Futuristic The Genesis Engine

[Mosswine Leader]

The Search for Genesis

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https://www.piratepad.ca/p/The_Genesis_Engine

What happened?

​

Nobody really has an answer to that question. The Skyfall War happened more than a hundred years ago, that much is common knowledge. What the war was fought over, who were the sides, and who won, however, are questions still left unanswered. All people nowadays know is that the people that inhabited the planet before that time period lived in a utopia. What few scraps of Pre-Fall tech that can still be found attest to that much, and are treated either as miracles or horrific works of demons.

What is today like?

​

The technology of the Pre-Fall civilizations somehow merged all the global landmasses together, thereby allowing a truly cohesive global civilization. The new continent, simply named 'Home' was terraformed to suit the inhabitants. Most of the coastline mountain ranges were moved farther inland and an enormous gridwork of rivers were interlaced throughout the landmass. After the war, great swathes of vegetation and land had been scoured from the face of the planet, making arid lands the most common environment on Home. How this terrible change, or even the wondrous one before was wrought is knowledge lost to the ages.


Or so it is said. For the past twenty years, the deserts have been growing, encroaching into healthier land and consuming everything in their path. At this rate, in another fifty years, all of Home will become desert land, thereby rendering the planet sterile and lifeless. However, rumours of a cult led by a madwoman have started spreading. She claims that she can fix the world. Then again, she claims many things. 99% of the population encountered by the Cult of Phosphorescent Salvation ridicule them, drive them from towns, or outright attack them.


Pre-Fall tech is always in high demand, even if it doesn't work. So high in demand, in fact, that groups of mercenaries hunt down old Pre-Fall ruins or people said to possess the technology in hopes of selling it to collectors and getting rich. These groups, called Bloodhound Corps, are feared in society. They're always heavily armed and not afraid to gun down someone who resists their demands. A bounty of one billion units has been put on the head of Lucent Singularity, and another five hundred million for her group, though that knowledge is limited to the Bloodhound Corps for the most part.


The day to day tech is Industrial revolution to the '50s in quality. Things aren't as compact or efficient, and generally require a lot of maintenance. However, creative individuals still manage to make interesting bits and bobs, like solar powered buggies or tesla rifles. Generally, the more complicated or 'PreFall-like' an item is, the rarer it is.

What is the Cult of Phosphorescent Salvation?

​

The cult, led by a woman called the Lucent Singularity, claims to be a group of miracle workers. They have access to mind boggling amounts of Pre-Fall tech, and have been known to activate and make use of Pre-Fall machines that have remained dormant for as long as anyone could remember. Many fear them, not only for that reason, but because they represent a jarring and uncomfortable blotch on the misery of every day life. While the average person dresses themselves in brown, sun protective clothing, this cult of madmen wear strange fashions, always dyed in faded, yet still vibrant colors of every shade in the spectrum.

What is their goal?

​

Lucent Singularity believes in an object called the Genesis Seed, a piece of tech developed by scientists during the Skyfall war to fix the planet once the war had ended. They didn't count on just how vicious the fighting would get, however, and were forced to hide the Seed in a bunker. The Seed, if mishandled or reprogrammed, could destroy the Earth, rather than save it. In order to prevent that, the group hid it in an impenetrable bunker and locked it behind four doors. They hid the four keys, though they kept clues as to the locations saved on a crystal drive, which they in turn locked in an old Implant Clinic.


Lucent stumbled upon that clinic, though she can't remember the event, nor when it was, and received all the implants the Doctors had left behind to aid whomever was found worthy in retrieving the Seed and restoring the Earth. The Cult was formed by the very few who believed her ravings and sought to protect her in her journey. Those that proved loyal were gifted by her with implants of their own, though they exacted sometimes terrible prices on the receivers. With great devotion comes great sacrifice, after all.

Who are the heroes?

​

That's up to you. Here are the basic requirements for a hero.

[left][img=(A picture if you so desire. Please, if you choose an anime picture, make it interesting.)][/left]



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[font=Vivaldi][size=150][b](Once cleared with me) Gift/Curse:[/b][/size][/font][/justify]

A note on Gifts/Curses. The tech given to a character by Lucent is at odds with their natural biology, which is what causes the downsides. Say a character has an implant that lets them gather solar energy to discharge violently as a blinding flash. Their curse might be something like prone to heatstroke or sometimes crippling migranes. Generally, anything goes with the tech, as long as it's within reason, but you must have an equivalent curse to match the power of your gift.


Also a note on implants: I think I should have clarified how these implants work. It's not surgery. Lucent's stomach creates a blank implant which is roughly golf ball sized and she has to barf it up. The recipient swallows it, and the machine runs a program where it analyzes your DNA and psyche, and then changes itself to best suit you.

