Operation Preservation
An alternate re-create (of sorts) that first brought Duke and Xavi together (YAY); Operation Preservation is a mix of futuristic and fantasy, action and perhaps romance.
A world, slowly being riddled away by sickness and disease and started to look for ways to stop all that. Even with the expansion of modern medicine, it seemed the ailments that these medicines were supposed to cure were slowly becoming less and less efficient in fighting off illness. People were dying and the average human life expectancy was plummeting; a race that was once living nearly till 100 years of age was slowly become lucky to see the age of 60. Advocate groups popped up, saying that it was everyone's fault for no one had taken things such as recycling and green energy seriously; landfills were over flowing, trash was being sent to space. Cities that looked like they were from out of some sci-fi movie had lost much of their luster in the outer edges of the city where the poor now dwelled; only the rich could see the heart of the cities and those that couldn't afford it were killed or arrested for trying. An organization started up to try and help stop all this. If medicine was no longer helping, then humans just had to become unable to succumb to illness. They said they were going to come up with a serum or medicine that would change everything; people wouldn't get sick, they would live longer. They would hold paid testings for new products they were coming out with, but the truth of what was going on lay behind the scenes. The facility, as those inside knew it as, was planning something much larger. Yes, they were creating a way for people to never get sick, but it wasn't meant for the public. The number of missing person's reports started to increase, but only slightly for the facility was trying to be careful to kidnap those that would not be missed, or bought people from families that needed help. They were testing on human subjects, though not even those being tested on knew just why and the scientists were quiet as to what was really going on. Eventually, experiments were let out, under the watchful eye of a guard provided by the facility. It was to make sure that 'the magic serum was working' they were told; they had to get real field tests. Yet, even with that, the highly skilled and arm guards started being killed off, leaving these experiments to fend for themselves. The experiments have somehow been able to find each other and have been gathering together for safety in numbers. None aware of what was still going on in the horrible place. |
---my characters--- Aleu, the deceased one (IBI Agent)Melik, the in-the-know 'captive' (L1 Spectre)Fritz, the silent scout (L3 Spectre)Varun, the fluid follower (L1 Spectre)Arvin, the toxic-tongued sniper (L5 Spectre)Nieko, the fiery soldier (L5 Spectre)Rroy, the avenging commander (L7 Spectre)---other side characters--- Unknown, the white knight |
--character stats-- DefinitionsAleu - The Hard-to-Hit Charmer █████████ STRENGTH █████████ DEFENSE █████████ DEXTERITY █████████ SPEED █████████ STAMINA █████████ CONSTITUTION █████████ INTELLIGENCE █████████ CHARISMA █████████ ACCURACY █████████ LUCK █████████ PERCEPTION █████████ WILLPOWER █████████ SPECIAL Melik - The Brilliant Performer █████████ STRENGTH █████████ DEFENSE █████████ DEXTERITY █████████ SPEED █████████ STAMINA █████████ CONSTITUTION █████████ INTELLIGENCE █████████ CHARISMA █████████ ACCURACY █████████ LUCK █████████ PERCEPTION █████████ WILLPOWER █████████ SPECIAL Fritz - The Underestimated Ninja █████████ STRENGTH █████████ DEFENSE █████████ DEXTERITY █████████ SPEED █████████ STAMINA █████████ CONSTITUTION █████████ INTELLIGENCE █████████ CHARISMA █████████ ACCURACY █████████ LUCK █████████ PERCEPTION █████████ WILLPOWER █████████ SPECIAL Varun - Got Heals? █████████ STRENGTH █████████ DEFENSE █████████ DEXTERITY █████████ SPEED █████████ STAMINA █████████ CONSTITUTION █████████ INTELLIGENCE █████████ CHARISMA █████████ ACCURACY █████████ LUCK █████████ PERCEPTION █████████ WILLPOWER █████████ SPECIAL Arvin - Average Until He Ults █████████ STRENGTH █████████ DEFENSE █████████ DEXTERITY █████████ SPEED █████████ STAMINA █████████ CONSTITUTION █████████ INTELLIGENCE █████████ CHARISMA █████████ ACCURACY █████████ LUCK █████████ PERCEPTION █████████ WILLPOWER █████████ SPECIAL Nieko - Packs A Powerful Punch █████████ STRENGTH █████████ DEFENSE █████████ DEXTERITY █████████ SPEED █████████ STAMINA █████████ CONSTITUTION █████████ INTELLIGENCE █████████ CHARISMA █████████ ACCURACY █████████ LUCK █████████ PERCEPTION █████████ WILLPOWER █████████ SPECIAL Rroy - The Leader For Obvious Reasons █████████ STRENGTH █████████ DEFENSE █████████ DEXTERITY █████████ SPEED █████████ STAMINA █████████ CONSTITUTION █████████ INTELLIGENCE █████████ CHARISMA █████████ ACCURACY █████████ LUCK █████████ PERCEPTION █████████ WILLPOWER █████████ SPECIAL --terminology-- Fritz's Code |
---places--- Civatas Aa'shali - Like Earth but where those who control the elements live Noir - Rroy's planet; it has a lake of silver that sits beneath a forest of cherry trees. The planet has black grass and trees. There's no sky, sans for the stars and silver clouds that pass overhead. There are silver paths that lead to the various areas of the planet. On the side that gets the least amount of sun are silver mountains made of icy. ---terms--- Duine - Irish for innocent. It's the word Nieko uses for the experiments. Verbot Saoraid "Verraid" - Forbid/Prohibit (German) Facility (Irish). It's Nieko's term for the facility to conducted forbidden, illegal experiments. |
Duke's Lovely Ladies Eleanor the LeaderNyx the Water GoddessNoah the DevourerAnastasia the InnocentSabine the Siren-But Not all Ladies!- Zorion and Zoe the Playful TwinsKyna the Representative for Earth |
more spots
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and last one
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Pointed gray nails danced over a series of vials and tubes. As the fingers trialed down the colored contents, her pair of sapphire orbs scanned over a list of numbers. The pen between her lips bobbed up and down, as if she were talking to herself.
Pulling the hand to her lips, she clicked the pen before retrieving it. "Looks like everything's here," she said while striking off the final five rows. "We should be golden. Shall I prep the patients?" A silent head nod told her it was time. As she turned her back, a small smirk slipped onto her face. Keeping her head down, her blonde fringe masked the devious look for she wanted none to know just what she had done. If her plan was to work, no one could be in the know, not even her people on the inside. Heels clicking as she wandered down a corridor, her mind gleamed over her brilliant work. "Doctor," she cleared her throat. "I see we are short staffed today. Would you like me to confirm the shipment arrived properly? I can run inventory before I help prep things with you." The lanky man with the blonde hair approached her. His cold, gloved hand fell on her warm, peachy cheeks. "Yes, doll. I would most appreciate that." His hand lingered a moment longer before it slithered from her check to her neck. Then, with slow precision, he danced it along her covers before giving her rump a firm smack. "And loose the top few buttons. You know how I like my dolls." "Yes, doctor." She did as instructed and loosened her shirt. She wasn't overly fond of it but her cover was solid. She was to butter this man up, get close, and sabotage the whole operation--all without him being the wiser. She wasn't a busty woman but the doctor loved her exotic nature. It was rare to see a Lypheion. Granted, he had no idea just who she was. He merely knew what and didn't bother to run a background check. Lypheion where notorious for not doing that, namely because they were, well, wild animals when push came to shove. The name she took up was Gemssa Lorelei. She new of a Lypheion by that name who had done extensive research work. Why not borrow her name to aid her cause? Much to her luck, Gemssa never had pictures of her posted so Aleu (her real name) didn't have to worry about being found out. Gemssa, to anyone who knew the Lypheion, was a red wolf. Aleu... well, she was far from red! Snatching up the list, Aleu flicked on a pair of gloves. They looked standard issue but the box they arrived in, heh, it was far from standard. Miles away in an underground bunker laid her other half--the team of brilliant minds that would put this mad doctor out of business. The glove was laced with an explosive powder that, upon exposure to stainless steel, would cause it to explode. So Aleu made certain she danced her hands over each vial of the experimental solutions. She wasn't sure who was going to go first so she wasn't about to wait until the end to kill the operation. No, she would make them all rigged to blow. