Fantasy 𝔖𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔤𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℜ𝔦𝔣𝔱𝔰 (ℑℭ 𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡)

[Clockwork_Magic]

Hikari Takashima

Location: Vanguard Headquarters - Medical Wing, Yuzu’s Cell Room
Interactions: Deacon ( Guppy Franz ), Cas ( JJae ), Tara ( Tub2 ), Eulalia ( Pyxie ), Yuzu ( Nothingness )
Mentions: N/A
​

It seemed like lady luck was on the gang's side that morning. Other than the doc that first stopped them and took at her bad eye, there weren't many other medical staff that stopped the group on their way to the elevator. As the morning progressed and more of the headquarters were roused, so too did the medical wing increase in activity and foot traffic. Doctors, nurses, medical technicians and the like walking by and weaving in and out of the many doors that lined the otherwise sterile and lifeless halls. Everyone was either too busy to care what the group was up to or, like the first doctor they encountered when getting there, didn't want to get themselves involved with filling out whatever mountain of paperwork that Hikari is bound to cause.

The ride itself up to Yuzu's own personal containment floor was as eventful as you could imagine a typical elevator ride being. It wasn't all bad, a little lull every now and then was welcome. As the elevator doors opened to Yuzu's floor they revealed what was quite possibly one of the best indoor view of the city on the base. What twisted humor someone would need to have to give a room and view like that to a blind person. As they got off the elevator, the big ol' guy was the first to start talking. His concern was pretty reasonable. Why send a guy who can't see, covered in bandages, and bound to a wheel chair on what seems like a suicide mission? But, it's situations like this that the age old saying of "don't judge a book by its cover" should come to mind. Hikari chuckled a little before starting to answer his question. "Don't ya worry ya head about it, Lumberjack Jr. It's just as Miss Abyss Eyes o'er there says. He's ain't the injured lil birdy them white coats think him ta be."

As Hikari directed her attention away from her accomplices, taking more steps towards the lone bed in the room, her attention landed on a familiar looking woman with silver hair and blue eyes "Oh? And who do we have 'ere? Didn't expect to see ya here Snow White, what with how awful quick you were to leave the office back there. Even had 'nough time to go back and change huh?" She said to the woman, though something did feel a little different looking at her. When did she have time to go back and get a change of clothes? Oh well, that probably wasn't important. Hikari walked by the woman and towards Yuzu's bed.

"Wakey wakey Bandages~." Hikari said in a playful and sly tone as she approached his bedside. She gently placed her hands on his arm with all the IV needles stuck into it. “Day just started, don't ya go sleepin on us now~." As she said that, she began to remove the IV needles from Yuzu's arm and released the latches under his bed that chained him to his bed. "What fuckin' way to treat a patient, eh?" Hikari wasted no time in lifting Yuzu off the bed. Perhaps another "don't judge a book by its cover" lesson until one remembers that she waves around what is essentially a giant steel pole with weights on the end around on the field of battle.

Spoiler: Hikari's Weapon

 

[Nothingness]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

tags

Interactions: Pyxie [Eulalia] Clockwork_Magic [Hikari] Guppy Franz [Deacon] JJae [Cas] Tub2 [Tara]
Mentions: All Agents/Everyone
Location: Vanguard Headquarters -- Medical Wing -- Rooftop

Yuzu Sakai

The arrival of the stranger with the familiar scent was unexpected to say the least, so when Yuzu had questioned the individual the last thing he would've expected was when she had stated about not meaning to intrude and that she had seen him in the Commander's office earlier before stating that she would leave. Hearing the fact that she was present at the briefing, the familiarity had suddenly dawned on him, that was where he recognized her from. "Wait-" Just as he had called out to the woman, the sudden sound of the elevator's arrival once again had halted him. Turning his gaze toward the elevator doors once more, Yuzu began to question who was next to be arriving in his room, expecting that the next visitors were going to be medical staff, he began to wonder if having another Agent in the room would mean either of them would get in trouble as this would've been one of the first times he had ever had visitors outside of the doctors and nurses.

When the doors to the elevator finally opened, the lacking scent of medication and sense of uncomfortableness was replaced with yet another familiar scent. One of which Yuzu appeared to recognize more easily, it was Hikari, and three others that were present with her, other agents most likely. As the four agents had entered the room, whatever two of the three agents had been mumbling something amongst one another, which was of no concern to Yuzu, instead he kept his head turned toward them as Hikari appeared to had been the first to approach his bedside before beginning to remove the needles that fed him his medication and IV fluids before unstrapping him from his restraints. "Hikari...what're you doing--?" As he spoke up to ask the woman regarding her presence in his room, he was caught off guard midsentence once she lifted him from his bed before helping him back into his wheelchair which had been next to his bed.

"Umm...thanks you guys.." After settling into is wheelchair, Yuzu had turned his head to look towards each of those in the room, expecting that the woman that had entered his room earlier before the four agents had arrived was most likely with them as well on this helping of him leaving his room. "While I truly appreciate you all for helping me here, I do not think it is best that you are seen with me when leaving...I'm not sure, but there is a possibility that if any of the staff see that you've released me from my room, some of you could get in some serious trouble...To avoid that, I will be heading to the armory and will meet you all later this evening on the rooftop for extraction."

With that said, Yuzu proceeded to roll his wheelchair back toward the elevator, deciding to be the first to leave the room to avoid any suspicions that if the group had decided to leave through the medical wing again only to see Yuzu leaving after, it could point fingers to the group being the one that had released him. Even after he had made his way back down to the medical wing, Yuzu took his exit slow and as silently as he could, making sure that when he rolled his wheelchair out from the elevator and through the halls, there wouldn't be any staff making their way around the area before moving forward. Of course, while this meant that the process of leaving the medical wing would be agonizingly slow, eventually he would be able to make it out from there before reaching one of the standard elevators which he had decided to take down to the armory as he stated he would.

The armory itself was about three floors down below the ground floor of the Vanguard's Headquarters, being located underground for safety reasons so that not just any ordinary folk could reach it without clearance. Once the elevator doors had opened and a long brightly lit hallway was presented forth to Yuzu, he proceeded to roll his way down the hall, on both sides as he made his way down were large metallic doors. Each door had the name of an Agent, behind that door would be a decently sized room with multiple metal lockers, and two sets of metal benches. The lockers were there for agents to store their gear while the benches were provided so that agents would have a place to sit and prepare their gear if they so wished.

The hall continued on for several minutes, requiring Yuzu to take slight turns here and there until he had reached his own door. Staring up at the metal surface and where his name was posted in both braille as well as in big bold letters just as every other agent's was on their door, Yuzu knew this was his by his own scent being in the air that just barely escaped the cracks from the hinges. Reaching a hand toward the metal surface, mere moments passed as a greenish glow would emit from around his palm against the surface of the door, scanning his biometrics to identify that the correct agent was at their gear room.

Once verified, the door began to slide over to the left revealing the dimly lit room that was Yuzu's. Rolling his way in, the door behind him slammed with a heavy metallic thud.

"Alright..let's get this started." Slowly he rolled his way up toward one of the many lockers within his room, opening up the locker revealed a pair of odd-looking rectangular metallic plates that had two straps each behind them. As he retrieved both, Yuzu immediately unhooked the straps only to secure them both to the shins of his legs underneath the sleeve of his pants. The moment the cold metal had touched his skin, multiple small spikes would protrude themselves out from the plates as they dug underneath the skin of his shins slightly; at first, there was no pain but as the plates began to activate, the nerves in Yuzu's legs began to ache, the feeling was agonizing, it felt as though hundreds of tiny needles were stabbing him in both his legs starting from his hips down to his ankles. With the painful sensation though, Yuzu knew that his legs were now functional though, rather than stand from his seat just yet, he allowed the pain to eventually subside before finally standing.

"God...I hate that feeling, couldn't the engineers figure out some other method of getting my legs to work?" Sighing and shaking his head as he complained about the pain each time he had to install the cybernetics. From there, Yuzu returned his attention once more toward the interior of his locker, the only other item in it was his Vanguard badge and two blue glowing wristbands. Clipping the wristbands on, he examined them for any damage before pulling the sleeves of his shirt down over the wristbands to keep them hidden, the badge meanwhile was slipped into his pocket and with that, he was prepared for the mission. Unlike many of his fellow agents, rather than opt for getting a fully physical tech suit that came piece by piece, Yuzu had asked for a nanobot type of suit, this was due to the inability to use his legs if it were not for the cybernetics, so it wouldn't be as though getting on the lower half of the suit would be as easy as it would be for any other agent if he did not have the cybernetics installs when he wanted to put it on.

TIME SKIP [Evening 20:00 Hours (8PM)]

The sun had set for just about an hour, many of the medical staff by this point in time had either been finishing up their work for the evening and just now cleaning up their workstations or had already been home. None of the doctors nor nurses had bothered to return to Yuzu's room throughout the rest of the day after being instructed to give Yuzu a double dose of his usual medication by Doctor Aiden. The plan had been that with that amount of medication, Yuzu would've stayed asleep for the remainder of the day until the next morning so there would've been no need to check on him. Unfortunately for them, with the successful 'rescue' by Hikari and her fellow agents, Yuzu was now actually on the rooftop of the Vanguard Headquarters, sitting in his wheelchair while a large helicopter that had been giving off a loud humming noise rested several feet ahead of him. Unlike many of the other helicopters that the Vanguard had at its disposal, this one was not meant for heavy combat but instead was meant for stealth infiltration missions, unlike its counterparts, this vessel did not have propellers that helped with lifting and forward movement, instead, it used propulsion engines to help with masking the noise.

This vessel was chosen so that none of the other agents that were not assigned to the mission would become too curious regarding the noise nor would it get the attention of civilians down in the city.

Meanwhile Yuzu had been one of the first to arrive at the rendezvous point waiting for the other agents to show up. Unlike earlier, he was now dressed from head to toe in a black suit that would be a little easier to keep himself hidden from prying eyes that might've decided to go for a walk during the evening and looked up toward the rooftop to see a strangely large helicopter landed there. Afterall, even if the whole vessel was meant for stealth, it wasn't as though it did not have its lights, while the whole rooftop was not completely lit up, the green and red flashing lights followed by its bright white side lighting still illuminated the rooftop enough that anyone looking up toward the rooftop would clearly be able to see the helicopter and anyone on the rooftop would be able to see one another with relative ease.

coded by [color=#D3D3D3]@DeerPrince[/color]​

​

​

Spoiler: No Code

The arrival of the stranger with the familiar scent was unexpected to say the least, so when Yuzu had questioned the individual the last thing he would've expected was when she had stated about not meaning to intrude and that she had seen him in the Commander's office earlier before stating that she would leave. Hearing the fact that she was present at the briefing, the familiarity had suddenly dawned on him, that was where he recognized her from. "Wait-" Just as he had called out to the woman, the sudden sound of the elevator's arrival once again had halted him. Turning his gaze toward the elevator doors once more, Yuzu began to question who was next to be arriving in his room, expecting that the next visitors were going to be medical staff, he began to wonder if having another Agent in the room would mean either of them would get in trouble as this would've been one of the first times he had ever had visitors outside of the doctors and nurses.

When the doors to the elevator finally opened, the lacking scent of medication and sense of uncomfortableness was replaced with yet another familiar scent. One of which Yuzu appeared to recognize more easily, it was Hikari, and three others that were present with her, other agents most likely. As the four agents had entered the room, whatever two of the three agents had been mumbling something amongst one another, which was of no concern to Yuzu, instead he kept his head turned toward them as Hikari appeared to had been the first to approach his bedside before beginning to remove the needles that fed him his medication and IV fluids before unstrapping him from his restraints. "Hikari...what're you doing--?" As he spoke up to ask the woman regarding her presence in his room, he was caught off guard midsentence once she lifted him from his bed before helping him back into his wheelchair which had been next to his bed.

"Umm...thanks you guys.." After settling into is wheelchair, Yuzu had turned his head to look towards each of those in the room, expecting that the woman that had entered his room earlier before the four agents had arrived was most likely with them as well on this helping of him leaving his room. "While I truly appreciate you all for helping me here, I do not think it is best that you are seen with me when leaving...I'm not sure, but there is a possibility that if any of the staff see that you've released me from my room, some of you could get in some serious trouble...To avoid that, I will be heading to the armory and will meet you all later this evening on the rooftop for extraction."

With that said, Yuzu proceeded to roll his wheelchair back toward the elevator, deciding to be the first to leave the room to avoid any suspicions that if the group had decided to leave through the medical wing again only to see Yuzu leaving after, it could point fingers to the group being the one that had released him. Even after he had made his way back down to the medical wing, Yuzu took his exit slow and as silently as he could, making sure that when he rolled his wheelchair out from the elevator and through the halls, there wouldn't be any staff making their way around the area before moving forward. Of course, while this meant that the process of leaving the medical wing would be agonizingly slow, eventually he would be able to make it out from there before reaching one of the standard elevators which he had decided to take down to the armory as he stated he would.

The armory itself was about three floors down below the ground floor of the Vanguard's Headquarters, being located underground for safety reasons so that not just any ordinary folk could reach it without clearance. Once the elevator doors had opened and a long brightly lit hallway was presented forth to Yuzu, he proceeded to roll his way down the hall, on both sides as he made his way down were large metallic doors. Each door had the name of an Agent, behind that door would be a decently sized room with multiple metal lockers, and two sets of metal benches. The lockers were there for agents to store their gear while the benches were provided so that agents would have a place to sit and prepare their gear if they so wished.

The hall continued on for several minutes, requiring Yuzu to take slight turns here and there until he had reached his own door. Staring up at the metal surface and where his name was posted in both braille as well as in big bold letters just as every other agent's was on their door, Yuzu knew this was his by his own scent being in the air that just barely escaped the cracks from the hinges. Reaching a hand toward the metal surface, mere moments passed as a greenish glow would emit from around his palm against the surface of the door, scanning his biometrics to identify that the correct agent was at their gear room.

Once verified, the door began to slide over to the left revealing the dimly lit room that was Yuzu's. Rolling his way in, the door behind him slammed with a heavy metallic thud.

"Alright..let's get this started." Slowly he rolled his way up toward one of the many lockers within his room, opening up the locker revealed a pair of odd-looking rectangular metallic plates that had two straps each behind them. As he retrieved both, Yuzu immediately unhooked the straps only to secure them both to the shins of his legs underneath the sleeve of his pants. The moment the cold metal had touched his skin, multiple small spikes would protrude themselves out from the plates as they dug underneath the skin of his shins slightly; at first, there was no pain but as the plates began to activate, the nerves in Yuzu's legs began to ache, the feeling was agonizing, it felt as though hundreds of tiny needles were stabbing him in both his legs starting from his hips down to his ankles. With the painful sensation though, Yuzu knew that his legs were now functional though, rather than stand from his seat just yet, he allowed the pain to eventually subside before finally standing.

"God...I hate that feeling, couldn't the engineers figure out some other method of getting my legs to work?" Sighing and shaking his head as he complained about the pain each time he had to install the cybernetics. From there, Yuzu returned his attention once more toward the interior of his locker, the only other item in it was his Vanguard badge and two blue glowing wristbands. Clipping the wristbands on, he examined them for any damage before pulling the sleeves of his shirt down over the wristbands to keep them hidden, the badge meanwhile was slipped into his pocket and with that, he was prepared for the mission. Unlike many of his fellow agents, rather than opt for getting a fully physical tech suit that came piece by piece, Yuzu had asked for a nanobot type of suit, this was due to the inability to use his legs if it were not for the cybernetics, so it wouldn't be as though getting on the lower half of the suit would be as easy as it would be for any other agent if he did not have the cybernetics installs when he wanted to put it on.

TIME SKIP [Evening 20:00 Hours (8PM)]

The sun had set for just about an hour, many of the medical staff by this point in time had either been finishing up their work for the evening and just now cleaning up their workstations or had already been home. None of the doctors nor nurses had bothered to return to Yuzu's room throughout the rest of the day after being instructed to give Yuzu a double dose of his usual medication by Doctor Aiden. The plan had been that with that amount of medication, Yuzu would've stayed asleep for the remainder of the day until the next morning so there would've been no need to check on him. Unfortunately for them, with the successful 'rescue' by Hikari and her fellow agents, Yuzu was now actually on the rooftop of the Vanguard Headquarters, sitting in his wheelchair while a large helicopter that had been giving off a loud humming noise rested several feet ahead of him. Unlike many of the other helicopters that the Vanguard had at its disposal, this one was not meant for heavy combat but instead was meant for stealth infiltration missions, unlike its counterparts, this vessel did not have propellers that helped with lifting and forward movement, instead, it used propulsion engines to help with masking the noise.

This vessel was chosen so that none of the other agents that were not assigned to the mission would become too curious regarding the noise nor would it get the attention of civilians down in the city.

Meanwhile Yuzu had been one of the first to arrive at the rendezvous point waiting for the other agents to show up. Unlike earlier, he was now dressed from head to toe in a black suit that would be a little easier to keep himself hidden from prying eyes that might've decided to go for a walk during the evening and looked up toward the rooftop to see a strangely large helicopter landed there. Afterall, even if the whole vessel was meant for stealth, it wasn't as though it did not have its lights, while the whole rooftop was not completely lit up, the green and red flashing lights followed by its bright white side lighting still illuminated the rooftop enough that anyone looking up toward the rooftop would clearly be able to see the helicopter and anyone on the rooftop would be able to see one another with relative ease.

 

[606]

The move-in for them was swift, or as swift as Gio could. They were never one to be particularly fit or in shape, despite all the training they have gone through, by the time everything was moved in, they found themselves laying on the group, very out of breath and digging+ into his pocket to pull out some chocolate they had made before and snacked on it feverously. A slight burst of energy as the smooth chocolate slipped into their mouth, melting across their tongue and a soft smile appeared on them and they closed their eyes.

Gio always felt comfort in food, and not just because of their abilities. It was something that came more naturally and felt natural to them. Food brings people together, food can tell a story, and food can bring comfort and emotions to people. Food can be art but also just be something enjoyable, and, seeing how people can fall in love with food, nothing brings more joy to Gio than being able to provide some type of joy, comfort, or love with their food.

