Impact: Chapter 1

[Ether]

Still no updates here. Still unconscious... nothing special, nothing changing. Man, it sure would be a dick move to do something crazy right now...

... Oops.

A constant, ringing pain. She had been used to it by this point... not used to it enough to drift off quite yet, but perhaps getting there. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.that dull thus became a sharp jabbing, tearing primarily through the arm, though pain found the other freshly transformed areas as well.

Seems this was enough to force out the voice that had been stifled by exhaustion, a shriek ripping through the air as Selena's body found energy reserves hidden too deep for normal use, it would seem, clutching her arm desperately as her pained scream rang out. The arm shifting and pushing the exhausted body off of the ground, the metallic feet supporting it as Selena wobbled backward, her back hitting a tree.

'... and now the pain is... gone...?'

Selena was back to feeling nothing in the infected areas... was that what was going to happen, severe spikes of pain on either end of the event, with a dull, consistent twang throughout? Selena was not looking forward to it, but at the very least she could slee-

Text scrolled in front of her right eye, she had not even noticed it shifting to the scanner.

'Energy cell loaded'

A buzzing throughout all of the metallic areas of her body, as they all began to light up with the humm of energy, a tingling at the connectors to her skin.

'...b-backup... energy...?'

[Jaybee]

Kaden

It had taken forever for him to fall asleep, and even then, he'd woken up fairly quickly, his eyes opening once Dustin began to talk. People were talking about splitting - One to hunt, one to go and scavenge. Well, and a third one to stay in camp.

"I'll go for either one. I've actually used one of those old guns before, but you don't really need that many people hunting. No one really knows what's in the damn fortress; The more people that go, the safer it'll probably be."

[Eail]

"heeeeeey, Kaylaaaaa, Cyruuuuus, do you two want to come with us to the fortress? We're gonna try and scavenge! You could probably get some warmer clothes. Maybe a blanket to cuddle each other underneath!"

"Y-yeah I'll come along to see what we can find." Cyrus said while trying to hide the blush he was forming. Getting up he walked over to where he had left the handgun the previous night, grabbing it he went back to the others. "You think we should take one of the Winchesters as well? With how many of us are going it couldn't hurt." Before he could get a response from anyone Selena had another freak out "Selena! Whats wrong?"

Edited July 21, 2012 by Eail

[CT075]

sound

"Gah..."

pain

Marcus really wished he had some kind of prediction ability so he could shield himself whenever something happened like this. He was (once more) sent reeling as the mechanic let out another shriek.

At least this time there aren't huge metal spikes coming out of her...

Leaning against the nearest stable object (he was in too much pain to tell what it was), Marcus slowly forced himself back to his feet. It wasn't as bad this time, since it was over much faster but it still hurt like hell.

"Hngh... S-Selena? Are you alright?"

Edited July 21, 2012 by Camtech

[ReformBlade]

Had to go invite them didn't you? Not like I hate them, it's just... Oh well. "The more the merrier" he said aloud before Selena had yet another freak out. Janson's shock was much less than desirable for such an occasion, a mere raised eyebrow at the whole event before he turned to Amera as he packed himself one of the pistols. "You coming? I'd rather get there as soon as possible."

Wyuna, considerably less calm than Janson at the whole affair, took a few steps back before trying to reason with the woman. "Whoa! Selena, calm down!" Walking up next to her and gingerly placing a hand on her shoulder, "Can you hear me? Look, you just... just try to rest. I can't begin to imagine what's going on here but we're trying to help out." It was a shot in the dark but Wyuna just wanted to calm down a woman who could turn into a weapon. Silly Wyuna...

[Sakusa]

"heeeeeey, Kaylaaaaa, Cyruuuuus, do you two want to come with us to the fortress? We're gonna try and scavenge! You could probably get some warmer clothes. Maybe a blanket to cuddle each other underneath!"

