Welcome, reader, to the latest Character Development Thread! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers. No formal sign-up is necessary; one can simply jump right in. Just make sure to review the OP and the last few pages first.
If the length of the thread has become a bit daunting and you need a recap, or if you simply need another question about the threads answered, just post in the discussion thread
and we’ll do our best to help you out.
This particular thread focuses a bit more heavily on character interaction than usual. It is recommended, though not required, that your characters come with specific goals in mind.
Many thanks go to nrjxll, Killer Clowns, SolipSchism, Corvidae, electronic-tragedy, Darkblood Carnagefang, Strix Obscuro, Gault, Night, and gameknight102xx, among others, for helping to prepare the thread.
◊Somewhere in the vastness that is the multiverse, there lies a great city. Born from a mix of modern technologies and ancient magic, it has become a crossroads between many different realities, resulting in a wonderfully varied populace and a mostly near-futuristic cityscape.
This shining Capital prides itself on being a place of opportunity. It’s up to the inhabitants to make something of it.
- Current Time: Night (~10:00 PM)
- Current Weather: Cloudy
edited 12th Oct '15 12:20:03 PM by Yomegami
PAINKILLER
[Eye's Cream Parlor]
Kevin stepped back to see Joshua spring into action. It was a spectacle, seeing the creature go down. It was amazing, but possibly because Kevin was way past the point of fighting like that. It was why he had a gun.
"Well," The detective put away his weapon as he approached Joshua. "That was something."
The man in the coat then directed his attention to his surroundings. The people looked petrified, to say the least. A male employee picked his head up behind the counter. "I think we're ok here." Kevin reassured.
He went up to the boy and crouched down to his level. It was also to take a better look at the creature. "Don't mind me asking, but who are you? And him?" The man then decided he needed an introduction too. "I'm Kevin Montgomery. A detective, but not from here."
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
[ARENA LOBBY]
"Oh, so someone like you." Lara assumed, tilting her head to give the lady her point.
"But what do they want here? Are they on vacation, too?"
[EYE'S CREAM PARLOR]
"Blindman." The man answered, looking up to Kevin. Looking back down at the unconscious creature, he continued, "This man calls himself Genocide, though hopefully you won't have to hear it a second time."
After introducing himself, he went to work securing his enemy. Tying his hands and feet with the cables from from his cartridges, he pressed a button on two gel-grenades. This time instead of bursting out, the liquid leaked out of a small hole. Poured all over the cables, the liquid hardened to a transparent, almost plaster-like texture, securing the captivity of Genocide. "When the police come, tell them he's responsible."
While Blindman was distracted with his priority, there was the sound of the door opening. The blond, little boy from before wandered back in. At the sight of the monster that could've killed him, he froze. Shifting his attention between Kevin and Blindman, the boy suddenly, blindly dashed to the man in the coat. Clamping onto the detective's leg like it were his own life, he buried his head into Kevin's coat and fell into a shuddering sob.
edited 30th Mar '15 9:48:50 AM by TroPartner
It's a bird.
Old City - Arena (Lobby)
"We could always ask them," Moreena suggested. "Although I doubt they're still in the same place. It's probably swarming with Capital security by now. If they do something like this again however, I should be able to find them."
Her reaction might have seemed fast to a human, but in truth, the spell had... - Not startled her. A goddess did not get startled. - been quite a surprise. She would be ready the next time.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Arena Lobby
Kyana had stood up and was now staring outside one of the windows. She listened again to Lara and Moreena, a puzzled look on her face from their ideas of what caused the bright light. Not that she could say anything, she had no clue either. When Moreena mentioned it might be another god her eyes widened and she turned her head to the death goddess. "What god do you think it is who caused this?" she asked.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
[City Center - The Spire (82nd Floor Conference Room)]
Ah. Anthropomorphization. Well, that is somewhat of a relief. Both because the drone wasn't sapient, and because she was glad to have not offended anyone with the question.
