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  1. #706
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cleric of Hell’s Brigade View Post
    If he starts weaving his way back to the Base, using back alleys and the like, does the feeling remain?
    The weak energy follows him wherever he goes, though nobody seems to be around. Its still to weak to track....barely a background hum, but over time Owen can determine its close....whatever is producing it is within arms reach.

  2. #707
    Voice of the Authorities Cleric of Hell’s Brigade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrSandman View Post
    The weak energy follows him wherever he goes, though nobody seems to be around. Its still to weak to track....barely a background hum, but over time Owen can determine its close....whatever is producing it is within arms reach.
    Well before he gets to the base, he walks down a dead end alley, puts his back to the wall, and leans against it.

    “Who goes there? Please, show yourself.”
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  3. #708

    Default Matters of The Subconscious Mind: Back to the Bunker

    Rhea appears before Jacob." Jacob, you search enough, It's time to go back to the bunker," Rhea said.

    Jacob stares at Rhea." And where have you been?" Jacob said.

    " I've just been looking around and, while looking around, I got a mention of an underground fighting ring that a cartel is supposedly running," Rhea said.

    " A cartel and underground fighting ring, why does that sound so familiar? I don't know what it is about those two things you mention, Rhea, but something about them pisses me off," Jacob said subconsciously clinching his hands in anger.

    Jacob then heads back to the bunker with Rhea.
    Last edited by bruceleegreyhulk; 08-01-2020 at 12:58 PM.
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  4. #709

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    "Very well. Then-- what the--!?"

    Suddenly, Morgen found herself weightless as the world transformed into a blur around her. It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination, after she was let back onto the ground she accepted the communicator wordlessly and let out a small sigh.

    "... I appreciate the lift, but I would've preferred a warning first. You seem to know your way around, evidently, but I'd advise against poking around for the ice cream... I can only imagine the state of alert at this time." Turning around, she gazed up at the multi-level Dupont estate up ahead, its gardens bordered by detailed stone fencing and secured with a bulky steel gate. Hopefully, she wouldn't be given too much a hassle for having disappeared for the night... it was one of the few cases her lack of presence worked in her favor in the household. Either way, she'd return to her normal life as expected - or so she thought, but the things she had learned about EN and about the administratum's overreach would stick with her for who knew however long. Possibly a lifetime.

    It didn't feel very likely they would meet again, but part of her hoped they would achieve their goal in the end, and... perhaps even make it through in one piece. Morgen turned around again, facing Ange.

    "Well, in any case. Take care."

  5. #710

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    Quote Originally Posted by KingofPie View Post
    "Probably do. Had my fair share of 'an for company myself," Omu chuckled slyly. Centipede were never that picky, mascots even less so. Though as the years went by, the massive ninja liked to think he would have refined his palette.
    Taking in a long, slow moment, Kinu shared Omu's laughter, and very much the predatory implications that simmered below it.

    Flipping over the griddle, she sauced up the last of the okonomiyaki and slid it over to him.

    "Ha! Mascots? They ain't..." Omg guffawed, almost caught by surprise at this inquiry. "I don't get along too much with my brethren, fer the most parr. Nah, my ninja clan is my people. Been around longer than you've strut across this world I wager. "
    "Who can say? Ninja are all about deception, even if you were bullshitting me, I wouldn't know...but if I did, that would mean someone's got some loose lips," she replied. Idly dabbing a bit of grease into the pit, a long tongue of fire shot up from under the grating as if to lick the tongs clean.

    "All those neat little tricks that helps them to disappear, for what the eye doesn't understand, it may as well be indistinguishable from magic." Smoke and mirrors in everything, even what you see before you. "Sometimes what you do see is just the cover for something else."

    "But you're one of a kind, aren't you? Because Mascots don't belong inside the Wards."
    Last edited by grampagen; 08-01-2020 at 04:03 PM.

