Futuristic Re:dux

[Axeykins]

GhostMan - Journalist
Thirteen years ago our city-state was placed under martial law by the Maliita Project Black of Diamond city. They were backed by our government officals. Their primary objective was to stop the terrorist H2O and bring in the vigalantes. They were succesful. Over the years their presence have waned. The citizens have obtained their freedom, yet we all feel a dark presence just beyond the light.

The steel walls and force field that surround the crater stands as a monument to the horror that once plagued this city. They were designed to contain the blast that killed H2O. With his death the barrier should have come down, yet it still stands. Project Black soldiers even guard the circumference of the crater.

The question is "What's inside?" One rumor says P.B. has been using the crater to perform experiments. Other's say that there's alien-like tech that's being excavated or that the explosion revealed natural resources that could make a person rich. Some people say that the monster, H2O, still lives. What ever rumor peeks your interest about this place, two things are undoubtedly true. One: It's easier to get in than out. Two: There is a story to be found in the Crater...

( New summary courtesy of Jeda Teq)

 

[Jeda Teq]

It was another moonless night in the city with no name. The air was cool and damp from the recent rain and the clouds were finally spreading thin exposing the stars above. A Grey Humvee with the letters PB painted on the side drove through the streets passing by Citizens who were as active as ever. They averted their eyes from the vehicle Insisting on enjoying what was left of the weekend. They needed the escape. Scars of yesterday still haunted many who were old enough to remember and the acronym PB was a reminder of those times.

As the vehicle drove west, into the old Italian mob territory, the hustle and bustle of the city began to thin. Eventually turning into a ghost town. The buildings were dilapidated, riddled with bullets, and scorched. Truly a post-apocalyptic sight. The humvee came to a slow stop at one of the many checkpoints leading to the crater.
A Guard leaned in to speak to the driver. "Identification, and mission Number."
The driver handed the guard two ID's and responded "Five Eight Zero Zero Eight"
The Guard check the ID's using a scanner built into his visor, "All right. All Clear" Handing the driver back the ID's he took a step back and waved the humvee through. A few minutes later the Humvee pulled into a rest area for the soldiers acting as guard for the crater. "Proxy Nine, It's time to get to work." The drive said shortly after the rumbling of the humvee engine ceased. She stepped out of the vehicle and walked around to the back passenger door. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and pointed her pistol at the passenger. "I said get up!" She waited four second before firing her pistol. The loud bang echoed through the night air, cutting through the silence. A large foot slowly exited the humvee touching the wet pavement. The passengers skull like face poked out as the large man like creature stood. The bullet the driver had fired was lodged between the teeth of the passenger.

"Proxy Nine... I really do not like that name." The Proxy said with a sigh. The air from his breath came out like a fog as he let the bullet drop from his mouth to the ground with a clang. "My name is Cody." The Driver clicked a button on a small remote that released the heavy duty shackles that had bound Cody's arm's together. He was then handed a FN P-90 and a belt filled with magazines.
"Proxy," The woman stated firmly, "You know your mission get to it."
Cody Rolled his neck and began walking around the parameter of the Crater.

Three hours later
Deet! Deet! The radio earpiece Cody had went off, "It's Zero One hundred hours. Report in."
Inside an old abandoned house Cody was kneeling before a man sized hole that clearly went under the wall. "I found something abnormal. Looks like someone really wanted to get in." He snapped a glow stick, shook it, then dropped it in, "Judging by the markings on the sides it was done by some sort of machine. It's been here for a while, but appears as if someone recently went down it like a slide." He looked to his right and saw a thin sheet of metal that was used to cover the hole. "I'm going in..."

 

[MahoganyLeaf]

The pacifying background noises of the windy night eventually quieted, as Ennis carefully slid her way down to the deep dark bottom of the crater. She performed a well-balanced and steady landing on her prosthetic feet, just as how it's usually done when practicing her parkour skills.
Her current location inside the vast hole was overlaid in near total darkness, a few handy flashlights would've been required for every explorer in case they didnt already posses night vision in order to safely wander around inside the black pit.
A small shiver travelled from top to the bottom of her spine. She didn't like that feeling, obviously.
Ennis briefly held her breath before she let out a slight shaky sigh.

Heh, my body is already getting the heebie-jeebies from this eerie place. It's...it's hard to believe that so many people had vanished in here with absolute no traces found of them. Or I guess that's what the media is trying to push us to think.
Then again, my guts are telling me something else. What if there has been survivors from this very crater? If that's so, I will do everything in my power to rescue them.

The whole atmosphere was still and muted, only the sounds from Ennis' own footsteps could be made out in the sheer blackness.
She dug a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small photo picturing the lost children, then to further observe their happy and naive faces when a frown formed her eyebrows.

Hmm. Whatever strange stuff there is, which could be so fascinating to discover in this freaky hell hole, haven't these wannabe cool kids got better things to do in their free time?
Maybe they were bored... She waved the paper back and forth, before returning it back to it's holder.
Lemme guess.. Had too much time in their hands to waste. Probably craved a challenge or an adventure of some sort. Typical teenagers.
...Perhaps they'd watched too many horror movies and turned immune to it. Well, I mean..I do suppose it's wrong to stereotype anybody, especially those who are in process of going through the confusing and difficult hormonal stages of their life...

Ah..right. Grandma always told me not to judge anyone. Guess I'm still working on that part. Sorry grandma. Hopefully I'll see you soon again.
But no matter the reason. These kids better pray and hope for my plan to work, or neither of us will ever see the daylights again.

