If Fate and Destiny came knocking at your door, would you answer? If you had the opportunity to weave your own fine strand in the great tapestry of history, would you take it? The annals of Mobius are littered with the stories of those who answered such a call great tales of mighty heroes risking life and limb for such romantic ideals as honour, glory, and freedom. Their reward is to be forever recounted as the saviours of their times and peoples.
But what if you were never to be remembered? Your story, your brave deeds unknown and unrecorded? Would you still make the same choice?
The year of 3218 brought with it fine harvests, fair weather and good trade. The aloof Echidnas ruled the skies from their lofty Floating Island home, and the other Mobian nations lived in relative peace below.
But all is not well beneath the seemingly tranquil surface. On the fringes of Mobian society, a great plague is developing. The Mange, as it is commonly called, afflicts its victims with a slow rotting of the flesh and a long, painful death, first heralded by a telltale loss of fur. Its cause is unknown. Its cure is unknown. If found out, its victims most often the poor and the downtrodden - are treated with disgust and fear, cut off from their homes, families, and wider society.
As if this were not enough, tensions between the Mobian nations and the Overlanders have been increasing in recent times. Rumours of rising anti-Mobian sentiment within the distant nation have fuelled concerns of coming conflict with that strange and warlike race.
It is a mere two years before the outbreak of the Great War. And in the midst of these uncertain times, a select band of individuals will be faced with the most crucial decisions of their lives.
This is their story. This is Mobius.
OOC: Hello and welcome. This RP takes place within an alternate Sonic universe, based on the Archie series with familiar names and places, but otherwise off on its own tangent. My goal with this was to create a version of the Archie plotline which explored and deepened the world of Mobius, by taking it back to the beginning.
Feel free to join in with whatever characters you create, I will only ask people to bear in mind a couple of things:
Nationality:There are four main Mobian nationalities, each known for particular cultural traits. This is by no means a strict template for your characters, merely a loose guide:
The Kingdom of Acorn / Acornians - Coming from a society firmly but fairly ruled by noble Houses, principally the House of Acorn, Acornians tend to be idealistic, forthright, and stubborn against all odds.
The Cierran Nation / Cierrans - Hailing from the cold, harsh, nothern continent of Icereach, Cierrans are flexible and practical nomads, chasing opportunity across the globe. They are fiercely loyal to their families and extended kingroups, known as Clans.
The Echidna Theocracy / Echidnas - Enigmatic, yet outwardly friendly, Echidnas are famous for their ability to judge people and situations correctly, relying on their strong instincts. The Echidnas hold a supreme mastery over technology unmatched by others.
The Empire of Jinrei / Jinmin - Assertive and independent, Jinmin from the so-called 'Mysterious Cat Country' are known for their intelligence, guile, and a culture dominated by the feline kind.
Further details of each will be expanded upon as the story progresses.
Gifts: In each generation of Mobians, there exist a select few individuals born with innate talents and abilities, unexplainable by the laws of nature (such as the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog and the flight of Miles Tails Prower). It is unknown whether these gifts are genetic, or otherworldly. All that is known is that these individuals exist, and are often treated with respect, awe, or even trepidation. Please show restraint with these, i.e. no godmodding, magic, super-crazy-out-of-this-world stuff. Simple, useful abilities are more than welcome. If unsure, by all means please PM me.
IC:
Like smoke gliding across water, the lone fox slipped through the teeming crowd. Relying on his training, he kept his profile low, even as he tracked his target through the winding streets. He cast a furtive glance through the faces that dotted the crowd.
Had he been spotted? Was he being followed?
He knew that on this particular mission, there would be no backup. His oaths of fealty and service to the King of Acorn were meaningless now condemned by his own comrades in the Service.
Did they know he was here?
Here was a place known as Pilots Point, one of many airship harbour towns that ringed the Floating Island and would have remained wholly unremarkable were it not for the reason of the foxs coming. It was a midsummer morning like any other, with the various traders, spruikers and townspeople going about their daily business. All manner of stalls were selling their wares, from mundane fruit and vegetables to high quality imported goods. Various pubs and drinking holes lined the streets, earning a tidy sum from the many tribes and peoples who passed through.
Catching glimpses of his quarry, the fox picked up his pace, making sure to avoid the keen gaze of watchful Echidna guards overseeing a checkpoint-gate leading inland. Whilst certainly affable to know, Echidnas were known for their enigmatic culture, hidden behind such gates which none but their own kind could pass through, under threat of terrible punishment. Outsiders were restricted to the trading posts like Pilots Point, and with their keen grasp of advanced technology, the fox did not readily wish to cause trouble with the local Echidna authorities.
There!
As a break in the crowds opened up like a sudden cloudburst, the fox knew that he himself was being pursued. Clad in dirt-ridden robes, a tawny-eared rabbit was trailing him. Although much of its face was obscured by an earthen-coloured mask and hood, the fox could still make out its harsh eyes regarding him coldly.
Coming to make sure his master remains unmolested? Im too close to be stopped now...
Hey! Watch where youre goi
With the crack of tortured wood and the sickening crunch of fresh cauliflowers meeting their demise, the foxs train of thought was wildly derailed as he crashed headlong into an echidnas fine display of quality vegetables.
Shocked onlookers stopped and stared at the carnage, as the fox hurriedly picked himself up amidst the rising din of angry voices, customer and stall-owner alike. Muttering hasty apologies, he made again for the safety of the crowd. Glancing back over his shoulder, he attempted to locate the rabbit.
Nowhere to be seen.
Worse still, the cacophony caused by the foxs folly had attracted the attention of his quarry further down the street. A look of scorn crossed the faces of both creatures, as hunter and hunted acknowledged each other for the first time.
Brother Fabius. A sickeningly Mange-afflicted rat, his condition albeit hidden behind a carefully-crafted disguise. Arch-demagogue of a violent cult devoted to the spread of the Mange.
Tobias Jaeger. Former servant of the Kingdom of Acorn, and now a fugitive from his own people.
In hindsight, Tobias should have noticed the stench of disease, before the bandaged fist leaped out from beyond his vision to clobber him square in the jaw. Bowling over sideways, Tobias fell against the hard brick wall of an inn, as passersby avoided and ignored what appeared to be just another pub brawl.
You have been meddling in our affairs for too long, Jaeger! The rabbits raspy voice hissed like a viper from some dark pit. Throwing itself Tobias couldnt tell the creatures gender even now at the fox, the rabbits dark eyes burned with a searing hatred, even as it reached to choke Tobias with its filthy hands. The stink of the Mange was heavy on the rabbits breath, as the fox caught glimpses of bare, diseased skin hidden carefully under its heavy clothing. If only they all knew
Taking the one chance he had, Tobias managed to rip the rabbits hands away from his neck, and bellowed loud for all and sundry to hear:
HES MANGED! UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!
The effect was as immediate and as dramatic as a tide receding. Panicked creatures stumbled over each other to get away from the stinking thing in the dirt-ridden clothes, as others screamed and pointed at the diseased rabbit. Echidna guards stepped into the fray, attempting to calm the populace, whilst tentatively wading towards Tobias position.
Dodging around the now enraged and screaming rabbit, the fox dived into the heaving chaos, barging past fellow Mobians in his bid to escape and continue after Brother Fabius. Further gasps of horror and disgust followed him, as the hood obscuring the rabbits head was ripped off in the rush. Horrific scars and ulcerations marred its face, whilst dead, black tissue hung loosely from its frame in a macabre display of the Mange.
At seeing such a foul creature in their midst, the Echidna guards behind Tobias redoubled their pursuit after the fox and the rabbit, as innocent bystanders scrambled to get out of the way, or risk being caught up in the chase.
Panting hard, Tobias ran for his life.
OOC: This sounds very instresting consept. The premiss looks sound and I've been waiting for the opertunity to bring trent back out of the box. I think I might join. I'll probably wright first post tomorow, seeing as its already rather late over here 😛
OOC: I think this Rp is interesting too I'll make a post later a bit too tired right now to think
OOC: I'm interested, and just to be a trend setter I think I'll post now =P
IC:
Amber Whinters had simply been browsing through the stalls when the cry of HES MANGED! UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN! filled the air.
Immediately the atmosphere of the happy shopper changed to that of a panicked mob, and she struggled not to be swept up in the jostling crowd as it surged past.
Even so, she was nearly knocked over when a fox charged through; pushing himself roughly into the crowd.
She couldn't help crinkling her nose in distaste at his rudeness, not that you could see her reaction beneath the black mask covering her muzzle.
Her golden eyes flashed in recognition though as she watched a deformed rabbit clothed in a black robe and hood approaching, obviously tailing said rude fox.
She turned away, even though she had her own brown hood shading her eyes she didn't wnat to risk him seeing her face. It wasn't good for business.
What are the cult doing here? They know they'll be spotted, so why risk exposure? I know they're crazy but they're not stupid, they must be really desperate to catch that guy...
Mulling things over in her head, she decided to tail both of them; if the cult wanted the fox it was because he knew something, and information was very useful to her. Besides, she wasn't exactly feeling pally with the cult right now; they'd just spoiled a perfectly job free day by getting her all riled up and interested.
For an assassin, I'm far too curious for my own good...
Swiftly slipping through the crowd, the cloaked red panda followed a little way behind the Echidna guards that were now in hot pursuit of her targets...
OOC: Well, lol, hope that's alright
OOC: Wow. I'm in.
IC:
Just as she was about to sink her canines into an orange she had tactfully managed to swoop away from a stall when no one was looking, Butterfly bit her tongue and winced with both pain and annoyance as she found herself restraining a fall after someone from behind crashed into her.
No doubt this collision caused by the civilian had been triggered by the bustle after someone had called out:
HES MANGED! UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!
She watched apathetically as the orange flew into the air, hit the ground and rolled into a nearby gutter.
As she turned to have a look at the coulprit that knocked her, she noted it was a cowardly and bumbling fool of a fat middle-aged walrus that mumbled a 'sorry'- who scuttled into the crowd, as he was intimidated by her stare.
"Great," she muttered, before turning her attention to a fox, who appeared to be drawing way too much attention to himself as he appeared to be making a getaway from some Echidnas.
'Echidnas... they really think they are something,' she thought to herself, rolling her eyes.
She would know. She was half of one.
The other half... would be a fruit bat.
And what sort of hybrid would that make?
A specimen in a world where she felt she didn't belong.
But for now, that was of not much of an importance.
Her curiousity was getting the better of her. What's more, she couldn't help but notice yet some other figures. A hooded rabbit, who's features she could barely make out. And trailing not too far behind, was a black-masked... was it a red panda of such?
Butterfly really needed a better view.
Springing into the air, with her batwings spreading out, she quickly took to the sky, and hid behind a ledge of a building- jumping from balcony to balcony appropriately so that she could follow these people that were bee-bopping around.
___________________________________________________-
The side road was desolate and dusty. Two men stood facing each other. Both nondescript canines with overcoats on that concealed any defining features.
"e'tatxilta?"
"e'nese'xemyotatxilta?"
The canine with darker garb pulled out a plain brown sack that jingled from what was obviously coins or currency of some kind.
The lighter clad canine produced a handgun.
"Hetec..." The other canine uttered recoiling.
The armed man flipped the weapon around in his hand casually, offering it.
The other man let out a sign of relief and tossed the bag to him. The other man in turn tossed him the weapon. "Don't your people have some law against giving this kinda technology away?" The black coated man said examining the gun.
The lighter clad canine cocked his head slightly jingling the bad, "Man has to eat, laws don't taste too good."
Just as the darker man smirked Tobias, the rabbit, and their pursuers came charging down the street..
The light clad canine looked over eyes widening, stuffing the payoff into his coat and turning away from the gang running down the street, "Ekwan silwan..."
He took off running, the other man already gone, by the time he'd gotten up to speed Tobias was neck and neck with him. the guards close behind he spoke again, a touch of panic to his voice, "Don't s'pose you have a plan to lose 'em do ya? Not really keen on explainin' things to the law right now."
OOC: Welcome aboard all!
IC:
"This is Constable Albrecht to Overwatch Control. Civil disturbance in progress on Market Road, Pilot's Point. Request assistance - it's the Outsider plague."
After a moment's silence, the enforcer's comlink buzzed to life.
"Received and understood Constable. Response units 32 and 40 are inbound. Secure and apprehend all involved. Over."
"Affirmative, Overwatch. Proceeding."
Albrecht and his fellow Echidna enforcer surged after the diseased rabbit and the troublemaker fox, determined to bring them down. Hard. The Floating Island's very health and wellbeing was at stake here - if such chaos-causing individuals were allowed to spread the Outsider contagion further inland, the entire Echidna population could be at risk.
"CEASE AND DESIST." The vocal amplifier built into the echidna's helmet roared out his authority across the swirling crowd towards the rabbit. The mass of Mobian kind parted before them, as the enforcers drew their shock batons.
Chances could not be taken with such corrupted creatures.
To any onlooker, Brother Fabius appeared as a particularly well-groomed ermine rodent, possessed of all the bearing and apparel of Acornian nobility. His two personal bodyguards, a fox and hedgehog, wore the full-body-length uniform and armour of those usually assigned to protect such high-status individuals.
Behind the calm mask of nobility, however, a hatred burned with the intensity of a woodland firestorm. The group took a side road off the main street, and hastily passed a pair of canids appearing to be cavorting in somewhat shady business. Fabius' distate for them was as evident as their cautious stares back towards him, but this was a fleeting moment, as his mind was firmly engrossed on what had just transpired.
How did that accursed fox find him here? How could his followers allow him to get so close? Was he alone, or did the authorities know of his presence also?
At this fleeting thought, Fabius glanced back over his shoulder at the chaos developing behind him, and allowed himself a smirk of derision.
No, the fool Jaeger is alone. If the Echidnas knew, he would already be incarcerated in one of their infamous gaols. Justice in this part of the world could be particularly swift.
Almost as soon as he had finished his appraisal of the fox's antics, a sharp, searing pain shot up his limbs, lancing into his mind like a stake. Having to physically stop himself from crying out, Fabius shot a command to his subordinates as they turned another corner.
"The Technology needs sustinence. How far are we from our transport?"
The Technology. The only thing that gave Fabius the image of his past life. A gift from his ...benefactors... as he referred to them, its arcane nanotechnology rebuilt and repaired his body's cells at a prodigous rate, sustaining his former glory. Its only weakness was its constant need for bio-fuel; living matter. After months of experimentation, Fabius had gotten its voracious intake down to a fine art - fresh, Mobian blood, injected straight into his system at regular intevals. Without it, his true, terrible form would be revealed to all. He needed blood. Soon.
"Not far, Brother Fabius. The cargo-hauler is prepped and ready for your exodus not three streets down from here."
"Excellent Alexis..." Fabius commended the fox. "...Have that fool of a rabbit atone for his failure. The Echidna authorities will be fast descending upon us. We need a distraction. Cull the herd. He knows what to do."
At that moment, a flitting image passed Fabius' peripheral vision, amongst the rooftops. Looking up, a sadistic smirk streaked across his face.
"It appears we have a spy. She will do nicely." Fabius pointed and directed his followers towards the lurking echidna-bat. As the hedgehog sent Fabius' command to the rabbit over a comlink, Alexis nodded understandingly towards her master. She had been prepared in anticipation of her master's needs, and quickly produced an electric stun gun from a holster.
Raising and aiming it just as swiftly, Alexis fired the weapon's electrode barb up at the echidna-bat, high capacity wiring flying out after it. Within a second of its firing, a jolt of electricity shot up the wires and into the loitering spy. With a myriad of thumps and crashes, she fell from the roof down into the street, groaning to herself.
As Tobias turned the corner down the side street after his master, the rabbit's chase began to falter, his body wracked with pain. A moment of painful memory struck him, as he recalled his earlier youth, running through his family's fields with his brothers and sisters. He could have been an athlete, his father had said. Won medals, gain the favour and blessing of the King as a sporting paragon of the nation.
That was before the Mange took a hold of his body in its vice-like talons. Before the rot set in. Now...he could barely keep after this scum of a fox over a few hundred metres.
"Brother Fabius demands you atone for your sins. Cull the herd."
Acknowledging the order, the rabbit could hear the shouts of the echidna enforcers behind him, and saw the stares of the creatures around him. He could feel their disgust at his appearance. Feel their revulsion. At him! He was once just like them!.
He hated them all.
With a curse against the fickle world on his lips, the rabbit reached down into his robes to produce a detonator. Hefting it high above him, the rabbit screamed his last, dying words.
"THE MANGE WILL COME FOR YOU ALL!"
For a couple of seconds, Tobias turned to regard the canid stranger as they ran. For another second, his mind worked out a response to his question.
In the next second, the fox's world was rocked by an almighty blast of hot air and firey orange light, as he, the canid, and the red panda shadowing them were all blown forward and head over heels in a sudden, terrific explosion.
With a crump, they all fell down in the dust. Moaning, with his ears still ringing, Tobias glanced up to see an echidna-bat also lying in the dirt ahead of them, with Fabius' compatriots approaching her. Immediately, he knew their purpose.
No. I'm not letting him take another.
He looked at the other two creatures with him. He couldn't trust them, but still...
Stumbling to his feet, the fox reached out a hand to both.
Seconds after the stun-shot
'I'm falling!' was Butterfly's first thought, merely nanoseconds before the transrapid speed of the eletrical impulses practically sheered through her body. A frantic orb of cascading eletricity enveloped her, like a fierce brambly needle grip scratching at her and throwing her to the ground with full force.
The pain of the crash and burn couldn't be compared as the dust particles flew to the air on direct collision. Both were of excrutiating and indescribable pain.
Her impeded conciousness and vision managed to pick up a blur of orange and red waves, accompanied by a dull roaring sound. Given her semi-concious state, it felt as if (what she thought might have been an explosion), lasted forever.
