DCW IRL Round 12: Distant Reflections Seen Nearby

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

Tamsin had remained quiet until they were sat down and offered what looked like black coffee. She didn't recall liking coffee, but neither could she remember hating it, so she picked up the cup and gulped some down, grimacing at the overwhelmingly bitter flavor that gripped her senses. "That's some crappy coffee," she grumbled, putting a hand to her throbbing head as the silver-haired boy started talking about poison and the rift. 'Rift, huh? Never heard of it... But if that was poison, why should we trust these people to help us?' She didn't speak, instead hoping to let the others decide for themselves whether to put faith in the two who ran a cafe in the middle of nowhere. 

 

  Just as the disgusting bitterness was fading, a sentence echoed in her mind. 'You got the product, Tammer?' She closed her eyes and concentrated on the distinct male voice, but found flashes of memory invading her thoughts. There was a group of teens and young adults, mostly boys, loitering outside a government transport station... Several exchanges of money. The flash of a firearm, a laser-burst relic, and the sight of crimson falling from the blade of the swiss army knife that had been in her pocket... Tamsin didn't know what they meant, but it wasn't what she'd expected. 

 

    She listened as Prem had his denial-outburst and Misaki reassured him. 'Facebook?' It sounded familiar. She'd read about it. Studied it for some reason. 'Wait... That operation the central government shut down for invasion of privacy back in the electronics boom? Can people pirate it still?' Tamsin wondered if any of those stuck in the 'rift' would be able to understand what was familiar to the other when memories started to return. 

 

   "I don't remember anything important," she mumbled, not wanting to explain the unclear flashes of memory that seemed to point at criminal activity.

[A L 217]

"Don't try too hard on yourself Prem." Alice said, slapping the boy's back with a light force she would have liked to call as gentle. Would have. Prem's face nearly collided with the table. Alice slapped her forehead, not know what to say.

 

A sharp pain seared through her mind and in the darkness that took over when she closed her eyes, bright red circles and flashes of yellow took over everything, her hearing drowned by suddenly loud tinnitus. It felt like someone was sliding a knife through her skull. Suddenly it stopped, the pain ebbed away and her hearing returned with a little pop in her ears.

 

When she opened her eyes again, Misaki was the one with the most concerned expression on her face, the rest had a mixture of shock and surprise.

"Are you okay? You feeling alright?" Misaki said. "What she said." Prem quipped. "I thought you were going to blow a vein with the expression you had on your face."

 

Alice smiled, before moving her body in familiar motions, moon-walking across the smooth floor of the Kirrin cafe. "Oh yeah!" She said, twirling on her heels before stopping perfectly, her face in their direction.

 

"I'm a myth-freak and a dancer." She announced. "And this Rift is something I know about she said." Their faces turned eager and someone prompted her to continue.

 

"The Rift," She said. "Each thing here is infinite, and from here you can look at any point in the universe, in any universe. Get what I mean?" Alice casually slipped a hand in her hip-pocket as they digested the information.

 

"The to imagine a ball of yarn. Now, in its center there is a hollow space around which the thread is wrapped around. You can make the ball as big as you want or as small, but the space exists, if only merely, and the threads which go round it are all vast dimensions, and each thread consists of several strands, presenting an alternate reality for each of the universes. The rest- uh I'm not really sure, I'm not so smart...I think even my given explanation is flawed but the point is, we've somehow ended up here and they-" She pointed to Alita and Joshua. "Were kind enough to let us live and now we have to help them get whoever threw us here in the first place, right?"

 

Alice waited for their responses. Was she wrong? well there was always time to be humble later.
 

[Nara-chan 38]

 Ah, the pain of being rejected...

 

 Iyana saw Misaki and Tasmin's point, but there goes that feeling of crying again. Fortunately, she kept it under control. She was taking another silent inventory again when the cafe appeared. Twelve Kirin Cafe?

 

 She didn't exactly feel assured, but stepped through the double doors with her companions. The inside of the store was mostly barren, with a single large round table with chairs around it. On the table there were...cups?. A short red haired teenager was sitting at the table, talking to the silver haired one behind the counter at the back of the room.

 

"It's cruel, you know, even for that guy to turn him into alphabet soup," the girl was saying. The other one shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I guess it's a cruel and unusual punishment. That's why it fits him."

 

 Him?

 

 The silver haired one turned his attention to your group, and gestured to the table. "It's ready for you."

 

She really didn't trust this place, but since everyone was sitting don, she also did

 

. For a moment, everyone was silent, then the girl spoke up, "You should probably drink that before it gets too cold."

 

Iyana peered inside the cup in front of her A black, steaming liquid was sloshing inside. As much as she didn't like the flow of events, she was thirsty, and this was better than nothing.

 

She sipped the black liquid. Suddenly, her head felt like an arrow was piercing it. Yellow spots danced in front of her eyes, and it took all of her might not to scream, Then, her mind cleared.