"Wh-What?" Kayla choked on the word and coughed several times before she could speak again. "We should probably bring the Winchester in case we get attacked or something, but shouldn't we leave a gun at camp? Selena doesn't seem to be doing too well, and she might have to get left behind if she can't move today, either. When it comes to scavenging you can leave it to me. I used to explore the fortress and found lots of nifty things before it crashed. We can probably find backpacks or something to bring the stuff back to camp, too." She got up and brushed dead leaves off of herself and took off her hat to comb her hair with her fingers. "Anyway, maybe youuuuuuu should find a nice blanket to cuddle underneath with Janson!" she poked at Amera, smiling mischievously. "It's no secret that you've been flirting with him all night~"

[Nanami Touko]

Dustin

Selena screamed once again, and Dustin couldn't imagine how much pain she, or Marcus, were going through. Wyuna took over trying to comfort her this time, as Dustin grabbed one of the winchesters from the pile. He tried aiming it up at the sky, just trying to get a feel for holding the gun. It doesn't seem too difficult to use> Gotta watch my shoulder though. I think? I should've paid attention to that class. Walking back over with it, he started talking, "Wyuna, listen, we really should get some food. The only thing that's going to help her right now is a full stomach and some rest. Let's get going, alright?"

Amera

She almost toppled over as Selena let out an ear piercing screech. "Jesus, does she do that often?" It took her a moment to catch her breath after the scream, Janson prodding her to come along already. "Yeah, yeah, sorry." Kayla and Cyrus joined them, Kayla reminding her of the Winchester. "Oh, shoot!" She scurried over to it before they left and grabbed it, almost cursing herself for forgetting it. "They've still got one of the pistols, right? It only takes one good shot to take down those monsters, and Alan isn't a push over. Cyrus knows as much," she stuck out her tongue as she said that. "I think they'll be fine. We should just get going."

"Anyway, maybe youuuuuuu should find a nice blanket to cuddle underneath with Janson! It's no secret that you've been flirting with him all night~"

Amera paused for a moment, oh, this'll be fun, before she kept on walking. "Yeah, I was. He's a real cutie. Watching him get flustered made me all warm inside~ Maybe cuddling up together under the covers would be beneficial for both of us." She stuck her tongue out at Kayla, "besides, you were the one playing tonsil hockey with the doc over there. THAT was something to behold." She took a few bounds to get a bit ahead of the other three, whistling as she did.

Edited July 21, 2012 by seph1212

[Ether]

"...yeah... I'm... okay... looks like I... won't be sleeping today afterall..." Selena replied, as she pushed herself off of the tree and began to walk forward, though in reality it was more of a rather pathetic stumbling, she managed to keep upright at the very least.

Handing Cyrus his coat, Selena looked towards the fortress with a weary gaze.

"So that's where we're headed, huh?" The engineer asked, before registering the argument between Amera and Kayla.

"Is that really what you two are worrying about now of all times?" She asked the two, her look of disbelief shifting between the two of them.

"Just try to be more subtle about it, or I might have to take care of you myself..." She noted, in a mischievous tone.

Edited July 21, 2012 by Ether

[ReformBlade]

"Hey now, Selena, no need to get violent." Janson responded to Selena before turning to Kayla and amera, "But she does have a point. Right now there's stuff to be done, and maybe it's just me and her but I'd prefer you two keep that kind of talk to yourselves until we're done and resting up. You think it's playful, I find it disruptive. I'm not against playing around and I know this situation is driving everyone nutty, but can we please keep that kind of talk to a minimum?" He was trying to be stern yet fair, a truly difficult balance to strike these days.

Wyuna stared at Selena, wondering if she'd truly be alright. "I have my doubts..." she muttered to herself before walking over to Dustin, "So, you're gonna come with me? Ever hunted before? Heh, me neither, but I suppose if I treat it as sneaking up on a criminal or something I'll have some good results." Looking about, she spotted Kaden, "And you there, you're welcome to help out as well. in fact I'd be grateful, who knows how much we'll be able to bring in, so all the helping hands would be beneficial."

[Nanami Touko]

Amera

"Is that really what you two are worrying about now of all times? Just try to be more subtle about it, or I might have to take care of you myself..."

