Fantasy The Awakening reupload (always open)

[Dolches]

Well,everything! Greek, Italian,French,'Merican,and other types!" Lilly was obviously beaming with pride. "Oh yeah,your name means 'greif' in Greek!" She said,then she realized that was most likely a sensitive subject. "I'm sorry,I didn't realize that your name is a sensitive subject."

 

[King Hastur]

The third click sounded loudly to Wrath, who has his ear up against the door of the antique safe. Compared to more modern technology this was indeed a relic, but despite being old was still a formidable opponent for him. As he clicked in the last number, the door pulled open to reveal a stash of old-world money and various other valuables. It was a good score for him, typically these types of safes were already looted or full of documents that no longer meant anything to anyone.


A large crash echoed from outside and Wrath perked his ears up to see if any other loud noises followed. Sometimes these sounds were made by gigantic monsters fighting one another. That was a fight that Wrath would avoid at all costs. Wrath finished up inside the house and exited, peering into the sky. A small trail of smoke marked where the disturbance had come from. So something had indeed crashed, most likely some type of flying vehicle.


Wrath's eyes lit up as he activated his hastening spell and ran full pelt towards the crash. If the airship was still in good shape it would be a worth a fortune that would last him several years!

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

Corliss laughed lowly. "It's fine, yeah 'grief' is my name. This food looks and smells amazing. Hey, who else is in this town?" Her ears perked up straining to listen to the town, frowning. Something was wrong. "What's with this ghost town anyway?"

 

[Dolches]

"I don't know,I came here to cook without being interrupted. Though I did see a monster earlier." She said.

 

[King Hastur]

Wrath climbed along a half-crumbled building and slipped his hand into the pouch at his side to retrieve a small set of binoculars. Lifting them to his eyes he surveyed the crash site, though truth be told it was no so much a crash as a barely controlled landing. The ship still appeared to be intact, though taking off would be quite the task with the landing gear as torn up as it was..... and Wrath did not know hot to pilot an airship.. but how hard could it be right?


If the pilot was still alive, they were either hiding in the ship or abandoned the ship. Wrath sat concealed in his perch for several minutes. By some miracle the crash had not attracted the monsters running rampant in the city. No fellow scavengers either, which could be considered a blessing or a curse. Some scavengers were far worse than any monster. Tucking away the binoculars into his pouch, Wrath slid down the wall to the ground and made his way to the airship.


Wrath gave the hull a hard tap. The metal shell trembled and echoed from the blow like a bell. Whatever this ship was, it was well made. The frame and hull were completely undamaged and since no reaction came from the inside of the ship, Wrath figured it must be empty. The problem with well made ships... is that they are made to resist thieves and whoever the pilot was locked the ship behind him. Wrath sat down and began to study the locking mechanism, trying to find a way into the ship.

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

"I see, hey where did the other one go? The one who was supposed to help me fix up my ship?" She grimaced. "Don't tell me he's scavenging it now for more parts. Thanks for the meal, but I shouldn't have left my ship unattended, especially when I don't know who's around." She stood up and took one last longing look at the hot food.


Outside the first violet shades of twilight were setting in, the evening chill was starting to creep under the door, but it was still nice and warm in this place. Corliss wanted to stay and be warm, but she had been paid well for this job, and she should get it done as soon as possible, also she valued that ship almost as much as she did her life. It was fully tricked out, and she was always working on it in her spare time. Not only was the ship fast, but it's defense system recognised situations in which thieves or enemies would be taken care of. Unfortunately the ship's personality code and system hadn't been installed yet. Corliss was still working out some bugs, and until she did the ship used to sass talk her to hell and back, so she had removed the personality disk.


She sighed and stretched, about to leave when she thought of something. "Hey, Lilly, this place is a ghost town, made for scavengers and monsters; why are you here?"