Qrlil tipped her head in the direction of the drone. "Excellent," she told Rolph. "I await the connection eagerly."
Hmm, did he say allied? Maybe there's more to be discussed here then simply diplomatic negotiations. It sounds like their reality has managed to achieve something like what I've been hoping for already. Perhaps I'll have to ask about this 'Zealot War' after all.
While she waited, she turned towards Zerrimus. "So, I suppose this is as good a moment to ask as any: would you like to get dinner together later on today? Or some other time and/or meal if that doesn't work for your schedule; I don't have much of a set one yet myself."
It's a bird.
Arena Lobby
"I can't say for sure," Moreena responded. "But if I were to guess... it's either a young and impulsive god, going all "worship me or die!" on some poor mortals, or an older one who is either very angry for some reason, or who got in a fight with something rather powerful."
She scratched one her horns again. "As far as I knew before, me and Hronok were the only deities in the city, and he has already returned home. I was with him right before I met you."
City Center - The Spire (82nd Floor Conference Room)
The hologram dissapeared as Rolph went to work, and the drone went in for a soft landing on the table.
Garkin looked over at Qrlil, head spikes shaking slightly. "Oh, sure. Dinner sounds like a great idea," he said.
edited 30th Mar '15 12:17:41 PM by Corvidae
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
PAINKILLER
[Eye's Cream Parlor]
Kevin put his hands in his pockets and watched the Blindman secure the enemy. His name was Genocide. Fitting name for the show of terror he had. But did Blindman's name mean that he had the disability? He figured not to ask.
He stood up and addressed the boy's request. "Sure, I can handle police. I don't know if they'll listen to a visiting detective though."
He glanced over to the door, in which the boy from earlier emerged.
The boy ran to him and clung to his coat. In consolation, Kevin put his hand on the boy's head and patted it. "Things are alright now. Don't worry." But the boy started to cry. A sad look appeared in his eyes at the sight. No child should see something like that or fear that much, He thought. He knelt down and scooped the boy up and held him with an arm. The boy rubbed his eyes but the tears kept coming. "It's ok to cry, ok? It's ok, I don't care." He then got an idea. "Do you want some ice cream? Would you like that?" The boy nodded, through a hint of a smile.
Kevin went over to the counter, where the woman returned to, in tears herself. "I called police." She said. "They should be coming."
"It's alright. Can you get the boy here whatever he wants? I'll pay." Kevin went into his pocket to pluck out some credits.
"No, no, you and that one over there," She pointed to the Blindman, "Can get anything free, really."
"Butterscotch supreme," the boy squeaked, "Please."
There was the approaching wail of sirens.
edited 30th Mar '15 1:56:02 PM by electronic-tragedy
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
Laugh and grow dank!
[M's Casino]
The lizard nodded once and got to work. Her hands slipped into the pockets of the man's suit pants and retrieved his wallet, then she began to pat him down of her own accord, apparently looking for something. As she searched, she spoke to Kommissar offhandedly, "You're not gonna kill this fatass yet, are you? If that's your plan, don't do it yet. I think I might need to chat with him a bit. Work-related."
[Zan's Fast Food Diner]
Rikael picked a booth at the back near the window and settled in, beaming across at Katya. "So!" she began, "this place is pretty amazing, huh?" Despite the torrent of rain beating down against the window, she didn't seemed in high spirits. "First time I've been to a place like this, At least, that I know of. What that big alien said about this place was right, by the way. This city is a part of some kind of inter-dimensional nexus. Given the circumstances in which I found you, I doubt you know how you arrived here." Rikael's head canted to the side in curiosity. "I'm right about that, yeah?"
edited 30th Mar '15 12:52:47 PM by Gault
yey
[City Center—The Spire (82nd Floor Conference Room)]
A soft, pure tone sounded from nowhere in particular, and the drone on the table shifted slightly as, apparently, something underneath it moved. A second later, a few feet away, a small monitor extended from the surface of the table. On it was pictured a fair-skinned brunette human woman at a desk, smiling.
