Leslie materialized out of seemingly nowhere, oblivious to the drama that had just gone down. "Heard the magic ******** words," he said, and offered Maebe a flask that stank like vodka. Cheap vodka, but vodka.
He looked her over once. "Christ. You look like s**t." He nodded once at Cami and then once at Otto. Turns out he was still a piece of s**t, just slightly less of one when not actively being attacked. But only slightly.
nio love
chromaticore
bittiface
Quote:
hp 40 fear chl1, ey2 remain
buffs: x2 dmg to armored +2 defense
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:01 pm
"Oh yeaaah." He HAD given her the moon! Way to be one upped by past self, Robert. He led them forward when Mimsy turned to read her messages, and remained in silence as she replied. Alice hadn't been a talkative child since they'd obtained her, but now she'd begun to soak in their mood, and hadn't said a word for quite some time. He side glanced her in worry, and saw the look on her face.
Someone that young should never have that much on her mind.
"Do you like ice skating, Alice?" He asked, bouncing her playfully in his arms. She shivered in his arms, and he wrapped her back up to try and get her warm. "You cold, princess? Hang on just a little longer, we're almost there."
He could see the ice rink up ahead. There was no more time to delay. Decisions had to be made - now.
"What's he got to say?" Robert asked, nodding towards Mimsy's phone in hopes of anything to help make the decision easier. Alice had never answered the question, and her face buried into Robert's chest when she realized that there wasn't going to be time to try and pull the answer out of her. She missed her own daddy something awful.
Lex was not about to lift Benji on to his shoulders, or his ridiculously large bear. Lex did, however, provide the preteen with an umbrella and a half smile. "C'mon, we'll get you to your mommy."
He should feel terrible for lying to a child, but instead he felt relief. This kid would be off his hands in a few minutes, and he'd be free to focus on the mission at hand. Benji nodded a little tearfully, clutching the bear with both arms tightly. Apparently Lex would have to hold the umbrella.
---
"Well, there's Rep, so I'm assuming this is the place." Lex told Tommy while giving Rep a very precarious and cautious eyeing. He'd been his usual barking self on the intercom, and now he was acting like a cheery granny on an elderly softball team.
Turning to the child and his bear, Lex knelt down and patted the boy's head. "Follow the nice man, he'll take you to your mommy."
"I'm twelve, you know."
Lex smiled a shark's grin, waving a hand goodbye. Little s**t.
Turning to Rep, Lex gave the man a curt nod. "So, what's this about holes in the floor and it waking up? The freaks aren't our main concern, are they?"
Baneful
the semblance of unity
seussi
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:23 pm
Rep took the boy's hand while he was still being eyed with mingled surprise and fear. "Don't worry kid." he said with the same vaguely patronising tone Lex had used on him, he was not good at kids. "You are in safe hands here, we aren't far from freedom now." He beamed at the boy. "You'll get a medal I bet and all the really cool toys you could ever want!"
Lex got a grim look and Rep inclined his head to one side of the rink room where the floor had started to fall in, it was for the most part shrouded in the dark, but one ragged edge was visible. "There's something huge down there, something that has all the people who were up here but aren't anymore. The water seems to be irritating it. The freaks are damage control but we need a strong base for if... or rather when it comes up."
He eyed the kid who had started struggling subtly in his grip and had a few choice words to say about how creepy he was and how much his grip hurt. He smiled cordially to Lex and the others and inclined his head. "I'll be back in a minute if there's anything else you want to ask." he said. "I'm going to go hand this wonderful kid off to the rescue team before he gets hurt!"
And without waiting for anyone to say anything else to the contrary he strode off in the direction of the door to the stairs. The kid had about as much choice in the matter as a chip bag in a hurricane, swept along in Rep's wake.
