Character Frontier

Desert Trail - Wagon

[Nemaforte, Zuri, Lupin, Yamiko, Vicky, Iraal, Scents, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion, Katya]

The strange situation got markedly stranger with the whole wagon levitating and then falling, Gwion seeming to have regressed to behaving some sort of wild animal and a ghostly apparition that looked like Zuri floating up out of her body. Teri didn't know what to make of it at all - it was far stranger than anything they had encountered on their previous sorties through the dimensional rift.

Iraal tried to get the shadowy figures to talk to her but they only laughed at her. That didn't surprise Teri in the least - it was just the sort of malevolent and dickish thing that scary shadowy figures would do.

Then the elf/witch, Nemaforte stood up and made some sort of magical incantation in a language Teri couldn't understand. She hoped it was some sort of banishing spell, but the apparitions just laughed again and rushed the wagon.

Teri's trigger finger spasmed but pressed harmlessly against the side of her rifle's receiver rather than on the trigger.

The shadowy figures came up against some sort of invisible barrier - presumably the result of Nemaforte's spell - and seemed momentarily frustrated until they finally managed to push through.

One tried to touch Nemaforte but pulled - or was driven - back.

The ghost-Zuri touched the wall and then, surprisingly, Yamiko told Nemaforte to stop what she was doing.

Nemaforte seemed as uncertain of the wisdom of that as Teri but relented and lowered her hands.

At once, the shadowy figures entered the wagon and Teri felt a frisson of fear but they ignored everyone except the four young oddly-dressed students.

Three of the shadowy figures targetted Vicky, Zuri and Lupin and seemed to flow right inside them, like something out of a horror movie.

The last figure stopped in front of Yamiko and gave an odd, almost gloating, speech before it flowed into her.

Teri looked at the four in concern. Three of them seemed to have passed out but Yamiko was obviously in great pain and still conscious.

Just then, the wagon's driver decided to get the hell out of there and got the horse moving again. As the wagon took off, Yamiko toppled onto her side and fell asleep like her classmates.

So, what? Those shadowy things are in them? Teri wasn't sure.

Nemaforte made some bizarre comment about them being in "draza" and it not lasting. She sat down next to Teri and Wolfe.

"Are they safe?" Wolfe asked. "And by that, I mean: 'is any harm likely to happen to them' and also 'are they likely to harm us under the influence of those fucking shadow things'?"

He noticed that Nemaforte was looking at the firearms he and Teri were holding and, without waiting for an answer to his question, directed his attention to her. "They're called 'rifles'," he slapped the oiled wooden stock of his one for emphasis. "Mine is a CZ ZKK 601, it was made on Earth in a country formerly called Czechoslovakia. Teri's one is an Ash-78 Tip-1, which also came from Earth - from a country called Albania.

"They're kinetic energy weapons - they propel a small hard projectile at velocities faster than sound can travel through air," he figured that if she could breathe the local atmosphere without a space suit or undue difficulty, the air temperature and pressure on her world wouldn't be much different to what it was on Earth, Terra Nova or here, so the speed of sound shouldn't be too different, "and the energy of the impact is concentrated on a tiny area - which means the projectile tends to tear through what it hits, doing serious damage to living tissue, bones and anything else that gets in the way." He was babbling to cover his fright and confusion over what had just happened, and he knew it. He forced himself to stop.

In the heightened state of combat readiness that the wolf provided, Gwion was hyper-aware of things going on around him and noticed what Katya was doing with the stones. He figured they were some sort of runes, amulets or talismans but had no idea whether she had brought them with her from her own strange version of Earth - with its vampires and shape-shifting werewolves - or had picked them up in Capital City.

Wolfe was blathering about their firearms - Gwion filed away the information that they were from the former "Eastern Bloc" in case it became significant later - and everything seemed to have quietened down. The shadowy figures were gone - albeit into the now sleeping forms of the four kids - and there were no further threats so Gwion reined in the wolf and reasserted control.

One of the things Gwion had learned hanging out at Café Catacombs was how to control the change and he quickly regained control, losing the feral demeanor and hard look.

Gwion nodded in the direction of the sleeping students. "What's going to happen to them?"

edited 16th Apr '16 7:33:22 PM by Wolf1066

​[temple - Tsadro, Arthur, Finn, Peggy, Karl, Sophia] Just to get things going again

A person? In here? Hey, they knew they were going to an abandoned temple. If they thought they might get some leads on this associate in here, he wasn't going to stop them.

Tsadro took his minitablet out, which looked more like a sheet of very finely frosted glass the size of a large Earthen smartphone than anything else. The display was already lit as it slid out of the pouch on his belt, and he used his implants to navigate into the settings and open it for communication, then reopened his implants for communication as well. To the casual observer, the tablet looked to be doing this all on its own, as all he had to do was stand there and hold the tablet in his hand. "Arthur, send me those pictures." He turned to Peggy and added, "Interested in joining me?"

edited 16th Apr '16 6:48:27 AM by CrystalGlacia

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."

