Futuristic Heralds of Change

[jmann]

Darwin Blacke: ???

Darwin Blacke stood in stunned silence as the titan spoke. He was quietly panicking at the thought that maybe it wasn’t a dream, and he had really just been summoned by a great monster, and that he had sassed it. The notion of dying here was not lost on him, nor was it easily ignored. The last time he was bound into service, he was forced to challenge the very ideals he was raised with, and abandon those he loved most. This time, he wouldn’t be signing a contract of employment, he’d be signing away his soul. Should he want to liquify again and join the metal brew below, he could simply say so. His story wouldn’t end there, however. He knew his only real choice was to sign away his very identity to this massive thing.

“Bah!” Darwin moved before he could regret his actions. He unbuttoned and unzipped his jumpsuit, pulling his good left arm and shoulder out of the suit. Beneath the suit, Darwin was dangerously thin, and what little there was of him was all muscle. Along his forearm were small tattoos of custom symbols, marking the different gangs he’d joined fallen out of in his youth. Each one of them was as much a family to him as his real one, but when people come to your house late at night with gas and rubber bullets, families tend to be divided. The vast majority had ended up imprisoned, some were worse off. Such was life in anti-establsihment gangs scattered through Sarato. The highest was just underneath his elbow and depicted a crown with two black bars underneath it; the insignia of Duke Kenderdike, the last gang Darwin escaped from before swearing off loyalties entirely. Yet, when faced with an impossible bargain, Darwin would need to break his word.
Darwin patted his upper arm that was bare of tattoos.
“Normally we get dinner first, but uhh, try not to kill me, yeah?”
In a flash, white-hot pain coursed through his arm and centred on where he’d indicated. Darwin stumbled back and his leg gave out, sending his crashing to the ground, clutching his arm. His skin felt like it was on fire, even after the majority of the pain had subsided. He looked down at his arm, red from him squeezing. There, where his palm once covered, was a strange symbol Darwin couldn’t understand. He paused, his eyes wandering off into the distance. He had done it. He had signed away himself for the eternal service of some titan. He didn’t think he’d ever sign himself away like that again, yet here he was. It was inevitable, really. A man like him wasn’t meant to live free, he was meant to work and to serve. He was serving people since he was born, and yet again he would serve until he died. Darwin shook his head violently. There was no point to such thoughts, it was better to just live through each moment.
Darwin stood back up, staring down the titan in its burning eyes.
“Right, mate, you owe me some answers.”
He took a step forward. It seemed his leg had clicked back into gear and was fine for the time being.
“Firstly, what the fuck are you?”
“Secondly, and this is a biggie, what do you want from me?”
“Lastly, can man have his blessings now?”

---

Solirus

---

 

[Solirus]

The Titan watched as Darwin accepted their offer searing the symbol into their flesh. The Titan then listened to the questions brought forth by Darwin, most very important and necessary.

"What you see before you is a God of ancient times, bearing the name of Yasiclii, you'd do well to remember that name" Yasiclii explained a certain pride emanating through his voice.

"I shall not bore you with details, I need you for two reasons, the first is simple, I want you to spread ambition through the world I want you to be ambitious, to strive beyond what any would dare to hope, to topple down those above you and take their place or to create your own place above others, or to solidify said positions of power. Do that and my blessing shall grow ever greater." Yasiclii explained in a very serious yet excited tone.

"As for the second reason, we need you to fix the problems of your ancestors the mistake which led to the demise of great civilizations for my fellows and I have sensed the return of the coming apocalypse filled with rejuvenated vengeance and we have momentarily placed our differences aside for salvation. As such Darwin, you have accepted to become my Herald, one who will bring change to the world, bring forth it's true potential through your and others ambitions, and with your new found strength become it's savior!" Yasiclii finally presented his words echoing and shaking the firmament beneath them before calming down.

"Yes, you may now bear my blessing." Yasiclii calmly stated pointing his finger directly at Darwin. The symbol seared into Darwin's flesh began to glow brightly, the pain he had felt quickly ceased. The Wind around him began to feel warmer and calmer and the metal beneath him felt colder and more pleasant as if they brought close to no temperature.

jmann ​

 

[jmann]

Darwin Blacke: ???

Darwin Blacke marvelled at the sheer stupidity of his own actions. Not only had he signed away his soul, he had also joined a cult. It was far from the first time he had been hired to “fix problems”. The very words gave him a twinge of deep regret. Yet this problem seemed a little beyond his ability. Fixing the apocalypse and preventing another one? The very thought baffled him.
“How’s man supposed to do that? Don’t know if you’ve thought this through, blud; man’s just a man and you’re a building! What’s your plan, anyway?”
Darwin pulled his arm back inside his jumpsuit. Yasiclii mentioned being one of many others. Just how many were there? Were they all locked away like Yasiclii was? Would he need to free them as well?
“Am I supposed to find more of your lot, or just do the ambition ting?”
"How's this apocalypse gonna come about, anyway? It's aliens, innit?"