It didn't take him long to return, and smiling with perhaps a little more brightness in his expression, he took the other kid's hand and reassuring him all the while that it was nice and safe and the trip had been no problem at all for his buddy
Carhop Cavalier
The Semblance of Unity
Seussi
Baneful Crew
Dramatic Hunter
Offline
The Semblance of Unity rolled 1 8-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-8)
The Semblance of Unity
Predestined Victim
Offline
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:36 pm
"Hey, there cheer..ful... Rep." Horace looked at the hunter curiously. There was angry Rep, manic Rep, drunk Rep - these were known instances. This was different in the way sand was different from glass. The rink, the lights, the way his grin bounced off his face... Horace suppressed a shudder. Carefully, he knelt and Captain clambered down from his shoulders. Good thing, too, the kid was heavy after a while. He sighed. He would ask Rep about other information later. Pass the kid, get healed.
"Ok, Captain, you've been the best, but that man over there with the funny hair is gonna take you to safety." He dropped his voice to a whisper and looked around comically, as if sharing some huge secret. "Don't tell him he's got funny-looking hair, though, he's sensitive." Horace continued to talk to the little boy in low tones, only receiving vigorous nods here and there. He smiled and patted the boy's head and tried to make everything seem a lot better than it was. "Alright, time to go - high-five!" Captain smiled tremulously and smacked his little palm against Horace's. Then, when Horace made a shooing noise, he scampered over to Rep, staring up at the man with big green eyes.
Horace exhaled slowly. Nothing more to do on his end - he would have to trust in Rep and whatever sort of antidote stockpile he had. Or didn't. He grimaced and walked along the cots. There were hunters here - Shu, Jordan, and some he didn't recognize. "Hey, Jordan, Shu." He waved to the two he did tiredly and grabbed a rune.
HP: 27/40 DMG: CHG: 0/3 TYPE HP: AUTO DMG: Status: wet and yet still dirty
BUFFS: accuracy: -5 modifier to rolls (2/10 uses) speedy: x2 damage against speedy zombies
meegane
seussi
Carhop CavaIier
banefull
proxility
unless jordan already left idk
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:53 pm
The more she kept Robert's importance in mind, even as she thought of it in a more serious atmosphere while writing the messages, the more tingly she felt. It was nice at first - it wasn't uncommon for him to elicit physical reactions of all varieties from her body, and Mimsy liked that just thinking about him could do this. Then it crossed the line into definitively unpleasant as her heart began to itch.
Why was the thought of him causing her to feel like this?
"I suspect that he is simply following orders from Caelius." The faint hiss that accompanied her words indicated exactly what her opinion was on that matter, but it had done well to provide her with the context needed to find the most promising solution. In comparison, disobeying direct orders from Dr. H was similarly not an option for her, but didn't mean that there wasn't room to accommodate other necessities. And from the discussions they'd had about the incomparable importance of Harrison and Robert, each of their respective other halves, she was confident that she had given him the best possible context for the information she'd been left with.
"So the most optimal solution is to administer the antivirus where he can witness it." Which required them to arrive before it was too late, of course. She closed her eyes and pressed herself more firmly against Robert's side as she noted Alice's shivering. "I sincerely believe that it is now imperative to get to Rep. He has been made aware of the gravity of our specific situation. But..."
She glanced up at him with the unique look of knowing that only a spouse could have, a wordless preface of 'I love you very much but you know this is true'.
"As important as she is, as important as it is for us to keep her safe...it's important to him that he does not fail his mission. We have to remember that." 'We' really meant 'you', because it turned out the sentiment that fueled the 'I love you very much' portion of her look had ultimately made her incapable of brutal honesty. "Try to avoid antagonizing him. Even if he antagonizes you."
That had already gotten Alice hurt once, after all.
Nio Love
Nothing Yet Crew
Obsessive Stargazer
Offline
Baneful Crew
Dramatic Hunter
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:58 pm
Rep returned to the group, looking bright, smiling and glassy. "That's two taken to safety, thank you guys for bringing them!"
There would be more, he knew. He walked out into the sprinklers and the dark to wait.
