{ THE DARK COVE } UPDATED SEE PAGE 1

[The Semblance of Unity]

Pod duty was generally fairly uneventful, which meant it was good for reading or for thinking, neither of which Horace particularly wanted to do. As a result, he'd brought along some scrap paper and it was now liberally covered in such doodles that might grace an eighth-grade girl's Lisa Frank notebook. It was not a pretty thing. But it kept his hands busy and his mind (mostly) occupied.

He stretched, cracking his neck on a sigh. The shift was almost over and he began to systematically shred his doodle paper. It was incriminating evidence. Suddenly, the alarm beeped and for a second, he tensed, thinking of a hundred things it wasn't. Horace noted the pod number and aisle and jolted himself out of the chair. From this point on, it was a mad, slapdash race to see if he could get to the pod before some hapless new hunter literally fell out of it. And if he was a little breathless, a little sweaty when he arrived, Horace tried to play it off by nonchalantly leaning against a nearby pod. For looks, of course, not to catch his breath.

baby_gwing

 

[Miliardo Kason]

((oopse wrong thread))  

[baby_gwing]

Waking up from an unnaturally induced sleep that took the form of pod stasis was different as Kyle was about to find out. One moment he was in a dreamless slumber, the next his eyes had snapped open and his mind was registering the presence of an alarm sounding in the background that wasn't in any way alike those that were used to rouse people from their daily slumber.

Stepping out of the pod, he peered around himself, willing his eyes to focus on the blurry images before he eventually had to lift a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and squeeze his eyes tightly shut from the headache that the brightness of the artificial lighting illuminating his surroundings was causing him. One thing soon led to another when the headache eventually subsided, only to be replaced by a vertiginous lightheadedness. Swaying a little on his feet, he leaned against a nearby pod, oblivious to Horace's presence as he rested his head on his arm to try to regain his bearings though it was not before he started to cough and gag from how sick he felt.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

As the man began to choke, Horace rushed over, glanced at the nameplate on the pod. Kyle Cooke. He reached out with both hands to steady the man.

"Take it easy, your body's not used to being awake yet." He tried to keep his voice light and reassuring. It hadn't been so very long ago that he'd popped out of his pod, anyway. Horace remembered the disorientation and nausea.

"My name is Horace. You might not remember, but a while ago you signed up to be a part of an organization. Welcome to Deus Ex, Kyle."

baby_gwing

 

[baby_gwing]

Kyle remained that way for a while, sounding absolutely miserable from the retching and heaving that thankfully came up with nothing just yet otherwise he would have rather embarrassingly created a mess that Horace or some other poor bloke would have to clean up after him. When he finally felt able to stand upright without risking another episode, he looked up at Horace with a smile.

"T-Thank you. I would be lying on the floor right now if you weren't here."

He was still a little woozy, like he just had one drop too many to drink but he was starting to feel better by the moment and he reckoned that was a good sign all in all that he was recovering from whatever it was that he was having a reaction to. Taking a few moments to catch his breath, he started to look surprised when Horace started filling him in on where he was.

"... wait a minute. Did you say Deus Ex? That means I made it?"

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Yeah, congratulations on making it!" He grinned. Not every hunter made it. As far as Horace knew, pods were 'recycled' every couple of years, so if a hunter didn't wake on time... He wondered what happened to the bodies. But, despite Kyle's obvious distress, Horace was in high spirits - partly because new hunters were great and partly because Kyle hadn't thrown up on him. He rather liked his shoes.

Horace still kept a hand on Kyle, lightly holding him in case he started to tilt. "And don't worry, everyone feels pretty shitty coming out. Your memory might be fuzzy for a while longer, too." Jannisari reminded him of the checklist. "Oh, right, so I'm here for any questions and, when you feel up to it, we've got to go get you your weapon."

baby_gwing

 

[baby_gwing]

"Thanks. I've been looking forward to this day since the organization approached me at the asylum. Good to know that I managed to make it through all the tests in one piece." Horace wasn't the only one in the room who was in high spirits at Kyle's awakening. The new hunter was infinitely grateful to be alive and get a second shot at life - something that would still be beyond his reach had he remained hidden away at the asylum the shadows had gotten him into.

But that all and his previous life were behind him now. He was brought to Deus for a purpose and he would carry out his duties faithfully in order to repay his benefactors. "So how are we supposed to go about this shadow fighting thing? The people who came to me were either kinda vague or maybe it's one of those memories that's supposed to come back to me eventually?" He asked, quick to get to the point when Horace gave him an opportunity to pose any questions that he might have in mind.

"Weapon? What weapon?"

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"The asylum?" An eyebrow rose, and he looked at Kyle curiously. "But uh, yes. We fight with weapons that used to be creatures of FEAR - that's why the work on the shadows we fight. You're already half-bonded to a weapon or you wouldn't have woken up." He tapped his clipboard a second before riffling through the pages. A pamphlet was produced and handed to Kyle. It was a basic summary of Deus and Horace had written basic information for Kyle in the margins. On the corner, he had also written 'Obadiah Thompson' is a lilting cursive.