 

[Solirus]

Yasiclii the Titan

"You are confused and you are anxious, that is understandable" Yasiclii said sighing deeply almost relaxing his posture and tone, "To answer your first concern, I am unable to leave my realm, if I could, I would have done so already, thus I require a Herald to bring my will forth into the world."

Yasiclii paused once more before resuming his speech, "The ceremonious aspect has been completed, thus I shall now speak to you in a more direct ways...No, the Other Gods are not in need of awakening however there is one currently which seeks cooperation to see our goal of salvation met, you'll soon learn about them and potentially meet their herald, and yes, I wish for you to spread ambition, whether your own or that of the people around you, doing such you'll strengthen me and your blessing which shall grant you that edge in the outside."

Yasiclii hesitated and paused at the last question, "The renewed apocalypse is a mistake your ancestors committed over a thousand years ago in which almost all of humanity was eliminated. However their safety protocols managed to keep it mostly at bay, yet even that small percentage that escaped almost wiped off life from the planet, now that system is failing and I doubt that life will survive the full force of it, nay I'm certain nothing would be left. Understood that?" Yasiclii asked in a irritated tone by the end.

jmann ​

 

[jmann]

Darwin Blacke: ???

Darwin Blacke stood firm. Yasiclii continued to dodge how Darwin was supposed to avert the apocalypse. If his ancestors had put failsafe protocols in place, Darwin would only need to repair those systems, though doing that while they were still online would be a challenge. However, it could be possible to recreate the system on different hardware and have the new system stay online just long enough to repair the old one. There was no chance he could fully repace it, though, not without a massive source of energy and a royal fuckton of predecessor technology. Technically speaking, it was possible. Desert sands had swallowed up entire towns, it would come as no surprise that a perfectly preserved ship was still hiding under the sand.
“Right,” Darwin snapped himself out of his thoughts, looking back to the Titan before him.
“I think I get you. Just one more question, though. When do I start?”

Solirus

 

[Solirus]

Yasiclii

"You'll be starting... Now" Yasiclii declared in an almost bored tone, raising his hand as the distant metal rose to unimaginable heights as wave ready to devour anything in it's path, "When you wake up, you'll find Oliver, he'll help you through out your mission. Good luck" Yasiclii said, molding back into the mountain from before as the wave of metal devoured him from sight and soon violently swept away Darwin. The Molten metal however didn't hurt in fact it only felt slightly warm yet for a moment slowly however Darwin would lose consciousness and soon everything returned to dark no longer feeling the waves carrying him yet instead he could feel the warm feeling of sand on his fingertips.

jmann ​

 

[jmann]

Darwin Blacke: Desert

Darwin Blacke shot up, spitting out sand and shaking himself violently. He sat, covered in sand, in a shallow hole. It was like waking up in an open grave. Sand surrounded him on all sides and the hot air was almost welcoming from the uncomfortably cool air of Yasiclii's lair.
Darwin looked down to find that flare gun still in his palm from before. With a pained yell, Darwin threw the pistol as far as he could, sending it to be lost in the sands. Darwin stood up, dusting himself off. There was sand everywhere. His leg would surely be fucked by this point, and even his arm clicked as he moved it around. It would take him an hour to clean all this out, an hour that he didn't have.
The sun blazed overhead. The best he could do for now was to flip up the small cowl he had tucked into his jumpsuit. Darwin climbed from the small hole and looked around, spotting the shovel stuck into the sand just by his hole. Someone was here at some point. Not only that, someone had dug him up. That... or they hadn't finished burying him.
"Hey!" Darwin shouted to the air, "I'm here! I'm alive!"
Darwin heard no response, just the whistle of the wind on the sand.
Darwin grabbed the shovel and practised swinging it in his good hand. It would serve well enough for now. Darwin drew a line from where his body was pointing, just in case Yasiclii was sending him some message. The desert here was different to the one where he had died. He was nowhere near Sarato, so either someone moved his liquified puddle or Yasiclii had some hand in this. Whatever the case, he needed to move and he needed to find this Oliver person.

The more Darwin walked, the more something felt wrong in the distance. The heat haze didn't shimmer evenly. The air bent and contorted, except for a large portion a short ways off. Then the mirage fell and a massive vehicle took its place. Hidden from plain view before was a giant carrier truck. Its thick wheels were almost three times Darwin's height and still only accounted for half the vehicle's height.
"Hey!" Darwin shouted, waving his shovel. Making himself known was almost always a mistake, but at that point he really couldn't care. Worst case scenario they lock him up, yet prison was still preferable to the sand wastes around him. Plus, Oliver might've been on board.
So Darwin walked. He would continue to walk until he reached the carrier.