"Please excuse the interruption," she said happily. "I will have the table's weight-sensors recalibrated. Is this a private meeting? I have a party of three—Whistler, Godsgift, and Ravna—holding to speak with a Garkin and Qrlil, at your convenience."
[Mall-Hallway]
Adam blinked, looking away. "Wait...that was years ago. Many years ago, before I was born. Wayyy before I was born. Then that means..."
He paused, tapped on his his chin, then gasped. He looked back at James, his eyes widened.
"...How old are you? What year were you born?"
[Mall-Bike Shop-Clothing Rack]
Marie nodded, "Got it! I know the perfect look for you! Maybe we can get you something pink. Oh! How about purple? Maybe a little bit of red? A red dress? That'd look great."
She looked back at Wolfe, then at Teri, then back at Wolfe again. She remembered what Teri had said earlier, which didn't truly dawn on her until now.
"Are you sure you're around the same age as Wolfe?" she then asked, "When I first saw you, I thought you were around my age. Sorry if this is a rude question, but how old are you?"
[EYES' CREAM PARLOR->MARKET STREET]
Blindman looked out the window as police sirens sounded off in the distance, getting closer by the second.
"I'll leave you alone now." He addressed the crowd that had witnessed the incident. He turned to Kevin. "Good luck dealing with the authorities." After giving him a silent nod of thanks, the armored man left the building, where his motorcycle waited patiently.
Blindman tapped the screen on the console. As he expected, the display remained dark. The rain had truly killed the vehicle.
Giving a sigh at the misfortune of the vehicle, he took it by the handlebars, and started wheeling it to the nearest route out of Market Street. His next move would be to check up on the girls he had left at the Arena, as well as retrieve the tarp and return it to its rightful owner. If someone hadn't picked it up already.
Meanwhile, back at the ice cream parlor, a thin, snipe-nosed man picked up the bloody blade that Blindman had discarded. Quickly, he stuffed the blade into his coat, all while sporting a grin that implied ambiguous motivations. Seconds later, the police entered. The first officer, a clean shaven man, stared at what was used to contain Genocide. "Is that...jello he put on there?" The second, a grizzled officer with a goatee, looked at his co-worker as if it wasn't even worth it to tell him what it likely was. He approached Kevin. "Do you know who called this in?"
[ARENA LOBBY]
Lara was starting to get bored with this conversation. Her street-clothes and her hair have been dry for a while now, and Moreena's ramblings were starting to sound like your typical story of Greek gods or something like that.
Starting to play with her bracelets, she lifted her left hand, forming a perfect sphere of ice the size of a baseball. Then she lifted her right hand, but this time she curled her fingers, as if she were holding a ball. In seconds, a small, orange glow lit up inside the sphere of ice.
For once, Lara and I have something in common. This is starting to become an awkward conversation.
[City Center - The Spire (82nd Floor Conference Room)]
"Excellent!" Qrlil exclaimed warmly. She'd have to think of someplace to go, but dinner wasn't going to be for a while so she wasn't concerned about that. She bent forward slightly, noticing that the spikes on Zerrimus's head seemed to be moving slightly, and indicated them with a raised hand. "If - er - if I may ask, what exactly does that mean?"
Before he answered, the table altered its shape and a human woman appeared on a monitor. Qrlil considered her question, moving her head back and forth in thought, and finally nodded. "This meeting isn't particularly private, no," she replied. "They can come in whenever they want."
Who's Ravna, I wonder?
PAINKILLER
[M's Casino]
"Fatass? Who you callin'-" York sputtered, "Wait, kill me? Would you?"
Kommissar ignored the man he held his knife to. "Sure, but I don't want to hold him for much longer."
The Italian shifted his stance. "Wait- um. Will you actually kill me if I uh- tell you something?"
The bounty hunter grumbled, "What?"
He bit his lip. "Uh- there's no money in your wallet." He closed his eyes, as if it would make the knife act on its own.