 

[Axeykins]

The cold, damp night air pierced the skeleton of a crumbling skyscraper perched precariously at the edge of the steaming crater. It set in the darkest and grimiest corner of town where the border guarded was weakest at this hour. As always for this branch of the syndicate it was the ideal location to deal with a problem among their ranks. A pest that had decided to stick it's neck out much too far.

Sisceal had only just come to. He was being held up roughly under his armpits by two of the burliest they had there tonight. Blood trickling down from his nose and head bobbing back as he struggled to remain awake. What the Hell had even happened? One minute he was filling out reports and then the next? Ugh, his head throbbed even thinking about it.
At the sound of the group shushing each other and hurriedly shuffling to make way for the Kingpin Sisceal forced himself more upright. Even in this position he needed to appear calm and collected. In control of the situation at hand.

“Did you honestly think we didn’t know about this little charade?” A man with a gravelly voice, dressed to the nines stepped forth from the shadows. He had to be in his mid-fifties, possibly sixty. The dominating air coming from him was almost oppressive. Truly an Alpha wolf of this underbelly of the world.

“You shoulda stayed home. Found a different case, remained a good father detective.” The King gave the side of his face a stinging pat. “Cause look what position you’ve got me in now? You seem like a decent enough man. Doing what you think is right to try and make a living out there, clean up the city be the big hero blah blah blah. You don’t need me to tell you the story of your life.” He chuckled. Pacing back and forth in front of the man. “I have to look out for my own you know? You’ve been snooping around our numbers so much it would be stupid if you didn’t. So you should know all too well I can’t have your kind ratting me out. It was fun while it lasted though I will admit.” He turned to face the detective. His face seemingly carved from cold stone. “But this time. You went too far. Got too bold for your own good. Don’t you dare think for a second that I didn’t notice what you did and what you saw. How much you’ve managed to endanger our entire operation in the blink of an eye.” He jabbed a finger into Sisceal’s chest. Getting a pained groan from the man put a smile on his face. He motioned for his cronies to move him to the edge of the abyss.

Sisceal’s heart skipped a bit. Oh God above how he prayed it was nothing but another intimidation tactic. He was an officer of the law! They wouldn’t dare. “Come on fellas. I’ll uh…I’ll fix this for you. Yeah? Won’t say a word and get those files and all reports back. Help you burn them all like usual. Set you up some of the best goods again.” He chuckled nervously. “You know I can get you the best most experimental stuff and at the best prices, keep the cops off your backs. Nobody else in town can.”

“How adorable. You genuinely think we need your little tracker laced goods? Or that what you did was what kept your friends off our backs? Boy you’ve still got a lot to learn. Well. Had. I’m getting tired so let’s wrap this up quick.” He chuckled. Giving the motion to loosen their grip. He delighted in seeing the panic rush into the detective’s face. “Look, It’s not you, it’s me. I can’t lose the empire I’ve built up, you’re getting too nosy. I’m sorry, but hey. Least we chose one of the gentler slopes for you. We'll make sure that girl a yours is well taken care of too. Think of it as one last gesture of mercy. You’re welcome.” He gave the detective a mockingly friendly kiss on each cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~
That was the last he could remember. Other than the deafening rush of wind in his ears and sickening crunch of impact against a mound of God knows what. He wasn’t sure if he even wanted to know at this point. At least it had softened his fall for the most part. Pain still wracked through his body but pain was good. In the pitch black surroundings pain was the only sign he was still alive for the time being.

 

[0stinato]

The excuse Ema Schopenhauer had given to the patrol was 'hunting' and she'd even shown off a fairly burly rifle to prove it. Who else would go out in the dead of night, unless they had bad intentions in mind? What was there to hunt of impact, anyway? It wasn't as if deer were anywhere here, perhaps hedgehogs? They maybe believed she could make herself a nice quill-downed armour coat.

Whatever her lie had been, it was sturdy enough to work, and Lull found himself sitting silently in the passenger seat when the track ran out. The landrover's tyres met the unstable land beneath and the headlights spilled light onto the ground in front, briefly illuminating the next area of patchwork landscape before the darkness swamped it again. She was equally quiet, the only sounds being that of her palms on the leather wheel, and occasionally the quick tap-thwap of the gearstick.

Fifteen minutes into the darkness, away from the track, Ema began to slow. At first, Lull wondered why, but soon realised he was meeting his destination.

"Take the rifle, if you like. It's shit, but it's good for hitting things with," she passively instructed him, and he reached into the back to test its weight. It was demanding on his forearm, with the wooden butt shining in his hand. The more he held it, the more he didn't like it.

So he returned to his seat quietly, shaking his head. Ema asked if he was sure, really sure to which he still shook his head. He didn't want it, he didn't need it.

"Alright," she said. A few minutes later, she pulled a little closer to the fateful edge, and another few minutes, she stopped. Then looked at him. "This time last week, you were doing my dishes. Now who's gonna do them?" But there was only a silence from him, to which she asked, "Are you nervous?"

"No. Not at all. No point."

"I'm nervous, then. For you. And for me. Look what I'm losing when you go down there."

"You already count me as lost, do you?"

"Well. Yeah. But - I know this is really massively important so I won't try to keep you here. I won't force you to take the rifle either," she tapped her fingers on the wheel. He got out.

She got out.

"Get the car iron out the back," he told her, "and the ropes. I'm not breaking my ankle going down there, that'd be stupid."

She did so, and twisted the iron into the front of the vehicle. Then she joked that he better not tip her car over as he descended. He didn't reply to the quip about his weight, only tied the rope through the eye of the iron. He had no harness, so he doubled the rope, then tied it around his legs and torso. It was a half-arsed job, but he didn't seem to care.

"I'll wait a few hours," she told him as he neared the edge.

He turned round, "Yeah, yeah."

"If I don't hear from you or anything, I'll... just go home. I suppose you won't contact me."