 

[Solirus]

Ziya and The Light

Collab with: Juju
​

“Wait, you’re actually real!? I mean, no offense, but I totally thought you were just some made-up excuse for the shamans to just do what they want. I never thought prayers were even heard…” Ziya placed a hand under her chin, “So that must mean you’ve heard all about me then…”

“Indeed I have, most of the prayers with your name in them have been for either your own salvation or curses for you to be consumed and erased...” The Light spoke a clear tinge of displeasure upon uttering the final words.

“Yeah… that sounds about right.” Ziya chuckled nervously, looking away for a moment. “So, uh, were they right then? You don’t exactly sound like you hate me.”

“No, I cannot hate my children, my loyal followers, I can only feel disappointment for some of their actions… Not all their words are true whether they realize it or not, you are much more than what they think, than what you yourself truly believe” The Light explained, the wisps orbiting faster and faster in excitement, some even beginning to orbit Ziya.

“Wait, you really think that!?” Ziya’s eyes widened and a giant, expectant grin spread across her face.

“I truly do even if others cannot see it yet, you have the potential to bring good to the world beyond, to where your fellows dare not to walk or venture for to them it is the unknown, the darkness, yet it is in the darkness that light is most needed, and you show not fear, but admiration and curiosity to venture forth into the unknown, qualities that make the future brighter.”

In but a moment, Ziya flew through the air and into The Light, hugging them with all arms and legs like some child. She was giggling with joy, and possibly crying a bit. Regardless, it was a mess. “I’m sorry for what I said about you! You’re the best, and real, and my best friend!”

The Light let itself receive the hug from Ziya yet it was clearly surprised by such excitement. The Light slowly gained its composure back and returned a hug to Ziya, “And you are forgiven” The light replied.

Ziya continued to cling onto the deity, happy tears in her eyes. It had been years since she had been given a hug, and years more since she had a friend. Now she had both. It didn’t matter that they were some strange, possibly omnipotent god. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“So does that mean I don’t have to drink any more cures for my curse? That stuff was awful… I knew it was poison! Did you see the way that shaman was looking at me? Crusty old cactus-breath. Wait a second… what was that stuff anyway? Question two! Why did I spontaneously combust?”

“In their attempt to purify you, they used questionable methods to create the cures using dangerous materials that affected your soul directly. The previous cures acted more like firewood for the soul with the last one being that match that would in their eyes purify your dark soul.” The Light hugged back tightly, “But what they failed to realize is that your soul never needed cleansing or curing, it just needed acceptance for what it was… However in that moment of agonizing combustion you ever so slightly entered the realm of the Gods and I took you in, saving you from the jaws of death. I was hoping your arrival would be more welcoming, I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them.”

“Nono, don’t be sorry, you saved me! Thank you, thank you! It was terrifying. Did I mention I hate fire? I mean, the glow is pretty, but when I get too close I just freeze up. I burned myself pretty bad when I was a kid, and there was this one time I had to stand really close to the holy flame so it would cleanse me… uh, anyway, we’re friends now, right? I’ve never had one, so I’m not sure how it works.” Ziya laughed sheepishly.

Ziya’s wings fluttered in happiness. She couldn’t remember the last time she had ever received a hug. A warmth was spreading all over her, though she wasn’t sure if it was because of touch-starvation or hugging a literal deity of light. Whatever it was, she didn’t want it to stop. She buried her face into The Light’s arms. “So.. my soul is different then. But not in a bad way? Did it get, uh, hurt when I burnt up? What about my body? Does this mean I’m not dead?”

“Your Soul is as it always was, you are still you, albeit the flames did mildly threaten to cause irreparable damage, but nothing I couldn’t fix. As for your body, it will be hard to explain where your body is exactly, however when you return to the world, you’ll have your body back as it was before burning.” The Light explained still hugging, it knew that it was for Ziya to decide whenever they wanted to stop hugging.

“What if I don’t want to go back?” Ziya looked up and shook her head, “Ah, no no, I don’t want to die or anything, but I mean… well, they’re just going to do the same thing, or worse. It always gets worse. They’re never going to give up. Even if I told them about you, they wouldn't believe me. Probably say it was the darkness speaking lies. I thought about running away, even tried it a few times, but I’m under heavy watch now.”

She scrunched up her face, “If I go back, does that also mean I won’t see you again. Well, until I die for good this time?”

“Tell me, what is your heart’s desire, when you return to the world, what do you want to do, what do you want to see?” The Light asked calmly and seriously, the wisps freezing in place and a warm wind blowing across.

“What do I want to do? Let’s see, oh I know, that’s easy. I want to explore outside the village and find out more about the strange lake-beast.” she hopped away from The Light, digging into her cloak to pull out the shining piece of unknown rock. “Like this? Isn’t it pretty? I have no idea what it is, but I found it beside the lake-beast. I even sketched it. Here, take a look!”

She pulled out a worn journal crammed with pressed leaves and various sketches. Flipping to a page, she pointed to a complete sketch of the sunken ruin at the bottom of her village’s lake. Ziya peered over the book, “There has to be more out there. I want to find them, and learn about them. The elders say it's evil, but I want to find the truth.”