 

"What you drank right now was a kind of poison. In larger doses it would've killed you. Luckily, none of you decided to down the whole cup, though I imagine you will all be a bit nauseous for a while," the silver-headed one explained

 

 Her violet irises widened. She looked at the others, and saw her own shock mirrored back at her. 

 

"Fight poison with poison. The Rift, where you are right now, is poisonous. Stay too long and you melt, you know." She paused for a moment. "Right now you should be fine," the red haired girl continued.

 

Rift.... Why did that seem familiar? The people continued talking, but she tuned out, and flashes of random events went through her head: a small forest, riding a small tablet through the air, herself dropping to her knees and crying, and the most horrible one: a smaller her, running for her life in a white hallway with a girl who looked like Tasmin. Crimson filled the memory, and she was jolted back to current events.

 

"Yes, and you should feel lucky we managed to get to you before you all died. I think this is a good time for introductions. I go by Joshua and the girl there is Alita. I'm just a simple coffee shop owner." said the boy.

 

The events went by in a blur. Her companions expressed their frustration, but only one caught her attention: Alice's explanation of what she thought about this.

 

"The Rift," She said. "Each thing here is infinite, and from here you can look at any point in the universe, in any universe. Get what I mean?" Alice casually slipped a hand in her hip-pocket as they digested the information.

 

"The to imagine a ball of yarn. Now, in its center there is a hollow space around which the thread is wrapped around. You can make the ball as big as you want or as small, but the space exists, if only merely, and the threads which go round it are all vast dimensions, and each thread consists of several strands, presenting an alternate reality for each of the universes. The rest- uh I'm not really sure, I'm not so smart...I think even my given explanation is flawed but the point is, we've somehow ended up here and they-" She pointed to Alita and Joshua. "Were kind enough to let us live and now we have to help them get whoever threw us here in the first place, right?"

 

 She silently stared at her hair, twisting her hair around her finger. "Did you drink the poison too?" she asked.

 

EDIT: Oh, sorry.  "You" means Joshua and Alita, if you were confused

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

Tamsin listened to Alice's explanation, thinking that perhaps this rift wasn't composed of one same world. If those who had woken in the white poison of the rift were scattered from different threads, maybe it was intentional that these particular people were here... She heard the question Iyana asked, and wondered if those two were adapted to the rift, or immune to its environment. She put a hand on Iyana's shoulder, thinking the girl might be having a hard time with the situation, and added her own question aimed toward Alita and Joshua.

 "I'm not sure what my memories mean, or what kind of person I was, but if we have a common enemy in the one who brought us here, I'll help... How do we gather our memories and find this person?"

[premiumemo 37]

With all the explanations going on, there was something that was troubling Prem...

"It can't be a coincidence, with a dozen of people out there, only 5 of us get to live... And why are they lying, on one hand they tell us that there is probably 'no way out' and then they tell us about the person who put us here... Are they trying to convince us for something, are we here because of our destiny..?" with so many questions inexpressible and at the moment unanswerable, Prem took of his cap and continued listening to others explanation...

[tengaku squared 291]

"We had you drink that to ensure you survive, but we both have another way to adapt to the toxins in the environment. Alita over there has the ability to manipulate precedence, so she simply sets her precedence above the poison." Joshua explained.

 

Alita nodded. "The reason I can't save you all this way...is because I can only manipulate two objects at a time."

 

Joshua continued. "So as you can see, we don't need to drink the poison. In fact, what you all drank wasn't really poison, but a liquid that alters your precedence on the existence scale. I'll spare you the complex theory and explanation: the liquid is basically clouding you from the Rift." Joshua then remained silent until the next question was asked, and you realized that he never answered how he manages to adapt to the environment.

 

Joshua raised his eyebrows at Prem's remark. "There are things I can't tell you. Some because you won't understand, and others," he started

 

"...because it's confidental information," Alita finished.

 

"Nevertheless, assure yourselves that we are both on your side as long as our interests meet. And that brings me to Tamsin's question." He clapped his hands together and continued. "Leave the perpertrator to us for now. Focus on gaining your memories. I mentioned before that your memories were shattered upon entry into the Rift. When memories exit your mind, they take a form like a yellow crystal like so," he said, holding up a glowing yellow crystal. "The larger the crystal the more memories contained. The brighter, more significant. How you can tell if the memories belong to you, you will feel a sensation. Bring these crystals to me when you find them. And I advise you watch yourselves out there. There are things...that are out for these very crystals. If they get to them before you do, you lose those memories forever. Any other questions?"

[A L 217]

(Nara, I picked up where the last person who wrote Alice in a scene left off. Naturally, Mohovie's generalized posts refer to everyone, of course Alice drank the coffee, I'm too lazy to retype it.)

 

Alice stared at the crystal, contemplating. A thing like that contained her memories, aside from her knowledge on vampires, werewolves, dragons, fairies, moon-walking and the like. 

