MISSING
Agent Shade sat within the command center of one of the hidden bastions that the few remnant agents can call ‘home.” He was inbetween the next horror that waited to rear its cruel head, emerging in all manner of guises, wicked forms to haunt the world of the living and beyond. It was in this gap of darkness that he found himself lost in thought. Staring down at his hand, remembering days of old, before the Fall, before all these...enhancements. His flesh was no longer just human, now merged with alien and cybernetic portions, to replace what he had lost. His eyes revealed more than the ones he was given at birth. Each agent has given and lost in the chaotic struggle for survival and sanity in the world they try to keep familiar, human, safe.
Gale had pulled the dying Shade from a monstrous encounter, one neither of them came away from whole. They were younger then, spry and daring, which cost them greatly but also allowed them to emerge victorious, if only just. As the years waned on, the two partners lost allies, friends, and family while combating the horrors that woke to swallow their world. As such, the two were as blood brothers, shedding blood and tears alongside the other, each picking the other up when one would falter or fall. Though Gale was adamant about staying pure, unaugmented, he threw those regards away when it came to the life of Shade. Without otherworldly aid, Shade would die. The hardened spiritwalker chose technology and xenoborn gifts to save the life of his dearest friend.
Shade awoke with no pain. His body moved effortlessly as he rose from his bed within the old halls of the FBI. All his senses seemed sharp, crisp, vivid beyond any he could recall. It was when he entered the restroom to get a glass of water that his eyes revealed the reason behind these changes. His memory cutting in as his body fell in shock, slowly falling to the ground, fighting against the weight of remembrance and the new reality, both twisting in his mind as if two fuel trucks slammed into one another, flames and metal shearing the air. He was able to recover from the floor however rage was the only means of obtaining control of his body. Furiously, he left his quarters and sought the ones responsible. He tore through the halls until he found both the alien and friend that had done this to him.
He roared at the star walker, his human and robotic portions mixing together in a terrifying wail. As he reached for IZ there was a pause, a sudden drop in anguish, now turning to tears and grief. WIthin the clear walls of the operating room the celestial agent was attending lay his friend Gale. The man’s body was in shambles, almost unbelievable. It was less of a question of “what was missing” as “what was left.” One side of his face down to his chest was clawed open. He was missing an arm and a leg from the knee down. The interior was just as damaged as the exterior leaving the fate of this man with a grim mark. “Help him,” Shade spoke barely, staring at the still living wreckage of his partner. “He was adamant we save you first,” IZ spoke with his mind, floating from one console to another. “No matter the cost, he said. Before he collapsed, he refused the same treatment. He did not want his body sullied with foreign gifts. I will administer all natural and medicinal options and exhaust any wild ones.Still, his recovery will be extensive...and the damage will be permanent.”
Shade closed his fist as he stared at it, remembering the whirlwind of events, the weight of it trying to pull him down once more. He was always bitter about the situation, his friend not allowing himself the same operation out of sheer stubbornness and pride. The hypocrisy pained him but not as much as the decision he made to honor Gale’s request, regardless if it could restore him or save his life. So many years have passed since then, and while Shade shows little aging, the passage of time shows on the shaman, each battle he seems to becoming slower in body. Shade knew this was why he was becoming more and more reclusive, why his weaponry and willpower was focused on his spiritual prowess. As his absences grew longer and longer, the more Shade worried for his friend, unsure of where this path will take Gale, wondering how many days he still had left to call on him.
“You have been summoned, sir,” IZ broadcast mentally to Shade from many rooms away, calling him to join in a rare contact from an outside agent. Entering the room a few minutes later, there was a familiar albeit unexpected face on the screen. It was Mei Zhou, daughter of Jiao Zhou, a man Shade knew and respected, having worked alongside him on rare but epic occasions. Before Shade can speak a doorway opens in thin air, Colin emerging moments later with ancient scrolls and some sort of pastry gripped in his teeth. “Well, now that we are all here,” Shade said dryly, nudging the warrior priest as he joined the meeting. “Where is Gale?” Colin asked before letting Mei speak, her pause now turned to concern. “He is already on another mission,” IZ projected. Colin and Mei accepted the information while Shade nodded to the alien in thanks for his discretion. The two of them knew the totemic man’s absence was far too great compared to the usual periods but they did not want to detract from the mission at hand. Finally, Mei spoke of the situation at hand.