 

[Mosswine Leader]

"Ugh! It's so hot! Can we please stop and find some shade?" Hannity bemoaned to no one in particular. The chances of Lucent stopping her march were slim to none at this point. They'd gotten wind of some promising leads farther east, and she seemed pretty driven to get to...wherever it was they were going. Beside her, her husband simply sighed, though he kept walking without comment. They'd been on the trail for a solid three days now, and civilization seemed scant in this area. Just rolling, dusty plains as far as the eye could see. From his perch atop Jakwil's shoulders, Alphonse kept his silent vigil over the land, systematically scanning from left to right for danger. Something caught his eye in the distance, however, and he gently kicked Jakwil in the chest and pointed with one clawed hand towards the setting sun, where a plume of smoke rose lazily into the sky.


"Prophet!", Jakwil barked to get Lucent's attention. "There seems to be a situation on the horizon. There may be people in need of assistance there." Lucent glanced towards the area Alphonse was indicating, though she seemed hesitant. "Not to mention the possibility of shelter for the night," muttered Hannity, batting her eyes at Lucent and hoping to get their leader to see reason for once. She was tired of sleeping on the dirt with the bugs. Lucent stopped, turning to her flock.


"Well, what say ye? Yer desirin' ta stop th' march fer now, neh? All o' ye?" She put her fists on her hips, looking at each in turn.


Larian studied the smoke and made a cocky grin behind his mask. "Aye! There must be something going on there, prophet. Certainly something with adventure written on it and people to aide. I agree that we should check it out!" Dusk turned to the others while nodding. "What's the worst that could happen!"


Colton had taken off his outer jacket, exposing his blue - green tie dyed sweater to the sun. It was already faded, this would only make it more so. He did not really know anyway in the group very well yet, so he mostly kept to himself. He simply listened and continued on moving. Only speaking when he felt he should. He heard many talking of the smoke columns in the distance.


Colton had seen them for a while now, but it being just smoke he could not tell much of anything else. It was just a little village, mainly sheet metal shacks for housing. His thermal vision was completely useless now with the sun in the back ground. He slowed to a halt as Lucent turned around to face them. "If I may.. It seems it is on our way so we might as well check it out. We could pick up supplies, or even new members." He liked to keep things short and direct. Still, he did not like to seem abrupt or rude. His main goal was just to get his point across effectively.


Lyre looked up from her feet as conversation suddenly ensued. She cocked a brow and listened to the group voicing their opinions. Hannity and Jakwil brought up fair points, as did Colton. And Dusk.... was being Dusk. Lyre then meekly stepped forward and pointed off towards the smoke.


"Prophet!" Lyre barked in Jakwil's deep baritone. It was weird to hear such a deep and rough tone coming from a female, let alone a female of her stature. It had always been a struggle to communicate with people, but this ragtag team didn't seem to mind her... Odd way of speaking. In fact, it was fun to communicate when there was so much to go off of. But then there were her bird calls and other assorted noises for 'speaking'. Speaking of bird calls... Lyre then chirped a few times, mimicking a young bird, and nodded a few times as if agreeing with her own statement in bird song. While she may not be as foolish as Dusk to believe that they should go for 'adventure's sake, people could be hurt and she didn't have the heart to just let these potential victims be maimed or worse. She had a wicked imagination sometimes, and imagining what could be causing the smoke was stressing her out.


Alphonse hmmed quietly, whistling a short tune in response to Lyre. Lucent, for her part, was losing her precarious grip on reality and shrugged, breaking into a skip as she made her way towards the source of the smoke. The rest of the crew turned to follow at their own respective paces. A scant twenty or so mintues later, they closed the distance on the small village. It looked to be completely devoid of life, with several of the houses outright demolished. Once they'd reached the outskirts, they slowed to a halt. Well, most of them. True to her nature, Lucent payed little heed to the potential danger and began to explore the little village with Jakwil hot on her heels. He'd plucked Alphonse off his shoulders and set the man down before following her.


Bringing her scattergun to bear, Hannity sighed and shook her head. "Alright everyone, I guess fan out and make sure that there isn't anything out to get us or whatever." She methodically began checking houses and bodies, always wary of danger. The village seemed to have been hit by a squadron of Bloodhounds, judging from the brutal massacre and types of wounds appearent on the dead. Once they'd cleared the village, they all met back in the town square, which was where the source of the smoke was eminating from. Most of the villagers had been piled up and set aflame, probably as a warning to any passersby. Luckily the corps had moved on, which meant they had the town to themselves.


All having been assembled, Hannity slung her weapon over her shoulder and addressed the group, utilizing her power as second in command when Lucent was 'absent'. "Okay, well I guess we've got the place to ourselves. Round up any supplies you guys can manage and we'll see what was so special that this place got ransacked." Jakwil whispered something into her ear before grabbing a couple bodies and trudging off somewhere secluded.


Somewhere nearby, Lucent exclaimed in surprise, drawing Hannity and Alphonse's attention. Hannity gestured for Alphonse to take care of it before moving to scavenge supplies. Appearently, there was a PreFall machine here that was too big for the Bloodhound corps to move, and Lucent had turned it on. She muttered to herself, making observations and comments that were pretty much indeciperhable to anyone but her. After a bit of fiddling and some dangerous jury rigging, she managed to get the thing at 100% capacity and began to type furiously on a holo-keyboard. Uttering a low hum, the machine's display winked to life, displaying a screen full of nonsensical symbols and diagrams.