  6. #711

    Default Joshi Daybreak

    Morning rose, though this deeply cloistered it would be hard to see for so scarce were the rays of light that could reach the bunker. Little more could indicate the shift of night to day but the clinking of cathode tubes in the fixtures dancing down the long hallways of the EN hideaway.

    It was dense, but there were many rooms offered outside of the greasy, sooty corner of the main entrance, a little parlour's small homely amenity granted for those thirsting for some semblance of sanctuary here in a city the Administration oversaw. There was little they would miss where the aerozeppelins tore across the urban skyline. Wall to wall, skyport to skyport, the magnificence of the Conflux Spire shone brilliantly.

    Yet the more the light grasps, the deeper the shadows are cast, and those who are repelled by it seek to find their refuge where the cannot be seen. However, in the deep darkness where no light reaches, there are things that dwell there that wish not to be disturbed.

    One of the rooms in this makeshift barracks had its door ajar, and as it creaked open, light was cast over an empty room, unadorned saved for a tightly made bed within the faint cloister. The fluorescent ray ventured to spread past the spread, and from the corner behind it came a muffled sound.

    Uhhffhh...uhhffhh...

    Leaning lopsided against the wall, the figure was no taller than a child. A pile of bloody colours cast in the dark traced the outline of leather and tufts that garbed it, and the cold air carried about it the sickly sweet scent of rot of old carrion. But from where it stood in the corner, the empty, narrow eyes of that stark mask stood atop it, draped across the collar and loosely over its waist, offering its hollow smile to whosoever dared to intrude into its lair.

    Uhhffhh...uhhffhh...

    It stirred, though its gaze turned from the door and into the wall. Its form appeared boneless as it shambled and convulsed violently, its porcelain white face grinding its eyes into the concrete seeking to evade its beholder. Suddenly, it lashed out and leapt from the wall, caterwauling feverishly as it crashed into the floor and lurched further back into the darkness to veil its lethal metamorphosis.

    From its back burst one extremity after the other, flecked with scales and pale, smooth flesh that pressed up, as if a cruel mockery of a bird burst from a pupae, and the hair stood on end below that pale face as it fanned out with harsh, pied-coloured semblance, as the creature righted itself and...

    ...struck down a little stack of beer cans.

    "...must've overslept, what time is it?"

    Reaching behind her head, Kinu snatched the mask and dusted it off with a deep yawn.

    "Uhhffhh...uhhffhh--!!" At least this time I got to sleep inside...well, time to rustle up some grub...

  7. #712

    Default Joshi Daybreak

    Ruffling the mess out of her hair and casting aside the Coat of Arms for a moment, the Warrior of the Wasteland felt her joints creak as she twist around, and felt an unusual weight in the pit of her being. Every since she'd crossed the threshold into A-11, there had been an string of opulent mornings she'd woken up without hunger or injury.

    I don't keep it up, I'm gonna lose my edge.

    Thus the first thing she felt compelled to do was to take her body to the limit, and the rich, fatty underbelly of civilization gave her more than enough energy to do it further than the flesh and scraps of slain beasts of the heath.

    Out on the extension. In on the flexion.

    Bent at the waist, legs wide, she swooped down and pressed upward in a steady rhythm, then kicking off her toes touched the ceiling gingerly as she landed in controlled silence. Working like a woman possessed, she did this for five minutes until she hit one thousand times. A faint outline of perspiration marked a faint shadow about her, and without a moment's hesitation, she leaned backward, crossing her arms over her chest and rested on her crown and held a neck bridge as she contemplated her next move.

    How many years has it been?

    Staring at the inverted door to the outside of the room, Kinu's breath came in short, stiff puffs, body bowed backwards under considerable tension. The blood rushed to her topsy-turvy head as she viewed this arrested world underground. Shifting upwards, she lift her legs up until she was holding a handstand under her elbows.

    All for another shot to take it back...

    Don't worry about me. It's your time now.
    ...but even eternity starts with today.