'It's over. It's over.' she thought somewhat apathetically. Simply too jaded to express any emotion 'or am I back at the labs? For research? How can this be? No. I'd rather be dead... I tried so hard to avoid this fate. No. I'd rather be dead. she thought as reality merged with darker memories she tried to hard to bury. The emotion was both enforcing a will to fight, and simualtaneously inflicting a sense of defeat and the temptation to cave in.
A pink and red eye immediatly show open- but her periphereal vision was still hazy and any strenth she had had beforehand felt as if it had been clamped.
"Wow. That carion of a rabbit actually did something useful for once," spat one of compatriots.
"I guess..." sneered another, a slightly smarter one. Unlike his collegeaue, he always made sure his targets were deprived of any concious movement, bar breathing. And a couple of hands extending by this Jaeger son-of-a-gun was breeching that.
"His last shot and still he didn't shoot straight," he muttered more to himself as he aimed his stun gun at Jaeger, the more important target.
With such a shot in relatively close range, he banked on taking out the canid and the panda- sending them to the semi-concious world, of course. Death would've been a luxury to them if they knew what they were up against.
The former compatriot in the mean time, bent down and cuffed Butterfly's wrists. All she could do is lie there, dazed like a fish out of water.
IC:
Amber had originally been following a short distance behind the echidna guards, but after she heard their announcement she figured that at this point, whoever they were following would become desperate for escape soon-and likely to do something drastic-or give in. She was still concerned though about this sense of being watched....no, it was gone, whatever it was had moved off.
Whatever, I think it's time I caught up with the lead runners.
Accelerating towards the backs of the echidnas, she decided that at the moment she would go for the slightly-more-potentially-disastrous direct approach, rather than getting past the guards the long way; hopefully this way would be quicker.
Fortunately for her, the guards were too intent on their target; one of them caught sight of her approach out of the corner of his eye, but by the time he yelled out a warning she had already leaped onto the back of a guard and kicked off of his shoulders before hitting the ground running after the manged rabbit, the fox, and now a canid who had joined him.
She kept up her pace and swiftly passed the manged rabbit, only going a bit out of her way to avoid him before swerving to line up with the fox and canid. She was about to attempt catching up to them when the cultist behind her yelled out an all too familiar expression:
"THE MANGE WILL COME FOR YOU ALL!"
She threw herself forward and covered her ears, aware of what was to come. A split second later their was a deafening explosion and she felt the heat of it warm her cloaked back. She allowed herself a few luxurious seconds of recuperation so her ears would stop ringing, and then she opened her eyes to get up.
A hand was being offered to her.
Hmmpph, maybe this fox isn't so rude after all.
Hesitating only a few seconds, she put her pride on standby and clasped the fox's hand, allowing herself to be assisted to a more vertical position.
"Thanks for the assist," she muttered quietly.
Hmm, the situation has changed...
With the distraction from the explosion, it looked like it would be relatively easy to now slip away from the guards, get a change of clothes and depart unmolested.
Just ahead of them were another group of individuals, one appeared to be on the ground in pain, while the others appeared to be two bodyguards and a noble-
Looks like his guards will fire upon our little group with that weapon of his...a stun gun I believe, how quaint.
She watched idly while attempting to form a plan, she was still slightly ruffled form the explosion but she didn't have time for that now.
First things first, become less of an easy target.
Leaping to the right she dived into a roll before coming back up again, this time with her throwing knives in hand.
One day I'm going to cut myself taking them out like that, and then I'll be sorry-
Pausing for only a scant few seconds to aim she sent her two blades spinning through the air, one of them accurately connecting with the stun gun and sending it flying through the air before landing and skidding a long the ground some distance away from both parties. Meanwhile, her other blade was whirling in its death arc towards the noble.
That should distract those guards for a second...
Circling around further to the right, she drew another two daggers, slightly longer ones this time, and designed for close combat not target practice.
OOC: Love the concept, got to join in.
IC:
Samuel eyed the various vendors that lined the streets of Pilot's Point. There seemed a colorful gathering of races here, good for someone who wanted to blend. Anywhere else he might have stood out, after all even at the average for his race it was very rare to find a mobian to match his height. Lucky for him his cloak hid his face, an overlander would draw unwanted attention.
He preferred it this way though. A man with his sort of past learns not to make friends. He had been down that road before. He had a family and friends but, that was then and this was now.
Just then he felt a tug at the bottom of his cloak. Glancing down he saw a saw a small mobian child was looking up at him.
"Hey mister! Wanna buy some fresh vegetables?" The kid seemed to be trying to get his attention over to a nearby stand, which was covered in assorted vegetables and, fruits.
"No, I'm fine." Samuel replied in a gruff but, polite voice.
"Your sure? They are the best in all of Pilot's Point." The kid was trying really hard, making his eyes as big and bright as possible.
"Yeah I'm sure..." Just as the last of the words left his mouth he heard a shout from further down the street.
"THE MANGE WILL COME FOR YOU ALL!"
His brain barely had time to process it as he heard and felt the blast. Instinctively he grabbed the child, shielding him beneath his cloak.
As the dust settled he stood up, as he looked down he could see the child had caught a glimpse of his face. With a cry the kid took of down the street. Samuel turned and looked towards the source of the blast, he could make out several figures.
"Guess I'd better see if I can help." And, with that he headed towards the others, unaware of what was going on.
Brother Fabius cried out in pain and rage as the dagger plunged into his shoulder. Instinctively dropping to a defensive crouch, the rat barked out to his minions as he reached around to remove the blade.
"We do not have time for these..." The rat hesitated and cursed as he drew the red panda's dagger from his flesh. "...irritating pests."
Even as he spoke, the seemingly deep wound was beginning to heal at a lightning pace, muscle and sinew knitting together even as his fur, skin and soft tissue regrew over the damage, leaving nary a mark.
The Technology was a marvel, indeed...but it could not take the strain of such wounds for much longer. Its need for more material was growing every passing minute, and Fabius could almost begin to feel it as an insatiable hunger. More.
Pointing at the fallen and handcuffed echidna-bat who dared spy on him, Fabius growled out a command.
"You. Brother Alexis. Take the half-breed. Brother Uziel, take care of these interlopers. The Great Work must continue unhindered!"
Obeying his orders like clockwork, the fox hefted the groaning Butterfly over his shoulder and backed off, following his master as the 'interlopers' rose to react. The hedgehog, seemingly given new purpose by his leader's words, dived for cover behind a pile of wooden crates and quickly drew an archaic, but none-the-less deadly, combat shotgun.
Rising up to fire, the hedgehog paused in surprise for a long second, as a tall, cloaked Overlander suddenly materialised seemingly out of nowhere.
Stupid fool. Wrong place at the wrong time. He'll just have to die too.
Aiming swiftly, the hedgehog swung the weapon first towards the red panda. With a roar, the weapon discharged, blasting a Mobian-sized hole in the flimsy wooden building not two very short metres from her head. Woodchips and sawdust blew outwards in a miniature parody of a fierce sandstorm, as the weapon's great barrel swung round again.
Pumping the weapon hard, his hands trembling slightly out of a mixture of both adrenaline and fear, Brother Uziel sneered as he took aim at the Overlander newcomer.
Meddle in Brother Fabius' glorious work, would you?
"..... reports of plague carriers at Pilot's Point market, unit 32 and 40 please respond."
Great, so much for catching up on my sleep.
*click* "This is unit 40, responding. Approximately a minute away from the market. Over." *click*
Why couldn't he have just ignored the call? All we would've done is hold down the area until the Mange Wranglers showed up. No reason to spoil a perfectly good nap.
"C'mon, Ash," his partner said in that damned annoying all-business way of his. "Wake up. Got a market to lock down."
"Yeah yeah..." Ash took his black beret off his face and winced as the sun he'd been trying to avoid welcomed him in it's standard harsh manner. As his eyes readjusted to the light, he looked out the window of the hover-patrol at the landscape swooping by. He partner shot him an annoyed look as he set his seat from reclined to upright.
"You really should show a little more resolve for what we do. If the plague reaches the capital..."
"Yeah yeah, Jonesy, downfall of the entire echidna civilization, chaos, terror, yag yag yag..." Ash ran his fingers through his grey echidna dreadlocks to smooth out any bed head his may have picked up from his nap. "I just wish I got a little more time off between these damned 18-hour shifts. Maybe get a decent night's sleep for once and..."
Ash trailed off as they circled over the market. What normally was a tranquil shopping area now looked like a war zone. Bodies were strown about, small fires were burning and what appeared to be a gunfight was going on. Several of the figures wore black cloaks, one of them was firing a large shotgun while the others were leaving. One of them appeared to be carrying someone, a civilian.
Cultists...
Ash clenched his teeth as his partner hit the commlink. "Overwatch Control, Overwatch Control, this is unit 40, responding to the market." Ash got up from his chair and walked into the cabin of the hoverpatrol. His partner was too busy calling for backup to notice.
What are those bastards doing here... Ash thought as he grabbed a pair of stun knuckles from a shelf. As he put them on, he could hear Jonesy start to panic. Ash smirked, no matter how professional and business-like these rookies always sounded, when it hit the fan you could always counts on them getting the jitters. Ash clenched his fists a couple times, activating a blue stream of electricity across the knuckles.
"Jonesy! Park us over one of the buildings!" Jonesy looked back just as Ash hit the release on the hoverpatrol's door. Only 20 feet to the roof. Should be okay...
"What are you doing, Ash?"
"Get down there and provide support for the civvies until backup arrives! I'm going to try to apprehend the group that's trying to leave!"
"But..." Jonesy's objection came too late, as Ash had already jumped. A quick tuck and roll landing later, Ash went on the move.
Trying to leave on me? You don't get to leave, bastards. Not after what you've done.
It was supposed to be a relaxing day.
Sitting on a stool beside the bar, gently relaxing and wiling away the days hours, Allen was intending on simply drinking his brew before heading off onto his next job. He was used to unexpected complications, especially considering the manner of his employment, but for it to occur when he was off-hours, well
He could hear the cry of "THE MANGE WILL COME FOR YOU ALL!" even within the walls of the tavern. It was a split second later that there was an all loud KA-BOOM, an explosion, and following from that, the wall nearest to him imploded inwards. Rubble and debris went flying every which way, the tavern engulfed in dust and smoke, as the explosion occurred directly outside.
He was fortunate in that he was not hurt or even hit in any way, shape or form, but his face eventually turned to one of mild irritancy as a dirty portion of brick landed into his brew, spoiling it completely. And he hadnt even drunk much of it as he was planning on savouring it.
Aww, this isnt any good. Allen muttered to himself, amidst the panicked cries and screams of the injured and evacuating civilians around him. The eagle rubbed his head lightly, before finally beginning to stand up. He could hear shouting from outside. Whatever was occurring outside was still pretty close by, and it sounded like trouble.
I wonder if I can get paid for clearing up this whole mess? Allen spoke to himself, righting his clothes and shifting his eye patch right again. With his bow held tightly along with his quiver on his back, he walked forwards, exiting the blown inwards hole, and walked out into the street, the level of smoke and debris blanketing the street's usual detail and making seeing anything difficult.
But he heard nearby the sound of continuing gunfire, and thought that it could only be dangerous if he continued to stay on ground level.
A second later, he was in the sky. Beating his strong wings continuously, he was out of the consuming smoke and fire created by the explosion, and using his keen eyesight, observing the fracas that was the conflict down below. In the street close to the explosion was what seemed like a fight. A cloak wearing hedgehog brandishing a shotgun was using it to bear down against a canid, a fox, and a red panda.
At least, that was what Allen was assuming to be the hedgehogs targets, considering the lack of anyone else nearby other than the strangely cloaked tall individual directly in the line of fire of the hedgehog. Allen couldnt be sure who was good or bad, but at any rate, he knew that there couldnt possibly be any answers obtained if the people were dead.
Allen swooped down and landed atop the roof of an adjacent building to the street, one whose structural integrity was not risked by the explosion. And with a keen speed, was aiming towards the cloaked hedgehog using his bow, an arrow directly aimed at the hedgehogs arm.
In the next second he fired. There was a low scream, as the arrow slightly grazed the hedgehogs arm, preventing him from firing at the overlander, and turning to look in disgust at the shooter- at the eagle.
His name was Allen Krishnal, a self-styled mercenary frequently in the employ of the, strangely enough, Echidna Theocracy, and he had now involved himself in the affairs of others with a smile on his face, to boot.
IC:
Butterfly still felt groggy.
In this contineous semi-concious world, she was vaguely aware of the fact that she was no longer collapsed in a heap on the floor, but instead, being moved in some manner.
She would've felt some slight comfort in believing she was being 'carried' away from the danger zone, but for the manner in which she had been retrieved.
She had been hoisted like a sack of coal over somebody's shoulder, and was now being carried.
Without being 'all there', something screamed in her mind that where she was heading, it was no better than being left for dead... in the middle of a plagued street where fights had been as of yet, breaking out.
In spite of what she would've condemned herself to have shown little resiliance to the events against her as of yet, had she been more with it, one small voice at the back of her mind amplified and strong personified echo that would change her will as to what upcoming fate to accept, or to control.
'Get up.'
With that, her eyes suddenly shot open. The mere vividness of the floor and cascading shadow of both herself and the fox capture confirmed that her instinct was right. She was on no road to a safe haven.
She glanced sideways, and noted a leading figure. A rat. And at least, the air about him- his manner of fierce paced marching and his whole posture suggested a sense of authority.
She narrowed her eyes slightly- her teeth beginning to grit.
'What happened... what happened...?' she tried to piece together some recollections that had left in her in this confined and 'upside down' situation- swinging back and forth like a pendulum. Each oscillation mimicking time and the loss of it- which she feared would cost her if she didn't think and act soon.
'I was flying... following... who? And it wasn't who I was following, but someone else... had shot me... paralysed me... made me fall. And they didn't want to kill me, or I would've been wounded or dead by now.' she figured out.
So, the coulprit's (or coulprits') intention was to kidnap her. But for what? And why?
She ceased the endless questions that ran through her mind, suddenly scholding herself that she was wasting too much time.
She then swung her head forwards, and sank her teeth into the fox's calf muscle.
The fox capture yelped as the canines punctured his skin and caused his leg to bleed, and for the muscles to cramp up and give slight way.
Butterfly tumbled to the ground, but managed to roll over rather tactfully and didn't pick up much scratches.
Before Fabius could turn around to furiously demand an explanation for this set of miscalculated and inconvenient events- he found himself in a stalemate position as Butterfly swiftly leapt forwards and brought her cuffed wrists around the fox's neck.
"Tell me who you are, what the hell is going on... or I'll snap his neck!!" she hissed, supplimenting her threat with a harsh pull backwards and causing the fox to wretch- a certain inflicted paralysis of shock rendering him unable to act.
IC:
Seamist hovered above the smoke and fire glad she had gotten out of there fast. She flapped her white wings before being carried by an up draft.
She let herself hover when she reach a certain height and slowly glided down over the scene below here. An Eagle had flown up from a damage building he did notice her as soon flew back down again onto one of the buildings still standing.
She didn't see very well with all the smoke slowly rising towards her blocking her veiw of the situation. She needed to get out of the smoke she dived down words still coughing as she went out of the smoke and head for a conlistion cause with and Echidnas-bat who had a rat in a hostage poistion.
"AAaaaaaahhhhhhHHH!!!"
Quickly turning trying to manover out of the way, she swepted over them and landed on the ground walling seavral meters before stoping.
"Oooowww" She moan before getting up, she was glad she was a Seagull cross hawk least she could take a beating.
She may of be part hawk but she took all the colouring of a Grey back seagull. Her odd she blue eyes stared at them as they stared at her, before she reached down and picked up her weapon that had fallen off during the crash.
She checked that there wasn't any breaks in her silver Scythe before bringing it up defensively in front of her.
"Okay what's going on here?"
OOC:
Hope that's okay sorry if there's any mistakes or problems with my character.
"What the hell is going on!" The words came as a shout from Samuel who had taken cover on the side of the street. He shot a glance up toward the eagle, he would have to remember to thank him later. Then his attention was turned to the shotgun wielding hedgehog.
Samuel reached beneath his cloak and, behind his back. His hand produced a short blade, about the length of his forearm. He would have much preferred his swords but, times did not allow for them. Eying his blade, he distinctly remembered someone once saying something about bringing a knife to a gunfight. Gripping the weapon tightly he returned his focus to the battle at hand, he had to find an opening.
Suddenly from down the street he noticed a winged echidna holding someone in the hostage position. As he watched he heard a noise from above, looking up he spotted a hover vehicle. A form descended from it to the ground. As if that wasn't enough an errant seagull seemed to almost crash into the group below. If these were not distractions enough he did not know what would be.
"Hope I don't catch a bullet for this." Samuel dove from cover and, quickly made his way toward the hedgehog. Hopefully his shotgun wielding attacker would have his attention elsewhere...
Well, this is an interesting turn of events... Ash thought as he watched the seagull pooch her landing from his vantage atop the roof of a nearby building. As the grey echidna surveyed the situation, he absent-mindedly brushed the dirt from his standard-issue guard uniform. The captive now had her captor unconscious and the person leading them...
Fabius... He matched the descriptions, right down to regal attire. This removed all doubt from Ash's mind: The Cult was here. Not some splinter faction, but the actual leader. As Ash readied his leap to ground level to take Fabius down, he noticed movement from the captive cultist. Ever so slightly, the captured fox's hand was drifting towards a pocket on their uniform. He's still moving? Oh no, that means...
The formerly captive winged echidna barked out another demand for information to Fabius. But if reports were true, the next words out of Fabius's mouth wouldn't be a surrender but a demand for sacrifice to his subordinate. Fabius can wait, that bodyguard needs to be taken out or else...