Kommissar stayed still, with no change in expression.
York continued through closed teeth, "I used it all in a gamble. Just the stuff in it. I lost it to the bald guy over there."
"Bastard."
He shoved York to the ground, ultimately letting him go. He stumbled forward, but Kommissar followed him up by pulling out his gun. He sheathed his knife, his eyes never leaving his target.
York turned on his back and looked down the barrel. He halted. "Move and I'll kill you." The bounty hunter spoke to his partner in crime, "Lizard, your business, do it now."
[Eye's Cream Parlor -> Bus en route to M's Casino]
Kevin set down the boy as he grabbed at his ice cream. He seemed to have recovered a bit.
"I did, sir." The woman behind the counter said. "The one who took him down just left."
Kevin turned to the authorities. "Kevin Montgomery. I'm a detective from some form of Earth. Not from here." The grizzled officer shook hands abut didn't say his name.
"He told me his name was Blindman. He certainly didn't fight him off like he was blind." The detective said. "I used a weapon against him- the Blindman said his name is Genocide. I shot him in the leg." Kevin pulled out his gun.
The clean-shaven man waved his hand. "We don't need it. We get calls like this a lot. WE don't really investigate stuff. We're just security."
The grizzled officer glared at his partner, "Well, I'll go back to the station and look over footage. We probably need to question Blindman- maybe this Genocide once we resuscitate him."
The clean shaven man shook his head. "Ok, go ahead and do too much."
The two argued a bit, but it was more like minor bickering. It reminded Kevin of his two other partners, who butt heads a lot. They still covered each others' backs, they just had different ways of completing tasks.
Which reminded him, Dammit. Right. My case.
"Don't mind me asking," Kevin stepped towards the two. "But have you gotten any calls? Any strange ones? I'm here for business, see."
The grizzled officer answered, "Well, we got one from all over the city- some fireball in the sky. It probably came from the Old City. There's a couple robberies in the West Side- not a priority."
"Wait, wasn't there something about strange people in M's casino?" The other officer chipped in, "If that helps at all."
"That'll do, thank you." Kevin had a clear path now. The man in the coat saw the boy eating away at his ice cream happily. He did eye Genocide a few times, but he seemed to be more interested in his butterscotch supreme.
"Alright, call the cleaning crew in. And get someone to take in target. Uh- destruction of property, attempted assault." The shaved security officer said into a radio. He went to go step outside. "I don't know- he's bound with jello."
The officer followed him out, and rolled his eyes. But he stopped for a second, facing Kevin. "Detective Montgomery, don't try to start something. Be civil. We get enough calls as we do in this city."
Kevin just nodded. He put away his gun, and went to leave with them. He he no more time to waste, after all. The young boy stood up and ran towards the detective. He just hugged the man's leg. "Thank you, Mr. Detective man."
The detective just smiled in reply. He politely shooed the boy off and went outside. It was pouring, but a couple Capital security cars arrived. A bus pulled up to a stop down the street.
He took once last glance at the ice cream parlor, and got on the bus to head to M's Casino.
Holy hell, I have never had put so much effort towards a post. It also looks like stuff is starting to happen for both my characters.
edited 30th Mar '15 6:26:14 PM by electronic-tragedy
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
[Vencaran Shuttle >> Street outside Abandoned Mall]
"No, not from this range and with the sensors on this shuttle," Nami said, "and yes, Capital emergency services are already responding to this incident but have not yet arrived."
"Search and rescue it is, then," Harrison said, as the two shuttles hovered next to each other in front of the nearest entrance to the mall, about a meter off the ground.
The side hatch of the Vencaran shuttle opened, as the stairway led down onto the wet street. Forcefields shielded both shuttles and the immediate area from further rain, however.
