TEASER CUT FROM TABOO 1 #2
Who wants a juicy cut of a teaser, straight outta The Generalist - Taboo 1: Double Down?
Do keep in mind this hella huge sample is not representative of the final product - it's unedited and redacted to ensure certain points of the story aren't given away.
BUT! Do enjoy that hyperviolence, yo!
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[REDACTED] awoke to screaming, his own and the Demon whose power he had coveted, craved even. Tariel gibbered insanely within him, and he wondered for a moment if the much-vaunted strength of the Daemon Magia users were, once again, more myth and fiction than any matter of truth.
Groaning, his voice still a new mystery and wonder to him, he slowly worked his way to his knees, happy to be alive still. Crawling out of the crater, he immediately recognized the hotel he had crash-landed through, tearing out a chunk of the rooms closest to the outside of the complex, apparently doing no damage save superficial, before landing next to the pool itself, one that was strangely out of water.
Staggering away from the crater, his new eyes took in the strangely 360 degree view all around him, turning his head this way and that to marvel at it all.
He had survived. He had WON!
He alternated between hysterical laughter and coughing, waving a hand about to clear the smoke that had erupted from the impact. With his new senses he clearly tracked the treacherous new [REDACTED] as Magus [REDACTED] burst from around the hotel, calling out orders to other Magi nearby. Dispelling the smoke and dust with a simple cantrip, he grinned to himself, already relishing the look of shock and surprise on her pretty face.
So it was that he found himself rearing back as the dust cleared and directly in front of him, standing tall, Dash cracked his knuckles and grinned wickedly. Slightly in front of the troll, the Holy Diver silver knuckles equipped onto his right hand, Frank craned his head this way and that, working the kinks out slightly before looking back at [REDACTED].
He made a wet sound as he ran his tongue slowly against his teeth, relishing the look of shock and surprise on [REDACTED]'s face and uttered, "Yeap."
For all her years ahead of her, [REDACTED] knew she would never again see the spectacle of the gruesome twosome suddenly disappearing, the [CREATURE] attempt to reach towards her only to flip head over heels, slam to the ground with enough force to leave behind a miniature crater, something invisible slam him further into the ground, deepening the crater from the sheer force of the impact, before rising up as if held by the head, two chairs appear out of thin air to slam against either side of him before the two Shopkeepers rebounded from his form, both landing hard as if they had performed a dual drop-kick to his front and back simultaneously.
To the sped-up perception of the two Shopkeepers though, the truth was far more painful as they both activated the ki ability "Combined Force," allowing them to share the same speed and strength for exactly one second. That single second stretched to eternity and, within this space of a second, were able to slam their favorite techniques into a single target.
It was exactly the technique they had rehearsed for just such an occasion, both realizing instinctively the need to do a psychotic amount of physical damage in order to shock the [CREATURE]'s system and prevent it from emergency regeneration or reinforcement of it's already incredible defenses.
In quick succession, Frank slipped behind [REDACTED] to aid Dash's drop-kick, sending the creature to the ground. Frank, moving quickly, grabbed the creature's clawed feet as Dash leapt into the air. Frank leapt up slightly and brought his own feet in front of him, slamming them into [REDACTED]'s groin as Dash landed hard at the same time, his knee breaking the armor plating around the [CREATURE]'s neck. Frank spun to his feet and grabbed Dash's outstretched hand, yanking him to his feet and the other side of himself. Dash, in turn, yanked Frank back, allowing his arm to stretch a bit as Frank dug in and rushed forward, allowing the troll to slingshot him overhead and directly down into [REDACTED]'s stomach with the points of his knees, the sheer force of the Human Hammer technique smashing the creature further into the ground.
Getting up quickly, Frank grabbed the creature's head as Dash caught his feet, the duo heaving upwards and sending [REDACTED] flying only to suddenly snap back down, pancaking him deeper into the hole. Grabbing him by the scrapped remains of his cloak, Frank forced the creature to his feet, ignoring his own violent pains as Dash swiftly handed him a metal folding chair.
Slamming his face into it twice, the clean, bright pain driving away the fog of fatigue and the far duller pain of the Overdrive within him, Frank turned Dash as the troll slammed the chair twice into the ground with wicked glee.
Spinning, the duo slammed the chairs against the front and back of [REDACTED]'s head before leaping up and drop-kicking the chairs simultaneously, breaking both the creatures' head and the Combined Force technique at the same time.
[REDACTED] groaned once, fell to his knees then onto his back, his joints exploding in a fan of greenish blood, unable to take the strain dealt to him anymore. He gazed upwards dumbly, both the man and the demon within him completely stunned by the attacks they had suffered.
Frank grunted, getting to his feet slowly at first until Dash landed next to him sprightly, helping his smaller friend up with a series of stupid chuckles. Frank looked at him strangely at first, then joined him in the stupid chuckles until both suddenly did a little jump and stomped onto the ground, turning to face [REDACTED]'s prone form.