Ash clenched his teeth and took a few steps back from the ledge. Gotta act fast, gotta strike quick. Aim high on the torso, less likely to be explosives there. Ash took a deep breath, flexed his fist to get the current moving through his knuckles, let his breath out and then ran for the ledge.
Ancestors, guide my strike.
Amber glared at the hedgehog angrily; if he was going to try to shoot her head off then he could at least do it right. As it was, she hadn't even had to duck, the shot went just over her head.
The hedgehog swung his weapon around to another target, but before he could fire, an eagle that landed on a roof loosed an arrow, injuring the cultist's arm.
Heh, handy. There seems to be an influx of people with nothing better to do today, than-hang on, what's the other guy up to?
Amber's train of thought was snapped like a twig when the tall, well-covered person, drew a blade himself, and then proceeded to advance on the shotgun weilding hedgehog.
Geez, that guy's not seriously going to-of course he is, this is Mobius, land of the valiant martyrs.
Sighing to herself, Amber moved quickly towards the armed hedgehog as well.
Popping out from his cover, the cultist hesitated as to which target he should take, Amber decided to make his decision for him.
Reluctant at losing yet another knife, she threw her somewhat more cumbersome projectile in his direction.The cultist saw what she was about to do though and dropped behind his cover as it sailed by; clattering against a wall and dropping to the floor.
When the hedgehog cultist popped up again he aimed for the cloaked red panda, still bearing down on him with her single blade.
Amber guessed that she'd be able to distract him by throwing her last knife, but then she'd be unarmed. Sure, she could do close combat, but the cultist probably could to.
Plus he has a shotgun. She didn't think she'd be able to cover the distance to reach him before he could fire.
She hoped the other blade weilding figure could.
Come on fate, play nice today...
OOC: CastorTroy, Pachamac, groovygerbil, welcome!
IC:
The Cult of the Mange, like many organisations of its ilk, began as a relatively benign group seeking to alleviate the suffering of those afflicted by the terrible disease. Under its watch, many hospitals, communes and care centres were built, giving hope to the hopeless. But as the numbers of the Manged grew, so to did the group's power and influence. As the governments of the world turned their collective backs, militant leaders and teachers sprang up amongst the organisation, promising the doom of all those who would so soon forget the suffering.
It was not long before a notable Acornian noble, outcast from his family, rose to the head of the now quasi-religious cult, mixing paternalistic leadership, ruthless ambition, and an undying resolve to see the civilised world brought to its knees in penance for its sins. That creature was Brother Fabius.
"Brother Fabius needs our help!" The young, feminine voice called out from the rooftop.
"What is it?" Another voice, male, but still young, answered back from somewhere below.
"A whole bunch of people are..." The ruddy-faced squirrel peered through a pair of old binoculars, far too big for her age. She gasped, as she watched a tall furless one and a red panda dodge and dive amongst cover, to simultaneously plunge their blades into one of Fabius' guards.
"They just killed Uziel!"
A moment's silence followed in the alleyway below. Then, the male voice, small and plaintive, spoke again.
"He was my friend."
"Quick, go get the others!" Deftly scooting across the roof towards the escape ladder leading below, the young squirrel scowled.
Why did Uziel have to die? He was like...an older brother.
It did not take long to assemble the other children. They had been waiting in hiding for their master's return, protecting the cargo-hauler which served as his transport in such times of need. Now, as they all gathered in front of the mechanical juggernaut, their impromptu leader stood tall (for her age) on the high cab roof to address the gang.
She was their big sister. The eldest amongst them. She had cared for them when their affliction became unbearable, she gave them hope when they felt alone. Named 'Princess' by Brother Fabius, the rest of the group listened and looked up to her. With an otherwise pretty face marred by telltale furless blotches, she began to speak.
"When we came here with Brother Fabius, we promised that we'd be there for him, like he was for us when our parents died." Princess paused as a handful coughed loudly, and others murmured in agreement. "We promised him, Alexis and Uziel that we'd be good. That when the evil ones come, we'ed be ready to fight. Now, the evil servants of the dictators he told us about have found him! They're fighting down the street right now!"
Gasps of horror and moans of sadness erupted from the gang.
"Should we stay here and cry like babies? Or should we go save Brother Fabius? You decide!"
With a cheer, the group of children disintegrated, all scrabbling for the various weapons and equipment Fabius also had stored in the derelict warehouse. Some scrambled up onto the gigantine cargo-hauler, as Princess herself opened the cab. Within minutes, the engine revved as tiny hands found the controls, its mechanical roar serving as a mighty battlecry for the children of the Mange.
With a great lurch, the lumbering machine crashed out of the warehouse and into the empty street outside.
"Oh, bravo, bravo. Well done, my dear." Fabius spoke, undaunted, as the echidna-bat tightened her grip on the stricken fox. Unbeknownst to Butterfly, Alexis' hand was slowly creeping towards his personal detonator, as his eyes met with Fabius', seeking a sign, a word, a silent command.
Taking a few steps back and raising his arms, seemingly in defeat, the rat continued.
"You forget, of course, the willingness of my servants to sacrifice themselves for our greater cause. To us, the Mange has already killed us. We happily lay down our lives-"
"NO!"
With a fierce crack of a powerful electrical discharge, Constable Ash announced his arrival by lunging into the captured fox, immediately breaking Alexis' neck as the echidna's powerful knuckles connected with flesh and bone. The sheer force of the impact knocked Butterfly backwards, as both she and Ash rolled onto the dusty ground, Alexis' corpse lying limpy beside them.
As Brother Fabius watched his last minion become a crumpled heap in the road,the rest of the interloping vermin were approaching from down the street, having already dealt with the shotgun-wielding hedgehog.
Had fate simply conspired against him?
Fabius' ears twitched. What was that sound? An... ...engine? Yes...large. Powerful. As if it belonged to a... ...oh, yes.
Having picked himself up, the echidna enforcer turned to face Fabius.
"Your days of freedom are over, rat. You will pay dearly for the atrocities you have inflicted upon our island. I am taking you into custody..."
Seemingly ignoring him, Fabius smiled serenly like a proud father.
"My children. They are coming."
"Wha-"?
Barreling down the street, the enormous cargo-hauler's brakes squealed, its eighteen titanium-plated roller wheels digging into the soft dirt. Before the monstrous vehicle had even stopped, a dozen small creatures flew out of the back, brandishing all manner of weaponry, from simple knives to high powered assault rifles.
The echidna barely had time to react.
Child soldiers?
"Get in! Get in!" The children chorused, pointing their weapons at Butterfly and Ash. Scrambling over them, the tiny crowd pushed and shoved the surprised creatures towards the hauler.
"Well done, my children!" Fabius positively beamed, as the two echidnas were bundled up into the back of the cargo-hauler's cavernous hold.
Once inside, they were met with a sobering sight. What was meant to be a simple cargo container had been converted into a sophisticated mobile command centre, with the far end plastered with multiple computer screens and consoles - all manned by children. In the middle, a pair of plain steel chairs sat amongst an array of arcane-looking medical equipment, including syringes, long tubes, blades and bonesaws. Ash's keen detective eye noticed small, indiscrete blood stains across the walls and floor.
Uh oh.
"I need sustinence! Get the syphoning process started!" Fabius commanded his tiny followers firmly but gently. Behind them, Ash and Butterfly felt cold gun barrels urging them forward. Seeing their hesitation, Fabius gave them his signature smirk as the hauler lurched forward again.
"Please, come and sit. We have a long journey ahead..."
Tobias had little warning before the cargo hauler burst down the street. He, and the others around him, had even less time to react as the great vehicle came to an abrupt halt, and a host of small creatures bundled Fabius, the echidna and the female into the back.
Roaring to life again, the mechanical juggernaut began to pick up speed, as it relentlessly bore down upon them.
"Up there up there! He hurt Uziel! Get 'im!"
With a cry, a young lion cub riding in with Princess spotted the eagle mercenary with the bow. Hefting his heavy automatic weapon, the child could barely hold on as the weapon recoiled, sending a burst of bullets up at Krishnal. On the other side of the cab, Princess had one hand on the wheel as she took pot-shots at anyone she could see, with a service pistol that Fabius had told her had belonged to her father.
As the barely-controlled hauler demolished what was left of the old wooden buildings lining the street, Tobias took the initiative whilst the vehicle remained relatively slow-moving.
This madness had to stop.
Taking a running-jump, the fox managed to grab a foothold on the front fender, even as the lion cub in the cab continued to blast away.
Inside, Princess spied the fox and saw what he was trying to do.
Oh no you don't Mr. Foxy.
Hastily spinning the wheel, the young squirrel lurched to her left as the great vehicle began to slide sideways, in her attempt to throw him off. The lion cub, surprised by the sudden move, was thrown back inside the cab whilst he was still firing, sending bullets flying pell-mell through the windscreen.
And in amongst all this chaos, the cargo hauler's bulky form was now sliding dangerously quickly towards the red panda, the overlander and the canid, throwing up blinding sand and dirt as it went...
OOC: Well, looks like a lot of fun here. I'm going to try exploring the situation from a different angle, if you don't mind me getting started here.
IC:
Shortly before the first suicide bomb
The docks of Pilot's Point were a steam-driven mass of steel and wooden planks that hovered out over the empty sky high above Mobius. Like the other port towns around the Floating Island, there was that curious combination of ground Mobian and Echidna technology mish-mashed into everything, including many of the airships themselves. The Echidnas had created the first airships, but these remain rare and valuable, and restricted to Echidna use. Through a series of technological exchanges, the other countries on the planet's surface had created crude yet workable airships of their own, which opened a new era of trade between the Floating Island and the rest of Mobius.
A brightly-colored commercial airship liner carrying traders and tourists pulled into port and was anchored to the docks by workers who threw grappling hooks and tied the ends to thick masts built into the dock. The liner finally came to a trembling stop, its exhaust towers pouring burning smoke into the sky, and it lowered a gangplank to the dock where it was secured by those same workers. Down from the yellow airship came people from all different cultures, including many of the hardworking Cierrans, echidnas returning home from abroad, many Acornians dressed in the finery of nobility, and even some of the proud Jinmin leapt from the sides of the ship to land with ethereal grace on the dock surface to avoid the trouble of the bustling crowd.
But one person stepping down the hewn oaken plank was not here for business or pleasure - or at least not the kind of business motivated by greed. He was a full-blooded, muscular wolf, dressed in a brown leather duster and baggy black pants, the legs of which were stuffed into his dull black boots. He tugged at the front edge of the tattered green fedora on his head, which hid the traditional mohawk of his people in the wolf tribes of the Great Unknown, as did the high collar of the duster keep his long hair from spilling out over his back. Two eagle feathers poked out from behind his right ear, warrior feathers earned along with the thin scar carved diagonally from his muzzle across his left cheek.
The wooden stave he held in his hand clunked against the rough dock surface as he approached the customs blockade. The echidna security guards directed the tourists through open metal doorframes with strange wires and glowing lights - what the wolf knew were "metal detectors." A squirrel in front of him tried passing through in a trenchcoat, but the detector beeped as he went through, and he was asked to remove his coat. It didn't take long for the knife to drop out of his pocket, which he sheepishly turned over to the authorities.
The wolf passed through the detector without a beep, and he shadowed the squirrel to a small portside cafe. He waited until the squirrel made himself comfortable at a table before moving toward him.
"Good show, Timber, good show," spoke up the squirrel as he glanced out of the corner of his eye, dressed in a crisp business suit with the trenchcoat laid across the back of his chair. "Now we move on to the next step of our operation here."
Timber sat down, keeping one hand on the staff as he leaned his other elbow against the table. "Commander Dougan. I want to know more."
Dougan snuffled through his bushy mustache as he met Timber's steel-gray eyes with his own baby blues. "Weren't asleep during the briefing, were you?"
"But why?" Timber leaned forward, relaxed but ready. His slightly awkward accent and deep voice betrayed none of the tension he felt. "Why did Jaeger leave the Service? Why did he renounce his oaths to the House of Acorn?"
"Because he feels we aren't doing enough to pin down Fabius." Dougan sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "You know how impulsive he can be. But in a way, he's opened up the opportunity for the Service to finally track down that cult leader...even if it means we have to track him down in the process."
"Do you think he left to make us go after him, Commander? After Fabius?"
"I'm really not sure, but we have our orders, Timber." Dougan creased his brow out of concern for the wolf. "I know that you felt close kinship with him, but your duty is to the King. Should your feelings interfere with your mission..."
Timber sat back, placing both hands on the staff, fingering the tip. "They will not, Commander. And if I find that Jaeger has betrayed us, I will be the first to make him pay."
Dougan nodded, sadly. "As it should be, even though I hate going after one of my own men." He looked down at the watch on his skinny arm. "By now everyone else should be in position in all of the other port towns. All we have to do now is watch and wait until Jaeger reveals himself."
"I will not wait," said Timber as he stood up suddenly. "I will track him down myself. If he is here, I will find him."
"I daresay we'll know he's here sooner than you think," said Dougan as he too got to his feet.
A thunderous explosion boomed in the direction of the trade streets, and Dougan and Timber both looked to see the bright yellow light before it died out, leaving vapors of smoke trailing in the air. The echidna security forces were rallying instantly to calm the bystanders and avoid a riot. The two Service agents stared a moment longer at the smoke, then looked at each other and nodded. "Jaeger," they said simultaneously.
"You go and track him down, Timber - you are my best man for that. I'll stay here and call the others on radio, then follow you to back you up."
But Timber was already running, the staff under his shoulder as he ran headlong down the street. Tobias, I will find you. And you will answer for yourself. This I swear, not as a Serviceman, but as a member of the Wolf Pack!
Present time
As the truck rolled away from the scene with a cough of smoke, Timber finally arrived, exhausted from the long run. His wilderness training made him an excellent runner, but even he had his limits. He stood there panting at the end of the street, looking up it to see two cloaked figures with bladed weapons in their hands, and there were two Mobian birds as well, one that looked like a seagull on the ground with a scythe in her hands, and the other an eagle on the wing with bow and arrows. Dead bodies lay on the ground, and for a brief moment he wondered if Tobias was one of them.
But looking up, he saw past the smoke and dust, and his eyes locked onto Tobias, who ran madly after the truck, making a jump for the cab. The fox nearly fell off, but by some devil's luck he managed to keep his grip.
Seeing Tobias brought a mixture of emotions to Timber's heart, and he gripped the staff with both hands tightly as he gathered a second wind and dashed forward after the truck. He was going to get some answers, and he was going to get them now.
"Tobias!" roared Timber as he sprinted forward down the dusty road, leaping over the crumpled body of a hedgehog.
"Using kids as soldiers?" Ash spat as he was led towards the sinister-looking chairs. "If I hadn't already seen seen your handiwork first-hand, I'd call this a new low." Fabius gave no response to Ash's comment, but the gun barrel digging harder into his back let him know that at least one person didn't appreciate it. Outside of the trailer, the sound of gunfire erupted as the entire trailer jerked forward. Dammit, Jonesy, don't let them leave with us...
Suddenly, Ash felt tugging at his arms. A look back confirmed his suspicions: the children were taking off his stun knuckles. With a smirk, Ash clenched his right fist, sparking the conductors and sending a couple of the kids back with a yelp. Fabius snarled at Ash in response, while the kid guarding him showed their disapproval by hitting him in the small of his back with the butt of the gun.
"I will not have my precious children treated that way by foul puppets such as you!" Fabius growled. "I have lost enough of my flock to you wretches today! You're going to pay me back with your life." Fabius smirked. "Now, do take a seat."
As Ash was pushed forward the last few feet, the trailer suddenly lurched to the side, throwing him and everyone else aboard off-balance. Ash was hurled into a cabinet lined with surgical instruments, his head colliding with a high shelf. Ash slumped forward onto the cabinet, dazed. In his daze, he saw the kid, a young feline, point the gun at him urgently. He stared at the kid intently as his hand hidden from the guards view palmed a scalpel that was on the cabinet.
"Yeah yeah," he said groggily as he pushed himself back off the counter while sliding the scalpel up his sleeve. As he unsteadily got on his feet, he gave a sideways glance to the winged echidna, who returned it. She's thinking what I'm thinking. Now all we need is a distraction...
"oh crap oh crap oh crap..." muttered Jonesy from his perch in the hoverpatrol. It had all happened so fast, there's no way he could've stopped them from taking Ash. Sweat poured down his face, matting his red fur and making him wipe his brow over and over again (a twitch he'd thought his training had gotten rid of).
"WhatamIgonnado whatamIgonnado?" Below him, the trailer was plowing through the buildings His options were limited as it was far too large to knock over with his vehicle and moving in far too chaotic a manner to board.
All he could do at this point was give chase and pray he thought of a better idea soon.
A blur shot out from the cloud of dust raining down on the two bystanders, the hauler bearing down on them.
*Whump* *smash*
Two boot covered feet slammed into the already webbed and mangled windshield sending it into pieces in the faces of driver and shotgun alike. The now glassless opening filled with the canine's muscular form pointing a pistol into the cab. "Don't mean to be gruff but I think ya kids need to stop this thing. Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt would'ya?"
Between Amber and the other, cloaked, knife weilding, person; the shotgun toting hedgehog had been dealt with. But now it seemed the situation was quickly escallating into further chaos.
Dang it, what now?!?
She watched with a quiver of annoyance as a large vehicle barrelled into the street, crawling with kindergarten tykes armed to their little milk-teeth. An echidna and the hybrid were bundled into the vehicle with the noble, who seemed to be in charge of the situation.
Now after some more crazy mobians leaped onto the vehicle in various ways, it didn't change the fact that the great heavy thing was careening towards her at great speed.
Quickly, she darted around and retrieved her thrown knife, before attempting to come up with another dubious plan.