    Pushing off into a handspring, she righted herself. Gathering up her garb, she went out the way the EN agents had specifically instructed them to and head out to the A-11 Slums.
    _____

    Coming up from the cellar of a now- boarded-up storefront, Kinu resurfaced by crunching glass beneath her boots. Slits of light between the planks over the empty window frame caught dust motes that trailed where she walked. So long as it's barred off, it's almost like it doesn't exist. Everything was stripped bare, not a scrap upon the shelves, and odd puddle-markings, stains from long-evaporated fluids hinted as some grisly picture. Civilization. As long as noone's watching, it may as well not exist.

    Instead of emerging from street-level, Kinu opted to take the high road and exit the two-story brownstone storefront from the roof hatch. A family of pigeons took off as she stepped over the neglected and cracked tar paper, and she beheld the slums with something of a bird's-eye view. It had been the late evening when they arrived here, but now in the shuffle of earthen-smelling grey, this place came alive.

    If you really call this living.

  8. #713

    Default Matters of The Subconscious Mind: The Dream

    Jacob takes a quick nap and has a dream about his family. The dream starts out fine at first but then turns into a hellish nightmare. In this hellish nightmare, Jacob sees his dying wife in front of him. in the dream, he sees a man in a uniform with white hair and red eyes giving him an icy stare.

    "In the dream, Jacob just stares at the man. " Tell me why, why are you doing this? Who in the hell are you? Jacob said.

    The man stares at Jacob." I'm a beastman, just like you. Only I don't go around pretending to be human. In fact, we knew each other in the past, Jacob," The beastman said.



    " What are you talking about, I never met you before in my life," Jacob said.

    " Heh, but you have. I knew you ever since you were just a kid, Jacob. I'm sad to see that you're still running away from your past," the man said.

    " I don't know what you're talking about, but just tell me this. Why did you attack my wife?" Jacob said.

    " Because she is not one of us, She's filthy human, the bane of our kind, Jacob," the beastman said.

    In his dream, a furious Jacob tries to beat this beastman but utterly fails." You disappointed me, Jacob. It seems like you really do think you're a human. I await the day when you stop pretending," the beastman said.

    In the dream after the beastman leaves, Jacob rushes to his dying wife. " Rhea, where are the kids are they save?"

    Jacob holds his dying wife in his arms as she looks at him." They took them, The Ad.......... took our twin daughters Dakota and Koko." Rhea said in a weak tone as she coughs up blood.

    Wait, who took them, Rhea answer me, who took them?" Jacob shouted.

    The dream then flashes forward to where Jacob sees a dog appear before him just around the same time his wife dies in the dream. " Huh, a dog? where did it come from, and what is it doing here?" Jacob said.

    Jacob then wakes up from his dream." That damn dream again. I still don't know who that white hair red-eye bastard is that murdered my wife. However, I know one thing now, that I'm a beastman just like that bastard," Jacob said.
    Last edited by bruceleegreyhulk; 08-02-2020 at 05:15 AM.
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  9. #714
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cleric of Hell’s Brigade View Post
    Well before he gets to the base, he walks down a dead end alley, puts his back to the wall, and leans against it.

    “Who goes there? Please, show yourself.”
    Nothing Answers.

    The feeling is still close....in fact, now it feels as if the source is somewhere on his body.

  10. #715
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    Quote Originally Posted by Melon God View Post
    "Very well. Then-- what the--!?"

    Suddenly, Morgen found herself weightless as the world transformed into a blur around her. It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination, after she was let back onto the ground she accepted the communicator wordlessly and let out a small sigh.

    "... I appreciate the lift, but I would've preferred a warning first. You seem to know your way around, evidently, but I'd advise against poking around for the ice cream... I can only imagine the state of alert at this time." Turning around, she gazed up at the multi-level Dupont estate up ahead, its gardens bordered by detailed stone fencing and secured with a bulky steel gate. Hopefully, she wouldn't be given too much a hassle for having disappeared for the night... it was one of the few cases her lack of presence worked in her favor in the household. Either way, she'd return to her normal life as expected - or so she thought, but the things she had learned about EN and about the administratum's overreach would stick with her for who knew however long. Possibly a lifetime.