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially if the trace amounts of the powder didn't work! Pulling off the gloves, Aleu tossed them lazily into a bin. Wearing these was a bad idea. God forbid she touched anything made of steel! "Gemssa," a voice called. Based on the sound and inflection, it was a woman--an annoyed woman. Still, there was an faint trace of... curiosity to her voice? No, what was it. Aleu couldn't place the tone she picked up so she swiveled her head around. "Ah, yes Cassandra?" She had been having a ton of issues with this woman. She was jealous that the doctor spent all his time eyeing Aleu and not herself. Coy smirk tugging on her lips, Aleu flicked her tail to the side. "Wolf got your--" A sharp pain suddenly came to her neck. As her ears flattened, a growl seized her throat. That pain was no ordinary pain and the shadows cast on the walls further proved it. "You son of a bitch!" Aleu's hand flew forward but was quickly snatched from behind. "Now, now," Casey (Cassandra's brother) cooed, "that is no way for a lady to talk." Slipping the needle from her neck, Casey slowly folded Aleu into his arms. "Cass," he smirked, "we got her." "The cell is just up ahead. I'll go get the serum. Let's pump her full of this shit. See if the doctor likes her when she mutates into some hideous creature!" Everything began hazy. Her eyelids, heavy. She tried to stay awake but found herself getting lulled into a light slumber. When she did finally awake (likely 5 minutes later), Aleu realized just how grave a situation she was in. Her blue orbs shot open as her ears flicked forward. "Stop, you don't know what you're doing." Her hand squeezed between the bars of the cage she was held captive in. "Please, you can't do that." "Melik," she rubbed her lips together, "I need to ask a favor of you. You can't tell anyone, especially Rroy." "Pffffffffffft," he waved a hand at her. "Easy, peasy. Lips are seal-e-oed!" "Melik," a look of concern washed over her face. "I'm serious. If Rroy finds out what I'm doing, he'll stop me." Slowly, the cheeky look on his face retreated. Clearing his throat, he nodded firmly. "Got it. I promise." He crossed his finger over his heart. "I'd pinkie promise, but I know you'd say I need to be serious." He poked out his tongue before stepping beside her. Taking her hand into his own, he gave it a light squeeze. "Stop worrying, you can trust me." Dragging a hand through her hair, she sighed. "I know." Her cheek nuzzled his before she spun herself around. Gazing into his red-orange eyes, she frowned. "I discovered a facility in the Berkshiraks. They're experimenting on live subjects, human subjects. And I... I need to put a stop to it. I submitted an application and the mad doctor wants me to begin work immediately." "Uh, why would he let you, Aleu soon-to-be Skytun, work for a shady facility doing highly illegal activities?" Melik knew there was a reason somewhere in there. "Because I lied about how I am. And," her hand rubbed the back of her neck, "I kinda picked one of the most famous Lypheion to impersonate." "WHAT?" A jolt of rage coursed through his eyes. "Are you stupid? Aleu," his hand seized hers, "that is the dumbest thing you've ever done. You'll be found out and killed. Or worse, they'll turn their experiments on you. Rroy would be absolutely livid if h--" "That's where you come in," she planted a kiss on the tip of his nose. It silenced him for a second, giving her a chance to explain. "I need you to figure out a way to get into that facility. Not as a researcher or scientist, but as a captive. Someone who'll get experimented on." She winked. "I know you're the perfect man for the job as you can coat your skin in sand. That sand will absorb whatever they inject you with. And, well, you'll be fine. You'll just pretend you magically obtained sand powers. No one will be the wiser. You're the perfect actor!" Quite pleased with the compliments, he blushed. "Aww, shucks. You think so?" He bashfully glanced away. "But," the graveness came back, "will it work? And will Rroy b--" "He won't even know. I told him I was going on a business trip. Nothing too deep and heavy. Just a quickie, in and out. That's all it'll be. I'll work on getting us out." "But how?" "Melik," she bit her tongue. "You do realize I...." How could she say it? "I'm not who you think I am." His brow hiked up. "I'm Agent Aleu Black. I work as a covert agent for a 3-letter organization. I can't tell you which one, but know that, well, I don't have a choice. My organization needs me to get in. I'm the only one that can. And, well, we need to shut this operation down. Lives, innocent lives, are at stake." Everything seemed to slow down. As Cassandra drew forth a needle to plunge into the cyan liquid, Aleu found tears swelling in her eyes. She had failed--and not just a little bit either. She had royally fucked up. She should have said no. She should have held her ground and actually quit. She promised herself she would leave the organization the day she would take up a new last name. It was forthcoming, that should have been close enough. But no, she was drawn to the challenge. Drawn to the risky games. And now... now she would never get to know what it would be like to get addressed as Mrs. Skytun. Three... two... Her ears fell back against her blonde hair. Melik, run. Run and save yourself. She knew he couldn't hear her but she had to hope that somewhere in his gut, he would sense her sorrow. That he would escape and get these poor, innocent captives out of her. Give them freedom. Make them live and start new lives with new purposes. One. A bright, blinding white light erupted before her eyes. It was warm and glorious, but it was also... sad. The tears on her face evaporated as the heat of the explosion seared her skin. Seconds later, came the deafening boom that would set off a chain reaction. Agent Aleu, signing off.... |
A young woman with long white hair sat on a thin mattress that laid over the unforgiving metal bars of her cot. Her legs were tucked up to her chest, her eyes closed as she massage her temples with the base of her palms. Her head hurt, but it usually did a few days after testing. The scientists kept pushing mental test after mental test on the woman and it was starting to wear her out. At this point, all it had managed to do was to get one of the doctors sent to their private ER when the woman had snapped and thrust a blade into the man. That situation ended with 'HD35297' as she was called, being strapped down, sedated and returned to her cell.
With a groan, she finally lifted her head to see 'the nice doctor', as she referred to her, heading towards the section of the facility where the bad stuff came from. None of the experiments knew what was over there, but only that the stuff that was used on them came from there. Anastasia knew not what her real name was, those that were held captive tended to not care too much about that sort of thing. This woman though, she had managed to get many of them to warm up to her for she was much nicer than the others, but she was just as secretive, if not more. Shortly after the woman vanished from site, she heard something, a scuffle. Ears perking up, the white haired woman moved towards the clear wall closest to where she had last seen the nice doctor. One of the 'gifts' that had be bestowed upon her was heightened senses and from the way the others were reacting told her that she was the only one who could hear what was going on. The words, she could hear them clear as day as well, though the names meant nothing to her, but she could hear the panic. Something was wrong, people were doing something and it sounded bad. "Help! Somebody, help!" Anatasia shouted as she pounded against the wall, but per usual, none of the employees even batted an eye on her. She moved towards the hall where someone was walking towards her, his eyes to a clipboard. "You have to help," she cried out to him. Pulling his eyes from what he was reading, he stopped in front of her and crossed her arms. "And what's wrong with you?" With brows knitting together, she pressed her hands against the wall even more as she said, "Not me, someone else, someone else needs help." She then turned and pointed towards where she saw the Nice Doctor go. "There, down there, they need help." The doctor let out a noticeable sigh as he rolled his eyes. "Sure, we'll get right on that," he said as he looked at the top of her cell, making note of her number and scribbling a few more things on a blank sheet of his clipboard before walking away, away from where Anastasia said someone should go. "No, no, stop! You're going the wrong way!" She then shouted as she watched the man turn to go away from that area. "You're --" Anastasia then froze, cutting herself off as she backed away from the glass. She watched towards that room only for a moment before she actually saw the flash of light burst from the room; it wasn't like though, there had been a sound, like a pop or snap, but even for as quiet as it was it rang like a gun. As the bright light burst from the hall, she white haired woman dropped to the ground, covering her head. Soon, booms were coming from all across the facility; glass was shattering, walls breaking, things falling. Everything seemed to happen so fast for when Anastasia lifted her head, fully being engulfed by the heat around her, all she saw was fire and destruction. Her own cell, like all the others, had been blasted open from the explosions. She looked around, people were struggling to get up, others never would. Her eyes seemed un-phased by the world around her; whether from growing up with the father she had, or the result of the tests that had happened to her, she wouldn't know. Slowly, those red orbs trailed back towards where it all started. The Nice Doctor. Sucking in a breath of smoky air, Anatasia backed up to take a running start to jump over the remaining wall over her cell. She ran down the hall, as best as she could while avoiding things and people that had fallen in the series of blasts. Her pace came to a harsh stop as she got to her location; the room that she was trying to get to was gone, or if it was there, was buried in the rubble. Anastasia just stood there, staring at the collapse; the Nice Doctor, she had been in there. Her hands formed fists as she stared. The fire was raging around her, she could feel the heat against her skin but the pain couldn't be felt. A rage flooded her mind; had they done this? Were people here responsible for what happened to the one nice person her. A darkness filled those red orbs as Anastasia vowed to destroy those that were responsible for this. |
His eyes slipped to the wall with engravings carved into it. As he etched in another line, a smile tugged at his lips. Today was the day things would change. He had been in this hellhole long enough and was just itching to get out. Not to mention, he knew the others would be overjoyed to be free. This captivity was hardly humane, for all the testing done was absurd. If someone willingly asked to for this, then it would have been okay. But everyone, sans him, was forced into this.
