Abyssal Memories long since dead [Closed to Redline and Yamm]

The clouds hung low, threatening rain as Scott gazed on the island that had once been his home. Somewhere hidden deep within the dense jungle was OCEAN H.Q. or what was left of it. Even the thought of it made Scott’s heart heavy. He was still unsure what had happened to it in his absence and the guilt had done something to his once unbreakable resolve. His comrades had all either been killed or lost in his absence and there was nothing he could do about it. There he lay, in the medical quarters of the awesome structure while his friends were swiftly dispatched. And on the day he awoke there was nothing left, just the scraps of the base and Shi cloaked in an aura of death. There was nothing left and Redline had fled, unable to face the harsh reality of his loss.

Upon his departure he had hoped to resume life as he had known it before OCEAN, fighting petty crime in his native L.A. sweeping the streets clean of a criminal society he had himself helped to create. But it was no use. Something in him was broken, even more so than before. He was still Scott Silver but he was not sure if he was still Redline. After all what all had he abandoned and sacrificed for OCEAN. He safety of his home first of all but it was all in the name of good as t always had been. He would protect his home by protecting the world at the time it had made so much sense. But once he returned to LA nothing seemed to.

For months he sulked, no longer inventing or crimefighting. And on the sixth month after OCEAN’s loss he decided that he would hang up Redline for good. In order to do that he needed to pay his respects to the people and the place that had truly made Redline thrive. It was the least he could do, to die, metaphorically in the place where the rest of his team had perished. This was his reason for returning to HQ. And as the ferry he had charted nearly beached itself on the sand of the island he donned his skin for the last time and set foot one last time on the soil of his true home.

He needed no map to get to the wreckage; muscle memory led the broken gangster through the indistinguishable density of the lush jungle. The beauty of the place was just as striking as the first time he’d seen it and he felt all the more at peace about his decision to retire in its presence. Reaching to his mask he delivered a dose of medicine to himself, making sure the humidity would not get to his battered lungs and squeeze the life from his body. But there was something more sinister than moisture in the air that Redline had missed due to his mask. The thick smell of dead flesh and rotted foliage clung to the tree’s and plant-life. But Redline continued on, oblivious to the signs that should have brought him caution. It wasn’t until he reached the clearing where the base had once stood that he became concerned. Black footsteps marred the healing soil. Upon seeing them Scott’s entire body tensed and his eyes traced a line into the heart of OCEAN HQ. Atop the tallest standing structure in the area was a figure, shrouded in darkness and emulating a sickening aura on the surrounding landscape; above him hung reddening clouds accumulating in his presence. Scott knew of one individual who had the capability to do such a thing and his blood boiled at the thought. It was Agent Collin, the one who he had been told betrayed OCEAN and facilitated its destruction. Scott’s muscles sprung against his bones preparing to once more propel his body at the speeds he had for so long used to fight evil. This place may have been obliterated but it was all that was left of a home, a makeshift gravesite for all the fallen who had fought here. No one, especially not the one who had brought on the destruction would be allowed to desecrate this holy land. “SEAN!” Redline screamed out, the rasp in his voice accentuated by strain on his vocal chords, as he took off head long into the heart of base, his faded blue eyes never moving from the floating figure at the top of the structure.

The sky wept in the mere presence of the abomination that was Sean. Deep black sorrow poured from the crackling red maw in the sky. All the while Redline continued on towards its origin, no fear in his heart, only the aching and suffering of his fallen allies as they rested beneath his feet. Vengeance fueled his speed this day as he raced to the center of the compound as the Angel of Death spread his sick black wings and descended on soil he was no longer worthy of touching. And as Scott came upon him the demon felt it appropriate to speak poison at the approaching speedster.

"I came to pay my respects...to lay down my cowl...beside those I fought with" Redline seethed at the floating entity, the rasp in his voice dripping with animosity. "Now I find you...here to desecrate...their resting place." His entire body was vibrating, getting ever closer to Sean. "You have taken my home...you will do no more damage!" at this Redline crouched mid run, digging his feet into the ground and propelled himself at full speed into the air at the horrid creature that floated before him. He saw only red as his eyes met on the same level as Sean's. There were few times in his life he could remember being this livid at another being. "DIE!" he screamed in mid air as he torqued his body, feet and claws whirling in a vortex of razor titanium headed straight for Sean.

"You have a lot of nerve calling me here." The Primordial of Chaos said, his hair standing on end. His fist clenched, and sweat was beading on his forehead, despite the chill kiss of the midnight breeze on his face. His eerie blue eyes narrowing, fixated upon the glowing green eyes and the pale masque of The Archon. The black cloak the enigmatic existential entity wore graced the ground and it's shadows, seeming to blend in entirely so that even Yamm found it difficult to discern the cloak from the shadows. "Going to try and kill the Old God's here too?" he asked through his teeth, slightly transformed to a sharpened tip. There was a reverential fear between the two, both knowing full well what the other was capable of, and neither one wanting to tread unwanted ground as to lead to competition of swords and skills.