Finally, Hannity came to investigate what all the commotion was. "Lu, what'd you find? What is that thing? On second thought, don't tell me. I won't understand anyways." She leaned out of the rather spacious building, which was probably a warehouse of some sort. "Hey everyone! Lu found a thing. We'll be setting up shop in here for the time being until she's done with it. Come on over." She turned and glanced sidelong at their leader, who hadn't shut up at all. "Knowing her, that'll be a while," she muttered under her breath.


"Awright, better be somethin' good," came Franklin's voice, booming from a now empty house. He had been scavenging through the vacant abode, finding little except-


"Hey, cans'a beans! 'Bout time I found some real food."


Frank practically hopped out of the house, carrying a sack full of canned beans. He had a penchant for collecting certain foods, likely due to his ADHD. You were sure to get fed with ol' Frank around, that was for sure.


"Y'all like beans?"


Shouting from within the warehouse, Hannity responded. "Yeah sounds good, Frank. Bring 'em in here and we'll get a fire started. Jaky's got the supplies." Jakwil rummaged through his bag for their portable stove and a pot to cook with.


Colton walked from house to house. His thermal vision showing all the bullet marks on the metal walls, and buildings. The bodies were still warm. The blood hounds must have only left a couple hours ago. He dragged a few of the bodies from their houses, and huddled in corners where they had been massacred. He threw a few into the fire. It was the best burial they were going to get out here. These people did not deserve to be carrion for the buzzards. There was a small well at the center of a neighborhood. The whole cluster of huts circled around it. Makes sense, probably one the few sources they had out here. Colton called out to the rest of group. "There is a well out here, center of the houses." Colton headed back towards Lucent, his water supply was good for now anyways.


"Can't have 'nough protein," Frank announced, a content grin on his dusty face. "The dead don't need 'em no more."


Larian had searched a few of the houses, finding only the dead and holes in the walls. His ear perked up as Frank spoke of the dead. "Oi, give respect. These people died for a reason that they must've believed in." He walked out and studied what the rest of the group where doing, or more precisely what Lucent was doing.


Lyre raised a brow at Dusk and smirked. With a scoff that sounded awfully like one Dusk himself would make, she walked past him. "Oi." She threw right back at him. With a few chirps and clicks, she then shook her head and walked off again.


As he hauled sack over to Jakwil, Frank glanced over at Lucent, his jaw dropping at the machine she was working on. He was little more than a bum in his hometown, knowing little to nothing about current, let alone PreFall technology. He might as well have been a child watching a group of rocket scientists.


"Whooooooooooooa, what're ya doin' over there Lucent?" he asked, dropping the sack and approaching the machine, looking up at it with wide eyes. "Ya found one o' them PreFall thing-a-majigs?"


Glancing up from her work, Lucent waved Franklin over excitedly. "Look, here! These coordinates match up to the grid almost perfectly! It seems to have been mis-entered, but the data is still accurate enough that I can make a better map! Oh this is perfect!" Her speech had changed as she engaged her neural wetware, effectively juicing her brain. "And here and here!" she exclaimed, pointing to some cryptic symbols. "This is perfect. The astrological data has been catalogued for fifteen years. It doesn't help us, but it's fascinating!" She typed some more, changing the screen from the strange symbols to a more readable topographic map.


"So, in layman's terms, we're gonna know where the hell we're goin'?" Franklin asked, scratching the beginnings of a beard. He had no idea what she just said, but it was interesting.


Nodding absentmindedly, Lucent examined the map, zooming in and out at random. "Here and here, this is our route we've taken. And here," she traced a meandering line with her finger towards a spot on the map, "Is our destination. A PreFall bunker that may or may not hold one of the Keys. It looks to be...hmm...about thirty miles away." Hannity blinked from across the room in surprise.


"Lu, are you sure? That's an awful long ways to be dragging everyone for a 'may or may not'. Why don't-" She was hushed by Jakwil as he diligently stirred the pot of beans. "If the Prophet is confident, then we have a duty to follow her. That's the end of the conversation," he chided, his deep bass rumbling in mild displeasure. Hannity sighed, but didn't comment further in obedience to her husband.


"It is only 30 miles - we could make it in one day if necesary. We do not have anywhere else to go. I for one a, curious as to how a Pre-Fall bunker looks." He said after hearing Hannity's statment. But neither did he really agree with Jakwil's view point. His blindness in following Lucent was unsettling. She might be able to cure the world, but prophet is a strange word to use. So was savior, Colton just could not really decide on using those terms of faith.


"All this techy talk's makin' me hungry," Frank announced plainly, rubbing his stomach. "I think we've gone eight hours without eatin'. Ain't get fer us, ya know."


With yet another one of his wise remarks, Frank stumbled over to Jakwil, pulling out a bowl from his backpack. It was prudent to always keep some dishes around.


Lyre was a bit lost. They had wandered into this town, split up, then regrouped, and now Lucent was rambling about PreFall technology with Frank ogling over her shoulder. Lyre wandered over and chirped once in question, tilting her head and furrowing her brows. The screen looked... Weird. And she understood absolutely nothing of what it said. She heard Hannity and Jakwil speak and wandered over, sitting down near the two. She sniffed the air and mimicked a cat's purr in content at the smell. Real food, finally!