Southwestern Desert - Temple

[Tsadro, Arthur, Peggy, Karl, Sophia and Finn]

Tsadro took out something that looked a lot like some species of "Smart Phone" and Peggy couldn't help but notice that it started doing things without Tsadro touching the screen. Wolfe's phone required him to touch "icons" and manipulate elements on the screen, so this was obviously far more advanced and evidently wirelessly connected to Tsadro's nervous system.

Peggy nodded in answer to his question. "Sure. That sounds as good a plan as any."

At that, Finn stepped forward. "I'll come along, too, if you don't mind."

Sophia moved herself closer to where Arthur was standing. "Which leaves you, me and Karl for the second group. Which direction were you planning to go?"

[Hotel] (Lobby)

Rin glanced between John and James. "Admittedly," she said. "I don't know much about cats, cages or allergies... But I don't think a cage would do much about the sneezing. How long do you suppose you'd be gone for?" She said, briefly glancing over at Daniel. "I know we all just met, but I very much doubt I'll be going anywhere any time soon, so I could keep an eye on your cat, if you'd like."

She hesitated, momentarily pursing her lips. "On the other hand..." She looked over at Daniel again. "I could get you anywhere around here faster than any car. I'm not sure I'd be allowed to leave, though..."

Not entirely dead.

[Grand Hotel] (Lobby)

Danny scratched the back of his head. "It's a good kitty, it's just..." He let the words linger as his nose started to tickle again. He wiped his nose on his sleeve again. "As long as you keep Pancake like 20 feet away from me, I'll be golden."

"A car? Really? That'd be great." For a brief moment, he cringed. Maybe it was the two men calling each other "honey" like a housewife to her husband. He wasn't adverse to gay men, no, he'd met a few in the war. He hadn't seen it much in his time. Danny hoped it didn't show.

To Rin, he said, "I don't wanna be out there for more than a few hours... Two at the least." He thought it over. By car the hunt should go faster. But still, it was a huge desert with one crazed man on the loose. The hunt could go aimless or crazy. His eyes widened when Rin made a suggestion. "But what did you mean by that? Can you teleport or some shit?"

---

Current Time: 12:00 PM

Current Weather: Clouds covered up 70% of the sky now, with only a few piercing breaks for sunlight. They were by no means thick, but still could prove worrisome as they kept rolling in.

Life is hard, that's why no one survives.

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Dining Room)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Irina, Maya, Samuel)

Davey shrugged, "Well there's no need to hold back now;" he pointed purposefully at the table and commanded, "fill those plates."

He studied the seating arrangements for a moment, tapping his short fingers together. Samuel and Irina were clearly seated, and it seemed unlikely that Amy and Maya would sit apart. That left only Connie as the wildcard. He looked at her and, after a few moments spent paying attention to something Amy was saying, she looked back at him. He glanced from her to the table and back to her, giving a slight shrug-like turn of his hand. Her eyebrows raised slightly, then she tipped her head, nodding towards the other side of the table—at the open spot alongside Irina and Samuel—and giving him a quick smile.

Davey returned the smile; one that he couldn't quite get off his face as he sauntered his way over to his seat and took it with pride. Thankfully, the chairs each had a slight gap between the seat and the backrest, not requiring any unusual sitting methods to fit Davey's tail. Once seated and drawn close enough to the table, he looked over at his table mates, both to better listen to Samuel's story, and to see if he could get Irina to look back.

Connie, meanwhile, was getting confused. Amy asked if she could tag along to the kitchen, as if walking to the kitchen was some kind of journey. Connie squinted at her, then—just to be doubly certain—glanced at the door to the kitchen, which was little more than ten feet away. Before she could say anything about it, Amy began asking her about the food.

"No clue, sorry." she answered, shaking her head. "I've never been here before. David has, but I think he said that was a while ago. But hey, it all looks pretty great, and there's a lot of it, so uh... don't be shy."

She wandered back into the kitchen, looking back to make sure that Amy and Maya didn't get lost on the big trek. Once they were close enough, Connie waved around at the remaining trays of food.

"I was trying to get this stuff right out on the table so we didn't have to go wandering around to serve ourselves or get seconds or whatever. You want to help with that or what?"

Back at the table, Davey shook his head slowly and remarked, "I can't possibly imagine. Sounds like an orchestra's worth of air fighters under your command, and here I've never even been on an airliner. Do go on."

edited 20th Apr '16 1:01:55 AM by Ryuhza

every little word and every little step

[Bed and Breakfast (Kitchen)]

Amy nodded, her smile wide.