Hopping onto the ex-hedgehog's cover, she sheathed her weapons, as she braced herself for the impact; she had no time to check what the other guy was doing.
As the mechanical monster bore down on them, the red panda leaped; grabbing on to the already quite occupied cab before scuttling up the wrecked frame to the roof.
If she was right, the vehicle would slam into the upcoming building on it's broadside, before tearing off down the street.
She wanted to make sure she wasn't on the side facing the wall.
Rolling to the other side of the cab roof she swung down and gripped the door frame with her sharp claws, raising an eyebrow at the chaos within; children and more people with guns.
One of the children occupants, seeing her precarious perch, helpfully opened the door so she'd be swinging out over the road, far enough out for something blunt and heavy to smash into her, like, say...a wall.
Who says children are innocent..
She quickly attempted to get a better grip on her situation, by manouvering herself so she was on the inside of the door; now she could probably leap back to the inside of the cab.
Not that, that was any safer at the moment...
OOC: I don't know how helpful this will be to anyone, but I composed a short character list of who's rping who and what the character's species is. When rps like this begin and there are a lot of characters introduced at once, I find it can get pretty confusing for me and makes my head spin, so this helps to somewhat straighten it, I guess. =P
There's a good chance I made a mistake somewhere, so feel free to mention it, please.
CertainTwoTailedFox: Tobias Jeager- Fox
Brother Fabius- Rat
Super Ferret: Amber Whinters- Red Panda (thanks for the pm :D)
Bentleee: Butterfly- Echidna/Bat hybrid
Rico: Canine
Kcalbavon: Samuel- Overlander
Castor Troy: Ash- Echidna
Jonesy- Echidna
Pachamac: Allen Khrisnal
Groovygerbil: Seamist- Seagull/Hawk hybrid
Tergonaut: Commander Dougan- Squirrel
Timber- Wolf
My post is also a sort of recap on the very current situation i.e. character placement as is. With so many things happening at once with so many characters, again for me there's a possibility of confusion, so I'm hoping this is all correct. Again, please, feel free to mention it if I'd made any mistakes.
Without further ado~
IC:
Allen collapsed upon the roof backwards, falling out of range of any more possible gunfire. His body hurt and was consumed in a wash of pain he had been shot. He mentally cursed his failings to notice the lion cub in time aiming to shoot at him, after all, his eye sight should have been good enough to prevent incidents such as this. Fortunately enough, the wound wasnt fatal. It just scraped his leg, but damnit if it didnt hurt. And itd make walking incredibly difficult.
Ugh should have stayed away until I was sure I was going to be getting paid The eagle rubbed the base of his neck.
He couldnt stand, but at the same time, he couldnt afford to just sit around. He was curious to know just what was going on. Securing away his bow strapped to his back, he began beating his wings, lifting his body into the air. Whilst he couldnt walk for the time being, he could still fly.
He lifted himself in the air, and using his keen eyesight, surveyed the current situation. A cargo hauler was the new centre of attention, being that which contained the individual who shot Allen, as well as be the one where two individuals were, seemingly against their will, forced onto.
Both of them Echidnas. Both of them being the most likely to pay him after all was said and done, considering his relationship with the species. Perhaps it wouldnt be so bad to stay involved after all but keep his distance and attack from afar.
He surveyed the rest of the area, noticing the dead hedgehog he had wounded earlier. Close to him was still the cloaked overlander from before, but the overlander masked his prescence well. Despite Allens eyesight, he could determine through the overlanders cloaking his species at all. At least in that respect, Samuels secret was safe.
Back towards where the cargo hauler acquired the two echidnas was the downed seagull/hawk hybrid who attracted Allens attention a little earlier. But the individual was quite a distance away from the cargo hauler now, and becoming further away with every passing metre of the cargo haulers escape. And a little farther behind that, running in the direction of the seagull, was a wolf in curious garbing. A wolf with some eagle feathers decorating his persona. That didnt please Allen.
But what was most important was the cargo hauler moving away. Allen beat his wings, and began his airborne pursuit of the transport, filled with who knows how many people. As he kept a comfortable distance in the air above the transport, he noticed that the hauler had a number of perhaps, uninvited guests. Three of them. What were the chances of that?
A fox, barely holding on by the back of the hauler. The panda from earlier, holding on atop the hauler, and from what it looked like, appeared to be on a crash course directly against a wall. And, at the very front, by the windscreen itself, the canine from earlier as well.
Who on Mobius were these people? He recognised none of them. In fact, all it did was seeming to serve to potentially get in the way of him earning a possible pay. Nonetheless, hed continue to follow, to see if his talents were needed, and to find out just how this would all pan out
and to find the lion cub who gave Allen a nice, reminding present to his leg.
OOC: Had grate intro for this lined up, but thanks to double shifts and now Clubbing event won't be able to post it. I will still be joining I'll just search for a gap.
OOC: Sure helps me Pach 
. Espicially someone with a mind like a sieve such as mine- thank you!!
Wow. How did you know it was me? :0
I think everyone has intergrated fantastic characters, storline events into this RP really well. And the different writing styles are awesome. Hope to see it going strong!
IC:
'fly had been overwhelmed with a mixture of disbelief and disgust since the cargo had arrived with the infestation of anti-social kids- who seemed readily to give up their lives within the blink of an eye for their master, Fabius.
Their whole chorus of nasty chants and constant shoving and pawing at herself and Ash, not to mention the violent momentum of this charging vehicle made her feel sick inside.
The sinister chairs ahead of them did nothing to ease the situation.
"I need sustinence! Get the syphoning process started!" Fabius commanded earlier.
'My god. What did he mean by that?' she thought wildly.
She felt she momentarily had the upper hand earlier on when she had the fox hostage. But then it changed. Fabius was DEFINATELY didn't feel threatened when she had one of his minions fate in her hands. And that fate got sealed on Ash's arrival.
Killing wasn't always what she thought of first- but Ash's arrival was a good thing. Fabius still had control in that stalemate situation somehow, though 'fly didn't know how.
'Kill a few, save a lot. I guess...'
Anyway, now they were both stuck. Again (in her case anyway)
She yelped as she nearly fell over when the Cargo made a violent turn, which sent Ash flying into a cabinet. She quickly regained her balance though.
"Yeah yeah," Ash said groggily as he pushed himself back off the counter while sliding the scalpel up his sleeve. As he unsteadily got on his feet, he gave a sideways glance to the winged echidna, who returned it. She's thinking what I'm thinking. Now all we need is a distraction...
She had a composed expression on her face, but in her mind, she smiled.
They had a very limited oppurtunity to gain some leeway in this situation.
Some of the kids found themselves slightly distracted as a crashing was heard on the window shield- but the others were too hungry to be distracted in spite of all the chaos and conflicting motions of the cargo.
The kids were surrounding their master, Fabius, like a protective barricade. She really felt that him being taken down would've been a good start...
"Ohhhh..." she groaned, slowly closing her eyes and collapsing in a head on the flaw, her wings sprawled out on the flaw.
The kids started to gather around the collapsed body- wondering about the sudden collapse.
Fabius raised an eyebrow- not entirely conviced that...
And as a good portion of tykes had circled around her, she suddenly jumped up on her feet within a microsecond and did a complete turn with her wings spread out.
The swift impact of this manouvre sent a lot of children flying backwards and crashing into one another.
"Arghhh!" a chorus of screams resounded as they were flung all over the place. She may have had her hands confined, but she had her wings.
She hoped during all this time that Ash had taken the initiative to dive in and use the scalpel in one way or another on Fabius.
OOC: A bit rushed, gotta run. Impressions to cast up at dental school. Ugh.
"Overwatch Control, this is Response Unit 32. Have located insurgent suspects now heading southbound through the slum district. Suspects appear to have commandeered a cargo hauler, control is erratic... ...Control, I have automatic weapons fire, and no response from Unit 40's hoverpatrol. Presumed comprised, over. Requesting orders."
The echidna didn't have to wait long.
"Unit 32, stand down, repeat, stand down. Quarantine measures are now in effect. Maintain a safe distance and report new findings, over."
"Unit 32 seeking to confirm order to stand down. The situation appears to be deteriorating rapidly..."
This didn't sound right...
"Affirmative, Unit 32. Stand down order comes from the High Arbiter himself. Return to headquarters for debriefing. That is all. Overwatch out."
With those words, the echidna's suspicions were confirmed.
Someone high up in the food chain wants this incident buried...
Frowning, before giving a single curt nod to her partner, the enforcer pilot gently eased back on the flight controls, and gracefully sped the hoverpatrol away.
She silently resented her superior's command, but orders were orders...
Tobias could hardly care less about the vageries of the echidna race, as his world was a whirl of dust, gunfire and hot metal, and he himself clung on to dear life.
"TOBIAS!"
What?
Spinning his head round like a top, the fox's keen green eyes latched on to a lone, oddly-dressed wolf chasing hurriedly after the truck. That voice... ...Timber? Here? What's that fool gotten himself into now? Shouldn't he be back home running a desk job, rather than out here running after 18 wheels of trouble?
There's hope for the kid, and the Service, yet.
Somehow, the wolf was keeping up, his highly-conditioned form bounding only a few steps behind the very back of the truck. With an effort of sheer will, the wolf dived for the rear-access doors, clinging on as he wrenched the steel locks open. With a heavy clang of metal shearing free from metal, sunlight beamed in through the open door, as Timber of the Wolf Pack clawed his way inside the trailer.
The young Servicewolf now out of his vision, Tobias looked back towards the cab. Above him, with his legs pinioning the young squirrel driver to her seat, was the canine he had only just met minutes earlier.
How had he done that?
"Don't mean to be gruff but I think ya kids need to stop this thing. Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt would'ya?"
The only response the canid received was an even more furious sequence of lurches and jolts, as the great truck made a sharp turn into the next street.
Attempting to haul himself up over the engine compartment towards the smashed cab, the fox stole a glance at the lion cub, frantically scrabbling at the glass fragments covering his face and reaching to club the canine intruder with the butt of his gun. Clambering up quickly to intercept the kid, Tobias caught the gun with his hand, just as the cub made a swing at the canine.
"You should listen to your elders."
With adolescent squeals of rage, both the cub and the squirrel fought desperately as Tobias and the canid forced their way into the driver's cabin.
Swooping low over the rooftops, and despite their orders, the enforcers of Response Unit 32 could not quell their instincts.
Something big was going down... ...and yet they could do nothing. Or could they?
"Over there! Look! Who is that guy?"
The pilot scanned her eyes over to the form of a large Mobian bird - a hawk or an eagle, perhaps - apparantly hurt, loitering amongst the rooftops.
Pursing her lips, the echidna quickly made a decision.
"Screw orders, we need to do -something-. Ready the arrestor net. I'm not in the mood to ask questions after these guys just levelled a city block, and are looking to demolish a second. Bring him down."
With a loud whir not unlike an insect's wings, the hoverpatrol's engines powered the maneuverable craft towards its unwitting target. The echidna smiled at the irony.
A proud Mobian hunting bird was about to be laid low by the eagle-eyed raptor of Echidna justice.
OOC: Sorry for not posting in a while
IC:
Things had gone hecked before Seamist eye's, and the only thing Seamist could do was run out of the firing range of the bullets being shot at her. Attaching her Scythe to a leather strap that wraped around her left shoulder, she took flight quickly.
Sigh, what to do, what to do? this was your holiday from work, I should of never left my amour back at home She thought to her self as she sped futher into the air.
Turning her head just to glance back at the situation she saw to Echidna/Bat and Echidna get taken into the cargo hauler.
"Hostages!, how dare they!"
She hated anything or anyone who either held another life as a prisner or hostage, she had her own problems envoling that and she wasn't going to let anyone ever suffer again if she can help.
Taking a U-turn in flight she flew back towards the cargo hauler, she brought out her Scythe and started spinning verdically till she was just a blur of grey and white heading for the cargo hauler where all the atcion was.
Slaming her way into the cargo hauler she starter cutting her way inside, her eye's had turn bleach white out of rage and memories flooding, her kin called it white rage or white eye and something that no one should mess with. For it would turn a perfectly normal furry into a moster who would attack anything in sight friends family anyone, till blood was spilled or they got knocked out...
OOC:
Hope that it's okay, sorry how if these a problem with my char
"This can not end well..." Samuel watch the hauler smash down the street. He had avoided it's path and, now stood near the corpse of the fallen hedgehog. He looked up as he noticed a second hover vehicle, this one different than before. It lingered a moment and, then sped away. Looking back down he eyed the hedgehog's corpse. After moment he reached down and, picked up the shotgun that had almost been used to take his life.
"Hope they don't mind me borrowing this." Samuel then turned his view back down the street. He knew the hauler was too far and, too fast to catch. He wanted to help but, had to find another way.
"Calm down Samuel, they can't escape the island in a cargo hauler." He told himself. His thoughts then went to the eagle that had saved his life. He had been injured but, was now nowhere to be seen. It was also odd that the hover vehicle had headed off in the same direction he had last seen him.
Feeling an obligation to check it out, Samuel darted in between two buildings and, looked for a way to get to the rooftops.
As the winged echidna's ruse paid off, Ash went into action of his own. First: the immediate threat of the gun-toting youth behind him. Thankfully, the ruckus had caught its attention and it was turning the gun towards her and most importantly away from him. With his left hand, he grabbed the kid's gun. The kid held on, to its credit, but when Ash's right arm swung elbow-first into its nose letting go of the gun was a natural consequence.
Next on Ash's list: Fabius. The kids were scattered and distracted, leaving Fabius momentarily unguarded. Ash surged forward, gun in his left hand. Fabius sensed his intentions and produced a blade of his own: a wicked-looking curved dagger. As Ash approached, Fabius lunged forward. Ash sidestepped to the right of the strike and answered by stabbed his borrowed scalpel into Fabius's wrist. Fabius yelped and let go of the dagger as Ash got behind him, wrapped his left arm around his neck and brought the scalpel precariously close to Fabius's left eye.
After that, stillness. Despite the chaotic noise outside (including a wild scraping noise that had just started up), the inside of the trailer had gone deathly quiet. The kids stared at Ash with a mixture of hatred and terror.
"Alright, brats. This is how it's going to work." Ash said calmly. "Me and her, we're leaving here. And there's not a damn thing you'll do about it. Because if you do, I'm going to kill him. I'm going to stab his eye and his brain and kill him right in front of you. Do any of you want that to happen?" Silence was all they said. Ash responded by shaking Fabius and bringing the scalpel closer. The gasps from the kids was what Ash wanted to hear. "Good. If you let us leave, he'll live through this."
Of course, he's coming with us too. Ash thought, resisting every urge in his body telling him to just bring the blade down and end this monster for his crimes.
"You, lady, hold out your hands." The winged echidna nodded and put her hands out. Ash quickly shot the chain on the binding on her hands. He tossed the gun into her now-free hands. "Here, cover my back."
Now, to find a way out of this tin can...
As if the heavens had heard him, the doors to the trailer flew open. Standing in the doorway was a lone figure. The bright light behind it made it impossible to make out anything more than the silhouette, but Ash didn't care who his savior was, so long as they showed up. Visible behind the figure was the weaving image of a hoverpatrol. Jonesy!
"Jonesy!" Ash called out, hoping his commlink still functioned. "Get your ass down here, I wanna get off this crazy ride!"
Amber had been waiting for the conflict within the cab to be resolved, but it wasn't happening fast enough by her standards.
Making up her mind, Amber jumped for the cab interior. Unfortunately, it wasn't currently a very roomy spot to leap to, and as she over balanced she grabbed instinctively for the closest hand-hold.
A squirrel.
Unfortunately, a child is not a very good thing to hold onto when falling backwards. With a cry of fear, the girl scrabbled for a hand -hold, while trying to kick the red panda loose at the same time.
Grimly holding on, Amber used the girl for support as she climbed aboard, and as she gained entry into the cab; kicked the squirrel out the door.
There was a scream of rage from the lion cub as she vanished out of sight.
Amber wasn't too concerned, she'd kicked her far enough that she shouldn't get caught under the wheels. She probably survived.
"Oi, fox and canid. Stop messing around; deal with the kid and then get in the dang cab, geez." Pulling the door shut behind her, she hopped in the driver's seat and attempted to bring the heavy vehicle under control...
'fly took a moment to sooth her newly freed wrists that had been bounded for longer than she wanted. She smiled lightly.
She suddenly turned her attention to the door that had burst open, with a silhouetted figure that stood out against the hazy sunset in the background.
"Jonesy!" Ash called out, hoping his commlink still functioned. "Get your ass down here, I wanna get off this crazy ride!"
'Who is he talking to?' she thought with a perplexed expression. Without turning too much though, she did notice a hover patrol behind the silhouetted figure...
...so were these guys together then? The arrival and the hover patrol, the arrival and Ash, Ash and the hover patrol... or all of them?!
She then fixed her attention back onto the lone figure. It appeared to be a bird-like creature. At first she deduced it was a hawk- but as some sunlight lent some significant clarity, she noted some colouring of a seagull.
'A hybrid?' she asked herself.
In a way, it was always nice to find someone with something slightly in common. But she couldn't imagine that that individual felt as left out as she did at times. Given the very senior position the Echidnas had upheld for years- there was always a second glance (for better or for worse, it still felt rude) from people when they noted she had wings and other bat-like features.
She really wanted to stop and talk to this individual and thank them for opening the doors- but then she realised that neither her, nor Ash and this bird were out of danger. The cargo was still in total and utter chaos and if Fabius had one oppurtunity to pull a sneaky move- the surrounding kids would be upon them like a swarm.
"Oi, fox and canid. Stop messing around; deal with the kid and then get in the dang cab, geez." Pulling the door shut behind her, she hopped in the driver's seat and attempted to bring the heavy vehicle under control...