 

"Just one from me, where do we start?" Alice asked. 

[Misaki-chan 164]

"No... " Prem said, his mouth turned up in a smile. "It's a place... Umm a place..? Yeah I guess, that's the term I can come up with to describe it... Anyways, people interact there through some 'chat' kind of thing."

 

"Don't try too hard on yourself Prem." Alice said, slapping the boy's back with a light force she would have liked to call as gentle. Would have. Prem's face nearly collided with the table. Alice slapped her forehead, not know what to say.

 

Misaki still didn't get was this Facebook thing was, but that all left her mind when she saw Prem's head almost hit the table. "Are you alright?" she asked, quickly looking over him to see if there was anything wrong. He gave a nod as someone said,  "Leave Facebook.. We've got bigger problems at the moment.. What do you folks remember..? " 

 

Suddenly, Alice looked overcame by pain. Immediately Misaki rushed over to her to see what she could do to help the pain, but when she got over to the girl she had seemed to recover from her spell.  "Are you okay? You feeling alright?" the armored-clad girl asked.

 

"What she said," Prem quipped. "I thought you were going to blow a vein with the expression you had on your face."

 

Alice smiled, before moving her body, doing a strange walk across the smooth floor of the Kirrin cafe. "Oh yeah!" She said, twirling on her heels before stopping perfectly, her face in their direction.

 

"I'm a myth-freak and a dancer," she announced. "And this Rift is something I know about she said." 

 

Misaki's face perked up, ready to learn more about where they were. "The Rift," the dancer said. "Each thing here is infinite, and from here you can look at any point in the universe, in any universe. Get what I mean?" Alice casually slipped a hand in her hip-pocket as Misaki took in the new info. A place where all worlds can meet? I can't believe such a thing exists!

 

"The to imagine a ball of yarn. Now, in its center there is a hollow space around which the thread is wrapped around. You can make the ball as big as you want or as small, but the space exists, if only merely, and the threads which go round it are all vast dimensions, and each thread consists of several strands, presenting an alternate reality for each of the universes. The rest- uh I'm not really sure, I'm not so smart...I think even my given explanation is flawed but the point is, we've somehow ended up here and they-" She pointed to Alita and Joshua. "Were kind enough to let us live and now we have to help them get whoever threw us here in the first place, right?"

 

 

 

As Iyana was twisting her hair around her finger, she asked the beings, "Did you drink the poison too?" 

 

Tasmin placed her hand on the other girl's shoulder before saying, "I'm not sure what my memories mean, or what kind of person I was, but if we have a common enemy in the one who brought us here, I'll help... How do we gather our memories and find this person?"

 

"We had you drink that to ensure you survive, but we both have another way to adapt to the toxins in the environment. Alita over there has the ability to manipulate precedence, so she simply sets her precedence above the poison." Joshua explained. 

 

Alita nodded. "The reason I can't save you all this way...is because I can only manipulate two objects at a time."

 

Joshua continued. "So as you can see, we don't need to drink the poison. In fact, what you all drank wasn't really poison, but a liquid that alters your precedence on the existence scale. I'll spare you the complex theory and explanation: the liquid is basically clouding you from the Rift."

 

The group fell silent for a second. "I'm not sure what my memories mean, or what kind of person I was, but if we have a common enemy in the one who brought us here, I'll help... How do we gather our memories and find this person? It can't be a coincidence, with a dozen of people out there, only 5 of us get to live... And why are they lying, on one hand they tell us that there is probably 'no way out' and then they tell us about the person who put us here... Are they trying to convince us for something, are we here because of our destiny..?" Prim said while taking off his hat.

 

Who knows... But I swear by my honor that I will return these good people to their homes, even if it results in my demise. Even if I am not in my world, I have to follow the Code.

 

Joshua raised his eyebrows at Prem's remark. "There are things I can't tell you. Some because you won't understand, and others," he started

 

"...because it's confidental information," Alita finished.

 

"Nevertheless, assure yourselves that we are both on your side as long as our interests meet. And that brings me to Tamsin's question." He clapped his hands together and continued. "Leave the perpertrator to us for now. Focus on gaining your memories. I mentioned before that your memories were shattered upon entry into the Rift. When memories exit your mind, they take a form like a yellow crystal like so," he said, holding up a glowing yellow crystal. "The larger the crystal the more memories contained. The brighter, more significant. How you can tell if the memories belong to you, you will feel a sensation. Bring these crystals to me when you find them. And I advise you watch yourselves out there. There are things...that are out for these very crystals. If they get to them before you do, you lose those memories forever. Any other questions?"

[Nara-chan 38]

EDIT: Oh, sorry.  "You" means Joshua and Alita, if you were confused

  Stupid, Iyana! That's so obvious! How could they even have a coffee shop here if they didn't drink the poison? That was so random! she scolded herself. Maybe it was her personality.