Harrison walked out in time to see the rear hatch of the other shuttle open and P'jwakh toss him a large, blocky backpack. "Always prepared," he said, as he caught the backpack mid-air and put it on. In a matter of seconds, it transformed by interlocking parts into futuristic armor. P'jwakh then tossed him a railgun rifle, and a smaller pistol. Snapping the rifle to his back armor, he held the pistol forward, which projected a bright light ahead of them, like a flashlight. "Ready!" he said. The pistol is the force-plasma-utility pistol from Resort, and the armor looks kinda like the kind from Mass Effect.
"Hey, need any equipment?" P'jwakh said to Giun, "I've got stun-guns, personal shields, and medkits."
edited 30th Mar '15 8:57:55 PM by Sonzai
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
Renald began hacking violently on his drink, grimacing. The other rich patrons were scrambling now, desperate to escape before whatever kind of radicals were in the casino could get to them.
"Mr. Renald, we have to go!" Theign shouted over the clamor, grasping Renald's arm and pulling him up. To Theign's surprise, Renald seemed to buck the stereotype of overfed luxury: his arm was hard and strong, and he wrested his arm away.
"Why shoul...list...to you?" he snapped between coughs. His eyes were vigilant. Defiant. Theign saw him notice the security personnel approaching the stairs.
The agony of burning and nausea nearly overtaking him, Theign scoured his memory for something...any name or fact he might recall to lend him credibility. But there was none.
He had mere minutes now. There was no choice.
Theign drew his pistol and held it to the back of Renald's head.
"Not a word," he hissed. "Get up. We're heading for the maintenance room, back and to the left." Muscle and brains or no, Renald still knew better than to argue with a gun. He got to his feet and led the way, Theign concealing the pistol from anyone dumb enough to stand and gawk.
Not half a second after they'd rounded the corner, Renald spun, lashing out with a fierce backhand. Had he been more coherent, Theign could have blocked, but the strike was deft and his reflexes were slow. The gun skittered away. Renald threw another mighty punch—Theign barely dodged, catching the blow on the ear and shoulder. He hooked his arm around Renald's neck and slammed his head against the boiler.
Renald went down. Theign held his dagger at the man's throat.
"Now, Renald," he said, as evenly as he could in the twisting, glowing mass of color around him, "give me the pendant."
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?
Crazy Kiwi
Arch Center - Bakery
"Table of Elements," Sir Archibald mused. "I gather you mean Mendeleev's table. I'm much interested in the sciences, y'know. I feel blessed to have not only been born into a great age of invention and discovery, but to have encountered many even more wonderful inventions and discoveries - but I digress. I do take your point about economics and it would seem that your... Collaborative is most wise in that regard." The assertion that anyone could learn this "magic" with sufficient instruction confirmed his surmise that it was another science.Kris looked over at Samantha. "Would you like to borrow my cell phone just to make contact and say you'll be getting your own phone soon?"
Market Street - Mall-Hallway
"...How old are you? What year were you born?"James was used to people assuming his attire was a costume - Wolfe had first thought him an historical enactor, Teri had thought he was wearing a costume for a masquerade ball - so Adam's question didn't surprise him.
"I'm 33 years old," he said, "but I was born in London in 1720 and I gather some considerable time has passed since I left in 1753. Where - and if applicable, when - do you come from?"
Market Street - Bike Shop
Teri couldn't help but grin at Marie's suggestions - it was evident the teen was more used to clothing stores than motorcycle stores. Pink, red and purple were conceivably possible, but dresses were definitely out of the question."Are you sure you're around the same age as Wolfe? When I first saw you, I thought you were around my age. Sorry if this is a rude question, but how old are you?"
"Well, biologically, I'm 25 years old, but Wolfe and I were both born only a few days apart in 1963. So depending how you look at it and what the date actually is on Earth, we could both be any age from 51 to 107."
I'll get to Gwion's later tonight when I've got more quiet time and can get into his headspace - it's like Rush Hour in the bloody London Tube here at the moment and I can't get it quite right.
I'll wait to post for David, to avoid needless sandwiching.
