Private Why do monsters cry [Heinrich and Lockdown]

[Omni Lockdown]

The light shined through the small gym while songs of Old Rock accompanied the lone occupant using one of the weight machines. The sound of clanking metal resonated through the room, however, the man couldn't hear the noise because he was stuck in his memories. 'How many times am I going to relive these memories?' lockdown thought to himself. Ethereal voices and shapes moved past him, ghosts of people he once knew were now nothing more than imprints on his mind. As he pumped iron, his mind drifted into a trance as the sound of clanking metal slowly gave way to the impact of rounds striking a barricade, the panicked voices of civilians, and young Lockdown barking orders in defense. Not bothering to turn off the music, he rose from the bench and moved to the shower.

A small mirror fashioned from polished metal with a noticeable dent in it rested in the far wall. The reflection that stared back was not himself but rather, the inner demon of himself manifested he dubbed "renegade" to lock away the man he once was.

That man died a long time ago. He won't come back, not ever.

You mean like her, or you referring to the girl you could have saved? renegade whispered.

Why do you torment me? I tried.

Not hard enough, Lockdown, Wraith pressed in a hiss.

"Feth you." Stepping into the shower,Lockdown let the warm liquid fall down his frame, cascading over his scars and washing away his pain- both physical and mental. He could almost swear he could hear a familiar sweet voice just out of earshot.

"Please, just go... I can't... I'm sorry," Ty pleaded, softly sobbing as his tears were lost in the waters. He remembered Her. The face of his wife and their child lingered in his eyes. He remembered her gentle touch of her embrace, the scent of her perfume, and the taste of her morning kiss. "Please! I don't want to," he brokenly pleaded as the memory of her was distorted by the boom of an explosion, the creaking buckle of metal, and then weightless as his life was torn to hell.

A knock on the bathroom door sounded so distant, so foreign but Lockdown welcomed anything to help him momentarily escape these memories.

"Lockdown, Heinrich requested to see you." The voice of a Ashlan crusader called from the other end

Maybe you can protect them better, Wraith jeered.

"Shut up," Lockdown demanded through the the drone of the shower.

"What was that, Lockdown?" they called back, concerned.

"Nothing child, I'll be out shortly," Lockdown replied, turning off the water.

Lockdown moved to his quarters memorabilia from his days as a human dotted the walls old photos of him frank and a few others in various squad photos each photo rests a set of dogtags rusted and battered from when they were found. on the far wall a shadowbox containing two wedding bands and a set of dogtags with a picture of Lockdown and a cute blond haired woman smiling in wedding attire. reaching up to it Lockdown gasps as he's taken back to the worst memory of his homeworld

Colony 294

Lockdown Sat in the back of The dropship with a mixture of Mp's and other military units the Lt, telling off to the pilot on how fethed the situation has gotten since the Blackout and informing everyone that they will be regrouping at the evacuation point and hold there as they try to get civilians out of this hell.

It happened so fast.
The Porthole on the side of the dropship was cast in bright light as the dropship next to them was hit with anti-air fire causing it to erupt in a ball of fire and slag

"voodoo left engine's been hit" the pilot exclaimed as the ship rocked and bucked from anti-air fire
"Try to level this bird out " the Lt stated in a calm tone loud enough to get over the worried voices of the ship. Just then the dropship on their other side was struck causing it to collide with them. Lockdown looked on to Viv as they began spinning out towards a nearby building of what used to be a bank.

When everyone came to Lockdown called out to Viv. "Viv, you ok?!
"Yah kark you too Ty" came Franks response as he began kicking around the metal to free their gear. "Yah I'm fine honey" she gave a long pause before continuing "can't say the same for everyone else."

After finding out that all that's left alive was Lockdown , his mother Lt, and Sargent Frank and Viv they Grabbed their gear And regrouped outside. The ship had smashed through the side of the building killing the pilot on contact and tossing around everyone a few were thrown from the craft their body a little more than heaps of flesh and broken bones surrounded by body armor

Lockdown and the others began moving at half pace through the area heading south of the meetup point. Once they were at street level The sound of distant gunfire, screams, and explosion made it hard to talk over its chaotic symphony.
"Well Lt what's the plan?" Frank asked holding his fractured arm.
"We move on the dugout that shot us down, if we don't others could meet the same fate as our group, past that we head to the meetup point"

Pulling out a map of the area she looked to the Sargent "if I'm correct they should be a few clicks from our crash si-"
Lt was cut off by a round from a plasma weapon colliding with the side of her helmet causing Frank to dive aside as two more plasma shots collided with the Lt burning off her arm and breaching her chest armor.