 

 Tasmin put her hand on Iyana's shoulder. It made her feel assured, but it reminded her of her weird memory of the Tasmin-doppelganger with her. She asked a question:  "I'm not sure what my memories mean, or what kind of person I was, but if we have a common enemy in the one who brought us here, I'll help... How do we gather our memories and find this person?"

 

Prem followed with another question :"It can't be a coincidence, with a dozen of people out there, only 5 of us get to live... And why are they lying, on one hand they tell us that there is probably 'no way out' and then they tell us about the person who put us here... Are they trying to convince us for something, are we here because of our destiny..?"

 

 "We had you drink that to ensure you survive, but we both have another way to adapt to the toxins in the environment. Alita over there has the ability to manipulate precedence, so she simply sets her precedence above the poison." Joshua, the silver-haired guy, explained

 

 Precedence? Other ways? Just thinking about it made her head hurt again.

 

  "The reason I can't save you all this way...is because I can only manipulate two objects at a time." said Alita

 

 "So as you can see, we don't need to drink the poison. In fact, what you all drank wasn't really poison, but a liquid that alters your precedence on the existence scale. I'll spare you the complex theory and explanation: the liquid is basically clouding you from the Rift." continued Joshua. So if people happened to look in here, they wouldn't see us? she thought. Or it's protecting us?

 

He then turned to Prem's question with a raised eyebrow. "There are things I can't tell you. Some because you won't understand, and others,"

 

"...because it's confidental information," Alita finished.

 

"Nevertheless, assure yourselves that we are both on your side as long as our interests meet. And that brings me to Tamsin's question." "Leave the perpetrator to us for now. Focus on gaining your memories. I mentioned before that your memories were shattered upon entry into the Rift. When memories exit your mind, they take a form like a yellow crystal like so," he said, holding up a glowing yellow crystal. "The larger the crystal the more memories contained. The brighter, more significant. How you can tell if the memories belong to you, you will feel a sensation. Bring these crystals to me when you find them. And I advise you watch yourselves out there. There are things...that are out for these very crystals. If they get to them before you do, you lose those memories forever. Any other questions?"

 

 She stared at the crystal. Maybe...in one of those....she could find out her whole identity, her personality and reasons, like that weird memory. But she pushed that thought away and raised her hand. :So, this is a summary of our messed-up situation: We're from different worlds which don't know about each other, and this Rift is in the center of it. Some girl put us here and took our memories for some reason, and now, we meet you two, who gave us part of our memories back, and you send us out to find it. Am I right?"

 

 Iyana spoke with much more steel then what she felt. But she was tired of being embarrassed, and waited for an answer

 

(Question- is the answer Joshua didn't answer mine?) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tengaku squared 291]

Joshua nodded. "Iyana, that's a pretty passable summary. The only issue with your summary is that the person who threw you in here didn't take away your memories. That is a result of the characteristics of the Rift. The entry fee into the Rift is your memories. But other than that, it's a decent summary."

 

"Now then, let's get onto more business. Misaki, you're the only one with an actual weapon here, but it's not going to do you much good, so," he said, gesturing to Alita, who was suddenly behind Misaki. Alita took out Misaki's sword in one swift motion and threw it to Joshua, who caught it by the hilt and dropped in into one of the boiling coffee pots beside him. He took another pot and dumped its contents, a collection of weapons, all over the table. The weapons in the pot were varied, from revolvers to knives to a hammer, but they were all similar in they had a yellow tint. When Joshua finally took out Misaki's sword from the pot, it had the same yellow tint, and he handed the sword to Misaki.

 

"These should fare pretty well against your opposition. They've all been boiled in the same mixture you drank, and forged by my faction. They should be able to harm your enemies." Joshua waited for everyone to pick their weapon of choice, then continued his explanation.

 

"I realized I haven't explained who, or what, I should explain, these enemies are. This will take some time." He gestured to Alita and said, "So, Alita, you do the explaining. I need to do something important for a moment." He pulled out his cellphone, dialed a number, and disappeared in a burst of light.

 

Alita sighed, then stood up. "Sometimes I don't understand my boss. I told him...we don't have the resources to do this, but..." and Alita trailed on and caught herself, realizing she was probably saying something very inappropriate to the situation. "Anyways...the Rift is home to an army of vicious creatures. For example, the Shadows. They resemble dark, thin, silhouettes. They have claws, and they move in large hordes. They feed on these yellow crystals that house memories, but they aren't hesistant to tear you apart limb by limb." Alita was beginning to look very uncomfortable, as if she wasn't used to being so focused upon.

 

"The Shadows form the base of the army, and next up are the field commanders, the Reapers. Reapers take the appearance of skeletons. They're armed with skeletal swords, bows, and shields. If you see them, they'll often be leading groups of Shadows. It's best to take them out to cause the group of Shadows to panic."