"I love to help!" she said, "Helping people is what I love to do! Helping people helps everyone! Helping p-"

Maya quickly put her hands on her shoulders, which seemed to instantly calmed her down. Both of them decided to carry plates. Amy carried most of the plates, with one balancing on her head. Maya only carried about two plates.

"Oh! How long have you known Davey, Con-Con?" Amy then asked, "Do you mind if I call you Con-Con? I love giving nicknames to people. And I think Con-Con's a cute nickname! Anyway, are you and Davey friends? Close friends? Best friends? Mega friends? Oh! Also, do you guys like flying planes?"

---

[Hotel (Lobby)]

"I'll hold her in my lap." John said, "She likes it when someone holds her in her lap."

James smiled. "Don't worry. We'll have enough gas to get us through the desert. Besides, we've been there before. That's how we got lost the first time we came here."

"Do we really have to say all that?"

"Hey, at least he knows we experinced this before."

John sighed. "I guess. But if we're possibly dealing with someone dangerous, you have the means to defend yourself, right Danny? If not, don't worry. James and I will make sure nothing happens to you."

Pancake nuzzled Rin's hand.

edited 17th Apr '16 1:27:39 PM by Masterofchaos

Northern Desert

Hazel was a bit suspicious at Rip's hesitance to divulge information. It could mean two things: Either Hazel was trying to pry into something immensely private for Rip, or he was up to no good. Hazel could respect the former, but the latter made her hesitant. She wasn't sure enough about this Rip person to make an accurate assessment of his character, but she didn't want to be an accomplice to insidious shenanigans.

"...Well, it's hard to really do anything if you don't tell me more about this rock and how it works. So it's a rock that attracts ghosts, and has a ghost stuck inside it right now. That doesn't tell me a lot about how it works, no?" Hazel said to Rip, trying to keep her voice neutral and not let her slight annoyance at Rip seep out into her words. "Does the rock's ghost-attracting abilities activate, or is it a passive ability? What were you doing when you did whatever that ended up with the murderous ghost stuck inside this rock?"

While Hazel let Rip respond, she focused her magical abilities, shaping a small spell with her mind and will. A simple analytical spell to reveal some of the magics behind the object, to help determine its function. Not meant for very detailed analysis, but it should be enough to ascertain the function of the object. at least on a fundamental level. A useful tool, although the results were not always the easiest to interpret. That required a level of skill and knowledge. Hazel's brain went through a half-remembered list of signs from her HDSP specialist training on identifying magical objects.

Hazel hoped that the rock's abilities were activated, as it made figuring out how to exorcise the rock a bit easier—a matter of finding the 'off' switch. If not...well, Hazel's job would be a bit harder.

Hazel glanced up to the sky, and wondered if it was going to rain. She remembered reading something about thunderstorms often leading to flash floods in the desert, though she didn't hear any rumbling of thunder. She thought about probing up in the sky to see what's going on, but decided against it. Best to save energy.

edited 15th Apr '16 9:27:54 PM by Tehpillowstar

"Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight." - R. W. Raymond

Small Valley

Both Roscoe and Blair noted as Cyrus and Kito switched again. Roscoe gave a little smile, but otherwise hung back; she had no weapon of her own. Blair unslung his bow and drew an arrow. Time was passing an the weather was not improving. “Excellent. Shall we on, then?”

Desert Trail - Wagon (Nemaforte, Zuri, Lupin, Yamiko, Vicky, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion, Katya, Iraal, Scents)

Nemaforte was fasinated by the weapons Teri and Wolfe were holding, and listened intently to their explanation... even though half of it didn't make any sense to her.

"Kinetic... energy?" she asked with uncertainty. "Meaning they use magic to move things forward at very fast speeds?" She gazed down the barrel of one of the rifles. "Odd. I detect no aura at all on this rifle. How do the pellets fly? What you talk of sounds like a dart, but flying one faster than sound takes many of efforts."

It wasn't until Wolfe repeated his question about what was going to happen to the parapsychology students that Nemaforte even remembered they were there. Shocked for a bit, Nemaforte took a look at them... and what she saw both interested and shocked her. She looked over all four of them with a marked curiosity.

"I sure do sense another presence inside of them, but it is not an evil presence," Nemaforte assessed. "In fact, they seem... stronger, somehow. But... Yamiko, the telepath, holds a spirit that is far more harmful. She bears a power widely feared on Orenya. The power to cause pain through magical direction. As for their souls... Draza is a state where the soul is trapped inside the body, where the body is dead or locked in a nightmare, and the soul is inactive, unable to act. Yamiko should be watched over, but still, I feel that soon they shall re-awaken. The essence of the shadows seems non-existent now, replaced by the additional presences inside of them."