However, the cold floor was uncomfortable and the chocolate taste began to fade. Still, at the very least, Gio was feeling less out of breath and sat up, running a hand through his hair as the hair tie fell out, grey-blue hair falling to just above his shoulder, and looked around the room and frowned. He had a mission to go on, and nowhere to prepare food. Perhaps this could be accommodated later but for now, he must find new spots for certain things. A garden, a kitchen, and a store room for things that need space, like drying out pasta, curing meats, drying herbs - everything of the sort. Even fermenting their beers and wines which needed a good cool dry spot.

“I doubt they would provide this all of me thought…I miss the temple,”

they mumbled to themselves, standing up and walking to the door, leaving his room to take a tour of the building and start finding new good spots.

As Gio started to wander the halls, someone would run up behind them, grabbing their shoulder and causing the male to jump a little. Turning around as they stumbled backward - panic flashed across their eyes as a woman, breathing heavily, took a moment to catch her breath.

"Gi-Gio right? I...your suit, we have your suit prepared if you just follow me-" she stared, bending over as was still recovering trying to catch her breath. Still a bit stunned by the whole ordeal, Gio to had to catch his breath, but more in the way that panic took his breath away and he simply nodded as he was eventually led off into a room, where there were people testing, making, and fixing different suits, various vanguard member coming in and out.

"Here. we have these designed for you if you want to choose one and we also need you to decide in what form you would like it to come in, some people get the upgrade to have it be carried as some type of jewelry while others still prefer the physical thing," She said, showing Gio different suits and they stared with blank eyes, and the looked around the room before looking back at the suits.

"Personally, if you ask me, I think this would fit the best for you, a bit more agile you know, and some of these elements I especially tried to tie in the symbol of the temple for you, seeing how you're from there." Gio nodded slowly, still having yet said a word and an awkward moment of silence fell between the tow.

"Um...so, if you just...tell me what you want, it'll only take a moment."

"Ri-right! Sorry um...this one I suppose, and uh...what..what would be the easiest...or lightest way to carry this?"

"Oh for sure jewelry, weights like nothing."

"Then I'll take it as that um... whatever you think works best, I...just give me what you think would be best, as long as I don't have to carry around any...anything else...thank you,"

he said softly, his voice trailing off towards the end as he looked down at his feet, only daring to glance up at the woman who was beaming brightly, being given the opportunity to do what she thought was best.

"You're on it! Just a moment!" She said as she took the suit she had pointed at before and a charm that was the Holy Sol Temple's symbol, she dashed off somewhere to do whatever type of magic they worked on here. By the end, Gio left with not just his armor but as they waited, another person came to Gio about their weapon. Gio at first didn't like the idea but it was eventually settled that he should get a bow - the only real weapon that Gio knew outside of wielding a knife, if you could call it that. Gio left the lab-like room with the sun charm, hung around a golden chain (and was taught to use it but still struggles), and a bow in hand, leaving Gio the rest of the time to continue to wander the halls.

–

Time started to tick by and soon it was getting closer and closer to 20:00, whatever that meant and they had and they felt their anxiety spiking. They had a bag packed with basic travel cooking supplies and any amount of prepared foods that could travel well just in case, they had their suit ready and everything at 18:00 found themselves at the rendezvous point, alone. This must have been the wrong time, either too early or too late, Gio had no idea but for a few minutes, they passed around before heading back inside, finding a quiet corner to sit in. From their bags, they pulled out a small notebook, and flipped it open, pencil in hand, rather old-fashioned some may say, and simply started to write. Write anything that came to mind which mostly was just, things they needed to do to prepare to live here still, now that they had a better idea of what the place was like.

Humming softly, the time passed by, Gio was happily writing out a new recipe when footsteps caught his attention. Gio scrambled to their feet, dashing to the stairs as the footsteps disappeared and quietly, moments after Yuzu would have appeared, Gio would appear as well, huffing slightly from dashing so quickly.

He said nothing at first, and even after a few moments, Gio still failed to say a hello, only managed to move or shuffle over really to one side, keeping his distance from Yuzu and the helicopter that was there and simply, stood.

Their eyes were glued to the ground as time ticked by, every moment growing more awkward for Gio as they still had said nothing to the other person there. Gio realized they had no idea how many people were going to arrive, let alone even know anyone. There were so many members yet, Gio was brought in what felt like the last second. Anxiously they tapped their leg with their hand, minds flooded with not only the thoughts before but also, what they should say to this other person. He couldn’t simply just, stand there silently forever,r could he?

Gio bit their lip as their chest tightened and a hand dug into his pocket once more, pulling out another piece of chocolate and popping it into his mouth, calming him as the smooth flavor spread across his palette, feeling a bit better but still, couldn’t completely ignore whatever he was feeling but, after too much time would have passed, Gio cleared his throat.

“Hell-Hello. I’m…Gio,”

they said, trying to sound loud but his voice barely escaped his lips. They still were looking down at the ground, hair pulled up into a low messy bun, adorning a similarly black outfit to Yuzu, but just, not as tactful. A large loose black sweaty with essentially black sweat pants and a pair of black shoes, stylish in some sense but worn more for comfort than anything. That and most noticeably, attached to the bag they had of stuff, was a large wok or cast iron skillet pot with a wooden lid tied down.

Gio was scared. They were nervous. They were almost regretting joining, as this was, their very first mission and they didn’t feel prepared at all.

giovanni robello-cugini

Gio.

• aaaaaaaaa
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♡coded by uxie♡

Spoiler: uncoded

The move-in for them was swift, or as swift as Gio could. They were never one to be particularly fit or in shape, despite all the training they have gone through, by the time everything was moved in, they found themselves laying on the group, very out of breath and digging into his pocket to pull out some chocolate they had made before and snacked on it feverously. A slight burst of energy as the smooth chocolate slipped into their mouth, melting across their tongue and a soft smile appeared on them and they closed their eyes.

Gio always felt comfort in food, and not just because of their abilities. It was something that came more naturally and felt natural to them. Food brings people together, food can tell a story, and food can bring comfort and emotions to people. Food can be art but also just be something enjoyable, and, seeing how people can fall in love with food, nothing brings more joy to Gio than being able to provide some type of joy, comfort, or love with their food.

However, the cold floor was uncomfortable and the chocolate taste began to fade. Still, at the very least, Gio was feeling less out of breath and sat up, running a hand through his hair as the hair tie fell out, grey-blue hair falling to just above his shoulder, and looked around the room and frowned. He had a mission to go on, and nowhere to prepare food. Perhaps this could be accommodated later but for now, he must find new spots for certain things. A garden, a kitchen, and a store room for things that need space, like drying out pasta, curing meats, drying herbs - everything of the sort. Even fermenting their beers and wines which needed a good cool dry spot.

“I doubt they would provide this all of me thought…I miss the temple,” they mumbled to themselves, standing up and walking to the door, leaving his room to take a tour of the building and start finding new good spots.

As Gio started to wander the halls, someone would run up behind them, grabbing their shoulder and causing the male to jump a little. Turning around as they stumbled backward - panic flashed across their eyes as a woman, breathing heavily, took a moment to catch her breath.

"Gi-Gio right? I...your suit, we have your suit prepared if you just follow me-" she stared, bending over as was still recovering trying to catch her breath. Still a bit stunned by the whole ordeal, Gio to had to catch his breath, but more in the way that panic took his breath away and he simply nodded as he was eventually led off into a room, where there were people testing, making, and fixing different suits, various vanguard member coming in and out.

"Here. we have these designed for you if you want to choose one and we also need you to decide in what form you would like it to come in, some people get the upgrade to have it be carried as some type of jewelry while others still prefer the physical thing," She said, showing Gio different suits and they stared with blank eyes, and the looked around the room before looking back at the suits.

"Personally, if you ask me, I think this would fit the best for you, a bit more agile you know, and some of these elements I especially tried to tie in the symbol of the temple for you, seeing how you're from there." Gio nodded slowly, still having yet said a word and an awkward moment of silence fell between the two.

"Um...so, if you just...tell me what you want, it'll only take a moment."

"Ri-right! Sorry um...this one I suppose, and uh...what..what would be the easiest...or lightest way to carry this?"

"Oh for sure jewelry, weights like nothing."

"Then I'll take it as that um... whatever you think works best, I...just give me what you think would be best, as long as I don't have to carry around any...anything else...thank you," he said softly, his voice trailing off towards the end as he looked down at his feet, only daring to glance up at the woman who was beaming brightly, being given the opportunity to do what she thought was best.

"You're on it! Just a moment!" She said as she took the suit she had pointed at before and a charm that was the Holy Sol Temple's symbol, she dashed off somewhere to do whatever type of magic they worked on here. By the end, Gio left with not just his armor but as they waited, another person came to Gio about their weapon. Gio at first didn't like the idea but it was eventually settled that he should get a bow - the only real weapon that Gio knew outside of wielding a knife, if you could call it that. Gio left the lab-like room with the sun charm, hung around a golden chain (and was taught to use it but still struggles), and a bow in hand, leaving Gio the rest of the time to continue to wander the halls.

–

Time started to tick by and soon it was getting closer and closer to 20:00, whatever that meant and they had and they felt their anxiety spiking. They had a bag packed with basic travel cooking supplies and any amount of prepared foods that could travel well just in case, they had their suit ready and everything at 18:00 found themselves at the rendezvous point, alone. This must have been the wrong time, either too early or too late, Gio had no idea but for a few minutes, they passed around before heading back inside, finding a quiet corner to sit in. From their bags, they pulled out a small notebook, and flipped it open, pencil in hand, rather old-fashioned some may say, and simply started to write. Write anything that came to mind which mostly was just, things they needed to do to prepare to live here still, now that they had a better idea of what the place was like.

Humming softly, the time passed by, Gio was happily writing out a new recipe when footsteps caught his attention. Gio scrambled to their feet, dashing to the stairs as the footsteps disappeared and quietly, moments after Yuzu would have appeared, Gio would appear as well, huffing slightly from dashing so quickly.

He said nothing at first, and even after a few moments, Gio still failed to say a hello, only managed to move or shuffle over really to one side, keeping his distance from Yuzu and the helicopter that was there and simply, stood.

Their eyes were glued to the ground as time ticked by, every moment growing more awkward for Gio as they still had said nothing to the other person there. Gio realized they had no idea how many people were going to arrive, let alone even know anyone. There were so many members yet, Gio was brought in what felt like the last second. Anxiously they tapped their leg with their hand, minds flooded with not only the thoughts before but also, what they should say to this other person. He couldn’t simply just, stand there silently forever,r could he?

Gio bit their lip as their chest tightened and a hand dug into his pocket once more, pulling out another piece of chocolate and popping it into his mouth, calming him as the smooth flavor spread across his palette, feeling a bit better but still, couldn’t completely ignore whatever he was feeling but, after too much time would have passed, Gio cleared his throat.

“Hell-Hello. I’m…Gio,” they said, trying to sound loud but his voice barely escaped his lips. They still were looking down at the ground, hair pulled up into a low messy bun, adorning a similarly black outfit to Yuzu, but just, not as tactful. A large loose black sweaty with essentially black sweat pants and a pair of black shoes, stylish in some sense but worn more for comfort than anything. That and most noticeably, attached to the bag they had of stuff, was a large wok or cast iron skillet pot with a wooden lid tied down.

Gio was scared. They were nervous. They were almost regretting joining, as this was, their very first mission and they didn’t feel prepared at all.

 

[Autumn_Leaf]

Jackson Voss

The Stonewall

The S.S Infinity

Spoiler: Post Theme

Spoiler: Suit

Interactions: Nothingness 606

The day had dragged, stretching long and restless in his mind. The spar with Sora left him in a weird state—his head a constant reel of what went down in that glass arena. The storm he’d witnessed, the raw power on display... it only twisted the knife deeper in his gut, souring his already bitter feelings toward the Vanguard. But where else would he be? This was where he was most useful—as far as he knew, at least.

After the match, he'd hit the café, and from there, the rest blurred together. Most of the time was spent holed up in his quarters—reading, polishing The Crack of Dawn, a quick shower, anything to fill the void. But no matter what he did, his eyes kept drifting to the door in the corner of the room. Dreading what came next. Then, 1900 hit.

He rubbed his face and stripped down. “Alright, just like jumpin’ into a cold pool… except it ain’t a pool, it’s a goddamn eldritch fuckin’ monster of a suit” He exhaled sharply, trying to psych himself up before placing his hand on the scanner by the door. A confirmation beep. The door slid open with a mechanical hiss, revealing the dark, coffin-like chamber waiting inside.

Jackson stepped in, the reinforced closet pressing around him like a tomb. The air inside was stale, unnervingly cold, lined with mechanical arms, hydraulic clamps, and a mess of thin, vein-like cables dangling from the ceiling. The suit hung there in fragmented pieces, suspended in eerie silence—waiting.

The moment he entered, the air shifted. It knew he was here. He rolled his shoulders and backed against the cold metal spine of the chamber. Restraints snapped shut around his wrists and ankles, locking him in place. A low mechanical hum pulsed through the walls, sending a shiver up his spine. Hisses of pressurized air signaled the chamber coming to life. "Please be gentle, darlin’," he muttered, a forced smirk tugging at his lips. Then, the arms moved.

The first pieces struck fast—the leg plates snapping around his calves and thighs with brutal precision. No warning, no warmth. Just metal biting flesh. The moment they locked into place, the lining inside twitched—thousands of microscopic filaments slithering over his skin, burrowing into his pores like invasive roots. A sharp, needling burn crawled up his legs, latching onto his nerves like barbed wire. His teeth clenched. His muscles tensed. Then came the chest plating. Two slabs swung forward and slammed against his torso with a dull thunk. Instantly, the filaments surged inward, writhing beneath his skin, latching onto his ribcage like parasites. Cold-hot agony tore through his muscles as the armor tightened, constricting like an exoskeleton sealing shut.

His body fought back—rejecting the intrusion with every fiber of its being—but the suit didn’t care. It forced its way in, rewriting his biology whether he wanted it or not. One by one, the remaining plates latched onto his arms, shoulders, and back—each piece integrating with sickening efficiency. Every connection sent a fresh wave of discomfort rippling through him, the filaments burrowing deeper into his nervous system.

Then came the worst part. The helmet. It descended from above, sleek yet disturbingly organic in the way it flexed. The second it touched his scalp, the interior filaments lunged—punching through his skin, burrowing past his hairline, and latching onto the base of his skull like a parasite sinking its teeth in. A spike of white-hot static shot through his brain. His vision flashed—body locking up as the suit’s interface linked directly with his neural pathways. Then—Silence. A deep, thrumming connection settled over him. He wasn’t just wearing the suit anymore. It was him.

Jackson sucked in a breath and triggered the suit’s activation. Instantly, his Harden ability surged. The suit responded. Black, jagged plating erupted across its surface, shifting, reshaping, growing like living steel. The once-smooth alloy twisted and contorted as his ability spread through it, mirroring the transformation of his own skin. The plating took on a rough, battle-scarred texture, its edges sharpening, its mass solidifying. It wasn’t just armor anymore—it was a second skin. Every movement felt raw, hyper-sensitive—like his nerves had been stretched thin across an alien body. The suit felt his pain, his pulse, his strain. It didn’t just amplify his strength. It embraced him, until his next time to rip it off.

He flexed his fingers, watching the armor shift and harden in real-time, jagged edges curling at his knuckles. The plating was no longer a barrier between him and the world.

Stepping out of the chamber, he took a long, slow look around the room before shivering, like something had just crawled up his spine. “Fuckin’ A, man.” He ran a hand down the plating on his arm. The strangest part wasn’t the pain or the intrusion. It was the fact that he didn’t feel like he was inside his own body anymore. Like a ghost wearing a shell of himself.

Time passed. Eventually, he found himself on the rooftop, fully equipped. The night air hit him, crisp and heavy with the hum of engines. His eyes landed on the helicopter—a stealth bird, sleek and black, just sitting there like a bad omen. The longer he stared, the more this mission felt off the books.

That’s when he saw him. Yuzu. Even with the angular helmet masking his face, his voice betrayed a grin. “Hey, buddy. They let you out?” He stretched his arms, letting the suit settle against his body. The sensation still felt wrong, but he ignored it.

Then, his gaze landed on the new figure. Blue hair. Something about them felt… off. He racked his brain, trying to place them. Were they in the briefing? Maybe. Maybe not. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he’d ever seen them around the facility at all. “Huh. New guy?” His voice came out slightly distorted through the helmet, but still disarming. He gave a lazy two-finger salute. “Welcome to the party. Name’s Jackson.” He rested his hands on his hips, shoulders laid back in a posture that looked relaxed—almost lazy—but still inviting. Even under the weight of the mission ahead, he kept up the act.

Because that’s what Jackson did best.

Code by Serobliss

 

[Pyxie]

Located @ Vanguard Rooftop
Interacting w/ No-One

---

Glimpsing over her shoulder after she heard the familiar boy speak once again, her attention was quickly grabbed with the three newcomers entering into the apparent abode of... Yuzu, as it turned out was the boys' name. She remained quiet, and remained stepped aside. It had seemed they were here to perform some sort of jail break?

What friends they must have been... this oddly struck Eulalia, though. She somberly gazed down at the ground in thought... a friend? Shanta was her friend, or so she thought. She did not have many friends at all. She was simply an experiment for the Vanguard at this point. She hugged herself, and her eyes humbly watched the scene in front of her. Yuzu left, and the group silently watched. Eulalia decided to follow, though. Albeit, silently to not make it awkward since she likely should return to her own abode to prepare. It was an awkward elevator ride, for sure - but that was Eulalia's life.

[Time Skip]

As with the other three on the rooftop, Eulalia had arrived - sporting her own technologically advanced armor thanks to the Vanguard. Delicate looking, yet stronger than Zinc. It was to be tested for any new notable Vanguard's, and Eulalia was the first to wear it. The first to possibly die in it, too. But she had little choice these days. She remained silent, seeing a blue-haired boy 606 that she hadn't recognized. Perhaps he was a later recruit? Other than the blue-haired boy was the same man from the meeting Autumn_Leaf . A rather sluggish demeanor, but a relaxed one. His own armor looked similar to some parts of Eulalia's, but much darker.

