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 Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:47 pm
The same classroom. The same scheduled time. The same teacher. The same expression on said teacher as he began writing on the table, on the same cardstock as usual, with a rather squeaky felt pen. A few moments later, he propped it up next to him, for all the students seated around the table to see.
"What is Fear?" Caelius repeated the words, for the slower of the few readers. "Now, this is a question that even the higher ups have a hard time understanding. Fear is always changing, Fear is a substance, not a concept. It grows as we grow, it evolves as we evolve." A pause. "Now, you'll notice on your schedules that your time sheets have blocked out two weeks for a longer mission. This is your first serious mission: one slip or mess up might mean failure for everyone. Consider this a mission to observe, to watch but not act or speak out of line. We do not believe in weaning Hunters in, which means you will walk into the heart of the maelstrom but any reckless behaviour will of course, result in several personal consequences."
The Hunter instructor stood up, standing next to their chair. "You will learn firsthand to understand this indigenous, evolving Fear, but I need not remind everyone here to remember your place. You protect humanity, not Fear. You swore to protect your loved ones still in our world, not theirs. You will walk the line between Hunters and Fear and come back, knowledge is power, knowledge is defense. Learning will save you."
There were two figures standing at the doorway. Caelius gave them a small bow. "Now, I'll have the two other instructors debrief more on your mission and of course, your role in it."
((MISSION ORP:
Hunters are free to settle down and create their IC reactions to this - plus with their weapons if their have already completed the weapons initiation ceremony, though they are to stay seated and not talk as there will be two more GM'ed appearances to explain the actual mission. ))
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:08 pm
Gale was feeling a very strange sense of deja vus.
<< I assume that is our instructor? >>
The sniper rifle, having melted into a simple silver ring on Gale's left index finger, held a quiet note of respect to a usually exasperated and irritated tone. Jinhai, though he was, for the most part, a grump in Gale's eyes, knew when it was necessary to be serious.
Actually, Gale was wondering if Jin knew how to be anything but serious. "Yes," Gale answered him. "His name is Caelius, and he's, er..."
A pause. "Interesting."
<< I'm quite certain you are far more, shall we say, interesting than he is. And not in a good way. >>
"Why do I get the feeling I was just insulted?"
<< Your powers of deduction are, as usual, fantastic. >>
"Remember that conversation about sarcasm we had a few days ago? Yeah, I'm starting to think we need to have it again."
There were two other figures in the doorway, but Gale recognized neither of them; they were not any of the Hunters he had seen so far. My first mission, he thought, reaching up a gloved hand to rub at the back of his neck with a sort of mild apprehension.
<< Are you nervous? >> Jinhai inquired, with a slightly deprecating sounding voice. Gale glared at him. "No," he answered, but that was not entirely true. His heart was beating so hard he thought the entire room would be able to hear it, though it was not fully from the anxiety. There was certainly excitement, but mixed with that was the strong fear that he would, in fact, fail.
But he was not about to let that happen.
"You ready for this, Jin?" he asked the sniper rifle. Who, in turn, gave him a derisive snort.
<< I have a feeling I am more prepared than you are. >>
"Thanks for the encouragement," Gale muttered, then lapsed into silence as Professor Caelius began speaking.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:11 pm
They were doing something. They were going to do something big. It was going to be exciting. She could tell. Did she finally get to run out and stab things and go PEW PEW PEW PEW PE-
Cassandra.
The voice cut sharply through her mind, reminding her of her place. Telling her firmly that she needed to stop getting ahead of her self and sit her a** down in a chair like a good girl. The idea of going 'AH HA HA, NO' passed through her head and it seemed..well..it seemed like she hadn't been the only one to hear it. It disturbed her greatly.
Cassandra, sit down now
Nicodemus spoke again, his voice as sharp, but slow speaking, as it had been before. He didn't tolerate her long when she went off on her expeditions of insanity. The girl sighed, tapping the belt around her waist once and grinning, but she didn't speak. At least not out loud.
'Yeah yeah, Nic..."
Nicodemus he corrected, insisting on the full name.
'Nicodemus.' she repeated carefully with a light shrug as she settled into a seat, her fingers gracing along the belt in a careful manner, as though consistently checking she hadn't lost 15 pounds and suddenly had no hips for the unsummoned weapon to sit on and thus had caused him to vanish in the facility somewhere.
She made a point to listen, redirected once or twice when Nicodemus told her to stop ogling the boys in the room. So were they going to suddenly go to iceland and jump into that hell-volcano-place? Or were they going back to that funny testing-island-bit? When Caelius-Alexander-AM looked to the doorway, Cass's gaze followed and she frowned, seeing two other people.
...
....
Boo. She was sure she'd have to come up with more nicknames for them too.
Or you could try calling them by their names, Cassandra Nicodemus suggested.