    It didn't feel very likely they would meet again, but part of her hoped they would achieve their goal in the end, and... perhaps even make it through in one piece. Morgen turned around again, facing Ange.

    "Well, in any case. Take care."
    "Same....Oh, of course.....don't mention any of this to your family. Wouldn't want your mother to worry." Ange flicked a small smile and vanished....leaving Morgan alone in front of her home.

    Her old life awaited her just beyond the threshold, and though normality would never again be complete....she at least had her family.

    The sounds of conversation drifted from an open window....not enough to hear, but enough to make it obvious her family was entertaining guests of some sort. Perhaps friends of the family or other high end individuals.

  11. #716
    Astonishing Member KingofPie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grampagen View Post
    Taking in a long, slow moment, Kinu shared Omu's laughter, and very much the predatory implications that simmered below it.

    Flipping over the griddle, she sauced up the last of the okonomiyaki and slid it over to him.
    "Much obliged," Omu nodded his head, graciously taking the plate and digging in with as much refinement as a creature with giant mandible could muster.

    "Who can say? Ninja are all about deception, even if you were bullshitting me, I wouldn't know...but if I did, that would mean someone's got some loose lips," she replied. Idly dabbing a bit of grease into the pit, a long tongue of fire shot up from under the grating as if to lick the tongs clean.

    "All those neat little tricks that helps them to disappear, for what the eye doesn't understand, it may as well be indistinguishable from magic." Smoke and mirrors in everything, even what you see before you. "Sometimes what you do see is just the cover for something else."

    "But you're one of a kind, aren't you? Because Mascots don't belong inside the Wards."
    "True enough. Centipedes even less so, though that's generally for a different reason..." He laughed, as his mandibles grabbed the last morsel of food from his plate. "But like my smaller counterparts, I always find my way into the places I'm least wanted. Half the time for the benefit of those who don't appreciate it."

  12. #717
    Voice of the Authorities Cleric of Hell’s Brigade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrSandman View Post
    Nothing Answers.

    The feeling is still close....in fact, now it feels as if the source is somewhere on his body.
    He carefully pats himself down, seeking the thing out.
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  13. #718

    Default Matters of The Subconscious Mind: The Rhea and Rhea connection

    Rhea is wonder around the bunker." Jacob's wife's soul is a part of my amalgamation. He subconsciously summoned me around the same time his wife died. Yeah, I'm an amalgamate of souls with the natural form of a canine," Rhea said.

    " Jacob's wife is a part of that amalgamation. That faithful day Jacob would have been dead if it wasn't for me carrying him to safety. I remember him being seriously wound and bleeding. He was hanging by a thread that day," Rhea said.

    " Back then, Jacob thought I was just a hallucination. How I got my name is kind of funny. I was just a nameless amalgamate of souls in the form of a canine the day Jacob summon me. Since Jacob's wife was a part of my amalgamation," Rhea said.

    " I named myself after her, and that's how I got my name," Rhea said.
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  14. #719

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    Ange disappeared. Morgen turned and picked up voices from within the house -- and of course with her luck, she'd returned on a day when her folks had decided to have someone over. Instinctively she lifted her sleeve up to her nose and sniffed a few times, wondering if the stench of the slums would follow her inside. Not that she cared much for the first impressions, but she felt she'd had quite enough of embarrassing the family the past few months... or years. She didn't touch anything that dirty so it was probably fine, but she knew she wouldn't stop thinking about it until she changed her clothes and took a bath.

    She stared absentmindedly at the gate as these thoughts circled around in her head, when a firm hand on her shoulder suddenly jolted her back to reality. Whirling around in surprise, she staggered a step back and...