[Old City—Old Arena]
"I'm back," Sito growled in the beast's guttural voice—if it could be called a 'voice'—as he took back control from the demon to which he'd lent his body. "And I'm pissed." Raising his knife-sharp claws, he lunged at ulon'Uelshu.
And time seemed to slow—no, to stop. And faintly, somewhere at the edge of his vision, was a rainbow shimmer and the scent of lavender. It didn't take long for her to manifest fully in his mind. Well, objectively speaking, it took only a quantum of time. Jade-green hair framed a pale face and rosy cheeks, bright red eyes and a carefully neutral expression.
"I see," she said.
He stared at her, his mouth—no, not his mouth, this was a manifestation of his thoughts, but still, muscle memory and an eternity of existing in a physical body made it seem like a physical interaction—open.
"It's a bit of fun," he said quietly. "No harm."
"No harm," she repeated.
Somewhere nearby, someone was screaming. Aer was familiar with the sound. In Hell, it never ended.
"I get it," he said. "Yes. Have you come to tell me something new, or is it the same ancient squabble?"
She stared at him. Questions echoed in the space between them, but he knew she wouldn't ask, because she knew she didn't need to. He'd already asked them all himself, and stubbornly refused to answer.
"Stop this," she said.
"I don't bow to your will," he said without rancor; it was just a fact.
"You're above this. It's a juvenile display. And to use those poor souls for such a base purpose..."
She was right, of course. And after all these millennia, he should have come to the same conclusion himself, but... well, she'd always been a deity. He'd been born a man, and still had the weaknesses to prove it.
"If you want to destroy me," he said, this time with rancor, his old petulance resurfacing, "then destroy me. Otherwise, begone. This isn't your world. You have power, but no claim here. None of these sophonts sprang from your," he sneered the last two words, "divine will."
She just shook her head. Pity in her eyes. Aer—no, Sito—gritted his teeth.
"I still believe you can do good," she said. "You have always believed you are doing good. But this, this, is not good. Don't waste the gifts you've been given squabbling with mortals like you're one of them. I raised you from that. I accept responsibility for what you became—I always have—but you are above this."
They stared at each other for another second, and then she was gone.
Time began to flow again. The chronon had passed.
And Sito stood before ulon'Uelshu, in human form, his coat settling about his shoulders as if he'd just come inside from a strong wind. He smiled.
"I appear to have overestimated my abilities," the Devil said. "I seem to be out of energy to maintain my alternate form. Still, it was a delightful bout. It's always nice to exert oneself in pursuit of a healthy competition."
He looked over his shoulder at Gharboa. Scuttles had dragged them to the edge of the arena to recover. His smile faded.
"Oh, dear," he said, turning to approach the lizard. "Are you quite all right? Perhaps we should avail ourselves of those medics we read so much about."
[City Center—The Spire (82nd Floor Conference Room)]
The door slid open and the familiar Tinish pack entered the room, looking in all directions at once.
"...really remarkable," Godsgift was saying. "It's not even faster-than-light communication, if these files are accurate. This could revolutionize Beyonder tech. Think about that for a second. Billions of years in which the only 'scientific advancement' anyone dared to hope for was Transcending, and here we've stumbled onto—"
"Yes, yes," Whistler said, a few eyes on Garkin and Qrlil. "We can marvel about the ramifications later. Um, hello, Garkin, Qrlil," he said, lifting a nose at each of them in turn. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
"We made contact with Tines World!" Godsgift announced. "Well, using Capital tech. And they're pretty sure they can't get us home. But I can barely believe we established comms at all!"
Whistler lifted a nose. "Um. Capital... system? Spire?"
"Please feel free to just make requests," the woman on the table screen said. "I am an integral part of the Spire, so you're under no obligation to call me by name or treat me as a sophont."
Whistler didn't quite know how to respond to that. "Uh... can you put Ravna through?"
"Certainly." The screen went blank.
A second later, "Hello? Eddie?"
Whistler grumped quietly. "I'm here."