Attached to her back was her double-edged spear. Albeit shrunken as it was capable of elongating twice its' length. She had her own palms shyly together, and with another glimpse did she see him Nothingness . The other experiment. The other cattle...

She felt her heart-string pulled, and she closed her eyes after silently taking a breath. She simply stood in her place - a respectable distance from the current individuals who were present. Humbly stood erect with her iridescent hair swaying from the winds sliced and pushed by the nearby helicopter. Her delicate, ethereal features were currently visible - as with but a click of a button did her mask activate - though it was mostly automated so she needn't worry about manually activating it. Regardless, she began to idly swirl her hair in a finger from a palm that raised up to relax on her chest - the other holding that same arms' elbow.

---

Created by Uxie, Edited by Deluna

 

[animegirl20]

Outfit: suit Eve looked up from her food when Garth said that this was his first mission. "Really? It's mine too. Though I didn't exactly pick it. They told me I had to join." Eve said as she took a bite of bacon. Another guy who was also part of the mission walked up to their table.

"Hey, uh… hope you won’t mind me sitting here."
Garth answered him and introduced himself and Eve before she was able to respond. It was fine though she didn't mind him sitting with them. Eve continued eating and started to get lost in her thoughts when Garth spoke up asking the two of them a question.

“So do you guys have plans for what to do while waiting for the agreed mission time?”

Eve thought for a moment. Trying to remember if was there anything she needed to do specifically. "Um no not really.....However, I would like to meet the others who are going on the mission with us. But...probably won't be seeing anyone else till the evening. And she was right she hadn't run into anyone else that day until it was time to leave for the mission.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After dinner Eve went into her room and put her suit on getting ready for the mission. The suit wasn't suppose to be a mandatory thing usually but for this mission it was a must. Though honestly she would probably have to wear it for every mission seeing as turning into her werewolf form would tear up all of her clothes and she would just end up naked when turning back so yeah. For her the suit was mandatory for every mission. After she got dressed Eve made her way to the designated spot everyone was suppose to meet up at, she didn't activate her helmet yet. While walking Eve tried to calm her nerves. She had feeling everything would be ok but she still couldn't help but want to just run in her room and hide there. This was some scary stuff and to be honest she didn't want to do it. But she had to and a part of her kind of wanted to prove to herself that she could. But another reason why she was nervous about all of this was because of her werewolf form. Fighting can trigger her to lose control so she had keep her mind focus and emotions in check. Plus she really didn't want anyone finding out. It was her problem to deal with she didn't need burden people she barley knew with her problems.

Once she made it to the roof top she noticed four people had arrived, one of them she didn't recognize. She quickly hid any nervous feelings that might have been showing on her face and gave everyone a polite smile as he joined them.

Interactions: Xen6n Lost Martian

Mentions: Nothingness 606 Autumn_Leaf Pyxie

 

[Guppy Franz]

Deacon Godfrey

Interactions in the medical wing: Clockwork_Magic JJae Tub2
Interactions On rooftop: Nothingness 606 Autumn_Leaf Pyxie animegirl20​

---

Deacon glanced at the dark-haired woman, her friendly pat on his back catching his attention as she tried to assure him that the bandaged boy was a Vanguard for a reason. Her suggestion of leaving the choice up to him made sense, dulling his doubt momentarily, and glancing at the bed-bound individual with a nagging curiosity nagging at the back of his mind. The patched woman's amused chuckle returned his attention to her, arching a brow at the nickname 'Lumberjack Jr.' An amused huff left him, though a small part of him the nickname didn't stick. He gave a nod though, hearing her agree with the dark-haired woman about the boy being more to meet the eye. Past talks with his kind-hearted mother drifted in his head, their talks teaching him to never judge a book by its cover. Perhaps these six years away from home have started to rub off him, making him forget such lessons. "Well, alright then, guess I'll trust ya on that," he said, adjusting his duffle bag to his other shoulder before he looked over to the silver-haired woman, another individual he nearly judged by their appearance. Even after a year of being within the Vanguard, he was still getting used to the lack of a set uniform, most agents opting for more casual wear.

He gave the silver-haired woman a friendly nod and smile, still lingering near the elevator entrance as the patched woman made her way to the medical bed with the bandaged boy. As he watched her remove the IV's from the boy's arms he was about to make his way over to help her lift him from the bed, but paused, watching her lift him out of the bed seemingly with ease. As expected of an agent, but now Deacon felt a bit silly for coming along, feeling more like an observer than a helpful hand. Well, at least he can say he didn't have a hand in the boys escape without it being a lie. As she settled him in his chair he spoke up, thanking them, but suggesting it'd be better if he left alone to avoid all of them getting in trouble. Deacon stepped aside to let him roll into the elevator, wondering silently what exactly he had stored away in the armory. Though this whole 'rescue' felt a bit anticlimactic, it was probably for the best. He doubted he'd survive a second lecture from the Commander. As the elevator doors closed and it was now just the five of them, a low sigh escaped Deacon. "Welp, he's free," he chuckled before pulling out his phone from his jacket and checking the time. There was still plenty of room to get settled in his quarters and prepare his gear afterward. Turning the rest he wore a smile on his face as he tucked his phone into his jacket. "Not an exciting recuse, but a... interesting one I guess," he chuckled, tapping the tip of his boot on the floor. "Since we gone and done got him out, I'ma head back down and get set up in my bunk before getting ready for the mission. See ya'll tonight," he says with a firm nod and smile before turning to the elevator, believing enough time went by for the wheelchair-bound boy to make a head start.

---

Luckily after he departed from the medical wing there was little issue finding his way to the living quarters. He did get turned around, but thanks to a few passing staff members Deacon managed to get the right directions. Upon entering his room, a glance around the room was as he thought it'd be. Plain and simple. A bed, table, desk, drawer, footlocker, and a single bathroom. The walls were plain white while the floor was slick and shiny wood, clearly freshly polished. It was simple, and simple is just fine for Deacon, but he could see a few things that could be added to make the place more comfortable. Walking over to his bed he gave a slight sigh of relief, seeing that his bed was just the right size for his height. The last time he moved into his last unit they messed up his bed and had to sleep with his legs hanging off the edge for a week. Felt like he was in the shire. An amused huff left him as he started to unpack, silently thanking himself for packing light as he pulled out a few pairs of clothing and hygiene items.

At the bottom of his bag, he pulled out a rolled-up poster, a small smile coming to his lips as he pulled off the rubber band keeping it from unraveling. Unrolling it revealed the cover of a band named 'Hellbillys', a band local to his home that his older sister, Parker, loved. On it were three decaying zombie hillbillys, all with various instruments, the most noticeable being a burning banjo. It was signed personally by the whole band since Deacon managed to get her backstage thanks to his odd job as security. His smile grew at the memory of her smile, bright and ear to ear, a definite coin flip to her usual moody personality. He hung it up over his bed, taping the edges as he remembered her giving him the poster before he left the farm to join the army. Of course, she didn't budge with her usual stoic look, but the gesture was enough. His smile remained happy at the memory before looking at his bag, many more random items inside.

Sometime later his room was filled with odd nicknacks, coins, small toys, rocks, old tools, and even a faded and worn woopie cushion, all spread out along his desk, drawer, and closet. All were items given to him by his family. Brothers, sisters, father, mother, and even his cousin's aunts, and uncles. All wanted him to bring a piece of them with him. Deacon first thought these were a bit much, but after years of service in the army, the tests and experiments that were done on his body, the year of facing pure monsters... it all made him feel a bit closer to home and family, both things being on his mind every day. With a satisfied glint in his eye, Deacon checked the time on his phone, pleased to see he had plenty of time before to get his gear fit and ready.

---

Hours later, after meticulously checking his gear three times and making a few final adjustments to his weapon’s ammunition, Deacon stepped off the elevator and onto the roof. His heavily armored suit clicked and whirred, making its final calibrations to fit his body. Each step was heavy, followed by the low hum of internal mechanisms at work. Latched to his right arm was a long-barreled chain gun, its weight almost unnoticeable thanks to his enhanced strength and the suit’s assistance. He gave the weapon a test spin, watching as the barrel rotated smoothly, with no issues apparent. Always a good sign before a mission. On his left arm was a thick, long riot shield with a yellow medieval-styled tower printed onto the front, his armored fist clenched tightly around the handle as a faint spark crackled along its front surface, perfect to give any up-close enemies a decent shock. Inside his helmet Deacons hud finished its run-down, showing him in a dull red glow that his weapons, vitals, and suit were prepared for the night. Rolling his shoulders and neck, Deacon let out a sigh, the suit feels just as bulky and tight-fitting as always. Looking around the HQ's rooftop, he found that other agents had made it here before him. Due to their suits, Deacon couldn't really recognize most of them off the top of his head, but it was no issue spotting the wheelchair. Deacon held his tongue, reminding himself to not judge. But the image of this agent rolling into a fight was... oddly amusing, if not interesting. Maybe the wheelchair has hidden boosters that can help him run over his enemies? He shook his head, getting the image out before approaching the gathered group, his presence far from hidden with every heavy mechanical step.

"Nice bird," he commented while looking at the aircraft picked for their mission, his voice mechanical and distorted through his helmet. "Hope the seats are big enough though," he mused with a hidden smile under his helmet. Looking over to the other agents, he realized he'd never given his name other than to the Commander since he'd been here. "Deacon by the way. Or Tower, either one. The ladder was an old call sign," he said, showing the front of his shield and tapping the barrel of his heavy chain gun, showing the printed yellow image.

Spoiler: Deacons suit

 

[Tub2]

𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐇𝐬𝐢𝐮𝐧𝐠

Location: Vanguard Headquarters -- Medical Room // Rooftop
Outfit: Suit
Tags: Yuzu ( Nothingness ) Jackson ( Autumn_Leaf ) Eve ( animegirl20 ) Deacon ( Guppy Franz ) Hikari ( Clockwork_Magic ) Eulalia ( Pyxie ) Gio ( 606 )

Tara watched the woman un-hook Yuzu from his plethora of medical entanglements. She let her eyes wander, examining the room Yuzu had stayed in. It was nice, for a “hospital room”. Unlike others she has been in, this left her almost missing the undeniable unease she usually leaves with when exiting a “High-dependency unit”.

“WHAT! YAY!” Tara’s inevitable “Intimidating” demeanor shattered. She knew it was going to happen, she couldn't just be thrown into the field without any weapons and expected to just rely on her ability. But as soon as she heard they got to go to the armory, she nearly fainted from excitement. She hadn't seen her ever so beloved pink mountaineer's axe in so long.

She watched the wheelchair bound man roll into the elevator and disappear behind the big metal doors. She felt her legs bounce, the excitement surging through her.
“Cmon cmon cmon!” She spoke, rushing into the elevator as soon as it opened and waiting impatiently for the others to join her.

__ Time skip __

Tara stood near the edge of the rooftop, her eyes scanning the horizon as the cool night air whipped her long, bright blue hair around her face. She couldn’t lie, she looked really good. The buzzing of the helicopter's engines was the only real noise aside from the occasional muffled hum of distant city life below. As much as she wanted to appear calm and collected, her mind was racing, and the subtle thrum of excitement coursing through her was hard to ignore. This mission felt different—bigger than the usual mess she found herself wrapped up in.

With a glance down at her wristbands, she adjusted the sleeves of her black suit, and shoved her gold-beaded bracelet under the band, trying to suppress the shiver that always seemed to rise whenever she wore tactical gear. Sure, it looked sleek, and she looked fabulous in it, but the weight of it was something else. Tara couldn't help but smile to herself at the idea that she was about to be out there, playing this high-stakes game in the middle of a messy, unknown creature territory. If she wasn’t so wrapped up in her usual troublemaking, she might even be impressed with herself.

As she took a few slow steps, her heels clicking against the concrete, she couldn't shake the thought of what they'd be facing once they were in the slums. They’d already discussed the whole plan and seen what they would be up against, but there was still that lingering question: Would they really be able to complete what the others couldn't? Or would they end up just like the squad that attempted it before them? Either way, Tara was ready. Her eyes flicked toward Yuzu, who was waiting at the helicopter, his calm demeanor almost unnerving as he sat there, fully prepared for the chaos to come.

"Hey," Tara called out, walking over to stand next to him. Her voice was playful, but there was an edge to it—an edge of readiness. "Look at my cool thing!." She flashed a grin, holding up her tall pink weapon, showing it off to the man below her. She smiled huge, like a child watching their favorite cartoon as the ax glistened in the sun. Though she couldn’t help but feel a little concerned. She held down her ax and focused her attention back to Yuzu. She had never seen anyone go through what he had and still come out ready for action. But if anyone could pull it off, it was him, right? “‘Sorry, I forgot you couldn't see...” She mumbled looking down.

Catching herself, she looked back up at the other agents present. Pretending not to notice she just blatantly interrupted them. With a final glance around the rooftop, Tara tugged at her suit once more, setting her posture just right. She wasn’t sure how this would end, but one thing was for sure: she wouldn’t be caught off guard. Not tonight.

coded by archangel_

Spoiler: No code

Tara watched the woman un-hook Yuzu from his plethora of medical entanglements. She let her eyes wander, examining the room Yuzu had stayed in. It was nice, for a “hospital room”. Unlike others she has been in, this left her almost missing the undeniable unease she usually leaves with when exiting a “High-dependency unit”.

“WHAT! YAY!” Tara’s inevitable “Intimidating” demeanor shattered. She knew it was going to happen, she couldn't just be thrown into the field without any weapons and expected to just rely on her ability. But as soon as she heard they got to go to the armory, she nearly fainted from excitement. She hadn't seen her ever so beloved pink mountaineer's axe in so long.

She watched the wheelchair bound man roll into the elevator and disappear behind the big metal doors. She felt her legs bounce, the excitement surging through her.
“Cmon cmon cmon!” She spoke, rushing into the elevator as soon as it opened and waiting impatiently for the others to join her.

__ Time skip __

Tara stood near the edge of the rooftop, her eyes scanning the horizon as the cool night air whipped her long, bright blue hair around her face. She couldn’t lie, she looked really good. The buzzing of the helicopter's engines was the only real noise aside from the occasional muffled hum of distant city life below. As much as she wanted to appear calm and collected, her mind was racing, and the subtle thrum of excitement coursing through her was hard to ignore. This mission felt different—bigger than the usual mess she found herself wrapped up in.

With a glance down at her wristbands, she adjusted the sleeves of her black suit, and shoved her gold-beaded bracelet under the band, trying to suppress the shiver that always seemed to rise whenever she wore tactical gear. Sure, it looked sleek, and she looked fabulous in it, but the weight of it was something else. Tara couldn't help but smile to herself at the idea that she was about to be out there, playing this high-stakes game in the middle of a messy, unknown creature territory. If she wasn’t so wrapped up in her usual troublemaking, she might even be impressed with herself.

As she took a few slow steps, her heels clicking against the concrete, she couldn't shake the thought of what they'd be facing once they were in the slums. They’d already discussed the whole plan and seen what they would be up against, but there was still that lingering question: Would they really be able to complete what the others couldn't? Or would they end up just like the squad that attempted it before them? Either way, Tara was ready. Her eyes flicked toward Yuzu, who was waiting at the helicopter, his calm demeanor almost unnerving as he sat there, fully prepared for the chaos to come.

"Hey," Tara called out, walking over to stand next to him. Her voice was playful, but there was an edge to it—an edge of readiness. "Look at my cool thing!." She flashed a grin, holding up her tall pink weapon, showing it off to the man below her. She smiled huge, like a child watching their favorite cartoon as the ax glistened in the sun. Though she couldn’t help but feel a little concerned. She held down her ax and focused her attention back to Yuzu. She had never seen anyone go through what he had and still come out ready for action. But if anyone could pull it off, it was him, right? “‘Sorry, I just think it's really pretty and like showing her off..” She mumbled looking down.

Catching herself, she looked back up at the other agents present. Pretending not to notice she just blatantly interrupted them. With a final glance around the rooftop, Tara tugged at her suit once more, setting her posture just right. She wasn’t sure how this would end, but one thing was for sure: she wouldn’t be caught off guard. Not tonight.

Spoiler: Her suit (incase the link doesnt work)

https://images-ng.pixai.art/images/orig/b68918bd-1661-4cb4-92d0-719d6ecef9ae

 

[Lost Martian]

GARTH ARCWRIGHT
Locations: Vanguard Headquarters - Mess Hall -> Rooftop
Interactions: Deacon Guppy Franz

Garth was glad to hear that he wouldn’t be the only newbie on this mission, though he wondered why Commander Ironwood would specifically state that Eve had to be on the mission, as he almost talked Garth out of applying. But the Vanguard command seemed to work in strange ways, always having some kind of secret plan for things working out.

Garth would continue to muse on the Commander’s choices as Eve responded to him, giving a pretty non-commutative to her plans for the rest of the day. Garth wouldn’t dock her any points for that however, as he himself had no clue as to what he would be doing with his time. But for now he just waited patiently at the table, allowing his two fellow agents to finish their breakfast.

Once everyone was done, Garth would get up from the table, “Well I guess I’ll see you guys later? I mean since we have the mission together and everything.”

Slinking away, still not feeling that he made the best first impression, Garth would stop and wonder just exactly where he was going. Standing in the hallway just outside the mess hall, Garth realized that he really didn’t a clue as to what he was doing.

Various thoughts would cross his mind, Garth debating about going to the training room or just chilling in his personal quarters. But as he was still deciding, he figured that he at least should start walking. And so he went forward without a destination, up and down the Vanguard headquarters.

This random milling about would eventually take Garth outside, finding himself in the same garden that doubled as a training area for the use of his unique aspect ability. Ending his walk right in the middle of the garden, Garth would just stand still, taking in the greenery.

While it was relaxing and pleasing to the eye, for Garth the garden was even more, as he had an innate connection to all the plant life in the world. Garth could feel the roots growing, the flowers blooming, and everything else that was alive in the garden. While he had mental control over the plants, Garth also drew strength from being around them, like having a cherished old friend around you.

Garth would enjoy this feeling, spending a few hours out among the greenery. Thankfully not many people came to the garden, meaning that Garth could just enjoy it without any interruptions. Eventually he would go back inside, but was now much more charged the plants giving him the energy to be ready for the mission in a few hours.

