Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

The small show of concern didn’t go unnoticed to Kairo. He didn’t know if that was a good thing though. On one hand, it was obvious that Stryx seemed to care about him. On the other, he didn’t want the man to feel bad for something he couldn’t control. To try and deter him from that, he procures a look of content at the news. It was hard, seeing as all he wanted to do was relax.

“Got it, make sure we still got coffee for tomorrow though.” He answered with a nod, before walking towards the Syndroid.
“Won’t let you down.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Once atop the walled perimeter, Kairo would get an above-ground view of the area, and of the vast, denser jungle below their position down the mountain.
The faintest glimpse of a waterfall could be seen.

Nearby, the Syndroid: Penny, was busy attempting to awaken a napping Rufus without appearing rude toward the helmet-wearing sleeper.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Seeing as the syndroid seemed to occupied, he wavered on getting her attention. His mind now debating whether he should let her finish his task, or interrupt it. He stood there for a few seconds, trying to figure out his course of actions. It really shouldn't have taken that long, but he finally decided to tap her shoulder to grab her attention.

He waited for Penny to finally face him before he greeted her with a smile and a small wave. "Hey. Penny right? Commander Stryx sent me here to replace...Karl? For tonights shift." He then glanced over at the figure that had fallen asleep.
'Uhh...you'd like my help with that?" He pointed a finger at the sleeping form of Rufus.

 

[Da Doofus]

"If it is no inconvenience, sir." She said softly. "I have tried nucely to awake him and inform him that he is not allowed up here, and I have been left no choice but . . ." She let out a digital sigh.
"Try nicely again."

 

[Chai_T3a]

He gives her a nod before taking a few tentative steps towards Rufus.
“Hey. Rufus. Get up.” He said in a very normal tone. Nudging the man’s back as to hopefully guarantee he awakens.

That didn’t seem to work though, and he was left with no choice but to buckle down. He sighed and slapped him on the back. Hard enough for the man to notice, even in any state of sleep.
“Rufus!” He repeated a bit louder.

 

[Da Doofus]

The former treasure hunter stammered awake, his visor flashing red in response to his opening eyes.
"Fucking shit swizzling pen dicks!" He blurted out, readying his fists to defend against his assaulter.
He glanced up to see Kairo.
"Ass." He sneered, recomposing himself.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He tried his best to not burst out in a fit of laughter. Instead, he covered his mouth with a fist, using it as a physical means to stop the urge to laugh. Still, a few muffled chuckled escaped his lips.
"Sorry." He apologized, it definitely didn't sound like he meant it though. "Couldn't sleep last night?" He raised his eyebrow in a knowing smile, thinking about Rufus's 'endeavours' last night.

 

[Da Doofus]

"Not in a bunk with a bunch of boy scouts glaring at me, possibly with shanks." Rufus pressed a button on a small datapad on his wrist, and soft jazz gently played inside his helmet.
"Like a fucking prison in there."

Penny raised a finger.
"Sir? I'm sorry but you're not allowed up here without authorization."

"I'm volunteering." Rufus said tiredly. "Catch up on sleep now to stay awake later, y'know?"

Penny's eyes blinked.
"That is . . . Quite unorthodox."

"I'm pulling my weight, right? No one else will give me a task."

The Syndroid scoffed, and looked at Kairo.
"I'll get you a flashlight." She assured, walking off further down the wall.

Rufus glanced at her departure.
"Think she bought it?" He sniggered, leaning back to enjoy his own serenade.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He gave the Syndroid a quick thanks before she left.

Kairo then looked over at Rufus, hearing the question he asked. He seemed to look a little surprised for a second. If what Rufus had been saying was a lie, then it was convincing enough for even Kairo to believe. Either that, or he was just way too gullible.

“That was all fake?” He asked, his eyebrows scrunching up a tiny bit.
“Why are you up here then?”

“

 

[Da Doofus]

"Not all of it." Rufus stretched. "I really didn't like the idea of going in a bunk.
Aside from that, yeah I was bluffing . . . Technically. I mean while I'm up here I may as well keep an eye out, right?"