 

"Finally, the Jaegers. The Jaegers are the generals of the army, and they take on humanoid appearances, though they are far from human. You can distinguish a Jaeger from a person from their eyes - their eyes constantly change color. If you ever see a Jaeger, you run. You don't fight them." She turned around to reveal a large, pulsing scar on her neck. "This scar was dealt to me by one of them. I still haven't recovered fully from my recent battle with one. If I find dealing with one difficult, you have no chance. You're lucky that most of the Jaegers are off in the war..." and suddenly Alita turned around and pursed her lips. You get the feeling she made a major slip up in her words, but then Alita gestured for all of you to exit the cafe.

 

"Look...forget what I just said. Anyway, find these crystals, take down any Shadows and Reapers you find, and run away from any Jaegers if you're unfortunate enough to find one." She took a look at each member of your group, then sighed. She stepped outside the cafe, closed the door, and put a closed sign on the doorknob. "Actually...I probably should watch you guys, huh? I'll follow your group, just in case anyone has more questions."

 

All of a sudden two bright flashes of light came from the sky. From these flashes, two objects with burning tails sailed into the air and crashed into ground far away from your group. Alita's eyes widened. "That is how you entered. The Jaeger that threw you in, Aero, has just claimed more victims. Hurry, let's go!" She began running towards the impact site.

 

 

===========================

 

Objective complete.

 

New objective: Investigate the crash site.

 

New objective: Survive.

[A L 217]

The flashes that appeared and crashed into the world of nothingness struck a chord in Alice's mind. Instead of trying to focus, she rushed to the table behind her, hooking a dagger through a belt-loop on the front of denims and pocketed a revolver.

 

"You guys, pick something up before you head out!" She said, following Alita at a slower pace, which she would increase once they got ready and followed her.

[premiumemo 37]

"Woah..!" Prem exclaimed as he saw the Big Ship coming down...

Alice took the Dagger and the revolver...

"You guys, pick something up before you head out!" she somewhat said it with a commanding voice...

Prem waited for everyone else to pick up their weapon, and then took the last two remaining... The arrow-bow and a small harpoon, the harpoon didn't really looked efficient but he still hung it to his belt...

Prem looked at his Bow and Arrow and his head started to itch... He had a memory of this stuff, "Great, I have the bestest thing 'I' can make use of" he smirked and he joined the group leading out to the crash site...

Prem somehow was having a sense of responsibility as he was the only boy... "Do me a favor all you girls, just DON'T DIE.." and his smirked face continued as they kept running...

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

The new information was both confusing and expected; Of course, in a place like the rift, where poison is in the air and memories are shattered, there would be such creatures. Tamsin wondered what gave the Jaegers their power, and if there was a way to overwhelm them, but knew she wouldn't be allowed near enough one to find out. Tightening her ponytail as everyone began to move, she stretched and took a look at the table; there were a few standard firearms and old-fashioned weapons, each tinged with the yellow of the memory crystals.

 

As Alita headed out, the others following with their weapons of choice, Tamsin reached over the guns and wrapped her fingers around the grip of a metallic baseball bat. It was sleek but nostalgic, and Tamsin smiled a little as she hefted the surprisingly heavy bat over her shoulder. Damn, I like this weap already. Taking one last look at the almost empty table, she plucked a folding knife from its surface and slipped it into her pocket before walking outside. Aero, huh? She patted a smirking Prem on the shoulder as the group ran toward the site of the crash, sighing, "You're probably the most worrisome bastard of the group, kid."

[A L 217]

Alice let Prem's remark slide, for she felt like she had impersonated as a boy several times. As she came closer to Alita, she opened the barrel of the revolver. Good thing it had bullets already. She sighed mentally, thankful for the six bullets that were already in the barrel.

 

As the smoke from the objects on the crash site subsided, they found two bodies, alive. Alice noticed that smoke faded into nothingness just a few inches above her head. There was no telling how high the roof was either.

[Nara-chan 38]

She imagined the Shadows, Reapers and Jaegers as a pyramid of terrors: each more powerful and terrifying than the previous. She bit back her fear, even when those two comet-like figures crash-landed.

Then it was weapon-picking time.

She peered at each of them. Guns and axes weren't her type, and spears were too heavy. What she wanted was a dagger, but Alice had taken the only one.

Something caught her eye. A small wooden handle. She pulled it out and flipped it. A small blade honed to a deadly edge popped out. Like everything else, it had a yellowish tinge. A phrase went through her head: Something she had read before...

Knives are only for the quickest and cleverest fighters. They may not have the reach of a sword, but they are easy to conceal and easily find chinks in an enemy's armor....

Easy to conceal, ehh..? she thought.

While everyone ran off, she ducked under a table and ripped a shred of fabric. She put the Swiss Army knife on top of her arm and tied the fabric around it. Now she looked like a normal girl. One quick swipe of her hand to her arm, a flick and enemies-no-more.