Her eyes fell on Yamiko again, arguably the most oddly-dressed (certainly the fanciest-dressed) here, whom the shadowy figure addressed as the "child of darkness". There was something oddly familiar about the malicious presence inside of her, one which even appeared to worry Nemaforte a bit. "There is an herb... from Zurem..." Nemaforte muttered, mostly to herself, "called Drakima. It is a black and thorny shrub, and is known as among the evilest of herbs. When taken, it ensnares its victims in a long and unbearable nightmare. Upon waking, feelings get lost. Memories get lost. Emotions get disturbed. Impulses run wild. Many a victim has even started harming themselves, or else becoming unable to love. Its energies... are similar to those around Yamiko."

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.

[Hotel] (Lobby)

"Well, no," said Rin. "But I can fly, and I'm... Well, I'm stronger than I look. So if you have a specific destination in mind, I can get you there." She shrugged. "And if you're looking for someone who's out in the middle of nowhere, I could probably help with that, too. I have equipment that enables me to spot people from far away," she said, rather nonchalantly. "Of course, I'd have to ask for permission first..." she muttered.

She reached out to scratch under Pancake's chin, and see if she could convince the cat to flop over onto her back, so Rin could pet her fluffy belly.

---

[Small Valley]

"Yes!" Moaned Hoshi. "Let's go already! Sheesh!"

"As I said earlier," said Miyuki. "Hoshi and I were able to scout out the valley from the air. I can guide us along a path that will minimize our contact with and proximity to the plants and animals. Follow me, stay close, and don't get distracted," she ordered. "When we're at a point where we can't avoid being seen by the people out there, I'll let you all know."

And with that, she turned and walked into the valley, with Hoshi following close behind her, humming a happy tune and still as carefree as ever.

Not entirely dead.

​[temple foyer -> temple north corridor; Tsadro, Finn, Peggy]

Tsadro sorted the received images into a new directory with implant commands, and felt the familiar rush of aither as Arthur's tablet reconnected to those same implants.

"Guess this is where we part for now." He gave Arthur a nod. "We're going north," he said, motioning with his whole hand down the hall with the pile of armor at the end, "at least checking to make sure that won't come back to life." Arthur's group picked their direction, and the two groups were off.

Tsadro guided Finn and Peggy down towards the armor, slipping his white leather glove onto his left hand before using it to lift up some pieces of armor. He peered into them, also casting his senses inside for any sort of energetic stirrings or signs of life. It looked like there were none. That was nice, but the beast had fallen right at a T-intersection of corridors, and he couldn't tell which corridor the thing had actually come from.

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."

[Trail to Mountains - Wagon (Teri, Wolfe, Gwion, Nemaforte, Zuri, Lupin, Yamiko, Vicky, Iraal, Scents, Katya)]

Scents touched the glowing spear decal on her armor's left arm and began cursing extensively in her native language. Her translation software had enough simulated tact to not even bother with trying to translate any of it. Her fur was still bristling, her ears were still flat against her head, and she was watching the young human students with extreme wariness.

So I'm not going to do anything yet, but the instant the doc says or something funny happens...

I think I may need to actually start praying.

Iraal raised one hand to signal the driver. "Stop the wagon!" Before she could react, though, the orl waved it back and forth. "Er - no - never mind. Actually, speed up. Go faster."

She had no idea what to make of anything that had just happened, but it had left her feeling genuinely unsettled. It wasn't something that happened very often, and she did not like it.

Moving over to the robot - and looking warily at the unconscious humans - she opened one of the storage compartments atop Lament and pulled out a small vial made of a yellow crystalline material. She clutched it closely - she wasn't sure if she actually needed it, but it would be... reassuring to have.

Looking over at Nemaforte, she let out a quiet rumble, almost a growl. She took a few moments to study her software's suggestions and mentally compose what she was about to say - to order, really - since this was not at all a good time to let her social impairment cause problems. She also mentally noted what the shadow had said, though she didn't try to understand it just yet.

"Now," she told the Orenyan. Please explain to me in as basic terms as you can what just happened, what those things were, and what the lingering effects will be. Because I am no longer certain if I want the - the psychics accompanying us."

Meanwhile, Scents, striding faster to keep alongside the wagon, looked up at Gwion. He smelled... funny, though it faded even as she looked. But funny smell or not, he seemed to be cooler than Wolfe or Teri were right now.

"So, um, thoughts?" she asked him.

edited 17th Apr '16 12:04:45 AM by nrjxll

Trail to the Mountains - Wagon

[Nemaforte, Zuri, Lupin, Yamiko, Vicky, Katya, Iraal, Scents, Teri, Wolfe and Gwion]

Wolfe and Teri lit cigarettes to calm their shattered nerves after the strange assault and Gwion followed suit.

Once Nemaforte had pronounced that the additional presences within the stricken students weren't "evil", Teri felt a lot more reassured. All this weird supernatural shit was still very alien to her, despite her experiences in Capital City and the Mountain Resort, and she wasn't entirely comfortable with it.

