ＡＲＣＡＥＵＳ [Closed]

[Vinawr]

x

x

███████████████████████████████████████████████


x

'Did I forget to tell them something...?' Weiss touched his chin as he sat back in a plush armchair. 'Ah, yes, that Kurata fellow.' The hired distraction would hopefully do his part, and Nathaniel and his crew would hopefully take advantage of it. 'They'll figure it out. Just so long as the man doesn't do anything stupid, they won't outright kill him.' Weiss blinked. He already paid the man, so it was nothing of his concern anymore. With a content 'hmph,' he picked up his cup of coffee. To his right, his companion and benefactor inquired as to what he had been thinking about. "Nothing of great importance," he replied with a calm smile. "Just that something occurred to me while you were telling your anecdote..."

____________

Umbra's convoy eventually came to a stop, unable to travel any further into the Black Spot. The driver looked to the passengers, particularly Nathaniel, as he cut the engine. "Sir, this is as far as we can go. We can set this as the rendezvous point after the mission is cleared then? I will find a safe area to wait with the vehicle for your exit."

Stepping out onto the woodland, Gavin Gondelo stretched from the bumpy ride, donning one of the Order's standard Fragment retrieval outfits. He glanced around and frowned at the site of nearby wheel tracks. Turning to Nathaniel, he stated somewhat hesitantly, "Ah...Boss, it looks like there was a rover around here. Mighta been the Order's patrols. So they might still be around unless they got pulled out, for some reason." Walking closer to the vehicle, Gavin leaned back against it while waiting for the next course of action, mainly curious as to how he'd have to go about doing his own job.

[Kiyenkachu]

♦ ｍｏｏｄ * Calm ♦ ｗｈｅｒｅ * In Forest ♦ ｗｉｔｈ * Following The Order ♦ ｗｅａｒｉｎｇ * All Black


Kijuro had made it into the forest and as it looked right now everything was going according to plan. Not only did his actions reach out to his desired location, but he was exactly where he needed to be. Despite his powers being ice it was time to heat things. Would it be a good idea to go at this with only the base of his power or should he take up and release what rage he had bottled up? Well depending on him needing to get his money's worth, he was going to go at this mission at full force. See, Kijuro wasn't your ordinary sword for hire. This one had rage and unlike most people, his rage was a good thing when it took over. Kijuro unsheathed Yuki and a blue vibrant light erupted around her." Yes.......yes! I can feel you getting angry! Come on! Let's get started Kijuro! To the north is where our target is!" Well then, that's exactly where his attack was going to go. This was also going to alert Umbra that they had an ally and that it was time to move a little bit quicker.

The multiple approaching footsteps were what he was warned about before the mission. Spawns of the forest. It didn't matter, they had just signed their own death wish approaching Kijuro who was a time bomb waiting to go off."Enemies approaching! Just ignore them and do the job" However, when the spawn revealed themselves in a number of ten, Kijuro glared and spoke in a voice colder and more sinister than the deadly chill spreading rapidly in the area." The fear of death follows from the fear of life. These things were already dead the moment they saw me so it won't be a problem killing them!" With that, Kijuro's blade slammed into the ground and nothing happened at first. That was until the ground beneath erupted in pikes of ice the size of fire hydrogens. The spawn that had approached tried to react, but with his fragment going in full effect, they had no chance of survival.

They were impaled, but those pikes didn't stop there, they traveled north like Yuki had identified their target. There were plenty of options they could do to stop, or avoid the attack, but they just weren't going to shake it off as if it were nothing. Some effort would have to be put into it and with this his mission was complete. This would shake things up for the Order and tell Umbra to hurry the ******** up. However, perhaps he could take this whole interruption thing to the next level. Why would he only stop at one attack? Oh because that's all he got paid for? No, now he wanted to kill something and the spawn in this murky forest didn't feed his rageful appetite. "This anger isn't enough Kijuro. I need more to give more. Can you provide me with more?" Was she kidding? This wasn't anywhere near the tip of the iceberg! There was far more to come, but that would be for another day. Kijuro sheathed his blade and his temperament came down multiple notches.

Hell, the only thing important at this point was seeing how his attack interrupted the members of the Order and to see how things played out. Besides, he was promised beautiful women and one of them had accidently been killed already. However, Yuki wasn't too pleased about his actions." NO!!! We were getting where we needed to be! I hate you! Ceasing my power isn't allowed and a punishment is in order." Kijuro ignored her until he felt a violent chill churn in his abdomen. Kijuro placed his hands over his mouth and blood trickled from the space in his finger."You got your point across b***h." With that, Kijuro wiped his mouth and took off on feet to follow staying a safe distance behind just in case they decided to retaliate.



ＯＯＣ： ...

[Almiraj]

xxxxxxxxxx ❜ :《 BEFORE THE DAY I DIE

xxxxxxxxxx◜ ☁⋮ i ` m g o n n a J U M P !⋱ & t o u c h t h e ❞ ! s k y : ◢
XXXXXX ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅xxxxxxxxx◤ ___ I`M TIRED OF BEING A F L I G H T L E S S B I R D ↓* ⋮
xxxxxxx❜( ⋮▊ I HAVE MY WINGS
xxxxxxxxxx▌⋮＆ *so let me fly xxxxxxxso let me fly xxxxxxxso let me fly
xxxxxxxxxx▌⋮＆ *so let me fly xxxxxxxso let me fly xxxxxxxso let me fly xxxxxxx

Ｆｒａｇｍｅｎｔ: RAVEN'S CLAW


"Please, everyone take your seat. We are arriving at our location."

Kai didn't take much notice of the announcement, he felt a little to preoccupied attempting to figure out a way to cover the holes in both the seat and the wall - a trial that seemed more testing than the carnage that awaited them. The shifting black of Ériu's form was what caught his attention, ordering the men ahead of them to secure this and get tactical for that before turning her attention to him. Motioning for Kai to follow her out, she snatched his hand and lead him out of the iron and into the open. He could see Ériu was thankfull for the fresh air, not that the fist-sized vent he put in the side of the carriage denied them any ventilation.

Looking around, Kai caught a glimpse of Lotus, whose own eyes seemed to be on he and Eriu as they moved off the train. She looked about as scared and uncomfortable as he did when he put a hole in the carriage and that slightly put him at ease. At least he wasn't the only one around here whom was nervous. He smiled -

"Come on Kai, lets get to base and figure out what our orders are going to be."