She just hoped that she had the courage to be a fighter. Or that Joshua and Alita would forgive her for ruining a perfectly good table cover

s

[Misaki-chan 164]

Joshua nodded. "Iyana, that's a pretty passable summary. The only issue with your summary is that the person who threw you in here didn't take away your memories. That is a result of the characteristics of the Rift. The entry fee into the Rift is your memories. But other than that, it's a decent summary."

 

"Now then, let's get onto more business. Misaki, you're the only one with an actual weapon here, but it's not going to do you much good, so," he said, gesturing to Alita, who was suddenly behind her. The girl took out Misaki's sword in one swift motion and threw it to Joshua, who caught it by the hilt and dropped in into one of the boiling coffee pots beside him. "What are you doing to my sword?!" she yelled, trying to get it back but was held back by Alita.

 

He took another pot and dumped its contents, a collection of weapons, all over the table. The weapons in the pot were varied, from bows to knives to a hammer to weapons she had never seen before, but they were all similar in they had a yellow tint. When Joshua finally took out Misaki's sword from the pot, it had the same yellow tint, and he handed the sword to Misaki. She quickly put it back in its scabbard, the slight unease that had come with not having her sword going away.

 

"These should fare pretty well against your opposition. They've all been boiled in the same mixture you drank, and forged by my faction. They should be able to harm your enemies." Joshua paused, waiting for everyone to take a few weapons. She looked at the choices on hand before taking one of the longer knives and a sling with its ammo. 

 

As she tucked those away, Joshua continued, "I realized I haven't explained who, or what, I should explain, these enemies are. This will take some time." He gestured to Alita and said, "So, Alita, you do the explaining. I need to do something important for a moment." He then pulled out a device, one she had never seen before, pressed something and disappeared in a burst of light.

 

Alita sighed, then stood up. "Sometimes I don't understand my boss. I told him...we don't have the resources to do this, but..." Alita trailed off, dropping the subject and went on to tell the group what they needed to know. "Anyways...the Rift is home to an army of vicious creatures. For example, the Shadows. They resemble dark, thin, silhouettes. They have claws, and they move in large hordes. They feed on these yellow crystals that house memories, but they aren't hesistant to tear you apart limb by limb."

 

The girl looked rather uncomfortable, as if she wasn't used to the attention. "The Shadows form the base of the army, and next up are the field commanders, the Reapers. Reapers take the appearance of skeletons. They're armed with skeletal swords, bows, and shields. If you see them, they'll often be leading groups of Shadows. It's best to take them out to cause the group of Shadows to panic."

 

"Finally, the Jaegers. The Jaegers are the generals of the army, and they take on humanoid appearances, though they are far from human. You can distinguish a Jaeger from a person from their eyes - their eyes constantly change color. If you ever see a Jaeger, you run. You don't fight them." She turned around to reveal a large, pulsing scar on her neck. "This scar was dealt to me by one of them. I still haven't recovered fully from my recent battle with one. If I find dealing with one difficult, you have no chance. You're lucky that most of the Jaegers are off in the war..." Suddenly Alita turned around and pursed her lips before gesturing to the group to exit the cafe. As they exited the building, Misaki's thoughts went back to what Alita had said about the Jaegers being at war. I wonder why she wouldn't want us to know about that... Is there something bad about knowing that our largest threat it busy?

 

"Look...forget what I just said. Anyway, find these crystals, take down any Shadows and Reapers you find, and run away from any Jaegers if you're unfortunate enough to find one." She took a look at each member of your group, then sighed. She closed the door behind them and put a closed sign on the doorknob. "Actually...I probably should watch you guys, huh? I'll follow your group, just in case anyone has more questions."

 

All of a sudden two bright flashes of light came from the sky. From these flashes, two objects with burning tails sailed into the air and crashed into ground far away from your group. Alita's eyes widened. "That is how you entered. The Jaeger that threw you in, Aero, has just claimed more victims. Hurry, let's go!" She began running towards the impact site.

 

"Woah..!" Prem exclaimed. 

"You guys, pick something up before you head out!" Alice yelled, running after Alita with a knife and a strange L-shaped weapon in hand. 

"Do me a favor all you girls, just DON'T DIE..." he smirked as the group ran to the crash site.

 

Now Misaki had dealt with this kind of behavior before due to Protectors being mostly males and them feeling they had to protect the females in the group despite them being perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. She was quite used to it. But she couldn't keep the twinge of annoyance from seeping into her accent as she said, "I am quite capable of not dying Prem. I have several years of experience going up against fearsome beasts and staying alive after all."

 

She could see Tasmin pat him on the shoulder and add, "You're probably the most worrisome bastard of the group, kid."

 

But thinking about staying alive... Would my armor work here? They had to treat my sword after all for it to be effective so it would make sense if my armor had to be treated to it wouldn't be easily penetrable... 