 

[Dolches]

"Well...I'm here to cook without interruption." Lilly said

 

[King Hastur]

"Intruder identified" a synthesized voice sounded from somewhere above Wrath. He glanced up to see a small camera swivel and focus on him as he tried to work the control panel. Leave it to the airship to have something like an AI to guard the ship while the owner is away. Wrath pulled back his hand as a thin metallic plate slammed down over the touch pad he had been attempting to hack. Suddenly loud droning noises like a siren began to sound from the ship, repeating over and over.


"Damn it..." Wrath muttered to himself as the noise spread out across the city. On the distant horizon he saw hordes of monsters approaching the ship. "Not good.not good not good not good!" he mumbled to himself as he ran in a perimeter dropping small pellets from his pouch as he ran along. He was completely surrounded and more monsters were coming. Wrath concealed himself as best he could behind a pillar and drew a hilt with a small red button at the top and waited for the monsters to close in.

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

Corliss smirked before the familiar whining sound of her ship's siren went off. "No!" She yelled and dashed out of the door, running down the street and ignoring oncoming monsters she practically slammed into the ship's slightly scratched body. "What kind of idiot tries to slip into a EA-Starport Nav?" She glanced around noticing the circle of things that looked like black pebbles, and the evidence of someone in a hurry by the prints in the dirt. She followed the steps and found the young looking man.


"Found you, you idiot." Her tone was light, but she was dead serious. "So you're the one who woke up my ship, what'd you try to do, break it? Or were you stealing the parts? Hmm? Better answer quick before the monsters get here. Maybe if I'm feeling generous I won't lead them directly to you."

 

[BELL]

"Neither of you is doing anything." Clint speaks from the doorway, his sword in it's gun mode, the cannon aimed at where they stand. "Wrath, I should've left something for you to know that you shouldn't scavenge this ship." He then looks at the girl. "And I know you're not just a merchant, otherwise you'd be traveling with a crew and other goods, neither of which you have. The only other thing you must be is military. State your name and business, or I could kill you both where you stand." Clint's voice is hard and serious.

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

She put her hands up in defense. "I have no idea what you're talking about, please. If you take a look in my ship you'll find crates of books. I don't travel with a crew because I work independently out of the North American Alliance. If you'll let me reach into my bag I'll show you my official trader's documents and my license. I'm not military, please don't point a gun at me. It makes me quite nervous." Her voice is soft, kind. The air is getting colder by the second, the howls of the monsters louder. "I haven't done anything wrong, except make a bad landing to my poor ship over there."


Her hands are still in the air, but she knows that in less than a second she could grab her hand gun, in less than fifteen she could assemble the sniper rifle laying in her bag, in ten she could whip her dagger into this man's skull. She's been trained for everything, she's fast, and she's ruthless. She'd really rather not shed any blood until she's completed her job, but if that's what's necessary then that's what she'd do.


"Could I know your name, please?"

 

[BELL]

Clint Fires a few meters away from the girl, causing an explosion near her, but not close enough to harm her. "I can see you making calculations. Whatever gun or guns you have, you can't draw them quicker than I can rip you apart with one bullet. I'm too far away for you to reach with a knife. Now answer me honestly. I'd hate to have to permanently break your ship."

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

Her eyes narrow, and she tosses her head a little, chuckling. "I guess I have a new toy to break in, don't I? I was answering you honestly, officially according to the North American Alliance I am one of their traders, but if you dig a little bit deeper and talk to a few old men you'll find I'm a mercenary, here on a scouting trip. You're a bit dim, you know? You might be able to fire quickly, but don't underestimate my ability to dodge a bullet, or anything else you throw at me, I didn't play tag as a kid, I dodged live bullets and real arrows. I wouldn't threaten my ship, it doesn't like it very much, and since your buddy here woke her up she's listening to us."


She sighed ruffled her hair. "This is so damn stupid, what are you anyway? What is this supposed to be? I'm guessing you won't give me those parts for my ship, but how about you let me go, and I won't hurt your good looking friend over there." She motioned towards Wrath.