Kai bit his lip to shoo his smile away and got his legs properly stretched, before trailing behind Ériu. As she led them towards the General's meeting place, he was glad she knew where they where going for he certainly did not. Not much felt familiar here, the place, the people, the mission, Kai was glad for the company of others - something he had always seen value in.

Standing just inside the establishment, Kai zoned out the conversation between the General and Eriu as he looked around the surrounding area. It was oddly dark, considering the conditions outside; and not a single person in the room looked like they wanted to be there - including himself. Kai shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, these are my colleagues." Ériu's words cut through Kai's thoughts, and Kai could see she said them with no great amount of love. He made a mental note to remember that the Colonel and herself were perhaps not the greatest of friends. As their engagement ended Ériu ran after Kyra, and Kai saw her nod, look to him and return on her path to prepare for departure.

Ériu moved back to the troops stationed with Kai. "You guys are going to be coming with me." Her ability to command evident not only in her actions but so too her voice. "We're going to provide the frontal attack, The rest are you are the second line, the important one, you got our backs. You will listen to Kai."

"I...Uh...."

Kai looked towards the troops, then back to Ériu, but she was already on her way to the vehicles stationed by the exits. He'd never led men before - hell, he'd barely even seen combat related to the black spots. A stray soldier approached him and leaned down to even out their heights. He unslung his rifle and produced it before Kai. "I'm not sure how things are done where you're from, but out here you'll need one of these." Kai took the weapon apprehensively, turning it awkwardly in his massive palms. He tried to move his hands around to properly hold the weapon but ended up shattering it in a grip he deemed just a little bit too strong. The other was taken aback, only half as annoyed by the ruining of costly equipment as he was impressed by the nomad's strenght. He shook his head and turned back to his own duties, leaving Kai to handle the group Eriu had left him.


The comms lit up again, "Okay, listen up..." Kyra began, but Kai's mind once again wondered off as he looked after the trail Eriu had left. While he had quite a bit of experience in regards to forests, this particular one was completely foreign to him. Probably due to the fact that it resided on a completely different continent than that of his origin.


"Please don't use that nickname when we are in business mode"

Kai shook his head, it was time to get moving.

"D-do we just.. follow her? Or.." he questioned awkwardly, producing a nod from one of the soldiers and snickering from a few others. Misunderstanding the nature of said snicker, Kai's face lit up at the hint of false friendliness. A smile formed on his face that was almost a little too contagious and he bounced off in the direction of Eriu and the others.

"You guys are going to be coming with me!" Kai mimicked Eriu with almost perfect accuracy and the soldiers put under his command found themselves scrambling to get into the vehicles in order to follow behind the bird-boy.

As they moved along the path Kai became hyper aware of his surroundings. Despite this, he still wasn't prepared for a giant, grey wolf to charge out of one side of the forest and pummel him a lengthy ways down the other.

The soldiers left behind prepared themselves to attack as what looked like the rest of the pack joined the fray. They were trained and prepared for this and almost any situation like this. What they were not prepared for - was what looked like another wolf charging it's own group. Moments later, Kai walked out of the broken path that formed when he was pummeled out of order earlier, and it suddenly became clear that Kai had thrown the wolf - as opposed to it going rogue.

Kai cracked his knuckles in preparation as another wolf began to charge him. Standing his ground, Kai pulled his fist back and threw a bone shattering punch into the snout of said wolf. Producing shivers from the others in his group as it literally shattered bones.

"Are they sick or something?" he questioned loudly, smashing another wolf into the ground. Kai wasn't familiar with black light monsters and was unable to draw the connection.

"They are infected by the black spots." A soldier spoke up almost tripping into the crater the formed from Kai's previous encounter with a wolf. Kai frowned - 'That's a shame...'.

A fatal gunshot to another wolf announced that the battle was over. Kai and the others looked around at the damage done and groans were shared at the apparent damage to the vehicles. That was probably going to be taken out of their paycheck.

Kai brushed the dirt off of his clothing and adjusted his metal boots before moving on along the path - his squad following in suit. Kai felt he was doing pretty good, so far.




Ｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ: on a path in the forest cyno Ｍｏｏｄ: Excited - Proud cyno Ｃｏｍｐａｎｙ: large group of soldiers




Word Count:1119

[Megitsune no Gin]

xxx

☁ ＬＯＣＡＴＩＯＮ :: In the forest xx ☁ ＣＯＭＰＡＮＹ :: Kyra, Kai and a load of other people xx ☁ ＦＥＥＬＩＮＧＳ :: Tense xx ☁ ＨＥＡＬＴＨ :: 100% ＡＲＭＯＵＲ :: 100%

Resting atop the roof of her squad brought her a little reprieve for now... Turning her face to the sun she remembered vividly the fight that they had just had in regards to the wolves they fought. Kai... Ever helpful had dished out his own powers to help clear up the area. She was slowly relaxing against the sounds of the engine as she remembered she had to be upfront so that she could keep a wary eye on any more distractions that came their way. Especially as they now were closing in on the black spot. Her head turned when someone spoke up to her.

"Hello to you, too. Hey, how long we got before we actually get there?" Her blue eyes stared at the female for a few second before she reacted. "Hello, we probably will be there in five minutes." She said in a tone that could have been taken as being harsh, but the excitement to fight was there. Crawling along the roof, she gripped the bar of the windshield and slid into the passenger seat beside her trusty driver. "We're making terrific time." She commented as she folded her arms, opening her senses to listen out for anymore interruptions.

Her Comms device started to emit a static stream, signalling that they had travelled into the outskirts of the epicentre, from here she was sure things would get harder. Shouting for Kai to get up front would be a stupid idea, looking at the people behind her the female stood up in her seat. Most of those that travelled with them wore suits to protect them from the black energy. Unlike herself, Kyra and Kai, who wielded fragments which practically gave them immunity. Grabbing a hold of the windshield bar again the black haired female vaulted herself back over the engine and landed a few feet in front of the car. She couldn't take a comfy seat anymore, not with all of the plants around her showing signs of heavy infection.

She knew that the group would split off on its own, Kyra's team towards the retrieval spot, her own and Kai's would be going towards the epicentre with the technology to stop it from spreading. However, she was now debating in her mind, what form would be better; Her human form or her wolf. At least with her wolf she could be agile, not only that, but she could defeat black spawn with her jaws and claws. If worst came to worst she could use her fragment to become something out of a horror movie. Tsking at her lack of options she removed her weapon, making sure the safety was on before letting it fall onto the floor of the passenger side.