Full of energy, Garth was raring to go on this mission, wanting to get everything ready. To that end he headed for the personnel lockers, knowing that there was one specifically for him, even if he’s never been inside.

Walking down a long hallway with many reinforced metal doors, Garth would read the names on each door until he finally came across his own. Placing his right hand on a sensor next to his door, a clicking noise could be heard as the door opened on its own.

Inside the room was a bench and several lockers, ones full of whatever the Vanguard personally assigned Garth. Inside the first locker he opened was familiar weapons to Garth. While the rifle and sidearm were pretty standard amongst most Vanguard agents, the twin custom made knives were not.

Designed specifically for Garth’s unique talents, the knives were made out of an unknown metal blend, made for both quick melee use and perfectly weighted throwing use. Garth would pick up one in each hand, giving them a few practice swipes, before opening his next locker.

Inside was a set of armor, exactly in Garth’s precise measurements. Garth could immediately tell that it was lighter than most other agents armor, but then again Garth wasn’t intended for front line combat. During basic training it was quickly decided that Garth was more of a stealth role, making use of his years as an acrobat.

With that in mind, Garth would slip into the all black suit, finding that it hugged to him pretty tightly. It also felt very durable despite its thin material, probably another technological advancement that the Vanguard was keeping to itself.

Garth would then spend the few remaining hours walking about in the armor, trying to get used to having it on. But before he even knew how much time passed, Garth would note that he was due on the roof in less than a half hour.

Slipping past the other agents not assigned to this mission, as it was supposed to be hush, hush, Garth would take a set of stairs all the way to the roof. He would find that a majority of the agents he had seen earlier were already there, including the wheelchair bound agent, who had apparently been allowed to actually participate, despite his obvious physical impairment.

As Garth stepped out the darkened rooftop, only illuminated by a few red and green lights, he would only then notice the stealth craft hovering above. A fellow agent would comment on the aircraft before introducing themselves as Deacon or Tower.

“I’m Garth,” he said as he walked over, “It’s my first mission.”

More agents began to get up onto the roof, Garth being reminded of just how many had shown up in the Commander’s office, as it seemed like a lot for a mission like this. But then again Garth did appreciate having others as it meant there was more people watching his back. And Garth really didn’t want to die on his first mission.

 

[Nothingness]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

tags

Interactions: Tub2 [Tara] 606 [Gio] Autumn_Leaf [Jackson] Tub2 [Tara]
Mentions: Pyxie [Eulalia] Guppy Franz [Deacon] animegirl20 [Eve] Lost Martian [Garth]
Location: Vanguard Headquarters -- Medical Wing -- Rooftop

Yuzu Sakai

As time passed, Yuzu remained in his wheelchair the entirety of the time despite knowing full well that he could stand at any point. However, the cost of standing would also mean draining valuable energy from his cybernetics for the use of the mission. Even with the whirling engines of the helicopter behind him, Yuzu was not unaware of the arriving agents for the mission, though when a soft-spoken voice had come up; greeting themselves to Yuzu, he snapped his head toward the direction of the voice, when had they come and how come he hadn't noticed them until they had spoken. "Good evening Gio. I assume you must be part of the mission..." As he spoke in more of a statement rather than question since their scent was not of a familiar one, they definitely were not present during the meeting with the Commander when Yuzu was there with other joining agents.

Mere moments after speaking up, the sound of metallic footsteps hitting the gravel floor of the roof soon caught Yuzu's attention next. The scent of this one was easily distinguishable, Jackson, and by the sound of it, he had already decided to completely suit himself up. As he approached him, Yuzu kept his head facing the general direction toward Jackson, listening to his comment about being 'let out' only caused Yuzu to respond with a silent chuckle before lowering his head in an almost defeated like manner. "Hah...uhm, no. Some of our fellow agents kind of uhhh...'rescued' me. The doctors definitely won't be happy when they find out I'm not in my room..." As his sentence went on, his tone of voice became lower, almost hushed as though he were speaking to himself near the end of his words. The thought of what sort of punishments or checks that would need to be done on his body after this sort of mission was near unthinkable.

One after another, many of the remaining agents soon arrived on the rooftop. The sounds of their footsteps and their scents clearly identified them, after being part of the Vanguard for as long as Yuzu had been, nearly each of the suits he had heard were nearly the same in some sense. Even the heavy stomping footsteps that was similar to that of what could be compared to a behemoth was familiar to Yuzu, agents with such armor suits could be considered 'tanks' with their strong durability and incredible strength, while the cost is their lack of speed and maneuverability. Lighter armor suits had much softer steps which made it at times more difficult to tell what their suits were designed for until Yuzu could actually 'see' them once he had put on his own suit. No matter what type of suit it was though, Yuzu had come to not judge an agent by what they wore and even not underestimate any of the types of suits they witnessed, he had done that before with a behemoth of a man once before during a sparring session and was nearly outpaced by something that was nearly three times his size.

Eventually as the minutes passed, yet another voice called out toward Yuzu. Turning his head toward the agent that had called out to him, the agent's scent was familiar, another one that was present at the time of the briefing. She seemed excited, not something that was uncommon in agents but normally more expected in the fresh new recruits that had just recently finished their Vanguard training. Was she new, afterall, he had never met this agent before. Whatever the case was, as she held out her weapon and had told him to 'look' at it, Yuzu would raise his head up as though he were looking up toward an oversized weapon that stretched high up even if it was not as high as he had believed it to be. He knew well enough that he couldn't actually 'see' it, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings about berating her regarding the fact she hadn't thought about the fact he couldn't actually see it. "Wow...its really...um...cool." Trying to come off as friendly as he could with his words, while his smile was genuine, if someone could see the expression of his eyes, they would clearly be able to tell that he was feeling bad that he couldn't actually see what she had been showing off to him.

As the agent immediately apologized for forgetting that he could not see, Yuzu would respond with a shake of his head followed by a chuckle while waving his hands in front of him to attempt and amplify the fact that it was not a problem. "Nono, you're fine. Hah, you were excited and wanted to show your new um...thing. Feel free to show the others, I'm sure it's absolutely awesome and the others will definitely appreciate it."

coded by [color=#D3D3D3]@DeerPrince[/color]​

​

​

Spoiler: No Code

As time passed, Yuzu remained in his wheelchair the entirety of the time despite knowing full well that he could stand at any point. However, the cost of standing would also mean draining valuable energy from his cybernetics for the use of the mission. Even with the whirling engines of the helicopter behind him, Yuzu was not unaware of the arriving agents for the mission, though when a soft-spoken voice had come up; greeting themselves to Yuzu, he snapped his head toward the direction of the voice, when had they come and how come he hadn't noticed them until they had spoken. "Good evening Gio. I assume you must be part of the mission..." As he spoke in more of a statement rather than question since their scent was not of a familiar one, they definitely were not present during the meeting with the Commander when Yuzu was there with other joining agents.

Mere moments after speaking up, the sound of metallic footsteps hitting the gravel floor of the roof soon caught Yuzu's attention next. The scent of this one was easily distinguishable, Jackson, and by the sound of it, he had already decided to completely suit himself up. As he approached him, Yuzu kept his head facing the general direction toward Jackson, listening to his comment about being 'let out' only caused Yuzu to respond with a silent chuckle before lowering his head in an almost defeated like manner. "Hah...uhm, no. Some of our fellow agents kind of uhhh...'rescued' me. The doctors definitely won't be happy when they find out I'm not in my room..." As his sentence went on, his tone of voice became lower, almost hushed as though he were speaking to himself near the end of his words. The thought of what sort of punishments or checks that would need to be done on his body after this sort of mission was near unthinkable.

One after another, many of the remaining agents soon arrived on the rooftop. The sounds of their footsteps and their scents clearly identified them, after being part of the Vanguard for as long as Yuzu had been, nearly each of the suits he had heard were nearly the same in some sense. Even the heavy stomping footsteps that was similar to that of what could be compared to a behemoth was familiar to Yuzu, agents with such armor suits could be considered 'tanks' with their strong durability and incredible strength, while the cost is their lack of speed and maneuverability. Lighter armor suits had much softer steps which made it at times more difficult to tell what their suits were designed for until Yuzu could actually 'see' them once he had put on his own suit. No matter what type of suit it was though, Yuzu had come to not judge an agent by what they wore and even not underestimate any of the types of suits they witnessed, he had done that before with a behemoth of a man once before during a sparring session and was nearly outpaced by something that was nearly three times his size.

Eventually as the minutes passed, yet another voice called out toward Yuzu. Turning his head toward the agent that had called out to him, the agent's scent was familiar, another one that was present at the time of the briefing. She seemed excited, not something that was uncommon in agents but normally more expected in the fresh new recruits that had just recently finished their Vanguard training. Was she new, afterall, he had never met this agent before. Whatever the case was, as she held out her weapon and had told him to 'look' at it, Yuzu would raise his head up as though he were looking up toward an oversized weapon that stretched high up even if it was not as high as he had believed it to be. He knew well enough that he couldn't actually 'see' it, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings about berating her regarding the fact she hadn't thought about the fact he couldn't actually see it. "Wow...its really...um...cool." Trying to come off as friendly as he could with his words, while his smile was genuine, if someone could see the expression of his eyes, they would clearly be able to tell that he was feeling bad that he couldn't actually see what she had been showing off to him.

As the agent immediately apologized for forgetting that he could not see, Yuzu would respond with a shake of his head followed by a chuckle while waving his hands in front of him to attempt and amplify the fact that it was not a problem. "Nono, you're fine. Hah, you were excited and wanted to show your new um...thing. Feel free to show the others, I'm sure it's absolutely awesome and the others will definitely appreciate it."

 

[Nothingness]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

tags

Interactions: Tub2 [Tara] 606 [Gio] Autumn_Leaf [Jackson] Pyxie [Eulalia] Guppy Franz [Deacon] animegirl20 [Eve] Lost Martian [Garth] Clockwork_Magic [Hikari] SCP-0029 [Sora] Xen6n [Atsuma] JJae [Cas]
Mentions: N/A
Location: Rooftop -- Military Compound -- Containment Zone

Yuzu Sakai

As the minutes passed, eventually all the remaining agents that were present during the meeting or that had spoken to the Commander after the briefing with all of them together had finally shown up or at the very least that was what Yuzu had suspected since the scent of each agent from earlier was now currently present on the rooftop. With everyone present, just as Yuzu turned his gaze toward the large cylindrical humming engines of the helicopter, the large ramp bay door of the helicopter gave a loud hiss as its hydraulic systems lowered the ramp only to have one of the pilots of the vessel step out. He wore an all-black suit similar to what Yuzu wore while having a rifle strapped over his shoulder with the strap itself crossing over his chest area. The helmet he wore covered his entire head while a yellowish transplant visor display covered over his eyes, the lower half of his face was open showing a clearly well-defined beard. "Evenin’, agents. Commander done said we’d give y’all a few minutes to get yourselves gathered up, but soon as ten minutes is up, we’re haulin’ out—ready or not. So y’all best git a move on, or we’ll be leavin’ ya eatin’ our dust." The man had a gruff southern accent in his voice that Yuzu could only stare over in slight bafflement, would he really just leave them behind if anyone was still hesitant to get on board.

Whatever the case was, the pilot wasted no time to march back into the ship and head to the cockpit where his co-pilot had been checking the rest of the systems to make sure that when they took off, everything would go without a hitch.

Yuzu had taken a few moments just to ponder on the situation but soon enough had begun to roll his wheelchair up the metallic ramp to get into the vessel. The interior of the helicopter wasn't anything unexpected, everything was metal, 10 seats lined up each side the walls while on the opposite end of the loading ramp was a singular door that would lead to the cockpit, next to the door were multiple parachutes in cases of emergencies. Above their heads were three bright white lights that illuminated the interior while over the door leading to the cockpit was a singular red light was a simple obvious indicator. Yuzu had rolled up toward the nearest seat on the right by the wall beside the cockpit door, carefully lifting himself from his wheelchair just to sit down onto one of the vessel's seats that were barely cushioned for any form of comfort. There would obviously be no leaning back in these seats as the back was just the wall of the vessel itself, anyone that would be expecting snacks and drinks was going to be sorely disappointed.

It took another few minutes for everyone to get properly seated and secured before the docking bay doors gave yet another loud hiss as it shut.

"A’ight now, y’all! Buckle up real good—we’re fixin’ to tear outta here!" The sound of the pilot shouting back to his passengers had Yuzu almost a little concerned as he gripped onto the belt straps that crossed over his chest there were meant to be as a form of seatbelt so that he wouldn't get tossed around. If he had been religious in any sense, he probably would've started praying. It wasn't like this was Yuzu's first mission, but it definitely was the first time he had ever been on a ship with a rather over enthusiastic pilot.
As the engines hummed louder, the helicopter soon gave a light jerk here and there before it started to hover off the gravel flooring of the rooftop. Slowly as the vessel rose higher and higher into the sky and eventually even above the clouds, the cylindrical engines began to turn from their vertical positions into diagonal positions. In an instant, the helicopter rocketed forward at tremendous speeds, easily hitting over Mach 6. With the helicopter's special slick design and the high technological advances of The Vanguard's engineering, they were able to stabilize the interior of the helicopter so that the air pressure would not knock back its occupants nor would the concern of thin oxygen levels would be a concern.

As the vessel made its way to its destination, soon a blue hologram would come to life in the middle of the room where the agents resided. The hologram was that of Commander Ironwood, he was standing with his arms behind his back as his usual stern cold and piercing gaze was still on his face. "I see you all have successfully taken off. Now, I will be brief with this." As the Commander spoke, his hologram took several steps forward toward the direction of the cockpit as a large map of the mission location soon took form behind him, after which he turned back around to point at specific locations, his finger causing a red line to extend from the point to show exactly where he was pointing toward. "You all will be dropped off here. You surely will be greeted with the local authorities and military here but I do not need to inform you that you all outrank them and will proceed without issue. After which, you will all head directly into the containment zone from here. Your primary objective is to find out what happened to the missing Agents and report your findings. Rescuing them is secondary. After discovering what happened to them, your next objective is to reach the center of it all, here. Some of the researchers believe that there is an enormous Rift in the center of all this causing the strange fungus you all had seen." As he continued on, Yuzu could only listen, though his wristbands were recording all the information into them so that he would be able to review it all during the mission when his suit was activated.

"Due to the size of the containment zone, you all will be put into teams to cover more ground. Yuzu Sakai, you will be head of Alpha team. Sora Haruto, Garth Arcwright, and Giovanni Robello will accompany you. Jackson Voss, you will be the head of Delta team. Deacon Godfrey, Tara Hsiung, and Cassia Grimm will join you. Eulalia Wendelle, you will be the head of Bravo team. Eve Nightheart, Atsuma Fujiwara, and Hikari Takashima will be under your command." As teams were listed, Yuzu seemed to show no signs of shock or unexpectedness from his name being called out as one of the heads of a team as this was not his first time leading agents on the mission. "Finally, the researchers have informed me that there have been some strange power fluctu—...tions—...area—...watch—...horr—...they’re—...caref—...RUN—!" As the Commander spoke, the holograms soon became distorted before the pilot finally cut out the communications completely. "Sorry ‘bout that, y’all. Reckon we got some kinda fuss messin’ with the signals as we’re gettin’ near the drop-off. Systems actin’ up too… somethin’ real unnatural goin’ on in there. Y’all keep yer eyes peeled and watch yerselves, ya hear?" As the pilot spoke out during their landing, by the time the large helicopter touched down with a heavy thud, the loud hissing sounds of the docking ramp dropped as the group was greeted with armed military soldiers and a man who held the rank of Captain stood with his arms crossed as he waited for the occupants of the vessel to depart before asking questions.

Even as the other agents stepped out and if any had ignored the soldiers or the Captain himself, Yuzu was the first to roll his wheelchair up to the commanding soldier before stopping in front of him. "Mind telling us what you think you're doing here, Vanguard?" As the Captain spoke with a clear distaste in his tone, Yuzu would only stare up at the man from his seat inn silence for a few more passing moments. "We were given a mission by our Commanding Officer, so...I suggest you and your men step aside--" As Yuzu spoke, his once usual light and polite tone of voice began to grow deeper and the sound of authority clear in his tone as he engaged his wristbands. Slowly, Yuzu would finally begin to stand from his seat as nanobots began to swarm over from his wrists, covering up his arms before they reached his chest, abdomen, legs, and neck area. The nanobots all worked together rapidly in unison as they assembled over a lightweight, flexible armor that conforms perfectly to the user's shape. The nanobots can rapidly change their configuration, forming layers of protection, weapons, and even built-in tech enhancements, all while providing full mobility. Just as they reached his neck area, he reached up to remove the bandages from his eyes, moments just as his eyelids opened, his helmet formed over to cover his face, and the entirety of his head. All of this occurred within nearly an instant before two bright illuminating eyes shone to now be staring down toward the man. "--Captain."

With the sight of a fully armored Vanguard now standing before him rather than walking off to the side like the other agents had done, the Captain could be seen shacking in his legs while attempting to still some sort of courage to someone that he knew well outranked him. "L-Let them thr-through..." As the man spoke, he quickly turned his head to the side, refusing to make eye contact with Yuzu any longer. "Thank you, Captain." As Yuzu spoke, now that he was able to see through with the use of his fully activated suit, he stepped around the man as he proceeded to head to the back of the military encampment where they were surrounding the containment zone. As he stepped toward the containment zone, his suits calibration and activation sequence played through the corner of his visor as he continued forward.