"Pffft, whatever lady, we're just trying to have fun." But Janson agreed, which was more of a let down than an annoyance to Amera. "You too? Really Janson? Fiiiine." She would have kept going if it was just Selena being the wet blanket, but if more people were going to join her, there was no point arguing. "I'll just scout on ahead, then!" She jogged ahead of them all a good twenty feet, a bit bothered by them wanting to be completely serious about everything. Can't have any fun right now? Why not? The world just went to shit and joking around is all we have left. What's with wanting to be serious right now, really? but she sighed, you're just overreacting... they're probably just as worried as you and have different ways of showing it. And if it's bothering them, why continue? She hung her head a bit, feeling bad for running up like that. "Oh well. At least I won't be tempted to talk about that stuff with Kayla."

Dustin

Selena's getting up and brushing everyone off really bothered him, especially with how she had been acting before. She's unstable, that much is certain. I really don't know how to deal with that woman...

"So, you're gonna come with me? Ever hunted before? Heh, me neither, but I suppose if I treat it as sneaking up on a criminal or something I'll have some good results."

Reality calling, is Dustin home? Wyuna brought him back to the topic at hand, as he chuckled nervously. "No, I've never hunted. I've never used a weapon, but it can't be too hard. Unless you'd rather me leave the shooting to you. I'd be completely alright with that, actually." He didn't mind not doing the shooting. It was something he was uncomfortable with, not mentally, but physically. Kaden had offered to come along, and the other group had already left. "Yeah, come along, Kaden. We could use the extra hands. Wyuna," he handed her the rifle, "let's get going, shall we? Marcus, Alan, hold down the fort. We'll be back with food, hopefully, so, see if you can get a fire going? We can't always rely on Cyrus and his magic finger."

[Sakusa]

"Is that really what you two are worrying about now of all times? Just try to be more subtle about it, or I might have to take care of you myself..."

"I'm sorry! We were just having a bit of fun, so please don't blast us. Pleeeeeeease?" Kayla replied in a singsong voice grabbed onto Selena's arm, smiling nervously. "Are you sure you should even be up? How're you fee--"

"Right now there's stuff to be done, and maybe it's just me and her but I'd prefer you two keep that kind of talk to yourselves until we're done and resting up. You think it's playful, I find it disruptive. I'm not against playing around and I know this situation is driving everyone nutty, but can we please keep that kind of talk to a minimum?"

"--ling." The girl shot the older man a death glare and agreed with Amera silently. "Yes, yes, whatever you want, O fearsome leader." She rolled her eyes and focused on keeping the older woman steady. "It's the end of the world as we know it, surely we could at least cut loose a little bit and try to keep our spirits up. What's with all the gloom and doom? I bet he was some loser who never got laid and this is why he's being so grumpy. Or maybe he's just always been a grumpy old stick in the mud." She started sparking again, but didn't seem to notice as much this time. "But seriously, this guy says one thing and everyone just shuts up and follows him unconditionally! Ughhhh, he makes me so mad!"

[Eail]

Taking his coat back from Selena, Cyrus put it back on and stowed the gun in one of his coats deep pockets. "Maybe you should stay here Selena, you looked like you were in some serious pain a minute ago. Should you really be up and about just yet? Just my suggestion, it's up to you what you feel like doing" Cyrus said to the red head 'Man she might really be insane. How are we supposed to handle something like this?'

"Food, water, medical supplies, clothes, and more people. Heck of a list we need to fill, so we should get going, don't want to waste any daylight. Come on Kayla, let's see if we can't bring home some bacon eh?" Cyrus said, trying to defuse the situation between Kayla and Janson as he walked after Amera. 'More people huh. It's not gonna be easy to feed that many mouths, we're already having trouble feeding what we have.... what the hell is wrong with you Cyrus! You're a doctor you're supposed to help people not leave them to die because you don't feel like being hungry'

[Ether]

A rather odd assortment of reactions had Selena confused, and almost certain that not a one had actually realized what she had meant in the slightest.

Selena had been about to protest, when Kayla latched onto her arm and began inquiring about her condition.

'... to think, I only realized that because my hand hit my leg... that and her voice was closer...'

It was then that Kayla appeared to grow aggravated, as she began sparking. A sudden jolt of feeling in Selena's arm surprised her, the sensation drawing a blush to her cheeks.