"Nope."

"Right. Well... bye then. Bye."

He grunted, then let himself disappear over the edge. She watched the edge in the dimmed headlights of the landrover, wondering how badly he'd get rope-burn. He had no equipment at all, just a single rope he was lowering himself down on. And that rope was held between his hands and nothing else. It wasn't a cold night, and she was wearing three layers, but still she shivered as she waited.

Then she sat down, but not too close to the edge. Her eyes drifted to the rope, then up to the car iron. Occasionally the rope would tense, then slacken. It became almost hypnotic, almost rhythmic. Almost.

When it became too cold inside her, she stood, gave the edge of the crater a sharp nod, climbed back into the silence, stillness, emptiness... of the landrover, and breathed into her hands. She knew he not having a birth certificate would make the entire process of erasing Lull "Skullface" Lyster from existence much easier on the government.

As he neared mid-way on the crater edge, Lull had the exact same thought. He shrugged it off.

She bit back tears.

 

[Pai Chan]

Charlotte stood among the broken corpses of several Project Black soldiers. It was dark out and with her enhanced eyes she could make out the soldiers' fields of vision. Even their night vision couldn't help when she acted. The first couple of guards were lucky. They met swift ends by her silenced sub-machine gun. The others that were deciding to check on the sudden radio silence weren't so lucky. The area wasn't exactly open since the crater was surrounded by debris and ruins of what was captured by the very blast that made the gaping whole in the Earth. It wasn't worth the limited ammo, Charlotte carried, to turn start her operation off with a gun fight with the P.B. They were on edge and getting a clean shot on them, then, would be difficult.

That meant Charlotte had to dispatch them up close. The fact that they wore helmets meant that there would be no quick deaths for them. Luckily, there were only two soldiers coming to check on the M.I.A.s. The one closest to her would be the unlucky one. As he rounded a wall he immediately felt something slide across his throat. There would be no screaming for help. No call for back-up. The other soldier was too far to hear his comrade choke on his own blood. Charlotte kick the man in the back of his leg to drop him down to his knee. With him at her height, now she could take the same blade that opened his throat and plunge it in the small opening in the back of his neck.

Charlotte stared into his eyes as life left them. It was her way of confirming kills. The second soldier called out for the first and was quickly making his way to the same area. This man could possibly be luckier than his comrade. But that depended on how he acted in the coming moments. The soldier rounded the corner with his gun raised, already sensing something wrong. He only had a moment to take in the other dead men before Charlotte pounced on top of him from above. She used her weight and momentum to drop the man to the ground and tasered him. She knew that her taser would deliver enough voltage to stun the man no matter what armor he wore nor whether he was synthetic or not. He would be out for long enough to get tied up.

So now, here, Charlotte stood waiting for the fourth P.B. soldier to regain consciousness. In the meantime she was checking in with her client via encrypted email through her phone. This particular client was smart enough to know he wouldn't be able to monopolize Charlotte's findings. They merely wanted a part of the profits and well as visual documentation of what in the Crater. Charlotte, subconsciously brought her finger to nudge the device hanging from the side of her bangs. It looked like a neon hair clip upon glancing at it but upon further inspection one would see that it was a camcorder. It was offline at the moment but Charlotte would start once she begun her exploration.

The client also provided her with the sub-machine gun she used earlier. It was an RCP-90. A weapon known for it's extreme fire rate at the expense of accuracy but this one was modified, heavily, in terms of performance. It had different settings and custom parts to make it fit, almost, any situation its wielder desired. It was a very hard to find weapon and Charlotte's client offered it to her as his down payment.

The sound of movement stirred Charlotte from her thoughts and quickly got back to the task at hand. She had his mouth tapped shut and a lamp next to him for vision. Charlotte knelt in front of the man with a finger pressed against her lips. In her other hand she was holding up a radio--his radio.

"As you can see, I have you at my mercy." Charlotte spoke quietly. A faint trace of an accent could be heard in her voice. "I need a couple tidbits of information from you. If you cooperate then I will let you live. But if you don't then, obviously, you will die. If you scream when I take off the tape I will cut out your tongue. If you try to fight back with will cut off your legs. If you try to play the tough guy and do the silent treatment..." Charlotte trailed off and looked towards the soldier's crotch before looking back at him with an arched eyebrow.
"Are we understanding each other?" The soldier quickly nodded and Charlotte ripped the tape off of his mouth. A second afterwards she held a slip of paper in front of his face.
"Read in a clear voice. Now." The soldier hesitated for a moment but then started to reluctantly read what was on the paper.

"This is patrol eight, five, nine, zero, eight. Everything is green and no unusual sightings." After the soldier read it he looked at his captor for her approval. And she held a radio up to him.

"Now, I want you to repeat. If you do this I will ask no more from you." He then repeated the same phrases into the radio while Charlotte had her gun pointed between his legs. Charlotte smirked.

"See? Easy, yes?" Charlotte raised her weapon and fired a single round at the soldier's skull. He toppled over, lifeless. There was no way Charlotte was letting him live. He had seen her face. The assassin fired two more rounds into his heart. She had removed his armor after she knocked him out. Now she wouldn't have to worry about anyone following after her for a while. She took out the two patrols that exchanged positions. They normally report to each other until daybreak. Charlotte would be comfortably ahead by then. Now all she had to do was find an entrance and start the camcorder. Hopefully, the hardest part was over.