Okay, so he was semi-forced. His partner had requested his assistance. She gave him the timeline and explained everything he needed to do, from acting sick to protesting. Hell, she even gave him a step-by-step procedure for when and which powers he was supposed to use. After all, he was supposed to be a 'normal' being. None could know that he was actually a Valsozn, fully equipped with earth-based powers. Scratching an itch on his shoulder, he skidded past his urinal and pressed his face against the cool iron bars. Any second now, she would pass by and he would know that he have to wait 15-minutes before spending 30-seconds to break from his cage. He would then have about 5 minutes to subdue any attackers. From there, he would get no more than 10-minutes to haul ass and get the captives out of this main corridor. As if on cue, Aleu walked past. The brilliant pink gloves on her hand caused him to smirk again. Ah yes, he mused, the latest and greater from her nameless organization. He knew the purpose of those gloves. She would cake the outsides of the new batch of serum with an explosive material. When it interacted with steel, it would blow. Now, Aleu's job wasn't that simple. No, it had some complexity to it. She had to orient the tubes in the right direction. If the lip pointed toward the cells, the inmates would die. She would have to tip the tubes away and make certain to touch the far side with the laced gloves. The day before she had been wearing purple gloves, these were fire-retardant gloves. She would rub the cells with it, doing what she could to keep the blast from charring the innocent. Her eyes met his. With a small nod, the Valsozn by the name of Melik sank back into his cell. He needed to get a perfect shot of the clock. At the end of 15-minutes, he would unleash his sandy powers and bust free of his cell. Until then, he just waited. Any second now, his pulled his eyes off the clock. It was time to get the hell out of here. Lacing his fingers together, he cracked his knuckles before giving his shoulders a good roll. Oh how grand it would be to finally be free of this shitshow! Planting one foot behind the other, he pressed his palms against the cell door. His orbs closed and his mind found peace and clarity. Drawing in a slow breath, he counted down from 5. Five... Four... Three... Two... "Help! Somebody, help!" His eyes shot open as his brows furrowed. There was something about this plea that caused a lump to form in his throat. He tried to lean in to hear her cries, but she was at the complete opposite end of the building. Her voice, though loud, didn't echo well as it finally reached him. "Ah screw it," he grit his teeth before pulling back his arms. Elbows bent for less than half a second, he slammed them forward. Red lights swirled to life and soon a droning, aching alarm screamed out. It was the sign that an inmate broke loose! The bars were no match for him. The guards and scientists outside his door were taken by surprise for nothing was to cut though that steel. Little did they know that for the past few weeks Melik had been chipping away at the iron's integrity. Little by little, his sand attacks peeled back the material. Rust started to appear, for the cells were damp and musty. Really, it was the perfect plan. And they were completely blind to it. Finally free, he let loose a blast of sand in the form of a whip. It toppled the officers and forced the scientists against the walls. "Not so tough now," he chided before regaining his footing. Making haste down the hall, he skidded past the end captive's cell. Their eyes exchanged a brief glance and Melik instantly knew she was the one that had called out for help. But why? She didn't appear to... A sound, a very familiar sound rang in his ears. Then, then came the white light. He didn't even have a second to cuss for the blast sent his body flying down the hallway. It wasn't ideal though for that hallway was where the next chain of explosions came from. Again, his body was shot in another direction. Wave after wave of explosions eventually caused him to land just a few feet from Anastasia's cage. He had no idea who she was, but she didn't give him the least bit of her concern. Blood dripping from his open wounds, he let his eyes follow the white-haired woman's movements down the hall. She seemed... worried. Forcing chunks of the building off him, he grimaced. God this was painful, but now was not the time to worry about boo-boos. Aleu was in trouble. This all happened way faster than it was supposed to. Hell, he didn't even have a chance to evacuate anyone in this sector! Fumbling, he eventually hobbled his way to where the woman stood. It pained him to do this, but he knew Rroy would kill him if he didn't look for proof of her body. Unshed tears continued to build in his eyes. Pulse by pulse of sand, he pulled the rubble away from the cage where Aleu was presumed to be. "No, no, no," he kept muttering. As he came down to the final slab of walling, his heart sank. There, beneath the charred wall, was a pale hand with gray, pointed fingernails. Around her wrist, a thing, black bangle with barely visible but well remembered words, "Forever." His face, a ghostly white color now, looked away. He couldn't... he couldn't bring himself to unearth the woman. It was... it was bad enough just seeing this. Rroy, he found himself cowering, he's so going to kill me. "Hey," the voice caused him to jump, "you there, stand down!" Swiveling his head, Melik saw the red suit of the Elite Guards. Eyes dilating, he jerked his head toward the white haired woman. "Time to run," he said while taking her hand into his own. He didn't care if she protested or resisted. He simply won't let go. Hell, he would drag her body if he had to. "We need to find an exit," he finally said. With the building collapsing around them, it wouldn't be hard to scramble their way up a ledge and back onto solid ground. "Well would you look at that," he finally released her hand to point toward a newly damaged piece of ceiling. Sure enough, it caved in and created the perfect (well as perfect as a broken building can be) plank to walk up. "Lady's first," he chimed while kicking some sand toward the Elite Guards that were closing in on them. "Uh," he glanced over his shoulder, "faster would obviously be better." |
Someone rushed by her, perhaps male? He was small, but his build didn't register as femnine. His clothing, they were similar to hers; a grey jumper with a serial number on the back and front. His body language gave away what he was finding out, the look on his face when he finally turned away from the rubble. When he turned, it gave Anastasia a clear view of a hand, a very femnine hand.
The sound of rushing water filled the woman's ears as she stared at that hand, at least until a voice broke through that sound. Her eyes locked on a group of red suited guards; Anastasia had seen them before, they were only called for the most troublesome of patients. She grit her teeth, her fist tightening as the other person started pulling her away say it was time to run. Stronger than his small form appeared, Anastasia was pulled further from the men she had locked on. He didn't get far as he pulled back though; behind the men were more of them, more of the experiments and they looked lost, scared and injured. The white haired woman was much shorter than these guards, but her pose before them seemed to hold more of a threat than one would expect. "You're injured," she sneered, pulling her arm from the male, holding both at either side. "You get out and take the others that follow you to safety." A dark smirk then formed on her lips as the guards got closer. "They won't be able to hurt me." From the base of each wrist, a long, glistening piece of metal extended. They were blades, each coming to a littler under three feet long. The guards only seemed slightly put off; they were trained to expect anything, even people with weapons within, but they hadn't expected it from a small statured female. Bare feet shifting slightly, Anastasia pushed of the ground, arms and blades out in front of her. The blades pierced through the lead male and as soon as his body was nearly to her hands, the smirk morphed into a smile as she said, "You goons aren't in control anymore." She then pulled her arms apart, the blades ripping through the man, leaving his body on the ground. The bloodied weapons continued their path, slashing at the two that were beside the lead guy. "The rest of you, get out behind me, I'll keep them busy," she yelled as she brought her arms back towards her before lunging at the men again. |
His jaw practically fell on the floor when the woman's wrists became blades. Not only was it disgusting but it was... no, it was just disgusting.
Holding back the vomit, he snaked it back down his throat. He was not ready for this. Sure, he could handle dead bodies. The scent of burning flesh? Yeah, no big deal. BUT BLADES COMING OUT OF WRISTS?! WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA?! Feeling faint, he grabbed his head before nodding. "Very well, my knight, I, the fair princess, shall round up my good people while you hold those poo poos off." If she thought him odd before, his choice of words were probably making her question his true age. There was rumors that the serum could alter your looks. Perhaps he was just a little boy? No, there was no way he was a kid. ... was there? Moving toward some of the injured, he coaxed them up and out of the damaged facility. It wasn't fast and it wasn't pretty, but it would have to do. A lot of the captives were bleeding or burned. You could tell that this all came as a shock to them as they wore very sad and frightened eyes. It didn't help that the white-haired woman behind them was lopping off heads and causing more bloodshed. "Just keep your eyes forward," he whispered to those that trembled. "She's on our side. We'll get you out of here and to safety." So far, he had managed to get nine of them out and running toward the hills. Flicking his head back, he noted that there were three left, excluding he and the woman. "I've got you," he cooed to the cowering woman before him. "Right this way, my dear." His words were sweet, and drew a small smile on her face. "That a girl," he encouraged her on. When their hands collided, Melik winced. Something... something got him right in the knee. Glancing down, he spied the woman doubled over in front of him. No, not doubled over... more like... attached to his knee? As he tried to step back, an even sharper pain caused him to collapse. "Ouch, ouch, ouch," he panted. Based on the blood that spooled form the woman's back, she was dead. And, based on the large, wooden stack that jutted from her heart, he didn't have to guess how or why. One of the guards must have thrown something. Slowly, he peeled her corpse from his leg. God did it hurt though. It hurt a lot. He tried to yank the wooden stake out but it seemed pretty tight. And it likely made some form of contact with his leg, which would explain the pain. Finally, with the woman off, he was able to discern what had really happened. "Are you freaking kidding me?" His eyes grew wide before his face fell a pale, clammy color. Sickened, he bit his lip before adverting his eyes. "Okay," he panted, "okay you can do this. It's just a harpoon. It's just molesting your leg. It'll be okay. You just gotta--" A blood-curdling scream followed. Hands trembling to the point of not being able to stop, he dropped the unlodged harpoon. Casting it to the side, he just sat there, frozen. His chest was raising and falling faster than it should have. The clenched jaw a sure sign that he was in tremendous pain. His nostrils flaired as a cold sweat drenched his body. There was no way in hell he was moving in this condition. The other two survivors had managed to escape, completely abandoning he and the woman with the gross blade-arms. Closing his eyes, he swung his head to glance at the woman. "You should," he was growing tired. The loss of blood was taking its toll on him. "Go." |
The wind was cold that morning, though it was expected with the snow covered ground. Brown locks blew across the face of the olive-eyed woman standing watch. The sun had been over the horizon for just a little while and though she were tired and cold, she stood her ground. They were on the outskirts of town in an old, abandoned warehouse. Some had thought it would be a good idea to stay nearby for anyone else that was able to join them.
