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[faceplate]

Who: faceplate & YOU
When: IC 11/6, OOC 24/3
Where: Mostly ViVID
What: Zer0 is terrible. Time to make friends!
Rating/Warning: Violence, probably.

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[ you spy with your little eye someone who isn't being quite as stealthy as they think they are. a tall, dark figure (maybe handsome?? we just don't know), loitering in alleyways, behind buildings, up on rooftops... it's hecka creepy. if you approach fast enough, zero doesn't run away!

and sometimes, they even initiate conversation., with things like, ] Wanna go kill stuff?

[ ...yep. ]

(( ooc: closed starters below! ))

Comments

[faceplate]

[ just you wait, marco. why does the quest require two people? why hasn't he found the quest before zero has? lots of questions... and the answer might involve some sacrifice.

uh no wait nothing, who said that. ]

No. [ zero doesn't elaborate and just cocks their head at a road that leads out of town, waiting for him to follow. ]

[drinkscola]

[ if this were real life, he fears it's basically the equivalent the invitation to enter into someone's white van... but, alas, it is not. it is vivid. also, marco's admiring how talkative zero is, really... after a moment's of hesitation, he'll follow a pace or two behind. ]

Oh? That's really interesting. [ there's a touch of skepticism. ] Not even a level recommendation? It wouldn't do to have us both killed off, I'd say.

[ not that he's making excuses for potential weakness; after all, he's practiced as much as his free time allows. but... ]

[faceplate]

[ zero doesn't respond outside of looking at him again. if one can convey judginess through a blank faceplate, zero's doing it.

...so yeah, they won't try that hard to defend marco as they go into the new area and are almost immediately faced by a herd of horned beasts. ]

[drinkscola]

[ awesome ]

Already?!

[ he definitely notices that lack of defense, though he is also definitely focused on the horned beasts. thankfully, marco has a small, spiked buckler. ... standing his ground, he'll have to see how well it fares. he braces himself for impact, actually ready to charge and hopefully spear a distracted one. and impale one he does, only to enrage another one. woops. ]

[faceplate]

[ do your best, buddy. meanwhile, zero draws their blade with a low hum accompanying the electric blue edge. when they strike they cut the enraged creature charging at marco nearly in half. immediately after they descend upon the rest of the herd, moving quickly and... not really regarding marco. ]

[drinkscola]

[ is the lack of attention a good thing? a bad thing? marco can't tell yet, but hey, they did absolutely destroy the beast he was sure was ready to gore him. that's something. while he'll focus on the defensive in the meanwhile (not dying is a priority for him, really), he can't help but admire zero's offensive... prowess.

but hey! he might be able to tackle a few stragglers of these guys, should any manage to get away from the herd. ]

[faceplate]

[ at least he's not entirely useless..! (zero is forever rude.) most of the herd is thinned out after a good ten minutes, but zero isn't done. they take only a moment to shake blood from their blade, then jerk their head at a worn, thin path that leads off into the murky distance. ]

[drinkscola]

[ marco gets the feeling he's going to be doing a whole lot reading of this guy, rather than actually talking with him... at least for now. after he pushes some corpse off one of his shield's spears, he's following zero's motion to the... honestly scary-looking path. ]

[ yikes. ]

That where the final boss is, or something?

[ he hasn't played enough generic video games... ]

[faceplate]

[ final boss... sort of. zero looks back at him, no emoticon displaying and too silent even with the helmet, not even the slight sound of breathing audible. ]

Scared?

[ that was neither an answer nor an explanation. ]

[drinkscola]

[ that's about as good an answer as any... he's bracing himself. ]

... A little, yeah.

[ to be completely honest. it's not like his expressions don't tend to make that obvious sooner or later. marco holds back a sigh, resigned and taking a step forward. ]

But I have to do this until the end, so. [ they've come this far... onwards. ]

[faceplate]

[ ...hang on there, buddy. zero makes sure that marco is following, and then continues.

the path leads away from the plains, over to a spread of trees. the shadows under them lead into a thick forest. ]

[drinkscola]

[ sure is following... marco adjusts his shield slightly, glancing to and fro at their surroundings and then at the back of zero's head. he's not really sure if he should talk, honestly, given how quiet everything seems. but damnit, he wants to at least know a few things about his party member. he'll keep his voice low, to compensate: ]

... There something I can call you by?

[faceplate]

[ ah, socialization. zero hasn't really missed this... even though they do miss some of the other vault hunters and traveling with them. so they answer after a moment, ] Zero.

[ they pause briefly. it's just long enough for them to look back and possibly indicate that they're waiting for an answer in the same vein. ]

[drinkscola]

Zero.

