Fantasy ⊞Mistwalker Logs

[Azurian Dream]

Octavius "Oct" Halbervi - AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship, Open Skies, Northwest Gerralia
​

Well, this was not the sight one would expect even in the Mist to be honest. Oct found himself a bit stupified by the whole scene as the mutated cows, and their many tendrils reached up into the tree harassing that which was all to commit to the line of the thieves of AIMC gear. The good doctor scratched his cheek a little unsure whether to laugh or chastize those up in the high ground. Especially when added to their stupidity to drop their weapon on one of the mutations. Oct even looked to his allies to see how they were gauging this with Gene in particular having a similar reaction as far as body language went. However, once Gene gave the instructions to move out and attack the enemy Octavius simply shook off the oddity of feelings on the matter and went for a headshot on two different targets with his bolt shots.

Upon such he then sprinted behind the shield Gremlin flanking left once she found her targets to shoot another two bolts into the front legs of another target to bring it down to its knees for someone else to brutally finish it. Given the voices from the tree Oct assessed there must have been at least three if not more people in the tree. Yet as he turned back to Ms. Gannet he noticed a odd notion of negative emotions on her face.

"Something on your mind Sylvia," the Doctor asked jumping back a bit while he reloaded his crossbolts.

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Interactions: RedArmyShogun

 

[Irradiant]

The Unknown, The Foolish, and The Grave
Yurina Yamaguchi

Mentions: Azurian Dream , RedArmyShogun​

---

The Mist was sparse and spread thinly in these parts of Northwest Gerralia, but Yurina knew better than anyone of its dangerous effects on organic life. Physical mutations. Mental degradation. The loss of one's sense of self. One look around is enough for anyone to realize the kind of ruin the Mist brings with it. The Mist proves itself to be a mysterious and formidable force, capable of pushing even humanity — arguably the greatest of predators in the animal kingdom — back into increasingly smaller and smaller corners of the world. For those in Yurina's line of work, to underestimate it would be to forfeit life. And she wasn't planning on dying anytime soon.

Yurina shifted her gaze to the black-and-white abominations that roamed these plains. Closer inspection would suggest that they were cows. But could they still be considered as such? Their genetic make-up had long been dismantled by the Mist, and the threadlike appendages that extended from their skin were proof of that. At the outset, they showed no signs of aggression towards her or her team. No. Not quite. Yurina shook her head. That was an inaccurate assessment. More precisely, the monsters were too busy tending to others — the supposed malefactors that their team was searching for — to focus on them. Clawing at the bark of a nearby tree, the mounds of black-and-white flesh were set on pursuing whatever lay at the top.

"We're dead! We're so dead!" Words of resignation, dressed up in a desperate yell.

Clink. A weapon in the form of a chainsaw, now rendered useless as it slipped from someone's hands.

Yurina was getting a grasp of the situation.

Fortunately for these fools, Sylvia, with supporting fire from Octavius, wasted no time letting loose a barrage of bullets. Yurina was all but certain of the monsters' demise, but things never truly die in the Mist. At least, not when you expect them to. And so, she turned a part of her kimono sharp, preparing a follow-up strike.

Raising her voice, "If you value your lives, you shouldn't attempt something like this again." She was addressing their targets. "Consider yourselves lucky." She pondered for a bit before continuing on. "Though, I suppose you'll have us to look forward to, once we're all done here." She changed her mind. "Perhaps not so lucky after all."

 

[Cresion Breezes]

AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship, ???, Northwest Gerralia
[27/09/1035]


( Azurian Dream , RedArmyShogun , Nellancholy , @EmperorsChosen , @TreasureSniper, Irradiant )

As the bullets slammed into the mutated cows, what seemed like a vicious black and red fluid bursted out of the creatures' bodies. It was thick and the two colours swirled together like uneven paint. The large meat fortresses fell over once enough fluid poured out of their bodies, letting out hoarse throat noises before falling silent and still.

"W-w-w-what's that sound! Noore, did you hear that sound!??"

"Of course I did, I can hear anything you hear."

The voices from the trees can be heard again after the gunshots went off.

The cows that were gathered beneath the trees seem to be distracted by the sound as well, they moved to investigate, but the slow and sluggish movements of the former domesticated herbivores couldn't cover the distance between the tree and the newly arrived Mistwalker Squad fast enough before being shot or cut down. The cows that were shot and poured out fluids became roadblocks for its allies, as many other creatures got stuck in the vicious "blood" that flowed out from the mutated animals, slipping and swirling around on the grassy, mossy ground.

When Yurina stepped up and tried to spoke to whoever was stuck in the tree, the cows have mostly been killed, disabled, or have left the premise after being spooked by the combat noises.