 

[BELL]

"Depending on why you're here, I'll probably give you the parts for your ship." Clint smirks. "Don't think you can dodge what I fire. There are monsters faster than any human out here, any human includes you. So if you value your life, you won't hurt Wrath and you'll tell me why you're here."

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

"Damn mages." She grumbled. "I hate it when they're faster than I am." She looked over Clint again, frowning. "I did tell you, I'm here on a scouting mission. Wrath? Interesting name." Turning to the red haired man she bowed slightly. "Hello Wrath, I'm Grief. Now, I'm hoping you're a smooth talker, cause I'm going to need your help persuading your idiot of a friend over there that I am nothing more than a mercenary on a scouting trip. I might sell my body for war, but I'm no prostitute, so if that's what you're looking for you're going to have to find someone else." She batted her eyelashes.

 

[BELL]

"Why would the North American Alliance send a scout here? The only conflict they have is in Madagascar. They should also know that this is a demilitarized zone." Clint doesn't put his gun...sword...thing down.

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

She blew a raspberry at him. "You're so not cute, I like my toys to be cute. How much is the information worth to you? How about, I tell you everything about my new job, if you get me those parts. I'll give you all of that information as soon as my ship's fixed. Sound like a deal to you?" She casually pulled out her dagger, twirling it in her fingers. "Listen, I really do need to get out of here, and it sounds like we have exactly one minute before those monsters are here, so could we pick up negotiations in just a second." She strolled out of the door, pushing past Clint, ignoring the gun.


Corliss could see the light reflected in their eyes, heard the low growls and whines of them, she stepped carefully over the pellets Wrath had previously throw onto the ground and scouted the place for a nice position to shoot. She began to crawl onto the building's old and cracked roof, and set up the rifle.

 

[King Hastur]

Wrath sighed as the woman who called herself "Grief" pushed past Clint and made her way up the building to find a sniping perch. He could not get a word in edge-wise with the pair. He was surprised to find Clint here. He was a fellow scavenger like Wrath, and they had a few run-ins, mostly pleasant... as far as pleasant can get in the competitive business. At the very least they have never shot at one another.


"What kind of trouble have you brought my way this time Clint" Wrath said as he rubbed his temple. He already had a feeling this was going to turn into a terrible headache. There wasn't even a bounty on the monsters in this area. There was no money to be had from the swiftly approaching horde and it seems like Grief was not willing to give up the airship... truth be told neither was Wrath.


"And it's..." began to correct Grief but thought better of it. He was never going to shake the nickname, may as well embrace it. "Just.. wait till the wall goes up" he said to Clint and kept a close on the approaching monsters. The first runners had already passed by his "perimeter" they were getting closer... closer... the first monster was right next to the pillar Wrath was hiding behind when his thumb pressed down the button.


A series of explosions chained so close together is sounded like one long bang echoed in the flat area. The pellets Wrath had dropped down killed any nearby monster's but that was just a side effect of their design. Within the pellets was a highly combustive liquid that created a wall of flame two meters high. Chaining these together it created a deadly barrier that cut the invading monster's numbers in half. The first few that tried to run though the wall came out the other side screaming in pain as they were burned to cinders.


"Make this count! These cost a fortune!" Wrath yelled as he charged out of his hiding place at the confused monsters.

 

[Zer0]

The sound of an approaching hover-craft grew louder from the south. It was a large industrial grade cargo ship, worn looking, with chipped and faded blue paint. It carried no weapons. The blinking blue and red beacons on its wings and tail signaled that it was friendly. On its side was a large faded picture of a masked man with a medical cross symbol on his clothes giving the thumbs up. Beneath it was a bold title saying, "Fenris' Flying Medical Clinic".


The craft hovered some distance away from the characters. Then the screech of a speaker rang loud through the air before a voice spoke drowning the sounds of battle. "Hello, is thing on?"-more screeching from the speakers- "Hello?- Ah." There was a pause. "People who are shooting guns. DO.YOU.NEED.A.DOCTOR? Just wave your hands if you do, otherwise just ignore me. Also, if you don't have money to pay, just ignore me."