Jakwil spooned a portion of beans into Franklin's waiting bowl, then filled up a few more tin cups from his own bag for Hannity to distribute, along with some spoons. She passed a cup and spoon to Lyre, though not without a quizzical glance. "Uh, 'Phonse? You wanna translate for us?" Alphonse shrugged, not really offering any clarification and instead sitting patiently waiting for dinner. Sighing to herself, Hannity began to feed him from the one of the cups.


"Lu, how's it comin' along. You almost done with that thing?" Appearently she'd caught Lucent mid stream-of-thought. The woman started blathering about the archives on the machine and the interesting research on thermodynamic intra-molecular interaction stored therein. Hannity stopped her abruptly. "I'll take that as a no. Just do your thing, I guess."


Turning to the group, she stretched a bit before giving Alphonse another bite. "Well guys, I guess we're getting closer to uh...step one? I don't really know the details of Lu's plan, but I guess we're making headway. How are you all holding up?"


"Well, I ain't gonna be hungry no more," Frank replied between a spoonful of beans. Mmm, red beans. His favorite.


"An' I finally got rid o' that itch."


"That's good, Frank. You been using that salve I made?" Hannity had happened upon a patch of aloe and saved it for future medicinal purposes. It came in handy to be stocked up.


"Works like a charm," he replied with a smile. He might have been street-wise, but Frank wasn't a smart man. Thank God for Hannity.


Dusk sighed. "How I am holding? Ehh I'm bored.. We have been walking and walking.. And walking.." Dusk continued the loop for about ten seconds before finally removing his mask. "But I'm surprised that we found.. Eh? That thing whatever Lucent is playing with, and we should be careful" Larian played with the last word a bit, careful? Naah. "If the corpses are here then the probably Bloodhounds, not that far away, right?"


"Eh maybe. The Bloodhounds probably couldn't figure out how to work the PreFall thing and left it. Maybe they thought it was broken? I dunno, they're a weird bunch. You should probably get used to the walking, though. Light knows that Jaky and I have done more than our fair share of it following Lu around." Hannity cast another sidelong glance at Lucent before feeding the last of the beans to Alphonse and starting on her own dinner.


Lyre chirped a thank you and began to eat, pacing herself as she dug in. She couldn't waste any food. She didn't know when they could eat again. It could be a day, it could be another week! She never knew what would come. Lyre looked up at Hannity's question. She smiled.


"Ain't gonna be hungry no more," she commented in Frank's voice. She then shrugged and made a few clicks and chirping sounds.


Pre-emptively answering Hannity's questioning look, Alphonse spoke up for the first time in weeks. "She's tired," he managed, voice like a dry wind through leaves. Tutting with concern, Hannity fished a canteen from their stash and tipped it into Alphonse's mouth. "You need to drink more, Alphonse. You're going to hurt yourself. Just let me know when you're thirsty, okay?" He nodded shyly, swallowing the water with a gulp.


Larian nodded and turned to the.. Bonfire as one would call it or a pyre. Dusk slowly walked over and crouched down and watched the flames. "Que Descanse en Paz.." His eyes didn't avert from the many people that were slowly disappearing in the flames. "Can we avenge them?" He muttered before standing up and taking his own canteen out to take a sip. As he pulled the flask away from his mouth. "Or at least see if we could tell someone what happened?"


Hannity was silent for a moment as she ate, thinking of a response. "Tell who? Who would care? We could avenge them, sure, but we've no way of knowing which corps it was in particular. Doberman company? Terrier company? No idea. Not that it matters, really, 'cause I'm all about squashing Bloodhounds. Might as well wipe the lot of 'em out and save ourselves the trouble." Jakwil made a noise of agreement. He despised the Bloodhound corps, viewing them as a disgusting group of greedy, scavenging murderers worthy only of extinction.


Larian nodded again. "Well anybody? Someone must or... Egh, doesn't matter." He looked back at the flames, his usual grin a slight frown. "How's it going there Lucent?" He asked as he turned his attention to the prophet. "Eh. She's probably busy?" Larian walked over to the rest and settled down. "Beans." He blinked and smiled before taking a small bowl and feasted.


As the sun began to set, the group prepared their sleeping areas. Hannity had volunteered to take first watch and set the cycle to move clockwise from her. The watch served two purposes: one was to keep alert for danger, and the other was to keep an eye on Lucent, who never slept and had a severe mental breakdown every night. Most of the time she simply sat catatonic, staring into whatever light source she could find or covering her eyes with her hands and watching the glow which eminated from them. Sometimes, however, she broke into a violent fit and needed restraining, usually by Jakwil.

 

[Mosswine Leader]

Tonight was a peaceful night, though, and the watches passed uneventfully, until the hour of dawn. Faintly, in the distance, voices intruded on the silence. Jakwil, who was on watch at the time, quickly began to wake everyone up, indicating that they be silent and gestured for them to listen closely.