 

[MahoganyLeaf]

Ennis had walked in what seemed like circles for almost an hour- or so she felt was that long.
She was specifically looking for any traces and clues which could aid her investigation. All she could stumble upon for now were some strange indecipherable markings carved into the ground.
At some point, as she ventured, she'd found droplet stains, consisting of some dried up substance. Dry blood perhaps?
Supposedly, she could just scrape off a bit of it with a tiny scalpel as samples for testing. The forensic toolkit could easily do the job.
She reached for the kit from her bag, gathered all the needed tools and proceeded with the analysis.
But her anticipation was proved wrong and it showed to be something else than blood. Definitely no sign of body fluid. Either way, Ennis didn't bother playing with it more than what was necessary for the present time.

Her stomach felt nauseous. Could it be from the frequent adrenaline rushes? It seemed so incredibly absurd, nothing had happened to her so far, so why the sudden anxiety?
Her stupid stress disorder would never allow her to catch a break, and she would surely be expecting lots of hardships to come in the nearby future. Worrying about unpleasant possible outcomes would only make her situation harder to work through. Then again, whatever should she even be wasting her energy worrying about? Herself? Oh, hell to the no. That wouldn't explain the reason as to why she'd taken upon the offer of finding the missing kids in the first place. She did everything she did for the sake of other's well-being- her mission. She was a protector. A guardian perhaps even. Her purposes in life would be to protect and defend the good people of the world. But the world was never just black or white, to begin with. It. was. gray. Confusingly gray. She could never be able to save everyone- and heck, not even everyone wanted to be saved!
Humans had bad and good within them. What mattered most was their levels of self-control over these bad urges. Without self-control, one would become senseless and gradually lose their humanness. Blinded. People nowadays aimed to outwardly pamper themselves in flawless synthetic robot suits, yet soulless zombies from the inside, mindlessly consuming whatever the hell the manufacturers trick their brains to think is pleasing to them. Fucking bullshit.
People could throw every ounce of their dignity out of the windows for the sake of fame, power, money, beauty and the list might as well go on.

Yada yada. Cybernetics could still be utilized in manners of sensible ways or...well, yeah.

Going back to the topic- Why should she care for herself when there were so many other things to concern about?
For all that mattered. The stress could completely overtake her- turn her hair brittle and gray. It would only be a match along with her grandmother's hair. Not a bad thought- not bad at all, really. Somehow, the mere concept of taking after her lovely looks served to ease her mind, a bit.
The poor old lady owned a very gentle and peaceful appearance, however, a strong and patient aura surrounded her entity- a complete contradiction to everything Ennis ever saw about herself. She had early been told how her serious facial features showed a high resemblance to her father's. Not the brightest news she'd received after he'd left them.

An abrupt noise of a crash could be heard from someplace farther distant. Ennis was very grateful for her naturally keen ears. They provided her somewhat better perception of the areas encircling her- Shame they couldn't assist her during that past incident of hers. Things almost got too outta hand back then.
Anyways...
The noise peaked her curiosity and hope. But the feeling of anxiousness still crept in the back of her head.
Nevertheless, she ignored it and moved on. Her mission was a top priority. Failure wasn't an option in her system.

Stay safe kids...I'm coming.

 

[Axeykins]

Sisceal swore loudly as he began the process of checking that each limb could move properly. Arms were in proper working order. Bruised wherever they had made contact with something as he fell but that was the same story for the majority of him currently. Next was the legs. God, he could feel the gears whirring and other various metal parts tightening as the device on his spine worked hard to readjust it. He was able to shift them around while seated but fully supporting his weight was definitely out of the question. At least for the moment, as the adjustments to his spine took place.

Pulling them close to his chest and wrapping his arms snugly around them the detective let out a hefty sigh. Taking this time to observe his surroundings carefully. It was so…quiet and dark. Even with his eye augmentations activated he could just make out the edges of crumbled buildings and the twists and turns of long abandoned streets. There was the strange glow of who knows what down a few of them as well as some visible through cracks and holes in the walls. What could that be? Long lost devices that had survived the disasters that formed this place? Or something that was best left a mystery? Yeah, most likely that last one. There was no way in Hell much could have survived down here. Least according to the rumors and reports allowed out into the public.

Soon enough there was an audible click and sharp sting of small metal needles into his bones and nerve endings. Sisceal unfurled himself and gave his lower have another test. Perfect! Back to working shape again and ready to move. As greatly as what had conspired tonight bothered him there was no time for moping. If he wanted any chance to get out of here the first thing that needed to be done was getting his ass moving. Find the nearest way out ASAP, which by logic sense in his mind, was best done by traveling along the edge of the crater for as long as he could. Someone had to have made a pathway or tunnel or something. Maybe they had a checkpoint somewhere that they let the guards or soldiers in and out of this thing? And if worst came to worst he would make a way out by any means necessary. He refused to lose his mind down here.

 

[0stinato]

Having abandoned the rope a good half an hour ago, Lull was confident in saying he had no idea where he was. On OST maps, the crater looked bigger than the city, bigger than the city four times over, even. And he was beginning to wander around it with no equipment, no food, no heat and no light. Unless one counted a half-full lighter as a source of heat and light. It would certainly be unable to light his way though. And it was awfully dark. Awfully cold too, so he stuck his hands in his jacket pockets, one of the three pieces of clothing he was wearing, excluding undergarments and shoes.

But he walked anyway, not with any speed, but with an air of dry melancholia. He chewed his lip as he strode, teeth picking at a scab until he made it bleed. First injury sustained to his mouth, culprit: himself. He sighed and stopped chewing his lip.

After a few more minutes, Lull stopped. He closed his eyes - was there a point to closing his eyes? It was dark anyway - and padded at the ground with his boot. The consistency of the ground had changed, it seemed to be a little bit denser. And what else could he tell? Probably not much, nothing that would help, at least. He wasn't about to taste the dirt and confirm what minerals were in it, he couldn't do that. That was geologist shit, and Lull didn't care about it. But if the density of the ground had changed, he supposed that meant people had walked this part of the ground at some point, and meshed all the loose particles together into a harder pathway.

