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Post by yami on Jan 6, 2010 22:41:33 GMT -5
 "A turn...for the interesting."
"Dusk bugs? Could he mean the heartless...?" the Data Entity mused to herself. Plenty of interesting information was given from his explanation. She was able to grasp key entities in this world's Government. The Assembly was no doubt the ruling body, perhaps elders not unlike her own world. The Table was perhaps an offensive group, albeit either a secret group or a backup for emergencies. Lastly, The Woods must have been an important outpost to this world, along with others hat had been destroyed due to the attack. It seemed they'd have lots of weeding to do, no doubt.
Now it was a matter of arriving at their destination. Since their guide was just a guide, it meant they'd need to speak with someone of authority. The fact that he was observing a sign, meant he either didn't know his way around or was looking to stall for time. Considering the nature of their ginger guide, this last part was more likely but it wasn't a sound hypothesis just yet--
Then came the familiar slam, a quick glance to her comrades and it was clear they were disturbed. Oriana herself was tempted to draw her weapon but her hand-to-hand skill, was just as efficient. Down the hall was someone who did look to be in authority. The fact that their layed back guide was so tensed proved as much. Thus it was probably best to break the ice, to which Illyas already did. Oriana looked towards him and nodded. Armour was not necessary considering her abilities. Rather, some helpful equipment would be much more prefered. Still, Oriana had a simple question:
"You are the Captain of this militia/division correct?"
Oriana was straight to the point, if there was an emergency then information needed to be dispensed quick, accurately, so that it could be delt with in the most efficient matter. Three of them weren't going to be able to clear all trouble spots. Finding the source was a better mission for them, especially if it was heartless causing trouble. |
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Post by lysander on Jan 9, 2010 11:05:17 GMT -5
Clear whispers to Illyas. "She's way too uptight about the situation."
She bit her lip.
"Get your ass... Down to the commander's office." She growled, but her mouth moved once too many times for that sentence.
...Clear...
[Suddenly, Oriana has a vision.]
---
This is where all will change. In this moment.
It will be hard, and you will see many cruel and terrible things. The darkness will rear its head, and it will be hard to watch. Even to close your eyes, you will see, you will hear, you will feel. The darkness will surround you, and choke out the light. But there is a light in every heart, that never goes out. Do not forget that light, because when the street-lamps, and torches, and fluorescent bulbs of the world all go out, that light will remain, to guide you through the darkness.
Things will never be the same as they were, but maybe, if you try, you can make them into what they will be.
---
The girl with dark blue hair stalks forward, staring intently at the messenger among you, and when she arrives before him, she thrusts one of the metal chest pieces at the red-head, whom stumbles, and her expression can only be described as venomous. He looks puzzled up to her, his finger holding the piece of armor awkwardly, yet she doesn't take notice. "I don't know why he wants you to even wear one of these. There's nothing for it to protect." [/color] The chest plate has a strange round metal insert in the center of it, with an inscription surrounding it. Among you the girl looks perhaps slightly taller, but ever more intimidating. Up close you can see a few thin scratches on her hands and cheeks, like paper-cuts. Her muscular form is clear beneath the uniform, and her jaw is held tight as if expecting, even wanting a fight. But she looks only at the messenger. . . Who laughs nervously. "Ah, aha, that's funny Runo. But let's all calm down, huh? These guys came a long way to help us all out. I bet they're stressed enough as is."[/color] He looks to each of you as if seeking some sort of support. The woman looks at each of you as if sizing you up; or perhaps sizing you down would be a better phrasing. "Hmph."[/color] She turns on heel, and storms towards the maintenance lockers and hangars. But before she goes too far, she turns as if to say something. [Suddenly, Illyas has a vision.]Deciding better, she shakes her head hard, jerks back around and continues. And then, with perfect timing, a large barrel-chested man, with a short haircut rushes approaches from the direction of the offices. A thin man with glasses follows close behind. "Hail Mercenaries, I am Commander Javner of the Guarding Castle Champion Corps. I apologize for meeting you here in the hallway, but there is no time for further formality."The lights shut off. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this Champion Corps station is currently under attack. Power is being diverted into defensive measures. Please follow the directions of the nearest Champion to safety. Do not crowd or panic, as these reactions are uncalled for. More in formation will be disseminated as this situation develops. I repeat, Ladies and Gentlemen, this Champion Corps, Station is currently under attack. Power is being..." Dimmer lights along the floor lit up to serve as some illumination.[/blockquote][/size] [My sincerest apologies for not having been here yesterday. A lot conspired against it but at the end I am to blame. To make up for the lost time, I have sped up the introduction sequence to its end. One or two turns after this, and you'll be fighting all the heartless you could ever want to.] |
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Post by Emi on Jan 10, 2010 14:40:37 GMT -5
"So I'm guessing this is more than raccoons...[/color]" Emi said meekly. Yeah. You didn't divert power to "defensive measures" for your average pest. She and the other two, who the now named Commander Javner had referred to as mercenaries. Mercenaries? Maybe the other two were, but Emi had never seen herself as one. So this was a lot lot lot more complicated than she had thought. She reached into her coat nervously, wrapping her hand around Daggerwing. Security blanket, nervous habit. Better than nail biting.