Something warm pressed against the woman's shoulder; the feeling was welcomed through her thin jacket. Eyes breaking off staring at the emptiness around them, she looked to the pale haired woman next to her, a smile on her face as always. She glanced down at the offered cup, the dark liquid a welcome sight. "Thanks Nyx," she said, taking the cup, taking a slow sip from it. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard Eleanor," the girl chirrped as she leaned against the opposite wall, her butt against the cold metal. That comment though, received a sharp glare from the other. "I could just leave all of you here and I wouldn't have to push myself," Eleanor bit back before taking a large gulp from the cup, it's contents burning her throat on the way down. With her lower lip pouted out, Nyx watched the woman as she said, "Come on now, could you really leave us?" The question was met with silence and a glare. She knew the answer that would never come; though Eleanor wanted to be alone, she wouldn't abandon those in need. It hadn't taken much convincing to keep them all in town because if one of their own was lost, they needed to find them first. Before Nyx could follow up the silence, the ground began to shake, softly at first and then a bright flash could be seen over the buildings some distance away. Nyx was the first to speak, "That was in the direction of-." "I know," Eleanor said as she handed the mug back to the other woman. "Get the others." It didn't take long for those that were going to be ready. Everyone felt the rumble and they all felt something within them tell them that something was wrong, horribly wrong. Four woman ran as fast as their legs could carry them; none of them were gifted with speed so it left them with their own skills to rely on, which fortunate with living 'on the run' had helped. By the time they got to the building that still haunted them, it was surrounded by crowds and fire trucks. The trucks were doing little to control the blaze, which meant the fire was coming from much deeper, within the facility that they were all created. "The back," Eleanor said, though she knew she didn't have to. Many of them knew how far it stretched through the city, though none could say just how. Some said it was because they were all connected and meant to find each other. At a time like this, they all hoped that to be true. Beyond the building was a junk yard, the years of dumping who knows what would work well to hide anything going on underground from scanners the police had. Sure enough, beyond the building, black smoke could be seen coming from one of the massive piles of garbage. The four picked up the pace as someone emerged from the smoke. Nyx nearly tackled the first person through the whole. "Oh thank goodness you're alright," she said as she pulled the person away; they looked horrible. "Well, mostly." Another pale haired girl slowed behind her and said, "There are more." She looked down towards the hole, the tips of her hair black; there was much fear around them. That's when they all looked down to see people trying to climb out, all wearing the same clothing they all knew all too well. "Noah, you help me get them out. Sabine, Nyx, you help them once they're up," Eleanor said as she knelt down to help the next one through. No one argued with what was told; Noah knelt to help the woman as Sabine started to hum a song to ease the fears of those leaving, Nyx was left to use snow, or the liquid version of it, to help clean those coming out and checking them for wounds. "Some Elite Guards those were," Anastasia said as the blades retracted to her wrists, blood dripping off of them as they did. It was then that she heard the scream behind her; senses high, she spun around to see the male from earlier gripping his leg. She listened to his remark of how she should go and lifted a brow. Slowly walking up to him, she knelt down and said, "I can get my head cut off and live, but you can't handle a little leg wound?" She then sighed before hoisting the man up into her arms. "Daddy was right about not trusting men," she added as she carried the male out of the hole in the ceiling. Noah and Eleanor were about to help the last ones up when they back up suddenly. Nyx and Sabine looked over to see a white haired woman hold a clearly injured male. "Well, didn't expect that one," Nyx said putting her hands on her hips. That was, at least until the white haired woman's eyes started to roll back, her body falling backward. Moving quick, Eleanor managed to mostly catch the two, or at least slowly get them to the ground. "Nyx," she said, her eyes tracing over the girl who was clearly covered in blood. "I gotcha boss," she said as she went to treat the male. Kneeling next to the boy, she had a goofy looking grin on her face. "Not everyday you see guy being carried Princess-style." Interweaving her fingers, she extended her arms, cracking her knuckles. "So, let's see what happened to you Princess." The grin on her face then faded as her palms hovered over the male's wounded need. Water began swirling under them before slowly lowering to the wound; the clear liquid turning into a deep crimson almost as quickly as the water touched it. Discarding that water, Nyx pulled more, doing the same thing and getting the same result. "Mmmm, boss, no good, we gotta get this one back to camp to fix him up." Eleanor sat back after looking at the girl; she was totally fine, the blood wasn't her own. She shot Nyx a look before sighing. "Very well, patch it up with a fabric from his jumper for now. We'll head back soon." Nyx saluted the woman before working at tearing some of the tattered fabric, tying it tightly around his leg. The brunette then went around to check on the others. Sabine's humming seemed to soothe their nerves quite a bit, at least enough for them to be coherent, which was good cause they had to leave and soon. Directing the group she managed to get everyone on their feet, or carried in the case of the last two out, and they made their way through the junk yard back towards the warehouse. Once back at the warehouse, those that had stayed behind quickly set up cots for the new comers and got some soup and coffee on the fire for them. The white haired girl was still out, though she didn't look in pain, just sleeping. The others either fell asleep and slowly ate and drank; it was much more than they had while living in that horrible place. One of the girls that had the ability to heal had been put in charge to tending to the wounded male. Eleanor leaned against a wall, as far from the fire as she could while still being in the same room as everyone. Shaking her head she muttered under her breath, "What the heck happened in there?" |
As his eyes started to open, he noticed his world start to fall. This caused him to gasp slightly for he had no idea why he was falling. Last he knew he was passing out on the floor. He remembered the harpoon--bastard thing--and then turning to the white haired woman.
That's when it clicked. His cheeks flushed a brilliant red color before his eyes watered. Could it be true?! Had Fritz come to sa-- OH HELL NO! His face instantly wore a scowl. Why was she--the gross woman with the gross blade wrists--carrying him! WHY IS SHE TOUCHING ME! SHE'S TOUCHING ME! He looked at her wrists and cringed. "Oh god," he muttered. He could feel the vomit. It was coming back... No, no. He swallowed it back down. Just don't think of it, he kept telling himself. Honestly, it was easier to think about the harpoon than her--and the harpoon was the one that actually impacted him. Catching witty words, his head snapped to the owner of the voice. "Psh," he turned his nose up, "you're just jealous. I clearly make a prettier princess." Even at the nickname he was given, he smirked. It phased him nonetheless. Truthfully, he rather enjoyed it. It reminded him of all those times were he would play with Fritz. Fritz was always his brave, dashing knight. And he, well he was the prince--completely unaware of the term princess until he left his home planet of Iitua. With his HORRIBLE, DISGUSTING, NEVER TOUCH ME AGAIN savior passing out, Melik was glad to fall into someone else's care. This woman was way more entertaining. Though her final comment caused him some concern. "I was molested by a harpoon," he pouted while quivering a lip. "I think the only way to save me is to give me cookies and candy. I also like warm milk, steamed preferably." He thought he was being rather cheeky but the olive-eyed woman didn't seem to think so. "Well she's a poo poo," he quipped more so to himself than to the woman at his side. "She could have at least lied and said I'd get a sticker if I behaved myself." His eyes watered and, for a second, it probably looked like he was going to cry. But based on her cold demeanor, Melik decided it might be better to save that trick for a later time. Not to mention, he didn't want to get the nice lady with the water powers in trouble. She reminded him of Varun and he liked Varun. Scary, angry lady? He cringed. She was like Rroy. Only Rroy was way worse. He bit his tongue. Yes. Rroy was way worse. Rroy was definitely going to kill him. Aleu's death, though it shouldn't be, would fall on his hands. Trembling, he turned his sad gaze to Nyx. "How bad is it?" His brows caved in. "I know we lost some good people in there." When they finally got to wherever they were, Melik decided it was time to call for backup. Of course, this wasn't until AFTER he he was patched up and able to hobble places without the fear of his leg falling off. "Mmmm," he turned his knees into one another. "I has to pee." Eyes getting wider, he pleaded again. "I really gotsa go!" With reluctance, he was ushered away from the women and given a bit of free space to pee. Only, he wasn't going to pee. No, he had to get a message out. Walking a bit further into the snow covered forest, his eyes danced around the canopy above. Find a bird, he told himself. Though this was proving harder than he expected. There seemed to be no sign of life here. Putting his chin in his hand, he snorted. What was he to do? He had to get a message out to Rroy. A bird was ideal but he would take a fox or doe. A ticklish feeling came to the nape of his neck. Out of instinct, he laughed. "Stop it," he said while turning around, "I'm trying to p--" His blinked quizzically. There was no one there? The tickle came again. Once more, he turned around to stare at nothing. Now, officially confused, he scratched his head. Who was tickling his neck? That's when he felt it. Eight, tiny little legs dancing across his skin. Despite having an issue with blade-arms, [redact] didn't cause him any concern. They were Fritz' favorite creature and-- That's it! He could send word to Fritz and what better way than a little creature. No one would suspect a [redact] to deliver a message. It was absolutely brilliant! And Fritz, through his connection with Sylvia, could speak to these little wind surfers. Gingerly, he pulled the delicate arachnid forward and into the palm of his hand. "I need you to carry a message to my friend, Fritz. Tell him. Tell him... tell him Aleu's..." He choked back his tears. "Dead." "Man o man," he walked back toward the women who seemed peeved that he took too long, "I really had to pee. I didn't like to use the urinal they gave me. It was creepy. It had [redacts] in it." He made a squeamish face. Perhaps the oddest part about this guy was the fact that, unlike the rest, this male seemed unphased by the events. Did his time mellow him to the point of not caring? Or was there more to him than met the eye? |
Everyone was starting to fall into their normal routines, at least as far as new comers go. Many were helping those that just came in, while others chose to stay out of the way. Eleanor's eyes drifted from the new people they pulled out first, then to the last two. The girl was out cold, but even like that, her demeanor seemed totally different than when she emerged from that place. The boy? Eleanor's olive colored eyes shifted to him; he seemed to be taking well to the healing and was becoming more and more active. The kid then vanished to relieve himself.
