crossed inside it. She gave a smirk to Chelle and Marie knowing exactly who they were, since the two had never encountered the assassin android. Not but a few moments later did the sound of Elena's heels come clicking down the alley. The entire city began to fall silent and everyone was now moving away from their location as if they had somewhere else to be. The lights all turned red blocking off all the streets and any sort of screens tha they were by turned off?the rest of the city a street over was stilling running as if nothing happened, but their little block was currently "down for maintainence"
"Oh now this is quite the surprise. Elena Marie and Chelle Queen of Thrones in the same place, what a sight to see..." she said As she came around the corner going to Helena's left side. Vexus stood with one hand on her hip and cocked to the side slightly in a sassy yet powerful stance, looking ever so enticing in her classic outfit consisting of her white blazer, jewelry, skirt, violet stockings, and black shoes with hot pink souls.
She glanced down at her soon to be new toy and then looked Marie up and down.
"So nice to see you again Marie, you've seem to have aged a bit. Nice outfit, affordable? " she said with a 'heh', playfully insulting her. Her attention then shifted to Chelle.
"And look at you, you sure have been busy since the last time we met. That little group that you've put together really has picked up some momentum."
Elena was trying to slightly demonstrate some of knowledge since her view had recently 'expanded'. Helena walked in front of the scared man and helped him to his feet, and gave him a cheerful smile. Obviously he needed to see some 'friendly' faces around first with everything that had been happening. Vexus had so many questions boiling, she wanted to know what time he came from, what was it like passing through the void and just so many more things. Although to her disappointment it seemed like he did not know how to speak or communicate at all which begged her to ask if he was even from this universe even though her scans red that he was, for the most part, human. Judging by the situation she knew that these two other superpowers wanted this man for their own uses and there would most likely be no sharing. She had brought Helena just In case things got physical, but really hoped that it would not come to that...
"It does seem that this individual has enough power to draw the three of us here... Though I do hope our assembly here does end conclude in vain..."

(I suppose this topic is also on a hiatus. Myself, Elena Vexus, and Elena Marie could quite possibly finish this on our own; go out to tea, fuck up a few Dominus troopers, or something else; but we'll leave that up to The Lost.)