Spoiler: System engagement

> Booting Up Mark VI Striker System...
> Initializing protocols...
>
> [SYSTEM CHECK]
> -------------------
> Power Level: 100%
> Nanobot Integrity: 100%
> Biometric Sensors: Online
> Environmental Scanners: Online
> Life Signs: Normal
> > Heart Rate: 72 bpm (Green)
> > Oxygen Levels: 98% (Green)
> > Medication Systems: Online
> > Filtering Systems: Active
>
> [AUDIO CUE]
> *Ding* - System online.
>
> [VISUAL DISPLAY]
> Loading user interface...
> Welcome to Mark VI Striker Model X-9000
>
> [BIOMETRIC SCAN]
> Please stand by...
> Scanning...
>
> [USER RECOGNITION]
> User detected: Yuzu Sakai
> Status: Authorized
>
> [NANOBOT ACTIVATION]
> Sending activation signal to nanobots...
>
> > Activating nanobots...
> > Commencing swarm assembly...
>
> [VISUAL FEEDBACK]
> Nanobots initiating...
> > 10%...
> > 25%...
> > 50%...
> > 75%...
> > 100% - Armor formation in progress.
>
> [AUDIO CUE]
> *Click* *Whirr* - Armor engaging.
>
> [ARMOR FORMATION]
> Layer 1: Chest Plate - Engaged.
> Layer 2: Arm Guards - Engaged.
> Layer 3: Leg Armor - Engaged.
> Layer 4: Helmet - Engaged.
>
> [FINALIZATION SEQUENCE]
> Locking mechanisms activated...
> Securing armor...
>
> > Armor Status: Fully Engaged
> > Power Management: Optimal
> > Defensive Systems: Online
>
> [LIFE SIGN STATUS]
> Life Signs: GREEN
> > Heart Rate: 72 bpm (Normal)
> > Oxygen Levels: 98% (Normal)
> > Medication Systems: Fully Stocked
> > Filtering Systems: Active and Operational
>
> [AUDIO CUE]
> *Ding* - Armor ready for use.
>
> [VISUAL DISPLAY]
> HUD Online: Displaying mission parameters...
>
> [COMMAND INPUT]
> Awaiting user command...
>
> > Voice Activation: "Engage combat mode."
>
> [SYSTEM RESPONSE]
> Activating combat mode...
>
> > Armament Systems: Online
> > Tactical Scanners: Online
>
> [FINAL STATUS]
> Mark VI Striker Model X-1000: READY FOR DEPLOYMENT.

As Yuzu stepped up toward the entrance of the containment zone, there appeared to had been a massive tent that sealed off the military compound to the fungus like area. On both sides of the entrance into the tent were guards fully armed with rifles who dared not speak a single word to any of the Vanguard agents. Within the tent were men and women dressed in hazmat suits moving white sealed crates around that had the danger bio symbol pasted on the sides and top of them. Yuzu showed no care to what protocols the soldiers nor those in the hazmat suits had to go through, instead, he barged into the tent and made his way to the opposite end with the other agents while the men and women in the room could only stare in awe as some of them had only now just witnessed the sight of Vanguard agents for the first time in their lives at this very moment.

By the time Yuzu had stepped out the opposite end of the tent along with his fellow agents, they were greeted with the sight of just what was expected from what they had seen during the Commander's video footage he had shown them. The air was a sickly green color, buildings on both the left and right had large pulsing pustules that looked like they were on the verge of exploding at even the lightest touch. The walls of the buildings were covered in some strange green-like moss that almost looked like it could breathe from how it moved. The ground was no different, the once paved roads were now covered in the same moss-like material that made stepping seemed almost 'squishy'. There were spots of pavement and sidewalk still untouched but they were rare and few between.

"Alright. Let's get this started. Jackson, you take the east. Eulalia, you take the west. My team and I will go directly north. Radio in the moment you find anything or if you run into trouble. We'll all rendezvous within 3 hours at the center. Keep your wits about you, I don't like this..." As Yuzu spoke, it would be easily clear to anyone that had heard or spoke with him earlier that he was no doubt a different person now that they were on the mission. His voice was no longer that shy, timid self but rather one that almost demanded respect and authority behind it.

coded by [color=#D3D3D3]@DeerPrince[/color]​

​

​

Spoiler: No Code

As the minutes passed, eventually all the remaining agents that were present during the meeting or that had spoken to the Commander after the briefing with all of them together had finally shown up or at the very least that was what Yuzu had suspected since the scent of each agent from earlier was now currently present on the rooftop. With everyone present, just as Yuzu turned his gaze toward the large cylindrical humming engines of the helicopter, the large ramp bay door of the helicopter gave a loud hiss as its hydraulic systems lowered the ramp only to have one of the pilots of the vessel step out. He wore an all-black suit similar to what Yuzu wore while having a rifle strapped over his shoulder with the strap itself crossing over his chest area. The helmet he wore covered his entire head while a yellowish transplant visor display covered over his eyes, the lower half of his face was open showing a clearly well-defined beard. "Evenin’, agents. Commander done said we’d give y’all a few minutes to get yourselves gathered up, but soon as ten minutes is up, we’re haulin’ out—ready or not. So y’all best git a move on, or we’ll be leavin’ ya eatin’ our dust." The man had a gruff southern accent in his voice that Yuzu could only stare over in slight bafflement, would he really just leave them behind if anyone was still hesitant to get on board.

Whatever the case was, the pilot wasted no time to march back into the ship and head to the cockpit where his co-pilot had been checking the rest of the systems to make sure that when they took off, everything would go without a hitch.

Yuzu had taken a few moments just to ponder on the situation but soon enough had begun to roll his wheelchair up the metallic ramp to get into the vessel. The interior of the helicopter wasn't anything unexpected, everything was metal, 10 seats lined up each side the walls while on the opposite end of the loading ramp was a singular door that would lead to the cockpit, next to the door were multiple parachutes in cases of emergencies. Above their heads were three bright white lights that illuminated the interior while over the door leading to the cockpit was a singular red light was a simple obvious indicator. Yuzu had rolled up toward the nearest seat on the right by the wall beside the cockpit door, carefully lifting himself from his wheelchair just to sit down onto one of the vessel's seats that were barely cushioned for any form of comfort. There would obviously be no leaning back in these seats as the back was just the wall of the vessel itself, anyone that would be expecting snacks and drinks was going to be sorely disappointed.

It took another few minutes for everyone to get properly seated and secured before the docking bay doors gave yet another loud hiss as it shut.

"A’ight now, y’all! Buckle up real good—we’re fixin’ to tear outta here!" The sound of the pilot shouting back to his passengers had Yuzu almost a little concerned as he gripped onto the belt straps that crossed over his chest there were meant to be as a form of seatbelt so that he wouldn't get tossed around. If he had been religious in any sense, he probably would've started praying. It wasn't like this was Yuzu's first mission, but it definitely was the first time he had ever been on a ship with a rather over enthusiastic pilot.
As the engines hummed louder, the helicopter soon gave a light jerk here and there before it started to hover off the gravel flooring of the rooftop. Slowly as the vessel rose higher and higher into the sky and eventually even above the clouds, the cylindrical engines began to turn from their vertical positions into diagonal positions. In an instant, the helicopter rocketed forward at tremendous speeds, easily hitting over Mach 6. With the helicopter's special slick design and the high technological advances of The Vanguard's engineering, they were able to stabilize the interior of the helicopter so that the air pressure would not knock back its occupants nor would the concern of thin oxygen levels would be a concern.

As the vessel made its way to its destination, soon a blue hologram would come to life in the middle of the room where the agents resided. The hologram was that of Commander Ironwood, he was standing with his arms behind his back as his usual stern cold and piercing gaze was still on his face. "I see you all have successfully taken off. Now, I will be brief with this." As the Commander spoke, his hologram took several steps forward toward the direction of the cockpit as a large map of the mission location soon took form behind him, after which he turned back around to point at specific locations, his finger causing a red line to extend from the point to show exactly where he was pointing toward. "You all will be dropped off here. You surely will be greeted with the local authorities and military here but I do not need to inform you that you all outrank them and will proceed without issue. After which, you will all head directly into the containment zone from here. Your primary objective is to find out what happened to the missing Agents and report your findings. Rescuing them is secondary. After discovering what happened to them, your next objective is to reach the center of it all, here. Some of the researchers believe that there is an enormous Rift in the center of all this causing the strange fungus you all had seen." As he continued on, Yuzu could only listen, though his wristbands were recording all the information into them so that he would be able to review it all during the mission when his suit was activated.

"Due to the size of the containment zone, you all will be put into teams to cover more ground. Yuzu Sakai, you will be head of Alpha team. Sora Haruto, Garth Arcwright, and Giovanni Robello will accompany you. Jackson Voss, you will be the head of Delta team. Deacon Godfrey, Tara Hsiung, and Cassia Grimm will join you. Eulalia Wendelle, you will be the head of Bravo team. Eve Nightheart, Atsuma Fujiwara, and Hikari Takashima will be under your command." As teams were listed, Yuzu seemed to show no signs of shock or unexpectedness from his name being called out as one of the heads of a team as this was not his first time leading agents on the mission. "Finally, the researchers have informed me that there have been some strange power fluctu—...tions—...area—...watch—...horr—...they’re—...caref—...RUN—!" As the Commander spoke, the holograms soon became distorted before the pilot finally cut out the communications completely. "Sorry ‘bout that, y’all. Reckon we got some kinda fuss messin’ with the signals as we’re gettin’ near the drop-off. Systems actin’ up too… somethin’ real unnatural goin’ on in there. Y’all keep yer eyes peeled and watch yerselves, ya hear?" As the pilot spoke out during their landing, by the time the large helicopter touched down with a heavy thud, the loud hissing sounds of the docking ramp dropped as the group was greeted with armed military soldiers and a man who held the rank of Captain stood with his arms crossed as he waited for the occupants of the vessel to depart before asking questions.

Even as the other agents stepped out and if any had ignored the soldiers or the Captain himself, Yuzu was the first to roll his wheelchair up to the commanding soldier before stopping in front of him. "Mind telling us what you think you're doing here, Vanguard?" As the Captain spoke with a clear distaste in his tone, Yuzu would only stare up at the man from his seat inn silence for a few more passing moments. "We were given a mission by our Commanding Officer, so...I suggest you and your men step aside--" As Yuzu spoke, his once usual light and polite tone of voice began to grow deeper and the sound of authority clear in his tone as he engaged his wristbands. Slowly, Yuzu would finally begin to stand from his seat as nanobots began to swarm over from his wrists, covering up his arms before they reached his chest, abdomen, legs, and neck area. The nanobots all worked together rapidly in unison as they assembled over a lightweight, flexible armor that conforms perfectly to the user's shape. The nanobots can rapidly change their configuration, forming layers of protection, weapons, and even built-in tech enhancements, all while providing full mobility. Just as they reached his neck area, he reached up to remove the bandages from his eyes, moments just as his eyelids opened, his helmet formed over to cover his face, and the entirety of his head. All of this occurred within nearly an instant before two bright illuminating eyes shone to now be staring down toward the man. "--Captain."

With the sight of a fully armored Vanguard now standing before him rather than walking off to the side like the other agents had done, the Captain could be seen shacking in his legs while attempting to still some sort of courage to someone that he knew well outranked him. "L-Let them thr-through..." As the man spoke, he quickly turned his head to the side, refusing to make eye contact with Yuzu any longer. "Thank you, Captain." As Yuzu spoke, now that he was able to see through with the use of his fully activated suit, he stepped around the man as he proceeded to head to the back of the military encampment where they were surrounding the containment zone. As he stepped toward the containment zone, his suits calibration and activation sequence played through the corner of his visor as he continued forward.

Spoiler: System engagement

> Booting Up Mark VI Striker System...
> Initializing protocols...
>
> [SYSTEM CHECK]
> -------------------
> Power Level: 100%
> Nanobot Integrity: 100%
> Biometric Sensors: Online
> Environmental Scanners: Online
> Life Signs: Normal
> > Heart Rate: 72 bpm (Green)
> > Oxygen Levels: 98% (Green)
> > Medication Systems: Online
> > Filtering Systems: Active
>
> [AUDIO CUE]
> *Ding* - System online.
>
> [VISUAL DISPLAY]
> Loading user interface...
> Welcome to Mark VI Striker Model X-9000
>
> [BIOMETRIC SCAN]
> Please stand by...
> Scanning...
>
> [USER RECOGNITION]
> User detected: Yuzu Sakai
> Status: Authorized
>
> [NANOBOT ACTIVATION]
> Sending activation signal to nanobots...
>
> > Activating nanobots...
> > Commencing swarm assembly...
>
> [VISUAL FEEDBACK]
> Nanobots initiating...
> > 10%...
> > 25%...
> > 50%...
> > 75%...
> > 100% - Armor formation in progress.
>
> [AUDIO CUE]
> *Click* *Whirr* - Armor engaging.
>
> [ARMOR FORMATION]
> Layer 1: Chest Plate - Engaged.
> Layer 2: Arm Guards - Engaged.
> Layer 3: Leg Armor - Engaged.
> Layer 4: Helmet - Engaged.
>
> [FINALIZATION SEQUENCE]
> Locking mechanisms activated...
> Securing armor...
>
> > Armor Status: Fully Engaged
> > Power Management: Optimal
> > Defensive Systems: Online
>
> [LIFE SIGN STATUS]
> Life Signs: GREEN
> > Heart Rate: 72 bpm (Normal)
> > Oxygen Levels: 98% (Normal)
> > Medication Systems: Fully Stocked
> > Filtering Systems: Active and Operational
>
> [AUDIO CUE]
> *Ding* - Armor ready for use.
>
> [VISUAL DISPLAY]
> HUD Online: Displaying mission parameters...
>
> [COMMAND INPUT]
> Awaiting user command...
>
> > Voice Activation: "Engage combat mode."
>
> [SYSTEM RESPONSE]
> Activating combat mode...
>
> > Armament Systems: Online
> > Tactical Scanners: Online
>
> [FINAL STATUS]
> Mark VI Striker Model X-1000: READY FOR DEPLOYMENT.

As Yuzu stepped up toward the entrance of the containment zone, there appeared to had been a massive tent that sealed off the military compound to the fungus like area. On both sides of the entrance into the tent were guards fully armed with rifles who dared not speak a single word to any of the Vanguard agents. Within the tent were men and women dressed in hazmat suits moving white sealed crates around that had the danger bio symbol pasted on the sides and top of them. Yuzu showed no care to what protocols the soldiers nor those in the hazmat suits had to go through, instead, he barged into the tent and made his way to the opposite end with the other agents while the men and women in the room could only stare in awe as some of them had only now just witnessed the sight of Vanguard agents for the first time in their lives at this very moment.

By the time Yuzu had stepped out the opposite end of the tent along with his fellow agents, they were greeted with the sight of just what was expected from what they had seen during the Commander's video footage he had shown them. The air was a sickly green color, buildings on both the left and right had large pulsing pustules that looked like they were on the verge of exploding at even the lightest touch. The walls of the buildings were covered in some strange green-like moss that almost looked like it could breathe from how it moved. The ground was no different, the once paved roads were now covered in the same moss-like material that made stepping seemed almost 'squishy'. There were spots of pavement and sidewalk still untouched but they were rare and few between.

"Alright. Let's get this started. Jackson, you take the east. Eulalia, you take the west. My team and I will go directly north. Radio in the moment you find anything or if you run into trouble. We'll all rendezvous within 3 hours at the center. Keep your wits about you, I don't like this..." As Yuzu spoke, it would be easily clear to anyone that had heard or spoke with him earlier that he was no doubt a different person now that they were on the mission. His voice was no longer that shy, timid self but rather one that almost demanded respect and authority behind it.

 

[Pyxie]

Located @ Vanguard Rooftop → Containment Zone towards Western Containment Zone
Interacting w/ No-One + Her Team ( Clockwork_Magic , animegirl20 , Xen6n )

---

Yet more obedient lambs made their appearance before the Commander made himself known. With his scruffy demeanor and heavily accented voice, he ushered everyone into the aerial vehicle to their actual destination. Eulalia remained silent - sitting behind the Commander while her eye humbly remained on the ground. The approaching hologram began to speak - letting the team know what was to occur. Eulalia felt her hairs begin to stand on edge after she thought of what she was told by Shanta. The echoes of the recalling video causing her anxiety. She clutched her chest, and took a deep breath with her eyes closed - and remained silent until she first heard her name.

She felt her heart skip a beat once she heard her name brought up. Eulalia - yes, there was no doubt. She opened her eyes and they were widened with shock. She was going to lead a team?

The sudden apparition of intense scrutiny made itself known. Eulalia was to now be in charge of a team. She shyly glimpsed to who she was to lead. She was aware, given how she, on her own time, decided to read up on the team-members... but to be a leader? Perhaps she skipped over the team placement, after-all.

First was Eve. A small girl, cute to her chagrin. Eulalia was aware of her powers and lycanthropy - something she actually did find interesting. She even reminded Eulalia of herself - nevermind her name starting with the same vowel.

Next was Atsuma. A burly looking man - but not one Eulalia knew much of. He was the least Eulalia was informed about.

Lastly was the same eyepatched woman she saw in Yuzu's own room. She appeared quite rambunctious, and Eulalia wondered if she would be able to actually lead this woman. Eulalia was humble in her own right - but she began to wonder if this was the doing of Shanta - to lead a team. Was Eulalia being upgraded in the eyes of the Vanguard? She was but a puppet, yet so was Yuzu - and he was also in charge of a team which was quite interesting.

Eulalia was second out of the airborne vehicle. Witnessing the interaction between Yuzu and the stationed commander, she was surprised he had developed such an authoritative tone. Perhaps this was to also be Eulalia's presence, yet she remained silent. With a simple click did her technology activate - her helmet casing over her hair and facial features to unveil a sleek helmet with her palms becoming covered with similar technology that Yuzu had worn. What would appear as a garb on her waist unwrapped into that of wings as Eulalia stepped to the side and waited for her team.

She hopped up and down, testing the same technology - and with a whoosh did she become airborne herself. This was, at-first, frightening and surprising. She nearly flinched, but was able to hide it before allowing said technology to calm itself - her returning to the ground and said wings wrapping around her body once more - returning to its' garb like appearance. What strange technology... aerial nanotechnology at that. So it would appear both Yuzu and her were likewise in experimentation.

She checked her wrist - noticing a wristband form as well. It seemed to permeate a sense of life, perhaps that of the nanotechnology moving likewise to the intensity of the nerve endings of humanoid tongues. She poked at it, and with that a sleek tablet formed itself... once that she quickly swatted away after being startled yet again.

Once everyone had unloaded from the chopper, she humbly bowed to each and every one.