As always, the usual white haired woman came up to join her. "How are they holding up?" She asked with a nod of her head towards the bustling group. The smirk on her lips told Eleanor that Nyx wasn't done with her comment from that morning, but for now she wouldn't say anything more on it. The woman's blue eyes looked to the new ones as well. "They're holding up well, even with Sabine's song gone, they seem to be coping as well as one would expect. They're shook up, but who wouldn't be? The place just started exploding inside for some reason." Nyx sighed, then rolled her eyes to the brunette. "They're shook up, but I think the fact that they're free keeps them from freaking out too much. They think this is all just a dream. "They say that the girl saved them. That there were guards, the elite ones, not the normal ones, that came to stop them. They say the girl had these blades, long blades come out of her arms and just started slaughtering them. One say they saw her get cut, but the wound healed almost instantly." In her usual way, as Nys spoke, she used her hands. One hand touched the wrist of her other and pulled away, as though she were showing the weapon to the other. "The boy, he helped them through the hole." The white haired girl then shook her head before her bright eyes locked on the other's pale ones. "They really did save them. If that girl didn't take care of those guards, how would the others have gotten out? Those guards would have killed them; we both know that." Eleanor said nothing as her eyes fell back to the girl again; how could someone so small kill the elite guard? That was something that was difficult to swallow. Perhaps they were caught off guard from the blast and that left them open; they were usually armed to or defended to be able to handle any of the experiments. Or, perhaps the facility hadn't been able to fully determine the spectrum of her powers and were unable to fully counter them. Or, third possibility was that girl was far greater a threat than anyone had expected. "Oh, that's my queue, see ya later Eleanor," Nyx then chimed in as the boy they just saved returned. The brunette was about to question what she was doing, but the white haired girl vanished, just like always. Sighing and rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms under her chest, resting her shoulder against the cold wall of the warehouse. Nyx laughed as she walked towards the male and the healer. "It's fine Lydia, if he's walking this early, he'll live. You go check on the others, I'll watch him." The woman, Lydia, had yellow-blonde hair that was kept in a neat, tight bun; she definitely fit the nurse look. The woman stood up, brushing the dust off her already dirty apron before moving on to the next person, muttering under her breath how no one took recovery seriously in this group. Once the woman was gone, the white haired one sat on the cot that the male had been issued. Lifting an arm, she bumped his thigh offering him a mug with a warm white liquid. "Warm milk," she said before wiggling a plate that had three small cookies, "and cookies for the Princess." As she handed the cup up to the boy, she leaned back, using her now free hand to prop her up. "How ya doing boy?" She asked, her bright aqua eyes shifting up to watch him. |
Eyes glistening, he accepted the requested treats. "Oh boy, Fritz would be sooooo jealous." A smug, cheeky grin grew on his cute, round face. He was quick to realize she didn't know who he was so he quipped, "Fritz is my bestest friend in the whole wide world. He's always spoiling me with treats and cute stuff. He won't admit it but I think he does it because it gives him an excuse to eat cookies and pretend to be a handsome knight!" A wink followed.
Nibbling on the cookie, he gingerly shifted one toward the woman. "I usually don't share my cookies but," he twirled his eyes, "I'll make an exception for you." Whether she took the cookie or not didn't matter. If she didn't, he would polish it off. If she did, he would just smile--perhaps in a creepy manner--at her as she ate it. When she inquired how he was doing, Melik scoffed. "Boy?" He set down his mug before unzipping the jumper. He pull it down to about his navel to reveal his less-than-boyish body. "Either I'm one ripped thirteen year old or I just age really, really well." His wink was accompanied by sticking his tongue out. "I'm 26," he stated nonchalantly. "And although I enjoy being call 98513, my true name sounds far nicer." Hopping forward, he extended his hand. "The name's Melik." The way his lips twisted up with a curl meant something devious was sure to follow. "It means 'king.'" With great pride, he pulled his head back and wriggled it boastfully. "So princess or prince will do just fine." Mind falling back on her original question, a less gleeful look filled his eyes. "And I'm okay; thanks for asking. I'm just... shaken up. I lost some friends in that explosion. Well, as close to friends as one can have when forced to meet the same cruel-faced monsters every day. Still, the facility had its hidden gems. There was this one doctor who used to read to me at night. The other works frowned upon her ill behavior but she always advised that it was for the betterment of the patients." The more he spoke, the more sorrowful his face became. Rubbing his arm, his sad orange eyes moved back to Nixie. "I... I feel responsible." Melik's lip quivered. "I... I should have tried harder. No, I should have put my foot down quicker. I was all for busting out but I never took that leap of faith. I heard rumors that others had escaped. I knew it possible but... I guess I just enjoyed those stories too much to want to leave. Yes, the treatment and testing was torturous but her gentle voice and calming smile, it made the day bearable." Not wanting to add more to his story, he fell silent. His lips twitched from side to side until he eventually forced a smile. "So, what's your story? How did you end up here? And why are you helping us?" Might as well get to know who these people were, he figured. If they were friend or foe would quickly help him determine how he wanted to go about finishing Aleu's mission. |
Nyx smirked as the male spoke of the man. It must have been nice having memories of someone before the facility; there weren't many that could boast such a thing. "Well Princess, your Knight won't have to worry. We'll keep you safe." This one was nice, though the experiments usually were with their own kind; this one seemed to warm up much quicker, especially for what he had gone through.
When he offered the girl a cookie, she could help but laugh. "Why thank you," she said taking the last one as he had his second. She took her time eating it, shaking her head at the grin he gave her. She was just finishing it off when he went on about the fact she called him 'boy'. "It's a figure of speech, you don't have to take it that seriously," she laughed, brushing the cookie crumbs off her hands, then having to brush them off her short skirt. As she finished brushing the crumbs off she said, "26, huh? That puts you at the same age as Sabine." Lifting her eyes, she scanned the group; off to the side keeping to herself was a woman with short blonde hair. Pointing to the girl she said, "That's Sabine, she was 1489. I'm Nixie, though you can call me Nyx." She winked at the boy, Melik before saying, "They called me 17 though." Pointing to the woman with pale blonde hair she said, "Noah's over there, or 26375, she told us that there were a few of you still inside when we got to the hole." Nyx fell silent for a moment before looking towards the main entrance to the room they were in. She didn't point, just nodded towards the brunette. "And that, that's Bossman, though her real name is Eleanor. She was the first, she's 1." Her eyes fell for a moment; her and Eleanor had been through a lot together and the rest of 2 through 16, most didn't survive. In fact, maybe 3 others between 1 and 20 actually lived. It was Melik telling her that he was fine that snapped Nyx out of her silence. She looked back up at him, a sorrowful smile on her face. Yeah, shook up, they all were at first but to go through that, he was faring quite well compared to how some were handling it. As he went on about a doctor, she nodded slowly, her eyes moving towards some of the others that had joined them over time. "The Nice Doctor," she said softly, almost endearingly. "Some of the newer people talked about a nice doctor, one that made things a little less bad, one that actually seemed to care." She sighed, pulling a knee up to her chest as she looked up and the red headed male again. "I never met her, she must have joined up long after I was let out." Shaking her head, her smile faded slightly, her eyes distant. "It would have been nice to have at least one doctor that actually cared while we were there. They didn't care though, it was new and they wanted to figure out how to get results." Nyx shook her head again, her smile brighten up again. "But hey, hopefully now those people can't hurt anyone else." When Melik started blaming himself, a worried look filled those blue orbs; standing up, Nyx wrapped her arms around the male. "No, no, it's not your fault," she said as she stroked the male's head with one hand. "No one knew what was going to happen and you still saved as many as you could." She pulled the male away, holding him at an arm's length and shrugged. "Besides, the stories about experiments escaping? They're just stories, meant to keep moral up and hope that we'd get out one day. Anyone that did manage to get out of their cage was either killed or returned." She then released the male as he asked about their story, what they were all doing. "Helping people I guess?" She started at the end, but paused before choosing to start again. "The Facility ended up letting a lot of us out, they needed field results, was what we were told. We were all given a guard, no idea why, I mean, were people really after us? But, one by one they were all killed. We ended up alone, but something drew us together. I found Eleanor and soon others were coming to join us." Nyx looked at the group as she continued on, "More and more were finding us, or maybe it was Eleanor they were finding. But, we decided to stay somewhat nearby so those that were looking didn't have to go far before finding us." Shifting her eyes up she said, "I guess for now, we try to survive. Most of us don't know where we could go anyway and those that remember a time before the testing, they can't return or no they have nowhere to go home to. So, this is home I guess. We all went through it, we know what it's like and feel its safer to be together, even if we aren't all the same." |
The embrace was warm and welcoming. Honestly, he wouldn't have pulled from it if he didn't have too. Too bad she didn't feel the same way for next he knew he was an arm's length from the woman. She was trying to quell his nerves and sooth his fears. If only she knew what truly troubled him. Yes, Aleu's death was sad but the worry on his tongue stemmed from another issue--one he prayed these survivors would never have to face.