"Powers! It is you! Scrupilo is losing his mind, Eddie. We thought you were lost. I just wish Woodcarver could be here to talk to you. And, well, to the folks with you, of course."
"So," Whistler said, "I'm here with Zer... Zerrimus Garkin, and, er, I'm sorry, I can't remember if Qrlil is your full name. And, well, we're at... the Capital."
"Ravna Bergsndot is a respected historian, scientist, and sometime co-Queen of our Domain," Godsgift explained. "She stepped down from the throne not so long ago, but is still held in very high regard. Woodcarver was Ravna's co-Queen, now the Queen of the Domain. She is likely busy elsewhere; this comm link was established with very short notice, after all."
"I'm not sure how much I can contribute to any diplomatic interactions," Ravna said. "I'm told that this comm link is stable, but physical faster-than-light travel here is still impossible, so I don't think anyone will be visiting Tines World soon. But it's such a relief to even speak to someone off-world. And we're happy to share any technological knowledge that may be unique to us," she added, "if we really have any. I'll need to confer with Woodcarver, of course, before making any actual decisions on behalf of Tines World."
edited 30th Mar '15 11:59:16 PM by SolipSchism
Crazy Kiwi
Old City - Day-Khan House
The pain was intense, but not so intense that it blocked out everything. Gwion could hear the sound of voices elsewhere in the room - Miyuki and Akira talking and Energy desperately asking for help for Flamist - and, beyond that, the rain on the windows and roof.Gwion was sure that Wulf had been shot in the skirmish with the gang's leader and therefore possibly required medical assistance as well. He hadn't heard anything from Wulf other than a short growl and didn't know if that was a sign that everything was fine or things had gone very badly.
Gwion forced his eyes open but Wulf was not in his limited field of vision, only Flamist and Energy, and Gwion shut his eyes again with a growl.
He was sickened and disgusted by what Flamist had been about to do at the mall - what she would have done, without any hesitation or qualm, if Energy hadn't convinced her not to.
If she hadn't been stopped, she would have committed nothing less than a War Crime; the mass murder of defenceless injured and unarmed people to end a fight that was all but over.
There was a true monster in the room, and it wasn't the one with additional hair and fangs.
As angry as he was at Flamist, he was even angrier at whichever depraved monster had given her that level of power. Gwion wanted to track down those responsible, vivisect them without anaesthetic and force-feed them their own kidneys - to Hell with what Nietzsche might think.
Gwion extricated his right arm from between his legs and chest and groped in his pocket. Wulf was injured, Rani and Foster were comatose and Flamist was bleeding and, just as Wulf couldn't let the leader take another shot at Flamist, Gwion couldn't let a child die.
His fingers closed around a plastic card about the size of a credit card but with a distinctive scalloping around the edges to make it easy to identify in total darkness or, worse, when your eyes have been inconveniently shot out. He pulled it free of his pocket, braced one end against the floor and snapped it in half, hoping that the standardisation of emergency protocols also applied here.
According to the instructions that came with the card, once broken it would emit a signal using internationally recognised frequencies and calling codes and begin broadcasting a call for priority medical assistance. Help was guaranteed to arrive within three minutes – one minute less than the bleed-out time for a femoral artery.
In most countries on Earth, the responders would be Trauma-Team International, in New Zealand and Australia, it would be Cas-Evac. Here it was just as likely to be a wizard on a flying carpet but as long as he had Paramedical training, a well-stocked Trauma kit and made it within the three minutes, Gwion didn't really care.
"Help. On. Way." Gwion wheezed, each word putting strain on bits of his body not normally associated with speaking. I hope, he thought.
[Vencaran Shuttle -> Street Outside Abandoned Mall]
Trekesser carefully concealed his surprise at the rapidly assembling armor. Okay, now that's different. Programetal could form itself into an armor covering either than that, but assembling a more complex interlocking suit like that took time even with optimal conditions and tech. This other reality just kept seeming more and more inconsistent with how it was and wasn't ahead of his own.