"Contact south 600 meters" Lockdown called out heaving his Sniper rifle barring down on the forces that killed their Lt as rounds smack into the upper floors of the building the hostiles were in before Viv fired an anti-vehicle launcher at were Lockdown's shots were landing. Giving them enough time to get the Sargent behind the slagged remains of a wall they used as a barricade from the return fire. Between pain grunts, the Sargent yelled "I think we found what killed the dropships, Those damn Eldrich Fethers are dug in with a plasma launcher."

Lockdown peeked from the rear of the Wall firing another burst into the building as he nearly avoided another volley of plasma shots that slammed into the side of the vehicle causing him to duck down from the heat of the shots alone "yah and how do you suppose we take them out were sitting ducks out here they got a bead on us." just as Lockdown would say this more gunshot was heard as the local militia followed the sounds of gunfire and began aiding their unit.

"Come on , can't let the locals show us up, eh?" Viv teased. Lockdown smiled as plasma rang out as it flung across the twisted landscape towards the militiamen that stood their ground. A sickening squelch collided with lightly armored flesh, instantaneously killing them.

"You heard the girl Ty, let's kark em up!" Frank yelled

nodding Lockdown gripped his gun shouting "suppressing fire!" and unloaded a fury of rounds downrange to any stupid person in the dug-in position stupid enough to peak out and engage them as Viv fired another anti-tank rocket into the building as the flames changed to a blue color showing they defiantly ruptured the plasma gun putting it out of commission the squad cheered at the victory as short-lived as it was.

If only you could have protected her better.

The sound of a stealth unit falling off caused lockdown's stomach to drop as the sounds of its owner's rifle firing everything seemed to flow in slow motion as all he could do was watch as Viv's backplate gave way to the ammo fired at her as flesh and muscle tore from the impact

She died before she even hit the ground as Frank pulled his sidearm and mag dumped into their flanker "Ty we gotta go!, there is nothing we can do. Ty!" "Ty!"

Lockdown collapsed from the memory crying softly as Renagade voice sing songly chimmed in again. "And then you left her like it never mattered to you, hell looks like history repeats itself with how you left the other girl just last week to get turned into a abomination."

"I tried to save her but Gei killed me with that light attack."

"So its his fault mabie I should pay him a visit let the darkness swallow him whole."

the voices stopped as the door to Ty's office would open up Ty having lost track of time meaning Heinrich would have either heard everything or will see him in this miserable state of mind.

 

[Heinrich Faust]

Heinrich strode through the halls, eager to speak with his comrade Omni Lockdown after the events upon the cursed soil of Wgah'nagl. That horrific day had been one of the most difficult the Crusade had seen, pitting them against both themselves and each other. Heinrich was still feeling unsettled by that day, and had been running the situation over and over again within his mind. The Blade of Ession kept asking himself if there was something different that could have been done; that he could have done to help his friends, and to save Eina. His will had failed him that day, and brought Heinrich now found himself back in a place of uncertainty, such as he had not felt in years.

Ty's suffering at the hand of the Force Light was another image that replayed over and over, and Heinrich could only hear the cries for help. He needed to speak with him, to clear the air and find some level of closure to that fateful day. Perhaps, in some ways, he just needed to talk.

As he made his way to the door, Heinrich could hear the strange sounds from the other side. It sounded as if Ty was talking to... himself? Someone else? Whatever the situation, he sounded distressed. As Heinrich opened the doors, he entered just in time to see Ty collapse to the floor, calling out to what seemed to be nothing. Heinrich rushed to his side, taking a knee next to him.

"Are you okay?"

He wasn't used to seeing the man in such a state. Whatever was on Ty's mind was serious, and Heinrich was beginning to realize that he was not the only one that needed a chat.