  "If I wanted you, the black goat and the grinning Cat dead, you'd not be here, now would you?" The Archon said simply, tilting his head slightly, keeping his mind fixated on Yamm and the actions unfolding with Sean. He brought his hands up from the cloak, parting the shadows. The Archon interlocked his clawed gauntlets and sighed as the nether pulse turned the skin by the ring as black as death, freezing it to a chill yet shocking it numb. Archon looked  over the balcony, people below three stories down. A grand celebration below, those people so happy, so innocnet...so ignorant. Death was but a moment away, and it would come...if The Archon had allowed old vendetta's prevent him from calling upon Yamm. With a steady voice he spoke. "Your father's old stomping grounds. OCEAN. The realm is suffering because of an assault being made on that Region." He said.

   "An assault? Who would assault reality?" Yamm asked, not quite believing the masqued entity. Though the response was not one he had been anticipating. "The very man who killed you." was all that was said and Yamm paled over. Sean? Titan was alive? Part of him was clad to hear that, though the nostalgic good times were immediately wiped away by the memory of the Titanic douchebag jabbing him. His eyes glowed for a moment. "So...why should I clean up a mess YOU'RE letting happen?" Yamm asked. The Archon chuckled and shrugged before turning form Yam and resting his hands on the railing as he looked out over the people below.

  "Your father's friend... Redline. He will be there. If Redline dies...you father's salvation dies with him." The Archon said, half of it seemed as if he were talking to a child, trying to make Yamm understand. The other part sounded as if he didn't care, it was such an odd thing. Yamm could only think to ask why it mattered to The Archon if Shi's salvation died with Redline. But the being was one step ahead, as he always was. "The world is on the very precepts of change. Before me I can see every possibility, all of time stretched out in front of my eyes... every yesterday, every tomorrow, every second of every day. Thr days to come are dark...the world will need OCEAN. The world will need Redline and Yamm, and their merry little band of misfits. It was your father's wish. It is still Redline's wish I would assume. All they need no, to honor Shi's memory and save a dying soul... is you..." He said as he sighed and stood upright, looking back to Yamm.

   "You will know it is time when he calls." The Archon said. Yam rolled his eyes and when he looked back....

     .....The Archon was gone.

As Redline hurtled headlong at the floating Titan his razor claws sank into the awaiting tail of the monster. He was sure damage had been done as the beast was pushed back by the sheer force of his onslaught. But by the time Redline was past the demon it was evident that no lasting damage had been done. Even to his slowed perception of time it was visible that Sean's draconic tail was healing from the wounds he had just inflicted. And a taunt followed Redline's failed attempt as his clawed feet once more touched down on soil.

”Cause I seriously doubt you could even touch me.”

It was true , in some sense. Redline could physically "touch" him he'd just proven the feet possible but to cause actual harm to the Titan, that was a different story. His titanium alloy claws were durable and sharper than a razor, capable of doing their job against nearly any being of flesh. But from his experiences he knew that this was not just some normal being, probably not even from this world. So as a flourish of three scales from the Nether abomination came flying for him an idea sparked in his mind. Fight fire with fire.

The scales came in fast, but they weren't anything the speedster couldn't comprehend. Seeing their approach he pointed one foot to the ground like a ballerina and with the other began to rotate his body along an access. Quickly he picked up speed and rotational force, probably looking like a blinding top to onlookers. Every rotation he would watch as the scales grew closer, and closer, and closer. Finally the first of three came to him. Reaching out with his right hand he snagged the scale from the air, allowing the force behind the scale to be amalgamated into his own rotational force then did the same with his left hand for the second scale. With one now in each hand he quickly rolled out from his maddening twirl away from Sean. The third and final scale came over his head as he threw a foot up, riding its force into a flip and allowing it to sail back towards the hovering Titan. He could only hope it would make contact.

But there was little time to worry about that as two large arcs of energy came screaming in towards him. Clasping the scales  onto either of his titanium gauntlets he sped forward and dove headlong into one of the gaps formed in the oncoming Nether energy. Without breaking stride he raced now towards Sean, running straight beneath him. Wasting no time he began to run a tight circles below the spot where Sean hovered in the air. He was flying with wings and Redline hoped to disrupt that by creating a vortex and putting Sean at the center. If it worked he'd be waiting on the ground for him with two newly Nether-clad claws waiting to sink into his flesh.

Nothing. That was what Redline had accomplished. The final scale dissipated before it even reached Sean, informing Redline that Sean had just as much control over these scales as he did any other Nether construct. He had been a fool to believe otherwise. Silently kicking himself for his misjudgment he upped the speed trying to drive Sean straight to the ground but that to was moot at this point as Sean suspended himself before hitting the ground and righted his lopsided descent. Then he noticed it, what he had assumed was the scales on his hands dissipating along with the third was instead them slicing through his titanium claws like a hot knife trough butter. He kept the speed going as he watched his own claws amalgamate into a twisted version of themselves. He was like a cat declawed helpless to watch as his own weapons were turned against him. It was obvious what would come next and Redline took the first course of action he could think on.