Larian had been half-asleep when he suddenly were woken up by Jakwil. "J-" Larian blinked as Jakwill gestured for him to remain silent. Oh, visitors? Larian quickly, but quietly got up and put his mask on again. He looked at Jakwil and whoever he had woken up. "Should I go see who it is?" Well, not that he is going to listen to reason, if these strangers were bloodhounds, then Dusk would certainly mess with them whether the others in the group agreed or not. "Well?" He said quickly afterwards in a whisper, patience was not a virture Larian had.


Lyre wasn't a heavy sleeper, not at all, so she didn't really need Jakwil to wake her up. She was instantly on her feet and tilting her head towards the sound, pursing her lips. What was that noise? It was clearly people, but who beside them was crazy enough to be out in this climate? Lyre looked to Hannity and Jakwil for orders, as it seemed Lucent was "out" at the moment. She heard Dusk speak, asking if he should check it out. She pursed her lips and hugged her arms nervously. She wasn't much of a fighter. Really, she was just the backup that only fought is there was absolutely no alternative. It usually never came down to that.


Colton bedded down in a hut near the well. He was sleeping well until Jawkwil woke him. He hated being woken by such a large man. It was frightening, reminded him too much of the fight.


He rubbed his one good eye, and then put into place the bionic one. It slide in and Colton twisted it into place. It locked in with a faint click. He remained quiet as he walked outside the hut. The desert seemed to be bipolar. Enough to start a fire during the day, and cold enough to freeze during the night. He zipped up his jacket once he got into the open. If strangers were coming, it would be best if he could not be seen well. Colton slipped on his back pack, and strapped up. He grabbed his rifle, and hopped up grabbing onto the metal roof. He pulled himself up, but remained in a squat. "Which way are they coming, Jakwil?" Colton preferred to see them first. He blinked as the filter changed in the eye. The change caused him to wince. He looked around the horizon for some sign of movement. The vision layer thermal, with infrared, giving him mdepth and definition.


Franklin, meanwhile, was unresponsive for a moment, his loud, snoring sleep only interrupted by a shake, followed by him mumbling.


"Urm... S'it breakfast awready?"


It took him a few moments to register Jakwil's request to be silent. He thought nothing of it at first, before, as if seeing the Grim Reaper himself, he hurled his blankets off himself and shuffled through his things, grabbing a pair of strange looking gauntlets and an assault rifle. Frank found a couple of magazines burried under an ancient copy of Moby Dick, and shoved one into the rifle. After hearing a confirmative click, he rushed out of his tent, throwing himself into a prone position and scanning the horizon with his gun.


"We gots Bloodhound, Jakwil?"


From the north, a small cluster of men moved stealthily through the huts, sweeping for squatters that might have moved in. Jakwil had already made sure everyone was aware of the situation, and now sat with his back to the door, Lucent in his lap as he shielded her with his body. She was still catatonic, since the sun hadn't risen yet. Hannity waited in the warehouse with her husband, shotgun at the ready, while Alphonse steeled himself for combat and stood outside, arms at the ready.


One of the Bloodhound corpsman stepped into the village square as he noticed Alphonse, chuckling to his comrades and ridiculing the diminutive figure. "Hey little man. You lost? It's dangerous out here, you know. No place for kids." His friends laughed and moved past him, searching the area in a relaxed manner. Their first mistake was calling Alphonse little, and their last was dropping their guard. A dim orange glow formed in Alphonse's palms, followed by a high pitched whining noise as his arms started to shake. One of the Bloodhounds looked over curiously, leaning forward and squinting from behind his bandanna mask. Moving both hands to face that man, Alphonse's face adopted a grim expression before he loosed the raw kinetic force. Twin orange lances struck the man square in the chest with a sharp crack as the beams broke the sound barrier. Alphonse was thrown backwards into the warehouse, but his target painted the shack behind him completely red as all his insides became outsides.


Hannity leaned out from the warehouse. "Fuck 'em up!" she screamed.


Obeying this order gladly, Franklin rushed out towards Alphonse, noting at least six Bloodhound troopers now fleeing for cover when he got there. He chuckled mischieviously. Fish in barrel. He brought his rifle up to his face, aim downed the sight, and began spraying wildly at the soldiers, screaming as he pulled the trigger.


"Rrragh!!! Die you fuckin' bastards!"


Every recoil of the gun signified a further descent into bloodlust. God, Frank wished he could just mow down all Bloodhound scumbags. After emptying his entire clip, Frank ran to cover behind a wall, a confident, borderline smug smile now formed on his lips. He hadn't even brought out his old world tech, the gloves that made him Zeus. The gloves he would punish the wicked with.


Colton had a good shot lined up, waiting for Alphonse to make the first move, but he was disoreinted when the sound barrier was broken. "Fuckin Hell." He said as he covered his ears. He shook his head, and looked back out at the running hounds. Colton did not need a scope ater the implant. His eye was the scope for him, and a good one at that. He pulled back the bolt, chambering a round, and then fired. He could hear the the body fall onto the metal wall causing a metal hum. One. Colton cocked the gun once again. Then lined up his next shot. He did not want to let any get away. He zeroed in on the furthest target. He fired, and bullet went over. "Dammit." Colton quickly rechambered, and lined up the shot again. He took and breath and as he was exhaling he pulled the trigger. That's two. He figured the others would be torn apart by the spray Frank was firing. Colton took out his hunting knife, and cut two more nicks into the stock.