"So we only really need worry about Yamiko," said Gwion, once Nemaforte had finished talking.

It was good to hear that the youngsters weren't likely to die horribly but Gwion was concerned by Nemaforte's description of "Draza" and the effects of a herb that had similar "energies" to those around Yamiko - neither sounded particularly good, especially the bits about self-harm and the potential for long-term emotional problems.

Just then, Follows-Many-Scents asked him for his thoughts on the matter.

"It may be that we'll have to subdue one or more of the kids if they come 'round and try to harm themselves or someone else. It's tempting to restrain them now while they're still unconscious but that wouldn't be ethical - we'd need to be certain that they're a threat to themselves or others."

He looked appraisingly at Scents' armour. "I dare say we've both got the means to subdue someone without inflicting too much harm."

Wolfe could certainly understand Iraal's concerns. The sight of those hideous apparitions sliding into the kids' bodies brought all manner of Horror Movie tropes to mind. Nemaforte reckoned that they were not possessed by anything evil, but she had also said that Yamiko may come around and be emotionally messed up and agitated - who knew what she might do.

Southwestern Desert - Temple (North Corridor)

[Tsadro, Peggy and Finn]

Peggy and Finn followed Tsadro towards the fallen pile of golden armour and stopped when he stopped to inspect it.

Was he really concerned that thing would come back to life? Peggy wondered. If so, the ramifications didn't bear thinking of. "What was it? It doesn't look like that was made to fit a human."

Finn looked at the pieces Tsadro was inspecting. Sophia would be able to do thermal scans to check for any heat traces that might indicate "life" - whether biological or electrical - but his own eyes were natural and he had not considered it necessary to bring anything like thermal imaging or night-vision equipment when he left Earth.

Tsadro seemed to be enhanced as well as carrying a large amount of high-tech equipment, so Finn hoped that the pale-skinned man had something to ensure that the remains were truly inert.

When no sounds or sign of alarm were forthcoming from Tsadro, Finn turned his attention to the corridor that headed off in two directions from that point.

"Either of you have any preference for which way we go?" he asked.

edited 17th Apr '16 10:23:22 PM by Wolf1066

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Dining Room)] (Connie, Amy, Maya)

Connie stared at Amy blankly, then glanced at Maya, hoping to be bailed out. Eventually, Amy ran out of questions, and Connie couldn't wait forever for social rescue to rear it's head.

"Oh jeez," she said, scratching her neck, "I didn't know there was going to be a test. I forgot to study. Uh... ikay, let's get with it, twenty questions, twenty questions..." she leaned against the counter and glanced up at the ceiling, her face contorting in tiny ways as she sorted out Amy's questions, and thought through how best to answer them. "Dave, uh, I've known him for about a half a year. Weird how quickly you get used to things like... well, these sorts of things. Dave sorts of things. And friends is a good term. Good friends, yeah. Kinda like roomies. Well, kinda. If one roomie was covering the other one pretty much entirely." She nodded slowly, tipping her head a bit, "Yeah, he and Rip have helped out a great deal with the whole... situation."

She paused. Her eyes quickly fluttered over the faces of both the other girls, studying them for a moment before returning to focus on the ceiling. Without clarifying further, she continued, "And thanks, but 'Connie' is already a nickname, and I think one is plenty enough. I've never flown a plane." She put her hands up, as though someone was pointing a gun on her, but she wasn't too concerned about it. "Can't speak for anyone else. Anyway, you wanna maybe set some of those down before we get too into this questionnaire? And I think the Colonel is telling that story I asked him about."

---

[Northern Desert] (Rip, Hazel)

Rip clicked his teeth together, then tightened his jaw and heaved a low sigh. Perhaps it had been a jump to unreasonable conclusions, but he was slowly losing patience with what he had thought was surefire salvation.

"Look, I'm no rockologist. I'm not in touch with whatever dead-willing power that you and this stone have got. Point being, I can't tell you a terrible lot about how this thing works— not because I don't want to; because I can't."

He paused for a few second, folding his arms and stepping back to lean against the side of his truck. His nose twitch twice, wrinkling slightly, as though responding to an itch. Another sigh reluctantly slipped out, he eyed Hazel for a moment, then he spoke again. "I used a stick of charcoal to draw three circles and... some symbols. The stone was in one of the circles. It was supposed to help draw out the... the specific s- spirit." he closed his eyes, averting them from Hazel before they reopened. "The one I was lookin' for."

every little word and every little step

[Bed and Breakfast (Kitchen)-(Dining Hall)]

Amy nodded. "Ok! No Con-Con, and I'll save the rest of my questions for later! And then afterwards, we can learn more about each other! That's always fun! For now, story time!"

Maya gave Connie an apologetic look, knowing that she probably was very confused by Amy's behavior. If her hands weren't full at the moment, she would've gave her a text.