The Light softly let go letting Ziya head towards the bag pulling and displaying all she had, “Your desire and love for discovery is rare within your village and if it is what you wish then I shall encourage it, for there is much you don’t know and so much more which you don’t even know that you don’t know.” The Light giggled to itself a little, “However as I am willing to let your desire flourish I must ask of you something important” The light explained, two chairs forming from the branch put next to each other. Placing its wings comfortably the Light sat on one of the chairs and with it’s hand tapped the other seat signalling for Ziya to sit alongside it.

“Wowie, nobody has said that! If I spoke about it in the village, all my stuff would be burnt. I had way better drawings in the past, but one of the elders took them.” Ziya beamed with pride, glad to finally show someone else her ‘research’. Without question, she sat down on the chair, one set of hands holding her book while the other cradled her chin. “Sure, ask away! What is it?”

The light paused, hesitating before speaking, “Do you wish to carry the burden of salvation?” The Light paused once more, before continuing. “The world is alive and growing once more, yet the mistakes of the past, of people long gone have come to haunt us once more and threaten to rid the world of all life and I simply cannot allow that” The light clutched his own hand looking at it, “yet I am powerless to stop it, though this world is growing, the goodness and righteousness of people is but fleeting, and thus with the little power I have, I would grant you my blessing to send you forth and become the savior this world needs… and perhaps while you do so you may discover the world and spread good into people” The light opened it’s palm revealing Ziya’s crystal. The light clutched the crystal tightly making it shine like never before, it’s wild and chaotic colors condescending into a golden glow. “Will you carry the burden” The Light said, offering the crystal back to Ziya.

For once, Ziya was quiet as she sat listening to what The Light had to say. She even looked serious, her head tilted and her eyes squinted slightly in concentration. With a finger under her chin, she observed The Light take her lucky amulet.

Every ounce of seriousness faded as soon as the golden glow claimed it. Burden? Danger? Adventure? There was only one answer. Ziya lept from her seat, twirling up into the air. “Of course! I’ve been waiting my whole life for something like this! Yes, yes, leave it to me! I can do it! Oh, this is amazing! Ah, I think I’m going to faint!”

Ziya placed two hands on either side of her face while the other pair flailed in excitement. “This means I’m going to leave the village and those crusty elders! Haha! I can finally see what's beyond the ridge! Oh, how exciting! And I got a new friend! This is the best day of my life!”

The Light looked back at Ziya, “I’m glad you’re excited and happy, the world needs more people like you… however before I send you off I must explain some things to you… As your friend you may personally call me by my real name: Geroligo, but you may call me Light if you so wish to.” Geroligo continued moving their gaze up, “The world is a dangerous place, and it would be foolish of me to send you alone… thankfully you shall be accompanying other people in your quest, one being a Herald from another fellow god who, like me, decided to take a more direct approach for salvation… Yet when you meet those two, I must tell you that they do not look like you or your tribe, you need only say you’ve been sent to save the world and they shall surely understand… Perhaps you may make friends with them too” Geroligo chuckled to themself. “Lastly I must tell you that before you go off, I shall grant you my blessing, spread good into people and that blessing shall grow stronger… as for the blessing itself… I’ll allow you to discover it on your own.”

“F-friend? Um, of course, Light - I mean Geroligo.” Ziya could hardly contain herself, making listening to the details rather difficult. “People who don’t look like my tribe! Do they have extra wings? More eyes? Different color fur!? No, wait, don’t tell me. I want to find out! I promise to help them, no matter what they look like! I’ll do it for you, and the world!”

“Then I’m counting on you and wishing you the best of luck” Geroligo stated placing their hand on Ziya’s left shoulder, “Oh and when you get there look for a person named Oliver, tell him The Light says hi” Geroligo finally said letting go. Upon letting go however Ziya felt the sensation of free fall everything around her seemed to be sinking at an increasing rate, she could see as she uncontrollably fell to the watery sky, “I’ll be seeing you some other time so be sure to take care you hear me!” Geroligo shouted as Ziya ascended further and further up before finally crashing into the waters of the sky.

She waved enthusiastically in return, a bit reluctant to leave behind the god, but hopeful with their parting words. “Goodbye, Gero! You take care too!”

Finally crashing into the waters Ziya felt the water surround her, the air still flowed in and out of her lungs yet she slowly lost consciousness as the brilliant water began to fade and soon the feeling of water was switched with the feeling of coarse and dusty sand.

 

[Solirus]

Darwin and Oliver

Collab with: jmann


​

Darwin Blacke approached the truck, still occasionally waving the shovel around.