Cass dismissed the possibility as though it had never been suggested at all.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:14 pm
Madison sat in her chair, trying not to be too distracted by the pink orbs around her right wrist - Kouki, her weapon, in his 'unsummoned' form. The serpent-sword sword was flicking about in her mind; amused, she fed him snippets of what was going on around them. An image of the classroom, and Caelius, and what he said.
A mission, is it? Kouki's four-toned voice hummed. My last mission was a great battle indeed. Many demons fell that day to the bite of the serpent. Such glory! Such honor accorded to my exploits! We have much to live up to.
Madison... rather hoped they wouldn't be fighting a horde of demons.
((note for the GMs: Kouki is lying to Maddie about his exploits... just in case you were wondering... >.>; part of his character is that he habitually lies - generally harmless white lies - to make himself look better.))
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:43 pm
Jordan had a feeling that they were going to be seeing a lot of this room. Classroom, briefing room, meeting room, whatever it was, they kept being called back to it. Whether it was simply because it was a location known to all of them or for some other reason, here they were again.
You'd better get used to it, Ferros said, sounding faintly amused.
"I am," Jordan said, then glanced around, remembering that he was in a room with other people. Speaking out loud to a voice nobody else could hear might not be the best idea, though he supposed that anyone else who had visited the Cove already probably understood. He wasn't the only one, either. A few others were having quiet, one-sided conversations.
I can hear all of that, the hammer said patiently. Yes, they know you are not crazy, or not that sort of crazy. And yes, sometimes it will not be wise to talk to me in your outside voice.
Jordan glanced down at the heavy ring on his index finger. The red stone seemed to be glowing slightly, or perhaps it was a trick of the light. He was still getting used to its weighty presence, a match for the heavy, metallic sense of Ferros where the weapon's mind nested in his.
You may admire me later. Your instructor is speaking.
Jordan hastily redirected his attention to Caelius, listening to the brief lecture. Interesting. He'd already guessed that their lessons weren't going to be easy ones, but the form of the training and teaching was still unknown. If it was going to be anything like the assessments they'd undergone, they'd be toughening up fast.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:23 pm
One of the figures began striding toward the front of the room. He wore a cowled robe that obscured his features, and had a casual posture that spoke not so much of comfort, but rather comfortable disdain. "Well," he began in a voice that several of the less fortunate hunters were well and truly familiar with, "...you may all refer to me as Dr. H. A few of you will end up helping in my labs every so once in awhile, and in exchange I'll let you be test subjects. Isn't that nice?" He paused to let them considered this for a moment, before continuing, "But moving on, today will be a fun and interesting project involving my special lovelies. Clarice!" He snapped his fingers impatiently, and a new figure ever so slowly entered the classroom.
While obviously female, she was fully covered in a green and black suit much like the ones they had worn during their initial testing. "Yes, dear, you do look lovely in that, but please do hurry the ******** up, hm?" His voice remained pleasant, but he snapped his fingers once more and pointed impatiently to a spot in front of him. Eventually she reached the spot, and very clearly drew a deep breath and steeled herself.
"This is what you were..." Dr. H began, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And this," his other hand appeared at her throat. He held a knife. "...this is what happened to you." He handled it quite efficiently, but the resulting spray of blood still made a terrible mess of the nearest trainees. "Or at least, something along those lines," he continued, letting the body drop, and stepping over it. "Now. In a little bit, Clarice, my dear assistant will come back and make sad cow-eyes at me for a few weeks. She'll come back, much like you did. Now tell me, how do you think this is even remotely possible?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:12 am
Dr. H.
For a few moments, Gale just stared blankly at the man standing in front of them, his eyes wide. A few droplets of blood spattered against his cheek, but he didn't raise a hand to wipe them off. Instead he sat there frozen, completely stunned into a horrified silence. Though he knew that that was, in essence, what had happened to him - to everyone - seeing it point blank like that was...dying was one thing, and so was shooting some sort of flesh eating vine creature thing. Watching an actual human die..? Since he had been killed early on during their first "training mission," he had not seen the deaths of the rest of the squad members.
<< Man up. They told you this wasn't some daycare place for kids. If you get grossed out by this, then you shouldn't even be here. >>
Jinhai was clearly angry this time, disgusted with the way his person was behaving. Gale swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise in his throat, pressing his lips into a thin line. He didn't respond to the rifle; simply twisted the silver and gold ring around his finger. If he was going to be a Hunter, he couldn't let something like this sicken him. He had a sniper rifle, for Pete's sake. It wasn't just there for show.
Gale ventured an answer once he had calmed himself. "Some sort of scientific...er, experiment?" he asked, though he knew it was a rather pathetic response.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:15 am
Jerry was still battling his anxiety as he had sidled into the room, one hand clutching the small penny whistle that hung from his neck under his sweatervest. Butterflies did not begin to cover it.