“My father is missing,” She plainly stated. Her demeanour kept calm though she was worried on the inside. “How do you know he is missing?” Shade responded, igniting one of his stims and inhaling deep, awaiting her words with curiosity. “He left me instructions and his whereabouts,” Mei replied, holding a piece of paper with elegant calligraphy written up and down. “So, you know where he is and what he is doing?” Shade inquired harshly, unsure of why she was insisting this great man was missing. “Yes,” She said with a pause and a sigh, the thought of her father in peril straining her focus. “He left me these words so that I would know where he was in case he did not return...and he has not returned.” Colin peered up from his scrolls and eyed the writing on the page. “Who is Pang Xe?” Colin spoke, immediately regretting his question. “DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME!” Mei exclaimed furiously, casting the letter out of sight and covering it with a sacred cloth. “HE is the reason my father is missing. HE is the reason Old China has become plagued with ghosts. HE is the reason I have summoned you.”
It was decided to send Colin to Mei’s aid. His doorway would allow him to travel there with ease and his scholarly skills would allow him to keep up with any language barriers. Shade said he had to aid Gale before they could join them but assured them that they would not leave them alone for long. It was a hard lie to tell two fellow agents, knowing how dangerous and uncertain every day could be, and that they faced some ancient evil that had returned by means unknown. He could not go without finding his friend first, not without answers on what was happening, what this meant for operations. Most of all, to make sure Gale was not in danger or trouble. Shade had few leads, knowing that tracking a spirit walker in the physical world was a mighty tricky pursuit. He loaded his car with a multitude of weapons and “tools’ before leaving the hidden compound. He headed south, towards Oklahoma, towards the Great Scar in Louisiana. If anyone could locate Gale, it was one of the people hiding in those states that could find him.
Agent Shade sat within the command center of one of the hidden bastions that the few remnant agents can call ‘home.” He was inbetween the next horror that waited to rear its cruel head, emerging in all manner of guises, wicked forms to haunt the world of the living and beyond. It was in this gap of darkness that he found himself lost in thought. Staring down at his hand, remembering days of old, before the Fall, before all these...enhancements. His flesh was no longer just human, now merged with alien and cybernetic portions, to replace what he had lost. His eyes revealed more than the ones he was given at birth. Each agent has given and lost in the chaotic struggle for survival and sanity in the world they try to keep familiar, human, safe.
Gale had pulled the dying Shade from a monstrous encounter, one neither of them came away from whole. They were younger then, spry and daring, which cost them greatly but also allowed them to emerge victorious, if only just. As the years waned on, the two partners lost allies, friends, and family while combating the horrors that woke to swallow their world. As such, the two were as blood brothers, shedding blood and tears alongside the other, each picking the other up when one would falter or fall. Though Gale was adamant about staying pure, unaugmented, he threw those regards away when it came to the life of Shade. Without otherworldly aid, Shade would die. The hardened spiritwalker chose technology and xenoborn gifts to save the life of his dearest friend.
Shade awoke with no pain. His body moved effortlessly as he rose from his bed within the old halls of the FBI. All his senses seemed sharp, crisp, vivid beyond any he could recall. It was when he entered the restroom to get a glass of water that his eyes revealed the reason behind these changes. His memory cutting in as his body fell in shock, slowly falling to the ground, fighting against the weight of remembrance and the new reality, both twisting in his mind as if two fuel trucks slammed into one another, flames and metal shearing the air. He was able to recover from the floor however rage was the only means of obtaining control of his body. Furiously, he left his quarters and sought the ones responsible. He tore through the halls until he found both the alien and friend that had done this to him.