The vehicle’s side entrance slowly began to open, a small staircase descended down to the sand before stopping not truly touching the ground. A loud hissing sound could be heard from the doors as they slowly began creaking wide open. From the door a figure stood wearing what almost seemed to be workers attire for the upper echelons of a Scrap city yet the design seemed foreign to Darwin at first sight. The figure didn’t move and kept staring at Darwin, no real emotion being discernable from the helmet they were wearing.

“Hey up!” Darwin shouted again, “You don’t happen to be Oliver?”
Darwin slowed to a stop about ten metres from the stairs. He gripped the shovel tightly, ready for anything. The whole attire and helmet of the figure marked them as being from some rich settlement. Darwin suspected he would regret whatever happened next.

The man slowly began to walk down the stairs, each step was careful and powerful, the man didn’t move his sights from Darwin. Finally the man took a short hop down making contact with the sand, a small cloud of sand lifting from the impact. The man looked down, he was considerably taller than Darwin standing at a height of 6’3, “Yes, I am Oliver” The man responded in a serious and almost monotone voice.

Darwin breathed a sigh of relief, walking closer and loosening his grip on the shovel. Darwin held out his hand,
“Nice meet you, my G, name’s Darwin. Been looking for you, told you could help me.”

Oliver reached for Darwin's hand and shook it, it was a powerful and almost painful grip, “I found you half unconscious, I was expecting you’d wake up a bit later and yes, I’m assisting you” He explained before pulling his hand back abruptly. Oliver’s vision moved down towards the shovel, “You can give me the shovel now.”

Darwin flipped the shovel to handle first and passed it to Oliver. Darwin turned his attention to the truck. The cockpit was tinted, so he couldn’t see any driver.
“This your whip, bruv?” Darwin giggled, bouncing from one heel to the other, “Badman ting, innit?”
Darwin skipped across the sand towards the truck, looking around the undercarriage and the staircase mechanism.

Oliver quickly took the shovel and before letting Darwin move up the stairs he grabbed his arm firmly preventing him from moving, “Wait outside for now, I’ll show you in later… also the truck is called Jack” Oliver explained letting go of Darwin and facing away. Placing the shovel infront of him Oliver began to take a couple steps forward counting them, before turning a sharp left and counting a few more steps. Finally stopping Oliver dug the shovel deep into the sand and with a powerful dig, removed a sizable chunk of sand.

“Fuck, you man is hench,” Darwin muttered as he massaged his arm where Oliver had grabbed him. The man was built like a train and had the truck to boot. Darwin began to walk again, inspecting the chassis.
“Whose ends you from, anyway?” Darwin asked, peeking his head behind the tire. Just the wheel itself was bigger than Darwin was comfortable being near. Being so close made him feel like an ant climbing under a wagon.

Oliver dug deeply into the sand once more, this time stopping when asked where he had come from, “...Don’t know, I was very young, moved from place to place, a lot,” Oliver explained, resuming his digging.

Darwin poked his head back out, “I get that. Man was never too keen on staying in one spot neither. Where’s your digs from, then?”

Oliver paused his digging again, “My digs?... you mean the shovel? Stole it from a Heavenly One’s scout, they didn’t have many other weapons, they never really do, but the numbers are always the problem with them, it was a lucky find really” Oliver explained examining the shovel.

“Meant your garms, fam, but that’s cool, too.” Darwin laughed quietly, attempting to hide his worry, “You a soldier man, then?”
Darwin moved under the stairs, reading to bound up them at a moment’s notice. Darwin wasn’t a fan of soldiers. After being a paramilitary man himself for a while, he knew what they would do to get the job done. A man like Oliver didn’t care about men like Darwin, and if Darwin was going to be safe he needed to keep control of the situation and make himself indispensable.
Darwin began feeling around the underside of the stairs for any sort of control panel. The wiring in these older vehicles were always prone to subtler damage that took Darwin’s fine eye to repair.

Oliver now stood looking directly at Darwin who had not been paying much attention to him, “I’m not a soldier, fighting and killing are just essentials if you want to survive out here.” Oliver paused again looking at Jack, “You won’t find much that needs repairs, I’ve had Jack recently fixed up on some minor issues, and I find myself fixing the software of the vehicle more than the actual hardware which you seem to have an interest for, yes?” Oliver questioned showing a slight amount of curiosity

Darwin pat the side of the stairs and walked around to the front.
“Worked with machines all my life. Used to be a scrapper, see. How long you had Jack, anyway? Looks brand new but you seem pretty attached.”
Even if Oliver said he wasn’t a soldier, he spoke like a squaddie. That talk wasn’t something a man was born with. Darwin didn’t trust him. He may have been honest so far, but Oliver was hiding something.

“Had just for a couple dozen years now, I’d say I go to great efforts to keep it new but Jack does it all by itself, as long as the software and hardware work properly.” Oliver explained digging once again into the sand finally revealing what seemed to be the unconscious body of a rare dark furred mutant, “Now you don’t see that everyday” Oliver explained slamming the shovel into the ground. Walking back to the set of stairs Oliver looked at Darwin, “Follow me inside, I’ll show you around Jack while we wait for……. Them to wake up” Oliver explained going up the stairs and entering Jack.