"Ella...I told you this was a bad idea, but...nevermind."

"Wait wait, they're saying something else, I don't think that's the rest of the survey team, I don't remember someone's voice being like that."

"...What do you mean look forward to you? Noore, did we run into bandits?"

"There's nothing frick'in here, and it's in the Mist too, what bandits would come here expecting to find people to rob?"

In a few moments after the small argument between the two voices in the tree, someone hopped down from the tree. It was a girl with dull red hair, she was wearing a large cloak decorated with the fog fluorescence orange stripes. There was only one girl though, despite there being two voices in the trees. She looked at her rescuers silently for a few moments before her dull black eyes lit up a bit.

"W-w-w-wait! Your uniform emblem...Mistwalker Squads?" She exclaimed after taking a better look at the others present.

"Noore...we're saved...it's the Mistwalkers, we lucked out so so badly this time." The girl let out a breath of relief and almost collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. There was no response from the other voice known as "Noore", however.

"Um, hi. We-, uh, I am Ella, Ella-Noore." The girl looked up after calming her breath. "We- I'm a member of uh...AIMC's...engineer corps, corps 000. We're surveyors doing some research on the area and we- I got separated from the rest of the team. The Mist density shouldn't be that high in this area, but we didn't expect to run into remaining mutated creatures here."

Tangram and Rubika once mentioned there were no projects or squads dispatched in this area. For those who have been in the AIMC for long enough and knew it inside and out, perhaps they would remember that there were no 000 engineering corps in the organization, as those team codes started out at 001.

"Ella. We weren't supposed to mention that. Even if they are a Mistwalker Squad." The second voice suddenly spoke out, but there was nobody else in sight.

 

[Nellancholy]

If it were up to her (and it seemed that this would continue to be increasingly not the case), Kythera and the group would have remained at the periphery of this little "combat zone" and set up a ruse to try and draw away the mutated cows, or retrieve their unfortunate prisoner from the treetops. Maybe mimic a predator animal's call (or prey would work on them better)? Or try to bridge one of the sturdier trees to the surrounded one via rope...

But of course, the hellion and the soldier proceeded to tear into the aggressors, as did Octavius. Those poor animals were woefully unequipped to face a hail of gunfire, and were unceremoniously cut down.

And after all that was done with, a girl came down, or not quite a girl. Certainly she wouldn't look out of place in any particular AIMC unit. Even though Kythera wasn't yet familiar enough to know that something was wrong with her reported unit number, the girl did the team the kindness of outright letting them know what was...wrong with her.

"By U235's grace, our team was able to get to you in time." She gave "Noore" a little nod, choosing to acknowledge her over Ella. Was this parasitism? Something that could be called possession? Even..fusion? Kythera chose to pick a side, keep them guessing as it were. "Despite the...assertiveness of my teammates, I'm certain that you will find our protection sufficient until we can reunite you with any remaining members of your unit. Or...return you to the AIMC. Welcome aboard, Noore."

Cresion Breezes

 

[Azurian Dream]

Octavius "Oct" Halbervi - AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship, Open Skies, Northwest Gerralia​

"Well this is not what anyone could have guessed," Oct mumbled in surprise to the girl dropping from the tree fully decked out in AIMC gear with a Squad number that for all intents and purposes... did not exist... on record at least. The good doctor watched the cows and the reaction of goopy blood acting like a unique adhesive trait upon introducing oxygen. Noticing Kythera's facial tings their aggressive direction was not to her liking. As a Doctor to a religious follow the concept was fair to say understand the oath of life. Yet as a Mist AIMC researcher, the rules held to a bend though it was far to say he felt a bit guilty now that their inability to fight suggested a longer more fear-driving approach could have been taken in place.

However, that wasn't exactly to stay at the front of his mind as he heard the girl clearly state her name as Ella-Noore. With a clear division of two voices and two names along with neither voice no longer coming from the tree Octavious with his one eye was able to hazard a very likely theory of approach to what this meant as he slung his crossbow taking out his medical satchel as he walked over to the girl... girls... present.

"Do you or your attached companion need any medical attention," he asked keeping an eye on her hood with a clear suspicion as to what it could be hiding.

Mentions/Interactions: Cresion Breezes Nellancholy

 

[Irradiant]

Truth Hidden in Plain Sight
Yurina Yamaguchi
​

---

The crimson tresses of a young woman would come into view shortly after Yurina's attempt at conversation. Yurina's eyes followed the girl closely as she climbed down from her tree. Strangely enough, she was the only one who would descend from it. Yurina could recall hearing another voice, but was she mistaken? Surely they weren't yet deep enough in the Mist for her to begin to hallucinate?