The natural change wasn't brutal as most make it out to be. There is a wolf faded, but as she continued to walk she melded into it and was soon keeping a steady pace ahead of the convoy. The only down side to this was she couldn't talk. She could very much hear everything that was crawling around, much better than when she was a human. Same went for her sense of smell, though the environment had resorted to greys blacks and browns in her eyes. She knew the spawn would expect humans to attack, they'd never suspect the wolf. Not only that, she could take down the spawn more successfully.

Hopefully when they attacked, and she knew they would, the soldiers would follow her and not ignore that fact that she may be a wolf, she was also their superior.


Thoughts - #525777
Speech - #162C51

[Doctor Jax]

S A L

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxa r c a e u s||e n g i n e e r

"There ain't nothin' in this world that can't be fixed."

"Hello. We probably will be there in five minutes," the black-haired woman said, and Sal threw her hands up in the air. Five minutes, sure. She said five minutes. Did that mean five minutes? Some commanders had this issue where their sense of time was very skewed, which Sal had found out to her immediate dismay. Gameson, her squadron head, had told her once that he only needed to talk to Sentinel Wilhelm for, at most, ten minutes. She'd ended up sleeping outside his office, his meeting took so long. She'd managed to make a small blow torch, an entire circuit, and a couple of flashbangs while she was waiting out of the bag of spare bits she carried around with her.

She'd learned that five minutes was rarely five minutes.

"Whatever you say, Head Honcho. I'm just the grunt," she mumbled as she readjusted the strap to her bag over her orange, fluorescent jumpsuit. They'd handed them out at the beginning of the trip. Apparently they were supposed to shield them from the Black Spot's ill effects, but she didn't know how much of that was true. As far as she knew, Wielders had the only kind of immunity to Black Light poisoning. She swallowed as she remembered friends succumbing to Black Light poisoning on Pari, the island engulfed in a cancerous slew and taking them along with it. She'd been in the Infirmary for what seemed like forever after her escape.

"Hey, Graham. I need the comm link up front fixed. We're getting some kind of reading from the outside patrols, but we can't tell what it is. Too much interference," Ike, one of the engineering techs, said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to the unit attached to the front of the jeep.

Sal grunted and made her way to the front, sitting up on the roof bar to get a better look at the comm unit. She pulled out a small kit from her pocket and teased it open. It had a couple of corrupted ARC circuits, probably because of the Black Light's radiation. They still didn't know what made ARC stuff go nuts in a Spot. Still, as far as her experience went, the less ARC energy you had running through the system, the better it ran in a place this heavy.

She started to change out some of the parts to the circuits, but her attention was caught by the Wielder who'd gotten out of the jeep. The black-haired woman strode forward with purpose, and the shadowy outline of a wolf began to appear in her place. With every step, the woman seemed to fade out and the wolf began to fill in, a slow transformation. Sal whistled appreciatively. Not a bad ability to have. She didn't get to see Wielders at work frequently, so that was a nice treat.

"Neat, isn't it?" the driver asked as he slowly traversed the terrain. The trees had grown in more, and there were... things running around in the forest. The hairs on the back of Sal's neck stood up as she worked faster. She didn't like being out in the open.

"Green with envy," she muttered under her breath as she slammed the box on the comm unit closed.

"Getting anything now?" Sal asked tersely, and one of the soldiers, probably a communications officer, gave her the 'ok' sign with finger and thumb.

"We've got feedback, but I can hear --... it... it sounds like someone's attacked the patrols. I can't make out what's going on, though. But I know we've lost at least one of them," the comm officer said.

"GET DOWN!"

Sal looked up in surprise as talons suddenly gripped the back of her uniform jumpsuit. She was rudely jerked off the jeep, arms and legs dangling as a big, winged... thing screeched and took to the air. Sal screamed wholeheartedly as the ground flashed underneath her, the jeep getting farther away. She watched as Wolf Girl soon passed her, and Sal knew that if she didn't get out of here now, she was going to either be dropped and die or she was going to be eaten and die.

Dying was not on her agenda today, so she made an executive decision.

Sal unzipped her uniform, suddenly thankful that she'd dressed underneath it. She spilled out of the orange jumpsuit and on to the ground twenty feet below with a huge thud. She lay groaning on the ground in a daze as she tried to get her bearings. She rolled on to her stomach in the leaf litter, and she saw the Wielder was only fifty feet behind her. She'd somehow stayed on the path, and she pressed her forehead to the dirt, muttering curses and prayers each.

But when she raised her head again, it was mostly curses that spilled out of her mouth. A swarm of black dots hovered over the horizon behind the convoy. It looked like things were going to get kind of messy.

where: a jeep towards the Black Spot >> fifty feet ahead of the convoy who: a dark haired woman (Eriu) doing what: hoping she don't die


Megitsune no Gin

[Vinawr]

x

x

███████████████████████████████████████████████


x
As the various parties made their way towards the epicenter, none of them could have detected, or at least made much of, the subtle vibrations spreading through the woodlands. Gradual, each like a ripple made by a pebble dropped into the ocean. Each, insubstantial on its own. However, like drops in a mercury thermometer, gathered for the few days since the appearance of the Black Spot, together, they culminated into something great, great and terrible.

Beginning from the center of the Black Spot, a shock wave laced with magical energy, Black Light or otherwise, propagated through the woodlands and for miles past the perimeter of the Black Spot with a rumble, deafening depending on one's hearing range. No immediate adverse results seem to have occurred to the living beings caught within it, but all ARC energy based technology has been rendered useless. However, suddenly, the woodlands seem to have attained a sort of spark of life, at least to those corrupted creatures which inhabited it.

In the Order's case, their vehicles as well as most of their technology and equipment must be given time to operate on their back up electrical power sources. All communications had also been scrambled, hopefully only temporarily, as a result of the shock wave.

[Vinawr]

↳ The Black Spot ↳ Members of Umbra ↳ Deniably Anxious ↳ 100%


'Fascinating.' Nathaniel's mild irritation at the...bumpy ride had ebbed immediately after he had exited the vehicle. The phenomenon which had just occurred, none like it had ever been recorded by the Order. This day seemed like a time of many firsts. He quirked a brow, curiosity piqued, as the Sphere floated from within the folds of his coat. 'A reaction to the traces of Black Light. How...promising.' Then, turning to the rest of his subordinates, Nathaniel's impassive gaze slid over each face before he cleared his throat, speaking as if he had just witnessed an occurrence no more special than a rainstorm in spring.