 

[Chai_T3a]

He nodded in understanding, before walking over to the ledge for a good view of his surroundings. As he looked outside the camp walls, he was greeted by the expansive flora of the jungle. At this vantage point, he was provided a view unachievable on the ground. Resting his arms on the jutting wall used to keep people from falling out, he watched as the sun began to set from the horizon. The soft glow of sun providing the jungle with hues of oranges and reds. This was definitely a good place to spend away his night. Maybe getting a total of zero sleep tonight wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

The sunset also seemed to remind him of another thing. He turned his head to look back at Rufus, a wide grin on his face.
"Yeah. Cause being asleep is definitely the same as keeping watch." He teased.
"Bad night?" he then asked casually, looking back out into the seemingly endless jungle.

 

[Da Doofus]

"Shhhhhhh." Rufus put a finger to his helmet's air filter.
"It's a secret."

Distant birds sounded off a discordant, evening song of overlapping calls.
Other such animals seemed to stir by the current time. Inside the camp, Helen stepped out of her tent to analyze the birds flying further up the trees with curiousity.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo laughed a bit at the reply that was offered. He could faintly hear the sounds of Helen's footsteps from his position on the top of the wall. He payed her no mind though, seeing as he'd attract the attention of half the camp if he was to try and call her over. He did indeed listen to the sounds of the wildlife though, the scattered chatter of the birds being, and occasionally, a sound that belonged to a completely different creature. Thankfully they weren't as ear piercing as the screams of the trio in the lab.

"Ya know what. You should just take do my watch for me. Seeing that you're awake and all." He added casually as a joke.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus scoffed, his drowsiness beginning to fade.
"I'm good. Prefer to have some company anyway." He reached into his satchel and removing two metallic bottles with button-activated interior cooling.
"Soda?" He asked. "Snagged a crate of it from the Noah before I left.
I think it's sasparilla."

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Yeah. Sure.” He says, casually turning around to lean against the protruding wall. His arm outstretched to grab the soda.

Once Rufus had passed the cold can, he quickly uncapped it and sampled the refreshing drink. He hadn’t had a soda since he’d gotten onto the Noah. Not because it wasn’t readily available, but rather he never saw a reason to have to drink anything other then water, coffee, and the occasional alcoholic beverage. The drink was a little to sweet for his preference, but it was still definitely nice to have some variety. He was thankful that Rufus had brought this back.

Speaking of being thankful. He remembered that he still hadn’t gotten a chance to thank Rufus for his decision to come back. He definitely seemed to be...adjusting, but it still must have been tough for him to come back. A part of him wanted to believe that there was another reason. That little speech of his was alright, but he wasn’t entirely sure someone would throw away months of hard work that easily. Whatever the reason, giving up everything you’ve been working for was never easy.

He set the drink on the top of the wall.
“Hey. I never got a chance to thank you.” His expression seemed to have turned much more serious.
“Ya know. For coming back and all. I know this wasn’t what you wanted.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus took off the helmet, the jazzy tune still quietly playing from the interior, and set it by his feet to sip the sasparilla.
"No it was not." He cleared his throat to compensate for the sudden carbonation. "Everyone here was expecting a greeting from the Republic Military Coalition and a world free of monsters." He gestured to the jungle with his free hand.
"And we got this. Funny how life changes the outcome, huh?"
He took another sip.
"You're welcome, by the way. Glad to have one guy around I can trust, so thanks back."

 

[Chai_T3a]

"Yeah. Don't think anyone was expecting any of this." He stated. Looking back out. The hidden dangers off the dangers complete hidden by the calming landscape. It seemed almost like a cruel joke. So much land to explore just outside the border walls, and yet they'd have to risk their lives every-time they ventured out.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what was better. This world, or the one before it." He took another sip of the soda.

 

[Da Doofus]

"Well that's not much of a distinction." Rufus shrugged. "I mean," he took a longer sip to savor the root beer's flavor. "I remember doing a job in New York after the Coastal Apex flooded it.
Sharks and Trilodons swam through what used to be traffic-filled streets. Rooftops weren't much safer, there was a young Hypo hovering around trying to nab a Titanshell crab or something, and the Queen herself still bringing the rain." He spun the yarn of his tale.
"Still . . . I got that old vault open, and got a cut of the payload." He smirked, glancing to see Penny approaching with a small hand light.
She set it down by Kairo's drink and explained that the two would need to regularly patrol their section of the wall, while also watching the radar screen linked to perimeter-placed motion trackers in the jungle.