 

[BELL]

Clint sighs. "I blame the mercenary girl. Everything was fine until she came, bringing a horde of monsters down on our asses and random people flying over us." His sword turns back into a sword. "NO, WE DON'T. FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY, I'D GET OUT OF HERE."

 

[Zer0]

"WHAT?" Screeched the speakers. "I can't hear you, I see your mouth opening and closing, but I don't know what you're saying!"

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

Corliss smirked and fired three rounds, dead center of the monsters heads. This was too easy, the fire had helped to distract the monsters, but she wished Wrath had given her some sort of warning, if she hadn't been trained for quick reactions she could have easily misfired hitting either Clint or Wrath, albeit that wasn't a bad idea, maybe once the monsters were gone she'd take care of those two. The annoying hum of the hover caught her attention, she rolled her eyes. "Damn idiot."


Another few rounds dealt with the back ring of the pack, she'd leave the front lines to the two guys. The screeching of the medic hover was getting on her nerves though, she took careful aim at the speakers and shot them. A quick pop and crackled let her know that she had succeeded in killing the sound system.


"Hm, how should I let this play out?" She wondered out loud as she shot down a monster every once and a while. She didn't like using this ammo on theses beasts, but she didn't want to fight with Clint and Wrath, fighting in a group usually led to sloppy fighting, and she didn't like to rely on others to watch her back.

 

[Dolches]

Lilly was hiding,she had bought the cart of food somewhere else,and was watching the battle take place.

 

[King Hastur]

"Well then" Wrath mumbled to himself as Grief shot out the speakers, thank goodness for that. A sudden piercing pain on his side brought Wrath back from his distractions. A smaller monster resembling a cat had clamped it's jaw around his left arm, fangs piercing through the light armor he wore and drawing blood. With a feral snarl he slammed his arm into the wall, crushing the vile creature. Wrath looked at the damage and saw the teeth broke off and were embedded in his arm, but they did halt the blood flow so he left it to be treated later. Wrath closed his eyes and tried to calm his ire with the current situation, nothing seemed to be going his way today.


"Oculus" he whispered and felt a familiar burning sensation as his eyes felt as if they were on fire. When his eyes reopened everything seemed... more in focus. The colors were more vivid and the outlines of his enemies were sharper. "Acellero" he tensed his muscles and sprung into a ground of monster's passing by. Wrath' fists worked in a blur as he rained blow after blow on the surprised enemies. Another cat-like creature tried to jump at him from the side but unfortunately for it, Wrath would not fall for the same trick twice. The feline's face smashed into Wrath's open palm and he promptly curled his fist, the monster's skull was crushed in his vice-like grip.


A monster that was a cross between and armadillo and a dog charged straight at Wrath, to his eyes it seemed like the charge was in slow motion. Wrath spun and brought his foot arching over the top of his head, bringing it down with his full weight on the stupid dogadillo. Shattered carapace flew in all directions as the monster was crushed into the ground.


Wrath had been killing monsters for awhile and glanced around to see the horde was swiftly thinning out. He kept an eye on Grief in her perch however. In his experience you should never trust a woman... particularly one you just met.... and who carried a sniper rifle around.

 

[Aquaria Wolf]

"Keep your eyes on the road, sweetie." Corliss called out taking out another two small wolf like monsters. "Damn, out of bullets." She checked her bag fore more, but all her other ammo was in her ship, and no way was she opening that hatch with two scavengers and a horde of monsters around. She weighed her chances, if she just laid there the whole battle would blow over, but could take a bit. If she went down and helped things would go quicker, but she'd have to fight with them, and they obviously didn't trust her either.


The low hiss of a lizard monster made her flip over to find a scaly dull green monster pulling itself over the edge of the roof. "Well, guess that settles it." She whipped out her dagger and threw herself towards monster, flipping around as soon as her dagger sunk deep into it's skull. She kicked off it's body and let it's limp body fall back to the ground.


"Watch out below!" Not even a second later she came flying down between Wrath and Grief. "Miss me boys?"