...

Ah. So that was it. Observation bred understanding.

Kythera's expression told Yurina all she needed about the situation.

The girl, calling herself Ella-Noore, was likely a victim of the Mist and its machinations, the details of which they couldn't glean unless they performed a thorough examination of the girl. Yurina could certainly relate. Before chiming in, she would adjust her half-mask, ensuring it aligned perfectly with her nose. "Yes. Miss Kythera speaks true. We do not mean you any ill, and we're more than capable of offering you protection." An intentional glance at the viscous remains of the mutated cows.

"That said..." Yurina cleared her throat. "We would appreciate your honesty."

Tangram's words from minutes ago were still fresh in her mind. There were currently no squads dispatched to this area of the Mist by the AIMC, and yet, running contrary to that was Ella-Noore's admission that she was here for a mission.

"Our intel tells me you are not being entirely forthright, Miss Ella-Noore." A slight but friendly smile. "I would prefer it if we start on the right foot."

 

[Cresion Breezes]

AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship, Friller Ranch, Northwest Gerralia
[27/09/1035]


( Azurian Dream , RedArmyShogun , Nellancholy , @EmperorsChosen , @TreasureSniper, Irradiant )

"...My name is Ella...Noore is..." The red-haired girl pouted her face a bit after hearing Kythera's comment, emphasizing the other person's name. "Noore...is my sister, okay?"

She looked a bit gloomy and hesitated, seemingly at a loss for words. When the team doctor also spoke up, albeit in a much friendlier manner, the words caused the girl to step aback for a moment. "A-attachted? I mean...we're...uh......" Ella stuttered as she averted the others' gaze and tried but failed to formulate a sentence.

"Ella." The other voice spoke out once more, now that the situation was under control and the speakers were closer, the two voices were actually quite similar in pitch and tone, it is simply the emotions that infused them that differed. "Members of AIMC, especially if they are a Mistwalker squad...They have likely encountered situations like ours' before, or is at least informed of them."

The standard-issued cloak the girl wore russtled a bit, even though both of her arms were visible and definitely not touching the cloak. From beneath the cloak stretched out a third arm, its size, complexion, and anatomy completely identical to Ella's other two normal arms, it was even wearing regular clothing. After the cloak was cast off, the girl turned around to reveal...another Ella, or more precisely, another copy of her face, on the back of the girl's head.

"...Hello, my name is Noore. Ella is my twin sister, but we are used to being just called Ella-Noore by now, at least by those who accept us." The "second" girl spoke, more calmly and collectively.

"This place is Friller Ranch, we were born and spent our early years here. We were...normal back then, normal twin sisters, until the Mistzone Expansion happened and we ended up...like this. The AIMC took us in because even after the Expansion, there weren't a lot of people like us." She continued to explain.

"Not a lot of people like us who survived!" The more energetic voice of Ella added.

"Yes, that is true. AIMC told us it likely had something to do with the fact that we were twins, the rejection of the assimilation by our bodies wasn't fatal, and there are even non-Mist related incidents of people being born like us." The calmer of the two continued to explain. "We got a bit too arrogant in our surveying of the region, since we grew up around here and all. We are truly lucky that you have noticed our signal, and we thank you for your offer of protection."

Noore frowned a bit at Yurina's inquiry, she looked at the older woman quietly for a moment, pondering something.

"Well, that's because our squad is-"

"Ella! Quiet. We shouldn't speak without care."

The calmer girl interrupted her attached sister.

"I understand your suspicion, but...even if you are a Mistwalker Squad, my judgment alone cannot give you the clearance for me to give you the full story of what we are doing here." She furrowed her brow again, seeming apologetic but firm in her decision.

"Aww...really, I thought we could talk about it with Mistwalkers." Ella added, that she seemed rather disappointed.

"No, at least, not right now." Noore responded, her tone swift and firm. "...But...if you doubt our legitimacy in any way...you may confirm our existence with AIMC's Superintendent, as far as I know, that is the only person who may give clearance on the information that you wish to know." She continued, her voice becoming more formal as she spoke.

"Yeah...but Noore...what if they just like, left us here because we won't tell them?" Ella spoke up again, she seemed rather concerned.

"Ella, we should not betray the Superintendent's trust. It is because of them and the AIMC that our lives weren't forfeited here 25 years ago already." Noore threw the cloak's hood onto Ella's side of the body playfully, but her tone was still serious. "So that being said, I am deeply sorry, but I cannot give you the honesty you desire right now, as much as I am grateful for your help." She replied to Yurina, this time more formally.