 

[Omni Lockdown]

mood setting music

Ty would compose himself as Heinrich knelt down next to him. "No Heinrich Faust Im not okay, nor do I think I'll ever be okay." a shadow moved around the room before tethering itself to Ty becoming his shadow to looked down to it like it was talking to him. "Silence Wraith Heinrich isn't the enemy." Looking to Heinrich he pondered something. "Since you seem interested in my wellbeing why don't I show you what I see and hear on a daily bases to give you a idea what I deal with.....I haven't been able to get more than a few hours of sleep a week due to it."

Reaching out to Heinrich, He would feel his heart skip a beat causing mild pain before his vision would flash before settling in the room with them There were multiple ghosts and spirits dead and mangled individuals wearing uniforms like most of the scarecrows moaning out in pain.

the room was gastly in nature. with these people in the room with him more could be seen outside the windows comprised of EE units hades corp members and even ashlan crusaders ghosts.

"you fething left us behind."
"why did you get to live while we died."
"Why wont you look at me we used to fight along side each other."
"you left us to die!"
just as quick as Heinrich had the sight and the voices it disapated reverting it to normal. "You have no idea the amount of pain and sorrow I go threw each day having to deal with that....I can raise the dead yet they stay dead. So ask yourself this why don't gods answer the call to help and save us from dispare...its because if they answer to one they have to answer to them all and they cant so no special treatment."

Ty would lean up against the wall before looking at the floor adverting his eyes to those ghosts around him. "I'm a monster Heinrich I shouldn't be allowed redemption for the things I've seen,the things I've done. the people I could have saved but didn't Im weak and wasn't strong enough to save them...Eina became that thing and i was powerless to help her...just like how i was powerless to save..." Ty let out a shaky breath before looking up at Heinrich. "some powerful being huh, wallowing in my sorrow and cant keep my crap together....I must make you think I'm a waste of time eh, Must be why Gei killed me back then.." Ty said as he looked away from him.

"I need your help Heinrich...there's something i want to show you....Ive never shown anyone before but i trust you enough to see it because showingyou it would help me cope with it instead of bottling it up all the time...will you help me?"

 

[Heinrich Faust]

Heinrich took a moment to listen to Omni Lockdown , simply nodding in reply as the man offered to show him what he had been going through. Not long after, he could suddenly see the faces of those long since dead. Some were new to Heinrich, but some felt incredibly familiar. It felt as if they had passed through the portal on Cadomai all over again. Not long after the vision began, it faded away, bringing the room back to its original state. Heinrich found himself taken aback. He had seen many strange things through the years, but the thought of enduring such visions constantly was, in short, daunting.

As Ty continued to share his situation with Heinrich, the crusader could only listen. He knew that the man had suffered from the day they met on Ruusan, but with each day the Essonian was slowly beginning to understand just how deep the damage was. Heinrich took a moment to stand as he listened to Ty's comments about torment and weakness.

"All are worthy of redemption. The only deciding factor is whether or not they are willing to accept it. One does not find themselves beyond redemption until they completely abandon the possibility."

The comment about the events on Wgah'nagl hit a particularly strong cord within the crusader. In the wake of the horrors of that planet, Heinrich himself felt the same doubt as his companions.

"We all failed that day... even myself. Geiseric's actions were, well... they were desperate. In truth, I can't imagine what he is going through. The pain he must feel through the connection he shares with Eina... it must be hard. Despite that, I wish I could have stopped him. We all showed vulnerability on that cursed planet, but it is not the end."

He turned back to Ty, offering what he could of a reassuring smile.

"We all have power, but so too do we have our limits."

Heinrich wasn't sure to make of the final comment, but he felt the need to help his comrade. He failed once, and refused to repeat that failure. If he couldn't help Eina, perhaps he could at least help Ty.

"Show me."

 

[Omni Lockdown]

Ty nodded for once in a long time he felt he could trust someone, Someone who Ty could call a friend. bracing himself against the wall he stood up and lay a hand on Heinrichs's shoulder. "I will I believe it's time I show you the part you play in my people's salvation." the room would seem to spin colors and become energy as Heinrich would feel a burning sensation in his whole body before it subsided but still remained ever so briefly.

as the room stopped spinning the two of them would find themselves in the remains of an old ruined city smoldering craters pockmarked the landscape bullet casings and depleted energy cells littered the ground just as much as the body of human and eldrich beasts alike. an old man with slick-backed grey hair and wearing a rather dapper outfit. sat on the edge of a talk long since destroyed. as a scream would echo around them before Ty would fall from the sky the skin on his body burned off leaving bones with fabric and since clinging to himself.