'...the application of electricity... it stimulates the nerves to the point that they function again...?'

Selena could feel the contours of the girl's body as she pressed it against the mechanical arm... it was an odd sensation, Selena couldn't identify it with anything she could recall feeling, her cheeks growing hotter, as she attempted to say... something, even she wasn't sure what, it came out in more of a light purr than anything else.

[ReformBlade]

Janson replied in a steady voice. "I'm not a leader, and I'd appreciate it if you'd drop the condescending attitude. I'm trying to be friendly here... Well whatever, let's just get going. the quicker we go, the quicker we can get back and the quicker everyone can just stop going at each other's throats." His eye twitching, Janson turned and left towards the crash once more and hopefully for the last time. "I can do nothing right here, I guess."

Accepting the rifle from Dustin, she had to check and make sure she'd have all the ammunition that'd be necessary, and once she did that, she was smiling. "Well boys, let's roll. If what Janson said was right, he saw some... That way, so just keep a measured pace and don't over exert yourselves but do try to keep up. Alright, folks, let's roll."

[Nanami Touko]

Amera

She looked over her shoulder at Janson, who had detached himself from the group, like she had. I guess I can apologize... I should be taking this a bit more seriously, with all that's been happening. I think those monsters are a good enough reason to try and be more serious, right now. She jogged on over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "hey, Janson, I... I'm sorry about that. That was a bit immature of me. I'll try to hold off on that kinda talk until we get back, okay?" She smiled at him. The last thing she wanted was to get onto bad terms with the people in the group. Especially Janson. He was beginning to grow on her. "So what's the plan when we get to the fortress?"

Dustin

"Hopefully it's just some deer or something. I don't want to run into anything crazy, like a bear. But yeah, let's go." He followed after Wyuna, walking as fast as his leg would let him.

[Sakusa]

"Come on Kayla, let's see if we can't bring home some bacon eh?"

"Um... yeah. Sure," Kayla replied flatly, still rather miffed. "Hey Selena, are you okay? You haven't said anything for the past few minutes." She waved her hand in front of her face, trying to see if she could get a reaction out of her.

"I'm not a leader, and I'd appreciate it if you'd drop the condescending attitude. I'm trying to be friendly here... Well whatever, let's just get going. the quicker we go, the quicker we can get back and the quicker everyone can just stop going at each other's throats."

Kayla refrained from shooting a retort back at him, and this suppression led her to spark more violently. "Friendly, my patootie. Yeah, sure we can be serious about our goal, but seriously, what's the harm in teasing? What right does he have to tell us how to feel and behave just because he doesn't like it? We're not hitting each other or anything, and nobody's getting hurt from this. What's the point of scavenging quietly like mindless drones? Aren't humans supposed to be social creatures? Wait, doesn't that make Janson inhuman?" she giggled out loud at the thought and then blushed, realizing what she did and sighing. "Man, this is gonna be such a dull walk."

[Ether]

As Kayla asked her if she was alright, with an accompanying wave in front of her face, Selena couldn't help but notice as the younger girl pressed herself closer against Selena's metal arm in doing so.

'... why am I... this shouldn't...?'

Before she could reply, however, the sparking increased in magnitude severely, eliciting an audible gasp from the mechanical woman as her face grew from a light pink to a scarlet red, her knees growing weak beneath her.

'...t-this isn't r-right! ...w-why is...'

Selena's breaths coming in with ragged gasps, she fell to her knees, still being clutched by Kayla, causing the electrical current to course relentlessly through her body.

'... why does this... feel so... good...?'

[Sakusa]

Obviously unable to ignore the redhead's swooning, Kayla let go of her. "Selena? Selena? Hellooooooooooooo?" She waved her hand in front of her face again, trying to get a reaction out of her, but to no avail, so she checked her temperature instead and withdrew her hand immediately. "Ouch! She's.... overheating? Well, the metal part, at least. The skin feels like above average human temperature. Maybe she caught a fever from last night?"