"Maintain a vigil and ensure that you are not discovered by any patrols which may return to the area," Nathaniel instructed first to the driver. With a nod to him, the man distributed the electronic comm devices. "We will travel on foot as a group towards the epicenter, led by Ms. Buford." He fixed his dark eyes upon Luca for a moment. "I need not remind you all that our priority is to ensure that this Black Spot reaches its point of permanency. If my estimations are correct, then the Order may be required to divide their forces to tackle the purification method for a Black Spot of this size. It will only take the toppling of one pillar to set their whole operation crumbling. However..." He regarded Galvin with a hardly perceivable shift of his head. "When we come upon the site of the Fragment of ARCAEUS, then a small contingency will accompany Mr. Gondelo in its retrieval."

Nathaniel took several steps away from the vehicle before glancing at the rest of the group again, briefly focusing on Luca once more. "We go."

[zagi00]

Luca Buford | Umbra member
Where: The forest
With: Nathaniel, Gavin, Erum, etc

Luca was beginning to regret her commitment to rising from her freelance position within Umbra, especially when Nathaniel's calm, serious gaze fell on her. Regardless of what was actually behind his stoic expression, Luca felt the weight of expectation settle into her, and with that came unease. There was no reason to be surprised; she was an experienced hunter who knew the area well--or at least had, a few years ago. She was counting on her memory and her instincts to see her through this mission, which would've been much easier had she not just been asked to lead a group into the heart of the area. Being a hunter-for-hire, she was used to taking people through places. But this time, there were stakes attached. High stakes. All the more to challenge myself with.

She scanned the clearing, aware that the other members were expecting her to lead them and any ******** ups on the way would most definitely be her fault. After a few moments, she gestured to the group and started walking. When Nathaniel had said, "We go," she took it literally. It wasn't like they had a lot of time to dally, in any case.

Luca wondered if anyone would be aware enough to realize she was taking them even further along the edge, just as the path did, rather than further in. Had she been alone, or with just one other person, she could've chosen the trail right in front of them. But she already knew that that would be a difficult way to navigate with a group; better still to walk a bit more and take the other one.

Erum immediately fell in step with her, and while Luca was grateful for her offered protection, she still didn't feel comfortable around her. Thankfully, she soon had a reason to step away; stepping off the path (which would've led them to another town), scanned her surroundings for a moment before unsheathing her knives and hacking away at a few overgrown bushes.

"This way," she said, redundantly. Most of the trees in this area were close enough that they would have to walk single file. It was like a tunnel, the way the leaves and branches overlapped above them. Luca stepped in immediately, sure that they were on the right track. She remembered taking some villagers there before, to gather raw materials.The landmarks were familiar, and she still remembered where to turn. Soon she would come across a stream soon, which they would follow right to the center.

Luca didn't look back to see who stepped in after her, but she hoped it wasn't Erum or Nathaniel; it would be nice to have someone to talk to en route. The former made her uncomfortable, and the latter didn't seem like the type to appreciate friendly overtures. And Luca needed friends in
Umbra, if she was going to be with them for the long haul.





Vinawr

[icecreamsparkle]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ►If I dιѕαppeαr tonight
xxxxxxxxxxI wish you could find mexxxxxWill you come looking for me◄◄
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxI'm just a gнσѕт behind these ємρту єуєѕ
xxxxxxx►►Will you come looking for mexxxx I wish you would find me ♥

Kyra relented the use of "Lily" as a nickname. Lotus wondered dryly what would happen if she opted to change her name to Lily, would that be cause for Kyra to call her Lotus? The thought almost made her snicker, but her cold expression didn't change. She listened to the orders her superior was giving to her and the crew.

"You are the ones whose job is to make sure that the Fragment is secured and stopped. The one that will help stop what is happening. Your job may not be overly grand on the front lines, but never little yourself."

Lotus looked away from Kyra's touching words. As the rest of the crew listened, she recalled the moment earlier when she'd desperately tried to speak to Kai, but couldn't find the courage to say anything. The orange haired boy had thrown a smile her way before being dragged off with Eriu and their crew. His smile remained embedded in Lotus' memory as she turned her head to the sound of vehicles and climbed into a rover after Kyra. Without any spoken words, they'd chosen to ride together. Lotus glanced back at the camp as they rode, briefly thinking of Archie and hoping she wouldn't do anything that might disappoint him today. Her concern for the leader's approval confused her, but it was something she was willing to accept. Things were changing inside her and part of it was a result of the Order.

Lotus didn't speak for most of the ride, even as they drew closer to the retrieval spot. At one point, listening to the comm static coming from Eriu's receiver, Lotus stood up in her seat, leaning over the windshield to squint into the distance. Were Eriu and her crew already in the outskirts of the epicenter? Was the Black Spot now interfering with communication just as they feared? What if they changed channels or tried a different wavelength. Lotus looked over at Kyra warily, about to voice her concerns,

"There's too much static from Eriu's--" she started, interrupted by the blast of the shockwave. She felt it first, a powerful surge of magical energy washing over her, followed by a wave of nausea and a deafening ringing in her ears. Lotus shrank to the ground, within the space between her seat and the edge of the rover, covering her ears. The vehicle skidded for a moment and then slid sideways to a stop, abruptly pushing any passengers with enough inertia to fall forwards out of their seats.

Luckily, Lotus didn't face plant into the windsheild. Crouched in the foot space of her seat, she slammed against the edge of the rover, hitting her shoulder and left side. The pain subsided in a few moments, as did the shockwave. She took a few breaths to slow her racing heart and rose, surveying their crew. They were hustling the portable and back-up power generating and clipping them to the rover as well the equipment. It appeared as if all the ARC tech needed a jumpstart. Was the shockwave caused by the Black spot? And why? Why would it release a burst of magical energy? Lotus wondered if more than a fragment was buried at the epicenter.

She hopped out of the vehicle and made sure Kyra was okay. The woman was taller than her, and not to mention stronger, so Lotus wasn't too worried. She was more concerned about the communications tech. She was getting constant static from every receiver. It was ticking her off. If only she had some kind of access to a computer. She bit her lip and looked to Kyra expectantly.

"Are we going to wait for the back-up power?" She surveyed the crew working and turned her body towards the direction of the retrieval point. "Let me scout ahead. I can jump back, or I can stay on stealth until you arrive." Lotus suggested, her eyes cold and her face expressionless. If there was any nervousness or worry of Archie's approval before, it was long gone. In front of Kyra now was a soldier, trained in the field. This was Lotus' speciality. This is what years growing up in her father's brutal crime syndicate modelled her into.