But that was only a theory. For all he knew, he might be walking on a thin layer of loose dirt over dehydrated clay. He hadn't checked the suspected geology of the crater prior to getting dropped off here. Dehydrated clay would be tough, but malleable. That'd reproduce the same result as walked-on dirt, probably. So even the things he knew... were useless.

Ah well.

He had other methods of working out more useful information. Ignoring the electrical impulses from his own body, he mentally scanned the surroundings. If there was something that was giving off an electrical impulse - be it a heartbeat, a piece of electronic equipment, or even electricity itself, Lull would know.

There was nothing large down here, nothing at all. No ample creature waiting to tear out his throat if he stepped on its paw. But there was something. To his right, there was something. It was either very small, or far away, and Lull wouldn't know which unless he got nearer.

What did he have to lose by going nearer? A half-full lighter. So he turned in the direction of the impulse and followed it until he felt it was getting larger. So he could rule out 'snake' then, and rodents. Likely there was no food-chain down here. He doubted mammals would be able to get through the walls surrounding the crater because they had no human-like intelligence. Or human-like stupidity. Why would they look for a break in defences, or plan an elaborate month-long scheme to get through the wall, or work out seventeen different lies to tell to patrols? They wouldn't do any of them. They'd stay in their dens or be shot on sight.

Probably for the best, really. As he felt he was getting a little nearer to the impulses, he decided to prove he was sentient, and intelligent. If the owner of the impulses was the same, they would react in a certain way - defensive or passive. As for what signal he'd give to prove that though...

He pulled his lighter out of the right jacket pocket with a spinning motion, and his practised thumb clicked the flame awake. He let it burn for two seconds, before extinguishing it. Four seconds later, he clicked it on again.

(Open for interaction.)

 

[MahoganyLeaf]

Her heightened senses registered a blurry figure from faraway. What could it be? She stopped to observe the sight. It appeared to be moving closer toward her course. She assumed it wasn't another dilapidated structure or boulder like those earlier. A human perhaps? Hopefully it wouldn't result in a meet up with some vile mean creature already at the very start of her search. That wasn't to be tolerated. She had other urgent matters to take care of foremost.

As her pace sped up, she'd prepared a combat knife in her palm- just to be on the safe side. If the unknown physique did turn out as an enemy, Ennis had make sure to be one step ahead. To have the upper hand in a possible upcoming fight.

But no. The figure was, in fact, human. An injured one at that. A tall white-haired male, specifically. And boy, did he look pale on top of his crimson stained beaten face.
Somebody should provide the guy with a first aid kit! Like for example the one lying inside her bag...
One wouldn't believe how much Ennis had stuffed inside her personal container. It was all mandatory for survival!
It was by no doubt a heavy carry, but nothing unlike the huge schoolbags her preadult self had to carry throughout her puberty years. The books weighed like goddamn bricks!

He appeared to be both lost and troubled. Could he not see through the dark? He didn't use any kinds of lighting devices to brighten his tracks either.

Her initial instinct, was to offer him help and nursing, if he would allow it.

"Hey! You need help over there?! Yeah, you! I'm talking to you, snowball!" She yelled, her voice came out raspy than it's usual, mainly because of her dry throat. But she paid little mind to it.

Axeykins

 

[Axeykins]

((This may make communicating easier! Discord - Free voice and text chat for gamers ))​

 

[Jeda Teq]

Falling out of the tunnel Cory crashed into the ground. His large body putting a small dent into it. "That could not have been good for my knees." As he scanned his immediate location for the glow stick he dropped, He tried to contact his handler. All he received from the other end was static. "Heh, At least I won't have to worry about the nagging mother."

He spotted the blue glow stick and plucked it from the incredibly murky water it had fell it. The light from the stick suddenly illuminated the area around him. He appeared to be in one of the old sewer pipes. Behind him the way was sealed off by an unknown amount of concrete. To His dismay before him was the open chasm of the crater. It would be a few more hours before the sun rose leaving the ground below him in near complete darkness.

He sat on the edge of the pipe with his feet dangling freely as he pondered his next actions until he saw something cut through the darkness, just for a second. "Looks like there is someone alive down here." he stood up rolling his neck, "Guess it's time to do my job." He said before jumping into the Abyss. He landed on the side of an old building that had been toppled over, but its walls were brittle from torture and it gave in. Black ash and dirt covered the inside of the scorched office. The rubble caused by Cory's fall buried him.

 

[Jeda Teq]

The augmentations in Lull's shoulders would tingle immensely as a spark of light responded to his lighter. It was as if it were a live wire going off. The source of the spark scampered to Lull's feet. It was a small lizard with what appeared to be electrical organs of organic metal on its back.

The light impulses he felt then turned from one to two. Then from two to five. Soon there were a dozen sparks of light going off randomly. It appeared as if it were a light show. The small lizards had gathered around the man.

​

0stinato

 

[Axeykins]

“Hm?” His head swiveled around in the direction of a voice. An actual human voice down here? What fortune! Be it bad or good perhaps they could provide assistance. He could look past the name snowball for that. Turning the sensitivity up on his eye augmentations he stared them down. Trying to get a readout on who or what he was dealing with.

Eyes glowing their respective colors of red and blue he approached the figure. Praying they wouldn’t be alarmed by the sudden movement in their direction. “Hello? Please tell me I am not dreaming.” He spoke up as he neared them. Cautiously stepping over mounds of rubble and crumbling sections of sidewalk.