"How many times has it been Sibo, how much longer will you try to change what can no longer be changed?" the man said in a condescending way without losing his cheery deminer. The corpse of Ty looked up to him ruined metal armor with the words psychopomp being the last to fall off. "I will do whatever is necessary to end this madness demon!!"

The old man would rise from the tank calmly walking over to Ty and crouching down. "what has it been now 200 years? you're still trying to fight insurmountable odds to keep beings like us from having our fun?" Ty would rise from his face-down position. "At least I don't hide what i am behind a facade of a pretend human."

"Yes because lying to humans after 200 years killing children and adults who show the faintest sensitivity to the gifts that we give is so much better."

Lockdown would look to Heinrich as the scene plays out before them. "100 years after i had died this edlrich entity found me trying to breach free haven't lost my will to fight and In his own twisted way has helped me fight things out."

Ty looked at the man threw his sockets. "Why help me, what do you have to gain from seeing me succeed?"
the old man smiled. "now you ask this? well if you must know nothing but I think you deserve a explanation, you see beings like me aren't good but neither are we evil. such terms mean nothing to us in reality as we've far exceeded the comprehension of most living things. however we have our own rules and systems in place to boot. we beings aren't to use our ability to rule beings benieth us, nor are we allowed to help them without very good reason so being indifferent and making deals to both sides is how we work. remaining in the shadows and influencing the world for fin without any real goal of what we want....in short Mr Sibo we do these things for the chaos as that the one thing we want most."

Ty looked down before answering "and Abeloth is breaking your society rules and trying to control the beings beneath you?"
the old man nodded "precisely my boy, and that is why since finding you I've tried to point you in the right direction subtlety as it won't break our rules. however, with her growing power, i must make sacrifices to fix the mistakes of others."

the old man pulled out a old looking hourglass with blackish green sand that slightly glowed. "In 145 years. you will have the best chances of killing the pretender Abeloth, but you'll need help. find the people who teeter between light and dark willing to do what is necessary to kill the bogan, or sith as i like to refer to them."

Ty tilts his skull to the side. "so i find these people and then what?"

 

[Heinrich Faust]

The swirling change of scenery caught Heinrich off guard for a moment, but he slowly regained his bearings as the vision began to unfold. Though Heinrich didn't fully understand what he was seeing, the images provided allowed him to put some of the pieces together. There had been a lot to unpack when it came to Omni Lockdown since day one. The man was an enigma, and had only recently began showing bits of his past to the Essonian. He took a moment to simply listen and ingest what he was experiencing, finally turning toward Ty as the vision continued to move around them.

"You have lived a strange life, Ty. Much stranger than most. The things you must have seen... I can't even begin to fathom."

Heinrich remained there in silence for a moment, thinking on the words said by the stranger.

"These beings... how do we know they don't have an ulterior motive? Surely there are things that they haven't told you."

His mind continued to wonder. After all, such things were beyond the scope of mortals, and wrapping his mind around the vastness of it all was difficult for the crusader.

"Forgive me, I don't mean to dash hopes. I simply need to know more. These entities are... new to me. In recent months, I have realized that there is much that I still don't understand about the galaxy. Nevertheless, I hope to learn."

He turned toward Ty as he continued.

"Did they tell you anything else? Any clues as to how we would accomplish this goal?"

Heinrich went silent again, eager to hear the answers to his questions.

 

[Omni Lockdown]

"Forgive me, I don't mean to dash hopes. I simply need to know more. These entities are... new to me. In recent months, I have realized that there is much that I still don't understand about the galaxy. Nevertheless, I hope to learn."

He turned toward Ty as he continued.

"Did they tell you anything else? Any clues as to how we would accomplish this goal?"

Ty looked to Heinrich thinking of the best way to explain this. "Sometimes Heinrich Ignorance is bliss but I will tell you what I know from my experience with them. but in short, the old man is one of the many members of the "family" this being said They are the most perverse and dark of all humans.....they are what happens when someone like me chooses to not seek redemption they become effectively Eldrich lords. not to the point of gods but to the average humans and non-eldrich beings these members of the family were godlike...so for a group such as the family to say there were beings more godlike than themselves there was a bigger threat among this."