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:00 pm
"Who says it has to be supernatural? A fast-acting disease, necroticism in the flesh, impairment of the brain as well as muso-skeletal alterations..." Hope was kind of mumbling to herself, trying to explain everything in a way that made sense to her. And, of course, it didn't and it wouldn't, but Hope would try.
She seemed to abruptly snap out of it. "I don't know if the rink is really safe - there's nowhere to really keep people; it's kind of really open. Unless they've got a fancy base set up." She pursed her lips and paused as something sounded in the distance. Slowly, she relaxed a small amount. It seemed far. "It might be silly, but I kind of want to help out. I've got a bit more than basic medical knowledge, so maybe I should try to find more people or I saw another base, back before the first fountain. Maybe I can help there... I... I don't know." ope wanted to protect people, to pull the swords out of girls' hearts and not be a weakness herself.
Quote:
Hope HP: 15 dice 2d4-6 Description: an overly stressed med student
And there it was. He felt the surge of ecstatic relief as a definite answer finally came. The relief lasted only for a moment, when he realized how important it was to hurry now that they knew what they were doing. All the lazy, slow walking ended, rushing them forward those last few dozen steps to get her there before it was too late. But before they did, Robert had heard Mimsy's warning, and in the silence of hurrying he tried to take her words to heart.
He was going to start trouble. He was going to push Robert's buttons. And Robert was going to be tempted to push buttons back - buttons he knew were there, waiting to make matters worse. Mimsy told him he had to be the better man, for Alice's sake.
He could do that. He could listen. He could be a good boy, this time.
When they finally reached the ice rink, Alice's shivering hadn't stopped. He unfurled her just enough for Mimsy to see, and then looked around. Where were all of the civilians? He only saw a bunch of hunters, and a handful of children. Was this really all anyone had managed to save?
"I don't like this." He muttered, a deep sense of dread soaking into his bones.
nothing yet
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:12 pm
Byron looked at her like she'd grown a second head, and for more than one reason.
"Uhmmm," he said, blinking blankly, "or they're zombies and the walking dead and we are totally ******** either way."
He stood on his tippy toes, trying to peer through the dark and see if the rink had anything around it, but the lights just weren't good enough. "I think you're on your own, I am concerned mostly with me myself and I, here, you know?"
Byron flashed her a thumbs up. "Good luck and stuff, but I want to not die, and helping other people seems like a good way to do just that."
byron
hp 15 dice 2d4-6
appearance an alarmingly perky goth looking kid, with a fake eye patch he pops up sometimes: ref
The little girl in her husband's arms didn't look so vibrant and perfect any longer. A panic churned within her that she tried to reason with the surging desire to fix it, knowing that she had to be patient this time if she intended to do that. The more time she spent attempting to tend to her now, the less time Alice was likely to have.
With a crooked smile, Mimsy stretched up to give Robert a kiss on the cheek, praising him for getting all of them here as safely as possible. As she began to look away, she paused and turned back to them, just long enough to affectionately smooth Alice's hair again.
"I don't think that our opinions are of much significance now. This is what we have," she murmured, surveying the area as she propped the luminous umbrella against her shoulder. Not all of the civilians who had been brought here had survived - she was confident of that. If any had...that was little more than a hope, supported only by the hope that Rep had spoken honestly. The entire foundation she now stood on was composed entirely of hope, and it was feeling a bit shaky.
"Rep?" she called out, fingers finding the antivirus in one of her interior coat pockets. "We are here with the child civilian. We are here to cure her now!"
Nio Love
Baneful
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:42 pm
"I-I- thank you, Jordan sensei," the blanket was safely secured by a safety pin and she wrapped around him for a short hug. "Thank you," she said again softly to the Sun hunter who always treated her warmly. "Yup, it's better get changed, right?" Shu tittered, but thinking whether he was judging her for not predicting that coming after been to so many missions.