A woman. Looked to be somewhere in her mid to late twenties? Rather average height and that is about all he could tell in the odd soft light of his irises. “You’re real right? Not some concussion brought on illusion or glitch?” He adjusted the aperture of his pupils to get a better focus on her. Goddamn how much did this woman pack? She was barely short of being a one woman army. “Hmm... Sorry if this is prying but you look awfully prepared for this place. Down here for some reason or just to explore on some odd whim or curiosity? I’m only asking as it’s honestly a growing epidemic. So many damned reports of people disappearing in this area without explanation.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. On top of dealing with the syndicates it was an ever growing problem that caused many a headache even in his department.
MahoganyLeaf

 

[0stinato]

Not a human-sized being, but many little ones. Now he could sense over ten similar and small sources of electricity. But at least now he didn't need just the multiple cathodes along his shoulders, because his eyes could tell him what was happening, even in the gloom.

Flashes, brilliant enough that they left an impression on his retinas for a minute or so, lit up the dark, and, as Lull examined the creatures that had surrounded his boots, he tried to first tell what they were. He eventually came to the conclusion that they were reptiles, lizards, as they scurried, excited by each others' lights. He frowned.

Never before had he seen something like this. Was it bioluminescence? Surely not; that took millions of years to evolve, these little creatures hadn't the time to living in darkness for that long. So it must be something else.

He flicked the lighter on again, wanting to lean down for a closer look, but he noticed the lizards get more excited at the light.

"Interesting," Lull mumbled. But was it? Not like he could record that anywhere. Still.

Did they bite? Did they hiss? Lull wasn't sure. As he tried to step away from them, all he noticed was they moved with him, not bothered by the fact he was so much larger than they were. Likely they only cared about the lighter.

So he extinguished it, waited for the creatures to grow more complacent and bored, having no light to puppy over, and slammed his hand down onto one of them, grasping it firmly and lifting it off the ground. The back of it was somewhat warm, and - did he just get a shock? - when his finger brushed the raised warm fin on its left side, light went off in his hand.

"Jesus," he cursed and, dropping his lighter, he brought his other hand up to the lizard. It took only a second for his thumb and finger to find purchase on the creature's head, and he twisted. As he did so, his hand, again, caught the side of the other fin, receiving a second pulse up his arm.

He snorted at the pain, a little more used to it, and felt the little body go limp. He touched the fin on purpose this time. He wanted to see if it would shock and, therefore, provide light.

But no. With death, reflexes were cut off. So this little thing's death was sort of useless. Lull rolled his eyes a little, used the body to push a few lizards away, and felt around the dry ground for his lighter.

But what to do about these buggers? He couldn't kill all of them, that'd be monotonous and useless.The scaly body of the one he'd killed was pretty meat-less too, so there was no point trying to eat them. Best keep the lighter off, they didn't seem to react so much. He'd much rather they were calm and unexcited, so he could focus on other sources of electricity. He sighed, and rubbed his eyes. It was going to be a long night.

 

[MahoganyLeaf]

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty real alright. Actually, wait just a second..I think I can fish out a flashlight from my bag for you."
It took her somewhere about three minutes before she could find the implement and handed it over to him.

"There you go, just refrain from shining it directly on my face. My eyes haven't seen any light for a while."
She crouched down yet again to fumble deeper inside of her bag. Then lastly, she brought out her first aid kit.

"And to answer your question. I'm on a mission to find three missing teenage kids and bring them all back to their homes together with every living survivor I can spot on my path. You see, I work as both a police detective and private investigator.
But that's enough talk about me. Let me treat your severe injuries first."
Her frown faded while her expression softened as she inspected him up closer.
''Damn. You look awful, what the hell happened to you..?"

She sighed, the lethargy evident in her speech, and proceeded to pull out her disposable gloves, and the rest of the equipment designed to stop the bleedings and cleanse his wounds with.

"Sit down." Ennis motioned with her hand for him to take a seat on the cold ground.

"Oh, and be careful not to place your butt on those rocks over there, they're sharp."
Her flashlight shone as a bright mark situated only a tad bit afar from his feet, her manner of illuminating the importance of her warning.

Axeykins

 

[Axeykins]

( Pai Chan Aridis . Just tagging ye to make sure you don't get left behind!!)

 

[Axeykins]

“No plans on it unless you give me reason to. But thank you. This will make things far easier than using these.” He smirked. Tapping his face near the eye socket. Gladly taking the flashlight and stuffing it in his belt he began to relax. She was a detective for the force and PI? He had never seen nor heard of her. Must’ve been from a different branch in the city and far different cases.

“I’ll be sure to avoid those. I don’t need any more pain in my life tonight.” He forced a sarcastic laugh out as he carefully pat the ground for a safe place to sit. “Thank you for offering to patch me up too. I’ve got absolutely nothing down here. Wasn’t exactly given time to prepare.” Scratching the back of his head he turned his gaze away from her sheepishly.

“Since you’ve asked. I was doing a little investigation of my own. Or for better wording have been for a long time now.” He eyed her up and down. Was it wise to spill the beans? She was another officer but his given mission was only to be known by a designated few in the force. For safety reasons of course. Not only his own but his family and the families of the other few who knew.

Well…wasn’t like they were going to get out of here any time soon. Or that they would let him back in unless he begged on his knees or was wearing concrete shoes. “I’ll be straight up with you given the circumstances here. I am also a detective. My job however, was infiltrating one of the biggest syndicates in the city. Gaining their trust and information. Some ah…questionable deals on the side to keep suspicion down or at the very least let me get in close or stay without incident. Long story short. Poked my nose in too far, stole some things I shouldn’t have and they beat me and tossed me down here as an act of ‘mercy’.” He let out a long defeated breath. “That’s about it. Definitely not as noble as saving kids down here. You’ve got some strong sense of justice and guts to do that.”
MahoganyLeaf

 

[MahoganyLeaf]

"I see. You've been through quite some shit from what I can hear."