    Lucia Dupont stood before her, grinning like a fool.

    "I got your message, baby sis," she said, still smiling. Immediately, it was clear something was off. Lucia never smiled like that because she was happy. She was doing it because she was about to hurt her.

    "A little late, don't you think...?" Morgen returned quietly, feeling her heart beat faster. Her eyes averted Lucia's cold gaze. "Were you only leaving the house just now? And I'm not a baby."

    "Let's talk inside, yeah?" Lucia ignored the question and took her sister gently by the hand, leading her to the entrance. With a trace of her finger, a key materialized out of thin air, constructed of clear, dense crystal. It slid smoothly into the gate's lock, and with a satisfying click the steel doors groaned open. Inside the estate the voices grew louder, but Morgen paid little mind to them -- her undivided attention was granted to her sister, who had led her into an empty guest room. Quietly, Lucia closed the door behind them, and the voices became muffled background noise.

    Morgen let go of the breath she'd been holding in. "If this about--"

    "What happened?"

    The air became frigid. She swallowed uncomfortably, looking up and meeting Lucia's unreadable stare. At the time, all she had wanted to do was help, but now she was sorely regretting ever making that call. Morgen couldn't quite piece together what her sister was feeling, but she was too afraid to ask. She was too afraid to answer too, and pursed her lips shut. Was she angry? Worried? Curious?

    Lucia took her palms and squished Morgen's cheeks together. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me. I want you to tell me what's up." Morgen kept quiet for a while. It was as Ange said -- it was best she didn't bring up last night's events to her family, even if she did generally trust Lucia.

    "I... just ended up getting lost a bit, during the chaos," she said, thinking over her words. "I wasn't entirely familiar with the layout of the area--"

    "Morgen..."

    "--and it was dangerous on the street, so I--"

    Lucia grabbed Morgen by the collar and violently slammed her head into hers. With a pained squeal, she fell to the floor and curled up into a ball, clutching her forehead. Tears formed in her eyes as thunderous waves of pain pounded through head, as though her skull were being torn open. The ramming she'd gotten from the dragon felt like a shoulder check compared to the excruciating pain she was feeling now.

    "Morgen, come on. Don't lie to me." The elder sister crouched down, running her fingers softly through Morgen's hair as she balled up further. "You asked if I trusted you. And I do. But I don't think you trust me." Lucia helped her stand to her feet, holding her crying younger sister to her chest and patting her on the back. "Sh, it's okay. You're okay. You're not a baby, remember? It'll only hurt for a minute." She wiped Morgen's tears away. "I wouldn't have had to hit you if you didn't lie to me... you understand that, right? Just be honest. I promise I won't get mad."

    "..." As bitter as Morgen felt, she was right. The pain started to dissipate almost as quickly as it had come.

    "I know you were helping EN." Her heart froze. How did she know that? No, more importantly, was there anything else she knew? Morgen held her hand still, feeling it start to shake. "You thought I never came for you, huh? Tsk, tsk, tsk... I know how to find my own sister. But listen, this is great news. Shuri's always trying to one-up you, but this is your big break -- you tell the Administratum what you know and who knows? Maybe they'll pull a few strings for you... get that witch job you've been working so hard for." Lucia gave her one more hard pat on the back. "Sounds good? Come on, there's someone you should meet."

    With that, she grabbed Morgen by the hand again and led her into the dining room...
    Last edited by Melon God; 08-02-2020 at 04:27 PM.

  15. #720
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cleric of Hell’s Brigade View Post
    He carefully pats himself down, seeking the thing out.
    After a few moments, Owen feels something strange stuck to his back....a quick yank reveals it as one of the pieces of paper the girl had dropped. This one holds his image, and seems draw to him by some force akin to static.

    Sudden the paper straightens out, jerks free of his hand and spins in the air...picking up speed until it’s akin to a flying buzzsaw, then dives towards Owen to attempt taking his head off.

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