Was she a burden to them? She was no longer a trainee, yet, her attack was still hit and miss. If they didn't come to help her, they won't be hurt right? She obviously was a burden. The petite girl reminded her curled up pose and couldn't help to contemplate more. What if they never like her from the beginning? Are they just pretend to be nice to her because she looked young and stupid? The thought of they had been found her annoying but no telling her seeded inside her, slowly it grew.
There were some people who had showed her their displeased attitude towards her, was she too clueless to think they were just acting grumpy? She was scared, scared of what was going on at the moment, scared of the truth that she was not liked by anyone from day one.
While trains of thoughts flashed through her little not-infected-yet brain, someone greeted them. "Hello Horace," it was the one of the hunters Hattie and she still owed a favour. "You bring civilians to Rep too? What's the situation in the mall?" She felt her ankle itching, she covered a hand over where left a mark shaped like a red butterfly and caressed over it slowly back and forth.
Quote:
Shu HP: 50/50 Death Intermediate: 2d10-4 (usable 10 times) Weapon: Hammer - Melee ARMOURED/ LAUGHING: x2 damage
Rep stood alone in the darkness for a time, glad that even if he could see, that no one else without a torch could. He felt like he was going to throw up, but knew all too well there was nothing left that he could. It was like standing on the edge of the cliffs again, dizzy with adrenaline and on the brink of exhaustion, every instinct screaming no, no more diving, no longer.
He'd taught himself to overcome it and leap again every time, and he did so now once again, noting the two figures from afar, too out of it to even register the different heights and their potential identities.
It was only when Mimsy called out that he stepped forward, moving towards them both and stepping out into the light that lit the rink. The girl got a fleeting glance but it did not linger long. "You have your antidote?" he asked. It made no sense to him, someone willing to give up a possession so important for the sake of a child they'd only just met, but it made that dizzy, sickening weight in his chest even worse. There was jealousy, tangled up in the idea that this child had found anyone to care for it, relief that it might be cured and any number of other more complex emotions at the same time.
"If you cure her, she can and will be taken to safety." he said, his positive facade wavering for a moment. "Can I see the vial first please? I need to confirm it's all present and correct. Formality, you understand. Try erm. Not to touch me while handing it over." He did not want to jinx the safety of the child or especially Mimsy and Robert with his own blood soaked biohazard status.
Nio Love
Nothing Yet
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:03 pm
A nod in affirmative was all Mimsy managed in response to both of Rep's questions, her words suffocating in her throat with the pressure that came with knowing that this could be incorrect. It could be right, but it could be wrong, and she truly needed certainty that she simply would not be able to have.
She glanced at Robert in an attempt to catch any reaction he might have had to Rep's assurances, but removed the vial from her pocket without waiting for him to voice any potential protests.
"I understand," she finally told him in an empty monotone, very carefully extending the vial towards him.
Nio Love
Baneful
Nothing Yet Crew
Obsessive Stargazer
Offline
nessy
Cuddly Hunter
Offline
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:04 pm
This was a long ******** day in a stretch of long-a** ******** days. Maebe insisted on walking which meant that she was stuck carrying a strange, possibly homicidal, woman through a wet and infested mall. Honestly she wasn't sure even if the three of them hadn't broken up Cami would have been in a pisser of a mood. There wasn't a whole lot to feel good about right now.
Where Maebe felt good and right Cami was fighting against those feelings because she'd been told they were not good. They were actually actively hurting the two people she cared about more than anything. So she focused on Sasha, focused on moving with quiet efficiency through the mall, and hoped that the crazy woman she was holding didn't wake up and try to kill her.
This was a long. <********>. Day.
An eyebrow raised at the idea of being Maebe's barrier. Cami found her tongue, then, and if the edge of it was a little rougher than usual well...see above. ********. "Us? The barrier? Isn't that the specialization of your division? Ours is to punch things. I suppose we can punch things away from you. Or something."