"If there's another shockwave, we'll lose too much time stopping to power up again..." Lotus started to say and paused, Unless... There was a way to fix the comm links. She remembered hearing Sal talk about how the circuitry was degraded by the dark energy, but could be replaced. If she could get the comms working for even a minute, Kyra could get an update on Eriu's position, which Lotus was wary of because the shockwave threw everyone off. If they couldn't use their tech over at the epicenter, how were they going to take care of things? But was it possible to fix the comms while either team was this close to the dark energy? How long would the equipment last, even if they fixed it?

Lotus waited for instructions. Kyra was the leader of this crew, after all.

fєєƖιηg nothing ωιтн Kyra + crew αт a few minutes drive from the retrieval spot тнιηкιηg about the possible solutions
xxxxxxxxxxнєαƖтн: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[Floofz]

xxx


• 
  Upon hearing Eriu's remark back through the comm's, that's when Kyra tilted her head to the side as she still had that blank and lazy like look upon her face as she responded through the device. "Ehh? That's no fun~ Fiiiiiiiine. I won't use that nickname, Eri-chan." But she still added on the strange addition of respect at the end. In the end, the talks through the comm's went silent as they continued on their way. At a certain point, the jeep's that held both the retrieval squad and the ARC pack users would soon begin to split off. Only a few of the ARC packs were brought with Kyra's own group, as they split off to head to their retrieval location. The woman was silent the whole ride through, her attention straight ahead and never looking to the side or anything. All in all, the pale woman looked just like a statue. Then again, the white haired woman did look the part of one, when she wasn't moving or talking. It was only when her long hair would blow in the slight wind hitting her face, and her pinkish-red orbs blinking slowly in time, would show she was alive and not a piece of stone.
  
  That's when she noticed it too. The sound of static that was starting to pop up in the comm's. Her gaze only turned towards it as she also saw Lotus looked at the comm for the longest time. Before turning to look at Kyra. She knew that look. She knew it was that she wanted to know if she wanted to change the channels. Since it was a thought that came into her mind as well. There was a few channel's she knew of they could change to that would try to re-connect and to hear them. But before the red head could finish, that's when she felt it.
  
  Kyra's eyes went completely wide as she suddenly arched forward. Her metal hands gripping at the top of the open roof jeep as her hair flared out behind her. Inside, her instinct's reacted to the shockwave that came. It was a few seconds of reaction before it soon hit them. The surge of magical energy, it made her eyes glow a bright red, and her horn on her forehead suddenly began to glow. A swirl of red light spiraling down to the base came. Luckily, the size didn't grow, which was something good. Except for when the jeep's soon began to slide around and skidded to a stop.
  
  That's when the large woman's form was launched from it. Her body twisting out into midair, as she was easily thrown. It was actually something she wanted to happen. If she had tried to stop, her strength would have destroyed half of the jeep. So she allowed her body to be thrown out into the air, and Kyra would relax her body, before tensing it. Twisting around as her hair flew out behind her, she would make her metal claws soon increase in size. Becoming the giant form as they should as she soon landed on her hands. Her claws digging into the earth and sliding forward for a few inches before having her feet slap down behind her. Drawing in a deep breath, she was soon letting it out slowly. A bit of steam seen from her nose as her eyes continued to glow. Her inner instinct's was reacting to that shockwave. It wasn't that the impurity that her body had faced many years ago was reacting. No. The Fragment she now wielded made sure she was pure like usual.
  
  No. It was the trauma she experienced those years ago, and being forced to fight and train, is what it was. In a sense, the Order created a wild animal that was Kyra. Both in appearance and in fighting finesse. Luckily, it was only roused through the over use of her ARC energy and prolong fighting. It was why she was given such small task's. The thought of waking that beserker in front of witnesses was something the Order could not have. Kyra, was the Black Sheep of the Order. And Archie knew that enough, but tried to make sure she wasn't at least sealed away from that.
  
  Drawing in another deep breath, she felt Lotus making her way over to her, and knew she wanted to make sure she was okay. Closing her eyes, she forced those instinct's that reacted to the magical wave to settle down. The glowing of her horn was soon fading, and becoming a normal black horn as she pushed herself to stand. Yanking her claws out of the dirt of the ground. Instead of making them shrink for every day use again, she kept them increased. Her pinkish-red hue's opening to half lidded appearance as she looked over her shoulder at the others. Watching as the people with them began to try and fix the equipment that went down. Even though she didn't look at her, Kyra listened to Lotus's talk about scouting ahead. Explaining the cons and pros of waiting and such.
  
  As she listened to it, Kyra had to agree with what Lotus was explaining. That and she trusted the woman to what she was explaining. Considering she had that aura of a soldier who done this longer than she appeared. So she knew what she stated. But at the same time, there were many variables that would come and go. One of which, is that Kyra had a strange feeling that they weren't the only ones out there. While it made sense for the Black Spot to react to the Order to arrive towards it, this was a bit different. The Black Spot reacted to something much more. She felt it. The only issue that was making her take long in answering is should she go on that feeling or not. Drawing in another breath, she let it out as Kyra closed her eyes. Her large metal claws would flex a few times as she slowly began to roll her head around. Angling farther to the left, a soft crack could be heard as she cracked her neck to the side two times before straightening it and opening her eyes once more.
  
  "As it is, we can't leave this squad to themselves. Only a few are able to use ARC magic, and same few able to protect themselves against small enemies if they are weak."
  
  It was more of a statement that she was saying. Kyra would pause before turning to look back at the equipment as she heard what Lotus was trying to explain about another shockwave. But then again, the woman knew enough about Black Spots and how they worked. It was expected for equipment to not work correctly. As for the jeeps, that's something that could get back up and working in no time. The comm's on the other hand would take longer. Soon enough, she continued as she made her voice known to the other members. "Understand, that this is expected. All of us who have done this before, know's on how Black Spots do in situations like this. The best we can do, is get the jeep's up and working, and have those who know how to fix the comm's to do that while in the vehicles at the same time." She would watch as the men would nod their heads, and soon began to push their Comm's mainly on one of the larger jeep's. Kyra turned to look at Lotus as she spoke softer. "We'll keep the jeep's at a slow pace, not too fast. Just in case something else happens. I want you to go on foot, stealth. Make sure that you aren't too far ahead just in case, so that way we can hear you if needed. I do like for you to scout ahead of us. But make sure you take care.....I feel like we aren't alone....and not from the usual monster's that we know of."
  