 

Misaki ran faster to catch up with Alita and asked, "Alita, I was wondering, would I need to treat my armor with whatever you used on my sword?"

 

As she got closer to the crash site, the smoke from the objects on the crash site were subsiding. From where she was, she could see two bodies, alive. She hurried up, kneeling by the people like a few others were doing. "Are you ok?" she asked the two, a boy and a girl.

[tengaku squared 291]

Alita sighed. "The reason we gave you those weapons in the first place is so you could hopefully take out a few parts of the enemy. Now...this will get me in pretty serious trouble," she began, and then mumbled under her breath "I'm really going to be boiled, you know", and then continued, "But my superior really doesn't feel like you humans are worth saving. It's why he treated your sword and weapons, but not your armor...he doesn't care about your survival in the slightest."

 

Alita quickly shushed the outrage her statement caused, and continued to explain, "Watch your mouth. Don't insult Joshua. He's not a mere angel, you know, like I am." Once again, Alita then decided to stop talking, and didn't let out another word until they reached the impact site.

 

Alita looked at the two unconscious people, and then looked around. Then her eyes widened at the sound of a voice.

"How you all still alive, huh?" The voice came from a hooded figure, with the only two distinguishing figures being eyes that would constantly change color and a large, misformed mechanical right arm with gears and pistons jutting out of it like spikes.

 

The figure sneered. "And I went to all the trouble of throwing you all in here, too. You just won't die, human swine. Though I suppose the only reason you survived is because Kitty girl and God complex didn't let you guys die."

 

Alita didn't take her eyes off the figure. She barely moved except for moving her right hand onto the scar on her neck. Only a single sentence escaped her lips: "Aero...why her?" Unlike her other words, this time, fear emanated from Alita. She clenched her shaking fists and clattering teeth, and shouted an order to your group.

 

"Go to the shop! Take those two with you! I'll buy you time!"

 

Aero cackled, a harsh sound that resonated through the nothing of the Rift. "That's right! Run, human swine! The Jaegers will get you, just like they did the rest of your lot!"

 

"Just go!"

 

Despite the confusion of the moment, you heeded her orders. Some of you went to carry the two unconscious individuals, and then all of you, as a group, ran back to the shop as quick as you can. As you turned to see behind you, the battle between Alita and Aero began to fade in the distance.

 

So you turned around, with the uneasy certainty that Alita had sacrificed herself for your continued survival.

 

=======================================

 

The two new people are Lukyan Hondou and Rye.

 

Objective complete.

 

New objective: Regroup at the shop

 

Certain NPC profiles have been updated.

[Maltavite 61]

Name: Hesh (It's just an alias. His real name will revealed through the RP...)

Appearance: He wore a Celadon short-sleeve plaid shirt with a white turtlenecked shirt, a Breton green shade on his head, a baggy pants and a pair of red sneakers.

Age: 18

Personality/Bio: Revealed through the rp...

 

Hesh looked at the surrounding after he woke up. He was inside a store beside an unconscious girl. He looked at a girl who asked him. "Oh, this is just like the effect of snort a line of Brown Rhine. But I didn't snort heroin. Can you tell me what the hell is going on here? A Thermonuclear war?" He told her.

[Nara-chan 38]

When Aero appeared, she just wanted to run away. But even Alita was scared. She touched the scar on her neck and mumbled "Aero....why her?" She bit back her fear and shouted to them, "Go! Take those two with you to the shop! I'll buy you time!"

"That's right! Run, human swine! The Jaegers will get you, just like what they did with the rest of your lot!" replied Aero. Her witchy cackle made Iyana's legs tremble. She touched her Swiss Army knife on the back side of her elbow. Even that felt useless.

"Just go!"

Since she couldn't carry anyone, she grabbed Misaki's hand, since she was carrying one of the unconscious bodies, and ran with it to speed her up. She could hear the fighting from behind as Alita clashed with Aero. As much as she hoped that Alita would win, she could only buy them time. Iyana bit hr lips and tried not to cry.

Why am I crying? she asked herself. She wasn't close to me.

But she sacrificed herself for all of you. You have to survive. she answered herself.

She saw the sign of Twelve Kirin Cafe appear. Soon, they were outside. They pushed open the double doors and crashed on the cafe seats.

While the rest of them were parching up, she felt the urge to check the cellphone in the body bag again. She opened it, and there was a new note:

He and his army are awakening again..

She pushed her cellphone into her body bag again and decided to show it to everyone later. Meanwhile, she waited for the two newcomers to regain consciousness while silently crying for their loss.

(She's too sensitive, ne?~~~~~)

[premiumemo 37]

Seeing Alita's scared face after she saw Aero, there was no doubt that this ain't a kids joke...

"Go! Take those two with you to the shop! I'll buy you time!" Alita shouted, her eyes gave Prem goosebumps, he could feel the fear...

"Just Go..!" Her voice echoed, in the ears... Coming back to senses, Prem noticed Tamsin and Misaki had already started to pick up the girl lying...