[ repeated in affirmation, not disbelievingly. ... even if it is a bit weird. a nod. ]

It's Marco. [ he won't give the whole spiel about how much he dislikes his last name because it sounds like a girl's, okay. maybe if they weren't about to do battle or something. but! quick pleasantries stand, though he knows it's kind of a falsehood: ] Nice to meet you. ... All things considered.

[faceplate]

[ "marco". zero stores the name, and the pleasantry. they're not good at small talk, and their response is just a short nod. then they speed up their pace, following the track towards the destination. into the forest, between the trees, to a small circle of trees in the middle. ]

[drinkscola]

[ this is some blair witch project looking shit... minus the creepy stick figures. the circles of trees makes him feel like there's going to be a summoning?! he can't be sure; he needs to stop overthinking so much. ]

[ —but zero seems to know what he's doing. the most he can do is follow along, so he's going to keep an eye out for signs of an intent to attack and follow suit. ]

[faceplate]

[ which one of them is heather and which one is mike though?

zero's pace is even and calm as they head towards the circle of trees—but doesn't enter it. they touch the trunk of one of the trees, canting their head in a gesture of encouragement. ]

[drinkscola]

[ zero is mike because he screams and cries less, probably ]

[ ah, watches zero's gesture of encouragement. WHY HIM???? he doesn't want to go first, absolutely not. a thought crosses his mind that he might be sacrificed. oh, but zero's still way stronger than him and could virtually murder him anyway. this is what he gets for following strangers into the woods. ]

—the hell is this? Some ritual...! [ he'd say! basically biting his tongue, trying not to yell. it's like a volatile whisper.

so, best scenario is that he's getting all worked up about nothing. he takes a few tentative steps forward... ]

[faceplate]

[ good. he's walking forward. zero shifts their weight slightly backwards. does it look like they're about to bolt? nah, it must be marco's imagination! because nothing happens as marco steps through the boundary of the trees and into the little circle. nothing at all.

zero is quiet for a second longer, just studying marco and the circle of trees he's in. after another pause they step back from the circle, just as a low rumble comes up from the ground beneath them. it grows steadily louder, and if marco tries to break out of the circle now, he'll find himself hitting a transparent barrier. ]

[drinkscola]

[ yes, there it is— that transparent barrier. as soon, as his shield hits it uselessly, marco curses himself for his stupidity. sure, he could blame zero for this, but he didn't have to accompany the guy all the way here. there'd been a choice at some point. ]

You—

[ ah, that's drowned out by the rumbling. ]

[ damnit, damnit. well, definitely no choice now but to fight. best not to let his panic get the best of him, either, despite how overwhelming that could be. marco remains near the edge of the barrier, his back toward a tree. bracing himself, his heels dig into the dirt as he once more holds his shield aloft and steadfast. ]

[faceplate]

[ the rumbling intensifies. zero stays standing where they are, watching intently. the barrier holds fast. the ground downright shakes just before it comes to a head and the ground breaks a few dozen feet away, great shards of earth and stone thrown aside as a huge reptilian, almost turtle-like beast bursts from the ground.

zero doesn't draw their sword, simply watches. the monster comes with slow lumbering steps from the earth to the center of the circle where marco is and lowers its head towards him to investigate. but its movements are deliberately calm, and it doesn't come quite close enough to touch—so it's marco's choice what he does in response. ]

sorry for the delay, urk, feel free to ignore

[drinkscola]

[ marco's back presses against the barrier and he finds himself holding his breath. christ. he expected nothing good to appear, and he supposes the monster could look worse, but he does't immediately think it to look like a fun time. and that's why its sluggish movements take him aback— marco finds himself temporarily frozen. at this point, he didn't expect zero to draw his weapon. does he want to attack first? he has the opportunity. should he? that's the million dollar question.

he shifts to the side. no need to be in its immediate vantage point, straight in its line of charge. he thinks that dodging as it attacks and then going in for a strike might prove advantageous. for the moment, he keeps his eyes trained on it, prepared to react to it in turn. ]

[faceplate]

[ the monster moves slowly. the great weight of its head causes it to lumber rather than step; it shuffles slightly closer to marco and tips its head down, down—and bumps it pointy nose into marco.

it sort of seems friendly. maybe. zer0 just watches. ]

[drinkscola]

[ absolutely screaming on the inside... there isn't enough "holy shit" in the world for even a relatively benign action to do this justice. see, it's not aggressive or quick enough to warrant violent retaliation. ... not yet, anyway. he refuses to keep his cool.

but marco doesn't like that nose near him, not at all. he shuffles around it, bumping the edge of his shield against it in the process. ]

W-What??

[faceplate]

[ the skin of the turtle-monster is a little too stiff to wrinkle, but it makes a valiant effort. it rears back an inch, and then breathes out hard through its nose onto marco with a whoof. ]