  Turning about, Kyra would soon begin to make her way back to the lead truck, her claws still huge as she spoke out loudly. "We're moving out! We go slow, and we go safe. We don't want to end up ahead of the other team without knowing they have done their job. The last thing I want is to get us killed right off the start." She explained then nodded to person driving the jeep. It took a few minutes, but one by one, each of the vehicles began to turn themselves back on. Roaring to life and waiting for Kyra's next move. Instead of getting inside of the jeep, she was moving forward. Walking fast at the pace of the jeeps as she was to the side and ahead. The whole time, her eyes hooded in that blank expression as her long hair flared out behind her as she moved.
  xxxxx
  
  【Border // To Black Spot】 【Lotus and Others】 【Voice Clip】
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬
  M A Y B E . T H E Y . D O . S A Y . I ' M . A . C O W A R D
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬
  S O M E H O W . M Y . M I N D S E T . I S . O F . A . W A R R I O R

[Vinawr]

X

ＡｒｃｈｉｂａｌｄXXＬｕｍｅｎXXＩＩＩ


「ＬＯＣＡＴＩＯＮ: Black Spot, Western Alberon Woodlands」XX「ＣＯＭＰＡＮＹ: The Order's Personnel」
XX「ＭＯＯＤ: Oh dear.」


══════════════════════════════



Archie maintained a calm composure as he wheeled himself out of the aircraft and to the rover which would take him to the encampment outside of the Black Spot. He had just rolled over to the main tent when the shock wave hit, sliding him back, and he would have tipped back if he had not set himself forward with his telekinetic powers. Blinking several times, he regained his bearings, Archie again hurriedly rolled to meet Colonel Schuler.

"Colonel Schuler...!" he began, his brow already furrowed. The sturdily built man looked up from his desk, eyes widening in surprise.

"Guardian Lumen! What is the reason for this unexpected arrival?" Archie cleared his throat and continued a clear voice which rang through the tent.

"Colonel Schuler, I require a rover and a squadron to accompany me into the Black Spot to reach the Fragment Wielders and the teams dispatched earlier today. Immediately."

The colonel watched him before speaking once more. "Guardian Lumen, take this not as insubordination, but can you at least explain why you have suddenly arrived?"

"Under any other circumstances, I would, Colonel, but we-No, those men and women out there, do not have much time. However, and let this be off the record, Central has shown their willingness to use any measure to eradicate this Black Spot, especially with their deployment of the ARC packs...We only have some time until the communications go live and the GPS tracks their locations."

"..."

"I would not have traveled here personally, if the situation had been any different, Heinrich."

The two men locked gazes for a moment before Colonel Schuler silently headed out of the tent. Archie followed him out as he gathered the personnel who would journey to search for their comrades. Within fifteen minutes, Archie had rolled onto the back of a rover, and the team headed out.


x

══════════════════════════════

+

[icecreamsparkle]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ►If I dιѕαppeαr tonight
xxxxxxxxxxI wish you could find mexxxxxWill you come looking for me◄◄
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxI'm just a gнσѕт behind these ємρту єуєѕ
xxxxxxx►►Will you come looking for mexxxx I wish you would find me ♥

Soundtrack- Ella Henderson - The Ghost

As Kyra subdued her powers, Lotus came into view, walking around the half-moon tracks the vehicle dragged through the ground in steering. She just missed seeing Kyra's long, glowing horn return to normal, and came upon a fairly normal Kyra, with extended claws. Lotus presumed the claws were to aid her flight from the vehicle, inwardly thankful she'd taken the moment to duck and ram into the rover instead of being thrown out of her seat. Judging by how far Kyra was tossed, Lotus may have found herself several meters ahead with worse injuries than a couple of bruises on her side.

"As it is, we can't leave this squad to themselves. Only a few are able to use ARC magic, and same few able to protect themselves against small enemies if they are weak."

Of course. The squad. Lotus felt ashamed that she forgot about the crew with them and their inability to properly defend themselves. She clenched her fist, hidden behind her back, her fingers digging into her palm. A crew was always a liability as was a team, but she knew better than to argue. She would need to learn to work with squads. She wasn't working on her own anymore. Lotus attempted to reason with herself.

Kyra turned to speak to the squads working to get the equipment up and running again.

"Understand, that this is expected. All of us who have done this before, know's on how Black Spots do in situations like this. The best we can do, is get the jeep's up and working, and have those who know how to fix the comm's to do that while in the vehicles at the same time."

The components of the comms would have to be replaced. They would only last a few minutes before the pulses of dark energy from the Black Spot rendered them useless. Lotus moved closer to the larger jeep, looking over as crew members attempted to fix the comm unit.

It was Kyra's softer tone that drew her attention back to the woman.

"We'll keep the jeep's at a slow pace, not too fast. Just in case something else happens. I want you to go on foot, stealth. Make sure that you aren't too far ahead just in case, so that way we can hear you if needed. I do like for you to scout ahead of us. But make sure you take care.....I feel like we aren't alone....and not from the usual monster's that we know of."

Now that was what Lotus was waiting for. "Understood," she nodded, her face expressionless as she moved to grab something from the jeep. Lotus pulled a lightly padded vest over her turtleneck black dress, fastening the clips of the vest at her left side. It was padding she was given for close quarters combat training. She pulled out a black strip from her pack, strapping the cloth holster to her left thigh and slipping her semi automatic into it. She shuffled through the pack to make sure everything was in there and held it around her waist, clipping the belt at her hip.

"We're moving out! We go slow, and we go safe. We don't want to end up ahead of the other team without knowing they have done their job. The last thing I want is to get us killed right off the start."

On Kyra's command, the squad began to move out. Lotus glanced at her watch, making note of the time. She closed her eyes, hovering her palm over the backseat of the rover, light blue colored ARC energy swirling in her palm. The energy dissipated into the seat, leaving the Order insignia on the seat. This was a marking of Lotus' flash jump. She was leaving a marker to jump back to in case the need arose.

She jumped out of the moving rover and landed on her feet, running ahead with ease, passing Kyra, but maintaining her speed. She gave the white haired woman a quick glance, affirming that she'd left a flash jump marker on the jeep. One hour, Lotus reminded herself, it was the longest she could sustain the marker, but if nothing happened on scout, she wouldn't even need it that long. They would be at the Black Spot before time was up.

She felt the rush of air on her face and it gave her calm. She moved silently through the forest, slowing down once she'd past Kyra, but staying within shouting distance. She used her speed to run up the side of a tree, which was more of a decayed wooden shelf, wrapping her palms around a thick branch and pulling herself onto it. She tested her weight on the branch, worried it may also be decayed on the inside and then, when certain, planted her feet firmly on the branch and looked around. She was about two minutes ahead of the squad. She wanted to get a higher view of the approaching area.