But it was nice to finally be in contact with some authority around here! Get some answers, yeah. Emi had a lot of things to ask Commander Javner (she giggled a bit, despite the situation. His name rhymed, sort of). She raised her hand and then pulled it back quickly before she had even been acknowledged.
Perhaps this wasn't the best time to be rambling nervously but she was definitely not going to go out there and die and not know what she'd died for. She was getting frustrated with the lack of communication around here.
"Um, I have questions before we start killing stuff. I'm sure these guys do too, like... what exactly are we supposed to be mercenary-ing?[/color]"
The blue haired lady-Runo- had given their guide some kind of armor. Emi pointed to it. "And, do we get one of those?[/color]"
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Post by Jun on Jan 10, 2010 21:52:23 GMT -5
"Again not our commander. The commander must be quite high-ranking considering the formality of two messengers."
This new woman proved herself to be quite different from their first messenger, but no more formal. No, perhaps "rude" would be the more accurate word. It was hard to say whether the first messengers over-friendly attitude was worse or this new messenger's anger. But then she may just have been feeling the tension of the situation that was apparently lost on the red-haired man. And she may have known more about the situation than Illyas and his new comrades, making her even more tense.
With every passing second, this became less and less of a "routine mission".
Soon identified as Runo, the woman handed the armor over to their messenger with some more rage-induced remarks. It did not seem she was on the best terms with the initial messenger. Illyas couldn't blame her.
As she stormed off in an attempt to lead them, the archer soon became aware that the lights seemed...dimmer. And they were continuing to darken, most unnaturally at that.
And from the darkest depths came a piercing light that soon gave Illyas vision again. The light of the sun.
Wait, the sun?
He was outside now, though he was unaware how. Perhaps another warping spell had been used.
No, this didn't give the same sickly feeling the previous warping had. It felt much...looser, so to speak.
His surroundings gave the feeling that this was a village of sorts. A village that may as well have neighbored Flynn from the relaxed atmosphere it gave off. No strange gigantic metal buildings. No demons. No...otherworldly objects at all. After being away from home so long, Illyas hardly recognized what a "normal" place really looked like.
Closest to him was a red-haired little girl writing in the dirt with a stick. She looked normal enough herself, but her writing was impossible to understand to the archer. Another language, it seemed.
Illyas continued to stand stunned as the girl finished her writing and took his hand.
"She wants to lead me somewhere? Is she not even surprised by my sudden appearance?" Illyas thinks, finding himself led towards a house by the little girl.
His thoughts drifted to the situation with the Dusk Bugs, but he could not seem to concentrate on it. No, he could not seem to concentrate on anything but this village right now. And this little girl, whatever her plan may be.
"Mama! I'm hungry!" the little girl said upon entering, the first words Illyas hears in this village.
A woman awaited inside the house, no doubt the child's mother. And despite the fact that her daughter dragged him in, she did not seem to even notice Illyas. Yet the archer still could not bring himself to say anything.
"I saw you playing in the dirt out there." the woman answered while wiping her hands on an apron.
"I wasn't playing, I was writing impordant documents for big bruvver. If I write'em for him, he can come home for Holly Festival. That's what he said." the little girl explained, earning a laugh from her mother.
"Well, my goodness, we'll need to get you pencils and papers won't we? Writing in the dirt just won't do for 'important documents."
Illyas seemed to be gaining his concentration back through this concentration. Enough, at least, to realize this may be some sort of illusion created to distract him by the Dusk Bugs.
"Now, go take the stick back to The Woods, and we'll make you a nice snack, okay Lillen?"
"The Woods? Our target area?" Illyas thinks, finding the girl (known to him now as Lilen) taking his hand once more.
It was a fairly long walk, but it seemed to pass in an instant. An instant during which Illyas could not speak, and Lilen did not choose to. But she was leading him to The Woods, was she not? Wasn't it a dangerous area for a child to go? Maybe this was why he had been summoned to her side; to protect her.
After all, that was what he was fighting for overall. To protect the simple villagers like this back home from the Heartless.