“Swear down... “ Darwin said idly, trying to figure out Oliver’s age. He would have been at least forty if he got Jack when he was in his twenties. Darwin shook his head and peaked in the hole at the mutant.
“Woah…”
Darwin knelt down and nudged their shoulder to no effect. He stepped away in confusion, following Oliver up the steps into Jack.

Upon entering Oliver waited for Darwin to enter, “This is the Garage or the smaller vehicular area” Oliver explained, the room was very spacious enough to fit in all sort of vehicles with a tablet on the wall that was currently turned off. The room had all sorts of tools lying around, most of them broken or rusted with some vehicle spare parts either hanging in the walls or rammed up against in the back.

Darwin immediately began inspecting the spare parts hanging off the walls. There were spare bumpers hanging together and wheels stacked in the corners. Most looked new, barely some scuff marks between them.
“This place is right spiffing, innit?” Darwin said, idly inspecting an older radiator propped up against the wall.
“Where’d you get this, anyway?”

Oliver didn’t look back beginning to open the door which led to the next section of Jack, “Many idiots with vehicles see Jack as a Lottery and attack it without consideration, thus I get a lot of spare parts from vehicles, most I sell anyways and what I don’t sell I leave here” Oliver explained opening the door to the next section.

Upon opening the door and walking through Darwin saw the next room, “This is the closest thing to a living room” Oliver explained, in one of the sides there seemed to be what was a kitchen with the stove and oven and a small table. On the opposite side there was a table nailed to the wall with chairs welded to the ground. The room had many doors too, one of which had a symbol of toilet while the others had no real symbols. “The door to the left is the bathroom, the door next to it is the storage room, and to the far right is connected to the engine room, don’t go in there.” Oliver explained pointing at each door. The room also seemed to have hatches on the ground just barely visible and in the walls there was also a ladder leading to an upper level and a tablet on the wall which was turned on displaying all sorts of information which weren’t very clear lest Darwin got close. “Next we’ll go upstairs, with the living quarters and the cockpit, or whatever you want to call it” Oliver explained heading up the ladder.

Darwin was looking around with star-eyed wonder. Jack was one of the most advanced vehicles he’d been inside since he rode with Kenderdike. Even the kitchen looked state of the art compared to the other places Darwin visited. As Oliver moved on, Darwin hung back, sliding an old loaf of bread into his sand-filled pocket.
Darwin approached the tablet. It had small bars to measure water and electricity, both were pretty high, as well as stats for both of them. At the top were two other tabs, one for cooling and one for security. Darwin clicked the security tab.

The Security quickly lit up red, a message popping up in white letters: “Access Denied, User Data not found Error #432023.” The screen returned to normal after a bit with an obnoxious beeping sound.

“Fuck me…” Darwin swore, pulling his hand away like it burned him.

“Don’t touch the tablets yet, I’ll have you signed into them soon enough” Oliver said finally arriving at the upper level, “Come on up, the sooner you get yourself oriented the better.”

“Right you are, boss man, right you are,” Darwin pat the side of the tablet, feeling along the edge until he reached the small seam that held the tablet closed. He could have easily pried it open with some amount of leverage and exposed the inner workings of Jack. Perhaps he could have even overridden the user data and given himself full access to Jack’s records and found who really owned the beast of steel and oil. A fun hypothetical, but Darwin was more worried about Oliver giving him a slap upside the head and knocking it right off his shoulders.
Darwin waved Oliver up the ladder, following soon behind.

Finally reaching the upper level, Darwin saw a rather spacious, the back of the room had more doors to them, one of the doors having a simple symbol of a blue drop. The others did not have any symbols at all. On the sides of level there what appeared to be horizontal doors, Three on each side, one stacked on top of the next, “Back there is the water tank and extra storage” Oliver explained before walking to one of the horizontal doors tapping it, “This will be your living quarters, if you can call it that, you get a bed and personal storage, although it might be a bit weird to get used to” Oliver further explained, the horizontal door sliding open, revealing what seemed more like a capsule containing a bed, blanket and a source of light as it slid open.

Darwin jumped up into the small alcove he would call his own. He unhooked the mask from his belt and placed it in the small locker built under the mattress.
“Reminds me of being in the nick...” Darwin chuckled, mindlessly running a synthetic thumb over some of his tattoos.

In the front of the room was a small staircase leading to complex machinery which in clear sight Darwin could easily determine was the main systems of Jack, or the cockpit, “For the time being don’t go up there, not until you become accustomed to this place.”

Darwin climbed out and jumped across to the staircase, the spring in his step hard to contain.
“Jack’s beating heart, I see?” Darwin turned to see Oliver’s expression as stony and serious as ever, “Right, uh, man’lll try to supress his curiosity.”
Darwin had no intention of suppressing anything. He would be up those stairs the first opportunity Oliver had his back turned. The chance to examine tech of Jack’s level in such good condition was a rare sight Darwin would have been a fool to pass up.