She remained silent, however, and allowed them to introduce themselves as they wished. Once they reached the containment zone, the very sight of whatever had grown here was disgusting... yet her mind was then taken from said distraction once Yuzu turned and spoke to them. His calm demeanor from before now quite dominant and demanding. The strange shift in behavior did cause a blush to creep itself on her cheeks, yet fortunately her masks hid her emotions.

She simply nodded, and calmly turned her feet to walk to the West where she was directed - glancing over her shoulder to make sure her team followed.

---

Created by Uxie, Edited by Deluna

 

[Autumn_Leaf]

Jackson Voss

The Stonewall

The S.S Infinity

Spoiler: Post Theme

Spoiler: Suit

View attachment 1216134View attachment 1216135

Interactions: Nothingness Guppy Franz Tub2 JJae

Jackson watched as more agents piled in, and before he knew it, they were airborne. He sat hunched forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped beneath his chin. His expression was hidden behind the helmet, but his posture spoke volumes. Silent contemplation as his gaze swept over the map, mind racing through the possibilities. The fungal outbreak. The strange, unnatural way it spread. The commander’s theory about a rift being the source made sense, but something about it gnawed at him. Decades of fighting rift-born horrors—Infernos, Aberrants—yet nothing quite like this had surfaced before.

It wasn’t adding up. If this was the start of something new, something bigger, then what the hell was lurking behind the curtain? His name cut through his thoughts, snapping him back to the present. He was leading a three-man team. Not a surprise, and honestly, a relief. Control over the operation meant less room for error—at least, on his end. His HUD flickered through dossiers, pulling up intel on his squad.

First up, Deacon. Big guy. Ex-soldier turned super soldier. That meant discipline, reliability, and most importantly, he could handle some well-placed smack talk—something Jackson fully intended to exploit. Strength enhancement, earth manipulation, the walking definition of a brick house. No wonder he hauled around that oversized riot shield and minigun like they were playthings.

Then there was Tara. Street-smart, sharp, the kind of person who knew how to survive in Eldralis. That alone made her a solid asset. Her ability, though? Mind control. That sat about as well with him as a knife to the ribs. The last thing he needed was someone poking around in his head.

Lastly, Cassia. Adrenaline junkie, quick thinker, always moving. Another banter-heavy personality, which meshed well with Jackson’s leadership style. Her abilities? Emotional energy manipulation and the power to animate objects—or corpses. Yeah, that one was going to need some first-hand observation. But a sniper? Now that was a damn fine asset.

The Stealth Bird touched down. Jackson followed loosely behind Eulalia, his attention locked onto Yuzu as his suit materialized, radiating authority. Watching the captain fold like a cheap deck chair under that presence was almost embarrassing. As he passed, Jackson couldn’t help himself. A condescending pat-pat on the captain’s head as he walked by. “Good boy.” He barely concealed a chuckle as he stepped past the hazmat-clad soldiers, through the back of the tent, and into the infested zone.

The sight was gnarly. Buildings were smothered in a sickly green moss, the streets crawling with the same fungal filth. Pulsating pustules lined the walls like bloated parasites, oozing something that definitely wasn’t natural. His visor filtered the air, blocking out whatever airborne nightmare was waiting to chew through unprotected lungs. “Ya’ know, the Rift’s real good at handing out gifts.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Yuzu’s orders came through. East for Jackson. West for Eulalia. North for Yuzu’s team. Rendezvous in three hours.

Jackson gave a nod before turning to his squad, an easy grin slipping into his voice. “Alright, kiddos, here’s the game plan.” His finger jabbed at Deacon first. “Big Buddy, you’re taking point. Perks of being built like a damn tank. I’ll be your shadow.” Next, he turned to Cassia. “You’re hanging back, rifle up. Stay on comms, and if you see anything we don’t, call it.” Finally, his gaze landed on Tara. “You’re sticking close. We back up Big Buddy in case things get nasty.” He gave her a nod before adding, half-joking, “Also, if you could not go digging around in my head, that’d be real swell.”

A deep breath. His grip tightened around his revolver, the weight of it grounding him. “Alright, we’re moving east. Stick with me, and we’ll get through this clean.” His voice carried an effortless confidence, but underneath it, the gears in his mind were already turning.
Something wasn’t right. And they were about to find out exactly what.

Code by Serobliss

 

[606]

"Good evening Gio. I assume you must be part of the mission..."

When a question was throw back at Gio, they gave a slight nod, clearing their throat for a moment.

“Y-yes, um…I was asked to um…come over from the church...”

his voice trailed off, glancing towards the other, carefully studying the other. He would have asked another question about the blindfold in particular but, by that point, other people started to arrive.

“Hey, buddy. They let you out?”
"Hah...uhm, no. Some of our fellow agents kind of uhhh...'rescued' me. The doctors definitely won't be happy when they find out I'm not in my room..."
“Huh. New guy? Welcome to the party. Name’s Jackson.”

“Uh-I, um”

"Nice bird. Hope the seats are big enough though.”
"Deacon by the way. Or Tower, either one. The ladder was an old call sign.”
“I’m Garth,” he said as he walked over, “It’s my first mission.”

"Hey,""Look at my cool thing!."
"Wow...its really...um...cool."
“‘Sorry, I forgot you couldn't see...”
"Nono, you're fine. Hah, you were excited and wanted to show your new um...thing. Feel free to show the others, I'm sure it's absolutely awesome and the others will definitely appreciate it."

Heart racing and a cold sweat start to drip down Gio’s face, seeing everyone arrive, many with their suits on already, cheerful and had much more confidence that he could ever even imagine. He gulped as he looked down at their belongings, and a shaky hand went up to his neck, pulling out the sun charm, and looked up at everyone else.

Should he get changed too? Should he introduce himself? How important was it that this was his first ever mission, that I might have only been a day or two ago that Gio ‘finish’ their training? Was it important for everyone to know that he was requested and sent over?

No, then that sounds like I’m someone important. That I’m powerful or talented, I should have told the Archbishop that I wasn’t ready!

His eyes darkened with panic, letting his head slump, thinking a mile a minute as the world around him became a fuzzy blur, sounds becoming static, and he, becoming a statue frozen with anxiety. It was a shame that his abilities weren’t first of all super effective on himself, let alone could help with emotional turmoil. Sure it could help some but never the same wya it can heal an open wound or burn. If it could, Gio might be in a better place, instead of mindlessly following everyone onto the ship, lost in their world.

"I see you all have successfully taken off. Now, I will be brief with this. You all will be dropped off here. You surely will be greeted with the local authorities and military here, but I do not need to inform you that you all outrank them and will proceed without issue. After which, you will all head directly into the containment zone from here. Your primary objective is to find out what happened to the missing Agents and report your findings. Rescuing them is secondary. After discovering what happened to them, your next objective is to reach the center of it all, here. Some of the researchers believe that there is an enormous Rift in the center of all this, causing the strange fungus you all had seen. Due to the size of the containment zone, you all will be put into teams to cover more ground. "
"Yuzu Sakai, you will be head of Alpha team. Sora Haruto, Garth Arcwright, and..."

Gio, who has been slumped over, jumped a little in their seat, hearing the terrifying voice of the commander as their eyes darted to the hologram, their mind returning towards reality. Even then, Gio could only process about half of what the commander was saying, their mind spinning still.

“… Giovanni Robello. will accompany you. Jackson Voss, you will be the head of Delta team. Deacon Godfrey, Tara Hsiung, and Cassia Grimm will join you. Eulalia Wendelle, you will be the head of Bravo team. Eve Nightheart, Atsuma Fujiwara, and Hikari Takashima will be under your command. Finally, the researchers have informed me that there have been some strange power fluctu—...tions—...area—...watch—...horr—...they’re—...caref—...RUN—!"

If they weren’t already as stiff as a board, they would have stiffened up, and looked around trying to remember who was who, but his eyes landed on one face that seemed familiar. Gio thought they heard the name Sora but weren’t sure, as they were barely paying attention, but seeing the face of an old friend, Gio was sure that was one of the names he did hear and a wave of relief washed over him. A friendly face. A familiar face. A face he knew from home. Whatever one wanted to call it, Gio was simply, relieved. They might be okay.

However, when Yuzu got up and started to leave, Gio looked at everyone else in their suits and started to fumble around his neck for the charm, looking at the golden sun in his hand and closed his eyes. For a moment nothing happened then he pressed it to their chest and an army of nano bots started to seep out from the sun’s rays, weaving the fitted armor around the small farm, white with gold accents shining in the light, his panicked face soon covered by a white mask, fully dressed head to toe at long last, and truly revealing how small and skinny he was.

Gio did enjoy eating, and did eat a lot, however, it never really showed despite how much Gio did eat. People say never to trust a skinny chef, however Gio might be the exception. It might be due to their abilities that are always being used when Gio cooks, that allows him to simply stay skinny, otherwise Gio might be just as big as others.

Their vision was soon flooded by commands, Gio frozen in place as people began to leave, leaving the quiet person standing and looking around in confusion for a moment before trailing behind everyone else the moment their vision was cleared up.

"Alright. Let's get this started. Jackson, you take the east. Eulalia, you take the west. My team and I will go directly north. Radio in the moment, you find anything, or if you run into trouble. We'll all rendezvous within 3 hours at the center. Keep your wits about you, I don't like this..."
Gio slipped his way to make sure they could see Yuzu, his eyes wandering back to Sora as the only person they knew. Maybe it was some Sol blessing that Gio was here, and on this specific team, but it also couldn't be a good sign. Gio looked over to Yuzu and towards the other three who were announced as leaders, wondering if Gio was the only church member here, which started the spinning in Gio's mind once again, however, at least there was a mask, and he silently followed Yuzu and the rest of the group he was apart of.

giovanni robello-cugini

Gio.

• aaaaaaaaa
• aaaaaaaaa

• filler tab!
• 
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  location

  
  
  
  

  Roof > Ship > Containment Zone/border]
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  interactions

  
  
  
  

  N/A

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  mentions

  
  
  
  

  Yuzu, Sora, Garth, and briefly everyone else

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  tags

  
  
  
  

  Nothingness SCP-0029 Lost Martian

  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

♡coded by uxie♡

THE SUIT
THE CHARM

 

[Tub2]

タラ・シュン — Tara Hsiung.

[/border]

Vangaurd.

Loco:

Military compound // containment zone

"This is disgusting.."

interactions.

this scrolls! Nothingness Guppy Franz JJae Autumn_Leaf

T

he bright white lighting inside the chopper was atrocious, and Tara had to fight the urge to roll her eyes every time she caught her reflection in one of the sleek metallic surfaces. This kind of lighting made her features look harsher, washing out her skin and accentuating the exhaustion she was definitely not going to acknowledge. She tilted her head slightly, trying to find an angle where the shadows were more flattering, but it was a lost cause. Whoever designed this thing clearly didn’t have aesthetics in mind. Typical.

As the helicopter lifted off, she leaned back in her seat, arms crossed as she watched the city shrink below them. It was hard to believe that nestled in that sprawling landscape was a festering nightmare of fungi and weird gross puss things. The hum of the engines vibrated through the metal of her shoes, steady and familiar, a reminder that she was in motion. Moving forward.Moving Fast. Away from the bright sterile halls of HQ and toward something infinitely worse. Fantastic.

A sudden flash of blue caught her attention, and her gaze snapped toward the hologram that flickered to life before them. Ironwood. Ever the picture of authority, he wasted no time breaking down the mission details, assigning teams and objectives with the cold efficiency of someone who probably hadn't had a decent night’s sleep in years.

Tara barely suppressed a sigh as her team was named. Jackson, the leader—predictable. Cassia, their long-range support—solid choice. And then there was Deacon. Of course. Just her luck to be paired up with the one person who could actually throw her off her game. Not that she’d ever admit it. Everyone was already looking around at the people who were listed off on their team, blissfully unaware of how Tara’s stomach twisted just a little when Deacon was in the room. Pull it together, Hsiung. You’re here to work, not swoon like some lovesick recruit.

By the time they landed, Tara was on her feet, her arms still crossed as she took in the military base before them. Soldiers stood at attention, their rigid postures a stark contrast to the casual authority Yuzu carried as he exited the chopper. After talking to the captain for a while, she watched as he began to stand. Watching him move—walk—was something else entirely. She had known about his tech, of course, but seeing it in action was an eerie reminder of just how advanced Vanguard was. A man who should be bound to a wheelchair now walked like he owned the place. If nothing else, it sent a clear message: Vanguard wasn’t to be underestimated.

They passed through the soldiers, their presence almost timid as they watched her and the other agents walk past. Tara’s gaze flickered between them, assessing their expressions. Some looked wary. Others just looked... tired. She could relate.

As they moved inside, the air changed. Even before they reached the divide between the clean, rigid structure of the base and the infected city, there was a shift—a weight pressing against them like an unseen force. Then she saw it.

The massive tent that cut the world in half, a stark boundary between the last remnants of controlled order and whatever hellscape lay beyond.
The sight of the city made her pause. Even through the protective layer of her suit, she felt dirty just looking at it. The air had a sickly green tint, as if the very atmosphere was tainted beyond saving. Buildings loomed on either side, their surfaces riddled with pulsating pustules that looked like they were breathing. The ground squelched beneath them in places, the mossy growth covering the streets like a living, writhing organism. It was disgusting. Tara clenched her jaw, forcing herself to move forward even as the instinct to not be here screamed in the back of her mind.

The moment they stepped into the city, her suit reacted. With a soft hiss, an airtight face cover sealed over her features, filtering out whatever toxins were festering in the air. Thank god. She didn’t even want to think about what was floating around in this mess.
Then came Yuzu’s orders, his voice cutting through the eerie silence as he directed them east.
And then Jackson, ever the charming tactician, laid out their team’s plan.

"Alright, kiddos, here’s the game plan."

Tara braced herself.

"Big Buddy, you’re taking point. Perks of being built like a damn tank. I’ll be your shadow."

Fine by her. Let Deacon soak up all the attention up front. She’d rather not be the first one to get swallowed whole by some nightmare fungus.

"Cassia, you’re hanging back, rifle up. Stay on comms, and if you see anything we don’t, call it."

Also fine. Distance suited Cassia.

Then his gaze landed on her.

"You’re sticking close. We back up Big Buddy in case things get nasty."

Tara lifted a brow but said nothing.

"Also, if you could not go digging around in my head, that’d be real swell."

Oh, please. Like she’d waste her energy poking around his thoughts. She had far more interesting things to focus on. Instead, she gave a slow, exaggerated blink and muttered,

“Relax, Jackson. Your secrets are safe. For now~”

With that, she took a steadying breath and moved into formation. Time to get this over with.

 

[animegirl20]

Eve watched as all the others arrived, and soon enough, it was time to board the helicopter and head to their destination. As they made their way to their destination, a hologram of Commander Ironwood came to life. Eve listened and paid close attention as he spoke. After listing off the teams and leaders, the reception for the hologram began to worsen and then finally went out. Eve couldn't help but worry; it sounded like he was saying something very important. But there was no time to worry about that now they were landing. Eve stood up and followed the others out of the heliocopter. Once she was off, she pressed the button to turn on her mask. Doing a quick check of her suit, she turned into her werewolf form. It was still form-fitting to her body no and working there didn't seem to be any problems. She then changed back into her normal self and continued to follow the rest. When Eve reached the other end of the tent, she took a deep breath, calming herself. She had just become aware of her heart racing. She was nervous but also excited, though it was more like the beast inside her was excited. Finally, she stepped out of the tent, and her eyes widened at the scenery before her. Even though she was prepared for it, it was so much worse seeing it in person. She turned to Yuzu when she heard him speak up. Eve had to admit she didn't realize he could stand or see. She figured the suit probably had a lot to do with that. Either way, it was pretty impressive. After Yuzu gave off his orders, Eve followed Eulalia. As she did, Eve glanced back at the other teams. She was sure splitting up was probably for a reason, but at the same time, a part of her wondered if splitting up in a place like this was actually a good idea. Sure didn't feel like it. Eve turned around and straighten her back a little and continued on with her group.

 

[Nothingness]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

tags

Interactions: SCP-0029 [Sora] Lost Martian [Garth] 606 [Gio]
Mentions: Pyxie [Eulalia] Autumn_Leaf [Jackson]
Location: Containment Zone

Yuzu Sakai

Once Eulalia and Jackson had both gone their separate ways along with their assigned teammates, Yuzu had only taken pause for a moment to glance over his shoulder toward his fellow squad mates. While he had never worked with any of the trio before, he was confident enough that both Sora and Garth would be able to take care of themselves with relative ease and precision. Though, the third individual, Gio was still a mystery to Yuzu, it was clear by his suit that he was part of the Church of Sol, was he sent by the Commander because the Church wanted to give prayer to those they would possibly have to kill. Whatever the case was, unlike Jackson, Yuzu did not give out any orders about how their team was going to work, instead he simply proceeded to march forward through the damp and soft ground.

Every step Yuzu took had been methodical and careful, his suit's internal systems scanning and analyzing his surroundings for any signs of life or distress signals.

Minutes passed as Yuzu and his team progressed forward, within his suit, Yuzu had constantly heard the sounds of consisting beeping noises indicating the pulsing pustules were definitely organic and were 'alive' to some degree. "How are we supposed to find anything in this place...?" Speaking mostly to himself and not actively directing the question to any of his squad mates, eventually he'd come to a halt just to exhale a low sigh as he gazed down to his armored metallic arm that was now forming a small layer of green over it just from the spores landing against his suit. Running his index finger against the greenish substance on his arm, he'd rub it against his middle finger only to find that it was strangely somehow sticky like glue yet also powdery at the same time. 'What is this stuff...?' As he questioned the odd substance, Yuzu's internal radar immediately began to give off multiple beeping noises all at once, all of which were growing in numbers and rapidly approaching.

Rather than panic at the noise, Yuzu simply turned his gaze toward the direction his sensors were indicating the approaching life signs were coming from. Expecting to face off against Aberrants or even Infernos, once the figures came into view from beyond the greyish green fog in the distance, he was sorely mistaken. The enemies appeared to had been Infernos yet, they weren't fully turned, half their faces appeared to had shifted into that of Infernos but yet the other half appeared to still be human but rather than completely turning, their bodies had been disfigured and deformed by some sort of flesh-like organic pustule. The sight of them had Yuzu taken aback, the sounds of their groaning and attempts at speaking for mercy had Yuzu's eyes widen from underneath his helmet.