You are a total tit, I am coming to realize, Roar grumbled in his head. Would you relax, already?
"I am trying, but there are a lot of question marks that are making me very-" the young man murmured as he moved to slip into a seat nearby the familiar mad-hair of Jordan, giving him a nervous grin and a wave.
Roar, meanwhile, was content to grunt, and would have rolled his eyes if he could have. I keep telling you. Don't worry about it. I'm here now. And he was certainly feeling more ready to do some damage than the twit he had ensnared. Ideally, he figured, the more of a pushover his 'partner' was, the easier off it would be for him.
The last day or so with this Jerry Collins had shown him there might have been some flaws in his plan. No matter, they would be in the battle zone soon enough.
While Roar hung from the chain on his Hunter's neck grumbling to himself, Jerry was content to obediently listen with utmost attention to their superiors giving their briefing. Fear was... alive? Somehow the concept made him terrified, and the fact he was terrified made him MORE terrified. But... how was that even possible?
He was beginning to believe in Oddities more and more the longer he stayed on this island... but hopefully there would be some sort of explanation to come? Or at least... not to have his terror come crawling out of the shadows at any point in time, that would be nice.
And then, a girl was brought out... and stabbed. And blood. There was so much blood...
Jerry, eyes wide behind his glasses, gaped, made a strangled noise before his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped to the floor in a swoon.
Are... are you kidding me?? No, this... had not been in Roarshack's calculations. Candlejack, would someone kick him awake before he jumps to any more conclusions? He groaned to unconscious ears. He would have put his palm to his face, had he had either.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 1:45 am
The sight of the knife at the masked woman's throat wasn't enough warning; when Dr. H slashed her throat (relatively neatly, a corner of Jordan's mind observed, but was mostly drowned out by the shock and horror of the sudden violence and the spray of arterial blood) Jordan wasn't expecting it. He jolted in his chair, then clenched his teeth against a wave of nausea. The man had just killed someone, an easy, casual murder.
As casual and easy as his own death. When he'd died, he hadn't known he'd come back. But the way Clarice had hesitated and braced herself suggested that she knew she was about to die, but had come voluntarily. Given that, given what Dr. H was saying now ... was death not permanent here?
Don't be stupid, Ferros said.
Jordan frowned, rejecting the theory. If death weren't permanent, there'd presumably be no need to bring in new Hunters, at least not in groups. Other possibilities. Hypnosis or illusion? Maybe, but not likely, he thought. What else -
Ferros asked, That's one of yours, isn't it?
Jerry had collapsed, sliding bonelessly out of his chair. Oh, great. Jordan slid out of his chair quickly, going down to one knee to shake the other man's shoulder. "Come on, Jerry," he said in an undertone. "Snap out of it, we're not done here yet."
He'd better get that under control, Ferros commented, sounding irritated. Otherwise he'll be useless in combat. Or dead.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 3:13 am
"Oh...excellent. A volunteer for experimental testing already?" Dr. H moved closer to inspect the young man's body, "Yes, yes move aside, I am doctor you know." Nudging the body with his foot, he proclaimed, "He's still alive." He sounded a bit disappointed, but perked up quickly, yelling, "Clarice! Bring me some needles, my dear!"
A small, tinny voice, as if from a radio, could be heard by those nearby, "With all due respect, sir, <******** you."
With a sigh, the doctor turned away, "She always comes back grumpy. No, no. It's not an experiment. At least not at the moment. And likely not at all what young Jerky here was thinking." He gave the trainees prone body a dismissive wave and walked back to his assistant's body. Reaching down he picked something up and brought it into view. It looked like nothing so much as rapidly drying mud. "This is what you saw. Take look see, hm?"
At his feet, the suit and helmet remained but had lost it's shape, mud leaked out of the edges and quickly dried to sand. "Dirt, bone, and water." He gestured to them with a dramatic flourish, "And FEAR. This is what died before your eyes. This is what died before you were able to truly awake as Hunters. Yes, as much as I would like to say we have the power of true resurrection and access to immortality..." another sigh, "...well, who knows what the future may hold, but at present our hand holds a special set of jokers, called Golems."
He stared at them in consideration before continuing, "...I believe I'll skip the technical explanations for this group, as I'm...me, and you're...not. Simply put: a golem is a pre-made body that we can shove your soul into for a short while. Your soul animates and controls the body, just like your normal body! There's several versions of them and each have their different uses. Now, any questions so far? Would you like me to speak more slowly or show you colourful pictures to help you comprehend this?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 8:45 am
Madison stared open-mouthed as Dr. H first... murdered someone in front of them?!? oh god she was going to hurl and then... explained things. She closed her mouth and swallowed, hard, her left hand moving to curl around the four beads on her right wrist.
What.