“If you touch anything I’ll know” Oliver responded, his face unchanging, “Last but not least we have the doors that lead outside of Jack’s upper level they mostly serve to gain a higher view from the outside and to ressupply or fix it’s upper exterior, the doors are sealed shut both physically and digitally for extra security.”

Darwin stepped down from the step and stood closer to Oliver as they explained the hatch.
“Protecting yourself from sky pirates but leaving the front door open? You’re mad confident, bruv.”
Once again Darwin was trying to see through the wall to place a mental image of the wiring and protection behind the door mechanism.

“The front door is usually locked and additionally has a turret above it” Oliver explained climbing up the stairs and looking out the cockpit, seeing the unconscious mutant beginning to move, “Looks like they’re finally waking up.”

“Gally’s up?” Darwin brushed all the dust and sand out of his hair and off his jumpsuit and proceeded down towards the exit, “Time to see what dem man’s dreams been like, yeah?”

Mentions: Juju

 

[Juju]

Ziya

Solirus jmann​

Blinding rays of sun and the intense desert heat were the two familiar sensations that awaited Ziya when she awoke. Her fur was covered in sand, and as she took her first breath, so was her throat.

"Ack! Blargh! Ugh, sand.... eww eww it's in my mouth." She coughed and spat, rolling onto her side to get the nasty particles out of her mouth.

Once she had spat up most of the sand, she pushed herself with one pair of arms and rubbed her eyes with the other. She could hear the hum of something, like a giant bee or a cloud of moths, but when she actually caught sight of the source she couldn't help but gasp. "A lake beast? It's awake! By the light- err I mean Gero!"

She should probably have exercised caution, but her excitement got the better of her. Sand scattered everywhere as she shook off her wings and took flight, landing just in front of the monstrosity. With fur still covered in sand, she waved enthusiastically at the beast. "Hellooo! I'm Ziya! Can you talk!?"

The lake-beast-thing did not in fact seem up for conversation, much to Ziya's disappointment, "Huh... was that too pushy? I guess you're friendly."

Ziya tilted her head to the side and began to inspect the beast in wonder, touching parts of it and trying to understand how it worked. At first she had thought it to be similar to the lake-beast, but the more she looked the more differences she spotted. First were the strange round limbs it had, like wagon wheels, and that wasn't even mentioning the lack of external 'wing' structures. Another thing missing were the shining crystals.

Recalling her last conversation with Gero, Ziya dug into her shirt to check for her lucky charm. With a sigh, she felt it still there. Just to make sure, she pulled it out and smiled at the pretty golden glow. "Ok Gero... my quest starts now! I haven't forgotten, you know! I'm ready for anything!"

The rest of the conversation started to come back to her. There were some loose instructions, something about finding a person, but with everything going on she couldn't quite remember the name. Something with Ol? Olive? Olive.

It was most definitely Olive.

"Oh wait, hey, are you Olive?" she asked the not-lake-beast.

 

[Solirus]

The not-lake-beast didn't respond, one of it's entrances engraved in it's side remained open yet it was difficult to determine what could be seen through it. Through the entrance however a stepping sound could be heard slowly and steadily growing in volume. Finally through the maws of that entrance a being unlike any Ziya had seen walked out, it had two legs and two arms with no wings, their face seemed to be covered with pieces of the beast obscuring part of their face and their stature towered over Ziya.

The entity took a hop down into the sand knocking up a small cloud before uttering words from it's mouth, "Partially correct, I am Oliver" He said then pointed back at the great beast, "And this is Jack, Inside Jack you will find your fellow Herald, his name is Darwin, you two should meet with each other as soon as possible" Oliver further explained, the steps to the entrance descending down with Oliver climbing them up, "Come inside, I'll show you around"

Interactions: Juju
Mentions: jmann

 

[jmann]

Darwin Blacke: Jack
Darwin Blacke leant out of Jack, one leg hanging off the edge of the stairs with one arm keeping him aloft. The other Herald stood just outside her hole. Darwin was a little shaken, he expected another two feet of leg to be hidden under the sand, but he was wrong. The new Herald was that short.
"Yeah, man," Darwin turned to Oliver, "you's name is Olive now," he cackled.
Darwin turned his attention back to the mutant. It wasn't the first time Darwin had met a mutant, he had an old half-rat friend in a gang he rolled with. Their friendship was cut short by a stab that bled him dry in under a minute. At the time, he was distraught, but now he knew better. Usually, mutants attract unwanted attention. At his age, he could fight off anyone trying to get their hands on a mutant. Maybe this time Olive and Jack could help. It would be nice to travel with a crew again, one not soaked in blood, hunted by the law, or a cult. All these thoughts raced through Darwin's mind as he stared at the little four-armed mothgirl. A part of him was transfixed on her eyes. Something about those big bright yellow eyes he struggled to pull his attention away from. Darwin cleared his throat to break the spell.
"Welcome to the CV, cuz. They call me Darwin. What's a peng ting like you man doing out here in the sands? Ulu is bare hot, and fam, you don't look dressed for the weather, you feel me?"
Darwin's mind was still racing with thoughts and questions about his new acquaintance. What did she bring to the team? She was small, so could she hide? Maybe with four hands, she could hold four knives? Darwin knew he had to pace himself for now. 'The Cool Head gets the Hot Meal' was Rule 10 of surviving these wastes, and it was a rule Darwin had to continually remind himself of.