He tapped the name. "That's a hunter who runs a newbie seminar type thing. Might be good." Horace began walking, but backwards, so he could still see Kyle. The pod lines were relatively straight, so he was in little danger of running into things. "Up here's the cove and you can get your weapon there. Once you do, come back up, and take a left there and you'll end up around the dorms. Now, any other questions before you head off?"

baby_gwing

 

[baby_gwing]

Kyle didn't see any point in hiding his past from Horace who could very well be his first friend in Deus so he tried to explain his past circumstances as candidly as possible. "Yeah. I assure you that I'm of sound mind though. The people around me thought that I've lost my grip on reality since they couldn't see those creatures." He shrugged, glad to put all that behind him now as a smile graced his features at the Death hunter's brief explanation as to what weapons were.

"Good. Because I'm really looking forward to paying them back for what they did to me." Taking the pamphlet that was handed to him, he skimmed through the content. "This looks like it'll be helpful. Have you been to it before?" It was a lot of information to take in at the same time so he folded the pamphlet into half and slipped it into his pocket, intent on giving it another look as soon as he got himself settled proper.

Following Horace's lead, he shook his head at the posed question. "I think I'm good for now so I guess we'll be seeing each other around unless there's a way for me to reach you after this?" There seemed to be quite a bit of information on the pamphlet that was passed to him. He figured that he could start with that first then make a nuisance of himself later on if he had any questions.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Ah, Horace thought, that made sense. When you saw theings that weren't there, people thought you were crazy. He guessed he was lucky - never been institutionalized, just dismissed. "Revenge ain't a bad motivator, but don't let it eat you." He hooked his thumbs into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, clipboard tucked under one arm. Kyle looked good to go - he was more steady now and not disoriented.

"Nooooope, not been. But it might be worth it. As for contacting me-" Horace scribbled something on a piece of paper. "-here's my cell number and my twitter handle. You can hit me up either place. Now, get one with ya! Let me know how you're settling in, ok?" He grinned and made a shooing motion with his hands.

baby_gwing

 

[baby_gwing]

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the warning." Kyle nodded with an appreciative look on his face, glancing at the information that Horace had written for him on a piece of paper before folding it up and placing it in the same pocket that contained the pamphlet that was given to him earlier.

"I'll do that. Thanks for the orientation Horace." He smiled, giving him a thumbs up before starting towards the flight of stairs that would take him down to the cove.

The Semblance of Unity

Fin~ <3 Thank you!

 

[Meegane]

Whenever she was on pod patrol duty, she would bring with herself a blanket and a bottle of water. The petite huntress named Shu recalled the coldness invaded her skin that made her cringed before she saw two bears - hunters greeted her. She cracked a laugh for the amusing memory. Sadly, in her record no one woke up.

Since she was reminded several times that she needed to wear the uniform coat when she was working, she put it on above a pink dress. Skipping her steps, she hoped someone would wake up so she could give them all the warm hugs and welcome. "Hey Milo, do you think we need to think of the best welcome pose if someone wake up? Should we bring confetti?" She was happy that she got a partner that night, and better it was Milo, her best friend's unofficial boyfriend. The brisk eyes rolled lively, pondering what she would do to put them closer. How about a date?

The pod room was quiet when the two walked over a row of pods, Shu peeked in for possible signs but the shoulders slumped in disappointment. "What's that sound?" asked the petite huntress. "This way, Milo!" All excited, she ran towards the source of it.

Without a rehearsal, she still hoped she give the sleeping beauty the best performance. "YES YES! someone's here!" She raised her hand naturally when someone called. "Welcome to Deus Ex Machina Headquarter!" She put the blanket around his shoulder and smiled. "Here some water for you. Er - I am Shu and he's Milo, nice to meet you. We'll be your guide for a while." The enthusiasm she radiated could be comparable to the bright lights shone above him, she was like a blooming flower in pink.

_ p a o cx

No problem! Thanks for giving me this chance biggrin

chirigami

 

[chirigami]

Milo's pod duty supplies weren't as thoughtful, they were usually things to strive off boredom on the countless hours of just sitting there without anyone waking up. And even after what had happened a few weeks back, it was still the same. Magazines and a few snacks brought from off island - he would at least offer those to Shu when they settled in at the desk. It would be the polite thing to do after all, and the female hunter was Noemi's best friend apparently. What better way to get to know someone like that than with the ice breaker of awesome Japanese snacks?

Hopefully things would go smoothly during their shift. It would be nice to get to know his... best gal pal's friend, he had barely spent time with the other hunter. Maybe it was a division thing.

Was that weird random laugh something that happened often, he wondered, raising a brow while they traveled through the pod room. There didn't seem to be a follow up or an explanation. But she did have a great idea, "Poses? Talkin' to the right man right here, wahine." Super Sentai poses probably wouldn't be the best thing, but hey, it worked for them. Confetti didn't sound like a bad idea either, maybe there was paper at the desk.

Which they wouldn't get a chance to find out. (He was a little disappointed as well, damn! Poses!) Milo followed, letting the smaller hunter lead the way through the rows of pods that lined the room. Indeed, there was someone just waking up, stumbling out of their pod like so many before. And if one cheery person wasn't enough, "Aloha!" In came a second, "Congratulations on being alive!" Yup, he was still going with that one.

Shu seemed to be on top of a few things so far. Blanket and water and a little bit of information, so thoughtful. "Uh, not sure about the aspirin, but we can look around, ya." He looked down at the plastic bag in hand, "ya hungry?"

_ p a o cx

meegane