"I'm sorry you didn't have the kindness we did. From the time I arrived, she certainly did seem like the ray of hope we needed. There was something about her smile. It was... contagious. She was always so gleeful when she worked with us. Usually she preformed out routine checkups. Heh," a blush came to his cheeks, "I might have found myself falling for her charm." Although Nixie said it wasn't his fault, Melik couldn't remove the pang of guilt that still weighed him down. It was his fault though. He shouldn't have waited so long. He should have known someone would target Aleu and try to silence her. She was... different. The others probably looked at her with fear for she looked more of a mutant than their experiments. The experiments, stripped from their home worlds were only one kind existed, probably looked up to Aleu. She was different--having ears and a tail--and she was successful. Hell, some of them might have idolized her, wanting to grow up to aid in scientific feats. Too bad it was all just for show. Just for... He jerked his thoughts off Aleu and listened to Nyx. She explained that few had contact with their memories. Why didn't Aleu tell him that? He questioned but dismissed it. There were always outliers; it was just the way of statistics. Nothing was perfect. Nothing was without minor abnormalities. Melik pressed his lips together. It was going to be hard not talking about his home planet. Er, new home planet. Iitua wasn't really a place he wanted to remember. Still, it must be awfully lonely not to remember things. To never dream of returning home to see family and friends. To never know what the world looks like from a space ship or warp portal. Placing a hand on hers, Melik gave it a light squeeze. "We'll survive," he reassured her with a smile. "I remember fragments of my past. I... I think I was a soldier. And my leader," his cheeks turned a rosy color, "was inspirational. I can vividly recall him telling us that numbers don't win a war." He released his hand and placed it on his heart. "It's what we fight for that causes mankind to do some of the most miraculous things." Mimicking her, he leaned against a wall. "So long as we align our hearts and fight with one goal in mind, no one can beat us. We might be broken and disheveled, but we're not out." His demeanor seemed to shift, it was less childish. It had a firm resolve to it. Fist falling into an open palm, he wore the mask of a cocky man. "Besides," there was a dark inflection to his voice, "we're the super soldiers. We're the ones created to purge the battlefield of enemies." His lips twitched, revealing a sinister smile. "Created to kill." The way the light caught his eyes made them glow a taunting red color, further enhancing that crazed look he wore so well. |
Looking at the boy talk about this doctor made Nyx smile; it would have been nice to have someone like that while she was there. "Perhaps we didn't have a doctor like that for a reason," she said as she looked toward Eleanor whom appeared to be giving the group a hard stare before turning and heading towards an empty part of the warehouse when her eyes locked with Nyx's. "Maybe having to create our own hope allows us to give hope to those that came after us," she said as she looked back to Melik wheh the other woman had gone. "I mean, for as cold as Eleanor can be, the others look up to her. There weren't many of us from the early testing that lived. I like to think that she is a symbol of hope and that they kind of see her as a guardian of sorts." The white haired woman then laughed as she crossed her arms under her small chest. "She hates it though, that everyone flocks to her, or at least that's what she says."
Nyx would go to the ends of the world for Eleanor for perhaps she was talking about herself, but she did look up to the solitary woman. As much as she pushed people away, she wouldn't scare any of them off; she had gone through more testing than many of the others but never talked about much of anything. Even the water woman had no idea what happened to Eleanor in or before the Facility, in fact, even her powers were a secret. When Melik started talking about what he could remember from his own past, the German-accented woman looked at him, imagining what it must have been like. A solider was something impressive and their leader seemed to really put their lives at great importance to not just throw numbers like that. The scientists were different; they threw people at experiments until it worked, they didn't care about the losses. With a small grin on her face, Nyx's gaze fell sheepishly to the floor. "I was looking for my father," she said, her voice nearly quiet. "I've never met him and the only reason I remember that was what I was doing was because of a pendant I had from him. It was a dragon pendant and the dragon held a beautiful blue stone that looked like water was trapped inside. I had it ever sense I could remember, my mother telling me what it really was before I left home." There was a pause as the woman bit her lip, fighting back any feeling of tears that she had. "When I was taken to the facility, I woke up and it was gone. They took it, though they denied it. Even when I left, they wouldn't return it." She then shook her head before looking back to the male. "Getting that pendant back was what I thought about everyday and still do." Melik's confident mood pulled the woman from her semi-depressed state and she shook her head slowly. "We may have been created to be super soldiers, but I highly doubt anyone here actually wants to kill. Some of us may be down, the newer ones mostly, but once they learn that they aren't going back, they'll open up." She then laughed, planting a hand on the male's head, ruffling his hair. "I wouldn't recommend feeing into the idea of 'purging our enemies on the battlefield', we could end up in a worse place than the facility at that rate." |
All seemed rather quiet on the western front. Turning a nob, his binoculars zoomed in on the last known remaining enemy encampment.
"Update," a voice dull and drone-like asked from behind. "Nothing, Reaper. It appears as if the intel might hav-- wait." His finger flicked across the dial, enlarging the scene he was spying on. "Three. All armed. They're--" He set the binoculars on the ledge he was wedged beside. Drawing a sandy hand across his brow, he fixed his gaze on the one he called Reaper. Reaper was a fairly tall man with brilliant black hair and eerie red eyes. "They're?" His brow hitched up, knowing that the story he hadn't received wasn't one to cause much concern. The sudden chance in demeanor a surefire sign that they were done with their mission. "Surrendering, sir." His body unfolded and soon rose above the height of Reaper. Lazily, his hand reached into his mess of grizzled teal hair. "Shall I go down to retrieve the weapons?" "Take Hawk with you," he nodded toward a brunette with a narrow black mark that ran from ear to ear. "I'll linger with Scorpio to ensure we're not playing right into their hand." "Affirmative," the one with the teal hair said. "I'll come in from behind." "Checkin' out my ass again, Araneae?" Hawk placed hand over his heart, "I'm truly touched." Araneae didn't even bother to follow up that question. Instead, he stiffly made his exit. "Well that was easier than I thought," Hawk said while pulling off his uniform. "I say we--" His eyes dilated and he lunged toward Reaper. "Rroy!" He caught the wavering man. "Arvin, get Varun something's wrong." Cupping Rroy into his chest, Hawk slowly aided the male to the sandy grown beneath them. "Hey," he cooed lightly while brushing Reaper's cheek with his thumb. "Are you okay? It's not like you to get dizzy." A grimace ruined his slender, pretty face. "Rroy?" Brows furrowed, the raven moaned. Slowly, he flitted his eyes open. By the time he finally whisked away the daze, Varun had arrived. Brow inched up, he gazed at the blue haired man. Then his eyes scanned left to catch the worrisome looks of Nieko, Arvin, and Fritz. "Uh," Rroy (Reaper) moaned. "The hell happened?" Hand reaching up, he gripped his fringe. "I feel like." He held his tongue. "I don't know. I... I can't describe it." He wore a scowl. "Try to describe it," said the one with the blue hair. "I need to know if we should take you to a temple or if it's just heat exhaustion. I know you and arid places don't work well together." "Varun," Rroy's eyes lost their hazy stare. "I think I would know if I was going to have a hot flash." The blue haired man shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, it happens to the best of us. You more so than Nieko. Ice and desert don't really mix." "It wasn't a hot flash," his voice took a turn for the worst. He was getting angry. Biting his tongue, Varun glanced over at Hawk (Nieko). "Since he's being impossible, can you tell me what happened?" "We were just chatting and then," Nieko frowned. "He just passed out." Arvin, the one with brilliant yellow-green hair, piped up. "It was strange. I've been with him the whole mission. Not once did he look fatigued. This has to be something else." Rroy's scowl faded some. "It's like," his face became void of all emotions. "It's like something's missing. I feel... cold. Hallow." Lips pursed, he glided his eyes toward Varun. "Why would I feel hallow?" Araneae, who had been standing back, leaned forward to place the backside of his palm against Rroy's forehead. "You look paler than usual." Araneae (Fritz) placed a hand on Varun's shoulder. "Look at his eyes," he pointed out with a hint of alarm to his voice. Varun forced a frown. "I don't get it." He set down the test strip he had been using. "Everything's coming back normal. I don't see any changes in his blood pressure. Oxygen levels are normal. WBC count is normal. I... I don't know. He just looks..." Brows caving in, he shrugged. "I don't know." "Broken," Arvin finally committed. "He looks sad. But why would he be sad?" A light bulb went off in Nieko's mind. "Hey, when was the last time we heard anything from Melik or Aleu?" "It's been a little over a week," Fritz said matter-of-factly. "We should be receiving word any day now. Last we heard, their mission was almost complete. Your," a grin tugged at his lips, "fiancee should be home any day now." "If you are all implying that I need to--" "Well," Arvin interrupted. "You are a man. We all have those urges." A wink followed. "Remind me to kill you." "Nah, I don't think I will." Arvin poked his tongue out before ruffling Rroy's black hair. "But I bet it has something to do with missing your cuddle buddy." Rroy growled but the quintet soon found themselves laughing at their silly antics. "Yeah," Rroy finally admitted with a light blush on his pale cheeks, "I suppose you're right. I probably just miss her." Assuming that was the reason for Rroy's lack of stability, the group went back to packing up. There was no need to stick around in his dry place. They had other, better planets to explore. Not to