 

[Juju]

ZiyaZiya jumped back, surprised to see the creature suddenly find its voice and talk to her. Only, the sound came from somewhere else. A shadow fell over her, and in looking up, she found a towering creature blotting out the sun, one unlike any she had ever seen before. Any other person from her village would probably flee or break down into tears at the sight of a being from the dark lands. Ziya, however, could only pull down her hood to get a better view. A stupid grin crossed her face.

The unknown creature was covered in a carapace of yellow, with strange skin underneath. No, it was cloth with weird markings. There was also a third limb or tail thing, which was probably the most normal thing about them. They introduced themselves as Oliver. "Olive...er! Oliver! Hello! I'm Ziya! It is very nice to meet you! I'm here to save the world for The Li- I mean Gero -- by the way, he says hi -- you must be the guide! Also where are your second arms? Oh, you don't have wings! What happened to them? Did you get hurt?"

As if to accentuate her point, Ziya flew up until she was level with Oliver's face and began to orbit him curiously. She made sure to wave at the not-lake-beast when it was introduced with a little, "Hello Jack, it's very nice to meet you!"

It was only when Darwin was mentioned that she seemed to notice him. She let out a gasp and fluttered over to him, as if forgetting all about Oliver the Olive. "Hello other strange-yet-respectable person! I'm Ziya! It is very nice to meet you! Dar...wen. Dawren!"

She tilted her head, trying very hard to follow the slang Darwin was using. Bits and pieces of it made sense, at least enough for her to stitch together a response. "Hot? Ulu? Oh, you mean the Golden Sands! As for weather, well, it's quite a mild day today, actually. I wear a bit more than others so I can stay warm when wandering around at night, if that's what you mean. Unless... oh is there something wrong with my dress? Ugh, this sand gets everywhere!"

She looked herself over, dusting off some sand. Was it in her hair too? Once she was certain her clothing was in better shape, she looked back at Darwin and noticed something glinting peculiarly. Her eyes darted to the metal arm, and she wasted no time investigating. Without asking, she grabbed Darwin's arm and pulled back the sleeve to reveal even more metal. With a gasp, she leaned her face close to it, eyes wide and curious. "By the Light, your arm! Are you a lake-beast?!"

 

[jmann]

Darwin Blacke: Jack

Darwin Blacke smiled from ear to ear as Ziya spoke. He knew men like Oliver never lasted long against people like Ziya, and he knew the more stoic the man the more dramatic the collapse.
“Oh my days,” Darwin muttered in delight as Ziya ranted about the weather. In a flash of speed, Ziya grabbed his synthetic arm and inspected it closely.
“Watch the merchandise, booky gyal!” Darwin ripped his arm back, clutching it like a wounded animal, “Man spent half his dosh on looking this hench,” Darwin paused, flexing his synthetic muscles, “But, if you must know, man had a small, tiny altercation with one Duke Kenderdike, but I tells you, yeah, don’t buy anything from that git, all his goods are paid for with blood, I tell you. But anyway, words were said, feelings were hurt, and arms were lost. Just the way it is out here, innit?” Darwin held out his arm again, showing off the clean white plates over the outside of his arm running down along his fingers, before turning it over to expose the softer grey mesh that spanned underneath the plates and connected his artificial nerves.
Darwin cleared his throat suddenly and looked down at Oliver, “we can probably get this beast moving, yeah? Tour won’t give itself, boss man.”
Darwin took a step further up and took in the vehicle once again. It was only a few hours ago that he dreaded meeting these two. People in forced service to a higher and deadly power and forced to do their bidding sounded an awful lot like a cult. But, if he knew he would have this much fun joining a cult, perhaps he shouldn’t have been so hesitant in his younger years. In fact, if a young Darwin knew joining a cult would lead him to ride in such a big and magnificent machine, a working relic of a civilisation lost to time, he probably would have dedicated his life on the spot. It was a simpler time, he would tell himself in episodes like this, it was a simpler time now long gone.
Pushing past the memories, Darwin took another step up, before turning and offering out his organic arm to help up Ziya.
“And by the way, I’m not a lake beast,” Darwin chuckled, before leaning in closely, “but just to be sure, what’s a lake?”