While Yuzu had no issue dealing with Aberrants and could tolerate dealing with Infernos if he had pushed passed his thoughts that they were once human, these were not fully changed humans and not to mention they were suffering. He had never taken a human life before, could he bring himself to do so. "Wh-...What happened to them...?" As he openly questioned what he had seen before him, the closer the figures limped their way toward the group, the more into detail their attire became. Some wore the remains of what appeared to had been military uniforms, similar to those that the group had seen at the camp prior to entering the containment zone, others wore civilian clothing indicating that these were once regular people living here before whatever had caused this to change them.

"Evasive maneuvers! Incapacitate them, maybe we can help th--" Just as Yuzu was giving out instructions, his suit's HUD immediately began to flash red with the word 'DANGER: INCOMING STRIKE' in big bold letters in front of his gaze. In an instant, a white flash came barreling toward Yuzu just as he raised his forearms in front of him to block the attack. Being propelled backwards at high speeds and through what remained of an old cafe shop. Even with the armored suit, the impact of having his back slamming through solid brick, glass and metal was still agonizing. By the time the dust had cleared, Yuzu had come face-to-face with a horrifying sight before him, it had been one of the missing members of the squad they were sent to go rescue. The upper half of their face was consumed in some sort of flesh-like monstrosity with a single tentacle swishing about from what was once their forehead, the lower half of their face had their jaw open as the only sound that escaped them was that of distorted and choking groans.

What Yuzu had ended up blocking had been a massive flesh-like arm that had been shaped like that of a blade, while dull, the force alone had bent the metal of his suit's arm just from the force of the impact. If he hadn't defended against the attack then there would've been no doubt that could've been the end of Yuzu on the spot. "H-Hey! Agent! Snap out of it! What's wrong with you?! We're...Vanguard too!" Struggling to speak as the deformed creature continued to press its large blade-like arm forward to attempt and pin Yuzu down, the figure only responding in distorted and malicious roars and further groans.

Meanwhile with the deformed military soldiers and civilians, after the infected agent had attacked Yuzu, they quickly sprung into action as well. Their speed and strength much higher enhanced than it normally would be.

coded by [color=#D3D3D3]@DeerPrince[/color]​

​

​

Spoiler: No Code

Once Eulalia and Jackson had both gone their separate ways along with their assigned teammates, Yuzu had only taken pause for a moment to glance over his shoulder toward his fellow squad mates. While he had never worked with any of the trio before, he was confident enough that both Sora and Garth would be able to take care of themselves with relative ease and precision. Though, the third individual, Gio was still a mystery to Yuzu, it was clear by his suit that he was part of the Church of Sol, was he sent by the Commander because the Church wanted to give prayer to those they would possibly have to kill. Whatever the case was, unlike Jackson, Yuzu did not give out any orders about how their team was going to work, instead he simply proceeded to march forward through the damp and soft ground.

Every step Yuzu took had been methodical and careful, his suit's internal systems scanning and analyzing his surroundings for any signs of life or distress signals.

Minutes passed as Yuzu and his team progressed forward, within his suit, Yuzu had constantly heard the sounds of consisting beeping noises indicating the pulsing pustules were definitely organic and were 'alive' to some degree. "How are we supposed to find anything in this place...?" Speaking mostly to himself and not actively directing the question to any of his squad mates, eventually he'd come to a halt just to exhale a low sigh as he gazed down to his armored metallic arm that was now forming a small layer of green over it just from the spores landing against his suit. Running his index finger against the greenish substance on his arm, he'd rub it against his middle finger only to find that it was strangely somehow sticky like glue yet also powdery at the same time. 'What is this stuff...?' As he questioned the odd substance, Yuzu's internal radar immediately began to give off multiple beeping noises all at once, all of which were growing in numbers and rapidly approaching.

Rather than panic at the noise, Yuzu simply turned his gaze toward the direction his sensors were indicating the approaching life signs were coming from. Expecting to face off against Aberrants or even Infernos, once the figures came into view from beyond the greyish green fog in the distance, he was sorely mistaken. The enemies appeared to had been Infernos yet, they weren't fully turned, half their faces appeared to had shifted into that of Infernos but yet the other half appeared to still be human but rather than completely turning, their bodies had been disfigured and deformed by some sort of flesh-like organic pustule. The sight of them had Yuzu taken aback, the sounds of their groaning and attempts at speaking for mercy had Yuzu's eyes widen from underneath his helmet.

While Yuzu had no issue dealing with Aberrants and could tolerate dealing with Infernos if he had pushed passed his thoughts that they were once human, these were not fully changed humans and not to mention they were suffering. He had never taken a human life before, could he bring himself to do so. "Wh-...What happened to them...?" As he openly questioned what he had seen before him, the closer the figures limped their way toward the group, the more into detail their attire became. Some wore the remains of what appeared to had been military uniforms, similar to those that the group had seen at the camp prior to entering the containment zone, others wore civilian clothing indicating that these were once regular people living here before whatever had caused this to change them.

"Evasive maneuvers! Incapacitate them, maybe we can help th--" Just as Yuzu was giving out instructions, his suit's HUD immediately began to flash red with the word 'DANGER: INCOMING STRIKE' in big bold letters in front of his gaze. In an instant, a white flash came barreling toward Yuzu just as he raised his forearms in front of him to block the attack. Being propelled backwards at high speeds and through what remained of an old cafe shop. Even with the armored suit, the impact of having his back slamming through solid brick, glass and metal was still agonizing. By the time the dust had cleared, Yuzu had come face-to-face with a horrifying sight before him, it had been one of the missing members of the squad they were sent to go rescue. The upper half of their face was consumed in some sort of flesh-like monstrosity with a single tentacle swishing about from what was once their forehead, the lower half of their face had their jaw open as the only sound that escaped them was that of distorted and choking groans.

What Yuzu had ended up blocking had been a massive flesh-like arm that had been shaped like that of a blade, while dull, the force alone had bent the metal of his suit's arm just from the force of the impact. If he hadn't defended against the attack then there would've been no doubt that could've been the end of Yuzu on the spot. "H-Hey! Agent! Snap out of it! What's wrong with you?! We're...Vanguard too!" Struggling to speak as the deformed creature continued to press its large blade-like arm forward to attempt and pin Yuzu down, the figure only responding in distorted and malicious roars and further groans.

Meanwhile with the deformed military soldiers and civilians, after the infected agent had attacked Yuzu, they quickly sprung into action as well. Their speed and strength much higher enhanced than it normally would be.

 

[Lost Martian]

GARTH ARCWRIGHT
Locations: Containment Zone
Interactions: Yuzu Nothingness | Sora SCP-0029 | Gio 606

Garth would soon find himself boarding the helicopter, finding that it had just enough seats to fit all of the agents assigned to this mission. Strapping himself in, Garth would keep his helmet in his hands, not wanting to put it on until they reached the drop point.

The artificial lighting in the aircraft did bother Garth’s eyes some, but he mostly ignored it, the energy provided by his time in the garden keeping him going. While he knew that he was going into a terrible situation, Garth was still pumped. But that energy would fade as the helicopter took off, adding more space between Garth and the plant life he was connected to.

Still Garth would do his best to remain cool, not wanting to be the weak point in this unit of Vanguard agents. However it wouldn’t be long before the aircraft’s holo-projector activated, a blue image of Commander Ironwood appearing among the seated agents, a map of the mission area right beside him.

The Commander would explain that they outranked any local authorities who might be at the drop site, and that the primary mission was to find out what happened to the other agents, actually rescuing them being more secondary. While Garth would like to think that the agents were just waiting to be rescued, he had seen enough of Aberrants to know that they almost never left survivors.

Garth would then hear that he was being assigned to work under Yuzu, apparently that being the guy in the wheelchair. While Garth was wary of just how someone confined to a wheelchair was supposed to lead a squad, he knew better than to question the Vanguard. They could have easily hidden all kinds of weaponry in the chair.

But before the Commander could say anything more, the hologram would begin to glitch out before disappearing completely. Garth viewed this as something of an omen, that this mission would not go smoothly. But maybe no Vanguard missions went smoothly, as Garth had nothing to reference due to his newer agent status.

The helicopter would then land, Garth following his team leader Yuzu, who was still wheeling themselves out of the craft. Yuzu would then approach what appeared the Captain in charge of the assembled local authorities. They would begin to converse, only for Yuzu to do something unexpected, getting out of his wheelchair.

As Garth was still digesting the fact that Yuzu could stand, something else happened, nano-bots forming an impressive suit. Gone was the young timid man who was sneaking out of the medical wing, replaced by an imposing, confident team leader. Garth would wonder why he didn’t get a suit that cool looking.

Seeing as they were at the mission location, Garth figured that he should put on his helmet. As he did so, a HUD appeared in front of Garth’s eyes, him now seeing through augmented reality. Truthfully it was a little overwhelming for the junior agent, but Garth had been through enough training to feel comfortable in full gear.

Garth and the other agents would then follow Yuzu through a series of medical tents, Garth wondering just how safe it was to be in this area given the people in hazmat suits and the boxes with the bio-hazard symbol on it. But he also figured that the Vanguard provided suits they were wearing would probably keep out any kind of dangerous particles.

And Garth would see said particles when the assembled agents passed out from a larger tent. The road in front of them and the buildings were coated in a green moss of some kind, one that Garth couldn’t identify. Reaching his mind out with his aspect ability, Garth would attempt to get a sense of something from the moss. However it would almost be like there was a wall around the moss, Garth unable to connect to it. This was very odd to Garth, as he had never encountered a plant that was a mystery to him.

Garth would only be broken out of his musings on just what exactly these plants were when Yuzu started making orders. Apparently his squad was to head north, while the others went west and east, meeting up again in three hours. Garth was fine with this splitting up, as he would still have three more agents to back him up if they ran into danger.

The northward bound team would then split off, heading further into the affected area. After several minutes of walking, which just felt weird as they trudged along the mossy area, Yuzu would stop to notice that the spores in the air were forming a layer on his suit. Garth would notice this, only to look down and see a thin layer of green coating parts of his suit.

However Garth wouldn’t focus on it too long, as his HUD would alert him to several objects moving towards him. Raising his rifle, Garth was prepared to take his revenge on the Aberrants, the things that had killed all of his friends at the circus. But it wouldn’t be Aberrants that emerged from the darkness, instead some new kind of monstrosity.

Still appearing somewhat human, whatever these things were was quite shocking, a pained expression on all their faces, while various parts of their bodies were oozing some kind of sludge. What was worse was the fact that they were trying to speak, almost words coming out of their mouths. Despite thinking that he wouldn’t when on a mission, Garth froze up.

Everything seemed to slow down for Garth, barely hearing Yuzu’s command to take evasive maneuvers. But everything would come back to normal speed when a missile of some kind slammed into Yuzu, sending him flying across the street. Regaining control of his body, Garth would point his rifle at the things.

“Stay back!” he ordered, “We can help you!”

Out of the corner of his HUD, Garth noticed someone in Vanguard armor go after the fallen Yuzu, but Garth would be per-occupied with the rapidly advancing not-humans. Still keeping his rifle ready, Garth would fire a few warning shots into the sky, hoping to scare them off.

But the creatures would be undeterred, only seeming to get more riled up. Before Garth even knew it was happening, the not-humans surged towards him. Still not ready to pull the trigger, Garth would be pushed to the ground by a pair of the things, his rifle falling out of his hands.

The not-humans had massive levels of strength, trying to tear at Garth’s suit, which thankfully held up against their fingernails. Not wanting to freeze again, as it would mean certain death, Garth went into auto-pilot. Grabbing one of his custom made knives, with one fluid motion, Garth would stab into the neck of one of the not-humans on him.

The thing would then seize up, something that looked almost like blood leaking out from the wound. The mystery fluid would then start leaking onto Garth’s suit, quickly turning the black armor a sickly green color. While this was going on, Garth still tried pushing the things off him.

“A little help please!” Garth would shout, unaware of the status of his fellow agents.

 

[Guppy Franz]

Deacon Godfrey
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Interactions: Autumn_Leaf
Mentions: Tub2 JJae Nothingness

---

After a few pleasantries were made between his fellow agents and himself, their wait for the ball to start rolling came to an end as Deacon's attention was pulled to the helicopter's hatch slowly opening. A familiar feeling crawled up his back, prickling at his skin as he stood straighter. His mind grew clear and focused like a switch had been flipped, the heavy suit clinging to his body feeling like his own second layer. This was the feeling he always experienced before the start of a mission. However, for an odd reason, he couldn't shake a nagging voice in the back of his head, nipping at his thoughts. This felt as if this mission would be far from anything he'd done before. Of course, though it was already established this mission would be different from others, Deacon's been on plenty of missions labeled that way. His eyes narrowed under his helmet, the dull red glow of his visor making the confusion in his eyes shine. Something was intruding on the typical feeling he had before a mission. Instead of just clarity and focus, he felt... off. The confusing new feeling nagging at the back of his mind brought a small, frustrated frown to his lips, thankful his helmet hid his concern. Before he could sink further into these thoughts he snapped back to see the rest of the agents moving to board the helicopter. A grunt escaped him as he rolled his neck, forcing himself to get his head straight and follow along. Though the nagging feeling remained, he smothered it, knowing if he let it grow and fester it would possibly cause issues with the mission.

Once aboard he found a spot on sat down, his suit heavy amor creaking slightly with a mechanical low-pitched whirling of the gears in his joints. A static huff escaped his helmet, it was never possible to sit comfortably in this suit. He ignored the discomfort though, used to it as he settled in his seat and leaned back. Once in the air, Deacon leaned his head back, closing his eyes as he listened to the sounds of the helicopter. It was a familiar background noise he'd grown accustomed to, finding it soothing and perfect to keep his mind relaxed. He could hear the pilot speaking, but drowned it out, simply content on keeping to his thoughts. That of course would come to a stop as a familiar, authoritative voice reached his ears. Deacon opened his eyes to see a hologram of the Commander. He leaned forward in his seat, instantly listening intently as Ironwood went over a summary of their mission. Land, enter the containment zone, find out what happened, get to the center to put a stop to the source, and if possible rescue any agents still breathing. Simple. On paper, it is at least. Deacon held back a long sigh, knowing the chances of finding anyone alive would be a very slim chance. Though he didn't completely write off the hopeful chance. Though rescue was secondary, he'd do all he could to bring back anyone still kicking.

The commander went on to designate the teams. Deacon glanced at the ones he'd been paired with, his finger tapping on the handle of his shield. Seemed like a rather good pairing. Jackson may have seemed a bit laid back in the brief interaction he had with him, but those eyes held experience, showing a promise for competence. Next was Cassia, an odd woman who seemed to like to find some excitement, at least that's what he picked up on their little adventure today. The rifle she had brought more comfort to his confidence in her though, already thinking of a good strategy between the two they'll no doubt use this mission. Then finally, there was Tara. An amused smirk slipped onto his lips under his helmet. The two of them, though friends, never actually went on a mission together which made sense seeing as he was still just in the army at the time. Now though, Deacon couldn't deny the funny turn of events, finally being able to see her in action. Glancing between his assigned team, Deacon felt confident, though it seemed that wasn't enough to get rid of the nagging voice yanking at the back of his head. Again he smothered it with his stubbornness to further acknowledge it, listening to the Commander's hologram as he spoke.

Suddenly the signal seemed to get interrupted, the hologram going on the fritz before finally fading off. Deacon narrowed his eyes, frowning as he felt that nagging feeling vibrates in his mind as if it was mockingly giggling at the unnatural interference. "Well, ain't that a good sign?" he muttered to himself, the sarcasm slick on his tongue. A low sigh escaped him as he settled back in his seat, pushing the oddity from his mind. No use getting hung up on it though, the was work to be done. Soon enough the helicopter would make its landing and he would file out along with his agents. The next thing he knew, Yuzu was being confronted by a soldier, more specifically an annoyed-looking Captain. Deacon wasn't surprised by the tense welcome. During his time in the military Deacon heard plenty of not-to-happy talks about Vanguard Agents. Though the feeling wasn't completely widespread among soldiers, many didn't enjoy agents strolling in to take charge. Seeing a Captain give the Yuzu, a blind and crippled boy in a wheelchair a hard time though felt like a bit of overkill. Of course, Deacon would bite the tongue of that thought once Yuzu began to rise, seeing a wave of nanobots begin to spread over his body, taking over every inch and creating a whole new skin around him. Deacon arched a brow, never having seen nanobots used in such an impressive way. An impressed whistle left him, smirking once Yuzu stood tall, staking his authority over the Captain with his new helmet over his head thanks to his little robotic helpers.

It took the fight out of the Captain, that's for sure. Without any more lip Deacon and the rest of the agents made their way past the soldiers, heading for the entrance of the containment zone. With every step however Deacon felt that nagging again, his eyes narrowing at the entrance as they grew closer. Soon enough they were crossing over to the other side and his frown grew heavier at the sight. Though he expected as much from the video that was shown, it's a whole different thing to see it in person. The sickly green air made him thankful to have a helmet on, sparing him from the no doubt rotten stench outside his suit. The pulsating pustules on the side of the building made his nose scrunch up in disgust, though an odd huff of amusement came from him, being reminded of his older brother when he had big zits on his face. Looking down at his boots he saw the mossy-like surface, hearing a squishing noise as he stepped. This place only gets more and more nasty, and they're not even that far from the entrance.

Soon the word to officially begin was given and Deacon set his focus straight, locking into the mission. In quick work Jackson began giving orders, setting roles for his fellow agents to follow. A gruff grunt left Deacon as he was assigned to take point. "I get the fun job then. Appreciate it," he commented with amusement, getting into the front of the formation. Deacon was never a naturally violent man, but after years in the military and a year in Vanguard, he couldn't deny the slight thrill of a fight. Of course, his enhanced strength, abilities, and equipment didn't help. After Jackson finished giving the roles Deacon took it as the green light and began to advance eastward through the zone.