The casual mention of a personal shield alongside a 'medkit' just reinforced that view. "I'll take the shield and the stun gun," he told the large reptilian, who was presumably P'jwakh, "though I'm a little concerned that you think I'll need them. I thought everyone in there looked injured. And I'm not really up for personal ground combat anyway, but eh. There's deployable medical nanonics laced into my uniform suit, so I'll pass on the medkits."
With that, he stepped out onto the street.
Night.
edited 31st Mar '15 2:23:38 AM by nrjxll
It's a bird.
City Center - The Spire (82nd Floor Conference Room)
Suddenly a lot of things were happening at once. Garkin was just about to ask Whistler about his meeting with Jensen, but then the... AI? on the viewscreen had opened a channel to this Ravna person.
"Um, hello," he said. "I am captain Garkin of the Cravyn Empire. It's an honor to meet you."
What does Ravna look like?
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.Arena Lobby
"Should we go out and look?" Kyana asked. She was looking out the window again at the rain with a frown but turned her head briefly to ask the question to both Lara and Moreena. She noticed Lara was sitting idly by like she wasn't really interested in the situation but shrugged it off. The fire girl wished the storm would pass soon, she was itching to get out and explore more of the Capital. She wasn't sure what she should do now, but checking out where that flash of light happened seemed to be a good place to start.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
Oops, sorry—there's no video, just audio. And also, I don't know. <_<
[City Center—The Spire (82nd Floor Conference Room)]
"Likewise, though I have to say I'm only a scientist, speaking for the Queen in her absence," came the response. "Cravyn? Wow, Eddie, you really are a long way from home. Unless more has happened since the Zones shifted than I expected. I've never heard of the Cravyn, imperial or otherwise. No disrespect, of course."
"Godsgift is pretty sure we're not in the Beyond," Whistler said. "Or our own galaxy, most likely. He says the local physics are allowing him to run much too efficiently for that to be the case."
"I suffered catastrophic errors during the events that brought us here," Godsgift explained, "that, in Slow Zone physics, should have taken a little over a month to self-repair. Even in a High Beyond paradigm, it would have taken almost a week. We've been here a little under three hours and all critical and noncritical primary functions have been restored, with only a few peripheral subroutines still repairing. At my current rate of progress, I expect to be at full capacity by nightfall. By which I simply mean to say that no known physics paradigm fits with my observations of this Capital."
"I see your conciseness settings are a little out of whack," Ravna observed.
"I don't... Ohh," Godsgift said. "I see what you did there."
"Anyway. I understand there's someone else there, named Qrlil?"
edited 31st Mar '15 8:08:18 AM by SolipSchism
They/Them
[Old City - Old Arena]
Gharboa began to awaken, albeit with their eyes still shut, but conscious enough to engage in conversation.
"I should probably get some of that, yes," the lizard said, eyes shut tight, "Scuttles might not be enough to transport me though."
Gharboa haphazardly stuck their arm out for some support.
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Old City—Old Arena]
Sito reached down to help Gharboa up with both arms.
"I may have gotten carried away," he said pleasantly. "It's been so long since I had to opportunity and inclination to get in a good old-fashioned brawl, much less with someone who could hold their own against me. You comported yourself with impressive skill, and an ability like nothing I've seen. Yourself as well, Master Koyel," he added over his shoulder.
City Center - The Spire (82nd Floor Conference Room)
"It's not," Garkin said. "But Rolph likes to pretend that it is for some reason."
"Well, Glitch might not technically be sentient or anything..." Rolph began, "but I think he's a very clever drone."
Garkin sighed. "Rolph. Communications."
"Oh, of course captain. I will set up a connection to the nearest allied satellite. Just a moment."
Old City - Arena (Lobby)
"That much power all at once is hard to ignore," Moreena answered. "To be honest, I'm surprised that we're still alive. Something must have shielded us from it."
Her voice was still unnaturally calm, but this time there was a tiny hint of excitement in it.
"I think a god is involved."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.