Once they got to the dining hall, Amy started setting the plates on the table. The last plate, the one on her head, was hers. She sat back down at her seat, with Maya sitting next to her.

You're gonna sign back everything he says, right? Maya signed.

"Of course!" Amy whispered and signed, "Like I'm gonna leave you out on this!"

Aaaand that's all I got. |D

[Grand Hotel (Lobby)]

Danny made the slightest smile—so much so that someone from afar would think he wasn't. "Nah, I'm capable. If you two are capable, that makes it better."

"He could be anywhere in some direction, but—wait, you can fly?" The man appeared bewildered, and even blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "Fuck, that's... Something. I mean, you could come along, but uh, yeah."

---

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Dining Room)] (Davey, Irina, Samuel)

Irina nodded to Davey, and gave him a smile. She hoped it was in reassurance and not patronizing in any way—he seemed to hate it enough.

Samuel smiled. "Hah, my tactical mentor called commanding something like that before. He then continued, "...Around 20 minutes later, we're goin' through the skies and the first thing we see is this flare, y'know, from the enemy base..."

The pilot to Samuel's craft saw it first, then alerted over the comm. Samuel stood up and leaned outside the hovercopter's door. The wind whipped through his clothes and other gear. A crimson flare shred up through the horizon. The Colonel wet his lips before jumping back inside. "This is Command Double-O. I want all squads to diverge. Only Crimson squad heads west. We have reason to believe the enemy sees us. Caravan lead all forces, start moving north now and wait for orders. Comm me on emergency frequency seven-seven."

He watched as the bulk of all 33 aircraft turned northwards.

One of the men in his vehicle, Private Bradley, shouted among the loud engines, "Colonel Sir, what formation is this? What's the plan?"

Samuel replied with a cocky smile, "It's called being a sneaky sonuvabitch."

Todd knew what he planned, and commanded accordingly.

The ex-Colonel explained, "If they knew we were coming, that'd be bad if they could prepare for all of us. If they see like five of us, they won't prepare for much. Common sense, I think."

Life is hard, that's why no one survives.

[Small Valley]

"About time," Brin said. "It's like waiting for Zhi to decide if she wants dumplings or friend rice." She sighed and headed forth, still waiting for Blair's response to her question. Suela, on the other hand, remained towards the back of the group; she didn't fancy her odds if there was any sort of trouble from the beasts or soldiers.

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Dining Room)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Irina, Maya, Samuel)

Connie immediately knew what her first question for Amy would be.

Is there anything you aren't this excited about?

Half of her expected Amy to simply state 'no', and the other half expected a typical hippy answer, like 'sadness' or 'bummers'. Connie frowned slightly. She wasn't always riding the feel-good train of nice thoughts and flowers, but she did feel unusually snide. It was as though Amy's excessive excitement had been sucked straight from Connie's own reservoir, leaving her unduly cynical.

She lingered behind as the other two left the kitchen, taking a moment to clear her head in a loose sense of solitude.

Back at the dining room table, Davey returned Irina's smile, clasping his hands together and setting them on the table in a way he thought looked sophisticated. His gaze was briefly drawn away by the return of Amy and Maya, though he paid them little mind until he took notice of the food trays they were carrying.

"Ah..." he beamed enthusiastically and raised his hand slightly, "Amy, mind sliding those hotcakes my way?" While he waited, he turned his attention back to Samuel and his story, smiling slightly as he said, "Yes, sounds like a good plan to me. But a good plan going off without a hitch doesn't make for a very compelling story. Do go on."

Connie reentered, carrying the pot of oatmeal. She found a spot to set it near to her seat and fell back into her chair, sagging slightly. She glanced at Davey, then at Samuel. "So is everyone dead yet?"

every little word and every little step

[Bed and Breakfast (Dining Hall)]

Amy nodded. "Pancakes, coming right up!"

She carefully handed the pancakes to David, trying not to knock over any of the food off the table, or have the pancakes fall off the plate. She still had no idea what was going on, but the story was very engaging to her. She couldn't wait to hear more of it.

Though, Connie's comment didn't sit right with her.

"That's a little harsh, Connie." she said, "But what did happen next?"

Maya took a small sip of orange juice, waiting for Samuel to continue and for Amy to keep signing back to her.

---

[Hotel (Lobby)]

James felt a little offended at Daniel doubting them, but he let it slide. It wasn't that much of a big deal anyway. Instead, he said, "We'll put Pancake in the front seat; that way she won't mess with you too much. Besides, she's John's baby."

"I'm curious." John said, turning to Rin, "Why can't you leave? Are you waiting for someone?"