'fly's ears perked up with interest. She didn't know who said that within the cab- but the mere words of 'deal with the kid' indicated that perhaps they were on their side.
'fly suddenly hesitated as the hover patrol got closer and closer. She heard a whir and some hi-technical turbines in the works. A portal opened up, as if it were about to fire something.
She had seen one or two arrests done before the Echidna authoratives of these sort of hover patrols. For some reason, she envisioned an arrestor net.
"So, this Jonesy... is he in that ship out there?" Butterfly asked Ash.
Ash glanced at her slightly, as if waiting for her to elaborate, his mind focused on temporalising Fabius in this lion's den.
"Either way, I really REALLY don't want to stick around!" she said, panicking at the hover craft's looming vehicle.
OOC: I could tell from both your written style and your avatar's art style. 
IC:
Allen Khrisnal had not noticed he was being followed until the more audibly louder hum of the hoverpatrols engines motioned for Response Unit 32 to get closer than ever. Allen took his keen eyes away from the chaotic scenes of the cargo hauler from below, and beating his wings to keep him aloft in the sky, turned to face the Echidna team behind him. His single visible eye gave one of noticeable surprise, before turning to mild annoyance.
You, the unidentified eagle! Drop to the nearest building top immediately! Youre under arrest on suspicion of mass destruction, severe property damage and the injuries of numerous civilians! cried one of the guards behind him. Allens features furrowed and knotted. Two of the Echidna guardsmen had weapons trained upon him, and the speaker appeared to be a female echidna, her posture and positioning in the hovercraft led Allen to suspect its was the troupes commander.
Are you kidding me? Im not the cause of any of that, Im a victim! Focus your attention on that vehicle below, you idiot! Allen shouted back. Get your bloody priorities straight!
Drop to the nearest building NOW! The officer reaffirmed.
Allen turned away. I dont have time for this. Im actually helping you idiots, but-
Allen didnt have time to finish his speech. He was falling to the ground, entrapped within a strange net that tightened around him the more he resisted. He should have been more cautious, especially considering his prior relations with Echidnas. That speech before was merely a ruse to keep him busy whilst they fixed their targeting on him to launch an arrestor net. And now he was captured.
Allen managed to slow his fall enough to not be fatal, but the landing still hurt. His fall was awkward, and he injured his already wounded leg further. He shouted out in pain, but eventually gritted himself, and remained still. The Echidnas arrestor nets were high class- once you were entrapped within them, you wouldnt be getting out.
And to resist would just prove his case of innocence as a failure. He wouldnt be able to figure out what was happened with the cargo hauler now, but he would do so later after he had treatment and resolved his differences with the Echidna authorities.
The man grabbed the cusp of the vehicle's hood for balance, then shrugged and turn his weapon from the kids in the cab, to the engine rumbling below and behind him muttering something about more than one way to skin a rat and promptly firing two shots into the engine from his weapon. He turned around and smirked.
OOC: Just posting real quick to point out that in CertainTTF's last post, Timber clawed his way into the back of the trailer of the truck. But Groovy's Seamist also got in back there in his post. So it's getting crowded back there now. 😛
I'll try to post IC later.
OOC: Fear not Pach 
Thank God I saved my posts to MS Word, heehee - thanks Terg for the warning! - the foul Yuku may have eaten my old account, but it has failed to stop this RP 
.
IC:
"The quarantine must be enforced. Converge."
Samuel had barely had enough time to get on the rooftops - having finally managed to find a rusting fire-escape gantry down some dank alleyway - before the sky itself seemed to peel away. The loud hum of the hoverpatrol's engines and the plaintive struggles of the eagle in the net were drowned out, as the noise of many, many powerful lifting jets filled his ears. Casting a furtive look upwards. Samuel watched the spectacle, as a great flight of black aircraft materialised from the aether, as if the sky itself pulled back an invisible veil from in front of his eyes. And like a dark murder of crows, they descended.
Scrabbling for cover, the overlander looked on in amazement as even the enforcer hoverpatrol hastily abandoned its newly-captured prize and powered away. Further shock was etched upon Samuel's face as one of the black aircraft broke from the main flight and took off after the hoverpatrol in what would be a very short contest, as the newcomer's big, loud engines swiftly outpaced the smaller enforcer craft. As the pair flew away into the distance, Samuel could make out a flash of blue, as the dark craft fired some form of energy weapon at the hoverpatrol, knocking it out of the sky like some child's toy.
The overlander, however, had other things to worry about.
As he moved to get closer to the downed eagle - he was sure his blade could cut pretty well through the net's material - the downwash of a single craft pushed him to his knees, almost pinioning him in his place.
Now the overlander recalled the identity of the black aircraft, from all the knowledge and information he had accumulated about the Floating Island. Sleek lines…advanced weaponry…stealth technology.
Interdictor gunships? Here? A sudden wave of panic hit him. They had to get out of here. Now.
The Interdictor Corps of the Echidna Theocracy. Known and respected throughout the Mobian nations for their rapid suppression of various hostage crises, sieges, and other situations beyond the ability of the regular Echidna Enforcer patrols to deal with. Somewhere, sometime - the Corps remained as secretive as the society they swore to protect - someone had decided that the unit would be better off being feared rather than loved, and as such, the Interdictors also became known for their ruthless efficiency and tactics in their defence of the Theocracy. Persons apprehended by them were never seen again - and rumours were everywhere, telling tall tales of the mysterious fates that might have befallen them.
And now, they had come for them all.
Forcing himself up against the fierce windstorm generated by the hovering gunship's thrusters, Samuel tried to stand and keep moving forward amidst the miniature hurricane. Stumbling towards Krishnal, stricken amongst the twisting fibres of the arrestor net, the overlander drew his blade in an effort to free the bird.
"No you fool! Do you know who these guys are? RUN!"
Thunk-thunk.
With a groan, the overlander slumped to the ground beside him, a pair of accurately-placed, high-potency tranquiliser darts poking out from his back. Krishnal looked up hurriedly, as a group of echidnas dressed in full body armour and gas masks approached, all expertly carrying a variety of weapons - tranquiliser rifles, shock batons, stun gloves and riot shields - having rapidly disgorged from the loitering gunship.
As the others made a quick assessment of the situation and secured the rooftop, a pair of Interdictors walked over towards the unconscious overlander and the trapped eagle. Hastily trying to find a way to escape, Krishnal scrabbled for the fallen overlander's blade, hoping to cut his way out by himself.
Raising his tranq-weapon to his shoulder, one of the Interdictors casually took aim at the eagle, a sense of amused derision at the bird's efforts exuding from behind the emotionless gas-mask. With another pair of soft thunks, Krishnal's world went dark.
Below them, as the cargo hauler slowly ground to a halt, Brother Fabius was also seeking to make his escape. He had heard the signature roar of the Interdictors' engines, and he knew what they signified.
They are not going to take me alive. Not again.
While the echidna constable and the half-bat were distracted by the trailer's sudden opening, the rat made his move. Grabbing a rifle from out of the hands of one of his child-attendants, Fabius strode forward suddenly, before hammering the rifle-butt into the back of Ash's head. The children cheered, and as Butterfly turned back to see the commotion, Fabius forcefully pushed her against the side of the trailer, his hand suddenly clasped around her neck in a death grip.
"You, you half-breed scum, will pay dearly for your meddling - along with the rest your troublesome companions." At that, the rat spat on the sprawled out form of Constable Ash, and as Timber managed to peer his head round the trailer's back door, Fabius deftly aimed the rifle in one hand, before firing off a shot that sent the wolf's head back down behind cover.
"A curse on that damned Jaeger for bringing this circus of fools to my doorstep. However…" The rat grinned maliciously at the half-bat, struggling under the rat's suddenly-powerful grip. "…My vengeance may well have to be commuted until a later date. You hear that noise, half-breed? That is the sound of your life ending as you know it. The echidnas have come for you. Whatever family, friends, you had - you will never see again. There will be no one to protect and comfort you where you're going. Oh yes. I know." His true self melting back into a mask of fatherly concern, the rat turned to his 'children.'
"Fear not, my dears. I am going away now. But I shall return. I shall save you from this world's cruel masters. Be strong, my precious ones, be strong!"
With that, the rat made a purposeful escape, throwing Butterfly to her hands and knees, and kicking the door away from the trailer - sending Timber flying out onto the dusty ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Butterfly saw - thought she saw - the rat's handsome ermine coat disintegrating before her eyes, into a foul image of rotting flesh. As the rat turned to give one last derisive look, the echidna-bat saw into the very image of contagion and disease itself - Brother Fabius' true face leering back at her in a death's head-like grimace, his right eye an unseeing, milky orb and his face covered in dark, disfiguring scars. As the children surged to follow him out and abandon the trailer, Butterfly lost sight of him. The Demagogue of the Cult had escaped once again.
Up front, Tobias watched as multiple black gunships dropped to the earth around the truck, and a small army of dark figures emerged from their holds like a host of angry spectres. The fox quickly turned and saw two little gouts of steam billowing out from two neat bullet-holes in the bonnet - their only chance of escape going up with the vapour.
Today really hasn't been my day.
The trio in the cab could only look on as the Interdictors approached, weapons raised.
"Don't make any sudden moves. These guys don't tolerate funny business very well." The fox advised, carefully putting his hands on his head.
"Screw this." Seemingly exploding out the cab door, the canid made his choice. He wasn't going down timidly like the stupid fox who'd lead him here.
Reacting with a disciplined calm to the canid's bid for freedom, the echidnas raised their weapons and fired several darts into his chest. To his credit, the canid kept on stumbling forward, even managing to raise his own handgun towards the nearest figure, before kissing the dirt under the thrall of the sedative.
Not taking any further chances, the echidnas then turned as one, and unloaded their weapons into the cab, catching both Jaeger and Amber with darts. With a groan, they slumped into the seats.
Jonesy watched in anguish as the scene went down - where had they come from? - he knew as an echidna, of the skill of the Indictors, but he had never seen them in action. He had hoped never to see them. He knew that he couldn't escape, and so, entrusting the rest of his life into the hands of his fellow echidnas, he set the hoverpatrol down, got out, and placed his hands on his head. He watched as the Interdictors approached, almost casually putting three tranq-darts into the seagull hybrid, even as she worked herself up into a fury. As a wolf managed to pick himself up out of the dust, another Interdictor strode towards him and clobbered him in the head with a shock baton, knocking him unconscious as cleanly as any tranquiliser. Before long, the dark-clad echidnas were coming towards him.
"Enforcer Jones, Ident Number 343781. Glad you guys are…"
Thunk-thunk.
"High Arbiter. The situation has been contained and all known individuals have been apprehended. The site is now secure. Whilst the presence of children here was…unexpected, they were dealt with along with the others. The Cult leader has, however, slipped away somehow, possibly underground in the sewer systems…we can send teams down to hunt him, sir, it would not take long to run him to ground…"
"No justicar, that will not be necessary. I have faith that Fabius will show himself again - his sense of self-importance compels him. The individuals we have acquired here are quite the collection. I'm sure Warden Jora-Su will have many hours of amusement in extracting information from them. You have done well, justicar. I commend your men and your efforts. As for these…"
The echidna official cast his authoritative gaze over the unconscious forms of the captured Mobians, before waving a dismissive hand.
"…ship them to the Hole."
Part I: Quarantine
Royal Court, Mobotropolis
Accursed rainstorm.
CRASH. The sky, apparently affronted by the walrus' thoughts, split apart in a blinding peal of lightning. Cloaked in a heavy overcoat and rain-cap, the figure hurried through the late evening storm to deliver his news. It was, unfortunately, well worthy of his venture into this maelstrom of rain and wind.
Journeying towards a pinprick of light beaming out into the grey murk, the walrus finally found respite under the very eaves of his destination - the chambers of the Right Honourable Duke Thelhalm of Oakenthorne, currently serving his King as the Minister of State. Not bothering to knock, the walrus turned the ornate gold doorknob of the chambers' entryway and strode into the light inside.
"And as I was telling the Prime Minister…" With an abrupt gust of rain-leaden wind, the front door loomed open, interrupting Duke Thalhelm's comedic retelling of the day's events to his female retainers. Looking up to see who would dare barge in on his storytelling, the noble squirrel laughed and recovered from the sudden intrusion once he recognised the figure. "Ah, the face of enduring optimism itself…come in, spymaster, good welcome. Please do come and join us out of this…ghastly…weather."
As the dour-faced and soaking-wet walrus sat down at the Duke's long entertaining table, the Duke introduced the fellow to his squirrelmaid retainers.
"Ladies, may I present Winston Atatusk, our most intrepid Master of Spies and chief of His Majesty's Secret Service. We are in esteemed company on this foul night it seems." The squirrelmaids bashfully looked on as Atatusk gruffly offered his gentleman's greeting to them and got down to business.
"Your Grace, I apologise for my interruption of your evening, but news has just reached me of an incident on the Floating Island."
"What kind of incident, dear Winston? Enough to get you out of that dank Service headquarters in this kind of weather, obviously." The noble refilled his glass of wine and listened with an air of slight disinterest.
The work of spies is hardly the business of nobility.
"Your Grace…" Atatusk glanced at the squirrelmaids in hesitation. "This is coming from one of my best men - Dougan, you remember him? I think he danced with your daughter at the last Serviceman's ball - …he says that he has located Jaeger, and the echidnas have incarcerated him, another Serviceman and a group of others in the maximum-security prison they call the Hole."
"That place? …isn't that where the Echidnas keep…"
"Yes, your Grace. It's where they keep those afflicted with the Mange. It seems Jaeger and company had a bad encounter with Fabius."
At that, the squirrel spat out his wine, before recovering his dignity and politely shooing the squirrelmaids into another room.
"Fabius? Are you sure? Why would he be on the Floating Island?"
"We are, as yet, unsure of that. It could be that he's planning another attack like the one at New Elmtree, or it could be something else. I'd highly recommend advising General Prower of the situation, however. I think he'd be quite interested in his wayward cousin's current position."
At the reference to Jaeger, the Duke's mind turned to another worrying issue.
"Will Jaeger talk? The Kingdom of Acorn could ill-afford..." The Duke trailed off as Atatusk politely raised a hand.
"No your Grace. He is not the sort to make deals. I can vouch for that. I can also confidently say that he won't tolerate internment in an echidna prison while Fabius is still at large. This is not the last we've heard of him."
The Duke swilled his wine, letting the alcohol be his sole comfort. If Jaeger leaked information about the Knothole facility…
"Alright…thank you, Winston. I shall inform General Prower at the earliest opportunity. The King will also be appraised of this turn of events. I'd like you to keep tabs on the situation as it develops. As for now, my friend, would you care for some brandy? It'll definitely put some fire in your belly after being out in that appalling storm…"
High Security Internment Facility 01, Level 6, Cell Block H.
Interrogation Quarters
As he awoke, Tobias found himself face-down on a cold plascrete floor. Groggily, he peered out with sore eyes at his dreary surroundings.
Where was he? Where was everybody else? Where was Fabius…ow!
The fox tentatively rubbed his head as a sharp headache welcomed him to full consciousness. As his mind replayed back on previous events, it slowly dawned upon him where he was.
The Hole. Tobias had read of it in briefings long ago. A prison facility that spiralled down around a 500-metre wide 'borehole' carved into the rock of the Floating Island, which opened out at both ends to open sky. His clothing and belongings had been taken from him, replaced by drab prison overalls, and were probably now locked away in a storeroom somewhere in the facility. He tried to remember the prison's layout from old blueprints he'd seen. There were several levels, each with multiple cell blocks, and other, 'interesting' facilities.
It was well-known that this was where the echidnas kept Mange-suffering troublemakers, in the hopes of keeping them away from the general public, and in the more forlorn desire to find a cure for the disease. Tobias knew that, near the top of the Hole, there existed experimental labs that took prisoners to be examined and observed. And close to the very bottom, a large mineral refinery operated to keep the prisoners active, and provided the echidnas with cheap labour.
Which level was he on?
As the fox slowly got to his feet, he found himself looking out from his cell's single defining feature - a large window that opened out into the 'Hole' itself. It was raining, by the looks of things, as tiny flecks of rain sporadically splattered against the window.
They say the windows are for people considering suicide.
That was not something on Tobias' agenda. Escape…now that was a very different matter.
"I trust you find the view pleasing?"
Level 15, Cell Block B.
Refinery Quarters
"Come on, get up, freshmeat. You've been assigned to the work roster."
Not waiting for any response, the owner of the voice hauled Samuel up. Still groggy from the tranquilisers, the overlander found himself in a dimly lit cellblock, face to face with a large otter, covered in dirty prison overalls. He gagged a little, as the distinct stench of the Mange filled his nostrils.
"Doncha you jus' love tha' fresh air? Come on, Furless, before the echidnas decide you deserve more 'lights-out' time."
Stumbling out of the open cell door, Samuel was surrounded by a group of about a dozen or so Mobians, all dressed in similar prison garb, and all moping ashen-faced towards a gaping doorway at the end of the row of cells. Amongst them, Samuel recognised a couple of familiar faces - the canid, and the red panda, being carried along with the crowd. Leaning on a closed cell door to get his bearings, Samuel was again accosted by the gruff otter.
"Wha'cha doin? Don't lean on tha' cell, tha's Bruno's cell. You really don't wanna bother him, oh no."
Peering into the darkened space behind the titanium bars, the overlander could see little of the cell's occupant. Before he could look any further, he was pushed forward roughly.
"Come on."
Walking out of the crowded cell-block, Samuel was met with new sights and smells, as the claustrophobic corridor opened out onto a cavernous open area, and the heavy tinge of oil and industry hung in the air. On one side lay dozens of machines and processing centres, zigzagged with conveyor belts carrying minerals and metals mined from the bowels of the Floating Island. On the opposite side lay a loading bay and storage area, leading to what looked like a landing pad. Ambient light streamed in from - what was that? Some sort of artificial cave, bored vertically through the rock.