Larian was taken by complete surprise as Frank suddenly sprayed bullets after the bloodhounds. "Christ man! You could hit one of us!" Exclaimed Dusk. He shook his head and slowly at first ran towards the bloodhounds. "Surprise party." He said quietly as his body melted into the air and vanished. No matter how many times he did it, the jolt and the feeling on the skin was one hell of a kick for Larian's adrenaline. He watched as two more of the bloodhounds slumped down on the cool sand, another was hit by Franks spray-and-pray shooting which left him and the rest of the gang with three bloodhounds, maybe more, thought Larian. He came around a corner of one of the huts and noticed a bloodhound trying to take aim. "Not on my watch." Said Dusk quietly and pulled his sten gun from it's back holster and shot the bloodhound a few times in the back. "That's another one!" Yelled Dusk before moving to a new position, if any of the bloodhounds left wanted to try their luck at shooting something not entirely there.


Peering over the corner, Frank could spot a Bloodhound trying to scramble away from the onslaught. Not on Frank's watch. He punched his gloves together, creating a small spark. Good, it was working. He leaned fully out of cover, pointed his hand at the trooper and fired. A satisfying crackle of electricity ripped through the air before making contact with the mook. Frank smiled as he heard the Bloodhound's skin sizzle and the man's scream. He zapped him again, this time maintaining the current. After a few moments of struggle, the trooper was crispy.


"Run, ya assholes, or I'll smite you next!" Frank howled, firing another bolt in the air as a warning.


Lark hardly ever jumped into the fray when battle ensued, but sometimes the battle came to her. She had been huddling in a metal hut and whimpering like a wounded puppy as she heard the gunshots. In came a stranger. Someone she didn't know, and therefore, an enemy. This stranger man closed in on her and Lark pressed her back to the wall, sliding down the metal with wide eyes. He pulled a gun and pointed at her. Lark instantly clamped her hands over her ears and a clicking noise ensued, like a gear shifting in its place. The man hesitated, confused by this sound. Then, Lark closed her eyes and screamed.


The sound was deafening, and painful. It echoed off of the walls and became louder as the noise built within the closed off metal hut. The man stumbled back, clutching his ears, but it didn't help.


For him, it would begin with the simple pain of hearing such a loud and powerful sound. Then, he would grow dizzy and things would go blurry. Then-


This man just collapsed, alive but pained and with ruptured eardrums. Lark opened her eyes and dropped her hands. She stumbled up to her feet and ran from the room, her eyes watering in fear. She then crashed into another person, and fell on her butt, instantly clamping her hands over her ears if she had to scream again.


One of the dying mercs shouted out to his comrades to get out and take the transport to bring back re-reinforcements. Hannity, who overheard this, immediately turned to Jakwil. "Jaky, you gotta move. I'll guard Lu, but you're the only one who can stop that car right now! Go!" Like a rumbling mountain, Jakwil growled as he left his charge. He stormed out of the warehouse in enormous leaping bounds, propelling himself from foot to fist. Houses blew away under the force of his wrath, scattering as so much chaff in the wind. Near the edge of town, he spotted the lone survivor of the Bloodhound Corps' advance party at a dead sprint towards the vehicle, a large armored transport flatbed. Jakwil bellowed a deep, booming cry as he bore down on the hapless man. When he'd closed the distance, he brought one incredible fist down on the man and squashed him into paste. The driver, having seen the carnage, started the vehicle in a panic and stomped on the gas pedal.


"C'mon, you bitch! Go. C'mon don't fail me now baby, please!" the driver pleaded with his pride and joy. The truck must have been stuck on something, a deadly hold-up that he couldn't afford right now. That something became horrifically appearant as he felt himself tip forward a bit. The huge titan behind had caught up, and was actually lifting the vehicle from behind. Swearing, the driver grabbed his handgun and dove out of the driver's side door, hoping to put the giant down and leave. He might as well have been shooting spitwads for the good his gun did him.


Jakwil dropped the truck casually, approaching the man and grabbing his arm. With one motion he snapped the limb at the elbow and shoulder, then tore it completely off before pushing down on his head with one massive finger and killing him.


Larian chuckled as he saw Jakwil charge out of the warehouse. "Oh boy." He muttered. "I'm glad I'm on his side." Larian slowly walked towards the warehouse when suddenly someone bumped into him. "What the?" His electromagnetic invinsibility slowly faded away again. "Oh, christ." Larian crouched down and stared at Lyre through his mask. "What ha-" He looked past her and saw the living or.. unconscious and bleeding out of the ears bloodhound. "Oh god.. Fucking dammit.. Who let this arse past?" Larian stood up and moved over to the bloodhound. "Eh.. He isn't going to hear anything for the rest of his miserable life." Dusk knelt down beside the bloodhound, taking one of his knifes out. "You know? You might not hear me.. But I assure you, find someone who isn't fucking innocent, alright?" Dusk jammed his knife through the throat of the bloodhound and watched the life ebb out. "Was that the last of them?" He yelled out. Without waiting for an answer Dusk took his knife out from the body and holstered it "Lyre?" Larian removed his mask. "God dammit.. " Larian moved over and placed a hand on Lyre's shoulder, shortly he crouched down and wrapped his arm around her."It's alright.. They are gone, you're alright? He didn't hurt you?" Larian asked quietly, concern painted all over his face.