Stomping the ground to a beat and clapping their hands, they did their ritual troll dance of victory, ending it by slapping their own chests once with an eruption of sound before leaning down to jam all four of their middle fingers at [REDACTED]'s insectoid face.
"FUCK YOU, FUCK YOUR MOMMA, AND FUCK ALEJANDRO FERNANDO FOR NO RAISIN!!!!! SHOP, BITCH!"
Laughing, Frank turned as [REDACTED] rushed to their side, panting, "I, I...that was...eh?!"
She stopped short as Frank held up his right hand to her, the scene suddenly cold and vicious as Frank's eyes fastened onto [REDACTED].
She bit her lip, recognizing this look. This was the gaze of a predator, done toying with their food.
This was the look of a predator about to strike.
Dash tittered, pain and battlelust still raging through him as he bit his own finger, drawing blood before chuckling out, "You gonna do it? You gonna do it Frank? This is the guy, right?!"
"Yeah, bro," Frank spoke evenly, calmly despite the edge in his voice, "This is the guy. And yeah. I'm gonna do him. Right here-" he knelt down, [REDACTED] busted back, the aura about his right hand becoming visible as something twisted and wicked welled up within him, "-and right now. You're going to die, [REDACTED]. You're going to die in pain, and afraid - all full of terror. Just what the assignment calls for."
"h-" [REDACTED] wheezed, his body broken and busted beyond repair, even from a [CREATURE]'s infernal engine, "...how? How did...what..."
Frank grabbed him with his left hand, his right held overhead and slightly behind him, the strange energy of the Overdrive fighting with an even stranger, darker energy, alien to [REDACTED] but known to Tariel. His own eyes were closed for a moment as he hovered on the razor's edge between life and death, exulting in the exquisite feel of his own body wrecked, his mana reserves and mental faculties on the brink of full-blown breaking. On every level, on every plane he was aware of, he hurt. He hurt deep.
And he reveled in that pain, in this single moment where he was ever as close to death as he had ever been.
Each time was always the first time.
Each time was never enough.
[REDACTED]'s eyes widened slightly as Frank's opened up, the chocolate brown transformed into a bright gold. On the psychic plane, Frank's humanoid aura slammed his Hookshot directly into [REDACTED]'s face, infiltrating the man's Ajna chakra point and changing it's indigo color to that of Frank's own aura.
Black, and sharp with violence.
"You never stood a chance, you elitist scumbag," Frank leaned in close and growled, devouring the sight of [REDACTED]'s and Tariel's fear as he force-fed them his own memories, his voice rising to a furious pitch thick with hatred and malice, "Neither of you have EVER stood a chance because I have faced FAR WORSE THEN YOU HAVE EVER KNOWN EXISTED!!!!!"
Tariel and [REDACTED], combined as they were, knew now why neither could ever beat the Shop.
Through Tariel, [REDACTED] saw and knew what it was Frank had survived.
Perris County.
An endless night, unnatural and horrible, the very walls of reality having been forcibly tainted by It's presence.
Eleven saintly shrouded men stood dark against the blackened sky all about them, the charred remnants of houses burned.
Atop a midden, a pile of bodies so twisted and made wrong by It's very presence, It sat and gloated, glutting on chaos and violence.
[FUUUUURTHER adventures of REDACTED~!]
.....
But [CREATURE]s were tougher than that.
[REDACTED]s body relaxed, finally succumbing to the damage wrought upon it on every level. For a moment he spoke as if with two throats, the Demon and the Man within him whispering, "Please. Please stop hating me. Please. Just...ple-"
(comment section 3)
Frank's right hand clamped tightly down onto [REDACTED]'s transformed face, then he squeezed, crushing the creature's mandibulae as his twisted quirk of nature began it's gristly work.
Frank's full lips twisted into a dark snarl as he snarled, "Die."
And with that he absorbed [REDACTED]'s life, his soul, draining every ounce of the creature that was a strange combination of Tariel and [REDACTED] and devouring every memory, every choice he ever made. As he did so he felt his own life triple in size, his aura enormous as he glutted on [REDACTED]'s very existence.
Behind him, Dash roared his approval in a monstrous display, shaking his head violently and arms skyward as he triumphed in their victory, debris and flame raining down behind them from above.
"ALL HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIL THE SHOP!!!!!!!!"
To Frank's heightened, abuse senses he stood up all too slowly, slightly in front of the troll as he whispered far too loud, "All hail the Shop."
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Despite the large chunks of stuff I had to redact, I can happily and honestly say that ain't even the conclusion of this thing. Hell, that was only a smidgen of the violence to be found in Taboo 1~!
But this IS the concluding episode to the Mayhem Arc...so I can't show THAT much, y'know?
But hey, if'n ya like that shit, why don'tcha give Taboo 0 a read, eh? Ya gotta start from somewhere, and Taboo 0: Double Feature Show is a great way to do just that!
Find it in the following links at a super tasty digital price:
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Generalist-Taboo-Double-Feature-Show-ebook/dp/B01LXS7XU6/
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/670644