Stopping his rapid circling, Scott was lifted into the air by his own vortex, the force sending him straight up at Sean but not before his own claw dug deep into his left arm. Thick blood sprayed through the air, tossed along with his clothing in the intense winds he had generated by his speed. Wincing he could feel the muscles in his arm tear as every second passed for him like minutes. Focus, focus, he had to continue on this path he had no choice. The force of the raging twister ripped Redline straight at Sean. He may not have had his trademark clawed gauntlets but he did still have the blades on his feet. Twisting himself upside down he approached Sean, each of his bladed feet primed for the Titan King's core, his now useless arm trailing behind him.

Cold titanium sunk into colder flesh as Redline made contact with the head Titan. But it was a quick and shallow victory as he was now suspended well above the surface of the island. If he continued on his current path he'd be propelled well above a safe height and would absolutely brake bones on the fall. Thank God he had made contact with Sean. It would be his saving grace.

Tipping his toes towards the Titan's chest, the blades would dig a bit deeper catching on Sean's skin and spinning Redline's body around in a pendulum like action, halting his ascent and redirecting him towards the ground. It wasn't much. He knew that he would still be harmed as he watched the ground approach with agonizing slowness. Thinking fast, Scott then flung his legs and his good arm in opposing directions forcing his body into a roll midair. Gaining speed and rotational force he planned to "hit the ground running" in a sense to blunt the impact and remove some of the force.

As he back hit the ground he was glad he'd made that decision. The wind was knocked out of him instantly but a good portion of the force with which he had hit the ground was converted into forward momentum and he buzzsawed away from his crash sight. Mid roll he reached once more to his mask, administering a dose of medication to his lungs, preventing him from passing out from the force on his back.

Once the roll had stopped Redline looked up in horror as Sean began his monologuing and rose ever higher into the quickly ripping sky. Black blood poured forth from the rifts and drenched the ground below as it spread like a cancerous plague, consuming and rotting all in its path. It was a horrible sight and the threat of death and evil devouring the world was something that Scott could not accept. Mustering all of his courage he yelled out once more to the Titan King. "I've been through...too much Sean...to let your Abyss...consume me...I have been...lost in the darkness...and I have...faced Death...just as they have...not taken me...neither will you!" The last of his words came just in time as the encroaching blackness met his feet and surrounded him. Looking to the coastline he hatched a plan, a desperation move, but a plan. God help me he thought as he raced across the blackened soil. Monstrous tendrils rose from the demonic ichor beneath him as the shoreline grew ever closer. Multiple of them slammed down at him. A quick step to the left and a desperate leap saved him from the first two. Keeping his feet going he latched on to a third tendril and raced up its surface, launching himself form the top of it just as it reached to ensnare him. Pedaling non-stop in the air he watched as the water rose to his feet and he began to tread like mad as his first foot met the briny ocean. Gushes of water blasted on either side of his form as buzzed across the open water, momentarily leaving the rotting OCEAN base behind him.

Once at a safe distance from his adversary, Scot took in a deep breath and dove deep into the blackness of the cold water. His lungs were not conditioned to holding his breath so he would have to work quickly. Kicking as fast as he could Scott reached the ocean floor at a point not so deep as to cause him damage form the pressure. And with his feet firmly planted on the sandy bottom he once more began encircling himself creating a whirlpool in the angry waters. The water level above him began to lower as it swirled about like water in a tub. Faster and faster he pushed himself, his lungs burning and his body aching from the strain. Wider and wider the water spun until a direct line of open air could be seen straight to the ocean bottom. It wasn't much it was Redline's goal. And just in time too as Scott's lungs gave out and he lost grip on the loose soil. His body was carried, thrashing, uncontrolled in the raging waters. Keep it together Scott he told himself as he continued to strain, unable to catch a breath as his world narrowed, darkness closing in on him. You'll hit the surface, hold out just a little longer. His will was all he had, his body was giving in, his arm useless, his lungs tattered. All he had now was hope, hope that he could reach a pocket of air to catch his breath and hope that his vortex would create the tsunami he needed. With so much water displaced at once, the local water level would lower and when the vortex stopped a steady wall of water would rush the island. Redline did not remember much about Sean's powers but he did know that he fed on death. If that was the case, the only thing he knew to use against him was ocean water, the primordial soup, life blood of all that drew breath on the world.There was no more pure natural life giving force on earth. And even as Redline struggled with his potential demise, the water began to correct itself, Scott's planed wall of water stampeding towards the unsuspecting island. OCEAN would return to the island.