"Now, there are a total of six eldrich gods Izax the god of death, Scyva the mother of sorrow, Tyth the god of rage, Aivela the goddess of passion, Esne the goddess of envy, and finally Nahut the god of apathy. these are the old gods or eldritch gods, Abeloth was a part of the family and with the death of Zildrog by her hand and others that worked with her becoming gods like her effectively attempting to make the new gods. the difference between the old gods and the new is this. The old gods need us around because it helps them survive much like humanity keeps cattle and crops alive to survive its a bleak reality to be shared with you about how uncaring the world really is however it doesn't need to be." Changing topics he goes on to explain that the new gods just wish to watch the world burn under their tutelage and its due to them that the sith and even the Von became a reality to realspace.

"Now with all this being said I did say it doesn't need to be like this. Much like Abelith there was a member of the family who was apart of the group that killed Zildrog and took pitty on humanity it was threw him that the neather existed a safety net between us and the old gods effectively only letting the worst of the most evil and vile beings to pass threw the neather unprotected. now I know you must have felt the burning before I took you to this memory of mine....as such I gifted you a portion of my power so you have a ability I thought fitted your way of doing things. threw your passion and will you may summon fire to use as you see fit, holy fire if you will. now why did I show you and tell you this?"

Ty removes his hand from Heinrichs shoulder before looking to him. "Heinrich When we find abeloth and we kill her Ill be taking her place as there's no way to permenatly kill a god however while I take her place and am being overwritten you have a chance to kill her for good. erasing her from existence however in doing so it would do the same to me. I trust you with this heinrich over the time knowing you I'm glad I got to know you I see a lot of myself in you back when I was still mortal as such I want to help you so your people and moreso yourself doesn't end up like me.

Ty kneels before Heinrich. "I kneel for no man Heinrich only to gods and my equals, there's no happy endings for my journey I undertake by the end of this my soul will be killed along with abeloths and my only regret is I wont be able to see the souls of my people my wife and my unborn child finally be able to pass on to the nether. I need you to see this threw no matter how much I value our friendship like Frank once told me every story has a end so another may begin, I need you to be the next tale to remember in this uncaring world, plus its due to the power I gave you that ill bestow this info to you, now with this ability of fire the more you belive the surmans of ashlan the more it will manifest as a actual afterlife within the nether...this is my gift to you for being my only friend in this long road I walk."

waving his hand they would find themselves back in his quarters. "thank you Heinrich."

 

[Heinrich Faust]

The sheer amount of information almost felt like an overload to the crusader. There were indeed many things that he had no perception of; vast, endless pieces of the galaxy that had yet to be unveiled to him. He stood there, simply attempting to take it in piece by piece. Such old, unknowable entities... older than anything he had encountered before. In truth, the realization was enough to make one's head spin. Nevertheless, he managed to retain his composure, looking toward Omni Lockdown as he spoke of power and fate.

"When the time comes..."

Heinrich paused. He had promised to Ty that he would help him find salvation; to end his suffering at the hands of the cursed bestowed upon him. Though Heinrich knew the possible outcomes of such a quest, he had realized that he put them aside as he had developed his friendship with Ty. He found himself wanting a happy ending for the tortured soul, yet in the end, it appeared that such an ending would only be but a dream.

"I will do what must be done."

Yes... happy endings don't happen for people like Ty. The only way out of this would likely entail his demise, and that was something that Heinrich would have to expect. And besides... the most a person such as Ty could ask for would be the final, sweet sleep of true death.

As Ty kneeled before Heinrich, he could feel the power surging through him, filling him with a sensation he had never felt before. For once, Heinrich began to feel in control of his own fate again. Heinrich placed a hand on Ty's shoulder, offering a reassuring smile.

"I accept this gift, and swear to you that it will not go to waste."

As the environment transformed around them, they finally found themselves back in the office. Heinrich stood there in silence, pondering on the implications of the encounter.

"You are a good man, Ty. I want you to know that. Perhaps your path hasn't always been within the scope of the Light, but you are a good man nonetheless."