So that's... that's what had happened. She hadn't died. It had just been her mind, her soul (?!) inside one of those piles of mud... and the 'real' her had been inside that pod the entire time. No wonder her clothes hadn't looked like she'd been smushed in them.
'Smushed'? Kouki asked, curiously.
Later. She kept her gaze fixed on Dr. H, for the most part, though she did quickly glance down at Jerry and Jordan. The blond boy looked good in his Hunter uniform...
Nope! Looking at Dr. H now!
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 8:59 am
Jerry gave a groan as he slowly came back to the land of the conscious, just in time to hear something about Mud and Crumbling, and as he tried to push himself back into his seat, his hand came to a few crumbs of something crumbly and.... "Mud?" He managed blearily, glancing to Jordan with an embarrassed smile.
He seemed to have missed Dr. H's discussion of needles and disappointment that the shock hadn't killed him.
I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you, Roar was groaning, probably still under the impression he was unconscious, but Jerry's hand went back up to try to give the whistle an assuring stroke. Oh, Jeeze, just stop FONDLING me!
The Sun Hunter's face went red behind his glasses, shifting in his seat. He let go of the whistle. "Golems... as in er... Prague?" He peered in renewed fascination at the crumbling not-a-corpse, as though he hadn't just swooned like a fourteen year old girl.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 10:12 am
Cass listened, if only because Nicdemus kept redirecting her to what was going on. The girl nearly shrieked when she was spattered in blood by the golem, eyes going wide. Holy s**t!
Holy ******** goddamned mother ******** s**t!!
CASSANDRA!
Nicodemus's voice was sharp, reminding her that even her thought of language was foul and he didn't want to entertain it. Cass's nose crinkled a bit as she dragged a hand down her face, lips tightening. Golems... this...
....
......
"So why did it's head blow up when I took the gas mask off then? Was that just because it couldn't hold it's shape?" Cassandra suddenly asked as the dirt-mud-earthy-fear-thing-of-messiness was explained to them, her expression genuinely confused about what was going on. "Am I going to be needing to use that again? Should I have not..y'know..busted it? Am I going to have t-"
CASSANDRA, SILENCE WITH THE QUESTIONS
The sharp voice again silenced the girl who's face turned bright red and she sunk into her seat and mumbled a 'Sorry, please continue.....' She really needed to stop making a scene at these stupid 'lessons' they were dragged into. Well, volunteered into.
She had signed her life away, after all, but she couldn't help but suddenly start rambling like it was nobody's business. However, soon enough she was perked up and alert, paying as good of attention as she could.
Y'know...
until someone walked by for her to ogle with more interest.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 5:02 pm
Tika leaned back in her seat and listened to everything Caelius had to say. The line that stuck out the most was You protect humanity, not Fear. You swore to protect your loved ones still in our world, not theirs. Everything else seemed to blur together like in high school. Her weapon, Atti, laid below her seat.
Why'd you stuff me under your chair? Its dirty under here! The least you could have done is brought a proper towel to lay me on. Is that dust?
The bickering was never ending. Tika jammed her foot under her seat to silence the noisy thing. She had to wander if any of the other hunters had this problem with their weapons.
Your foot will not silence me!
The bickering continued but Tika just sat their silently with a vacant stare to the front. Atti hadn't shut up since she had gotten him and now his noise was turning into something she could ignore. So she did. She'd never met a pair of blades so demanding. Ugh, now she felt slightly crazy for having that thought.
So they were going to head out to a mission. And she was paired with the most annoying weapon known to ... anyone. Great.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 6:44 pm
Ooooh who's he? He's hot...
Mina purred in Bix's ear before he'd even gotten a seat. Even though he knew no one could hear her, his cheeks were a bit red and he was gritting his teeth slightly in frustration. Just causing that frustration made his weapon cackle delightedly in his head.
Maybe he could handle me.. unlike sssssome snowflakes I know.
Bix almost slammed himself into his chair. He plopped next to Gale but his only greeting was clapping the younger boy on the shoulder. He gave Cass a wave and then extended that wave to everyone in the room. His weapon had been alternately teasing and hitting on him since he'd got her and it was starting to wear on his nerves. Hopefully this mission would let him prove himself to her. Hopefully that would shut he up... either that or make it worse!
He only blinked when Dr. H killed the suited person and he remembered Dr. H pretty well. Really well actually. It was pretty horrible.. REALLY HORRIBLE.. but he remembered the island and remembered when he'd seen Gale's 'body' disappear. That had never left him.
All this violence is promissssing. I like this doctor too. Why won't you answer me, snowflake? Awwwww...
Bix just squeezed his eyes shut a moment but then raised his hand (like he was in school) and asked his own question.
"Does that mean she's..uh... in a pod right now?" They had been in pods when it happened to then. Did they have to go back into them?
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