mention, the lack of non-humans on this planet was getting rather boring. Everyone here was so plain. There were no aliens--Valsozn, Lypheion, wizards, krogan, etc. It was just... humanity. Boring, old humanity. About four hours later, the crew was making their way toward a forest. It was the perfect cover for warpping to another world. Completely out of sight and unlikely to draw unwanted attention. For the most part, the group was silent. There was no need to talk after a long month's worth of bounty hunting. "Hmmm?" Fritz moved his head toward a rather scraggly pine. "Did you say something, little friend?" Simultaneously, Arvin, Nieko, Varun, and Rroy found themselves inching away from the man who now spoke to a tree. "He's c-r-a-z-y," Arvin muttered. "Varun," he elbowed the blue haired one, "I think you should add him to your list of people to check out mentally." Varun made an annoyed look before stepped out of line. "Fritz is hardly crazy. Hell, he's probably the most sane of us all. He has no secrets to hide." "I'm afraid you're accent is a little hard to understand." Fritz plopped his hands on his hips before crouching. "If you would, please repeat." "Uh, on second though, perhaps I'm off. He could be crazy." "Shhh!" Fritz whirled around to glare at the group behind him. "If you would silence your ill tongues, I could understand the message." "Message?" Arvin looked at the tree. "You're a tree whisperer now?" "No," his voice cracked. He was annoyed. "I'm talking to a spider." "Oh," all four said in unison. Returning his attention to the spider, he listened to his tiny message. "No," Fritz's brows furrowed. "That's... that can't be right." Rroy shrugged his shoulders when Arvin, Nieko, and Varun glanced his way. "I can do snake or wolf, not spider." "I understand. Thank you." Fritz exhaled lightly toward the spider. "May the wind carry you home. Please keep an eye on my friend. Heaven knows he'll need it." With the speed of a sloth, he finally returned to his standing position. The lack of delight on his face causing some alarm with his friends. "Rroy," his eyes remained glued to the ground. "I regret to inform you that..." He hesitated in asking. A heavy feeling seemed to weigh him down. A part of him didn't want to know what Fritz was holding back. "That?" His voice was meek, almost sad sounding. "Aleu's dead." So most of the original experiments have since perished. This was good to note and likely something Aleu knew. Perhaps it was why she was trying to break everyone out and bring the experiments to an end? High fatality numbers were something she often argued against. Hell, she argued against all forms of illegal testing. The kind of stuff that enhanced food or made lives easier, she was all for. The second an ethical line was crossed, she was doing all she could to stop it. Was she a part of a grass roots group? He dismissed the idea. She wasn't. She was definitely some covert agent for some intergalactic agency he wasn't even aware existed. That made him wonder something. Did Rroy know? "I'm a soldier, remember?" Melik smirked. "Killing is in my nature. The squad I was a part of was a protection detail. We always nullified threats and restored peace. Not all peace can be had with words alone. Sometimes blood is required to usher in an era of golden prosperity and unity." Stepping away from the wall, he moved toward a window or whatever it was to see the outside world. "Sometimes we forget that success is built from risks and change. If we want to change the world and make peace, we have to be willing to fight for our cause. We have to be willing to die for the sake of those to come after us." Kicking away from the window, he marched back to Nixie. "I learned a lot under him. He was a wise commander." He rung his hands together. "We called him Reaper for he would literally reap the battlefield. No one stood a chance against him." He laughed sheepishly. "It's a good thing he wasn't a part of the Elite Guard. Afraid our gross friend over there wouldn't have stood a chance." Nixie didn't need to know that Rroy was a Valsozn. She would like the woman naively believe that Anastasia would stand a chance against the likely-assumed human. "So about that necklace," he turned back toward Nixie. "I'll help you find it. But I doubt they kept it at that facility. They probably have it elsewhere under lock and key." Frowning, he turned around to give her the cold shoulder. "I wasn't always fighting for peace. Sometimes I would be on the wrong side of the battlefield. If I learned anything, it's that there's always more. We blew up one facility. There are more. There will be others. If we want this to stop--if we want to find your pendent--we'll have to get to the core of it all. It'll be heavily guarded, likely with experiments brainwashed into thinking we're the enemy." He looked over his shoulder. "This is all speculation. If I were on the opposite side, this is how I would lay things out." Melik moved his head to continue staring at the wall. "We wouldn't let the explosions stop us either. We'd cut corners and press harder. We'd become ruthless and unleash our hounds. We'd flush out the escapees. If they died in the process, oh well." Letting out a long sigh, he stepped backward until his chest was aligned with hers. "We just need to play a move ahead." A smile grew on his face. "And I love games." That crazed look returned to his orange eyes. |
Nyx cocked her head, giving Melik a sideways glance. "And sometimes fighting isn't the best way to solve things," she said before pushing off the wall as well, though she didn't move towards the mostly boarded up window. She just watched him as he spoke the rest; she disagreed with the fighting, with everything they had gone through, how was that the best idea? Besides, what were the odds that they all weren't being hunted at this point? Was the facility really completely destroyed or were people out there looking for them? The deck seemed like it was stacked against them, ever since they were taken to that place.
The woman's brow furrowed when Melik mentioned something about the gross friend. "That's not very nice," she said, turning her head away from the man to look back towards the sleeping woman. "No one knows anyone else's circumstance and it's not like any of us chose what we got. All we can do is help and support one another because what we have is different, one can't go through what we did and not think themselves as a monster after that. We're different, Melik. No one will accept us for what we have become. If we can't accept each other, then we're doomed." She started to walk away from him when he spoke up again, talking about getting her necklace back. She stopped and lowered her head, shaking it. "I've considered it lost since I woke up without it. Only a miracle would bring it back. They have no reason to hold onto anything that belonged to us before. Besides, trying to plan some sort of 'save the things of old', would put too much threat on the group. It's best to look ahead and plan what we do next." Nyx stared the male dead in the eye and with all the seriousness she could muster she said, "If you want to try and plan ahead, you talk to Eleanor because they," she pointed out to the others. "They only listen to her and Eleanor isn't the type to play games with someone's life." It was warm, fluid pouring down the skin, like a shower, only it smelled, sweet yet bitter at the same time. She flickered open her eyes, but whatever it was that was pouring over her burned. She closed her eyes tight, rubbing them before trying to open them again. Everything was red. She licked her chapped lips, they tasted metallic. She could feel her heart racing as she looked at her hands, they were glistening in a red fluid. Bodies lay around her. It was blood. Red eyes snapped open as the white haired woman woke with a start. She sat up quickly, a blonde moved, unnoticed towards her. Looking down at the grey jumper she wore, she saw reddish brown stains all over it, over her arms. Her breathing picked up further and she pulled at the fabric, looking at it over and over before she let out a loud scream. The room went silent, all eyes fell to the girl. Some people shied away from the sudden noise, others covered themselves as though they thought they were going to be hurt. There were some that went to comfort the others while others stood frozen, almost in shock. People started to swarm around the girl and she tried to tear her jumper off, tried to undo the zipper. Her hands were too shaky though, she couldn't get a grip on it, fortunately. "Now, now," a slightly high pitched voice said as a girl weaved her way through the group and forced herself to the front. Very long pale blonde hair fell down her back, the very tips black, blacker than they had been earlier that day. Noah lightly pushed Lydia out of the way as she sat next to the new girl as she fumbled in panic with her clothing. "Hey, hey," she cooed as she lifted the girls head to meet her eyes. "It's ok, you're safe now." Those red eyes stared helplessly at the girl, tears poured down them in torrents as she shook her head. "No," she cried silently, almost breathless. "I, I did it again. I did a bad thing." Noah gave the girl a warm look, her brow furrowing slightly in worry as she pulled the girl near, her forehead against hers. "You did nothing wrong. You're safe now, no one is going to get you." The white haired girl tried to push back against her, but found that the other had too strong of a grip on her. "But I killed them. I killed people. Don't you understand? I'm a murderer. I'm a horrible person." Noah closed her eyes as she moved one hand to the back of the woman's head, as though she were pulling her close for a hug. "No, you saved people," she said as she slowly opened her eyes again. Hearing that caused the girl to pause, she said nothing which allowed the other to continue. "Because of you, people got out of there. You even carried a person out with you." "No one here is going to think badly of you," another voice said, though it wasn't as soft and friendly. Noah pulled away and looked behind her to see Eleanor standing there, holding a small pile of cloth. "Noah, help our new friend get changed." The other said nothing, merely nodded as she lightly pulled the girl up, leading her out of the room and away from the watching eyes of others. Eleanor's eyes then fell back to Lydia. "Find Sabine, have her help you in making sure everyone is alright. People are jumpy right now, we don't need any accidents." The woman nodded quickly and scurried off. |
Was this woman stupid? Fighting isn't the best way to solve anything. He knew that, but given their situation, it was the only way to get what they wanted--freedom. Freedom wasn't going to happen just because they batted their eyes and said please. No, freedom would take countless lives, sweat, blood, and toil. If they weren't willing to fight for that, then what the hell were they doing?