As if to confirm the overlander's deductions, a large cargo aircraft buzzed down from the outside world, and alighted on the smooth plascrete surface of the bad. With near perfect-timing, Samuel watched as ground crews rushed to the craft, and other prisoners scurried back and forth carrying large cargo containers from the processing plant.
This was a production line.
Suddenly, the overlander's thoughts were interrupted by a scratchy, high-pitched voice.
"'Ere, what're you doin' down 'ere, overlander? Last time I 'eard, you lot can't catch the Mange."
Noisy murmurs of agreement sounded out from the crowd of prisoners around Samuel. They were all Manged. Above them, high on a gantry walkway, an impassive echidna guard stood watch over the proceedings, fingering a stun-gun at his hip. Looking to finish trouble before it started, the guard's voice boomed over his helmet's amplifier.
"MOVE ALONG. WORK GROUPS TWO AND THREE, REPORT TO PROCESSING. GROUP ONE, ASSIST WITH THE CARRYALL LOADING PROCEEDURES."
The murmurs amongst the crowd died down as the workgroups went their separate ways. Some, however, were still discontent with the overlander's presence, and that of the other two newcomers. A brown mouse, his paws bound up in rags, pointed a bony, accusing finger at all three.
"I reckon they've been sent down here to spy on the Brotherhood."
Another prisoner, a tan-coloured female cat, chimed in.
"Yeah! That panda's shifty-lookin'. And the canine! Dodgy, 'ee looks."
Before the trio could react, Amber, Samuel and Bant found themselves corned against a chain-link fence lining the landing pad, and around them, an increasingly suspicious and hostile gang of prisoners.
Level 3, Cell Block E.
Laboratory Quarters
"Come along now, friends. Let's all try to work together in this. This is all for the greater good, you know."
The massed ranks of manged prisoners lacked the good doctor's enthusiasm. Ash, Jonesy, Seamist and Krishnal among them.
Around them, lay the surgically clean, white walls of the Hole's disease research centre and laboratory. Enclosed in those walls was a vast warren of scientific equipment and apparatus, myriad testing facilities, forever-busy white-coated echidna technicians, and a smattering of armed guards to keep good order. In charge of it all was Doctor Ignatius, a wizened old echidna doddering around with a strong metal walking stick and an irrepressible passion for science - never mind the suffering of his test subjects. Those in charge of the Hole did not employ him for his sense of concern, or indeed his sanity.
Directing the flow of prisoners with his walking stick, the old scientist used his surprisingly nimble fingers to open a large hermetic hatch, leading to one of the lab's many test chambers. Inside, the plain white room gleamed ominously.
"In we go, that's it…" Ignatius spoke with a fatherly tone, even as he poked the more hesitant prisoners in with his cane. His beady eyes then spotted a pair of faces that intrigued him.
"You there! Echidnas! Stop! Strange to see such faces here…" As his cane tapped rhythmically along as he walked, Ash and Jonesy looked at one another pensively.
Peering up at them, Ignatius examined their fit forms. "You were perhaps enforcers once, yes? Or some other physical trade? We care not from whence you come here, we're all equals in this place. …Hmm, you must be fresh cases? I see no marks. Oh well. Perhaps it is good for you to be here. We need to find an effective salve for the Mange, especially for those of our own noble race. Are these your friends?" The doctor turned towards the two birds. Not waiting for an answer, the echidna beckoned them to follow him. "Come, it is not often that we get such guests here. From one echidna to another, I shall show you our glorious work!"
Bidding the four prisoners follow, Ignatius directed them over to a viewing window, as the last of the prisoners marched into the hermetic room, and the seal closed shut behind them. Leaning forward on his cane, the doctor was fully focussed on observing the proceedings.
"Today we are testing a variety of gasses effects' on the Mange-afflicted body. Some are known to be harmless, and all we've tested today have had no ill effects upon my volunteers…yet." The doctor grinned with a malicious glint as he turned a dial, and a plume of green vapour enveloped the Mobians inside the chamber. "This particular gas, however, is a well known poison - Botulin Toxin from Jinrei - but rumour has it, that it can curtail the effects of the Mange. And of course, in the name of science, I, and my faithful volunteers - have to investigate."
As Ash, Jonesy, and the two birds looked on, the trapped Mobians began to cough and choke, stumbling around as the gas took hold. A rabbit fell forward towards the viewing window, clutching his throat, before collapsing to the ground. Within the space of a minute, all of the doctor's 'subjects' were lying motionless on the floor of the chamber.
In the next minute, the last of the sickly green gas was sucked up into large turbine ducts in the chamber's ceiling, and the floor opened up to reveal a wide disposal chute for the bodies to slide down.
"Hmm. I would have thought it would have been more lethal. Under thirty seconds, I was told. Oh well. Next!" The doctor called out to the waiting guards, who promptly began shuffling more prisoners into the chamber. As some saw what had happened to their predecessors, struggles began, but were swiftly ended by the application of shock batons.
"Now then, I would not wish to deprive you of your chance to do your part for science. Onwards and upwards! You never know… …the next gas might not kill you." As the doctor finished speaking, a guard approached the four, shock baton at the ready.
Level 6, Cell Block H
Tobias turned to face the voice.
"Tobias Jaeger. Yes, we know of you. We had known that you were on our Island, but I must say, we never thought you'd involve yourself in terrorist activities."
Terrorist activities?
The fox's thoughts seemed to be etched onto his face, as the female echidna questioning him answered his mental query.
"Oh, yes. Of course, we don't know for sure yet. That's why you and your little cadre of friends are here. We need to know whether you're a party to the Cult's plans, are infected with the Mange, or indeed, just plain innocent. It's a shame that piece of scum Fabius couldn't be here to join you, but we can't always have what we wish for, can we?"
"Who are you?" Tobias asked forlornly, examining the figure through the cell bars. She was a tall, lightly-coloured and imposing echidna, bedecked in a brown uniform and armed with a pair of form-fitting personal stun knuckles.
"Why, forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I am Warden Jora-Su, custodian of this place. You have all been taken into custody for the benefit of all good citizens of the Theocracy. Welcome to the Hole."
Turning round on her heels, the echidna peered into the cell opposite Jaeger's.
"Hmm, I also have to say, Jaeger, you do know how to pick your company." Peering across the void between cells, the fox saw the form of the echidna-bat from earlier. He wasn't sure if she was conscious or not. Jora-Su didn't seem to care. "Half-breeds like her are an abomination to all good echidnas. Hah. This place will probably be the closest she'll ever get to setting foot inside the pure-echidna zone. And now it will be your home. It will be your tomb." With those final viper's words to the half-bat, the Warden began to stride away out of Tobias' sight. The fox's eyes following her, he spied another familiar form in an adjacent cell.
Timber. Alive but still unconscious.
Boy, when he wakes up, he's going to want a lot of answers from me. At least it beats listening to this woman.
"Oh," The echidna in question suddenly stopped, as if she remembered something. "Out of the goodness of my heart, and the generosity all echidnas share, I'm going to give you a few minutes before interrogations begin. I'd say your prayers, fox."
With that, the echidna was gone, and as her footsteps echoed away into the distance, Tobias slumped down in front of his cell's bars. The weight of what had happened sunk in.
He had screwed up. Fabius was still at large, out there, somewhere. And not only that, he had dragged along a whole bunch of innocents down with him.
In the silence that followed, he muttered a few words out from behind bars, not really caring if anyone was listening.
"I'm sorry I got you guys into this."
OOC: There...reposted and rejigged a bit...in case people are unsure where exactly they are:
Rico, Kcalbavon and Super Ferret are down in the Refinery.
CastorTroy, groovygerbil and Pachamac are up in the Laboratory
Terg and Bentlee are with me in the Interrogation block.
OOC: Sherbert. Where's SuperFerret's post? I'm sure I saw it last night... or... I didn't? Did it implode? e_e *feels mind combust*
Excellent post on the turn of events CTTF. I thought it was brilliant!
Yours was good to SF... til it disappeared XD
IC:
Location X, Metropolis periphary
Walking down a straight dark corridor, that was perfectly symmetrical with lined red curtains and floor lights that gradually illuminated with each step- a 6 foot scientist with a trailing lab coat made his way towards a steel door at the end of the vicinity.
Within a 20 feet distance, the steel door opened up with a whir- as if to challenge the doctor's punctuality. He simply straightened his tie arrogantly without altering his pace, before stepping inside the dark vortex like room.
He found himself standing in dimly lit room, with long straight table made of marble in front of him with flawlessy lined leather chairs on either side of the table. Each chair was occupied by an overlander, dressed in a black, and interestingly enough, the odd mobian- also dressed in a black suit.
Dr. Sears' attention, however, was more fixed upon the lone, authorative figure at the end of the room. Neither an overlander, nor 'furry'- strictly speaking- but a long necked dragon with the build of a tall overlander. But there was no mistaking his kind for the elongated neck, limbs, scales, tail and long wings that were neatly folded behind his back but accentuated his height all the more nonetheless. His face was not fierce, but rather stern and suave, which would've drawn a glance of intrigue rather than the instinct to look away.
Dr. Sears always found it amusing that he wore really dark sunglasses. Even in a room as dark as this. Perhaps he'd find out in all due time why this was so...
"Dr. Sears," the dragon denoted as Xell called out "today's the day your 5 year interventional trial ends, and we, as a cohort, hear the results."
Xell clasped his clawed hands together, before opening them up again in a deceiving welcome manner.
"So," he said sharply "what does the medical department have to report?"
Dr. Sears cleared his throat, before smiling.
"In a 5 year trial to compare an anti-mange vaccine with a placebo vaccine in two test subjects, double-blinded trial- meaning neither myself, nor my collegeaus or the subjects themselves knew which vaccine they got- the medical department is pleased to report that our hypothesis upheld the power of the test..."
"So you found a cure?" Xell interrupted curtly.
"Yes."
"And, what's lead you to this conclusion?"
"The intervention is alive and not infected. The non-intervention, or comparison who got the placebo in order to measure the vaccine's effectiveness, showed a gradual deterioation in general health over the years and has now deceased..."
There was a thoughtful silence. The dark mobians within the cohort nodding somewhat, whereas the overlanders sat apathetically.
"Okay..." Xell said with consideration "good news. Where are the test subjects? I'd like to see them. Dead or alive."
"There not here."
"What?" Xell asked incredulously, sitting up straighter and his wings appearing to heighten him a bit "how can you draw such results if you don't even have the test subjects around?! Has this intervention been rendered idol folly?!"
"Why no. For cross infection purposes, I have kept electrical tabs on the subjects which monitors their movements and locations..."
"Your kind can't be manged Dr. Sears. You KNOW that." Xell said, almost breathing fire. There was something odd about this experiment but the doctor seemed to be covering his back quite well and taking advantage of Xell's 'lack of insight' in the medical field.
"I speak for our fellow furry collegeaus," Dr. Sears said composed, but in some way insinuated the mobians' had a very bad weakness in all of this. He knew why they were in this cohort. They had the weakness of grieving for loved ones afflicted by the disease, and he has promised them a cure. In exchange for their 'secret services' for spying on their kind, and to report figures of infection and to inform of other happenings, such as the Echidnas' lives and up-to-date technology which Dr. Sears would need in all due time to the cohort's present day poor funds and lack of resources. It was all a 'quid pro quo' motive.
"The intervention happens to be on the floating island right now, as we speak. Ironically quruantined by the Echidna authoraties and she shows no infection whatsoever. The non-intervention, however, died on collapse and I suspect the post mortem is in one of the gutters in an echidna town. If we're quick enough, perhaps we can go and pick up the rotten, gangrene-infested, derranged limbed..."
"Thank you. No." Xell said calmly, craning his neck to give the doctor a sideways glance, before looking at him straight on "whilst it's... intrigueging you think you've found a 'cure', what about transmission? Did you set aside some time to investigate that?"
"Lack of funds and resources has hindered that trial." Dr. Sears reported.
"I see," Xell said, wrinkling his snout "well then. Before I can authorize this trial as substanciated medical evidance of being a 'mange' cure..."
"Which would be good, because the Echidnas would be interested in that and they may give us the resources we need to mass market the vaccine..."
"...I want to see the test subject first. And that's an order." Xell said firmly "bring me the intervention. Meeting dismissed."
Before Dr. Sears could interrupt any further, all figures including Xell himself dissipated into thin air.
The figures were merely holographic representations of themselves- telecommunicated from wherever each cohort member was located.
Dr. Sears turned on his heels and walked out the meeting room.
'Extra trouble just to get an authorative approval,' he thought with annoyance .Still. He bought it. It was such a poor trial. Ideally there'd be a larger sample size and he'd have a better knowledge of the 'mange'. But resources, funds and more importantly, time, was not on his side.
_______________________________________________
Level 6, Cell Blocks
In a reverie of a nightmare
"You hear that noise, half-breed? That is the sound of your life ending as you know it. The echidnas have come for you. Whatever family, friends, you had - you will never see again. There will be no one to protect and comfort you where you're going. Oh yes. I know."
Butterfly pushed deformed and rotting figure away- her face panic-ridden and the morbid sight of the rat in front of her. He was a horrifying disease- his facial features sclerosed, derranged, with fistulas and boils and she could've sworn she saw some maggots eating away at the remains of his threaded ears and fur follicles.
As she found herself running down a warped vortex, which spiralled with sceneries of graveyards and skeletons, she screamed in horror as she found her knees giving way after two rotten arms shot from the earth below and anchored her ankles.
As she found herself rapidly swallowed by the murky earth below and still held within the death grip of the deadly arms, her whole world turned black
Level 6, Cell Blocks
The real world
"Half-breeds like her are an abomination to all good echidnas. Hah. This place will probably be the closest she'll ever get to setting foot inside the pure-echidna zone. And now it will be your home. It will be your tomb." With those final viper's words to the half-bat, the Warden began to stride away out of Tobias' sight. The fox's eyes following her.
Butterfly suddenly rolled onto her side, exasperated from the last scenario she was in. She crawled into a dark corner to hide and to try to shut out the horrifying images from before.
She was slightly disorientated. Her eyes scanned the confined dark cell before her.
As her eyes came into focus, she peered through the metal bars of her solitary confinement and she saw an Echidna warden walk off.
"I'm sorry I got you guys into this..." Butterfly heard.
Butterfly still hid in the corner, not knowing who the voice belonged to. She was still trying to come to terms to where she was, why she was here... and whether it was all real or whether she was dreaming...?!
"Who are you?" she asked- half expecting some beast to jump out at her, or for the earth to shake and for some morbid figures or limbs to ulcerate from the floor.
...she needed some convincing she wasn't dreaming again.
OOC: That's a relief, CTTF. It would have been an absolute shame if such a large and well written post would have just been completely lost.
It seems Super's post was lost as well. =/ Hopefully they managed to save a copy of it…?
IC:
Level 3, Cell Block E.
Laboratory Quarters
Allen Khrisnal was in utter shock and disbelief at the scene that had transfixed before him. An entire group of trapped Mobians within an elaborate chamber had just been gassed to death… from a suspected cure known as Botulin Toxin. Whilst it was true they were all Mange inflicted and probably didn't have much time left to live, the way in which their lives were snuffed out was completely inhumane.
And it was a fate most likely for him and the three other prisoners he found himself grouped with. Two Echidnas who looked somewhat familiar, and a seagull whom he believed he may have seen earlier at the particular crime scene with the explosion. But his attention wasn't focused on them as such, it was on his plight.
He was being forced to be a part of the next experiment- and the edging forward, shock baton wielding Echidna guard was pressuring him to comply.
'The Echidna's investigation into this disease…' Krishnal began to thought. '…it's barbaric!'
"Stop!" Allen shouted aloud, doing nothing to unsettle the approaching guard's rhythmic motion. The guard had heard numerous pleas from prisoners to withhold from doing his job, yet he had carried out his job in full every time. Protests did nothing.
"My name is Allen Khrisnal! I'm a hired Mobian mercenary under the employ of the Echidna Theocracy… and what's more, I'm not suffering from that rotten Mange disease!" The eagle shouted outwards, time against him. He was trying to influence Doctor Ignatius, but so far without any luck.
"This is a mistake! My employers… your empire will not be impressed! I'm of a great asset to them and part of an overarching mission in which you're currently intruding upon! You need to stop this right no-"
Khrisnal's speech was unfinished, as his body spasmed to the electrifying touch of the shock baton. He cried out in pain, and slumped to the floor. His entire body hurt, and it was now at this point where the distinct pain in his leg became noticeable again.
It took all his effort to remain conscious.
OOC: Figured I would just do a filler post and, give Super a chance to repost.
"Well this is just great..." Samuel thought to himself. Not only was he now a prisoner but, also the other inmates seemed intent on causing him and the two that came with him harm. Samuel couldn't help but laugh at it all. This was not his first time to be held in a detention facility, although the last time was in a prison in his homeland. Despite his situation he became lost in thought as his memory drifted back to his past. Suddenly he was standing on the hillside overlooking his families estate, which was now in flames. He fell to his knees and began to weep, he knew that everything and, everyone he had was now burning. Next he felt the hand on his shoulder, he looked back even though he knew who it was, his stepfather. Just as he could see the hatred in his eyes he felt a strong pain in the side of his head and, everything went black.
Waking up he found himself in a stone room, one with bars for a door. This tiny cell with no window would be his home for the next two years. After his escape from that miserable place he decided to leave his homeland and, go somewhere far away. After traveling for what seemed like forever he learned a sad true, the rest of Mobius seemed to hate his kind. Now not welcome here and, with no home to return to he became lost. Then one day someone found him and pulled him from the darkness, Marshall.