The Woods lived up to its name, proving to be clustered with trees. Lilen holds out the stick she had traveled here to return in front of her, seemingly waiting. And her wait was answered when a vine moves itself from a tree and takes hold of the twig, pulling it into the forest.
"Are you coming home for a snack?
Surprised she asked him a direct question, Illyas turned to answer her...
...and found himself face-to-face with a wall with his mouth open.
He was back in the dim hallway with its Dusk Bug problem. And it seemed everyone was still in the same place and unsurprised by the archer, as if he had never been transported away at all.
"What was that? A spirit trying to pass on advice, perhaps?"
Shaking his head, he decided to focus on the current situation and followed the others until they met a man who introduced himself as their real commander.
Commander Javner of Guarding Castle Champion Corps, apparently.
Due to the extremity of the situation, he decided to skip the formalities (much to the archer's dismay) while an unseen went on to explain that this very building was under attack by Dusk Bugs. Which certainly explained the earlier noises. It went on to further explain something about "transferring energy", but it went over the archer's head.
Again it was less-formalized girl that asked quite directly about what they were to do exactly.
"Commander, if I may. My name is Illyas Aion, by the way. Shall we aid in defending this area, or is it The Woods you would have us travel to? I feel something is...calling us there, so to speak."
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Post by yami on Jan 12, 2010 0:10:48 GMT -5
 "Crisis Situation...?"
"Three have been here before...?"
She was speaking aloud, yet she was completely present. At this point Lady Runo had closed the gap between the group. Stalking forward, her gaze was only on the ginger messenger. Her words are not interpreted by Oriana unfortunately. Her own eyes appear dormant. Her consciousness is processing unknown data.
As he mentions this, Oriana responds:
"Three have been here before, one of which was myself. I stood by the side of Lord Mare, ready to tackle the threat..."
She was just stating her observations as they came. It was hard to dispute this data, though she had no recollection of it. Such a thought process was not performed by the data entity. She nods as he nods her way, her eyes surprised to see the elder's own. He then speaks his command for the initiate and he is dismissed. Receiving a final nod, the vision fades to black.
"Just what happened to me next?"
Oriana finally got grasp on her thoughts, no longer speaking aloud. Thankfully she tuned back in after Runo's "Hmph". Noticing the group was being lead, she'd naturally follow along albeit in silence. When she sees the large barrel-chested man, along with the thin man with glasses, she tilts her head. She's confused but this confusion soon turns into concern after the greeting. At long last they had met the Commander of this corps.
Too bad it was under attack...the improtu meeting would have to resume once they were guided to safety. Illumination ceased, spare some dim lights across the floor. It reminded her of her home world, but there was no time to remiss. The announcement was quite clear and yet...
The other girl in their group felt room for humour? Well at the moment they were mercenaries, Oriana was uncertain about this aspect, as even though she felt she'd been here before, the experience of being a mercenary was still new. Now then the girl spoke once more, this time asking two questions. It wasn't exactly the time but Oriana would remain silent.
Illyas had spoken up, introducing himself to the commander and asking a much more relevant question. If they were to defend this position or head to an outpost. Regardless, they were "mercenaries", which meant the last question to the puzzle was necessary.
"How will compensation for our tasks be handled and what shall we be compensated with?"
Once more, she was straight to the point as now was the time to clear up loose ends, they could then battle to their hearts content... |
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Post by lysander on Jan 17, 2010 11:43:14 GMT -5
Clear's eyes scanned Oriana oddly while she spoke, seeming suspicious for a moment
Unlike Clear and Runo, Javner did not linger, nor did he ignore them. With Lore at his heels the large man gestured for them all to follow after him while he answered their questions, not even missing a beat. This was a hardened war veteran after all. "The common name for them is Heartless, I think." [/color] He asserted, his voice authoritative and straightforward. He spared a chuckle when Emi asked about the chestpiece. "Those are dangerous things. My champions go through four to five weeks of training before they're allowed to don one."[/color] A shadow crawled out from the ceiling, ready to strike, but Javner payed it no mind. Instead it was Lore who leapt across the hallway, his fist glowing blue as he struck the small heartless, and it dissipated. Clear eyed him as he had eyed Oriana, as if suspecting something. "Your instincts are good, Aion. For a long time now, Shade-lings have been pouring out of The Wood, and we've had no idea why. And The Wood has been so threatened by their presence that it won't allow us in to investigate. But things are worse now than they've ever been on this front. We've found an entry point where The Wood isn't guarding itself. You will enter there, and find the source of the Heartless."