"Gotcha boss." Rufus toasted, sipping the last of his drink.
"Me and the kid got this place locked tighter than an eskimo's pants."

The Syndroid blinked at the crude metaphor, but did not respond. She only bid the two goodnight, and withdrew for the camp interior to go into stasis.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo seemed to appear very impressed at the recounting that Rufus was telling him. How could someone go through that and come out pretty much unscathed? It seemed absolutely impossible to him. An involuntary shudder ran down his spine as he thought of how he would have acted in such a situation. It wouldn't be unlikely if he died within the first minute.

Right afterwards, Penny had came back with the flashlight in tow. Kairo listened intently as she detailed every little thing that they needed to do. It seemed simple enough. He gave Penny a quick thank you as she left, choosing to ignore Rufus's previous statement.

 

[Da Doofus]

The dusk drifted past with the two exchanging light conversations between their short patrols.
The sky turned dark, but glittered with stars, and the jungle's nocturnal orchestra once more kept silence far at bay.

It was 10:46 when Rufus came back from his patrol on the wall.
"Still nothing." He stretched, taking off his gun belt and taking a seat next to the portable coffee machine.

As he finished filling a cup, the yelps of the critters came once more from inside the camp.
Rufus jumped, and spilled his coffee on his boots.
"Li'l sons of-" he cursed under his breath as the yelps stopped.

A sound responded shortly after, a beep from their motion detector screen.
Rufus jerked his head to look at the device with newfound caution.
Leaving his gunbelt, he removed his pistol from its holster and stared into the leafy blackness beyond.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was sunk into the chair as Rufus had made his way back. He’d gone through two cups coffee since the start of watch, from what it looks like, that number would quickly increase to three. Who knew looking at a radar for half an hour would bore him to the point of combatting sleep.

The shrills from the trio seemed to come right on time though. The sound startled him and he sat up straight in his chair. What little drowsiness he still had was quickly taken away at the sound of the beeping radar. He blinked rapidly, trying to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. The persistence of the dot only helped to confirm his fears. He could feel adrenaline course through his body.

“Let’s hope it’s just Red Team.” He commented, grabbing the flashlight he was provided and a small pistol he set aside on the floor.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus's gaze was in sync with the line of the flashlight as it passed over the wet foliage of the jungle's border.
The light glistened off the moist leaves brightly, shimmering like starlight upon ground.
It passed between two winding tree branches, and a pair of red dots practically glowed in the light reflecting off of them. Rufus didn't notice them until after Kairo's light had passed over.

"Wait." He said, grabbing Kairo's arm, and pushing it back to that spot.
Only the black void of the jungle's denseness was between the branched gap this time.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo looked within the beam of light from the flashlight. Straining his eyes, he couldn’t see anything off about the area Rufus wanted to inspect.

“What did you see?” He whispered.

 

[Da Doofus]

"Thought there was something there." Rufus whispered back, not entirely convinced that he made a mistake.
The motion tracker beeped, and the marker on the radar moved away for a few moments. Silence dominated the humid-aired night until the screen beeped once more, the dot reappearing, before disappearing a final time.

Rufus looked down at the radar screen, waiting for the next sign of movement.
After almost an hour, nothing came back on the screen since.

Rufus did not avert his eyes from the jungle border. Not even when a man and a woman approached up the wall's corner stairwell.
They approached Rufus and Kairo.

"Shift change." The woman said, the man already taking a seat by the radar.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo unconsciously held his breathe. Occasionally moving the flashlight to a different part of the jungle. He didn't even notice that he hadn't been breathing until his lungs started burning from the lack of oxygen. At some point, he realized that the beeping of the radar had seemed to elapsed. It was only then, that Kairo could finally relax a tiny bit. He felt his shoulder's slump as the heat of the moment finally dissipated.

Like Rufus, Kairo also remained painfully aware after the incident. His eyes were either constantly on the radar, or looking down at the jungle below. Being to focussed on the task at hand, there was little conversation that went between the two of them. That tense and focussed atmosphere lasted. Kairo only noticed the presence of the other two when the woman had spoken. He turned around to look at the women.

"Thanks." He said as he offered the seat to her with a tired smile.
"Uh. You'd probably want to know that there was something out there that appeared on radar. When we were on shift." He looked out into the jungle one last time.
"Rufus. You saw it right?"