As she continued to talk, Melik found himself cringing. HOW STUPID ARE THESE PEOPLE?! It was hard to believe they were this naive. Though, recalling his youth, he was just as naive once. Granted, he was a kid. Should he have known better? No. But these people, namely women--it was a pattern he was noticing--seemed so wrapped up in their own broken worlds. Had they never dreamed of what laid beyond the starry sky? Were the uncultured? Had they honestly no knowledge of the vast alien races that existed off planet? Pinching the bridge of his nose, he grumbled. How was it that he was to get roped into all of this. Hell, how and why did Aleu volunteer to save these people? They had no idea what they were missing and quite frankly he was having a hard time justifying saving their lives. Now usually Melik was all for life and happiness. But naive blindness? That wasn't something he liked. He never was a fan of stupid. For as silly as he was, he never let fear or the unknown cloud his imagination. The fact that Nixie was so quick to dismiss her item peeved him further. She was their prisoner. Of course they would keep her necklace. Want to know the fastest way to earn back your escaped prisoners? The lure and lull of their past memories and possessions. At some point, he just knew the shady organization would send word that they would "restore" things. They would offer photos, memories, belongings. And these daft idiots would all flock to the lies. Hand covering his face, he grit his teeth. Talk to Eleanor? Would have reason? His first impression told him no. She seemed to be the one that encouraged the running and hiding. Good plan, he chided with sarcasm. Let's hide in a hole and wait for the enemy to surround us. Then let's get mowed down. Let's just die in our cute little bungalow without even trying to fight! Granted, he didn't know the facts. Maybe they tried. Maybe this was all there was. And if these broken souls couldn't control their powers, well what good were they to him? He needed people who weren't afraid to learn. Who weren't afraid to try. Nyx. She didn't seem to be the type. A scream echoed not too far from him. He cringed before his orange eyes shot to the white haired woman. She was waking up and blabbering nonsense about killing people. Before she was taken away, he was sure to interject. There was no was he wasn't going to jump on that opening. At first, maniacal laughter came from his direction. The more he laughed, the more he found himself wishing he never followed this group here. This was downright pathetic. The palm that was once on his face snaked down to his chest. Shaking his head lightly, he chided, "Oh darling, get in line." Purposely blinking, he smirked. "Your little," he fed off Noah's comments, "bout of heroine is not murder. No, that's considered self-defense. Murder, and I mean murder, is when you plunge a dagger right into the heart of the enemy. You watch the color drain from their eyes. You see their soul collapse. You see yourself smirking in the watery reflection." He jerked his head to the side. "You, my dear, have no idea what it means to kill." Snapping his head forward, "So before you casually toss that word around, consider who you're with. Some of us might just take offense to your extreme dislike of killing. Some of us whose previous form of employment solely revolved around assassinations." With that, he spun on his heel and made a very clean exit. Once away from the masses (if you could call the hodgepodge group a mass), he took a seat on a crate. Slouching, he planted his chin firmly in the palm of his upturned hand. "Stupid girl," he choked. If anyone asked how he could so vividly recall things, he had finally come up with why. He was one of a few--if any--men to escape. Recalling what he learned from Aleu, the odds of a male surviving the tests were slim. The females odds were far greater. Something about their Y chromosome not being compatible really messed things up. |
There was a panicked look that came to Noah's face as she whipped her head back as the male spoke and Eleanor caught the change of eye color; something was up with this one. Her face hardened as she clenched her jaw, the muscles noticably shifting as she glared at the male. If the girl's outburst didn't shake up the group this had; Lydia better have found Sabine soon at this rate.
With a dark glare on her face, the brunette made her way through the crowd, people parting like water. Once away from that room, it didn't take long to find the male. It was a mostly empty warehouse and once you were away from the group, people stood out. She made a direct path for the male and once she was up to where he was seated, her hand thrust out, grabbing the collar of his jumper, throwing him to the ground. "Offense to a dislike of killing?! What the hell is wrong with you, boy," Eleanor snapped at him. She shook her head before saying, "You really have no idea what's going on, do you? You must have been new to the clinic, you don't seem to be having any problems with your new found freedom." She knelt to the ground, grabbing his collar again, pulling him close so that their noses nearly touched. "Or perhaps you just went insane and were on the verge of being put down like so many others. You may or may not have had a past in assassinations, but they don't." Eleanor's normally dull olive eyes were wild as she pointed back to the room with her free hand. "Those are people who have had their spirits broken. Stolen from whatever lives they had and tortured for who knows how long. You think they're weak because they fear death and killing? Don't you think that after what they went through, seeing cell neighbors die or be killed, that they just want to get away from it all?" She pushed the male back down to the ground before standing up, towering over him at this point. "You can go in there and find and take anyone with you that wants to go off and kill someone. Do that and leave, but I promise you that you'll be alone and if you keep that crap up, I will kick you out of here and you'll be alone then too." The brown haired woman then leaned over again, her hair falling over her shoulders. "So you better think about your choice. Play nice and think before you speak. Or did your mother never teach you basic manners?" |
He hadn't been in solitude for long. It was probably a good thing for his mind was racing over every little detail and fact. What went wrong? What lead to these premature explosions? Had Aleu's cover been blown? Was someone playing a double agent all along?
The more he thought about things, the heavier his heart became. That was until something ripped him from his seat. Her breath was warm against his face. It was wet too. Heated with rage. The look in her eyes was one he had seen before, only on a lesser scale for few could match Rroy's wrath. As she lectured him, his face became void of all emotion. His eyes remained locked on her pupils, just taking in everything. This wasn't his first rodeo, that much was obvious. As she forcefully shoved him away, he continued to keep his gaze locked with hers. Much like she, he kept his jaw square and tight. Though, little by little, that tough look dropped. Soon, that boyish face was back and his eyes ever-widening. Tears swelled within and his lip quivered. His heart wrenched to the point where he couldn't keep it all in. Lunging forward, he buried his face into her chest. "I failed her," he sobbed repeatedly. "It's my fault she's dead. I made a promise." His hands clung hopelessly to the fabric beneath her bosom. "I made a promise and now she's dead." His breathing was raspy and deep. His throat, clogged with guilt, made it hard to swallow and even harder to catch his breath. His body trembled and the tears seemed ceaseless. His heart felt heavy, as did the rest of his body. The feelings that swirled within were similar to the flu, only he held no fever. No, rather he had guilt. A relentless guilt that caused him to go from rageful to broken. Voice cracking, he continued sobbing. "I loved her." He pulled himself into Eleanor more. "I loved her!" He seemed jittery. If she touched him, he would jump. If she didn't, he would just kept his face beneath her chin for he was too fearful to let go. "I should have been the one to die. Not her. Why, why did this have to happen." For a few moments, the only sound that came from him was the sound of mucusy chokes and pitiful tears. "I'm so sorry," he began to speak again. His words almost incoherent but repetitive. "I'm so sorry." He probably said those three words at least five more times. Slowly, as the words became further apart and more drawn out, his grip loosened. Little by little, his head pulled away from her chest. It never looked up though. His gaze forced on the floor. Sniffing, he raised his arm to draw his sleeve across his face. It did little to help his situation though. Large, puppy-dog eyes of orange looked shamefully into Eleanor's olive pair. Lips puffy from the salty tears were pursed and quivering. His hair, once lovely and free was now matted against the sides of his face. He looked like a broken, scared little boy. The unshed tears in his eyes slowly broke free, creating a small, little trickle down his cheeks. "You're not safe with me." His eyes were hallow, no longer focused on anything. "All the women I love seem to... die." "The good doctor. My ex-girlfriend. My... mother." Melik's head drooped and his eyes started to fall back to the floor. "You're better off without me. I cause nothing but agony. No one wants me--the broken, little boy." Pulling away from Eleanor, he took a seat on a the crate. He turned himself so his back was to her. "Her name was Laila." His voice dry, almost chilling. "She had the sweetest smile and lovely, fiery red locks. Everyone loved her. She was... happy. Never had a bad thing to say about anyone." A small smile came and then faded. "And I killed her. I took that dagger and put it right into her heart." He scoffed. "It doesn't matter what I do, I just can't seem to run from my sins." Letting out a heavy sigh, he collapsed his arms between his legs. Head hanging low, he just glanced lacklusterly at the floor. Aleu was wrong. He was no the right man for this mission. He cared not one bit about the welfare of others. He had lived through hell and back. He had no pity for those who had hardships. He always thought them beneath him. Did any of them know what it was like to kill their own mother? No, not likely. "You don't have to worry about me," he finally spoke. "I won't be an issue." |
The male's challenging facade seemed to drop quickly and soon he was throwing himself at the woman, knocking her onto her backside with a 'ooph'. Eleanor leaned her head back and tried to pull away from the sobbing man that was going on about how 'she was dead'. It seemed the more she tried to get away, the tighter his grip became and the more him pulled himself onto her. It would have been a lie if she were to ever say this hadn't happened before as it happened more times than she ever cared for it to. Instead, she just sat there awkwardly, her hands keeping her propped up as she leaned away from him as much as she could.
Once he finally pulled away, Eleanor lifted a hand to pull her now wet black top from her chest. she fanned it, hoping to help dry it but it just left it went and cold against her skin. A grimace was on her face; she would have to change the shirt later. When his eyes finally locked back onto hers, Eleanor dropped her head and let out a long sigh. Why did they all do it? Was it something with the recent experiments that taught them that trick would work on her. She put a hand awkwardly on his head as she said, "It's the way of life, everyone dies at some point. We're only human anyway, it's not like we can live forever." It was known to the experiments that they were indeed much harder to kill than average humans, but immortal? None of them held their breath on that, they had seen too many of their kind killed off so easily. It was the next line that struck the stern woman: "No one wants me--the broken, little boy". The sentence caught her off guard, her past flashing before her. It allowed the boy to pull away with out any problem. It was when he started talking that those memories faded to black once again, leaving the woman feeling both numb and heated. Eleanor mentally groaned as she stood up, walking towards the crates she leaned her back against one of them, shoving her hands into her pockets. "We all have our skeletons and our demons to face. None of us have had the easiest life, we probably got the worst hands dealt to us that anyone could ask for." She was quiet again, scratching her head for a moment. Her hand then slid to her neck as she said, "You're probably safer with us than you are out there. You aren't the first to have an outburst like this and once everyone calms down, it'll be fine. If those doctors had a chance to do anything to you, no one will judge you here." She then nodded to rusted, barred doors on the far end of the building. "Out there though?" She shook her head before continuing, "There's no saying what they'll do. There have been those that wanted to try blending in, but it just doesn't work out for us. We're too different from them." Her green eyes fell back to the male as she pushed off from the box. When he didn't look at her she said, "When you're ready to come back, you're welcome. It'll be safer by the fire anyway, once the sun goes down, this place practically freezes." Turning, the woman started heading back towards the main room that everyone stayed in. Running a hand through her hair she groaned, mumbling to herself how this sort of thing always happened. Yet, even if it did, she was still terrible at handling the situation. |
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