So, another detective, in here? What a fascinating coincidence to stumble upon.
The guy had some sort of unlucky luck attached to him. Unlucky to have meddled too far with shady people he'd accidentally pissed off, and lucky as he didn't somehow die from his fall- or at least be brain dead from it. Hooray.
But she noted how when he'd described his story, he refrained from going too deeply into details about the case he'd been given, which was understandable enough due to consideration of the safety reasons for himself and his close ones.
Thereupon, Ennis nodded and replied, "Since we'll both be stuck in here together for a good while, I think it'll be good to introduce our names to each other for a starter.
Ennis J. Pendler. Pleasure to meet you. You might as well aid me in my search for these puffballs." She gave him a faint smile and let out another sigh, subsequently reaching for the small photo frame in her pocket and held it out in front of him to see and pointed at each kid with their respective name.
"Lucas, Trevor and this one is Lucia."

Then she finished off by wrapping the last coverings of bandages on his broken skin, before packing her stuff away and rose up from her position. She held her hand out to help him on his feet.

Always remember your manners Ennis. You're probably doing it wrong.

Axeykins

 

[Jeda Teq]

!!Danger!!
The other lizards became restless with the death of one of their own. Electricity arced between the creatures as they began to hiss and snap. Four of the larger ones charged at Lull. The largest of them weighed in at least ten pounds.

As three of the lizards bit at Lull's ankles the largest leapt towards Lull's face with its four way jaw wide open. Two of its sharp teeth, on the upper quarter, were made of the same material as the fins on its back. They flipped out like the fangs of a snake. They served a similar purpose except they delivered a shock to their victim rather than poison.

0stinato

 

[0stinato]

"Ah."

A series of more pain-infused "ah"s followed as Lull's ankles became the target of tens of little mouths. Although his feet and ankles were fairly safely secured in heavy, worn boots (possibly the only practical piece of clothing he was wearing) the impacts would occasionally hit him. And, if the little bastards aimed slightly above his boots, their shocks would go straight through the material of his trousers.

And the one coming at his face, well...

He sensed that one quite strongly as it launched itself impressively from the ground. The electric impulse he could feel grew stronger, and it was coming towards him with more electricity, somewhere, somehow. It flung itself fast, almost impossibly fast and, if his mind and arms hadn't been ready, he was certain that one of his eyes would have been the victim of some degree of attack.

But with the sense that something was coming towards him, his reflex kicked in. Just as they would if he saw a door being swung his way in a split-second, or if he touched a boiling hot grill, his hands acted instantly.

The right swung up as his body leaned backwards, and the shock came immediately. Pure electricity, loosed into his finger, it made his arm clench as the pain filled him for a brief second. It started a ringing in his ears.

The weight left his hand, but blood was there instead.

But what was pain, to Lull? Pain was something he'd refer to as a "hardly". Pain was hardly able to affect him much, and, if it did, he would endure it enough to get through it. Lull never saw himself above anything (hell, even sewage he considered to be more worthwhile than his own body of wasted finite carbon) except from pain. Pain was a meagre thing, an 'over at some point' thing. Lull was above pain, he always thought.

With the practice he'd had with pain, he knew he'd stay standing despite the nips, shocks and blood. These lizards were nothing. Something in his mind was roused tiredly by the pain. It felt heavy, that part of his head, and as if it was struggling not to weep ugly tears. But it told him to run.

So Lull, guessing he'd be able to outrun some leaping reptiles, went for it. His first few steps were surprising even to him, given he stumbled slightly twice. But, when he found the rhythm of his body, he got into it, both hands clenched into fists, one slick with sweat, the other with blood.

He breathed heavily as he ran, the sounds of his throat giving away part of his lifestyle. And his footfalls were equally heavy, if not more so. But, again, endurance and stamina were all he could offer. Run from the little lizard bastards. Even though he didn't know to what (or whom) he was running.

 

[Axeykins]

“Sisceal Anderson. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He nodded, being careful not to move too much as she patched him up. “I’d be happy to help you find those kids. Sticking with you. Kill two birds with one stone in helping you find them and getting out of here easier and faster. Or hopefully faster, I’ve kinda got someone to get back to ASAP up there.” A slight smile graced his face, but his stomach was turning inside out and tying itself in knots. He knew the Kingpin wasn’t lying when he said he’d take care of his daughter. Thank God the man had conscience enough to never harm a child. However, that didn’t mean he wanted her in said man’s care. No way in Hell.

“Unfortunately I haven’t been back up on my feet long down here. So I haven’t seen anyone except you so far. I am ready to go whenever you give the word though. ” He gently rubbed an area she had finished wrapping. Fine job for such quick work!

Suddenly a sound broke the vast silence of the dead alleyways. It appeared to be closing the distance on him but that could have been a trick of the echoes. “Hey….do you hear that.” He gladly used her extended hand to get up. Damn did his back still ache. “I think it’s off…eh. That way? Can’t tell what it is or may be but it sounds like it’s getting closer.”

MahoganyLeaf 0stinato
Jeda Teq [/USER]

( Pai Chan Aridis . Tagging as remiiinder. haha)

 

[MahoganyLeaf]

The daily pair of caretakers had visited her this morning. Despite having met new unfamiliar faces, Ivy had nonetheless attempted to strike a conversation with them.
It didn't work as hoped, as they mainly aimed to quickly get the job finished and get going with their day.