He roared at the star walker, his human and robotic portions mixing together in a terrifying wail. As he reached for IZ there was a pause, a sudden drop in anguish, now turning to tears and grief. WIthin the clear walls of the operating room the celestial agent was attending lay his friend Gale. The man’s body was in shambles, almost unbelievable. It was less of a question of “what was missing” as “what was left.” One side of his face down to his chest was clawed open. He was missing an arm and a leg from the knee down. The interior was just as damaged as the exterior leaving the fate of this man with a grim mark. “Help him,” Shade spoke barely, staring at the still living wreckage of his partner. “He was adamant we save you first,” IZ spoke with his mind, floating from one console to another. “No matter the cost, he said. Before he collapsed, he refused the same treatment. He did not want his body sullied with foreign gifts. I will administer all natural and medicinal options and exhaust any wild ones.Still, his recovery will be extensive...and the damage will be permanent.”
Shade closed his fist as he stared at it, remembering the whirlwind of events, the weight of it trying to pull him down once more. He was always bitter about the situation, his friend not allowing himself the same operation out of sheer stubbornness and pride. The hypocrisy pained him but not as much as the decision he made to honor Gale’s request, regardless if it could restore him or save his life. So many years have passed since then, and while Shade shows little aging, the passage of time shows on the shaman, each battle he seems to becoming slower in body. Shade knew this was why he was becoming more and more reclusive, why his weaponry and willpower was focused on his spiritual prowess. As his absences grew longer and longer, the more Shade worried for his friend, unsure of where this path will take Gale, wondering how many days he still had left to call on him.
“You have been summoned, sir,” IZ broadcast mentally to Shade from many rooms away, calling him to join in a rare contact from an outside agent. Entering the room a few minutes later, there was a familiar albeit unexpected face on the screen. It was Mei Zhou, daughter of Jiao Zhou, a man Shade knew and respected, having worked alongside him on rare but epic occasions. Before Shade can speak a doorway opens in thin air, Colin emerging moments later with ancient scrolls and some sort of pastry gripped in his teeth. “Well, now that we are all here,” Shade said dryly, nudging the warrior priest as he joined the meeting. “Where is Gale?” Colin asked before letting Mei speak, her pause now turned to concern. “He is already on another mission,” IZ projected. Colin and Mei accepted the information while Shade nodded to the alien in thanks for his discretion. The two of them knew the totemic man’s absence was far too great compared to the usual periods but they did not want to detract from the mission at hand. Finally, Mei spoke of the situation at hand.
“My father is missing,” She plainly stated. Her demeanour kept calm though she was worried on the inside. “How do you know he is missing?” Shade responded, igniting one of his stims and inhaling deep, awaiting her words with curiosity. “He left me instructions and his whereabouts,” Mei replied, holding a piece of paper with elegant calligraphy written up and down. “So, you know where he is and what he is doing?” Shade inquired harshly, unsure of why she was insisting this great man was missing. “Yes,” She said with a pause and a sigh, the thought of her father in peril straining her focus. “He left me these words so that I would know where he was in case he did not return...and he has not returned.” Colin peered up from his scrolls and eyed the writing on the page. “Who is Pang Xe?” Colin spoke, immediately regretting his question. “DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME!” Mei exclaimed furiously, casting the letter out of sight and covering it with a sacred cloth. “HE is the reason my father is missing. HE is the reason Old China has become plagued with ghosts. HE is the reason I have summoned you.”
It was decided to send Colin to Mei’s aid. His doorway would allow him to travel there with ease and his scholarly skills would allow him to keep up with any language barriers. Shade said he had to aid Gale before they could join them but assured them that they would not leave them alone for long. It was a hard lie to tell two fellow agents, knowing how dangerous and uncertain every day could be, and that they faced some ancient evil that had returned by means unknown. He could not go without finding his friend first, not without answers on what was happening, what this meant for operations. Most of all, to make sure Gale was not in danger or trouble. Shade had few leads, knowing that tracking a spirit walker in the physical world was a mighty tricky pursuit. He loaded his car with a multitude of weapons and “tools’ before leaving the hidden compound. He headed south, towards Oklahoma, towards the Great Scar in Louisiana. If anyone could locate Gale, it was one of the people hiding in those states that could find him.