"Alice.! Help me out here..." He started to run towards the boy lying on the floor... Soon Tamsin and Misaki had started to move forward with the girl's arm around their shoulder... Alice and Prem were following them the same way...

Eyes couldn't stop turning back and heart couldn't stop praying for Alita...

Soon everyone was in the café... The new survivors were placed safely on the chairs with their heads down on the table, as they were still unconscious...

Prem stared outside through the glass, his mind was clear, there were no thoughts running in his mind except "She died protecting US"...

[A L 217]

Alice complied with Prem's request wordlessly, grabbing the boys arms while he grabbed his legs and they began to move towards the direction they came from. Everyone was turning tail and running.

 

Alice made sure no one was looking as she brought the unconscious boy's wrists together and clutched them with her left hand, silently taking out the revolver in her pocket with her right. She looked back at Alita's frame for a fraction of a second, shrinking by each step she took forward.

 

Without a sound, she aimed with deadly accuracy, one of an assassin, and fired. The bullet made no sound; the Rift was silent to those which exceeded a certain level. She had no need to look back. It wasn't the first time she had shot to kill.

 

When they reached the cafe, everyone was distressed. Misaki even asked if Alice was okay, she was the last person to enter with Prem, to which she felt sad. If only people had cared about her in the life before.

 

------

(Hahahaha I just added a new mystery )

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

A Jaeger, THE Jaeger, was changing the game. She wanted to shout, to turn and yell at Aero that no, the humans were not swine, and they'd end her pitiful existence... But she held back, doing as she was told and trying not to endanger the others. They were no longer to follow Alita. Tamsin gave a heavy sigh at the thought of leaving the girl behind, but she knew there was no reason to argue. Alita had chosen to take on Aero and get the humans to safety. "Thank you," Tamsin mumbled, taking one of the unconscious girl's arms as Misaki took the other. The group ran straight back to the cafe; a few turned to look back, and the blue-haired woman knew she heard crying from at least one member of the group. I'm sorry, she thought. Her grip on the survivor's shoulder tightened, and Tamsin steeled herself as she faintly remembered having done in the past. There's some kind of war the Jaeger's are involved in. This one has it out for human and 'angel' alike, so I assume the fighting's between those factions... And then we got tossed in here. Damn, if I remembered who I was, I onder if I'd still be pissed about being taken from that life.

 

 "Alice, Prem, watch your step." When they'd trundled the two survivors into the cafe and closed it up, Tamsin set the girl she and Misaki had carried in a chair and walked to Iyana, who wasn't standing huddled with the group or close to another person. "Hey," she mumbled offering a smile, "You doin' alright, Iyana? I'm not gonna fuss over you 'cause you're young, but if you ever feel like no one's listening, or you need somebody to talk to, I'm 'ere, 'kay?" 

[Maltavite 61]

Hesh looked at the girl in disgust, "So, who the f*** are you? Where the hell is this place? And who's Jaeger or Jagers or Jackass or whatever their name is it?" He asked in a panic.

[Nara-chan 38]

^What the heck did you do?

"Hurry, Iyana!"

She tripped, and a hand offered her up. The owner of the hand was a blonde girl with a fierce look and eyes that seemed like a storm was brewing inside. "They're coming!" said the girl.

"What about Kevin and Peter?" she said, her voice high-pitched with fear. The blonde ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, but if we come back, we'll all die!" She picked Iyana up ahd ran as fast as she could through a pristine white corridor. Hissing filled the air. It was coming from shadows chasing the twosome.

An arrow sailed past her ear. The blonde set Iyana down, and, panting, unsheathed a sword tinged yellow. "Go, run!" she yelled. Iyana faced her, hr violet eyes asking the question she couldn't vocalize: What about you?

The blonde smiled, and shook her head. Iyana turned and ran, the battle exploding behind her, the girl's last stand.

After a lot of running and crying, she got caught in a dead end. She started to run in the opposite direction, but was blocked by something. She couldn't see it, because all light seeemed to be absorbed in this thing. Hmph, don't know why she chose you, but you're the only one left. Submit.

She stood up, took out her dagger, and spoke with firmness. "I lost too much already. Now you want me to give my own life? No way. I just want TO GO HOME!"

"Uhhhhhh..." she said groggily. While she was crying, she had fallen asleep and was even snoring! She turned red, but quickly recovred with seeing that everyone was looking at the two still-unconscious newcomers. She stood up, and shared the message in her phone, still thinking about the weird dream of hers.

(Was bored, so I typed prt of her background..)

[A L 217]

"Your mommy." Alice spat, obviously disliking Hesh's use of foul language. She blushed a second later, her face stoic as ever. "You're in the Rift. And Jaegers are generals of some sort of army, but they look human. They're eyes shift color a lot, so that's how you identify them." She coughed slight, her cheeks still red.