If someone was there, it would be easy for her to see their movement from above now.


fєєƖιηg adrenaline ωιтн no-one
αт the rim of the Black Spot тнιηкιηg about nothing
xxxxxxxxxxнєαƖтн: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[Almiraj]

xxxxxxxxxx ❜ :《 BEFORE THE DAY I DIE

xxxxxxxxxx◜ ☁⋮ i ` m g o n n a J U M P !⋱ & t o u c h t h e ❞ ! s k y : ◢
XXXXXX ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅xxxxxxxxx◤ ___ I`M TIRED OF BEING A F L I G H T L E S S B I R D ↓* ⋮
xxxxxxx❜( ⋮▊ I HAVE MY WINGS
xxxxxxxxxx▌⋮＆ *so let me fly xxxxxxxso let me fly xxxxxxxso let me fly
xxxxxxxxxx▌⋮＆ *so let me fly xxxxxxxso let me fly xxxxxxxso let me fly xxxxxxx

Ｆｒａｇｍｅｎｔ: RAVEN'S CLAW



Kai and his squad moved along the trail following a small distance behind Eriu and her own group. The new pace they set was just a bit faster than before - though, still not fast enough for the small nomad.

"How much longer 'till we get there?" the bird-boy whined to no one in particular. He'd begun to drag his boots along the ground.

"Uh.., the captain had just said 5 minutes,...Sir." a background squad member spoke up. "Didn't you hear it through your comm?"

Kai paused, "My comm...?" He moved his hand towards his ear to check the condition of his communication device only to find it no longer there. He came to a complete halt and turned around towards his squad, sporting a comically confused and frightened expression. "My comm! It's gone!!" Kai panicked.

"S-Sir! You must have lost it when the wolf attacked you." the same soldier spoke up, his voice almost equally panicked in an attempt to calm the frantic Kai down.

"Oh yeah!" Kai perked up, his frightened demeanor flipping completely. He turned back around, "You said five minutes, right? That's suuper close!". He began walking along the trail again, "I wonder what kinds of things we'll see when we ge--" Kai froze instantly as he was hit by the shockwave, before crumbling to the ground; his group falling behind him like dominoes. His hands went straight to his ears to try and block out the excruciating ringing noise that made his head pound harder than his fists could. When the wave of nausea hit, his hands fell from his ears down to his stomach as he hurled up the contents of his breakfast, lunch, and in between snacks.

Eventually, the effects of the shockwave subsided and Kai stumbled to get up - carefully avoiding the newly made puddle of vomit in the process. Once he regained his balance, Kai turned back to his group and groaned, "What the heck was that?"

"A shockwave produced by the black spots. You should prepare yourself for when another comes." Kai shivered. Another? He could barely handle the first and it didn't seem like something he could just get used to. He turned towards the path and wondered if Eriu and the others were okay.

"GET DOWN!"

Kai instinctively dropped to the ground and watched as a giant...bird? picked up a girl straight from Eriu's jeep. He watched in shock as it flew off. "Look at the size of that thing! It's huuuge!" he whistled, clearly amazed. He swallowed his words when the idea that the bird had flown off with someone had finally settled. When he saw the girl drop from it's talons, Kai impulsively darted off after her; his boots began to sprout metal feathers.

He slowed to a skidding stop once he reached the front of Eriu's group - not because he had reached that checkpoint, but because of his new and improved view of the gaping emptiness that the black spot consisted of. Kai's stomach grumbled - suddenly he didn't feel so good. He looked back at his superior and frowned.

"I-Is she going to be okay? We should go after her, right?! What do I do? What can I do?!" Kai progressively became more panicked. He'd never even seen a black spot yet he was thrown into a position of authority with the task of getting rid of it. He'd just been hit by a so called "shockwave" and he didn't even know what that was! Watching someone get picked off by a monster of a bird threw him right over the edge of panic. He had no idea what he was doing and that terrified him.

As his fear began to stack, the metal feathers on his boots slowly began to fall off, dispersing into an orange glow similar to that of ARC energy.




Ｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ: within Eriu's group cyno Ｍｏｏｄ: terrified, panicked cyno Ｃｏｍｐａｎｙ: Eriu, the sqaud




Word Count:630

[Megitsune no Gin]

xxx

☁ ＬＯＣＡＴＩＯＮ :: In the forest xx ☁ ＣＯＭＰＡＮＹ :: Kai, Sal and a load of soldiers xx ☁ ＦＥＥＬＩＮＧＳ :: Tense, Ready for a fight xx ☁ ＨＥＡＬＴＨ :: 100% ＡＲＭＯＵＲ :: 100% ☁ ＥＮＥＲＧＹ :: 85%

Ériu loped on the beaten path, but watched over her shoulder as one of the engineers she'd been talking to recently, was snatched easily from the jeep by what looked like a mutant bird, but Ériu's nose knew better, it was one of the infected or worse yet, it was one of the engineers that was especially brought along on this journey. As she watched her collar around her neck began to glow, no more specifically, it's eyes as the sound of bones popping and her whole form started to grow. In a matter of sickening seconds, she was on two legs, but looking more like a werewolf would in written legend. As her eyes adjusted, she saw the woman plummet down after she had managed to free herself from her uniform.

Kicking off the ground, Ériu moved like a blur as she leapt up and caught the woman in her claw like arms, being very careful to keep her nails into her flesh. Landing on the ground, she stared up at the beast, making sure that it wouldn't come back down for another go, with no ability to talk in this form. Ériu grabbed a spare suit that protected the soldiers and thrust it into the hands of the woman who was standing several feet below her.Though in the midst of all the chaos, Kai had come up running to them, his growing panic evident in his scent as she shook off the fragment form in mere seconds. Though it left her breathless. "Kai, calm yourself man." She barked as soon as she regained her voice. Turning back to the woman, she continued;

"You need to put that suit on, the more you're exposed to this environment you're not going to last." She said in the kindest possible way, she wasn't going to beat around the bush on this. The ground shook in the meantime, a Shockwave? What... As it hit her, she fell to her knees and held her hands over her ears as she tried to let the sound pass as the rumbling feeling it left in her body. When it was over she removed her hands and shook her head. She noted how it had affected Kai badly as he lost his breakfast.

Turning around, she watched how everything came to a halt. She couldn't let herself get angry at something that was beyond her control. "How much time are we going to wait for the engines to come back up?" She knew that the backup generators would kick in soon enough, but if there was anything that could get them going sooner...