Ivy sat on her couch and was amid reading one of her daily morning newspapers. Nothing unordinary was written in the paper today- considering how acts of crime were a daily part of the lives of the citizen, and the crime rates had always been sky rocket high. Quite sadly.
The newsfeed was otherwise filled with advertisement about cybernetics in so-called discount prices, together with pictures of scantily-clad women and men, advertising their new fashion collection.
Tch, what brazen people!

Her room felt so...unbearably empty and dull. So quiet. She disliked it. But she was already accustomed to this routine, wasn't she?
Why was she feeling so grumpy? And so bored.
Any sort of distraction was highly needed at this point.
Ivy usually had her wrinkled yet flexible hands occupied with her hobbies.
Yet she couldn't find energy or motivation to do so.
Ivy was a skilled craftswoman back in her younger days. However now, it was mostly only kept as a hobby. She used to run her own shop independently, selling her handmade creations and goods, then even created a webshop on top of it. She clearly missed those days.
The kettle made screeching noises from the kitchen, signaling to her that the boiling water was ready to use for brewing the tea.
Her chosen tea flavor for the day would be- Wait for it.... Indian spiced chai!
Now if only she someone to share it with...

After having comfortably poured herself a steamy cup of tea, sided with a few cakes to eat with, Ivy went to sit on her couch in the living room.
As she sat on her seat, she could feel something soft yet shapely squishy underneath her. She picked it up to take a closer look.
Silly how absent-minded she'd gotten! It turned out she had sat on poor little Inigo. Ennis' favorite dragon plushie- Or used to be favorite, as Ennis would've stubbornly insisted.
Oh, how she remembered her darling tiny sugar crumb clinging to this very plush toy. She may never have shown her appreciation for it outwardly or verbally, but her actions alone had spoken enough for her gratitude. Ennis had, after all, received it as a gift from her beloved grandfather, right after having witnessed her parents' divorce. Ivy recalled how calmly Ennis had reacted to the whole ordeal. Whenever someone brought up the topic to her- or attempted to console her in some manner, Ennis would've responded with the same usual reaction, consisting of apathy and indifference, and then proceeded to change the subject of discussion instead.
Even to this day, after having lived for many long years with her, Ivy still had frustrating moments where felt unable to see through her granddaughter's secretive and sometimes strange behavior and nature. It wasn't as if she would ever chose to purposely lie to anybody. She just had a tendency to shy away from certain topics, especially when it regarded her job, as well as her disorders.
Other than that of course, Ennis was a very dutiful and sensible young woman who valued honesty and justice to a great extend. Probably valued the latter a bit too much for her own good. Well, she guessed everyone had their own bad share of negative qualities, and Ennis was no better. Like any other teenager, she was truly a handful!

Speaking of which...Ennis hadn't contacted her for a few days. She told her of how busy she would be for the upcoming days and possibly weeks. A special case, was it?..or something. She told Ivy not to worry about it. It would ruin her health if she did so.
Gah, how typical of her, that girl...

 

[MahoganyLeaf]

"Hm...yeah, I think I hear it. I presume you don't have any weapons on you. So you can grab one of my pistols, just in case we're in danger.
And no need to use it until we've established that the source of the sound, is for sure, a threat to us."

Two combat knives had each found room, held tightly between her hands.
She dared to step forward, hoping to grasp a better knowledge of the unknown lifeform.
By now, there should be two possibilities. Either it could be an ally. Or turn out to be an enemy. Either way, they ought to stay prepared and protected against the worst outcome.

Her stomach rumbled in response.
Ennis couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. She was hungry again. Curse her high-functioning metabolism. Not now, idiot.

Axeykins

 

[Pai Chan]

The descent into the sink hole was long and tedious while also easier than Charlotte expected. There were definitely others that had formed this path before. Charlotte wondered if it was the P.B. It seemed most likely unless many other groups or people were slipping in. How dark the tunnels were brought on a sense of anxiousness from the mercenary. Sounds of all types of manner were constantly being heard. Even with her enhanced eyes, Charlotte, could only see so far. The light from her flashlight only helped to see what was in her immediate area. But the woman had a hard time trying to decipher if the sounds she heard were close or far away as they bounced down the walls.

It was this, the extra caution Charlotte took, that made the descent slow. All it did was remind the girl how much she hated the area. She held sub-machine gun at ready ever since she entered the area. Ready to shoot anything that didn't resemble a humanoid. After a long time of walking, Charlotte, was finally starting to see what was left of the area before it all collapsed. It was a ghost city of collapsed buildings and structures. The fact that people used to frequent these very buildings made the place unsettling. It was a setting straight out of a horror movie.

Charlotte had to mentally kick herself for allowing her mind to wander. She was being recorded too. And as part of the usual recording contract, she couldn't tamper or edit any of the footage. In fact she would give the small camera right back to the person that hired her. Recording was a recent craze among clients. It was similar to red rooms on the Dark Web. Some contractors liked to watch their work being performed. That included assassinations or torture methods. Charlotte had done it all before. She did mind adding in the recording device. It added on quite a bit of money to the already high paying assignment.

And standing around hardly seemed like entertainment. Charlotte started trotting deeper into the center of the sinkhole with her gun raised again. She just had to do this and get out. Then she could go back to doing jobs in the city, like normal.

And not be in this hell hol--

There was a large crash in a building very close by. Charlotte immediately swung around and trained her weapon on the rubble. It was hard to see due to the dust flying around the source of the noise. A building was crumbling. But was it because of age or a more active source? Charlotte wanted to just resume her journey but something was keeping her rooted where she was. Her instincts were telling her something more than just an old building giving into gravity was going on. She felt like there was something and once the dust settled her eyes would be able to confirm whether or not Charlotte's suspicions were spot on. She kept her RCP-90 trained on the location and waited.

@Jeda Teq