Marshall was a mobian, a great dark bird with no left eye. He was a member of an old and, great order of mobian knights, protectors of the realm. He took Samuel in, trained his body and, mind. Taught him the way of the warrior, the way of the sword. Day and night he trained, hoping to become strong. Marshall noted his natural talent with the sword, with a few months he had become quite good. After a year he was welcomed into the order itself, he had once again found a family. However things did not last...
Samuel's train of thought was broken as his back touched the fence. He glance over at the other two and, then back at the mob. He hoped one of them would come up with something, if not this might get ugly.
OOC: Just a quickie right now, with a little teaser for Ash's backstory.
IC: Level 3, Cell Block E.
Laboratory Quarters
Ash winced as the guard shocked the eagle into submission. He wanted to call him a fool for pleading like that, but there was no way he could've known that it wouldn't work. No way the eagle could've known how little these people cared for rank. No way he could've known the blatant disregard for life this facility had. Ash, on the other hand, knew these things far too well.
So why hasn't Ignatius acknowledged me yet? Is he waiting to do it? Is he trying to keep it a secret?
Out of the corner of his eye, Ash saw Jonesy open his mouth like he was going to protest as well. Ash grunted at him to get his attention and shook his head solemnly. Jonesy got the message and decided against protesting.
"Oh dear, it seems you haven't been informed, my feathered friend," Ignatius chortled at the fallen eagle. "The Theocracy has given you up. Given you to me. Your previous mission is over, and your new mission has just begun." Ignatius tapped his cane against the floor, prompting a couple more guards to come forward, shock batons at the ready. Ash glared at Ignatius, who looked back at him for a second.
Great, here it comes. Hello, steel chair, hello needles...
Ignatius broke the gaze first and turned towards a guard. "The grey one looks belligerent. If he tries anything, you can rough him up a bit. Be sure not to break anything, though. No fun trying to cure a cripple."
Ash's fierce glare dropped into a look of disbelief.
He's FORGOTTEN me?! 6 months of stabbing me with needles and he forgets my face in only a year? Ash knew he had more important things to be upset about, like the fact that Fabius was running free while he was scheduled to die, or the fact that he was once again in a place that had subjected him to countless nights of suffering, but right now all he could think about was the insult of being forgotten so quickly. He wanted to say something, but he and the others were already being shuffled forward by the guards.
Can't believe he didn't recognize my face... Ash thought as he looked around and realized something: he didn't recognize any of the guards or assistants. Staff must've cycled. That means nobody recognizes me here. That means they don't know what I know... Ash smiled as it dawned on him.
We're going to escape this place.
OOC: Soz I didn't post earlier, too much work (and no, I didn't save my post on word, so this one'll end up slightly different...dang 'eh?)
IC:
As soon as Amber had seen the echidnas coming, she'd known who they were, and their chances of escape. She waited in the cab for the darting, or stunning, whatever, it would come. And it did.
Tranquilized, she'd allowed herself to slip into the comforting blackness; she could use a good nap anyway...
...ow...
Groaning, Amber slowly opened her eyes, regretted it, and shut them again. Taking slow breaths she eased herself up into a sitting position and calmly checked herself over, gradually opening her eyes again. Yup, all her things were gone, the echidnas were thurough; they hadn't missed any of her more secret gear. Sighing, she pulled a hand through her messy red hair and looked down at her overalls; not what she'd had in mind today.
If it still was today.
Dang it, I have to get out of here before one of Dad's contacts leaks the info. It's bad enough I haven't lived down the last heroic blunder, now I'm stuck in the Hole.
She had no doubts thats where she'd ended up, and the place was probably full of cultist sympathisers.
Amber hoped dearly that no one let slip what they were in here for. Or she was sure they'd be ripped apart, with or without echidna guard intervention.
"Oi, panda! Get a move on would ya!"
Amber shot him a glare and got up, steadying herself against a nearby wall.
The tranquilizer seemed to have worn off now, she should be fine for movement, maybe even combat.
Looking around, she spotted the canid among the crowd being shepherded down the corridor, as well as an Overlander;easily spotted over the other prisoners.
That must have been the cloaked guy from before..
Moving with the manged crowd, their destination soon became apparent; a loading bay.
Great, labour, like I haven't had enough fun for one day.
Amber sighed again; as an assassin, she should've known better She shouldn't have gotten involved, but she had to be curious. Then she had to try saving people; she just kept pushing the envelope.
Pity the letter blew up in her face. As usual.
She'd been scanning over the area, looking for possible escape routes when the trouble'd started: accusations were being thrown around by some of the manged prisoners, and things were starting to get nasty.
Next thing she knew, the canid, overlander and herself were all apparently spies, and pinned against a chain-link fence.
What should I do?
She looked across at her two companions, then to the echidna guard who didn't seem to be all that attentive all of a sudden.
Either way, if she threw the first punch they'd be in trouble.
Okay, then I won't punch them.
Quick as a flash she grabbed the talkative feline by the scruff and pulled her up close. Big mistake, you could smell the mange on her.
"Listen here you lot, I've had a really bad day, and I'm not in the mood for your wild imaginations."
At this point the cat began to struggle, but then the red panda slipped her grip to her tan throat and nervously, she stopped.
I can see your fear little cat, don't make me do anything I'll regret.
Amber looked over the other prisoners with her gift, they seemed to all be really tense, she was in control of this situation, but only just, she had to distill it.
"This place looks like the kind where accidents happen, and I'm sad to say I'm a bit accident prone, get it?" she hissed, glaring at the cat and shooting her gaze over the smaller crowd as well.
"But, I don't want to cause a fuss. We're not spies, just people who've been hauled down here like you; unwanted, forgotten."
Gently, she put the cat back down and let her hand slip from her neck. Relieved, the cat retreated further into the crowd.
" So come on, let's forget this happened, before one of those guys starts poking their noses around here," she jerked her head in the direction of the Echidna guard, and tried to look like a cocky red panda.
Reading the thermal signitures, she paid attention to the nearer heartbeat rates and body temperature; it looked like they were calming down, still edgy, but calmer.
They still hadn't moved though.
Amber glanced at the others stuck in this mess with her, hoping one of them would say something that would resolve this situation properly...
OOC: A quickie from me too before I head off to work =P.
IC:
Not expecting such a response, Tobias' ears pricked up at the sound of the question echoing back at him. It was a good question.
Who am I?
As the fox's green eyes peered out of his cell, he spotted the form of the echidna-bat, curled up defensively in a darkened corner of her quarters. Terrified, Tobias noted, not without a tinge of remorse. She was the one who had almost ended up being blood-fodder for Fabius...
"Who is that? Who are you? Answer me!"
"My name's Tobias, and I'm the reason why you're here. Not by my choice, however..." As he spoke, the fox stepped up into the light to show himself. "...you were, sadly, in the wrong place at the wrong time. The rat... - Tobias saw her visibly recoil at the mention of Fabius - ...I had been tracking him down. He's the leader of that Mange-Cult that everyone's afraid of. I should have known how desperate he was to escape, though."
Tobias slumped down against the cell bars, as the echidna-bat watched him silently.
"Basically, I screwed up, I should have had backup, a plan, something!" The fox slammed his fist against the bars as his anger vented. Seeing the half-bat retreat further back into her corner gave him pause, and his emotions softened. "At least Fabius didn't get the chance to drain you. I've seen enough of that particular speciality of his to last a lifetime."
Through all this, the echidna remained quiet, seemingly studying him.
Best to reach out a hand of friendship...
"So, what's your name? You're a hybrid, aren't you? And no, I don't share the echidnas' asinine views on your bloodline. When you've been in my line of work for as long as I have, you learn to respect people, else you end up toast pretty quick when no one's there to watch your back." Tobias chuckled, waiting for a response from his reclusive neighbour.
"They're not spies."
The voice came from within the crowd of prisoners, it wasn't a yell, but it was loud, the type of voice generals and politicians possess. It was male, but it was a slightly higher pitched than usual, not the kind of bassy, gruff voice one would expect from a person that commanded respect. Yet there was something about the voice that did indeed implant a listening reaction in your mind. Although with the way their Canid companion's eyes and body jerked you'd have though a ghost was speaking directly to him.
A large fox pushed through the crowd, the same minor physical features that set the canid apart from the other mobians were also present in the fox. He was obviously a prisoner as well, his hair was long and unkeep, falling over half his face in an almost elegant fashion. He'd been there awhile from the looks of him, his physique was muscular from the labor they were all forced to do. He pushed to the forefront of the crowd and stood facing them, he looked at them as if they really weren't worth all this commotion, yet he was still participating for whatever reason.
He held on one arm and extended one finger to point at the canid accusingly, head still held high as if even as a prisoner he still maintained some air of nobility, something bred into him. "That one is worse. Myca Bant, a smuggler that deals death to highest bidder. I don't have to tell you who he was selling to here."
The canid, now finally identified, let a curious grim smirk cross his face. "Ix'is, looks like I got snitched." He stood up and faced his accuser, sauntering over to deliver his refute, a sly smile on his face.
"Naxen eas."
*THUMP*
Before anyone could react the fox's fist made the meter journey from his side to the coyote's face.
Ix'is - ICK sis - Kydane exclamation of dislike. Damn!
Naxen - KNOCKS in - Possessive, your, yours
Eas - EEs - Mother, Mother's sister
Butterfly opened her eyes curiously and turned her head towards to conversing 'jailbird' individual from the otherside, despite maintaining her submissive floor clambering position in the dark corner. She had listened carefully and attentively to everything he had said, and for the first time in a long time, found that there was nothing threatening or hostile about his tone, or anything he had said at all. He had a lot to say for himself considering she had asked a simple question In fact, she was oddly surprised that he was quite open and forthcoming. It also caught her attention that the first thing he did after stating his name was blame himself that she was here- which just made her frown in confusion momentarily, until she heard the rest of the story.
And now she was taking a moment to reflect on everything he said. She didn't owe anyone her trust at the end of the day... for now.
On further inspection, after he had made himself more visible by walking towards what sparing light there was near the bared door of his confinement, she suddenly realised...
'That's that fugitive fox I saw in the market earlier!' she remembered, blinking hard. At the time, she really wanted to know who, or what he was running away from. It started off with two mobians who she couldn't remember (the manged rabbit and the red panda)- and because his high-tailing stood out like such a sore thumb and had really aggitated the crowds. The Echidnas inevitably intervened.
Was this why he was here? Was he simply thrown in as quick proceeding to retrieve the 'peace'? Or did the Echidnas know he was a criminal?
She couldn't remember the rest because when she decided to follow him, she had been targeted by a stun gun and everything faded from red to black.
"...you were, sadly, in the wrong place at the wrong time. The rat... -..I had been tracking him down. He's the leader of that Mange-Cult that everyone's afraid of. I should have known how desperate he was to escape, though."
Surprisingly it was all making sense now. At least it's intergrated her other thoughts and recollections on what happened and how she got here. Herself and another, Ash, that Echidna, managed to detain that diseased vermin for a short while. A 'blink and you'll miss it moment'.
...where was Ash now?
"At least Fabius didn't get the chance to drain you. I've seen enough of that particular speciality of his to last a lifetime."
She looked at the fox in a shocked and disturbed manner. And her memory on those chairs back at the convey and Fabius' demand for 'sustenance' confirmed her worst fear. She was lucky she narrowly escaped. But Fabius' last words, his death grip, his threat and condescending words on her hybrid kind, his promise to his 'children', and the fact he got away had managed to etch one of the worst living nightmares she had ever witnessed in her mind. And now he was still roaming around.
"So, what's your name? You're a hybrid, aren't you? And no, I don't share the echidnas' asinine views on your bloodline. When you've been in my line of work for as long as I have, you learn to respect people, else you end up toast pretty quick when no one's there to watch your back." Tobias chuckled, waiting for a response from his reclusive neighbour.
'fly finally got up and walked towards the steel bars of her own confinement.
There was still no guruantee that she could trust this 'interesting' fox individual. But for what it was worth, there did seem to be a good karma and honesty about him.
"I like to call myself Butterfly or 'fly for short," she said mildly as she walked into the light "and I am a hybrid. Not that I dedicate much thought to that." her last statement being a lie. Of course she was reminded every day of how different she was thanks to some people's looks to her. And the general cultures' outlook on life, such as the Echidnas set ways on upholding their order and honour, the Acorns and other mobians similiarly so... otherwise she can't say she'd experienced or got to know other people that well. She managed to justify the negatives of being an 'outcast' with the fact that she could fly and had some decent fighting skills. The best of both worlds of an Echidna and a bat and had defended herself well all this time.
"...thanks for not judging me on that one though." she added softly, as she looked down the corridor and the doorway to where the Echidna warden walked out. The warden that had called her an 'abomination' just as she woke up from her nightmare.
She then looked back at Tobias.
"So what is your line of work anyway?" she said narrowing her eyes curiously "nothing that's upset that Fabius guy or the Echidnas?"
Timber finally stirred from his spot, where he had been listening for the past few minutes, pretending to be still knocked out. Though not quite as large as an Overlander, the dull gray prison suit's sleeves and pant legs were just a little too short for him, although it was baggy enough to accommodate his muscular form. Gone were all of his possessions, including the feathers behind his ear, the sturdy wooden stave, and even the various bits of native jewelry he had worn around his neck.
"I would like to know what your line of work is too, Tobias Jaeger," he said huskily, his mohawk giving him a strangely urbane appearance in the prisoner's garb.
"You've been listening for a while, haven't you?" asked Tobias carefully.
Timber stood on his feet and stretched. "I know that we are to be interrogated in but moments. I will not reveal anything. It is my sworn duty...even to death's gate itself." He turned his stormy eyes onto Tobias. "But before I do, I must hear of why you left. Why you have abandoned your fellows." Why have you abandoned me. But he was careful never to mention the Service itself or the House of Acorn; the echidnas would surely be listening for any hint that might betray who had sent him, and that would have political repercussions.
"You know this guy?" the echidna-bat girl asked Tobias, her eyes darting back and forth between the two.
Timber waited, calm as a dawn before the storm. I have found you, Tobias. But I still must know just what made you leave. I will not die before then!
OOC: Thank you muchly for the new-fangled kudos, everyone! Woo, I'm tired. Sorry for the delay in response, things shall remain on track. If you're still interested in joining, Astral, I might humbly suggest that now may well be a good time =) It'd be good to have you aboard (and anyone else who's been watching). Anyhows...
IC:
"It would appear that the interrogation has already begun." Tobias replied coolly, before adding: "...and yes, I know him."
The Wolf Pack. The best the Service had, the most elite tracking 'unit' (if such a term could be applied to the informal and somewhat independent group) in the Kingdom of Acorn, and the pride of the nation. Originally of Cierran stock, the Wolf Pack's members hail from a single nomadic Clan that settled in the Kingdom long ago. Remaining true to their heritage, yet fervently loyal to the House of Acorn, members of the Wolf Pack often eschewed advanced technology in favour of traditional means and methods, and retained the close bonds of kinship between individual packbrethren. In this way, the Pack operates almost as a traditional Cierran extended family, with new sons, daughters and cousins constantly being added into the 'ranks' of pack members. As with all Cierran family kinships, one's association with the Pack lasted a lifetime, and any betrayal of that bond was anethema, nigh unthinkable, to any packbrother.
- A year earlier, somewhere in the Great Forest of Acorn -
"We've found him, Packleader."
Kneeling down carefully amongst the underbrush, Claw of the Wolf Pack cast his keen gaze down onto the compound below his packbrothers' position, a high woody outcrop overlooking a verdant alpine valley.
Below them, a large compound existing to accomodate those afflicted with the Mange sprawled out, a haphazard collection of tent villages and old prefab agricultural buildings. Ringing the complex was a high perimeter fence, watched over by several guard towers with sentries, probably trying to keep warm on a chilly night.
In amongst it all, somewhere, was their prey.
"Are you certain, Cloud? This place has the stench of the Mange's corruption hanging over it, but we must be sure, this time." The fox - an unusual member in a clan populated almost exclusively by wolves - turned his green eyes towards his longtime friend and comrade.
"See for yourself, packbrother." Passing over his pair of high-power binoculars - a gift from a certain Acornian aristocrat - the older grey wolf gave Claw the chance to examine the situation before giving voice to his thoughts. "The full moon will make our approach difficult. Staying close to the treeline may keep us hidden up until the last hundred metres, but then we'll be in the open for all to see."
Cloud looked on, as a frown of thought and concern disturbed the fine lines of the ceremonial warpaint that decorated the fox's face.
Claw had always seen the safety of his Pack as his highest priority, like any good Packleader. It had been an honour to hunt with him. This particular individual however, this 'Fabius' they had been tasked to track down, had somehow affected the fox on an emotional level. Whilst this was not uncommon amongst the members of the Wolf Pack, Cloud knew Claw well enough to know when something was troubling him.
"You think this task is too risky for the Pack?"
After another moment's silent consideration, the Packleader responded.
"No. I have seen pictures, images of what this fallen noble has done. Evil things. The King demands his scalp, and we shall satisfy His Majesty's desire. Our clan has gone through storm and fire to bring Fabius to justice, and we shall not fail in our duty now due to a moment's laxity and hesitation. We are the Wolf Pack. We always find our prey."
"Well spoken, Packleader. Were it not for the gravity of this mission I would have wished my son to have joined us. He sees you as an uncle. He could learn much from your leadership."
As was custom in the Wolf Pack, new inductees began their 'career' as the protege and 'apprentice' of an elder member, learning the fieldcraft and other skills necessary to excel as one of the King's Wolves. Cloud had long hoped that Packleader Claw would give him the honour of taking his son Timber under his tutelage.
"Timber shows great promise, my friend. He has the endurance of steel and a courage the equal of ten packbrothers. I too would have welcomed his company on this mission, but I would also have feared for his safety. Fabius is a dangerous rat, and I would not desire to see my comrade's bloodline threatened."