There was no improper way to gather supplies. Rolling a fallen Bloodhound onto his back with his foot, Frank took note of the man's insignia on his breast pocket and scowled. "Bleh. Definitely Bloodhound." Frank had no sympathy for the devil. He kneeled down, stuck his hands in all the uniform's pockets, hoping to find a ration, or possibly some ammunition. "Hmm... ah ha, here's somethin'!" Frank pulled his hand out, grasping a small notepad. He briefly shuffled through it before frowning, closing the notepad and tossing it to Hannity. "I can't read real good," he confessed somewhat sheepishly.


"Don't worry about it, Franklin. Just check for ammo and round up all their weapons. We'll see if they've got anything good." Hannity, who'd left the warehouse to aid in scavenging, flipped through the notebook and skimmed the contents. Her eyes widened as she realized the implications of the contents of the notepad. The guy who'd possessed it must have been the leader of this group, and was probably a higher up in his particular company. There were supply routes, names, locations, all sorts of information that could help them get the drop on these bastards. Pocketing the notebook excitedly, Hannity moved to check the rest of the dead for similar information caches.


Lyre looked up as someone spoke to her. She nearly screamed right then and there, but then she recognized the mask he wore. Dusk! He would take care of the guy who attacked her! She dropped her hands slowly and hugged her knees to her chest, rocking herself and staring at her feet. Hurting people never felt right to Lyre, even if they deserved it or hurt her friends/family, and screeching always left her thristy and miserable. He is a bad, bad man, she reminded herself. Bad man hurts family, no pity for bad man...





Lyre had never been the same after the process. It left her like this- forever in an innocent mind-set. It had been a horrible mistake, an accident.


Lyre looked up as Dusk returned to her, without his mask on. This face was much easier to recognize than the scary mask he wore. "It's alright. They are gone, you're alright? He didn't hurt you?" He asked. Lyre gulped and her eyes started watering at the mention of the attacker. She sniffled, eyes watering. She then leapt forward off the ground and hugged him. "It's alright. didn't hurt." She said in his voice.


Larian sighed with relief as Lyre practically threw herself at him. "It's alright. didn't hurt." He heard her say in his voice, although Dusk was used to the fact that Lyre would just copy everyones voices if needed but it was still a bit weird for Dusk to hear himself. "I'm sorry Lyre, I should've looked back, How did he even get around us? Damn bastards." Larian slowly picked Lyre and himself up from the ground. "Come on, let us get you to the warehouse and get something to drink." Said Larian with a smile. Larian's attention was turned to Hannity flipping through the pages on a notebook. "Hannity? What's that? Or well, what is it you're reading?" Dusk asked without stopping his movement towards the warehouse. "Actually, give me a minute." He said and turned his gaze to the warehouse. "Say, Lyre?" He said quickly and looked at the girl by his side as they stepped through the warehouse's doors. "What would you like? I'm pretty sure I got some apple juice in my backpack, there is also water if you want that instead." Larian scanned the warehouse, Was Alphonse not thrown in here? Where the crapsicle could he be.. And shite he could be in pain from that.. Well he did pretty much 'fly' in here. "Alphonse!? Are you alright?" shouted Dusk as he found some crates for Lyre to sit and rest on.


Peeking into the warehouse curiously, Alphonse looked for the source of his name. Once he spotted Larian and Lyre, Alphonse stepped inside and looked at them curiously. "Yes?" he questioned quietly. In the corner, Lucent began to stir as dim shafts of sunlight peeked into the warehouse through the punctured walls. Like a starving animal, she dashed outside and climbed on top of a nearby roof, arms out wide to bask in the sun's sweet dawn glow.


Larian rolled his eyes as Alphonse appeared from the outside of the warehouse. "Geesus. I thought you were lying broken and bloody somewhere in here when you blasted that guy." He quickly turned his attention as Lucent stirred and rose up only to run outside. Larian muttered to himself "Run Lucent, Run." He shook his head again, that was just a bad joke, terrible curses on myself. "Well, yeah I thought something happened to you, but it seems like you're doing perfectly fine there Alphonse." Larian shrugged and turned his back to Alphonse and crouched down and smiled to Lyre. "Now what was it? Juice or water?"


Chuckling, Alphonse shrugged and left, wandering around looking for something interesting to do.


Lyre clapped happily as Larian offered her some juice and sat her down in the warehouse. She smiled and kicked her legs back and forth gently, humming a song she once heard before the implant process. She knew it well, for her mother had hummed it to her many times. It was a lullaby. She continued the small tune and looked up at Dusk, who had called for Alphonse to chat with him. He then crouched and repeated his question. "Juice." Lyre repeated, beaming. She had a deep love for apple juice. It was like the holy shrine for toddlers, and being very childish it made sense. Lyre fiddled with a ring on her finger, her mother's engagement ring that she had kept when her mother passed, and smiled fondly at the small metal band. She couldn't remember much about her parents, but she liked to think they were loving. Lyre glanced up again to wait for her juice.