Pancake rolled over on her back and grabbed Rin's arm.

edited 20th Apr '16 4:17:14 PM by Masterofchaos

[Small Valley] >>> [Valley of the Dead God] (Near Military Detachment)

Miyuki's path was a long and winding one, with many detours to avoid threats that wouldn't be obvious to anyone who hadn't scouted out the area from above. She stuck to her planned route strictly, accepting no suggestions and never pausing for rest or to get her bearings. But her plan was highly effective as, after a lengthy trudge through unnerving terrain, they arrived at their destination, having successfully avoided any unpleasant encounters with the local flora and fauna.

Miyuki stopped, and turned to face to the group. "This is where the rest of you stop," she said. "They won't be able to see you here. Brin, Blair, the soldiers' encampment is straight ahead, just over the hill. You shouldn't have any problems getting there."

"Unless, of course, they start shooting at you," interjected Hoshi, rather casually.

Miyuki nodded. "Even if that happens, Hoshi and I will be watching from above and standing by to intervene. Wave to the sky to give us the all-clear. Hold up two fingers if you feel you're in danger and need to get out."

"Or just start running," Hoshi added, wryly. "That'd be a pretty clear sign too."

---

[Hotel] (Lobby)

In response to John's question, Rin sighed. "I didn't come here alone. I'm a bodyguard, I have my duty to perform, so I can't just get up and leave whenever I want. As I said, I would have to ask for permission."

Rin was more than happy to let Pancake nibble and claw to her little heart's content, so long as her fluffy belly remained decidedly pet-able.

Not entirely dead.

[Town ~ Bed and Breakfast (Dining Room)] (Connie, Davey, Amy, Irina, Maya, Samuel)

Samuel pointed a finger at Davey and agreed, "You're right about that, Davey. Shit only rarely gets right the first time."

He continued to a eat a bit more, and only stopped when he saw everyone finally settled. "All right, it seems I got an audience now."

Samuel cleared his throat and continued.

He sat back and watched his men ready themselves for a fight. His boys strapped on their helmets and stuck the magazines in their automatic weapons. The pilots opened the sheaths for thier missiles and mounted mini guns. Samuel used to arm the latter—really strong and can tear vehicles and men apart. Not many enjoyed it as much as he did.

When main command reached the base, it was barely alive. Samuel poked his head outside again and squinted through the morning light. He could see the city nearby moving like normal, but the base was utterly silent. It was as still as a marble statue.

Samuel frowned. Was the flare a ruse? Was it a warning to everyone on base? He figured quickly that they hunkered down, because if they were escaping, they'd still be moving out. Samuel decided for a moment that they should turn back around.

That is, until someone fired an anti-aircraft missile. Two aircraft behind his own acted quick and curved its way out.

The missile's arc led it back into the base. And below, the Veniterres pulled out their counter-attack. Men ran out of the woodwork with weapons and angry faces.

So much for an ambush, Samuel thought. He ordered for his squad to make a loop and to begin firing on them.

The five vehicles dipped low and began their assault.

The command aircraft got struck in the back. Samuel leaned out to see the engine afire. He turned to his mic and shouted for the pilot to land in the airfield.

The pilot relayed the message to the others. The men in the others had a pact— to protect their commander at all costs. Losing him wouldn't only ruin their chances at a battle, but ruin their chances of working in their favorite unit. The other aircraft fired at and destroyed anything and anyone that may harm the Colonel in his descent. Luckily, they were able to land safely. But smoke filled their nostrils.

As fire and rained down upon those in the command aircraft, Samuel grabbed his weapon. He shouted to his men, "We defend this craft before it blows. We run for the safest spot in five minutes!"

As enemies swarmed them, the group popped out of the sides with firepower. Soon enough, they were clear, and the smell of burning fuel came up. He saw a door for the massive hangar. He made up his mind.

He waved to his defenders. "C'mon, go, go, go!" Samuel jumped out, and made a beeline for the hangar's opening. His men and even the pilots hopped out as well and followed.

Inside the hangar was quiet and unarmed soldiers. As Samuel and his unharmed vanguard pointed their weapons at people and cleared any exit, he said, "You're under our control now. Give it up."

But he spotted someone run for a vehicle. He went for his pistol instead of his rifle. He shot for his foot. The man merely stumbled as he kept going. He got a door open and a leg into the cockpit before Samuel met with him. He grabbed the soldier's arm and pulled him out. The soldier swung a punch at Samuel, and tried to take off the helmet.

It was a bad mistake. The Colonel returned a punch, and shoved him to the ground.

"Respect your elders," he said. He spat a wad of blood on the man's back. He licked his gums and teeth to make sure none got knocked in. Sam stepped on the soldier and ordered for the rest of the men to defend the hangar.

He then tried to speak into his mic, only to find it wrecked from the scuffle. He yanked it out of his helmet and balled it into a fist. "Dammit, can't tell Kimball to haul ass over here."