Cloud gave a nod of acceptance and appreciation.
"I thank you for your concern, packbrother. On our return to civilisation, then. Would you take him as your own?"
Claw once again looked out across the valley, reflecting upon his friend's request. It had not been long since he had been elected as Packleader. Timber would be the fox's first protege.
"It would be an honour to teach him the ways of the Pack. But for now, let us gather the packbrothers. We must finish this hunt."
- The Present -
Tobias forcefully ended his recollection of that cold night, so long ago. That was his old life. This was the here and now. His duty to the Service and his former comrades was long over.
Timber cannot know the reasons behind my exile. Not yet. Not until I am certain where his loyalties lie.
"Butterfly, may I introduce you to a former colleague of mine. His name is Timber, and I'm afraid we parted company rather abruptly some time ago. Still has that passion for the job I see." Tobias cast an appreciative look over at the wolf. Still having not explained his 'line of work' to the echidna-bat, the fox continued. "We're private investigators, from a nice cosy little firm that specialises in organised crime. That's how I ended up following Fabius. I had a little spat with the boss though, and I decided to leave. Besides, there's better pay as a freelancer. Give my regards to old Dougan, won't you, Timber?" Tobias smiled knowingly, seeing the flicker of anger behind the wolf's otherwise collected exterior.
Twitching his ears, the fox then heard the sound of far-off footsteps approaching. Tobias looked again with concern at Butterfly.
"I don't know what experiences you've had before with these sorts of people, but it can get pretty bad..."
Laboratory Quarters
"Is that chamber ready yet? We have science to pursue, gentlemen! Chop-chop!" The elder echidna clapped his hands, as the guards began to frogmarch the group of troublemakers towards the large pale death-room. Ignatius' voice trailed menancingly after them. "Hmm, yes...chop-chop. An excellent idea! If you survive this, it might be productive to investigate the cauterisation and removal of plague-afflicted flesh and tissue...hmm....yes..."
In another minute, the guards had pushed the group, along with another couple of terrified Mange victims, into the great hermetic chamber. With a soft sucking sound, the chamber's seal closed shut behind them. Above the group, the large bladed fan that covered the chamber's gas release duct whirred ominously, as the Doctor's now-muted voice came through the glass of the viewing port.
"Oh yes, you're in for a treat. Mineral vapours mined from the very rock of the Floating Island. Some say they're very pleasing as mild hallucenogenics...in small doses. Over-exposure very often leads to heart failure and death. Hmm. I trust you shall enjoy the experience, though. Remember, this is for science, and the Theocracy!" With a final chuckle, the outside intercom clicked off, and silence fell upon the chamber.
"What do we do?" A small voice whimpered, and it was then that Ash recognised its owner.
One of Fabius' children, the feline, from the cargo hauler.
All the feline's previous ill-will towards the echidna had evaporated, as the fear of the child's confusing and terrifying position took over.
"Oh please, I don't want to die!"
Somewhere in the corner of the room, a low hiss heralded the coming of a milky white vapour, slipping across the floor in serpentine trails and wreathing itself around their feet. OOC: I hope you don't mind the elaboration on Tobias' and Timber's past, Terg, your take on them was excellent and intriguing, and certainly sent me on a new tangent with Jaeger's character...
16 months ago
The large fan roared to life, swirling the gas upwards into the large turbines. In the middle of the room stood a grey echidna, his eyes half-closed and ringed with dark circles from lack of sleep.
How many hours has it been? he thought, too tired to even manage a yawn. With no sun to use as a reference and the general unhelpfulness of the staff here, he hadn't heard a single person mention time at all. The only intervals he had were when he saw that old bastard's face in the window up above, which always preceded the room being filled with irritating fumes.
"No sir, you don't understand," a voice crackled over the chamber's sound system. The echidna smirked as best as he could at this point. Senile old coot must've pushed the button and forgotten about it...
"This is beyond everything I've ever seen, sir," the voice continued. "Nothing works! Not poisons, not toxins, not chemicals, not parasites, not diseases... even the Mange is powerless against him! He is the very personification of immunity!"
What are they talking about? Did they find some kind of cure?
"No sir, YOU are the one who does not understand! HE IS THE KEY! If I can find out what his body is doing, we can cure ANYTHING! The Theocracy will be immune to that which plagues all the other races! Why, we may even be able to conquer death itself!"
The grey echidna blinked, wondering if he was actually hearing what he thought he was hearing. It sounded so unreal, especially coming from that grinning old bastard. And the craziest thing was, it sounded like the old bastard was talking about HIM. Suddenly there was a loud noise from the speakers, lots of clattering and clanging, as if someone was trashing the room above him. It continued for a few minutes, then subsided. There was silence for a moment, and then Doctor Ignatius appeared in the viewing port.
"Huh? Oh dear, it appears you heard all of that. Oh well, no matter, it's probably for the best. I believe that the special should always hear the praise heaped upon them by the people who truly understand their worth. Now, shall we continue?"
Present
This must be what they mean when they talk about 'coming full circle,' Ash thought as he once again saw the grinning old bastard's face in the viewing port. Ash looked around and saw he was the only one looking at the doctor. Everyone else had their gaze affixed upon the floor, wondering when the gas was going to come. The eagle, the seagull-hybrid, Jonesy... Ash blinked as he noticed a couple of Fabius' child soldiers that had been stuffed into the room as well. Looks like the last year hasn't made you any less of a monster, Ignatius.
"What should we do?" the feline kid asked as he shivered in fear. He looked at Ash in particular, being the only face in the room he could recognize. Ash walked over to him, got on one knee and put a hand on the kid's head. "Oh please, I don't want to die!" the kid wailed.
"Don't worry, I've got an idea," Ash said. "It's gonna be okay. Now, I want you to do me a favor and pop your claws out." The kid nodded and flexed, causing razor-sharp claws to poke out from his pads. Not huge, but they'll work for this, Ash thought, regretting what he was about to get himself into. The gas started to flow slowly onto the floor as Ash turned to the viewing port.
"Doctor Ignatius!" Ash yelled out. From behind the glass, the doctor looked surprised.
"He wishes to pause science for a conversation? Absurd!" Ignatius scoffed, but somewhere in the back of his mind something was telling him to listen. Ignatius grumbled to himself and relented to his instincts. "Stop the gas for a moment. If he has last words, I believe we should hear them." Dr. Ignatius reached out and activated the intercom as an assistant cut the gas. "Why are you interrupting our search for the cure, grey one? Is our cause that meaningless to you that you'd waste it prattling away about nothing? And how did you know my name? I do not recall telling you my name."
"You DID tell me your name, Doctor Ignatius, but it wasn't today. It was over a year ago, about 16 months ago to be precise. In fact, I'm insulted that you don't remember me."
Ash's word gave Ignatius pause. A former colleague? A subordinate? Or maybe... Ignatius' eyes grew wide in shock. "You've... you've come back to me?" There was silence for a brief moment, then slowly, Ignatius started to laugh. "He's come back! Oh, what a glorious day! I thought those bureaucrats had stolen you from me for good, but finally he's come back!"
"Yeah, I'm back," Ash grimaced at the old coot's mirth. Probably thinking up new ways to torture me. "...and I want to make a deal. I want you to release the others in the room with me. I want them sent away from the laboratory to one of the other wings." Ash paused before the last life of his proposal, not enjoying the prospect of what he was about to offer. "In exchange, I'll be your test subject again."
"Silly boy," Ignatius chortled. "What makes you think I won't just gas everyone else and claim my prize after they're all dead?"
In response, Ash took one of the child's paws and brought it to his throat, claws millimeters away from his jugular. "Because if you don't, I'll spill the blood you want to use all over the floor. What good am I to you dead, Dr. Ignatius?" Ash turned toward the child, who looked shocked at the recent turn of events. "Hey, kid. When I jam your hand into my throat, twist your arm and pull it out. I want a wound that can't be fixed in time to save my life, got it?" The kid nodded, confused. Ash turned back toward Ignatius.
"So, Doc. What's it gonna be?"
Electrocity junkyard, 25 miles from Metropolis periphery location X
Seipher was a three-tailed, beige coloured fennec fox. A former wing commander, talent for flying planes, and a natural mind for mechanics. And his three tails used to enable him to fly for himself… used to…
With his face plunged down a dark cabinet with overhanging wires and other complex electronic structures, Seipher furrowed his brow as he carefully retrieved two wire ends. With a fixed concentrated expression, he smiled in his mind as he gradually brought the two ends together, about to link them…
"UNCLE SEIPHER!!"
Whack
"Yeeouch!" Seipher yelled as his head automatically shot up and banged against the hard metal roof of the cabinet.
He grumbled with annoyance, feeling the dull ache and dizziness that accompanied it.
"What is it Dolly?!" he demanded, annoyed that he had been distracted from a fine dexterous job but more importantly, for the shock and headache.
He also had to be careful of his neck. Lately… it hadn't felt quite right. He somehow felt as if the tendons and ligaments were giving way and disintegrating and he was able to crack it whenever he pleased. Some days it ached, other days it didn't. He didn't dare look, but he also felt a bare patch at the back of his neck.
"Whatcha doin' there?" the semi-robotic rabbit youth asked.
"I'm rewiring this plane so that we can quit bee-boppin' around and get the hell outta here!" Seipher said exasperated, gesturing his arms towards their panoramic environment which consisted of giant cranes, mountains of scrap metal, conveyor belt circuits and a blanket of dark clouds from the boundless skies. He could also see some flying vehicles passing over their location- which made him wary.
This metropolitan region had recently been 'claimed' by the overlanders. A slow but deadly restraining order was spreading towards mobians- an apartheid. Tension had been rising between the overlanders and mobians for quite some time now and as naturally greedy as overlanders could be, they had already started claiming 'their' land via law enforcements. Rumours of certain possible rising oligarchies, or tyrants, did well inflicting some hesitation for the mobians to fight back. They were getting scared.
Given this location was considerably far out from any general mobian land, certain mobian powers thought it best to 'let go'.
And now, given that complication, any overlander could quite happily walk up to Seipher and Dolly and shoot them in broad daylight and not a thing would be done against them.
They were on 'overlanders only' territory.
"…did you interrupt me just for that?" Seipher asked, palpating his head in an effort to gather his thoughts and sooth his head.
"…hmmmm?" she asked, having been completely in her own world whilst he had been ranting, a smile on her face.
"Nooo. I also wanted tah say…" Seipher raised an eyebrow, awaiting the rest "that funny lookin' guy in a white coat is comin' on over! I saw him aftah ya sent me to go fetch some oil! He's comin' from thata way!" she said, pointing jubilantly behind Seipher.
Seipher tilted his head slightly, a new anxiety replacing the one he had about staying put in this area despite maintaining a seeming nonchalant expression.
Before he was about to so much as speak out, he somehow knew that by turning around to see the doctor walking up to him that that was all the time he had.
He folded his arms, his fringe and three tails blowing in the wind as he awaited the overlander- Dolly and the Starfighter plane behind him.
"Wing commander," Dr. Sears smiled.
"Dr. Sears?" Seipher responded.
"Have a job for you my boy." Seipher was seething inside. Why bother with the greeting and use of his formal title of 'wing commander' if he was immediately going to refer to him as 'boy'? It was simple. The doctor had an ulterior motive in visiting him right now.
"What is it then?" Seipher said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"I need you to retrieve something for me. Or someone."
Seipher raised an eyebrow. The deliberate correction of the subject from 'something' to 'someone' did nothing to quell his arrogance and lack of care for people, or mobians alike.
"I don't bounty hunt doctor, it isn't my field." Seipher plainly stated, still folding his arms.
"It's nice to have some experience in some other fields, 'ex' Wing commander. Good for the soul," Dr. Sears nodded "and it may be of interest to you. How's your neck?"
"It's fine." Seipher lied, turning it to one side instinctively. Dolly grimaced when she heard what sounded like a slipped knot in the neck bone.
"You remember my definitive diagnosis when you asked me to check it out for you, don't you?" Dr. Sears reminded him. Seipher's heart sank, but he tried not to let it show.
"D-d-deeeiagnooosis?" Dolly tried to pronounce the complex word "huh? Is uncle Seipher sick?"
"Afraid so." Dr. Sears said, pretending to be sympathetic as he looked at Dolly, before looking back at Seipher "she's a smart girl ex-commander. Half robotic girl, that is. And the world is getting less accepting… crueller. Wouldn't want to leave her stranded and alone would you?"
Seipher kept his silence, the howling wind becoming more noticeable, as well as the electrical discharges given off by nearby engineering works.
"I can find a cure for this, but I need the subject. Intervention X." Dr. Sears suddenly reached into his pocket and threw a compact device in Seipher direction, which the fennec caught with both gloved hands "this will lead you to her. Just to get you up to speed, she's on the floating island."
Seipher stared at the device in the palm of his hands, before watching as the doctor started to disappear into the distance, the back of his coat waving slightly in the wind.
He started to think back at the times before his mysterious… idiopathic condition had hit him. He was able to run quite far and fast, he was able to fly with his three tails, and his 'neck' was quite alright. This aggressive joint failure that was invading his body was dampening his will to live.
The only person that made him forget was Dolly. A half rabbit robot that he had rescued when he found her alone near robotropolis. But that was another story…
"What's that?" Dolly asked pointing at what Seipher was holding.
Seipher turned around and forced a smile as he gripped the device suavely.
"My chance to get a cure!" he took one final glance around the environment, before nodding at Dolly "ok. You said you got the oil? Well, guess we can go now. To the floating island. Come on! You'll like it!"
Dolly jumped enthusiastically on the spot, before running straight to the starfighter and jumping into the backseat.
Seipher on the other hand, wasn't as sprightly. He scrambled up one of the wings, and carefully placed himself in the front seat. Turning the key in the ignition, he threw a helmet towards Dolly before placing one on his own head. After flicking a few switches and strapping on the seatbelt, he prepared the rest of the plane's operatives (and himself mentally) for take off and the upcoming mission.
______________________________________________________________________
Level 6, Cell Blocks
Butterfly looked on at Tobias really intrigued and somewhat fascinated. He seemed to be in his own world after Timber character intervened in the conversation. Just what had he been thinking about anyway?
She wasn't suspicious, but more naively curious.
She took a moment to look at Timber, her eyes open and care-free in spite of their jailbird situations. Timber looked like a fairly strong built wolf with a mohawk. After Tobias had explained that they use to work together, she wondered what it was they did? She had 'some' knowledge of the wolf packs. They tended to be fiercely loyal to one another and were traditional and tribal in their ways. By no means less intelligent, civilised or less apt as a mobian culture by any means at all. Just mobians set in their ways.
So whatever Tobias did to upset Timber was probably not going to be lightly forgotten. Not that Timber appeared to hate Tobias, but more seemed resentful and perhaps wanted some answers, or an explanation to whatever it was that happened?
"We're private investigators, from a nice cosy little firm that specialises in organised crime. That's how I ended up following Fabius. I had a little spat with the boss though, and I decided to leave. Besides, there's better pay as a freelancer. Give my regards to old Dougan, won't you, Timber?" Tobias smiled knowingly, seeing the flicker of anger behind the wolf's otherwise collected exterior.
'Wow, good thing you're protected by bars,' Butterfly wanted to say, but decided against it. She didn't want to upset Timber any further and besides, the situation they were in was hardly a laughing matter.
Butterfly's raised a pair of inquisitive ears as she picked up the sound of a creaking door and some approaching footsteps as well.
"I don't know what experiences you've had before with these sorts of people, but it can get pretty bad..."
'fly shook her head, opening her mouth to say something, but nothing came out due to the fear that was pinning her ability to speak.
"So. Have you guilty folk accustomed yourselves to the idea that your sorry selves are about to get busted?" Warden Jora-Su taunted "not everyone gets a few good minutes to reflect on their doom. I gave you the priviliege. I hope you used your time wisely…" she trailed off, noting that the wolf and the half-breed had woken up and walked up to their cell doors to converse with Tobias.
"Up and about? Remarkable considering your upcoming fate," she said snidely. She turned her head and swerved her hand towards the team of armoured Echidnas behind her, indicating them to open the cell doors.
Like an orderly platoon, the group of steel-masked and armour quilled Echidnas, all identical looking, unlocked the cells. They handcuffed each captive and lead them out without a pause or hesitation.
"Orderly line," Jora-Su commanded. She stood at the front, with Tobias behind her followed by Butterfly, and then Timber. The Echidna platoon surrounded them bi-laterally and from behind in an orderly and tight fashion, to ensure there was absolutely no means of escape.
As Jora-Su started to march, the captives followed and the platoon of Echidnas marched in succession- a threatening barrier around the detainees.
Butterfly held a worried expression, somewhat frightened of what was coming up ahead.
She knew she was innocent and she would be able to explain herself. Being a half breed though, politics would let her down and her word would count against nothing.
They'd be interested to know if she was a true resident of the floating island and the answer to that would be know. They'd ask about her past, she was- and she wanted to forget!
They'd ask about Fabius, and as of yet, she wasn't enjoying talking about the horrifying creature.
She thought she was beginning to trust the newcomer, Tobias. But judging from the warden's familiarity of him and her derisive attitude- would what he would have to say in the interrogation fair well?
For his, Timber's and her sake, she hoped so.
*THUMP*
The coyote took the hit with little effect, simply smirking back. Samuel wondered what the hell was going on, a reaction that apparently everyone other than the two now staring at each other shared.
"I hate to interrupted you two, especially since this seems so personal. However I would point out that we are trapped in this place together and in the middle of a mob. So maybe we can find a nice place away from the guards and, fellow prisoners for yall to "discuss" whatever issue you two have. Plus I would like a chance to speak to you about our current situation before you start a brawl."
Samuel looked at the others hoping for reasonable reaction.