[Eail]

Cyrus went over to check on Selena, feeling of her head and seeing the other symptoms he had to agree with Kayla "Yeah she's got a fever, delirious from it as well. She needs to get some sleep and food." Picking up the red headed woman he walked her over to the tarp and placed her down. Feeling awkward at having to do it he called over to Alan "Hey Alan can you keep an eye on her while we're gone?" getting a gruff and nod in acknowledgement. Cyrus rushed back over to Kayla "Come on let's catch up with Janson and Amera, we need to get to the crash as soon as possible."

[ReformBlade]

A small hand wave and a grunt, "It doesn't matter. Nothing I say seems to please Kayla, so honestly I just give up. If you all want to flirt and escape reality... well, i wish I could join you. Never really had the chance to revel in another's company, so I don't know how to react. I get nervous, I get a little smothered, I don't hate it it's just..." Looking around, a little flustered, "I don't understand it." Shaking his head, the hand on his shoulder both invigorating him and bothering him, "I spoke out of turn earlier, I was a dumbass to ever think this whole situation could possibly be construed as good. I honestly feel sick to my stomach for it, feeling happy that everyone was brought down to my level. I couldn't rise up, but that doesn't mean I should've been happy to see everyone brought down..." Taking a deep breath, he had one final thing to say, turning to Amera, making sure he had her attention by grabbing her by the shoulders, "You've all got a future, I'm just the ferryman. I'm here to help you all out, but I'm damn content with being forgotten, even hated, I just wanna live life my own way, and that way isn't compatible with any of you, no matter how hard I try." Letting go and rubbing his forehead as he trudged once more, "If you wanna have fun and be happy and giddy, don't waste it on me. I wouldn't know what to do with it... there's tons more people who need it more than I do." and that was that. His awkward rant over, Janson marched to where it all began, to where he hoped there'd be more survivors, more flickering lights in the darkness that is their present.

-----------

At the base of the towering ruin, Janson looked on high, only to be greeted by the massive looming shadow it cast down onto the small group. "Well guys, here we are again. Now, looking up... Jesus Christ that flying thing really was huge, wasn't it? It's going into the clouds..." Letting out a low whistle, Janson turned to the others. "I'm not here to tell you what to do, all I'm going to say is... well, know your limits. If anyone starts to feel tired, we wait for them to feel up to it, OK? This is just for safety reasons, nothing more. We're looking for clothing, any sort of warmth, food and survivors, also any tools you think will be useful, like rope or perhaps a metal rod. Is there anything you want to add or discuss in regards to that or anything else?"

Wyuna had walked with the others until she finally encountered a stream that Janson had made note of. "Well I'll be... Hey guys, water!" So eager was she that Wyuna simply cupped her hand into the flowing stream and gulped down what little water she caught. A little disgusting but otherwise swallowable, she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh that's good..." And she repeated this process until she felt she was hydrated enough. "Seriously, you two, if you're thirsty, this is pretty damn worth it."

[Sakusa]

"I'm not here to tell you what to do, all I'm going to say is... well, know your limits. If anyone starts to feel tired, we wait for them to feel up to it, OK? This is just for safety reasons, nothing more. We're looking for clothing, any sort of warmth, food and survivors, also any tools you think will be useful, like rope or perhaps a metal rod. Is there anything you want to add or discuss in regards to that or anything else?"

"We should divide and conquer," Kayla started, breaking out of her silent spell. "It'll be easier to find things if we move in pairs instead of as a group of four. I'll go with Amera, and Cyrus can go with you. I know that Amera and Cyrus are both armed, and I have my electricity, so there shouldn't be any problems with defense. You should also have a firearm on you, right? Anyway, it'll be problematic if both of the medics are together, so I feel this is the most efficient setup, plus we could find a bigger variety of items this way."

[Nanami Touko]

Amera

She didn't like where he was taking this, she really didn't. It felt like some form of horrible rejection, and she wasn't about to let that happen. "So... so I'll stop! If it bothered you, why didn't you say anything? I'll stop smothering you and we'll try to take it slow!" She hated this feeling, "and just because you don't know what to do with it doesn't mean you can't find out! What, you just want to give it up without even trying?! I'm willing to try! Please..." She didn't know what else to say. "I don't care if there's anyone else left to take my happiness, I want to try giving it to you, but you're just so... SO... SO STUPID!" Janson didn't seem like he was going to respond. Rejection was something new. It was painful, and lonely. It wasn't something she wanted to accept, but... no, I won't accept it. He can't just get rid of me with some silly speech! I'll show him. I can help him see that there's more to life than what he thinks there is. Resolute in her ways, she trudged after him, looking down.