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Hikari Takashima

Location: Vanguard Headquarters -> Containment Zone
Interactions: Bravo Team (Eulalia ( Pyxie ), Eve ( animegirl20 )
Mentions: N/A
​

As she set down Bandages in his wheel chair and watched him roll out of there, it looked like the gang was going to get away with this breakout scot-free. Shame she couldn't give that eye obsessed white coat a piece of her mind, but it was probably for the best. It was best to save her energy for the mission later that night anyways rather than having to deal with yet another potential disciplinary action.

Hikari let out a bit of a chuckle at Tara's little outburst at the mention of the armory, like a kid when their parents take them to a candy store. A bit surprising, but adorable all the same, coming from a person who seemed to be just as mischievous as Hikari herself on their way here. That wasn't to say that she didn't understand the excitement. On the contrary, she herself was just itching to get in some practice bashing in some of the training equipment before heading out.

After spending most of her free time before the mission on the training equipment, Hikari made a quick stop to her room to at least freshen up a bit before finally going to the armory, entering her little locker room after the door worked its computer magic to open up. No matter how many times she does it or walks around headquarters, its crazy to think that a fancy shmancy high tech place like this and the streets back home or heck even the place they’re about to go to existed on the same plane of reality. To top brass and those living oh so cushy lives in the so called “core” of civilization in the big city they might as well be an alien realm just as much as whatever was beyond the rifts.

As she went through her daily ritual of silently chiding the elites in her head, Hikari made her way to one of the lockers in the room. She much prefers missions where she didn’t have to wear that suit, but she wasn’t so stubborn as to have “death by spore inhalation” be written on her tombstone that night.

Her suit itself was more lightweight in comparison to the suits of other Vanguard agents. Better to be a fast and mobile pain in the ass like a bee than a slow target with better padding, yea? Something around those lines was what she said when she first got into the Vanguard and now there she was.

It was right after she finished putting on the torso section of her suit that was her least favorite part of the entire process. As soon as the suit was sealed, dozens of tiny metal pin needles on the inside of the suit's sleeves pierced Hikari's arms. According to the staff that design the suit, they were supposed to increase the conduction of the electricity she generates from her body to the exterior of the suit for combat. Ok sure, but did it really have to be needles? At least they had the courtesy of to put painkillers within those needles so she wasn't going into battle with sore as hell arms.

Once the pain in her arms died down after about 2 minutes, she could finally finish getting ready by putting on her helmet. Claustrophobic little bowl as it was, it did have its perks aside from the obvious ones of not breathing in deadly substances or cushioning your thinking center from blows. Seeing as Hikari only had the one good eye, her helmet had a built in HUD inside to make sure that even while she couldn't see directly threats to her right blind spot, she at least wouldn't be entirely oblivious to their presence.

Hikari took a glance at the time. 15 minutes 'till. She opened the locker next to where her suit was kept and grabbed her trusty steel polearm, fit with mace heads on each end, and made her way back in the direction from where she came with only one thought on her mind.

It's showtime.

Spoiler: Hikari's Suit

Spoiler: Hikari's Weapon

As she arrived on the rooftop, rather than talking to the other suited agents, none of whom she could recognize except the obvious one in a wheel chair. She took the time to silently admire the nighttime city skyline view from the top of headquarters. For someone like her, who spent much of her life on the ground and in the dark, such a view itself was also a luxury, with dazzling lights that almost made you forget about the dark and ugly crevices that lie within that same picture. As soon as it was time to go to on the helicopter, Hikari decided to rest her eyes for a little. It wasn't that she was tired, no, but rather to burn that image of the city into her mind, all its dark crevices included. And as they headed into one of those crevices of society sent a silent little prayer skywards to those souls living there.

The next time she opened her eyes she was... not where she expected she would be. She was on the ground in an unfamiliar place, lying on her side, her weapon lying on the ground along with her. Her head felt like she drank 2 too many bottles of whisky the night before. It took a moment for the pieces to click on where she was, but when they did, she grabbed her polearm and tried to get up as quickly as possible. Naturally with that headache and how fast she was moving, she didn't get that far up before having to kneel back down to the ground, clutching her head. She looked around and saw 2 other Vanguard agents, suits and all. "Y'all..." She said, once more rising to her feet, slowly this time, the headache starting to subside. "How... when the hell did we get here...?"

 

[Pyxie]

Located @ Western Containment Zone
Interacting w/ Her Team ( Clockwork_Magic , animegirl20

---

As they walked further towards their respective destination, Eulalia used the same likewise "tablet" that sprung up from her suit. It was.. so disturbing to her, yet she remained silent as her team followed. They were all practically skilled fighters, while Eulalia was meant to be support. As a leader, she began to mumble to herself while going over each of her team. It was quiet for hers, as not Atsuma, nor Hikaru nor Eve enjoyed that they were on this mission.

But once they had arrived, they were all horrified. Eulalia could feel her pupils dilate in fear. She had no idea what the others felt at this moment, but she could feel her heart skip wildly at what she saw in front of her after they were far from their original landing.

If she could cover her mouth with her hand, she would. Decimated corpses with bulbous appendages were scattered about. There was no Aberrant in sight - only the remnants of what chaos it brought. Stepping forward, Eulalia silently began to observe as the others would... and she very quickly caught the remnants of... Shanta's greatest fear. She knelt down, starting to breath heavily with her palms shivering in fear. This is what these dastardly things were capable of? Well, unfortunately she would not remember... as everything after went blank after a horrific shout from their team member, Atsuma.

[Short Time Skip]

Eulalia's eyes were widened, and she was also on her back. She also had a gash on her side, and when she sprung up... Atsuma was nowhere to be found. There was fresh blood... and pain. She clutched her side, her legs also having injuries on them as she coughed and fell back to the ground. She hadn't even begun to wonder what had happened to Eve, nor did she comprehend what was even happening.

All she could muster was to pull up her tablet once more to allow her to speak to other agents... how useless their squad was - surrounded by mutilated corpses. She couldn't remember what happened. Not at all. She could only recognize Hikari struggling to stand with her pole-arm after speaking.

"T-team... Bra..." More pain... excruciating pain as she took a deep, struggling breath and glanced up only to feel a strong force knock her back once more. In front of her was another Aberrant. A muscular one, at that - but the second knock caused her to cough once more as she struggled to glance at the others. Her suit activated and she was flung up into the air - now in the sky away from the Aberrant - her communication being abruptly cut off as it was now damaged.

She struggled to speak once more, but it was clear how much of a threat this Aberrant, if it was even alone, was. One team member missing, their memory in a daze and Eulalia critically injured. What hope was there? How did they even end up in such a critical place? Were these the bodies they were looking for?

She coughed once more, and tasted blood - even feeling it escape as she weakly grabbed her weapon behind. It elongated quickly into a double-edged spear, and Eulalia began to breath heavily as her suit utilized nano-technology to quickly cover her open wounds from exposure to whatever was now polluting the air. Not sealing them, and the blood continuing to flow out of her wounds as her own suit began to warn Eulalia of her drastic injuries.

Could they truly handle this thing? Either way, Eulalia weakly glanced at both Hikari and Eve to see what they were going to do - the Aberrant catching a glimpse at Hikari and quickly charging at her.

---

Created by Uxie, Edited by Deluna

 

[606]

Following behind was something Gio was used to. They never liked being in the spotlight and [referred to being out of it anyway. He paused and ran a hand across the grass, looking at the white glove that now had a green sheen to it before looking at the ground and back to their suit that was gaining a green-like powder that formed something jelly-like. While Gio was no master at forging they certainly knew some things and knew that many fungi could appear to be gel-like like and this substance, could be a thick spore, spreading and almost destroying the land.

“Strange, but fungal,”

he whispered to himself, unaware of the danger that approached the group ahead of him and was busy looking for some way to take a sample, to see what properties it held.

“Perhaps it mutated…and these spores could infect people. Mushrooms are decomposers though, maybe it’s mold but…it seems too alive to be that.”

Most of it was mumblings to himself as he attempted to gather some in his hands, not realizing that the group was moving onward until shouting caught his attention.

“Evasive maneuvers! Incapacitated them, maybe we can help th–” Yuzu’s voice broke through Gio’s curiosity about the nature of the green substance and his head swiveled over, eyes wide seeing the former Vanguard member, mutated, no longer human. It was no inferno or aberrant but it was still human in some sense.

“Stay back! We can help you!”

Gio stumbled to his feet, everyone moving and acting face, and looked around their area and back to the rest fighting, under their mask, terrified. They were human, or still humanoid at the very least. Compared to aberrants and infernos, they still had something alive in them, not fully turned, and slowly, Gio started to head towards Sora and Garth, watching Yuzu fly backward into a cafe and in that moment froze, watching the speed and strange movements follow Yuzu and the rest of them, approaching.

It was like a small army, and sure, Gio was in theory trained to fight, nothing could prepare him for this. He was much smaller, and wasn’t particular strong, though he was strong enough and physical enough to last in a busy kitchen but compared to even low Vanguard standards, Gio was weak. Standing around wasn’t going to do him any good, and reached for his own bow with shacky hands.

“The flame is the soul's breath. The black smoke is the soul's release. Ashes thou wert and art. May thy soul return to the great flame of fire. Latom.”

Just under their breath, Gio whispered the prayer that he was taught, fear that something or someone may die, and figured, better safe than sorry. They wouldn’t be fast enough to close the distance however, an arrow flies faster. So pulling the string back, trying to remember the instruction, as an arrow materialized exactly where it should be.

“A little help please!” Gio could barely hear their teammate as he was basically separate from the group and steadied his arms, inhaling, holding his breath as he aimed, and exhaling as he released the arrow, shocked at the power the bow had as the arrow whizzed through the air, almost knocking himself off balance. The arrow hit one of the creatures on their side with a shocking amount of force. One that would hopefully allow Garth to muscle his way out and Gio, once regaining his senses, would run towards the group, and his speed, at times, did make up for his lack of strength though compared to the creatures, was much slower. But he ran past Garth and Sora putting himself between them and the rest of the creatures and held up his hands, watching one of them begin to lunge at Gio and he closed his eyes.

A blue-tinted glass-like wall, formed, one that was long and tall enough to block any more incoming attacks, though Gio knew it couldn’t stand for very long. Maybe long enough for the others to do something or for them to catch up to Yuzu. The creature that lunged at Gio had fully smacked into this barrier and others began running into it, slamming fleshy arms at it, and small cracks started to form right away and Gio looked behind towards the other too.

“This won't last for very long! There’s too many-”

Gio started and was cut off as the barrier he was holding started to audibly make cracking noises, one of the creatures, the one Gio shot with an arrow, got up and turned towards the other and a fleshy arm slammed into Gio’s side - the barrier shattering as Gio flew off to the side, thankfully a barely standing light post stop Gio from traveling as far as Yuzu.

giovanni robello-cugini

Gio.

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  Nothingness SCP-0029 Lost Martian

  
  
  
  

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♡coded by uxie♡

 

[Autumn_Leaf]

Jackson Voss

The Stonewall

The S.S Infinity

Spoiler: Post Theme

Spoiler: Suit

View attachment 1216134View attachment 1216135

Interactions: Guppy Franz Tub2 JJae

Once Deacon moved, Jackson followed, a phantom in his wake. His revolver was tight against his chest, barrel aimed downward—center mass for reaction, for security. The deeper they pushed in, the worse the rot in his gut churned. The air was thick, cloying, choked with the fungal decay that slithered across walls like a cancerous web. Each breath felt like inhaling filth even with the suits, every step oozed with the wet, sucking noise of organic corruption underfoot.

"Anyone else real excited for a goddamn shower? No? Just me?" Jackson muttered, voice clipped, trying to scrape off the oppressive weight pressing down on them. But his gut was screaming—warning him. He knew what this was. Infection. He had seen what it did in that video. Limbs twisting, eyes melting, mouths screaming. No. That would not be his team’s fate.

Minutes slithered by. Then his suit's visor flared red. Movement. "Pause." His voice was a razor’s edge. Helmet optics zoomed in, pupils contracting as his breath hitched. "Three o'clock." Then, the nightmare began.

The thing emerged, jerking, spasming—a half-born Inferno, fused with fungal matter, a wretched amalgamation of man and something beyond understanding. Its flesh writhed like it was trying to crawl away from itself. Wet gurgles sloshed in its throat, forming something close to speech—a voice layered and broken, like a chorus of souls begging for release. Jackson froze—just a millisecond, but long enough for his pulse to spike. He swallowed. No hesitation. Us or them. No casualties. Not today. His gun was up in a blink.

CRACK.

The revolver roared, the bullet shredding through the abomination’s chest. It shrieked, a sound like metal scraping bone, and crumpled. Jackson didn’t blink. He flicked the revolver open, letting the spent casing tink onto the rotten floor before sliding in a fresh one. "I’m not taking any goddamn chances," he growled, tone hard enough to split stone. Then the beeping started. More movement. More of them. From the crumbling buildings to their right, they came—dozens, dragging themselves through shattered windows, slithering from the walls, their bodies stitched together by fungal sinew.

Jackson exhaled. Steady. Steady. He turned to his team. "We do not hesitate. We do not think." His voice was steel, cold and unyielding. "Morality? That stays in the heli. You wanna make it out of here? You better be ready to do what it takes." A crackle sounded from his body—his hardened ability igniting, jagged plates forming over his knuckles, elbows, knees. "Make me proud, kiddos."

Then the first one was on him.

A twisted blur of limbs and hunger slammed into him, a grotesque arm careening into his chest. The impact rattled through him, vibrating in his ribs. He dug his heel in, let his body move with the force, and whipped around—his backhand crashing into the creature’s skull. Bone snapped like brittle ice. Without missing a beat, he caught it by the throat, his forearm bristling with jagged ridges. Crack. The spine gave way with sickening finality. No time to recover. Another one lunged—inhuman speed. Jackson barely had time to shift before its claws raked his forearm. His hardened skin splintered under the pressure. Fuck. The pain flared, but he bit it down. Push through. He jammed his revolver into its gut and fired. Once. Twice. The creature sagged, lifeless. "We check in with the oth—"

The sky collapsed.

A monstrous weight plummeted from above, slamming into him with the force of a freight train. The ground shattered beneath him as he hit, dust and rot exploding in all directions. His vision swam. Something massive pinned him—strength unnatural, overwhelming.

Jackson’s breath hitched. He knew that armor. It was a Vanguard. Or what was left of one. The suit, corroded and twisted, barely clung to the fungal behemoth crushing him. His hardened body cracked under the sheer force of it. His arms trembled, bones straining.

"Little fuckin' help here!" His voice came ragged, laced with panic.
Then he did the only thing he could—he hardened his skull and slammed his forehead into the creature’s face. The impact reverberated through his entire body. The creature reeled, shrieking, but it wasn’t enough. Jackson needed to get up. Because more were coming.

Code by Serobliss

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Hikari Takashima

Location: Containment Zone
Interactions: Bravo Team (Eulalia ( Pyxie ), Eve ( animegirl20 )
Mentions: N/A
​

The further Hikari rose back to her feet, the more the pain subsided, the needles in her arm now beginning to more pain killers and adrenaline into her system as part of its combat longevity and trauma protocols that further dulled the pain. There wasn’t time for her to hear any responses from the other Bravo team members before a piercing alarm rang in her right ear and a warning appeared on her HUD.

What met her gaze when she turned around to face the source of the alert was something akin to Commander Lumberjack back at base. That thing might well have been someone similar to him, a field officer or captain in the previous squad or something. Or perhaps it was one of the poor souls out here who were barely scraping by before this shit show happened. Shame, real shame, that'd be. Though whatever it once was isn't so important as the fact that it was now charging straight at her.

"OH YOU PICKED THE WRONG PERSON, FUCKER!!!" Instead of backing away from the incoming aberrant, Hikari did the exact opposite and ran head first into an adrenaline fueled counter charge straight at it, quickly closing the gap between her and the monster, the sound of electricity crackling filled the air round the agent. Once just a few dozen feet separated the two, but still well outside of melee range, Hikari stuck her hand out towards the charging monstrosity and in an instant the crackling from earlier ceased for a split second before a lightning bolt shot from Hikari's hand towards the aberrant with the signature thunderclap of the real thing out in nature.

She didn’t relent or give it any breathing room after the first lighting strike, firing a shorter second volley just before she got into pole arm range. Hikari could feel the headache creeping back around her temples as she charged more electricity into her weapon and took a swing at the big guy’s head and upper torso, shouting into her comms to whoever nearby was still alive to hear her call.

“OI! ANYONE ELSE GONNA JUMP THIS FUCKER OR WHAT?!"

 

[animegirl20]

When they made it to their destination Eve gasped as she looked at her surroundings she knew this was coming she knew what to expect but it was still a lot. There were corpses and appendages scattered everywhere. Eve took an instinctive step back she had to admit she was pretty scared. "This is awful..." She really hoped none of them or the other wouldn't meet this fate. Suddenly Eve felt a shiver run down her back and for a moment she thought she heard something. But before she could say anything it was too late. Atsuma let out a horrific shout as he was dragged away.

Everything happened so fast, on instinct Eve shifted to her werewolf form and managed to dodge the aberrant's attack. However, not everyone was so lucky. Eve's nose caught the scent of blood and her eyes went straight to Eulalia. Eve felt her mind slowly go blank and felt something begin to take over. Eve quickly shifted back to normal and fell on her hands and knees breathing heavily and staring at the ground. This could be a problem. Don't freak out. Eve thought to herself. Just. Stay. Calm. Eve was scared, scared of aberrant, and scared to shift back with the smell of blood coming from Eulalia. What if she lost it? Eve got that strange shiver run down her back again and she looked up when she heard movement and saw this muscular aberrant attack Eulalia. Eve's eyes widened and her heart started racing even faster. She watched as suddenly Eulalia suddenly went into the air away from the aberrant. Suddenly the aberrant charged at Hikari she yelled out towards the creature and she ran towards it attacking it head-on. Swallowing down all of her current anxiety Eve shifted into her beast form just as Hikari yelled out at her and Eulalia. Eve charged at it with great speed on all fours and honed in on it like it was her prey and when she was close enough she raised her giant paw and swung hard at it. The aberrant got flung backward from the impact.

Interactions: Clockwork_Magic Pyxie