In the meantime, they couldn't just stand around, "Kai, when you get yourself in check...Please will you divide the groups as necessary, make sure they are all armed to the teeth and make sure they scout the area, we need to neutralise this as fast as possible. Kyra's squad is retrieving the fragment that is stopping the spread. Our mission is to stop the infection spreading! As soon as the vehicles are back online, I will personally escort them along with my own squad. Kai, you're more than welcome to stay with me, and keep the men you have selected for your own squad with us. The other option is to protect the area, with the rest of the guys."

Ultimately, it was Kai's decision, one that she couldn't make for him. Keeping her face impassive, she waited for the woman to get suited up correctly before changing back into the wolf. Though she knew that if another shockwave hit, that the vehicles would be out of luck, or the engineers would have to work overtime. This was going to be a long overhaul, but it didn't douse her spirits. As the guards around her vehicles dispersed she stayed with the vehicles. Her hand running over the wolf's head, eyes downcast. Seems they would be staying put for a few moments. A small reprieve she could use before she changed forms again.

However, she heard a horrible roar, a bear? It had to be infected, otherwise it wouldn't wander this far. Crap just what they needed more wildlife coming out of the wood work. "Men!" She started to bark, "Which direction is it coming in from?!" She tried to pinpoint the sound of shuffling towards them, but because of the squads dotted around them, their fidgeting didn't help. Though a second roar echoed behind them, then grunting from the west. How many were they? "Looks like we're in this for a long haul Kai." She grinned as she walked to her side of the front jeep and reached down, pulling out her gun. "This won't kill them, but may buy me time before I can change and tear out their throats."

[Doctor Jax]

S A L

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxa r c a e u s||e n g i n e e r

"There ain't nothin' in this world that can't be fixed."

Sal was more than surprised to find herself in the arms of Wolf Girl, who... well, let's just say she wasn't as pretty as she was about five minutes ago. Sal fought the urge to flail and kick and try to squirm away from the grotesque, nightmarish wolf-human hybrid, though she did audibly gulp as she was gently set back on to the ground. She looked up in the air, noticing the flock of dots getting steadily larger. They were pretty far away, but, to be honest, they were just too dang close for Sal's liking. Brushing herself off (and secretly hoping she didn't have wolf hair all over her clothes), the young engineer looked up surreptitiously at the Wielder.

She was abruptly handed another orange suit, and she looked down at herself. She winced as she realized just how little she was wearing, in comparison to the modesty of the coverall. Tank-top, cargo shorts -- there wasn't much room in these things, so all the clothes had to be fairly tight. She quickly shimmied into it as the captain ordered her to put it on.

"Way ahead of you, Fido -- I-I mean, ma'am," Sal stuttered, realizing her backhanded nickname a little late. She had a habit of motormouthing her way into trouble, especially with being informal to her betters. She hated the distance that Fragment Wielders created between themselves and the other soldiers. Of course, all the Wielders she'd met were complete and utter douchebags. It didn't help that she literally had the ARC capability of a toddler. People already treated you like crap when you couldn't even work an ATM.

But this chick had saved her life, and she probably shouldn't piss off someone who could eat her in two bites.

"Thanks, by the way, for the s--"

Sal was suddenly knocked off her feet just as she sticking her left foot into her coveralls, effectively tangling herself into the fabric and falling over at another Wielder's feet. She sneezed as the ARC energy around his feet kicked up some of the dust, and she fought to stand up. Trying to regain dignity and look at least a little less like a dork, she shrugged on the rest of her uniform and stared off in the direction as the other two.

The kid with wings on his feet looked pretty shaken, and so did Eriu, who was looking a LOT more hot now that she didn't look like the aftermath of a wolf-human one night stand. Sal squinted her eyes... and promptly gave up trying to see what they were trying to see. Darn Wielders. They always knew what was going on, it seemed. She was just the fix-it girl.

And as such, she was of course asked the inevitable question: "How much time are we going to wait for the engines to come back up?"

Sal blew air threw her lips, thinking hard. Those generators were heavy, military grade behemoths, but a car needed a lot of power, and these things weren't meant to run off electricity anyways. The generators were going to need to do a warm-up before they'd be fully operational as it was, and then the electric motor would get going. She hoped they had enough power in those generators to keep things humming along. Otherwise, it'd be all uphill from here, on foot, both ways, knee deep in Shadow Spawn.

"At most? Ten minutes. The fastest we can do is six," Sal guessed, already headed to the cars. She probably had to go and check on something because, true to Murphy's Law, something was going to go wrong.

"Sal, looks like all the generators work fine. Hope the motors work, too," one of her squad yelled tersely. She shrugged her shoulders.

And then there was a massive roar in the forest. She looked around, hand reaching for her wrench -- only to realize she'd dropped it somewhere. Of course -- that glorified chicken had dropped her and she'd probably lost it. She cursed her bad luck in every language she knew. She didn't have a weapon, didn't have ARC, didn't have nothin'.

"Hey, we'd better get this show on the road already! Sometime today would be nice!" Sal said as she walked along the line of cars to get the bag she'd left on the floor of her jeep.

"You think we wanna be here any more than you do?" one of the other engineers shouted angrily as the engine turned over in the forward vehicle. Sal made a face at the disgruntled man, and she dug through her bag absentmindedly. She looked up at the black-haired kid (he didn't really look that much older than she was -- but there's no way he was only 17), and she remembered him being pretty sick after that blast and seeing... whatever it was. He still looked a little green in the face.

She sighed as she deliberated walking over to him. He was an ARC user, a Wielder. Worse, he was one of the Order's cannon fodder. Still, she couldn't deny that she felt pretty antsy, too. Biting her lip, she thought about Laren... and she rolled her eyes. She pointed her middle finger at the sky, as if hoping that her big sister could see her adamant displeasure.

"Hey, Birdbrain, come over here and hold this hood up. And take one of these -- you still look like you're going to puke. Ginger settles stomach and nerves," Sal shouted at him from the hood of a jeep as she popped it open and looked inside. The motor was thrumming fine next to the ARC powered engine, but she could see that there was some corruption of the ARC capacitors. Probably the blast did that. Another hit like that one, and they were going to end up toast. Even the electrical generators probably wouldn't last after another shockwave.

She held in her hand a bunch of ginger lozenges, one of which she'd already popped into her mouth. She stared at the working motor, almost as if she was trying to forget that she was being nice to someone.

where: a jeep towards the Black Spot who: a Fido (Eriu) and Birdbrain (Kai) doing what: fixing an engine and trying to make friends


Megitsune no Gin




Almiraj