----------

The fortress was as intimidating as it was before, still towering over the world. She wondered if it ran up into the clouds. That wonder was broken as Janson started explaining the situation. "I wonder how high I can get," she muttered to herself.

"It'll be easier to find things if we move in pairs instead of as a group of four. I'll go with Amera, and Cyrus can go with you. I know that Amera and Cyrus are both armed, and I have my electricity, so there shouldn't be any problems with defense. You should also have a firearm on you, right? Anyway, it'll be problematic if both of the medics are together, so I feel this is the most efficient setup, plus we could find a bigger variety of items this way."

"Yeah, sure, let's go." She grabbed the girl's arm and started dragging her away from the boys, still upset from before. Maybe Kayla will understand... I'll never get boys.

Dustin

It didn't take them long to run into the stream that Janson had mentioned, Dustin taking a seat next to it to rest his leg. "Well, it's good to know that this is nearby where we're all staying. It might not be filtered, but it's better than no water at all. "I think I'll skip on the water for now. Don't wanna have to rush off to the bathroom while we're trying to kill something." He did take the time to stare into the water, though, looking at his reflection. Hah... how did someone as average as me make it, huh? Something darted in the reflection of the water. What the...?! He looked across the stream, squinting. And then going wide eyed in horror.

"KRAHHHHHHHHHH"

"Oh my GOD WHAT IS THAT?!" A massive beast, what looked to have the head of a lion, a falcon, and a snake, all grotesquely attached at the neck, appeared from behind a large chunk of foliage. He scrambled to his feet, wondering if he should start running. "Wyuna... is the rifle going to be enough...?" He almost whispered at her, even though he'd yelled a moment ago. He was scared to death. The monster seemed to be scaling the three of them, wondering which one to go for first. Dustin gulped.

Edited July 21, 2012 by seph1212

[Eail]

'Damn this thing is gigantic. Really though, how the hell DID we get the fortress off the ground?' Seeing that the girls had already run off on their scavenger hunt Cyrus let out a sigh "Come on Janson, let's get to work. No sense in wasting daylight."

[Sakusa]

"Yeah, sure, let's go."

"H-Hey!" Kayla complained when Amera grabbed her arm. She stole a glance back at Cyrus and mouthed a "sorry!' at him, as she was being dragged away rather brusquely by her friend. "Woah, Amera, what's with the rush? Did something happen? Aren't you supposed to be, I dunno, peppy and bubbly and chipper and stuff? Is something bothering you? Is somebody bothering you? And hold up, there's a metal rod we can use as tent support or something lying over there!"

[ReformBlade]

"Very true." He responded flatly, just happy to be on his way. Looking at what he and Cyrus were going to climb, Janson almost felt exhilarated, quickening his pace. Before he forgot, he turned to the other two, "Oh, Amera, Kayla, just a heads up, try to stay in earshot with us, and we'll be doing the same of course. Just in case something happens, we wanna be able to help each other out." Returning to his ascension to godhood, Janson couldn't let the silence linger. "So uh... you and Kayla. She seems like a pretty Iron willed woman. If nothing else, I have a hell of a lot of respect for that."

Wyuna, hoever, had no time for silly conversations. Now was a time for action, her sight set on the abomination in front of her. Remaining rather calm, a feat in and of itself even for her given the circumstances, Wyuna tried her best to keep Dustin calm, "Hey, no sudden movements, Dustin. Animals can generally sense fear..." Taking the rifle out, aiming it and taking a breath, she spoke once more to dustin and the other man, "I'm going to take a few shots at it and I'm going to break off to my left, you two try and stay safe, and if you can find an opening, as slim as the chances are right now, try to jam something in it. A twig, a rock, a shard of glass, anything..."

Edited July 21, 2012 by RainbowKitty