[/color] [Suddenly, Emi has a vision.]At Oriana's question, Javner had reached the end of the hallway, and a large door. It was wide enough for four or five people to stand shoulder to shoulder, and tall enough that Illyas could have climbed up on Javner's shoulders and still had some room to stand tall. The commander moved to the side, entering a keycode into a small panel on the wall while he answered Oriana's question. "If ensuring the domestic tranquility, and further safety of this entire world isn't enough compensation for you, I'm sure you'll all be honored as Heroes by Emperor Hale, and receive adequate financial benefit. And if you're looking for jobs, I'd consider giving you all honorary Hero medals and deputizing you."[/color] This was followed by a laugh to indicate he was joking, the doors sliding open. The hangar was a large gray room, with a wall covered in computer terminals, and what appeared to be a series of four large, glass shotgun shells. Runo stood near the computer terminals with a couple uniformed men wearing differentiating headbands. Two were talking, while the third was pouring over the keys. Every now and then one of the strange glass containers in the middle would shift. Javner turned to look over your group, pondering something. "Weren't there supposed to be four of-"[/color] But Clear moved over to Javner's side before he could finish whatever he was saying and whispered something in the commander's ear. "Lord Mare? Strange. Very strange. We'll talk about your issue with Lore when you return."[/color] The large man, sad with a nod to the young messenger. Lore looked down and away at the mention of him, obviously anxious over something. "Thank you sir."[/color] Clear returned with a nod, producing a long dagger from seemingly nowhere, the chest piece swinging from off one finger. "Look alive."[/color] The Group was surrounded! Ten Heartless has snuck up at a time, blocking off each route of exit. Six at the return hallway, four between them and the hangar bay. "The four of you, head into the hangar. We'll hold off the ones here. Go!"[/color] The commander bellowed. Clear smirks at each of you. "Party time. One for each of us?"[/color][/blockquote][/size] |
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Post by Emi on Jan 20, 2010 18:38:30 GMT -5
One for each of them. That didn't sound so bad. Silently, she pulled her kali sticks out of her jacket. No more questions... for now. Even though she still had so many, she pushed them to the back of her mind, leaving room for only basic communication and battle skills.
She was still reeling from this latest dream. She just didn't understand what was going on. But she thought maybe she was on the verge of beginning to understand. Maybe. Someone had mentioned an Emperor Hale, and the messenger in her dream... knew they were being attacked?
She kept the knowledge of her latest daydream to herself. It had frightened her. It couldn't possibly be that bad. They would make out alive right? This was only the beginning.
But despite herself, she hung back from the battle for a moment. Scared, for the first time in her life, of a fight.
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Post by Jun on Jan 22, 2010 22:26:09 GMT -5
[OOC: Rawr, school tied me up. Time to knock some heads.]
"So the Heartless have been entering from The Woods? But it seemed so serene in my just-passed dream. Was it a message from the past?" Illyas thought, continuing to listen to Commander Javner explain the situation in a hurried yet informative fashion.
Going on to tell them they would be honored as heroes was exactly what the archer wanted to hear. Yes, that would certainly build prestige for Flynn. And perhaps some of that prestige could open the lips of someone with information on the multiplying monsters.
In fact, this place itself seemed to be in a similar situation to his home. Maybe he could use his first-hand experience here to save everyone? That would certainly be something to look forward to.
The room they entered proved to be quite overwhelming to Illyas. He had come across what people called "computers" before in his travels, but never anything quite like this. In fact, the archer did not even think there were this many computers in the universe. Something so powerful should be rare, should it not? Just one of these "computers" could greatly change Flynn's structure.
"I suppose it would not be the first thing to surprise me today..."
With their information gained, the enemy wasted no time in appearing. Ten had managed to appear around the group, not at all hiding their Heartless nature. But Commander Javner had mentioned both Shade-lings and Dusk Bugs, and Illyas was afraid he could not tell which ones these were.
But it was not important right now. There were four directly in their way that were to be cleared, and while Illyas wanted to fight them all off, he realized that was not plausible in this emergency situation.
The red-headed messenger known as Clear took out a dagger at the sign of danger.
"I would not think of you as a fighter." Illyas remarked, aware he was being a little rude. But then Clear was not someone he believed required great formality. "But I am glad we have you with us."
One of his allies took out her weapons as well in the form of two sticks, but did not move to attack yet. Having no knowledge of her weapon, Illyas assumed these were more than mere sticks while he took an arrow out of the quiver on his back, Quintessence summoning into his right hand.
No use wasting his magic so early in the mission. He would need to conserve his energy after all, so a normal arrow would do. And since he was stationary, he was able to enter a clear Open Position and fire an arrow towards one of the creatures in his way, aiming at its torso so that the arrow may at least land somewhere on the body when it dodged.
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I did post in shades of grey if anyone even remembers that lmao