Private Bradley, who stared outside, said, "He's already here, Colonel."

Samuel finished the part with a gulp of water. "By that time, Todd told me a smaller hovercopter got shot down. The two on board died, but they crashed into a group with explosives. Those two actually may have saved both our asses..."

Irina listened on, but was surprised that he immediately added the last part. He usually saved it for last.

---

[Grand Hotel] (Lobby) (Daniel, John, James, Rin)

Daniel scratched behind his ear. His eyebrows jumped up. "Oh, bodyguard, eh?" He then shrugged. "I mean, your duty, you don't have to come."

The man itched a bit of Pancake's belly. "I wouldn't mind. She's a nice kitty. Reminds me... Reminds me of my first house pet. It was a stray cat—my mom knew I was hiding something when I was sick for two solid weeks. I think I named him Sniffles." He smiled and laughed at it. "Never got any pets after that, until I got my sister. She likes rabbits."

Life is hard, that's why no one survives.

[Temple Foyer —> East Temple Corridor (Arthur, Sophia, Karl)]

Arthur answered Sophia's question by walking in the direction he wanted to go and nodding at the others to follow him while rapidly typing something on his tablet. Then he raised his tablet to show them a picture of a metal blast door in a cave wall for a moment.

<ok, here's the deal. once we find one of these doors, i'll help one of my teammates access it remotely so she can let us in. once the doors open, stay alert, because they've got laser turrets and other not fun things guarding the place. my teammate can try to disable some, but these places tend to be kind of run-down, not everything works as it should. my pistol is pretty effective against machinery though, a decent charge can destroy a small turret with a single hit. i just have two requests. first, if you see any humanoid robots, ask questions first, shoot later, my team really needs them. second, you can pick stuff up, but i'm going to have to look at everything you take to make sure it's not something my team needs before i let you walk away. thanks.>

The last battle's curtains will open on stage!

Northern Desert

Three circles and a whole buncha symbols. Are you trying to be unhelpful as possible? Hazel thought to herself, getting more and more annoyed and frustrated with Rip.

"Okay then...can you show it to me? Draw it on the sand?"

Hazel pursed her lips at Rip's obvious frustration and impatience, and decided to clarify her issue. She figured that while Rip may know how to use the spirit-stone, he probably was unfamiliar with how magic worked in general. She sighed, then said, "Look, I'm trying to help you, but when you don't tell me anything it's hard to do anything significant. I don't know what this rock does, how it works and what's its mechanism behind it. I don't know anything about it.

"I'm not trying to embarrass you or pry into your private affairs, but it's really in your best interest to tell me what's going on with the rock without going all fuckin' vague on me. Trust me, it's so much faster when I don't have to play Twenty-Questions with you. And think about it, it's a safety thing for me too. If I start doing stuff, and you fail to tell me say, 'Oh, if you do this the rock will blow up', and I do said thing...well, do you see my point?"

She paused to stare at Rip. "If you went to a doctor cuz you had a stomachache, but all you told him was that you had a stomachache, how can your doctor find what's wrong with you?"

"Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight." - R. W. Raymond

[temple, north corridor > temple, west T-intersection - Tsadro, Peggy, Finn]

Still squatting next to the armor, he laced his fingers when he finished checking it as he ran through things he knew that he could liken it to, a creature any Earthling would recognize as a flaming armored lion. "It looked like... a giant snowcat with some kind of mane, but covered in fire," he said carefully. "Not like it had been set on fire, but like it sprouted fire from all over its body," Tsadro said as he got to his feet. "A woman claimed to be hiding family riches in here yesterday, supposedly using this creature to guard them. I found the former decision quite odd."

"The others went east, yes?" Nods. Alright. Even the back end of the armor seemed to be angled slightly towards the west side of the T-intersection, so... west it was!

"We'll go west," he said, taking the spool of twine and two nails out of the pouch on his belt. "Don't want to run into them if that," he nodded to the east side of the T-intersection, "connects."

He went to the left-hand wall that led down the west corridor, the one with the actual corner, and drove each nail into gaps between some bricks, each on different sides of the corner. Tsadro tied one end of the string to the nail going down the west hall, keeping the loose end short, then ran the twine around the corner and looped it around the other nail. He pulled a good length of extra string off the spool and pinched where he wanted to cut it between two fingers, burn-cutting the string as the blackened end dropped from his finger, then stowed the spool away as he tied the long end into a large loop that fell a good 25cm.

"Just received word from Arthur that there may be turrets guarding this lab he's searching for. I'm setting up these makeshift arrows whenever we turn a corner, in case we need to get out of here. Move straight until you see the end of a string, then follow around the corner, loop will point you down the corridor you want."

Wolf, you can just write them heading left in your post; Tsadro's just explaining how to navigate out.

edited 24th Apr '16 3:51:17 PM by CrystalGlacia

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."