Larian nodded. "Yeah, I hope we get to a town soon." Larian removed his backpack and placed it infront of himself and opened it. "Let me see.. Notes, spare parts.. Oh there." He reached in and grabbed the plastic bottle of the golden yellow-ish liquid. "Huh.. Still somewhat cool, perfect! Here you go Lyre." Dusk handed Lyre the plastic bottle and rummaged in his backpack again. "Hmmh, did an- Oh there it is." Larian took a small bar of light purple color out. "Raw Bite. The Organic fruit and nuts bite, vanilla berries." Larian placed it besides Lyre and stood up. "Hannity!" He yelled and walked a bit towards the open doors of the warehouse. "Alright, I have a minute now. What were you reading?"


Hannity flipped out the notebook again, turning it to the page that listed supply routes. "Look at this stuff. There is all kinds of info here about this company. Supply routes, personnel, base locations. It's incredible how stupid they are sometimes."


Lyre grinned as Larian handed her a plastic bottle of apple juice and happily began to sip the golden juice. She swung her legs lazily and hummed, eyeing the fruit bar Larian set down next to her curiously. What was that thingy? It looked weird. Lyre picked it up after setting the juice bottle in her lap, staring at it with a pensive scowl. It was... plastic? What the heck was this thingy? Lyre turned it over in her hands and saw a weird flap down the bar and pulled at it. She lit up with surprise at it split and came away from an inner thing. A different colored bar of stuff was inside. Lyre poked at it. That wasn't plastic. Lyre slowly brought the bar to her mouth and bit it. She pulled at face and spat it out. Ew! Gross! She guzzled down apple juice to rid the taste from her mouth.


Around noon or so, Hannity rounded everyone up. They'd moved all the guns and ammo they could find to the flatbed truck, along with the PreFall machine, which even Jakwil had trouble lifting. It was no wonder the Bloodhounds had left it behind. Once they'd all assembled by the flatbed, Hannity had Lucent explain what the plan was.


"Awright all, here's th' plan. We're gonna take this 'ere truck ta th' lockaway down the trail. Based on th' stuff I seen on th' PreFall thinga, I'm hopin' we're gonna find the first Key. I been lookin' fer three years now ta find any o' these keys, an' ta be so close, I'm chompin' at th' bit. Load up!" she barked finally before hopping up onto the flatbed. Jakwil climbed up behind her, one massive arm draped over the PreFall machine to keep it from falling off as they drove.


"You heard the lady, let's get a move on." Hannity climbed up into the drivers seat, fiddled with the controls a bit to acclimatize herself with a new vehicle, and started the truck. The trip took a while, as the transport didn't have a top speed over 15 miles per hour, plus the trail they took was a bit out of the way, but after three or so hours of driving, they finally made it. At least, they reached the coordinates that Lucent had plotted on a map. The area didn't look to be anything special, though. Just an abnormally densely wooded area. Lucent immediately vaulted over the side of the car once it ground to a halt and searched for a decent clearing for Jakwil to set the PreFall computer down. As soon as she'd logged back in to the device, Lucent's fingers blazed away on the holo-keyboard. Every so often she stopped to look up and around, as if comparing her surroundings to the text displayed on the computer.


"Jakwil, c'mere. Y'see that tree over there? Th' one what looks sick? Can ye push it over for me?" Jakwil stopped next to the tree he believed she wanted destroyed, and upon getting confirmation that he had selected the proper tree, Jakwil immediately clasped his hands together and demolished it, sending splinters everywhere. "Th' stump too, if ye please."


Under the remains of the tree lay a gaping, pitch black hole, with one splotch of ground illuminated by the sunlight that drifted through the boughs above. "Ok...wow. That's dark. Uhm..." Lucent paced back and forth in front of the hole, muttering to herself in fear. The allure of finally having the key in her possession was too much, though, and without warning she leapt down into the inky blackness below. Her hair slowly filled with light, casting radiant yellow light all around her and allowing her to see her way. Back at the enterance, Jakwil kept the others at bay, awaiting further orders from his prophet. If she'd wanted help, she'd have asked for it. An interminable silence lasted for almost ten solid minutes before Lucent's wild wooping and hollering shattered the tense quiet. She came flying out of the hole, something clutched close to her chest and jibbering madly.


"I got it! I got th' first key! Oh....By the Light. It's real, it's beautiful, and it's all mine!" She lay on her back, gasping for air and clutching a smooth and featureless mikly white orb in a vice grip. Hannity approached her and dropped to one knee, examining the object.


"Huh...Didn't think it'd be that easy. Well... what now, Lu?" Lucent's gaze snapped to Hannity, suddenly serious.


"We go an' get th' rest of 'em. Need ta find a diesel though, cause we're goin' ta th' mountains, an' no way in hell are we gonna make it on foot."